Sunday, January 26, 2020

John Lewis Is A Chain Of Retail Stores Marketing Essay

John Lewis Is A Chain Of Retail Stores Marketing Essay Introduction John Lewis is a chain of Retail stores, based in Great Britain. John Lewis opened its first opened its store in 1864 in Oxford Street, London. Never Unknowingly Unsold an altogether different concept in the market and offering to the customers holds a promise that the price of the products sold in John Lewis Stores will be the lowest in the neighborhood which even helped John Lewis to establish strongly in the British Market basically more amongst the middle class people. It has also been the motto and the slogan for the company for 76 years, since its establishment. A partner of John Lewis Partnership which even includes other stores like Waitrose, Greenbee. Every Employee who works at John Lewis is a partner in the company and is entitled to receive bonus out of the profits company earns yearly. With Currently 29 stores Countrywide(28 John Lewis Retail stores and 1 John Lewis at home store) 8 more stores are yet to come in next 5 years in the UK, one of them at the Olympic Site in Stratford, London. Several stores are also in the category of listed buildings because of the architectural designing, one of them being the flagship store at Oxford street, London John Lewis Opened its largest store outside London in Wales on 24th September2009 in Cardiff. With the efforts and the determination of the partners serving the customers with High Quality Goods and the best shopping experience, John Lewis has been able to reach the status of the Largest Retailer in the country. On 1st January2008 John Lewis Store at Oxford Street was awarded a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen for being a supplier of Haberdashery and household products. Stores in Reading and Berkshire were also awarded with Royal Warrant by Queen on 1st January2007 for being a supplier of household and fancy products. History John Lewis opened its first store as a small drapery shop at Oxford Street in 1864. John Lewis buys the control of Peter Jones in 1905 It was year 1918 when the first edition of Gazette was published, magazine by John Spedan Lewis. In 1920 John Spedan Lewis, Son of John Lewis incorporates John Lewis Partnership, which today has several companies including John Lewis, Waitrose( a chain of supermarkets offering food products) and Greenbee( offers Direct Services like Insurance etc) In 1933 John Lewis buys Jessops, well established store in Nottingham. First store outside London. In 1940 John Lewis also took over Selfridges Provincial stores. With the era of internet and connecting with world via internet, John Lewis launches its website in year 2001 allowing customers to shop online and getting products delivered at their door. Jessops rebrands itself as John Lewis in year 2002 Store in Caley shut its door for public in July 2006 John Lewis enters home Products too, opens up John Lewis at home shop in Poole, Dorset in year 2009,providng customers with wide range of products like Pillows, Duvets, Quilts. Attains the status of Largest Department Store Retailer in 2010. Goals and Objectives Goals and Objectives are important business terms, the two aspects which help a company to become what it wants to. Usually Goals and objectives are inter changed against each other, but practically they have really wide difference. Goal refers to what you aim to become, whereas objectives are the ways or steps to achieve those goals. To be the market leaders. John Lewis takes the competition to a new level to be UKs favorite retailer, from its Never knowingly undersold tagline to providing best customer service to conducting their business relations with integrity helps them to be UKs favorite retail house . Make sufficient profits from the operations to sustain commercial vitality. John Lewis does business with utmost care and low cost but never leaves quality, it has and will always maintain quality of its products, but the products are available at low and reasonable costs that the profits are high plus within the reach of middle class people, thus making it more famous and established amongst middle class of UK. Employee Satisfaction Every employee who works in John Lewis is a partner in the business. The profit is shared amongst the partners named as bonus, which motivates the employees to work harder being more focused and determined. An Individuals brilliance, determination and zeal to work which showers fruitful results are rewarded separately. John Lewis even supports the employees who are in real need of financial help etc. Customer Satisfaction John Lewis recruits only those people who know how to work with integrity, determination while abiding by the principles laid down, which helps John Lewis to provide customers with a different and homely shopping experience in their stores. The prices, quality and value of the goods is different from the other stores in the surroundings which helps in attracting more and more customers to their stores thus building a strong customer base and bond and even a brand image and goodwill for itself Strategic Planning Strategic planning is an integral process of an organization defining its strategies and direction and making decisions to allocate available resources to peruse laid strategies, which provides the organizations which a competitive edge over their competitors. Strategies formulated by John Lewis top level management are basically targeting at 3 core goals, they being:- Personal Satisfaction of the Employees Strong customer base, brand value and goodwill. Sufficient Profits yearly. Strategic planning included SWOT analysis, analysis done to analyze internal environment of the organization and to bring it at par with the external environment. SWOT stands for Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats It also includes PEST analysis which is done to examine the external factors affecting the business and how change in them will affect the business, which helps the organizations to be better prepared for those circumstances, PEST stands for Political Economic Social Technological SWOT ANALYSIS OF JOHN LEWIS Strengths John Lewis has a strong customer base, a brand image and goodwill which helped in becoming the UKs favorite retailer leaving behind its competitors like Debenhams, Marks and Spencers etc, which itself is strength of John Lewis. Each and every employee who works in John Lewis is a partner, be it a part time employee or a full time which entitles them to have share in profit. Bonus is given to the employees at the end of FY out of the profit it earns, which motivates them to work hard and achieve targets set for them which helps the organization inturn. It seems that John Lewis has placed itself well on the environmental and green issues too. For eg:-The fair trade policy it follows with the producers the products in Africa. This helps in making themselves a positive brand in the eyes of customers and environmental activists. Being a part of John Lewis Partnership it is under the scanner of extremely experienced management team of John Lewis Plc and of its own. Weakness Unlike the expansion policy TESCO follows, John Lewis serves only the UK market thus restricting itself to UK customers. If a problem arises in food retailing sector, it will be difficult for John Lewis to cope up. Lack of flexibility for the employees. Opportunities Increasing online sales can be an opportunity because the company will get good returns as the website related cost is nothing as compared to online sales cost. The new store coming up at Olympic site in Stratford will cater to the Olympic fans, as John Lewis is the official sponsor to Olympic games and the official license holder to sale Olympic merchandize John Lewis will open its store in Dublin, which will help them to reach customers in Ireland thus expanding the business. Threats Customers might respond to new brand, John Lewis, in the country in a different manner from UK, even because of John lewis being a British brand. Various other small brands whose price cap matches with that of John Lewis can be a threat. Flexibility lacking in the working can be a threat to John Lewis, as the GREENBLOODED nature of the management at times can make employees frustrated. PEST ANALYSIS Political Factors Globalization, can prove to be a challenge plus an opportunity for John Lewis. Challenge as it will have to compete with Retail stores from round the globe who would even be providing the customers with better services and products better than John Lewis. Globalization can prove to be an opportunity as it will allow establishing themselves anywhere round the globe. Government taxation policy can reduce or increase the profit margin on products and services. -For example:- If the Corporation tax increases to let say 30% from 20% then John Lewis will have to pay more of taxes which will inturn decrease the profit Economic Factors, If the credit availment terms in the country are flexible, then availing credit will get easier from financial institutions which will help John Lewis to expand and grow even more. Along with economic conditions, bank policies play an important role in affecting the purchasing power of the consumers, better and flexible the bank policy and economic scenario healthy, purchasing power increases which in turn will increase sales of John Lewis, which will increase the profit percentage. With more and more competition in every segment from competitors like Debenhams, Marks and Spencers John Lewis management keeps on coming up with different types of marketing techniques , giving more and more of incentive to the customers; affecting prices , resulting in the less profit. Social Analysis. Things have changed a lot from the previous times, people dont like standing in the queues, they prefer buying stuff online and getting the delivery at home. People even prefer billing themselves via self billing kiosks. Today to become more successful and profitable innovation and proper marketing has become the key. Consumers in the market have become aware about the Global climate problems; they are inclined towards companies who keep a check on carbon foot print are Green in there working in every aspect. Technological Analysis RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) technology can be used for significant benefits to the supply chain of Sainsburys. If adopted, this technology will lead to fewer inventories for the supermarket firms leading to a leaner, more profitable organization. Stores shall be technological advanced, usage of best quality Tills, ePOS systems ,ERP systems for managing the company in an effective and efficient manner. Conclusion Through this piece it can be seen through the various analyses, PEST and SWOT, that John Lewis is an iconic British Retail brand, well loved by its consumers. It had been bearing losses in most of the quarters in the financial year when recession stuck the world but now importantly profits, have improved tremendously. However, it is not insulated to many outside risks like rising material costs and recession as analysed by PEST analysis. Keeping in view the external and internal environment John Lewis has even planned to open it stores across the globe with first international store set to open in Dublin, Ireland. Strategies Goals Purpose Power Profit Member Customers Business Relations Community

Saturday, January 18, 2020

The World Wide Web or Internet

Commonly known as the Internet, the world†s largest network is used extensively throughout the world today. Since its creation in 1983, the Internet has continued to grow in popularity and use as a commercial and private communications medium. Millions of people throughout the world use the Internet in a variety of ways, ranging from personal conversations to on-line shopping. According to a survey compiled by Nua Ltd in 1999, the number of Internet users rose from 26 million in 1995 to 205 million in 1999, an increase of almost 700% (Nua Ltd)! With such an explosive increase, how then has he Internet affected us personally, and how has it affected the way we do business? The answers to these questions include changes in the way people obtain information, interact, work, learn and conduct business. Given the Internet†s original purpose is to share information, it is no wonder that the most important asset of the Internet is the wealth of information that can be found on the Internet (Maney 3). Information previously found only in libraries and encyclopedias is now available on the Internet; in addition, news, weather, and movie listings are also ade available on the Internet. Internet users constantly remain informed of the world around them by reading news from the New York Times, USA Today, San Jose Mercury News, Los Angeles Times and many other newspapers found on-line. Even those like myself who are far away from home can keep in touch by reading local newspapers Along with the vast amount of information, the Internet also provides almost instant sharing and distribution of information. Through the use of electronic mail, people all over the world can â€Å"send information to far-away places cheaply, easily and in great olume – much more than any medium before it† (Maney 3). This form of communication known as email is the most widely used tool of the Internet today. Another invention of the Internet is the chat room. From within a chat room, people make friends with others throughout the world and share information with one another in real time. Because of email and chat capability, employees can work together without requiring that everyone work in the same place or even at the same time (Maney 4). On a more personal level, email and chat allow families and friends to stay in touch, keeping relationships intact. Being an international student myself, email and chat rooms have greatly benefited me as they enable me to constantly keep in touch with my family and friends in Singapore. The educational community has also taken advantage of the opportunities the Internet offers. Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous growth in both the number of distance education courses offered by colleges and universities, and in the enrollment in those classes. Internet based classes allow students to watch, listen, and exchange ideas with educators and other students who may be miles away. With n-line education, people learn independently and at their own pace. Such convenience allows learning to take place virtually anywhere and at any time. Busy working adults are now taking classes in the comfort of their home without having to attend regularly scheduled classes on a college campus. Online education also provides people from rural districts the opportunity to have an education without having to travel long distances. Besides supporting on-line education, the Internet has also made our lives immensely simple by allowing us to do countless tasks even in the middle of the night. Using the Internet, people find jobs, send electronic cards, shop, make airline and hotel reservations, execute stock trades, and even pay bills online! The Internet is thus a virtual market place where people can, at the click of a button, select products, place orders, and pay using a secure electronic transaction. All of this ability has made conducting personal business convenient and easy, and enables everyone to complete many tasks that previously would take weeks. With the increasing popularity of people shopping and purchasing goods online, the Internet has created â€Å"new ways of doing business† (Maney 4). Realizing the potential of the Internet, many companies have started to advertise their products and services on-line. By marketing their products and services on-line, companies are able to constantly update the site's product catalog and inform buyers of any changes. Companies, especially new ones, can now allow themselves to be made known to the consumers through advertising over the Internet. Furthermore, there is lesser overhead cost involved, as sales persons and order takers are no longer required. In addition, the Internet has also enabled low budget organizations to reach interested parties across the country or the world. All of these lower costs have resulted in lower costs for the consumer. Many on-line shoppers can find good deals and low prices for desired goods, leading to even more and more on-line business. However, these reduced costs and benefits for the consumer have had adverse effects on some businesses that have been around for many years. Those business which typically are service or data oriented have seen a sharp decline in sales. For example, ar dealerships compete with on-line business because some customers prefer finding a vehicle on-line instead of dealing with a nagging car salesman. Car dealerships are not the only ones threatened by the convenience of the Internet. Postal services and phone companies also face new competition from Internet applications such as email Although the Internet may have some great and significant impact on our lives and the way business is done, there are considerable consequences and drawbacks. Because of the Internet, a new social disorder has been created known as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). IAD occurs when a computer dominates rather than serves a person, and when people develop â€Å"unhealthy dependencies on the Internet use† (Gard 3). Psychologists have found that there has been a raise in the number of people who â€Å"find the virtual reality on computer screens more attractive than everyday reality† (Gard 3). These addicts perceive that surfing the web is more important than doing any other task. They cannot control the amount of time spent on the computer. For these addicts, the Internet serves as an outlet to escape from reality, relieving their feelings f distress (Gard 3). These addicts often feel anxious and uneasy when not on-line, and crave the Internet connection. As a result of such an addiction, Internet addicts tend to neglect their family, friends and work. Ironically, numerous on-line support groups have since been set up to offer advice to people with such a disorder. Apart from Internet addiction, personal privacy is jeopardized and â€Å"doesn†t exist on the Internet† (Gard 2). Being a web surfer myself, I have had to provide my name, email account, interests, and even telephone number during several occasions in order to ccess a particular web site. In doing this, unscrupulous Internet businesses steal or misuse personal information given to them to â€Å"personalize features on their sites to make them more appealing† (Gard 2). They also release information about their customers to their advertisers. These companies use this information to invade one†s personal time with phone calls and newsletters trying to offer their services. Furthermore, the Internet has made it easier than ever before for people to share and sell data, so that â€Å"anyone who†s willing to pay can get Social Security numbers and riving records† (Gard 2). Likewise, a person having your credit card number and its expiration date can now purchase goods online. From the above examples, it can be seen that there is little, if any, privacy left to be found when dealing with the Internet. The Internet has also given criminals a new media to exploit. While there are many types of Internet criminal activity, child pornography has quickly become a critical issue for the Internet. There has been a widespread increase in the distribution of illegal child pornography on the Internet; child pornographers misuse the Internet to exploit exually abused and molested children throughout the world. By means of the Internet, sexually explicit material of children has been illegally transmitted and sold. Despite these abhorrent activities, the Internet provides each of us with extraordinary With the number of people using the Internet growing exponentially, it is easy to see that the Internet has pervaded the life of everyone. Those that use the Internet on a daily basis, or even only a little, can feel the impact of the Internet around them. The ease with which they can communicate, learn, or accomplish simple tasks and chores akes life easier, and hopefully less stressful. Even those that don†t use the Internet can feel the impact it has on our society and businesses. Because many businesses today use the Internet to advertise products and to provide support, those not familiar with the Internet may find it difficult to get the information needed. People in this position may not like what is happening around them, but the effect on their lives is also felt. Whether the Internet†s effect on someone is good or bad, the fact remains that the Internet has an effect on us all.

Friday, January 10, 2020

A Day in the Life of Fahad

Beep, beep, beep, beep â€Å"Oh man, is it 7.30 am already† is what I say to myself in the early morning of an average school day. During an average school morning, I look, talk and walk like a tramp. At 7.45 am I walk into the bathroom where I do my personal business such as doing my toothbrush, washing my face with soap and then either have a shower or have a bath, when I've had a shower or whatever I go to the mirror and flex my muscles and comb my hair and if I have to put some hair gel on after I've done this I put some facial cream on to stop dry skin from attacking me. When I get out the bathroom I run straight into my bedroom, I then put some spray on my body after this part of the morning I get changed into those things called a school uniform which all school pupils probably dread wearing, once I have successfully completed this I look for my shoes which I normally place beside my bed and place them into my feet and do up the shoe laces I grab my bag and motivate myself to carefully walk down the stairs and make sure I don't wake my brothers up and go into the kitchen snatch the cereal box from my mum and with a mess pour it into a plate then get the milk out of the fridge and in the same way pour it over the cereal and then just eat it like I've never eaten in my life before†¦ When that horrendous scene has gone past I say all my goodbyes and get ready for what I say an ‘assault course' because I on my way to school I go in and out of muddy areas. Every time I walk to school I have to go to the shops because I get tired and out of juice and once I've got my energy back I start walking faster and when I reach school I go straight into my form room with a big bang on the chair which shows how much effort I put into walking to school. If I get late for a lesson my best excuse is that â€Å"Miss, everyone came late to registration and when they came they all started messing around, and by the time we got our registration done, every one was already 5 minutes into their lessons.† This master excuse always works for me whenever I am late for a lesson. Today for the first 2 lessons I have English, then I have got break time, then the second 2 lessons I have Science and History and for the last 2 lessons I have got RE (full course) and Business Communication Systems. For some strange reason the first 2 lessons go awfully slow and so do the last 2 lessons. On the last lesson everyone is tired and can't wait till home time, at this time nobody talks and all you hear is tick tock tick tock and then when its time to go everyone cheers and go running to their cars or wherever they go at home time. Well for me, I go to the school gates and wait for my friends and walk up to where we all split up one of my friends goes to the left, the other friend goes right and I go straight up ahead, once I get to the shops, I would always get a packet of chewing gum and a bottle of Fanta Fruit Twist which is my best drink. When I get home my mum would prepare me a cup of tea with some biscuits, after this small feast I run back into my bedroom and get changed into something more suitable for me and go get my very thick jacket, the reason I take this jacket is because everyone is bound to get hit with a stick by the mosque teacher either for not reading properly or talking to a friend, I go mosque to read the Qur'an and learn about Islam and read Urdu too. After mosque I go to my friends house and play out till about 8.00 pm when I get back from my friends house I come home and eat some chappatees and some drink to go with it. During my food time I watch some TV and its normally Eastenders. I then go upstairs and do all my school homework. After this I get changed into my night-clothes and go to sleep. Beep, beep, beep, beep â€Å"Oh man, is it 7.30 am already.† If you think about school, it's like a test, if you get it all wrong then you won't get a good job, if not that then you'll get nothing at all. So you have to accept getting up early and doing the best you can at every thing even if you don't like it.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Organizational Development and Device Managment, List of...

Organizational development can be defined as a systematic process of planning in which to apply scientific principles and practice behaviour are introduced in the organization, towards the goal to increase individual and organizational effectiveness. Organizational development is related to device management of an organization with a method of bringing about organizational change and has a special approach which lays claim to being much more than just another recipe for change management. Organizational development has much in common with other approaches in organizations, it theoretically has a number of characteristics which are: A planned, Medium-to Long-term strategy. A systematic and systematic focus. Process-orientated focus. A†¦show more content†¦Intervention Methods - These are the selected ways of delivering the objectives of the intervention,particularly those concerned with bringing about change in people. Implementation and Evaluation - Depending on the methods employed,this can be a lenghty process.However,in order to determine whether it has achieved its objectives,and if not to identify further problems that need to be resolved,it is vital to monitor the success of this stage. Feedback - All boxes in the model are related to feedback. This idea shows that organizational development is not an exact science but in which the selection of appropriate goals and methods of intervention depends on the quality of diagnosis problems. 2.Intergroup Level(interventions): Intervention of this level usually included in an attempt to change perceptions and attitudes that keep groups for one another. 2.1. Intergroup confrontation - In this approach, two groups that have a working relationship conflict with a change agent to solve problems undertake two steps. 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[pic] James Soltis, PMP IT Consultant, Information Management Division at Gwinnett County Public Schools I can easily provide examples for every one of the choices, but given the list you ve provided, I would have to say it s been a combination of #1 and #7, which are typically the result of an aversion to the pains of reality. That viewpoint may be a result of my usual role of being hired as a troubleshooter for a failing/failed