Concept of working with and leading people

Concept of working with and leading people Tesco was found in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Mr Cohen made a profit out of selling  £4 was  £1 on his first day. In 1924 Mr Cohen bought a shipment of tea from a Mr T E Stockwell. Tesco was formed with the initials and letter from the name of Mr T E Stockwell and Mr Cohen. In the year of 1929 Mr Cohen opened a flagship Tesco in Burnt Oak, North London. Tesco Started to rise in 1930s when Mr Cohen built its warehouse and headquarters in North London and in 1932 Tesco became a Private Limited Company. Further on Tesco stores Ltd started to float on the stock exchange with share price of 25pence. Meaning of Recruitment, Selection and Retention: Recruitment is the process that starts from the point when an organization receives an application for the post. Recruitment may be internal or external as per the needs and requirements. The advantages of internal recruitment considered that saving can be made, as they know the business and the job very well and hence they need shorter period of training. It is like extra money to all staff to work harder within organization which is basically called Incentives, Perks and Bonus etc. External recruitment helps to pull wider range of talent and provides the opportunity to bring new experience and ideas to the business. It is very costly and expensive way of recruitment as full training needs to provide to the new recruiter. There are number of stages, which can be define and set out the nature of particular jobs for recruitment purpose. Selection then consists of the processes involved in choosing the right applicants to fill the post. Recruitment, selection and retention procedures for Tesco: For any company it is important to have right staff or people to run the business in the competitive world to be ahead. Tesco make sure that every experience of its customer are valuable and great which need to have right customer service staff. Tescos core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty. Values: Our success depends on people: the people who shop with us and the people who work with us. The way we work The way we work is how we deliver Every Little Helps to make Tesco place to shop and work in. We use simple processes so that shopping is better for customers, Simpler for staff and Cheaper for Tesco. Tesco recruitment and Selection process: Tesco is the biggest private sector employer in the UK. The company has more than 360,000 employees worldwide. In the UK, Tesco stores range from small local Tesco Express sites to large Tesco Extras and Superstores. Around 86% of all sales are from the UK. Tesco operates in 12 countries outside the UK, including China, Japan and Turkey. It has recently operates in USA as well. Tescos strategy includes diversifying and growing the business by international expansion. In its non -UK operations Tesco builds on the strengths it has developed as market leader in the UK supermarket sector. Tesco uses the approach as per the needs of the market such as in Thailand and Bangkok where the foods are not pre packaged as it would be in UK. Tesco needs people across a wide range of both store based and non store jobs: In stores, it needs checkout staff, stock handlers, supervisor as well as many specialists such as pharmacists and bakers. Its distribution depots require people skilled in stock management and logistics. Head office provides the infrastructure to run Tesco efficiently. Roles here include human resources, legal services, accounting, and marketing property management and information technology. Tescos business objectives aim to ensure all work together towards achieving its objectives. It needs to ensure is has right number of people in the right jobs at the right time. To do this, it has a structured process for recruitment and selection to attract applicants for both managerial and operational roles. Workforce planning: Workforce planning is the process of analysis an organizations likely future needs and requirement for people in terms of numbers, skills and locations. It helps an organization to recognise how those needs can be met through recruitment and training. It is very vital for a company like Tesco to plan ahead. As there is a competitive market and Tesco needs to grow in this market. It requires recruiting right people on a regular basis for both the food and non food parts of the business. Position become available because: New stores are open in the UK and International market as well which requires recruiting new people for the new position. Jobs are created when someone retire or resign or get promotion to other positions within Tesco. New jobs can be created as the company changes its processes and technology. Tesco uses a workforce planning table to establish the likely demand for new staff. This includes both managerial and non managerial position. For example in 2009/2010, the workforce planning suggested to have 3000 new managers for its business growth. The planning process runs through each year from the last week in February. There are quarterly reviews in May, August and November, so Tesco can adjust staffing levels and recruit where necessary. It allows to have sufficient time and flexible to meet the demands for staff and allows the company to meet its strategic objectives. Tesco generally seeks to fulfil its vacancies internally than going to externally as it believes to motivate it current staff. It practises what it calls talent planning. An individual can apply for higher position through annual appraisal scheme. Employees identify roles in which they would like to develop their careers with Tesco. Managers set out technical skills, competencies and behaviours necessary for the roles, kind of training to be given, so that a person can be ready to take the applied role. This helps Tesco to achieve its business objectives and employees to achieve their personal and career objectives. A very important element in workforce planning is to have clear job descriptions and person specifications. Steps 01: Job Description: Job title To whom the job holder is responsible For whom the job holder is responsible Job description of roles and responsibilities A person specification set out the skills, characteristics and attributes that a person need to do a particular job Together with the job descriptions and person specifications provide the basis for job advertisements. This helps job applicants and a post holder to know what is expected of them. They should: It contains enough information to attract suitable people It helps to select right applicant with right skills to be called for interview Set targets and standard for job performance Job descriptions and person specifications show how a job holder fit into Tesco business. They help Tesco to recruit the right people. They provide a benchmark for each job in terms of responsibilities and skills. Attracting and Recruitment: Recruitment involves attracting the right standard of applicants to apply for vacancies. Tesco advertises in different ways depending on the job available. Internal Recruitment: Tesco first looks at internal talent plan to fill a vacancy. Internal recruitment process list all current employees who are looking for a move, either horizontally or vertically growth. Tesco advertises the post internally on the intranet for two weeks. It helps to motivate the current employees to grow internally stronger and shape their career growth. External Recruitment: For external recruitment, Tesco advertises job vacancies via Tesco website or through vacancies board in stores. Managerial positions are made online. The right applicants are invited for an interview followed by attendance at an assessment centre for final stage of the selection process. People interested in store based jobs with Tesco can approach stores with CV or register through job centre plus. The store then prepares a waiting list of people applying in this way and calls them in as jobs become available. Pharmacist and bakers Tesco uses the external sources of advertisement which is: Through offline media and its website Advertising through magazines such as The Appointment Journal or on Google Through radio and television Tesco will seek the most cost-effective way of attracting its right applicants. As we know that advertising through television, radio or some magazines are really expensive however at times it becomes really important for any companies to advertise the right job to the right people so that they can learn more about the job. Tesco uses the easy way to advertise its job vacancies and has a simple application process. When any applicants browses the Tescos website it becomes easy for them to find which jobs are available like local jobs, management jobs and head office positions. Tescos website also has the online applications for candidates to apply their application forms directly. Selection: Now comes the real difficult time to choose the right candidates from the applicants who have applied for the vacancy, whilst keeping in mind the employments laws and regulations. Screening is the most important part of selection process. This makes it easier to understand that the selected candidates are the right fit for job requirements. In the first stage of screening, Tesco selectors will carefully look at each applicants Curriculum Vitae (CV). The CV summarises the applicant personal details, education and job history to date. A well written and positive CV helps Tesco to analyse whether an applicant matches the person specification for the job. Most of the company also provides a job type match tool on its careers web page. This tool helps the people who are interested in working with Tesco and can see where they fit before applying for the job. There are several stages in this process which Tesco uses to select the external management candidates. As the candidate passes the screening stage attends an assessment centre. The assessment centre is taken place in store and run by the managers. They help to provide regularity in the selection process. Applicants are given various tasks, including problem solving or team-working activities. This involves the problems they might have to deal with at work. As the candidate passes the assessment centre they are put for an interview. When interview takes place the Line managers for the job on offer takes part in it to make sure the right candidate fits the job requirements. Task 2 Build Winning teams: Identify the mix of knowledge, skills and experience necessary for its teams to fulfil their functions within the organization: Team management flourishes in a supportive environment in which the manager effectively delegates and the team members effectively communicate in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Its a commonsense approval of letting people improve their performance by improving they use. Mix knowledge, skills and experience necessary for the teams: It is not easy to form a successful team. Belonging to a team is a result of feeling part of something much bigger than you. It has lot to with the understanding of the mission or objectives of your organization. Though you work for specific function or you belong to different department, even then you are unified with other organization member to accomplish the overall objectives. In order to have a effective team following criteria are important: Unity in and respect for the primary task. Ideas and opinions needs to be expressed i.e are open communications. Mutual trust is revealed in actions. There is always a support by the presence of care, concern and active help. It is an active process that involves the personal contributions of all members equally. Selective use of the teams, leaders and trainers are required to know which groups are good to use for certain tasks, group effectiveness differs by project. Leadership is to manage and integrate all characteristics into the norm for team behaviour. Team relationships and building rapport: Individual in a team create a collaborative effort to achieve common goals and may need to give up individual autonomy in order to attain those goals and may need to give up individual in order to attain those goals. Each individual in a team has talents and abilities that can contribute to a solid work relationship which is needed to be productive in the job. As a team, members have to identify who excel in technical expertise, who are keen in decision making. It is important to identify skills which will help to perform team effectively. This is otherwise known as team synergy through coordinated effort of performing these abilities. Differences in skills and talents are common. Sharing these skills can help to build solid work relationship among team members. For a relationship to become healthy, one has to learn to appreciate each others talents. Being recognized by fellow for the effort contributed for the team is heart-warming and rewarding. Encouraging team members to develop roles during team assignment: It is important to treat everyone in the team equally and encouraging them to participate in every process of the given assignment. Being mutually understanding towards each other which further requires being dependent on each other. Every individual should be encouraged to develop a level of trust for each other in order to believe reliable to each other. In order to make every one involve in the process of assignment, it is important to entrust work to another team member. There can be meeting every now and then to build the confidence of the team member in regards to task given. Self disclosure is a good strategy to involve every member in the process of the given task which can help to establish trust with each other. In order to build trust, the team can hold trust building talks during meeting every now and then. It is important to share a little about you to your teammates will give them to chance to know you as a person. Inject humour and some fun to be comfortable with each other. Task 3 There is a tuff competition in the market where it is important to have a great leader in the company to lead the objective / goals to accomplish. As Tesco is a market leader in UK and international market. Hence, it is important to have right Leaders with right leadership theory. Tesco has adopted Transactional theory to run the company. Transactional Leadership Theory/ Management Leadership Theory: According to Gill Robinson Hickman (2010) Transactional Leadership Theory is defined as It takes place when one person takes the initiative in making contact with other for the purpose of an exchange of valued things. Assumption: Mostly People are motivated by reward and punishment. Social systems work best with a clear chain of command. When people have agreed to do a job, a part of the deal is that they cede all authority to their manager. The prime purpose of a subordinate is to what their manager tells them to do. Style: The transactional leader works through creating clear structures whereby it is clear what is required of their subordinates, and the rewards that they get for following orders. Punishments are not always mentioned, but they are also well understood and formal systems of discipline are usually in place. When the transactional leader allocated work to a subordinate, they are considered to be fully responsible for it, whether or not they have the resources or capability to carry it out. When things go wrong, then the subordinate is considered to be personally at fault, and is punished for the failure. Transactional leadership is based in contingency, in that reward or punishment is contingent upon performance. Despite of much limitation, transactional leadership is still a popular approach with many mangers. Indeed, it is very much towards the management end of the scale when it is leadership vs. Management spectrum. Leadership style: According to Joseph Clarence Rost (1991) defines Leadership as Leadership is an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes. Leaders do not have subordinates- at least not when they are leading. Many organizational leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. When they lead is to have followers and following is always a voluntary activity. Best leader is the when who inspire and do not tell what to do to their subordinate. You have to appeal to them, showing how following them lead to their hearts desire. They must want to follow you and perhaps walk into danger and situations that they would not normally consider risking. Leaders with the strong charisma find it easier to attract people to their cause. As a part of their persuasion they typically promise transformational benefits, such that their followers will not just receive extrinsic rewards but will somehow become better people. Although many leaders have a charismatic style of some extent, this does not require a loud personality. They are very effective at creating the loyalty that great leaders engender. This leader are good to people but that does not mean they are friendly with them. They often maintain and retain a degree of separation and aloofness. They are very achievement focused then paying to much attention to tasks. Members are always enthusing others to work towards their vision. They are always pursuing their vision; they consider it natural to encounter problems and hurdles that must be overcome along the way. In Tesco organization often the leaders/managers tries have the combination of leadership style which would best suit the success of the organization. Combination of Transactional and Transformation Leadership Style helps to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Vision, goals and values that are effectively communicated to the subordinates / team members is very important. Communication between the leader and the team, and within the team, is vital if success is to be achieved. Everybody likes to feel involved, that they feel involved, that they have a part to play and nurturing this is a skilful and often time-consuming task. Goals need to be achievable within the time task. Expectations of your team need to be realistic, practical and flexible. It is very important to communicate vision, goals and values to colleagues. The way an effective leader recognises the values of delegating task to colleagues, once again this reinforces their involvement and common purpose. However, support is often necessary so you will need to ensure that appropriate forms of supports are both available and accessible. All colleagues may not share the passion that a leader may have for the project but this does not mean that they should not be involved. It is therefore important to keep in mind their responsibilities and personalities so that you can maximise the efforts of your teams. It is important to enthuse and motivate its colleagues to achieve objectives they are as follows: By involving them, many employees want to be involved in the ongoing development and progress of their company. Communicate. It is important to communicate to their employees or colleagues by email, memos, telephone and meeting. Celebrate individual and team performance. It is important to recognising the individual efforts and appraising their performances. Set challenging goals. It is important to set challenging goals that drive all the colleagues to work hard to accomplish them. Give them the tools to succeed. No team will stay motivated if they do not have a right tools required to do their job. This includes equipment, internal support, inventory, marketing materials and etc. Believe in your people. The majority of people want to well-very few individuals approach a job with the intent of messing up. Task 4 Performance monitoring and assessment Objective setting techniques is used to set specific objective for enterprise performance or as they are related to some specific activity or initiative. An objective can be defined as a specific result that is desirable to achieve, within a specified time period. Goals differ than objectives; a goal is specific target to be reached. Purpose: The purpose of objective setting is to determine key achievement results, desired by an enterprise or other group in support of its support vision and mission, to determine key achievement results for a change project to measure progress and to evaluate accomplishment and to facilitate goal setting. Benefits: The benefit of objective setting is that common objectives facilitates consensus and provide a focus for taking action. Objectives also provide a way to measure progress. The wider the participation in setting the objectives, greater is the commitment and motivation to achieve them. Tesco has always adopted a technique and process which is best suitable to achieve the objective and ultimately achieving the targets. The best technique is SMART objectives: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time Based. Every technique used in objective setting should follow the basic needs and requirement. Tesco needs to manage the performance of its employees effectively if it is to remain as the UKs leading retailer and maintain a competitive edge. This means that there must be an effective management control exercised at both individual and organisational level. A range of processes and techniques are placed within all Tesco stores and in the Tesco offices, which allow individual employees to know how well they are doing, and for managers to be able to monitor how well their subordinates are performing. Tescos managers exercise control at an individual and organisational level through: Planning by setting objectives and targets. Maintaining performance standards are important. Rectifying mistakes and taking action. The process described above contributes to management by.. The objective of using performance monitoring techniques as a key element in the management of projects is to: Regularly assess the achievement of or the potential for achieving technical, financial, and economic goals of the project. Provide the management of the EA, the borrower and the Bank with an effective means of measuring the progress of a project, its components, and the adequacy and timeliness of the provision and use of funds. Determine the form and nature of corrective actions necessary to achieve goals monitored by performance indicators. Importance of monitoring performance: All successful organisations have to monitor their performance in order to keep their data updated or to increase their performance level in the market. To have an improvement in performance the management needs to have proper information about the current performance. In order to analyse the performance the management needs to identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) which will help the management to monitor progress. There are three areas of activity within every professional firm that are critical to success and KPIs needs to be established in each of them: Measures relating to business development and financial performance The view of clients about the range and delivery and provision of professional services firm services Views of personnel about all aspects of their relationship within the professional firms Tesco is successful because they are been agreeing and identifying all this KPIs and considering how best to measure them. Tesco is so successful because they have using the most important factor that is delegation contingency factors where it is very essential management skills. A good delegation help to save time, develops the people, grooms a successor and motivate the people. There are some delegation contingency factors which need to be taken under consideration in order to be successful in the market and they are: Size of the organisation Importance of the decision and duty Culture of the organisation Complication of the task Qualities of employee Tesco has always strived hard to motivate its colleagues and the best way to do is giving them responsibility, by making them feel that they are important part of the organization. Hence, Tesco has always strived to delegate its responsibility. Any job is assigned to its colleague through proper delegating technique or process: Understand the Task: It is important to understand the task so that you can clearly communicate the task to the person undertaking the task. It is important to understand the barriers and resources which are required to complete the task. Find the right person: It is very important to find the right person who is motivated enough to undertake the task with the right skills and knowledge. It is important to communicate the expectations of the task, so as to determine the ownership of the task which he/she will fully responsible success of it. Communicate the task: Take the time to clearly to communicate the task. Expectation from the task has to clearly communicate. It is important to communicate the ownership clearly to the delegated person. Provide resources, remove barriers: It is important to give all resources and remove all barriers in order to succeed in the task. To provide the success of the task, it is important to provide all the resources, technology, people or time for successful completion of the task. Guarantee Understanding: Delegator has to make sure that the person who has delegated with the task has understood everything completely. Encourage Success: It is important to make the person delegated realise that you have full confidence in them and hence the task has been given to them with full resources and technology. Follow up, Reward: To follow up is important which would decide whether the success of the task. Proper delegation helps to succeed in the task given which in return motivate its colleagues. Tesco has always tried to improve its performance and hence it has adopted the MBO ( Management By Objective ) is a process in which managers / employees set objectives for the employee, periodically evaluate the performance, and reward according to the result. It mainly focuses on the attention on what has to accomplish (goals) rather than how it has to be achieved. They are classified into Corporate Objective, Functional Objective and Individual Objective. An objective must be SMART as shown in the below diagram: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time specific SMARTer Objective for _________________ By ____/_____/___ , __ _____________________________________________________ will have ___________________________ [WHEN] _____________________________________________________________ [WHO/WHAT, include a number that you can measure] ________________________________________________________________________, [HOW, WHY (remember to specify results Diagram 1: http://www.rapidbi.com/created/WriteSMARTobjectives.html This diagram below will show us the factors which are affecting the performance: Diagram 2: http://userwebs.cth.com.au/~gcutts/Management/19a_factors.htm Ability: Ability, skills and knowledge which are used for performing to the highest level is the important key factor affecting performance Effort: The amount of manual or mental energy that a person is ready to spend on a job to reach a certain a level of performance. Incentive and motivation could affect the level of performance of an individual. Motivation: Motivated people can have an affect their performance. Motivated people can achieve 80-90% ability level whereas de motivated can achieve only 20-30% of the ability. Equity and Expectation: It is important to treat and reward equally avoiding any discrimination which would ground any in abilities or de motivate. Task or role and perception: It is important to know where one is heading or the direction towards which an individual. Standard and job description must be known and understood. Environmental factors: Other factors which could affect the performance such as time constraints, lack of resources or obsolete equipment, information overload or conflicting priorities. Co-operation from the other staff or department, policies and supervision exercised.

Glass Structures :: Buildings Building Essays

Glass Structures The name of the structure doesn’t matter as much as the pleasure received; some may call them glass rooms or greenhouses. The uses of these glass structures vary as the weather they see. The structures all contain glass allowing people a place to view the natural environment inside. These structures are mediums in which outside and inside environments are connected. For many people myself included, there is a fantasy of being in an environment that is exotic and surreal. Conservatories started around the nineteenth century, a time of the Golden Age. English architecture, allowed designers to show off a different side, one that was open and enjoyable, in contrast to being useful or industrial. Conservatories were built for the wealth class. Wealth alone would not have brought about conservatories if it were not for the development of technology in heating, ventilation, iron, and glass . In addition, to the development of technology the interest in growing edible fruits, vegetables and exotic species also inspired the development. Palms were the desired tree of type, representing happiness and a symbol of wealth. To grow a palm tree in a cold climate involves having wealth no matter what. Conservatories didn’t develop without having some problems. The most obvious problem being glass, which makes up most of the structure. In the 16 Th. Century bull eyes glass was very expensive. The economics of having a conservatory did not become more realistic until Louis Lucas de Nehou invented sheet glass in 1688. The problem of glass was in the winter when the water would expand between the layers of windows and break. The other issue with glass is sealing it to keep water out and moisture in. Sealing the glass also affects the heating and ventilation. Stoves were most commonly used for heating the building. The cost of heating can differ in cost depending on warm of the green house. The glass house could be kept as warm as the rest of the house, costing a lot of money, or just warm enough to keep it from freezing, costing less. Ventilation can be solved by opening and closing the windows along with elaborate piping systems is desired. Other ways to reduce the air temperature is by having shading. This can be natural such as shade by deciduous trees, or vines. The other option is to have shades made of fabric, wood or another material that can be drawn when needed.

Lemon Law

Lemon Law The North Carolina Lemon Law is a consumer protection law enacted to provide recourse after having purchased a defective vehicle. The North Carolina Lemon Law is similar to lemon laws in other states, but there are some differences. North Carolina’s lemon law requires automobile manufacturers to repurchase or replace a vehicle that has not been properly repaired within a â€Å"reasonable number of attempts†. In North Carolina, this reasonable number is 4 attempts or if the car has been out of service waiting repair for a cumulative total of 20 or more business days during any 12-month period of the warranty.The North Carolina Lemon Law gives relief to those who either buy or lease a vehicle that has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less. It covers cars, trucks, motorcycles and most vans. It does not cover, however, house trailers. The North Carolina Lemon Law covers any kinds of defects that impair the value, use or safety of the vehicle to the consumer. The defects does not have to affect the drivability of the car but could be problems such as defective paint, heating system or excessive noise. It is very important to read the warranty book that came with the new or leased vehicle carefully.The warranty will tell you what is covered and for how long. When you buy or leased your vehicle, you probably will have to sign a lot of paperwork. It is important to read your copies of this paperwork very carefully to find out if the manufacturer wants you to waive your rights to a trial by jury in the case of problems and settle through arbitration instead. Arbitration is usually not in the best interest of the consumer in lemon law cases, so make sure you know what your rights are before you buy or lease.READ IT ALL!!! Once you have purchased or leased a new vehicle that needs to be taken in for repairs, it is important that you start keeping records at this point, in case they are needed later. When taking your vehicle in to an authorized de aler for repairs, keep a detailed list of what needs to be repaired for yourself along with the dealer. Get repair orders for your vehicle and make sure they state all repairs and how long your vehicle was in the shop including dates and mileage.The North Carolina Lemon Law requires the consumer to notify the manufacturer and finance company in writing of defects once a car has been out of service for 15 business days or has been sent in for repair for the same defect three times. This is extremely important. Without written notification to the manufacturer, you will not have a claim. Keep copies of all correspondence with the manufacturer and finance company. The best defense in a lemon law case is accurate facts and information in the form of records.

South African Breweries Essay Example

South African Breweries Essay Example South African Breweries Essay South African Breweries Essay In 2001 South African Breweries (SAB) finds itself as the fifth largest brewer in the world. SAB has brewing operations in 21 different countries around the world with an annual output of 77 million hectolitres of beer. South African Breweries also holds a chain of 77 Southern Sun hotels throughout Southern Africa and also owns three casinos.( sabmiller.com/ ) South African Breweries (SAB) has grown on the basis of its strength in developing markets, first in Africa and then in other parts of the world. SAB has become one of the major beer and beverage companies in the world. It was registered in London by a syndicate of investors from the UK and South Africa in 1895. Castle Large was launched in Johannesburg in 1898 and in same year SAB was listed on the London stock exchange. In South Africa, SAB leads the beer market with Castl Larger. However, its wider portfolio included: * SAB: beer- south Africa and continental Africa with breweries for both larger and sorghum and brands such as Castle, Carling Black Lable, hansa Pilsner, Lion, Amstel, Heineken, Hoftbrau, Dakota Ice and 24 other brands. * SABI Asia: breweries in china and India; with 18 major beer brands in China and purified water and Soya milk. * SAB Europe: breweries in the Canary Island, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia and brands including Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Radegast, Keller, Ursus, Redds, lech and Tyskie. * Other beverage interests: butting plants in Africa of spring water, soft drinks, juices and sparkling water, including the Coca-Cola, Schweppes, and Appetiser range. * Southern Sun hotels (77 hotels throughout Southern Africa) and 3 casinos. ( Jonson, G Scholes, K, 2002 PG 898) The 1998 annual report of SAB explained the Groups strategy: SABs International focus has been on countries in which it believes it could use it expertise, which has been gained over 100 yeas in south Africa, to develop beer markets in emerging economies. SAB has invested significantly in its core business, and has commenced brewing operation in a future 5 African countries, 3 Chinese provinces, and 4 Eastern European countries since 1995. SAB intends to continue to protect and further develop its South Africa operation This start with upgrading quality and consistency to create a beer for which people are prepared to pay more and which can give us a healthy profit margin. Then comes improvement to marketing and distribution. Next we improve productivity and capacity South Africa was the original market for SAB and remains centrally important. However, here, the company had experienced mixed fortunes. In 2000 it had suffered a2 per cent decline in volume, but could report an increase in its margins as a result of continuing productivity initiatives. The main reason for the downturn was the domestic situation in South Africa, and in particular a switch in consumer spending. The proportion of disposable income which the average south African spends on beverage and tobacco has fallen steadily since 1992.the normalisation theory suggests that this shift in consumer expenditure will continue as a higher proportion of discretionary expenditure moves from immediate gratification to self-improvement. According to the SABs, in the meantime, we continue to work hard to increase our market share in the total south African liquor market by making beer the alcoholic drink of first choice for more people primarily through better channel segmentation, distribution and promotions. Our percentage share of the total liquor market is in the mid-50s, so there is scope for future increase. SABI operated in 13 other countries in Africa. In many African countries, SABs South African brands, particularly Castle Larger, are already known and are used by SABIA is currently pursuing a strategy to make Castel Larger the first pan-African beer. Castel larger is currently brewed in 10 African countries. SABIAs strategy is to invest in African countries with lo per capital beer consumption but where SAB believes there is growth potential. SABIA have pursued a policy of expansion into other African states by acquisition and by establishing Greenfield breweries China is second largest beer market in the world in terms of consumption and is currently growing at over 10 per cent per annum. SAB now sells over eight million hectolitres; last year we grew by 38 per cent. China is a fragmented market of around 200 million hectolitres a year, which vast potential for SAB the aim in china is to develop the quality end of the mainstream brand sector. This allow SAB to keep the cost of capital expenditure down and avoid the expensive marketing programmes characteristic of area such as Beijing and Shanghai, where competition is intense. SABIEs strategy has been to invest in countries whose markets are developing from state-run economies to market economies, which typically leads to increased consumer demand. Due in part to the previous state ownership of many breweries and associated business, there had been a lack of capital investment in plans and distribution system, and many of the working practices were inefficient and outdated. SABIE seeks to identify existing operations where, by upgrading brewery and distribution infrastructures and augmenting the operations with SABIE management skills, it can improve marketing, product quality, and productivity so as to increase market share and profitability. Operations in each country are run autonomously SAB completed renovation and construction of its brewery at Kaluga, south west of Moscow, in just eight months and launched its own brand Golden Barrel. This brand has now provided such a great success that the Kaluga brewerys capacity is being expanded from 480,000 to 1.4 million hectolitres is planned. In addition to Golden Barrel brand our portfolio will include a number of foreign brands brewed under licence, such as Staropraman, Holsten Premium and Miller Genuine Draft. In 1999 SAB merged the two beer companies which it controlled jointly with Euro Agro Centrum to create a single company Kompania Piwowarska SAB, bewaring three Polish brand this merger enabled SAB to create a unified brand portfolio, increase productivity, and make saving on aspects of the business ranging from 24 hour operations to distribution synergies. In Hungary SAB had well-established brands, including Dreher, but the market was fiercely competitive and there had been a considerable switch away from alcoholic drink and a consequent decline in beer consumption. SAB had reduced its production capacity in 1999 by closing one of its two breweries and by 2000 was in the process of reducing its distribution centres from 18 to 9. Many commentators believed that for a brewery of its size SAB needed to have a major brand in developed markets. It had tired to do so. It had attempted to acquire bass brewers but this was taken by Interbrew of Belgium. Kronenbourg had been acquired by Scottish Newcastle. And it was known that ASB was on the lookout for such a major brand. In recent years SAB has committed significant resources both to international acquisitions and to the reconstruction of acquired business. SAB intended to continue to protect and further develop its SA operations, while investing for growth in its international beer business, where a profitable base, with critical mass in selected developing markets and regions, has now been achieved. Incremental growth, both organic and through acquisition, is being pursued aggressively. It also SAB gave an attentiona to the e-commerce marketing by creating a web site with Microsoft Company. The SAB acquisition of the US brand Miller may create an opportunity for marketing its established brands in the worlds largest market, but it has also been necessary to consolidate the position of the famous names in local markets. Hence the creation of the Castle lager Web site (www.castlelager.co.za). Flexibility was just one concern for SAB, says Warren. The Castle lager site is both interactive users can submit their own pictures for snap competitions, for example and transactional. A number of Castle-brand merchandise products can be ordered via the site. Another advantage for SAB is the depth of Microsoft skills among their own staff, as well as the obvious ease with which Content Management Server integrates with the companys existing Microsoft server products. The strategic position that SAB has chosen to follow is to continue to protect and further develop its South African operations, whilst investing for growth in its international beer business, where a profitable base, with critical mass in selected developing markets and regions has been achieved, incremental growth, both organic and through acquisitions is being pursued aggressively.( Johnson, G Scholes, K ,2002 PG 898) South African Breweries has chosen to follow an aggressive strategic business plan in its overseas ventures, based on market expansion. SAB takes a share in a brewery with a local partner and whilst retaining the brand, transforms the business by upgrading the quality and consistency of the beer, for which people are prepared to pay more, thus giving a healthy profit margin. Once SAB has acquired an initial local strong hold they then advance into regions beyond the brewerys original catchment area. They continue to build initial mass in the region and progress over time to a national basis. Many believe that for a Brewery the size of South African Breweries and with such international presence the company needs to have a major brand in the developed markets. Whilst in South Africa there is a strong presence of the Beer, Castle lager and of other such alcoholic fruit juices, there is little brand recognition in countries such as Europe or China. SAB has attempted in the past to acquire a leading brand but has failed. They had attempted to acquire Bass Brewers but this was taken by Interbrew of Belgium, Kronenbourg had been acquired by Scottish Newcastle. The directors of SAB believed that the listing of south African Breweries on the London Stock Exchange would put SAB in a strong position to pursue its strategy of growth by giving the group greater access to world capital markets and providing it with the financial resources and flexibility to pursue this strategy in an effective and competitive manner.( Jonson, G Scholes, K, 2002 PG 898) South African Breweries concentrates its targeting on the mainstream, rather than the premium beer market. There are concerns in parts of Africa that the castle brand is insufficiently differentiated and was caught in the middle. Premium brands such as Heineken or Amstel are not much more expensive then Castle larger, whilst Sorghum beer, often drunk in townships was a good deal cheaper and positioned Castle as a premium beer in relation to it. South African Breweries already has an established portfolio of businesses across the world (excluding new ventures with Miller and central America). There has been volume growth and improved margins in South Africa, Europe, Africa and Asia. South African Breweries must therefore, improve the promotional aspect of their company if they are to see increased profits. SAB is struggling to achieve a perfect correlation between price and quality as the cost of raw materials is becoming greater and they have encountered increased energy and selling costs. sabmiller.com/results/annual2003/index.asp SAB could continue to operate as separate business units across the world with different brands, different niche markets and different marketing plans or they could integrate the business into a single organisation with a well-differentiated brand. They would then have to create divisions around the target markets (e.g. geographically) or centred on consumer groups (e.g. by age group). Whatever the strategy South African Breweries chooses to adopt they need to identify the bases of competitive advantage, which will arise from an understanding of both markets and customers. South African Breweries needs to understand what a particular customer requires from their product and how they differ between segments. For example, the Castle Larger was poorly differentiated in parts of Africa. The beer didnt hold the prestige that some of the more quality beers did such as Heineken or Amstel and was much more expensive then the cheaper beer Sorghum that was drunk in many townships. South African Breweries needs to be able to predict possible scenarios in the emerging market for at least 5-10 years time, sharing and debating these scenarios improves organisational learning by making managers more perceptive about the forces in the business environment and what is really important.( Jonson, G Scholes, K, 2002 PG 107). There is no point in just waiting for a future event to happen and then implementing a strategy South African Breweries needs to be aware that the average beer drinker is becoming more fashion conscious. According to a report by Audience selection by Mintel Reports in the UK, this millennium 55% of the 18-24 year olds expected to be drinking more than usual. Research has shown that the 18-34 year old age groups share of purchasing beer has grown from 71% in 1997 to 85% in 1999, which again emphasises how critical the brewers advertising and imagery must be in this sector. Todays generations are growing up in a larger-orientated environment which means the shift to larger should continue in the long term.( Mintel International Group LTD, 2003). South African Breweries should adopt they must develop a strong business plan comprising of five key stages. Which are; Segmentation of the market, develop a strong marketing mix concentrating on the 4ps, product, price, promotion and place. PESTEL Analysis of the macro-environment, political, economic, sociological, technological, ecological and legal, recognise the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) of the company, predict Future scenarios and market trends Beer drinkers purchase frequently and quickly becomes brand loyal switching only when there is a more competitively priced product or promotion. SAB needs to step up the brand image especially in continental Europe and the United Kingdom where the company is still relatively unknown. SAB needs to think carefully about where they are going to sell their product, supermarkets, off-licences, the Internet, Wholesalers. They have to be aware that selling in supermarkets is extremely competitive and from time to time they will have to run promotions. SAB must understand that here in the UK a rule of thumb is that at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1million per year is required to achieve impact in a national advertising campaign.( Jobber D, 2001, PG 19) South African Breweries should choose to follow the hybrid strategy. The success of this strategy will be evident when the company is able to deliver enhanced value in terms of customer needs, whilst also having a cost base that permits low prices and is sufficient for reinvestment to maintain and develop bases of differentiation. SAB is already a worldwide organisation with a growing presence. This strategy would work well for the company if they are able to achieve much greater volumes then the competition, the low selling prices will be offset. The hybrid strategy also works very well with entry into new markets. As SAB has a strong history of foreign acquisitions this will help them ultimately take share, divert the attention of the competitor, and establish a foothold from which they could move forward. (Jonson, G Scholes, K, 2002, PG 328) SAB is not yet developed in the majority developed countries or created international brands, SAB Miller needs to create an international brand after the several mergers and acquisitions it has done. The African heritage could be considered as a weakness for SAB Miller SAB has been following the acquisition strategy for many of years, to be able to expand geographically and also diversify its operations in different sectors. Although, we are assuming that SAB has been able to generate a high rate of retained earnings and/or access to debt agreements with financial institutions, the ability to improve the marketing and distribution channels of its acquired businesses, underline the financial power of SAB. Since the mission of the group is to be a world class manufacturer and deliver high quality beer, the strategy used by SAB is appropriate. SAB has been able to gain a significant market share and improve its quality by not only acquiring different companies around the globe, but by having a decentralized marketing and sales group within each country. This strategy has also helped it to increase the economies of scale by effectively utilizing its capacity and productive methods. SAB, has been using its resources and capabilities as effectively as possible in order to follow and attain its strategies SAB has achieved to establish a global business network. By doing so, the company increases its turnover and its profits, which without doubt satisfies stakeholders expectations. Thats why they should support the pursue of the strategy even if they feel insecure about certain acquisitions.

Panic Disorder essays

Panic Disorder essays Imagine that you are sitting alone in your room. It is quiet, and you are calmly reading a book. Suddenly someone comes up behind you and yells Hey!! You become startled and frightened. A surge of adrenaline overcomes your body. Your heart begins to race, your legs to tremble, you have butterflies in your stomach. After a moment, those effects have passed, and your body feels normal once again. These are the same symptoms you may suffer from if you are afflicted with Panic Disorder. In the case of Panic Disorder however, these feelings of distress can be experienced frequently, even when there is no situation presented to warrant them. Panic Disorder is a form of Anxiety Disorder, and is suffered by up to 2.4 million Americans each year. It is classified by those who suffer from frequent and unprovoked panic attacks, along with feelings of anxiety about when and where the next attack will take place. (www.nimh.nih.gov) Signs of this disorder usually begin at the end of adolescence, ages 18-24. They can be due to hereditary factors, or stress. Although it is undetermined why, women are twice as likely to develop the disorder. (http://panicdisorder.about.com) Although panic attacks can be a normal thing, and most people will experience a panic attack at some point throughout their lives, when they become frequent it is often a sign for concern. When panic attacks turn into panic disorder, it becomes a life altering condition. Because of the debilitating nature of such attacks, sufferers are often times left unable to cope with the most routine situations. Panic attacks provoke very intense feelings of distress in those who suffer from them. People describe a variety of very disturbing symptoms when experiencing such an episode. Many experience the feeling of impending death, and feelings that there surroundings are surreal. Physical symptoms include a significantly increased heartbeat, s...

The Jazz Age Through Literatur essays

The Jazz Age Through Literatur essays Culture and society are always changing, simply because history is always changing. The events of history mold and define the overall feeling during a period of years. If a countrys economy plummets suddenly, and most of the people lose their job, then people will feel miserable and it shall be referred to as The Great Depression. On the other hand, should a country suddenly become victorious in a major war, the feeling will be very celebrative and proud. The time after World War I became known as The Jazz Age, penned by F. Scott Fitzgerald himself. (Abbott) On the surface, it was a time of seemingly endless happiness when the only concern of most Americans, at home and abroad, was where to get the next drink. In reality, it was a time of cynicism. By evaluating the lives and the literature of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, one gets a comprehensible idea of life in America and Europe during the Jazz Age when it pertaining to relationships, careers, and the immoral corruption of people. Ernest Hemingway was always able to remain in the realm of mental sophistication. Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1899, Hemingway grew up in an upper-class family. (Dunn) He was a volunteer ambulance driver during World War I, and witnessed many horrifying images during his one week of service. (Dunn) He was taken out of service because fragments of a mortar shell hit his leg and he was sent to the hospital for three months. It was during this stay that Hemingway first developed his harsh and abrasive view on life. (Dunn) After the war, Hemingway refused to go to college. His aristocratic mother kicked him out of the house. (True Grit, 146) America had changed over the course of the war. It was no longer the same country he remembered before the war. With no family or job to turn to, Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris, France where he lived on a $3,000-a-year inheritance. (True Grit, 146) He m...

Business System Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business System Technology - Essay Example These three operations can be accessed from the top level menu shown in the screenshot below. The first option allows the user to enter the details of a rental by selecting the appropriate rental type, the place of issuing the rental, the date and duration of the rental period as also the name of the customer. With this, the details can be registered in the system. Also, the users can get an estimate on the sales achieved by each rental outlets for the preceding 7 days on a segment as well as on an overall basis by selecting the appropriate outlet from the drop down list. The application can further be enhanced by developing it across several perspectives. Firstly, several aspects of the operations of the company can be included into the system as separate modules. For instance, the cost of operation, maintenance of cars, the inventory, spare parts used, the wages paid out to workers in the company etc. can be managed by the system. as the capabilities of the system grow, it is advisable to transfer the database from an Access application to a highly capable SQL Server or any other database server as this allows for more features apart from improving the overall performance and quality of the system. the application can be migrated to the web, so as to allow customer to be able to log in and make online bookings. Such a feature will eliminate the need to maintain several offices and further relieve from the need to enter every sale made as the system could then be configured to handle sale and purchase features automatically. As such, these are some of the areas where the application can be enhanced further. Visual Studio is one of the most magnificent applications ever to have been used by software developers. Unlike competitors such as Eclipse or Borland, Visual Studio, a product from Microsoft has succeeded in capturing a major chunk of the market. Three major