Relaxation :: essays research papers

We all human beings have our severe and bad days in our every day life. We like the good days but we dont like the bad days. Every one of us has some place where like to get international and draw a blank to the highest degree the problems. I have my place, which is my favorite gym where I spent a lot of time. Workout is the best medicine for me to relax and regain my power. I am a very healthy person who eats very clean and works out on regular bases. Staying in shape makes me feeling good about keeps and myself me disciplined and motivated. Workout is a very important part of my life, which swear outs me to regain perspective of life and the balance that I lost by dint of out the day. I just love to jump on the stair master on a bike, do my workout and just fly away with my thought. After ninety minutes of workout I am tired and sweaty. The tiredness feels very good and it feels like I am recharged aging. In the show A Visit with the Folks by Russell Baker the author also has his place where he likes to go to and relax. Baker enjoys coming to the old cemetery in the countryside to visit his relatives. He goes there to gain his perspective and the guidance he has lost to the difficult outside world. When he goes back to the cemetery to see his light family members it slows the juices down something marvelous he says.From time to time, Baker goes back to a churchyard cemetery situated in a beautiful countryside surrounded by the view of blue mountains, blossoming roses on fieldstone fences and fields of white daisies. He goes there to visit his family members who passed away. As he moves from tombstones to tombstones, he remembers his folks and individually recalls memories and situations about them from the pass. He bear in mind his folks and guidance they gave him. For example, he remembers his uncle Lewis who was a barber who always wanted to give him a haircut. Such friction with his memories changes his state of mind and conquers his busy life i n the city. At the end Baker leaves rather more content with the world because he learns how the peace of countryside and memories of relatives help him to recover his consciousness.

Job Interviews :: essays research papers

QuestionsWat is th company vision?how would you describe the culture in the business?wat attracted you to the company and how long have u been thither?how long do people stay in their roles?wat develeopment opportunities are in the role?1 I have read the job description, can you spread out on the job I will be doing?2 What type of training is provided?3 How do you see me in the role?4 Do you have performance targets?5 How will I know that I am doing well?6 What are team members achieving?Ask questions that are focussed on embodying your enthusiasm, as well as your willingness and ability1 What is the team working on at the moment?2 Can I stomach the team?3 Can I look around?4 What are your strategies for growth?5 How soon do you expect an employee in coif?6 If there was one major achievement that you would the like to see happen within the role from the outset, what would it be?7 Can you describe what do the last person successful in this role?8 What are the immediate improvem ents or priorities that need to be applied to this role?9 What changes would you like to see in the way the job is performed?10 To ensure I would be able to hit the ground running would you be able to deliver any procedures, literature or other supporting information in preparation for my first day in the role?"Why do you want to work for us?" Explain why you see the company as an attractive employer. Financial package should never be given as a reason, but think about things like the company culture, training program, company structure, the ability to cross-train into different technologies, or the companys ethic. Obviously these need to be relevant and well-researched."Where do you see yourself in five years time?" Think about where you really want to be within a company in a blow over role with a team under you or a lead consultant or a director of the company. Be ambitious but graphic and have direction in your answers."What are your strengths and weakness es?" Talk specifically about the positive things youve achieved to illustrate your strengths rather than generalising and make them relevant to the role you are button for. Try to show your weaknesses in a positive light and give examples of where you have addressed and overcome your weaknesses."Why did you apply for this job?" The candidate should be careful not to mention a desire for promotion or money.

Cultures in Harper Lees To Kill A Mockingbird :: Harper Lee Kill Mockingbird Essays

To Kill A Mockingbird is a brilliantly written falsehood by Harper Lee.The novel is set in Alabama, USA, in the 1930s and tells the story ofa lawyer who defends a wrongly accused black man while trying to citehis two children, Scout and Jem, as they go through childhood andadolescence, lifes most active learning stages. The book is writtenthrough the eye of Atticus nave young daughter, Scout, and southernways enhance the plot of the story to give it a realistic andhistorical perspective. The portrayal of southern purification is shown inan array of subjects. Family, racism, hypocrisy, poverty and hatredare just some of many.The novel is set in the sleepy town of Maycomb, which, although afictional town, is establish on Monroeville, Alabama and is a perfectmicrocosm of the ways and culture of people during the 1930sDepression. Maycomb was not on any major routes. It was an island ina muddle sea of cotton fields and timberland Harper Lee describesMaycomb as a Tired old town. The of ten-humid climate made summersalmost unbearable, and the seasons couldnt clearly be distinguished.It didnt rain or snow often, (it hadnt snowed since 1885). When itrained the streets turned to red slop. The town basically consisted ofan oak tree-lined square with one chief(prenominal) street. There was a courthouse,which sagged in the square and a jail a miniature gothic joke onecell wide and two cells spicy. There was also a newspaper office, afew general stores and a school, which was mainly populated bychildren from outlying farms. The coloured neighbourhood was do-nothingthe town dump, completely separated from the white community.People rarely came and left Maycomb, because it was not on any majorroutes. It was the administrative centre of Maycomb County, but in additionfar from the river to grow from commercial wealth.The town grew inward according to Harper Lee, which, by 1933, led toa caste system in which people had receive utterly predictable toeach other. Atticus doe snt believe one should judge people on whattheir backgrounds are like, and tries to teach Jem and Scout this. Butwhen aunt Alexandra arrived she fitted into the world of Maycomb likea hand into a glove.Some families in town were respectable, and others werent. Forexample, no matter how poor the Cunninghams were, they still hadstandards. If they borrowed some money, or someone did a job for them,they would always pay them back. If they could not afford to pay themin money, they would pay them in kind. For example, when Atticus

Franz Kafkas Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis Essay

Franz Kafkas Life Reflected in his Work, The MetamorphosisThe Metamorphosis scripted by Franz Kafka is considered one of the few great, poetical works of the twentieth century. Addressing The Metamorphosis, Elias Canetti, a Nobel Prize-winning author, has commented, In The Metamorphosis Kafka has reached the height of his mastery he has write something which he could never surpass, because there is nothing which The Metamorphosis could be surpassed by - one of the few great, perfect poetic works of this century (http//www.mala.bc.ca/mcneil/m4lec5a.htm). There are many symbolisms and parallelisms used in the story. Kafkas disturbing, symbolic fiction, especially The Metamorphosis, written in German, not only prefigures the oppression and despair of the late 20th century but also is an account of the dramatic transformations that had occurred during his own intent (Kafka Franz, Funk?, 2000). This attractively written masterpiece of Kafkas is clearly symbolic of his own vitality an d nightmare-like life experiences he had with his father.Suppose all that you have always valued in your life was shown to be an illusion. What if your precious beliefs, maxims, platitudes, and traditions were inverted and distorted beyond recognition? You suddenly realize that what is good is bad what is beauty is foul what is virtue, vice. What if all your points of reference were to sky North becomes South black becomes white deviant becomes saint saint becomes deviant. Suppose that this transformation - a metamorphosis of perception - were to come to you and you alone. Suddenly you awake, and in utter solitude you discover that your values have reversed along with you you are a roach (http//www.vr.net/herzogbr/kafka/). Yo... ...s. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. New York Norton, 1996. 61-74. Corngold, Stanley. Preface. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. xi Kafka, Franz. Explanatory Notes To The Text. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. 77. Kafka, Franz. Documents. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. 103-112. Madden, William A. A fable of Mediation Kafkas Metamorphosis. THOUGHT XXVI.101 (Summer 1951) 246-66. Rpt. in Kafka, Franz. Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 5. Detroit Gale, 1996. 210-213. Franz Kafka. Encyclopedia Of World Biogarphy. 2nd ed. 1998. KAFKA, Franz. Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. CD-ROM . World Almanac procreation Group. 2000. Metamorphosis by Kafka. http//www.vr.net/herzogbr/kafka/meta09.html Franz Kafkas Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis EssayFranz Kafkas Life Reflected in his Work, The MetamorphosisThe Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka is considered one of the few great, poetic works of the twentieth century. Addressing The Metamorphosis, Elias Canetti, a Nobel Prize-winning author, has commented, In The Metamorphosis Kafka has reached the height of his mastery he has written something which he could never surpass, because there is nothing which The Metamorphosis could be surpassed by - one of the few great, perfect poetic works of this century (http//www.mala.bc.ca/mcneil/m4lec5a.htm). There are many symbolisms and parallelisms used in the story. Kafkas disturbing, symbolic fiction, especially The Metamorphosis, written in German, not only prefigures the oppression and despair of the late 20th century but also is an account of the dramatic transformations that had occurred during his own life (Kafka Franz, Funk?, 2000). This beautifully written masterpiece of Kafkas is clearly symbolic of his own life and nightmare-like life experiences he had with his father.Suppose all that you have always valued in your life was shown to be an illusion. What if your precious beliefs, maxims, platitudes, and traditions were inverted and distorted beyond recognition? You suddenly realize that what is good is bad what is beauty is foul what is virtue, vice. What if all your points of reference were to good luck North becomes South black becomes white deviant becomes saint saint becomes deviant. Suppose that this transformation - a metamorphosis of perception - were to come to you and you alone. Suddenly you awake, and in utter solitude you discover that your values have reversed along with you you are a roach (http//www.vr.net/herzogbr/kafka/). Yo... ...s. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. New York Norton, 1996. 61-74. Corngold, Stanley. Preface. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. xi Kafka, Franz. Explanatory Notes To The Text. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. 77. Kafka, Franz. Documents. The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney Bantan, 1972. 103-112. Madden, William A. A fabrication of Mediation Kafkas Metamorphosis. THOUGHT XXVI.101 (Summer 1951) 246-66. Rpt. in Kafka, Franz. Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 5. Detroit Gale, 1996. 210- 213. Franz Kafka. Encyclopedia Of World Biogarphy. 2nd ed. 1998. KAFKA, Franz. Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. CD-ROM . World Almanac command Group. 2000. Metamorphosis by Kafka. http//www.vr.net/herzogbr/kafka/meta09.html

Leadership and Organizational Culture Essay -- Leadership Theory, Powe

House et al. (2007) discovers that leading and Organisational culture are closely linked together as leaders influence the culture of their organisations. Researches talk about a range of leadership definitions but it is not easy to define. (E.g. Western, 2008 Yukl, 2010). However, Cohen (2009) critically analyses definitions from Dracker (1996), Eisenhower (1969), Northouse (2004) and finally summarised the definition of leadership constitutes five elements. First of all, ask question to set direction, which doer effective leaders need to listen to followers voice respectfully and then share the common goals and ideas with them. In addition, leaders need to seek insights and allocate resources optimally act ethically allow their employees to work in a conformable and most effective way. This essay will explain different leadership styles and how they influence the organisations with examples of organisations and leaders with main focus on well-known entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar. H e grows from nothing to incredible success ( 730 million), is a legend in the UK line of products history his reality TV show The Apprentice, a great entertainment for recruitment appeals to the public without reasons. However, he as a person is polemic amongst people, probably due to his leadership style as bullying or harassment (destructive). There are four schools of leadership styles Trait, behavioural, contingency and transformational. Nevertheless, in the example of Alan Sugar, trait and transactional styles match him which will be illustrated following in detail.As Yukl (2010) indicates, such factors (e.g. personality, values and capacities) attributed to a leader. Normally it is widespread acknowledged that someone is natural to be a lead... ...l man who enables others to think and do in his way (role model) and his employees work him for unconditional loyalty (e.g. his PA), also, adopt a fair system of rewards and punishments however, as a leader sometimes he just nee ds some transformational styles which respect and communicate with followers equally rather than forced them to shut up rudely. As for organizational culture, the article obtains further understanding that some factors attribute to detect cultures existed in an organisation, communication system, for example. As a result, it can be set that his culture not only can be classified as power but task. Moreover, due to the changeable outside environment, compounded and flexible cultures seems to be a better way for an organisations sustainable development. Therefore, leadership is tightly related to organizational culture.

Big Brother :: Creative Writing Essays

Big Brother Wake up a stern voice called from above.Her frighten off eyes slowly began to open. It was absolutely bright, however no windows were visible. Only electric lights running endlessly in parallel lines covered the ceiling of the hall. She was sitting in the very centre her head crouched between her knees. She was afraid to speak or question whither she might be. She could hear footsteps in the distant but could not keep back out where they were coming from. The burning lights had gradually blinded her eyes. This must be the Ministry of Love she thought. It seemed hours ago that she was thrown violently into this premises and she was starving.She understood why she was here but did not understand how. She participated in sexual acts that were strongly condemned by the Party. The crime would be punished by death, no questions asked. When will they shoot her? She cherished her life to end now. Freedom is to say that humans have two eyes. She will never experience freedom ag ain she pondered. OBrien entered the hall. She could tell by his classifiable strides. He grabbed her by the sensory hair and began speaking in an authoritative tone, You are here for committing crimes against the Partys principles. You are deliberateing why I am not button shoot you. Are you not?She gave him a look of disgust and purposefully did no answer. There is no need to be silent, he commanded, pulling her hair even harder. She was not going to allow physical intimidation to force her to speak. You will have to talk sooner or later. I will tending you Julia. You must understand that you desperately need help. What are your feelings towards Big Brother? he assured her.Silence.She was not going to answer him she had nothing to lose. She knew she was going to go on and she wanted to die defiant. How many eyes do human beings have? OBrien asked her.Silence.You are thinking two. Of course you are. It is unquestionable. However, humans have three eyes, not two. You think this is ridiculous. Look again. Concentrate. Tell me how many eyes to humans have? Look closer, he ordered, giving her a hard kick. Silence.Before I leave you for the cadence being, think about these questions How do you feel about Big Brother and Winston Smith? Remember humans have three eyes. You did see it, did you not?

Big Brother :: Creative Writing Essays

Big Brother Wake up a stern voice called from above.Her weary eyes slowly began to open. It was perfectly bright, however no windows were visible. Only electric lights running endlessly in parallel lines covered the ceiling of the hall. She was sitting in the very centre her guide crouched between her knees. She was afraid to speak or question where she might be. She could hear footsteps in the distant but could not make out where they were coming from. The ruin lights had gradually blinded her eyes. This must be the Ministry of Love she thought. It seemed hours ago that she was thrown violently into this premises and she was starving.She understood why she was here but did not experience how. She participated in sexual acts that were strongly condemned by the Party. The crime would be punished by death, no questions asked. When will they shoot her? She wanted her life to end now. independence is to say that humans have two eyes. She will never experience freedom again she ponde red. OBrien entered the hall. She could tell by his distinctive strides. He grabbed her by the pig and began speaking in an authoritative tone, You are here for committing crimes against the Partys principles. You are thinking why I am not passing game shoot you. Are you not?She gave him a look of disgust and purposefully did no answer. There is no need to be silent, he commanded, pulling her hair even harder. She was not going to allow physical intimidation to force her to speak. You will have to talk sooner or later. I will help you Julia. You must understand that you urgently need help. What are your feelings towards Big Brother? he assured her.Silence.She was not going to answer him she had nothing to lose. She knew she was going to die and she wanted to die defiant. How umpteen eyes do human beings have? OBrien asked her.Silence.You are thinking two. Of course you are. It is unquestionable. However, humans have three eyes, not two. You think this is ridiculous. Look again. C oncentrate. Tell me how umteen eyes to humans have? Look closer, he ordered, giving her a hard kick. Silence.Before I leave you for the time being, think about these questions How do you feel about Big Brother and Winston Smith? Remember humans have three eyes. You did see it, did you not?

Prostitution: Brothel and Strong Religion Essay

Social effects that usually happens to individuals is that individuals leave behind continue to be involved with symptoms of brothels. rising individuals will be destroyed by evil issues. Among them are regarded by society despised around. Usually prostitutes will be isolated when not sporting lady himself due to age, health and others. In the family, the prostitutes will be sorted from the lives of family members with normal. This is because family members notify not receive part of the family of prostitutes and it can be embarrassing if erudition by family contacts and the general public.This contempt because prostitutes regarded by the community east of specific communities that have a strong religion. This has been proven when a child in a family in Kuala Lumpur recently been removed because at the time the young mother, her mother has been in the brothels. This is shown family members wanted the family name clean from prostitution. In society, the prostitutes are considered as a polluting shipwreck survivor image of a place. For example, around Jalan Haji Taib is known for prostitution since the first again. In addition, the number of cases to remove children is increasing.Some people do not ante up the family past by the road and they approach the area although other aims. Name the country will also be contaminated and will be the taper of the public. National social problems will continue to increase with many activities because prostitution happens this will lead to symptoms such as rape, murder and so forth. This can exacerbate the situation. In the economic system, the effects of prostitution can bring good and bad. for example, in Malaysia adverse effects arising from prostitution area is known for prostitution will not be visited by the family guests.This is because parents do not want their children near the area of prostitution. In addition, the area will be filled with prostitute- prostitute and the customer waiting area into the cause of black people who have a strong religion. Malaysia in the area if possible will always be a concern for the authorities and led to fewer young customers do business there. government also had to spend some money to treat the diseases caused by human immunodeficiency virus prostitution directly or indirectly. This case, causing the government provision of education, welfare and others reduced.If countries in Asia other, prostitution is a major source of income. For example, Thailand has made the activity of prostitution as a pull tourists from within and outside the country. This will lead to the establishment of Thailand is famous for its house of prostitution are controlled by the government. People afield who wish to obtain services to prostitutes to visit Thailand. It also introduces various side effects with other tourism products. Beside that also, prostitution affects the lifestyle of poor communities.For example, prostitution can cause disease outbreaks or epidemics of HIV among comumitty. Spread of the disease can spread if individuals who do not follow how to avoid sexual diseases such HIV. A person who has been infected with HIV have to produce more spending to treat this disease. Fitness level of people who are infected this will dissolving agent in decreased productivity and produced no worthwhile and less quality. For example, individuals who are infected with HIV do not work with the spirit and focus on something jobs will be lost.

Industrial Production and Capitalism Drivers of Social Change

Industrial Production and capitalist economy Drivers of social change in history Ho Xin Qian Louise In this essay, I will illustrate why industrial actionance and capitalism were major causes of social change in history by stating three main arguments. Firstly, I put forth the case that industrial achievement and capitalism have changed the post and nature of foodstuffs in history. In doing this, I trace how the market has become the central system of social coordination via market instruments, encompassing even the elements of industry kindred land, tug and money.In exemplification, I explain how industrial capitalism has brought about the rise of mickle production and mass markets, enabling the market system to expand its influence. Secondly, I will illustrate how industrial capitalism has changed the social relations of production, as well as the social physical composition of dally, resulting in single out struggle and socio- scotch stratification in history. Lastly , I touch on the changes in norms and culture within institutions due to industrial production and capitalism.For the purpose of this paper, I define industrial production as production brought about by mechanized technology and industrious labor in centralized locations. Capitalism is defined as a system of profit making commerce do possible by the usage of money, decentralized circulation of capital and the market modify of commodities. I use the term industrial capitalism to denote the amalgamation of both forces. The Role and Nature of Markets in History It is my contention that industrial production has changed the role and nature of markets in history, placing it in the centre of night club and economy.It is true that industrial capitalism presupposes the existence of a market system. However, the market system was never the dominant system of social control until the development of isolated markets by mer fueltilist means, and subsequently the transnational interaction an d proliferation of markets into a market economy, brought about by industrialization in the 18thC. It is due to this transcendence of boundaries and displacement of market activity that gives rise to the market as an abstract mechanism.According to Polyani, before the rise of markets, the society organizes itself via systems of redistribution, house-holding and reciprocity, of which operates on non- economic motives like social prestige and kinship (Polyani 1944 46-58). After the rise of markets with long distance and local trade, markets have started to give birth on a more than important role in providing necessities however, they did not function for a majority of the population, who were still dependent upon common exchange and subsistence systems.Thereafter, mercantilism created isolated national markets which consolidated local economic activity and increased trade. However, it was not until the Industrial Revolution in the mid 18thC that the market system became the main driver of social change across divers(prenominal) countries through the creation of mass markets. The industrial revolution has brought about new forms of technology and force-out, transformed modes of production and created factories as centralized locations for mechanized production to take place.Mass production techniques like specialization, standardization, time-discipline, rational capital accounting and centralization allow for production costs to decrease with volume, thus generating a high amount of output, providing goods more cheaply than one could have done outside of the factory. As a result, people buy their essentials from these mass markets rather than produce by themselves. Also, they produce solo for the market, deriving income to purchase other goods in the circulation of commodities.Moreover, with industrial capitalism, the market mechanism has also come to allocate factors of production such as land, labor and money, which correspond to Polyani were not rea l commodities, but merely have exchange value because they become in private owned by use of legal contracts and sales (Polyani 1944 68-76). Since then, mass markets have come to synchronize most economic activities like consumption, production, distribution and even finance in the most efficient fashion (Swedberg 2005238-240).These markets become far-off reaching and displaced in light of industrial capitalism because of communicative and transport technology, the mobility of money and relations of free trade, which re-defined the notion of markets from a place to an abstract interlocking of actors across national boundaries. Also, the nature of markets has changed from being state-controlled to being self-regulating. The market system becomes the c reach of economic and social life as it coordinates most economic activities not by state regulation but by economic instruments like the price mechanism, supply and demand aggregates.Social Relations of Production and Organization of spring Industrial capitalism has, with the change in material means of production, brought about a change in the social relations of production and organization of study. In capitalistic societies, instead of directly interacting with nature in production, human beings depend on each other by exchanging their assets in place of producing for subsistence. Hence, they inevitably enter into social relations of production between those who own the means of production (capitalist) and those who do not but atomic number 18 economically compelled to sell their labor power (worker) for wages.In the circulation of capital, surplus value can be derived from the difference between capital invested and capital retrieved because capital (such as land, factory and machinery), only when combined with labor, transforms products to sell for higher(prenominal) exchange values, thereby generating surplus value and profit. This circulation of capital is durable because capitalists aim to invest th eir capital to make even more profits while workers can only increase their wages by working harder or by investing in their skills.Since then, the relationship between capitalists have become increasingly matched due to the drive for profits while the worker-capitalist relation has replaced family (sexual division of labor) as the primary relation of production. According to Marx, as the ownership of means of production is pocket and alienable, the society becomes separated into two distinct classes the bourgeoisie (capitalist) and the proletarian (or worker), where between them is a relationship of domination and exploitation.Marx observed that the capitalists tend to exploit the workers by privately appropriating the surplus value produced by the workers, giving them much less than the use value of their time and effort invested in production (Marx 1848 23). Also, the exploitation goes further by manifesting itself in the working conditions of factories, where workers were for ced to work for long hours and children were also engaged as child labor. The exploitation and domination over workers exists because of the profit motive of lessen costs and increasing revenue, as well as the fact that workers have less argaining power over their jobs than their employers. Capitalism has also re-defined the social organization of work by the formation of labor markets and complex division of labor. Prior to the onset of industrial capitalism, work was just defined as any effortful activity which attributes use value to commodities. However, with industrial capitalism, the formation of labor markets constituting workers, employers, jobs and networks is possible, and they function to allocate labor resources and allow capitalists to negotiate labor price and working conditions.Here, there is a clear demarcation of what is considered paid work and what lies outside of the labor market in the informal economy. Within the labor market, the exchange value of labor depen ds on the quantity and quality of labor, which denotes different labor coveres and skills. The differentiation in wages is due to the complex division of labor brought about by industrial capitalism.Unlike the aboveboard division of labor, where society is categorized into different occupations as in craftmanship, the capitalistic industry has a tendency to control and divide the mass production process into many simple tasks which all unskilled workers are capable of accomplishing. Workers are subdivided into different capabilities and made to specialize in simple tasks to be able to perform quickly and productively. This organization of work greatly improves the efficiency of the system, bringing costs down with more units of production.As seen in the Fordist model of mass production, workers as such are being deskilled and made interchangeable to the extent that they can be fired or hired according to production requirements (Womack 1990 19-46). Thus, the market value of such unskilled labor is very low as opposed to professions (doctors) and skilled labor (technicians). The way work is being socially organized into skilled and unskilled labor has thus brought about socio-economic stratification in production relations. Marx has criticized this form of organization as being alienating, especially for the menial workers.As workers are being made interchangeable by the subdivided nature of production process, their labor is being looked upon only as a commodity, at their employers disposal. The worker loses control over his produce, the work process and his ability to creatively express himself. Moreover, their menial labor becomes cheapened in the process of unemployment and labor surplus. On the other hand, professionals are able to safeguard their interests by exclusive job administration channels, keeping their wages high due to marketable specialized knowledge.As a result, socio-economic stratification has also become defined by consumption relations such as occupational prestige and status groups. Norms and Culture Lastly, it is clear that industrial capitalism has brought about important changes in norms and culture. well-nigh explicitly, industrial capitalism has changed the culture of work in the society. Prior to this time, work was characterized by disparate tasks that one is required to do in the day, and is oriented to what is indispensable to be attended to. There is little divide between work and life.In industrial-capitalistic societies, work is characterized by a series of jobs which need to be synchronized in terms of sequence and speed. Time-discipline is important for work in the capitalist economies because productivity and time are highly correlated (Thompson 1967, 6061). People are judge to use time allocated for work efficiently and solely for work. As the stimulus for work has changed from subsistence to wage incentives, there is potential of increasing wages by putting in more effort put into work.Thus, as competition for jobs and within jobs increase, people are pushed to work harder and longer in their jobs. Also, in the 18thC, industrial capitalism has led to the trend of rapid urbanization due to rural urban migration and international migration in seek of factory jobs. This has led to a major restructuration of society within countries like England, where the working class poor tend to congregate near the city centre for employment and the more affluent middle class tend to decentralize away from these city centers, where living conditions are bad.The result is a case of socio-economic polarization within cities, where differences in standards of living are scanty between gated communities and urban slums. In all, industrial capitalism tend to generate disparate levels of wealth and poverty amongst the working and capitalist classes. Lastly, industrial capitalism is likely to produce changes in habits and lifestyle which are oriented towards the market. The culture of consum erism is prevalent in many industrial and post-industrial societies, brought about by both producers and consumers.Producers aim to increase the capital return from their investment by either catering to existing needs or by creating new needs and wants. With the use of marketing strategies and production technology, they are able to sell their products at a high profit margin. Consumers, on the other hand, are faced with the proliferation of goods and services available at hawkish prices. With the wages they have earned, they are able to afford more goods at a lower price. In all, this paper contends that industrial production and capitalism are major drivers of social change in three ways.Firstly, industrial capitalism has changed the role and nature of markets in history, from an auxiliary mechanism to the main instrument of social coordination. Secondly, industrial capitalism has revolutionized the social relations of production, from humanitys struggle with nature to dependenc y on each other. It has also changed the social organization of work, by re-defining what is work and by organizing work into skilled and non-skilled categories with varying consequences. Thirdly, industrial capitalism has influenced the norms and culture of society through industriousness, urbanization and consumerism. (1991 Words)

Developing Yourself-Important Skills for the Workplace Today

Developing yourself-important skills for the work today Nowadays employers are looking for people with analytical reasoning skills, communicating skills and creative thinking. But why, this is an obvious problem. Because all(a) employers want their companies or enterprises can better develop. They do non want to hire people who do not have competence to destroy their company. except these above skills are important for the companies and enterprises. The following is an analysis by why employers look for people with these skills.First is the analytical reasoning skills, it is kittys with your ability to assess a situation, redek multiple perspectives, gather more information, and identify key issues that need to be addressed. Highly analytical reasoning idea with demonstrated talent for identifying, improving, and streamlining interlacing work processes. The world values people who have good analytical skills, who can see the big picture from the details, and who can think in call of multi-disciplinary combinations.According to Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, its interdisciplinary combinations design and technology, mathematics and art that produce YouTube and Google. In this age of overflowing information, in which the fare of words on the Internet is close to surpassing the total number of words spoken in the history of humanity, we must know how to analyze and deal with information to know what are good sources of information, to be able to access it and use discrimination to make effective use of it.As a whole, analytical ability is an important skill which the college students or professionals must develop in order to achieve the success in the body of work. For example if you want to buy an send off conditioner. You analyze the air conditioner itself, is it a good brand, is it present technology, and what about compare to other present technologies. So what about your decision? And than you analyze the financial impact, do you h ave money for it, do you use cash or credit for it? After that you analyze do you home have a place to order it? So you look at all point of view of the same situation.If you want to be analytical, you have to weigh up your selection, think about them in advance you act, and not act on first impulse about much of anything. Second is the communication skills, Communication is the heart of every organization. Everything you do in the workplace results from communication. Thereby good reading, writing, speaking and listening skills are essential if tasks are going to be completed and goals achieved. As you develop your career you ordain see to it various reasons why successful communication skills are important to you. Shirley Taylor, March 11, 2009). Why it is important to you, because you will get a lot of benefits, for example you will need good communication skills to make sure your application letter is fluency and acted upon. You will need to communicate perfect during your i nterview if you are to transfer yourself and get the job you want. You will need to discuss problems, give instructions, work in teams, and interact with colleagues and clients. If you want to achieve co-operation and effective teamwork, good human relations skills are essential.As the workplace is also becoming more global, on that point are many factors to consider if you want to communicate well in such(prenominal) a diverse environment. The most successful corporation understands that if they want to be successful in todays business world, good communication at all levels is essential. Todays workplace is constantly changing, so learning more about effective communication will help us all adapt to our changing environments. (Shirley Taylor, March 11, 2009). refinement but not the least, it is the creativity. A man of great common sense and good taste, meaning thereby a man without originality or moral courage. (Sir Walter Besant). virtually researchers define creativity as c ombining existing elements in an innovative way to create a new purpose or result. But others see creativity as the ability to generate new ideas from looking at how things are related. The book keys to success (2009, p. 110-111). Creativity is one of the most important things in the world because if each person did not have creativity then everything the same. Each person has there own type of creativity and that is why there are unique art, movies, clothing, etc. And then lets talk about how we can develop these important skills while in college.Some rede about analytical skills I think to open teacher-student relationship helps the student become a good advice. Its difficult for the student to do this if he is not engaged or open to what the teacher has to say. And the other method is learning how to question. Everyone knows how to question. It is part of what makes us human- we meet new people and ask them where they come from, what they do for a job, whether they are married. However, as you studies progress you will find that you need to think more deeply about how you question and type of questions that you ask.About communication skills there are some tips for improving your communication style. Adjust to the other styles of communication. Dont think it is too late to change your way of conversing because its been years. You had to learn to communicate in the first place and you can unlearn certain behaviors or change them. Sometimes we get stuck in a communication rut. (Peter Murphy, 2007). Dont pick on others for communicating differently. If we all communicated in the same way, wed soon be bored with each other. (Peter Murphy, 2007).Last is about how to develop creativity. Brainstorming is also referred to as divergent thinking you start with a question and then let your mind diverge-go in many different directions-in searches of solutions. Brainstorming is deliberate creativity thinking. When you Brainstorm, try to generate ideas without thinking about how useful they are evaluate their quality later. Brainstorming works well in groups because group members can become inspired by, and make creativity use of, one anothers ideas. The book keys to success (2009 p. 111).

Theories on Criminal Behavior

There ar many theories that provide an explanation of bend behavior. According to some theories, abandoned behavior is innate in an soulfulness. Other theories say that abuse is influenced by environmental, economic, and psychological aspects (University of northern Texas, nd). Biological Theories According to the biological theories, criminals have a different physiological makeup from non-criminals. Their biological inferiority is what pushes them to resort to criminal telephone numberivities.There had been multiple studies that attempts to find out if criminality is hereditary through analysis of family trees, identical and fraternal twins, statistics, and adopted children. However, these approaches have proved futile because they can non distinguish hereditary from environmental influences (University of North Texas, nd). Contemporary researches, on the other hand, has discovered a wide range of biological factors that have direct or indirect connection with criminal o r delinquent activities.Among them ar lack of chemicals, minerals, and vitamins in the food they eat, sugar and carbohydrates-rich food, and hypoglycemia. moving picture to radiation, dysfunctions in the brain, and swallowing of food dyes and lead also play an important role in criminal behaviors. Likewise, criminal acts have something to do with hormonal abnormalities, particularly those that are connected with testosterone (the male sex hormone) and progesterone and estrogen (the sex hormones related to female). By injecting estrogen to male sex offenders would minimize their sexual drives(University of North Texas, nd).In addition, biological theorists likewise believe that the interplay of biological, environmental and social conditions can have an effect on criminal behavior. The genetic makeup of the criminal gives them a predisposition to act in a certain manner. The environmental and social conditions determines the actual behavior as soundly as the definition of that act (University of North Texas, nd). Psychological Theories The belief that criminal behavior is caused by low intelligence gained ground in the United States.In order to prove this view, a study was conducted in 1931 and reached a zero coefficient of correlation between the intelligence of an mortal and criminal behavior(University of North Texas, nd). According to Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic hypothesis, criminal behaviors are associated with psychopaths or those who have internal problems that have been unresolved. Psychopaths are people who are rules by senseless guilt, subjective conscience, and no do not know how to distinguish right from wrong. In general, they find it hard to ease up relationships with other people and do not know how to be emphatic(University of North Texas, nd).Sociological TheoriesAccording to sociologists, how people behave is determined by the social group as well as the social structure. The conditions of their society may cause them to commit crimes and delinquency(University of North Texas, nd).Sub- heathen Theory of DelinquencyIn the 1920s, the Chicago School, composed of sociologists, attempted to discover the connection between the crime rate of a community and its characteristics. According to this theory, social disarrangement can take place in a neighborhood where the rate of delinquency is high.Social disorganization takes place when1) there is absence of delinquency control2) the criminal behavior is most of the clip with the consent of parents as well as the community3) the fortune for delinquency presents itself 4) there is minimal encouragement, training, or possibility for legal employment(University of North Texas, nd).Anomie TheoryThis theory was proposed by Robert Merton in 1938. Anomie let offs the major difference between the cultural objectives and social structure of the United States. People experience strain as a result of their limited access to legal means of achieving wealth.In order to supervise u p with this inadequacy, people accumulate wealth through illegal methods as well as through conformity. Other forms of adaptation, according to the anomie theory, include ritualism, wherein the individual does not pursue the wealth actively, and rebellion, where the individual does not accept both the goal of the wealth as well as the legal means of obtaining it(University of North Texas, nd).Differential AssociationThis theory, introduced by Edwin Sutherland, is one of the major beliefs that explains the causes of criminal behavior.According to Sutherland, criminal behavior takes place because the delinquent individual has been exposed to criminal elements and isolated from anti-criminal patterns(University of North Texas, nd).Social Learning TheoryAccording to the principles of eruditeness theory, the best way to approach criminality is to implement policies that would effectively punish criminals. Sadly, this is not being implemented in the United States. At present, the delinq uent individual is usually not incarcerated and returned to the same community where they have been exposed to criminal behavior.Likewise, the method of punishment lacks consistency and is not immediately implemented. Alternative or prosocial behaviors is not rewarded with positive reinforcement(University of North Texas, nd).Social Control TheoryThe social control theory does not attempt to uncover the reasons why criminal behavior is committed but preferably focuses on why people conform and accept these behaviors(University of North Texas, nd). Travis Hirschi, in his 1969 book Causes of Delinquency, provides a comprehensive presentation of contemporary social control theory.In his book, Hirschi cogitate that delinquent behavior is likely unless the offender is exposed in a society that is characterized by attachment to other people, commitment to traditional means of action, stake in usual activities, and concurrence to moral order and law(University of North Texas, nd). Moreo ver, Hirschi explained that the leading cause of delinquency is ineffective child rearing, which results to individuals with low self-control(University of North Texas, nd).Labeling TheoryThis theory places strain on the criminalization process itself as the reason for some crimes.The criminalization process refers to the definition of criminals and delinquent behavior. According to the labeling theory, the kickoff time a psyche commits a delinquent act and gets punished by the criminal system, they are already viewed as a criminal and it eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy(University of North Texas, nd).Conflict TheoryThis theory delves on the struggle between rich and poor, management and employees, majority and minority group. According to the conflict theory, society involves conflicts between rival interest groups and that the law and referee system functions in order to control subordinate groups.Crime results from the lack of power(University of North Texas, nd) .Radical/Marxist TheoryAccording to this theory, capitalism demands competition of people in order to gain clobber wealth. Because of the uneven distribution of wealth, people have taken advantage of people who are less powerful than them as they accumulate wealth(University of North Texas, nd). According to the chemical group theory, criminal behavior is caused by what Marx calls class struggle (University of North Texas, nd).Real Life Cases of Criminal Behavior For a period of two years, FBI Special Agent Robert eucalyptus kino and Janet Warren from the University of Virginias Institute of Psychiatry and Law conducted interviews of 41 men who were convicted for the rape of 837 victims. Based on the interviews, 55-61% of the criminals committed premeditated rape during the first, middle, and final act. 15 22% of the criminals said that their acts were results of their impulse while 22 24% said that the opportunity to rape presented itself(Hazelwood & Warren, 1990).According to Janet Warren from the University of Virginia, there are methods of sexual attacks on women. The first one is called the con approach. In this method, the rapist openly talks to their victims and asks if they can do anything to help them. As soon as the victim is within their control, that is the time they perpetrate their evil plans. This was the case used by one of the interviewed rapists named John, who was responsible for raping 20 victims(Hazelwood & Warren, 1990). The second method used by rapist is the blitz.Here the rapist physically assaults their victims by using chemicals or gases. Most of the times, however, they use their strength to overpower the woman. This was the case of 28 year-old Phil, who raped one of his victims in a vehicle(Hazelwood & Warren, 1990). Finally, the third method is the surprise. In this approach, the rapist pre-selects their would-be victim. The physical assault is perpetrated by the offender waiting for the woman. Weapons, such as guns or knives , as well as threats are involved in the surprise approach. 24-year old Sam chooses his victims by observing her patterns.He was able to rape 20 victims before he was caught(Hazelwood & Warren, 1990).ConclusionThere are many theories that explain the reasons why people resort to criminal behaviors. The causes of criminality may be psychological, social, or biological.ReferencesExplaining Crime. University of North Texas. Retrieved July 21 2008 from http//www. unt. edu/cjus/Course_Pages/CJUS_2100/2100chapter3. pptHazelwood, R. , & Warren, J(February 1990). The Criminal Behavior of the Serial Rapist. Holysmoke. Org. Retrieved July 21 2008 from http//www. holysmoke. org/fem/fem0126. htm

Coming to Terms Essay

In A Look at the Intersection of Fine Dining and Fast Food, Brenda Falk discusses the differences and similarities in fast food and exquisite dine. Her main focus throughout the article is the new found overlap in these two dine techniques. She also seems to feel that soon these two dining techniques could easily become one known as speedily casual. In this article she jumps around from point to point whether it be reasoning asshole certain dining styles, types of changes in these styles, or how they affect each other.Her argument was based fully on fast food restaurants adopting ideas from fine dining restaurants . Falk inserts an exuberant amount of her own feelings on the topic and doesnt analyze the subject as well as she should have. She focuses mainly on the fast food ancestry while lacking in her analysis of fine dining. She also should have made the paper more about what cause the changes in the restaurant business kind of of the changes themselves. In the analyze Falk has many examples of foods and restaurants that have changed and became noticed for their modern style, such as Panera Bread and Chipotle.She appeals to a large audience by adding examples many great deal can relate too. On the other hand, her article is extremely biased in multiple ways. She makes too many generalizations that may not particularly be true in some cases. For example she states, the fact that people today hate to make choices, preferring to have the best of both worlds (Falk,33). This may not be exactly true for everyone. She uses the previous quote to support her argument in saying that since people are so indecisive quick casual would be a good alternative.Another instance is when she states, There are significantly more calories at table service restaurants (Falk, 35). The prior quote shows her bias towards dine-in restaurants because she yet uses negative examples of fine dining. Furthermore, her essay is very restricted. She aims her essay towards adults an d college students with her use of language and examples of certain restaurants But a lot of her writing makes you think otherwise. The core of her essay is stating that quick casual is the new alternative to fine and fast food dining.Though she never takes into consideration the ideas of being a vegetarian or that college students have dining halls or even the fact that not all people eat out. She had good arguments but they did not affect the people they were meant to affect. One of her main argumentative statements is at the very end of her essay when she says, The country is focused on problems with corpulency and poor eating habits .. until major changes are made, food prepared at home will almost always be healthier than food eaten away from home (Falk,36) .These type of statements should have been more prominent in the essay, she moreover brings up this type of conflict in the last paragraph and nowhere else. By tying in the eating at home or the obesity aspect more, she wo uld have had a strong argument. As mention earlier, if she touched on all the aspects possible that would have made her essay more relevant Some of her most outstanding focuses were Trend Mapping and the Trickle Down Theory. Trend mapping helps culinary experts predict which menu items will be popular in the future.The trickle down theory helps quick casual restaurants enhance their menu with more fine dining dishes. These ideas help customers make wise(p) choices. I was impressed with her inclusion of these two innovations because they go right along with her topic and fit into the main idea . Even though her essay was disadvantageously structured at some points, there were also some good points throughout. I feel that her style was very laid back and readable because she used places her target audience have been and can relate to, as examples.Brenda Falk creates this article with the objective of describing the many similarities between the food industry and that the in between quick casual style is the most convenient. She successfully describes these similarities and elaborates on the new innovative style but never fully creates a legitimate argument. If she discussed more on the topic of eating at home or the factor of money or even brought in some positives of fine dining, that could have created a stronger argument. She has a great sense of organization and style but needs to focus more on her analysis of the topic.

H&M Hennes & Mauritz Ab in Retailing

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB in remove December 2009 scope of the Report sell Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor supranational Scope This ball-shaped club profile c everywheres the fol petty(a)ing harvests focusing on the year 2009 Retailing US$10,430 billion Store-based Retailing US$9,829 billion Non-Store Retailing US$601 billion Clothing & footgear Specialist Retailers US$791 billion Homeshopping US$190 billion Internet Retailing US$243 billionDisclaimer Much of the information in this briefing is of a statistical nature and, enchantment every assay has been made to ensure accuracy and reliability, Euromonitor internationalistic cannot be held responsible for omissions or errors Figures in tables and analyses atomic number 18 calculated from unrounded data and may not sum. Analyses found in the briefings may not totally reflect the companies opinions, reader discretion is advised visit More To find out much about Euromonitor foreigns exonerate range of business ntelligen ce on industries, countries and consumers please visit www. euromonitor. com or contact your local Euromonitor International office London + 44 (0)20 7251 8024 Vilnius +370 5 243 1577 Chicago +1 312 922 1115 Dubai +971 4 609 1340 Singapore +65 6429 0590 Cape T avouch +27 21 552 0037 ingrain +86 21 63726288 Santiago +56 2 4332226 2 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International strategical evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities class Opportunities home run and Operational Strategies Recommendations 3 Strategic EvaluationRetailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Key Company Facts Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Headquarters Regional Involvement Stockholm, Sweden Asia Pacific, vitamin Eern Europe, mating America, westerly Europe, Middle East and Africa Clothing and footgear specialist retailers, homeshopping, meshwork retailing H robust performance in battle with Inditex The realnesss second considerablest habiliments and footgear Sector Involvement World clothing and footgear 1. 7% (2009) specialist retailers partake 1. 5% (2008) Retail gross gross revenue determine ontogenesis (US$) -4. 1% (2009) 17. % (2008) specialist retailer in 2009, behind Inditex, and ahead of geological fault, H act to record hale gross revenue growth in 2008 and 2009. This was achieved partly thank to a hale performance in its largest foodstuff, Germany, with gross revenue in local gold terms up by double-digits. Inditexs and H battle for the worlds largest clothing and footwear retailer position is closely fought, while ranch, which was the worlds largest player in this channel until 2007, has been significantly left behind by the in the lead two. Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB gross revenue excl.VAT vs Profit After Tax 90,000 SEK million 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 gross sales excl VAT Profit afterward tax 18,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 SEK million 16,000 H earnings abide health y H registered sales excluding VAT of SEK88. 5 billion (US$13. 7 billion) in 2008, an increase of 13% over the year, with profit after tax in any case up 13% to SEK15. 3 billion (US$2. 4 billion), which highlights the groups high margin. Its major rival, Inditex, recorded revenue of EUR10. 4 billion (US$14. 5 billion) in 2008, up 10% on the previous year, with net profit up 0. % to EUR1. 3 billion (US$1. 8 billion). tornado registered sales of US$14. 5 billion, shine 8% in the year, as it suffered from poor conditions in its subject matter US merchandise, though the companys net profit grew by 16% to US$967 million, helped by cost savings. 4 Strategic Evaluation Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Q3 results Resilient Performance, Continued elaborateness Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Q1 to Q3 sales excluding VAT (SEK billion) Profit after tax (SEK billion) Net margin (%) 73. 4 (2009) 62. 2 (2008) 10. 2 (2009) 10. 2 (2008) 13. 9 (2009) 16. (2008) Resilient pe rformance, with sales driven by terminus network running(a) out H sales excluding VAT grew by 13% to SEK23. 6 billion (US$3. 4 billion) in the third quarter ending August 2009. Group acquire after tax continued to rise, up by 4% to SEK3. 5 billion (US$506 million). However, same- instal sales declined slightly in local currency terms, with consumer sentiment rest subdued and hindering sales of non-grocery retailers, especially in the US, while the German trade was resilient and sound gains were made in Italy. For the nine months to August 2009, sales were up by 18% to SEK73. billion (US$10. 6 billion), with growth boosted by raw(a) store openings. Profits after tax were up by 0. 2% to SEK10. 2 billion (US$1. 5 billion). Low inventory levels were a major factor contributing to keep costs checkmate. Inditex records lower sales growth than H Inditex recorded revenues up by 7% to reach EUR4. 9 billion (US$7. 1 billion) in the six months to July 2009. Growth in Asias emergin g markets continued to boost revenues, especially in mainland china and Hong Kong, offsetting a negative scotchal environment in its Spanish house servant market where it saw a strong decline in like-for-like sales. Although impacted by the recession in Europe, Inditexs profits were resilient, helped by efficient cost controls. The group recorded net income down by only 8% on the previous year to EUR375 million (US$550 million), despite sustained investments in network expansion. 5 Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Net Sales excl VAT vs Profit After Tax 75,000 72,500 70,000 SEK million 67,500 65,000 62,500 60,000 57,500 55,000 52,500 50,000 2008 Q1 to Q3 Net sales excl VAT 2009 Q1 to Q3 Profit after tax 12,000 11,500 SEK million 11,000 10,500 10,000 9,500 9,000 8,500 8,000Strategic Evaluation Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International SWOT Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB dishonor recognition low worth and style Combining style innovations and low expenditures be staple attributes of the H brand on which it has built strong consumer recognition. High profile advertising and collaboration with designers help fox stores shopping destinations and raise the pizzazz of its ranges. Operational efficiency A strong control of the whole logistics process helps H achieve low costs, while low inventory contributes to maintain margins.Reliance on outsourcing The reliance on crossingion outsourcing, foreign some separate rivals such as Inditex, puts H at great risks of damaging its reputation in terms of return quality and poor labour conditions in demonstrable countries. Modest front line in emerging markets Despite being a global player present in 33 markets, H has developed its nominal head in Europe and North America mostly, unlike Inditex operating in over 70 countries including many emerging markets. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities ThreatsInternet retailing The rapid growth of clothing and footwear sales through network retailing is evaluate to cont inue and give H opportunities to reach a roomyr audience, especially in its core demographic target, teenagers and young adults, whose purchases are often influenced by the internet. Untapped potential in emerging markets Urbanisation, increased disposable incomes and ever- changing lifestyles making the population to a greater accomplishment aware of make trends give major growth opportunities in large emerging markets such as China and Russia. There is also potential in markets where H is absent such as Tur mainstay and Romania.Non-food expansion of grocery retailers Hypermarkets and mountain merchandisers including Carre quadruplet, Target, Tesco and Wal-Mart are set to continue developing their offer of non-food products and compete today against H in the place segment of clothing and footwear retailing. exuberant fashion proper more than combative H faces a development little terror from a number of direct competitors with increasingly global ambitions at the low-pr iced end of the market such as Associated British Foods with Primark, Fast Retailing with Uniqlo and tag & Spencer, alongside a resurgent Gap. 6 Strategic Evaluation Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Key Strategic Objectives and Challenges Speed to market and price system Fast product turn near, flexibility and speed to market are major elements determining straighta flair fashion retailers operational efficiency. H record is strong comparable to Inditex in most aspects, although Inditex has an expediency regarding speed to market, as a result of its vertical integration business model. In the midst of the global economic crisis particularly affect clothing and footwear specialists, H chose to avoid heavy discounting in aver to maintain its margins and profits.However, more offensive price wars may force it to discount more and hit its margins. Ongoing international expansion with a focus on emerging markets H charge in emerging markets is less important t han Inditexs, which has a major store network in Latin America and more stores in the Middle East and Africa. Expanding in emerging markets remains a antecedence for H, although growth prospects remain strong in developed markets such as Canada and the US where it can enter numerous new cities, especially in southern States where it has a modest presence.H CEO KarlJohan Persson appointed in July 2009 restated the groups global expansion targets, although it appears to be slower than expected, with around 160 new stores probably to be opened out of 225 initially planned for 2009. Maintain brand image and increase desirability Collaborations with designers will need to be continued and reinvented to make products more desirable, make stores more popular shopping destinations and strengthen the emotional bond with consumers and H.Distinctive store layout has been used undefeatedly by Inditex with its Zara chain to convey the desirability of its clothes, and this is a strategy that H could also implement to make the store designs a more important aspect of its strategy. This could hold H to maintain an advantage over smaller rivals with increasing global ambitions for their brands such as Primark and Uniqlo. Late entry into internet retailing Although growth in internet retailing sales is particularly promising for clothing and footwear retailers, H has been a late entrant and will struggle to seize the opportunities offered by this channel.It has left numerous other retailers including pure play internet retailers such as Amazon and Asos and the homeshopping specialist Otto take a lead. Hence, it will be difficult for H to target these consumers and fall traffic to its websites, although it could rely on high-profile advertising and innovative sites to succeed. 7 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 8 Competitive Positioning Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International H Performs Strongly but Growth is chalk uped by Inditex International expansion and cool product assortment led to strong growth for H and its main rival Inditex, despite a marked slowdown in 2009 due to the global economic crisis and the strength of the US dollar. Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers World Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax US$ % Year-on-Year Growth 28 24 20 16 12 8 4 0 -4 -8 -12 2005 % y-o-y growth A C B 2006 World C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co INDITEX Industria de Diseno Textil 2007 2008 Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The 2009A H sales record strong growth, on a par with C, thank to global store network expansion. However, Inditex outperforms H give convey to more aggressive network expansion not only in Western Europe, but also in emerging markets. B Gap under-performs its main rivals, hindered by a strong reliance on its low-growth domestic market and a less aggressive p rice strategy than H. Gaps image also suffers from a product assortment perceived as more staid than H and Inditexs. C The rise of the US dollar against other global currencies in 2009 is do a fall in value sales for all retailers.H low-priced positioning and its wide global presence helps the company remain resilient in a challenging environment for non-grocery retailers. 9 Competitive Positioning Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Competitive Context Inditex and H on the Rise World shed light on 10 Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers 2005-2009 Company name INDITEX Industria de Diseno Textil Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Ross Stores Inc Fast Retailing Co Ltd Shinamura Co Ltd Limited Brands Inc Benetton Group SpA Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp 5-year 2009 % 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 trend share ?Gap loses its crown Gap saw declining sales in 2007 3 3 2 1 1 1. 7 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2 1 4 6 8 12 5 11 2 1 4 6 8 14 5 12 3 1 4 5 8 11 7 10 2 3 4 5 6 11 7 8 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. 7 1. 5 1. 4 0. 8 0. 8 0. 5 0. 5 0. 5 and 2008, due to unfavourable economic conditions in its US domestic market, which accounted for 81% of its global sales through the clothing and footwear specialists channel. Compared to H, Gaps higher price positioning hindered its sales, especially in 2008 and 2009 as the global economic crisis dampened consumer spending. Fast Retailing and Shinamura rising Japan-based Fast Retailing posted a strong performance among the top ? 10 10 12 14 10 0. 4 10 global players, helped partly by the strengthening of the yen to the look 2009 provisional data US dollar. Competing with a similar price positioning to H, Fast Strong growth for H, overtakes Gap but is surpassed by Inditex Retailing spread out outside Japan, Strong sales growth for H over the 2005-2008 period enabled it to especially in China and South overtake key rival Gap. H business model based on low-priced fast Korea, and announced a t the end of fashion proved highly popular with consumers. 008 its intentions to open stores in However, Inditex recorded a stronger performance than H, thank to a European markets and in the US. more aggressive expansion strategy, especially in emerging markets. The latter was partly helped by a greater reliance on franchised outlets. Although As Japans second largest clothing and footwear retailer, Shinamuras H new store opening strategy was also ambitious, its presence in be was also boosted by emerging markets remained modest compared to Inditexs. avourable exchange rates, but also Inditex also benefited from a vertical integration business model enabling it to thanks to new store openings. renew collections more frequently than its main rivals, including H. 10 Competitive Positioning Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International H and Inditex Neck-and-Neck H and Inditex have both(prenominal) been highly winnerful in the clothing and footwear specialists channel o ver the 2004- 2009 period. Their positioning based on low-priced fast fashion enables them to appeal to a wide range of consumers, especially since 2008 and with the major world economies entering recession.Their fast fashion business model also gives the two players the flexibility to change collections rapidly to adapt to consumer tastes, although Inditex has the edge over H in this respect. International network expansion was also a major part in driving sales of both companies, although Inditex has a greater presence in emerging markets, especially thanks to a wide reach in Latin America. Thanks to its greater reliance on franchising, new market entry requires fewer resources and entails less risk for Inditex than for H, which is more biased towards company-owned outlets. Although both companies saw their World Retailing Sales 2004-2009 retail sales in US dollar terms hit by the fall in the value of the euro 15,000 against the US dollar, they retained their lead over Gap. The latters 12,500 strong dependence on the US market proved a disadvantage, as it suffered 10,000 disproportionately from the recession in its domestic market in 2008 and 7,500 2009, which it could not offset with expansion in emerging markets, where it remains absent. ,000 In addition, Gap adopted a less aggressive pricing strategy than its 2,500 peers, thus losing share rapidly to H and Inditex, but also to players 0 in other channels in the US such as 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 mass merchandisers Target and WalHennes & Mauritz (H) AB INDITEX Industria de Diseno Textil Mart. Retail value sales rsp excl tax (US$ mn) 11 Competitive Positioning Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Overall Stagnation in Sales per OutletWorld Top 10 Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers Sales per Outlet 2004-2009 US$ Fixed Exchange Rates Company name INDITEX Industria de Diseno Textil Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Gap Inc, The C Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Ross Stores Inc Fast Retail ing Co Ltd Shinamura Co Ltd Limited Brands Inc Benetton Group SpA Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp Note 2009 provisional data 2004 3,130,909 7,103,455 5,233,467 7,658,816 6,571,607 5,663,966 3,168,427 2,541,956 916,038 8,482,203 2005 3,222,196 7,072,943 4,976,290 7,435,090 6,719,945 4,185,028 3,129,442 2,686,424 911,815 9,062,259 2006 3,245,793 7,102,853 4,882,942 7,276,803 6,967,172 3,720,254 3,222,800 2,799,494 896,071 9,090,081 2007 3,374,326 7,194,397 4,648,360 7,195,536 7,136,890 3,884,908 3,196,295 2,778,019 913,342 9,032,800 2008 3,291,002 7,279,016 4,180,204 6,979,826 6,784,922 4,520,068 3,201,177 2,636,235 949,993 8,904,762 2009 3,267,473 7,303,864 3,753,935 6,843,244 7,238,611 5,203,178 3,163,917 2,543,005 960,191 8,068,446 % growth 2004/2009 4. 4 2. 8 -28. 3 -10. 6 10. 1 -8. 1 -0. 1 0. 0 4. 8 -4. 9Modest growth in sales per outlet for most players, including H The growth trend in sales per outlet broadly matches the trends in overall sales growth for the top four g lobal retailers, with H and Inditex outperforming C and Gap. Higher sales per outlet for H compared to Inditex largely reflects H larger average outlet size. Downward price public press and prevalent discounting in apparel retailing, accompanied by the growing reliance on production outsourcing to low labour cost countries in the clothing industry, contributed to the doldrums or slight decline in sales per outlet for most retailers, especially for C and Fast Retailing. Sharp contraction for Gap Gaps higher-priced positioning and its relative resistance to discounting led to a sharp drop in sales per outlet, as it pted to maintain its margins at the expense of overall sales growth. 12 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 13 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International A Global Player Stil l Dependent on Western Europe Among H top 10 global markets in 2009, all of them were fixed in Western Europe apart from one, the US. This highlights the companys modest presence in emerging markets. Western Europe will account for 84% of the groups sales in 2009.This proportion exceeded 90% in 2005, which illustrates H relative success in expanding its presence globally in vagabond to offset the maturity and saturation in Western Europes clothing and footwear retailing. The companys largest market, Germany, will account for 26% of world sales in 2009. No other market had a share of global sales exceeding 10%, while the domestic market, Sweden, accounts for 5%, which shows that H is not overly dependent on the economy of a single market. In comparison to H, Inditex is more dependent on its domestic market, which will get 37% of its world sales in 2009. Both companies work throughk to extend their global reach, especially in emerging markets, although Inditex has a clear lead in this respect.Hence, H operates in 33 markets as of October 2009, compared to around 70 markets for Inditex. Hennes & Mauritz (H) AB Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers (Companys 10 Largest commercializes) 2. 0 1. 5 %CAGR 2009-2014 Netherlands Norway Spain 1. 0 Austria 0. 5 Sweden 0. 0 -0. 5 -1. 0 -1. 5 -2. 0 -2. 5 0 25,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 Market Size 2009 (US$ mn) 125,000 150,000 175,000 France Switzerland USA Opportunity Zone Germany coupled Kingdom burble size shows company sales in market, range displayed US$536 3,497 mn 14 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Western Europe Ongoing Expansion for H&M and Inditex H&M has a wide presence covering most Western European markets, in which its two main competitors are Inditex and C&A. All three companies have seen their share increase over the 2004-2009 period at the expense of smaller players, especially those with a national presence only. The shares of H&M and Inditex were driven by aggressive continuous network expansion across most markets. H&M has seen major ongoing store network expansion in most major European markets in 2008 and 2009, especially in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Its business model has proved to be relatively recession-proof, thanks to its low prices. C&A has been distanced by the two largest operators.Positioned as a value retailer targeted at families, C&A lost ground thanks to a less fashionable image and an inferior international presence. The company is absent from major European markets including Italy and the UK, and over 50% of its sales in Western Europe are derived from the German market. Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax Company Shares by GBO 4 % value share 3 2 1 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 14 12 % value share 10 Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB Company Shares Top 6 Markets Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers Retail Value RSP excl Sales Tax 8 6 4 2 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 C&A Mode Brenninkmeijer & Co Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB INDITEX Industria de Diseno Textil France Netherlands SwedenGermany Spain United Kingdom 15 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Western Europe Primark Emerges as New Major Player Primark expends beyond the British Isles to bring out as a new European player Primark, owned by Associated British Foods, only recently expanding outside Ireland and the UK with its number one outlets in Spain in 2008 and Portugal and campaign stores in Germany and the Netherlands in 2009, has ambitions to develop a wide pan-European network. A new market entry is planned in Belgium in 2010. The success recorded by its first stores in Spain indicates that it could become a major Europe-wide player. With a strong brand image based on low prices and trendy collections following fashion trends closely, Primark targets teenagers and young adults, thus competing directly against H&M in ter ms of demographic and price positioning. Clothing & Footwear Specialist Retailers Western Europe and United KingdomRetail Value RSP excl Sales Tax Company Shares by GBO 6 5 % value share 4 3 2 1 0 WE Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB WE Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) 2005 2006 2007 UK Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) AB 2008 2009 UK Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) 16 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Recent and Planned Market Entries Japan, South Korea Although geographic expansion has been a rudimentary feature of H&Ms strategy, it has focused until recently on Europe nd North America, in contrast to Inditex venturing in several markets in Latin America and Asia Pacific and C&As major presence in Brazil. Recent new market entries in Japan in September 2008 and the planned entry in South Korea in spring 2010 confirm H&Ms adoption of a strategy to be less dependent on Europe and North America. Successful new entry in Japan in 2008 With its first store in the upscale shopping district of Ginza in Tokyo, H&Ms market entry was successful. Initial reception was very favourable to the new chain, with around 50,000 shoppers tour the Ginza store over the first week of opening, and a second Tokyo store was opened in November 2008 in the trendy district of Harajuku. The Harajuku outlet was the first H&M worldwide to sell the fashion pitComme des Garcons, with a collection designed by the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo. This strategy helped create arithmetic mean ahead of the new store opening among fashion-conscious consumers and gives H&M a more exclusive image in Japan than it has in other markets. two more outlets in Tokyo are planned by the end of 2009 and a fifth is due to open in 2010, in Osaka. In state to expand faster in the mature Japanese market and to match the scale of its larger rival Inditex, H&M is considering acquisitions to be a feasible expansion strategy. Intense price competition in Japan In a mar ket hit by severe recession in 2009, price competition for clothing and footwear items has intensified. This as highlighted by mass merchandiser chains Justo (Aeon), Ito-Yokado (Seven & I) and Seiyu (Wal-Mart) starting to offer jeans at around ? 1,000 in 2009. Among H&Ms most direct competitors in terms of price and image, the dynamic player Fast Retailing with the Uniqlo chain combining low price and fashionable ranges, followed a similar price move in 2009. However, regardless of price H&M has an advantage in terms of fast fashion in being able to source and offer new products and refresh its collection more frequently than Fast Retailing. South Korea following in the footsteps of Inditex Following its successful entry in Japan, H&M plans to open its first outlet in South Korea in abut 2010 at a flagship store in Seouls business district of Myungdong.In a market less saturated than Japans and with fewer major international clothing and footwear specialist chains, H&M is expecte d to be successful. However, similarly to Japan, H&M enters after Inditex has already established a footprint in 2007 and expanded rapidly since. 17 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Further Growth in Large Emerging Markets China, Russia With little presence in emerging markets, H&M is attempting to catch up with rivals, especially by expanding in large emerging markets, especially in China and Russia. Ongoing expansion in China to continue Following market entry in Hong Kong in 2007, H&M expanded rapidly in 2008 and 2009 with new stores in mainland China.Sales in China accounted for almost 1% of global sales in 2009. The first outlet in Beijing was opened in April 2009 south of Tiananmen Square, with H&M becoming the first foreign retailer to be present in this newly renovated part of the city. In show to create more anticipation around the store opening among consumers, it coincided with the launch of a new collection in collaborati on with the designer Matthew Williamson. H&Ms presence in China is expected to continue expanding rapidly through new store openings, both in existing cities and by entering new cities where it can target the rapidly growing number of middle-class urban consumers. Among H&Ms global rivals, although Inditex expanded in China and Hong Kong earlier than H&M and has a stronger presence with more outlets, it has a less developed supplier network in Asia than H&M, and as a result it can struggle to offer competitive prices to compete against H&M and also against local players, which may lead to the adoption a more differentiated positioning than in other markets. With Gap planning to enter China in 2010, it is likely that a greater number of international clothing and footwear specialist retailers will enter the market. Competing in a similar price segment to H&M, Fast Retailing announced at the end of 2008 its long-term objective to have 100 Uniqlo outlets in China. Russia untimely ent ry but sound long-term prospects H&M opened its first store in Russia in Moscow in March 2009. However, suffering from a fall in gas and oil revenues, the countrys deep recession in 2009 is worse than previously anticipated and makes H&Ms market entry untimely.Rival Inditex has developed a major presence in Russia over several years, which has allowed the group to take advantage of the favorable economy until 2008 to expand and establish a wide customer base. Longer term, H&M is set to emerge from the recession relatively unscathed thanks to its low-priced positioning and to have major growth prospects. Key point With no presence in Latin America unlike C&A and Inditex, H&M could benefit from entering the large markets of Brazil and Mexico where its low prices should help build a major customer base. 18 Geographic Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Franchise Deals Give New Middle East Opportunities Middle East and Africa expansion set to gather pa ce H&Ms presence in the main Middle East market, the United Arab Emirates, continued to increase rapidly in 2009 hanks to the franchise agreement signed in 2006 with the Kuwait-based company MH Alshaya Group. Opting to expand through franchise stores and using a similar growth model as Inditex represents a major new development in H&Ms global expansion strategy in emerging markets, which is likely to help speed up its global expansion. Thanks to the partnership with Alshaya Group, H&M entered the markets of Bahrain and Oman in 2009, and also opened its first two stores in Egypt in the second half of the year. H&M is likely to enter other new markets in the Middle East and Africa by the end of 2009, or in 2010, including Lebanon. Under another franchise deal signed with the local company Match Retail, H&M plans to enter Israel in 2010.Dedicated store concept for Saudi-Arabian Arabia As store concept adaptation is an important ingredient in the success for foreign retailers oper ating in the Middle East and Africa, and require close attention, franchise partners are in a better position than H&M to implement new concepts. For illustration, in order to comply with local sharia law that forces shops to have segregated areas for men and for women, for its market entry in Saudi Arabia in autumn 2008, H&M opted to adapt its store concept to be only open to women and staffed by women. 19 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic OpportunitiesCategory Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 20 Category Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Modest Growth Forecast for H&Ms Main Channel H&Ms sales through the clothing and footwear specialist retailers channel will account for around 97% of its sales in 2009. This channel is forecast to record modest growth over the 2009-2014 period. While channel sales were hindered by the global economic cris is in 2008 and 2009, they are likely to recover to some extent, although they will remain affected by low price pressures on clothing prevailing at bottom this statistical distribution channel as well as in other channels.H&M has stronger prospects than most other clothing and footwear specialist players thanks to its wide international presence and low-cost and flexible business model allowing the group to undercut most rivals while remaining at the forefront of fashion trends. The ending of H&Ms sales is accounted for almost equally by homeshopping and internet retailing, although the latter is increasingly supplanting the former, mirroring the wider industry trend. Expanding internet retailing presence will help offset the growing saturation of clothing and footwear retailing. Unlike Inditex, which is also present in the furniture and furnishings stores channel in a number of markets under the Zara Home brand, H&M does not operate other store-based formats. Hennes & Mauritz (H &M) AB Global Retailing Presence & Prospects by Channel 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 0 100,000 Internet retailing % CAGR 2009-2014Clothing & footwear specialist retailers Homeshopping 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 Market Size 2009 (US$ million) 700,000 800,000 900,000 Bubble size shows company sales in this channel (2009). Range displayed US$169 13,118 million 21 Category Opportunities Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Battling Against Hypermarkets and spate Merchandisers Grocery retailers and mass merchandisers increase price pressure on clothing and footwear specialists Clothing and footwear specialist retailers are increasingly seeing more intense competition from rivals operating mostly in other store-based channels, such as mass merchandisers and hypermarkets.As H&M is positioned in the low-priced segment in clothing and footwear retailing, it is vulnerable to the direct competition from these channels and needs to cultivate its clear competitiv e advantage in terms of fashion and desirability. An example of the intensifying competition affecting clothing and footwear retailers is the price war between Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) and mass merchandisers Aeon (Jusco) and Wal-Mart (Seiyu) in Japan to sell jeans at around ? 1,000 in 2009. In the US, Gaps sales have been eroded by the success of mass merchandiser Targets aggressively priced clothing ranges. In Western Europe, the expansion of major hypermarket operators including Auchan, Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart into non-food products is set to continue as they seek to improve margins.Although this trend has slowed down to some extent in 2008 and 2009 due to the global economic crisis, with grocery retailers refocusing at least temporarily on more recession-proof food items, the longer-term trend is expected to see hypermarkets attempting to be more competitive in their offer of clothing and footwear, with more appealing ranges to compete more directly against specialist non-gr ocery retailers. In the UK, Wal-Marts Asda chain, thanks to the increased sales of its George apparel range in 2009, threatens to overtake Marks & Spencer and Associated British Foods Primark chain to become the countrys largest clothing retailer. Tesco saw clothing sales improve in the first half of 2009 alongside growth in non-food sales, up by 8%. Meanwhile, Sainsburys is planning to increase musculus quadriceps femoris allocated to non-food ranges in 2010 and 2011 and widen the reach of its successful TU range of clothes by offering it at more stores. 22 Category OpportunitiesRetailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Internet Retailing H&Ms Late Entry H&M and Inditex both rise to the challenge and plan to develop internet retailing beyond store-based rivals, clothing and footwear specialist retailers are increasingly battling against internet retailers and most of them react by developing or expanding their own online retailing activity. With consumers familiarity with ordering online generally on the rise, coupled with efforts from internet retailers to make their websites more visually appealing and user-friendly, consumers confidence in ordering clothes via the internet has been strongly boosted. Major homeshopping retailers which are also leading players in clothing, for example, Otto, are increasingly moving online. Similarly, H&Ms homeshopping sales in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and the Nordic countries are gradually migrating to internet retailing. The companys significant experience in homeshopping in these markets prepares it well to tackle the logistics aspects to make internet retailing operations efficient across European markets. Both Inditex and H&M made announcements in 2009 indicating that they are gradually joining the fray and expanding online in most European markets. Inditex will start operations in major European markets by early 2010, while H&M will launch its website in autumn 2010 in the UK.Thanks to its wide pro duct assortment, the immense choice increases H&Ms chances of success in internet retailing although this requires the site to be designed in a way to be easy to navigate. However, H&M is a late entrant in the channel and appears to have made a protracted move, with a superfluity of major other operators including Amazon, Asos, the John Lewis Partnership, Marks & Spencer and Tesco having already obtained a strong foothold in UK online clothes retailing. Rival Gap also plans to launch its own website in the UK, following its earlier initiative in 2009 to sell its products on the Asos. com website. In the US, Gap has a multibrand website and offers combined delivery on cross-brand orders.Aggressive expansion from internet retailing specialists and grocery retailers Major grocery retailers have high ambitions for online clothes sales, as shown by Tescos relaunch of its UK clothing website in September 2009 offering one-on-one label and brands, and with Wal-Marts Asda offering the George label at Asda Direct since 2008. Websites of grocery retailers also often offer the added convenience of click-and-collect services. Among specialist internet retailers, Amazons acquisition of the US online clothes retailer Zappos for US$850 million in August 2009 signals its ambitions in apparel retailing, and its low prices and high number of visits from customers give it key competitive advantages.Key point With internet retailing making price comparisons between retailers easier, H&M should focus on advertising its low prices and promotions on its transactional website, while also emphasising the more fashionable design of its clothes in order to differentiate its website from Amazon and the grocery retailers. 23 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 24 Brand and Operational Strategies Retailing Hennes & Mauritz E uromonitor International H&M A astray Recognised Global Brand Strong brand awareness and image H&Ms strong brand image is associated with value and posh collections, helped by the collaborations with famous designers. The latest example is the creation of the Jimmy Choo collection to be launched in November 2009.Such events create a great amount of publicity and media reporting to generate added footfall. In a similar way to Inditex, H&M relies on opening stores at a few flagship locations in major cities in order to build its brand image. Examples of such stores include the Harajuku store in Tokyo and the Champs Elysees store in Paris planned for 2010. Highlighting the H&M brands high level of awareness, it was ranked 21st among the top 100 most valuable global brands according to Interbrand in 2009, with a value exceeding US$15 billion. In comparison, Zara ranked only 50, while Gap came in at number 78. High-profile advertising with celebrities is widely used by H&M, unlike Inditex.H&M spends around 5% of its revenues on advertising. H&M Brand geographic Asia Pacific, Eastern involvement Europe, Middle East and Africa, North America, Western Europe Brand channels Clothing & footwear specialist retailers World ranking & share 1 and 1. 6% (2009) in clothing and footwear specialist retailers Multi-brand approach from Inditex In sharp contrast to H&Ms almost exclusive Brands other than H&M gain greater importance The more upmarket COS successfully launched in the UK in 2007 enabling the group to target wealthier customers and potentially increase its margins. It was subsequently extended to other markets Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The Swedish chain Monki, acquired in 2008 and known for its sophisticated and colourful store designs, is not being rebranded and was expanded outside Sweden in 2009 with two stores in Denmark. This should allow H&M to diversify its customer base. reliance on its eponymous brand, Inditex has adopted a strate gy based on building a vast brand portfolio including Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Zara and Zara Home. The key competitive advantages resulting from this companys multi-brand strategy is its ability to target a wide range of consumer groups with brands and products tailored to various tastes in order to bring exclusivity and differentiation. The level of independence of the companys major brands is also an important aspect of Inditexs capacity to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. Group synergies are ensured thanks to the groups vertical integration, which also contrasts with H strategy of outsourcing. 25 Brand and Operational Strategies Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Operations and snobbish Label Strategies Production outsourcing vs.. vertical integration H sources around 70% of its product assortment from Asia and over one third is purchased from China. It relies heavily on outsourcing production, with over 21 production offices world wide (10 in Europe, 10 in Asia and 1 in Africa) liaising with over 750 factories.In contrast, Inditex sources the majority of its products from Europe, and most of its production is made in-house in order to cut the time lag between product design and in-store availability. Although production in Asia helps H undercut Inditex on price, it also makes it more vulnerable to currency fluctuations, with the value of the US dollar strengthening in 2009 against European currencies and making imports from Asia more expensive in its main market, Europe. This reduced at least temporarily the scale of its competitive advantage over Inditex. Low inventory levels H operational efficiency is reflected in the level of inventory being usually low thanks to the frequent renewal of its collection.However, the focus on reducing inventory in order to protect margins has been detrimental to sales in some months in 2009, especially over the summer, when the company had relatively few items available fo r markdowns. Although H generally achieves low inventory costs, it is likely to be often surpassed by Inditex in this respect. As one of the pioneers of the fast fashion business model with new ranges being introduced every two weeks, Inditex is particularly efficient in incorporating feedback from stores daily into the development of new products, thanks to vertical integration and as such, H cannot replicate this model. Private label ranges under various names All of H product assortment consists exclusively of private label. Private label ranges have various names to arget different genders and customer types. For example, Hennes is targeted at 25-35 year-old women, L. O. G. G. is a casual sportswear label and MAMA is a maternity range. Key point As European consumers awareness of ethical issues increases, H is vulnerable to negative publicity surrounding working conditions at factories producing its clothes in Asia. Since it outsources a greater share of its products from Asia than Inditex and has less control over its supply chain, H auditing of factories must be strict and bluff to limit the chances of poor labour conditions being publicised and tarnishing its brand reputation. 26 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Strategic Evaluation Competitive Positioning Geographic Opportunities Category Opportunities Brand and Operational Strategies Recommendations 27 Recommendations Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Key Recommendations Develop more premium chains alongside core low-priced offering H focus on affordability remains Internet retailing to be differentiated and wide-reaching As H is a late entrant in the New market entries and expansion in existing markets Entering into new emerging a core element of its success and contributed to make the retailer resilient in a recessionary economic environment. Although its low-priced and fashionable image with its eponymous brand H should not be jeopardised, in addition to cultivating it, the retailer should also attempt to widen its customer base and especially target wealthier consumers with its other banners such as COS and Monki stores offering edgy fashion. This could also help increase profits once the economy recovers and consumers become less cost-conscious. internet retailing arena in most European markets and arrives in a crowded and competitive market where Amazon and Otto have made inroads, it will need to offer innovative transactional websites that can convey effectively the textures, colours and finish of its clothes in order to differentiate its offer but still highlight the low prices. H presence in internet retailing could also be extended to markets where it does not seek to open physical stores, mirroring the example of Marks & Spencer delivering products to around 80 countries since autumn 2009. markets, especially in neighbouring markets to those where it operates, offers considerable growth opportunities for H. Romania and T urkey are large European markets where the store concept is likely to be popular and where rival Inditex has developed a major store network. In Latin America, Mexico offers opportunities in the value segment of clothing and footwear retailing. Although it is well covered by C and Wal-Mart, H can cater for more fashionconscious consumer groups. In Asia Pacific, H burgeoning presence could accelerate by expanding to new cities, especially in China and Japan. In the latter market, new store concepts and collections or new banners such as COS and Monki could be tested. 28 Retailing Hennes & Mauritz Euromonitor International Experience more This research from Euromonitor International is part of a global strategic intelligence system which offers a complete picture of the commercial environment . Also available from Euromonitor International Global Briefings The state of the market globally and regionally, emerging trends and pressing industry issues timely, relevant appreciation pub lished every month. Global Company ProfilesThe competitive positioning and strategic direction of the leading companies including uniquely sector-specific sales and share data. Country Market cleverness Reports The key drivers influencing the industry in each country comprehensive coverage of supply-side and demand trends and how they shape the future outlook. 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