Mass Incarceration Of The United States - 1417 Words

In the U.S. there has been a rise in incarcerations, the numbers today are much higher than they were 30, 40 years ago despite the fact that crime is at historic lows. So what are we to make of the leap in time typically served for crimes in America’s society? Either the justice system was too lenient in the past, or the justice system is too strict now. Have we just now realized the real gravity of murder, or are we now overreacting? The United States currently over-incarcerates its citizens, prisoners have become part of the economy, manufacturing and assembling products for major corporations. Based on the research, it would be unethical to continue a trend of mass incarceration when the conditions are unsustainable, inhumane, and the product of unethical polices. In the world because some crimes are more severe than others, human beings decided that deprivation of liberty was the best form of punishment. The idea was to make prison a system for corrections, rather than detention alone. These ideas soon manifested in schools of philosophy and criminology were the notion was defended that punishment should be more lenient only at the cost of the greater good and aimed to change the behavior itself. Eventually these ideas gave birth to a new form of incarcerations designed to deter both rise in crime and to reform, based on self-reflection over the prisoner’s choices. Well then why are the incarcerations in the United States so high one might ask? In the United StatesShow MoreRelatedMass Incarceration : The United States1628 Words   |  7 PagesMass Incarceration is a huge problem in United States culture. No other country in the world incarcerates its population the way that America does. â€Å"The U.S. incarcerates more people than a ny country in the world – both per capita and in terms of total people behind bars. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it has almost 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population.† Worse yet the majority of the incarcerated individuals belong to a minority group despite not participatingRead MoreThe Mass Incarceration Of The United States1198 Words   |  5 PagesThe mass incarceration in the United States, has grown hand in hand with the well-disguised scheme of racialized social control that worked similarly to Jim Crow institutions.   Howard Zinn describes social-economic structures that justified slavery, also prevented a class movement between poor whites and slaves that would threaten the power of the elite. The birth of white privilege and segregation of African Americans aided in creating Jim Crow policies and in the criminal justice and politicalRead MoreMass Incarceration During The United States1322 Words   |  6 PagesMonroe Craver Mrs. Gallos English 3 Honors 30 March 2017 Mass Incarceration in the United States There are too many people in prison in our country and any people in prison today are non-violent drug offenders. The American war on drugs has targeted people in poverty and minorities, who are more likely to be involved in drug use. This has created a pattern of crime and incarceration and â€Å"...[a] connection between increased prison rates and lower crime is tenuous and small.† (Wyler). The prisonRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The United States Essay1264 Words   |  6 PagesMass incarceration is a major problem in the United States. Since the tough on crime movement that began to emphasize more punishment and creating new policies such as; three strikes law, truth-in sentencing laws, mandatory sentencing, and determinate sentencing, our prisons and jails have become overcrowded. The three strikes law increases the prison sentence of an offender convicted of three felonies or serious crime. Usually the punishment ranges from a minimum of 25 years to l ife in prison. TheRead MoreMass Incarceration And Its Effects On The United States946 Words   |  4 PagesMass incarceration alludes to the investigation which ought to be clarified as exceedingly elevated pace of imprisonment among African Americans men and Latino males from troubling neighborhoods. Many will say it’s from poor families and when they take the males, it weakens the family even more. One of the main reasons for mass incarceration is to have control of the system and African American’s after slavery was annihilated. One main issue about mass incarceration would be that if an African AmericanRead MoreThe United States Faces Excessive Mass Incarceration1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States faces excessive mass incarceration. We have the largest prison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per-capita (1 in 100 citizens is behind bars). While you are certainly familiar with these statistics, I would like to emphasize that using incarceration as the primary response to social problems, as is happening today in the United States, impacts the incarcerated, their families and neighborhoods, as well as costing Maryland taxpayers millions of dollarsRead MoreMass Incarceration : A Major Problem Within The United States1695 Words   |  7 PagesMass incarceration has recently become a major problem within the United States. Although crime rates have dropped since the 1990s, incarceration rates have soared. This trend is largely associated with increased enforcement of drug-related crimes. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, this problem involves racial discrepancies when regarding these mass incarcerations. Incarcerations appear to be the most prominent throughout urban areas and the south, which happen to be the areas where AfricanRead MoreThe New Jim Crow : Mass Incarceration1199 Words   |  5 Pagesdid read her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness. Michelle Alexan der stated that The most despised in America is not gays, transgenders, nor even illegal immigrants - it is criminals. That was an important quote since the stereotypical criminal in our racially divided America in most cases are those of color also known as blacks. This is why the criminal justice system in the United States promotes the mass incarceration of blacks that can be seen through highRead MoreMass Incarceration : A New Form Of Slavery Essay1555 Words   |  7 PagesMass Incarceration: A New Form of Slavery in the United States Lorena P. Ambriz History 12A Abstract Starting in the 1970s, the rising rate of imprisonment came to be known as Mass Incarceration. What was once an average of 100 people getting imprisoned for every 100,000 adults, prior to the 1970s, has now grown to become more than 600 individuals per every 100,000 adults imprisoned. With only five present of the total world population, The United States holds an astonishing 25 percent of theRead MoreMass Incarceration Is Defined As The Imprisonment Of A Large Amount Of People1439 Words   |  6 PagesAt the simplest level, mass incarceration is defined as the imprisonment of a large amount of people. However, that does not tell the whole story. The majority of people incarcerated are minorities, and although mass incarceration began as a system of unjust racial and social control, today it continues for many political reasons including government grants, swaying voter opinion, and for-profit prison revenue. The United States incarcerates more people, per capita, than any other nation in the

Human Relations A Personal Experience Free Essays

Human Relations: A Personal Experience Allison R. West Introduction to Graduate Studies in Human Relations 12/4/13 While reading Modern Human Relations at Work I found information that I pretty much expected to find in a book on this subject. I found some specific studies that I had not read about before and ideals that I found to be true in theory, but not so much in practice. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Relations: A Personal Experience or any similar topic only for you Order Now The standard questions of whether a happy worker is a productive worker and do open door policies work were addressed. Ten years ago I would have read this text book in a much different manner, with a completely different erspective than I do today. I may have viewed the ideals of organizational human relations with some sort of hope that people can actually work in environments where there are superiors and subordinates can maintain a sense of respect and humanity towards one another, but that has not always been my experience. The old expression â€Å"it’s lonely at the top† can be interpreted in several ways; there are not many top dogs out there, or that the higher you go the less time you have to mingle with the lowly, or the less you really care to, or the misguided belief that you should have a self-imposed separation . Whatever the meaning or reason one thing is true to my understanding; organizations are truly not classless societies and while they, in theory, should understand human relations better than anyone, they practice very little of what they profess to preach. I do not mean to give the impression that I do not understand the need for hierarchies and the important role they play in efficient organizations, it is not the paradigm, but the players, with which I take issue. In this paper I would like to address the two areas that were of greatest interest to me as they apply to my experiences working within large organizations. The first area referred to the fundamentals of human relations and included a study conducted by the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric in Illinois that I found interesting. The second discussed the management of conflict between individuals and organizations and included exercises that companies can use to build stronger relationships between botn I wou d like to snare my thoughts on these areas trom both theoretical and practical stand points. The book defined human relations as follows: â€Å"The process by which management brings workers into contact with the organization in such a way that the objectives of oth groups are achieved is human relations† (pg. 5) and takes the point of view of the manager. While the company and the worker share a common purpose of being successful and making money, the worker also has goals that the company may or may not be aware of or concerned with. Successful human relations addresses both the company and the worker and finds a satisfactory solution to all needs. This, in my opinion, is where most companies don’t seem to be able to get it right. It is not enough for an organization to say that they care about their workers, what their needs are, what their opinions are and how they can best use their talents to nhance the organization, there has to be follow through and this is what usually does not happen. You only have to look at a company’s turnover of employees to get a good idea of their attitude towards human relations. I spent 10 years working for an organization that truly did not care at all about their workers, though they professed to. It is my experience with this particular organization, which I will call Agency X that I will be referring to in this paper. Agency X has a high turnover for several reasons, one of which is the amount of stress that comes with the Job and the econd is the response, or lack thereof, on the part of the agency to try and understand, alleviate, or even acknowledge the fact that the needs of the workers are not being met. So while I read through the book, I suppose I was more Jaded and had a more pessimistic attitude than I should have, but I truly believe that few companies actually care about human relations in practice. I found the Hawthorne studies interesting in that it showed that a worker who feels that they are valued and has some level of relationship with those they work with is productive and that the quality of the supervision they receive effects the uality and quantity of their work (pg. 9). When I worked for Agency X I was a case manager for 4 years and had a supervisor who truly cared and was concerned for the well-being of her workers and the impact the Job was having on us. This supervisor did a good Job of shielding us from the bureaucratic issues that came from above. She believed that the quality of services to clients and the needs of the workers were both equally as important. After 4 years she changed Jobs and I was promoted to her position, it was at this same time that our contract was obtained by another big agency and suddenly things changed. While I continued to supervise in the way I had been taught, ensuring that what needed to be done was done, that clients were receiving the best possible services and that workers were not burning out and were taking care of themselves I began to see the differences in field work and middle management. I was accused of babying my workers whenever I tried to make things a little easier for them. It is important to note that we worked with abused children and families in volatile situations that required a tremendous amount of travel and field time (we were not child welfare). Let me give an example of a worker who was close to burning out. We had both been at a home in the country where the situation became fragile and volatile and we decided that it was best to leave. After we had driven away (we took separate cars) my worker pulled over to the side of the road and just sat there. I pulled in behind ner and Just watched tor a tew seconds wondering if she was going to get out of the car, but she did not. I walked up to her window to find her in tears. I allowed her to vent her feelings and frustrations and finally I suggested to her that she go home for the rest of the day (it was early Friday afternoon) and spend time with her daughters and not think about work until Monday morning. I told my worker that we would meet in my office on the Monday and talk about what we needed to do make sure her needs and the needs of the client were being met. While this was an appropriate solution to me, I was then â€Å"counseled† as I told my worker to go home when she had not filled out a â€Å"request for leave† form. That was my first indication that Agency X did not care at all about my worker, all they cared about was a piece of paper that they would not have received until timesheets were turned in the following week anyway. So I took that hit, signed y piece of paper that said I was a bad supervisor that day and never said a word to my worker about it. Human relations works at a worker level and even at a middle management level if you have a supervisor who gives a damn about you, but it is only a slogan on a poster for those in upper management. The human resources model outlined on page 11 of our book gives 4 systems that an agency can fall into when dealing with human relations. I feel that an agency can fall into several systems at one time. I think those in middle management still see their workers as valuable assets that should not be easily discarded. Middle anagement have better relationships with their workers and probably fall between system 3 (consultive democratic) and system 4 (participative democratic) depending on how long the subordinate and superior have been working together. Upper management would have you believe that their agency is participative democratic, but they are, in reality, benevolent autocratic (system 2) where condescension and punishment are the main staples of management. It was forced upon me many times that I should separate myself from my workers and make sure they understood we were â€Å"not the same†. While I understand that it is not always wise for supervisors o be friends with workers, we do not need to sit in ivory towers looking down on them either. There is a happy medium that upper management ignore. As I progressed in Agency X, I was promoted again to Regional Director and was responsible for services all 16 counties in Southwest Oklahoma. This was my first and only experience with upper management and I have no desire to â€Å"go there† again. How to cite Human Relations: A Personal Experience, Papers

The Creative Organization

Question: How tp Develop the profile of the creative organization? Answer: Annual reports issued by several organizations, and business and general media both hard copy and internet sources that were described in the later part of the chapter are not accessible in the public domain. Public domain information excluding audited annual report is mostly not objective but they are self-eulogizing in nature. Therefore, it is said that those are not acceptable and useful for university purpose. Information already exists in the public domains that are collected by the researcher on the given organization. A researcher either uses survey process or conducts interviews in order to collect that information. The survey process focuses on collecting quantitative data that based on the use of numbers. On the other hand, interview process focuses on qualitative research that follows use of words. There are several research methods are available that can be considered while doing the research. I reviewed all those methods and the literature of my subject to find out the m ost appropriate research method for my work. The most commonly used and famous research methods are quantitative research method and qualitative research method. In case of quantitative research, it is already mentioned that it focuses on the use of numbers. Mostly the positivist researchers use this mode of research method. Positivism research method is defined as a system that depends on information and apparent phenomena. In this type of research, the researcher primarily builds a hypothesis and during the research, the tries to either prove it or disprove it. Qualitative research method is a flexible and evaluative approach that works with research activity and advices the use of words. In case of interpretivist research, this mode of research and data collection method is commonly used. This interpretivist research is a system that tries to find out the causes of existing phenomena only. This research method is also called as Posteriori method not Priori. In this type of research, the researcher does not need to establish a hypothesis in this research method; however, the result of this type of research is noted as a hypothesis. According to the positivistic research approach, everyone caries the same system of meaning and our views are also same with the world. On the other hand, interpretive research approach states that each person cannot experience the reality and the in a same way. It can be said in other words that the same ontology is never shared at any cost. As mentioned by Neumann (1997, Page 70), The primary questions that must be followed at a time of an interpretive research are: What are the experiences faced by the people on the world? What meaning those experiences create and share? According to Blaikie (1993), the researcher, while doing an interpretive research, tries to make a pain that is actually is vague. From the quantitative research and thousand of participants and respondents, a researcher can easily develop required statistics. On the other hand, interpretive researcher spends a lot o time with a comparatively small number of people to evaluate a large number of data which will hel p him to establish a in-depth picture of the research subject. According Neumann (1997, Page 68), Interpretive research approach follows a practical orientation when positivism follows instrumental orientation. The primary goal of interpretive research is help the ordinary people so that they can manage their practical affairs in everyday life. The interpretive method is also known as a systematic approach of socially meaningful actions via direct observation done on people to understand how people develop and maintain their social worlds. One of the most important theories of interpretive approach is Grounded theory, which is developed from the group up, and then the data is evaluated and analyzed. Generally, researchers can collect knowledge from various sources and can apply them into abstract theories. In case of qualitative research, most of the times grounded the researchers use theory. According to Neumann (1997), however, this theory is not used always and it is only used when a theory is needed to build that will be relevant to the evidence. Unlike positivism, interpretivist approach combines theories such as grounded theory and phenomenology and deals with prearranged reality and recognize the subjective nature of social activity, the social establishment of reality and a deemed inescapable impact or influence by the researcher on the research. While doing social enquiries, the interpretivists mostly use approaches such as getable sources of information and unstructured interviews. However, this method also includes some limitations that include the impact of observer on the observed thing and the biasness of the researcher. On the other hand, the positivism research method is deductive research method. It begins with a hypothesis. The interpretivist approach is known as inductive as it does not need any hypothesis to commence. Therefore, it can be said that positivism is a priori approach while interpretivism is a posteriori method. Interpretivist theory is made from observations and commonly used languages to cover theories and different point of view. Based on the definition of grounded theory, researchers collect data and then they create theories from that data. This process is mainly established by observation and iterative analysis. These theories are tested because it emerges from the study and as the research procedure continues, the grounded theories are revised as well as reaffirmed. The interpretivism research approach allows the associate ti have some preselected research topics as well as some research questions. Therefore, the research questions can be formulated properly for developing th e responses of the interviewees along with the capacity of asking for clarification of ambiguous or unclear answers. At the same time, the applicant is at liberty to guide the conference into regions of meticulous apprehension to him or her, which can expand the parameters of the research work. This broadening of the terms of reference acceptable by the investigator stems from instigating with wide-ranging rather than very prcised views and concepts, with the objective of arriving at meaning through investigation and surveillance. On the other hand, in case of positivistic approach, positivism is recognized as the natural science approach. Positivisms are naturalism, logical empiricism and behaviorism. It has been seen that the researchers prefer to select quantitative data along with surveys, statistics as well as experiments. In this case, the researchers use exact measures and the objective research. However, these exist some criticisms that positivistic research workers favor the numbers over the people and might not concentrate wisely. Neumann (1997, pg. 63) has stated that positivism considers social science as one of the most organized procedure for combining the deductive knowledge with accurate experiential observations of the specific behavior for discovering and confirming a set of probabilistic unfussy rules that might be beneficial to forecast the general patterns of the individual actions. It can be seen that the positivists believes largely in reality, as reality exists and can be easily discovered as well as studied, keeping in mind that researchers might be flawed, but the reality does not. Reality has a prearranged outline that avoids arbitrariness. Fundamental outlines of social realism display constancy. Positivists consider that behaviour does not merely go after from wants. Cause and effect has an impact on actions in the genuine world (authenticity). Fundamental rules are governed by possibility and lean to hold more for great groups of people than for a personality. Main beliefs at work here are laws of possibility, namely Law of statistical regularity and Law of inertia of large numbers. As Neumann (1997) states it, positivism supposes that the laws overriding realism function to a scheme of stringent logic and positivistic researchers correlate these rules with the facts recognized about life using deductive reason. In positivism, clarifications arrived at must have zero rational disagreements and must be reliable with the experiential particulars. Given that the reason of my research was to recognize the distinctiveness of a pioneering organization so as to offer a benchmark against which any corporation can recognize its location on the evolutionary pathway to being pioneering, then the research strictures had to take in contribution by elected organizations labeled as inventive. Originally, it is assumed that my research would be positioned in one or other of the two major paradigms and favours either the quantitative or qualitative approach. Formerly, it is measured a quantitative procedure. It has been imagined the use of yearly reports of corporations scheduled on the Australian stock exchanges in combination with a mailed-out quantitative investigation. The preponderance of these companionships would not have come out on a list of pioneering organizations such as created by The University of Melbourne during its research component since the latters publication controlled the names of fifty corporations only. Mail out is one of the effective procedures in this manner, as this call for the information of both the numerical and the subjective data. However, it can be mentioned that the examination of the annual reports are requested as well as revealed the fact that the financial numbers were not alone sufficient enough to provide meaningful inputs to the overall development of the innovative profile. I accomplished that necessities by me for supplementary monetary investigations plus skewed answers to numerous questions in the broad region of the managerial surroundings would possibly acquiesce a poor answer. I therefore discarded the thought of a quantitative examination. The community sphere data set out in yearly news gave only a little division of the data essential for my research work. Consequently, I had to access corporations to locked answers to what comprised a pioneering association. The next question to be tackled was whether to inductively build up a profile of the pioneering association from untainted qualitative research work carried out on site, where there was small recognized a priori and interviewees were inquired to talk about novelty and to give their views on what made for inventive behaviour and results. The problems I professed with this approach was the time necessary to be used up by an candidate in contributing in this way but, much more prominently, th e plausible lack of adequate enthusiastic interviewees to form a creditable sample. At this point, it came out that neither of the two major paradigms and qualitative and quantitative research would serve up completely to bring in answers to my research inquiries, signifying that an assorted approach would be suitable. I determined that the most excellent approach for my meticulous study work was to appraise the literature to recognize qualities or characteristics of pioneering associations and to assemble these into a practicable border that I could employ in meeting Australian associations classified as innovative. It can be stated that given this assembly of innovative plus data supplied in the yearly report along with the interview, I could produce a proper corporation analysis of each of the participating corporation and inductively build up an innovation profile. As methodology, this was shaping up as exploratory research involving analysis of a number of companies, using a structured format for summarizing key data. This pointed to an meeting with contributing corporations where I was pre-armed with surveys and where the applicant was asked to reply questions. This assisted to make certain that I enclosed the essential ground without running out of time or overstaying my greeting. The questions I enclosed before the beginning of meetings were of such a nature as could be responded during the interview that is they did not involve the manufacture of numbers which would have had a twice difficulties in consuming too much time and containing to be supplied afterward. In adding up, my appraisal of the literature pointed to that modernism had its heredity typically in environmental background, which was mainly not reliant on facts and figures.

David Jones Essay Example

David Jones Essay Executive summary David Jones Limited is an Australian based department store chain that was founded by David Jones in the year 1838. Currently, the company has about 37 stores located in most Australian states and territories. The Australian department store industry is mostly dominated by large players which are David Jones and Myers, alongside smaller and independent companies. The report analyses David Jones’s external environment using Porter’s Five Forces model alongside the PEST model. The industry does not possess major threat from new entrants due to strong barriers to entry and strong competition for retail space. There is also a strong rivalry between competitors as limited space is being contested by major players alongside competing sales events meant to attract new customers. Online shopping is the most significant substitute for David Jones but is not as threatening as the hand on experience is not replicable by online shopping. Buyers or consumers possess a moderate amount of power as consumers are more careful of expenditure after the GFC and with the strong Australian currency, they can afford to purchase cheaper imported products. Supplier power is split in two, where more popular brands possess high power as they can choose whether to supply or not while smaller companies have considerably less as they depend on department stores to gain awareness and momentum. With the PEST model, it is shown that the department store industry is expected to show only a small amount of growth due to lack of confidence and increased spending. Also, government legislation is increasing David Jones’s fixed cost for operating by increasing employee wages, electricity bills and taxation. We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However modern technologies used such as Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) can help reduce expense and achieve high performance. Increasing population, increasing importance of sustainability and also increasing multi-cultural growth, forces David Jones to adapt to satisfy these different needs and demands. The internal environment of David Jones is analysed using the value chain analysis and also analysing their resources and capabilities. The value chain analysis focuses on general management, HRM, technology development and procurement. David Jones provides financial services with an agreement with American Express via the use of credit cards. They also train and retain its over 9000 employees through constant development programs managed by their HRM department. David Jones focuses heavily on technology to manage their activities revolving around their products such as managing inventory levels and procurement. David Jones faces economies of scale when it comes to procurement as they possess multiple stores and tend to buy in bulk and also allowing products to be sold cheaper compared to smaller, independent stores. David Jones also focuses on partnerships with brands as they only sell final products, making contact with brands important so as to ensure exclusive distribution. Heavy investment is also placed into maintaining and improving store appearance to ensure the best consumer experience. In terms of resources and capabilities, David Jones possesses a few resources that build sustainable competitive advantage. The first major one is David Jones store locations as they are rare and hard to imitate due to the high cost and lack of availability. David Jones is also moving into the online market with a partnership with IBM to help improve online integration and give them a first mover advantage over Myers. Though the loyalty program employed by David Jones   contains points of differentiation, it is easily copied by Myers as the offerings are similar making it a temporary sustainable advantage at best. Improving service staff to act customer sales advisors may be a powerful source of differentiation, but as consumers are more tech savvy, this may become a strategic rigidity and is therefore viewed as a temporary competitive advantage. Industry Analysis Australian Department Store industry is a highly concentrated industry, with the big 4 companies account for over 80% of the market shares (Outlaw, 2012). New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are the regions contributing over 75% of the 18. 9 billion industry revenue. Westfarmers (Target and Kmart) and Woolworths (BigW) are the two largest companies competing on low-cost strategies (Porter, 1980). Myers and David Jones, holding 15. 3% and 10. 5% market shares respectively (Figure 1), compete on differentiated strategies targeting the upper consumer market (Porter, 1980). Over 10% of the total working population are employed in this industry (Productivity Commission, 2011). In recent years, department stores industry has contracted since the hit of Global Financial Crisis creating shock on consumers’ confidence (Figure 2), despite Australia’s narrow escape from going into recession (Uren, 2009). As a result, the marginal propensity skyrocketed after GFC effect hit the economy from nearly mere 3% in mid-2007 to 12% in late-2008 (Figure 3). To stimulate the economy, RBA employs monetary policy by continuously lower cash rate since 2011 (RBA, 2012). Although 2012 has seen some increase in the industry revenue, IBISWorld predicted continuous decline until 2014 (Outlaw, 2012). David Jones announced in its ASX Release 40% decline in profit-after-tax in 2012 is expected, partly associated with costs involved in its new strategic initiatives (David Jones, 2012). Myer, David Jones’ closest competitors, experienced decreased total sales of 3. % and stated in the annual report that sales were disappointing due to challenging retail environment (Myer, 2011). Major retail chains, such as Zara and Gap, intensify the industry competition by opening their own branches in Australia (Productivity Commission, 2011). David Jones has 37 branches operating across Australia, except Northern Territory and Tasmania (David Jones, 2012). Sales revenue for David Jones was AUD2 billion in 2011, a 4% drop from previous year (David Jones, 20 11). The decline in sales revenue is expected for the income year ending 2012, despite reopening of its Melbourne CBD stores after 3 years redevelopment late 2011 (David Jones, 2012). As part of its ‘growing store network strategy’, two new branches in Highpoint (VIC) and Indooroopilly (QLD) has commenced construction and are due to open in 2013 and 2014 respectively (David Jones, 2012). Furthermore, it is planning to replicate the successful branch operation to the new stores and promised to build on its core strength. Figure 2: Consumer Sentiment Index Figure 3: Household Marginal Propensity to Save External Analysis Porter’s Five Forces New Entrants (low) Australia’s growing population attract new entrants to the market trying to capture the potential growth, as depicted by UK investment fund offer to overtake David Jones (Harper, 2012). However, the barrier to entry from the current major competitor is exceptionally high. The high industry concentration, with David Jones and Myers being the main players, are equipped with the funding allowing them to start price war blocking any interested entrants. As the industry is dependent on the population demography, all medium to high density regions are equipped with either Myers or David Jones (David Jones, 2012. Myer, 2012). It is more than likely that one will often find both stores located adjacent to each other. This limits the space available for new entrants as existing competitors are competing for such retail space. Thus, threat of new entrants is low. Rivalry (high) Rivalry among the department store industry has been increasing since 1980s, with major players have outlets throughout Australia both metropolitan and country areas. In order to operate efficiently and effectively, both large retail space and high volume traffic is required (Outlaw, 2012). Such space is rare, and every player is competing for it. Wide range of products and services is required as consumers are becoming more time sensitive (Drake, 2009). Sale events are often used as tools to attract consumers into their department stores, further emphasis the high competition in the industry. David Jones is competing for the higher segment than Kmart or BigW, hence must differentiated itself in non-price form as evident from its store decorations. Other formed of differentiation are value added products like own label credit card. With major retail chain, such as Zara, now operating independently in Australia, has increased the level of rivalry and threaten the existing retailers with their effective vertical integration allowing them to operate efficiently and quick stock turnover (Productivity Commission, 2011). Threat of substitute (low) The most significant form of substitute is online shopping which has become increasing legitimate form of shopping. With Amazon and eBay being the dominant player in the online industry, they are providing very wide range of goods and services on the online platform, allowing customers to browse products without limit on its location and range. However, they are not a major concern for the industry as consumers expected to have their hand on the products before making purchases especially in apparels retail. The current players are shielding themselves be offering online purchase services, with the growing trend to increase their online stock (David Jones, 2012). Niche market retailers posed as potential substitute for David Jones. However, they have little impact as David Jones captures the larger market. Power of buyers (consumers) (medium) Consumer spending drops as they become more price cautious after the post-global financial crisis, placing constraints on the David Jones and Myers (Productivity Commission, 2011). Intense rivalry among department stores has empowered buyers to enjoy vast savings as each strives to attract consumers into their stores. The strong dollar places challenge on domestic retailers as imports become relatively cheaper. David Jones need to work harder to attract customers to move out of the lower price alternatives, not only through enhanced shopping experienced but also through partnerships with AMEX and Quantas (Reilly, 2012). Power of Suppliers (medium) Retails such as Myers and David Jones, to some degree, depend on their supplier product line. One key aspect of differentiation strategy is get well-recognised brands to be selling exclusively at their stores. These power brands have relatively high power over David Jones, as demanded by consumers. Without them, consumers will go elsewhere where greater product selections are available. On the other hand, other minor brands require shop from, and David Jones can provide them with shop front across Australia. These manufacturers depend on David Jones for their shop front, hence David Jones has power over them. This interdependent relationship results in medium power of suppliers in general, as some may have higher bargaining power while others have less. Macro-environmental Forces Economic condition Although the global economy had started recovering from the global financial crisis, Australian retail industry is not completely unaffected. With an increased saving ratio, the industry was forecasted to only slightly climb up 0. 5% in this financial year, as Australian consumers do not have strong confidence in the market (IBISWorld, 2012). The declining consumer disposable income could lead to decrease in retail sales revenue. It had been found that David Jones’ profit went down by roughly 15 per cent with a drop of 8. 3 per cent in Consumer Sentiment (Appliance Retailer, 2011). Under this environment, consumers probably prefer discount goods instead of high-end products. Figure 1: Sales of David Jones for the past 5 years Political and legal Early 2010, the government introduced the New Modern Retail Award and the award has influenced the industry in many ways. For example, the employers have to pay double wages to employees if they work on Sundays (IBISWorld, 2012). In addition, an up to 19% jump of the electricity bill could be imposed on large retailers due to the government implemented carbon-tax (Renewable Energy News, 2012). Definitely, an increase in taxation would not only increase retailers’ fixed cost, but also increase consumers’ living cost and decrease their disposable income. Indeed, the power which comes from the government has great influence on the retail industry. Technological Retailers are able to cut expenses and achieve high performance because of advanced technologies that were broadly used in managing inventory and customer-relationship. Bar codes, EFTPOS and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) are the three most common instruments used in retail industry (IBISWorld, 2012). For instance, RFID could allow retailers to improve logistic efficiency by identifying accurate stock level, to reducing labour costs and preventing theft and theft. As the number of Internet users increased sharply from 6 million in year 2000 to   17 million in year 2010 (Internet World Stats, 2010), Internet shopping has become a trend among Australians. The development of transportation and secure online payment systems, like Paypal, made online shopping more attractive. Most department stores had built up websites, which support online shopping. Nonetheless, David Jones’ online shopping service might be still in the infant stage because of insufficient investment in technology (Bamp;T Magazine, 2012). Demographic Australias estimated resident population expects the Australian population would increase to between 30. 9 and 42. 5 million, which could be at least 1. 5 times to 2 times of today, by year 2056 (ABS, 2008). The demand of normal goods tends to keep growing. In other words, the department store could have broader development space. Socio-cultural As the population realized the significance of environmental sustainability, most department stores have implemented the idea of â€Å"sustainable environment† in their company policy. David Jones’ environment policy aims to operate and manage the company in a sustainable manner, such as reducing electricity consumption, promoting reusable shopping bags and building environmentally- sustainable stores (David Jones). Furthermore, growing number of immigrant have led Australia to be a multi-cultural nation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics expected that net the number of overseas migrants would grow instantly about 4000 quarterly until 2015 (2012). Culture diversity could change the original supply chain of department store in order to meet the new immigrants’ needs. Therefore, changing culture demographic could force department stores to have more brands, to suit different cultures. Internal Analysis Value Chain Analysis As support activities, the analysis takes into account general administration, HRM, Technology development and procurement. Even though David Jones is not recognised for having an excellent relationship with its customers, that’s one of the points over which the company watches. In terms of financial services, the company maintains an agreement with American Express for the use of credit cards in its stores (IBISWorld, 2011). The retail industry is responsible for nearly 20% of the jobs in Australia (David Jones, 2012), and David Jones itself employs over 9000 people (IBISWorld, 2011). The company claims to train and retain its employees, which means constant development programs (David Jones, 2012). The activities performed by the HRM department include hiring, remunerating, training, promoting, motivating, etc. Being such a huge retailing company makes it imperative for David Jones to have an efficient use of technology. Managing stocks, mapping sales, purchasing goods, supporting applications and other key activities rely on technology (David Jones, 2012). Besides, the growing of online shopping constitutes a new demand for the company: to offer an online store consistent to customers’ expectations. Turning down an eBay offer for online shopping (Arnott, 2012) is an indication of the company’s own commitment in the field. Procurement here can be faced as a source for economy of scale, since the company runs 37 stores in Australia (David Jones, 2012). Therefore, the model adopted must be of large scale purchasing. The primary activities include partnering with vendors, purchasing goods, managing and distributing inventory, operating stores and marketing and selling. Since David Jones only sells final products, the contact with the brands it sells is of primary importance. It buys from more than 600 suppliers (David Jones, 2012), and one key practice is maintaining partnerships with them. Currently, there are a few deals of exclusive distribution with some key vendors (Outlaw, 2012). Given the company’s size, economy of scale is a key factor on its purchases, making it possible for customers to buy cheaper than they would do in smaller stores. Almost 40% of the company’s sales consist of clothing and footwear (Outlaw, 2012), followed by 13% of electronics and household appliances. The company depends on sales forecast to manage its inventory. More details about how the company deals with these forecasts were not found. David Jones currently invests in the appearance of its stores, what means making them more friendly and attractive to customers, enhancing their experience of buying and reducing the time spent on queues. Since price is the major basis of competition in that industry (Outlaw, 2012), David Jones needs to watch over this point. Other factors are location of the stores (in this case, stores are very well located), brands offered (usually well-known brands) and promotion (Outlaw, 2012). Resources and Capabilities David Jones uses the resources and capabilities that they possess to allow them to maintain its current market share in the department store industry and also provides them with the necessary competitive advantage to continue advancing in the industry. However, resources alone are not necessarily sustainable competitive advantage and must possess four attributes, which are rare, valuable, inimitable, and possess no equivalent substitutes (Dess, Eisner amp; Lumpkin, 2009). David Jones’s primary sustainable competitive advantage comes from its large store base and store locations, with over 37 stores in major areas all across Australia (David Jones Limited, 2012). David Jones stores are situated in areas with high flow of traffic such as in larger shopping complex and within the central business district. These locations are costly to hold and act as barriers to entry for potential entrants in the market as competitors would require a large amount of capital cost to be able to compete, making it an inimitable resource. Aside from that, David Jones also bought two major city properties in Melbourne and in Sydney rather than leasing them which is another advantage as Myers continues to pay rent for those similar store locations (Bartholomuesz, 2010). Not only does David Jones save on costs over time, they are also able to invest more into the property or choose to sell the property for a large sum should the need rise. David Jones also places an emphasis on partnerships with different companies to improve their operations in their business. In the fiscal year of 2011, it is shown that David Jones’ online store only contributed only 0. 2% of total sales in a time where recent studies show that about 78% of Australian consumers expect to be able to use technology as a part of their shopping experience (Philips, 2012). Hence, David Jones is partnering with IBM to improve their online presence. IBM provides David Jones with an end-to-end multi-channel e-commerce platform to facilitate a consistent experience across all store mediums. This provides a substantial competitive advantage as there is no dominant online retailer in the Australian market yet (Philips, 2012). This gives David Jones the first-mover advantage, where a company attains an advantage associated with higher profit margins or increased market share by introducing a new process or product before their competitors (Kerin, Varadarajan, amp; Peterson, 1992). They are able to solidify their position in the online market by providing physical and digital integration for a sustainable competitive advantage. To ensure that they are able to maintain their market share, David Jones utilises loyalty programmes to encourage customer spending. David Jones has its own loyalty programme which is focused mainly on its own David Jones Storecard and David Jones American Express Card. David Jones encourages customers to join by providing benefits such as deferred payment options, invitation to events and also instant rewards (David Jones Limited, 2012). One differentiating factor of David Jones’ loyalty programme from major competitors such as, Myers is the partnership with Qantas to provide cardholders with frequent flyer rewards that is given only when card holders use the storecard when making purchases (Reilly, 2012). This not only creates switching costs for customers, but also makes it difficult for new entrants to imitate due to the partnership. Unfortunately, Myers also possesses similar offerings and is an easy substitute for the consumer base. Therefore, loyalty programmes only provide David Jones with a temporary competitive advantage if no further points of differentiation are created. Finally, David Jones also focuses on developing and training service staff to enhance their service to customers. In a similar fashion to Apple in-store service, David Jones has recently hired 200 more service staff to act as personal sales assistant and advisor to customers, with the goal of offsetting the poor image of customer service currently held by consumers (Stafford, 2012). This service is a powerful source of differentiation as the staff training is costly and difficult to be emulated by competitors. However, considering trends of consumers spending more time with online shopping it is unclear whether personalised sales services will benefit David Jones in the long run (Stafford, 2012). Sticking too closely to the past, might make this a strategic rigidity and will not provide any advantages. Therefore, this should be viewed as a temporary competitive advantage. Conclusion In conclusion, David Jones is an Australian based company that operates with 37 store outlets across major states in Australia. The department store industry is mainly dominated by large players with other smaller firms competing. The industry is concluded to be relatively attractive using the Porter’s five forces model. The changing demographic and technology alongside economic and political challenges influence David Jones to act accordingly to remain competitive. David Jones uses activities like human resource management and supply chain management to add value to the products sold. Finally, David Jones possesses a wide array of resources and capabilities, but only some may be considered sustainable competitive advantage. References Arnott, G. (2012). David Jones snubs eBay. Retrieved from http://www. powerretail. com. au/multichannel/david-jones-snubs-ebay Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101. Retrieved from, http://www. abs. gov. au/Ausstats/[emailprotected] nsf/mf/3222. 0 Bartholomuesz, S. (2010). Property could be the Difference Between David Jones and Myer: Bartholomeusz. Retrieved from, http://www. smartcompany. com. au/retail/20100923-property-could-be-the-difference-between-david-jones-and-myer-bartholomeusz. html Campbell, P. (2012). IBM David Jones Essay Example David Jones Essay Executive summary David Jones Limited is an Australian based department store chain that was founded by David Jones in the year 1838. Currently, the company has about 37 stores located in most Australian states and territories. The Australian department store industry is mostly dominated by large players which are David Jones and Myers, alongside smaller and independent companies. The report analyses David Jones’s external environment using Porter’s Five Forces model alongside the PEST model. The industry does not possess major threat from new entrants due to strong barriers to entry and strong competition for retail space. There is also a strong rivalry between competitors as limited space is being contested by major players alongside competing sales events meant to attract new customers. Online shopping is the most significant substitute for David Jones but is not as threatening as the hand on experience is not replicable by online shopping. Buyers or consumers possess a moderate amount of power as consumers are more careful of expenditure after the GFC and with the strong Australian currency, they can afford to purchase cheaper imported products. Supplier power is split in two, where more popular brands possess high power as they can choose whether to supply or not while smaller companies have considerably less as they depend on department stores to gain awareness and momentum. With the PEST model, it is shown that the department store industry is expected to show only a small amount of growth due to lack of confidence and increased spending. Also, government legislation is increasing David Jones’s fixed cost for operating by increasing employee wages, electricity bills and taxation. We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on David Jones specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer However modern technologies used such as Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) can help reduce expense and achieve high performance. Increasing population, increasing importance of sustainability and also increasing multi-cultural growth, forces David Jones to adapt to satisfy these different needs and demands. The internal environment of David Jones is analysed using the value chain analysis and also analysing their resources and capabilities. The value chain analysis focuses on general management, HRM, technology development and procurement. David Jones provides financial services with an agreement with American Express via the use of credit cards. They also train and retain its over 9000 employees through constant development programs managed by their HRM department. David Jones focuses heavily on technology to manage their activities revolving around their products such as managing inventory levels and procurement. David Jones faces economies of scale when it comes to procurement as they possess multiple stores and tend to buy in bulk and also allowing products to be sold cheaper compared to smaller, independent stores. David Jones also focuses on partnerships with brands as they only sell final products, making contact with brands important so as to ensure exclusive distribution. Heavy investment is also placed into maintaining and improving store appearance to ensure the best consumer experience. In terms of resources and capabilities, David Jones possesses a few resources that build sustainable competitive advantage. The first major one is David Jones store locations as they are rare and hard to imitate due to the high cost and lack of availability. David Jones is also moving into the online market with a partnership with IBM to help improve online integration and give them a first mover advantage over Myers. Though the loyalty program employed by David Jones   contains points of differentiation, it is easily copied by Myers as the offerings are similar making it a temporary sustainable advantage at best. Improving service staff to act customer sales advisors may be a powerful source of differentiation, but as consumers are more tech savvy, this may become a strategic rigidity and is therefore viewed as a temporary competitive advantage. Industry Analysis Australian Department Store industry is a highly concentrated industry, with the big 4 companies account for over 80% of the market shares (Outlaw, 2012). New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are the regions contributing over 75% of the 18. 9 billion industry revenue. Westfarmers (Target and Kmart) and Woolworths (BigW) are the two largest companies competing on low-cost strategies (Porter, 1980). Myers and David Jones, holding 15. 3% and 10. 5% market shares respectively (Figure 1), compete on differentiated strategies targeting the upper consumer market (Porter, 1980). Over 10% of the total working population are employed in this industry (Productivity Commission, 2011). In recent years, department stores industry has contracted since the hit of Global Financial Crisis creating shock on consumers’ confidence (Figure 2), despite Australia’s narrow escape from going into recession (Uren, 2009). As a result, the marginal propensity skyrocketed after GFC effect hit the economy from nearly mere 3% in mid-2007 to 12% in late-2008 (Figure 3). To stimulate the economy, RBA employs monetary policy by continuously lower cash rate since 2011 (RBA, 2012). Although 2012 has seen some increase in the industry revenue, IBISWorld predicted continuous decline until 2014 (Outlaw, 2012). David Jones announced in its ASX Release 40% decline in profit-after-tax in 2012 is expected, partly associated with costs involved in its new strategic initiatives (David Jones, 2012). Myer, David Jones’ closest competitors, experienced decreased total sales of 3. % and stated in the annual report that sales were disappointing due to challenging retail environment (Myer, 2011). Major retail chains, such as Zara and Gap, intensify the industry competition by opening their own branches in Australia (Productivity Commission, 2011). David Jones has 37 branches operating across Australia, except Northern Territory and Tasmania (David Jones, 2012). Sales revenue for David Jones was AUD2 billion in 2011, a 4% drop from previous year (David Jones, 20 11). The decline in sales revenue is expected for the income year ending 2012, despite reopening of its Melbourne CBD stores after 3 years redevelopment late 2011 (David Jones, 2012). As part of its ‘growing store network strategy’, two new branches in Highpoint (VIC) and Indooroopilly (QLD) has commenced construction and are due to open in 2013 and 2014 respectively (David Jones, 2012). Furthermore, it is planning to replicate the successful branch operation to the new stores and promised to build on its core strength. Figure 2: Consumer Sentiment Index Figure 3: Household Marginal Propensity to Save External Analysis Porter’s Five Forces New Entrants (low) Australia’s growing population attract new entrants to the market trying to capture the potential growth, as depicted by UK investment fund offer to overtake David Jones (Harper, 2012). However, the barrier to entry from the current major competitor is exceptionally high. The high industry concentration, with David Jones and Myers being the main players, are equipped with the funding allowing them to start price war blocking any interested entrants. As the industry is dependent on the population demography, all medium to high density regions are equipped with either Myers or David Jones (David Jones, 2012. Myer, 2012). It is more than likely that one will often find both stores located adjacent to each other. This limits the space available for new entrants as existing competitors are competing for such retail space. Thus, threat of new entrants is low. Rivalry (high) Rivalry among the department store industry has been increasing since 1980s, with major players have outlets throughout Australia both metropolitan and country areas. In order to operate efficiently and effectively, both large retail space and high volume traffic is required (Outlaw, 2012). Such space is rare, and every player is competing for it. Wide range of products and services is required as consumers are becoming more time sensitive (Drake, 2009). Sale events are often used as tools to attract consumers into their department stores, further emphasis the high competition in the industry. David Jones is competing for the higher segment than Kmart or BigW, hence must differentiated itself in non-price form as evident from its store decorations. Other formed of differentiation are value added products like own label credit card. With major retail chain, such as Zara, now operating independently in Australia, has increased the level of rivalry and threaten the existing retailers with their effective vertical integration allowing them to operate efficiently and quick stock turnover (Productivity Commission, 2011). Threat of substitute (low) The most significant form of substitute is online shopping which has become increasing legitimate form of shopping. With Amazon and eBay being the dominant player in the online industry, they are providing very wide range of goods and services on the online platform, allowing customers to browse products without limit on its location and range. However, they are not a major concern for the industry as consumers expected to have their hand on the products before making purchases especially in apparels retail. The current players are shielding themselves be offering online purchase services, with the growing trend to increase their online stock (David Jones, 2012). Niche market retailers posed as potential substitute for David Jones. However, they have little impact as David Jones captures the larger market. Power of buyers (consumers) (medium) Consumer spending drops as they become more price cautious after the post-global financial crisis, placing constraints on the David Jones and Myers (Productivity Commission, 2011). Intense rivalry among department stores has empowered buyers to enjoy vast savings as each strives to attract consumers into their stores. The strong dollar places challenge on domestic retailers as imports become relatively cheaper. David Jones need to work harder to attract customers to move out of the lower price alternatives, not only through enhanced shopping experienced but also through partnerships with AMEX and Quantas (Reilly, 2012). Power of Suppliers (medium) Retails such as Myers and David Jones, to some degree, depend on their supplier product line. One key aspect of differentiation strategy is get well-recognised brands to be selling exclusively at their stores. These power brands have relatively high power over David Jones, as demanded by consumers. Without them, consumers will go elsewhere where greater product selections are available. On the other hand, other minor brands require shop from, and David Jones can provide them with shop front across Australia. These manufacturers depend on David Jones for their shop front, hence David Jones has power over them. This interdependent relationship results in medium power of suppliers in general, as some may have higher bargaining power while others have less. Macro-environmental Forces Economic condition Although the global economy had started recovering from the global financial crisis, Australian retail industry is not completely unaffected. With an increased saving ratio, the industry was forecasted to only slightly climb up 0. 5% in this financial year, as Australian consumers do not have strong confidence in the market (IBISWorld, 2012). The declining consumer disposable income could lead to decrease in retail sales revenue. It had been found that David Jones’ profit went down by roughly 15 per cent with a drop of 8. 3 per cent in Consumer Sentiment (Appliance Retailer, 2011). Under this environment, consumers probably prefer discount goods instead of high-end products. Figure 1: Sales of David Jones for the past 5 years Political and legal Early 2010, the government introduced the New Modern Retail Award and the award has influenced the industry in many ways. For example, the employers have to pay double wages to employees if they work on Sundays (IBISWorld, 2012). In addition, an up to 19% jump of the electricity bill could be imposed on large retailers due to the government implemented carbon-tax (Renewable Energy News, 2012). Definitely, an increase in taxation would not only increase retailers’ fixed cost, but also increase consumers’ living cost and decrease their disposable income. Indeed, the power which comes from the government has great influence on the retail industry. Technological Retailers are able to cut expenses and achieve high performance because of advanced technologies that were broadly used in managing inventory and customer-relationship. Bar codes, EFTPOS and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) are the three most common instruments used in retail industry (IBISWorld, 2012). For instance, RFID could allow retailers to improve logistic efficiency by identifying accurate stock level, to reducing labour costs and preventing theft and theft. As the number of Internet users increased sharply from 6 million in year 2000 to   17 million in year 2010 (Internet World Stats, 2010), Internet shopping has become a trend among Australians. The development of transportation and secure online payment systems, like Paypal, made online shopping more attractive. Most department stores had built up websites, which support online shopping. Nonetheless, David Jones’ online shopping service might be still in the infant stage because of insufficient investment in technology (Bamp;T Magazine, 2012). Demographic Australias estimated resident population expects the Australian population would increase to between 30. 9 and 42. 5 million, which could be at least 1. 5 times to 2 times of today, by year 2056 (ABS, 2008). The demand of normal goods tends to keep growing. In other words, the department store could have broader development space. Socio-cultural As the population realized the significance of environmental sustainability, most department stores have implemented the idea of â€Å"sustainable environment† in their company policy. David Jones’ environment policy aims to operate and manage the company in a sustainable manner, such as reducing electricity consumption, promoting reusable shopping bags and building environmentally- sustainable stores (David Jones). Furthermore, growing number of immigrant have led Australia to be a multi-cultural nation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics expected that net the number of overseas migrants would grow instantly about 4000 quarterly until 2015 (2012). Culture diversity could change the original supply chain of department store in order to meet the new immigrants’ needs. Therefore, changing culture demographic could force department stores to have more brands, to suit different cultures. Internal Analysis Value Chain Analysis As support activities, the analysis takes into account general administration, HRM, Technology development and procurement. Even though David Jones is not recognised for having an excellent relationship with its customers, that’s one of the points over which the company watches. In terms of financial services, the company maintains an agreement with American Express for the use of credit cards in its stores (IBISWorld, 2011). The retail industry is responsible for nearly 20% of the jobs in Australia (David Jones, 2012), and David Jones itself employs over 9000 people (IBISWorld, 2011). The company claims to train and retain its employees, which means constant development programs (David Jones, 2012). The activities performed by the HRM department include hiring, remunerating, training, promoting, motivating, etc. Being such a huge retailing company makes it imperative for David Jones to have an efficient use of technology. Managing stocks, mapping sales, purchasing goods, supporting applications and other key activities rely on technology (David Jones, 2012). Besides, the growing of online shopping constitutes a new demand for the company: to offer an online store consistent to customers’ expectations. Turning down an eBay offer for online shopping (Arnott, 2012) is an indication of the company’s own commitment in the field. Procurement here can be faced as a source for economy of scale, since the company runs 37 stores in Australia (David Jones, 2012). Therefore, the model adopted must be of large scale purchasing. The primary activities include partnering with vendors, purchasing goods, managing and distributing inventory, operating stores and marketing and selling. Since David Jones only sells final products, the contact with the brands it sells is of primary importance. It buys from more than 600 suppliers (David Jones, 2012), and one key practice is maintaining partnerships with them. Currently, there are a few deals of exclusive distribution with some key vendors (Outlaw, 2012). Given the company’s size, economy of scale is a key factor on its purchases, making it possible for customers to buy cheaper than they would do in smaller stores. Almost 40% of the company’s sales consist of clothing and footwear (Outlaw, 2012), followed by 13% of electronics and household appliances. The company depends on sales forecast to manage its inventory. More details about how the company deals with these forecasts were not found. David Jones currently invests in the appearance of its stores, what means making them more friendly and attractive to customers, enhancing their experience of buying and reducing the time spent on queues. Since price is the major basis of competition in that industry (Outlaw, 2012), David Jones needs to watch over this point. Other factors are location of the stores (in this case, stores are very well located), brands offered (usually well-known brands) and promotion (Outlaw, 2012). Resources and Capabilities David Jones uses the resources and capabilities that they possess to allow them to maintain its current market share in the department store industry and also provides them with the necessary competitive advantage to continue advancing in the industry. However, resources alone are not necessarily sustainable competitive advantage and must possess four attributes, which are rare, valuable, inimitable, and possess no equivalent substitutes (Dess, Eisner ;amp; Lumpkin, 2009). David Jones’s primary sustainable competitive advantage comes from its large store base and store locations, with over 37 stores in major areas all across Australia (David Jones Limited, 2012). David Jones stores are situated in areas with high flow of traffic such as in larger shopping complex and within the central business district. These locations are costly to hold and act as barriers to entry for potential entrants in the market as competitors would require a large amount of capital cost to be able to compete, making it an inimitable resource. Aside from that, David Jones also bought two major city properties in Melbourne and in Sydney rather than leasing them which is another advantage as Myers continues to pay rent for those similar store locations (Bartholomuesz, 2010). Not only does David Jones save on costs over time, they are also able to invest more into the property or choose to sell the property for a large sum should the need rise. David Jones also places an emphasis on partnerships with different companies to improve their operations in their business. In the fiscal year of 2011, it is shown that David Jones’ online store only contributed only 0. 2% of total sales in a time where recent studies show that about 78% of Australian consumers expect to be able to use technology as a part of their shopping experience (Philips, 2012). Hence, David Jones is partnering with IBM to improve their online presence. IBM provides David Jones with an end-to-end multi-channel e-commerce platform to facilitate a consistent experience across all store mediums. This provides a substantial competitive advantage as there is no dominant online retailer in the Australian market yet (Philips, 2012). This gives David Jones the first-mover advantage, where a company attains an advantage associated with higher profit margins or increased market share by introducing a new process or product before their competitors (Kerin, Varadarajan, ;amp; Peterson, 1992). They are able to solidify their position in the online market by providing physical and digital integration for a sustainable competitive advantage. To ensure that they are able to maintain their market share, David Jones utilises loyalty programmes to encourage customer spending. David Jones has its own loyalty programme which is focused mainly on its own David Jones Storecard and David Jones American Express Card. David Jones encourages customers to join by providing benefits such as deferred payment options, invitation to events and also instant rewards (David Jones Limited, 2012). One differentiating factor of David Jones’ loyalty programme from major competitors such as, Myers is the partnership with Qantas to provide cardholders with frequent flyer rewards that is given only when card holders use the storecard when making purchases (Reilly, 2012). This not only creates switching costs for customers, but also makes it difficult for new entrants to imitate due to the partnership. Unfortunately, Myers also possesses similar offerings and is an easy substitute for the consumer base. Therefore, loyalty programmes only provide David Jones with a temporary competitive advantage if no further points of differentiation are created. Finally, David Jones also focuses on developing and training service staff to enhance their service to customers. In a similar fashion to Apple in-store service, David Jones has recently hired 200 more service staff to act as personal sales assistant and advisor to customers, with the goal of offsetting the poor image of customer service currently held by consumers (Stafford, 2012). This service is a powerful source of differentiation as the staff training is costly and difficult to be emulated by competitors. However, considering trends of consumers spending more time with online shopping it is unclear whether personalised sales services will benefit David Jones in the long run (Stafford, 2012). Sticking too closely to the past, might make this a strategic rigidity and will not provide any advantages. Therefore, this should be viewed as a temporary competitive advantage. Conclusion In conclusion, David Jones is an Australian based company that operates with 37 store outlets across major states in Australia. The department store industry is mainly dominated by large players with other smaller firms competing. The industry is concluded to be relatively attractive using the Porter’s five forces model. The changing demographic and technology alongside economic and political challenges influence David Jones to act accordingly to remain competitive. David Jones uses activities like human resource management and supply chain management to add value to the products sold. Finally, David Jones possesses a wide array of resources and capabilities, but only some may be considered sustainable competitive advantage. References Arnott, G. (2012). David Jones snubs eBay. Retrieved from http://www. powerretail. com. au/multichannel/david-jones-snubs-ebay Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2008). Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101. Retrieved from, http://www. abs. gov. au/Ausstats/[emailprotected] nsf/mf/3222. 0 Bartholomuesz, S. (2010). Property could be the Difference Between David Jones and Myer: Bartholomeusz. Retrieved from, http://www. smartcompany. com. au/retail/20100923-property-could-be-the-difference-between-david-jones-and-myer-bartholomeusz. html Campbell, P. (2012). IBM

Interview a supervisor Example

Interview a supervisor Example Interview a supervisor – Essay Example Interview summary One piece of advice that the interviewee wanted to give to a new supervisor was to understand the culture of the organization firstbefore taking over the charge fully. Most of the times, supervisors tend to use the same skills that they have demonstrated in the previous settings and expect the subordinates to submit to them the same way that they did in those previous settings. In reality, the attitude of the subordinates differs from one organization to another and the fundamental element driving their behavior is the organizational culture. In order to be effective and influential in a new setting, it is imperative that a new supervisor first understands the organization’s history and studies its norms, values, principles, codes, and culture, and then use his/her learning gained from past experiences to supervise the subordinates in context of the new setting. Without a firm understanding of the culture of the new organization, a supervisor may not be able to achieve his/her goals. The interviewee’s favorite part of being a supervisor was the respect he gained from the subordinates. Since he is the supervisor, it automatically occurs to the subordinates that they have to respect him, consider him superior, and give importance to his views and opinions since that is the requirement of the job. The interviewee likes the fact that he has the confidence and support of his subordinates and they tend to follow the rules established by him. They listen to him when he tells them to be disciplined. The interviewee is particularly fascinated by the fact that he is able to resolve the interpersonal issues of the subordinates; when they cannot settle the matters themselves, they approach him and then he decides it for them. He likes the fact that they accept his decisions, and this shows that they respect him. The interviewee said that a supervisor cannot gain respect by imposing just his/her own views and opinions upon the subordinates all the time; he/she should h ear their stance and then do as he/she deems is right. The interviewee’s least favorite part of being a supervisor is the difficulty he experiences in drawing a line between being a supervisor and a human. As a supervisor, he needs to be very strict in order to make sure that the subordinates do the work in a timely manner and follow the standard of quality. To achieve this, he cannot compromise upon the principles; the subordinates have to arrive on time, they have to wear the personal protective equipment, they have to finish the work on time, and they have to abide by all the rules. However, as a human being, he feels guilty sometimes when he has to impose fines upon a subordinate for arriving late as per the organization’s policy when he knows that the subordinate had been working till late in the night the previous day. As a supervisor, he also has certain responsibilities toward the owners of the organization. Drawing a balance between those responsibilities and his responsibilities toward the subordinates sometimes b ecomes challenging.

The Issues In The Preamble To The Constitution Of 1787 Essay

The Issues In The Preamble To The Constitution Of 1787 - Essay Example The struggle witnessed while the historical time brought change on how the British colony treated the American people. The founding father of the nation devised methods to liberalize the American people. The colonial government insisted on using their laws to govern the people whereas the people felt that there was the need to bring end colonialism (Urofsky&Finkelman, 2011).On May 25, 1787, an occasion was organized in the Pennsylvania State House. Robert Morris participated in the meeting that was seeking to bring change in America. The delegates who had met started a constitutional making process and in August 6,187 a copy of the Constitution had been made. George Mason agitated for constitutional amendments so that it could address the plight of Americans. In 1788, many states had accepted the Constitution amid the tension that existed during the time. Discussions pertaining how business was carried out in the US was a major issue that that was to be addressed because it was attri buted to slavery.Proponents of slavery proposed the imposition of taxation of slavery. The country slave trade had become rampant, and Mason questioned issues relating to slavery.Britain had instilled fear into the people and used the method of dividing people to govern the country. The colonial masters wanted Americans to retain their laws an idea that was opposed by the founding father of the nation. They fought for a constitution that was to bring checks and balances in the American society.

Analyze whether a dollar depreciation will improve the U.S. current Essay

Analyze whether a dollar depreciation will improve the U.S. current account deficit - Essay Example In other words, a nation is said to have a trade deficit if it is imports more than it exports. Such a situation will make  a country a net debtor to the rest of the world. However, in some cases current account deficit may not necessarily a bad thing for the developing countries. Current account deficits will encourage the developing countries to increase its local productivity which will be useful for that country in the long run. According to the statistics available for 2004-2005, U.S. holdings of foreign assets are around $ 8 trillion whereas foreign holdings of U.S. assets are around $ 10.7 trillion (Blanchard, n. d.p.6). In other words, United States is a debtor to foreign countries. The situation became worst in recent times because of the global financial crisis and the subsequent dipping US economy. The exchange value of U.S. dollar is a major parameter in increasing or decreasing the current account deficit of United States. When the exchange rates of US dollar increases , the current account deficits will also increase and when the exchange rates of U.S. dollar decreases, the current account deficits will also decreases. In other words, current account rates and the value of the dollar have direct relationships. This paper analyses the US dollar depreciation and its effects on America’s current account deficits. ... â€Å"The substantial depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the currencies of most industrial countries since early 2002 is presumably a manifestation of diminishing relative enthusiasm for U.S. dollar investments, at least where market forces operate without significant official involvement† (Mussa, 2007,p.4). Depreciation of dollar will discourage developed countries from investing in US dollars. Earlier, most of the foreign organizations invested heavily in US dollars because of the perception that US economy will never be destroyed and the dollar value will never be decreased. However, the recent recession and the subsequent financial crisis happened in United States have forced others to change their opinion. Thus dollar started to depreciate against most of the industrial country currencies and the effective foreign exchange value of the dollar has been reduced considerably over the last few years. Effective dollar depreciation, together with the relative strengthening of growth in other countries, has stabilized the U.S. external deficit when measured in real volume terms since late 2004; and the fourth quarter of 2006 will probably see a significant decline in this measure of the real payments deficit. The current account deficit as a share of GDP may also show a modest decline next year, especially if world oil prices remain below their average 2006 level (Mussa, 2007, p.4) â€Å"A depreciation of the U.S. dollar not only increases the dollar value of U.S. assets denominated in foreign currencies, but it also reduces the foreign currency value of U.S. liabilities, which are, essentially, all denominated in U.S. dollars† (International Financial Integration and the Current Account Balance, 2006, p.2). The