HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 2

HRM - Essay Example Case analysis GS plumbing, owned by Greg Smith has been gaining unusual reputation for the recent past. Alan Arrowsmith, for his experience with small businesses was appointed as the HR manager at GS. His teaching experience in the trades section of the local technical college, where he handled subjects related to health and safety, risk management etc also made him proficient of HR manager post. GS plumbing underwent tremendous expansions such as contracts with several buildings and companies over the last ten years. GS takes up both planned tasks like plumbing installations for new homes as well as unplanned works despite the threat the unplanned works cause to the security of the company. GS Plumbing maintains strict regulations on workers on record keeping, maintenance of accounts etc. The rising demand for plumbing staffs compels GS plumbing to offer better financial and non-financial assistances to its employees. However, GS Plumbing has not been able to cope up with these dema nds and it has intensified the problem of employ turnover in the company. The senior management team of GS plumbing company includes Greg, Alan, Gail, and Jane. The company receptionist role is efficiently handled by Greg’s sister-in-law Gail White. However, she often finds her responsibilities increasing her stress level despite the company’s growth. ... In fact, audit is an essential part of organizational management because the examination of policies, procedures, documentation, and practices with respect to the HR functions of an organization can be effectively done through the audit activity1.. This activity provides opportunity for the HR manager to reveal his potency and achievements which would further encourage him to exhibit his abilities in the future. From the organizational perspective, audit will also evaluate HR managerial activities; and thus the matters demanding resolution can also be brought to notice. Alan often feels that the extra administrative tasks are frustrating. However, an audit would give him opportunity to express his grievances. To illustrate, the audit would enable Alan to bring his concern about the increasing absenteeism into Greg’s notice. It would allow better discussion on the frequent occurrences of injuries in the workplace and the remedies that should be adopted to minimize risks. Conduc ting audit at intervals of two or three years would enable the firm to identify unwritten practices and associated risks.2 In addition this activity would permit to examine the record-keeping practices and would identify additional training and communication required for better compliance. By initiating on time audit, the GS Plumbing can identify the user friendly procedures, practices, and the necessary changes required. The audit of HR function should involve staff members, members of middle and upper management, and all other individuals responsible for HR functions. The firm can seek the assistance of an external consultant for audit who would guide and provide better suggestions. How to address unplanned absence? Unplanned absence of staff members at GS

Effectiveness Of The E Recruitment Process Commerce Essay

Effectiveness Of The E Recruitment Process Commerce Essay The rapid advances in technology have dramatically changed the way business is conducted and this increasing use of and reliance on technology is clearly demonstrated by the number of organisations and individuals who utilise the Internet and electronic mail (e-mail). The impact of technology on business is further reflected by the continuous rise in amount of literature exploring the effects of new technology development and implementation on the efficiency of business, including the impacts on human resource practices (Cullen, 2001; Dessler, 2002; Dineen, Noe, Wang, 2004; Smith et al., 2004). In particular, the adoption of the Web as a medium by organisations has been faster than any other medium in history (Bush et al., 2002). This is demonstrated by the fact that while it took more than 30 years for radio as a medium to reach 50 million listeners, the Internet reached 50 million users within five years (Kerschbaumer, 2000). The importance of effective human resource management practices for organisations has been highlighted by the increasing amount of research published within the media. Recruitment is a key element of human resource management; this function generates the human capital that forms the foundation of companies. The success of the company is based on the success of human resource efforts, which evolves through identification and attraction of quality new employees generated from the recruitment process (Barber, 1998). 1.1 Statement of the Problem The scope of study is in private sector which is Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas). Private sector such as Petronas is welcoming people around the world to join them. E-recruitment system is a need for them to adopt and implement. Majority of organization have some degree of online recruitment process. Thus, it certainly creates competition within the industry. E-recruitment is affected by a lot of internal and external factors. Organizations have to constantly aware of the changes and develop appropriates strategies in order to truly gain effectiveness of the e-Recruitment process. Petronas will benefit from the study. 1.2 Research Objectives The objectives of the study are to: To identify the reasons why e-recruitment attract employees more effectively. To identify the reasons recruiter in large organization uses e-recruitment. To identify the effectiveness of using e-recruitment to recruit. 1.3 Research Question The research questions used in this study are: What are the reasons that e-recruitment attracts employees more effectively? What are the reasons recruiters in large organization uses e-recruitment? How effective is e-recruitment to recruit employees in large organization? 1.4 Significance of the Study This research is very important, because the finding of the study will enhance the body of knowledge. This research looks at the relationship of implemented e-recruitment and the effectiveness of the result in attracting employees. The research will benefit Petronas. E-Recruitment system is a necessity for organization to adopt and implement. Majority of organization have some degree of online recruitment process. This study will provide statistical analysis collected from the survey. 1.5 Limitation of the Study The sample of this research is 100 staff in the Administration Department who is working at the private sector at Petronas in order to examine the factors and effectiveness of e-recruitment in a large organization. 1.6 Definitions of Terms TERMS DEFINITIONS Blue-Collar Refer to people who work in office business environment E-recruitment The utilisation of the internet for candidate sourcing, selection, communication, and management throughout the recruitment process High Context Communication Most of the information is either in the physical context or initialized in the person HR professional person who practice or do human resources related job in the company Hypothesis It is an idea, an assumption, or a theory about the behaviour of one or more variables in one or more population Low Context Communication The mass of information is vested in the explicit code message Qualified Candidate person who applied to jobs and has met the qualification of the job Recruitment Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation Recruitment Cycle is the time period of companys recruitment process Social Networking Sites websites that provide common cyber space for the registered users to meet or comment on others CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW As the technology and internet advanced, organizations adopt to use web-based tools as a daily management function. For example, recruitment has no longer constrained by distance and time. The raise of e-Recruitment has bought attention to majority of organization. More and more employers adopted the trend of using e-Recruitment process to seek the best qualified candidates. The trend of employer using e-recruitment process has result a decrease using traditional paper based recruitment process. The trend of recruitment process has tendency of use web-based methods, such as job boards, employer web sites, and professional web sites (Ghosh n. pag.). E-Recruitment strategies gradually occur global-wide. More and more countries are adopting the trend. For example, Irelands recent practice of online recruitment has significant influence to organizations. The Irish employer specifically implemented online recruiting for 4 factors: Cost reduction, increase the efficiency of the process, time efficient, and accessibility to broader pool (Reilly and Barber n. pag.). In order to effectively deliver the precise information to the target market, the communication and information flow play a critical part in online recruitment process. According to research, the since the evolution of internet, there is an overflow of information (Savoy and Salvendy13). The overflow of information lead to 60% of people could not find relevant information (qtd. in Montero et al. 2003). The researchers suggested that the information needs of the consumers should be centred and beneficial to the consumers (Savoy and Salvendy14). In e-Recruiting, both employers and employees expect to find valuable information of each other on the web, so a result, the information that either the employers or the employees upload to the web should be carefully reviewed. Both employer and employee expect to learn from each other. Another study done in UK shows that the regular e-Recruiting tools that employer uses are Websites, Receiving e-mail contains resume and cover letter, and check ing personal sites (Williams and Verhoeven 7). The other factors can also significantly influence the effectiveness of communication. One of them is the website design and its contents (Usunier and Roulin 3). The authors studied the high and low context communication on websites. The different cultures have different preferences to the content. In High Context communication, the information is more sophisticated and complex, while in Low Context communication is simpler and clarify (4). Despite the communication preferences, more and more employers use company website, job boards, and social networking sites to recruit talents. All these tools can reach large candidate pools. Especially social networking sites have bought attention to both employers and jobseekers. A fast growing number of people use social sites to look for jobs such as MySpace or Facebook (Roberts and Clark 35). In the jobseekers view, it is easier to connect people with less pressure since its not face to face. It is great for passive jobseekers. In the employ ers view, it is low cost, shorter recruitment cycle, and it can get well-rounded information of the candidates (Sah n. pag.). Certain social sites such as LinkedIn, have noticed the popularity of e-Recruit. It offers employers to purchase business accounts with add-on features such as job posting section or private messaging tools (Gunderson 3). Some employers, not only use social networking sites as recruitment tool, but also background check the candidates and references. However, because the content in the social sites have less formal authorized sources, the employers have little ability to ensure the information posted on the sites is factual (Roberts and Clark 36). Instead, many employers use outsourced background check function to verify the candidates (36). On the other hand, organizations may use their own website for recruitment. Typically the organizational websites are more formal formatted. The contents of the organizational website are well-written delivering companys information and job information along with tools necessary for applicants such as application process. A well-developed online application process can speed up the hiring process and more responsive to the applicants (Kim and OConnor 2). The effectiveness of e-Recruitment can be varied depends on the size of the organization. A study shown that online recruitment was not as appropriate for small organizations, for blue-collar, lower-level position and very senior positions, online recruitment remain more effective in larger organizations and service sectors because larger organizations potentially have larger vacancies to cope with larger group of candidates (Parry and Tyson 15). The limitation of this study result only valid to corporate web sites, because commercial job boards was not related to industry, sector, or organization size. The effectiveness of online recruitment may also affect by the strategies implemented (15). For organizations, there are some opportunities to increase the effectiveness of online recruiting by adding values to the process; For instance, developing a candidate-attraction process, providing screening and response management for the online recruiting process (Wolfe and Hartle n. pag.). Implementing the appropriate strategies can significantly increase the effectiveness of the e-Recruitment. The advantages and disadvantages of implementing online recruitment can be reflected by the statistical figures. A survey done by iLogos.com reveals that 92% of Fortune 500 companies have a website solely for careers and 96% of recruiters reported job posting on their websites (Borstorff, Marker, and Bennett 13). Majority of organizations use some form of online recruitment simply because the advantages overwhelm the disadvantages. The common findings of advantages among studies are: reduced costs, faster processes, wider accessibility, improve reputation and brand (Barber 9), higher quality of applicants, better match of the position, 24/7 running ability, and reduction of unqualified applicants (Verhoeven and Williams 2). On the other hand, the disadvantages are privacy issues, lack of personal touch, user-unfriendly tools, and discrimination issues (2). To conclude, the literature review fitted in the researchers study because E-recruitment system is a necessity for organization to adopt and implement. Majority of organization have some degree of online recruitment process. It certainly creates competition within the industry. E-recruitment is affected by many internal and external factors, and it certainly changes fast. Organizations have to constantly aware of the changes and develop appropriate strategies in order to truly gain effectiveness of the e-Recruitment process. THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction This chapter has given the detail methods of obtaining the data and how researchers intend to do it. It hasspecified in detail the research operations and instruments researchers intend to use to address researchers research questions. 3.1 Research Design This section explains the research design chosen for the research. This research is using descriptive research design which describes the characteristics of an existing phenomenon. 3.2 Sampling Frame The sampling frame is the source from which a sample is drawn. It is a list of all those within a population who can be sampled, and may include individuals, households or institutions. So, for this study the sampling frames used by the researchers are among staff in the Administration Department, Petronas. 3.3 Population The population is the set of people or entities to which findings are to be organized. 3.4 Sampling Technique This section describes the kind of sampling procedures used to select the subject from the population. For this tudy the researchers used the simple random sampling as the method. The researchers use sampling method becaisu it givesthe member of the population an equal and independent chance of being selected to be part of the sample. 3.5 Sample Size The size of the group to be surveyed generally determines the size of the sample. For this research the sample size is 100 staff. 3.6 Unit of Analysis A unit of analysis is the subject to be included in the study. The researchers have chosen randomly 100 staff of Administration Department who is working at the Petronas. 3.7 Data Collection Procedures The researchers have collected the data through primary and secondary data such as journals, textbooks and other references. The questionnaires have been created as a method to collect the data. Most of the questions are close ended and it will make easy to respondents to answer the question. 3.8 Instrument The type of questionnaire that is used in this research is structured questionnaire. The researchers have prepared the questions in several sections which are about the respondents demographic factors such as gender and position, the employment, factors and barriers that lead to the effectiveness of e-recruitment, and the importance of the effectiveness of e-recruitment in the organization. 3.9 Validity of Instrument The instrument used in this research is content validity. The researchers have sought two supervisors or lecturers who are experts in this area of this research to determine that the measurement measurers; that are the questionnaires, are extended to be measured. 3.10 Plans for Data Analysis The researchers have chosen the SPSS technique to analyze the data that were obtained from the questionnaires which have been coded in several categories.

Why Is Religion Important? :: Why Study Religion?

Why is it important to study the world's religions in the college and university curriculum? Religious Studies is intellectually exciting because it provides access to the mystery of the other. Religion is one of the primary disciplines for investigating the boundary questions of life and death, of love and hate, that characterize the human condition. All persons crave for self-transcendence in one mode or another. Religious Studies provides the opportunity to understand, with depth and nuance, the many beliefs and rituals that move persons to appreciate the alternative world of the religious reality. Religious Studies is academically enriching because it is a transdisciplinary mode of inquiry that engenders deep intercultural literacy. Serious study of the world's religions inculcates unique cultural sensitivities among students. Since it straddles the boundary between objective evidence and subjective experience, religious studies is methodologically diverse, globally aware, and academically transgressive. Religious studies is rigorously and playfully open to a multicultural and international way of being that bursts the boundaries of the conventional and the everyday. Religious Studies is personally meaningful because it raises questions of purpose and value along with developing important life skills. Religious studies enables the development of crucial aptitudes -- critical thinking, communication competence, interpersonal awareness, and intercultural literacy -- necessary for success in a global society. The aim of liberal education -- healthy, holistic education -- is about gaining wisdom, not the accumulation of knowledge as such. Practically speaking, religious studies can enable students to better practice the task of selfhood by both building self-esteem and making possible the acquisition of competencies crucial for one's well-being in increasingly diverse world cultures What role should religion play in the curriculum? To learn about the religious dimensions of world cultures is essential to a fully informed and multicultural educational curriculum. But it should be noted that teaching about religion on a comparative, educational basis is not the same as teaching religion. To teach about religion is to study the religions of the world in a manner that is comparative, factual, and fair-minded, and that avoids any hint of faculty or students trying to persuade other faculty or students to subscribe to this or that religious (or non-religious or anti-religious) belief-system. To teach religion, on the other hand, is a rhetorical exercise that attempts to persuade students to believe (or not) in a particular religion or system of ideas. To teach about religion, then, is

Marketing and Zara Essay

1. Background According to BusinessWeek, â€Å"Zara was a fashion imitator. It focused its attention on understanding the fashion items that its customers wanted and then delivering them, rather than on promoting predicted season’s trends via fashion shows and similar channels of influence, which the fashion industry traditionally used.† 5 Zara, the fashion retail chain, is a subsidiary of Inditex Group owned and managed by Spanish tycoon Amancio Ortega. Inditex includes several major brands, namely, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Bershka, and Stradivarius. The group headquarters is located in La Coruna, Spain. It was here where the first Zara store was launched in 1975. Presently, there are about 1,500 Zara stores around the world. Zara employs around 80,000 people. The group recorded revenues of â‚ ¬ 9,434.7 million (approximately $13,068.8 million) during FY2008, an increase of 15.1% over 2007. The operating profit increased by 20.1% to â‚ ¬ 2,148.8 million in FY2008. The net profit, during FY2008, increased by 24.5% to over FY2007 toâ‚ ¬ 1,257.8 million (approximately $1,742.2 million).7 Zara’s claim to fame surfaces from the fact that it needs, on an average, two (2) weeks to develop and market a new fashion product compared to the industry average of six (6) month cycle. In addition to this, Zara is committed to showcasing around 10,000 new designs annually, in a fast and scarce manner, which gives it a constant new look and brings back customers to the stores. Owing to its unique supply chain management, use of information technologies and innovative management strategies, which is a must to survive the highly competitive fashion industry it has managed to come out on top year after year. The major competitors include H&M, GAP and Benetton. Some of the efficient strategies adopted by Zara are broadly the policies of zero inventories, Just in Time systems, contract manufacturing for small orders, decentralizing warehouses to deliver p roducts and above all close monitoring of the fashion trends. Above all, they had few unique strategies, mainly, zero advertising, where in Zara chose to open new stores rather than advertise and, the concept of shunning outsourcing to low cost development centers as it would result in dilution of the high quality fashion that Zara represents. Initial success for Zara is mainly attributed to featuring low priced lookalike products of more popular, high end fashion brand. Following  this success, they adopted new design and distribution method. Since the fashion industry product has long lead times, to the tune of six months, Zara aimed to reduce this and also minimize the uncertainties associated with fashion retail. Zara developed the concept of â€Å"Instant Fashion† that allowed them to respond more quickly to consumer tastes and emerging trends. The strategy helped them to bring in new products to the shelves quickly, in small quantity and produce more if demand occurred. This enabled them to minimize inventory, gauge demand and re move uncertainties. Later on, they brought in information technologies to further revolutionize the distribution processes. These helped Zara to developed fashion lines based on market trends and also, produce its own designs through a team of 200 in house designers. The introduction of information technologies helped them increase the efficiency of state of the art production system and warehousing mechanisms. The stores and warehouses were linked electronically, which facilitated the exchange of real time information thereby allowing them to minimize risk and capital outlays by reducing inventories. This leaner and responsive system helped rotate the stock quickly and also, improved sales as the customers would return to stores every two weeks to check out new designs and purchase as the design would not be available after the time frame. International expansion of Zara started with Portugal in 1988, and since then they have opened more than 1,000 stores globally. This has been done through company owned showrooms, joint ventures and franchisee models. Zara’s Products Currently, Zara caters to men’s clothing and women’s clothing. Each of these sections has 5 subsections, which include lower garment, upper garment, shoes, cosmetics and complementary products. The 50-60% of the demand is produced at the beginning of the season and the remaining is manufactured in season. This sometimes results in either stock outs or markdowns but compared to the competition the number of times the service failure happens is quite low for markdowns. Hence, if the design does not suit the customers’ tastes then it is taken off the shelves and further orders are cancelled. This leads to new designs and above all, no designs stay on the  store floor for more than four weeks, which encourages consumers to make purchases. When compared to the competitors, average number of times a customer visits Zara is 18 times a year compared to 3-4 times for the competition. 2. Mission, Vision, Values and Goals Zara’s Mission Statement is as follows,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"ZARA walks at the pace of society, dressing ideas, trends and tastes that society itself has matured.† Zara through its unique business models and stores has proved business can be successful with little or no advertising. This business is possible only through superior customer service helped by continued ability to restock and respond to customer needs within days. This gives Zara the competitive edge. Hence, keeping in mind the mission, they always innovate their products to enhance shopping experience and provide new designs at affordable costs made from quality materials which follow latest trends. 3. Zara’s Strategy for Growth and Positioning Zara believes in Zero advertising. It would rather spend on store expansion than to advertise. However, the minimally advertise in fashion magazines. The rationale behind this is the quick turnaround of store display, which is around 4 weeks, which renders advertising an unnecessary cost. Also, Zara concentrates on efficient design to market cycle and focus on showcasing large number of designs annually. The workforce in Zara is essential to its success right from the production to the store level as the feedback generated about fashion performance at store is percolated to the designer and production and supply chain helps to put the latest styles in 2 weeks time. We need to take a look at the factors that determine these strategies and also the shortcomings associated with these strategies 4. External Analysis The external environment characteristics can be stated as below 1. Demographic segment   Zara is targeting young consumers with disposable income. This will be primarily in developing countries and developed countries. This presents  them with a sizeable population. As shown by market research, the customers in these countries are willing to try new brands but at the same time are price and quality conscious. The ability to replicate the model and achieve the desired results can significantly enhance Zara’s brand in these market. 2. Economic segment Due to weak currencies, low labor costs and opportunity to be closer to customers, Zara need to think about strategies to take benefits from other location. Since the competition has already entered the newer market and is constantly trying to leverage the benefits associated with these markets. This has a big impact on the profits of the organization. 3. Legal segment Owing to increasing labor costs and stringent labor laws, the production processes in the present countries do not seem favorable as they will increase the production costs. In addition to that, concentration of designers in Spain/Europe can be handled as the labor laws permit that. In case, Zara does not want to decentralize these functions, there are no laws governing their decisions as fashion industry is not under regulations. 4. Technological Segment Zara presently uses IT efficiently in managing their supply chain which leads to lower operating costs. However, the use of IT can be extended to expand their procurement and manufacturing activities outside Spain. 5. Global Segment Owing to globalization and rapid advancement in technologies, several low cost production centers have come up. In order to reduce the costs even further and maintain quality, Zara can have offshore production facilities to low cost location in order to lower the costs. This will enable them to localize Zara and cater to local preference. The critical market for Zara in the coming future would be the Asian nations of India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan. The relaxation of trade norms would help reduce transaction costs, if, Zara plans to expand their activities outside Spain. The environmental characteristics changes very fast in fashion, especially  in terms of demographic and global segments. Zara being in core fashion industry with fast cycles have a unique strategy where in it caters only on the leading edge of the product cycle which enables it to deliver the promise of â€Å"Instant Fashion†. 5. SWOT Strategic Choice We will discuss each of the external and internal variables in details which will give us a better picture as to why Zara needs to act in a certain manner. Strengths * Strong product diversity As a group Inditex is a leading fashion distributor and has ore than 100 associate companies across the world. In addition to this, the stores are located in more than 400 cities across the world. In case of Zara, the international fashion retailing segment, this presents a new opportunity to foray into foreign markets. The group brands can be displayed as well when considering international expansion. This is what Inditex can look forward to offering the wide assortment of goods, replenished quickly to carve a niche for itself. * Strong revenue growth The group company of Zara, Inditex has registered a robust financial performance Y-o-Y. The revenues increased at a CAGR of 18% annually. The operating profit represents a CAGR of 21%. In the meantime, the profits also increase at CAGR of 25% annually. The strong performance of the group, Inditex and various brands leads to increased investor confidence about the company . * Strong distribution network The group, Inditex has a strong distribution network. The presence of an efficient supply chain management in Inditex assures that the goods are delivered within 24 hours of the receipt of the order in Europe and about 40 hours at its overseas outlets. The majority of the supply is handled through its centralized warehouses in each of the European, Asian and American markets. The company’s logistics department has more than 4,000 people  delivering 627 million garments in financial year 2008. * Zero advertising Zara follows the policy of zero advertising to decrease expenses. Hence, in newer markets, it can focus its capital on expansion. The strong brand name, store ambience and product quality will compensate for the lack of advertising. Weaknesses * Overdependence on the European market Zara has a significant market presence in Spain and other European countries. Around 50% of the stores are located in Spain and surrounding countries. However, the revenues contributed by Spain accounts to only 40% of the group revenues whereas 60% of the revenues comes from its international operations with 43% coming from European operations and the rest 17% from outside Europe. The group as a whole is highly dependent on the Spanish and European market to sustain its revenues, making it highly vulnerable to the economic, political and social changes taking place in these markets, especially in Spain. Also, the fashion tastes might reflect heavily the European perspective, even though during international expansion Zara needs to cater to the international customers. * Reliance on local designers Even though local designers are preferred for designing new range of garments for Zara, almost all the designers are from Spain. This leads to a situation where the design might be too localized. Considering the fact that Zara intends to have a global presence, localization of the core designing and manufacturing processes might not be a feasible option. With respect to catering to local tastes and fashion, the designers should be located more closely to the markets. Opportunities * * Expansion plans The group has invested more than â‚ ¬ 2.8 billion to open new stores internationally, in countries where it already has a presence and few new  markets as well. The rate of growth of stores has been as high as 640 stores per year. Zara fashion will be made available in Korea, Ukraine, Egypt and Montenegro. A well defined expansion plan is critical to the corporate objective of international expansion with sustained and robust revenue growth in the future. * Growing apparel retail market in Asia (China, India, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia) The Asian apparel market is growing at a high rate. Owing to the growing population of affluent household, higher disposable incomes, consumers knowledge of international brands, it presents an opportunity for Zara to enter and expand its operations in Asian market. Accelerated development in these markets will help shift the burden of growth and diversification from mature and intensively competitive European and American markets to the building Asian markets. * Growing online sales Online retailing has been growing at a scorching pace in the last decade and considering UK market, more than  £14 billion has been spent on online shopping. Zara should try to open online retail shops to cater to the audience who need to shop for standardized version of Zara’s products. This also presents an opportunity to display the entire product lines from Zara and can be easily searched. It will enable strong growth in online and well as, offline retail sales. Threats * New avenues being utilized by competitors The competition is always on the lookout for cheaper manufacturing location such as China, India and Eastern Europe. The benefit of lower costs of procurement can be passed on to the customers through low prices. The main advantage of Zara’s vertical integration is the frequent replenishments of its stores and also, feedback from store staff to design. If this feedback works out as expected, then Zara will be able to sustain higher manufacturing costs than its competition in future. The competition is also working on reducing the lead times, which if successfully implemented could lead to erosion in market share and reduction in revenues. * Counterfeit goods The counterfeit goods in the new markets and existing ones adversely affect sales of branded accessories. Widespread counterfeiting reduces the brand value and exclusivity, especially in cases of high end fashion products, through customer dissatisfaction. * Rising Labor cost in European region Since Inditex focuses most of Zara’s designing and manufacturing activities in the European region, the increasing labor costs drive down the profits as it increases the operating expenses. This results in adverse impact on the group’s margin. 6. Internal Analysis We undertake the resource based view and study the internal analysis. Zara’s main assets are the designers, the logistics process, in store sales people and the store ambience. The designers are in charge of churning out new designs in a short span of time. After receiving the feedback, they have approximately 2 weeks to deliver the garment to the store. Each of the designers is a valuable and costly resource and this quick turnaround time is not imitable and therefore exploited by Zara to the fullest. The competitors have not been able to turn around designs as quickly as Zara. Hence, they give Zara a competitive advantage. Since Zara follows zero advertising policy, the word of mouth medium is heavily dependent on how much a customer is satisfied. New designs which satisfy customers go a long way in making Zara an important brand. The logistics process is also a source of competitive advantage. It is because of logistical capabilities that Zara can display 12,000 new designs annually. Assisted by IT and workforce, it forms a competitive advantage but this can be imitated by competition and hence does not present a sustainable competitive advantage. However, along with new designs it plays significant roles in preventing stock outs and piling inventories to help reduce unwanted costs. The sales people, staff and store ambience, although valuable but are easily imitable and hence are at comparative parity Capabilities: Sourcing Materials Inbound logistics Flexible manufacturing / Outsourcing outbound logistics in-store sales. Market research Product design Procurement Outsourcing Distribution Centralized planning Corporate vision and mission Brand Image 7. Competitor Analysis The main competitors are H&M, a Swedish brand and GAP Inc., an American brands. Now, GAP Inc. boasts of large network of stores and has a strong financial leverage as it aims to tap into growing online retail segment and into franchising to expand into new market. GAP Inc. is also targeting growing global footwear market. Some of its shortcomings are geographic concentration and weak performance of comparable stores. It also suffers from low customer loyalty and rising labor wages. On the other hand, H&M are matching Zara in terms of designing and also have strong procurement practices. Unlike Zara, they collaborate with designers and have much wider presence as compared to Zara. They are at present looking to target new niche. However, they are also plagued by issues of customer loyalty and product recall. Currently, all of them are focusing the same segment and added to it the high entry barriers and high profit potential makes it an attractive industry. From the above graphs and the financial data available (refer to Appendix), we can see that although sales revenues of H&M are better than Inditex, operating expenses as a percentage of sales are lower for Inditex mostly due to their operational and marketing strategies which lowers the inventory and due to instant fashion generates more sales. 8. Corporate Level Strategies The Corporate level strategies of Zara can be said to be similar to that of its parent, Inditex Group. Its strategies can be classified based on three frameworks – Ansoff Matrix, BCG Matrix and GE-Directional Policy Matrix. Based on the Ansoff Matrix, Zara follows the following Strategic Directions: * Market Consolidation and Product Development by bringing in the latest fashionable designs from the design stage to distribution within 2-3 weeks, much shorter than the industry average. * Market Development by introducing products to new markets by opening up stores in new locations and countries. It had around 1500 stores in 78 countries, in December 2008,around the globe and is expanding. Zara is operating in an Industry of high growth of about 40% while having a high market share in most of the  countries. This puts Zara as a Star for Inditex Group in the Growth-Share BCG Matrix. Also the strength of its business is high, thus putting it in the Investment and Growth direction of theDirectional Policy Matrix. Thus Zara is one of the main Business lines for Inditex Group garnering about 67% of the revenue for the parent organization. 9. Business Level Strategies Zara defines its target markets as â€Å"Young, educated one that likes fashion and is sensitive to fashion†. This target market is very broad because it is not segmented by ages and lifestyles. Thus the scope of Zara’s business is broad. Zara also follows both the Cost leadership and Differentiation strategies. Thus Integrated Cost Leadership/ Differentiation Strategy are followed by Zara by the following approaches: * Cost Leadership 1. It achieves low cost by lowering lead times which in turn leads to lesser inventories, thus reducing the cost of the supply chain. * Differentiation 2. It differentiates itself from its competitors by providing lead times which are far lower than the industry standards. 3. Zara produces about 11000 designs every year as compared to about 4000 by competitors. 4. Replenishes stores twice a week as compared to once by major competitors. 5. Produces in small batches and takes advantage of shortages in stores by replacing them with new designs. Thus customers who find that a particular design is out of stock may buy a new design in fear of losing the opportunity to but it. Thus it guarantees that customers visit Zara’s stores around 17 times per year on an average as opposed to 3 times for competitors. 6. The designs remain in the stores for only about 4 months when they are taken out. Only about 10% of designs are taken off stores by Zara as compared to 17% of competitors. 7. Takes the feedback of customers in determining the needs of the customers. 8. Takes advantage of IT in vertical integration of the supply chain by maintaining a smooth flow of information through the chain. According to Mile’s and Snow’s Adaptive Strategies, Zara can be classified as a Prospector because of the following characteristics: * Zara has built its entire business on innovation in the supply of fashion apparels to customers. * Zara continually modifies its existing designs to match the  latest fashion trends and needs of the customers. * The competitors have not been able to copy their supply chain strategy. 10. Functional Level Strategies The designs at Zara change every week and this result in manufacturing systems that have to be flexible to cope up with these changes. Thus Zara uses Flexible Manufacturing Technology or Lean Production which reduces setup time for equipments, increases utilization of machines through better scheduling and improves quality control at all stages of manufacturing. The various functional strategies for Zara have been laid down below. * Marketing Strategy * Only one item of each size in each color option was placed on the stock floor requiring stores to maintain a considerable restocking policy. * Customer feedback was taken by all the sales personnel at the stores to gauge the needs of the customers. * New product introductions were planned twice a week to maintain fashion freshness. * Zara stores were located in prime retail locations, thus avoiding the need for advertising to attract customers. Marketing expenses were0.3% on sales as compared to 3.5% of competitors. * Materials Management Strategy * The raw material was stocked in advance according to forecasts. They were sourced from countries like Spain, the far east, India and Morocco. * Due to low lead times, very less inventory needed to be maintained. * Inventory turnover is high leading to lesser capital needs. * Zara outsources its sewing activities to contractors, thus lowering cost. * R&D Strategy * Design team consisting of young individuals in their 20’s who are more conversant with latest fashion. * Around 40000 designs were done throughout the year out of which around 11000 were selected for manufacture. * * Human Resource Strategy * Zara emphasized learning from mistakes and accepting criticism. * Everyone was encouraged to express their opinion. * No performance appraisal system in place but a system of immediate feedback from colleagues at all levels. * Personal empathy given more importance than formal qualifications in recruitment. * A significant portion of salaries varied according to performance. * Information Systems Strategy * IT was used to integrate the chain vertically and horizontally, for smooth flow of information up the chain and across the various functions, respectively. * Infrastructure * Zara had a relatively flat structure in comparison to other firms in the same industry. Cross-Functional Integration existed between the various functions to ensure that: * New designs are developed according to customer needs. * Information flow is quick. * Time to manufacture the new designs and their presentation to the customers reduces. * The costs of development are low. 11. Global Level Strategy Zara had opened up around 1500 stores in around 78 countries in December 2008, and it is still expanding by looking for opportunities. The main factors that helped Zara achieve Global competitiveness are: * Fast growth in the Spanish market * High demand for exports from Spain * Rivalry with other firms like H&M and Gap. The main reasons for Zara to expand globally were: * Expansion of its market by taking advantage of its â€Å"instant fashion† concept, so that it could increase its market share and bring in more revenue. * Since Zara believed in providing the customers with the latest fashion at lowest cost, it supplied the stores with low quantities. So to lower the costs it expanded globally so that it could take advantage of some sort of Economies of Scale. Global Strategy Zara did not follow any localization in the countries where it was present and provided only standardized products. Also it believed in providing the latest fashion at the low costs. Thus from the Global Strategy Grid it can be seen that Zara Followed a Global Standardization Strategy. By doing so it hoped to increase its profitability by reducing costs and achieving economies of scale. Zara chose to enter the different markets using various entry strategies. The strategies are outlined below. * Exporting: Zara exported its products to a few markets where opening up a manufacturing facility would not have been profitable like Monaco, Oman, etc. * Franchising: Zara also opens up stores in various locations through franchised deals avoiding development costs and risks of opening up a foreign market on its own. Examples of such locations are Cyprus, Venezuela, etc. * Joint Ventures: Over a period of time Zara entered various markets by forming Joint Ventures to take advantage of the partner’s knowledge of the foreign country. It entered the Italian Market in 1996 by forming a JV with Benetton. Then in 1998 it entered the German market by forming a JV with Otto Versand, the country’s largest catalogue retailer. It also entered the Japanese market by forming a JV with Japan’s BIGI Group, forming Zara Japan. * Wholly Owned Subsidiaries: Zara entered most of the markets by opening up wholly owned subsidiaries, to take advantage of the controls that it could exercise in those countries. Examples of such locations are US, UK

Isolation in Society Essay

Most people take society for granted, having lived within it their whole lives. They follow rules and social norms almost without thinking or realizing how much these rules affect their lives. It is only when these rules and norms are removed that people realize the significant impact of society on who they are. People assume social roles and when these roles are removed, whether by choice or by accident, they are forced to survive without the benefits or protections of society. Charlotte Perkins Gilman and William Golding are two authors that attempted to show the negative effects of isolation from society. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Gilman Jane is isolated from society and slowly descends into her own world of delusion and insanity; in the Lord of the Flies by Golding, the isolated boys forgo the rules of civilization and revert to a state of savagery and paranoia. In each story, as in real life, isolation from society causes suffering. A large part of staying within society and not being isolated from it is to fulfill an expected social role, whether as a mother, father, doctor, or nurse. Expectations from society are placed on each of these roles, as well as a pressure to conform. Whether people choose to accept them or not, social roles are assigned to everyone who participates in society. According to Gerrig, â€Å"A social role is a socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of a person when functioning in a given setting or group† (Gerrig and Zimbardo 574). In both â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Lord of the Flies, pressures of fulfilling social role leads to physical and mental isolation and alienation from society and creates suffering. In the article â€Å"The Outsider,† a genius boy named William James Sidis is described as someone whose intelligence made him isolated from society: â€Å"At eighteen months he could read The New York Times, at two he taught himself Latin, at three he learned Greek. By the time he was an adult he could speak more than forty languages and dialects. He gained entrance to Harvard at eleven, and gave a lecture on four-dimensional bodies to the Harvard Mathematical Club his first year† (Towers 6). His IQ was reported between 250 to 300 points, and his intelligence isolated him from his peers and social norms. This hyper-intelligence distanced him from almost everyone else in the world, creating an isolated, lonely youth who suffered in his alienation. Since he was born, he was constantly fueled by the expectations of others pushing him to excel. It led to his drive to succeed beyond most others in the academic fields, but did not allow for him to ever experience â€Å"normal† life, in social terms. Conforming to the ideas of others that wanted his brain used for noble pursuits, he missed out on simple social interactions or other joys of being human, eventually becoming a forty-six-year-old virgin who was unable to find sexual identity because he never incorporated it into his life. Sidis claims that despite all his intelligence and accomplishments, he is a failure, because he never got to be anything but an outsider. His isolation from normal society not only limited the options in his life, but also added unnecessary suffering. This real life isolation and the suffering it causes is seen in the characters of Gilman’s and Golding’s stories. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Lord of the Flies, people became isolated from society and suffered because of it. Jane is an intelligent and independent woman, and this makes her an outsider in nineteenth century society, who expect women to be happy mothers and wives. Though all of the stranded boys are isolated from society on the island, Ralph becomes an outsider from their community, after his intelligence and sense clash with the savage behavior the other boys adopt. In Jane’s case, she was an outsider for her rejection of â€Å"normal† society, while Ralph was an outsider because of his acceptance of it. Real life is no different than fiction, and people who think above the typical mentality and social norms often become isolated from society, thus becoming outsiders. For Jane in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper,† it is the refusal to accept these social roles that makes her an outsider in her own world, combined with the dismissive attitude that she receives from others. In the story, Jane makes the claim that she cannot participate in social activities such as working and visiting family because of her mental illness. This is largely because of her dominant doctor husband who keeps telling her that she is and treating her as if she were helpless. Her husband acts just as any husband of the time, treating her as a helpless woman instead of the intelligent and creative woman she is. He also is the one who will not allow her to write, so she begins her journal until she can work again: â€Å"So I take phosphates or phosphates-whichever it is- and tonics, and air and exercise, and journeys, and am absolutely forbidden to â€Å"work† until I am well again† (Golding 88). What her husband dismisses is Jane’s deep depression, which is made worse by her isolation and sense of helplessness. â€Å"You see, he does not believe I am sick! † (88). He robbed her of writing and being productive in the way she wishes, and offers her little alternatives. At the time, women were expected to keep house and raise the children, while Jane preferred writing and independence. She eventually comes to see domestic life as a prison, directly opposing the societal view of domestic life as the height of existence. Even before her descent into insanity, she is an outsider compared to the nanny and John’s sister who are happy filling their social roles as submissive housewives. Jane is left in her isolated world alone in the house, with her husband gone much of the time on emergencies and serious situations. In her isolation, Jane grows increasingly detached not only from her husband and family, but from reality. By making her an outsider, Jane is unable to get over her depression and the isolation from society only makes her mindset worse. Isolation from society can negatively affect the behavior of people, much like it does to Jane. Many people with mental illness are kept out of â€Å"normal† society, instead locked away like Jane is. This behavior robs people of the ability to interact with each other, almost negating the concept of what a society is supposed to be. This brings up the question of whether societies should be inclusive or if it is okay to create outsiders and exclude them. Nineteenth century society simply did not want to accept a strong independent woman. In Lord of the Flies, the entire definition of society is called into question. In Lord of the Flies, isolation from society is the theme of the work. The boys are isolated on a desert island and are forced to create their own rules, and soon Ralph finds himself isolated from this new society. Ralph initially uses his intelligence and morals to maintain order and establish a democratic society with the conch shell. He is a wise choice as leader and the signal fire displays the hope they have to return to civilization, but fear and paranoia begin to take over. The isolation from society leads Jack and his followers to abandon the rules, and this makes Ralph and his followers outsiders to them. The instance where the boys killed the sow shows how far removed from society they are and by chopping off of its head and offering it to the beast seems to suggest that isolation from society leads to the breakdown of civilized behavior. In their blood lust, the boys chant, â€Å"Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood† (Golden 168). The boys take pleasure in the destructive power of killing, where they were only recently innocent schoolboys. They savagely murder Simon thinking he is the beast and they, â€Å"Leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit and tore† (000000), like animals and not humans. After the boys kill Simon, the only boy that does not believe in the beast, they in fact become the beast themselves by murdering the person who knows the truth. However barbaric, Jack’s society appeals to most of the boys and even Ralph and Piggy think it is a demented but mostly safe society. For Ralph and his followers, isolation from society did not cause him to revert to a savage state, though tempted by it. Perhaps the author is trying to suggest that all humans possess violent instincts and will revert to them when given the chance, but the truly strong individuals will manage to retain their sense of morality and independence. When the boys are rescued, Ralph realizes that the isolation from society forced all the boys to lose their innocence, though he managed to retain his sense of civilization. Both Jane in â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† and Ralph in Lord of the Flies are outsiders in their own worlds, isolated physically and by their own beliefs and thoughts. This isolation led to suffering for each. In both stories, frustration and paranoia provokes dark thoughts in the minds of the characters, as the boys on the island become savages, Ralph is forced to hide for his life, and Jane becomes insane. Both authors seem to suggest that isolation from society and its rules leads to only suffering and the breakdown of morality. The good become evil, and the intelligent and independent thinkers lose their minds and sometimes lives. Ralph offers hope that this fate is not always true, but he is also forever changed by his experience. Jane’s position offers little hope, as she continues to deteriorate mentally throughout the story. But, the stories each offer questions about social roles and how they affect the mind, and whether isolation can allow a person to better understand the outside world or forget how to interact in it. The only thing that is certain is that few can escape from the reality of society. Works cited: Gerrig, Richard J. and Zimbardo, Philip G. â€Å"Social Norms. † Psychology and Life. 17th ed. 2005. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper. † The Project Gutenberg. November 1999. 31 January 2007. . Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1954. Towers, Grady M. â€Å"The Outsiders. † The Prometheus Society. 22 April 1987. 31 January 2007. .