An Age Of Dramatic Social And Political Changes - 1164 Words

Many events occurred during all the eras, but they all differ from each other in many ways. The 1920’s was an age of dramatic social and political changes. For the first time more Americans lived in cities instead of farms. Which eventually led to enormous cultural changes for women; as well as religious divisions. For example, this era is known as the sexual revolution, because of the historical change that occurred to the women. After earning their right to vote with the nineteenth amendment in 1920. This created a new image for women in society. Flappers became well known in the twenties, because of their outspoken and independent personalities, they were viewed as unlady like. They had short hair, drank, smoked, wore miniskirts and became more sexually free. Margaret Sanger was a popular voice during this change because he was the leading advocate for birth control. There was also religious division that took place, due to the Monkey Scopes Trial, which caused a huge confl ict between modernists and fundamentalists. Fundamentalists believed in the bible while on the other hand modernists believed in Darwin’s theory of evolution. The 1930’s was extremely different from the 20’s because they had to experience the struggle that was brought by the Great Depression. It occurred when the stock markets had crashed and the banks fell. People were desperate to escape this tragic issue, and hoped that someone would come save them from this tragedy. That savior is known as FranklinShow MoreRelatedThe Roaring Twenties : An Age Of Dramatic Social, Political, And Economic Change1298 Words   |  6 PagesThe â€Å"Roaring Twenties† was an age of dramatic social, political, and economic change. Women wanted improved and fair rights and the nation’s wealth doubled between 1920 and 1929. 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Strategic Analysis of Marks and Spencers Plc (MS) Free Essays

string(106) " sector from next and gap, they also face high competition in the food industry from Tesco and Sainsbury\." Abstract: This report critically analyses how the external and internal factors affect the strategies of MS and modifies its business strategies. Even though MS has good strategy and marketing plans they haven’t used it to their advantage. It also tells how the macro and micro environment affect their strategy and their plan. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Analysis of Marks and Spencers Plc (MS) or any similar topic only for you Order Now The report uses frame works like PESTEL, SWOT and porter 5 forces. It further investigates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of MS. This report highlights on MS planning, organising, and taking decisions. It further incorporates the history, business operation, and the treats and opportunities faced by the company. It also provides an alternative solution and offers recommendation which might help the company to compete in the market, by providing appropriate service to its customer’s .The main aim of this report is to evaluate how MS can survive in this ever changing market Introduction: Marks and Spencer the Britain retailer (often referred to as Marks Sparks by locals) is a general retailer that sells clothes, gifts, home furnishings, and foods under the brand name St. Michael in the UK, Europe, the Americas and Far East. The company also operates in the financial services segment.Marks Spencer was started in 1884 by Michael Marks in the Leeds market. The company strived for value and low prices and worked for its development. By 1901, the company acquired 35 outlets and had a new partner in Tom Spencer. The company’s stores started to carry the label (St. Michael) by 1949. The company’s vision is to offer consumers great quality, value, and service. With nearly 300 stores in the United Kingdom, MS is the country’s largest retailer and holds 17% of UK clothing market. The goods they have are perceived be of excellent value and quality. It has been seen that the company adheres to top-down management approach and watched under the close super vision of its former CEO. This was going good with the company for several decades, But latter part of the 1990s there was a noticeable decline in the sales and in the overall performance of the company. Strategic position Marks and spencer is operating in a very competitive environment and there are many factors that affect the company in the outside environment. As they operate in many segments like food cloths and home and beauty products they have to deal with a lot of competitors. MS is very sensitive to technological, social and economic factors. It has to keep up with ever growing and changing trends of clothing if they have to compete in the market. The key drivers that affect MS are changing trends and online purchasing as they have no control over it. The core values of MS: quality, affordability and service were under the attack from its competitors. Other Retailers such as Top Shop, Next, Debenhams, Warehouse and the Gap provide the customers with better fashionable and trendier designs with good value. Food chains, such as Tesco, Waitrose, and Sainsbury have started to move into frozen foods and readymade food products. MS has challenge from all the business segments it is competing. But MS has not changed enough to be competitive; this resulted in MS losing its profits and market share (MS Press Releases 1999) Strategic clock: Differentiation Perceived value MS is trying to gain market share and for them to regain its market share and dominance they need to invest. Currently MS takes on the larger market share and is still suffering in its profits. This implies weakness in a rather cutthroat world of retail. Giving access to quality food and clothes to all is their vision. They are committed to understanding and meeting the customer’s needs consistently, in this ever competitive retail environment. MS has 90% of its revenues from the UK (Mintel,2009) , Increased food and fuel prices has an impact on the disposable income of the consumers which leads to weaker demand for non-food products, MS is responding to this trend of cutting prices this is having a serious effect on their sales Environmental analysis Swot analysis: Strengths: Excellent and high quality products They have excellent relationship with its employees they are treated well and paid well It has stores all over high streets in London Profitable company and has a large market share in the retail sector It has a long term relationship with its suppliers It’s been here for more than 100 years so it has a good history of trade. Weakness: It is heavily reliant on British suppliers where as its competitors use foreign suppliers for low cost products. They have an old and classical fashion image, advertising is poor as they do not offer discount sales during festivals like Christmas and Easter, this Is the time when the customers buy a lot of goods. No customer focus Technology is poor as they cannot provide reading of their inventory No knowledge about the market for the younger generation. Poor customer service as they do not provide fitting rooms and loyalty cards. Opportunities: MS has to enter the e-business effectively as their competitors Expansion in growing product areas such as Food, Home and Beauty as they have customers trust for their quality and innovation The Home business, areas like home furnishings and gifts are fastest growing product areas and beauty products are growing rapidly. Both of these areas offer promising opportunities for the company to develop and expand Focus on cloths market segment by age group and introduce clothing line for kids and teenagers. Threats: Since MS operate in many segments like food clothing and others they have many competitors such as Tesco, Sainsbury, Zara, Gap and top shop. Customers are always looking new fashion cloths Internet allows the customers to shop from home online. MS has not done well in the foreign market after expanding abroad. Porter’s 5 forces model: Competitive rivalry (High): Marks and spencer faces high rivalry in the clothing sector from next and gap, they also face high competition in the food industry from Tesco and Sainsbury. You read "Strategic Analysis of Marks and Spencers Plc (MS)" in category "Essay examples" Bargaining power of buyers (High): The threat from buyers is high as they have large number of retailers situated very close by. Bargaining power of suppliers (Low): The power of suppliers is low as there are concentrated purchasers. Threat of new entrants (Medium): Is very relatively low as there the other retailers are already established. Threat of substitutes (High): There has been increase in retailers who import their goods from foreign countries, so consumers can buy the same products for cheaper price. Cultural web: Evaluation of strategic direction The strategic direction of Marks and spencer can be evaluated by using the TOWS matrix, Ansoff matrix which helps us to understand how marks and spencer can possible convert their weaknesses to strengths and their threats to opportunities. The vision of Marks and Spencer is to give standard and high quality products to all. Marks and Spencer give huge importance to a work place that inspires and rewards the employee’s .The approach to Corporate Social tell us their commitment to Quality, Value, Service and Trust. It allows Marks and Spencer to manage operations responsibly, this helps them to attract shoppers to their stores and retain their customers, it also helps to have a good understanding with the suppliers and helps to give value to their stakeholders. TOWS MATRIX: TOWS Strengths Opportunities High quality productsHigh end customers Stores all over highEast accessibility to streets in the UKthe customers Mature in high profitableScope for improvement economyin marketingand Technology Weakness Opportunity Suppliers limited toNew suppliers the UK Poor customer serviceEnhanced services not Keeping with theMust enter E-business competitorsin a effective way Weakness Threat Reliant on BritishHigher production costs suppliers Poor marketingIntense competition Strategy Poor technology useNew entrants into the market with better technology Strength Threat High street giantHigher cost, online sales by competitors Long term relationshipnew lower cost suppliers with suppliers Cost efficiencyNew market By looking at the TOWS matrix the strategic direction is suitable with capabilities MS has. Industry life cycle: This is a tool used to look at the current phase of the company, according to industry cycle MS is in the maturity stage; after looking at the external environment the life cycle curve indicates that growth is slow due to a lot of competitors. However this calls for MS to change their strategy due to heavy competition, in the market. Ansoff matrix: We can use Ansoff product/market matrix to identify the strategic direction for Marks and Spencer’s. This matrix helps to understand the strategic option available to MS in terms of products and market coverage, by looking at their strategic capability. Market penetration can be done by product development as their clothing lack variety and if they can develop this they can be competitive. It can also be achieved by concentrating only on the UK market and consolidating it. Product development can be achieved by developing the per una brand as it is already an established brand.IT development to promote online shopping. Market development can be achieved by looking at new countries new customers and can also consider entering new segment like children’s wear and teenagers to be competitive. Marks and spencer can also diversify in food, beauty products and home appliance and get into partnership with other retailers. Conclusion: Using the environmental audit (PESTEL and SWOT) and strategic analysis it can be seen that MS poses some strength within them and also a few weaknesses. They also have a few threats and areas of opportunities which explored can take MS to new Heights. MS drifted away from its core values and failed to notice that the competition was getting tougher and was not in line with the changing trend, this made them to lose a few customers. The mid-market segment which MS was operating was hit by recession and this made the consumers move to other retailers such as Primark, Tesco Sainsbury etc. which were providing the consumers for cheaper rates. MS should come up with a contingency plan to not only focus on differentiation, but also to encounter the growing rivalry from other supermarket chains. Acceptability: Looking at the current weaknesses like not following the market trend in the clothing line and no proper customer service that MS have it can’t sustain the challenge from other retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury, gap and Zara as do market research and follow the current trend that is in the UK. Feasibility: With the combination of its strengths the strategy MS is using can be feasible but need to turn its threats to opportunities. MS need to diversify and keep up with the challenge from the competitors, so that they can satisfy the shareholders Sustainability: For MS strategy to be sustainable and prosper in the long term their core competences has like value to customers, Rarity, inimitability has to be looked at. Because customers feel they are not getting value for their money as the competitor are offering goods for cheaper prices, Their products are not rare and can be imitated by other competitors. Recommendation: The current strategy MS is pursing is not very sound, so here are a few changes that MS has to look at that would help them to capture back the lost market share and customers. Come up with new quality products in areas of cloth food home and financial services and achieve customer satisfaction through quality service. Regain lost market share in clothing: Improve the Per Una brand as people like it.They have to be customer oriented and do a market research on the current trends in the UK. Start providing trial rooms so to attract customers. Use Zara’s concept of communicating with the manufactures abroad through media. Obtain customer opinion and feedback this helps not only in keeping up with the current trend in the clothing line but also helps to do research in the food and home appliances sector. Improve online shopping this not only helps in reducing costs but also helps in increasing sales and to be competitive and also an opportunity to advertise in the internet. Make the advertising big as MS is an old organization and the younger generations who are not aware of it would rather go to stores which are attractively advertised. Putting up hoardings in the streets and may be in the Tube stations would help attract customers not only in UK but also tourists. Improve the customer shopping experience: MS need to invest in its stores in areas like stock availability and better customer service which adds to the value to the customers and uniqueness quotient. Improve franchising in foreign: This helps to capture market share in other countries with less capital. References: (n.d) [15 June 2011] (n.d) [16 June 2011] (n.d) [15 June 2011] (n.d) [15 June 2011] (n.d) [17 June 2011] Appendix: PESTEL analysis POLITICAL – The EU and the Free Trade Agreements, this helps the other British Companies to take advantage of it by getting their goods from other countries for cheaper rates compared to MS higher cost structure. Issues of labour laws ECONOMIC – the Retail sector is very sensitive to changes in tax and interest rates. After the economic slump the retail industry is once again booming. The competitors import their goods from other countries to cut cost but this puts MS in a disadvantage as they get the good from within the UK. SOCIAL – changing life style and trend of the consumers could be a threat to the company. However this also could be an Opportunity in terms of new market and consumers. TECHNICAL – Media plays an important role in communicating with the designers and manufactures in other countries about the changing trends of UK. Online shopping Is now getting more and more common. LEGAL –To provide high quality as promised, and legislations for health and safety both in terms of consumer rights and also in terms of production of own natural renewable resources for making clothes ENVIRONMENTAL –Retailers use lot raw materials to produce their goods; they need to be aware of the natural habitats and the environmental effects. They also have to be aware of the legal effects for farm animals in health and safety How to cite Strategic Analysis of Marks and Spencers Plc (MS), Essay examples

Westward Expansion Essay Example For Students

Westward Expansion Essay The Westward Expansion Essay has often been regarded as the central theme of American history, down to the end of the19th century and as the main factor in the shaping of American history. As Frederick Jackson Turner says, the greatest force or influence in shaping American democracy and society had been that there was so much free land in America and this profoundly affected American society. Motives After the revolution, the winning of independence opened up the Western country and was hence followed by a steady flow of settlers to the Mississippi valley. By 1840, 10 new western states had been added to the Federal union. The frontier line ran through Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas on the western side of the river. All parts of the valley except Wisconsin and Minnesota were well populated. Thus a whole new section had been colonized with lasting effects on the American institutions, ideals and ways of living. The far west was the land of high mountains, deserts, strange rock formations, brilliant colors and immense distance. Fur trade with Europe had now become a lucrative business and the fur traders became the pathfinders for the settlers. Migration was now possible by the discovery of paths over which ox-driven carts could be driven through seeking mountains and across the western desert. People wanted to move away from the overcrowded cities and this led to the migration into the uninhabited lands. Increased transportation like roads, railroads and canals and their construction created a demand for cheap labor making it easier for people to get jobs now, in contrast with the cities where there was unemployment. The pioneer movement for 70 years after the revolution roughly represented the form of 3 parallel streams, flowing westwards from New England, Virginia and South Carolina. The first pioneer groups tended to move directly westward. Thus the new Englanders migrated into western New York and along the shores of the great lakes, Virginians into Kentucky and then into Missouri and the South Carolinians and Georgians into the gulf territories. Throughout the settlement of the Mississippi valley, most pioneers did not travel long distances and as a territory had been occupied, families would move into the adjacent one. There were boom periods of great activity, during which million acres of land were sold, alternated with depression periods during which there was little further expansion of the frontier and many disappointed pioneers even backtracked from the west to the east. When the treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the Americans had thought that they had enough land between the Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. Yet in 1803, by the Louisiana Purchase, the area of the United States doubled and not long after, it was augmented by the half-purchase-half-conquest of Florida. By the end of 1820, as many as 6 states were created, east of Mississippi-Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820) and Missouri (1821). By the 1830s, the frontier line had been carried to Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas-about one-third of the way across the continent. By the 1840s, the expansionist policy, typified by the Manifest Destiny doctrine, became very strong with many sections willing to go to war to acquire more land. Slavery became a bone of contention between the Northern and southern states with the control of the senate in question. The South wanted expansion to increase slave states, the North to keep the balance with free states and the West wanting expansion to increase their land. The antagonism between the North and the South sees the beginnings of sectionalism leading to the civil war later. The spirit of equality becomes a banner with which the expansionist policy was proclaimed. Phases Of Development Before the 1830s, most sections of the west passed through the same phases of development in a regular order. The first white men to usually enter a new area were the hunters and fur trappers, who had extraordinary skills to open up a new path through wilderness, finding food for themselves and dealing with the Indians. These men explored the country and brought news of its resources back to the east. .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .postImageUrl , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:hover , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:visited , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:active { border:0!important; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:active , .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530 .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud5e09ca6b4e521fa86a2d0e11ff52530:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Media based analysis for "Whose Life is it anyway?" Essay In many regions, the second phase was cattle ranching while some also passed through the mining phase. Parts of Missouri and Wisconsin, for example were settled by lead miners. Behind the cattle ranchers or miners came the first farmers, who were often squatters with no legal title to land. They were frequently restless and were impatient of the restrictions of civilised society, and were not interested in making permanent houses. Many of them, had a .