Benefits And Challenges Of Department Stores

Benefits And Challenges Of Department Stores Department stores represent a large retail organization which offers to consumers a large choice of goods and services. Consumers have the opportunity to compare price, quality, and service at different stores at the same time and in a limited place. So the company can profit from individual benefits other sectors. The strategy of F4U is not only to sell quality goods at a reasonable price , but also to offer a unique service .Its prices are neither as cheap as the lower end department store, nor as expensive as the high-end store. F4U will try to bring the immediate attention of consumer through visual effects like layout, displays and colored posters and will place itself directly in front of the shoppers. The company wants, thereby, to entice different target groups and gain those other brands according to the motto† good quality, fashion style, best price†. In addition F4U intend to retain its consumer through a bonus program and to collect their personal data to bui ld an aggregate profile of individual consumers to target them with special offers and appropriate advertisements. Benefits and challenges of Department stores: Department stores offer to the customer the direct experience to touch and feel the product and judge its quality as well as the possibility of living the purchase as experience (Steinmann 2011:27) .The customer can try the clothes and take them immediately. Whereby the number of returns can be decreased. The face-to-face contact is crucial for many consumers especially for old people or people who dislike shopping online. Another advantage is the longer opening hours compared to specialty retail stores especially on Friday and Saturday. Department stores have also many disadvantages such as the existing of a concrete and inflexible location. Consequently, the location is a crucial factor for the shopping place. In this context, many consumers opine that, the fixed opening hours and parking fees are unfavorable. In addition, the time exposure, due to the travelling time, could be also a problem for some consumers (Heinemann 2008:19) Furthermore, department stores emerge several costs for the company such as lease costs and staff costs. Catalog selling Catalog selling as a channel for F4U Catalog selling is one of the most popular strategies used in Fashion game. The approach involves the creation of a printed catalog with a listing of products for sale. Every product is explicitly described and clearly illustrated with a picture to make the shopping experience as real as possible for the consumer. The catalog contains also a size chart to help consumer choosing the appropriate size. F4U tries, across catalog selling, to expand its clientele and above all to attain consumers, who are not familiar with using the internet or who dislike to walk around the stores for buying clothes. The catalog will comprise different ordering informations. The consumer can choose between ordering by telephone and entering the order at the online site.F4u will also offer its consumers various delivery options .They range from shipment directly to the consumer’s address, to delivering the goods to a F4u retail store or simply to a Packstation.

Why corporate social responsibility matters Essay

Why corporate social responsibility matters - Essay Example Corporate companies are setting up fully fledged CSR departments focusing on the social issues of contemporary relevance. A complex chain of various stakeholders of the company including the community; vendors, customers, investors and the concerned government will be involved in a CSR decision of the company. In other words, a CSR decision of particular company will affect its varied range of stakeholders. The stakeholders will have either comply with the CSR decision or in cases, they will benefit from the CSR initiative of the company. Johnson & Johnson is a multinational company with its presence over 60 countries. It has more than 250 subsidiary companies with human resource strength of 116,000 people. Being a large company and having been using the governmental and natural resources for long years, it becomes the responsibility of Johnson & Johnson to be responsible to issues of social relevance. The objective of this essay is to critically analyze the Corporate Social Responsi bility initiatives of Johnson and Johnson. Managerial Structure of Corporate Social Responsibility Wing The company claims that CSR has been included in the mission statement of the company 60 years ago. Interestingly, in that period CSR was not a point of discussion as a responsibility to be fulfilled by Corporate Companies. The CSR initiatives of the company were started by General Robert Wood Johnson (CSR Globe, 2006) He was the Chairman of the Director Board of the company then. The first initiative taken up by the company in this regard has been claimed by the company to have taken up way back in 1906. The company supported the government to source medical supply for the victims of the earthquake that happened in San Francisco. The CSR representative for the company is the Executive Committee. This makes it clear that the CSR initiatives of Johnson & Johnson is planned and controlled by its top level management. The involvement of senior level management in thus ensured in the process of planning and implementation. The governance of Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives is centrally based from its headquarters. This central approach in governance makes sure that the policy is oriented and focused on the central policies suggested by the Executive committee of the company. This further ensures the top management’s control over the CSR mechanism. The comprehensive Strategy Johnson and Johnson have developed a comprehensive strategy that clearly defines the limits of implementation of CSR. The CSR priorities of the company have been clearly defined to be limited to four sections. First of it is to cater to the company’s responsibility towards nurses, patients, doctors, mothers fathers and others who use the products of Johnson and Johnson. The second priority area is employees all across the world. The third is communities and the fourth one is stockholders. On careful analysis of these priority areas, it is cl early observable that the company has clearly defined the reach of its CSR initiatives. Interestingly, most of the beneficiaries from all the four priority areas belong to their customer base and direct dependents of the company. For instance when the patients who use their products refer to their customer base, the 116,000 people employees who are direct dependants of the company are included in within the limits of the activity. In conclusion, it can be observed that the CSR policy of Johnson and Johnson comprises of a comprehensive strategy clearly defining its limits to business development, human resource welfare, supply and sourcing chain wellbeing and community welfare. Specific CSR Programs The CSR programs of the company focus on three large areas including Environment, Social and Governance and Economic. The

Legalization of Same-Sex marriage Research Paper

Legalization of Same-Sex marriage - Research Paper Example For example, marriage enables spouses to receive insurance through their partners’ employers. They are also allowed many other rights such as the ability to make decisions for their partner who is being hospitalized, have the right to sue on their partner’s behalf and cannot be forced to testify against them in court. Married couples also pay less in taxes and receive many other social and financial benefits. But because gay couples are legally prevented from marrying, they are excluded from receiving the same considerations that married heterosexual couples enjoy. This paper will more closely examine the benefits denied gay couples as well as the political and legal implications involved with the issue. It will conclude with a discussion involving one of the main non-religious based reasoning’s that those who oppose of gay marriage espouse, the affect of this type of living arrangement on the children of the relationship. Five states plus the District of Columbi a allow same sex marriage and California’s status in currently in the court system. Gay marriage in California will not be allowed to precede until federal and state appeals courts made a decision regarding proposition 8. Gay-rights supporters had petitioned the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and asked it to end the hold put on a San Francisco federal judge's decision last year, that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and California authorities should stop enforcing it. Other countries such and the UK, Norway, Denmark, and Canada all give full-fledged marital rights to any couple. Seven states and numerous countries allow civil unions. Allowing gay couples to marry works well in several states and countries. Intolerance is the only reason it is not legal in the U.S. Advocates of non-traditional marriage argue that there is no constitutional basis for denying legal matrimony to gay couples. The Constitution not only legitimizes gay marriage but implies that the government sh ould never have considered a ban and should instead actively pursue legalizing gay marriage. As citizens of the United States, all people are guaranteed the inalienable right to pursue happiness. It does not exclude on the basis of sexual preference. The government was originally formed as an entity meant to champion the rights of the individual whether they are on the majority or minority side of public opinion. Laws that were enacted in the South disallowed the marriage between black and white people but were struck down by the Supreme Court. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act followed the tenets of the Constitution by prohibiting this type of discrimination. The opposition to gay marriage is based on prejudice and, as time passes, the concept will become more and more accepted. It, like racial prejudice, will become socially abhorrent (Sullivan, 2000). In addition, the disallowing of gay marriage by legislation violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.   According to t he American Civil Liberties Union, â€Å"The law [against same-sex marriage] discriminates on the basis of sex because it makes one's ability to marry depend on one's gender.† The ACLU continues by saying, â€Å"Classifications which discriminate on the basis of gender must be substantially related to some important government purpose. Tradition by itself is not an important government purpose† (American Civil Liberties Union, 1998, pp. 14-15). In 1997, the General Accounting Office reported that heterosexual married couples enjoyed

Comparative analysis of Elkins historical interpretation of slavery Essay

Comparative analysis of Elkins historical interpretation of slavery with James McPhersons interpretation in Ordeal by Fire - Essay Example ze the similarities and differences between the two authors, the relevance of their treatments – fact versus anecdote – and which of the two can be said – in the light of hindsight – to have most accurately described antebellum slavery. Elkins’ and McPherson’s books represent two very differing accounts of slavery and are separated in time by almost a quarter of a century. Elkins discusses the subject in general terms, and advances two main arguments:- It is now appropriate to expand the argument and discuss the points of agreement and disagreement between the two authors and to consider – in the light of history – whose arguments represent the most appropriate view of US slavery Elkins believed that â€Å"the behavior you exhibit is who you are† (Elkins,1959); he maintained that slavery was †so degrading and dehumanizing that slaves lost their identities and became â€Å"Sambos† [docile, child-like, content and striving for attention] The different attitudes to slavery in the North and South of the country were profound; in the North slaves worked mainly as domestic servants, while those in the South were employed in agriculture – originally on three crops: tobacco, rice and indigo, and later on cotton as well. In the North, by the nineteenth century, strong feelings developed that it was not acceptable for one man to own another, and the abolitionists gained strength due to influence of the Quakers, Methodists and other factions. Elkins (1959) wrote â€Å"To the Northern reformer, every other concrete fact concerning slavery was dwarfed by its character as a moral evil – as an obscenity condemned by God and universally offensive to humanity† (Elkins, 1959). Many Northern church dignitaries believed that while one slave remained the whole populace was culpable [Cain and Abel – â€Å"his brother’s keeper†]. In the South, by contrast, it was held that slavery â€Å"was a positive moral good – a necessary arrangement sanctioned in

International Organisation and Successful Harmonisation of Essay

International Organisation and Successful Harmonisation of International Commercial Law - Essay Example At constant time, harmonization of sets of laws controls the danger that subject matter be considered or resolved another way in jurisdictions2. This is to elaborate on the process of harmonization to control trade. In terms of practical principles, harmonization will harmonize the pitfalls that might affect the harmonization process the progress of daily operations and in meticulous traverse –system and traverse –border interactions 3. Harmonization is generally arrived at via international agreements by which nations agree to commence exact rules into their state legislation. This is mainly conducted by harmonization bodies and harmonization instruments. On the other hand, lots of international agreements are on no account fully functional; harmonization is also sought after â€Å"representation rules" or " representation statutory necessities " which are recommended to state legislators for implementation. 1 Harmonization and use of, mechanical standards may donate to growing the simplicity of exchange of ideas and plummeting conflicts equal to those occasions where there may perhaps be a divergence of laws. Standardization of structures is also a precondition for interoperability of structures, and indispensable to any authentic transaction of any business in the trade market 5. The four harmonization techniques include Uniform choice of law rules, Lex mercatoria, Standard form contracts, and Uniform substantive law. Therefore, harmonization laws international law, national laws, and Lex Mercatoria. This classification brings information about the diversity of sources of international business commandment. The pitfalls of this categorization are the importance of condition -made law and the sustenance of solid law necessities. It means a convinced chain of command of worldwide trade law rules which protects international convention and compulsory nationwide rules over contractual conditions and business. Some of the disadvantages and advantag es of harmonization include the following. First of all harmonization is mainly meant to unification of laws. Second, they point towards at law reorganization when the existing commandment cannot manage with developing business-related practices. Whichever the issue is the final purpose are the expansion of a legal structure and the surroundings of intercontinental principles. Alongside these two aims, the compensation of harmonisation of law gives the impression to be self- obvious. On the other hand, the commerce society is a very unenthusiastic to accept any transform in commandment. The identical applies for in cooperation the practising lawyers and law implanters. Some of these advantages include; it facilitates business with plagiarism of barriers consequential from difficulties of dissimilar officially permitted regimes. (2) Harmonisation of intercontinental commercial commandment creates a legal structure adapt -made for intercontinental communication, disregarding dissimila r in the guideline of national communication The chances put across to avoid pitfalls in trade and asset needs legal systems of harmonization with harmonized regulations so as to increase financial behaviour. Harmonization

Discussions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Discussions - Essay Example This creates a company that focuses on standards with rigid controlled process and the best practices that are closely supervised. The main advantage associated with the bureaucratic structure of an organization is the fact that decision-making takes a shorter time as less people who take part in this activity and this makes sure that work is completed in an efficient manner and on time. In contrast, bureaucratic structures may have a discouraging effect to creativity as well as innovation in the entire organization, as it is difficult for a single person in the organization to come up with all the strategic ideas that are required in a large company. Information systems are computer systems that provide the management and other employees within the company with latest information in terms of the performance of the organization such as the prevailing inventory and sales (Jawadekar, 2013). It is usually connected to a computer network that is developed through linking various computers to allow sharing of data as well as resources. These systems are intended to collect, transmit, store and retrieve as well as display the information that is utilized by several process in the organization. The systems that are supposed to serve general and foreseeable management practices are also referred to as management information systems. An example of a report that is generated by this system is the information that contained in yearly reports developed for the stakeholders of organizations. Staffing professionals include staffing managers in the human resource department who are responsible for all the areas that are linked to the staffing requirements of the company(Strayer, 2005). These professionals must be able to recruit when they find the applicants who are appropriately qualified while being able to deal with the hiring and retaining of the already hired employees. For a company to be successful, staffing is not enough, as the human resource

Inner City Violence Article Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Inner City Violence Article Critique - Essay Example It rules out the popularly held belief that girls, owing to their gender, do not get involved in incidents of violence in the inner cities. Most of the ethnographic literature written hitherto on the concept of inner city violence has focussed mainly, if not only, on the experiences of distressed men and boys in inner city neighbourhoods. But the fact is that girls are not simply exempted of such treatment owing to their gender. Jones’ article attempts to reveal the impact of the interplay of â€Å"reputation, respect and retaliation† on the poor, urban girls and women (Jones, 2008, p.63). It also aims at exploring the role of gender in shaping up the experiences of urban and ethnically marginalised girls with inner city violence. It thus helps in establishing the complicated though much-needed relationship between gender and violence in the urban US. The author establishes her view on the basis of her analysis of interviews with several adolescents who had been involved in inner city violence. All the respondents approached in this study belonged to the age group 12 to 24 years. They were all African-Americans who were enrolled in a city-hospital-based intervention for checking violence in the city. These individuals who had voluntarily enrolled for this violence intervention program had been involved in recent activities of racial violence and ran the risk of getting involved in similar incidents in their near future. The author’s fieldwork for this study extended over a period of three years (2001-03) and in three distinct phases. The first phase of research was characterised by a discussion with the intervention counsellors who had the first-hand experience of interacting with the teenagers. It was complemented by a participant observation of the teenaged youth who were enrolled in the program and interviews with their peers, family and relatives. This was followed by the second phase in which 24