Aldis Micro environment

Aldis Micro environment Introduction Aldi is a German Based multinational company that operates in the discounted stores sector. Having started its operations back in the year 1946, the company has grown to the extent that it controls 8078 stores around the world today. The company entered the United Kingdom in 1990 with the opening of a single store. As of today, the company has managed to open four hundred stores across the United Kingdom.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Aldi’s Micro environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This growth has put the company amongst one of the most competitive companies in the Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Superstores sector in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, the company operates within a competitive micro environment. This implies that there are a substantial number of stakeholders in the sector in which Aldi operates (International Markets Bureau 2011). This paper explores the inter nal and external environment in which Aldi operates in the United Kingdom. The paper begins by examining the key stakeholders of the company. This is followed by a Porter’s five forces analysis, which helps to capture the macro environment in which the company operates. The paper ends by drawing recommendations from the findings, which can be used by Aldi to gain a competitive position in the United Kingdom. Key Stakeholder Groups in Aldi’s Micro Environment The government and regulators Each stakeholder plays a given role in as far as the influence of operation for companies is concerned. The government plays a greater role in setting the business environment. It influences the operation of a given company from the macro and even narrows down to shape the micro environment (Fassin 2009). The UK government, especially the ministry of trade ensures that comprehensive trade policies are in place in order to steer the operation of business companies. The government ensure s that the operational environment is fair for all the companies operating in the HSS. The retail laws are set by the government. Also, the government ensures that labour laws are effectively developed. The social and environmental policy matters are also coordinated by the government. The government does not have needs per se, but helps in setting standards that are required for effective business operation (International Markets Bureau 2011). Customers The other critical stakeholders in the micro environment are the customers (Fassin 2009). Research has pointed out that customers are the most valid stakeholders by any company, including Aldi. The reason behind this is that customers are the main sources of competitive advantage by virtue of their shopping trends and habits.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The growth of Aldi is associated with its ability to prov ide diverse services, which have enabled them to gain a substantial number of customers over time. Customers have their expectations of the company. Customers have been demanding for services at discounted prices. This enables the customers to attain goods at lesser costs. This is because of the higher cost of living that has been brought about by the recent tough economic conditions in the country and the world at large (NFU n.d). Suppliers Suppliers are vital for companies that deal with the marketing of a wide range of products. Aldi offers a wide range of products. This is one of the positioning factors for the company. The relevance of the suppliers to the company is to ensure sustainable supply of goods to the company (Fassin 2009). Aldi gets its supplies from different manufacturers and processors. In order to ensure that it maintains its relationship with its customers, a company has to ensure that it maintains a stable relationship with its suppliers so that they can keep s upplying quality products. Through the maintenance of a working relationship with their suppliers, the company is able to get a constant supply of products and services. The main need for suppliers is to ensure that they secure a relationship with the company so that they can maintain the company as one of their chains where they make their supplies. Employees According to Fassin (2009), employees are the immediate stakeholders in the company. When it comes to the issue of employees, Aldi focuses on two things: The maintenance of their employees through deployment of best practices in human resource management and the outsourcing of high quality employees from the lumber industry in the United Kingdom. As mentioned earlier, Aldi operates four hundred stores in the United Kingdom. This points out that the company has a substantial amount of employees in the country. The company has attained most of its managerial employees from the Universities in the United Kingdom. The employees ne ed to be maintained by the company through a better pay and other practices of performance management (NFU n.d).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Aldi’s Micro environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Communities Communities are another critical group of stakeholders in the company. The company draws its customers from the communities in areas where it has set its retail stores. It is argued that the only way through which a company can establish positive relationships and attachment to the community is by employing best practices in corporate social responsibility (Fassin 2009). These entail the support of activities and functions within the community. It also involves engagement in sustainable management and environmental conservation. These practices make the communities to be drawn near the company. Aldi has a policy on corporate social responsibility, which helps it to establish and sustain relationsh ips with the communities in the UK (NFU n.d). Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Aldi in the UK’s HSS Sector The HSS sector is comprised of a substantial number of operators, thereby making the sector to be quite competitive. This implies that any company that aims at attaining a competitive position in the sector has to make efforts to understand the factors of competitiveness in the sector. Though still faced with challenges that impede its competitiveness in the UK HSS sector, Aldi has been active in the sector and has managed to gain a substantive amount of customers due its mastery of the macro environment and the subsequent adoption of competitive practices. Threat of new competition One thing that is feared by business companies, yet the most critical determiner for their performance is competition. Firms are required to keep monitoring and assessing the developments in the industry in which they operate to gain knowledge on how to adjust their activities in the m arket. This ensures competitiveness in the market (Draganska Klapper 2007). The HSS in the UK retail industry is comprised of a number of companies that have operated in the industry for a relatively longer period of time. Such companies include Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrissonswhereas and Asda (Hall 2011). Aldi is not considered as a new entrant in the HSS of the UK since it has operated in the UK for more than 20 years. The company has gained competitiveness in the industry through a strategic move, which made it venture into discount retailing. However, it has been noted that a substantial number of companies are opting to invest in the discount retailing in the future because of the developments in the current market (Brown 2013). This calls for Aldi to adjust its activities by making adjustments to the offers made to its customers.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is the best way through which the company can maintain its customers. The advantage for Aldi is that it has already operated in the discounted retailing for an extended period of time, thereby attracting a substantial number of customers. Threat of substitute products or services When there are numerous companies operating in an industry, substitute products or services are used as differential factors for companies in the market (Lusch, Vargo O’Brien 2007). The HSS industry in the UK has a high number of players who provide varied services to their customers. When a company uses the feature well, it easily gains a competitive advantage over other companies in the market. Aldi provides a wide range of products and services to its customers, for instance the weekly price offers and the special buy deals. This enables the company to attract a wide range of customers in the UK retail market (International Markets Bureau 2011). Bargaining power of customers The customers pu rchase the products and services of firms, thereby enabling firms to sustain their operations in the market. The purchasing behaviour of customers is shaped by a number of factors. Among these factors are the economic conditions and the offers that are made on purchases by the company. Brown (2013) observed that the current economic conditions in the world raised the conditions of living, forcing customers to cut down their expenditure on goods and services. This means that the bargaining power of customers is low, and they prefer to purchase from retailers who help them save. Therefore, the offers on the prices of goods and services favour a substantial number of buyers. This is what has enhanced the performance of Aldi in the recent years of operation in the UK HSS sector (Hall 2011). Bargaining power of suppliers Grewal and Levy (2009) observed that each company seeks for suppliers who can ensure it gets quality products at competitive prices in order to draw profits from the sup plies. Aldi offers its customers a wide range of products. This implies that the company has a large number of suppliers from which it gets the products. The prices that are offered to the suppliers by the company are drawn from the industry since the company has to ensure that its customers get the goods at affordable prices. Therefore, Aldi has developed strong links with a number of suppliers, who offers them supplies at discounted prices. This in turn enables the company to extend the discounts to their customers, which boosts their sales. In turn, this enables the company to get more supplies and benefit the suppliers (International Markets Bureau 2011). Intensity of competitive rivalry The intensity of competition in an industry is dictated by the number of active players in the industry and the nature of service offing to the customers by the players. The UK HSS has a number of well established companies like Sainsbury, Morrissonswhereas, Asda and Tesco. These companies are c onsidered as the main competitors for Aldi in the sector (Hall 2011). Their higher level of competitiveness resonates from the fact that they have been in operation in the country longer and have well expanded retail stores when compared to Aldi. However, Aldi has been strategic, a factor that enables the compact to ease the competitive pressures from the giant companies in the sector. Aldi has managed to ease the competitive pressure by fully venturing into discount retailing. As of today, it is argued that Aldi is one of the leading companies in discounted retailing in the UK. The discount retailers have continued to mount pressure on large supermarkets across the UK (International Markets Bureau 2011). Conclusion and recommendations According to the findings of this paper, Aldi is one of the most competitive companies in the UK retailing industry. The company has managed to gain competitiveness through the deployment of a number of strategic moves, such as venturing into discount ed retailing and higher diversification of the number and types of products. Therefore, the company has a high likelihood of continuing performing remarkably in the UK. This can be done through a number of practices. Aldi needs to increase the diversity in its service offering in order to capture the diverse groups of customers in the UK. The number of discounted offers ought to be extended so that they can favour buyers from the middle class, as well as those from the high class. At the same time, there is need for the company to start venturing into other sectors of the UK retail industry. This can be attained through research in order to enable the company to identify the best way to diversify its operating segments. Future prospects point to the fact that customers prefer discounting as a way of saving. Therefore, Aldi can enhance its competitiveness by opening more discounted stores across the entire UK. Presentation Speech In this paper, I present a clear picture of the comp etitive position of Aldi by putting the company within the perspective of the HSS industry in the UK. The three issues in areas of analysis of the company that I have focused on are: The stakeholder analysis, the Porter’s five force analysis and the recommendations. The stakeholder analysis has focused on five main stakeholders. These are: The government and regulators, suppliers, customers, employees, and the communities. The five forces analysis has explored the key areas of competitiveness of the company in the UK retail industry. From the discussion, I have derived three main recommendations for the company. Reference List Brown, J 2013, ‘Every Lidl helps: bargain hunters flock to German masters of no-frills shopping’, The Independent, independent.co.uk/news/business/news/every-Aldi-helps-bargain-hunters-flock-to-german-masters-of-nofrills-shopping-7888984.html Draganska, M Klapper, D 2007, ‘Retail environment and manufacturer competitive intensityâ₠¬â„¢, Journal of Retailing, vol. 83 no. 2, pp. 183-198. Fassin, Y 2009, ‘The stakeholder model refined’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 84 no. 1, pp. 113-135. Grewal, D Levy, M 2009,’ Emerging issues in retailing research’, Journal of Retailing, vol. 85 no. 4, pp. 522-526. Hall, J 2011, ‘Aldi and Lidl increase market shares as shoppers cut back’, The Telegraph, telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8296774/Aldi-and-Lidl-increase-market-shares-as-shoppers-cut-back.html International Markets Bureau 2011, The United Kingdom: A sophisticated retail sector, ats-sea.agr.gc.ca/eur/5735-eng.htm Lusch, RF, Vargo, SL O’Brien, M 2007, Competing through service: Insights from service-dominant logic, Journal of Retailing, vol. 83 no. 1, pp. 5–18. NFU n.d, Review of grocery retailer CSR policies, https://www.google.com/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=10cad=rjaved=0CHsQFjAJurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfuonline.com%2FOur-work%2FF ood-chain%2FNews%2FNFU-Supermarkets-CSR-report-28-6-12%2Fei=WPAIUePTNIHTtAbDioDgAwusg=AFQjCNHyaeMIz0hL-7px0Anow06OnGTvmAbvm=bv.41642243,d.Yms

Rush Hour essays

Rush Hour essays The action genre had really gone sour ever since Terminator II died out. Action stars like Jean Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stalone had basically made carbon copies of their previous hits and re-released them under different names. However, starting in 1998 with Rush Hour, starring Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, and moving on to hits like The Matrix, the action genre is gaining new life with unique mixes of stars and plots to add life to the mindless action that has plagued the genre in the past. Like Buster Keaton and the other great silent comedians, Jackie Chan has relied upon the universal language of physical comedy to transcend the barriers of the spoken word. That is why the Hong Kong based Jackie Chan has become an international superstar, with legions of fans all over the world. Rush Hour fits the action genre because it has excellent fighting action scenes and a typical super hero against a whole mob. In Rush Hour, Jackie Chan comes back to the action genre, but brings a sidekick along for the ride. No, not some Chinese action star like Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4) who provides two lines of dialogue and mindless kicks and punches. This co-star is one of the loudest and fastest talking on the silver screen today: Chris Tucker. Tucker is a unique choice to co-star in the comedy-action genres, which adds the thrill. Tucker's fast-talking and quick humor sharply contrasts Chan's usual dull style. On the other hand, Jackie Chans presence has the ability to reign in Chris Tucker's comedic excesses and preventing him from taking things too far over the top. Jackie Chan portrays Detective Inspector Lee of Hong Kong, who comes to America at the behalf of an old friend who just happens to be the Chinese Consul. The Consul requests that Inspector Lee aid the FBI in locating his kidnapped daughter. However, the FBI does not want any foreign interference with their inve...

Hidden Valley Resort Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hidden Valley Resort - Research Paper Example Hidden Valley Resorts are known for the eco-friendly environment that they serve. This report aims at discussing the current marketing situation of the company and also aims at developing a few opportunities for the company. An analysis of the internal as well as the external environment of the company has been made which permits a chance to draw out the opportunities and to study the viability of the opportunities. The report will set down two to three opportunities for the company which can be used to help develop the current market condition. These will be accessed financially and the details like the changes that might occur within the operations of the company will also be discussed. The next section will provide a brief overview of the company and a high-level image of the operations will be discussed. Hidden Valley resorts are a renowned resort located about one and half hours Northwest of Townville in the Paluma range in Queensland. The location of the resorts has untouched nature at its best and there is a wide range of natural species of birds, butterflies, wallabies and also other nocturnal animals. The cabins are known for the carbon Neutral Resort and the operations are based completely on green working. The company operates completely on solar power and as explained on the website of the company, â€Å"... with the help of our friends at Climate Friendly we purchased carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere and are now CLIMATE NEUTRAL†. The resort was introduced in 1982. The main focus of the resort then was to cater to the needs of the timber cutters, tin miners and the graziers. The resort has been owned and operated over the last 24 years by Ian and Bonnie McLennan and has been developed over the years to improve and become better.

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants Coursework

The differences between Eudicots and Monocots plants - Coursework Example The author has rightly presented that every plant has two main systems a root system and a shoot system, a root system consists of roots and branch roots and the shoot system contains stem, branches, and leaves. Roots are responsible for providing the plant with water and other minerals contained in the soil. It also anchors the plants and holds the plant to the ground. The stem has the responsibility to transport water minerals from roots to the leaves and branches and food and oxygen from leaves to other parts. Leaves carry the responsibility of making food for the plants through the process of photosynthesis. The plant can make its food by itself combining carbon-dioxide and sunlight by the process of photosynthesis. The vegetative parts of a plant are root, stem, and leaves but flowers, fruits, and seeds are its reproductive organs. Flowering plants produce seeds of two basic types, monocots, and Eudicots. There are many differences between the Monocots and Eudicots. In monocots, there is only one cotyledon in the seed but in Eudicot plants, the seed has two cotyledons. In monocot plants, the root xylem and phloem are distributed in a ring while in Eudicots root phloem is the xylem. In monocots, the vascular tissues are there on the stem in a scattered form but Eudicots have its vascular tissues distinctly arranged. Leaves veins in monocot plants are formed in a parallel pattern while Eudicots have a leave veins in a net shape.

Do Mergers and Acquisitions Fulfil Desired Objective?

Do Mergers and Acquisitions Fulfil Desired Objective? Do Mergers And Acquisitions Fulfil Their Desired Objective? And How People Are Affected By the Result of These Mergers? Dissertation Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Restructuring of a firm has become a major area in the financial and economic environment all over the world. A company may grow internally, or externally. The aim of the management is to maximize the profit. Most firms grow through internally which take place when firm’s existing divisions grow through normal capital budgeting activities.(S.Vanitha 2007) The industrial restructuring has raised important issues both for the business and for public moreover merger and acquisitions may be critical to the strong expansion of business firms as they evolve through successive stages of growth and development and most important for new product markets by a firm may require M and As at some stages in the firm’s development . The successful competition in international markets may depend on capabilities obtained in a timely and competent fashion through M As. (M Selvam 2007) Merger and acquisitions continues to experience dramatic growth. Record breaking mega mergers have become popular in the world. In the last ten years and onwards some of the largest mergers and acquisitions took place in Europe. This was underscore by the fact that the largest deal of all time was a hostile acquisition of a German company by a British firm.(Beena P.L 2000) Since the start of twenty first century the nature of merger and acquisition even more common in the economical growth. It becomes even more global especially in Asia, Latin and South America. Over the past quarter of the century we have noticed that merger waves have become longer and more frequent in between shrunken as well when these trends combined with the fact that MA has rapidly spread across the modern world, we see that the field is increasingly becoming as ever more important part of the worlds of corporate finance and corporate strategy. (Canagavally , R.2000) Merger and acquisitions are plays very important part in corporate strategy. They are the interesting and controversial tools if the firm do not want to grow internally by capital investment and it can affect the shareholders wealth of both the firms (Legare.1998). The management of the target companies is worried about their jobs that can be affected; the cost reduction strategies consists of reduction in labour force (Gould, 1998) the strategies at both local and national levels are important and concerned at transactions in their industries. e.g (defence utilities etc.) Customers and suppliers are interested , as they want to know who they will be dealing with in the future (Buono. 2003). All the big deals are therefore reported in the media, receive a large coverage, and get the attention of the public as well. People are very important part of any organization but due to the increasing numbers of mergers between the companies they are largely affected and most of them get caught up in a merger or acquisition-by chance, Many of the people after working four –to five years period are losing their jobs and facing severe reductions in status and responsibility and, in general, being confronted with major questions about their careers, As a result , at times we are unsure whether our own feelings about what is happening to these individuals are biasing our interpretation of what is going on. In this project the writer going to research on mergers between the professional services firms. According to Steven et al (2000) mergers and acquisitions decisions that are undertaken based on financial analysis, influence and legal positions , However , it has been proved by a number of researchers that factors like informal power, low productivity , poor quality , reduced commitment , hidden costs and voluntary turnover prevent the combined banks from reaching expected performance levels (Legare 1998). This is the reason that many companies face difficulties then they pass through their post-integration processes (Buono 2003) According to Catwright Cary (1995) that mergers and acquisitions should be seen like marriages where both parties will is very important for the success of new entity. At the time two different companies decide to come together as a result of MA activity, then the levels of instability in the macro and micro environment of both companies is challenged. So it is therefore been recommended that companies should chose the most appropriate merger and acquisition process and strategy. However Buono (2003) has suggest that each possibility has its own strengths and weaknesses and therefore context of MS and its main objectives play important role. Cartwright and Cooper has pointed out that MA depends upon combination of related functions like integration of people, systems, practices and culture. The critical review of the literature has recommended that most of research has been focused at studying single characteristics of MA in isolation. Moreover the dynamics of MA variables that impact on success and failures ratio has not been undertaken in the literature and there is a gap for research. This study will be focus to explore the major drivers and variables and their effect on the success of merger and acquisitions across industries from a corporate strategic perspective. 1.2 Rationale behind Research: Mergers and acquisitions is one of the common strategies in today’s business world. Gould (1998) has conducted a survey involving 12000 managers from different countries and according to the result of his survey more then 1000 companies were involved in acquisitions or a merger in two years between 1995 and 1997.moreover merger and acquisitions has become the leading strategic options. However, the performance of the combined companies has been lower than expected. According to Buono (2003) the basic drivers of MA only involved in financial, operational and strategic aims and objectives. So therefore my main area of focus of this research is to explore the major drivers and variables and their effect on the success of merger and acquisitions across industries from a corporate strategic perspective. 1.3 Aims and Objectives: The basic aim of this project is to understand whether mergers and acquisitions always fulfil desired objective. The aims specific areas are as follows. To explore the major variables that impact on the success of merger and acquisition different industries from a corporate strategic perspective To explore the corporate strategy in achieving desired results from MA activities To evaluate the impact of the mergers on an employees and examining the programmes for dealing with separation anxiety for employees. 1.4 Dissertation Structure: The official Structure of the dissertations is being applied which is provided by the university and analysis has been done which suit the theme and the objectives of the research. The structure of this report is summarized as follows: Chapter 1 Introduction of the research topic and lays the basis for the rationale of selection of the theme under scrutiny. It introduces the effect of MA on business and effects that they expected. The chapter also summarizes the rationale for selection of topic and states the aim and objectives of this research. Chapter 2 Consists of review of the literature that has been produced in the domain of mergers and acquisitions and their desired effects for companies. It has highlighted some of the highly respected literature in the field of aims and objectives of this research. Chapter 3 Provide the methodology and strategy adopted by the researcher to undertake this research. It points out the strength and weaknesses of using different data collection mechanisms and has shown how they fit in the larger context of aims and objectives of this research. Chapter 4 very important chapter consists of analysis and findings regarding the importance of strategic alignment within a merger or an acquisition activity with the help of a range of case studies. The chapter developed recommendations for companies under the light of macro indicators, theories and qualitative data gathered through this research. Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive conclusion from this research and gives a list of recommendations for companies that can be drawn from this focused research. Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter an attempt has been made to briefly review the research already undertaken and methodology employed moreover the study has been produced in the domain of aims and objective of the project and it has been divided into number of different sections so that reader understand with ease. 2.1 Overview: Concept of Merger and Acquisition: Over the last few years different companies have engaged in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions to match the macroeconomic trends operating on a worldwide scale in the market place. Up till now the ultimate success of a company’s global strategy may depend on how well it manages the dangerous human resource â€Å"fit† issue associated with strategic customer cantered decisions and strategies. The literature presents the understanding and resolving interpersonal management issues that result from organization, team, and individual misalignments. An actual merger and acquisition integration project is used to discuss the application of this approach (Thomas L. Legare in his paper â€Å"Understanding and Managing Human Resource Integration Issue†) M A defined by Arnold (2002) as â€Å"combination of two firms of roughly equal size on roughly equal terms and in which the shareholders remain as joint owners† M A activities in late 20th century: In 1960’s Mergers and acquisitions first became an important topic within the organization management meetings. It is usual to consider merger and acquisition in terms of the extent to which the activities of the acquired organization are related to those of the acquirer. The most common classification proposes four main types (Walter 1985; Hovers, 1973; Kitching ,1967). These being: 1- Vertical The process in which two organizations combined within the same industry. 2- Horizontal The process in which two similar organizations combined within the same industry 3- Conglomerate In this process acquired organization is in completely different field of business activity 4 Concentric In this process the acquired organization is in a different but related field in to which the acquiring company merge its business. According to Schweiger and Ivancevice, 1987 mergers and acquisitions can be considered to differ in terms of Motive and transactional type The envisaged degree of integration Common objectives behind M Activity According to Napier (1989), in a review of the literature, draws the distinction between financial or value maximizing motives, and managerial or non value maximizing motives. Mergers known as financial or value maximizing motives when the main objective is to increase the profit and decrease the risk involved in business moreover non value maximizing motives relate to merges which occur primarily for other strategic reasons ( Halpern, 1983). Moreover according to handy (1993) creation of shareholder’s value is the underlying aim behind any MA activity. However , there is a range of strategies involve to improve financial performances and consequently increase shareholder’s value. According to Marks, (1988b). There is lots of risk involved in activity like Mergers and acquisitions involving the collective annual investment of billions of pounds and affecting the working lives of millions of employees. It has been recommended in future that 50 to 80 percent of all mergers are considered to be financially unsuccessful (Marks 1988b), most probably in financial return, represent ‘at best an each way bet’ (Lorenz, 1986) The popularity of Merger and acquisitions is still strong despite of the fact that it has been frequently fail to achieve the financial growth (Hovers 1973 Farrent 1970; Jemison and Sitkin, 1986). Indeed there is lots of evidence that Britain and the USA are currently experiencing an unprecedented wave of merger activity (Morgan, 1988; Hughes, 1989). In the last 10 years , there have been over 23000 registered acquisitions in the USA , and before the end of this decade one in four of the Us workforce will have been affected by merger activity ( Fulmer, 1986) with the approach of 1992 , a similar trend is predicted for Europe. The Merger and acquisition is facilitated by number of factors. Market Conditions Market conditions are changing day by day and in this environment there is a need to consolidate or capture new market so strategic mergers and acquisitions become more attractive and expedient alternative response to the setting up new outlets, and at the same time provide a tool to finish the competition ( Meeks , 1977) Increasing Availability of Capital Mergers and acquisitions activities has been increased because the organization and financial institution may need of capital from outside countries because of low interest rate. More companies for sale. There are lots of companies come in to the market because of number of reasons like successful entrepreneurs of the post war years reach retirement age , because of families issues and there is not natural successor within the family. The Easing of Regulations. According to McManus Hergert, 1988. Gartrell Yantek suggested that acquisition activity is related to political climate in that right of centre administration stimulate activity. The Need to share Risk Mergers and acquisitions is very important if u need to share risk like new product development often results in the formation of joint ventures , mergers and other types of strategic alliance. The existence of complex Indivisible Problems All of these can be considered to be logical economic and marketing factors, which make possible the decisions to acquire, These conditions , particularly the need to share risk and problems solving, have also contributing to the increasing trend towards the formation of joint ventures and Mergers (Harrigan, 1988) (vii) Unrecognized Psychological Motives According to Levinson (1970) suggests one such motive to be fear of risk McManus and Hergest (1988) suggest that the decisions happens when ‘CEO is bored and wants to find a new game to play’ or to create some excitement amongst senior managers (Hunt, 1988) 2.2 Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions Merger and Acquisitions have the prime aim to maximise the firm’s profit and shareholders wealth like any other strategic growth option, but there has been a risk of failure so the debate in the literature among theorists and practitioners as to the real strength of the strategy in creating shareholder’s value worth the risk of failure. The review literature that surrounds different prospects like shareholders, acquirer , targets has been studied on short , medium and long term value creation through the MA activity . The following different categories of studies can be highlighted. Affect of MA Activities on People The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions is about to impact that mergers and acquisitions have on people in the workplace: the psychological difficulties that people experience, the culture clashes that can emerge in organizations that can emerge in organizations during the post –merger integration period, and the ways in which these problems can manifest themselves –such as communication breakdowns a â€Å"We-they† mentality between the component organizations in a merger, lowered commitment , drops in productivity , organizational power struggles and office politicking , and loss of key organizational members. We adopt primarily and organization development (OD) perspective on mergers and acquisitions: given the myriad problems (Thomas L Legare) The Existing evidence on the effects of mergers and acquisitions on efficiency or value comes from two basic types of large sample studies: event studies and performance studies Event studies consider the returns to the shareholders of targets and acquirers in the days before and after an acquisition announcement .These studies consistently find that the combined returns to acquirer and target stockholders are unequivocally positive .These positive returns imply that the market anticipates that acquisitions on average will create value. These studies and reactions do not, however, provide insight into the sources of the value changes in mergers or whether the expectations of value changes are ultimately realized. Furthermore, the combined returns cover a broad range of responses from very positive to very negative. Cross sectional analyses of event period returns provide some evidence that the broad range of combined announcement period returns reflects the market’s ability to forecast an acquisitions success. For example both Mitchell and Lehn (1990) and Kaplan and weisbach (1992) find the there is a relation between (1) acquirer and combined returns and (2) the ultimate outcome of the acquisition. Other studies examine a number of different determinants of the cross-sectional variation in returns associated with acquisitions. (see e.g Lang , Stulz, and Walkling 1991 . Maloney , McCormick , and Mitchell 1993; morock, Shliefer , and Vishny 1990)These Cross-Sectional analyses of event –period returns provide some understanding of the nature of the market reaction to acquisition announcements.They do not , however , examine whether the anticipated value creation or improved productivity materializes, Nor do they have a great deal to say about the organizational mechanisms and manage ment practices that drive acquisition success or failure. Studies of post merger performance attempt to measure the longer-term implications of mergers and acquisitions using both accounting and stock return data. Studies of accounting data fail to find consistent evidence of improved performance or productivity gains. (see e.g, Healy , Palepu, and Ruback 1992 and Ravenscraft and Scherer 1987) similarly , studies that focus on acquirers long term stock performance find mixed results abnormally negative stock returns after the acquisition ( agraqwal , Jaffe, and Mandelker 1992), no abnormal returns (franks , Harris , and Titman 1991) and negative abnormal returns only for stock mergers (Mitchell and Stafford 1996) Like the announcement period event studies, longer term performance and event studies document substantial cross sectional variation in performance , but do not study the sources of value changes in mergers and acquisitions. In sum , there are a number of questions that the existing economics and finance literature on mergers and acquisitions leaves unanswered , Existing work provides mixed results on the average impact of mergers and acquisitions More importantly , existing work offers little insight into the determinants of an acquisitions success or failures. Research on the basis of Capital Market Capital market is one of the research category used as central information point. According to Healey (1992), the stock market data reflects the effects of MA as it reflects future profits and dividends expected by the post integration entity moreover these researchers believe that the result has been found swayed by the researcher’s personal orientation an hypothesis. It is been analyse that majority among studies that have been covered lower then desired effects created through analyses based on capital market data. Event Study Methodology According to data et al (1992) have indicated that these studies are based on the hypothesis that markets across the industrialized world are highly well-organized and therefore soon after the MAn announcement moreover it depends on the future financial benefits or losses. The result of such studies have highlighted the majority of MA activities do create affects that can range from significant to normal (Sudarsanam 2003) but the people working along with the field and many other critics have argued that the methodology is only affective for small projects to obtain the desired affects and does not represent long term desired affects in the medium to long term. Short Run Objectives: A large number of organizations plan for financial gains within a short period of time when the merger date is finalized they are looking to achieve this objective, 30% and 10% abnormal returns have been found for the target shareholders Sudarsanam et al (1996) Long Run Objectives According to Agarwar (1992) the organizations long term desired affect through MA activity that has gained an increasing interests among researchers after the data is available for the last wave of MA in the 1990’s. There has been a mixture of results as- 10% abnormal returns over 5 years MA periods; Fama French (1993) showed positive 9% abnormal returns for the acquired and negative -4% abnormal returns for the acquirer; and sudarsanam Mahate 2003 showed a range of negative -18% to positive+1% abnormal returns in MA situation. Although it has been found out that many of these studies have used different models, benchmarks and organizational data, but there is a general consensus that MA abnormal desired affects in the long term. Operational Planning Research: The best way to analyse the affect of MA activity is to study the operational performance of the firms involved. The operational data consists of accounting data like cash flow and profit and loss statement are used by such studies (Healey 1992) Herman and Lowenstein (1988) used these technique on data gathered during 1975 to 1983 and found that no significant improvements in the performance of post MA entities. Healey et al (1992) found a meagre 3% operational performance among companies analyzed. However the same data was later analyzed under improved methods and found no operational performance. The results show large number of failures in creating substantial desired affects through operational analysis. Recent Merger and Acquisitions trends In the above table shows the recent trends in the field, let us being with our full dissertation of the subject of MA. This will be begin with a discussion of the basic terminology used in the field. 2.3 MAJOR STRATEGIC ISSUES: According to Cartwright and Cooper (1995) in order to get the desired objective during the MA activity the internal environment of firms should be synchronized. It can therefore recommend that integration of people, their systems, procedures, practice and organizational culture is extremely important in order to get the desired objective. Mr David (2007) suggest that the internal aspects of firms that are going to merge can be divided into two core competencies that can help to minimize the factors involved the failure of MA strategies. These core competencies lie in the field of corporate strategy which usually lack coordination during MA activities. The main limiting aspects of MA in terms of strategic importance that can play a vital role by using their core competencies have been highlighted as follows Organizational culture The cultural differences is the single largest cause of lack of proposed performance, achieving the desired target and objective and time consuming issues in the running of successful business ( Bijilsma frankema , 2001) according to him culture plays a important part in employees motivation in the development to new business he says that cultural clash is the most dangerous factors when two companies decide to combine moreover the things like styles , values and missions is the part of factor influencing the MA. According to (Covin et al, 1997) the employees required five to seven years after the merger to feel truly incorporated. Due to the multitude of these changes many problems arises like loss of job, also financial debt and fears of jobless.(Mirvis and Marks 1992) moreover he says that after merger the new team is also distressing and anxiety for the people other fear include the loss of effective and close team members, as well as the uncertainty about the new team members and supervisors to be inherited the employees when forced to deal with new team members and managers they may develop fears of taking risks and raising sensitive subject. This may adopt us verses them thinking, where trust for the new team members will be minimal (Mirvis and Marks, 1992).Management facing this kind of behaviour may have to pay the high price of loss of coordination and initiative among the employees of the new business combination. Moreover the issues and disagreement will be more difficult to resolve, so the time after the merger is the most difficult time for the management and new team members to move forward as a whole. Appelbaum etal, (2000) Stress According to (Datta et al , 1992) the process of merger and acquisitions consists of biggest change at the individual and organizational level in the history of organizations because of this the process is stressful. When one culture combines with another the employees feel as through they have lost control over important aspects of their loves, and in an attempt to regain control, they often withdraw. So it creates stress within individual , i.e reduced performance and job satisfaction . ( Berger and Ofec 1996) According to Schweiger Denisi (1991) the employees after the MA go through a time of increased anxiety uncertainty and stress. They are concerned about their new position it will create more stress in them so communication plays the vital role during the merger so that employees know what is going on and how they might be affected during and after the post integration period. Thus it can be suggested that while negotiations have been compared to flirting before marriages , and the closing of the deals to forming a new family , employees reaction can be associated with â€Å"bereavement† (Katinka , 2004) Organizational change and resistance Changes after merger announcement like stress, symptoms, work related factors, health status, and lifestyle. Personal characteristics were composed of age, sex, height, weight, and marital status in both surveys. Moreover stress related symptoms like anxiety, impatience and depression were dichotomized by either having a complaint or not so following a MA , a complex set of organizational , managerial and personal changes or inevitable. Jensen Rubock (1983) claim that in order to cope with the changes and resist with the changes there is a way to select a strategy and a set of specific approaches for implementing an organizational change effort. It is very important for managers to implement changes successfully in order to cope with the changes. The researchers have introduced six different strategies in order resist the changes after the merger and four major reasons why peoples resist changes. Image, Identity and confidence According to (Ravenscraft and Scherer 1988) image , identity and confidence of the human resource may reduced after the combination process it has been send that most of the employees will feel uncertain and will need some relaxation environment . It can be recommended that the peoples effected by this process can prove dangerous for the management they can change the ownership moreover the employees who are affected by the process tend to protect their identity and confidence through tolerance and humble and hence they try to maintain their status and confidence with experience that they are the part of new entity, if the cultural factor is not adequately taken into account at this stage of the merger , there will be so less time to contain it after the merger. Weston et al (2001) discuss the fear and stress associated with a merger. Schwert (1996) argue that when the objectives after the merger are not met , the managing teams of both companies are the employees of the acquired company enter a â€Å"cycle of escalating and distrust†. In other words, managers of the acquiring company press for increased control, while employees of the acquired company resist and demand their autonomy. Others view mergers and acquisitions as power games , which create some excitement fro bored CEOs. Communication Tompkins (1984) defined organizational communication as â€Å"the study of sending and receiving messages that create and maintain a system of deliberately corresponding activities or forces of two or more persons† Organizational communication is the exchange of messages through collective creation maintenance and transformation of organizational meaning. Members develop commonly understood patterns of expectations of organizational action through communication. Moreover communication with the employees is a very important factor throughout the entire MA process and creates a positive effect on employees through the trying time. According to John et al (1999) that communication plays a vital role in the combination of different and various cultures. The cultures can be at conflicting ends and therefore should be understood by the top management during integration period moreover according to Richard et al (1999) the human resource department should plan for the change in organization and they should know before this process that what going to happen with the company when two cultures combine as the result of merger. So in the process of merger only decision is not enough but the proper communication of these decisions among the company is very important moreover management works horizontally and vertically through leadership, control and organization.(Sudarsanam and Mahate, 2003) FLOW OF CASH Despite of the fact that many people loss their job in the process but the same time high rate of voluntary turnover linked with the process moreover it includes substantial outflow of talent and expertise. According to Ravenscraft and scherer, 1988) report executive turnover rates as high as 75% in the first three years of post acquisition period. Unplanned personnel losses are not necessarily confined to the more senior levels of the organization. Typically, acquired or merged organizations experience on overall rate of staff turnover of at lest 30% in the first two years post merger period (Cartwright and Cooper 1995) 2.4 Success and Failures A large number of mergers and acquisitions are unsuccessful .Over the last fifteen years, 23% of all merged firms worldwide reported lower profits than comparable non-merged firms (Gugler et al.(13)) Daimler Chrysler, the effect of the largest industrial merger ever, for example , has only posted low or negative profits since its birth in 1998-including the biggest loss in German business history in 2001. The disappointing results of mergers have been puzzling commentators and academics alike. In the management literature, poor merger performance has often been connected to unsuccessful addition of different corporate cultures. Cultural differences, however, are not enough to explain failures. First, firms seem to be aware of organisational difficulties when taking merger decisions. DaimlerChrysler, for example, anticipated post –merger Challenges. Second, mergers between partners with closer corporate cultures sometimes perform worse ( Morosini et

Week One Assignment

Victoria Beaver Advertising Principles MANAMA August 30, 2014 Professor Phil Shapes 1 . What is Wall-Mart doing with its latest campaign? What are the difficulties involved in such an effort? Wall-Mart has faced several lawsuits in the past that claimed female employees faced discrimination in pay and promotions. The company has also had to face rumors that imply low wages, inadequate benefits, environmental damage, and harm to local economies.To counteract this criticism, Wall-Mart started a campaign saying their employees are paid a wage that is substantially higher than federal law required, and included employee statements and testimonials. They arranged press conferences, and used the slogan â€Å"Wall-Mart speaks for employees. † Some of the difficulties they faced were that it was more costly, time consuming, and would probably be met with skepticism. 2. A recent Advertising Age article noted that Wall-Mart customers are less likely to read newspapers and more likely to watch television than the population as a whole.Why, then, did Wall-Mart choose newspapers for its new campaign? Wall-Mart chose to use print advertising in newspapers to help this particular campaign stand out. If they had used television media, they could have faced less control over who saw it, and when they saw it. By using the newspaper, Wall-Mart was able to send out a specific message. It was also tangible advertising that consumers could hold onto if they chose, such as the letter from the CEO Lee Scott, in which he stated, â€Å"†¦ When special-interest groups and critics spread misinformation about Wall- Mart, the public deserves to hear the truth†¦ Everyone is entitled to their own pinions about our company, but they are not entitled to make up their own facts. † 3. Analyze this Wall-Mart campaign and explain its purpose, referring to the discussion in this chapter of the roles and functions of advertising. What is the primary purpose? Do you think it wi ll be effective at accomplishing that purpose? Wall-Mart's purpose with this campaign was to remove the misconception about the company, and promote a relationship between the employees and the consumers.Wall-Mart communicated directly with consumers via the letter from the CEO and the employee statements and testimonials. They used complementing public relations ads in select cities through press conferences with employees. Wall-Mart wanted to provide a positive message to consumer's to try and protect their brand image. By promoting their employees instead of their goods, Wall-Mart took a unique stance, and therefore stood out. If nothing else, this would have made the company memorable to consumers. References Gauguin, T. , Allen, C. , & Semen's, R. (2012). Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion(6th deed. ).

Oliver Stone’s Alexander and it’s Accuracy in portraying Alexander the Great Essay

The 2004 film Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone, depicts the life of Alexander the Great. This essay will discuss the accuracy of Oliver Stone’s artistic vision in this depiction of Alexander’s life and achievements. The discussion will focus on: Alexander’s 7 year campaign, particularly its battles; his relationship with others, including his sexuality within the film; and the legacy Alexander and his armies left on the world. Historically, there are many omissions within Oliver Stone’s Alexander, however, the majority of these are accounted for through Stone’s artistic vision. Many minor campaigns during the 7 year period were completely left out, and only two battles were shown throughout the movie. Within these two battles, many major components of other battles were in some way conflated so as to equate to having experienced those battles as well, since if Stone were to include every battle, not only would the film be far longer than its current form, but it would also have required a much larger budget. This absence of battles is the major inaccuracy in Stone’s Alexander. Whilst Stone only conveys two battles in the movie, history conveys that Alexander participated in a vast quantity of battles, pitched battles as well as sieges, throughout the 7 year march. Stone choice in depicting only these two battles of the many others was through his aim to convey the key points of Alexanders major campaigns in a condensed form as possible. Whilst the battles themselves were inaccurate, many of these inaccuracies were choices of Stone’s. The main inaccuracy for the the Battle of Gaugemela, the first battle depicted in Alexander, is the Persian army itself. Alexander shows them as a disorganised rabble, when, historically, the Persians would have been exceedingly well organised. Members of the Persian army would have had uniforms, rather than the variable clothing they wore, and musicians would play so that the army would march in rank. Conversely, many of the events before, during and after the battle were accurate. For example, before the battle, the night before in the tent where Alexander converses with his generals, he is urged to make a night attack and steal a victory: Alexander, if we must fight, do so with stealth. Use your numbers well; we should attack tonight when they least expect us†. Alexander refuses. This conversation is accurate in at least it’s meaning, as is recorded by Arrian: â€Å"It is said that Parmenio came to him in his tent, and urged him to make a night attack on the Persians†¦ but the reply which he made to him†¦ was that it would be mean to steal a victory† (Arrian, Book 3, Section 10). The conversation is as such a recorded event, and though Stone changed dialogues, the meaning behind each is the same. The major inaccuracy in the Battle of Hydaspes, the second battle, is that it takes place in a jungled terrain, fighting the people of India. In historical fact, the Battle of Hydaspes occurred on a open plain. Stone is said to have chosen the location of the battle to be in a forest as a contrast to the Battle of Gaugemela, which also occurred on a plain. Arrian records the battle to have taken place near the river Hydaspes, with Alexander making a secret crossing in the night, however Alexander makes no mention of the crossing, or even of the existence of the river. Arrian also mentions that the the forces from both armies were split, but the film shows no evidence of this. A second inaccuracy was the conflict between the leader of the Indian army and Alexander. According to reports by Arrian, Alexander never confronted nor charged the king of the Indians as is shown in the film, but instead treated him with dignity and honour, eventually giving him the rule over a large territory. Nor did Bucephalus die from the major wound as shown in Alexander, but from old age and minor wounds he sustained throughout his life. The film shows Alexander charging the king, and Buchephalus saving his master’s life at the cost of his own. This was most likely done as a method to increase the dramatic effect of the scene, but also as a method of including another major battle in Alexander’s timeline, the siege of Malli. Within the battles depicted in Alexander, Stone directed minor changes in the factuality of battle events. For example, he depicts Alexander being gravely wounded in the Battle of Hydaspes. This grave wounding of Alexander occurred later, at the siege of Malli. This event is combined into the Battle of Hydaspes to portray more of Alexander’s history, and those knowledgeable of it could notice and appreciate this and other acknowledgements of history even though they aren’t accurate. Apart from the battles, there were other events of history or legend in Alexander’s life which are not represented. For example, the Gordian knot. This well known legend of Alexander slicing open the untie-able knot with his sword and its linked prophecy of ruling Asia is not included. This may be because the truth is not known of the event, whether Alexander cut it, pulled apart what it was tied to and then untying it or whether it existed at all, although there is evidence that it existed. Apart from these events not included or merely conflated there are portion of Alexander in which the way Alexander is depicted historically, or not as the case may be. To the points where it was inaccurate, Alexander is scripted throughout his speeches to encourage his men in their campaign to conquer the world. These scripts lead to him being given a purpose behind the campaign, that of a â€Å"brotherhood of man†. Historically, there is no evidence to this. Alexander was known to merely have conquered because he could, â€Å"a brilliant commander traveling an endless path of conquest† (Eugene N. Borza, Movie Commentary: Alexander, page 4). The personality of Alexander is almost completely unknown, and as historians we are unable to characterise what made him the charismatic leader capable of leading his armies on his 7 year march. Another aspect of Alexander’s personality was his relationships with individuals. The film shows intense relationships with his mother and father, as well as childhood friend Hephaistion. Alexander’s relationship with his mother and father both vary throughout the film, but focus mostly on pleasing his mother and either avenging or surpassing his father. During his early life, Alexander is shown very close to his mother, with her urging him on to succeed and whispering propaganda in his ear against his father, while Alexander is taught to be a leader through the actions of his father. Later on, he grows separate from both, however influenced by them tremendously. For example, when Philip dies, Alexander falls into a rage, even though he had fallen out recently with his father in a drink influenced conflict, and it embitters him against his mother, this bitterness continuing into the film. Further, in developing the relationship with Hephaistion, Stone also spends a lot of time enforcing the point that Alexander is bi-sexual, through the homoerotic subtext, though this was not limited to Hephaistion but incorporated others within the film. Whilst this may have been the case in history, as in Ancient Greece sexuality was merely a matter of course, and you were either sexual or you weren’t, without vastly distinguishing between the genders, Stone pushes the limits of this concept in order to outline a known part of Alexanders life. It is known that Alexander had at least two male physical relationships, and this may have pushed Stone into depicting the sexuality of Alexander, though in contrast to the homosexual relationships, Alexander’s relationship with his first wife Roxanne was inaccurate and over-zealous. Roxanne, his first wife, is historically known as a devoted wife and mother, rather than as the character displayed in Alexander (Eugene N. Borza, Movie Commentary: Alexander, page 3). In all, Oliver Stone’s depiction of Alexander in his film Alexander has both accuracy and inaccuracy. The major inaccuracies was the events, or lack thereof, as Oliver Stone either chose not to or was not able to include them, whilst the main accuracies of the film were the inclusion of key points in Alexander’s life and relationships. Alexander shows some of Alexander and his armies impact on the world, and it is a well researched attempt at conveying the incredible life of Alexander the Great accurately.