Coleman Hawkins Essay - 1967 Words

Coleman Hawkins â€Å"I think he was the most interesting jazz musician I’ve ever seen in my life. He just looked so authoritative . . . I said, ‘Well, that’s what I want to do when I grow up.’†(DeVeaux, 35) Cannonball Adderley said these words when he first saw Coleman Hawkins with the Fletcher Henderson band at the City Auditorium in Tampa, Florida. Just as Hawkins influenced one of the greatest alto players in history, he has influenced many people to become phenomenal saxophone players. Lester Young and Sonny Rollins both give tribute to Coleman Hawkins as being the â€Å"‘proliferator’ of the tenor saxophone as a jazz instrument.†(Kernfeld, 506) Hawkins, unfortunately, is labeled as a swing musician though; and while he did begin†¦show more content†¦By the time he was twelve he was already being paid to perform at school dances. He then went to high school in Chicago for, at most, one year before dropping out to attend Washbu rn College in Topeka, Kansas. He studied for two years at Washburn at which time he learned about harmonies and composition; which would prove to be of utmost importance to him and his career in later life. At seventeen, Hawk got his first regular gig in the spring of 1921 playing in the orchestra for the 12th Street Theater in Kansas City. That very summer, Mamie Smith and the Jazz Hounds performed at the theater Hawkins was working. After hearing Bean play, Mamie Smith offered him a job touring with her group. By March of 1922, the Jazz Hounds, now with Hawkins, were playing in New York at the Garden of Joy. Shortly afterwards, he appeared on his first recording with the group. Although his contributions are hardly notable throughout most of the album, he did get a reasonable solo with the tune, I’m Gonna’ Get You. Hawkins and the Jazz Hounds toured across the country reaching out to California, playing in the musical revue, Struttin’ Along. The Jazz Hounds’ act was a mix of vaudeville and blues, as were most primarily African-American groups in the twenties.(Sadie, 322) Hawkins role was a cross of the two styles in which he would slap-tongue his saxophone while lying on his back with his feet in the air.(DeVeaux, 48) After the showShow MoreRelatedMHL 145 Chapter 6 Essay725 Words   |  3 PagesLester Young and Coleman Hawkins were different. The styles from Lester Young and Coleman Hawkins were very different throughout the swing era. Hawkins and Young were two of the best tenor sax players that had emerged during the swing era. Considerably different, Hawkins played a huge dark sound, whereas Young’s was light and breathy. 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At this time Miles, 19, moved up in the history of Jazz by recording his first album in New York along side of Hawkins, Rubberlegs Williams, and of course Parker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A few months after Parker and Gillespie went to California, Miles got together with Benny Carters Orchestra and traveledRead More Bessie Smith Essay979 Words   |  4 Pagessouth and most of the major northern cities, always as the star attraction on the bill. Smith recorded with a number of noted musicians. These included pianists Fletcher Henderson and James P. Johnson, cornetist Louie Armstrong, saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman, and clarinetist Buster Bailey. Many of her earlier songs featured only a piano accompaniment, which allowed sole focus on Smith’s vocals. 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HonestyRead MoreThe Life Course and Social Workers Essay2668 Words   |  11 Pagesfrom childhood to adulthood. â€Å"Adolescents could not grow into adults unless they were able to test out the boundaries of authority, nor could they discover what they believed unless given the opportunity to push hard against the belief of others† (Coleman and Hendry, 1990, p.89). The complex interaction involves both biological and psychological processes and is shaped by its social context (Beckett and Taylor, 2010). The sociological perspective of adolescence is the period where the dependent child

Development of Employment Law Free Essays

string(89) " to ensure that homosexuals receive the same treatment as heterosexuals \(Lewis, 2004\)\." Abstract Employment law faces amendments since its inception. Its aim was to charter employee rights against unjust employers. This paper analyses employment law based on the key sections that include essential bills. We will write a custom essay sample on Development of Employment Law or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also views external factors that lead to the formation of the employment law. Introduction The United Kingdom employment law has developed considerably in recent times. This was mainly done to shield employees from unjust employers. However, that is not the only cause for the push for improved employment law. As we will see in the paper, employment laws can be pushed by other factors such as political promises by governments, compliance to foreign policy and pressure from other countries. The Unfair Dismissal Act The Unfair Dismissal Act 1971 was a vital step in employment law under the Industrial Relations Act. Since its inception, employers lost their freedom to dismiss employees as they wish (Bell, 2006). For an employer to sack an employee, it has to happen through the right legal framework. Employees have their rights protected through this act meaning dismissal should be based on very strong grounds such as gross misconduct. The Act gives little privilege to employers on instances where they can terminate the employment of an individual. This means that before the employer does so, he or she must be ready to defend the action in front of an Industrial Tribunal (Blanpain, 2007). Employers dislike this regulation due to the high number of regulations it has. According to The Guardian, the new proposal by Beecroft presents a delicate situation for the survival of the Unfair Dismissal Act. The proposal gives all laid off workers the same status and allows them to claim compensation (Turner, 2013). This means it will be a matter of ‘how much’ compensation to give to employees. This bill has elicited mixed reactions with equal numbers expected to support and reject it. In the case of employees rightfully dismissed, the bill indicates they can successfully claim compensation. This might be pleasant news for the ‘unfaithful’ employees, but bad news for honest business persons. Small firms are likely to fall prey to this directive. Employees who seek reinstatement after termination will also be affected. The advice most lawyers would give is for the employee to claim compensation and move on to another employment opportunity. The Equal Pay Act The legislators established the Equal Pay Act 1970 to consider women employees. To date, women receive the same pay as their male counterparts where the same work rate is involved. The Act also binds employers to set up contracts that promote equality between men and women (Blanpain, 2007). Where a contract favors a man more than a woman, the Act asserts that the woman shall receive same benefits as the man. However, there are provisions for limitations under the Act which apply when the woman is pregnant or retires (Kidner, 2006). Benefits of women facing such prejudice follow the Sex Discriminatory Act and Pension Act respectively. Sex Discrimination Act In 1986, the Sex Discrimination Act was amended to guarantee that discrimination in small companies, households and employment, and at retirement age, was eradicated. This proved to be a significant step under the employment laws. In 2008, the Act got a further boost with new regulations (Hardy, 2011). The Act introduced regulations on employee harassment and discrimination claims on grounds of pregnancy and maternity leaves. The regulations bind the employer to third party harassment claims from the employee. For instance, an employer should defend an employee acting on company interests against a customer. The employer should be tied in a suit involving the two parties. If necessary, the employer should be entirely responsible for the employee including the legal suit fee involved. The Act helps solve disputes; a case in London in recent years is the acquitting of a CEO of a top performing company (Turner, 2013). He proved in court that one of his employees blackmailed him to get a promotion and added benefits. The court report indicates that employee turned genuine public sexual advances from her boss into blackmail. Most of the witnesses supported the plaintiff in alleging it was an act of sexual discrimination. Despite all that, the defendant still won the case. The Race Relations Act The Race Relations Act of 1976 applies to discriminations involving race, color, nationality and ethnic groups (Bell, 2006). This is extremely beneficial to employment law especially when relating to groups considered as minorities in working environments. The Act covers employees through all stages of employment starting from how companies should recruit workers, their training and transfer, promotion opportunities, employee benefits, terms for employee termination and eventually conditions defining unfair employee treatment (Cushway, 2007). This legislation covers both direct and indirect discrimination claims. Case laws by tribunals get published for future referencing especially for similar cases. The Act offers exemptions when referring to jobs that require genuine occupational qualification (GOQ). This refers to cases where the job description refers to either specific ethnic groupings or races (Lewis, 2004). Such workplaces include restaurants or the film industry for actors and models. For instance, Chinese restaurants commonly hire employees of Chinese descent for obvious reasons. Therefore, cases with no qualifications to meet the criteria for such exemptions are easy to handle. This Act also assists employees who find themselves in such environments but do not belong to the said groupings (Kidner, 2006). In this case, an employee with an African descent working in a Chinese restaurant or an Italian restaurant gets the necessary cover. Benefits for Women Employees Following developments in employment law, more women have been encouraged to pursue professional careers. This is because highly rated jobs have become within the rich of women due to the developments. This explains the significant rise in the number of women in the corporate world. The amendments in the Sex Discriminatory Act 1986 mean homosexuals get same benefits like any other employee. This is now in line with the European Union’s Foreign Policy to ensure that homosexuals receive the same treatment as heterosexuals (Lewis, 2004). You read "Development of Employment Law" in category "Essay examples" This is no longer a Human Rights issue but a political issue. It is a challenge for the government especially when critics challenge homophobic violence. The Equal Value Amendment 1983 is an improvement of the Equal Pay Act 1970 which gives women benefits based on the work rate. The two laws are still more or else the same; the former was instituted to comply with EU directives. The Part-Time Workers clause under the Employment Act 1995 is also less significant for such employees who bear that title (Bell, 2006). A part-timer contract is not as weighty as a permanent employ meaning the employer can terminate employment without notice. This is a great disservice to such employees. Benefits to Persons with Disability The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and a further amendment that upgraded it to the Disability Discrimination Order 2006 (DDO) aim to end discrimination facing people with disability (Hardy, 2011). This law was developed to encourage people with disability to seek opportunities in different sectors. Their rights extend to areas of employment, education, buying or renting property, and access to goods and services. The same law created seats for people with disability in public boards. Under the EU directives, all marginalized groups should be represented in such bodies. The Transfer of Undertakings Employees from transfers of business faced contract termination in past times. However, through the European Union directives, the UK legislature formed the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) TUPE 1981. The regulations cover employees who transit between two different managements. The second employer is bound to maintain employees under the first employer. TUPE 2006 replaced TUPE 1981 with additional provisions that include outsourcing of staff. TUPE case laws are particularly direct, and their referrals easy to use. There are numerous previous cases showing different compensation amounts paid to employees. Tribunal judges use such information to give verdicts on current cases (Bell, 2006). Development of Employment Law under Coalition Governments Britain had two eras from different governments that spearheaded the changes the electorate desired. In 1979 under Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party ascended into power with enormous expectations that were accomplished in the first decade. Economic growth was a main characteristic in the Conservative era. Eventually, the Labour Party clawed back into power after 18 years under a young and vibrant Tony Blair. Dubbed the ‘New Labour’, the party took over the reins in 1997 and achieved a total economic turnaround in the first years of administration (Pitt, 2009). The public’s expectations were so high leading to numerous policy improvements. The 1997 Labour Party implemented new policies freely unlike the 1979 Conservative Party which implemented policies over fear of court battles. The new Government aimed at solving the national social concerns that the Conservative Party ignored. The government introduced the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for employees based on their age, and whether one is an apprentice (Holland, 2012). However, an employee has to be at the school leaving age to get the wages. Unlike the NMW, the Equality Act 2010 was drawn due to pressure from external forces, especially other EU countries (Hardy, 2011). Despite the forceful implementation, employees have equal rights regardless of gender, age, religion, race and sexual orientation. Recent moves by government and opposition leaders to curb unions affect the development of employment law. In as much as unions have rights of their members at heart, their leaders end up taking advantage of union positions. As witnessed in the past, decisions by the union chiefs do not reflect the opinion of the majority of union members (Pitt, 2009). The new proposal stating that for a union to carry out a strike it would need majority backing from members is beneficial to the government. The move is also politically instigated due to the financial support offered to political parties. With the recent move by Tory MPs to push for a referendum by 2017, the odds on some sections of the employment law hang in a balance. The referendum’s aim is to hand over the decision to the public to either stay or pull out of the European Union; this is according to an article â€Å"Tories fight off 11-hour filibuster over EU referendum laws† in The Telegraph dated July 18th 2013. According to many silent voices, leaving the EU might be a wrong decision with regards to long term plans (Turner, 2013). For instance, in the event Britain manages to pull out of the EU, then it is possible that new laws might not meet international standards (Holland and Burnett, 2013). Sensitive laws affecting the public including the employment law will be left in the hands of legislators to decide. However, the opposition indicates that the referendum calls might be a hoax from the Conservative Party to try and misdirect the public. According to an article â€Å"EU referendum bill: MPs back in/out poll by 304-0† in The Independent dated July 5th 2013, the Labour Party say the referendum issue is not a matter of national interest. Douglas Alexander, the shadow Foreign Secretary, said that the move was a sign of weakness and not strength. He added that it was a sign of external electoral threat spiced with internal leadership threats. The Agency Workers Directive (AWD) 2010 was a brilliant idea in solving unemployment cases. More people have since been employed through this initiative (Hardy, 2011). However, its regulations under employment law are rather displeasing to employers. Initially, the joint cost for outsourcing workers from an agency was low compared to permanent workers due to extra costs (Holland, 2012). Currently, the government requires that agency and permanent workers be paid same (Benny and Jefferson, 2012). This indicates that an employer will pay extra for the agency worker. In addition, employers tend to avoid tribunal cases involving such workers. Case Laws Case laws are written materials containing judges’ explanations on rulings made. Judges may refer to rulings made earlier or statutory laws. Some current cases may be similar to previous cases (Turner, 2013). In such instances, judges may make similar rulings or alter the ruling based on self-understanding. Reference is still made to the previous case, and reason for deviation also stated (Cushway, 2007). This shows that the same altered ruling can be used later in the future. Statute laws on the other hand, are additional laws mostly from assented bills. At times, they offer further interpretation on the main law. Conclusion Employment laws are subject to further amendments in the future whether internally or through external influence. As long as Britain will still be a member of European Union, it has to stand with other members under common directives. This makes some British statesmen call for the disintegration of the EU. Whether the move will succeed, is a story for another day. What is essential currently is that the government ensures favorable employment laws for its people to ensure economic growth. References Bell, A. C. 2006. Employment law: textbook series. London, Sweet Maxwell. Benny, R., Sargeant, M., Jefferson, M. 2012. Employment law, 2012 and 2013. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Blanpain, R. 2007. The global workplace: international and comparative employment law: cases and materials. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Cushway, B. 2007. The employer’s handbook: an essential guide to employment law, personnel policies and procedures. London, Kogan Page. Hardy, S. T. 2011. Labour law in Great Britain. Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands, Kluwer Law International. Holland, J. A. 2012. Employment law 2012. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Holland, J. A., Burnett, S. 2013. Employment law. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Kidner, R. 2006. Employment law 2006-2007. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Lewis, D., Sargeant, M. 2004. Essentials of employment law. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Pitt, G. 2009. Employment law. London, Sweet Maxwell. Turner, C. 2013. Unlocking employment law. How to cite Development of Employment Law, Essay examples

Master Budget free essay sample

Ergodesign Ltd is a medium company which operates in Central Scotland. It makes specially designed quality office furniture like desks, chairs and many office accessories. The company manufactures office furniture to the customer requirements and has good reputation of quality products and customer service. The production takes 40,320 direct labour hours, 28,000 for machining. They get about 1,750 orders per year and 650 production runs. Ergodesign Ltd employs 36 workers, 24 involved in production, storage and delivery, another 12 work in research and development, finance, administration, and sales and marketing. The company works 48 weeks a year. This allows time for holidays periods and maintenance of machinery and equipment. They operate 35 hours a week. Ergodesign Ltd has a spare capacity in production affected by economic crisis in the market and managers are therefore keen to get more contracts to fill in that gap. The designers have been working to make a new special very good quality chair for people with back and posture problems. We will write a custom essay sample on Master Budget ? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They produced last year a prototype with an aluminium frame which flexes and moves with the body. A prototype was tested by the group of office workers with back and posture related problems. The test was successful. They want to sell these chairs to the final customers for 300-500?. It was demonstrated at an industrial innovation fair. At this fair one wholesaler informed them he wants to buy these chairs from Ergodesigh Ltd. The wholesaler is interested to sell these chairs to international and UK retailers. He currently supply similar chair but last year his international supplier was not able to make quantity required so therefore he is looking for a new UK supplier of quality products. The Managing Director wants to investigate production facilities and make a small trial batch to ensure that it meets wholesaler requirements. The wholesaler is very happy about quality of product and is willing to pay ? 195 for each chair and guarantee sales of 1800 units in first year. In year two and three he expects demand will increase by 20%. After year three it’s likely that demand would level off for the foresible future. The Managing Director is satisfied to the feasibility of new product and he has a plan to make and assemble the chair rather than sub-contracting that, however Ergodesigh Ltd needs to purchase a new CNC laser for cutting the aluminium frame for ? 125,000 to make specially designed features of the chair and increase production volume.

Uae Exchange free essay sample

INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD SCOPE OF THE STUDY The planning, analysis, design, construction, modification, implementation, utilization, evaluation and management of information systems that use information technology to support and coordinate organizational activities including: ? ? ? ? ? ? Effective utilization of information technologies in organizational context. Interdependencies of information technologies and organizational structure, relationships and interaction. Evaluation and management of information systems. Analysis, design, construction, and implementation of computer-based information systems for organizations. Management of knowledge, information, and data in organizations. Information system application in organizations such as transaction processing, routine data processing, decision support, office support, executive support and support for strategic advantage plus the coordination and interaction of such applications. LIMITATIONS 1. The study was time constrained. Limited availability of time made the study difficult. 2. Due to security reasons the company could not reveal many details. 7 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD ORGANIZATION PROFILE UAE Exchange is a remittance and currency exchange company based in the United Arab Emirates with operations in a number of countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Uae Exchange or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It has over 625+ branches, over 300 of these are in India through its subsidiary UAE Exchange Financial Services. It is one of the largest remittance companies and has extensive network in the middle east and Asia. SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ? BANK CREDIT ? BILL PAYMENTS ? LOYALTY PROGRAMME ? FOREIGN EXCHANGE ? INSURANCE ? MF PAN ? TRAVEL AND TOUR ? XPAY ? XPRESS LOAN 8 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD IMPLIMENTATION OF INFORMATION SYSTEM HARDWARE Number of Desktops: 6 Number of laptops: 1 Server system: 1 DESKTOP CONFIGURATION Company: Wipro RAM: 1 GB Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Hard Disk: 500 GB SERVER SYSTEM RAM: 2 GB Processor: Intel Dual Core Hard Disk: 500 GB 9 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD SOFTWARE SYBASE Replication Server Software is used in UAE exchange branches. SAP Sybase Replication Server is database replication software that moves and synchronizes data across the enterprise to meet a host of competing needs, including guaranteed data delivery, realtime business intelligence and zero operational downtime. Extreme transaction processing systems must support tens of thousands of concurrent users with ultra-fast, nonstop performance on cost-effective, standards-based platforms. ASE does all that—and more. Powering 24 of the top 25 global banks and 46 of the top 50 top global banks and securities firms, the ASE mission-critical enterprise database management system is known for its rock solid reliability, superior performance and low total cost of ownership. The key features include data encryption to protect from internal and external breaches; partitioning technology for better performance and easier maintenance; and, virtualization and clustering capabilities for continuous availability and efficient use of resources. Inmemory database technology provides significant improvements in response time and throughput for high data volume and high concurrent user organizations. And the addition of data compression allows enterprises to reduce storage costs and increase performance on large and growing data sets. 10 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD OPERATING SYSTEMS Windows XP Windows XP service pack 3 is the OS installed in some desktops. Windows XP Service pack 3 was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, and to the public via both the Microsoft Download center and Windows update on May 6, 2008. It began being automatically pushed out to automatic update users on July 10, 2008. A feature set overview which details new features available separately as standalone updates to Windows XP, as well as back ported features from Windows Vista, has been posted by Microsoft. A total of 1,174 fixes have been included in SP3. Service pack 3 can be installed on systems with Internet explorer versions 6,7 or 8. Windows 7 Most of the desktops and laptops are loaded with Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 is the 2nd last release of Microsoft Windows which has got high popularity because of its significant and friendly features. It is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablets and PCs, and media center PCs. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years of its predecessor, Windows Vista. 11 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD NETWORK TYPE OF NETWORK: CLIENT/SERVER Client/server describes the relationship between two computer programs in which oe program, the client, makes a service request from another program, the server, which fulfills the request. Although the client/server idea can be used by programs within a single computer, it is a more important idea in a network. In a network, the client/server model provides a convenient way to interconnect programs that are distributed efficiently across different locations. Computer transactions using the client/server model are very common. The client-server model is a computing model that acts as a distributed application which partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service request called clients. Often clients and servers communicate over a computer network on separate hardware but both client and server may reside in the same system. A server machine is a host that is running one or more server programs which share their resources with clients. A client does not share any of its resources but requests a server’s content or service function. Clients therefore initiate communication sessions with servers which await incoming requests. TOPOLOGY: STAR TOPOLOGY In local area networks with a star topology each network host is connected to a central hub with a point to point connection. The network does not necessarily have to resemble a star to be classified as a star network, but all of the nods on the network must be connected to one central device. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as a signal repeater. The star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and implement. An advantage of the star topology is the simplicity of adding additional nods. The primary disadvantage of the star topology is that the hub represents a single point of failure. 12 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD DBMS For maintaining the databases of customers and employees UAE exchange uses Sybase database management software. The screen shot of UAE exchange DBMS for a particular branch is given below: 13 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD 14 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD There will be separate password for each branch and each employee in order to login in this data management portal. Mainly there are 4 major sections. PRODUCTS This session includes the services of UAE exchange. When a customer approaches a staff in the UAE exchange for the particular product, the staff select the particular product from the above list and make necessary filling and all. BACK OFFICE It dedicates to the part of the company where tasks allocated to running the company itself take place. Back office would be those manufacturing or developing the products or involved in administration but without being seen by customers. Although the operations of a back office are seldom prominent, they are a major contributor to a business. MIS (Monthly Income Status) This section includes the monthly income for the staff, the target he have to achieve in that month, and reports, works that he have to submit in a particular month etc. COMMUNIQUE This includes news, notifications and updates for the staffs, staff contacts details of other branches, branch locator, etc. OTHERS Finance and accounting, security settings for the staff etc. are included in this section. Cash details of the full transactions, opening balance, closing balance, share details etc. can be available under this tab. Beyond this DBMS for a particular branch, UAE exchange also keep an online site for customers to deal with the travel and tour services of UAE exchange in which anyone can book their tickets online using their credit cards etc. 15 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD The official website of UAE exchange is www. uaeexchange. com, in which people can search for its product and services and know more about UAE exchange. 16 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD 17 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGHTS ? Strong management ? Innovative culture ? Financial Leverages ? Size advantages ? Cost advantages ? Unique products ? Economies of scale WEAKNESS ? Work inefficiencies ? Bad acquisition ? Tarnished Reputation ? Lack of scale ? Cost structure OPPURTUNITIES ? Financial leverages ? Innovation ? New services and products ? New technology ? Emerging markets THREATS ? Bad economy ? International competition ? Mature markets ? Intense competition ? Volatile revenue ? Substitute products 18 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD CONCLUSION The information system and its application in a branch of UAE exchange is studied well during in this project. The information system implemented in UAE exchange for maintaining the employee and customer information databases help the organization for competing with other companies. The software packages used helps in efficient utilization of the man power and time A well implemented information system shows how organized and well set is the organization. Information technology linked with information system is the most cheapest and efficient method to maintain a good relationship between the organization and the customers. So information system is the vital part in any of the world organizations. 19 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATION The core banking system is not enabled in UAE Exchange Financial Services yet. So in order to improve their services they have to implement CBS immediately. The website www. uaeexchange. com can be made more customers friendly by keeping facilities like online Foreign exchange and bill payments and also a facility to chat with the customer service executive for enquires. A research and development department can be implemented which would pin-point needs, opportunities etc. The department would seek to generate its own ideas to generate its own ideas or to obtain them from outside sources. 20 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN INFORMATION SYSTEM AT UAE EXCHANGE FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD REFERENCES ? www. google. com ? www. wikipedia. com ? www. uaeexchange. com ? www. wikiwealth. com ? www. stylusstudio. com ? www. sybase. in 21 AMITY GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, COCHIN

Vertical economy in Tamboo

Vertical economy in Tamboo The concept of the vertical economy was discussed in class and in the film. It discusses how it applies to the Incas. Since self-sufficiency was the ideal of the society, family units claimed parcels of land in different ecological niches in the rugged terrain. In this way, they achieved what anthropologists have called "vertical complementarily," that is, the ability to produce a wide variety of cropssuch as maize, potatoes, and quinoa (a protein-rich grain)at different altitudes for household consumption. It relates to Tambo in the same way, it basically allows food to be grown at different levels of the land. Some are grown and dramatically different levels, such as Potatoes at 4,000 meters, maize at 2,500 meters, and Coca at 800 meters. Different members of a same community were divided among different eco-systems, and that's way their human settlements were bound into a single system. That is how they had a large population.The Macchu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site ne...Ta mboo is basically a diary about Julia's experiences living with (and as) the Quechua for 1 year in a small village called Tambo. The book is filled with rich descriptions of the land, the people, their work and habits, the festivities, the surroundings and the life of these people, and in particular one extended family with who Julia and her husband, lived, worked and played with. Due to the closeness of the relationship between Julia and her hosts, the book describes the characters in a way that makes you become fond of them. Almost as if you know them yourself. The personal lives, ways, mannerisms and problems. By the time the book comes to an end you have had a rich insight into the very closed and ritual world of rural Quechua society and have shared the difficulties that Julia and her husband experienced. The most...

The 15 Worst Mistakes You Can Make in Your 20s

The 15 Worst Mistakes You Can Make in Your 20s Your 20s are a strange time in your life. It’s a period of transition, adjustment, discovery and lots of cat videos. You might be wrapping up your degree, searching for an entry level job or working your way towards becoming a professional napper. Whatever the case may be, we all know how crucial our 20s can be in terms of developing our foothold in this world. That being said, here are the 15 WORST mistakes you can make in your 20s. You’ll be happy to know, watching funny cat videos is not one of them.  Source [businesinsider]

Hot L Baltimore - Who is your favourite character and why Essay

Hot L Baltimore - Who is your favourite character and why - Essay Example Immediately the audience can understand the occupation, age and character of the young minx. She has no name, only an age: nineteen. Wilson gives her a tender age and makes her a prostitute at the same time. Maybe this is to reveal to the audience the cruelty of our age. Yet, nameless she presides over the entire three-act play, helping in any way possible. The most predominant emotions in her, makes the play embrace her as she wins over the audience with her charm and care. One of the most individualistic qualities about the Girl is her inability to reach a conclusion on anything she states. She is confused and regularly keeps changing her name and personality. This can also be one of the most alluring aspects about her because with her nothing stays definite. She changes like a chameleon making those around her incapable of deciphering her personality. It is evident that despite being in a profession that should harden one against the world, Girl is still as emotional and positive as possible. She feels this constant obligation to assist wherever and whenever possible. Sometimes enough so that sometimes she causes irritation such as the moment when in her attempts to help Bill she frustrates him into moving out of the way and distributing the mail. This is not the only instant her care shows because as soon as she discovers the mail contains eviction notices she immediately refuses to distribute it, claiming her disassociation with anything so negative. The Girl is not just caring, she is also very curious. This factor might be because of her age but this does not explain her desire to know anything that catches her attention. She wants to know about the ghosts in hotels in great detail and insists on asking a continuous series of questions regarding ghosts, their habitat and activities. This attracts the audience towards her because it

Heart Sutra Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Heart Sutra - Term Paper Example Thus, all things are empty. It states that nothing is born and nothing dies; nothing is pure or stained, and nothing either increases or decreases. Hence, none of the five aspects actually exists in emptiness. This is essentially the same as the current teaching of science that nothing is created or destroyed; rather, it merely changes form, which is a result of the theory of conservation of energy. Consequently, there is also neither of the five senses nor imagining, nor are any of these processes experienced. The point of stating this reality is to highlight their delusory nature, and pointing to the way of the Bodhisattva, which is to have no fear and rely only on the perfection of wisdom, as it will lead to nirvana (spiritual enlightenment). The perfection of wisdom is identified in the sutra as the greatest, clearest and highest mantra, which is also capable of removing all suffering. Besides mentioning the five skandhas with respect to their emptiness, the Heart Sutra also ment ions the twelve ayatanas (abodes), the eighteen dhatus (elements of consciousness), the twelve nidanas (origins) and the four noble truths.

Good transportation Essay Example for Free

Good transportation Essay Of all the countries of the earth, there are developed and developing countries. Of the developed nations, one of them stands out as the superpower: it is the United States of America, the place of untied people or more than one race defending the sanity of their environment, and extending her good will to other nations that need them. It is the leader of other countries in military power and strength. United States of America is made up of many states that run a democratic system of government, which forms the western civilisation that people talk about. This nation is a great nation, and I like it. My main point through this article is that this country is better than others. I do have reasons for this theme. I do not think that there is any nation that is greater than America; it is better than other countries in many respects. Let me start with one of them: the people are good. Americans are people of more than one race: there are Hispanics, Black-American, and from other nations of the earth. If the people of America are not friendly, they would not be accommodating to everyone. They are ready to help when you are in need. And they also appreciate good people, skills and relationship. I am happy about this: that is why I say that they are good people. Besides, the people are open, straightforward and sincere. I have found these traits to be good and pleasant since I arrived in America. It is good to be nice. Apart from the good relationships you can build with Americans because they are nice, the education system is also good. There are many schools, high schools and colleges, and they teach the pupils and students very well. That is why many people from other parts of the world come to America to study and they return to improve their country. There are also research institutes that do studies to improve things in the world. They produce many new things that are useful every where. This is another reason I like USA. There is also order. I believe this is so because to monitor can work well. This order is shown by people when they obey traffic rules. Even when the Police is not around, people wait and obey rules. This is not the situation in other countries of the world. I have been impressed about this a lot. This orderliness has made it possible to protect people from haters of freedom. The transportation system is also very good: the road does not have port holes; it does not usually have traffic; apart from the road, the water and air transport systems are also good. USA is the home of democracy. As a result, there is practice of human rights. There is freedom of religion, communication, and interactions. You are free to make your opinion on any issues. This makes the place very good. As a Christian, I am not disturbed because of who I am. And other people can be Muslims, traditional worshippers, and even other things. People are free to do whatever they like do for themselves. You can be gay, or lesbian. This is the extent of freedom. You can even the Bill Gate and a great writer. The good government of USA is also very good. There is freedom to choose the right person to lead you through an election. I like it this way because you can see the people you like and make them lead you. This is good too for a country. This is the reason other countries chose democracy. It also has a good police force. There are some that respond when you call 911. They come to rescue you from problem you are facing. Some are also on the road, they help to maintain traffic. They stop those who drive to fast, and can charge them to court. The Police is also looking for criminals, and they want to catch them and charge to court. This police have men and women, and they work together well. There is also a group that responds to riots. Apart from the security here, there is also the military. They go to wars like Afghanistan, Iraq. They help to protect the large country from those that want to invade without notice. This is another thing why America is great. Good transportation, government, nice people, hard work police, the military, order is every where in America. This is why America is the greatest and I like it.

Smith Quotes :: essays papers

Smith Quotes Monopoly...is a great enemy to good management. The Wealth of Nations, Book I Chapter XI Part I p148 The monopolists, by keeping the market constantly understocked, by never fully supplying the effectual demand, sell their commodities much above the natural price. The Wealth of Nations, , Book I, Chapter VII, p63 The price of monopoly is upon every occasion the highest which can be got. The Wealth of Nations, , Book I, Chapter VII, p63 People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary. A regulation which obliges all those of the same trade in a particular town to enter their names and places of abode in a public register, facilitates such assemblies... A regulation which enables those of the same trade to tax themselves in order to provide for their poor, their sick, their widows, and orphans, by giving them a common interest to manage, renders such assemblies necessary. An incorporation not only renders them necessary, but makes the act of the majority binding upon the whole. The Wealth of Nations, , Book I, Chapter X, p130 To widen the market and to narrow the competition is always the interest of the dealers... The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted, till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men, whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to opprress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it. The Wealth of Nations, p267 On competition: The natural price, or the price of free competition...is the lowest which can be taken, not upon every occasion indeed, but for any considerable time together.

Discipline in Schools Essay

A majority of us have families with children various ages, and the title of this article caught my eye for the simple fact I have teenage kids in school that have previously been assigned in-school suspension for minor disciplinary acts such as being tardy or turning in incomplete assignments. Working adults and parents are the primary targets of this particular article which sparks my personal interest towards this issue. I felt the author of this article gave a somewhat neutral observation of this topic, giving both sides of the story in a calm yet quite informative tone. He listed infractions that resulted in suspensions as well as different types of suspension outcomes. It’s important to note that suspending a student for being disruptive in class and suspending a student for fighting should be handled differently however both instances should require the students to continue working on their curriculum. With references from other educators as well as reports from the US Department of Education I would have to say that the contents of this article appear to be creditable. Results from out of school suspensions prove to be doing more harm than good, leaving students at home unsupervised with a couple days off with no curriculum to work on verses the alternative of requiring students to attend on the weekends seems to be a better solution, however funding for weekend programs is a separate issue. The authors intend of this article is to inform and acknowledge new alternatives need to be explored when it comes to disciplinary actions such as suspensions. Additional resources will have to be implemented, academic and financial. Overall I thought this to be a particularly interesting and informative article.

Raoul

Executive Summary FJ Benjamin is a Singapore based fashion and lifestyle company. The company distributes major clothing brands and accessories, and is one of the leading fashion distributors in Singapore. Their success is derived from their ability to secure distribution rights from major brands. FJ Benjamin introduced it very own house label, Raoul, in 2002. Raoul was created to increase the company? s portfolio as well as to diversify away from distribution risk. Raoul contributes a large percentage of FJ Benjamin? s annual revenue.With intensive competition in the fashion industry, Raoul must have it own identity in order to differentiate itself from the competitor. Analyses have been undertaken to determine what necessary strategies to be implemented to enhance the brand image so as to increase profits. Strategies are recommended by taking advantage of Raoul? s strengths and building on their weaknesses in order to take advantage of the available opportunities in the market and to defend it from threats. Studies of the internal and external environment had been conducted to be able to work with Raoul? core competencies to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors.This report concludes that Raoul needs to make adjustments on its marketing strategies, and maintain some of its current strategies, in order to be more competitive in the fashion market. Hence, it is proposed that (1) Raoul focus on a single-market strategy and focus on the local market as well as to create strong market commitment, to be able to serve customer better. (2) Introduce a new ecofriendly product line based on product improvement strategy, and offer product customization for current and new products, as well as enhance current product and services. 3) Maintain current product pricing, and implement price skimming strategy on new product line. (4) Maintain its efficient and cost effective distribution strategy. (5) Changes are to be made on its promotional efforts in order to g ain max exposure possible. Benefits of the proposed recommendations would allow Raoul to achieve the proposed objectives which includes increasing in sales revenue, repurchase rate, and introducing a new product line within the next three years.It is there for proposed that the recommended strategies be implemented at Raoul to be able to reap in revenues as well as gaining a competitive edge in the fashion industry for a highly sustainable business.Over the last 20 years, Singapore has taken a great leap in its fashion industry. Singapore is recognised as the second largest fashion apparel business and sourcing hub in Asia-Pacific after Hong Kong. Special fashion events such as Singapore Fashion Week and Singapore Fashion Festival are some of the impressive achievements made in the fashion industry. These events played a critical role in portraying Singapore as a major fashion hub in the whole of Asia Pacific region. This also gives both local and international designers a platform to showcase their talents to the fashion industry in this region.Today, a total of 4,500 wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers generate some $7 billion in operating receipts and $1. 2 billion in value added to Singapore economy. As Asian consumers become more affluent, they increasingly drive global demand. With Singapore? s strategic location, cultural affinity and connectivity with the region made Singapore an ideal place to serve as a test-bed to gather and analyse consumer insights, to develop products for the Asian market. This also made Singapore an optimum location for many companies to set a base in, managing and controlling their regional and global operations. . 0 Corporate Background F J Benjamin was founded in 1959 by Frank Benjamin, who came from a well-to-do family who have been in the fashion industry before World War 2. The company was initially FJ Benjamin and Sons but due to the nature of the business, where it positioned itself as a holding firm with subsidiar ies, it was later renamed to FJ Benjamin Holdings Ltd in 1993 (Wang 2009). The company started of dealing with photographic equipment, and everyday novelties such as paper products as well as pots and pans.However, in the 1960s, the company started to modernise its operations by entering into partnerships with many fashion labels, by importing and retailing designer jeans. The success motivated Benjamin to focus his business on the fashion industry. The company brought in brand names such as Lanvin, Gucci and Fendi in the early 1970s, and was a big player of the fashion industry in Singapore (Wang 2009). FJ Benjamin was listed on the SGX in 1996, before the Asian financial crisis, posting a net loss of over $40m in their first financial year; it was mainly due to high operating expenses and fixed cost.The profitability of the company continued into the early 2000s, where they lost major brand names such as Gucci, Lanvin and Fendi. The company learnt to diversify away from distributo rship risk by developing its own brand, thus the creation of Raoul. 1 Company Present Operation& Business Core Today, FJ Benjamin has operations in eight cities worldwide, including Singapore, Sydney Australia, Jakarta Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Taiwan and Bangkok Thailand carrying over 20 brands and has over 180 retail stores in the Asia Pacific region.FJ Benjamin focuses on 3 core business; fashion retailing and distribution, timepiece distribution, and licensing and design: (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). ? Fashion retailing and distribution core – Acquired rights to distribute major fashion labels across the South East Asia and the Pacific region ? Exclusive distributers of timepiece – Acquired rights to distribute timepieces in the South East Asia and the Pacific region ? Licensing and Design – Has a design division to design for Guess Kids and its own house label, Raoul However, they also have their fair share of failures, one exampl e was with the Manchester United brand and Devil? Bar that were unprofitable, which the company had a joint venture with CEO of St James Power Station, Dennis Foo. The company dropped the Manchester United brand name and closed all its retail stores and cafes. Current Developments FJ Benjamin is benefiting from Singapore? s healthy economic growth. With Singapore transforming into a tourism hub, and the opening of Marina Bay Sands (MBS), the company had took advantage of the influx of visitors and has opened four new retail stores at the MBS, including brands names like Guess, Banana Republic, La Senza and Raoul; totalling the number of stores in Singapore to 32.The management was optimistic with its new stores as it was able to secure attractive rental rates at MBS and would be able to benefit from the ever growing number of tourist. The company also stand to avoid other competition with the opening of new shopping malls in Orchard Road and other shopping districts in Singapore (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). Future Developments FJ Benjamin had secure exclusive distributorship for high end brands such as Goyard, Givenchy and Dewitt, building the company? s brand portfolio to more than 20 reputable brand. The company? success is evidenced by its ability to attain distributorship of French luxury giant Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton? s (LVMH) Celine and Givenchy; this is only the beginning of their collaboration with LVMH (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 2 Company’s Milestones & Achievements FJ Benjamin have made its mark in Singapore and have been contributing much to the fashion industry and providing various lifestyle products [See Appendix 1]. Corporate Vision FJ Benjamin? s vision is to be a global company ? Dedicated to delivering their promise to their customers by fulfilling their lifestyle aspirations ? Committed to talent development Delivering sustainable and superior returns to their shareholders Corporate Mission FJ Benjamin? s mission is strive to lea d in everything they do ? Implementing brand strategies with deep market penetration ? Delivering superior customer service with long-term customer loyalty ? Empowering employees to deliver value processes for phenomenal growth ? Pursuing best-in-class economics with strong margins Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) FJ Benjamin has been committed to various charities in Singapore since the company was founded in 1959. The company believes that charitable giving is a necessary element of CSR.The company? s Charitable Giving Committee is made key employee of the company. The committee meets on a quarterly basis to review the company? s charitable initiatives and approves all charitable giving. The company sets aside up to 1% of its net profit for a fiscal year, in forms of monetary or in-kind gifts. FJ Benjamin? s charitable objectives includes, supporting good causes relating to health, education, arts and/or the community in Singapore. The company also encourages and supports pro jects and activities that helps strengthen in which their employees work and live in. FJ Benjamin? Contributions to the society [See Appendix 2]. Company Structure FJ Benjamin Holding employs a divisional structure that is divided according to geographical region and further subdivided into countries and product [See Appendix 3]. In the South East Asian region, the company branch out to various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Each country would then be fragment base on products, e. g. Timepieces, Investment and Concepts (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 3 As of financial year end 2009, Douglas Benjamin is the Chief Executive Officer for FJ Benjamin Singapore.Mr. Douglas oversees the operation in Singapore, directs the international expansion of Raoul house label and heads the Raoul design team as a Creative Director. Douglas Benjamin has strong experience in brand management and development of retail distribution thereby allowing the company to expand quickl y into various regions within eight years and having a diverse range of products (Star Creation 2010). The senior management board in Singapore includes Samuel Benjamin, Quah Kim Tong and Matthew Chan (FJ Holdings Limited 2009).Samuel Benjamin is the Group Director of Timepiece and the Senior Vice-President of FJ Benjamin Fashion U. S. Inc. He joined the company Fashion division in 1991 and has more than 19 years of experience in the retail industry (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). Quah Kim Tong is the Director for Wholesale. He administers the logistic/ distribution center in Singapore, plus the distribution business of Sheridan and Guess Accessories. He started his career as a product manager in 1982 and steadily moved up the corporate ladder. Matthew Chan is the Divisional CEO of Fashion and Corporate Services.He oversees the day-to-day running of the fashion retail in Singapore, as well as the managing the back end support services in the company. Mr. Chan joined the company back in 2006, providing strong organizational and financial knowledge from his past experience as Director for Head of Channel Acquisitions and Head of Acceptance with American Express. Key stakeholders FJ Benjamin key stakeholders are directly affected by the company? s performance, which includes: ? Customers who purchase products from various SBU ? Employees – Management staff to salespeople ?Licensors who sell the distribution rights to FJ Benjamin ? Retail malls that leases out spaces for company? s retail division ? Investors who own FJ Benjamin? s corporate share ? Creditors – Banks ? Shareholders ? Government agencies which may require the company to abide/ conform to accounting standards, taxation regulations and employees? CPF ? Trade unions which may certain framework that the company needs to work within; such as working hours and minimum wage 4 Financial Performance Financial Year Profits after tax and shares 2005 4. 26 million 2006 10. 17million 2007 1. 47millon 2008 14. 8 million 2009 (2. 66 million) Table 1 Financial performance of the past 5 years The growth from financial year 2005 to 2006 was mainly attributed by attainting the distribution rights for Gap and Banana Republic in Singapore and in Malaysia. During the same year, other SBUs, namely Raoul and Timepieces started its expansion into the Middle East and Thailand (FJ Benjamin Limited 2006). The significant growth from 2006 to 2007 was further encouraged by the optimistic economies and mainly by the conversion of warrants to share (FJ Benjamin Limited 2007).The decline in profit for 2007 to 2008 was caused by the subprime crisis in America, the increasing inflation rate that reduced consumer spending power and the high volatility in the financial market. It was also noted that, FJ Benjamin exited from the Thailand market due to the political instability and shut down two timepiece shop in Hong Kong due to poor results (Leong 2010). On the other hand, the company reassured shareho lders through their diversified portfolio of brands and vigilant cost discipline; the company business is still viable (FJ Benjamin Limited 2008).As of financial year end 2009, FJ Benjamin had made a net loss of $2,661,000 compared to a net profit of $14,804,000 in 2008. The loss in 2009 was caused by the financial crisis. FJ Benjamin minimizes their financial risk by ensuring that there is sufficient cash reserves to meet any unforeseen circumstances and is committed to a low gearing ratio. 5 Breakdown of Financial Result Liquidity ratio Current ratio Quick ratio 2009 2. 11 times 7. 8 2008 1. 67 times 14. 7 Table 2 Financial results – Liquidity Ratio The liquidity ratio refers to the company? ability to meet its short term obligation (Madura 2007, 580). As compared to 2008, the current ratio has increased but it is still within the healthy range of 1 – 2. Excessive liquidity could imply that the company may have excessive cash or stocks in inventories (Madura 2007, 58 0). Leverage Ratio Debt/Equity ratio 2009 2. 13 2008 1. 14 2009 -2. 02% 2008 10. 65% Table 3 Financial results – Leverage Ratio Return on Equity Table 4 Financial results – Return on Equity Return on equity measures the return of investments in the firm for the shareholders (Madura 2007, 586).Although losses were made in 2009, the company has since been making steady progress in their quarterly financial results as show in Figure 1. 2009 Earnings per share (cents) 2008 -0. 47 2. 61 Table 5 Financial results – Earning/share Earnings per share serve as an indicator for the company? s profitability. Since in 2009 losses were made, it is accepted that the earning per share would decrease significantly as compared to 2008. Figure 1 Analysis of Financial Results Despites the losses made in 2009 due to the financial crisis, FJ Benjamin has since been making steady progression.For first quarter 2010, a net profit of $459,000 was made, followed by the second quarter with a net profit of $1. 72 million and latest financial results for third quarter 2010 showed a net profit of $3 million. 6 The company is financially sound; based on the breakdown of ratio, financial reports and third party recommendation for investors to invest in the company. FJ Benjamin has recently secured license for Goyard, a French luxury retail brand and has intention to introduce three other new brands in 2011 (Seow 2010). Currently the company has plans to expand into China and widen its existing market in US and Europe (Leong 2010). . 2 Strategic Business Unit Fashion FJ Benjamin? s fashion retailing includes prestigious line such as Guess, Celine, La Senza, Banana Republic, GAP and Raoul. It takes up two-third of its profit turnover through fashion retailing (Wang 2009). Timepieces F J Benjamin held exclusively rights to distribute timepiece brands such as Bell & Ross, GirardPerregauz, Guess, Chronotech, Victorinox Swiss Army, Marc Ecko, Rado and Nautica (FJ Benjamin Holdi ngs Ltd 2009). Timepiece contributes about 30% or one-third of FJ Benjamin? s profit turnover through retailing (Wang 2009). Creative & LicensingFJ Benjamin? s creative and licensing division has conceptualized and developed house brand Raoul and has licence to create original designs and manufactures merchandise, such as Guess Kids. 7 2. 3 SBU BCG Matrix The following is the tabulated values for BCG matrix analysis, for the breakdown of calculations [see Appendix 4]. Largest Competitor 2009 2008 RMS Growth rate % Total Fashion $48. 92 $203. 40 $226. 30 4. 17 10% 68. 00% Timepieces $35. 87 $94. 30 $113. 40 2. 59 17% 31. 00% Licensing $14. 80 $2. 20 $2. 70 0. 20 20% 1. 00% Table 6 BCG matrix analysis Star Question MarkDog Growth Cash Cow Relative Market Share Figure 2 BCG Matrix This shows that Raoul is considered a cash cow of FJ Benjamin? s business with high relative market share and average industry growth rate. Raoul is currently positioned under a maturity stage where growth ra te and market share may decline into dog in the next few years. Therefore, new marketing strategies are needed to maintain the Raoul? s position by altering the product, price, distribution and promotional strategies to increase growth and maintain its current market share. 8 3. 0 SBU Raoul Situation AnalysisRaoul is the brainchild of creative director Douglas and Odile Benjamin (Raoul 2008). Currently Raoul is one of the most profiled fashion brands coming out of Asia. It is being known as a stylish, innovative fashion brand offering high quality accessible luxury products to their consumers. Raoul? s is designed, manufactured, and retailed under a corporate vertical marketing system with is solely owned by FJ Benjamin (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 3. 1. 1 SBU Culture FJ Benjamin believes that Raoul can help them move up a level from being a brand distributor to a brand owner.Frank Benjamin claims that in fashion today, there is no shortage of brands and there would be market that Ra oul can cater to (Sim 2009). Raoul has created a new history for Singapore by introducing luxury fashion-forward corporate wear at an affordable price to business executives in Singapore. Raoul has become a renowned homegrown label that is now known to many business executives that demands style in corporate wear. (Smart lines for business times n. d. ) Raoul has such a strong influence in Singapore that local Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wore a pink Raoul tailor shirt during his National Day Rally Speech.Therefore, with a strong culture and adequate support from the parent company and local government, Raoul culture can become part of the Singapore heritage brand (Jalal. 2010). 3. 1. 2 SBU Resources Tangibles Resources Physical Physical refers to the equipments, furniture, retail outlet which can use to grow or sustain the business. With 24 Raoul flagship stores in Southeast Asia and Dubai, the company is still looking to expand its geographical footprint. Currently, FJ Benjamin occupies the second floor of the â€Å"The Alpha† at the Science Park. It is filled with show boutiques and workrooms.It is used by the company's visual merchandising team for training purposes and doubles as an impressive space for press samples (Simon 2009). This allows Raoul? s staffs to provide quality service to the consumers by using boutiques to train, giving them a chance to experience in a real life scenario. The availability of showroom allows Raoul to customize its concept layout before executing on the actual shop front. 9 Technological With the help of FJ Benjamin? s support in terms of finance and experience, Raoul is able to fully utilize technology to help Raoul perform more effectively and efficiently.Raoul also has its very own Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. CRM system is effective in increasing spending per customer, by tracking the spending patterns of customers, increasing the efficiency of marketing communication strategies. In addition, the front-end point-ofsales system has been upgraded to integrate with the CRM to improve in-store service quality (FJ Benjamin 2008). Sales Force Automation (SFA) is combined with CRM system to record stages of a sales process. It helps to manage customers? contact for future follow ups through contact management system.SFA would increase productivity and allow salespeople to utilize their time efficiently and effectively. SFA can help increase customer satisfaction which leads to increased customer loyalty and in return, high profit margins. Technology used on Supply Chain Management has improved the efficiency of the back-end support. Having implemented a new auto replenishment system, Raoul has been able to make inventory distribution more efficient. This help to save time and labour cost to keep track on all the movement of stocks and can provide a more accurate prediction of the delivery time (FJ Benjamin 2008).Financial FJ Benjamin achieved three consecutive quarters of earni ngs recovery in the first nine months of Financial Year Jun10. Earnings surged from a loss of $0. 1m for Financial Year Jun 2009 to a net profit of $5. 2m for Financial Year June 10 (Lee 2010). The outperformance in core earnings was driven by an improvement in gross profit margin, reflecting FJB? s strengthening brand portfolio and astute merchandising capability, as well as rising consumer demand (Lee 2010). In June 2010, the group? s turnover from the fashion business was flat at $49. m, with the marginal increase in the Southeast Asia markets offset by the slide in the Australian market. Geographically, sales in Southeast Asia rose three per cent, with fashion up two per cent (Seow 2010). As economics begin to recover, consumers? confidence begin to rise so purchasing increases. 10 Organization There are 9 directors on the board, consisting of Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Director, Executive Director, Non- Executive Deputy Chairman and Non- Executive Directors [see Appendix 5].In Singapore, there are 2 members on the senior management, consisting of the top management, such as Group Director and Wholesale Director FJ Benjamin adopt Traditional Organization Structure (Subhash and Haley 2009, 207), where different departments concentrate specifically in an area which they are an expert in it. Therefore, it helps Raoul to have a strong management team, which can grow Raoul to the next level and sustain a competitive edge. Intangibles Resources Goodwill As mentioned in section 4. 1 FJ Benjamin has been proactive in its CSR.This helps project a positive image of FJ Benjamin to the public. Therefore, in the future they can do a combine sponsorship with Raoul to increase brand exposure and awareness. Goodwill are intangible assets, this includes the company being in a dominant market position by building a positive brand image, create a positive reputation and increase consumer confidence of the company (Reference for Business : Encycl opedia of Business, 2nd ed n. d. ). Under the context of Raoul, they continuously explore different strategies where they aim to ecome a global renowned luxury brand that is recognised both regionally and internationally. As shown in appendices [see Appendix 6], Raoul had participate in numerous fashion events where they are able to showcase its products with other major luxury brands in the world. This would create a perception that Raoul as an international luxury brand. In Singapore, FJ Benjamin also creates a positive image by supporting and grooming Asian talents to become professional designers. Raoul had also won numerous prestigious awards, portraying that Raoul is a prestigious brand to Singaporeans.Innovation FJ Benjamin? s expertise and capabilities in original design manufacturing allows the company to create its own house-brand, Raoul. FJ Benjamin is committed to deliver innovative and differentiated products to the market. Raoul aims to create and deliver new value-add ed products and invest in research in order to respond to the ever changing needs of consumers. 11 Knowledge/Skills FJ Benjamin has rich experience in marketing and distributing luxury products. This makes FJ Benjamin an industry leader for building brands and management.This can help Raoul has a clear directions and a strong strategy to grow the brand. FJ Benjamin place customer service top on their priority list, therefore, every year they will send their staffs for upgrading or training to increase their service quality. After years of hard work, in 2009 FJ Benjamin won â€Å"Best Service Provider in the Industry† award. In retail, FJ Benjamin has a rich experience in marketing and advertising campaign to expand its market share. They also have the capital to heavily advertise Raoul on traditional print such as fashion magazines, newspapers, posters and billboards (Wong and Lim 2009). . 1. 3 SBU Stakeholders Stakeholders hold an important to affect Raoul? s ultimate growth . Raoul needs to take in the view of the interest of their stakeholders in order to have a positive growth. Stakeholders can also influence the directions of Raoul. The stakeholders are further classified into 4 different groups: Classification of Stakeholders The Community The Customers / Partners The Competitors The Investors ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Government regulators Media General public Shopping Mall Developers Shopping Mall Management EmployeesFashion Designers Customers prospects Strategic alliances partners Raw Materials Suppliers Insurance Company Supply Chain/Freight Forwarding Company Schools (e. g. School of Business, School of Art and etc) Direct Competitors (e. g. Massimo Dutti, G2000 Black Label) Non- Direct Competitors/Substitutes Board of directors Investment Analysts / Financial Consultant Shareholders/Investors Table 7 Classification of Stakeholders 12 3. 1. 4 SBU Performance Raoul entered into the fashion industry at the right time, where men have b een paying more attention of their looks.With the successful launch and business, Raoul has also further strengthened its well established values (Sunny Side Up: Start your day the Kim Eng Way 2010). Financial Year Profits after tax and shares 2005 724,200 2006 1,728,900 2007 3,649,900 2008 2,516,000 2009 (452,200) Table 8 Financial Performance for the past 5 years Base on assumption from the above financial year performance under section 1 with Raoul having a financial contribution to FJ Benjamin profit of approximately 17%. From 2005 to 2007 shows a steady increase mainly attribute by positive financial economies.From 2008 to 2009 a dip in Raoul? s sales was caused by financial crisis across the world. As of June 2010, FJ Benjamin recorded a net profit of $8,260,000 from a net loss of $2,661,000 in 2009 (FJB Singapore 2010) and Raoul accounts for approximately 15% – 20% of FJ Benjamin? s sales revenue, it is clear that FJ Benjamin wishes to take this opportunity to venture into other big market to increase their revenue and market share. 3. 2 SBU Customers Characteristics Segment 1 Segment 2 Working Adults Generation Y Sex Male and Female Male and Female Age 36-60 22-35 Education ;gt;Diploma gt;Degree Monthly Income ;gt;$3800 ;gt;$2800 Purchasing Power High Medium – High Benefit Sought Seek Prestige Services ; Product Seek Individualism, Status ; Self Quality Image VALS Innovators Achievers/Experiencers Lifestyle Factors Traditionalist Modernist Brand Loyalist Opinion Leaders Opinion Leaders Early Adopters Purchase Frequency Occasionally Occasionally Occasion of Use Work Work and Social Size 65% 35% Demographics Description Table 9 SBU Customers 13 3. 3 SBU Competition 14 Table 10 SBU competition 15 3. 3. 1 Current Product Positioning Quality +ve Price -ve + ve -veFigure 3 Current Product Positioning Purple: Raoul, Blue: Massimo Dutti, Orange: G2000 Black Label The above shows the current position of Raoul and its competitor, Massimo Dutti and G2000 Black label. Raoul currently offers high quality products at a mid-range price, while competitor such G2000 Black label offers slightly lower priced and quality clothing. Massimo Dutti offers slightly lower price and same quality clothing as Raoul. 16 3. 4 Key Findings PESTLE Environment Political Political Stability and Risk Political stability and risk varies between countries in the region.Singapore has very little political issues compared to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Singapore is rank 1st in Southeast Asia as the least corrupted country and 4th worldwide. Low degree of social unrest, political sovereignty, conflicts and low government interventions, makes Singapore a safe place for any business operation. As indicate in the World Bank? s Doing Business Report, Singapore is the world? s easiest place to do business in the year of 2009 and 2010 due the political stability of Singapore. Economic Singapore? economic growth, inter est rates, exchange rates and inflation rates, consumer purchasing power and the standard of living in Singapore are part and parcel of the economic environment. In May 2010, Singapore topped the list of world? s most competitive nation in the World Competitiveness Yearbook. Singapore dethroned USA as from its 16 year reign (Lim 2010). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Singapore? s GDP expanded strongly by 15. 5% in the 1st quarter of 2010, it exceeded the projected 13. 1% estimates. On a quarterly basis the Singapore economy grew 38. 6 %, 6. 5% more than the government? s estimates (Howells 2010).According to World Bank, Singapore GDP is worth 182 billion dollars or 0. 29% of the world economy (Singapore GDP Growth Rate 2010). Singapore has a highly developed and successful freemarket economy and it soared above 30% in the first quarter of 2010, the manufacturing sector growth was doubled as compare to previous quarter of the year recovering from a 2. 8% drop in fourth quarter of 2009. The growth of the manufacturing sector accounts for up to one quarter of the country? s economy. This would cause the projected forecast of the GDP to increase to up to 9% in 2010 (Adam 2010). Inflation Rates As of 2010, Singapore? inflation rate is 1. 6% (Singapore Inflation Rate 2010). Inflation is an increase of overall price level in the country. This would increase the cost of living as products/services would now cost more than previous years. It is interrelated to the Consumer Price Index, which will be further discussed in the next section. 17 Consumer Price Index The current CPI of Singapore is 1. 6%, it is the measures of inflation rate, where measures consumer prices that the price changes in a fixed amount of consumer goods and services that are commonly purchased over time (Singapore Department of Statistics 2010).CPI is influenced by lifestyle, income level, household composition and consumer preference (Singapore Department of Statistics 2010) this also determines the quality of life of Singaporeans. This relates to the increasing trend in Singaporeans having higher spending power, where cost of consumer products are increasing; resulting in the increase in inflation rate. With the increasing cost of living and quality of life, Singaporeans have more disposable cash to spend on better quality products which would aid the sales growth of Raoul. Socio-Cultural Social AttitudesSingaporean has a „fear of losing? attitude, which is frequently used to describe the social attitude of Singaporeans. This refers to people who desire to always want to be first, the best and never losing out. This could be a positive attitude that reflects the high standards of Singaporeans; however it could lead graceless image to the society. It also strongly reflects on the Singaporean work ethics and competitiveness. ‘Face’ This is an important value amongst Singaporeans. It refers to saving and maintaining „face?. Singaporeans typically are not expressive in their ehaviour and emotions and do not criticize others openly in public; to avoid losing face. Losing face will lead to damage to one? s reputation, credibility and authority in the social and working environment. Technological Factor Technological Infrastructure Broadband infrastructure in Singapore allows for better global networking for businesses that enables better customer support. With the support of such technology, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Point of Sales (POS) system are made easier.Thus, allowing Raoul to operate more effectively and efficiently in Singapore. Furthermore, the government introduced the next generation high-speed fibre optic broadband (Next Gen NBN 2010). 18 Legal Factors Singapore Legal System Singapore? s legal system is English common law and has a strong regulation in place protecting consumer and company. Raoul, being a domestic brand would receive stronger su pport from the government. Singapore also has an additional Islamic law to cater to the Muslim community. Since, Singapore? economy is highly dependent on the revenue from import and export, it is important to implement proper regulations to protect the safety of Singapore. Also in terms of employment policies, firms need to consider the working hours and wages rate of the employees. Environment Factor Environmentalism There is an increasing trend green consumer in the global segment and since Singapore being one of the countries that is actively involved; environmentalism becomes an opportunity for Raoul to introduce environmentally friendly products as recommended in products.Targeting environmentally conscious consumers, where they are more willing to pay for greener products. Green Movement Singapore is highly involved in going green and government bodies that are responsible include National Environmental Agency (NEA) and Environmental Challenge Organisation (ECO). The NEA sign ed the Singapore Packaging Agreement with 5 industry associations, 19 individual companies, 2 non-governmental organizations, the Waste Management ; Recycling Association of Singapore and 4 public waste collectors on 5 June 2007 that aims to reduce packaging waste over a 5year period.It encourages the flexibility for the industries to adopt cost-effective solutions to reduce waste (Singapore Packaging Agreement 2008). ECO launched the „Million Acts of Green? Singapore Campaign to spur a national green movement by getting Singaporeans to think and act green in their day-to-day lives. Million Acts of Green Singapore is targeted at both Singaporeans and businesses with the aim of getting them to register their green acts and sustainability ideas on the millionactsofgreen. sg website (ECO Singapore 2010). 19 3. 5 Internal Analysis – TOWS Matrix AnalysisTable 11 Internal Analysis – TOWS Matrix Analysis 20 4. 0 SBU Objectives and Goals Table 12 SBU Objectives and Goals 21 5. 0 Recommended Strategies Recommendations have been made in order for Raoul to achieve their objectives and goals. 5. 1 Market Strategies Market-Scope Strategy It is recommended that Raoul should focus its strategy on a single market basis, where Raoul can gain competitive advantage of being able to adaptive and responsive to market opportunities threats to successfully remedying any possible changes in policies.Thus, Raoul will be able to capture the market and better serve the customers, at the same time experiencing higher profits while keeping the cost down while prices are kept high. Market-Geography Strategy Currently, Raoul has existing plans for expanding its business geographically. However, this report recommends that Raoul should return to the most traditional form of local-market strategy. As a home grown brand by a local company, F J Benjamin, it can gain competitive advantage of serving a narrow geographic area within Singapore.This can emphasis more interpersona l service with local consumers that can induce beliefs into consumers to motivate them in buying and supporting local produce. Market Commitment Strategy It is recommended that Raoul should create strong commitment with the potential consumers, where Raoul needs to create a firm foundation of operations within the market and amplifying its own economies of scales in promotion, distribution, manufacturing and promotion. This would in turn create high barrier to entry and competitors would have difficulties in challenging Raoul? s existing system.Creation of strong commitment can also be enhance with development or new products, improving product quality and increasing budget for sales force personnel. Raoul can work its product line with a more environmental approach. Such as usage of organic cotton in manufacturing of the apparels and recyclable shopping bags, to promote the eco-friendly line, to the consumers that are committed in saving the environment. Allocating resources to tra in retail associates can create a wholesome retail experience for the patrons of the boutique and would increase product and brand loyalty. 22 5. 2 Product StrategiesNew Product Strategy: Improvement ; Positioning The introduction of eco-friendly clothing aims to attract new consumers from the targeted segment. In Singapore context, organic cotton wear is still a relatively new concept. Currently there are not many fashion retailers providing formal wear made of eco-friendly materials. By being the first to introduce, Raoul could gain to attract a greater awareness for its own brand name and products. The eco-friendly clothing would help Raoul in attracting a larger number of potential consumers from the identified target segment. Quality +ve Price -ve + ve -veFigure 4 New Product Positioning Green: Eco-range positioning It is recommended that Raoul maintain its product positioning for the current clothing line. However, with the launch of eco-range, quality of product should be imp roved so as to differentiate the product from the competitors. Price of eco-range should increase so as to in-line with the new product pricing strategy (Price Skimming). 23 Value-marketing strategy: Product and Service Differentiation To differentiate its customer service from other fashion retailers, Raoul could offer complementary beverages for shoppers as well as offering image consultation service.The image consultant would make recommendations to consumer based on their needs, based on their body contour, purpose of occasion and nature of job scope. The consultation service is an optional product aimed at building the brand image and is subjected to charges. Product-design strategy: Product Customization Raoul should adopt standardise customisation to gain the extra competitive edge and to maximise benefits. Product customisation would aid Raoul in showcasing itself as a quality provider thereby differentiating the brand and increasing consumers? commitment to the brand.Standa rdise products refer to the clothing offered such as shirt, pants and blouse. Customisations could be done on various levels: ? At a basic level, clothing could be tailored in terms of length to meet basic expectations of consumers. ? At an intermediary level clothing could be tailored to meet specific needs of consumers, such as broadness of the lapel, thickness of shoulder padding in jackets, allow requests for particular colour and particular material for clothing like cashmere Lycra as well as embroidery of customers? initials on clothing. 24 5. 3 Price StrategiesWith reference to the PESTEL analysis, Singapore has a stable economy; does not face drastic changes in the environment. It is recommended that company should maintain the current pricing strategy for current products and use price skimming strategy for the new eco-friendly clothing. Maintaining Current Pricing Strategy It would allow Raoul to maintaining its position in the marketplace and enhance public image. The ben efit of maintaining price is appropriate when Raoul cannot anticipate the reaction of customers and competitors? price change. Furthermore, with this strategy it can further enhance the Raoul? public image New Product Pricing It is recommended that due to the uncertainty of consumers? demand and competitors? responds to the new eco-friendly range, that Raoul should use price skimming strategy to gain maximum revenue prior to competitors? respond with similar products.It not only serves customers who are less price sensitive, while there are demands for eco-friendly clothing in the early stage of the Product lifecycle, but also recovers the high cost of R;D used to develop eco-friendly clothing, and high promotional cost incurred to education consumers on the need to go green. . 4 Distribution Strategies Corporate Vertical Marketing System (VMS) Figure 5 Corporate VMS Raoul currently uses a Corporate VMS. As seen on the above figure, Raoul? s products are designed, manufactured and r etailed under a single ownership of FJ Benjamin. It is recommended that the distribution strategy remains the same as Raoul would have greater control over the entire distribution chains. This would eliminate the need of slow-moving suppliers for raw materials.New products designs shaped in Raoul? design centre at the â€Å"Alpha† as mentioned in section 5. 2. 1, and new designs 25 feed into Raoul? s manufacturing centres and is distributed directly to its retail outlets. This saves time, cost and keeps inventories low. 5. 5 Communication Strategies Raoul needs to further improve their current strategies and introduce new strategies to increase their market share and consumer base. Advertising A good advertising is able to stimulate interests and could lead to sales. It is able to influence customers? erception of Raoul and is able to reach out to more audience at a lower cost. Traditional advertising (Magazine) The use of traditional advertising such as magazines will be an effective medium for Raoul. Raoul could advertise in both male and female and luxury magazines such like HerWorld, Elle, Cleo, August Man, Prestige and L? Officiel, as these are the magazines that have readers that are similar to that of Raoul; targeted consumers get the latest information on fashion trends. Outdoor advertising and informative advertisingIn order for Raoul to introduce eco-friendly clothing, they have to do informative advertisements to generate environmental awareness among the public. Raoul can portray a positive brand image by introducing an eco-friendly range of clothing, and informing the public of the need to protect the environment through sustainable means. For instance, they are could place advertisements along high end shopping districts like Orchard Road, Marina Bay as well as the Central Business District areas to be able to attract attention of potential targeted consumers.However, special attention has to be made as not to place posters at cluttered en vironment as people may not notice the posters. Placing huge posters of bright green and earthy colours would draw consumers? attention, followed by a few informative words that explain the need for using organic materials which are biodegradable and pesticide free, such as organic cotton, to reduce environmental impacts. 26 Personal Selling strategy In retail line, personal touch and customer service is essential, and would differentiate Raoul from the rest of its competitors.It is recommended those salespeople are trained to be able to interact well with customers, as a good salesperson would be able to close higher sales, and customers are usually loyal to the person who provides the service, and may not be loyal to the brand. Therefore, more resources should be allocated in training of salespeople. Building Relationship through Database Marketing and CRM Building up a relationship with consumers with aim to retain consumers and increase their level of satisfaction. Raoul can imp lement customer loyalty programs so as to have a long-term valued relationship.This could be done by constantly sending update to their consumer through email or direct mail whenever there is any new launch or sales. Alternatively, Raoul could send birthday cards and offering birthday discounts to consumers on their birthday month. This will create a sense of belonging for the customer and further encourage return sales. Collaboration with designers In order to attract eco-conscious consumers, Raoul can collaborate with renowned designers to come up with a new series and designs made from organic materials.By taking a proactive approach in saving the environment, it projects a positive image of the brand. In addition, they are also able to educate the public on the need to save the environment. Product Packaging To be line with the eco-friendly range and promotion, purchase of any clothing in stores will be packaged with recycled paper wraps and paper bags. In addition, with purchas e of eco-friendly apparels, customers will be issued a specially designed recycled cloth bag with a green theme. Those special eco-bags should be able to attract potential buyers? ttention as well as raise awareness of the need to go green. 27 6. 0 Implementation Program An implementation table has been drawn up for the recommended strategies. IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL TABLE STRATEGY WHERE DATES HOW TO IMPLEMENT BUDGET CONTROL MECHANISM Market 1. Scope – Single Market 2. Geography – Local 3 years 3. Commitment – Strong 3 years Market Research on ideal store locations 3 years Singapore Island-wide Market Research Integrate CRM system Sales return – if segment is not profitable then use market haversting strategy $1,000,000Outlet sales figure – close outlets that are less profitable due to customer traffic Measuring repurchase rate – if repurchase rate is low, $500,000 consider using market haversting strategy Product Reviewing current produc t to come Nov 10 – Jan 11 up with improvements to restore product to health 1. New Product Positioning 2. Value-Marketing – Product ; Service Differentiation Training and development of staff Work closely with customer to review the progress of the product until completion that meets customer's specification. On going 3. Design – Customization On going

What to Wear to a Job Interview

What to Wear to a Job Interview When you head off to a job interview, in whatever guise, what you wear is just as important as what you say. Look at it this way – your clothes and the way you present yourself are a reflection of who you are, your personality, how seriously you take yourself and life, and in the end, how seriously you would take the job you’re being interviewed for. It’s for this reason that you need to pay serious attention to what you wear to your upcoming interview. We know that interviews themselves are scary things, but you can put yourself ahead of the competition if you present yourself in the right way. Of course, you could be attending an interview in a variety of different circumstances, be it for a part time job on top of your studies, in order to earn a little extra cash, or it could be that you’re looking to start your career on a full-time basis, and you’re being interviewed for your first job. Whichever of these you fall into, or somewhere in the middle, check out these suggestions for what to wear to power you to success. Research the company It’s not just about what to say or write in cover letter when you are interviewed in terms of the company and its ethos, but also about what their dress code is. You need to fit in with this as soon as possible, and that starts at the interview. Google is your friend here, so do a little investigating and put yourself ahead of the game. This shows initiative and will stand you in good stead. Some companies have a more relaxed dress code for work, but that doesn’t mean you should adopt this for your interview, simply try and incorporate it, whilst still being smart and well turned out. Which leads us onto †¦. being smart and well turned out Clothes should be in good condition, no rips or tears, and they should be ironed to get rid of any creases. If ripped jeans are in, don’t wear them – think smart and you won’t go far wrong. Basically, your appearance has to reflect your work ethic, but also hint at your own personality too, in a subtle but clear way. It’s a fine line, but one which when done correctly, works very well indeed. For instance, if you’re going for a part time job on top of your studies in a coffee house and you’re being interviewed for a barista job, power dressing won’t be the way forward; instead, you need to think about being smart, but also showing that you are an individual yourself and you can connect with the people you will be working with. It’s hard to give suggestions, because everyone’s personality is different, but a pair of black trousers with a brightly coloured shirt could show personality, however don’t go for neon because that doesn’t look good on anyone! Laid back but smart would be the way forward here, perhaps a patterned scarf would hint at your quirky nature. Don’t be inappropriate Flashing the flesh will not win you any fans, and it will probably turn your interviewers right off. Whilst you might be under the (rather false) impression that a cleavage on show might get you remembered, bear in mind that you will be remembered for the wrong reasons. Think classy and sophisticated, rather than trashy. As we hinted at before, you can express your personality, but tone it down! Nobody said you had to totally avoid showing your personality in your dress, but don’t be too ‘out there’ because it may not translate the same meaning as you intend. Clothing needs to be age appropriate, as well as appropriate for the situation. For instance, if you’re going for an interview for a law internship, you need to stick to the very professional and smart rules, such as a suit, tie, and dress shoes for the men, and a trouser suit, skirt, or dress to the knee or below for the girls. On the other hand, if you’re heading off for an interview in a funky art gallery, being too smart might not win you the right look. Grooming is just as important What you wear is imperative, but your general upkeep is too! Of course, we are talking about personal hygiene, having clean, tidy hair, having a shave for the boys amongst you, and generally smelling fresh and flowery, rather than as though you have just pulled a study all-nighter. Don’t forget this important step! Dressing for your interview is about knowing what kind of job you’re going for and tailoring what you wear accordingly. Do your research, show your personality a little, but always be smart. Good luck!