Telemachus – Good or Bad Brother?

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring quite often the hard way. Pamela Dugdale (Blog writer) Would Telemachus be a Good or Bad Brother? Imagine for a moment what would happen if Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, â€Å"The Odyssey† by Homer, had a younger brother or sister. How would his life change if he knew he has somebody to protect? Or if he knew he has somebody to pass the reins of power to? Probably he could be braver by knowing he is a live shield for somebody.On the other hand what would happen with his temperament if he had an older brother or sister? There is a chance he would be mentally weaker. Maybe he would blame his sibling for all of his troubles. In order to find answers to these questions I will be presenting you bare facts from research studies made by different people in different centuries. I am also testing my own experience and ability to understand this precious bond betwee n siblings and family members. I am an older brother to my two younger lovely sisters. While I was growing up I was still the only child, but I was like an older brother to my two dear cousins.Family bond is a special thing. Whenever you speak to your close family member whom you haven’t seen for a while, you are most likely to take his or her words deep into your heart. That’s why silver-eyed Athena uses form of Iphthime, Penelope’s sister, in order to convince Penelope. And I will do my best to describe lonely prince Telemachus’ character and apply it to the whole different environment, which will show the peculiarity of growing up with siblings. Let’s imagine him sharing not only common moment of happiness and joy, but bitter sweet moments of grief and sadness.Depending on what kind of person his sibling would be, Telemachus could possibly show us some of his negative qualities. Because I think Telemachus would be too modest to be in charge of t he family, I feel like his sibling would overpower him. But in some ways better than his father, loving and generous person Telemachus would become a good brother! There is an interesting article I read that I would like to share. It is called â€Å"siblings relationship† and for its most part it is summarizing article that gives a reader a broad view of siblings’ behavior in a family.Here are some interesting moments: â€Å"The earliest research on relationships among siblings developed the common theme that brothers and sisters relate to each other mainly in a rivalrous way, competing for parental attention and status within the family unit. It is true that young siblings frequently fight with each other, putting a strain on the entire family; in fact, family psychologists report that squabbling among siblings is one of the top concerns of their clients†(sibling relationship). It is true that rivalry exist within any family with two and more kids.But scientist s, in their materialistic nature, will always be looking for sources and reasons why it happens. The old opinion is formulated by Alfred Adler in 1959. Adler says, â€Å"that the ‘dethronement’ of the eldest child by the birth of a sibling is a trauma that initiates all sibling rivalry† (sibling relationship). This opinion is pretty narrow. Newer facts that we get fromâ€Å"Some studies show that those siblings who exhibit the most rivalry are also the most likely to cooperate, be affectionate, share, and support each other†(sibling relationship).Meaning it helps kids to develop good qualities such as ability to share, compassion, consideration and patience. My interpretation of it is as follows: if two brothers are fighting over a bicycle and an older brother always gets to ride it and he does it day after day. Until he gets to the point when he starts realizing that he makes his brother sad. This is a moment when older brother’s personality is sta rting to change. Maybe he will not change his behavior right away, because there is usually too much rivalry going on between brothers.So it’s up to older brother to change first, but both of them will carry an understanding of the importance of sharing into adult life. In a similar way siblings learn how to solve relationship problems that may happen in their future. When interviewed one old couple said, â€Å"The Secret of Our 78-Year Marriage? Argue Every Day†(101-Year-Old Married Couple). I would like to come up with an only child in a family study in order to better understand Telemachus.There is a stereotype that children have a better chance to grow into healthy adults if they have siblings. â€Å"The only child is popularly considered to be selfish, lonely, and maladjusted† (Falbo). This opinion was around for more than a hundred of years since the first studies in 1880’s. Nowadays the studies show only child in family usually performs better in s chool and is more likely to achieve expectations of their parents. Don’t get me wrong here; I think siblings gain better qualities in their childhood than only child.When siblings grow up and become adults they tend to be emotionally strong and prepared for relationship issues that are inevitable. On the contrary, the only child is not emotionally prepared and will have expectations of everything and everyone to be near to perfect. The moment something goes wrong it is harder for the only child to accept it and work on that emotional problem. In an article called â€Å"Only child syndrome a myth† the author crashes the myth of the only child not having enough friends.Nonetheless there are some interesting facts in the article. It says, â€Å"A study of kindergarteners, published in 2004 in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that teachers rated sibling-less children lower on a variety of social skills, including self-control and interpersonal skills† (Sohn ). For a moment imagine this happens in 2004 when there are a lot of pre-school classes for kids and day-care centers, but back on Ithaca years and years ago Telemachus probably had not many kids to play with.Laura Padilla-Walker at Brigham Young University made an interesting research †She recently found that having affectionate siblings helped kids, ages 10 to 14, feel less lonely and depressed and act more generously† (Sohn). It proves the already mentioned statement that siblings are learning how to be generous just by living together. Here is another important statement that she makes,† If parents only have one child, they will just have to work a little harder to give children those opportunities (Laura Padilla-Walker)† (Sohn).I think these words would be true about Penelope working hard to establish good social skills in her son’s mind. I assume that all the credit gets Penelope for growing a fine son like Telemachus, but maybe it happened thank s to Eurycleia’s care and love. Eurycleia is on Odysseus’ nurse. Nonetheless, there is no clear answer in here. Interesting facts were published in North American Journal of Psychology. â€Å"Adult siblings can be essential resource for support, love and friendship (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich). This many studies supporting my idea that having a sibling is so many ways beneficial. When siblings do not have a good relationship with their parents, they tend to overcompensate by having a supportive relationship with one another. Support and warmth is different between men and women (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich). This makes me believe that Telemachus would be even closer with his sibling because they both would share the pain of growing up without father. â€Å"Living through traumatic life experiences together makes the sibling bond stronger† (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich), that would be living in a house that is invaded by suitors in Telemachus' case.The resear chers found out about â€Å"the ‘love and hate' pattern that frequently occurs in the sibling relationship† (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich). But â€Å"positive outcomes can result from rivalry† such as â€Å"learning how to share and compromise† (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich). I would like to summarize the whole article. The studies made are showing that â€Å"overall, most participants reported that rivalry peaked in either childhood or adolescense normal), and then declines in adulthood as siblings come back together as friends† (Van Volkom, Machiz and Reich).I think this research is supporting my two previous researches and brings up new facts to think about. There was a moment in The Odyssey that simply shows why it is good to have a sibling in this life. Bright-eyed Athena decided to help Penelope by cheering her up and encouraging her. Athena creates a phantom of Penelope’s sister Iphthime, then phantom enters Penelope’s dream. So Penelope is dreaming, tired of endless crying, and suddenly her beautiful sister, the person she can trust and believe, is in her dream.And so Athena inspires her, â€Å"Your son will still come home – it’s decreet†¦He travels with such an escort, one that other would pray to stand beside them. She has power-Pallas Athena†(4. 907-932). These words spelled from her sister’s lips inspired her like nothing else in the world. Athena reached deep into her heart, bringing love there and flaring a small light of hope into a huge fire of belief. Sometimes it’s good to have somebody to remind you about how beautiful life is and that you are not alone because you have your wonderful brother or sister. Now, imagine Telemachus growing up with his older brother.Finally he has somebody to talk to, but I think Telemachus would be blaming his brother in the same in what he is blaming suitors and gods. Here is what he says to his mother, â€Å"why, mother/wh y deny our devoted bard the chance to entertain us any way the spirit stirs him on? Bards are not to blame – Zeus is to blame. He deals to each to each and every laborer on this earth whatever doom he pleases† (1. 395-403). Maybe he would accuse his older brother of not protecting their mother. It might also happen so he would proceed with Athena’s plan behind his brother’s back.But otherwise, I think Telemachus would die for his brother, here what he says when he is protecting his father,† Ctesippus, you can thank your lucky stars you missed our guest – he ducked your blow, by god! Else I would have planted my sharp spear into your bowels†¦and I’d rather die, yes, better that by far then have to look on at your outrage day by day†(20. 340-354). Telemachus is brave, though he grew up without father or sibling, but I can only imagine how much more courage he would have gained having his older brother by his side. Maybe they wo uld be plotting the same plan on how to get rid of suitors together.Of course, it all depends on what kind of person his brother would be. Just a little different situation would occur if Telemachus suddenly happened to have a younger brother or sister. Definitely, he would not sit around with suitors, as he does day by day. He complains to Athena,†Soon – you wait – they’ll grind me down as well† (1. 293) He would have never said that if he would have clear goal to protect what is precious to him. It’s like a duty of older brother. He would understand he must act in order to save the future of his sibling.I would like to add two more qualities that can be learned being a brother from my own personal experience. I am an older brother to my two sisters five and six years old. Beside that I’m an older cousin to my two other cousins. We were three boys growing up together. Being an older brother is learning how to be patient. I was growing up with only one sister. But even that one was enough. Looking after that small yo-yo takes nerves made of steel. From love the patience is born. And through patience a lot of things can be forgiven. Things like, turning off my computer while I’m playing my favored video game, which my sister enjoyed to do.As for being an older cousin a different lesson is taught. I did hurt my younger cousins and I do pity it a lot by now. I wish I wouldn’t be so harsh older brother as I was. When you have power over others it takes time to understand how to not overuse it. After doing a research and looking into Telemachus’ character I can surely say he would be a great brother. He would team up with his older sibling against suitors. Be it a brother, they would make a plan on how to slaughter suitors. If a sister, they would look for some help outside or maybe in some tricky way would have poisoned them.If a sibling would be a strong person, Telemachus would double his or her qualities making them twice stronger and wiser. If a sibling would be weak person, Telemachus would be ready to take over the responsibilities. In a last situation the sibling having a reckless life would have caused Telemachus into even greater depression. Having a younger sibling would bring great benefits to Telemachus. He would gain qualities like supportiveness, patience and self-confidence. Because he would be in care of somebody he would become more reliable. He would be more responsible for his words and he would support his words with actions.If he had an older sister she would give him a good emotional support. Overall, Telemachus would become a man that is ready to accept and fight off his problems in a manly manner. In general having a sibling is most likely to have a positive effect on one’s personality. This belief is so strong in our society that many couples decide to give birth to a second child. Nowadays studies prove that sibling relationship is not that e asy. Usually there is a lot of rivalry going on between siblings in adolescence, but it mostly results in strengthening the bond between siblings.Other studies are trying to prove that only child is happier and performs better in school, but my opinion is growing up with sibling is a lesson that is priceless in a school called â€Å"life†. I value the sibling’s experience 5 times higher than only child having a happy childhood. So might some of us that grew up as only child have to think to themselves: â€Å"Do I have to catch up with those people who grew up with a sibling†? Works Cited Falbo, Tony â€Å"The One-Child Family in the United States: Research Issues and Results† Studies in Family Planning Vol. 13, No. 6/7 (Jun. – Jul. , 1982), pp. 12-215 Web. 11 of April 2012 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Classics, 1996. Print. Senior, Jennifer â€Å"101-Year-Old Married Couple† www. nymag. com (2009): n. page Web. 4 of April 2012 â€Å"Sibling Relationship† , N. A. www. faqs. com (2012): n. page Web. 4 of April 2012 Sohn, Emilie â€Å"Only Child Syndrome a Myth† news. discovery. com (2010): n. page Web. 4 of April 2012 Van Volkom, Michel , Machiz, Carly and Reich, Ashley E. â€Å"Sibling Relationship in College years† North American Journal of Psychology; 2011, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p35-50, 16p, 1 Chart, Web. 11 of April 2012

BA Applied Psychology

All of us have different journeys in life. We have different hopes and dreams that we cling on to motivate us strive hard to mark the goal. As a woman, I am fond of children and different kinds of personalities. I am just amazed how God create these people with different persona. They inspire me a lot. The children’s different personalities, simplicity and innocence are truly admirable. I look at them as special gifts from God that needs to be taken care of since they are also the hopes of our tomorrow.We should train them to where they should go and when they are old, they will not depart from it. Training these children with good values and morals in an early age really help them to be better citizens of our country. Moreover, the time has come to me when it is my turn to have mine. Life would not be as happy as today when I am able to have my own child. It is a great fulfillment in my part as a woman and as a person who loves children very dearly. God gives me a son on June 1, 2006 and he is 14 months old now.His ways really brought joy to me and I can say that as small as he is, his personality is totally one of a kind. Seeing him growing everyday makes my heart grow fonder. I just love being a mother and showing care to this tiny gift totally brought joy to my life. I have many plans for him and one of these plans is to use my education in psychology to raise him well as an individual. Beforehand, I am teaching piano lessons to different age groups. I am privilege to teach many children as well as adults and I love seeing all of their different personalities.Some of them are inclined to music and some are not. Some are fast learners; some are not. In every individual I meet, while teaching piano lessons, it just proves that people have different personalities and it interest me to know more about it. This interest in knowing different personalities more motivates me to study BA in Applied Psychology. In addition to this, I strongly believe that BA i n Applied Psychology will help me more efficient and equip in my field since I am currently working on a Bachelor’s in Social Work degree.

Book Review over Failure is not an Option by Alan M. Blankstein Essay

Book Review over Failure is not an Option by Alan M. Blankstein - Essay Example Alan M. Blankstein has made use of different case studies and vignettes so as to ensure there is enough room for maneuvering the topic and to bring industry insights into the equation nonetheless. On his part, he has also guaranteed the use of significant resources which provide for the practical solutions in the wake of the underlying challenges and problems that may so arise from time to time. Effective school reforms are credited to be made successful only if there is leadership within the school regime and complete interaction at the level of professional learning communities. Thus the two form at the hub of effective school platforms for the basis of reforms and thus in all essence, puts forward six different perspectives or more commonly known as the guiding basis which help and facilitate their due role at creating and eventually maintaining the high performing schools. The six principles comprise of a common mission with attached vision, values, goals and objectives. Secondly, there is emphasis on the fact that there must be a definitive system for prevention as well as intervention at all times. Then there is the need for forming up collaborative teams so that the same could enable teaching and learning no matter what level the high performing schools are, within their respective domains. Another principle is to have data driven decision making within the relevant quarters as well as continuous improvement throughout the whole system. Active engagement and proper role of family as well as that of community is indeed of much significance here and the final point is in building up of sustainable capacity which could play its due part in the wake of leadership no matter how trying or difficult the circumstances are. These six principles thus form the core basis for students who can achieve just about anything which comes under the heading of success in the

Racism in Yoshiko Uchidas Desert Exile and Anne Moodys Coming of Age Essay

Racism in Yoshiko Uchidas Desert Exile and Anne Moodys Coming of Age in Mississippi - Essay Example In Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi, the author presents experiences of racism as not limited to a white to black affair, but also a black-to-black affair. According to the author, whites discriminate blacks in Mississippi. To add salt to the injury, the author also points out that some blacks who are light skinned also look down upon fellow blacks that are not light skinned. Dark-skinned blacks suffer more compared to light-skinned blacks in a complex scenario of blacks discriminating against fellow blacks. For instance, Miss Pearl looks down upon Toosweet, as she is much darker than the Raymond’s family. Ann observes that â€Å"Miss Pearl and Raymond’s older sister would pass right by her without saying anything and Mama would be so hurt (Moody 49)†. Anne’s perception of the lighter skinned blacks also comes out that they see themselves as of a socially higher class than the rest of their fellow blacks. Legally, they enjoy to privileges that a re in any way different from the rest of the black community. That points out to some sort of disunity at that particular historical time. Some children innocently respond to racism with an attempt too physically examine the claimed superiority from white children with whom they play. Children are subjected to racial discrimination despite the fact that they do not know anything. The author mentions heard public arguments that blacks were inferior to whites genetically. Innocently, Anne had the white children remove their clothes so that she would examine them to confirm or disconfirm the claim (Moody 34). The incident demonstrates the racial institutionalization and indoctrinated into children’s minds. From a very young age, children are already growing up with negative connotations of race. Mrs. Burke comes out as an example of whites who discriminated against blacks including making false allegations against blacks. Anne responds by

Cary Grant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cary Grant - Essay Example He worked tirelessly and with great determination in ensuring that, the US authorities adopted fair economic and social integration practices. Cary Grant who was a comedian of the 30s was a renowned English actor and film producer. He exhibited great knowledge of acting and film production that facilitated his career. He had a great profession that was characterized with excellent activities and negotiation practices. The negotiations were set to aid the realization of favorable economic performance and social integration in US. This was critical since monetary and social integration are fundamental elements that drive success in various societal setting. Consequently, Cary Grant is under consideration as one of the classic Hollywood star and a leading actor. He used his leadership capacity and skills to influence decision making on policies with an aim of empowering individuals. He is credited for producing educative and informative comedy plays that held immense relevance in facili tating social and economic integration. His strong persona enabled him to provide transformative information that is socially relevant and culturally acceptable. The information he conveyed through comedy work helped in transforming US into a modern state where individual’s rights were respected. His best films that hold immense relevance in transforming individuals’ character setting include the awful truth, bringing up baby, and catch a thief. The comedy films had social and financial information in their content. This was to, assist in passing critical information to help in the development of an amicable solution to the evident absurdities that the people of US were facing. Evidently, his works were instrumental especially when the US was facing economic depression during the screwball period. The period exposed the nation to high unemployment rate and homelessness. This paper gives an essay on the politics of Cary grant, how his persona was established, screen per sona and great comic films. What is so funny Cary Grant Cary Grant had unique speaking skills that explain his undisputable eloquent and fun as evident in his works. His eloquent capacity had great contribution in the establishment of his persona as a star by the end of 30s. He had strong elements of elegance, charm, humor and resourcefulness. These elements made him a great and influential actor that is comparable to a politician (Britton, 1986, P, 36). This enabled him to gain the political persona despite being an actor and playmaker. Consequently, the eloquence, openness and charming nature facilitated fun in his works that are highly comical. How grant persona was developed As noted Cary Grant was, an actor with a strong strength of character who made a huge contribution in providing solutions to the screwball complications that threatened to paralyze economic and social performance in the US. The development of the actor’s strong strength of character was evident from h is childhood. He acted responsibly and with determination to ensure that, his ideological mission was under fulfillment (Britton & Grant, 2008, P, 9). The actor provided viable ideological tenets that facilitated liberation in the nation and creation of a unified industry. His noble actions led to the improved social integration and understanding. Cary realized his national mission as he participated as an actor in Hollywood. He identified his influential capacity and the ability to unite people through acting. Ideally, he capitalized on his charming nature, tolerance, elegance, sense of humor and resourcefulness. The elements enabled him to relay essential information that had immense contribution in advancing unity and economic integration. According to Britton & Grant (2008), various stakeholders had

Contemporary Benefits Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Contemporary Benefits Issue - Research Paper Example Sims (2007) highlighted that providing benefits in todays economy is a great challenge for the employers owing to the changing demographic and cost trends. Discussing about the most contemporary and dynamic compensation and benefit issues in the current decade, Sims (2007) highlighted changes in pension benefits, flexible benefits and healthcare costs and coverage as the most contemporary ones. In this paper, healthcare cost and coverage is the focus of attention as a contemporary benefits issue for employers. The paper analyses why and how offering health benefit is a major challenge for employers today and highlights the major components of this challenge. It also presents the implications of this challenge for the employers and discusses the possible future of this issue. Health benefits, according to Sims (2007, p. 467) grab the most attention of the employers today. Employees are also becoming more and more aware of health cover offered by the employers and demand it to be a part of their compensation package. Yet offering health benefits is challenging because of several accompanying issues such as the decisions on the premium rate (individual or group rate), employee contribution in premium, health cover for family, types of diseases covered, and the cover range (reimbursement of prescription drugs receipts, hospital fees etc.). Out of all the reasons, the main reason why health benefits poses a major challenge for the employers is because of the high cost of offering health insurance to the employees as stated by Sims (2007, p. 456) ‘the average cost of employer health plans continue to raise at a double-digit pace.† In addition to this, due to increased cost of living and increasing health problems employees have become conscious and demand health benefits to be a part of their compensation package. This increased concern of employees to receive health benefits in their jobs has made it difficult for the employers to

The Resilience of Affirmative Action and Its Still Relevant Today Research Paper

The Resilience of Affirmative Action and Its Still Relevant Today - Research Paper Example Various executive officials curtailed the enforcement of racial equality. Various government agencies, universities and corporations curtailed racial diversity. During this period, affirmative action grew stronger and more resilient. Affirmative action was shaped by a combination of normative and coercive factors within academic institutions. Universities emphasized the need for racial diversity and equality within their institutions. Civil rights activists and diversity professionals have contributed heavily to the creation and implementation of frameworks that courts later implemented. The growth of affirmative action was countered by the rise in racial conservatism. The achievement of civil rights movements led to the institutionalization of equality in large organizations. Most universities began to implement affirmative action policies voluntarily in order to create racial equality and counter social segregation. Post-secondary education treats white, black and Hispanic students differently, leading to racial inequality within institutions and the wastage of talent (Lipson, 2014). Scholars have developed theories to explain policy development over the years. Coercive isomorphism emphasizes the influence of external interests on the operations of some institutions. The approach defines bureaucratic institutions as easily influenced by organized interest groups. Another approach emphasizes the influence of law and envisions institutions as complying with legal reforms and judicial decisions. The structure of political institutions and historical contingent political processes has a crucial role in shaping policy development. Another approach states that policy development can be attributed to both voluntary and coerced approaches. The neoinstitutional theory emphasizes the need to evolve organizational policies and practices in order to apply

Information Systems in Banks Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7500 words

Information Systems in Banks - Coursework Example The failure of the projects is only due to mismanagement of information systems. They recommended revising the system for companies' betterment. This research has been carried out as a project management task that mostly concentrates on information systems primarily focusing on banks. After going through the literature it has been noticed out that, though whole process is getting segmented in some of the approach for making the project more efficient but, due to inadequate flow between the sections and improper mapping total outcome is not coming satisfactory. Here, one business process model is proposed that can be implemented in finance companies for transactions easiness, efficient account handling and providing a common framework worldwide. One flow chart is also provided stating how simple transaction can take place with the proposed model. Finally, it is concluded with the theme, let information system can be maximally utilized into industries and we are in a position to cross another milestone. The future scope of this research can be developing another model which will incorporate many other constraints that have not been used here only due to tool unavailability. The main purpose of this research is to seek for the barriers that usage of Information System (IS) in industry like bank, construction etc are facing and analyze the applicability of project management approach to them. Land (2004) defined information system as system which aims to store and manage information. Informatization is a process of minimizing cultural and economic barriers by information and communication technology after proper transforming its economic and social relationships (Kluver, 2000). Informatization of a company results into reduction of total cost and this key knowledge has increased the possibility of organizations to use IT. Back and Moreau (2000) showed that the potential benefits of information management only can be fully maximized by making possible the information exchange throughout the organization and also across all its boundaries if it has any. For this reason, integration and preservation of project information is a vital thing. Due to the rapid change in business to make the company more flexible, a methodology is needed which can permit planning, analysis and redesign of a process after taking into account of the available technology and resources. In this report, role of IT in industry and their effectiveness in the growth of an organization are described. As Price System noticed that

John F. Kennedy and Hillary Rodham Clinton Essay

John F. Kennedy and Hillary Rodham Clinton - Essay Example Perhaps the most popular statement echoing the core principle of American democracy was spoken by Kennedy himself during his inaugural address: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." (Kennedy) First and foremost, what is democracy The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines it to be "direct participation of the members of a society in deciding on the laws and policies of the society or it may involve the participation of those members in selecting representatives to make the decisions" (Christiano). As such, Kennedy's statement was a call for the active participation of the citizenry. Similarly, one of Clinton's most notable and memorable quotes throughout her political career echoes this same sentiment: "Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process." (HillaryClintonQuotes) John F. Kennedy, more commonly known as Jack, was not immediately attracted to a life of politics albeit growing up with a highly political family. In a biography by Robert Dallek, Kennedy had been credited for saying, "I never thought at school or college that I would ever run for office myself. . . . I hadn't considered myself a political type, and [it was my brother that] filled all the requirements for political success." (Dallek 117) The Kennedys were rather well known in the arena of politics, and their heritage of Democrats dates back generations. On the other hand, Hillary Rodham Clinton had always been interested in a life of politics. She proclaims, "I was interested in politics from an early age, and I loved to hone my debating skills with my friends. . . I ran for student council and junior class Vice President. I was also an active Young Republican" (Clinton 21). She had indeed begun her political awareness with the influence of her father who was an extremist Republican, but Clinton had eventually developed her own opinions at Wellesley College as she had participated in many political-flavored events. By graduation, she had become a full-fledged Democrat. Though Kennedy had more opportunity to provide service and leadership to the United States because he was elected President, Clinton likewise had her fair share of responsibility as First Lady. It is apparent from their respective stays in the White House, however, that their styles of governance are of different quality. Kennedy was ultimately very anti-communist, while Clinton had subscribed to certain socialist strategies with regard to capitalism. One of the most apparent differences between Clinton and Kennedy is that the latter was loved by most, while Clinton had always been and remains to be controversial in the eyes of many. She is most remembered and criticized for the demeanor with which she had handled her husband's adulterous affair at the Oval Office and her confrontational, no-nonsense attitude. Her political career has been tainted with rumor and gossip. Conversely, it is only admiration and almost veneration that people feel for Kennedy. While Clinton lacks in charm and appeal, Kennedy is

Marks ; Spencer Group Anaylsis Essay Example for Free

Marks ; Spencer Group Anaylsis Essay Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 2 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company Overview COMPANY OVERVIEW Marks and Spencer Group (MS or the company) is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK. The company operates in more than 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is headquar tered in London, the UK and employs 78,169 people. The company recorded revenues of ? 9,740. 3 million (approximately $15,158. 8 million) in the financial year ended April 2011 (FY2011)*, an increase of 2. 1% over FY2010. The operating profit of MS was ? 836. million (approximately $1,302. 5 million) in FY2011, a decrease of 1. 8% compared to FY2010. The net profit was ? 612 million (approximately $952. 5 million) in FY2011, an increase of 16. 3% over FY2010. *The financial year ended April 2, 2011 was a 52-week period whereas the financial year ended April 3, 2010 was a 53-week period. KEY FACTS Head Office Marks and Spencer Group plc Waterside House 35 Nor th Wharf Road London W2 1NW GBR Phone 44 20 7935 4422 Fax Web Address http://www. marksandspencer. com Revenue / turnover 9,740. 3 (GBP Mn) Financial Year End April Employees 78,169 London Ticker MKS Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 3 Marks and Spencer Group plc Business Description BUSINESS DESCRIPTION MS is the holding company of the Marks Spencer Group of companies. The company is one of the UK’s leading retailers, with more than 21 million people visiting its stores each week. MS offers clothing and home products, as well as foods, sourced from about 2,000 suppliers globally. It operates through both wholly owned stores and franchise stores. As of FY2011, the company operated 703 stores in the UK. MS operates over 361 owned and franchised stores in over 42 territories. Though the company primarily repor ts its revenues in terms of geographic segments (UK and international), its operations can be categorized under two divisions: food and general merchandise. The food division concentrates on four main areas: fresh, natural, healthy food; special celebration products; authentic ready meal ranges; and exceptional ever yday food such as Oakham chicken. It operates a chain of 163 Simply Food owned stores and 202 Simply Food franchise stores in high streets, motorway service stations, railway stations and air por ts in the UK. The general merchandise division of the company is categorized into two segments: clothing and home. The clothing segment offers womens wear, mens wear, lingerie, childrens wear, and accessories and footwear. Some of the prominent brands offered by this segment include Autograph, Limited Collection, Collezione, Blue Harbour, Girls Boutique, Per Una, Ceriso, Adored, and Truly you. The home segment offers homeware and home accessories, kitchen and tableware, lighting, and furniture products. In addition to selling products through regular stores, the segment also offers catalogue services. M;S offers its products and services online as well as through flagship stores, high street stores, retail park stores, M;S outlets, Simply Food stores, and Simply Food franchised stores. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 4 Marks and Spencer Group plc History HISTORY M;S was founded in 1884 as a stall in an open market in Leeds, the UK. Then known as Marks Penny Bazaar, it was the household goods, haberdasher y, toy, and sheet-music business of Michael Marks, a Jewish refugee from Poland. In 1894, he took Thomas Spencer as a business par tner. In 1903, MS was registered as a private limited company. Although a clothing design depar tment had first been set up in 1938, it was not until after the Second World War that it became fully developed under a leading designer. In 1973, the company entered Canada, and bought Peoples Depar tment Stores and DAllairds, a national womens wear retailer, both of which it later sold. The company also had direct retailing investments in Canada. It tried to move south of the border in 1988 with the purchase of Brooks Brothers, but the US operation never took off as the company had hoped. Five franchised stores were closed down in Turkey in 1999 when the franchise par tner Turk Petrol Holding couldnt meet its bank obligations and collapsed. Later in the year, Marks and Spencer Canada, after 25 years of business, closed its 38 stores. The company sold its US clothing chain Brooks Brothers for $225 million in 2001. In 2003, MS announced the launch of its more credit card. Alongside this, Marks Spencer Financial Services was re-branded Marks Spencer Money. In 2004, MS completed the sale of Marks Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings (MS Money) to HSBC. During the course of 2005, the company opened 31 Simply Food stores as well as closed the Lifestore project in the UK. MS expanded the Simply Food format with the acquisition of 28 stores on a leasehold basis from Iceland Foods for a consideration of ? 38 million (approximately $76. 3 million) in 2006. In the same year, MS sold Kings Super Markets, its only non-MS branded business to a US investor group consisting of Angelo, Gordon Co, MTN Capital Par tners and Mr. Bruce Weitz for $61. 5 million in cash. In 2007, MS and two of its long-term suppliers decided to star t the development of MS first eco-factories, pioneering innovative methods of sustainable manufacturing. One factor y in Sri Lanka would make lingerie and two factories in Nor th Wales would manufacture furniture upholster y. In the same year, the company launched its own branded LCD widescreen TVs. This range was in addition to the existing collection of Sony TVs currently available at M;S. Fur ther in the year, M;S launched school wear made from recycled plastic bottles. The companys first standalone home store in Lisburn, Nor thern Ireland was launched in 2007. In the same year, MS launched Big Tall, an exclusive online mens wear offering more than 450 items online ranging from tailoring to knitwear to casual shir ts and trousers. Also in 2007, M;S reduced saturated fat level as much as 82% in more than 500 companys products. The company reduced saturated fat levels in products including sandwiches, ready meals, crisps and savor y snacks. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 5 Marks and Spencer Group plc History Towards the end of 2007, a new Made to Measure shir ts ser vice was launched by MS, which allowed customers to design a tailor-made shir t within 21 days. The company added new products to its mens wear por tfolio in FY2008. M;S also launched climate control underwear featuring temperature regulating technology developed by NASA, expanded Collezione brand collection by introducing new shoes, wool and cashmere mix trousers. M;S reinvigorated its Blue Harbour brand to attract 35 to 44 year old men. Also in FY2008, the company star ted to freeze its ready meals for international sale and launched a range of 70 lines in eight countries. Later, the company also launched a 25-piece capsule collection called GD25 from Per Una. In 2008, M;S removed ar tificial colors and flavorings from its entire food and soft drinks range. In the same year, the company improved the quantity of space in a number of major out of towns and city centre stores through store extensions and also added 35 stores to its Simply Food por tfolio, including 25 BP franchised stores. A new flagship store in new Westfield Centre at White City, West London was opened at the end of 2008. To fur ther progress in Asian markets, the company opened its first 38,000 square feet store in Shanghai. M;S then entered into a par tnership with Scottish and Southern Energy, as per which M;S Energy would supply electricity and gas to domestic customers and reward them with M;S store vouchers for helping the environment by reducing their energy usage. M;S announced plans to close 10 of its Simply Food stores in 2009. The company opened Food to Go outlets in Hong Kong in the same year. Also in 2009, M;S announced plans to enter new categories in the Indian market, with the launch of luggage and footwear for men. The company introduced a Ramadan and Eid fashion collection in all the 13 stores throughout the Middle East in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in 2009. Fur ther in the year, M;S launched personalized greetings cards business online. The company also announced to open its second mainland store in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China. M;S also launched a beer and cider range to complement its wine selection. M;S launched a revamped version of its website in 2009, the first major update since 2007. Fur thermore, in 2009, the company began to offer its online international deliver y service to 73 more countries as par t of a drive to grow annual sales of M;S Direct. The company began its offering within the homeware sector in 2009. M;S announced plans to open a store in Marbella, Spain by the end of 2009. In the same year, M;S and India-based Reliance Retail planned to open approximately 50 stores in India in the following five years under the banner of their joint venture company Marks ; Spencer Reliance India. Later in the year, the company outlined plans to cut costs by ? 50 million (about $150 million) by optimizing its supply chain and IT systems. M;S also announced plans to open a new store at the Swords Pavilions shopping center in the Dublin Airpor t, Ireland, in 2009. The company opened its new 22,000 square feet store at Morpeths Sanderson Arcade in the same year. MS decided to launch Simply Food in Western Europe. Fur ther in 2009, the company announced plans to sell a selected range of around 400 branded grocery and household products in all of its UK stores, following a 16-month trial in its stores in the Nor th East and South East of England. In 2010, MS launched a new Home Energy Service division that would offer customers a suite of energy efficiency products and services. Building on the success of MS Energy, which was servicing Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 6 Marks and Spencer Group plc History over 125,000 homes, the company would roll-out a number of new products including bespoke energy advice, renewable energy solutions such as solar panels and heat pumps, and energy efficient heating solutions. In the same year, MS announced a program to be the worlds most sustainable retailer by 2015, launching 80 major new commitments under M;S eco and ethical plan, Plan A. The new commitments will mean that the company ensures all MS products become Plan A products with at least one sustainable quality. This program will also enable the companys 2,000 suppliers to adopt Plan A best practice and encourage M;S customers and employees to live greener lifestyles. Fur ther in 2010, M;S launched a new version of www. marksandspencer. om designed specifically for use on mobile phones and mobile devices—the first mobile site from a major UK high street retailer. Through this, the company aims to expand its multi-channel offering. During the same year, M;S launched England Football team suit exclusively in M;S stores, to take advantage of the football World cup spending. The company opened its new 1. 1 million square feet distribution centre at ProLogis Park Bradford in the UK in 2010. Thi s warehouse in the UK will serve all the companys stores with furniture products and store equipment. Later in 2010, MS launched a range of Solar PV and Solar Thermal water heating solutions. Fur thering the sustainability initiatives, the company also announced that it will use polyester made from recycled PET drinks bottles instead of virgin polymer to make more than 300 million clothing care labels a year. Towards the end of 2010, MS announced plans to move into rail distribution to reduce its carbon footprint. More than 300,000 general merchandise products per week would move from road to rail distribution. The company also opened a new shopping center in Vilnius, Lithuania at the end of year. In April 2011, MS opened its greenest ever store at Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. This is the first store of a number of new Sustainable Learning stores planned by the company as par t of its drive to become the worlds most sustainable major retailer by 2015. The company opened 20 stores in the UK during FY2011, including 17 Simply Foods. In international, M;S opened 49 new stores and closed 15 stores. During the same period, the company entered the Egyptian market with a 28,000 square feet store in the Dandy Mega Mall in Cairo. The company, in July 2011, launched a new iPad application for its investors. This application will provide investors with latest M;S financial news. In the following month, M;S signed a traceability deal with Historic Futures. As per the deal, Historic Futures will provide the company full traceability on ever y single clothing and home product it sells. M;S is the first major retailer to commit to full traceability for non-food products. In September 2011, M;S opened a new store at Westfield, Stratford City with the latest ‘Only at Your M;S innovations and customer experiences. In the following month, MS launched its new French website, http://www. marksandspencer. fr/, marking its first international transactional website. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 7 Marks and Spencer Group plc History The company, in November 2011, opened its new flagship store at 100 Avenue des Champs-elysees in Paris. MS, in February 2012, launched its outlet format on its website at www. marksandspencer. com/outlet. MS Outlet will permanently offer a selection of more than 1,300 quality MS clothing products with up to 40% off the regular high street and online prices. In the same month, the company recalled four products (Crispy Prawn Wonton, Crispy Vegetable Balls, Prawn Baguette Toast, and Prawn Siu Mai Selection) from its Chinese range due to mistake in ‘use by’ date. In March 2012, the company, announced plans to launch a new website for its Irish customers, http://www. marksandspencer. ie/. In April 2012, MS announced that it will accept secondhand clothes at UK outlets in order to recycle into other fabrics or reuse overseas by the Oxfam charity in an aim to cut waste. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 8 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employees KEY EMPLOYEES Name Job Title Board Marc Bolland Chief Executive Officer Executive Board 975000 GBP Alan Stewar t Chief Finance Officer Executive Board 550000 GBP Kate Bostock Executive Director, General Merchandise Executive Board 590000 GBP John Dixon Executive Director, Food Executive Board 540000 GBP Steven Sharp Executive Director, Marketing Executive Board 655000 GBP Laura Wade-Gery Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce Executive Board Amanda Mellor Group Secretar y and Head of Corporate Governance Executive Board Rober t Swannell Chairman of the Board Non Executive Board Vindi Banga Director Non Executive Board Miranda Cur tis Director Non Executive Board Jeremy Darroch Director Non Executive Board 85000 GBP Steven Holliday Director Non Executive Board 85000 GBP Mar tha Lane Fox Director Non Executive Board 70000 GBP Jan du Plessis Director Non Executive Board 70000 GBP Clem Constantine Director, Proper ty Senior Management Tanith Dodge Director, Human Resources Senior Management Dominic Fr y Director, Communications and Investor Relations Senior Management Jan Heere Director, International Senior Management Nayna McIntosh Director, Store Marketing and Design Senior Management Steve Rowe Director, Retail Senior Management Darrell Stein Director, Information Technology and Logistics Senior Management Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Compensation 450000 GBP Page 9 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies KEY EMPLOYEE BIOGRAPHIES Marc Bolland Board: Executive Board Job Title: Chief Executive Officer Since: 2010 Mr. Bolland has been the Chief Executive Officer at Marks and Spencer Group since 2010. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Morrisons Supermarkets from 2006 to 2010. Prior to this, Mr. Bolland worked at Heineken for 20 years in various management roles, including Executive Board member and Chief Operating Officer, and responsibility for operations and business development in the US, France, Italy, Spain, the Caribbean and Latin America. He also ser ves as a Director at Manpower. Alan Stewart Board: Executive Board Job Title: Chief Finance Officer Since: 2010 Mr. Stewar t has been the Chief Finance Officer at Marks and Spencer Group since 2010. Before joining the company, he was the Chief Financial Officer at AWAS, an aircraft leasing company. Mr. Stewar t spent 10 years at HSBC Investment Bank before joining Thomas Cook in 1996, where he held various senior roles, including Chief Executive at Thomas Cook UK. Mr. Stewar t joined WH Smith in 2005 as Group Finance Director. He also ser ved as a Non Executive Director at Games Workshop Group. Kate Bostock Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, General Merchandise Ms. Bostock is the Executive Director of General Merchandise at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2004. Previously, Ms. Bostock was the Product Director for Childrenswear at Next from 1994. She also ser ved as the Product Director for the George brand covering all areas of clothing and footwear at Asda. John Dixon Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Food Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 10 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Since: 2009 Mr. Dixon has been the Executive Director of Food at Marks and Spencer Group since 2009. He joined the company as a Store Management Trainee. Mr. Dixon held various senior roles at the company for over 20 years, including Executive Assistant, Chief Executive, and Director of Home and MS Direct. Steven Sharp Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Marketing Mr. Sharp is the Executive Director of Marketing at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2004. Previously, Mr. Shar p served as the Marketing Director at Asda, the Bur ton Group, Booker, and Arcadia Group. Currently, he is a Non Executive Director at Adnams. Laura Wade-Gery Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce Since: 2011 Ms. Wade-Gery has been the Executive Director of Multi-channel E-commerce at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. Prior to this, she worked at Tesco and held a variety of senior roles, including Chief Executive Officer of Tesco. com and Tesco Direct. Ms. Wade-Ger y also held various roles at Gemini Consulting and Kleinwor t Benson. She has also been a Non Executive Director at Trinity Mirror since 2006. Amanda Mellor Board: Executive Board Job Title: Group Secretary and Head of Corporate Governance Ms. Mellor is the Group Secretary and Head of Cor porate Governance at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2004 as the Head of Investor Relations. Ms. Mellor spent her early career in investment management at James Capel before becoming a Director within its Corporate Finance team. She then served at Rober t Fleming, Investment Banking prior to joining The Bur ton Group as the Director of Cor porate Relations and Investor Relations. Robert Swannell Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Chairman of the Board Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 11 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Since: 2011 Mr. Swannell has been the Chairman of the Board at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. He joined the company in 2010 as a Non Executive Director. Prior to this, Mr. Swannell was a Senior Independent Director at The British Land Company, and 3i Group. He spent over 30 years in investment banking at Schroders/Citigroup. Mr. Swannell was previously the Vice Chairman at Citi Europe and Co-Chairman at Citis European Investment Bank. Vindi Banga Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2011 Mr. Banga has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. He is currently a Par tner at Clayton Dubilier ; Rice, a private equity investment firm. Prior to this, Mr. Banga spent 33 years at Unilever, where he held several senior positions, including President of the Global Foods, Home and Personal Care businesses, and was a member of the Unilever Executive Board. He also serves as a Non Executive Director at Thomson Reuters and Maruti Suzuki India. Miranda Curtis Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2012 Ms. Cur tis has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since February 2012. She is currently the Chairman at Waterstones, and a Non Executive Director at Liber ty Global. Ms. Cur tis has also been a Non Executive Director at National Express Group since 2008. She also serves on the Boards of the Institute for Government, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Camfed (the leading African girls’ education charity). Jeremy Darroch Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2006 Mr. Darroch has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2006. He also ser ves as the Chief Executive at British Sky Broadcasting. Previously, Mr. Darroch ser ved as the Chief Financial Officer at British Sky Broadcasting. Prior to this, he was the Group Finance Director and Retail Finance Director at Dixons Retail (formerly DSG International). Marks and Spencer Group plc MarketLine Page 12 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Steven Holliday Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2004 Mr. Holliday has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2004. He is the Group Chief Executive Officer at National Grid. Prior to that, Mr. Holliday served as the Director of UK and Europe and was responsible for the UK Elect ricity and Gas businesses. He is also the Chairman of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Prior to joining National Grid, Mr. Holliday was an Executive Director at British Borneo Oil and Gas. Previously, he held several senior positions at Exxon Group. Martha Lane Fox Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2007 Ms. Fox has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2007. She is the UK’s Digital Champion, the Chairman of Race Online 2012, and a Non Executive Director at Channel 4 Television. Ms. Fox is founder and Chairman of Lucky Voice, and of her own grant-giving foundation, Antigone. She was co-founder of lastminute. com. Jan du Plessis Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2008 Mr. du Plessis has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008. He is the Chairman at Rio Tinto. Previously, Mr. du Plessis was the Chairman at British American Tobacco and a Non Executive Director at Lloyds Banking Group. He also ser ved as the Chairman at RHM from 2005 to 2007. Mr. du Plessis was previously the Group Finance Director at Richemont, a position he held until 2004. Clem Constantine Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Proper ty Mr. Constantine is the Director, Proper ty at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2006. Mr. Constantine was appointed the Group Proper ty and Retail Planning Director at Arcadia Group in 1999. He was appointed to his first finance directorship in 1993, for the IS brand at the Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 13 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Bur ton Group, and moved through several other finance directorships with variable responsibilities including systems and retail. Mr. Constantine was trained as a Char tered Accountant at Stoy Hayward, and joined Debenhams in 1989 as a Financial Analyst. Tanith Dodge Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Human Resources Since: 2008 Ms. Dodge has been the Director, Human Resources at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008. She was formerly the Group Human Resources Director at WH Smith since 2003. At WH Smith, Ms. Dodge was also responsible for Public Relations, Communications and Post Office Operations. Prior to this, she was the Senior Vice President Human Resources for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at InterContinental Hotels Group. Ms. Dodge also served as the Human Resources Director at Diageos two business divisions. She was also the International Human Resources Manager at Prudential Corporation. Dominic Fry Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Communications and Investor Relations Mr. Fry is the Director, Communications and Investor Relations at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2009. Prior to this, Mr. Fr y ser ved at Tulchan Communications. In 1996, he was appointed the Communications Director at J Sainsbury and ser ved in the same role at ScottishPower from 2000 to 2005. In 1989, Mr. Fr y became the Communications Director at ATT in the UK before moving from there to head up communications at the Channel Tunnel in the mid 90s. He star ted his career in 1982 working in PR consultancy at Traverse-Healy ; Regester and then Charles Barker. Jan Heere Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, International Since: 2011 Mr. Heere has been the Director, International at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. He joined Inditex in 2002 where he held a several international roles, most recently as General Manager for Inditex Russia. During 2000–02, Mr. Heere held various senior management roles at Zara, Groupo Inmobiliario Lupaco, and Charanga. He began his career at Manpower in Spain in 1997. Nayna McIntosh Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 14 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Store Marketing and Design Ms. McIntosh is the Director, Store Marketing and Design at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2005. Prior to this, Ms. McIntosh was par t of the Management Team that set up the per una brand in 2001. Previously, she served as the Sales and Marketing Director for the George brand at Asda stores. Before joining George, Ms. McIntosh was at Next for four years as a Divisional Executive for the South of England. Steve Rowe Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Retail Since: 2008 Mr. Rowe has been the Director, Retail at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008. He joined the company in 1989 and held a variety of positions in store management, having previously worked at Topshop as a Store Manager. Mr. Rowe joined Head Office in 1992 as a Merchandiser for Menswear. In 1998, he was promoted to Category Manager in the Furniture Depar tment. In 2001, Mr. Rowe led the team developing the Home Growth Strategy, working with McKinsey Consultants, and became Head of Home categories in 2003. He was promoted to the Director of Home a year later in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Rowe was also responsible for Beauty and New Business Development. Darrell Stein Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Information Technology and Logistics Mr. Stein is the Director, Information Technology and Logistics at Marks and Spencer Group. He has been working in IT for 17 years star ting his career at the company in 1990. Mr. Stein re-joined M;S in 2006 as the IT Director. From 2001 to 2006, he ser ved at Vodafone, becoming IT Director for Vodafone UK in 2004. Prior to this, Mr. Stein was Vodafones UK Network Director and Global IT Strategy and Architecture Director. From 1996 to 2001, he ser ved at Ernst Young, leading a number of major IT and Change Programmes in the financial services, retail and utility sectors. In 1994, Mr. Stein joined Mars as a Project Manager. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 15 Marks and Spencer Group plc Major Products and Services MAJOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MS is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK. The companys key products and services include the following: Products: Womens wear Mens wear Lingerie Childrens wear Footwear Food and grocery items Homeware and home accessories Kitchen and tableware Lighting Furniture products Services: Credit cards Car, home, travel, and pet insurance Personal loans Brands: Autograph Limited Collection Collezione Blue Harbour Girls Boutique Per Una Ceriso Adored Truly you Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 16 Marks and Spencer Group plc Revenue Analysis REVENUE ANALYSIS Overview The company recorded revenues of ? 9,740. 3 million (approximately $15,158. 8 million) in FY2011, an increase of 2. 1% over FY2010. For FY2011, the UK, the companys largest geographic market, accounted for 89. 7% of the total revenues. M;S generates revenues through two business divisions: food (51. 5%% of the total revenues in FY2011), and general merchandise (48. 5%). Revenues by division* During FY2011, the food division recorded revenues of ? 4,499. 4 million (approximately $7,002. 4 million), an increase of 1. 9% over FY2010. The general merchandise division recorded revenues of ? 4,233. 6 million (approximately $6,588. 8 million) in FY2011, an increase of 2% over FY2010. *The revenue breakdown by division is only for the revenues from the UK market. Revenues by geography The UK, M;S largest geographical market, accounted for 89. % of the total revenues in FY2011. Revenues from the UK reached ? 8,733 million (approximately $13,591. 2 million) in FY2011, an increase of 1. 9% over FY2010. International operations accounted for 10. 3% of the total revenues in FY2011. Revenues from international operations reached ? 1,007. 3 million (approximately $1,567. 7 million) in FY2011, an increase of 4% over FY2010. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 17 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis SWOT ANALYSIS MS is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK. The company has expanded its food product offering significantly in the recent years. New products launches, focus on expanding healthy products, promotions, and competitive prices are all helping the company attract customers in a highly competitive market. However, surge in shoplifting could negatively impact the cost structure for MS. Strengths Weaknesses Expanding food offering Strong market position in the clothing segment Geographical expansion to increase the addressable market and reduce vulnerability to mature UK market MS etched a highly effective CSR strategy MS legacy stores and systems are a ompetitive disadvantage Declining general merchandise division sales due to inadequate stocking Opportunities Threats Online channel continues to boom and will enable MS to boost revenues Focus on China and India can lead to expansion in two of the fastest growing markets Surge in shoplifting losses costs the retailers and customers Weak consumer spending in the UK Rising labor cost in the UK Strengths Expanded food offering The company has expanded its food product offering significantly in the recent years. In 2009, MS consistently highlighted it is cheaper than Waitrose on a basket of 1,200 items by about 2%. The company, in 2009, decided to invest in its margins in order to provide its customers better value. As a result of this, MS saw improved perceptions of value by its customers. The company, in FY2011, launched around 1,800 new products in food and positioned itself as the UK’s leading high quality food retailer. The key product launches of the company include Taste Italia, and Made Without Wheat range of gluten-free bread and cakes, With the success of Made Without Wheat product range, the company launched gluten-free sandwiches, sausages, stuffing, and crisp bakes. As of FY2011, the company offered 125 gluten-free products. MS also became the UK’s second largest favorite health food brand with the launch of its Simply Fuller Longer range which encourages customers to manage their weight with a menu plan. The gross margin of food division increased by 20 basis points to Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 18 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis 30. 8% in FY2011. This was mainly driven by better management of promotions and waste. Fur ther, in the four th quar ter of FY2012 ended March 2012, MS launched 500 new products in the food division. The sales in this quar ter increased by 3. 1%, The company’s promotions such as roast dinner for ? 5 ($7. 8), Dine In, etc offered its customers with great value solutions for special occasions. MS’ food division has been performing well in a ver y competitive market and against tough competitors. By launching innovative products and with an expanded food offering, the company has been able to attract the customers in a highly competitive market. Strong market position in the clothing segment MS has a strong market position in the clothing segment. With more than one in 10 clothing items bought from MS, the company ranks amongst the three largest clothing retailers in the UK. According to a repor t released by Verdict (Datamonitors retail arm) in May 2012, M;S is known for its product quality. The company was ranked first with a score of 49 for its product quality above the market average of 23. According to another repor t released by Verdict in April 2012, M;S enjoys highest conversion rate of 50. 7% and is very successful in conver ting visitors to loyal main users through its varied product offer, in-store service and garment quality. This indicates that M;S is a trustwor thy brand, which all main users would return to knowing that the quality, fit, and ser vice are reliable and consistent. The retailer has recognized that its core market of predominantly mature customers has been especially hard hit by rising core costs of living, falling interest on savings and worse prospects for pensions, and in reaction has lowered its entr y prices to compete more effectively with high street/value operators and supermarkets, helping to maintain the loyalty of its main users and prevent them from shopping elsewhere. Verdict, in its repor t in March 2012, ranked, M;S seventh in the global depar tment store market with a share of 3. 2%. This market leadership enabled M;S to excel throughout the economic downturn, while other mid-market retailers are pressured from the ever expanding value players. Leading market position indicates access to a large customer base and also popularity of M;S offering in the clothing segment. Going forward, this market position would enable the company to drive revenues as consumer spending recovers. Geographical expansion to increase the addressable market and reduce vulnerability to mature UK market With a por tfolio of over 361 owned and franchised stores in 42 territories MS continues to grow its international business. This mix of ownership models and countries enabled the company to perform well in FY2011, even when individual markets were weak. Fur ther, during FY2011, the company entered the Egyptian market with a 28,000 square feet store in the Dandy Mega Mall in Cairo. MS international business grew by 4% in FY2011 despite tough economic situation. As an established retailer in a mature market, it is going to be hard for M;S to continually deliver significant increases in UK sales. However, in the long run, its international business offers an oppor tunity for high growth. By generating much higher volumes, it can deliver margin benefits with suppliers. With production costs rising, this will be an advantage in the UK. International expansion will enable the company to access multiple sales points for most of the product ranges. This is especially relevant for clothing and homewares segments. Also, through expansion in the international markets M;S can reduce Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 19 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis vulnerability to mature UK market. The company can also par ticipate effectively in some of highest growing markets such as China and India. All these factors would enable the company to reduce the overall business risk and facilitate increased revenues. M;S etched a highly effective CSR strategy M;S has to its credit an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. CSR has been gaining prominence not just among the stake holders and governments but the consumers as well. The company has the highest propor tion of consumers believing it to be a responsible retailer and this can largely be attributed to the success of its Plan A, a ? 200 million (approximately $320. 3 million) 100-point plan launched in 2007 with five areas of focus: climate change, fair par tnership, health, sustainable raw materials, and waste. In FY2011, the company included two more areas in its Plan A: involving customers, and making Plan A how we do business. In the last few years, initiatives launched under the Plan A banner include launching the companys first eco-store, encouraging suppliers to set-up eco-factories, removing hydrogenated fats from its ready meals, increasing the propor tion of organic food, reducing the salt content of its produce, cer tifying a larger percentage of its fish as originating from sustainable populations, and beginning to sell recycling and composting bins. It is the high profile presence of Plan A in adver tising campaigns, product labeling and store signage that gives MS one of the best consumer perceptions of a retailer for social responsibility. The campaign works not just as a direct to consumer channel, but also because of the positive coverage it creates. Perhaps more impor tantly, it has publicized all of these initiatives extensively. In 2008, MS launched a TV adver tising campaign focusing on its ethical, environmental and health-conscious credentials, highlighting that it only uses free range eggs and that its products are now free from ar tificial colors and flavorings. Other, more innovative, ideas have included a joint venture with Oxfam to promote the recycling of old clothes. In addition, more controversially, the retailer introduced a 5p charge for carrier bags at all of its food depar tments in 2008. Though many consumers resented this charge, it has undoubtedly boosted MS reputation as an ethical retailer. Overall, sculpting its CSR strategy into such a high publicity campaign, divided into such clear action points and highly visible benefits, has seen the company move to the forefront of responsible retailing. In FY2011, the company launched Indigo Green, its first range of clothing made using more sustainable fabrics. In April 2012, the company announced to accept secondhand clothes at all the UK outlets except Simply Food stores, to recycle them into other fabrics or to reuse them in order to cut waste. Plan A has seen CSR become core to M;S principles in the eyes of the consumer and it has reaped the benefits of this, gaining shoppers as a result and repor tedly saving more than ? 70 million (approximately $108. 9 million) in efficiencies gained in FY2011 compared with ? 50 million (approximately $77. 8 million) in FY2010. In addition, MS improved energy efficiency in its stores by 23% and warehouses by 24% in FY2011 compared to FY2007. It also improved the fuel efficiency of its deliver y fleets by 20% and total carbon emissions have been reduced by 13%. The company now recycles 94% of all the waste it generates from its stores, offices and warehouses. The total waste is down by more than a third. MS also met its sustainable standards by sourcing 90% of wild fish in FY2011 (62% in FY2010) and 76% of wood in FY2011 (72% in FY2010). Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 20 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis By actively promoting a products greener attributes (for example fewer, more recognizable and natural ingredients), retailers such as M;S have positioned products as improving ones personal environment while benefiting the global environment too. Many of their successes have come from emphasizing the former rather than the latter, especially as consumers often associate ethics with a sense of wellbeing. In terms of the issues that concern consumers, the sustainability of natural resources is a major fear, as are climate change and the fairness of sourcing arrangements. Consumers are also attracted to products with health benefits and there is a clear trend that consumers can be persuaded to par t with more money in return for products with a positive impact, not just to them personally, but also to wider society. Indeed, differentiating between products becomes harder and harder to achieve, Verdict expects consumers to turn to auxiliary considerations such as ethicality and sustainability to guide their choices. Consumers are no longer purely satisfied with how a product looks and functions; they want assurances over aspects such as nvironmental impact, hygiene, safety, and fairness. In light of the above mentioned trends where the customer choices are increasingly guided by the sustainability issues, MS will benefit due to its reputation of being a responsible retailer. Weaknesses MS legacy stores and systems are a competitive disadvantage MS suffers some competitive disadvantages compared to Tesco, which has been able to drive earnings before int erest and tax (EBIT) growth even in the mature UK market. Tesco benefits from supplier power and state-of-the-ar t IT, supply chain and systems compared with MS legacy systems. The supermarket retailer has been able to break up the demand cur ve with metro, express and big box store formats out of town and on the high street. Moreover, Tesco stores have been carefully designed with consistent store layouts in order to facilitate store navigation. Extra back room store space has also been allocated to allow for smooth execution of its picking and distribution model. Tesco sells both own label and branded goods (food and non-food) in a bid to drive up footfall and sales conversion. MS legacy stores are inconsistent in terms of layout. Store size tends to dictate product availability, while a lack of back room store space does not facilitate the same style supermarket pick and delivery model. The legacy systems and stores of MS are constraining effective servicing of customer demands on a consistent basis. This is placing the company at a clear competitive disadvantage compared to a formidable opponent, Tesco. Declining general merchandise division sales due to inadequate stocking The company’s general merchandise division sales declined in recent times, MS’ general merchandise division sales decreased by 2. % in the four th quar ter of FY2012 ended March 2012. This was mainly due to shor tage of stock in its stores, Due to this, the company was also not able to meet customer demand for 300,000 knitwear garments under the MS Woman label. It only sold Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 21 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis 100,000 knitwear garments during this period. Fur ther, in times of high demand, inadequate stock could hamper the sales of the division and result in loss of sales to competitors. This not only affects the revenues of the company but could also result in shift of customers to its competitors. Opportunities Online channel continues to boom and will enable MS to boost revenues Online retail sales in the UK have grown significantly over a period of time. According to Office for National Statistics, non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value for internet retail sales in the UK was ? 414 million (approximately $644. 3 million) in Februar y 2010, this increased to ? 573. 6 million (approximately $892. 7 million) in February 2012, representing an increase of 18%. Internet sales accounted for only 8% of the total retail sales (excluding fuel) in Februar y 2010. This figure increased to 10. 7% in February 2012. The growing desire for convenience is seeing shoppers buy more online, especially in the category of food and grocery. Consumers have also become savvier, using the internet more to get the best deal they can. Voucher codes, and cashback sites have been instrumental in this. Additionally, improved deliver y and fulfillment options have been encouraging consumers to shop more online. The company operates in the internet channel through MS Direct where the products are offered through website and newly launched Shop Your Way facility, a new ordering service that has been rolled-out in 444 stores (including 151 in Simply Foods stores) during FY2011, allowing customers to place orders either in stores, online or over the phone, for deliver y to either a nominated address or free of charge to their nearest store. MS Direct’s sales increased from ? 413 million (approximately $642. 8 million) in FY2010 to ? 543 million (approximately $845. million) in FY2011, an increase of 31. 5%. Fur ther, in the first half of FY2012, MS Direct’s sales increased by 11. 7% with more than three million visitors per week. Thus, by leveraging its online presence, MS can cater to the requirements of a growing number of customers who are looking for convenience and better deals over the internet. Focus on China and India can lead to expansion in two of the fastest growing mar kets China and India are two economies which are recording highest growth rates which, in turn, are expected to aid the retail market growth in these two countries. Asias retail sales are estimated to increase with China driving the growth. According to the preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was CNY47,156. 4 billion ($7,285. 7 billion) in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 9. 2% at comparable prices. The fast pace economic development in China coupled with the rise of the middle class income group and their increasing disposable income have fur ther pushed up the demand for several consumer goods. According to National Bureau of Statistics of China, the total retail sales reached CNY18,391. 9 billion (approximately $2,841. billion) in 2011, representing a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 17. 1%. Fur ther, according to industr y estimates, the countr ys total retail sales are expected to increase from approximately CNY20 trillion ($3 trillion) in 2012 to approximately CNY26 trillion ($4 trillion) in 2016, representing an increase of about 30%. Strong Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 22 Marks and Spe ncer Group plc SWOT Analysis underlying economic trends, population growth and the increasing wealth of individuals are key factors that contribute to the retail market expansion in China. The retail industry in India is large owing to a large population and is set to grow as several factors contribute. According to the industry sources, the retail sales in India are forecast to grow from around $411 billion in 2011 to $804 billion by 2015. The key factors behind the forecast growth include strong underlying economic growth, population expansion, increasing wealth of individuals and the rapid construction of organized retail infrastructure. Also, as middle and upper class consumer base expands, there will also be oppor tunities in Indias second and third-tier cities. The greater availability of personal credit and a growing vehicle population are to improve mobility which will also contribute to a trend towards retail sales growth. M;S is strengthening presence in India and China as par t of its geographic expansion and for some time to come, these countries would be the key contributors to the companys international expansion strategies. The company in with par tnership with Reliance Retail, an established retailer in India, can tap into this lucrative market while expansion in China also continues. Indian and Chinese markets would provide a huge potential revenue base for MS. Threats Surge in shoplifting losses costs the retailers and customers The UK retailers are exposed to increased costs of shoplifting. Shoplifting has assumed massive propor tions in recent times. According to industry estimates, retail crime costed UK stores ? 1. 4 billion ($2. 2 billion) in 2011. There are about two million thefts per year, which concludes to an average of more than one per minute. According to another industr y repor t, the thefts across the UK stores increased from ? 4. 2 million ($6. 5 million) in 2009 to ? 5. 1 million ($7. 9 million) in 2011, an increase of 20%. Long-term trends also show the figure is likely to continue rising. As a result, retailers have been increasing their surveillance spend. This is increasing the costs for retailers as well as for the end consumers. The shoplifting losses are adding to the costs for the retailers and the customers have also been bearing the brunt. The surge in shoplifting could negatively impact the cost structure for MS as well. Weak consumer spending in the UK The UK market is suffering from weak consumer spending. The European debt crisis added more downward pressure to the growth prospects of the UK. According to Eurostat, the UK economy grew by 0. 7% in 2011 and is expected to grow by 0. 5% in 2012. In addition, the UK has witnessed high unemployment rate. According to the Office of National Statistics, the unemployment rate for the three months period November 2011 to January 2012 was 8. 4% with 2. 67 million unemployed people in the UK. Increasing unemployment rate is expected to fur ther put pressure on the economy of the UK. High inflation, led by the increase in VAT to 20% and public spending cuts reduced disposable Marks and Spencer Group plc MarketLine Page 23 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis income, leading to a fall in consumer spending on discretionary items. Consumers have been cautious with their spending especially due to soaring petrol prices, tax increases and uncer tainty over jobs. The UK is the key market for MS. In FY2011, the UK accounted for 89. 7% of MS total revenues. Thus, the sluggish consumer spending and high unemployment rate in the UK could affect most of the non-food retailers and lead to reduced sales volume or shrinking profit margins. Rising labor cost in the UK Labor costs are rising in the UK. In recent times, tight labor markets, increased over time, government mandated increases in minimum wages and a higher propor tion of full-time employees are resulting in an increase in labor costs, which could materially impact the companys results of operation. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) Regulations came into force in 1999 and since then the NMW rates have been increased annually. The national minimum wage increased from ? 5. 93 per hour ($9. 23 per hour) in October 2010 to ? 6. 08 per hour ($9. 46 per hour) in October 2011. Fur ther, the national minimum wage is expected to increase to ? 6. 19 per hour (9. 63 per hour) from October 2012. In FY2011, MS employed 78,169 people. Increasing labor costs can adversely affect the companys operating costs as its wage bills would escalate. This, in turn, could impact its margins adversely. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 24 Marks and Spencer Group plc Top Competitors TOP COMPETITORS The following companies are the major competitors of Marks and Spencer Group plc ASDA Group Limited Debenhams plc H ; M Hennes ; Mauritz AB J Sainsbury plc NEXT plc Selfridges plc Tesco PLC Gap, Inc. , The French Connection Group Plc House of Fraser Group Plc John Lewis Par tnership plc Arcadia Group Limited Home Retail Group Plc Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 25 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View COMPANY VIEW A statement by Rober t Swannell, the Chairman of the Board at Marks and Spencer Group, is given below. The statement has been taken from the company’s Annual Repor t for FY2011. I feel ver y privileged to be Chairman of this unique company and at such an exciting time in our evolution. Since joining Marks ; Spencer in October and assuming the role of Chairman in Januar y, I have spent much of my time getting to know the business better – meeting our employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers. I first became deeply involved with M;S during the unsolicited takeover attempt in 2004, when I led the advisory team that helped put the M;S case to its shareholders. It was then I learned first hand about this unique company: about the extraordinarily strong relationship it has with its many stakeholders and about its very special ethos. This ethos is a reflection of the high standards our customers expect from M;S – trusting us not only to deliver great value, great quality products but also to do the right thing – socially, environmentally and ethically. We know that putting Plan A at the hear t of how we do business is not just the right thing to do; it is also fundamental to our long-term success. Performance In a challenging marketplace M;S has continued to grow, with underlying profits up 12. 9% on the year. We delivered this by staying true to our heritage of quality and innovation, reminding our customers what makes M;S special. This year Marc Bolland set out a clear medium-term plan for the business, after extensive discussions with colleagues and us, the Board. This is covered in detail in Marc’s review. From day one, I have been struck by the passion and commitment of our people. I am delighted that this year we are paying a bonus to all employees to thank them for their energy and enthusiasm in what has been a difficult trading environment. Dividend We are committed to delivering consistent returns for our shareholders. To this end we have adopted a progressive dividend policy, with dividends broadly covered twice by earnings. We intend to pay a final dividend of 10. 8p per share (last year 9. 5p) in respect of the 2010/11 financial year. Governance Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 26 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View This year we returned to the traditional governance structure of a separate Chairman and Chief Executive, providing clarity between Marc Bolland and me, with regard to our respective roles. Put simply, I run the Board and Marc runs the business. The Board has a wide range of responsibilities. There are three that I think are par ticularly impor tant for the success of the business: first, to debate and agree our strategy and hold the executive team accountable for its execution; second, to ensure that we have the most talented team to execute this strategy and that we plan effectively for succession; and third, to set the tone for governance, which is par ticularly impor tant at M;S where ‘doing the right thing’ is an integral par t of our ethos. My ob is to ensure the Board has the right mix of skills and talents and to ensure that it works effectively as a team towards shared goals with the right mix of enquir y and suppor t of the executive directors from the non-executive directors. During the year we commissioned a formal Board evaluation from an independent consultant, the findings of which are outlined in the Governance section. This process highligh ted the real enthusiasm of the directors in suppor ting a shared ambition: to guide M;S to the ver y best future. We know that you expect high standards from M;S; it’s our responsibility to learn how we can improve. This review was an impor tant par t of that journey. As stated in our 2009/10 Annual Repor t, we reviewed the senior remuneration structure this year. Following extensive shareholder consultation, we believe we now have a framework that is both relevant to today’s M;S and fully aligned with our strategy. The Board Over the last year the Board has been strengthened by a series of executive appointments. In May 2010 Marc Bolland joined the business as Chief Executive, assuming the day-to-day running of the business from Sir Stuar t Rose in July. In October Alan Stewar t joined as Chief Finance Officer and in February we announced the appointment of Laura Wade-Gery as Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce; she will join the Board in July. Whilst the Board features some new faces, these changes have taken place around a core of executive and non-executive directors that has remained stable over recent years. I would like to pay par ticular tribute to Sir Stuar t Rose. When he became Chief Executive in 2004, M;S was at a low ebb. He restored confidence in M;S, re-established its values and built a strong business. The solid platform from which Marc is now implementing his plan is a credit to Stuar t’s energy and tireless commitment to M;S over the last seven years. The smooth management transition – the meticulous handover to me and the suppor t of Marc – is also a credit to Stuar t. In that connection, I would also like to thank Sir David Michels, and the Nominations ; Governance Committee he led, for managing a change of leadership over the past year that was accomplished quietly and effectively. David has decided to step down from the Board at the end of his second term in February 2012, but I am delighted that he will continue his role as Deputy Chairman until then. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 27 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View I must also thank Louise Patten for the significant contribution she has made over the last five years, playing an impor tant role in each of our Board Committees. As Louise reaches the end of her second three year term on the Board, she has decided not to seek re-election at the upcoming AGM. Looking ahead Our priorities for the year ahead are clear. We have a plan and it is now our collective job to make it happen. The Board will concentrate on delivering exemplary governance at the highest level to enable our executive team to drive this strategy forward. The economy still gives us reason to be cautious. Yet in difficult times, our core values of Quality, Value, Ser vice, Innovation and Trust matter more than ever to M;S customers. These values remain at the hear t of our strategy and I therefore look forward to the future with confidence. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 28 Marks and Spencer Group plc Locations and Subsidiaries LOCATIONS AND SUBSIDIARIES Head Office Marks and Spencer Group plc Waterside House 35 Nor th Wharf Road London W2 1NW GBR P:44 20 7935 4422 http://www. marksandspencer. com Other Locations and Subsidiaries Marks and Spencer International Holdings Limited Great Britain GBR Marks and Spencer (Nederland) BV NLD Marks and Spencer (Ireland) Limited IRL Marks and Spencer (Asia Pacific) Limited HKG Marks and Spencer Simply Foods Limited Great Britain GBR Marks and Spencer Marinopoulos Greece SA GRC Marks and Spencer SCM Limited

The Shifting Marketing Communications Model Marketing Essay

The Shifting Marketing Communications Model Marketing Essay Integrated marketing communication is a conceptual tool which aim for a marketing campaign, by a carefully coordinated apply to various communication disciplines. The combination of theses disciplines provide a clear, consistent and compelling message for the organisation and its product. Integration has always been an important successful attempt for the early organisation to bring a consistent message of all executable promotional tools during mid 20th century. The change in marketing communication landscape may result IMC become more and more difficult to achieve, owing to the various change in consumers, marketing strategies and communication technology. In this digital and wireless age, consumers are better informed and communicated ; The marketers realized the dramatic shifting from mass marketing to segmented marketing. The new program are developed for a closer customer relationship; New innovative technology gives more media channels that companies interact with the target audience. Meanwhile, customers are better in control of messages that they choose to send or receive. Over the past decades, the development of information technology has facilitated how people communicate. And the internet has played an important role in social media communication. Based on research, theres an increasing number of internet users. About 569million online users of 9.1% of the world population (2012). The number has increased to 2.27 billion by 2012, which is 33% of the world population. The expenditures rates over performance is under expectation compare to the past. Marketers are mostly challenged by the new digital media. They have to design a better strategy to build a marketing communicators with stronger effectiveness and higher efficiency. More narrowcasting is necessary to achieve the interactive IMC, which allows them keep track on their current and future customers for use of long- term interactive relationships. The internet environment joint the connection between consumer and the media. For instance, specialty magazines, cable television channels, video ga mes, e-mail and social internet. A study stated theres an increasing time spent (63%) on mobile websites and mobile devices compare to 2011. In addition, 43 % of people get access to the social media by smartphones, 16% of people interact using tablet. Among all the promotional profile from traditional advertising, mass media, direct marketing, internet marketing, social media to mobile marketing. thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s an increasing marketing trend towards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“more electronic and digitalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Traditional media possibilities for billabong: Television, explores the brand image through vision, sound and motion. It has a wide coverage over mass-marketing. Television commercial is relatively low cost per exposure but high in absolute cost. It also limits audience selectivity. Billabong is a worldwide brand and it keep expanding the business into other country. Television commercial will be an efficient and effective strategy of market penetration where a company has low client base but strong financial base. Newspapers and magazines are practically flexible; timeliness; good local market coverage; brand credibility; costless. While it is limited by its short life; poor reproduction quality. Its still concern as an effective media for Billabong, as the company keep innovating new products to the market. Posted on a printed media is a cheaper way to deliver their product information to the customer regularly. Outdoor medium such as billboard and poster are advanced in its flexibility; repeatable exposure will help billabong to deliver a strong brand image; wide range of positional selectivity. But it also limited the creativity. Emergent media possibilities for billabong. emergent media is refers to Email, podcasts , digital audio/ media player, mobile communication device (e.g., smart phone) ,instant messaging, interactive web pages , and blogs. By research, the brand Billabong has its majority target audience aged from 12 to 35 years old. And it is a fact that this aging groups are spending more of their leisure time on internet surfing over interacting with traditional media. Hence theres more opportunities that the new media transmit the company image to its potential consumer. At the same time, company has more channels to collect their customer information or feedback instead of only relying on Public Relations Agency. A large company with several brands like Billabong could position itself after analyzing the data. And generate a more suitable promotional strategy to beat the competitors. Billabongs Facebook page was set up with assistance of maintaining a closer relationship with their royalty customer. Billabong get their free advertising spread through the social media at each time their post get linked. Youtube is a possible platform for Billabong to post their video or insert it as an ad to other video. The strate gy is costless and have a efficient spread. Statistics is calculated by Youtube for each individual video for further analysis. Billabongs website is also a profitable platform for advertising, it helps to engage with their email subscribers, so as to build a profitable relationship. Which has proven by a sales of $1.67 billion profit from its website in 2008-2009. Marketers need to ensure the advertising is highly relevant and targeted to their consumer. As people has different attitudes toward social ads. Recent surveyed found 33% people get annoyed when seeing ad on social media if there is no relevant to them, may concern as a waste of time. While 26% of people will have a positive attitude to see the ads posted by friends. Generally, a positive attitude(26%) will follow by an action of share at 15% and product purchasing at 14%. In consequence, advertising is generally aiming for inform, persuade and remind. Both traditional media and emergent media have possibilities for Billabongs advertising. The proper mix using of media would have a higher opportunities in success compare to single focused media. Markers still need to re-examine the media mix regularly as it appears to be shifting. For instance, mass-media costs are rising, audiences are shrinking due to the new electronic media appear. The best solution for them is to supplement the broadcasting traditional media with narrowcasting emergent media. In this case, Billabong will not only introduce their company world-wide, but also engage consumers more fully. Image corporation is important to a companys branding and identity. To achieve the brand uniqueness, company need to be carefully treat on its visual image, product consistency in market place and its identity in social media. Importance of visual image After the completely acquisition of Swedish brand Volvo by Chinese unknown brand Geely (2010). Volvo still keep the production line in Sweden and its original brand logo to maintain the image of Swedish made. They concern the brand image as core value of its company. Maintaining the image also hold the companys labor relations in this scenario. Coca- cola works hard to keep its corporate identity consistent. Its not only about keeping red logo and bottle form but also controlling its product quality at a consistent level. This works in many mind that the drink is from coca-cola not an individual brand product even it is labeling in a foreign language. In April 2009, Telstra launched a 3Rs social-media policy, in regard to Responsibility, Respect and Representation. Telstras employees are encouraged to use the social media as a part of work. They are also required to represent themselves as Telstra employees when introducing new service or products on their personal blog site. The strategy helps the company to achieve direct interaction with its current or future clients. Telstra is building up a brand image that they are well communicated to support the brand profile of leading global communication company.