Pantaloon Retail Limited, Marketing Analysis

Pantaloon Retail Limited, Marketing Analysis Future Group focuses most in the retail segment and most of its businesses are built around the same. Future Groups retail network operates 1,000 stores for more than 200 million Indians in 73 cities and 65 rural locations across the country in 16 million square feet of retail space. Some of the most popular retail chains of India like Pantaloons (chain of fashion destinations), Big Bazaar (hypermarket chain), Food Bazaar (supermarket chain) and Central (chain of seamless destination malls) Brand Factory, Planet Sports, ALL, Top 10 and Star and Sitara are managed by Future group. Indias most popular online shopping portal www.futurebazaar.com is also owned by the Future Group. Home building and home improvement products and services are also led through the groups formats, like the Home Town (large-format home solutions store), Collection i (formats specialized for home furniture and home furnishing) and Furniture Bazaar and consumer electronics through eZone and Electronics Bazaar. Aadhaar, Indias leading rural retailing chain has a presence in more than 65 rural locations. It acts as a complete solution provider for the Indian farmer. Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited is one of the leading retailers in India. Mr. Kishore Biyani, is the founder and is famously known as Indias King of Retail. Pantaloon has revolutionized the retail fraternity. With its headquarter in Mumbai, Pantaloons operates multiple retail formats in value and lifestyle segment. Pantaloons plans to increase its retail space to 30 million sq. ft. by 2011. PRIL is sub-divided into: Pantaloons Big bazaar Food Bazaar Fashion Station All Blue sky E-zone Collection 1 Home town Central Mall 2001 Indias first hypermarket chain Big bazaar is launched 2002 Food bazaar, a supermarket chain is launched 2006 Future groups financial arm, Future capital holdings launches two real estate funds Pantaloons High fashion family department, geared toward Indian middle and upper classes. In 2005, pantaloons rolled out a new merchandise and brand communication campaign to position itself as fashion trendsetter appeal to Indias youth. Central Mall It is positioned as a place for shopping, eat and enjoying. Big Bazaar Big Bazaar hypermarket concept was started in 2007 by PRIL. It was designed to integrate elements of an Indian bazaar with recent retailing features like parking of vehicles, AC shopping environment and privilege of replacing merchandise. Food Bazaar The first outlet of Food Bazaar opened in June 2002, within a Big Bazaar store, six month later the chain had grown to 42 outlets: 18 stand alone. Future Groups main businesses are : E-commerce Futurebazaar.com, Pantaloons website has changed the e-commerce business in India. A wide range of products are made available at affordable prices. PC World has named the website as the Best Indian Website for 2007 in the Shopping category. Food In the food section, a lot of options are available like Food Bazaar Chain of large super markets Brew Bar Its a beer bar Cafà © Bollywood -Its a eateries chain which is PAN India Chamosa Snack counter Sports Bar A Bistro which is dedicated to the sports world Fashion Varieties of options are available in this section like Top 10, Central, Blue Sky, Etam, Fashion Station, Gini, Jony, Navaras and ALL. Home Electronics Furniture store called Collection i Electronic goods and appliances store called Electronics Bazaar Electronics Items store called e-zone Home furniture store called Furniture Bazaar One destination for all home needs called Home Town Leisure Entertainment A family entertainment center called Bowling Co. A store offering gaming options from bowling, pool, video games to bumper cars called F 123 Wellness Beauty Health Village Its a yoga center as well a spa Star Sitara: A beauty salon for men and women Tulsi Allopathic, homeopathic and ayurvedic medicinal products are provided Turmeric Beauty products like colour cosmetics, fragrances, herbal and specialty skin items, hair products and bath accessories are offered. Books Music Depot It offers stationary, CDs and books Major Achievements of Pantaloon Retail 2007 International Retailer of the Year 2007 Emerging market Retailer of the Year 2007 According to Hewitt Best Employers Survey Best Employers in India (Rank 14th) 2006 Best Managed Company in India (Mid-cap) for the year 2006 Image Retail Awards for Best Value Retail Store, Best Retail Destination, and Best Food Grocery Store. Retail Black Hole Model The Black hole model is also known as The Retail EST Model. It was developed by J.C Williams Group. According to this model a retailer can win if he is the best in one of the several retail offerings i.e to say that the company is clearly positioned in one or more preferred locations to win and hence they are the strategic differentiators. The losers gravitate to central position, are not best at anything and are sucked into the black hole of retailing We have a store opening virtually every fortnight; I have lost count now of how many I have opened Kishore Biyani Big Bazaar A paradigm shift to the Modern Retail Big Bazaar is a unit of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd and caters to the Great Indian Middle Class. It is like an Indian bazaar or mandi or mela, the environment created by traders to give shoppers a sense of moment. The personality of big bazaar is one of an entity being authentically no-frills. The personality of the brand is self expressed by its tagline Is se sasta aur accha kahin nahi It sells a variety of merchandise at affordable rates, the prices of which it claims are lowest in the city. Usually the items are clubbed together for offers as on the lines of Wal-Mart and Carrefour, offer weekend discounts and works on the same economy model as Wal-Mart and has considerable success in many Indian cities and small towns. Food Bazaar format was added as Shop-In-Shop within Big Bazaar in the year 2002. Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar blend the look, feel and touch of Indian Bazaar with modern retail concepts of choice, convenience and quality. PRODUCT MIX ELECTRONICS BAZAAR Television sets Washing Machines Refrigerator Personal Care mBazaar Microwaves Small Appliances Laptops Computer Accessories Kitchen Appliances FASHION JEWELLERY Footwear Bazaar Beauty Care Navara Star Parivar Meena Bindre FURNITURE BAZAAR Living Room Bed Room Kitchen Dinning Rooms Kids Room Been Bags Paintings Decorative Items CHILD CARE TOYS Kids Wear Toy Bazaar Stationary Child Care OTHER SERVICES Mr. right Bakery Loot Mart Tulsi Future Money Future Generally TARGET AUDIENCE Higher and upper middle class customers are the target segment of Big bazaar. Another preferred customer segment is the young and growing population of the country. Big bazaar primarily targets the women folk and home makers who they feel are the primary decision makers. CORE COMPETENCIES Product range consisting of more than 20,000 products. Has a strong supply chain spanning one thousand five hundred cities and towns in India. Big bazaar has tie ups with world leaders in logistical services. Big bazaar has created a helpline for solving the queries of customers. Offers manufacturers guarantee as opposed to sellers guarantee. Good quality at reasonable cost. STRATEGIES: Minimize retailing cost. Minimize operating expenses by employing fewer floor staff -single person for every 500 sq ft. Keep furniture cost to minimum. Cut down expenses related to sourcing by almost 25-30%. Increasing the overall efficiency of logistics by creating mother-hubs all across India for the purpose of sourcing products from regional/local vendors. Slashing channel cost by up to 25%. Economizing Shelf Space Dealing with unsold stock in an effective manner. Ensuring enough pull to snatch away customers from the neighbourhood. Introducing the concept of todays price wherein a products is chosen on a daily basis and sold at lower than usual price. Big Bazaars New Marketing Strategy: A new marketing strategy, based on guerrilla marketing has been launched by big bazaar. The guerrilla force is divided into small groups to selectively attack the target at its weak points. As a part of this strategy Future group has come up with three catchy and cocky advertisement campaigns. Keep West-a-Side. Make a smart choice! Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice! Change Your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice! untitleduntitled STRATEGIC ANALYSIS SWOT analysis of Big Bazaar SWOT-BB PEST ANALYSIS Political and Legal Factors: A stable government at the centre creates an encouraging investment climate Problems of getting subsidy from Octrai and on different taxes like land, water taxes A less complicated taxation structure(GST) on the horizon. Problems regarding taking over properties and real estate. Easing restrictions on FDI by the government leading to easier import of foreign consumer goods, thereby bringing variety to the Indian market place. Economical: India is one of the fastest growing economies, next only to China (7-7.5% GDP growth rate). Retail Industry to grow leaps and bounds by 2015 due to the consumption driven economy of the country. Increase in the percentage contribution of the service sector to GDP. Increased emphasis on infrastructural growth in the current 5 year plan will help reduce some of the bottlenecks in the retail segment. Socio-Cultural Factors: Increase in Nuclear families Increase in working womens proposition Life style changes Shift in Product and service preferences Increase in Young population giving the country a demographic advantage Technological: Technological development for fast billing and the service Better applications of information technology in the modern retail industry, like in supply chain management, store management, point of sale and customer relationship management Porters Five Forces Model Por 7 P Analysis of Big Bazaar Product There is a wide range of products on offer at Big-bazaar, ranging from apparels, food, farm products, furniture, child care, toys, etc. Products of all the major brands are available at Big Bazaar. A lot of in house brands (private labels) are also promoted by Big Bazaar. Price The tag-line of Big Bazaar is Is se sasta aur accha aur kahin nahi. The model on which Big bazaar works is one of economies of scale. Maximum Market Share (market penetration pricing) is the major objective of pricing at Big bazaar. Place Big-bazaar has a pan India presence with more than seventy-five outlets spread across fifty cities. Big Bazaar has presence in almost all the major Indian cities. Kishore Biyani is very aggressive when it comes to expansion plans of Big bazaar. As per Biyani, the cost of real estate should preferably be less than 5% of total sales of store if one wants to provide maximum benefit to customers. Securing spaces before other retailers join in has been a strategic decision of Big bazaar which has resulted in cost-saving. Promotion Many novel cross sell and upsell strategies have been developed by Big bazaar in Indian retail market. Big Bazaar uses various promotional techniques such as saal ke sabse saste teen din, Future card, Shakti card, using M.S.Dhoni as brand ambassador, Exchange offers such as junk swap offer, POP promotions. Print media, TV, Radio (FM) and road-side bill-boards are some of the many means used by Big bazaar for advertizing and effective communication. People People are considered to be one of the key assets in any organization and their importance is even more profound in the service sector. Big bazaars staff possesses some salient features such as: The staff is well trained for modern retail. Innovative thinking among the employees is encouraged at Big bazaar. Multiple payment counters, availability of stores staff for keeping baggage and presence of security guard at every gate. Process Some of the salient features of dispatch and purchasing area of goods include : Trolleys are available for carrying purchased items sufficient nos of counters for easy check-out are present. Information hoardings/banners for efficient identification of items at store Physical Evidence It deals with the final deliverable or the exhibit of written facts. The staff has standardized dress code to improve the overall appearance of the store (atmospherics). FINANCIAL ANALYSIS of PRIL PRIL Profit and Loss Statement Interpretation Total revenues have constantly been on the rise. This is partly due to the increasing sales resulting from aggressive expansion plans (opening up of outlets) of PRIL. PAT has also been on steady rise though it has flattened a bit in recent years probably due to higher operating costs, inability to transfer the increased cost to the customer etc. EPS has also been on a steady rise apart from a single occasion in 2007 when it went down. The reason could be a rights issue or other similar action leading to equity dilution. The return on capital employed has been decreasing YoY. This could because of concern for the company. The debt equity ratio has not been too volatile and has always been below 2 which is an indication of sound financial status of the company. Aggressive Marketing: Promotions 02 The promotional activity of the company, which says Nobody Sells Cheaper and Better! has differentiated Big-Bazaar (as a brand) in the minds of the customer. The punch-line has made its place in minds of customer. As the competition is becoming stiff in the market the activities conducted by the company are unique, that have brought fruitful result to the company. Among them sales Promotions is one of the leading activity or unique among all other activities has high influence on the customer walk-in. As sales promotions is the major force for Big-Bazaar, Big Bazaar take it very seriously especially during festivals special occasions by focussing aggressively on psychological emotional promotion strategies as per the demographic profile of the various consumers. About 60-70% of shopping for apparel, consumer durables, and home furnishing, among other things, happen during festivals. At least 40-50% takes place during the peak festival season, between September and November. According to Ashni Biyani, 23, a team is set up six months ago comprising experts on Indian mythology and religion, retail and even an expert on days, seriously targeted one-third of the 150 auspicious days in the Hindu calendar. They map all the communities in India on how they shop and how these calendars work. They focus to understand intuitively, their customs, their rituals, adding that this is the part of a larger strategy to engage customers and to attract that India which lives in the deep-rooted communities. Sabse Saste 3 Din: The best watershed for brand Big Bazaar was the introduction of the Sabse Sasta Din in January 2005, when the Indian Republic Day holiday was utilized to make sure that hordes of consumers descended on all Big Bazaars across the country to buy all kinds of household items cheap. There were scenes of customers actually vigorously fighting over items in-store long queues were seen in the store. Big Bazaar like previous years, attracted large crowds during its three day sales event called Sabse Saste 3 Din organised to celebrate the Republic Day. Depending on the results, the event is sometimes extended to 5-6 days as it happened in 2008. The promotional event being organised by Big Bazaar every year has assumed great significance over the years. A large number of customers look forward to this event as hefty discounts on a range of products are offered to the customers in partnership with the retail chains vendors on this occasion. This is, perhaps, the biggest sales event being organised by any retailer in the country. Big Bazaar, which sold merchandise worth Rs 140 crores in 2007, garnered revenues of over Rs. 280 crores during the year 2008 the growth still continues unexpectedly. As mentioned by Kishore Biyani, the whole focus is low margins pushing volumes aggressively during these times which make the Big-Bazaar stick to its core Brand-Personality. Wednesday and Weekend Bazaar: One of the most popular events Wednesday Bazaar presents terrific offers and irresistible discounts on majority of the products. The Concept was to aim at giving the homemakers the power to save the most on this day of the week. Even on weekends when the footfall is the highest, eye-catching offers and discounts are promoted. The weekend promotions differentiated from the Wednesday bazaar in terms of the offers cross-selling and not on reducing the price of a particular product. This way they were able to differentiate both the concepts focus on avoiding confusion while promoting it to the consumers and also attract different type of consumers during these durations. Special event promotions: Maha Bachat Sale: Big Bazaars incorporates such as on Independence day by having Maha Bachat Sale which did a business of 1.5 crores in its Bangalore store alone. Maha Bachat focuses on further reducing the price as compared to the Wednesday Bazaar. Also on auspicious occasions such as Akshaya Tritiya which again did a business of 150Cr on a single day in Mumbai Ahmedabad last year. An event offering discounts, benefits and privileges to senior citizens were created and promoted on the Senior Citizens Day. Monthly Bachat Bazaar: Big Bazaar understands clearly the habits of Indian consumers. In Monthly Bachat Bazaar the prices are reduced at the start of every month in order to target those consumers who bulk purchase the products and especially the commodities every month. Price Challenge Campaign: Reinforcing Big Bazaars USP of value proposition, Is se sasta aur accha kahin nahi scheme was launched. The challenges promise to offer twice the price difference, if the cost of any of the item found in the store is found to be higher than the market price. This doesnt mean that the consumer actually go to other shops in order to compare the prices, but due to this challenge of Big-Bazaar, the consumers had more faith trust on the Big-Bazaar and hence were confident seeing the confidence level of Big-Bazaar which again built a strong brand differentiation of Big-Bazaar for low pricing. Exchange Offers: This promotion primarily focused on letting people disposing off their junk and to gain something out of it in return i.e. Bring anything old take anything new. They could exchange their products and shop from a huge spectrum of discounted products. This gave the motivation factor to consumers to give their old belongings for something worth hence their old is not getting waste or is unvalued. Since the Indian consumers are very much value conscious, this strategy worked out very well. Big-Bazaar also made it sure that the campaign is actually not fooling the consumers around and is actually giving the desired value focusing on the fact that faith thrashed is never recovered in India. In- Store Communications: To ensure that no one misses out on an opportunity to gain from special offers, service boys ferry around a trolley with the product inside, announcing the scheme. Not only is this entertaining it also helps customers pick up the product from the trolley instead of walking up to the rack where it is on display. Language Customization: To make sure that non-English speaking customers dont feel alienated, the communication is also conducted in the local language. The communication is always unambiguous and direct. The Power of One Campaign: This initiative encourages customers to add One Rupee to their bill towards donation to a social cause. Big Bazaar makes an equal contribution and donates the entire proceeds to an NGO called Save the Children India. This is a selfless body which has been working for the welfare of children from marginalized sections of society. Corporate campaign: Big Bazaar has recently launched a corporate campaign which revolves around a family having a great time together. The brand anthem Khushiyon se Bhari Jholi connects with the customers at an emotional level positioning Big Bazaar as part of the happy moments. Future Cards: Specifically for Big Bazaar outlets these credit-cum-loyalty card which offer customers a slew of discounts and benefits across Future Group stores are co-branded with ICICI Bank. Customers receive four loyalty points for every Rs 100 spent at Future groups retail stores and one loyalty point for every Rs 200 spent outside the groups retail stores. This creates a vicious cycle for the customers to repeat their purchases and is especially done by the consumers during special occasions. School Jao Khushi Khushi Providing Discounts School related requirements accessories like school bags, water bottles, lunchboxes, shoes etc. Promotions include: Pencil Case for purchase of above Rs 500. Free shopping trip worth Rs 1000/- for Sending ones experience of the Best day that you had in school the most humorous the best one is selected as a winner and to avail the offer. Lucky draw for the lucky kids shop for Rs 1,000 above, drop in your kids name into the drop box 10 lucky kids were provided with the offer 30% off on an NIIT course Motivational offer for Kids: Shop for Rs 500 or above, Parents are told to drop in the kids painting, the best painting is sponsored for an art course. Doston ke saath khushiyon manao Individual are invited with friends more the merrier shopping with 1 friend entitles the individual with 10% discount, coming with two friends get 20% discount etc on the total bill. Friendship band to every walk-in A friend indeed -people were told to drop their best friends name in the drop-box and in lucky draw the winner could win the major prize A Car!! Special treatment emotional connect for the individual his/her friend -free massage, tattoos, horoscope etc were provided for purchases above Rs 500/- above during the friendship day. Diwali Dhamaka: This campaign especially remains open for longer duration Huge discounts are seen over the board If purchase is above Rs 300/- two pairs of diya were provided to the customers Tie up with known mithaiwala: if one purchases above 1000/- people can avail discounts of 45% or above on the mithai purchased from that mithaiwala. Motivating the home made mithai recepies: Purchasing goods worth Rs 500 above, females were pulled to send the recipe of their secret mithai the best judged recipe gets a complete set of Sanjeev Kapoors cook-books Diwali Manao Abroad winning through lucky draw on purchases worth Rs 1,000 or above. Christmas Joy: Across the board discounts. Big Bazaars special surprise Christmas gift on purchase of over Rs 1000/- or above. Christmas-Card Design Contest: Design next years Christmas card for children and a gift voucher worth Rs. 500 were given to the best card winner. Big Bazaar Christmas party focussing on points vouchers through festival focussed games. Happy-Hours: All the discounts/offers were hiked up in a fixed hr of a day eg: Buy X and get Rs 10 off on that day will become Rs 15 off. Mystery-Shopper: Everyday, one person is tagged as the mystery shopper i.e. a) 100th person walking through the door wearing all red b) 1st person walking through the door wearing all red These person gets the discount of 50% on the total bill. Apke kismat mein hai khushi: Lucky is happy Based on scratch card Get all that you pick in 60 seconds till reaching the billing counter Assured gift for the bulk takers: Choose a gift from the listed items if the bill is above 1000/- This is used especially to push the non-moving goods which is usually put in the listed free gift items. Banto khushiyan har ek ke sang: Social causes Khilone se khushi bate Toy drop box was set in the big-bazaar store and the concept was promoted to ask for the toys from the families then the toys were sent to the social organisations working for underprivileged childrens. This has helped the underprivileged, generate goodwill, and have also attracted the floor traffic to store at the large scale. Supporting a charity Support through charity: Donation to the charity on the individuals name for purchasing above a specified amount. Customers were given an ornament with his or her name on it to hang signifying the donation by the individual. Advertisements: Advertising for Big-Bazaar is an essential component of brand building. The advertisement focusing on brand building of Big-Bazaar is done through various ways, Some of the techniques applied are: Tag Line: One of the key components of Big Bazaar is its Tag Lines. Designed according to the demographic profile of customers in order to get connected easily with simple one-liners. The catch liners includes Chane ke bhaw kaaju, Stall ke bhaw balcony etc. 0306 Holistic Advertisement: Promotes the brand and creates awareness among people. It is not targeted at promoting each store but only creates an image of Big-Bazaar as low-cost shopping option. The store has advertised through TV, road-shows and also started reality show typed promotional campaign The Big Bazaar Challenge Promotions like Sabse Sasta Din is very successful strategy to get footfall. Print-Ads: Just before the launch of any new schemes Big-Bazaar spends heavily on advertisements in print media especially newspapers. This is done in order to create a buzz about the big-bazaar brand its upcoming schemes. TV-Ads: various channels are utilized properly, also as per the demographics cultural channels the schemes, promotions especially the common brand tag-line is aired in order to create top of the mind awareness Road side Advertisements: As a brand building exercise, big-bazaar displays bill-boards in prime locations as per the target people. Focus is more on the phrases which is targeted to the needs of the customers as per the market conditions at that particular point of time. Radio-Ads: The major focus through radio ads is in Tier-12 cities. And the prime emphasis is given on radio ads for promotions in order to inform customers for all the new happenings schemes at Big-Bazaar. Fashion-Shows: The latest innovation of the Indian iconic brand is FASHION @ BIG BAZAAR Desh Badla, Bhesh Badlo. In order to make an effort to take the Fashion to the masses, a three-day fashion show was organized by Big-Bazaar on the streets of Bandra, Mumbai. 1413 Brand Endorsement by Celebrity: For marketing and advertising its brand name, value endorsement co-branding is used by Big Bazaar. Earlier Himesh Reshammiya Sanath Jaisuriya was associated with Big-Bazaar. Also, recently the current campaigns are being associated promoted with the Indian cricket ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Communication through Media: Heavy spending is carried out for proper position of Big Bazaar through the different mediums. Paper advertisements are released just before the launch of any new scheme, billboards are displayed on prime locations, frequent TVCs are aired in prime time in various Indian channels for the mass, advertisements on FM channels about the current happenings are aired etc. Below the Line Promotion: Coupon, discount, more of the product at normal price, gift with purchase, competition, and prizes, money back offer, exchange offer, special occasion. Big Bazaar, in association with Star India Pvt Ltd, has launched a collection of designer ethnic wear under the brand Star Parivaar. Above the Line Promotion: Advertisements in Newspaper, TV, Internet (own website which give online shopping service), Partnership with Bigfilx, Big FM 92.7. Aggressive Pricing Strategy The tag-line is Is se Sasta aur accha aur kahin nahi make Big-Bazaar to differentiate itself from competitors in terms of only pricing the value at that price. Hence it makes it very important for the Big-Bazaar to always focus on the its pricing strategies to keep the prices always low compared to the competitors whatever the market, economy or the external conditions is. They work on the model of economics of scale. There pricing objective is to get Maximum Market Share. The various pricing techniques used at Big Bazaar are: EDLP Every Day Low Pricing: Big-Bazaar as a brand is differentiated through low pricing strategies. Hence it promises delivers the lowest available price without stressing on coupon clipping, discount promotions waiting time, or comparison shopping. Promotional-Pricing: Low interest rate financing is being offered by Big-Bazaar. Psychological discounting (Rs. 99, Rs. 49, etc.) strategy is used as a promotional tool. Special Event pricing (Close to Diwali, Gudi Padva, and

Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown †Poverty in the Tale and in the Life o

â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† – the Poverty in the Tale and in the Life of the Author  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† mentions of Hawthorne that â€Å"human failures and their causes were more interesting to him than prophecies of success, one might truly say than success itself. †¦He was not, I think, really interested in escape, except in moods of financial discouragement. . . . (57). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† embodies traits of the modest lifestyle which the author had to subject himself to because of inadequate finances through most of his life. In addition to the monetary impoverishment there was an additional artistic impoverishment which sorely restricted the materials from which he could choose for his literary works.    Hawthorne’s financial impoverishment probably began with the untimely death of his father, and continued for most of his life. Gloria C. Erlich in â€Å"The Divided Artist and His Uncles† states that â€Å"Robert Manning made the essential decisions in the lives of the Hawthorne children and is well known as the uncle who sent Hawthorne to college† (35). After graduation from Bowdoin College, Hawthorne spent twelve years in his room at home in an intense effort to make something of himself literarily. The Norton Anthology: American Literature states:    Hawthorne’s years between 1825 and 1837 have fascinated his biographers and critics. Hawthorne himself took pains to propogate the notion that he had lived as a hermit who left his upstairs room only for nighttime walks and hardly communicated even with his mother and sisters (547).    Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beatty and E. Hudson Long in â€Å"The Social Criticism of a Public Man... ... Press, 1996.    Erlich, Gloria C. â€Å"The Divided Artist and His Uncles.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html    James, Henry. Hawthorne. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/nhhj1.html    Lewis, R. W. B. â€Å"The Return into Time: Hawthorne.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.      Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al.   New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.    Swisher, Clarice. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.      

Bachelor of Arts Essay

1.1 FedEx Corporation Overview FedEx Corporation provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of US$ 27 billion, the company offers integrated business application through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 250,000 employees and contractors to remain â€Å"absolutely, positively† focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. 1.2 Strategic Initiatives Currently, with its exposure to volatile fuel prices, high capital expenditures, and thin margins, FedEx can not stand up to the rigorous rule maker quantitative criteria, but its brand power is a perfect example of a sustainable competitive advantage. FedEx ships over 3 million packages a day. Along the route, those packages, the planes that carry them, the trucks that deliver them, and the people that handle them leave impressions on customers. FedEx recognizes that with every box it delivers and every person that delivers it, a brand impression is made. Brand equity is certainly significant to FedEx since its products and services are less differentiated in this fast changing dynamic competitive market. To remake the corporate image in order to extend and enhance its brand equity is one of the key strategic initiatives that has initiated by the management of FedEx Corporation recently. Other strategic initiatives are to focus on the growth of core package business and supply chain capabilities, and growth through e-commerce and technology, and new services and alliances. 2. DESIGN OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 2.1 HRMS of FedEx FedEx Human Resources develop policies, programs and procedures that not only attract, but also retain the most qualified, talented and diverse employees. To this end, Human Resources have implemented successful recruitment, development and Employee relation programs. The Corporate HR function consists of 45 employees who provide human resources support for the entire FedEx Organization. The overall headcount for this team has not changed in over four years even though the employee base has grown by greater than 30%. Most key programs are linked to the company’s diversity strategy to build value and manage a diverse workforce that reflects the rich mix of persons available in the Communities. The HR team regularly attends diversity recruiting career fairs and supports both local and national organizations committed to the development of women and minorities. HR has sought to automate and introduce electronic processes, in order to streamline its various staff function. These include the introduction of an electronic company wide web based Internal Career Opportunities Program (ICOP), that provides employees anytime/anywhere access to available opportunities within the company. Employees can search, apply and be notified of open positions within the organization by logging on to the site. Managers, can also initiate the employment process and receive approval electronically via an on-line employment requisitioning process. The major obstacle that needed to be addressed in the alignment of these two major programs was accessibility, communication and education. Employees were encouraged to submit their personal profiles so that they could receive automatic notifications from the system when positions for which they qualified became available. FedEx has developed a proactive staffing model for its facilities. This program allows the Field organization to add management staffing before the need exists. Recruiting, sourcing and training are done 20 weeks before the individual is expected to begin their career as a service manager. By accessing the HR website, both employees and Managers can obtain a wide variety of information geared to keep their employment information current, provide easy access to employment information (employee handbook) as well as provide access to benefits information and employee centered programs. Online access to the HR Web is available from home and work to all employees. 2.2 VRIO Framework Analysis Value FedEx managers stress that they are a â€Å"people-first† organization. The corporate philosophy statement sums up their view of the source of competitive advantage: â€Å"People-Service-Profit. FedEx discovered a long time ago that customer satisfaction really begins with employee satisfaction. In other words, the FedEx philosophy is that people are the primary link in the value chain, and thus, value is created by focusing on employees first. Rareness FedEx value and capitalize on the differences of their employees with diversity education programs such as Gender Speak, Delivering Diversity, Introducing Diversity, and Valuing Differences. One of its most successful programs RESPECT provides a process where employees can work together to resolve their differences. Therefore, it would exercise tremendous potential to exploit the rare characteristics of its employees for competitive advantage. Imitability FedEx worked closely with the University of Memphis, established the FedEx Institute of Technology, a unique public-private collaboration designed to advance world-class interdisciplinary research and introduce a new generation of highly skilled graduates to the workforce. The company has more than 219,000 employees globally and expects the alliance will help develop a highly skilled recruitment pool. Organization FedEx is committed to fostering an employee focused culture. It has a well-developed and thoroughly deployed management evaluation system, which involves a survey of employees, analysis of each work group’s results by the work group’s manager, and a discussion between the manager and the work group to develop written action plans for the manager to improve and become more effective. Data processed are aggregated at all levels of the organization for use in policymaking. Employees are free to share their opinions with management and in turn, work towards the resolution of internal issues within their department by participating on their action planning teams. 3. EMPLOYEE SKILL, MOTIVATION, JOB DESIGN & WORK STRUCTURES FedEx has a clear goal to have people who are committed, motivated and well trained. Here are some of the tools and techniques that they have developed: 3.1 Selection FedEx Corp is proactive targeting of candidate sources leads to a richer pool of applicants and enables company to reach better candidates faster. They worked closely with the University of Memphis, established the FedEx Institute of Technology, a unique public-private collaboration designed to advance world-class interdisciplinary research and introduce a new generation of highly skilled graduates to the workforce. FedEx had created a multi-national, multi-lingual recruitment assessment system in identifying candidates most suited to the jobs on offer and capable of operating to the company’s global standards and values. 3.2 FedEx Compensation & Rewarding System FedEx’s bonus program is driven by goal sharing. This program encourages employees to achieve strategic goals by basing individual bonus levels on corporate and business unit goals, up to 10% of an employee’s total compensation. FedEx’s formula for calculating bonuses includes corporate variables such as contributed operating margin, corporate ROE, net sales, customer returns, shipped kilometers and total unit cost. Putting people first means that FedEx is dynamic in both reward and recognition. For hourly paid staff the pay is geared to individual performance. However, to encourage good team working, there is also a team based ‘Best Practice Pays’ element. The pay for performance of salaried staff is based upon measures relating to the company’s key philosophy. 3.3 Performance Reviews FedEx is a very performance-based company. Every person knows upfront what his performance objectives are and he also knows upfront what he can earn. So the crux of People Service People is a fairly laborious performance management and compensation system. If a person fails in his performance, then the person does not get disciplined, but he gets pulled into a constructive action plan. Employees are encouraged to identify their weaknesses through a personal development programme (PDP). These could be general things like communication skills or dealing with conflicts in the workplace. FedEx has an online training library with 600 courses on things like leadership, project management skills, even something as basic as presentation skills. Employees can log in and take any course, but need to pass. 3.4 Staff Survey The annual staff survey is considered to be one of FedEx’s biggest business improvement tools. A total of 32 questions are answered electronically in business time over a period of two weeks and participation has increased from 97% to 98%. 4. PRODUCTIVITY, CREATIVITY & DISCRETIONARY EFFORT By competing collectively under the FedEx banner, FedEx in service companies benefit from one of the world’s most documented brands. FedEx is one of the most trusted and a respected brand in the world and its brand name is a powerful sales and marketing tool. Among the many reputation awards FedEx conventional during 2004, FedEx ranked seventh in â€Å"corporate reputation† on The Wall Street Journal’s Harris Interactive/Reputation Institute RQ Gold Survey, and for the third consecutive year, FedEx ranked in the top ten of FORTUNE magazine’s â€Å"America’s Most Admired Companies† and â€Å"World’s Most Admired Companies† lists. FedEx is the only transportation company and one of the very few companies overall to rank this highly in all three reputation surveys. FedEx ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the University of Michigan Business School National Quality Research Center’s American Customer Satisfaction Index in the parcel delivery category. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, also selected FedEx as the recipient of its â€Å"Carrier of the Year† award. BusinessWeek recognized FedEx Kinko’s in the magazine’s â€Å"Web Smart 50† report for the company’s innovative use of Internet technology to transform business processes and reduce costs. FedEx is well recognized as a leader, not only in the transportation industry and technological innovation, but also in social and environmental responsibility and corporate governance. Along with a strong reputation among customers and the general public, FedEx is widely acknowledged as a great place to work. In 2004, FedEx was listed among FORTUNE’s â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work for in America,† a list that FedEx have made every year it has been published. It is FedEx people-FedEx greatest asset-that give FedEx it strong reputation. In addition to superior physical and information networks, FedEx has an exemplary human network, with more than 240,000 employees and contractors who are â€Å"absolutely, positively† focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. Through FedEx internal Purple Promise and Humanitarian Award programs, FedEx recognize and reward employees who enhance customer service and promote human welfare. 5. IMPROVED OPERATING PERFORMANCE As discussed previously, new strategic role for HRM is very significant for the organization’s advancement. System thinking among the line and HR manger is the first step. The performance management and incentive compensation system must define desire employee behavior and reward those behaviors in meaningful way when goals are achieved. Almost 50% of all FedEx spending goes to employee pay and benefits. Many Special Awards to recognize employees’ performance: i) Bravo Zulu – award for outstanding performance beyond normal job expectations. ii) Golden Falcon – award for exceptional customer service. iii) Humanitarian Award – recognition for human welfare above and beyond work or community standards. iv) Star/Superstar Award – a lump sum merit based award for top performers. v) Five Star Awards – the highest award for enhancing service, profitability and the spirit of teamwork. Deadly combination and powerful connection are terms to describe the effects of an organization policy of promotion from within on firm performance. But probably not be present in every firm or even most of firms. So the only way that the organization can hope to identify the HR system properly is to adopt system perspective, which means business priorities drive the development of the HRM system. 6. PROFITS AND GROWTH Base on the FedEx second quarter’s Fiscal 2005 financial report (six months ended November 2004), it shows that FedEx has adapted an effective and efficient HRM system, which has brought up the corporation’s profit and growth. This is evidential by the following financial analysis:- i) Revenue There is a 23% Revenue growth compare to the last 2nd quarter fiscal year 2004. The revenue has increased from US$11,607 billion to US$14,309 billions in this 2nd quarter fiscal year 2005. FedEx announced that they would expect to have Group Revenue of US$ 27 billions this fiscal year 2005, which is a 9.5% growth. ii) Salary & Employee benefits Cost However, in term of Human Resources cost, we can see from the report that it is only an increase of 14%. Compare to 23% increase in revenue. The increase is justifiable. iii) Net Profit FedEx has shown a 212% increase in the Net Income this fiscal year compare with last 2nd quarter, from US$219 millions to US$684 millions, despite the roaring up of oil price, which is also one of the major operating cost, in this year. Their profit result is definitely considered outstanding. iv) Diluted Earning Per Share Obviously, with the high increase of the net income, the diluted earning per share is automatically increase by 210% compare to last 2nd quarter. It is definitely a kind of the positive effect of the HR- Stakeholders value relationship. v) Revenue generated per Employee Based on the US$27 billions Group Revenue generated by the total 250,000 number of employees in FedEx, we will be able to see that the revenue per employee generated is nearly US$108,000. Which is much higher than the world largest package delivery company – UPS, who has an annual turnover of US$30 billions and 370,000 employees worldwide, and the revenue generated per employee is only US$81,081. The productivity is much better. This has shown the efficiency and effectiveness of the HRM system. 7. MARKET VALUE From the study of FedEx Corp’s HRM system, it is undoubtedly that its HRM has strategically adopted high performance work system that creates real shareholder value. Such system has strengthened FedEx HR to become a strategic core competency and have an economically significant effect on firm performance. This also generates the transformation from HRM to human capital management and hence becomes to be a competitive advantage. The consistent increased profits and growth as shown in the company’s financial reports has also proved that FedEx HRM has created value and played an important role in the company’s achievement and success. FedEx shareholder market value has increased continuously as shown clearly in its financial statements. However, company’s HR market value has never been officially computed and shown in the financial statements. Based on the company productivity, FedEx’s each employee generates revenue of approximately US$108,000 quarterly, which is much higher than the world largest package delivery company – UPS, whose per employee generates revenue of only about US$81,081 quarterly. 8. CONCLUSION For FedEx, timing is everything. Delivery on time is essential, and within FedEx, ensuring this performance every time, has meant the transition to systems that provide online, real-time connectivity, bringing improved business processes and increased productivity. With unrivalled logistics solutions, FedEx turned to its Human Resources function, to leverage its competitive advantage. In such a geographically diverse and disparate region, FedEx strives to manage its human capital by minimizing administrative burden and creating a culture of effective self-management. With employees spread across the Region, and in line with its organization’s move to an Internet-centric company, FedEx was continuously looking for ways to empower its employees, and allow them to take control of some of their HR functions. Leveraging on PeopleSoft HRMS solution to effectively manage their human capital, it provided FedEx with the scalability and functionality they needed, to enable FedEx to move towards becoming a Real-Time Enterprise. FedEx employees were fully utilizing their self-service functions, and their HR staffs are now free to deliver a more strategic output to the business. They have increased the visibility of HR information to more effectively manage the enterprise’s most valuable resource – human capital. APPENDIX A: BIBLIOGRAPHY Relevant Reference Sites: * www.fedex.com * www.fedex.com/us/investorrelations/2003annualreport/ * www.fedex.com/us/investorrelations/downloads/ * www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2001/rulemaker010502.htm * www.incomesdata.co.uk/studies/hrmansystems.htm * www.stevieawards.com/pubs/awards/70_1438_8395.cfm * www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb001/is_200309/ai_hibm1G1107999043 * healthproject.stanford.edu/koop/Federal%20Express/description.html * www.hoovers.com/fedex-corporation/–ID__10552–/free-co-factsheet.xhtml * online.wsj.com/ad/fedex/ * moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/profile.asp?Symbol=fdx * www.humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/19/0C029319.asp?Type=60&Category=1162 * www.bizjournals.com/memphis/stories/2004/08/09/daily3.html * www.quality.nist.gov/FederalExpress_90.htm Evaluation of the Stakeholder Value Relationship Model Assignment BA361 – Human Resource Management Page 2 of 12

Slavery And Its Effects On Slavery Essay - 1202 Words

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