Teamwork at Walmart Essay Example

Teamwork at Walmart Essay It is essential to have teamwork within a company. Companies who have embraced the concept of teamwork have reported increased performance in work production, problem solving and it has stimulated new growth. This group project approach has improved employee morale and increased input when managed correctly. The benefits of teamwork can make a positive effect in the company that incorporates this type of teamwork approach. As each new project is started, a new team leader may be assigned. The reason for this is with each new project the area of expertise needed may change. These teamwork groups are helpful to the manager. By delegating the responsibility of a project to the designated group, it lessen his/her workload with confidence the group project will be done correctly and on time with only minute participation needed from him/her. The high performance of these teams makes the use of group teamwork an important part of the companys work ethics. An employee needs to have certain attributes to be a productive member on a team. Those are the ability to be a team player and possess the knowledge and skills necessary to complete their assigned portion of the work task. We will write a custom essay sample on Teamwork at Walmart specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Teamwork at Walmart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Teamwork at Walmart specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer After completion of their portion, the employee should be willing to assist other team members with completion of all work tasks until the project is completed. Without these major attributes the team will flounder and be less productive. This is the main reason teamwork is so very important to the success of the company, because a company is only as qualified and deserving as the employees it hires and trains. There are ways to encourage teamwork within organizations. Be selective as to who is brought onto your team. Communicate the goals of the team. Establish the rules for the team. Identify potential questions and issues. And the most important lesson is to have fun. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart believes that their teamwork is what makes them so special. He is quoted saying, â€Å"Arent we a group of ordinary folks? We really are. And I think we, together as a team, have done extraordinary things. Weve all grown, weve all accomplished much more than any of us ever thought that we could. Wal-Mart believes in the power of teamwork. As the business grows and the pace of modern life quickens, Sam’s philosophy of teamwork has become even more important to Wal-Mart. Their ability to work together affects the quality of service that the customers receive. To give the very best service to their customers, and to each other, they rely on guidelines that make their culture great. It also makes them a proud member of the Wal-Mart family. Wal-Mart has three basic beliefs that are an integral part of their teamwork. The first is respect for the individual. They encourage team members to express their thoughts and ideas. They expect team members to treat others with dignity. This allows the most basic way to show and earn respect. The second is service to the customers. The customers are the reason Wal-Mart is in business, so they should treat them that way. They offer quality merchandise at the lowest prices, and they do it with the best customer service possible. They look for every opportunity where they can exceed our customers’ expectations. That’s when they are at their very best. The last is striving for excellence. Wal-Mart is proud of their accomplishments but they are never satisfied. They constantly reach further to bring new ideas and goals to life. They model themselves after Sam Walton, who was never satisfied until prices were as low as they could be or that a product’s quality was as high as customers deserved and expected. They demonstrate the passion they have for their business, for their customers and for their communities. Within the teamwork at Wal-Mart, they offer open communication, mutual support and mutual respect. These concepts allow Wal-Mart to succeed both internally and externally. I think that Wal-Mart is a great example of a company that relies on teamwork and that teamwork makes the company work effectively and efficiently.

Cathys Marketing Strategy

Cathys Marketing Strategy Executive Summary Cathy’s problem is how to increase her website revenue. Cathy’s main problem is the failure to generate advertising revenue and blog membership revenue. The advertisers find Cathy’s advertising fee unrealistically higher than other alternative advertising sites. Likewise, the prospective blog membership clients find the $20 annual fee too high. Cathy’s current advertising strategy failed to increase advertising revenues.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Cathy’s Marketing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To increase her website’s advertising and blog membership revenues, Cathy ponders on several alternative solutions. The alternatives focus on implementing the marketing mix principles. The principles include offering lower advertising and blog membership prices, offering prospective customers more website benefits, advertising her website in news papers to generate more customers, and keeping her website open 24 hours a day to accept more website customers. Introduction. Marketing strategy spells the difference between financial success and failure. The research centers on Cathy’s current marketing strategy. The research veers towards recommending a complete revision of Cathy’s unsuccessful marketing strategy. Implementing the marketing mix principles, including the required survey, will improve Cathy’s current marketing and financial performance. Problem Statement. Cathy’s problem is how to increase website membership and advertising revenue. Cathy’s high advertising prices failed to generate expected advertising revenues. Cathy’s high blog membership dissuaded people from paying the high $20 membership fee. Analysis and evaluation. Cathy Newsome is disappointed with her low advertising revenue output and low blog membership output. The advertising prospects found her annual website advertising price of $ 2,400 is similar to a 1/16 page advertisement in the Raleigh Yellow pages. However, the Raleigh advertisement is a financially alternative when compared to advertising in Cathy’s website. Further, Cathy contributes lesser time to her internet business. Cathy’s strategy. Cathy’s main strategy is to set her internet business, Splendid Wedding.com. Cathy advertises her website to generate more local advertising customers and sponsors. The website offered wedding services to people who are planning to get married. Cathy offered a blog site at $ 20 annual membership fee. However, her attempts were unsuccessful. Cathy’s website, SplendidWedding.Com focused on helping people plan their wedding. She was encouraged by a recently held bridal fair held in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was thrilled by the wedding companies’ contributions to help the wedding couples. The business entities included the florists. The wedding fair included a wedding gift register. There were many companies joining the wedding fair.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The companies included Home Depot. Home Depot sells home furniture to the newly weds. Further, the wedding fair gave Cathy a new business idea. Cathy informed here fiancà © that people will be happy with an improved wedding service. The improvement included registering gift choices in a major or centralized website. The suggestion was better than offering many wedding-related stores a parcel or some fraction of the entire information database. Cathy insists that registering in the major or centralized website would make the job of the gift-givers less burdensome. Cathy discovered that most wedding websites like www.weddingchannel.com offered lackluster service to the current and prospective wedding customers. Recommendations . Cathy must revise her curr ent marketing strategy. Cathy should enhance her current marketing strategy of offering wedding services to the current and prospective customers. Cathy should focus on improving her currently unprofitable marketing strategy. Specifically, Cathy must lower her annual advertising fee to $ 999 per year. The lower rate will generate more advertising customers. Further, Cathy must reduce the membership fee to $ 4 a year. The price reduction will increase blog membership customers. In turn, Cathy will advertise her website in national newspapers, radio and television. Cathy’s website will continue focusing on helping people prepare their wedding celebrations. Cathy’s prospective customers are the wedding companies. The wedding companies sell wedding flowers, insurances, wedding reception programs and other related services. In turn, the current and prospective wedding customers can open Cathy’s centralized wedding database website. Cathy’s website customers ca n choose from a large list of competitors. Cathy’s website customers can pick the best offer from among the flower companies listed in the website. Based on the company’s offers, Cathy’s online clients can choose their preferred company. Some customers prefer companies offering the best wedding plans. Searching through Cathy’s website, the prospective customers can pick the company offering the best floral designs, floral decoration prices being equal. Lastly, the current and prospective customers can buy an insurance plan offering the most benefits (Fifield, 2012).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Cathy’s Marketing Strategy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To ensure Cathy can move forward, Cathy should spend more time implementing a different marketing strategy (Kerin, R., Peterson, R., 2010). Cathy’s new marketing strategy should include implementing the marketing mix principles. Implementing the marketing strategy, Cathy should price her product reasonably at $999 annual advertising fee and $4 blog membership fee. Cathy will conduct a survey that will serve as the basis for adjusting the recommended $ 999 advertising fee and $ 5 blog membership fee (Fifield, 2012). Fundamentally, Cathy should offer a high quality website product. The product will cater for the needs of the current and prospective customers. Cathy should conduct a survey to determine the prevailing needs of the community. The survey results will indicate Cathy’s perception of what the wedding couples need may not be all that true. The survey will aid Cathy’s business decisions (Capon, 2007). Further, Cathy should also offer her website service to the community (place). Cathy is successful in this area of the marketing mix. The prospective customers can easily open her website. The prospective customers can pick their company choices from the home, office, in school, or during a baseball game. He advertising is good (Sandhusen, 2008). Lastly, Cathy should advertise her website in national newspaper to generate more website customers. Cathy should advertise her website in the television and radio spots. Advertising the advantages of her website in the community newspaper, television, and radio will trigger a higher demand for Cathy’s website. Currently, Cathy’s financial goal does not seem realistic. Her current advertising efforts only produced two customers. The two customers are not enough to generate a profit from Cathy’s website business. To be realistic, Cathy’s current marketing strategy should be revised (Sandhusen, 2008). Conclusion. Based on the above discussion, implementing marketing strategy will make or break Cathy’s financial and marketing performance. Cathy’s current marketing strategy proved to be financially unsuccessful. Cathy’s current advertising procedure fails to generate mo re advertising customers and blog membership customers. Cathy’s only hope to extricate herself from her financial crisis is to immediately implement the marketing mix principles and conduct surveys. The surveys will serve as basis for Cathy’s new pricing schemes. The principles include lowering the current website advertising price and blog membership price, offering more benefits to customers, advertising the website in newspapers and ensuring Cathy’s wedding website is open 24 hours a day will increase Cathy’s advertising revenues and blog membership revenues. Indeed, Cathy’s setting into motion the marketing mix principles will increase Cathy’s website revenues.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Capon, N. (2007). Managing Marketing in the 21st Century. New York: Wessex Press. Fifield, P. (2012). Marketing Strategy. New York: Routledge Press. Kerin, R., Peterson, R. (2010). Strategic Marketing Problems. New York: Prentice Hall Sandhusen, R. (2008). Marketing. New York: Barrons Press.

The Meaning of the Surname Pierce

The Meaning of the Surname Pierce The Pierce surname was adapted from the given name Piers,  a derivation of Peter, which means rock, from the Old French pierre  (Latin petra), meaning stone or rock. The name most commonly derived as a surname  meaning son or descendant of Piers or Peter. However, it may also have been bestowed or chosen as a topographic name for someone who lived in a rocky area, or as an occupational name for a quarryman or stone mason.   Famous People with the Pierce Surname Franklin Pierce  - 14th president of the United StatesWendell Pierce -  American award-winning actorBarbara Pierce Bush  -  wife of George H.W. Bush, 41st president of the United StatesGeorge Washington Pierce - Harvard professor of physics;  inventorNat Pierce  - American jazz pianistMarvin Pierce - American publisher; president of McCall Corporation Where the Pierce  Surname Is Most Common According to surname distribution from Forebears, the Pierce surname is most common in the United States, where it ranks among the top 200 surnames in the country. It is also somewhat common in Wales (ranks 350th) and Ireland (581st). Within Ireland, Pierce is most commonly found in Wexford, Carlow and Kerry. WorldNames PublicProfiler indicates a similar distribution, with the greatest percentage of individuals named Pierce found throughout the United States. The name is especially common in the southeast, including Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Pierce Pierce  Family Crest - Its Not What You Think: Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Pierce  family crest or coat of arms for the Pierce surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. The Pierce  DNA Project - Southern US: Individuals with the Pierce  surname, and variants such as Pearce, Peirce, Pearse, Pierse, and Percy, with ancestors from southern U.S. states  are invited to participate in this group DNA project in an attempt to learn more about southern Pierce family origins. The website includes information on the project, the research done to date, and instructions on how to participate. PIERCE  Family Genealogy Forum: This free message board is focused on descendants of Pierce  ancestors around the world. FamilySearch - Pierce Genealogy: Explore over 4  million results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Pierce surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Pierce Surname Mailing List: Free mailing list for researchers of the Pierce  surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. DistantCousin.com - Pierce Genealogy Family History: Explore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Pierce. GeneaNet - Pierce  Records: GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Pierce  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Pierce  Genealogy and Family Tree Page: Browse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Pierce  surname from the website of Genealogy Today. References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Retail strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Retail strategy - Essay Example The five changes include, Infrastructure, innovation, Knowledge and trust relationships between the supplier, retailer, and the customer. To validate the reason for a critical evaluation on Dawson's statement is simply to say that the growing retail industry with a powerful attraction for minor retailers proves to be death trap. This is mainly because of the increased competition and the changing conditions in the economy and consumer behaviour. However, the business of retail proves to be threatening for manufacturers creating brands and trying to sustain brand image and brand loyalty as they squeezed by the so- called retailer. In a book by Lars Thomassen, et., al (2006, pg. 1) 'Retailization' begins by saying "We have moved from the age of the brand to the age of the retailer" - a shift that has led many brands to a near chronic state of constant stress and confusion. This is backed with data were the book reports that four major retail chains in the have 75 percent of the grocery market, and one pound in every eight spent is in the retail giant Tesco. Well this overpowering omnipotence of the retail industry had led to fierce competition with individual retailers or minor retail stores crushed to close down. There is constant fight and struggle to keep up profit margins and stay abreast of competition, which makes Dawson's statement true. ... Below is a table that reflects the diminishing share in the grocery sales of individual retailers in this competition over the recent years. The table will talk volumes of the struggle the giant retailers and medium sized establishments are undergoing. The data reported is from the Competition Commission organization in the report of 'Overview of UK grocery retailers' The table is a factual of the share in UK's grocery sales for the different retailers in the country. The Verdict data series used in the table and provides relative sales shares of all the retailers and that of small retailers represented as others. Grocery sales share of UK grocery retailers. 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Tesco 20.2 22.4 23.8 25.4 26.8 27.6 Asda 12.3 12.9 13.3 13.4 13.7 14.1 Sainsbury 12.8 12.5 12.6 12.8 13.4 13.8 Morrisons 3.8 4.2 10.3 9.6 9.7 9.9 Safeway 8.2 7.8 2.4 0 0 0 Somerfield chain 2.9 2.8 3 3.7 4.1 3.9 M&S 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.8 CGL 2.8 3.2 3 2.9 2.8 3.8 Waitrose 2.5 2.6 2.8 3 3.2 3.3 Iceland 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 Aldi 0.9 1 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lidl 1.1 1.1 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 Netto 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 Kwik save 2 1.8 1.6 1.3 0.7 0 Others 24.9 22.1 19.6 20 17.4 14.9 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Source: Verdict UK Grocery retailers 2008, February 2008.( Overview of UK grocery sales ) The row mentioned 'Others' is emboldened to throw light on their diminishing share of business in the grocery sector and ultimately leading to their destruction. Find a pictorial representation below. Looking closely at the figures of the larger retailers, the Year on Year sales numbers increase only at an extremely marginal pace and retailers like Safeway have their numbers freezed

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs Essay

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs - Essay Example Born in Seattle Washington, Gates ancestral origin is English, Scot-Irish and German (Gates 32). To date, Gates remains one of the well-known entrepreneurs in terms of computer revolution. Gates has played a key role in envisioning Microsoft operations systems towards becoming an industry standard in a spurn of only three years. His contribution in the technological sector is felt with Microsoft revolution. Bill Gates brought a new lease of life with Microsoft revolution (Gates 36). Today, almost every company across the globe uses Microsoft in their business operations, therefore, playing an effective role towards transforming lives of many people and commercial centers. Educational institutions have also heavily gained by Bill Gates contribution in this sector. Alternatively, Bill Gates dedication in making this contribution was seen to get a heads up in most institutions across the globe. Most organizational systems are now experiencing exceptional systems technologically courtesy of Bill Gates transformations and innovations (Gates 47). Steve Jobs Steve Jobs contribution to modern technology, innovation and education remains one of the highlights of his life. Jobs had a vision to revolutionize technology to greater heights. Steve Jobs did not only want to see technological revolution readily available in school, but he instead played an important role in seeing there is a breakthrough in technology towards positive impacts on people (Doeden 32). Currently, there is a complete revolutionary branch in terms of technological aspects across the world.

lupus :: essays research papers

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, usually life-long, potentially fatal autoimmune disease characterized by unpredictable exacerbations and remissions with protean clinical manifestations. In SLE there is a predilection for clinical involvement of the joints, skin, kidney, brain, serosa, lug, heart and gastrointestinal tract. Women and minorities are disproportionately affected and SLE is most common in women of child-bearing age although it has ben reported in both extremes of life (e.g. diagnosed in infants and in the tenth decade of life). The prevalence in the Unites States had been estimated as approximately 500,000 but a recent telephone survey commissioned by the Lupus Foundation of America suggested a prevalence of as many as 2,000,000. A recent study identified a prevalence of 500 per 100,000 (1:200) in women residing in the area surrounding Birmingham, Alabama. The prognosis for patients with SLE has greatly improved over the last few decades with at least 80-90% of all patients surviving ten years. Thereafter life expectancy approximates that of age matched controls. This improvement reflects the general advancements in health care (i.e. dialysis, antibiotics, antihypertensives, newer immunosuppressives with more favorable efficacy to toxicity ration) but also the specialized care available for patients with SLE. SLE is a complex disorder affecting a predominately young population and shares similarities with HIV infection as regards the propensity for multiple organ involvement, potentially life-threatening episodes, and need for sophisticated monitoring. Patients with SLE are appropriate for a Center of Excellence since medical care by experienced clinicians with access to state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic measures will result in improved outcomes and the most cost-effective utilization of resources. Expert care of patients with SLE will lead to fewer hospitalizations secondary to uncontrolled disease exacerbation, less severe renal disease with fewer patients experiencing end stage renal disease requiring chronic dialysis, fewer episodes of avascular necrosis requiring total joint replacement, and less severe osteoporosis and fractures.

Lobbying in the European Union

The European Commission has four main rules: 1. Proposing new legislations to the Parliament and the Court. It is important that these proposals are aimed to defend the interest of the Union and its citizens, and not only for specific countries or industries. 2. It is responsible for supervising the budget under the watchful eye of the Court. It also has to manage the policies which are adopted by the Parliament and Council. 3. They have to make sure that the law in every European country is properly applied. 4. Representing the EU on the international stage. It makes sure that the member states can speak with one voice (Europa.eu, 2009). Explain why the system of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in the Council of Ministers has become more important in the decision-making process Assuming a measure is opposed by Britain, Italy and Ireland, which together wield 23 votes, these have more power than smaller countries. Since a blocking majority consists of 26 votes, the power of Denmark or Finland (each with three votes) to determine the Council's decision on the measure becomes infinitely greater than Luxembourg's (with only two votes). A small country can exert enormous leverage on its larger colleagues when it can use its votes to transform an existing coalition into a qualified majority or blocking majority (Peterson and Bomberg, 1999, p.51-52). Why and how has the role of the European Parliament become more significant in the decision-making process The European Parliament works aside the Council of Ministers to make decisions, therefore Parliament amendments are now influenced by the European Parliament in the decision-making process. It is more involved under two procedures, co-decision and cooperation with the Council of Ministers. This procedure was introduced by the EC Treaty of Maastricht and was largely expanded by the Amsterdam and Nice alteration of the TEC. Now the procedure is applied to practically all important matters (Europedia, 2009). With the cooperation procedure, introduced in the SEA, the Council becomes more influenced. If the EP has different opinions to what the Council proposes in a specific legislation, further discussion and modifications can be undertaken. Today this procedure will only be applied in limited areas of economic and monetary unions. Under the co-decision procedure now fall the vast majority of EU legislations that were introduced by the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. In this procedure the EP has more power to veto against some decisions from the Council. If they can not agree with each other, the legislation will fail to exist (Bomberg E. and Stubb A., 2005, p. 59). To what extent will changes to decision making procedures outline in the Lisbon Treaty (2007) improve the legislation process within the EU Firstly, it generalises the qualified majority voting in a normal legislative process. Secondly, the weight of the votes will change in the Council and significantly simplify the system of qualified majority. From the 1st of November 2014, the qualified majority has to be at least 55 % of the members of the Council, including a minimum of fifteen of them and representing Member States involving a minimum of 65 % of the inhabitants of the Union. A blocking majority must have a minimum of four Council members, and the qualified majority will be reached. The new voting system values the fairness of Member States as each one has one vote in respect of the first decisive factor and the second criteria is the population size of a country. The third criteria which must be noted is that 15 Member States in support of the proposal – is unnecessary (Europedia, 2009). Current decisions about roaming fees and the services directive demonstrate how the European Parliament's membership guides take decisions, which are in the interest of the European citizens. Henceforward, the European Parliament will have the same power as the Council of Ministers in many areas. Regarding the agricultural policy, the Parliament will be able to contribute to it. The EP will therefore take part in all aspects of the EU budget. The national Parliament will play a role prior to the acceptance of EU legislation and will be adept to force the Commission to modify draft EU-legislations. It will be a milestone to bringing the EU nearer to its citizens (TheEuros, 2007). In what ways do lobbying groups contribute to the policy process in the EU and why are they significant for business In 2008, there were 15,000 lobbyists and 2,500 lobbying organisations in Brussels. In the EU, the Lobbyist usually drops into one of three major groups: industry associations, regional representations and non-governmental organisations / interest groups. Interest groups and industry associations focus on influencing decision-making processes for the benefit of their members, while also gathering and disseminating useful information. In distinction, regional lobby groups stand for regional and local authorities within EU Member States, they do not focus on direct lobbying, but on networking, informing and marketing their regions all the way through the EU machinery (Stevenson, 2008, p.1). One of the most important issues in front of interests groups is the hanging balance of power between European Institutions. Enlargement of qualified majority voting in the Council take the veto power from Member States in some economic areas, the co-decision process gave the European Parliament a bigger role in decision-making and the power to reject legislation that the Council favours. Interest groups style alliances in order to give the issue a true European dimension and perspective. The EU today manages important policies such as the Common Agriculture Policy, telecommunication, the negotiation in the World Trade Organisation, food safety, public health and transport. Business groups account for almost two-thirds of all Eurogroups (Lehmann, 2003, p.5-21). Lobbying is significant for the business, because the firms can influence on the government's decisions. Levi Strauss & Co. for example, relies on Guatemala for materials such as textiles. In 2001, the U.S. government denied Guatemala duty-free status for its imports due to the Latin America government's decision to adequately implement labor laws. This would have increased Levi Strauss's costs, so it had a clear business interest in dominating, â€Å"Rather than lobby the U.S. government to retain Guatemala's preferential trade status† the author writes, Levi's choose to attack the cause of the problem: the Guatemala's lack of labour laws. The result: Guatemala put into operation stronger labor laws as a result it continues to have protected trade status with the United States (Is ‘Lobbying for Good' CSR's Missing Link?, 2009).