U.S Departments of Justice versus Eight Cigarette Companies Assignment

U.S Departments of Justice versus Eight Cigarette Companies - Assignment Example In addition, they stood accused of luring thousands of children to start smoking by producing enticing adverts that did not have risks attached to them. Furthermore, the companies were accused of making money illegally through unscrupulous means and hence should return their profits made since 1953 to the U.S government. According to the information provided, the tobacco companies stood accused of breaching their duty to care. In as much as they had reports of research conducted in the 1950’s about the dangers of cigarette smoking, they still went ahead to market their products to consumers, created a chance to get children to smoke, and make more people addicted to the product which eventually led to deaths related to cigarette smoking (Ellet 27). By breaching their duty to care for their consumers, the companies were supposed to be sued. In the duty to exercise care, a company is required to take measures which should prevent injury or damages resulting from the use of their products. According to the US government, they sued the 8 cigarette companies since they were aware of the risks of smoking cigarettes, yet went ahead to market them. The solution, in this case, will be to ensure that the 8 companies use the amount gained through unscrupulous ways to promote the public on the dangers of smoking (Ellet 89). The government in a bid to protect the citizens from deaths caused by advertisements which are misleading wanted to give back to the people what they had lost. A lot of American citizens had been misled by their adverts since 1953 by encouraging the use of smoking and attributing it to not cause lung cancer. The US government is suing the cigarette companies was supposed to make sure that such practices are not carried out.  

Conceptual Definition of Alcoholism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Conceptual Definition of Alcoholism - Assignment Example Categorizing indicators like family income, family size, values orientation, peer interactions and alcohol dependency (which are indicators of social, cultural and economic dimensions) may have measurements using "scale" and cab be interpreted as "very high", "high", "average", "low", and "very low". The aim of a good measurement is to avoid error component as much as possible, and this can be achieved by establishing validity and reliability measures. Validity is the measure of accuracy; to measure what really is to be measured. The content, criterion, or construct validity are the types of validity. Validity can be established by the use of standardized or quality assured instruments of data. Finally, reliability measures the extent to which a measure is error free (Dipboye, Smith, & Howell, 1994). Pilot testing of instruments and reliability testing of data collected are some ways to ensure reliability.

Tesco PESTEL Framework

Tesco PESTEL Framework Introduction Tesco is the largest organization in the UK and one of the biggest supermarket chains in the world. Tesco is one of the top three supermarkets in the world, Tesco operating over 3700 stores globally and employing over 440,000 people. The company operates in 13 countries outside the UK. There are many factors which contribute directly to the success of this leading super market chain. Business Strategy plays a pivotal role in the success of Tesco. Tescos History Tesco was founded in 1920s by Sir Jack Cohen, to setup high street grocery stores in and around London. Tesco name used for the first time in Edgeware London in 1929. The name was drawn from the initials of the companys tea supplier (T.E Stockwell), and Cohens own name. In 1930s when Mr. Cohen built a headquarters and warehouse in North London, its brand continually rises. In 1932 Tesco formally established as a private limited company. In 1947 Tesco stores (holdings) ltd floated on the stock exchange with a share price of 25p. In 1990s the company introduce a slogan Every Little Help, they also introduce Club card scheme in 1995. Tesco personal Finance was introduced in 1997, in order to provide its customers with a wide array of financial services, including visa card, and Tesco saving account in stores bank branches. Today it reported that group sales were  £51.8bn in the year to February 23 2008. Pre-tax profit rose to  £2.8bn. Company Analysis: PESTEL Framework Political Factors Tesco is operating in different countries, so due to its globalised operation its performance is highly affected by the Political and legislative conditions of these countries. According to Balchin, 1994 the Govt encourages the retailers to provide mix job from flexible and locally based jobs to highly skilled, higher-paid and centrally located jobs. (Balchin, 1994) Economical Factors Tesco is also affected by economical factors, such as costs, demand, prices and profits. Unemployment is the most important influential factor which decreases the effective demand for many goods. Basically Tesco is affected indirectly by the economic factor, but their affect on performance and the marketing mix can be learned. Social/Cultural Factors Due to the rapid change in trends, the company expand the amount of non food items available for sale. The UK customers have moved towards one stop and huge shopping, due to the variety of social changes. It also affected by Demographic changes such as population, female worker are increased, so the company will have to focusing added- value products and services. Technological Factors Technology factors are affected the development of many of the Tesco products. Both customers and company are capitalized from the Technology, because customer satisfaction mount for goods readily available, services becomes more quick and shopping more convenient. The lunch of the efficient Consumer Response initiative provided the shift that is now apparent in management of food supply chains. (Data monitor Report, 2003) The company uses the following technologies: Wireless Devices Intelligent scale Electronic shelf labelling Self check-out machine Radio Frequency identification (RFID) Companys Analysis: Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants The UK grocery market is primary henpecked by few competitors, including four major brands of Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys and Morisons that process a market share of 70% and small chain of Somerfield, Waitrose, and lidle with further 10%. However, due to the large operation they built their power to operating efficiency, one-stop shopping and major marketing mix expenditure. Hence, nowadays it possesses a strong barrier for new companies who crave to enter the grocery market. To become a market leader Tesco invest huge money in large chain, advance technology for checkout and stock control system that impact the new entrants and existing ones. Bargaining Power of Customers According to Michael Porter, the more products that become standardised or undifferentiated, the lower the switching cost, and hence more power is yielded to buyers. Porters M. (1980). Tescos famous loyalty card Club card keep the most successful customer holding strategy that tremendously increases the profitability of Tescos business. To fulfil customers needs, custom-make service, ensure low prices, better choices, constant flow of in store promotions enables brands like Tesco to control and hold their customer base. Bargaining Power of Supplier Tesco has negotiating better promotional prices from supplier that small individual chains are unable to match. And this is company policy and company main approach to have unparallel relationships with suppliers. Threat of Substitutes According to the Porters theory, General substitution is able to reduce demand for a particular product, as there is a threat of consumers switching to the alternatives (Porter M1980). However in the grocery market this can be seen in the form of product for product, new trends such as the way of small and convenient stores are emerging in the market. Bargaining Power of Competitors Tesco is operating in mature market, where growth is difficult, and consumer are extend demanding and advanced, large chains as company take place large amounts of consumer information that can be used to communicate with consumer. Therefore the preponderant market leaders have responded refocusing on price and value, whilst reinforcing the added value elements of their service. Analysis of Resources, Competence and Culture For the company, customer is first priorities, by the time of recession, a research shows that price are ranked as the most important margins not seen in twodecades. Therefore the company believe that their job is to help the customer with less spending. So the company launched value line, the famous blue stripes, the company would be able to provide the cheapest grocery shop in the country discounter included. The company maintain its position through a clear focus, well targeted product offer and excellent record both in product and format design. Core Competence Core competence is the processes that critically underpin the companys competitive advantage. Tesco primary target is to recognise that competition between businesses is as much a race for competence as it is for market position and market power. Hence, the Company have to focus the attending on competencies that really influence competitive advantage. Core competence is basically the process to develop the key area of a business in which the company expert, which bring a distinctive advantage over the competitors, and also critically connected with company long term growth. However, it will be important for Tesco to look at the generic level. Therefore in this case, Tescos expertise are most likely to mature central area of business where the most value added to its services and its devilries. For example, trust on Tesco brand prevarication at the heart of these services In addition, Core competencies of a Tesco have rather rigid, but a research shows that core competencies have to elastic, and it should be change in response to change in companys environment over the time. Therefore the company need to accommodate and create new idea and also new opportunity in the market. For example, Tesco launched its loyalty card and went into banking. Tesco able to enter into retailing of food and non food products was a clear distinctive brand proposition that had a focus on a properly define market section. The company also provide a strong and efficient customer service, based on a good customer relationship. Tesco Strategic Options: Generic Strategies Introduction: According to Porter (1985), competitive advantage arises from selection of the generic strategy that best fits the organisations competitive environment and then organizing activities to support the chosen strategy. These strategies are characterised by the company in response to their structure and environment of the organization. However to obtain a competitive advantage Tesco should follow one of the three strategies, which is developed by Porter. Cost Leadership Tesco accommodate the first strategy of cost leadership in which can endeavour the lowest costs in the market and offer its products and services to broad market at the lowest prices. The company are more focusing on the effective saving programme call Step-Change. By this programme the company delivered  £540 million of productivity and other saving in the year, which mostly reinvested in improving the shopping trip for customers. To reducing the amount of energy the company introduce better ways of working to improve the efficiency by making things better for customers, simpler for stop and cheaper for company. For example, according to a report, in the last year the company saved 52,000 deliveries to companys stores by using larger-fill-double-decked vehicles, which in turn have also 12 million road miles. Some other example of these projects which delivered substantial savings in the year includes: Saving in the Supply Chain-the company using more shelf-ready packaging and reconfiguring the depot network to increased vehicle utilisation and more productive work methods in depots and stores. For example the distribution cost more held in cash terms and reduced in percentage of sales terms. By this method the company achieved despite higher fuel costs. Installed Energy Saving-the company significantly invest in energy-saving projects across the business- such as new refrigeration, store lobbies and lighting, its helping the company to absorb utility costs. From the energy consumption the company fell by 8% last year despite business growth. Low wage employees- the company have around 31000 employees working in India as Global Support Centre, which provides IT and administrative support to UK and International operationsfrom software development to management accounting and payroll. If the company use another strategy of differentiation, the company then tries to offer a good services and product with unequal features that customers value. With the differentiation strategy the company created a brand loyalty for their offering, and price inelasticity on the parts of buyers. For example to achieve a better and more efficient service provide by the company to checkouts, many more customers didnt have to queue last year and customer continue to rank the company for speed of services at the checkout. Another example of this approach, the company have different brand product according to their feature, speciality, and reliability. Such as Tesco value, Finest, Organic etc Value Chain Primary Activities Inbound logistics According to Alex Laffey, we choose G-Logs logistics and transportation technology because their solution will support and enhance our low-cost, high quality approach to growth in the retail market. Major factors in our decision to select G-Log were the close and demonstrable fit of their software to our requirements, and their ability to rapidly deploy the solution in phases to meet our aggressive project time frame. G-log is providing visibility, optimization, and execution will enable the company to integrate their supplier, partners and logistics service providers, delivering real-time visibility of in transit orders, whilst optimising the transportation resources by both consolidating loads and selecting the most cost effective carrier. The G-log continues to shows to deliver significant result, and to provide value to its customers, in terms of improved customer services, reduced costs and enhanced competitive advantage. Outbound Logistics Outbound logistics is concerned with the delivering the product to the customer. The company adds value to its home delivery services. Tesco also trying to improve other tangible that have to be improved, such as parking facilities, trolley collectors, staff on self service checkout, and also to saying to customer hello hey and thank you with smiling face. The company making small improvements in everything with Every Little Help is about the company work together on the little things, its amount to a great deal. It keeps the focused on what matters most to customers. The company do not sacrifice all the other things that are so important to customers, such as not having to queue and being able to get everything that they want. Support Activities Company Infrastructure The company introduce software Real Time Integrator (RTI) which provides retailer with faster access to critical business information, through the provision and use of accurate, detailed, point-of-sale (POS) information. Sale data from individual store database will be routed to head office in XML to Microsoft server and Microsoft SQL. The solution handles 1500 sales transactions a second at peak times, which each have an average of between 50 and 100 items. To reduce the number not the on file items the first application for RTI will pilot for 120 stores, which improve the customer experience. Human Resources Management Tesco introduce a high commitment model which offers training and development to all employees. In addition the company extend their logo through their culture to prove their commitment to employees as well as to customers. The company continue to invest in customer services where training is also directly linked to pay, therefore the staff is motivated to learn and encourage their approach to customers and services and the provision of qualities. Conclusion With the research carried out, the company shows how the branding and effective service delivery can come in moving beyond splashing ones logo on billboard. The company made their market leader due to their successful and dynamic strategies. The company also made a powerful brand and powerful identities making their retailing concept into various and spending it out into the culture via a variety of channels. Such culture sponsorship, political controversy, consumer experience and brand extensions. The company change their culture and business environment very rapidly due to the high competitors pressure. The company also have to diversify the product and expand their strategies in order to sustain in its leading market position. This is already established by the company. Tesco need to make sure, to have the combination of good customer services, competitive pricing and efficiency when they launching a new product. Tesco has definitely has the potential and can compete with other store if the company get the above combination right. REFERENCES http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/nov/09/supermarkets.tesco1 Tesco history from. http://www.telegraph.co.uk http://www.cn.tesco.com/en/aboutus/aboutus_history.htm http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/tesco-thinks-small-to-be-big-in-america-394385.html Datamonitor Report (2003) Food retail industry profile: United Kingdom, January; Datamonitor Report (2003) SWOT Analysis Tesco PLC, July; Datamonitor Report (2003) Company Profile: Tesco PLC Analysis, October; Tesco Annual Report and Financial Statement 2009, To find out more go towww.tesco.com/annualreport09 De Toni A. and Tonchia S. (2003) Strategic planning and firms competencies: Traditional approaches and new perspectives, International Journal of Operations Production Management, Vol. 23 Issue 9, pp.947-976; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_4_44/ai_n13248624/ http://www.tesco.com/talkingtesco/oldDefault.asp Drejer A. (2000) Organisational learning and competence development, The Learning Organization: An International Journal, Vol. 7 Issue 4, pp.206-220; Finch P. (2004) Supply chain risk management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 9 Issue 2, pp.183-196; Graiser A. and Scott T. (2004) Understanding the Dynamics of the Supermarket Sector, The Secured Lender, Vol. 60 Issue 6, November/December, pp.10-14; Johnson G. and Scholes K. (2003) Exploring Corporate Strategy, 6th ed.,Prentice Hill: London; Lindgreen A. and Hingley M. (2003) The impact of food safety and animal welfare policies on supply chain management: The case of the Tesco meat supply chain, British Food Journal, Vol. 105 Issue 6, pp.328-349; MarketWatch (2004) Company Spotlight: Tesco, Datamonitor, September; Mintel Report (2004) Food Retailing -UK, Retail Intelligence, Nobember; Myers H. (2004) Trends in the food retail sector across Europe, European Retail Digest, Spring, Issue 41, pp.1-3; Palmer M. (2004) International retail restructuring and divestment: the experience of Tesco, Journal of Marketing Management, November, Vol. 20 Issue 9/10, pp.1075-1101; Porter M. (1980) How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy, The McKinsey Quartely, Spring 1980, pp.34-50; Ritz (2005) Store wars, Business Review, Vol. 11, April, pp.22-23; Veliyath R. and Fitzgerald E. (2000) Firm Capabilities, Business Strategies, Customer Preferences, and Hypercompetitive Arenas: The Sustainability of Competitive Advantages with Implications for Firm Competitiveness, Competitiveness Review, Vol. 10 Issue 1, pp.56-82; Bibliography Anon (2004) Case Study IV: Tesco implements the business engine network to gain full control of it IT Project Portfolio, Journal of Database Marketing Customer Strategy Management Vol.12. Tesco business strategy, 2008 available at http://www.bized.co.uk/ Tesco business strategy 2008 available at www.tescocorporate.com/images/TescocsrReview02_0.pdf Datamonitor Report (2003) Company Profile: Tesco PLc Analysis, http://university-essays.tripod.com/porters_generic_strategies.html Palmer, M. (2005), Retail multinational learning: a case study of Tesco, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol. 33 No. 1

Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream :: essays research papers

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream was founded on the corporate concept of linked prosperity, interrelating a three-part mission statement to focus their company’s growth. Their mission statement, which covers their product, economic and social goals, focuses both the leadership and the workforce on their key values. These values include staying in touch with the customer base, using quality ingredients, maintaining profitability and maintaining social awareness and accountability.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the history of the company, its owners, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have interacted with their customers, gaining knowledge on what people like and dislike about their ice cream. Opening their store in Burlington, Vermont in 1978, they immediately began interfacing with the local populace by hosting a free summer movie festival, projecting movies on the wall of their renovated gas station. In 1985, they introduced New York Super Fudge Chunk ®, a flavor suggested by a writer from New York City. Throughout the years, they have continued to introduce new flavors either suggested or inspired by either regular individuals or well-known celebrities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ben and Jerry launched their â€Å"Cowmobile†, a modified mobile home used to distribute free scoops of ice cream in a unique cross-country marketing drive. Unfortunately, the vehicle burned to the ground outside Cleveland, but everyone escaped unharmed. Ben said it looked like â€Å"the world’s largest baked Alaska.† Undaunted they resurrected the idea the following year with â€Å"Cow II†, once again going cross country giving away free scoops. That same year, at the suggestion of two â€Å"DeadHeads’ from Portland Maine, Ben and Jerry introduced the first ice cream named for a rock legend, Cherry Garcia. In 1988 they introduced Chunky Monkey at the request of a college student in New Hampshire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Staying in touch with their customers would not enable Ben and Jerry to be as successful as they have become if their ice cream was not high quality as well. The second value the company espouses is to use only wholesome, natural ingredients. They began their operation on this premise, utilizing fresh Vermont milk and cream to create their frozen concoctions. During a period of volatility in the dairy market in 1991, the company went so far as to pay a dairy premium totaling a half million dollars to combat Vermont dairy farmers’ losses. This helped protect the family farmers who supplied the milk for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. The combination of good product and good marketing over the years has enabled Ben and Jerry’s to increase sales and maintain profitability year after year.

Rene Castellani

In 1965, Rene Castellani was working as a radio promotions manager on his show â€Å"The Dizzy Dialer† in New Westminster, and slowly killing his wife, Esther Castellani, by poisoning her with arsenic. This had been going on for a period of several months with no one noticing, not even the doctors. Mrs. Castellani had gone to the hospital many times but doctors could not discover what was causing her illness. After having been sick for nine months Mrs. Castellani died on July, 11 1965.The autopsy report showed that Mrs. Castellani had died from â€Å"a viral infection and heart attack. † Several months after her burial, a woman named Adelaide Miller, presumably Rene’s accomplice, who planned to marry him after Rene had collected the insurance money, contacted the Crown Attorney and said she knew how Mrs. Castellani was killed. She and Rene Castellani had been having an affair from approximately the fall 1964 to the spring of 1966. Both Adelaide Miller and Rene Ca stellani were poisoning Mrs.Castellani with arsenic. Authorities exhumed the body of Mrs. Castellani on August 3rd, 1965 from the cement crypt of Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Municipality of Burnaby, and delivered it to a morgue in Vancouver where a post? mortem examination was conducted by Dr. Thomas Redo Harmon. Tests known as â€Å"X-ray diffraction† procedures were done. The results showed that the arsenic levels in her body were high enough to kill her. During the trial, which took place on 26 September 1967, Dr.Moscovitch, who treated Mrs. Castellani, said he had never considered arsenic poisoning. Dr. Moscovitch said: â€Å"The possibility of arsenic never occurred to us at all. † Of all the 125 clinical tests that had been performed during her illness, none had identified arsenic. Subsequently, Mr. Castellani was arrested, sentenced for murder on November 12, 1966, found guilty, and sentenced to death, which was later changed to life in prison. Rene Castell ani died on January 4, 1982.

Buddhism & History

Buddhism is a spiritual practice that leads to insight true nature of life It’s a practice of mind developing like the awareness ,kindness and wisdom. The history of transformation of Japanese marriage and kinship over the course of Hein (794-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333). The role of Buddhist funerary and memorial rituals in creation. Graveyards have been deserted and lonely places were known as such, yet there is something inappropriate in this. In the beginning of the eleventh century we find no evidence of such resident grave tenders.In the later periods,  the development of more permanent stone markers for graves, the burial became a site of worship. It became the place to define a family group and strengthen the bond of kinship. The preservation of bones and the development of maintained, regularly visited grave are indicators of the signification of Japanese kinship practices that took place through the medium of Buddhist death ritual and memorial practice. The langu age of kinship and gender of the Chinese ritual has changed the Japanese family. The introduction of Chinese Buddhist ideas about the postmortem lives of families had ramifications for many generations of men and women to come.Women in Japan were not always temporary members of the families of their birth. The women kept their family names after marriage. A daughter would leave their family to become a wife and a mother with the family which she would come to be identified. At death she would join the family lineage as the consort of father-cum-ancestor and genetrix link of the present link of the patrilineal link. It was Buddhist rituals that shape family links. The burial of daughters with their father’s represents the continuing indispensability of women in the avuncular politics. They died as their father’s daughter’s and buried amongpartrilineal relatives, their bones revered ancestral relics by the children and grandchildren of their brother. In addition t o age restrictions, Japan also prohibits close relatives from getting married. This is a very common marriage rule that is held by many modern nations. Close relatives include blood relatives, step relatives and adoptive relatives. However, the period of most intense preoccupation with. Keeping daughter’s' bone’s â€Å"in the family† ironically marked the initial entrenchment of agnatic, or partrilineal, principles of descent in Japan. The posthumous divorce was common in mayareas in Japan. This was the custom was that the most women commit suicide or had failed to produced male children was sent back to her natal family. This act signifies severing of ties with the dead women and responsibilities for her funeral rite, burial and memorial services back onto her family that had raised her. The idea of married woman belongs to their husbands and sons comes as no surprises. The memorial practices gathered by the Japanese folklorist in the twentieth century reveal a great deal of regional variation. Japanese kinship system daughters leaves their families to live and die.The idea that a daughter should stay with her father came to apply to final place as it had to marriage residence. By the end of the Murumachi period, the women lived by their husband’s people. Ancestor consciousness in Japan is very weak. Only with the importation of the concept of lineage from the Korean Peninsula does the history of ancestor worship begun. Reference : â€Å" The Early Stages In The Development of Group Descent of Organization,† in Kinship Organization in Late Imperial China, ed. Patricia Ebrey and James Watson( Berkely University of California Press, 1986) 16-61