Management and Managers

Management and Managers
Management and Managers

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Management and Managers

      Managing large companies is a complicated task. It is extremely vital that effective managers possess many abilities, knowledge and skills. It is worth noting that management is a process that is unpredictable. The decision making process is usually hard; even the most effective managers make wrong decisions. However, extremely effective managers learn from previous mistakes and strive in the future to come up with methods of helping their companies increase competitive advantage, survive in a volatile business environment s and improve performance. Essay to reflect on management and managers.

Background of the key issues                                                                                                 

Managers supervise how the social capital and other tangible resources are used in achieving the organizations’ goal. There is an extreme need for coordinating these resources over time. The resources in an organization included assets (people and the skills they possess), knowledge and know-how, financial capital, IT and computers, raw materials and machinery.

            One of the most significant goals of an organization is to provide a unique service or product that is desired by customers (Anonymous, 2).The CEO has the key goal of ensuring a novel stream of services and products are created, and which customers desire to buy. High effectiveness/ low efficiency managers select the right goals to be pursued but manage resources poorly in the process of achieving the goals. The result is a product that is desired by the customer but is too expensive.  

The customers cannot afford to buy the product. Low effectiveness/ low efficiency managers select the wrong goals and utilize resources poorly. The impact is a product of low-quality, and that is not desired by customers. High effectiveness/ low efficiency managers select right goals and use resources wisely to fulfill the goals. The impact is a product that is bought at a price and quality that the customer can afford. Low effectiveness/ high efficiency managers select inappropriate goals, but use resources wisely to achieve them. The result is a product of high quality and that customers do not want.

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Management and Managers

            Managers can lessen the burden of management through the creation of management teams. In the teams, employees learn new things and come up with ways on how effectiveness and efficiency can be improved in the organization. The teams ensure spread of best practices, increased business awareness, vision driven decisions and ideas can be contributed which makes decision making easy. When teams meet regularly, there is improved communication which leads to other good practices (Heerkens, 39).

Management and Managers

Examples of companies

            Werner von Siemens innovated generators and Siemens, medical devices. The hospital administrators, nurses and doctors, have the key role of increasing the hospital’s ability to treat the sick. Likewise McDonald’s restaurant manager has to ensure that the shakes, fries and burgers produced are what customers want to purchase and eat. These activities have to be undertaken following the set code of practice, regulations, rules and standards. 

            A manager has the role of ensuring that employees perform efficiently, with the use of minimum resources as possible, to produce services and products to customer. McDonald has been successful in developing an extremely efficient deep fryer that reduced the oil amount used in cooking by thirty percent and accelerated French fries cooking. Welner von Siemens developed the 1st dynamo that enabled cheaper electricity production.

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            According to Lormax (14), organizations become effective if managers select suitable goals and achieve them. For instance, McDonald managers decided that breakfast service will be provided so as to attract additional customers. This goal’s choice has proven to be extremely smart since breakfast food sales currently account for over thirty percent of McDonald revenues. Organizations that are considered high performing such as ASDA, IKEA, Intel, Siemens, McDonald and Accenture are effective and efficient simultaneously. Effective managers select appropriate organizational goals and utilize skills and resources efficiently.

            To illustrate planning in action, the situation that Dell Computer’s CEO, Michael Dell, is confronting is an apt example. Dell was nineteen years old in 1984, and he saw a chance to enter Personal Computers market through assembling PCs and consequently selling them to customers directly. He began thinking on how to actualize the idea. He decided that his aim was to sell inexpensive PCs, at a price lower than Compaq’s.

Consequently, he has to choose the course of action to achieve the goal. Dell decided to market directly to customers by the use of a telephone and bypass Apple’s and Compaq’s computer stores that are expensive (Nelson, 46). To date, managers at Dell have to plan continually so as to maintain their position as the highest- performing and largest PC maker.

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Future recommendations

            It is extremely vital that managers take advantage of e-commerce and IT, and the ability they have in reducing operation costs. In addition, senior management teams and CEOs should focus to outsource specific activities and restructure the organization so as to ensure they do not have more employees than is necessary. Organizations should engage in workforce empowerment so as to expand the responsibilities, tasks and knowledge of their employees.

In addition, there is a need for self-managed teams, which ensures quality enhancement. It is advisable to the top management to get a picture of how customers respond to their products and services so as to be able to modify them as necessary.

Works Cited

Anonymous.Management: Managers could benefit to the tune of ‘millions.’Music Week (Jun 27, 2009): 2. Print.

Heerkens, Gary.03 – Fundamentals of Organizational Management.New York: The McGraw- Hill Companies, 2006. Print.

Lormax, Stan. When disaster strikes: A primer for managers. Business and Economic Review 48. 2 (Jan-Mar 2002): 11-15. Print.

Nelson, Jennifer. “Commercial Property Managers.” New Jersey Business53. 11 (Nov 2007): 46. Print.

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Individual rights and the public protection

Individual rights and the public protection
Individual rights and the public protection

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Individual rights and the public protection

Explain your philosophy and approach for balancing these two (2) issues: individual rights and the public’s protection. 

Explain your philosophy and approach for balancing of these two (2) issues: use of reward and punishment in criminal justice. 

Explain your philosophy and approach for balancing the use of immoral means (e.g., lying in interrogation) to accomplish desirable ends. 

Recommend at least three (3) ways to use ethics in decision making about these issues in criminal justice.

Individual rights and the public protection

My Philosophy and Approach to Criminal Justice Issues

Introduction

Criminal justice constitutes a very crucial part of any country since it is a system of institutions and practices of governments aimed at upholding social control as well as mitigating and deterring crime. However, ethics in criminal justice provides us with ways of making moral choices during uncertainties concerning what to do in situations that involve moral issues (Garland, 2002). Hence, in everyday operations of the criminal justice systems, moral rules or ethics are highly necessary, not because of expressing absolute truth, but their role in helping to uphold ethical conduct in criminal justice issues. 

My philosophy and approach for balancing individual rights and the public’s protection

Everyone has his/her individual rights which must be respected but striking a good balance must be attained when they conflict with public protection. This is because despite the priority and supremacy given to individual rights of someone, nobody should be allowed to endanger the public on basis of individual rights because public protection is also of eminent significance (Hinman, 1998).

Thus, my philosophy and approach towards the best ways of balancing between individual rights and public’s protection is that, at all time individual rights should be given priority but without unnecessarily threatening public protection (Garland, 2002).

For example, my philosophy and approach to freedom of interaction and expression as individual rights is that, they should be given a top priority but whenever it’s evident that someone is putting the public at risk, then public protection should prevail and these individual rights should be withdrawn. Fuller (2005) reiterates that an individual is part of the public and upholding individual rights eventually results to public protection.

For instance, in case of an outbreak of potentially deadly epidemics which are a threat to the public, individual rights such as freedom of movement may be suspended through quarantines in order to prevent the spread of the disease to the general public in other places. This should also apply in case some people are potentially dangerous to the public.

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My philosophy and approach for balancing use of reward and punishment in criminal justice

The society has developed criminal justice to allow people live with others without violating their liberty, and in case of violation of these laws punishment is almost the usual measure. Use of rewards in criminal justice is very rare, and the only well known reward is to refrain from committing crimes and avoiding punishment (Walker, 1980). Therefore, options to use rewards are severely diminished in our criminal justice system.

However, my philosophy and approach is that, both rewards and punishment should be used in promoting good behaviours. For example, persons who have not severely stumbled into the criminal justice system, the rewards should be used to rehabilitate them whereas in severe cases punishment should prevail. 

My philosophy and approach for balancing the use of immoral means to accomplish desirable ends

My philosophy and approach is that, at all times the criminal justice should refrain from using an immoral mean to accomplish desirable ends. These immoral means such as torture, coercion, lying in interrogation and verbal trickery should be strongly shunned because they don’t align with ethics which should be governing criminal justice (Fuller, 2005). Hence honesty and transparency should be maintained at all times irrespective of whether desirable ends will be accomplished, after all criminal justice is about ensuring justice prevails but not convenience.

Ways to use ethics in decision making about issues in criminal justice

Holmes (1998) argues that when faced with criminal justice ethical dilemmas the first thing to use is our intuitive level of moral thinking because it provides us with principles which are relatively simple and derived from our past experiences of decision making.  Moreover, the use of ethics in criminal justice issues also requires critical thinking which applies principles established by moral concepts and philosophy.

Thus, when making decisions on issues of criminal justice, we may require application of both intuitive and non-intuitive forms of thinking to identify the most effective and ethical courses of action in making decisions on issues of criminal justice ethical dilemmas (Hinman, 1998). Hence there are several ways on how ethics can be used in decisions about issues of criminal justice.

Firstly, the initial appropriate way to use ethics in making decisions on criminal justice issues is to make sure there is collection of all the relevant facts and knowledge to aid decision making (Wolfgang, 1990). This is crucial to enable making informed decisions.  Secondly, the other way to use ethics in making decisions about criminal justice is to ensure that you apply the necessary ethical principles, theories and approaches to guide for the most appropriate course of action.

Thirdly, identification of available options should take place followed by selection of the most appropriate for the criminal justice issue under consideration (Fuller, 2005). Considering these factors will allow someone to choose the option that is most ethically appropriate. 

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Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that ethics is undoubtedly the most crucial component of criminal justice, and there is a need to uphold ethics in the practice and operations of our criminal justice systems. Hence the right philosophy and approaches should be embraced in the course of addressing all the issues of criminal justices in order to ensure that efficiency, honesty and transparency is maintained. 

References

Fuller, J. R. (2005). Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Garland, D. (2002). Of Crimes and Criminals. In Maguire, Mike, Rod Morgan, Robert Reiner. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hinman, L. (1998). Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory.  Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.

Holmes, R. (1998). Basic Moral Philosophy (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Walker, S. (1980). Popular Justice: A History of American Criminal Justice. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Wolfgang, M. (1990). Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 81(3), 567–84. 

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Family conflict Essay Paper

Family conflict
Family conflict

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Family conflict 

According to thesaurus dictionary, family conflict can be defined as any struggles or disagreements occurring between members of a family. It entails conflicts between parents and their children or even conflicts between siblings as well as those between spouses. Since works of art emanate from burning issues in the society many plays have been written focusing on this theme. This paper examines family conflict in Shakespeare’s Othello, Sophocles’ King Oedipus and Fences by August Wilson

In Fences family conflict seems to be the main theme in the play. It is first displayed by Maxson Troy’s conflict with his son Cory. The fight for power and might with troy trying to control his son. When Cory gets a college scholarship to play football his father refuses to sign the permission papers arguing that he prefers his son to work and make money rather than play football.

This clearly strains the father son relationship. The conflict further grows when he fights his father with a baseball bat and later disowns his father after the fight. Another conflict is between Troy and his wife Rose when she discovers that Troy has had a child with another woman, Alberta. She agrees to raise young Raynell but does no longer identify herself as Troy’s wife.

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In Sophocles book King Oedipus, family conflict is seen at the introduction where King Oedipus two sons kill each other in a battle over the rule of Thebes. The young son Eteocles is in disagreement with the elder one Polynices as they both want to succeed their father as king. This opens us to the events that transpired historically before revealing the sad fate of King Oedipus who unknowingly kills his biological father King Laius and marries his mother Jocasta with whom he has had two sons and two daughters.

Another conflict is between King Oedipus and his brother in law Creon who he accuses of conspiring with the blind prophet Terasius when he sends them to consult the oracle. King Oedipus even threatens Creon with death and exile. According to Barrons (1984) Oedipus also got into conflict with his wife Jocasta because he did not follow her advice against searching for the true killer of Laius and the prophecy of the oracle about him.

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In Othello, the main type of family conflict is that between Brabantio and his daughter Desdemona who he feels has let him down by marrying the ‘wrong’ man. Brabantio high profiled man as a senator wants to select a husband for his daughter who will be of her class; she on the other hand believes that marriage should be build on the grounds of true love thus wants to marry the only man she truly loves.

This makes her to run off and marry Othello a moor without her fathers consent. Another conflict is that between Brabantio and Othello his son in law whom he accuses of tricking his daughter to marry him. The case he presents before the duke is dismissed on the grounds that the daughter agrees to having gotten married out of free will. At the end of the play Othello has a conflict with his wife who he suspects has been having an extra marital affair.

In an argument where Othello his asking his wife Desdemona where her handkerchief is, Desdemona denies having any affair with Cassio who has the handkerchief with him. Eventually Othello stabs his wife to death out of anger.

As seen in the three plays’ family conflict is evident in many families. Some lead to family break up since they are beyond reconciliation, others especially those emanating from jealousy can lead to suicide as well as killings while the many simple ones can be solved through forgiveness and reconciliation.

References

Barrons (1984) Book Notes, Sophocle’s Oedipus Tripology, Barrons Education Institute

Thesaurus Dictionary

Fence by August Wilsons

King Oedipus by Sophocles

Othello by Shakespeare

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Geox case study

Geox case study
Geox case study

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Geox case study

Case analysis: Geox shoe company

GEOX: BREATHING INNOVATION INTO SHOES

            The impact of innovation has been increasing in the recent few years. Innovation is taking place in all products including shoe manufacturing factories. Mr. Palegato’s story points to “necessity” as the driving force behind innovations. 

However, we also learn that most innovation ideas are not put to use due to lack of ability to implement them. He approached different shoe manufacturing firms who did not buy his idea of ‘breathing shoe’ product.

Product diversification and development is seen as another driving force behind the success of many companies. Geox Company realized the importance of product diversification and extended their breathability technology into fabric products. Geox embraced innovation in its operation which gave the company a competitive advantage.

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Important points

Geox history

GEOX: BREATHING INNOVATION INTO SHOES

Continuous innovation is necessary for the survival of human race due to the ever changing natural demands. Product development is essential for company’s performance in the current competitive world markets. Though initially started by manufacturing shoes for the children, Geox extended breathing technology into jackets and other fabric items.

The company invested heavily in research and development by involving engineers and best universities. The company carried out continuous experiments in its state of the art laboratories, continuously generating new research ideas for the company.

Patents and copyright laws are important in driving innovation. Gaining patent rights has helped many companies to survive in the world market. Geox shoe producing company is known for innovation and company patent rights have been protected sufficiently and their innovations are not under threats of copying and imitation by its rivals.

Geox investments in research and development yielded a stream of patents; over 50 patents were obtained to its name by September 2009. There were patents related to equipment, machinery and even processes and materials. 

Smart people with smart ideas have always found their way out just like Mr. Polecat. Although most people are creative, many lack the ability to translate their good ideas into business opportunities. Engaging in marketing research gives any given company an opportunity to be competitive.

Technological development is necessary to support innovations. Goex did not enter into main shoe market until they introduced a different technology in their breathing technology to help them expand into producing sports shoes. Technology is seen as a pre-condition for innovation. Innovation alone cannot guarantee good performance of company products especially in the fashion-mindful shoe industry. 

Competition should not deter the implementation of business ideas. Fierce competition in the shoe manufacturing sector did not deter Polegato from pursuing his business idea. Instead it helped him come up with better ideas to win customers. Competition from other players in the industry helped the firm to grow in strength.

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Global footwear industry

The world market is growing and more so the demands for shoes just like other goods and services. The USA provides the biggest market for shoes although Asian market is growing rapidly. This market is highly segmented hence provides manufacturers the opportunity to specialize, for instance in casual wear, children and sports.

            Market segmentation gives new entrants an opportunity to venture into big market by starting off with a particular market segment and later expand into the bigger market. Geox entered the shoe market by producing shoes for children before venturing into the larger market.

We should be flexible and avoid sticking to our areas of specialization all the time. Although specialization has been found to increase individual competence in a particular area, overspecialization may lead to loss of opportunities for many people. Having interest in things outside your area of expertise helped in establishment of Geox company which is quite different from Polegato’s areas of specialization.

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Geox profile

Setting clear company objectives is necessary for the performance of any company. Geox Footwear Company just like other firms in footwear industry has clear objectives that guide their operations. Their operations are lined towards achieving the set objectives.  

Outsourcing is necessary for cutting costs and helps in saving costs associated with setting up new firms in a new area. The money saved can be utilized in other areas that are more demanding. For instance, Geox outsourced its production to Asian shoe factories which contributed over 95% of its total production. Outsourcing was the company’s easiest way of entering new markets of Asia without necessarily installing full operational plant.

Brand name is necessary marketing tool for company products. Geox name had been established as a popular brand name across the globe, this acted as a major marketing tool for its products. Company brand name differentiates its products from those of its competitors and is easily accepted in the market without even much advertisement and sales promotion.

However advertisement and sales promotion plays a crucial role in popularizing company products. However, communication strategy determines the effectiveness of advertising to the audience.

A well established distribution channel is equally necessary for company performance. Customers require goods when they need them and this depends on the efficiency of company’s distribution network. Geox had excellent distribution network spread across the globe of over 10,000 multi- brand stores and 997 single stores Geox stores located in major world cities.

Staff development through training and promotion cannot be underestimated. Staffs need to be motivated to give their best in terms of performance. For instance, Geox School was established in 2001 which was training school for both new recruits and company staff.

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Footwear key players

Footwear industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world today. The major players includes boss holdings, brown shoe company, coach inclusive company,  Iconix Brand Group, Rocky Brands, skin Inc. among others.

However, challenges are inevitable and companies should be prepared for the challenges that arise. For instance, global economic downtown exhibited in 2009, adversely affected Geox just like many others. 

However drastic measures are called for to overcome external challenges. For example, the company halted its expansion strategy until the period of economic recovery to consolidate its weakened financial status. In most cases, strategic change is necessary to minimize production and operational costs sometimes leading to the laying off some staff to cut down company costs. 

Opinion

From the story of Mr. Mario Polegato and Geox Shoe Company, we realize that most innovative ideas are left unutilized due to lack of ability to implement them.  It’s my view that had not Mr. Polegato had the ability and means to raise funds to implement his breathing shoe technology, the idea could have been wasted.

Innovation is key for survival of any company in the evolving world market hence patenting laws need to be enhanced to promote innovation. Governments should embrace the idea generation to encourage creativity among its citizens.

Companies should carry out industry and external market analysis to inform its strategic marking process. Analysis of industry will assist in establishing company strengths and weaknesses as well available opportunities to exploit, and threats posed by the industry players. External analysis will prepare the company for unforeseen challenges and benefits. 

Investment in research and development should be accompanied with investments in new technology and infrastructure that provide conducive environment for the function of companies. Globalization and opening of borders have greatly contributed to the growth of many firms by offering markets for their goods and services. 

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Conclusion

Innovation is taking its rightful place as the main weapon for company survival in the global market. Therefore, this noble concept should be supported by all governments and major players tasked with regulation of trade and patent rights. Technological development, political stability, favorable economic environment and ecological and social factors have both negative and positive influence on performance of manufacturing firms. Companies should always be prepared for the unforeseen circumstances that have led to downfall of many companies in the past.

Reference

Ali Farahoomand. (2011) Breathing innovation into shoes; Asia case research Centre, University of Hong Kong. POON Kam Kai series; 10/472c

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COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS

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COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS

Comparing two artists and one of their works. Comparing Italian Caravaggio to Dutch Rembrandt

Comparing and contrasting artists Velasquez and Bernini
The 15th and 16th century saw the birth of some great artists across Europe. This paper compares and contrasts two regional variations and artists that is; Spanish (Velasquez) and the Italian (Bernini) by looking at what they stood for, their similarities and differences and it concludes by giving a personal opinion on who stood out between the two.

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS: Spanish (Velasquez)

In Spain, Velazquez an accomplished portrait artist was famous for his paintings on historical and cultural themes during the European baroque period of art. He was fondly associated with some great works such as the Las Meninas (1656) which was an all-time favorite amongst art lovers (Goldberg, 1992). He was a Christian, and he schooled in the special fields of languages as well as philosophy.

He was an adherent of long-bristled brushes for his works. Besides artwork he also taught at times. His realism-based paintings were inspired by his religious back ground of Christianity. His outstanding works contributed to the rise of the Velazquez style which was especially common because of his closeness to the royal family under Phillip IV who was at the reign in Spain at that time.

Actually he continued with religious paintings with his most famous being the Christ Crucified (1632). He was famous beyond borders and served as the chief artist for King Philip IV and for a long period acted as the King’s painter. His main differences from the Italy’s Bernini artist are that: He liked and painted on historical and cultural contexts as well as portraits. He unlike Bernini painted not for monetary gains. Unlike Bernini he really expressed and upheld realism in his works.

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COMPARING AND CONTRASTING ARTISTS: Italian (Bernini)

Unlike Velazquez who was a painter, Bernini was more involved in sculpture. However both were masters in their fields. For both Velazquez and Bernini, they were good in multitasking as Bernini was also an architect of high standing. While Velazquez used bristled brush and canvas to paint, Bernini used chisel and marble to come up with sculptures. Both Bernini and Velazquez were religious at least at one time in their lives.

Both were attached and close to royalties for Velazquez he was close to Philip IV and committed his later years to painting for the royal palace. As for Bernini he became close to Urban VIII who commissioned him to work for him. Bernini produced works related or attached to his faith as demonstrated by one of his works, ‘the remodeled Church of Santa Bibiana in Rome’ (Mormando, 2011).

Another striking similarity is how both were leading artists in their ages; for Bernini as a leading sculptor while for Velazquez he was a leading painter. Both artists traveled widely, while Velazquez made numerous trips to Italy, Bernini was a visitor to France at the invitation of the authorities. His visit to Paris projects his personality as that of a stubborn man especially because of assertions which offended the citizens when he alleged that Italy’s art was superior to that of France. We do not hear of such controversies from Velazquez.

Personal Preference

I prefer Velazquez over Bernini, because he employed naturalism and the way he could present situations as they are in reality especially the “Pope Innocent X painted in 1650 which he painted in such a real way it almost risked hurting his relations with the authorities.

References

Goldberg, E. L. (1992) Velázquez in Italy: Painters, Spies and Low Spaniards“. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 74, No. 3.pp. 453–456.

Mormando, F. (2011). Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Comparing and contrasting Velasquez and Bernini

Comparing and contrasting Velasquez and Bernini

Velasquez and Bernini

Comparing and contrasting Velasquez and Bernini

The 15th and 16th century saw the birth of some great artists across Europe. This paper compares and contrasts two regional variations and artists that is; Spanish (Velasquez) and the Italian (Bernini) by looking at what they stood for, their similarities and differences and it concludes by giving a personal opinion on who stood out between the two. 

Comparing and contrasting Velasquez and Bernini: Spanish (Velasquez) 

In Spain, Velazquez an accomplished portrait artist was famous for his paintings on historical and cultural themes during the European baroque period of art. He was fondly associated with some great works such as the Las Meninas (1656) which was an all-time favorite amongst art lovers (Goldberg, 1992). He was a Christian, and he schooled in the special fields of languages as well as philosophy.

He was an adherent of long-bristled brushes for his works. Besides artwork he also taught at times. His realism-based paintings were inspired by his religious back ground of Christianity. His outstanding works contributed to the rise of the Velazquez style which was especially common because of his closeness to the royal family under Phillip IV who was at the reign in Spain at that time. 

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Actually he continued with religious paintings with his most famous being the Christ Crucified (1632). He was famous beyond borders and served as the chief artist for King Philip IV and for a long period acted as the King’s painter. His main differences from the Italy’s Bernini artist are that: He liked and painted on historical and cultural contexts as well as portraits. He unlike Bernini painted not for monetary gains.  Unlike Bernini he really expressed and upheld realism in his works.

Comparing and contrasting Velasquez and Bernini: Italian (Bernini)

Unlike Velazquez who was a painter, Bernini was more involved in sculpture. However both were masters in their fields. For both Velazquez and Bernini, they were good in multitasking as Bernini was also an architect of high standing. While Velazquez used bristled brush and canvas to paint, Bernini used chisel and marble to come up with sculptures. Both Bernini and Velazquez were religious at least at one time in their lives.

Both were attached and close to royalties for Velazquez he was close to Philip IV and committed his later years to painting for the royal palace. As for Bernini he became close to Urban VIII who commissioned him to work for him. Bernini produced works related or attached to his faith as demonstrated by one of his works, ‘the remodeled Church of Santa Bibiana in Rome’ (Mormando, 2011).

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Another striking similarity is how both were leading artists in their ages; for Bernini as a leading sculptor while for Velazquez he was a leading painter. Both artists traveled widely, while Velazquez made numerous trips to Italy, Bernini was a visitor to France at the invitation of the authorities. His visit to Paris projects his personality as that of a stubborn man especially because of assertions which offended the citizens when he alleged that Italy’s art was superior to that of France. We do not hear of such controversies from Velazquez.

Personal Preference

I prefer Velazquez over Bernini, because he employed naturalism and the way he could present situations as they are in reality especially the “Pope Innocent X painted in 1650 which he painted in such a real way it almost risked hurting his relations with the authorities. 

References

Goldberg, E. L. (1992) Velázquez in Italy: Painters, Spies and Low Spaniards“. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 74, No. 3.pp. 453–456.

Mormando, F. (2011). Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

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Images of Women in Modern Art

Images of Women
Images of Women

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Images of Women

From the middle of the 19th century to the 20th century, women were among the subjects depicted most frequently by modern, experimental artists such as Picasso and Matisse. Choose at least 2 innovative works that represent women in any media, dating from 1900-1950s, to analyze in terms of form, content, and the artist’s attitude/approach to his or her chosen subject. Be sure to include analysis of your own reaction to and interpretation of the images you chose, and illustrations of the works discussed. Analyze the use of colors, lines, medium, subjects, symbols, etc

Images of Women

Women during the 19th and 20th century (and even before these periods) were the subject of depiction by most experimental artist. Picasso who was amongst these artists did experiment with women as his subject of paintings a lot of times. The reason as to why the sudden thought to have women as painting subjects cannot be originally traced but can be found in the attitude that a certain painter had towards a particular painting. This essay therefore is going to look at two works that show how women influenced art during this period and why the chosen painters used them as subjects in their paintings.

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Picasso’s famous painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (whose subject matter was five women prostitutes and a brothel) caused much uproar from the public from the depiction it created. Picasso used it to contrast between femininity and sexuality on one hand and “African masks” on the other hand. The depiction created by the picture was so shocking even to Picasso’s friends who also happened to be avant-garde artist.

Picasso always regarded African art to represent exorcism and masculinity. Therefore the painting can be regarded as a mix of stylistic and sexual extremism. The painting reflected the Picasso’s bohemia way of life and his association with person of convoluted sexuality.

Augustus Leopold’s Past and Present (1) is another piece of work that used women as its core subject. The painting was painted in the Victorian age which was obsessed with sexual promiscuity and virginity (Betsy, 1989). The painting illustrates the image of a fallen female. During the Victorian period, women were considered susceptible to social evils and they had to be protected at the comfort of their homes to avoid the danger of the world. Women were considered to be open to sexual seduction and the repercussions were unforgivable.

The paintings of fallen women were therefore celebrated because they had in them moral lessons. The painting by Augustus depicts this notion because it shows a husband who has found out the promiscuity of her wife. It has got an oil painting on the wall which symbolises expulsion from paradise and on the floor there is an apple which symbolises the unforgivable sin.

The woman has fallen on the floor asking to be forgiven and her arms are stretched out pointing at the door and the image is reflected by a mirror behind her husband and shows that she will be cast out by her husband. The picture has also got a box house made by her children but it is collapsing which shows that the home is collapsing because of the mother’s actions. The picture shoes Augustus detest of adultery and how he thinks it affects the family; furthermore it shows his feelings of what should happen to a wayward woman.

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Use of lines, colour and shapes on Images of Women

Both painters have used lines in their drawing to express individuality and feelings. They have been able to capture a three dimensional object and represented it into a two dimensional surface and therefore captured art’s important factors. The use of three dimensional objects by both artists has helped the viewer able to look at the objects properly and therefore get a better understanding of the painting.

Both artists are expressing some form of evil in their paintings; the colours that they used bring out this theme clearly. They have both used dull colours which symbolises the gravity of the predicament that society faces as a result of the messages contained in the paintings.

Reference

Betsy, C.R. (1989). Victorian Studies. Indiana University press. Vol. 32, No. 3

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International Retail Marketing Research Paper

International Retail Marketing
International Retail Marketing

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INTERNATIONAL RETAIL MARKETING

International Retail Marketing    

Critically evaluate different concepts and theories relating to the marketing mix. Explain the role that the marketing mix plays in the formation of a marketing strategy for a retail organisation today. Discuss key factors that may cause the international retail marketing mix to differ from the retailer’s domestic marketing mix, and how these might be implemented.

And

Critically examine the retail marketing mix of your chosen retailer for their current domestic market, and, in the context of the issues discussed above, justify what modifications you consider may be necessary in order to internationalise their mix for a specific foreign destination country

INTRODUCTION

The aim of any company that is in business is to grow and expand in terms of market share and product range. Many companies usually employ various optimal techniques towards these objectives and the choice of the concepts and theories to use is very important. There are various ways in which the company can achieve these desired results and one of them is through the use of the marketing mix strategies that target the key elements involved in market analysis. These key elements are the product itself, the price of that product, its placement and also the promotion modes employed to ensure the customer accesses the product.

PART (A) 

In this part we are going to explore the various theories and concepts that pertain to marketing mix and the role they play in the designing of a marketing strategy for a retail organization. We shall also look at the main differences between an international retailer marketing mix and a domestic retail marketing mix.

MARKETING MIX THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

  1. In seeking to understand the optimal utilization of a company’s resources to enhance product penetration and affordability there is the 4Ps concept (Luan, 2010). It focuses on the product, price, place and promotion.

Product  

This refers to a good or service that is the end result of a process initiated either by the company, subsidiary or trading partner. It is what the company offers to its customers.

The producer must ensure that the product will satisfy the customers need adequately. It must be of the required quality standards and before production starts the company must carry out surveys on the exact requirements by the consumers. The company should be able to offer assurances on the safety of use of the product through warranties and safe packaging. This will ensure brand loyalty from the consumers which will lead to higher sales volumes and it will increase the market share of the product.

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Price

This is the value attached to a product or service and it must be paid in monetary terms to the producer.

The company must know how much the target customers are willing to pay and also their ability to pay for the product (Pitsaki, 2011). This will have a direct effect on their demand for the product. Therefore the product must be priced competitively to ensure affordability and also profitability on the part of the producer or company.

Place

This is the venue where the buyer of the product expects to find it and all relevant information that pertain to the product.

The consumer should know where to find the product easily at any time and at the right quantities. This will call on the sellers to devise clear places where the information on the product can be accessed easily. They can use the internet and even mobile phones because majority of the people have access to them. 

Promotion

This is the process of reaching out to current and prospective customers to ensure the product has a wide customer base.

This calls for the stakeholders to come up with ways to inform the consumers of the presence of the organization and also its products. They must advertise their products through aggressive techniques (Peter, 2007) like sales promotions and also conduct public relations campaigns to make sure the company’s presence in the market is known by many.

                                     PRICE

PRODUCT                                                                      PLACE

                                   PROMOTION

The 4Ps model clearly indicates that the marketing mix is surrounded by the four elements which must be carefully determined to enhance success in the market.

  • Growth strategy mix

This concept focuses on the use of the internet to ensure product penetration in the market (Yanan , 2000).

Market Development Strategies

The company can adopt the use of the internet to penetrate international markets. They can start advertising their products early in the potential market to make sure when they finally enter that particular region there products will already be known in various segments of the markets.

Market Penetration

The marketing team will be required to devise the strategies to be used to increase the market share of the products. They must increase their presence online to target new customers. This will also improve the loyalty of the existing customers because they will be able to engage more with the company.

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Diversification 

The internet will be used to ensure that the company engages fully with its suppliers and intermediaries. This will make them identify potential target areas and also whether they can develop other products to compete with those that are already in the market.

Development of the product

Through the use of the internet the firm will know the strategies to use in the development of their products. They will be able to know how to add value to existing products, how to improve efficiency in the subscription procedures and also how to increase the product range so that to bring on board more e-retailers as possible. They must seek good service providers who are reliable in the market and who will offer competitive prices.

  1. The 4 C’s Model

The customers being the target of many marketing initiatives take the centre stage in this model. The model focuses mainly on the pull marketing strategy as opposed to the push strategy adopted by the other models.

  • Customers: Their needs must be fully satisfied by the products in the market.
  • Cost: The cost of the product to the consumer should be analyzed to enhance affordability.
  • Convenience: The product should be readily available to the consumer anytime and anywhere.
  • Communication: There should be more interaction between the  sellers of the product and the customers. This will ensure customer satisfaction
                       CUSTOMERWhat do they need? How do they need it?COSTHow affordable is the product?
                          CONVINIENCEWhere are they getting the product and how much is it costing them to reach the venue?COMMUNICATIONAre they aware the product is available?

ROLE OF THE MARKETING MIX

The role the marketing mix plays in the formation of a marketing strategy for a retail business will determine the suitability of the strategy and definitely the success of the business (Albers, 2010).

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  1. The marketing mix will ensure the product chosen for sale by the retailer is suitable and fit for the particular market. This is because the success of the business will be determined by how good or bad the product is. The suitability of the product in the market will be determined by several factors which will revolve around the geographical area, the income levels of the consumers since it will affect their purchasing power and also their consumption and buying habits. The retailer will decide the units or packages of the product that best suit that market to ensure there are sales volumes and also customer satisfaction.
  2. The marketing mix will also help the retailer in knowing the pricing modes he is going to adopt for his products. If he prices his commodities very highly they will not get customers and again if he prices them low he won’t meet set revenue targets. The retailer will therefore be required to analyze all the factors that will influence his product prices such as supplier prices, price of substitutes, competing retailers’ prices and transportation costs. This will ensure the retailer does not lose customers and he gets the expected profits from his business. The company will also be able to meet its obligations like payment of taxes, rents and rates.
  3. Also the marketing mix will make the retailer know how his product will have wider reach to its customers. This can be done through opening more retail stores in different localities to enhance wide coverage. He will also be able to evaluate the additional costs that will result from such expansion such as increased rental bills, more wages because of the additional employees hired and even more utility bills.
  4. The retailer will decide whether he will advertise his business. This may not be feasible because majority of the commodities he could be dealing with are normally advertised by the producer. The only advertising he can do is to inform the prospective customers of the location of his business.

There are various factors that may cause the international retail marketing mix to differ from the domestic retailer’s marketing mix. These include;

  1. The international retailer will be expected to heavily advertise his products in the new market as opposed to the domestic retailer who expects the advertisements for the products to be done by the producer. This means the international retailer will incur heavy advertisement costs which in the initial stages may eat into his profits. This implies that profits may not be realized in the short run for the international retailer as opposed to the domestic retailer. The product may therefore take long to penetrate the international market due to these initial costs. The domestic retailer is already established in the market and his product enjoys loyalty from his customers and is already in profitability.
  2. The international retailer will have no control of the prices that are in the market. The prices will already have been set by the local operators in that market (Rossi, 2000).The international retailer will be forced to take the prices as they are in that market to ensure that there are sales volumes. This is despite the many expenses he has incurred at the set up stage which if taken to account will mean his product price should be higher, but because the international retailer wants to enhance competitiveness he will take the market prices so that he can compete adequately with the rival products.
  3. The international retailer will be supposed to carry out very intense promotional campaigns for his products. This is as opposed to the domestic retailer whose promotions are minimal since his goods which are mostly locally produced are mainly advertised by the producers. The domestic retailers can devise to block the international retailer by adopting low price strategies (Harald, 2008). This will mean the international retailer will take a long time to attain a considerable market share in the foreign market for his products. The international retailer will be forced to seek favorable distribution channels for his products to ensure they reach the target consumer.
  4. The domestic retailers will be on the look out to dominate the places the international retailer may choose to advertise his products. They will adopt defensive techniques to guard against their market share which is under threat from the international retailer. The international retailer will therefore be expected to identify areas where those in the domestic market have no full control over. Such areas may include the internet and other social sites frequented by many people.

PART (B) 

In this part we are going to review the retail marketing mix for Superdrug Company and what they are supposed to do so as to internationalize their marketing mix when they venture in Australasia. 

The Superdrug Company will have to study the marketing mix in the foreign market carefully to enable it come up with a good strategy to enter that market.

Product

The market mix for Superdrug is very strong in the UK which is their home market (Meyer, n.d). They are major players in the beauty and cosmetics industry and their products enjoy wide appeal. The products are of high quality and the company enjoys sizable market share. This is because the products have fully penetrated the market. However the beauty and cosmetic industry in Australasia is saturated with many players.

The company must maintain the same quality for the products to ensure customer satisfaction. Product quality as seen in the 4Ps model is very important as it will determine the customer satisfaction levels. The satisfaction derived from the product will guarantee the sales volumes the company will achieve and the market penetration levels.

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Price

Superdrug will be forced to adopt a price reduction strategy for their products to realize sales volumes. There are many substitutes for their products in that foreign market and each of the domestic players will be seeking to guard their market share. Reducing prices will increase the preference of their products to many consumers and this will enhance market penetration (Edwin, 2007).

However this can only be done in the short run when the products are still in the initial introduction stages. The company after securing a sizable market share should revert to applicable prices in order to realize profits.

Promotion

The company being a foreign entrant will be expected to heavily promote its products among the consumers. This will make the majority to be aware of their presence. They will conduct sales promotions in the key areas they will identify. They should convince the consumers why they should stop using their current products and adopt theirs. This means the advertising budget will be huge because the local companies will also be guarding against their market share.

Place 

Superdrug on evaluating the market will be required to identify the most convenient places to place their advertisements to ensure wide accessibility. They should consult with the major advertising consultants in the new market and seek their advice. Interaction with the consumer will be very crucial (John, n.d) because this is what will determine the demand for their products. 

The company should also adopt the use of the internet to alert customers of their entrance to this new market. Loyal customers like the tourists will be happy to know their favorite products from the company are also available.

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CONCLUSION

The role played by the marketing mix in the formulation of marketing strategy to be adopted by companies is very important. It is used to identify key variables that determine the suitability of a particular product being in the market. This is because many industries today are dominated by players who will not give in easily to their market share. The local players want to maintain their profit margins and when any foreign entrant attempts to venture in to their market they will employ defensive tactics to ensure they preserve their market share.

To overcome all these obstacles a company should fully understand the market in which they are operating because the information gathered in local markets may also be important in the foreign markets. Failure to do this will place firms at a disadvantage whenever they seek expansion and it will be very harming to the business and to the industry as a whole.

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References

Albers, M (2010) Marketing Demand. London. Penguin Books, P. 9

Edwin, S (2007) Product Management. Bristol. Ace Publishers Ltd, P.23

Harald, J (2008) Brand Evaluation. Berlin. Dietz Printers, P.41

John, E (n.d) “ Relevance of Competition”( Online). Available from http://www.markettrends.org/ (Accessed on 28th April 2012)

Luan, Y (2010) Marketing Mix Responsiveness. Brisbane. Senton Publishing House, P.17

Meyer, P (n.d) “History of Superdrug company” (Online). Available from http://www.superdrug.com/ (Accessed on 28th April 2012)

Peter, E(2007) Marketing Mix methodology. Cambridge. Cambridge Press, P.25

Pitsaki, J (2011) Strategic Brand Management. Dublin. Alwin Books Ltd. P.31

Rossi, P (2000) Marketing Research. London. Pearce Publishers Ltd, P.53

Yanan, W (2010) Internet Marketing. Dublin. Green Books Ltd, P.39

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PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF INDITEX GROUP

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF INDITEX GROUP
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF INDITEX GROUP

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PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF INDITEX GROUP

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The analytical and critical review of a company’s performance is a very important managerial responsibility. Most of the decisions are based on the figures generated by the finance and accounting departments and this calls for strict observance of the financial reporting standards in the preparation of the financial statements. They must capture all the relevant information so that the inferences drawn from them can be realistic and effective. These figures must reflect the true and fair view of the company.

INTRODUCTION

Inditex Group is a Spanish company and one of the major players in the textile industry. It is composed of more than 100 companies all engaged in the manufacturing, designing and distribution of textiles all over the world.

Question 1.ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Comparison of latest year with previous year reports.

The financial year for the Group ends at 31st January of the proceeding year.

The following are extracts from the Group’s financial statements;

 Year ending 31stJan.2011Year ending 31st Jan. 2012
Sales12,52713,793
Operating Income2,9663,258
Operating Profit2,2902,522
Pre-tax Profit2,3222,559
Net Income1,7321,932
Earnings per share (Euros)2.783.10
   

.

There was growth in each of the above variables, an indication of the company’s good performance.

Question 2

Ratio analysis of both latest and previous years:    
 (A) LIQUIDITY
 Current ratioThis ratio indicates the company’s ability to meet its current liabilities obligations using current assets; 

Therefore for the year ended 31st January 2012 the current ratio for the company 

The current ratio for the year ended 31st January 2011 was  

Quick ratio

The second liquidity ratio is the Quick ratio. This ratio shows the ability of a company to satisfy its current liabilities using its most liquid assets ( Deverrel, 1999).

                                 Current liabilities

Therefore the quick ratio for the year ended 31st January 2012= 5437- 1277  = 1.54

                                                                                                                                     2702

For the year ended 31st January 2011 the quick ratio was =5203- 121

                                                                                                                      2675

Networking capital to sales ratio

This ratio indicates the liquid assets of a company based on its need for that liquidity (as indicated by sales) after the company meets its short term obligations.

Therefore for Inditex Group, the networking capital to sales ratio for the year ended 31st Jan 2012 was = 5437- 2702  =0.19

                           13793

The ratio for the previous year was = 5203- 2675 = 0.2

                                                                              12527

The larger these liquidity ratios are, the greater is the company’s ability to meet and finance its short term obligations. If for instance one considers the current ratio, huge amounts of current assets and less amount of current liabilities will imply that the company can successfully meet its short term obligations. 

The Inditex group is performing very well because the liquidity ratios analyzed increase in the present year as compared to the previous. This shows that chances of the company lacking liquid capital for its immediate requirements are minimal (Keegan, 2005).

(B)SOLVENCY RATIOS

These ratios show the ability of a company to service its long term debts and also any interest earnings that will accrue on those debts. The larger these ratios are the more solvent a company is and hence its ability to service any of its long term debt commitments (Caroline, 1997). These ratios include:

Solvency ratio.

This is expressed as a ratio of the total assets to liabilities. Therefore;

For Inditex company the solvency ratio for the year ending 31st January 2012 is =10959 =3.09

                                                                                                                                    3544

For the year ending 31st January 2011=9826 =2.85

                                                              3440

For the year ending 31st January 2010= 8335 =3.62

                                                                2304

Debt ratio

This ratio shows the degree of reliance on debt by a company to finance its assets. The lower the debt ratio the stronger is the company.

Debt ratio= Total debt

                   Total assets

The debt ratio for the company for the year ending 31st January 2012= 1.54   = 0.00014

                                                                                                                 10959

The debt ratio for the year ended 31ST January 2011= 4.17  = 0.00042

                                                                                      9826

These figures are very low and this indicates that the company is very strong and can fully service its debts which are very low.

Indebtedness ratio

This ratio is used as an indicator of what makes up the debt liability of a company. This is because a company’s total debt can be in other areas like payables, salaries and not only in form of bank loans.

Indebtedness ratio= Total debts

                                Total liabilities

For Inditex  Company, the indebtedness ratio for the year ending 31st Jan 2012=1.54 =0.0004

                                                                                                                                3544

For the year ending 31st January 2011 = 4.17 =0.001

                                                               3440

(C)WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT RATIOS

The working capital enables a company take advantage of opportunities as they arise. The working capital is normally the difference between current assets and current liabilities.

Working capital ratio = current assets

                                         Current liabilities

This ratio indicates the ability of the company to finance its long term obligations. It is the same as the current ratio.

Collection ratio

This ratio gives the average number of days it takes a company to transform receivables into cash.

Collection ratio= accounts receivable 

                             Average daily sales

The collection ratio for this company for the year ending 31st Jan 2012=548.28   =14.5

                                                                                                                 13793/365

For the year ending 31st Jan 2011 = 498   =14.5

                                                   12527/365

Inventory turn over ratio

This ratio indicates how efficient a business is in the selling and management of its inventory.

Inventory turn over ratio= Net sales

                                           Inventory

The inventory turn over ratio for Inditex group for the year ended 31st Jan.2012=13793 =10.8

                                                                                                                                    1277

For the year ended 31st Jan.2011= 12527/1214=10.3

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(D) PROFITABILITY RATIOS

These ratios are an indicator of how well a firm is performing. The net profit margin ratio shows how much profit a company is making for every unit currency of sales (Fred, 2000).

Net profit margin ratio = Net profit after tax

                                                   Sales

The net profit margin ratio for the company as at 31st January 2012 was 14.2% and for the previous year was 12.1%

Return on assets ratio (ROA)

This shows the level of profitability as a comparison to investment in new capital.

Return on assets = Net income

                              Total assets

The return on investments for the company as at 31St January 2012 was 18.4% and for the previous year it was 14.9%.

This ratio tells how efficient the management is in using the company’s assets to generate earnings.

Return on equity

This rate indicates how mush the shareholders earned for their investment in a company.

Return on equity= Net income

                            Total shareholders equity

The rate for the Inditex group was 24.8% for the year ended 31st January 2012 and 21.7% for the previous year.

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(E) ASSET EFFICIENCY RATIOS

Inventory turn over ratio

This ratio indicates the number of times inventory is sold and stocked every year. If it is high the company could be in danger of having stock outs and if it is very low the company could be having some obsolete inventory that does not sell in the market. 

Inventory turn over ratio= Net sales

                                           Inventory 

Inditex Group had an inventory turn over ratio of 13793/1277=10.8 for the year ended 31st January 2012 and the ratio for the previous year was 12527/1214=10.3

 Days’ sales in inventory 

This ratio measures the performance of the company for the management and the owners of the company.

Days’ sales in inventory = 365 days / inventory turn over

For this company the ratio will be 365/10.8=33.8 for the year ended 31st January 2012 and 365/10.3=35.4 for the previous year.

Fixed assets turn over ratio

This ratio gives a picture of how the fixed assets like plant and equipment are being used to generate sales.

Fixed assets turn over ratio= sales/ net fixed assets.

For the company, the ratio is 13793/4082= 3.4 times for the year ended 31st January 2012 and 12527/3414=3.7 times for the previous year. This means the fixed assets were used more to generate sales in the year ended 31st January 2011 than the proceeding year.

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 Question 3

Most of the industry operators experienced moderate sales. On average majority had net profit margin ratios of between 4 to 9 %. This was mainly due to the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the majority have not fully recovered.

Question 4               Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Current ratio2.01
Solvency ratio3.09
Collection ratio14.5
Net profit margin ratio14.2%
Inventory turn over ratio10.8

Question 5

Key performance indicators denote the level of success of an activity and the achievement of a company’s goals and objectives. KPI’s are used in various departments of the organization and therefore those choosing the indicators to be used in a particular section must have a good understanding of the organization. There should also be good management frameworks in companies to enable better understanding of the procedures and hence the selection of the correct KPI for use.

Question 6

The level of liquidity and solvency for Inditex is healthy. The liquidity levels have also been rising meaning that the ability of the company to meet its current liabilities obligations using current assets has been improving. The company has also been able to continuously give dividends to its shareholders due to the impressive performances in the management of its assets and equity.

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Question 7

Advantages of using KPI’s

  • Provides vital information necessary for making business decisions
  • Alerts managers on the direction the business is taking and need for precautionary and intervention measures.
  • Provide information that enables the optimal allocation of resources and achievement of set goals and objectives.

Disadvantages 

  • Requires a lot of resources in form of qualified personnel for monitoring and managing the processes involved.
  • Any biases in the data collection, computation and analysis can have negative implications to the business. 

The compilation of this data helps in making key decisions concerning the business. Decisions to acquire other businesses, increasing the product range, marketing strategies to be adopted usually rely on this data (John, 2010). 

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References

Caroline, H (1997). Financial Analysis Techniques. London. Prentice Hall, P.28

Deverrel, W (1999). Performance Indicators. Sydney. Lakers Publishers, P.4

Fred, D (2000) “The need for Financial Analysis” (Online) Available from http://www.fin.edu.au/ (Accessed on 19th May 2012) 

John, V (2010). Basic Business Decisions. Dublin. Ace Books, P.19

Keegan, B (2005). Analysing Business Environments. Freiburgh. Hewmann Books, P.81

Appendix 1

 Annual  Interim
20122011201020092008
Period End Date01/31/201201/31/201101/31/201001/31/200901/31/2008
Stmt SourceARSARSARSARSARS
Stmt Source Date04/02/201203/30/201103/30/201004/01/200906/11/2008
Stmt Update TypeUpdatedUpdatedUpdatedUpdatedUpdated
      
Assets     
Cash ahttp://cpc.db3.s-msn.com/MSN/sc/i/56/7ea18882ca5be34bbe384a9f52bd78.gifnd Short Term Investments3,517.443,433.532,420.111,466.291,465.84
http://cpc.db3.s-msn.com/MSN/sc/i/56/7ea18882ca5be34bbe384a9f52bd78.gifTotal Receivables, Net548.28498.8437.44600.65465.44
Total Inventory1,277.011,214.62992.571,054.841,007.21
Prepaid Expenses0.00.00.00.00.0
Other Current Assets, Total94.5655.5593.67142.2643.11
Total Current Assets5,437.295,202.513,943.83,264.042,981.6
      
Property/Plant/Equipment, Total – Net4,082.873,414.443,306.813,450.783,191.59
Goodwill, Net218.09131.69131.69131.69125.58
Intangibles, Net614.11555.75533.28547.94517.95
Long Term Investments9.58.9215.3914.4236.17
Note Receivable – Long Term0.00.00.00.00.0
Other Long Term Assets, Total597.31512.78404.48367.78252.72
Other Assets, Total0.00.00.00.00.0
Total Assets10,959.189,826.088,335.447,776.657,105.6
      
  Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity     
Accounts Payable1,838.091,886.671,557.751,540.771,577.94
Payable/Accrued0.00.00.00.00.0
Accrued Expenses178.46145.57133.920.00.0
Notes Payable/Short Term Debt0.00.00.0220.47333.49
Current Port. of LT Debt/Capital Leases0.692.6835.0613.5737.78
Other Current Liabilities, Total685.54639.98578.23616.05508.86
Total Current Liabilities2,702.772,674.912,304.962,390.852,458.07
      
http://cpc.db3.s-msn.com/MSN/sc/i/56/7ea18882ca5be34bbe384a9f52bd78.gifTotal Long Term Debt1.544.175.013.2442.36
Deferred Income Tax182.53172.65172.89213.85110.96
Minority Interest40.7736.9841.3826.8923.92
Other Liabilities, Total616.75551.19482.04410.11277.17
Total Liabilities3,544.373,439.93,006.273,054.932,912.47
      
Redeemable Preferred Stock0.00.00.00.00.0
Preferred Stock – Non Redeemable, Net0.00.00.00.00.0
Common Stock93.593.593.593.593.5
Additional Paid-In Capital20.3820.3820.3820.3820.38
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)7,312.646,359.815,343.424,722.564,181.55
Treasury Stock – Common0.0-0.62-0.62-0.62-6.93
ESOP Debt Guarantee0.00.00.00.00.0
Unrealized Gain (Loss)0.00.00.00.00.0
Other Equity, Total-11.72-86.89-127.51-114.11-95.37
Total Equity7,414.816,386.185,329.174,721.714,193.13
      
Total Liabilities & Shareholders’ Equity10,959.189,826.088,335.447,776.657,105.61
      
Total Common Shares Outstanding623.33623.11623.11623.11620.96
Total Preferred Shares Outstanding0.00.00.00.00.0

Financial data in EUR 

Appendix 2

Annual Income Statement Data
Actuals in M €Estimates in M €Fiscal Period January2010,2011, 2012201320142015
Sales11 08412 52713 79315 63617 14618 858
Operating income (EBITDA)2 3742 9663 2583 7334 1414 556
Operating profit (EBIT)1 7292 2902 5222 8913 2263 553Pre-Tax Profit (EBT)1 7322 3222 5592 9183 2433 618
Net income1 3141 7321 9322 2192 4572 689EPS ( €)2,112,783,103,553,954,32
Dividend per Share ( €)1,201,601,802,112,402,67
Yield1,79%2,38%2,68%3,14%3,58%3,98%
Annoucement Date 03/17/2010
06:18am03/23/2011
06:02am03/21/2012
06:40am—

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