Leadership styles (research paper) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership styles (research paper) - Essay Example The styles we evaluated were: Transformational leadership Transactional leadership Charismatic leadership Democratic/Participative leadership Lazier-fare leadership Bureaucratic leadership Autocratic leadership Task-oriented leadership The primary research consisted of me scouring for good resources and studies that would allow you guys to be able to make a good decision on what type of company you want to foster. Leadership styles affect so much more than just how we lead but also how our employees are developed and where we choose management from. When we look at it this way we can see that leadership style is one of the most important parts of management. I would be glad to discuss this report at your leisure. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to provide you with such a service and hope that it was as helpful as I wanted it to be. Respect, Research IAA:mef Contents Momo of Transmittal i Contents 0 Introduction/Problem 2 Findings/Leadership styles 2 Transformational leadershi p 3 Transactional leadership 3 Charismatic leadership 4 Democratic/participative leadership 4 Lazier-fare/Delegative leadership 4 Autocratic leadership 5 Bureaucratic leadership 5 Task-oriented leadership 6 Conclusion 6 Recommendation 6 Index 8 Introduction/Problem The performance and decisions made by staff in an organization are partially determined by the characteristics of leadership or those who participate in administration. Numerous studies have shown that the leadership style adopted in an organization affects group work processes, the social climate and the desired end result within the organization. From this perspective, the style of leadership adopted in an organization affects the climate and the climate affects productivity and creativity (Mills, 2007). In some cases, leadership affects productivity directly. This explains the fact that leadership style is critical to all organizations given that it affects their performance and effectiveness. This report briefly evalu ates various kinds of leadership styles described by different scholars. The report recommends that transformational form of leadership is the most effective while working with a diverse population. Findings/Leadership styles Different scholars have identified various forms of leadership that are common in organizations. This paper examines the following leadership styles: Transformational leadership Transactional leadership Charismatic leadership Democratic/Participative leadership Lazier-fare leadership Bureaucratic leadership Autocratic leadership Task-oriented leadership Fig 1: Leadership Styles (Source: Johannsen, 2012) Transformational leadership Transformational leadership is a leadership process in which leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their subordinates, they stimulate the subordinates to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of an organization and generate awareness and acceptance of the mission and purpose of an organization (Mills, 2007). This kin d of leadership helps to minimize employees’ turnover rate and hence, this save costs related to high turnover rate in an organization. Second, it empowers employees in an organization to realize their full potential and to show higher commitments to organizational goals; it can be classified under participative and delagative leadership as shown in fig 1. Third, this style is helpful in fostering organizational

Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria Research Paper

Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria - Research Paper Example CEP, or congenital erythropoietic porphyria is an autosomal recessive trait, which causes the patient to have an enlarged spleen and liver, reddish urine, bones and teeth as well as lesions on the skin that react to UV light due to the excess porphyrin deposits (Bishop et al., 2010, p. 1062). However, another disease, AIP or acute intermittent porphyria could pose as CEP due to some similarities in patient symptoms. Initially, patients that were affected were suspected to have CEP since there were the usual symptoms such as the reddish discoloration of teeth as well as the urine, and pink fluorescence of bones under UV light due to deposition of porphyrin and other precursors (Clavero et al., 2009, p. 585). However, if molecular and tissue analyses would be employed, CEP and AIP can be differentiated from each other, with CEP being an autosomal recessive disease and AIP a dominant one. This paper would be about some studies on congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), as well as som e descriptions of the disease at the genetic level. The first main topic is about the molecular aspect of CEP as a disease. The most common form of mutation of the UROS gene located at locus 10q25.3-26.3 is the C37R mutation, which is fairly common. Other mutations such as non-sense mutations, splicing in certain cites, deletions and insertions as well as other complex rearrangement of sequences at chromosomal locus 10q25.3-26.3 occur and create the CEP phenotype (Bishop et al., 2010, p.1068). In a study on the expression of CEP model expressions in mice, Bishop et al. (2011, p. 751) were able to quantify the approximated enzymatic activities of the UROS enzyme in livers of normal mice and CEP-affected mice. It is hypothesized that since mice are animals with shorter lifespan and thus have several generations in a short period of time, the causative mechanisms of the defective UROS gene would be easier to identify. Also, since the disease would be following the Mendelian Pattern, be arers of the homozygous recessive genotype would show disease symptoms while heterozygous and homozygous dominant would be fairly normal. Meanwhile, in a study about CEP in cats, a publication regarding the discovery of a feline model for CEP was released (Clavero et al., 2010, p. 382). Compared to a previous study, which had cats with AIP instead of CEP, the new proband for this study had PBG and ALA levels which are in normal detectable amounts, with elevated URO I and COPRO levels as well as abnormal UROS activity, much like in human and mice CEP counterparts. Via amplification of the suspected mutated sequences, aside from a shorter polypeptide (one cystein shorter), feline UROS sequence was fairly similar to the previously reported human and mouse. The double-mutant had reduced enzymatic activity, caused by two amino acid substitutions, making the protein product unable to fold in a stable manner, thereby causing reduced activity of the mutated enzyme, as compared to either sin gle mutant or normal enzymes (Clavero et al., 2010, p. 387). Three genotypes were produced after mating several strains and generations of mice: homozygous recessive mice having the CEP gene had a genotype of C37R/C37R, a heterozygote C37R/V99L expresses a milder form of the disease, and a homozygous dominant genotype V99L/V99L exhibits the normal phenotype. Blood sampling for analyses of presence of porphyrin and other precursors were done, as well as histology of the liver and the spleen

The Legitimacy Theory And CSR Disclosure Accounting Essay

The Legitimacy Theory And CSR Disclosure Accounting Essay The issue of corporate social responsibility has got a lot of attention in the business and political world since the early 1990s and the major reason behind this was corporate scandals. Organizations had started to realize that the basis on which they were achieving economic growth was unsustainable and hence there was a need to develop a process which would intend at balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability and societal expectations. In fact the origin of corporate social responsibility can be found in the 1950s and 60s whereby successful companies were trying to link corporate social responsibility to the power that business holds in society. The theoretical progresses were subdivided in ethical and accountability and the stakeholder approach to strategic management. CSR can be distinguished from the three terms which are included in its designation phrase and these words are; Corporate, social and responsibility. Hence CSR can be explained as being the responsibilities that a company undertakes for the society within which it carry out its operations. To be specific, CSR require a business to identify its stakeholders and include their needs and values in the tactical day to day decision making process of the company. Consequently the society within which a business function and which identify the number of stakeholder to which the organization owe a responsibility can be broad depending on the type industry within which it operate. The different stakeholders to which a company is accountable can be illustrated using the figure below: http://www.industryplayer.com/images/corporate_social_responsibility.jpg Figure 1: stakeholder of a business According to figure 1, a business must respond to two aspects which evolve during their operating process and these are: The quality of management which is represented by the inner cycle and it is both in terms of people and processes. The nature of and the extent to which their processes impact on the society in various areas. The stakeholders who are outside take more interest in the activities undertaken by the company, i.e. most of them look at what has the company actually done. Their objective is to fid out if the company has done good or bad in terms of its product and services, the treatment it gives it its labour force and in terms of the impact of its activities on the environment and local communities. There seems to be an infinite number of definitions of CSR, ranging from the simplistic to the complex, and a range of associated terms and ideas including `corporate sustainability, corporate citizenship, corporate social investment, the triple bottom line, socially responsible investment, business sustainability and corporate governance. It has been suggested that `some researchers distort the definition of corporate social responsibility or performance so much that the concept becomes morally unintelligent, conceptually meaningless, and utterly unrecognizable'(Orlitzky 2005); or CSR may be regarded as `the universal remedy which can solve several social evil such as the global poverty gap, social exclusion and environmental degradation (Van Marrewijk 2003). Some definitions of CSR which are commonly accepted are: The notion of companies looking beyond profits to their role in society is generally termed corporate social responsibility (CSR)..It refers to a company linking itself with ethical values, transparency, employee relations, compliance with legal requirements and overall respect for the communities in which they operate. It goes beyond the occasional community service action, however, as CSR is a corporate philosophy that drives strategic decision-making, partner selection, hiring practices and, ultimately, brand development.  [1]   South China Morning Post, 2002 The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time.  [2]   Archie B. Carroll, 1979 CSR is about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society. In particular, this could include how organizations interact with their employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as the extent they attempt to protect the environment.  [3]   The Institute of Directors, UK, 2002 Why is CSR relevant today? CSR has become famous in the language and strategy of business and by the growth of dedicated CSR organizations globally. Governments and international governmental organizations are increasingly encouraging CSR. CSR is rapidly becoming a major part of all business management courses and a key global issue because of three trends which are easily identifiable: 1. Changing expectations of the society Following recent corporate scandals which have lead to the decrease in the trust that the public has on regulatory bodies and companies to control corporate excess, customers and the general public tend to expect more from the company with which they trade. 2. Rising affluence This is true not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Rich customers have enough money to select the product they want to buy and as the society need work and inward investment will not impose severe rules which will penalize companies which invest their money elsewhere. In other words if a company is investing its money in CSR activities and for this reasons its product become more costly, the affluent consumers will not punish the organization and they will buy its product. 3. Globalization Nowadays the least mistake made by companies is instantly make known to the public via the media. On top of that, increasing internet communication between people having the same opinion and the consumers, authorize them to spread their message and giving them the opportunity to take collective action that is they can boycott a product. In other words if a company is taking actions which is against the environment and the society, the public may takes action against the business. According to these three trends, more importance is given to brand which lead to the success of companies and thus there is a shift in the relationship between companies and customers whereby the latter are better informed and feel more powerful to put their belief into action. From the standpoint of businesses, the parameters within which they operate are more and more affected by bottom-up, working class campaigns, NGOs and consumer activists leading to a change in the relationship between consumers and the company. CSR is becoming more and more important in our fast developing world as brands are built on perceptions and concepts which appear to have higher values. Theoretical Frameworks and CSR Disclosure The Legitimacy Theory While there is no generally accepted theory for explaining CSR disclosure practices, recent research in the CSR literature has primarily relied on legitimacy theory (Deegan 2002, p. 285). Indeed, it is probable that legitimacy theory is the most widely used theory to explain environmental and social disclosures (Campbell, Craven and Shrives, 2003, p. 559) while, according to Gray, Kouhy and Lavers (1995), legitimacy theory has an advantage over other theories in that it provides disclosing strategies that organisations may adopt to legitimate their existence that may be empirically tested. The Legitimacy theory, according to Ness Mirza (1991), argues that the voluntary disclosure of social responsibility information can be perceived as a strategy to reduce political costs. Social theory reporting has been explained from a Legitimacy Theory perspective LT has been considered as widely accepted theory to shed light on social reporting practices of a firm. It states that firms will take actions to ensure that their operations are obvious to be legitimate from the point of view of the society within which the organization is assumed to operate. That is, they will attempt to establish resemblance between social values associated with or indirect by their activities and the norms of acceptable behavior in the larger social system of which they are part. Legitimacy Theory specifies a social contract between the organisation and society. Legitimacy is defined by Lindblom (1992) as: a condition or status which exists when an entitys value system is congruent with the value system of the larger social system of which the social system of which the entity is a part. When a disparity, actual or potential, exists between the two value systems, there is a threat to the entitys legitimacy. Hence, Legitimacy Theory implies that managers will not undertake any actions that will be considered as illegitimate in society. By engaging in social reporting, they tend to enhance the relevance of the financial statement as well as that of earnings by making people to believe in the reliability of what is being reported in the financial statements and by providing additional information on issues other than earnings and financial information. This may however redirect the interest of users away from the earnings figure. Institutional theorists (e.g Fogarty, 1992) observe that organizations need to respond to social expectations. Public expectations have undergone significant changes in the last decades such that profit maximization is not the sole measure of performance expected from the economic entity. There are a lot of implicit and explicit expectations from society vis-a-vis the operations of the organization. According to Heard Bolce (1981), with sensitive societal expectations, it is anticipated that successful businesses will react to attend to human, environmental and other social consequences of their activities. In spite of being unregulated, social and green reporting has increased in annual reports of organizations. Empirical tests of the Legitimacy Theory by Hogner (1982) revealed that the extent of social disclosures in the annual reports varied in response to societys expectations of corporate behavior. Deegan Rankin (1996) found that prosecuted firms for environmental charges increased their green reporting while Gray, Kouhy Lavers (1995) found that firms use corporate social reporting to fill the legitimacy gap. It is assumed that the economic entity will have the legitimate right to continue to operate in society to the extent that it fulfils the societal expectations. Otherwise, there will be a breach in the social contract between the entity and the society, and sanctions, such as fines, legal actions, and a fall in the demand of its product, will be taken. Society may revoke the organizations licence to operate or contract to continue its operations, for instance. Under Legitimacy Theory, not only the rights of investors are considered, but a much bigger picture of the public at large is considered. Furthermore, it is also expected that the organisation for its survival will have to adapt to the changing expectations of society. Downling Pfeffer (1975) refer to communication strategies, that the entity can use in order to legitimate or maintain the legitimacy of its activities. Reference is made to the public disclosure of information, in annual reports, for instance, to let the public know and educate them about the actions and performance of the firm and hence the manipulation of societys expectations, is made. In the same vein, they argue that one of the functions of annual reports would be to legitimate the existence of the organisation. Therefore, Legitimacy Theory proposes a relationship between corporate disclosures and societal expectations, as evidenced by a lot of research (Deegan Ratkin (1996); Gray,Kouhy Lavers). Stakeholder Theory Stakeholder theory (Gray, Kouhy Lavers 1995b, p. 53) state that the corporations continued existence requires the support of the stakeholders and their consent are required and hence the activities of the business are adjusted according to that approval. The more powerful the stakeholders, the more the company must adapt. Social disclosure is thus seen as part of the dialogue between the company and its stakeholders. Within the Stakeholders point of view, the success of a business depends on its capacity to balance the differing demands of its various stakeholders. The definition of stakeholder has altered considerably over the past four decades. At one end of the range the shareholder was believe the sole or principal stakeholder. This definition was based on arguments proposed by the Noble prize winner, Mr. Milton Friedmans view. According to him, the sole moral responsibility of a business is to maximize profits. Freeman (1983), however, expands the definition of stakeholder to include a broader selection of constituents including opposing groups such as interest groups and regulators. He defines stakeholders as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organisations objectives. Stakeholder Theory states that managers ought to serve the interests of all those who have a stake in the firm. Stakeholders include shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which the firm operates a collection which Freeman terms the Big Five. Therefore, all groups in an area in which the firm operates and all individuals in such area are stakeholders. Given that CSR reporting is attempted to underline how the company relates to society in the course of its different social activities, the stakeholder theory can be seen as a guideline which will direct firms to have proper way of disclosing CSR as they will know what type of actions stakeholders are expecting from them. Corporate Governance Corporate governance can be defined as a set of rules and regulations according to which the behavior of a company is affected. Another aspect of it is that it is also concerned with the relationships which exists among different stakeholders of the company and with the goals which the company has in view. Shareholders, board of directors, employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and the community at large are the main stakeholders of a business. Gabrielle ODonovan defines corporate governance as an internal system encompassing policies, processes and people, which serves the needs of shareholders and other stakeholders, by directing and controlling management activities with good business know-how, objectivity, accountability and integrity. Sound corporate governance is reliant on external marketplace commitment and legislation, plus a healthy board culture which safeguards policies and processes. An essential part of corporate governance is to create a system that try to decrease or eradicate the principal agent problem which will ensure accountability of certain individuals in the business. Corporate governance has several areas of discussion such as the effect of a system of corporate governance in economic efficiency whereby more emphasis has to be put on shareholders welfare. Principles of corporate Governance Honesty, trust and integrity, openness, performance orientation, responsibility and accountability, mutual respect, and commitment to the organization forms an essential part of corporate governance. The most important part in corporate governance is to see whether the management has been able to develop a model which is in line with the standards of the corporate participants. In addition to this they must evaluate this model from time to time to ensure that it is effective. Hence the management should do their wok honestly and ethically, particularly concerning conflicts of interest and disclosure in financial reports. Commonly accepted principles of corporate governance include: Rights and equitable treatment of shareholders: company should respect the rights of shareholders and help shareholders to implement those rights. They can help shareholders exercise their rights by effectively communicating information that is understandable and accessible and encouraging shareholders to participate in general meetings. Interests of other stakeholders: Organizations should be aware of the legal and other obligations that all legitimate stakeholders have. Role and responsibilities of the board: The board needs a variety of skills and understanding to be able to deal with various business issues and have the aptitude to review and challenge management performance. It needs to be of adequate size and have an apt level of commitment to fulfill its responsibilities and duties. There are issues about the appropriate mix of executive and non-executive directors. Integrity and ethical behavior: Ethical and responsible decision making is not only important for public relations, but it is also a crucial part in risk management and avoiding lawsuits. businesses should develop a code of conduct for their directors and executives that promotes ethical and responsible decision making. It is important to understand, though, that reliance by a company on the integrity and ethics of individuals is bound to eventual failure. Because of this, many organizations establish Compliance and Ethics Programs to minimize the risk that the firm steps outside of ethical and legal boundaries. Disclosure and transparency: Organizations should simplify and make publicly known the roles and responsibilities of board and management to provide shareholders with a level of accountability. They should also implement measures to independently validate and safeguard the integrity of the companys financial reporting. Disclosure of material matters concerning the organization should be timely and balanced to ensure that all investors have access to clear, factual information. Nevertheless corporate governance, despite some weak attempts from various quarters, remains a vague and often misunderstood expression. For quite some time it was confined only to corporate management. It is something much broader, for it must include a fair, efficient and transparent administration and strive to meet certain well defined, written objectives. Corporate governance must go well beyond law. The quantity, quality and frequency of financial and managerial disclosure, the degree and extent to which the board of Director (BOD) exercise their trustee responsibilities (largely an ethical commitment), and the commitment to run a transparent organization- these should be constantly evolving due to interplay of many factors and the roles played by the more progressive/responsible elements within the corporate sector. CG and CSR Disclosure Following recent accounting and ethical scandals in firms such as Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat, corporate governance is being regarded as an important issue in the business world due to the fact that rules and regulations have become stricter with regard to societal expectations. In this respect the concept of corporate governance has start to cover some part of CSR. Previous researches has tended to study CG and CSR issues separately and not as combined manifestation in the fast developing business world where CG issues may also have impact on CSR disclosure and firms performance. Examples of studies that have directly or indirectly link CSR and CG are those that talk about the influence of CG reforms on business ethics most often in a particular region( mainly Rossouw 2005; Kimber and Lipton,2005; Ryan 2005); the role of socially responsible investors and shareholder activism (Aguilera et al., 2006; McLaren, 2004; Monks et al., 2004; Guay et al., 2004; Sjà ¶strà ¶m, 2008) and of employee relations (Deakin and Whittaker, 2007; Jones et al., 2007); and, perhaps most remotely, those that critically examine the stakeholder approach, frequently referring to an agency perspective (Hill and Jones, 1992; Jensen, 2001; Sternberg, 1997; cf. Kolk and Pinkse, 2006). There is several corporate governance practice which helps to find out whether corporate social responsibility should be disclosed or not, for example the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) comes across several indicators such as independence and expertise of directors which help to identify economic, environmental and social risks and opportunities and find out whether the financial and non financial goal have been achieved and hence based on this firms will decide whether CSR should be disclosed or not. Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility is therefore expected to be more integrated in the field of business disclosure practices. Nowadays companies are required to disclose other types of information, like what the business has done for the welfare of the society, and not only financial information. For this reason the number of firms which publish voluntary reports has increased. According to the triple bottom line, a business reports strategy and operational performance within three primary dimensions and these are financial, stakeholder and environmental performance. Thus these reports shows that there is proper planning in the business as the latter selects the most important issues to be included in the triple bottom line plan and report. This report is usually included in the annual report which shows that the corporate governance structure does indeed have an impact on CSR disclosure. According to Tricker (1984), CSR disclosure can be viewed as a strategy which leads to towards closing a perceived legitimacy gap between management and shareholders, especially foreign shareholders. Non executive directors are seem as a mechanism which not only acts in the best interest of the owner but also in the interest of other stakeholders and they advise about the presentation of the the companies activities. Zahra and Stanton(1988) said that members in the corporate governance team are more likely to concers about honour and obligations and they would make disclosures which would improve their social prestige and honour. Board Size and CSR Disclosure One important element of corporate governance mechanism is the board of directors as they see whether the business is properly managed by their agents. Previous studies have proposed that bigger board size can increase communication and coordination problem and decrease the ability of the board to control management and on the other hand small board can decrease agency conflicts between managers and shareholders (Lipton and Lorsh, 1992; Eisenberg et al., 1998; Raheja, 2003). Jensen (1993) found that large board size result in less effective coordination, communication and decision making is more likely to be controlled by the CEO. Thus it can be forecasted that ineffective coordination in communication and decision making will result in low quality financial disclosure due to the fact that managers have not been able to perform their roles efficiently. Independent Non Executive Directors and CSR disclosure Previous empirical governance literature that board independence will foster board effectiveness. The difference between socially responsible firms and non socially responsible firms board structures was studied by Webb (2004) and she found that socially responsible firms had more independent directors than non socially responsible firms. Independent directors has the objective to safeguard shareholders interest and they also play an important role in enhancing the corporate image. They are seen as an important tool to keep an eye on management behavior (Rosenstein and Wyatt, 1990) and hence this results in more voluntary disclosure. Forker (1992) found out that the higher number of independent directors supervise the quality of financial disclosure. CEO Duality and CSR disclosure When a person hold the position of CEO and boar chairman, CEO duality occurs (Rechner and Dalton, 1989). This combination reflects leadership and corporate governance issues. However vesting these two powers in only one person gives that latter a strong base which can erode the boards ability to exercise effective control (Tsui and Gul, 2000). Therefore, companies with the CEO duality offer greater power to a person, which enable him to make decisions that do not maximize the shareholders wealth and will help improved monitoring quality and reduce benefits from withholding information that may consequently result in enhancing quality of reporting. Audit Committee and CSR disclosure Prior researches have proven that audit committee plays an effective role in enhancing the corporate governance standards. Wright (1996) found that audit committee composition is strongly related to financial reporting. McMullen and Raghunandan (1996) provide support for the association between the presence of an audit and more reliable financial reporting. The existence of an audit committee was significantly and positively related to the extent of voluntary disclosure (Ho and Wong, 2001; Bliss and Balachandran, 2003). Audit committee roles is providing a mean for review of the companys processes for producing financial data and its internal control, thus its existence is in producing high quality financial reporting. According to Mauritian Code of Corporate Governance (First Edition,Revise April 2004), the board should establish an audit committee with majority of independent directors. The existence of audit committee with a higher proportion of independent directors should reduce the agency cost and improve the internal control that will lead to greater quality of disclosures (Forker, 1992). Managerial ownership The agency theory predicts that the principal-agent problem between managers and shareholders arises when managers hold little equity in the corporation. This will lead to managers to engage in an opportunistic behavior (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Past studies had showed that an increase in management ownership will reduce the agency problems and improved managers incentive to provide more disclosure. Mohd Nasir and Abdullah (2004) investigated the influence of ownership structure in explaining the level of voluntary disclosures among the financially distressed firms and found that management shareholding levels have a significant and positive association with the level of voluntary disclosures. Coffey and Wang (1998) found that managerial control (percentage of stock owned by insiders) is positively related to charitable giving. The above findings were in contrast to Guan Yeik (2006) and Eng and Mak (2003). In his study, he examined the relationship between managerial ownership and corporate social responsibility and he found that managerial ownership was significantly negatively related to corporate social disclosure. In his study, he found that managerial ownership level of 45 percent above will influence the corporate to have lower social disclosure. Eng and Mak (2003) found that lower managerial ownership is associated with increased voluntary disclosures. Foreign ownership Ramasamy and Ting (2004) examined a comparative analysis of corporate social responsibility awareness by using levels of corporate social disclosure as a measurement of corporate social responsibility (CSR) awareness. In their study, they used employee perception towards CSR awareness. The respondents were questioned on their management of CSR within the company, such as awareness of corporate social responsibility, attitudes to CSR in the company, the types of CSR activity and the respondent involvement in CSR. The results show a low level of awareness in both countries, although companies tend to exhibit a relatively higher level of awareness. Chambers et al. (2003) investigated CSR reporting in seven countries through analysis of websites of the top 50 companies in Asia. This study investigated the penetration of CSR reporting within countries; the extent of CSR reporting within companies and the waves of CSR engaged in. The findings in Chambers et al. (2003) showed that, there are fewer CSR companies in the seven selected Asian countries compared with UK and Japan companies. The mean for the seven countries studied, show a score of 41 percent which is under half the score for the UK (98 percent) and Japan companies (96 percent). Thus by involvement of foreign shareholders in Mauritian Listed companies will enhance the extent of corporate social disclosure in Mauritius. Haniffa and Cooke (2005) found a significant relationship between corporate social disclosure and foreign shareholders indicated that companies use corporate social disclosure as a proactive legitimating strategy to obtain continued inflows of capital and to please ethical investors. Foreign shareholdings in Mauritian listed companies have considerably increased.

The Influence of Gothic Literature on Gothic Music Essay examples -- L

The Influence of Gothic Literature on Gothic Music      Ã‚   Gothic encompasses many genres of expression. Gothic artists speak out through the forms of literature, architecture, film, sculptures, paintings, and music. Many times, one genre of Gothic inspires another, creating fusing parallels between the two. In this way, each genre of Gothic rises to a more universal level, coalescing into the much broader understanding of Gothic. Gothic writers, such as Mary Shelley, influence Gothic music, as one sees in stylistic devices including diction, setting, and tone.       In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley's eerie diction turns otherwise normal elements of life into bizarre institutions, a transition which Gothic musicians frequently utilize. Under Shelley's power, science turns ungodly, men evolve into monsters, and happiness sours into pain. To an audience taught to celebrate science as a positive step forward in mankind, Shelley shows the dark side of technology. Science grows as not a life-giving or life-retrieving tool, but the very temptation which causes the character, Frankenstein, to crawl "among the unhallowed damps of the grave" and lose "all soul or sensation but for" the unwanted recreation of life (Shelley 39). Frankenstein's passion helps no one, but actually forces a being into existence against its wishes and the betterment of the people around it. Similarly, Gothic musicians use diction to taint common human behavior, namely mental contemplation and sexual intercourse. Through the use of diction, the mind becomes "a twenty fou r hour unblinking watch," (Bauhaus) whose owner himself must trivialize as "silly" in order to come to grips with his thoughts. The depiction of the mind, no longer t... ...The stylistics of Gothic intermingle to produce an overall dramatic effect across the board of art genres. Henceforth, a chain reaction occurs. Artists create Gothic art in multiple genres, fans of each genre expose themselves to the art, and inspiration leads to another rotation in the cycle of Gothic. Ultimately, the influence of art upon art keeps Gothic itself alive.    Sources Cited Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Bantom Reissue edition, 1991. Bowie, David. Outside. Beverly Hills, California, 1995. Tones on Tails. Night Music. England, 1987. The Cure. Seventeen Seconds. New York, New York, 1980. Bauhaus. Swing the Heartache: The BBC Sessions. New York, New York, 1989. Internet. Available WWW: http:www.gothic.net/darkside/dmusic.html Internet. Available WWW: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.exe1.            

Internet Markerting Essay

Describe the key benefits and opportunities presented by internet marketing activity for Viola Drinks Ltd. and again how this help formulate and change the marketing mix for the business. In this assignment I will describe the fundamental benefits and opportunities presented by internet marketing activity for Viola Drinks Ltd. and furthermore how this helps formulate and change the marketing mix for the business. Internet marketing brings a lot of opportunities and benefits to businesses for instance reach to wider audience therefore raising awareness of the brand and attracting prospective customers, reducing overhead cost of the company as running and online business does not require as much finances as a regular business, and improve availability. Products: Products choices are informed by market research where customers’ needs and requirements are assessed. Feedbacks given by customers to the organisation will benefit Viola Drinks Ltd because they can modify their existing products or develop new product for their customer’s satisfaction. Internet marketing has divided product into two parts 1) core product and 2) extended product. The core product is the actual â€Å"product purchased by the customers to fulfil their needs† and the extended product is â€Å"the benefits build around the product†. Price: Price comparison is common online. Viola Drinks Ltd needs to make ensure that their online prices match with their competitor online prices. For instance online price comparison websites such as www. kelkoo. com and www. comparethemarket. com dedicated to comparing prices on products in order to find the best deal for the customer. Customers can log on to their website, search for a product, compare the prices and get a good deal. This will benefit Viola Drinks Ltd. to compare their prices with their competitors. The reason why online pricing is better than offline pricing is that online prices are very clear and transparent for the customer and the business at large because they can take advantage of the pricing that may change regularly or take advantages of special offers that last for a limited period of time and compare the amount competitors are charging. This is called price transparency it can only be achieved online as customers will be hunting for bargains. Place: Viola Drinks Ltd has integrated internet marketing within their already existing marketing strategies to create another sales channel. The benefit of Viola Drinks Ltd moving their business online is that they can â€Å"minimise cost of inventory, transport and storage while fulfilling demands from customers†. Furthermore, search Engine Optimisation (SEO) The accessibility and visibility of Viola Drinks Ltd is important through Search Engine Optimisation. Search Engine Optimisation benefits Viola Drinks Ltd. to be recognised among leading search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. For a company to have an online presence they must be on the top list on the search engines. Optimizing your website for search engines is a gathering of techniques that simplifies a search engine’s task of searching, for information posted on your website. Therefore it is crucial to registering with the big search engines including Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines while making sure that the website contains the adequate keywords so the site obtains a high raking placement in the relevant searches that people carry out. This can be achieved by Viola Drinks Ltd. hrough incorporating the adequate keywords that any prospective customers might search for consequently increasing the visibility of page and raising awareness of the brand. Promotion: Promotion is an important aspect in internet marketing. Bringing the products to the customers’ attention will help Viola Drinks Ltd. to generate more sales. Online promotion directly markets to the customers as it regularly pop-up sales ads. â€Å"The marketing function concerned with persuasively communication to target audience the components of the marketing program in order to facilitate exchange†. The opportunity of Viola Drinks Ltd. promoting their products online is that their customers can have real-time up to date what the latest promotional offers. Furthermore customers receiving direct e-mail from Viola Drinks Ltd about products that the prospective might consider purchasing will pull them to visit the website more. Advertising: online promotion has helped Viola Drinks Ltd. to reach their target audience, therefore getting more customers and bringing awareness of the different benefits and features of their existing and new products which is dramatically benefiting the company. Online advertising has grown over the past years â€Å"Online advertising spending in the UK has overtaken television expenditure for the first time, a report has said. Online spending grew 4. 6% to ? 1. 752bn in the first half of 2009, while TV spending shrank 16. 1% to ? 1. 639bn†. This shows how online advertising is increasingly growing in popularity in the UK and the benefit Viola Drinks Ltd. will have from online advertising is that they can get more customers as they are able to reach a greater audience and have new sales channels. Furthermore online advertising is cheaper and more convenient to reach a wider target audience. Viola Drinks Ltd. website enables their customers to shop and search for information 24/7 from the comfort of their own bed or from any other location. The benefit of online advertising to the customer is that he/she can get the information as far as they have an internet connectivity while offline advertising such as TV, billboards and newspapers ads are not that so popular as they used to be. In a recent article from BBC it is stated that online advertising has over taken the traditional forms of advertising. Globalisation: Moving on, the benefit of Viola Drinks Ltd. going online is to reach to a wider audience and expand the company to trade in a single global marketplace and the blurring of social and cultural differences between countries. Viola Drinks Ltd hence has make sure that they have a comprehensive understanding of the foreign markets environment and assess the advantages of their own products and service they provided to their customers on a world-wide scale. 24/7 Accessibility: Last but not least 24/7 accessibility is one of the major reasons for a company to go online. For Viola Drinks Ltd to go online it will mean that more customers can get to their stores at their own time. â€Å"Your store is open, 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week. Further, your customers are worldwide in reach, and can shop anytime that they want to†. This is the benefit that internet marketing provides to Viola Drinks Ltd because their customers can shop online at any given time. With the company’s presence online their customers will not be disappointed as they can always shop at any time of the day without leaving the comfort of their house. P5 – Explain how internet marketing has made Viola Drinks Ltd. more efficient, effective and successful. In this assignment I will clarify how internet marketing has made Viola Drinks Ltd. more efficient, effective and successful and how the increasing availability of the web gives business a number of effectiveness and efficiency. Dynamic Pricing Online pricing is done successfully thanks to the advent of technology. For instance flights change price according to the time of year; prices for flights go up during the half-term, as they know families will want to go at this time. Viola Drinks Ltd. website uses dynamic pricing charged prices categorise customers in different groups. â€Å"The prices are updated in real time to the type of customers or current market condition†. Viola Drinks Ltd. website has managed to establish this through their website. The efficiency and effectiveness of dynamic pricing can get Viola Drinks Ltd to capture more consumer attention and surplus, consequently meaning more generated profit for the company. Social Media: Social media has helped in a great deal in Viola Drinks Ltd. online advertisement. Social Media website such as â€Å"Facebook† and â€Å"Twitter† are the two most popular and used social media networks with over 1 billion visitors between them. The exploitation of social media has facilitated Viola Drinks Ltd to send out promotions and keep people up-to-date on upcoming events and products therefore increasing the opportunity to gain sales and also to profile their customers through psychographic profiling to target, young adults up to the age 24 who spend a great deal of their time online these are. Freedom of Choice has given Viola Drinks Ltd. ustomers the opportunity to pick from a variety of products. Viola Drinks Ltd is providing their customers with options to choose different products online. Furthermore they have offed their customers all over the world the freedom of choice from a different range of products and the option to choose their own delivery time and location. Track your Purchase online processes can help customers to track their order through the company’s website as they will be paying for their products or services before they receive it. The efficiency and effectiveness of this is that customer’s feel reassured that they can track their order without worrying if their purchase will make its way safely to their address. Viola Drinks Ltd website allows their customers to track their purchase from order, dispatch to transportation before it with the courier for delivery to their home address. Once more this reassures the customers and makes them feel that they are obtaining a good service online. Visual appeal, Viola Drinks Ltd. uses images on their website to make it easy and interesting for their target audience to have a clear view of their products in. Doing this it is clear that Viola Drinks Ltd wants to meet their customers’ requirements as they have the option to view the products, label which include the nutritional information of their drinks as consumers undoubtedly would want to know how much sugar the drinks contain if the individual has health concerns. P6 – Explain the challenges of globalization facing Viola Drinks Ltd. when deciding to embark on internet marketing as a promotional tool. In this assignment I will give details about the challenges of globalization facing Viola Drinks Ltd. when deciding to embark on internet marketing as a promotional tool. One of the challenges of internet marketing facing Viola Drinks Ltd. is the costs. Costs of setting up a website can be quite expensive at first, as you have to consider things such as, the domain name; protection of the website; people looking after the website, keeping it up to date and functional; designing the website; hosting and staff to look after the consumer’s requests and query’s. So this is a big thing that a Viola Drinks has to consider about when starting up an online business or website, as all of these things add up and can result in costing a lot of money. Another less taxing challenge of internet marketing confronting Viola Drinks Ltd. can be the information they decide to put on the website. When creating a website, Viola Drinks Ltd. has to be careful of the content that they put on the website. A business doesn’t want to overload the customer with information on products, as the customer will lose interest and find another website, which is more to the point and easier to read. Another challenge of internet marketing that Viola Drinks has to deal with is security. An online business makes their profit through online sales, and therefore needs to make sure that people feel secure and safe doing so. Payment Security is one of the largest challenges that Viola Drinks Ltd. face when operating on the internet. Customers want to ensure that their bank details are kept safe from hackers. Therefore Viola Drinks Ltd. must ensure they have a valid SSL certificate which encrypts sensitive information so nobody else can access it. Furthermore they can do this by making sure their website has regular virus checks and some sort of software to stop it from being hacked. They also could make sure that they use a very secure system when people are paying for products, such as NatWest have the special password system, so that when you are about to purchase a product, the customer will have to enter the password as well as all the relevant card details. A company could also use companies such as, PayPal and ask customers to pay through there. This will make the customer feel more secure as they know it’s a website they can trust. Viola Drinks Ltd. is also exposed to competition through global website visibility. The problem with having your website on the internet is that you are exposing yourself wide open to competitors who can view nearly everything about your business model. Viola Drinks Ltd. exposes their pricing, promotional offers, customer support service, layout of your information and how they have categorized certain data. This is beneficial to their competitors such as Coca Cola. Furthermore having manufacturers with online presence automatically causes disintermediation within the supply chain. This is a challenge for Viola Drinks Ltd. who sells their products that they get from a wholesaler, which needs a manufacturer. Viola Drinks Ltd may run into channel conflict, which is a challenge. This is when a customer can find the product that a business is selling cheaper elsewhere, therefore they are less likely to buy other products from Viola Drinks Ltd and they will lose money. Therefore, a business needs to make sure that it is looking at what its competitors are doing and keep their products and prices up-to-date. Lastly A challenge of internet marketing that Viola Drinks Ltd might face can be culture. When a business is starting up a website in a different country, they will have to take into consideration the country and their views on things. For example: in China the colour red is seen as lucky, therefore Viola Drinks Ltd may choose to make their website red if they were to start up their business in China, as people may be more likely to buy products from them. When starting up an online business in another country they will also have to take into consideration staying within the law. Additionally Viola Drinks Ltd. will have to consider tax; the description of products; language barriers; and modesty laws. All these could be potential problems and could easily cause Viola Drinks Ltd. to fail if they are not looked into and dealt with.

Raoul

Executive Summary FJ Benjamin is a Singapore based fashion and lifestyle company. The company distributes major clothing brands and accessories, and is one of the leading fashion distributors in Singapore. Their success is derived from their ability to secure distribution rights from major brands. FJ Benjamin introduced it very own house label, Raoul, in 2002. Raoul was created to increase the company? s portfolio as well as to diversify away from distribution risk. Raoul contributes a large percentage of FJ Benjamin? s annual revenue.With intensive competition in the fashion industry, Raoul must have it own identity in order to differentiate itself from the competitor. Analyses have been undertaken to determine what necessary strategies to be implemented to enhance the brand image so as to increase profits. Strategies are recommended by taking advantage of Raoul? s strengths and building on their weaknesses in order to take advantage of the available opportunities in the market and to defend it from threats. Studies of the internal and external environment had been conducted to be able to work with Raoul? core competencies to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors.This report concludes that Raoul needs to make adjustments on its marketing strategies, and maintain some of its current strategies, in order to be more competitive in the fashion market. Hence, it is proposed that (1) Raoul focus on a single-market strategy and focus on the local market as well as to create strong market commitment, to be able to serve customer better. (2) Introduce a new ecofriendly product line based on product improvement strategy, and offer product customization for current and new products, as well as enhance current product and services. 3) Maintain current product pricing, and implement price skimming strategy on new product line. (4) Maintain its efficient and cost effective distribution strategy. (5) Changes are to be made on its promotional efforts in order to g ain max exposure possible. Benefits of the proposed recommendations would allow Raoul to achieve the proposed objectives which includes increasing in sales revenue, repurchase rate, and introducing a new product line within the next three years.It is there for proposed that the recommended strategies be implemented at Raoul to be able to reap in revenues as well as gaining a competitive edge in the fashion industry for a highly sustainable business.Over the last 20 years, Singapore has taken a great leap in its fashion industry. Singapore is recognised as the second largest fashion apparel business and sourcing hub in Asia-Pacific after Hong Kong. Special fashion events such as Singapore Fashion Week and Singapore Fashion Festival are some of the impressive achievements made in the fashion industry. These events played a critical role in portraying Singapore as a major fashion hub in the whole of Asia Pacific region. This also gives both local and international designers a platform to showcase their talents to the fashion industry in this region.Today, a total of 4,500 wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers generate some $7 billion in operating receipts and $1. 2 billion in value added to Singapore economy. As Asian consumers become more affluent, they increasingly drive global demand. With Singapore? s strategic location, cultural affinity and connectivity with the region made Singapore an ideal place to serve as a test-bed to gather and analyse consumer insights, to develop products for the Asian market. This also made Singapore an optimum location for many companies to set a base in, managing and controlling their regional and global operations. . 0 Corporate Background F J Benjamin was founded in 1959 by Frank Benjamin, who came from a well-to-do family who have been in the fashion industry before World War 2. The company was initially FJ Benjamin and Sons but due to the nature of the business, where it positioned itself as a holding firm with subsidiar ies, it was later renamed to FJ Benjamin Holdings Ltd in 1993 (Wang 2009). The company started of dealing with photographic equipment, and everyday novelties such as paper products as well as pots and pans.However, in the 1960s, the company started to modernise its operations by entering into partnerships with many fashion labels, by importing and retailing designer jeans. The success motivated Benjamin to focus his business on the fashion industry. The company brought in brand names such as Lanvin, Gucci and Fendi in the early 1970s, and was a big player of the fashion industry in Singapore (Wang 2009). FJ Benjamin was listed on the SGX in 1996, before the Asian financial crisis, posting a net loss of over $40m in their first financial year; it was mainly due to high operating expenses and fixed cost.The profitability of the company continued into the early 2000s, where they lost major brand names such as Gucci, Lanvin and Fendi. The company learnt to diversify away from distributo rship risk by developing its own brand, thus the creation of Raoul. 1 Company Present Operation& Business Core Today, FJ Benjamin has operations in eight cities worldwide, including Singapore, Sydney Australia, Jakarta Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Taiwan and Bangkok Thailand carrying over 20 brands and has over 180 retail stores in the Asia Pacific region.FJ Benjamin focuses on 3 core business; fashion retailing and distribution, timepiece distribution, and licensing and design: (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). ? Fashion retailing and distribution core – Acquired rights to distribute major fashion labels across the South East Asia and the Pacific region ? Exclusive distributers of timepiece – Acquired rights to distribute timepieces in the South East Asia and the Pacific region ? Licensing and Design – Has a design division to design for Guess Kids and its own house label, Raoul However, they also have their fair share of failures, one exampl e was with the Manchester United brand and Devil? Bar that were unprofitable, which the company had a joint venture with CEO of St James Power Station, Dennis Foo. The company dropped the Manchester United brand name and closed all its retail stores and cafes. Current Developments FJ Benjamin is benefiting from Singapore? s healthy economic growth. With Singapore transforming into a tourism hub, and the opening of Marina Bay Sands (MBS), the company had took advantage of the influx of visitors and has opened four new retail stores at the MBS, including brands names like Guess, Banana Republic, La Senza and Raoul; totalling the number of stores in Singapore to 32.The management was optimistic with its new stores as it was able to secure attractive rental rates at MBS and would be able to benefit from the ever growing number of tourist. The company also stand to avoid other competition with the opening of new shopping malls in Orchard Road and other shopping districts in Singapore (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). Future Developments FJ Benjamin had secure exclusive distributorship for high end brands such as Goyard, Givenchy and Dewitt, building the company? s brand portfolio to more than 20 reputable brand. The company? success is evidenced by its ability to attain distributorship of French luxury giant Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton? s (LVMH) Celine and Givenchy; this is only the beginning of their collaboration with LVMH (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 2 Company’s Milestones & Achievements FJ Benjamin have made its mark in Singapore and have been contributing much to the fashion industry and providing various lifestyle products [See Appendix 1]. Corporate Vision FJ Benjamin? s vision is to be a global company ? Dedicated to delivering their promise to their customers by fulfilling their lifestyle aspirations ? Committed to talent development Delivering sustainable and superior returns to their shareholders Corporate Mission FJ Benjamin? s mission is strive to lea d in everything they do ? Implementing brand strategies with deep market penetration ? Delivering superior customer service with long-term customer loyalty ? Empowering employees to deliver value processes for phenomenal growth ? Pursuing best-in-class economics with strong margins Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) FJ Benjamin has been committed to various charities in Singapore since the company was founded in 1959. The company believes that charitable giving is a necessary element of CSR.The company? s Charitable Giving Committee is made key employee of the company. The committee meets on a quarterly basis to review the company? s charitable initiatives and approves all charitable giving. The company sets aside up to 1% of its net profit for a fiscal year, in forms of monetary or in-kind gifts. FJ Benjamin? s charitable objectives includes, supporting good causes relating to health, education, arts and/or the community in Singapore. The company also encourages and supports pro jects and activities that helps strengthen in which their employees work and live in. FJ Benjamin? Contributions to the society [See Appendix 2]. Company Structure FJ Benjamin Holding employs a divisional structure that is divided according to geographical region and further subdivided into countries and product [See Appendix 3]. In the South East Asian region, the company branch out to various countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Each country would then be fragment base on products, e. g. Timepieces, Investment and Concepts (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 3 As of financial year end 2009, Douglas Benjamin is the Chief Executive Officer for FJ Benjamin Singapore.Mr. Douglas oversees the operation in Singapore, directs the international expansion of Raoul house label and heads the Raoul design team as a Creative Director. Douglas Benjamin has strong experience in brand management and development of retail distribution thereby allowing the company to expand quickl y into various regions within eight years and having a diverse range of products (Star Creation 2010). The senior management board in Singapore includes Samuel Benjamin, Quah Kim Tong and Matthew Chan (FJ Holdings Limited 2009).Samuel Benjamin is the Group Director of Timepiece and the Senior Vice-President of FJ Benjamin Fashion U. S. Inc. He joined the company Fashion division in 1991 and has more than 19 years of experience in the retail industry (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). Quah Kim Tong is the Director for Wholesale. He administers the logistic/ distribution center in Singapore, plus the distribution business of Sheridan and Guess Accessories. He started his career as a product manager in 1982 and steadily moved up the corporate ladder. Matthew Chan is the Divisional CEO of Fashion and Corporate Services.He oversees the day-to-day running of the fashion retail in Singapore, as well as the managing the back end support services in the company. Mr. Chan joined the company back in 2006, providing strong organizational and financial knowledge from his past experience as Director for Head of Channel Acquisitions and Head of Acceptance with American Express. Key stakeholders FJ Benjamin key stakeholders are directly affected by the company? s performance, which includes: ? Customers who purchase products from various SBU ? Employees – Management staff to salespeople ?Licensors who sell the distribution rights to FJ Benjamin ? Retail malls that leases out spaces for company? s retail division ? Investors who own FJ Benjamin? s corporate share ? Creditors – Banks ? Shareholders ? Government agencies which may require the company to abide/ conform to accounting standards, taxation regulations and employees? CPF ? Trade unions which may certain framework that the company needs to work within; such as working hours and minimum wage 4 Financial Performance Financial Year Profits after tax and shares 2005 4. 26 million 2006 10. 17million 2007 1. 47millon 2008 14. 8 million 2009 (2. 66 million) Table 1 Financial performance of the past 5 years The growth from financial year 2005 to 2006 was mainly attributed by attainting the distribution rights for Gap and Banana Republic in Singapore and in Malaysia. During the same year, other SBUs, namely Raoul and Timepieces started its expansion into the Middle East and Thailand (FJ Benjamin Limited 2006). The significant growth from 2006 to 2007 was further encouraged by the optimistic economies and mainly by the conversion of warrants to share (FJ Benjamin Limited 2007).The decline in profit for 2007 to 2008 was caused by the subprime crisis in America, the increasing inflation rate that reduced consumer spending power and the high volatility in the financial market. It was also noted that, FJ Benjamin exited from the Thailand market due to the political instability and shut down two timepiece shop in Hong Kong due to poor results (Leong 2010). On the other hand, the company reassured shareho lders through their diversified portfolio of brands and vigilant cost discipline; the company business is still viable (FJ Benjamin Limited 2008).As of financial year end 2009, FJ Benjamin had made a net loss of $2,661,000 compared to a net profit of $14,804,000 in 2008. The loss in 2009 was caused by the financial crisis. FJ Benjamin minimizes their financial risk by ensuring that there is sufficient cash reserves to meet any unforeseen circumstances and is committed to a low gearing ratio. 5 Breakdown of Financial Result Liquidity ratio Current ratio Quick ratio 2009 2. 11 times 7. 8 2008 1. 67 times 14. 7 Table 2 Financial results – Liquidity Ratio The liquidity ratio refers to the company? ability to meet its short term obligation (Madura 2007, 580). As compared to 2008, the current ratio has increased but it is still within the healthy range of 1 – 2. Excessive liquidity could imply that the company may have excessive cash or stocks in inventories (Madura 2007, 58 0). Leverage Ratio Debt/Equity ratio 2009 2. 13 2008 1. 14 2009 -2. 02% 2008 10. 65% Table 3 Financial results – Leverage Ratio Return on Equity Table 4 Financial results – Return on Equity Return on equity measures the return of investments in the firm for the shareholders (Madura 2007, 586).Although losses were made in 2009, the company has since been making steady progress in their quarterly financial results as show in Figure 1. 2009 Earnings per share (cents) 2008 -0. 47 2. 61 Table 5 Financial results – Earning/share Earnings per share serve as an indicator for the company? s profitability. Since in 2009 losses were made, it is accepted that the earning per share would decrease significantly as compared to 2008. Figure 1 Analysis of Financial Results Despites the losses made in 2009 due to the financial crisis, FJ Benjamin has since been making steady progression.For first quarter 2010, a net profit of $459,000 was made, followed by the second quarter with a net profit of $1. 72 million and latest financial results for third quarter 2010 showed a net profit of $3 million. 6 The company is financially sound; based on the breakdown of ratio, financial reports and third party recommendation for investors to invest in the company. FJ Benjamin has recently secured license for Goyard, a French luxury retail brand and has intention to introduce three other new brands in 2011 (Seow 2010). Currently the company has plans to expand into China and widen its existing market in US and Europe (Leong 2010). . 2 Strategic Business Unit Fashion FJ Benjamin? s fashion retailing includes prestigious line such as Guess, Celine, La Senza, Banana Republic, GAP and Raoul. It takes up two-third of its profit turnover through fashion retailing (Wang 2009). Timepieces F J Benjamin held exclusively rights to distribute timepiece brands such as Bell & Ross, GirardPerregauz, Guess, Chronotech, Victorinox Swiss Army, Marc Ecko, Rado and Nautica (FJ Benjamin Holdi ngs Ltd 2009). Timepiece contributes about 30% or one-third of FJ Benjamin? s profit turnover through retailing (Wang 2009). Creative & LicensingFJ Benjamin? s creative and licensing division has conceptualized and developed house brand Raoul and has licence to create original designs and manufactures merchandise, such as Guess Kids. 7 2. 3 SBU BCG Matrix The following is the tabulated values for BCG matrix analysis, for the breakdown of calculations [see Appendix 4]. Largest Competitor 2009 2008 RMS Growth rate % Total Fashion $48. 92 $203. 40 $226. 30 4. 17 10% 68. 00% Timepieces $35. 87 $94. 30 $113. 40 2. 59 17% 31. 00% Licensing $14. 80 $2. 20 $2. 70 0. 20 20% 1. 00% Table 6 BCG matrix analysis Star Question MarkDog Growth Cash Cow Relative Market Share Figure 2 BCG Matrix This shows that Raoul is considered a cash cow of FJ Benjamin? s business with high relative market share and average industry growth rate. Raoul is currently positioned under a maturity stage where growth ra te and market share may decline into dog in the next few years. Therefore, new marketing strategies are needed to maintain the Raoul? s position by altering the product, price, distribution and promotional strategies to increase growth and maintain its current market share. 8 3. 0 SBU Raoul Situation AnalysisRaoul is the brainchild of creative director Douglas and Odile Benjamin (Raoul 2008). Currently Raoul is one of the most profiled fashion brands coming out of Asia. It is being known as a stylish, innovative fashion brand offering high quality accessible luxury products to their consumers. Raoul? s is designed, manufactured, and retailed under a corporate vertical marketing system with is solely owned by FJ Benjamin (FJ Holdings Limited 2009). 3. 1. 1 SBU Culture FJ Benjamin believes that Raoul can help them move up a level from being a brand distributor to a brand owner.Frank Benjamin claims that in fashion today, there is no shortage of brands and there would be market that Ra oul can cater to (Sim 2009). Raoul has created a new history for Singapore by introducing luxury fashion-forward corporate wear at an affordable price to business executives in Singapore. Raoul has become a renowned homegrown label that is now known to many business executives that demands style in corporate wear. (Smart lines for business times n. d. ) Raoul has such a strong influence in Singapore that local Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wore a pink Raoul tailor shirt during his National Day Rally Speech.Therefore, with a strong culture and adequate support from the parent company and local government, Raoul culture can become part of the Singapore heritage brand (Jalal. 2010). 3. 1. 2 SBU Resources Tangibles Resources Physical Physical refers to the equipments, furniture, retail outlet which can use to grow or sustain the business. With 24 Raoul flagship stores in Southeast Asia and Dubai, the company is still looking to expand its geographical footprint. Currently, FJ Benjamin occupies the second floor of the â€Å"The Alpha† at the Science Park. It is filled with show boutiques and workrooms.It is used by the company's visual merchandising team for training purposes and doubles as an impressive space for press samples (Simon 2009). This allows Raoul? s staffs to provide quality service to the consumers by using boutiques to train, giving them a chance to experience in a real life scenario. The availability of showroom allows Raoul to customize its concept layout before executing on the actual shop front. 9 Technological With the help of FJ Benjamin? s support in terms of finance and experience, Raoul is able to fully utilize technology to help Raoul perform more effectively and efficiently.Raoul also has its very own Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. CRM system is effective in increasing spending per customer, by tracking the spending patterns of customers, increasing the efficiency of marketing communication strategies. In addition, the front-end point-ofsales system has been upgraded to integrate with the CRM to improve in-store service quality (FJ Benjamin 2008). Sales Force Automation (SFA) is combined with CRM system to record stages of a sales process. It helps to manage customers? contact for future follow ups through contact management system.SFA would increase productivity and allow salespeople to utilize their time efficiently and effectively. SFA can help increase customer satisfaction which leads to increased customer loyalty and in return, high profit margins. Technology used on Supply Chain Management has improved the efficiency of the back-end support. Having implemented a new auto replenishment system, Raoul has been able to make inventory distribution more efficient. This help to save time and labour cost to keep track on all the movement of stocks and can provide a more accurate prediction of the delivery time (FJ Benjamin 2008).Financial FJ Benjamin achieved three consecutive quarters of earni ngs recovery in the first nine months of Financial Year Jun10. Earnings surged from a loss of $0. 1m for Financial Year Jun 2009 to a net profit of $5. 2m for Financial Year June 10 (Lee 2010). The outperformance in core earnings was driven by an improvement in gross profit margin, reflecting FJB? s strengthening brand portfolio and astute merchandising capability, as well as rising consumer demand (Lee 2010). In June 2010, the group? s turnover from the fashion business was flat at $49. m, with the marginal increase in the Southeast Asia markets offset by the slide in the Australian market. Geographically, sales in Southeast Asia rose three per cent, with fashion up two per cent (Seow 2010). As economics begin to recover, consumers? confidence begin to rise so purchasing increases. 10 Organization There are 9 directors on the board, consisting of Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Director, Executive Director, Non- Executive Deputy Chairman and Non- Executive Directors [see Appendix 5].In Singapore, there are 2 members on the senior management, consisting of the top management, such as Group Director and Wholesale Director FJ Benjamin adopt Traditional Organization Structure (Subhash and Haley 2009, 207), where different departments concentrate specifically in an area which they are an expert in it. Therefore, it helps Raoul to have a strong management team, which can grow Raoul to the next level and sustain a competitive edge. Intangibles Resources Goodwill As mentioned in section 4. 1 FJ Benjamin has been proactive in its CSR.This helps project a positive image of FJ Benjamin to the public. Therefore, in the future they can do a combine sponsorship with Raoul to increase brand exposure and awareness. Goodwill are intangible assets, this includes the company being in a dominant market position by building a positive brand image, create a positive reputation and increase consumer confidence of the company (Reference for Business : Encycl opedia of Business, 2nd ed n. d. ). Under the context of Raoul, they continuously explore different strategies where they aim to ecome a global renowned luxury brand that is recognised both regionally and internationally. As shown in appendices [see Appendix 6], Raoul had participate in numerous fashion events where they are able to showcase its products with other major luxury brands in the world. This would create a perception that Raoul as an international luxury brand. In Singapore, FJ Benjamin also creates a positive image by supporting and grooming Asian talents to become professional designers. Raoul had also won numerous prestigious awards, portraying that Raoul is a prestigious brand to Singaporeans.Innovation FJ Benjamin? s expertise and capabilities in original design manufacturing allows the company to create its own house-brand, Raoul. FJ Benjamin is committed to deliver innovative and differentiated products to the market. Raoul aims to create and deliver new value-add ed products and invest in research in order to respond to the ever changing needs of consumers. 11 Knowledge/Skills FJ Benjamin has rich experience in marketing and distributing luxury products. This makes FJ Benjamin an industry leader for building brands and management.This can help Raoul has a clear directions and a strong strategy to grow the brand. FJ Benjamin place customer service top on their priority list, therefore, every year they will send their staffs for upgrading or training to increase their service quality. After years of hard work, in 2009 FJ Benjamin won â€Å"Best Service Provider in the Industry† award. In retail, FJ Benjamin has a rich experience in marketing and advertising campaign to expand its market share. They also have the capital to heavily advertise Raoul on traditional print such as fashion magazines, newspapers, posters and billboards (Wong and Lim 2009). . 1. 3 SBU Stakeholders Stakeholders hold an important to affect Raoul? s ultimate growth . Raoul needs to take in the view of the interest of their stakeholders in order to have a positive growth. Stakeholders can also influence the directions of Raoul. The stakeholders are further classified into 4 different groups: Classification of Stakeholders The Community The Customers / Partners The Competitors The Investors ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Government regulators Media General public Shopping Mall Developers Shopping Mall Management EmployeesFashion Designers Customers prospects Strategic alliances partners Raw Materials Suppliers Insurance Company Supply Chain/Freight Forwarding Company Schools (e. g. School of Business, School of Art and etc) Direct Competitors (e. g. Massimo Dutti, G2000 Black Label) Non- Direct Competitors/Substitutes Board of directors Investment Analysts / Financial Consultant Shareholders/Investors Table 7 Classification of Stakeholders 12 3. 1. 4 SBU Performance Raoul entered into the fashion industry at the right time, where men have b een paying more attention of their looks.With the successful launch and business, Raoul has also further strengthened its well established values (Sunny Side Up: Start your day the Kim Eng Way 2010). Financial Year Profits after tax and shares 2005 724,200 2006 1,728,900 2007 3,649,900 2008 2,516,000 2009 (452,200) Table 8 Financial Performance for the past 5 years Base on assumption from the above financial year performance under section 1 with Raoul having a financial contribution to FJ Benjamin profit of approximately 17%. From 2005 to 2007 shows a steady increase mainly attribute by positive financial economies.From 2008 to 2009 a dip in Raoul? s sales was caused by financial crisis across the world. As of June 2010, FJ Benjamin recorded a net profit of $8,260,000 from a net loss of $2,661,000 in 2009 (FJB Singapore 2010) and Raoul accounts for approximately 15% – 20% of FJ Benjamin? s sales revenue, it is clear that FJ Benjamin wishes to take this opportunity to venture into other big market to increase their revenue and market share. 3. 2 SBU Customers Characteristics Segment 1 Segment 2 Working Adults Generation Y Sex Male and Female Male and Female Age 36-60 22-35 Education ;gt;Diploma gt;Degree Monthly Income ;gt;$3800 ;gt;$2800 Purchasing Power High Medium – High Benefit Sought Seek Prestige Services ; Product Seek Individualism, Status ; Self Quality Image VALS Innovators Achievers/Experiencers Lifestyle Factors Traditionalist Modernist Brand Loyalist Opinion Leaders Opinion Leaders Early Adopters Purchase Frequency Occasionally Occasionally Occasion of Use Work Work and Social Size 65% 35% Demographics Description Table 9 SBU Customers 13 3. 3 SBU Competition 14 Table 10 SBU competition 15 3. 3. 1 Current Product Positioning Quality +ve Price -ve + ve -veFigure 3 Current Product Positioning Purple: Raoul, Blue: Massimo Dutti, Orange: G2000 Black Label The above shows the current position of Raoul and its competitor, Massimo Dutti and G2000 Black label. Raoul currently offers high quality products at a mid-range price, while competitor such G2000 Black label offers slightly lower priced and quality clothing. Massimo Dutti offers slightly lower price and same quality clothing as Raoul. 16 3. 4 Key Findings PESTLE Environment Political Political Stability and Risk Political stability and risk varies between countries in the region.Singapore has very little political issues compared to neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. Singapore is rank 1st in Southeast Asia as the least corrupted country and 4th worldwide. Low degree of social unrest, political sovereignty, conflicts and low government interventions, makes Singapore a safe place for any business operation. As indicate in the World Bank? s Doing Business Report, Singapore is the world? s easiest place to do business in the year of 2009 and 2010 due the political stability of Singapore. Economic Singapore? economic growth, inter est rates, exchange rates and inflation rates, consumer purchasing power and the standard of living in Singapore are part and parcel of the economic environment. In May 2010, Singapore topped the list of world? s most competitive nation in the World Competitiveness Yearbook. Singapore dethroned USA as from its 16 year reign (Lim 2010). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Singapore? s GDP expanded strongly by 15. 5% in the 1st quarter of 2010, it exceeded the projected 13. 1% estimates. On a quarterly basis the Singapore economy grew 38. 6 %, 6. 5% more than the government? s estimates (Howells 2010).According to World Bank, Singapore GDP is worth 182 billion dollars or 0. 29% of the world economy (Singapore GDP Growth Rate 2010). Singapore has a highly developed and successful freemarket economy and it soared above 30% in the first quarter of 2010, the manufacturing sector growth was doubled as compare to previous quarter of the year recovering from a 2. 8% drop in fourth quarter of 2009. The growth of the manufacturing sector accounts for up to one quarter of the country? s economy. This would cause the projected forecast of the GDP to increase to up to 9% in 2010 (Adam 2010). Inflation Rates As of 2010, Singapore? inflation rate is 1. 6% (Singapore Inflation Rate 2010). Inflation is an increase of overall price level in the country. This would increase the cost of living as products/services would now cost more than previous years. It is interrelated to the Consumer Price Index, which will be further discussed in the next section. 17 Consumer Price Index The current CPI of Singapore is 1. 6%, it is the measures of inflation rate, where measures consumer prices that the price changes in a fixed amount of consumer goods and services that are commonly purchased over time (Singapore Department of Statistics 2010).CPI is influenced by lifestyle, income level, household composition and consumer preference (Singapore Department of Statistics 2010) this also determines the quality of life of Singaporeans. This relates to the increasing trend in Singaporeans having higher spending power, where cost of consumer products are increasing; resulting in the increase in inflation rate. With the increasing cost of living and quality of life, Singaporeans have more disposable cash to spend on better quality products which would aid the sales growth of Raoul. Socio-Cultural Social AttitudesSingaporean has a „fear of losing? attitude, which is frequently used to describe the social attitude of Singaporeans. This refers to people who desire to always want to be first, the best and never losing out. This could be a positive attitude that reflects the high standards of Singaporeans; however it could lead graceless image to the society. It also strongly reflects on the Singaporean work ethics and competitiveness. ‘Face’ This is an important value amongst Singaporeans. It refers to saving and maintaining „face?. Singaporeans typically are not expressive in their ehaviour and emotions and do not criticize others openly in public; to avoid losing face. Losing face will lead to damage to one? s reputation, credibility and authority in the social and working environment. Technological Factor Technological Infrastructure Broadband infrastructure in Singapore allows for better global networking for businesses that enables better customer support. With the support of such technology, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Point of Sales (POS) system are made easier.Thus, allowing Raoul to operate more effectively and efficiently in Singapore. Furthermore, the government introduced the next generation high-speed fibre optic broadband (Next Gen NBN 2010). 18 Legal Factors Singapore Legal System Singapore? s legal system is English common law and has a strong regulation in place protecting consumer and company. Raoul, being a domestic brand would receive stronger su pport from the government. Singapore also has an additional Islamic law to cater to the Muslim community. Since, Singapore? economy is highly dependent on the revenue from import and export, it is important to implement proper regulations to protect the safety of Singapore. Also in terms of employment policies, firms need to consider the working hours and wages rate of the employees. Environment Factor Environmentalism There is an increasing trend green consumer in the global segment and since Singapore being one of the countries that is actively involved; environmentalism becomes an opportunity for Raoul to introduce environmentally friendly products as recommended in products.Targeting environmentally conscious consumers, where they are more willing to pay for greener products. Green Movement Singapore is highly involved in going green and government bodies that are responsible include National Environmental Agency (NEA) and Environmental Challenge Organisation (ECO). The NEA sign ed the Singapore Packaging Agreement with 5 industry associations, 19 individual companies, 2 non-governmental organizations, the Waste Management ; Recycling Association of Singapore and 4 public waste collectors on 5 June 2007 that aims to reduce packaging waste over a 5year period.It encourages the flexibility for the industries to adopt cost-effective solutions to reduce waste (Singapore Packaging Agreement 2008). ECO launched the „Million Acts of Green? Singapore Campaign to spur a national green movement by getting Singaporeans to think and act green in their day-to-day lives. Million Acts of Green Singapore is targeted at both Singaporeans and businesses with the aim of getting them to register their green acts and sustainability ideas on the millionactsofgreen. sg website (ECO Singapore 2010). 19 3. 5 Internal Analysis – TOWS Matrix AnalysisTable 11 Internal Analysis – TOWS Matrix Analysis 20 4. 0 SBU Objectives and Goals Table 12 SBU Objectives and Goals 21 5. 0 Recommended Strategies Recommendations have been made in order for Raoul to achieve their objectives and goals. 5. 1 Market Strategies Market-Scope Strategy It is recommended that Raoul should focus its strategy on a single market basis, where Raoul can gain competitive advantage of being able to adaptive and responsive to market opportunities threats to successfully remedying any possible changes in policies.Thus, Raoul will be able to capture the market and better serve the customers, at the same time experiencing higher profits while keeping the cost down while prices are kept high. Market-Geography Strategy Currently, Raoul has existing plans for expanding its business geographically. However, this report recommends that Raoul should return to the most traditional form of local-market strategy. As a home grown brand by a local company, F J Benjamin, it can gain competitive advantage of serving a narrow geographic area within Singapore.This can emphasis more interpersona l service with local consumers that can induce beliefs into consumers to motivate them in buying and supporting local produce. Market Commitment Strategy It is recommended that Raoul should create strong commitment with the potential consumers, where Raoul needs to create a firm foundation of operations within the market and amplifying its own economies of scales in promotion, distribution, manufacturing and promotion. This would in turn create high barrier to entry and competitors would have difficulties in challenging Raoul? s existing system.Creation of strong commitment can also be enhance with development or new products, improving product quality and increasing budget for sales force personnel. Raoul can work its product line with a more environmental approach. Such as usage of organic cotton in manufacturing of the apparels and recyclable shopping bags, to promote the eco-friendly line, to the consumers that are committed in saving the environment. Allocating resources to tra in retail associates can create a wholesome retail experience for the patrons of the boutique and would increase product and brand loyalty. 22 5. 2 Product StrategiesNew Product Strategy: Improvement ; Positioning The introduction of eco-friendly clothing aims to attract new consumers from the targeted segment. In Singapore context, organic cotton wear is still a relatively new concept. Currently there are not many fashion retailers providing formal wear made of eco-friendly materials. By being the first to introduce, Raoul could gain to attract a greater awareness for its own brand name and products. The eco-friendly clothing would help Raoul in attracting a larger number of potential consumers from the identified target segment. Quality +ve Price -ve + ve -veFigure 4 New Product Positioning Green: Eco-range positioning It is recommended that Raoul maintain its product positioning for the current clothing line. However, with the launch of eco-range, quality of product should be imp roved so as to differentiate the product from the competitors. Price of eco-range should increase so as to in-line with the new product pricing strategy (Price Skimming). 23 Value-marketing strategy: Product and Service Differentiation To differentiate its customer service from other fashion retailers, Raoul could offer complementary beverages for shoppers as well as offering image consultation service.The image consultant would make recommendations to consumer based on their needs, based on their body contour, purpose of occasion and nature of job scope. The consultation service is an optional product aimed at building the brand image and is subjected to charges. Product-design strategy: Product Customization Raoul should adopt standardise customisation to gain the extra competitive edge and to maximise benefits. Product customisation would aid Raoul in showcasing itself as a quality provider thereby differentiating the brand and increasing consumers? commitment to the brand.Standa rdise products refer to the clothing offered such as shirt, pants and blouse. Customisations could be done on various levels: ? At a basic level, clothing could be tailored in terms of length to meet basic expectations of consumers. ? At an intermediary level clothing could be tailored to meet specific needs of consumers, such as broadness of the lapel, thickness of shoulder padding in jackets, allow requests for particular colour and particular material for clothing like cashmere Lycra as well as embroidery of customers? initials on clothing. 24 5. 3 Price StrategiesWith reference to the PESTEL analysis, Singapore has a stable economy; does not face drastic changes in the environment. It is recommended that company should maintain the current pricing strategy for current products and use price skimming strategy for the new eco-friendly clothing. Maintaining Current Pricing Strategy It would allow Raoul to maintaining its position in the marketplace and enhance public image. The ben efit of maintaining price is appropriate when Raoul cannot anticipate the reaction of customers and competitors? price change. Furthermore, with this strategy it can further enhance the Raoul? public image New Product Pricing It is recommended that due to the uncertainty of consumers? demand and competitors? responds to the new eco-friendly range, that Raoul should use price skimming strategy to gain maximum revenue prior to competitors? respond with similar products.It not only serves customers who are less price sensitive, while there are demands for eco-friendly clothing in the early stage of the Product lifecycle, but also recovers the high cost of R;D used to develop eco-friendly clothing, and high promotional cost incurred to education consumers on the need to go green. . 4 Distribution Strategies Corporate Vertical Marketing System (VMS) Figure 5 Corporate VMS Raoul currently uses a Corporate VMS. As seen on the above figure, Raoul? s products are designed, manufactured and r etailed under a single ownership of FJ Benjamin. It is recommended that the distribution strategy remains the same as Raoul would have greater control over the entire distribution chains. This would eliminate the need of slow-moving suppliers for raw materials.New products designs shaped in Raoul? design centre at the â€Å"Alpha† as mentioned in section 5. 2. 1, and new designs 25 feed into Raoul? s manufacturing centres and is distributed directly to its retail outlets. This saves time, cost and keeps inventories low. 5. 5 Communication Strategies Raoul needs to further improve their current strategies and introduce new strategies to increase their market share and consumer base. Advertising A good advertising is able to stimulate interests and could lead to sales. It is able to influence customers? erception of Raoul and is able to reach out to more audience at a lower cost. Traditional advertising (Magazine) The use of traditional advertising such as magazines will be an effective medium for Raoul. Raoul could advertise in both male and female and luxury magazines such like HerWorld, Elle, Cleo, August Man, Prestige and L? Officiel, as these are the magazines that have readers that are similar to that of Raoul; targeted consumers get the latest information on fashion trends. Outdoor advertising and informative advertisingIn order for Raoul to introduce eco-friendly clothing, they have to do informative advertisements to generate environmental awareness among the public. Raoul can portray a positive brand image by introducing an eco-friendly range of clothing, and informing the public of the need to protect the environment through sustainable means. For instance, they are could place advertisements along high end shopping districts like Orchard Road, Marina Bay as well as the Central Business District areas to be able to attract attention of potential targeted consumers.However, special attention has to be made as not to place posters at cluttered en vironment as people may not notice the posters. Placing huge posters of bright green and earthy colours would draw consumers? attention, followed by a few informative words that explain the need for using organic materials which are biodegradable and pesticide free, such as organic cotton, to reduce environmental impacts. 26 Personal Selling strategy In retail line, personal touch and customer service is essential, and would differentiate Raoul from the rest of its competitors.It is recommended those salespeople are trained to be able to interact well with customers, as a good salesperson would be able to close higher sales, and customers are usually loyal to the person who provides the service, and may not be loyal to the brand. Therefore, more resources should be allocated in training of salespeople. Building Relationship through Database Marketing and CRM Building up a relationship with consumers with aim to retain consumers and increase their level of satisfaction. Raoul can imp lement customer loyalty programs so as to have a long-term valued relationship.This could be done by constantly sending update to their consumer through email or direct mail whenever there is any new launch or sales. Alternatively, Raoul could send birthday cards and offering birthday discounts to consumers on their birthday month. This will create a sense of belonging for the customer and further encourage return sales. Collaboration with designers In order to attract eco-conscious consumers, Raoul can collaborate with renowned designers to come up with a new series and designs made from organic materials.By taking a proactive approach in saving the environment, it projects a positive image of the brand. In addition, they are also able to educate the public on the need to save the environment. Product Packaging To be line with the eco-friendly range and promotion, purchase of any clothing in stores will be packaged with recycled paper wraps and paper bags. In addition, with purchas e of eco-friendly apparels, customers will be issued a specially designed recycled cloth bag with a green theme. Those special eco-bags should be able to attract potential buyers? ttention as well as raise awareness of the need to go green. 27 6. 0 Implementation Program An implementation table has been drawn up for the recommended strategies. IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTROL TABLE STRATEGY WHERE DATES HOW TO IMPLEMENT BUDGET CONTROL MECHANISM Market 1. Scope – Single Market 2. Geography – Local 3 years 3. Commitment – Strong 3 years Market Research on ideal store locations 3 years Singapore Island-wide Market Research Integrate CRM system Sales return – if segment is not profitable then use market haversting strategy $1,000,000Outlet sales figure – close outlets that are less profitable due to customer traffic Measuring repurchase rate – if repurchase rate is low, $500,000 consider using market haversting strategy Product Reviewing current produc t to come Nov 10 – Jan 11 up with improvements to restore product to health 1. New Product Positioning 2. Value-Marketing – Product ; Service Differentiation Training and development of staff Work closely with customer to review the progress of the product until completion that meets customer's specification. On going 3. Design – Customization On going