Implications for the development of sainsburys in the future - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 24 Words: 7320 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Dissertation Level High school Did you like this example? Implications for the development of sainsburys in the future 1. Introduction The retail industry is one of the oldest industrial sectors of UK having its roots based in the 19th century. An article in The Financial Times about Sainsburys dropping sales and consequently market shares triggered the research topic and we drove ourselves to the history of supermarkets to reveal the secret behind the big giants (Tesco, Sainsburys and ASDA) fighting for the top position in the market. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Implications for the development of sainsburys in the future" essay for you Create order The reason to select Sainsburys rather than other two foes from the flock was the interesting reign of Sainsburys in past 100 years of business. l The article first illustrates the supermarket retailers background and outlines the present problems. l Secondly, it analyzes the perception of customers towards the current supermarkets and the extent to which their needs are satisfied by Sainsburys. l Finally, the possible solutions are evaluated and it indicates some recommendations for implementation. The work established in the following research is purely based on a quantitative data collection and scrutiny with a wide implementation of literature and marketing research tools. In the following research work, we, group of five students, have cloaked the role of researchers and reaped a considerable amount of sagacious know-how about conducting a research and using marketing research gears in different areas of research. 2. Background to the problem 2.1 About Sainsburys Sainsburys Supermarket is the longest standing major food retailing chain in the UK, with their first store opened in 1869. The mission and policy of Sainsburys is to provide customers with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. The quality and fair prices of Sainsburys is taking responsibility to their business. Sainsburys stores have particularly emphasized on fresh food and they devote themselves to create continuous innovation. Moreover, they are concerned about customer needs and based on these needs improve products regularly. Its market share is around 16 % and now they serve over 18 million customers a week. Sainsburys own 455 supermarkets and 301 convenience stores, the type of these stores are categorized into 3 types, which are Main Mission outlets, Main Plus format stores (hypermarkets),and Mixed mission format shops (Sainsburys Central and Local). The large stores offer approximately 30,000 products and offer and support the non-food products and services in many of t heir stores. Around 88% of British households are provided by the internet-based home delivery shopping service. At present, Sainsburys is the third biggest supermarket chain in Britain after the countrys largest retailer Tesco and Wal-Mart owned ASDA. Their business mission is to be the consumers first choice for food, delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost working faster, simpler and together.'(https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/index.jsp, N.D) 2.2 Describe the problem Sainsburys used to take the biggest slice of the whole retail market in the UK. However, since 1995, Tesco started with their membership cards, and out of blue their sales have increased rapidly. Sainsburys became the third biggest supermarket chain in Britain after the countrys largest retailer Tesco and Wal-Mart owned Asda. (https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4694974.stm, N.D, BBC News) 2.3The main reasons for exploring the problem The formula of Sainsburys success could be concluded in the points which are listed below: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High quality products quality assurance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wide range of products à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Different customer segmentations (https://www.foodprocessing-technology.com/features/feature56457/, ND) Although Sainsburys still follows these points to manage the company, but according to the reduction of the market share, the profit of managing Sainsburys has been more seriously affected. Although Sainsburys could retain the balance of revenue and expenditure, moreover, it remained permanent. It still needs to attract more customers and raise its market share. Furthermore, the needs of its customers should be valued and respected. We need to do marketing research to explore the possible factors which affect customers satisfaction and then use marketing strategies to improve these factors to increase customers shopping demands and enhance their loyalty. 3. Problem Definition An extensive study of market conditions and retail industry in United Kingdom gave us a brief idea about the status of Sainsburys in the retail industry. The largest retailer in the UK till mid 1990s suddenly dropped to the third position loosing its hold on market and decrement in the potential market customers. The decline in market shares and a low rate of sales returns was enough to define the problem for Sainsburys in the present market scenario. With new retailers emerging in the sector deploying all their marketing strategies to be the best in the race, it is very important for Sainsburys to take a brave step now to protect their current position and then to improvise on their hold in the industry. 3.1 Management Decision Problem What can Sainsburys doto regain the market share in retailing industry? The management team now require to sit down and discuss the failure points and the current shortcoming to establish a conclusion to why there is a constant downfall in the shares of the company and why it is being overtaken by a company (ASDA) which has its central operating sector based in a country (USA) which is thousands of miles away from UK. As per a latest study, the retail industry is expected to show an increase in 15% annually and Sainsburys needs to identify the market requirement till they become history for the consumers. (sources) 3.2 Marketing Research Problem The Management Problem was turned into a Research Problem which more specifically tackles the aim of this study. l To determine the various needs of shoppers and the extent to which current Sainsburys experiences were satisfying those needs compared to the competitors. The conversion of the management problem into a research problem makes the concept easier to understand and tackle. It gives a broader prospective of the problem and alongside makes a simple way to handle and implement the desired implications. 3.3 Research Components The research components further diversify the purpose of research and explain the problem in detail. The following components define the research problem: * What is the demographic and psychographic profile of the customers? * What do customers expect when going shopping in the stores? * How well does Sainsburys existing products and service offering meet customers needs compared to Tesco and ASDA? * Are there any customer needs that are not being adequately met by Sainsburys? * How often do customers go shopping per week? 4. Research Approach Development In this section, it reveals the Exploratory Research conducted and the Conceptual Model. 4.1 Exploratory Research 4.1.1 Literature Reviews This section concerns some available information extracted from Literature Reviews. Based on literature reviews, service quality, is seen as an important factor, and closely related to a retail companies performance. Service quality is perceived by customers as the result of comparing the expectations about the service they are going to receive and their perceptions of the retail companys actions. (Rodolfo Vazquez et al, 2001). It is of great help to demonstrate how to assess the service performance of a retail company and it carries some implications itself as well, which is beneficial when making the model of this study. According to Yan Lu et al (2008) there are five dimensions of service quality in a retail store setting, including: physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy. In addition, Rodolfo Vazquez et al. (2001) found that service quality in retail companies adopting the commercial format of supermarkets has a four factor structure (physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction and policies). Physical Environment Physical environment incorporates the inward and outward appearance of the store. According to Rodolfo Vazquez et al (2001), physical environment involves the simplicity and importance of shopping from the internal appearance of the sales outlet. Based on this, Rodolfo Vazquez et al states that there are two physical aspects of supermarkets: store appearance, which includes: decoration, fixtures, equipment, cleanliness, design of product and services publicity leaflets and the convenience of shopping, which includes: interior design and store layout of sections and product shelf position. According to Poping Lin (2005), traditional wisdom teaches that one key to win market share is offering a wide variety of products, which can be helpful for attracting a wider variety of customers. Providing products and services at a close and most convenient location, is the very core of deriving the best return from investments, also the ambience a store maintains can influence a customers purc hase decisions to a great extent. (Prakash Gupta, year) Reliability According to A.Parasuraman et al. (1988), to be reliable is being able to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. Based on his research, A.Parasuraman et al. found out that reliability is the most important factor taken into consideration by customers when they evaluate a retail companys overall service quality. This has also been supported by many researches in other studies. Dabholker et al. (1996) indicate that reliability in the eyes of customers is a combination of keeping promise and doing it well. Keeping promise means that a retail company should stock enough products to satisfy customers needs and guarantee the products quality as well as allowing returns and exchanges and being willing to dealing with any problems from customers. On the other side, in the terms of doing it well, a company is expected to be able to provide customers with fast sales transactions and precise information, such as sales promotions, price and sales slips. (Rodolfo Vazquez et al, 2001) Personal Interaction Based on existing literature, it is noted that customers are not only interested in the product offerings and physical environment, but also on the service provided by staffs. Personal interaction involves the process followed in order to obtain the sale and the service encounters where the need arises while coming in contact with the retail company employees. (Rodolfo Vazquez et al, 2001) According to Prakash Gupta (year), consumers look for help whenever they are in an emergency. In that situation, store employees helpful advice and assistance will help to reduce the attrition rate of customers and enhance shopping experience. Policy Policy captures aspects of service quality affected by the strategies of the prices and brand assortment. Brand assortment policy must be established with great care and also a large and wide-ranging assortment of well-known brands is needed. (Rodolfo Vazquez et al, 2001) In addition, retail stores should be able to come up with an attractive pricing policy. According to Siu and Cheung, policy has a great impact on customers repeat purchase intention. (Yan Lu, Yoo-Kyoung Seock, 2008) Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is a measure of how an organizations total product performs in relation to a set or customers requirement (Nigel Hill, Jim Alexander, 2006). There is no better advertisement than a Satisfied Customer and nothing worse than a Dissatisfied Customer (Phillip Kotler et al, 2008). Marketing Researchers and Managers have realized how important customer satisfaction is. According to Robert Heller (2006), customer based strategy is the only important form of strategy, product and producer driven strategies are fast dying. Similarly, Customer Satisfaction is the ultimate goal, and an investment that often doesnt produce result in a short term, but leads to Customer loyalty in a medium or long term (Craig Cochran, 2003). The lack of attention to customer Satisfaction costs companies money because there is an intractable connection to high level of customer satisfaction and increased share holder value (Chris Denove, James D. Power IV, 2007) Loyalty It is believed that maintaining the current customers costs less than attracting new customers, in the light of this; it is wise for companies to pay close attention to retaining their current customers. There are efficiencies in dealing with existing customers rather than new customers. (Ruth N.Bolton, 2000) Relative retention has been shown to explained profits better than market share, scale, cost position, or any of the other variables usually associated with competitive advantage. (Niren Sirohi et al, 1998) In general, the customers loyalty is indicated by an intention to perform a diverse set of behaviors that signal a motivation to maintain a relationship with focal firm, including allocating a higher share of the category wallet to the specific service provider, engaging in positive word-of -mouth, and repeat purchasing. (Ulrich R. Orth, Mark T.Green, 2009) According to Zeithaml et al., favorable assessment of service quality leads to favorable behavioral intentions such as positive word-of-mouth and preference for one company over others. (Yan Lu, Yoo-Kyoung Seock, 2008). In other word, higher satisfaction relates to higher loyalty. (Ulrich R. Orth, Mark T.Green, 2009) 4.2 Conceptual Model On the basis of the literature reviews, a final model has been defined (Refer to figure 1), which consists of two parts. In the first part of the model, there are 4 Independent variables (namely Physical Environment, Reliability, Personal Interaction, Policy), consisting of several aspects respectively, that may have an impact on the Dependent variables (Customer Satisfaction as shown in the model). As regard to the second part of the model, we assume that the Independent variable, Satisfaction, is connected with Loyalty, Dependent variable. Table 1: Summary of Research Questions and Hypothesis Research Question 1: What are the factors that influence customers satisfaction when shopping in the supermarkets? H1: There is a significant relationship between physical environment and customer satisfaction. H2: There is a significant relationship between reliability and customer satisfaction. H3: There is a significant relationship between personal interaction and customer satisfaction. H4: There is a significant relationship between policy and customer satisfaction. Research Question 2: What is the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty? H5: There is a significant relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Specification of information needed Depending upon each component of the problem and the conceptual model, research questions and hypothesis, the information needed can be defined as follows: Component 1: To determine the factors customers are apprehensive about when selecting a store for shopping. Perceptions of customers on factors that influence choice of supermarkets Component 2: To determine how well do existing service offering meet customers needs. Evaluation of customers on the performance of ASDA. Evaluation of customers on the performance of Sainsburys. Evaluation of customers on the performance of Tesco. 5. Research Design and Methodology 5.1 Research Design In order to obtain the required information to solve the marketing research problems, research design was carried out for the further step. The research design is the framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project that specify the procedures necessary to obtain the information needed. (Malhotra, 2009) There are two basic types of research designs available which are classified in terms of the research objectives: exploratory and conclusive. (Malhotra, 2009) In this report, both exploratory and conclusive research designs were conducted for Sainsburys. 5.1.1 Exploratory research design In order to understand and gain insight to the problem that the company is facing now, a detailed literature review was prepared. 5.1.2 Conclusive research design After gaining understanding of current situation and management-decision problem of the company from exploratory research, the conclusive research was designed to make the management decision, testing hypotheses and also examining relationships between factors influencing the supermarket selection and customer satisfaction of Sainsburys as compared to its competitors. Furthermore, the descriptive research was used to describe the market characteristics and determine those relationships. Due to time constraint, the single cross-sectional design was used and a selected group of respondents were measured at one time. The data-collection technique used in this report was the survey conducted by a predesigned questionnaire. 5.2 Methodology 5.2.1 Secondary research methodology In order to collect data about the companys problem in general, two types of the secondary research were collected. The first one is the internal secondary data. Obtaining information from companys annual report provided the background of the company and fundamental data about its market shares. The second one is the external secondary data. In research approach development step, literatures have been reviewed. The information was retrieved from many sources including census data that provided elementary background of demographic data of UK households and consumption behaviors of UK consumers. In addition, abstracts in form of bibliographic databases have been retrieved from the University of Leeds Portals library. Gaining information from above secondary data can help us to understand the companys situation, define the research problem and also develop an approach to that problem. Journal articles and books provide knowledge in defining the variables in the research model which led to formulate the hypotheses and forming questionnaire design. 5.2.2 Primary research methodology 5.2.2.1 Research approach The major research approach chosen in this report is questionnaire survey. A detailed survey selecting a large sample was conducted to support the literature to get a deeper understanding of factors in choosing supermarkets. Furthermore, surveys were chosen in order to gain insights into the consumer behaviors pattern and consumers perceptions of UK supermarkets. 5.2.2.2 Sampling design Due to budget and time limitation, sample surveys were selected based on direct questioning. A sample is a subgroup of the elements of the population selected for participation in the study. (Malhotra, 2009) In this report, the sample group was selected from the total population in the UK. In determining the sample size, the statistical method was chosen. The sample size was calculated as follows: 2500 * N * Z2 n = ____________________ [25(N-1)] + [2500 * Z2] Where n = sample size required N = population size Z = number of standard errors The total population size (N) is 41,020,711 which are derived from the estimated people aged at 15-64 years in the United Kingdom as of July 2009. The source of information is The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In this case, the most commonly used 95% confidence level is applied. When the variables are taken, the result obtained from the formula could be as below: 2,500 * 41,020,711 * 1.962 n = ________________ __________ 25(41,020,711 -1) + (2,500 * 1.962) = 384 Due to time and cost constraints, 40% of the total sample size was taken into consideration, therefore adding up to 154 samples could be collected in conducting the survey. For the sampling method used in the surveys, the data collected through a survey of 154 respondents was divided into two proportions equally. The probability sampling techniques used in this report is Simple Random Sampling (SRS) in which each sample in the total population has an equal probability in selecting. (Malhotra, 2009) Therefore, half of the total questionnaires were executed by people living in Leeds and the rest was from people living outside Leeds. Moreover, two ways in distributing the questionnaires were conducted: paper based and online based survey. 5.2.2.3 Questionnaire Design (Refer to Appendix 1) The division of research problem into components made the way to design the questionnaire to analyze the market scenario and the customer needs. The background of the questionnaire design was the basic study of the component and sub-dividing the components into various similar factors which are considered to select or prefer any retail industry. The Physical Factors were classified as size, location, layout, and etc. of the store and mentioned as questions in the draft. 12 broad questions were decided on the basis of relevance and availability of time for the participant to come out with rational answers without any external or internal influence of reviewer or the industry. The intention was to collect some primary data about the general perception of people and then segmenting them as per their responses and choices. As required questionnaire was designed in 4 major segments in five pages including the introduction and purpose of study, literature was consulted to find out the best blue print of the questionnaire. It was also considered that all the questions are easy to understand and the response is useful for the analysis of the components. The questionnaire was designed with both multiple choice and dichotomous questions with all the scales referred as per the 5 Point Likert Scale l The first section dealt with the general introduction of the respondents to the retail industry, the shopping habits and the familiarity with the retail market. l Section 2 were the general factors affecting the selection of supermarkets and respondents preference of retail stores, continued with the acuity of three major supermarkets in the UK namely ASDA, Sainsburys and Tesco. l Section 3 covered the satisfaction and loyalty level of the participants towards their favorite retail store. l The final section was the personal information about the respondent assisting with the demographical and segmentation of the participants. The sentences of the questionn aire were made simple and all the options and questions were double checked for any offence in the questions. It was specially taken care that every response should be informative and two open questions were also provided in the questionnaire in order to find depth know-how about the stance of people towards Sainsburys irrespective they are loyal members of Sainsburys shopping club or not. 5.2.2.4 Field work The data was collected between the 18th and the 22th of November, 2009. The questionnaires were collected in different times and different places, targeting all supermarket shoppers throughout the UK; starting from University of Leeds, city centre, flat residents and people outside Leeds. The questionnaire delivering method was personal interviews in order to control the response rate and clarify the complex questions. 5.2.2.5 Analytical issues A diversity of analytical methods was used to gather the data and analyze the results. To analyze the basic statistics, descriptive statistics has been used. Furthermore, graphical representations and one-sample tests were applied to present the demographic and psychographic profile of respondents and also examine the influential factors when choosing a supermarket. To analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variables, the regression analysis has been used. Bivariate regressions were used to test the hypotheses H1, H2, H3, H4, and H5 while multiple regression analysis was used to test whether or not there is collective relation between all hypothetical factors and customer satisfaction. 6. Results and Analysis In this part, SPSS was used to represent the basic statistics, graphical representations and one-sample tests in order to answer the five problem components. Also, it was used for testing whether or not the results support the hypotheses. 6. 1. Analysis of Problem Components 6.1.1 Examining demographic and psychographic profile of respondents There are 154 questionnaires have been completed which 60 % is female and the other 40% is male. (Refer to Appendix 2) More than 50% of respondents aged between 18-24 years old and they are all students. The second most majority is people aged between 25-34 years old. The minority is people aged more than 65 years old. (Refer to Appendix 3) By far the most of respondents are single due to the fact that they are students. One-fifth of them are married and there is no widowed who filled in the questionnaires. (Refer to Appendix 4) More than a half of respondents are students and nearly 30% of all respondents are working and employed by the company. (Refer to Appendix 5) Nearly half spend between  £20 40 when going shopping while the average household annual income is below  £ 15,000. (Refer to Appendix 6 and 7) 6.1.2 Examining factors affecting supermarket selection Table 2: One-sample T-test statistics results One-Sample Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Variety of Products 154 4.4091 .77218 .06222 Operating Hours 154 4.2468 .90973 .07331 Location/Nearness 154 4.4870 .82634 .06659 Size of Store 154 3.7013 .91559 .07378 Price 154 4.5065 .83429 .06723 Layout of Store 154 3.7727 .93949 .07571 Wide Selection of Brand 154 4.1948 .83296 .06712 Quality of Products 154 4.4481 .74133 .05974 Queuing Time 154 4.1169 .92848 .07482 Customer Service 154 4.0519 1.01487 .08178 One-Sample Test Test Value = 3 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference t df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference Lower Upper Variety of Products 22.646 153 .000 1.40909 1.2862 1.5320 Operating Hours 17.007 153 .000 1.24675 1.1019 1.3916 Location/Nearness 22.331 153 .000 1.48701 1.3555 1.6186 Size of Store 9.505 153 .000 .70130 .5555 .8471 Price 22.408 153 .000 1.50649 1.3737 1.6393 Layout of Store 10.207 153 .000 .77273 .6232 .9223 Wide Selection of Brand 17.800 153 .000 1.19481 1.0622 1.3274 Quality of Products 24.240 153 .000 1.44805 1.3300 1.5661 Queuing Time 14.928 153 .000 1.11688 .9691 1.2647 Customer Service 12.863 153 .000 1.05195 .8904 1.2135 One sample T-test were carried out to test the extent to which the mean scores are significantly higher than the mid point 3 on the scale ranging from 1 = the least important to 5 = the most important. Results summarized in the table indicate that customers evaluate the Independent variables positively when choosing which supermarket to shop in, but at different levels. It is also obvious from the table that Price, Location/Nearness, Quality of Products, Variety of Products have the strongest mean. It is important to note that the 4 Independent variables Physical Environment, Reliability, Personal Interaction and Policy are important factors that customers would take into account when choosing supermarkets. 6.1.3 Examining customers perception of Sainsburys, compared to ASDA and TESCO This component is tested by comparing the mean score of the service quality factors of Sainsburys with that of Tesco and ASDA. (Refer to Appendix 8) Variety of products Based on the research, Sainsburys mean score for product variety is 3.967 which is low compared to that of Tesco 4.1883 and slightly higher than ASDAs 3.9091. This means that the respondents feel Sainsbury doesnt have as many product offering and variety to choose from as Tesco and have slightly more product offerings than ASDA. Operating Hours Based on the research, Sainsburys mean score for operating hours is 3.7727 which is low compared to that of Tescos 4.1299 and ASDAs 3.9870. This means that the respondents feel Sainsbury doesnt have a flexible operating hours compared to that of Tesco and ASDA. Location/Nearness Based on the research, Sainsburys mean score for Location/nearness is 3.8117 which is higher compared to that of Tescos 3.5260 and ASDAs 2.9091. This means that our respondents feel Sainsburys store is more accessible based on location and nearness than Tesco and ASDA. Size of Store Based on the research, Sainsburys mean score for size of store is 3.6623 which are lower compared to Tescos 3.8831 and ASDAs 3.9675. This means that the respondents feel Sainsburys stores are not as big as Tesco and ASDA stores, based on size and store space. Price Based on the research Sainsburys mean score for price is 3.2727 which is lower compared to Tesco 3.9610s and ASDAs 4.974. This means that the respondents feel Sainsburys price offering is not as satisfying as Tesco and ASDAs price offerings. Layout of Store Based on the research Sainsburys mean for store layout is 3.7078 which is higher compared to Tescos 3.7922 and ASDAs 3.6234. This means that the respondents feel that Sainsburys stores are not as organized and arranged as Tesco stores but better than ASDA stores. Wide selection of Brand Based on the research Sainsburys mean for wide selection of brands is 3.7273 which is low compared to that of Tescos 4.0325 and ASDAs 3.8636. This means that the respondents feel Sainsburys doesnt provide a wide selection of brands of a particular product compared to what Tesco and ASDA are offering. Quality of product Based on the research Sainsburys mean for product quality is 4.1364 which is quite high compared to that of Tescos 3.8312 and ASDAs 3.6364. This means that the respondents feel that the quality of products found in Sainsbury stores is better and more reliable than those in Tesco and ASDA stores. Queuing time Based on the research Sainsburys mean for queuing time is 3.6169 which is higher than that of Tescos 3.5325 and ASDAs 3.4286. This means that the respondents feel that they spend lesser time on the queue in a Sainsburys store than in Tesco and ASDA stores Customer Service Based on the research Sainsburys mean for customer service is 3.7403 which is higher than Tescos 3.6688 and ASDAs 3.4870. This means that the respondents feel that they are more satisfied with the customer service provided in a Sainsburys store than in a Tesco or ASDA store. 6.1.4 Examining factors that are not being satisfied and needs to be improved. Given feedback by using open-ended question, responses can be categorized into 5 factors that should be improved for Sainsburys. They are price, promotion, location, operating hours, and parking lot. Not surprisingly, price factor is by far the most important things need to be improved. This reflects in the price policy of Sainsburys that they always keep price high while offering high quality of product, though it results in customer dissatisfaction. More promotion and location of supermarket respectively are the second and third factors that should be enhanced. (Refer to Appendix 9) 6.1.5 Examining the frequency of customer going for shopping in supermarket Nearly half of respondents go for shopping once a week and more than one-third of them go more than once a week. A slight of all responses goes for shopping only once a month. (Refer to Appendix 10) 6.2 Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis 1: There is a significant relationship between Physical Environment and Customer Satisfaction. The hypothesis was tested using by a Bivariate Regression Analysis. Table 3: Bivariate regression analysis result (Hypothesis 1) (Refer to Appendix 11) R Square B Beta Sig. (Constant) Physical .056 3.029 .287 .237 .003 The R Sq value of 0.056 shows a slight correlation between the predictor variable (Physical Environment) and the criterion variable (Customer Satisfaction). We can define the formula for the regression line: Y=0.287 X + 3.029 The regression line has a positive slope, reflecting a positive a correlation (.237) between the predictor and the criterion. This means that more improved the physical environment is, higher would be the customers satisfaction. The significance score of .003 shows that the association is significant at p .01. Hypothesis 2: There is a significant relationship between Reliability and Customer Satisfaction. Table 4: Bivariate regression analysis result (Hypothesis 2) (Refer to Appendix 12) R Square B Beta Sig. (Constant) Reliability .047 3.372 .196 .218 .007 The R Sq value of 0.047 shows a slight correlation between the predictor variable (Reliability) and the criterion variable (Customer Satisfaction). We can define the formula for the regression line: Y=0.196 X + 3.372 The regression line has a positive slope, reflecting a positive a correlation (.218) between the predictor and the criterion. This means that higher the reliability, higher would be the customers satisfaction. The significance score of .007 shows that the association is significant at p .01. H3: There is a significant relationship between Personal Interaction and Customer Satisfaction. Table 5: Bivariate regression analysis result (Hypothesis 3) (Refer to Appendix 13) R Square B Beta Sig. (Constant) Personal Interaction .026 3.792 .104 .162 .045 The R Sq value of 0.026 shows a slight correlation between the predictor variable (Personal Interaction) and the criterion variable (Customer Satisfaction) . We can define the formula for the regression line: Y=0.104 X + 3.792 The regression line has a positive slope, reflecting a positive a correlation (.162) between the predictor and the criterion. This means that the customer service is directly proportional to the customers satisfaction. The significance score of .045 shows that the association is significant at p .05. H4: There is a significant relationship between Policy and Customer Satisfaction. Table 6: Bivariate regression analysis result (Hypothesis 4) (Refer to Appendix 14) R Square B Beta Sig. (Constant) Policy .065 3.141 .246 .256 .001 The R Sq value of 0.065 shows a slight correlation between the predictor variable (Policy) and the criterion variable (Customer Satisfaction) . We can define the formula for the regression line: Y=0.246 X + 3.141 The regression line has a positive slope, reflecting a positive a correlation (.256) between the predictor and the criterion. This means that the better the policy, higher is the customers satisfaction. The significance score of .001 shows that the association is significant at p .01. Multiple Regression Analysis Hypothesis: There is a collective relation between all hypothetical factors (Physical Environment, Reliability, Personal Interaction and Policy) and complete Customer Satisfaction. Table 7: Multiple regression analysis result (Refer to Appendix 15) Adjusted R Square Beta Sig. Physical Environment .055 .095 .371 Reliability 070 .539 Policy .148 .166 Personal interaction .027 .789 ANOVAb Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 5.163 4 1.291 3.247 .014a Residual 59.228 149 .398 Total 64.391 153 a. Predictors: (Constant), Personal Interaction, Policy, Physical, Reliability b. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction In order to test the above hypothesis, a multiple regression analysis using Enter Method was used to measure the correlations between four independent variables (Physical Environment, Reliability, Personal Interaction and Policy) and the dependent variable (Customer Satisfaction). A significant model emerged (F4,149= 3.247, p0.05, adjusted R square = .055) Predictor variable Beta P Physical Environment .095 P.05 Reliability .070 P.05 Policy .148 P.05 Personal Interaction .027 P.05 From the Correlations Table, the inter-dependability between the multiple factors and the dependent variable is very minimal, and therefore there is no certain correlation established between the independent variables and dependent variable. The results indicate that all four independent variables are not the predictors of dependent variable (Customer Satisfaction) in the model, hence not supporting the hypothesis. Hence, in order to find some significance, a multiple regression analysis using the Stepwise Method was used to measure the above hypothesis: Table 8: Multiple regression analysis result (Refer to Appendix 16) Adjusted R Square Beta Sig. Physical Environment .059 .126 .211 Reliability .112 .230 Policy .256 .001 Personal interaction .084 .119 ANOVAb Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 4.205 1 4.205 10.621 .001a Residual 60.186 152 .396 Total 64.391 153 a. Predictors: (Constant), Policy b. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction According to the results above, a significant model emerged (F1,152= 10.621, p0.01, adjusted R square 0.059) Predictor variable Beta P Physical Environment .126 P.01 Reliability .112 P.01 Policy .256 P.01 Personal Interaction .084 P.01 The results indicate that three out of four independent variables are not the predictors of dependent variable (Customer Satisfaction) in the model, but Policy relates with the customer satisfaction variable. The findings of the Multiple Regression (Stepwise Method) are as follows: All independent variables have a slight relation with the dependent (Customer Satisfaction) variable. The adjusted R square value is again found to be lower, but a significant relation is being established between the Policy and Customer satisfaction. However all other three variables namely, Physical Environment, Reliability and Personal Interaction plays no significant role in customer satisfaction and hence regarded as excluded variab les. The ANOVAs results of the regression also depicts that the complete model is significant. Hypothesis 5: There is a significant relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Table 5: Bivariate Regression analysis result (Hypothesis 5) (Refer to Appendix 17) R Square B Beta Sig. (Constant) Satisfaction .433 .403 .793 .658 .000 The R Sq value of 0.433 shows a regular correlation between the predictor variable (Customer Satisfaction) and the criterion variable (Loyalty). We can define the formula for the regression line: Y=0.793 X + 0.403 The regression line has a positive slope, reflecting a positive a correlation (.658) between the predictor and the criterion. This means that the higher the customer satisfaction is, higher would be the loyalty. The significance score of .000 shows that the association is significant at p .01. 7. Limitation: The complete model was tested using SPSS and different regression models and unfortunately it didnt prove as reliable as it should have been. The R square index was very nominal and the significance was also not sufficient with the entire hypothesis. Further analyzing the model and studying the project from basics the following limitations were concluded which are as follows: Unproductive Sample: The total population of retail shoppers was used and calculated a sample of 384 potential respondents for the quantitative research, whereas due to financial limitations only 40% of the total sample i.e. 154 were introspected and results were analyzed. It is assumed that the sample size and the participants were not enough to conclude the hypothesis and researchers should keep the sampling factor in consideration while conducting any research work. Sample Segmentation: The sample should have been demographically distributed to all age groups and genders, whereas a majority of respondents belonged to similar age groups and professional set. This unwanted segmentation of participants influenced the responses to a large extent and consequently the reliability of data was in vain when generalized to the complete market scenario. In the nutshell a very convenient sample was selected rather than a representative one. Questionnaire Design: The questionnaire was designed after hours of literature review and days of homework. But we still feel that it was very early for us to come out with a productive and informative questionnaire which would have eliminated the error of significance form the data. The graphical model and the previous retail studies supported the hypothesis and it is strong to believe that the questionnaire designing required more professionalism. Ethno-Centric Sample: The study of retail industry is very explicit and wide studies with the perceptions of all around the country were to be considered. But the respondents were mostly based locally whereas the distribution should have been national. Time Constraint: The most noteworthy factor for the complete research study was time and finance. Starting from the basic primary research and the literature review required more time and deep introspection. The psychology of respondent plays an important role in authenticity of data, which was not deemed. Moreover, after the research we feel like that a detailed in-depth focus group interview would have yielded more results and facilitated us to compile more reliable data. 8. Recommendation For Sainsburys to have an increase in market share, and perhaps return to its former position as the No 1 retail store in the United Kingdom, the following is recommended: * This research has shown that price is an important factor to the respondent. Therefore it is recommended to reduce their pricing based on the preference especially for product that can easily be purchased in other stores at a lesser price. Also, considering the current scenario of global economic recession price definitely plays an important role in the buying behavior of consumers. * From the above analysis, it can be seen that operating hours and store size are important factors to the respondents. Therefore, it is recommended to have more flexible operating hours and bigger stores across the United Kingdom. * A wider brand selection, with different price range is recommended so everyone has an option to pick from regardless of ones levels of income. References A.Parasuraman et al., (1988), SERVQUAL: A Multiple-item Scale for Measuring Customer Perceptions of Service Quality BBC News,[online],à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 31.10.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4694974.stm Bized, ,[online] , à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 1.11.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/sainsbury/sainsindex.htm Chris Denove, James D. Power, IV, Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer Craig Cochran, Customer satisfaction: tools, techniques, and formulas for success Dabholkar et al., (1996), A measure of service quality for retail stores: scale development and validation Foodprocessing-technology [online],à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 31.10.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://www.foodprocessing-technology.com/features/feature56457/ Kotler, Gray Armstrong, Veronica wong John Saunders, Principles of Marketing Robert, Duke, (1988), A structural an alysis of the UK grocery retail market, University of Leeds School of Business and Economic Studies, Leeds Prakash Gupta, Retail customer satisfaction Model RCSM,[online],à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 6.11.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://www.evancarmichael.com/Small-Business-Consulting/3444/RETAIL-CUSTOMER-SATISFACTION-MODEL-RCSM.html Poping Lin, 09.06.2005, When product variety backfires, [online],à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 15.11.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4980.html Robert Heller, 2006-07-08,Customer Satisfaction: Develop your strategy for achieving customer satisfaction and sustaining it, [online] , à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 5.11.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/customer-satisfaction.php Rodolfo Vazquez et al., (2001), Service quality in supermarket retailing identifying critical service experiences Ruth N.Bolton, (2000) A dynamic model of the duration of the customers rela tionship with a continuous service provider, The role of satisfaction Sainsburys SWOT analysis [online],à £Ã¢â€š ¬?accessed 31.10.09à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Available from: https://www.swot-pest-porter.co.uk/index.php?action=vthreadforum=1topic=5 Nigel Hill, Jim Alexander, The handbook of customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement Niren Sirohi et al., (1998), A model of consumer perceptions and store loyalty intentions for a supermarket retailer Ulrich R. Orth, Mark T. Green., (2009), Consumer loyalty to family versus non-family business: The roles of store image, trust and satisfaction Yan Lu, Yoo-Kyoung Seock, (2008), The influence of grey consumers service quality perception on satisfaction and store loyalty behavior Appendix 1: Questionnaire ________________________________________________________ Questionnaire on Perceptions of UK Supermarkets Name (Optional):________ Gender: Male/ Female Location:___________ Section1: General shopping behavior Please indicate the answers that apply to you. Q1. How often do you go for shopping in a retail supermarket? Once a week à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ More than once a week à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Once a fortnight à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Once a month à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Q2. In your opinion, what time of the day is best suitable for you to go shopping? Before 12:00 noon à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Between 12:00 4:00 pm à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Between 4:01 8:00 pm à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ After 8:00 pm à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Section2: Factors affecting supermarket selection Q3. Please rate the following factors using the Five-point Scale as your priorities to select a retail supermarket, where 1 represents the least important and 5 represents the most important. Least Important Most Important a Variety of Products 1 2 3 4 5 b Operating Hours 1 2 3 4 5 c Location/Nearness 1 2 3 4 5 d Size of Store 1 2 3 4 5 e Price 1 2 3 4 5 f Layout of Store 1 2 3 4 5 g Wide Selection of brand 1 2 3 4 5 h Quality of Products 1 2 3 4 5 i Queuing Time 1 2 3 4 5 j Customer Service 1 2 3 4 5 Q4. Please rate your perception of the following retail shops using the Five-point Scale as their performance in the areas mentioned below: (Where 1 represents Poor and 5 represents Excellent). ASDA Sainsburys Tesco Poor Excellent Poor Excellent Poor Excellent a Variety of Products 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 b Operating Hours 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 c Location/Nearness 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 d Size of Store 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 e Price 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 f Layout of Store 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 g Wide Selection of brand 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 h Quality of Products 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 i Queuing Time 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 j Customer Service 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 Section3: Brand Loyalty Q5. Which amongst the following is your most favorite store for retail shopping? ASDA à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Sainsburys à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Tesco à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Other à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Please specify Q6. Please rate your perception as regards to your most favorite retail shop; using the Five-point Scale where 1=Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Neutral, 4= Agree and 5= Strongly Agree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree a) I am very happy with the overall shopping experience with the store 1 2 3 4 5 b) I am happy to shop in the same store again 1 2 3 4 5 c) I would recommend the store to all my friends and family 1 2 3 4 5 d) I would consider myself as a highly loyal customer to this store 1 2 3 4 5 Q7. (a) What do you like most about Sainsburys compared to other retailers? (b) Please give one suggestion of improvement for Sainsburys compared to other retailers. Section4: Personal Information Please indicate the answers that describe your current situation best. Q8. Age group: 18-24 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 25-34 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 35-44 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 45-54 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 55-64 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ 65+à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Q9. Marital status: Single à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Married à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Divorced/Separated à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Widowed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Q10. What option best describes your current occupation? Self-Employed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Employed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Student à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Unemployed à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Other à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Q11. How much is your total average expenditure when you go into a supermarket? Less than  £20 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Between  £20 to  £40 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Between  £41 to  £60 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Above à ‚ £60 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Q12. Household annual income: Below  £15,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡  £15,000 25,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡  £25,001 40,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ Above  £40,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚ ¡ We, University of Leeds Student, thank you very much for your cooperation. Appendix 2: Appendix 3: Appendix 4: Appendix 5: Appendix 6: Appendix 7: Appendix 8: Sainsburys Descriptive Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Variety of Products 154 3.9675 .83563 Operating Hours 154 3.7727 .82860 Location/Nearness 154 3.8117 .92014 Size of Store 154 3.6623 .93039 Price 154 3.2727 1.01796 Layout of Store 154 3.7078 .88506 Wide Selection of Brand 154 3.7273 .91661 Quality of Products 154 4.1364 .75032 Queuing Time 154 3.6169 .92318 Customer Service 154 3.7403 .87675 Valid N (listwise) 154 ASDA Descriptive Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Variety of Products 154 3.9091 .93839 Operating Hours 154 3.9870 .90739 Location/Nearness 154 2.9091 1.23861 Size of Store 154 3.9675 .79557 Price 154 4.0974 .83054 Layout of Store 154 3.6234 .90082 Wide Selection of Brand 154 3.8636 .90798 Quality of Products 154 3.6364 .97564 Queuing Time 154 3.4286 .94182 Customer Service 154 3.4870 .99828 Valid N (listwise) 154 Tesco Descriptive Statistics N Mean Std. Deviation Variety of Products 154 4.1883 .85382 Operating Hours 154 4.1299 .79788 Location/Nearness 154 3.5260 1.17822 Size of Store 154 3.8831 .96979 Price 154 3.9610 .89211 Layout of Store 154 3.7922 .91947 Wide Selection of Brand 154 4.0325 .86636 Quality of Products 154 3.8312 .87675 Queuing Time 154 3.5325 .87200 Customer Service 154 3.6688 .92923 Valid N (listwise) 154 Appendix 9: Appendix 10: Appendix 11: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .237a .056 .050 .63237 a. Predictors: (Constant), Physical Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.029 .397 7.637 .000 Physical .287 .095 .237 3.004 .003 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 12: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .218a .047 .041 .63526 a. Predictors: (Constant), Reliability Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.372 .309 10.897 .000 Reliability .196 .071 .218 2.749 .007 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 13: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .162a .026 .020 .64228 a. Predictors: (Constant), Personal Interaction Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.792 .214 17.745 .000 Personal Interaction .104 .051 .162 2.023 .045 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 14: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .256a .065 .059 .62925 a. Predictors: (Constant), policy Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) 3.141 .332 9.458 .000 policy .246 .075 .256 3.259 .001 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 15: Correlations Satisfaction Physical Reliability Policy Personal Interaction Pearson Correlation Satisfaction 1.000 .237 .218 .256 .162 Physical .237 1.000 .527 .627 .416 Reliability .218 .527 1.000 .541 .623 Policy .256 .627 .541 1.000 .346 Personal Interaction .162 .416 .623 .346 1.000 Sig. (1-tailed) Satisfaction .002 .003 .001 .022 Physical .002 .000 .000 .000 Reliability .003 .000 .000 .000 Policy .001 .000 .000 .000 Personal Interaction .022 .000 .000 .000 N Satisfaction 154 154 154 154 154 Physical 154 154 154 154 154 Reliability 154 154 154 154 154 Policy 154 154 154 154 154 Personal Interaction 154 154 154 154 154 Model Summaryb Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .283a .080 .055 .63048 a. Predictors: (Constant), Personal Interaction, Policy, Physical, Reliability b. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF 1 (Constant) 2.773 .418 6.629 .000 Physical .116 .129 .095 .898 .371 .546 1.831 Reliability .063 .102 .070 .616 .539 .477 2.097 Policy .143 .102 .148 1.393 .166 .544 1.839 Personal Interaction .017 .065 .027 .269 .789 .599 1.670 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 16: Descriptive Statistics Mean Std. Deviation N Satisfaction 4.2110 .64874 154 Physical 4.1234 .53588 154 Reliability 4.2825 .72067 154 Policy 4.3506 .67429 154 Customer Service 4.0519 1.01487 154 Model Summaryb Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .256a .065 .059 .62925 a. Predictors: (Constant), Policy b. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Correlations Satisfaction Physical Reliability Policy Customer Service Pearson Correlation Satisfaction 1.000 .237 .218 .256 .162 Physical .237 1.000 .527 .627 .416 Reliability .218 .527 1.000 .541 .623 Policy .256 .627 .541 1.000 .346 Customer Service .162 .416 .623 .346 1.000 Sig. (1-tailed) Satisfaction .002 .003 .001 .022 Physical .002 .000 .000 .000 Reliability .003 .000 .000 .000 Policy .001 .000 .000 .000 Customer Service .022 .000 .000 .000 N Satisfaction 154 154 154 154 154 Physical 154 154 154 154 154 Reliability 154 154 154 154 154 Policy 154 154 154 154 154 Customer Service 154 154 154 154 154 Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. Collinearity Statistics B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF 1 (Constant) 3.141 .332 9.458 .000 Policy .246 .075 .256 3.259 .001 1.000 1.000 a. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Excluded Variablesb Model Beta In T Sig. Partial Correlation Collinearity Statistics Tolerance VIF Minimum Tolerance 1 Physical .126a 1.256 .211 .102 .607 1.646 .607 Reliability .112a 1.205 .230 .098 .707 1.414 .707 Personal interaction .084a 1.000 .319 .081 .880 1.136 .880 a. Predictors in the Model: (Constant), Policy b. Dependent Variable: Satisfaction Appendix 17: Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate 1 .658a .433 .429 .59099 a. Predictors: (Constant), Satisfaction Coefficientsa Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta 1 (Constant) .403 .314 1.283 .201 Satisfaction .793 .074 .658 10.772 .000 a. Dependent Variable: Loyalty

Performance Measurement And Control Of Renault And Loreal Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1634 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The performance measurement system of a firm has a strong influence on the behavior of its people. Performance measurement is the basis of every system like cost system, planning system, capital budgeting system, personal assignments, promotions, reorganizations, budget allocations- the mechanisms, built up over years by which every thing runs in a company. Organizations measurement system strongly affects the behavior of people both inside and outside the organization. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Performance Measurement And Control Of Renault And Loreal Finance Essay" essay for you Create order In this coursework two French companies called Renault and LOreal has been chosen. The main aim of this coursework is find out the financial performance, strategies used by these firms and their conduct. The main purpose of this study is gain insight into the performance measurement design of these French firms. Gross margin of LOreal amounted to 70.5% of sales. The improvement of 10 basis points reflects efficiency gains in plants and gains on purchasing, and, on the other hand, extra costs linked in particular to monetary parities. This improvement in gross profit was particularly significant in the second half of 2009. The automotive market of Renault is expected to grow by 3% in 2010 compared with 2009, but with significant disparities between regions. In two of the main regions in which Renault is present, Europe and Euromed, markets are expected to shrink by around 10% on 2009. We therefore expect 2010 to be another tense year and, once again, our main objective is to generate positive free cash flow. Strategic objective of Renault: . Aiming to be pioneers in the mass marketing of electric vehicles while continuing to improve the efficiency of combustion engines. Continue to boost sales on emerging markets, especially by position in countries where Renault already present, such as Russia, India and Brazil. Expand commercial offensive in Europe, particularly by strengthening the respective positions of brands, Renault and Dacia. Consolidate position as a leader in low-cost vehicles with the Logan platform, and use future ultra-low cost vehicle as a lever for our international development. Step up the development of joint policies within the Alliance, which is crucial in achieving these objectives. The increase in 2009 of the driving forces of LOreal represented by research and advertising promotion expenses, which are essential for the lasting support and sustainable development of the companys brands, was approved as their strategic objective. Introduction Performance measurement refers to the system by which the performance of a company is measured in terms of financial and non-financial areas. Performance measurement is the process whereby an organization establishes the parameters within which programs, investments, and acquisitions are reaching the desired results. Performance measurement sometimes rely heavily financial measures. A company is likely to concentrate on activities like product development, manufacturing, and customer service. In order to maintain competitive edge, the performance measurement tools should be well-conceived and designed. Principles of performance measurement All significant work activity must be measured. Work that is not measured or assessed cannot be managed because there is no objective information to determine its value. Therefore it is assumed that this work is inherently valuable regardless of its outcomes. The best that can be accomplished with this type of activity is to supervise a level of effort. Works which are unmeasured should be minimized or eliminated. For all measured work, desired performance outcomes must be established. Outcomes provide the basis for establishing accountability for results rather than just requiring a level of effort. For work evaluation and meaningful performance appraisal, desired outcomes are necessary. Defining performance in terms of desired results is how managers and supervisors make their work assignments operational. Performance reporting and variance analyses must be accomplished frequently. Frequent reporting enables timely corrective action. Timely corrective action is needed for effective management control. The basic purpose of performance measurement system is to provide feedback, relative to the goals, that increases chances of achieving the goals efficiently and effectively. Performance measurement measures can be financial as well as non-financial. Financial measures include: Return on capital employed, Return on investment, Return on equity, Return on sales, Economic value added, Profit after tax, Market capitalization etc. Non-financial measures include: Customer satisfaction index, Customer returns, market share, new product introduction, On-time delivery Employee productivity index, manufacturing cycle index etc. Both LOreal and Renault have almost all the above mentioned financial and non-financial measures. For example, the main objective of Renault in 2009 was to achieve free positive cash flow and this plan was organized in three parts namely maximizing revenues by improving market share, reducing working capital and reducing fixed cost. LOreal received top marks in financial performance, appeal, leadership, products and services. Several performance measurement systems are in use today, and each has its own group of supporters. For example, the Balanced Scorecard Balanced Scorecard Most companies have a performance measurement system that includes financial measures as well as non-financial measures. Financial measures are used primarily by senior managers to monitor the performance of the firm as a whole and its business units or divisions. Non financial measures are employed mainly by operating managers to control short-temporary operations. The balanced scorecard approach pioneered by Robert Kaplan, David Norton and others seeks to develop an integrated performance measurement system. Structure of a Balanced Scorecard How do we look to shareholders?Financial perspective How do customers see us? Goals Measures Customer perspective Goals Measures Internal business perspective Goals Measures Innovation and learning perspective Goals Can we continue to improve and create value?Measures Both LOreal and Renault have performance measurement systems. If we apply balanced score card for these companies we can find out how well they are performing in all perspective in business. Financially both these companies are doing well. They are well doing with their shareholders. Their internal business perspective is also very good comparatively. Renault is innovative with the new technologies where by they are able to meet customer needs as per their requirement. LOreal is also making innovations in their cosmetic segment. Both these companies have a good customer relation Aim of the Study The aim of this study is assess the financial performance of Renault and LOreal and find out the performance measurement systems adopted by these firms. Result of the Study Financial Performance of Renault (2009) Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio = __ Current Assets___ Current Liability = __ 5,941.1_ 35,795 = 0.947 Acid-test Ratio = __Quick Assets__ Current Liability = __Current Asset Inventories__ Current Liability = ____33,913 3,932____ 35,795 = 0.83 Leverage Ratios Debt-equity Ratio = _ Debt__ Equity = __ Debt_______________ Net worth + deferred tax liability = ____47446____ 16,472 + 114 = __47446___ 16586 = 2.86 Debt -asset ratio = ___Debt___ Asset = ___Debt___ Equity + Debt = _47446_ 16586 + 47446 = 0.74 Turnover Ratios Inventory Turnover Ratio = ___Cost of good sold___ Average Inventory = ___ 26,978 ___ (3,932 + 5,266) / 2 = 5.87 Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio = ________Net Sales_______ Average net fixed assets = ____32,415_____ (30,000 + 32,553) /2 = 1.036 Total Assets Turnover Ratio = ____Net Sales_____ Average total assets = ____ 32,415______ (63,978 + 63,831) /2 = 0.507 Profitability Ratios Gross Profit Margin Ratio = ___Gross Profit / Loss___ x 100 Net Sales = ___ (396) ___ x 100 32,415 = (1.22) % Net Profit Margin Ratio = _____Net Profit/ Loss___ x 100 Net Sales = ____ (3,068) ___ x 100 32,415 = (9.446) % Return on Equity = ___Equity earnings__ Average equity = ___ (3,068) _______* 100 (16,472 + 19,416) / 2 = (17.097) % Financial Performance of LOreal Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio = __ Current Assets___ Current Liability = __ 5,941.1_ 5,386.5 = 1.103 Acid-test ratio = __Quick Assets__ Current Liability = __Current Asset Inventories__ Current Liability = ____5,941.1 1,476.7____ 5,386.5 = 0.829 Leverage Ratios Debt-equity Ratio = _ Debt__ Equity = __ Debt_______________ Net worth + deferred tax liability = ____9693.1__ 13,598.3 + 418.0 = __9693.1___ 14016.3 = 0.692 Debt -asset ratio = ___Debt___ Asset = ___Debt___ Equity + Debt = _9693.1 13,598.3 + 9693.1 = 0.416 Turnover Ratios Inventory Turnover Ratio = ___Cost of good sold___ Average Inventory = ___ 5,161.6 ___ (1,476.7 + 1,635.5) / 2 = 3.317 Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio = ________Net Sales_______ Average net fixed assets = ____17,472.6_____ (17,350.4 + 16,380.3) /2 = 1.036 Total Assets Turnover Ratio = ____Net Sales_____ Average total assets = ____ 17,472.6_____ (23,291.5 + 22,906.9) /2 = 0.756 Profitability Ratios Gross Profit Margin Ratio = ___Gross Profit / Loss___ x 100 Net Sales = ___ 12,311.0___ x 100 17,472.6 = 70.45 % Net Profit Margin Ratio = _____Net Profit/ Loss___ x 100 Net Sales = ____ 1,794.9 ___ x 100 17,472.6 = 10.27 % Return on Equity = ___Equity earnings__ Average equity = ___ 1,794.9 _______x 100 (13,598.3 + 11,562.5) / 2 = 14.267 % Findings Comparison between financial performance of LOreal and Renault: Financial Ratios Renault LOreal Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio Acid-test Ratio 0.947 0.838 1.103 0.829 Leverage Ratios Debt-equity Ratio Debt-asset Ratio 2.86 0.74 0.692 0.416 Turnover Ratios Inventory Turnover Ratio Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio Total Assets Turnover Ratio 5.87 1.036 0.507 3.317 1.036 0.756 Profitability Ratios Gross Profit Margin Ratio Net Profit Margin Ratio Return on Equity (1.22)% (9.446)% (17.097)% 70.45% 10.27% 14.267% Interpretations: Liquidity Ratio of a firm refers to the ability of a firm to meet its obligations in the short-run. LOreal has higher current ratio compared to Renault. It is clear that LOreal has the ability to meet its obligations within time as compared to Renault. Acid-test ratios of both the firms are some what same. Financial leverage refers to the use of debt finance. Debt -equity ratio is LOreal is lower as compared to Renault which shows that the creditors of LOreal are enjoying higher degree of protection. Debt-asset ratio measures the extent to which borrowed funds support the firms assets. In this context, LOreal is having low ratio compared to Renault. This implies that Renault is using borrowed funds to invest in assets. Inventory turnover ratio measures the speed with which inventory is moving through the firm and generating sales. Renault is having higher inventory turnover ratio, it shows that it has efficient inventory management as compared to LOreal. Fixed asset turnover ratio is same for both the companies. Higher ratio indicates a high degree of efficiency in asset utilization. Total asset turnover ratio measures how efficiently assets are employed, overall. Overall LOreal has efficient employment of assets compared to Renault. When we compare the profitability ratio of both the firms, it is clear that Renault is having a negative figure which implies that it has incurred huge loss in the year 2009. LOreals profitability is high and it is generating positive cash flows. Conclusions It can be concluded that the performance of LOreal is good as compared to Renault in the year 2009 as they have incurred net loss. Renault group has increased its market share to 3.7%. Even though it has incurred net loss in the end of 2009, it has increased its market share by increase in sales volume and efficient inventory management. Renault has high leverage funds invested which is the cause of loss and moreover Renault has financed its fixed assets through debt. LOreal on the other hand has a good financial performance because of its effective management of funds. It has incurred profit in the year 2009, so financial performance of LOreal is better than Renault.

Implementation Of The Machine Learning Classifier For...

\chapter{Implementation} Implementation of the machine learning classifier for anomaly detection involves using some libraries which help to execute the different steps to classify data and perform analysis. In the next section the detailed implementation of this project will be discussed. \section{Dataset selection} This was the most important part of the entire project and consumed a lot of time. Selecting a suitable database to perform the desired type of analysis was a very difficult task as there are a very few well organized and labeled medical databases which are suitable to perform anomaly detection. The database used by this project is the Pima Indians Diabetes database \cite{Dataset} which is a well structured and a labeled†¦show more content†¦This helps to display the data points, attributes and various features in the dataset. The other library that is used in the project is Scikit-learn \cite{scikit}. This library plays an important role in building the classifier and designing the machine learning algorithm. Scikit-learn \cite{scikit} is an open source library which provides efficient tools for data mining and data analysis. It is based on other Python libraries like NumPy \cite{Numpy}, Scipy \cite{Scipy} and Matplotlib \cite{Matplot}. Scikit \cite{scikit} provides various functions and methods for classification and hence helps to build an efficient classifier to detect anomalies in the data. \section{Machine learning algorithms} There is a vast collection of machine learning classifiers that are provided in the Scikit-learn library \cite{scikit}. All that is needed to do is install and import the Scikit-learn \cite{scikit} library. Three different machine learning algorithms are used to build a classification model to detect anomalies in the data. Out of these three the one which provides optimal accuracy is chosen. The machine learning algorithms that are used on the data are the Gaussian Naive Bayes algorithm, Logistic Regression algorithm and Support Vector Machine algorithm. After loading the dataset, the next important step is to visualize the data. Further, there is a need to split the data into training andShow MoreRelatedCyber Security And Technology Detection System922 Words   |  4 Pagesthis tool can be named as cyber security. To guarantee the safety of a system a tool should be able to detect an anomaly or intrusion. Thus this tool set consist of at least an Intrusion detection system. The system tries to prevent intrusion by having firewalls and tries to eliminate the damage done by the use of antivirus. Attacks can be classified as â€Å"known attacks† or â€Å"anomaly based†. Some attacks have signature similar to previous attacks others are novel and may have no common signatureRead MoreArtificial Neural Networks ( Anns )1749 Words   |  7 Pageshowever due to the pervasive and ubiquitous adoption of powerful computational tools in our contemporary society, ANNs have had a sort of renaissance, much to the avail of scientists, engineers, and consumers. The current cutting-edge in deep-learning and ANNs focuses highly on both their ability to model and interpret complex data, and their ability to be put to scale due through optimization and parallelization. The current framework for designing ANNs is one that is widely available, withRead MorePrescriptive Analytics For Cyber Security1160 Words   |  5 PagesCyber Security Anomaly Detection Algorithm Status and Future Steps Xinle (Liam) Wang E295, MEng in IEOR University of California, Berkeley â€Æ' Introduction: Our capstone project team is working on Prescriptive Analytics for Cyber Security. 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Authors discuss the graph algebra’s theoretical foundations (provides languages for documents and reuse) authors also present working implementation over cytoscope , popular biological network exploration tool. The implementation demonstrates the algebraic framework and scalable aggregation, using a large social network datasets. 7. Visual Analytics for finding critical Structures in Massive time varying Turbulent Flow simulations

The Hunters Phantom Chapter 5 Free Essays

â€Å"Are you excited for Alaric to arrive tomorrow?† Matt asked. â€Å"He’s bringing his researcher friend Celia, right?† Meredith kicked him in the chest. â€Å"Oof!† Matt staggered backward, knocked breathless despite the protective vest he had on. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 5 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Meredith fol owed up with a roundhouse kick to Matt’s side, and he fel to his knees, barely managing to raise his hands and block a straight punch to his face. â€Å"Ow!† he said. â€Å"Meredith, time-out, okay?† Meredith dropped into a graceful tiger stance, her back leg supporting her weight while her front foot rested lightly on her toes. Her face was calm, her eyes cool and watchful. She looked ready to pounce if Matt showed any sign of sudden movement. When he’d arrived to spar with Meredith – to help her keep her hunter-slayer skil s in top-notch shape – Matt had wondered why she had handed him a helmet, mouth guard, gloves, shin guards, and vest, while she wore only sleek black workout clothes. Now he knew. He hadn’t even come close to hitting her, while she’d pummeled him mercilessly. Matt eased a hand up under the vest and rubbed rueful y at his side. He hoped he hadn’t cracked a rib. â€Å"Ready to go again?† Meredith said, her eyebrows raised in chal enge. â€Å"Please, no, Meredith,† Matt said, raising his hands in surrender. â€Å"Let’s take a break. It feels like you’ve been punching me for hours.† Meredith walked over to the smal fridge in the corner of her family’s rec room and tossed Matt a bottle of water, then sank down next to him on the mat. â€Å"Sorry. I guess I got carried away. I’ve never sparred with a friend before.† Looking around as he took a long, cool drink, Matt shook his head. â€Å"I don’t know how you managed to keep this place secret for so long.† The basement room had been converted into a perfect place to train: throwing stars, knives, swords, and staves of various kinds were mounted on the wal s; a punching bag hung in one corner, while a padded dummy leaned in another. The floor was lined with mats, and one wal was completely mirrored. In the middle of the opposite wal hung the fighting stave: a special weapon for battling the supernatural that had been handed down through generations of Meredith’s family. It was deadly but elegant-looking, the hilt covered with jewels, the ends spiked with silver, wood, and white ash, and the needles steeped in poison. Matt eyed it warily. â€Å"Wel ,† said Meredith, looking away, â€Å"the Suarez family has always been good at keeping secrets.† She began to move through a tae kwon do form: back stance, double fist block, left front stance, reverse middle punch. She was graceful as a slim black cat in her workout gear. After a moment, Matt capped his water bottle, climbed to his feet, and began to mirror her movements. Left double front kick, left inside block, double-handed punch. He knew he was half a beat behind and felt shambling and awkward next to her, but frowned and concentrated. He’d always been a good athlete. He could do this, too. â€Å"Besides, it’s not like I was bringing my prom dates down here,† Meredith offered after a cycle, half smiling. â€Å"It wasn’t that hard to hide.† She watched Matt in the mirror. â€Å"No, block low with your left hand and high with your right hand, like this.† She showed him again, and he shadowed her movements. â€Å"Okay, yeah,† he said, only half concentrating on his words now, focused on the positions. â€Å"But you could have told us. We’re your best friends.† He moved his left foot forward and mimicked Meredith’s backward elbow blow. â€Å"At least, you could have told us after the whole thing with Klaus and Katherine,† he amended. â€Å"Before that, we would have thought you were crazy.† Meredith shrugged and dropped her hands, and Matt fol owed before he realized that the gestures weren’t part of the tae kwon do form. Now they stood side by side, staring at each other in the mirror. Meredith’s cool and elegant face looked pale and pinched. â€Å"I was brought up to keep my heritage as a hunterslayer a deep, dark secret,† she said. â€Å"Tel ing anybody wasn’t something I could consider. Even Alaric doesn’t know.† Matt turned away from Meredith’s mirror image to gape at the real girl. Alaric and Meredith were practical y engaged. Matt had never been that serious with anyone – the girl he’d come closest to loving was Elena, and obviously that hadn’t worked out – but he’d sort of figured that, if you committed your heart to somebody, you told them everything. â€Å"Isn’t Alaric a paranormal researcher? Don’t you think he would understand?† Frowning, Meredith shrugged again. â€Å"Probably,† she said, sounding irritated and dismissive, â€Å"but I don’t want to be something for him to study or research, any more than I want him to freak out. But since you and the others know, I’l have to tel him.† â€Å"Hmm.† Matt rubbed his aching side again. â€Å"Is that why you’re pounding on me so aggressively? Because you’re worried about tel ing him?† Meredith met his eyes. The lines of her face were stil tense, but a mischievous glimmer shone in her eyes. â€Å"Aggressive?† she asked sweetly, fal ing back into the tiger stance. Matt felt an answering smile tug at the corners of his mouth. â€Å"You haven’t seen anything yet.† Elena surveyed the restaurant Judith had picked with a kind of bemused horror. Beeping video game machines vied for attention with old-fashioned arcade games like Whac-AMole and Skee-Bal . Bouquets of brightly colored bal oons bobbed over every table, and a cacophony of song rose from various corners as singing waiters delivered pizza after pizza. What seemed like hundreds of children ran loose across the floor, shrieking and laughing. Stefan had walked her to the restaurant, but, eyeing the neon paint job with alarm, he’d declined to come in. â€Å"Oh, I shouldn’t intrude on girls’ night,† he’d said vaguely, and then disappeared so quickly Elena suspected he’d used vampiric speed. â€Å"Traitor,† she’d muttered, before warily opening the bright pink door. After their time together in the graveyard, she felt stronger and happier, but she would have liked some support here, too. â€Å"Welcome to Happytown,† chirped an unnatural y cheery hostess. â€Å"Table for one, or are you meeting a party?† Elena repressed a shudder. She couldn’t imagine anyone choosing to come to a place like this by themselves. â€Å"I think I see my group now,† she said politely, catching sight of Aunt Judith waving to her from a corner. â€Å"This is your idea of a fun girls’ night out, Aunt Judith?† she asked when she reached the table. â€Å"I was picturing something more like a cozy bistro.† Aunt Judith nodded toward the other side of the room. Peering over, Elena spotted Margaret, happily whacking away at toy moles with a mal et. â€Å"We’re always dragging Margaret to grown-up places and expecting her to behave,† Aunt Judith explained. â€Å"I thought it was time she got a turn to do something she enjoyed. I hope Bonnie and Meredith won’t mind.† â€Å"She certainly looks like she’s enjoying herself,† Elena said, studying her little sister. Her memories of Margaret from the last year were of strain and anxiety: During the fal Margaret had been upset by Elena’s fighting with Judith and Robert and by the mysterious happenings in Fel ‘s Church, and then, of course, devastated by Elena’s death. Elena had watched her through the windows afterward and seen her sobbing. She’d suffered more than any five-yearold should, even if she didn’t remember any of it now. I’ll take care of you, Margaret, she promised fiercely and silently, watching the studious concentration on her sister’s face as Margaret practiced a little old-fashioned carnival violence. You won’t have to feel like that again in this world. â€Å"Are we waiting for Bonnie and Meredith?† Aunt Judith prompted gently. â€Å"Did you end up inviting them to join us?† â€Å"Oh,† said Elena, jarred out of her reverie. She reached for a handful of popcorn from the basket in the middle of the table. â€Å"I couldn’t get ahold of Meredith, but Bonnie’s coming. She’l love this.† â€Å"I absolutely, total y do love this,† a voice agreed from behind her. Elena turned to see Bonnie’s silky red curls. â€Å"Especial y the expression on your face, Elena.† Bonnie’s wide brown eyes were dancing with amusement. She and Elena shared a look that was ful of al the we’re back, we’re back, they did what they said and Fell’s Church is the way it should be again that they couldn’t say in front of Aunt Judith, then fel into each other’s arms. Elena squeezed Bonnie tightly, and Bonnie buried her face in Elena’s shoulder for a moment. Her petite body quivered slightly in Elena’s arms, and Elena realized that she wasn’t the only one walking a fine line between delight and devastation. They’d gained so much – but it had come at a very high price. â€Å"Actual y,† said Bonnie with careful cheer as she released Elena, â€Å"I had my ninth birthday at a place very much like this. Remember the Hokey-Pokey Gril ? That was the place to be when we were in elementary school.† Her eyes held a bright sheen that might be tears, but her chin stuck out determinedly. Bonnie, Elena thought with admiration, was going to have fun if it kil ed her. â€Å"I remember that party,† Elena said, matching Bonnie’s lightness. â€Å"Your cake had a big picture of some boy band on it.† â€Å"I was mature for my age,† Bonnie told Aunt Judith merrily. â€Å"I was boy crazy way before any of my friends were.† Aunt Judith laughed and waved Margaret over toward their table. â€Å"We’d better order before the stage show starts,† she said. Elena, eyes wide, mouthed, Stage show? at Bonnie, who smirked and shrugged. â€Å"Do you girls know what you want?† Aunt Judith asked. â€Å"Do they have anything besides pizza?† Elena asked. â€Å"Chicken fingers,† answered Margaret, climbing into her chair. â€Å"And hot dogs.† Elena grinned at her sister’s tousled hair and expression of delight. â€Å"What are you going to have, bunny?† she asked. â€Å"Pizza!† Margaret answered. â€Å"Pizza, pizza, pizza.† â€Å"I’l have pizza, too, then,† Elena decided. â€Å"It’s the best thing here,† Margaret confided. â€Å"The hot dogs are weird-tasting.† She squirmed in her chair. â€Å"Elena, are you coming to my dance recital?† she asked. â€Å"When is it?† Elena asked. Margaret frowned. â€Å"The day after tomorrow,† she said. â€Å"You know that.† Elena glanced quickly at Bonnie, whose eyes were wide. â€Å"I wouldn’t miss it for the world,† she told Margaret affectionately, and her sister nodded firmly and stood up on her chair to reach the popcorn. Under cover of Aunt Judith’s scolding and the semimelodious sound of their singing waiter approaching, Bonnie and Elena exchanged a smile. Dance recitals. Singing waiters. Pizza. It was good to live in this kind of world for a change. How to cite The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 5, Essay examples

International Relations for World Wide Fund- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theInternational Relations for World Wide Fund. Answer: Intergovernmental organizations are part of the international organizations with membership exceeding three states. The states create these IGOs to help them in solving their shared problems thus ensure they make collective decisions to overcome the challenge(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). In the IGOs, the representatives of these states gather to address the issues affecting the region. The most common intergovernmental organizations include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the WTO(Laksmana, 2013). The SEAN is mandated to promote regional culture, social, and economic cooperation in the region. The WTO also manages conflicts or disputes related to trading partners. The NGOs are the second non-state or private actors. In most cases, volunteers from the community to promote the shared interests form these organizations thus influence the state policies. The NGOs have helped in addressing various global issues including disarmament, human rights, and environmental protection(Laksmana, 2013). These organizations focus on respected and constructive objectives thus rarely trigger opposition and controversies. For example, the Religious Movement and World Wide Fund for Nature are popular NGOs. The WWF addresses issues related to environmental research, restoration, and conservation while the Religious Movement promotes religious convictions and principles of conduct. The Multinational Corporations are businesses that engage in profit-maximization goals and operate in different countries. These firms have headquarters in one country and subsidiaries in other countries(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). MNCs are large companies operating worldwide and have employees and fixed assets. For example, the Honda and Financial organization including banks are MNCs. Honda, for instance, manufactures its products in different factories and sell them to different customers worldwide. Similarly, banking institutions operate internationally and they have to comply with stringent restrictions than other businesses. Chapter 2 Question Set: Based on the events in Syria, it appears that any intervention can establish a post-global order, especially the post-Westphobia. In the international law, no power is allowed to interfere with the domestic affairs of any country(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Despite the continued blood shade in Syria due to civil war, the country has avoided seeking the intervention of other countries. Syria only requested Russia to intervene instead of seeking solace from other strong democracies. The other powers have kept a distance from interfering with the Syrian affairs because President Assad enjoys strong ties with Moscow. The Russian government has supported the Syrian government by offering military personnel, equipment, and housing. This has complicated matters for other countries which view any war against Assad would be a declared war on Russia. The United States has avoided confrontation in Syria because Russia can use nuclear arsenals. Therefore, any war with Russia would cause the wor st situation in the world. Many countries have also opposed the US intervention in Syria because it can destabilize the region leading to war. Chapter 3 Question Set: The legislative branch of government has the responsibility to define the countrys foreign policy. It is a representative of the masses thus allows the representatives to participate in the foreign policy decisions. In most cases, each government has its own foreign policy. Nonetheless, foreign policy decisions have to reflect the processes like the domestic coalition. In democratic governance, the executive operates through political debate. In the United States, for instance, the constitution defines the countrys foreign policy power(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Both the executive and Congress has shared the responsibility to define and reshape the foreign policy. Both branches of government can initiate changes in the U.S foreign policy. Although military action relates to war, the economic embargoes and sanctions can be used to compel other countries to comply with the nations standards and regulations. These sanctions rarely have grave consequences. However, the military actions involve the use army is costly. Chapter 4 Question Set: Women play crucial roles in industrializing any country. However, the efforts to entrench gender equity undermine the principles of democracy(UN, 2011). For instance, the move by different countries to establish gender quotas to allow women have some political positions is discriminatory. Indisputably, the feministic revolution has helped many women earn senior positions in politics and government(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). This makes creating gender quotas for women to disrupt democratic processes. The political systems should be left to select the best candidate without creating a predetermined people(InternationalsymposiumSymOrg2016, Jas?ko, Marinkovic?, Beagrade, 2016). Indisputably, in the democratic principle, the previous political system can never compromise the gender issues. Following the recent revolutions, many women have ascended to leadership in the current systems. The systems represent the genders. Chapter 5 Question Set: The situation and environment have completely shifted because the U.S no longer pursues a common enemy. Previously, the United States worked together with China to contain Russia(Stratfor, 2016). However, new threats have emerged that can cause war including space completion, purported espionage, and cyber-attacks. Unfortunately, any war between the superpowers could have the worst economic impact(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Today, no country is an island because they must work together. Indisputably, these countries have demonstrated real tension in certain areas but the costs of war would outwit the benefits. For instance, the US and Russia have experienced serious conflict situations that could have triggered real war. In fact, both countries pursue different interests. Although the US is superior to Russia, in the last two decades, Russia has tried to narrow the gap militarily. Russia is taking an aggressive approach, especially following its entry into Syria thus compelling the US to remain timid(Stratfor, 2016). The Russian move made the U.S protect its allies instead of facing off with Russia over Syria. The United States has opted for supporting the Ukraine through nonlethal means thus helps them overcome the Russian siege. Since both countries have lethal weapons, none of them would opt for war but engage in cold war. Chapter 6 Question Set: Previously, nations used to fight great conflicts using their navies, armies, and the air forces. Nations with advanced military resources always emerged victorious in the end. Undoubtedly, the United States enjoys the military superiority in the world(Petras, 2017). Unfortunately, the country has found it difficult to employ its military resources in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa due to the conflicting resolutions. For instance, the U.S should focus on aiding and supporting these allies instead of inflicting its powers on them(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Today, these countries are suffering from terrorism that has inflicted suffering on their population. To this effect, the U.S is called upon to protect and support them against the aggressors. The US has responded swiftly by imposing an economic and political sanction of the countries posing threats to their democracies(Petras, 2017). These regions no longer experience a single problem by faces multiple challenges including terrorism, religious tensions, rising non-state actors, and falling governments. This shows the region experiences multiple problems thus becoming difficult to for the US to employ its massive force instead offers solutions based on the outcomes. Chapter 7 Question Set: The national law and international law are incomparable in terms of enforcement. Studies have demonstrated that enforcing the national law is effective because there is no direct influence from international counterparts of local police, county sheriff, or federal marshals(Baradaran, Findley, Nielsen, Sharman, 2010). Today, the international law enforcement officers are absent because any international enforcement requires the support from the local officers(Voeten, 2014). In fact, even the political support for such laws is absent. In the international community, the UN has established the UN Security Council, which should use the Chapter VII of the Charter to enforce laws. Based on the UN Charter, the council has to determine the existence of a threat to peace or any act of aggression. To this effect, the Security Council can recommend military action, diplomatic interventions, or economic sanctions to resolve the situation(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Unfortunately, most of these international approaches are imperfect because they can apply unevenly or enforced slowly. This is because the bodies mandated to implement them lack the representation of the international communities. Chapter 8 Question Set: The protectionism is a policy, which many countries have used to promote their infant industries. However, this policy presents numerous deficiencies including the economic crisis. For instance, the use of tariff hinders an efficient global trade(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). This makes tariff a deficiency that needs to be reviewed to promote good trading culture. Trade protectionism has always weakened even strong industries because it rarely gives room for companies to improve and innovate their products and services. This deficiency also slows down the economic growth(Suranovic, 2012). For instance, when businesses forgo export and import trading, the economy will lose jobs, especially workers engaged in the importing and exporting businesses. Today, businesses operate on the global market because of globalization. It would be unjust for a firm to avoid seeking new opportunities in other markets because of protectionism culture. Chapter 9 Question Set: FDI has been associated with increased demand for the host nation through technology transfer and productivity improvements. However, this strategy raises many concerns thus require redress(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). This FDI jeopardizes the balance of payment in the long run especially of the host nation. This is because the foreign investors try to recover their initial capital outlay thus turning the investments into profitability. This will see the capital returns to the home country from the host nation. Additionally, the FDI has always generated negative externalities, especially in the host nations labor market(Kurtishi-Kastrati, 2013). This is evident where the investor maximizes the profits and reduces costs. Sometimes the investors use unique strategic reason to access the host country. Nonetheless, these FDI intends to get returns from their capitals. Chapter 10 Question Set: The unification of the European countries to form the European Union was a significant decision that transformed the region in a single trading bloc. The success of this unification was evident when it adopted a single currency(Mursa, 2014). The move has benefits and costs that the member states must converse. With a single currency, the Eurozone members have managed to stimulate trade(Geoghegan, 2014). This is an indisputable benefit of a single currency adoption within a trading bloc. The exchange rate fluctuations exposed the countries engaged in trading activities. The fall of transaction costs could also affect the companies from member countries(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Therefore, by adopting a single currency, the region stimulated free flow of capital, people, and goods thus stimulating trade activities. Although the euro currency has promoted trade in the region, this instrument is imperfect because of its fiduciary currency. Such fiat currencies rely on the trust of people instead of real standards(Geoghegan, 2014). To this effect, the European Central Bank can adopt discretionary monetary policies adopted by national governments. This can deny the currency its real standard or base. For instance, the European authorities opted to devalue the currency and finance the Greeks budget deficits(Mursa, 2014). During the Greece crisis, the European Central Bank offered the Greek government monetary emissions thus violating fundamental principles guiding the euro convergence. Chapter 11 Question Set: Population growth contributes significantly to global warming because humans intensify their efforts to use fossil fuels to enhance mechanized lifestyles. With more people, the demand for coal, gas, and oil and other fuels increase(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Whenever the drilled or mined fuels are burned, they emit CO2 into the atmosphere leading toe greenhouse effect. Based on the report of the Scientific Americans, the developed economies consume more fossil fuels than the developing world(UNPF, 2017). For example, the United States is home to over 5 percent of the global population but emits over 25 percent of the total carbon dioxide output(Higgins, 2013). As the developing countries are industrializing quickly, the global CO2 emissions would be high. Therefore, the consumption patterns, global warming, and population are linked to the collective environmental impact in the world. This because as developing countries invest in economic development initiatives, the global emissi ons grow. The population growth rates and size also become significant leading to global warming. Chapter 12 Question Set: Immigration is critical in helping the economy grow, especially the receiving nations labor market. According to the OECD, the immigrants had defined the European countrys dynamic sectors including technology, science, mathematics, and engineering. These immigrants serve this occupation diligently and boost the traditional occupations like maintenance, repair, and installation(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). Without a doubt, the expansion of workforce through migration has aggregated GDP to grow. The migrants are the source of innovation and entrepreneurial activity. Studies have demonstrated that skilled immigrants have continued to boost innovation, entrepreneurship, technological change, and research (EPSC, 2015). For instance, the founder of WhatsApp, John Koum was an immigrant from Kiev. With the future economic models focusing on the frontier of creating new markets and knowledge, the immigrants become valuable. Currently, Europe is below the global race for expertise. The high-ed ucated immigrants are driving the economy of the European countries. Researchers found that the net fiscal contributions of these immigrants are insignificant compared to native-bone(Huttl Leandro, 2015). This is because; the migrants claim more benefits and pay fewer taxes. Since these people secure low employment level, they end up paying less tax. Accordingly, Foged and Peri found that the German government spends over 10 billion euros to pay refugees(Foged Peri, 2015). Foged and Peri have raised issues with the refugees in the labor market. For instance, the immigrants with lower education level and experience have displaced the native workers in less manual work. The immigrants have also increased the waiting hours in health care(Huttl Leandro, 2015). The statistics from the UK indicates that the immigration has affected the health care systems, especially in elective care, accident, and emergency where the waiting time has increased. Chapter 13 Question Set: The export-led growth is a situation where governments opt to increase exports in anticipation to improve increase growth, productivity, and exchange earnings. This is an outward-oriented strategy because it links the world with the domestic economies. Indeed, this strategy ensures a country realizes growth by exporting manufactured goods instead of enhancing their growth through protective domestic policies. However, the non-east Asian countries have failed to use this strategy to succeed(Higgins, 2013). This is because these countries believe in protecting their domestic producers thus preferring import substitution strategy. In most cases, the developing nations, especially the non-East Asian countries believe that exporting manufactured goods is disastrous because their products are inferior and can rarely compete with established corporations in the international markets. They have thus maintained high trade barriers(Goldstein Pevehouse, 2010). The protectionist policies as ado pted by the non-East Asia countries can help the infant industries. These countries also embrace import quotas; import tariffs and prohibit the importation of some commodities. With these protectionist policies, these countries believe they can protect their manufacturing industries. The countries have also used the import restrictions and tariffs to raise their budgetary revenues and strengthen the national security. References Baradaran, S., Findley, M., Nielsen, D., Sharman, J. (2010). Does international law matter? Retrieved October 12, 2017, from https://www.michael-findley.com/uploads/2/0/4/5/20455799/does-intl-law-matter_pre-publication-version.pdf EPSC. (2015, April 30). Legal Migration in the EU. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from https://ec.europa.eu/epsc/publications/strategic-notes/legal-migration-eu_en Foged, M., Peri, G. (2015, March). Immigrants effect on native workers: new analysis on longitudinal data. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from IZA Discussion Paper No. 8961: https://ftp.iza.org/dp8961.pdf Geoghegan, S. (2014, September). 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(2013). The effects of foreign direct investments for host countrys economy . European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 5(1), 26-38. Laksmana, E. (2013, January 22). Realism and non-state actors revisited. Retrieved October 12, 2017, from E-International Relations Students: https://www.e-ir.info/2013/01/22/realism-and-non-state-actors-revisited/ Mursa, G. (2014). Euro- Advantages and disadvantages. CES Working Papers, 6(3), 60-69. Petras, J. (2017, May 17). China: Rise, fall and re-emergence as a global power. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from Global Research: https://www.globalresearch.ca/china-rise-fall-and-re-emergence-as-a-global-power/29644 Stratfor. (2016, July 4). The geopolitics of the United States, part 1: The inevitable empire. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from Worldview: https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/geopolitics-united-states-part-1-inevitable-empire Suranovic, S. (2012). Policy and theory of international trade v. 1.0. 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