8 Best Jobs in Retail (And How to Get Them)

8 Best Jobs in Retail (And How to Get Them) Working in retail may not be the glamorous job of your dreams, especially when you have to muster a smile for the 15th customer asking a ridiculous question on your 10-hour shift. But it’s a solid career option, short- or long-term, with a skill set that makes you hireable in many different fields, and lots of opportunities. Along with food service, retail is the biggest pool of jobs in the United States right now. We live in a society that needs stuff, on demand, and that means we also need an army of helpful, knowledgeable people to steer us toward that stuff. If you’re in the market for a retail job (or your next one), there are lots of great opportunities for you. Where Are the Jobs?Everywhere- literally everywhere. From the mom-and-pop store down the street to the big box store that magically has what you want when you want it, stores need staff. Sure, metro centers like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles will have more job openings, but you don’t need to wo rry about relocating for your career. You can find retail jobs near you.What Are the Best Jobs?Retail can be a hard industry: long hours, demanding shifts, the *ahem* joys of dealing with the public. Where you work can make all the difference between feeling good about your job and wishing you’d gone into animal dentistry instead. Let’s look at some of the best companies out there right now in retail, which offer strong benefits packages and focus on employee well-being as well as paying the bills.CostcoYou probably know you can get an industrial-sized vat of ketchup at Costco, but did you also know it’s consistently rated one of the best places to work? With a median salary of$13.14 according to Investopedia, it’s one of the highest-paying retail employers out there right now. The company also offers a lot of employee-friendly benefits like health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, a 401(k) program, and dependent care coverage. Plus an employ ee discount on that ketchup.NordstromWith more than 300 stores in the U.S. and Canada, Nordstrom is one of the biggest upscale retail chains in the country. As a cornerstone in malls around the country, Nordstrom is known for offering a median salary of $14.96 per hour, the highest hourly retail associate pay as of 2016. It also gets high marks among employees for offering benefits to part-time employees as well as full-timers.TargetAs the nation’s second-biggest retailer (after WalMart), department store Target (look for the big red bullseye) is one of the most employee-friendly retail workplaces. The median salary is $9.25 for sales associates, with significant bumps for managers and warehouse workers (who have a median salary of $19.40). The company also offers a number of supplemental benefits which include health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, healthy living initiatives, and less common benefits like tuition reimbursements, savings and investment plans, f lexible spending accounts, parental leave, and childcare assistance.CarMaxGone are the days when the phrase â€Å"used car salesman† called to mind a shady guy in a bad suit and a â€Å"trust me† smile. These days, consumers value data and clear information about the investment they’re making in a car. CarMax has parlayed its customer service on that front into becoming the largest used car dealership in the U.S., and one of Fortune’s top 100 companies to work for. CarMax is big on employee appreciation, with $1,000 bonuses and a pizza party for employees who go â€Å"above and beyond.† Top sellers are sorted into â€Å"clubs,† and are rewarded with trips, dinners, and other compensation for their hard work.Lowe’sIf DIY is your passion, then Lowe’s can be a great destination for you. Its salary and benefits are tops in the big box home improvement store game, with a median salary of $12.95 and a strong offering of employee bene fits like health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, disability insurance, and retirement benefits.Trader Joe’sWorking in retail doesn’t always mean being a retail associate- creative skills are in demand as well. At grocery chain Trader Joe’s, artists who create the store’s trademark in-store artwork, cartoons, and brightly colored displays make a median salary of $13.64. The company also offers employees health insurance, vision insurance, dental insurance, and a retirement plan. Must-haves: strong art background and a sense of whimsy about organic yogurt.Gap/Old Navy/Banana RepublicGood luck finding a mall or shopping center without one of these stores holding down a corner. With more than 3,300 stores worldwide, The Gap (along with its sister stores/brands Old Navy and Banana Republic) is a retail powerhouse, offering a median salary of $11.86. The stores also offer employees health insurance, dental insurance, daycare assistance, and commu ter benefits.ZapposIf you’re a shoe enthusiast, Zappos probably needs no introduction. If you’re not, Zappos is one of the largest online shoe retailers, owned by Amazon. Ranked #38 on Fortune’s best retail companies list, Zappos emphasizes the â€Å"life† part of â€Å"work-life balance† for its team members. The services they offer to employees include laundry service, car washes, educational and leadership seminars, parental leave and adoption reimbursement, and- one of the most unusual perks of all- expense reimbursement for pet adoption, as well as pet sitters/walkers. (And now my dog wonders why I don’t have a job somewhere that prioritizes her needs better.)How Do I Get These Jobs?The good news is that these companies are all broadly located, with locations all around the country. Assuming the geographic hurdles are low, what do you need to snag one of these opportunities?Build your resume.The starting square for any job hunt, retail or not, is getting your application package together. You’ll need to dust off your old resume, for starters, or (even better) rebuild a bigger, better one from scratch.Be creative.The mall is going to be full of job applicants, but what about that shopping center down the street? Consider applying to stores and jobs in less high-traffic areas.Consider seasonal employment.If you find that there are more applicants than openings at your target store, keep trying. If they hire seasonal help, apply for it. You’ll have a foot in the door, and can show off your stellar retail skills over the holiday rush season.Do your research.What is the company’s status right now? How are its stocks doing? If a company is in its death throes (and just announced a round of store closings), now is likely not the time to apply. But if things look healthy from your research (online searches, nothing too extensive or wonky), then you’re more likely to get a better reception.Put i n face time.Applying online is a great and convenient tool. For retail, though, it’s not necessarily a replacement for showing up, putting in an application, and showing the hiring manager that you have the right stuff. While it’s not a full-on interview, take the opportunity to go down to the store, wearing an interview-ish spiffy outfit, and present your resume in person to the manager. It’s a nice first impression, and can make you more memorable as they sort through your application with others’.Check often for new job postings.Set daily reminders (or even a few times a day) to search for new job listings on the store’s site. Retail is a high-turnover field, and you can never predict exactly when there will likely be more job openings. Keeping an eye on the listings will let you jump on opportunities as they come up, instead of getting there a few days later, after the job has already been filled by Not You.Don’t be afraid of job hopping .â€Å"Job hopping,† or moving from one job to another after a short period of time, used to be frowned upon. These days, it’s become more of an accepted cost of moving up and building skills. If you’re in one job and another opens up that could broaden your experience or give you a bump in pay/compensation, don’t be afraid to go for it.Whether you’re a vet of the retail job scene looking to trade up, or looking for your first retail job, we’ve hopefully laid out a ton of options for you to consider and a path for you to follow. Good luck!

Levis in Walmart Essays

Levis in Walmart Essays Levis in Walmart Paper Levis in Walmart Paper Problem Faced with 5 years of declining sales, should Levi’s sell a brand to mass discount retailer, Wal-Mart? Executive Summary Quick! Name the first company that comes to mind for the following products: facial tissue, photocopiers, and jeans. Did you answer Kleenex, Xerox, and Levi’s? I bet you did. The #1 apparel brand for brand awareness and recognition, â€Å"Levi’s† is virtually synonymous with â€Å"jeans. † In the past several years however this strong brand recognition has failed to translate into sales growth and in fact the company has seen a progressive decline over the last 5 years. Faced with the declining sales, Levi Strauss Co. ’s CEO, Phil Marineau, has been considering selling a Levi’s brand to mass discount retailer, Wal-Mart. Bad idea. Clearly this would be brand suicide or, brandicide if you will, sacrificing long-term survival for short-term growth. Levi’s should instead put an end to its brand’s dilution and concentrate its target on trend-setting members of Generation Y by positioning itself as an ultra cool brand with a social conscience. In addition to working closely with its current retail outlets to re-invigorate the brand image, Levi’s should work on growing the number of Original Levi’s Stores worldwide in order to retain as much control as possible over the positioning of the brand. The forecasted financial results show that choosing to revitalize and refocus the brand rather than diluting and devaluing it further by selling a value brand to Wal-Mart will cost the company 50 million dollars in the first year. However, within 3 years the efforts are expected to payoff with a 330 million dollar revenue increase over 2002 vs. 270 million dollar projected revenue loss for the Wal-Mart choice. Plus, Levi’s will be able to hit the triple bottom line by remaining socially and environmentally responsible while increasing shareholder earnings. Situation Analysis Strengths Worldwide recognition of its brand name #1 for apparel brand for brand recognition and brand awareness. Global presence Owns 12 proprietary specialty stores. Long-standing relationships with many retailers, enabling it to work across several channels of distribution. Continued success of Dockers. Commitment to ethical conduct and social responsibility. Reputation as the brand that started the blue jean revolution Weaknesses Presence across several retail channels with a number of products aimed at different segments with price points â€Å"from the $250 level to the $25 level† diluting the brand. Being used as a loss leader in several chain and department stores is devaluing the brand. The average price paid for Levi’s at retail dropping. History of Levi’s 1994 Canadian dispute with Wal-Mart may be a barrier to rekindling a relationship with the mass retailer. Recent product releases have met with poor results, particularly in the US. Major stockholder’s deficit Ineffective marketing efforts (30% of sales spent on marketing, yet sales continue to drop) Opportunities The jeans mark et is growing Teens continue to be biggest jeans buyers Mass merchant channel largest and fastest-growing retail channel for jeans and apparel Threats Competitors at all levels of spectrum including high-end segment, vertically integrated retailers in middle segment, and private-label brands offering comparable designs at reduced prices. Apparel sales down in 2001 Average price of jeans has dropped over the past 10 years due to the proliferation of off-pricing and private-label brands 40% of jeans sold below $20. Issues facing the organization As the jeans market has polarized towards the low and high ends, the Levi’s brand has found itself caught in the middle. Priced between $30 and $50 a pair, the jeans do not offer the same image or design as the high-end brands, or the complete wardrobe selection of the vertically integrated retailers. Also, they do not offer the inexpensive alternatives found through private labels. Further, while the jeans market continues to grow, to stand out in the cluttered market, a company must have a real competitive advantage. In the case of Levi’s it seems that mere brand name recognition isn’t enough. And with 5 years of declining sales, Levi’s has to reinvent itself or die. After reviewing the situational analysis of the company, several alternatives can be considered. Alternatives 1. â€Å"Do nothing† and hope to sell more. Faced with a 5 year decline in sales, doing nothing isn’t a very sound strategy. However, perhaps current initiatives such as new product offerings and specialty retail channels need more time to catch on. 2. Enter a new market with a new product. Sell a Levi’s value brand to mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, a retail channel that accounts for 31% of all jean sales. The potential increase in sales from this new channel is probably very good in the short term, however the risk is that entry into the discount market even with a Levi’s value brand that’s differentiated from the main product line, will further devalue and dilute the brand, making it unattractive to its current retailers. If Levi’s gets dropped from chain, department stores, and independents because its brand is no longer relevant to its customers, then the potential loss could offset a good deal of any potential gain. Further, once the brand loses its â€Å"shine,† through dilution, discounting and devaluation, the benefits to Wal-Mart of carrying a higher profile â€Å"national brand† are lost. A likely scenario is that in the long-run, Levi’s would only be carried in discount stores, its brand image too tarnished for chains and department stores, and even in mass retailers used as a loss-leader for the store’s own private labels. 3. Another alternative, which is similar to the last, also involves Develop and sell a non-Levi’s branded line of jeans to Wal-Mart. The advantage of this is that Levi’s could open up a major new retail channel without devaluing the mother brand. However, this scenario is probably far less interesting for Wal-Mart that would be looking to leverage the nationally recognized brand to improve its own brand image. Interestingly, this scenario is probably far less interesting to Levi’s too, since if Wal-Mart did pick up the generic brand, chances are that it would fall under the â€Å"better† or more likely the â€Å"good† end of the spectrum rather than the â€Å"best,† and the price point would either be unprofitably low or set unreasonably high in order to drive purchases of Wal-Mart’s private labels. 4. Stop extending the brand to the point of complete dilution. Update brand personality and marketing mix to make Levi’s a fresh and relevant brand that resonates with trendsetting youth and speaks to Levi’s management’s perceived competitive advantages, such as commitment to ethical conduct and social responsibility, and the focus on product innovation, quality, and value, rather than simply trying a new channel for a distressed brand. In speaking to a specific target, rather than trying to be everything to everyone, marketing dollars can go a lot further. And by focusing on the demo with the most influence on trends, youth, who have the most dollars going towards jeans per person per year, the chance for growth is good. Plus, by focusing less on the product and the retail outlets and more on the Levi’s experience, there is major potential for organic brand extensions and growth. On the other hand, the risk is that the brand has already been too neglected and diluted and is so â€Å"old school† that it’s too late and will never be perceived as cool by the youth market. In this case getting the last bit of life out of a dying brand by distributing it through mass market channels may be the only answer. Recommendations The financial analysis (appendix A) compares projected results of taking a value brand into Wal-Mart with not taking the brand to mass market and instead concentrating the target, dialing up the cool factor and re-positioning the brand to resonate with the 20% of consumers who have the potential to bring in 80% of revenue (the 20/80 rule of business) – the tween, teen young adult market. As we see, introducing a value-brand at Wal-Mart is expected to sacrifice long-term revenue growth for short-term gain since the devaluation of the brand through its association with a discount mass retailer would likely cause department stores and chains to drop the brand one by one. Once the brand has no life beyond the discounter, its value goes down and is likely to command lower price points and less sales even at the mass level. Within three years, we predict that going the Wal-Mart route over the re-positioning route will cost Levi’s 660 million dollars and ensure that the brand is headed towards extinction. On the other hand, while sales are not likely to grow while the brand is in the process of the transition to focus on becoming relevant to the younger, influential market, we see that after the first year, increased price points and distribution, particularly in its specialty outlets should translate into steady long-term growth for the company. Therefore, in order to turn sales around while protecting the integrity of the brand, the best alternative is the last one, which relies on a market penetration strategy, increasing share among existing customers by focusing promotional efforts, combined with a product development strategy, to identify the best products to appeal to the target demographic. The first step in reviving the brand is to choose to fight brand dilution through concentrated targeting. Levi’s must identify the marketing segment that is most important to Levi’s present and future growth and identify the characteristics, needs and motives of that segment in order to develop and maintain a highly specialized marketing mix. By choosing Generation Y (young people born between approximately 1979 and 1994), also called the Net Generation, or the Millenials, as the main target to lead the brand revitalization efforts, Levi’s would leverage several attributes of this group. First, it represents a demographic of about 76 million in the US. Second, they are in the â€Å"young single† stage of the life cycle, which means they have few financial burdens and therefore more disposable income. Young people are also an aspirational reference group for fashion. If young, hip, trend-setters choose to adopt the brand, this would significantly improve the brand image. Levi’s apparently understands this in theory, selling a few higher-end brands aimed at fashion-forward youngsters in the 15- to 24-year-old range, however the problem is that these brands aren’t resonating well enough with this influential demo to have the intended halo effect on the rest of the jeans line. In order to gain success with this group Levi’s must first change neutral or negative beliefs about product attributes into positive ones. For example, Levi’s needs to go from being â€Å"your parents’ jeans,† to a brand that has relevance in the lives of these young people. Brand is very important to this demographic and they are willing to pay a premium for it. In addition, Gen Y likes and expects personalization and customization. Further, this is a segment that has a much bigger environmental and social conscience than does the generation preceding it. Other important considerations when marketing to the tween and teen demographic, according to Paul Kurnit during his presentation on Understanding Youth, in order to build a relationship with the brand are to: make it lifestyle relevant, give it badge value, generate buzz, make it authentic, let them own it (â€Å"I’ve created this†), and keep it fresh in the long term. By re-positioning the Levi’s brand as a stylish brand with a social and environmental conscience, Levi’s can become extremely relevant to this demographic. And this positioning is actually very close to what management already claims are its competitive advantages, including commitment to ethical conduct and social responsibility, ad the focus on product innovation and quality. The re-positioning will simply take these perceived competitive advantages, shout about them, and give them relevance for a very targeted segment. Some recommendations for the marketing plan to achieve this re-positioning and turn around Levi’s fortunes are: Product Higher-end fashions that appeal to Generation Y Environmentally friendly fabrics used in products (e. g. organic hemp weave) Use manufacturers worldwide that practice fair employment practices use environmentally friendly production processes. Bags for merchandise should be paper, made of recycled materials and be cool and of high quality so that consumers will want to reuse them for other things. At flagship stores, offer customized tags with percentage of proceeds going to charity. Place Ori ginal Levi’s One stores to be leaders in shaping brand re-positioning. Increase presence by opening more specialty stores in urban areas. Image department stores high end chain stores. Independent jeaneries Promotion Associate differently coloured tags with key charities so that people can express their social conscience. Support traditional media buys (television print) with the untraditional advertising and promotion methods that Gen Y seeks out. Leverage the popularity of consumer-generated content by giving consumers online tools, including popular music, and video clips, to make their own ads featuring Levi’s styles that they can share with their friends. Create an international online community to leverage the positive image of the brand among trend-setters in other countries and to integrate into young people’s lifestyles. Using guerilla marketing tactics that create buzz such as sending small armies of models dressed only in jeans through city streets in fashion-forward urban areas. Sponsoring mobile phone services like concert alerts. Everything in the store should speak to the young person’s lifestyle, including music. Price The high-end styles should but be priced a little bit lower than other designer and fashion-forward jeans to give a slight cost advantage while the brand is re-building. The recommended target price range is between $50 and $80, but skewing towards the $50 price point as an average price in the first year as the brand regains its â€Å"cool factor. † Conclusion It is easy to understand why Phil Marineau, faced with 5 years of declining sales, would consider getting Levis into the discounters that are grabbing a rising share of apparel sales. Certainly there is a good deal of sales potential of such a move in the short term. But the marketing risks are considerable for a company that has historically strived for a constant injection of cool. Even if Levi’s creates a new brand for Wal-Mart, it would likely still use the Levis name somewhere on the tag, which would quickly destroy any relevance the brand has for fashion-conscious shoppers and signify the beginning of the end for this iconic brand. Instead, Levi’s should turn its perceived competitive advantages like product and promotion innovation and social responsibility into pillars of the brand and sharply focus its target on the segment that spends the most on fashion-forward apparel, the Generation Y. Next steps for implementation In order to fulfill its triple bottom line promise, in its first year of re-positioning, Levi’s should audit current manufacturers for social and environmental best practices and develop plans to improve production processes where necessary. Next, build relationships with key charities that would want to partner with Levi’s on the charitable coloured tab idea. Then, it should begin work on redesigning flagship stores to fit youth lifestyle and work with top retailers to revitalize presence at department stores to fit with fresh branding. Finally, it should introduce the new customizable, altruistic tag jean launch it with a global online community that gives young consumers a chance to express themselves and make the brand their own. Appendix A We will focus on sales, based on the information provided in this case, and assume that the additional costs that might be associated with re-positioning the brand (in particular adjusting manufacturing processes or changing manufacturers and opening new stores, since promotion and product development costs would be similar to previous years, just directed at a new target) would equal approximately to the costs associated with moving into mass market (distribution system changes, especially re-configuring supply chain system to be compatible with Wal-Mart, could be costly) Projections based on Levi’s introducing value brand to Wal-Mart Projected profit on each unit of Levi’s value branded jean (based on highest price of top national brand at Wal-Mart, Dickies $26 – 6$ to retailer): $20 50 million pairs of jeans are sold at discounters out of the 569 million pairs of jeans sold in the US, representing 10% of all jeans sales each year. Assuming that Wal-Mart was se lling half of these 50 million pairs each year, then a Levi’s value brand is likely to take a 20% of these 50 million pairs, or 10 million units . We will base our projection on this: 10 million units in year one, with a 10% drop in number of units sold after the first year (due to brand devaluing as it is taken out of other retail outlets) (9 million in second and third years). Currently, the top 10 customers for Levi’s account for approximately 60% of its total 4. 2 billion in sales (approximately 2. 5 billion dollars). If we assume that 1. billion of this comes from Levi’s jeans sales and if each of the 10 customer’s business is worth approximately 1/10th of that amount, than losing even one customer would cost Levi’s 150 million in jeans sales. Assuming that 1 customer stops carrying the Levi’s brand each year, which is a conservative assumption since, as industry insiders agree once â€Å"you have mass distribution now, we can’t make money on you, you’re gone. † Projections based on Levi’s re-positioning brand targeting Gen Y specifically By keeping its current retail channels and re-positioning its brand, we project that in the first year, Levi’s will have flat sales while the brand is being revitalized, however we project a conservative 10% growth in sales from the current retail channels (from above calculation, this will be 10% of 1. billion in estimated jeans sales) in the 2nd year due to more units being sold and a higher price point and 20% growth in the 3rd year due to expanded Levi’s Original Store sales (with higher margins) and continued growth in traditional Levi’s retail outlets. Year 1Year 2Year 3 Revenue increase from sales Levi’s Wal-Mart value brand$200,000,000$180,000,000$180,000,000 Revenue decrease from removal from other retail outlets 150,000,000300,000,000450,000,000 Total projected sales increase/decrease from entering Wal-Mart50,000, 000(120,000,000)(270,000,000) Revenue increase from re-branding efforts0150,000,000330,000,000 Net gain/loss from choosing to re-position brand rather than selling a value brand to Wal-Mart(50,000,000)270,000,000600,000,000

Personal Developement - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Personal Developement - - Essay Example It should be result oriented and goal driven. The success in time management is measured by the quantity of productive work attained and the persons’ private life. I attained this by developing a personal sense of time, identified long term goals, medium term goals, planned for the day, made the best use of my best time, managed meetings, delegated effectively, made use of committed time, and finally managed my health. This view is supported in the work of (Adair, 1990:24). Personal development plan Purpose in life: born to ensure that I live a purposeful and fulfilling life. Dreams: to effectively get along with others Short term goal: to be decisive and determined person Long term goal: to achieve leadership and team building skills. Beliefs and values: make effort while keep on striving Success and milestones: can identify needs, can overcome challenges, and act friendly. Task 2 Skills are the learned capacity or having that ability to carry out pre-determined results with minimum outlay of both time and energy. Therefore, these are abilities that one possesses. Skills can be categorized as domain general or domain specific skills. This view is supoorted in the work of (Lussier, 2011:56). Unlike some of the general skills in the work environment comprise of time management, team work, and leadership, and self motivation, the domain specific skills would be useful for a certain job or activity. Moreover, skills need a certain environmental stimuli and the situations to assess the skill level being shown and used. Some of the skills include labor skills, life skills, people’s skills, social skills, soft skills, and communication skills. Skills assessment helps you to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of your skills. People are more likely to be contented with career choices that are consistent with values, interest and skills. Skills assessment helps you identify the useful skills that you may possess. Skills development is the adding valu e to the skills that you have and also learning about new skills through training and development programs. Teaching of a new skill is attained through verbal instruction, demonstration, video, diagram, and photo sequence. Some of the skills that I possess with other students include cognitive skills, perceptual, motor, and perceptual motor. Many organizations require a person who is team player, has leadership skills, and has personal integrity. Integrity is the building block of peoples’ skills. This means there basic honesty and truthfulness when dealing with others. Therefore, skills like openness, determination, resourcefulness, and being realistic is paramount in any professional set-up and as an individual because most of the times you are meeting people (Lussier, 2011). By personally taking the initiative to develop my skills I worked on my character and skill development by choosing to design a life that honors our values and purpose. The possession of soft skills ha s much of an impact on your success as your

Advertising Individual CW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Advertising Individual CW - Essay Example All the products are priced at very low competitive prices due to the cost saving techniques the company uses to pass the benefits to its customers. We want the people of Marylebone to try out the new trader Joe grocery store and experience a fresh and unique hassle free shopping experience that is unforgettable. The store uses a cultural approach that caters for all traditions while at the same time giving its customers the chance to sample varied and new cultural experiences. Trade Joes stores are different, bigger, with walls decked with cedar planks and their employees wear cool Hawaiian shirts (Trade Joe, Our Story 2012). This gives its customers a fantastic and relaxing shopping experience. Starting as a small chain of convenience stores in the 1950s called Pronto market convenience stores (Gardetta, 2011), Trader Joe has grown tremendously in size, increasing the number of its stores to over three hundred and fifty across American states and has successfully created a large an d loyal customer base in all the states; through its innovative and creative business practices and the company’s desire to fully satisfy its customers’ needs and requirements through excellent customer care and customer feedback (Fast Company, 2011). Trader Joe’s listens and fully responds to the needs of all its customers and it wants to bank on its previous success in America by offering the same unique services and products to the London market. The new Trader Joe advertisement will primarily target single male and female consumers who live alone. The target market is health conscious and college educated, with a household income of above $54000 (The Associated Press, 2003) and who are most likely to have no children at home. The company targets this segment of the London society that is cost-conscious and keen on what they eat hence the use of clear labels on Trader Joe’s products for easy label reading and who would appreciate the different size of packages to cater for single consumers for convenience of use. These customers are very mobile and most likely to have a wide knowledge of exotic foods and beverages. They are adventurous and would not hesitate to try out the diverse and unique varieties offered by Trader Joe grocery shop. Major Selling Idea or Key Benefit to Communicate Trader Joe stores boast of over 2000 unique and high quality products (Trade Joe, 2006) which provide better alternatives to health conscious and environmentally friendly individuals. Over 80% of the high quality products stocked in our grocery stores are branded with trader Joe’s trademark (Kowitt, 2010) as a sign of high quality. These foods are organically produced and have no pesticides suitable for the health conscious individuals. Many of the limited Trader Joe’s products addresses the different consumer needs in their research and development departments with primary focus on quality, packaging and cultural preferences of the cu stomers (Llopis, 2011). The store gives everybody something to love and something to use. Trader Joe is an equal employment company with above average salaries and other employment benefits. It has both permanent and temporally positions. This will benefit the community in a large way by contributing to the economy which will create a good public perception necessary for a successful entry into the market. The Single Most Important Thought You Want A Member Of The Target Audience To Take Away From The

Factors Determining the Information System Strategy for Global Firms Essay

Factors Determining the Information System Strategy for Global Firms - Essay Example ‘Factors determining the information system strategy for global firms’ identifies the strategies and issues that some prominent global enterprises have; classifies which organizational factors affect the decision making process of an organization when it is choosing an is strategy; gains knowledge on the impact of is on global business organizations and their role in tackling the market competition; carefully studies the factors that impact on the failures of is strategies in global business organizations. Numerous factors determine IS strategy, especially organizational characteristics. These are important, especially in terms of attitude, constraints, structure, system characteristics, â€Å"commonality†, size, technology, type, and criticality, IS department characteristics, and IS success factors. Quantitative results show that organizational factors such organizational attitudes and constraints and organizational structure have significant effect on IS strate gy decisions. Similarly, the results show that system characteristics such as â€Å"commonality, size, technology, and criticality† are important and are considered while making IS strategy choice decisions. Moreover, the results of qualitative analysis show that factors such as organizational structure and organizational attitudes and constraints are amongst the important organizational factors that need complete considerations while making IS strategy choices. Furthermore, system characteristics, such as the size of the project and criticality type of technology have been found to be important factors in IS strategy decisions. ... tem characteristics 19 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 21 3.1Research Approach 22 3.2 Positivist Paradigm 22 3.2 Interpretivist Paradigm 23 3.3Quantitative Research 24 3.4 Qualitative Research 25 3.5 Qualitative interview 25 3.6 Data Collection and Analysis 26 3.7 Regression Model 28 3.8 Research Ethics 28 3.9 Case Study Company: Projects System Holding Company 29 3.10 Summary 30 Chapter 4: Results, Analysis, and Discussion 32 4.1 Introduction 33 4.1.2 Regression Analysis 41 4.2 Organizational Characteristics and Is Strategy 46 4.3 System Characteristics and IS Strategy: 47 4.4 Summary of Quantitative Analysis 48 4.5 Qualitative Analysis 48 4.6 Questionnaire Research 50 Chapter 5: Discussion and conclusion 55 5.1 Discussion and Conclusion 56 Many companies are implementing innovative plans while dealing with various challenges that are initiated by globalization, and due to this reason, they started investing in other countries through different plans and strategies by adopting novel systems, tools and techniques for meeting customers’ needs world-wide. But the adoption of information systems (IS) has been one of the main sources to seek help in compensating for and countering the challenges, and thus organizations use various strategies to adopt IS. Previous literature suggests that many factors determine IS strategy such as Organizational characteristics in terms of attitude and constraints and structure, system characteristics, in terms of â€Å"technology, size, type, criticality and commonality, IS department characteristics, and success factors (Akmanligil & Palvia, 2004). However, this study, keeping in view the importance of organizational characteristics and system characteristics and lack of empiricism in the extant literature (Akmanligil & Palvia, 2004), uses

From classical ballet to contemporary ballet

From classical ballet to contemporary ballet From Classical Ballet to Contemporary Ballet Ballet originally emerged in the late 15th century in the Renaissance court of Italy. Then, it was a dance interpretation of fencing.   Ballet was further developed and popularized in the French Courts in the 17th century. From court ballet to modern ballet, the dance techniques and practice has evolved throughout the years. Contemporary Ballet now incorporates classical ballet with modern dance techniques such as floor work and turn-in of the legs. (wikipedia, par 9) Ballet shows now focus more on the plot as compared to the 17th century, where the focus was the intertwine of music and poetry. It had also often included singing. 17th Century Ballet had minimal plot because Ballets were designed principally for the entertainment of the aristocracy, hence rich costumes, scenery, and elaborate stage effects were emphasized. In the 19th century, there was an increase in interest among the public, and Ballets such as Swan Lake (1876), Sleeping Beauty (1890), and The Nutcracker (18 92) were produced. There was an influence of jazz, jazz rhythms and modern dance at that time, originating in the USA, hence greater body expressions. Today, Ballet is an internationally practiced and appreciated dance, with many dance school dedicated to the teaching of Ballet, including prominent schools such as the royal ballet school and many other small private dance centres. These schools train Ballet dancers from young and even adults who have never learned Ballet as a child are able to practice due to the large amount of adult Ballet classes for beginners. For those who are not striving to be a professional Ballet dance, practicing Ballet is a form of sport which teaches excellent posture and trains you to be graceful and disciplined. From the increase in Ballet schools, dancers and shows for the public, it can be concluded that one of the most significant change in the practice of Ballet, would be the accessibility of Ballet. In the 17th century, ballet was performed in the royal courts. It was a dance that was rather exclusive for the royals and the high society. Many commoners would not have the luxury to attend Ballet performances. However, as Ballet developed, it became more popular and much appreciated and watched by various people. Today, Ballets are relatively inexpensive to watch, including well know Ballets such as Swan Lake and the Nutcracker being some of the most famous ballets that are widely watched even to those who have little knowledge about dance or do not come from well off family backgrounds. Ballet is viewed as a classical performance that is available for anyone. What has not changed about Ballet is that Ballet is still considered a high culture performance art, despite the fact that it is one of the most practiced and watched dances by many from various social status and education level. Youve got to attend Ballet performances in order to be â€Å"cultured†. Also, Ballet is still very female dominant in the eyes of the public. This is to say that parents would tend to send their daughters to Ballet classes rather than sons. However, this is not to say there are few males Ballet dancers. Ballet now being so much more accessible, in level with other dance forms such as hip hip and jazz, it is no longer a dance for the rich and privilege.

Aristophanes Assemlywomen and Lysistrata Essay -- Athenian Athens Gen

Aristophanes' Assemlywomen and Lysistrata Typically in Athenian society, women took care of the things in the household while men, although still retaining the final say over matters of the household, focused most of their attention on the world outside the home. In the plays Assemblywomen and Lysistrata, Aristophanes explores roles of men and women in society, specifically what would happen if women were to take on the roles of men. Looking at these two plays about Athenian society as metaphors for marital life, it shows that men and women were incapable of having balanced power in their relationships. In both of these plays, the men were unable to keep their own sense of power when the women took over politics, and they eventually moved into the submissive role of women. In Lysistrata, the women used their seduction to gain power. Similarly, in Assemblywomen, the women came into power through deception and clever planning. This paper explores why women rarely stepped up to take power; how they would gain power when they would step up to claim it; and how the men would respond once confronted with a woman in power. This all serves to show that in Athens, a marriage of man and woman could not exist with mutuality of power – rather, one (typically the man) would dominate, while the other (typically the woman) took the submissive role. Throughout both Lysistrata and Assemblywomen, both the men and women were convinced, to varying degrees, that the women were incapable of handling any kind of authority or challenging task. In fact, only the dominant, leader women (Lysistrata and Praxagora) of the two plays had enough confidence to handle a position of power. These women have been brought up i... ...brought this power imbalance to the open, however, by exploring what would happen if women took the initiative to claim the dominant rold in society. The women, when able to successfully overcome the men and take power in the city, left the men with no choice but to either fight to regain the power, as they attempted to do in Lysistrata, or succumb to the women’s plans, as they did in both Assemblywomen and, eventually, Lysistrata. In relinquishing their power to women, the men forfeited their masculinity and became stereotypically feminine while the women also forfeited their gender norms to stay in power. Athenian unions, therefore, subsisted on a constant inequality of power kept carefully balanced by each partner staying in their designated role in the marriage – the husband the strong moneymaker living outside of the house, the wife the submissive homemaker.