The Wal-Mart Essay Example for Free

The Wal-Mart Essay Currently, Kroger is the country’s largest traditional supermarket chain. Kroger sells over $60 billion a year, and operates over 2500 supermarkets across the country. But even Kroger is still in competition with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s philosophy and culture does not appear to value consumer or company ethics. They compete with more than food prices. Many supercenters offer a full-service drive-thru pharmacy, an optical center, a 1-hour photo processing center, a portrait studio, a bank, video rental store, hair and nail salon, fast food chain, tire shop, and even offer 24 hour a day-365 days a year availability. The temperature controls for all of Wal-Mart’s stores across the country are controlled by one computer in Bentonville, Arkansas. Because of Wal-Mart’s size, they have the power to instruct suppliers on how to package their products, including meats. However, meats is one area of the supermarket industry that Wal-Mart has some weaknesses because many supermarkets provide a friendly neighborhood butcher who provides a friendly face and customized approach to consumers’ meat needs. To Wal-Mart, hiring a butcher is a labor expense that is not needed. These types of attitudes in the supermarket industry are exactly the reason why consumers may choose to seek their family grocery needs in a culture and environment where more emphasis is placed on quality customer service, up-to-date technological advances, marketing strategies that cater to a more culturally-diverse consumer, quality products, and a smaller environment that provides a neighborhood-marketplace atmosphere. Smaller supermarkets can offer a wider variety of products, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish. Many successful smaller supermarket chains sell a limited number of grocery items to ensure that the quality is maintained and products are not sitting on a shelf for an extended period of time, and change the product mix frequently to offer unique products at a good value, changing the shopping experience for every visit, especially for repeat and loyal customers. A study conducted in 1999 found that the implementation of customer loyalty programs/frequent shopper programs increased by 16 percent from the first quarter of 1998. As loyalty programs increase, and marketing technology becomes more integrated and advanced, the responsible analysis and collection of customer data will provide merchandisers with numerous opportunities to market products, programs and services that supermarkets can offer to its consumers, including those in an ethnically-diverse population. Supermarkets must be responsible and ethical in their collection of data about their consumers and cater to their shopping needs by offering both quality customer service from its employees, and quality products that fulfill their shopping needs. Extensive study must be done on the consumer to uncover where shoppers shop for certain needs like staple items, meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, and organic foods, and offer these products in the most cost-effective manner so that the smaller supermarkets do not lose their market share to the larger supercenters and chains.

What is a Full Writing System? :: essays research papers

What is a Full Writing System? Full writing systems may be defined as collections of arbitrary signs that can represent all the words of the language to which they are applied. Limited writing systems consisting of marks made for counting or identification go back three thousand years. The evolution of full writing systems has taken place only during the past five thousand years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Writing systems have made possible the technological advances that has taken humanity from hunting, gathering, and simple farming to exploration of space. Writing created a permanent record of knowledge so that a fund of information could accumulate from one generation to the next. Before writing, human knowledge was confined by the limits of memory. For example, learning something from one self or from talking to another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Early visual systems such as signaling by gestures or with fire or smoke were limited to the range of eyesight and subject to misinterpretation. Writing allowed accurate communication at a distance without traveling or relying on the memory of a messenger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Writing includes both picture writing, also know as pictography and ideographs. The use of pictures to represent, not the object drawn but some attribute or idea suggested by the object. For example, a drawing of the sun gives you an idea of warmth. Limited writing refers directly to the object or idea portrayed. Pictograms or ideograms call to mind an image or concept that then may be expressed in language. The reader does not need to know the language of the writer to translate the signs into his or her own language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A full or true writing system represents words not objects. However, the earliest writing systems came from Mesopotamia, Egypt and, Central America. These writing systems only qualify as limited writing since they used signs that refer to the objects represented and not to the words for the object.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  International traffic signs are effective because they avoid language. Simple pictures instead of words or phrases, makes it more comprehensible to illiterates and speakers of other languages. They warn drivers of road hazards and traffic regulations, which need to be followed in order to keep the road safe. A few other methods of systems are musical and scientific notation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Specific technical information like word syllabic and alphabetic writing is used to represent a language. A full writing system must maintain fixed correspondences between its signs and the element of the language.

Forces of Nature Mic Heal Porter

In dealing with strategic planning, I think that this would deal with the way an organization try’s to incorporate strategy in their decision making process. The correct strategy will allow the organization to plan a set of goals and also be able to achieve these goals. Strategic planning is how the organization tries to evolve their current status into where they feel they should be in the future. In routine planning this is the type of planning that is by the book. Routine meaning by the book and following all the procedures with no actual goals and no mention of the future. The differences between the two planning systems is that one only follows the rules and the other thinks outside the box by thinking about the future of the organization. An example of strategic planning, is when an organization starts with having a mission by coming up with the organizations strengths and weaknesses. The plan has to have an outcome that leads the organization into the future (my strategic plan. com). An example of a routine plan would be a book list of instructions and it is mapped out and the first thing they will do is try to find certain goals to move the company forward to the next level but is not worried about the future of the organization. When an organization does not use strategic planning than the organization will not be able to control their futures and be stuck following a routine approach. If an organization does not have a strategic plan they will only be able to address the immediate problems and this is a form of crisis management. When an organization has a strategic plan, the organization becomes more proactive in achieving their goals instead of reactive. When an organization is reactive they are following the set of guidelines of a routine. When an organization has a strategic plan but it is poor it is really like not having one at all. The organization that has a poor strategic planning system is not on a good track and when the plan was implemented it was done incorrectly. When the people of the organization implemented the plan not everyone bought into this plan this is one of the reasons why it is broken and it is poor. The only way to un-break or fix what is broken is to re-implement the plan to make sure that every person in the organization will buy into for the sake of the organizations future (Iowa State University, 1995-2013). The organization that does not have a strategic plan will not be able to make a future for their organization. When an organization thinks outside the box they usual are the organization will flourish in the long-run. The only problem with having a failing strategic plan is the fact that it could have been a good plan if all the members of the organization bought into it. Fixing a strategic plan is sometimes more difficult than actually rolling one out to your organization. References My Strategic Plan (2103). Researched the difference between routine planning and strategic plan. Found an article on what is the difference between a strategic plan and a business plan. Retrieved from website http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/what-is-the-difference-between-a-business-plan-and-a-strategic-plan/ Iowa State University (1995-2013). Researched what happens when an organization has a poor strategic plan. Retrieved from website http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-strategic-planning-shortterm-operational-planning-24227.html

Pascual Orozco, Early Leader of the Mexican Revolution

Pascual Orozco (January 28, 1882–August 30, 1915) was a Mexican muleteer, warlord, and revolutionary who participated in the early parts of the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). More of an opportunist than an idealist, Orozco and his army fought in many key battles between 1910 and 1914 before he â€Å"backed the wrong horse,† said General Victoriano Huerta, whose brief presidency lasted from 1913 to 1914. Exiled, Orozco was captured and executed by Texas Rangers. Fast Facts: Pascual Orozco Known For: Mexican revolutionaryBorn: January 28, 1882 in Santa Inà ©s,  Chihuahua, MexicoParents: Pascual Orozco Sr. and Amanda Orozco y Và ¡zquezaDied: August 30, 1915 in the Van Horn Mountains, MexicoNotable Quote: â€Å"Here are the wrappers: send more tamales.† Early Life Pascual Orozco was born on January 28, 1882, in Santa Inà ©s,  Chihuahua, Mexico. Before the Mexican Revolution broke out, he was a small-time entrepreneur, storekeeper, and muleteer. He came from a lower-middle-class family in the northern state of Chihuahua and by working hard and saving money, he was able to acquire a respectable amount of wealth. As a self-starter who made his own fortune, he became disenchanted with the corrupt regime of Porfirio Dà ­az, who tended to favor old money and those with connections, neither of which Orozco had. Orozco became involved with the Flores Magà ³n brothers, Mexican dissidents trying to stir up rebellion from safety in the United States. Orozco and Madero In 1910, opposition presidential candidate Francisco I. Madero, who lost due to election fraud, called for a revolution against the crooked Dà ­az. Orozco organized a small force in the Guerrero area of Chihuahua and quickly won a series of skirmishes against federal forces. His force grew with every victory, swelled by local peasants who were drawn by patriotism, greed, or both. By the time Madero returned to Mexico from exile in the United States, Orozco commanded a force of several thousand men. Madero promoted him first to colonel and then general, even though Orozco had no military background. Early Victories While Emiliano Zapatas army kept Dà ­az federal forces busy in the south, Orozco and his armies took over the north. The uneasy alliance of Orozco, Madero, and Pancho Villa captured several key towns in Northern Mexico, including Ciudad Juarez, which Madero made his provisional capital. Orozco maintained his businesses during his time as general. On one occasion, his first action upon capturing a town was to sack the home of a business rival. Orozco was a cruel and ruthless commander. He once sent the uniforms of dead federal soldiers back to Dà ­az with a note: â€Å"Here are the wrappers: send more tamales.† Revolt Against Madero The armies of the north drove Dà ­az from Mexico in May 1911 and Madero took over. Madero saw Orozco as a violent bumpkin, useful to the war effort but out of his depth in government. Orozco, who was unlike Villa in that he was fighting not for idealism but under the assumption that he would be made at least a state governor, was outraged. Orozco had accepted the post of general, but he resigned it when he refused to fight Zapata, who had rebelled against Madero for not implementing land reform. In March 1912 Orozco and his men, called Orozquistas or Colorados, once again took to the field. Orozco in 1912–1913 Fighting Zapata to the south and Orozco to the north, Madero turned to two generals: Victoriano Huerta, a relic left over from the days of Dà ­az, and Pancho Villa, who still supported him. Huerta and Villa were able to rout Orozco in several key battles. Orozcos poor control of his men contributed to his losses: he allowed them to sack and loot captured towns, which turned the locals against him. Orozco fled to the United States but returned when Huerta overthrew and assassinated Madero in February 1913. President Huerta, in need of allies, offered him a generalship and Orozco accepted. Huertas Downfall Orozco was once again fighting Pancho Villa, who was outraged by Huertas murder of Madero. Two more generals appeared on the scene: Alvaro Obregà ³n and Venustiano Carranza, both at the head of huge armies in Sonora. Villa, Zapata, Obregà ³n, and Carranza were united by their hatred of Huerta, and their combined might was far too much for the new president, even with Orozco and his colorados on his side. When Villa crushed the federales at the battle of Zacatecas in June 1914, Huerta fled the country. Orozco fought on for a while but he was seriously outgunned and he, too, went into exile in 1914. Death After the fall of Huerta, Villa, Carranza, Obregà ³n, and Zapata began slugging it out among themselves. Seeing an opportunity, Orozco and Huerta met up in New Mexico and began planning a new revolt. They were captured by American forces and charged with conspiracy. Huerta died in prison. Orozco escaped and was later shot and killed by Texas Rangers on August 30, 1915. According to the Texas version, he and his men tried to steal some horses and were tracked down and killed in the ensuing gunfight. According to the Mexicans, Orozco and his men were defending themselves from greedy Texas ranchers, who wanted their horses. Legacy Today, Orozco is considered a minor figure in the Mexican Revolution. He never reached the presidency and modern historians and readers prefer the flair of Villa or the idealism of Zapata. It should not be forgotten, however, that at the time of Maderos return to Mexico, Orozco commanded the largest and most powerful of the revolutionary armies and that he won several key battles in the early days of the revolution. Although it has been asserted by some that Orozco was an opportunist who coldly used the revolution to his own gain, that does not change the fact that if not for Orozco, Dà ­az may well have crushed Madero in 1911. Sources McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2000.Pascual Orozco, Jr. (1882–1915).  Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, Encyclopedia.com, 2019.