Course Project Benefit Plan Analysis Term Paper

Course Project Benefit Plan Analysis - Term Paper Example Association profile This report surveys and investigates the advantage plan and structure. It spins around the profile of an association called the Metropolitan Chicago Health Council (MCHC). This association is occupied with the arrangement of esteemed included medicinal services administrations, legislative support and instructive administrations. It has a wide scope of emergency clinic HR area necessities which handles the advantage plan for the representatives. The advantages that the representatives collect include a backhanded pay intended to improve the nature of work together the individual existences all things considered. The advantages for the representatives are roughly 43% of their all out gross compensation. Since these advantage programs are expensive in nature, this report investigates their exorbitant nature. It further recognizes the requirement for a correction of these advantages programs so as to meet the current administrative necessities and changing business s ector needs. Advantages program The advantage program additionally requires advancement of auxiliary decisions at all levels. As indicated by Bohlander (2009), the incorporation of characterized or non-characterized retirement plans in the advantage plan prompts dangers and more remaining task at hand as far as asset the board. The task will believe the need of believing elements to be mulled over while executing the advantage plan and the explanation behind partner inclusion. Fundamental center is focused towards the part of cost of the advantage program. Arrangements identifying with the cost issue are cost investigation, cost portrayal and cost minimization. Cost minimization will be the favored arrangement out of the three. Cost examination and depiction are similarly acceptable however cost minimization guarantees most extreme and ideal advantages to both the business and representative in the short and since a long time ago run. Attributes of a sound advantage plan A sound adv antage plan ought to be the one that qualities all the requirements of both the representatives and the business. It ought to likewise contemplate the regularly changing business sector desires both in the short and long haul and should likewise meet all the administrative prerequisites (Rosen, 2005). At long last, it should be practical implying that cost are effortlessly overseen and kept at the very least. Section 2: Statement of the issue The issue in Metropolitan Chicago Health Council is the requirement for an amendment of its advantages programs so as to meet the current administrative prerequisites and changing business sector needs. Medical advantages for representatives are given by insurance agencies. The measure utilized in choosing the sort helpful for be given to every worker is that of ability and expertise. The majority of the advantage bundles are specially crafted by worksite arrangements. Each staff part is given a custom advantage proclamation that incorporated t he pay. With the expanded interest in medicinal services advantage plots, the expense of executing and supporting the advantage plans has expanded. Consequently, cost minimization is an objective in most association. An online framework is an invaluable method of limiting expenses. This is on the grounds that it

International Expansion Plans

Question: Portray about the International extension plan. Answer: Presentation Universal extension plan alludes to the exercises of the business attempted by the organization in a few nations everywhere throughout the world. It is something beyond making interests in the districts outside the nation of origin. The worldwide development plan is for the most part a manual for the extension tips of a universal business. The global development plan essentially alludes to the procedures of the organizations to extend in the new markets by expertly utilizing their latent capacity. The universal extension plan primarily contains the methodologies that incorporates the methodology of market passage (Verbeke 2013). The worldwide extension plan for this situation is for an exchanging tobacco organization in Arab and the name of the organization is Prestige General Trading. This organization was set up in the year 2008 and it is a worldwide association with a universal item exchange house. This organization mostly centers around the creation of tobacco, compost, horticulture just as metals (Channon and Jalland 2016). Universal Expansion of the organization in Asia The system of Prestige General Trading Company is to grow its business and catch new possibilities in Asia, Europe just as north and South America. The organization has a solid nearness in the universal market. According to the ongoing patterns, the organization wants to extend its exchange Asia. With about 280 million people who utilizes tobacco, China turns into the worldwide tobacco advertise with almost 60 percent of the populace associated with smoking. The organization will have the option to pick up in the event that it is equipped for extending the market in China (Yao et al. 2014). Starting extension of Prestige General Trading Distinction General Trading is a multi extended general exchanging organization which is situated in different money related administrations which thusly speaks to different makers just as monetary foundations in the serious market. Eminence General Trading proceeds with the development of its Global Network of new gracefully channels with the assistance of joint endeavors. The organization is chiefly occupied with the physical exchanging of the tobacco items. The underlying development of the organization has occurred in Singapore, Dubai, the USA just as Europe. The organization is known to work by means of administration focuses and the branches which are found everywhere throughout the world. The underlying development of the organization likewise incorporates the way that the organization has pictured in the realm of aquariums. PGT is known to offer cutting edge aquarium arrangements that run from large open aquariums to eye-getting business settings. PGT likewise offers unrivaled items and administrations that remember far reaching experience for sea-going science just as building that is joined with key associations with worldwide subject producers. PGT is referred to offer totally fused attractive just as private answers for aquaria of different sizes everywhere throughout the world. KPI of the organization KPI or the key execution pointer is a lot of quantifiable measure that is utilized by an organization so as to check the presentation of the organization over some undefined time frame. The advancement of an organization is commonly dictated by the KPI. The absolute yearly offer of the organization has been assessed to be 2.5 million USD. The level of fare of the organization is 45 percent. Global Strategy that will support the organization The universal procedure will assist the organization with expanding its business on the overall premise as it prompts a wide scope of the business methodologies. The global procedure will likewise assist the organization with getting adjusted to the residential condition. Being an exchanging organization, the principle target of the organization is to prompt the development of the organization. The outside activity will assist the organization with attracting the administrators who will assist them with reducing their spending plan just as to increase the benefit (International Business Strategy - Reasons and Forms of Expansion into Foreign Markets 2013). Valuing methodology The valuing methodology that an exchanging organization ought to attempt is the land estimating that will assist the organization with deciding how to value its products to the assorted clients. The valuing technique will assist the organization with deciding whether they will charge a more significant expense to the far off clients so as to take care of the expense of transportation or they will charge a lower cost to increase extra benefit just as business (Danziger et al. 2014). Methods of Entry The method of passage that will be valuable for the organization is joint endeavor and authorizing. Since, it is a tobacco organization permitting will approve the organization in the objective nation to utilize the property of a licensor. So as to get the option to utilize the pitiful property in the objective market, the organization needs to pay a charge to get the permit (Boon and Liang 2015) With the assistance of joint endeavors, Prestige General Trading proceeds with the development of its Global Network of new flexibly channels. Joint endeavor method of section will assist the organization with staying exceptional about the most recent development in the market and it will likewise assist the organization with making more astute speculation choice. The joint endeavor will assist the organization with building an equivalent position and an official voice in the remote nation (Block and Walter 2012). The year 2014 was a noteworthy year for the Chinese market and subsequently, China turned into the China Global Demographic. China contains 25 distinct gatherings of market which thusly is described by extraordinary atmosphere just as extension and riches. According to the reports, in the previous hardly any years it has been recorded that increasingly more Chinese began to venture to the far corners of the planet with the end goal of business. Arranged results The result will be that the organization will have the option to pick up by embracing the geological estimating technique just as the permitting and joint endeavor method of passage. End It tends to be presumed that Prestige General Trading is a worldwide association with a universal product exchange house. It has additionally been reasoned that the evaluating technique that the organization ought to attempt is the topographical valuing that will assist the organization with deciding how to value its merchandise to the various clients. According to the ongoing patterns, the organization wants to extend its exchange Asia where it has been discovered that China is the global tobacco advertise with almost 60 percent of the populace engaged with smoking. The method of section that will be useful for the Prestige General Trading Company is joint endeavor and permitting. Joint endeavor method of passage will assist the organization with staying state-of-the-art about the most recent development in the market. In any case, permitting will approve the organization in the objective nation to utilize the property of a licensor. References Ajami, R., Cool, K., Goddard, J.G. also, Khambata, D.M., 2014.International business: Theory and practice. Routledge. Square, J.H. also, Walter, S.G., 2012. National culture and methods of section into entrepreneurship.Available at SSRN 2027864. Aid, B.T.L. also, Liang, T.W., 2015. Firms Marketing Mix Effectiveness and Modes of Entry in the Host Countries. InProceedings of the 1998 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference(pp. 474-474). Springer International Publishing. Channon, D.F. also, Jalland, M., 2016.Multinational key arranging. Springer. Danziger, S., Hadar, L. also, Morwitz, V.G., 2014. Retailer estimating procedure and purchaser decision under value uncertainty.Journal of Consumer Research,41(3), pp.761-774. Worldwide Business Strategy - Reasons and Forms of Expansion into Foreign Markets. (2013). Poland: Katarzyna Twarowska, p.2. Verbeke, A., 2013.International business technique. Cambridge University Press. Yao, T., Jiang, N., Grana, R., Ling, P.M. also, Glantz, S.A., 2014. A substance examination of electronic cigarette maker sites in China.Tobacco control, pp.tobaccocontrol-2014.

In The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl by Ray Bradbury and The Tell Ess

In The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl by Ray Bradbury and The Tell Story Hear by Edgar Allen Poe, the two creators need to persuade the peruser that the primary characters is distraught. How would they do that? Which depiction is progressively successful? Why? 1.The two stories that will be thoroughly analyzed are 'The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl' by Ray Bradbury and 'The Tell Story Heart' by Edgar Allen Poe. The two stories are about homicide and how the killers respond after the killings. In the story 'The Tell Tale Heart,' Edgar Allen Poe expounds on the killer's fixation and dread of an elderly person's blurred eye that drives him to murder. At the point when officials of the law come to address him, he envisions commotions from the dead dismantled body, which constrains him to concede his wrongdoing. In the second story, 'The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl' by Ray Bradbury another murder has been submitted. The creator utilizes streak backs to clarify where the killer has been with the goal that he could clear out all hints of his fingerprints and nearness at the house, his quest for gloves at that point his fixation on cleaning all over the place, which in the end prompts his capture. The two stories are about fixations, in one the fixation caused the homicide, in the other the fixation was with cleaning ceaselessly all hints of the killer is available at the area of the wrongdoing after the murder. My point will be to show how the two killers were distraught, or became frantic. 2.In the story 'The Tell Tale Heart,' the killer has no intention in murder other than his fixation. One of the elderly person's eyes, was blurred over and took after a vulture's eye, so the storyteller could have been frantic even before he slaughtered the elderly person. In 'The Fruit at the Base of the Bowl,' the killer was headed to envy... ...ceiling fixture with its long pearls of rainbow glass.' He gets spooky by Huxley hearing again Huxleys voice, recalling all the touchings and gesturings, before loosing control. Acton cried intensely he flung the ceramics against the divider' Promptly in the first part of the day after the homicide Acton was found in the upper room the whole house was cleaned to a brightness everything sparkled. Everything shone, everything was brilliant!. In transit out Acton cleaned the front door handle with his tissue.' This indicated the manner in which he lost control after the homicide and his obsesiveness drove him to franticness by the idea of what he had done. Despite the fact that he was not distraught toward the starting we could perceive how he became increasingly more frantic as the story went on. This is better than the other story 'The Tell-Tale heart' when the man gave indication of frenzy from the earliest starting point of the story.

Building Services system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Building Services framework - Essay Example Dissemination of electric force as a rule involves a total circulation organize. A total conveyance arrange involves a few segments including, a dispersion substation, essential appropriation feeder, a transformer, merchant and the administration mains (Fink and Carroll, 2013). The transmitted electric force controlled in substations for essential dissemination and use. The appropriation framework will take the model demonstrated as follows: This force is then taken care of to the dispersion transformer by means of the essential appropriation feeders. The framework will utilize a voltage of 2,400V. The conveyance framework to use in this venture will take the structure appeared in the graph beneath: The sort of dissemination framework will ring principle electrical circulation framework. This is liked to the outspread dissemination framework in that if there should be an occurrence of a transformer disappointment or feeder disappointment, power isn't interfered. This is on the grounds that one ring system of wholesalers gets power from a few feeders. This suggests on the off chance that one feeder neglects to work, the others will in any case flexibly force and there would be no force interferences. Expansion this framework comprises of different area disengages at particular focuses in the framework. On the off chance that an issue happens in any of the secludes, at that point the others are accessible to flexibly control. This framework will show up as appeared in the figure underneath For crisis purposes the force framework will incorporate an autonomous hold power source which will work if there should be an occurrence of disappointment of the essential force source. This force source ought to have the option to work for a few hours before the principle power flexibly is redressed. This elective wellspring of intensity will comprise of an extra autonomous wellspring of intensity complete with its free controls ((Nasar and Unnewehr, 2012). This can be in type of motor driven generators and for this situation they will have a voltage of 500 kW. The force framework will comprise of links made of copper and aluminum

A multicultural counselor Essay

It is vital that a multicultural advocate have adequate procedures so as to be powerful in multicultural directing. This is on the grounds that the advocate handles customers who have different societies and, in this way, should be versatile to the different social qualities and convictions of the customer. All together, for a multicultural advisor to be compelling, it is imperative that the instructor should initially get their own way of life. This comprehension of own way of life contains monitoring one own life ways of thinking, having the option to perceive the various structures engaged with thinking and furthermore monitoring how the understanding impact ones correspondence and furthermore the style one uses to help the customer. Absence of this comprehension may make the guiding procedure ineffectual. Mindfulness enables the advocate to recognize explicit social qualities and the impact they may have in the directing procedure. This aides the multicultural advisor have the option to counter the impacts that the qualities may posture to the guiding intercession. It is additionally important that multicultural guide forestall sticking to a particular advising hypothesis during the directing procedure. This is on the grounds that numerous social gatherings don't share the sort of qualities, which are inferred by the advising techniques (Gielen, Draguns and Fish, 2008). The different qualities ordinarily don't have similar desires for the lead or the result of the guiding meeting of the advocate. This requires a requirement for the guide complete an examination about their customers social foundation, be open and adaptable to the meanings of the suitable of the right practices as per the social estimations of the customer. It is additionally gainful for the multicultural advocate to have a comprehension of numerous dialects. This is on the grounds that language obstructions go about as an obstacle to compelling multicultural advising. Accordingly, of the language obstruction, the customer and the advocate may not see each other well creation the customer incapable to communicate the multifaceted nature in their considerations and their sentiments. This may likewise cause the advocate to feel baffled because of absence of bilingual capacity. Language hindrances additionally lead the guide to offer an inappropriate analysis (Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, 2009). Multicultural guide ought to recognize social assorted variety the individual in question ought to welcome the estimation of various societies and use it in helping the customer. The instructor ought not have any social predisposition or convey social generalizations into the advising procedure. The person should comprehend that every social worth are the equivalent, and they ought to be regarded. Regard of social assorted variety has an incredible impact in upgrading the viability of multicultural guiding. This likewise requires the multicultural instructor to have lowliness and humility. (Gielen, Draguns and Fish, 2008). It is likewise fundamental that a multicultural instructor ought to have social compromise systems so as to complete a successful directing. This encourages the guide to have the option to assist the customer with solving the issues the person might be encountering inside himself and the contention that might be existing between the person in question and the network. It is additionally significant that multicultural instructor take a pluralistic view in the advising procedure. This is the place the advocate places into thought all parts of the client’s individual history, social and social direction. (Relationship for Multicultural Counseling and Development, 2009). In this way, it is significant that multicultural advocates stay away from culture generalizations and bogus desire. This is finished by comprehension their clients’ foundation and finding the most proper procedures to utilize in the guiding procedure. The systems should suit the requirements of the customer. The instructor should be delicate the social estimations of the customer. Reference Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD), (2009) Journal of Multicultural Counseling, Birmingham, England, recovered www. multiculturalcenter. organization/jmcd/on 8 April 2010. Gielen, U. Draguns, J. and Fish, J. (2008) Principles of multicultural directing and treatment, New York, Brunner-Routledge, recovered from http://www. netLibrary. com/urlapi. asp? action=summary&v=1&bookid=233302 on 8 April 2010.

Physics Prof. Peter Fisher on Conan

Physics Prof. Peter Fisher on Conan You may know Conan OBrien, host of the popular late night talk show Late Night with Conan OBrien. For the past month, Conans show has been airing without the benefit of writers, due to the strike (soon to be settled?) by the Writers Guild of America. Without writers, the show has resorted to some fairly ridiculous ways to kill time, including an ongoing feud with Stephen Colbert (resolved in a battle royale), a German disco light shows, a visit to the doctor, a turtle race, and ring spinning. In what has been very compelling television, Conan has been spinning his wedding ring on his desk, trying to see for how long he can get it to spin. He has been trying in vain to beat his record of 41 seconds. Clearly, this is a physics problem. And when theres an important physics problem, who do you call? Thats right MIT. So last night, MIT Physics Professor Peter Fisher appeared on Late Night to help Conan finally beat the record. As Conan explained on the air, the show called Prof. Fisher out of the blue. Nevermind that his principle work is on dark matter, not really related to the ring spinning but who cares. Hes still an MIT Physicist. To solve the problem, Prof. Fisher asked many other for help, including his students in freshman physics class (50 pulsating brains at my disposal), MIT researcher Jocelyn Monroe, and his daughter. My favorite exchange of the evening comes right before they try to break the record. Conan: [with sarcasm] A lot of people, many Americans have cancelled their plans tonight and are watching right now. Prof. Fisher: This is an important problem! The great physicist Richard Feynman [MIT 39] in thinking about a problem like this solved quantum electrodynamics. Conan: Yes. So maybe by thinking about this problem we will solve a much larger problem. How to travel through time! Prof. Fisher: We solved that. My colleague Eddie Farhi worked that out, in fact. Conan: Well of course. Probably by spinning a ring. Prof. Fisher: Well, you can do it but the universe explodes afterwards. Conan: Big whoop. Small price to pay to get to meet Lincoln, you know? Also, the vocabulary word of the day is nutate: nutate: verb rock, sway, or nod; usually involuntarily Because the segment ran 14 minutes (14 minutes!), the YouTube video is broken up into two parts below. Check it out, and enjoy! In the end, Prof. Fishers teflon solution helped Conan break the record, setting a new mark of 51 seconds! This spring, you can see Prof. Fisher teaching 8.02 (freshman physics: electricity magnetism) every Monday and Wednesday from 11am to 1pm and every Friday from 11am to noon in Room 26-152. And you can read online about his research with the Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (currently employing four very lucky UROPs!).

Implementation of Activities - Subway New Zealand - Free Essay Example

Task 1 Describe the organisation Subway restaurant is world’s largest franchise organization running more than 39,000 franchised outlets all over the world. In New Zealand subway have more than 200 franchised outlets. I am working in subway store located at Clendon which is in South Auckland, New Zealand. My role in store is senior sandwich artist (Team member). I am working 4 days in a week. a.) The planned activities you will implement. I will implement different strategies to improve my performance as well as the sales of store. For example: I implement strategies like â€Å"up – selling†, â€Å"targeting particular groups of people†, â€Å"Quality of service†, â€Å"customer benefit first† and many more. I will discuss each of the above strategies below in detail respectively: Up selling: Subway has too many things to upsell like extra cheese, bacon, avocado and extra meat in their products list. Many of other staffs at our store do not ask to every customer for extra which is the weak point which i want to overcome, as it will improve the sale figures and also the profit. As it is the important factor to be concentrated, i want to implement the strategy of focusing on particular customer to sell them with upgrading the same product. For example: In Clendon area, where our store is located, mostly island people and industry worker are living and they like to eat more meat or bacon. So i want to start asking customers about if they want to add some extra meat or bacon to their product and explain them about the low price to upgrade so that they will regularly buy it. Female customers and other most of the diet conscious customers prefer to buy chicken teriyaki and chicken strip as both of these products contains low fat. So i also want to apply new strategy to ask female and diet conscious customers if they want to buy both of these products with their regular product. . It will help to improve the sales of our store and also g ain more profit than now. Quality of service: Quality of service is very important to any small or large business. If our service is good, customers will prefer to buy from our store which is good sign for a business. And so i always concentrate on the quality of products and service with customers. Most of the times i am working alone during low rush of customers. I always try to interact with customers as most of the customers coming to our store are regular and locals and so i have made good relation with them by talking with them when they comes to our store and they also like to talk with me. I talk with them about their whole day activities. Also i used to wash my hands regularly before serving to customers and this quality is appreciated by most of our customers. Also as i discussed that most of the customers are regular and locals, i know about their choice and so when i saw them coming to our store i used to start making their order so that they don’t have to wait for a long time till their order is prepared. This quality is also appreciated by our customers. I always try to create friendly atmosphere at our store. I am rewarded with many awards that are surveyed online by interacting to our customers about the service at our store. Customers’ benefit: Subway regularly puts promotion on some of its product for some interval of time. The promotions are done by franchise owner. Sometimes our store manager also puts some promotion particularly for our store. The product on promotion is cheaper than its normal price. For example: sometimes promotion is like you can buy foot long in just 6 $’s during 11 am – 1 pm. Whereas if you will buy the same product â€Å"foot long† after 1pm the price of it will be 9 $’s. So people will prefer to buy foot long during the promotion time. Customer rush will be more during the promotion time which will increase the sale of our store increasing the profit. Also i recomme nd to customers who are not aware of this promotion which is benefit to them and so they likes our service. The agreement with those concerned was the way in which the implementation will be carried out, and the resources to do so:- I implement my strategic plans in front of my manager and he is very happy for my strategic plan for store by which we improve our store performance. One of our regular factory worker came and I serve him and I offer him promotion foot long as well extra meat and bacon and he bought it I also offer to him buy 2 cookies and drink combo as he was dine it in store he bought it. In present of my manger I increase upsell by 30% then regular shift upsell by which my manager impress from me. In quality of service, I create friendly atmosphere by talking with customers. Establish a system to monitor the effectiveness of strategic plan implementation and issues for the system to following areas: To implement a strategic plan we ensure that it is effe ctive in store like upselling increase by 30% in whole day, we get more positive customer online feedback, customers are happy to come at our store. Some other ways to monitor strategic plans are like: Achievement of goals As per my goal to increase upselling and provide great service, I implement some strategic plan in last week and got positive feedback from customer personally. For example I offer extra meat and bacon for factory workers as well as to island people and avocado for female and diet conscious customers that like to have it which shows that my strategic plan is working well. Achievement of outcomes In last week I implement this strategy and as per my manager view, store sale increased up selling by 30% and getting 80% positive feedback on customer experience to visit store and 100% in friendly atmosphere and cleanliness of store. Use of resources I always put extra meat, bacon and salads in front area freeze by which if any of them finish it will he lp to change the empty box from sandwich unit. I recommended to my manager to change EFTPOS machine and POI system by which we can make fast transaction which helps to save time to serve other customer. Risk management In any food industry we need to have knowledge about health and safety and food hygiene. In my work place, I always concentrate on these by which a risk can be handled. I always check expire date of every product of store and if I found any, immediately I change it and put a note for manager. Also if any customer make dirty floor by drink, I need to clean it and put WET FLOOR board. 4. Resources those were deployed and optimized to achieve the goals. Resources are deployed and optimised to achieve full implementation of agreed plans. We need too many resources to implement my strategic plan like we need enough stock to serve customer and for that I have already discussed with my manager. We need fast working EFTOS machine, improving quality of food, fast a nd easy to find POI system. In quality of service, we need to talk with every customers and serving fresh food to get positive feedback. Handle politely to customers’ complain. I have discussed with other staff members about my strategic plans and recommend them to implement while they are working. Outcome: 2 Monitored a strategic plan according to established system I discussed strategic plan with my store manager and then we were in the store to implement the plan. We discussed it with staff as well. My manager asks staff to follow all steps and talk to customer to create friendly environment. Then we observed that staff missing 100% adds on and up selling which is very important for our strategic plan and also for company. And some customers don’t like to buy more then what they want to. Renegotiate, if necessary and agree to the milestones and key indicators according to organizational requirements. I discuss with my manager and he suggest me to more concentrate on qualitative customer service rather than other work like back area cleaning and preparing food for next day and other daily task. In the busy time like lunch time and dinner time every staff need to focus on front area service and cleaning as we need to improve store performance in customer service. We need to concentrate on add on and up selling as well to increase store sales by 33% as per the monthly projection. And for that my strategies worked as I achieved 100% target of store manager for upselling. Identify any needs for variations to the plan and recommendations for change made according to organizational requirement. I implement my strategic plan in my workplace under the observation of manger and he is impressed from my strategy. I got positive review from customers by 100%. Also we achieve our daily basis target for upselling. As per the customer review we need to change EFTPOS machine as it is not fast as per our requirement, which is also changed l ater by store management and so that is also the plus point to achieve our goal. Evaluate the consistency and congruency of organizational performance with the organization’s strategic plan. Grating to customer and talk with them and recommend them to choose correct product was greatly appreciated by our customers, as per the customer survey review done by manger. Every customer who enters in store, they expect good quality food as well as good service which make them happy about their lunch or dinner. If they feel friendly environment, they will love to come again and again. I served one factory worker and I offered him extra meat and bacon and I also offered him $2.90 combo of two cookies and drink which is on promotion which he liked very much and he also appreciated me for that personally. I also offered avocado on chicken teriyaki to one lady and I also offered Swiss cheese which has a lower fat than other cheese which she liked very much as she was on diet and so she had given 100% positive feedback in customer survey. We are recently promoting $5 combo deal of half sandwich and small drink but as it is not enough for industrial worker and island people in their lunch/dinner, instead of it I offer them foot long in $8 by upgrading it to $3 on six inch which is cheaper to them. Also I offer them to take extra bacon and make deal for round figure of 10$. By applying all of the above strategies it shows that my strategic plan works very well and it is helping to improve store performance in upselling and add on.

Capitalism and Freedom Book Review - 1347 Words

Warren Bryan 3/5/12 Book Review: Capitalism Freedom Author: Milton Friedman Milton Friedman’s Capitalism amp; Freedom is one of the most important books regarding economics of the 20th century. His thoughts laid the groundwork for the emerging modern conservative movement, which was an evolution of the 19th century beliefs surrounding liberalism. Friedman’s major themes of his most famous work consist of the roles of competitive capitalism, as well as the role that government should play in a society â€Å"dedicated to freedom and relying primarily on the market to organize economic activity.† The book touches on a multitude of other economic issues; however, his first two chapters regarding the major themes of the book are most†¦show more content†¦He concludes on this thought stating, â€Å"What the market does is to reduce greatly the range of issues that must be decided through political means, and thereby minimize the extent to which government need participate directly in the game.† Friedman more narrowly believed the government should intervene with â€Å"indivisible matters.† A problem with this claim regarding indivisible matters is he never clarifies what constitutes an indivisible matter. The example he gives is in relation to national defense, â€Å"I cannot get the amount of national defense I want and you a different amount. With respect to such indivisible matters we can discuss, argue, and vote. But having decided we must conform.† Thus, we shall let the government deal with indivisible matters where we must meet a consensus on basic things such as defense. How do we know that a flat tax, a tax reform mentioned by Friedman, counts as a matter that government should control whereas a tax for social security does not? The criteria must be explained for the difference between the two. Friedman believed that the market allows better proportional representation than the democratic process. â€Å"The market allows the voluntary exchange of goods between individuals w ithout coercion.† â€Å"Exchange can therefore bring about co-ordination without coercion†¦no exchange will take place unless both parties do benefit from it. 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In the poem Howls (1956)Read MoreEssay on Slave Country Book Review818 Words   |  4 PagesBook Review 1 Slave Country: American Expansion and The Origins of the Deep South Adam Rothman Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2005. 312 pages Slave Country Slave Country, is a book on early America and it tells the story of the rapid growth of slavery in the newly formed states. Slavery slowly disappeared from the northern states and the importation of captive Africans was prohibited. But, at the same time, the countrys slave population grew, new plantation cropsRead MoreMichael Novak s Philosophy Of Religion From Harvard University1638 Words   |  7 Pagesthan forty-five books that includes two novels and one book of verse. Business as a calling was first published in 1996 and is regarded as one of the successful work of Mr. Novak. Mr. Novak was ordinated as priest from prestigious Kent fellowship in 1961. He became an associate editor at Commonweal (1966) and even served as the first Catholic contributing editor at Christian Century magazine, a position he holds until 1980. Michael Novak was named as a judge for the National Book Awards and DuPontRead MoreThe Novel Perpetual Fear 1343 Words   |  6 Pagesoutsmart them. In real prison camps, the leaders were violent and very strict. The boys also used literature as an escape from their lives, but the books they read were banned and would get people in reeducation killed. Lastly, the boys were able to roam around and had the ability to go wherever they wanted. In reeducation, they were given very little freedom and had a curfew. The experience of the characters in the novel is bearable because the leaders were incompetent and there was no real consequences

The Role Of Advice To Small Business - 1159 Words

I do not deny that the purpose of the business (if it moves beyond an idea) will be to connect businesses with consultants. As stated in my response dated 29 May 2017: â€Å"Given the success of the clusters program in particular, I began thinking about how you could change the model of advice to small business to increase engagement. I also wondered what role new and emerging platforms such as the internet and mobile applications (apps) could have in facilitating such a paradigm shift. I considered (and am still considering) ways to take this research forward, including a completing a Doctoral Thesis around the problem and applying for a Churchill Fellowship to investigate models used overseas.† (my underlining) In other words I am†¦show more content†¦This extends to respecting the confidentiality of official information should I leave public service employment. Further Considerations In response to the statement that I have continually failed to provide full and frank details about my interest in Entrepreneurial Edge â€Å"despite being repeatedly being requested to do so since April 2017†. After completing the Declaration of Interest form in April as directed I believed that a discussion would be initiated to consider its contents. Specifically, under the manager/supervisor’s section it states that they are to outline the basis of the employee’s declaration and â€Å"Where available provide further background and/or details obtained through discussion with the employee.† (my underlining) In addition, Ms Emma Freeman’s email dated 7 April 2017 stated she would work with the delegate and me to determine and agree on an appropriate management plan. At no time from when I lodged the declaration on 11 April 2017 to when it was signed by Ms Freeman on 18 April 2017 was there a request for further information or any discussion with me regarding its contents. References by Ms Freeman to previous discussions were informal workplace conversations, except for a single, short, meeting on 7 April 2017 between Mr Grant Stidiford, a/Executive Director, Ms Freeman and myself where it wasShow MoreRelatedFranchising ( 10 Points ) Essay792 Words   |  4 Pages(10 Points) I. What steps should you, the prospective U.S.-based franchisee take when establishing outlets in foreign countries? Research the potential market, including its size and the potential acceptance of the franchise concept. Inventory the business climate for U.S. businesses operating within the foreign country. Assess the state of the current and anticipated economic and financial environment. Try to obtain information regarding government restrictions. 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Organizational objectives and change requirement: In the end of 2013 financial year company would like to change some internal and external organizational changes consultant employeesRead MoreEntrepreneurial Edge : A Business Report1264 Words   |  6 Pagesalleged that since April 2017 I have failed to provide full and frank disclosure to the Department regarding my interest in my business ‘Entrepreneurial Edge’. Specifically that my response of 29 May 2017 that the proposed services of Entrepreneurial Edge were ‘undetermined’ is at odds with: 1. my previous comments to Ms Freeman on 5 April 2017 that the purpose of the business will be to ‘connect businesses with consultants’, noting that Ms Freeman’s recollection has been put to me on at least three

Essay on “The No Child Left Behind Act Policy”

Essay on â€Å"The No Child Left Behind Act Policy† Introduction This paper researches the history of the causal problems that led to U.S. government policy resulting in the No Child Left Behind Act. It explains how the topic became a public policy problem, who placed it on the policy agenda and when, what the Act does and how it works, the institutions that have acted according to its requirements so far, and the current situation as of 2012. Background and Legislative History According to a U.S. Department of Education document â€Å"A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind† (2004) the origins of the Act and the principles on which it is based can be traced to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of education in May 1954. Wolff (1997) stated that the verdict in the Brown case was a judicial landmark in the U.S. because it effectively overturned â€Å"separate but equal† racial segregation principles established in an interpretation of the 14th Amendment in the much earlier case of Plessy v. Ferguson. That Plessy decision effectively meant that U.S. society was segregated in many aspects; not just in schools and colleges but on buses, in restrooms, using drinking fountains and even separate black and white witness stands in courts. In effect, the â€Å"separate but equal† concept had in reality produced a very unequal society in which, following the decision in the Brown case, non-whites had to battle for true equality through civil rights marches and other actions in a campaign for true equality. Wolff mentions a prayer pilgrimage for integrated schools in May 1957, attended by circa 35,000. Then in 1959, a petition signed by 400,000 was presented to Congress, again urging the President to implement an urgent program to integrate the country’s schools. Then, as described in â€Å"1964 Civil Rights Act† (n.d.), John F Kennedy campaigned before his 1960 election for a new act to protect civil rights. In a televised speech in June 1963, he forcibly reminded his audience of the inequalities that disadvantaged the blacks in America, but was assassinated in that November while his Civil Rights Bill was still going through Congress. Lyndon B Johnson took up the cause and – despite strong opposition from factions in the southern states – on 15th June that year the Civil Rights Act passed into law. That legislation made it illegal to discriminate on racial grounds in any public location such as a restaurant, a theater or hotel, and permitted projects federal funding to be withdrawn if racial discrimination was found. Also, firms were obliged to offer equal opportunities in employment. Then in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) also became law, as described in Hanna’s article in the summer 2005 issue of â€Å"Ed.†, the magazine of the Harvard School of Education. Her article states that following Kennedy’s assassination â€Å"President Lyndon B. Johnson made education and civil rights the foundation of his War on Poverty†. Following the ESEA success came the task of ensuring that schools were observing the laws regarding racial integration, which was not always consistent. In the following years various amendments or â€Å"reauthorizations† were implemented to ensure that Act’s intents were fulfilled. One such in the Clinton era in 1994 effectively rewrote ESEA so that all states introduced a standards-based philosophy into their schools. Children were subjected to tests to measure their abilities and progress against defined standards. Then, in his 2000 election campaign, George W Bush declared that a high priority for new legislation during his first year as President of the United States was to overhaul Federal education policy. At the very center of his plan was to introduce a compulsory annual tests regime in U.S. schools, thereby monitoring students progress and to penalize both states and individual schools if low scores in tests were not improved upon. This was a way to facilitate closer observance to ensure that equality actually was being achieved. According to the report â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act of 2001†(n.d.) by the OLPA, Representative John Boehner introduced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on 22 March 2001. Following committee hearings and amendments in March through May, the House passed the Act (as amended) on June 14 and it was eventually signed into law by President George W Busch on January 8, 2002. It was noted in â€Å"A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind† that the final votes taken in Senate and in Congress produced overwhelming majorities in both cases. Effects of the NCLB According to â€Å"A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind† the NCLB Act â€Å"ensures accountability and flexibility as well as increased federal support for education†. It also follows the principle implicit in the Brown v. Board verdict by continuing to develop a fairer, more inclusive system of school-based education. Jorgensen and Hoffman (2003) published an assessment report on the NCLB Act. They reported that NCLB introduced a new era of accountability, with involvement at local level and including parents, to ensure that children were learning as they should. Their report quoted Rod Paige, U.S. Secretary of Education, who said that the aim of NCLB â€Å"is to see every child in America––regardless of ethnicity, income, or background––achieve high standards.† Under NCLB, funding provided to schools has been made directly linked with accountability. Working with state-defined standards for the various grades, schools must ensure every student acquires the expected skills and knowledge levels. As the authors noted, â€Å"All means all.† The prescribed NCLB reporting systems require that every individual student is included in the data reported. Jorgensen and Hoffman reported that at the state level, NCLB requires that each state creates an assessment system that tracks – against commonly applied instructional standards – the progress of every student. However, the NCLB regulations allow schools and school districts to have flexibility of control of teaching methods, yet at the same time remaining accountable for the results obtained. States have to assess all students in both reading and math, from third through to eighth grades. Tests are based on state standards and the results published so that performance of any school is available for all to see. In addition, schools have to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of disadvantaged children. Schools unable to show the required progress are not just assisted in that regard, but may also be subject to corrective procedures. The states themselves are also accountable under NCLB; they are required to submit detailed reports about their plans, their standard s, their reporting procedures and so on. In return for that increased duty of accountability, states have been given much greater flexibility and control of just how they utilize federal funding made available to them. Through state administration, schools are able to assign funding as best needed, for example to help keep the best teachers, or for the purposes of professional development or training, without needing to seek federal approval separately. The states are also afforded more freedom and control in respect of programs established and operated for students learning the English language. Jorgensen and Hoffman also point out that parents having children who are attending schools they consider might be unsafe or under-performing have the options within NCLB regulations to arrange transfer to a different school or additional tutoring. The scope of the NCLB includes the facility to support schools in the identification and utilization of successful instructional programs and to make funds available for scientifically-based teaching systems, and for teachers to use in enhancing their effective teaching methods and skills. Jorgensen and Hoffman’s summary statement is well worth repeating verbatim: Education opens doors to children for a lifetime and leads to their success. NCLB is the engine driving a new era of accountability for every child’s learning journey. Children who are being left behind must be identified and states will have the responsibility to provide the resources to teach every child how to read, to apply mathematics, to study, to learn—to succeed. Although that summary statement is inspiring, not everyone saw the effects of NCLB in a positive light. Toppo (2007) writing in USA Today, discussed a range of effects of NCLB, as perceived by schoolteachers and others. Responses were mixed, although those views and reactions to NCLB pre-dated a then upcoming reauthorization of NCLB. Views reported in Toppo’s article include that of Barbara Adderley, principal of Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia. She feels her days are dominated by â€Å"talking about or looking at data† and attending meetings about the progress of every student. However, at her school, whereas in 2003 the children meeting state-defined reading standards were less than two in every 10, by 2005 that figure had grown to seven in 10. Toppo did point out in his article that maybe more time was needed to confirm that the NCLB was improving education nationally, partly because not all schools started immediately to follow NCLB regulations. He quotes Margaret Spellings, U.S. Education Secretary, as saying that the law wasn’t fully enacted in all U.S. States until 2006. However, Toppo maintained that NCLB has had a big influence on the school day for children and gave five major points on the ways it brought changes to schools: Although senior education officials like and support NCLB, teachers generally dislike the mandated testing, especially for the younger children. Because of the specific math and English teaching rules under NCLB, schools find they have less time to teach other subjects, so narrowing the curriculum. Children previously overlooked (under-achievers and minority groups) now receive much more attention and even additional tutoring. Schools that consistently don’t meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets can be made to add free after-school tutoring; lengthening the school day. NCLB’s annual reading funding of circa $1billion targets the 5,000+ schools that teach America’s poorest 1.8 million children, though not all teachers support the teaching methods used, especially the DIBELS test method. The Situation in 2012 Martin (July 2012) in an article published by CNN, discusses the current situation with the NCLB. Because critics complain that the Act has created a â€Å"teach to the test† culture, federal officials are permitting states to apply for waivers that allow them to set their own state standards for elements of the law, so long as they can show they will initiate reforms approved by the government, including linking test results to evaluations made by teachers. The article reports that currently around half of the country’s schools are not yet meeting NCLB targets for reading proficiency and graduation. Meanwhile, changes to NCLB that could result from a further reauthorization of the Act are blocked in Congress. It is for that reason that President Obama has agreed to these waivers, which vary in detail from state to state. In Michigan for example, Martin reports that the NCLB target date of 2014 for every student to pass the tests no longer applies. Instead, the Departme nt of Education in Michigan will set its own date. Conclusions Racial inequality in U.S. education policies going right back to the Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896 was the principal causal problem that in due course led to U.S. government policy resulting in the No Child Left Behind Act. The Act was placed on the policy agenda following introduction by Representative John Boehner in March 2001 and eventually signed into law by President George W Busch on January 8, 2002.

Is Social Networking an Effective Marketing Tool for...

Is social networking an effective marketing tool for fashion retail? Marketing Strategies Many businesses have started to incorporate market strategies as a way of increasing profitability. Small business can create market strategies to target their market more effectively and have a competitive edge over competition. Lyndon Simkin, (2000) stated â€Å"If the â€Å"right† opportunities are pursued, customers are properly probed, the â€Å"right† customers targeted with a marketing proposition designed to give a business an edge over its rivals, it is highly likely that customers will be satisfied, market share will rise in core target markets and profitability will accordingly support a viable future.† Having a strategy in place will allow you to†¦show more content†¦Search engine optimization can be a less effective way for small business as it is marketed alongside big companies which was found out by Kristin Kennedy, Bonnie Brayton Kennedy, (2008) they stated a â€Å"small manufacturer of gold jewelry will probably not get top billing ove r Tiffanys on the organic list, unless they spend a significant amount of time and money on developing their web site design and advertising.† E-mail Marketing Small businesses have been using email marketing as a way of marketing their products and reaching out to the target market. Anita Jackson, Ray DeCormier,stated â€Å"E-mail offers a promising tool to enhance brand loyalty as it helps marketers keep in touch with their customers on a regular basis at low cost.† Small businesses are using this method to create and reach out to their target market. Using this mthod to market their business and product to create more brand awareness. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0263-4503amp;volume=17amp;issue=3amp;articleid=854456amp;show=html http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1061-0421amp;volume=13amp;issue=7amp;articleid=857868amp;show=html http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1751-5637amp;volume=12amp;issue=4amp;articleid=1937676amp;show=html Do you feel other ways of onlineShow MoreRelatedUsing Social Networking Websites for Social Media Marketing in Fashion Industry1475 Words   |  6 Pages Using Social Networking Websites for Social Media Marketing in Fashion Industry (BACKGROUND RESEARCH) Submitted by: 2/1/2012 Juhi Agarwal SOCIAL MEDIA: Social media is â€Å"the media that is published, created and shared by individuals on the internet, such as blogs, images, video and more† (Strokes, p. 350), as well as â€Å"online tools and platforms that allow internet users to collaborate on content, share insights and experiences, and connect for business or pleasure†. (Strauss amp; Frost, p. 326)Read MoreCritical Evaluation of Topshop Corporate Weblog as E-Business Value Creation Tool2857 Words   |  12 Pagesbusiness, as it supports alternative marketing strategies. More specifically, the current state of the Internet as a communication platform, with its powerful and far reaching influence and lack of constraints to time nor place (Deighton, 1997), has had a profound affect on both culture and business practice throughout recent years (Giovannetti, Kagami and Tsuji, 2003). This factor of potential emergent influence poses the opportunity for retailers to utilise the tools of the Internet to create and buildR ead MoreThese Elements Are the Basic Elements of Marketing Plan and Overall It Is Known as 4ps. (Marketing Mix, 2009) These 4 Ps Are the Parameters Through Which the Marketing Management Can Control Internal and External Constraints of the Target Marketing.1115 Words   |  5 Pages$Marketing mix is a marketing tool that is uses by the organization to fulfill its target customers and achieve its organizational goals. Marketing tools are classified under these four encompassing categories. * product * Price * Place ( distribution) * Promotion These elements are the basic elements of marketing plan and overall it is known as 4P s. (marketing mix, 2009) These 4 Ps are the parameters through which the marketing management can control internal and external constraintsRead MoreAssignment 4: Case 4-1 â€Å"Sears Goes Zwinky for Tweens and Teens†1393 Words   |  6 Pages Marketing 510 Consumer Behavior Feb 27 , 2013 Introduction Consumer behavior is an issue of concern amongst consumers and relevant authorities. Sears is the company that is constantly changing its advertising techniques to gratify the requirements of clients. The company targeted markets are teens, and the promotion systems the company uses are online and social networkRead MoreToowoomba Chamber Of Commerce And Industry Strategic Plan Essay3151 Words   |  13 PagesProfessor Name : Simon Guo Table of contents 1. Summary.......................................................................................................................3 2. Marketing objectives............................................... .....................................................4 3. Marketing mix elements...............................................................................................4 4. Strategy and tactics - Tactical planning diagrams.....................Read MoreOliver Peoples : An American Luxury Eyewear Brand2503 Words   |  11 Pagesthe company’s main retail stores are located in The United States and Japan. The Oliver people eyewear designs were inspired by the estate collection of vintage. Additionally, it provides handmade details that are distinctive and unique to customers (Oliver Peoples Home, 2015). All eyewear of Oliver Peoples is handcrafted from the finest quality materials, whether frames, colors and so forth (Luxottica Annual Report, 2010). The eyewear can be found in a variety of notable fashion boutiques, departmentRead MoreOliver Peoples : An American Luxury Eyewear Brand2531 Words   |  11 Pagesthe company’s main retail stores are located in The United States and Japan. The Oliver people eyewear designs were inspired by the estate collection of vintage. Additionally, it provides handmade details that are distinctive and uni que to customers (Oliver Peoples Home, 2015). All eyewear of Oliver Peoples is handcrafted from the finest quality materials, whether frames, colors and so forth (Luxottica Annual Report, 2010). The eyewear can be found in a variety of notable fashion boutiques, departmentRead MoreThe Market And Increase Profit Within The Retail Markets Essay1780 Words   |  8 PagesStaying relevant in the market and increase profit within the retail markets in America are very challenged. Especially, it is more difficult in this current economy and highly competitive industry. Macy’s is well-known as a mid to high range department store sells huge variety products from luxury such as Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Coach to economic products which is more affordable for people. The main strategy that Macy’s used to stay ahead of their competitors was their ability to sell theirRead MoreOliver Peoples And The United States And Japan2535 Words   |  11 Pagesthe company’s main re tail stores are located in The United States and Japan. The Oliver people eyewear designs were inspired by the estate collection of vintage. Additionally, it provides handmade details that are distinctive and unique to customers (Oliver Peoples Home, 2015). All eyewear of Oliver Peoples is handcrafted from the finest quality materials, whether frames, colors and so forth (Luxottica Annual Report, 2010). The eyewear can be found in a variety of notable fashion boutiques, departmentRead MoreThe Effective Use Of Social Media Platform Of A Known British Clothing Retail Company Ted Baker2700 Words   |  11 Pageslast decades, social media’s rapid growth has affected the retailing industry immensely. They are finding themselves in circumstances of constant development and expeditious transformation, many companies have now realised this phenomenon; and many are reforming their marketing policies in order to benefit from this amounted growth. In this case study I will be criticall y analysing and evaluating the effective use of social media platform of a commonly known British clothing retail company Ted Baker

Macroeconomics Homework Free Essays

One of the possible characteristics of the UK national daily newspaper would be the tight competition that exists in the said market due to the availability of the large number of newspaper companies. This characteristic of UK national newspaper causes tight market competition among its member firms. Another characteristic would be the difficulty of market entry in the said industry. We will write a custom essay sample on Macroeconomics Homework or any similar topic only for you Order Now This can be attributed to the large number of newspaper companies that already exist in the market. Price competition serves to be one of the major factors that attract more customers based on the given case. Moreover, innovation is also vital to the newspaper industry of UK since newspaper readers now prefer newspapers in a form of either tabloid or any other style that is much different from the conventional broadsheet from of UK’s newspaper. Using the theory of oligopoly, discuss why the Guardian chose to launch a new design of paper in 2005. Read also  Homework Solutions – Chapter 3 On the other hand, the reason why The Guardian launched a new design of newspaper mainly because they have to go with the flow on what other companies has been doing into their products. It was identified that almost all of the competitors of The Guardian has already been shifted from their conventional broadsheet newspapers to smaller design of newspapers like tabloid. One characteristics of Oligopoly would be the fact that any action of one firm in the market may it be price or marketing strategy, always affects other players on the said industry (Tutor2u.com 2007: 1). The fact that The Guardian was forced to make new designs for its newspaper would necessarily mean that they were affected by the strategies of their competitors of transforming the size of their newspapers. Moreover, based on the case, price only matters less or only among the many factors that affects the demand of newspaper readers which is also a part of the traits of Oligopoly. Works Cited Tutor2u.com (2007). Oligopoly [online]. Available: http://tutor2u.net/economics/content/topics/monopoly/oligopoly_notes.htm [Accessed How to cite Macroeconomics Homework, Essay examples

Illegal Phoenix Company Activity †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Illegal Phoenix Company Activity. Answer: Introduction: Phoenix activity is considered as the concept which is generated from the idea of the second company, often new company is incorporated. Incorporation of the new company is done from the ashes of the old company. It must be noted in this new company both controllers and business are same as of the old company. Phoenix activity is defined as the incorporation of a new company for takeover the business conducted by the old company which becomes insolvent. The main aim of phoenix activity is to restructure the company which faces genuine failure and liquidation. Phoenix activity is divided among two categories that are legal and illegal. Legal phoenix activity is conducted when controller of the business incorporate new company for conducting the business because it is not possible for the controller to rescue the business of the previous entity. On the other hand, illegal phoenix activity is conducted when owner of the business incorporate new company because it is not possible for controller to rescue the business of the previous entity, but intention of the controller is not good and decision taken by the controller detriment the interest of the creditors, employees, and government. For example, directors of the company start new business for the purpose of avoiding the payments due to the creditors, employees, and government authorities[1]. Legal phoenix activity is considered as beneficial activity for the society, but if phoenix activity is conducted in illegal way then it is not considered beneficial for the society. Phoenix activity is illegal in nature when new company is incorporated by the controller of the company, but with the intention of defrauding the stakeholders of the company. In other words, company is liquidated for avoiding the payment due to creditors and government. This activity effect not only the creditors, but also the employees, contractors, government and environment. Following are some ways through which above stated stakeholders are affected: Company fails to make payment in lieu of wages, entitlements, and superannuation funds. Unfair competitive advantage is gained by the company over their competitors and other businesses. Payment related to the suppliers is not made by the company. Company fails to pay the revenue and any other amount due to the government, and extra monitoring and enforcement costs is also imposed on the government by the company. Business continuously fails to meet the regulatory obligations. Not only stakeholders of the company are affected by illegal phoenix activity but complete society is affected by this activity. Funds available for society such as funds contributed in roads, hospitals, schools, etc. are deprived by the business entity engaged in such activity. Government adopts various measures for preventing any such activity such as heavy penalties are imposed on the offenders[2]. Phoenix activity are conducted for various reasons, and the most important reason for conducting this activity is to provide procedure for wind up the company in simple manner, rather than adopting lengthy process of deregistering the company through ASIC. It must be noted that this purpose allowed the employees of the company to get assistance under GEERS for claiming their entitlement from the company. This purpose only helps in preventing some disadvantages of this activity, and not eliminates the complete concept. Some other purposes of this activity are stated below: It helps in reducing the cost of liquidation, and makes the procedure simpler. Phoenix activity speed up the procedure by the removing the requirement of lodging application. Opportunity for restructuring the business is given to the directors of the company. Opportunity for conduct investigation at earlier stage for avoiding future consequences is given to the liquidator[3]. Phoenix activity mainly provides benefit to the directors and other controllers of the business by incorporating the new company without discharging the liabilities of old company. New incorporated company adopts the business of the old company owned by controller, but did not adopt the liabilities. Assets belong to old co. are transferred to the new company without transferring the liabilities and controllers does not pay penny to the creditors, employees, and society. Therefore, this activity is beneficial for controllers of the business, but it is not beneficial for the unsecured creditors, employees, government, and society because of the following reasons: Non-payment of wages to the employees of the company. Fails to pay amount due to creditors. Business detriment the fund contributed to the society, etc[4]. It must be noted that no section is stated under the Corporation Act 2001 which specifically prohibits the phoenix activity, because phoenix activity is not inherently illegal. It is considered as illegal when intention of the controller of the business is not right and controller fails to act in the best interest of the company. For considering this activity illegal, wrong committed by the directors of the company is considered and duties breached by such directors. Government Issue Act on this activity, but that act does not state any action which specifically prohibits the activity. Two sections of the corporation Act 2001, which are breached by the directors of the company while conducting phoenix activity is stated below: Section 180- as per this section director and other officers of the company are obliged under this section to conduct their functions and exercise their power with reasonable care and diligence, that would be performed by any person who is appointed as the director or officer of the company or acquire the officer of the director and officer and incurred same responsibilities incurred by director and officer. Clause 2 of this section sates that any director or officer at the time of making business judgment meet the above stated criteria only when: Such director or officer makes business judgment in good faith and not for any improper purpose. Director or officer does not possess any material personal interest in the business judgment. Other directors of the company are fully informed about the subject matter of the business judgment. Judgment made by the directors of the company must be in the best interest of the company. Belief hold by the director or officer of the company that judgment made by them is in the best interest of the company is considered as rational only when any reasonable person holds the same belief in similar situation. Therefore, in case of phoenix activity directors of the company knows that their decision is not in the best interest of the other stakeholders because directors fail to conduct their functions and exercise their power with reasonable care and diligence, that would be performed by any person who is appointed as the director or officer of the company or acquire the officer of the director and officer and incurred same responsibilities[5]. Section 181- as per this section it is the duty of the director and other officers of the company to conduct their operations in good faith, and such operations must be in the best interest of the company. Clause 2 of this section states that director and other officers of the company are also under obligation to conduct their operations for proper purpose. It must be noted that this section is fall under civil penalty provision that is under section 1317E, and in case individual breach clause 1 of this section then Court considered it the contravene of whole section. Breach related to section 181 of the Act is considered if directors of the company engaged in phoenix activity because directors make business judgment for improper purpose[6]. ASIC v Somerville [2009] NSWSC 934- this case was decided by the Supreme Court of NSW and as per the Court solicitor was also held liable for influencing the directors to breach their statutory duties by indulging in phoenix activity. This case was the warning for all the directors of the company who are breaching their duties under the veil of restructuring, and for those solicitors also who were advising such activities to their clients. Facts: in this case, Mr. Somerville gives advice to their clients, who are facing financial consequences in their business. From these clients, almost 8 directors of the company act on the advice given by solicitor. Advice given by solicitor includes following things: Old company which was failed to restructure their business must be ceased, and new company was incorporated by the directors of the company. Assets of the old company must be transferred to the new company by sale deed, and terms of deed states that: Assets of the old company must be transferred to the new company. V class shares were issued by new company to the old company in lieu of consideration of the assets transferred by old company to the new company. Shares issues by new company provide right to the old company to receive all the dividends declared by the new company in respect of above mentioned shares. Employees of the old company were terminated from their employment, and employment was offered to these employees by the new company. New company taken various Property, plant and equipment leases. Liabilities and pre-transfer debts of the old company are remained with the old company, and not transferred to the new company. In this case, phoenix activity was conducted by the directors of the company and advised by the solicitor of the company. This case was the only case in which solicitor of the company was also held liable for advised wrong things to the directors of the company. Court held that both Mr. Somerville and other defendants of the company were liable under civil penalty provision. Court also held that directors of the company contravene section 180, 181, and 182 of the Act[7]. Educative message can be send to the controllers and advisers of the company through phoenix prohibition. This message has power to encourage the directors and other officers of the company to conduct their operation in the best interest of the company and compliance with the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001. Phoenix prohibition includes three elements and these three elements provide motivation to the individual to comply with the law, and these elements are stated below: Normative motivation- this motivation includes internal values and morals of the person, which means individual is forced by their internal values not to conduct any undesirable action. In other words, internal values and morals of the person prevent the person from conducting any action which is not right and disdain by the society. Phoenix prohibition can be considered as the option which helps in encouraging such thoughts in the individuals. Social motivation- this motivation includes the desire of reputation and respect. In other words, those individuals who are motivated by the desire of earning reputation and respect. Such individuals also prevent themselves in including any such behavior which result in negative publicity or damage their reputation such as contravenes phoenix prohibition. Calculative motivation- these motivation includes fear of penalty and compliance cost. In other words, individuals under this are motivated from calculated factors such as penalty and compliance cost. Penalty can be imposed on directors and other officers of the company for their wrongdoing and then action will be commenced against them. Generally, those directors who commit wrong hide behind the corporate veil, and it is difficult those scams. In various companies, businessman ceases their old business and incorporates new company for the purpose of cheating their creditors. Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) put their attention on the business experts and advisers. ATO investigate two premises of Melbourne related to pre-insolvency industry with the help of 80 officers, because ATO seriously concerned this issue and investigate the matters with the help of phoenix taskforce. Australian government takes number of measures to resolve the issue of phoenix activity, and also take steps to introduce the legal phoenix activity prohibition. Numbers of reports are published by the government for the purpose of dealing with the illegal phoenix activity prohibition. It is necessary because illegal phoenix cause harm to various peoples, and current laws in this regard are not considered sufficient because no section in the Act specifically prohibits phoenix. Therefore, it is clear from the above facts that current laws are failed to provide sufficient measures which can prohibit phoenix activity specifically. This activity cause harm to the number of people and society because of which there is urgent need of specific illegal phoenix activity prohibition. Various reasons are present which prevents the development of specific prohibition. Therefore, it is the duty of government to take measures for the purpose of sending this message. In other words, message related to anti-phoenixing can be send to the market. Such message clearly state that in case any individual is found by earning profit from phoenix activity will be heavily penalized from the Court[8]. Therefore, parliament also informs the ASIC about the priorities of the government and the seriousness of this behavior[9]. References ASIC, (2013), Small business-illegal phoenix activityhttps://asic.gov.au/for-business/your-business/small-business/compliance-for-small-business/small-business-illegal-phoenix-activity/, Accessed on 31st August 2017. ASIC, (2016). Illegal phoenix activity, https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/contact-us/how-to-complain/illegal-phoenix-activity/, Accessed on 31st August 2017. CPA. New moves to stop illegal phoenix company activity. https://www.intheblack.com/articles/2017/06/06/illegal-phoenix-company-activity, Accessed on 31st August 2017. Mccoy, O. (2012). Phoenix Fever, https://www.claytonutz.com/knowledge/2012/september/phoenix-fever, Accessed on 31st August 2017. Henderson, A. (2014). Phoenix activity recommendations on detection, disruption and enforcement, https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/2274131/Phoenix-Activity-Recommendations-on-Detection-Disruption-and-Enforcement.pdf, Accessed on 4th September 2017. ASIC v Somerville [2009] NSWSC 934. CPA. New moves to stop illegal phoenix company activity. https://www.intheblack.com/articles/2017/06/06/illegal-phoenix-company-activity, Accessed on 31st August 2017. Anderson, H. Hedges, J. (2017). Illegal Phoenix Activity: Is A Phoenix Prohibition The Solution?. https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2271613/Anderson-et-al,-Illegal-Phoenix-Activity-Is-a-Phoenix-Prohibition-the-Solution-2017-Company-and-Securities-Law-Journal-forthcoming.pdf, Accessed on 31st August 2017.

Panera Bread Company free essay sample

SWOT Matrix Stakeholder Matrix Financial Ratios Financial Trend Graphs Responses to Questions Not Answered in the Presentation Business Strategy Functional Area Strategies Assessment of Panera Bread Company? s Strategic Performance Resources Value Chain Assessment of Panera Bread Company? s Financial Performance and Capabilities Strategic Issues Panera Bread Company Faces Management? s Values Organizational Culture Executive Summary: Our consulting team completed an analysis of Panera Bread Company mainly focusing on the opportunities and threats within the industry, Panera? competitive capabilities, and the company? s strengths and weaknesses. The following recommendations contain the opportunity or threat within the industry, the strength or weakness that allows Panera to pursue or defend against the critical issues and the tools needed to take immediate action. We recommend that Panera Bread Company: 1. Open cafes in untapped markets, and focus on utilizing franchising to achieve the desired 1:160,000 cafe: person ratio by 2010. We found that the restaurant industry life cycle is still in growth. This growth coupled with Panera? strong franchising capability offers a significant opportunity for Panera to pursue. To achieve this Panera must first use the current site selection and market analysis processes to chose ideal locations for new cafes in untapped markets. Panera should also utilize this process to assess the logistics necessary to support the potential locations. Next, Panera needs to utilize the established, stringent franchisee selection criteria to identify candidates that are a good fit, and then work with the selected franchisees using the existing franchise assistance programs to educate and train franchisees in Panera? unique brand, vision and culture. Once Panera sets up franchising systems in new markets, the company should measure success by whether or not the 1 cafe per 160,000 people per location by 2010. Panera also must assess the new franchisees based on the historical areas of success. 2. Bolster the current promotional strategy to a more aggressive soft-sell promotional strategy while still utilizing word-of-mouth tactics to increase first-time customer traffic. We found that customers are prone to give newly opened eating establishments a trial. Panera has underutilized potential in its promotional strategy to allow customers to know of newly opened cafes. Panera can pursue the opportunity within the industry if it strengthens the current promotional strategy to promote awareness. This helps Panera promote brand awareness to become a dominant leader in the bakery-cafe industry. To do this, the company must begin expanding to untapped and lowpenetrated markets where customers will not know much about the company. The company must then increase excitement about these new cafes before opening by using guerilla marketing. An example of this is hiring plain-clothed personnel to circulate future and current development sites and engage potential consumers by drumming up interest in cafe openings. The next implementation step is to distribute coded coupons with a two-week expiration period, and an additional coupon to be given to a friend. Success can be measured by tracking new customer foot traffic in the specific cafes and the new cafe? s sales volume in the first six months. 3. Implement the â€Å"Oven Fresh, To Go† program that will increase customers switching costs and reward buyer loyalty through progressive discounts based on levels of return patronage. Our analysis revealed that the restaurant industry is threatened by low switching costs and low customer loyalty. Our analysis revealed that Panera had strengths in buyer loyalty. Panera should first begin steps one month prior to the start of this service using signage and promotion. Next Panera should print menus that displaying the oven fresh option and distribute them at the point of sale. Panera should cross train employees on the oven fresh operational procedures of taking orders and bringing orders to customer? cars. Next Panera should purchase or lease 2 to 3 parking spots per location in close proximity to the door with signs for designated parking. Last Panera should place a pre-paid post card with survey questions inside to-go packaging and place customer loyalty punch card in packaging that rewards returning loyal customers. Panera should track the discounts given by customers. Because of the progressive nature of the discounts, Panera can identify its most loyal clientel e based on the level of the discount rate. 4. Broaden the product scope and service offering to include a wider array of light entrees, dinner fare, and beer and wine available after 4:30 at select locations nationwide. The new offerings will be paired with community events such as wine-tastings and fundraisers to bolster the perceived dinner atmosphere. Our analysis of the restaurant industry led us to determine that there were a large number of buyers available to firms providing an opportunity for increased market share. Our analysis of the competitive capabilities showed that Panera had an internal strength in research and development. Panera needs to utilize the extensive research and development skills to determine ideal menu offerings, portions, price, and locations suitable for beer and wine. The new product offerings will be introduced to a limited number of stores to determine customer response and verify the scalability to ensure quality. The successful food and alcohol items will be introduced to pre-determined ideal locations along with marketing and training support. The final implementation step will be a market survey question at the point-ofsales system that will determine the number of new dinner customers. The ultimate goal of this recommendation is to increase market share for Panera. Macro-Environment: The United States saw 3. 0% growth in the overall economy for the year 2006. Additionally, real disposable income increased by 2. 1% from the third quarter of 2005 until the end of 2006. The unemployment rate continued on a downward trend from a high of 6. 0% in 2003. Unemployment was 4. 65% in 2006. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer expenditures were $48,398 and $2,794 was spent on food away from home per household. Because there was overall economic growth, consumer expenditures ere high, and unemployment was on a downward trend, the economy at large was in a healthy state. When economic conditions were perceived as good, consumers were more willing to spend excess income, as opposed to saving or investing. Therefore, consumers were more likely to spend money on eating out for various meals; this was an opportunity for the restaurant industry. The legal, regulator y and political environment was relatively stable in 2006. Because there was a stable regulatory and political environment, business owners were able to operate at a more functional level. Companies were not worried about significant changes to regulations which hinder business growth. Therefore, this stable environment was an opportunity for the industry. The population demographics for the U. S. consumer in 2006 were as follows. The population was 49. 27% male and 50. 37% female; the median age was 36. 4. About 15. 07% of the population was over 62 years old. The median income was $46,326 for a single earner household and $67,348 for a dual earner household. Of the total 299,398,484 consumers, 36. 43% lived in the South Region, 18. 8% in the Northeast Region, 22. 12% in the Midwest Region and 23. 16% lived in the West Region. In the U. S. 31. 7% of persons over the age of 25 were a high school graduate; 18. 3% held a Bachelor? s degree, and 9. 7% held an advanced degree. Because of the large number of variables and the diversity of the U. S. population across all descriptors, the restaurants industry? s target market was large and the individual buyers were small and numerous. This caused decreased competition over potential buyers, and therefore was an opportunity in the restaurant industry. There were two significant societal trends that emerged among restaurant industry stakeholders in 2006. First, the issues surrounding trans-fats in restaurants were coming to a head after a 2003 court case. Consumers called for a ban on trans-fats in restaurant food in many different states. Since this made restaurants appear to be the culprit, it decreased customer satisfaction with local restaurant establishments. This decrease was a treat to the industry. Second, the baby boomer generation was aging, and the children of the baby boomers were moving out. This increased the number of empty nesters in the U. S. With no children at home and both husband and wife working, the couple was less likely to arrive home and feel the need to cook dinner. This phenomenon led to more dinner outings and consumers looking for an establishment to eat a quick and quality meal. Because this increased the numbers of consumers looking to dine out, the aging baby boomer population increased the number of meal occasions and therefore was an opportunity for the industry. Industry Analysis: i. Industry Drivers: The market size of the industry was quite large. Commercial eating places accounted for about $345 billion†¦ The U. S. restaurant industry †¦ served about 70 billion meals and snack occasions, and was growing about 5 % annually. † Based on unit sales of $345 billion, sales volume of 70 billion and a growth rate of 5 % annually, we conclude that the market size of the restaurant industry was quite large and growing. Because when the mar ket size of the competing industry was growing, rivalry among competitors decreased, we conclude that decreased rivalry was a threat for the restaurant industry. The scope of the competitive rivalry was broad. Restaurant chains competed on regional, national and global levels. The product scope was also broad. The industry served breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack covering many ethnic tastes. Because geographic and product scope were wide, industry members competed in many geographic areas and over a wide array of product lines. Because competition was increased, we conclude that the scope of competitive rivalry was a threat for the industry. Market growth rate and position in the business cycle was in the growth stage. The U. S. restaurant industry†¦ served about 70 billion meals and snack occasions, and was growing about 5 % annually. † Because the industry was growing at a rate of 5 % annually we conclude that the industry was still in the growth stage. Because no indication was given that growth rate was declining, we conclude that the rate was not increasing at a decreased rate and therefore not approaching maturity. Because e xpanding buyer demand produced enough new business for all industry members to grow without using volume-boosting sales tactics to draw customers away rom rival enterprises, rivalry in the industry was decreased when the life cycle was in growth. Because rivalry decreased when the industry was in growth, we conclude that the growth rate was an opportunity for the industry. The number of buyers and their relative size in 2006 were as follows. â€Å"On a typical day, about 130 million U. S. consumers were food service patrons at an eating establishment – sales at commercial eating places averaged close to $1 billion daily. † Since 130 million consumers spent $1 billion daily, we conclude that on average, each consumer spent $7. 9 per day. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the number of buyers was large and their relative size was small. Because buyers have more power when they are large and few in number, we conclude that many small buyers was an opportunity for th e industry. The pace of technological innovation in product introduction was fast. â€Å"Most restaurants were quick to adapt their menu offerings to changing consumer tastes and eating preferences, frequently featuring heart-healthy, vegetarian, organic, low-calorie, and/or low-carb items on their menus. It was the norm at many restaurants to rotate some menu selections seasonally and to periodically introduce creative dishes in an effort to keep regular patrons coming back, attract more patrons, and remain competitive. † The constant change in consumer tastes and habits and the rate at which most competitors stayed on top of the changes made product competition very fierce. To stay competitive, establishments needed similar commitment to constant revision of menu items. We conclude that the fast pace of innovation in product introduction was a threat for the industry. Product differentiation in the industry was common. Industry members pursued differentiation strategies of one variety or another, seeking to set themselves apart from rivals via pricing, food quality, menu theme, signature menu selections, dining ambiance and atmosphere, service, convenience, and location. † Despite attempts to differentiate products, the restaurant industry operated in a pure competition environment where switching costs were low and there were many competitors. Because the industry products by nature were weakly differentiated, we conclude that the extent to which rivals differentiate their products was a threat to the industry. The learning and experience curve for the restaurant industry was low. â€Å"Just over 7 out of 10 eating and drinking places in the United States were independent single-unit establishments with fewer than 20 employees. † Because 70 % of competitors were restaurants who could open and close at any time, new entrants did not need large corporate backing and were free to open anywhere. The ability of so many small competitors to enter and compete in the industry indicated a steep learning curve. The steep learning curve and low capital requirement was threat to the industry because of the ease of rivals to enter the industry. i. Five Forces: Our analysis revealed that there were about 624,511 commercial eating locations in the industry. Because rivalry intensifies as the numbers of competitors increase and as competitors become more equal in size and competitive strength, we conclude that the high number of competitors was a threat for the industry. Based on industry sales of $ 345 billion, the leading competitor Starbucks had less than two percent of the market share. This fact coupled with the above mentioned 70% single unit establishments characterized the industry as having many competitors with very small market share. Because rivalry tends to be stronger when competitors are numerous or are of roughly equal size and in competitive strength, we conclude that the small relative size based on market share was a threat for the industry. Switching costs and buyer loyalty were low for the industry. â€Å"Consumers (especially those who ate out often) were prone to give newly opened eating establishments a trial†¦loyalty to existing restaurants was low when consumers perceived there were better dining alternatives. Because low switching costs and low buyer loyalty increase rivalry among competitors, we conclude that low switching costs and buyer loyalty were a threat to the industry. It was not more costly to exit the industry than continue to participate. â€Å"Many restaurants had fairly short lives. † Based on our previous analysis of market share, we determined competitors were small in size and can enter and exit with little capital requirements. Assets were sold easily and the workers in the industry were not entitled to significant job protection. Because rivals had low barriers to exit they did not resort to deep discounts to remain in business. Continuous new entrants increased rivalry. We conclude that the ease of entry was a threat and ease of exit was an opportunity for the industry. The industrys products were discretionary purchases. â€Å"The average U. S. consumer ate 76% of meals at home. † The fact that consumers could eat at home for less characterized the discretionary nature of the eating out option. Because discretionary spending was not necessary and represent consumers? first costs to cut in economic difficulty, we conclude that the discretionary nature of the purchase was a threat to the industry. iii. Changes to the Industry Structure and Competitive Environment: As of 2006, the restaurant industry was growing by 5% a year. Due to this growth rate there was room for more firms to enter the industry. This changed the industry structure in the coming years by introducing more competitors. However, since the market was not saturated, firms entering were in a business environment that allowed them to obtain new market share. Since the long-term growth rate was increasing there was an opportunity for new firms to gain the growing market share. The average U. S. consumer ate 76% of their meals at home. The average person in 2004 had $974 of income to spend on food purchases away from home. Customers were less likely to be loyal to a restaurant if they perceived a better option available to them. Patrons also used restaurants for more than just eating. Restaurants served as places where people could catch up on work, meet friends, and read the paper. The fact that majority of meals were eaten in the home and that restaurant spending was discretionary, coupled with the fickle and specific nature of the customer created strong competition among rivals, and resulted in a threat to firms. Marketing innovation in product and promotion was especially strong in the restaurant industry. Firms constantly updated their menus to accommodate new trends such as low calorie, organic, vegetarian, and heart healthy foods. Restaurants also utilized Wi-Fi and large television screens in order to enhance the experience for customers. Happy hours and other events served as promotion to attract new customers. The constant marketing pressures created complex rivalries between firms and resulted in an altered industry structure. The industry structure resulted in a business environment where firms diligently adapted and changed with updated marketing mixes. This constant change was a threat within the industry. Entry into the restaurant industry was marked by just over 7 of 10 eating and drinking places being independent, single-unit establishments with fewer than 20 employees. Exit from the industry was frequent and often firms were limited to short lives. The easy entry and exit of firms to and from the industry created a business environment that was fiercely competitive. The ease of new rivals entering and the large failure rate was a threat for firms within the industry. iv. Existing Rivals Competitive Capabilities Analysis: The case did not provide specific information about rivals? resources and strategic goals to formulate conclusive competitive capabilities. v. Key Success Factors: The key success factors in the restaurant industry were dictated by what consumers deemed necessary attributes to have and what allowed the business to profit. Consumers did not dine at particular places that did not possess these qualities because they lost value in their purchase. Also, there were many substitutes that offered the key factors to patrons instead. The particular key success factors related to the restaurant industry were: low-cost production efficiency, customer service, breadth of product line and selection, ability to respond quickly to shifting market conditions, overall consumer experience, image and reputation, and high consumer volume. The first key success factor was low-cost production efficiency, which was crucial in lowering prices for the consumer. When a restaurant could not keep costs low, the high costs were passed through to the consumer with a higher price. If customers did not believe the value in what they were buying was worth that high price, they did not pay for it. Since there were many competitors in the restaurant industry, the consumer shopped around for similar food at a lower price. Restaurants needed to keep these costs low to stay competitive and not risk bankruptcy. Customer service was another key success factor because it added value to the meal. The consumer was not just purchasing food; they were paying for the entire experience. A component of this was having pleasant employees in all customer contact positions. Good customer service skills that made the customer feel comfortable in the restaurant helped to keep customers coming back. When a waitress went above and beyond her normal duties to please a customer, the patron was likely to return because of the great experience offered. Exceeding customer expectations was crucial in attracting loyal customers who returned to the establishment. Another factor for success was having a wide breadth of product line and selection. Restaurants needed to offer many different kinds of dishes to attract a broad group of buyers. Some examples were serving chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian. If there were ten dishes or so within each of those categories, the restaurant was offering a large selection and a customer could find a meal they craved. Offering various types of dishes helped widen the breadth of what was offered, such as: breakfast, lunch, dinner, soups, salads, pasta, and sides. There were also various styles of food offered such as Mexican, bland, Cajun, Irish, Italian, Mediterranean, and more. Such a broad selection ensured that customers found what they were looking for. If the consumer saw multiple meals he or she as interested in, he or she returned. The fourth key success factor within the restaurant industry was the ability to respond quickly to shifting market conditions. Customers were constantly changing what they wanted, and restaurants needed to keep up with those changes. If a restaurant had an inability to change its menu, it could not compete with its rivals. Recently, consumers changed their needs to heart healthy, vegetarian, organic, low calorie, and low-carb. This also took into consideration seasonal changes. Soups became more prevalent in the winter than the summer. Certain seasonal soups like pumpkin, squash, and others were craved around the holidays, but not as much during other times in the year. Desserts and specialty beverages followed similar patterns. Restaurants needed to change their menus to satisfy customers? cravings and remain competitive within the industry. Having a good overall consumer experience was extremely important in the restaurant industry. This was crucial in building a loyal clientele that could promote the business through word-of-mouth tactics and regularly dined at the establishment. The overall experience took into consideration more than just food and customer service because it encompassed the entire value perceived by the consumer. This included price, food quality, quality of service, ambience and atmosphere, and having a variety of offerings. Without that great experience, a customer would not return and they could verbally damage the restaurant? s reputation when they told friends about their poor experience. This factor was important to build loyal customers and increase brand awareness. Image and reputation was another key success factor because this was what attracted customers to the establishment. This also created word-of-mouth advertising for a restaurant. When something happened to tarnish a restaurant? s reputation, patrons no longer dined there, which led the company to go out of business. Image and reputation was how consumers perceived the company, which could add value for the customer when it was extremely good. Another key success factor was having high consumer volume. No matter what type of eating establishment, having high customer foot traffic was essential for success. This increased brand recognition, word-of-mouth advertising, and sales. This factor was essential to success in the industry, without it, a restaurant was unable to grow, or even survive. These seven key success factors dictated the industry and how restaurants needed perform in order to remain competitive in the industry. The restaurant industry was purely competitive and extremely risky due to the large number of rivals. The seven factors were areas to focus on because that was what consumers deemed important. Critical Issues the Industry Faces: Our analysis led us to the following critical issues faced by the restaurant industry. There were many opportunities in the industry for businesses to capitalize on. According to the analysis of the industry drivers, we concluded that the business life cycle was still in growth and there was a capacity shortage in the industry. This was an opportunity for the industry. Based on our analysis of the five forces model, we concluded that there were many buyers in the industry with many choices in selection of products. This was also an opportunity for the industry. Based on our analysis of the industry drivers, five forces model, and the changes to the industry structure, we concluded that there were untapped markets and consumers were prone to give newly opened eating establishments a trial. Based on our analysis of the changes to the industry structure and the competitive environment and the five forces model, we concluded there was a threat to the industry in that there was low customer switching costs and low customer loyalty. Panera Bread Company’s Competitive Capabilities: i. Business Strategy: Panera Bread Company? s strategic intent was â€Å"to make Panera Bread a nationally recognized brand name and to be the dominant restaurant operator in the specialty bakery-cafe segment. † Panera intended to achieve this by â€Å"being better than the guy across the street† and implementing a successful business model. Panera? s business model satisfyed customers? needs through providing quality food in a casual setting that continued to bring customers in for the ambiance as well as the food. Panera achieved sufficient profits to cover the costs of providing this value to the customers by selling food in the cafes and by collecting franchising fees and a percentage of franchisee sales. Management intended to grow the number of Panera Bread locations by 17% annually and expand further into suburban markets. Panera focused on achieving a 1 cafe per 160,000 people per location ratio by 2010 through effective use of franchising. Panera intended to build a loyal clientele by employing a superior business model and offering artisan breads as a base of a high quality menu that changed to reflect evolving consumer tastes. The prevailing market in which Panera operated experienced 5% growth in 2006. Thus Panera? s strategy of growth was in sync with market conditions. Furthermore, by focusing on building a loyal clientele through quality breads and a menu that suits customers tastes, Panera tailored the strategy to strengths the company already possessed. Panera? ability to create well crafted, predictive strategies and adapt well to changing conditions with reactive strategies indicated that Panera? s strategy was a dynamic fit to the company and market. Therefore, Panera? s strategy was a good fit for the company. Operating in an almost pure competition environment, Panera faced threats from low cost and differentiated products. Panera employed a best cost provider strategy to take advantage of the large amount of value-conscious buyers who want a good meal and pleasant dining experience at an affordable price. Taking a position as best cost provider, in conjunction with a commitment to â€Å"providing crave-able food that people trust, served in a warm, community gathering place by associates who make guests feel comfortable† helped Panera achieve a strong strategy, but the competitive nature of the industry does not permit the strength of Panera? s strategy to become a competitive advantage. Panera had 0. 5409% market share of the $345 billion annual sales in the restaurant industry. Though Panera was not a dominant operator, this was a relatively big market share, given the nurture of the industry. The company? s profits and number of locations grew from 2002 to 2006. Panera? s strategy led to a strong financial position and a sizable market share. Because Panera? s strategy was a good fit for the company, was strong in the competitive industry, and was financially successful, we concluded that Panera? s strategy was working very well and gave the company a competitive position in the industry. Therefore we feel Panera? s overall strategy, as well as its strategy to grow the business and build a loyal clientele was a strength. ii. Functional Area Strategies: Panera? s marketing strategy contained three distinct initiatives. The first aimed to raise the quality of awareness about Panera by focusing on quality crave-able food the consumer can trust, and by enhancing the appeal of its bakery-cafes as gathering places. The second initiative focused on boosting awareness and trials of Panera at multiple meal times. The third initiative was to increase consumers? perception of Panera as a dinner option. Throughout the entire marketing strategy Panera avoided hard-sell, in-your-face advertising. Panera preferred consumers â€Å"gently collide† with and discover the brand. As Panera performed well financially in past years, this marketing strategy was successful. However our analysis led us to conclude there was an untapped potential in the soft-sell marketing technique. This was a weakness that Panera must bolster to pursue industry opportunities. Panera? s production and distribution strategy was to use economies of scale and centralize operations for the dough making process. There were 17 regional fresh dough facilities to service the 1,027 Panera bakery-cafe locations. By controlling the process at central locations Panera was able to ensure consistent quality and dough making efficiency. Panera? s production strategy supports the overall strategic intent of being better than the guy across the street and ensures quality to keep customers coming back. Because Panera? s production strategy supported the company? s overarching strategic goals, we concluded that the strategy was working well and was a strength for Panera. Panera had a unique franchise system. Each franchise license was for a multi unit deal, usually for 15 bakery-cafes to be opened over six years. Panera only granted licenses to applicants who met stringent criteria. These criteria included a net worth of $7. 5 million or more, access to resources that would allow for the expansion of 15 locations, real estate and multi unit restaurant operator experience and commitment to Panera? s brand, culture and passion. Historically, Panera? s ambitious franchising model was a success. Franchisees indicated a high level of satisfaction with Panera Bread Company? s concept, support and leadership. Likewise, Panera reported satisfaction with the quality and pace of franchisee openings and the franchisees? perations. Panera committed limited fiscal resources to franchising; the company did not â€Å"finance franchisee construction of area development payment, or hold any equity in any of the franchise-operated bakery-cafes. † Because the franchising model supported the company? s intent to grow to a dominant restaurant operator, we concluded Panera? s franchising system was a streng th. Panera committed to constantly staying in tune with consumers? changing tastes for the base of the research and development strategy. Panera regularly reviewed the menu and revised the options to sustain customer interest. When developing new products, Panera first made the menu items in test kitchens before introducing them in a select few bakery-cafes. Panera used the test kitchens and select rollouts to determine customer response and ensure that the products could be produced in mass quantities and still maintain the high quality standards associated with the Panera brand. The successful products were then introduced in all the chain locations and integrated into menus. Because it helped keep up the Panera standard for quality food that customers craved, the research and development aspect of Panera? s strategy supported the marketing strategy. Furthermore, by ensuring consistently high quality food that consumers depended on, Panera? s extensive research and development supported the company? s strategic goal of becoming a dominant operator in the restaurant industry. iii. Assessment of Panera Bread Company’s Strategic Performance: -Business Strategy Performance The strategic intent of Panera was to become a nationally recognized brand and dominant operator in the specialty bakery-cafe segment. In 2005 Panera Bread was the highest rated for the fourth year in a row among competitors in the Sandleman Associates national customer satisfaction survey. Panera had also won â€Å"best of† awards in 36 states and across a range of markets. In addition, â€Å"J. D. Power and Associates? 2004 restaurant satisfaction study of 55,000 customers ranked Panera Bread highest among quick-service restaurants in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States in all categories, which included environment, meal, service, and cost. † Panera created this nationwide renown through the successful implementation of the company? s business model. In 2006 Panera opened 155 company and franchise owned cafes bringing the total units to 1,027 in 36 states. The continued expansion of cafes in new markets showed that Panera was operating successfully within the framework of the intended strategy. However, Panera managed to open only 1 cafe per 330,000 by 2006. So, although Panera had begun the process of increased penetration into markets, the benchmark given of 1 cafe per 160,000 people in 2010 at the time of the case had not been reached. Therefore a complete analysis of the success of the growth strategy was not possible. Panera differentiated the bakery-cafes by implementing several important menu changes that addressed the targeted consumer needs and trends. The addition of â€Å"good carb† breads, antibiotic-free chicken, and an artisan line of sweet goods were employed as part of a differentiation strategy. In 2005-2006 Panera introduced the G2 concept in an attempt to bolster the dining environment, thus providing more value for the customer. There was no data to support or deny the effectiveness of these strategic moves. -Functional Area Strategic Performance Due to fact that the Panera won considerable accolades in consumer satisfaction, we determined that its marketing initiative of developing customer awareness of the quality and trust-worthiness of the company? s food was working. The second initiative of boosting awareness and trial of dining at Panera Bread at multiple meal times had not been shown operationally. Therefore, we were not able to determine the performance of this strategy. The marketing data showed that, â€Å"85 % of consumers who were aware that there was a Panera Bread bakery-cafe in their community or neighborhood had dined at Panera on at least one occasion. † From this data, we concluded that the strategy was sound to pursue and specifically implement. The third initiative of increasing consumers? perception of Panera as a dinner option had not yet been implemented with specific steps. The marketing research showed that 81% of consumers indicated a â€Å"considerable willingness† to try Panera at other meal times which supported following this strategy into the implementation phase. Panera? s production and distribution goal was to ensure lowered costs and quality control with a strategy of centralized locations taking advantage of economies of scale. The quality of the product was evidenced by the many â€Å"best of† awards and other consumer satisfaction accolades. The lowered costs due to economies of scale and the high quality of the products indicate that Panera? production and distribution strategy was successfully implemented and executed. Panera pursued a unique franchising model based on multi-unit, multi-year deals with franchisees who were selected based on stringent criteria. The franchised cafes performed better in return on equity investments and average weekly and annual sales than company-owned cafes and were also equally or slightly m ore profitable. The measured success of the franchisee owned stores showed that the franchising model strategy was performing well. The research and development strategy was to stay in tune with customers? changing tastes. The implementation consisted of regularly reviewing and revising the menus, and the use of test kitchens for exploring new products and determining customer response. In 2003 Panera scored the highest level of customer loyalty among quick-casual restaurants, according to a study conducted by TNS Intersearch. This customer loyalty indicated the success of Panera in anticipating customer needs through the company? s research and development strategy. iv. Resources: Panera had skills and expertise in sight selection and cafe environment. They chose sights and cafe environment by the following method. Based on analysis of this information, including the use of predictive modeling using proprietary software, Panera developed projections of sales and return on investment for candidate sites. † This recourse was difficult but not impossible to copy. The length of time it would last depended on how hard competitors chose to work to develop similar technology. This resource was really c ompetitively superior because no other competitors had it. It could not be trumped by rival? s resources because the same software had to be developed before competitors could use it. Because this resource was hard to copy, competitively superior, potentially long lasting and could not be trumped by rivals? resources, the site selection and cafe environment was a competitive capability. This competitive capability was a strength that gave Panera a competitive advantage. Our analysis revealed that Panera? s advertising and promotion strategy was too weak. They had underutilized promotion potential. Panera? s strategy was to raise the quality of awareness by the â€Å"caliber and appeal of its breads and baked goods, by hammering the theme â€Å"food you crave, food you can trust. Panera also aimed to â€Å"raise awareness and boost trial of dining at Panera Bread at multiple meal times (breakfast, lunch, â€Å"chill out† times, and dinner. )† Panera avoided hard-sell approaches, preferring â€Å"instead to employ a range of ways to softly drop the Panera Bread name into the midst of consumers as they moved through their lives and let them „ge ntly collide? with the brand; the idea was to let consumers „discover? Panera Bread and then convert them into loyal customers by providing a very satisfying dining experience. † This approach was a great concept and successful to an extent, however we conclude that because many of Panera? competitors were using more aggressive promotion, the current strategy was not aggressive enough. â€Å"Management claimed that the company? s fresh- dough-making capability provided a competitive advantage by ensuring consistent quality and dough-making efficiency. † Because this dough making capability allowed Panera to maximize the production capacity, used no preservatives, did not freeze the product and control the quality of the dough by making it themselves, this recourse was hard to copy. How long it would last depended on strengthening competitor capabilities and their interest in the dough making market. Based on the first two tests, we conclude that this capability was really competitively superior and could not be trumped by rivals? capabilities and therefore a competitive advantage. Panera? s franchise system used superior intellectual capital with the use experienced and capable workforce. The success of the franchise system was an example of proven managerial know-how. The site selection software granted the franchises cutting-edge knowledge in technology to choose locations and cafe environments. The stringent franchisee requirements employed only the most dedicated, well capitalized and capable franchisees as managers. The franchise system was hard to copy because of the stringent requirements for the franchisees, managerial know-how and the proprietary site selection software. Site selection system would tend to last because of how difficult it was to copy and could not be trumped by rivals because it was so rare, and was characterized by a gradual learning curve. This analysis led us to the conclusion that Panera? s franchise system was a distinct competitive capability and therefore gave Panera a competitive advantage. The product research and development program was also an example of Panera? superior intellectual capital. â€Å"Product development was focused on providing food that customers would crave and trust to be tasty. New menu items were developed in test kitchens and then introduced in a limited number of the bakery-cafes to determine customer response and verify that preparation and operating procedures resulted in product consistency and high quality standards. If successful, they were then rolled out system wide. † The research and development system was hard to copy because of the gradual learning curve and constant need for revision. Because every competitor was also engaged in tactics to improve product development, we conclude that this intellectual capital was only hard to copy in Panera? s specific product line. Because it was not generally hard to copy we do not conclude that it was competitively superior. Based on our analysis, we conclude that Panera? s product research and development was a resource capability and therefore strength, but it was not a competitive advantage because many competitors have the same resources. Panera? s financial position was an important resource. Panera had a low debt to equity ratio. In 1998 this strategy began with the sale of Au Bon Pain for 73 million in cash. This strategy was well served by the franchise system. â€Å"Panera did not finance franchisee construction or area development agreement payments or hold an equity interest in any of the franchise- operated bakery-cafes. † The franchise system allowed Panera to keep long term levels debt low. This allowed Panera to use cash reserves and or take on long term debt at lower costs when capital was necessary to seize opportunities. Panera? s financial position was a resource capability because it was hard to copy. The resource tended to last long because the franchise system kept debt low. It was not really competitively superior because other competitors could have had similar financial positions. Because this capability was hard to copy but it was not competitively superior, we conclude that it was a capability and there for strength, but not a competitive advantage because others may have a similar financial position. v. Value Chain: -Inbound Logistics The case does not provide enough information to comment on the inbound logistics that Panera has with suppliers. However, each franchisee purchased dough directly from Panera Bread. Panera had an interest in each of the franchised stores succeeding because the company received 4%-5% royalties from sales continually. This meant Panera as the supplier had an interest to keep prices of dough as low as possible to maintain viable franchise operations. -Operations Panera provided and required comprehensive front and back of house training, market analysis, and bakery-cafe certification. This corporate level tactic impacted the company? franchised and company owned stores by enabling Panera to develop systems used by all the cafes thus applying economies of scale to operations. Since each cafe-bakery did not have to develop its own operations structure this reduced costs for each store. In addition, the methods Panera introduced to each store had proven historically successful, thus increased the learning curve for a new cafe and lowered costs. Panera had a policy to not finance new franchisees, area development payment agreements, or hold any equity in the new cafes. This operational model resulted in minimal long-term debt and low capital intensity to expand the Panera brand. All the cafes offered an assortment of 20-plus varieties of bread baked daily and as of 2006 at least 22 types of sandwiches. Each of these breads and sandwiches were regularly reviewed to determine whether the products matched regular customer needs, new consumer trends, and seasonal relevance. The complexity of the product line enabled Panera to match menu items with a variety of customer needs. This process ensured that weak selling items would be removed limited excess inventory. Outbound logistics Each franchisee purchased dough directly from Panera Bread. Each dough making facility was able to produce dough for six bakeries. The fresh dough was sold to both companyowned and franchised bakery-cafes at a delivered cost not to exceed 27% of the retail value of the product. These costs margins were achieved by producing the dough at central locations employing economies o f scale. -Sales and Marketing Panera used focus groups to determine customer food and drink preferences, and price points. This work was done by only a few individuals at the corporate level and scaled to the rest of the cafes. The existing company and franchise owned cafes would be able to take advantage of this market information and reduce costs associated with sales and marketing information. The franchising model Panera used required the franchisee to pay 0. 7% of total sales to a national advertising fund and 0. 4 % of total sales as a marketing administration fee. Franchisees were also required to spend 2. 0 % of total sales on advertising in local markets. Panera contributed similar amounts of capital from the company owned stores. Requiring the franchise owned cafes to pay a significant portion of marketing costs allowed Panera Bread to lower the company? s capital contribution. -Research and Development New menu items were rolled out in limited cafes and developed in test kitchens prior to nationwide release. This process addressed two cost drivers. First, by employing economies of scale individual cafes will not have to spend resources and capital investing in the development of new menu items. Second, through the expertise of the advanced research and development department Panera ensured both quality of product and process. This resulted in less product waste and increased customer satisfaction and in turn lowered costs. -Integrated Value Chain Effect Panera Bread utilized both structural and executional cost drivers to lower costs on the value chain particularly in inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, and research and development. The cost reduction across the value chain gave Panera a strong capability. vi. Assessment of Panera Bread Company’s Financial Performance and Capabilities: Panera Bread Company showed growth in its profitability from 2002 to 2006, but there were no industry standards presented to compare the numbers in relation to the industry and individual competitors. Panera Bread Company stated a desired growth rate of 17% each year, and the sustainable growth rates from 2003 to 2006 were all above this desired rate (See Financial Ratios Section), but the internal growth rates were slightly lower for these years (See Financial Ratios Sections). For the most part, Panera Bread Company showed consistent results for the profitability financial ratios calculated. Therefore the company maintained management? s objectives and values each year. Panera? s ability to maintain cash reserves allowed the company to expand and open new cafes while maintaining management? s goal of not taking on large amounts of long-term debt. Panera Bread Company showed increased revenues as the number of cafes increased, which shows company growth (See Financial Trend Graphs Section). Also, Panera? current ratio was 1. 16 in 2006, which shows the company was able to satisfy all current obligations from operating activities without the need for long-term financing. Since Panera strives to decrease long-term debt, the cash reserves could be used for expansion without the need to restrict assets for future obligations. The company presented low total debt and debt-toequity ratios which allowed the company to avoid overleveraging itself. This also left so me capacity for the company to take on long-term debt if deemed necessary during expansion. The company created a strong financial position for itself by having available cash reserves and diminishing the amount of long-term debt assumed. This created an opportunity for expansion. vii. Strategic Issues Panera Bread Company Faces: The strategic issues that Panera faced were as follows. Our first strategic issue was Panera? s potential to use its internal franchising capabilities to take advantage of the fact that the industry life cycle remained in its growth phase. The second strategic issue Panera faced was how to alter its existing promotion strategy in untapped markets in order to take advantage of the opportunity presented by customer? s willingness to try new restaurants. The third strategic issue was how Panera could use its internal capability to build loyal clientele to defend against the threat of low switching costs and low customer loyalty. The final strategic issue was how Panera could use its internal capability of advanced research and development skills to take advantage of the large number of buyers within the industry. iii. Management’s Values: Management valued the enthusiasm Panera Bread cafes showed for the quality and value of the products offered. The main example was in the company? s dough making capabilities. Panera believed that actions spoke louder than words, so the company needed to show the high quality of its food to the customers. Management believed that the â€Å"attractive menu and the dining ambience of its bakery-cafes provided significant growth opportunity, despite the fiercely competitive nature of the restaurant industry†. Management strived to become the dominant operator within the bakery-cafe segment as well as a leader in the specialty bread segment while making its brand name nationally recognized. Another key value within Panera? s management was maintaining a debt-free balance sheet. The ability to uphold this value came from the company? s franchising model because the franchisees financed the majority of the cafe building expenses. Management stressed the quality of the food and service offered and knew that all other goals, such as expansion, recognition, and holding a higher market share, would simply fall into place as a result. x. Organizational Culture: Panera Bread Company? s organizational culture began with the overall company and the dough-making facilities and spread out to the bakery cafes, whether company owned or franchised. Panera Bread Company was centered on its dough-making capabilities. The company guaranteed freshness and high quality in each dough it created. The dough was then passed to the cafes, where it was baked fresh and delivered to the customer. The quality controls within the company were maintained through the entire process to ensure that the customer would be pleased with his purchase. Quality was the basis for success, and quality was what the company relied on to generate loyal customers. Franchising was also a crucial aspect to Panera? s organizational culture because cafes were where the majority of customer contact occurred, and it was the basis for some of management? s values. Panera? s franchising model was extremely stringent, so only certain individuals were able to have cafes. There were eight criteria that had to be met in order to be considered, and a passion for fresh bread was one of them. Panera ensured that each franchisee had the capital and prior knowledge necessary to succeed. The stringent criteria and Panera? s site selection technology provided a strong basis for cafe success, which in turn led to a strong and satisfying organizational culture. Although Panera did not own the franchised cafes, the company dictated where supplies could be obtained to ensure quality. Panera also trained the franchisees so they could operate on their own successfully, but turn to the company for guidance when necessary. The open environment was helpful without it being too overbearing. The strength in the organizational culture was a contributing factor to Panera? success and continued growth. Appendices i. ii. iii. iv. v. SWOT Matrix Stakeholder Matrix Financial Ratios (See attached Excel file) Financial Trend Graphs Responses to Questions Not Answered in the Presentation i. SWOT Matrix STRENGTHS: -Strong and attainable growth strategy -Ability to build a loyal clientele -The business model -Franchising system site selection and proprietary software -Research and Develop ment Product Innovation -Financial position – lack of long term debt -81% of frequent and moderately frequent customers indicated a willingness to try Panera for multiple meal times WEAKNESSES: -Under utilized potential in promotion strategy -Frequent diners only come at one meal time per day -Only located regionally OPPORTUNITIES: -The industry life cycle is still in growth -Low cost substitutes viewed as lower quality value -Large number of small buyers in the industry (Lack of buyer bargaining power) -Buyers are characterized as likely to give new restaurants a try THREATS: -Low switching costs/low customer loyalty -Product is a discretionary purchase -Substitutes are convenient and lower priced -Wide breadth of competitive rivalry -Steep learning curve ii. Stakeholder Matrix Stakeholders Companies, Groups, And Individuals Type/Nature of the Relationship/ What We Do For Each of Them -A chain of cafes perceived as a neighborhood bakerycafe which can be found in various locations around the U. S. and quality is consistent in all locations Needs How We Satisfy Those Needs Customers -U. S. Consumers -A quality food option which is perceived as a good value -A pleasant dining experience with good service and a warm ambiance -By providing quality food in a casual setting that continued to bring customers in for the ambiance and the food -Creating food consumers crave and can trust at all locations Competitors -Independent single-unit establishments with fewer than 20 employees -Competed on a local level, as Panera desired to be seen as the local, neighborhood cafe and gathering place -Fast-casual restaurants -Competed on inviting dining environment, quality of food and enticing menus -Commercial eating institutions -Competed on price, service, ambiance, overall experience and convenience -Provide a successful franchising model to be pursued by highly -Preopening assistance with market -Provided market analysis and site selection assistance, lease review, Employees -Franchisees capitalized, experienced and passionate individuals analysis and site selection, training programs, leadership new store opening assistance, a comprehensive initial training program, and a program for hourly employees, benchmarking data regarding costs and profit margins, company developed marketing and advertising programs, neighborhood marketing assistance Shareholders -Owners of the 31,313 shares outstanding -The community of the regional markets of company and franchised cafes Provided a stable company to invest in -Do not pay dividends -provide a gathering place for locals and visitors and support the community the locations operate in -A food option and company that adds value to its product and the community at large -Panera sponsored local community charity events Community iv. Financial Trend Graphs: Net Income 70000 Net Income (Millions) 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0 2002 2003 2004 Year 2005 2006 This figure shows the net income for Panera Bre ad Company from 2002-2006. It depicts a steady increase in net income each year. Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities Nat Cash Provided by Operating Activities (Millions) 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 2002 2003 2004 Year 2005 2006 This figure depicts the net cash provided by operating activities for Panera Bread Company from 2002 to 2006. It shows an increase over time, except from 2005 to 2006. Open Cafes 700 Number of Cafes Open 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Franchised Cafes Company Owned Cafes Year This figure shows the number of cafes opened at the end of each year. It depicts growth within the company. It also shows that franchise-owned cafes are more prevalent than company-owned ones, which shows success in the company? s franchising model. Store Revenues 2500 Store Revenues (millions) 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 Year 2004 2005 2006 This graph shows a steady increase in revenues for each cafe over time. v. Responses to Questions Not Answered in the Presentation: Alterations to Opening Cafes in Untapped and Low Penetrated Markets Recommendation Our recommendation needed to be altered to provide a separate action plan from recommendation to pursue a more aggressive soft-sell promotion strategy. We altered this recommendation by moving Panera? s focus when opening new bakery-cafes using the superior franchising model to solely untapped markets. These untapped markets would allow for sufficient growth to achieve the desired 1:160,000 ratio. Alterations to the More Aggressive Soft-Sell Promotional Strategy Recommendation: Recommendation two needed to be altered from a marketing strategy to a purely promotional strategy. Panera needed to promote its quality menu by implementing the suggested promotional strategies in its bakery cafes. The purpose of the promotional campaign was to bring new customers into the cafes. This satisfied the opportunity within the industry that customers are prone to try newly opened eating establishments in their community. The campaign needed to be implemented in untapped and low-penetrated markets in order to develop brand awareness by attracting new patrons. Though it may help, it will not be as successful in the highly-penetrated markets because Panera is already an established company with high brand awareness and loyal customers. Alterations to Implementation of â€Å"Oven Fresh, To Go† Program Recommendation In response to your concerns regarding recommendation three, we agree that our implementation of â€Å"Oven Fresh, To Go† did not specifically address the low switching cost threat by rewarding return customers for their loyalty. To resolve this issue, we altered the implementation steps to include a punch card in the to-go packaging that would reward existing â€Å"Oven Fresh, To Go† customers for their loyalty and raze their switching costs with progressive discounts based on their level of return patronage. Alterations to Broaden Product Scope Recommendation During the presentation of the recommendations there was concern that recommendation 4 did not adequately address the goal of increasing market share. The primary concern was that offering an expanded dinner menu after 430 pm would not be incentive enough to overcome factors of image, location, and substitutes for Panera to obtain a relevant increase in market share. To bolster the strength of our recommendation and overcome the aforementioned hurdles to success we have amended our recommendation to include the addition of beer and wine at select Panera locations. A Panera site will qualify for alcohol consideration if the area demographics and local legal and regulatory environment are ideal. Selected locations will participate in wine-tasting and other events to engage the surrounding community. The combination of new menu items and select sites serving alcohol will create a new and lively experience for dining at Panera.