Currently, Tesco marketing strategy aims to regain the trust of stakeholders to the brand. The company is refocusing on “Every Little Helps” strapline to strengthen its core traditional competitive advantage in the marketplace. Certain elements of the marketing communication mix such as print and media advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences and public relations are used by the retail chain to communicate this message to customers. Advertising Tesco marketing strategy makes an extensive use of print and media advertising systematically as a tested channel to send marketing communicate message to current and potential consumers. It is important to note that although Tesco has decreased its advertising budget in 2015 compared to previous years as a part of its massive cost-saving initiatives (see figure below), the efficiency of its print and media advertising has increased. This has been achieved via application of marketing differentiation. For example, during Christmas period, the retail chain eschewed an emotional campaign for humour using the family of characters, played by Ruth Jones and Ben Miller, it had introduced earlier in the year.[1] Changes in Tesco advertising budget Occasionally, Tesco print and media advertising contains valuable advises on cooking or home styling. For example, company recently “released reactive print ads around the Great British Bake Off, with a “bake it or fake it” theme. One page shows what ingredients someone can buy to make the creations shown on TV, the other page shows what they can buy instead.”[2] Sales Promotion Various forms of sales promotions play an integral role within Tesco marketing strategy. The supermarket chain facilitates sales promotions in the following formats: Clubcard. Customers collect 1 point for each GBP 1 spent in Tesco. Several times a year customers receive statements and and vouchers equal to the value of points they have saved. Free gifts. The supermarket chain offers free…
1. Introduction Fordism can be defined as “a set of principles that includes technological measures, especially mass production on the assembly line, as well as economic strategies such as supporting mass consumption by lowering prices and increasing wages”[1]. The term is coined by Antonio Gramsci after the name of Henri Ford, a famous US industrialist and the founder of Ford Motor Company. The concept of Fordism has developed starting from 1910’s to reach its peak in the period between 1940’s to 1960’s. Fordism is closely associated with the notions of mass production and consumption. Prior to mass production assembly lines introduced initially in Ford factories, products were manufactured with the method of craft production, which involved the same workers being engaged in the many stages of manufacturing processes. The consumption point of Fordism stems from Henri Ford’s belief that company employees need to be able to purchase cars produced by Ford, thus the level of their wages were increased. Thus, it can be reasoned that “Model T, sold in millions, can be viewed as the herald of consumerism, the new phase in human history when consumption came to be seen no just as the means of survival but as the true path to the good and happy life”[2]. This article represents a critical evaluation of the concept of ‘Fordism’ within the settings of international political economy a range of related issues. The article starts with discussions about the evolution of Fordism. This is followed by critical assessment of the concept within modern international political economy. Moreover, the article contains a reflection of criticism associated with Fordism and analysis of circumstances that enabled emergence of Neo-Fordism. 2. Evolution of Fordism It has been argued that Fordist method of mass production primarily owes to the teachings of Taylorism, which has created…
PESTEL is a strategic analytical tool used to evaluate external environment for the business. Specifically, Tesco PESTEL analysis involves an evaluation of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors affecting the retail chain. Political Factors A range of political factors can affect Tesco in direct and indirect ways. The list of political factors that may affect Tesco include but not limited to political stability in the UK and abroad, bureaucracy and the extent of corruption in Tesco’s home market in international markets. Moreover, activities of trade unions and home market lobbying initiatives in international markets are important political factors that affect the retail chain. Tesco’s new Chairman, John Allan has proved himself as an outspoken business leader to express his views about impacts of political factors on the business. For example he has stated that “the prospect of an EU referendum is causing uncertainty for investors, and this represents a “heavy pebble” placed in the scales of the British economy”[1]. Certain political factors can potentially have negative implications on Tesco’s bottom line. For example, in 2014 a group of local councils in the UK formally asked the government to for new powers to tax large supermarkets, an initiative that became known as ‘Tesco Tax’.[2] Although, this specific initiative was refused by the UK government to avoid price increases, similar political initiatives may succeed in the future with negative implications for Tesco. Economic Factors Various macroeconomic factors affect Tesco to a great extent. The cost of labor is one of the major economic factors greatly impacting the revenues of the supermarket chain. The company’s annual wage bill accounts to GBP 4.5 billion. Accordingly, increase of 1 per cent in the cost of labor costs the company about GBP 45 million. An increase of the national minimum wage to GBP 7.20…
Abstract The International Monetary Fund (IMF) as one of the leading global financial organisations that deals with the issues of securing financial stability, facilitation of international trade, promoting economic growth in a sustainable manner, and poverty reduction in a global scale. There are mixed opinions about the role and performance of organisation in dealing with these issues. Some people perceive IMF to be an important organisation making valuable contribution to macroeconomic stability, whereas others blame the organisation for financial problems within specific countries and areas. Nevertheless, nowadays IMF has to deal with a set of complex challenges in local and global scales. This paper attempts to critically evaluate a set of issues directly related to IMF performance. The paper has identified major challenges faced by IMF to include its governance structure, increasing level of politicisation, leadership challenges, performance evaluation difficulties, and dealing with social instability. займы срочные в день обращения Moreover, necessary changes have been proposed for IMF that should assist in dealing with the challenges the organisation is facing. These changes include reforming IMF governance, gaining focus on role and objectives, developing performance accountability frameworks, improving lending policy, and increasing the level of comprehensiveness in country analysis. 1. Introduction The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is “an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world” (About IMF, 2016). IMF was set up during Bretton Woods Agreements in 1944 with only 44 countries and it is governed by a Managing Director and Chairman of the Executive Board, currently Christine Lagarde, who is assisted by the First Deputy and three other Deputy Managing Directors. The Articles of Agreement of IMF state that the Managing Director “shall be chief of the operating…
Tesco Board of Directors comprises 10 members and there were significant changes in the Board during the financial year 2014/15. These changes include the appointment of John Allan as the Chairman of the Board, the appointment of a new CEO Dave Lewis and new Chief Financial Officer Alan Steward, the retirement of four Non-Executive Directors and the appointment of three new Non-Executive Directors. In 2015, Mr. Lewis announced the reduction of costs across head office functions by 30 per cent with direct implications on the management structure. As it is illustrated in Figure 1 below, Tesco governance structure comprises five committees reporting to Tesco PLC board. There are 11 members in Tesco Executive Committee led by Group Chief Executive Dave Lewis. Figure 1 Tesco Corporate Governance Structure Tesco organizational structure is highly hierarchical reflecting the large size of the business. Even in store level, there are as many as four layers of management in some large stores. The Figure 2 below illustrates a typical organizational structure within Metro, Superstore and Extra formats. It is important to note that the structure below is not rigid for all Tesco stores and some stores operate with a slightly different structure reflecting their location, size and a range of other store-specific factors. Figure 2 Tesco organizational structure at store level It can be argued that three or four management layers within a single store may create unnecessary bureaucracy with a negative implications on the flow of information across the management layers. Therefore, the senior level management needs to consider delayering opportunities i.e. increasing the flexibility of operations and changes within store and accelerating the flow of information via reducing the layers of management. Tesco PLC Report comprises a comprehensive analysis of Tesco. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in…
1. Introduction Mergers, acquisitions and formation of alliances are commonplace in global airline industry and they are fuelled by the search of competitive advantages in order to achieve long-term growth. However, the implementation of mergers, acquisitions and formation of strategic alliances in practice can be associated with a set of complex challenges that might include differences in organisational culture, clash of personalities within top level management, lack or absence of strategic fit between the two companies and others. Lufthansa Group is a global airline company that employs more than 120,000 workforces that have contributed to generate 713 million EURO through serving 100.6 million passengers during the year of 2011 alone (Annual Report, 2011). Germanwings is a budget airline company that employs 1355 members of staff and served 7.52 million customers in 2011 offering flights to more than 90 destinations with 33 Airbus A 319 airplanes (Facts and Figures, 2013, online). Germanwings is wholly owned by Lufthansa since 2009. This report investigates a range of business issues related to the acquisition of Germanwings by Lufthansa German Airlines in 2009. The report starts with analysis of motives for choosing acquisition method among other alternatives by Lufthansa. This is followed by discussions of strategic and organisational fit between Lufthansa and Germanwings. Moreover, this report addresses potential gains and risks faced by Lufthansa due to the acquisition of Germanwings. The report is concluded with assessing outcomes relative to expectations in relation to this specific airline acquisition. 2. The Motives for Choosing Acquisition Method by Lufthansa Top level management of Lufthansa have selected the method of acquisition among other alternatives such as initiating a merger or forming a strategic alliance in relation to Germanwings due to the set of reasons that include less time required to complete the acquisition, increasing the market share, overcoming entry…
Tesco leadership had to change following a major scandal in 2015 that involved the cases of supplier mistreatment and profit mis-declarations as revealed by BBC’s Panorama.[1] John Allan has been elected as a new Chairman of the Board and Dave Lewis, who once was a supplier for Tesco has been appointed as the new CEO to lead a new senior management team. Restoration of trust of stakeholders in general and consumers and suppliers in particular has been announced as the main strategic task by the new management. The new leadership has introduced a new Code of Business Conduct, supported17 by a company-wide training programme along with other measures in order to prevent wrongdoings in the future. Simplification of the business has emerged as another main priority for the new management team. Range of initiative declared by Tesco leadership also include concentrating on “availability, service and selectively on price; undertaking a significant programme of restructuring and financial discipline; and launching a programme of renewal to restore trust in every aspect of the brand”[2] The new management aims to address supplier relationship issues proactively and it has established new Supplier Helpline, designed to resolve payment and administrative issues quickly and simply.[3] The first ‘outsider’ to lead Tesco since its foundation in 1919, Dave Lewis has been able successful so far as a CEO with his drastic measures that included “selling Blinkbox entertainment arm; slashing up to 10,000 positions and shutting stores; closing down Cheshunt and putting its GBP1bn Clubcard data business Dunnhumby and its South Korean arm up for sale. A new deal is reportedly on the table with staff to end its costly defined-benefit pension scheme, worth GBP3bn.”[4] Tesco PLC Report constitutes a comprehensive analysis of Tesco business strategy. The report illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business…
1. Introduction This article attempts to answer the question What is the United Nations? Moreover, the article represents a detailed analysis of the level of effectives of the UN in global governance. The article starts with discussing the role of functions of the UN, explaining the roles and functions of each UN’s six organs in an individual manner. This has been followed by identification of gaps in global governance and discussions about the role of the UN in terms of the extent of filling each gap. Furthermore, the article critically analyses the overall level of effectiveness of the UN in global governance and discusses the potentials for increasing the level of effectiveness in the UN in global governance by proposing a set of recommendations. Increasing level of integration and cooperation between counties in various levels creates a need for reputable international bodies that could assist in facilitating international relations, and more importantly, deal with disagreements and conflicts that may occur in international relations. The reality of the present nature of global governance is the outcome of conflict between the need to introduce global rules and regulations, and the willingness of retaining control over national boundaries. The is a set of reputable international organisations currently operating in the global scale such as The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation, The World Bank, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and others, and each of these organisations engages in global governance with varying levels of effectiveness depending on their aims and objective, resources, sources of funds and other factors. The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation “committed to maintaining international piece and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights” (UN at a Glance, 2016, online). Founded on October 24, 1945, the UN comprises 193 member…
Tesco business strategy can be described as cost leadership and its motto ‘Every Little Helps’ guides its business strategy to a considerable extent. Economies of scale is one of the main competitive advantage extensively exploited by Tesco due to the vast scale of its operations. Tesco business strategy has traditionally involved experimentation with various aspects of the business and this strategy changed the overall retail industry in the UK to a certain extent. For example, Tesco was the first retailer to introduce 24-hour shopping experience and today it has thousands of Click & Collect points across the country.[1] Tesco business strategy for the short-term is aimed at regaining stakeholder trust in general and customer trust in particular following commercial income reporting scandal in 2015. The senior level management has announced that this objective will be achieved via the following set of initiatives: Focusing on availability, service and selectively on price Undertaking a significant programme of restructuring and financial discipline Launching a programme of renewal to restore trust in every aspect of the brand Moreover, as an outcome of income reporting scandal combined with a set of other factors, Tesco is currently in a difficult financial position with a total leverage debt of GBP 22 billion and the net debt of GBP 8.5 billion.[2] The following initiatives have been introduced by the senior level management in order to reduce the volume of debt: Not paying final dividends to shareholders for the financial year 2014/15 Reducing the amount of capital expenditure to GBP 1 billion Replacing defined benefit pension scheme for all employees Reviewing Tesco’s property portfolio, including leases that amount to GBP 1.5 billion annual rent bill The sale or closure of all three Blinkbox businesses (movies, music and books) and Tesco Broadband Tesco PLC Report contains more detailed discussion of…
There is a set of macro and micro environmental factors that affect marketing decisions of Tesco marketing management in direct and indirect manners. Macro-environmental factors impacting Tesco marketing decisions are identified through the process of environmental scanning and they include political, economic, social, cultural, technological and legal factors. Micro-environmental factors, on the other hand, relate to the impact of internal and external organisational stakeholders, and the extent of competition in supermarket industry in general. Products and services offered by Tesco and other businesses cannot be attractive to all people in equal terms, because differences in needs and wants among people. Therefore businesses do engage in market segmentation and targeting practices. It can be specified that “market segmentation is based on the generally true concept that the market for a product is not homogenous to its needs and wants”[1]. In simple terms, market segmentation is dividing population members into groups according to their needs, wants and other criteria and developing products and services that aim to satisfy needs and wants of particular groups. Segmentation can be divided into geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural bases. Segmentation, targeting and positioning can be implemented in relation to Tesco brand in general, as well as, its individual products. The Table 2 below specifies target customer segment for Tesco’s own brand TV – Tesco 19-230 18.5 inch Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV DVD Combi with Freeview: Segmentation bases Target customer segment for Tesco Technika 19-230 18.5 inch Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV Geographic Region UK, and 13 other countries Density Rural and urban Demographic Age All age categories Gender Males and females Income Low and middle income category Occupation Students, employees, professionals Education High school, technical, Bachelors, Social status Working class, skilled working class, lower middle class, middle class Family size Single individuals, nuclear…