Carrefour retailer Essay

Introduction of the Case: Carrefour was the second largest retailer of consumer goods and groceries worldwide, after Wal-mart. The company pioneered the concept of hypermarket in their home Country, France, as early as 1960’s.However, towards late 1990’s; Carrefour saw a decline in their French hypermarkets owing to certain unfavorable government regulations and competition from hard discount stores. Carrefour introduced a series of strategic initiatives in an effort to revamp the ailing French hypermarkets. As a result, French hypermarkets started showing signs of recovery towards late 2004. The case discusses about the emergence and growth of hard discount stores in France. This case also provides scope for discussion of decline of Carrefour’s French hypermarkets and its revamp strategies. Pedagogical Objectives:  · The state of Hard discount stores in France  · Impact of government regulations on French retail industry  · Growth of Carrefour’s hypermarkets in France  · Revamp strategies of Carrefour hypermarkets in France. 1. How should Mr. Durant assess the opportunities in various countries around the world? Mr. Durant, the new CEO since 2005, embarked on the new strategy by offering 15 percent new products in its hypermarkets and 10 percent in its supermarkets. Moreover, he wants to employ more staff, extend the operating hours in certain hypermarkets, cutting prices, trying small stores, and pushing down decision making. Mr. Durant aims to stay only in countries where Carrefour is among the top retailers. 2. Should Carrefour adopt Wal-Mart’s strategy of â€Å"low prices everyday†? What would be the advantage or disadvantage of such a strategy? Yes Certainly they have to adopt the strategy of low pricing every day, In France, where Carrefour is well established, the company made the big mistake in its pricing policy. It probably started with the 1999 merger with Promodes, the French discount chain. Carrefour confused the French clientele by losing its low-cost image. The new strategy which they want to implement discounts and cutting prices ,trying small stores certainly will help  Carrefour to keep their competition in all over the world. 3. How could Carrefour differentiate itself from Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is more than just the world’s largest retailer. It is an economic force, a cultural phenomenon and a lightning rod for controversy. It all started with a simple philosophy from founder Sam Walton: Offer shoppers lower prices than they get anywhere else. That basic strategy has shaped Wal-Mart’s culture and driven the company’s growth. Now that Wal-Mart is so huge, it has unprecedented power to shape labor markets globally and change the way entire industries operate. In this article, you will learn the key reasons that Wal-Mart has been able to keep its prices low — cutting-edge technology, a frugal corporate culture and a push to make suppliers sell merchandise at cheaper and cheaper prices. We’ll also take a look at the scope of Wal-Mart’s impact on the economy and the controversies surrounding Wal- Mart, as well as the future of the company. With 12 million loyalty card-holders in France, but also 7.5 million in Spain, for example, Carrefour group  stores have an excellent base from which to forge closer relationships with customers. As a multi-format  retailer, Carrefour can offer solutions addressing a wide variety of shopping habits. In 2009, the Carrefour group is enhancing its knowledge of customers, with the aim of serving them better and improving its brand image. In stores, the Carrefour brand will be conveyed in a way that is closer to the customer and more emotionally involving. By being more competitive, the brand will again become a tool for winning customers, enhancing customer loyalty and distinguishing Carrefour from the pack. In towns and villages, as convergence accelerates, the Carrefour brand will provide its best stores to more customers. In this way, Carrefour will make customers want to come, and keep coming, to its stores, regardless of the format or product offering. By focusing on retailing, Carrefour will become customers’ preferred retailer. 4. Identify cultures in selected countries that need to be considered in order to be successful? Carrefour operates in 29 countries around the world. World population is  rising, geographic distribution of populations is shifting, world population isaging rapidly, ethnic mixes in developed countries are changing rapidly, andaverage household incomes are increasing. The demographic environment presents both opportunities and threats for Carrefour. Increases in population size and household incomes help toexpand the market in which Carrefour operates. However, changes in the geographic distribution of populations, due to technological advances incommunications, may cause difficulties for Carrefour in determining profitable locations for new storefront SOCIO-CULTURAL 1.New markets had seen dramatic changes in consumer buying habits,coupled with high growth in per capita GNP, 2.suburbanization, greater participation of women in the labor force, and a large increase in theownership of cars and refrigerators. 3.The continued growth of suburban communities abroad is another major sociocultural trend. 4.Asian customers still tended to shop daily at wet markets or â€Å"mom & pop†stores. 5.Moreover, impulse buying was on the rise and replacing necessity purchasing. 6.Shopping as a form of leisure was an increasing phenomenon. CONCLUSION Carrefour has positioned itself as an international leader in the retail industry.Their strategies have proven successful for a number of reasons. First, they have beenable to successfully transfer competencies to associates and managers across the globe.Also, they have been able to adapt to local cultures and consumer tastes as necessary. Insome cases, they have even managed to change consumer tastes and buying habits. Theyhave succeeded in entering new markets aggressively and gaining a large share of eachmarket. Carrefour has even been able to restructure when legalities made it necessary.The question remains, then, what should Carrefour do in the future. Carrefour should remain in the retail industry. It should continue those practices that have provensuccessful and profitable in the past. Also, Carrefour should continue to leverage itsknowledge of international markets to continue its rapid expansion across the globe. Carrefour should, however,  be wary of threats to its opera tions, and remain vigilant I exploring new ways to improve its products and services. Carrefour has come this far based on its ability to pioneer new retail concepts and should remember that this pioneering spirit is what will carry it into the future.

Poetry Essay on The Cord, My Life, and Bike Ride With Older Boys Essay

In the three poems My Life by Joe Wenderoth, Bike Ride With Older Boys by Laura Kasischke and The Cord by Leanne O’Sullivan the theme of adolescence is developed through the language techniques these writers have used. A different idea of adolescence is represented in each poem which explains the troubles we can have through adolescence such as the problems we have to face and accept, decision making and how mothers are so protective of their children growing up. These ideas are shown through the language techniques of both metaphors and extended metaphors, punctuation, personification, and alliteration. The poem My Life by Joe Wenderoth explores how we have to face problems and accept them during adolescence. My Life is about a boy finding an animal in his room and raising it up by himself only to find out later that it can quite easily kill him and it eventually will. The animal is explained through the extended metaphor â€Å" I called the animal My Life† this is telling the reader that the animal is himself, it is his inner self. â€Å"my Lief is an animal, it is alive and has a mind of it’s own, uncontrollable, which lies within himself. he tries to tame it, which you cannot do to a wild animal, controlling the animal and change his fate until he realises that it will kill him and nothing will change that. the use of alliteration of â€Å"i stopped singing it to sleep explains how he has given up on taming it, little by little. He is trying to use rhythm front he alliteration to make it soothing as though the writer has given up on the animal but it is slowly pulling away and accepting the truth of â€Å"My Life†. A Metaphor of â€Å"I no longer make My Life do tricks† is used. This quote is the writer completely letting go of My Life and accepting the truth, we all live to die. â€Å"My Life† was his inner which is would kill him in the end no matter how much he cared or tamed it because we are born to die and nothing can change that. This metaphor explains the writers acceptance, at the beginning he was so hopeful and excited of the animal making it do do tricks but this quote near the end explains the development of the idea throughout the poem how he just lets go and accepts the idea. During Adolescence we are often faced with many problems and life lessons and whether we want to or not, we have to accept them because the outcome won’t change we will have to and learn to adapt to them. Decision making is a big part of adolescence, we have to start making decisions that we may or may not regret later, the poem Bike Ride With older Boys By Laura Kasischke explains and develops this  idea. This poem is about a 13 year old girl who makes the decision not to meet up with two older boys at the stop and go, later regretting this decision as a bored housewife. She questions her decision and whether it could have turned out to be a highlight or the biggest mistake of her life, this is supported with the use of punctuation and a metaphor in the quote â€Å"I have been given a little gift-â€Å". The hyphen used at the end of the line represents a pause, letting us and herself think, is it really a little Gift? She plays over the idea of whether its a good idea to accept the â€Å"gift† comparing the pro’s and con’s of the situation. The quote â€Å"knowing the girl i was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  again uses punctuation expressing how naive the girl is. Kasischlke uses the ellipsis to support this and representing a pause as she plays over the idea of whether she should go on the bike ride or not. What would that make her as a person though, because she doesn’t usually do things like this but does that mean it’s a bad thing? It could be the most exciting thing that ever happens in her life.. or it could be the worst. The writer describes to herself what could happen, what it would be like as though she is tricking herself into going as nothing bad would actually happen but there is still a small part of her knowing that it could all go wrong. Punctuation in the quote â€Å"Two cute and older boys pedalling beside me – respectful and awe† show this to the reader. The hyphen is explains a pause in which she acts as though she is unsure of the boys, if they really will only go for a bike ride and that they’ll treat her well. Her decision was initially was not to go but looking back on it nothing bad could have actually happened, could it? She regrets her decision of not going on the bike ride even though she is unsure of what actually would have happened. During adolescence we make decisions which we think is the right choice at the time, our opinions and outlook on the decisions we make may change over time but we can’t change them. That is just all about growing up. Parents, Mothers especially, are highly protective of their children growing up, giving their children enough space for them to go out while still keeping them close being able to pull them towards them when they’re in trouble. The Cord by Leanne O’Sullivan explores this idea throughout the poem. The poem is about a daughter on the phone constantly to her friends in her room while her Mother sits in another room not complaining as she doesn’t mind because her daughter is safe at home. The extended metaphor of â€Å"The Cord† is present  throughout the poem. â€Å"The Cord† is suggested as being an umbilical cord, the connection between a Mother and child through the development of the child. The umbilical cord gives everything a child needs for growth and gets rid of anything unneeded, the phone cord acts as like this in the poem. The mother is giving her daughter everything she wants, space, conversation, as a person in adolescence wants while she still keeps her daughter close and safe at home, â€Å"My Mother never complained about the phone bill† shows how you can’t put a price on your child’s safety. She(Mother) will feed her daughter whatever she wants to keep her daughter safe at home away from any trouble. A metaphor of â€Å"Perhaps that’s the only way she thought she could reach me, sending me to the underworld†, shows the daughters understanding of her mother’s doing. That her Mother is giving her a taste of the deep, dark, lost souls world so she can see what it is like and enjoy it without losing herself to the underworld completely, turning rebellious. Personification of â€Å"watching the cord stretch it’s muscle away from her† reflects upon the extended metaphor of the umbilical cord. This quote is explaining the daughter creating as much space between herself and her mother as she is able to but the connection between them is still there as the cord can only go so far before it is torn. The Mother has given her space and left her alone until she is called upon by her daughter for some help. During adolescence we just want space and freedom although parents, especially Mothers, can be highly protective giving us what we want while still giving us room to grow up and become ourselves. This idea was developed throughout this text to show the theme of adolescence through language techniques. In conclusion, the theme of adolescence was presented in all three poems of My Life by Joe Wenderoth, Bike Ride With Older Boys by Laura Kasischke and The Cord by Leanne O’Sullivan through the use of language techniques enforcing different ideas of adolescence. These ideas included problems we have to face and accept, decision making, and how Mothers especially can be so protective of their children growing up. Language techniques used included both metaphors and extended metaphors, punctuation, personification, and alliteration. Adolescence was developed throughout these texts as the ideas in each poem presented a different part of adolescence which helps us understand this more easily.

INTRO INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT UNIT 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

INTRO INTO LAW ENFORCEMENT UNIT 1 - Assignment Example In the state of Tennessee, the first requirement for potential law enforcement officers is a minimum age of 21 years. Actually, candidates may apply for the officers’ position 2 months prior to their 21st birthday. In addition, persons who previously served in the military must have been honorably discharged from service. In terms of driving capability, Tennessee requires a minimum of Class D driving license with no record of chargeable road offenses. Academically, one must possess at least a GED or a high school diploma. Previous conviction and plea of quilt to possession, use and sale of controlled substances, with the exception of Marijuana, serve as grounds for disqualification. Association with Marijuana is examined in terms of last-time use whereby applicants are eligible if they used marijuana more than 2 years before the date of application. With respect to physical suitability, Tennessee Peace Officers Standards requires one to have normal color vision, average depth perception and a minimum binoculars vision of 20 feet (Conner & Rebecca, 2011). With respect to Mississippi, every candidate aspiring to become a law enforcement officer must have a minimum age of 21 years old. In terms of physical fitness, candidates must have normal vision and hearing. In addition, physical fitness evaluation will include agility tests in running and maneuvering through zigzag obstacles. Aside from having a high school diploma or a GED, candidates must pass small tests on basic mathematics skills and grammar in incident report writing. Medically, persons with likelihood of developing respiratory and cardiovascular complications are not eligible. According to Conner and Rebecca (2011), Mississippi also requires that candidates undergo a thorough psychological assessment in order to ascertain their ability to handle work-related stress in a mentally stable manner. Lastly,

Learning Styles and Career Preference Coursework

Learning Styles and Career Preference - Coursework Example There are many factors which researchers believe to have some effect on the learning process in the lifecycle of an individual hence affecting career choice (Reid, p.27). Some of these factors are negative while others are positive in nature. The purpose of this research study is to determine whether the different learning styles have an impact on the career choice of an individual. The term learning style has had many definitions and one of them is the process of organizing facts and coming into touch with the reality. Career preference, on the other hand, may be defined as the choice of occupation necessary for one to make a living. The learning style, in this case, is the independent variable whereas the career preference is the dependent variable. The problem under investigation, in this case, is the effect of inadequate knowledge in learning styles on career preference. The purpose or objective of the study is important in that it gives a sense of direction to the researcher. The purpose of this study will be to determine whether there is a correlation between learning styles and the choice of occupation or career an individual selects. A hypothesis is important in any form of research and assists the researcher in sticking to the topic under investigation. The hypothesis of the study, in this case, is: there is a correlation between the learning styles and career choice of an individual. The significance of this study would be to assist tutors in different academic institutions to come up with the best strategies in assisting students in learning. It would also assist in assisting tutors to determine the best learning styles to be adopted for students on different career paths. This would enhance the education system and assist in ensuring that students acquire education in the most effective and efficient way possible. On the other hand, the research would ensure that the needs of the students are fully catered for in that they would feel comfortable learning through.

Who do you think you are Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Who do you think you are - Essay Example Further, as far as my future life is concerned, I must enroll myself in courses that give a good value and which make me feel proud of who I am. Another aspect of my personality is that my confidence has always been at its top level. It has made me realize that nothing in life is unachievable and one needs to go out there and work his best to find out the success that is hidden. The right skills that I possess make me feel confident with every passing day and for this reason my goals become attainable. My future considerations get strengthened with the confidence that has been fed in my personality and which allows me to give my best no matter how tough or trying the circumstances turn out to be. I see a number of opportunities coming up for me in the future which is something that is a plus at any time. Adding to the aspects that are significant within my personality make-up, I am having good physical health which is a definite plus as well. It gives me a solid chance to perform at my very best within my work domains and live my life to the maximum. Since everyone wishes to live a long life, my desire is the same nonetheless. I believe if I remain fit and healthy, nothing can take away the happiness that I have. I am a friendly individual who believes in social behavior to the maximum possible levels. I am good at making friends with people and get along with them quickly. This is one of my biggest strengths and I enjoy it a lot. My personal life is made richer with so many friends around me. It helps me to find out the real side of me that I have. I call them, invite them to go and hang out with me and thus have fun with them all this while. It is a face that some or the other friend is always around me and hence I enjoy their company a lot. What is important here is that I am always available to them whenever they need me. In the end, my profession is that of a registered nurse. As I have

Healthy Baltimore 2015 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Healthy Baltimore 2015 - Research Paper Example The city was also referred to as a major production center. After a decrease in production, Baltimore moved to a service related economy. The different hospitals used to working as the citys main two managers (Regan, 36). At 621,342 at the beginning of July 1, 2012, the number of inhabitants in Baltimore expanded by 1,100 occupants over the past year. The Baltimore Metropolitan Area has become relentlessly to nearly 2.7 million inhabitants in 2010. The city was alluded to as the twentieth biggest nation in the globe. Baltimore is also a primary city in the bigger Baltimore–Washington metropolitan territory of nearly 8.4 million inhabitants. With many recognized regions, Baltimore has been named "the city of neighborhoods." It is also nicknamed as Charm City. The abilities of authors Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Mencken, musical artist James "Eubie" Blake, and vocalist Billie Holiday, and the citys part in the post-War and Scott Keys composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" have all impacted the citys historical vitality. Baltimore is in the north of the Patapsco River. This is near to where it purges into the Chesapeake Bay. This river isolates Baltimore into two levels of lower city and upper city. The citys height ranges from ocean level. As stated by the 2010 Census, the city has an aggregate territory of 92.052 square miles (238.41 km2). However, 80.944 sq mi (209.64 km2) is area and 11.108 sq mi (28.77 km2) is water. The aggregate region is 12.07 percent water. It is circumscribed by Anne Arundel County to the south. Minority health is the main problem in Baltimore city. It concentrates on the health of racial and ethnic minority or multicultural populations. It is an exceptionally critical issue in Baltimore. An alternate term used to address minority health is racial and ethnic health variations. Health differences are unfavorable or unequal differences in

Ethical Standards for Behavior in International Negotiations Essay

Ethical Standards for Behavior in International Negotiations - Essay Example The country is adopting and improving its business environment for making its international negotiation process more efficient. The country has no quotas, foreign exchange controls and trade barriers regarding international negotiation. UAE conducts the business around the world. For this reason, the country follows the wide framework of foreign policies. UAE is very much concerned about its commitments. It is one of the important ethical principles of this country. The country tries to maintain peace and stability in its international negotiations (Hooper and Newlands, 2012). The country builds a good relationship with foreign companies and countries for establishing effective negotiation policies. UAE emphasizes on tolerance, modernization while doing international negotiation. The country respects people of different places and religions for developing good relations with other countries. The government of UAE tries to maintain the balance between international environment and com munity. Some government-affiliated bodies contribute a lot to developing a good international environment which will facilitate the negotiation process. The rules and regulations of UAE are developed in such a way which helps the people in becoming a good global citizen. In international negotiation, the people of UAE focus more on words. The country puts a huge effort into following the words said in the negotiation process (Soriano, 2014). The people of UAE directly discuss the topic on which they are holding the meeting of business negotiation. They make sure that some strong benefits are obtained by international negotiation. While negotiating with foreign companies and countries the people of UAE do not get distracted from the objectives of the negotiation. They maintain a specific standard for doing international negotiation. Trust and sincerity are considered as most important factors for doing international negotiation.

Tourism Policy and Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism Policy and Strategy - Essay Example The theoretical framework can be found useful in evaluating the efficiency of the collaborative stakeholder based processes such as framing the tourism policy and planning. Tourism policy and planning is one of the central topics in the academic tourism research as well in the functional directions of national, regional and local tourism organizations. It is considered as an important part of tourism destination strategy and planning. (Heath & Wall, 1992; Prideaux & Cooper, 2002) From the perspective of tourism planning, tourism can be identified as a complex system. This system is considered central to the analysis of power relationships among the various stakeholder groups which are involved in the process of decision making. The tourism system can be described as one which is structured around "a core [that] generally consists of an assemblage of structures, goods, services, and resources directly contributing to the sector, the comprehensive tourism system includes significant social, economic, geological, and ecological components, along with processes and functions that complement its totality and are essential to its sustainability'. (Farrell & Twining-Ward, 2004) Tourism has been considered as a context for research rather than a discipline in its own tenets (Cooper, Fletcher, Fyall, Gilbert & Wanhill, 2005; Jafari & Ritchie, 1981) On this basis sociology offers a theoretical perspective to the study on tourism. This theoretical perspective is discussed in this paper in the context of the application of stakeholder and collaboration theory on tourism policy and planning. Complexity of the Tourism System The linking of so many diverse kinds of products and services has made the tourism industry and the system as a complicated one (Edgell 1990). The tourism system is so fragmented (Shaw & Williams, 2002) in that there exist a number of different players involved in a problem domain who have different interests and attribute different values (Trist, 1983). It is but critical to have a methodology that studies the stakeholder power structure precisely. Further the tourism decision making process is usually characterized in terms of the collaborative power that the stakeholders possess (de Araujo & Bramwell, 2000; Keogh, 1990; Ladkin & Bertramini, 2002; Murphy, 988) However Reed (1997) point out that the authors on the community tourism do not mention any issue of power being involved in the process. Collaborative processes, like destination branding, are therefore at risk of power imbalances that can inhibit both their initiation and success (Jamal & Getz, 1995). Tourism as a Product Tourism when considered as a product can be construed as an experience of a place with its location and people visited at a particular time (Wheeler 1995) Tourism as a product has been conceptualized in a number of ways. Medlik and Middleton (1973) considered the tourism product as a bundle of activities, services, and benefits that constitute the entire tourism experience. Tourism was looked at from two view points by Middleton (1989). In one angle he looked at tourism as a discrete product resulting from the offer of a single business. In another way tourism was looked as a total product describing the relative experience of the tourist. Smith (1994) had

Inequality undermines democracy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Inequality undermines democracy - Assignment Example ality provokes a generalized anger that finds target where it can-immigrants, foreign countries, American elites, government in all forms-and it rewards demagogues while discrediting reformers†. I find this to be the key sentence because it encapsulated the ultimate danger that inequality can bring which is anger that begets hatred. The anger that begets hatred wrought by inequality as enunciated in those sentences to target where it can is not only in peculiar in the US but also in other countries and culture. In fact, these effects of anger wrought inequality are universal. What will change is the target but it will always find a target to vent that anger and hatred. Notice in countries, societies and cultures where there is so much anger, hatred, animosity, murder and other forms of onslaught – they have one common denominator which is inequality. Inequality which breeds poverty as Parker explained in his other sentence â€Å"creates a lopsided economy†. This inequality that breeds anger and hatred undermines democracy which explains why Parker ended his article with the sentence â€Å"Inequality undermines democracy†. He used the operating word â€Å"undermining† to illustrate that inequality is incompatible with democracy. Democracy, which provides an equal opportunity for all cannot thrive in an environment where equal opportunity cannot be had due to inequality. It cannot also thrive in any country or society where there is so much anger due to inequality because such anger would also target democracy