James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues - 905 Words

On page 252 of the class’s anthology, there is a work by James Baldwin entitled Sonny’s Blues. What interests me about this work is the quote, â€Å"For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.† In this connection, the question that I want to research is why would a man like James Baldwin represent a character like Sonny in Sonny’s Blues? James Baldwin is a man of his words through his experiences in Harlem, and this influences his writings and the person who he is. After reading Sonny’s Blues, I came to my claim, that James Baldwin would relate himself to Sonny in Sonny’s Blues because of the similarities in their experiences, growing up in Harlem. This is why I choose to do research on my topic to prove that my claim is correct. In most of James Baldwin’s stories, the themes struggling and recovery is often depicted. James Baldwin’s story, Sonny’s Blues was published in 1957. This was a strong story which we all can relate to because it focuses more on human suffering and their struggles. The character Sonny in Sonny’s Blues was a struggling artist who was trying to find himself in Harlem. He was the jazz pianist of James Baldwin’s literary work, whose image was captured at the end when he began to pour his heart out in music (McParland 2006). During that time, Harlem was a place where art and music were atShow MoreRelatedSonny s Blues By James Baldwin827 Words   |  4 PagesSonny’s Blues In James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† it is only when a brother loses his child that he realizes how easy it can be to lose his brother. The narrator’s little brother, Sonny, was left in his charge when their parents passed away. He neglects Sonny and leaves him to work through hard decisions on his own which leads to Sonny being picked up by the police for using and selling drugs. When the narrator’s daughter, Grace, passes he sees how suffering can affect people and reaches outRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin1252 Words   |  6 PagesThe story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin centers on the conflicting relationship between two brothers that is explored throughout various stages of their lives. Through the structured, melodic style used by Baldwin there are reoccurring themes of suffering, family, and home that are used to further convey the idea of two brothers who love each other, but don’t understand eac h other. Ultimately, the relationship between the two brothers is greatly strained due them being polar opposites, their lackRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues956 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin brings you on an emotional ride through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, we are in media res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story we witness the ocean of emotions between these two brothers battling hardships from their past, through flashbacks, and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically aRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues2994 Words   |  12 PagesINTRODUCTION Sonny, from James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† is portrayed as a sufferer. He struggles with his stagnation in Harlem, his unfulfilled dreams and the disconnect between himself and his only family, his brother. However, not all hope is lost. He serves as a teacher for others, full of knowledge of how one can truly suffer and still triumph (Norton 47). Only when he is finally able to connect with his brother through music, are his â€Å"blues† finally heard and he affirms his individualityRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin2300 Words   |  10 PagesIn the short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, by James Baldwin there is the notion or a reoccurring theme of a conflict between light and dark between the characters. The notion is carried throughout the story of two brothers finding their own lights and trying to work towards a greater life. In the late 50’s, after the Harlem Renaissance, adolescents are faced with drug sales everywhere and crime sprees around every corner, this is one example of the darkness in the story. Kids began to form bad habits thatRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay1154 Words   |  5 Pagesntroduction: James Baldwin, author of Sonny s Blues, once said, I grew up with music...much more than with any other language. In a way, the music I grew up with saved my life (Session 3 Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin, 2015).   Blues becomes Sonny s drug and his addiction to it his salvation.       Even though the adults refrain from lamenting their sufferings directly to the children and telling them about the darkness, the child-narrator still intimates its marks in their facesRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesSeveral dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Harlem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. We follow the narrator and his brother Sonny as they traverse the complexities of their individual and interconnected Harlem livesRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin1028 Words   |  5 Pagesand influence the subject’s ideas. Consciously and unconsciously, the individual reflects the confluence of his or her history and culture. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†, a short story by James Baldwin, the dominant culture constricts the black individual. Subject to the explicit and latent biases of a racist society, the black population of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† attempt to endure oppression and suffering and survive in an unforgiving land. However, they can thrive here with the hope and salvation provided by theRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin Essay1745 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is a narration about two siblings – brothers - who choose very different routes in life in order to accomplish the zenith of individualism, expressionism and recognition. In doing so, they take a glimpse into one another’s spheres and learn to assent and appreciate each other for who they are. In 1951, Baldwin wrote Sonny’s Blues, a story of the ills that Harlem provided its youth. In Baldwin’s telling of the narration, it forms a nous of liberation, an atmosphere of therapeutic acc eptance

The Business Structure And Organizational Culture

INTRODUCTION ASDA is the second largest retailer in the UK, and it has been the biggest subsidiary of the Wal-Mart family of companies since 1999. ASDA s scale can be appreciated by the number of stores it runs as well as how many people work for it. For example, it has 321 stores across the UK and Northern Ireland, 29 depots and more than 148,000 colleagues. These all help to generate more than  £15 billion of turnover. The employees power the company in the way of decision-making that affect their path. ASDA does this through its mission, values, purpose, structure and culture. These statements are planned to assist stakeholders interpret the direction in which the company is heading. In this written report I m going to approach†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å" Training and development is a continuous process at Asda, because there are always new things to learn in your current role and new skills to develop for your continuing career progress. And as a world class organisation, we offer excellent training and development.† (Asda site) This programme helps new starters finding out the place, getting to know colleagues, customers and the business. In addition, they do progressive learning with role-specific skills and skills development in supply and merchandise planning. Every year Asda researches statements throughout Intranet surveys. This data helps to ensure that, in every level within the company, colleagues, teams, departments and managers see the mission purpose and values should power the decisions they take. They also do surveys for customers, they can give their feedback about the products, customer service and others. Asda use this to improve products and services to their customers. Asda have a community programme which assist the company to meet its mission, purpose and values. The community programme set as goal differentiate Asda from its rivals by appealing to customers and motivating colleagues. They use Asda foundation to donate money to improve and developing the community. This programme assist colleagues to take part in their local community, after all they live and work there too. This procedure of working closely

Night Creature Blue Moon Chapter 14 Free Essays

â€Å"Cadotte,† she said. â€Å"William Cadotte.† One thing I did not need today was a face-to-face encounter with the man who’d had his tongue in my mouth last night. We will write a custom essay sample on Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 14 or any similar topic only for you Order Now â€Å"I’ll take the domestic,† I offered, which only proved how desperate I was. Domestic disturbances were the most dangerous calls. You never knew what you were going to run into when love turned to hate. Besides, I’d never been very good at dealing with family squabbles, never having had one of my own. The dispatcher shook her head, destroying my hopes. â€Å"One Adam Three is already there. One Adam One and Two are en route to the accident. Which leaves you.† I gave up. Sometimes fate was a malicious bitch. Surrendering any delusion that I might get to sleep soon, I grabbed coffee at the Gas n’ Go, then snagged a doughnut, too. The route to the university was becoming familiar, as was the route to Cadotte’s cubbyhole of an office. Students, teachers, security milled aimlessly in the hall. There was no sign of the man himself. The crowd parted for me like the proverbial Red Sea. However, I wasn’t feeling much like Moses. The land of milk and honey was my apartment, and it felt farther away right now than Egypt. I likened myself to Pharaoh’s soldiers. If I went through these people and into the belly of the sea, I was going to drown, but I had to go. Orders were orders and duty just that, as much now as they had been countless centuries before. I paused on the threshold of the office. Cadotte sat at his desk, his forehead in his hands. Several colleagues hovered around, trying not to disturb the mess. Cadotte glanced up, almost as if he’d sensed me there. Our gazes met. The air between us sizzled. I was in way over my head with William Cadotte. â€Å"Jessie,† he whispered, and stood. If I hadn’t come here before, I might have thought he was just a pig or a spacey egghead who had better things to do than clean. But I had come, and while the place had been full of stuff, the stuff had been in neat piles. Now it was spread to hell and gone in every corner and all across the floor. â€Å"Everyone out,† I ordered. I couldn’t stop staring at Cadotte. Though he appeared as exhausted as I was, he was still something to see. His hair stood on end, as if he’d run agitated fingers through the strands over and over again. His glasses were hooked in the pocket of his shirt, so I could see his dark eyes flare hot in an unusually pale face. He was pissed, and I couldn’t say that I blamed him. I’d been burglarized once. I still remembered how it had felt to know some stranger had invaded my place, touched my things, perhaps seen something private. I’d lost money, my CD player, but more important, I’d lost my sense of security for a long, long time. The door closed and we were alone. â€Å"What happened?† 1 asked. â€Å"I already went over this with Security.† â€Å"And I’ll get that information. I want you to tell me.† He sat on the edge of the desk and I was reminded of how easily he moved – at home in his skin, confident with his body – he’d be attractive for the way he held himself alone. The handsome face, rippling muscles, and great big†¦ brain were all gravy. â€Å"I came in to work early this morning,† he began. I wanted to ask why, but I knew better. When taking a statement it was best to let the person tell you everything without interruptions first. You didn’t want them to forget something important because they were distracted. The second time through was the time for questions. â€Å"My door was ajar. I figured the cleaning crew was running late. I walked right in.† He gave an annoyed grunt. â€Å"Sorry, I touched the doorknob.† I shrugged and made a circular motion with my finger indicating he should keep rolling. People would be amazed to know – despite countless hours of NYPD Blue – how many times evidence was fucked long before we got there. â€Å"The place was like this.† He spread his hands to indicate the mess. â€Å"I called nine-one-one, then Security. Someone was searching for something.† Since he appeared to be done with his story, I asked, â€Å"What?† â€Å"Do you still have the totem?† I started, frowned, forced my hand to stay at my side and not creep to my pocket to check. I could feel the talisman there, sharp against my upper thigh. If Cadotte had been looking, he’d have been able to see it, too, although the small piece of stone could easily be mis-taken for a key or any other paraphernalia of the pocket. â€Å"Not on me,† I lied. Then, â€Å"You think someone was after the totem, so they trashed your office?† â€Å"Nothing was taken. I checked.† â€Å"Perhaps you gave a student one too many zeros.† â€Å"I don’t give zeros.† â€Å"Too many Fs then.† â€Å"I don’t give those, either.† â€Å"Well, sign me up, Professor. Sounds like my kind of class.† His lips twitched. I was glad to see him coming out of that frozen, zombielike state. â€Å"Who else knows I had the totem?† Myself. Cadotte. Clyde. I frowned. The only one of us who didn’t know I had the totem now was Clyde. But what possible reason would he have for trashing Cadotte’s office? Clyde might not like him but wouldn’t risk his job just to be pissy. Then I remembered the paper Cadotte had signed for the totem and that it was missing. Hell, anyone with access to the evidence room, or the stolen evidence, could have done this. But why? â€Å"Jessie?† I raised my gaze. â€Å"Maybe the person who lost it was searching for it?† â€Å"And they would come to me instead of you, why?† Hmm, good point. â€Å"Who knows that I had the thing besides you and me?† he repeated. â€Å"Clyde.† I shrugged. â€Å"And anyone with access to the evidence room.† Quickly I explained about the receipt, the evidence log, and the missing evidence. Cadotte gave a long, slow blink. â€Å"That makes no sense.† I had to agree. â€Å"This was probably an unrelated incident.† â€Å"Why my office and no one else’s? Why take nothing but look at everything?† My gaze swept the room. There was an awful lot of paper. Books, notes. â€Å"Axe you working on something?† Cadotte had been staring at the ground, fingering his glasses, and scowling. â€Å"Huh?† He glanced up and I started. For a second there his dark, angry eyes had reminded me of the wolf I had seen in the clearing last night. I rubbed my own eyes, and when I tried again, all I saw in his was curiosity. Why on earth would I remember a rabid wolf when I looked into Cadotte’s eyes? Because I was way too tired to be working, way too deprived to be anywhere near him. 1 had a hard time thinking beyond how he tasted, how he smelled, how he had appeared naked in the moonlight and fully clothed on my porch with his tongue between my breasts. Yet ever since I’d walked into this room, he had given no indication that we were any more than acquaintances. Perhaps in his mind we were. He probably brought women to orgasm with his kiss alone all the time. Since the idea of him touching anyone else as he had touched me made me angry – how crazy was that? I couldn’t even bring myself to call him by his first name – I forced myself back to the matter at hand. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I was a cop, not a silly, hormonal teenager. â€Å"Are you working on a paper? A book? A theory? Something a colleague might want to take a peek at? Steal? Screw up?† He shook his head. â€Å"I just finished a book.† â€Å"You wrote a book?† Although I had asked, that he’d actually written an entire book made me gape. Cadotte laughed. â€Å"I’ve written several. That’s what professors do when they aren’t teaching. Publish or perish. Ever hear of it?† No. I’d never been much of a student – although I liked to read. What else was a girl supposed to do alone, Friday night after Friday night? â€Å"What are all these notes for?† I waved my hand at the fire hazard living in his office. â€Å"Mostly for you.† â€Å"Me?† I might not be the flowers and chocolate type, but crumpled paper and dusty books didn’t do a thing for me. â€Å"The totem, Jessie.† Poof went my ideas of romance. Everything came back to that damn piece of rock. â€Å"You never told me what you found out.† â€Å"1 wanted to.† He lifted one inky brow. â€Å"But I was distracted.† My face heated at the memory of that distraction. Suddenly he was staring at me with an expression I could only describe as hungry. He pushed away from the desk and crossed the space between us in one stride. I should have done something to stop him, but I caught the scent of his skin and my body responded, going tight and wet without him touching me at all. He stopped less than an inch away. I had to tilt my head back to see his eyes. I wasn’t used to being so much smaller than a man – one of the reasons there’d been so few men. Not only did they not like me being as tall as them or as strong; I didn’t like it, either. Call me sexist, but I wanted a guy to tower over me. Right now I wanted this one to do a lot more than tower – I wanted him to touch me, teach me, take me. As if he had heard what I wanted, his eyes narrowed; his nostrils flared. He grabbed my hips and pulled me against him, then crushed his mouth to mine. He was rough. 1 didn’t mind. Our teeth clicked together; his scraped my lip; then he licked the tiny hurt. I shuddered. I wanted to take his flesh into my mouth and suckle. I wanted to feel him skin to skin. He spread his hands over my ass and ground us together. He was hard. It felt so good. I was going to come again, right there in his office. While on duty. Shit. I shoved at his chest. He wouldn’t let me go. I wasn’t afraid. I was the one with the gun, but how could I explain shooting him? It wouldn’t be easy. His mouth was doing amazing things, and I had a difficult time remembering why I wanted him to stop. While I hesitated, he backed me up against the door, then laid his body flush with mine. My hands were still pressed to his chest, but instead of shoving, as I should be, my treacherous fingers had found their way into the collar of his shirt and stroked the smooth skin of his throat. One thumb slid into the hollow beneath his Adam’s apple. I ran my fingernail lightly across his skin. He growled and the sound vibrated from the tip of my thumb to far more interesting places. Goose bumps erupted, enhancing my sensitivity. I already felt as if the air ifself sizzled. Now my skin was on fire. The door at my back moved – opened an inch, then slammed shut beneath the weight of both my body and his. Someone knocked, the sound right next to my ear. â€Å"Professor?† I jumped and Cadotte pulled his tongue out of my mouth. His eyes were so close I could see his pupils dilated almost to the rim of the iris. If I’d been any farther away, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish one from the other, so similar were they in color. His mouth was swollen and wet. His breath puffed along my face, chilling my own damp lips. â€Å"Yes?† he called, in a cool, distant, nearly normal voice. How could he do that when he was still plastered all over me? He flexed his hips, riding his erection against the zipper in my pants. My eyes crossed and he chuckled, then kissed my forehead. â€Å"Will you be teaching your first class, Professor, or should I dismiss them?† â€Å"I’ll be right there.† I must be losing my mind, but having him talk to the department secretary about mundane daily tasks while his body was doing a vertical tango with mine on the other side of the door was the most erotic moment of my life. Pathetic, but true. Heels clicked in the other direction, sounding sharp and somewhat annoyed. Why hadn’t I heard them approach? Stupid question. Cadotte brushed his knuckles against the underside of my breast. A moan escaped my lips before I could stop myself. â€Å"Though I’d like to stay here and kiss you until you beg, I’ve gotta go.† Beg? Me? Where was my quick and cutting comeback? I couldn’t think of a thing to say. â€Å"I need to go, too.† I shifted against him. He stayed right where he was. I stared at a place on the far wall and refused to look at him. â€Å"Jessie,† he murmured. Crap. He wasn’t going to let me go until we talked about this. Why did everyone always want to talk about sex, even when they hadn’t really had it yet? Yet? I was going to have sex with William Cadotte? My eyes met his. He smiled. I sighed. Yeah. I was. How to cite Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 14, Essay examples

Strategic Audit on Tesco plc free essay sample

Introduction: Tesco Plc is a United Kingdom based international supermarket chain. This report examines Tesco strategies, the reasons behind each component and how vision, aims and cultural value interrelate to make the strategies successful. Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen from a market stall in London’s East End. Today it is one of the largest retailers in the world. There are currently a team of over 530,000 people, in 12 markets dedicated to bringing the best value, choice and service to their millions of customers each week. This level of success does not happen by chance. Tesco’s leaders have always set high standards and clear goals, never settling for anything less than the best. Today, they focus on doing the right thing for their customers, colleagues and the communities they serve. Tesco have always been committed to providing the best shopping experience. Jack Cohen (1919) Tesco Ireland: The Tesco businesses in Ireland have grown enormously since they entered in 1997; they are now the leading grocery retailer in the country with 142 stores. Revenue for 2012/2013 was â‚ ¬2,317. 5 million. Tesco are a major contributor to the Irish economy with an annual contribution of â‚ ¬2. 7billion. This includes â‚ ¬705. 8million a year exports to the Tesco Group, including shops in the UK, Central Europe and Asia. Irish exports to the worldwide Tesco Group represented 9% of the total value of Irish food and drink exported in 2010. . According to Nielsen market research, Irish customers have switched to cheaper grocery brands to save money, and are offsetting inflation by shopping â€Å"little and often†. In November 2011, Tesco Ireland opened the zero carbon Cabra store, which is the first zero-carbon supermarket in Ireland. Tesco Ireland is committed to supporting good causes across the country and since 2001 has raised more than â‚ ¬10million for its charity of the year. Tesco have also invested â‚ ¬15million in schools and clubs across Ireland through the Tesco for Schools and Clubs scheme (previously Computers for Schools and Sports for Schools and Clubs Schemes). Over half of all schools in Ireland have benefited from free equipment from Tesco since their entry into the market in 1997. Tesco’s ‘Every Little Helps’ philosophy puts customers, communities and employees at the heart of everything it does. It prides itself on providing a great shopping experience for every customer it serves, whether in stores, online or in its many other service provisions. Tesco Ireland is committed to buying local and supporting Irish suppliers. Over 11,000 Irish farm families supply their produce to Tesco, and every drop of our fresh, non-organic milk is sourced from Irish farms. And 100% of our fresh beef, lamb and pork comes from Irish farmers. We also encourage small community farmers via our Local Supplier Programme, which allows local suppliers to provide high-quality product to Tesco stores near them. Mission Statement, Values and Visions: The company’s mission statement reads, â€Å"Our core purpose is, ‘To create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty’. We deliver this through our values, ‘No-one tries harder for customers’, and ‘Treat people how we like to be treated’ †. Tesco is recognised throughout the world as the world leader in retailing. From Tesco’s main values, vision and strategy it is clear that the company will be market leaders in their selected markets but this will be done in a sustainable manner â€Å" in the creation of long-term value for all stakeholders on a socially and environmentally basis†. Tesco’s core purpose (mission) is simple: ‘We make what matters better, together. ’ Companies, like Tesco, that enjoy long-term success, are focused businesses. They have a core vision that remains constant while the business strategies and practices continuously adapt to a changing world. In an increasingly competitive global environment, without a clear vision a business will lack direction and may not survive. A vision is an aspirational view of where the business wants to be. It provides a benchmark for what the business hopes to achieve. Tesco is a company built around customers and colleagues. Its vision guides the direction of the organisation and the strategic decisions it makes. Tesco’s vision is: ‘To be the most highly valued business by: the customers we serve, the communities in which we operate our loyal and committed colleagues and of course, our shareholders. ’ Tesco is viewed as a modern, innovative and an inventive company. They are masters of company data, clubcard inventors, no other company has the analysis that Tesco has evolved. In any business, clear direction is vital. Our Vision guides the direction and the decisions we take as an organisation. Tesco is a company built around customers and colleagues, high-quality assets around the world and multiple opportunities for growth – and these characteristics are central to our Vision for the business. Tesco want to be the most highly valued business by: the customers they serve, the communities in which they operate, their loyal and committed colleagues and of course, their shareholders. Tesco’s vision has five elements which describes the sort of company it aspires to be. These are to be: wanted and needed around the world a growing business, full of opportunities modern, innovative and full of ideas winners locally whilst applying our skills globally inspiring, earning trust and loyalty from customers, our colleagues and communities. Tesco’s values are vital to its success, as shown in the quote below from Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philip Clarke: ‘The Tesco values are embedded in the way we do business at every level. Our values let our people know what kind of business they are working for and let our customers know what they can expect from us. ’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Tesco is a community-focused global business. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is at the heart of its operations. This commitment is referred to as ‘Tesco in Society’. In the competitive retailing world Tesco’s success relies on its values. They are not just a list of ‘good attitudes’ but the means to on-going success. Tesco’s approach to working with communities helps it stand out from its rivals. Its commitment to using its scale for good is demonstrated by Tesco’s ‘Three Big Ambitions’: To create new opportunities for millions of young people around the world. To improve health and through this help tackle the global obesity crisis. To lead in reducing food waste globally. These are underpinned by what Tesco calls ‘The Essentials’: We trade responsibly. We are reducing our impact on the environment. We are a great employer. We support our local communities. Philip Clarke summarises Tesco’s commitment to ‘living’ these values in the following statement: Tesco is an environment based on trust and respect If customers like what we offer, they are more likely to come back and shop with us again. If the Tesco team find what we do rewarding, they are more likely to go that extra mile to help our customers. By living the values we create a good place to work where great service is delivered. ’ These values drive everything Tesco does at every level and help make it different from its competitors. Market Share: An article published in the Irish Times on Tuesday the 1st of October 2013, stated the following interesting figures of the market shares of all retail competitors in Ireland. Tesco saw its dominance of the Irish grocery market slip in the 12 weeks to September 15th 2013, with its market share now standing at 26. 8 per cent, compared to a 28. 7 per cent share this time last year, according to research company Kantar Worldpanel. This is the twelfth successive quarter of decline for Tesco, which has lost significant market share to the discounters over the course of the year, he said. Its Tesco Price Promise campaign is clearly aimed at challenging the view that Aldi and Lidl are cheaper and it will be interesting to see the response from shoppers. (Independent. ie) Dunnes Stores and SuperValu meanwhile bolstered their share of the multi-billion euro Irish grocery market and now hold a 22. 1 per cent share and 19. 7 per cent share respectively. German discount retailer Aldi and Lidl saw respective growth rates of 24. 3 per cent and 13. 1 per cent during the 12 weeks to September 15th. David Berry, commercial director at Kantar and Worldpanel, said the build up to the Christmas period will show if the rival discounters can sustain their strong growth or if a ceiling is starting to be reached. â€Å"Their ongoing growth, combined with the improved performance from Dunnes, has placed pressure on Tesco. Its sales have declined by 5. 6 per cent, leading to a 1. 9 percentage point drop in market share,† he added. These above figures all illustrate a tough trading environment in the grocery market. David Berry, said that retailers own brands continued to appeal shoppers in face of depressed household incomes, growing at 2. 3% year on year, as shoppers focus on saving rather than spending, further demonstrating the importance of price to consumers. Competitors: Tesco is recognised throughout the world for been the world leader in retailing. The Tesco Group has one of the largest market shares in the world with an annual turnover in excess of 72 billion and excess to 14 countries. From these massive figures it is clear that the Tesco Group are in a powerful position in their area of business. The fact that Tesco Group is involved in sale of so many products and services means that the company may not have one main competitor but in fact would have a distinctive set of competitors across different product ranges and service areas in the different countries. Here in Ireland, Dunnes Stores and The Musgrave group, along with Aldi and Lidl would be Tesco’s main competitors in the retail market. On a world scale, Walmark and Carrefour would be Tesco’s main competitors and in the U. K, Sainsburys, Ms and Morrisons. One major strength that the Tesco Group has over its competitors is that they have procurement; they have the ability to source the highest standard of raw materials. Also in comparison to other food firms they have the capital to invest large sums of capital into RD and they have the capabilities to obtain the newest and best technology on the market. Example: In Ireland they have advanced technology in Self Service equipment compare to their competitors. Strategic Decision: Tesco came up with a â€Å"Price Promise Plan† to beat the leading competitors Aldi and Lidl. When you shop at Tesco, they’ll check your basket against the prices at Aldi and Lidl. If the cost of the comparable groceries within your shopping is cheaper at Asda, Sainsburys, Aldi or Lidl, they’ll give you a voucher for the difference (up to â‚ ¬10). This incentive tries to prove the lack of differences between Tesco and its competitors. Tesco also continues to expand its range of non-food items as it moves into higher-margin goods and services. Tesco are trying to stay market leader against Sainsburys in the UK. (Anthony Henry) Tesco mobile was launched in 2007, they were the first Irish supermarket to introduce this new incentive, and it has proved to be very successful. Tesco started creating good rivalry against the other networks, such as o2, Vodafone, Meteor within Ireland. Vouchers: Tesco expects to dish out around 13 million vouchers over the next year to customers, which will be worth between â‚ ¬10m and â‚ ¬13m. (Independent. ie) Core Values: Tesco’s core values include a commitment to using its scale for good by being a responsible retailer. Tesco’s continuing success depends on it reassessing and formulating clear business strategies. Tesco aims to improve customer loyalty and its core UK business in order to help it develop the shopping experience for its customers. It committed ? 1 billion to an investment programme to achieve this. Strategies to improve competitiveness were then developed. The driving forces behind these strategies are price, quality, range and innovation as well as delivering great multichannel customer service, for example, through its ‘Click Collect’ service. Tesco’s continuing success depends on it reassessing and formulating clear business strategies. Tesco aims to improve customer loyalty and its core UK business in order to help it develop the shopping experience for its customers. Strategy: A strategy is a plan which sets out how a business deploys its resources to achieve its goals. The company’s values set the tone for the decision-making process. In May 2011, Tesco committed ? 1 billion capital and revenue investment to improve the shopping trip for customers. It set out a seven part strategy designed to achieve its goals of being highly valued by customers and enjoying strong long-term growth. The table shows the main elements of this strategy. Monitoring and evaluating performance: Strategy, vision, values, aims and objectives are meaningless if their impact is not monitored and evaluated. Tesco uses a range of methods to collect data and evaluate progress against targets. It uses its Clubcard scheme, along with telephone based research and an online panel of customers, to determine what customers want and how satisfied they are with Tesco’s performance. Its Executive Committee assesses the progress of large-scale strategies. All of its business units have ‘stretching targets’ which are aspirational targets for certain KPIs. The performance of all business units is monitored continually and reported monthly to the board of directors. The following table shows how Tesco monitored its performance against targets using KPIs for the 2012/13 period. These KPIs are used to assess current performance, make comparisons with previous performance and help managers respond when targets are not being met. For instance, following investigation, an explanation for narrowly missing the staff training target was given: ‘Although narrowly missing this target, Tesco have also heavily invested in our colleagues in the UK this year through our ‘Building a Better Tesco’ plan. More than 250,000 colleague’s in-store have received customer service training, with additional technical training for 36,000 colleagues. ’ Monitoring healthy options for customers and colleagues supports Tesco’s commitment to helping employees and customers make healthy choices and lead healthier lives. In a revolutionary scheme, using data from its Tesco Clubcard, it has developed a healthy little differences tracker. This measures the health profile of a typical shop by measuring the nutritional value of what customers buy. This will be used to set targets to improve customers health by comparing how the profiles vary across different groups in society and how healthy initiatives impact on customers shopping over time. Macro environment: A SWOT analysis of Tesco shows the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the company. Strengths: Tesco’s strengths in grocery retail allow it to compete easily with companies like SuperValu, Aldi, Lidl and Dunnes Stores. This has led to its brand name and financial power becoming strengths in themselves. The introduction of Tesco Express and Tesco Metro show led to strength in flexibility. Profits for Tesco’s operations in Europe, Asia and Ireland increased by 78% during the last fiscal year. The company has a strong brand image, and is associated with good quality, trustworthy goods that represent excellent value. Tesco’s innovative ways of improving the customer shopping experience, as well as its efforts to branch out into finance and insurance have also capitalized on this. Tesco Personal Finance reached the milestone of one million motor insurance policies, making it the fastest growing motor insurance provider ever in the UK. Long Established history in grocery market. Staff with long number of year’s service with vast experiences. Tesco online: Tesco. com is the world’s biggest online supermarket. With millions of households globally using the company’s online services, the company has a strong platform to further develop this revenue stream. Weaknesses: Some of the products are priced high, compare to competitors, such as Aldi and Lidl. Large amount of fossil fuel used in its transport networks. With increasing oil prices, Tesco need to keep a close eye on transport costs. Opportunities: The main opportunity for Tesco, as for all companies, is in the online arena. Tesco has already had many online successes, having turned the Amazon threat into an opportunity by selling books at lower prices. Tesco biggest problem in pursuing possible opportunities is deciding exactly which ones to pursue. A nice position to be in! Health and beauty: Tesco’s health and beauty ranges continue to grow, and it is currently the fastest growing skincare retailer in the market. The company has a volume market-leading position in both toiletries and healthcare and is number one retailer in the baby goods markets. Across all health and beauty ranges Tesco continues to invest in price to deliver the value customers have come to expect. Threats: Possible threats to Tesco include fluctuations in the stock market and tax increases. Huge competition in the grocery market place – customers looking for savings instead of expense. International expansion: International growth is expensive. Entering new markets with a new brand requires heavy investment and marketing, as well as land prices and extra distribution and operation expense. Tesco’s debt may increase before it begins to decline. Human Resource Management: HRM is regarded as up and downstream activity, covering everything from recruitment to management development. The company aims to increase the number of training schemes and further develop its recruitment programmes so to pass on to the customer the benefits of a well recruited, well trained staff, not the costs. Tesco continues to invest in customer service, where training is also linked directly to pay, so the staff are motivated to learn, and are encouraged to improve their approach to customers and service provision quality. A career at Tesco means working for a company that puts people first –â€Å"be they our customers or our colleagues†. (Tesco. ie) Rachael Jones is the store manager in Coventry Arena, UK. She states how she thinks â€Å"Tesco will never let themselves stand still and will never get to the point when they think its good enough. Tesco will keep continuing to listen to its people. They will keep asking the customers what they want, no matter whom they are or what part of the world they come from. They are constantly trying to raise the bar for themselves†. Marketing and Sales: Marketing and sales are placed under downstream elements of the value chain within Tesco. Clubcard gives further discounts and loyalty for the customers. However, Tesco may also decide to attract more customers by advertising via radio, local newspaper and national T. V. e. g. the â€Å"lower prices† advertising campaign or more discounts offers. With a more customer sophistication and their awareness of ethical business practices, it may give the company some constraints in terms of selling environmentally friendly products. In return, Tesco can take it as an advantage and provide customers with more of the recycling points and include information in their advertisements, adding value for customers who will believe that by choosing to shop at Tesco, people are helping the environment. The Management of Tesco stores: Without the management and their stewardship, Tesco group would not be where it is today. Tesco’s management recognise the key role that its mission, vision and strategies play in its success and use a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and evaluate its performance. A company can have all the money in the world but without the right expertise in charge of it, it would all go it waste. On the weekend of the 12th of October, I met Enda Shortt; he is a grocery manger in Tesco Carrick On Shannon, Co Leitrim. He explained to me that the management teams within the Carrick on Shannon store are the most determined bunch of people he had ever met. He continued to say that you can see all their ambition to see Tesco achieve further market success. They are all dedicated and motivated about their jobs. They ensure that the adequate resources are in place to enable the store can meet the needs of their stakeholders (shareholders, employees, customers, etc). They are committed to the company becoming more successful and face the further with confidence. They let their employees have their opinion and reward them for good work. Enda discussed with me that management are spending more time monitoring the financial aspect of the store and cutting down on expenditure where possible. They are getting advice on new technology available and are investigating in new projects which they feel will make the store more competitive and more efficient in terms of saving money and energy. They are budgeting constantly, and carry out stock takes on a weekly basis. Enda finished by stating that, â€Å"the management are doing a brilliant job and are committed to achieving their objectives and getting results. Tesco need strong leadership to continue to develop and successfully face the challenges with competitors and take the right opportunities in the future†. The Board and Executive Committee: The Tesco board currently comprises the Chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, two Executive Directors and seven independent Non-executive Directors. (See Appendix: Figure 5) Key Facts: Financial Facts: ? 72. 4 billion group sales and ? 3. 5billion trading profit before tax. Global Facts: 530,000 employees worldwide and 6,784 stores. UK Facts: 310,000 colleagues in the UK and 3,146 stores in the UK. Tesco Bank: ? 1. 0 billion revenue and ? 191million trading profit. Europe: ? 9. 3billion revenue and ? 329million trading profit. Asia: ? 11. 5billion revenue and ? 661million trading profit. UK: ? 43. 6billion revenue and ? 2,272 million trading profit. Problems they face in the future: I believe that Tesco will face a massive downturn in profits within the next 3 to5 years. Competitors such as Aldi and Lidl seem to be increasing their market share at a rapid speed. Tesco have introduced the â€Å"Price Promise† to help them match their differences compare to their competitor’s brands but I feel this is not a good, strong strategic plan. To remain the number 1 retailer throughout the globe, Tesco will have to implement expensive marketing tactics and plans. Conclusion: The setting of a clear vision is central to Tesco’s success, supported by a commitment to establishing and monitoring specific objectives and devising strategies to ensure these are achieved. All aspects of the business are regularly monitored and, when necessary, plans are adapted to ensure targets are ultimately met. At the heart of all Tesco does is a commitment to being a responsible retailer.