Hardware Systems & Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hardware Systems & Design - Assignment Example Direct Input and Output mechanism is still a requirement during the process of interfacing the measurement devices to the computer, which consist of an indicator light, buttons the binary sensing unit and the switches. A typical SRF05 ultrasonic ranger is shown below. The program is implemented as a C language program and its execution takes place in Altera Nios 2 IDE. This requires the terminal closed for a start of a new one to change the register (Null and Lobur 2006, p53). The Altera development environment is then started as shown in figure 2 below. The next step is to import the code into the workspace, by browsing to find the directory. The Projects window is now able to show the selected program code as well as all the header files as shown in figure 3 below. By clicking on the arrow next to the name of the code inside the project explorer and double clicking the program name of the C program source code. The C file opens inside the code editor as shown below. The requisite step is to ensure that the DE0 board and the USB port are connected on the computer and the power is turned on through the big red button. After powering, the NIOS board show NIOS on the 7 segment display. The lit LED will be on and off at intervals. In the eighth line 8: the LED value is set to 0x4, which essentially lights one LED. Lines 16 and 19: tests for the LED value, but does not alter it. In this case, the LED value needs to be reset to 0x2AA, whose binary equivalent is (0000-0010-1010-1010). The next step is to click on the â€Å"Run† command to compile and download the program to the DE0 board. The change in delay is created by modifying the while loop and altering the value 200000 to 2000. The speed at which the light flashes on the LED increased upon saving and running the program with the updates. The results of the program are displayed in the 7

Should mortgage lenders be nationalised Essay Example for Free

Should mortgage lenders be nationalised Essay Following recent disturbances in the world economy some governments came to a conclusion that it is in their duty to intervene and solve the growing problem. In this case the problem of mortgage lenders. As with every action from government, it is important to assess whether there truly is a market failure or not. To begin with, a closer look at how this situation arose would be essential. Over recent years, the housing market not only in UK but around the world as well had been enjoying a period of prosperity. House prices were ridiculously high, though no one seemed to be bothered by that. Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) played a key role in that, as this security type let a vast number of homebuyers to take loans. Investors thought that might just be a perfect opportunity to make some profit, so they also joined this house of madness by lending money to mortgagors through the banking system. However, nothing lasts forever. Investors realised that there is a risk of their money not being returned either on condition that banks and/or lenders fail, therefore they immediately left the market causing dry up of mortgage finances. So, there it is. This is where government ought to, in mortgage lenders opinion, step in, pump money and let the vicious cycle continue. Indeed, there is a market failure. A failure that only government can solve. Should it though? Isnt the true idea standing behind the capitalism to reward the hard-working, the smart and punish the lazy, the reckless? Why should the latter ones be protected? Why should tax payers money be spent in such a wasteful way? Nationalising UKs Bradford Bingley alone has already cost à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½150bn. In fact, only a small number of banks is to be blamed for this state of affairs to have taken place. Their irresponsible high stake risk taking actions led to a disaster that, now, they want all of us to bear the cost of. How unreasonable that must sound to a person who doesnt even have a mortgage? Weve had ten years of allowing banks to do what they wish really, to give them absolute freedom to lend. Alex Brummer, City editor, Mail on Sunday However, with nationalising it would be assured that Bank of Englands base rate is reinforced and has a real life implications, as it has been recently revealed that some mortgage providers do not cut their interest rates in line with the one set up by BoE. Moreover, it has been stated by government authorities and banks representatives on numerous occasions that improving access to capital is crucial to get the economy working again. That might actually be the case with a reduced borrower exploitation. Nationalised industries are supposed to be in the best interest of society, therefore hopefully there will no longer be banks trying to unfairly steal peoples possessions by taking a use of their lack of knowledge, charging enormous rates, making it harder for those who already find it difficult to keep up with repayments. Government would be able to offer competitive deals for everyone, and with market forces coming in, other lenders would have to follow the trend as well. It is the period of nationalising that needs to be taken into consideration, too. United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, emphasised that this process in regards of Northern Rock is only on a temporary basis, yet still it would be more realistic to count in years rather than months instead. That is how long it is expected for NR to repay the loan from taxpayers. That situation is extremely rare these days, so an accurate estimation of when the government will loosen its grip on the bank is hard to predict. Worth mentioning is the fact that it was only after 16 years of Rolls-Royce emergent nationalisation in 1971, that all its shares were sold to private owner. What would happen if the mortgage defaults continued to rise though? What if the plan would fail? And more money would be needed in attempts to solve the problem? Taxpayers would be left with a very large bill to pay for financial bailout. And this leaves us with the question how would the government fund further bailouts? Increase taxation? Cannot, this would cause a slowdown of an economy. Income tax lower income, lower consumption. Indirect taxes higher taxes, lower consumption. Doesnt sound good. Borrowing? Cannot. The so-called Golden Rule of fiscal policy is that the government should not borrow in order to finance current spending, and that any borrowing the government does undertake is for investment. I wouldnt consider rescuing awfully managed mortgage lending banks as a form of investment. I have no doubt that Mrs Thatcher would more than happily get rid of collapsing institutions. In her opinion, what doesnt work, shouldnt be allowed to work at all. Bailing banks out is a wrong idea in terms of externalities, moral hazard in particular. If they [banks] would know that there is the Government standing behind, fully prepared to save them in case of failure, they would feel more secure about themselves, with a higher willingness to take risk. They wouldnt bear all the consequences. Northern Rock and Bradford Bingley did not. Where is the capitalistic ideology of laissez-faire? Just leave it alone. Events should take their own courses, whereas government generally ought not to intervene in the marketplace. Looking at the situation in a more positive light though, financial conditions will improve in few years time, and by then the Government will be able to sell banks for much more attractive prices (e.g. Virgin trying to buy Northern Rock, but the offer was too low in Governments opinion) in order to compensate and benefit taxpayers. Still, I am not really convinced with the view of governments nationalising mortgage lenders. As a free market economy supporter, I strongly believe that the market should be free of any governments intervention nor regulation, besides the minimum function of maintaining the legal system and protecting property rights. To finalise, I would like to quote a man, whose words cannot summarise my essay better, The nationalisation of Northern Rock is a disaster for the taxpayer, a disaster for this government and a disaster for our country.

Decentralized Approach for Achieving Seamlessness

Decentralized Approach for Achieving Seamlessness CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK Thesis Outcome The major outcome of this research effort is to analyse the feasibility and benefits of achieving seamlessness with the proposed decentralized approach augmenting the conventional centralized approach for heterogeneous networks. In lieu of this, the outcomes achieved include A Hybrid Approach (Linux Kernel Module and SCTP) to decrease the latency during Vertical Handoff process and IP mobility to achieve seamless continuity. Location Awareness in Hybrid Approach to reduce the triggering of unnecessary handoffs during vertical handoff that result in performance degradation. Contributions of the Present Work In this thesis, several aspects and approaches for seamless continuity are discussed. The major contributions of the work carried out in this thesis are: Different approaches to achieve seamless continuity in heterogeneous networking environment. A brief review on the open issues and challenges related to seamless continuity. Design and development of daemon based decentralized approach for intranet environment. Design and development of an efficient and fast method known as kernel based decentralized approach for improving the latency during handoffs. Development of Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) approach for addressing dynamic address reconfiguration in heterogeneous environment. Design and development of a novel hybrid method using the combination of SCTP and kernel module. Development of a location aware method to incorporate into the hybrid approach for heterogeneous networks. Solution Overview The proposed solution is a hybrid approach to achieve seamless session continuity in heterogeneous networks. This approach is completely decentralized complementing the centralized approach which is completely based on server agents. It can be applied to both intra and Internet environment without any changes to the network layer. To prove this approach for seamlessness, testing was done on three network interfaces Ethernet (eth), WLAN (wlan), WCDMA (wcdma). For Intranet A vertical handoff daemon was developed to achieve seamlessness over heterogeneous networks. This daemon application runs as a background process at the user space and it also takes care of the handoff process between various radio interfaces. Firstly, this proposed daemon continuously polls for the registered interfaces and then checks the status (live or dead) of these devices. Later, it also updates the status to the network layer of the protocol stack to keep the service continuing between the mobile device and the server. The designed architecture is well suited for all the IP based multimedia applications but running only in intranet environment. IP mobility is an issue which has to be still addressed which cannot be solved in this approach. For Internet To achieve seamless continuity over heterogeneous networks, this proposed solution is a combination of Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) and Linux kernel module. This kernel module gets registered with the Linux kernel and updates the status of various interfaces by signalling the SCTP application running at the user level. This SCTP application will then accomplish the handoff process between various network interfaces. The reason behind this approach is SCTP has an advantage of IP address reconfiguration which solves the IP mobility issue and Kernel module has an advantage of latency. This accomplishes the handoff process in a faster and elegant fashion. But this will not solve the problem of unnecessary triggering of handoffs. In this regard the following handoff decision process was integrated into hybrid approach to improve performance while achieving seamlessness. Location based Handoff Decision This proposed algorithm is completely based on location based information. This is a research effort to study the feasibility of location based solution which consists of combining the conventional handoff decision with a location based evaluation mechanism. This mechanism relies on positioning method for obtaining mobile user position fixes. Once the user’s location, speed and direction are calculated, the evaluation mechanism will predict the user’s path. It will then decide whether the user will remain in the same network coverage area for necessary duration to result in performance improvement. If not, this proposed evaluation method will notify the mobile device to trigger a handoff. The knowledge on user’s location, speed and direction is necessary to prevent inefficient and unnecessary handoffs. Conclusion In this research effort, a seamless vertical handoff system across heterogeneous networks is presented. It is implemented in current Linux operating system. In the proposed system, the handoff latency is much shorter than other current systems focusing on the issue of vertical handoff. Different from other vertical handoff systems, handoff agents or servers are not required in this system. Only with the mobile host itself, the vertical handoff can be realized. Moreover, the overhead during handoff is also quite low. The system is evaluated through a series of experiments. The experimental results demonstrated the handoff is handled in a fast and elegant manner. The proposed system is tested in the real-world analyses. The experiments were conducted under different environments and evaluated with various multimedia applications. This work is not only for home network solution but it is extended to an Internet solution. Moreover, prior to triggering handoff, the algorithm’s ability to predict user direction, speed and visit to WLAN coverage area allowed it to provide an observable benefit both on user’s perspective and also on network’s perspective. This location based evaluation of the algorithm helped to not only prevent the occurrence of unnecessary handoffs which would result in performance degradation but also reduce wastage of resources. The novel hybrid decentralized approach based on location awareness presented in this work handled the issues of latency, dynamic address reconfiguration and unnecessary triggering of handoffs for seamless continuity in heterogeneous networks. Future Work Keeping in view the wide proliferation of heterogeneous networks and high level of interworking required for next generation mobile users, the scope of the future work can be more focussed on pursuing open challenges such as battery power consumption, Quality of Service (QoS) and security for effective ubiquitous experience and seamless continuity. Battery power consumption of the mobile client is a significant criterion for handoff. Whenever the battery power drops to particular threshold, the mobile client should immediately shift to lower power demand network interface. As the demand for multimedia applications increases there is a need to guarantee QoS such as high available bandwidth, Bit Error Rate (BER), network load balancing, Signal to Noise ratio (SNR) and so on. Security is another important criterion which needs to be addressed. Hence, when handoff data is exchanged between devices it is always preferable to have network with high level of encryption. In this research effort, some work was done on best Access Point selection algorithm. With the enormous increase of WLAN AP’s everywhere, there is a need to look at new approaches to select the best AP among multiple AP’s for achieving horizontal handoffs.

ETHNICITY IN TODAY?S SPORTS :: essays research papers

Armstrong, K. L. (2000). African-American Students’ Responses to Race as a Source Cue in Persuasive Sport Communications. Journal of Sports Management, 14, 208-227.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to think about all of the campaigning, advertising, and announcing that goes into sport communication. The article explains how when dealing with sports communication they always relate back to race. The study was to examine students and try to figure the response one might receive from the students from the role that was being portrayed. When the results came in they showed that African Americans held race at a higher value when dealing with the sports communication process. Armstrong, K. L. (2000) race and sport consumption motivations: A preliminary investigation of a black consumers’ sport motivation scale. Journal of Sport Management.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this article sports consumption is explained. In this article Armstrong gives rise to the question, why do different races eat up the sports world in different ways and fashions? The article suggests that African Americans consume the sports world based on previous hardships. The article also suggests that Caucasian people eat up the sports world for the excitement of the game. The article also spoke a little about the differences between men and women and how their motivation toward sports are similar in some Ethnicity in today’s sports 3 aspects. The fact that women are raised to be â€Å"girly† and men are raised to be â€Å"manly† makes their eagerness and motivation different. Davis, H. & Stacia, L. (2001). Career maturity and the Black college student-athlete. The Sicence & Engineering Journal, 63, pgs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article studied the differences between black student-athletes, white student-athletes, and non student-athletes. . There is now talk of placing athletes in a comprehensive career planning intervention program before entering college to help with their career planning skills. The reason for implementing this program is due to the percentages that came from the study done. The study showed that a higher percentage of African American student athletes chose majors that had little or nothing to do with their chosen career path. The study also showed that more often than not African Americans had dreams of pro sport careers. The outcome of the study was the exact opposite when dealing with white student athletes. Most white student athletes chose majors that reflected their chosen career path and a low percentage had dreams of a pro sports career. Goldsmith, P.A.

HIPAA Act of 1996 :: Health, Health Information

â€Å"The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made it illegal to gain access to personal medical information for any reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursements† (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 166). â€Å"HIPAA legislation mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and criminal penalties for violation† (Clayton 2001). â€Å"HIPAA also has privacy requirements that govern disclosure of patient protected health information (PHI) placed in the medical record by physicians, nurses, and other health care providers† (Buck, 2011). Always remember conversations about a patient’s health care or treatment is a violation of HIPAA. â€Å"All PHI is included in the privacy requirements for example: the patient’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition; the provision of health ca re to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual† (Buck, 2011). Other identifiable health information would be the patient’s name, address, birth date and Social Security Number (Keomouangchanh, 2011). (Word count 197) There has been some ethical issues surrounding the development and use of technology, that would consist of some advancements, such as â€Å"when in vitro fertilization is applied in medical practice and leads to the production of spare embryos, the moral question is what to do with these embryos† (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). As for ethical dilemmas that comes into play with â€Å"gene mapping of humans, genetic cloning, stem cell research, and others areas of growing interest to scientist† (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). â€Å"Life support technology raises serious ethical issues, especially in medical decisions regarding continuation or cessation of mechanical support, particularly when a patient exists in a permanent vegetative state† (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). Health care budgets are limited throughout this world, making it hard for advancements yet even harder to develop the advancements with restraints. Which brings us back to the â€Å"social, ethical, and legal constraints, public and private insurers face the problem deciding whether or not to cover novel treatments† 188. Similarly what was mentioned before the decisions about â€Å"new reproductive techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection in vitro fertilization (ICSIIVF), new molecular genetics predictive tests for hereditary breast cancer, and the newer drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra) for sexual dysfunction† (Giacomini, 2005).

Nursing Care Plan Essay

Client name: Mrs. Chan Age/ sex: 48/F Medical diagnosis: Fluid overload, decreased TK output and decreased Hb Assessment date: 25-11-2012 Diagnostic statement (PES): Excess fluid volume related to compromised regulatory mechanism secondary to end-stage renal failure as evidence by peripheral edema and patient’s weight gained from 69.8kg to 73.6kg within 4 days. Assessment Nursing Diagnosis Goals & Expected Outcomes Nursing Interventions Rationales Methods of Evaluation Subjective data: 1. The client claimed her weight started to gain quickly 2 weeks before admission. 2. The client reported of taut and shiny skin appeared on the limbs and face. 3. The client complained on decreasing urinary output 2 weeks before admission. 4. The client complained of increasing SOB and orthopnoea Objective data: 1. Pressing thumb for 5s into the limbs’ skin and removed quickly resulted in pitting and graded at +1. 2. The client’s weight gained from 69.8kg to 73.6kg from 25/11/2012 to 29/11/2012. 3. Reduced CAPD output was noted. 4. Shifting dullness on abdomen was noted. Dysfunctional health pattern: Nutrition and Metabolism Problem: Excess fluid volume Etiology:  related to compromised regulatory mechanism secondary to end-stage renal failure Defining characteristics/ Signs & symptoms : 1. Client’s weight gained from 69.8kg to 73.6kg within 4 days. 2. Peripheral edema graded at +1. Goals: The client will exhibit decreased edema on peripheral. Expected outcomes: 1. The client can regain fluid balance as evidenced by weight loss accessed by3/12/2012 2. The client will be able to verbalize the restricted amount of necessary dietary like sodium and fluid as prescribed by 3/12/2012. 3. The client will be able to demonstrate 1 method to access edema by 3/12/2012 4. The client will demonstrate 2 method to help reduce edema by 3/12/2012 1. Ongoing assessments a) Record 24hrs intake and output balance. b) Weigh at 0600 and 1800 daily 2. Therapeutic interventions a) Introduce the needs for low sodium diet and the lower the fluid intake less than 800ml b) Apply stockings while lying down and check extremities  frequently for adequate circulation. c) Advise the client to elevate her feet when sitting 3. Education for client and caregivers a) Plan ROM exercise for all extremities every 4h b) Teach pressing thumb for 5s into the skin and grading if appear in pitting. c) Educate the sign and syndromes of edema. d) Teach to avoid canned and frozen food and cook without salt and use spices to add flavour. 1a) Weight client daily can monitor trends to evaluate interventions.( Lewis& Sharon Mantik., 2011) b) Monitor IO chat can determine effect of treatment on kidney function( Lewis& Sharon Mantik., 2011) 2a) High-sodium intake leads to increase water retention(Carpenito, L. J., 2010) b) Compression stockings increase venous return and reduce venous pooling. (Carpenito, L. J., 2010) c) This prevent fluid accumulation in the lower extremities. (Gulamick & Myers, 2007) 3a) Contracting skeletal muscles increase lymph flow and reduce edema. (Carpenito, L. J., 2010) b&c) Client and caregiver can help monitor and control fluid overload ( Lewis& Sharon Mantik., 2011) d) Restrict the sodium intake can decrease the feeling of thirst to drink water. ( Gulamick & Myers, 2007) 1. Keep checking on the change of client’s weight. 2. Assess the client’s edema condition every day by pressing. 3. Ask the client to demonstrate the method for accessing and reducing edema. 4. Ask the client to record the menu eaten for checking the eating habits. 5. Ask the client to verbalize syndromes of edema.

Case Study of Marks and Spencer Essay

Introduction Marks and Spencer is one amongst the main retailers in kingdom managing over 600 stores and handling many workers. At present, the corporate is that the leading supplier of women’s wear and nightclothes within the UK. Within the space of different attire, these have incurred a substantial quantity of growth. The corporate additionally provides for food retail. This report has been based on strategic planning of Marks and Spencer. TASK 1: 1.1. Explain the importance of external factor affecting an organization to begin your report describe how you should use SWOT and STEEP analysis to explain the current context of an organization in your chosen case study. SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis is that the analysis that helps organization to search out the position of their whole and also the image of product within the current market they’re in operation this analysis helps to search out the subsequent points of the organization within the market (Henry, 2008): Strength Weaknesses Opportunities Threat If we tend to do a similar analysis in Marks and Spencer than following would be the results of the analysis in keeping with the on top of strategic examples: Opportunities: Below are the opportunities for Marks and Spencer on which it can capitalize its strengths: Enter in new market with the prevailing product however with glorious worth. Marks and Spencer can enter in emerging markets such as India and China to avail the opportunities of growth in these markets. Become a preferred fashion supplier with inexperienced thinking till 2012. Fashion industry has potential of growth in future. Marks and Spencer can avail this opportunity by expanding its store networks. Threat: Below are the threats available to M&S: Change in fashion merchandise and clothes by competitors frequently can impact the market share of Marks and Spencer. Change in polices of government in terms of financial policies that might impact the borrowing power of M&S. Increasing competition in the market has forced the company to be competitive in cost. Because of intense market competition, Marks and Spencer can face decrease in its market share. Because of increase in inflation, buying power of customers is decreasing. This can impact the market share of company at large scale. Political Analysis The government of kingdom encourages commerce in its territory. This can be primarily seen within the varied corporations that originate from completely different components of kingdom. It’s sometimes standard that any variety of trade is authorized within the aforementioned region on condition that it’s not contrary to public policy, public order, or any existing laws applicable in kingdom. This can be inspired with the membership of kingdom in commerce blocs just like the Common Market and international trade organizations like the globe Trade Organization (Daft, 2010). Economic Analysis The UK is among the centres of commerce in Europe as an entire. Shoppers aren’t restricted to the native voters as a considerable amount of travellers congregate on the streets of its urban areas on a continual basis. This can be correspondingly correct within the context of the retail  business, specifically within the neck of the woods of classy articles like fashion and attire (Collier, 2004). The client base has the propensity to involve many sorts of wear betting on the prevailing variety of weather of the realm. Technological Analysis A lot of people in United Kingdom are capable of accessing within the net. This intimates that variety of the businesses square measure able to maximize of their operations and broaden by using e-commerce initiatives. This is often primarily seen in foremost retail organizations like Tesco. Hence, on-line promoting and buys created within the course of cyberspace is popping intent on be one amongst the competitive blessings no inheritable by the leading retail organizations in UK. 1.2. Describe how the need and expectation of stake holder here influenced the strategic decision of the business selected in the case study Stakeholders have different expectations from the organizations. Future strategic plans of the company can impact the expectations of its stakeholders and vice versa. Following are the expectations of stakeholders of Marks and Spencer regarding strategic decisions of business: Shareholders: They are the individuals who have invested in the company. The shareholders of Marks and Spencer expect high return on investment from the strategic decisions taken by management. Employees: The employees of Marks and Spencer expect job security and high salaries. In addition to this, the employees of Marks and Spencer also expect assurance of a developing working environment through strategic decisions. Customers: They are very important stakeholder of Marks and Spencer. They demand that strategic decisions of company offer hem quality product and services at their convenience while maintaining price at affordable range. Community: The community is also an important stakeholder of Marks and Spencer. It demands that the Marks and Spencer must contribute towards it through its strategic decisions in terms of sustainable practices. 1.3. Explain the changes in the external environment in the case study example that have happened so far. The STEEP analysis of Marks and Spencer is effective to analyse the external environment of the company. The STEEP analysis of Marks and Spencer is as follows: Political Factors: Within the case of Marks and Spencer, one amongst the additional worrying political elementary parts that they need to modify is that the issue of labour regime  and preservation of commercial relationship. Years ago, the event makes an attempt sought-after by the organization are restricted by many encroachments of worker rights that primarily are against labour laws not solely within their operations in the domestic level however additionally in their international endeavours (Marr, 2006). This can be significantly correct in their French operations whereas the organization was charged of grave abuse and breaking of celebrated labour laws. Economic Factors: Increasing inflation has impacted the market share of the company. The analysis of economic factors has shown that the buying power of customers is decreasing because of increasing inflation. In addition to this, increasing competition and slow growth of the industry has impacted the market share of company. In the last 25 years, market share of Marks and Spencer has declined from 14.8% to 10.8% (Zoe, 2012) Social Factors: In the framework of social and cultural aspects of the setting, the regular United Kingdom has the tendency to be extremely loyal to a selected whole. The quality of quality of the merchandise is imperative in each deal however may effortlessly be defeated by a fairly competitive valuation strategy from an opposing whole. Current observations equally indicate that predilection on trendy designs over the classics looks to indicate among the United Kingdom shoppers. Technological Factors: Increasing technological advancement in the industry has impacted the efficiency of the processes. Decrease in cost can be achieved through effect ive use of technology. The industry analysis shows that Marks and Spencer has not been efficient to respond to technological advancements. TASK 2: 2.1. Explain the effects of its current business plans on your organization. The Vision and Mission of Marks and Spencer The company seeks to grow into a world category distributor. Marks and Spencer intends to attain this by specializing in 5 key growth areas: A. the corporate seeks to still invest in and grow its core retail business by introducing new merchandise and services B. the corporate seeks to strengthen its property portfolio. C. the corporate seeks to boost on its M&S Direct business D. the corporate seeks to expand on their international business E. the  corporate seeks to integrate â€Å"green† operations in doing business by incorporating their â€Å"Plan A.† The current business portfolio of Marks and Spencer can be accessed through BCG Matrix. BCG Matrix suggests that it is good in terms of clothing and has position of stars on the BCG matrix. However, in food market, the position of Marks and Spencer is at question mark. This is because market share of Marks and Spencer in food market is very low. The industry growth in fashion market of United Kingdom is also show which suggests that the position of Marks and Spencer is moving towards dogs. With substantial inflow of capital and differentiation of products and services, Marks and Spencer can take position of stars on BCG Matrix. 2.2. Review the organization present position on the market place, and consider especially its customer base, and more generally its rivals. Marks and Spencer have robust weapon in trade: very robust name. This implies that their whole is related to factors like category and quality. Another department that the corporate hold is seen in its prosperous history in mercantilism. At some stage in the years of its functions, it’s obtained an honest range of amenities that function moneymaking institutions for Marks and Spencer. Alongside this history is that the continuation of established partners and alliances that has been obtained by means that of over a century of business. Among the most flaws of the corporate square measure 1st and foremost perceptible in its management. Specially, a match involving the arrangement of the corporate, the character of its trade, and therefore the authentic management approaches has nonetheless to be established. Moreover, being a performing artist within the competitive business of retail, an organization should own active promoting talents (Michael, 2009). However, it seems that Marks and Spencer has been insulation in terms of selling enhancements like loyalty cards and operation of customer-focused functions. The market share of Marks and Spencer has been declining in the market of United Kingdom. In the past year i.e.2011, the market share of Marks and Spencer has decreased from 10.9% to 10.4% because of intense competition and shortage of purchases (Zoe, 2012). In 1989, the market share of Marks and Spencer was 14.8% in the United Kingdom which has decreased in the 25 years because of increasing competition in the market (Zoe, 2012). The strategic plans of Marks and Spencer have played important role in this regard. The strategic plans of the competitors have worked effectively and  increased their market share. For instance, the market share of Next (competitor of Marks and Spencer) has risen from 1.5% to 7.5% in the same period (Zoe, 2012). Therefore, the biggest reason behind decline in market share of Marks and Spencer is its strategic plans (Zoe, 2012). 2.3. Evaluate the competitive strength and weakness of your organization current business strategies. Strengths: Reputation: Marks and Spencer is the famous brand in the United Kingdom. Strong image of brand is the major strength of the company that attracts customers. Online Shopping: Marks and Spencer allows customers to purchase through internet. Online shopping allows convenience to customers and contributes in strong position of the company. Weaknesses: Slow to change: Marks and Spencer is slow in its response towards changes in customer trends and preferences. The competitors of Marks and Spencer can take advantage of this weakness of the company by responding quickly to market changes. Lack of newness: the products and services of Marks and Spencer are not innovative and creative. Competitive worth: Low creativity, innovativeness and response to changes in environment have reduced the competitive worth of Marks and Spencer. Shortage of Suppliers: Marks and Spencer does not have wide choices of suppliers. In this way, the company is weak in its buying power. Task 3: 3.1. Suggest strategic option for M&S The strategic options for Marks and Spencer can be determined through effective analysis of industry and competitor moves. The ANSOFF Matrix can be effective tool for suggesting strategic options for Marks and Spencer. The ANSOFF Matrix for Marks and Spencer is as follows: Market penetration: This is the strategy through which existing products are pushed in the existing market. Market Development: This is the strategy through which new markets are searched for the existing products of the company. Product Development: This is the strategy through which new products are developed for the existing markets of the company Diversification: This is the strategy through which new products can be developed for new markets of Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer can implement this strategy by adding  differentiation factor in its products and pushing new products in new markets. The above strategies are effective for the Marks and Spencer to increase its market share in the United Kingdom. The company has strong capabilities which can be incorporated in the strategic plans of the company in an effective way to achieve its aims and objectives. 3.2. Describe the activity of business rivals which compete with your organizations and assess the impact of such an activity on it. The competitors of M&S are identified as departmental stores, small local retailers and supermarkets. In more specific form, the competitors of M&S are Debenhams, House of Fraser and BHS. Moreover, Tesco and Sainsbury have also been giving competition to it to some extent. The competitors of M&S are using model of shop within a shop. They have been focussing on the expansion of their businesses across United Kingdom. Tesco has adopted a policy of offering huge price cuts to customers for increasing its sales volume. In 2012, it has showered customers with price cut offers. These extensive discounts offered by Tesco (Wallop, 2012) may impact the business of M&S because customers tend to buy the products that are priced low. In this way a substantial customer population of M&S may shift towards Tesco. This may result in decrease in market share of M&S. 3.3. Returning to your suggestions (3.1) for strategic option, how would you develop them further in light of this competition? In relation to the competition, expansion strategy can be very effective for Marks and Spencer. As competitors are expanding business across the geographical boundaries in order to increase their market shares, Marks and Spencer can also excel in the market by adoption investment strategies. In real terms, this can be done by saving cost through cost leadership strategy. By adopting cost leadership strategy, Marks and Spencer can save cost and invest it for expanding its operations. Cost Leadership Strategy Cost leadership strategy may be a strategy during which company offers low price with prime quality to the shoppers. Company will sale its product at average costs of trade so as to realize high profits. The second chance is that company sells its product at lower costs than the trade costs. The concept behind this idea is to draw in higher market share. By getting price advantage firms will get competitive advantage within the market. Price leadership strategy will be adopted by raising the processes of business so  inefficiencies will be aloof from the business (Pearson, 2009). Differentiation Strategy Differentiation may be a strategy that enables firms to supply distinctive merchandise or services that have price to the shoppers. The distinctiveness in merchandise or services should not be offered by the competitors. All the promoting methods aim to induce differentiation. Differentiation is that the prime supply of competitive advantage for firms (Porter, 1980). The differentiation strategy permits firms to draw in customers at higher costs. Differentiation strategy permits firms to charge high costs to the shoppers so as to supply distinctive merchandise and services to them. Promoting methods are designed so as to draw in customers and to supply individuality to the shoppers. Focus group strategy This dimension is not a separate strategy in and of it, but describes the scope over that the company need to contend supported worth leadership or differentiation. The firm can worth additional extremely to contend at intervals the mass market (like Wal-Mart) with a broad scope, or in focused market section with a slim scope. In either case, the concept of competition will still be either cost leadership or differentiation (Michael, 2005). Market Development This strategy involves investment in different markets and innovation. It is only the difficult times when businesses get a chance to alter and revise their current strategies and implement new ones. Apart from this, most companies may lack proper resources to implement a proper business strategy or they might just make temporary changes in their market structure and less attention to product innovation. This reduces the chances of an investment strategy to be successful. TASK 4: 4.1. Now shape these suggestions into a coherent business plan, and indicate how the structure of the plan needs to be developed with participation of relevant stakeholder. Suppliers  Suppliers are called key stake holder of any organization. Particularly in Marks and Spencer they need an excellent influence and that they hold the  talk’s power that’s why any new strategic policy might have an effect on them, thus once M&S have new strategy or changes within the organization they need to recognize and discuss its connected contents with their suppliers (Smit, 2003). The suppliers of the company can be involved in the strategic plans by developing partnerships with them so that consistent supply of quality materials can be ensured with cost effective buying. Customers: Customer are key stake holder of any organization as a result of they hold the money within the stores of any company and have the facility to spend it wherever ever they require, that the policies of the corporate ought to be kind within the means that defend the interest of consumers (Burns, 2009). The new strategic plans of the company must involve customers through effective marketing strategies. Employees: In any organization particularly if we tend to took an example of M&S they need managers with the expertise of six to seven years and that they are perpetually operating in a very same setting with loyalty and progressing with the nice name, thus it’s important to require additional care of workers whereas doing strategic planning for organization. The higher than division of stake holders with their level of interest and power shows the result they may create within the strategic planning. 4.2. Describe appropriate criteria for reviewing potential options for the proposed strategic plan. The criteria selected for the evaluation and monitoring of proposed plan is as follows: Suitability: This factors refers that whether the overall project is worthwhile and rational or not. The proposed plan for Marks and Spencer will be evaluated that whether the strategy addresses the mission of the company or not. Moreover, this factor also assesses the effectiveness of the proposed plan of the Marks and Spencer from economic point of view. SWOT analysis of the company is conducted to address this factor. Feasibility: This factor refers to the idea that whether the company has enough economic resources for achieving the aims of proposed plan. The resources included in this regard are market access, people capital and expertise. Through cash flow, forecasting, resource deployment analysis and break even analysis will be used for evaluating the worthiness  of the proposed plan. Acceptability: This refers to the idea that stakeholders of the company have agreed with the strategic aims of the proposed plan. The financial and nonfinancial outcomes of the proposed plan of Marks and Spencer are accessed through this factor. The employees would have concern about the nonfinancial outcomes of the proposed plan such as about working conditions. 4.3. Describe how the plan includes an assessment of the resources required to implement the plan. The strategic plan of any organization needs to be reviewed on regular basis so that its results can be measured against set objectives. In order to implement the strategic plan, resources are required (Marr, 2006). Marks and Spencer needs to assess its following resources for effective implementation of strategies plan: Financial resources: Marks and Spencer has strong financial resources in the form of capital and store networks. It is a listed company having plenty of funds available for expanding its operations and improving current business practices. Human resources: In more than 300 stores of Marks and Spencer, huge workforce is present which is qualified and efficient and has potential for achieving financial returns for the company. TASK 5: 5.1. Compare the core values of the organizational against its current business objectives. The core values of M&S include quality, innovation, customer values and commitment. In addition, M&S believes that it is a trusted retailer and has a strong heritage of highly qualified and efficient employees. Moreover, engagement and involvement of employees in the business objectives is also preferred by the M&S. The objectives of the M&S include providing quality products with high innovation. Moreover, the organization also has aim to provide customer each time a new product. In this regard, the core values i.e. innovation and quality provision are highly related with the organizational values. In order to produce innovation in the product, the employees are encouraged and involved in the organizational processes and designs. In this way, it is said that the organizational values and objectives of M&S are aligned with each other. 5.2. Develop these values into a vision of the organization and suggest a mission statement that expresses these values. The core values of Marks and Spencer are stated in following vision: â€Å"To be the best brand against which all other competitors are measured† The mission statement of the Marks and  Spencer is as follow: â€Å"To provide quality products to customers while increasing market share† 5.3. Describe how this vision can combine with the business objectives of the strategic plan, so that an inspiring vision of the future of the business can involve all relevant stakeholders. The vision of the organization is to provide the best brand to customers in comparison with the competitor’s products and brands. On the other hand, the organizational objectives include providing high quality innovative products and services to customers. The inspiring vision of providing high quality and innovative products has been effectively distributed and transformed into organizational objectives. The employees at the lower end are aware of the organization vision because they are given appropriate environment to produce innovations and creativity in the products. In the strategic plan, the organizational objectives and vision is combined to produce high quality and innovative products. In future, the strategic plan will provide highly effective because it has involved the all relevant stakeholders of the organization. The employees are involved in the strategic plan to produce creativity and innovation in the products. The customers are involved in a sense that they are provided high quality and new product products. Through innovation and quality in products, the sales and market share of the company may increase. This may result in high profitability of the organization which will ultimately contribute positively to the shareholders of the M&S. 5.4. Develop measure for evaluating your strategic plan. In order to evaluate the strategic plan, following measures are developed: Ongoing monitoring: The objectives of the strategic plans are continuously monitored on the basis of the objectives. The ongoing and completed objectives will be monitored that whether the strategic plan is implanted effectively or not. For the ongoing objectives, suggestions or appropriate actions will be taken to lead the overall strategic plan to appropriate accomplishment. The achievements of the plan objectives will be measured on regular basis. Qualitative and quantitative measures will be adopted for evaluating the strategic plan. TASK 6: 6.1. Develop a schedule for implementing a strategy plan in an organization. Formulating a timetable permits the corporate to possess a close map of the  strategy. Within the case of Marks and Spencer, the creation of a timetable permits them to understand the vision of the corporate by specifically pinpointing actions required to for its implementation. A timetable permits the corporate to possess a transparent cut and elaborate define of the events. This is often additionally an honest tool to live whether or not or not the corporate is moving forward or not. The schedule for the implementation of plan is as follows: First Year: The research and development activities will be effectively developed to introduce the innovation and creativity in the organization. The customer traffic will be improved through offering innovative and quality products. Second Year: The market share will be improved through offering long term benefits to customers. The customer loyalty cards will be used for building customer loyalty for the organization. Third Year: Finally, in the third year the company will tend to expand its market to areas where it has not shown its presence. New stores will be opened by the organization. 6.2. Describe system of information dissemination most likely to inspire stakeholder’s commitment to the plan. Communication regarding strategic plans can be of two types (John, 2010): Proactive communication Reactive communication In this particular case, proactive communication mechanism needs to be implemented. Before implementing plan, all stakeholders must be communicated for getting their suggestions regarding strategic plan. This will not only build trust among stakeholders but also enhances chances of effective implementation of strategic plan. Through continuous reporting and meetings, shareholders will be informed about the strategic plans of the company. The shareholders of the company will be involved as active part of the company so that they can get satisfaction regarding policies of management. The suppliers and customers will also be kept informed through reporting. The customers will be informed about the new offers of company through advertisements and marketing tactics. In this way, Marks and Spencer will be using both types of communication strategies in Marks and Spencer. Before the implementation of plans, the shareholders and employees will be taken into confidence. On the other hand, after significant achievements, they will be informed through reactive communication strategy. 6.3. Describe  system that will continually monitor and evaluate how your strategic plan is implemented, one that anticipates future opportunities as well potential problem. The system for evaluation and monitoring of the strategic plan must include wide range of data. The company needs to collect data from several resources regarding the progress of the plan. After data collection, results must be measured against SMART objectives designed for the plan. In order to counter with potential problems, Marks and Spencer needs to implement a culture of innovation. Management by Objective tool will be used by Marks and Spencer for the monitoring of proposed strategic plan. Management by Objective is the way through which objectives will be defined by the management and employees of Marks and Spencer in accordance with the strategic objectives of the organization (Daft, 2010). Employees will be given clear understanding of the aims and objectives of the company. Through following way, this plan will be implemented in the company: Setting Objectives: In the first step, objectives are set by engaging supervisors and employees in a coordinated way Developing plans: In the next step, plans are developed for the achievement of strategic objectives of Marks and Spencer. Periodic Reviews: On periodic basis, evaluation will be made regarding achievement of strategic objectives. The performance of all objectives will be assessed through effective implementation of plans. Performance Appraisal: Lastly, the performance of employees will be appraised against the set objectives. This step will be effective for granting rewards and promotions to employees. Effective appraisal system will help the management of Marks and Spencer to motivate its employees in an effective way. References Michael A. Hitt, R. Duane Ireland, Robert E. Hoskisson, 2009, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization : Cases, Daft, J. Murphy, H. Willmott, 2010. 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John Wiley & Sons Wallop. (2012). Tesco sales improve as discounts draw in shoppers. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9121175/Tesco-sales-improve-as-discounts-draw-in-shoppers.html Retrieved on: 20th May, 2013