Secularism in France

Secularism in France ESSAY QUESTION: Discuss the French 2004 Law which prohibits state school students from displaying any religious signs. Briefly introduce the law, explain the reasons why this law was adopted and show how it fits with the principle of secularism in the French Republic. Since the French Revolution in 1789 and the law established in 1791, requiring the state to be neutral and all public and church matters to be totally separate, France has been considered a secular state. France has been incredibly strict on this law since it was established, believing that neutrality meant equality, which is one of the main principles in France. After a rather long period of time, the government in France eventually brought in a set of laws referred to as the Jules Ferry laws. These laws declare that all state schools are required, in buildings, staff and curriculum to be secular, no signs of religion to be shown at all. This led to the adoption of the 2004 law stating that all conspicuous signs of religion in school were to be banned. A law that arose from a crisis which started in the late 1980’s, where Muslim girls were wearing the headscarves which represented their religion in a state school. While mostly unopposed in France, the introduction of this law brought about some controversy, within France itself and around the neighbouring countries. This essay sets out to explain the 2004 law, and the reasons why it was adopted. It also intends to explore how this law fits in with France’s principles on secularity, and equality. The law that president at the time, Jacques Chirac signed off on 15th of March 2004, came into effect on 2nd September 2004, the beginning of the new school year. This law prohibits any forms of religious signs being worn in schools. Because within the law itself, there is no referral to any specific signs, the law prohibits everything, including but not exclusive to, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious symbols. The official name for this law is, in English, Law No. 2004-228 of 15 March 2004 regulating, in accordance with the principle of secularism, the wearing of symbols or clothing denoting religious affiliation in schools, colleges and public high schools[1]. The title of the law itself is very specific, thereby tying off the loophole that existed in the previous laws, in which the crisis began in the first place. The deep roots of the secular state of France comes from the French revolution in 1789. Before this period France was ruled by an absolute monarchy, meaning that the king and only the king had all the power to rule the country. There were no limits to how the king could rule, so frequently, kings abused that power. The king, during this period of time ruled, as he and the church believed, as a favour to God, and so the church was highly involved with the way the king ruled. After the revolution, the way the country was ruled was changed in a very large and impacting way, the state became secular, â€Å"the king now ruled by the will of the people, and not by the grace of god† (Jones 1994) France was also now ruled under the new constitution, as a constitutional monarchy, and as a republic. The people now had a rather large say in how their homeland was controlled. The constitutional monarchy brought in many new laws for how the king could rule for example, if a new law was to be passed it had to go through a series of councillors before it got to the king himself. This new constitution involved a bill for the new rights of men and citizens (excludes women and slaves). This allowed for all men and citizens to be born and remain free; this involves freedom of religion and freedom of speech, for all men and citizens to be equal; this involves equality of property ownership, and equal taxes, and lastly the republic is one and indivisible; which includes national sovereignty and the state being secular. Nearly a century after the start of the revolution, new laws came into government by the means of a man called Jules Ferry. Ferry is best known for his educational laws, which were brought in in 1882. These laws state that education for state schools in France was to be free of charge and compulsory for children aged between six and thirteen years old, and all state schools had to be secular. â€Å"Ferry’s ‘schools without God’ were bitterly opposed by the churchmen†¦ †¦Yet despite their contested beginnings the schools proved one of the most enduring cultural achievements of the early Third Republic.† (Jones 1994), this goes to show that although there was an opposition for these schools at first, they became very successful, and it was a strong support for the secularity principles of France. This practice seemed to work without a hitch for over 100 years. In 1989, a problem occurred that needed to be addressed by bringing in a new law which eventually came into effect in 2004. The issue that arose was, in 1989 three young female students were expelled from their state school which they attended near Paris, for wearing their religious head scarves to school and refusing to remove them. They even persisted to wear them during physical activity periods, and this seemed to be extremely unnecessary. This seemingly harmless act in the students eyes, led to their expulsion. It was a complication, because teachers and headmasters did not know how to deal with this issue, as it had never occurred before, so it was decided upon as the students had broken the law they were to be expelled. Many people found this disciplinary act excessive, and it caused a great uproar, involving young female students all over the country to wear their headscarves to school as well. Because of the la rge scale of unhappiness of the people of France, the news was all over this case, which led the High Administrative Council to realise that some higher form of discipline had to happen to regain control of the state. This was the key issue that led to the development, and adoption of the law in 2004. The students most likely thought their act was acceptable, because of one key mistake in the Jules Ferry Laws of 1882. These laws only refer to the buildings, curriculum and staff to be secular at all times. There is no mention of students at all. Therefore, the three students who inadvertently started the conflict in 1989 obviously saw this as a loop hole, and that nothing was wrong with what they were doing. Which in terms of the law, there wasn’t. It mostly came down to the fact that the French people had a very ‘set in stone’ opinion on the way the country should be, in regards to the way that they were interpreting the laws. The past events of the country led it to become secular, and the people of France believe that this consists of everything. Even as the new law has come in, there are still certain places which are not actually stated in the laws at all, like universities and private schools, the laws on this subject are rather specific. The wearing of headscarves in public places in France could be viewed as a negative also because of the links that it has with Islamic fundamentalism. Though most of the 5 million Muslims, or 8.3%[2] of France’s population, practice moderate religion, there are is a small percent of those who are fundamentalists and are using the steady increase in the Muslim population to their advantage. France battles severely with the fear of having terrorist attacks on its hands from people of its own soil e.g. Algeria and also attacks from Saudi Arabia. Although there is an option for people to attend religious private schools in France, there have been some cases where organised Islamic militant groups have forced young female students to wear the headscarf to school in order to pressure other girls to do the same. There have also been cases of withholding these students from certain classes in school which the groups believe are against their beliefs. This is an example of another just reason of why the law was adopted. On the other hand, although there were many reasons for adopting this law, there were also many reasons against. One of these reasons was, the adoption of this new law faced a lot of opposition from other nations- on an international level. One of the opposing nations was Britain. A great deal of British Muslims were against the adoption of this rule, many taking on the belief that it contradicted France’s law of religious freedoms. The British government were also on board â€Å"in condemning the French for trying to ban religious headwear and symbols in state schools† (Adenekan 2004). The ban faced all sorts of opposition, even from other religious divides in Britain, saying that it was among their basic rights as humans to wear symbols of their religion. Many believe that is part of their identity, and taking that away will cause divides in the community. Another nation which is severely against the law is United States. The nation of the United States believes that students can wear their religious symbols in schools without challenging the secularity of the state. One of the biggest problems that America has with this law is that it does not allow the integration process, â€Å"In this view, banning headscarves in public schools is meaningless in the face of problems that are primarily social and economic.† (Vasse 2004). The United States holds a similar secular principle, but the primary purpose for this adoption was to make sure that the government would not interfere with church business, to keep religion protected from the state, not the other way around. There were groups of people who were backing the law because of the women’s rights. They thought that the Muslim women who were having to wear the religious headscarves made the women inferior, as their rights were oppressed heavily by the men, and their religion. Some could argue the other side of this argument though, it is said that when the protests occurred when the law was first on the cards in 2004, the women who turned up to protest all claimed to wear their headscarf of their own free will. This shows the diversity of the way people reacted to this law being brought in, there were many reasons for the law to be brought in, and just as many reasons to oppose it. The law fits in very well with the secularism principles of France, and a key example of this is the French motto itself, which is still used today in modern day society, Libertà ©, à ©galità ©, fraternità ©, meaning liberty equality and fraternity. The reasons for this law fitting in with these principles are stated under the declaration of rights for citizens and men that were established during the revolution in 1879. The first, Libertà ©, states that all men should have freedom of religion. The laws which France has relating to religion, is to ensure that all citizens and men have that right to their own religion. This way there is no stat church so no real pressure on citizens to conform to the normal religion. That in part is what this new law is trying to fit to, to make sure that students do not feel pressured, or offended for that fact, because everyone has different belief. The option for religious students to go to a private religious school, means that there is no real excuse for the behaviour that caused the adoption of the law in the first place. The way that the French society stands, is that there is options for everyone, to fit with the principles that the state runs by, for religious freedom. There are those who will argue that people should be able to express their religious freedoms everywhere, but it is fair to say that this just does not simply fit with France’s secularity principles, if it was the case to express religion everywhere there would be too many complications. It is clear to see from the evidence that France may have had no other choice but to adopt this law. As the only way to regain control of the country, and as a way to keep to the principles and practices of the French state. After the adoption of this law, there was talk of Germany taking on similar laws. It is plain to see that although there were many protests against the law at first, the country runs smoothly with it in place, and it creates a blanket of peace, and keeps the majority of people happy. The problem of religious symbols being worn in schools was resolved by the ruling of this law, which won in government by the majority of the vote. A country that has similar principles as France is New Zealand. In New Zealand there is more leniency within the laws, as in New Zealand it is not against the law to wear religious symbols in public, but it is a secular country all the same. â€Å"France is not the only Western country to insist on the separation of church and state but it does so more militantly than any other† (Astier 2004). This is reflected in the current events of France. After the introduction of this law, it was thought that the conflict of the wearing of religious symbols in public schools was resolved. But recent news stories have revealed a new perception on what religious symbols actually are, and how other innocent pieces of clothing and appearances are being viewed. A very recent news story on BBC states how â€Å"France is facing a fresh backlash against its strict secular policy after it emerged a 15-year-old Muslim girl was sent home from school because she was wearing a long black skirt.† But the harsh reality is, how can a long skirt be considered a religious symbol? There are plenty of non-religious people who wear skirts, whether they be long or short, as an everyday item of clothing. The real questions are ‘where is the line defined with the extent of what a religious symbol is?’ and ‘when is enough, enough?’ Bibliography Adenekan, Shola. 2004. British criticism of headscarf ban. February 12. Accessed May 03, 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3477109.stm. Astier, Henri. 2004. The deep roots of French secularism. September 01. Accessed April 13, 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3325285.stm. Britannica, Encyclopaedia. n.d. Jules Ferry. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Accessed April 29, 2015. France, Law department of. 2004. Law No. 2004-228 of 15 March 2004 regulating, in accordance with the principle of secularism, the wearing of symbols or clothing denoting religious affiliation in schools, colleges and public high schools. 09 01. Accessed 04 30, 2015. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000417977dateTexte=. Jones, Colin. 1994. Cambridge Illustrated History Of France. Cambridge University Press. Lyon, Dawn, and Deborah Spini. 2004. UNVEILING THE HEADSCARF DEBATE. Legislative note, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Unknown. 2015. France outcry over Muslim schoolgirls skirt ban. 04 29. Accessed 05 01, 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32510606. —. 2004. French MPs back headscarf ban. 02 10. Accessed 04 29, 2015. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3474673.stm. —. n.d. The official website of france. Accessed 04 30, 2015. http://www.france.fr/en.html. Vasse, Justin. 2004. Veiled meanng: The French Law banning religous symbols in public schools. Research report, Washington: The Brookings Institute. [1] Name of law acquired from http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/ on 24 April 2015 [2] Estimated number, retained from the work of Vasse page 3

Macro and Micro Environmental Analysis of Waitrose Supermarkets

WAITROSE ASSIGNMENT INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING MARKET RESEARCH CONTENTS INTRODUCTION —————————————– MACRO ENVIRONMENT POLITICAL ———————————————- ECONOMICAL ——————————————- SOCIAL ————————————————- TECHONOLGICAL—————————————- ENVIRONMENTAL—————————————- MICRO ENVIRONMENT SUPPLIERS———————————————- IN TERMEDIARIES—————————————- FINANCIAL———————————————– GOVERNMENT——————————————– THE COMPANY——————————————- EMPLOYEES———————————————- CUSTOMERS——————————————— COMPETITORS——————————————- MEDIA—————————————————- PUBLICS————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- SWOT ANALYSIS—————————————– CONCLUSION——————————————– APPENDIX———————————————— BIBLYOGRAPHY—————————————— INTRODUCTION The food retail industry in the United Kingdom is an extremely competitive market. The major players in the industry all have tremendous purchasing power and are constantly fighting to increase market share. Like any other industry though they are affected but factors which are both within their control as well as outside. In this report we will first be focusing on the macro environment of the UK supermarket industry where we will review external issues such as politics, economy, technological, social/demographic and environmental factors. From this analysis we can gain insight into how supermarkets react to changes that are beyond their control and how they can often turn these changes into business opportunities. The second part of this report will be looking at the supermarket chain Waitrose. Through this we analyse the micro environment whereby we look at factors such as suppliers, intermediaries, financial, government, the company, customers, employees, competitors, media, and publics. The micro environment is what makes up a company and all aspects must run efficiently and effectively for a business to succeed. Based on the findings of the Waitrose micro environment we are then able to evaluate the companies strengths and weaknesses as well as their opportunities and threats. MACRO ENVIRONMENT Political The supermarket industry is affected by many varying political factors. New legislation and decisions from Governing bodies that regulate the industry aim to ensure that all business within the sector is conducted fairly and with the economy suppliers and consumers best interest in mind. Most legislation on food standards originates from the European Commission which consolidates legislation across the EU. The Competition Commission, a non departmental governing body, are responsible for investigating mergers, markets and inquiries related to regulated industries under competition law (Competition Commission No Date),. Competition Law which was introduced in 1998 promotes healthy competition, and bans anticompetitive agreements between firms such as agreements to fix prices or to carve up markets, and it makes it illegal for businesses to abuse a dominant market position (Office of Fair Trading, 2007). In 2009 the Competition Commission issued an amended and improved Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP) with hopes of providing greater security to suppliers. To help regulate legislation and the GSCOP an independent financial ombudsman was established in 2010 to resolves problems between retailers and suppliers (Sourceuk 2009). When a supermarket wishes to build or extend a site a ‘competition test’ would be carried out on the retailer and an assessment made to ensure that local shops don’t lose out to the large chain supermarkets domination an entire area (Competition Commission 2009). Price fixing is illegal under the competition act of 1998. When participants on the same side of the market (such as the big 4 in the UK supermarket sector) agree to sell a service, product or commodity at a fixed price it’s the consumers who must pay while retailers and suppliers reap the benefits. There are extremely heavy penalties for price fixing in the UK You can be fined, disqualified from being a director – or even sent to prison (Business Link No Date). Minimum wage laws will always affect supermarkets as generally many of their staff would be paid minimum wage. Under the National Minimum Wage Act of 1998 all employers must pay their employees a certain amount per hour as set by the UK Government. The main rate of National Minimum Wage which applies to workers aged 22 and over and is currently ? 5. 80 per but will raise ? 5. 93 in 2010 (Directgov 2010). There are many laws in the UK and EU which are designed to protect the environment. However there are two main Acts which were made to consolidate as many issues as possible, these are the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environment Act 1995 (Hartshorne. J,1996). DEFRA is the UK government agency which is responsible for setting legislation and guidance on a number of environmental issues (DEFRA, No Date). Some important legislation which applies to supermarkets include laws on waste and recycling, genetic modification, and Climate Change which are all covered under these acts. Office of Public Sector Information No Date) Economic The economic situation at any given time will always affect market conditions. As the economy continually fluctuates between periods of economic growth and periods of relative stagnation (also known as an economic cycle) factors such as changes to interest rates, exchange rates, inflation and purchasing power will directly and indirectly affect th e supermarket industry (Tutor2u, No Date) In 2008 the UK had entered the recession stage of the economic cycle. Interest rates dropped from 5% to 0. % in an effort to increase consumer spending (Mintel 2009, Market Re-forecasts – Food – UK). And while this would initially appear to be a gain for supermarkets, other factors of the recession such as wide spread unemployment and bankruptcies saw this sector of the market having to revise their marketing strategies in order to weather these changes to the economy (Mintel 2009, Market Re-forecasts – Food – UK). In 2009 trading was down with consumers eating less ready meals and opting for own brand rather than premium products (Mintel 2009, Food Retailing UK – Broader Market Environment). This is just one of the many changes to consumer purchasing that changed and will continue to change as the economy tries to recover. According to The Office of National Statistics (2010) unemployment dropped by 33000 since then end of 2009 and the economy grew by 0. 1% a possible indication of the UK slowly emerging from the recession (BBC News 2010). However this will be the beginning of a recovery which could take at least another two years. As interest rates still remain at an all time low of 0. % (BBC News 2009) supermarkets will start to see an increase in spending from consumers as their confidence in the market returns (Mintel 2009, Market Re-forecasts – Food – UK). Inflation has only become a recent issue in the UK economy. Rising fuel prices, a few poor harvests and the weakness of the sterling has seen inflation accelerate between 2006 and 2008 (Mintel 2009, Food Retailing UK – Broader Market Environment) (Appendix 1). The implications of this for supe rmarkets are that it erodes the purchasing power of money which in turn means the price of imported good will rise. However a positive result of rising inflation, which at times reached over 10% also, meant that food price increases boosted sales value (Mintel 2009, Food Retailing UK – The Market In Context). A trend for customers trading down rather than reducing quantity enables sales value to rise fast enough to cover cost growth (Mintel 2009, Food Retailing UK – Sector Size and Forecast). The recession as a whole has had a very mixed effect on the supermarket industry. At the beginning of the recession in 2008 consumers drastically cut back on purchases from retailers such as Waitrose and Marks and Spencer. However by December 2009 Waitrose was the fastest growing supermarket chain while Aldi was on the decline. This is believed to be due to more expensive supermarkets introducing own brand products into their stores and selling them at a lower price to their standard products (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – Industry Overview). Social It is essential for supermarkets to understand the current sociocultural environment as any changes will affect their customers’ needs and wants. (Brassington & Pettitt 2006) According to Mintel (2009) the ageing population will have a negative effect on the supermarket industry with there already being more retired people than children, with this level set to increase (Appendix 2). This will affect the industry as older people tend to eat and drink a lot less than their younger counterparts but also treat themselves less as well. This decline in basket size will have long term effects for the industry over time as they are less efficient to service and require more staff (Mintel 2009, Food Retailing – Broader Market Environment) A worrying trend which has emerged in the last several years has been the increase in obesity among children and adults in the UK with 60% of the UK population being overweight (Office of National Statistics, Health and Social Care, 2010) Poor quality convenience foods, labour-saving technology, increased car use and more people doing sedentary jobs are just some of the reason the country is getting bigger. However despite this increase in obesity the U. K population on a whole is far more health conscious than in previous years (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – Industry Overview). There has been a trend away from genetically modified foods towards organic foods and an increased the customer desire for healthy alternatives. The government and other health organisations are working with supermarkets and manufacturers to help consumers make healthier choices when shopping. (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – PEST Analysis). According to the National Office for Statistics (2010) The UK population is increasing at an alarming rate with figures showing the population of the United Kingdom to be at 61383000 in 2008. This is up 0. 7 per cent since mid 2007. Increases in births, decreases in death and a sharp rise in migration to the United Kingdom have all contributed to the change in population (Office of National Statistics, Population Estimates 2010) Statisticians have said that at least 70 per cent of the population rise over the next 20 years will be attributable directly to immigration (Office of National Statistics, Migration 2010). The supermarket industry needs to reflect the needs of the changing population. With more people with different cultural backgrounds residing in England it is essential that the needs of these new consumers are being met by supermarkets in order to retain market share (Keynote, Food Retailing – UK 2009) The over powering proposition of the â€Å"everything under one roof† format has been a major factor in the demise of the small independent grocer, butcher and green grocer in recent times thus replacing the high street as the focal point of community life (IGD 2009, Non-Food Retailing). Declining meal preparation consequent to demographic changes such as an increasing number of single-person households and working women is forcing UK retailers are to focus on added-value products such as the booming ‘food-to-go† sector (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – PEST Analysis).. These demographic changes have also affected consumer work patterns with retailers modifying aspects of the customer shopping experience to accommodate changing lifestyles. Supermarkets are now flexible in opening hours as well as adding extras such as Thursday late night shopping and free parking facilities (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – Industry Overview). The recession in the UK has changed the population’s attitude towards the foods they purchase. Britons have developed a sophisticated customer preferences and demands for greater choice and comfort in the shopping experience but for lower prices. Supermarket own brand products have been on the incline as their ranges often offer great value for quality products. (Keynote 2010, Food Industry – PEST Analysis). Technological Recent technological advances have enabled supermarkets to provide customers with a quicker, easier and more enjoyable shopping experience. In recent years we have seen the introduction of online shopping, self check outs, product scanning and forecast technology which has changed the dynamics of how people shop. One of the most influential technological changes to happen to the supermarket industry in the past few years has been the introduction of internet shopping. The online grocery market is currently worth ? 4,4 billion having doubled in the past 4 years (Mintel 2009 – Online Grocery Retailing) and is set to reach ? 7. 2 billion buy 2014 according to research industry analyst IDG (Appendix 3). This is a major new opportunity for retailers and the UK offers a good market for this with the highest percentage of people online across the EU (Just Food 2009). New scanning device designed to be used by shoppers to scan products as they shop and then simply paying at a self serve checkout using the scanned date are a new introduction to the industry. Scales are then used at point of payment to weigh shopping against weight data which is provided when the product is scanned. This ensures much shorter queuing times for customers (Waitrose 2010) New communication technology such as the introduction of scanners which provide price labels and barcodes for any stock that needs to be reduced has enabled more sophisticated store management. The scanners minimise unsold food as well as check out productivity, which saves time and reduces waste. (Retail Systems 2010) Advances in forecasting software such as that developed by SAS and purchased by Waitrose in 2006 will help forecast demand for product based on the history of the item, casual variables, events and holidays. (SAS 2006) The introduction of self check outs into supermarkets has bought many advantages to both the supermarket sector and its customers. This technology allows customer to scan barcodes on their won items thus eliminating interaction with supermarket employees. While they are a relatively new concept, having only become wide spread in 2003 they have been accepted as a faster, more efficient and private way to shop. Through self check out systems supermarkets are also able to reduce staff requirements and save money (Goliath 2005) Environment With the environment becoming an important topic over the last several years it has been essential for supermarkets to meet the demands of both the Government and their customers with regards to addressing environmental issues. This has proved to be both a challenge as well as a business opportunity for the major players in the industry, who strive to try and reposition themselves as leaders in responsible sourcing, sustainability, climate change issues and recycling (Donohue. A 2007). Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. The UK government has a long term plan to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 (Department of Energy and Climate Change – A Low Carbon UK 2008). The Climate Change Bill and the Committee on Climate Change influence have raised consumer awareness of climate change which put pressure on the supermarket industry to meet their environmental obligations (Department of Energy and Climate Change – Legislation 2008). Many UK supermarkets are now part of a government initiative known as the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). WRAP works with the food industry is an effort to reduce food and packaging waste. Retailers who have signed the Courtauld Commitment (a voluntary agreement between companies and WRAP) agree to have absolute wastage reduction by 2010 (WRAP No Date). The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) with its green agenda for food and drink manufactures also play a key role in helping companies reduce emissions and waste as well as cutting the amount of packaging that reaches households (FDF No Date). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) works with the government and consumers in an effort to reduce waste through recycling and composting of household waste (DEFRA No Date). This has created more consumer awareness and this new found awareness puts pressure on food retailers to meet waste reduction targets (Appendix 4). Waitrose currently puts into practice the use of the three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) to divert waste away from landfills (Mintel 2008 – Ethical and Green Retailing) Sustainable sourcing has become a very real issue with consumers over the past few years with a demand for supermarkets to ensure that their produce such as fish and meat are from sources that can be replenished. Another form of sustainable sourcing is for supermarkets to source their produce locally rather than importing from overseas. This has a huge impact on carbon use as well as a significant impact on creating sustainable economies in our local communities (Mintel 2009 – Influence of the Environment on Food Shopping). MICRO ENVIRONMENT Suppliers Behind its 18,000 different products, Waitrose is supplied by 2500 firms in over 60 countries. The majority of them are small scale and regional producers. Waitrose’s main aim, to offer high quality product, is the base of its plan to source goods from the areas where it trades. For example, that will show the real taste of British food with its regional variety. Furthermore people will have easy access to buy local food and support its local economy. Regardless of the small or big producers, Waitrose aim to work with decency and respect in long term with its suppliers. It wants to help its suppliers to reach their objectives by ensuring them that it will keep the integrity or quality of the suppliers’ product. For this reason, Waitrose wants its producers to use recognisable and with the best quality ingredients for the food, not a list of chemicals such as stabilisers or preservatives. Waitrose. com. â€Å"The Waitrose Small Producers Charter†) To succeed in that approach, the company presented a new Waitrose Locally Produced range, which will aim to offer the best local quality food and great customer service to its customers. The difference between Waitrose and the other UK retailers is the co-ownership of company by its staff, not the publ ic shareholders who only demand for quick and profitable return of their investments. It allows it to make long term growing plans and continuing relationships with its producers in order to face its great customer’s expectations. Waitrose. com. â€Å"The Waitrose Small Producers Charter†) In order to prove their support for small local producers, Waitrose teamed up with The Times to create â€Å"The Small Producers Awards† in 2001. For example, its first year category winners will receive ? 7,000 in cash, plus access to Waitrose business and marketing expertise. (Waitrose. com. â€Å"The Waitrose Small Producers Charter†) Moreover, in relation to the UK Recession, followed by the consumer downturn, Waitrose asked 1000 suppliers to cut their prices with 2%. The request was addressed mainly to suppliers of branded food and farmers in UK. The managing director Mark Price explained company’s decision with the fall in commodity prices, which makes suppliers’ raw material cheaper. Furthermore he states that the Waitrose’s market growth will lead the suppliers to sustain profit, which they should share with their biggest buyer. Moreover John Lewis Partnership’s decision was forced by the annual report of the company, which unveiled 26% fall in pre-tax profit for 2008 to ? 279. 6m. (Telegraph website, 12/03/09) Intermediaries By rewarded as the UK’s favourite retailer for 2007 and 2009, Waitrose main aim is to sustain its loyal and respectful relationship with its suppliers and partners. It is the main intermediary of its own branded goods. Furthermore, Waitrose nurture long-term relationships with its suppliers, paying the fair price and helping them to reinvest in their business. It is the most established local sourcing initiatives in its sector. All Waitrose shops have a regional offering, which covers in excess of 465 producers supplying over 1,400 product lines. In order to ensure its support for UK suppliers and in response to customer feedback, Waitrose has developed new shelf-edge ticketing, which emphasise the county, origin and unique qualities of each product. (JLP annual report 2009) Moreover, Waitrose cooperate with other intermediary companies in order to transfer the produced goods from its supplier to the customers. Its main distributor is the online supermarket delivery company Ocado. It operates mainly in Greater London, covering over 3 million households. Their relationships evolved in 2002 when John Lewis Partnership bought 29% of Ocado’s shares. In addition, their contract will expire in 2013. Apart from Ocado, Waitrose has established an own online delivery in over 100 stores. (JLP annual report 2009) Financial In difference from the other UK retailers, Waitrose isn’t owned by public shareholders and the City. In stead of cruel shareholders, whose fixed idea is to gain profitable quick returns, Waitrose is a part of John Lewis Partnership, which is owned by its workers. Each year, every partner share company’s profits, which in others retailers go to the shareholders. This organisational system makes extraordinary commitment and loyalty amongst its labour. Furthermore company could praise itself with partners who worked with it for many years. This system makes its workers to be interested in what they are doing and selling. For that reason the often good remarks of the customers about the customer service are not surprising, because every worker in the local store do in fact own the store. (Waitrose website. â€Å"The Waitrose Difference†) Moreover, an interest public fact is that Waitrose holds a Royal Warrant with Her Majesty The Queen. This means that company is chosen to supply the Royal Family with goods for five years. Moreover, Waitrose held the long-lasting Warrant with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. That is a significant evidence for the great quality that Waitrose has been offering through the years. (Waitrose website. â€Å"The Waitrose Difference†) Government As an established responsible and reliable retail company, Waitrose aim to consider and follow government policy. It is in a consistent relationship with any local government, discussing key issues which affect its partners, customers and communities in which it operates. Furthermore it is an active member of government policy advisory groups, such as Climate Change Leaders Group, British Retail Consortium and Retail Energy Forum. (John Lewis Partnership website, â€Å"Engaging our stakeholders†) Moreover, Waitrose cooperate with local authorities during planning and construction of all its new shops. It wants to ensure that its new stores are built responsibly and will operate sustainably in order to diminish its impact on the environment and the local community. (John Lewis Partnership website, â€Å"Engaging our stakeholders†) Lastly, Waitrose and its parent John Lewis Partnership work closely with regulators such as â€Å"Environment Agency† and â€Å"Health & Safety Executive† to inform that the Partnership do all its best in compliance with the law. In any case of legal issue occur, it respond immediately, and cooperate with the local regulator to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. (John Lewis Partnership No Date, â€Å"Engaging our stakeholders†) The Company Waitrose stems from a small grocery shop called ‘Waite. Rose & Taylor’ founded by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor; the small grocery shop opened for business 1904. Four years on the founders decided to rebrand the company in 1908 by changing the company name to ‘Waitrose’, which is a combination of two of the founders’ surnames. The Waitrose Company desired changed once again so joined ‘The John Lewis Partnership’ 1937, whereby 160 Waitrose employees became ‘partners ‘or co-owners of the business (Waitrose No Date – The Company). The John Lewis partnership is formed by 70,000 partners (staff) who co-own John Lewis department stores, Waitrose supermarkets, an online and catalogue business (John Lewis Direct-johnlewis. om), a direct service company (Greenbee), three production units and a farm. (The John Lewis Partnership No Date) (John Lewis Partnership CSR Report 2009, Page 5) ‘The Waitrose difference’ Waitrose focuses operation around offering the best quality goods and have adapted their daily producers, to make shopping easier to suit all by offering a distinctive service; such as packing at checkouts, carry to car service and assists to those that required it; it is this that they believe gives them the edge over other supermarkets (Waitrose No Date – The Waitrose Difference) Waitrose has an exceptional return policy whereby customers will receive their full money back, if they genuinely pursed t a product they didn’t require or a customer is not one hundred percent happy with the product. It is this edge that provides Waitrose with long lasting loyal customers that trust the supermarket they shop in. As well as food products Waitrose offers ‘Branch Extras’ at selected stores; enabling customers to rent wines glasses, beer glasses and fish kettles free of charge as a friendly jester(Waitrose No Date – The Waitrose Difference). Waitrose commitment to provide outstanding produces and services has been credited with a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen; Which is a mark of recognition of those that supply goods or services to members of the Royal Family for at least five years(Waitrose No Date – The Waitrose Difference). Employees Waitrose employees are also co-owners and form part of the John Lewis Partnership; the John Lewis Partnership aims to employ exceptional staffs that are dedicated to putting the consumers’ needs first whilst delivering excellent customer service. The John Lewis Partnership aims to keep the happiness of its employees at the heart of the partnership and uses a blend of five key elements to do this: †¢Work/life balance – employees are encouraged to keep a equal balance of work and play to support this the partnership offers ; flexible hours, career breaks, long leave, a flexible retirement policy . †¢Competitive pay and benefits – the partnership aims to maintain a pay policy which is competitive while being fair to all partners and offers a range of partners benefits from discounts and bonus to life insurance. Filling potential – the partnership gives all their employees the chance to reach their full potential and required all employees to ender go compulsory training. There partnership also allows employees the opportunity for promotion and career development programs. †¢Fair treatment – the partnership treats all its employees fair and provides equal opportunities for all, regardles s of age, gender, ethnicity, social background, religion and disability or sexuality. Powered by our Principles (PboP) – these are six principles sets out to inform employees of what is expected from all them; be honest, give respect, recognise others, show enterprise, work together and achieve more (Waitrose No Date – Our Employees) Customers ‘The John Lewis Partnership aims to deal honestly with customers, securing their loyalty and trust by providing outstanding choice, value and service. ’ (John Lewis Partnership CSR Report 2009, pg 4) Waitrose dominates a niche market were its target customers are believed to be affluent with a more flexible disposable income. They are associated with the middle classes along with high class food and fantastic customer service. Their repeat custom is formed, as the consumer seeks a well established supermarket they can trust and complete their weekly shop in a supermarket that’s driven by high quality fresh food. (Mintel 2009 – Food Retails Waitrose) A loyal Waitrose customer will complete their weekly shop unconditionally every week in there local Waitrose store; however if they need a product unexpectedly they will use a convenient store as a one off it is it nearer in location. Typical Waitrose customers are considered to be; affluent with a more flexible disposable income, middle to high classes, working professionals and health focused consumers (Mintel 2009 – Food Retails Waitrose). In addition another important factor that adds to ‘the customer’ that shops at Waitrose supermarkets is the location of the stores; as Waitrose stores are based more South/East England and areas that are frequently referred to as ‘posh’, where people are financially comfortable (Mintel 2009 – Food Retails Waitrose). Waitrose strive to maintain exceptional customer service and are always constantly evaluating their services to unsure they are fulfilling their consumer needs. Waitrose uses a range of formal methods of research and feedback, such as customer surveys, panels, focus groups, online feedback forms and regular mystery shopping to gather sufficient evidence to monitor their customer service and performance necessary action if required (John Lewis Partnership No Date – Customer Service) Competition Waitrose occupies up to 4% of the UK grocery market, this compares with the largest food retailer in England today is which is Tesco’s who hold a massive 30 % share of the market. In the UK today every ? 1 in every ? 7 of consumer spending is spent in one of Tesco’s stores. Tesco specializes primarily in food and drink with its Value and Finest ranges that we all know well, but it has also become a major player in a range of non-food markets including consumer electrical, clothing, financial services, telecoms, fuel and internet services amongst others. In 2008, Tesco launched a new ‘Discount Brands’ range, which is geared towards consumers seeking to trade down but not ready to compromise on quality. The new range appears to have halted the drift of customers to Aldi and Lidl. Tesco’s sheer scale means it has been able to lower prices on the back of large volumes. Tesco’s has different types of stores every one of them targeting different consumers, tesco express for example, the smallest one in the range, is designed to be a convenience shop where the costumer can Top-up (Mintel 2009 – Food Retail Tesco). Other major players are Asda, Sainsburys and Morrisons with Asda taking up to 17% of the market. Asda has a similar range of product to Tesco but opened up the clothing market in supermarkets but presenting its own brand known as George at Asda. Asda, part of Wal-Mart, directs its main focus on price, primarily targeting the lower end of the mass-market although the current climate is increasing demand for discount items from a variety of consumer groups. In terms of consolidated sales, in 2008 the company was the third largest grocer in the UK although when fuel sales are removed Asda moves into second place behind Tesco but above Sainsbury. What has really set Asda apart from its rivals in the food sector in the UK has been its lack of convenience store activity. While Tesco and Sainsbury’s have attacked the c-store sector very aggressively, Asda has been happy to maintain its larger big-box stores enabling them to maintain a presence out of town. (Mintel 2009 – Food Retail) Waitrose occupies a relatively small but nevertheless very strong portion of the market with its closest supermarket being Marks and Spencer. Both of these supermarkets aim at a quality rather than quantity market with prices generally being higher than the larger supermarkets Marks and Spencer holds approximately 3. 9% of the grocery market. The main differences between of the two chains is that Waitrose holds 18% of organic food ranges and sells none Waitrose brand products whilst Marks and Spencer sells just its own made brand. Marks & Spencer is the UK’s leading non-food retailer, but food has long been a part of its heritage. The company trades from a premium positioning, emphasising quality and value. Dry groceries are only a small part of the offer, with the company instead focusing on ready prepared meals, fresh items and foods for special occasions. The food range is available from specialist Simply Food convenience stores as well as the larger general merchandise outlets. (Mintel 2009 – Food Retail – Marks & Spencer). In the food retail industry we find that there are two different orientated companies, price orientated and customer orientated. Waitrose aims at the customer orientated market and this has generally held them in good stead. The recent recession was a testing time for the company but their strong brand name appears to have weathered the storm and it has successfully retained its position. Media Waitrose takes its promotion and advertising seriously and has a very organised and wide range of media publicity. On they own website they have options to find press releases and press packs and it is optional to sign up to receive daily updates regarding Waitrose. They have affirmed their commitment by appointing Grand Union as the lead digital agency for Waitrose. The agency will relaunch the brand's website Waitrose. com, as well as produce digital marketing for Waitrose Deliver, the brand's online grocery shopping service. Waitrose uses television and advertising extensively to promote its products and services and has announced recently that celebrity chefs Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal will join forces in a collaboration that will see them appear in TV, press and online advertising for the grocer (Waitrose 2009) The company website now provides an option to find all the recipes that have been used on the show. In addition John Lewis, the stores sister brand, has launched a glossy customer magazine, which will be made available in all Waitrose stores, with an initial print run of 500,000. The launch is backed by an in-store marketing campaign (Mintel 2009 – Food Retail).. Publics The company takes its public and social responsibilities very seriously and its basic philosophy is as follows:- â€Å"As a responsible retailer, owned beneficially by our employees, we believe that the long-term future of the Partnership is best served by respecting the interests of all our stakeholders: Partners, customers, suppliers and the wider community. We look actively for opportunities to improve the environment and to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities in which we trade. (Waitrose Feb 2010 – Press Centre) In 2008, Waitrose was the first UK food retailer to begin using Anaerobic Digestion (AD), a process which eliminates the need to send waste food to landfill sites. (Waitrose Feb 2010 – Press Centre). Waitrose commits at least 1 per cent of pre-tax profits to charitable and community projects. They are also committed to providing support to overseas disasters through the British Red Cross and are involved in over 100 projects involving 16,000 people in South Africa; rolled out to Ghana and Kenya. Their target is to increase activities in the field referred to above and to actively encourage participation in Sport and physical exercise in the UK. They have already diverted 50 per cent of their total operational waste food away from landfill and their goal is to divert 95 per cent by 2013. Waitrose is set to launch an environmental initiative inviting customers to suggest eco ideas that it can implement into the business. â€Å"Your Green Idea† was launched on 15 March 2010, following a soft launch of the website. It is clear that Waitrose is very committed to its social and public responsibilities and have a proven track record to support their mandate SWOT ANALYSIS Internal Strengths Waitrose was one of the first retailers to develop own brands (after Mark’s and Spencer). Their own brand line carries over 18000 products including 117 lines in their ‘Perfectly Balanced’ range which promotes a fresh and healthy lifestyle for their customers (Mintel 2009, Food Retail UK – Waitrose). Waitrose differentiates itself strongly from other supermarkets. They have a more defined range of products with focus on high quality food and up-market products. They are extremely customer orientated and place great emphasis on customer service as one of their unique selling points (Mintel 2009, Food Retail UK – Waitrose). According to a survey by Which Waitrose is the leading supermarket chain in food quality and range. Only ASDA was rated better than Waitrose for value for money (Which 2008) Having owned their own farms for over 70 years Waitrose prides itself on working with its farmers, growers and suppliers directly to ensure that only the highest quality food from the most ethical and environmentally friendly sources reach they consumers. This is supported by its own inspections and farm assurance schemes (Waitrose No Date – Origin of our Food). Waitrose was the first ever winner of the title Organic Supermarket of the Year and have over 16 awards for wine purchasing and retail. These are just some of the many awards that have been claimed by Waitrose over the past several years (Waitrose Various Dates – Press and Awards). Waitrose also holds a Royal Warrant with Her Majesty the Queen to supply goods to members of the Royal Family (Waitrose No Date – The Waitrose Difference). Waitrose was the first to introduce self-scanning (Quick Check) in some stores, which demonstrates a willingness to innovate and offer a high service and reducing costs. Recent technological innovations that have been introduced in stores include: printers which provide price labels and barcodes for any stock that needs to be reduced and hand held devices available to shoppers to use as a self scanning system. (Thompson. S 2010). The partnership with John Lewis gives Waitrose tested supplier links and economies of scale. Waitrose would struggle to achieve the success it has today without the help of the partnership. The partnership also functions as a conglomerate therefore diversifying risk. The association with John Lewis improves Waitrose’s reputation (John Lewis Partnership No Date). Waitrose has a strong culture of co-ownership due to the fact that it’s not owned by shareholders but owned by everyone who works for the partnership. Their staff are generally well motivated because they are partners and profits ultimately come back to them. Various other benefits (such as pension schemes) are what make Waitrose a good employer, with satisfied employees. Waitrose No Date – The Waitrose Difference) Internal Weaknesses The distribution of the Waitrose stores is quite weak, especially in certain areas such as the south west of England, Wales, North-West of England, and Scotland. However their acquisition of 13 Somerfield stores has lead to an expansion of distribution into the North of England and Wales (Chesters. L Property Week 2009) Own labels are the main segment within th eir product mix. Waitrose is very dependent on this product range with a majority of sales coming from its own brand. Larger diversification would be helpful to gain better strength in the market (Mintel 2009 – Brands: Are Supermarkets Squeezing Out Brands) Waitrose also has the weakness of only supplying high quality, high price products. This could be seen as a negative factor due to the exclusion of an entire demographic of people in the lower class of the population who could be potential customers. However they have recently made attempts to increase their target demographic through the introduction of an economy range branded as Waitrose Essentials. This shows they have recognised a potential for expansion and this can lead to further developments in the future (Finch, J March 2009) External Opportunities Further expansions throughout the UK would be useful to raise the importance of the firm, gain market share and, weaken the competitors buying their own branches and improving e-commerce. Also further acquisition of competitor stores such as the Somerfield stores purchased by Waitrose would lead to increased market share (Chesters. L Property Week 2009). Waitrose has an elaborate online shopping facility in place; however, this as well is subject to regional limitation. Expansion of distribution channels for online shopping facilities would help Waitrose get their products to customers who live outside areas where branches are located. Setting up new partnerships with other companies will grant higher incomes because both companies could be able to buy larger amount of products with cheaper prices. New Partnership could also help Waitrose to diversify into other non-food products other than those that John Lewis already offers. Waitrose has recognised this opportunity (All Business, No Date) External Threats A major part of Waitrose strategy on sales has been built on the sale of premium own brand products. Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s have identified the sales of premium own brands as a lucrative segment with high margins and all three have a wide selection of premium products in store. Tesco and Sainsbury’s advertise on price which gives the perception of their products still being of a lower quality than those sold at Waitrose (Mintel 2008 – Premium Foods – UK) The recession while perceived to be coming to an end still has the potential to generate many problems for Waitrose. When interest rate rise this year people will have less disposable income and may start to buy cheaper products and so shifting from Waitrose to other cheaper retailers. This could result in a loss in consumers’ loyalty and this would give direct advantages to competitors (Mintel 2009 – Food Retail) Also due to the weakened sterling there is a possibility that overseas groups could enter the market and increase competition generating the reduction of incomes and market share for each player (Keynote 2010 – Food Industry) CONCLUSION The supermarket industry has gone through some important changes over the past few years. From our analysis of the macro environment we can see some main issues have affected the food retails sector. Environmental issues are now at the forefront of everything companies do, with consumers not only demanding more for their money but more for the environment as well. Technology has seen the internet open up a whole new way of shopping and while it’s still the early stages there is great promise for the internet as a medium for food purchases. Society is changing in a way that will affect how people shop in years to come. Now with more people from different cultural backgrounds residing in the UK than ever before supermarkets must act fast to meet the new needs of a changing society. New legislation has stopped many key players in their tracks with plans for expansion as a new financial ombudsman now has the last word on whether a supermarket can expand in a certain location. The recession has had a major impact of the supermarket sector over the past couple of years. It has been the driving influences to a lot of changes which have been occurring in most of the major food retailers. While the supermarket industry is relatively ecession proof their customers are not and this has seen consumer trends of trading down and buying less. An analysis of the internal structure of Waitrose shows us a very strong company with high moral grounding and a passion for customer service. They may not have such large market share as the ‘big four’ but they are growing at a rapid pace and with the addition of their new ’Essentials’ range to their portfolio they are preparing to enter a whole new main stream market. They pride themselves on having great relationships with employees and suppliers and are at the forefront of environmental issue such as sustainable ethical sourcing. Waitrose is a company that is heading in the right direction and while they are not without their weakness’s, distribution being a key factor, they are adept at recognising where improvements can be made and building towards a higher market share. APPENDIX Appendix 1 – http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=395621/display/id=496165? select_section=496166 Appenix 2 – http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=395621/display/id=496166? select_section=496167 Appendix 3 – http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&&type=RCItem&sort=relevant&access=accessible&archive=hide&source=non_snapshot&list=search_results/display/id=418439/display/id=480340? select_section=480342 Appendix 4 – http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/sear ch_results/show&/display/id=394656/display/id=442497? select_section=442498 BIBLYOGRAPHY MACRO ENVIRONMENT Social Brassington. F and Pettitt. S (2006), Principles of Marketing 4th Edition, Pearson Education Ltd, London Office for National Statistics (2010), Population Estimates, Available: http://www. statistics. gov. uk/cci/nugget. asp? ID=6. , [27th March 2010] Office for National Statistics (2010), Migration, Available: http://www. statistics. gov. uk/cci/nugget. asp? id=260, [28th March 2010] Keynote (2009), Food Retailing – UK Market in Brief, Available: http://0academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=395621, [16th March 2010] Office for National Statistics (2010), Health and Social Care, Available: http://www. statistics. gov. uk/CCI/nugget. asp? ID=1268&Pos=6&ColRank=2&Rank=208, [20th March 2010] Keynote (2010), Food Industry – Industry Overview, Available: https://www. keynote. co. uk/market-intelligence/view/product/2360/food-industry/chapter/3/industry-overview [6th April 2010] Keynote (2010), Food Industry – PEST Analysis, Available: https://www. keynote. co. uk/market-intelligence/view/product/2360/food-industry/chapter/4/pest-analysis? highlight=food industry [5th April 2010] Mintel (2009), Food Retailing UK – Broader Market Environment, Available: http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/sear h_results/show&/display/id=395621/display/id=496166? select_section=496167 [10th March 2010] IDG (2009), Non-Food Retailing, Available: http://www. igd. com/index. asp? id=1&fid=1&sid=17&tid=0&folid=0&cid=90, [6th April 2010) Economic Tutor2u (No Date), Business and Trade Cycle, Available: http://tutor2u. net/economics/gcse/revision_notes/big_picture_business_cycle. htm, [29th March 2010] Mintel (2009), Food Retailing UK – Sector Size and Forecast, Available: http://0academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=395621/display/id=496169? elect_section=496171, [17th March 2010) BBC News (27th January 2010), UK Economy Emerges from Recession, Available http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/8479639. stm, [28th March 2010] Office for National Statistics (2010), Employment, Available: ]http://www. statistics. gov. uk/cci/nugget. asp? id=12, [1st April 2010] Mintel (2009), Food Retailing UK – Broader Market Environment, Available: http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=395621/display/id=496166? select_section=496167, [17th March 2010] BBC News (10th December 2009), UK Interest Rate Remains at 0. %, Available: http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/8405543. stm, [19th March 2010] Mintel (2009), Market Re-forecasts – Food †“ UK – March Introduction, Available: http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/sear ch_results/show&/display/id=445314/display/id=447574? select_section=447575, [12th March 2010] F. Kastner (2009), Supermarket Anchored Centres – Are they Recession Proof? , ICSC Certified Professionals Newsletter, Available: http://www. icsc. org/srch/education/newsletter/CPNews0309/15_Supermarket_Anchored. pdf, [26th March 2010] Keynote (2010), Food Industry – Industry Overview, Available: https://www. keynote. co. uk/market-intelligence/view/product/2360/food-industry/chapter/3/industry-overview? highlight=food industry, [6th April 2010] Political Business Link (2009), Business Links Cartels and Monoplies, Available: http://www. businesslink. gov. uk/bdotg/action/layer? topicId=1074014670 Business Link (2009), Understanding National Minimum Wage Law, Available: http://www. businesslink. gov. uk/bdotg/action/layer? topicId=1074402393 Directgov (2010), News Room, Available: http://www. direct. gov. uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_178175, Office of Fair Trading (2007), A Quick Guide to Competition and Consumer Protection Laws that Effect Your Business, Available: http://www. oft. gov. uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft911. pdf, [6th April 2010] Hartshorne. J, Naturenet, (1996), UK Law and the Environment, Available: http://www. naturenet. net/law/envlaw1. html [6th April 2010] Sourceuk, (2009), Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), Available: http://www. sourceuk. net/article/12/12940/groceries_supply_code_of_practice_gscop. html, [3rd April 2010] DEFRA (No Date), Legislation, Available: http://www. defra. gov. k/environment/policy/enforcement/project/index. htm, [27th March 2010] Office of Public Sector Information (No Date), Environmental Protection Act 1990, Available: http://www. opsi. gov. uk/ACTS/acts1990/ukpga_19900043_en_1, [2nd April 2010] Office of Public Sector Information (No Date), Environment Act 1995, Available: http://www. opsi. gov. uk/acts/acts1995/ukpga_19950025_en_1, [2nd April 2010] DE FRA (No Date), About Defra, Available: http://www. defra. gov. uk/corporate/index. htm, [2nd April 2010] Competition Commission (No Date), About Us, Available: http://www. competition-commission. org. uk/about_us/index. tm, [14th April 2010] Competition Commission (2009), Competition Test, Available: http://www. competition-commission. org. uk/press_rel/2009/oct/pdf/46-09. pdf, [13th April 2010] Environment, Mintel (2008), Green and Ethical Retailing, Available: http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=280622/display/id=416224? select_section=416223, [23rd March 2010] Ethical Consumer (2010), Ethiscore, Available: http://www. ethiscore. org/, [3rd April 2010] Mintel (2009), Influence of the Environment on Food Shopping, Available: http://0-academic. intel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=394656, [19th March 2010] Donohue. A, (October 2007), Brand Republic, Availa ble: http://www. brandrepublic. com/News/744863/M-S-Sainsburys-Waitrose-top-green-supermarkets-study/, [28th March 2010] Department of Energy and Climate Change (2008), A Low Carbon UK, Available: http://www. decc. gov. uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/lc_uk/lc_uk. aspx, [12th April 2010] Department of Energy and Climate Change (2008), Legislation, Available: http://www. decc. gov. uk/en/content/cms/legislation/legislation. aspx, [6th April 2010] WRAP (No Date), About Us, Available: http://www. wrap. org. uk/wrap_corporate/about_wrap/index. html, [6th April 2010] Food and Drink Federation (No Date), About FDF, Available: http://www. fdf. org. uk/about_fdf. aspx, [6th April 2010] Technology Mintel (2009), Online Grocery Retailing, Available: http://0-academic. mintel. com. emu. londonmet. ac. uk/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=418439, [27th March 2010] Just Food (2010), UK Online Grocery Shopping to Double in 5 Years, Available: http://www. just-food. com/article. aspx? id=109468&lk=s, [18th April 2010] SAS (August 2006), SAS Chosen by Waitrose to Forecast Customer Demand, Available: http://www. sas. com/offices/europe/uk/press_office/press_releases/august2006/waitrose. html, [29th March 2010] Goliath (2005), Check out self-checkout: supermarket chains that fail to offer this customer convenience in the right stores are sure to disappoint many of their shoppers, Available: http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/gi_0199-4976992/Check-out-self-checkout-supermarket. html, [12TH April 2010] Retails Systems (2010), Zetes renews Quick Check scanners for Waitrose, Available: http://www. retail-systems. om/rs/Waitrose_Zetes. php, [19th March 2010] MICRO ENVIRONMENT – Suppliers Intermediaries, Financial Government, Waitrose (No Date), The Waitrose Small Producers Charter, Available: www. waitrose. com, [19th March 2010] Hall. J, Telegraph (March 2009), Waitrose asks 1,000 suppliers to cut prices, Available: http://www. telegraph. co. uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/4976976/Waitro se-asks-1000-suppliers-to-cut-prices. html, [9th April 2010] John Lewis Partnership (2009), John Lewis Partnership annual report and accounts 2009, Available: http://www. johnlewispartnership. co. uk/Display. aspx? MasterId=3a870a7d-6317-4f49-9ede-138f44473e9e&NavigationId=578, [20th March 2010] Waitrose (No Date), The Waitrose Difference, Available: http://www. waitrose. com/ourcompany/thewaitrosedifference. aspx, [20th March 2010] John Lewis Partnership (No Date), Engaging Our Stakeholders, Available: http://www. johnlewispartnership. co. uk/Display. aspx? MasterId=374bc5fc-f941-432c- 829531c505f15e37&NavigationId=607#gov, [20th March 2010] MICRO ENVIRONMENT – The Company, Employees, Customers Jonhlewispartenrship (2010) About us[online] Available from: http://www. johnlewispartnership. co. uk/Display. aspx? &MasterId=768e29e8-41a

Research Essay On Global Pollution - 1172 Words

Research Essay on Global Pollution The global pollution is one of the major hazards human civilization is confronted with at present. Few issues in the history of mankind had such a pronounced and universal effect on the entire population of our planet, its environment, flora and fauna. Pollution is a problem that also needs to be analyzed and handled in terms of its perspectives in the future, both short- and long-term. Pollution is defined as the process and result of the introduction of foreign, contaminating substances into natural environment that have a potential of damaging the environment or human health (Briggs 2). It has diverse forms including air, soil and water pollution, radioactive contamination, littering, thermal and some other kinds of pollution. Climate change is the direct and most alarming consequence of the global pollution, with greenhouse effect and global warming being its most evident outcomes. Global pollution has various forms and many negative consequence s that should be recognized, studied and controlled by the global community. Anthropogenic influence is the main source of global pollution that has highly detrimental effects on the environment and human health. Although pollution has been known from ancient time, when people used only primitive tools and instruments, its negative impact has been greatly increasing with the rapid progress of modern technology that facilitates the use of various substances in all spheres of human life andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Saukko s Writing Is Very Effective1437 Words   |  6 Pagesreading her essay. Even though she uses satire and irony often throughout her essay, we can still comprehend the issue is serious matter. she’s trying to speak. Ehrlich’s writing urges people to do things that can slow down global warming effects, and prevent more harm to ecosystem. Gawande’s article helps me to understand that pollution not only can damage the earth, but pollutions can ha ve direct effects on humans as well. Saukko’s essay shows us many ways planet can get poisoned; her essay helps theRead MoreEssay about Can the World Sustain an Increasing Population?925 Words   |  4 Pagesgrowth, which started at the first industrial revolution, the global population reached over 7 billion individuals in 2013. Research by Ezeh, Bongaarts and Mberu (2012) states that increasing population is a threat to individuals and societies by bring problems based on unsatisfied demand. The â€Å"increasing population† in this essay can be defined as net rising in birth rate during a period, especially in the poor developing countries. This essay will argue that the world cannot sustain an increasing populationRead MoreGlobal Retailing And Civil Aero Engine Manufacturing Industry Essay1408 Words   |  6 PagesINTRODUCTION- This portfolio reviews about the nature and extend of internalisation within both global retailing and civil aero-engine manufacturing industry. It firstly describes and tells about the global retail strategic groups which will reveal about the competitor companies and also establish the leading companies in the market. It will also focus on the fact that what makes it global/international. The important analysis covered in the report is industry analysis (PESTEL) which will coverRead MoreEnvironmental Crsis on Earth Essay1102 Words   |  5 Pagescrisis is due to high levels of human pain and, if it continues, the human life on the planet disappears. People often say that the reason that the world is in its current state is because there are too many people or because of modern technology. Global pollution growth has led to increasing pressure on worldwide natural resources including air, water, land, and raw materials; and modern societies have generated an increasing demand for the use of industrial chemicals. The use of chemicals has resultedRead More Environmental Effects of Fossil Fuel Exploration and Extraction937 Words   |  4 PagesCorvalà ¡n, 2006), leading to social panic and complaints. Fossil fuels’ exploration and extraction in this essay refers to an industrial process of prospecting the petrochemical resources and transferring it to consumable goods. The environmental effects of this process could be varied; this essay will focus on air pollution, land subsidence and the degradation of water quality. Initially, air pollution is considered as a negative effect of exploring and extracting the fossil fuels due to the increasingRead MoreTopics for Cause and Effect Essays702 Words   |  3 Pages Cause and Effect Essay Topics A cause and effect essay aims at explaining the reasons and results of an event or situation. †¢ It is one the most popular essay types in the academic world. †¢ It is beneficial for a student to write a cause and effect essay because it propels him to think of the situation in depth to come up with the reasons for the birth of that situation and its eventual impact on everything it affects. †¢ It encourages the mind to think analytically and investigate a situationRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Impact On The World1042 Words   |  5 PagesGlobal Warming Yarely Juarez Jack F.Macy Intermediate School Abstract Global warming is a topic that concern many scientists and other people. lbis paper will be stating on the causes,history, technology, and etc. Inthis research paper you will find most of the history of global warming, how it has had a impact on the world, how it impacts us and our daily lives, and etc. Also I (Yarely Juarez) will be stating what are the planning or direction of this technology. Many 7t11Read MoreThe Role Of Successful Business Practicesworldwide And Encompass All Sectors1123 Words   |  5 Pagespracticesworldwide and encompass all sectors. Such conditions allow partners to realize advantages suchas network infrastructures, shared assessment techniques and real-time information delivery.Integrating climate change and air pollution policy as part of the effort to combat global warmingis particularly suitable to this application because the chemical materials that cause damage tothe atmosphere and all other parts of the natural environment originate from the same sources. Asit stands today, solvingRead MoreSustainable Development Of Green Logistics1440 Words   |  6 Pagessustainable development and logistics applying the principles of sustainability in green logistics. Nevertheless, there are still many people who are not aware of green logistics and even suspect the necessity of establishment of green logistics. This essay aims to introduce the basic theory of green logistics in China, analysis of the development situation of green logistics in China, countermeasures, suggestions for implementation of green logistics in China as well as the future of Chinese enterpriseRead MoreConservation Of The Environment : Sea Deoxygenation, Pollution, And The Loss Of Biodiversity1034 Words   |  5 PagesThe world has faced lots problems, many of which are still present today. The most important global issue is the lack of the preservation of the environment. The lack of preservation of the environment has led to ocean deoxygenation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity. Ocean deoxygenation is causing many issues in marine life as well as death. The increase in pollution is placing many health risks to both land and marine life. The loss of biodiversity causes all living beings to be more vulnerable

Measuring My Development As A Bachelor Of Dementia Care...

Measuring my development as a Bachelor of Dementia Care student. My essay will outline the journey of how I identified my area of student growth since undertaking this Bachelor of Dementia Care degree and introductory units. Academic achievements typically are based on examination or assessment marks. As Cottrell (2013, pp. 12-13) shows, a quiz can identify and evaluate a measurement of achievement particularly of a new student. I will endeavour to identify that with the use of differing methods or tools of measurement, they act as a catalyst to improve or impede my academic development. Additionally, I will discuss examples and explain how I can apply the outcomes of my development. It has been thirty years since I completed by Higher School Certificate, receiving a mark which measured my ability to recall prior years of study. So as I commence university, to attain my degree, how will I manage study, work and family commitments? Do I have the skills to undertake this so late in my life? (Vivekananda Shores, 1996, p.10). Overwhelmed and anxious about what I had committed myself to, the initial exhilaration of enrolling as a university student was replaced with anxiety. Scanning through discussion boards provided affirmation of the anxieties I experienced. Feedback I received from one participant responded with â€Å"I feel that self-doubt too† (M. Bancroft, personal communication, March 3, 2016) (Appendix A) this alerted me to an opportunity to ebb my anxieties, but providedShow MoreRelatedIdentifying My Area Of Student Growth Since Undertaking This Bachelor Of Dementia Care Degree And Introductory Units754 Words   |  4 PagesMy essay will outline the journey of identifying my area of student growth since undertaking this Bachelor of Dementia Care degree and introductory units. Academic achievements, typically are based on examination or assessment marks. As Cottrell (2013, pp. 12-13) shows, a quiz can identify and evaluate a measurement of achievement particularly of a new student. I will endeavour to show, with the use of differing methods or tools of measurement, they act as a catalyst to improve or impede my academicRead MoreThe Effects Of Effectual Daily Prayer On Mental Health5652 Words   |  23 PagesRunning Head: EFFECTS OF EFFECTUAL DAILY PRAYER 1 EFFECTS OF EFFECTUAL DAILY PRAYER 2 The Effects of Effectual Daily Prayer on Mental Health in Adults Diane T. Bethmann, RN, MSN Student Jennifer M. Wood, MSN, RN Chamberlain College of Nursing Author?s Note Diane T. Bethmann, MSN Student, Chamberlain College of Nursing Jennifer M. Wood, Department of Nursing Faculty, Chamberlain College of Nursing Read MoreNursing Essay41677 Words   |  167 Pagespertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with theRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 PagesLuis Obispo Australia †¢ Brazil †¢ Canada †¢ Mexico †¢ Singapore †¢ Spain †¢ United Kingdom †¢ United States Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis, Third Edition Roxy Peck, Chris Olsen, Jay Devore Acquisitions Editor: Carolyn Crockett Development Editor: Danielle Derbenti Assistant Editor: Beth Gershman Editorial Assistant: Ashley Summers Technology Project Manager: Colin Blake Marketing Manager: Joe Rogove Marketing Assistant: Jennifer Liang Marketing Communications Manager: Jessica Perry