Change Management and Communication Plan Essay

Riordan Manufacturing is doing big things to improve their organization. They have decided to change how the organization manages their customer management system. The company has not had any formal system for managing their customer information and has in the past left this up to each individual employee. This new system will incorporate the use of one customer management system that will be accessed by all employees. Our team will be assisting with this process and will ensure that our plan will make Riordan more effective. During this process we will need to have several planning meetings to assist with the implementation of this new process and the use of our new customer management system. We as a team will ensure that all steps are carefully planned and well presented to the employees. Our number one goal is to make the company more effective. The topics we will need to address include the organizational structure to include chain of command, organizational culture, and the strategy we will use to make these changes effective. Their current method of management is the chain of command. This allows each division to have a supervisor and many levels between the bottom and the top. The level of supervision includes supervisors, middle managers, and executive managers. The informal power structure is a team-oriented working environment. Assignments are currently being completed by appropriate communication among the employees. The lack of focus on individual success is often overlooked. Decentralization can also be a disadvantage as it can lead to control problems for management. This structure can generally increase conflict among employees. The most effective organizational structure that would benefit Riordan would include self-directed teams. Riordan’s team environment would be excellent for  self-directed teams. Self-directed teams can offer several advantages. The largest factor we considered is motivating the employees. This will allow them the highest level of job satisfactory by boosting morale and giving them meaningful positions. Employees that have high levels of job satisfactory are much more engaged in supporting their organization. An employee’s behavior is influenced by their company’s culture. The organizational culture at Riordan includes fairness, dedication, teamwork, performance evaluations and benefits accommodations. Everything the company offers is factored into the culture. These influence an employee’s motivation and will help an employee grow and gain additional experience and knowledge. Some potential influences include career advancement, job security which in return will lead to loyal employees, excellent customer service provided by the employees, and compensation satisfaction. One of the most difficult challenges a company is tasked with is implementing change. As long as a company knows and understands how to effectively implement change, the less resistance they will receive. Reasons that employees resist change include: lack of awareness to the change, fear of being out of comfort zone, fear of not understanding the reasons for change, personal feelings towards the change, conflicts, and fear for lack of job security. Management should always be prepared to effectively deal and handle the resistance most employees will impose. Some strategies Riordan Company should follow include; effective communication of any ideas and implementation of change prior to the change date. Management should always be mindful of employee concerns and work on different training methods to help them cope with any changes that will be occurring. Every employee should be given the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the changes. Another strategy is to expect the resistance when implementation takes place. The best way to handle that is to address it formally and identify the root causes of the change as well as appoint the right leaders to effectively communicate and address any potential issues. As far as the implementation of the new system goes, the next 12 months will be critical. A plan will help to dictate the direction in which the plan will take the business. Providing a detailed step-by-step instruction manual, so to speak, will be the best chance for the success of the implementation. It may take a bit longer, but implementing the plan only one step at a time will make for  an effortless transaction from one norm to the next. This will also allow for feedback of the employees without aggravation, which will also give them time for significant improvements. At first, the employees will likely be confused by the change. It will take time to adapt to the new norm before an evaluation of the success can be determined. Training will be of great importance. Having a pre-knowledge of the upcoming events will prepare the employees for the inevitable. We know that the change is coming and so should they. The customer base is the best way to know for sure if the plan is effective. Most businesses only exist as a service to a customer; therefore, training the employees on the right and wrong reactions to the customers and the service that they r eceive will be the primary goal for Riordan Manufacturing. This will give the sense that the company is making the necessary changes to better serve them. The Communication Plan Riordan Manufacturing communication plan will consist of a formal email being sent to all managers in charge of specific sectors about the Change Management Plan with a follow up of sector face-to-face meetings. A formal email being sent out will ensure the message being delivered in a timely fashion to prepare the managers for the change. It will also give them more time to prepare a face-to-face meeting with all sector employees before the change is made. The face-to-face meeting will ensure the employees that Riordan Manufacture messages about any change that could affect them are being relayed on a more personable level. This channel will also allow manager to receive feedback from employees whether it is questions or concerns. A barrier that could be a problem for the managers trying to deliver this Change Management Plan is Communication Apprehension. This kind of barrier takes place when an individual gets extremely nervous, anxious, or even tense when speaking or trying to send any type of communication to others. Since the managers are going to have individual face-to-face meeting with their group of employees, we hope that each manager will have the courage to speak up effectively and accurately about the change. To ensure that there has been effective communication to all employees the managers who delivered  the messages will have to send a report back about the reactions shared by the employees during the meeting. Riordan Manufacturing is excited to announce a new customer management system. This new system will be accessible by all employees and will allow us to provide the most effective customer service possible. During the next few weeks, Department Managers will have face to face meetings with all staff members. Team A will provide an overview of the new system and will allow the opportunity for employees to address concerns and ask questions. Please take this time and offer feedback, your feedback and concerns are vital to the success of this organization. Our number one goal is to deliver the best customer service to both internal and external customers. Together we can make this change a success. In conclusion communication and planning are the two most important things when implementing change within any organization. Employees need to know that their input is appreciated and heard. Allowing managers and employees the opportunity to provide feedback will increase morale and will maintain high levels of job satisfaction. Riordan Manufacturing has taken the necessary steps to implement the new customer management system with proper planning and communication.

Roots of the Mexican-American War

Roots of the Mexican-American War The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was a long, bloody conflict between the United States of America and Mexico. It would be fought from California to Mexico City and many points in between, all of them on Mexican soil. The USA won the war by capturing Mexico City in September of 1847 and forcing the Mexicans to negotiate a truce favorable to US interests. By 1846, war was nearly inevitable between the USA and Mexico. On the Mexican side, the lingering resentment over the loss of Texas was intolerable. In 1835, Texas, then part of the Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas, had risen in revolt. After setbacks at the Battle of the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre, the Texan rebels stunned Mexican General Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Santa Anna was taken prisoner and forced to recognize Texas as an independent nation. Mexico, however, did not accept Santa Annas agreements and considered Texas nothing more than a rebellious province. Since 1836, Mexico had half-heartedly tried to invade Texas and take it back, without much success. The Mexican people, however, clamored for their politicians to do something about this outrage. Although privately many Mexican leaders knew that reclaiming Texas was impossible, to say so in public was political suicide. The Mexican politicians outdid each other in their rhetoric saying that Texas must be brought back into Mexico. Meanwhile, tensions were high on the Texas/Mexico border. In 1842, Santa Anna sent a small army to attack San Antonio: the Texas responded by attacking Santa Fe. Not long after, a bunch of Texan hotheads raided the Mexican town of Mier: they were captured and poorly treated until their release. These events and others were reported in the American press and were generally slanted to favor the Texan side. The simmering disdain of Texans for Mexico thus spread to the entire USA. In 1845, the USA began the process of annexing Texas to the union. This was truly intolerable for Mexicans, who may have been able to accept Texas as a free republic but never part of the United States of America. Through diplomatic channels, Mexico let it be known that to annex Texas was practically a declaration of war. The USA went ahead anyway, which left Mexican politicians in a pinch: they had to do some saber-rattling or look weak. Meanwhile, the USA had its eye on Mexicos northwestern possessions, such as California and New Mexico. The Americans wanted more land and believed that their country should stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The belief that America should expand to fill the continent was called Manifest Destiny. This philosophy was expansionist and racist: its proponents believed that the noble and industrious Americans deserved those lands more than the degenerate Mexicans and Native Americans who lived there. The USA tried on a couple of occasions to purchase those lands from Mexico, and was rebuffed every time. President James K. Polk, however, would not take no for an answer: he meant to have California and Mexicos other western territories and he would go to war to have them. Fortunately for Polk, the border of Texas was still in question: Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River while the Americans claimed it was the Rio Grande. In early 1846, both sides sent armies to the border: by then, both nations were looking for an excuse to fight. It wasnt long before a series of small skirmishes bloomed into war. The worst of the incidents was the so-called Thornton Affair of April 25, 1846 in which a squad of American cavalrymen under the command of Captain Seth Thornton was attacked by a much larger Mexican force: 16 Americans were killed. Because the Mexicans were in contested territory, President Polk was able to ask for a declaration of war because Mexico had †¦shed American blood upon the American soil. Larger battles followed within two weeks and both nations had declared war on one another by May 13. The war would last about two years, until spring of 1848. The Mexicans and Americans would fight about ten major battles, and the Americans would win all of them. In the end, the Americans would capture and occupy Mexico City and dictate terms of the peace agreement to Mexico. Polk got his lands: according to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, formalized in May of 1848, Mexico would hand over most of the current US Southwest (the border established by the treaty is very similar to todays border between the two nations) in exchange for $15 million dollars and forgiveness of some previous debt. Sources: Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: the Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004. Eisenhower, John S.D. So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1989 Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and its War with the United States.New York: Hill and Wang, 2007. Wheelan, Joseph. Invading Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.

study Essays

study Essays study Essay study Essay Measuring supply chain management practices Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour, Alceu Gomes Alves Filho, Adriana Backx Noronha Viana and Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour is Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, Sao Paulo State University, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alceu Gomes Alves Filho is Full Professor in Industrial Engineering in the Department of Industrial Engineering, Federal University of Sao Carlos, Adriana Backx Noronha Viana is Associate Professor in Business Administration and Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour is Assistant Professor of Business Administration, both at The University of Sao Paulo Business School Ribeirao preto (FEA-RP/USP), Summary Purpose This paper aims to perform an empirical investigation about the constructs and indicators of the supply chain management practices framework. survey that was carried out on 107 Brazilian companies. Statistical techniques were employed to verify, validate, and test the reliability of the constructs and their indicators. To validate this framework principal component analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used. Findings In general, previous studies uggest six constructs for measuring the supply chain management practices framework. However, in this study a framework was achieved with four constructs of supply chain management practices, namely, supply chain (SC) integration for production planning and control (PPC) support, information sharing about products and targeting strategies, strategic relationship with customer and supplier, and support customer order. This framework has adequate levels of validity and reliability. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study was that only a small sample of companies in a single sector and country were surveyed, and herefore there needs to be further research considering the special conditions in other countries. Originality/value This study investigated statistically set indicators to discuss the topic supply chain management practices. The framework obtained has good quality of validity and reliability indicators. Thus, an alternative framework has been added to measure supply chain management practices, which is currently a popular topic in the supply chain mainstream literature. Both defined constructs and the validated indicators can be used in other studies on supply chain management. Keywords Supply chain management, Working practices, Performance measurement (quality), Brazil Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Supply chain management (SCM) is an integrated approach beginning with planning and control of materials, logistics, services, and information stream from suppliers to manufacturers or service providers to the end client; it represents a most important change in business management practices (Fantazy et al. 2010). SCM is one of the most effective ways for firms to improve their performance (Ou et al. , 2010). With the purpose of managing the supply chain actions for realizing improvement in nterprise performance, it is necessary to improve the planning and management of activities such as materials planning, inventory management, capacity planning, and logistics (Chandra and Kumar, 2000) with suppliers and clients. Currently, the topics that can be considered essential to research suggestions in SCM include: supply chain coordination, distribution and transport, inventory, order management, planning and optimization, supply chain integration, reverse logistics, supply chain information, supplier and vender selection, and green SCM (Hu et al. , 2010). PAGE 18 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011, pp. 8-31, Q Emerald Group publishing Limited, ISSN 1368-3047 While interest in SCM is increasing day-by-day, there is no consensus about the conceptual and methodological research bases of SCM, generating gaps in the state- of-the-art of this research field (Burgess et al. , 2006). It is impossible to develop sound SCM theory without acceptable frameworks and definitions of terms (Stock and Boyer, 2009). In addition, the lack of a comprehensive view of SCM practices and the lack of a reliable measure of the concept have constrained guidelines to the practice f SCM and further research on the topic (Li et al. 2005). For this reason, the validation of SCM practices issue has been attracting the attention of researchers. For example, Li et al. (2005) conceptualize, develop, and validate dimensions of SCM practices constructs. Nonetheless, there are no unanimities in determining the set of indicators that can adequately address the topic Supply Chain Management Practices. Studies performed by Halley and Beaulieu (2010), Bayraktar et al. (2009), Hsu et al. (2009), Robb et al. (2008), Chow et al. (2008), Koh et al. (2007), Zhou and Benton (2007), wong et al. 005), -ran et al. (2002) and Tan (2002) pointed out different types of indicators and constructs used. Therefore, studying SCM practices can contribute to finding a better understanding about SCM. Hence, this paper aims to do an empirical investigation of the constructs and indicators of the SCM practices framework. The following sections include a brief literature review on SCM practices (section 2), methodological proc edures (section 3), analyses and discussions (section 4), and finally, conclusions (section 5). 2. Literature background A high level of confusion has occurred amongst supply chain scholars during the ast decades by the several SCM definitions that have been proposed in the literature (Stock and Boyer, 2009). Three key subjects emerged from the various definitions: activities, benefits, and constituents/components. The first theme of SCM definitions, activities, contains the flow of materials and information, and networks of relationships, focusing on both internal (within the organization) and external (outside the organization). Second, the benefits resulting from effective implementation of SCM strategies are to add value and increase customer satisfaction. Third, the components or constituent parts of SCM; what organizations, unctions and processes involve the supply chain (Stock et al. , 2010). SCM practices are defined as the set of activities undertaken by an organization to promote effective management of its supply chain (Li et al. , 2005, 2006; Koh et al. , 2007); as the approaches applied in integration, managing and coordination of supply, demand and relationships in order to satisfy clients in effective way (Wong et al. 2005); as tangible activities/technologies that have a relevant role in the collaboration of a focal involve suppliers in decision making, encouraging information, sharing and looking or new ways to integrate upstream activities. As a consequence, it involves developing customer contacts by customer feedback to integrate the downstream activities and delivering orders directly to c ustomers (Chow et al. , 2008). In this sense, studying SCM practices supports the view theory regarding SCM. Relevant initiatives to identify and validate SCM practices have been reported, but it is worth noting that there is no pattern in defining and adopting indicators and constructs for SCM practices. Tan et al. (2002) and Tan (2002) identified 24 SCM practices from previous studies and formed six constructs: . supply chain integration; 2. information sharing; 3. supply chain characteristics; VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE PAGE 19 4. customer service management; 5. geographical proximity; and 6. JIT capability. They used a five-point Likert scale to measure the importance of these practices. Wong et al. (2005) proposed like indicators of SCM practices in their study: B supply chain performance; product differentiation; lead time management; postponement and customization; inventory and cost management; bullwhip effects; information sharing and coordination; buyer-seller relationship; etail strategy; and SCM initiatives. They used a case study and the practices based on the toy industry. Six distinctive constructs of SCM practices emerged, including strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, information sharing, information quality, internal lean practices and postponement. All the items were measured on a five-point scale (Li et al. , 2005, 2006). Zhou and Benton (2007) consider three constructs of supply chain practices (supply chain planning, Just-in-time OIT) production, and delivery practice), because they have been shown to be closely related to delivery performance. Each statement required responses based on a seven-point Likert scale (1 h not implemented, 7 h extensively implemented). A list of SCM constructs used in previous literature regarding the SCM practices is relying on the extant literature. Koh et al. (2007) and Bayraktars et al. 2009) studies identify a set of 12 SCM practices: close partnership with suppliers, close partnership with customers, Just in time supply, strategic planning, supply chain benchmarking, few suppliers, holding safety stock, e-procurement, outsourcing, subcontracting, 3PL, many suppliers. Items were measured on five-point scales anging from 1 (not at all implemented) to 5 (fully implemented). Koh et al. (2007) m easuring two constructs and Bayraktar et al. (2009) measuring three constructs. A five-point interval rating scale system was used by Chow et al. 2008) with 5 equaling the highest extent or degree. The constructs were: customer and supplier management; communication and speed; and information sharing. Robb et al. (2008) considered four constructs in their research: 1 . customer relationships; 2. supplier relationships; 3. e-commerce; and 4. enterprise software. They used a seven-point Likert scale. PAGE 20 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE VOL. 5 NO. 2 2011 In research performed by Hsu et al. (2009), respondents were asked to indicate on a five-point Likert scale (1 low, 5 high), the importance of each practice in their firm. The indicators were: increase suppliers Just in time capabilities; participating in sourcing decisions; geographical proximity of suppliers; formal information sharing agreements; improving the integration of activities; searching for new ways for integration; communicating future strategic needs; on-time delivery; and reducing response time. Halley and Beaulieu (2010) used four constructs (nesting, collaboration, financial ncorporation, and distancing) along with 13 indicators from the five-point Likert scale. Table I summarizes the theoretical studies of constructs pointed out in this section. Table II shows the constructs, the indicators and conceptual meaning used in this paper to measure and validate the SCM practices framework. The selection of constructs and indicators was based on research to reconcile the concepts of SCM (Stock et al. , 2010; Chandra and Kumar, 2000), in which they considered the necessity to manage, plan and control production and inventory, i. e. the flow of information nd materials; the definition of SCM practices (Wong et al. 2005; Chow et al. , 2008), the managed integration and coordination of supply, demand and relationships; and the most commonly found constructs and the indicators (Bayraktar et al. , 2009; Robb et al. , 2008; Chow et al. , 2008; Koh et al. , 2007; Zhou and Benton, 2007; Li et al. , 2006, 2005; Tan et al. , 2002; Tan, 2002). Taking this into consideration, the constructs considered were: supply chain integration, information sharing, custom er service management, customer relationship, supplier relationship and postponement. 3. Methodology 3. 1 Survey design In order to assess the construct of the SCM practices, a questionnaire was developed from a review of literature (Table II), and the respondents were asked to evaluate each question in terms of the level of implementation of each specific practice in their company. A five-point Likert scale (1 non-implemented and 5 totally implemented) was adopted because there are many researches uses the same method. Prior to this, a pre-test was given to professionals in the SC over a 65-day period, and from this pre-test some necessary adjustments were done to the questionnaire in order to make the questions clearer. The questionnaire was sent out to 532 different companies via personalized e-mails. In all, 107 companies responded (response rate only e-mails were sent to each of the 532 companies up to three times each. The participating companies were classified according to the position they occupy in their supply chain as follows: raw material supplier, component supplier, assembly company, distributor, or retailer. The companies were also classified according to their size (micro company, small company, medium company, and large company) and the predominant bargaining power in their major supply chain. The data were collected through an e-survey (internet-based survey) conducted with one respondent from each company (from different areas, such as marketing, operations, supply, and sales departments) of several different segments of the Brazilian VOL. 15 NO. 2 2011 MEASURING BUSINESS EXCELLENCE PAGE 21 Table I Summaries of the theoretical studies of constructs pointed out in this research Author(s) Research objective Construct Context Scale -ran (2002) The first objective was to derive a set of SCM practices and compare how practitioners ranked these practices to enhance competitive position. The second objective was o identify and compare the major concerns in implementing a successful SCM program. Finally, the third objective attempted to identify the practices and the concerns associated with successful supply chains The article described a survey effort to study contemporary supply evaluation practices. This also related these practices to firm performance The study explored SCM practices of toy supply chains, and revealed their practical and theoretical gaps The purpose of research was to develop and validate a parsimonious measurement instrument for SCM practices The purpose of study therefore to empirically test a framework dentifying the relationships among SCM practices, competitive advantage and organizational The purpose of study was to investigate: the relationship between information sharing and supply chain practice: the influence of supply chain dynamism on information sharing and supply chain practice; and the impact of chain practice on delivery determine the underlying dimensions of SCM practices and to empirically test a framework SCM practices, operational performance and SCM-related organizational performance with special emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey Study sought to determine the nderlying dimensions of SCM and IS practices. Next, empirically test a framework identifying the causal links among SCM and IS practices, SCM and Is-related inhibitors operational performance Information sharing Supply chain characteristic Customer service management Geographical proximity JIT capability Different industries Five-point Likert None Toy industry retail (volatile None demand) Strategic supplier partnership Customer relationship Information quality Internal lean practices Postponement Supply chain plan JIT production Delivery practices Seven-point Strategic collaboration and lean practices Outsourcing and multi-suppliers

The Holly Tree

The Holly Tree When I built my house almost nine years ago (friggin wow), I planted holly trees on two corners of the structure, one to the left of my study window. Because I love birds, I yearned for the day the tree grew tall and thick enough for me to see its bird visitors from that window. You see, my window is fifteen feet off the ground. I planted a three-foot tree. It would be a while. But I watered the tree, did some serious pruning on it every couple of years to shape it, and made sure it was free of disease. Its a beautiful plant with its shiny, deep green leaves and occasional berries. It grew, but I could only see it when I went outside and stood next to it. Sometime during 2013, I heard a mockingbird outside being particularly loud. On occasion a bird, usually a tiny wren or house finch, or even a rare goldfinch, will perch on my window sill seeking bugs. Since I write late into the night, my window holds the only light in the cove. Being in the country, we dont do streetlights, so dark is DARK out here. The bugs flock to my window, unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the birds that gobble them up the next day. Anyway, the mockingbird song puzzled me. Sliding to my window, I listened hard for the direction. Sure enough, he perched atop the holly tree. I could see him! I could hear him. It had been so long since I tried to see the tree from my window that Id forgotten it was even there . . . except when I went outside and watered it, and pruned it. I hope you can see that the point is obvious. We plant our butts in the chair and we plant words on a page. We keep at it, writing, creating, editing, even submitting. We do it, knowing it might be a long while before its matured. Then one day, and it might be several years from when you started, you look up and there it is. Your work has grown into mature, viable, and gorgeous stories. I hear so many writers talk about waiting for the right moments to write, or getting depressed about rejection, or reading so many ridiculous blog posts that tell them how long their odds are to get published. They write in spurts. They forget writing for the summer, or the winter, or the holidays. They are forgetting to water and prune their holly tree. Even if you cannot imagine success, you keep writing. Just as we love gardening, we love writing, and we tend them religiously, just the same. Because one day, well look up, and there it will be . . . that story we always imagined, sitting there, singing to the world.

How Governments attitude and policy towards sport has changed and Essay

How Governments attitude and policy towards sport has changed and envolved over the last 25years - Essay Example Sports policy can also be regarded as a prism through which wider ideological and practical political thought can be viewed. The three governments of Margaret Thatcher/John Major (Conservative) and Tony Blair’s New Labour illustrate the contrasts that can be found within sports policy. As Houlihan (2002) suggests, â€Å"some policy areas are easier than others to plot and delimit†, and this is especially the case with sports which is often a fulcrum around which a number of forces, from education to national prestige to public health revolves. The Thatcher government adopted what may be regarded as a characteristically laissez-faire and privatized view of sports leadership at both the national and local level. One of her first actions as prime Minister was to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afgahnistan. Britain was no alone in this boycott, being joined by 62 other Western countries. One aspect of Thatcher’s policy that contrasted with the provision of money for various sports stadiums, organizations and for sports on school, something which every government since WWII had instituted was her government’s reaction to football hooliganism. Under watch football hooliganism took on massive and deadly proportions, such as the fights that occurred at the European Cup Final in Brussels in which 36 people were killed (Frosdick, 2005). Thatcher introduced a number of new laws and policies that would ban alcohol at grounds, increase police powers to control the behavior and size of the crowd, as well as introducing surveillance such as close-circuit TV cameras that had previously been regarded as an invasion of privacy. Football hooliganism was a fulcrum around which many forces revolved, including serious suggestions that a National Identity Card should be introduced, even though at its height the problem

Life and Times in the Roman Legion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Life and Times in the Roman Legion - Essay Example C. The ancient Roman army was made up of several legions which included several cohorts of heavy infantry. Although the main legions consisted of Roman citizens there existed some auxiliary units that comprised soldiers who were not Roman citizens. These smaller units served as boosters for the legions. In the early years legions numbered approximately one hundred and twenty soldiers each. There were substantial increases in sizes in later centuries. From the early period military service was an obligation and duty upon Roman citizens, but also a kind of privilege (Campbell, J. B. 4). Soldiers served in the army and were categorized according to wealth and political power. All male citizens in Rome who were healthy and in possession of property were divided into five classes with the purpose of serving in the military. Those with substantial amount of wealth served as cavalry. They also enrolled as equestrians. These men were also dressed in accordance with their wealth and power. They normally wore a spear, sword, helmet, breast plate and round shield. Many members of the cavalry eventually ended up in politics. In comparison to the other classes in the military the cavalry had the least number of men. The three lower classes of soldiers were drawn from among the not so wealthy. They served in the infantry and wore fewer decorations than those persons in the cavalry. They, however, formed the principal unit in the military. The fifth and lowest group composed only of slingers. Since they were the least armed they sometimes acted as scouts. Soldiers were responsible for the acquisition of their weapons. Those citizens who had no property and lacked the resources to acquire weapons were excluded from military service. This classification within the legions changed when Gaius Marius (157 B.C. – 86 B.C) assumed political power. His reform of the military changed it into a more

Retailing Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Retailing Final - Essay Example Efficient store operation of Aldi is a way to convey the best customer experience. This remarkably will give significant reputation for the entire store based on the ability of its customers to disseminate response about their experience. This what makes this competitive advantage sustainable and it is through this that customers are playing major role towards its great success in the future. Customers therefore are needed to be enhanced with high level of satisfaction and Aldi tries to get this by conveying the best customer experience through efficient store operations. This means that all aspects in the operation involving the issue of customer satisfaction are closely taken into account. On the other hand, the increasing network of limited assortment stores of Aldi is another important source of sustainable competitive advantage. In this way, there is a good chance to highly differentiate the products and services offerings of the company. In line with this, there is a great oppo rtunity to increase the demand for products offered by Aldi in the global setting. This is also a good opportunity for the company to increase its chance to maximize the resources available from other countries. For one thing, China and India are good places for business as they are known to have cheap labor. However, for Aldi, the context of expansion deals primarily with business environmental factors. Under politics, it is important to consider existing policies for international business in both China and India. The aftermath of economic downturn is also a significant factor to consider prior to the global expansion of Aldi. This is going to be a challenge for Aldi’s competitive advantage knowing that China and India are also affected with economic recession across the globe. Putting up a business after all requires thorough consideration of economic activities and other factors. The next factor that would become a challenge for Aldi’s potential global expansion is the political environment. Various policies in business are determined by political settings of a country. In reality, this really affects how an international company would perform and adjust its internal business operation. Finally, another important factor that may be a great challenge for Aldi in its expansion is under the social context. China and India are home to huge consumers that have different preferences, geographic orientation and all other related social concerns. In particular, this is going to be a challenge for Aldi since this is going to take more time and effort to understand. There is a need to develop more systematic approach to identify how many exactly of the consumers are willing to go for limited assortment items. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   List and discuss all important characteristics of the fast response model used by Zara. Discuss key barriers limiting the company’s ability to duplicate this business model overseas, especially in Asia.   Answer: Za ra is known for its fast response model. This is potentially a quite advantage for the company as far as the trend and buying behavior of consumers change over time. It is because of this that there is a need to list and discuss all important characteristics of the fast response model of Zara. The fast response model of Zara is determined based on its concept. The world is home to fast changing demand for designs, innovation and the like. Thus, there is a need to