Catering Industry | Marketing Essay

Catering Industry | Marketing Essay Catering Industry is a very wide industry, it has been categorised in different food outlets which are based on the nature of the demand, availability of place, availability of raw material and size of the organization. The catering industry has got different natures of outlets and catering can be organized at customers place. The following are some of the catering establishments: 1.1. Restaurant: The major known food outlet is a restaurant. A restaurant can be a part of the hotel or can be stand alone. A restaurant is an establishment that serves the customers with prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. The term restaurant includes a diversity of different venues and a diversity of styles of cuisines. Different Restaurants have got their own quality or nature of work. A restaurant can be a speciality restaurant or multi-cuisine, Fast food or may have got other nature. Typically a hotel, where the food items are provided for the convenience of the residents and for the hotel to maximize their potential revenue, such restaurants are often open to non-residents also (Lundburg D.E.1985). 1.2. Transport Catering: Transport Catering is the second widest class if catering. After restaurants, Transport catering is the catering which caters for most of the customers. Transport catering includes an airline catering, Railway catering, Ship catering etc. Serving the food and beverages to passengers, before, during and after a journey on trains, aircraft and ships and in buses or private vehicles is called as transport catering. Different transport caterings have got different nature. Sometimes transport catering services are to be offered to the general public who lives near to the surrounding of the service provider. The major forms of modern day transport catering are airline-catering, railways catering, ship catering and surface catering in coaches or buses which operate on long distance routes (Lawson F., 1994). 1.2.1. Airline Catering: Airline catering is the most expensive and important catering segment. Airline catering includes to provide food and beverages to the customer who are travelling by aircraft and restaurants situated in the airport area. In new era latest airports have a variety of food and beverage outlets to cater to the increasing number of air passengers. Catering to passengers en route is normally contracted out to a flight catering unit of a reputed hotel or to a catering contractor or to the catering unit operated by the airline itself as an independent entity (Jones P., 1995). 1.2.2. Railway Catering: Another segment of the transport catering is railway catering. It is basically includes; catering to railway passengers at the time of running journey as well as during halts at different railway stations is called railway catering. Long journey, especially travelling by train for long distances is sometimes exhausting; consequently a regular supply of variety of different refreshment (Food and Beverages) choices facilitates to make the journey less monotonous. On-board meal services are also provided on long distance trains (Kocher E M., 1960). 1.2.3. Ship Catering: This is once again another segment of the transport catering. Catering to the cargo crew and ship passengers is called Ship Catering. It includes providing the excellent services to both the internal customers and external customers. All the royal ships have kitchens and different kind of the restaurants on board these restaurants serves both A la Carte and Table Dhà ´te menus. The quality of service and facilities offered depends on the class of the ship and the price the passengers are willing to pay. There are cruises to suit every pocket. They range from room service and cocktail bars to speciality dining restaurants (International Labour Office, 1946). 1.3. Surface Catering: Surface Catering is stated to the catering outlets; which caters to passengers travelling by surface transport such as buses and private vehicles. This kind of the organizations are generally situated near to the bus terminals or may be near to the highways. There are different criteria for the entrepreneurship for these organizations, these establishments are owned by government or could be owned by the private owners. There is positive growth has been noticed in a survey by the United Kingdom government for this kind of the organizations. Of late there has been a growing popularity of Punjabi style eateries called dhabas on the highways (Banerjee S.C., 2000). 2. Types of Catering: Catering Industry is one of the major industries worldwide. The catering industry has segmented in to different- different diminutive sub industries but there are two major types of catering On premises and Off premises catering. These two types of caterings can be stated as large scale and small scale catering. On-premise catering for any function includes banquet, reception, or event that is held on the premise of the organization or provision that is organize or supporting the function. On-premise catering is totally different from off-premise catering, in the off premise catering; function takes place in a secluded location, such as a customers home, in the garden, in any event , or may be in the parking area, and the staff, food, and decor must be transported to the secluded location. In the off premise catering most of the times food is prepared in the central kitchen or may be in the main kitchen and after preparation this food is delivers to the different outlets that is clients location. Part or all of the production of food may be executed or finished at the location of the event (Buttle F., 1996). There are different statements about the categorizations of the catering industry. Catering can also be divided in other segments as public catering and corporate / business catering. Social or public catering includes such events as weddings, bar and get together, high school meeting, birthday parties, and charity events or may be sports related events. Business catering includes such events as association conventions and meetings, civic or community meetings, corporate sales or stockholder meetings, recognition banquets, new product commencing, training camps may be educational or work, provider and consumer meeting, service awards banquets, and entertaining in hospitality collection (Buttle F., 1996). 2.1. On-Premise Catering: As On premise catering is the most important catering because, basically in the On premise catering all the arrangement of the services and function done by the organizations itself. For example, a caterer within a food and beverage organization will prepare and cater all of the needs of the customer without taking any food or services out of the competence of the organization. In United Kingdom there are many catering organizations have particular rooms on-premise to give the services to the private-party function. A big catering organization could have a layout specially designed and separated in more than one dining room and attached to a centralized industrial food production kitchen. These different dining rooms may be available at the same time to maintain the operations in the outlet and for stipulation and brim over seating. In addition, these dinning rooms can be used and rented for the private party such as wedding, get together or birthday party celebration and may require their own specialized service and menu options. Other examples of on-premise catering include hospital catering, school, college catering (Shock P. J. et al. 2001). 2.2. Off Premises Catering: Off Premise catering is the segment of the catering; in which service is provided to the customer outside of the organization which may be away from the base catering unit. There is one instance of a food production facility which is a self-supporting commissary kitchen unit used exclusively for the preparation of meal which is to be delivered at other places. Other examples of production facilities include, but are not limited to, hotel, restaurant, and club kitchens. In most cases there is no existing kitchen facility at the location where the food is served. Caterers provide single-event foodservice, but not all caterers are created equal. Off Premise Catering is basically separated as three different categories: Party Food Caterers: Party Food caterers basically supply the food and drink items for a particular event. Party food caterers believe in the last minute preparation, they leave semi cooked food and leave any last-minute preparation, plus service and cleanup, to others. Hot Buffet Caterers: It is basically called as distance cooking in which hot buffet caterers provide hot foods to the pre arranged function, that are delivered from their commissaries in insulated containers. Hot Buffet Caterers sometimes send their contracted staff for serving the food and take the extra charges from the contractor. Full-Service Caterers: Full service caterers believe in both of the menus, A la Carte and Table Dhà ´te menu. They also arrange contracted staff for serving food at the event, and all the necessary catering concern utensils and equipments which are chinaware, different glasses for different uses, crockery, cutleries, tables and seating, tents, and so on. They can arrange for other services, like interior and music, as well. In brief, a full-service caterer can plan and execute an entire event, not just the food for it. (Shock P. J. et al. 2001). There are some other sub-divisions of catering industry which are as follows: 2.3. Outdoor Catering: Outdoor catering is the division of the catering industry. Basically outdoor catering comprises the stipulation of food and beverages away from home and indoor catering establishments. Venue for the outdoor catering may be different as per the customers choice. In new era most of the 5 star hotels, restaurants and different catering organizations trying to fulfil this growing demand. There are choices in the menu and set up for the event could be different depend on the customers willing to spend money. Outdoor catering includes catering for functions such as weddings; get together parties, birthday parties and conventions. 2.4. Retail Store Catering: In the United Kingdom market some big retail stores, are facilitating the additional facilities apart of their primary business. These stores keep the facility of dinning. Basically retail store catering develops when large departmental stores wants to facilitate their customers by provide food and beverages in the stores. These stores treat their customers as a part of their retailing perception. It is not convenient for the customers to take a break from shopping, to have some food and drinks at a different location and it can consume customers valuable time as well. Thus provoke the need for some sort of a dining facility in the retail store itself. This style of catering is becoming more popular and varied nowadays (Nystrom P H., 2009). 2.5. Club Catering: Club Catering is basically to facilitates the club members in terms of Food and Beverage. This type of catering includes a limited numbers of the consumers basically who are a part of the club. Here are some instances of clubs for people with similar interests are turf clubs, golf clubs, cricket clubs etc. In these kinds of clubs; quality of the food and beverages tend to be high and the services provides is good standard. With in the high quality of environment prices of the menu keep really low as compared to the big catering organizations. Night clubs are generally located in big cities that have a high class population. They offer entertainment with good food and expensive drinks (Loader G., 1974). 2.6. Welfare Catering: The Welfare Catering is basically the service of the food and beverages to the peoples as the communal responsibility determined by the acknowledge authority. This grew out of the welfare state concept, prevalent in western countries. The Welfare Catering includes providing food and beverages in the hospitals, Government schools, colleges, the armed forces and prisons (Loader G., 1974). 2.7. Industrial Catering: The Industrial Catering is the provision of service of food and beverages to the people who are working in industries and factories at highly subsidised rates. The criteria of service of industrial catering is quiet different depends on the nature of the organization. It is based on the assumption that better fed employees at concessional rates are happy and more productive. In the organizations where number of employees is really high may be undertaken by the management itself, or a contract can be established with the professional caterers. Depending on the choice of the menu suggested by the management, catering contractors undertake to feed the workforce for a fixed period of time at a predetermined price (Coates D.S., 1971). 2.8. Leisure-Linked Catering: This type of catering refers to the provision of food and beverages to people engaged in rest and recreation activities. Basically this type of catering includes the selling of food and beverages, refreshments through different cut outs and stands at theme parks, big exhibitions, photo galleries or entertainment places such as live theatres and cinema halls and so on. As the leisure and tourism spreading widely, the increase in the availability of leisure time and big payouts by employers for leisure activities has made it a very profitable form of catering (Heyward P., 2002). 3. Menu: For the Catering Industry a menu is the list of dishes which are ready for service or available food or beverage items for the customers to select from. The food items which are available for the customers to choose from are divided in to different categories. This depends on the time of meal taken or the particular event. The assemblage of a menu is the most important part of a caterers work. Menu Planning considered as an art which can be obtained by the time spending, experience and study. The menu is a link between the customer and the catering organization. A menu for an organization should be carefully considered and then planned by the establishments professionals, namely the food and beverage manager, the executive chef, and the food and beverage controller (Cousins J., 2002). The word menu came in consideration dates back to 1718, but the provision of planning and developing such a food and beverages list is much older. In the early times, the escriteau (bill of fare) or menu of traditional meals was displayed on one of the wall with the instruction for the kitchen staff to follow the order in which dishes to be served. In the old era it is said that, menus were maintained as a big glossary with different sections covering a diversity of dishes. As time passed the lengthy single copy menu became smaller but increased in number allowing a number of copies placed in table increased. Depending on the establishment and the occasion, the menu may be plain or artistic in its presentation (Davis B et al., 1998). 3.1 Types of Menu: In a restaurant, there are two different types of menus which are differentiated by the manner in which they are served and priced. A menu may be a la carte or table dhà ´te. 3.1.1. A La Carte Menu: An A La Carte Menu, is a multiple choice menu, with each dish priced separately. If a guest wishes to place an order, an a la carte is offered, from which one can choose the items one wants to eat. Traditionally, the original menus that offered consumers choices were prepared on a small chalkboard, a la carte in French; so foods chosen from a bill of fare are described as à   la carte, according to the board. In an a la carte menu all items are cooked to order including the sauces that are made with wine, cream or mustard. Depending on the dish chosen by the guest, the cooking time will vary. It is necessary to inform the guests about the time the preparation might take. An extensive a la carte menu is impressive but involves a huge amount of mise-en-place. 3.1.2. Table Dhà ´te Table dhà ´te is a French phrase which literally means hosts table. It is used to indicate a fixed menu where multi-course meals with limited choices are charged at a fixed price. Such a menu may also be called prix fixe (fixed price). It usually includes three or five courses meal available at a fixed price. It is also referred to as a fixed menu. Because the menu is set, the cutlery on the table may also already be set for all of the courses, with the first course cutlery on the outside, working in towards the plate as the courses progress. In olden days, when the inns or dining establishments offering a limited choice in the menu was not preferred by the guests, they started offering an a la carte menu for guests to select the type of food they wanted to eat. Fixed menus or table dhote menus are still used in various forms such as buffet menus, conference packages and on special occasions. A table dhote menu comprises a complete meal at a predetermined price. It is sometimes prin ted on a menu card or as in the case of banquets, it is agreed upon by the host of the party. A banquet style of fixed menu has more elaborate choices ranging from the soup to the dessert. For the banquets, the hosts invariably fix or select the menu in consultation with the hotel staff in advance. Most of the banquet food served in India is normally of Indian food. For this, a printed format offering a choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes is prepared, from which the guests make their choice. Western style fixed menus normally provide the choice of a starter or soup, a main course, and finally a dessert. In each course there could be a choice of dishes to suit the tastes of individual guests. Table dhote menus should be well planned and balanced. As the guest is not given a chance to plan his own meal, the meal should be interesting, without any similarity in the colour and taste of the courses as well as being palatable, delicious and well presented. If the main course is heavy, then the first course should be lighter, and act as an appetite stimulant for the courses to follow. Dishes that are heavy and hard to digest should be avoided. The colour, varieties of ingredients used, and the garnishes should, if possible, be different for each course. Fixed menus are prevalent in transport catering which include air, rail, and sea passengers. The guests have a variety of fixed or table dhote menus, with virtually no choice offered to the passengers (except the first class air passengers). Cruise liners may have elaborate fixed menus with multiple choices built into each course. 4. Menu Formats: Menus are also presented in different formats. Menus are not always printed on heavy paper and handed to the customer. Another popular format is the tabletop menu. This type of menu is oftentimes referred to as a table-top display or a table tent. It is used primarily to promote your money makers. The problem seems to be that guests dont usually read them. Or, if they do, they usually read them after they have given their orders to the server (John A. Drysdale, 1997) There is also the menu board or chalkboard. Think of this as a tabletop menu on steroids. A menu board is necessary if you operate a quick service facility and may also be required if you have a separate take-out area in your full-service restaurant. The chalkboard is popular in restaurants that wish to convey a European image. Like the typical table tent, though, guests usually dont read them completely until after they put in their orders. Some restaurants offer verbal menus. Many properties have their servers recite the food specials of the day at tableside. We prefer a printed menu insert instead of the time-consuming speech. Guests are usually chatting away and arent always eager to sit still long enough to hear the full spiel. Restaurants that offer interactive menus allow guests to mix and match their orders. For instance, in some Italian restaurants guests can select the type of pasta they want, the type of sauce, and so on (Lewis, 2002). You also might see this with some bingo catering menus. These menus have several lists of food and beverage items. Eventually he or she ends up with a personalized menu for the event. Some restaurants use wireless technology (WIFI) to display their wine lists. Sometimes a computer terminal is installed at each table. Or the floor manager brings a laptop to the table. Guests can interact, for example, by entering their desired entrees into the system and waiting for the computer to make wine suggestions. Another format is the chefs menu. This is the one you spring on people who dont want to see a menu (Lewis, 2002). They say, Let the chef order for me. There are three ways to go: You can ask the customer to give you some advance notice about what he or she wants, and then have those things ready upon arrival; you let the guest decide, or you can select items from your current menu(s). A third alternative is for you to put something unique together, something that doesnt appear on the regular menu(s). A potential downside of options 1 and 3 is you have to price them quickly; you need to know your numbers, as the bookkeeper may not be around. And you would need to know if you have enough food items and the right wines to pair with them, or if you have to make a special run to the vendor in order to get what you need Jack (Lewis, 2002). 5. Menu Planning: Menu is the statement of food and beverage items available or provided by food establishments primarily based on consumer demand and designed to achieve organizational objectives. It represents the focal point around which components of food service systems are based. The menu is designed carefully what the outlet wants to cater for, keeping in mind the type of clientele. The main advantage of a well-planned menu is that it leads to consumer satisfaction. It also helps to motivate the employees for a responsible and successful service. A successful menu depends upon composition-the right combination of foods, prepared perfectly, to the entire satisfaction of the customer. So claimed Antonin Careme (1784-1833), the French chef who is considered the founder of classical cuisine. Menu is a document that controls and directs an outlets operations and is considered the prime selling instrument of the restaurant (Johns P., 1988). Menu planning is the back bone of the catering industry. Menu planning gives the basic idea of the activities which are to be done for operation in any catering premises. This operation in the establishment means front office operation and back office operation. Menu planning in an organization depends on so many different factors which results different activities in the organization. Menu planning starts with the nature of the organization means it may be a restaurant or out door catering. So the nature of the work decides the clientele in the organization, their choices availability of the food raw material (Lockwood A., 1994). 5.1. Points to be considered while planning the menu: When planning the food and beverage for any event, its important for event planners to consider several not-so-obvious catering menu planning items to help ensure a successful program. Consider the following when planning your menu: 5.1.1. Knowledge of the Guest Profile: A menu planning Manager / Executive must have good knowledge about the Guest profile of the organization. What is the profile of the guests being invited to the event? For example, most business people attend many events throughout the year, and the phrase rubber chicken circuit is common among political, business and fundraising circles (and others). To prevent your event from having this description, consider the following: The professional level of your guest. The frequency your guest attends similar events. The location where guests reside. The ethnic background of your guests. 5.1.2. Knowledge of the Guests preference: For good menu planning and good customer service it is really important to understand the profile of the guest, this allows the event planner to begin considering what menu options to offer. These are some of the points which can help an event manager to serve the best food and service to the guest. Points are as follows: Old age people dont like more spicy food so it is really good to serve them mild spicy food. Attendees concerned about health may prefer more seafood and vegetables options. Younger or middle-aged guests may prefer spicier, more adventurous meals. The idea here is to consider what your guests will enjoy the most based on the type of event you are planning. 5.1.3. Provide Menu Choices: Anyone planning an event should offer several choices so that all guests will be pleased with whats available. Some general guidelines: Offer at least two choices of entrees (three is better). Offer three or more salad dressing options. Serve all condiments on the side. Offer two dessert options: one very indulgent, one healthy. 5.1.4. Incorporate Seasonal and Fresh Items: When selecting the menu, the time of year should play a large factor in determining food and beverage. Take into consideration which items are in season for spring or winter menus. Another important factor is to consider the region or location of the event and popular food items from the area. Incorporate fresh seafood or regionally grown produce. 5.1.5. Select a Menu that Fits the Event Schedule Sometimes the clock will be the greatest guide to determining Table dhote menu for an event. Some examples: Box lunches are best if you have 30 minutes or on the go. Plated meals usually requires at least 1.5 hours. Buffets may be finished in about 1 hour. Cocktail receptions require a minimum of 1 hour before dinner. Working breakfasts or lunches should incorporate menu items that can hold up for longer periods of time than others. 5.1.6. Anticipate Special Needs Before any event, it is critical for an event planner to find out if any of the guests have a special need so that the catering manager can address those needs prior to the event. Considerations include: Food allergies Religious requirements Dietary restrictions 5.1.7. Allow for a Comfortable Room Setup Choose the appropriate room layout that supports your event objectives. If youre serving a meal, the tables will be filled with used dishes and glassware, in addition to binders, notepads and pens. Thats why its important to choose the best room setup, and allow space for people to move. Examples: Boardroom setup should be for a maximum of 15 guests. U-shape and rectangle table layout to promote discussion. Class room style is great for a presentation. Banquet style promotes small group discussions. Regardless of the setup, allow for people to spread out. Tip: Setup for 8 in a 10 person banquet table. 5.1.8. Create Ethnic or Regional Menus Im a huge fan of planning events that have ethnic-specific themes. This allows an event planner and the executive chef to work together to bring region-specific and international foods into your event, and this will definitely please guests. Common ethnic catering includes the following: Asian/Chinese/Japanese French German Greek Italian Mexican Middle Eastern 5.1.9. Consider the Final Presentation of Food and Beverage We eat with our eyes and our nose before tasting it. Whether its served plated or buffet, a catered meal should visually colorful and fragrant. Therefore, the presentation of food should make your guests want to eat it. This means linens and decorations that complement the theme of the meal. If it doesnt look good and smell good, your guests will not be happy. Importance of menu planning: Good planning can make a huge difference! The menu influences almost every aspect of the food service operation, from what foods are purchased and how they are prepared, to whether or not meals are popular with the children (Lillicrap D. Et al. 2006). When planning the food and beverage for any event, its important for event planners to consider several not-so-obvious catering menu planning items to help ensure a successful program. Menu planning is basically includes the preferences of guests and the preferences of the owner as well like what the owner can spend and what kind of margin he is looking for. According to Dennis L. 1999, we can include some of the points during the Menu Planning consideration: Know the Guest profile Know the guests preferences Provide Menu choice Incorporate seasonal and fresh items Select a menu that fits the event schedule Anticipates special needs Allow for a comfortable room setup Create Ethnic or Regional menu Consider the final presentation of food and beverage Principles of menu planning: Basic Principles Cold and warm dishes are listed separately. Appetizers, soups, seafood and main courses are listed in separate groups. In every group the lighter dishes are listed before the richer ones. Salads should be highlighted. If offered, low-calorie foods should be specially indicated, and the number of calories should be stated. If foods are prepared with organically grown ingredients, this fact should be highlighted to the discriminating customer. Every dish should be described clearly and simply, in an appetizing way, without being too flowery. House specialties and seasonal items should correspond to the season and should change accordingly. Use a clip-on menu or special insert to attract attention to them. The dessert selection should be listed on a separate attractive card. The menu should inform the guests that such a card is available. The numbering of menu items can save time and confusion, especially with many of the new computerized cash registers. Numbering, however, discourages communication between guests and the service staff and thus does not help promote sales. For an easy compromise, place one numbered menu at the register or where orders are relayed to the kitchen so that one can punch in the guests order by number; the guest, however, orders the actual foods with words, not numbers. According to Larry, 1999 the five basic menu planning principles are: 1. Strive for balance. 2. Emphasize variety. 3. Add contrast. 4. Think about color. 5. Consider eye appeal. In many cases, especially in restaurants, serving haute cuisine, the part or table dhote menu is beautifully handwritten to emphasize the traditional character of the restaurant. In less fancy restaurants, a modern variant that is similar but simpler is often used: the blackboard, on which are written recommendations concerning the days specialties. In general, however, the table dhote or a part menu, which changes daily or cyclically, is prepared in-house (on a typewriter or computer) and duplicated as necessa Aldis International Strategic Management | Analysis Aldis International Strategic Management | Analysis Introduction Consumption plays a vital role in economic activities. In most developed countries, personal or household consumption takes up about 60% in GDPà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ OECD,2008à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, of which retailing industry is often proven to be the most important industry. Recently, due to the economic growth, employment improvement, and favorable tax policies, retailing industry has the chance to develop in a more comfortable environment. According to statistics from Planet Retail, a Consultancy Organization for Retail Industry, in recent years, world retail industry has made a considerably fast development with a sales increase of 8.4% and 6.7% in 2005 and 2006 respectively(Network,2006à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °. Although the environment is good for retail industry, the intensity of competitiveness is also stronger ever than before. Many super large retailing corporations, such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour are competing for expanding and dominating both domestic and overseas market by implementing every strateg y. Aldi, as a hard-discount retailer is very small and simple compared to those Wal-Mart or Carrefour regarding its sell items, store occupancy etc. However, Aldi has survived in this competitive retailing market and become one of the reputable retailers which could contend with other large retailing corporations. Therefore, based on Aldi in Australia, this article will analyze the Aldis business strategy and its management which contribute to its great success. Also the article will give an analysis of Aldis capability of competitiveness in terms of its internal and external environment. Brief introduction of Aldi Aldi is an international hard-discount supermarket chain which was established in 1946 by the brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht in Germany, has grown rapidly in the years characterized by low price (Mcloughlin and Aaker, 2010). By the end of 2003, Aldi has developed into one of the biggest retailers in the world with more than 7000 stores around the world and created an estimated annual turnover of 36.2 billion Euros. The first Aldi store opened in Australia in Sydney in January 2001. After making huge profits out of the first store, 72 additional stores were opened in other different areas in 2004. It was predicted that Aldi would run more than 300 stores in Australia by 2010. Business strategy applied in Aldi Strategic management is the ongoing process which enterprises apply to establish their visions and analyze their external environment and internal environment, thus to choose one or more strategies to adopt to create value for customers and benefit other stakeholders (Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt, 2008). Any corporation should set its overall corporative strategy to define what the organization is doing and where the organization wants to be in the future. Business strategy is one essential part of the companys overall corporate strategy. To be successful in the competitive market, managers must develop and execute an effective business strategy to promote its products in the market and account for a big market share. The business strategy concept implemented by Aldi can be regarded as very simple but effective. Aldis core business concept is to reduce cost in every way. Although both Aldi and Wal-Mart are the successful retailers by adopting cost reduction strategy, Aldi is very diff erent from Wal-Mart with regard to its method of implementation. Aldi is featured with high efficiency of operation and management based on the cost-reduction principle. All Aldis stores in the world are characterized by simple design and decoration thus to minimize the cost. Aldis cost-saving method is reflected through the followings: Compared to Wal-Mart, generally each Aldi store occupies only 750 square meters which can greatly cut down the rent and expenses of water and electricity consumption. Limited number of good-quality products for selling in the stores to save the expenses of shelves. A typical Aldi store only sells about 700 products which is less but able to satisfy the dairy necessities (Pradhan, 2010). The grocery structure saves the logistic cost greatly and enables Aldi the absolute advantages of negotiating to suppliers with respect to the quality control and price. Employee strategy: Aldi usually employs four or five employee for one store compared 15 employees at a standard supermarket. Although Aldi pays more to its employees but it have eventually reduced the employee cost. Simple promotion method: compared to Wal-Mart or Carrefour, Aldi never does advertising or public relations. Aldi holds the view of saving the cost for benefiting the customers because all the expenses related to the PR or marketing are all paid by customers. Another business strategy attached to Aldi is its good-quality assurance. Hard-discount is the most important feature of Aldi stores, but the low price is not based on the sacrifice of products quality. By contraries, Aldi always persist in providing customers with goods with the same quality of other supermarket but a relatively low price. In addition, Aldi has its own brands ranging from cookies to diaper and the quality is controlled very strictly. One of Aldis business strategies is emphasize the cooperation with suppliers and control the quality strictly. When Aldi purchases commodities from suppliers, Aldi puts forward its quality requirements and employ a third inspection organization besides the inspectors of Aldis company to conduct a strict inspection on the commodities. Whenever unqualified commodity is found, Aldi will not consider to cooperate with this supplier. Aldis business strategy is also based on the customers-orientation concept. Aldi focuses the needs of customers and pay much attention to develop customers loyalty. Aldi considers from the perspective of customers and provides customers with practical benefits. Aldi never applies the promotion ways of tying or wholesale which appear to give consumers the favorable benefits but actually ignore the needs of certain consumer groups. In addition, Aldi ensure the price of every commodity is the same despite the stores are located in different or remote places, therefore consumers should never worry the price difference case will happen. Another success secret of Aldi is that Aldi takes a slow step to expand the market. Aldi will open a trial store and analyze the profits before it launch other stores in that area. Meanwhile, Aldi uses decentralization management strategy. For example, Aldi North may sell more products than the Aldi South. The two companies maintain communication quite well, so that they are able to learn from each others managing experiences. Aldis success also can not separate from its strategy of Human Resources. Aldi attaches importance to the exploitation and development of HR. All managers and employees are well-trained about the knowledge of Aldis concepts before getting started in Aldi. Analysis of Aldis competitive environment in Australia Although Aldi expands very fast in Australia during the last years, it also faces challenges and competition from the local retailers in Australia, such as Woolworths and Coles Myer which are considered as the major rivalries in food retail industry. To analyze how Aldi can survive from this intense competition, it is very necessary to discuss both internal and external environment lying in Aldi Corporation. As the food retail industry develops very fast, some other large global retail players will probably enter in Australian market, such as Wal-Mart (US largest retailer) or Tesco (UKs largest retailer) and Lidl (another Germany retailer). Therefore the competition will become more and more intense ever than before as many retailers also prefer to adopt price strategy. Internal analysis of AldiStrengths and weakness For an organizations development in the competitive environment, it is essential for the organization to conduct internal analysis of its organization. A comprehensive internal analysis will provide management with a detailed understanding of the business, how effective its current strategies are and how effectively it has deployed its resources in support of its strategies (Campbell, Stonehouse and Houston, 2002). By executing internal analysis, a company will know their unique resources, capabilities, and competencies. In a word, by studying internal analysis, a company will identify what the can do. In Aldi case, it is oblivious that Aldis biggest strength in combating with other local retailers in Australia is its good-quality and low-price strategy. As mentioned in the previous part, Aldi stores offer customers with good quality commodities at a relatively lower price than in other retail stores. Aldi maintains to manufacture 90% of its commodities tagged with its own brand which are exclusively sold in its stores, which attracts customers. Meanwhile, the quality is ensured in this way. Aldi is a famous brand in Germany ranked as the third best corporate brand, which will accelerate its recognition by customers(RiesenbeckPerrey,2009). Aldi always persists in its management and business principles which seldom have been changed. It can be regarded both good and bad for the development of the organization. As we know the outside environment is changing everyday and peoples thinking is changing, so the Aldi should probably think about change some of the principles to acclimatize itself to the changeable environment in order to get better development. External analysis of Aldi-Threats and Opportunities External analysis is one of the strategic management processes in terms of analyzing the organizations external operating environment. The purpose of external analysis is to examine the strategic opportunities and threats in the organizations operating environment which will affect how it pursue its mission (Hill and Jones, 2009). External environment analysis requires analyzing the overall environment of the industry which the business operates in (is it good or bad for developing in the industry? What is the current macro environment of the industry?). By studying the external environment, firms can identify what are the opportunities and threats for its operation in the market and will know what they might choose to do. The macro environment of retailing industry is very prosperous because the daily consuming commodities are essential in peoples life. In Australia, the situation is the same; peoples consumption of the general stuff for food and household products is increasing as well. Therefore there is great increasing market in terms of retailing sectors, which contributes to a great development chance for all retailers including Aldi. Some prediction shows Aldi will continue to expand more market in Australia with more than 300 stores and capture 10 percent of the Australian packaged grocery dollar market by 2010. Meanwhile, as the development of globalization, Aldi could also have chance to enter into other overseas market such as China or other Asian countries. There is a great potential in these markets. As Aldi is very confident for its expansion plan in Australia, Aldi still faces the coming threats from its local existing rivalries and oncoming large retail competitors. The threat first co mes from the price competition from other local retailers. As the competition between retailers is becoming more and more intense, the local retailers also play price strategy as low-price offers for certain products. Other threat for Aldi comes from the potential entrants of other worlds largest retailers, like mentioned in the above, Wal-Mart, Tesco and Lidl. Once these largest retail players move into Australia, Aldi will have to face combat not only with the domestic retailers but also have to survive from the competition with these largest players. Conclusions In conclusion, Aldi is very successful in the retailing industry and famous for its unique operation styles in terms of its concept of running small-quantity products and cost-saving strategy and hard-discount strategy to attract buyers. Aldi is very wise in its expansion strategy, it never risk to expand to open another store unless it sees the previous store is making profits in that area. The concept of Aldi seems very simple which is centered at the customers and seeking for customers benefits. In this way, Aldi wins a lot of loyal consumers. However, despite these advantages Aldi has, the competition is cruel and Aldi may need to take further actions to combat with its rivalries. Recommendations After making analysis of Aldi case in terms of its business strategies and external and internal environment, two recommendations are made as to Aldis development in Australia: Although Aldi is competitive in some ways, it never changes its business strategy despite the external environment changes. Therefore, in my opinion, Aldi should make some changes regarding its business strategy and management to cope with the changeable market environment. As Aldi made profits from the 72 stores in Australia, Aldi should consider expanding market potential in other Australian states and territories before new rivalries move into Australia.

Video game

The rise of personal computers in the mid 1980s spurred interest in computer games. This caused a crash in home Video game market. Interest in Video games was rekindled when a number of different companies developed hardware consoles that provided graphics superior to the capabilities of computer games. By 1990, the Nintendo Entertainment System dominated the product category. Sega surpassed Nintendo when it introduced its Genesis System. By 1993, Sega commanded almost 60 per cent of Video game market and was one of the most recognized brand names among the children. Sega’s success was short lived. In 1995, Saturn (a division of General Motors) launched a new 32-bit system. The product was a miserable failure for a number of reasons. Sega was the primary software developer for Saturn and it did not support efforts by outside game developers to design compatible games. In addition, Sega’s games were often delivered quite late to retailers. Finally, the price of the Saturn system was greater than other comparable game consoles. This situation of Saturn’s misstep benefited Nintendo and Sony greatly. Sony’s Play Station was unveiled in 1994 and was available in 70 million homes worldwide by the end of 1999. Its â€Å"Open design† encouraged the efforts of o utside developers, resulting in almost 3,000 different games that were compatible with the PlayStation. It too featured 32-bit graphics that appealed to older audience. As a result, at one time, more than 30 per cent of PlayStation owners were over 30 years old. Nintendo 64 was introduced in 1996 and had eye-popping 64-bit graphics and entered in more than 28 million homes by 1999. Its primary users were between the age of 6 and 13 as a result of Nintendo’s efforts to limit the amount of violent and adult-oriented material featured on games that can be played on its systems. Because the company exercised considerable control over software development, Nintendo 64 had only one-tenth the number of compatible games as Sony’s PlayStation did. By 1999, Sony had captured 56 per cent of the video game market, followed by Nintendo with 42 per cent. Sega’s share had fallen to a low of 1%. Hence, Sega had two options, either to concede defeat or introduce an innovative video machine that would bring in huge sales. And Sega had to do so before either Nintendo or Sony could bring their next-generation console to market. The Sega Dreamcast arrived in stores in September 1999 with an initial price tag of $199. Anxious gamers placed 300,000 advance orders, and initial sales were quite encouraging. A total of 1. 5 million Dreamcast machines were bought within the first four months, and initial reviews were positive. The 128-bit system was capable of generating 3-D visuals, and 40 different games were available within three months of Dream cast’s introduction. By the end of the year, Sega had captured a market share to 15 per cent. But the Dreamcast could not sustain its momentum. Although its game capabilities were impressive, the system did not deliver all the functionality Sega had promised. A 56K modem (which used a home phone line) and a Web browser were meant to allow access to the Internet so that gamers could play each other online, surf the Web, and visit the Dreamcast Network for product information and playing tips. Unfortunately, these features either were not immediately available or were disappointing in their execution. Sega was not the only one in having the strategy of adding functionality beyond games. Sony and Nintendo followed the same approach for their machines introduced in 1999. Both Nintendo’s Neptune and Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2) were built on a DVD platform and featured a 128-bit processor. Analysts applauded the move to DVD because it is less expensive to produce and allows more storage than CDs. It also gives buyers the ability to use the machine as CD music player and DVD movie player. As Sony marketing director commented, â€Å"The full entertainment offering from Pl ay Station 2 definitely appeals to a much broader audience. I have friends in their 30s who bought it not only because it’s a gaming system for their kids, but also a DVD for them. † In addition, PlayStation 2 is able to play games developed for its earlier model that was CD-based. This gives the PS2 an enormous advantage in the number of compatible game titles that were immediately available to gamers. Further enhancing the PS2’s appeal is its high-speed modem and allows the user’s easy access to the Internet through digital cable as well as over telephone lines. This gives Sony the ability to distribute movies, music, and games directly to PS2 consoles. We are positioning this as an all-round entertainment player,† commented Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment. However, some prospective customers were put off by the console’s initial price of $360. Shortly after the introduction of Neptune, Nintendo changed its strategies and announced the impending release of its newest game console, The GameCube. However, unlike the Neptune, the GameCube would not run on a DVD platform and also would not initially offer any online capabilities. It would be more attractively priced at $199. A marketing vice president for Nintendo explained the company’s change in direction, â€Å"We are the only com petitor whose business is video games. We want to create the best gaming system. † Nintendo also made the GameCube friendly for outside developers and started adding games that included sports titles to attract an older audience. Best known for its extra ordinary successes with games aimed at the younger set, such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and Pokemon, Nintendo sought to attract older users, especially because the average video game player is 28. Youthful Nintendo users were particularly pleased to hear that they could use their handheld Game Boy Advance systems as controllers for the GameCube. Nintendo scrambled to ensure there would be an adequate supply of Game Cubes on the date in November 2001, when they were scheduled to be available to customers. It also budgeted $450 million to market its new product, as it anticipated stiff competition during the holiday shopping season. With more than 20 million PlayStation 2 sold worldwide, the GameCube as a new entry in the video game market would make the battle for market share even more intense. For almost a decade, the video game industry had only Sega, Nintendo, and Sony; just three players. Because of strong brand loyalty and high product development costs, newcomers faced a daunting task in entering this race and being competitive. In November 2001, Microsoft began selling its new Xbox, just three days before the GameCube made its debut. Some observers felt the Xbox was aimed to rival PlayStation 2, which has similar functions that rival Microsoft’s Web TV system and even some lower level PCs. Like the Sony’s PlayStation 2, Xbox was also built using a DVD platform, but it used an Intel processor in its construction. This open design allowed Microsoft to develop the Xbox in just two years, and gave developers the option of using standard PC tool for creating compatible games. In addition, Microsoft also sought the advice of successful game developers and even incorporated some of their feedback into the design of the console and its controllers. As a result of developers’ efforts, Microsoft had about 20 games ready when the Xbox became available. By contrast, the GameCube had only eight games available. Microsoft online strategy was another feature that differentiated of the Xbox from the GameCube. Whereas Nintendo had no immediate plans for Web-based play, the Xbox came equipped with an Ethernet port for broadband access to Internet. Microsoft also announced its own Web-based network on which gamers can come together for online head-to head play and for organised online matches and tournaments. Subscribers to this service were to pay a small monthly fee and must have high-speed access to the Internet. This is a potential drawback considering that a very low percentage of households world over currently have broadband connections. By contrast Sony promoted an open network, which allows software developers to manage their own games, including associated fees charged to users. However, interested players must purchase a network adapter for an additional $39. 99. Although game companies are not keen on the prospect of submitting to the control of a Microsoft-controlled network, it would require a significant investment for them to manage their own service on the Sony-based network. Initially the price of Microsoft’s X box was $299. Prior to the introduction of Xbox, in a competitive move Sony dropped the price of the PlayStation 2 to $299. Nintendo’s GameCube already enjoyed a significant price advantage, as it was selling for $100 less than either Microsoft or Sony products. Gamers eagerly snapped up the new consoles and made 2001 the best year ever for video game sales. For the first time, consumers spent $9. 4 billion on video game equipment, which was more than they did at the box office. By the end of 2001 holiday season, 6. million PlayStation 2 consoles had been sold in North America alone, followed by 1. 5 million Xbox units and 1. 2 million Game Cubes. What ensued was an all out price war. This started when Sony decided to put even more pressure on the Microsoft’s Xbox by cutting the PlayStation 2 price to $199. Microsoft quickly matched that price. Wanting to maintain its low-price status, Nintendo in turn responded by reducing the price of its the GameCube by $50, to $149. By mid 2002, Microsoft Xbox had sold between 3. 5 and 4 million units worldwide. However, Nintendo had surpassed Xbox sales by selling 4. million Game Cubes. Sony had the benefit of healthy head start, and had shipped 32 million PlayStation 2s. However, seven years after the introduction of original PlayStation, it was being sold in retail outlets for a mere $49. It had a significant lead in terms of numbers of units in homes around the world with a 43 per cent share. Nintendo 64 was second with 30 per cent, followed by Sony PlayStation 2 with 14 per cent. The Xbox and GameCube each claimed about 3 per cent of the market, with Sega Dreamcast comprising the last and least market share of 4. 7 per cent. Sega, once an industry leader, announced in 2001 that it had decided to stop producing the Dreamcast and other video game hardware components. The company said it would develop games for its competitors’ consoles. Thus Sega slashed the price of the Dreamcast to just $99 in an effort to liquidate its piled up inventory of more than 2 million units and immediately began developing 11 new games for the Xbox, four for PlayStation 2, and three for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance. As the prices of video game consoles have dropped, consoles and games have become the equivalent of razors and blades. This means the consoles generate little if any profit, but the games are a highly profitable proposition. The profit margins on games are highly attractive, affected to some degree by whether the content is developed by the console maker (such as Sony) or by an independent game publisher (such as Electronic Arts). Thus, the competition to develop appealing, or perhaps even addictive, games may be even more intense than the battle among players to produce the best console. In particular, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft want games that are exclusive to their own systems. With that in mind, they not only rely on large in-house staffs that design games but they also pay added fees to independent publishers for exclusive rights to new games. The sales of video games in 2001 rose to 43 per cent, compared to just 4 per cent increase for computer-based games. But computer game players are believed to be a loyal bunch, as they see many advantages in playing games on their computers rather than consoles. For one thing, they have a big advantage of having access to a mouse and a keyboard that allow them to play far more sophisticated games. In addition, they have been utilizing the Internet for years to receive game updates and modifications and to play each other over the Web. Sony and Microsoft are intent on capturing a portion of the online gaming opportunity. Even Nintendo has decided to make available a modem that will allow GameCube users to play online. As prices continue to fall and technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, it remains to be seen whether these three companies can keep their names on the industry’s list of â€Å"hig h scorers†.

African American Soldiers During The American Civil War Essay

The story of African American soldiers in the American Civil War is often a forgotten one. The history of the war is usually presented as white Northerners versus white Southerners as blacks waited on the sidelines as their fate was determined. This portrayal is highly inaccurate considering over 180,000 African American troops fought in the war and eventually obtained their own regiments under the United States Colored Troops as a part of the Union Army. Composed on May, 22, 1863, the USCT strengthened the Union Army’s numbers and contributed significantly to battles such as the Skirmish at Island Mound and Fort Wagner. Even with their contributions, African American soldiers are often overlooked in favor of other narratives. However, black historian George Washington Williams was one of the first to write the history of black troops today. His belief was that the history of black troops and their valor were a major contribution to American Civil War history. While controve rsial at the time, this view is not uncommon today and historians have continued to study the significance of black troops. Gregory J. W. Urwin and other historians recently wrote a critique on the treatment of black soldiers, acknowledging atrocities against them were committed often. Urwin tries to provide a honest history to the brutality of the black solider. George Washington Williams was born in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania in October of 1849. With limited education, Williams leftShow MoreRelatedAfrican American Soldiers During The Civil War902 Words   |  4 PagesMcCurry English 10 10 April 2015 African American Soldiers African-Americans served in the Civil War on both the Union and Confederate sides. In the Union Army, over 179,000 African American men served in over 160 units. More served with both the Union and Confederate units. This includes both northern free African Americans and runaway slaves from the South who enlisted to fight. 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Nevertheless, the African Americans fought in numerousRead MoreAfrican Americans in the Civil War Essay1161 Words   |  5 PagesAfrican Americans in the Civil War About 180,000 African American people comprised 163 units that served in the Union Army, during the time of the Civil War, and many more African American people had served in the Union Navy. Both the free African-Americans and the runaway slaves had joined the fight. On the date of July 17, in the year of 1862, the U. S. Congress had passed two very important acts that would allow the enlistment of many African Americans, but the official enrollment hadRead MoreThe American Civil War Essay662 Words   |  3 PagesThe Civil War was a war between the North and the South after several states in the south seceded after Lincolns Presidency. The war first started off as states rights but as the war went on and progressed the war was fighting to end slavery. African Americans had an important impact on the Civil War. 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Science Project Example

Science project example is the advanced step of learning theoretical information. The application of theoretical knowledge has to be followed by the well-organized scientific project so that people can confirm the accuracy of the theory. Students might conduct science projects to master their understanding of information from books while scholars utilize them to confirm their discoveries. This paper also presents an example of the science project, emphasizes the importance of it, and explains all benefits of such approach. There are numerous examples of scientific projects that are ready for further investigation. While some of those projects are mastered by the brilliant scholars, some science projects can be performed at school. Students can invent their science project while the teacher has to implement additional proposals for science projects so that children will be able to apply their knowledge to practice. The science project is crucial to emphasize the importance of the ability to use the theoretical knowledge and simplify the learning process. As for the setup, students pair up, and the teacher gives each of those groups one ball. The objective of the project is to understand the concept of the free fall and to be able to apply that knowledge to the concepts learned in class previously. Extra credit can be granted to students who can do additional research on that subject and propose another project example for further investigation. The first student in each pair takes a ball and drops it from the window of the class. Another student from the pair stands outside and records the time of the free fall. The fun project continues in the class so that children can use the familiar formulas to calculate the acceleration of the free fall. After all, that number has to match the theoretical one. However, when children find that the results match those that are written in their textbooks, each of them will understand the origin of these formulas and how they relate to scientific research. Moreover, each student will be finally able to discover that acceleration is the same for objects with different masses in space because there is a vacuum up here and no gravity. The additional project could be the comparison between the time of the free fall between objects with different masses while the task would be to calculate the mass of those objects and confirm the formula of the gravity force that influences each of us. Furthermore, the difference in gravity at different areas of the globe could be explained by the difference in closeness to the Earth’s core. That project might not be done in the classroom so that student can conduct that project when they are out of the city or during their vacation for extra credit. To summarize the issue, science project is used to master the theoretical knowledge as well as provide the ability to apply that knowledge in practice. Science projects can be different, but the common thing for all of them is to conduct the practical use of the theoretical concept to confirm or refute it after all. References Bar, V., Zinn, B., Goldmuntz, R., Sneider, C. (1994). Childrens concepts about weight and free fall.  Science Education,  78(2), 149-169. Janz, B. D., Prasarnphanich, P. (2003). Understanding the antecedents of effective knowledge management: The importance of a knowledge†centered culture.   Decision sciences,  34(2), 351-384. Kavanagh, C., Sneider, C. (2007). Learning about gravity I. Free fall: A guide for teachers and curriculum developers.  Astronomy Education Review,5(2), 21-52. Schwarz, J. P., Robertson, D. S., Niebauer, T. M., Faller, J. E. (1998). A free-fall determination of the Newtonian constant of gravity.  Science, 282(5397), 2230-2234. Vogt, P., Kuhn, J. (2012). Analyzing free fall with a smartphone acceleration sensor.   The Physics Teacher,  50(3), 182-183.