Zara International Case Study

Zara International was a retail shop originated in La Coruna, Spain in 1975. It was clothing and accessories shop and imitated the latest fashion trends and sold them at a lower cost. It became Zara International after entering Portugal in 1988 and then the United States and France in the 1990s. The distributor for this brand is Inditex and is considered the most successful retail chain in the world. Zara has a business strategy that is very different from the retailers nowadays.If a customer orders a product Zara’s distribution centers can have the items in the store within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the order, depending upon the country. The business plan that Zara’s executives made was very innovative and played a great part in the success of this retail chain. Not only has it been successful and profitable in the past, they are successful in the present and have been expanding their brand all over the world Zara International’s business strategy has elements of classical management approach.Classical Management approach has the assumption that people at work act in a rational manner that is primarily driven by economic concerns. This approach has three major branches: Scientific management, administrative principles and bureaucratic organization. Scientific Management Frederick W. Taylor used the concept of time study which is to analyze the motions and tasks required in any job and to develop the most efficient ways to perform them. His first principle was motion study which is the science of reducing a job or task to its basic physical motions.This concept was clearly evident in Zara International’s case. Time is the main factor that is considered by Zara International as opposed to production costs and advertisements. According to Schermerhorn (2010), â€Å"Parent company Inditex Group shortens the time from order to arrival by a complex system of just-in-time production and inventory reporting that keeps Zara ahead (p. 54)à ¢â‚¬  It is only possible if Zara has skilled workers and the required training to train these workers with the ability to send the product within 24 hours of receiving an order in the European store and 48 hours in American and Asian stores.This is evidence of using the principles two and three of Scientific Management. All this requires careful planning which is the fourth principle of scientific management. Administrative Principles: Henri Fayol’s administrative principles are also clearly seen in Zara International’s case. Zara had a foresight of what it was doing will create profit. It did not spend any money on advertising but instead on being efficient and on time on its production. With no advertising the company made a profit of $10 billion in sales which were overwhelming.The CEO of Inditex Pablo Isla seems to have great organization and leadership in gaining profit for the business. Zara international also applies a Behavioral Management approach in doing b usiness. According to Schermerhorn (2010), â€Å"The behavioral approaches maintain that people are social and self actualizing. † (p. 38) Instead of advertising their brand Zara makes sure that the interiors and exteriors of the stores are up to date and designed based on the location. They focus on what people are demanding and keeping in mind their social and cultural needs.It also keeps a close watch on the latest trends and the buying behavior of customers. Zara’s strategy of being successful consists of various factors. Zara has succeeded by doing business according to customer’s needs and buying behavior. Their different approach in production approach is another factor. They have created a very efficient link in between their management principles and social environment. Their use of complex systems of just in time production has played a major role in its success. Zara also has believed in cutting expenses wherever and whenever possible and has done tha t in an intelligent way.Their strategy of inventory control is also worth applauding. By using this distinctive thinking Zara has been successful amongst the fashion world. The latest trends in the competitive apparel industry are companies going digital. Reinvention of fashion runways and then use of social media in publicizing the latest fashion is a hot trend. Use of mobile devices such as smartphones and iPads for shopping for the convenience of customers is also a very hot trend. There are also virtual dressing rooms and interactive store windows that make shopping for apparel easier (Agathou, 2012. Zara has also started to come up with innovations to stay in the competition. Zara International has launched its online store in Mainland, China (Inditex to launch, 2012). Zara has also expanded its stores internationally by entering South Africa this year (Kew, 2012). Zara International will definitely continue to do well with the business strategy. However it will still have to a dapt to the changes in the global economy and plan their business strategies according to the customers and clientele. It will do well since it is expanding internationally and also adapting the latest technologies.Zara International has gained huge success by following the classical management approach and the behavioral management approach. Inditex has used a distinctive business strategy in their production and inventory control. Even in the competitive trends in apparel industry, Zara will survive in the competition if it continues to do business according to the clients’ needs and wants. BIBLIOGRAPHY (2012, September 4). Inditex to launch Zara’s online store in Mainland, China. www. fibre2fashion. com. Retrieved from http://www. fibre2fashion. com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails. spx? news_id=115305 Agathou, Amalia. (2012, June 30). 6 Hot Digital Trends transforming the fashion industry. Insider. Retrieved from http://thenextweb. com/insider/2012/06/30/6-hot-digital -trends-transforming-the-fashion-industry/ Kew, Janice. (2012, August 27). Zara Enters South Africa as Foreign Brands Seek Growth. Bloomsberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/news/2012-08-27/zara-enters-south-africa-as-foreign-brands-seek-growth Schermerhorn Jr. , John R. (2010). Management. Management Learning Past to Present. (pp. 31-56)

Appreciation of Shakespeare’s sonnet 18

His early plays were mainly comedies and istories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights . Shakespeare's reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century.The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called â€Å"bardolatry†. In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.His plays have been translated into ev ery major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Of Shakespeare's sonnets in the text, Sonnet 18 is one of the most moving lyric poems that I have ever read. There is great use of imagery within the sonnet. This is not to say that the rest of the poems in the ook were not good, but this to me was the best, most interesting, and most beautiful of them. Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee toa summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,

Unit 2 jounal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Unit 2 jounal - Essay Example Chapter 3 In this chapter, the writer will pay homage to roots of slavery in America, where the hidden origins of slavery are discussed. The writer opines that slavery took place in a very tactical and system manner, making it very difficult for it to be detected easily even by the Blacks who were to become victims later. At this point, the Blacks had come to realize the depth of deception that had been placed on them through slavery. This is because unlike what they were made to believe in earlier times, such as what we are presented in chapter 3, they realized a serious lack of identity and personality. What was worse, their land was also taken and so they would have to reclaim them back. The writer was very accurate in describing the attempts that the Blacks made in reclaiming their land and other possessions that they felt the act of slavery had taken from unjustifiably been taken away from them. There was also much explanation on the justification for this call that the Blacks were making for their land. Chapter 13 As the Black community had started making efforts to reclaiming what belonged to them, the writer used the 13th chapter to reflect on the level of success that had been achieved by far. There is therefore the caption, â€Å"To the land of hope†, to depict that the Blacks were still convinced that their dream was appropriate. The Blacks continued to view the North as a land of hope, where they had to be to make the consolidation of their personality and identity complete. Later in the chapter, tribute is paid to some of the specific successes of the Black in various places in America, including what was described as â€Å"Black Pride in Harlem†. ... n† and in other parts of the world like England and Australia; such descriptions do not exist even though there are English and Australians with Black origins. After reading pages 350 to 359, an understanding of how the term ‘African American’ is better understood. This is because as at this time in history, the African community had come to realize that they were part of a common people known as the Americans. Meanwhile, the indigenous American would refuse to appreciate this and so will draw a line of distinction. It is not surprising the writer described the situation as â€Å"Bomb the Color Line†. Pages 396 – 402 It has often been argued that true fighters are able to tell when it is that they must stop fighting based on the fact that continuing to fight will bring about defeat. In such situations, part of the options includes the deferral of the battle. This was exactly what the writer tells us was done after the rising wind of social justice had somehow been tamed by the authorities involved. To say the dream had been deferred may sound a defeatist approach but in reality, that was not what the true case was. The minority group within the American fraternity was only seeking the best means by which if they exploded, their explosion would create the best of effects. 2. Kaleidoscope 107-118 In these pages, Equiano gives a biographic description of his journey through America and England and how his experience as a Black voyager gave him a vivid idea of how slavery was intense in those lands where he was travelling. A very positive aspect of this piece of writing is that it serves as an advocacy as to how modern issues of slavery should be approached. This is because instead on accepting the status of slavery, Equaino fought for his personal freedom without

Evaluation of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) Using Chinese Dissertation

Evaluation of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) Using Chinese Stock Market Data - Dissertation Example 23). It is worth noting that numerous empirical studies that have conducted in line with evaluating the model have proved to be in harmony with the CAPM principles; nonetheless, some of the similar evaluations have contradicted the model. Therefore, this paper aims at studying if the CAPM principles hold for the China Stock Exchange. Among other things to be included in the analysis, include: i. Whether higher beta results to higher expected returns ii. Whether the zero or average intercept is equal to risk free rate and the SML slope is equal to the average risk premium iii. Whether there is an existence of linearity between the expected returns and the stock beta. The monthly stock returns of some of the firms listed in the Chinese Stock Exchange are used in the analysis. The data was obtained from January 2009 to December 2012; hence, the analysis targets a period of four years. To test the CAPM principles in this stock market, the study will employ the use of approach methods con tributed for by Black, Jensen, and Scholes as per the year 1972; described as the time series test. Additionally, the study shall employ the use of the 1973 Fama and MacBeth cross sectional test. From the analysis of the Chinese Stock exchange data for the period of four year in line with the above methods, it is apparent that this duty did not hold up fully with the CAPM principles. ... Introduction Since the CAPM’s introduction, numerous efforts have since emerged to determine the validity of the principles of the CAPM model. These evaluation studies to determine the validity of the CAPM principles have led to a unique valuable contribution and breakthrough to the global financial economics. Despite these contributions, it is worth noting that some empirical studies to validate the same principles have since differed with application and validity of the CAPM principles and its application in the analysis of the world financial economics (Velasco, 2001; pg. 182). Nonetheless, other studies have proved to be in harmony with the same study. The differences in these studies depicts a significant stimulating factor to the study; hence, calling for a deep enhancement of the CAPM principles in line with evaluating the principles of the model using data from the Chinese Stock Exchange. 1.0.1. Brief Understanding of CAPM The significant contributions of the financial economics theory was realized in the 1960s when numerous researchers including William Sharpe used the Markowitz’s portfolio theory as his ground to develop price formation theory for the financial assets. This price formation theory is what emerged to be known as the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). It is worth noting that the theory of the Markowitz’s portfolio analyzes the optimization of wealth invest in assets in variation to their risks and returns as well as providing the view on how the underlying risks can be reduced. The CAPM formation or foundation states that investors are in a position to choose to expose their businesses to a reasonable amount risk through a series of combined

Night Mist By Jackson Pollack 1945 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Night Mist By Jackson Pollack 1945 - Essay Example icious and what drove things up a notch was that he was an alcoholic and is said to have had bipolar disorder as well, both of which he combated through his art and artistic expression. Pollock died at the age of 44 in a car accident. Abstract expressionism was categorical of a passing era in the 20th century. This was a time when Europe was aging and America was young and getting on its feet. The Second World War had just ended and Europe had been so badly affected by it that it was going to declare itself bankrupt. America was a fledgling and attached itself to Europe’s values because it didn’t know any better and thus was also affected indirectly by the changes that affected Europe directly. (Rodgers). Art historians have determined that there is a strong link between abstract expressionism in this era and the consequent emergence of modern art, most specifically the work of impressionists, cubists and surrealists. (Rodgers). Further, Jackson Pollock himself drew inspiration of his work from the works of Pablo Picasso and was deeply influenced by him as an artist. If abstract expressionism is to be properly analyzed and understood, the viewer needs to look at the subject matter or content of the painting. The subject is exhibited in the painting through a process and can be analyzed by looking at the different gestures in the painting and the range and depth of the colors used. (Rodgers). Pollock’s painting has a lot of anger in it. He incorporates his anger in the process of his painting, and as is the specialty of abstract expressionism, it shows clearly in the final product. He is one of the most controversial and influential artists of this century. His works were very original, each piece completely different from the next and in addition to that, his works are studied for their use of scale, texture and color. (Molyneux). People study art with preconceptions in their minds. According to Jackson Pollock, there are at least 5 things that effect

12 Years A Slave Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

12 Years A Slave - Movie Review Example Ruthless slave masters such as Edwin Epps go as far as reading scriptures to the slaves. He quotes the book of Luke as he warns the disobedient servants â€Å"shall be beaten with many stripes.† Further, as a bad harvest looms, he blames the slaves as he attributes it to an Old Testament plague. With this reason, he sends away the slaves for a season until such a time that his crops will find favour in God’s eyes. In the course of slavery, Northup and fellow slaves console themselves in slavery. In moments of despair and pain, they sing spiritual hymns with profound sense of acceptance and surrender. Essentially, the Christian teachings do not support the ways and modes of slavery. According to Walter (4), it proved to be problematic as he tried to compare influence of religion on the attributes of slavery. His research compared the northern and southern states of antebellum in America.in his book ‘The church and slavery† Albert Barnes claims the general cou rse of the churches has been against slavery and that slave holders were a minority among the Christians. The churches would eventually detach themselves from slavery leading to its abolition. Cruelty in the film is given a grim picture in the event that Northup is made to mete out punishment to Epps’ prized slave girl. He is made to whip Patsey and portrayed as an inverted Christ figure. When confronted on his actions, Epps says there is no sin and justifies that a man can do what he wishes with his slaves.

How Dangerous Nuclear Reactors Are Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Dangerous Nuclear Reactors Are - Essay Example The most important thing is to have a thorough understanding of exactly what happens inside of a nuclear reactor. The kind of physical process that occurs within a nuclear reactor is called nuclear fission, and it is one of two common forms of nuclear reaction. The other is called nuclear fusion, and that is what is used in most modern atomic bombs, and won’t be discussed extensively here. Each kind of reaction revolves around changing a single atom – fission is the splitting of one atom into two, whereas fusion is the combining of two atoms into a new one. Every atom is made of three parts: neutrons, protons, and electrons. Each of these has a charge – protons are positively charged, and attract negatively charged electrons. Neutrons have no charge. Neutrons are naturally occurring parts of atoms that exist in every element – usually, there are just as many neutrons as there are protons in any given element. They are very heavy and give most elements about half of their total weight. If you look at your body in terms of atomic weight, about half of it would be made of neutrons. The three parts of atoms, protons, electrons, and neutrons, exist in a balance of atoms that make up the things that we see around us. They exist in a balance because whenever they become unbalanced, they break down or recombine in a more balanced form. Think of a coin standing on its edge – in small change will cause it to fall so that one of the two sides is flat against the ground, but once it falls it won’t move or change as easily as it originally did. Atoms are like this – they are in a stable situation because if they weren’t, they couldn’t last very long. Changing one of the elements, either protons, neutrons or electrons, however, creates an unbalanced atom that wants to change to become balanced again.