Financial Analysis of the Cheesecake Factory Essay

Table of Contents IntroductionÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â….3 Section 1Â…Â…..Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â….3 Section 2- Ratio AnalysisÂ…Â…...Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…8 Table 1- Ratio Analysis for 3 restaurantsÂ…...Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…..8 Section 3- Vertical AnalysisÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…9 Table 2- Vertical/Common Size AnalysisÂ…...Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…9 Section 4- Major Elements of Cash FlowÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â….10 Table 3- Cash Flow Comparison for 3 restaurantsÂ…...Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…..10 Figure 1- Comparison of Net Income Â…...Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…11 Figure 2- Comparison of Net Cash Flow from Operating ActivitiesÂ….Â….11 Figure 3- Comparison of Net Cash Flow from Investing ActivitiesÂ…Â…Â…12 Figure 4- Comparison of Net Cash Flow from Financing ActivitiesÂ…Â…...12 Figure 5- Comparison of Net Change in†¦show more content†¦Changs is the lowest with nearly a 1:1 ratio of current assets to current liabilities. Cheesecake Factory appears to be more efficient in converting its receivables into cash and selling its inventory. Receivables for the factory were converted into cash almost 29 times during the year, indicating that it typically took less than 13 days to receive cash from the receivables. In addition CF goes through inventory pretty quickly, most inventory is kept on hand less than 12 days and was turned over a total of 32 times during 2003. The number for inventory turn over seems particularly impressive considering that CF has the largest menu selection of the three restaurants. The restaurant purchasers must carefully examine the eating trends of the customers so that they purchase the right amount of ingredients/entrà ©e components and arent stuck with excess inventory. Inventory turnover is really important in the restaurant industry because most of the inventory accounted for is food, a majority of which is perishable. The quicker the inventory can be turned over, the less money wasted. CPK and PF Changs are slower at converting their receivables into cash, and slower at turning inventory into sales. For 2003, CPK converted their receivables into cash less than 3 times, the outstanding time for receivables was about 133 days. P.F. Changs converted their receivables to cash less than 2 times in 2003 with an outstanding time of 291 days. Inventory was on hand, for CPK and PF ChangsShow MoreRelatedThe Business Of Cheesecake Factory1324 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper is about Cheesecake Factory. Inc (SIC:5812), one of the most famous restaurants chain in the United States. This restaurant chain garnered people’s attention when it was founded in 1978 in Beverly Hills, California. Nowadays, there are hundreds of restaurants that have opened their doors under the Cheesecake name. 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Introduction. Alcohol The Debate Of The Ages, Between The

Introduction Alcohol the debate of the ages, between the young and the old, researchers, people, alcohol companies, and parents. Within this topic, always comes the concern of when is it appropriate for people to legally drink alcohol. Currently, in the United States the minimum legal drinking age (MDLA) is the age 21. There are many reasons and sciences behind why the U.S. choose the age of 21. On July 17, 1984 the president signed an act called National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA). This mandated all the states, to federally instate this law within time all came around and the national age in the United States became 21 that they. Although 21 means one can drink it does not make them mature. Maturity is not based on if the body is†¦show more content†¦Within the bible one never states or acknowledges the age that an individual begins consuming alcohol, rather it continuously states for one not fall into drunkenness. 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Transportation and Distribution Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Transportation and Distribution Management. Answer: Introduction The concept of transportation and distribution is defined as the movement of people, animal, raw materials and the finished goods. The business organizations with the help of distribution and transportation channel move their products from one place to another such as from warehouse to the end customers. The major modes of transportation used by the business organizations include space, road, rail, vehicles, cable, and pipeline (Su et al., 2012). Therefore, the significant features of distribution and transportation include effective management of infrastructure, organizational operations, employees and the vehicles used for distribution. The delivery of raw materials and finished goods at the accurate time to the target customers ensures successful distribution and transportation. This report introduces the effectiveness of the distribution and transportation with respect to the goals and objectives of Nestle. Nestle was established in 1866 in Switzerland and is one of the globally recognized Health, Wellness and Nutrition Company that promotes healthy living for the people. Nestle has made the successful international venture in countries such as Asia, United Kingdom, United States and Canada since its origin. Good Food, Good Life is the mission of the company due to which the company aim towards providing highly nutritious beverage and food to the target customers globally. Nestle sells a wide range of products that include confectionary, pet care food, chocolate, meals, desserts, beverages, ice creams, coffee, and wafers. In 2015, Nestle generated 9.066 billion as the annual revenue that is comparatively lower than the profit generated in 2014. In 2014, Nestle generated approximately 14.456 billion ("Nestle", 2017) In 2013, Nestle was ranked as one of the companies in the top 10 within the cultural category. This is due to the immense popularity and admiration of the company among the target customers globally. The company has always aimed towards enhancing the quality of life of the customers by providing them with highly nutritious and healthy food. The company aim towards caring and helping the family of the customers. Thus, the principal aim of Nestle is to encourage and support people in leading a healthy life. Respect is one of the core values that Nestle follows while conducting the business. Nestle believes in respecting their customers, the surrounding business culture, environment, customers, future generation, and diversity. Mars, Danone, Cadbury and Mondelez International Inc are the potential competitors of Nestle ("Nestle", 2017). Incoterms Selection Consideration Level strategy is implemented by Nestle for appropriate conduction of planning and production. According to the concept of the approach, the company emphasizes to develop values for the target customers along with exploring the core competencies thereby, achieving the competitive advantages. The strategies and decisions used in managing the distribution and transportation aim towards establishing a strong customer relationship thereby, gaining competitive advantage. The incoterms follows the international commercial terms that is applicable for the importer and the exporter during transaction. Additionally, the incoterms monitors the action of the stakeholders in order to ensure risk management and responsibility (Zheng et al., 2014). Keeping in mind the requirement of environment sustainability, Nestle has designed and developed their transportation and distribution process. The main features of the distribution and transportation process of Nestle include: Using the available distribution networks and the operating routes of Nestle in the most effective manner In order to gain the ability to handle both safety and environmental issues by training the driver extensively For enhancing the transportation options, Nestle aim towards exploring the various opportunities by cleverly selecting the modes of transportation as well as using fuels that are less harmful to the environment (Moradijoz et al., 2013) Nestle aims towards effectively using the resources of the company by decreasing the rate of empty transportation of the trucks, evaluating the distribution of strategic network and maximizing the use of vehicles for distribution and transportation. Effective management of the operations is one of the ongoing processes conducted by Nestle for optimizing distribution and transportation. Keeping in mind the significance of sustainable business approach, Nestle is emphasizing towards restricting the use of traditional modes of transportation from road to rail or short-sea freight (Cui et al., 2012). Therefore, Nestle is facilitating the use of natural gases for the transportation vehicles rather than using fossil fuels. This initiative will help Nestle in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases thereby, controlling the adverse environmental impact. For the warehouses, Nestle is emphasizing towards selecting an alternative source of renewable energy by decreasing the energy consumption rate. In order to ensure reduced the adverse environmental impact, it is important that Nestle generates and implements unique and advanced technologies for distribution and transportation channel (Tsao Lu, 2012). Carrier Selection Criteria Considering the adverse impact of transportation on the environment, Nestle has opted for carrier transportation of the finished products and the raw materials. Maximizing the transportation efficiency, minimizing the transportation cost and the reducing the emission of greenhouse gases are the major factors that influenced the carrier selection process of Nestle. Therefore, the importance of the above-mentioned factors in determining the carrier selection for distribution and transportation by Nestle is stated below: Fleet vehicles: Nestle has been using various advanced technologies in terms of freezing cabinets in the trucks that are used for distribution and transportation. The use of advanced technologies in the carriers is an initiative undertaken by Nestle to maximize the transportation efficiency (Leou, Su Lu, 2014). Nestle has installed eutectic freezing plates in the range of trucks used by them for the purpose of transportation. The trucks remain cool overnight due to the installation of the eutectic plate while they are stationed in the distribution centers overnight. More than 1500 trucks with eutectic freezing plate are being used by Nestle for transporting, delivering and distributing Nestle products such as ice creams and pizzas to the distribution centers, retail outlets, and the target customers. Nestle has also installed Telematics in order to reduce the idling time of the trucks. The report suggests that in the past two years nearly 32% of the idling time of the trucks has bee n reduced due to the installation of Telematics (Amini Islam, 2014). As a result, nearly 250,000 gallons of fuels have been saved. Nestle has also emphasized in training the drivers to enhance the efficiency of the environmental and safety programs for the drivers. Nestle also puts 30% weight on the reliability of the carrier as the organization prefers consistent, trustworthy and quality while shipping the products. This provides an opportunity for the organization to create positive value and relationship with the customers. Nestle transports superior quality products to more than 60000 retail outlets that can be challenging if the company uses unreliable carrier resources. Additionally, unreliable carrier selection can delay the production and exportation of the Nestle products. Therefore, Nestle ensures that the carrier selected by the organization is reliable and trustworthy that will help in fast delivery of products to the customers at the right time. Reliable exportation also helps in increasing the level of customer satisfaction (Profillidis, 2014) Nestle puts almost 20% weight age on the technical capabilities of the carrier selected. Keeping in mind technical capabilities of the carrier, Nestle emphasizes on system that has appropriate skilled personnel, safe shipment and maintenance of the quality of the product. International transportation is more prone to risks due to various factors such as pace, quality and customers satisfaction. Moreover, Nestle also abides with the environmental conservation policies and implement a sustainable carrier system in order to achieve global standards. Therefore, Nestle needs to use a transport system that has state-of-the-art communication thereby, ensuring continuous shipment follow-up (Caiazzo et al., 2013). Nestle places 30% weight on the transit time while selecting the carrier system for distribution and transportation. The transport management of Nestle emphasizes on delivering the products in the minimum time possible in order to accomplish the core value of the fastest production. The main competitive advantage of Nestle is their capability to products hygienic product faster compared to the competitors in the market. Additionally, while shipping the products, Nestle also needs to consider the new strategies in the market within the minimum time possible. This will provide an opportunity sufficient sales time before introducing the new production batch. Nestle primarily uses air transport due to which the company has procured jets along with cargo planes. This ensured faster shipment of products for Nestle (Amini Islam, 2014). Carrier Relationship Management Partnership with relevant stakeholders determines the success of the international transportation. It is a mutual relationship with the business and the carrier that involves a mutual agreement with the customer duty individual, freight, local distributors and the purchase insurance. The main aim of Nestle is to create positive relationship with the associated stakeholders that are involved in shipping. Therefore, the company implements all the possible methods for ensuring healthy relationships with the carriers. The company believes in maintaining healthy relationship with the carriers both imports and exports that can achieved through adequate implementation of payments and regulations. Additionally, Nestle has positive relationship with airfreights and insurers that has values in terms of customers satisfaction and service delivery. Nestle prefers in maintaining a honest and continuous communication with transport and distribution partners thereby, helping in mitigating the possibility of misunderstandings and maximizing trust and reliability. With the recent technological advancements, Nestle shares important and crucial information with the partners that includes freight data and evaluation of the shipment. This provides an opportunity for Nestle to recognize the possibility of cost cutting and transport intelligence within a given time duration. Nestle also implements and follows full web-based communication system due to which the carriers are able to access relevant data such as freight bill, airway bill and loading bill easily (Hirsch, 2013). Nestle believes in respecting the objectives of the transport and distribution partners and ensures that they do not underestimate their goals or limit their opportunities. Nestle believes in upholding the satisfaction level of the distribution and transport partners just like their customers (Lee, Thomas Brown, 2013). Additionally, Nestle has an expert team that are solely responsible for communicating, negotiating and maintaining positive relationship with their transport and distribution partners. On the other hand, the selection of the appropriate carrier also determines the carrier relationship management. This is because the nature and objectives of the partners also determines the success of the business. Considering this, Nestle selects carriers by keeping in mind the goals and objectives of their transport partners (Arnas, Holmstrom Kalantari, 2013). Recommended Incoterms used by Nestle Keeping in mind the various kinds of customers Nestle has, the selection of incoterms will vary accordingly. Therefore, based on the type of the customers, the incoterms for shipping the Nestle products are selected. The retail store customers are considered as one of type of customers. Thus, Nestle spends shipment cost for the respective stores and is suggested to use Delivery Duty Paid in the case. Under DDP, Nestle will responsible for the delivery costs in the retail outlets. Additionally, more money needs to be paid to the customs from import and export facilities along with considering the risk of loss until the product reaches the retail outlet (Ruiz, 2012). Nestle must consider using Free on Board as it shall enable the company to deliver the goods on board the vessel as per the nominations of the buyer at the specific port of shipment or procures the goods already so delivered. In this situation, the risk of loss of or damage to the goods passes when the goods are on board the vessel, and the buyer bears all costs from that moment onwards (Bowker et al., 2015). Therefore, it is recommended that Nestle must continue using Free on Board incoterm in order to save costs and reduce the risk involved. Another incoterm recommended for Nestle is EXW (Ex Works). In this case, the buyer is required to pay for everything. The buyer hires a forwarder for the airfreight and destination services. In this case, the buyer also pays for the transportation from the suppliers warehouse to the port, customs clearance, handling charges, and other costs that may occur. This incoterm provides the buyer additional control over the shipping but also involves extra costs in tracking the activities at the origin. The Cost and Freight (CFR) incoterm is also recommended for Nestle considering because of their online customers. According to CFR, Nestle will be solely responsible for cleaning the products for export along with delivering the product for railway shipment port and paying the required charges. The implementation of this incoterm will enable Nestle to ensure that the delivery is free of obligation. This will provide an opportunity for Nestle to establish effective relationship with the online customers and ensure brand awareness. However, on the contrary, this incoterm places the associated risks on the buyer. Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) incoterms can also be used by Nestle. According to this approach, the seller or the exporter is solely responsible for delivering the goods onto the vessels along with clearing the customs in the country. In this case, Nestle will be responsible for buying the insurance in collaboration with the importer that act as the beneficiary. The risk is transferred to the buyer once the products are shipped on to the carrier. The use of this incoterm is recommended for Nestle, as the risk is transferred to the importer thereby, compensating with the financial loss. It is also recommended that Nestle use incoterms such as Delivered At Frontier (2000), Delivered Ex Ship (DES) and Carriage Paid To (CPT). This is because the use of the aforementioned incoterms will allow Nestle to deliver goods to other countries with the help of importers and saving the risk of distribution and transportation. Conclusion In this report, it can be concluded that distribution and transportation is a significant function in international trade, as it involves various types of regulations, partnerships and costs. A global company like Nestle has to make decisions that sticks to their core business values along with maintaining with the international standards and customer demands. Nestle implements international commercial terms or incotems for delivering their raw materials and finished products to more than 600 outlets in various countries internationally. Therefore, while shipping their products to the international markets, Nestle uses Delivery Duty Paid (DDP), Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) and Cost and Freight (CFR). Appropriate transit time, reliability and speed are the primary goals that Nestle considers while selecting the carrier for transportation and distribution. However, geographical locations and technical capabilities are also considered by Nestle while selecting the carrier. Air carr ier is primarily used by Nestle for transportation and distribution. Nestle aim towards managing the relationship with their carrier partners. Nestle uses ethical negotiation standards as the main approach for managing carrier relationships thereby, upholding accountability, integrity, transparency and respect. Nestle also ensures that constant communication with the transportation and distribution partners are maintained by using latest technologies. References Amini, M. H., Islam, A. (2014, February). Allocation of electric vehicles' parking lots in distribution network. In Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference (ISGT), 2014 IEEE PES (pp. 1-5). IEEE. Arns, P. O., Holmstrm, J., Kalantari, J. (2013). In-transit services and hybrid shipment control: The use of smart goods in transportation networks. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 36, 231-244. Bowker, J. A., Townsend, N. C., Tan, M., Shenoi, R. A. (2015, May). Experimental study of a wave energy scavenging system onboard autonomous surface vessels (ASVs). In OCEANS 2015-Genova (pp. 1-9). IEEE. Caiazzo, F., Ashok, A., Waitz, I. A., Yim, S. H., Barrett, S. R. (2013). Air pollution and early deaths in the United States. Part I: Quantifying the impact of major sectors in 2005. Atmospheric Environment, 79, 198-208. Cui, X., Kim, H. K., Liu, C., Kao, S. C., Bhaduri, B. L. (2012). Simulating the household plug-in hybrid electric vehicle distribution and its electric distribution network impacts. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 17(7), 548-554. Hirsch, P. (2013). Minimizing empty truck loads in round timber transport with tabu search strategies. In Management Innovations for Intelligent Supply Chains (pp. 97-122). IGI Global. Lee, D. Y., Thomas, V. M., Brown, M. A. (2013). Electric urban delivery trucks: Energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost-effectiveness. Environmental science technology, 47(14), 8022-8030. Leou, R. C., Su, C. L., Lu, C. N. (2014). Stochastic analyses of electric vehicle charging impacts on distribution network. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 29(3), 1055-1063. Moradijoz, M., Moghaddam, M. P., Haghifam, M. R., Alishahi, E. (2013). A multi-objective optimization problem for allocating parking lots in a distribution network. International Journal of Electrical Power Energy Systems, 46, 115-122. Nestle. (2017). Nestle.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017, from https://www.nestle.com/aboutus Nestle. (2017). Nestle.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017, from https://www.nestle.com/stories#/category/featured-stories/1 Profillidis, V. A. (2014). Railway management and engineering. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Ruiz, V. (2012). Analysis of existing refrigeration plants onboard fishing vessels and improvement possibilities. In Second International Symposium on fishing vessel Energy Efficiency. Su, W., Eichi, H., Zeng, W., Chow, M. Y. (2012). A survey on the electrification of transportation in a smart grid environment. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 8(1), 1-10. Tsao, Y. C., Lu, J. C. (2012). A supply chain network design considering transportation cost discounts. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 48(2), 401-414. Zheng, Y., Dong, Z. Y., Xu, Y., Meng, K., Zhao, J. H., Qiu, J. (2014). Electric vehicle battery charging/swap stations in distribution systems: comparison study and optimal planning. IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, 29(1), 221-229. Transportation And Distribution Management – MyAssignmenthelp.com Question: Discuss about the Transportation And Distribution Management. Answer: Introduction: The aim of the study is to carry out a detailed transportation and development service including incoterm analysis. In order to do so, Uniqlo Co. Ltd., the Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and the retailer has been selected for the case study. Transportation management deals with the moving products and requires the detailed analysis of the operational activities. The number of companies in the logistic industry is increasing that calls for better initiatives to be taken by the existing logistic companies (McKinnon, 2014). An analysis of the various approaches of the transportation and development management shall be carried on here. On the basis of analysis, certain recommendations can be made as well. Overview of the organization: The wholly owned subsidiary fashion retail company is headquartered at Minato, Tokyo in Japan. The company deals in clothing and has notable stores in Australia, Canada, China, France, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, UK, USA and others. The company started its business by outsourcing their clothing to the factories in China were the labour are cheap when Japan was facing recession. In order to ensure better product design and quality of goods, the company believes in fast retailing and so carries out its international trade. The current distribution strategy is more likely from China, US and Mexico (Uniqlo.com, 2017). The company has warehouses and inventories in all these places that help them to be more responsive towards the demand of the market. The company always looks for reasonable shipping for the supply of their products. The company also has online shopping option that automatically increased the importance of transportation and distribution of the clothing products. Incoterms selection consideration: Incoterms include set of international rules for the sale and purchase contracts in order to make the global trade easier and also help the partners to understand each other. As commented by Leong, (2014), these terms definitely include price, quantity as well as the characteristics of the goods that are to be supplied by the particular company. The incoterms that are practiced in the regions of Singapore and other areas of operation shall be discussed in this report (Zllner, 2015). Different modes of incoterms based on the type of payment done in the complete process include the following: EX-Works: Here, the seller makes the goods available to the buyers and the buyer is responsible for the entire transportation cost. The seller also accepts the risk of loss of good till the goods are delivered to the buyers. Free alongside ship, Free carrier and Free on board: in this means of service, the responsibility of the sellers is only limited to send the goods to the transportation point from where the buyers will collect. This clears the responsibility of the seller further (Lee et al., 2016). Cost and freight; cost, insurance and freights: In this form of logistic service, the goods are not insured by the sellers and the buyers have to take the responsibility of the bearing the cost of loading and unloading the goods. Delivered at frontier; delivered ex-ship: In this form, the seller is responsible to deliver the goods directly to the named destination. The seller is completely responsible for the loss or risk of the goods. Uniqlo operates in more than 1,000 stores worldwide and employ different strategies in its business model to manage the distribution of its products. For the distribution of the goods in the domestic market, the organization uses the local distribution channels and the companies. For the international trading, the company surely has to depend on land, air and water transport for the purpose of transporting their products and goods. It has been found that Uniqlo uses delivered at frontier form of shipping and transportation in order to transport the goods and products of the company. The mode of payment for the specific incoterm: The company has been carrying out the incoterm activities in for of almost all types of incoterms considering the need of the logistics and delivery services. There is involvement of any third parties as well that help to deliver the goods in the right places. Keeping the present situation into consideration, it can be said that the Ex-works incoterms could be the best possible means of incoterm that this company can adopt for the delivery of the products in domestic and international places. In such cases, the risk of the sellers is minimized and the buyers are more responsible ranging from loading the goods to reaching it out to the consumers (Coetzee, 2013). Thus, the responsibility and the cost of delivering will be reduced as well and the company will be in profit. In such cases, the export reporting and clearance process will be easier and the seller will be less responsible towards the entire transaction process. Carrier selection criteria: Reading Stapleton, Pande and O'Brien, (2014), it has been found that there are a number of carrier selection criteria that are adopted by the major exporters or a logistic company. These are as follows: Arms Length Relationship: The type of transaction relationship transaction that lasts only for a single transaction between two parties and the companies have no future commitments is called the Arms Length Relationship. Type I Partnership: In this process, the companies get involved in a commitment and relationship with each other, and a short term contractual relationship is built between them that automatically requires a little investment to be made (Rushton, Croucher Baker, 2014). However, both the parties have limited scope of activities to be carried on with each other. Type II Partnership: The kind of partnership that are meant to last longer and requires the investment from both the parties in order to gain a status of preferred supplier. In this process, effort is made from both the end related to reducing the cost and expenditure involved in the shipping process. Type III Partnership: The type of relationship that does not depend on a formal contract or mechanism and the contract can be referred as evergreen is the partnership of type III. The assets can be jointly owned and can be shared substantially. The success or the failure of the relationship will have great impact on the higher executives (Okdinawati, Simatupang Sunitiyoso, 2014). The scope of the activities to be shared is substantial and requires huge investment from both the parties involved. From the above findings, it can be said that Uniqlo has been operating in the market and needs the support of logistic companies for the transportation and it has good reputation with its partners. For maintaining a long term relationship with the other partners, Partnership I or Partnership II can be the most preferable form of partnership that the company can make. As pointed out by Crainic and Laporte, (2016), when the company is responsible for carrying out huge capacity of carriers and requires the movement in a timely manner. The companies need to have enough resources, equipment and the human power to operate in the particular industry. For the same reason, Partnership I or II could be the best possible means of viable partnership that the company can adopt as a viable means. In this respect, Ross, (2015) commented that there are other benefits of getting into Partnership I and II forms. For instance, the companies in contract can make investment in the technology or the means of distribution to the buyers and the cost can be incurred in a mutual way. This way, the complete process will be carried on systematically starting from packaging to delivering the product from the seller to the buyer. Since, Uniqlo is responsible for the supply and distribution of clothing and other retail products, it is expected that the company should consider partnership I or II for providing better services to the customers. Carrier relationship management: The major goals and objectives of Uniqlo can be considered to think of better management in terms of its costs, customer services, industry awareness and continuous improvement. It is needless to say that without carrier relationship management, the survival of the clothing company like Uniqlo would not be possible (Tseng Hung, 2014). Carrier link will provide long term relationship that is most important in a competitive market situation. In this respect, three most important carrier relationship management criteria can be mentioned here. Offering reliability: The service that Uniqlo provides has to be reliable enough that the consumers can trust on the company for the delivery services this company is responsible for. In the age of online shopping, the importance of delivering goods on time has become crucial than ever. As stated by Wensveen, (2016), the service should be focused on delivering the goods on time, offering zero damage delivery with the accurate invoice of the product. In fact, the third party service should consistently meet the next level of shipping and delivering the product. This way, the company can be able to uncover the further costs and savings that the company might incure in order to provide improve carrier operations. Responsiveness: The service provided by Uniqlo should show the responsiveness towards the customers that would lead to better reputation of the company and help to increase the market share. In order to do so, dash revealed that tailored services can be offered to the customers that would automatically increase the cost of delivering that would add to the buyers end (Jiang Mahmassani, 2014). Being responsiveness towards the customers can also improve the relationship with the customers that can be easily considered as one of the vital components business. Innovation services: The logistic service is highly depended on the innovative and technological approach made by a company. The innovative management would include the inventory management, information system, billing and collection of the money from both the buyers and the sellers. With better innovative approach, the company would be able to accelerate the means of serving people and the overall cost can also be decreased. As mentioned by Tsao, Zhang and Chen, (2016), these approaches can be made easily in order to improve the overall management activities of the transportation and logistics services. For this purpose, it is highly recommended to use the Type III Partnership that is based on a consistency between the sellers and the buyers. Apart from these benefits, the money can also be directly collected through bank accounts because at many times it is observed that the exporters do not sign the financial contracts and the money that is paid to them goes missing (Tseng Hung, 2014). In addition to this, it can be said that by this way, the objectives and the goals of the mentioned company can be fulfilled. In order to get high return of the investment, it is expected that company would undertake these approaches that would bring prosperity in terms of both economy and reputation. Conclusion: A detailed analysis has been carried out on the transportation and distribution management and incoterm analysis. Uniqlo had been selected for the process of analysis. It has been found that the organization operates globally and has clear goals and objectives of expanding its business in the major areas where it operates. Considering the incoterm selection, it has been found that Ex-Works is the best suitable form of incoterm that the organization can adapt. It is important to include innovative means of carrying out the incoterm activity that would help the organization to increase its market share and improve its relationship with the customers. Recommendations: To recommend further, it can be said that the company should focus on the transportation service and try to deliver the products as early as possible. In order to do so, apart from partner shipping with the other logistic companies, Uniqlo should also make partnership with the innovative companies that provide robot service to reach out the customers. In doing so, the uniqueness of the company will go high and it can easily attract more consumers. Moreover, the reliability of the service would increase that would lead to the increasing demand of the goods and products of Uniqlo. References: Coetzee, J. (2013). Incoterms variants: greater precision or more uncertainty?.De Jure,46(2), 583-591. Crainic, T. G., Laporte, G. (2016). Transportation in supply chain management: recent advances and research prospects.International Journal of Production Research,54(2), 403-404. Jiang, L., Mahmassani, H. (2014). City Logistics: Freight Distribution Management with Time-Dependent Travel Times and Disruptive Events.Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2410), 85-95. Lee, J. S. F., Teyssier, L. S., Nguimfack, B. D., Collins, I. J., Lallemant, M., Perriens, J., Moatti, J. P. (2016). An analysis of volumes, prices and pricing trends of the pediatric antiretroviral market in developing countries from 2004 to 2012.BMC pediatrics,16(1), 41. Leong, Y. S. (2014).Relationship between incoterms choices, selection factors and export performance: A case of manufacturing companies in Malaysia(Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Utara Malaysia). McKinnon, A. (2014). The possible influence of the shipper on carbon emissions from deep-sea container supply chains: An empirical analysis.Maritime Economics Logistics,16(1), 1-19. Okdinawati, L., Simatupang, T. M., Sunitiyoso, Y. (2014). A behavioral multi-agent model for collaborative transportation management (CTM).Proceedings of T-LOG,62. Ross, D. F. (2015).Distribution Planning and control: managing in the era of supply chain management. Springer. Rushton, A., Croucher, P., Baker, P. (2014).The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers. Stapleton, D. M., Pande, V., O'Brien, D. (2014). EXW, FOB OR FCA? Choosing the right Incoterm and why it matters to maritime shippers.Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics, and Policy,81(3), 227. Tsao, Y. C., Zhang, Q., Chen, T. H. (2016). Multi-item distribution network design problems under volume discount on transportation cost.International Journal of Production Research,54(2), 426-443. Tseng, S. C., Hung, S. W. (2014). A strategic decision-making model considering the social costs of carbon dioxide emissions for sustainable supply chain management.Journal of environmental management,133, 315-322. Uniqlo.com (2017) Uniqlo About us Retrieved from: https://www.uniqlo.com/uk/en/home/ [Accessed on: 28-7-2017] Wensveen, J. G. (2016).Air transportation: A management perspective. Routledge. Zllner, J. (2015). Export from United Kingdom to Mexico. Critical Analysis of Complexity of International Trade.

Were the 1930s the Devils Decade or a Dawn of Affluence To what extent where Britons living in poverty Essay Example

Were the 1930s the Devils Decade or a Dawn of Affluence To what extent where Britons living in poverty? Essay The 1930s is marred with the image of dilapidated housing, ill health and mass unemployment, however historians such as D.H Aldcroft and John Stevenson have argued this is not necessarily the case. Their representation of the 1930s showed innovation in our economy due to the unearthing of mass production, better health and greater entertainment and leisure opportunities. This image of poverty is one merely exaggerated and historians are overlooking the economic truths about Britain in favour of unemployed textile workers in Manchester. So were Britons living in poverty? Or is this simply and mythical image.Britain was the father of the industrialisation of Europe, the empire and staple industries in Britain helped support the booming economy. But by the 1930s the staple industries were falling apart, foreign competition meant that Britain were being pushed out of the market and this left 2.64 million unemployed in 1931. Industries such as shipbuilding saw 30.6% unemployment and this trend on high unemployment was prevalent throughout the core staple industries such as textiles, coal and steel. This bleak image of mass unemployment supports the claim that the 1930s was the Devils Decade however John Stevenson noted that actually for the majority of the 1930s the staple industries were recovering. Steel production which was badly hit by the wave of depression drowning world commerce showed strong recovery. In 1932, at the height of the depression, only 5.2 million tons of steel was produced.However because of new larger factories (that were spreading across Britain) by 1937 13 million tons of steel was produced, a dramatic improvement. Shipbuilding, which was arguably the most devastated industry by the depression, also showed recovery. Although not as phenomenal as the turnaround in steel Britain saw a rise from 133,000 tons of output in 1933 risen to 970,800 tons by 1938, despite never reaching its heyday of production in 1923 the level of stabilisation in the shipbuilding cannot be overlooked. It was no longer the chaotic industry in the early 1930s that shed workers daily but now a growing industry from the ashes of the Wall Street Crash. The recovery in Shipbuilding was partly helped by the incisiveness of the National Government who introduced a Shipbuilders Act of 1935 which made use of scrap metal. Moreover coalmining was showing some improvement as well due to better organisation and government intervention; the Coal Mines Act of 1930, allowed greater efficiency and simply stabilised a spiralling industry.The recovery of the old industries allowed greater employment opportunities but still unemployment was rife in Britain, therefore the new industries erupted. D.H. Aldcroft argued that the 1930s was a period of sustained economic growth and statistics support this. The motoring industry catalysed the economic revolution, with the introduction of mass production methods and new factories emerging in the Midlands and the South East c ar production rose dramatically. In 1923 only 95,000 cars were produced but by 1937 this number has quintupled to 500,000. As well as for private consumption motoring proved useful in the economy because it allowed better transportation of goods, it could be argued that cars kept Britains economy from true devastation. Furthermore the emergence of giant chemical corporations such as I.C.I and Courtauld meant the chemical industry was employing 100,000 men. Unlike the motoring industry chemical factories werent only situated in the non depressed areas but in places such as North Wales. Finally the housing boom of the 1930s created more jobs and was employing 3/4 million men.The housing boom also created a multiplier effect, demand for glass, wood, cement, paint all rose due to the increase in house building. On the other hand consumer goods proved to be more profitable than all other new industries. Large corporate such as Woolworths, Sainsbury, Unilever and Dunlop dominated domestic markets and rationalisation of smaller companies became a tedious occurrence. Because of greater transportation of goods and growing demand for consumer goods (because of a sustained rise in real wages) the consumer goods industry boomed, similar to 1920s America. Newspapers and cinema was used by companies like Woolworths for advertisement, and the 1930s proved to be the pioneering age of advertisement.Health and malnutrition taint the image of the 1930s although is this fully justified? On average by 1939 Britain was a healthier nation then it had been in 1929. Life expectancy had increased to 60 years of age (from 45 in 1900) and death rates, infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates were all decreasing. Also the conquest of infectious diseases due to greater hygiene and antibiotics allowed further health improvements. Arguably the greatest reason for Britains improving health however was our better diet. The consumption of fruit, vegetables and eggs with the reduction of consumption in bread and potatoes meant the average Briton had a more balanced diet. However there is a reason that the 1930s is connected with malnutrition and poor health, and some of the statistics are shocking, John Boyd Orr, a social investigator and author of Food, Health and Income, conducted a study that looked at the relationship between diet and income. He split 1,000 people into 6 income groups through this sample he revealed that half the population was suffering from some sort of dietary deficiency and more shockingly that one tenth of the population were chronically ill-nourished.The Cole brothers, again social investigators, also conducted a study between a working class family and a middle class family, it revealed that the middle class family ate more meat, eggs and fruit were the working class family were more dependent on bread and potatoes. Furthermore it was discovered that regions who were experiencing more hardship from the depression such as Wigan had far higher death rates then somewhere like Harrow which only had a death rate of 73 persons per 1000 (Wigan was 138 persons). Criticism was also raised over infant mortality rates, despite them dropping on a global level there were former colonies that had better health care then Britain. New Zealand only had 32 deaths for every 1000 live births whereas in Britain the statistic was 57. C.E McNally summed up the health situation with prevention of disease was impossible unless improved housing and dietary conditions could be assured something that would be impossible for working class families.On the other hand Britain was apparently experiencing greater housing conditions. The interwar period saw the completion of 4 million houses and by 1938 there was a housing surplus of 500,000 houses. Considering that in 1918 there were 610,000 houses fewer then families this is an admirable improvement. The National Government also finally implemented its policies of slum clearance which saw slum housing that littered inner industrial cities removed and new hospitable houses built. New high rise council estates were created as a solution to the slum housing problem which meant less land was used and there were affordable alternatives to the slum houses. Despite these improvements however social investigators still criticised Britains housing crisis. The basic problem was there were too much demand for houses and not enough affordable supply.Naturally this resulted in over crowdedness, 12% of Britains population were living with 3 or more persons in one room and approximately half a million people in London lived in overcrowded conditions, Islington, Finsbury and Shoreditch particularly suffered from this housing catastrophe. To clarify what slum housing was Sir Ernest Simon spelled it out so people could understand the destitution people had to endure. He defined slum houses as a fully populated neighbourhood where the houses and conditions of life are of a squalid and wretc hed character. Although how can historians argue with slum clearance, it was clearly the right solution to the housing problem. Social investigators of the time along with contemporary historians simply claimed slum housing was removing the symptoms of poverty and not the causes.Slum houses, poor health were only possible because of the poverty crisis, a clear illustration of what poverty Britain was facing is shown through arguably the most important social investigator of the 1930s, Seebohlm Rowntree. His extensive research into social Britain is a brilliant example of the Devils Decade. Rowntree explained that a family of five could survive on 43 shillings and 6 pence excluding rent, this is the absolute bare minimum needed to maintain physical efficiency. For this to work the main wage earner could not take a single day off work, no tobacco and beer, very plain clothing, no sick clubs or trade unions. Any family that lived below this sum of money would be in poverty, he predicte d that approximately 18% of the entire population were living in these conditions, with 31.1% of working class in poverty.Children, the elderly, widowers, unemployed, low earners and large families were more likely to be subjected to poverty. Tout, a social investigator situated in Bristol, revealed that 9 out of 10 working class families with more than 4 children would result in the children living below the poverty line, Rowntree also unearthed the alarming fact that 49.7% of children between the ages of one-five (in a working class family) were living below the poverty line. Some mothers couldnt afford nappies or milk so they substituted this with water and newspapers. Another embarrassing problem was that old age pensions were not sufficient for the elderly to live above the poverty line. If an elderly couple had no other income apart from their old age pension then they would be living in poverty, this shows the utter incompetence of the governments handling of social services. Furthermore widowers faced a similar benefits trap. As a widower it was inevitable that you would face poverty as men were the predominant wage earners, therefore the government would offer widowers pension. Similar to old age pensions this was not enough to support a women and especially not an entire family. Therefore women could get jobs, but by doing this they would have to get a low paid job and sacrifice their widowers pension, thus widowers faced a double edged sword, either way they would be subjected to abject poverty. The elderly, widowers and children were not the only victms of Britains incapability to protect the poor or sustain an economy, but also the unemployed and low paid. Rowntree stated that a number of trades such as coal miners and cotton workers would be typically paid less then need for basic survival, Unemployment was also growing in the 1930s which meant that the working class were faced with low paid jobs or benefits. Either way it would result in poverty and once caught in the poverty trap it would be hard to get out, the only real helping hand came through Britains late rearmament.Despite being faced with squalid housing, rickets, endless carbohydrates, unemployment, low paid jobs and inevitable poverty at least the 1930s had an alternative. Paid holidays. Billy Butlins and Blackpool proved the place to be when trying to escape the horrendous conditions of city Britain. Holidays were a new phenomenon in 1930s Britain with 11 million Britons having paid holidays in 1939 escapes to the seaside grew increasingly popular. Blackpool had 7 million overnight visitors just in 1937! And holiday camps like Butlins in Skegness allowed affordable holidaying. Leisure opportunities also appeared. The cinema, bingo and dance halls were all continuing to grow with 3 cinemas being open every week. The cinema was an affordable enterprise open to all classes in Britain and proved very important to social cohesion throughout the decade. Also after the 1920s dance halls were becoming very fashionable and boomed in popularity.The 1930s was a truly remarkable decade; Britain unusually saw affluence and poverty side by side. Although arguably the idea of affluence and poverty in Britain isnt unusual, it was only because of Seebohlm Rowntree, the Cole brothers, Tout, John Boyd Orr and other social investigators that people actually take notice of the poverty in the 1930s. One finds confusing that people label the 1930s as devilish because the working classes abject poverty. I have to raise the question though, when were the working class not in poverty? For centurys industrial workers of Manchester, York, Newcastle had been underpaid and endured inhumane conditions. Personally I feel that the 1930s simply highlighted the social problems of Britain which had gone unnoticed for decades. It was neither a dawn of affluence nor a devils decade. Despite economic statistics begging to differ, the thorough social investigations dismiss this concept; statistics cannot speak louder than accounted human suffering. Britain in the 1930s was laced with unemployment, malnutrition and reckless appeasement, but then we also saw cars and pencillin.

The New Administrations Abortion Policy essays

The New Administrations Abortion Policy essays One of the reasons that the abortion debate in the United States has historically been vehement, ugly, and impossible to resolve is that people on both sides of the issue have refused to acknowledge that there are compelling arguments favoring both the traditional pro-choice and pro-life positions. Unfortunately, as the American public has grown increasingly polarized about the topic of abortions, so have American politicians. The problem with a politician taking an absolute pro-choice or pro-life stance is that such a position shows a tremendous amount of disrespect and lack of empathy for those Americans who hold opposing views. Therefore, the new administrations policy should not be based on traditional notions of pro-choice or pro-life policies, but reflect a more modern and inclusive position; a pro-life stance that recognizes that societal changes, not legal ones, will be what changes the face of the abortion debate. The fact is that the world has changed dramatically since the decision in Roe v. Wade.1 The trimester system outlined by the Roe justices is no longer scientifically justifiable, because scientific advances mean that a second-trimester fetus has a significant possibility of living outside of the womb. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that first-trimester embryos may soon have the possibility of living in a donor womb. These advances are of tremendous importance, because the court in Roe v. Wade had to balance two very compelling interests: a womans right to physical autonomy versus the right of an unborn child to life. The trimester system attempted to establish fetal viability, and limited a womans right to an abortion in the third trimester, during which a fetus was considered viable. However, scientific advances have dramatically reduced the age of fetal viability, so that it is possible for most mid-second-trimester pregnancies to be considered viable. Acco rding to th...

5 Tips for Styling Numbers

5 Tips for Styling Numbers 5 Tips for Styling Numbers 5 Tips for Styling Numbers By Mark Nichol Below youll find a handful of tips about appropriate use of numbers in various contexts. 1. Money Isolated, casual references to amounts of money of one hundred dollars or less or one hundred cents or less are usually spelled out (â€Å"I made over fifty dollars in one afternoon†; â€Å"Remember when a candy bar cost twenty-five cents?†). Amounts over those limits are generally styled with numerals and a dollar sign, as are smaller amounts when more than one amount is listed and at least one is less than a hundred dollars (â€Å"The chair cost $237, and the table was $89†). When amounts of less than and more than a dollar are combined, use dollar signs and figures in that case as well (â€Å"The price tags read ‘$0.75’ and ‘$1.25’†). Numerous instances of monetary figure call for the use of numerals in most cases, but larger rounded figures may be spelled out, even when inconsistent with precise dollar figures (â€Å"I made over fifty thousand dollars for the first time last year: $51,500.†) Numbers in the millions and higher orders of magnitude may be in combined numeral and spelled-out form (â€Å"The project was budgeted at $2.5 million†). 2. Numerals at the Beginning of a Sentence Sentences should never begin with a numeral; either spell out the number (â€Å"Two thousand eleven was the year the business turned a profit†) or recast the sentence (â€Å"The business first turned a profit in 2011†). Another option is to precede the number with the phrase â€Å"The year,† but doing so introduces inconsistency if every reference to a year, regardless of position in a sentence, does not follow a repetition of the phrase; that solution is also awkward. 3. Number Ranges En dashes (or hyphens, employed in place of en dashes on many Web sites) are used in number ranges for example, to indicate life span, years of rule or years in office, athletic or artistic seasons, or page ranges as an alternative to â€Å"from x to y† or â€Å"from x through y.† An en dash should not be used with the word from. (Incorrect: â€Å"He reigned from 1863-1895†; correct: â€Å"He reigned from 1863 to 1895† or â€Å"He reigned 1863-1895†). The same principle applies for the word between: â€Å"Between 250 and 300 people attended,† not â€Å"Between 250-300 people attended,† is correct. 4. Superscript Many writers submit manuscripts that feature the letters in ordinal numerals in superscript form that is, st, nd, rd, and th raised above the font’s baseline. This form is seldom needed when following the style rule that numbers are spelled out up to one hundred, but when ordinals are required (â€Å"The ribbon read ‘1st Place’†; â€Å"the 101st Airborne Division†), they should be on the baseline, not raised. Instructions for how to change superscript ordinals to baseline ordinals are available through an online search. Also, when a date is written, the ordinal form is extraneous; simply write â€Å"January 1,† not â€Å"January 1st.† (In the absence of the month, the date should be spelled out: â€Å"Her reply followed on the twenty-first.† If a publication’s number style is to spell numbers out only to ten, the form shown her applies: â€Å"Her reply followed on the 21st.† 5. The Plural of Zero In Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, zeros is the first of two alternatives for the plural of zero. The other, of course, is zeroes. The first choice is not the superior one; it is listed first simply because it is simpler. But many editors follow a convention that, for consistency, the dictionary’s first of more than one alternatives is the standard except when the preference for another is codified in the house style guide. Therefore, zeros is generally the correct style. Note, however, that the correct spelling of the present-tense verb form meaning â€Å"focuses† or â€Å"aims† is zeroes (â€Å"Disregarding the pursuing planes, he zeroes in on his target†). If you want to read more on this topic check out these two articles we published in the past: 10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals and How to Style Numbers. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Avoid Beginning a Sentence with â€Å"With†That vs. WhichNeither... or?

What is the Threat to the US from North Korea Assignment

What is the Threat to the US from North Korea - Assignment Example Due to this conflict, it is feared that North Korea may be planning to attack the United States directly or indirectly through its everyday developing nuclear program. One of the main threats to the United States from North Korea is that North Korea might soon become capable enough of developing nuclear weapons that can be used against the United States and its allies. North Korea and South Korea have been in continuous conflict over the issue of Korean Peninsula and United States has tried to help South Korea as South Korea is an ally of United States (U.S. Department of State, 2014). The threat is that if North Korea develops nuclear weapons, it may directly attack the South in order to solve and gain victory on the dispute of Korean Peninsula. If North Korea attacks the South, there is the huge possibility of a World War consisting of the use of nuclear weapons taking place. A World War may erupt because the US being friends with the South may help the South, while on the other ha nd China being an ally of North Korea may try to defend them (Schneider, 2014). The United States already owes a huge debt to China and China has the ability to completely destroy the United States and due to this United States may not be able to assist the South in order to protect its own nation. The United States has been fighting the war for peace and the war against terrorism for several years. Due to these several nations such as Afghanistan and militants living in those nations are quite angry with the United States. One reason due to which the United States has an upper hand over the extremist terrorist group is that these terrorist groups do not control nuclear weapons. If North Korea is able to develop its own nuclear weapons, then there is a possibility that North Korea may supply these weapons to the terrorist organizations and the terrorist organizations will then have the ability to attack the United States with nuclear weapons (Snyder, 2013). North Korea is kind of an isolated region which blindly trusts its government and is ready to take any action that may be commanded by their government.  Ã‚  

Think Globl ct Locl Discuss th implictions of Thodor Lvitts sttmnt Essay

Think Globl ct Locl Discuss th implictions of Thodor Lvitts sttmnt - Essay Example Onc compny introducs its products or srvics on th scond country-mrkt, it will unvoidbly b pron to impos its prvious xprinc, spcilly if th compny oprtion in th grt numbr of ntionl mrkts. Mrkting strtgy dcisions in such cs cn b bsd ginst th xtr-mrkt critri. For instnc, pric lvls r st up in ordr to limint th diffrnc mong mrkts nd to sustin pric corridor, comprd to th sitution whr you just purly rflct locl mrkt conditions. Subsidizing of pric lvls by multintionl is lso common prctic nd is usd for strtgic rsons. Strtgy of th compny tht is xpnding brod dpnds on mny fctors, in som cs it is just pursu of lrning nd somtims it is high profitbility trgt tht r st up upfront. nothr componnt of th mrkting mix tht is diffrnt nd should b tilord to th spcific mrkt is distribution chnnl infrstructur, which should b lso rsponsibl for mrkting strtgy. Th distribution ntwork hs lso to contribut lot to strtgy for growth, nd s rsult it is judgd on orgniztionl critri such s fsibility, lvl of risk, supportbility, nd control issus. Mnwhil, distribution mngmnt in domstic mrkts is mostly proccupid by th rliztion of lrdy xisting mrkting strtgis nd is minly judgd ginst fficincy or cost-minimiztion critri. Thodor Lv Thodor Lvitt's is fmous for nlyzing nd rconciling dilmms tht compny will ncountr onc gon intrntionl. On of his controvrsil rticl Mrkting Myopi stts tht succssful businss should not only know whn to ntr, but lso whn to xit th mrkts is sttd in on's of Lvitts' Mrkting Myopi rticl: "Th rilrods did not stop growing bcus th nd for pssngr nd fright trnsporttion dclind. Tht grw. Th rilrods r in troubl tody not bcus th nd ws filld by othrs (crs, trucks, irplns, vn tlphons), but bcus it ws not filld by th rilrods thmslvs. Thy lt othrs tk customrs wy from thm bcus thy ssumd thmslvs to b in th rilrod businss rthr thn in th trnsporttion businss. Th rson thy dfind thir industry wrong ws bcus thy wr rilrod orintd instd of trnsporttion-orintd; thy wr product-orintd instd of customr-orintd." Probbly thr r two ltrntivs tht compny cn dopt whil thinking globlly, "Think globl, ct locl" nd "Think locl, ct globl", th scond ltrntiv sms to b th pur rsult of th globliztion. Thodor Lvitt wrot in his rticl (1983, citd in Hrbig 1998) tht culturl prfrncs will blong to th pst nd th world will bcom mor nd mor th sm. Th nds nd wnts will bcom th sm vrywhr in th world. Lvitt implicitly sttd tht globl cmpigns will ttin long-stnding succss only whn thy will mt th nds of ch nd vry. H suggstd tk into considrtion th similritis nd do not focus too much on th diffrncs of culturs. To confirm his sttmnt Lvitt uss th xmpls of Coc-Col, McDonlds, Ppsi-Col nd Mrlboro. But in fct, thos compnis do not us Lvitts' id of th globl cultur strtgy. Or cours, Lvitt's work undrstimts th diffrnc btwn globliztion nd intrntionliztion, btwn multintionl nd globl corportion. Th dominnc of trditionl plyrs is rflctd through th intrntionliztion, nd th multintionl is focusd on th production of good for locl mrkts. In my o pinion, globliztion involvs nw typ of rltionship mong ll compnis nd countris. Th diffrnc btwn rgionl, intrntionl, nd globl mrkts is significnt points tht should b tkn into ccount by

Southwest Airlines Essay Example for Free

Southwest Airlines Essay Southwest Airlines (SA) was founded in 1971 after a careful market analysis. Its founders believed in a low cost strategy. Through the Wright Amendment, which not only prohibited any air carrier from offering direct service into Love Field from any place beyond Texas and the four contiguous states of Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and New Mexico, but also made more difficult the life of passengers coming from outside theses states and forbid the advertising to flights coming from Love Field, the competition made SA adopt a differentiation strategy. Which factors became crucial to the success of this company since its beginning? SA chose airports that were underutilized but were close to metropolitan areas. There was a main reason for the Aircraft choice, and its entire fleet of Boeing 737’s. It was a fuel-efficient fleet, and standardized, making the maintenance easier. Low cost fares, frequent and on-time flights, 15-minute gate turnarounds, high aircraft use and point-to-point routes gave them great advantage over their direct competitors (Continental Airlines, American or United Airlines). SA also chose to fly to secondary airports and not to have connections with other airline companies. With the increasing success of SA, its competitors started to try to replicate SA’s strategy. But the cost structure was not what gave SA the main competitive advantage in the market. The most important attribute was the human capital and the work environment where workers performed their tasks. SA’s Human Resources Department, called â€Å"The People Department†, had a huge impact on employees and on their way of working. â€Å"Employees are the Customer† of the Department. The following statement explains what the company’s philosophy was: â€Å"By recognizing that our people are the competitive advantage, we deliver resources and services to prepare our people to be winners, to support the growth and profitability of the company, while preserving the values and special culture of SA†. To provide work quality, employees had to be satisfied and happy with their jobs. Thus, the image and attitude that the crew showed to passengers would be welcomed. They would be more attentive to the passengers’ needs and consequently increasing their confidence to continue to choose SA as their preferred airline. Consequently, the corporation recorded a low number of complaints showing its notable performance. All employees were aware of their importance within the company to achieve the main objective, which was customer orientation/satisfaction. But they had other functions inside the company. Employees were also called for decision-making process, for the recruitment process, to give opinions about SA’s strategy. As such, not everyone entered SA’s workforce. After a long and complex process of selection and interviews, those chosen had the characteristics that would fit SA’s culture better. Once inside the company, they turned into company’s real assets, they became part of SA family. It was the main objective for each employee to make SA a successful company over time. Once SAs success was achieved rapidly, the major competitors implemented the same strategy, adapting it to their business environment. However, they noticed that they did not achieve the outlined goals. The most obvious explanation was the existence of cultural differences within each company. Their employees, the way they were organized and the vision that each one had was also different. Here SA had full advantage. It was not only the first move advantage in its strategy but also the fact that its employees found themselves working on and to their family. As I believe the main competitive advantage of SA relies on its unique organizational competence, I do not consider any of the above reasons a serious competitive threat for SA. However, SA should not rely on past successes and ignore its competitors. SA should always be looking back to its history and business lessons in order to remain an industry leader through supporting its culture and maintaining the focus on the people, even when and after Kelleher leaves the company.

Free Narrative Essays - Killing Ourselves with Work :: Example Personal Narratives

Killing Ourselves with Work Americans are killing themselves with work. Americans often are sleep deprived, stressed and have problems at home. All of this are most probably caused from over working. I think sleep deprivation is a major problem in the United States. It must make sense that if an American is over working he/she cannot possibly get in the minimum of six hours sleep. Being a college student myself, I often see over worked students sleep through class. These students work and are pressured to keep up good grades. I often here student telling me that they got in about four hours of sleep. If at a college students age, they are sleep deprived, it's logical to think that by the time they hit thirty they will be doing double the workload. Americans are simply not saving themselves from over working. "[N]o labor has been saved," says Juliet B. Schor. To me, being sleep deprived is almost like a vicious cycle: get up for a long day of work, college, family life, or whatever it may be, then people get 5 hours sleep if they're lucky. By the time the next day comes, they're simply too tired to function! from what I have witnessed you simply get student s taking naps in class - not learning! Another problem with Americans over working is the massive stress levels. For many people work alone is often a main source of stress. I know my mom is under a lot of stress to do the house work, spend time with her family and work. According to Schor, "mothers reported it caused either "a lot" or an "extreme" level of stress." To me, this is killing yourself with work. Where's the fun to life? When do we take those relaxing holidays to release stress? Although workers have the option to take a few weeks leave for vacation, I'm hardly convinced many Americans do this. Especially for a married couple, getting time off at the same time must not be an easy task. "Two-earner couples have less time together, says Schor. Consequently, this must cause a great deal of stress for any couple. Exhaustion is another symptom of stress. Many Americans seem to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Greatest Strength Of China History Essay

I select inquiry B to analyse the greatest destabilizing component and its greatest strength of China. China has a long and old history which dates back to 1000s of old ages ago. Brilliant civilisation was created and passed down from coevals to coevals. For the record, China is the lone ancient civilisation that is in being today.the greatest destabilizing component and strength of ChinaThe greatest destabilizing component, in my position, would be the issue of husbandmans. As one large agricultural state, China needs the work and dedication of husbandmans to feed the turning population. Without the husbandmans, the cardinal authorities would non be able to raise an ground forces to spread out its district or to support against invasion of foreign race. ( Lewis, M. 2010 ) However, it has been a regular thing that in the beginning of a new dynasty, the new emperor took particular notice of the economic system and the importance that agribusiness was to the stableness of a new born dy nasty. Therefore, steps that promote agribusiness had been developed and good encouraged. And this proved instead fruitful for the wellness development of the authorities. For illustration, in the beginning of the Han dynasty, two of the early emperors, Liu Heng and Liu Qi, learned from the experiences of the Qin Dynasty and made up the policy to advance agribusiness. The two emperors lightened the revenue enhancements and fees on husbandmans, who are the chief production force of the state. There even had been policy to remit farm rent for 12 old ages in a row. The corvee was changed into one time every three old ages which was antecedently one time every twelvemonth. Emperor Liu Heng besides encouraged asceticism and against extravagancy. After Liu Heng, Liu Qi succeeded to the throne and the motto that agribusiness was the root of governing the state was put frontward. He believed that merely by increasing the grain output can the general mass get a better and stabilised life and the economic system can turn better. After the opinion of the two emperors during the early period of the Han dynasty, the root of the new state was stabilized and therefore laid the foundation of a booming coevals. However, the prosperity of a new dynasty ever followed by a dictatorship. For every alteration of dynasty, the function of husbandmans can by no agencies be neglected. At the terminal of a falling dynasty, the husbandmans were ever the first to endure. The chief ground for public violences and rebellions was that the opinion emperor knew nil and cared nil about economic development. To feed the swayer & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s turning appetite, the husbandmans were frequently deprived of the production that they spend old ages in bring forthing and reaping. Meanwhile, husbandmans were frequently called to take on the occupation to construct temples and castles for the opinion or to support against foreign invasion. The subjugation and sloppiness made the lives of husb andmans suffering and the consequence would be public violences and the creative activity of a new dynasty. However, due to the fact that China had been an agribusiness state and the default of familial system made it impossible for a dynasty to last long for the same circle happened on a regular basis. The greatest strength that China had is the saving of its civilization and tradition. China developed 1000s of old ages and during the long history that it had, infinite dynasties and states were build on what is now its district. The grounds that China remained a incorporate state lie in many factors. ( Shahar, M. 2008 ) Among these factors, in my sentiment, is its civilization and tradition which lasts through alteration of clip and dynasties and binds all peoples in the state together. The opinion of emperors could disappear. The edifices that represent the authorization of opinion could be destroyed. However, what is left in the general mass merely passes through one coevals after another and merely prospers and develops alternatively of lost. The historical development of Chinese traditional civilization is no confined to the Han people. As could be seen through the historical events, China has gone through several times of national assimilation. Through the assimilation, differ ent civilizations were added and a different and new civilization was in formation. Some of the imposts and traditions were passed down while some civilizations were lost and good forgotten. Apart from the civilizations that were forced to come in into the Han civilization, the swayer besides need a incorporate belief that can assist him better regulation the state. Buddhism is the faith that enjoys the largest sum of trusters in China now. Buddhism was introduced from the ancient India. One of the most celebrated official missional activities was the Tang Xuanzong sent Xuanzang into the ancient India to present the Buddhism. Buddhism had its premier times in Chinese history. And it so functioned as the best manner to chasten people. By stating the people in obeying and listening to the fateikarma and after life, the swayer & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s purpose was realized. Under the philosophy of Buddhism, the swayer established the establishment that put the tightest control on peo ple & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢s head: the Confucianism and the imperial scrutiny system. Confucianism mostly absorbed rules of Buddhism. Through its development, some of its rules and philosophies are advantageous to consolidate the opinion of the emperor and therefore the authorities began to advance instruction which taught Confucianism. ( Creel, H. 1971 ) The imperial scrutiny system is a mechanism for the swayer to happen endowments to assist him pull off the state. Through alterations of clip and dynasties, the system was passed down and played an unreplaceable function in head control. ( Wang, R. 2012 ) In add-on to Buddhism, one local faith that still exists today is the Daoism, besides had its portion in fosterage and consolidating the opinion.3.0 DecisionFrom the ancient history of China, it would be concluded that every bit long as the issue of husbandmans could be good settled and resolved, a stabilizing dynasty could be fund and go on its opinion. The greatest strength t hat China is able to continue as a incorporate state and conditions countless alterations of dynasties would be the civilization that bind all people together.

F and B Manager

Unit 6: Food and Drinks Service Unit code: L/601/0463 QCF Level 3: BTEC National Credit value: 10 Guided learning hours: 60 Aim and purpose The aim of this unit is to enable learners to gain understanding of the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operations and skills to prepare, provide and review provision of food and drink service. Unit introduction This unit introduces learners to basic concepts of food service and to the skills, knowledge and responsibilities required in food service throughout the sector.The knowledge and skills acquired in this unit will prepare learners for a supervisory role in food service businesses. This unit includes only non-alcoholic drinks. Alcoholic drinks are covered in Unit 7: Alcoholic Beverage Service. Learners will explore the factors involved in the meal experience and will have the opportunity to relate issues concerning value, quality, skill levels, satisfaction, service and environment to customer expectations in a v ariety of operations. Learners will need to organise the preparation and layout of a food service operation, taking into account various factors such as equipment, staff rganisation and particular customer needs. Learners will need to show a professional approach and practical customer service and food service skills. Throughout the unit learners will have the opportunity to develop the skills appropriate to a range of different businesses, such as restaurants, fast food businesses, pub food courts and coffee bars. It is important for learners to appreciate factors essential to customer satisfaction and the result of these needs not being fully met. Learners will need to understand and apply evaluation techniques to food service operations. Learning outcomesOn completion of this unit a learner should: 1 Understand the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operations 2 Be able to organise the preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation 3 Be able to provide food and drink service and customer service in a professional, safe and hygienic manner 4 Be able to review food and drink service provision. Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 1 Unit content 1 Understand the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operationsMeal experience: value for money; quality of product and service; environment; ambience; suitability for purpose; level of customer service; timing Situations: eating for pleasure or necessity eg business lunch, special occasion, meal with friends, wedding celebration, conference, function, during a shopping trip, in hospital, when travelling 2 Be able to organise the preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation Operation: types eg restaurant, pub, banquet, fast food, food court, coffee bar, transport providers (rail, air, sea)Preparation and layout: health and safety considerations; checking cleanliness of environment; checking furnishings and equipment; obtaining and preparing equipment; determining layout of environment, the reception, bar area, tables and eating area; menu requirements; staff organisation; briefing; customer needs eg wheelchair access, children; contingency planning 3 Be able to provide food and drink service and customer service in a professional, safe and hygienic mannerRequirements: product knowledge; technical skills; appropriate procedures for operation eg welcoming customer, taking order, confirming choice, serving food and beverages using appropriate method, ensuring payment Food service: methods eg silver service, plate service, buffet, self-service, assisted service, room service, counter service; suitability of method for different operations; constraints eg cost-effectiveness, customer demand, timescale, staff skills, environment, layout Drink service: non-alcoholic eg soft drinks, bottled waters, teas, coffees; service procedures and tec hniques; cleaning and maintaining equipment eg uice dispensers, coffee machines; trends eg designer waters, healthy drinking options Customer service situations: communication method (face-to-face, on the telephone, in writing, by email); purpose eg providing information, giving advice, keeping records, providing assistance, dealing with problems, handling complaints, dealing with food allergies Professional approach: attitude; personal appearance; dress; hygiene; attentiveness; body language; attention to detail; relationships with colleagues; communication skills eg listening, speaking, relaying messages and orders accurately and promptly; teamwork; codes of practice Be able to review food and drink service provision Techniques: collecting information; sources of information eg customers, colleagues; feedback methods (qualitative, quantitative) eg questionnaires, comments books, staff meetings; making reasoned judgements based on available information Criteria: suitability of food and drink service provided; environment, preparation and layout; service provided (quality, speed); level of customer satisfaction; value for money 2 Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 Assessment and grading criteriaIn order to pass this unit, the evidence that the learner presents for assessment needs to demonstrate that they can meet all the learning outcomes for the unit. The assessment criteria for a pass grade describe the level of achievement required to pass this unit. Assessment and grading criteria To achieve a pass grade the evidence must show that the learner is able to: To achieve a merit grade the evidence must show that, in addition to the pass criteria, the learner is able to: P1 explain the importance of the M1 meal experience in food and drink service situations [IE 4] P2 organise the preparation and ayout of a food and drink service operation [SM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7] P3 demonst rate competent skills M2 show independence and in providing food and drink confidence in providing food service with appropriate tutor and drink service support P4 show a professional attitude at all times with relevant personal, social, technical and customer service skills [SM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7] P5 review food and drink service M3 evaluate a food and drink provision. service operation and make [IE 6] recommendations for improvement using agreed criteria and relevant data. To achieve a distinction grade the evidence must show that, n addition to the pass and merit criteria, the learner is able to: analyse the suitability of different methods of service, operational procedures and levels of customer service in food service operations D1 show high levels of confidence, product knowledge and skills when providing food and drink service D2 assess a food and drink service operation, making justified recommendations for improvement, and produce an action plan for implementation. PLTS: Thi s summary references where applicable, in the square brackets, the elements of the personal, learning and thinking skills applicable in the pass criteria.It identifies opportunities for learners to demonstrate effective application of the referenced elements of the skills. IE – independent enquirers RL – reflective learners SM – self-managers CT – creative thinkers Key TW – team workers EP – effective participators Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 3 Essential guidance for tutors Delivery Professionalism in the hospitality industry is vital to both the success of the hospitality business and to learners’ future careers.Future employers will expect recruits to demonstrate a professional attitude to their work, to themselves, to colleagues and to their employers. Tutors must take great care throughout their work to reinforce the importance of mai ntaining the right professional attitude, in terms of personal, social, technical and customer service skills when working with and communicating with others. It is important that learners are made aware of different types of food and drink service operations and the situations and contexts to which they are suited.While some centres may prefer to concentrate on traditional restaurant operations, the unit is designed to ensure that learners are prepared for employment in a range of food and drink service operations. It should be noted that this unit includes non-alcoholic beverages, and delivery should include the preparation and service of a range of teas, coffees and other non-alcoholic drinks. Tutors should be aware of developing trends in food and drink products and services in the hospitality industry, and should ensure that learners understand both the nature of the trends and their impact on hospitality operations.Much of the delivery will be through practical sessions. These could be supported through work placement prior to assessment to enable learners to develop food and drink service skills. Both practical sessions and work placements should be planned to enable a range of food service situations to be considered and to enable learners to apply their skills to these varied situations. Learners will also need to consider a variety of customer service situations that may arise through food and drink service. They could practise their skills through role plays of simulated scenarios.Learners should develop criteria to evaluate performance relating to each scenario and practise evaluating their own and others’ performance. Recording role plays using video and/or audio cassettes would assist selfevaluation. This unit could be delivered jointly with Unit 7: Alcoholic Beverage Service and could also be delivered alongside Unit 5: Supervisory Skills in the Hospitality Industry, as it offers the opportunity to organise and supervise a team in the del ivery of food and drink service. The application of evaluation techniques and criteria will also make a valuable ontribution to learners’ future role as supervisors in the hospitality industry. 4 Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 Outline learning plan The outline learning plan has been included in this unit as guidance and can be used in conjunction with the programme of suggested assignments. The outline learning plan demonstrates one way in planning the delivery and assessment of this unit. Topic and suggested assignments/activities and/assessmentIntroduction to the unit and the programme of learning. Group discussion about food and drink service operations. Tutor explanation of key terms. Visits to hospitality businesses and observation of food and drink service operations – follow-up poster showing food and drink service operations within the businesses. Learners interview a member of staff from their own institution on the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operations. Visits to hospitality businesses to find out about different food and drink service situations.Assignment 1 – The Importance of the Meal Experience in Food and Drink Service Operations (P1, M1) Learners produce a presentation about the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operations based on visit. Group discussion to determine types of operation for different types of hospitality businesses. Videos or role-plays of preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation. Role-play exercises – organising the preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation. Assignment 2 – Organising the Preparation and Layout of a Food and Drink Service Operation (P2)Based on organising the preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation for real customers. Videos or role plays of providing food and drink service. Learners work alongside staff in their own institution providing food and drink service – receive feedback. Role-play exercises – providing food and drink service. Assignment 3 – Providing Food and Drink Service and Customer Service (P3, P4, M2, D1) Based on providing food and drink service to real customers. Learners investigate review techniques and criteria used in a business.Assignment 4 – Review of Food and Drink Service Provision (P5, M3, D2) An investigation of a business or related to a scenario leading to a piece of written work. Tutorial support and feedback. Self-initiated learning time. Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 5 Assessment Any evidence submitted for criteria requiring the practical demonstration of skills, eg role plays or the ability to work independently, must be supported by observation sheet(s) signed by the assessor identifying h ow and why specific criteria have been met.The sub-headings in this section mirror the funnelling opportunities in the grading grid. They suggest how assessment can be grouped to allow learners to progress to the higher grades; however, they are not prescriptive. P1 – M1 To achieve P1, learners must explain the importance of the meal experience, based on their work experience or visits to a variety of businesses. Learners should include a minimum of three different situations in their explanation, covering each of the meal experience criteria.M1 requires learners to analyse in detail at least two different food and drink service operations, focusing on all aspects of the meal experience, operational issues and customer service. P2 For P2, learners need to show they can organise and implement the preparation and layout of the environment before starting the service. Evidence could be gathered through observation by the tutor of team briefings or a written brief together with e vidence of a single practical exercise when the learner has had specific responsibility.P3 – P4 – M2 – D1 To achieve P3, learners need to demonstrate food and drink service skills. This can be evidenced in the form of video tapes or witness testimonies from assessors and supported by written descriptions of the practical scenario. The evidence could, for the most part, come from the same practical situations as for P2. Although learners must show competent skills, at pass level it is expected that they will require guidance and support. Evidence for P4 could be in the form of video or witness testimonies from assessors.The witness testimonies should give sufficient information to confirm that the requirements of achieving a professional approach to personal, social, technical and customer service skills have been met, as have levels of teamwork and communication. The evidence for M2 must show that learners are capable of using initiative and show confidence and independence in food and drink service and customer care skills. Evidence should come from real-life food and drink service situations, and could be linked with Unit 26: Industry-related Project in Hospitality.Learners’ competence in meeting this criterion should be evidenced by an observation sheet with reference made to how and why the learner has achieved M2. To achieve D1, witness testimonies and/or observation sheets should give detailed information to confirm that the learner has demonstrated a high level of personal and technical skills. Examples of effective technical skills at this level could be a learner who is able to anticipate customer needs and can demonstrate customer service to a standard which is over and above that normally expected. 6 Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 P5 – M3 – D2 To achieve P5, learners are required to review food and drink service provision u sing appropriate evaluation techniques and criteria and should provide evidence which shows understanding of the need to measure the performance of a food service operation. The criteria should be specific and measurable. Examples of appropriate criteria could be ‘all tables are to receive orders within 15 minutes’ or ‘the menu should reflect good value for money compared to other similar businesses’. Learners should also explain the benefits of this approach.This can be done in general terms and need not be linked to a specific food service project, although evidence could be linked with Unit 26: Industry-related Project in Hospitality. Evidence for M3 will build on the criteria identified in P5. The criteria used could be predetermined by the assignment brief, but learners should relate the evidence to a specific practical scenario and produce valid recommendations for improvement. Learners should collect data from reliable sources, eg customer comment ca rds and feedback from colleagues, rather than basing the whole review on their own opinion.Evidence for D2 could be in the form of a presentation or a written report. Joint evaluation as part of a team would not be acceptable. Learners must set their own criteria for assessing a food and drink service operation and make recommendations for improvement that are justified and prioritised. The action plan should be realistic and achievable in the context of the chosen food and drink operation. Programme of suggested assignments The table below shows a programme of suggested assignments that cover the pass, merit and distinction criteria in the assessment and grading grid.This is for guidance and it is recommended that centres either write their own assignments or adapt any Edexcel assignments to meet local needs and resources. Criteria covered Assignment title Scenario P1, M1 The Importance of the Meal Experience in Food and Drink Service Operations Learners take the role of Learners c reate a restaurant manager and need to presentation for use with produce a presentation about new staff. the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service operations for use with new staff. P2 Organising the Preparation and Layout of a Food and Drink Service OperationLearners continue in the role Role play or work placement of restaurant manager and supported by observation are required to organise the sheets. preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation. P3, P4, M2, D1 Providing Food and Drink Service and Customer Service Learners continue in the role of restaurant manager and are required to provide food and drink service to real customers. Role play or work placement supported by observation sheets. P5, M3, D2 Review of Food and Drink Service Provision Learners continue in the role of restaurant manager and are asked to review the food and rink service provision. Learners produce material in suitable format – questionnaires, checklists. Edexce l BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 Assessment method 7 Links to National Occupational Standards, other BTEC units, other BTEC quali? cations and other relevant units and quali? cations This unit forms part of the BTEC Hospitality suite. This unit has particular links with the following unit titles in the Hospitality suite: Level 2 Level 3 Service of Food at Table Alcoholic Beverage Service Service of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic DrinksFood Service Organisation Essential resources It is essential for the delivery of this unit that learners have access to a real or simulated food service environment. Appropriate food and drink service equipment must also be provided, such as cappuccino machines, icemakers, blenders and other specialist equipment including glasses and china. Employer engagement and vocational contexts Visits and work experience with local food and drink service providers would provide l earners with an insight into food and drink service and help learners develop the skills required in different businesses providing food service.Developing hospitality industry links would enhance the delivery of this unit. Indicative reading for learners Textbooks Ceserani V and Foskett D – The Theory of Catering, 11th Edition (Hodder Arnold, 2007) ISBN 9780340939260 Hayter R – Food and Drink Service, 2nd Edition (Thomson Learning, 1996) ISBN 9781861526878 Lillicrap D and Cousins J – Food and Beverage Service, 7th Edition (Hodder Arnold, 2006) ISBN 9780340905241 Journal Caterer and Hotelkeeper – Reed Business Information Websites www. bha. org. uk British Hospitality Association www. caterersearch. com Caterersearch – Hospitality news www. catersource. om Catersource – Education, products and news for caterers www. cookeryonline. com Cookeryonline – Food, cookery and hospitality resources www. fdf. org. uk Food and Drink Federation w ww. people1st. co. uk People 1st – Sector Skills Council for Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism 8 Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 Delivery of personal, learning and thinking skills The table below identifies the opportunities for personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) that have been included within the pass assessment criteria of this unit.Skill When learners are †¦ Independent enquirers P1 explaining the importance of the meal experience in food and drink service situations [IE 4] P5 reviewing food and drink service provision [IE 6] Self-managers P2 organising the preparation and layout of a food and drink service operation P3 demonstrating competent skills in providing food and drink service with appropriate tutor support P4 showing a professional attitude at all times with relevant personal, social, technical and customer service skills [SM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]Altho ugh PLTS are identified within this unit as an inherent part of the assessment criteria, there are further opportunities to develop a range of PLTS through various approaches to teaching and learning. Skill When learners are †¦ Reflective learners assessing their food and drink service provision [RL 1]. Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 9 Functional Skills – Level 2 Skill When learners are †¦ ICT – Use ICT systems Select, interact with and use ICT systems independently for a complex task to meet a ariety of needs Use ICT to effectively plan work and evaluate the effectiveness of the ICT system they have used Manage information storage to enable efficient retrieval Follow and understand the need for safety and security practices Troubleshoot ICT – Find and select information Select and use a variety of sources of information independently for a complex task Acces s, search for, select and use ICTbased information and evaluate its fitness for purpose ICT – Develop, present and communicate information Enter, develop and format information independently to suit its meaning and urpose including: ? text and tables ? images ? numbers ? records Bring together information to suit content and purpose Present information in ways that are fit for purpose and audience Evaluate the selection and use of ICT tools and facilities used to present information Select and use ICT to communicate and exchange information safely, responsibly and effectively including storage of messages and contact lists 10 Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 2010  © Edexcel Limited 2010 Skill When learners are †¦ MathematicsUnderstand routine and non-routine problems in a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar contexts and situations Identify the situation or problem and the mathematical methods needed to tac kle it Select and apply a range of skills to find solutions Use appropriate checking procedures and evaluate their effectiveness at each stage organising a food and drink service operation Interpret and communicate solutions to practical problems in familiar and unfamiliar routine contexts and situations Draw conclusions and provide mathematical justifications English Speaking and listening – make a range of ontributions to discussions and make effective presentations in a wide range of contexts discussing the importance of the meal experience presenting an evaluation of a food and drink operation and action plan. Reading – compare, select, read and understand texts and use them to gather information, ideas, arguments and opinions Writing – write documents, including extended writing pieces, communicating information, ideas and opinions, effectively and persuasively Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Nationals specification in Hospitality – Issue 1 – February 20 10  © Edexcel Limited 2010 11