Puritan society Essay

So far the audience is aware that Hale can be a pragmatic character because it is clear that he does not believe some of the accusations can be true, which is why he is on his rounds. The puritan theology that he relies on has brought him to be a stern character, believing that ‘theology†¦ is a fortress,’ that the audiences have to decide is congenial or disagreeable.  The arrival of Cheever causes a mass silence in the room. This is done to give the audience a chance to put events into perspective and allows the tension floating tirelessly around in the room to build up. Cheever approaches the household with bad news. The audience must be feeling sorry for him, as the men seem to be friends. Giles says to Cheever, † it’s a pity†¦ that such an honest tailor might have gone to Heaven must burn in Hell.† Cheever is sympathetic but he says that he is doing what he is told. This shows differences between some of Giles friends. Proctor is willing to ‘darken’ his name in order to revert the charges to Giles’s wife but Cheever is two faced, willing to throw away his friendship with Giles for money that he earns on his rounds. The suspense is built up even more as the audience is now eager to know what Cheever is doing in the house and what business of the court he is addressing. The audience is then stunned on the note that Cheever’s arrival is because he holds the warrant for the arrest of Elizabeth. Proctor, whom has had an overt hate for Hale since his entry, is enraged as he said that Elizabeth was not charged just, ‘somewhat mentioned.’ Hale, however, is just as shocked and proceeds by asking, â€Å"when were she charged.† The audience is really interested by this point; Miller has timed and written this section linking almost everything to a previous scene. We learn from Cheever that sixteen people had been charged that evening and all to be arrested. Cheever then begins to look around the room for any ‘poppets’. Miller has timed this to perfection as the audience is queued to remember the one that Mary Warren had given Elizabeth earlier that evening. Of course Elizabeth will not remember this after all the commotion. The audience are shown this when Elizabeth claims she ‘has kept poppets’ since she was a girl. Cheever persists in his search, as her word is not reliable in court. Cheever finds the one that Mary gave to Elizabeth earlier and refuses to believe that it is Mary’s. This adds to the tension and also is a ploy for an even more terrible consequence. Elizabeth then goes to get Mary Warren in an attempt to prove her innocence, whilst she is away a most unimaginable discovery is made. There is a needle stuck in the belly of the poppet. Miller makes Proctor struggle to find out the significance of the needle. Whereas the audience is well aware of the significance that the needle has as this will be misinterpreted for a link to Abigail Williams being stabbed and are eager as to what Proctor will say or do. Proctor claims that ‘she done it herself.’ But Cheever does not believe this statement because Abigail had accused Elizabeth’s ‘familiar spirit’ of doing the deed. In such a puritan, god-fearing biblically run society accusing somebody’s familiar spirit will mean they are telling the truth and the accused was a witch. The audience does not know this it what it means but they are able to catch on. At this point tension is at a titillating peak and the plot is steady. Hale is struck by the proof and is incapable of believing Proctor’s suggestion. Mary is brought down and is questioned consecutively. Her bewildered attitude as well as disagreeing opposition questioning her allows the questioners to manipulate her words and stutters to their own liking. After gathering the basic outline in all the conflicting opinions she clearly says, â€Å"†¦ I made it.†Ã‚  Her admittance to the ownership and the placing of the needle in the poppet but this does not dissuade Cheever. He is convinced †Tis hard proof!’ Miller has an excellent perception of the thoughts and moments that the audience are not anticipating, his pauses and hesitation in Mary’s dialogue give the audience an idea of how she is feeling and why she is stuttering so much. When Elizabeth finds out that Abigail is the one who has accused her, she loses her temper and says something that guaranteed her a one way ticket to jail. â€Å"She must be ripped out of the world.† Elizabeth, by saying this, has virtually condemned herself, and the chances of her leaving innocent get slimmer. Proctor then gets a chance to protect his wife; this appeals to the audience, as they know he is sincere and trying to forget Abigail. Proctor in a fit of rage tears Cheever’s warrant and attempts to get rid of the uninvited company. Miller has opted for Hale to stay quiet throughout this confrontation to show his cowardly characteristics to the audience, as he has not said anything that he had said to the Proctors to Cheever. Proctor also knows this and his hate for Hale is again shown when he himself calls him a ‘coward.’ This also shows how everyone who is a sceptic of the goings on in Salem does not want to publicise their queries in case the girls, for being too close to the truth, accuse them. Proctor keeps backing up his wife, whom knows there is no point because she will have to go whatever he does. Elizabeth is scared and the audience has now adopted a serious hate for Hale whose words are ineffective and does nothing to stop Giles, Francis’s and Proctor’s three wives from being arrested, he is frowned upon by everyone as a fake. Before she leaves Elizabeth tells Proctor to continue as normal. The audience may be sympathetic towards Hale because they know his religious status restricts his opinion. There are a few main points when hale enters that form the rest of the play; when Proctor claims that the goings on in Salem had naught to do with witchcraft and the arrest of Mrs. Proctor. This scene is flooded with instruments that create drama, suspense and emotion provoking feeling. The character description is appropriate and lets the audience differentiate good from evil. Miller employs splendid literary skills that keep the tempo and tension levels at unbearable highs. The language is elementary and a lot of it is biblically surrounded reflecting the puritan society. His repressed feelings about the freedom of thought and speech in 1956 are all expressed without regret in the story and gives the Crucible a tailor made, captivating essence for the reader and audience.

Public Administration and Theories Essay

In the United States of America President Woodrow Wilson is considered to be the father of public administration. He was the first president to hire social scientists in government and as a result as other presidents came along such as Freanklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson public administration evolved to what it is today (Henry, 2013, p. 342). President Lyndon Johnson is the one that implemented the idea of policy analysis in the federal government in the 1950’s at the same time that this idea of public administration/policy analsysis was evolving in the government it was also emerging in academia. There was various theories and models emerging as public administration evolved throughout history. Two models that came to be is the organized anarchy and elite/mass model. The organized anarchy model according to Nicholas Henry (2013) is, â€Å"The Basics to the model is the presence of three streams, problems, politics, and policies† ( p.345). The problems stream is where the public and policymakers focusing on a particular problem, defining the problem, and figuring out whether the problem can be solved by implementing new policy or just letting the problem go away. The second stream is politics where it involves the government agenda where issues are listed and discussed by various individuals in government such as elected appointees, members of Congress and interest paties. The last stream in this model is policies where there’s a list of policies that may resolve whatever the issue is. The organized anarchy model is also known as the â€Å"garbage can† model. According to William Newman (2013), â€Å"The Garbage Can model of decision is used to illustrate how the foreign policy process is an organized anarchy; decision making is the intersection of four streams–choice opportunities, problems, solutions, and participants. The model helps identify both institutional and persuasion-bargaining variables and highlights their interactions as streams  are connected to produce policy†. The main weakness of this policy is there is a lot of ambiguity where there’s not set goals defined and at times because of the ambiguity not all issues are resolved and/or discussed. Another model that came out of the evolution of public administration is the elite/mass model. In the elite/mass model policy is developed and implemented by the elitethen flows downward to the masses (Henry, 2013, p. 343). Society is split into two sectors where those who have power are considered to be the elite and those that have no power are the masses. The public policies that are implemented consists of values of the elite, which as a result the elite shape how those of the masses think. Public officials and administrators implement all the policies that has been decided by the elite and people of the masses have no choice but to accept these policies which in turn shape what their values are to be. The weakness of this model is that policies are implemented based off of a small gropu of people (elites) that is not representative of the masses as a whole. This model creates a separation of two sectors where the only individuals that are valued are those that have money, they are the ones that are in control and have power to shape the environment that everyone lives in that includes the masses who’s voices are never heard or taken into consideration. According to Ali Farazmand (1999), â€Å" The linking elites and the operational elites within organizations have a primary task of assuring stability, compliance with organizational rules, and cohesion and control among members of their organizations. They are the agents of the strategic elites located at the apex of modern organizations in government, corporations, nonprofit institutions, and political parties†. This idea that there’s various levels of elites within the group as a whole and as result of these vaious levels of elite there’s cohesion because they control the masses. References Henry, N. (2013). Public Administration and Public Affairs 12th edition. Pearson Education Inc. Persuasion-Bargaining and Institutions in an Organized Anarchy: Clinton Administration Decisions on China, 1993-1994, American Review of Public Administration 43, Issue 3 (May 2013): p. 347 – 367. The Elite Question Toward A Normative Elite Theory of Organization. Administration and Society, Vol. 31 No. 3, July 1999 p. 321-360. Sage Publications Inc.

Ariel Dorfmans Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis Essay Example for Free (#40)

Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis Essay Death (671) , Sylvia Plath (42) , Ariel (31) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints The following forty lines from Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden (1990), take place in scene 1 of Act 3, after Roberto has been tied up by Paulina and threatened with being tortured the same way as she had been, and then shot. In response to Paulinaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s threats, Roberto begins confessing the brutality of his actions and his motives. This confession may be true; however, Gerardo has advised Roberto to indulge Paulina, to confess as this would save his life. Whatever the case, the extract is important because it portrays how a man can slide into brutality, without initially meaning to. Second, the extract is important because it helps expose the iniquities of dictatorial military governments. Finally, it is also important because it gives us an idea of Roberto’s character and personality. In this extract we clearly see the stages by which a respectable doctor became a brutal sadistic torturer. Though Roberto’s brother told him that helping the torturers could be a way to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they did to [his] dad,† Roberto stresses that he accepted the job for â€Å"humanitarian reasons.† Firstly, he wanted to help the prisoners who â€Å"were dying† from the tortures as â€Å"someone to help care for them, someone they could trust.† Later on, however, Roberto became involved in more â€Å"delicate operations† and was asked to â€Å"sit in on sessions where [his] role was to determine if the prisoners could take that much torture.† This indicates that he was there while the prisoners were tortured, watching these brutal scenes. Roberto thought this † was a way of saving people’s lives,† as he â€Å"ordered them to stop or the prisoner would die;† however, watching brutalized him, and slowly the â€Å"virtue [he] was feeling turned into excitement.† Soon, â€Å"brutalization took over [his] life† and he began â€Å"to truly like what [he] was doing,† so much so that, from an observer, he became a participant. Torture became a â€Å"game† for him, a game that was â€Å"partly morbid, partly scientific,† as he tortured women to find out things like â€Å"How much can this woman take? More than the other one? How’s her sex? Does her sex dry up when you put the current through her? Can she have an orgasm under those circumstances?† By the end, Roberto had become a sadist totally obsessed with â€Å"carry[ing] out all [his] fantasies† of sexually torturing women who were â€Å"entirely in his power,† women with whom he could do â€Å"whatever [he] want[ed].† So, stage by stage, we see in the example of Roberto how men can slide from positions of respectability and motives of kindness and compassion to becoming human monsters, men who delight in the sufferings of others. The tragedy of Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s slide from being a humanitarian to being a torturer is emphasized by the style of his speech, which reveals that he is an intelligent, educated, insightful man. Firstly we see how Roberto’s diction indicates his intelligence and level of education. Words such as â€Å"brutalization† and â€Å"morbid,† and phrases such as â€Å"he lost his capacity for speech,† â€Å"humanitarian reasons† and â€Å"install a totalitarian dictatorship† clearly manifest his ability to speak articulately and in a high register. We also see how analytically capable Roberto is, as he does not just describe his own actions but explains why they occurred, carefully dissecting his his motives for working with the torturers, not to â€Å"pay the communists back† but â€Å"for humanitarian reasons.† He can organize his account in clear, logical stages, with phrases like â€Å"It was slowly, almost without realizing how,† â€Å"At first,† â€Å"But afterwards,† â€Å"By the time,† â€Å"I began to,† and â€Å"It became.† Additionally, even in the circumstances in which he is giving this confession, in fear of his life, Roberto uses figurative language, suggesting that he has good rhetorical abilities. He uses euphemism, for example, in calling torture sessions â€Å"delicate operations,† and he uses metaphors when he refers to his brutalization as â€Å"the mask of virtue fell off,† and to his descent into sadistic torture as â€Å"the swamp.† So, we see how Roberto’s use of language clearly reveals his high level of education and intelligence, and this makes us even more horrified at how such a sophisticated man could have become a brutal torturer of women. More than exposing the degeneration of individual men, exemplified in Roberto, however, this extract also exposes the iniquities of military dictatorships, like the Pinochet regime in Chile, which Dorfman himself had to flee from. We see how military governments divided families: though Roberto became a doctor devoted to saving lives, his brother, determined to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they did to [their] father,† took another path, joining the military dictatorship and becoming a â€Å"member of the secret services.à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Ã¢â‚¬  We also are given the impression of how military dictatorships can convince people to support them by manipulating their sufferings under previous governments, promising some kind of compensation, as Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s brother joined the dictatorship to â€Å"pay the communists back for what they didà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to his father à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½the day the peasants took over his land at Las Toltecas.† Such governments also persuade people to support them, as Roberto did, by deceit and lies, getting Roberto involved in torture by saying the prisoners needed â€Å"someone they could help care for them,† but actually slowing criminalizing Roberto as a torturer. The fact that â€Å"they† have had such an enormous influence on Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s personality shows just how psychologically manipulative such regimes can be. Finally, the fact that, throughout his speech, Roberto refers to the government only as â€Å"they† evokes the way in which such governments work in the shadows, secretly and anonymously, to torture and terrorize. Thus this extract does not only show how Roberto and men like him deteriorate when they become involved in torture; it also shows how dictatorial regimes can manipulate such men, facilitating and enabling this deterioration to occur. In conclusion, this extract is very important as, whether Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s confession is true or feigned, it reveals how even the best of men may slide into such brutality and how military governments can create vile monsters out of exemplary human beings. Through the details of Robertoà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s confession, Dorfman is inviting his audience to consider how a man becomes sub-human. If a respectable doctor, a benefactor to the community, could turn into such a monster because of the effects of such a regime, then what would happen to the rest of society? Dorfman tries to make the reader consider that this incident that has turned Roberto’s life into a monster might happen to anybody in our society; especially in a switch of regime. Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden 40 lines analysis. (2017, Nov 13). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

The Relationship Between Authoritarian Rules and Economic Growth in Essay

The Relationship Between Authoritarian Rules and Economic Growth in Russia and China - Essay Example On the other hand, Russia’s incoherent ideological range tries to mix statism, market liberalism, and its ethnocentrism, which might further be compounded by weak elite commitment, unlikely to change because of deeply entrenched weak institutions and patron-client relationships. Whether authoritarian communism would one day result in a credible option to capital tolerant democracy depends on the regime’s ability or its failure to develop a clear mission and a unique self image in the form of discrete regime ideology to lead its foreign policies and development paths (Fuh-sheng 378). Democratization weakens authoritarianism through presenting a clear alternative. Quick economic development in China shows that democracy could deliver the economic and social outcomes desired by a majority of citizens. Presently, china contradicts much of the relationship between democratization and economic development. A measure of democracy is realized in China’s small social unit that is the humble village. The democratization was approved by the communist party of in an attempt to improve the political rule of the vast number of villages in the country. The poor villagers seem to move from rural to urban centers and therefore have limited interest in improving the villages’ governance. Conversely, many rich villages are run smoothly, giving a good reason such as not paying taxation so that they can continue supporting incumbents (Fuh-sheng 379). This means that village democratization is uneven and mostly concentrated in the middle class villages. Collective economy has only grown in these villages at the same time with democratization. The two support each other and also are a central role in village autonomy. It is thus logical to argue that both China’s limitation of democracy and the general insufficiency of democracy confound the relationship between democratization and economic growth. Communism emphasizes on class struggle, vanguard pa rty, and elimination of private property. The prospects of democratization for idealists include pressure for change in the local scene and in international norms, economic development, and liberalization felt by citizens as leaders promise some hope in the future although there is no firm schedule followed. On the other hand, pessimists argue that economic growth strengthens dictatorship and therefore political liberalization is limited. To pessimists, democracy is not the only option, and this is the reason why the Russian public is disillusioned with democracy. The views of democratization are important for the quest for liberty and freedom by the citizens of China and Russia (Wong 154). Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, this country has 5recognized only one form of regime; Mao’s comparatively conventional communism, which emphasized on class struggle and isolation. During post-communism or after the death of Mao, Deng Xiaoping came up with a mar ket-based communism which had Chinese characteristics. Several significant differences are stemming up between Deng’s and Mao’s economic systems after Mao refused to implement the kind of capitalism that were permitted by Deng in his later years, yet it is thriving China. Both the authoritarian rulers

Comparison of the Ideas from Buddhism and the Vedas with Upanishads Essay

Comparison of the Ideas from Buddhism and the Vedas with Upanishads - Essay Example Similar to the Vedas, Buddhism considered the idea of karma, but its interpretation was completely different (Grant, 2009). Buddhism did not see karma as destiny or fate. In turn, in the Vedas, the idea of karma was related to the idea of debt. The Vedas stated that people were born in different social conditions as a result of belonging to different castes (caste of warriors, rulers, servants) or were born of women. Their karma or debt was seen in following the classic patterns of behavior in specific situations. The Buddhist idea of karma was completely different from the Vedic. In Buddhism, karma was regarded as "impulses" that encourage people to do something or think (Grant, 2009). These pulses occurred as a result of previous habitual actions or behaviors. However, since there is no need to follow every impulse, human behavior is not strictly deterministic.Both the Vedas/the Upanishads and Buddhism considered the idea of rebirth, but it was understood in different ways. In the Vedas as well as in the Upanishads, it is atman, or "I" that is permanent, unchanging, and separate from the body and mind (Gunasekara, n.d.). It is always the same, passing from life to life. All of these "I" or Atman are one with the universe, or Brahma. Consequently, the diversity that people see around them is an illusion, since in reality all people are one with the Brahma. Buddhism treated this issue differently because it believed that there was no unchanging "I", or atman. "I" exists.

Managing people (case study - King Fahad hospital) Personal Statement

Managing people (case study - King Fahad hospital) - Personal Statement Example It was a sunny Wednesday morning, when I was walking in the corridor of the hospital to attend one of my patients, while walking I realized I 'd a stiff back that day and my job demanded lot of mechanical work so it wasn't any good for me. But my happy go lucky nature and my attitude of taking problems light helped me again that day and I made my entry in the intensive care unit almost completely forgetting my pain. In the ICU when I reached to a patient REHMAAN, a nice man though but very disappointed with his health, I gave him a routinely check up and then guided the ward boy to do the needful so as the treatment is well in place. And after analyzing few more patients I headed towards my cabin to take a small rest bout. While resting I heard a sharp voice as if someone dropped the medicine tray and all the bottles broke down, being a senior in that wing it becomes my responsibility to keep track of such incidents and reach out for any kind of help. As soon as I came out of cabin I saw Ryan lying down on ground holding his left arm with right hand and the medicine tray was near his right shoulder. All bottles were broken and drug stains were all over. Ryan was crying in pain, and was breathing very heavily as he has this problem of anxiety at times, I tried to help him to sit against the wall but he being a healthy guy it was a difficult task for me alone to do it. I tried to calm him down a bit but his breath was really going very abnormal, I got him a glass of water from he merely had a sip as he was not feeling comfortable at all. At the same time I required to make sure that calling any wad boys for help should not result in attention degrade for patients, so after making Ryan sit against the wall I went into the adjacent ICU and quickly analyzed the current scenario like who all patients need extra care and who are almost

Strategic planning within organizations Dissertation

Strategic planning within organizations - Dissertation Example The paper tells that strategic planning within organizations is one of the most essential aspects of both sustainability and growth. Without the ability to meet the needs of strategic planning, there is the inability to move forward with specific needs and to reach the full potential of the organization. While strategic planning is required for the development of a company, the implementation and the end goals are often not met. The problems which arise are based on the various aspects of the organization and how it associates with the needs of each of the goals. Leadership capacities, communication tools, participation and the ability to reach smaller and larger goals through various initiatives are some of the several areas in which strategic planning is not implemented in the correct manner. This is followed with complexities which arise from the organizational culture and the expectations which are associated with meeting change or resistance to the workforce that is a part of th e organization. Defining the specific problems and understanding why end goals and implementation is not met is then shown as one which identifies levels and dimensions of difficulties that are within the work force. The approach which is taken toward strategic planning and implementation is one which is based on the understanding of taking action within a corporation. Without the correct strategies, there is the inability to provide higher amounts of sustainability and growth within a company. However, there are often problems and difficulties with creating the required changes. This literature review will examine the various aspects of strategic planning and implementation as well as how it alters according to the difficulties which are in the organizational culture. The review will examine the various dimensions that are associated with strategic planning. It will further define the obstacles that do not allow the plans to be implemented at various levels within an organization. There will also be reference to theories which are created to alter the strategic planning so it becomes one that is associated with constructive results with businesses that work in creating new plans within the organization. Dynamics of Strategic Planning There are specific dynamics with strategic planning as well as obstacles which stop the goals from being met. Defining the obstacles is the first step to altering the performance as well as the ability to finalize the strategies into action. According to a current study (Mollaoseini, Ahmadhkhani, 2012), there are diverse obstacles which create the resistance and stop the dynamics of change and strategic development. The study showed that the problem with the final strategy and implementation is inclusive of 68.09% planning consequences, 65.48% organizational obstacles, 60.40% managerial obstacles, 72% staff obstacles and 63.99% environmental obstacles. The indications of this are based on showing that the dynamics within an organ izational structure carry diverse obstacles that create resistance and which lead to a lack of implementation with

Jean-Louis Baudry and Christian Metz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jean-Louis Baudry and Christian Metz - Essay Example Beginning with Jean-Pierre Oudarts article "La suture," (Oudart 1969, 35-47) the writers associated with Cahiers du Cinema first introduced suture into film theory. In the mid-70s, the concept began to play a major role in the theoretical discussions in Britain and North America, with the result that psychoanalytical studies of the viewing subject have proliferated. In my reading of Wings of Desire, I borrow from several theoreticians of suture, including some who have been at odds with each other concerning the scope and consequence of this concept. Although my reading of Wings of Desire certainly owes much to the French scholars, claims I make concerning Wenders film run counter to the original polemical thrust of their work. For them, suture denotes the operation by which cinema encloses the subject in ideology. Their analysis bears primarily on dominant Hollywood cinema, and they restrict the scope of the suture to the ideological effacement of the cinematic code. They are reduct ive as well with respect to the semiotic system of suturing, posting at times the shot/reverse-shot system or point-of-view cutting as the fundamental cinematic articulation of suture. Other French film theoreticians who complement a general semiotics of cinema with Lacanian notions of the subject and signification, such as Christian Metz and Jean-Louis Baudry, have avoided such a rigid application of suture to the cinematic apparatus and, nevertheless, have arrived at the even more pessimistic conclusion that cinema itself functions as a support and instrument of ideology. (Metz 1974, 39-47) Anglo-American film scholars have expanded on these psychoanalytical theories of cinema without sharing their negative assessment of the basic cinematic apparatus. (MacCabe 1977, 48-76)

Discuss the benefits , limitations and methodology of population Essay - 1

Discuss the benefits , limitations and methodology of population screening for breast cancer - Essay Example The subject of whether breast cancer screening is more harmful than helpful has fuelled controversy and debate from various quotas for almost, as long as, the technology to do it has been in existence. The dominant question is often; whether the benefits of the procedure outweigh the perceived negative effects that may result from the process. These harms include over diagnosis, where women are treated for cancer while it might not have been clinically manifested in their lifetimes; conversely, several benefits have been attributed to the screening prominently among them, prevention of death. The rationale used to justify screening is usually because it has been successful in detecting breast cancer in the screened population, especially in view of the increased rates of cancer in the last few years. Experts on the subject project that because of the mass tests, the risk will go down and the cancer rates eventually reduced due to early detection and that should be the confirmation of the importance of screening (Cancer Research UK, 2012). The primary focus of this paper will be an examination of the process and principles of screening for breast cancer in populations through histopathology, and then discuss the benefits and harms that are likely to result. Professionals in the health community share the belief that early cancer diagnosis translates into a better chance for mitigation, nonetheless, not everyone who has signs of cancer will benefit from the diagnosis since the cancer my regress without treatment. Thus, to ensure the potential benefits outweigh the harm, there must exist sufficient evidence from randomized tests or trials to indicate that a specific population will benefit from cancer screening, therefore certain principles must be followed before public screening is allowed. There must be significant burden of the disease in the

Investigation into customer service at Safeway Willerby Essay Example for Free

Investigation into customer service at Safeway Willerby Essay On Monday the 17th of February my Business group went to the Safeway Superstore in Willerby to interview the customer services manager, Andy Bostock. This was good customer service for us as it is a busy store and he gave up time for us, and with also been customers it was good that he acknowledged us. While we was at the store we were going to carry out an overt and covert investigation (see appendix 1) which means that we was to ask Andy Bostock some questions and we where going to carry out several observations throughout the store. This is where Safeway, Willerby is located: The Safeway store tries to ensure that all customers wants and needs are catered for and they have such things as: * Toilets * Florists * Photo processing * Cafe * Home entertainment department- which sells such things as CDs and TVs * Kosher food * In store banking * Bakery * Meat * Fish * Fruit and Veg * The deli * Chilled * Italian * Beers, wine and spirits * Frozen Food * Health and beauty * Lottery * Organic food * Passport photos booth The importance of customer service to Safeway is that with the store dealing with 20-23 thousand people on a weekly basis it is important that they deal with each customers needs and expectations. If this does not happen it will mean that customers may go else where to a rival store. When new recruits start at Safeway they are given and induction talk which covers every aspects of the job description. They are given work books to fill in and the management will check them to make sure that they understand everything what is asked from them. They do not have off the job training as everything they need to know is within the store so there is no need for them to go anywhere else. The only off the job training is for managers and they may need training in a new aspect of customer service or need re-training for example. They do not re-train their staff which means that they may not gain as much knowledge as they may need. This could be that they do not want to spend any money on retrain ing them, which in the long run is bad because it will mean that employees will not know what they are doing and when customers have a problem may find it difficult to deal with them on the spot. Their training is from 12-16 weeks and they cover every aspect on what department that are going to work on. They only let their employees work on one department because it means that they know the department really well and can deal with every problem, which comes up. This is a good point because all of their staff will know everything about the department and will work hard on it and make sure that all the work is done correctly. The bad point of doing this is that if a customer comes up to a member of staff who does not know anything about the department which the customer wants information on it may annoy the customer cost they will want the problem dealt with quickly. Read more:  Customer Service Investigation Safeway deal with any problems quickly as the always make sure that their is a spare employee to deal with the problem. Also if a customers comes up and asks them where something is within the store, they are trained to ask the customer whether they want them to take them or tell them. This is because the customer may want to make some other purchases before they go to the item what they are looking for, and the thing what they are asking for may be at the other side of the store and it may annoy the customer if they are taken their before making other purchases because they will have to go back on them selfs. When customers pay for their goods they get a receipt and this has information which is relevant to their purchases, but on the Safeway receipt it has the following information: * The store opening times- this means that customer will be able to see the next time the store is open. * Who the customer services manager is- this means that if the customer has a problem they can contact Andy Bostock as quickly as possible. * Who the till operator is- if you have a problem with something then you can report to the customer services manager and they can then deal with the person or give them more training if needed. * Advertising the Safeway magazine- it is making customers aware of the magazine so that they can pick it up. It also has the date, time, address and telephone number at the bottom of the receipt. This is so customers know when they made the purchase and if their is a problem they can contact the store my mail or telephone. (See appendix 2). This related to customer service because if the service what they get is bad, the customer services manager will know who did this and if they have done this before they will be able to discipline them. The information what the customer gets on the receipt is important to only to them but to the customer service manager. If the machine breaks down it will mean that it will effect the customer-employee relations. The methods of payments what Safeway have are cash, card and cheque. So this means what ever the customer wishes to pay with Safeway can deal with it. So this is good because if they only expect cash for example it will mean that if Safeway are not catering for all customers they will start to go elsewhere. Safeway do not offer a home delivery whether it will be by people doing it through the phone or via the Internet. This is because Safeway have never been interested in it and would rather spend their money on investing in other things which will be more beneficial to the employees and customers. With other competing companies such as Sainsburys offering this service it may be wise if they did look into it and if they did not get many customers then stop doing it. It would make it easier for older people to order online or via the phone, this would also be beneficial for people that are in a wheelchair as it means that they do not have to leave their home. Safeway do not have any members of staff who are trained in dealing with foreign customers, as they do not usually get a lot of them. If Safeway did decide to train someone in this it will mean that it will give them a good reputation will foreign people for understanding their needs. When a disabled customer comes into the store, Safeway make sure that they have all the assistance they need. They ask them if they would like a member of staff to help them shop, which is like a personal shopper this is because for example if a wheelchair customer comes in and the can not reach the top shelf for an item the personal shopper will be along side them to get the item. The cater for disabled customers by offering: 1. 6 Disabled parking spaces at the front of the car park so it doesnt mean that they have to travel far to get their. 2. Have wide isles so that it is comfortable for wheelchairs to get through. 3. They have special trolleys which are trolleys that can just fit into an electric wheelchair so it means that they can carry on shopping easily. They also offer smaller trolleys for their customer who have a disability. 4. They have a disabled toilet at the front of the store. Safeway have realized that a lot of disabled people do come into the store, so they have made it easier for them to shop by offering these types of services for the disabled customers to use. Safeway decided to no longer have the crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½che and make way for the home entertainment department this is because the home entertainment department will effect everyone as the crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½che will only effect people who are bringing in small children. The crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½che also lost its popularity with customers and Safeway where losing money on it and it seemed the right place to put it because customers have to walk through the whole store to get to the department. At the tills at the front of the store each one has a change draw and this is easy for the staff to use as if they need change quickly they have access to it and it means that customers will not get distressed. Safeway make sure that they have adequate staffing levels at all times and they do this by knowing what they sold the same time last week and giving the employees the hours on the tills. For example on a Saturday morning they may take à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10,000 so they will need more people on the tills to cater for all the customers, but on a Monday morning they may only take à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1000 so they will not need to have all the tills on, they may only need about 4. When it was Christmas they gave their customers who where waiting in the cue free mince pies which meant that they where offering a good customer service to all of their customers. Every department in the store has its own employees so if they is a promotion on alcohol for example it will mean that they will need more staff to get all the alcohol out onto the shop floor. They also have a night shift who work 10-7 which means that they get all of the stock from the stock room out for the morning and to make room for the delivery the next morning. This is good for the customers as they are getting the freshest products at any given time because as soon as it arrives it will be put out. When we looked at the stock room it was untidy which meant that it might be difficult for everyone to know where everything goes. They did not have a stock room manager, which for a store of that size is a bad thing, as not every member of staff is doing their job correctly. If a stock room manager was introduced it will improve the amount of damaged goods as well as improving the quality of the stock room. With their being no stock room manager it will be made easier for the staff to steal products and whilst we was their he said that there were a lot of unsolved theft and that they lose a lot of money in the Willerby store, and this could be the reason for this. They have eight cameras in the store and one main one on the alcohol department this is because this is the most common theft. This means that it is giving the customers a lot of security and makes them feel more save when they are their and they also have a security guard who works six days a week. When they call code 50 over the tannoy all male members of staff go to the front of the store to stop the thief, this is because if their is more than one the security guard will not be able to deal with them. This is done to make the customers feel more safe when they are shopping at the store. Their health and safety procedures are gone through on the day they get their training. It is important that all staff know the health and safety procedure incase of an emergency such as a fire. When it was the firefighter strike they where given extra training which consisted of videos and leaflets what Safeway came up with to make sure that they where aware of everything what was going on. They also put posters up in the staff room and in the stock room to always keep them aware of the dangers. They made sure that everything was double-checked to cover their backs. This was excellent customer service as they knew that fire fighters may not be able to get to the store incase of a fire, so they make sure that everything is checked for the safety of the customers. When the fire alarm goes off they can detect where about it is in the store and they will then go and see if it was set of deliberately or it was just a prank, and if it was deliberately they will then evacuate the store. Safeways buildings are not insured so this means that with the money what they save they can invest into other things what will benefit the company. But if their is a fire within a store and it gets burnt down they will lose a lot of money and last year two stores went down with fire and it meant that they got no money. So they have to take money from elsewhere. They also have a hazard book which employees fill in if they think there is a problem and this is checked everyday. It means that if there is a problem the management can deal with them quickly to benefit the customers and keep them safe. They have 1st aiders in the store all the time which means that if a problem does arise with a customer been injured they can deal with it quickly and correctly. The 1st aid facilities what are in the store are mainly for the employees not the customers. Safeway communicate with their customers by having the following things: * Tannoys- if a child is lost for example they could tannoy the childs parent or guardian to come and pick them up * Leaflets advertising their special offers- making the customers aware of what they have to offer. These usually come through the post box with the free supplement newspaper what residents get. (see appendix 3) * Walkie-talkies between employees- they can contact each other if a problem comes up and can be easily dealt with. * Notice board- this informs the customers of any events coming up and what they are for. The ways in which Safeway assess and monitor the quality of customer service are that they used to have an ABC card and this could recognize how much money a certain customer spends in Safeway over a period of time. It was a point scheme where if you spent over a amount of money you would get points which in the long run would mean that you will get offers and free things depending on how much money you have spent. They stopped doing this when a new board of director came in and said that it was a waste of money and that money could be spent elsewhere. When we asked Andy on what he thought of it he said the same, and the money what would be saved in producing the cards could be spent on more productive things, but why does store cards work for other supermarkets such as Sainsburys and Tesco? ABC Card: Safeway used to have mystery shoppers but then that stopped because a mystery shopper was not a true reflection on the store as they have two mystery shoppers a month and the Willerby store gets 20-23 thousand customers a week. So the stopped doing this because they started to realize that it was not working. Safeway carried out a survey to get some feed back on what the customers though on the store and what the good and bad points. (see appendix 4) They survey was done by 60 people on Friday 5th April to Sunday 7th April. The survey covers the following things: 1. Hygiene 2. Staff 3. Checkouts 4. Solutions to improving staff service 5. Best in fresh 6. Items which where of a poor quality 7. Product and price 8. Availability 9. Who the shoppers are 10. Where else they shop 11. Suggestions for improvement The survey is then analyzed by head office and the management team of the Willerby store and they will talk about the results and what they are going to do with them and how to make improvements. This is very good customer service because it is giving the customers a chance to express any opinions they may have of the store whether it is good or bad. Also if they do make a suggestion or say what they think and the next time they go in it is dealt with it will make the customers feel as if they have say on what goes on within the store. The customer services desk is at the front of the store as soon as you walk in, which means that it saves the customer walking through the store and hopefully the problem can be dealt with by the people at the customer services desk. Customer complaints are dealt with by either phone, letter of face to face. They do not offer an email service where they can directly email the store with any problems which may need looking at as email is one of the most common ways of communicating. If a customer does complain Any Bostock (customer services manager) will personally deal with the complaint this is because this time he will know that it is dealt with correctly and the other point is why has the customer complaint and what can be done for this customer complaint to come about again. If its a face to face problem he will go to the customer services desk and try and ask the customer what the situation is and come to some compromise. If its on the phone, the customer services desk will try and deal with it then but if its a major problem Andy will take the call and deal with it appropriately. Then finally he will reply to any letter, which is sent to him regarding a customer complaint. The most common complaint is that customers are cueing to long at the tills. They try and deal with this by having enough staff to cover if there is a rush on and this is worked out by using the week before figures. If all tills are on and customers are still complaining the only way you can deal with them is by apologizing to them because their is nothing more you can do at that moment in time. They also had a suggestion box where customers could put in any suggestions or how the felt it would work better, but they had to stop doing this because it turned into a customer complaint box and they did not want this. Safeway need to come up with a new suggestion scheme as it is important for Safeway to understand what the customer wants and the best way is through suggestion schemes because it is easy to do and cheap to operate. Whilst I was at the store I carried out my own observations and I came up with the following results. The car park was shared with Iceland, Focus, Poundstretcher, Jonathan James, Francios and wickes. This meant that by having the store on a retail park it meant that customers could do other types of shopping if they needed to. Safeway did have its owns trolley parks that where scattered around the car park, which meant that customers did not have to walk back with their trolley where ever they are parked because it if they are old, they will not want to be walking back to Safeway with their trolley if they are parked at the other side of the car park. Other benefits what the car park had where: * 16 Child and parent parking spaces- these where directly outside the store so it a parent comes with a small child, the child is not running around the car park, they can just go straight into the store * 6 disabled parking spaces- These where next to the child and parent parking which are directly outside the store. Disabled people may find it had to walk across a big car park but with these parking spaces been their it is making it easier for them to cope. I personally feel 6 spaces is not enough, this is because quite a lot of retired people may be classed as disabled and they have the most free time as they do not have to go to work, so with expanding the parking spaces for the disabled they may create a new customer segment. * 2 Zebra crossings- These where going towards the front of the store where the entrances where. This is good customer service because if their is a lot of traffic and you can not make it across the road with the zebra crossings been their, it will make it easier for the customer. Safeway provide a variety of different trolleys for every type of customer. This is because if they have different types of trolleys it means that if customers only want a small shop their is small trolleys. The advantage of Safeway trolleys are that you do not have to put a pound in, this is good because a customer may not have a pound coin in change and if they dint they would have to go and get it changed before they even started the shopping. With the trolleys not having a pound put in them it means that they could get stolen and this would mean a loss in profits for the company because each trolley costs about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 to make. Also around the surrounding area there is always trolleys just dumped because they is no need to return them back to Safeway. All the trolleys are kept under a shelter which means if it does rain the trolleys are still dry so the customers do not have to dry them down. Types of trolleys: * Large trolleys * Medium trolleys * Small trolleys * One seat baby trolleys * Two seat baby trolleys * One seat child trolleys * Two seat child trolleys * Wheelchair trolleys * Baskets They also have a post box which is outside the store with a stamp machine inside the store (which was out of order), but the customer can also buy stamps from the confectionery desk which is next to the customer service desk. With Safeway selling stamps it means that if a customer wished to send somebody a birthday card they could get the stamp and post it all within the store. The post box is emptied several times a day to make sure that the post is delivered on time. Along with stamp machine they where a phone card machine and a savings stamp machine. The phone card machine only sold BT Cellnet cards which meant that if customers wanted to get a different one they would have to go to the confectionery desk because they do not sell the cards at each till. This is bad customer service because they may just want to do all their shopping at once and if they have to go somewhere else in the store it may distress them. With the savings stamps this is a booklet what customers can get and they can collect them over a period of time, usually up to Christmas so when it comes to do their Christmas shopping they will have an amount of money what they will spend. A savings booklet is a good idea because if a customer is buying a stamp a week, you know that they are going to come back at Christmas and spend it and hopefully more to do their Christmas shopping. The toilets what Safeway have are: 1. Ladies 2. Mens 3. Disabled 4. Baby Change The toilets are at the front of the store which means that you can go to toilets before you start your shopping or after it, but if you go after shopping it will mean that you will have to leave you shopping unattended because their is no secure place where you can leave your shopping. When I went into the toilets I was not impressed with the standard of them, this is because as soon as I walked into them their was a smell which was very of putting and meant that I wanted to be as quick as possible. This is bad customer service because their was nothing done about it, if their was some sort of air conditioning in their it would make it easier. The floor was also very dirty and their was water all over the floor underneath the sink, which meant that the toilets are very rarely checked by the employees because in some toilets there is a sheet up to say when it was last checked and if there where any damages. If the toilets are not checked regularly it may stop customers from using them because of the standard of them. When I went into the toilets their where a lot of damages like holes in the wall and their where no bins so people where just dropping their rubbish on the floor. This gave the toilets and overall tacky feel to it and I personally would not use them again. If the toilets are not improved it may put customers of from using the store all together. The music of the store was aimed at the more older people, this is because this is their main target audience because you hardly get children or teenagers shopping in supermarkets. The music is controlled my head office which means that Safeway Willerby have no control which if the majority of customers are different from other stores they may wish to change the music slightly to make them come back. The music what they do play is very upbeat music, this is so that customers are feeling happy when they are shopping their. Whilst we where we was looking in the Entertainment department and we across and adult video which was on the second to bottom shelf which is easy for a small child to get hold of it. On the back of it had sexual images on it which meant that the child would be seeing them. This is very bad customer service because it is of adult content and its easy for the child to get hold of. On Safeways Website, the opening page is filled with information regarding a certain thing what is happening so for example the thing what is happening this month is Mothers day, so the opening is filled with information regarding Mothers day. (see appendix 5). They also have special offers what is making the customers aware of, so that they can purchase them. This can be food related or just other items such as dry cleaning and photo processing. They also have a recipe of the week, which is described in great detail as well as all their other recipes what you can look at online. Their Website is excellent customer because it is giving potential customers a chance to see what is happening within Safeway, and it is offering advice on the recipes that the customers may wish to make. Their Website also includes: * Store guide- this shows you where the nearest store is and how many miles away it is from your house. * Everything what is included in their stores from their specialized food to their service, which is not food related. * Company information- from the history of the company to the activities at the moment. * Drinks guide- this covers all the drinks from fizzy drinks to alcohol and expert advice is given. Overall Safeways Website is excellent because it covers all the information what you will need. Analysis of customer service: I am now going to analyze what the advantage and disadvantages are of Safeway Willerby in terms of customer service: Advantages Disadvantages With Safeway doing a survey it means that they are getting customer feedback which in the long run will benefit the company because with the results of the survey will they can improve the things what has gone wrong. There is no incentive of doing this and it is quite time consuming so the customers may rush it just to get through it, so if an incentive was launched they may be able to get more accurate results. The majority of their staff where of a mature age which meant that they had more experience with customers so they would know what they want. Also with employing older people it means that the management team will know that they are not coming into work with a hangover and they know that they are going to work well and not let them down, with the experience they have with customers. The toilets where a major disadvantage to Safeway Willerby this is because of the overall standard of them was poor. This gives the impression that Safeway Willerby are unhygienic and care very little about the standard of their customer service. If an employee checked the toilets every morning and afternoon, it could improve the standard a bit and it would reassure the customers that something is been done about them. With the security guard working 6 days a week, customers will start to pick up on when he is not their and they might try and get away with things such as theft. With him also working 6 days he will start to get tired and may not do his job properly. If another security guard was introduced it will mean that their is always a security guard in the store, this will assure the customers that they are safe with these security guards in operation.

Causes of Bankruptcy at Toys R Us

Causes of Bankruptcy at Toys R Us Abstract With declining sales and the rise of online retail, Toys R Us is one of many companies that have filed for bankruptcy. Toys R Us has also pulled its IPO offering. In the world of Amazon and Walmart, Toys R Us was unable to keep up. This paper will provide a comprehensive look at the underlying issues due to which Toys R Us was unable to thrive. With so many options in the market, Toys R Us needs to create a draw for its customers to remain competitive. The company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will be analyzed to determine the best course of action supported by research. With research, financial analysis, and dynamic operations, it was concluded that Toys R Us needs to become relevant again and create a business out of what they offer similar to what American Girl has done. Executive Summary Toys R Us was founded by Charles P. Lazarus in 1948 and initially began as a furniture store, which then shifted its focus entirely to toys. The company has 866 stores in the United States and more than 750 international locations. The company’s strength lies in its volume of stores that it operates, many of them in emerging economies that could prove to be an investment. It recently filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada. At first glance, the company is suffering from low sales, not enough foot traffic, and toys that do not appeal to children of the digital age. However, at looking closer, the underlying issue seems to be Toys R Us’s reluctance to re-engineer its business. Toys R Us was losing sales due to big retailers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Amazon offers the convenience of online shopping with very fast shipping that eliminates the wait time associated with shopping online. Target and Walmart offer one stop shopping that allows an individual to get all of their shopping done without having to make multiple stops. Toys R Us only offers one genre of products, which are toys. When compared to a similar rival within the same industry such as American Girl Doll, it is clear that it is possible to be successful while offering an exclusive product. The appeal of American Girl Doll is that it creates a unique, interactive experience for its customers. One of Toys R Us’ weaknesses is that is does not have a competitive edge. Toys R Us could do the same by providing unique, interactive, experience geared displays for children in their stores similar to that of Build-A-Bear, which is a competitor in the same market. They can also manage a turn around by focusing on lower prices, better customer experience, revamping stores to include the interactive portion, hire engaging employees who cater to children, offer other services such as toy repairs or setup assistance. Toys R Us is a retail company that is exclusively a toy retailer that has 866 stores in the United States and more than 750 international locations. It had consistent success since it was founded in 1948 because it provided the most popular, up to date, and largest variety of toys with the most locations as well (Thomison, 2016). Toys R Us was known as a category killer, which meant that the company sold a product from only one category. With this strategy, the company was able to build a large volume that other retail chains could not match due to Toys R Us’ inventory and price. Then, Walmart launched a price war that was matched by Target and sold more toys than Toys R Us by 2005 (Hartung, 2017). KKR, Bain, and Vornado acquired Toys R Us in 2005 for $6.6 billion. The retailer has $4.9 billion in debt of which $400 million is due in 2018 and $1.7 billion due in 2019. Toys R Us has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada, which will help relieve it from this debt (Hirsch, 2017). This can be attributed to the rise of e-commerce, where people buy online on sites such as Amazon and eBay. Toys R Us did launch its own website in 1998 and it became one of the fastest growing sites in the toy category. As Toys R Us tried to improve its business strategy, so did its competitors. Walmart and Target also sell toys but also offer the convenience of one stop shopping for its customers whereas Toys R Us is unable to do so. In the age of technology, many children prefer I-Pads and I-Phones to traditional toys further dwindling sales of Toys R Us. In 2011, Toys R Us’ domestic U.S. sales were worse than that of 2008, which was one of the worst holiday seasons for retailers. The president of the company resigned after only 10 months despite signing a one-year contract. In 2012, the department heads for administration and merchandising also resigned from their positions. The executives at Toys R Us have been experiencing high turnover within the past seven years (Clifford & Lattman, 2012). The company is grappling with how to grow the business with all of the competition. Sales are dwindling and competition is thriving but what caused these issues to arise for a company that seemed to doing very well? According to Hartung (2017), KKR and Bain Capital acquired Toys R Us in 2005 for $6.6 billion plus $1 billion of debt at a total valuation of $7.6 billion. KKR and Bain Capital put in $1.3 billion and used the company’s assets to raise the remaining amount bringing the debt from $1 billion to $6.2 billion, which was 82.7% of total capital. The interest rate on this debt was around 7.25% that created payments of $450 million per year on interest alone. The plan was to cut company costs, improve cash flow, and pay off the debt. The rise of e-commerce, at the time, was not anticipated. Amazon was only an $8.5 billion company in 2005 as opposed to the $100 billion dollar giant it is today. The executives set the company up for failure right from the acquisition. Due to its debt, Toys R Us was unable to venture into the online market as aggressively as they should have to counter Amazon. The company also could not keep up with Walmart’s low prices. Walmart would take a loss by pricing toys and other popular items at steeply low prices to get customers into their stores so they could spend on other big-ticket items. Customer service and shopping experience at Toys R Us were sub par at best and not inviting to customers. American Girl Doll, which is also an exclusive toy retailer, has seen tremendous, continuous success due to its interactive geared shopping experience for customers. American Girl Doll only sells doll, which one would assume could be its detriment as was with Toys R Us. The same factors that plague Toys R Us are the same factors that American Girl Doll must deal with. American Girl Doll is able to thrive and be profitable because of the unique experience they provide. Each toy comes with a historical background, a story, and accessories, which sell even at their high price point. Bhattarai (2017) states, that smaller neighborhood toy stores are thriving and increasing sales every year while Toys R Us, a retail giant is failing. What sets these smaller stores apart is the customer service of helpful employees, the carefully curated selection, gift-wrapping services, and lego building events. These stores are providing a unique shopping experience that Toys R Us is lacking. Kids these days are restless theyre looking for an interactive experience, said Susan Lee, a partner at marketing firm Simon Kucher & Partners. It isnt enough to just have stacks of toys on a shelf (Bhattarai, 2017). Customer service plays a large part in the success of these smaller stores as well. Bhattarai (2017) lists a variety of different experiences shoppers reiterated at a store called Child’s Play from employees going out of their way to open newly packaged games so children can decide if it is the right one, tracking down obscure toys that some children request, and even taking the time out to play with some of the kids in the store. Toys R Us’ strengths lie in its numbers as the retail giant has so many locations within the U.S. and worldwide. The company also has a large inventory with a diverse range of toys that is difficult to come by in another store. Toys R Us has been around for almost 70 years and for many people creates a sense of nostalgia that can be used to its advantage. It has developed its website and utilize it to further appeal to its customer base. The company currently employs over 70,000 employees and still managed to pull in annual revenue of $13.646 billion (Satell, 2017). The weaknesses of the organization include a lack of competitive advantage when compared to other retailers. The toys sold at Toys R Us stores are not unique and can be found and other retailers and sometimes for a better price. Toys R Us also depends on its holiday season sales to make the most profit and that is not enough anymore to help the company thrive. The organization also wants to pay its executives $16 million in bonuses that they argue are necessary for the executives to perform well. Normally, executive pay is fairly higher compared to the average worker due to the required experience, risk, educational background, work schedule, etc. (Martocchio, 2017). This is not necessary for a bankrupt organization to do especially since these are the same executives that have allowed the company to fail for so long instead of implementing new business strategies. This would be understandable if the organization were trying to bring aboard new executives that have a proven track record of bringing companies back to life after suffering such losses. Opportunities for Toys R Us came in the form of its alliance with Amazon provided both companies the opportunity to excel. It allowed Amazon to partner with other retailers instead of trying to sell everything itself. Toys R Us was able to pick the hot items and have them features and was also responsible for keeping them in physical stock. This deal however did sour due to both companies filing lawsuits against each other. Toys R Us claimed Amazon was allowing other retailers to sell on their website while Amazon claimed this was due to Toys R Us not being able to keep items in stock. The lawsuit has been settled with Amazon agreeing to pay Toys R Us a settlement of $51 million (Martinez, 2009). Toys R Us can learn from this alliance and partner with other companies to further its selling power. Toys R Us also has many international locations that if situated in the right emerging markets can create the opportunity to enhance international revenue. The threats that Toys R Us faces are retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Even some of the smaller neighborhood toy stores are doing a better job in providing what customers are looking for. Walmart, Target, and Amazon may offer the same products as Toys R Us but many times offer it in a package exclusive to the retailer that entices customers. Layoffs from multiple store closings have made the company unreliable as well as the current filing of bankruptcy over the debt the company was left with. The company is now in a negative light creating a negative image of the brand as much of its financial woes have been highlighted by the media (Marketing Mixx, 2017). References Bhattarai, A. (2017). Why neighborhood toy stores are thriving while Toys R Us goes bankrupt. The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-neighborhood-toy-stores-toys-r-us-bankrupt-20170925-story.html Clifford, S. and Lattman, P. (2012). Pressed from all sides, Toys R Us fights to reinvent itself. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/07/business/toys-r-us-last-of-the-big-toy-stores-tries-to-reinvent-itself.html Fitz-Enz, J. (2009). The ROI of human capital: Measuring the economic value of employee performance (2nd ed.). New York, NY: AMACOM.          Gay, W. (2017). How Millennials can save Toys R Us from bankruptcy. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/wesgay/2017/10/30/toys-r-us-bankruptcy/2/#6cf61c604af0 Gross, D. (2017). Toys R Us is dying from a lack of imagination. Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/business/2017/09/why-best-buy-is-weathering-the-retail-apocalypse-and-toys-r-us-isnt.html Hartung, A. (2017). Toys R Us – how bad assumptions fed bad financial planning creating failure. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2017/09/20/toys-r-us-is-a-lesson-in-how-bad-assumptions-feed-bad-financial-planning-creating-failure/#34186aef58ea Hirsch, L. (2017). Toys R Us files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/18/toys-r-us-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy.html Isidore, C. (2017). Bankrupt Toys R Us wants to pay $16 million in executive bonuses. CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/16/news/companies/toys-r-us-executive-bonuses/index.htmlY Martinez, A. (2009). Amazon settles long standing legal dispute with Toys R Us. The Seattle Times. 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