The Music Of Country Music - 1883 Words

Country Music Country music. Just saying that word ignites a train of thought to many people to think of the deep ole’ American South and cowboys. What causes people to begin to imagine those things? From the cowboys featuring in movies to the loud blaring music the hillbilly neighbor plays, country music has brought its way to people around the world. From the 1920’s to now Country music was one of the first genres in modern music and is still popular today in the United States. The history of country music is so uniquely characterized that through each part of history it changes massively. Observing, viewing, and hearing the history of country music is the only way to see how although other music genres seem to slowly fade away country music has still stayed strong since today. Country music was not the first name for this genre. In the 20th century when early country music was developed it was considered â€Å"hillbilly† music. This â€Å"hillbilly† music was derived from folk songs and popular songs from the English Scots and Irish settlers from the Appalachians and various regions in the South. The instruments used in early country music were the fiddle, guitar, the autoharp and a few others. The spark of country music to the public started in 1923 when country music was first recorded. In June 14, 1923 a man with a continuing effort to discover new acts and reach untapped markets, Ralph Peer, found John Carson, a fiddle player, who he decided to record. This started theShow MoreRelatedGender in Country Music1535 Words   |  7 PagesMichael Palmiscno Brian Campbell Women in Music October 10th, 2012 Gender in Country Music Throughout history men and women have played different roles in music. Today is no different. With the development of the music video, these different roles were magnified. From rap to country, men and women play roles. DreamWorlds 3: Sex, Desire, and Power in Music Video explores the world of music video. Women are seen as sex symbols that simply must have sex and will submit to any fantasy thatRead More Country Music Essay2116 Words   |  9 PagesThe debate whether commercialism has stripped country music of its authenticity is one that requires further examination into who ultimately holds the power. The sometimes-drastic changes made in music leaves people questioning the tastes of consumers when in fact they are the bystanders of an overpowering industry. Fans are people who buy the albums, go to concerts, and request songs on the radio, not the execs that market the music, and yet their opinions/tastes aren’t taken into considerationRead MoreCountry Music and Eric Church763 Words   |  3 PagesCountry music is a genre that some might absolutely love and some might absolutely hate. It is a style of music that developed in the southern and western U.S. and often contains lyrics relating to the lives of people who live in the country. While there are a lot of different types of country music, a very popular country artist of this time is Eric Church. Church brings a bit of a twist to country music, with really telling us how he feels. Talking about one of his songs in particular, â€Å"homeboy†Read MoreEssay on History of Country Music1187 Words   |  5 Pages2012 Professor Salcido History of Southern Music Southern music is now called country music and is popular in many different places. It is for people from all walks of life. But, when we look at country music today and from years ago is it the same? , When did it become popular? and , How has the music changed over the years? Southern music known today as country music became popular in the 1920’s. This was music that was based on folk music of cowboys in the southeast (Collins English DictionaryRead MoreThe Country Music Group Exile1362 Words   |  6 PagesThe country music group Exile had many changes in line-up during its first sixteen years, including the loss of their lead singer Jimmy Stokley around the release of their album All There Is. Despite this, the group managed to assess their abilities and turn Exile into a new and arguably more successful group as they went on in their career. This group proves that there’s a way to get around every obstacle, because they are still playing even now, 53 years after their original debut. The groupsRead MoreComparing Rap And Country Music Genres1115 Words   |  5 PagesA Comparison of Rap and Country Music Genres With the release of the single â€Å"Accidental Racist,† by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J, the lines between rap music and country music officially blurred beyond recognition. Fans of country and rap music downloaded and purchased the single to see how two completely different genres would blend. Billboard statistics show that most fans appreciated Paisley and Smith’s efforts. Yet hardcore country and hip-hop fans insist that the genres are so different on theRead MoreMy Views On Love Country Music854 Words   |  4 Pageshead. I began with my broad topic; simply stating that I love country music. It made sense to use this topic. I could listen to this music all day, everyday and still be standing upright. If you talk to most people in this school they would rather drop dead or beat their head of a wall than have to listen to country for more than ten minutes. I then mentioned, how I am not always proud of the fact that I listen to this kind of music. It is uncertain to me why I made this statement. I suppose thisRead MoreBrad Paisley and Country Music Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesWhen country music began in America, there were no professional musicians. The typical musician sang only to entertain himself, his family or at local events. There is evidence of square dance-like events as far back as the 1830s (with origins in European country dancing). At first, most country music was either sung by itself or played on a lone fiddle or banjo. A good fiddler was a very popular person and was often asked t o perform at events ranging from weddings to cattle drives. There was noRead MoreThe Effects Of Music On Our Country Today1661 Words   |  7 Pages Music in today’s day and age has the ability to be a very pervasive form of media. There is an indisputable truth that media has the ability to effect the masses. But, the effect of music and the message it is sends to its listeners is not always a positive one. I am aiming to describe how sexism in music is an epidemic in our country today. I’ll also be comparing and contrasting different music genres, to see if certain types of music are better or worse than others. A common phrase in mediaRead MoreCountry Music Is The Song Of Authentic Life1533 Words   |  7 Pages Country music is the song of authentic life. The American form of music became popular in the 1920’s and continued to grow. Dolly Parton is one the most well know country singers. Parton become a major country star in the 1970’s. She has contributed many hits to country and poplar music. Parton’s album Coat of Colors, released in 1971, by RCA records was the album that changed her career. By the time of it’s release, Parton was an already well know country music star. Under Porter Wagner she had

The Historical Factors That Shaped Web Dubois Quest For...

Imagine growing up in the early; late twentieth century, facing rural living, poor education, and unequal rights. While living in the twentieth century, rural areas contained three fourth quarters of African Americans were there they worked as farmers. While living in these poor conditions, most African Americans children did not have the proper education to even be considered literate. African Americans for years faced unequal rights, in the school systems, work force and everyday life. The Historical factors that shaped WEB Dubois quest for Liberal Arts education and Booker T. Washington s acceptance of technical training. W.E.B Dubois and Booker T. Washington contradictory views with one objective and problem for African Americans were†¦show more content†¦Dubois influenced African Americans to set a goal to reach a liberal arts education. Dubois believed that African Americans only earned their rights through education, not through the social sciences. The education of African Americans served purposes to the bettering of the African race and to lessen the knowledge about African Americans in the white race. Through education, Dubois wanted to eliminate ignorance about African American people and educate the world about the contributions to society that African American people could potentially make. It was these reasons stated above, that were expressed into social factors and other reasons which led Dubois to becoming one of the leading activists and revolutionary thinkers of his time, in particular in the area of contradicting politics and academic research. Booker T Washington was born a slave in the late 1800s in the southern part of Virginia, where those experiences shaped and affected Washington as the individual he became and later on a national leader in the African American community. Washington was a less privileged man who worked his way through college at Hampton Institute in order to pay for his tuition, room and board. He graduated from Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in 1872 and would afterwards spend the rest of his life in the South, attempting to lead his people effectively as an educator and social politician. During his career as a teacher and political

Operation Management Multinational Software Firm

Question: Describe about the Operation Management for Multinational Software Firm. Answer: Introduction A few years ago once I was working with a multinational software firm. The firm used to provide web development and application software development services. The company used to provide maintenance with Annual Maintenance Contracts with billions of companies as clients. I started my job as a fresher just out of a technical college and rose through the ranks of Project leader within two years of my time in the company. The company had provided suitable incubation to my career. The company helped me nurture my skills and sharpen them as time progressed. The company used to deal with contracts from Regional Governments as well as overseas clients. The company had been instrumental in developing the inventory control software which the major departmental stores across the world use, some of them are Wall Mart, Tesco, Big Bazaar, Spencer and much more. Working process of the module My job as a fresher used to be quite a challenge for me initially. But as time passed, I got hold of things around me and learned the practical skills of my trade. I learned how to manage an entire project. A project is a massive set of components in an application development environment. The project is first segmented and then allocated within various sectors(Bisen and Srivastava 2009). At the end of development, it is the responsibility of the leader to stitch all the entire software together. The process of dealing with the clients and managing their expectations had taught me a great deal as to what motivates a client. The managing of the projects had taught me how to get the job done. Now that I am actively pursuing this course, this will help me further my knowledge about managing projects. One beautiful morning after reaching my cubicle, I noticed that my colleagues were involved in an argument. The argument was regarding the areas of responsibility of an individual project. The project of the ongoing discussion was under my ambit. I sought out alternatives to the crisis. The process involved talking to superiors and taking their advice in solving out a crucial problem (Burrow and Kleindl 2012). The problem involved creating a balance between various forces of the workplace. The project had to be delivered on time. The client had been urging for delivery before the deadline. The project had to be completed almost three months before it's agreed upon due date. The client refused to cooperate about escalating costs. Since the project was Governmental, there was political pressure upon completion of a digitization project of the Census. The project had to be implemented before the term of a government ended(Maylor 2010). The national project had great significance to the company. I as the project lead sought out viable alternatives to this impending crisis. The task of managing the completion on time was of extreme significance for my team as well. The team received revised deadlines on the same day of the crisis. I thought I loved challenges until I met with this situation. I asked the client who was an administrative officer from the department of finance of the Government, to expedite the process of revising costs. The officer simply refused (Thurlow, Moss and Forster 2004). After several attempts of convincing the person, I realized that all my attempts were futile. After about an hour, I called him up and informed that it would not be possible for the team to execute the project unless there is a clear-cut assurance from the Government that funds will not be the issue. The officer hung up after about a minute and called me back after exactly a minute and a half. The officer informed me that the finance department had given all authority for exp enditure required for completing the project. I informed my superiors and made requisitions to the human resource management for allocating further techies to my team. Relationship between Project Management and actual Management criteria The relation of the entire context that I just discussed has a direct bearing on Project management. The project management deals with the planning, staffing, executing, controlling, and executing and closeout aspects (Bodie and Merton 2000). We can aptly note that the functions of management are also same as that of the phases of project management we just discussed in our last statement. The project management will be helpful for primary dealing with future job positions in management where I would have to do the work out of project team members. The course will help me better substantiate my trade skills and better justify my prompt business management decisions. The subject will help me to rate a crisis while undertaking a project and would serve as a "guiding light" while ratifying decisions (Abdulla 2012). I as a business decision maker used to take decisions based on my common sense and logic. But I lacked the proper theoretical knowledge required to make the most justified de cision. Conclusion The art of project management is a collective result of experience and the acquired skills of the trade. After the completion of the course, I would be able to gather required knowledge about the various aspects of project managing. In general, the formal training is necessary for being a successful project manager. The formal training would ensure the best practice for ensuring the success of the project. The training in this field would give me the tools to manage the efficient utilization of resources and to be better prepared for facing challenges in the daily course of the project development. References Abdulla, M. (2012). Multi-criteria decision making with overlapping criteria.IIMB Management Review, 24(3), pp.137-142. Bisen, V. and Srivastava, S. (2009).Production operation management. Lucknow, India: Word-Press. Bodie, Z. and Merton, R. (2000).Finance. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Burrow, J. and Kleindl, B. (2012).Business Management. Mason, US: Cengage Learning. Maylor, H. (2010).Project management. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Thurlow, M., Moss, P. and Forster, R. (2004).Workplace. Sunderland: Art Editions North

The Iliad The Odyssey ( Homer ) free essay sample

Compares Odysseus Achilles concern for their reputation as motivation for their behavior. This study will examine crucial scenes from Homers epics The Iliad and The Odyssey, focusing on certain characters concern with their reputations as a major motivation for their behavior. All Homeric characters, to some degree, care about their reputation, about how others perceive and evaluate them and their worth as, primarily, soldiers. The question is the nature of the reputation about which they are concerneddo they only care about being seen as a hero for their own sake, for egoistic reasons, or do they see heroism and reputation as a factor in some larger concernfor community, family, homeland, and humility before the gods. Charles Segal writes, In a shame-culture, like that of the society depicted in Homer, where esteem depends on how one is viewed and talked of by ones peers, kleos [heroic glory] is. We will write a custom essay sample on The Iliad The Odyssey ( Homer ) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page .

Virgin Group free essay sample

Which future for Virgin? Diversification is often seen as the last evolution for a company. However, there are ways and options to adapt your strategy after you diversify in order to make it more efficient to this new change. Virgin is, as we’ve seen in the previous parts, a well-diversified company. There are usually 4 paths a diversified company could use after it diversified, and we can use them to analyse the potential future of Virgin. 1 Broaden the diversification base Virgin’s essence since its creation is to explore new businesses and try to be a part of them. The company has a real thirst and desire to diversify and no one doubts that the Virgin Group will enlarge his portfolio. On its website, the Virgin Group says that in order to find new business, they just â€Å"put their selves in the customers shoes to see what could make it better. We will write a custom essay sample on Virgin Group or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page † In order to diversify more, the company is trying to find or create some businesses that will: * Reinforce its market position. For instance, Airlines are clearly a business that Virgin wants to strengthen. The â€Å"Media Mobile† division also seems to be a business where Virgin wants to invest, as evidenced by the recurrent creations of mobile companies in recent years. * Build positions in new industries. The company’s new â€Å"Green Vision† is clearly showing that Virgin’s new favourite Industry is the â€Å"clean energy† industry. More concretely, the company is investing the profits and dividends from its transport businesses into the development of alternative fuels for instance. Moreover, the â€Å"Virgin Green Fund† focuses on â€Å"middle market growth and expansion investment opportunities in the renewable energy and resource efficiency sectors including water† with the objective of helping companies realize their full growth potential, says the company. 2 Divest some businesses and retrench to a narrower diversification base * The company has no intention to narrow its diversification base and reduce its portfolio to some few core-industries. The goal is clearly to find some new businesses and needs, as this paragraph on their website shows. â€Å"We ask fundamental questions: is this an opportunity for restructuring a market and creating competitive advantage? What are the competitors doing? Is the customer confused or badly served? Is this an opportunity for building the Virgin brand? Can we add value? Will it interact with our other businesses? Is there an appropriate trade-off between risk and reward? † (Company’s website) 3 Restructure the company business line-up â€Å"Sell off noncore businesses†: There is no proper â€Å"core† or â€Å"non core† businesses at Virgin, even if there is some sectors more developed than others. Therefore, selling noncore businesses doesn’t seem to be in Virgin’s strategy for the years to come, as they try to develop new core businesses, like â€Å"clean energy†. * â€Å"Sell off competitively weak businesses†. The case und erlines that Branson wants to focus on long-term investment. He doesn’t have the pressure of Financial Markets, so he can wait few years after an investment, even if it means losing money. Thus, the company can either decide that some investments are not profitable and will never be, and sell off the business (as they did in the past), or decide that this is a long term investment and wait for the investment to become profitable. 4 Pursue multinational diversification * Multinational diversification seems to be the next step for the brand. The company is located in 30 countries, which is not much when compared to the 11,5 Billion $ revenues in 2009. The company has a very small presence in Asia, and should extend in this part of the world where fast developing countries are located. International diversification is complex but could really increase the company revenues by opening new markets to the company’s existing subsidiaries. Moreover, Virgin could use its knowledge of creating new businesses from the scratch to develop in new countries. Furthermore, the expansion of one of the Virgin’s companies in a country could really help the other companies to settle in this country, by transferring knowledge of this new market. * Virgin in China: this is difficult to find some recent articles and info about Virgin’s presence and goal in China. However, Virgin Atlantic has an office in China and Virgin Megastore is implanted in regions like Middle East and Europe, and will soon open stores China. Moreover, Branson plans to set up a Clean-Energy company in China. â€Å"We plan to invest quite heavily in it† he said in a recent article. He thinks China is currently making some research and trying to develop the â€Å"clean energy† business and he wants to be a part of it. Chinese government wants 15% of the energy production to come from wind or solar power by 2020, so it seems to be an interesting new business for Virgin.

Marita Golden is bringing up the idea if you read Essays

Marita Golden is bringing up the idea if you read Essays Marita Golden is bringing up the idea if you read more you will become a stronger writer. The major argument that she is creating is that if you read more in-depth readings you will enhance your writing skills which will make an individual a stronger writer. Golden talks about how readers now tend to read things like blog posts and social media posts rather than reading in-depth novels and other challenging materials. She says that this shows in her student's papers that they don't understand that the topics they are covering have already been wr itten about time and time again. I feel as though as if this interview has a lot of truth behind it. The more that I read, the better writer I become. Reading in-depth articles helps expand my vocabulary and m y knowledge on different topics. Reading also opens me up to different writing styles. This text would've been easier to understand if I had more background knowledge on Marita Golden to understand her background and why she chose to be such a strong reader. She answers this question, but her response was vague. I wish I knew more about her upbringing and how her parents raised her, and whether they put more emphasis on her white culture or black culture. Overall, the author uses personal experiences to bring attention to the fact that this generation is a group of poor writers. Their lack of reading shows in their lack of ability to write in-depth papers and other writings.

Knowledge Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Knowledge Management - Essay Example Knowledge management encompasses the creation, representation, distribution, and adoption of organizational insights and/or experiences that are highly informed by individual and/or organizational knowledge (Gloet, 2006, p.409). Essentially, knowledge management provides for individual and organizational aspects as far as knowledge is concerned. In other words, the provision to manage knowledge can be approached from an individual and/or organizational point of view. Notably, collaboration of individuals within the organizational setting constitutes the team that drives organizational performance. Therefore, both individual and organizational factors in knowledge management are vital. All the operations undertaken by an organization influences the overall performance of that organization. In this respect, the fundamental role played by knowledge and knowledge management in the process cannot be downplayed. The application of knowledge management in the organizational setting is undou btedly diverse and dynamic. Knowledge management is essentially employed across business administration, management, information systems, information sciences, and library among other key areas (Halawi, McCarthy, & Aronson, 2006, p.391). This means that the concept of knowledge management is intensive and extensive, subject to the specific area of use or application. Most importantly, individual organizations approach management of knowledge differently, resulting in differentiated strategies that foster organizational success. The application of knowledge management in the business context takes narrowed and specific aspects. This is because what works for one organization may not necessarily do so for another. Therefore, knowledge management at a business enterprise level takes an enterprise-specific approach. This is to say that the different types of knowledge management are aligned differently with the operations undertaken by an enterprise. The freedom to provide for knowledge management dynamics in the organizational setting rests with the management or leadership of the organization in question. The different types of knowledge managed by organizations or business enterprises include, but are not limited to, explicit, tacit/embodied, and embedded knowledge (Denning, 2006, p.13). All these types of knowledge are fundamental because they collaboratively enhance business performance in the organizational setting. For instance, the formalities associated with explicit knowledge allow firms to operate within streamlined procedures and business paths. Tactic knowledge allows firms to make use of the knowledge, experience, and skills possessed by its workforce. Finally, embodied knowledge makes it possible for a firm to institute a functional organizational base of operation. This process is integral of the pillars of knowledge management, namely: discovery, use, organization, and sharing (Wellman, 2009, p.158). Specific employment of knowledge management can be considered in the context of Trinidad Cement Limited (www.tcl.co.tt/about-tcl). The company primarily deals with the manufacture and sale of a number of cement products, namely: TCL Premium Portland Pozzolan Cement, Ordinary Portland Cement, and Class G, High Sulphate Resistant (HSR) Oilwell Cement (www.tcl.co.tt/about-tcl). Knowledge management in this company is broad and spread across all its organs of operation. The key organizational organs at the company encompass operation and equity structure, environmental policy, and raw materials

Civil Rights Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Civil Rights Movement - Research Paper Example While on the other hand, same words even refer to the atrocities experienced by African American while they stood up for their rights. The most disturbing picture that comes to our minds when we talk of civil rights is the mass murder of black school girls who were killed while they were participating in Sunday school and a bomb struck the 16th street Baptist Church. Such images marks the movements made by the blacks to gain their rights and the aggressive response of the whites (Mertz, 2010). Through the Civil Rights Movement is said to have initiated during the 1950s, but its origins date back to the era when first Africans migrated to US. The base of the entire Civil Rights Movement was laid down by the fight for rights conducted by the early slaved African Americans. Body History During 1619, first ever slaves were transacted to America and the slavery of the blacks continued until Civil War broke out and the 13th Amendment was passed. Even after blacks gained their freedom, they were still not educated and had little or no ownership of property and were subjected to unequal treatment especially in the Southern region where the majority of the slave used to live. To solve the scenario and to help blacks adjust with the whites, several reforms were made during the 10 years period of 1865 and 1875, this ten year period was recognized as the Reconstruction era (McGuire, 2011). One of the major measures taken the government was the 14th and the 15th Amendment which provided the African Americans with the right to vote and to be considered as equal citizens of US. Drastic moves were made, but these moves and their effect existed for a very short period of time. The white population in the South made every move to ensure that blacks do not enjoy the newly rights given to them by the government. Blacks were subjected to harassing behavior, those who harassed them includes the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). The KKK inflicted pain due to which the blacks were not able to exerc ise their newly awarded rights. The rights assigned to the blacks were already being violated and during this period, all the efforts of the blacks to gain their rights experienced a huge setback due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson case. The ruling stated that if the facilities provided to both the races are equal in nature, then the blacks and whites can divided legally (Anderson, 1986). The problem was that the black population never enjoyed equal rights and the decision of the court provided the whites with the power of being an obstacle in letting the blacks enjoy their basic rights. The power of the whites led to the creation of Jim Crow laws, according to these laws different public properties were created for the blacks and whites, these properties include: public schools, parks, restaurants and vehicles. Due to these laws and the division of public property, black Americans stood against the strategies of the government that were unequ al and unjust in nature. A very prominent figure who stood up against these acts of discrimination was W.E.B Du Bois. This figure urged the black Americans to stand up for their rights and this followed the creation of NAACP

Recruitment And Selection Essay Example for Free

Recruitment And Selection Essay 1.1 Introduction: This report is about the principles and practices involved in the process of strategic recruitment and selection at Automax ltd. Automax Ltd is in business of manufacturing auto components for a wide range of products in India, it operates more than 7 units in India The biggest challenge in Automax ltd is to find, attract and retain the talent and big challenge for employees in this organization is to find good people to work with. Human resource is not only the most important resource for any organisation but is a non replicated resource. The main aspiration of Automax Ltd is that it should be the most preferred company to work for, employees should feel belonged to the organisation and all professional goals needs to be fulfilled. The researcher will discuss the principles and practices used by them for strategic approach to strategic recruitment and selection. As we know that HR functional HR strategies deal with the core areas of HRM like recruitment and selection, performance management, pay issues, employee relations. 1.2 Strategic Recruitment: According to [ (Alan Nankervis, 2009) ]Recruitment and selection within an organisation is an integral part of that organization’s overall human resource management and planning process. It is closely related to other human resources management processes like human resource development, performance appraisal, job design, promotions and transfers, reward management. Strategic recruitment usually refers to the identification of the real  recruitment needs of the organization and fulfilling those needs. The organizational needs should be tied with the overall business needs. In strategic recruitment approach, business strategy should be linked to the recruitment strategy 1.3 Principles of Strategic recruitment : These principles are just the guidelines which helps in designing and implementing effectiverecruitment strategies. 1 .A well defined strategy: There should be a clearly defined and communicated strategy which defines the brand message, target candidates and primary sources.If the strategy is not defined ornot communicated properly it might result in wastage of resources. 2.Pipeline approach : A well defined recruitment strategy should help in building a steady and continuous pipeline of talented applicants. 3.Employment branding : 1. http://www.ere.net/2008/07/07/the-20-principles-of-strategic-recruitin 2. g/ Automax is committed to recruit individuals with appropriate skills, knowledge, expertise and experience and passion to excel in business not only on academic excellence but also on proactive approach they perform effectively. Human dignity, honesty and sincerity are the core values of the company and the recruitment and selection procedures provide mechanism to formulate for assessing and appointing the most effective and able individuals and also ensures that everyone is treated with equality and fairness. Recruitment and selection procedures are designed in such a way that they not only provide the best practise but also comply with legislation.(Sud,2007) It is believed that â€Å"The quality of an organisation can never exceed the quality of the minds that make it up.†At Allied autos it is the responsibility of Human Resource Department to ensure that recruitment procedures should be clear and concise. For example at Allied autos ltd. Strategic HR plan is prepared by the top management which includes in detail the requirement of future human resource, number and type of people required. Preparation of training programme plans so that future needs can be met from inside the company. Preparation of long term recruitment and selection plans. Plans for retaining the able and skilled manpower needs to be prepared. Increased flexibility plans should be prepared so that the company can make best use of human resource. The main aim of any recruitment and selection strategy should of sourcing the best candidate. This can be done by http://www.solgm.co.nz/NR/rdonlyres/D096BC3A-31D7-4044-9732-296D410B26F7/50553/PMFs3.pdf 1.4Resourcing Strategy at Allied Autos Ltd. According to ()HRM is about matching human resources to the strategic and operational needs of the business and it ensures full utilization of the resources. It is not only concerned with the keeping and obtaining the right number and quality of people required but is also concerned with the selecting, promoting and efficiently employing those people who fit the culture and strategic requirement of the organization. The rationale behind resourcing strategy is that the strategic capability of an organization is dependant on the resource capability in the form of people. The main aim of resourcing strategy is to ensure that competitive advantage by a firm is achieved by employing more capable people than rivals. 1.5The strategic hrm approach to resourcing HRM places more emphasis than traditional personnel management of finding people. According to Townley (1989) Organizations are concentrating more on the attitudinal and behavioural characteristics of employees. According to Armstrong,Baron(2002,pg160,161)HRM approach to resourcing is of matching resources with organizational needs does not mean maintaining the status quo rather it means radical changes in thinking about the skills and behaviour which is must for the sustainable growth and cultural change in future. The integration of business and resourcing strategy is based on the understanding of the direction in which organization is going and determination of The number of people required to meet business needs The skills and behaviour required to support this alignment. The impact of restructuring the organization. 1.6Fair Approach to recruitment and selection : There should be no discrimination, there should be incorporation of mutual respect into the recruitment and selection.Should be ethical and equal like power should be used in appropriate manner, use of skilful interview techniques, confidentiality should be maintained. 1.7Sub- sytems of recruitment and selection (Pilbeam Corbridge,2006) 1. Attraction : Suitable candidates should be attracted. 2. Reduction : Anyone unsuitable must be eliminated 3. Selection : proper, assessment, choosing and appointing. 4. Transition: conversion of successful candidate into an effective employee. It should be noted that the involvement of line managers is of crucial importance, it is true that the best laid plans will fails if line managers are not convinced that it is important for the company. 1.8 At allied auto different phases of recruitment 1. Applications are generated by persuading the people to apply. 2. After the applications are received suitable candidates are encouraged to stay until the completion of selection process. 3. Offering of job to suitable candidate sometimes it happens that the same candidate is selected by the 2 different companies than HR department takes every possible step to encourage that candidate to join them. 1.9 Approaches to recruitment and selection: Competency Approach: Torrington et al(2008,pg170). it is concerned with the behaviour that is relevant rather than the competent performance. These models are popular in graduate recruitment where decisions are made about future recruitments. This kind of approach is suitable in service organizations like banks. A Contingency approach: According to [ (french, 2010) ]the underlying principle that organizational policies and practices need to be shaped within a particular context. For example different culture emphasise different attributes when approaching the recruitment and selection of the employees. It is true to a great extent for example if the company is operating across many countries than it needs to recruit the people according to the culture of that place specially the low level staff like KFC is operating across many countries and is recruiting the  operational staff from that culture as it helps them to understand its customers better and make profits but say if for UK branch it recruits outside the culture that its recruitment costs will increase. Traditional Approach: It means getting the right people, it involves a sequence of steps like defining the ideal candidate. Defining the criteria in such a way that there is fit between the job and person like Job description and person specification. This approach was criticised on the grounds that it assumes that there is only one best way to perform a job, resulted in unfair discrimination, one way job. 1.10 Strategic recruitment and selection : It sees human resource as an investment for future, use of sophisticated methods of selection, involvement of stakeholders. On the other hand it is an improvement over the traditional method in a way that it aims at development of people, more reliable, switching from company needs to current market demands. 1.11 Staged approach is the best approach for allied autos as it is into manufacturing of auto components: Recruitment and selection advocates viewing the process as sequential with distinct and inter-linked stages. The model is referred to as the resourcing cycle and it begins with the identification of a vacancy and ends when the successful candidate is performing the job to an acceptable standard. This in turn is a two way process in which organisations evaluate the candidate and the candidate in turn observes the organisation as a prospective employer. This process helps to ensure that not only the best candidate is attracted to apply and accepts the post but also the unsuccessful candidate respects the decision and apply for future vacancies. The first and most important questions to be answered before recruitment are :- 1.Determining a vacancy ? If yes does it needs to be filled in by a newly recruited employee ? It is to be noted that there is not only one way of filling the g ap but there are different way in which the gap can be filled . Recruiting a new employee must be with the dealt in careful manner during recession. For example at allied auto when a new vacancy occurs HR department normally does not recruits new employee immediately, as first step the concerned department where the vacancy occurred try some of the options like reorganise the work, use of overtime, use of an agency. 2. Attracting Candidates: [ (Armstrong, 2009) ]The most  important step in attracting candidates is to analyse the recruitment strength and weaknesses of the organization. For example previously when allied auto was choosing among the wide selection of candidates is becoming a thing of past. As we know employees are developing their marketability and knowledge-based skills, allied auto is competing to find the best candidate as its image seems to be less attractive to candidates. Allied autos recognised that recruitment process of the company should be made as powerful an incentive to candidates to join as generous pay and condition. For example Former director of human resource system and personnel relations at CGU, David Hope believes that the interview process should be put together with a firm of business psychologists, it will help graduates to understand the brand, culture and company’s commitment to graduate recruitment. Allied autos soon realised that if the recruitment and selection process is well designed it can definitely be an indicator of the future performance and will attract the good candidates, if the candidates can see that there is a positive link between the recruitment process and the job they will be positive about the company. 3.Recruitment Advert: The most widely used method to attract applicants is the recruitment advert. The most effective advert are those that are eye catching and provide sufficient details to attract interest, use of telephone numbers or contact details for informal enquiries will have an important effect on candidates perception of the job and will be encouraging. For example advert of allied autos. 4.Measuring Candidates: CV or application form : it is a document prepared by the individual as a part of the application which includes the details as to education, employment history and other relevant information. In any advert details related to how to apply should be included like whether to send the CV or to fill in a standard application form. Processing application: After the advert the next step is handling applications and processing them. It should be decide in advance internally in the organization as to how these applications needs to be handled. At allied autos standard acknowledgment is sent to all the applicants and then applications are compared and sorted with the key criteria in persons  specification in 3 categories suitable, provisional and unsuitable. Standard letter is sent to the shortlisted candidates for interview and if any of them have not filled in the application form before. 5.Selection: One of the last stage in recruitment and selection is the selection itself. It includes the choice of methods by which a short-listed group is reduced by the employer following the recruitment stage and thus it leads to an employment decision. [ (french, 2010) ].In allied autos relative merits of the shortlisted candidates are assessed against the job description and person specification which explore their skills , experience and knowledge which establish the most suitable candidate for the job. After that the interviews arranged with the respective department and is ensured that they are structured, well prepared and focused. Not more than 5 candidates are interviewed and all the interviews are held the same day. Some jobs involves practical tests and presentations, at allied autos practical tests are taken on the day of the interview and this is informed to the candidates in advance. References are taken for all shortlisted candidates prior to the interviews and are taken in writing and then these references are passed on to HR department for the successful candidates. The successful candidates are given the appointment letter and this is forwarded to the HR department as it is the HR department which will issue the formal offer letter. 1.12Talent Management and Development Techniques: According to (Banfield and Kay,2008) The successful attracting and recruiting of new talent means that the needs of both the organisation and individual tend to match. Ultimate aim of the organisation should be to develop and maintain this pool of talented people by making use of different elements like attraction and retention programmes, roles design, talent management relationship, performance management, career management. At allied autos it is believed that the key to success is sustained focus on technology, systems and human resource. Training needs are identified periodically and all new recruits are trained in technical training centre on pressing machines and other technical fields. Competencies can be used to develop self assessment and encourages  feedback for enhancing improvement and aligning employee goals with business objectives. The need for employees at all levels to be involved in ongoing development of new skills, exposure to new experiences and learning to learn is apparent. Strategic Human Resource Management Page 226 Google Books Result books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0415099897 Olive Lundy, Alan G. Cowling 1996 Business Economics THE SELECTION PROCESS The ultimate effectiveness of strategically selecting Selection principles Human resource selection is a process of measurement, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2Kg9AAAAIAAJpg=PA226lpg=PA226dq=principles+of++strategic+selection+in+hrmsource=blots=zWSI2-Xzi7sig=7L-Zd675CI2AYhMYaYIMFL65PVEhl=ensa=Xei=UyngULa_MO3L0AXMyIG4Dgved=0CFcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepageq=principles%20of%20%20strategic%20selection%20in%20hrmf=false 2.1 Strategic Performance Mangement: â€Å"Strategic performance management encompasses methodologies, frameworks and indicators that help organizations in the formulation of their strategy and enable employees to gain strategic insights which allow them to challenge strategic assumptions, refine strategic thinking and inform strategic decision making and learning.†-Bernard Marr Different tools used for strategic performance management are 1. Mangement by objectives 2. Balanced scorecard 3. Hoshni Kanri 4. Value based management 5. Result oriented management 6. Performance prism Principles of strategic performance management 1.Be honest and open 2. make goals interesting, challenging and engaging 3.build on strengths more than correcting weaknesses Performance management is a broader term, it includes Performance management systems Monitoring and evaluation Performance management in context Measuring performance 2.2Models of Performance Management 1. Balanced Score card : Balanced scored card is a tool used for strategic performance management. This model was developed by Kaplan and Norton in 1960’s.This is used as a tool by the managers to keep track of and to monitor to the activities of the staff within their control. The main advantage of this method is that it is a mixture of both the financial and non financial measures compared to a target within a single concise report. It alerts the areas to the manager where performance deviates from expectations. To many organisations it is positioned as a holistic performance measure as it provides information relating to financial, internal processes, customer perceptions and internal growth and learning. Now increasingly it has been associated with strategy implementation. 2. The EFQM Business Excellence Model: This model was developed by European foundation for quality management for long term sustainability of the strategic objectives. According to EFQM(1999) it is defined as the outstanding practice in managing and achieving results. This model helps the organizations to maintain a balance between the stakeholders and incorporates financial and also an indicator of the future financial performance. It helps the business in identifying the threats and opportunities for improvement against strategic goals, this is used as a basis of self assessment. The main drawback of this modelis it is not standard model and it does not tell how to fill the gaps although it provides a valuable feedback. 2.3Performance management systems : According to (Bevan and Thompson,1992) PMS should communicate the objectives of the organisation to all employees. Departmental and individual performance targets should be related to the organisation objective. Identification of training and development and reward outcomes. Evaluation of the  effectiveness of the process as a whole. 2.4Objectives of performance management at Allied autos 1. Improvement of organizational and individual performance 2. Alignment of individual and organisational objectives 3. performance pay decisions 4. helps in personal development of employees. Reducing poor performance and increasing organizational performance are the main priorities of performance and development function at allied autos. For considering the management of performance issues in the organization it is possible to identify two different reference frames which are associated with the use of term performance management. According to Taylor(2005) these are known as two perspectives on Performance management. Standard Oriented: It is measured at the individual level, focus on improving poor performance, concerned with slippage below expected expectations, Use of formal appraisal systems , incentive based payments and disciplinary procedures ,transactional leadership. Excellence Oriented: It is measured at the organizational level, focuses on enhancing strong performance, concerned with continuous improvement, Use of enhancing job satisfaction, coaching techniques, transformational leadership. In allied autos both perspectives co-exist, it is very difficult to manage both of them together but it is fact that individual performance will lead to organizational performance as it is the individuals who make up the organization. HR department sets the rules and these were written in the policy for example(lateness, absence etc) and these are acceptable by all. Individual performances are measured by the department head or immediate supervisor and if there are deviations then standards are set for those particular workers to improve their performance. On the other hand if we look at excellence oriented approach although it sounds good but if we see the practical aspect of it, does not clearly indicate as to what is the satisfactory level of performance and its main focus is on continuous improvement, it mainly motivates, maximises level of commitment and job satisfaction among the staff. For example at Allied autos this is always the problem, in the manufacturing plant, the performance of production people is always measured on the basis of quantity produced by them and it ignores the quality. If we  look at it practically this kind of data is not correct as it will not provide the accurate results when evaluating the performance. 2.5 Behaviour-Oriented Approach: It has been argued that outcome approach does not provide the proper assessment of individual performance. So, it is argued that behaviour needs to be assessed as much as behaviour. There was an argument that not only the achievements are important but the processes by which they are achieved are also important. It only focuses on what individuals do and remove other environmental factors and the other inputs. Employee behaviour is less readily measured then the criteria used in other approaches. The main methods used are direct observation, the report of others watching them for example peers. Approached used rating scale, critical incidents and reactive approaches. 2.6 Principles of measurement at allied autos. Performance is measured according to the needs of customer, both internal and external, what is considered important by the customer is measured. Strategic plan is prepared which indicates what is to be measured and translating of customer needs to strategic priorities. All the departments are supplied with measured results of the key strategic areas for further improvement by motivating them. 2.7 Classification of measures Performance Appraisal According to Jeanne Murphy, Growth strategists and president of strategic solutions. â€Å" If you can’t measure a goal, then don’t set the goal,† performance should be measured on objective basis. According to Kane(1996),Taylor(2005),measures are classified as 1. Productivity measures: At allied autos sometimes for the casual workers who are actually working in the plant( manufacturing unit)producing spare parts their performance is measured according to the units produced by them, the more the numbers produced the better is the performance. The main drawback with this measure of performance is that it ignores the quality of the output as sometimes there may be some rejections at the customer end or when it goes for quality check. 2. Quality Measures : This involves assessing the individual on the basis of quality of service delivered by him. For example at allied autos in order to measure the performance of staff who is working in the head office or customer care department. The performance is measured  on the basis of customer satisfaction, absenteeism, poor quality work and motivation. It can be internal customer like different departments or external customer to whom the final goods or services are supplied, this kind of performance measurement many a times fails to give accurate results specially when it is converted into quantifiable terms. This assessment method is mostly used in service industry like hospitals, banks etc. 3. Objectives set and Met: This involves assessing the individuals or teams on the basis of objectives set by the top management or the immediate manager or supervisor. As the name indicates performance is measured on the basis of how far the objectives met the criteria defined, are they below satisfaction or objectives or above the satisfaction. To some extent this method is reliable but if say some have some personal bias with the sub ordinate than the boss or the supervisor will not give accurate results. 2.8 Criteria for performance measures-appraisals At allied autos performance measures are set in accordance with the strategic goals: like for example different targets are set for each department and division. Main focus is on both quality and quantity of outputs that can be measured and accomplished. Performance measures at allied autos are based on evidences. Measures that can be verified are taken into consideration. Performance measures at allied are set in such a manner that they help in providing sound feedback and action. Performance measures are comprehensive in respect that they cover almost every area. In order to be achievable measurable targets must be set by expressing the individual requirements. for example : For output : According to (Bratton and Gold,2003)Targets should be clearly defined and should be measurable. Proper defining of the objectives so that an individual should know what is expected, it is the responsibility of the organization to ensure that everyone must understand what is required of them. It is said that objectives should be SMART S-Specific; M-Measurable ; A-Agreed; R-Realistic ; T-Timely Job Related: Job descriptions should be in writing indicating the broad roles and responsibilities. Competencies of the individual or team should be defined in advance. If there are any descrepencies which are normally expected as a result of human nature, it should be the responsibility of the top management to take necessary steps to remove them and use certain strategies to improve performance. 2.8 Strategies used at allied autos for improving performance. 1. Negotiation: At allied autos if it is observed that the performance of any worker is not upto the standard then he is called in by the immediate line manager or supervisor for the discussion to know the reason of detoriation in the performance level sometimes there is some personal problem which results in falling down of performance. 2. Grievance procedure: At allied autos there is proper grievance procedure handling system, grievance booklet is kept in the plant for recording grievances on daily basis. At the end of the day this register is checked by the HR manager and corrective actions are taken. 3. Reward: To motivate the employees and to improve production different reward schemes are in function at allied autos like suggestion reward, attendance reward, long term service reward etc. 4. Improvement in the working environment: Allied auto is taking all the necessary steps to improve the working environment for the workers like previously there was no cooling system in the plant and due to extreme hot weather workers were not able to give their 100% and they started feeling tired quickly, now a new cooling system has been installed in plant with which not only workers are happy but the output has also increased, canteen was renovated, water filtering system was installed keeping in my mind the health and safety of staff. All this have resulted in improved efficiency and low turnover rates. 2.9 Pay Performance Issues The most important factor to be considered in order to improve performance is the Pay issues. Pay should be linked to performance not to time as it is unrealistic and does not motivate the workers. Pay structures should be designed in such a way that they bring in flexibility and multi skilling. Pay should be market driven there should not be any biases. It should be noted that if pay is performance based then it will definitely  help in improving performance. Should be based on performance appraisals and these appraisals should be fair. Some companies now a day’s use 360 degree appraisal: which means feedback is obtained from everyone like peers, superiors, subordinates and then the performance is measured. There should be transparency in pay differentials, there should be equal pay for equal work. According to (CIPD,2012)Performance management is a holistic process as it bring together many of the elements that make up the successful practice of managing people including learning and development. 3.10 Conclusion : It is to be concluded that allied autos has started realising that their employees are their strength and every possible action has been taken and strategies developed not only to recruit the best talent but also to retain them by making use of different development techniques like performance management, career development, performance measure. It is of great importance that strategic principles and practices used in recruitment and selection will have an effect on performance management so recruitment and selection should be done in a sophisticated manner and must be aligned with the business strategy. 3.1References : Armstrong,M.(2009),Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management.11th ed. London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page Ltd. Armtrong,M. and Baron,A.(2002),Strategic HRM. London: CIPD Banfield, P.and Kay,R.(2008),Introduction to Human Resource Management.1st ed.New York: Oxford Printing Press Bratton,J. and Gold,J.(2003),Human Resource Management Theory and Practice.3rd ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Google,books.(2012),People Resourcing. Taylor,S. Available from http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6f-Yk35qMqcCpg=PA268lpg=PA268dq=perspectives+of+performance+management+by+taylorsource=blots=Elonir4KyPsig=5Ia4pJD8eyY8kEDyxI6692PjM-4hl=ensa=Xei=0VicT5T0K4Ke0QXArf2DDwved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=perspectives%20of%20performance%20management%20by%20taylorf=false[Electronically accessed 28th April 2012] Rees,G.and French,R.(2010),Leading,Managing and Developing

Marketing Environment Audit Of Wh Smith Marketing Essay

Marketing Environment Audit Of Wh Smith Marketing Essay Executive Summary The objective of this report is to conduct a marketing audit and appraise some of the processes, models and techniques used. This will include an evaluation of the actual external marketing environment in which an analysis of Porters Five Forces will be conducted to identify ways forward for WH Smith to stay competitive in the retail environment. P.E.S.T. analysis will be undertaken to identify the opportunities and threats facing WH Smith and an assessment of the actual internal marketing environment will be conducted in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses affecting WH Smith. This report found the relevant information from a variety of different sources including academic text books, case study texts, and various web sites including newspaper articles, the national statistics web sites, WH Smith annual reports and Datamonitor reports. Based on analysis from Porter Five Forces and P.E.S.T. the report found WH Smith lacking in the areas of expansion outside of the UK market in both the travel and high street divisions, WH Smith online store needs to be updated and more media needs to be added also the digital music download industry is worth looking into for future growth of the company along with the development of the already existing eBook website. And promotion and advertising is needed across all divisions and areas of the WH Smith. Introduction Background WH Smith is one of the leading retail groups in the UK. Its engaged in the retailing of newspapers, magazines, stationery, books and entertainment products. The company operates 565 high street stores and 490 travel outlets located at high streets, airports, train stations, hospitals work-place motorway service areas across the UK (WHSmithplc, 2008; Datamonitor, 2008). Key facts about WH Smith: WH Smith employs over 17,000 people. Every year 70% of the UKs population visit a WH Smith store On average, over 1.2 million people visit a WH Smith High Street store every day of the year WH Smith operates two divisions: High street and Travel. Every year 125 million travellers pass WH Smiths busiest Travel store at Londons Victoria Station WH Smith sells 1.5 million magazines every week; 24,000 magazines every hour they are open WH Smith sells in excess of 40 million books yearly On average, WH Smith sell 3,000 A4 pads daily End to end the sales of WH Smiths 3 best selling rulers would stretch from London to Spain (WHSmithplc, 2008; Datamonitor, 2008; Network Rail). Terms of Reference The aim of this report is to undertake a marketing audit appraise some of the processes, models techniques used for auditing the marketing environment. This is conducted thru evaluation of the external marketing environment assessing the actual internal marketing environment for WH Smith. From this the potential impact will be assessed to identify its impact on WH Smiths marketing planning marketing mix. The report will finish with a conclusion and recommendations will be made as regards the company going forward. Main Findings Kotler (2000, p. 708) states a marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, periodic examination of a companys-or business units marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view to determining problem areas, opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the companys marketing performance. An audit should be conducted on a regular basis, thoroughly and be well organised (CIM, 2002). An audit is undertaken so a company can identify its standing in the marketplace and involves an internal and external environmental analysis. Internal environment analysis: It is imperative for an organisation to regularly asses their marketing, financial, manufacturing and organisational competencies to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of each factor (Kotler, 2000). Models used in this analysis: Value Chain Analysis PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy) GAP Analysis Portfolio Analysis PLC (Product Life Cycle) Innovation Audit NDP (New Development Process) Experience Curves External Environment Analysis Theory: This analyses the micro and macro environments of the organisations which will lead to identifying the opportunities and threats facing the firm. Micro Environment: Factors closest to the organisation (customers, competitors, distributors, suppliers), these can have a considerable impact on the firms performance within the marketplace; the firm has no direct control over these factors but can have some influence (Businessdictionary, 2009). There are four techniques used in analysing the micro environment: Market analysis: Netmba (2007) states The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market and to understand its evolving opportunities and threats as they relate to the strengths and weaknesses of the firm. Customer analysis: Identifying and understanding the needs and wants of your customers, exploring new trends for growth and expansion of the organisation (wmep, 2008). Competitor analysis: Entrepreneur (2009) describes competitor analysis as identifying your competitors and evaluating their strategies to determine their strengths and weaknesses relative to those of your own product or service Industry analysis: Industry analysis involves reviewing the economic, political and market factors that influence the way the industry develops. Major factors can include the power wielded by suppliers and buyers, condition of competitors, and the likelihood of new market entrants (Businessdictionary, 2009). A useful model that can be used when carrying out the internal analysis is Porters Five Forces: Porters Five Forces Model To quote from Hooley et al (2008, p 73) Porter (1980) suggests that five main forces shape competition at the level of strategic business units and that a systematic analysis of each in turn can help managers identify the key to competitiveness in their particular industry Competitive rivalry: Venturenavigator (2009) describes this as the intensity of competition between existing organisations in an industry. E.g. price, quality, and innovation. Threat of new entrants: Mallon (2005) suggests the risk of new entrants is based on the industrys barrier to entry, e.g. of brand capital costs, access to technology or requirements to obtain licenses. Substitutes: A substitute product is a product that replaces the need for your product altogether, e.g., Timber framed houses being replaced with steel frames (Whatmakesagoodleader, 2009). Supplier power: Buyer power looks at the relative power a companys customers has over it, size plays a factor, if the company is much larger than its suppliers, and purchases in large quantities, then the supplier will have very little power to negotiate. i.e. Tescos buying in huge amounts leads to suppliers having no power (Mallon, 2005). Buyer power: Customers can exert their power to shop around and demand lower prices; this creates price wars with companies which lead to reduced prices (Smit, 2006) also large businesses that purchase huge quantities from suppliers have greater buyer power and can demand lower prices; smaller firms do not have the same bargaining powers (Mallon, 2005). Macro Environment: Opportunities threats occur here, they are uncontrollable short-term factors that affect the organisation as well as everybody within society, and the organisation has no control or influence over these factors (CIM, 2002). In order to identify opportunities threats a PEST analysis must be conducted; this looks at four external factors affecting the firm: PEST Analysis Political: Political factors hold alot of weight over the regulation of a company e.g. consumer competition laws. Economical: The state of a countrys economy is central when deciding on business trading e.g. interest rates and inflation. Social: Social and cultural influences change from each country and must be measured e.g. changing trends, education, health system and ethnicity Technological: Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization (Marketingteacher, 2010). SWOT Analysis: Hooley el al (2008 p42) states a SWOT seeks to identify the most significant factors, both internal and external, affecting the organisations and its markets. It provides a quick executive summary of the key issues. Secondly, however, by looking at where the strengths and weaknesses align with opportunities and threats it can help strategy formulation. The organisation can begin to see where its strengths might be best deployed, offensively and defensively, as well as where its weaknesses leave it vulnerable to change or competitor action. Porters Five Forces Analysis This analyse will report on the industry as a whole and identify ways forward for WH Smith to stay competitive in the retail environment. Buyer power High Having such a large operation gives WH Smith huge bargaining powers to negotiate terms without the risk of losing suppliers as switching costs are low and this makes industries highly competitive in reducing prices to win contracts with companies such as WH Smith (Datamonitor, 2009). Supplier power Low Supplier power becomes reduced for industries such as books, cards, stationery and entertainment because of the large number of companies within these industries that can supply WH Smith, also switching costs is relatively low (Datamonitor, 2009). Threat of new entrants High The rivalry from established competitors such as WH Smith discourages new entrants into the market but because the industry does not involve huge investment this encourages other businesses to start up (Datamonitor, 2009). Substitutes High eBooks threaten the traditional form of books but are a relatively new idea and currently not as popular as the traditional book concept, the reading devices are expensive which can turn customers off initial purchases, but WH Smith has adapted to this idea with the introduction of http://ebooks.whsmith.co.uk in October 2001 (Encyclopedia, 2002) another substitute to WH Smith is the increasing sales of second-hand books on sites such as Amazon and eBay. Competitive rivalry High WHSmithplc (2008) states large customer such as Tescos sell almost everything that WH Smith but at a reduced price such as cutting the prices of CDs to under  £10 damaging WH Smiths market share (Cope, 2003), all the while giving its customers the opportunity to carry out their grocery shopping at the same time. Consumers are looking for more value for money and it seems consumers are swapping trips to the high street in favour of a spin around a virtual store (Rigby, 2006), online retailers as Amazon give customers easy access to products online while facilitating easy access to compare prices and get more value for money. WH Smith needs to offer reduction and offers to match retailers such as Tescos and build on their web site. P.E.S.T Analysis Political: National minimum wage increase Threat The Office for National Statistics show that in October 2009 an increase from  £5.73 an hour to  £5.80 for adults was awarded with 18-21 year olds increased from  £4.77 to  £4.83. The majority of WH Smith employees would have benefited from this increase but WH Smith will be at a disadvantage with higher over heads being the main issue at a time when the economy is on a downturn (Hopkins, 2009). VAT increase in 2010 Threat Hopkins (2010) states the VAT increase of 2010 is another hit to WH Smiths profit margins as it increases from 15% to 17.5% in January, as this is necessary to bring stability to the UK economy it is also putting the company at a disadvantage, WH Smith high street stores have already seen a drop in sales over 2009 due to the economic downturn in the UK, this shows expansion is needed into other countries to avoid such risks throughout the company but as the WH Smith annual report shows there are no new plans to expand the high street division (WHSmithplc, 2009). Terrorist attacks Threat WH Smithplc (2009) states The spread of a deadly disease, an act of terrorism or war could decrease the number of customers visiting WHSmith outlets. The Travel division of WH Smith was particularly affected by such events on 11th September 2001 (New York City) and 7th July 2005 (London), which saw decreased amounts of commuters using airports and public transport which lead to a drop in sales (WHSmithplc, 2009). Due to the United Kingdoms involvement in the current war in Afghanistan WH Smiths Travel and high street divisions will be devastated by every terrorist attack in the UK for the foreseeable future due to their locations. Economical: Economic recession Threat The office of national statistics shows that the UK contracted by.02% in the third quarter of 2009 and remains 5.1% lower than the third quarter of 2008; however there is an increase in activity from the second quarter of 2009 showing the economy is slowly starting to recover. WH Smith (2009) Annual report shows high street division recorded a loss in sales of 2.3% over 2007 another loss of 5% over 2008, along with the closures of book outlets such as Borders and Woolworths this increase in the economy is good news for WH Smith in 2010. Interest rates Threat Interest rates were left unchanged at 0.5 per cent by the Bank of England today, as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) continued its policy of keeping the price of money at record lows to stimulate the flagging economy (Sabbagh, 2010). Ian McCafferty, the chief economic adviser at the CBI, states the unchanged interest rate is unsurprising due to the fact that recovery in the UK is likely to be slow and drawn out, similar to that following the 1980s recession with sub-par growth continuing into 2011. This hold on rates will promote consumer spending but is still a threat to WH Smith as this is not a permanent hold on rates and can be increased. Unemployment Threat The office of national statistics identifies that as of 16th December 2009 the unemployment rating stood at 7.9% which was relatively unchanged from the previous quarter and has risen 1.9% on the same quarter in 2008, this stands at one of the smallest increases in unemployment since spring 2008 giving hope that the economy is back on track, with more people in employment it will promote consumer morale and more spending which will lead to increased profits for WH Smith. Social: Increase in the travel industry Opportunity A survey conducted by Travelzoo showed that over half of the UK respondents said they had plans to travel more in 2010, 66% of UK respondents are hoping to take one or two holidays and 31% are thinking about more than three trips. This shows the importance of holiday to UK residents as 25% will give up nights out, 22% will give up house improvements and 52% will get rid of luxury goods in order to be able to travel in 2010 (news.holidayhypermarket, 2009). With more people that ever travelling in 2010 it shows the travel industry is back on track and will promote increased profits for WH Smith in 2010. Acquisitions and partnerships Opportunity WHSmithplc (2009) shows acquisitions of Leeds-based UNS with 71 retail units, 8 Caffee Nuovo coffee shops in 62 hospitals and 23 airport units from Alpha Retail UK Limited also a franchise deal with Road Chef was also confirmed in 2008 (Hasell, 2008). 2010 will see six units opening in Delhi airports giving WH Smith a good share of the Indian market and shows the division is set on further international expansion outside of the UK. An alliance with Penguin in which Smiths will stock only Penguins overseas guides in the majority of its travel stores in airports, and rail and bus stations to the exclusion of all rival brands titles is another step forward in a time of retailing giants like Tescos taking over the book industry WH Smith has taken steps to ensure its competitiveness in the marketplace as discounts from suppliers ensures lower prices for end users (Freedman, 2009). High street benefited from the closure of the Woolworth stores in 2008 with WH Smith looking to have control of ten of the Woolworths stores before the end of 2009 (Felsted Lemer, 2009), this is another step forward for the UK market but having only two stores outside of the UK shows high street needs to be more active in foreign expansion. Technological: On-line sales Opportunity Whsmith.co.uk was launched in May 1999 with the intention of winning a third stake of the online book-market within three years but problems identified in customer service, lack of products available and poor promotion the site is losing customers to bigger competitors such as Amazon, the same can be said of the entertainment and eBook sites WH Smith operates (news.bbc, 1999). The economic recession is making more people price sensitive and so many more consumers are searching the internet in the hopes of better deals and a bigger range of products, as Rigby (2006) states Shoppers, it seems, are swapping trips to the high street in favour of a spin around a virtual store. Investment, promotion and management into the online stores would yield endless profits for the company. Digital music and eBooks Opportunity Encyclopedia (2002) shows WH Smith has made advancements into the eBook industry starting with the launch of http://ebooks.whsmith.co.uk in October 2001, but as with whsmith.co.uk the eBook site is lacking in promotion and available products on the web compared to Waterstones who identify eBooks as being a big part of their business and a fast growing part of the book industry over the past twelve months (Allen, 2009), also digital music is an area WH Smith has no investment in but should be taking steps to invest in as more customers are turning to digital music rather than purchasing CDs as Garrahan (2009) states Physical album sales have fallen sharply as music retailing has evolved from CD album purchases in retail outlets to digital downloads of songs from online stores. According to research the author defines the strengths and weaknesses as follows: Strengths: Widely recognised brand in the UK WH Smiths (2009) states their business model is based on their widely recognised and respected brand which has been part of the UK economy for the past 217 years, Datamonitor (2009) states The Companys brand is an important asset and strongly appeals to the customer, thereby positively affecting the companys business an example of this would be 70% of the UK population visit a WH Smith store every year (WHSmithplc, 2009). Wide retailing operation in the UK Travel operates 490units: 135 are in airports, 114 in railway stations, 118 in motorway service area, 95 in hospitals and 19 in locations such as bus stations and workplaces, nine units are in four non-UK locations, in Paris, Shannon, Copenhagen and Stockholm (WHSmithplc, 2009). High street operates in 565 High Street stores located in almost all of the UKs major high streets (WHSmithplc, 2009), it benefited recently with the closure of Woolworths and is taking the appropriate steps to expand its presence with plans to take over ten of the Woolworths sites as stated by Felsted Lemer (2009) and the recent collapse of the 45 stores Borders book chain occupied in the UK was another opportunity for expansion of the high-street stores which WH Smith decline to invest in, WH Smith had initially shown interest in a deal but then pulled out of talks (Marlow, 2009). The company has show to be a strong competitor in the UK market but more focus is needed in expansion into foreign markets as competitors such as Amazon have done. Strong performing travel division 2009 showed profits of 17% to  £48million and 8% profit growth, the division operates from 490 units (2008: 449 units), 135 are in airports, 114 in railway stations, 118 in motorway service area, 95 in hospitals and 19 in locations such as bus stations and workplaces, nine units are in four non-UK locations, in Paris, Shannon, Copenhagen and Stockholm and these units have shown to perform higher in rush hour than some lower performing high street stores (WHSmithplc, 2009). 2010 will see six units opening in Delhi airports which will give WH Smith a good share of the Indian market and shows the strength of the travel division, its stability in an economy downturn and shows the division making the necessary steps for foreign expansion (Hall, 2009). Weaknesses: Geographic concentration: Datamonitor (2009) identifies high street as having two locations outside the UK: Paris and Belfast with travel operating nine units in four non-UK locations Paris, Shannon, Copenhagen and Stockholm with six more to be opened in Delhi airports in 2010 (Hall, 2009) . WH Smith is open to many negative environmental factors having all of its operations in Europe, one such factor is the current economic recession that resulted in a 2.3% loss in sales over 2007 and another 5% loss over 2008 for the high street stores. Competitors like Amazon have operations in Canada, Japan, UK, China, France, Germany and the US; also Borders operate in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (Borders, 2010; Amazon, 2010). As Travel is taking steps for foreign expansion high street has no plans for expansion as WHSmithplc (2009) points out The High Street plan remains unchanged thus making the company vulnerable to adverse market conditions in the region and puts it at a competitive disadvantage over global retail giants (Datamonitor, 2009). SWOT Analysis Strengths Widely recognised brand in the UK Wide retailing operations in the UK Strong performing travel division Weaknesses Geographic concentration Opportunities Increase in the travel industry On-line sales Digital music and eBooks Acquisition and partnerships Threats National minimum wage increase VAT increase in 2010 Terrorist attacks Economic recession Interest rates Unemployment Marketing mix: Product WH Smith offers a wide variety of Books, Stationary, Gifts and Cards, Magazines, DVD, DVD formats, UMD formats, Blue-ray and HD DVD, Music, Games, eBooks, PC and Electronics in the high street and travel division. WH Smith needs to invest heavily in digital media; along with eBooks focus must be put on investment in digital music as this market shows huge growth with ITunes being the market leader. Price Due to the increased amount of competition entering the market WH Smith needs to adjust its pricing structure in line with its competitors to ensure customers feel they are getting value for money thus increasing its market share, as customers become more price sensitive and shop around for better deals online and high street. Agreeing partnerships as the travel division has done with Penguin is an example, this ensures a reduced prices for the customer at the till as it reduces supplier costs, and this in turn increases competitiveness with such rivals as Tescos and Amazon. Place WH Smith high street has 564 stores present in almost all of the major high streets within the UK and travel has 481 units in airports, hospitals, motor service, bus and train stations within the UK, the UK market works well for WH Smith but it now needs to focus on foreign markets. Travel occupies nine travel units in Paris, Shannon, Copenhagen and Stockholm, the recent plan to open six units in Delhi airports in 2010 is such a way forward but more expansion into other countries is needed to stay competitive. High street offer two stores outside of the UK in Paris and Belfast with no plans to expand further in 2010, while competitors such as Amazon and Borders have a presence worldwide WH Smith needs to expand to stay competitive with such companies. WH Smith online has a weak presence, a huge amount of investment in promoting and managing the site is required. It has been shown that more people are moving to the internet for day to day purchases, research on products and value for money, if WH smith is not seen to be offering these to consumers they will move to competitors such as Amazon. Promotion Advertising offered by WH Smith is poor for all divisions as this has an impact on sales, more focus needs to be put into the advertising and promotion of both divisions, i.e. TV, radio, internet, ideas such as sponsoring Universities/teams as students would cover a big part of WH Smiths customers, reduction in prices would also be classed as advertising, cutting prices below competitors and this would also lead to customer passing on the information thru word of mouth. Marketing planning (strategic tactical planning): Businessdictionary (2010) states Tactical planning is Systematic determination and scheduling of immediate or short-term activities required in achieving the objectives of strategic planning, while Strategic planning is a business process that many companies employ to identify their critical success factors that set the course for future growth and profits (Gaw, 2009). Tactical planning as relates to WH Smith includes short term plans including pricing structures, discounts, and loyalty cards. Strategic planning is more focused on long term goals such as expansion into new markets such as the move into India with six travel units opening up also developments in industries such as digital music downloads needs to be a main focus of WH Smith going forward as the world is moving into the digital age. Conclusion The report found WH Smith to possess a huge market-share within the UK, but lacking in the areas of expansion outside of the UK compared to other competitors such as Amazon and Borders which leaves it vulnerable to negative effects on the economy such as the current economic recession. Also retailers as Tescos and Asda can offer drop down prices of mostly all products WH Smith sells included in a customers weekly grocery shopping which heightens competition for WH Smith with these retailers WH Smiths attempts into the digital era is lacking, the companies websites (entertainment, eBook, whsmith.co.uk) were found to be in need of attention is areas such as customer service, products available and promotion as customers are not satisfied with the current system. Also the digital music industry was found to be a growing market and it would be in WH Smiths interest to invest in this area. Recommendations The report finds that the WH Smith needs to be more active in promoting the company outside of the UK, competitors such as Amazon and Borders have done this successfully, expansion into other countries reduces the chance of being affected by economic factors such as the economic recession in the UK which has had negative effects on WH Smith high street division with a reduction in sales over 2007 and 2008. WH Smith on-line needs vigorous investment in all online stores, customer service, availability of products and promotion are the main issues to start with. Amazon has a great online presence as it markets its site very well, targeting its customers with items relating to previous purchases, this is a good idea for WH Smith to work on. Investment in digital music downloads is advised as this market has shown to be growing rapidly with ITunes as market leader. More partnerships like Penguin need to be agreed in both divisions, thus reducing supplier costs which can be passed onto customers; this will help with competition from Tescos and Asda. Reference/Bibliography Allen, K (2009), E-readers turn heavy textbooks into a light read just like Dan Browns latest, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/sep/10/sony-readers-boost-ebook-market (date accessed: 12/01/2010) Amazon, (1996-2010), http://www.amazon.co.uk/ (date accessed: 06/01/2010) Bintliff, E, (2009), Borders UK goes into administration, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87e1fc72-dac1-11de-933d-00144feabdc0.html (date accessed: 07/01/2010) Borders, (2010), Borders stores around the world, http://www.borders.com/online/store/InternationalStoresView (date accessed: 06/01/2010) Businessdictionary, (2009), Micro environment, www.businessdictionary.com/definition/microenvironment.html (date accessed: 25/11/2009) Businessdictionary, (2009), Industry analysis, www.businessdictionary.com/definition/industry-analysis.html (date accessed: 25/11/2009) Businessdictionary.com (2010), Tactical Planning, http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/tactical-planning.html (date accessed: 10/10/2010) CIM (2002), Marketing environment stage 1, London, BPP Publishing limited Computergram, (1998), WH SMITH BUYS EUROPES BIGGEST ONLINE BOOKSTORE, http://www.cbronline.com/news/wh_smith_buys_europes_biggest_online_bookstore?print=1 (date accessed: 07/01/2010) Cope, N, (2003), WH Smith blames Sars and fall in CD sales for profits slump, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/wh-smith-blames-sars-and-fall-in-cd-sales-for-profits-slump-537378.html (date accessed: 06/01/2010) Datamonitor, (2009), Company Profile WH Smith Datamonitor, (2009), Industry Profile Stationary and Cards Datamonitor, (2009), Industry Profile Books Dickson, M, (2005), Swann Upping, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/575ea15e-b2cb-11d9-bcc6-00000e2511c8.html (07/01/2010) Directgov, (2010), VAT Value Added Tax, http://direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/DG_4015895 (date accessed: 10/01/2010) Drummond, G and Ensor, J, (2004), Strategic Marketing planning and control, second edition, Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann. Encyclopedia, (2002), http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-82247922.html (date accessed: 07/01/2010) Entrepreneur, (2009), Competitive analysis, www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82078.html (date accessed: 25/11/2009) Felsted, A Lemer, J, (2009), WH Smith eyes more Woolworths stores, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6fc55222-2fd8-11de-a2f8-00144feabdc0.html (date accessed: 10/01/2010) Freedman, S, (2009), Booksellers get down to business, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/28/writers-kindle-revolution (date accessed: 10/01/2010) Garrahan, M, (2009), Apple joins forces with record labels, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/28129982-7a18-11de-b

Central University Essay

Suppose you are the network manager for Central University, a medium-size university with 13,000 students. The university has 10 separate colleges (e.g., business, arts, journalism), 3 of which are relatively large (300 faculty and staff members, 2,000 students, and 3 buildings) and 7 of which are relatively small (200 faculty and staff, 1,000 students, and 1 building). In addition, there are another 2,000 staff members who work in various administration departments (e.g., library, maintenance, finance) spread over another 10 buildings. There are 4 residence halls that house a total of 2,000 students. Suppose the university has the 128.100.xxx.xxx address range on the Internet. How would you assign the IP addresses to the various subnets? How would you control the process by which IP addresses are assigned to individual computers? You will have to make some assumptions to answer both questions, so be sure to state your assumptions. At the bottom of this response I have added a crude IP subnet scheme that will be a good start for Central University. Since the university already has a Class B IP range established, I tried to break it down as even as I could while still leaving room for future growth in every area. My first assumption is that every building has sufficient routers, switches, and network fabric to handle the traffic on this scale. I wanted to keep the faculty and staff on separate subnets for privacy and to keep frivolous student traffic off their subnets. These subnet breakdowns are not perfect by any means. I tried to use a Cisco tool to create a better breakdown, but I can’t figure out how to use it. If I were actually a paid network admin, I would have better software to accomplish this. Anyway, I would use DHCP servers to assign individual IPs to alleviate the issue of having to assign static IPs to people. This would help with the administration of constantly changing numbers of nodes and their specific locations.

Ingvar Kampradi: Wealthy Man, Frugal Man, Entrepreneur Extraordinair

Introduction Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish born citizen and founder and former CEO of Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd and Agunnaryd or better known as IKEA. Kamprad created a one of a kind furniture company that has become the largest furniture store in the world. The uniqueness is because they company specializes in everything being able to be broken down and shipped, â€Å"from furniture to the now famous mobile kitchens- could be packed in flat, stackable boxes (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438)†. His way of running the company is based on creativity, hard work and being frugal in his own life as well as the way he runs his company.So frugal that when employees travel they must share hotel rooms, a policy not carried in any major company. The philosophies that he has developed for IKEA are distinctive and have provided a successful way of being very profitable. Kamprad’s leadership characteristics have made him a very wealthy entrepreneur and admirable person but with a dark past. A pas t that he does not deny but states that he has learned from this and according to some has a message to send to other that carries great wisdom. Issues Addressed Kamprad’s company IKEA has been on the rise along with that his personal problems also increased.Alcoholism, his history of Nazi affiliation, and store openings where people died were his biggest problems. Even during his personal problems he never failed to provide creativity for IKEA and to make sure the company was on the right track. He always found a way to lead his company in the direction to be successful despite his personal life. His appreciation for what it takes to be successful and the knowledge that he realizes â€Å"there are no guarantees to economic success tomorrow apart from hard work (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438). Answering the Questions 1. Kamprad is the manager of IKEA, while he is not the CEO he still continues to run the company. He is always trying to create any new ideas, and develop philosop hies to make the company better for their customers and employees. Kamprad is a leader because: he does not sit around pointing fingers and collecting money, but he is out there working to make IKEA a better company every chance he can. Continuing his innovative efforts so the company can be ne of a kind and cater to the people and through all his personal problems and personal achievements the company was always placed at the top of the list; â€Å"he likes to say that IKEA is his fourth child (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438). † 2. Kamprad encouraged a level of followership that has made IKEA a unique company. This followership that he created makes people want to work for IKEA and create new ideas. His philosophies are exceptional and out of the box; his claims of â€Å"we dare to do it a different way (Nelson and Quick, 2011-438)† Kamprad says about IKEA.The way he created IKEA and the way he makes sure the company draws people into being involved. People not only want to shop at his stores, but they want to be a part of the company anyway they can. 3. Kamprad does not want his employees to be sheep or yes men but effective active followers that are independent critical thinkers. Some of Kamprad’s leadership characteristics are â€Å"directive, supportive, participative and achievement oriented (Nelson and Quick, 2011- 413). According to the leadership grid Kamprad is deep in the 9, 1 quadrant which is â€Å"Authority-Compliance management: efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree (Nelson and Quick, 2011- 409). † 4. Leadership of Kamprad †¢Transactional – uses effort for reward because how much effort employees put into the company, means how much reward they or the company will receive. †¢Transformational – motivates his people to work for the prosperity of the company and not just for themselves. His vision about IKEA helps bond his followers/ employees to IKEA. He is charismatic – focusing on creating a message with his philosophies and connecting with his followers emotionally. †¢Authentic – role model towards the people due to his developing ingenuity and philosophies. 5. Key leadership lessons that can be observed by Kamprad’s experiences: a. Creativity & uniqueness b. Hard manual work c. Work hard but work smart d. Delegate less and get more involved, do not be afraid to be different, and listen to my people. Conclusions Ingvar Kamprad developed very young starting his business; selling matches and cards from his bicycle and later expanding his business to elling fish, Christmas decorations and pens and pencils. This small town boy from went on to build a company from a cash reward given to him by his father for doing well in academics, Ingvar Kamprad built a company that generated â€Å"more than $33 billion in revenue and nearly $4 billion in net income in 2011 ( http://topics. bloomberg. com/ingvar-kamprad/). † He was known as a very frugal man that had a dark past but he learned from his past explaining that his Nazi affiliations where the greatest mistake of his life. He said this because while he was not proud of being affiliated with this organization he learned a lot from being part of it.He learned to not waist anything, do not take money for granted and keep in common the one thing all rich people have; which is to leave beneath your means. ? References Bloomberg. Bloomber. com, http://topics. bloomberg. com/ingvar-kamprad/ Global Business leaders. http://www. globalbusinessleaders. org/WebPage/LeaderBio. aspx? leaderCd=l005&levelcd=c03r045 Nelson, D. & Campbell-Quick, J. , (2011). Organizational Behavior: Science, the Real World and You. (7th ed. ). Canada: South-Western Cengage Learning. Pace, Joe. The Workplace: Today and Tomorrow. The Professional Development Series, Book One.

Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essays

Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essays Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essay Padmanbha Swamy Temple Essay Padmanabhaswamy Temple From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia | | Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple | | Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Location in Kerala| Coordinates:| 8 °28? 58? N  76 °56? 37? ECoordinates:  8 °28? 58? N  76 °56? 37? E| Name| Proper name:| Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple| Location| Country:| India| State:| Kerala| Location:| Thiruvananthapuram| Temple Details| Primary deity God:| Padmanabhaswamy (Vishnu)| Architecture and culture| Architectural styles:| Dravidian architecture  (Kovil)| Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple  (Malayalam:   ,  s? i padma? abhasvami k? et? a? ?) is a  Hindu  temple  dedicated to  Vishnu  located in  Thiruvananthapuram,  India. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the  royal family of Travancore. [1]  The temple is one of 108  Divya Desams  (Holy Abodes of Vishnu) – principal centres of worship of the deity in  Vaishnavism. The temple, constructed in the  Dravidian style of architecture, is glorified in the  Divya Prabandha, the early medieval  Tamil  literature canon of the Tamil  Alvar  saints (6th-9th centuries CE), with structural additions to it made throughout the 16th century CE, when its ornate  Gopuram  was constructed. [2][3]  The most recent renovations to the temple occurred in the 18th century CE. The temple features heavily in  Akilam five  series  of the  Akilathirattu Ammanai  corpus, the holy text of the  Ayyavazhi  belief system. Services were provided to the local community with the temples revenue. The temple gave its name to Kerala’s state capital Thiruvananthapuram. ‘Thiru’ ‘Anantha’ ‘Puram’ means  Sacred Abode of Lord Anantha Padmanabha. The principal deity,  Padmanabhaswamy, is enshrined in the Anantha-sayanam posture (in the eternal sleep of  Yoga-nidra  on the  serpent Ananta). [4]  The Travancore Kings regarded themselves as ‘Padmanabha-dasa’ (Servant of Lord Padmanabha). * | - [edit]History In ealier years[when?   Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its properties were controlled by eight powerful  Nair  feudal lords known as  Ettuveetil Pillamar  (Lords of the Eight Houses), under the guidance of the  Council of Eight and a Half. In a battle of succession in the 18th century, King Anizham Thirunal Valiya  Marthanda Varma, the ruler traditionally regarded as the founder of  Travancore, successfully suppressed the Ettuveeti l Pillais and his cousins following the discovery of conspiracies the Lords were involved in against the Royal House of Travancore. The last major renovation of the Padmanabhaswamy temple was also done by  Marthanda Varma. On January 3, 1750, Anizham Thirunal surrendered the kingdom of  Travancore  to Padmanabha, the deity at the temple, and pledged that he and his descendants would serve the kingdom asPadmanabha Dasa. [4]  Since then, the name of every Travancore King was preceded by the title Padmanabha Dasa, while the female members of the Royal family were called Padmanabha Sevinis. The donation of the Kingdom to Sree Padmanabhaswamy was known as Thripadidanam and afterwards the Maharaja was known as Sree Padmanabha Dasa Vanchipala Varma Kulashekara Kireetapati. By surrendering the kingdom to Lord Padmanabha, the whole Travancore state became the property of Sree Padmanabhaswamy. - [edit]The temple The history of the temple dates back to the 8th Century CE, when Thiruvananthapuram was ruled by the  Chera Dynasty. The  Divya Prabandhacanon of literature by the  Alvars  glorifies this shrine as one of 11 Divya Desams in Kerala. It is said that there are references to this temple in four puranas; namely Brahma, Vayu, Varaha, Padma. The 8th century Alvar poet  Nammalvar  created four slokas and one phalasruthi about this temple. 5][6] Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple Padmanabhaswamy Temple stands at a place considered one of the seven Parasurama Kshetras; texts including the  Puranas, particularly theSkanda Purana  and  Padma Purana, have references to this shrine. Entrance of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple The two annual festivals of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple culminate in a grand procession, in which the three deities (Padmanabha,   Narasimha  andKrishna) are carried on flower-deck and aesthetically decorated Garuda Vahanas to  Shankumugham Beach, for arattu (sacramental ablution). The arattu days are declared as local public holidays in  Thiruvanathapuram. [edit]Gopuram The foundation of the present gopuram was laid in 1566. [7]  The temple has a 100-foot,[8]  seven-tier gopuram made in the  Pandyan  style. [9]  The temple stands by the side of a  tank, named  Padma Theertham  (meaning the lotus spring). The temple has a corridor with 365 and one-quarter sculptured granite-stone pillars with elaborate carvings. This corridor extends from the eastern side into the sanctum sanctorum. An eighty-foot flag-staff stands in front of the main entry from the prakaram (corridor). The ground floor under the gopuram (main entrance in the eastern side) is known as the Nataka Sala where the famous temple art Kathakali was staged in the night during the ten-day  uthsavam  (festival) conducted twice a year, during the  Malayalam months  of Meenam and Thulam. [edit]Sreekovil | This article  may contain  wording that merely promotes the subject  without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite  independent sources  that support the characterization. In the  Sreekovil, Vishnu is depicted in a reclining position over the serpent  Anantha  or  Adi Sesha. [10]  The serpent has his face pointed inwards (signifying contemplation). The Lords right hand hangs over  Shiva. Sridevi, the Goddess of Prosperity and  Bhudevi  the Goddess of the Earth, two consorts of Vishnu stand by his side and the god  Brahma  emerges on a lotus, which emanates from the navel of Vishnu. The idol is said to be made from 12008  Saligram. These Saligram are from the banks of the  Gandaki River  in  Nepal, and it is believed that they were brought with much ceremony on elephants. The idol is covered with, Katusarkara yogam, a special ayurvedic mix, was used to make a plaster which keeps the deity clean. The daily worship is with flowers and for the abhishekam, special deities are used. The flowers have always been removed using peacock feathers fearing damage to the katusarkara. [citation needed] The platform in front of vimanam and where the deity rests are both carved out of a single stone and hence called Ottakkal Mandapam. In order to perform darshan and puja, one has to climb on to the Mandapam. The deity is visible through three doors – Face of the Lord and Siva Linga underneath his hand in the first door, Brahma seated on lotus emanating from the Lords navel along with the Utsava moorthi and deities of Lord Vishnu, Sridevi and Bhudevi in the second door and the Lords feet in the third door. Only the King of Travancore may perform Namaskaram, or bow prostrate on the Ottakkal Mandapam. It is traditionally held that anybody who bows prostrates on the mandapam has surrendered all that he/she possesses to the deity. Since the ruler has already done that, he/she is permitted to bow on this mandapam. There are other important shrines inside the temple for Hindu deities Sri  Narasimha,  Sri Krishna, Sri  Ayyappa, Sri  Ganesha  and Sri  Hanuman. Many other small shrines like Kshetrapalan (who guards the temple), Vishwaksena and  Sri Garuda  are also present. The approach road to Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple - [edit]Legend There are many legends regarding the origin of the temple. One such legend says that  Vilvamangalathu Swamiyar alias Divakara Muni  prayed to  Krishna  for his darshan. Krishna  came in disguise as a small, mischievous boy. The boy swallowed the  Saligrama  which was kept in Puja. The Sage became enraged at this and chased the boy until the boy hid himself behind a tree. The tree fell down and became Vishnu in Anantha Shayanam (reclining posture on Anantha the serpent) – but when he did so, he was of an extraordinarily large size. The Sage, recognizing that the tree was Vishnu, pleaded that because of the huge form the lord had manifested before him he could not either have a mind fulfilling darshan or circumambulate him. He then asked the Lord to shrink to a smaller proportion – thrice the length of his staff. Immediately, the idol shrank, and the Lord instructed the sage that he should be worshipped through three doors. These doors are now the doors in the temple through which the idol may be viewed. Through the first door, the worship is offered to  Shiva; through the second entrance to  Brahma  on the Lords lotus navel, and through the third is Vishnus feet, which are said to lead to salvation. [citation needed]  Another story tells of a  pulaya  couple seeing Vishnu in the form of a child. The child took morsels of rice from the hands of the couple. Also it is believed that Divakaramuni, when he saw the deity, took the first food item he saw which was an unripe Mango on a coconut shell as an offering plate and performed primary pooja. To this day, the naivedyam or offering of unripe mango is offered to the deity here in the same coconut shell that Divakara Muni offered his prasadam to the Lord. Millions of devotees believe that the Lord has personally come in disguise and had saved the Travancore Kingdom from enemy attack on multiple occasions. [edit]Naivedyam or offering to Perumal Apart from the usual rice offering various other items are offered including Retna Payasam or offering of Payasam in a Gem studded Golden Vessel, Meni Thula Payasam or the Delicious Rice and Jaggery Pudding entirely made in Ghee, Pal Manga, Otta Thula Payasam, Panthranu Kalam Payasam, and Paal Payasam (Milk and Rice Pudding) which is very famous. During Thursdays, special Panakam is offere d to the Lord  Narasimha. Unni Appam, Mothakam, Aval with sugar is also offered to the Lord. citation needed]  But the most important Nivedyam in this Temple is the Uppu Manga (unripe mango soaked in brine water) which is offered in a gold covered  chiratta  or coconut shell. This coconut shell is more than 1200 years old. The Great Sage Vilwamangalathu Divakara Acharyar offered an unripe mango in this very same coconut shell and it is still preserved. - [edit]Darshan, sevas and festivals NarasimhaSwamy PadmanabhaSwamy after coming from Shankumuka Beach during Aarat Festival There are many festivals related to this temple. The major festivals are bi-annual. The  Alpashy  festival which is in October/November and the  Painkuni  festival which is in March/April, lasts for 10 days each. These festivals culminate with the  Aarat  (holy bath) procession to the  Shankumugham Beach. The word  Aaratrefers to the purificatory immersion of the deities of the temple in sea. This event takes place in the evening. The King of Travancore escorts the  Aaratprocession by foot. The festival idols Utsava Vigrahas of Sri Padmanabhaswamy, Krishna and Narasimha are given a ritual bath in the sea, after the prescribed  pujas. After this ceremony, the idols are taken back to the temple in a procession that is lit by traditional torches, marking the conclusion of the festival. A major annual festival related to Padmanabha temple is the  Navaratri  festival. The idols of  Saraswati,  Durga, and  Murugan  are brought to the  kuthira malikapalace in front of Padmanabha temple as a procession. This festival lasts for 9 days. The famous Swathi music festival is held every year during this festival. Big Idol of Pandavas displayed during Panguni festival The biggest festival in this temple is  laksha deepam, which means hundred thousand (or one  lakh) lamps. This festival is unique and commences once in 6 years. Prior to this festival, chanting of prayers and recitation of three  vedas  is done for 51 days. On the festival time, hundred thousand oil lamps are lit in and around the temple premises. The next  laksha deepam  is slated on January 2014 Temple Tower during LakshaDeepam Festival The temple is not a part of Travancore Devaswom Board. Its control rests with a trust headed by the Maharaja of Travancore. Darshan times are (before noon) 3. 30-4. 45, 6. 30-7. 00, 8. 30-10. 00, 10. 30-11. 00, 11. 45-12. 00; (after noon) 5. 00-6. 15 and 6. 45-7. 20. In line with the  Temple Entry Proclamation, only those who profess the Hindu faith are permitted entry to the temple. Devotees have to strictly follow the dress code. Men should remove clothes above waist and deposit in the locker room. No one is permitted to wear dress that displays both legs separately, implying the prohibition of trousers for men and women. Dhotis can be borrowed at the locker room for Rs. 15. Dhotis can be worn over pants or churidhar. No cell phones or cameras are permitted inside the temple. Cell phones must be deposited in the locker room after taking it out of the bag for Rs. 15 a piece. Hand bags are permitted inside. - [edit]Compositions Nammalvar  had sung in praise of Lord Padmanabha Swamy. Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma  wrote many songs on Sri Padmanabha. Most of these songs have the word  Padmanabha  in them. - [edit]Temple assets | Wikinews has related news:Hidden treasure worth billions of dollars discovered in Indian temple| The temple and its assets belong to Lord Padmanabhaswamy, and are controlled by a trust run by the Royal family. [11][12][13][14]  The royals consider themselves  Padmanabhadasas  i. . servants of Padmanabhaswamy. [15][3] There had been an earlier inventory of at least one vault on Sunday, December 6, 1931. A vault was opened in the presence of Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, then the  Maharaja  of the state of Travancore. Among the contents found were gold and silver coins stored in a granary like thing, four brass chests of coins, over 300 gold pots, and a six-chambered wooden chest containing jewels decorated wit h diamonds, rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. Four coffers were removed and taken to the palace treasury for counting and valuation. 16] The  Kerala High Court  ordered the temple and its assets be managed by the State on January 31, 2011. As trustees of the temple, the royals have challenged the Kerala Govt. s decision. The lower courts ruling was set aside by the  Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court directed utmost security in and around the temple and asked the Central Valuation Institute of Lucknow for an inventory valuation. [12][17][18] In June 2011, the Supreme Court directed the authorities from the fire services and archeology department[19]  to open the secret (sanctum sanctorum) chambers of the temple for inspection of the items kept inside. A detailed inventory of the temple assets, consisting of gold, jewels, and other valuables was made. Several 18th century Napoleonic era coins were found,[3]  as well as a three-and-a-half feet tall gold idol of  Mahavishnu  studded with rubies and emeralds, and ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki weighing almost 30 kilograms (66  lb) together with gold coconut shells, one studded with rubies and emeralds. 20] This revelation has solidified the status of the Padmanabhaswamy temple as one of the wealthiest temples in India and with the final estimate of the wealth, it might overtake the  Tirumala Venkateswara Temple- hitherto thought to be the wealthiest temple- having some  Ã‚  Ã‚  320 billion (US$7. 14 billion)  in gold, coins and other assets. [21]  It is estimated that the value of the monumental items is close to  1. 2 trillion (US$26. 76 billion), making it the richest temple in the world. 22][23]  If the antique value is taken into account, these assets could be worth ten times the current market price. [22] The valuables are thought to have been in the temple for hundreds of years, having been put there by traders, pilgrims and royals such as the maharajahs of  Travancore, and by offerings of Travancore kings, other royals and ordinary devotees to the deity. [3][24][25]  While some Historians have suggested that a major chunk of the stored riches reached the kings in the form of tax, gifts, as well as conquered wealth of states and offerings stocked in the temple for safekeeping. 26]  A ferry transported traders, pilgrims and chroniclers across the  Gulf of Mannar  from the  Tenavaram temple, the famously wealthy Vishnu-Shiva temple town emporium to the  Chera  kingdom via  Puttalam  of the  Jaffna kingdom  during the medieval period. [27][28]  This temple was destroyed in 1587 CE, a few years after the Thiruvananthapuram Padmanabhaswamy temple gopuram was constructed. Mo rrocan  traveller  Ibn Batuta  visited Tenavaram in the 14th century and described the Vishnu idol here as being made of gold and the size of a man with two large rubies as eyes that lit up like lanterns during the night. [29][30]  All people living within the vicinity of the temple and who visited it were fed with monetary endowments that were made to the idol. The temple has 6 vaults (Kallaras), labeled as A to F for book keeping purpose by the Court. While vaults A and B have been unopened over the past 130 years, vaults C to F have been opened from time to time. The two priests of the temple, the Periya Nambi and the Thekkedom Nambi, are the custodians of the four vaults, C to F, which are opened periodically. The Supreme Court had directed that the existing practices, procedures and rituals of he temple be followed while opening vaults C to F and using the articles inside. Vaults A and B shall be opened only for the purpose of making an inventory of the articles and the n closed. On July 4, 2011 the seven-member expert team which is taking stock of the assets at temple decided to postpone opening of the secret chamber marked B till they obtained more expert opinion as preliminary examination of its gates had found the vault to be secured with iron shutters making experts wonder what lay inside. The royal family said that many legends were attached to the temple and that chamber B has a model of a snake on the main door and opening it could be a bad omen. [31]  Seven-member team will consult with some more experts on July 8, 2011 and a then they may take the final decision on opening of chamber ‘B’. [32] In late June 2011, a review of the temples underground vaults was undertaken by a seven-member panel appointed by the  Supreme Court of India  to generate an inventory, leading to the enumeration of a vast collection of articles that are traditionally kept under lock and key. Unofficial estimates on the sixth day of the inventory placed the value of contents at close to  100,000  crore  (US$22. 3 billion), making it one of the wealthiest in the world,[23][33][34]  richer than the  Tirumala Venkateswara Temple  in  Tirupati,  Andhra Pradesh  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ by official records considered to be the richest shrine in India. [35][23][36]  The precious articles come from the donations that were made by the Royal family and traders, who used to come from other parts of the country and abroad, as offerings to the deity, and were sealed within the thick stone walls and vaults of the temple for over a  millennium. 37]  [3] The final vault of the temple has an iron door with a picture of snake(a cobra) on it and it has not been opened, due to the belief that a curse befalls those who attempt to open it. [38]  Less than a month after the first of the secret vaults was opened, the chief petitioner for opening the vaults, T. P. Sundarrajan died afte r suffering from a sudden unexplained illness. [39]  This has been dubbed as The Curse of the Cobra by the media. [40] [edit]