Pestle Zara

Pestle Analysis of Zara SOE11108 Sources of Competitive Advantage Assessment 1 Group Presentation PESTEL – Analysis [pic] Contents 1 Introduction 3 2 Overview 3 3 Business Environment 3 4 Political 4 5 Economic 4 6 Social 5 7 Technological 6 8 Environmental 6 9 Legislative 8 10 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction The global apparel market is a consumer-driven industry. Also, globalization and new technologies have allowed consumers to have more access to fashion. As a result, consumers are changing, competition is fierce, and companies are evolving to meet these demands.Zara, a Spanish-based chain owned by Inditex, is a retailer who has taken a new approach in the industry. With their unique strategy, Zara has the competitive advantage to be sustainable. In order to maintain that advantage and growth they must confront certain challenges and face traditional retailers in the apparel industry. So, now our group will analysis the PESTLE of Zara Company. (Lopez & Fan, 2009) Ov erview Zara is one of the largest international fashion companies and belongs to Inditex, which is one of the largest fashion retailers worldwide.Inditex operates in textile design, distribution and manufacturing. (Inditex, 2011 b) Zara operates in 78 countries worldwide with 1557 stores in the world’s largest cities. (Inditex, 2011 c) The company is founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega, located in Spain and had in 2010 a net sale of 8. 088 million of euro. (Inditex, 2011 a) The have worldwide 1557 stores in 78 different countries. (Inditex, 2011 a) Aim: democratize fashion, offering latest fashion, medium quality and moderate price (Lopez & Fan, 2009)Structure: customer oriented, satisfaction of consumer needs (Mazaira, Gonzalez, & Avendano, 2003) Business Environment Global textile and clothing industry (Lopez & Fan, 2009) with 900 billion Euro in 200 worldwide (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). Main competitors: H&M, Gap and Benetton (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006) Dynamic and innovative sec tor (Nordas, 2005) High quality fashion market vs. lower quality products (Nordas, 2005) Production in Europe vs. Production in low cost (Nordas, 2005) PoliticalInternationalisation: The key pull factors that explain the internationalisation of Zara include Spain’s entry into the European Union in 1986, the globalisation of the economy and thus potential economies of scale, the homogenisation of consumption patterns across countries – Zara’s belief is that â€Å"national frontiers are no impediment to sharing a single fashion culture† – and the abolition of barriers to export as well as the development of information technology (Lopez & Fan, 2009). Indian Market:India provided open market for Zara as Indian government is willingly to provide foreign investment in their country, but Indian Govt. Has their own policy which are to be adhered by organizations as Zara formed joint venture with TATA (Shah, 2011). Economic Production NOT transferred to lo w cost locations Zara resisted the industry-wide trend towards transferring fast fashion production to low cost countries like for example China. Zara states that this gives the greater control as it controls most of its steps on the Supply Chain, designing, manufacturing and distributing of products (CNN, 2001).In the UK 50% of the product Zara sells are manufactured in Spain, 26% in the rest of Europe and 24% in Asian and African countries > clothes with longer shelf life like for example basic t-shirts are outsourced to low cost suppliers mainly in Asia and Turkey (Business Week, 2006). Zero Advertising Policy The most unusual company policy is its’ no advertising policy. It is worth noticing that Zara competitors rely heavily on costly advertising campaigns. However, Zara prefers to invest money in opening new stores instead (CNN, 2001). Producer of about 11 000 items annuallyThe product range of Zara company is significant. It produces nearly 11 000 items annually whilst its competitors produce only about 2000 – 4000. Moreover, Zara changes its designs every 2 weeks which encourages customers to repeated visits and builds the brand loyalty. An average high street store in Spain expects customers to visit three times a year. It is 17 times for Zara. (The Guardian, 2002). Shortening Product Life Cycle Additionally, Zara needs just 2 weeks to design a new product and get it to the stores whilst industry average is 6 months (Business Week, 2006).To sum up, Zara breaks all the rules but this strategy proves to be successful as Zara is one of the biggest retailers in the industry. REFERENCES LIST entrys Social Rising of income With the rising of disposable personal income, people began to pursue a high quality and comfortable life. This tendency provides Zara quite wide market share. Personalized consumption become the mainstream of society. The strategy of ZARA, â€Å"a small amount, variety, cheap,† is a major guarantor of its success. Fa st fashionRegarding the design strategy, an article in Business world magazine describes it as follows: â€Å"Zara was a fashion imitator. It focused its attention on understanding the fashion items that its customers wanted and then delivering them, rather than on promoting predicted season's trends via fashion shows and similar channels of influence, which the fashion industry traditionally used. † There will be a 0. 7% depreciation of fashion products every day. A new product, from design to produce, logistics operation and the final sale, only need 2-3 weeks in Zara. Affordable fashionAn increasing number of people pay more attention to fashion. But fashion is a masterpiece of top designers, only a few people can afford it. The designers of ZARA will follow these fashion elements and design their own product, which most consumers can afford it (Baidu, 2010). Technological R&D and Production 1. Fast production: Deliver within 6 weeks instead of 6 months which is the delive ry time from Zara’s competitors (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). 2. Zara has only 20 suppliers which accounted 70% of their products. The other companies have for example more than 200 different suppliers.Therefore it’s easy for Zara to control their suppliers. Logistic 1. Own distribution centre with an order to delivery time of 24 hour for Europe and 48 hours to USA and Asia (Tokatli, 2007). 2. The shops receive two deliveries from distribution centre. That allows the shops to have low inventory and a high turnaround within the shop (Lopez & Fan, 2009) (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006). Flexible Supply Chain 1. Vertical integrated and controls its entire production chain. One important effect of the control is to re reduce the bullwhip effect. (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006) . Zara has very short lead times. The Agility of their supply chain enables Zara to deliver from product design to sale within 2 weaks for repeat or 5 weeks for new products (Mazaira, Gonzalez, & Avendano, 2003). Envir onmental Zara wants to help the sustainable developments of the society and the environments with which it interacts. This commitment to the environment is a part of the Inditex group corporate social responsibility policy. Objectives and Actions: At the sores: Zara saves energy and lot of care has been given to make the stores eco efficient.Development of efficient management models for their stores that proposes measures to be applied to all processes, from the design of the store itself, the lighting heating or cooling system equipment, to the possible recycling of furniture and decoration. Use of paper or biodegradable plastic bags 90% of the bags Zara gives out to customers are made of paper. 1. Reduction of waste and encourages recycling Millions of hangers and security tags are processed each year additionally both the cardboard and plastic used are recycled. 2. Increasing awareness among the team membersHeighten employee’s awareness of the need for sustainable practic es such as trimming energy consumption, using sustainable transport or modifying habits. With the product 1. Use of ecological fabrics, like organic cotton. Zara Supports ecological agriculture and uses organic cotton in the production of selected items of clothing (100% cotton, completely free of pesticide, chemical agents and bleaches). With a distinctive label these products can be identified very easily at the stores. 2. Producing PVC –free footwear No petroleum derivatives or non-biodegradable materials are used in producing the footwear.In the transport Zara’s fleet of Lorries transport over 200 million items of clothing annually and uses 5% biodiesel fuel, reducing emission of CO2 into the atmosphere by more than 500 tones. Animal welfare policy All the animal products, including fur and leather sold at Zara come exclusively from animal reared in livestock form and never from animal sacrificed for skin sale. (Zara, 2010) Legislative Plagiarism plagiarism in the fashion industry has become a huge issue. Trends are often copied and cheaply as well as illegally sold in the street. Global expansionAs the European market has a well working trade and legal system facilitating business operations in member countries, other countries globally will not offer the same securities, especially in communistic countries the threat of losing a private run company to the local government is very real. REFERENCES ? Conclusion ZARA was just a small Spanish dress shop, but now, the little-known brand has grown into a leader of the apparel market. Now the footprints of ZARA have around more than 60 countries. The big design group, unique strategy, environmental management idea and other operational strategies make ZARA success.

Problem and solution essay: Drinking and Driving Essay

People all around the world drink and they also drive. But driving under the influence of alcohol is a very dangerous, risk taking thing to do, not just to the drivers, but to the passengers and pedestrians as well. When people consume alcohol, their normal functioning of the brain impairs, thus increasing the chances of having a fatal accident when chosen to drive. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 40% of the car accidents in the year 2002 were alcohol related in US. That is about 17,419 deaths. This meant that in average, every 30 minutes someone was killed in a car accident that was relating alcohol. The legal limit of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) for drivers at the age of 21 or older is .08 percent. For drivers under the age of 21, the legal limit of BAC is .01 percent. But this does not mean that it is safe to drive when your BAC is .08 percent or even .01 percent. Any amount of of BAC is a risk to drive. Studies show that states or countries with lower BAC limit has far less alcohol related accidents. If you go over the legal limit of BAC, you would get fined large amounts of money to jail time, depending how high the BAC is. Making the BAC limit lower might just prevent the accidents that killed hundreds of innocent people. Drinking alcohol has effect on the brain. First, it will fill cozy, warm and relaxing feeling. Then into judgment impairment, little use of slurred speech, and reason and caution are impaired. After that, there will be increase impairment of judgment, then to slow reflection, and more use of slurred speech. Next memory and comprehension are abnormally functioning, then blurred vision, to vomiting and instability to stand. Finally, if more alcohol are consumed, result unconsciousness, coma and to even death. So not drinking at all would be the best solution as it will be good for your health and not taking any risk of having a fatal accident. But, for people who have to have a drink, people who can’t live with out alcohol, they are prone to consume alcohol and make a decision to drive to their destination or not. This might be hard for some people, but leaving their car and taking an alternative transportation would be the smartest, and also the safest way to get to the destination. It is much more important  to get to the destination with their life then by loosing one’s life or taking a life of another and not get there at all. There are problems that are just incorrigible and there are problems that can be prevented or solved. We should do any means to solve any corrodible problems in any ways. It might save one or it might save thousands of lives. Drinking and driving is making a death wish. It’s not only the drivers that are risking their lives, but they, as in drivers, are risking other lives as well. Not driving when influenced by alcohol might save one’s life and a life of another. Maybe, it might not be a big deal to some people who believe this will not happen to them, are gambling with their lives.

Conservation of the environment Essay

Protection of the environment is very important as the world moves into a new era. This new era also seems to be presenting us with many major environmental issues. Some of these problems are: pollution, rapid industrialization, over population, deforestation and loss of important animal and plant species. The best way to protect the environment is to conserve and protect it by being more conscious of our impact on the planet. Conservation is the philosophy and policy of managing the environment to assure adequate supplies of natural resources for future as well as present generations. One way to be more environmentally responsible would be to cut down on undesirable C02 emissions and to put good things back into the atmosphere. One of the best ways to do this is by planting trees. Trees play a critical role in keeping our air clean, both by releasing oxygen into the air and by trapping carbon. The more trees we have, the better our air quality, and that’s why planting trees is an excellent step to take toward saving the environment. While you’re at it, plant a tree in a spot that will give your house shade, as that will help reduce your need to crank up your air conditioning in the summer months and be esthetically leasing. It’s also important to take a stand against deforestation. Losing large swaths of forest, such as the rainforest, to development or industry means that we’re losing millions of trees that would otherwise be purifying the air for us. Protesting deforestation, both through activism and by refusing to buy products that are created at the expense of the world’s forests, can help slow and even halt deforestation. Renewable energy is another great way to heal the environment. It significantly cuts down on greenhouse gases, air pollution and the amount of carbon emitted into the air. In the USA around 71% of electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels. Burning coal or other fuels emits greenhouse gases and pollution in the environment. An average home powered by a coal utility will burn twelve thousand pounds of coal a year and will cause about the same amount of pollution as two cars. By using renewable energy as the primary power source, the reduction of pollution per household would be equivalent to that of planting four hundred trees. We can each play a part in improving the amount of trash we throw away by reducing our waste. Buy fewer items and reduce the overall consumption of goods. If less is onsumed, then less energy is used and less waste is produced. Regardless of how consumption is limited, people are bound to produce some waste. We can buy in bulk to reduce the amount of packaging thrown away, but to make a difference, we also have to focus on recycling and repurposing the items that are consumed. Simple changes can be made, like shopping with reusable bags and keeping food and other items in reusable containers, rather than defaulting to plastic bags and disposable containers. Recycling refers to buying recycled products and sorting waste into the appropriate categories: aluminum cans, glass, plastic, paper and cardboard. However, the definition of recycling can be expanded to encompass donating items you no longer need or want to Goodwill or the Salvation Army so others can reuse them. Many cities have â€Å"freecycle† e-mail lists that fill a similar role. If you can’t reduce your consumption or tind a way to reuse a product, recycling is a better choice than simply throwing something into the trash. Gandhi wisely said, â€Å"You must be the change you wish to see in the world. † That’s certainly true when it comes to saving the environment, and each of us has an individual responsibility to make the changes and decisions that will benefit the natural world around us. Even our most concerted efforts will have a minimal impact if we’re the only ones making them, or even if we’re part of a small group making such environmental choices. The power in the steps on this list comes from getting everyone to take them together. After doing all the other things mentioned here cutting energy consumption, conserving water, driving less and everything else the most important thing is to be bold and vocal about encouraging others to do the same. The environment won’t be saved by a handful of activists or even by a collection of powerful world leaders. It will be saved by the collective action of mankind.

Teaching and Learning Reading Skills Research Paper

Teaching and Learning Reading Skills - Research Paper Example This paper illustrates that various types of media that are available in the society that discourages the students to read more are very accessible. Television, movies, and the like do not require anybody to learn how to read. The mere fact that people should only open their eyes and listen to what is projected on the screen without reading anything leads students to become uninterested in reading. At school, there is not as much student interaction during the reading classes, thus the more the students stay uninterested. Identifying students’ learning strategies are as important as identifying the different teaching strategies that the teachers should implement in a classroom. Children, at a young age, require activities that would make them interested in participating in a reading class. If there are not enough activities that would engage them in learning and developing their skills, more likely, the students would lose focus and resort to disinterest. Specific teaching tec hniques such as additional exercises and activities are necessary to encourage the students to read further. One of the most common teaching techniques that the author has observed among the teachers back in elementary was the focus on the vocabulary words in a reading class rather than the content and comprehension. There are more vocabulary exercises than those that require comprehension and analysis that may have been a lot more interesting for the children than the memorization and use of the words that teachers thought were important for the students to focus on. There are no doubt vocabulary skills should be improved as well, however, reading classes should not put much weight on the definition of the difficult words, but rather, the understanding of the students to the ideas that the reading exercises present. In addition, reading activities were but a part of the language book. Reading comprehension exercises were limited to only a few questions for which no further exercise s are added.

Roger Ebert Review Nichols, Why are Ethical issues central to Essay

Roger Ebert Review Nichols, Why are Ethical issues central to Documentary Filmmaking - Essay Example ilmmaker with the ability to film familiar problems in the society that would probably not catch anyone’s interest in a renewed distinctive perspective thereby wins the audience attention. His filming techniques are able to arouse the audience feelings making them think of how to get solutions to the problems other than just living with the problems. Roger and Me documentary faced several ethical challenges. Michael Moores did not inform the social actors of the repercussions of taking part in the film. It was his responsibility to explain to his subjects the objectives of the documentary, how it would affect their public image and any compensations for any bad effect. The audience tend to believe what they see or hear, therefore, the people of Flint, Michigan, who were interviewed in the documentary, especially Miss Michigan did not deserve being portrayed as foolish to the public. The main objective of a documentary to tell the truth, it is a challenge to the filmmaker whether to tell the subjects of harmful effects of taking part or choosing not to film so as not to lie to the audience (Nichols). The filmmakers sometimes withhold informed consent as it would ruin their film if they revealed their intentions or the actual effects of a film. Michael Moore withheld the informed consent from the people of Flint, Michigan which is an act of deception which did not protect the social actors’ dignity and rights despite delivering a truthful piece to the

Employee Negative Habits and Attitudes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employee Negative Habits and Attitudes - Essay Example Unfortunately, bad workplace habits and negative employee attitudes create serious problems: poor workplace performance, workplace conflicts, and failure to achieve strategic organizational outcomes are just some of the numerous effects caused by bad workplace habits on organizations and their members. Bad habits make suffer both employees and employers. Workers may loose their job and the reputation of the company may suffer greatly. Bad workplace habits are numerous and varied. No one knows what exactly can fire the flame of conflict and disobedience within an organization. At times, employees can be extremely sophisticated in their negative habits and attitudes. Yet, in most instances, bad habits can be easily detected and addressed. Absenteeism and sick list abuse is, probably, one of the worst employee habits. Dozens of workers miss work intentionally, since they are unwilling to attend their workplace and are pretty satisfied with getting their sick list payments on time. Other s are convinced that spending half of the work day in a smoking room is absolutely normal and even necessary for their emotional stability. Such employees will not rush to deal with their obligations. Most probably, they perceive their work as some kind of entertainment and do not understand that the success of business and its profitability largely depends upon the contribution each and every worker makes on a daily basis. Other bad habits include gossiping and unnecessary sarcasm: some employees cannot be serious even when it is crucial for the organization’s survival. Employees may tend to withhold important information or will make excuses every time they fail to cope with their responsibilities. These are further supplemented by the negative attitudes, which employees hold about their work: it is no secret that not all employees like their job and these negative attitudes have far-reaching implications for strategic performance within organizations. Bad habits and negati ve attitudes of employees affect all aspects of organizational performance. Employees who miss work, fail to cope with their obligations, find excuses, and do not assume responsibility for their acts cannot be useful for the organization. Instead, they increase the burden of organizational problems and concerns. Moreover, their presence in organizations always comes at a cost: they receive salaries and benefits for doing nothing. It should be noted, that bad habits and negative attitudes work like an infection – they can infect other employees, who slowly learn a valuable lesson of laziness and non-productivity. As a result, one employee can negatively affect the whole organization and cause a chain reaction of bad attitudes toward work. Eventually, bad habits and negative attitudes of employees may threaten organizational safety. Gossiping may lead to information leakages. Withholding important information may disrupt the stability and operation of the organization’s security systems. Employees who do not share information with others will not let their colleagues and co-workers cope with their job tasks. Consequentially, other employees may fall victims to the bad habits and negative attitudes of their co-workers. What to do with employees and their bad habits depends upon the situation. No matter the seriousness of the problem, firing an inefficient employee should always be a measure of

Discuss the role of victims in international criminal trials and Essay

Discuss the role of victims in international criminal trials and suggest possible areas of reform - Essay Example It is the fourth stage that concerns helping and rehabilitating victims which is the main subject of this article. In addition the need for providing a voice to the victims in the trial process itself is examined. In the past victims have not been of great interest to the international community, and some writers have labeled concern for victims the 'missing link' of international criminal justice3. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY); the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR); and the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) have a common mandate: "to contribute to the consolidation and enhancement of international justice and the international rule of law by bringing to account, in an international forum, those persons bearing the greatest responsibility for the most egregious violations of international humanitarian law."4 In the past thirteen years a number of cases have been tried and the use and effectiveness of such courts is evident as they helped establish peace and justice in Rwanda and the Balkans. The need for establishment of international criminal tribunals and courts was felt because the persons committing crimes that may be prosecuted under four clusters of offences i.e. breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions5, violations of the laws or customs of war6 (which together are generally known as "war crimes"), genocide7, and crimes against humanity8 are often beyond the reach of unwilling or unable national judicial systems. Neither is it possible to establish an atmosphere, within the country, for a fair trial to be conducted. 3.0 The Role of the Courts International criminal law has a dual purpose, one to truth and history and second to justice through the trial process. This duality has been recognised and confirmed by the ICTY9. A similar traditional criminal trial model approach was adopted by the ICTR and the ICC with the aim to convict, punish and deter. On the other hand the post-apartheid South Africa trails adopted an amnesty based truth and reconciliation model to reconcile, heal and to set the record straight. Neither approach in itself appears to be fully correct; the role of truth in the first and justice in the second has been overlooked10. The need is to move toward a judicious combination of the two approaches and this indeed is happening when we consider the recent history of trials where the courts have asserted their role as makers of history11 while the defendants have challenged the very legitimacy of the court12. International criminal justice is fast becoming a process of securing convictions of international criminals. The new criminal procedure and jurisprudence that is emerging needs to be considered in the light of what is the actual demand made from it, the rationale behind the trial, and should not limit itself to an adjustment between the classical criminal and civil law processes. While in the traditional criminal trial procedures the need is to find undisputable proof of guilt and punish the criminal, international criminal courts have further considerations like the e ffect the decision may have on the peace and stability of the nation to which the under-trial belongs and also, importantly, the victims and affected communities of the crimes purportedly committed. Professor Mark Drumbl13