Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 10

Economics - Essay Example Keynesian economists Before Keynes, the classical school of economic thought prevailed and this school did not develop any integrated macroeconomic theory, there existed mainly postulates which expressed economic ideas. Their key postulates suggested that full employment will prevail in the long run is market forces of demand and supply were permitted to perform freely. Even if unemployment occurs it will be a short run impact. They also suggested that demand will always be equal to output in such a case and equilibrium will continue to exist in the long run. These ideas were proven to be wrong with the advent of the Great Depression of the 30s. The classical laissez-faire doctrine failed to hold. Unemployment (3 percent to 25 percent from 1929 to 1933) began to spread largely in the economies ruled by the free market industrial mechanism leading to fall in Gross National Production (fell by 30 percent) and price level fell by 23 percent (Dwivedi, 2005, p. 13). In an attempt to solve the problem, Keynes developed the modern macroeconomic theory which is associated with employment, growth and stability. According to Keynes, output and employment levels are functions of total resources available in the economy, unemployment is the result of shortfall in aggregate demand as well as economic variations brought about by deficiency in demand. This can be got rid of through government spending. This last aspect was introduced by Keynes as a tool for demand management. Such spending would therefore crowd out private investments and via the multiplier effect it would have favourable impact on income and employment. The time span between the 30s and 90s is known as the period of ‘Keynesian Revolution’ (Dornbusch, 2005, p.443). Keynesian policies were adopted by most nations’ governments in developed economies. However in reality, economic world goes through evolutions from time to time and transits form one system to another. Monetarists In the 1970s Keynesian economic thoughts began to show its loopholes as the fiscal policies did no longer solve the economic problems of developed nations consisting of low growth, high unemployment and inflation levels. Then there was the problem of stagflation in the early 70s. Keynes had theorized that disflation would be brought about with unemployment but the economy witnessed bad performance in both areas. As per Keynes’ suggestion, taxes and interest could be reduced in order to ensure inflow of money into the economy. However that would bring about inflation. A new phase of economists, who were popularised as monetarists, emerged. Monetarism could be known as ‘Counter Revolution’ and this group was directed by Milton Friedman who showed that Keynesian policy failed to forecast gross national output, price, unemployment rate and interest rate. He showed money supply changes could influence inflation levels in future time periods in nonlinear manner. This led to the eme rgence of a new thought of revolution. Where the role of money was the key idea behind growth and national income’s stability in the short run and determines price level in long run. This shifted the idea of aggregate real output’s demand towards the demand and supply of money at aggregate level. This also brought about a long span of debate between the monetarists and Keynesians centring on â€Å"

How the marketing plan of Sainsbury supports strategic objectives

How the marketing plan of Sainsbury supports strategic objectives To discuss the strategic marketing in particulars first i would like to discuss the definition of strategic marketing so any marketing strategy which makes the company or organisation future scenario brighter or stronger is known as the strategic marketing. http://lexicon.ft.com/term.asp?t=strategic-marketing The example of the organisation whose marketing strategy i would like to discuss here is Sainsbury and we would see and discuss its strategic marketing policies from different perspectives and angles and try to discuss all different tools and techniques Sainsbury uses to make its marketing strategy so before starting our work here is the little introduction of Sainsbury as an organisation. John Sainsbury created the corporation approximately 140 years ago. Sainsbury objective has always been to give their clients with healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food. In fact, Sainsbury aim is to be the most excellent for food and health and in 2006 they were ranked top for health by the National Consumer Council. This tribute was achieved not least because of their trade-leading manifold traffic light dietary labelling system, which they have rolled out to approximately 4,000 produce. It was also a consequence of the hard work they have made to get rid of hydrogenated vegetable oils, taste enhancers, fake colours, aspartame and saccharin from their foodstuff, to thrash government targets on salt decrease and connect clients in open, honest dispute about the barriers to well eating. But being ranked the best for foodstuff and healthiness will mean nothing unless they struggle to keep that position. This year they will be operational even harder to encourage their clients and social group to live vigorous lifestyles and to continue to make the commodities they sell as fresh, healthy and reasonable as they can. http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/reports/cr2007/index.asp?pageid=86 LO1. how the marketing plan of Sainsbury supports strategic objectives To discuss this further first we will have to see what are the strategic objectives of Sainsbury .Sainsbury has five core objectives which are as follows. Great food at great prices To make on and stretch the guide in food. By contribution of customers passion for healthy, safe, fresh and delicious food, Sainsburys will carry on to bring new and provide path in delivering excellent products at lighprices, sourced with dependability. increasing the growth of complementary non-food ranges and service To go on to accelerate the growth of non-food ranges and services following the ethics of quality and value and to give a broader shopping knowledge for customers. Reaching more consumers through extra channels To enlarge the reach of Sainsburys brand by opening new expediency stores and developing the online operations. Growing supermarket space To enlarge the Companys store estate, aggressively seeking and initialising a pipeline of fresh stores and extending the mainly under-developed store collection to provide an even better food offer while also rising space for non-food ranges. Active property management The ownership of possessed assets gives operational litheness and the utilization of potential growth opportunities will maximise value. http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/ar10/businessreview/corporateobjectives.shtml Now after analysing these major objectives of Sainsbury we can see how the dissimilar the marketing plan of Sainsbury impact on these objectives. The strategy of the Sainsbury impacts on the marketing plan before discussing this topic we will have to observe what is the dissimilarity between marketing strategy and marketing plan . marketing strategy is a outline of your companys products and position in relation to the rivalry; your sales and marketing tactics are the exact actions youre going to undertake to achieve the goals of your marketing strategy. So in effect, you cant have a marketing plan exclusive of a marketing strategy. But a marketing plan without a marketing strategy is a misuse of time. The marketing strategy gives the goals for your marketing plans. It informs you where you should go from here. The marketing plan is the exact roadmap thats going to get you there. http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/marketing/a/marketingplan.htm TV is an significant part of our medium mix delivering both sales returns and creative flexibilty with a mixture of spot advertising and sponsorship. Anna Shirley, National Advertising Manager, Sainsbury Sainsbury requirements to reach all customers with its Try Something New Today campaign TV is used to emphasize the brands exceptional range of new food ideas split of the grocery marketplace increases year on year The impacts Sainsburys advertising strategy is designed to get people off the shopping treadmill and into more courageous eating. beneath the strap line Try Something New Today inaugurated in September 2005 the store and representative Jamie Oliver aim to revive the nations kitchens with more interesting meals. The confront is the make sure this message delivers out from rivals persistent focus on every day low prices. Sainsburys wants to communicate that not only can it supply great excellence at good prices but also that its the only store giving such a wide variety of useful ideas. As a main supermarket it also has to express this message to the as broad group of people as possible. The plan is to reach all possible Sainsburys customers and not just the well off. http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/ConCaseStudy.763 the component parts in marketing plan of Sainsbury à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¡ huge food at fair prices: To construct on and make bigger the lead in food. By input customers · passion for healthy, safe, fresh and delicious food, Sainsbury ·s will carry on to innovate and provide guidance in delivering quality products at reasonable prices, sourced with honesty. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¡ accelerating the enlargement of balancing non-food range and services: To continue to go faster the growth of non-food ranges and services next the principles of excellence and value and to give a broader shopping experience for clients. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¡ getting more consumers through additional channels: To expand the reach of Sainsburys brand by opening new expediency stores and just beginning the online home delivery business. in spite of current financial conditions these principles remain important for consumers who give Sainsburys most credit among the four main supermarkets for addressing the issues of most worrying to them. (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() 1.3Issues of risk within a marketing plan of Sainsbury Sainsburys pattern for risk evaluation is reviewed at regular intervals as is a suppliers status and this may vary as the corporation learns more about the site or as standard develop. Sainsburys policy is to intend for constant development of sites by establishing suitable improvement tactics with sensible timescales. The risk evaluation process joint with the assessment of risk significance for countries enables Sainsburys to prioritise its monitoring plan. The pecking order for monitoring is: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Self assessments by suppliers (low risk) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Visits by Quality Managers/Quality Assurance Managers (medium and high risk) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ outside audits (medium and high risk) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢various-stakeholder monitoring (through ETI pilots) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Working with business to undertake industry wide issues e.g. commodities such as cocoa and coffee High and medium risk suppliers overall current status: Sainsburys has 262 elevated and medium risk straight suppliers. Of these, 155 have received an outside audit during the last two years. Some 15 sites are still to receive an audit and Sainsburys plans to fund and complete these over the next few months. The balance of 87 was audited in2001.These suppliers are calculated high or medium risks because they source from high or medium risk countries. Those suppliers who have not before done so will concentrate three supplier workshops in 2010. These will highlight Sainsburys expectations that suppliers bring in monitoring further along the supply chain and focus on action plans going forward. Monitoring in 2010- summary: Audits have been approved out in 40 countries. More cooperation have been identified in 2006 than in 2007 due to a change in reporting style. In 2004, if auditors had picked up three issues on one audit it was only raised as one nonconformity. This year Sainsburys has reported them individually. It was decided in the strategy check at the end of 2001 that all suppliers would complete a self appraisal form, which would be held on site. The level of fulfilment to this policy is being assessed as part of an overall supplier fulfilment procedure audit looking at due thoroughness within the supply chain. In summary: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 468 self-assessments by suppliers to date à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 163 visits by Quality Managers/Quality Assurance Managers http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/reports/er_2002_eti.pdf 2. 1 levels of importance of each component to Identify the the plan You cant do a marketing plan exclusive of getting many people concerned. No issue what your size, get advice from all parts of your corporation: finance, manufacturing, workers, supply and so onin adding to marketing itself. This is particularly important because it will catch all aspects of your corporation to create your marketing plan work. Your key people can give sensible input on whats attainable and how your goals can be reached, and they can split any insights they have on any prospective, as-yet-unrealized marketing opportunities, adding another aspect to your plan. If youre fundamentally a one-person management operation, youll have to show off all your hats at one timebut at least meetings will be short! Whats the association involving your marketing plan and your business plan or vision statement? Your business plan spells out what your company is aboutwhat you do and dont do, and what your final goals are. It encompasses further than marketing; it can include talks of locations, recruitment, financing, strategic alliances and so on. It includes the vision thing, the booming words that spell out the magnificent purpose of your company in stirring language. Your business plan is the U.S. Constitution of your business: If you want to do something thats exterior the business plan, you need to also change your mind or modify the plan. Your companys business plan gives the surroundings in which your marketing plan must grow. The two documents must be reliable. http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingbasics/marketingplan/article43018.html 2.2 mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan Ever-changing patterns in client insist, globalization, multi-channel sharing, outsourced built-up, increased competition, security pressure, economic instability, and a growing focus on sustainability all add to the difficulty of supply chains. The slump especially has highlighted the call for to build a risk-proof supply chain thats more able of dealing with market fluctuations, cost instability and local political instability. Climate modify poses another layer of risk to the supply chain, as more harsh and regular climate patterns threaten physical assets, such as industrialized plants, as well as food supplies and access to safe, steady sources of energy. British grocery leader Sainsburys warns that the short-term and long-term turbulences to its supply chain from weather change could considerably increase the functioning costs for suppliers, which would, in turn, brunt its business. Variable product prices around natural resources such as oil and food products and fuel prices also have a crash on the business. Sainsbury of late won the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Awards 2009 for its work on a zero food waste to landfill project, which will use anaerobic absorption technology to turn all of its food waste into electricity by 2012, rather than burying it in the ground. This will also save the corporation money, as the government is brusquely increasing landfill taxes year-on-year to dishearten profligate practices. Sainsburys CEO Justin King said working with suppliers to decrease the supermarkets own carbon and energy bill is absolutely essential. http://www.supplychaindigital.com/taking-command-supply-chain 2.3 marketing plan of Sainsbury So Sainsburys is next to Tesco into the world of buy one, get another later deals. Sainsburys is starting the marketing promotion Buy Now, Free Next Time. customers will get a coupon at the till point offer them the chance to claim a second product during their next shop, rather than choose it out instantly as in present buy one, get one free offers. The system will first open as a test in 470 Sainsburys stores to see if it attracts customers using just two goods white baguette sticks and Pampers brand nappies. clients will have two weeks to convert the vouchers and only four items implicated in the scheme can be used per deal., it has yet to open its version in stores, giving Sainsburys the obvious advantage in innovating how it executes its marketing promotions. (http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/sainsburys-joins-tesco-in-buy-one-get-one-later-deals/) 3.1 the plan of Sainsbury to support strategic objectives Start with a careful scrutiny and clear indulgent of the strategy and objectives of your business. What is the corporate growth strategy? This wide understanding is important for at most for three reasons. First, marketing knowledge is required to employ theoretical corporate strategy. Second, important marketing decisions such as which market niches to tackle, manufactured goods distribution channels, and direct marketing plans run directly from business strategy. And third, top management thinking and state of mind should provide the base for initialising the strategic marketing plan. Begin by recognising your strategic business unit (SBU). This might be an whole company, a dissection, a product line, or a single product, as long as that unit is a split body for planning purposes (i.e., has its own management, admittance to resources, competitors, positioning plan, and customers). An SBU must be great enough to be a significant unit for strategy formulation and assessment, yet small enough for efficient preparation and marketing management. There are four important elements to strategic planning at the SBU level: recognition of the business position Analysis choice of strategies organization of controls What business are you in? In promotion Myopia, his classic 1976 article published in Harvard Business Review, Theodore Levitt pointed out that many organisations have gotten themselves in deep problem because they unsuccessful to understand just precisely what business they were in. After knowing the nature of your business, move to a Situation Analysis, which might also be referred to as a marketing audit. You should do such reviews regularly to confine a picture of your current status. Your situation, of course, includes both external and internal components. External check Financial-demographic variables. Financial forces are always significant; for example, an growing economy has basically different implication than one that is in economizing. You must also realize demographic factors, and particularly demographic shifts. Technological variables, which now change at fast speed. New procedures, new goods, and new markets for formerly unimagined goods are the norm. certainly, the stipulate for new products/service can vigour you into obsolescence if you dont keep up. You simply cant pay for to ignore this aspect. Political-legal variables, counting regulatory and tax issues, reporting needs, and the innumerable other issues that crash your business. The comparative impact depends on your sector, as management policies that are good for one sector can do important damage to another sector. Sociocultural variables, the slight market and psychosomatic forces that change demand patterns and market dynamics. Internal check. Then turn to a full review of internal processes, as well as information systems, product position, competition, delivery channels, market development, sales reimbursement, marketing costs, and expense budgets. This picture gives you an objective stage from which to jump into the meat of the strategic planning development. http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/columns/market4.htm 3.2 An approach of Sainsbury to gain agreement for the marketing plan Sainsburys also developed a strong private-label program. By the mid-1990s, its own-label products brought 68 percent of total sales. Four of the companys other products in particular made headlines in the early 1995s. Novon, a laundry detergent introduced in 1992, brought Sainsburys move into head-to-head competition with national brands. Within just six weeks of Novonas introdion the companys share of the detergents market doubled to 23 percent. In 1995, Sainsburys changed the formulation and packaging of its own cola beverage, reininventing it as Classic Cola. The budget-priced cola featured red cans with italicized letters and a stripe; ads promoted the drinks Original American Taste. Within just a few weeks, Classic Cola won 14 percent of Britains total cola market, while sales of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi at Sainsbury stores plummeted. Not surprisingly, an incensed Coca-Cola demanded that Sainsburys modify its packaging, claiming that the brands resembalance stopped customers fr om discerning between them. The supermarket chain acquiesced, but significantly decreased the rival brands share of shelf space in stores. In a new effort at novelty, Sainsburys launched Sainsburys Bank ing February 1997, becoming the first supermarket organisation to open a fully licensed retail bank. A joint undertaking 56 percent owned by Sainsbury and 44percent by Bank of Scotland, Sainsburys Bank originally offered telephone banking services in Sainsbury supermarkets, including two credit cards and two savings accounts. By early 1997 the new bank had 710,000 customer accounts with  £1.6billion on deposit and had begun contributing personal loans and mortgages. A entire host of additional economic services were introduced over the new little years. Sainsburys Bank was lucrative for the first time in fiscal 2000. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/88/J-Sainsbury-plc.html 3.3 evaluation and review measure for the agreed plan of Sainsbury Sainsburys are abounding with continuous market research data from recognized sources such as Mintel and Nielsen and also from related suppliers who may have commissioned research. customer research can be:   qualitative (e.g. group discussions, taste panels)   Quantitative (e.g. large scale shopper surveys). But developers also need to be aware of: marketplace trends These can also be monitored through presence food related exhibitions, spirited shopping and visiting countries overseas. Food   health styles and   lifestyle trends The team will look at expediency food use, particular person household data and any issue that could influence product growth. These come from Government information or client suggestions, e.g. Our Healthier Nation. Report and request for lower fat choices led to the expansion of the Sainsburys Be Good to Yourself variety. Sainsburys possess knowledge management systems give NPD teams admission to the latest best practice, allow them to share ideas via an ideas bank and find out from previous teams experiences in developing other products. Ideas may initiate from many sources, e.g. Sainsburys idea developers, suppliers and customers. Develop concept samples to own Brand Strategy 1.   Preparing product idea brief PLAN: The project squad explores the different product alternative available with select supplier(s). Sainsburys must propose a supplier to produce the product this decision is base on a number of aspects such as the quality of product samples and costs submitted, as well as their past performance on present lines produced. No producer can supply Sainsburys unless they have been visited, assessed and accepted. This ensures that the product will be manufactured to Sainsburys severe safety and quality standards. A product idea concise is also produced at this stage. A product conception brief is an first outline of the product and considers aspects such as the plan of the packaging, the pack size, important product attributes (e.g. % chicken) and any on-pack claims (e.g. low fat). Samples are often ready in the kitchen at this stage for an early sensory assessment these are known as kitchen samples. 2. idea Vs the Brief ACTION: Working with one or more suppliers, samples are shaped. At the same time, product safety is examined and prices are broken down for investigation. The safety of a product must be examined at the initial possible stage in the development procedure no product can be initiated without Product Safety endorsement. This assessment is called Hazard investigation and Risk evaluation. HACCP is a key part of this procedure. Suppliers are asked to give a flow chart of the process from the sourcing and receiving of ingredients and covering right through the manufacture, packing, storage and supply of the product. At each point in the process a team of Sainsburys expert spot potential food safety hazards and make a decision to controls and checks that must be put in place to guarantee the safety of the finished product. 3.   justification of Samples CONFIRM: The manufactured goods are trailed and tested. This step will also include sensory assessment. Samples of the product are continuously tested and examined throughout the growth process. A Quality feature Sheet sets out criteria for the look, smell, taste and texture of a product. The product is described in feature, listing precisely how a perfect product should do These criterion are obvious on a scale from 1 to 3. 1=reject and 3=meets quality. Sensory assessment may be carried out by the supplier as well as Sainsburys in its Food Centre. The centre has a range of amenities which are used to perform sensory valuation. The sensory booths are used to record the responses from tasters via a contestant. The program can record their preferences (i.e. likes and dislikes) for a variety of products, or evidence descriptions. http://www.activekidsgetcooking.org.uk/activekidsgetcooking/Secondary+Awards/Pupil+Information/The+five+gate+model+for+NPD.htm Conclusion In this report i have tried to discuss briefly the strategic plan and marketing plan of tesco and also tried to explain different between the two phenomenas and we learned that how much its important for an organisation to make its marketing plan which actually determines the future of the company. REFRENCES http://lexicon.ft.com/term.asp?t=strategic-marketing http://www.activekidsgetcooking.org.uk/activekidsgetcooking/Secondary+Awards/Pupil+Information/The+five+gate+model+for+NPD.htm http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/88/J-Sainsbury-plc.html http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/columns/market4.htm http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/sainsburys-joins-tesco-in-buy-one-get-one-later-deals/ http://www.supplychaindigital.com/taking-command-supply-chain http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/reports/er_2002_eti.pdf (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/ConCaseStudy.763 http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/ar10/businessreview/corporateobjectives.shtml http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingbasics/marketingplan/article43018.html http://www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/files/reports/cr2007/index.asp?pageid=86

Autonomy and Responsibility in the Nazi Regime: Germany 1933-1939 Essay

Autonomy and Responsibility in the Nazi Regime: Germany 1933-1939 Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles reads: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies."(1) These words fueled the Nazi Party's rise to power and ignition of a Second World War. After World War I, the Allies dissected, punished, and disarmed Germany to prevent the outbreak of another brutal war. Consequently, German lands, acquired by Nazi force, were given back to their original countries, and Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was responsible for paying immense retribution to all of the Allied Forces, causing German money to lose its value. The result of the Treaty of Versailles was a weakened Germany, both martially and economically. The Weimar Republic, a liberal government set up after Germany's defeat, was inefficient in handling Germany's massive problems. Germany's ill state was the curtain call for a change in the Weimar administration, and Adolf Hitler led the push for a transformation. Once in power, Hitler designed laws that redefined the responsibilities of the citizen. The citizens' duties would allow the Germany to regain her autonomy in the eyes of the world. Although the citizens worked to increase Germany's overrall welfare, the State did not attempt to improve individual well-being. The State held one responsibility. It must protect the lives of its people, so that the people can, in turn, carry out their duties for the S... ...ver, I carefully viewed its contents and found that it provided valuable information on Nazi propaganda, writings and speeches. The images I used in this report were taken from this site. In addition, many references are provided for further reading. http://nsdapmuseum.com This site is an unbiased historical perspective of the Nazi era. It provides valuable information about Nazi leaders, Nazi institutions, and Nazi propaganda. Also, links to other sites and biographies of the authors are listed. http://historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/index.htm This site, dedicated to students and teachers, is updated daily. The organization of the site is haphazard, but the information provided is excellent. Detailed explanations of the Hitler's life and rule are included. Furthermore, links to other historical sites are listed at the History Place's site.

Reconstruction after the Civil War Essay

Black political activity during the Reconstruction after the Civil War came from the experience of after war slavery or what was called servitude. A strong sense of community grew out of shared racial oppression and contributed to the formation of a political stand for the black freedman. Even though this formation was important it really did not become very strong after the Civil War. Emancipation was confusing to most blacks and the wartime disorder didn’t help the uncertain situation. Freedmen moved very cautiously to explore what changes were happening in their lives. They were more interested in individual measures to enhance their freedom and avoided becoming politically active. One of the freedmen’s first desires was to leave anything having to do with slavery behind. They wanted to define their new status different than the slavery they had known. What many blacks did first after becoming free was to leave the plantation that had enslaved them. Some looked for family and other headed for towns and cities, but most wanted to leave. Autonomy was a key issue that arose out of emancipation. At first the freedmen hoped their needs would be met by the federal government. Inspired by wartime confiscation of planters land, and the promise of the Freedmen’s Bureau, the former slaves waited for their â€Å"forty acres and a mule†. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a temporary agency set up to aid the former slaves by providing relief, education, legal help, and assistance in gaining land or employment and came from the Reconstruction period. The problem of how to reconstruct the Union after the South’s military defeat was won of the most difficult challenges faced by American policymakers. The Constitution didn’t provide any guidelines. The farmers had not anticipated a division of the country into warring sections. Emancipation was a major force for the Northern war aims, but the problem became larger when questions arose on how far the federal government should go to secure freedom and civil rights for former slaves. The debate that followed led to a major political crisis. Advocates of a minimal Reconstruction policy favored quick restoration of the Union with no protection for the freed slaves beyond the prohibition of slavery. Proponents of a more radical policy wanted readmission of the southern states to be dependent on guarantees that loyal men would displace the Confederate higher ups in position of power and that blacks would gain some of the basic rights of American citizenship. The White House wanted the lesser approach and congress endorsed the more radical approach of Reconstruction (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson & Williams, 1987, p. 457). The tension between the President and Congress on how to reconstruct the Union began during the war. Lincoln never had a plan for bringing the states back together, but he did take some initiatives that indicated a more lenient and forgiving policy towards Southerners who gave up the struggle and denounced slavery. Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 that offered a full pardon to all Southerners, except certain classes of Confederate leaders, who would take an oath of allegiance to the union and acknowledge the legality of emancipation (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 11). This policy was meant to shorten the war. The President hoped that granting pardon and political recognition to oath-taking minorities would weaken the southern cause by making it easy for disillusioned confederates to switch sides. But Congress was unhappy with the President’s reconstruction experiments and in 1864 refused to seat the Unionists elected to the House and Senate from Louisiana and Arkansas. A minority of congressional Republicans, who were strong anti-slavery radicals, wanted protection for black rights as a precondition for the readmission of the southern states. These Republican militants were upset because Lincoln had not insisted that the constitution creators provide for black suffrage. The dominate view in Congress was that the southern states had definitely forfeited their place in the Union and that it was up to Congress to decide when and how they would be readmitted. Congress passed a Reconstruction bill of its own in 1864. The Wade-Davis bill which required that fifty percent of the voters must take an oath of future loyalty before the restoration process could begin (Divine Breen, Fredrickson & Williams, 1987 p. 452). Those who would swear that they had never willingly supported the Confederacy could vote in an election for delegates to a constitutional convention. The bill did not require black suffrage, but it did give federal courts the power to enforce emancipation, but Lincoln used a pocket veto and refused to sign. Congress and the President remained stalled on the Reconstruction issue for the rest of the war. But during the last months in office Lincoln showed some desire to compromise. He showed much interest in getting the governments in Louisiana and Arkansas that he started, with the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863, to gaining full recognition but Lincoln was warming up to the ideal of including black suffrage in all of this. Sadly Mr. Lincoln died before anyone knew the outcome of the struggle between congress and this man. Andrew Johnson’s attempt at reconstruction also put him on the defensive with Congress creating the most serious crisis in the history of relations between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. During the war Johnson endorsed Lincoln’s emancipation policy and carried it into effect. He viewed it primarily as a means of destroying the power of the planter class rather than as recognition of black humanity (Divine Breen, Fredrickson & Williams, 1987). Johnson’s presidency was a huge surprise and really wasn’t suppose to happen considering that he was a southern Democrat and a fervent white supremacist. But the root of the problem was that he disagreed with the majority of Congress on what Reconstruction was supposed to accomplish. A believer of the Democratic states’ rights he wanted to restore the prewar feral system as quickly as possible, with the only changes being that states would no longer have the right to legalize slavery or to secede. Many Republican’s believed that if the old southern ruling class were to gain power they would devise a plan to subjugate blacks. Emancipation had removed the three-fifths clause of the constitution that counted slaves as only three-fifth of a person now they were to be counted in determining representation. Congress favored a Reconstruction policy that would give the federal government authority to limit the role of ex-confederates and provide protection for black citizenship (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 48). The disagreement between the President and Congress became irreconcilable in early 1866 when Johnson vetoed two bills that had passed with overwhelming Republican support (Fitzgerald, 1989, 81). The first was to extend the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the second was a civil rights bill meant to nullify the black codes and guarantee to the freedmen full and equal benefit of all laws and security of self and property as the white had. Johnson was successful at blocking the Freedmen’s bureau bill but later a modified version did pass. The Civil Rights Act won the two-thirds majority needed to override the president’s veto. The main fact was that recovery would not happen or even begin until a new labor system replaced slavery. It was widely assumed in both the North and South that southern prosperity would continue to depend on cotton and that the plantation was the most efficient way for producing the crop. But rebuilding the plantation economy was hindered by lack of capital, the belief of southern whites that blacks would work only if forced, and by the freedmen’s resistance to labor conditions that were still basically slavery (Divine, Breen, Fitzgerald & Williams, 1987). Blacks wanted to be small independent farmers rather than plantation laborers and they believed that the federal government would help them to attain their dreams. General Sherman, who had huge numbers of black fugitives follow his army on a famous march, issued an order in 1865 that set aside the islands and coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina for only black occupancy on forty acre plots. The Freedmen’s Bureau was given control of hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned or confiscated land and authorized to make forty acre grants to black settlers for a three year period. After that they would have the option to buy at low prices. Over forty thousand black farmers worked on three hundred thousand acres of land they thought were going to be theirs (Berlin, 1976, p. 141). But the dream of forty acres and a mule the government promised was not going to happen. President Johnson pardoned the owners of most of the land assigned to the ex-slaves by Sherman and the Freedmen’s Bureau and along with the failure of congress to propose an effective program of land confiscation and redistribution the land blacks could not gain title to the land they had been working. The ex-slaves even without land and in poverty still were reluctant to settle down and commit their selves to wage labor for their former masters. They were hoping for something better and some still expecting grants of land while others were just trying to increase their bargaining power. The most common form of agricultural employment in 1866 was contract labor. Under this system workers would commit themselves for a year in return for fixed wages that the bulk of would be paid after harvest. Many planters were inclined to make hard bargains, abuse their workers or cheat them at the end of the year. The Freedmen’s Bureau took the role of reviewing the contracts and enforcing them. Buy the bureau officials had differing notions of what it meant to protect blacks from exploitation. Some stood up strongly for the rights of the freedmen; others served as allies of the planters, rounding up available workers, coercing them to sign contracts for low wages, and keeping them in line (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 138). After 1867 the bureau’s influence was fading and a new arrangement come from direct negotiations between planters and freedmen. Unhappy with gang labor and constant white supervision, blacks demanded sharecropper’s status. This meant that they wanted the right to work a small piece of land independently in return for a fixed share of the crop produced on it and that was usually half. With the shortage of labor this gave the freedmen enough leverage to force this arrangement on those planters who were unwilling. But many landowners found it to their advantage because it did not require much capital and forced the tenants to share the risks of crop failure or a fall in cotton prices. Blacks at first viewed sharecropping as a step up from wage labor and a direction towards land ownership, but in reality it was just a new kind of slavery (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 140). Croppers had to live on credit until their cotton was sold, and planters or merchants seized the chance to give them at high prices and huge rates of interest. Creditors were entitled to deduct what was owned to them out of the tenant’s share of the crop and this left most sharecroppers with no net profit at the end of the year, some with debt that had to be worked off the next year (Fitzgerald, 1989, p. 141). Blacks moving to cities and towns found themselves living in an increasingly segregated society. The Black Codes of 1865 attempted to require separation of the races in public places but most of the codes were set aside by federal authorities as violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, but that was defeated by private initiatives and community pressures. In some cities blacks successfully resisted forced separation on streetcars by appealing to the military during the brief period when it exercised authority or by organizing boycotts. But they found it almost impossible to gain admittance to most hotels, restaurants, and other privately owned establishments that catered to whites. When black supported Republican governments came to power in 1868, some of them passed civil rights acts requiring equal access to public facilities, but little efforts were made to enforce the legislation (Berlin, 1976, p. 249). Some forms of racial separation were not openly discriminatory and blacks accepted or even endorsed them. Freedmen who had belonged to white churches as slaves welcomed the chance to join all black denominations which gave freedom from white dominance and a more congenial style of worship. The first schools for ex-slaves were all black institutions established by the Freedmen’s Bureau and various northern missionary societies (Berlin, 1976, p. 285). Blacks had been denied any education at all after the war and blacks viewed separate schooling as an opportunity rather than as a form of discrimination. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a government agency that was to give assistance and protection to the Southern ex-slave after the Civil war. It gave assistance to the relief of the needy of both white and black. Its main job was to improve labor relations, administering justice and developing a black educational system. The Bureau influence though suffered in the North and was mortally damaged in the South by corruption, especially those that were connected with promising Republican control of the black vote. These excesses strengthened resistance to black suffrage and encouraged secret organizations like the Ku Klux Klan (Sehat, 2007). The bureau was established under the War Department and was suppose to exist for one year after the war. It was strengthened and its life extended in 1866 when Johnson attempted to veto. Its Director was a Christian general by the name of Oliver O. Howard and functioned through ten districts. Each had an assistant commissioner with the power to control all individuals that were refugees and freedmen. The Freedmen’s Bureau became the strongest single instrument of Reconstruction. Even though it was ended in 1869 its educational activities were extended to 1872 and its soldiers’ bounty payments till 1872 and had an expenditure of about $20,000,000 (Divine Breen Fredrickson & Williams, 1987). Reconstruction failed because it was inadequately motivated, conceived and enforced. But the causes of this failure remain in shadow. Some explain it in terms of an underlying racism that prevented white Republicans from identifying fully with the cause of the black equality. Others use the clash between the class interests of those in charge of implementing and managing Reconstruction and the poor people of the South who were supposed to benefit. But the basic issue raised by Reconstruction was how to achieve racial equality in America and that was not resolved during that era and is still in conflict even today. Reference: Berlin, I. (1976). Slaves without masters. New York: Vintage Books Divine, R. A. , Breen, T. H. , Fredrickson, G. M. and Williams, R. H. (1987). America past and present, 2nd. Ed. Illinois: Scott , Foresman and Company. Fitzgerald, M. W. (1989). The union league movement in the deep south. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. Gibson, G. J. (1957). Lincoln’s League: The league movement during the Civil War. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Illinois. Sehat, D. ( 2007, May). The civilizing mission of Booker T. Washington. Journal of Southern History, 73(2), 323-362.

Coca-Cola Company

Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it's going to get there and how it'll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization's leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization's environment, size of the organization and expertise of planners. Coca-Cola Company My organisation is ‘Coca-Cola’ and my organisation make strategic plans by their mission statement: ‘To refresh the world – in mind, body and spirit, To inspire moments of optimism – through our brands and actions, To create value and make a difference everywhere we engage’, their value statement: ‘Our shared values that we are guided by are: Leadership, Passion, Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation and Quality’, their aims and objectives: The aim and objective of Coca-Cola Enterprises is ‘to be the best beverage sales and customer service company’. To them ‘best' means being the number one or second brand in every category in which they compete, being their customers most valued supplier and establishing a winning and inclusive culture corporate values and aims – meeting stakeholders expectations. Their organisational structure ensures that all the people of the same skills are grouped together; the main advantage of this type of management is that it allows the members of the team to share any information more freely across boundaries which would otherwise have existed. This type of organisational structure is called a matrix structure and it primarily helps Coca Cola company to achieve their aims and objectives because they’re able to cross section information from different departments of the company, so for example if they’re not selling their beverages so well then they can communicate with the managers to either take them off stock or reduce the price for a bit whilst more customers are attracted to it. This can be attained by their structure. Today, the intelligent organisation recognises that its own future well-being is, to a certain extent, dependent on the well-being of the communities within which it operates at a local, national and global level. It is important that investments which take place in the community, in terms of education, the environment, training, art and cultural institutions and many other causes are carefully thought through throughout the company. Decisions related to corporate citizenship are rather more difficult than the traditional business decisions which managers are used to making. Clear aims and objectives need to be established which fit well with an organisation's corporate values and aims. The intelligent organisation today takes these issues seriously and seeks to design careful, flexible, comprehensive strategies to guide their decisions. Organisations such as The Coca-Cola Company therefore have established strategies for corporate citizenship. Coca-Cola's strategy recognises that the well-being of communities is inextricably linked to the well-being of the business environment. A healthy business climate cannot co-exist for long with an ailing social environment. Strengthening both is therefore a goal for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is planning to increase international distribution and target international consumers with Japanese customers by maintaining a consistent strategy overseas, this structure helps the business to achieve their overall purpose and aims by making them more popular throughout more countries and promote them. This then makes more people aware of them and so a lot of their products are sold out more recently. Their organisational structure also helps them to achieve their purpose and aims as the structure allows all the employees to communicate with each other and so allows them to come out with more ideas as a whole group. Marks and Spencer’s company Marks and Spencer’s is my other organisation and the structure of the organisation and the strategic planning helps each business including the Marks and Spencer’s business organisations achieve their overall purpose and aims. There are many ways in which the business organisations do to accomplish this: their vision statement- ‘Our Vision’: To be the standard against which all others are measured. Their mission statement- ‘Our Mission’: To make aspirational quality accessible to all. Their value’s statement- ‘Our Values’: Quality, value, service, innovation and trust. Whether we're working at home or abroad, within our own stores or in partnership with our franchisees, our Vision, Mission and Values remain the same. Ensuring we meet our customers' needs with appealing, superior quality products at attractive prices’ and their aim’s and objectives- ‘Our aims and objectives’: To make money for the shareholders, and improve profit margins wherever possible. They do this by- Designing appealing products for its customers, innovating products and selling at prices that their customers are prepared to pay. The organisational structure for Marks and Spencer’s displays the hierarchy design, which shows how the people included rank from most important to least important. This type of structure is a functional structure and is useful for relatively large companies. Employees within the functional structure are differentiated to perform a specialized set of tasks. This helps Marks and Spencer’s to achieve their aims and objectives as for instance the marketing department would only be staffed with marketers responsible for the marketing of the Masks and Spencer’s products. The structure also helps this company to achieve it’s aims and objectives because as a result it does end up making money for the shareholders and can improve profit margins wherever possible by knowing who’s in charge of who, and who are the most important people for the job, which can make the decisions if needed to either reduce stock or raise stock as they’d be experienced. They have a commitment called ‘Plan A' which is all about environmental issues within the business. Things like, not sending waste to landfill and cutting carbon emissions. Although this is a good thing, it is mainly to improve its image and again, encourage people to shop with them. ‘We launched Plan A in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. We've now extended Plan A to 180 commitments to achieve by 2015, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer’. This is Marks and Spencer’s strategic planning and they will achieve this by working with their customers and suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically, and help their customers to lead healthier lifestyles Marks and Spencer’s are currently providing their customers with food and cloth services and they are aiming to continue investing in and grow with providing service to their retail business. They are now introducing new clothing items for all ages and gender. This will help them meet their long term objective of growing and investigating within the UK retails. The cascading of goals and objectives should be motiving the entire workforce. The employees have to work together to implement the strategy and objectives and this also includes supporting organisations and to achieve a greater cascading of goals and objectives the organisations must try to enforce balance among its customer relationship, financial aspect and having better objectives to focus on the growth outlook.