Proposal for a problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Proposal for a problem - Essay Example The answer here is no. In order to solve this problem, The Food Gulf Processing is supposed to increase the number of the people to 2 per storage giving a total of 6 people, as well as purchase a scanner which is efficient and fast enough thus serving a much larger number of people than the three people would have served. Scanning will be effective and no one will escape the service making the company to realize lots of the profits and minimize the losses that were incurred during the period the 3 people were serving through registration of people manually. The manual registration is also a time consuming service as one has to keep the pen and the paper in touch which is tedious during the reviewing and the calculation of the accounting problems. It is such a daunting task to register one item after another and after these items are released outside to the food business they are not able to fetch the required profits. Three people serving in these stores are unable to meet the business objectives. These 3 people cause the company to lose almost  ¾ of the sales since the day ends before all the items are registered, which would mean a loss to the business since one item cost between $5 and $12. The slowness of the 3 people that are responsible for the registration would continuously bring in the losses to the business that might cause it to fail. This factor makes the workers confused and disoriented because of the inability to account for losses incurred due to poor register management. Adding 4 more people such that each storage would hold a total of 2 people as well as give a scanner for every storage would facilitate the service of registering the items and increase the rate at which the items are released to the consumers. The cost of production will definitely go down as there are higher experiences of the profits to the company. There is the need to have the good number of the service providers and the presence of the

Professional Development of Nurses Essay Example for Free

Professional Development of Nurses Essay In 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to form an initiative on the future of nursing. The RWJF is an independent organization that focuses on healthcare innovations and programs such as childhood obesity, health coverage, and public health. The IOM is a non-government resource that assists the government and private agencies in making informed decisions about healthcare issues (ISNA bulletin, 2011, p. 11). This 2 year study focused on the current state of healthcare, specifically nursing, and provided recommendations to improve the nursing profession and enhance the infrastructure of healthcare. Key points were safety, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration of practice. The study focused on nursing education, practice, and nursing’s role of leadership (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine [RWJF], 2011). The focus on education was primarily driven to advance the educational system and to further advance nursing care in the changing face of healthcare reforms. The study showed that nurses have a significant impact in healthcare, with more than 3 million members; they are posed to generate a large role in the reform of the healthcare system (Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine [RWJF], 2011). The IOM strives to achieve higher levels of education through improved educational systems. Nurses are encouraged to practice to the full extent of their education and training. The IOM initiative is promoting removal of the barriers that are in place regarding scopes of practice for advanced practice nurses and to standardize the scope of practice delineations across state lines. The report recommends support of nursing education and programs expanded to graduate more upper level nurses who will then focus on becoming educators. The goal of the IOM is to have 80% more baccalaureate prepared nurses by 2020. By increasing the number of nursing programs that are now in place and changing those from purely traditional learning to a hybrid of traditional and innovative or online programs more nurses will graduate with higher degrees. Intensifying the traditional curriculum to include interprofessional collaboration, communication, and systems thinking helps to encourage higher level thinking and superior leadership skills. Additionally encouraging nurses to engage in lifelong learning to retain and renew competencies is very important; the competencies should be relative to the knowledge, experience, and practice of the nurse. Another part of the education process is the implementation of nurse residency programs. These programs are important because it takes time and experience for a nurse to become fully prepared to be functional in the acute care setting and these new opportunities will encourage the nurses to stay at the institution. This IOM report has a tremendous impact on nursing practice, particularly in primary care with the focus being on increasing nursing education to provide higher quality care for the patients. Keeping up with facility and national competencies is important to ensure that the nurse’s practice is up to date and current. Improved technology also increases the nurse’s efficiency and the amount of time that the nurse is able to spend with their patients. Additionally, this helps with the education of the patient because when the nurse is able to spend more time with the patient more effective teaching is done. Patient safety is one of the most important parts of nu rsing and by utilizing education as well as technology nurses are able to prevent critical errors and maintain patient safety more effectively. With the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) traditional healthcare is evolving to patient centered care delivered in the community rather than in the acute care setting. Advanced practice nurses will have a bigger â€Å"voice† in the community and an enormous impact on healthcare. This will impact me in my nursing facility because as I am better educated and up to date on my competencies, my patients are safer, I am utilizing the most recent technology in caring for them, and therefore providing them the best and safest care. The IOM report is describing an ideal world where nurses are significant as leaders, in a partnership with physicians and other healthcare professionals, in redesigning the healthcare system. To accomplish this reform, nurses must be educated as leaders by focusing on communication, professionalism, interprofessional collaboration and decision making (ISNA bulletin, 2011, p. 12). The nurse should be actively involved in identifying problems, collaborating with the physicians to seek solutions, and be committed to providing safe and effective healthcare to the patients and community. Leadership also plays an active role in policy making, institutional model development, and improving work processes. Nurses, with their backgrounds in patient care, have a unique understanding of patient well-being, institutional policies, and flow of the healthcare team which helps them to be on the forefront of change. In closing, the IOM report is a detailed description of recommendations that describe how nurses can and should be actively participating in the healthcare reform. It is time for a change and nurses have the opportunity and responsibility to participate in these transformational changes. Education, leadership, changes in nursing practice, and collaboration of the healthcare team are the keys to change. References Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine. (2011). Institute of Medicine. [Article]. Retrieved from http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing/Future%20o Fights, S. D. (2012, March/April). Nurses Lead From Where We Stand: How Can You Impact the Future Of Nursing? [Article]. MEDSURG Nursing, 21(2), 57-58. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=a9hAN=74576360site=eds-livescope=siteâ€Å"Nurses Lead from Where We Stand: How Can You Impact the Future of Nursing? IOM Report on the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. [Journal article]. (2011, January 11). Med-Surg Matters, 1, 3. Retrieved from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=truedb=rzhAN=2010978901site=eds-livescope=site†IOM Report on the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Visioning the future of nursing: analysis of the IOM/RWJ foundation report [independent study]. (2011, august, September, October). Indiana State

Fifteen Meditations on Masculinist Physico-Spiritual Experience :: Philosophical Philosophy essays

Fifteen Meditations on Masculinist Physico-Spiritual Experience I am not my body, I am not my mind, I am not my soul. I am the breath of life, I am the breath of God. A golden retriever was once abused by a man and rescued by a woman who had a daughter in an all-girls Catholic high school. I paid them a visit one day. The dog stood behind the clear plastic door, wagging her tail, but as I ascended the steps she suddenly soured, and by the time the door opened and I was inside, she was cowering under the dining room table where she stayed for the duration of my visit with intermittent miserable howls. "She won't have anything to do with men," my friend explained. Even the scent of testosterone has its spiritual message. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. The founder of modern philosophy had a number of disciples who applied the master's theoretical teachings in the practical field of dog-torturing. They felt these experiments demonstrated the superiority of man as a spiritual creature. Rene Descartes wanted to rewrite the philosophical canon by asserting only what he knew to be true or could logically derive. Sequestered in a stove-heated room, he realized he could doubt that his body, or even the whole world, existed, but he could not doubt was that he was thinking. I think, therefore I am. Descartes is a spiritual, immaterial, thinking thing; the rest is mere body, a separate substance. Continuing in this vein, he determined that human beings are the only animals who have souls. Therefore humans are the only animals who can think, feel, experience, or matter to God. I am going to drive nails through this dog's paws. I am going to vivisect its chest and show you its beating heart-such awesome machinery, praise the Architect on high! Its howls, this deafening din of a universe shattering-a purely mechanistic response! I am taking over this operation. If you cringe, you may leave, and don't come back. The serious student of philosophy thinks with his mind, not his body; his soul, not his flesh. Air my breath and fire my spirit, earth my body, water my blood. Tertullian, who lived in the Roman city of Carthage in the third century, was a sensual man who loved spectacles. After seeing how bravely Christian prisoners endured public torture, humiliation, and death, he became intrigued with the persecuted religion and eventually converted.

Monopoly versus perfect markets Essay

This paper investigates the two extremes of market structures. A monopoly firm, and a firm which operates in a perfectly competitive market. We will compare features, similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages. The monopoly firm I have chosen is Thames Water. This company is an accurate example, as it’s the sole supplier of the industry. The firm, is the industry. Thames Water supply water through peoples taps in and around London. Fyffe is my chosen firm in a perfectly competitive market. I think this is a good example. It sells bananas to supermarkets and food suppliers, who resell on to customers. The next two paragraphs explain the features of perfect competition, then a monopoly. â€Å"The theory of perfect competition illustrates an extreme form of capitalism. † (Sloman, 2007:113) There are many suppliers, who all only supply and produce a small fraction of the total output, of the whole industry. None of the firms have any power over the market. (Mankiw, 2001) Barriers to entry do not exist. Therefore firms can enter and leave the market freely. Apart from the money and time it takes to set up the business, there are no other obstacles. Both producers and consumers have perfect knowledge of the market. Therefore they both know prices which should be paid, quality which should be met, availability of the product. Market opportunities for expansion, and entry opportunities in the industry as a whole. The price Fyffe must charge for their bananas will depend upon the demand and supply of the whole market, not just Fyffe personal demand. Hence they have no power over prices. They must follow the market forces. (Sloman, 2007)Established firms in the banana industry have no advantage over firms who have newly entered the market. (Parkin, Powell, Matthews)â€Å"This means they can sell all the products they can produce at the market price, but none at a price which is higher. † (Sloman, 2007:114) If Fyffe raise their selling price above p1, their demand will drop to 0, because if Fyffe raise the price of their bananas, consumers will just buy from another firm selling at the current market price. Illustrated in diagram 2. (Beardshaw, 2001) All firms operating in the banana industry sell a homogenous product, all the firms in the industry sell an identical banana. The theory states there is not a great need for advertising or branding. (McConnell, 2008) I would agree with this statement in the context of bananas. Advertising is not needed as people will not look for a specific brand of banana. They all taste the same. However I think a firm in a market selling shampoos and conditioners would need a certain amount of branding and advertising so people choose their product and gain customer loyalty. In the shampoo industry products are not as homogenous. A pure monopoly owns 100% of the industry. Thames water have a great deal of power, and are price makers, thus they set the price to how much they want to charge. If the consumer cannot, or doesn’t want to pay the price, they have to go without the tap water. In the short run both perfect competition and monopolies can make economic profits, losses and supernormal profits. Only monopolies can manage to sustain super normal profits in the long run. â€Å"Persistant economic profits are called monopoly profits. † (Dobson, 2005:99) Monopolies can sustain supernormal profits and remain safe and unaffected by competition due to barriers to entry. Supply to the industry does not increase with new entrants. (Hunt, 1990). There are many types of barriers to entry. Thames water is known as a natural monopoly, meaning there are barriers to entry due to large economies of scale. (Sloman, 2007) Capital equipment is so expensive and large scale that only one sole supplier could manage to make a profit in the water industry. However Thames Water incurred low marginal costs once they are set up. â€Å"If average cost falls as output increases over the entire range of market demand its a natural monopoly. † (Dobson, 2006:100) â€Å"Each would have a very high average cost at a low output. † (Begg, 2005:134) Correspondingly Thames Water gain barriers to entry through lower costs. This is an artificial barrier. The firm is experienced in their field. Has good knowledge of their market, and will be able to gain the best rates of interest on finance, the best suppliers at the lowest costs, and lean methods of production. Other firms would struggle to compete. If a firm decided to set up and compete with Thames Water, and failed by going out of business there would be huge sunk costs. This occurs when high amounts are spent on capital expenditure, which cannot be used on another business venture. (Sloman, 2007) This is an example of exit costs. It would be a huge loss to the firm, and would discourage firms from entering the market. Thames water also have patents copywrite and licensing. The next two paragraphs explain the effect on demand for perfect competition, then a monopoly. For Fyffe the price charged for the bananas is equal to marginal revenue. Average revenue and demand are also equal to price. If average cost dips below average revenue the firm will earn supernormal profits. If demand is above where marginal costs and marginal revenue meet the firms will be making normal profit. See diagram 2. Normal profits cover opportunity costs of the owners money and time. If Fyffe set output below equilibrium marginal cost would exceed marginal revenue and profit would be lowered. If Fyffe raised output above equilibrium marginal costs would exceed marginal revenue and profits would also be lowered. See graph 1. (Dobson, 2005:99) The demand curve is elastic for the banana industry, but not perfectly elastic. Hence why it slopes downwards in diagram 1. If there is a rise in price for bananas, consumers will spend less on the product, and Fyffe will entail a fall in revenue. In contrast if the price of bananas drop, consumers will buy more of the product, and providing the firm is covering their costs they will receive an increase in revenue, because bananas can be relatively easily substituted by another cheaper fruit. Furthermore bananas will sell for a cheaper price when they are in season, due to a larger supply to the market in this period. Fyffe is perfectly elastic which is why their demand curve is horizontal. See graph 2. The firms prices are not affected by their output and their decisions do not affect the industry. (Ison, 2007) Firms must produce at equilibrium to maximise profits, which is where the market supply, meets the market demand, as illustrated in diagram 1. Short run â€Å"assumes the number of firms in the industry does not increase, as there is not enough time. † (Sloman 2007:114) When a firm produces quantity and price, where marginal costs, and average costs meet they are breaking even. See diagram 2. (Begg, 2005) Consumers are charged a price which is equal to what it costs the firm to produce the extra unit. See diagram 2. If the demand curve for bananas increases short term, the demand curve will shift to the right. See diagram 3. This results in a higher equilibrium and a higher selling price. As selling price has increased farmers will raise their output by increasing their variable costs such as labour and materials. This will result in a larger profit and profits are maximised. As illustrated in diagram 4. In contrast if the demand for bananas was to decrease, this would cause a shift to the left in the demand curve. See diagram 5. This results in a lower equilibrium for the industry, and a fall in the selling price. Consequently all firms in the industry including Fyffe would reduce output, by decreasing variable factors and the firm would suffer economic losses. As illustrated in diagram 6. (Dobson, 2005) If Fyffe or Thames Water are not covering their average total costs in the short run, they should carry on trading, but if they are not covering their short run average variable costs, it would be cheaper to temporarily close down. The theory is known as the short run supply decision. (Ison, 2007) In the long run any firm should close down if it is not covering its total average costs as it is loss making. Called the long run supply decision. (Begg, 2003) When demand increases and selling prices rise in the long term, existing firms are making supernormal profits. Several new firms will enter the market. The supply curve will shift to the right, and supply will increase, which will lower market price. As more new industries join firms reduce their output until they are making a normal profit again. Output of the whole industry will be larger now that more firms are in the market, and there is no incentive for firms to enter, or leave the market as breakeven profits are being made. Referred to as the entry or exit price. When there is a decrease in demand, prices will fall, and firms will reduce output to minimise losses. Eventually due to losses some firms will leave the market which lessens supply and the supply curve will shift to the left. This raises prices due to restricted output, and farmers will start to make normal profits again. So there are less firms and less output in the industry. (Dobson, 2005) In the long run there are no fixed costs in any industry, as firms can change their plant size or machinery. Resulting in a long run supply curve which is flatter than the short run. (Begg, 2003) If all firms operating in the industry restricted supply together increasing demand and prices, new firms would enter the market which would increase supply and lower prices. (Begg, 2005) Thames water are price inelastic, and have a low income elasticity of demand, because there are no close substitutes for their product, and water is a essential item. However they are not perfectly inelastic, as a rise in price will still amount to a small drop in quantity demanded. This means Thames water’s revenue will increase with a rise in price, and decrease with a fall in price. A profit maximising level of output is where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost but rising up to the demand curve to obtain price. See diagram 9 (Sloman, 2007) The demand curve in diagram 9 represents the value of Thames water to customers, and the marginal curve shows the costs Thames water must pay. The marginal revenue curve must lie below the downward sloping demand curve as marginal revenue is less than price. The further the distance between the demand curve on the right hand side and the marginal revenue on the left the more inelastic the demand, see diagram 9. (Dobson, 2005) ) A firm cannot produce to the right of marginal revenue as this part of the diagram is inelastic. In order for the monopolist to sell a larger amount, the price must be lowered on all previous units, so to prevent this the monopolist may restrict output to keep a larger revenue. Creating scarcity and raising the equilibrium price. (Begg, 2005) â€Å"The excess of price over marginal costs shows the monopolies power† (Dobson, 2005:102) The power to raise prices by selling a smaller amount of output. Diagrams 8, 9, and 10 show long run economic profits, normal profits and losses. Thames water will then check weather the profit maximising level of output covers their total costs in the long run and variable costs in the short run. (Begg, 2003) Thames water is not a contestable market due to the fact it’s a natural monopoly, and has very high barriers to entry. This means they can charge high prices and make supernormal profits, without the threat of competition and new entrants. (Sloman, 2007) Thames water may want to behave ethically when setting prices. If they choose too high a price which people cannot afford this could lead to poverty, but if they charge too low a price this could lead to a wastage of water. Monopolies often use price discrimination when setting prices. Although Thames water do not. Perfect competition cannot use this method. Particular consumers are charged a higher price for an identical service so the monopoly can earn higher profits. (Ison, 2007) Revenue is not lost from previously sold units when price is reduced. More output can be sold ands firms can catch some of their consumer surpluses. See diagram 12. â€Å"Surpluses are the difference between actual price paid and what consumers will have been willing to pay. † â€Å"So the business is treating the demand curve as the marginal revenue curve† (Ison, 2007:138) Only works when consumers cannot buy the product for a cheaper price and sell on to others. (Begg, 2005) A firm operating in perfect competition will achieve allocative efficiency. This exists when price is equal to marginal costs. â€Å" Society is better off when resources are allocated to maximise the total surplus in the market. † (Dobson, 2005:91) Productive efficiency will also be achieved, meaning Fyffe will produce and sell their output for the lowest price they can in the long run giving consumers the best possible value for money. â€Å"Price equals minimum average total cost. † (Dobson, 2005:92) This is good for consumers and society as consumers get the best possible value for money. (Sloman, 2007) Perfectly competitive markets are critised for having a lack of variety, unable to fully satisfy consumers wants and needs. Furthermore the long term entry and exit of firms can be a waste of certain resources such as empty buildings. This is called competitive forces in action. (Dobson, 2005) Monopoly’s are in a position to give us a lower price if they decide to, due to economies of scale. The marginal cost curve is lower than the supply curve in their graph which means the firm can supply more output at a lower production cost. Supernormal profits can fund research and development which will improve the quality of the product. Therefore the monopoly can innovate and introduce new products. (Ison, 2007) However some firms may not do this as they do not need to fight to stay in the industry, with no competition around. (Mankiw, 2001) Joseph Schumpeter said in theory monopolies have more ability and incentive to innovate which can make them better for society. If you imagine a whole industry was taken over by a monopolist, they could eliminate competition and charge very high prices, by reducing output level to which raises price. Supernormal profits represent a redistribution of income from consumer to producer which can be critised on equity grounds† (Ison, 2007:137) Monopoly firms have been known to â€Å"engage in dirty tricks to protect themselves from competition. † They do not produce an output which minimises average costs. Making them productively efficient. â€Å"Perfect competition is rare due to larger companies expanding, gaining economies of scale and market power. Resulting in other firms being forced of the business. So if economies of scale did not exist any industry could have perfect competition. † (Dobson, 2006:94) Monopolies are also rare, and both are extremes of market structures. Most firms lie somewhere between the two. I think the two firms I picked are a fair comparism. They are both from a mixed economy. Thames water will have regulating agencies monitoring them. There are only 3 legal monopolies in Britain Thames Water included. In the past there was a significant amount of monopolies which were government owned. When Margaret Thatcher came into power she privitised these firms as she believed competition would lead to greater efficiency and lower prices which would benefit society as a whole. I agree with her decision and I think after researching, perfect competition appears to be the better option for consumers. Monopolys benefit society in certain situations such as retained profits ploughed back into research and development for medical reasons, and natural monopolies who could not survive in a perfectly competitive industry. Monoplies and perfect competition are becoming more rare as time goes on and who knows what will happen in the future.

Marks & Spencer Group Anaylsis

COMPANY PROFILE Marks and Spencer Group plc REFERENCE CODE: DFE67A38-E021-448F-BC58-3944E618713F PUBLICATION DATE: 12 May 2012 www. marketline. com COPYRIGHT MARKETLINE. THIS CONTENT IS A LICENSED PRODUCT AND IS NOT TO BE PHOTOCOPIED OR DISTRIBUTED. Marks and Spencer Group plc TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Company Overview†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Key Facts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Business Description†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Histor y†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Key Employees†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Key Employee Biographies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Major Products and Services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . 6 Revenue Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 17 SWOT Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 Top Competitors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 Company View†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 26 Locations an d Subsidiaries†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 29Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 2 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company Overview COMPANY OVERVIEW Marks and Spencer Group (M&S or â€Å"the company†) is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK. The company operates in more than 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It is headquar tered in London, the UK and employs 78,169 people. The company recorded revenues of ? 9,740. 3 million (approximately $15,158. 8 million) in the financial year ended April 2011 (FY2011)*, an increase of 2. 1% over FY2010. The operating profit of M&S was ? 836. million (approximately $1,302. 5 million) in FY2011, a decrease of 1. 8% compared to FY2010. The net profit was ? 612 million (approximately $952. 5 million) in FY2011, an increase of 1 6. 3% over FY2010. *The financial year ended April 2, 2011 was a 52-week period whereas the financial year ended April 3, 2010 was a 53-week period. KEY FACTS Head Office Marks and Spencer Group plc Waterside House 35 Nor th Wharf Road London W2 1NW GBR Phone 44 20 7935 4422 Fax Web Address http://www. marksandspencer. com Revenue / turnover 9,740. 3 (GBP Mn) Financial Year End April Employees 78,169 London TickerMKS Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 3 Marks and Spencer Group plc Business Description BUSINESS DESCRIPTION M&S is the holding company of the Marks & Spencer Group of companies. The company is one of the UK’s leading retailers, with more than 21 million people visiting its stores each week. M&S offers clothing and home products, as well as foods, sourced from about 2,000 suppliers globally. It operates through both wholly owned stores and franchise stores. As of FY2011, the company operated 703 stores in the UK. M&S operates over 361 owned and franch ised stores in over 42 territories.Though the company primarily repor ts its revenues in terms of geographic segments (UK and international), its operations can be categorized under two divisions: food and general merchandise. The food division concentrates on four main areas: fresh, natural, healthy food; special celebration products; authentic ready meal ranges; and exceptional ever yday food such as â€Å"Oakham† chicken. It operates a chain of 163 Simply Food owned stores and 202 Simply Food franchise stores in high streets, motorway service stations, railway stations and air por ts in the UK.The general merchandise division of the company is categorized into two segments: clothing and home. The clothing segment offers women's wear, men's wear, lingerie, children's wear, and accessories and footwear. Some of the prominent brands offered by this segment include Autograph, Limited Collection, Collezione, Blue Harbour, Girls Boutique, Per Una, Ceriso, Adored, and Truly you. The home segment offers homeware and home accessories, kitchen and tableware, lighting, and furniture products. In addition to selling products through regular stores, the segment also offers catalogue services.M offers its products and services online as well as through flagship stores, high street stores, retail park stores, M outlets, Simply Food stores, and Simply Food franchised stores. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 4 Marks and Spencer Group plc History HISTORY M was founded in 1884 as a stall in an open market in Leeds, the UK. Then known as Marks' Penny Bazaar, it was the household goods, haberdasher y, toy, and sheet-music business of Michael Marks, a Jewish refugee from Poland. In 1894, he took Thomas Spencer as a business par tner.In 1903, M&S was registered as a private limited company. Although a clothing design depar tment had first been set up in 1938, it was not until after the Second World War that it became fully developed under a leading designer . In 1973, the company entered Canada, and bought Peoples Depar tment Stores and D'Allaird's, a national women's wear retailer, both of which it later sold. The company also had direct retailing investments in Canada. It tried to move south of the border in 1988 with the purchase of Brooks Brothers, but the US operation never took off as the company had hoped.Five franchised stores were closed down in Turkey in 1999 when the franchise par tner Turk Petrol Holding couldn't meet its bank obligations and collapsed. Later in the year, Marks and Spencer Canada, after 25 years of business, closed its 38 stores. The company sold its US clothing chain Brooks Brothers for $225 million in 2001. In 2003, M&S announced the launch of its â€Å"&more† credit card. Alongside this, Marks & Spencer Financial Services was re-branded â€Å"Marks & Spencer Money. † In 2004, M&S completed the sale of Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings (M&S Money) to HSBC.During the course o f 2005, the company opened 31 Simply Food stores as well as closed the Lifestore project in the UK. M&S expanded the â€Å"Simply Food† format with the acquisition of 28 stores on a leasehold basis from Iceland Foods for a consideration of ? 38 million (approximately $76. 3 million) in 2006. In the same year, M&S sold Kings Super Markets, its only non-M&S branded business to a US investor group consisting of Angelo, Gordon & Co, MTN Capital Par tners and Mr. Bruce Weitz for $61. 5 million in cash.In 2007, M&S and two of its long-term suppliers decided to star t the development of M&S' first â€Å"eco-factories†, pioneering innovative methods of sustainable manufacturing. One factor y in Sri Lanka would make lingerie and two factories in Nor th Wales would manufacture furniture upholster y. In the same year, the company launched its own branded LCD widescreen TVs. This range was in addition to the existing collection of Sony TVs currently available at M. Fur ther in the year, M launched school wear made from recycled plastic bottles.The company's first standalone home store in Lisburn, Nor thern Ireland was launched in 2007. In the same year, M&S launched Big & Tall, an exclusive online men's wear offering more than 450 items online ranging from tailoring to knitwear to casual shir ts and trousers. Also in 2007, M reduced saturated fat level as much as 82% in more than 500 company's products. The company reduced saturated fat levels in products including sandwiches, ready meals, crisps and savor y snacks. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 5 Marks and Spencer Group plc HistoryTowards the end of 2007, a new Made to Measure shir ts ser vice was launched by M&S, which allowed customers to design a tailor-made shir t within 21 days. The company added new products to its men's wear por tfolio in FY2008. M also launched climate control underwear featuring temperature regulating technology developed by NASA, expanded Collezione brand collec tion by introducing new shoes, wool and cashmere mix trousers. M reinvigorated its Blue Harbour brand to attract 35 to 44 year old men. Also in FY2008, the company star ted to freeze its ready meals for international sale and launched a range of 70 lines in eight countries.Later, the company also launched a 25-piece capsule collection called GD25 from Per Una. In 2008, M removed ar tificial colors and flavorings from its entire food and soft drinks range. In the same year, the company improved the quantity of space in a number of major out of towns and city centre stores through store extensions and also added 35 stores to its Simply Food por tfolio, including 25 BP franchised stores. A new flagship store in new Westfield Centre at White City, West London was opened at the end of 2008.To fur ther progress in Asian markets, the company opened its first 38,000 square feet store in Shanghai. M then entered into a par tnership with Scottish and Southern Energy, as per which M Energy wou ld supply electricity and gas to domestic customers and reward them with M store vouchers for helping the environment by reducing their energy usage. M announced plans to close 10 of its Simply Food stores in 2009. The company opened Food to Go outlets in Hong Kong in the same year. Also in 2009, M announced plans to enter new categories in the Indian market, with the launch of luggage and footwear for men.The company introduced a Ramadan and Eid fashion collection in all the 13 stores throughout the Middle East in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman in 2009. Fur ther in the year, M launched personalized greetings cards business online. The company also announced to open its second mainland store in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China. M also launched a beer and cider range to complement its wine selection. M launched a revamped version of its website in 2009, the first major update since 2007.Fur thermore, in 2009, the company began to offer its onli ne international deliver y service to 73 more countries as par t of a drive to grow annual sales of M Direct. The company began its offering within the homeware sector in 2009. M announced plans to open a store in Marbella, Spain by the end of 2009. In the same year, M and India-based Reliance Retail planned to open approximately 50 stores in India in the following five years under the banner of their joint venture company Marks & Spencer Reliance India. Later in the year, the company outlined plans to cut costs by ? 50 million (about $150 million) by optimizing its supply chain and IT systems. M also announced plans to open a new store at the Swords Pavilions shopping center in the Dublin Airpor t, Ireland, in 2009. The company opened its new 22,000 square feet store at Morpeth's Sanderson Arcade in the same year. M&S decided to launch â€Å"Simply Food† in Western Europe. Fur ther in 2009, the company announced plans to sell a selected range of around 400 branded grocery an d household products in all of its UK stores, following a 16-month trial in its stores in the Nor th East and South East of England.In 2010, M&S launched a new Home Energy Service division that would offer customers a suite of energy efficiency products and services. Building on the success of M&S Energy, which was servicing Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 6 Marks and Spencer Group plc History over 125,000 homes, the company would roll-out a number of new products including bespoke energy advice, renewable energy solutions such as solar panels and heat pumps, and energy efficient heating solutions.In the same year, M&S announced a program to be the world's most sustainable retailer by 2015, launching 80 major new commitments under M' eco and ethical plan, Plan A. The new commitments will mean that the company ensures all M&S products become ‘Plan A products' with at least one sustainable quality. This program will also enable the company's 2,000 suppliers to a dopt Plan A best practice and encourage M customers and employees to live ‘greener' lifestyles. Fur ther in 2010, M launched a new version of www. marksandspencer. om designed specifically for use on mobile phones and mobile devices—the first mobile site from a major UK high street retailer. Through this, the company aims to expand its multi-channel offering. During the same year, M launched England Football team suit exclusively in M stores, to take advantage of the football World cup spending. The company opened its new 1. 1 million square feet distribution centre at ProLogis Park Bradford in the UK in 2010. This warehouse in the UK will serve all the company's stores with furniture products and store equipment.Later in 2010, M&S launched a range of Solar PV and Solar Thermal water heating solutions. Fur thering the sustainability initiatives, the company also announced that it will use polyester made from recycled PET drinks bottles instead of virgin polymer to make more than 300 million clothing care labels a year. Towards the end of 2010, M&S announced plans to move into rail distribution to reduce its carbon footprint. More than 300,000 general merchandise products per week would move from road to rail distribution. The company also opened a new shopping center in Vilnius, Lithuania at the end of year.In April 2011, M&S opened its greenest ever store at Ecclesall Road in Sheffield. This is the first store of a number of new Sustainable Learning stores planned by the company as par t of its drive to become the world's most sustainable major retailer by 2015. The company opened 20 stores in the UK during FY2011, including 17 Simply Foods. In international, M opened 49 new stores and closed 15 stores. During the same period, the company entered the Egyptian market with a 28,000 square feet store in the Dandy Mega Mall in Cairo.The company, in July 2011, launched a new iPad application for its investors. This application will provide investors w ith latest M financial news. In the following month, M signed a traceability deal with Historic Futures. As per the deal, Historic Futures will provide the company full traceability on ever y single clothing and home product it sells. M is the first major retailer to commit to full traceability for non-food products. In September 2011, M opened a new store at Westfield, Stratford City with the latest ‘Only at Your M' innovations and customer experiences.In the following month, M&S launched its new French website, http://www. marksandspencer. fr/, marking its first international transactional website. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 7 Marks and Spencer Group plc History The company, in November 2011, opened its new flagship store at 100 Avenue des Champs-elysees in Paris. M&S, in February 2012, launched its outlet format on its website at www. marksandspencer. com/outlet. M&S Outlet will permanently offer a selection of more than 1,300 quality M&S clothing prod ucts with up to 40% off the regular high street and online prices.In the same month, the company recalled four products (Crispy Prawn Wonton, Crispy Vegetable Balls, Prawn Baguette Toast, and Prawn Siu Mai Selection) from its Chinese range due to mistake in ‘use by’ date. In March 2012, the company, announced plans to launch a new website for its Irish customers, http://www. marksandspencer. ie/. In April 2012, M&S announced that it will accept secondhand clothes at UK outlets in order to recycle into other fabrics or reuse overseas by the Oxfam charity in an aim to cut waste. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 8 Marks and Spencer Group plcKey Employees KEY EMPLOYEES Name Job Title Board Marc Bolland Chief Executive Officer Executive Board 975000 GBP Alan Stewar t Chief Finance Officer Executive Board 550000 GBP Kate Bostock Executive Director, General Merchandise Executive Board 590000 GBP John Dixon Executive Director, Food Executive Board 540000 GBP Ste ven Sharp Executive Director, Marketing Executive Board 655000 GBP Laura Wade-Gery Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce Executive Board Amanda Mellor Group Secretar y and Head of Corporate Governance Executive Board Rober t Swannell Chairman of the BoardNon Executive Board Vindi Banga Director Non Executive Board Miranda Cur tis Director Non Executive Board Jeremy Darroch Director Non Executive Board 85000 GBP Steven Holliday Director Non Executive Board 85000 GBP Mar tha Lane Fox Director Non Executive Board 70000 GBP Jan du Plessis Director Non Executive Board 70000 GBP Clem Constantine Director, Proper ty Senior Management Tanith Dodge Director, Human Resources Senior Management Dominic Fr y Director, Communications and Investor Relations Senior Management Jan Heere Director, International Senior Management Nayna McIntoshDirector, Store Marketing and Design Senior Management Steve Rowe Director, Retail Senior Management Darrell Stein Director, Information Technology and L ogistics Senior Management Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Compensation 450000 GBP Page 9 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies KEY EMPLOYEE BIOGRAPHIES Marc Bolland Board: Executive Board Job Title: Chief Executive Officer Since: 2010 Mr. Bolland has been the Chief Executive Officer at Marks and Spencer Group since 2010. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Morrisons Supermarkets from 2006 to 2010.Prior to this, Mr. Bolland worked at Heineken for 20 years in various management roles, including Executive Board member and Chief Operating Officer, and responsibility for operations and business development in the US, France, Italy, Spain, the Caribbean and Latin America. He also ser ves as a Director at Manpower. Alan Stewart Board: Executive Board Job Title: Chief Finance Officer Since: 2010 Mr. Stewar t has been the Chief Finance Officer at Marks and Spencer Group since 2010. Before joining the company, he was the Chief Financial Officer at AWA S, an aircraft leasing company. Mr.Stewar t spent 10 years at HSBC Investment Bank before joining Thomas Cook in 1996, where he held various senior roles, including Chief Executive at Thomas Cook UK. Mr. Stewar t joined WH Smith in 2005 as Group Finance Director. He also ser ved as a Non Executive Director at Games Workshop Group. Kate Bostock Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, General Merchandise Ms. Bostock is the Executive Director of General Merchandise at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2004. Previously, Ms. Bostock was the Product Director for Childrenswear at Next from 1994.She also ser ved as the Product Director for the George brand covering all areas of clothing and footwear at Asda. John Dixon Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Food Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 10 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Since: 2009 Mr. Dixon has been the Executive Director of Food at Marks and Spence r Group since 2009. He joined the company as a Store Management Trainee. Mr. Dixon held various senior roles at the company for over 20 years, including Executive Assistant, Chief Executive, and Director of Home and M&S Direct.Steven Sharp Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Marketing Mr. Sharp is the Executive Director of Marketing at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2004. Previously, Mr. Shar p served as the Marketing Director at Asda, the Bur ton Group, Booker, and Arcadia Group. Currently, he is a Non Executive Director at Adnams. Laura Wade-Gery Board: Executive Board Job Title: Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce Since: 2011 Ms. Wade-Gery has been the Executive Director of Multi-channel E-commerce at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011.Prior to this, she worked at Tesco and held a variety of senior roles, including Chief Executive Officer of Tesco. com and Tesco Direct. Ms. Wade-Ger y also held various roles at Gemini Consulting and K leinwor t Benson. She has also been a Non Executive Director at Trinity Mirror since 2006. Amanda Mellor Board: Executive Board Job Title: Group Secretary and Head of Corporate Governance Ms. Mellor is the Group Secretary and Head of Cor porate Governance at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2004 as the Head of Investor Relations. Ms.Mellor spent her early career in investment management at James Capel before becoming a Director within its Corporate Finance team. She then served at Rober t Fleming, Investment Banking prior to joining The Bur ton Group as the Director of Cor porate Relations and Investor Relations. Robert Swannell Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Chairman of the Board Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 11 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Since: 2011 Mr. Swannell has been the Chairman of the Board at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011.He joined the company in 2010 as a Non Executive Director. Prior to this, Mr. S wannell was a Senior Independent Director at The British Land Company, and 3i Group. He spent over 30 years in investment banking at Schroders/Citigroup. Mr. Swannell was previously the Vice Chairman at Citi Europe and Co-Chairman at Citi's European Investment Bank. Vindi Banga Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2011 Mr. Banga has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. He is currently a Par tner at Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a private equity investment firm. Prior to this, Mr.Banga spent 33 years at Unilever, where he held several senior positions, including President of the Global Foods, Home and Personal Care businesses, and was a member of the Unilever Executive Board. He also serves as a Non Executive Director at Thomson Reuters and Maruti Suzuki India. Miranda Curtis Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2012 Ms. Cur tis has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since February 2012. She is currently the Chairman at Waterston es, and a Non Executive Director at Liber ty Global. Ms. Cur tis has also been a Non Executive Director at National Express Group since 2008.She also serves on the Boards of the Institute for Government, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Camfed (the leading African girls’ education charity). Jeremy Darroch Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2006 Mr. Darroch has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2006. He also ser ves as the Chief Executive at British Sky Broadcasting. Previously, Mr. Darroch ser ved as the Chief Financial Officer at British Sky Broadcasting. Prior to this, he was the Group Finance Director and Retail Finance Director at Dixons Retail (formerly DSG International). Marks and Spencer Group plc MarketLine Page 12 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Steven Holliday Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2004 Mr. Holliday has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2004. He is the Group Chie f Executive Officer at National Grid. Prior to that, Mr. Holliday served as the Director of UK and Europe and was responsible for the UK Electricity and Gas businesses. He is also the Chairman of the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy. Prior to joining National Grid, Mr. Holliday was an Executive Director at British Borneo Oil and Gas.Previously, he held several senior positions at Exxon Group. Martha Lane Fox Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2007 Ms. Fox has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2007. She is the UK’s Digital Champion, the Chairman of Race Online 2012, and a Non Executive Director at Channel 4 Television. Ms. Fox is founder and Chairman of Lucky Voice, and of her own grant-giving foundation, Antigone. She was co-founder of lastminute. com. Jan du Plessis Board: Non Executive Board Job Title: Director Since: 2008 Mr. du Plessis has been a Director at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008.He is the Chairman at Rio Tinto. Pre viously, Mr. du Plessis was the Chairman at British American Tobacco and a Non Executive Director at Lloyds Banking Group. He also ser ved as the Chairman at RHM from 2005 to 2007. Mr. du Plessis was previously the Group Finance Director at Richemont, a position he held until 2004. Clem Constantine Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Proper ty Mr. Constantine is the Director, Proper ty at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2006. Mr. Constantine was appointed the Group Proper ty and Retail Planning Director at Arcadia Group in 1999.He was appointed to his first finance directorship in 1993, for the IS brand at the Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 13 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee Biographies Bur ton Group, and moved through several other finance directorships with variable responsibilities including systems and retail. Mr. Constantine was trained as a Char tered Accountant at Stoy Hayward, and joined Debenhams in 1989 as a Financial Analyst. Tanith Dodge Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Human Resources Since: 2008 Ms. Dodge has been the Director, Human Resources at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008.She was formerly the Group Human Resources Director at WH Smith since 2003. At WH Smith, Ms. Dodge was also responsible for Public Relations, Communications and Post Office Operations. Prior to this, she was the Senior Vice President Human Resources for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at InterContinental Hotels Group. Ms. Dodge also served as the Human Resources Director at Diageo's two business divisions. She was also the International Human Resources Manager at Prudential Corporation. Dominic Fry Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Communications and Investor RelationsMr. Fry is the Director, Communications and Investor Relations at Marks and Spencer Group. He joined the company in 2009. Prior to this, Mr. Fr y ser ved at Tulchan Communications. In 1996, he was appointed the Communicat ions Director at J Sainsbury and ser ved in the same role at ScottishPower from 2000 to 2005. In 1989, Mr. Fr y became the Communications Director at AT&T in the UK before moving from there to head up communications at the Channel Tunnel in the mid '90s. He star ted his career in 1982 working in PR consultancy at Traverse-Healy & Regester and then Charles Barker.Jan Heere Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, International Since: 2011 Mr. Heere has been the Director, International at Marks and Spencer Group since 2011. He joined Inditex in 2002 where he held a several international roles, most recently as General Manager for Inditex Russia. During 2000–02, Mr. Heere held various senior management roles at Zara, Groupo Inmobiliario Lupaco, and Charanga. He began his career at Manpower in Spain in 1997. Nayna McIntosh Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 14 Marks and Spencer Group plc Key Employee BiographiesBoard: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Stor e Marketing and Design Ms. McIntosh is the Director, Store Marketing and Design at Marks and Spencer Group. She joined the company in 2005. Prior to this, Ms. McIntosh was par t of the Management Team that set up the per una brand in 2001. Previously, she served as the Sales and Marketing Director for the George brand at Asda stores. Before joining George, Ms. McIntosh was at Next for four years as a Divisional Executive for the South of England. Steve Rowe Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Retail Since: 2008 Mr.Rowe has been the Director, Retail at Marks and Spencer Group since 2008. He joined the company in 1989 and held a variety of positions in store management, having previously worked at Topshop as a Store Manager. Mr. Rowe joined Head Office in 1992 as a Merchandiser for Menswear. In 1998, he was promoted to Category Manager in the Furniture Depar tment. In 2001, Mr. Rowe led the team developing the Home Growth Strategy, working with McKinsey Consultants, and beca me Head of Home categories in 2003. He was promoted to the Director of Home a year later in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, Mr.Rowe was also responsible for Beauty and New Business Development. Darrell Stein Board: Senior Management Job Title: Director, Information Technology and Logistics Mr. Stein is the Director, Information Technology and Logistics at Marks and Spencer Group. He has been working in IT for 17 years star ting his career at the company in 1990. Mr. Stein re-joined M in 2006 as the IT Director. From 2001 to 2006, he ser ved at Vodafone, becoming IT Director for Vodafone UK in 2004. Prior to this, Mr. Stein was Vodafone's UK Network Director and Global IT Strategy and Architecture Director.From 1996 to 2001, he ser ved at Ernst & Young, leading a number of major IT and Change Programmes in the financial services, retail and utility sectors. In 1994, Mr. Stein joined Mars as a Project Manager. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 15 Marks and Spencer Group plc Ma jor Products and Services MAJOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES M&S is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK. The company's key products and services include the following: Products: Women's wear Men's wear Lingerie Children's wear Footwear Food and grocery items Homeware and home accessoriesKitchen and tableware Lighting Furniture products Services: Credit cards Car, home, travel, and pet insurance Personal loans Brands: Autograph Limited Collection Collezione Blue Harbour Girls Boutique Per Una Ceriso Adored Truly you Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 16 Marks and Spencer Group plc Revenue Analysis REVENUE ANALYSIS Overview The company recorded revenues of ? 9,740. 3 million (approximately $15,158. 8 million) in FY2011, an increase of 2. 1% over FY2010. For FY2011, the UK, the company's largest geographic market, accounted for 89. 7% of the total revenues.M generates revenues through two business divisions: food (51. 5%% of the total revenues in FY2011), and general merchandise (48. 5%). Revenues by division* During FY2011, the food division recorded revenues of ? 4,499. 4 million (approximately $7,002. 4 million), an increase of 1. 9% over FY2010. The general merchandise division recorded revenues of ? 4,233. 6 million (approximately $6,588. 8 million) in FY2011, an increase of 2% over FY2010. *The revenue breakdown by division is only for the revenues from the UK market. Revenues by geography The UK, M' largest geographical market, accounted for 89. % of the total revenues in FY2011. Revenues from the UK reached ? 8,733 million (approximately $13,591. 2 million) in FY2011, an increase of 1. 9% over FY2010. International operations accounted for 10. 3% of the total revenues in FY2011. Revenues from international operations reached ? 1,007. 3 million (approximately $1,567. 7 million) in FY2011, an increase of 4% over FY2010. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 17 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis SWO T ANALYSIS M&S is one of the leading retailers of clothing, foods and homeware in the UK.The company has expanded its food product offering significantly in the recent years. New products launches, focus on expanding healthy products, promotions, and competitive prices are all helping the company attract customers in a highly competitive market. However, surge in shoplifting could negatively impact the cost structure for M&S. Strengths Weaknesses Expanding food offering Strong market position in the clothing segment Geographical expansion to increase the addressable market and reduce vulnerability to mature UK market M&S etched a highly effective CSR strategy M&S legacy stores and systems are a ompetitive disadvantage Declining general merchandise division sales due to inadequate stocking Opportunities Threats Online channel continues to boom and will enable M&S to boost revenues Focus on China and India can lead to expansion in two of the fastest growing markets Surge in shopliftin g losses costs the retailers and customers Weak consumer spending in the UK Rising labor cost in the UK Strengths Expanded food offering The company has expanded its food product offering significantly in the recent years. In 2009, M&S consistently highlighted it is cheaper than Waitrose on a basket of 1,200 items by about 2%.The company, in 2009, decided to invest in its margins in order to provide its customers better value. As a result of this, M&S saw improved perceptions of value by its customers. The company, in FY2011, launched around 1,800 new products in food and positioned itself as the UK’s leading high quality food retailer. The key product launches of the company include Taste Italia, and Made Without Wheat range of gluten-free bread and cakes, With the success of Made Without Wheat product range, the company launched gluten-free sandwiches, sausages, stuffing, and crisp bakes.As of FY2011, the company offered 125 gluten-free products. M&S also became the UK†™s second largest favorite health food brand with the launch of its Simply Fuller Longer range which encourages customers to manage their weight with a menu plan. The gross margin of food division increased by 20 basis points to Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 18 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis 30. 8% in FY2011. This was mainly driven by better management of promotions and waste. Fur ther, in the four th quar ter of FY2012 ended March 2012, M&S launched 500 new products in the food division.The sales in this quar ter increased by 3. 1%, The company’s promotions such as roast dinner for ? 5 ($7. 8), Dine In, etc offered its customers with great value solutions for special occasions. M&S’ food division has been performing well in a ver y competitive market and against tough competitors. By launching innovative products and with an expanded food offering, the company has been able to attract the customers in a highly competitive market. Strong market position in the clothing segment M&S has a strong market position in the clothing segment.With more than one in 10 clothing items bought from M&S, the company ranks amongst the three largest clothing retailers in the UK. According to a repor t released by Verdict (Datamonitor's retail arm) in May 2012, M is known for its product quality. The company was ranked first with a score of 49 for its product quality above the market average of 23. According to another repor t released by Verdict in April 2012, M enjoys highest conversion rate of 50. 7% and is very successful in conver ting visitors to loyal main users through its varied product offer, in-store service and garment quality.This indicates that M is a trustwor thy brand, which all main users would return to knowing that the quality, fit, and ser vice are reliable and consistent. The retailer has recognized that its core market of predominantly mature customers has been especially hard hit by rising core costs of living, falling interest on savings and worse prospects for pensions, and in reaction has lowered its entr y prices to compete more effectively with high street/value operators and supermarkets, helping to maintain the loyalty of its main users and prevent them from shopping elsewhere.Verdict, in its repor t in March 2012, ranked, M seventh in the global depar tment store market with a share of 3. 2%. This market leadership enabled M to excel throughout the economic downturn, while other mid-market retailers are pressured from the ever expanding value players. Leading market position indicates access to a large customer base and also popularity of M' offering in the clothing segment. Going forward, this market position would enable the company to drive revenues as consumer spending recovers.Geographical expansion to increase the addressable market and reduce vulnerability to mature UK market With a por tfolio of over 361 owned and franchised stores in 42 territories M&S continues to grow i ts international business. This mix of ownership models and countries enabled the company to perform well in FY2011, even when individual markets were weak. Fur ther, during FY2011, the company entered the Egyptian market with a 28,000 square feet store in the Dandy Mega Mall in Cairo. M&S' international business grew by 4% in FY2011 despite tough economic situation.As an established retailer in a mature market, it is going to be hard for M to continually deliver significant increases in UK sales. However, in the long run, its international business offers an oppor tunity for high growth. By generating much higher volumes, it can deliver margin benefits with suppliers. With production costs rising, this will be an advantage in the UK. International expansion will enable the company to access multiple sales points for most of the product ranges. This is especially relevant for clothing and homewares segments.Also, through expansion in the international markets M can reduce Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 19 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis vulnerability to mature UK market. The company can also par ticipate effectively in some of highest growing markets such as China and India. All these factors would enable the company to reduce the overall business risk and facilitate increased revenues. M etched a highly effective CSR strategy M has to its credit an effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy.CSR has been gaining prominence not just among the stake holders and governments but the consumers as well. The company has the highest propor tion of consumers believing it to be a responsible retailer and this can largely be attributed to the success of its Plan A, a ? 200 million (approximately $320. 3 million) 100-point plan launched in 2007 with five areas of focus: climate change, fair par tnership, health, sustainable raw materials, and waste. In FY2011, the company included two more areas in its Plan A: involving customers, and making Plan A how we do business.In the last few years, initiatives launched under the Plan A banner include launching the company's first eco-store, encouraging suppliers to set-up eco-factories, removing hydrogenated fats from its ready meals, increasing the propor tion of organic food, reducing the salt content of its produce, cer tifying a larger percentage of its fish as originating from sustainable populations, and beginning to sell recycling and composting bins. It is the high profile presence of Plan A in adver tising campaigns, product labeling and store signage that gives M&S one of the best consumer perceptions of a retailer for social responsibility.The campaign works not just as a direct to consumer channel, but also because of the positive coverage it creates. Perhaps more impor tantly, it has publicized all of these initiatives extensively. In 2008, M&S launched a TV adver tising campaign focusing on its ethical, environmental and health-conscious credentials, hi ghlighting that it only uses free range eggs and that its products are now free from ar tificial colors and flavorings. Other, more innovative, ideas have included a joint venture with Oxfam to promote the recycling of old clothes.In addition, more controversially, the retailer introduced a 5p charge for carrier bags at all of its food depar tments in 2008. Though many consumers resented this charge, it has undoubtedly boosted M&S' reputation as an ethical retailer. Overall, sculpting its CSR strategy into such a high publicity campaign, divided into such clear action points and highly visible benefits, has seen the company move to the forefront of responsible retailing. In FY2011, the company launched Indigo Green, its first range of clothing made using more sustainable fabrics.In April 2012, the company announced to accept secondhand clothes at all the UK outlets except Simply Food stores, to recycle them into other fabrics or to reuse them in order to cut waste. Plan A has seen C SR become core to M' principles in the eyes of the consumer and it has reaped the benefits of this, gaining shoppers as a result and repor tedly saving more than ? 70 million (approximately $108. 9 million) in efficiencies gained in FY2011 compared with ? 50 million (approximately $77. 8 million) in FY2010.In addition, M&S improved energy efficiency in its stores by 23% and warehouses by 24% in FY2011 compared to FY2007. It also improved the fuel efficiency of its deliver y fleets by 20% and total carbon emissions have been reduced by 13%. The company now recycles 94% of all the waste it generates from its stores, offices and warehouses. The total waste is down by more than a third. M&S also met its sustainable standards by sourcing 90% of wild fish in FY2011 (62% in FY2010) and 76% of wood in FY2011 (72% in FY2010). Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 20 Marks and Spencer Group plcSWOT Analysis By actively promoting a product's greener attributes (for example fewer, mo re recognizable and natural ingredients), retailers such as M have positioned products as improving one's personal environment while benefiting the global environment too. Many of their successes have come from emphasizing the former rather than the latter, especially as consumers often associate ethics with a sense of wellbeing. In terms of the issues that concern consumers, the sustainability of natural resources is a major fear, as are climate change and the fairness of sourcing arrangements.Consumers are also attracted to products with health benefits and there is a clear trend that consumers can be persuaded to par t with more money in return for products with a positive impact, not just to them personally, but also to wider society. Indeed, differentiating between products becomes harder and harder to achieve, Verdict expects consumers to turn to auxiliary considerations such as ethicality and sustainability to guide their choices. Consumers are no longer purely satisfied with how a product looks and functions; they want assurances over aspects such as nvironmental impact, hygiene, safety, and fairness. In light of the above mentioned trends where the customer choices are increasingly guided by the sustainability issues, M&S will benefit due to its reputation of being a responsible retailer. Weaknesses M&S legacy stores and systems are a competitive disadvantage M&S suffers some competitive disadvantages compared to Tesco, which has been able to drive earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth even in the mature UK market. Tesco benefits from supplier power and state-of-the-ar t IT, supply chain and systems compared with M&S legacy systems.The supermarket retailer has been able to break up the demand cur ve with metro, express and big box store formats out of town and on the high street. Moreover, Tesco stores have been carefully designed with consistent store layouts in order to facilitate store navigation. Extra back room store space has also been allocated to allow for smooth execution of its picking and distribution model. Tesco sells both own label and branded goods (food and non-food) in a bid to drive up footfall and sales conversion. M&S legacy stores are inconsistent in terms of layout.Store size tends to dictate product availability, while a lack of back room store space does not facilitate the same style supermarket pick and delivery model. The legacy systems and stores of M&S are constraining effective servicing of customer demands on a consistent basis. This is placing the company at a clear competitive disadvantage compared to a formidable opponent, Tesco. Declining general merchandise division sales due to inadequate stocking The company’s general merchandise division sales declined in recent times, M&S’ general merchandise division sales decreased by 2. % in the four th quar ter of FY2012 ended March 2012. This was mainly due to shor tage of stock in its stores, Due to this, the company was also no t able to meet customer demand for 300,000 knitwear garments under the M&S Woman label. It only sold Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 21 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis 100,000 knitwear garments during this period. Fur ther, in times of high demand, inadequate stock could hamper the sales of the division and result in loss of sales to competitors.This not only affects the revenues of the company but could also result in shift of customers to its competitors. Opportunities Online channel continues to boom and will enable M&S to boost revenues Online retail sales in the UK have grown significantly over a period of time. According to Office for National Statistics, non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value for internet retail sales in the UK was ? 414 million (approximately $644. 3 million) in Februar y 2010, this increased to ? 573. 6 million (approximately $892. 7 million) in February 2012, representing an increase of 18%.Internet sales accounted for only 8% of the total retail sales (excluding fuel) in Februar y 2010. This figure increased to 10. 7% in February 2012. The growing desire for convenience is seeing shoppers buy more online, especially in the category of food and grocery. Consumers have also become savvier, using the internet more to get the best deal they can. Voucher codes, and cashback sites have been instrumental in this. Additionally, improved deliver y and fulfillment options have been encouraging consumers to shop more online.The company operates in the internet channel through M&S Direct where the products are offered through website and newly launched ‘Shop Your Way' facility, a new ordering service that has been rolled-out in 444 stores (including 151 in Simply Foods stores) during FY2011, allowing customers to place orders either in stores, online or over the phone, for deliver y to either a nominated address or free of charge to their nearest store. M&S Direct’s sales increased from ? 413 millio n (approximately $642. 8 million) in FY2010 to ? 543 million (approximately $845. million) in FY2011, an increase of 31. 5%. Fur ther, in the first half of FY2012, M&S Direct’s sales increased by 11. 7% with more than three million visitors per week. Thus, by leveraging its online presence, M&S can cater to the requirements of a growing number of customers who are looking for convenience and better deals over the internet. Focus on China and India can lead to expansion in two of the fastest growing markets China and India are two economies which are recording highest growth rates which, in turn, are expected to aid the retail market growth in these two countries.Asia's retail sales are estimated to increase with China driving the growth. According to the preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was CNY47,156. 4 billion ($7,285. 7 billion) in 2011, a year-on-year increase of 9. 2% at comparable prices. The fast pace economic development in China couple d with the rise of the middle class income group and their increasing disposable income have fur ther pushed up the demand for several consumer goods. According to National Bureau of Statistics of China, the total retail sales reached CNY18,391. 9 billion (approximately $2,841. billion) in 2011, representing a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 17. 1%. Fur ther, according to industr y estimates, the countr y's total retail sales are expected to increase from approximately CNY20 trillion ($3 trillion) in 2012 to approximately CNY26 trillion ($4 trillion) in 2016, representing an increase of about 30%. Strong Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 22 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis underlying economic trends, population growth and the increasing wealth of individuals are key factors that contribute to the retail market expansion in China.The retail industry in India is large owing to a large population and is set to grow as several factors contribute. According to the industry sources, the retail sales in India are forecast to grow from around $411 billion in 2011 to $804 billion by 2015. The key factors behind the forecast growth include strong underlying economic growth, population expansion, increasing wealth of individuals and the rapid construction of organized retail infrastructure. Also, as middle and upper class consumer base expands, there will also be oppor tunities in India's second and third-tier cities.The greater availability of personal credit and a growing vehicle population are to improve mobility which will also contribute to a trend towards retail sales growth. M is strengthening presence in India and China as par t of its geographic expansion and for some time to come, these countries would be the key contributors to the company's international expansion strategies. The company in with par tnership with Reliance Retail, an established retailer in India, can tap into this lucrative market while expansion in China also cont inues. Indian and Chinese markets would provide a huge potential revenue base for M&S.Threats Surge in shoplifting losses costs the retailers and customers The UK retailers are exposed to increased costs of shoplifting. Shoplifting has assumed massive propor tions in recent times. According to industry estimates, retail crime costed UK stores ? 1. 4 billion ($2. 2 billion) in 2011. There are about two million thefts per year, which concludes to an average of more than one per minute. According to another industr y repor t, the thefts across the UK stores increased from ? 4. 2 million ($6. 5 million) in 2009 to ? 5. 1 million ($7. 9 million) in 2011, an increase of 20%.Long-term trends also show the figure is likely to continue rising. As a result, retailers have been increasing their surveillance spend. This is increasing the costs for retailers as well as for the end consumers. The shoplifting losses are adding to the costs for the retailers and the customers have also been bearing the brunt. The surge in shoplifting could negatively impact the cost structure for M&S as well. Weak consumer spending in the UK The UK market is suffering from weak consumer spending. The European debt crisis added more downward pressure to the growth prospects of the UK.According to Eurostat, the UK economy grew by 0. 7% in 2011 and is expected to grow by 0. 5% in 2012. In addition, the UK has witnessed high unemployment rate. According to the Office of National Statistics, the unemployment rate for the three months period November 2011 to January 2012 was 8. 4% with 2. 67 million unemployed people in the UK. Increasing unemployment rate is expected to fur ther put pressure on the economy of the UK. High inflation, led by the increase in VAT to 20% and public spending cuts reduced disposable Marks and Spencer Group plc MarketLine Page 23 Marks and Spencer Group plc SWOT Analysis income, leading to a fall in consumer spending on discretionary items. Consumers have been cautious wi th their spending especially due to soaring petrol prices, tax increases and uncer tainty over jobs. The UK is the key market for M&S. In FY2011, the UK accounted for 89. 7% of M&S' total revenues. Thus, the sluggish consumer spending and high unemployment rate in the UK could affect most of the non-food retailers and lead to reduced sales volume or shrinking profit margins. Rising labor cost in the UKLabor costs are rising in the UK. In recent times, tight labor markets, increased over time, government mandated increases in minimum wages and a higher propor tion of full-time employees are resulting in an increase in labor costs, which could materially impact the company's results of operation. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) Regulations came into force in 1999 and since then the NMW rates have been increased annually. The national minimum wage increased from ? 5. 93 per hour ($9. 23 per hour) in October 2010 to ? 6. 08 per hour ($9. 46 per hour) in October 2011.Fur ther, the nation al minimum wage is expected to increase to ? 6. 19 per hour (9. 63 per hour) from October 2012. In FY2011, M&S employed 78,169 people. Increasing labor costs can adversely affect the company's operating costs as its wage bills would escalate. This, in turn, could impact its margins adversely. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 24 Marks and Spencer Group plc Top Competitors TOP COMPETITORS The following companies are the major competitors of Marks and Spencer Group plc ASDA Group Limited Debenhams plc H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB J Sainsbury plcNEXT plc Selfridges plc Tesco PLC Gap, Inc. , The French Connection Group Plc House of Fraser Group Plc John Lewis Par tnership plc Arcadia Group Limited Home Retail Group Plc Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 25 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View COMPANY VIEW A statement by Rober t Swannell, the Chairman of the Board at Marks and Spencer Group, is given below. The statement has been taken from the companyâ€⠄¢s Annual Repor t for FY2011. I feel ver y privileged to be Chairman of this unique company and at such an exciting time in our evolution.Since joining Marks & Spencer in October and assuming the role of Chairman in Januar y, I have spent much of my time getting to know the business better – meeting our employees, shareholders, customers and suppliers. I first became deeply involved with M during the unsolicited takeover attempt in 2004, when I led the advisory team that helped put the M case to its shareholders. It was then I learned first hand about this unique company: about the extraordinarily strong relationship it has with its many stakeholders and about its very special ethos.This ethos is a reflection of the high standards our customers expect from M – trusting us not only to deliver great value, great quality products but also to do the right thing – socially, environmentally and ethically. We know that putting Plan A at the hear t of how we do busines s is not just the right thing to do; it is also fundamental to our long-term success. Performance In a challenging marketplace M has continued to grow, with underlying profits up 12. 9% on the year.We delivered this by staying true to our heritage of quality and innovation, reminding our customers what makes M special. This year Marc Bolland set out a clear medium-term plan for the business, after extensive discussions with colleagues and us, the Board. This is covered in detail in Marc’s review. From day one, I have been struck by the passion and commitment of our people. I am delighted that this year we are paying a bonus to all employees to thank them for their energy and enthusiasm in what has been a difficult trading environment. DividendWe are committed to delivering consistent returns for our shareholders. To this end we have adopted a progressive dividend policy, with dividends broadly covered twice by earnings. We intend to pay a final dividend of 10. 8p per share (l ast year 9. 5p) in respect of the 2010/11 financial year. Governance Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 26 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View This year we returned to the traditional governance structure of a separate Chairman and Chief Executive, providing clarity between Marc Bolland and me, with regard to our respective roles.Put simply, I run the Board and Marc runs the business. The Board has a wide range of responsibilities. There are three that I think are par ticularly impor tant for the success of the business: first, to debate and agree our strategy and hold the executive team accountable for its execution; second, to ensure that we have the most talented team to execute this strategy and that we plan effectively for succession; and third, to set the tone for governance, which is par ticularly impor tant at M where ‘doing the right thing’ is an integral par t of our ethos. My ob is to ensure the Board has the right mix of skills and talents and to ensure that it works effectively as a team towards shared goals with the right mix of enquir y and suppor t of the executive directors from the non-executive directors. During the year we commissioned a formal Board evaluation from an independent consultant, the findings of which are outlined in the Governance section. This process highlighted the real enthusiasm of the directors in suppor ting a shared ambition: to guide M to the ver y best future. We know that you expect high standards from M; it’s our responsibility to learn how we can improve.This review was an impor tant par t of that journey. As stated in our 2009/10 Annual Repor t, we reviewed the senior remuneration structure this year. Following extensive shareholder consultation, we believe we now have a framework that is both relevant to today’s M and fully aligned with our strategy. The Board Over the last year the Board has been strengthened by a series of executive appointments. In May 2010 Marc B olland joined the business as Chief Executive, assuming the day-to-day running of the business from Sir Stuar t Rose in July.In October Alan Stewar t joined as Chief Finance Officer and in February we announced the appointment of Laura Wade-Gery as Executive Director, Multi-channel E-commerce; she will join the Board in July. Whilst the Board features some new faces, these changes have taken place around a core of executive and non-executive directors that has remained stable over recent years. I would like to pay par ticular tribute to Sir Stuar t Rose. When he became Chief Executive in 2004, M was at a low ebb.He restored confidence in M, re-established its values and built a strong business. The solid platform from which Marc is now implementing his plan is a credit to Stuar t’s energy and tireless commitment to M over the last seven years. The smooth management transition – the meticulous handover to me and the suppor t of Marc – is also a credit to Stuar t. In that connection, I would also like to thank Sir David Michels, and the Nominations & Governance Committee he led, for managing a change of leadership over the past year that was accomplished quietly and effectively.David has decided to step down from the Board at the end of his second term in February 2012, but I am delighted that he will continue his role as Deputy Chairman until then. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLine Page 27 Marks and Spencer Group plc Company View I must also thank Louise Patten for the significant contribution she has made over the last five years, playing an impor tant role in each of our Board Committees. As Louise reaches the end of her second three year term on the Board, she has decided not to seek re-election at the upcoming AGM. Looking aheadOur priorities for the year ahead are clear. We have a plan and it is now our collective job to make it happen. The Board will concentrate on delivering exemplary governance at the highest level to enab le our executive team to drive this strategy forward. The economy still gives us reason to be cautious. Yet in difficult times, our core values of Quality, Value, Ser vice, Innovation and Trust matter more than ever to M customers. These values remain at the hear t of our strategy and I therefore look forward to the future with confidence. Marks and Spencer Group plc  © MarketLinePage 28 Marks and Spencer Group plc Locations and Subsidiaries LOCATIONS AND SUBSIDIARIES Head Office Marks and Spencer Group plc Waterside House 35 Nor th Wharf Road London W2 1NW GBR P:44 20 7935 4422 http://www. marksandspencer. com Other Locations and Subsidiaries Marks and Spencer International Holdings Limited Great Britain GBR Marks and Spencer (Nederland) BV NLD Marks and Spencer (Ireland) Limited IRL Marks and Spencer (Asia Pacific) Limited HKG Marks and Spencer Simply Foods Limited Great Britain GBR Marks and Spencer Marinopoulos Greece SA GRC Marks and Spencer SCM Limited

How to Preserve a Carved Halloween Jack-o-Lantern

How to Preserve a Carved Halloween Jack-o-Lantern Your carved pumpkin or Halloween jack-o-lantern doesnt have to rot or mold before Halloween! Here is how to use chemistry to preserve a jack-o-lantern so that it will last for weeks instead of days. How to Preserve a Carved Pumpkin Mix up a preservative solution for your carved pumpkin consisting of 2 teaspoons of household bleach per gallon of water.Fill a sink, bucket, or tub with enough of the bleach solution to totally immerse the carved jack-o-lantern. Place the jack-o-lantern in the bleach mixture right after you have finished carving it. Soak the carved pumpkin for 8 hours or overnight.Remove the pumpkin from the liquid and allow it to air dry. Spray the pumpkin inside and outside with a commercial pumpkin preservative or use your own mixture, consisting of 1 teaspoon of bleach in water. Spray the pumpkin once daily, to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.Smear petroleum jelly on all of the cut surfaces of the pumpkin. This will prevent the pumpkin from drying out and getting that puckered, shriveled look.Protect the  jack-o-lantern  from sun or rain, since one will dry the pumpkin out, while the other will promote the growth of mold. If possible, refrigerate your jack-o-lantern when its not in u se. How Pumpkin Preservation Works Bleach is dilute sodium hypochlorite, an oxidizer that kills microorganisms that decay the pumpkin, including mold, fungi, and bacteria. You need to reapply it because it loses its effectiveness fairly quickly. The petroleum jelly locks in moisture so the jack-o-lantern doesnt get dehydrated. Now that you know how to keep it fresh, make a science Halloween jack-o-lantern. More Tips to Preserve Pumpkins Another way to make a pumpkin last is to simply wait until its closer to Halloween to carve it. One idea is to mark the carving for the big event, but not actually cut it. Then coat the entire pumpkin except the areas to be carved with glow-in-the-dark paint. This gives you a glowing pumpkin with dark areas where the carving will go.While bleach reacts with air so that it needs to be reapplied, you can get lasting protection against critters and mold by treating a carved pumpkin with borax. You can either sprinkle borax powder around the interior of the jack-o-lantern and the carved surfaces or you can dip the pumpkin in a solution of borax in water.If youre concerned about the potential toxicity of bleach or borax (or simply dont have them), you can deter rotting and mold using salt. It doesnt matter whether you use table salt or road salt. You can either soak the pumpkin in brine (saturated saline solution) or else rub salt into the cut surfaces and interior of the jack-o-lantern. Again, you can seal the pumpkin with petroleum jelly to keep it from shriveling up. Salt prevents rot by dehydrating cells. While salt is a better preservative, sugar also dehydrates cells. The same techniques used for salt may also be applied to sugar.Another good tip is to use care when selecting your pumpkin. If you can, try to select a pumpkin that is fresh and firm. A freshly cut pumpkin wont have a shriveled stem or soft spots anywhere on the fruit. You have a much better chance of keeping a pumpkin until Halloween if it doesnt have an established colony of bacteria and mold.When you carve the pumpkin, clean the inside as well as possible. If you leave any strings or seeds, youre  providing extra surface area for microbial growth. Its easier to keep a smooth surface clean than a rough one. Fact Facts While a pumpkin may last weeks or months without rotting, once you carve it, the exposed flesh is susceptible to rot.Decay can be minimized by applying a disinfectant or preservative, such as bleach, salt, or sugar.A carved pumpkin can be sealed with oil or petroleum jelly to lock in moisture and minimize puckering.Its important to keep a carved pumpkin cool when its not in use. Increasing the temperature basically incubates mold and bacteria.

Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Essays

Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Essays Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Essay Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Essay Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Name: Institution: Lecturer: Course: Date: Resource and environmental management of fire-adapted forests Forests are a natural recourse whose conservation and replenishment is essential for the sustainability of the human race. The forest resource has been constantly at the risk of extinction resulting from the uncontrolled utilization of the resource. Forests are essential for the survival of civilization since they satisfy most of humanities essential needs. Many communities derive their income, food, medicine, energy and at times entire livelihoods purely from the forests. In addition, most of the global water catchments areas lie within global forested regions. Also, forests tend to create a balance in the delicate ecosystem. They form a basic source of the essential oxygen that supports all animal life in planet earth. This highly works in highlighting on how essential forest conservation efforts are. These mean survival for the current and future civilization and the entire life on planet earth. The nature conservancy is one of the institutions purposed with the task of management and restoration of environmental habitats around the globe. The institution is also concerned with researching and conducting restoration and conservancy efforts of the fire-adapted forests. The fire-adapted forests in the United States of America have undergone significant changes resulting from fire suppression, uncontrolled logging, and grazing. The above activities render these forests prone to cruel fire, insect and disease events. Activities such as mechanical thinning, prescribed fire and fuel treatment practices are some of the efforts currently aimed at restoring and conserving these essential resources. This paper researches on the essential topics that are important for consideration when creating an association between forest management and the science policy of carbon and climate change. The topics addressed by this paper for the facilitation of policy experts include: The underlying associations between forest management, carbon budget and discharge; The available management and investigation that the nature conservancy and other conservation institutions can put into consideration to guarantee the laid out projects attain pliability while controlling the threats created by climate change; and The various factors to put into consideration when assessing external research The underlying associations between forest management, carbon budget and discharge The current approach for the conservation of most of the global forests has mainly evolved from a land protection model that takes into account the expansive connection between private and public property partnerships. The utilization of these partnerships that the institutions advantage conservation results that is over and above their relevant reserve networks. The professional skills availed by science and policy serve to frame conservation institutions work that is beyond their borders. The appreciation of the scientific policy in line with the underlying global threats to forest biodiversity and incorporating partnerships in the mitigation of these threats is one of the essential threats of the conservation institutions. In line with this, the nature conservancy develops partnerships to facilitate forest resilience in fire-adapted ecosystems. The development of resilience strategies that are in conformity with the objectives of the partners, while at the same time carrying out the conservation of biodiversity is one of the active roles of the nature conservancy. Many of the stakeholders and interest groups are mounting pressure for the treatment of forests for hazard reduction outcomes. This is also reflected through the enactment of the healthy forest restoration act of 2003 that emphasizes on this approach aimed at setting up fuel reduction projects on public lands. Current debates concerning the effects of the current management practices in reducing carbon emissions question the reduction of carbon emission using restoration treatments. However, since the studied results pertain to mixed reactions, there is inherent difficulty in making clear conclusions regarding the role of forest treatments in the mitigation of long-term carbon emissions through the prevention of uncharacteristic forest fires. The present fuel reduction efforts also contribute to the release of carbon to the atmosphere through some of the prescribed fire and pile burning techniques. Additional measures such as disturbance of soil and the charring of the forest floor during thinning activities, ferrying and dispensation thinned trees, decomposition and blazing logging slash and additional biomass. To facilitate the differentiation of the present studies and results it is highly recommended that that there is a review and appreciation of the capacity and purpose of the study provided. In essence, study designs that take into account various sources of emissions and sink factors that are brought about by the treatments are more useful in providing information the enactment of policy considering the role of the treatment of forests in the effort of minimizing carbon emissions. This raises the need for the consideration of more factors that account for the entire life cycle of carbon. This will facilitate the reduction the present uncertainty concerning the results of forest management efforts in bringing about a reduction in carbon emissions. The analysis of the present researches highlights on the need of analyzing the carbon beyond the project location. The available management and investigation that the nature conservancy and other conservation institutions can put into consideration to guarantee the laid out projects attain pliability while controlling the threats created by climate change; The role of resilience treatments The global increase on carbon markets is facilitating the treatment proposals that are aimed at the setting of carbon-offset payments. This serves to creating change in the management of storing excess carbon or minimizing the risk of dangerous fires and additional loss of carbon retention. In the analysis of the underlying treatment designs, the conservation institutions including the nature conservancy and their extensive scope of practitioners that take interest in forest pliability need to recognize one important aspect. The activity of thinning as a sole conservative technique fails in effectively acting as a fuel treatment. To enhance effectiveness there is the need to put into consideration the combination with treatment of surface fuels undertaken through approved blazing, pile blazing or the use of wild land fire. When fire is not available, various stands that burned regularly with open structures have now transformed into dense vegetation with continuous canopies. This aspect renders them susceptible to crown fire. The latter is regarded as one of the fundamental cause of high intensity conflagrations that tend to beleaguer the western frontier of the United States of America. Effects of climate change on forests One of the most effective means of buffering ecosystems against the damaging effects of future climates is through the amplification of their resilience. Fire is a fundamental process on the formation of the historical landscape. The climate change affects various fire regimes through the increase in length of the normal fire season, increase in severity and continual droughts, an increase in the number and frequency of lightning ignitions and augmentation in the quantity of fuel and fuel continuity. With this respect, there is therefore the need for the nature conservancy and other environmental organizations to set the land in preparation of the underlying changes to result in minimal effects to the biota. This will highly work in the anticipation of additional all-embracing and uncontrollable fires in the future. The presence of fire exclusions for quite a considerable amount of time with forecasted climate change may work in the promotion of fires in the future that could end up severely changing the structure of the landscape in addition to its composition and function. These effects may continue to the point where there is an exhaustion of the available carbon stores. The types of restoration treatments that can be put into consideration by the various conservation organizations must put into account the fact that there will be a considerable change in fire regimes. This will result in making various efforts and techniques aimed at fuel treatment ineffective. There will therefore be an impediment to the design of restoration treatments during the motion of the fire regimes and the subsequent preferred stand conditions since they are rendered a target in motion. In addition, most effective fuel treatment techniques take different forms depending on the type of the forest and the underlying spatial context. No treatment method that is effective on all the various types of forests exists. The conservation institutions ought to comprehend the processes involved in the occurrence of the shifts. These interested parties are then to assign preferred forecasted conditions that then develop and closely control and monitor the restoration treatments that will result in the reduction of the damaging effects of high-severity fire. The same institutions are to make certain that post-fire landscapes depict ecologically viable patterns and composition. Various landscape-scale projects incorporate the methodology of the nature conservancy conservation action planning in the association of the phenomena of altering fire regimes with the goals and objectives of the treatment procedure. This adoption works in highly enabling the development and evaluation of forest restoration treatments that optimally enable mangers to put into action, control and adapt through the utilization of a long-term plan purposed for the health and resilience of the ecosystem. The various factors to put into consideration when assessing external research When analyzing past research on how the process of thinning affects carbon stocks and wildfire emissions, there develops an importance for the evaluation of the underlying types and intensities resulting from harvesting practices that are realized by the study design. If the study is purely a modeling exercise that involves the use of numerical reductions in forest canopy, the study may end up failing in indicating the realistic image of thinning being practiced in the field aimed at reinstituting the health of the forest. At the same time, resilience thinning may fail in working as a stand management procedure for carbon. The thinning prescriptions ought to reflect the acceptable dynamic processes such as the aspect of natural patch establishment, prevalent disease outbreaks and pest attacks and characteristic fire. These are not to be characterized by simply setting up numeric associations of the biomass reduction. The above could lead to a failure in capturing the realistic aspects and adverse effects of the resilience-based practices. Only minimal documented cases exist that indicate the ability of pairing of the simulations with the realistic implementation of projects. This is specifically when it entails the tracking of the carbon stores before and after fire. These take into account the sources of the fire emissions and the black carbon. The dead sinks are also included in the studies. On the other hand a wide range of literature regarding the effects of fire and decay rates. However, it is only until recently that the controlled and empirical studies made considerable impact on the scientific community. One such research is that of the Fire and Fire Surrogate Study. Others include the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project and the Teakettle Experimental Forest. The above studies tend to bring about three substantial benefits to the scientific community. One is the ability to indicate comparison of the various silvicultural methods that aim to alleviate fire hazard in common forest types that have been characterized by recurrent low to average fire regimes in terms of intensity, in the past. Secondly, the studies are able to indicate a comparison of the underlying costs and linked benefits that are associated with fuel treatment procedures. Thirdly, these studies facilitate the comparison of models between the ground treatments and the practical measurements on the field. One research approach that is relied upon by the scientific community is the utilization of life cycle assessment approaches that put into consideration the underlying carbon stores and related benefits that result from fuel treatment. One disadvantage inherent to the methodology of the life cycle assessment technique is they end up being too time intensive. This methodology has an inherent value since it takes into account the fuel treatment products from the time they are initiated into the field to the time their effects seem to diminish completely. The adoption of a life cycle approach for comparing fuel treatments and the underlying benefits realized by the approach raises the need for clarity of the domain boundaries form the onset of the research. This is because forests act as systems that give feedback that tend to highly influence carbon responses to actions. It is therefore imperative to define clearly the limitations of the controls evidenced by a realistic carbon project. A project that takes into account a life cycle approach ought to indicate definitive boundaries in terms of space and time. It is also imperative to determine whether the life cycle lies in line to the standards set by the International Standards Organization (ISO). References Abella, S.R., Fule, P.Z. and W. W. Covington. (2006). Diameter Caps for Thinning Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests: Viewpoints, Effects, and Tradeoffs. Journal of Forestry. 407-414. Agee, J.K. and C.N. Skinner. (2005). Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments. Forest Ecology and Management 211:83-96. Agarwal, B. (2001). Participatory exclusions, community forestry, and gender, an analysis for South Asia and a conceptual framework. World Development 29, 1623-1648. Agrawal, A. (2007). Forests, governance, and sustainability, common property theory and its contributions. International Journal of the Commons 1, 111-136. Baker, J.M. (1998). The effect of community forest structure on social forestry outcomes, insights from Chota Nagpur, India. Mountain Research and Development 18, 51-62. Biswell, H.H. (1989). Prescribed burning in California wildland vegetation management. University of California Press, Berkeley, California, USA. Dearden, P., Mitchell, B. (2009). Environmental change and challenge: A Canadian perspective. Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press. Shindler, B., P. List, and B. Steel. (1993). Managing federal forests: public attitudes in Oregon and nationwide. J. of For. 91(7):36-42. Shindler, B., B. Steel, and P. List. (1996). Public judgments of adaptive management: a response from forest communities. J. of For. 94(6):4-12. Simon, H.A. (1956). Rational choice and the structure of the environment. Psychological Review 63(2):129-138. Stankey, G. (1995). The pursuit of sustainability: Joining science and public choice. The George Wright Forum 12(3):11-18. Stankey, G. and B. Shindler. (1997). Adaptive management areas: achieving the promise, avoiding the peril. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rept. PNW-GTR-394. 21 pp. Steel, B., P. List, and B. Shindler. (1994). Conflicting values about federal forests: a comparison of national and Oregon publics. Society and Natural Resources 7:137-153.