...1. Executive summary The main purpose of this report is to research and analyse the role that the utilisation of information and communication technology plays in the business affairs of Argos Ltd (Britain’s biggest retailer of home-goods). This report provides the reader with information on such aspects as: • the way that Argos conducts its business • the role that ICT plays in the everyday business affairs of Argos • background information about Argos, its allies and competitors • facts and figures on Argos`s sales, revenues and customers` buying habits After understanding the background and position on the market of Argos, the report evaluates the description of the organisation`s arrangement of operations, by adopting a customer perspective using the `customer perspective framework` while highlighting the role that technology plays within it. The last part of this report is dedicated to the competitive analysis of the organisation, in means of its relative success, by applying the framework of SWOT analysis and Porter`s 5 Forces model. Comparison of the organisation is also carried out by using the examples that are widely used in the sphere of ICT. Suggestions for improvement were given where relevant. Various credible informational resources were used it this report, including academic textbooks and journal articles, research reports and statistical data and numerous online sources. To assess and understand the current trends and developments...
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...through all the channels the business sells through. This case study focuses on the way in which Argos makes sure that it meets the needs of its customers. Argos was founded in 1973 and is now the UK's leading general merchandise retailer with sales of over £3.3 billion. Argos is owned by GUS plc and is part of the Argos Retail Group with over 580 stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland, as well as distribution centres, call centres and its head office in Milton Keynes, employing over 23,000 people in total. Approximately 98% of the UK population live within 10 miles of an Argos store. In the modern world of retailing consumers can have their needs met in a variety of ways such as High Street shopping, out of town shopping centres, and by direct delivery from Internet orders. Competition among retailers is increasingly getting tough. Differentiation is therefore the key to developing a compelling competitive advantage and winning loyal customers. Differentiation is the process of making your business stand out from rivals - making it different and better. Marketeers at Argos therefore are continually concerned with addressing the questions: Who are our customers? (Argos needs to find out as much as possible about its customers in order to meet their needs.) Are we offering the right combination of choice, value and convenience? How can we create a compelling competitor advantage? (How is Argos different...
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...“How Successful was Argo in representing the actual Iran Hostage Crisis” Fake Sci-fi movie flick The movie Argo visualizes an accurate retelling of the real Iran Hostage Crisis. The movie Argo displays a precise story line in which the CIA establishes a fake movie production in order to rescue six American ambassadors out of Iran. CIA took advantage of the political crisis happening in Iran. “The Iranian government, incredibly, was trying to encourage international business in the country. They needed the hard currency and a film production could mean millions of dollars.” (Bearman, 2007). Therefore, CIA came up with the plan of producing a fake sci-fi movie flick in Iran. In the film Argo Ben Affleck was chosen to play the lead role of Tony Mendez. A considerable part of the movie Argo focuses on the Canada’s role in the escape. Canada received complete credit for rescuing these American ambassadors. In the reality Canada was actually given recognition for rescuing Americans out of Teheran. The scenes in the movie Argo successfully portray the fear of American ambassadors. As demonstrated by this dialogue “Don’t f**king shoot anyone. You don’t wanna be the son of b*tch who started the war. They need an hour to be classified. I need you to hold. If you shoot one person, they are gonna shoot everyone of us in here” (Affleck, 2012). This dialogue demonstrates the fear of American ambassador. These six Americans were in the same state of fear during the Iran Hostage Crisis. Another...
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...Argo, the movie, is about the CIA’s undercover mission to rescue Americans trapped in Iran during the 1980 hostage crisis. Ben Affleck’s film is based on true events; however, some elements remain unrealistic and portray a bad image of Iran. Argo’s storyline, in which the American embassy in Iran was taken over in Nov. 4, 1979, is true. The film effectively retells the real events where six Americans were taken hostage, and eventually were able to escape the compound and make their way to an apartment. The CIA along with the Canadian government ultimately got them from Tehran with the help of a cover story and false identities that passed the group off as a Hollywood crew making a sci-fi film called Argo. One element that has been disputed in Argo’s accuracy is the involvement of the Canadian government in the escape. In 1979, Canada received complete credit for the escape because the U.S. government was worried about possible repercussions if CIA involvement was publicized. However, in the film, the Canadian involvement is significantly downplayed. According to an interview from Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck’s role), the six Americans were helped and housed by two Canadians: the Ambassador Ken Taylor, and a Canadian embassy employee, John Sheardown. In the film, it is told that all of the Americans stayed with Taylor, and Sheardown is not even mentioned. Nonetheless, Mendez explains that Taylor was the one who cabled Washington to begin the escape plan in earnest, and once the...
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...Argo or the Canadian Caper? Is it Argo or the Canadian Caper? Were they a suspicious group at the airport or just another film crew? Are all Iranians fanatic evil-doers, or is there more behind the scenes? The 2012 film sensation Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman brings to light all of these controversial questions. This academy award winning film is based on the declassified true story following the extraction of six American embassy employees who managed to escape the building when the Iranians took over, keeping 52 other hostages. The movie opens with clear chaos in the streets, American flags burning, protestors chanting, and eventually one Iranian man climbs the gates of the embassy, followed by the rest. It is the start of a revolution, with men and women alike carrying guns and protesting for the return of their former dictator, so he can be tried and executed there in Tehran. The six Americans who escape seek refuge at the home of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, who welcomes them in as “Houseguests”. Back in America, the CIA has gotten word of their escape, and devises a plan to get them out. The elaborate plan is to pretend the six Americans, along with Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), their make-up artist (John Goodman) and their producer (Alan Arkin) are scouting for a location to film their upcoming movie, “Argo”. They do not have much time, for it will not be long until the Iranians realize that the six...
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...Homework 1: Expatriates 1.0 Problem Statement Argos Diesel, Europe, is encountering a common global project management problem. Enter Bert Donaldson, a charismatic, well-spoken manager who had improved the cross functional teams and fostered cohesion among Argos’ groups domestically in the US. He has been tasked to do the same thing in European soil, helping the fledgling network of companies achieve the same efficiency as the US, but he has so far failed to do so. Employee confidence in Donaldson’s vision is low, and the CEO Frank Waterhouse is starting to wonder if the best course of action is to now remove Donaldson from the project, and if not, what to do to improve him. 2.0 Results Donaldson, by himself, can no longer be a useful asset to Argos Diesel, Europe. He should either be removed so that someone experienced with European culture can continue the program, or someone experienced with European culture should be hired to work with Donaldson and be the new frontrunner for the program. 3.0 Discussion There are three main problems with having solely Donaldson as the person spearheading the program: * The first is his lack of preparation. His superiors (Waterhouse and Loun) never properly acquainted Donaldson with the knowledge he needs to operate successfully in a new European environment. As a result, Donaldson lacks the ability to speak anything other than English and he commits fatal cultural blunders. Seeing only through his own cultural perspective, he lacks...
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...Analytical Essay Assignment, CPOL128 BB0, Politics and Film, Summer 2013 (Revised) Grade Weight: 20% of your final grade in this course. Due Date: Wednesday July 24th, 2013, hard copy to be submitted in class. IF you run into computer or printer problems, you may ask for permission to submit the essay by email before 11:59 pm that same day. This will be possible ONLY with advance permission, otherwise electronic versions of the essay will not be accepted. Essay Specifications: 5 to 6 pages, double spaced, 12 point font (the Title page and Works Cited should be on separate pages and do NOT count in the page count). Please submit it WITHOUT any cover (plastic or otherwise) stapled together (a stapler will be provided on the due day if you do not have one) with a cover page and Works Cited (neither of which page will be part of the page count). The minimum length is 5 full pages; the maximum is 6. If you submit an essay that is less that 5 pages or more than 6, you risk losing ½ % per half page over or under. Late essays will only be accepted with a doctor’s note or similar documentation to explain and support the late submission. HOWEVER: If you find yourself nowhere near finished as the deadline nears, please inform me; a one or two-day extensions may be granted if requested in advance. Don’t just give up and decide not to submit your essay. No one can afford to lose 20% of their final mark. Without documentation (described above) or without an extension...
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...PART A From the case study of ARGO, select one sub criteria from the leadership section and assess it using the RADAR methodology and the EFQM requirements of the Leadership criteria. Then write 1. Two strength areas (things ARGO did well as related to applying the requirements stipulated in the criteria or the RADAR) Answer: 1C. Leaders engage with external stakeholders. Looking at the points as mentioned in the criteria for 1C, ARGO ID has done quite well in accordance with the application of the criteria and keeping it up. ARGO has a small a customer base of large organizations and they don’t find it difficult to reach them, hence they can understand and respond to the customer’s expectations and needs. Moreover, the four senior managers including ARGO ID CEO manages themselves with their important customers which helps them understand customer’s apprehensions and concerns. ARGO ID CEO while visiting their key customers found out complaints about the Utilities’ department regarding unexpected interruptions due to bad weather conditions. So, with the help of ARGO’s customers, improvements were seen in the simplification of the tendering process and introducing billing by email for key customers etc. This shows ARGO’s compliance with the criteria’s second point which says that leaders should establish such approaches which would involve partners, customers and society in creating new concepts and improvement. ARGO uses Strategic Partnership initiative to maintain...
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...Argo or the Canadian Caper? Is it Argo or the Canadian Caper? Were they a suspicious group at the airport or just another film crew? Are all Iranians fanatic evil-doers, or is there more behind the scenes? The 2012 film sensation Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman brings to light all of these controversial questions. This academy award winning film is based on the declassified true story following the extraction of six American embassy employees who managed to escape the building when the Iranians took over, keeping 52 other hostages. The movie opens with clear chaos in the streets, American flags burning, protestors chanting, and eventually one Iranian man climbs the gates of the embassy, followed by the rest. It is the start of a revolution, with men and women alike carrying guns and protesting for the return of their former dictator, so he can be tried and executed there in Tehran. The six Americans who escape seek refuge at the home of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, who welcomes them in as “Houseguests”. Back in America, the CIA has gotten word of their escape, and devises a plan to get them out. The elaborate plan is to pretend the six Americans, along with Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), their make-up artist (John Goodman) and their producer (Alan Arkin) are scouting for a location to film their upcoming movie, “Argo”. They do not have much time, for it will not be long until the Iranians realize that the six...
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...REVIEW OF THE BUSINESS Argos business review —— As the UK’s leading multi channel retailer, Argos provides a highly successful and unique offer of choice, value and convenience. Operational review Multi-channel leadership Multi-channel sales have continued to grow and now represent £1.9bn or 46% of Argos’ total sales. Internet orders represent 36% of Argos’ total sales, up from 32% last year, with the remaining 10% of multi-channel sales being products ordered either in-store or by telephone for home delivery. Argos continues to be the second largest internet retailer in the UK, with 400 million website visits during the year. The Spring/Summer 2011 catalogue launch was the first to fully integrate social media into the multi-channel offer. Through the growing Twitter and Facebook communities, customers can access the Argos products, share ideas and discover engaging content. More convenience through store-based collection Stores remain a key component of the Argos multi-channel model, operating with a national chain that provides convenient ‘pick up points’ for the customer. During the year under review 11 stores were opened and five stores were closed, the net six new stores grew the store portfolio to 751. In addition, seven stores were relocated to improved locations. In the 2011/12 financial year, there will be around 15 new store openings, while around five older stores are likely to be closed; there will also be a number of additional stores that are relocated to better...
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...Omar Niazi English 121 3/13/14 Movie Review Final Draft Argo "Okay, you got 6 people hiding out in a town of what, 4 million people, all of whom chant "death to America" all the livelong day. You want to set up a movie in a week. You want to lie to Hollywood, a town where everybody lies for a living. Then you're gonna sneak 007 over here into a country that wants CIA blood on their breakfast cereal, and you're gonna walk the Brady Bunch out of the most watched city in the world." This quote very accurately describes the whole plot behind the movie Argo. The movie, Argo takes place during the 1979, Iranian hostage crisis. America had put in place a new shah in the late 1950's, who many Iranian had claimed was the cause of much economical turmoil in their country over the past thirty years. They claimed he only cared about himself and his family well-being, and no one else. The Iranian public had little patience left for the "American" placed shah, and was planning out a way to take him out of power, dead or alive. With this being known, the U.S had the shah flown out of his country. This then caused even more anger and hatred towards America and Americans. Escalating quickly, the hostile Iranian's began to protest and riot outside the American embassy. Shortly after the large group had gathered, the American embassy was over run, and taken control of by the Iranian rioters and protestors. Though they managed to capture fifty Americans in the embassy; six managed...
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...Paper Title: The Era of Multi-Channel Marketing The Era of Multi-Channel Marketing In this essay I will be critically evaluating the article ‘Multichannel Retailing: A Case Study of Early Experiences’ written by Ruby Roy Dholakia, Miao Zhao and Nikhilesh Dholakia, featured in the Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 19, 2; pp. 63 -75. All three authors are professor and assistant professors of marketing in various universities. Multichannel marketing is offering customers more than one way to purchase goods -for example, from a website, a catalogue, as well as in retail stores. In order to evaluate the relevance of their findings I will introduce another case study and compare the findings. The main focus of the article is the description of the move into multichannel retailing of a brick-and-mortar and catalogue retail company through the addition of Internet retail. By analysing the purchase data from 530,000 customers the authors came to the conclusion that those who became customers through the Internet bought less often than those who became customers through the catalogue and physical stores. This is an indication that the Internet is an evolving channel. The main findings revealed expanding channel choices offers many benefits despite the learning costs; customer characteristics play a strong role in their use of specific channels. Customer behaviour is strongly influenced by marketing efforts. When reading an article one would expect the information...
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...What resources does Argos use? 2.1: Describe the main physical and technological resources essential in the operation of a selected organisation by outlining the following: A): Resource used: Physical Resources | Technological Resources | P1. Equipment | T1. Music | P2. Premises | T2. Software licences | P3. Shelves | T3. Tills | P4. Forklift | T4. Protection via patents | P5. products | T5. CCTV | P6. Trolleys | T6. Online catalogue | B): How each resource is being maintained / protected? Physical Resources P1. Equipment Equipment is what is used by businesses and organisations to help them get the job done. For example Argos keeps these by using stuff such as shelves and tables to store the items on. Argos keeps their equipment by having insurance on most of the expensive equipment such as Laptops and Computers etc. P2. Premises Argos has have hundreds on stores so they would have Subcontractors to maintain the stores, for instance if there was an emergency the manager would call the shops subcontractor to provide immediate assistance and the subcontractor should be able to attend within a maximum of 1 hour. Also CCTV is a form of security to help subcontractors maintain security and safety as people monitor these cameras P3. Shelves/Tables Argos use Shelves to store All their products in and to organise them behind the till so when a customer order is ready they can pick up their products after...
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...Analyze the reasons for Argos’ success Analyze the reasons for Argos’ success Argos is the top products retail business in the UK. It has more than 700 branches in this world and sales everything except of food. There are more than 18 thousand kinds of products could be sell by Argos. A part of people believe that the success of Argos is caused by its unique sales mode. But the opponents argue that the own brand products and the supply channel are the real reasons which cause Argos become successful, and they believe that Argos’ unique sales mode is the real cumbersome weakness. Therefore, the sales model of Argos will be analyzed in this paper. It will be divided into three sides to be analyzed, they are sales mode, own brand products and supply channel. After those, the reasons why Argos is successful will be clearly explained. 1. Unique sale mode Argos used a special sales mode which is different from the traditional sales mode when it just established, because Argos believe that with the British life become more and more affluent, they also have less idle time, the traditional sales mode cannot fully satisfy British need. Therefore, Argos focus on providing the most convenient shopping way to the consumers, and offering the cheapest products and best serve. When the consumers go to any branches of Argos, they may just see a lot of catalogues shelf, some checkout counter , automatic cash register, and almost no goods shelf there because most bulk of stocks...
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...Marketing Mix | Amazon | Argo | Product | Huge product range | About 12,000 items in which Argo deals. | Price | Pricing strategy | Pricing strategy | Promotion | All the promotion is carried through websites. | Various advertising channels according to the segments of the customers. | Place | Customer relationship management is improved by using “One click Amazon” on the website of the company. | In order to enhance the accessibility, Argo is opening new store in UK. | People | Own stuff members are not that much. | Argo has large no of trained stuff which are always willing to support its customers. | Process | The process for making orders by Amazon.com is really easy for customers. | | Physical Evidence | It has very informative and user friendly website that appeals the customer when they visit it. | The appearance of store of Argo is attractive for the customers. | 2 Marketing Mix | Amazon | Argo | Product | Almost everything | About 12,000. | Price | Amazon is viable with the prices of products. | Pricing strategy | Promotion | Via websites. | Via different ways | Place | Through websites | Stores and websites both | People | Less staff members | Large no of staff | Process | Efficient ordering process | good | Physical Evidence | Website is up to date and attractive | Stores are well designed | | Product | Price | Place | Promotion | People | Process | Physical Evidence | Amazon | Almost everything | Amazon is viable with the prices of products...
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