Sunday, March 31, 2019

Mauritius Islands As A Destination

Mauritius Islands As A DestinationThe reference marketing run across entrust be based on a small island, which is non even visible on the world map, called Mauritius. It is a vol assic island of lagoons and beaches in the Indian Ocean, it is know for its stability and racial harmony among its blend of population. It is an island locate at about 900 kilometres east of Madagascar and about 3,943 kilometres south-west of India. (Blunt 2005)It has to a greater extent that unmatchable hundred fifty kilometres of beaches and the lagoon is protected by the worlds third largest coral reef. Its population is estimated to 1,2 gazillion which forms a blend of cultures from India, Africa, Europe and China.Mauritius was discovered by a Portuguese sailor, Don Pedro Masc arnhas. It was occupied by the Dutch (1598 1710), French (1715 1810) and British (1810 1968). It gained its liberty on the twelfth March 1968 and its Republic status on 12th March 1992. It has a democracy based on the British democracy. The m wholenessy officed there is the Mauritian Rupee, made up of 100cents and its capital urban center is Port Louis. The Mauritian economy is dependent upon the textile, touristry and sugar industry. soon the close is attracting tourist mainly from European Countries and the cultures current mission to move its loyal node and promote in countries where people ar non awargon of Mauritius as a tourist destination. They essential to maintain the effigy of Mauritius as cosmos a paradise to their current markets.The Destination would want to regain the French market following the chikunguya disease, to attract more tourists from American countries and become the hail one tourist destination in the Indian Ocean.Jobber (2004210) defines segmentation as the identification of individuals or organizations with similar characteristics that contain significant implications for the determination of marketing strategy. In other words it kernel dividing a segm ent into sub-segments beca implement customers differ in tastes, needs, attitudes, spiritednessstyles, family size and composition. Identifying these submarkets leave behind assist the destination to serve its customers with similar requirements efficiently and effectively. The more a destination knows about its customers the better they will be able to satisfy their needs. A segment is identified by dividing them according to the purpose of trip, the buyers need/motivations and benefits sought, the buyers behaviour, their psychographic profile, the toll of the ticket and the demographic, economic and geographic profile.The identified segments for Mauritius were people aged 25 and upwards with a medium to gritty income per year, because the terms of a ticket for the destination is around 600 700 and the life bout identified was nakedly conjoin couples, full live II, empty nest I and empty nest II. It has been found that it is mostly leisure tourists that come to the des tinations and their motivation honeymoon, young hook up with couple desire paradise for their honeymoons, looking for a quiet place, this applies to retired people, families automatic to escape the European winter and go acrossking sea and beach holiday, individuals seeking for water- sports and tourist coming for cultural interest. Most of the tourists coming to Mauritius ar trustworthy and spend a lot during their stay. Regarding price, tourists be quite sensitive to this versatile when the price is high less tourist affect to the destination when the price is reduced more tourists impress. Price is also an indicator of the perceived tonicity, so when playing with the price variable one should be careful of the quality that it is sacking to reflect.Market PositioningPosition is about the perceived delineation of the destination by customers compared to other nearby destinations. Customers has this perceived image of Mauritius organism paradise when they look at the br ochure and see the white sandlike beaches and the turquoise ocean. This perceived image would help to make the island the piece one destination in the Indian Ocean.Marketing Mix/branding imageThe marketing commingle is defined as a combination of controllable variables that can be used to achieve the desired levels of sales in butt markets. This combination is known as the 4 Ps, which includes product, price, place and promotion. harvestIn terms of the tourism industry, the product covers the complete experience from the quantify a tourist reaches their destination to the time he/she leaves. Therefore the tourism product is a intermingleture of attractiveness and facilities at the destination, facility and destination. The spot of marketing is to add awareness of the product, improve their presentation and their delivery to customers. peerless has to bear in mind that when a customer buys a tourism product they are actually buying the expectation of benefits it is the ben efits that are the product. indeed the product should match customers needs.The tourism product comprises of five componentsDestination attractions and environsDestination facilities and overhaulsAccessibility of the destinationImages of the destinationPrice to the consumer (Middleton 1994)The destinations onslaught to the product mix will be doing a market explore to see what customer perceptions of the product are and used the information assure their needs. It can also be done on non-users to see what attraction or facilities the destination will need to build up. To attract more customers the destination will introduce packages made by tour operators much(prenominal)(prenominal) as when tourists staying in certain hotels they will have free adit at certain attraction. This type of package will positionly drive families. Extending the usage of the products will help to achieve this strategy as well, such as offering one free night to customers if they are staying for a weekend. The destination could also introduce an airline, like Ryanair in Europe, which would do flights in the Indian Ocean only, such as flights from Mauritius to other island in the Indian Ocean at a low price.Pricetourism businesses survey with disparate segments at the same time and they frequently use different price for the different segments. Pricing is a very complex last due to the high degree of competition and the inaccuracy in forecasting levels of demand. It whitethorn vary not only because of the industrys characteristics but also due to other factors such as weather, terrorism and strikes. There exists no universal itinerary of pricing, price will always vary. Pricing acts as an indicator of quality, frankincense it can be used to assess quality in the first place purchase.The characteristics that shine pricing are the followingPerishabilityIntensive capital investment equal of intensive staff employedCustomers characteristicsRegarding pricing the destination will use a low pricing strategy at the beginning to sanction long-run demands, capture market share from competitors and discourage any authorization new entrant to enter the market. If it is observed that there is a high proportion frequent customer, this means that the customers are satisfied with the product and customer loyalty has been arrive atd. Then price could be raised at a reasonable level to maximise profits. The price could also be move during off-peak season to attract customer and non-users as well that could try the destination. superfluous price could be given to newly married couples for their honeymoon, if they did like the destination by word of gumshield they will tell it to their other friends who competency use the destination for their honeymoons. (Ernie 1992)PlacePlace is the element of the marketing mix which includes channel of distribution and physical distribution. Channel distribution includes tour operators, retailers and lead agents. Channels should be chosen according to the other the other three both(prenominal) marketing mix. Choice of location, which is the point of sale, should be well located to increase the flow of customers (Ernie 1992)Since we already know who our target markets are the destination will choose tour operators which specialize in their target market and travel agencies that are located where their target market are. For instance if the destination is targeting at families they will choose a travel agent that is specialize in that market and located in area where families live. Since the destination is aiming at non- users they will have to find an operator in these countries.PromotionPromotion mix consists of four elements advertising, personal selling, publicity and sales promotion. They are designed to create excitement and interest about the destination. These elements should tell similar, consistent and non-conflicting messages to each of their target markets. (Ernie 1992)The aim of the de stination is to increase advertising in targets market countries and in non-users countries as well. Mass media advertising and aggressive advertising will be used to send the message that Mauritius was made first and then paradise and that heaven was copied after Mauritius. This message will be sent done the use of televisions, radios, newspapers and billboards. Market research could be use here to see what image our target markets have of the destination and use it for the advertising. The destination will advertise in trade magazines to reach tour operators and travel agents. The destination will use travel agents as an intermediary for personal selling and they could also be used as a way of promoting the destination. exploitation sales promotion would help to achieve the objectives mentioned earlier, the destination will use price promotion, special merchandise use to promote the destination and familiarization tours for travel agents. Price promotion could be used when ther e is festival going on at the destination, such as the Independence Day, which would include give identity card on attractions, restaurants and hotels. Selling merchandise such as T-shirts, key irons and souvenirs will help to promote the destination by word of mouth when tourists go back to their countries, this magnate encourage prospective customers to visit the destination. Familiarization tours are free trips for travel agents to let them experience the tourist destination before the customers. This would be for travel agents operating in an area where there non-users of the destination, the travel agents would be able advise non-users on the destination. Promotional impact can be managed by carefully managing the four elements of the promotion mix. powderTourism Area life CycleTourism Area Life cycle a framework concept by Buttler (1980) highlights the tourism attractions and re get-gos of a specific country. It mainly involves according to Butler (1980) a six stage grow ing of tourism namely exploration, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation and post stagnation. . Mauritius Island can be sort out between aDevelopment stage and stagnation in the TALC (buttler 1980) more people are reaching Mauritius (see tourist Arrival stats) by years, more people discover the destination, and the word spreads about its attractions and the amenities which are increased and improved ( development) with the approach of the carrying capacity* (define below next content) stagnation rise with the social and environmental limits. Buttler (1980) mentioned that a rise from Exploration to stagnancy happens very rapidly, as implied by the exponential nature of the growth curve. As this is the case for Mauritius in a rise of infrastructure, development in Technologies, up services for quality customers. For Instance carrying capacity clearly explains the rest of the situation.Carrying cognitive contentDefinition of carrying capacityCarrying capacity can be de fined as the maximum effect of people who can use a grade without an unacceptable decline in the quality of experience gained by visitors (karma2001 65) .Lime(1976) points to a substantial expansion of the meaning of carrying capacity from a focus on numbers of visitors to the entire topic of how to plan and manage a particular recreation resource .Findings in Carrying capacityCarrying capacities are usually unconquerable for the readiness area involving features of key attractions, development sites and even the tourist musical passage point. The carrying capacity analysis implying the institution of upper limits on development in other words, the number of tourists in terms of days, feedbacks and market forecasts, Moreover, carrying capacities can be established both for the developing as well as genuine tourist destination.( Kamra200168) he also argues that carrying capacity analyse most the number of tourist arrivals to the number of inhabitants in the destination area, i n a response they found to be genuinely measuring the elements of socio-cultural environment and physical. More elements such as economical and infrastructure reduces are to be seen as a part of the carrying capacity.A source of befoulment can be a source of major problem in an environmental aspect, for vitrine the beaches in Mauritius are well preserved by the government and by the hotels themselves, pollution (land) might affect the tourism industry, if not taken into consideration it might result to a decrease in tourist arrivals in the destination, this one major issue can be classified as being a physical more on that is the preservation of wild life animals, the animals in Mauritius Island such as the kestrel and the Mauritian Parakeet are unique in the species, preservation of those natural resources have large impacts on tourism industry. Economical benefits are mostly crucial for the government of Mauritius, as this is tourism industry is being as a major source of inco me, tourism industry also bring employment for the local communities for example hotel resorts have been built in the coastal areas. bone ANALYSISSWOTSWOT, is a tool use to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the destination. The aim of SWOT is to attach the key environmental factors that are important to the destination.StrengthsDistinctive and exotic environmentMauritius is known for its exotic environment and its natural park.The break up of new hotelsLately in Mauritius there a lot of new hotels opening up, this is an gain for the island because now they accommodate more tourists than before.High purchasing tycoon for tourists1 = Rs 63.6447, which means that with 1 UK tourist could more things in Mauritius than in their country. (Anon 2006)Excellent service provided by hotelsThe tropical island is not also known for its physical asset but also for the high quality service provided by hotels. (Anon 2005)WeaknessesDiseasesLately in Mauritius there has been a disease, chikunguya, which is caused by mosquito bites and because of this the number of French tourist has declined.Language BarrierAlthough the official language is English, not all Mauritian speak English andIt is hard for tourist to communicate since most of the tourists are English speaking.Long haul flights The flights to Mauritius from Europe, America and Asian countries is a 12hr flight, which is very tiring.OpportunitiesExploit Golf tourist marketIt has notice that golf tourist spend a lot when they come to Mauritius, thereby Mauritius try to attract more golf tourist to maximise their revenues. appendage in Spa tourismNew air routes such as flight to Russia has been open thus creating a new market and if work wisely could bring in more revenues for the island.Increase in the number of flight to Mauritius There are now two new airlines doing the flights to Mauritius, TUIfly Nordic and Corsairfly. (Chateau 2006)ThreatsCompetitionFuture competition from the surrou nding islands might be an issue Mauritius will have to find a way of gaining the competitive advantage over them.TsunamisFollowing the tsunami that hit Indonesia in December there were some minor effects felt in Mauritius. Since that time there are still some tourists that feel it is unsafe to visit the island. (Anonb 2006)RecommendationsMauritius Island has the best assertable ability to become the pioneer in Tourism industry in the Indian Ocean , The Government of Mauritius understand very well the richness of Tourists for the Economy, the improvement of the Hotels infrastructure is to be made ( now in exercise 2008-2010 project) , the preservation of the wildlife park such as the rare animals and rare plants species, the introduction of a new airport also under future planning of the Government, the size of tourists arrivals is increasing with years and several discounts on Air Fares are available.2665 words

Saturday, March 30, 2019

An Exposition of Amos 5

An Exposition of Amos 5With a get a line to an sense of hearing within a stated contemporary ministry setting, provide an interpretation of Amos 5As I engage to expound the book of Amos I would essential to do an exposition of Amos 5 which with a view of a mixed Audience of men and women between the ages of 20 to 50 eld of age and also young tidy sum who most(prenominal) of them atomic number 18 beneath the age of 20 years. The audience is a mixture of different commonwealthalities that expect different cultural background.According to Hasting (196328) writing in the dictionary of the bible, he feel outs that Amos was one(a) of the earliest prophets who prophesied in the 8th century B.C. Amos is known to experience come from Tekoa and tally to the dictionary of the bible, he prophesied when Israel and Judah were strong and prosperous. Though thither was prosperity in Judah and Israel the book of Amos portrayed a lot of darkness taking place during that period. In (ch apter 4) of Amos and meter (1) it talks of how the brusk ar trounceed and they are crushed. (Amos 11) The words of Amos, one of the guards of Tekoa-the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam discussion of Jehoasha was king of Israel. According to this verse, it makes us catch that Amos was a shepherd, and also understand that Amos may non be the one who wrote the book(Thorogood 199210) cites that, the book of Amos is a collection of the Prophets words. We screw non be certain who actually wrote it, or when it was written. When we come to chapter 5 of Amos it can be hard trying to understand what specifically he is trying to speak to when he talks of a virgin Israel in verses 2. It is hard to interpret the book without first having understood some of the things that Amos is saying, for example, where he says, This is what the captain says to Israel Seek me and live do non look Bethel, do not go to Gil gal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal go out sure enough go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing (vs. 4-5). Not erudite what Bethel, Gilgal and also Beersheba means one can not interpret what he was implying. Patte (2004282) makes us understand that Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba were sacred places because they were memorials connected to the ancestors and history of the conquest of the shoot down without having this knowledge it is a hard one to understand. The writings of Amos are regarded as Oracles, this is highlighted by Heaton(197773 ) Amos cultivated the practice of embodying in his oracles quotations of his opponents claims. So this is to tramp that Amos was writing oracles. Wolff (1977) in his book of Joel and Amos cites that the literary tradition hardly allows us to recognize more than two dozen short individual oracles, so he is implying that Amoss writing was literal and he cites three basic attri bute of speech found in the book of Amos (i) The messenger speech which he says that it is tied to what Amos was told to say by god. (ii) The free speech witness speech, this he says promotes relationship with the listener. (iii) Vision report, that one he says that it cannot be said with sure thing whether is rhetorical or literary in Origin.When Amos is starting to speak the oracles he is using within and in front the text where he is addressing the children of Israel and tells them in verses 1-7 to hear what the Lord is saying and what will meet to them. As Amos is discourse in chapter 51-3, he regards the children of Israel as pack who are already dead, and is lamenting over their state and seems there no hope for them when he says, Fallen and no more to rise. He compares them to a virgin charwoman engaged but now she has been forsaken. So he uses metaphor when he is addressing them. This may mean that Israel is glorious but their glory is gone. In verse 4-10 it is a call for them to call perfection crimson in their crisis, it is impress that in the beginning, he speaks to them It portrays them as people who go for been utterly undone and no hope to rise again. In verses 4 he tells them to examine the Lord and live. On the opposite hand, he tells them, what not to set about Bethel and not to enter Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba for there are consequences when they do that. Marsh (195953) gives the meaning of the word search and he says the word translated seek originally meant to ask for an oracle from some diviner, and then to exsert adoration and obedience to matinee idol. Applying this few verses as I address my audience purpose in mind the state of the nation that we are in where there attain been a crisis in the economy and a lot of cuts in so many sectors that some services that the government used to offer are not longer there, I would bring to their attention to how the nation has declined and probably try to mention, maybe is because of the evil that is done in the nati on. I would also encourage them to seek the Lord and not to put their religious belief in the systems, as Amos was encouraging the children of Israel to seek God and not seek the sacred places. When Amos is warning the people not to seek Bethel or go to Gilgal and having now understood that Gilgal was a sacred place as cited by Patte(2004282), he is encouraging them to worship the lawful(p) God rather than go and worship those sacred places whereby tear down if they are sacred places they are not God themselves. I would, therefore, encourage my audience to worship the true God rather than men, bearing in mind that most of my audience are from African background where there is a tendency of worshiping the men of God. In verses (10 Amos talks of people hating correction or rather even off and hate he who tells the truth. So I as address my audience I would encourage them to speak the truth and allow themselves to be corrected by the word of the Lord. Since my audience is a mixtur e of young people who most of them are under the bring off of their parents I encouraged them to adhere to discipline and obey their parents.G1In (verses 11-12) Amos talks of how the poor are smashed, and he tells them because they suck in done these things and even extracted wheat unjustly from them even the house they pack built they will not live in them. Amos was pronouncing judgment. As I bring this to my audience I would speak to them, warning them not to oppress each former(a) and especially the old oppressing the young even on those who are married, men not to oppress women. I would speak to men oppressing women with confidence having some background knowledge how African women at measure are regarded as not equal to their men and they tend to be oppressed. Amos changes his tone in verses 14 and he gives the people hope that if they seek the Lord they will live. What I see when I look at the previous (verses 12 and 13) he is telling them to stop oppressing the poor and they will live. So I would tell the audience that, when we are doing injustice to one another we are not seeking God, and God is not with us because after Amos telling the Israelite how they bemuse oppressed the poor he tells them to seek the Lord in order for them to live. Amos here was like implying that God was not with the Israelite because they were oppressing the poor.Amos follows verses 14 with verse 15 by saying that they should hate evil, and my intelligence I will interpret that not rendering injustice and oppressing the poor is what God hates. As a result of them hating evil, they will escape the chance that Amos is speaking in (verses 16) which he says there will be wail as the Lord passes across the land. The Israelite will understand the in a better way when they remember what happened while they were escaping Egypt when there was wailing in the camp of the Egyptians. Amos is saying that the wailing will be so commodious that, they will even call for people to hel p them to wail. As I would address my audience I would focus them on treating each other well and not oppressing others, this is because loving God is loving and treating other people justly, we cant say we love God and yet you treat others mischievously and oppress them. According to Patte(2004282) in the commentary, he says that The horizontal relationship to neighbors is inseparably bound to the vertical relationship with God. To avoid punishment from God we have to love God and treat people well. Though God had swear of bringing destruction we see in (verses 15) that he will come out some from the remnant of Joseph may be the ones who will carry on his purpose on the earth. This reminds me the day of Noah where he had to destroy everything apart from Noahs family.Amos in verse 17 is using literal language that he is difference to pass through them and their vineyard will be wailing. This may not mean that God is the one who is going to pass the land himself but may be the adv ersary. As I share this verse I may bring to the attention of my audience that the Lord may not necessary come to punish our wrong doing but things might happen when we dont live according to what the Lord has expected of us.In Verses 18 he is warning those who have been waiting for the day of the lord, may be expecting a reward, and kinda he is telling them it will be darkness sort of of lights. In other words, things will be so bad quite of being good and this is as a result of their actions. Most probably they Children of Israel have been expecting God to come and reward them and have victory among their enemies. Thorogood(1992) in his book a guide to Amos commented that Amos did not share hope with the Israelites instead he predicted a day of darkness instead of light. Even in our day, we might be expecting great things from God because we believe in him, and instead, we experience ourselves going through difficult times. Therefore it is important to check our shipway and see whether there are people we are oppressing or doing things that cannot enrapture God. Maybe the children of Israel thought because they have a covenant relationship with God, they can do anything and God turns a blind eye. Amos portrayed the day of the Lord they have been expecting a very gloomy day, in that they will be running from one problem thinking they have escaped they produce themselves in another major problem. Amos uses allegory a lot as he writes when he is talking about a lion, a bear, and even a serpent. Maybe he using this because for him being a shepherd has had encountered all these animals. If I were to use allegory I would use things that my audience would understand. In verses, 21-24 Amos is narrating how the Lord is not pleased by the sacrifices that they offer unto him and even their worship unto God. He said if justice and righteousness are not found in them, their rituals are in vain. Maybe they thought by observing the rituals and offering sacrifices t hey will please God even if they oppress the poor and put heavy taxes on them. I would also address the same issue to my audience that it is not by how much we do for God, or how much money we give to the Him is about acting according to what he requires. Marsh (195957) as he comments on verses 21-24 cites that Israel had all externals of true religion-fine churches and cathedrals, great festivals popularly observed (everyone went to church on such days, touching rituals solemnly impressive sacrifices, beautiful music, and well-trained choirs. But such externals do not, of themselves, stimulate communion with God. In other words, outward rituals and appearance do not appeal to God. We must go beyond rituals and do what God want us to do. In verses, 25 Amos is like narrating what God is asking Israelites that they neer offered him any sacrifices and that they carried idols with them. It is like he is saying that while they were not set up they didnt offer any sacrifice to God and yet he took care of them. But now that God has established them the wont honor him, instead, he is saying they carried idols with them. Having an audience who some of them have come from ruin I would bring to their attention to remember where God has brought them from, some from great hardship and yet God has established them. I would encourage them to honor God and keep his commands. Amos has mentioned two things they carried which are sikkuth their king, and chiun their idols which according to Wintle (20151146) commenting in South Asia record commentary refers to these idols that the Israelites carried as Assyrian deities. This shows as if the Israelites regarded other gods more than the true God. They were keeping unto what they may be thought is the righteous way than do what God had instructed them to do. As we read these verses today we would also ask ourselves as Christians are we exalting things in our lives more than we exalt the Lord, and this can be true even in the audience I am addressing, in that some many have valued their jobs, families children or as a people we regard rituals more than we regard God.In conclusion, as I have looked at the book of Amos chapter 5 I can conclude and say that this chapter can speak to us as the church of today that we look at to deal with injustices in our society and live righteous lives, and that will be a true worship unto God. Amos has reminded us the need of humility in our worship. Thorogood 199266) says that the closer our worship is linked with the rest of-of our life the more assistive it is likely to be, This means that we need to be conscious every time, that we have a relationship with God and we can worship him anytime not exactly when we are gathered together. As Amos highlighted the injustices and oppression done to the poor by the children of Israel we also need to learn as Christians to treat each other well even when we are in different social status.BibliographyD.D, J. H. (1963). vocabu lary of the rule book. Edinburgh T.and T Clark.Heaton, E. W. (1977). The Old Testament Prophets. London Anchor Brendon Ltd.Marsh, J. (1959). The Torch Bible Commentary series Amos And Micah. Great Britain Northumberland Press Limited.Patte, D. (2004). Global Bible Commentary. capital of Tennessee Abingdon Press.Thorogood, B. (1992). A Guide to Amos. London Spck.Wintle, B. (2015). South Asia Bible Commentary, One stack Commentary on the whole Bible. Michigan Grand Rapids, Michigan.Wolf, H. W. (1977). Hermancia, Joel, and Amos. United commonwealth Fortress PressG1Deletedh

History Of The Fertile Crescent History Essay

Hi storey Of The impregn fitting crescent(prenominal) History leavenThe productive Crescent has been c eached the Cradle of acculturation for many years. The Cradle of Civilization is the key to intelligence when the pitying tribe began to thirve and create vilages, cities, and ultimantly states. With out the vapidity and civilization of the land on that point would have never been enough fodder to certify much(prenominal) a dence population of people. Hunting and collecting solo from the cruel could not possibly support even a flyspeck fraction of the worlds current population (Bellwood, 1). thither were sevener core tone downs in the Fertile Crescent, they include sheep, fannys, pigs, cattle, two-grain spelt pale yellow, einkorn husk berry and barleycorncorncorn. All of these species were domestic and had an substantial role in the Fertile Crescent end-to-end the two millennia appendage of agrarian societies between ten thousand and 8000 B.P. We can b est understand the events of this flowing by head start focusing on the ruinmental history of the single species of sics and animals that were brought under jejuneness, and then combining those individual histories into the to a greater extent complex boilersuit story in the emergence of the agriculture in the region (Smith, 51).The story of the Fertile Crescent starts frequently originally the emergence of the guideer- gatherers were raviging the forests and grass lands. By myriad B.P. the beginning of the 2000 year spot that would witness the development of agriculture, human societies had taken advantage of the post-Pleistocene proliferation of build and animal re root sy beginnings, and the fertile crescent was live by a diverse array of hunter-gatherer societies (Smith, 51). The Pleistocene era had stop with a lots warmer climate that also brought a frequently moister climate to the force field. This climate change was one that favored the rattling(a) y forward shand(predicate) cereal grasses (Sagan, 249). Also it allowed the sparse movement of hunter-gatherer groups to move in to the area. It was there that they ascertained that a much than sedentary lifestyle produced more of a greater surplus of food and than that of scrounge.The Fertile Crescents environmental zones are keys to understanding the development of the tamenesss of the plants and animals. in that location are three main environmental zones compo lay in the origin of cultivation in the Fertile Crescent. The eastern region of which comprises the foothills and margins of the Zagros Mountains (Maisels 133). The exchange or the north is to the highest degreely made up of the big rolling grasslands. Lastly, the western section whose central axis is the grievous Levantine corridor and Jordan Valley (Smith, 51). While deliberate cultivation eventually became most intensely practiced on the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, it did not start there beca intent the climate was too dry, thus requiring irrigation. In the central section, habitual harvest-feast of wondrous grains did occur, and it is suggested that this abundance led to the get-go sedentary villages dependent on harvesting wild grains. Ali Kosh a village occupied around 9000 B.P. herded goats, intensively collected various wild plants, and harvested wild wheat. Deliberate cultivation most comparablely came in response to documented climatic changes, which led inhabitants on the fringe of the hilly flanks to artificially duplicate the dense stands of wheat and barley that grew in the hilly flanks (Sagan, 237).There were many changes that occurred collectable to the cultivation of a plant or animal. These changes were many fourth dimensions become genetic receivable to the consistent selection of the more adequately produced products. In wild grains, the axis or rachis is brittle, which allows the grain to reseed itself good. Selection of the grains was at first an accidental by-produ ct of harvesting, and subsequentlyward intentionally, the people selected grains in which the axis was tougher, allowing less(prenominal) grain to fall to the ground, thus raising yields (Sagan 247). They also selected plants that were more easily husked. The people used the same natural selection process when choosing livestock. They selected wooly-minded animals from among wild sheep, who are not normally woolly, thus acquiring sheep go bad suited to lowland heat and from which to obtain wool. Fossil remains register that domestication of sheep and goats was accompanied by a decrease in the size of it of the animal.The animals domestic in the Fertile Crescent were key to the development of the macrocosm in the area. The readily available reference point of meat aided in the functions of the brain, which led to the ability to think more complexly and creatively. The brain is fuel by protein therefore with more protein in the diet the mind began to develop more completel y. Thus the importance of the domestication of the animals to the human race, with out having to hunt for the meat they were getting a more readily available source of protein (Wilkinson 139).The Persian wild goat has been recognized as the ancestor to the first domesticated goat. The Persian wild goat tends to be found in the more rugged terrain. It is in the eastern section of the Fertile Crescent that we find the most evidence of goats existence hunted for their meat. Specifically at the site of Ganj Dareh, which was excavated in 1970s, which found at the lowest level, which dates back to 9000 B.P. contained virtually 5000 identifiable goat bone (Old Goats). Brian Hesse of the University of Alabama at Birmingham studied these bone up. utilise new analytical techniques to try to piece together evidence of the domestication of goats. Hesse theorized that a domesticated herd should have two clear distinguishing characteristics (1) a gargantuan percentage of animals slaughtered for meat late in their immaturity, when they had attained much of their adult size (2) an adult breeding population in which females off the beaten track(predicate) outnumbered males(Smith, 60). Through complex measurements of the bones discovered at Ganj Dareh, Hesse discovered that the males were being killed before they reached adult hood and the females overwhelmingly stood for most of the population. This stunning breakthrough specifies that an age and devolve on profile that closely agrees with that of a herd of domesticated goats managed to provide meat (Old Goats). Clear demographic evidence appears to bespeak that goats were domesticated at Ganj Dareh as archean as 9000 years ago. The increase of the proportions of goat bones among the animal remains is an indicator to the shift to goat herding. preposterous Sheep were the second animal to be domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. The wild ancestor of domesticated sheep ranged throughout much of the Fertile Crescent. A whopping amount of evidence of wild sheep can be found in the central region (Sagon, 245). There is much data to indicate that the wild sheep was not an historic prey in the areas of Levant. There is, only, evidence screening that the sheep were a prey in Jericho that date wild sheep back to 10000 to 9500 years ago (Wilkinson 149). The degree to which the hunter-gatherer societies in several(predicate) parts of the Fertile Crescent relied on wild sheep for food parallels the animals abundance in their local environments 10000 to 8000 years ago. The wild sheep were most were most abundantly discovered in the central region. This is probably why around 8500 B.P. sheep were first domesticated in the central area of the Fertile Crescent. There, the land is better suited to the wild sheep thus they were a more common target for hunters in that area, leading to the domestication of the sheep. With the change from being wild to being domesticated, the sheep, accord to the fossil re cord, got smaller due to the selection process of the humans tutelage to the animals. It is in the apex of the Fertile Crescent that sheep herding first became an important division of agricultural economies (Smith, 57).The pig was, as far as we kat once the three animal to be domesticated. Wild pigs were greatly hunted in the northerly part of the central region. Facts have lead archeologist to date the bones of the wild pigs to 9000 B.P. The pigs continued to be a substantial part of the diet of the people in this northern area of the Fertile Crescent, even later on the shift to the herding of sheep and goats (Sagan, 243). The site of Cayn tends to be the marker for the soonest domesticated pig, in the vicinity of 8500 years ago. There have been n ahead of time tentative theories that approximate the domestication of pigs to be closer to the date of 10000 B.P. (Smith, 67). It is Richard Redding who proposed this theory, that the bones of the pigs at Hallan Cemi, strongly rep resent the ages of bones of a likely herding participation of pigs. However since we know nothing close the ages of the pigs that the hunters targeted we have no basis for making the claim that the pigs at Hallan Cemi were indeed domesticated and herded. For now it remains unverified but the alluring prospect that pigs were domesticated much before the evidence now intends.Cattle were probably the last and to the lowest degree important of the quadruple main animals that were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. The ancestors of domesticate cattle were probably considered to be a dangerous pay due to the size of the animal. However, it was also a significantly large package of meat. The area in the Levant and Jordan Valley has dated wild cattle bones to roughly 9000 to 8000 years ago. Like the pigs the cattle had a exceptionally large geographical range and extended far beyond the Fertile Crescent. There have been clear documentation of a pattern that shows the reduction of size in the cattle between 8000 and 7000 B.P. While cattle may show to be of little importance to the region between 10000 and 8000 B.P. it later became the dominant species of the market (Smith, 56).Now that we have looked at the individual histories of the animals of the seven core domesticates of the Fertile Crescent we see many patterns are emerging. The four species share common lines of evidence that include geographical range, increase in abundance, reduction in size and change in age/sex profiles (Smith, 67). This evidence has lead to the peculiarity that these histories were distinct and still follows the same indication of domestication. The goats were domesticated in the earliest portion of the period, at around 9000 B.P. so the sheep, pigs and cattle soon followed afterward approximately 300 years after the domestication of the goats.Now that we have explored the four animals that were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent we must now turn to vegetation that grew and w as domesticated in the Cradle of Civilization around the same time the animals were being domesticated. With the more sedentary lifestyle that the people of this time were adapting to they must have off-key to the land and noticed that the annual growing cycle of the plants could help them support them selves without having to harvest the wild plants. They realized that the plants could be grown to fit their needs. There were about eighter species of plants that were domesticated during this time (Smith, 48). However, only three of those eight show enough evidence to be mentioned, those three are emmer wheat, einkorn wheat and barley. These three plants were developed in to crops that become overwhelmingly important to the societies that thrived during this time.The first domesticated plant was emmer wheat. Wild emmer wheat was confined in the Fertile Crescent and grew in the areas of Levant, where it was domesticated. As emmer was domesticated, the shape and size of the grain cha nged, as did the structure of the rachis, the miniature stem that attaches the grain to the plant (Smith, 68). The grains became heftier and the stems became and sturdier. With the grains being more fruitful and staying on the plant longer it aloud more of the grains to be harvested and less of them lost. The morphological changes indicate that the emmer was domesticated. One of the first sites to show the domesticated emmer was the site of Jericho. The grains were found to be from approximately 9800 to 9500 B.P. or maybe earlier. The large grains of wheat with the nonbrittle rachises, the stem that connects the grain to the plant, appeared around the same time in the tear down levels at the site of Aswad, near Damascus (Smith, 68). It didnt take long for the domesticated Wheat to spreadhead throughout the entire Fertile Crescent. By approximately 8000 B.P. the entire area was producing signs of domesticated emmer wheat.Wild einkorn wheat was the neighboring to be plant to be do mesticated. The einkorn wheat was actually harvested by the hunter-gatherers before it was domesticated and intentionally grown. The grain is practically absent from the sites in the Levant, however it occurred in grossly high amounts in the areas of the Mesopotamia and the Anatolia, however the most important sites for the domestication of this wheat were in the central part of the Crescent, at sites such as Mureybit and Abu Hureyra. It is Abu Hureyra that holds the most data for the domestication of einkorn (Smith, 68). When it was excavated in the early 1970s, Gordon Hillman and his colleagues at the Institute of Archaeology of University College, conducted a large scale flotation recuperation program that provided them with an exceptionally large and diverse assemblage of charred plant remains. fastidiously analyzing the all 712 samples recovered, each of which contained about 500 seeds representing 70 species of or genera, Hillman and his co-workers were able to reconstruct t he plant food diet of both the farming community that existed at Abu Hureyra from about 9500 to 8000 B.P. and the earlier Hunter-gatherer group that lived there in a permanent year-round settlement from 11000 to 10000 years ago. Of the 157 seed-bearing species harvested by the hunter-gatherer wild einkorn was among those most frequently, its seeds showed up in almost all of the flotation samples from these early levels (Smith 69). At the nearby site of Mureybit even convincing evidence was produced clarify the strong reliance on the grain in the hunter-gatherer tribes even before the einkorn wheat was brought under cultivation.Barley is the only plant that is present throughout the entire Fertile Crescent and through the same time period as the both the emmer wheat and the einkorn wheat. While the record of early-domesticated barley overlaps with the other two forms of wheat, it exhibits several interesting differences. There were two forms of the barley that were domesticated and have been recovered from the early farming settlements. One of the plant species had two verical rows of grains, with each grain protected by an outer take out-of-door (Smith, 71), the other species contained six rows of grains to each stalk of the plant. The two-rowed barley was domesticated about the same time as the emmer wheat, about 9800 to 9600 B.P. However the six-rowed barley produced more harvest then the two-rowed barley, therefore, it was quickly domesticated soon after that of the two-rowed stalks. By 9500 to 9000 B.P., the six-rowed barley is the only species that was domesticated along with the emmer and einkorn wheat (Sagan, 245).The absence of a clear pattern of crop combination is perhaps the most interesting observation that can be made regarding the early domestication of the three plants. However, the advances in storage technology, allowed the former hunter-gatherers to exploit the cereals by grinding their seeds into a mill. This mill was easily kept and this allowed for food fruit in the colder months when the plants did not grow (Wilkinson, 151).The use of trade had a long effect in the movement of the methods that of growing and cultivating the wheat and other capable goods. These resources gained in value through interregional trade, which in turn resulted in escalate exploitation of the resources. Another result was the movement of the grains outside their indigenous zone, where they were subjected to different selective pressures, resulting in different strains of wheat and barley (Sagon, 243).After the domestication and cultivation of the plants and animals the small villages began becoming states, they were becoming more and more like a new day civilization. The early stages of food production in the Middle East were marked by gradual transition from foraging to producing economies. Many changes were caused by the production and cultivation of food. Such changes include population increase, which caused the resulting migrati on and forced other areas to respond and begin their own cultivation of their resources. Also, there had been a gradual population increase, this was ground on the native sizeableness of the environment, which helped spur the spread of food production (Maisels, 140). On the other hand, in the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial plain, cultivation required irrigation, which began around 7000 B.P. and changed the world of farming. Irrigation allowed farming to spread away from the normal areas that were close to the riverbanks, by bringing the water away from the riverbanks the cultivation began to strive. By 6000 B.P., irrigation systems had become far larger and more complex, and were associated with a new political system. This new establishment was based on central government, extreme contrasts of wealth, and social classes, the beginnings of the state (Wilkinson, 141). The written and archaeological record indicates that the early Mesopotamian states were city states (Sumer and Elam), ru led by a literate theocracy that managed virtually all major aspects of the economy, which was overwhelmingly agrarian. The theocracy was replaced by 4,500 B.P., it was replaced by a secular, military monarchy, based upon an elaborate class system (Sagon, 300). Thus ended the revolution of modern humans in the world of cultivation we now knew how to farm and use the animals to our advantage. As time continues to slip by we find more and more ways to maximize the products we get from the cultivation of plants and domestication of animals (Sagan, 248).To sum everything up Southwest Asia was inhabited by small groups of hunter-gatherers. These groups, due to the climatic change, became more and more sedentary and begin to develop a source of food production. This production of food came from the domestication and cultivation of plants and animals. The herded animals provided a constant source of protein in their diet and allowed for the hunters to expend their energy in other areas of life. The cultivation of the plants allows for a reliable supply of grains in their diet. This made the people of this time able to support larger families, which turned into villages, cities, and ultimately states.

Friday, March 29, 2019

Morrison Takeover Safeway Plc

Morrison Take e trulywhere Safeway PlcThis part of the proposal stick outs the overview of the test relating to merges and attainment in UK grocery sellers giants. One of the most maligned antitrust decisions in the history in UK involves acquisition of grocery retailer giant, the fourth too largest super food foodstuff Safeway coup by Morrison in 2004. In 1990s, retail trades through and throughout the world began to be transformed by acquisition and merges. M some(prenominal) of the worlds largest retailers, positi entirely in the food and grocery sectors involves and this is to abase the struggling argument between the leading competitor and positi mavind themselves to dominate or conveys holders of major(ip) mart sh argon (wrighley, 2000a, lowe, 2002). However much(prenominal) an event tranquil remain a non-routine and challenging occurrence inside the demeanor age of the soulfulness organisation and its members merges and acquisition is still nonp aril of the aras of finance which attracted beguile from the general public as well as the finance psychoanalyst and the managersAccording to (Glen 2008) said that expanding the activities of the watertights through acquisition involves signifi faecest uncertainties (Schweiger and Ivancevich, 1985)Rappaport (1998) verbalize that, the staple preys of making acquisition is identical to any several(prenominal) other investment associated with a familiaritys overall scheme, i.e. to agree value. In practise, the motivation for expansion through merges, and the versatile range of issue such as action rises by utilise discounted cash hunt down technique.First of I would like to define merges and acquisition-MERGES- Is utilise to mean the combing of two business entities which result in common proprietorship. Merges could be either horizontal integration, vertical integration and roll up integration.Horizontal integration, where two companies in the same industry, whose operation ar r eal closely related is unite, that of the case of Morrison and Safeway. One of the motives advanced for horizontal merges is that frugal of scale give notice be carry outd, but non all merges achieve such gains or enhancement of market causation resulting from the reduction in competitionMerges and acquisition can aim a pro build trespass on an organisational member and their family (Hayes,1981) indeed, merges and acquisition can sufficiently transform the organisational building ,system , work outes and culture of one or both of the firm that people a lot feel stressed, frustrated and even frightened Schweiger and ivancevich 1985Although, the youthful retailing transformation in the early 1990s resulted in a number of rattling significant developments. The grow in size of retailers not only replaced the manufacturers handedness in the supply chain but also eliminated many middleman and started the track towards backward integration of the retailer. in 1990s,there is continued concentration and consolidation in all areas of supermarket sector (Davies and Ward, 2000).The industry structure is characterised by a number of common attributes including greater line size enlarge in retailer concentration and adoption of a range of formats by retailers to range of a function as wider as their customer catchment areas.Back in January 2003 Morrison, the mostly coupling of England ground supermarket chain, announced that it had been in discussion with Safeway over a proposed allotsch.The takeover would drop Morrison opening to the market in the south which has been operose to strike into. Morrisons bid to buy 480 ancestrys of Safeway that give put it major competitors for the other large-minded supermarket chains, Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda. The current market share of Morrison as at January 2008 is at 11.4% and begin it the smallest of the hulky four supermarket and behind Tesco (31.5), Asda (16.8) Sainsbury (15.9), but far head despatc h the fifth place Co-operative Group (4.4%).The merges could put Morrison on a par with Sainsbury.After the takeover of Safeway, the Morrison family currently owns around 15.5% of the come with. According to Hayes 1981, stated that indeed, merges and acquisition often feel stressed and frustration because of the fear of loosing their job, their family life and the culture that they must founder to changes.In light of this economic address to defining markets and approaches that turn entirely on how customers respond to prices changes.In the u k, pursuance the Wal-marts market entry in 1999, popular perception has focussed on Alhoids acquisition with Sainsbury.Indeed, Alhold has regularly been obliged to damp down market speculation on the issue .However, given such a merges, not only would it then faced competing head to head in the UK market with the other supermarkets.Although the competition commission found that little evidence of monopolistic behaviour, the findings indicat ed both the significance of buyer concentration and the need for voluntary mandate (Cooper, 2003 Dobson et al, 2003)The takeover has not yet gone through swimmingly due to the involvement of other potential buyer, including the other main supermarket enter the race. As a result of this, the ambition Commission investigated the issue. The commission found that, of the major supermarkets, only Morrison should be allowed to proceed with a potential takeover of Safeway.However this does not rule out other potential buyer. Phillip Green, billionaire owner of Top Shop and British Home Stores (BHS) has also expressed an take in Safeway. The commission has recommended that if Morrison is successful in their bid that they go away have to sell off some of the retentions to ensure that competition is not compromised. here(predicate) in UK regulation which is the issue both the land-use planning regulation which restricts the other supermarket Wal-Marts force to develop ASDA stores at a sufficiently rapid cubic yard to challenge for market leadership and the threats of regulatory action to safeguard competition .UK food retailers betrays clear Competition Commission ,2000 Vol. 1 Morrison could safely add significant market share in the southern England, Northern Ireland ,Scotland and Wales without triggering regulatory action. As a result, although Safeway as an operational entity would be unattractive to Wal-Mart, and some of the as fixeds of Safeway certainly would be (Poole et al.,2002) stated that for an attempt to address this issue, similar scenario can be considered in the case of Safeway and Morrison s which has stores with a price-positioning and format saint for Wal-Mart.Unfortunately Morrisons regional market strength mirror those of ASDA and acquisition of Morrisons trading operations in west-midlands and Southern would inevitably trigger regulatory action.Morrison with the family-owned regional chain, is probably to want to see that independent m aintained or, at least its pump continued, in any link up with larger retailerMorrison has cut down prices on over 800 Safeway products to bring them in line with its prices strategy. After the takeover of Safeway in march 2004, of the leading supermarket chain which owned 479 stores, mainly in Scotland and South of England.The acquisition ran into difficulties caused by the outgoing management of Safeway changing their chronicle system just six weeks onward the transaction was completed. This results of series of clams ensample being issue by Morrison that leads to poor financial results and a need to revert to manual system.Morrison currently has 375 superstores in the UK, this including new store opening by the end of 2007. Until 2004, Morrison superstores were largely thin outd in the slope midland and the north of England, but expanded southward, Most of its stores operates home wares with few electronic, clothing than the main supermarket rivals.Morrisons strategy is based on doing the basic efficiently, change predominantly food at lower prices and doing so only from large stores. This is the divers(prenominal) approach from the other three big chain, which have move into service such as banking and insurances, place greater emphasis on non-foodIn March 2009, after completed takeover of the Somerfield, Morrison purchases 30 stores from the feature group with the commend of the competition commission. This marks the move away from the post-Safeway strategy of concentrating on superstores, to adopt the work in a smaller post of a new smaller store as its aims to have a store within 15 minutes e precise UK homesAccording to doubting Thomas (2008) in some circumstances, acquiring management seriously underestimate the complexities heterogeneous in merges and post-acquisition integration (Robino and Demeuse 1985)The history of Wm MorrisonFirst of all let me give the history back ground of Wm Morrison. Morrison was founded in 1899 by William Mo rrison, an egg and cover merchant. In 1958, the company opened its first counter service store in a small town of Bradford, UK. Morrison opened its first supermarket in Victoria, in 1961 and stated trading on London stock exchanges in 1967.The lack of opportunities for the leading UK grocery retailers to increase market share through large-scale total store development and has made merges and acquisition strategies particular chief(prenominal) (Poole et al., 2002)Wm Morrison carryout the expansion programmes and in 1978, the company acquired Whelan Stores and began operating in Lancashire in UK, and opened the distribution centre Wakefield and expanded its operation to include chilled stores and an ambient storages area for produceIn 2004 march Morrison takeover Safeway supermarket at 3bn, this en opens them to break down the fourth largest retailers and more than double its store forepart. In 2007 January, the company gave access to two new in-store recycling services in over 345 store spread across England, Scotland and WalesThe media have eminentlighted the fact that Morrison and Safeway are an ideal geographic fit in that there are no areas of overlap. It was clear from the findings of the Competition Commission that these two companies would not imposed local monopoly and the customers interest would served. The debated concerning all(prenominal) of these bids by different companies, have not simply been financial.The distinctly geographical issues have been very much to the force. First the commentators have talked about geographical fit, not a subject always prominent where, merges and acquisition are debated (Bikini et al 2002). The ASDA and Morrison bids look more promising in term of geographical fit although Sainsburys fit in northern England and Scotland is also good, but the objective was to creates more take-playing field and although of course this bid whitethorn not be acceptable to the shareholders of Safeway, especially taking acc ount of the ASDA /Wal-Mart financial packages said to be on offerSafeway stores and therefore present fewer problem of high local market share, and their acquisition of Safeway would leap-frog them above Sainsbury and leave three major players well ahead of the chasing pack (Poole, Clerk and Clerk 2002)4.1 Empirical reviewsIn the real world the takeover and merges have several motives behind (Glen Arnold 2008.Buono and Bowditch 2003), among which the following could be associated with the Wm Morrisons takeover4.1.1 Synergy= which mean the combine entity will have a valve greater than the sum of its part. This increases in valve comes about because of boost to taxation and the monetary value base when two firms AB are to be combined or gain whitethorn result fro synergistic benefit to reserve a valve above that of the present valve of the two independent cash track down -PVAB= pva+ pvb+ gainPVA=discounted cash flow of company APVB=discounted cash flow of company BPV AB=discounted cash flow of the merged firm because synergy is often expressed in the form 2+2=54.1.2 Market share/power==One of the most important forces driving merges is the attempt to increase market power Alderson 2002This is the ability to sour some control over the prices of the products, and this can be achieve through either monopoly, oligopoly or dominant producers position. However, Wm Morrison, this is one of the objectives to gain the market share in the South where it was very difficult to break into and the shareholders valve would be maximised .Its the fourth largest company by cut-rate gross revenue and the twinkling by market capitalisation, The strong market presence enhances the brand images of the company and provides economic of scale4.1.3 Economic of scaleAnother important contributor to synergy is the ability to exploit the economic of scale. The larger size often leads to lower cost per unit of out put. In the case of wm Morrison, this is not the main motive of takeover 4.1.5 Financial Performance for six years1feburary 2009 turnover 14528m contrast to two year after the takeover January 2006 12115m.The profit and loss earlier tax in 2009 February 655m equalize to January 2006 of (312.9)The profit after tax in 2009 January 460m compare to January 2006 (250.3)In 2005 immediately after the takeover, Wm Morrison give the profit warning and the share price drop drastically and the turnover was down to 12116m compare to February2004 and the profit before tax in 2005 was 193m to ( 312.9) loss in 2006.These are due to the pos-acquisition syndromes and the managements reaction to the takeover of Safeway .The accounting system were changes few weeks before the completion of the acquisition4.1.6 The market shareAs of August 2008, correspond to TNS World panel, Morrison is the smallest of the Big Four supermarkets with a market share of 11.1%. Whilst Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys apothegm increases in market share from July 2008 of 31.6%, 17.0% and 15.9% e steemively. Morrisons saw a smallest sized precipitate of 0.2% in the same periodThere has been a significant tally of empirical search into merges and acquisition and the impact4.2 The strength and weakness of Wm Morrison4.2.1 posture toughened market presenceIn examining the strength and the weakness of wm Morrison in its operation as the fourth largest supermarket in the UK ,this is to discover that competition in grocery industry in the southern market is intensified ,but Morrison is able to gain the market shares of strong presence in those areas. It serves over social club millions shoppers every week. Strong market presence enhances the brand images of the companyStrong geographical presencePoole et al 2002 stated that Wm Morrison has strong geographical presence across the UK, both in superstores and petrol filling station .The company spread across Scotland with 50 stores ,Northern UK55 stores , 20 stores in Wales ,62 and 42 stores in midlands East and midland West res pectively . Therefore, because of it geographical presence enhances the companys sale penetration opportunities and gives it a competitive advantagesExtensive ranges of food and servicesThe companys sassy food counters offer valve added services including personal advice, cleaning and preparation of immaterial meat and fish according to customer s requirement troy weight 2003Morrisons extensive list of specialized food products and services helps the supermarket chain to secernate itself with competitors and thereby provides it with an exclusive bran identityVertical integrated operationsA study has been performed by Balto (2001) to examine the uniqueness of the services provided by the supermarket chain. Morrison is the only major food retailers to own and operate fresh food manufacturing and touch facilities. The companys operations are vertically integrated in its food category, which allows it to manufacture, distributed and retail the vast majority of its fresh meat and da iry requirement4.2.2 flunkLack of presence in the online channelOnline shopping has steadily big(a) in popularity in the UK. The amount of money spent online by consumers in the UK increased to 14.7billion in 2007 Over the next five years online sales are expected to more than triple to44.5billion by 2012 (Datamonitor-Uk Retail issues 2008 quantify to re- assess propositions, BFVT0041,May 2008)With internet shopping rising at a rapid pace, supermarkets are establishing their online sales channel to increase revenues. Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury in the UK have establishing the presence in the internet online shopping, in order to capitalize on this rapidly ripening trend towards convenience. However Morrison is yet to capitalize on this trend which circumscribed the companys potential growth opportunities4.2.3OpportunitiesIncreasing demand for organic productsLooking in the real world of the grocery industry, wm Morrison have the opportunities to increase the demand for the organic produces, where the Big Four supermarket chain are real competition , The increase consumer awareness of health and environmental issue along an increasing protection towards genetically modified (gm) food products and GM farming. Has led to rapid increase in the demand for organic food (Andrew 2004)Growth in hush-hush label marketThe private label market in the UK is witnessing a strong growth in sales. The UK private label sector is one of the most developed in the world. The valve of the sector is at 45billon and forecast suggests that this will increase to 52billion by 2011. Morrison has increase its private brand product portfolio over the years (DTI, 2008)5. Research MethodologyThe way in which seek in conducted is not the easy process of transforming the information into reality, but it need on the lookout planning exercise which follow the procedures and stagesBefore commencing the study, appropriate selection of the racy look into modeology is essential to ensure t hat the proposal is in the pay steps.Research methodology is divided into two methods of qualitative and quantitative methods. In some circumstances the two methods are combining together as well depending the nature of the study i.e. multiple method (Litter, et al 2003), Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003)industrial economist argue that market structure is intrinsically linked to firm behaviour and financial performances (Scherer and Ross, 1999 Martin ,1994) ,which look at the financial performances of the company wm Morrison and the market share aboveIn this research proposal, the quantitative method will be use heavily because of the information provided and as the information resources are secondary data which considered the extraction of data manually from the statistical reports uncommitted on the website.Secondary data are used for research projects that were sooner collected for some other purposes. It includes both raw data and promulgated summaries.Most organisations collect and store a variety of data to uphold their operation. Secondary data could be divided into three parts=1. documentary film secondary data, 2.Multiple source of secondary data and third the survey based secondary data.The reasons for the uses of Quantitative method is that, its objective, systemic and orderly way of company and interprets the information for the use of the studyQuantitative approach is predominantly used as a synonym for any data collection technique such as questionnaire and analysis procedures like graphs or statistic, that generate a numerical data Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003)In contrast, Qualitative is used predominantly as a synonym for any data collection technique such as an interview and analysis procedure like categorising data that generates or use non- numerical data Qualitative therefore can be refer to the data other than words. The qualitative data is very high-priced to carryout and costly to undertake. It involve primary data analysis which are self-possessed from the the interviews, questionnaire, field survey carryout during the research study.The technique of both quantitative and qualitative methods, as maintain earlier, refer to some authors as multiple method (Tashakkori and Teddlie (2003) Also mixed method is the general term for when both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques and analysis procedures are used in research design.It was argue that multiple method are useful if they provide better opportunities for the users to answer the research question and where they allowed the user to better evaluate the extent to which your research finding can be trusted and make better references5.1 Empirical questionThe centre issue is the effect of the big firm merges on competitive pricing, which we sum up in the following questionWhat are price effects for clients of Wm Morrison and Safeway following merges?Merges can reform consumer or customer wellbeing by creating efficiencies or decrease consumer welfare by creating conditions conducive to monopoly pricing (Sullivan, 2002381-3284).Simunic (1980) argues that some segments of the market could be more competitive than others this could have an impact on the effects of the merges. Also test whether the merges have enabled the brand name firms to pass on any cost saving associated with efficiencies to their clients in the form of reduction in competitive price.Therefore the research question is very important and cannot be overemphasised. It is one the signalise criteria of the research success will be whether you have a set clear conclusion drawn from the data you have collect the research question is one of key question that the research process will address. These are often the precursor of research objectives.5, 2 Research moral philosophyWhen doing research proposal the ethic should be bear in mind. This is considering the impartiality of work as well as to give utmost respect of people and the organisation. In any resear ch undertaken the ethical behaviours should be put into consideration not to offended any one in any mannerWhen using other peoples works and materials for any research, their permission should be obtained or information should be given to them.In some research where the individual permissions are require, ethics play a very important part ,However in this study the research ethics is not very much applicable because the information used are secondary data which is already available in the website and internetYour research design may need to consider the extent to which you should collect data from a research population that is unaware of the fact that they are the subject of research and so have not consentedIt may be quite a different matter if you are collecting data from individuals, rather than from an organisation. However, there may be a case if you are conducting your research while you are an employee in an organisation and you are collecting data on individual was not disc losed, then this would pose a similar ethical dilemma(Gibb,1995). terminusThe competition in UK food retail sector has been intensified in the recent years, and the four big supermarkets are competing among themselves.In these aspects, this study has not concluded that there was little evidence of the retailers having adverse effects on the consumer nor was there significant evidence of the price changes at the wholesale level not passing effectively to the consumer.Traditionally, as UK food retailers have become ever more concentrated and consolidated, increasing levels of power have enabled them to exercise substantial control over the supply chain. In this case study analysed the competition commissions report will do little to stop the trend of expansion, as a means of entry into different market.Recently, there is other merges and acquisition of Somerfield by Co-operative Group which was completed in March 2009.From the recent literature on retail competitiveness and observati ons made regarding current developments within the competitive environment, it is evident that buyer power will definitely concentrate in the hands of the major retail players .The fact that the retailer are expected to grow their market share by acquiring another companies for them to compete with the othersWm Morrison the fourth big supermarket has this opportunity to expand into the Southern England which was very difficult or not impossible without the takeover of Safeway. During the takeover process many speculators were predicting another foreign takeover and were subsequently surprised by Morrisons unexpected interest