Shanghai Tang free essay sample

But the company was unable to establish its core customer outside its home market, Hong Kong,2 and it struggled to find a niche among successful, established global brands [see the Appendix for descriptions of a selection of successful global luxury brands]. In 2005, under new leadership and revised creative direction, Shanghai Tang expanded into several regional markets, with a particular focus on Asia. But was the company on track to become the first global Chinese luxury brand? Would David Tangis vision be realised? The Story I just thought to myself, that if you agree that China will eventually be the largest economy in the world, it was time to start a brand that was quintessentially Chinese. 3 David Tang, founder of Shanghai Tang David Tangis vision was to create a lifestyle brand that reintroduced traditional Chinese aesthetics to a new consumer audience. A self-described ibroker between East and Westi, Tang said that he constantly reconciled the various cultural influences he absorbed throughout his life. We will write a custom essay sample on Shanghai Tang or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Born into privileged Hong Kong society, Tangis grandfather made his fortune from the Kowloon Motor Bus Company. Tangis father owned racehorses, and his mother was a Hong Kong socialite. At the age of 14, Tang was sent to England to attend boarding school. Initially unable to speak English, Tang quickly adapted to the habits of well-bred British society and spent weekends visiting friendsi families at their country houses while attending the Pure School in Cambridge. He studied law and philosophy at Kingis College in London and then returned to China as a lecturer in philosophy at Peking University. 6 Tired of academia, Tang ventured into business, beginning with a job at Cluff Oil. He also became the exclusive importer of Cuban cigars to Asia and Canada and managed ia family investment fund, an oil-drilling business and a gold mine in Africai. 7 While he enjoyed success in these ventures, Tang felt a wave of opportunity flowing from China and set his sights on the creation of a life style brand that was quintessentially Chinese. He was determined to create a brand that embodied everything he loved about the beauty and mystery of China from days past. The idea was to reintroduce this aesthetic and the impeccable Chinese sartorial tradition to an entirely new audience in a way that was relevant to modern tastes. Tangis aesthetic was inspired by the Art Deco Shanghai of the 1930s, when the city was considered ithe pearl of the Orienti8. In August 1994, his vision was realised. The Shanghai Tang flagship, a 12,000-square-foot store on Hong Kongis Pedder Street, opened its doors to the public. Tang created Shanghai Tang as a lifestyle emporium where shoppers could purchase photo albums, watches, bedding, a sweater or a tailor-made qipao (a traditional Chinese dress) in one shop [see Exhibit 1 for product categories and price ranges]. He also sold communist era kitsch at upscale prices, like Mao Tse Tung watches and goods emblazoned with a red communist star, like the items sold in small side street shops in Hong Kong long popular with Western tourists. To elevate their country-of-origin status and mitigate Chinais reputation for making cheap, low-quality products, the items carried the label iMade by Chinesei. Wealthy tourists visiting Hong Kong, Shanghai Tangis core customer, often stopped at Shanghai Tangis flagship store to buy the signature Tang Jacket, a tunic with a mandarin collar in shockingly bright colours, or a silk handbag embroidered with cherry blossoms. In 1995, Swiss luxury conglomerate Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA (Richemont), the parent company of prominent luxury brands such as Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Montblanc, Van Cleef Arpels and Chloe [see Exhibit 2 for brands by product category], became a major shareholder in Tangis company. The company paid Tang US$13. 1 million for a 40% stake and then bought out another partner to raise its stake to a controlling position. 9 The company owned brands under four major segments: jewellery, watches, writing instruments and leather goods and apparel. With a big luxury goods player like Richemont behind it, Tangis brand obtained something significant that no other Chinese fashion house had achieved: the financial and symbolic backing of a European luxury conglomerate. Tang dismissed speculation that, under Richemontis leadership, Shanghai Tang would showcase more mainstream fashions detached from Chinese influence. Our business is to always be quintessentially Chinese and to find our place within the mainstream. If we stop being Chinese, we will completely lose ourselves. 10 David Tang Riding the wave of self-created momentum (and with Richemontis deep pockets backing him), Tang once again dreamed big. Shanghai Tang began a rapid expansion, with plans to open stores in New York, London and several Asian cities. Tangis particular focus was the US. iI want to take New York. I want to pick it up and embrace it with a big squeeze and a sloppy wet kissi, Tang said. 11 In December of 1997, at a star-studded event that rivalled Hollywood premiers, Shanghai Tangis 12,500 square foot store opened. Sarah Ferguson appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show and gave Oprah a pair of Shanghai Tangis signature silk pyjamas. 12 To coincide with the store opening, high-profile Chinese actress Gong Li was featured in a print campaign, which included ads in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Harperis Bazaar and W. 3 Situated on Madison Avenueoprime fashion real estateothe New York store was poised to be the western beacon to its sister stores in the east. As was typical, Tangis excitement and vision were bold, but the dream proved too big for reality. In July 1999, the high-profile New York flagship closed only 19 months after it had opened and relocated to a smaller space down the road from the original. 14 There were several reasons why sales did not meet expectations. First, the company overestimated American consumersi interest in upscale Chinoiserie. Kristina Stewart, editor- in-chief of Quest magazine in New York, was quoted in an article saying, ithey certainly courted the Upper East Side scene and threw lavish parties there, but at the end of the day those lime-green Nehru jackets made better wallpaper. You canit wear that stuffi. 15 Second, the Shanghai Tang style was confusing for customers. There was incongruity in presenting both pre-revolutionary and cultural revolution styles in the same store, and the tongue-in- cheek, post-modern take on Chinais heritage was ultimately lost on the wealthy American buyer. Third, it was difficult to justify the prices for high-end Chinese trinkets because cheaper alternatives were readily available in Chinatown at the Pearl River department store on Canal Street. Finally, the choice of retail space on Madison Avenue meant high rent (US$2. 7 million annually), which ultimately sales revenue could not cover. Itis tough to start a brand. In one sense fashion is easy, but the competition is intense. Retail is a tough business, and weive pumped a lot of money into the brand, and I guess we shouldnit be surprised if itis a struggle. You look at something like Ralph Lauren. It took them 30 years to become established as a global brand. 16 David Tang New Direction Despite missteps in the American retail market, the Shanghai Tang Hong Kong flagship continued to do steady business and the company maintained its relationship with Richemont. In 2001, Tang decided to devote his time and energy towards other business ventures but he maintained a position on the board and was the brandis largest shareholder after Richemont. Richemont executives assumed a more active role in the companyis direction. In 2001, CEO Raphael le Masne de Chermont was recruited from another Richemont brand, Piaget, to refocus and redirect the ailing Shanghai Tang brand. Le Masne had stark but complimentary contrast to Tangis flamboyant leadership style and quietly transformed the company into ia lifestyle brandi of more aesthetic subtlety during the first few years that would be relevant to the discerning taste of the global luxury customer. 7 But le Masne took from Tangis mistake the lesson that would guide the brand going forward: iwe need to be more moderni. 18 In step with the companyis evolution, top management embodied the cross-cultural blending that would become the brandis signature: David Tang from Hong Kong, le Masne from France, creative director Joanne Ooi from America and marketing director Camilla Hammar from Sweden. As le Masne noted, iWeire a melting pot of multicultural people who work on the same vision: a Ch inese lifestyle brand thatis relevanti. 19 Planned Growth Le Masne reported that worldwide sales for Shanghai Tang in 2005 grew 43% from the previous year, and American sales (at boutiques in Honolulu and New York) were up 50%. 20 According to one source, yearly sales were somewhere between US$20n$30 million, with the majority of sales at the Hong Kong flagship. In 2005, new stores opened in Zurich, Shanghai, Tokyo and Bangkok, with stores in Beijing and Milan planned to open in 200621 [see Exhibit 3 for retail store locations]. The overall expansion included 11 new stores in the next two years bringing the total to 30. 2 The Asian market was iresponsible for 80% of the brandis sales. Richemontis latest annual report stated that overall sales in Asia (outside Japan) grew 20%, compared to 10% in Europe, 7% in the Americas and 3% in Japan, for the fiscal year that ended in March 2004i23 [see Exhibit 4]. Unlike Tang, le Masne was less concerned with dominance in America and set his sights on the rapidly growing wealthy class in China. This shi ft in regional focus, particularly for the luxury goods segment, appeared to be on track. A 2005 Ernst Young analysis of luxury goods consumption [estimated] that sales in China [would] grow 20% annually from 2005 to 2008. i24 According to the report, by 2015 China would overtake the US as the worldis second-largest consumer market of luxury goods after Japan. 25 However, the brand had to be relevant to both wealthy Chinese customers and wealthy non- Chinese customers, who had different points of reference for what was considered elegant Chinese style. Chinese consumers in the apparel market still seemed to belong to two extremes. Angelica Cheung, editor of Vogue China, said these two groups were ia very moneyed minority seduced by foreign luxury labels, and the overwhelming majority who are interested only in cheap, affordable clothing. Thereis not much for anyone in betweeni. 26 The companys three Shanghai stores sold 50% of their merchandise to local young, urban professionals. The other half was sold to westerners looking for Asian-inspired garments in rich fabrics and colours. Courting wealthy Chinese consumers appeared to be a good idea, but when attempting to build a luxury apparel brand translatable in several markets, it was easier said than done. Young Chinese women wish to be modern and chici, Cheung said. iWesterners might think that Chinese women look great in a cheongsam or similar Chinese clichEs but that sort of clothing reminds modern women of their grandmothers. Instead everyone today wants to look like Kate Mossi. 27 Consumer segments in Asian cities outside China also needed convincing, tho ugh of a different sort. For example, in Japan, the worldis largest luxury goods market, le Masne said customers wouldnit embrace a Chinese brand unless it had a certain cachet in France and Italy. 8 To stay relevant in the high-end fashion market, Shanghai Tang expanded its fashion horizons and collaborated with several top designers. The Shanghai Tang jewellery range, made by Sandra diAuriol, a French designer based in Hong Kong, sold well. Philip Treacy, famed accessories designer, made hats for winter 2005 and worked on another collection for spring 2006. A line of trendy, embellished T-shirts for spring 2005 came from Studd by Gabby Harris. And introduced exclusively to Shanghai Tang stores in May 2005 was a collection of special edition Puma shoes, the Shanghai Tang Peony. Le Masne expressed the intention to start lines of licensed products, such as eyewear and fragrances, that tended to significantly increase sales figures while at the same time introducing the brand to a wider audience who could afford the relatively cheaper products. The high-profile collaborations and possible line extensions, along with new stores, were intended to raise awareness of the brand. Rather than grand store openings and costly celebrity endorsements, Shanghai Tang focused on localised public relations and sponsored events relevant to each regional market. Also, prime retail locations remained central to its channel strategy of maintaining access to luxury consumers. In addition to its freestanding stores, Shanghai Tang opened shops in world- renowned hotels such as the Peninsula and the Four Seasons and, to court the wealthy traveller, it also opened shops in Hong Kong International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. Design Much of the credit for Shanghai Tangis sales turnaround went to creative director, Joanne Ooi, who was recruited by le Masne in 2001. As the brand outgrew its kitschy image, Ooi introduced design statements that icombined Chinese culture references and sleek, contemporary clothesi29 [see Exhibit 5 for a selection of products]. It was reported that Ooi was offered her directorship after submitting the following comments on the Shanghai Tang flagship to le Masne: Itis an overpriced Chinese emporium that has no credibility with local Chinese people, let alone with fashion people. Its very narrow market is high- end tourists. Itis a once-in-a-lifetime destination shopping experience, a kind of fashion Disneyland. Plus, itis unwearable and eccentric. 30 Joanne Ooi, creative director, Shanghai Tang At the creative helm of the brand she once found risible, Ooi was clear on Shanghai Tangis international image, saying, ithe goal is to be the ambassador of modern Chinese stylei. 31 To achieve this, Ooi conducted her research for collections in art museums and read books on regional history. To serve as inspiration for the autumn 2005 collection, Ooi commissioned artwork iby established Chinese contemporary artists and young art studentsi. 2 For one collection, Ooi focused on Chinese calligraphy by turning traditional Chinese characters into decorative patterns. 33 iEthnic tribes in Chinais Hunan provincei inspired another collection of clothes, as did the ifur-lined clothing worn by Mongolian and Tibetan nomadsi. 34 Ooi preferred these design sources to fashion magazines and of-the-moment trends. More important, however, was that this established the credibility of the brandis intention to become an ambassador of Chinais national aesthetic. On this point, Ooi said, iI try to stay away from a pastiche of what Westerners think of as Chinese culturei. 5 Branding Chinese culture could be an effective point upon which to differentiate from European and American luxury brands. However, as the company expanded, the cultural branding angle became complicated and ran the risk of alienating potential customers in Asia. In short, exoticised images of Asia were less appealing to Asian consumers. While popular with a portion of Hong Kongis wealthy class, Shanghai Tang had not yet proved popular among Chinese consumers unconvinced as to why they should pay top-dollar for Shanghai Tangis reinvented Chinese style. Chinais First Global Luxury Brand? Since China had both economic and cultural cachet, Shanghai Tang and other Chinese brands were poised to enter a new era of heightened global interest in all things Chinese. 36 Would Shanghai Tang follow in the tradition of established global luxury brands associated with a national aesthetic? As le Masne said, iIf Hermes is a representation of French lifestyle-chic, or [Ralph] Lauren is [a representation] for the Americans, and Armani is for the Italians, why not Shanghai Tang for the Chinese? 37 Was the company on track to become the first global Chinese luxury brand? LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton LVMH was the worldis largest luxury goods company with more than 1,500 retail outlets (including 280-plus Louis Vuitton stores), around 150 DFS Group duty-free shops, Le Bon Marche department stores and hundreds of designer boutiques worldwide. In 1854, Woodworker Louis Vuitton started with a store in Paris to sell his handcrafted luggage. Vuitton int roduced the LV monogram in 1896 and opened stores in the US and England by 1900. In 1977 Henry Recamier, who was a former executive and married into the Vuitton family, entered the business and transformed the business from little-known status symbols to designer must-haves. Within ten years, sales soared from US$20 million to nearly US$2. 5 billion. In 1987 Recamier merged Louis Vuitton with Moet Hennessy (maker of wines, spirits and fragrances) and all were under the name LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. When Bernard Arnault became chairman in 1989, LVMH increased its fashion holdings by buying Givenchy, Christian Lacroix and Kenzo. Arnault is credited for transforming the LVMH Group from a small producer of clothing and champagne to a global luxury conglomerate made up of the worldis most powerful luxury brands. LVMH owns such fashion brands as Berluti, Celine, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, Emilio Pucci, Fendi, Marc Jacobs and Thomas Pink. Central to the groupis strategy is management of its istar brandsi paired with product quality and a culture of innovation. According to Arnault, a star brand is a brand that is itimeless, modern, fast-growing, and highly profitablei. 8 The majority of LVMH brands have a long history of craftsmanship and were originated in Europe. The LVMH management strategy was to build a work environment that supported creativity while at the same time enforcing strict business discipline. Worldwide revenue in 2005 totalled US$ 16. 8 billion, up 11% from 2004. Ralph Lauren Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation originated the concept of the lifestyle brand. Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lifschitz, ground ed his brand in a quintessentially American image of wealth and status and consistently carried this aesthetic throughout his retail stores and product lines. He began his career as a sales representative for Rivetz, a Boston tie maker, and in 1967 he began designing ties for Beau Brummel of New York. He named his own style division iPoloi because of the upper class image it evoked. In the early 1970s, Lauren partnered with Peter Strom to form Polo Fashions and focused on tailored menswear. In 1971 Lauren introduced his signature polo logo and his womenis line. In the same year, the first licensed Polo store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and his first in-store boutique at Bloomingdaleis in New York City were opened. In 1980, Polo Ralph Lauren expanded further into licensed products, including home furnishings, jeans, fragrance and eyewear. In 1997 Polo went public and, following a large restructuring, bought back its European licensee to reclaim greater control of the Polo brand. The companys brands were: Polo by Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren, Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Black Label, Blue Label, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Polo Jeans Co. , Rugby, Chaps, RRL, RLX, RL Childrenswear, and Club Monaco. Net revenue for fiscal year 2005 was US$3. 3 billion. Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani was the sole shareholder of his US$ 1. 7 billion lifestyle business. The company licensed its name for perfume, watches and accessories, but continued to earn more than half of its revenues from apparel. 39 In 2003, 53% of his total sales were generated by garments, from sporty AX/Armani Exchange to the luxurious Giorgio Armani brand. Armani had stores in more than 35 countries. The companyis brands included: Giorgio Armani, Armani Exchange, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Collezioni, Armani Junior, Armani Casa and a Giorgio Armani Accessories store. To control the integrity of the brand, Armani owned Simint, the Italian holder of the Armani jeans license, and had several joint ventures with Italian manufacturing companies to bring its apparel production in-house while allowing for a controlled expansion of product lines. Armani studied medicine and was in the Italian army before starting working as a window dresser for La Rinascente department stores, where he later became a menswear buyer. His first design position was at Nino Cerruti. In 1975 Armani partnered with Sergio Galeotti and established Giorgio Armani S. p. A. The Armani label became known for its unstructured tailored suits. The business went global in the 1980s and gained greater recognition when the designer dressed actor Richard Gere in the film American Gigolo. Armani was successful in creating a true lifestyle brand, extending his design aesthetic into multiple product categories, even expanding beyond fashion and home furnishing. In 2004, Armani announced his intent to develop a series of Armani-branded and styled hotels. Hermes Hermes International sold a wide range of luxury goods, including scarves, ties, leather goods, watches, stationery and menis and womenis apparel. There were approximately 215 Hermes stores worldwide and around 40 retail outlets that sold Hermes products. The company did not grant licenses and made most of the products it sold. Famous for its leather goods, Hermes was founded in 1837 in France by harness-maker Thierry Hermes. Hermes won acclaim for its unique carriage design and its saddle stitch became a trademark. Thierryis son, Emile-Maurice, expanded the product range to include travel-related leather goods, including saddlebags, luggage, wallets, handbags and even jewelry. Emile also chose the well-known logo, the horse-drawn carriage. Clothing was introduced in the 1920s when Emileis son-in- law, Robert Dumas, took over the company. Dumas introduced the first Hermes scarf in 1937, which became one of the design houseis signature pieces. Dumasi son, Jean-Louis, took control of the company in 1978 when his father passed away. He brought in young designers to reinvigorate the brandis image. When the company went public in 1993, the family retained more than 80% of the share holdings. Hermes also owned crystal-maker Les Cristalleries de Saint-Louis, silversmith LiOrfevrerie Puiforcat, shoemaker John Lobb, 35% of Jean-Paul Gaultieris fashion business and 32% of German camera maker, Leica. In 2002, the company expanded its leather-working business and, through public campaigns, promoted the craftsmen and women behind its products. In 2005, net profit totaled US$298. 3 million, up 15% from 2004. As of 2005, descendants of founder Thierry Hermes owned 75% of the company.

ESL Beginner Dialogue - Oregon Weather Forecast

ESL Beginner Dialogue - Oregon Weather Forecast Forecasting the weather means that you are predicting what the weather will be. In English, we generally use the future with will to make a prediction. Practice this weather prediction dialogue and then make your own weather predictions. You can use a weather report on the internet, or make up your weather prediction based on what you know about your city. Teachers can find help on teaching future forms to help students learn the differences between will and going to. The Oregon Weather Forecast Weather Forecaster: Good afternoon and welcome to the weather forecast. Lets take a look at the weather outside now. Whats it like? Well, its currently raining and cloudy in southern Oregon while northern Oregon is cold and clear. The sun is shining, but its rather cold up here in the North! The temperature is currently 45 degrees in the southern Oregon and only 30 degrees in the North. Shall we see what the weather will be like tomorrow? Well, it will be rainy in the morning in southern Oregon and windy in northern Oregon. In the afternoon, The South will see cloudy weather with some rain later in the day. Northern Oregon will also see rain turning to snow and quite windy, with winds coming from the North-East. Thats the weather forecast for this afternoon. Have a good day!

Learn How to Conjugate Maigrir (to Lose Weight)

Learn How to Conjugate Maigrir (to Lose Weight) Youve lost weight and are excited to tell everyone... in French. What do you do? Use the verb  maigrir, which means to lose weight or become thin. The trick is that you need to conjugate  maigrir  in order to say lost weight or am losing weight. A quick French lesson will show you how thats done. Conjugations of the French Verb  Maigrir French verbs are a little tricky because there are more words to memorize than there are in English. Thats because the verb ending changes with each subject pronoun as well as each tense. However, they do become easier with each new conjugation you learn. Maigrir  is a  regular -ir verb  and it follows a relatively common verb conjugation pattern. If youve worked with words like  abolir  (to abolish), à ©tablir (to establish), or many other verbs that end in -ir, then this should look familiar. Using the table, pair the subject pronoun of your sentence with the appropriate tense. For instance, I am losing weight is je maigris while we will become thin is nous maigrirons. Try putting these into simple sentences to make memorizing them a little easier. Subject Present Future Imperfect je maigris maigrirai maigrissais tu maigris maigriras maigrissais il maigrit maigrira maigrissait nous maigrissons maigrirons maigrissions vous maigrissez maigrirez maigrissiez ils maigrissent maigriront maigrissaient The Present Participle of Maigrir The present participle of maigrir is maigrissant. This is a verb, of course, but in some contexts it can also be used as an adjective, gerund, or noun. The Passà © Composà © and Past Participle Another way to express the past tense in French is by using the  passà © composà ©. This simple construction makes use of the  past participle  maigri. You will also need to conjugate  avoir  (an  auxiliary verb) to match your subject pronoun. It comes together rather quickly. For example, I lost weight is jai maigri while we lost weight is nous avons maigri. More Simple Maigrir  Conjugations to Learn Beyond those verb forms, you may also need to use some of the following. When the action of losing weight is uncertain, you could use the subjunctive verb mood. In a similar fashion, if losing weight will only happen if something else (like exercise or diet) also happens, then you can turn to the conditional verb form. Its likely that you will only encounter the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive forms when reading. These are literary verb forms and typically found in formal writing. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je maigrisse maigrirais maigris maigrisse tu maigrisses maigrirais maigris maigrisses il maigrisse maigrirait maigrit maigrt nous maigrissions maigririons maigrmes maigrissions vous maigrissiez maigririez maigrtes maigrissiez ils maigrissent maigriraient maigrirent maigrissent In order to use  maigrir  in direct exclamations, demands, and requests, the imperative form is used. When doing so, skip the subject pronoun altogether. Rather than saying tu maigris, simplify it to maigris. Imperative (tu) maigris (nous) maigrissons (vous) maigrissez

Reflection Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection - Term Paper Example The four major financial statements are the income statement, balance sheet, statement of retained earnings, and the statement of cash flow. The income statement and balance sheet are often referred to as common size financial statements. The income statement measures the profitability of a company during a specific period of time. The normal accounting cycle takes one year to complete. The financial statements are the end result of the accounting cycle. The balance sheet shows the financial position of a company at a specific point in time. The three major components of the balance sheet are the assets, liabilities, and stockholders equity. The balance sheet is prepared based on the logic from the basic accounting of equation. The basic accounting equation states that assets equal liabilities plus stockholders equity. The statement of cash flow illustrated the inflow and outflows of cash during a financial period. The three sections of the statement of cash flow are operating, finan cing, and investing. The statement or retained earnings outlines the changes in equity during a financial period. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was created by Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley. The purpose of the act was to raise investor confidence in the stock market after the financial debacles that occurred at Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom among other companies. The Act was created to increase the accountability, reliability, and accuracy of financial information. The Sarbanes Oxley Act is composed of 11 titles. The 11 titles of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are listed below: The third subject of accounting that will be discussed is conservatism. Conservatism states that if a situation arises where there are two acceptable alternatives for reporting an item, conservatism directs the accountant to choose the alternative that will result in less net income and/or less asset amount (Accountingcoach, 2011). When an accountant is

Changing roles of women in japan Research Paper

Changing roles of women in japan - Research Paper Example Moreover, the Taisho era in the year 1912 perpetuated Japan’s journey to the corresponding modernity by embracing more Western cultures. The gender building of the women within Japanese society altered from the Tokugawa epoch to the corresponding World War I. Within the epochs of Tokugawa and Meiji, women were mainly assigned family responsibilities and duties and possessed restricted rights. Nevertheless, during the era of Taisho and subsequent to World War I, women commenced to foster for equality thereby rebuffing the underlying traditional gender ideologies. Numerous women did not subscribe to the traditional gender responsibilities by either becoming geishas or prostitutes. This resulted to numerous debates amongst both the female and corresponding male activists in regard to the issues of women’s responsibilities that were seen as means of eliminating prostitutions (Yu, 89-125). The role of women within Japan is extremely diverse as compared to the responsibility of the modern day women within the western civilization. Nevertheless, this the same to the responsibility women undertake within the American forty years ago. Presently women within Japan are required to devote their underlying energies in bringing up their offspring whilst men dedicate themselves to careers (Farris, 122-245). Nevertheless, there is an escalation within Japanese women in regard to expressing interest in the full time careers. Majority of the women are young and single without offspring. Moreover, they are extremely educated (Mo?hwald, 23-79). Literature review Since 1940’s women in japan have pursued to modify the old-fashioned responsibility of a working woman who turn into a mother and a housewife after marriage.... Since 1940’s women in japan have pursued to modify the old-fashioned responsibility of a working woman who turn into a mother and a housewife after marriage. This is clearly elaborated in their perception of Japanese family organization and matrimony. The present society demonstrates an upcoming group of young and educated women who pursue a career as a working woman while also still take part in their reproductive roles. The transformation mainly began after World War II when Japanese women developed rather a more personal approach to life. Initially, Women waited to become older in order to marry, most of them often lived at home longer, visiting to Hawaii, and contributing to the economic development with their little income. In general, the present Japanese society is characterized with the decline in arranged marriages; instead many women are taking responsibility to find themselves husbands. In comparison to the past, women continue to work even after marriage and giving birth. Nonetheless the adjustments in the society, married women who work are still considered a threat to the family. Inequality between women and men is still enormous regardless of the new reforms and different attitudes towards traditional family life. The notion can be justified with the popular traditional expression that states that â€Å"Good wife, wise mother. As it is a tradition in many countries and cultural practices of different communities of the world, women in Japan were oppressed and dominated by their male counterparts for a very long time.

Leadership And Change Management At Tesco

Leadership And Change Management At Tesco Leaders are born, not made. Discuss the statement with reference to leadership framework currently I use in organisations. Leader is a person who persuades a group of people towards the achievement of a goal. So, leader bas upon 3ps like person, people and purpose. They are more intelligent energetic people who are initiative, energetic people who are initiative, ambitious and willing to take responsibility. They may not always make the right decision, but they are confident in the decisions that they make. A leader is one who goes first and leads by example, so other bodies motivated to follow him. As a leader, a person must have an inherent commitment to the goal that he will struggle to achieve it even if nobody follows him! Leaders are Born Not Made. Are leaders are born not made? It is an age-old question that has been on the minds of many throughout history. The rationale behind this executive summary is to prove that the statement leaders are born, not made but only to a certain extent. I want to discuss this statement with references either leaders are made or born. According to lockhart Ecerett leaders are those who have abilities to guides or inspires to other, they always make right decision and they know at what time and what place they take decision. Leaders recognized not chosen so we can say leaders have hidden qualities those other dont have. They have intangible characteristic which we cant explain, but we can see it when we recognize it. http://blogs.computerworld.com/node/3914 Great Leaders are Made, Not Born Some time more educated and motivated persons dont know how to lead others. So they dont do very well in them and they dont assume leadership positions. So they and other person assume that they were not born leader by birth. Any country, any organization even a family need a good leader then families can become dysfunctional. But research shows that leaders depends less on some innate trait you are born with, and much more on exact principles that anyone can follow. Here i would like to add an example of a greatest military leader General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. He becomes the U.S. Air Forces second Chief of Staff. He says that he was dismissed from the Academy for lack of leadership ability at the end of his first year. He took note and applied himself and follow the leadership roles and he become very successful leader and he continued to develop himself afterwards. Now question is that what are the principles you must follow to become successful leader. These are eight laws of leadership which are looking very easy but you see, they are not always so easy to follow. Maintain absolute integrity. Know your stuff. Declare your expectations. Show uncommon commitment. Expect positive results. Take care of your people or customers. Put duty before self. Get out in front. Leadership Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen (Michael D. Noonan).1. In simple words we can say leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to achieve a common goal. Contrary to the myth that only a lucky few can ever decipher the mystery of leadership, our research has shown us that leadership is an observable, learnable set of practices. its a process ordinary people use when theyre bringing forth the best from themselves and others. Liberate the leader in understandable and universal process. James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner.2 Background of Tesco I would like to discuss leadership framework by giving the reference of well known Tesco Company. Tesco is the biggest retailer with over 2,200 stores. That is worlds third biggest grocery retailer and diversified into banking, insurance and other areas. About 280,000 employees are working in UK and over460, 000 all over the world. The main key of success of continuous growth of Tesco is better knowledge, skills and job satisfaction of employees. The mission statement is to creating value for customers to earn their lifetime trustworthiness and the vision of the company is to focus on customers and the companys people. Objectives of the company are (1) growth in sales, returns and profits, (2) by providing quality products and services we can satisfy the customer and gain their loyalty, and (3) satisfy its shareholders/stakeholders (Tesco Annual Report, 2009; Tesco Annual Report, 2008). Current Models and theories of leadership applicable in Tesco Leadership Trait Theory The words of John Adair who is the most influential leadership gurus, leader needs to exhibit certain attributes, characteristics and qualities in order to effectively perform their duties. These are: Group Influence-To achieve desired goal or objectives a leader must generate willingness in Tesco. Command- Tesco leader have command upon quick decision as on demand. Coolness- leader composed under testing or trying conditions. Judgment- good judgment. Trait theories are regarding to personality and physical traits characteristics. The trait approach is considered too simplistic as a justification of the complex leadership phenomenon. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30g3wcYXYftCcCwWqmax2JK0M3VB0LG4GG5Fv4YEyvnEtGRykD8MiukHfaLhWq9UNdg3I0Eumpq4Jix5cQaXY5YkLkNzZT17LkZ-lDuaZAekhSp4OEh5ZgbmobhnX46a_2B_XJsNRKIeI/ Transformational Leadership Theory (Tesco) Tesco is measured as the most successful retail company in the United Kingdom. The achievement of Tesco was herald by the appointment of Terry Leahy as the Chief Executive Officer. His aim for the company to become more customer-focused and to develop the companys workforce. According to his point of view, there are four things that a leader must provide to his workers. A job that is interesting to do A chance to get on in life To be treated with respect A boss who is some help and not their biggest problem Leadership Model: Bases of Power One of the most popular models of leadership is bases of power. In 1959 French and Raven introduced the five bases of power model. Terry Leahys is the CEO of Tesco. He is most famous leader among their followers and he have three powers like legitimate power, expert power and referent power among five power like coercive power, reward power, expert power, legitimate power and referent power. Leahy achieved legitimate power when he becomes CEO of Tesco. By this power he was in able to lead the company people, as well as he have expert power like scientific knowledge, skills, quick decision maker, and good communication and so on. Referent power is leader charisma and it is based on leaders respect and attraction upon his followers. Leahy is very famous leader among his team. Leadership Mode: Action-Cantered Leadership Most famous guru of leadership is John Adair he is the worlds first Professor of leadership Studies at the University of surrey and he work hard for the development of leadership. He is well known for the Action Centred Leadership (ACL) model of leadership. Action Centred Leadership model have three main points mention below. Task achievement Team maintaining and building Individual development Action-Centred leadership is not suitable for the modern organizations because it is based on hierarchical structure of the organization that is suitable for those organizations that are highly authoritarian. Current and Future Requirements of Tesco Current Requirements of Tesco Human resource are playing important role in development of an organization in today highly competitive business environment. Companys people are worth and they have completive edge. Now a day for employee motivation people are conceder business partner in this since they work hard, more participative, they feel more powerful and they feel more satisfaction in organization. Employee empowerment helpful in quick decision, trust, faster changes and improve better communication horizontally and vertically. Development of participative management skills in leaders is the most important requirement of Tesco and they should possess the necessary skills in order for them to practice participative leadership appropriately. Leaders must hold on communication, flexibility, synergy, cooperation, arbitration, conflict declaration, interest and concern. Future requirements of Tesco Leader must be a director, he must earn the trust of his followers, and he must be kind hope and optimism and must be result driven. Leader should not focus on present circumstances but also long term planning, long term mission and vision in his mind, and shear their vision with their followers, they should get their trust and loyalty because up till your follower are not satisfied and not loyal with you and you organization you cant survive and you cant achieve long-term goals of an organization. Development of leadership For the leadership development provide learning opportunities to employees and must recognise that is primary place to learn more over outside the organization they should also provide facilities to shear their knowledge and learn more and more. The company should hair educated and experience employees, and give facility to learn and understand those countries where Tesco is operating. The organization must ha a Business Leadership Development institute within the organization under HRM department to trained employees. Business Leadership Development should use systematic ways do development of leaders and they should provides career opportunities. Either training is necessary for business development? It is necessary for growth of Tesco to select right people, in the right place at the right time, and trained them according to the demand of time. What are the requirements for workforce planning? New setup required new staff with perfect knowledge about customer profiles. Different type of skilled employee required in-store and non-stores based posts. Wide-ranging skilled employee performs better then less skilled employees. Tesco have good check and balance upon the efficiency of employees to look forward to possible skills shortages. Tesco provide opportunity of training to their employee and employee can apply for training on annual basses. The leadership framework of Tesco focus on three key themes; focus on customer, work with others and personal behaviour. These three themes are very helpful to assessment of framework and also helpful to identify employees with the probable to be the, best leaders of the future. Employee feel gaps between their efficiency to fulfil this gaps employees and line managers have training opportunity. So, several benefits for employees when they get training like, Their sense of ownership increases in the business. They can perform better job than before and they can easily understand customers problem and able to solve them. By getting new skills and training they are more effective in their role. Tesco provide training by two flexible ways on-the-job training and off-the-job training. On-the-job training is very suitable for employees because it is relevant and they understand easily and they feel part of the team. As well as this way is also suitable for company because it is cheaper and easy to manage. These methods are use. By shadow training. Through coaching of trainees problems in job. Monitoring through experienced person. By giving full responsibility for a job on a temporary basis. Off-the-job is also suitable way for training in specific new skills like presentation skills etc. Qualities required of people in leadership position Many debates upon either leader are mad or born. But I think true leader is that how ignore such arguments and always in a try to improve his qualities which are very important to become a successful leader. A good leader should be an ability to make and select easier way for people who want to follow him. Leader should have at least five leadership qualities. These qualities are leader should be Honesty Forward -looking Competent Inspiring Intelligent These all qualities should be in a leader, that is not an easy task but with practice you can become more inspiring, honest and competent. As you are honest with your follower you can make a good team, as you are forward-looking you can take quick and good decisions, as you are more competent so you have edge upon your competitor, as you are inspiring you will upon your followers and as you are more intelligent so you will do every work efficiently. One Quality of leadership is Honesty Everybody wants his leader should be very honest, some time they start their career because they think their leader is honest because of the authority of their position. Some time leaders miss an opportunity to show honesty is in conduct mistake Mostly leaders try new things and change the idea which are not working and sometime leader avoid failure and they dont want to admit when something is wrong. Leadership as a Forward-looking Forward-looking is bass on where you are now and where you want to go. Up till you dont communicate actively with people where you want to go nobody will listen you. If you dont prove that you are forward-looking against people, so you should suffer following problems. You dont have a forward-looking vision. You cant share vision with others what you have. So when you dont have vision for future obviously you sped lot of time today because you dont have idea of tomorrow and up till you cant think about future you cant become a good planer and strategist. Conclusion According to my point of view people can learn to become leaders by intent on improving particular leadership skills, which they are by birth leadership abilities then others. No dugout some abilities are GOD gifted just like a good singer have a good voice by birth, when he make practice, so he more and more polish his voice and he become perfect singer. So we can say practice makes perfect. If we follow the law of leadership and practice on it we become a successful leader.

Overeating Essay

Coming out from my closed where I live, I saw a huge handsome young man of his late twenties staggering, very dirty and looking haggard. Yes! I guessed he must have smoked some quantities of marijuana herb or something else that made him look mad. Little did I know that the young man was indeed over fed with alcohol, no wonder he muttered when I passed him to buy some loaves of bread and I remembered he did smelled profusely. Such was my encounter with Chike-the over fed alcoholic man. It was not by mistake that Chika was born into the humble home of Late Mr. Okoko Ibe in Lagos Nigeria. He was born healthy and hearty up to his late twenties before he joined a group of gangsters who feed themselves with doses of alcohol and cause troubles within the neighborhoods. They have a common character of not saying no to drinks be it alcohol or the like each time it is offered to them. This habit was alleged to have resulted to Chike’s sudden madness. On Sunday the 25th of March 2007 Chike on his madness regalia set out to look for where he could beg for whisky and gin in a nearby market. I drew close to a shop keeper where I wanted to shop for breakfast bread, it was indeed a big scene as I look but saw that there were two young men fighting and exchanging foul words to one another. Though no one could actually say what really was between them but something tells me it is not well with both men. There seems to be loss of agreement over who takes larger part of what money they are to share. Gradually crowds began to drew attention and all concentration was at the point of scene and not even the noise of a flying helicopter could deter one from trying to hear nor vehicles passing could block ones view from capturing what comes next as these two men kept on dragging with gradually increase in their voices. !! Give me $1000 or else I tell the police!! Said one of them who looked mean and more able bodied. Just as this argument was lingering and crowd gradually coming closer to the scene, I saw Chike rushed the young men in the face of the tick crowd and snatched the money tithed in a nylon bag and zoomed off abandoned his place of abode, sandals and his dirty wrapper wrap of clothes. Nobody could actually say which direction he took to and what really motivated him to act in that manner. It was indeed amazed and amused. People were perplexed to explain what the state of Chike’s health had turned to. Initially I thought this was unconnected with his state of madness. At a distance Chike was seen trying to cross a huge long trailer carry cement products, as he did not want anyone to catch him ,he was knocked down and was crushed to death. Many People who witness this scene went home crying for the poor popular mad man.