Barriers to Communication Essay Example for Free

Barriers to Communication Essay The communication topic that I have chosen to write about is The Barriers to Communication in the in the workplace. My focus will be on the Apple Organization as well as other organizations that have had communications issues. My interest in this topic stems from the fact that Ive encountered many barriers to effective communication while in the work place. I understand personally how ineffective communication by all levels of an organization can lead to the decrease work morals, productivity etc. I am also interested in this topic in that as a Business Management major I would like to be as affective in my communication with the organization I will join as well as with the individuals that will comprise the company. Based on a research done In July 2011, a Maritz Poll, an annual employee attitude survey conducted by Maritz Research, reported that 25 percent of employees indicated having less trust in their management than they did the previous year. Bad communication breaks down trust. Barriers to communication in the work place can be very detrimental to the sustainability, longevity and success to the organization. There are numerous barriers that effect communication in the work place. According to skillsyouneed.com, these barriers range from nonverbal communication, lack of feedback and cultural differences. These barriers to communication may and can occur at any stage in the communication process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted and you therefore risk wasting both time and/or money by causing confusion and misunderstanding. Effective communication involves overcoming these barriers and conveying a clear and concise message. References Barriers to effective communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/barriers-communication.html Duggan, T. (n.d.). Communication problems in a business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/communication-problems-business-2828.html

New Testament Essay Example for Free

New Testament Essay For all readers of the New Testament, the theme of the redemption of man through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is fascinating reading; in the case of the believer in the word of God, it is something else entirely. Believers and scholars alike agree that Paul’s letters to the Romans embody the theme of justification, or God’s gift of grace by which the truly repentant are forgiven of sins and accepted by God because of the price that Christ paid by dying on the cross. Implicit in the concept of justification is the identification of Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Cullmann). In this essay, the concept of justification will be more closely examined; within two specific chapters of Romans, 4 and 5, justification will be discussed and examined in order to better understand the concept as well as these pivotal chapters of the New Testament itself. In order to better understand the significance of Romans, one must first consider the historical context in which its ideas were shared by the faithful. Most people governed their actions, and defined their worth, through the laws of the day, which ruled all aspects of life. Within Romans, however, the concept of justification by faith alone, not the law (Perrin Duling) set the conventional order askew. This concept alone undoubtedly opened the eyes of many people to the refreshing possibility of redemption through the one true God. Those who read these words were introduced to the writings of the apostle Paul, who presented himself in the New Testament as â€Å"a slave of the Messiah, Jesus Christ† (Bryan), the word slave being used not Order#311114061 Justification Pg. 2 in the conventional sense of bondage and harsh servitude, but rather in a way that allowed those who sought God to come to Him without fear of punishment. The concept of coming to God for justification is personified in Romans through 2 specific verses, as follows: Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. ROMANS 4-4 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness ROMANS 4-5 What these verses tell the reader is that their submission to God, while it will benefit them, is not something that He considers to be optional; moreover, belief in God will lead to redemption because of justification. Beyond the explicit text of justification within Romans, there are also some key themes of justification within it that reinforce the overall concept. Specifically, when Romans calls the people to â€Å"lift up their hearts†, this is an outright plea for people to embrace justification (Knox). The bottom line in justification is peace with God and salvation through the Holy Spirit, and by the lifting up of the heart, one can attain inner peace and security in the warmth of God’s love. This peace and security is described as being â€Å"clothed in the righteousness of Christ† (Harink), and is further clarified by this passage: â€Å"therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God† ROMANS 5-1. While this brief essay can hardly scratch the surface of the promise of the New Testament and the gift of justification from God to the Pg. 3 human race because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, one thing is for certain. For the faithful, the redemption from sin by God is a priceless gift, and the New Testament is a rock upon which the hopes of Christians can be bolstered today, tomorrow, and forever. As long as humans walk the face of the earth and beyond, God will be there for them and His words are eternal. Works Cited Bryan, C. (2000). A Preface to Romans: Notes on the Epistle in Its Literary and Cultural Setting. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=96373444 Cullmann, O. (1963). The Christology of the New Testament (Guthrie, S. C. Hall, C. A. , Trans. ) (Revised ed. ). Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=95085143 Harink, D. (2005, June 14). Setting It Right: Doing Justice to Justification. The Christian Century, 122, 20+. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Questia database: http://www.questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5009653212 Knox, J. (1961). Life in Christ Jesus: Reflections on Romans, 5-8. Greenwich, CT: Seabury Press. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=13880819 Perrin, N. , Duling, D. C. (1982). The New Testament, an Introduction: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History (2nd ed. ). San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=59589847

Leadership In Contemporary Organisations Management Essay

Leadership In Contemporary Organisations Management Essay Leadership is considered to be the key enabler of organisational performance and competitive advantage by the organisations these days (Burgoyne, 2008). The job of a leader is to lead his/her team to achieve the goal set by the organisation. James MacGregor Burns argues that leadership is one phenomenon on earth that is most observed and least understood (Paul, 2002). The views about a leader and the definition of leadership vary among different people. Daniel Goleman (2000) says that an effective leader sets strategy, creates a mission, motivates his followers and finally builds a culture in the organisation. Ken Wilber argues that an integral leader is a man or woman who supports people aspiring to move forward. They have to make their own integral map that covers all the area that humans have to deal with (Volckmann, 2005). The concepts of leadership have been developed years ago though the word is reported to have appeared in English language recently. An effective business leader is one who is well informed of the latest research which impacts upon leadership and who is also capable of applying this to their own organisation with in an ethical framework. I personally agree with this statement as it is important for the leader to move along with the changing organisational conditions. He should be updated with the latest trends in the organisation in order to effectively lead his followers. Further part of the essay will explore the research that supports my argument. PHASES OF RESEARCH ON LEADERSHIP As mentioned, the concepts of leadership, leader and the follower has emerged years and years ago. Even Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristofle have written about leadership in the period between 400 and 300 B.C. As years progressed, the focus on leadership research has undergone a dramatic change. In the earlier years, leadership research focussed on differentiating leaders and non-leaders by identifying their traits. It then focussed on the behaviour of the leaders and in the later phase focus was on the importance of situational factors, thus giving birth to the contingency approach (Paul, Costley, Howell Dorfman, 2002). The contingency approach, when compared to the previous two phases of research, is more theoretical and hence denies the notion of effective leadership traits and behaviour. Today, in modern leadership, Charisma has become a major underlining concept and the term has different meanings that overlap. The word charisma has been used to represent different conce pts through out the phases of leadership. In a business leader perspective, it is the personal quality of a leader to gain the attention of a group of individuals. EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP RESEARCHES An effective leadership requires a combination of cognitive, behavioural and personality factors (Kets De Vries, 2002) and it is necessary for him or her to keep learning. It is important to see the relationship between the leadership style of a leader and the context in which they operate. The range of behaviours of a leader is categorised as goal oriented, involving and engaging. The goal oriented leader sets a direction and plays a significant role in directing the followers to achieve the goal. The next two categories, involving and engaging are less leader-centric. From a study conducted in ten organisations, it is reported that, a leader-centric and directive style is found to be inappropriate in a changing organisation context but are common and dominant in a straight forward context. Many behaviourists stated that the leader can change his style according to the organisational strategy but Fiedler (1964) came up with the contingency theory and disagreed to it. There can be le aders who are task motivated while others are relationship motivated. There is even socio-independent leaders who are neither task nor relationship motivated (Dulewicz Higgs, 2005). This implies that the leader should choose the situation that better match his/her leadership style and avoid situation that is against their style. After a few years, House developed the path goal theory and argues that leaders behaviour can be adjusted to adapt to contingencies and thus find a suitable style for a particular situation (House, 1999). The basic idea of this theory is to support the subordinates and help them to achieve their own goals as well as the goals of the organisation. Four kind of leadership styles have been proposed in this theory: Directive, Supportive, Participative, Achievement-Oriented leadership. An effective leader is the one who knows which style is to be adopted and when (Silverthorne, 2001). Directive leaders tell their subordinates, what is expected from them and give the guidance by enforcing certain rules to fulfil those expectations. Supportive leaders would be friendlier and gives attention to the needs of their subordinates. The participative leaders lead their subordinates by involving them in making decisions and finally the achievement-oriented leaders set high standards and will be con fident on their subordinates in achieving these standards. According to the path goal theory, it depends on the nature of task for the leaders to decide upon which style to adopt and hence according to the requirement, the leader should be task oriented or relationship oriented (Silverthorne, 2001). If the nature of work is unclear, then the leader should be task oriented by giving proper direction and guidance. As the knowledge and practice of leadership change with time, many researches mention about the transformation of leadership. Earlier, the businesses tried to keep up with their rivals in the competition but today, the intentions have changed and they try to blast their competitors out. As far as business leaders are concerned, they would be left behind if they dont accommodate themselves to these changes. John Ralph, the deputy chairman of a leading Australian management company has expressed his views on transformation in leadership style while speaking about the changing culture of the organisation as, leaders should encourage their followers instead of commanding and should act as a coach rather than bosses. Ray Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Bell Atlantic expressed his vision of new leadership style emerging in the United States as a moral commitment where the leaders and employees should work as partners in achieving the goals of their organisations (Sarros Santora, 2001). Trust on the employees is most important in this. Lot of researches establish the validity of the concept, transformational leadership which brings change and movement in the organisation. Many researchers define transformational leadership as one that motivates people to create change, by distinguishing it with transactional leadership that uses the power and authority that exists in the organisation. Transformational style is denoted as leader of innovation and transactional style as manager of planning and policy (King, 1994). Transactional style depends on the current structure in the organisation while transformational style creates new pathways (Mink, 1992). An effective transformational leader should have a clear sense of goals to guide their organisation in to new directions (Burns, 1978). They should have the capability to foresee the change to a long term. The interaction among the people in an organisation and the flow of information gives rise to the need for change in the organisation. A fresh look at trends and feedbac k from frontline people becomes the catalyst for change (Herrington, Bonem Furr, 2000). Transformational leadership also influences the culture of the organisation. If the culture of the organisation itself is cultural, then the growth of individual and the organisation becomes more effective (Bass Avolio, 1993). The cultures of people in and beyond the organisation are also influenced by this. However, transformational leadership have potential dangers associated with it if the leader doesnt rely on a strong ethical and moral foundation as the danger lies in the leader-follower interactions. Such kind of behaviour is defined as pseudo-transformational leadership. From the year 1999 to 2004, there has been a considerable increase in the research on servant leadership as a result of emergence of certain servant leadership models developed by several researchers. Trust is a common factor in all the research conducted on servant leadership. Servant leaders generate and sustain trust through their communicative and supportive behaviour (Tschannen-Moran Hoy, 1998). Servant leadership begins with a natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first and then conscious choice brings them to aspire to lead, who is sharply different from one who is leader right from the beginning. Listening and understanding, imagination, acceptance and empathy, intuition, foresight, the ability to persuade, healing and serving, the ability to build community etc are some of the other attributes of a servant leader (Greenleaf,1997). It not only builds the trust between the leaders and the followers but also among the followers themselves and is thus established as an important variable in the development and maintenance of organisational trust (Joseph Winston, 2005). Studies indicate that servant leadership has the potential to improve the organisational satisfaction, productivity, safety practices and financial performance. There are numerous researches being conducted on job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Both are at times linked to each other as the employees become less committed to the organisation if they are dissatisfied with their job. Many researchers came up with a suggestion that leadership and organisational culture has great impact on both job satisfaction and commitment. Employees job performance, behaviour and expectations vary with the nation they belong to, and the way organisations are managed reflects the national culture. There are significant differences between the way firms in east and west are managed as a result of difference in national culture. Goal setting, performing the task and decision making are directly influenced by the culture of the organisation. The researchers on organisational culture has come up with different types of organisational culture but the people working in an organisation have their own values, beliefs and attitudes which are part of their national culture. Depending on those values and beliefs the organisation can have a bureaucratic, innovative or a supportive culture. Most eastern organisations have a bureaucratic culture while western organisations have innovative and supportive culture. Leadership plays a major role in the success and failure of an organisation. The relations between leadership and performance of an employee have been explored in various researches. The attributes of transformational leadership such as empowerment and clear vision can bring greater satisfaction to the employees in their job and this leadership style works well with western organisations. The leadership in eastern organisations are based on seniority, position and authority and the leader can gain commitment of the employ by their personal relationship. There have been only a few researches done on the leadership in organisations having two or more cultures also called as multicultural organisations. In a study conducted in an organisation with Australian and non Australian workforce, it was indicated that both the work groups wanted different transactional and transformational behaviours from their Australian supervisors. Hofstede came up with four dimensions of cultural values in h is research. They are power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/feminity. Out of the four dimensions, Hofstede states that power distance and individualism/ collectivism are the most relevant ones and these dimensions were applied in the organisation where the study was conducted (Lok Crawford, 2003). An effective business leader has to be aware of the researches on the organisational culture as he is directly linked to the success of organisation and if unaware, the whole organisation can fail due to his/her actions. Team building is an activity that a leader must concentrate on to continue to be effective in his/her operations. The leaders will have to modify their leadership style according to the changing needs of employees and also the organisational change. All the books and research papers on team building clearly differentiate groups and teams. Managers seem content with group performance while leaders always lead teams which are more productive and bring improved profit to the company. Team centred leaders are visionary and they inspire team work and mutual support. Effective leaders should have the ability to get their team members involved and committed. They communicate openly and mediate conflicts before it turns destructive (Maddux Wingfield, 2003). EFFECTIVE LEADERS ACT IN ETHICAL FRAMEWORK It is the nature of most human being to enter corruption when they gain power and control, or in other sense people tend to misuse the power they have. This possibly becomes the negative side or unethical side of leadership. In transformational leadership, charismatic leaders may develop lot of enthusiastic and honest followers who will even fail to notice the negative traits of their leader (Stone, Russell Patterson, 2003). Power with in a leader even tends to create politics in the organisation which can be called as the darker side of leadership and can weaken the leader member relationship. Organisational politics leads people to become reluctant in assisting their co-workers and hence there will be a decline in the organisational commitment. These are the times when personal interest of the leader gets dominant and they may even manipulate conflicts in order to achieve self goals instead of organisational goals (McGinley, 2009). As viewed by Rost, ethical framework of leadershi p must make individual leaders and followers accountable to their ethical responsibilities as human beings (Rost, 1993). An effective leader is the one who is aware of how and where to use the power of his/her position or personal power. Using positional or personal power in the organisation with out hampering the organisational ethics and thus maintaining a strong relationship with followers is the quality that leaders should possess to make their organisation more productive. CONCLUSION The essay has described about the evolution of leadership and the various researches conducted on it. The role of an effective leader in most of the leadership approaches have also been explored in the essay. Its been argued that learning latest studies on leadership keep leaders away from work due to information overload. But considering the changing organisational culture and change in the needs of people, it can be suggested that the leader should always keep in track with the researches. Leaders face challenge in applying the latest studies among their followers in the organisation. Effective leaders explore these studies only by following the organisational ethics, morals and leadership principles. The outcomes of unethical approach to leadership studies have also been described in the essay. It is said that negative traits of charismatic leaders are overlooked by their followers and hence they are utilised by the leaders to achieve personal goals. But this always results in wea k leader member relations and reduced organisational commitment. From this essay, it can be concluded that leaders should keep themselves updated about the researches and also should act according to the ethics and principles to make their operations more effective and thus improve the productivity of their organisation.

The Benefits and Risks of Breast Augmentation Essay -- Breast Implant

The Benefits and Risks of Breast Augmentation Every day women are bombarded with images of beautiful models with thin figures and huge round breast. In striving to achieve the ?ideal? body type women are altering their bodies; cosmetic surgery has increased enormously in the past few years. Breast augmentation alone has increased 500% since 1992. What are the benefits of having big voluptuous breasts? Do the benefits overweigh the risks? There are two main types of breast implants. One is filled with silicone gel and the other is filled with saline (sterile salt water); both of these implants have an outer silicone shell. Prior to 1991 both types of implants were approved by the FDA, but in April of 1992 silicone filled implants were restricted by the FDA to patients with needs of reconstruction, replacement of deformities, and replacement of ruptured silicone-gel filled implants that were used for augmentation. Saline filled implants are currently approved by the FDA for women 18 years old or older desiring breast augmentation and for reconstruction in women of all ages. The restriction on silicone filled implants was provoked by the concern that the leaking of silicone gel could be detrimental to the body in the case that an implant ruptured. By contrast, a saline filled implant would only release salt water in to the body. However saline filled implants are not completely risk free. An implant is a foreign object in your body thus the body can and typically does form scar tissue around it. This scar tissue can squeeze and harden the implant causing it to rupture. The tightening and squeezing is called capsular contracture and may cause hardening of the breast, rippling of the skin, and changes in breast shape... ...not scientifically proven, many health risks may arise from breast implants. Such risks include rupture of implants, loss of sensation, inability to breast feed, hardening of breast tissue, rippling of the skin, and interference in the detection of breast cancer. There are other ways to enhance a woman?s breast but in the end it is her decision as to what route she wants to take. Bibliography California or Bust. Author: Wallace, Amy. Source: Los Angeles Magazine V. no 1 (Jan 2002) P 40-45 Saline Breast Implants Stay on Market as Experts Warn about Risks. Author: Linda Bren. Source: FDA Consumer 34 no4 Jl/Ag 2000 P 9-11 Implanting Fear. Author: B. D. Daniel & Michael Weiss. Source: National Review v47 P50 O 9 1995 Breast Surgeries Experiencing High Inflation Rates. Author: Judith Messina. Source: Crain?s New York Business v18 no14 P4, 34 Ap 8-14 2002

Anabolic Steroids and the High School Athlete Essay -- Drugs Athletics

Anabolic Steroids and the High School Athlete Anabolic steroid abuse has become a national concern among high school athletes. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of athletes using these performance enhancing drugs in high school almost double the number using since the 1980's. These athletes feel that steroids gives them the competitive edge that they think they need to boost themselves past the competition. Steroids have been used in bodybuilding and other sports since the 1950's. Nowadays, athletes from all walks of life use them. It's not uncommon for athletes such as bodybuilders, football players, boxers, sprinters, and especially powerlifters to use them on a year round basis. Some professional bodybuilders admit to using over 10 times the normal effective dosage for testosterone. Steroids and sports go hand in hand in many ways. They were legal until 1990 when they joined other banned substances such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines as being illegal. Many athletes including Arnold Schwarzenegger and football great Lyle Alzado have admitted to using them to help them become better athletes. Because they are illegal without a prescription in almost every country in the world they are only available to the recreational user on the "black market". The black market consists of all steroidal substances, counterfeits, and other illegal drugs that are purchased from a source other than directly from a pharmacy or a physician. As everyone knows, when a product is available only on the black market the demand of it goes up while the supply goes down. This means that a very high percentage of all athletes that use them are doing so illegally. This is a major reason why steroids have become so popular among high school athletes, there so easy to obtain. Once viewed as a problem only associated with professional athletes, recent reports estimate that 5 to 12 percent of male high school students and 1 percent of female students have used anabolic steroids by the time they were seniors. The athletes using these drugs don?t belong to one particular sport, these users play sports ranging from girls tennis all the way to boys swimming all of which have the same goal in common, to gain the upper hand. They are usually used during training to build muscles and contrary to popular belief are not usually used when the athlete is competing... ...An ongoing series of studies has shown that this team-centered approach reduces new steroid abuse by 50 percent. A program designed for adolescent girls on sports teams, patterned after the program designed for boys, is currently being tested. Some medications that have been used for treating steroid withdrawal, restore the hormonal system after its disruption by steroid abuse. Other medications target specific withdrawal symptoms, for example, antidepressants to treat depression, and analgesics for head aches and muscle and joint pains ( May pg 65). Some patients require assistance beyond simple treatment of withdrawal symptoms and are treated with behavioral therapies. Compared to student athletes who were not exposed to the program, ATLAS participants had increased understanding of the effects of steroids, greater belief in personal vulnerability to the consequences of steroid use, improved drug-refusal skills, less belief in steroid-promoting media messages, increased belief in the team as an information source, improved perception of athletic abilities and strength training self-efficacy, improved nutrition and exercise behaviors and reduced intentions to use steroids.

St. Valentines Day Massacre :: American History

In the roaring twenties, the life of organized crimes was at its peak. What was the greatest mob hit ever pulled off in history? Well I'll tell you. It all happened on Valentines Day, the morning of February 14th, 1929. This incident was call, "The St. Valentines Day Massacre". The man behind this infamous crime was none other than, the infamous Al "Scarface" Capone. Al Capone was the all time greatest mobster of all time. The idea of organized crime fascinates me in so many ways. Capone was the only person to have pulled off such a crime. Al Capone was top gangster in Chicago and was one of the greatest members of the Italian Mafia and George "Bugs" Moran was the leader of the Irish/German mafia and he was the main target behind this hit. He targeted Capone because Al Capone‘s had a bounty on his head, $60,000,000, and found George Moran as a threat. George was Capone's biggest threat of all. He needed to take him out quickly. (Al Capone, True Crime Story). Writing this paper wi ll let me learn a lot more about this massacre. There is one question I would like answered, "Why hadn't Moran's crew made an attempt to fight back?" (Al Capone, True Crime Story). Moran's men had a long history of being violent with others. This is one question that we will never know. My most used source on this essay will be internet information and a book. I feel these sources will give me the most amount of information. Using a magazine will too but it was very hard to find a 20's magazine article. A mob hit such as this one seems tough but only someone with the man power and skill could have pulled it off. It took Capone awhile to think about because he needed an alibi. His alibi was finally established and it was time to go to part one of the Valentines Day Massacre. Something you probably didn't know was Al Capone did not participate in the killings or plans of this crime. All though Capone was the main man behind the massacre, he had "Machine Gun" McGurn take care of the set up. Jack McGurn was responsible for many of Chicago's gangland murders, often without Capone's consent. McGurn upset Capone on a number of occasions for going over the top in violence, because everything McGurn did reflected on Capone in the media.

Conventional Supermarkets Essay

Retail Branding Strategy Retailer branding strategy can be defined as an approach planned by the organisation to achieve the organisation’s missions and goals. Retail branding strategies also facilitates in their competitive advantage in the industry. With strategies applied, companies can be viewed as a distinctive store as compared to other companies. There are various strategies that retail companies can adapt and one of the retailing strategies consists of seven factors; operating procedures, location, merchandising customer services, consumers, pricing, and promotion factors. (cite book) Conventional Supermarket An industry that we would also touch upon is conventional supermarket. Conventional supermarket is a departmentalized food store with a wide range of food and related products. The supermarkets are usually differentiated by their sizes e.g. a conventional supermarket is between 500 and 2000m2. (cite pdf) Supermarket Strategy Goods Conventional supermarkets should have a basic retailing strategy that they can adapt globally. Firstly, what goods do conventional supermarkets want to offer? A conventional supermarket typically offers a wide range of products and assortment and their merchandises would include both private and generic labels. Private labels are also known as house brands in food retailing. House brands were introduced to promote brand loyalty and are usually priced at affordable prices as compared to other brands that the supermarket takes in. Prices Prices are generally competitive in conventional supermarkets due to high competition within many firms for the same consumer with homogeneous product offerings (Dolan and Simon, 1996; Kotler, 2003; Lucas et al., 1994) Competitive price is defined as price of a product is based on what other competitors are charging thus it is not relatively as low as the old-fashioned neighbourhood convenience stores that are also locally known as ‘Indian Mama Shops’. Consumers Secondly, a supermarket has to decide on the target consumers in order to proceed with the location of the supermarket. Since conventional supermarkets offer largely food and related household products, they aim mainly on families that come from middle to low income. In addition, it targets working or non-working adults that are aged above 30 years. Location Since conventional supermarkets target on families, these supermarkets are located in the neighbourhood area with large trading area. The supermarkets are situated in residential areas as it is highly accessible and gives convenience for consumers. Their location might also be influenced due to location of competitors as it would enhance their trading areas. Operating procedures The operating procedure of supermarkets starts with Supermarket Licence which is mandated by the Environmental Public Health Act. Every business owners has to comply with cleanliness and food safety guidelines to prevent any food-borne diseases. The basic operating procedures that supermarkets have to follow are Hazard Analysis and Critical Control point (HACCP) system, cleaning and sanitation programs, pest control programs, waste management, transportation of finished products and maintenance program (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore 2012). Store Atmosphere & Customer Services Conventional supermarkets have average store atmosphere whereby it is neither isolated nor too crowded. A good strategy that supermarkets do is categorizing the items for shoppers’ convenience in searching for goods. Customer services should be good as staffs play important role in assisting customers at the counters and shelves. Promotion Conventional supermarkets are one of the market players in the industry that invest highly in their promotions. Promotions include heavy use of newspaper, flyers and TV advertisements. These promotions have to be kept in line with the customers that supermarkets are targeting e.g. if the supermarket aims to attract younger customers, online promotions would be  preferred. Sheng Siong Supermarket Sheng Siong is one of Singapore’s largest retailers with over S$578.4 million in revenue for year 2011. Sheng Siong supermarket provides customers with both â€Å"wet and dry† shopping experience and their merchandises include a wide assortment of seafood, meat and vegetables, processed, packaged and/or preserved food products as well as general merchandise such as toiletries and essential household products. Sheng Siong Strategy Sheng Siong has complied with most of the strategies stated in the above. Firstly, the supermarket offers wide variety of food products and general merchandise. They also provide both generic and house brands products. The Housebrands stated in the image below are owned by Sheng Siong supermarket. (Sheng Siong 2012) These house brands allow bigger savings for consumers as they are priced lower than other generic products. Prices at Sheng Siong are generally low but competitive as we are able to find same products at other supermarkets at the same price. Sheng Siong supermarkets are located strategically in the heartlands of Singapore. With 33 stores located in the North, South, East, West and Central parts of Singapore, it shows that Sheng Siong aims to targets on every family in Singapore regardless of income status or age. Photo of Sheng Siong supermarket at Bedok Reservoir Road Photo of Neighbourhood opposite Sheng Siong supermarket @ Bedok Reservoir Road In complying with the operational procedures that are set by government bodies e.g. National Environmental Agency, Singapore Civil Defence Force and AVA, Sheng Siong has acquired licenses, permits, approvals and certifications for the business operations in Singapore (Sheng Siong 2012). Sheng Siong is also strategically categorized their merchandise for shoppers’ ease of identifying and convenience. Sheng Siong also provides consumers with a unique ‘push-basket’ for customers to shop at ease. Row 7 – Snacks/TidbitsWheeled basket Customer service is not really emphasized in Sheng Siong’s values but the supermarket offers weighing services for customers and they have many staffs in the supermarket to assist customers. Lastly, Sheng Siong has come up with promotion strategy using flyers and newspapers. One of their current promotions is lucky draw and winners are announced on the Sheng Siong Show. Weighing Service Sheng Siong Lucky Draw promotion 2012 NTUC Fairprice Supermarket One of the largest competitors of Sheng Siong is NTUC Fairprice. NTUC Fairprice is Singapore’s largest retailer with a network of over 230 outlets comprising FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores. NTUC Fairprice Strategy Fairprice supermarket offers a wide range of foods products and household merchandise as well. Similarly, they provide house brand which is named after the company’s name i.e. Fairprice. NTUC Fairprice supermarket has come up with a strategy of having discounts on their specific house brand in order to attract customers to patronize their private brands instead. The image below shows the differences of the prices between their generic and house brand products. Also, Fairprice supermarket has also strategically located itself in the heartlands within walking distance from housing estates and competitors. They currently have over 90 stores of Fairprice supermarkets located across Singapore to cater to varied needs of consumers. This strategy is to gather more consumers as competitors would increase the trading area for Fairprice supermarket. Fairprice supermarket located nearby Guardian and 7-11 convenience stores Fairprice supermarkets have also complied with the licenses and regulations of supermarket in Singapore. In fairprice, customer service is emphasized as a key value in order to serve customers better. They also provide self-service methods for the consumers to have a freedom in their goods’ choice. Their promotions are similar to Sheng Siong’s such as newspapers and flyers. Fairprice supermarket also offers festive promotions such as discounts in Christmas period. Pros & Cons of Conventional Supermarkets Conventional supermarkets serve both advantages and disadvantages to both retailer and customer. Firstly, supermarkets have the advantage of low cost of operations thus being able to sell goods at lower price. Due to low cost of purchasing products from suppliers, it enables customers to purchase products at discounted prices as compared to convenient stores which mark up prices of the products. Conventional supermarket definitely offers the freedom of selection to customers due to wide variety and ease of shopping. They also have high degree of efficiency due to elimination of service such as packing. It is also an advantage to customers as the shelves are easily reached out and the size of the shopping experience is neither too big nor small e.g. convenient stores offers limited products and hypermarkets offer too wide of variety for customers who do daily shopping. However, there are downsides regarding conventional supermarkets. References Genessa M. Fratto, Michelle R. Jones, Nancy L. Cassill, (2006),†An investigation of competitive pricing among apparel retailers and brands†, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 10 Iss: 4 pp. 387 – 404 Barry Berman and Joel R. Evans. 2012. Retail Management, A Strategic Approach. http://www.fairprice.com.sg http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/9407/1/sp07be06.pdf http://singaporesupermarketrecipes.com/fairprice-ntuc-weekly-promotions-week-37/ (ntuc promo pic) http://www.sgsaleinfo.com/v2.0/tagsearch/Sheng%20Shiong/1 (sheng siong promo pic) http://www.guidemesingapore.com/industry-guides/retail/setting-up-a-retail-outlet-in-singapore http://www.ava.gov.sg/FoodSector/FoodTradersAndEst/LicOtherFoodProcessEst/ http://www.asiaone.com/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20080205-48245.html http://singaporesupermarketrecipes.com/category/shopping-guide/supermarkets/sheng-siong/ (supermarket)