Sears Case Study Essay Example for Free

Sears Case Study Essay Sears is our nation’s fourth largest retailer. With over 4,000 stores in the United States and Canada, Sears has grown from its humble beginnings. Sears is a leader in apparel, home appliances, home, lawn and garden, tools, automotive repair, maintenance, and electronics. Sears also provides home service, serving 11 million service calls yearly. Richard Sears founded Sears as a mail order company and it grew to be one of the largest retailers. He opened the first department store in Chicago in 1925. Sears found success and by 1928 three more stores had opened. Now Sears employs 249,000 employees and it has grown quickly. In 2005, Sears merged with K-Mart and has helped both evolve and the merger proved to be both successful and positive. Although they have faced challenges along the way they have been able to gain a large market share because of their product mix, quality services, products, and solutions. No matter what difficulties they have faced Sears has been a leader in the retail industry and they will strive to be sure that doesn’t change. Sears has come a long way from its beginnings as a catalog. Sears has many unique attributes that make it a place that people want to shop. Despite their great accomplishment and striving to become one the largest and most competitive retailers, Sears is facing several key issues. Sears must reevaluate their internal and external environment in order to implement the changes and solutions necessary to get Sears back to where it needs to be. Company Analysis Organization and Leadership Sears has an overall good practical structure. This has definitely been key to their success because they are able to tailor their products to their customers needs using an integrated cost leadership/differentiation strategy. Sear is competing in a very competitive industry and if they follow through with their differentiated strategy they will continue to improve. Sears was able to pursue low cost and provide differentiation to their customers. Rosa Corporate Financial Position Sears financial position is currently improving. They are dealing with not only a let down on their fourth quarter losses but the sales have decreased as well in both their department stores and Kmart unit. To deal with their losses they are in the process of selling 11 stores to make up for their finances which has made their stocks go up at 19% (MarketWatch, 2012). If they sell these properties they could earn around $270 million in proceeds. It could go either way though since when sales decrease selling assets may not be the right way to bring in growth in the future. Also if they follow their plan of moving Sears Hometown and Outlet stores they could bring in between $400 million to $500 million of proceeds during the third fiscal quarter (SHLD: Nasdaq, 2012). Sears net income has dropped continually year after year from $235. M to a mere $133. 0m. One reason being is the percentage of sales has been more focused on the SGA (Sales General Administration) costs which has made it go from 23. 69% to 24. 09% (SHLD:Nasdaq GS, 2012). Core Competency The main core competency would have to be in there customer service. They offer great service to their customers which has gave them a comp etitive advantage against competitors. They use this to differentiate themselves from competition. They have built up a good customer base. They make sure they have their best associates available for customers especially through peak hours. Although, things could be a little different in terms of bargaining power from product to product, Sears has the advantage of being a top retailer and leads the way with relative bargaining power. As the number one home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, and home electronics, Sears has established deep roots in their line of business. Sears remains honest with their customers and provides high-quality products at bargain prices. As a result of long, developed relationships with suppliers, Sears has the ability to buy in high volumes and sell for less. With this in mind, the power of suppliers is a similar story within Sears’ industry environment. It varies from supplier to supplier due to Sears’ product variety and differentiation. In the retail industry, suppliers tend to have very little power. Sears has a high standard for quality, especially in its line of household appliances, so suppliers that don’t meet these standards are of no interest. Additionally, Sears has been working with its suppliers for a very long time, so they have gained the right amount of bargaining power to ensure low prices and good quality products and services.

Romanticism in Keats Poetry Essay -- John Keats Sensual Language Essa

Romanticism in Keats' Poetry Keats uses various poetic techniques and themes to emphasise these ideas of romanticism the "the strange, the sensual and the dream". These themes and techniques are the back bone of the Ode's which allow the reader to feel and use their imagination which was the main reason Keats wrote his poems. Keats uses incredibly sensual language to illustrate how he is feeling and what he is imagining which gives the ode's a sensual feeling of being alive. In Keats' "Ode to Autumn" he is using a large amount of sensual language to try and take us to the place in his mind, his choice of words are hugely important for making Autumn a sensual Ode. In the first stanza he is focusing very much on the sense of taste and sight to paint the picture of summer ready to explode into autumn with words like "load", "fill", "ripeness", "swell" and "plump" these words are all very sense orientated with the desire to show the peak point before it all rots and turns to autumn. He uses the sensory language to generate an atmosphere he wants the reader to feel what he is feeling. The theme of sensual language continues into stanza two as the poem developes and as the season Autumn goes into this state of pure bliss. He uses highly sensual language like "oozing hours by hours" this is almost onomatopaeic as he is dragging us into the sense of stillness, this place he is describing is very relaxed a beautiful place to be in, he uses many vowels to get us into a drugged state of mind liek the season "fume of poppies" the language and the season is intoxicating a place of no worries. This stanza is very sensual it is slow moving and lazy "thee" this is the place Keats wants to be, this sensual language... ... seems a contriversal thing to say as it could also be seen as blasfemic putting a poet "priest" on the same pedastoole as God. His whole dream like state is extremly strange saying he is going to build a garden in his mind for psyche and to let "warm love in!" love is welcome to come in with him, this dream seems to be about the relationship between the soul and love. I do agree with this statement however I do feel there are some far more improtant and more widley used romantic ideals in his poems than the strange and the dream however sensual is a very important feature that runs through all of his Ode's whether it is describing beauty of art in Urn or nature in Autumn he uses sensual language in all of his Ode's and that is the main thing that makes the reader ask questions at the end after you have been taken to into his other reality, his dream.

Wealth of the Nation and the First Industrial Revolution

Wealth has had many factors that contribute to the meaning given by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2009), which defines wealth as â€Å"abundance of material possessions or resources.†In the early part of the United States, depending on the location in the continent, wealth was determined by different factors, especially after the Industrial Revolution.   In the South, with slavery abounding, wealth was not just about the land owned, or the crops sold, but it included the number of slaves that the plantation owner had on the plantation.In the North, the industrial revolution and technology grew and wealth was based on the type of product, number manufactured, monopoly of the industry, and innovation and development of new machines (A Coming Industrial Change, 6; Johnson, 35; Mr. Lloyd’s Book on Trusts, 23; Smith, 256; Topic of the Times, 6; The New Orleans Exposition, 4; The World’s Exposition, 3).Just like wealth, the industrial revolution took on many aspect s and was defined in many different ways depending on the location in the world.   While Britain and Western Europe really started the industrial revolution, the United States quickly took over as the leading innovator and wealthiest nation.However, it was not long before Japan and China were imitating the industrialized countries, and trying to gain in the revolution and wealth that was to be had by all.   The belief was that the Japanese could â€Å"copy ‘any pattern or design more accurately and skillfully than any other artisan in the world’† (What the Country Has Achieved During the Last Forty Years, 29).In the United States, the wealth and industrial revolution were separated in terms of North and South.   The North brought in machines and new technologies to help them use the products of the South.   Factories were created and manufacturing of goods began and refined in the following years.The export to other countries increased as did the wealth a nd educational facilities of the north and mid-west.   With the factories at optimum efficiency of the time, and more settlers moving west, the next logical step in the north was the creation of railroads (A Coming Industrial Change, 6; Johnson; Pioneer Railroad Men, 2; Topic of the Times, 6).

An Overview of the Common Core Assessments

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is arguably the biggest educational shift in the history of the United States. Having a set of national standards that most states have chosen to adopt is unprecedented. However, the bigger shift in traditional educational philosophy will come in the form of the Common Core assessment. While the national adoption of the standards themselves is immense, the potential impact of having a shared national assessment system is even bigger. Most states would argue that the standards they already had in place align pretty well to the Common Core State Standards. However, the rigor and presentation of the new assessments will even challenge your top tier students. Many school administrators and teachers will need to totally revamp their approach in order for their students to succeed on these assessments. What has been the norm when it comes to test prep will no longer be enough. In an age where a premium has been placed on high stakes testing, those stakes will have never been higher than they will be with the Common Core assessments. Impact of a Shared Assessment System There are several potential ramifications of having a shared assessment system. Many of these ramifications will be positive for education and many will no doubt be negative. First of all the pressure placed on students, teachers, and school administrators will be greater than ever. For the first time in educational history states will be able to accurately compare their students’ achievement to students in neighboring states. This factor alone will cause the pressures of high stakes testing to go through the roof. Politicians will be forced to pay more attention and increase funding in education. They will not want to be a low performing state. The unfortunate reality is that many excellent teachers will lose their jobs and others will choose to enter another field simply because the pressure of getting students to perform well on these assessments will be too large. The microscope for which teachers and school administrators will be under will be massive. The truth is that even the best teachers can have students perform poorly on an assessment. There are so many external factors that attribute to student performance that many would argue that basing the worth of a teacher on a single assessment is simply not valid. However, with the Common Core assessments, this will most likely be overlooked. Most teachers will have to increase rigor in the classroom by challenging their students to think critically. This will be a challenge for both students and teachers. In an age where parents are less involved, and students have information readily given to them at the click of a mouse, developing critical thinking skills will be even more of a challenge. This has been arguably one of the most neglected areas of education, and it will no longer be an option to omit it. Students must excel in critical thinking if they are to perform well on these assessments. Teachers will have to restructure how they teach to develop these skills. This will be such as massive shift in teaching and learning philosophies that it may take a generation of students to cycle through before we see a large group truly start to develop these skills. In the end, this shift in educational philosophy will better prepare our students to succeed. More students will be ready to transition to college or will be work ready when they graduate high school. In addition, the skills associated with the Common Core State Standards will prepare students to compete on the global level. Another benefit of a shared assessment system will be that costs to individual states will be reduced dramatically. With each state having its own set of standards, they have had to pay to have tests developed specifically to meet those standards. This is an expensive endeavor and testing has become a multimillion dollar industry. Now with a common set of assessments, states will be able to share in the cost of test development, production, scoring, etc. This could potentially free up more money allowing it to be spent in other areas of education. Who is developing these assessments? There are currently two consortia responsible for developing these new assessment systems. These two consortia have been awarded funding through a competition to design new assessment systems. All states who have adopted the Common Core State Standards have selected a consortium in which they are a partner with other states. These assessments are currently in the development stage. The two consortia responsible for developing these assessments are: SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) – Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) – Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Within each consortia, there are states that have been selected to be a governing state and others who are a participating/advisory state. Those that are governing states have a representative that gives direct input and feedback into the development of the assessment that will accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. What will these assessments look like? The assessments are currently being developed by the SBAC and PARCC consortia, but a general description of what these assessments will look like has been released. There are a few released assessment and performance items available. You can find some sample performance tasks for English Language Art (ELA) in Appendix B of the Common Core State Standards. The assessments will be through course assessments. This means that students will take a benchmark assessment at the beginning of the year, with the option of ongoing progress monitoring throughout the year, and then a final summative assessment towards the end of the school year. This type of assessment system will allow teachers to see where their students are at all times during the school year. It will allow a teacher to more readily cater to a particular students strengths and weaknesses to prepare them better for the summative assessment. The assessments will be computer-based. This will allow for quicker, more accurate results and feedback on the computer scored portion of the assessments. There will be portions of the assessments that will be human scored. One of the biggest challenges for school districts will be preparing for the computer-based assessments. Many districts across the United States do not have enough technology to test their entire district via computer at this time. During the transition period, this will be a priority that districts must prepare for. All students grades K-12 will participate in some level of testing. Grades K-2 tests will be designed to set the foundation for students and also give information to teachers that will help them better prepare those students for the rigorous testing that begins in the 3rd grade. Grades 3-12 testing will be much more tied directly to the Common Core State Standards and will consist of a variety of item types. Students will see a variety of item types including innovative constructed response, extended performance tasks, and selected response (all of which will be computer based). These are much more difficult than simple multiple choice questions as students will be assessed on multiple standards within one question. Students will often be expected to defend their work through a constructed essay response. This means that they simply won’t be able to come up with an answer, but will additionally need to defend the answer and explain the process through written response. With these Common Core assessments, students must also be able to write coherently in the narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory forms. An emphasis on balance between traditional literature and informational text is expected within the framework of the Common Core State Standards. Students will be given a passage of text and will have to construct a response based on questions over that passage in a specific form of writing that the question asks for. The transition to these types of assessments will be difficult. Many students will struggle initially. This will not be due to a lack of effort on teachers but will be based more on the overwhelming task at hand. This transition will take time. Understanding what the Common Core Standards are all about and what to expect from the assessments are the first steps in a long process of being successful.