Thumbtack founder Marco Zappacosta about his entrepreneurial journey

Thumbtack founder Marco Zappacosta about his entrepreneurial journey INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco with Thumbtack. After announcing a big round of financing one month ago we are talking to Marco the founder of Thumbtack. Marco, who are you and what do you do?Marco: So, my name is Marco and Thumbtack helps customers find and hire local professionals. So if you need to paint your house, find a math tutor for your child or a caterer for your event, we are the best way to get introduced to the right professional. And it’s something that we have been working on for the last 5 years.Martin: Can you tell us, what is it like to start a company?Marco: So it’s a very satisfying sort of scene of vision that you had sort of come to life, attracting great people and working with them to realize that vision. But it’s also fairly stressful because everybody get’s sort of wrapped up in this dream. And it’s hard to realize your dreams and so there is a lot of stress and making sure it’s coming about the right the way and working the way you want it to.Martin: What have been the major obstacles and how did you overcome them?Marco: I’d say there were three major obstacles.The first one was learning to attract customers and professionals, as a market place without that network you really have almost value and so we had to learn how to attract these people to us and do that in a very scalable and repeatable way. That took us a long time to figure out.Then the challenge became, Okay we have a network of customers and professionals, what’s the best way to introduce them such that it gives the customer confidence to hire and it gives the professional a real shot to sort of win the business. And we tried sort of lots of different interphases and had to really learn the right way to bring people together. And that was another big challenge.And then the final one was, how do we sort of layer on our business model on top of these interactions, now we knew how to bring people together, but what was the right thing to charge for, how should we charge, how much should we charge, that also took us quite a bit of time to figure out.So it was probably three and a half years until we had it all figured out and in the last 18 months things have really accelerated because thankfully it worked.Martin: Great and how do you test your hypothesis of how you want to acquire customers or how you want to match the professionals with the customers by not only having incremental improvements but maybe also testing some revolutionary hypothesis?Marco: So I mean, I think there are two answers, one is sort of cultural and organizational and one is tactical.It is very important for the process and the organization to let people take big bets because the truth is you don’t always know what’s going to work. We’ve been surprised many times by things we thought would be great that didn’t work or things that we didn’t think would be that important and turned out to be hugely important. And so you have to sort of organizationally allow for that otherwise you are going to stifle innovation.And then the other question is tactically, actually how do you do it. It’s a scientific method. It’s not new, you have a hypothesis, you run a very controlled test and you measure the results in a statistically sound way and from that you are able to look back and say, ‘Was my hypothesis validated? And did I sort of learn what I thought I was going to learn?’ and then sort of think again and run another one.Martin: What did you do before you started this company?Marco: So I started Thumbtack right after I went to college and so the short answer is not much. But the longer answer is that my co-founder and I during college had started a student advocacy group together. It was non-profit, it was very different then the sort of technology business we’re in today but it was still start up and it was very fun to build something out of nothing and we sort of got hooked on that and decided to do it again and that’s why sort of after graduating I decided to pursue this dream.Martin: But why did you focus on that specific market? What is your relation to that? Why does it motivate you?Marco: So, we did in some ways what you’re not supposed to do which is decide to start-up a company and then go think of an idea. But thankfully, I think we did it in a good way in that we didn’t index on our interest or our passions but instead said, what’s the biggest problem we think we can solve with technology? And we started thinking and looking and what we realized was that there was this gigantic market, this local services market with hundreds of millions of customers, 10 of millions of professionals and it was very old. There really hadn’t been much innovation in how they found each other, how they came together, how they worked together and we felt that it was inevitable that technology would help these people. And I think what really motivates me and really I think Thumbtack is tha t both the macro and the micro of it. The macro of it is a big problem and it’s satisfying to work on sort of big things that can have a huge impact. But then like what really likeâ€"you feel day to day is the stories of impacting individuals, it’s the pest control guy in Brooklyn sending us flowers to say thank you for all the business that we’re now sending him, or the busy mom who is sending pictures of her birthday party that she was able to throw with Thumbtack. That feels great and that’s certainly is a bigger part of the motivation that we all feel.BUSINESS MODELMartin: And you said you tried to change this old model of match making into a new one. Can you tell us in terms of the business model what is the innovation behind Thumbtack?Marco: When you think about it, people have been hiring plumbers since plumbing existed, so a long time. And since the dawn of the yellow pages, it’s been very easy to find names and numbers, but that’s only half of the challenge, the n you have to figure out which of the these plumbers out of this entire list is available to serve you, what they are going to charge you and how qualified are they to do the job. And to do that today or before Thumbtack was an incredibly manual process. You, the customer, had to call, you had to sort of get quotes, then you had to call their references or sort of see what past work they’d done. And it was immensely time intensive. So instead, we created software to replace that, such that you tell us what you need. As a customer you sort of itemize the project, we package that up, send that to our network of qualified professionals who serve your areas and the ones who are then sort of available and interested get introduced directly to you and with that we bring all the reviews, the pictures, the credentials that you need to make a confident hiring decision. And so for the first time, the data that you need, the professionals that you need come to you. And this is much better fo r the customer obviously and it’s actually much better for the professional as well. If you think about their past in terms of marketing solutions they had, they had the yellow pages, they had things like that but they were always sort of fishing blindly, they just put up an ad and hoped people saw it now we bring them a customer and we say, ‘Hey, there is a customer that is looking for your services in your area, here is what they want, are you interested?’ And they have all the discretion to decide, ‘Okay yeah, this is a great customer, I am free that day’ and at that point they get introduced, so we’ve made it better for both sides and that’s why the model is growing so fast.Martin: And is the service provider only paying for the introduction or really for the closing of the deal.Marco: Yes, they pay for the introduction. Interestingly, we try doing it on a deal, but it actually caused problems because for the professional, there was no fee up front and so they figu red, they just respond to everything, even when they weren’t a great a fit. You, the customer, said, ‘I need the plumber to come on Saturday’ and me as a plumber says, ‘Well, I’ll say I can come on Sunday, maybe he’ll change his mind’. But that’s not a great response for you. So we had to change the incentive such that only the professionals who were really motivated to sort of get introduced to that customer were actually the ones who got through and we have to make sure on our end to charge appropriately such that they have a great ROI and they sort of get a lot of value out of Thumbtack.Martin: And how do you analyze this kind of incentive network?Marco: Quantitatively and qualitatively. There is a lot of data that you could look at to understand what are the dynamics at play and how is it evolving and then also you have to listen to the qualitative feedback, talking to professionals, talking to customers, seeing the support tickets that we get to learn, again wha t’s working and what’s not.CORPORATE STRATEGYMartin: Let’s talk about the corporate strategy. I mean, Thumbtack is some kind of a market place so it’s driven by network effect and effects of scale. What other type of competitive advantage do you want to create or already have compared to other competitors?Marco: So, you are absolutely right that there are network effects at play but in our case there is not just one network. In fact we have as many networks as we have customers because what matters to you as a customer is only the professionals who will come to you. You don’t care about the ones that are 100 of miles away. And so that is the huge challenge with the space is that you have to build local networks over and over and over. Our advantage over our competitors is that we’ve created a marketing sort of solution, a way for these professionals to grow their business that is so much better and so obvious that we don’t need a sale force to push it onto them, we cer tainly buy ads to build awareness of this solution, but they then sign up and it’s totally self serving, we start sending them customers and because of that we’ve been able to reach a scale much faster than really anybody else. We now have more paying professionals than Yelp or Angie’s list and they’ve been at it over a decade each. So that’s really where the advantage comes in, it’s the model that unlocks the growth potential.Martin: Marco, when you started, what was your go to market strategy, did you just expand on local cities, or did you just try to reach more national, or grow several cities at a separate time, or did you take it step by step? How did you do it?Marco: The sort of traditional way to do it is city by city and I think that was the advice that we were getting at the time. But the city by city model is expensive. You’re investing a lot of dollars in one city and we honestly did not have that much money to start, so we said, ‘Is there a more scalable way we can do this and what that really means is, is there any software or programmatic way to do it? And that’s what we focused on early on, how can we get these markets going, without a big investment but simply with software to find the right professionals and find the right customers and bring them together. And we found that, it took us a couple of years to figure it all out but that then unlocked the ability to go sort of nationwide very quickly. So we’re already now nationwide, we serve hundreds of categories across all these cities and it’s really sort of the model but also sort of then marketing strategies that allowed that.Martin: Can you a little bit elaborate on how the software that you used works?Marco: So I mean there are a couple of things that you have to do, you have to find professionals, so you have to go out to the web and figure out who is a professional, in what city and what do they do. Then you have to sort of bring them the right customer at the righ t time and so it’s sort of a matching problem. By doing that, it’s a great way to sort of build a relationship with a professional because we can say, ‘Hey, here is a customer, are you interested? Come to Thumbtack and there’s a lot more like them’. And so it’s really sort of a ‘matching and discovery’ challenge that we’re able to solve programmatically.Martin: Actually, can I imagine it working like this: You have started with a platform, people come to the website, both sides. But when you see, ‘Okay, there is some demands generated but we don’t have the right profession, then we go out there and search the web, contact those guys, sending them emails and say, ‘Okay, we have some kind of demand, would you be interested in this kind of purchase order then register at our platform’.Marco: That’s right.Martin: Okay great.Marco: And these small businesses they all want more customers and so when you bring them one, they are very receptive to that and obviou sly the onboarding has to work well, the marketing messages has to be correct, but at the end of the day we are bringing them what they want and so that’s a great way to start the relationship.MARKET DEVELOPMENTMartin: When looking at other platforms that are similar but not identically alike, Elance or Odesk, I perceive a very big trend towards lowering prices over there for the offering, what type of trends can you identify on your platform?Marco: So, both Odesk and Elance are virtual marketplace so they source their labor globally and I think there is definitely a sort of downward pressure on price when you are looking at these global markets. On the more localized basis, we don’t see that happening as much. There are some industries where the market is expanding tremendously like digital photography, it is much easier to be a photographer today than it was 20 years ago and so the market has gotten a lot bigger and therefore prices has come down. But by enlarge we don’t vie w ourselves as a way to increase or decrease prices, we want to help bring transparency to this sector such that customers are assured that they’re paying a good prices and that the professionals are educated about what the market is going for these days. But we ourselves aren’t trying to move it up or down because we just want to make matches based on what the buyers and sellers want, both of their interests matter to us.Martin: You said that you currently have round about 100 categories or so called sub-markets that you are trying toMarco: Hundreds actually.Martin: Hundreds okay. Are there any other specific markets you think are worthwhile pursuing in terms of matching buyers or sellers, related to those professional services? I suppose that is what you are going after.Marco: So, one big category that we don’t do today is sort of child care. We think that’s one that will be well suited for an online market place in fact there are a few companies doing this, we chose not t o focus on it because it is sort of unique in its sort of demands and sort of needs and that. I think is a big one that we will add at some point but for the time being we’ve got our hands full with all the categories we have so we’re not going to be expanding anytime soon.Martin: I could imagine that the matching process or algorithm in this different sub-market is slightly different for each of the sub-markets. How do you manage this kind of complexity by having different kinds of algorithm?Marco: It’s one that adapts to the local environment, so matching professionals, thinking about sort of distances, travel, there are affects on the local level which really matter. If you are based in New York City, New Jersey is very close but it takes forever to get to, so you’d much rather travel in New York City than across the Hudson into New Jersey. So we have to be smart about these sort of local needs when we match but at the end of the day what we are doing is bringing people t ogether and that is fortunately a generalized solution across all of our categories and across all of our locations.Martin: Great.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS In San Francisco, we talked with entrepreneur Marco Zappacosta, the co-founder CEO of Thumbtack, of about the business model and history of Thumbtack. Furthermore, Marco shares his learnings and advice for young entrepreneurs.The transcript of the interview is included below.INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in San Francisco with Thumbtack. After announcing a big round of financing one month ago we are talking to Marco the founder of Thumbtack. Marco, who are you and what do you do?Marco: So, my name is Marco and Thumbtack helps customers find and hire local professionals. So if you need to paint your house, find a math tutor for your child or a caterer for your event, we are the best way to get introduced to the right professional. And it’s something that we have been working on for the last 5 years.Martin: Can you tell us, what is it like to start a company?Marco: So it’s a very satisfying sort of scene of vision that you had sort of come to life, attracting great people an d working with them to realize that vision. But it’s also fairly stressful because everybody get’s sort of wrapped up in this dream. And it’s hard to realize your dreams and so there is a lot of stress and making sure it’s coming about the right the way and working the way you want it to.Martin: What have been the major obstacles and how did you overcome them?Marco: I’d say there were three major obstacles.The first one was learning to attract customers and professionals, as a market place without that network you really have almost value and so we had to learn how to attract these people to us and do that in a very scalable and repeatable way. That took us a long time to figure out.Then the challenge became, Okay we have a network of customers and professionals, what’s the best way to introduce them such that it gives the customer confidence to hire and it gives the professional a real shot to sort of win the business. And we tried sort of lots of different interphases and had to really learn the right way to bring people together. And that was another big challenge.And then the final one was, how do we sort of layer on our business model on top of these interactions, now we knew how to bring people together, but what was the right thing to charge for, how should we charge, how much should we charge, that also took us quite a bit of time to figure out.So it was probably three and a half years until we had it all figured out and in the last 18 months things have really accelerated because thankfully it worked.Martin: Great and how do you test your hypothesis of how you want to acquire customers or how you want to match the professionals with the customers by not only having incremental improvements but maybe also testing some revolutionary hypothesis?Marco: So I mean, I think there are two answers, one is sort of cultural and organizational and one is tactical.It is very important for the process and the organization to let people take big bets bec ause the truth is you don’t always know what’s going to work. We’ve been surprised many times by things we thought would be great that didn’t work or things that we didn’t think would be that important and turned out to be hugely important. And so you have to sort of organizationally allow for that otherwise you are going to stifle innovation.And then the other question is tactically, actually how do you do it. It’s a scientific method. It’s not new, you have a hypothesis, you run a very controlled test and you measure the results in a statistically sound way and from that you are able to look back and say, ‘Was my hypothesis validated? And did I sort of learn what I thought I was going to learn?’ and then sort of think again and run another one.Martin: What did you do before you started this company?Marco: So I started Thumbtack right after I went to college and so the short answer is not much. But the longer answer is that my co-founder and I during college had s tarted a student advocacy group together. It was non-profit, it was very different then the sort of technology business we’re in today but it was still start up and it was very fun to build something out of nothing and we sort of got hooked on that and decided to do it again and that’s why sort of after graduating I decided to pursue this dream.Martin: But why did you focus on that specific market? What is your relation to that? Why does it motivate you?Marco: So, we did in some ways what you’re not supposed to do which is decide to start-up a company and then go think of an idea. But thankfully, I think we did it in a good way in that we didn’t index on our interest or our passions but instead said, what’s the biggest problem we think we can solve with technology? And we started thinking and looking and what we realized was that there was this gigantic market, this local services market with hundreds of millions of customers, 10 of millions of professionals and it was ver y old. There really hadn’t been much innovation in how they found each other, how they came together, how they worked together and we felt that it was inevitable that technology would help these people. And I think what really motivates me and really I think Thumbtack is that both the macro and the micro of it. The macro of it is a big problem and it’s satisfying to work on sort of big things that can have a huge impact. But then like what really likeâ€"you feel day to day is the stories of impacting individuals, it’s the pest control guy in Brooklyn sending us flowers to say thank you for all the business that we’re now sending him, or the busy mom who is sending pictures of her birthday party that she was able to throw with Thumbtack. That feels great and that’s certainly is a bigger part of the motivation that we all feel.BUSINESS MODELMartin: And you said you tried to change this old model of match making into a new one. Can you tell us in terms of the business model w hat is the innovation behind Thumbtack?Marco: When you think about it, people have been hiring plumbers since plumbing existed, so a long time. And since the dawn of the yellow pages, it’s been very easy to find names and numbers, but that’s only half of the challenge, then you have to figure out which of the these plumbers out of this entire list is available to serve you, what they are going to charge you and how qualified are they to do the job. And to do that today or before Thumbtack was an incredibly manual process. You, the customer, had to call, you had to sort of get quotes, then you had to call their references or sort of see what past work they’d done. And it was immensely time intensive. So instead, we created software to replace that, such that you tell us what you need. As a customer you sort of itemize the project, we package that up, send that to our network of qualified professionals who serve your areas and the ones who are then sort of available and interest ed get introduced directly to you and with that we bring all the reviews, the pictures, the credentials that you need to make a confident hiring decision. And so for the first time, the data that you need, the professionals that you need come to you. And this is much better for the customer obviously and it’s actually much better for the professional as well. If you think about their past in terms of marketing solutions they had, they had the yellow pages, they had things like that but they were always sort of fishing blindly, they just put up an ad and hoped people saw it now we bring them a customer and we say, ‘Hey, there is a customer that is looking for your services in your area, here is what they want, are you interested?’ And they have all the discretion to decide, ‘Okay yeah, this is a great customer, I am free that day’ and at that point they get introduced, so we’ve made it better for both sides and that’s why the model is growing so fast.Martin: And is the service provider only paying for the introduction or really for the closing of the deal.Marco: Yes, they pay for the introduction. Interestingly, we try doing it on a deal, but it actually caused problems because for the professional, there was no fee up front and so they figured, they just respond to everything, even when they weren’t a great a fit. You, the customer, said, ‘I need the plumber to come on Saturday’ and me as a plumber says, ‘Well, I’ll say I can come on Sunday, maybe he’ll change his mind’. But that’s not a great response for you. So we had to change the incentive such that only the professionals who were really motivated to sort of get introduced to that customer were actually the ones who got through and we have to make sure on our end to charge appropriately such that they have a great ROI and they sort of get a lot of value out of Thumbtack.Martin: And how do you analyze this kind of incentive network?Marco: Quantitatively and qualitatively. Ther e is a lot of data that you could look at to understand what are the dynamics at play and how is it evolving and then also you have to listen to the qualitative feedback, talking to professionals, talking to customers, seeing the support tickets that we get to learn, again what’s working and what’s not.CORPORATE STRATEGYMartin: Let’s talk about the corporate strategy. I mean, Thumbtack is some kind of a market place so it’s driven by network effect and effects of scale. What other type of competitive advantage do you want to create or already have compared to other competitors?Marco: So, you are absolutely right that there are network effects at play but in our case there is not just one network. In fact we have as many networks as we have customers because what matters to you as a customer is only the professionals who will come to you. You don’t care about the ones that are 100 of miles away. And so that is the huge challenge with the space is that you have to build loca l networks over and over and over. Our advantage over our competitors is that we’ve created a marketing sort of solution, a way for these professionals to grow their business that is so much better and so obvious that we don’t need a sale force to push it onto them, we certainly buy ads to build awareness of this solution, but they then sign up and it’s totally self serving, we start sending them customers and because of that we’ve been able to reach a scale much faster than really anybody else. We now have more paying professionals than Yelp or Angie’s list and they’ve been at it over a decade each. So that’s really where the advantage comes in, it’s the model that unlocks the growth potential.Martin: Marco, when you started, what was your go to market strategy, did you just expand on local cities, or did you just try to reach more national, or grow several cities at a separate time, or did you take it step by step? How did you do it?Marco: The sort of traditional w ay to do it is city by city and I think that was the advice that we were getting at the time. But the city by city model is expensive. You’re investing a lot of dollars in one city and we honestly did not have that much money to start, so we said, ‘Is there a more scalable way we can do this and what that really means is, is there any software or programmatic way to do it? And that’s what we focused on early on, how can we get these markets going, without a big investment but simply with software to find the right professionals and find the right customers and bring them together. And we found that, it took us a couple of years to figure it all out but that then unlocked the ability to go sort of nationwide very quickly. So we’re already now nationwide, we serve hundreds of categories across all these cities and it’s really sort of the model but also sort of then marketing strategies that allowed that.Martin: Can you a little bit elaborate on how the software that you used works?Marco: So I mean there are a couple of things that you have to do, you have to find professionals, so you have to go out to the web and figure out who is a professional, in what city and what do they do. Then you have to sort of bring them the right customer at the right time and so it’s sort of a matching problem. By doing that, it’s a great way to sort of build a relationship with a professional because we can say, ‘Hey, here is a customer, are you interested? Come to Thumbtack and there’s a lot more like them’. And so it’s really sort of a ‘matching and discovery’ challenge that we’re able to solve programmatically.Martin: Actually, can I imagine it working like this: You have started with a platform, people come to the website, both sides. But when you see, ‘Okay, there is some demands generated but we don’t have the right profession, then we go out there and search the web, contact those guys, sending them emails and say, ‘Okay, we have some kind of demand, would you be interested in this kind of purchase order then register at our platform’.Marco: That’s right.Martin: Okay great.Marco: And these small businesses they all want more customers and so when you bring them one, they are very receptive to that and obviously the onboarding has to work well, the marketing messages has to be correct, but at the end of the day we are bringing them what they want and so that’s a great way to start the relationship.MARKET DEVELOPMENTMartin: When looking at other platforms that are similar but not identically alike, Elance or Odesk, I perceive a very big trend towards lowering prices over there for the offering, what type of trends can you identify on your platform?Marco: So, both Odesk and Elance are virtual marketplace so they source their labor globally and I think there is definitely a sort of downward pressure on price when you are looking at these global markets. On the more localized basis, we don’t see that happening as m uch. There are some industries where the market is expanding tremendously like digital photography, it is much easier to be a photographer today than it was 20 years ago and so the market has gotten a lot bigger and therefore prices has come down. But by enlarge we don’t view ourselves as a way to increase or decrease prices, we want to help bring transparency to this sector such that customers are assured that they’re paying a good prices and that the professionals are educated about what the market is going for these days. But we ourselves aren’t trying to move it up or down because we just want to make matches based on what the buyers and sellers want, both of their interests matter to us.Martin: You said that you currently have round about 100 categories or so called sub-markets that you are trying toMarco: Hundreds actually.Martin: Hundreds okay. Are there any other specific markets you think are worthwhile pursuing in terms of matching buyers or sellers, related to those professional services? I suppose that is what you are going after.Marco: So, one big category that we don’t do today is sort of child care. We think that’s one that will be well suited for an online market place in fact there are a few companies doing this, we chose not to focus on it because it is sort of unique in its sort of demands and sort of needs and that. I think is a big one that we will add at some point but for the time being we’ve got our hands full with all the categories we have so we’re not going to be expanding anytime soon.Martin: I could imagine that the matching process or algorithm in this different sub-market is slightly different for each of the sub-markets. How do you manage this kind of complexity by having different kinds of algorithm?Marco: It’s one that adapts to the local environment, so matching professionals, thinking about sort of distances, travel, there are affects on the local level which really matter. If you are based in New York City, New Jersey is very close but it takes forever to get to, so you’d much rather travel in New York City than across the Hudson into New Jersey. So we have to be smart about these sort of local needs when we match but at the end of the day what we are doing is bringing people together and that is fortunately a generalized solution across all of our categories and across all of our locations.Martin: Great.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURSMartin: Marco, we always try to share some knowledge from entrepreneurs like you to people interested in starting their business. What advice can you give them? Maybe we can start by sharing your advice, dos and don’ts on raising money or managing investor relationships.Marco: Okay. I think one piece of advice with regard to raising money that is important to keep in mind is that every round is a bridge round and it is a bridge to somewhere and the most important thing to articulate is not your past success but what are the milestones that this money is going to take you too and why those milestones are worth achieving. I think people often look backwards when thinking about their pitches, ‘Oh we did this, we accomplished that’ and that’s great but really what investors are looking for and what matters is where you going to get? And why is that somewhere I that I should invest in.Martin: So would you recommend saying, ‘Okay, currently my status is x, like my company valuation is x, by taking your money we will increase more of the equity value or enterprise value’?Marco: Ah, yeah though, I think you have to break it down a little bit more and instead say, ‘Okay, we raised angel money to validate the product and to begin to unlock some sort of growth through a couple of distribution channels. We’ve now proved that and now we are looking to raise a series A to really scale this. And we think if we raise x million dollars we will be able to get to y traction and if we do that puts us in a great place to raise a follow on sort of amount of fundraising’. It’s about getting to a milestone that’s valuable and interesting and sort of articulating that very specifically.Martin: What other advice would you give your friend who is coming to you and saying, ‘I want to start a company’.Marco: I think it’s people should assume it will take a decade. So, when you are thinking about an idea or thinking about working with someone you should ask yourself, is this something I want to work on for a decade? Is this somebody I want to work with for a decade? I think that perspective helps clarify sort of whether things are worthwhile or not because in the moment sure, I can stomach most things but for a decade you have to be very sure. But that’s really the timescale over which these things happen and they don’t happen overnight and you have to have the sort of determination to grind it out over that many years.Martin: That’s right. Thank you very much for your time, Marco.Marco: Alright thank you.Marti n: And next time you’re looking for a job maybe as a service professional, maybe use Thumbtack. Thank you very much.Marco: Good, thank you.Martin: Thank you very much, Marco.

The Age Of Exploration And Its Effects On Economic And...

Summative As European economy grew, and became more reliant on a cash system, replacing the land-based system of feudalism. The power shift is prominent, shifting from the lords and nobles to the merchants of the middle class. The Age of Exploration has provided a framework for economic life around the world for several centuries while also shaping politics, social relations, cultures, and natural environments, changing the very nature of society. Of course the most important aspect of this modernistic convention would most certainly be the newfound relation between, capitalism and globalization and their effects on economic and political power. However some countries succeeded in their endeavour of international trade, while others did not. Europeans constructed and maintained their trade and territorial empires, whether through conquest, centralizing authority, religious conversion, commercial monopolies, or through conflict with other Europeans. Economics seems to be the most significant f actor in the production line of human progress. There has been no event in history that did not involve an aspect of economy. The basis of commerce in the Age of Exploration, led to growth of international trade that would eventually lead to the Industrial revolution. This foundation is heavily reliant on European powers enforcing economic trade around merchant capitalism and the existing monarchy monopolism ideologies.Trade within Europe would continue to facilitate economic growthShow MoreRelatedColonialism has plagued indigenous people worldwide and has spelled disaster for countless800 Words   |  4 Pagesreasons behind exploration and colonization including economic and tactical reasons, religion, and prestige. Colonialism has shaped the contemporary understanding of individuals from Niger as well as other parts of Africa and other places too, like the Chambri and Tlingit people; mainly in economics. Because of the colonial past of so many cultures, numerous indigenous people today face many issues. Today colonialism is still active, known as Neocolonialism, which has devastating effects on global culturalRead MoreThe World War II And The Middle East1332 Words   |  6 PagesFrom the 17th to the 20th centuries, imperialism served a mode of global exploration and expansion of economic, political and religious influence. Glory was at stake; the opportunity to expound upon their influence on the balance of power galvanized most of Europe to explore and colonize Central Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In the period of European imperialism, imperialism served as conveyer of status and power in world affairs; the more imperialist territory, a more powerful nationRead MoreThe First Humans Were Hunter Gatherers907 Words   |  4 Pagesreplaced by capitalism an economic and political system. Over time the industrial revolution transformed capitalist nations from agriculture to industrial nations. Throughout history countries have wanted to control l ands beyond their borders and a new practice named colonialism give Europeans full or partial political power over countries they occupied, or settled in the â€Å"Age of exploration.† The feudal system is often referred to as Europe Dark Ages or Middle Ages. During the feudal system smallRead MoreEmergence of the Modern World1842 Words   |  7 Pagesof grand investigation and discoveries, religious and political havocs, and astonishing literature. Europes overland trade routes to the East had been blocked by 14th century due to the disintegration of the Mongol empire and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Thus began the Age of Discovery with the search for new trade routes, the rise of merchant capitalism, and the desire to exploit the potential of a global economy (exploration, 2012). Several voyages were initiated along the AfricanRead More China and Japan Essay1013 Words   |  5 Pagesand economy in China and Japan throughout the historical period up till date. In his words, he describes â€Å"religion as an extremely political force† (Dubois, 2011, pp. 7-16). As various religions were introduced, it shaped the politics of leaders as most of them saw it as an avenue to impose their religion on the citizens. In all, religion invented political and economic stabilities and instabilities in various dynasties throughout Japan and China Ming China also known as â€Å"Great Ming† Reigned inRead MoreThe Space Race 792 Words   |  3 Pagesand extend their biosphere. This age is filled with technological advancement. The space race gave the ability for a new age of technological advancements to occur. Almost every technological device that is produced or owned by people in the 21st century world contains technology that was invented or derived from the space race. Technology is the product of modernization and industrialization. Society is forced to make adjustments in social, economic and political institutions as humans continueRead MoreAn Exploration Of The Great Dictator1354 Words   |  6 Pages Running head: AN EXPLORATION OF THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) 1 AN EXPLORATION OF THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) 2 An Exploration of Charlie Chaplin s Influences, Symbolism, and Use of Sound in The Great Dictator (1940) Vincent G. Foisy Cleveland State University. An Exploration of Charlie Chaplin?s Influences, Symbolism, and Use of Sound in The Great Dictator (1940) In the early 1900?s, Charlie Chaplin became one of the most famous filmmakers in American history. His clumsyRead MoreThe New World During The European Age Of Exploration Essay1615 Words   |  7 Pagesthe European Age of Exploration. It is considered just a subsection of the Columbian Exchange (a term coined by Alfred Crosby as well), which denotes the exchange of a number of varied items between Europe and the New World after 1492, including infectious diseases like smallpox, chicken pox, the plague, yellow fever, and the flu (Marr, Cathey 2010), but it seems that it could be and vital aspect of understanding how Europe and America existed and developed during the Age of Exploration, how theyRead MoreThe Role Of Gender During The Renaissance Period1466 Words   |  6 PagesEuropean history was the Renaissance period, which took place between 1300-1700. The term Renaissance stands for ‘rebirth’, and in this context refers to the increased interest that was taken in learning from Greek and Roman classical writing. Recent exploration by historians into the Renaissance period has seen a fixation on the discussion of the role of gender during the Renaissance. A variety of historians, such as Joan Kelly and Merry E. Weisner, believe that women didn’t experience any form of a RenaissanceRead MoreImpact Of Globalisation On The Way The Business Operate854 Words   |  4 Pages has profound impacts on the environment, culture, political systems, economic developments, prosperity and human physical well-being in the societies around the world. It is believed that for thousands of years, the process of cross cultural buying and selling of goods among people has been continuing in the lands at great distances. Such as through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia that connected China and Europe during the Middle Ages. In a similar manner, for centuries, people and organisations

The seven Jews celebrate seven important holidays...

The seven Jews celebrate seven important holidays throughout the year. These holidays represent occasions where God steered the Jews down the right path. These holidays include Shabbat, Purim, Passover, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashana, and Shavuot. These holidays come around every year. They all involve their own ceremonies and customs. Jews all around the world take part in the festivities. More importantly, these holidays depict how and why people of Jewish value these celebrations. First, the Sabbath which is a day of resting, it is an essential factor to relinquish your inner spirit or soul. Sabbath is the most recognized Jewish holiday but people lack the understanding of the holiday, thinking it is just a day for prayer and†¦show more content†¦Purim is celebrated on the 14th day of Adar which was the day the Jewish people celebrated their survival of Haman’s extermination. For the cities that were walled in the time of Joshua it is celebrated on the 15th , because in the book of Esther a wall city (Shushan) the message of the deliverance of the extermination did not reach until the day after. The Purim holiday is followed by a fast, the fast honors Esthers three days of fasting in preparation to be summoned by the king and tell him Haman’s plan. The commandment of the holiday is to hear the reading of the Book of Esther. Pesach also known as Passover in English is a common Jewish holiday the permits the eating of Chametz that has not touched water in the last 18 minutes. Chametz are the five major grains which are wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt. The reason for this is because when the Jewish people left Egypt they did not have time to allow their bread to rise which is symbolism for removing the â€Å"puffiness† or pride from our souls. The holiday is so strict that you may not own Chametz or anything with the five grains, you may not feed it to pets and or cattle, and derive benefit from it. People go as far ass r idding their house of chametz several weeks before Pesach, cleaning stoves, scrubbing their fridge, and cleansing anything that has come in contact with food. Some Jewish people criticizeShow MoreRelatedChristianity, Judaism, And Islam1683 Words   |  7 Pagesfactor in the development of the world throughout the course of time. Religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have been the major players in the development. These religions impacted the world and future development through their holidays, foods, and through their sports.The future of the world was shaped around these three religions and more is yet to come. They impacted the world in many ways, but there were certain things like all the different holidays and the different cultures that wereRead MoreIssues and Traditions of Western Religions Essay2454 Words   |  10 Pagesthat concerns them as well as their beliefs and characteristics, and most important specific traditions that define each religion. No matter if i t is Judaism, Christianity or Muslim, taking a closer look at their beliefs can help understand their faith and culture. Concerning Issues Religions are not perfect and worry free. They all have issues that are of great concern to them. For as long as one can remember, Jews always have been in conflict with the Palestinians. Although this has beenRead MoreThe Israelites Worship And Prayer1373 Words   |  6 Pagesthe transference of property from the profane to the sacred realm. People living in Israel were farmers and herders so people tended to think of gifts for God in agricultural terms, livestock and crops, but the death of animals itself was not as important as its sacrifice of its life carrying blood. Sacrifices like these were seen as a sign of peace and loyalty, but could also be for a sin offering. People wanted Yahweh to forgive them for their mistakes and wanted to offer a sacrifice in order toRead MoreUnitarian Universalism2027 Words   |  9 PagesUnitarian Universalism. The religion is very much theologically liberal and it is supported by the notion that a free and responsible search for truth and meaning is important. Unitarian Universalist is a liberal religion that encompasses many faiths. Unitarian Universalists include people that identify themselves as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, and Humanists to name a few. According to Rev. Marta Flanagan (2007), We uphold the free search for truth. We willRead MoreTheology World Religions Vocabulary Essay1919 Words   |  8 PagesShaman – a ritual specialist trained in the use of visions, ecstatic trances, and out-of-body travel to communicate with the gods on behalf of the community; the term was borrowed from the Tungus people of Siberia. Sun dance – one of the most important rituals of people of the Great Plains and northern Rockies. Syncretism – the blending of elements from two or more religious traditions; use of the term is often negative, suggesting contamination of a â€Å"pure† religion under the influence of aRead MoreEssay on America’s Schools Need Character Education5183 Words   |  21 Pageswhite Protestant male’s vision of history and view of the world tends to be placed into the text -books and overall teachings of public schools in the United States. A very real example of this bias can be seen in the teaching of Thanksgiving. A holiday celebrated universally through all religions gives educators in public schools the opportunity to discuss and rejoice in the day with classroom activities and parties. Neglected from the Thanksgiving lesson, however, is the plight of the Native AmericanRead MoreThe Ballad of the Sad Cafe46714 Words   |  187 PagesWithout Hands have won her comparison with such diverse masters as Melville, Flaubert and Faulkner -- which is to say: no critic has succeeded in easily capsulizing the full dimensions of her talent. Perhaps none of her works more brilliantly represents the variety and richness of her art than The Ballad of the Sad Cafà ©. In the already classic novella of the title, and in the tales which accompany it, the genius of Carson McCullers shines forth vividly -- and unforgettably. Contents Read MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 PagesCulture Bearers is that it correctly traces the connection between the emergence of Rastafarianism and the history of resistance and black consciousness that has been part of the Jamaican experience for years. The truth is that there has always been a committed Jamaican counter- culture that celebrates and sees redemption in Africa and rejects the European values that have oppressed a society. But prior to the advent of popular culture and especially the music recording business in the late twentieth Read MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesControl Scale 52 Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale 54 Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES) 56 SKILL LEARNING 57 Key Dimensions of Self-Awareness 57 The Enigma of Self-Awareness 58 The Sensitive Line 58 Understanding and Appreciating Individual Differences Important Areas of Self-Awareness 61 Emotional Intelligence 62 Values 65 Ethical Decision Making and Values 72 Cognitive Style 74 Attitudes Toward Change 76 Core Self-Evaluation 79 SKILL ANALYSIS 84 Cases Involving Self-Awareness 84 Communist Prison Camp 84Read MoreI Love Reading Essay69689 Words   |  279 PagesL.N. Sarma at the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) in Hyderabad and Ms. Usha Nagaraj at Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) in Bangalore. NKC would also like to thank the other i mportant stakeholders – the ï ¬ nancial community, including angel investors and venture capitalists, educational institutions, incubation centres, business associations and other relevant institutions as well as various entrepreneurial networks – for sharing

The NYU scholarship on public health graduate program Free Essays

I am pleased to apply for the NYU scholarship on public health graduate program. Since learning is a continuous lifetime process, I always wanted to gain knowledge of something innovative that will make me a better, rational and worthy person. To complement with the dynamic changes of society and provide the high-end demands of daily life, every individual who thirsts for knowledge of information needs further studies in order to sustain such changes and demands. We will write a custom essay sample on The NYU scholarship on public health graduate program or any similar topic only for you Order Now I deem that I will learn about the world’s philosophies and applications in adaptation of its very nature and its elements in connection to International Business and Management geared towards health care. My career objectives in taking up advance study in this field are to become a competent and knowledgeable person when it comes to governance and to learn more for the purpose of service. With the learning experiences that I will acquire in the University, I will be able to materialize all my intentions in serving other people especially those who are in need. I believe that my training and experiences have prepared me for this kind of task since I consider myself result-oriented with a strong entrepreneurship background. My passion for healthcare management has led me towards the publication of a self-motivational weight-loss book called, â€Å"Kimchi Diet.† Together with these skills, I have further honed my knowledge in the area of driving business process, qualitative and quantitative market research and customer service improvements. As a Hospital Strategic Planner, I have achieved significant results related to promoting the growth of the group to where I belong, developing innovative curriculum for effective new staff training thereby increasing overall client volume. In the same vein, I have incorporated my skills in designing and implementing E-commerce sites and web portals in HR communication when I worked at The Gillette Company in Boston Massachusetts. While there, I developed Content Management System for various web projects within the company. I am positive that the innate leadership and powerful drive for service within me will be developed while I am in the institution. I bequeath my humblest leadership, dedication and school spirit for the quest of knowledge. With the acquired knowledge I will have, I am certain to elevate and make better changes in human life not only in the campus but in the community where I belong and intend to serve. My optimism will help bring understanding and wisdom to the all people who need my assistance and service. I want to extend my help to other students in integrating their interests in global, regional and current issues. Through my own dealings of life over the years and a handful of experiences in and out of the four-corners of the classroom, I have grown to be a more responsible and mature person. Indeed, acquiring training in Public Heath Graduate Program will be the first step that I need to take to be able to accomplish my goals. I believe this program will help eager and zealous students like me with its curriculum possessing local and international focus and commitment for excellence. The program is what I need to develop a fuller understanding about the dynamic nature of public health. How to cite The NYU scholarship on public health graduate program, Papers

Index Investing and Commodity Futures †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Index Investing and Commodity Futures. Answer: Development and explanation of the recommended investment strategy for the client: The overall research philosophy mainly complies with the requirements of the investors, who are focused in making investments in Australian equity market with adequate measures. Furthermore, the investment strategy also holds relative feature such as average returns to identify the overall adequate stocks for investment. The overall usage of technical analysis is mainly conducted in the overall investment strategy, as it helps in identifying the relevant stocks, which have provided adequate returns from 2010 to 2017. In this context, Berndt, Bilolo and Meynhardt (2015) mentioned that investors with the help of technical analysis are able to pinpoint trend of the company, which could help in making adequate investment decisions. On the other hand, Barton (2017) argued that technical analysis mainly loses its friction, when adequate analysis is not been conducted by the investor. The investment philosophy also addresses US stocks, as one of the ideal investment strategy. The economic movement after the selection of Donald Trump has rapidly in client in US, which is directly seen through rising stock market. This could eventually help investors to generate higher return from investments in the US economy. Therefore the portfolio consists of 20% of US stocks enlisted in Australia. Furthermore, investments are directly conducted on large cap stocks which are enlisted on top 100 stocks in ASX. The use of large caps mainly insures liquidity in this stock if any problem arises in near future. Blume and Keim (2014) stated that use of high volume stocks mainly allows organisations to quickly sell of their investments if the prediction is not conducted accurately. However, Betermier, Calvet, and Sodini (2017) mentioned that growth prospects in low cap stocks are relevantly higher, as it has higher risk and provides higher return from investment. Furthermore, the investment philosophy also includes the use of hedging, which will allow the portfolio to adhere the risk from Australian capital market. Hedging process allows investors to reduce the rising risk, which is portrayed by an investment in both short and long term. This allows the Investors to adequately reduce risk from the portfolio and attain higher return from investment. Thus, by using technical analysis process investors could adequately identify stocks that could generate high return from investments. However, alternative strategy could also be adopted by the investor such as fundamental analysis, which could help in identifying the overall financial capability of the organisation providing the relevant returns in future. Construction and representation of the recommended investment portfolio: Appendix 1 mainly represents constructed investment portfolio, which could be used by the investor to increase its overall return from investments. The constructed portfolio mainly consists of all the requirements that is portrayed by the investor and complies with all the restrictions for formulating the portfolio. Furthermore, portfolio is divided into 5 sections, which comprises of Australian equities, us equity fund, International investment, cash and hedging. The 5 sections mainly help in getting the overall return from investments. However, the use of hedging section could eventually allow the investments in portfolio to be protected from adverse capital market movement. Moreover, Appendix 1 adequately depicts the investments in Australian equities, which could allow the investor to invest in the Australian market. The proportion of investment value is mainly restricted to 10% of the allocated portfolio value of 800,000 to the Australian equity. Therefore, 10 Australian Equity stocks were chosen that was used in creating the overall portfolio Australian stocks. However, due to the restrictions of capital asset allocations only 80,000 values was granted for it stocks. In this context, Bodie, Kane and Marcus (2014) stated that diversified portfolio mainly allows investors to reduce the risk from investment and increase its return. On the other hand, Fitzgibbons et al. (2016) argued that investors with vast diversified portfolio are not able to provide the returns provided from a particular investment, as losses and profits are being conducted simultaneously. In addition, the second division of the portfolio mainly consists of US equities, which comprises 10% of the overall portfolio. This mainly indicates that investment in US securities is conducted with an overall value of 200,000. However there is no segregation or restriction that is imposed on investing in US equities.Therefore, 40% of segregated value is mainly transferred to 'BetShares SP 500, while 10% of the value is transferred to 'BetShares US Dollar and the rest 50% is transferred to iShares SP 500. According to Houweling and Van Zundert (2017), US economy after selection of Donald Trump as President has relatively boosted due to his views on capitalism and growth in business sector. International investment section is also conducted in a Portfolio, which comprises of 20% of the overall portfolio value that is 400,000. However the restrictions on the oval investments that could be conducted on shares with international linkage, which is why the highest return provider is mainly chosen from them slot. Therefore, with the use of appendix 1 relevant share that needs to be evaluated can be identified. McCann (2014) stated that investments conducted based on technical analysis allows investors to predict the trend and make adequate returns from investment. On the contrary, Meade and Beasley (2014) argued that investment conducted without adequate hedging procedures or measures could hamper the investment capital. The second last portfolio section comprises of the hedging measure, which is only conducted due to the requirements portrayed by the investor. Moreover, 21% of the total portfolio value is contributed towards the hedging processes, which are 424,725. The hedging process is mainly conducted on SPI 200 Futures Contract, which is mainly used to hedge shares of the Australian share market. This could eventually help in reducing the risk that might affect capability of the portfolio to generate adequate returns from investment. In this context, Nofsinger (2016) stated that the use of hedging process allows investors to reduce the risk from capital market volatility, which could hamper returns of the portfolio. On the other hand, Pappas and Dickson (2015) argued that without adequate research investing further in risky investments could increase losses of the investor. The last section of the portfolio mainly consists of cash reserve balance, which needs to be maintained by investor for smoothly conducting investments in different sectors. The section also consists of two subdivisions, which are AMP Cash Manager Cash Management Account and Margin movements of Hedges. Therefore, investments in AMP Cash Manager Cash Management Account are conducted, where a return of 1.50% per annum is fixed. The cash management is relevantly adequate, as investors need to understand the trend and meet adequate investment decisions which could hedge their exposure in the market. Stoll and Whaley (2015) stated that cash reserves mainly allow investors to comprehend the changing investment environment and make adequate decisions, which could protect them from volatile condition. Explanation and justification for the various components in the investment portfolio: The overall components that is been used in drafting the portfolio mainly allowed the investor to generate adequate returns from its investment. According to appendix to 2, returns provided from each of the portfolio stock is recorded, which helps in identifying the total returns that is generated from the investment. Total of 1.67% return is mainly generated from an investment period of 10-07-17 to 10-08-17. This specified time interval mainly helps in identifying significance of the overall portfolio that has been created for the investor. Investor being bullish on US stocks faces the maximum loss on that investment.Nevertheless, the other loss on investment mainly came from the hedging procedure, which was conducted for the Australian shares. However, after the evaluation it is understood that the overall value of the portfolio mainly rose from 2,000,000 to 2,002,790.04 in the brief period of 1 month. This only indicates the overall viability of the portfolio and the measures that were taken to adequately formulate portfolio creation. Therefore, the components used in the formation of the portfolio are mainly justified, which adequately allowed investor to increase its return from investment. Furthermore, the use of technical analysis in the creation of the portfolio also allows the investor to adequately identify stocks that might provide highest return from investment. However, there are certain problems regarding investments conducted in US and international equities, as they are not hedged and the risk from those capital markets could hamper overall portfolio value. Hence, adequate measures need to be conducted on each of the investments, which are depicted in the portfolio. Reference: Barton, D., 2017. Refocusing capitalism on the long term: ownership and trust across the investment value chain.Oxford Review of Economic Policy,33(2), pp.188-200. Berndt, T., Bilolo, C. and Meynhardt, T., 2015. Investing in Legitimacy: A Performance Analysis of Public Value Stock Portfolios. Betermier, S., Calvet, L.E. and Sodini, P., 2017. Investors striking migration from growth to value investing over their life cycle.LSE Business Review. Blume, M.E. and Keim, D.B., 2014. The changing nature of institutional stock investing.Critical Finance Review,7. Bodie, Z., Kane, A. and Marcus, A.J., 2014.Investments, 10e. McGraw-Hill Education. Fitzgibbons, S., Friedman, J., Pomorski, L. and Serban, L., 2016. Long-Only Style Investing: Don't Just Mix, Integrate. Houweling, P. and Van Zundert, J., 2017. Factor investing in the corporate bond market.Financial Analysts Journal,73(2), pp.100-115. McCann, B., 2014.Tactical Portfolios: Strategies and Tactics for Investing in Hedge Funds and Liquid Alternatives. John Wiley Sons. Meade, N. and Beasley, J.E., 2014. Consistency Regions and Frontiers: Using Density Forecasting to Find Consistent Portfolios. Nofsinger, J., 2016.The psychology of investing. Routledge. Pappas, S.N. and Dickson, J.M., 2015. Factor-based investing.Valley Forge, Pa.: The Vanguard Group. Stoll, H.R. and Whaley, R.E., 2015. Commodity index investing and commodity futures prices.

Marks Spencer Operations Management Essay Example

Marks Spencer Operations Management Essay The Company- A journey from cave to modern civilized societies, Marks and Spencer from a single market stall to a giant international multi-channel retailer has travelled over 129 years to establish its deep roots all over the world with 766 UK and 418 international stores. Marks and Spencer stores are spread over 50 territories worldwide employing almost 82000 people. Marks and Spencer is a general retailer that sells clothes, gifts, home furnishings and foods. The UK turnover is split between Food (54%) and General Merchandise (46%). Marks and Spencer acknowledges the fact that consumer is the real king of market. This can be drawn from its founding values which consist of Quality, Value, Service, Innovation and Trust; it also assures to work hard to ensure its offer continues to be relevant to its customers. The vision and mission of the company is to be the standard against which others are measured and to make aspirational quality accessible to all. This suggests that ‘Quality’ is at the heart of Marks and Spencer’s operations strategy (Marks and Spencer, 2013). International Expansion: Mamp;S has a clear and targeted strategy for its international growth. Henceforth it continues to build more new stores to expand in key locations across its priority markets, employing a mix of ownership models including partnerships and franchises (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Operations Strategy- An Overview- We will write a custom essay sample on Marks Spencer Operations Management specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Marks Spencer Operations Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Marks Spencer Operations Management specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Operations Strategy Perspective: The operations activities are aimed to achieve operations strategy of the business. Marks and Spencer’s operations management activities ensure that all its products are of high quality and the stores are located in the most convenient locations. This reflects that the operations strategy of Marks and Spencer is of a ‘top-down’ perspective where the business wants its operations to provide quality products with an easy access to all. The Top-down Strategy Hierarchy: Corporate Strategy: Mamp;S aims to be the world’s most sustainable retailer. Its eco and ethical programme, is at the very heart of how they do business. Mamp;S also aims to be a truly international, multi-channel retailer which can be accessible to even more customers around the globe (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Business Strategy: Mamp;S is reaching more customers across the new and existing markets through its online development. In order to dominate the competition, Mamp;S has facilitated its customers with ‘free next day delivery’ to its stores. Moreover, Mamp;S has also developed i-phone application to carry out its sales via mobile phones. Mamp;S has also encouraged the online sales to make it more convenient for its customers to shop with them (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Functional Strategy: Improved navigation, greater choice, exclusive ranges and offers have boosted the online sales by 16. 6% in 2013. The recent performance of the technology depicts that i-phone application has increased the sales via mobile phones by 200% this year. To carry out its operations efficiently, Mamp;S has developed a fully mechanised 900,000 square feet e-commerce distribution centre which is the UK’s largest. It has the capacity to process and ship up to a million products per week to customers’ homes and Mamp;S stores across the country (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Store Layout: Mamp;S has revamped its visual merchandising and window displays to do a better job of showcasing its products. The different fashion brand such as Per Una, Autograph, Indigo, Classic, North Coast, Blue Harbour, Cellezione and its core Mamp;S Man and Woman will have dedicated ‘shop in shop’ area so that the in-store environment communicates each brand’s distinctive values. In the food department, Mamp;S has refreshed the shelving with wood effect shelf edges to look less like a supermarket and more like a specialist (Baker, 2011). Mamp;S store is therefore a mix of functional and fixed position layout type where general merchandise and food department operates in a functional layout type and the restaurant being the fixed position layout type. Technology: Mamp;S understands the growing importance and contribution of strong IT function to operate efficiently in the multi channel world. The role of technology is changing at Mamp;S and as a result changing the company itself. Marks amp; Spencer rolls out ePLUM Enterprise Scale Manager from Invatron Systems Corp. to 37 of its European stores to centrally manage its in-store deli and bakery department scales. ePLUM Enterprise Scale Manager is a multi- vendor, multilingual, web- enabled solution that provides retailers with centralized control of in- store scales and printers accessible from any computer in the enterprise; this makes the operations much efficient and fast (Anon. , 2013). The internal team of software engineers of the company are developing new IT driven customer innovation projects that include 156 screens dubbed ‘Browse and Order’ – in store terminals where customers can buy Mamp;S’s entire online range across 63 stores. Moreover, Mamp;S has equipped 1500 customer assistants with i-pads to enable them to demonstrate to the customers, the store’s full range of the products, its availability and its sizes. The client- facing technology of Mamp;S includes virtual makeover counters, which allow customers to see how they would look on applying certain beauty products. On developing bid data strategy, Mamp;S will be able to drive its profitability and improve marketing and promotions by using data insights smartly. This technology will enable Mamp;S to send specific e-mails regarding promotions and offers to its customers based on their purchase history rather than sending bulk e-mails to all its customers which is of no relevance (Stein, 2013). All these advancements by the IT team of Mamp;S are aimed at encouraging customers to use technology to spend more money at Mamp;S. Supply Chain Management: It is very crucial for every business to have a strong supply chain network in order to satisfy its customers before the competitors do. Mamp;S though being one of the UK’s largest retailers is criticised by its Finance Director, Alan Stewart for under investing infrastructure for upwards of 20 years. He further adds that the way the company buys and distributes its clothing is inappropriate. Shoppers may be looking for the latest looks and demanding new ideas in stores and online every few weeks, but Mamp;S takes two to three weeks just to transport goods from UK ports to its stores. This is where Mamp;S is losing its competitive edge in the market because the other retailers have hi-tech systems to track stock. For example, one of the rival retailers, Hamp;M boasts that it can get designs from the drawing board to the store in a fortnight, while Mamp;S takes longer than that just to get its merchandise from the ports to its shops (Butler, 2013). For the businesses like Mamp;S where the life span of a product is very short- clothes due to change in fashion and food due to expiry, the business must develop strong bonds and ties with its suppliers. In order to increase the ability to respond quickly to the ever changing needs of customers, Marks and Spencer should work closely with its suppliers and integrate the supply chain so that both Marks and Spencer and its suppliers are working towards the same business objectives. Hence, there will be a win – win situation for both Mamp;S and its suppliers which will increase the operations efficiency and enable them meeting the market requirements on time. Logistics: Gist has a long history providing logistic operations for Marks and Spencer. Gist manages 100% of the storage and distribution of Marks and Spencer food products to their 700 plus stores, 24 hours a day and 7 day a week. Warehouses across the UK are operated by Gist employees who receive and pick store orders and then distribute to Marks and Spencer stores, including Simply Food, throughout the UK and Ireland, covering all their high street, forecourt and out-of-town stores (Gist, 2013). Outsourcing its storage and distribution would make Marks and Spencer’s logistics much faster and this will increase its efficiency in delivery to customers, increased sales and high customer satisfaction. Inventory Management: Inventory planning and control is an important aspect of operations management. In a market, customers demand certain quantity of products and services at a particular time. The role of operations is to supply and deliver the required quantity of products and services when demanded. Marks and Spencer in February 2013 was caught of having shortage in the stock of winter coats and woollens due to cold snap. The Chief Executive of Mamp;S, Marc Bolland said that Mamp;S sold 100,000 cardigans and jumpers from its core Mamp;S Woman collection in the fourth quarter but could have sold three times that number. Bolland insisted that the weakness was not down to having wrong fashions in its shops but there was just not enough stock of the right ones. The majority of Mamp;S’s knitwear is being made in Asia. Therefore, Mamp;S was unable to repeat orders fast enough and thus failed to meet the market demand (Wood, 2012). The above instance demonstrates the importance of demand forecasting in managing the inventory which was missing in this case. In a multi-echelon inventory system, effective communication between the different echelons is of high importance to deliver the products at a rapid pace. Mamp;S could have succeeded in minimising some of its losses had there been more flexibility in the supply chain and latest requirement updates in the inventories. Mamp;S Inventory and Technology: Marks and Spencer has chosen Quantum Retail technology, ‘Q’ to improve inventory management. This technology is able to forecast and make inventory decisions in real time while considering both inter-day and intra-day stocking. Quantum Retail’s software solution, Q manages the end-to-end inventory forecasting, replenishment and order planning needs (Quantum Retail, 2010). Quality Management: Mamp;S operates rigorous Quality Management Systems which have been developed with its suppliers. To ensure total quality, the systems operate on a precautionary principle and are supported by a range of on-site audits and product testing. Further, Mamp;S also ensures that its suppliers meet a range of quality, safety, environmental and social standards (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Mamp;S is renowned for its ‘quality and innovation’ and is often appraised by its customers for providing quality worth every penny spent at Mamp;S. The customers expect the best from Mamp;S products but recently, Mamp;S was in headlines for selling low quality and cheap clothing products. Fashion watchers, rivals and its customers insisted Mamp;S to abandon this practice. One of the rival retailers suggested Mamp;S that it should be aiming to be a premium brand rather than trying to compete on price (Watkins, at el. 2013). The company should stick to its set objectives and design its day to day operations in such a way that it leads to achieving its long term goals. The mission of the company is to provide aspirational quality that is available to all. The above discussed case is a clear case of Mamp;S’s deviation from its long term goals. To rectify this error, Mamp;S should rediscuss its company objectives and strategies with its suppliers to ensure guaranteed and rapid recovery. Plan A and Sustainable Operations: Mamp;S aims to become the world’s most sustainable retailer. Its eco and ethical programme is at the very heart of how Mamp;S carries out its business. Mamp;S claims to make its business sustainable by integrating Plan A into every aspect of its operations- including the products that they evelop and sell, the stores that they rebuild or refit and the way they work with their suppliers and engage its employees. Plan A’s success lies in its innovative thinking and ideas. With the help of Plan A Innovation Fund, Mamp;S has launched a number of promising projects. These projects include ideas for developing more sustainable clothing fabrics, original thinking about ways to improve labour standards in t heir supply chains and a joint project with the Natural Environment Research Council to improve the way they share knowledge and work with its suppliers (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Plan A Activities: CO2 Neutral Mamp;S is proud to be certified as CarbonNuetral  ® Company across its operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Mamp;S also encourages its suppliers to reduce the greenhouse gas emission through actively developing various programmes aimed at this (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Zero Waste to Landfill Besides this, Mamp;S continue to work for reducing the amount of waste produced within its business. Mamp;S successfully fulfilled its commitment of sending no waste to landfill from its UK stores, offices, warehouses and construction activities (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Corporate Social Responsibilities: The Britain’s retailer has always cared about environment and society. Mamp;S knows that many of its customers as well do care about the environmental and social issues. So, it is of no surprise that Mamp;S customers donated a total of 3. 8 million clothes items through its Shwopping Scheme which raised ? 2. 3 million for Oxfam (Marks and Spencer, 2013). CSR activities at Mamp;S: Breakthrough Breast Cancer: The Company also carried out campaigns for raising money for Breast Cancer donations. Mamp;S has now generated ? 9 million for Breakthrough Breast Cancer in 12 years (Marks and Spencer, 2013). Big Beach clean – up: In April 2013, around 5000 customers and 4000 Mamp;S employees worked with the Marine Conservation Society at over 160 beaches, riversides and canals, cleaning, clearing enough rubbish to fill 4000 recycle bin bags (Marks and Spencer, 2013). These activities suggest that Mamp;S has always taken very hands on approach towa rds its corporate social responsibilities. Recommendations: Customer Satisfaction – It is very necessary for Marks and Spencer to maintain high quality standards in all their products. The prices of the Mamp;S products are usually higher than that of its rival companies such as Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s in food and Primark and Debenhams in clothing. Therefore, Mamp;S needs to ensure that all its products are of high quality because their customers are paying that extra amount in hope that the products will be of a better quality than other rival retailers. The hidden benefit for Mamp;S satisfying its customers is reduced complaints and therefore less service costs of paying an employee to find out the cause of the issue and fix it. This will increase customers’ loyalty towards Mamp;S which would lead to positive word of mouth publicity to the potential customers. Supplier Satisfaction: It is Mamp;S’s best interests to keep their suppliers happy by paying them enough and on time. This would make its suppliers feel like a part of Mamp;S and would be encouraged to work keeping in mind the needs and objectives of Mamp;S. By working more closely with its suppliers, Mamp;S can ensure that their products are of great quality standards are delivered on time with no or less troubles. Word Count: 2431 References: * Mamp;S, 2013. Company Overview. [online]Available at: lt;http://corporate. marksandspencer. com/aboutus/company_overviewgt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Mamp;S, 2013. Our Plan. [online] Available at: lt;http://corporate. marksandspencer. com/aboutus/our_plangt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Baker, R. , 2011. Marketing Week, Mamp;S outlines new store strategy for brands, [online] Available at: lt;http://www. marketingweek. co. uk/ms-outlines-new-store-strategy-for-brands/3030044. articlegt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. Anon. , 2013. Marks amp; Spencer rolls out ePLUM Enterprise Scale Manager from Invatron Systems Corp. to 37 of its European stores. Invantron Systems Corp. , [blog] 2013, Available at: lt;http://www. invatron. com/blog/main/press-releases/marks-spencer-rolls-out-eplum-enterprise-scale-manager-from-invatron-systems-corp-to-37-of-its-european-stores/gt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Stein, D. , 2013. CIO Interview: Darrel Stein, IT director, Marks and S pencer Interviewed by Angelica Mari , [online] on Computer Weekly. Available at: lt;http://www. computerweekly. com/news/2240179873/CIO-interview-Darrell-Stein-IT-director-Marks-and-Spencergt; , 20 March 2013, 17:15. * Butler, S. , 2013. Mamp;S boss under pressure amid race to upgrade supply chain. The Guardian, [online] 10 May 2013. Available at: lt;http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2013/may/10/marks-and-spencer-marc-bolland-technologygt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Gist, 2011. Marks and Spencer Excellence in food logistics. [online] Available at: lt;http://www. gistworld. om/en-gb/customers/case-studies/marks-spencer/gt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Wood, Z. , 2012. Mamp;S admits womenswear stock shortages hit sales. The Guardian, [online] 17 April 2012. Available at: lt;http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2012/apr/17/marks-spencer-womenswear-stock-shortagesgt; [Accessed 03 July 2013]. * Quantum Retail, 2010. Marks amp; Spencer Selects Quantum Retail to Improve Inventory Management. [online] Available at: lt; http://quantumretail. com/2010/01/0 5/marks-spencer-selects-quantum-retail-to-i

Essay on The art educationEssay Writing Service

Essay on The art educationEssay Writing Service Essay on The art education Essay on The art educationThe art education began in the late 19th century and, since then, has become really important in our society. A lot of parents suggest their children to start learning art at preschool because art education becomes an inseparable part of education.   People learn art at school, also outside school, no matter in which country they   are. I, for example, have been at art since preschool: my parents used to send me to Art Education School every week because they thought art would train child’s attention and focus. Also, since preschool I have never given up art till the present moment. I have had lots of experience connected with art because I attended art school and I’m really interesting in art.Due to the course of Art Education I have been acquainted with an artist called Stuart Werle, who teaches Design class in Ontario College of Art and Design. He’s a great designer of packaging design and also a good teacher to share his experien ce on his subject. One of his first lectures Stuart began with some funny jokes to â€Å"break the ice† between him and students. As a result, the students got relaxed and got ready for the class. Then, he started from the schedule of the day, introduction of the plan for that period. It was the following: 1) checking the attendance, 2) discussion of the assignment, 3) lecture, and, at the end, 4) one-to-one discussion.Good organization of the timetable for the art education is important, and art educator must   prepare well for the lectures before the class. Art educator, Stuart usually passes away the attendant sheet to let student sign in their names. In my opinion, passing around the attendants’ sheet allows the students to have more freedom to attend this course or not, and it is a good way to start the class. One of Stuart’s techniques in teaching is his introduction of the assignment: he discusses the assignment using a projector. He reads the assignmen t thoroughly by himself and explains the text of the assignment in detail, then hands out the assignment sheet making sure each student understands the content of the assignment. After discussion of the assignment, the educator has a lecture on packaging design and its correlation to business. He describes how important the interaction between packaging design and business is. He does not stand up while holding the class, he sits at the computer behind the projector. I think this position is good, as he is able to control the PowerPoint presentation, however, when he wants to share his own experience and opinion, he would stand up and use gesticulation to make the lecture more interesting and impressive. â€Å"Teaching is a performance art. Teachers do many things whose only purpose is to enable other people to learn, whether those people are physically present or otherwise. â€Å" (Introduction, Theory, Practice, the element of teaching   23), Using body language while sharing some experience or opinion represents the art of performance. It works because the body gesture catches every student’s attention.During his lecture time, Stuart likes to give an example to let the students think on it.   He usually prepares a real study case of the brand for the packaging design. For example, he lists the brief model of the pop tart to teenagers, analyzes business peculiarities of the brand and asks students the questions related to the brand. Of course, Stuart will answer the question at the end of the discussion. At the end of the lecture, Stuart asks students to sign their names on the blackboard for the one-to-one discussion. The benefits of the one-to-one discussion are the following for the students: they have face to face contact with the teacher, express their own opinion and share   their ideas with the instructor. Moreover, the instructor is able to know how much each student has learned or what has inspired this student during his lecture. Stu dent, in his/her turn, can ask him questions during the one-to-one discussion.The second class from the schedule which I attended that day was the Assignment Critique. The format of the Critique is very similar to my courses: the Critique is an exhibition of students’ artworks. All of the art products are displayed on the table: students stand up and look at the pieces. The format of the class was the following: he randomly chose one piece and let students talk about their impressions, and the artist of the piece had to speak out at the end of other students’ discussion. Most of the pieces were awesome; Stuart would share his opinion during the Critique because he wants his students to improve themselves. Ability to share and communication skills are the most important qualities for an art educator, because they allow the art educator and the students grow and develop together. The students feel good for their artworks because the Critique is not the place for people t o criticize any artwork, but the place to share and learn from each other.Art Education differs from other courses such as Business or Mathematic. At the class of Art Education there is no right or wrong answer, all art pieces should get people’s respect because all artworks made by the students are full of love and meaning.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, to become a great art educator, it is necessary to learn from other educators to get more experience. Looking at Stuart Werle’s methods of work, I have learned how to prepare for the class and organize the schedule before the class, create interesting activities or prepare some jokes to â€Å"break the ice†, and teach using bright examples to inspire the learners to learn thoroughly and understand the material more deeply. A good educator should take care of each student, speak louder to make sure that students at the back of the class can hear well. Each art educator should find out his or her own way to teach his subject. Perhaps, it is necessary to spend more time in order to find out a good way, but observing other art educators I have learned a lot and have been greatly inspired by them