BUSINESS ANALYSIS - JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP Essay

BUSINESS ANALYSIS - JOHN LEWIS PARTNERSHIP - Essay Example Initially started as a draper store in Oxford Street London, the firm has been able to make critical progress over the period of time by making acquisitions of strategic nature. The very structure and organization of the firm therefore provides it a unique identity and organizational culture which has allowed it to develop and grow over the period of time. A closer analysis of the financial performance of the firm would suggest that it has been able to continuously register an increase in its profitability and revenues. Such consistent performance of the firm therefore indicates that it is one of the leading businesses with stable revenues and profitability. This report will analyse the strategic position of John Lewis Partnership, making direct reference to the key challenges and opportunities for the organistaion and the capabilities which John Lewis can utilise in addressing these issues besides critically evaluating the current strategy of John Lewis and comment on their appropri ateness to the competitive position. A Brief History of John Lewis Partnership John Lewis Partnership started as a draper store in Oxford Street, London in 1864 by John Lewis. The store later on went on to become the departmental store when Mr. Lewis started to purchase other stores and started to expand his business. The store thrived on the promise that the prices will be low as long as long as the prices of the neighborhood stores are low. This strategy seems to have worked for the store and store soon started to grow and generate higher levels of sales. In 1905 John Lewis purchased Peter Jones and made a change towards becoming a departmental store. It was during 1914 that John Lewis gave control of Peter Jones to his son who started the store on more modern footings and implemented new organizational changes including making employees as partners in the firm. 1 During 1955, firm opened first Waitrose store and the management also changed from Lewis family to Bernard Miller. How ever, after the retirement of Miller, the management of the firm was transferred back to the family. Management again changed during 1990s when Peter Lewis retired as Chairman of the firm. John Lewis’s major strategic change occurred with the launch of its online store during 2001 and the establishment of Ocado. Ocado was opened in order to deliver the grocessories purchased on Waitrose. (Wilson & Reynolds, 2006). John Lewis is now in the top 10 list of retailers in the country with more than 30 John Lewis Stores and 246 Waitrose supermarkets.2 SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis of the firm is as follows: Strengths 1. Rich history of successfully operating for more than 200 years. 2. Overall organizational structure and democratic nature of the firm. 3. High level of employee motivation because of employee partnership in the business. (Russell, 2010). 4. Large and diversified network of stores and web stores. 5. Efficient and effective supply chain management system. 6. High brand r ecognition and value in the eyes of customers Weaknesses 1. Only caters to the mid and high end customers. 2. Privately owned partnership therefore restricting itself to procure cheaper funds from capital markets. 3. Largely concentrated into UK with no or very little presence abroad. 4. Too few departmental stores across the country i.e. less than 30 considering 200 years history of

Single sex schools Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Single sex schools - Research Paper Example ols are better than co-ed schools mainly because of the following three reasons: 1) Research has shown that children, both boys and girls obtain better grades in single-sex schools 2) Children can be their self in single-sex schools and 3) They are more comfortable in single-sex schools as both the sexes feel and think differently. If one accepts this reasoning than co-ed schools may not be the right choice. But then again there is not enough evidence to prove that single-sex schools are better than co-ed schools. A detailed study of the advantages and disadvantages of both the types of schools may perhaps help in arriving at a conclusion. . I t is generally believed that children can be themselves in same sex schools and take part in activities that suit them. For instance they can enjoy poetry or be a part of a band instead of marching without worrying about what the girls might think. Similarly girls can take part in sports like football or hockey without the fear of being labelled as a tomboy. Gils are able to shed their shyness. Children feel comfortable exploring subjects of their choice especially the non traditional ones. Girls feel comfortable studying subjects like advanced science or carpentry whereas boys can participate in orchestras or study languages like Latin without fear of being ridiculed for exploring subjects that are considered non-traditional. They need not don stereotypical roles and are encouraged to be curious and fearless. In short single sex schools allow children to be themselves. Today children face a huge amount of pressure from all quarters to become adults even before they are prepared. Children are forced to grow up too quickly. Some children are more comfortable in single-sex schools as the social pressures are less here. A child can grow at his own pace. As boys mature later than girls boys need more time to grow and single-sex schools may allow them to grow at their own pace. The atmosphere in single sex schools is