Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Chinas Air Pollution Free Essay Example, 1750 words
The primary position that the intended audience for this paper will most likely take is one of either indifference or dismissal: that s all well and good, but that s not an issue that concerns me here, and it s not even in a country that is close to me, so let them deal with their issues, and let me deal with mine. Society today has become concerned with only what affects the individual themselves and not concerned with what the global and far-reaching implications of a particular aspect or issue are. It is evidently clear from the discussion that they are less concerned with the plight of another person in another country or nation than they were less than twenty years ago, and as such, treat matters of foreign interest as unique little trivia at best, and dismiss it entirely at their worst. If this is not the position that the audience takes, that will restore just a tiny bit of faith in humanity, but, barring that type of position on the subject of air pollution in Beijing, the other possible position that the intended audience may take on this particular matter will be one of polite disinterest. We will write a custom essay sample on Chinas Air Pollution or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The audience will pay attention, listen to what is being said, store it away for future knowledge, and that would be the end of it. They will not take this information and look for other ways that it can be applied, nor will they look at the issue as one of pressing concern, but will instead treat it like any other piece that they may read that does not have any bearing on their current lifestyles or way of life. While any author may hope that their words have a timeless quality, making a lasting impression on those that read them, and bringing about change in each individual who reads those printed words, sadly, this is not often the case. The impression that the author of this paper on air pollution in Beijing hopes to convey to the readers is comprised of many different affectations.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Women s Role As A Patriarchal Institution Essay - 1453 Words
Religion is a cultural system of behaviors and practices that have been around from society itself has existed. It also plays a pivotal part in sociology especially with regards to social control and socialisation. The role women occupy within religion has changed drastically in the last few decades. There are competing sociological arguments as to whether or not the subordination of women is due to religion as many feminists would suggest. For the purposes of this essay I will evaluate and discuss key points about the role women play in religion. Sociology is interested in religion and continues to have a big influence in it. Feminists see religion as a patriarchal institution, this refers to the maintaining of male dominance over women by making them believe that it is their divine right to be dominated. Along with this, they believe that religion functions as a patriarchal ideology that acts as an agent that legitimates inequity and such beliefs approve female oppression. However, functionalists believe otherwise and argue that its function is not to oppress women but necessary to keep society stable whilst Marxists believe that religion is used to keep the powerful in control over the powerless, not females and patriarchy. These sociological approaches act as a force in religion to maintain and reproduce research that focuses on how religion oppresses women. A critical feminist argument by Anderson and Gordon in 1978 that identifies a strong relationship betweenShow MoreRelatedOppression Of Women In The Handmaids Tale1732 Words à |à 7 PagesThe Oppression of Women that is shown in The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Tale When describing the newly established society in The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Tale, the Commander states that ââ¬Å"better never means better for everyone [...] it always means worse, for someâ⬠(Atwood, 244). This accurately describes the nature of patriarchal societies, such as the society that is described by Margaret Atwood in The Handmaidââ¬â¢s Tale. 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Foh s The Christian Faith865 Words à |à 4 PagesComplementarity in the Christian faith is the belief that, God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in function with male headship in the home and in the Church. This view of gender roles is drawn from Biblical interpretations and emphasizes the equality as well as the valuable dissimilarities of men and women. Susan T. Foh, a Christian author, has redefined the concept of complementarity in her own terms, coining the phraseRead MoreBloodchild: Gender Inequality in Society1462 Words à |à 6 Pagesof gender inequality arise. The circumstances of the narrator mirror social issues affecting modern women. Bloodchild by Octavia Butler examines the dynamics of power between the sexes; by switching the gender roles in the story, she show how women are marginalized in society. Women are living in a patriarchal society which contributes to gender inequality. 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Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Bell Jar Free Essays
Flew over the Cuckooââ¬â¢s Nest The bell jar and one flew over the cuckooââ¬â¢s nest can be linked considerably. Both novels are set in 1950â⬠² America post the ââ¬Ëcold warââ¬â¢ an era where conformity and obedience is a norm and anything that impairs it isnââ¬â¢t seen as a benefit to society. Both novels explore themes such as paranoia, suspicion and mental health. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bell Jar or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Bell Jar has a significant opening with the first sentence that mentions the execution of the Rosenbergs ââ¬Å"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergsâ⬠The opening immediately foreshadows the expectations that arrive in the novel in addition how society at the time behaved and based assumptions on. The fact that the sentence first opens with the description of electrocution has a major impact as the electrocution is a chilling topic that Esther has to encounter throughout the novel, as the subject of electrocution has been deliberately made important in the first chapter it reflects Estherââ¬â¢s severe perception of the subject its self. Furthermore in chapter 1 It is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an mportant role in the chapter ââ¬Å"Goggle-eyed headlines staring up at me on every street cornerâ⬠the suggestion that society segregated members for having a view point and opinion on controversial topics, and the fact members had to conform if not there will be raised issues and suspicion. In comparison the opening chapter of One flew over the cuckoos nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion ââ¬Å"They are out thereâ⬠this condemns the audience to question who and what Is out there, a ideology that 1950ââ¬â¢s America was secluding Individuals on opinions and mental health. Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us Into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their Imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking Imagery we receive. ââ¬Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, Ilke some black, noseless balloon stinking of vinegarâ⬠this Imagery puts the reader In the position that we start to realise that death Is forever following Esther and It Is a reoccurring threat to her and the Idea of her not conforming. Through her first person narrative we are able to place our selfââ¬â¢s In her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckoos nest It Is also written In the first person narrative through the eyes of a mental health patient, similarly to the Bell Jar we are placed Into a mind of a patient that Isnââ¬â¢t condemned as ââ¬Ësaneââ¬â¢ so therefore has a significant Impact on the questioning In what Is normal or not. The Bell Jar By rzerroukil self. Furthermore in chapter 1 it is assumed that paranoia and suspicion also have an One flew over the cuckooââ¬â¢s nest also starts with paranoia and suspicion ââ¬Å"They are out thereâ⬠this condemns the audience to question who and what is out there, a ideology that 1950ââ¬â¢s America was secluding individuals on opinions and mental health. Both of the novels are written in first person narratives which directly parks us into the state of mind of the characters allowing us to ponder and take upon their imagination to perceive the world as they do such as the striking imagery we receive. ââ¬Å"l felt as though I were carrying that cadavers head around with me on a string, like some lack, noseless balloon stinking of vinegarâ⬠this imagery puts the reader in the position that we start to realise that death is forever following Esther and it is a reoccurring threat to her and the idea of her not conforming. Through her first person narrative we are able to place our selfââ¬â¢s in her position and see the world from her eyes. In comparison to one flew over the cuckooââ¬â¢s nest it is also written in Bell Jar we are placed into a mind of a patient that isnââ¬â¢t condemned as ââ¬Ësaneââ¬â¢ so therefore has a significant impact on the questioning in what is normal or not. How to cite The Bell Jar, Papers The Bell Jar Free Essays In Sylvia Plathââ¬â¢s autobiographical novel The Bell Jar, the reader learns of the adventures of a young woman in a male-dominated society that will not let her achieve her true potential. Plathââ¬â¢s alter ego, Esther, is thus driven to a nervous breakdown and attempts suicide numerous times. In many ways, this novel is a feminist text, centered around the struggles of a young woman who cannot reach her goals in our male-dominated society. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bell Jar or any similar topic only for you Order Now People close to Esther, do not accept her talents as a poet and writer, but rather try to push her into traditionally more feminine roles. For example, Estherââ¬â¢s mother repeatedly tries to convince her to learn shorthand, but Esther rebels, saying ââ¬Å"â⬠¦ when I tried to picture myself in some job, briskly jotting down line after line of shorthand, my mind went blank. â⬠(100) Esther, unlike many women of her time, refuses to be controlled by societyââ¬â¢s gender-based constraints: ââ¬Å"The last thing I wanted was infinite security and to be the place an arrow shoots off from. I wanted change and excitement and to shoot off in all directions myself, like the colored arrows from a Fourth of July rocket. â⬠(68) The phrases ââ¬Å"infinite securityâ⬠and ââ¬Å"the place an arrow shoots off fromâ⬠come from Mrs. Willardââ¬â¢s description of the womanââ¬â¢s role in society (58). This passage directly addresses Plathââ¬â¢s central purpose in the novel, which is to look at the mental problems that can befall a woman with ambitions that the surrounding culture will not allow her to fulfill. This book was published in 1963, towards the beginning of the ââ¬Å"feminist movementâ⬠; the events chronicled in this book, however, take place in 1953 (208), in a period during which womenââ¬â¢s rights were not yet widely recognized in our society. The passage quoted above, and the emotions which it conveys, are typical of a feminist like Esther, but Esther is ahead of her time and is thus unable to express herself to society in the way she wants. In this novel, Plath shows us the ways in which women were discriminated against, through the eyes of a sensitive young artist. Through this, she conveys the important message that actions such as this are morally incorrect and can lead the victims to experience unfortunate fates such as Estherââ¬â¢s mental breakdown. It is important to keep such things as this in mind when reading the novel, and this feminist point of view is the central purpose of The Bell Jar. How to cite The Bell Jar, Papers
Friday, December 6, 2019
Strategic Analysis Of Whole Foods Market - Free Sample
Questions: 1) A critical review of the organisations environment. This should encompass both the external/macro and market environments. You should use appropriate strategic models and provide a conclusion as to the nature of the environment faced by the subject organisation. 2) A critical review of the culture and leadership of the organisation. You should review these factors and consider their impact on the strategic decisions made. Your review may include consideration of the history of the organisation, its mission and its leadership development.3) A critical review of the strategic options available to the organisation in the future. Your answer will of course be partly imaginary but should reflect the resources or the organisation and the environment faced. Answers: Introduction Strategic management refers to the process of formulating and implementing objectives and initiatives by an organisations management system, by considering all available resources along with assessing both the internal and external environments that the organisation competes in. Strategic management is all about identifying and describing strategies that managers make use of so as to achieve improved performance and any form of competitive advantage; competitive advantage refers to the state in which an organisations profitability is much higher than the average profitability of other organisations or companies of the same industry. Another definition of strategic management would be the act of managers undertaking decisions that affect the firms performance. For this reason, it is highly essential for managers to possess thorough knowledge and be able to produce an analysis of the organisational competitive environment (Shriberg, 2005. For instance, the system must be able to conduct SWOT analysis i.e. effective use of strengths and opportunities and minimization of threats and weaknesses should be ensured. This form of management simply plans for both the predictable and impractical contingencies along with being applicable to both large and small organisations. In other words, strategic management can be said to be the way in which objectives are simply set and attained so as to identify what direction the organisation is heading in (Shriberg, 2005). It simply deals with the process of creation and implementation of decisions affecting the organisations future. One is required to understand that strategic management is a process that is continous in nature, which controls evaluates the business that the organisation is involved in; it simply evaluates the organisations competitors by creating strategies and goals that meet all potential and existing competitors. This is followed by re-evaluating all strategies for their implementation and success, on a regular basis and then deciding whether if any form of replacement is required or not. Strategic management provides employees within an organisation with a broader perspective for them to understand the importance of their own jobs and how it fits into the organisational plan along with its relation to other members of the organisation. It can be regarded as the art of management of employees that results in maximization of achievement of any form of business goals and objectives (Shriberg, 2005). Employees are required to identify the affect of environmental changes on the organisation and formulate a probable response using strategic management. In the following report, a strategic analysis of Whole Foods Market is conducted; it focuses on the strategic management system implemented by the organisation and its outcomes. 1. Critical Review of Organisations Environment Whole Foods Market is a multinational organisation that functions as a retailer of natural and organic foods and has established a dominant position in the natural and organic food industry. Whole Foods Market is considered the largest chain of organic and natural foods in the United States that has competitors with several strategic plans and groups including natural/organic retailers of food, mass merchandisers, traditional grocers etc. However, due to its expansion and scale, Whole Foods Market holds a firm competitive position in this industry along with brand superiority that provides its customers with a premium experience of shopping. It has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products (Bliss, 2011). Due to this reason, this organisation has an approximate share of 33.6% in the U.S, with no other competitive organisation anywhere close to this achievement. Whole Foods Market experiences competition from orga nisations such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, The Fresh Market and other local farmer markets. However, Whole Foods Market has a competitive advantage over other organisations since it happens to be the first largest mover within the organic retail industry. Organisational environment refers to the environment that is directly responsible for achievements of the organisations goals and objectives. It is essential to recognize the external forces that constantly affect an organisations performance along with its effectiveness, thus, making it imperative for an organisation to thoroughly examine the components of its internal and external environment. Detailed examination of such components will provide the organisation with an understanding of the extensive dynamics changes that may and are occurring. The external environment or also referred to as the macro environment simply consists of all those factors that have an indirect affect on the organisation; these include of external forces such as economic, political or legal, technological and socio-cultural forces. On the other hand, the internal environment or also referred to as the task environment consists of factors that directly affect the organisational working; it includes of vari ables such as suppliers, customers, competition and labour (Business Legal Reports, 2007). The organisational environment holds utmost importance since its unpredictability will render an organisation to be ineffective; for this reason, the management should ensure affective environmental scanning. In context of Whole Foods Market, the environmental factors with utmost importance and relevance to the organisations business are regulatory factors, market size, supplier channels, demographic trends, technological developments, social considerations along with consumer habits. These factors specifically impact and are more favourable to the natural and organic food retail industry rather than overall industry of grocery due to the possibility of great market growth along with increased or heightened numbers of consumer adoption; the perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly pay a premium price (Hinkin, 2010). The following is a detailed environmental analysis of Whole Foods Market when compared to regular food retail businesses: Environmental Factors General Food Retail Natural and Organic Retail Market Growth $907 Billion $76 Billion Annual Growth -0.9% 5% Demographic Trends The food choices of consumers suggest that wellness and health have become an increasing priority. Additionally, all consumers have now become more eco-conscious. Due to economic improvement, consumers are now considering organic baskets. The is a segment that specifically caters to only rich shoppers Regulatory Factors Many regulations exist; for instance, FDA approval is required when introducing new food products into the market. For organic food markets, the regulations become more intensive and heavier in nature; approval from EDA, CPSC, EPA, USDA ETC is required. Technological Development Online shopping is turning into a new trend; for instance may organisations such as Fresh Direct, Amazon Fresh or Relay Foods, operate online. Several innovations within the organic food industry are being introduced. One example would the introduction of almond milk or hydroponic vegetables. Suppliers Wide range of suppliers available. Only fair-trade, organic local sourcing and fair-shade are made a priority. Consumer Preferences or Social Factors Consumers remain fairly sensitive when it comes to price of food items. The social factors incorporate the movement of social culture towards increasing environmental awareness and increased support towards sustainability. Additionally, the society seems to be migrating towards attaining an experiencing economy. The perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly trade up and pay a premium price for certain items of food. When it comes to food retail of products that are valued for their quality, health and other involved factors, customers are less likely to be sensitive towards the food items price. Additionally, we can always count on high brand loyalty. Political-Legal Pressures Regulations regarding the good standards exist and are expected to be met by the organisation. Increased awareness regarding food safety along with increased regulations that specify food standards. Furthermore, consumer awareness of the organic food introduced by Whole Foods Market is a significant factor affecting the organisation. As previously mentioned, due to the perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly pay a premium price; in the recent years, an approximate purchase of 82% of organic food products has been recorded. Though, it is important to understand that the supply of organic food products may not always meet customer demands especially in areas with low density of organic farms. For this reason, it is highly essential for the organisation to conduct a strategic assessment that takes into consideration all the environmental factors that may affect the organisations performance and growth. Strategic environmental assessment or SEA, is a process outline by the organisation that allows the company to take up and integrate environmental considerations when planning and preparing programs or strategies (Kunreuther, 2009). The main purpose of the strategic environmental assessment is to provide the environment with high levels of protection and promote sustainable development; this is achieved by integrating several environmental considerations when preparing and adopting all essential plans, programmes and strategies. By incorporating the strategic environmental assessment, Whole Foods Market can strategically assess all the factors affecting the environment within its organisation and accordingly take up measures that will reduce the effect of these factors on its performance and growth, ensuring further progress and success. 2. Critical Review of Culture and Leadership at Whole Foods Market Organisational cultural can be defined as the behaviours and values contributing to the psychological and social environment within an organisation. It may include experiences, expectations, values and philosophies that hold the organisation together; these may be expressed in the organisations inner workings, self-image, future expectations and the interactions it makes with the outside world. In other words, organisational culture is observable and consistent behavioural pattern within an organisation i.e. something that we repeatedly do. It can be said to be based on shared customs, beliefs, written unwritten rules, attitudes etc. that may have been developed over a particular period of time and consequently are considered valid by the organisation. Organisational culture or also known as corporate culture becomes evident and is revealed in the ways the organisation treats its customers, employees the community and when it conducts business. Similarly, the culture of an organisational becomes apparent when discussing the extent of freedom that is given to employees when developing new ideas, in decision making or personal expression. Additionally, the commitment employees show towards the organisations objectives and the hierarchy of information flow power within the organisation, speak a lot about the organisations culture (Kunreuther, 2009). In other words, culture can be regarded as the sum total of rituals and values within an organisation that serves the purpose of integrating its members; it is simply a shared view of what is why is. When discussing Whole Foods Market, there are two key components of the organisation that stand out; the first component is that this organisation has carefully designed systems of practices and programs that allow the organisation to sustain their unique culture across all its stores. For instance, the hiring process is participative in nature i.e. all team members are provided with an opportunity to participate at all levels in the selection process of all immediate members along with senior executives. Furthermore, the organisation arranges for events like vision days, future search, and tribal gatherings, that allow stakeholders and team members to bond, realign with each others values culture and simply co-create an integrated vision (Our core values, 2011). Also, for new and current team members, a two day orientation session is arranged where they are given an opportunity to bond and build relationships, are provided with intensive sessions regarding the core values of Whole Foods Market along with informational sessions on the organisations culture. Team building sessions are also an essential component of their orientation program. The second key component of the organisation that standards out is that the organisation is driven by philosophies i.e. all the activities and practices taking place within the organisation are driven by several organisational philosophies, where two of them are based on the concept of shared fate and higher purpose. Their concept of shared fate simply is based on the idea of succeeding together and failing together. For this reason, the organisation ensures participation of members at all levels in the goal-planning and decision making process. All members of the organisation are give and equal participation when deciding on major actions such as strategic initiatives or staffing (Our core values, 2011). Furthermore, the concept of higher purpose is based on the idea that their business must serve a higher purpose that that of making profit. At Whole Foods Market, they encourage improvement of health and well-being by providing their customers with better nutrition and supreme quali ty food products. From what is known, all the members of the organisation are connected to the higher purpose and this purpose remains their priority throughout. Hence, the well-crafted and defined policies and practices at Whole Foods Market not only allow their team members to efficiently work towards their co-created visions along with their goals objectives but also has resulted in team members in interested in wanting to achieve them; thus, resulting in a rich organisational culture that is consistent across all their stores in the country. However, it is essential to understand that in order to maintain such a culture within the organisation, the organisation requires to be guided under effective and supreme leadership. Affective leadership development within an organisation is of utmost importance since it indirectly affects various other components within the organisation such as the organisational culture (Daft, 2008). Leadership development refers to any activity that is carried out within the organisation that allows for enhancement of leadership quality. In the organisational world, organisational success and leadership are intertwined with each other, to a great extent. Considering the traditional point of view regarding leadership, leadership comprises of superiors exercising its authority over subordinates who in turn exercise their own authority over those working for them. However, with the evolving technological, organisational and cultural changes, the definition and requirements of leadership has changed (Our core values, 2011). Due to the workforces changing nature, increased dependency on technology and development of distributed work systems, there is demand of change in how leaders are required to interact with their organisations members; this has given rise to a distributed view of leadership in general. The co-founder of Whole Foods Market, John Mackey, is known for his liberal leadership qualities that allow him to strengthen and challenge his organisation by providing them with a modern vision (Mackey, 2011). Often, Mackey is criticized for his approach to carrying out business; his approach of leadership comprises of both values and servant leadership. He believes that over control is the central and major cause of detriment and stress and restricts productivity, thus, encouraging his to take up a route that is completely different to that of the traditional route. Hence, at Whole Foods Market, servant leadership direction is encourage and managed among the employees. This leadership simply identifies a servant leaders responsibility to first consider the needs of others and then create conditions for them that allow them to become leaders themselves. Under such leadership, team members are authorized to themselves in the values of the organisation. Furthermore, as mentioned abov e, value leadership is also a type that is greatly emphasized at Whole Foods Market; this leadership is similar to servant leadership since it also uses a normative approach (Our core values, 2011). The key elements of this leadership are identified to be inspiration, service, trust, vision, intuition, empowerment and continous learning. Whether it is servant or values leadership, Whole Food Markets believe in forming relationship patterns that do not rely on values influenced by external control but on those that provide the organisation with personal and social meaning to collectively get the work done, collaboratively make decisions, facilitate planning sharing and promote mutual responsibility. 3. Critical Review of Strategic Options In order to think strategically, the committee of management that is involved requires them to analyse the organisations external and internal environment along with becoming responsive to a change. Sometimes, the challenges that the management will be presented with will be rather difficult to deal with, causing them to making sever decisions regarding the activities being conducted or taking place (Kunreuther, 2009). In such circumstances, it becomes essential for the management committee to have a look at the strategic options available to them that would want to take up so as to successfully overcome the situation. The following are some of the strategic options that Whole Foods Market may be open to: Strategic Option Detail Maintaining Simply refers to the act of continuing with the services that they are providing their customers and employees with along with the activities that they are conducting. Retrench Refers to the reduction or closing of any current services or activities. They may deny working in particular geographical areas. Quantitative Expansion Refers to the possibility of increasing the number of employees or clients. They may also consider increasing the extent of provision. Switch Strategy Simply refers to the switch their services from one client to a completely unrelated group of clients. They may consider changing their client service conditions or their type of service or their geographical location. Collaborate The organisation may want to develop closer of more partnerships with either existing or new clients or agencies. The increase in such collaborative measures will allow the organisation to affectively improve the success rate of their business. New related strategy Refers to the created of new strategies by the committee that may be related to the client, or the service being provided or the geographical location of their organisation etc. Reduce costs They may want to consider reduction in the costs of a service being provided or an activity being conducted or the costs for a particular geographical location. By reducing their costs, they will allow the organisation to consider spending in additional activities or services, which in turn will allow the organisation to improve the success rate of its business. Experiment They organisation may consider experimenting with a new group of clients or a new kind of service or relocating themselves to a new geographical location. Expand Boundary Again, the organisation may want to expand their boundaries regarding a service being provided, activities being conducted, new client group and their geographical location. Piggyback Simply refers to the act of developing services that are free-earning in nature so as to subsidise other activities; these may include cross subsidy of activities being conducted. Improve quality One strategic option would be to improve the quality of the services and activities they provide their clients or customers with. This may also be in the form of changing their geographical location so as to reach out to a wider range of communities. Unrelated expansion The organisation may want to consider expanding their services and activities to unrelated organisations, clients, customers etc. They may even provide them with unrelated services in an unrelated area. It is important to understand that when in need of a change, the pros and cons of the each option being considered, should be given utmost attention while keeping in mind the mission and vision of the organisation during consideration. The management of Whole Foods Market will be required to carefully think through the process they will take up in order to mange this change process. One should understand that any strategic business option should be designed for the purpose of achieving and bringing success to the organisation rather than failure (Shriberg, 2005). For this reason, it is highly crucial for the Whole Foods Markets management committee to capitalize the stronger capabilities of the organisation and exploit the greatest opportunities that are available to them along with reducing any forms of ricks that may be associated with environmental threats towards the organisation or may become a weakness for them. As mentioned previously, the primary requirement of a strategic business option should be to develop strategy that covers two major dimensions that are achieving success and avoiding any type of failure especially in situations when things may go wrong. Thus, the strategy taken up by the organisation may provide the organisation with a good chance of achieving along with exceeding it. However, at the same time, it should not expose the Whole Foods Markets organisation to any risks that may bring down its performance. For this reason, the strategy adapted by the organisation must fully utilize the organisations most impressive strengths along with correcting or neutralizing all its major weaknesses. Additionally, the Whole Foods Market must work on either reducing or completely eliminating the impact of all the threats on the organisation. This can be achieved by exploiting any extremely rated opportunity coming their way (Wegmans Food Market, 2007). Also, the adopted strategy must be strictly relevant and practical to the situation of the organisation along with being imaginative; imaginative in the sense of engaging the team members of staff while implementing the strategy. Their organisation may want to focus on standing out in the food industry, avoiding becoming an imitation of what other organisations may already be doing or plan to do. Consequently, this will strengthen the organisations competitive position within the industry or enterprise. In fact, they have already achieved this since it has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products. Conclusion Strategic management refers to the process of formulating and implementing objectives and initiatives by an organisations management system, by considering all available resources along with assessing both the internal and external environments that the organisation competes in. Strategic management can be said to be the way in which objectives are simply set and attained so as to identify what direction the organisation is heading in. It simply deals with the process of creation and implementation of decisions affecting the organisations future. Strategic management is all about identifying and describing strategies that managers make use of so as to achieve improved performance and any form of competitive advantage. Strategic management provides employees within an organisation with a broader perspective for them to understand the importance of their own jobs and how it fits into the organisational plan along with its relation to other members of the organisation. It can be regarde d as the art of management of employees that results in maximization of achievement of any form of business goals and objectives. Whole Foods Market is considered the largest chain of organic and natural foods in the United States that has competitors with several strategic plans and groups including natural/organic retailers of food, mass merchandisers, traditional grocers etc. Whole Foods Market holds a firm competitive position in this industry along with brand superiority that provides its customers with a premium experience of shopping. It has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products. Whole Foods Market has a competitive advantage over other organisations since it happens to be the first largest mover within the organic retail industry. Organisational environment refers to the environment that is directly responsible for achievements of the organisations goals and objectives. It is imperative for an organisation to thoroughly examine the components of its internal and external environment. In context of Whole Foods Market, the environmental factors with utmost importance and relevance to the organisations business are regulatory factors, market size, supplier channels, demographic trends, technological developments, social considerations along with consumer habits. In other words, culture can be regarded as the sum total of rituals and values within an organisation that serves the purpose of integrating its members; it is simply a shared view of what is why is. Furthermore, organisational culture or also known as corporate culture becomes evident and is revealed in the ways the organisation treats its customers, employees the community and when it conducts business (Kunreuther, 2009).. The well-crafted and defined policies and practices at Whole Foods Market not only allow their team members to efficiently work towards their co-created visions along with their goals objectives but also has resulted in team members in interested in wanting to achieve them; thus, resulting in a rich organisational culture that is consistent across all their stores in the country. Additionally, at Whole Foods Market, servant and value leadership direction is encourage and managed among the employees. Whole Food Markets believe in forming relationship patterns that do not rely on values influenced by external control but on those that provide the organisation with personal and social meaning to collectively get the work done, collaboratively make decisions, facilitate planning sharing and promote mutual responsibility (Fairholm, 2011). Similarly, in order to think strategically, the committee of management that is involved requires them to analyse the organisations external and internal environment along with becoming responsive to a change. Often, it becomes essential for the management committee to have a look at the strategic options available to them that would want to take up so as to successfully overcome the situation. References 1. Bliss, W. G. (2011, 06). The Advisor: Cost of Employee Turnover, BLR publications2. Business and Legal Reports, Inc. (2007). Best Practices in Recruitment and Retention. 'Employee's first, Customers second': Wegmans' Work, ICMR IBS center for Managment Research. 3. Daft, L., Richard Lane G., Patricia., (2008). The personal side of leadership/ Wendy Steinberg Whole Foods Market. The leadership experience. Mason, Ohio: Thompson Higher Education. 4. Fairholm, G. W. (2011). Real Leadership, How Spiritual Values Give Leadership Meaning, Praeger.5. Hinkin, T. R., B. J. (2010). What makes it so Great? An analysis of Human Resources Practices among Fortunes Best Compnies to work for, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly6. Kunreuther, F., Kim, H. . (2009). Working Across Generations, San Francisco, CA. 7. Mackey, J. (2011, January-February). Co-founder and CEO, (H. B. Review, Interviewer).8. Our core values. Whole foods Market Retrieved March 28 2011, from https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/comp any/corevalues.php9. Shriberg, A., Shriberg, D., Kumari, R. (2005). Practicing leadership, Principles and Applications, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc. 10.Wegmans Food Markets Inc. (2007). Employee's first, Customers second, Wegmans' Work. Rochester: ICMR IBS center for Managment Research.
Strategic Analysis Of Whole Foods Market - Free Sample
Questions: 1) A critical review of the organisations environment. This should encompass both the external/macro and market environments. You should use appropriate strategic models and provide a conclusion as to the nature of the environment faced by the subject organisation. 2) A critical review of the culture and leadership of the organisation. You should review these factors and consider their impact on the strategic decisions made. Your review may include consideration of the history of the organisation, its mission and its leadership development.3) A critical review of the strategic options available to the organisation in the future. Your answer will of course be partly imaginary but should reflect the resources or the organisation and the environment faced. Answers: Introduction Strategic management refers to the process of formulating and implementing objectives and initiatives by an organisations management system, by considering all available resources along with assessing both the internal and external environments that the organisation competes in. Strategic management is all about identifying and describing strategies that managers make use of so as to achieve improved performance and any form of competitive advantage; competitive advantage refers to the state in which an organisations profitability is much higher than the average profitability of other organisations or companies of the same industry. Another definition of strategic management would be the act of managers undertaking decisions that affect the firms performance. For this reason, it is highly essential for managers to possess thorough knowledge and be able to produce an analysis of the organisational competitive environment (Shriberg, 2005. For instance, the system must be able to conduct SWOT analysis i.e. effective use of strengths and opportunities and minimization of threats and weaknesses should be ensured. This form of management simply plans for both the predictable and impractical contingencies along with being applicable to both large and small organisations. In other words, strategic management can be said to be the way in which objectives are simply set and attained so as to identify what direction the organisation is heading in (Shriberg, 2005). It simply deals with the process of creation and implementation of decisions affecting the organisations future. One is required to understand that strategic management is a process that is continous in nature, which controls evaluates the business that the organisation is involved in; it simply evaluates the organisations competitors by creating strategies and goals that meet all potential and existing competitors. This is followed by re-evaluating all strategies for their implementation and success, on a regular basis and then deciding whether if any form of replacement is required or not. Strategic management provides employees within an organisation with a broader perspective for them to understand the importance of their own jobs and how it fits into the organisational plan along with its relation to other members of the organisation. It can be regarded as the art of management of employees that results in maximization of achievement of any form of business goals and objectives (Shriberg, 2005). Employees are required to identify the affect of environmental changes on the organisation and formulate a probable response using strategic management. In the following report, a strategic analysis of Whole Foods Market is conducted; it focuses on the strategic management system implemented by the organisation and its outcomes. 1. Critical Review of Organisations Environment Whole Foods Market is a multinational organisation that functions as a retailer of natural and organic foods and has established a dominant position in the natural and organic food industry. Whole Foods Market is considered the largest chain of organic and natural foods in the United States that has competitors with several strategic plans and groups including natural/organic retailers of food, mass merchandisers, traditional grocers etc. However, due to its expansion and scale, Whole Foods Market holds a firm competitive position in this industry along with brand superiority that provides its customers with a premium experience of shopping. It has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products (Bliss, 2011). Due to this reason, this organisation has an approximate share of 33.6% in the U.S, with no other competitive organisation anywhere close to this achievement. Whole Foods Market experiences competition from orga nisations such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, The Fresh Market and other local farmer markets. However, Whole Foods Market has a competitive advantage over other organisations since it happens to be the first largest mover within the organic retail industry. Organisational environment refers to the environment that is directly responsible for achievements of the organisations goals and objectives. It is essential to recognize the external forces that constantly affect an organisations performance along with its effectiveness, thus, making it imperative for an organisation to thoroughly examine the components of its internal and external environment. Detailed examination of such components will provide the organisation with an understanding of the extensive dynamics changes that may and are occurring. The external environment or also referred to as the macro environment simply consists of all those factors that have an indirect affect on the organisation; these include of external forces such as economic, political or legal, technological and socio-cultural forces. On the other hand, the internal environment or also referred to as the task environment consists of factors that directly affect the organisational working; it includes of vari ables such as suppliers, customers, competition and labour (Business Legal Reports, 2007). The organisational environment holds utmost importance since its unpredictability will render an organisation to be ineffective; for this reason, the management should ensure affective environmental scanning. In context of Whole Foods Market, the environmental factors with utmost importance and relevance to the organisations business are regulatory factors, market size, supplier channels, demographic trends, technological developments, social considerations along with consumer habits. These factors specifically impact and are more favourable to the natural and organic food retail industry rather than overall industry of grocery due to the possibility of great market growth along with increased or heightened numbers of consumer adoption; the perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly pay a premium price (Hinkin, 2010). The following is a detailed environmental analysis of Whole Foods Market when compared to regular food retail businesses: Environmental Factors General Food Retail Natural and Organic Retail Market Growth $907 Billion $76 Billion Annual Growth -0.9% 5% Demographic Trends The food choices of consumers suggest that wellness and health have become an increasing priority. Additionally, all consumers have now become more eco-conscious. Due to economic improvement, consumers are now considering organic baskets. The is a segment that specifically caters to only rich shoppers Regulatory Factors Many regulations exist; for instance, FDA approval is required when introducing new food products into the market. For organic food markets, the regulations become more intensive and heavier in nature; approval from EDA, CPSC, EPA, USDA ETC is required. Technological Development Online shopping is turning into a new trend; for instance may organisations such as Fresh Direct, Amazon Fresh or Relay Foods, operate online. Several innovations within the organic food industry are being introduced. One example would the introduction of almond milk or hydroponic vegetables. Suppliers Wide range of suppliers available. Only fair-trade, organic local sourcing and fair-shade are made a priority. Consumer Preferences or Social Factors Consumers remain fairly sensitive when it comes to price of food items. The social factors incorporate the movement of social culture towards increasing environmental awareness and increased support towards sustainability. Additionally, the society seems to be migrating towards attaining an experiencing economy. The perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly trade up and pay a premium price for certain items of food. When it comes to food retail of products that are valued for their quality, health and other involved factors, customers are less likely to be sensitive towards the food items price. Additionally, we can always count on high brand loyalty. Political-Legal Pressures Regulations regarding the good standards exist and are expected to be met by the organisation. Increased awareness regarding food safety along with increased regulations that specify food standards. Furthermore, consumer awareness of the organic food introduced by Whole Foods Market is a significant factor affecting the organisation. As previously mentioned, due to the perceived wellness and health benefits allow customers to willingly pay a premium price; in the recent years, an approximate purchase of 82% of organic food products has been recorded. Though, it is important to understand that the supply of organic food products may not always meet customer demands especially in areas with low density of organic farms. For this reason, it is highly essential for the organisation to conduct a strategic assessment that takes into consideration all the environmental factors that may affect the organisations performance and growth. Strategic environmental assessment or SEA, is a process outline by the organisation that allows the company to take up and integrate environmental considerations when planning and preparing programs or strategies (Kunreuther, 2009). The main purpose of the strategic environmental assessment is to provide the environment with high levels of protection and promote sustainable development; this is achieved by integrating several environmental considerations when preparing and adopting all essential plans, programmes and strategies. By incorporating the strategic environmental assessment, Whole Foods Market can strategically assess all the factors affecting the environment within its organisation and accordingly take up measures that will reduce the effect of these factors on its performance and growth, ensuring further progress and success. 2. Critical Review of Culture and Leadership at Whole Foods Market Organisational cultural can be defined as the behaviours and values contributing to the psychological and social environment within an organisation. It may include experiences, expectations, values and philosophies that hold the organisation together; these may be expressed in the organisations inner workings, self-image, future expectations and the interactions it makes with the outside world. In other words, organisational culture is observable and consistent behavioural pattern within an organisation i.e. something that we repeatedly do. It can be said to be based on shared customs, beliefs, written unwritten rules, attitudes etc. that may have been developed over a particular period of time and consequently are considered valid by the organisation. Organisational culture or also known as corporate culture becomes evident and is revealed in the ways the organisation treats its customers, employees the community and when it conducts business. Similarly, the culture of an organisational becomes apparent when discussing the extent of freedom that is given to employees when developing new ideas, in decision making or personal expression. Additionally, the commitment employees show towards the organisations objectives and the hierarchy of information flow power within the organisation, speak a lot about the organisations culture (Kunreuther, 2009). In other words, culture can be regarded as the sum total of rituals and values within an organisation that serves the purpose of integrating its members; it is simply a shared view of what is why is. When discussing Whole Foods Market, there are two key components of the organisation that stand out; the first component is that this organisation has carefully designed systems of practices and programs that allow the organisation to sustain their unique culture across all its stores. For instance, the hiring process is participative in nature i.e. all team members are provided with an opportunity to participate at all levels in the selection process of all immediate members along with senior executives. Furthermore, the organisation arranges for events like vision days, future search, and tribal gatherings, that allow stakeholders and team members to bond, realign with each others values culture and simply co-create an integrated vision (Our core values, 2011). Also, for new and current team members, a two day orientation session is arranged where they are given an opportunity to bond and build relationships, are provided with intensive sessions regarding the core values of Whole Foods Market along with informational sessions on the organisations culture. Team building sessions are also an essential component of their orientation program. The second key component of the organisation that standards out is that the organisation is driven by philosophies i.e. all the activities and practices taking place within the organisation are driven by several organisational philosophies, where two of them are based on the concept of shared fate and higher purpose. Their concept of shared fate simply is based on the idea of succeeding together and failing together. For this reason, the organisation ensures participation of members at all levels in the goal-planning and decision making process. All members of the organisation are give and equal participation when deciding on major actions such as strategic initiatives or staffing (Our core values, 2011). Furthermore, the concept of higher purpose is based on the idea that their business must serve a higher purpose that that of making profit. At Whole Foods Market, they encourage improvement of health and well-being by providing their customers with better nutrition and supreme quali ty food products. From what is known, all the members of the organisation are connected to the higher purpose and this purpose remains their priority throughout. Hence, the well-crafted and defined policies and practices at Whole Foods Market not only allow their team members to efficiently work towards their co-created visions along with their goals objectives but also has resulted in team members in interested in wanting to achieve them; thus, resulting in a rich organisational culture that is consistent across all their stores in the country. However, it is essential to understand that in order to maintain such a culture within the organisation, the organisation requires to be guided under effective and supreme leadership. Affective leadership development within an organisation is of utmost importance since it indirectly affects various other components within the organisation such as the organisational culture (Daft, 2008). Leadership development refers to any activity that is carried out within the organisation that allows for enhancement of leadership quality. In the organisational world, organisational success and leadership are intertwined with each other, to a great extent. Considering the traditional point of view regarding leadership, leadership comprises of superiors exercising its authority over subordinates who in turn exercise their own authority over those working for them. However, with the evolving technological, organisational and cultural changes, the definition and requirements of leadership has changed (Our core values, 2011). Due to the workforces changing nature, increased dependency on technology and development of distributed work systems, there is demand of change in how leaders are required to interact with their organisations members; this has given rise to a distributed view of leadership in general. The co-founder of Whole Foods Market, John Mackey, is known for his liberal leadership qualities that allow him to strengthen and challenge his organisation by providing them with a modern vision (Mackey, 2011). Often, Mackey is criticized for his approach to carrying out business; his approach of leadership comprises of both values and servant leadership. He believes that over control is the central and major cause of detriment and stress and restricts productivity, thus, encouraging his to take up a route that is completely different to that of the traditional route. Hence, at Whole Foods Market, servant leadership direction is encourage and managed among the employees. This leadership simply identifies a servant leaders responsibility to first consider the needs of others and then create conditions for them that allow them to become leaders themselves. Under such leadership, team members are authorized to themselves in the values of the organisation. Furthermore, as mentioned abov e, value leadership is also a type that is greatly emphasized at Whole Foods Market; this leadership is similar to servant leadership since it also uses a normative approach (Our core values, 2011). The key elements of this leadership are identified to be inspiration, service, trust, vision, intuition, empowerment and continous learning. Whether it is servant or values leadership, Whole Food Markets believe in forming relationship patterns that do not rely on values influenced by external control but on those that provide the organisation with personal and social meaning to collectively get the work done, collaboratively make decisions, facilitate planning sharing and promote mutual responsibility. 3. Critical Review of Strategic Options In order to think strategically, the committee of management that is involved requires them to analyse the organisations external and internal environment along with becoming responsive to a change. Sometimes, the challenges that the management will be presented with will be rather difficult to deal with, causing them to making sever decisions regarding the activities being conducted or taking place (Kunreuther, 2009). In such circumstances, it becomes essential for the management committee to have a look at the strategic options available to them that would want to take up so as to successfully overcome the situation. The following are some of the strategic options that Whole Foods Market may be open to: Strategic Option Detail Maintaining Simply refers to the act of continuing with the services that they are providing their customers and employees with along with the activities that they are conducting. Retrench Refers to the reduction or closing of any current services or activities. They may deny working in particular geographical areas. Quantitative Expansion Refers to the possibility of increasing the number of employees or clients. They may also consider increasing the extent of provision. Switch Strategy Simply refers to the switch their services from one client to a completely unrelated group of clients. They may consider changing their client service conditions or their type of service or their geographical location. Collaborate The organisation may want to develop closer of more partnerships with either existing or new clients or agencies. The increase in such collaborative measures will allow the organisation to affectively improve the success rate of their business. New related strategy Refers to the created of new strategies by the committee that may be related to the client, or the service being provided or the geographical location of their organisation etc. Reduce costs They may want to consider reduction in the costs of a service being provided or an activity being conducted or the costs for a particular geographical location. By reducing their costs, they will allow the organisation to consider spending in additional activities or services, which in turn will allow the organisation to improve the success rate of its business. Experiment They organisation may consider experimenting with a new group of clients or a new kind of service or relocating themselves to a new geographical location. Expand Boundary Again, the organisation may want to expand their boundaries regarding a service being provided, activities being conducted, new client group and their geographical location. Piggyback Simply refers to the act of developing services that are free-earning in nature so as to subsidise other activities; these may include cross subsidy of activities being conducted. Improve quality One strategic option would be to improve the quality of the services and activities they provide their clients or customers with. This may also be in the form of changing their geographical location so as to reach out to a wider range of communities. Unrelated expansion The organisation may want to consider expanding their services and activities to unrelated organisations, clients, customers etc. They may even provide them with unrelated services in an unrelated area. It is important to understand that when in need of a change, the pros and cons of the each option being considered, should be given utmost attention while keeping in mind the mission and vision of the organisation during consideration. The management of Whole Foods Market will be required to carefully think through the process they will take up in order to mange this change process. One should understand that any strategic business option should be designed for the purpose of achieving and bringing success to the organisation rather than failure (Shriberg, 2005). For this reason, it is highly crucial for the Whole Foods Markets management committee to capitalize the stronger capabilities of the organisation and exploit the greatest opportunities that are available to them along with reducing any forms of ricks that may be associated with environmental threats towards the organisation or may become a weakness for them. As mentioned previously, the primary requirement of a strategic business option should be to develop strategy that covers two major dimensions that are achieving success and avoiding any type of failure especially in situations when things may go wrong. Thus, the strategy taken up by the organisation may provide the organisation with a good chance of achieving along with exceeding it. However, at the same time, it should not expose the Whole Foods Markets organisation to any risks that may bring down its performance. For this reason, the strategy adapted by the organisation must fully utilize the organisations most impressive strengths along with correcting or neutralizing all its major weaknesses. Additionally, the Whole Foods Market must work on either reducing or completely eliminating the impact of all the threats on the organisation. This can be achieved by exploiting any extremely rated opportunity coming their way (Wegmans Food Market, 2007). Also, the adopted strategy must be strictly relevant and practical to the situation of the organisation along with being imaginative; imaginative in the sense of engaging the team members of staff while implementing the strategy. Their organisation may want to focus on standing out in the food industry, avoiding becoming an imitation of what other organisations may already be doing or plan to do. Consequently, this will strengthen the organisations competitive position within the industry or enterprise. In fact, they have already achieved this since it has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products. Conclusion Strategic management refers to the process of formulating and implementing objectives and initiatives by an organisations management system, by considering all available resources along with assessing both the internal and external environments that the organisation competes in. Strategic management can be said to be the way in which objectives are simply set and attained so as to identify what direction the organisation is heading in. It simply deals with the process of creation and implementation of decisions affecting the organisations future. Strategic management is all about identifying and describing strategies that managers make use of so as to achieve improved performance and any form of competitive advantage. Strategic management provides employees within an organisation with a broader perspective for them to understand the importance of their own jobs and how it fits into the organisational plan along with its relation to other members of the organisation. It can be regarde d as the art of management of employees that results in maximization of achievement of any form of business goals and objectives. Whole Foods Market is considered the largest chain of organic and natural foods in the United States that has competitors with several strategic plans and groups including natural/organic retailers of food, mass merchandisers, traditional grocers etc. Whole Foods Market holds a firm competitive position in this industry along with brand superiority that provides its customers with a premium experience of shopping. It has successfully managed to differentiate itself from other competitors by primarily focusing on organic good products. Whole Foods Market has a competitive advantage over other organisations since it happens to be the first largest mover within the organic retail industry. Organisational environment refers to the environment that is directly responsible for achievements of the organisations goals and objectives. It is imperative for an organisation to thoroughly examine the components of its internal and external environment. In context of Whole Foods Market, the environmental factors with utmost importance and relevance to the organisations business are regulatory factors, market size, supplier channels, demographic trends, technological developments, social considerations along with consumer habits. In other words, culture can be regarded as the sum total of rituals and values within an organisation that serves the purpose of integrating its members; it is simply a shared view of what is why is. Furthermore, organisational culture or also known as corporate culture becomes evident and is revealed in the ways the organisation treats its customers, employees the community and when it conducts business (Kunreuther, 2009).. The well-crafted and defined policies and practices at Whole Foods Market not only allow their team members to efficiently work towards their co-created visions along with their goals objectives but also has resulted in team members in interested in wanting to achieve them; thus, resulting in a rich organisational culture that is consistent across all their stores in the country. Additionally, at Whole Foods Market, servant and value leadership direction is encourage and managed among the employees. Whole Food Markets believe in forming relationship patterns that do not rely on values influenced by external control but on those that provide the organisation with personal and social meaning to collectively get the work done, collaboratively make decisions, facilitate planning sharing and promote mutual responsibility (Fairholm, 2011). Similarly, in order to think strategically, the committee of management that is involved requires them to analyse the organisations external and internal environment along with becoming responsive to a change. Often, it becomes essential for the management committee to have a look at the strategic options available to them that would want to take up so as to successfully overcome the situation. References 1. Bliss, W. G. (2011, 06). The Advisor: Cost of Employee Turnover, BLR publications2. Business and Legal Reports, Inc. (2007). Best Practices in Recruitment and Retention. 'Employee's first, Customers second': Wegmans' Work, ICMR IBS center for Managment Research. 3. Daft, L., Richard Lane G., Patricia., (2008). The personal side of leadership/ Wendy Steinberg Whole Foods Market. The leadership experience. Mason, Ohio: Thompson Higher Education. 4. Fairholm, G. W. (2011). Real Leadership, How Spiritual Values Give Leadership Meaning, Praeger.5. Hinkin, T. R., B. J. (2010). What makes it so Great? An analysis of Human Resources Practices among Fortunes Best Compnies to work for, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly6. Kunreuther, F., Kim, H. . (2009). Working Across Generations, San Francisco, CA. 7. Mackey, J. (2011, January-February). Co-founder and CEO, (H. B. Review, Interviewer).8. Our core values. Whole foods Market Retrieved March 28 2011, from https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/comp any/corevalues.php9. Shriberg, A., Shriberg, D., Kumari, R. (2005). Practicing leadership, Principles and Applications, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc. 10.Wegmans Food Markets Inc. (2007). Employee's first, Customers second, Wegmans' Work. Rochester: ICMR IBS center for Managment Research.
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