Vancouver Olympic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vancouver Olympic - Essay Example According to Participation Agreement, the city accepted to be the host city and proceeded with the bid (Larry, Para 1-2). In December 1998, the Canadian Olympic Committee approved the Vancouver bid and agreed upon its representation Canada in the international bidding competition to host the 2010 Olympic Games. The Bid City Agreement was signed by the City, the COA and the bid group. The Bid City Agreement allowed the City to present its bid before the International Olympic Committee and established some roles and the responsibilities for all the parties in presenting the Bid. It also included intellectual property matters like copyright and trademarks, expenses, marketing, community consultation, the signing of the IOC Host City Agreement and operation of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games. The conditions of the Bid City Agreement need the City to work with the COC just to make sure that all features of the bid are covered and they are in compliance with the provisions of the Olympic Charter (Larry, Para 3). Initial Cost of Vancouver's Bid: The budget of the Bid Corporation for this bid was Can$34 million and of this total amount the Province of British Colu... Public corporation contributed 54 percent of the bid and private companies offered 46 percent of the funding. Contributing Factors: Hosting the Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler will affect the economy of the Province of British Columbia. Positive outcomes have been understood more important than the negatives for hosting the games. This point of view became very helpful for BC economy of the period around 2002 when the Canadian Dollar was weaker than the American Dollar. The time when Vancouver was selected as host city it was considered as capable as boosting the economy and increasing the tourism. Since then the Canadian Dollar has become stronger than American Dollar and tourism is expected to be lower as it will be very costly to come to Canada and spend in Canadian Dollars (Jay and Adam, Para 2). Motivation: The BC Government has created a favorable opinion of the games in the public eye. The government has guaranteed an economic boom following the games. It is expected that provincial growth will be approximately in between 0.9 and 1.2% per year from 2005 to 2011 (Derek, 2005, Para 1). Announcements have been made regarding the budget of the games and about its expected overall profit. It also has been claimed that there will be approximately 5600 new full time jobs, which will be created directly by the Games. The problem with the claims is that the government has speculated that Vancouver and Whistler areas would not be visited by the tourists if there were no Olympics and the jobs which are created by the Games would not be filled up by the workers and there would be unemployment, which seems to be wrong because there would certainly be large number of tourists and the unemployment rate in Vancouver area is one of the lowest in the

Hubspot Case Essay Example for Free

Hubspot Case Essay The problem in this case is that Hubspot needed to make a transition from its initial start-up structure (organizational structure, target customers and pricing strategy) in order grow, and the dilemma was how to best approach this change. Hubspot faced three main issues for this: a) identify target customers, b) modify their pricing model and c) how to develop the growth strategy. Hubspot was good at building a community, e.g. over 300000 unique visitor in 2008, and thousands of freeware subscriptions in 2009. Nonetheless they had a diverse universe of customers, from small business owners (Ollies) to marketing professionals (Marys), different type of business ranging B2B or B2C, and size (over or under 25 employees). Table C shows there was a potential market evenly distributed among B2B and B2C. For Hubsport, the decision to identify a target customer was difficult. This is seen when contrasting exhibits 6 where 73% of customers were Ollies and exhibit 5 which indicated that Marys accounted for 68% of new customers from Sep-Dec 2008. Although the B2B customers were important for Ollies and Marys, there was an interesting growth of Marys in B2C. Thus a segmentation of customer was required to better assess their different needs. At the end of 2008, Hubspots’s products responded to the main two customers (Ollies and Marys), still its pricing model was similar for both, where Marys paid a slightly higher monthly amount as its software package included more features (exhibit 7). This was something Hubspot needed to analyze as Ollie and Marys had various pros and cons as customers. Ollies represented a lower cost to acquire ($1000) and where quick to sign in, but cancel subscription early, while Marys cost more to acquire ($5000) and took longer to sign in, by stayed for longer using the product. Assuming no churn rate an Ollie had to maintain subscription for 2 months and Marys had to maintain subscription for 9 months, to pay off their acquiring cost. The previous  scenario meant that HubSpot’s 2008 projections including the 100 paying customers from 2007 made the current pricing model not viable to support the high cost of Marys (see appendix 1). Another issued faced was the Hubsport was still a small company, seen in that it only had few engineers to build the software therefore it was hard to catch up with the sales team. Thus the product vs customer vs pricing situation presented an optimization and planning issue to keep the company growing. The previous two points require a growth strategy. At the same time it made the owners question their vision, i.e. to inbound or outbound. The strategy for growth had to clarify which customer to target, how to roll-out the respective products, whether to keep it a SaaS, and the transition into a new pricing structure to maintain current customer and capture more value from new ones. The objective of our proposed solutions is to keep Hubspot as the software-to-have for inbound marketing and grow financially from a start-up to an established business. For this we set out the following actions: Hubspot’s culture and vision should be maintained. Web 2.0 is continuing evolving as more businesses are using the various channels and HubSpot can differentiate itself as the inbound marketing which weighs more than outbound marketing (inbound represents 37% marketing budget while outbound 30%). HubSpot has the expertise to create traffic and analyze and qualify leads filling the respective demand of Ollies and Marys. At the same time we differentiate from our two main competitors by proving a lower price (Eloqua is more expensive) and focusing on inbound marketing (Marketo is a mix of inbound and outbound). Our conclusions are founded by overlaying HubSpot’s competitive field (exhibit 3) with customers’ needs a) traffic creation and b) leads analysis and qualifications, in line with HubSpot’s main strengths, as seen in appendix 2. Thus the company should not consider outbound as an alternative. As showed in appendix 4, our two segmented customers have showed different needs in terms of product features and consumption behavior. Based on the current churn out rate, we can estimate consumer lifetime value of Ollies is $4,750 and Marys $10,500 (see calculation in appendix 3). Therefore, according to our segmentation strategy, we propose following product bundles by differentiating product price and product features: 1) Product pricing: As Ollies have a shorter customer life and less marketing budget, we suggest keeping current up-front fee and a lower monthly fee. As suggestion, up-front $500 and monthly fee in the range of $150 to $250. As Marys have a longer customer life and lower price sensitivity we suggest increasing both up-front and monthly fee. As suggestion up-front $600 and monthly fee in the range of $600 to $750. Meanwhile, Marys are interested in deeper analytics, we suggest additional fee for each service of deeper analytics. As CMS system helps lower churn rate, we suggest initial fee of $300 covering 6 hours consulting to encourage both of them to use such service. 2) Product features: As Ollies prefer quick and simple solutions, we suggest tailor-made product focusing on generating leads. As Marys have a high demand of analytics, we suggest tailor-made product with more sophisticated tools to meet the needs of deeper analytics. As frequent log-in helps lower churn rate, we suggest to provide service update on a regular basis to encourage a continuous use of our service. After clearly identifying the segmentation of consumer and differentiation of products, we need ensure market-centered organizations that are capable of translating strategy into actions: 1) Engineering: To invest on product development and innovation to continuously provide with relevant service to enhance our competitive advantage of generating leads as well as analytics . 2) Sales force: To divide sales force to separately serve Maryer Ollies by providing Maryer with long-term, more sophisticated support, providing Ollies with quick simple service. 3) Marketing: To continue make a buzz for inbound marketing to create inbound marketing community rather than a simple business Finally the strategy has to be sensitive to our current customers, Appendix 5 indicates a tentative layout of the plan. Starting with the internal reorganization, then gradually change the product offering for consumers.

Effects of Outdoor Play on Child Development

Effects of Outdoor Play on Child Development The aim of this project is to explore the effect of outdoor play on childrens social, emotional and physical development. According to Bruce (2004) play is probably one of the least understood aspects of an early-childhood practitioners work (p.135). The conceptualisation of play is shared by many other early childhood practitioners for whom play is considered essential, as an activity promoting learning (p.135). Outdoor play is a much needed activity in the early childhood. You may have come across a child playing and you are sure he/she is having a fun time. Therefore, play is the building block of a childs intellectual skills. Through play child develops social, emotional and physical skills. The outdoors according to Letter Wyver (2008) presents obvious opportunities to move and be active, and for children to discover and engage with the natural environment, as well as the chance for open ended activities such as sand water play, construction and pretend play. According to Hutt et al (1989, p.10) the emotional and social development of pre-school children depends crucially upon play while Penn (2008) asserts that to learn about child development is to learn about Piaget (p.41). As Piaget focused on how children acquire knowledge, he tried to understand how children change the way they think, how babies show intense reactions to external stimuli them (Penn, 2008). Ibid (2008) asserts that it was Piaget who provided a theoretical legitimating of learning through play. In addition, Berk (2009), Keenan (2002) Bruce (2004) are firm believers that children actively explore their environment and are influential in shaping their own knowledge. They believe that it was through social interaction with more experienced and more knowledgeable members of the society parents, relatives, teachers, peers etc. that children are able to acquire the knowledge and skills that a culture deems to be important According to Bruce (2004) there is no clear definition for play. It is still an umbrella world (Ibid, 1991), while other early childhood practitioners defined play as childs work. Play is primary way children express their social nature (Strickland et al, 2003). Ibid (2003) argued that all kids enjoy playing alone some of the time; while some prefer to play with others (social play) much of the time. Play is an integral part of learning. Piaget defined play as a kind of scientific rehearsal (Penn, 2008; p.43). While Bitton (2010) stated that play offers a meaningful context for children and that it is only when a situation has meaning and purpose that children can function at a higher level (p.49). Childrens emotions are ways in which they react to situations while social development refers to how they get alone with peers and form relationships (Ashiabi, 2007). Furthermore, emotional and social developments are linked because childrens social interactions are usually emotionally cha rged (Ibid, 2007). To clearly explore the role of outdoor play on social, emotional and physical development. Strickland et al (2003) asserts that outdoor play is critical to the social development of 3-4 year old children, and to girls in particular when it comes to building self confidence (p.2). In addition, children learn to be more empathy and less egocentric through play and they develop more skills for coping with conflict while boys tend to engage in more social dramatic outdoor play than indoors; outdoor play allows boys who are more physical to assume leadership roles (Srickland, 2002) and perhaps get more positive affirmation than they do inside. White (2007) confirmed that when given the choice, the outdoors is where most children want to be and playing outdoors is preferable to indoors. In support of this argument, Eustice Heald (1992) argued that outdoor play is an extension of classroom activities which summarises the beliefs of early year management that children learn best by explorin g, investigating and solving problems outdoors (p.7). While Alfano (2010) asserts that playing outdoors is a form of exercise that promotes well-being and wholesome physical developments; and that children are naturally drawn to active play outdoors. One of the obvious benefits of getting kids outside to play is the increased exercise they will be getting as opposed to setting in front of the T.V. or computer. Most early years scholars have also assert that when children play outdoors they are developing mentally, emotionally, socially, and physically. This view is supported by Johnson et al (2002) that children gain lots of opportunities outside to develop basic social skills and social competencies e.g. running, jumping cycling, hide and seek, sing; sensing, make noise, make mess, crawl, and explore the natural world unchallenged. While Brice (2004) viewed that through play, children develop initiative and are strengthened to face challenges in life (p.134). More so, playing outdoors reduces stress in kids. Children express and work out emotional aspects of everyday experiences through unstructured play (Levesque. 2011). Whilst Strickland (2002) argued that there are also opportunities for emotional development as children test their limit and challenge themselves to try things that may be just at the edge of their reach Moreover, most theorists found that pretend play outdoors was the most dominant form of play (Bulton, 2002). Perhaps thats why theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky assert that pretend play provides children with opportunities to practice grown up and perspective talking (Ashiabi, 2007; p.2002). Also, in pretend play a child is always above his average age (Penn, 2008; p.44) and above their daily behaviour. In addition, Wyver Little (2008) asserts that play also facilitates language development, creative thinking and problem-solving; and helps children deal with complex and competing emotions. In view of the above statement, parents should allow their children play with other children because it helps in the emotional and social development. Although social and emotional benefits of outdoor play may not be in clear cut, one benefit from research is that it allows kids to move freely, make noise and self-express themselves in ways that many not be encouraging inside. Outside play encourages logical thinking and the ability to reason through highly interactive activities such as building sand-castles, playing games with friends, playing puzzles with friends etc. Time spent outside with peers helps to create social skills that are needed for great healthy friendship (Brouillette, 2010). While Froebal cited by Bruce (2004) stated that play is the highest level of learning.activities of the child (p.132). While Siraj-Blatchford et al (2002) cited by Bruce (2004) shows that the richest play is found especially in nursery schools. According to Little Wyver (2008) the significanc e of outdoor play as an essential part of every childs life has also been acknowledged by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 31 supports a childs right to rest and leisure, and to participate in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child. There are other reasons why playing outdoor is important for children, according to Stewart (2010) when children play outside, they are more likely to maintain a healthy weight because they get the chance to burn off extra calories by running, jumping, climbing, riding bikes, yelling etc. which can also lead to better sleep. Also, the above exercise help children to develop small and large muscles, strengthened bones, increases flexibility, fine and gross motor skills and improves their overall health (Ibid, 2010). In addition, outdoor play is important in early childhood because it helps in the physical development of the child as obesity is a common problem among children today (Pillar, 2010). Therefore, engaging in outdoor play helps in preventing childhood obesity. More so, Vitamin D is essential for the skin and can only be derived by playing outdoors as it is impossible to get an adequate amount from food and vitamins alone. Getting kids outdoor increases the exposure to sun and their natural production of Vitamin D. In contrary to the above advantages of outdoor play, White (2007) argued that today it seems that the motivation for childrens outdoor play has declined because global society is very busy in its day-to-day activities and over protected parents. Furthermore, many school age children have too much homework after school, therefore having less time for outdoor play. Whilst those without homework are too busy/lazy watching T.V, playing computer games, or pre-occupied chatting with friends on-line. Lastly, some parents are too busy with work and other activities (watching T.V, Football, cooking) to see to their childrens adequate outdoor play. Some parents are so paranoid that every man outside the street with big glasses/spectacles is a pervert or paedophile waiting to attack or abduct their children as they play outside. Furthermore, social and environmental factors have greatly impacted on childrens opportunities for outdoors play. Little Wyver (2008) asserts that where once children may have spent time playing in the street riding bicycle, playing chasing games, and hide seek etc, increased traffic has made these areas and play opportunities off-limits for children as the changes are far too great. Children are now confined to classroom, backyards or local parks for relatively safe places to play. Also, Ibid (2008) stated that increase demand for housing in many areas, particularly urban areas, is eroding childrens play ground. Lastly, according to Johnson et al (2005) providing for outdoor play needs for children is a complex and challenging task. A variety of factors must be considered, including the various play needs of young children, supervision, safety etc. while many educators, politicians, and parents believe outdoor play takes time away from academic activities; as a result, recess and physical education in many schools is limited or totally eradicated (Sutterby Frost, 2002 cited by Johnson et al, 2005).

Temporal Articulation in La Jetee Essay -- Film Movie Cinema Cinematog

Temporal Articulation in La Jetà ©e Chris Marker's La Jetà ©e presents a narrative occurring in three distinct time periods: the past, present, and future, depicted solely through static images. Each time period articulates the temporal relationship between adjacent images differently and through various means, including but not limited to the amount of perceived movement or change within the mise en scene from shot to shot (or the ellipsis between images in a sequence), and the amount and type of voiceover used in any given sequence. The audience's ability to comprehend narrative time remains relatively consistent throughout the film, but the means by which passing time is represented alters in each time period, depending upon the ways in which the above characteristics are manipulated. On a strictly visual basis, the audience's perception of the passage of time becomes progressively retarded from past to present to future (fabula-wise), and this sensation is achieved through the manipulation of ellipsis between images in a sequence (a sequence being any uninterrupted slice of time occurring in the past, present, or future). Broadly, shot to shot differences in time go from determinate in the past, to less determinate in the present, to almost totally indeterminate in the future. In other words, it is easier to register the passage of time through the change within the image from shot to shot in sequences occurring in the past than it is in sequences occurring in the present, which in turn register the passage of time more explicitly than do the images from sequences occurring in the future. For example, a sequence in the beginning of the film (occurring in the temporal present of the fabula) depicting of the results of the ... ...ough to say that La Jetà ©e is a wonderfully rich experiment in the manipulation of the perception of time; despite the complexities elaborated in this paper, the film presents a consistently comprehensible articulation of time, despite and because of an information-impeding stylistic device (still images as opposed to moving images) and a complex, circular narrative laden with potentially confusing time travel. Notes 1) Only one pivotal shot in the film is not static. 2) Dissolves typically indicate an ellipsis, or a longer ellipsis than is usually indicated by a cut. Thus the dissolves of the woman sleeping in bed could be read as occurring over longer, more indeterminate periods of time in which she has moved very little. Works Cited Le Jetee. Dir. Chris Marker. Perf. Jean Negroni, Helene Chatelain, Danos Hanrich and Jacques Ledoux. Argos Films, 1962. Temporal Articulation in La Jetee Essay -- Film Movie Cinema Cinematog Temporal Articulation in La Jetà ©e Chris Marker's La Jetà ©e presents a narrative occurring in three distinct time periods: the past, present, and future, depicted solely through static images. Each time period articulates the temporal relationship between adjacent images differently and through various means, including but not limited to the amount of perceived movement or change within the mise en scene from shot to shot (or the ellipsis between images in a sequence), and the amount and type of voiceover used in any given sequence. The audience's ability to comprehend narrative time remains relatively consistent throughout the film, but the means by which passing time is represented alters in each time period, depending upon the ways in which the above characteristics are manipulated. On a strictly visual basis, the audience's perception of the passage of time becomes progressively retarded from past to present to future (fabula-wise), and this sensation is achieved through the manipulation of ellipsis between images in a sequence (a sequence being any uninterrupted slice of time occurring in the past, present, or future). Broadly, shot to shot differences in time go from determinate in the past, to less determinate in the present, to almost totally indeterminate in the future. In other words, it is easier to register the passage of time through the change within the image from shot to shot in sequences occurring in the past than it is in sequences occurring in the present, which in turn register the passage of time more explicitly than do the images from sequences occurring in the future. For example, a sequence in the beginning of the film (occurring in the temporal present of the fabula) depicting of the results of the ... ...ough to say that La Jetà ©e is a wonderfully rich experiment in the manipulation of the perception of time; despite the complexities elaborated in this paper, the film presents a consistently comprehensible articulation of time, despite and because of an information-impeding stylistic device (still images as opposed to moving images) and a complex, circular narrative laden with potentially confusing time travel. Notes 1) Only one pivotal shot in the film is not static. 2) Dissolves typically indicate an ellipsis, or a longer ellipsis than is usually indicated by a cut. Thus the dissolves of the woman sleeping in bed could be read as occurring over longer, more indeterminate periods of time in which she has moved very little. Works Cited Le Jetee. Dir. Chris Marker. Perf. Jean Negroni, Helene Chatelain, Danos Hanrich and Jacques Ledoux. Argos Films, 1962.

Prostitution Should be Legalized Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Ess

Prostitution Should be Legalized I think that prostitution should be legalized because it is no different than any other service that we pay to receive. Besides, there are far more serious crimes that require the full attention of our police force than prostitution; therefore, policing it is a costly waste of time and police resources. Furthermore, prostitution is already legal in Singapore, Denmark, and a part of the United States as well. In this Essay, I will discuss these ideas; thereby, proving why prostitution should be legalized. Prostitution should be legalized because it should be treated like any other consensual, in-demand, and legitimate service. A prostitute performs sexual acts in exchange for money or gifts; therefore she sells her body and talents just like any other service. This system of selling sexual favors can be a profitable business and occupation for some. For example, a masseuse provides her service, massages, for people who want and are willing to pay for them. And, she uses her talent to create a source of income. This ...

Alcohol and Drinking - Alcoholism as a Disease Essay -- Exploratory Es

Alcoholism as a Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unfortunately, alcohol brings on the risk of many diseases. "Recent evidence indicates that a wide variety of diseased conditions are brought about by a substance that coats the body's red cells, causing them to adhere to one another in clumps. These clumps, sometimes called 'sludge,' can be created by the ingestion of alcohol"(Burgess,p.130). Alcohol has a disastrous affect on all of the body's organs, the main one being the brain. "At death, the brain of the dependent drinker or alcoholic invariably will reveal enormous numbers of small areas of atrophy in which brain cells have been destroyed"(Burgess,p.131). The brain begins to shrink when under the influence of alcohol. This means that the space that a brain cell took up is now gone because the cell has been destroyed. "In extreme cases most of what is left [of the brain] may be nothing but connective and structural tissue. The neurons themselves, the cells that do the work of the brain, have been destroyed"(Bur gess,p.132). If drinkers, casual or heavy, knew more about alcohol and the effects this drug has on the brain, the number of drinkers would probably drop to a very low amount of people. Unfortunately, this type of material is not made available to many people unless people got suddenly interested to look up the effects alcohol has on the body. There is another type of disease people do not know about called the D.T.'s. This disease is that of body convulsions. This disease is commonly mistaken as being epilepsy, but it is caused by alcohol. It is caused by people trying to quit drinking. The body is suddenly taken off a sedative and is having withdrawals. The withdrawals are convulsions which also kills brain cells. "Depende... ...t also all of the innocent people that are involved. With so many scary things that can happen to the body, why enhance death when a person ca try to prevent it?    Works Cited: Burgess, Louise Bailey. "Alcohol and your health" 1973. Denzin, Norman K. The Recovering Alcoholic. New York: Sage Publications, 1987.    Works Consutled: Berger, Gilda.   Alcoholism and the family.  Ã‚   New York:   Franking Watts, 1993. Graeber, Laurel.   Are you Dying for a Drink?:   Teenagers and Alcohol Abuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚   NewYork: Julian Messner, 1992. Kowalski, Kathiann.   "The Dangers of Alcohol."   Current Health   2 February 1998: 6-7. CD-ROM. Marlatt, Alan G.   "Alcoholism: Disease or Addiction?"   Professional Counselor October 1996: 104. Schulte, Brigid.   "How to Deal with a Family Alcoholic." Knight-Ridder Newspaper 23 December 1997.   CD-ROM.   

Online Purchases and Delivery Service in NTUC Fairprice Essay

INTRODUCTION NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd (NTUC) was founded in 1973 by the labour movement. Its first supermarket was opened in Toa Payoh in the same year. NTUC has now grown to become Singapore’s largest retailer, with a network of more than 270 stores comprising FairPrice Supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores. NTUC also owns a Fresh Food Distribution Centre and a centralised warehousing and distribution company. Sales in 2013 were reported at more than S$2.6 billion. NTUC also operates an online store where customers can order their groceries directly from their online store and have them delivered to their homes or destinations of their choice. This paper explores the business operations management of NTUC in Singapore and the possible challenges NTUC may face in their online retail and delivery service. This paper also evaluates and recommends appropriate measures that NTUC should implement to overcome these challenges as well as the methods to measure the business performance of the new process. PART 1 NTUC’s Business Functions NTUC operates with three core business functions to run the chain of supermarkets in Singapore; Procurement, Warehousing/Distribution and Retail. These functions are supported by Finance, Information Systems and Human Resources. Figure 1: Process Flow of NTUC Online Retailing and Delivery Service NTUC currently operates an online grocery store from their website.  According to their website’s Help section (2009), NTUC mentioned partnering a logistics service provider to provide the delivery services to customers. In its website (2009), customers have the option to select their preferred date of delivery but the earliest they can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional charges will also be imposed to rearrange another delivery date if the customer is not present to receive the goods. Challenges of Online Retailing and Delivery Service Using the Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, 1981), we identified some key challenges (Appendix 1) that NTUC may face for their online retailing and delivery service to their customers. Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011) grouped these challenges broadly under availability, timeliness and condition. Availability †¢There is a lack of online tracking system.  Timeliness †¢Online grocers are unable to offer same day delivery to customers. †¢Deliveries fail to arrive as promised. †¢Distribution centres need to spend more time picking individual orders for customers. Condition †¢There is a need to have delivery accuracy as products with shelf life, especially fresh food, would require cooling. †¢Products are damaged during transit. Literature Review of Challenges Availability: Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2010 and 2011) conducted postal surveys with chosen households and qualitative interviews with retailers, logistics service providers and experts for their research papers. Both papers found that one of the key challenges of online home delivery is to keep customers informed of the availability and status of their purchase. Without such  online tracking systems, a big gap will be created between what the customers want to purchase and what they are offered eventually. Ruby and Zhao (2010) also identified that the most important attribute that affects customers’ satisfaction is the ability for online retailers to provide on-time delivery which would impact the customers’ decision to repurchase in future. Ling, Yang and Jun (2013) also reported that customers feel that the unavailability of ordered products will affect their online shopping experience negatively. Timeliness: According to Ling, Yang and Jun (2013), most customers tend to get very frustrated when faced with the inconvenience caused by any delay in delivery. Customers feel the hassle of having to stay at home along with the uncertainty in waiting time for the delivery person to show up with their purchase. Another challenge as reported by Starkey, A (2010) is that 17.5% of the customers had no one at home to receive their purchase during the normal delivery hours and 37.5% of them were only at home on some days. According to him, this translates to a 55% probability that customers run the risk of a failed delivery since there was no one available to sign their purchase. Another challenge that is highlighted by Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011) is the timeliness of the standard delivery schedule. According to the authors, retailers and logistics service providers kept the delivery charges low so as to remain competitive as providing prompt delivery services would usually cost a premium for customers. Such measures usually result in a standard 3 to 5 business days for delivery causing a relatively low level of customer satisfaction in this area. Condition: Based on the findings by Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011), customers’ satisfaction level drops when their purchases are delivered wrongly or the  orders are incomplete. Another factor that impacts their satisfaction level is the condition of the goods being delivered. As in the case of perishable items, customers expect their purchase to be delivered fresh. Operations Strategy Perspectives for NTUC Using the four perspectives on operations strategy (Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Johnston, R, 2013: Ch 3 Pg 73 – 85), we seek to understand the different perspectives that will help us recommend the appropriate solutions for NTUC in its online retail and delivery system. Figure 2: The Four Perspectives on Operations Strategy (Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A. and Johnston, R, 2013: Ch 3 Pg 73 Figure 3.3) Top-Down Perspectives: According to NTUC’s website (2009), its vision is â€Å"to be Singapore’s leading world-class retailer with a heart†. NTUC also strived to â€Å"provide its customers with the best value, quality products and excellent service, be a preferred employer, to moderate the cost of living in Singapore, and serve the needs of our members, the labour movement and the community.† Bottom-Up Perspectives: According to Song, L., Cherrett, T. and Guan, W (2011), besides inconveniencing the customers, distribution centres also incur high costs whenever there are failed deliveries. The authors suggested that there are environmental costs to be considered for every added trip to the customers. This suggests that the CO2 emissions caused by these repeated trips would increase. NTUC should work closely with its internal Warehousing/Distribution team to understand these concerns before developing the strategy forward. Market Requirements Perspectives: Various authors (Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie,2010 and 2011; and et al) identified that customers expect to be kept updated of the status of their purchase; prompt delivery service as well as having purchases delivered to them in good conditions. Operations Resources Perspectives: According to Xing, Grant, MaKinnon and Fernie (2011), a high operational cost would make retailers cost sensitive. Technology advancements require monetary investments and yet retailers need to strike a balance between home delivery cost and the amount they charge their customers. Therefore, NTUC should explore how it can optimize its operations functions and resources to continue delivering the values customers expect. Appropriate Solutions for NTUC Based on the challenges identified and with the understanding of the 4 perspectives that NTUC need to consider, the following are some of the recommendations that NTUC should adopt to improve on their online retail and delivery system: †¢Upgrade the online order system †¢Implement online tracking system †¢Incorporate a collection / delivery point Upgrade the Online Order System: According to Ruby, R.D. & Zhao, M. (2010), NTUC should, in order to satisfy its online customers and ensure that they return to the retailer to purchase again, ensure that their website should be able to control conditions where a product is out-of-stock. The online website should provide updated inventory information of the product to avoid customers becoming unhappy over a failed purchase. It is also important to ensure that the descriptions of the product are authentic and exactly matches the intended product. NTUC should provide more delivery options (Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J., 2011) and consumers who are willing to pay a premium for these choices could select their preferred delivery options with more specified dates and times. The authors believed that the premium delivery charges customers pay will eventually offset the increased in delivery cost  of NTUC or their appointed logistics service provider. Implement Online Tracking System: Xing, Y., Grant, D.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Fernie, J. (2011) concluded in their report that setting up an online tracking system is very important as it allows customers to keep track of their purchases. If retailers are using a logistics service provider which is the case for NTUC, a link to the logistics service providers’ tracking system should also be provided. The authors also suggested that retailers can adopt software applications that operate alongside their existing ordering system. These software applications are able to provide timely contact with the customer by email or text messages during the time of fulfillment to keep customers updated of their order status at appropriate times. The most important messages are at the point when their purchases are ready to be delivered with confirmation of the delivery date and time. Having a good tracking system not only reduces the probability of first time delivery failures, Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) also reported that reducing repeating trips will significantly reduce the CO2 emissions. In their findings, a standard home delivery for a non-food item would be allocated 98 gCO2. Therefore, striving to improve on the home delivery system would also help reduce any harmful impact to the environmental. Incorporate a Collection/Delivery Point: To reduce the number of unsuccessful home deliveries to customers, NTUC should implement a network of collection/delivery points (Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W., 2011) as alternatives to the delivery addresses in their system. This means allowing customers to choose a nearest collection/delivery point where they would like to pick up their purchase from if they happen to be away when the delivery person arrived. Customers can also have the option to select the collection/delivery point as their delivery destination if they are sure they will not be home to receive their  purchase. Retailers can definitely benefit from this implementation as it reduces the number of re-delivery attempts. PART 2 A Perspective of the New System We use Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, 1981) to have a systematic view of the new system (Appendix 2). In the process, we also identified two potential problems that may arise from this new system. Behjati, S. and Othaman, S.N. (2012) said that one of the key drivers of online shopping is trust and reliability. If customers do not trust the idea of shopping online, it would take more effort for NTUC to try to switch these customers to online customers. Another potential problem is an upgraded online ordering system would take up more internet bandwidth in NTUC. Therefore, the retailer must ensure that there is sufficient bandwidth (Ling (Alice) Jiang, Yang, Z. & Jun, M., 2013) to allow customers to search its online store seamlessly. NTUC’s â€Å"As Is† Process In the Help section of NTUC’s website (2009), a customer simply need to log into their account, select the products and the required quantity before adding into the shopping cart. Once the purchase is confirmed, an email will be sent to the customer instructing him/her of the delivery information. According to the website, the earliest date customers can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional charges will also be imposed to rearrange another delivery date if the customer is not present to receive the goods. A clearer version of the â€Å"as is† process of NTUC is attached in Appendix 3. Figure 3: â€Å"As-Is† Process of NTUC NTUC’s â€Å"To Be† Process With the proposed upgrading of the online ordering system, online tracking system and implementing a collection / delivery point for NTUC, the â€Å"to-be† process is drafted in Figure 4 with a clearer version attached in Appendix 4. Figure 4: â€Å"To-Be† Process of NTUC Freeman, M. and Freeman, A. (2010) emphasized the importance that for the online ordering system to work, all products in the retailer’s inventory must be displayed. Out-of-stock products must be clearly indicated so that customers can make decisions on the spot to select alternative products. Rose, S., Clark, M., Samouel, P. and Hair, N. (2012), in their study, also supports this by saying that it is important for the retailer’s website to be easy to use. An overly complex navigation and information overload will reduce the probability of customers returning to patronize the online store. Omar, M., Bathgate, I. and Nwankwo, S. (2011), in their research, considered that when a customer is well-provided with order information and a clear estimate of the product arrival information, customers will be more certain of what they ordered and when they can expect their products to be delivered. It is therefore recommended for NTUC to set up an online tracking system for the purpose of allowing customers to trace their products any time of the day. Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) provided that failed deliveries can cause a lot of inconvenience and highly uneconomical for both the customers, logistics service providers and retailers. According to the studies, a 100% successful first-time delivery would incur a CO2 emission of 98g for urban deliveries. This, however, increases to 110g of CO2 emission for a 12.5% delivery failure. Song, L., Cherrett, T. & Guan, W. (2011) suggested reducing failed deliveries by using a network of collection / delivery points (such as in petrol stations, convenience stores, post  officers etc) in nearby neighborhoods as alternative delivery destination. Keeping failed deliveries to a low number would limit the amount of CO2 emission to the lowest possible level. In this â€Å"To-Be† process, an upgraded ordering system coupled with an online tracking system for customers to track their parcels and finally providing an alternative pickup location instead of having the hassle of arranging for future delivery trips will improve the transactional process which is according to the expectations of the customer. This will improve their perception of NTUC. PART 3 In Part 1, we identified the challenges NTUC faced when operating the online retail and delivery system. Appropriate solutions were put up with the aim to improve these challenges. Part 2 looked at the changes that need to be made to the business process. In Part 3, we will be looking at how NTUC translate performance objectives into operation priorities and subsequently, how NTUC measures its performance and recommend further improvements to ensure the success of the new system. Implementing a Performance Measurement System For NTUC to succeed into achieving its performance objectives, a performance measurement system needs to be put in place. The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., 1992) will be used for this purpose. Besides deciding and measuring performance, Sharma, A. (2009), in his research findings reported that the balanced scorecard can also help NTUC manage the strategies that require implementation and improvement so that the retailer’s long term goals are meet. Valmohammadi, C. and Servati, A. (2010) stated that it is very important to allow all managers, in this case all the Business Functions Managers in NTUC, participate in the performance measurement process. This is because implementation at various functions requires the expertise and active  participation of every functional levels in company. Balanced Scorecard of NTUC NTUC should start with an assessment of the company’s mission and vision; and working together with its functional managers identifies key objectives. SWOT analysis can be performed to eliminate the weaknesses and threats that NTUC is exposed to. NTUC will then develop the balanced scorecard (Appendix 5) which according to Sharma, A. (2009) helps each function teams understand and work towards its shared vision. The balanced scorecard depict the objectives, measures, targets and appropriate initiatives that are put in place to assess the performance around 4 broad areas (Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P., 1992), namely financial, customers, learning and growth and internal business processes. Financial Perspectives: The reason why NTUC would take up the recommendations to upgrade the suggested systems is ultimately to achieve financial returns. Without a doubt, the financial perspectives of this balanced scorecard would focus on measuring the revenue, profit and also to increase the online market share of the retail business. The indicator for revenue and profit can be retrieved from NTUC’s Annual Report. NTUC’s growth average revenue growth for the past 3 years average 8.91%. Hence, a 9% growth is recommended as target for the company. Figure 5: Deriving the Revenue Targets for NTUC (Source: NTUC Fairprice Annual Reports) Based on the Annual Report, the profit achieved has been consistently at approximately $120 million for 2010, 2011 and 2013. Hence, using these 3 years as benchmark, we propose NTUC to set a target of maintaining the profit level at S$125 million. Figure 6: Deriving Profit Margins for NTUC (Source: NTUC Fairprice Annual  Reports) According to a market report in UK (Thomas, J., 2010), sales in online retailing is expected to increase by 34.4% in 2014 compared to 2013. Online sales are also expected to increase to 12.4% of the total retail market. Basing on this forecast, NTUC could consider targeting to achieve an increase an online market share of 12% for 2014. Figure 7: Forecast UK Online Food and Drinks Market by Value, 2009 to 2014 (Source: just-food) Customers Perspectives: From the customers perspective, NTUC decided to upgrade its online retailing and delivery process is so that it could satisfy its online customers (Ruby, R.D. & Zhao, M., 2010) and ensure that they return again for their next purchase. Hence, it is necessary that NTUC tracks its performance on customers’ usage of its online site. With an easier to surf online ordering system that NTUC would be investing, it becomes necessary for the retailer to track its customers’ traffic flows on the internet (Gunawan, G., F, E. & King, M., 2008) as this gives the company an indication if it is successful in building customers’ awareness and loyalty of its online retail service. In their study, Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2011) reported that 38% of internet users access online food and grocery websites and this is likely to increase another 66% in he near future to 63%. We recommend targeting a 66% increase in online visitors as a performance measurement. Another performance measure would be to generate a report to derive the ratio of returning customers against its total online customer base. A target of 25% increase in online customer base is recommended which is in line with Jessica, L. (2011)’s report that the number of customers at NTUC has increased by an average of 25% every year. Learning and Growth Perspectives: The objectives on learning and growth focus on increasing the employees’ knowledge know-how of the new improved systems. With the implementation of the online order and tracking systems, NTUC need to ensure that its staffs undergo adequate trainings (Hoi, Y.C. and Alex W.H. Chan, 2012) to keep themselves up-to-date of what the new technology is able to achieve which allows them to handle challenges that arised in the future. As recommended by Lai, W.H. (2010), NTUC should budget 1% of its annual payroll to staff training and development. With improved system knowledge, NTUC’s employees would be able to make suggestions on how the business processes can be improved (Wilson, G., DuPlessis, A. and Marx, A., 2010). Adequate trainings (Tan, K. & Newman, E., 2012) also ensure NTUC’s employees are able to increase their productivity levels and NTUC should seek to achieve a 20% (Pollitt, D. 2012) increase in orders per head every month. Internal Business Processes Perspectives: In order to ensure the successful implementation of the proposed new systems, NTUC needs to ensure its internal functional teams are able to work seamlessly together. To measure the performance of its internal business processes, we propose NTUC to track the delivery success, product returns and ultimately the level of CO2 emission. Unsuccessful deliveries can be very costly and inefficient for companies. Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2009 and 2011) reported that approximately 30% of home deliveries failed for the first time and that between 25-30% of online purchases were returned to the retailer as compared to 6-10% in traditional shopping environments. Therefore, with implementation of the online ordering and tracking system, NTUC targets to achieve at least 80% success rate in its first time delivery and less than 25% returns of customers’ orders. Another recommended measure is to reduce the CO2 emission of NTUC’s delivery services. Assuming that 25-30% of the online purchases were returned as mentioned above by Edwards, J., Makinnon, A. and Cullinane, S. (2009 and  2011), the CO2 emission according to Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. & Cullinane, S.L. (2010) is 123g. NTUC should set its performance measurement target to reduce CO2 emission to 110g. Figure 8: Emissions (gCO2) per item including Failed Delivery Rates (Source: Edwards, J.B., McKinnon, A.C. and Cullianane, S.L., 2010) CONCLUSION In conclusion, this paper analysed the business operations of NTUC in their online retail and delivery service. Key challenges relating to availability of the intended purchased products online, timeliness of delivery and the conditions of the products as a result of the delivery was identified. Adopting a business operations management approach, we recommend NTUC to implement an integrated online ordering and tracking system to improve the retail business processes and eventually to increase customers’ confidence in its online retail business. 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