Toys R Us Management Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toys R Us Management Audit - Essay Example Toys "R" Us show cases some of the best toys across the world; so much so, that the Times Square store is a major tourist attraction for all visitors. The following paper presents a management audit of the chain store. The company is owned by a group of investors. There is a managing committee set up by the group which looks into the operations of the company. The company has interests in four major brands, viz., Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us, toysrus.com and Toys "R" Us International. Each one of them is headed by a President. Within the operations of every unit, there is a Executive Vice President heading the operation of every department. The structure below indicates the overall responsibilities in the company. There are also geographical heads for important regions in the organization, typically, North America. However, there are also heads for HR, product development, Sourcing, Finance and so on. This mixed structure helps the company in focusing on its major activity in any region or place. The same is also valid for splitting the businesses vertically in terms of baby products and toys. Isolation is also done on business plan basis. The internet business has been spun off into a separate enti ty, toysrus.com. Toys "R" Us is one of the leading toy stores. But for its baby products, it faces tough competition from the other major stores, viz., Wal-Mart, Target and others. But with the war intensifying, there is always a talk that Toys R Us might consider getting out of the toys business too. But then, with a wide network of retail stores across the United States and the major part of the world, Toys R Us is competitively positioned. However, they had to withdraw from more than one hundred stores in the year 2004. As of date, the strategic locations that are profitable to the chain stores are operated. The rest are either closed or let out for other retailers. And when it is the holiday season, they certainly cash in on it by ensuring there is something different in the store. This year it is the Big Toy book! Decision Making, Learning and Innovation Decision making in the company has been swift in coming through. Whether it is to close the stores in 2004 or open new ones this season in South Korea and Japan, the decisions have been made with clear knowledge of the market place and the future growth in mind. There has also been lessons learnt that is spread across to the decision making levels. The company itself is a learning organization and ensures that information about various products percolates down to the operating staff. Every one of the staff in the company can help a customer if there is need to in any of the toys being sold in the store. The importance for innovation in the products could be seen in a separate division that exists for the purpose. Planning & Strategy For planning and strategy, a SWOT analysis is done and the details are given in the table below: Strengths: The company is a major special retailer for toys and baby products. Knowledge of the business, strong retail chain of over 500 stores in the US and over 600 abroad ensure that the company could offer some of the best products. It also has a large asset base exceeding $2.9 bn. Weaknesses: Competition could eat into the profits of the company by underselling them. Typically, large departmental stores like Wal-mart and Target could do that. Inability to

John Edwards (Redeployment in Iraq) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

John Edwards (Redeployment in Iraq) - Essay Example A recent survey finds two in three Democrats believe the war is already lost and a serious criticism about the adventure of America's war against terrorism in Iraq is evident from the public side as well.1 President George W. Bush started the U.S.-Iraq War, led by the United States against the regime of Saddam Hussein, the authoritarian leader of Iraq in 2003. He explained that the goals of the war were to "disarm Iraq [and] to free its people." The initial reports of CIA and the Pentagon had demonstrated that Iraq possessed nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and these weapons were a serious threat to the world peace. But, after the Saddam regime has been overthrown and Saddam crucified, there is still no evidence of any such weapons of mass destruction and the public now doubts whether the goals stated by the Bush administration were really true or there were some other intentions that caused to start a war in the name of fight against terrorism and which has proved futile and fruitless. Over the years, more than 2,400 American military personnel have been killed and 18,000 wounded. The financial losses of this war are also dismal with more than $300 billion having been spent in this war and yet the war has not made the United States safer as promised to the American people. That is why; the people now are demanding immediate withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq. Among the advocates of withdrawal, there are the Democrats like John Deutch and Republicans like William Buckley.2 The Problem: From the above surveys, I can conclude that the majority of Americans does not believe in the success, intentions and goals of the U.S. - Iraq war. Besides the public opinion, there are some statistics that show the Bush Administration is not only suffering criticism on its policies, the Bush Administration's mistake in Iraq - invading for the wrong reasons and without enough troops to secure the country - have left the United States with no good options. The prolonged deployment of U.S ground forces in Iraq has resulted in increased suicide terrorism and the Iraq people now see the United States as an occupier rather than a savior. The invasion and occupation of Iraq has made terrorist threat worse than before. And coupled with Bush's disdain for managing shifting geopolitical balances to create a stable strategic environment in the Middle East, the Iraq War has weakened America's regional position in multiple ways.3 Thus, I would like to draw your attention about the actual problem that has caused a setback for the United States. From the facts mentioned above, it seems clear that the prolonged deployment of the American troops has negatively impacted the overall performance of the personnel at other fronts like Afghanistan and the probable action against Iran. Since the previous year, Al-Qaida has re-organized itself in Afghanistan and has gained control over many strategically important places. Similarly, there is instability in the bordering areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan where suicide attacks on the forces have become a common phenomenon and these attacks have negative psychological affects demoralizing the personnel deployed in the country. The war in Iraq has in fact caused the virtual isolation of the United States in the International community and the earlier supporters of the