Human Resource Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example The case study is all about the Jet Blue Airways which was founded by David Neeleman in the year 2000. The company has been trying to provide superior service to its staffs and has been constantly struggling for finding the right candidate who could blend with the culture of the organization. Rigorous training was provided to the staffs depending upon the duties and responsibilities. Moreover, the employees or the crew members went out of their way by helping the passengers; and the pilots used to interact with the customers and also engage themselves in activities such as cleaning up the plane for the next flight. The airport manager was found issuing the boarding passes. While recruiting the candidate, the company looked for people who had a positive attitude as the candidate was often asked to do certain things that were not a part of the job description. The airlines basically looked for the five values in the people they hired and these traits were given the first preferences. T he company’s recruitment and selection process have been quite complex. The selection process of the Jet Blue Airways has been focused on the ability of the applicant to handle the situation on several hypothetical situations. Even during the selection process the company tried its best to find the candidates’ abilities to imbibe the values of the Jet Blue. It was also found that despite having revolved around the values of the organization, the employees reported that they were unhappy with the leaders. From the above paragraph, it is evident that the company had a very complex recruitment and selection process. Moreover, it has been focusing more on the values during the selection and the recruitment process. Although, the culture of the organization has helped the company to perform well in the near past, however, it is not always possible for a candidate to have all the five values that the companies look for while recruiting and selecting the candidate. The compan y may face several problems if they have such tight recruitment and selection process. The company also faced problems of leadership and teamwork despite the leaders getting the best training. The company always realized the need to focus on the training of the leaders as they would guide their followers to adhere with the culture of the organization.  

The Obstacles and Hardships while Building the Transcontinental Term Paper

The Obstacles and Hardships while Building the Transcontinental Railroad - Term Paper Example This railway line was referred to as Overland Route (Burger 126). The China immigrant, Celestials, constructed the Central Pacific line. They were perceived weak to work in this line, but they proved that they could work perfectly in the railroad construction. They were employed to work in the construction of the Central Pacific line. Most of the Chinese were miners, or worked in kitchens and did laundries in service industries; others were imported in large numbers from China. The Chinese laborers went on strike because the three dollars a day wage was too little compared to the work that was being done on the railway (Uschan 241). The Irish laborers and the veterans of the Confederate armies and Unions built the Union pacific line. Brigham Young who was the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints yearned that the railway to be completed so that it could promote immigration and promote the growth of population in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden. Brigham and the Union Pacific made a labor contact that saw the Mormons have the sole responsibility of building the Union Pacific rail in Utah. They were also allowed to blast and tunnel across the canyon in Weber River (Cooper). The construction work of the transcontinental railway was manually done using black powder, used as explosives, horses, wheelbarrows that were used to ferry materials for construction, shovels, axes and mules. The construction work involved operations like tunneling, building bridges, engineering, masonry, surveying, blacksmithing, track laying, telegraphing and cooking. After completing the work, some Chinese went back to China; others settled in Western nations and got occupations as laundrymen, miners and restaurateurs. The Chinese that opted to settle in the States got land and settled along the Pacific Coast and San Francisco Bay (Cooper). The transcontinental railroad was completed in

Gender Representation in Advertisements

Gender Representation in Advertisements GENDER REPRESENTATION IN COMMERCIALS Imagine a commercial where a half naked man is bringing a beer bottle to a woman while pouring it all  over himself; Imagine a commercial where a loving husband cooks dinner while his wife is watching the  television on the sofa. Just imagine. Something does not seem right? That is because society is used to  certain types of commercials; ones where women are playing the domestic role and men are strong,  needed people. In this essay I will be explaining how different genders are being represented in the TV  advertisements and why ‘life’ from commercials is not something to look up to. Throughout the essay  these points will be shown by ‘taking apart’ commercials that have been on our TVs and we did not even  pay attention to the details and signs that were in front of us the whole time. Firstly, I would like to start from children’s commercials because the roles that young girls and boys are  playing are very similar to the ones that men and women have in other commercials. In one of the  Fisher-price.com[i] ads for a doll house, we can see two girls playing with some of the dolls and they are  already placing the ‘dad’ at the table sitting down while the ‘mom’ cooks and prepares everything,  whilst taking care of the ‘babies’. On the other hand, in a Tonka toy[ii] commercial we can see two boys  playing with the Tonka toys and they are being portrayed as very simple, not intelligent people as their  vocabulary is limited to ‘’This tool rules!’’ and ‘’Yea’’. In both of these commercials we can clearly see  that our children are being thought from a very young age who has which role in the family and this  society. Girls are there to serve the guys and guys are there to give a hand to the helpless girls. Secondly, we can look at commercials where the main characters are played by teenage girls and guys.   In Bissell commercial[iii] for a vacuum cleaner, we can see a family where the mom and her daughter are  very excited about cleaning and the boy in the family offers to get the vacuum for them, but the girl tells  him that there is no need because the vacuum cleaner is not even heavy. Cleaning is being shown as  something fun and easy, and by this society pushes girls into domesticity from young age. When we take  a look at teen males, Axe ad[iv], some people would say that it is just a funny commercial, but others could  be very offended by it. There is a need for the sexual desire of the audience, female and male, since  women are wearing very revealing clothing and are being shown as sexual objects and are willing to do  anything for the attention and acceptance of men. The guy in the commercial is also being shown as just  some kind of a sexual object because he is half naked and women are all over him- stereotypes of  masculinity. And finally, let’s take a look at how adult females and males are being represented in commercials. In  Dyson Vacuum cleaner[v] ad firstly we see a woman in a bikini posing for a photo in some kind of a photo  shoot. The photographer is a man, and the staff that brings drinks to the employees are girls. In the next  moment we see that a vacuum cleaner is connected to the models back and when the guy who is   holding the vacuum cleaner turns it off, the model becomes overweight and much more curvy. She does  not look upset by this fact at all, moreover she is totally fine with it and even walks of the set smiling. This commercial is very downgrading towards women and is very hard to look at and laugh from a  women’s perspective. For the male adults, I have chosen the Milwaukees BEST LIGHT[vi] commercials  because all of them are sending the same message. Men who are showing affection towards their  partners do not deserve to live is the most simple way of putting what this commercial has to show. If  there is any sign of caring and loving side in a man, they are not masculine; all men need to behave in a  tough guy manor, and if not they get mocked and put down. All of these commercials show us how society has accepted certain roles in life as normal, where women  are portrayed as subordinate to men. This can be connected to Marxism, where the proletariat role have  women and men are the bourgeoisie. Gramsci explains that the process by which a power relationship is  accepted, consented to and seen as natural or as ‘common sense’ exists- Hegemony. It is ‘normal’ that a  woman is cleaning, washing, taking care of children, cooking and serving her partner. It is ‘normal’ that a  man is working, bringing the money to the house, fixing things, waiting for everything to come to him,  not caring. Commercials are a part of the media and a lot of people blame the media for everything that the society  is doing and thinking. Levin and Kilbourne claim that heavy exposure to media alters the viewers  perception of social reality in a way that matches the media world, and they are not the only ones. A lot  of very influential people share their opinion, like Germaine Greer, an Australian theorist and academic,  who believes that the media upholds an ideal image of beauty in its representation-an image that the  women are made to be desperate to conform to. The emphasis on beauty/’sexiness’ and women in the  media has meant that women now believe that if they do not conform to this-if they are not beautiful-  they are not successful and are useless. Not only women are the ones who are trying to fit into this  picture that has been imposed on us, according to the research done by academics a lot of men feel the  same way. There is a lot of focus on mus cled and very fit male bodies and it is causing men the same  anxiety and personal insecurity that women have felt for decades. At first I did approach this topic from a feminist side, but simply because it was quite obvious that men  are the one in control and the women were represented as passive objects of the male gaze (Mulvey  1975). University of North Texas professor Steve Craig said that women tend to be represented as  rewards for men who choose the right product; these commercials are narratives of playful escapades  away from home and family. Later on, as I was going through even more material, such as Kraft dressing[vii] and Diet Coke[viii]  commercials, I realized that a number of ads have represented men as objects for the female gaze.  Women viewers are not passive but active and engage critically with these kinds of media texts by   selecting texts that have meaning for them. Even though we do blame the media for these impositions,  Gammon and Marshment stress the importance of the audience’s role in the construction of meaning in  media texts and emphasis the range of interpretations that any text offers. Although these days there are a lot of commercials that are representing men and women differently,  one type of commercial has never been made with a female as the customer and the men as the ‘bait’-  beer commercials. For this reason I have decided to concentrate on beer commercials and how they  affect women and men everywhere. According to Susan Bordo, an academic, men in beer ads are always  being portrayed as virile, slim, muscular and powerful, whilst the women are eager for male  companionship, weak, vulnerable. Men and beer have gone together for ages. Beer is crafted by men in  factories owned by men, sold to men, and consumed by men. I have done a research in order to see if my suspicions are indeed correct. After gathering the results of  my survey, I have found out that a 100% of females asked knew what beer is and have tried it before,  80% of them liked it and would have it again and 48% of them said that beer is their number one drink  when choosing to drink alcohol. When talking about just the United States, according to Dr, Bart Watson  women account for 25% of total consumption by volume, and 37% of craft-beer consumption in the  United States. Meg Gill has said: ‘’It has gotten better the last few years, but sometimes you hear ‘let me pour you  something sweet, honey.’ Women, just like men, love hops. And women can detect bitterness much  better than men.’’ Women were also the first to turn brewing into a lucrative industry, taking beer out  of their kitchens and selling it for a profit around town. In medieval Europe, women known as alewives  skirted the discriminatory rules against female ownership of land and business by opening ale houses.   So why aren’t there any beer commercials where the women are drinking beer and the men are bringing  it to them? Factory-dominated brewing has gone on for so long it seems that society has completely  forgotten that beer was once the domain of women. A lot of people assume that women are trying beer  just because their husband or boyfriend offered them once, when in reality women have been drinking  beer for a longer time than they have been with their husbands. Gender inequality leads to economic  disadvantage for women, gendered violence, exclusion from the higher echelons of power but also from  enjoying good beer. Arbitrary and anachronistic feminine stereotypes are internalized essentially by  women- Naomi McAuliffe. If any of the companies do choose to try and sell the beer to the female part of society, they need to be  very careful since they are not just telling us what beer we are supposed to be drinking, they are also  letting us know what they think about us, collectively, and as individuals. According to Beer Genie the  reason that women don’t drink as much beer as men is a combination of misconceptions, myopic macho  marketing, a lack of knowledge and information and the way it is served. It has nothing to do with the  taste, and that is why I think that the commercials are to blame for women being ‘afraid’ to try beer or  even ask for one in a bar/pub. In order to try and change the view of beer, I have decided to make a beer commercial where the roles  will be changed. The woman is going to be the one drinking the beer, and the man is going to be the one  handing it to her. I am hoping that by doing this, I will be able to show how by just reversing the ‘normal’  roles, men and women can be seen in a different light. If we want to provide males and females with a wide range of possible roles, we need to make sure that  they are being thought from the young age that they are free to explore all the roles. There is a lot of  room for improvement when it comes to gender representation in commercials. [i] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHy8zMPOa2Q [ii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlmGRhj7vM [iii] Look at the attachment [iv] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6rAQHa1gmc [v] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_3oIy5jAG0 [vi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGItoKaX0BM [vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1dEWhutm8 [viii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff-jBpca7Cw BIBLIOGRAPHY: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/14/pint-beer-woman-right Accessed: 22/5/15 http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=7225 Accessed: 22/5/15 http://firstwefeast.com/drink/how-craft-beer-fails-its-female-fan-base/ Accessed: 25/5/15 http://www.tested.com/food/460240-women-are-taking-back-beer/ Accessed: 20/5/15 http://www.beerwestmag.com/the-magazine/feature-have-you-really-come-a-long-way-baby/ Accessed: 22/5/15 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/14/pint-beer-woman-right Accessed: 20/5/15 All of these sources are very reliable and up to date. Some of them have been written in more than two years ago, but have been updated fairly recently.

Arizona SnowBowl Essay -- Snow Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Arizona SnowBowl â€Å"A typical Ski season at the Arizona Snow-Bowl last from December to Easter† (Arizona SnowBowl Upgrade proposed Action, September 2002, p.2). The Arizona Snow-Bowl, which is located in the San Francisco Peaks, seven miles outside of Flagstaff, Arizona was only open four days last year! Alarming? Yes, this is why the Arizona Snow bowl has released a full proof plan, which consists of making their own snow! Thanks to Wayne Pierce, the inventor of the snowmaking machine, Arizona Snowbowl has offered a proposal to remodel their ski resort. which includes the installation of Snow-making machines. The remodeling also includes the building of one new chair lift, the addition of new ski runs, maintenance work on three existing chair lifts, lighting for night time skiing, the creation of a half pipe, the addition of a snow play area for families, the improvement of service facilities/infrastructure, and a cultural center for native Americans. If it were not for Wayne Pierce and his great invention, the Arizona SnowBowl would not even be able to consider these improvements. The improvements would not be plausible without a consistent ski season, which a snow machine can deliver. With all the advantages that a snow machine could bring to Northern Arizona, there are some people who do not want to see the Arizona SnowBowl join the ninety-one percent of ski areas who make their own snow on National Forest land (Murray, p.3). These people have raised great controversy in Northern Arizona because they would like to see the mountain stay as pristine as possible. The only problem with their point of view is that there are more advantages than disadvantages to installing snow machines. The biggest advantage ... ...None of the renovations being made will take place outside of the Arizona SnowBowl boundaries. Also, the Arizona SnowBowl boundaries only take up â€Å"†¦.4 of one percent of the total acreage of the Peaks† (Frederick, p. 2). The only things the renovations will do are improve the ski area itself. The Arizona SnowBowl is one of the few ski resorts in the west that does not make artificial snow. If the Arizona SnowBowl were to make their own snow the positives would far exceed the negatives. The positives that would occur would be an economic increase to the Flagstaff area. Also, the customer satisfaction at the ski resort would go up significantly. The Arizona SnowBowl would not expand its boundaries, thus the peaks would not be negatively impacted. If snow could be made on the mountain Flagstaff would become a resort town and attract a wider range of snow users.

Coca Cola Vending Machines Case Study

Coca Cola a Vending Machine Case Study Problem Statement: Coca Cola Co. , the world’s largest beverage company is facing a public relation nightmare which can ultimately put their brand image at stake. Their Chairman and CEO, Ivan Ivester, abruptly announced the introduction of interactive vending technology which will lower the price of coke during off-peak buying time and increase the price during very hot weather conditions, Ivester virtually confirmed the vending machines will be introduced to the market soon.The core problem is not if the vending machine should be brought to market but WHEN and what the public relations/marketing strategy should be in the midst of the current media scrutiny to rebuild loyalty with avid coke drinkers and Coke’s image. Critical Factors: Increasing the vending machine profit, which has been the main profit resource for the company, serves the purpose of the new technology. Sales of soft drinks are on the rise. Last year, about 11. 9 % of soft drinks world- wide derived from vending machines. Intelligent vending has already begun in Japan using the same technology.Taking full advantage of the law of supply and demand, price fluctuations occur all the time in several industries such as the airline and movie industries and are not new to the general public. It often occurs when the supply for any product is high and the demand is low; basic economics. Price discrimination also can occur demographically or geographically and is hard to eliminate from a customer’s mind once disclosed in a negative light ultimately setting the stage to lose customers to Coke’s #1 competitor, PepsiCo. Additionally, their brand image is at stake.Ivester's statements regarding the new technology was disclosed too soon and the response from the public relations team was not sufficient to the loyal coke drinkers and the media, spurring several negative articles and backlash from their customers. Strategic Alternatives: Option A. Eliminate any option of introducing the interactive vending machines to the public in the near future and create a new public relations and marketing strategy focusing on Coke's loyalty to its customers to include re-establishing the value of drinking coke during extreme hot and cold temperatures.Option B. Proceed with a plan to implement the intelligent vending machines at a later date than plan originally plan, while working to develop a new public relations and marketing strategy to curtail the current media damage, focusing on Coke's loyalty to its customers and re-establish the value of drinking coke during any weather conditions. Evaluation of Alternatives: Option A: ?Pros: Build trust with consumers; on same level with competitors regarding technology. Cons: This strategy does not coincide with the company’s marking plan to pump more sales of the flagship coke into the market, most likely utilizing the heat sensitive vending machine as one of the core tactics to in crease revenues. Option B: ?Pros: Technology availability and costs to implement the new vending machines is inexpensive due to falling prices of the temperature sensors and computer chips; ? Internet connectivity associated with the technology makes it very easy to track daily and hourly demand based on fluctuations thus making it easy to determine the price point offered in any region; ?The new public relations and marketing campaign will slowly educate the consumer of the inevitable; ? Increase profitability during the peak season due to lower costs compared to competitors. ?Cons: Run the risk of losing loyal customers due to the price gaps urging many consumers to search for lower price from the competitor’s vending machine; ? Largest competitor, PepsiCo announced they have did not have any plans to introduce the new technology Recommendation: Option B Corrective measures must take place to implement a strategy of price changes.Coke must improve their public image with a well executed public relations and marketing strategy. Justification: As a consumer, I am not sure why corporations continue to insult our intelligence. If a product is in the testing stage, then it is just a matter of time before the new technology, (if worthy) is introduced to the market. R in this case, serves the sole purpose of creating new technology in order to maximize efficiency and costs, thus increasing profits. And, quite frankly there is nothing wrong with a company trying to maximize profits.Vending machines have remained largely untouched by discounting and although the machines can automatically raise prices for its drinks in hot weather, in my opinion not too many consumers would notice. Coca Cola Co. can also be the first in the SDC market to introduce new innovation that will be able to effectively gauge the buying interests of their customer by the touch of a button. This technology will help to predict sale revenues and take the guesswork out of customersâ€℠¢ wants and needs.It will also allow Coca Cola Co, to always stay ahead of the competition and remained the leader in the industry. Additionally, price discrimination exists everywhere, across all industries and the new technology will connote increased efficiency for the entire SDC market. The public relations and marketing campaign will help to educate and prepare the average consumer of the inevitable introduction of heat sensitive vending machines. The goal in mind for the campaign is to continue to establish Coke as the number one thirst quencher regardless of the weather.

Mystery Shopper Next

For our marketing Research project we were required to carry out extensive research on the topic of mystery shopping. This project required us to construct a mystery shopping programme of a service business. The service business that was chosen was Next, a renowned retailer for fashion and homeware. The project will outline the objectives of the research and the mystery shopping programme.It will also examine the results of the programme and suggest possible recommendations. Methodology The primary objective of the report was to find out the public’s perception of Next. In order to attain this information, we decided it was best to initiate a mystery shopper programme. This programme involved hand-picking ten individuals, based on age, sex, and location, to act as consumers in Next. Each individual was to enter the chosen store and to return honest feedback on their experience, through the use of a questionnaire.The drafted questionnaire examined areas such as store layout, st aff, and ambience. The objective of this was to access direct knowledge of consumers opinions in areas that were outlined in the questionnaire and mystery shopper briefing. In order to eliminate bias, each selected individual was briefed on understanding the questionnaire and what aspects of the shop were to be examined. The chosen method provided us with objective feedback which was essential in the completion of the report. Findings In this section of the report we will show our findings of each store that was visited.Altogether there were seven stores visited. (Sligo, Enniskillen, Letterkenny, Athlone, Castlebar, Limerick and the store in the Jervis shopping centre in Dublin). These are our findings: Sligo The Sligo store is located in the quayside shopping centre in Sligo town. The store was visited on four occasions. On each occasion the store was clean and tidy on the inside and out. On every visit the changing rooms were tidy. The outside of the shop was attractive and inviti ng towards customers, with posters advertising a sale and an entrancing and eye catching clothes display in the window.The store is completely wheelchair accessible. No one was greeted as they entered the store, on one visit members of staff were standing around talking amongst themselves, and only one person thought that there was a welcoming atmosphere in the store as it was warm and there was calming music being played. Three out of four people were pleased with the temperature within the shop with one person thinking the air conditioning was turned up too high. The clothes on display were easy to reach for three out of four of the customers, with the same amount finding that all sizes were on display.Only on two of the visits were the staff wearing the correct uniform, such as name badges. On just two out of the four visits the staff asked if assistance was needed and only one customer said that eye contact was made with them and that they were polite. At the till there was an a verage of 1-4 till kiosks open with less than five people in each queue. On all four visits it did not take long to get served and all of the customers were thanked for shopping at the store, but found that the exit signs were not clearly illuminated.All four people said that they would recommend the Sligo store to others. The overall opinions of the store varied. One out of the four customers said that it was perfect. Out of the other three, more helpful staff, a new layout, lower shelves and a bigger store were mentioned. Enniskillen The Next store in Enniskillen is located in the Erneside shopping centre in Enniskillen. This store was visited on only one occasion. On this occasion the entrance and the outside of the store were clean and tidy. The inside was also tidy.It was attractive on the eye and the changing rooms were spotless. The outside of the shop looked attractive and inviting due to the black and white theme on the outside of the shop which ‘Next’ is renow ned for. The store is wheelchair accessible. The customer was not greeted by any member of staff on entrance to the store and thought the atmosphere was not welcoming as it was dark inside the store. The customer thought that the temperature in the store was comfortable. They were not asked however by any member of staff if they needed assistance.The customer found that some of the rails in the store were too high but all sizes were stocked and that the staff were helpful when asked about the sizes, but not all members of staff were wearing a name badge. At the checkout four checkouts were open and there was less than five people in the queue, and did not have to wait long to get served. The customer was thanked for shopping at the store and found that the exit signs were clearly visible. This customer said that they would recommend this store to others and that the staff were quite friendly but could have been more helpful.They’re overall opinion was that the store could be bigger with more or better lighting conditions. Letterkenny The Letterkenny store is located in Letterkenny Retail Park. This store was visited on one occasion. On this occasion the outside of the premises was not clean and tidy and did not look attractive and inviting to customers as it looked dirty. The store is wheelchair accessible. On entering the store the customer was not greeted by a member of staff and the atmosphere was not welcoming as the music in the store was very faint and couldn’t be heard clearly.Other than that the inside of the store was clean, tidy and attractive. The temperature in the shop was fine also. No member of staff asked the customer if they needed assistance. The customer was not able to reach some of the clothes as they were hung too high. Not all the sizes were displayed and stocked but the staff did check to see if they had the size in the store room. The changing room was tidy and uncluttered. When the customer got to the till four tills wer e in operation, there were more than five people in the queue and it took six minutes for them to get served.The staff at the checkout were described as friendly and thanked the customer for shopping in the store. The exit signs were clearly illuminated. The customer said their overall experience of shopping in the store was disappointing but acceptable. The customer also said that they would not recommend this store to others because not all sizes were stocked and the atmosphere in the shop and the customer service was poor, and suggested having more staff on the floor. Athlone The ‘Next’ store in Athlone is located in the Athlone Town shopping centre, just off the M6 motorway.This store was visited once only. The entrance to the store was clean and tidy and the outside of the store was attractive and inviting to customers. The store is wheelchair accessible. When the customer entered the store they were not greeted by anyone. The atmosphere within the shop was not wel coming as there was no music being played in the store, but the temperature was acceptable. The inside of the store was attractive, but the changing rooms were not tidy and unsatisfactory. The clothes were easy to view and reach but not all sizes were displayed.No member of staff asked if the customer needed assistance, but they were polite and helpful when getting a bigger size for the customer. All staff were wearing full uniform including name badges. When the customer got to the checkout there were four tills in operation and did not take long to get served. They were not thanked for shopping at the store but said the checkout staff were friendly and the exit signs were clear and illuminated. The customer said that they would recommend this store to others as they had a good overall experience in the store but feel that more staff are needed.Castlebar The Castlebar store is located in Lannagh Road Retail Park which is a five minute walk from the main street in Castlebar. The ent rance to the store was not up to standard as it was not clean and tidy, although the front of the shop was. The store is wheelchair accessible. When the customer entered the store they were greeted by a member of staff, and due to this made the atmosphere of the store feel welcoming. The inside of the store itself was clean and attractive and the temperature of the store was fine. A member of staff offered assistance, with a smile and good eye contact was made.All staff were wearing the correct uniform with their name badges. All of the sizes were displayed on the rails and they were easily accessible. The changing room was clean and tidy. At the till only a limited number of tills were in operation with less than five people in the queue and it took around three minutes to get served. The customer was thanked for shopping at the store and the exits were clearly marked and illuminated. This customer would recommend this store to others due to the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, b ut suggests better parking facilities. LimerickThe Limerick store is located in the Crescent shopping centre in Limerick which is situated two miles outside of Limerick city centre. The entrance to the shop was not clean and tidy and was blocked by a stand, this did not make the store look attractive and inviting to customers, although it was bright and lit up, the stand spoilt it. The store is wheelchair accessible. The customer was not greeted by a member of staff on entering the store and the atmosphere was not very welcoming. Also the store did not have a modern feel to it, which ‘Next’ would have a reputation for being.The store was not clean or tidy either. The temperature in the store was not sufficient as the customer found it very stuffy. One of the good points about this store was that a member of staff did ask if the customer needed assistance but did not smile or make eye contact while doing so. The staff were wearing the correct uniform including name badge s. The clothes were easily reachable on the rails but not all sizes were displayed or stocked and staff were not helpful when asked for another size. The changing room was clean and tidy.At the checkout there were 1-3 checkouts in operation with more than five people in the queue. It took ten minutes to get served, and the checkout staff did not speak. The customer was not thanked for shopping at the store but the exit signs were clear and illuminated. This customer would not recommend this store others due to not being felt welcomed or comfortable in the store and believes that the store should be renovated. Dublin There are many next stores in Dublin but the one that was visited was the one located in the Jervis shopping centre in Dublin city centre.This store was visited on one occasion. The entrance to the store was not clean and tidy but the outside of the store looked attractive and inviting due to the window display of the stores clothing. The store is wheelchair accessible. On entering the store the customer was not greeted by a member of staff, but the atmosphere was welcoming and the temperature in the store was nice and warm. The inside of the store was clean, tidy and attractive. The customer was not asked by any member of staff if they needed assistance. The clothes were easy to view and reach, and all sizes were displayed.The changing room was clean, tidy and uncluttered. At the till there were between 1-3 checkouts open, there was less than five people in the queue, it did not take long to get served. The staff were not neatly dressed and wearing their name badges but they were polite and made good eye contact with the customer and thanked the customer for shopping at the store. The exit signs were not clearly illuminated in this store. The customer would recommend this to others as the staff were very friendly. But said that they should be better dressed. RecommendationsIn this part of the report we outline the recommendations that we would mak e to Next based on our findings from the mystery shopping exercise. These are our recommendations: Firstly we believe that they should retrain right across the board. From shop assistants right up to managers. There should be a strict set of rules implemented into this training and an exam must be passed by all employees. The employees will then get a certificate to say that they have completed this. The managers would have to complete a more advanced course, dealing with all the topics the employees have to with a few added extras.During this training the following must be covered. Employees 1. Customers must be greeted when they walk in the door to make them feel welcomed. 2. Staff must ask customers if they need assistance within thirty seconds of them being on the premises. 3. When speaking to customers, speak politely and mannerly and eye contact must be made. 4. Correct uniform must be worn at all times. Especially a name badge. 5. Staff must make sure that the changing rooms are clean and clutter free at all times. 6. Make sure all sizes are on display. 7.If there is a substantial queue at the till, get another staff member to open another till. 8. Always thank the customer for shopping at the store. Managers 1. Make sure the outside of the premises is kept clean. 2. Delegate different employees to particular jobs. And make sure everybody knows what there job is. 3. Make sure that the music in the shop is on, clear and loud enough so the customers can hear it but not so loud that it is deafening. 4. Keep on top of the uniform issue as this was one of the weak areas of the mystery shopping survey.Secondly we believe that you should have a review of all your stores and try and complete any work that needs to be done. Such as a new layout or renovation. For example. The store in Limerick was described as not very modern. Next is well known for having a fashionable range of clothing and if the shop does not reflect this image then customers will not come in to the store. Another example would be a lot of rails have been described as too high. You could combat this by making them lower or having a hook that customers would use to reach the clothing. Finally we would recommend that you should look at your staffing policy.On a number of visits to your stores it has pointed out that if there was more staff then it would have been a better shopping experience. Even one more extra staff member per store would make a huge difference. Conclusion Overall, the project was a huge success. The implementation of the Questionnaire gave us valuable opinions which were vital in being able to recommend changes for the service. The physical aspect of the mystery shopper enabled us to gather first hand, unbiased information which would have been very difficult to receive, had another method of research been chosen. Appendices: