Panera Bread Essay Example for Free

Panera Bread Essay What are the Panera Bread’s primary sources of competitive advantage? In your judgment, are these sources of advantages sustainable? Why or why not? Panera’s primary sources of competitive advantage are: (1) the distinctive nature of its bakery products, (2) its brand strength, (3) the atmosphere of its restaurants, and (4). its position in the restaurant industry Yes,Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) operates the signature restaurant chain Panera Bread, selling hand-crafted breads, sandwiches, salads, and drinks. Panera Bread bakery-cafes are often associated with the concept of â€Å"fast casual†, a mixture between fast food and more upscale casual dining. Customers still pay for their food at the counter, like a traditional fast food restaurant, but Panera arranges tables and chairs to be conducive to group meetings. Most Panera Bread restaurants are located in suburban strip malls and regional malls. As of December 29, 2009, Panera had 1,380 bakery-cafes, spanning 38 states, as well as some locations in Canada. Traditionally, companies like Panera have suffered in recessions, which decrease the frequency with which consumers eat out at restaurants. 1] However, Panera’s strategy during the recession has been â€Å"to stay consistent and not to react to the recession†, keeping costs constant and offering new salads and sandwiches. [2] As a result, Panera’s â€Å"fast casual† niche (between casual dining and fast food) contributes to its relative success; this positioning allowed it to avoid discounting wars and maintain its margins by attracting customers with a higher quality product perceived to be a good value for the money. Panera bread has a great meal of Bacon Turkey Bravo with 28G of fat per meal.

Bearing Arms at Nineteen Years Old Essay -- argumentative, persuasive,

The right to bear arms is embedded in our Nation’s constitution as the second amendment of the Bill of Rights. The amendment states, â€Å"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed (Bill of Rights).† Currently these laws should be extended to nineteen year olds because they are considered legal adults and citizens. Although the United States no longer has local militias, the idea of keeping a secure state still stands today. Since 1960, the general trend for crime in the United States is at a gradual increase (Uniform Crime Reports). With the growing concern for the safety of the community, young adults at the age of nineteen should be able to conceal and use a handgun. This idea of concealing a handgun has been present in state laws for a long time. In Alabama, the law of 1819 states, â€Å"every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of him (or her) self and the st ate (Volokh 191-217/ 27).† These rights however, should come with some qualifications in order to regulate gun control. Having organization would prevent chaos and irresponsibility. Lastly, there are many safe recreational uses for handguns such as formal competitions or usage at approved firing ranges. Nineteen year olds should be allowed to participate in these activities. Overall, the right for nineteen year olds to conceal a handgun is justifiable; however, this right should be regulated with the main purpose of safety. The idea that nineteen year olds being allowed to conceal handguns is clearly justifiable. First, nineteen year olds should be allowed to bear arms because of their constitutional right and legal status. Secondly, nineteen year olds are more immersed in a... ...ustice, . "Violent Crime." FBI. Uniform Crime Reports, 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2012. . Uniform Crime Reports. "United States Crime Rates 1960 - 2010." The disaster center. The Disaster Center, 2011. Web. 31 Mar 2012. . United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs., . Washington : U.S. G.P.O., 2009. 0. . Volokh, Eugene. "State Constitutional Rights To Keep And Bear Arms." Texas Review of Law & Politics. 11.1 (2006): 191-217/ 27. Web. 31 Mar. 2012. .

Organization of International Business

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and now is the world’s largest and most successful grocery retailer which was selected as world’s largest company in 2007, by Fortune 500. It has 8,970 stores in 15 countries and total revenue of $421,849 billion (2010). Wal-Mart’s main business strategy is ‘EDLP-Every Day Low Price’ which is the key-point of their success. To accomplish this strategy, they mainly focused on efficiency of distribution structure. They used ‘Cross-docking system’, ‘POS’ system, ‘QR-Quick Response’ System. All those strategies core values are ‘Time’ and ‘Response’.Shorten the time for everything includes distribution, storing, etc directly affected lower the price of goods which could be best response to customer need. In other words, Wal-Mart has been successful since they always managed their time and response to customer. Those points were same for Wal-Mart ’s â€Å"International division† startegy. Their international division wasn’t like these days at the early stage. The international division was centralized so the branches needed to get approval for every action and decision from headquarter in USA.However, this centralization process made whole process slow and it harmed the core value of Wal-Mart. Also, they realized that the system can’t be same in other countries. It needed to be changed and modified in order to fully get into each local market place. By the late 1990’s they started to change their policy for international division. They gave more responsibility to each division so that they don’t have to wait for approval and response from headquarter. By this change, each international divisions could meet their local market’s need more rapidly and effectively.2. Why did the centralization of decisions in Wal-Mart’s international division at headquarters create problems for the company’s different national operations? Has Wal-Mart’s response been appropriate? The headquarter first thought that centralization will help them get into other countries cause the methods and ways they used were already proved in domestic market. The centralization wasn’t that bad when they started because there were not many things to care about. However, by the international division gets bigger, they had to deal with bunch of things from lot of different countries.The headquarter had to consider tons of decisions and problems. Of course the whole process got into arrears. In other word, the headquarter of Wal-Mart was overloaded. This condition was natural because the domestic way couldn’t be fitted same in other countries. Each international division tried their best in order to make maximum profit on their market, and that effort caused lot of things to be approved by headquarter. To solve this problem, Wal-Mart started to decentralize th eir international division. This helped each division to tailor them self more easily for the local customers.They could make decision and take action faster. Also they could response to local customer’s need instantly. I think this decision was pretty appropriate. Headquarter can focus to their main domestic market without waste their energy and international division also can make best result in their local market. 3. Do you think that having an international division is the best structure for managing Wal-Mart’s foreign operations? What problems might arise with this structure? What other structure might work? I think international division is moderate choice for Wal-Mart’s foreign operations.The head quarter can easily replicate the domestic structure to international division so that they don’t struggle from start in new local market. However, I think there could be problems arise with that way. There could be damage to headquarter’s reputatio n they’ve made in domestic market if international division makes mistake or distortion of core value while they try to adjust to local market. It will seriously harm whole Wal-Mart’s name and will affect their sales. For example, while they try to get into Korea, they didn’t know about Korea’s atmosphere and condition.They struggled in Korea for years and finally got out of Korea without getting anything. This mistake damaged Wal-Mart’s name maybe not only in Korea division but also in headquarter. In this case for Wal-Mart, Worldwide Area Structure could worked, too. If they use this structure, the great system they proved in domestic market can be used in all the areas but all the other things can be adjusted to each area’s property. In that way, they can reduce possibility of failure in certain country like Korea or German.4. Conclusion Wal-Mart is one of biggest company in the world and they’re making huge amount of money all ove r the world. There is no doubt that they are successful. But it doesn’t mean that they have nothing to fix or improve. If they want to expand their business, they should make their international division more efficient and effective. That means, sure they should use their great system they have used in domestic market to international division but those strategies are needed to be reformed in each countries. In that way, they might able to make high profit all over the world without struggling from cultural and industry difference.

Why I Acted As A Job Coach For A Young Man With Cognitive...

A few semesters ago, I completed fieldwork for another course with Tommie Calfee, CTRS at Austin Travis County Integral Care (ATCIC), where I acted as a job coach for a young man with cognitive and developmental disabilities resulting from a traumatic brain injury sustained immediately after birth. My experience with â€Å"J.† and ATCIC was so enlightening and fulfilling that when I saw that Tommie was looking for volunteers this semester, I jumped at the chance to once again be a part of the amazing team at ATCIC. The bulk of my hours were spent preparing for and volunteering at the New Milestones Foundation’s â€Å"Bridging the Gap- Unmasking Stigma, Changing the Script of Homelessness† fundraising gala, but I also had the opportunity to work with the Substance Abuse Prevention Services team in their Strengthening Families program. Austin Travis County Integral Care, formerly Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation (MHMR) Center, assists over 26,000 Travis County residents with brain-based disorders annually by providing community-based services (About Us Austin Travis County Integral Care†). Services offered range from crisis, psychiatric and medication treatment to employment and vocational services; even housing and supported living services are provided. Every program is designed to meet the needs of those served in a way that respects their dignity and human rights. In fact, the name of the agency was changed, in part, to â€Å"honor the dignity of people whoShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesIncludes indexes. ISBN-13: 978-0-13-283487-2 ISBN-10: 0-13-283487-1 1. Organizational behavior. I. Judge, Tim. II. Title. HD58.7.R62 2012 658.3—dc23 2011038674 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 10: 0-13-283487-1 ISBN 13: 978-0-13-283487-2 Brief Contents Preface xxii 1 2 Introduction 1 What Is Organizational Behavior? 3 The Individual 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Diversity in Organizations 39 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction 69 Emotions and Moods 97 Personality and Values 131 Perception and Individual DecisionRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pagesbetter study smarter save money From multiple study paths, to self-assessment, to a wealth of interactive visual and audio resources, WileyPLUS gives you everything you need to personalize the teaching and learning experience.  » F i n d o u t h ow t o M A K E I T YO U R S  » www.wileyplus.com ALL THE HELP, RESOURCES, AND PERSONAL SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS NEED! 2-Minute Tutorials and all of the resources you your students need to get started www.wileyplus.com/firstday StudentRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesactivities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo SydneyRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 PagesContents Feigenbaum−Feigenbaum †¢ The Power of Management Capital 1. New Management for Business Growth in a Demanding Economy 1 1 Text Jones−George †¢ Contemporary Management, Fourth Edition I. Management 17 17 2. The Evolution of Management Thought Hughes−Ginnett−Curphy †¢ Leadership, Fifth Edition I. Leadership is a Process, Not a Position 51 51 70 1. Leadership is Everyone’s Business 2. Interaction between the Leader, the Followers the Situation Cohen †¢ Effective Behavior in OrganizationsRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pagesinformation science text series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–1–59158–408–7 (alk. paper) ISBN 978–1–59158–406–3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Library administration—United States. 2. Information services— United States—Management. I. Moran, Barbara B. II. Title. Z678.S799 2007 025.1—dc22 2007007922 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright  © 2007 by Robert D. Stueart and Barbara B. Moran All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced