Category: Auditing

The Sam Houston State University (SHSU) offers its MBA program as part of courses for its College of Business Administration (College of Business Administration, 2015). The university boasts of small classes that improve the personal education environment for students and help in boosting interaction and overall experience. All courses at the college pass accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. This report will focus on all the courses and the MBA program as the main case for review.

Mission and vision analysis

The university has a 130-year heritage of preparing students for meaningful lives. Its motto of the measure of a life is its service propels students to engage in research and innovative ways of doing things. It also encourages students to offer volunteer services. The motto also provides room for additional student and faculty engagements that qualify for meaningful service.

The SHSU seeks to become the best online university in Texas. Based on its progress in providing an online course, it should realize the mission soon. The overall university mission is to provide high-quality education, scholarship, and service to qualified students. It does this to provide benefits to regional, state, national, and international constituencies. The overall mission is broad, thereby allowing it to capture every element of SHSU activities and strategic plans. However, its broadness also makes it vague, as it does not specifically direct actions at the University of a particular course, other than the provision of worthy education (Institutional mission statement, 2015).

The SHSUs vision is to become the best at educating the Texas workforce. Also, the university has five values that drive its vision. The values make practical applications of the vision statement, thereby allowing the students, faculty, and other stakeholders to participate effectively in the realization of the vision. The values are excellence in academics, effectiveness in student success, efficiency in operations, loyalty to traditions, and dedication to innovation.

The following table shows whether the mission and vision statements are catering to important factors for the universitys strategic success.

Table 1: Vision and mission analysis.

External Audit

The existing strategies for SHSU include specific course goals and overall university objectives. The key external factors that affect the University MBA programs success include opportunities for growth and the threats to the program arising from events and policies outside the control of the school. As a state university, there is support from the government, which is an opportunity for sustaining operations and assisting in other strategic development initiatives (Fuller, 2014). The university also has a chance to receive philosophical, developmental, and in-kind support from private endowments and charities.

Its association with them can help enhance the relevance of its MBA program through faculty, course, and student partnerships. Student exchange programs are also a significant opportunity as there are other universities in Texas with considerable success in their MBA programs, such as Texas A&M University and The University of Texas. Besides, the growth of technologies, access, and scope make the online full-time education system and opportunity for the university to capture many of its mission and vision elements in actual practice and improve its relevance to students and many other stakeholders. Finally, the university has an opportunity to develop a strong relationship with business societies so that its MBA becomes remarkable within and beyond Texas.

The university is facing some threats, which include the possible reduction of government assistance. It can affect the cost of programs and cause increases in fees and other course-related charges. There is an inherent public perception of the university being good in its criminal justice program, which can overshadow any gains made with its MBA program. On a lesser scale, the university may not enjoy an adequate perception of being inclusive for international students or non-conventional students not fitting the overall student demographic characteristics.

External Evaluation (EFE) matrix

Table 2.

Internal Audit

The key strengths of the MBA program at SHSU are the universitys brand reputation and the high graduation rate. The ability to offer courses with the flexibility of the online format is a strength that supports the overall value of being efficient in operations and seeking effectiveness in student success. Allowance for students to pursue courses without having to enroll in physical classes makes the MBA program responsive to todays students needs of juggling several activities and responsibilities while studying. It is also accommodative of many students who are beyond the traditional learning age as young adults.

Another significant strength factor is the enrollment ratio for the program as an indication of its market success. The MBA program fills up quickly when an enrollment opportunity is available, which shows that it serves clients who have a high demand for such a course. This is even though the MBA does not rank very highly as compared to the peer university-MBA programs in Texas (Sam Houston State University, 2015). Overall, there is a high demand for the program, and the SHSU provision of MBA courses positions it correctly to capture the growing demand. The MBA continues to gain from proper development structures and curriculum designs due to the abundant pool of staff that has experience in teaching and coordinating various university activities. The emphasis on the universitys vision to support the growth of individuals also increases the focus on students and workers as stakeholders. Eventually, this contributes to a better faculty, which translates to improvements in online and offline courses.

A significant number of faculties have received prestigious awards, and they provide mentorship to other faculties such as those in the MBA program so that they can also aspire to excel. The presence of a college of business administration dedicates resources for business-related education, which is a significant boost for the MBA program. The university runs an exchange program with 35 other universities in 14 countries, which advances the opportunity for students to enhance their learning experience. It makes courses at SHSU, including the MBA, attractive. The waiver of GMAT qualifications requirements for students proceeding to graduate studies from undergraduate courses at SHSU is a factor that makes the MBA attractive for internal undergraduate students who have high GPA scores. The SHSU MBA is available through traditional and online learning, with the option of combining the two such that students can get the benefits of both delivery options.

Despite its growth prospects and internal strengths, the SHSUs MBA program is expensive, especially the online course. Students have to pay fees indiscriminately. Students taking online courses pay for the same costs as those taking offline courses, even though they utilize fewer resources. The faculty delivering MBA online is also accustomed to the educational traditions of the university that dwell on traditional classroom styles. This is inconvenient for many online MBA students. Another weakness is the generational outlook of many staff. While being experienced in the program is a plus, it also serves as a gap when staffs are not cognizant of the need to be updated and in touch with variations in their student demographic characteristics.

The online framework for course delivery is not getting sufficient help from the faculty. Many employees in the MBA program are directly opposed to an exclusive online course delivery format and express their preference for the face-to-face format. This affects students trust and faculty commitment. When left unchecked, it can lead to reputation problems for the university as students opt for other universities. The need to pay for services that a student is not going to utilize in the period needs review. Also, the high distance-learning fee imposed on online students is not justified, and it negatively affects the MBA programs reputation.

Internal Factor (IFE) matrix

Table 3.

SWOT Analysis

In summary, the greatest strengths of the SHSU MBA course are an active faculty and staff, as well as the online course option. The presence of a college of business administration also provides sufficient resources for business-related courses. It can improve the overall reputation of the SHSU MBA program to match the status of other programs in the university such as its criminal justice program. The universitys value of innovation is right. However, its other value of supporting traditions may not work well in a dynamic educational environment where student needs continue to vary. The biggest threat is the high fees and faculty not willing to embrace online teaching methods

Opportunities exist in the growth areas of the course, where the university can be aligned to the needs of the market. It can utilize government and other organizations support to increase the student programs as part of the MBA course to justify the high fees. Additional accreditations could help to address reputation issues affecting the MBA course. On the other hand, an existing threat is a potential decrease in demand for MBA courses, which will increase competition for the current providers and expose other weaknesses of the SHSU MBA program (Buggs, 2006).

Recommendations

The recommendations follow four potential strategies for dealing with the weaknesses and the current threats, as well as enhancing the strengths of the MBA program and improving it by capturing all available opportunities. They follow SO, WO, ST, and WT strategies.

SO

The SHSU MBA course can detach its online course from the traditional course so that there are different intakes and calendars. This will minimize enrollment challenges for many students and improve the popularity of the course, thereby increasing the potential for growth in the fulfillment of the universitys values.

WO

The MBA program can use assistance in the faculty to take advantage of the opportunities for collaboration with other universities and partnerships with business and charitable organizations for funding and program support. Business leaders and staff from other institutions can participate in exchange programs to help enrich the SHSU MBA program and improve its reputation.

ST

The university should increasingly urge the government to support its programs and work with its value on operation efficiency, given that students perceive the course as expensive. This should lead to the differentiation of various fees, such as students only pay for what they need and use.

Another recommendation following the strengths and threats focus would be to have mentorship programs for the MBA faculty so that they learn to appreciate the online course delivery format. They can also unlearn several philosophies that hamper effective teaching with a dynamic student population. They can also get advice from award-winning faculties from other programs and schools in SHSU, who help develop the brand image of the university.

WT

The university must reduce its fees to address the threat of reduced demand and its weakness of being expensive in its MBA program.

Conclusion

I was privileged to have firsthand experience, as a graduate student at the SHSU MBA program who was taking 90 percent of the course online. Nevertheless, the issues highlighted in this reports analysis are valid. Overall, the university needs to consider reducing the fees for its MBA program to match the actual expenses that students and the university incur on the course. It must also look into the issue of faculty being out of touch with the online program from a philosophical perspective.

References

Buggs, S. (2006). Raising the bar in the MBA race. Web.

College of Business Administration. (2015). Web.

Fuller, M. B. (2014). A history of financial aid to students. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 44(1), 42-68.

Institutional mission statement. (2015). Web.

Sam Houston State University. (2015). Web.

Appendices

EFE matrix

IFE matrix

SWOT matrix

Abstract

The human society has always tried to find ways to control its activities and be sure about the proper ways in which resources are used. The most adequate ways that have been found to this day include the procedures of program evaluation and audit. Being the processes of monitoring the financial side of the activities of a person or an organization, program evaluation and audit have recently become wider notions used to refer to the comprehensive overview of the finance, efficiency, economic side and the extent of expectation meeting that an activity or a program involves.

Program evaluation and audit are ones of the most reliable ways to control the activities of persons or organizations. Being the processes of monitoring the financial side of the activities of a person or an organization, program evaluation and audit have recently become wider notions used to refer to the comprehensive overview of the finance, efficiency, economic side and the extent of expectation meeting that an activity or a program involves. Nowadays, program evaluation and audit are used in various spheres of human activities including politics, economy, business, etc. Moreover, apart from the finance audit, it is possible to have a management audit, a performance audit, or an efficiency audit (Shafritz et al., 2008, Ch. 14). Accordingly, the ways in which audit is carried out are also diverse.

Research Methods

For example, the synthesis of all the above mentioned audit types with the following purposes of the audit presents the so-called comprehensive auditing process. Research methods it involves are directed at finding out the proper and legislatively-correct ways the funds were spent, economic and efficient usage of the mentioned funds, and the extent to which the goals achieved can be matched with the goals established beforehand (Shafritz et al., 2008, Ch. 14).

Strengths and Weaknesses

Accordingly, program evaluation and audit have their strengths and weaknesses. The former include the opportunity to monitor the performance of a person or an organization for a certain period of time and the chance to make the necessary correction based on the audit results. The latter include the possible biases of auditing, but these biases are fought with by establishing the independent auditing agencies (Shafritz et al., 2008, Ch. 14).

The Evolution of Program Evaluation and Audit

Among the sources of program evaluation and audit the internal and eternal desire of people to have everything controlled and itemized can be mentioned. Moreover, the development of the society can also be called the factor that conditions the wide spread of auditing to all the activity area of human beings. Finally, program evaluation and audit have technological progress and the informative age in the development of the mankind as their sources (Shafritz et al., 2008, Ch. 14).

Implications

As for the implications of program evaluation and audit, the need of the strict and proper control over the society can be mentioned. In other words, it is impossible to control and improve the phenomenon which is not measured. Program evaluation and audit deal with the measurement of the efficiency of certain phenomena in order to point out the drawbacks and provide guidelines for the further improvements (Shafritz et al., 2008, Ch. 14).

Conclusions

To conclude, being the processes of monitoring the financial side of the activities of a person or an organization, program evaluation and audit have recently become wider notions used to refer to the comprehensive overview of the finance, efficiency, economic side and the extent of expectation meeting that an activity or a program involves.

References

Shafritz, Jay M., E.W Russell and Christopher R. Borick. Introducing public administration. Longman, 6th Edition, 2008.

Introduction

Auditor is an independent examiner of financial expressions in an enterprise. Auditing, therefore, involves careful examination of a firms financial records to ascertain their accuracy. An auditor carefully studies the enterprises financial reports and summarizes their findings for the persons who have requested the audit. These are persons such as the shareholders, investors, or the companys management team. Auditors should be neutral and should have no interest in the affairs of the business enterprise. For an audit to be effective, interference from third parties and other stakeholders should be avoided. Such third parties should not be allowed to influence the work of the auditor (McKenna 2011)

An auditor should assure the stakeholders that the financial statements are free of errors and any form of manipulation. Auditing can be done on request from either the stakeholders or the shareholders. Auditing plays a vital role in ensuring accountability on the part of both the staff and the management of the business enterprise. It also seeks to identify possible errors and misstatements in the financial accounts (Garstone 2011). Auditors should be in a position to detect any fraud in the statements prepared by the business. They should try and analyze financial statements and their implications on the business and the investors. This is because fraud detection is a difficult task and calls for specialized expertise.

This paper focuses more on the state of affairs in the United Kingdom. The increasing rates of fraud in this country are alarming and have prompted the government to put in place measures to help and save the situation. Audit firms have been charged with the responsibility of scrutinizing the financial reports of public companies to try and detect any fraud (Stanford 2010). This goes a long way in protecting the interests of the shareholders and those who have invested in the company. The report tabled by the auditor to some extent determines the future of the company.

Financial Frauds and Auditing

Fraud is the misappropriation and manipulation of financial figures by an enterprise to make selfish gains. Reports from reliable studies have shown that companies lose up to five percent of their total revenues from fraud. This has forced governments and businesses to resort to measures aimed at protecting the interests of the shareholders in such companies. Most governments require that public companies prepare financial statements reflecting their general performance in the previous financial year (Cutting 2008). These statements are then carefully assessed by reputable auditing firms to shield shareholders from financial fraud by the companys management.

Auditing also seeks to establish a companys financial position and cash flow as well as evaluate the balance sheet to put into focus both the assets and liabilities of the company (Mautz & Sharaf 1961). The auditors seek to establish consistency in the financial statements and form an opinion on whether or not correct accounting procedures have been followed by the company. The auditors should also report on any legal violations by the company being investigated. Auditing can be either internal or external. Internal auditing occurs when the company requests for the audit while external auditing is initiated by a force external to the company like the government.

Roles of Auditors

An auditor is charged with the responsibility of scrutinizing a companys financial reports and forming an opinion about them. The auditor should systematically go about the process. This involves the use of a well-structured plan. Auditing should involve the evaluation of evidence. The auditor will thus scrutinize and assess the reliability of the documented evidence and seek to establish consistency in the statements. This is in an attempt to establish whether the records are genuine or not. The auditor also tries to establish the legality of economic activities and events in the company (Forester 2012). The government of the United Kingdom seeks to restore accountability and responsibility in the companies. This will encourage people to invest in these companies without fear of financial fraud.

The auditor is also charged with the responsibility of reporting their findings to the shareholders and the directors of the company. The auditor ascertains the legality of financial assumptions and criteria that have been established in the company and tests the physical evidence through inquiries and observations (Jefferson & Smith 2009). The report on the findings is then tabled before the board of directors and the shareholders during their annual general meetings. This seeks to assure the shareholders that their company is being properly run. The government of the United Kingdom has used this criterion over the years to discourage dishonest practices by the management of the companies.

Upon assessing the reports and evidence tabled by the company, the auditor then forms an opinion showing his or her take in the matter. The goals of an audit include presenting the results to the end-users, usually the government and the shareholders. This will involve stating whether the financial results are accurate (Baker 2005). The auditor clarifies whether the reports should be adopted or not. This keeps the management team on their toes to ensure that the information on their statements corresponds to the real financial status of the company. The United Kingdoms government has been able to save shareholders a lot of money that would otherwise have been misappropriated by the companys management.

The auditor should also check on possible violations of the companys laws and constitution. The provisions specified in the companys constitution should be followed in the letter to achieve the initial mandate that the company had been charged with (Bob 2009). Adhering to these laws will be beneficial to all stakeholders given that the regulations are arrived at through a consensus. As a result, the authorities in this country have been able to crack down on dishonest managers who may take advantage of their positions to defraud the investors.

The auditor should also make a statement of circumstance if he or she decides to quit the auditing process. This will ensure a smooth transition as the auditor exits and paves way for the next one. This seeks to notify the new auditor of the progress that has been made by the previous auditor. Any findings and conclusions made by the previous auditor should also be passed on (Dunn 1996). The United Kingdom has implemented these policies to keep the auditing process on track without disruptions that may slow the process.

Principles of Auditing

There are several principles that guide the auditing process. According to Kokenes (2009), integrity and honesty are two of the most important principles of auditing. The person conducting the audit should be in a position to disclose their findings to the interested parties without discrimination (Melbourne 2011). Auditors should be straightforward and should seek to report the truth of the matter and not what the interested parties want (Wallage 2009). The United Kingdom has sought the services of competent auditing firms to be able to establish the real financial situation of the companies. It is only through honesty that an audit can be effective.

Professionalism must also be maintained by the auditors. The auditor should act in a manner that promotes the competence of the profession (Smith 2008). The auditor should be an ambassador of the profession and exhibit its true spirit. The government of the United Kingdom has put in place strict measures to ensure that auditors act with utmost professionalism. Firms and individuals who do not comply with these measures are penalized which can even result in revoking their license to practice by the government.

Confidentiality should also be maintained by auditors. As an act of professionalism, the auditors must keep the information about their clients and also information acquired in the course of their service confidential (Morlan 2009). Information should only be let out at the right time and also to the right individuals and authorities. The United Kingdom has encouraged confidentiality to ensure that the whole auditing process is helpful and produces the expected outcomes. This also ensures that potentially damaging information does not fall into the wrong hands (Muehlhausen 2008).

Objectivity should also be maintained when conducting an audit. This means that the auditors should be professional in their undertaking and should be fair. The auditor should desist from biases or from favoring any party involved (Kokenes 2009). Auditing involves scrutinizing financial reports and forming an opinion about them after careful consideration (Perker 2008). In the United Kingdom, auditing firms have always been encouraged to be fair in their undertaking to prevent fraud and penalize those perpetuating it.

Auditing should also conform to technical standards. Such professional services should be offered in line with the relevant professional and technical standards. This implies that an auditor should follow all the guidelines governing their practice. The United Kingdom government has emphasized that auditing firms should follow both professional and technical standards in their practice (Knight 2000). This goes a long way in preventing possible crisis and legal battles that would be damaging to both the auditing firm and the company whose statements are being audited.

Auditing should also be done in line with accounting principles. Professional ethics should also be maintained while conducting an audit. The principles have been put in place to ensure accountability among the auditing community (Melbourne 2011). The auditors should be able to own up to their work and defend themselves in case problems arise (Cohen 2006). The United Kingdom has always encouraged auditors to point out any cases of fraud or misrepresentation of information to avoid being caught up in a crisis as a result of concealing the truth.

Factors Influencing the Development of Auditing Policies

Auditing can be influenced by many factors. To start with auditing can be a result of a government directive on all companies. Increasing rates of fraud have prompted many governments to move in to try and reverse the situation (Hughes 2009). The turn of events has not been any different in the United Kingdom. The government has initiated policies that require public companies to be audited every financial year to cushion the shareholders from risks such as financial fraud. Information emanating from these audit reports is scrutinized and appropriate measures are put in place.

It may also be a companys policy that auditing is carried out to verify the financial statements accuracy and authenticity. This may come as a directive from the shareholders or the directors (Garstone 2011). It is important to note that the directors are also concerned with the running of the public companies since they are the major shareholders. In the United Kingdom, companies have resorted to auditing their financial statements to cushion themselves from fraudulent management practices.

Complaints arising from shareholders can also lead to the initiation of the auditing process (Muehlhausen 2008). Shareholders can report the company to the authorities based on suspicions of possible fraudulent activities (Jones 1996). Since the shareholders are the actual owners of the company, their concerns must be looked into. United Kingdom companies have not been spared either (Johnson 1996). Shareholders who are dissatisfied with the running of the company may initiate the auditing of financial reports and statements.

Professional Skills and Competencies Required of an Accountant

For one to conduct an audit, they must be adequately trained. The auditors should have the expertise to conduct a detailed investigation of the firms financial statements. This training should include relevant bookkeeping procedures. Auditors should also have the skills and ability to detect errors and inconsistencies in financial reports. This enables them to easily identify instances of fraud (Lindberg & Beck 2004). The United Kingdom has put in place measures to ensure that auditors are well trained. This has mostly been facilitated through the establishment of reputable schools to offer the courses.

The auditor should also be able to act or operate professionally. This includes upholding values such as independence. The auditor should be able to resist any internal or external influence (Stanford 2010). They should put into consideration all pieces of evidence that may be required. They should also be able to identify instances where fraud has occurred. The United Kingdom has been at the forefront in trying to advocate for professionalism.

It is however important to note that incompetent auditors may collude with dishonest officials in the companies to conceal cases of fraud (Johnson 1994). This means that despite the tight measures being put in place to try and reduce cases of fraud, financial mismanagement is still prevalent in companies. The auditors may also collude with the shareholders to portray the management in a bad light. In the United Kingdom, such cases have become common thus inhibiting the fight against financial fraud.

Independent Approaches by Auditors

The term auditors independence can be used to describe situations where parties involved in the audit do not interfere with the process (Cohen 2006). It also involves the auditors ability to overcome temptations to collude with any party which may alter the outcome of the audit. The objective of the auditor is to ensure that the financial reports and statements presented by the company are accurate. This enables the auditor to be fair in his or her opinion.

An auditor should be given the chance to select their strategies while conducting an audit. Real independence is important in auditing rather than perceived independence (Jones 1996). Auditors should seek the truth even when put in compromising positions by the directors, shareholders, or even the management. The United Kingdoms government has put in place laws that seek to protect auditors from manipulation by the interested parties.

Auditors independence is however a tricky issue since the auditor may feel intimidated by their clients (Perker 2008). They might face the risk of losing their jobs. The auditors may also face threats that may cripple their judgment. The United Kingdoms government has put such issues into consideration in trying to protect the plight of auditors.

Conclusion

In this paper, the researcher looked at various attributes of auditing about financial fraud. The researcher took as their case study financial auditing in the United Kingdom. The paper found that auditing is one of the most effective measures to reduce fraud in companies. It is also a fact beyond doubt that auditors play a major role in the success of a company and the countrys economy at large (Stanford 2010). The United Kingdoms government uses auditing to help and stop fraud in companies.

It is also important to note that auditing is faced with numerous challenges. It is very difficult to detect financial fraud since it is committed by persons who are also accounting experts (Lozano 2006). Governments around the world should follow the example of the United Kingdom to empower and also shield auditors from harassment to make them execute their duties without fear of intimidation.

References

Baker, R 2005, The varying concept of auditor independence: shifting with the prevailing environment, The CPA Journal, vol. 6 no. 23, pp. 36-46.

Bob, V 2009, Guide to analyzing companies, Bloomberg Press, New York.

Cohen, F 2006, Frauds, spies, and lies  and how to defeat them, ASP Press, New York.

Cutting, T 2008, How to survive an audit, Business Education, vol. 23 no.22, pp. 23-34.

Dunn, J 1996, Auditing theory and practice, Prentice Hall, New York.

Forester, M 2012, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: strengthening the commissions requirements regarding auditor independence, The CPA Journal, vol. 45 no. 2, pp. 67-78.

Garstone, S 2011, Concept release on possible revision of standards, Sydney University Press, Sydney.

Hughes, A 2009, Tom Petters found guilty of Ponzi scheme fraud, Reuters, p.34.

Jefferson, F & Smith, T 2009, The SECs view of auditor independence, Bloomberg Law, vol.2 no.1, pp. 65-102.

Johnson, S 1994, Watching our fortunes, California University Press, California.

Jones, G 1996, Auditors and our companies, The Daily Nation, p. 22.

Knight, J 2000, Cyber nations with real repercussions, Asia and Business, vol. 23 no.45, pp. 9-22.

Kokenes, C 2009, Coping with rising tends in fraud, Money Matters, vol. 22 no. 3, pp. 78-80.

Lindberg, S & Beck, F 2004, Before and after Enron: CPAs views on auditor independence, CPA Journal, vol. 1 no. 2, pp. 67-80.

Lozano, JA 2006, Judge vacates conviction of Ken Lay, Atlante Times, p.15.

Mautz, RK & Sharaf, H 1961, The philosophy of auditing, American Accounting Association, vol. 23 no.2, pp. 23-34.

McKenna, F 2011, Auditors and audit reports: is the firms, The Australian, p. 46.

Melbourne, T 2011, Report to the nations on occupational fraud and abuse, Asian Times, p. 9.

Morlan, VK 2009, Auditors and fraud, Capital Management, vol. 25 no.3, pp. 56-88.

Muehlhausen, N 2008, Combating fraud in public companies, Sydney University Press, Sydney.

Perker, T 2008, Resigns as Petters Group CEO, The New York Times, p. 43.

Smith, K 2008, The fraudsters  how con artists steal your money, Business Safety, vol. 2 no.4, pp. 54-76.

Stanford, M 2010, Report to the nations on occupational fraud and abuse, Asian Times, p. 19.

Wallage, P 2009, Internationalizing audit: a study of audit approaches, James Learning, New York.

Background and motivation

Audit is a fundamental financial activity of all business organizations. Audit determines the financial position of an organization. Companies undertake audits annually. The regulatory bodies of most countries require companies to publicize their annual financial reports. The financial reports determine the investors investment decision. Therefore, it is vital to determine various factors that determine the audit of various companies. Audit companies may collaborate with companies to fleece the unsuspecting members of the public. The Enron scandal is a clear illustration of the role of audit companies in the financial malpractices of various companies. As of 2002, four firms (Big4) accounted for more than 90% of audit fees of public companies. Massive consolidation during the 1980s and 1990s is the major factor that reduced the number of audit companies. The reduction in the number of audit companies has a significant effect on audit quality and price. Audit helps in portraying the financial position of an organization. Therefore, audit quality may determine the investors investment decision (Schipper, 2007). Therefore, market concentration and market equality may have a significant impact on price and quality.

The study strives to determine the effect of audit market equality on the audit price and quality. The researchers hypothesize that audit supplier equality results in lower audit fees and greater audit quality at the national-industry level (Dunn, Kohlbeck & Mayhew, 2013, p. 2).

Research Design Issues

Research designs determine the efficiency of scientific studies. The issue under investigation determines the most efficient research design. Most studies use structured questionnaires. Determining the level of equality is vital in the overall results of the study. The researchers used the Gini Metric to determine the level of market share equality. The Gini metric is more effective than the Herfidahl Index (HI) in determining the level of market share equality (Kallapur, Sankaraguruswamy & Zang, 2010). This increases the accuracy and relevance of the study.

Finding the right tool of measuring the market equality determines the accuracy of a study. It is vital for researchers to design the most efficient formulas that they would use to determine various parameters that would be helpful in the research. It is very hard for the findings of the researchers to be perfect. Therefore, researchers make several assumptions during the research. Intricate knowledge of the issues under investigation enables the researchers to make the right assumptions.

Theoretical or Statistical Issues

Audit fees is one of the inputs of the research. The researchers use the audit fee model that General Accounting Office (GAO) used in 2008. GAOs audit fee model is one of the most efficient models. However, it has various limitations. Therefore, the dropped the Separate auditor that was insignificant in the model. The researchers follow GAOs predictions that larger clients usually expect to get higher audit fees (Dunn, Kohlbeck & Mayhew, 2013, p. 14). In some instances, businesses activities may not proceed according to the expectations of the management of the organization. Businesses may incur losses, receive going concern opinions, restate their financial results, file notices of non-timely, or have their internal controls deemed ineffective (Dunn, Kohlbeck & Mayhew, 2013, p. 14). The researchers expected these businesses to incur higher audit fees. The researchers used the above parameters in determining the audit fees that businesses may pay. The researchers focused on audit restatements. This limits the accuracy of their results.

The researchers also determine the effect of audit supplier equality on audit quality. They use restatements to determine the audit quality. However, the researchers could also have used ongoing concern opinions and earnings response coefficient in determining audit quality (Marciukaityte, Szewczyk & Varma, 2009).

Researchers should consider the findings of other studies in their research. Other studies show that large local offices have fewer restatements. Therefore, the researchers include this fact in their studies. Client characteristics determine the probability of restatement (Palmrose, Richardson & Scholz, 2004). Large organizations have large clients. These clients have complex accounting practices. Therefore, the researchers expect large organizations to have a higher probability of restatement. However, large organizations usually have highly developed accounting systems. These systems reduce the probability of restatements. Despite the existence of highly developed accounting systems in large organizations, the probability of restatements in these organizations is higher than in small firms. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) led to significant changes in accounting practices (Leone & Liu, 2010). Therefore, the researchers used a sample from 2004-2011. Using a sample from 2004 enables the researchers to avoid the effects of implementation of the legislation in 2003.

Results

Gini index ranges from zero to one. High values of Gini index represent less equality in the industry. The researchers used the inverse of the Gini index to determine the equality index more efficiently. From the research, the national-industry GAO audit fee model ranged from 1.58 to 23.81. The high values indicate more equality. On the other hand, the mean national industry equality was 7.729. The research shows that there is a negative correlation between audit fees and national industry equality. Therefore, market equality leads to lower market fees. This supported the hypothesis of the researchers.

The sample from the research included firms in various industries. Finance and insurance accounted for 34.9% of the sample. Two manufacturing classifications accounted for 16.7% and 9.4% of the sample. The sample used is any research determines the accuracy and relevance of the research. Finance and insurance are some of the largest industries in the U.S. However, the research should have increased the percentage of manufacturing firms.

The researchers used various characteristics of the above firms in determining the audit fees. The coefficient for the Gini measure of the national industry market has a close relationship with audit fees. From the research, there was an inverse relationship between the coefficient and audit fees. This implies that equality reduces audit fees. This fulfills the hypothesis of the researchers that audit fees decrease as audit supplier equality increases at the national-industry level (Dunn, Kohlbeck & Mayhew, 2013, p. 21).

From the research, the mean of the city market equality was 5.615. This value was lower than the mean of the national industry equality. This indicates that there was lower market equality in city markets. This is due to the narrower market definition in city markets. Most of the firms that made up the sample that the researchers used for the city market analysis were from New York. Approximately 6,000 firms were from New York. It is a fact that New York is one of the major economic centers of the U.S. However, this does not warrant the researchers to use approximately 6,000 firms from New York in the research. They should have used a lower number in the research.

Implications

Various factors determine the relevance of financial statements. It is a fact that financial statements do not include all assets of an organization. In addition, there is a raging debate on whether financial statements should provide historical costs or fair market values. Fair value adopts the Hicksian definition of income as a change in wealth. It is a fact that change in fair value of net assets on the balance sheet yields income (Penman, 2007, p. 33). Use of fair value enables the organization to have up-to-date financial information. In addition, fair value is largely unaffected by various factors that are specific to various entries in the financial statement. This enables fair value to provide unbiased financial information across various entries of the financial statement. This makes fair value provide the most accurate financial information.

However, debates on financial reports overlook the effect of market structure on the quality of the financial reports. Auditors are the most important parties in the formation of the financial reports of companies. The Enron scandal highlights the impact of auditors in the accuracy of financial reports (Hennes, Leone & Miller, 2008). In the scandal, senior executives of Enron collaborated with the auditor, Arthur Andersen, in falsifying the financial reports of the company. The Enron scandal necessitated the U.S. government to enact the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This legislation made it difficult for organizations to engage in financial malpractice (Gray & Manson, 2007). However, organizations may provide wrong financial information without their knowledge. The market structure may determine the quality of audit reports.

The findings of the research would help in determining the quality of financial reports in relation to the market structure. The research shows that equality reduces audit fees of industries in national markets. In the national market, competition among the Big4 increases reduces audit fees. In the city market, equality increases audit fees. The research found that the equality levels of city markets were low. The low level of equality of city markets is due to the few number of Big4 in these markets. The Big4 usually compete with other smaller audit firms.

Companies usually make restatements if their financial reports are not complete or truthful. The restatements may be voluntary or forced. Restatements may have a negative effect on the investor confidence (Srinivasan, 2005). The research considered both the income-reducing and income-increasing restatements of the national-industry and city markets. Restatement model variables have additional data requirements. This necessitated the researchers to reduce the sample they used in determining the coefficient of market equality. From the research is clear that the probability of restatement in the national-industry market decreases as audit supplier equality increases (Dunn, Kohlbeck & Mayhew, 2013, p. 21). The reverse is true in the city market. The results from this research show the significant differences between the national-industry and city markets. Policy makers may use the findings of this research enacting legislation that would improve audit quality. The legislation should consider the market structure. In addition, the findings of the research may help policy makers to determine whether to liberalize the market. It is clear that market equality in in the national-industry.

Conclusion

Financial statements show the financial position of a company. Determination of the financial position helps the management in strategic planning. In addition, financial statements are the most important documents that help investors in making investment decisions (Francis & Schipper, 1999). The research highlights how the market structure affects audit price and quality. The research considers both the national-industry and city markets. The research shows that in the national industry, equality reduces audit price (Boone, Khurana & Raman, 2012). The reverse is true in the city industry. The research may help investors in determining the audit quality of an organization. In addition, it may help policy makers in designing policies that would improve audit quality. This would enable organizations to show their real financial position.

References

Boone, J., Khurana, I. & Raman, K. (2012). Audit market concentration and auditor tolerance for earnings management, Contemporary Accounting Research, 29(4), 1171-1203.

Dunn, K.A., Kohlbeck, M. & Mayhew, B.W. (2013). The impact of market structure on audit price and quality. Madison, WI: Wisconsin School of Business.

Francis, J. & Schipper, K. (1999). Have financial statements lost their relevance. Journal of Accounting Research, 37(2), 319-352.

Gray, I. & Manson, S. (2007). The audit process: Principles, practice and cases. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Hennes, K., Leone, A. & Miller, B. (2008). The importance of distinguishing errors from irregularities in restatement research: The case of restatements and CEO/CFO turnover. The Accounting Review, 83(6), 1487-1519.

Kallapur, S., Sankaraguruswamy, S. & Zang, Y. (2010). Audit market concentration and audit quality. New Delhi: Indian School of Business.

Leone, A. & Liu, M. (2010). Accounting irregularities and executive turnover in founder-managed firms. The Accounting Review, 85(1), 287-314.

Marciukaityte, D., Szewczyk, S.H. & Varma, R. (2009). Voluntary vs. forced financial restatements: The role of board independence. Financial Analysts Journal, 65(5), 1-15.

Palmrose, Z., Richardson, V. & Scholz, S. (2004). Determinants of market reactions to restatement announcements. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 37(1), 59-89.

Penman, S.H. (2007). Financial reporting quality: Is fair value a plus or a minus. Accounting & Business Research, 37(1), 33-44.

Schipper, K. (2007). Required disclosures in financial reports. The Accounting Review, 82(2), 301-326.

Srinivasan, S. (2005). Consequences of financial reporting failure for outside directors: Evidence from accounting restatements and audit committee members. Journal of Accounting Research, 43(2), 291-334.

Brand Mantra, Core Brand Values & Brand Identity

Swatch Group is repositioning and rebranding its products due to the vast competition that it is facing from other dealers worldwide, by doing so Swatch group is trying to recover its customers and retain the market share. Swatch Group should start more programs that will see other products not only its primary product i.e. watch, but other products such as developing more automobile accessories and telephones. To regain its marketing capabilities Swatch group should partner wit5h other like-minded companies which will assist in this endeavor. This partnership should involve more developments in automotive accessories that will enhance technological development in its systems and also increase profitability (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 6). Many people feel that the brands which are produced by Swatch Group are flashy and they befit every occasion and by improving on the brands that are already there the company will be inclining to the customers point of view. By introducing the smart car in the industry the company will be seeking new market targets, but this is not enough the company should do more in rebranding its products. Swatch group should also introduce more features on watches so that the brand can appeal more to customers. The brands produced by Swatch have from time to time appealed to its customers due to the connection they have to them but the company should invoke more features on the watches. The brands always have the name of the company and this gives the customer a sense of ownership and they are always ready to promote the company but to be able to connect to the customers the company should provide a unification process for the brands.

Target Market

Research shows that women and youngsters prefer flashy accessories and fashion that is why Swatch should capitalize on this perception. The group should reposition its marketing structure to capture these upcoming markets. It is very essential for Swatch group to consider investing in countries like the United Kingdom where the market is dominated by youngsters. For Swatch to increase its market share, reduction of prices in some of its products is paramount. Price reduction attracts impulse buyers and by using this strategy some of the impulse buyers will love the products being offered and become the companys clients. Moreover, by reducing the prices of some of these brands the company will be attracting more youngsters who do not have large sources of income (Kotler and Waldemar, 47). Swatch should also target the fashion designers since they are always in the look for new features and tastes of products and that is why the company should rebrand its products. In venturing into other industries such as the car industry and phone industry the group should target the affluent people in the society who can purchase some of these products such as the smart car. By targeting these groups of consumers Swatch Group will eventually regain its market share.

Nature of Competition

Swatch Group has many competitors; this has been precipitated by the fact that many companies are now venturing in this business of watch production. There is a stiff competition from other segments of the same industry due to the production of low cost watches. Even though Swatch Group produces a wide range of watches ranging from high priced to lower priced ones, which is not enough to counter the competition that is there. This is why the company should restructure its manufacturing processes in order to reduce the cost of the products. Competitors are overcoming the market base because they have low cost processes of manufacturing thus making the cost of the watches to go down below the price list of Swatch Group. Another issue that Swatch should consider on doing in order to regain its market capabilities is brand unification, this is being done by its competitors (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 4). The group should come up with proper marketing strategies such as promotions and advertisements. Through such marketing strategies the company will be able to reach out to more customers and be able to reach out to other clients. Furthermore, the company should consider offering discounts which other competitors are not doing and in doing so it will have overcome the competition.

Points of Parity & Points of Difference

The points of similarity of the watch brands being focused or targeted for markets all over the world is the functionality and reliability of these machines, furthermore the necessity of the machines to the daily life of customers is also of importance to Swatch and other competitors. Swatch Group should improve on these features in order to beat the competitors and gain more market base. The Group should improve on its products and brands in order to fit in these brackets otherwise they will end up loosing their market share. The company should also improve the efficiency of the watches and also the durability, with such additional features the customers will be satisfied and willing to increase their sales (Kotler and Waldema, 74). The company should not only insist on the fashion and elegance of the machines but it should also improve on the quality of its brand and by so doing customers will stream back to the company thereby increasing the sales.

Works Cited

Aaker, David and Joachimsthaler, Erich, Brand Leadership: New York: The Free Press. (2000). pp. 16. Web.

Kotler, Philip and Waldema, Pfoertsch, Brand Management, Springer, 2006.

Audit reports play an important role in every organization. It is an essential tool for businesses to make decisions for the company in the future based on the results of the audit. But who makes these audit reports? Auditors are responsible for the accuracy, credibility, and reliability of the financial reports. Often times, accountants and auditors work together to perform their duties, resulting to confusion with regards to their differences to the public. This has created a very difficult task for the auditors to explain to the public what their role exactly entails and how it differs from that of the accountants. Compared to the traditional way of how auditors performed their jobs, todays auditors use more advanced technologies that have affected their roles and responsibilities

Technology has dominated and will continue to innovate in the world of communication, transportation, information processing, entertainment, health and especially in business. Technology is crucial in every job to be competitive and to remain in the business. Sometimes, it encourages unethical behavior. It has advantages and disadvantages, depending on how people use it. But one thing is for sure, it has changed the roles and responsibilities of auditors (Lee 2-13).

Auditors are categorized into two types: Internal Auditors & External Auditors. Both the internal and the external auditors have a sole duty of enhancing the effective controls on the financial statements. They are charged with the adherence to the code of ethics and the professional standards as they are set by the professional bodies. Internal auditors are part of the organization. Their objectives are set by professional standards, the board, and the management. The management and the board are their main clients. They have a wide scope of responsibilities. They help the organization attain its objectives; improve operations, risk management, internal controls, and governance processes. They are also involved in detecting and preventing fraud in any form. The main duties of the internal auditor are to oversee the audit function within the organization. The internal auditor ensures that the audit procedures within the company are all within the laid down procedures. He/she is responsible for ensuring that the entire audit staff within the organization performs their duties as expected within the audit statutory. The internal auditor should especially ensure that the work of the audit staff is very independent and properly conducted. The internal auditor is also responsible for the internal risk controls, planning the audits as well as organizing the audit programs for the company. On the other hand, external auditors are not part of the organization. Their objectives are set by statute or legislative acts and their primary clients are the board of directors. Their main goal is to provide an independent opinion on the organizations financial statements for each year. They evaluate these statements whether they adapted with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), whether they presented their financial status fairly, whether their results of operations in a period were accurately represented or whether the financial statements were materially affected. The external auditors normally review the general application of the audit controls within the organization. These are the controls that mainly affect the records, assets, and financial statements of the organization. The auditors examine the financial statements of the organization together with recorded transactions of the company. The external auditor also evaluates the effectiveness of the internal control system of the company (Krist, 2-13).

In the late nineteenth century, the roles of the auditors were defined as one of enhancing the credibility of the financial statements and also supporting the effective performance of the stock market. At the beginning of the century, the corporations and organizations were under no obligation to submit the financial statements neither were they required to have these statements audited. All the financial details of the companies were regarded as private affairs of the company. By 1970,s the work of the auditors was understood as a role of reassuring the public of the truthfulness of the financial statements and ensuring that the statements were presented in a very fair manner. The insecurity of the investors investments in the 1929 stock market gave the need for the effective role of the Auditors to the public. Auditors were responsible for detecting fraud in the financial statements. According to Lee, The nineteenth century is always referred to as the period which the auditing career made historical changes especially with the introduction of laws within the field. This included the English Companies Act. This Act brought out the importance of professional auditors who could perform their duties more independently (Lee, 1988).

The main objective of auditing in the nineteenth century was to ensure that the financial statements were accurate and they were free of errors and fraud. The financial institutions now started lending money based on the financial statements of the borrowers. The audited financial statements also became very useful in the business world for evaluating the performance of the entities. The crash of the 1929 stock market saw the government involvement in the work of the auditors. The US government required most of the businesses to improve on their standards and also to maintain publicly traded securities that reflected truthfulness in their financial status (Lee, 1988). The government launched the Securities Act, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The laws that were within the federal commission required the institutions and business entities to file their balance sheet and the income statement with the commission. The financial statements also needed to be certified by an independent accountant. The financial statements such as the balance sheet were required to demonstrate all the property owned by the company at the specific time of the presentation. The nineteenth-century also saw the introduction of computers to the field of auditing. This marked the commencement of computerized audit and this has advanced over the years with the growth in technology. (Lee, 1988)

During the Second World War, computers were introduced to perform complicated mathematical procedures. By the early 1950,s many businesses had taken notice of the developing computer technology and they took advantage of this to make their work easier. The accountants had for a long time tried to find ways to reduce the workload of bookkeeping. They first attempted to use the punch cards but this was not successful. Gradually, the accountants managed to transform their manual work into more cost-benefit computer technologies. This saw the complete change of the audit work from manual recording into storing data in the magnetic tapes and also floppy disks. The discovery of computerized auditing triggered the need for new and modern internal controls. Strong and computerized internal controls were essential in the business environment to ensure the success of the computerized audit.

Technology is rapidly changing the nature of work of most accountants and auditors (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1). As the business world continued to indulge in the more sophisticated nature of business, the audit career also needed to grow to cope with the changing business environment. Accounting principles have been changing over the years and there are also changes in the internal controls. The introduction of computerized auditing and accounting has played a major role in modernizing the work of auditors. This has changed the way auditors perform their duties and this has been accompanied by various challenges. One of the greatest challenges that have come with the computerization of auditing is the duplication of the work done by the internal and the external auditor. The introduction of technology in the field of auditing has declined the importance of traditional auditing. This has necessitated the upgrading of the careers by most auditors since the lag in the technological developments would mean losing their jobs. The use of technology in auditing has been challenged that it will interfere with the judgment and the decisions made by the auditors. It is feared that with the rising technology in communication, the role of deciding on the financial statements may finally be transferred to the junior audit staff.

Todays audit has been incorporated with different products of technology. This includes the products such as the multiple audit planners. This is a product that enables the auditors to record information on the matters that are concerned with the decision-making of the different business units. This includes the information that is related to the audit scope, clients, and also risk control. This product enables the auditors to plan more efficiently and consistently for the audit. Another technological product in todays audit is the Planet. This is a product that is designed to assist in the identification of certain risks within the business and also the selection of the audit procedures. This has enabled the auditors to identify the business risks and also manage the risks more easily and efficiently. The controls within the business environment have also been updated to match with the technological controls. The controls that are currently in the audit field support a faster way of documenting the financial statements, evaluation, and also testing of the controls. This has improved the effectiveness of the audit process. The improved controls have enabled the internal auditors and the external auditors to rely more on the computerized systems. Effective controls enable the whole system of audit to be more integrated and make it very easy for the staff to understand the system controls. There is also the systems auditor technology which is used by the audit specialists to support their IT duties. This has improved the means of communication between the IT auditors and the field auditors. TeamMate is another technological product in auditing. This is a product that enables the creation of electronic working papers. This in turn enables the creation of documents that contain graphics, cross-referencing, indexing, client documents, and also text. This helps in making clear audit trails, making reports, the efficiency of data storage, improvement of the access controls and security of information, and also automatic referencing. The other audit product that is associated with technology is the Predicts. This is product enables the auditors to make use of the multiple regression analysis. This is a very critical statistical tool that helps the auditors define the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables within the organization.

The increasing dependence on the technology for most audit work has resulted in auditors relying on the technology for the audit evidence. This has been referred to as electronic audit evidence. This refers to the information that has been created, communicated, recorded, or stored electronically in such a case that the auditors have to rely on this information to prepare the audit reports. The information that is stored electronically can only be accessed through the computer unless the information has been printed on a soft copy (Caster). The electronic information that is stored for audit purposes can be stored in form of text, images, audio, and also videos. The electronic audit evidence for the auditors includes the accounting records that are stored in the computer memory such as the general ledgers, source documents, journals among other records used for audit. Electronics audit evidence is different from traditional audit evidence because it is very difficult to find out its source. The auditor cannot be able to detect any alterations made to the information. It is also very difficult for the auditor to be very certain about the approvals made to the financial statements and also assess the signatures made on the documents (CICA).

Electronic audit evidence has therefore been questioned on its reliability in preparing the audit reports. It has been cited as a great risk to rely on this evidence since it does not provide sufficient evidence about the authentication, authorization, integrity, and also sources of the information. These are very essential tools in the preparation of the audit reports and they have upheld the importance of the traditional audit evidence (CICA). This is because the preparation of the audit reports relies so much on the nature and the source of the information required by the auditors The information that is normally stored as soft copies are usually print outs from the computer memory and therefore relying on them is simply the same as relying on the information that is stored electronically. This raises the importance of having effective computerized controls within the institutions since the auditors will have to rely on the evidence created from these controls. The auditor must ensure that the information that has been created from the controls is very reliable to provide an audit report that can be relied upon by other users of the same report (Caster).

In conclusion, technology has come to make the work of the auditors much less and easier. The traditional audit work used to be very cumbersome and involved a lot of manual paperwork. With the introduction of technology, the traditional audit methods have been outdated and most auditors concentrate on the computerized audit. Even though technology can be praised for the advancements it has brought to this field, some challenges have accompanied it and it is therefore threatening the reliability of the audit reports prepared from the technological information. It is true that as the other fields grow with technology, the auditors work should be updated to fit with the technology but some adjustments should be accompanying the technology to ensure that the work done by the auditors is not compromised in the future.

Works Cited

Austin, Hal. Putting Auditors Under the Microscope. Financial Times 2008. LexisNexis Academic.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Department of Labor, 2008- 2009 Edition.

Caster, Paul and Dino Verardo. Technology Changes the Form and Competence of Audit Evidence  2007. New York State Society of CPA.

CICA. Electronic Audit Evidence  Executive Summary. Chartered Accountants of Canada. 2008.

How Do Internal and External Auditors Differ and How Should They Relate? The Institute of Internal Auditors. 2008.

Krist, Martin. Standard for Auditing Computer Applications. Auerbach Publications. 2nd Edition. 1998. Print.

Lee, T. A. The Evolution of Audit Thought and Practice. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1988. Print.

Executive Summary

Theme parks require market information to set and run successful franchises in foreign destinations. This report explores how KidZania Dubai can refine its business model and strategies to compete well in the UAE. KidZania is a leading firm in the indoor edutainment industry, but inadequate information on internal and external environmental dynamics could affect its performance. In this report, an exploratory approach and market analytic tools are used to analyse KidZanias internal capabilities and threats to its growth. The PESTLE analysis shows that the macro-environmental variables at Dubai are slightly unfavourable (0.31).

KidZanias ticket sales grew between 2014 and 2015 with the Dubai franchise accounting for 10.8% of the sales. Since it was established, the Mexican company has created core competencies that drive its international expansion. It has strong partnerships with corporate sponsors, a rigorous site selection approach, and over 100 role-playing professions. Its primary target market includes children and corporate sponsors.

A competition analysis shows that KidZanias only competitor is Ferrari World, which offers a slightly different product (racecar). Its marketing strategy centres on the edutainment aspect of the facility to attract schoolchildren and sponsors willing to support children learning. A SWOT analysis reveals that KidZanias strengths lie in the uniqueness of its product in the UAE and good infrastructure available in the shopping malls. However, selling an unknown concept weakens the organisations competitiveness. There are opportunities in the edutainment sector as indicated by the rising demand and favourable perception of theme parks with an educational component.

Introduction

Effective marketing strategies are required for successful global expansion. KidZania Dubai, a franchise of a Mexican edutainment brand, is the first of its kind in the Gulf area. Its successful entry into the region makes it an ideal company to analyse for global expansion strategies. KidZania Dubai, which was launched in 2010, reached a market share of 8.2% in two years. Its sales (attendance) grew by 10.8% in the 2014/2015 period (Ancona 2008). It offers over 70 real-life occupations in healthcare, media, and hospitality, among others, that children can do in make-believe contexts.

The purpose of this report is to examine KidZanias competitive strategies in its Dubai market. Its objectives include (1) assessing the macro-environmental factors and (2) analysing its internal and external environments. The study will use an explorative approach based on secondary data to examine the companys internal and external environments. It will be limited to the childrens indoor entertainment industry in the UAE. Its reliance on secondary information for the analysis may be a limitation of the study. The report provides a PESTLE analysis of KidZania Dubai, an overview of the company, the pertinent corporate social responsibility issues, its target market, the critical success factors, and product perception.

Context and Environments

Edutainment (KidZania Dubai) is a new idea in the region. There is no facility nearby with products based on an entirely similar concept. It offers minors the opportunity to learn and comprehend professions through make-believe contexts. The location (Dubai mall) is strategically allowing the firm to reach young families and corporate sponsors in the metropolis. The growing number of visitors (10.8% in 2012/2013) shows a changing trend in the way citizens spend their leisure time. A PESTLE analysis will reveal the macro-environmental variables affecting KidZanias performance.

PESTLE Analysis

Political landscape (weight = 0.25)

The UAE is stable politically, indicating a favourable political landscape. However, the lack of universal suffrage reduces democratic space (ranked 18.96% in accountability) (DataMonitor 2015). The country became a member of the UNHRC due to its good human rights record despite the government crackdown on extremists. However, unresolved conflicts with Iran could hamper bilateral relations. The total score is 1.25 (Appendix).

Economic landscape (weight = 0.2)

The UAE stands at 19^th out of 148 nations because of its favourable macroeconomic climate. The economic landscape score is 2.0 (Appendix).

Social landscape (weight = 0.2)

The expenditure in healthcare is equivalent to 2.5% of the GDP. The UAE is rated at position 41 in the human development index, indicating that the country invests heavily training and social security (DataMonitor 2015). Its score is 1.2.

Technological landscape (weight = 0.15)

The country was rated 25 globally in the Networked Readiness Index, making it a technological hub in the region (DataMonitor 2015). However, the UAE registers fewer copyrights compared to its neighbour Saudi Arabia (18 vs. 237 in 2013). The total score is 0.75.

Legal landscape (weight = 0.1)

The UAE is considered a free economy with few entry restrictions for foreign businesses. Its freedom index is 71.4, suggesting a favourable place for business. However, the legal requirement to employ Emiratis may limit the number of firms entering the market. This dimension is rated 1.2 (Appendix).

Environmental landscape (0.1)

Dubai has a modern garbage disposal system that involves tracking waste transportation. The UAE lies at position 25 globally in the environmental performance index for its conservation efforts. The total score is 1.0.

Quantification of the Trends

The weighted scores for each of the environmental dimensions are as follows: political = 1.25, economic = 2.0, social = 1.2, technological = 0.75, legal = 1.2 and environmental = 1.0. Therefore, the index (N = P+E+S+T+L+E) is equals to 7.5, which gives a ratio of 0.31 (7.5/24). The UAEs macro-environment could be considered slightly unfavourable because N/24 is below 0.45.

Overview of the Organisation

KidZania Dubai is a large indoor edutainment facility attached to the Dubai Mall. It is a franchise of the Mexican KidZania that is being run by the Emaar Retail in Dubai. The organisation offers kids an opportunity to become role-play as doctors, nurses, fashion models, broadcasters, artists, and chefs, among other occupations. The combination of entertainment and education in a reality-based context is meant to help children comprehend various professions, develop intellectually, and nurture their talents. Its key features include neat streets, gas pump, roads, eateries, theatre, and other amusing facilities. The kids earn an income (in kidZos currency), which they can use to purchase merchandise or save in a bank.

Analysis of the Mission Statement

KidZanias mission is to inspire children and youngsters by providing education and entertainment under one roof (Ancona 2008). According to Kotler et al. (2012), a link exists between the contents of a mission statement and firm performance. Companies with detailed mission statements perform better compared to those with undefined statements. KidZanias mission captures the products offered, i.e., education and entertainment, target clientele (children), and philosophy (to inspire). Therefore, KidZania focuses on improving customer service as a competitive strategy. However, the organisations financial goals, location, and values are not clear from the mission statement.

Organisational History and the Development of Core Competencies

Xavier Lopez Ancona established KidZania in 1999 as an indoor amusement park to meet the entertainment needs of Mexican children. The market trends that inspired its establishment were informative entertainment, family involvement, and cooperation. The first KidZania facility was built in Mexico City, but franchises have been put up in other cities globally, including Dubai. Over the years, KidZania has continually refined its business model and expanded its range of professions to 100, which has shaped its core competencies in many ways.

First, the organisation engages many sponsors and partners (e.g. Coca-Cola) that finance kids activities through their CSR budgets. Second, each park is strategically located within a city with many young families and corporate sponsors. Third, the company has developed a separate adult lounge equipped with films and the internet for the waiting parents. Also, parents can watch over their children using a special wristband.

A Review of the Organisations Performance

Since 1999, KidZania has pursued a robust international expansion strategy. Currently, the sales from international franchises account for a third of the organisations revenue. Its main performance indicators are sales (tickets) and market share. KidZanias sales grew by an average of 16.0% between 2014 and 2015 as indicated by the growing number of visitors (Rivera & Cacho-Elizondo 2015). Over the same period, the number of visitors grew by over a million to 6.5 million globally. The parks that experienced a surge in attendance included Cuicuilco, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai (10.8%), and Santiago, among others. Its relative market share in the Dubai market dropped to 8.2% from 8.6% between 2013 and 2014 (Coy 2015). Globally, KidZania attracts over 20 million visitors annually, including children and parents.

KidZanias Present Marketing Goals and Objectives

KidZania aims to attract more children by promoting its product through media advertisements, banners, social media promotion, and broachers. First, KidZania runs value-added promotions after school hours to attract children who benefit from the educational element (Prado & Castorena 2013). Second, each park offers an interactive experience aimed at creating brand loyalty and recognition globally (Rivera & Cacho-Elizondo 2015). The organisation also collaborates with leading firms to strengthen its competitive position in the edutainment sector. Partners receive a platform to hold events, free tickets, and sales promotion from KidZania.

Social Responsibility and Marketing Ethics Issues

The pyramid of corporate social responsibility (CSR) identifies four distinct responsibilities, i.e., legal, ethical, charity, and economical (Kottler et al. 2012). Besides meeting legal and economical requirements, a firm must operate ethically and give corporate contributions to society. The ethical issues relevant to KidZania edutainment product include advertising to children and environmental protection. It collaborates with firms that sponsor various activities. Since the sponsors, e.g., Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble, are companies operating in other industries, it raises the issue of advertising to children using KidZania as a platform. A second issue relates to the environment. KidZania encourages children to commit to the Green World Pledge on environmental conservation.

The company has established 16 ethics that guide its partnerships with sponsors. It requires the firms to provide reality-based content that emphasises on learning activities like hand washing and production line as opposed to influencing the children to use the products. Also, KidZania ensures that parents monitor the learning of their children via a worn wristband. Although these strategies mainly address the ethical issues raised, they might not be foolproof in discouraging advertisement to young children. A requirement to exclude product identifying information from the activities could be more efficient. Further, the firms should expand its philanthropic efforts to volunteerism and human welfare.

The Key Target Market

The primary target market for KidZania is schoolchildren (4-12 years). It offers a theme park customised for role-playing as doctors, nurses, and broadcasters, among others. The facility achieves its B2C marketing through social media promotion, advertisement, and banners. Besides children, KidZania other potential clients include corporations and eateries in Metropolis complexes. KidZania obtains industry sponsorship for childrens activities from the B2B segment that includes companies such as Coca-Cola and Proctor & Gamble.

Needs and Benefits Sought

KidZania was established to meet the childrens need for edutainment, interactional system, and parental involvement. It is a replica of a city scaled down to suit professional role-playing tasks by kids. The key benefits sought include boosting the childrens knowledge of professional roles, enhancing intellectual and physical development, and nurturing young talents.

Principal Competitors and Their Characteristics

KidZania Dubai has no direct competitor in the region. Ferrari World, which focuses on themed experience, indirectly competes with KidZania in Dubai. Motiongate, Legoland, and Bollywood are set to launch their products in Dubai in 2016. Ferrari World on Yas Island was launched in 2010 with an indoor space of 2,152,000 square foot, making it the second-largest park globally (Rivera & Cacho-Elizondo 2015). Its products include racing tracks and simulators. Ferrari World ranks as one of the fastest-growing theme parks globally. KidZania, Ferrari World, and iPlay America constitute 53.8% of the market share in the entertainment industry.

Factors that Contributed to its Success

Ferrari World is attached to a resort on Yas Island. This location is important for Ferrari Worlds success because the hotel resort is already a renowned brand with state-of-the-art facilities. Besides, most resorts require entertainment for kids and adults. Therefore, the facilitys location has contributed to its success in this market.

Major Strengths and Weaknesses

Ferrari Worlds strength lies in its strategic location, large indoor space (2,152,000 sf), and high-speed roller coasters (148 mph). Its location has excellent infrastructure and connectivity. However, the park lacks edutainment activities for schoolchildren.

The Organisations Competitive Strategy

Ferrari Worlds competitive strategy relates to its indoor space and location. It boasts of a large indoor area and simulations designed to resemble the Ferrari racecar. Also, the park is attached to a hotel with a good brand name and infrastructure.

Market Position and its Implications

Ferrari World is a market leader in the themed experience segment being the first of its kind in the UAE. As a market leader, Ferrari World can engage in price competition with new entrants. However, KidZania dominates the edutainment sector since Ferrari World does not offer a similar product.

Critical Success Factors in this Market

The crucial success factors (CSFs) in the edutainment market include location, industry sponsorship, and adaptability to local market needs. First, the parks, e.g., KidZania, are attached to big shopping malls (Dubai Mall) and hotels with good infrastructure. The approach reduces costs and enhances access to young families in urban centres. Second, industry sponsors (real-world brands) are needed to teach the children different professions. Third, choosing sponsors within a country helps develop activities suited to local contexts.

New entrants have to do exceptionally well in selecting a location and sponsors. Finding a metropolis with a large number of young families in need of indoor entertainment is crucial. The metropolis must also be home to the headquarters of big corporations. Exceptional persuasion is also required to secure sponsorships from the firms. The sponsors, e.g., Coca-Cola, would put up role-playing establishments within the facility to promote children learning. In this view, an organisation can underperform if it is not strategically located to access young families and corporate sponsors.

KidZania business model resonates with the identified CSFs. It earns up to a third of its revenue from marketing deals with sponsors drawn from different industries. Besides, the company seeks strategic metropolis locations (e.g. Dubai Mall) frequented by young families. The shopping centres also have the appropriate equipment and a positive brand image.

SWOT Analysis

The edutainment product is the first of its kind in the UAE. Its location enhances access and provides good infrastructure. However, selling an unfamiliar concept is a weakness of the company. KidZania has a refined business model for international expansion (Prado & Castorena 2013).

Therefore, it can open franchises in other cities to meet the demand for edutainment. However, the organisation must address the threats of rejection and disapproval in new markets. It could adapt the product to a region-specific context and involve local sponsors. KidZania should emphasise on the intellectual development aspect of edutainment to turn its weakness of being a new concept into a unique selling point. Its international expansion objectives are realistic considering the growing demand for education and entertainment in urban centres. However, it faces the challenge of preventing direct marketing to children by corporate sponsors.

Product Perception

KidZania Dubai wants to inspire creativity in children by providing an edutainment product. It projects itself as an attractive family-friendly establishment where kids can work as pretend doctors, pilots, and nurses, among others. According to Kottler et al. (2012), consumers prefer a beautifully designed product to a less attractive substitute when the price is the same. KidZania ads feature beautiful streets, kids adorning professional uniforms, make-believe facilities, and a parental lounge. In contrast, Ferrari World projects itself as a theme park where children could ride a Ferrari or roller coasters.

Consumers perceive KidZania as a place for both entertainment and learning, which is a unique selling point. Its rival (Ferrari World) is recognized as a park for entertainment. The KidZania has a strong brand association with edutainment globally. The product is unique in the industry in the sense that it involves entertainment activities that promote intellectual growth. The strong brand association favours KidZania marketing and expansion strategies.

Positioning Map

KidZania places its edutainment product at a higher position than competitor products as shown in figure 1 below. The product is its unique selling point.

Perceptual Map

The perceptual map defines an organisations positioning strategy in the market (Kotler et al. 2012). KidZania strives to offer quality to increasing demand for its edutainment product.

References

Ancona, X 2008, KidZania Entertainment Anchor Beyond Borders, Research Review, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 53-56. Web.

Coy, J 2015, Major Theme Parks Are Going Indoors Anchored by Shopping Malls, Hotels, Waterparks & Casinos; KidZania is fastest-growing in edutainment. Web.

Datamonitor 2015, The United Arab Emirates: Pestle Analysis. Web.

Kotler, P Keller, KL, Hassan, S Baalbaki, I & Shamma, H 2012, Marketing Management, Pearson, London, England. Web.

Prado, J & Castorena, D 2013, A Mexican edutainment business model: KidZania, Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 131-157. Web.

Rivera, M & Cacho-Elizondo, S 2015, Going Global: Key Insights from Two Mexican Companies, Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 693-715. Web.

Appendix

Table 1: Political landscape.

• Score = (+4x.25) + (+3x.25) + (-1x.25) + (-1x.25) = 1.25

Table 2: Economic landscape.

• Score = (+4x.2) + (+4x.2) + (+4x.2) + (-1x.2) + (-1x.2) + (0x.2) = 2.0

Table 3: Social landscape.

• Score = (+4x.2) + (3x.2) + (-1x.2) + (-1x.2) = 1.2

Table 4: Technological landscape.

• Score = (+4x.15) + (3x.15) + (-1x.15) + (-1x.15) + (0x.15) = 0.75

Table 5: Legal landscape.

• Score = (+4x.1) + (+4x.1) (+4x.1) + (+2x.1) + (-1x.1) + (-1x.1) = 1.2

Table 6: Environmental landscape.

• Score = (+4x.1) + (4x.1) + (+3x.1) + (-1x.1) = 1.0

Introduction

In April 2017, the now-infamous Fyre Festival was supposed to provide a luxury music festival experience. However, arriving at the private island in the Bahamas, the guests discovered that none of their expectations would be fulfilled. In fact, the festival was canceled the same day it was scheduled to start, and all visitors hurried to return to Miami, overflowing the local airport (Huddleston, 2019). Fyre Media was the company responsible for the event, and its CEO, Billy McFarland, was later found guilty of several accounts of wire fraud (Stanwick and Stanwick, 2019). Thus, one can observe that the festival encountered problems at all stages of the project.

Audit

The first major issue was McFarlands underestimation of the budget necessary to hold such a festival as well as his fraudulent behavior, as he moved the funds from the project to his personal spending needs. McFarland presented false documentation to the potential investors, trying to state that his company was able to hold the event. Nevertheless, several investors either passed the opportunity or pulled out during the projects execution (Stanwick and Stanwick, 2019). According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) knowledge areas, this reason for failure can be classified as a cost, risk, and stakeholder error (Gonçalves et al., 2017). The triple constraint describes such actions as a problem of cost  the CEO did not consider the limitations of the project budget (Westland, 2018). Finally, this is an error in the planning step of the project life cycle.

The next main reason for failure is the short time frame that McFarland and his business partner, Ja Rule, have chosen. According to reports, many stakeholders and vendors warned Fyre Media that festival preparations require at least a year. Still, McFarland pushed to hold the event after a few months of planning and production (Huddleston, 2019). As an outcome, many participating firms did not deliver services and goods, including bedding and housing, catering, and private planes. The PMBOK guide suggests that this was a mistake in integration, resource, procurement, and, most importantly, procurement (Gonçalves et al., 2017). The constraint of time is the most visible here; finally, both planning and execution phases were mismanaged by McFarland, who did not control the process of procurement.

Finally, McFarland was not transparent with all parties involved in the project, which led to the festival being a mystery to both investors and guests until the end. Apart from presenting fraudulent reports, the CEO also failed to communicate with hired service providers, visitors, investors, and other stakeholders about any activities. Thus, the unaware participants continued to support the project with labor and money. This is the problem of communications and quality by the PMBOKs classification, a constraint of scope according to the triple constraint, and a failure in the execution and delivery stages of the project life cycle (Gonçalves et al., 2017; Westland, 2018; Wu and Cormican, 2016).

Conclusion

Overall, Fyre Festival had many problems that were intertwined with McFarlands fraud. The CEOs criminal activity meant that the festivals budget could not be sufficient for the luxury event to take place. However, McFarlands lack of knowledge about project management and festival organization contributed to its failure. To sum up, the most detrimental mistakes occurred in the early phases of planning and execution. They related to such areas of knowledge as cost, schedule, resource, and stakeholder management, and the CEO failed to consider constraints of cost, scope, and time.

Reference List

Gonçalves, R. Q. et al. (2017) An instructional feedback technique for teaching project management tools aligned with PMBOK, Informatics in Education, 16(2), pp. 197-224.

Huddleston, T., Jr. (2019) Fyre Festival: how a 25-year-old scammed investors out of $26 million, CNBC, Web.

Stanwick, P.A. and Stanwick, S.D. (2019) Fyre Festival: the party that never got started, American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, 3(12), pp. 138-142.

Westland, J. (2018) The triple constraint in project management: time, scope & cost. Project Manager, Web.

Wu, Q. and Cormican, K. (2016) Shared leadership: an analysis of the evolvement process across the project life cycle, International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 7(6), pp. 299-303.

Marketing is a fundamental component that contributes most to the development and extension of business regardless of its size, whether large, medium, or small. Thus, market analysis is needed to recognize the purchasers behavior and market conditions to adapt valuable insights on the market trends upon further business development (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2017). The current task report examines appropriate statistical surveying that assists Mark and Spenser Group with recognizing its development and several marketing opportunities. Therefore, PESTLE, SWOT analysis, crucial marketing strategies, and position of the company are carried out in addition to the Ansoff matrix.

Company Overview

Marks & Spencer Group is a major British company with offices in Singapore, the United Kingdom, concentrating on selling clothing, food, and home goods, most of which are under its label. Furthermore, this company is serving the clients with their great food products and diverse food products as well. As far as apparel, M&S is one of the significant stores that produce top-notch garments items from ladies wear and mens wear to kids wear (`ályová et al., 2015, p.364).

Nonetheless, this association is more acclaimed due to the ladies attire and undergarments. M&S attempts to follow a specific value framework to maintain the outstanding quality of the products. M&S plc is known for its 1,382 stores worldwide and about 460 stores in Europe (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2017). The association has branches in the Middle East and Asia. Through the online business, M&S shares their interaction with the local franchise in commercial centers (Dolnicar et al., 2018, p.233). M&S has a good record of profitability and success due to its strong foundation, a fantastic image of its creativity, innovation, and quality items that offer incentives for their customers cash.

Marketing Audit of Marks and Spencer (M&S)

For M&S to maintain its current position in the market, the market audit is fundamental to discover the authentic market patterns and on which marketing plans and strategies have to be implemented and applied (Camilleri, 2018). This will comprise the external environment, the internal environment, and the current marketing strategy of the organization.

PESTLE Analysis

M&S Group PESTLE analysis is a strategic tool for analyzing an organizations macro environment, which assists in assessing economic conditions and steadily developing its business (Oraman, 2014). PESTEL means Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, Economical and Legal Political Environment which harm the macroeconomics (Zhang et al. 2017, p. 1522).M&S Group provides excellent and detailed information about the challenges that the entire group will face when operating as an organization. This model enables the organization to establish the external macroenvironmental factors that affect the decisions made in the organization. It enables the organization to assess its market growth and decline, its position, and the direction of the business.

Political Factors

Political factors are crucial in evaluating the variables that influence M&S Groups long-term productivity in a specific country. M&S Group operates in an industry sector across a dozen countries, exposing it to a range of alternative climate and institutional system threats.

However, spanning countries increase political threats through making advances in an exceptional retail market (`ályová et al., 2015, p. 364). The development of free trade agreements among various nations has caused political threats to the M & S Group. M&S takes advantage of the large EU market that permits its goods to cross borders without being constrained by taxes or tariffs. Although free trade has existed for a long period, particularly within Europe, the United Kingdom may face challenges harnessing these benefits following the actualization of Brexit.

M&S believes that it is essential to collaborate and work closely with the public authority to secure an associations authentic advantages. They respond to government inquiries on their platform, which is open to the public. The organization enjoys full support from the public authority as it has rich noteworthy qualities and reasonable methods for trade practices (Gürel, 2017, p. 979). The two principal factors influencing the organization are taxes and political stability. For example, when the UK decided to terminate their European Union membership branded Brexit, this political move is expected to be followed by certain pretty strict charge embargos (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2017, p. 315). These may result in the organizations lack of streamlined commerce strategies with European providers, leading to higher product costs for end customers.

Economic Factors

Economic factors are the determinants of an economys productivity that influence an organization and have lengthy implications. The aggregate expenditure and demand in an economy are influenced by macro climate variables such as inflation, savings, foreign exchange fluctuations, and the state of the economy. The United Kingdom is one of the largest economies in the world but is still an open democracy; since the government has stable finances and effectively maintains a low inflation rate, the UKs financial and money-related approaches are appropriately supervised (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2017, p. 315). The organization has a strategy in place to provide elevated goods to its customers.

On the other side, the financial crisis can lead to a decrease in demand for M&Ss high-quality goods as a result of consumers reduced discretionary income, further restricting their ability to spend on luxury items or attire. Although M&S is a supermarket behemoth, the latest market trend in the United Kingdom is for smaller retailers. As a result of the lower markup rate, M&S can maintain its premium status. As a result, most people in the UK are shopping at their local store instead of Marks and Spencers high-end products. Budget stores pose an imminent threat to Marks and Spencers target market, and the brand has had little time to formulate a strategy to combat this threat.

Social Factors

Societys way of doing things and culture impact the life of an association in an environment. Having existed since the 1800s, M&S is an easily recognized name among the youths and the old. A large portion of the populace connects the brand with the past (Marks and Spencer, 2019). Without a thorough patch-up of the business persona, M&S is projected to lose a more significant part of clients from the most recent ages as new and popular corporate stores spring up consistently. Change from people born after WW2 into generation X and recent college grads necessitates that M&S change strategies to suit the current generations needs.

The clothing line sold and demographic and location primarily determine the space allocated to it. Assume, for example, that a few shops in London do not stock the Classic Collection, instead opting for the stock Limited Collection and a complete Autograph set (`ályová et al., 2015, p.364). In any case, the brand can counteract this factor by dominating the ready meals market. Consumption of frozen meals has increased dramatically in the UK and around the world. M&S is now one of the leading manufacturers of frozen meals in the UK.

Technological Factors

Present retail outlets are adapting and changing in response to emerging technology. M&S understands the value of innovation in running a successful company and delivering streamlined, adaptable, and simple client-focused products. Identity is among the most common retail trends today, especially in grocery stores. The business trend aims to save retailers cash that would have been spent on clerks while allowing consumers to check out faster. M&S has successfully introduced several self-service checkout frameworks in its stores, like the UK food retailers. Another significant advancement in the retail sector is online shopping. M&S has established a substantial internet availability, selling nearly all of its products online, including clothes, essentials, and home goods. M&S uses the traditional online shopping method of selling items directly to consumers for their garments. Unlike many other big retail supermarkets in the World, Marks and Spencer do not sell food.

Legal Factors

The corporation is impacted by health and safety rules, environmental issues, consumer rights, antitrust legislation, and other legal considerations. Over the years, M&S has been tied to several legitimate legal problems. As the century progressed, this regulatory wrangling has made it difficult for businesses to retain a clear picture. M&S, but on the other hand, provides training programs on a variety of subjects, including nutrition, and changes them every year to keep up with the new laws and enactments.

M&S has been chastised for allegedly ignoring the safety of its employees by referring them to the risk of asbestos contamination. Because when M&S stores along Canal Street were undergoing renovations, authoritative books containing cancer-causing content fell to the floor. On the other hand, the corporation could not resolve the whole issue and chose not to investigate it further (Zhang et al., 2018, p. 1522). They were convicted on a second degree, one of which was focused on the 1974 Work Health and Safety, which forced them to ensure the laborers safety. Those who became tried and convicted of both offenses and each was fined 500,000 pounds. The change of Britains monetary laws due to Brexit is another legal factor that would directly affect the brand.

Environmental Factors

The attainment of tighter environmental rules and guidelines being implemented at both the European and global levels and increased market pressure on strategic approaches are a primary point of Marks and Spencer. Significant international retailers and brands must examine the life pattern of their products to be transparent about their principal and tactical environmental activities and be responsible. M&S promotes itself with a luxury brand, and as a result, they are very concerned about the environmental effects of the company (Clarke, Goodwin and Whiteley, 2017, p. 315). Plan A, M&Ss ethical and ecological plan that serves as the foundation for how the company does business both within and outside the company, has helped the company remain at the top of things by purchasing wisely, reducing waste, and assisting partner networks.

With the current climate crisis close by, Plan A from M&S has been respected, and different other retail markets in the UK have followed accordingly. Fairtrade, which is an activity made to compensate foreign producers, also affects the climate (Loredana, 2017, p. 164). The above statement is made based on more modest makers, who attain the most outputs from fair trade while using manageable strategies compared to their bigger competitors. Therefore, M&S sells appropriate trade products, which permits more modest retail organizations to incur less production cost enabling environmentally friendly production techniques.

SWOT Analysis

The SWOT evaluation will be used to assess the internal factors of the organizations running and the organizations capabilities (Gürel, 2017, p.999). The results attained intend to outline and assess the organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT Analysis is employed as a form of administration analysis beneficial to corporations like Marks and Spencer. The study is evaluated and compared to those of competing organizations in the industry. This model enables the M&S Group to build more on what it does best, to address what its lacking, minimize its associated risks, and helps the group in making use of the available opportunities for its success.

Strengths

As a leading organization in textiles and fashion, Marks and Spencer have numerous strengths allowing the organization to succeed in the clothing industry. These strengths are valuable in holding a significant part of the market share while diversifying its operations to more fields. Some of the corporations strengths include;

• Private labels: as well as selling premium brands, the organization also has products for a wide range of categories. These labels have served their purpose of acquainting clients with the M&S brand.
• The excellent brand image: the organization, Marks and Spencer, positions at the top of the industry targeting the premium section. Thus, engaging a precise demographic of clients who have a deep-seated trust in products from a Marks and Spencer store,
• Multichannel presence: M & M&S has both physical and online stores and diversifies alternatives. (`ályová et al., 2015, p.364).
• Diversity: Marks& Spencer encourages variety and consequently has workers who embrace all identities, religions, and members of the LGBTQIA community. The corporation additionally takes the initiative to monitor and end-all discriminative practices affiliated with their organization.

Weaknesses

• Failure to penetrate effectively in foreign markets: too much dependence on UK markets makes it helpless against economic conditions in foreign nations.
• Supply chain Scalability: Though the company has been focused on offering global availability for their products by using online shopping platforms, their production network remains relatively small, preventing full market penetration.
• Financial performance challenges (Marks and Spencer, 2020). The organizations share in the way of assets and liquidity suggests poor financial management and planning.
• Consumer loyalty: Frequent item reviews lead to a loss in client certainty

Opportunities

• New Segments: New segments of fashion come up regularly, given that it is an evolving business. Within Asia, a tremendous demand for traditional wear exists, which Marks & Spencer is currently unable to capitalize on.
• M&S can develop their website to provide an alternative to their targeted market to purchase the organizations brand products without visiting their outlets

Threats

• Competition: Other retail stores offer tough competition due to their discounted prices which affects M&Ss strong sustainability in the market (Zhang et al., 2018, 1522).
• M&S, being a global retailer, is vulnerable to currency fluctuations, especially with the unstable political environment in various business sectors.

Marketing Strategies

To influence potential customers interest and purchasing behavior of potential customers, M&S has made several marketing strategies by awaking them about their refined products and services (Kotler and Armstrong, 2017). Following are the marketing strategies:

1. Product description: M&S embraces different promotional tools and procedures to expand information regarding the qualities of the products they supply and their policies in the global market. It incorporates Hoardings, television commercials, using models and superstars, among other measures. Currently, the organization has begun to bargain in monetary administrations to attain a greater portion of the global market to increase the corporations revenue (Loredana, 2017, p. 164). Marks and Spencer mainly focused on two portions of marketing: demographic and psychographic marketing that aims to assist the middle- and lower-income earners in gaining access to the organizations products. These measures directly benefit the profits and market statistics relating to the organization.
2. Brand perceptions: These are characterized by what the corporation presently symbolizes. M&S maintained its products position in such a compelling manner that it wont attract clients towards products but also towards the organization image. This can be upheld by brand communicators like advertising, packaging, verbal exposure, and other promotional techniques (Malhotra et al., 2017). Brand image is essentially influenced when the organization effectively augments the fulfillment level of its clients through their quality items and administrations, thus, achieving a better brand image than its competitors in the market.

Strategic Position

The corporation operates in a competitive field where numerous elements that influence the organizations power exist (Marks and Spencer, 2019). Their ability to provide a wide array of products, including garments, food, beauty, and domestic use products, needs to focus on numerous contenders. M&S should tread carefully in the way of innovations, sociopolitical, and financial variables. Therefore, the organization should invent and promote revolutions in fashion to lead the market. One of the primary factors influencing the organizations changing market demographics includes internet sales, as they have no power over it (Maha, 2017).

Ansoff Matrix

Ansoff product/market framework is utilized to recognize the introductory course for M&S. The framework assists in understanding the essential alternatives available to Marks and Spencer concerning the products on sale and the issue of market inclusivity. Research into their essential capacity (Loredana, 2017). Under Ansoff, the following points are considered:

1. Market Penetration: In this methodology, the organization aims to develop existing items in the current market section to share the global market. Marks and Spencer lack an assortment of products; therefore, if they can manage to decrease their products cost and expand the modes of selling, they will accomplish competitiveness among their adversaries.
2. Product development: In this system, the organization accomplishes action by acquainting new items with current market sections. It very well may be performed by M&S through the development of their brand using per una methods as it is already well developed (Loredana, 2017, p. 164). Additionally, Information Technology advancement and entering into the financial administrations and banking area can help M&S in accomplishing product development.
3. Market Development: In this technique, the organization accomplishes development by arriving at its current products to new market portions (Marks and Spencer, 2019). M&S can accomplish it by extending its business activities to new nations and entering new sections such as clothes for teenagers and kids wear.
4. Diversification: In this strategy, the company achieves growth by expanding into new companies by developing new items for new business sectors (Dawes, 2018). M&S can similarly diversify in beauty products, food, and home appliances partner with other retailers, making it easy to expand its new product in the new market segment.

Market Segmentation

Market segmentation is beneficial for an organization to analyze the information related to customer perspectives and preference changes (Deepak and Jeyakumar, 2019). M&S uses demographic and psychographic segmentation for marketing its products and services. M&S utilizes this since they deal with different products sold in various countries, making it easy to investigate the necessities and inclinations of multiple fragments.

Under demographic segmentation, the populace is partitioned based on income, age, gender, etc. (Dolnicar et al., 2018, p. 224). This helps the administration of Marks and Spencer to break down the inclinations and necessities within their target market as indicated by their qualities. An example of this is Marks and Spencer looking into developing a stable client base for the middle-income group due to adapting financial models that allow for the moderate cost (Camilleri, 2018). Furthermore, the retailer association offers items and services for each age group from children, grown-ups, ladies, and garments sections for 30 or more age groups.

Under psycho-graphic, the population is differentiated based on the living standards, lifestyle, and disposition of individuals. This engages simplicity in the differentiation of client needs based on their different needs and affordability. This allows for the formation of other adverts that use various marketing initiatives (Pitt, Bal and Plangger, 2020). A clear illustration shows the differentiation between cultural attire and conventional clothing popular in India, following the diversification of products to incorporate all the different dress styles in the region.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is significant for all corporations, regardless of their size, to carry out a market evaluation initiative on a particular timeframe to dissect their current industry status at a given time. However, the administrative personnel should be required to lead PESTLE, SWOT Analysis, and Ansoff matrix strategy. It is needed to appropriately recognize the division of the market to identify and satisfy all necessities and prerequisites of different parts of the markets under research.

Reference List

Clarke, H. D., Goodwin, M., & Whiteley, P. (2017) Brexit: Why Britain voted to leave the European Union. Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, 11(2), pp. 255-257.

Camilleri, M. A. (2018) Market segmentation, targeting and positioning. In Travel marketing, tourism economics and the airline product (pp. 69-83). Springer, Cham.

Dawes, J. (2018) The Ansoff Matrix: a legendary tool, but with two logical problems. But with Two Logical Problems (2018).

Dolnicar, S. et al. (2014) Using graphical statistics to better understand market segmentation solutions. International Journal of Market Research, 56(2), pp. 207-230.

Deepak, R. and Jeyakumar, S. (2019) Marketing management. Educreation Publishing.

Gstöhl, S. and Bièvre, D. (2017). The trade policy of the European Union. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Gürel, E. (2017) SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 10(51), pp. 994-1006.

Hanno, Maha. (2017) Harvard Business Review Analytic  Marks and Spencer. Web.

Lee, J., Lee, S. and Jung, K. (2020) Balanced SWOT: revisiting SWOT analysis through failure management and success management. SSRN Electronic Journal.

Loredana, E. (2017) The use of Ansoff matrix in the field of business. 2nd ed. Annals-Economy Series, pp.141-149.

Marks and Spencer. (2019) Our Year in Review 2020. Web.

Marks and Spencer. (2021) About Us. Web.

Pitt, C. S., Bal, A. S. and Plangger, K. (2020) New approaches to psychographic consumer segmentation. European Journal of Marketing.

`ályová, S., Táborecká-Petrovi
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Zhang, D., Grundvåg, G., Asche, F. and Young, J., 2018. Eco-labeling and retailer pricing strategies: the UK haddock market. Sustainability, 5th ed. p. 1522.

SANS (or SysAdmin, Adult, Networking, and Security) is arguably the largest company providing computer security training and certification. Apart from that, this organization offers its users an archive for research needs. At present, it comprises several branches or departments, namely Internet Storm Center, Technology Institute, and Security Certification. This company was founded in 1989; initially it specialized only in show casting technical conferences or presentation. Yet, with time passing, it switched to more profitable format, for instance to advertising, training courses, and providing certificates. This organization was established mostly for educational purposes. At the moment, it is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland (SANS).

Apart from that, SANS constantly releases the soft and hardware security vulnerabilities. The management in the vast majority of companies or federal agencies tends to relies on the information, while shaping their security policies. In this essay, we are going to refer to the so-called Consensus Security Alert, which contains a report of new viruses or other programs, which lead to the malfunction of the computer systems.

We need to focus on thee most recent security alerts. The first one was raised on April 23, 2009. This malware is a cross-platform virus it operates in Window, Linux and Microsoft, the program can be classified as a backdoor, it enables to penetrate into the system without identification. The second vulnerability was detected on April 30, 2009. The virus is also cross-platform, and yet it is primarily aimed at damaging hardware, particularly the hard-disk. At this moment, these viruses are not fully detectible. The third alert was posted on the fifth of May; the program is oriented on Windows platform. To some degree it can be labeled as spyware but it may also damage valuable data.

This service, provided by SANS, keeps users informed of ever-changing world of malware and helpful tips for coping with these problems.

Bibliography

SANS. “The Consensus Security Alert”. Web.