How Noise Affects Memory and Learning Free Essays

According to past studies background and low-level noise in homes, work, and school, disrupts concentration and lowers the performance of people while learning and studying. For example, Anderson and Fuller (2010) looked at the effects of music on reading comprehension. Their results state the music environment reading comprehension score was lower than the non-music environment score. We will write a custom essay sample on How Noise Affects Memory and Learning or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even though this study was done with music, no matter what type of sound it is, it will bother someone’s concentration and performance on a task. A study has shown having ackground white noise while performing a task, such as word recall, will produce low performance (KJellberg, LJung, ; Hallman, 2008). It also depends on the type of population you are trying to study. For some populations, the predictions of noise being a distraction, is stronger. For example, people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more vulnerable to distractions than people without ADHD or any other type of disorder (Soderlund, Sikstrom, Loftenes, ; Sonuga-Barke, 2010). This introduction will further examine the effects of noise on learning and memory. Music and Learning/Memory It has been shown that music has a negative effect on reading performance (Anderson r am ; Vizard, 2011). Anderson and Fuller (201 investigation of the effect of lyrical music on reading comprehension by adolescents. They used the reading comprehensions subtest of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading tests, 4th edition. The music that was used in this study was taken from the Billboard Magazine’s (2006) top hit singles. Anderson and Fuller (2010) tested three hypotheses; (1) a difference exists between reading comprehension scores completed in the environment without music and scores obtained with lyrical music playing in he background, (2) a gender difference exists regarding comprehension scores completed in the environment without music and scores obtained with background music, and (3) a relationship exists between degree of preference for studying with music and scores obtained on reading comprehension tests completed in either the environment without music or with music playing in the background (Anderson Fuller, 2010). The results of this experiment were that across experimental groups of this study, the music environment reading scores were lower in the music group compared to the no music group. About three-quarters of the students who took the test did less well while listening to music in the background. This means hypothesis 1 was accepted in this study. Girls had a greater decline in scores under the music environment compared with the non-music environment than did boys, which means hypothesis 2 was accepted. Hypothesis 3 was only semi-accepted because the students total music preference score was not related to their reading comprehension score, but the total music preference score was correlated with the reading comprehension difference score (music vs. no music). The students, who were asked if they usually listen to music while studying, and said yes, had a lower reading comprehension score in both noise conditions (Anderson Fuller, 2010). Anderson and Fuller (2010) explain that these results happened because students paid more attention to the lyrics depending on if they were listening to the songs and artists they liked or did not like. Perham and Vizard (2011) conducted a study to explore whether the preference of background music influences performance in more realistic cognitive settings, such as doing everyday tasks. According to Perham nd Vizard (2011) research suggests that listening to background music prior to task performance increases cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, through the mechanism of increasing arousal and positive mood. Their hypothesis was if this mood and arousal extends to more common and realistic music, then the preference for background music while studying should show greater recall performance while listening to liked music than disliked music in the background. If the preference of music shows no effect, then performance should be the same in both liked and disliked music conditions. In this study done by Perham and Vizard (201 1), their procedure was done by selecting music by asking their participants to bring in music they have listened to on a daily basis, and they excluded people who like to listen to thrash metal music. The results of this test were only correct if an item was recalled in the exact same position in which it was presented, which showed that performance was best in the quiet condition. The liked music condition, in which participants brought in their own music, showed the highest rating for the likeability and pleasantness properties. The quiet condition was less distracting than the other ound conditions. Disliked music, which was the thrash metal, was rated as being more ottensive than the other sound conditions. Even though the results ot this study showed that the liked music condition was the highest rated condition, performance was actually as poor in this condition as the disliked, thrash metal, condition. This study showed that no matter what type of music you listen to, either liked or disliked, both are evenly disruptive. Memory and learning in regular white noise The influence of distracting noise has been studied in children with attention deficit disorder. A study done by Soderlund, et al. 2010), predicted that inattentive children would be enhanced by adding background white noise while attentive children’s performance would decline. There were two noise conditions used during this study, which was a high noise condition, and a low noise condition. In the high noise condition, verb-noun sentences were given during the auditory background noise (78 decibels). In the low noise condition, sentences were presented without noise. The results showed that both groups performed at the same level across both sound conditions, but the interaction between noise and the two groups was ignificant. Inattentive children performed better in the high noise condition rather than the low noise condition, but the opposite happened with the attentive children. This study also had to do with reading comprehension. Before the study had started, the inattentive and attentive children were tested for their reading level scores, and the inattentive children had a much lower reading level compared to the attentive children. With these results, there was a negative correlation between reading skills and a positive effect of these scores with the noise in the background, a positive orrelation between attention and reading ability, and a positive correlation between teacher ratings of the children being inattentive and their hyperactivity. This study showed that there was a significant improvement in performance for the children rated by their teachers as inattentive, and a decline in performance for those rated as attentive as noise levels were increased. KJellberg, et al. (2008) studied the effect of white noise on word recall. They predicted that (1) recall of words is better without background noise, (2) recognition of sentences is less sensitive to the noise han the recall of words, but background noise prolongs response times, and (3) the expected noise effect on recall and recognition will be weaker for subjects with high working memory capacity. There was a free recall of long word lists that was performed with and without background noise. Working memory capacity was tested with a test of reading span. A third test was done with sentence recognition in the same conditions done in the word recall test. This sentence recognition test was less of a resource for results, but was included for the measurement of response times in both noise conditions. For the results of this study, the word lists were split up into three parts (first, 10, middle 30, last 10). The reason for splitting up the second, third, and fourth groups of 10 words was that in these groups, many subjects did not recall any item correctly. In line with the hypotheses, subjects remembered less of the words when presented with background noise. Recognition of sentences was found to be unaffected by the noise, and the performance of this task was unrelated to reading span. The hypothesis was confirmed regarding performance of the word recall task, but not for the sentence recognition task. The effects of noise were apparent on the recall of the first and last part of the word list, which shows that retrieval from a short term and long memory storage were both impaired by noise. The hypothesis stating that noise ettects were expected to be less sever tor persons with a better working memory capacity as defined by their reading performance was strongly supported from the noise effect on the recall of the last part of the word list. The hypothesis that word recall was rated as more difficult than sentence recognition in the noise condition was also accepted. For the last of the results for this study, here was a shorter response time with noise in the sentence recognition task. There were more misses with the shorter response time. This does not confirm the hypothesis that decisions should take longer in the noise condition, and there is no obvious explanation for this result. How memory is affected by road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech. The influence of road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech was studied by Boman (2004), Enmarker (2004), and Hygge, Boman, and Enmarker (2003). Boman (2004) predicted that the encoding of new verbal episodic information should be mpaired by both road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech, but the impairment for the encoding will be stronger for the meaningful irrelevant speech, and the impairment will be more for the recall than the recognition of a text in episodic memory. It was expected that both recall and recognition in a text reading task when exposed to noise during the encoding part would be impaired by noise sources, but the cued recall and meaningful irrelevant speech would be more pronounced. Performance on free and cued recall from the sentences encoded with and without enactment (such as â€Å"roll the ball† or â€Å"kick the ball) would be impaired by oise, but the self-performed enactments will produce a better memory performance, and will withstand both noise conditions. It was expected that intentional memory, and recognition of given names, would be impaired by noise. Like the rest of the predictions for this study, irrelevant speech would be more of an impairment than the road traffic noise. For recognition from non-verbal material (faces) no noise effects were expected because the face recognition test could be assumed to provide enough cues for memory retrieval. An interaction between noise and gender was expected, while girls performance on free and cued recall from the pisodic memory tasks would not be affected as bad as boys during noise exposure. To examine the predicted role of attention on episodic memory, attention was measured by a search and memory task. A speech accuracy trade off (SATO) – which is we prefer accuracy over the speed of getting something done – was expected with more lines of the tasks completed in noise, but at a lower accuracy. Boman (2004) split up the results section into five parts. In all of these analyses, the direct effects of noise, gender, and the interactions between noise and gender were all assessed. Episodic memory was assessed first. For cued recall and recognition of text, meaningful irrelevant speech impaired cued recall as expected, but there was no effect of gender or an interaction between gender and noise found for cued recall. In line with the predictions, the analysis for the recognition items also showed a main effect of noise. There was a better recognition in silence than irrelevant speech, but there was no difference between silence and road traffic noise. For free and cued recall of sentences, neither the effect of noise nor the interaction between noise and gender was significant. As predicted, girls’ recall performance was igher than the boys in cued recall or categories with enactment. Semantic memory was analyzed second. For word tluency, there was no significant noise ettect or interaction between noise and gender. For word comprehension, there was better word comprehension in silence than in meaningful irrelevant speech. Attention was analyzed next, and this was not impaired by noise, and since this happened, the predicted role for attention on episodic memory can be ruled out. Self-ratings were analyzed last. For affect, there was no significant difference between the three noise groups on the affect dimensions measured before both noise exposures. Meaningful irrelevant speech and road traffic noise did not differ from the silence condition. For annoyance, effort, and difficulty, there were no significant effects of noise on self reports and the difficulty of reading. Since this happened, the distraction on the text reading tasks in silence and noise can be ruled out as an explanation of the noise effects of recall and recognition. Enmarker (2004) examined how irrelevant speech and road traffic noise affected teacher’s memory and attention, and also examined whether the noise effects on memory were age dependent. Ninety-six male and female teachers were chosen to articipate and were between the ages of 35-45 and 55-65. It was predicted that (1) of noise effects on episodic memory – noise would interfere with verbal episodic memory tasks, and impair free and cued recall and recognition, but the recall was supposed to be impaired more than recognition tasks, (2) like Boman (2004), most of the episodic memory tasks, the meaningful irrelevant speech will impair the tasks more than the road traffic noise, (3) the older teachers should be less able than the younger teachers to accurately recall, both free and cued, tasks in the noise ondition, (4) of noise effects on semantic memory – less attention requirements are needed during retrieval than during encoding. More automatic than controlled retrieval is present in more semantic memory, and this study was not sure whether noise would affect the semantic memory system, and (5) of noise affects on attention – noise would impair attention as the result of fewer resources available for the task. There will be a fast performance for answers, but most of these answers will not be accurate. For the results of this study by Enmarker (2004), younger teachers overall ad a better hearing status than the older teachers. Noise impaired cued recall of the text in episodic memory, but the impact of irrevlevant speech and road traffic noise did not differ. There was no difference between the younger and older teachers performance during noise impairment. There was no significant difference of effort made during text reading for subjects in silence and irrelevant speech, and also the perception of difficulty to the text. The recall of sentences with and without enactment showed no overall noise effects and no interaction between noise and age. The tasks for intentional and incidental learning and first and family names showed an overall effect of noise. Incidental learning did not show any noise effects. Intentional learning did not show any influences of noise either. There was an overall effect of noise on the three word fluency tests in semantic memory. More words were recalled in silence than in irrelevant speech. The predicted speech to accuracy effect was not supported, and neither was there any interaction between noise and age on attention. The studies done by Boman (2004) and Enmarker (2004) were replications of Hygee et al. 2003). All predictions, basic designs, procedure, and noise controls have been replicated. A types ot episodic and semantic memory tasks are also replicated. A results have been shown to be the same across all three studies. How learning and memory are affected by aircraft noise Hygge, Evans, and Bullinger (2002) studied the effects of aircraft noise on cognitive performance. Before the openin g of the new Munich, Germany airport and the destruction of the old one, children near both of these airport sites were brought in to be tested. Two groups of children, an airport noise group, and a control group – no ircraft noise – were examined. In this study, 326 children participated; 43 children who were by the old airport, were put into a no-noise group; 65 children who were by the old airport, were put into a noise group; 107 who are by the new airport, were put into a no noise group; and 111 who are by the new airport, were put into a noise group. This study assessed how children’s reading was affected by changes in ambient noise levels cause by the new airport and old airport locations. On the word- list part of the reading test, only difficult words showed differences between the groups. The airport group and the high noise exposure were significant. Reading and long term memory affects were related, but disappeared when the old airport closed, and the new airport opened. Although children’s reading worsened with noise exposure at the new airport and recovered following lower noise exposure at the old airport, speech perception deficits among noise exposed children at the old airport did not recover. Performing the task in acute noise or no noise did not qualify for the interaction involving chronic aircraft noise over time, but there was a main effect of acute noise. The last was that poorer short term memory performance of the noise group recovered to reach the level of the control group’s performance. Separate tests showed more correct responses in the no-noise group than in the noise group. For the conclusion of this study done by Hygge, et al. (2002) it states that noise exposure damages the development of speech perception in different ways during the early and late stages of the reading comprehension tasks. This study also raises a question about the validity of inattention or â€Å"tuning out† different noises as an explanation for the impact of noise on reading performance. How visual memory is affected during white noise A study was done by Wais and Gazzaley (2011) about the impact of auditory distraction on retrieval of visual memories. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of sound distraction on retrieval of episodic memory. Based on prior research, Wais and Gazzaley stated that there is a possibility that the environment changes may interfere with the recollection of visual memories. This study hypothesized that a comparison of effects of distraction from different sensory systems might slow down evidence for or against interference on recollection. This experiment studied the influence of sound distractions on episodic memory recollections using both busy caf © sounds and white noise. There were a few different results found in this study. With auditory distractions and false alarms, there was a greater amount of false recollection during silence compared to both the white noise and the auditory distraction of a busy caf ©. Relevant visual details during the test with the busy caf © noise showed significant decline compared to white noise and silence. There was no difference between white noise and silence. These results show that auditory istraction (busy caf © noise) showed more of a distraction than white noise. It might be possible that the results ot talse alarms are greater in silence because the participants are more relaxed during this time period and might loosen their decisions. There was also a task done with visual distractions. In this experiment, the conditions corresponding to the silence, white noise, and the auditory, busy caf ©, distraction conditions in the present study were the eyes shut, eyes open with a grey screen, and eyes open with a complex natural scene. One distracting complex natural scene was presented at each trial. Stimulation during the auditory, busy caf ©, distraction is more dynamic than that from the eyes open-grey screen images (Wais Gazzaley, 2011). The results of the visual distraction showed that recollection of relevant visual details during the auditory distraction showed low accuracy compared to silence and white noise conditions. In comparison with these studies, the present study is going to be studying how auditory distractions affect memory. The test that was presented to our participants was the digit span test and a reading comprehension test. The digit span test is used to measure working memorys umber storage capacity (Cambridge Brain Science). The participants were presented with a series of numbers (e. g. 6, 7, 9) and must repeat them back immediately, and if they do this accurately, they will be given a longer list of numbers (e. g. 6, 4, 8, 9) Oahanshahi, Saleem, Ho, Fuller, Dirnberger, G. 2009). Both the reading comprehension test and the digit span test was presented in three different noise conditions, (1) obnoxious noise, (i. e. Jackhammer) (2) calming noise (i. e. bird chirping), and (3) no noise/regular classroom noise, such as students in the hallways, or onstruction outside the windows. A question that is being asked is how do different noise conditions affect memory for both these tasks? It was hypothesized that participants in the no noise/regular classroom noise will perform better than in the two noise conditions. Method Participants Data was collected from participants who signed up for Experimental Psychology experiments, which helped with the random sampling of the students. Seventy-one students participated in the study (57 females and 13 males) ranging from ages 18 to 24. Twenty-two subjects were in the no sound condition, twenty in the calming noise i. e. bird chirping) condition, and twenty-nine in the obnoxious noise (i. e. Jack hammer) condition. All participants gave informed consent before participating in the experiment. Only one participant reported having a hearing problem. Materials Questionnaire. A self-made questionnaire was given to each student during the experiment. This questionnaire consisted of (1) age, (2) gender (a) female or (b) male, (3) what is your current academic standing? (a) Freshman, (b) Sophomore, (c) Junior, or (d) Senior; (4) Overall GPA; (5) Do you currently wear glasses or contacts? (a) yes, or (b) o; (6) Are you hearing impaired? (a) Yes, or (b) no; (7) How do you study? (Choose all that apply) (a) silence, (b) with television, (c) with music, (d) with friends, (e) other (8) Please rate how stressed you feel when you study? (a) no stress, (b) okay, (c) great, (d) stressed, or (e) very stressed; (9) Do you better under your course material when: (a) a professor lectures (b) when you read your textbook/notes on your own, or (c) both. Reading Comprehension test. An 8th grade reading comprehension test was presented to the participants. The test was chosen from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test which was tound online (Flori da Department ot Education). T story is called â€Å"The Wreck of E. S. Newman† by Ruth Ewers. The story also had questions that were answered by the participants. This passage also came with the answers to these questions. Participants must pay close attention to the story because once the story is taken away from them, they were no longer able to go back and look at it. Digit Span Test. The Digit Span test was originally a subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test (WA’S) (Cambridge Brain Science). David Wechsler used the digit span test to test the participants working memory. Analysis of the digit span test suggests that participants must hold the first few items presented in memory. According to Jahanshahi, et al. 2008) the digit span test monitors incoming information, and revises updated information by changing the new items. The Digit Span test can be presented verbally, or on a computer program. In the present study, the Digit Span test was pre-recorded so that the variable was held constant and the participants will have no problem understanding what we say. Participants were presented with a string of random numbers and w ere asked to repeat the string of umbers forward. This means if the numbers are presented as 6-1-2, they must write those numbers down in that particular order. Participants may find themselves rehearsing the string of digits as they hear them being presented from recording. The Digit Span is scored 2, 1, or O; 2 points if the participant passes both trials, 1 point if the participant passes only one trial and O points if the participant fails both trials. Even though there are two trials, we only used one trial for this experiment and was scored using 1 point. PANAS scale. The Positive and Negative Affect schedule is a 0-item self-report measure of positive and negative affect developed by Watson, Clark, and Tellegen (1988). The negative scale has three subscales (1) distress, (2) unpleasureable engagement, and (3) the absence of feelings. Positive affect represents an individual with high pleasurable experiences and engagement with the environment. Emotions of happiness and alertness are indicated with the positive affect of the PANAS, and emotions of sadness and lethargy are indicated with the negative affect (Crawford Henry, 2004). The participants were asked to read each item and list the number from the scale next to each word. This indicated the way a person feels at the present moment. The rating scale is (1) very slightly or not at all, (2) a little, (3) moderately, (4) quite a bit, and (5) extremely. The 20 words that will be presented on the PANAS scale are (1) interested, (2) distressed, (3) excited, (4) upset, (5) strong, (6) guilty, (7) scared, (8) hostile, (9) enthusiastic, (10) proud, (11) irritable, (12) alert, (13) ashamed, (14) inspired, (15) nervous, (16) determined, (17) attentive, (18) Jittery, (19) active, and (20) afraid. Recordings. The recordings that were used during the experiment are Jackhammers and birds chirping. These sounds ame from www. sounddogs. com and were played from a CD through the computer system from the classroom that was used to perform the experiment. The exact name for the Jackhammer sound from the website is called â€Å"Tools – Jackhammer – Ext – MCIJ – Jackhammering Concrete Long Stand. † The exact name for the bird chirping sound from the website is called â€Å"Birds – Morning – Suburban Neighborhood Morning Birds – Ext – Distant – 6:30am – Various Pretty Birds Sing ; Chirp. † Procedure The experiment was conducted in a St. Francis College classroom. Since some classrooms nave ditterent color walls, we decided to use a classroom witn white olored walls on all sides. The participants came in and sat down anywhere they want in the classroom, and each participant was given an informed consent. The informed consent explained the basics of our experiment, how long the experiment will take, they may quit at any time, and that they will be anonymous throughout the experiment. After all participants handed in their informed consent, the experiment will start. The digit span test was given out first. As said as before, each string of numbers will be pre-recorded so there are no confounding variables. After one set of umbers is said, each participant will have to memorize that set and write it down. The string of numbers was longer each time they are presented. The reading comprehension paragraph was given next. Each participant was given the paragraph of our choice and was required to remember as much as possible from reading this paragraph. The reading comprehension paragraph was then taken away and the questionnaire was given in between the reading paragraph and the reading comprehension quiz. This is because we are studying memory and we want to see how much they remember after five minutes. After they have finished with the questionnaire, they were given a sheet with a few questions on it asking them about the paragraph they have Just read. During the digit span test, and the reading comprehension paragraph, each group had noise playing in the background. There were three noise conditions. In the first condition, the obnoxious noise (i. e. jackhammer) was presented, during the second condition, the calming noise (i. e. birds chirping) was presented, and in our last condition, there was no noise presented. The PANAS scale was presented after the experiment was finished to see f the background noise had any effect on the participant during the experiment. After the PANAS a manipulation check was asked to see if the independent variable has had any effect on the participants, and the debriefing about the experiment was presented last. This experiment had two risks which are (1) they might have frustration during each task because of the noise in the background, and (2) because of this frustration they might receive a headache because they could not concentrate well. A benefit the participant will receive is that they may learn their own individual apabilities in learning and memory related to noise. Results The present study hypothesized that participants in the no noise/regular classroom condition will perform better than in the two noise conditions (i. e. calming and obnoxious conditions. How to cite How Noise Affects Memory and Learning, Papers

Walmart Company Opportunities and Advantages

Thesis Statement This report evaluates the Wal-Mart Stores. Thus, it explores the Company in terms of its low-cost strategy, product diversity and the high number of large physical stores. Using these capabilities, Wal-Mart has and continues to lead in the retail industry.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Walmart Company Opportunities and Advantages specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The report, therefore, evaluates how these capabilities have enabled Wal-Mart to realize its mission of helping people save money to live better. This mission continues to drive everything that happens at Wal-Mart. Customers continue to trust the everyday low price strategy through which they are able to save their money. Wal-Mart’s Cost Advantage Supply Chain Advantage Wal-Mart successfully implemented an efficient supply chain management strategy in all its operations. Through this, the Company is able to lower cost of products while providing a highly competitive pricing for its consumers. Additionally, the efficient supply chain management strategy enables Wal-Mart to offer its customers the products they need where they need them. In purchasing, the Company managers use the system to find products they will sell and look for suppliers. Thereafter, they procure products from suppliers at low prices to meet Wal-Mart profitability goals. The Company establishes long-term partnerships with suppliers so that it can get large quantities of products at lowest possible market prices. The focus is on buying from cheaper domestic suppliers. Operations managers then use forecasts to determine customer demand for products. These products are then supplied to various distribution centers to meet customer demand and needs. Here, Wal-Mart lowers inventory carrying costs. On the other hand, the distribution function ensures that products move from manufacturers to the Company stores before getting to the customers. Be sides cutting down costs for inventory and product transportation, the Company drastically reduces the time taken to transport these products hence eliminating system inefficiencies. There is efficiency in Company operations, as well as the distribution strategies achieved through having stores in large cities close to each other. â€Å"Every distribution center supports 90 to 100 stores in a 200-mile radius† (Wal-Mart). This lowers distribution costs incurred by the supply chain department.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Besides, the Company uses technology to make sure integration of the supply chain. Wal-Mart has embraced technology as a strategy to have a competitive edge in the highly competitive retail industry. For instance, through innovation, the Company has revitalized its supply chain lowering costs and pass resulting savings to its product consumers. Trau b in his article titled â€Å"Wal-mart Used Technology to Become Supply Chain Leader† says that Wal-Mart achieved this by use of a supply chain management system in its operations. For instance, the Company uses technology in forecasting customer demand accurately while tracking and predicting inventory levels within various stores. Moreover, technological innovations have enabled Wal-Mart to create transportation routes that are highly efficient hence lowering costs (Walmart Stores 9). With information technology, the Company tracks product movement until they are finally delivered into its stores. The efficiency in the supply chain system helps Wal-Mart save money with benefits being passed on to consumers in terms of low product prices. Any investor would enjoy having a strategic alliance with a company having such an excellent supply chain management system in place. I highly recommend Tech-Shield to invest in Wal-Mart. Low Manufacturing Cost Given that Wal-Mart controls most of the activities in the retail industry, it is a key business partner to its suppliers. Wal-Mart has a lot of control over the market. For instance, if Wal-Mart was to switch from doing business with other suppliers, this creates a scare among existing suppliers. Currently, the Company has partnered with over 3,000 suppliers (Wal-Mart Stores). The Company purchases goods in large quantities from its suppliers. Additionally, all suppliers have transparent production and delivery system to enable Wal-Mart track delivery of products. In order to cut costs, the Company has set up its own distribution channels hence eliminating a need for wholesalers (Rosenfeld). On the other hand, most manufacturers’ survival in the industry depends on the ability of Wal-Mart to market their products.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Walmart Company Opportunities and Advantages specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For this t o happen, they have to play within requirements that Wal-Mart puts on the table. This has given the Company the audacity to bargain for products prices helping it acquire them at low prices. To ensure low costs, Wal-Mart advises suppliers to locate in countries with low production costs. For instance, Wal-Mart imports most of its products from its manufacturers in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh (Clifford). Grocery suppliers have had to offer their products at low prices to maintain their partnership with Wal-Mart (Geller and Wohi). Wal-Mart has been able to lower costs through a low wage strategy to its workers (Berfield). Low cost benefit consumers of all income groups as they are able to buy products at affordable prices. Wal-Mart, being a leader in the retail industry, significantly benefits from economies of scale. These are as a result of an outstanding system that the Company enjoys in terms of developed distribution channels and system, brand name, huge financial capital and l ocation of stores. Given that new entrants require huge capital investments to compete with the Company, most of them keep off. Additionally, given its good financial returns annually, Wal-Mart enjoys a cost advantage over rivals in the industry. For instance, customers looking for quality products at low prices shop at Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, large suppliers like Coca Cola do have more bargaining power compared to smaller ones. With such a good strategy to lower Wal-Mart’s manufacturing costs, Tech-Shield should think about entering a strategic alliance with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s Product Diversification Strategy Wal-Mart continues with its commitment to offer quality goods and services to customers at the lowest market prices as they believe that they are in business to serve customers. â€Å"Customers are the reason why we’re in business. And when we exceed their expectations, we’re at our best† (Walmart 2012 Annual Report 3). Moreover, Wal-Mart h as a workforce of more than 2 million serving over 200 million customers in its 10,000 retail units in over 27 countries.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The workforce has been vital in helping Wal-Mart achieve its mission, as well as grow its business.Using its mission of â€Å"Save Money, Live Better† (Wal-Mart Stores 1), Wal-Mart continues to serve its customers by offering quality products at lower prices compared to rivals in the industry. Here, focus is on delivering value and quality to customers. Furthermore, Wal-Mart endeavors to help its customers buy commodities at affordable prices. Through this, Wal-Mart helps to improve the situations of people in the communities it operates. This mission has been embedded not only in the Company’s business, but also in its culture to impact every part of Wal-Mart. This includes Wal-Mart’s shareholders, workforce, customers and the communities where it operates. Through a product diversification strategy, Wal-Mart offers a range of products to its customers. This is through its various formats like supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail stores, discount stores, supercen ters, restaurants among others (Walmart 2012 Annual Report 6-10). The range of products includes groceries, jewelry, toys, pharmaceuticals, books, household essentials, health care products, cell phones, electronics, home appliances, office equipment (Wal-Mart Stores) among many others. Here, Wal-Mart virtually has everything in their stores. Matters of product quality and quantity in the retail industry are crucial when it comes to purchasing decisions that customers make. Product diversity gives Wal-Mart a competitive advantage as customers can find any product they need at the various stores. Tech-Shield would definitely look to invest in such a company. Wal-Mart Store Size and Location Wal-Mart internationalized its operations in 1991. This saw the Company embark on an expansion strategy to meet customer needs beyond the United States. Since then, the Company has been able to start operations in 27 countries. In order to serve its customers better, Wal-Mart partners with over 80 0,000 associates operating more than 5,500 stores (Wal-Mart Stores). The mission behind the expansion strategy is ensuring every community has a store. Besides, the stores are large enough to ensure customer convenience during shopping. â€Å"Retail centers range in size from 8,900 square feet to 110,000 square feet. Its wholesale stores range in size from 35,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet† (Reuters). Most of these stores are close to each other, as well as the warehouse. The warehouse system where it locates close to stores reduces Wal-Mart overhead hence the costs of production. In another move aimed at ensuring customers conveniently access its products, Wal-Mart came up with â€Å"Neighborhood Market stores† (D’Innocenzio). These small stores within neighborhoods increase product sales while helping Wal-Mart remain competitive in an industry where rivals have dollar stores and drug chains. Points of Correlation The low price strategy has enabled the C ompany offer quality products to customers. Through various strategies, Wal-Mart is able to lower costs and pass on the savings to its customers. For instance, it works closely with suppliers to lower transportation costs. On the other hand, the Company does not use wholesalers in its operations hence enabling it to lower costs. Through integrating information technology into its supply chain system, Wal-Mart tracks product movement until it reaches its stores. In this case, inventory costs are drastically reduced. Besides, the Company offers quality products in large quantities through its stores in over 27 countries. Moreover, these stores are large enough for customers to shop conveniently. Wal-Mart has a customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage its relationship with customers. The Company aims at creating a better customer experience with its customers so that they enjoy shopping at the retail chain. The Company values its customers with a believe that they are th e number one boss. Customers are hence interested in shopping at Wal-Mart because of the wide range of quality products offered at lowest market prices. Wherever a customer is, they can walk to a Wal-Mart store and get whatever product they need. Consequently, customer needs are met by having a range of products sold at lower prices compared to what other retailers in the industry. An investment is Wal-Mart is worthy given the cost advantage strategy, product diversity, and global presence of the Wal-Mart brand. Conclusion From the evaluation, I would recommend to Miguel that Tech-Shield should consider investing in Wal-Mart. The Company has huge growth potential given its high market share. Additionally, there are numerous opportunities for Wal-Mart to seize and continue with its dominance in the retail industry. For instance, diversify of Wal-Mart offers crucial areas in which Tech-Shield can be a partner through strategic alliances. The low cost advantage helps Wal-Mart increase its market share. As such, it is a great opportunity for Wal-Mart to leverage through economies of scale plus the various cost cutting mechanisms in place. On the other hand, investing in Wal-Mart is a way through which Tech-Shield can increase its market share and venture into other business ventures. Therefore, I would not hesitate to recommend that Tech-Shield invests a significant capital into Wal-Mart through a strategic alliance. Works Cited Berfield, Susan. â€Å"Are American Taxpayers Subsidizing Wal-Mart’s Low Wages?† 3 June 2013. Bloomberg Businessweek. Print. Clifford, Simon. â€Å"Walmart Plans to Buy American More Often.† 15 January 2013. The New York Times. Web. CNN Money. Global 500. 23 July 2012. Print. D’Innocenzio, Ann. â€Å"Wal-Mart plans to open small stores faster.† 10 October 2012. Associated Press. Print. Geller, Martinne and Jessica Wohi. â€Å"Analysis: Wal-Mart’s price push tests manufacturers’ prowess.â₠¬  6 March 2012. Reuters. Print. Reuters. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N). 2013. Print. Rosenfeld, Herman. â€Å"Challenging Wal-Mart. Globalization, Supply-Chain Dominance and Sweatshop Labour.† 13 March 2007. Global Research. Web. Traub, Todd. Wal-mart Used Technology to Become Supply Chain Leader. 2 July 2012. Print. Walmart 2012 Annual Report. 50 years of helping customers save money and live better. Annual Report. Arkansas: Wal-Mart Stores, 2012. Print. Wal-Mart. 2013 Global Responsibility Report. 31 January 2013. Print. Wal-Mart Stores. Our Mission: Saving people money so they can live better. Global Sustainability Report. Arkansas: Wal-Mart, 2013. Print. Walmart Stores. Walmart 2011 Annual Report. Building the next Generation Walmart. 1 January 2011. Web. This essay on Walmart Company Opportunities and Advantages was written and submitted by user Xavier Davenport to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Company was formed by a group of non-Separatist Puritans who was being persecuted for their beliefs in England. The charter was brought along with the colonists, and was used as a constitution. The immigrants from England set sail on eleven ships in 1630 to the shores of Massachusetts. The Bay Colony’s first governor, John Winthrop, was an affluent Englishman who believed that a God had propelled him to lead the new colony. The skills of Winthrop facilitated the prosperity of Massachusetts. Fur trading, fishing, and shipbuilding industries boomed, as the Bay Colony quickly became the most dominant of the New England colonies. The Puritans believed that they had created a safe haven for freedom, but in truth, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was hypocritical in its religious, social, and political foundations. One of the main reasons the Puritans escaped to America was for religious freedom. It would be sensible for the Puritans to allow religious freedom in their fledgling colony, but the conflicts were inevitable. The Quakers, who ignored the Puritan authority, were persecuted with fines, floggings, and evictions. Anne Hutchinson challenged the Puritan clergy with unorthodox views. She claimed that people did not need to obey the laws of God in order to be saved. This was considered high heresy in the Puritan colony. Hutchinson committed another sacrilege at her trial, when she testified that her beliefs had come through God. The Puritans had little choice but to expel her, for she would contaminate the religious purity of the Bay Colony if she were allowed to stay. Another threat to the Puritans was a minister, Roger Williams. He demanded that the colony break from the Church of England and opposed the power of government to control religious behavior. The outraged Puritans planned to ship Williams off to England, but he fled to the Rhode Island area in 1636, where he established the first Baptist church in Ameri... Free Essays on Massachusetts Bay Colony Free Essays on Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Company was formed by a group of non-Separatist Puritans who was being persecuted for their beliefs in England. The charter was brought along with the colonists, and was used as a constitution. The immigrants from England set sail on eleven ships in 1630 to the shores of Massachusetts. The Bay Colony’s first governor, John Winthrop, was an affluent Englishman who believed that a God had propelled him to lead the new colony. The skills of Winthrop facilitated the prosperity of Massachusetts. Fur trading, fishing, and shipbuilding industries boomed, as the Bay Colony quickly became the most dominant of the New England colonies. The Puritans believed that they had created a safe haven for freedom, but in truth, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was hypocritical in its religious, social, and political foundations. One of the main reasons the Puritans escaped to America was for religious freedom. It would be sensible for the Puritans to allow religious freedom in their fledgling colony, but the conflicts were inevitable. The Quakers, who ignored the Puritan authority, were persecuted with fines, floggings, and evictions. Anne Hutchinson challenged the Puritan clergy with unorthodox views. She claimed that people did not need to obey the laws of God in order to be saved. This was considered high heresy in the Puritan colony. Hutchinson committed another sacrilege at her trial, when she testified that her beliefs had come through God. The Puritans had little choice but to expel her, for she would contaminate the religious purity of the Bay Colony if she were allowed to stay. Another threat to the Puritans was a minister, Roger Williams. He demanded that the colony break from the Church of England and opposed the power of government to control religious behavior. The outraged Puritans planned to ship Williams off to England, but he fled to the Rhode Island area in 1636, where he established the first Baptist church in Ameri...

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