White paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

White paper - Essay Example The worth and value of stakeholders was not too high, before 21st century. However, it should be noted that stakeholders was a known terminology in legal concept, since long. The origin of the concept of stakeholders, in business or management field, had initially come into existence in 1963. At that time, the terminology of stakeholders appeared in the international memorandum of Stanford Research Institute. Stakeholders, then, were defined as â€Å"those guys without whose support the organization would cease to exist† (Friedman & Miles, 2006). In the 19th century, the concept of stakeholders referred to the respective owners of business organizations, who had invested money in it as well as possessed full power to enjoy all upcoming benefits of the organization. The author named Freeman had first emphasized on the importance of the term, â€Å"stakeholders†, in 1984, in his book, Strategic Management Stakeholders Approach. Long before 21st century, the business corpo rations were assumed to be artificial legal entities and the value of the so-called stakeholders, like, customers, suppliers, shareholders, government and employees, were assumed to be neutral. Thus, in that particular period, stakeholders of an organization were referred to as only those individuals in the market who could provide economic support to the corporation’s activities. Prior to 21st century, it was found that business corporations used to give importance and value to only those individuals who could support the concerned firm with some financial support. At that point of time, the owners of organizations were considered to be extensively powerful. According to the views of Lord Edward Coke, â€Å"corporations cannot commit treason, nor be outlawed nor excommunicated, for they have no souls† (Friedman & Miles, 2006). The interactions of stakeholders with the soulless organizations were extensively poor in the period before 21st century. The firms almost did not react or

Compare Zara and Primarks operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Compare Zara and Primarks operations - Essay Example The company is a subsidiary company of the Associated British foods Company. Primark is in the business of selling readymade garments including women’s wear, children wear and menswear of stylish fashion and high variety at accessible and affordable prices. The company mainly operates in the market of the United Kingdom with its stores in different European countries like London, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, German, and Holland etc. The company has more than 150 stores located in different parts of the United Kingdom. The main competitors of Primark are Next, River Island, Guess, Gap, and Zara. The competition between these companies is based on achieving competitive advantage through the use of different business models and unique operational strategies. The report encompasses a study of the business models followed by Zara and Primark with an identification of the key similarities and differences in the two business models and a study of the key business objectives of these two companies and their impact on the competitive advantage creation for both the companies.  The report also includes a tradeoff analysis of the two companies on the basis of key operation factors like cost, quality etc. The report is suitably concluded with the recommendations given to the companies for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The owner of Inditex, Amancio Ortega Gaona has been renowned for adapting innovative business models in all his fashion brands. The business model adopted in Zara is unique and one of a kind. The business model followed by Zara is a popular fast fashion retail model. On the other hand, the business model of Primark is aimed at providing low cost products to the consumers. The business model implemented by Primark is a ‘no whistles no bells’ business model in which redundant services are done away with to make the supply chain more efficient and to incur low operating