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First Direct was the first bank to operate as a branchless bank and is an innovative bank in England. There is need therefore to use the SWOT analysis of the bank and the origins of were it erupted from. These are the Strengths, Weakneses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths They had highly motivated and skilled staff. This was evident as they analysed on how to recruit, train and motivate their staff. They would recruit on after a wide search of candidates, enhance them with skills and motivate them with financial incentives (as according to McGregor ‘s theory X). They therefore were hiring people that were fast, efficient and with good personalities. With the expertise human resources, they can operate efficiently and able to provide their customers with the best service quality. First Bank ‘s strength also entailed them having to be utterly low cost. This can be in comparison with the other competing banks in terms of...

INTRODUCTION One of the major trends in the economy in recent years has been the dramatic growth of services. The services industry, unlike in the past now contribute considerably to the gross domestic product. Service industries vary greatly. The governments offer services through courts and private nonprofit organizations offer services through museums, charities, churches, colleges etc. Kotler (1996) – defines a   service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything. Douglas (2001) Defines services as deeds, efforts or performances. Palmer (1994) defines services as the production of essentially intangible benefit either in its own right or as a significant element of a tangible product which through some form of exchange satisfies an identified consumer need. Services differ from tangible products and as a result they often require additional marketing approaches. Service m...

Services are defined by Palmer (1994 p1) as “activities or benefits that one party can offer to another that are essentially intangible and does not result in ownership of anything. Its production may or may not be tied to a physical product.” Many authors however argue on the basis of the availability of pure services since the nature and distinctive characteristics pose challenges or problems in the marketing and management framework. In fact, services differ from physical goods due to the following characteristics:- 1                     Intangibility Palmer (1994 p 3) states that “a pure service cannot be assessed using any of the physical senses- it is an abstraction which can not be directly examined before it is purchased.” Therefore, services do not have tangible properties which can be used by consumers to verify advertising claims before purchasing is done, for example, medica...

Entrepreneurs have been described as people who have the ability to see and evaluate business opportunities, gather the necessary resources to take advantage of them and initiate appropriate action to ensure success, Meredith et al (1991). An entrepreneur is a risk- taker, a man, or woman who bears uncertainty, strikes out on his or her own, and through natural wit, devotion to duty and singleness of purpose, somehow creates a business and industrial activity where none existed before. Entrepreneurs are achievement- oriented, like to take responsibility for decisions and dislike repetitive and routine work. Creative entrepreneurs possess high levels of energy and great degrees of perseverance and inauguration, which combined with a willingness to take moderate, calculated risk, enable them to transform what began as a very simple ill- defined idea or hobby into something concrete. More from this blog... 1.  Explain in detail, why creativity and innovation are cri...

A price control is presented in two forms: a price ceiling, where the government dictates a maximum allowable price for a good, and a price floor, in which the government sets a minimum price, below which the price is not allowed to fall. Price controls can be put on as "binding" or "non-binding." A non-binding price control is not really an economic issue, since it does not affect the equilibrium price. When a price ceiling is set at a level that is higher than the market equilibrium, then it will not affect the price. For example: suppose the government of Zimbabwe decides that it put a ceiling price of bread at $2. The price of the commodity won’t be affected because the price control is above the equilibrium price. The same can be said for price floors that are below the equilibrium price. If the government sets a minimum price of $1.00 per gallon on petrol, it is not going to have any effect because the current price is above $1 Price controls are one...

Inventory is very important to any organisation. Its main function is to provide operations with enough supplies of materials that are enough to cater for the demand. Hennet (2003) asserts that i nventory is there to provide the business with exact the right amount of resources: not so few that the business can run out of materials, and not so many that they exceed more than they are used. To achieve this function effectively, the business should aim to find the optimum state, between too much and too little, without ever running out of stock. For example the Grain Marketing Board has to make sure that they have enough grain for the country. In some in instances where there is poor harvest in the country, the grains are imported in order to maintain enough inventory. This successful balance will improve cash flow and profitability, and keep the company running smoothly. The function of inventory is to having what is needed when it is needed, without accumulating more than the comp...