Domino's sell products which are obviously fast foods. They also have a service which is delivering the products if you want them to.
Domino's Pizza is a public limited company. It is owned by shareholders and they elect a director each year to represent Domino's Pizza. Again the business is in the private sector. It does provide services to the public however it does make a profit in doing so.
OWNERSHIP
Ownership defined is basically how a business is owned, control, deeds between the business and what sector the business is in. Also if it is a franchise and if the company is private or public. Not forgetting what liability the company is in/has.
Easyjet is owned by its shareholders. Limited companies are owned by shareholders. Easyjet is a European business so it is international company. Seeing as Easyjet is a large limited company it has thousands of shareholders, each one has little control over the business so they elect a director each year. The biggest shareholder in Easyjet is Stelios Haji-Iaonnou, he is also the founder of Easyjet (owns 41% of shares). He is the director of easyjet so he decides company policy and appoints managers to run certain segments of the business.
Each shareholder in Easyjet has limited liability, this means they are only liable for they have put into the company. If Easyjet closes down they will only lose what have put in the company or what they have invested, not for anything else.
The profits in Easyjet are shared un-equally. This is because the bigger the shareholder the more profit they get. Stellios get the most profit out of easyjet as he is the major shareholder. He gets 41% of the profit. The shareholders recieve dividends which are some of the profit. After the profit the money that is left is re-invested into the company, this money is anything under the break even.
This type ownership is suitable for Easyjet because simply it is a massive European business. If easyjet was a sole trader it would be impossible for him/her to control and manage it, same for a partnership. It is much better for Easyjet to have the main shareholder to represent the company and to make the policy.
Equivalently Domino's Pizza is also owned by shareholders. Unlike Easyjet, Domino's Pizza is a global company. The company is so huge they had to split it into groups eg. Domino's Pizza UK& IRL. At the end of the day it comes under the roof of Domino's Pizza group ltd. Domino's Pizza group is the main company of Domino's pizza in all of the countries it is in. You cannot invest in Domino's Pizza group ltd, but, you can in Domino's Pizza UK& IRL.
Also here the shareholders have limited liability, however, because this is a global company the shareholders will lose lots of investment money. The profits are shared in the same way as easyjet- biggest shareholder gets most profit. Domino's Pizza also uses directors. Domino’s Pizza is a Franchise; this means Domino’s Pizza allows another business to use its name and image.
This ownership is suitable for Domino's Pizza because it is realistically impossible to be a sole trader or partnership and run a global business. It is much better for Domino's Pizza to have the main shareholder to represent the company and to make the policy.
Because Easyjet and Domino's Pizza are owned similarly, I will explain the main advantages and disadvantages for both businesses.
Advantages are:
∙Limited companies can raise extra finance by issuing shares; this can help the business to grow.
∙Unlike a bank loan, the money does not have to be paid back so you won't get in debt.
∙Shareholders should expect more return if the business is doing well.
∙Because both companies are big, they can appoint lots of managers to take control of different segments of the business.
Disadvantages are:
∙The accounts of these limited companies are available for everyone to see at company house, so rivals can find out information on my chosen companies eg. Profit or sales.
∙Domino's Pizza and Easyjet were small sole traders but now they are limited companies- it is very hard and complicated to set up limited companies.
∙They must follow certain rules when selling shares.
∙If the director quits the businesses could grind to a stop in order to get the next director. Massive profits could be lost.
HUMAN RESOURCES (H/R)
Human Resources are the people employed in a business or organization, personnel. It is also the field of personnel recruitment and management. The H/R department tries to recruit the best employees. They also need to make sure the employees work safely and effectively. H/R staffs are experts in dealing with the people who work within their business. Also, they handle such things as recruitment, training, retirement, redundancies and working conditions. H/R has a big responsibility in recruiting new staff and making them work effectively and safely.
Easyjet has a director within the company who is responsible for his workers development and cultural issues. This is in addition to a human resources director. Easyjet ask their cabin crew to comment on the areas of work. If there is something the workers do not like the human resources come in and try to fix the problem for example low wages.
Easyjet also get job applications, the human resources will deal with this. The department will call the applicants and send them to training in the company. Training is a big part of human resources and will help make staff more reliable in their job. Easyjet have an open management style so they broadcast comments, complaints and suggestions publicly.
A wide range of people work at easyjet thanks to the training and development scheme of their H/R. All employees have an equal opportunities policy. Easyjet also try to motivate employees to make them work at their best.
When Easyjet train their new applicants, they do not do it in proper job, instead the train them in simulators because it is very dangerous to train new cabin crew on real flights as may do something very wrong. But, the ground staffs are trained with a helper in the real situation.
Domino's Pizza Human Resources is very similar to Easyjet's Human Resources. Different to Easyjet, Domino's Pizza train their staff in the actual shop as it is not that serious as in an aeroplane. The new members still need a professional worker with them though.
Domino's have a wide variety of people working for them. They all have an equal opportunities policy and Domino's also try to motivate their employees to make them work at their best.
A director heads the H/R of domino's setting in managers to take care of each aspect eg, training, laws etc.
Both Easyjet and Domino's Pizza use ICT in their Human Resources. They use it to train and develop their staff. This to make them become more skilled with the technology that comes around them and also it may help the staff to get promoted.
ICT in H/R also has employee records; this will tell someone all about the employees, what they do in their job, promotion and demotion, salary, address etc.
ICT is also used to set up a webite to support customers; the websites will have a "contact" link which you can use to contact the company. Anything sent here will go straight to the Human Resources to be dealt with.
Human Resources help Easyjet and domino's Pizza achieve their aims. This is because both companies want the best out of their staff- H/R trains their staff to make them good at their job
Both companies want to be good to customers- H/R teaches staff how to deal with customers appropriately.
Both companies want to retain their customers- H/R will offer good pay and conditions or the chance of promotion in order to retain their employees.
Both companies want to be successful- H/R will recruit employees with the right skills to make the company be successful.
Both companies want their workforce to strong-H/R will dismiss employees who are not doing their job properly.
Both companies need to negotiate with trade unions or other representative organisations- H/R staff usually negotiate on behalf of the business to agreements between employees and employers.
FINANCE
An important part of management is controlling the money coming into, and going out of the business. As a business grows, this job becomes even more important. This is because the amounts of money involved get larger and the business has more to lose. Large firms (like Easyjet and Domino's Pizza) often have a separate finance department to manage their finances.
All/ most finance departments have a;
∙Senior accountant- Head of the finance department and is responsible for accounts, recruiting and supporting staff, reporting to the board and handling the department's budget. The senior accountant might also be involved in financial decision-making.
∙Sales ledger clerk-Deals with customer accounts and records the details of all sales transactions. The sales ledger clerk also deals with enquiries about customer accounts.
∙Purchases ledger clerk- Records all transactions relating to purchases from suppliers. The clerk enters details of purchases onto the computer system and speaks to suppliers when there are enquiries.
∙Payroll clerk- To calculate staff wages. Take home pay for each worker must be calculated by subtracting tax and other deductions from gross pay. The clerk will also deal with queries.
∙Cashier- Responsible for all banking and cash transactions. the cashier may check bank statements to see if they agree with entries in the bookkeeping system. The cashier might also be responsible for the petty cash system, which staff can use to buy small items such as stamps.
∙Credit controller- businesses sometimes make credit sales. This is where they allow customers to take goods now and pay later. When a business gives credit to customers, the credit controller must make sure that customers pay when the payment is due. The controller may chase late payers and is likely to work close with the sales ledger clerk.
Large businesses also have;
∙Financial accountants- They control bookkeeping and prepare final accounts such as profit and loss account. Also calculate how much tax the business has to pay.
∙Management accountants- Provide information to help a business make decisions. They may be involved in forecasting and controlling costs.
∙Cost accountants- Provide cost information eg, calculating the cost of making new products or building a new factory.
Easyjet has a senior accountant, a sales ledger clerk, a purchases ledger clerk, a payroll clerk, a cashier but not a credit controller. This is because Easyjet do not make credit sales. Easyjet's senior accountant works with the main owner of Easyjet Stellios. Their sales ledger clerk also sells tickets for Easyjet. Whenever Stellios buys an aeroplane, his purchases ledger clerk comes with him to record all transactions between them, however Stellios speaks to the suppliers when there are enquiries. Easyjet's payroll clerk deals with their staff wages. Stellios also works with the cashier and is responsible for banking and cash transactions. In Easyjet, financial accountants are appointed to keep control of bookkeeping and preparing final accounts, such as profit and loss account. Stellios likes to keep a connection with the financial accountant. Stellios also works with the management accountant who provides information to help make business decisions. Stellios also works with the cost accountant who provides cost information. Stellios make the final decision between these three accountants. Also Stellios brings his management accountants and cost accountants whenever he buys a plane to help make decisions and talk about the money.
Domino's Finance department works abit different to Easyjet's one. This is because Domino's has branches al across the country and a lower rank financial assistant collects the data from the branch and sends it over to the head office.
In Domino's Pizza's head office they have a finance Department. They have a senior accountant, sales ledger clerk, purchases ledger clerk, payroll clerk and a cashier. Financial accountants to produce final accounts and do bookkeeping, Management accountants to help make conclusions to business problems, and, and cost accountants to provide cost information. The senior accountant will handle Domino's budget and he sometimes partners up with Domino's management accountants to discuss controlling costs. Domino's purchase ledger clerk will deal with suppliers and tells them where to deliver the products. The purchases ledger clerk will send assistants to recieve the delivery and check whether everything they ordered is there. Domino's cost accountant works with their production department. When a new pizza product is produced, the cost accountants will work out the cost; try to get a profit, tax effects etc.
The finance department uses ICT. This helps them achieve their aims because it is an easy and quick way of getting things done as I will explain. The main aim of the finance department is to deal with their company's finance. ICT helps achieve this as it aids all of the employees in the finance department (shown with bullet points above). The senior accountant needs a computer to asses the budget to see what can be spent and what can't in large quantity. The sales ledger clerk needs ICT to record details of all transactions and customer accounts. The purchase ledger clerk uses ICT to record all transactions relating to purchases from suppliers, he also enters details of purchases onto a computer. The payroll clerk uses ICT to calculate staff wages. The computer does this automatically after he has typed in information from employees' time sheets. The cashier needs a computer to find and check banking and cash transactions. The bookkeeping is done on a computer; this will help the financial accountants keep records. The credit controller needs a computer to keep track of customers on credit and their payments. The management accountants use ICT to keep the spending of money evenly and to put limits on what to buy. The cost accountants use ICT to calculate cost information and to calculate the cost of new ideas.
The finance department helps to achieve the company’s aims. This is because it controls the money of the business and can determine whether the company makes a profit. The finance department can work out total earnings of a business and can help to buy new equipment for the business. Also, they provide financial data to show the best prices and to keep as much profit as they can. In Easyjet the finance department sets a budget to improve the aeroplanes and quality of travel, this is so customers will think easyjet is a good airline and come back- this is a way of retaining customers.
Similarly domino’s Pizza does the same as the first example I have given. Also they obtain the capital and resources for the company, which is an important part of the business as the business needs capital to expand the business without losing money and they need resources because without the resources the business would not have much to work with. If it weren’t for the Finance Department the business would not be able to expand or employ the workers properly.
MARKETING
Businesses use marketing to help reduce the chance of making mistakes. A lot of new products come out each year, but many are unsuccessful. One of the main reasons for this is they do not meet customers needs. The marketing department handles two types of marketing and market research;
1) Marketing and market research = the marketing activities of businesses are concerned with meeting customer's needs. Before a business can satisfy its customers' needs, it has to find out what their needs are.
2) Marketing- promotion, price and sales = the marketing activities of businesses are concerned with meeting customers' needs. A business might try different activities to market its products. It might change its price. It might advertise its products in many places.
Marketing is concerned with meeting customer's needs. To do this a business must;
∙FIND OUT what potential customers want;
∙Identify the type of PRODUCTS customers want;
∙Sell products in the right PLACE;
∙Make sure products are PROMOTED, so that customers know about them and want to buy them;
∙Sell products at the right PRICE.
Both Easyjet and Domino's Pizza use market research, it is a must to succeed. Domino's and Easyjet Market research are very similar so I will explain most of theirs together. Market research is the way businesses find out about their customers needs. There are two ways it can be done- using existing information known as secondary or desk research, and, collecting information from customers known as primary or field research.
Easyjet and Domino's use secondary research; the information they want is already published and recorded. Both companies use this to find out about other businesses that may be competition, see their strengths weaknesses, profits, a few plans etc.
Sources that may disclose information are
SourceInformationA businesses own figuresSales, profits, reports, memosGovernment PublicationsPopulation figures, inflation, unemployment, incomesBusiness internet websitesBusiness history, products for sale, locationsMediaNewspapers, magazines, directoriesReports by market research agenciesIndustry or business performance, the environmentInformation from other businessesAnnual reports and accounts, price lists, catalogues
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza also use primary research, the collection of information that did not exist before the research began. This type of field research is mainly for the company itself and how it could provide its services or products better to the customer and how the company could improve.
It is done by asking consumers questions;
∙Face to face.
∙On the telephone.
∙In writing.
∙By e-mail.
This allows businesses to ask more detailed questions as the customers are a primary source for a business.
Easyjet is a brand. The group it is in is a brand- the "Easygroup", its products and services are easyInternetCafe, easyCar.com, easyMoney, and easyValue.
Domino's Pizza is a brand, it has products called Domino's Pizza 2x Tuesday- on Tuesday buy any large pizza at menu price and get a second pizza of equal or lesser value free. Also there is Domino's Pizza 555 deal- for a limited time, buy three or more one topping pizzas for just $5 each.
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza have to be able to available to consumers at the right place and at the right time. Easyjet would be no doubtly at an airport, and selling tickets there aswell, also it could sell tickets at travel agents or online, or by phone.
Domino's Pizza would mostly be near a cinema or in a cinema complex to serve people after a long film. Domino's could also be in a town centre where people could be shopping at an eating time and see Domino's and go in for a meal. Domino's could also locate in a busy town with lots of people to get as many customers as possible and the same goes for a school aswell.
Domino's and Easyjet are available to consumers at anytime of the year.
The marketing department is also responsible for promotion and advertising. Promotion is a business activity which tries to increase consumer awareness of products. Advertising is a way of promotion that is carried out through the media.
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza show how the product will meet the customers needs, they persuade customers to by the product by cheap prices or sales promotions, give customers information about the product and let customers know where the product is available and how much it will cost.
Easyjet advertisement
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Domino’s Pizza advertisement
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Domino's calculate that their brand awareness is 81% and that is partly as a result of their sponsorship of 'The Simpsons', and also the launch of their HeatWave heated delivery system.
Domino's nationwide system through internet and interactive t.v ordering is showing good results, with it e-commerce net sales increasing by over 25% in the six months to July 2002, totalling 1.9 million pounds. The company believe that their continued sponsorship of 'The Simpsons' on the sky t.v service and channel 4 and increased advertising on cable and satellite channels gives them an unchallenged position at the forefront of delivered food by e-commerce.
Easyjet have a strong brand position. In 2001 they were voted number 1 for flights to Spain by which? Holiday. In 2002 they won best performing small airline in aviation week, top European low-cost airline in passenger survey by skytrax research UK and best online retailer in revolution new media awards.
Easyjet use a variety of advertising media including online, radio, mobile display unit (buses). The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) records that they upheld one complaint relating an Easyjet advertisement. The advert in question, which appeared in the national and regional press, was headlined 'Low fares needn't B A con!'
Domino's Pizza and Easyjet use sales promotions. These are promotions that try to cause a quick increase in sales. Sales promotions include;
∙Competitions with prizes.
∙Vouchers giving discounts off the next purchase.
∙Sponsorship.
∙BOGOF (buy one get one free).
∙Money off deals for buying two products.
Domino's Pizza give vouchers and money off deals, you can find these often on the back of shopping receipts- you need to bring this with you to claim your offer. Domino's also use sponsorship as they sponsor The Simpsons. It does not end there, they use BOGOF aswell.
Easyjet are not as optimistic as Domino's and only do money off deals.
ICT is used in the marketing department alot. It is used to find out what customers want, what products they want, where to sell, it is used for product promotion and advertisement. ICT is also needed for research; alot of secondary research can be conducted with ICT. ICT is used develop the design of the product, the packaging and branding. ICT is used in marketing to promote the product, advertising/ creating advertisements. Some primary research can be done using ICT, sending e-mail questionnaires to customers. The marketing department spends alot of time researching and planning ways to make products get noticed. ICT can help to quickly plan ideas and research information.
The marketing department helps to achieve both companies’ aims. This is because the Marketing and Sales section is the section which actually designs and sells the new product through three major points.
First of all, the “Market Research” which is research of rival companies to see their new product and make a similar or better product before they bring it out. This involves a lot of quick thinking and hard research but in the end it makes the business better than most rivals.
The next and most important factor is “Promotion”, which is the most important because you can make the product and put it on the shelves but it will not sell many unless many people have knowledge of your product. There are many different ways in which companies can advertise some of which are television, radio, billboards and so on all of them are expensive and widely popular but there are cheaper less subtle ways such as leaflets, newspapers and other written advertisements. .Also they are in charge of the “Sales” and either advertise more sales dropped or buy more materials and start a new product when everything is going right. So, Marketing and Sales are in charge of selling the product as a whole by either promoting it by advertisement or bettering rival companies.
ADMINISTRATION and IT SUPPORT
To operate without problems, a business must make sure that it has reliable support services. Support services help other areas of the business. They provide support such as technical help, help to organize meetings, cleaning services, and help to communicate withy employees and those outside business like the company’s business links. Support services are often part of the administration and IT support department in a business.
What is the role of administration? Employees in administration and IT support do not produce anything to sell to customers. They provide a service to other employees to make sure they work best for the customers. Without administration, my businesses would not have records of meetings or transactions, not type and send out letters on time, not have clean and tidy offices. Also a big hole would be left in Easyjet and Domino’s Pizza if they did not have reliable computer systems. This is why it is vital for a business to have a trustworthy administration and IT support services.
The support services in Easyjet and Domino’s are;
∙Clerical work
∙Cleaning
∙Maintenance
∙Health and safety
∙Security
∙IT and software
Administration and IT Support usually handle the companies Clerical work like records, files and organising meetings. It is also in charge of security for the business, which is an important aspect of keeping the company safe and the files safe, which may be important like business dealings and employee records so security is quite essential. Also the cleaning and maintenance is handled by them and is important for keeping the computers, water supply and so on running. But they also keep the workers happy by keeping everything clean because it is unpleasant when you are in one place for a long time which is unclean and foul. They also handle the enquiries, and specifically respond to enquiries-so if the business receive an enquiry which must be answered the administration department should answer that. If it is a large business wishing to take over or a customer it will benefit the company, so the administration and It support are quite essential to the running of the company.
Easyjet’s filing is done manually by staff. However, most of Easyjet’s letters are done automatically by computer. This is because everyday, Easyjet need to send so many letters out containing tickets, everything on the letters remain the same apart from the customers address and name and flight they are on. This s done by staff but the rest is a copied template of the computer. This done on software called Microsoft Publisher. Easyjet have alot of clerical workers in other sectors of the business (H/R, Finance etc) who must answer phone calls, sort out mail and all the other clerical work I mentioned above.
Similarly, Domino's Pizza have the same type of adimistration. However, Domino's don't have to send as many letters as Easyjet but have to constantly keep in touch with suppliers and other Headquarters around the world. Domino's filing is done automaticallyt by IT and saved in their databank which all Domino's head offices are and HQs. Domino's have clerical workers in all there sectors aswell.
Easyjet have a moderate sized cleaning workforce, they also have a huge maintenance team who are qualified and trained engineers. They need these to clean up their airoplanes and to keep their offices organised and tidy . More importantly, their maintenance team are needed to check the planes every flight which is very demanding. The maintenance also fix equiptment in their offices. They need IT+ software to link up to the planes and run computer checks to see if there are faults.
In contrast to Easyjet, Domino's have a fairly big cleaning team as they are a food company and can not allow germs in the cooking areas. Also Domino's employees are trained to clean their fast food outlets. Domino's need an excellent cleaning team in their outlets as it needs to be hygenically safe when dealing with food. Another reason why they need a big cleaning team is that domino's Pizza is a global company and has to clean and tidy their offices all over the world. They need a big maintenance team because if the cooking machinery was broken at any outlet, a/some trained engineers have to go and fix or replace it. They are also needed in the offices to fix any office equiptment .
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza must meet health and safety rules and regulations. This is often the job of administration support staff. They need to draw up the business's health and safety policy. This will include procedures for recording accidents or injuries that occur in their work place/s. They also need to make sure that all staff are aware of health and safety practices and that they understand routines like fire drills. They may test workers at random times to see if they know what to do. Health and Safety would apply more to Domino's as they deal with food and hygene more. But Easyjet still produce food on their flights to customers.
Easyjet and domino's Pizza need to make sure their premises and staff are safe. Both my businesses have security guards and systems like CCTV in their offices. the similarities end their.
Airports provide Easyjet with security to make sure no hijackers come onboard or any troublemakers are their.
Domino's Pizza have direct lines to the emergency services with a press of a button at their fast food outlets.
So, where does IT support fit in to both companies?
One of the most important roles of IT staff is to support the use of software in the business like word processing, publications, presentations, spreadsheets and databases. They make sure they programmes are working correctly so that employees can do their job properly. They also need to make sure electronic communication systems like e-mail, electronic transfer systems (fax machines etc) work properly. Easyjet and Domino's Pizza have separate IT departments becuse their company's are huge and need to carry out different tasks.
Administration and IT support do help Easyjet and Domino's Pizza to achieve smaller aims and objectives as well as bigger ones. It keeps the businesses safe, tidy and organized. They also can help to deal with communications of the business internally and externally. They organise meetings aswell.
Administration and IT support also aid the different departments as administration staff are in all departments doing clerical work. Easyjet and Domino's Pizza need this department because they are so huge that if something goes wrong, they will both need some support services.
OPERATIONS
Businesses use "Inputs" such as raw materials, components, buildings, machinery, tools, equiptment and people to make products. These products are called "Outputs" . The process of changing resources into goods and services is called "Production". All businesses have to make the best use of their resources.
There is another side to this. Operations make sure that when businesses produce goods or services, it is important to use resources efficiently. This reduces costs and increases profits. Businesses can do various things to use resources efficiently like buy in bulk or negotiate in prices.
Easyjet is a service which means it does not have physical products. However to run its service Easyjet needs to use large numbers of people, these are there most important resource being used, this is called LABOUR INTENSIVE.
Like all businesses Easyjet needs resources. Easyjet get these from the purchasing department. Easyjet need to buy airoplanes- these planes are from a company called Airbus. In 2003 Easyjet's owner ordered more than 120 planes at one time to get a huge discount and to expand the company massively. Easyjet also need fuel to run the planes- the purchasing department sign a contract with fuel suppliers showing that the suppliers must give Easyjet plane fuel on everyflight. This is cheaper than single use of any fuel suplier.
The service Easyjet provide needs to be of a high quality to boost reputation and keep customers happy. Employees are trained to deal with customers professionally to keep them happy. Easyjet set this themselves.
Easyjet's operations department would explore the possibility of new routes for their transport and new locations where they can operate. They seem to be in charge of the smooth running of the company along with administration.
On the contrary, Domino's Pizza is very different to Easyjet. Domino's produce physical products- mainly pizzas.
- There inputs could be; Flour, water, salt cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms.
- There processes could be; dough baking, moulding, base cutting, baking, packing
- The output could be; mushroom pizza.
Domino's is a CAPITAL INTENSIVE which means it uses large amounts of machinery and equiptment in production.
Dmino's uses job production because each customer may want something different so Domino's need to make different products from start to finish.
There purchasing department buys all the raww materials in bulk to get discounts. There costs will be low and profits would go up abit.
Domino's also hold there stock in there outlets. This is because they can not afford to by "inputs" and deliver them to the outlets everyday. If they hold to much stock, storage, insurance and handling costs will be high and profits will decrease.
Domino's must produce high quality food stuffs because if word spreads they serve food of bad quality, their reputation will go down and they will lose customers. Their standards are set by the Food Standards Authority (FSA).
Various ways of ICT could be used to develop products;
1)Computer aided design (CAD)= The use of computers to design products.
2)Computer aided manufacturing (CAM)= Using computers to control production.
ICT could be used to improve communications and process information.
The advantages of using ICT would be;
- Higher levels of output because machines are more efficient.
- Lower labour costs because less staff are required.
- Better quality because machines are more accurate.
- Safer, cleaner and quieter environment for staff.
- Better communications because electronicmethods like e-mail are faster.
- New methods of selling and promoting products.
Operations would help to achieve aims and objectives of a business. This is because it makes production simpler by splitting it into inputs, processes and outputs. Operations could help to lower costs and increase profits by getting cheap but quality materials. The quality of products and services would increase because standards or rules are set for all companies in the same field as them. Operations would also help achieve aims and objectives because if CAD or CAM is introduced the business would be more efficient and products would be much more accurate and made quicker. Also there would be less wages to pay because machines have taken over peoples jobs.
CUSTOMER SERVICES
All businesses have customers. When a customer needs help with a product or service, customer services will deal with them along with any comments, queries, complaints or suggestions of the business. Customer services look to ensure that customers are satisfied with the goods or services they are purchasing or considering purchasing. This is a lot of work, and each individual business is different, so each business sells different products, therefore each product has to be taken into account.
Customer services can be;
1) Pre- sales services- Services for customers before they have made a purchase.
2) After- sales services- Services which are available to customers after they have made a purchase.
Easyjet customer services are in airports where they have set up and also in there head office which you can write to or phone, they even have support on- line. Customers of Easyjet's usually use there pre- sales services when they are thinking of using a service of Easyjet (airplane flights). Customers may ask "How much is a return ticket?", or "What flights are available?", also "Are there any special offers?"- Basically anything to do with the service Easyjet provide. Also customers of Easyjet may use there after-sales services after they have bought a product. There may be a delay in flights so customers who have bought tickets may ask "What has happened?". Their flight might have been cancelled so customers might ask "Can I get a refund or another flight?".
Domino's Pizza employees are trained to deal with customers in there food outlets, so whenever a customer needs information or help a member of staff will help them. Also they have customer services on their website and a phone number linked to one of their head office's in England. Customers could ask Domino's pre- sales services " How much is this?", or "Where are the toilets", or give their order; "A 10 inch cheese and tomato pizza with two cokes". Customers could use Domino's after- sales services aswell. An order may not have come, "How long will it take for the order to come?". Or, the customer may be dissatisfied with the food, "Can I have a refund or a replacement please?".
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza must deal with Dissatisfied customers carefully. If the customer/s remain unhappy, Easyjet or Domino's Pizza maylose that customer. Worse could happen, the unhappy customer could tell other customers about their complaint and Easyjet and Domino's Pizza could lose more customers and their reputation would be harmed. It is very important for Easyjet and Domino's to keep customers and consumers happy to retain them rather than losing them to a competitor.
Customer services help to achieve company aims and objectives. This is because all companies want happy customers and consumers, so customer services can help by aiding customers when they want help, replace a faulty product etc. These could make customers and consumers happy. Customer servives could also use this as a way to retain customers rather than lose them to rivals. They must also give after sales and support so customers feel they can trust the company. Customer services will help to achieve aims because it can help to make their business competitive by keeping prices fair and the products sold of high quality.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D)
If Easyjet and Domino's Pizza want to carry on being succesful, they must develop new products or services. To do this, they carry out research to find out what customers want. They then use this information to help them to develop and produce new products. This area tests aswell as develops these products. These tests are very important to see if the product is worthy of even a trial of a new product, many don’t make it that far. This is an important area for Domino's and Easyjet, as they are in a competitive market, and staying ahead of the competition is essential for survival, even though its tough. The research can be used to improve existing products also. The research carried out here is mainly product research; this is scientific investigation into goods and services, to find out new ideas and their potential effect on the market. They conduct research to find out-
* What customers think of the product.
* What products it is possible to produce.
In October 2002 Easyjet selected 'Airbus' to be their chosen supplier of new aircraft. They ordered
120 A319s (A319 is aircraft name) over a five year period from the second half of 2003. This means Easyjet have developed their service to be a massive European King in low- cost airlines. Easyjet had to do alot of research as the cost would be enormous for the 120 aircrafts and also if any new competitors would start. Easyjet could lose lots of customers that they would struggle to pay off for the planes and probably enter debt. A possibility could be Easyjet would end up with a surplus of aircrafts if they don't cancel the deal.
Domino's Pizza have developed and invented many of the systems and pieces of equiptment that are now used as a standard by the Pizza delivery and take-away market. Popular examples include-
*Domino's HeatWave delivery bags= Introduced into the UK in 2000 it contained a patented disc that is pre-heated electrically. This inovation, combined with the bags 3M Thinsulate lining and waterproof nylon exterior, keeps the pizza hot during delivery.
*A nationwide service system through internet and interactive TV ordering.
Domino's spent alot of research and money developing the disk. They cleverly linked up with 'Thinsulate' and insulation specialist to aid them with there HeatWave bag. The project was a secret until they launched it, and there was a huge sucess. The ordering through TV was a sucess aswell. People liked the idea of not having to leave your couch to buy a pizza. This has helped Domino's develop to increase its popularity and size of the business in the UK.
Product development is the process of improving products for customers. Easyjet and Domnino's Pizza use this to hope their customers will continue to buy their products and will be less likely to buy similar products from their rivals. This is done in stages:
- Coming up with the idea for a new product or service- You must decide which idea will suceed and which will fail.
- Creating the product- This entails designing the product or developing the technology to make it. Or, changing and improving a rivals product to produce a completely new product. This is called inovation.
- Testing the product- To see if it does what it should do correctly.
- Judge customer reactions- This will say wether the customers will like it and buy it or not.
- Introduce the product to the market and sell it to the customers.
1) Domino's could want a pizza birthday cake with special candles.
2) They create it.
3) They test it to see if the candle work properly.
4) Let a few customers try it and judge their reaction.
5) Introduce it to the market.
1) Easyjet may want to introduce a computerised tour guide of the planes destination to help customers in that country.
2) They create it.
3) They test it to see if it works properly.
4) They introduce it to a few airoplanes to see if customers use it and judge their reactions to it.
5) Introduce it to the airoplanes and the market.
Research and Development use ICT to collect information and store information. ICT allows businesses to collect information about consumer habits and preferences. The company can use this information to decide to produce more or less goods.Computer databases allow businesses to store huge amounts of information about consumers and their preferences. businesses can also use databases to identify potential consumers.
Research and development helps to achieve aims. It does this because Easyjet and Domino's Pizza want to keep customers and R&D improve or create new products that customers will be interested in to buy, that way customers are retained. Easyjet and Domino's want to to keep in touch with customers and consumers to meet their needs, R&D collect information about customers and consumers and what they want to continuously put their needs in the products and services. R&D develop new products so the companies do not fade into the background against their competitors.
Easyjet and Domino's want the best quality products and services, and if they can not do it, they call specialists- Domino's could not make heat proofing on there own so they called insulation experts 'Thinsulate'. Easyjet use 'Airbus' to make aircrafts tailor made for them because Easyjet cannot do it themselves.
COMPETITION
Easyjet and Domino's Pizza must find ways to make their services and products competitive against those of their rivals. Competition is where a number of businesses try to sell their products to the same group of people, trying to win these group of people at the expense of their rivals. Different groups of customers have different needs. Businesses that are in competition with each other need to target these groups in the right way.
The main customers of Easyjet are anyone who is interested in cheap flights to Europe. Families who are on a holiday anywhere in Europe would be interested in using Easyjet. Low to middle class people would use Easyjet as it is very cheap. Also people who do alot of travelling through Europe may use Easyjet, for example businessmen and women. These are the people that Easyjet target- people on holidays to Europe, people with low- fair income and travellers.
The main competitor of Easyjet is Ryanair, which was the largest European low cost airline before Easyjet took over and bought Go Fly. In early 2003, Ryanair bought one of the smaller firms in the market, Buzz. There is now some debate about which firm is now the largest. They both have a similar number of routes, However Easyjet carries more more passengers, although, Ryanair is worth three times the stock market value of Easyjet.
Easyjet always try to stay ahead of Ryanair. But because both companies fairs are low, cunsumers may say it comprimises with the quality. Easyjet always try to make planes clean and enjoyable with passengers feeling comfortable. They also compete with Ryanair by being more available than them- in 2003 Easyjet ordered 120 aircrafts which would not only take more passengers but increase the value of the company and expand it tremendously. Easyjet try to keep there prices low, however Ryanair must d most of the price checks because Easyjet have held on the award for "Top European low-cost Airline" for three years in a row. Easyjet also compete with Ryanair by looking at other airline benefits and putting it in there's. They are furtherly competitive as you can purchase tickets on line and it even has a route planner.
Easyjet have responded well to competition. In 2002, they bought one of there rivals Go Fly. They have won many awards including 'Top European low-cost Airline", "Best on-line retailer" and "Best performing small airline in aviation week". Easyjet look out for other airline benefits and put it in there's. They always offer cheap fares similar if not lower than Ryanair. Easyjet even target customers much more by offering lots of routes and advertising alot more to be heard.
Domino's Pizza's main customers are people who like pizzas and other home delivery fast- foods. Families on a night out may go to eat at Domino's or people who like to order food may go with them. They target people from ages 10 or above.
Domino's major competitors are Perfect Pizza with over 200 outlets and Pizza Hut which has 200 restaurants and also delivers. Another competitor is Speedo Pizza with180 outlets who deliver. The UK pizza delivery and take- away market consists of many small businesses, it is estimated that there are as many as 4,000 pizza delivery companies.
Domino's tries to beat its competitors by competing prices with them. They keep prices similar to Pizza Hut and also try to offer a wider variety of meals. Domino's keep their quality of pizzas excellent but still keep prices competitive. Similary, Domino's take the benefits out of there competitors and try to merge it in with there's.
Domino's mostly try to respond to their competitors. They do a good job of it but have only tried to widen the variety of products. Pizza Hut have introduced ice-cream factories to there restaurant, square shape pizzas, pizza cookies etc. It is a shame Domino's have not adopted these ideas, however, they are still in the top three pizza companies.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Businesses are affected by many factors. Some of these factors are influenced by the state of the country's economy. For example, if banks increase their interest rates, businesses have to pay more for the money they borrow. Businesses cannot control these economic conditions. The government is involved in a range of activities that affect businesses. It tries to create an environment where businesses can be succesful. Basically, economic conditions are situations that result from the operation of the economy, such as changes in prices or exchange rates.
The main economic factors that affect Easyjet and Domino's Pizza are;
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Interest rates= The percentage charge made by banks and other lenders for borrowing money.
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Prices- Inflation= A general rise in prices in the economy.
Prices- Deflation= A general fall in prices in the economy.
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Exchange rate= The price, or rate, at which one currency can be exchanged for another.
Easyjet can deal with economic conditions well. Easyjet do have alot of financial backing and investments. Seeing as Easyjet do not borrow alot of money each year, they do not have to worry about interest rates. However as they are in a deal with Airbus for 120 aircrafts, they must borrow money to pay for it all, and at the end of the day, Easyjet's profits are not quiet enough to not borrow so they pay alot of interest to the banks for a loan. Easyjet benefit from the exchange rate because even though they are a European business, there main base is in England and England has the most powerful curency the £ sterling. At the moment prices in the aviation industry are steady so Easyjet pay a moderate amount of moneu for the aircrafts and staff etc. But, fuel prices are slowly inflating so Easyjet must pay some more money for fuel.
How would Easyjet respond to a fluctuation in any economic factor?
If anything happened to any economic factor for example prices inflated, of course Easyjet would still have to by the 'ingredients' that make up the company, but there profits would decrease because they are spending more money. If the value of the £ sterling fell below the Euro, Easyjet would lose out because there whole business is based on customers all over Europe and they are buying from Easyjet- This means because the £ is worth less than the Euro, there will be less profit. If interest rates were to increase Easyjet would lose alot of money over the long- term because it would leave a large dent in their profits because they would be paying more money to the banks than usual.
I have already mentioned Domino's Pizza's economic factors with Easyjet's.
Domino's Pizza deals with economic factor well like Easyjet. Domino's pizza do not borrow money as much as Easyjet , infact Domino's hardly ever borrow money. There is alot of demand for ingredients in the delivery and take-away industry, but Domino's have a fixed supplier so there is not yet a reason why prices would inflate or deflate unless there is high demand for ingredients. As a whole company- Domino's Pizza Group Ltd would benefit from the exchange rate because the $ (dollar) is one of the strongest currencies so their profits would increase because other countries would have to pay more for their products. However here in England Domino's Pizza UK & IRL plc do not have to worry about the exchange rate because they have everthing they need to run the company here (like ingredients).
How would Domino's Pizza respond to a fluctuation in any economic factor?
Domino's Pizza would respond very well, they have huge financial support from here and the entire company from America. Still the same would happen to them like Easyjet. If there is inflation, Domino's would spend more money on materials and this would lessen their profits. For the entire company to lose out big- time, the $ would have to fall in value alot and their cost would go up a fair bit but they would lose alot of their profits as it would mean they have to spend more in other countries.
The government affects Easyjet and Domino's Pizza alot. They put tax which makes all companies pay the government which helps to pay for government spending, but because Easyjet and Domino's gain alot of profit tax takes out some of it. If tax decreased, businesses would retain abit more profit, but government spending would decrease meaning less money on healthcare or education. If tax increased, customers would have more money taken from their wages and profits from businesses- Therefore customers would have less to spend on businesses, businesses have even less profit but the government has more money to spend on public services or defence.
The government also has competition policies. These are policies devised by the goverment to try to make businesses more competitive. If Easyjet or Domino's do not face alot of competition, they may exploit customers by charging high prices, this is why competition policies are in force.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS
The environment is the surroundings we all live in. Business activities can have a damaging effect to the environment. This might be noise, waste materials, congestion or destruction. Businesses can affect the environment in a negative way. The UK government and European Union have made laws to protect the environment from the impact of Business. In the UK local councils, working together with a government body called the Environment Agency, uphold these laws. The Department of Environmental, Food and Rural affairs oversees all this. A number of companies have adopted an environmental policy to reduce their impact on the environment.
Easyjet's environmental constraints include Air pollution, Noise pollution and Destruction of environment and wildlife. Air pollution is caused by businesses emitting waste or gases into the air. The main culprits of this are transport services, power stations and factories. Noise pollution is basically noise that disturbs people and the environment, for example animals could be disturbed by the noise and cause them to leave from their habitat. Destruction of environment and wildlife is when the environment is damaged from business activities like building work, also the wildlife in the area may have nowhere to stay because of this.
Easyjet deal with air pollution by following the laws of the Environmental Protection Act. New Laws
were made to improve Air Quality, which was mainly polluted by Carbon Dioxide and Methane, these gases, which affect the atmosphere increasing Global Warming. The Government wants to decrease the air pollution levels to make the air healthier. Easyjet pay a tax on there pollution which means they are encouraged to use energy efficiently. So far, Easyjet have followed these laws and have not got into any trouble with the Environmental Protection Act. The Environmental Protection Act, which covers Noise Pollution, controls the disturbance caused by noise and vibrations made by companies. Easyjet operate near residential premises so they need to take care on how there business operates so they do not disturb the local residents. However, airports are loud and busy so all airline companies are in strict order with the laws of noise pollution, some residents are angry and want compensation because the airports do not do anything about it. Easyjet are not the only one to deal with destruction of the environment and wildlife, all airline companies do this by driving away all the wildlife near airports, but the animals are relocated in other suitable environments.
Easyjet are succesful in overcoming environmental constraints. They know they are not the only one to deal with these as many other airline companies operate in the same area as them. If the air pollution, noise pollution and environmental disturbance laws become more strict, Easyjet could copy other airline companies ideas to follow these new laws. Still, to keep up with the laws, Easyjet have to spend money for the new technologies to help keep in line with the laws.
Domino's Pizza's environmental constraints include air pollution, traffic congestion and waste of resources/ litter. I have already gone over air pollution. Traffic congestion is when business activities might cause traffic jams or even accidents. Waste of resources is when you use to much of a resource than you need.
Domino's deal with environmental constraints very well. Air pollution laws doesn't affect them as much as it affect's Easyjet, this is because Domino's only cook there food and release a little pollution as a result. On the contrary, Domino's do cause traffic congestion as they need to make deliveries for ingredients continously and also deliver pizza's to customers who order at home. Domino's does pay ax to the council for littering, this is because when customers buy pizzas some walk and eat with them, so when they finish the customers drop the pizza boxes on the floor cusing the council to clean it. The council holds Domino's responsible and therefore charges them for it.
In comparison to Easyjet, Domino's would cope well in overcoming environmental constraints. They know they are not the only one to deal with these as many other pizza take- away companies must deal with them in the same way. If the environmental laws became tighter, Similar companies would have to follow these so Domino's could copy those companies ideas. Domino's would still need to pay to keep in line with the new laws and be more careful in what they do. It is like what Easyjet may have to do.
LOCATION
Business location is about where a business is situated. It could be near a town centre or an industrial estate, near the motorway or in the countryside. Wherever a business may set up, it could face competition and must have to deal with economic conditions and environmental constraints.
Easyjet's head office is near luton airport where they mainly operate from, their address is;
easyJet Airline Company Limited
easyLand
London Luton Airport
Bedfordshire LU2 9LS
United Kingdom
Easyjet have located in a very good place. It is in Luton which is in London. Customers can get there easyly by train, coach or by car. It is near a motorway so there is direct access to the airport. There are plenty of people living in the surrounding area, who could be possible workers. The large amount of housing estates means there are a lot of people living near by who could use Easyjet's service alot.
The location of Easyjet helps to deal with competitors very well. Easyjet mainly operate from Luton, which means they have alot of check- in areas. There main rival Ryanair does operate there aswell, but not in huge number, there are only a few check- in areas for them. Easyjet also operate in other London airports like Stanstead, Gatwick and heathrow but there numbers ar not huge there. They do have some force in Stanstead and Gatwick although Ryanair have more area space in those airports. Just like Ryanair, Easyjet have bases in airports across Europe so European customers can use alot of their services. Easyjet need to have bases all across Europe to compete with Ryanair because Ryanair could take alot of customers over Europe, that is why Easyjet see an advantage of competing and winning over more customers because Easyjet are cheaper than Ryanair. Easyjet chose to operate in the city airports as they know more people will use them and they are usually easy to get to.
Easyjet's location does help the company to deal with economic conditions. This is because Luton is a city and is rich like al cities. This gives us the impression the people there are rich so the would travel alot more and Easyjet would get more customers and more money. In Luton, if something common rises in price, alot of other things will rise causing an inflation in the area, this is bad for Easyjet because they buy alot of work materials there like paper, computers, office machinery and also they buy food for flights there. The inflation in Luton stay for sometime for going down. Easyjet benefit from the exvhange rate because they are based in England and England has the strongest currency. This means if Easyjet buy from abroad, they get more for there money.
A disadvantage for Easyjet is the tax is high in cities so Easyjet pay more to the government leaving less profit.
The location of Easyjet does not aid the company alot to deal with environmental constraints. This is because in cities there tends to be more businesses that produce pollution, so the government puts a higher tax. So Easyjet pay further tax to the government decreasing there profits. Also because there lots of airline companies in Luton airport and other airports, there are bound to be many customers thus increasing traffic. Easyjet and many other airline companies add to traffic congestion, noise pollution and air pollution in Luton and London and in other cities.
Easyjet's location has been important in helping it to beat competiton because Easyjet are more recognised than there rival Ryanair so Easyjet get more space in airports. If Ryanair wanted extra space, they would have to pay money. Easyjet also compete with Ryanair all over Europe so they have to match the same destinations as Ryanair and vice versa. The location of Easyjet has been important in it overcoming economic conditions. The business can get more products for there money if they bought abroad because they are based in England and England hase the most powerful currency. Easyjet also benefit from economic conditions because even though they pay alot of tax and have to deal with interest rate, there rivals must pay the same as Easyjet as they operate mostly in the same areas. Easyjet's location has not really helped themselves in overcoming environmental constraints, then again them same goes for its competiton and other airline companies in the same area. Easyjet and many other airline companies add to traffic congestion, noise pollution and air pollution in Luton and London and in other cities. This cuses an increase in tax from the government and more strict laws from the Environmental Protection Act.
Domino's Pizza UK headquarters are at:
Lasborough Road
Kingston
Milton Keynes
MK10 0AB
UK
This is where all there departments are based like finance, human resources etc.
Domino's Pizza have located across the England very well. They are distributed across England competitively. In the areas they have set up in, there seems to be alot of customers and competitors. There are alot of residential areas where have set up, Domino's also have outlets in town centers which would boost the amount of customers. There seems to be alot of people which means alot of workers. The cost of land is low where they have set up. Domino's have opened in areas that have excellent transport links- walking, train, car and bus.
The location of the Domino's helps to deal with competitors. It does this by locating in areas where more people tend to be and has huge signs showing the direction to there outlets. Domino's is distributed across England very well which means Domino's is highly accessible to customers. This could mean that people would choose Domino's instead of going to pizza hut. anyone. If Domino's is more available, there would be more customers and more profits. However, people recognise Pizza
Hut more than Domino's so they would maybe go to Pizza Hut. To overcome this, Domino's have located on main roads so the people living in housing estates near by will go to Domino's more often than Pizza Hut.
Domino's location can deal with economic conditions. They still have to pay tax to the government to run the country. If the prices of materials they need inflates, there whole business would be affected because each outlet needs those materials so each outlets costs would go up leavind less profit. Domino's do not have alot of problems with economic conditions.
The location of Domino's can also deal with environmental constraints. In some areas where they operate like cities, there will be traffic, a little caused by Domino's because of there employees, customers and suppliers. This causes some pollution and there are some taxes that Domino's must pay for this. The location of Domino's is good to throw out any rubbish as the counties they operate in would have a council service that should collect the rubbish. But in the cities, there is alot of rubbish to collect so Domino's must pay more for there rubbish to be collected.
Domino's location has been important in beating competition because they have located in areas where there are alot of customers to target like town centers and shopping malls, these are places where Domino's can make huge profit. These are places where Pizza Hut do not usually locate in. The location of Domino's has been good to overcome economic conditions. Companies in the same field as Domino's and who are in the same areas would have to go through the same economic conditions as them. Seeing as the firm are spread all over England, the different areas may be in inflation and deflation causing a complicated duty to find out how much they need to pay and how much profit is lost or gained during this time. Domino's location has been important in helping it overcome environmental constraints. This is because it has not only located in poluted areas like cities, but in less polluted areas like towns or boroughs. This means they can pay less tax and the laws on the environment are less strict in less polluted areas. The traffic congestion is less in town and roads so they pay less tax on road pricing.