The HBC has been a influential company for as long as Canada has existed. It began as a fur trading company and has transformed itself into a huge retail corporation that supplies a variety of goods. One of the three tactics, which HBC used to modernize their organization was through diversification. Although, this ended up being unsuccessful. They invested in new business such as; Designer Depot, Style Depot and acquired retailers like K-mart Canada.
This was done to represent their company in a more fashionable manner. In addition, HBC also used the HBC reward rogram and online shopping experience, which involves the differentiation technique. This strategy separates HBC from their competitors and helps them obtain competitive advantage allowing them to appear unique. The last approach, which HBC used, was divestiture, which helped advance the growth of the organization, as well as the current business operations.
They did this by vending the company’s assets and natural resources that weren’t considered valuable helping them to focus on the business’s prime motives. 2) After the sale to Zucker, HBC focused on ways, which assisted to modernize the company, along with expanding its rofits. There were two strategies that decided to focus on customer satisfaction and the improvement of operations. The first approach that they used was to increase their customer size. They did this by redesigning vintage product line, emphasizing on the company’s rich and flavourful history.
Further, they also focused on attracting the attention of current and new customers, by introducing new and fresh products. Sponsoring events has also allowed HBC to use this as a strategic alliance in the revitalization process. With the help of this, they created a new line of Olympic products (including clothing, toys, etc. making them seem as big supporters of the Olympics, which also allowed them in appealing their products to new consumers who don’t shop at The Bay regularly.
This also helped them differentiate themselves from other corporations such as Coco-cola, which used the polar bear and Olympic symbol in promoting their soft drinks and showed how pro-Canadian the entity actually was; this involved the use of focused differentiation since they offered an original product line to attract a special target market. The final strategy they used was competitive advantage. They demonstrated this tactic by discontinuing more han 50% of the brands they marketed. Moreover, they also added prestigious brands to attract the upper-class members of society.
By introducing a VIP lounge called the “Room” proved them to be successful. It catered the demands of the wealthy customers by featuring popular brands such as Chanel and Armani, increasing The Bays recognition and attracting a number of shoppers. 3) The business strategies of a company can be classified in two levels; corporate or business. The corporate level deals with the entity as a whole, along with its future in terms of benefits and long- erm goals, while the business level concentrates on how to be focused on the customer’s needs.
It also aspires the entitys competitive advantage in the market place. The first strategy they used was differentiation by introducing the “Room”, addition, their focus is mainly to attract the customers, hence making it a business level tactic. Strategic alliance was the next tactic they used. They did this by sponsoring various events and creating a specific product line. The last strategy is focus strategy. It reduced their merchandise and came up with new appealing products to address a wealthier market.
What is the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact?
In “Big Data’s Disparate Impact,” Barocas and Selbst explain that discrimination law in the U.S. distinguishes between disparate treatment and disparate impact. They argue that neither aspect of discrimination law adequately addresses algorithmic-based unfairness. Explain in a memo the difference between disparate treatment and disparate impact.
A few tips:
Do not try to summarize the entire article and Barocas and Selbst’s arguments about law’s limitations. Just address the question directly.
Assume your audience has read the readings and understands them already.
Makes sure that someone reading your memo can indeed grasp the basic difference between the two types of disparities outlined in U.S. law.