7 Elevens Information Systems

7 Elevens Information Systems 7 Eleven commenced operation on 11th July 1927 in Dallas Texas and has gone on to be an industry leader for more than 40 years (http://www.rimag.com). Originally the stores operated from 7am to 11pm, a trading span that was unheard of at the time. However most 7 Eleven stores now operate 24 hrs a day (www.answers.com). 7 Eleven has approx 7100 stores in North America and over 30,000 stores world wide. It has the largest ATM network of any other convenience store in the United States. 7 Eleven have had many convenience store firsts including being the first retailer to sell coffee in take away cups and offering all major soft drinks brands at their fountains. To put the size of 7 Eleven into perspective they sell 41 million gallons of milk each year, which is enough milk to pour more than two glasses of milk for every person in the United States (www.7-Eleven.com). The diagram below demonstrates the expanse of 7 Eleven world wide. Q.1 7 Eleven competes with both other chains of convenience stores and independent stores. What competitive advantages can you identify in this case? According to the J.D Power and Associates (www.jdpower.com) customer satisfaction survey the following are the most important contributors to customer satisfaction in Japan. There are 3 key areas encompassing the many aspects that provide 7 Eleven with their competitive advantage. As you can see from the overview below 7 Eleven are able to compete and more often than not dominate in each of the key areas identified in the aforementioned study. Extensive Knowledge of the market The management information systems utilised by 7 Eleven allow them to be able to capture crucial data on their customer base, which ensures that are providing customers with the products and services they need and want. Additionally it enables 7 Eleven to be able to track products and utilise a sophisticated inventory system to provide exactly what the customer wants at the time that they need it. Furthermore it refines 7 Elevens inventory system as they are more accurately ordering and restocking products that they are confident will sell. They have developed a streamlined value chain through electronically transmitting orders and keeping product turnover high. They are using computer based information systems to connect all the partners in their value added chains directly into flexible manufacturing systems (Best, 1993, pg. 49). The management information systems also offers added value as it provides 7 Eleven with an avenue to monitor staff performance, thus providing them with the ability to continuously provide a high level of customer service. Technological advances The time distribution system provides competitive advantage on two fronts, the ability to be able to be utilise the small spaces in Japanese retail outlets and to be able to provide customers with a greater range of products more accurately catering for there needs. The information available through their management information systems not only assists in building relationships with their customers, it also allows 7 Elevens vendors to anticipate their needs and prepare and deliver items in a faster than expected timeframe (Buchanan, Thunderbird, Simmons, Washington and Lee University, 2004, pg. 6) providing advantage to 7 Eleven, their customers and their vendors. Expanding core business The expansion of the core business into services such as Internet provision and hot fresh meals sees 7 Eleven providing an alternative service to it customers. This gives customers additional reason to come to 7 Eleven thus expanding the clientele base. 7 Eleven uses its management information systems to obtain competitive advantage that not only helps them decide which products to make available to their customer base, it also allows them to determine how they are going to deliver the product, a crucial component to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage (Buchanan, et. al. 2004, pg.1). In Japan, 7 Eleven have thoroughly engrossed themselves in the concept of expanding their core business to provide their customers with a one stop shop. They provide alternatives to some of the more difficult aspects of the hectic Japanese life style such as meals, ATM access and a pick up point for Internet shopping. In a cash based society they even provide a cash pick up point for e commerce goods and services. 7 Eleven in Japan has truly embraced customer service, which has helped them achieve a distinct competitive advantage in this market. 7-Eleven has exploited the economies of scope of a customer relationship business by working with a broad range of product and service vendors to define new products and services tailored to the needs of their customers (www. edgeperspectives.typepad.com). Q.2 Use the internet to find the major competitors of 7 Eleven in Japan, the United States and other countries where 7 Eleven is active. Describe the competition faced by the company. 7 Eleven has convenience stores in Japan, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, the Philippines, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Thailand, Norway, Turkey, Malaysia, China and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico (www.7-eleven.com). The following chart depicts the breath of 7 Eleven across its territories. In Japan the major competitors of 7 Eleven are Ministop and Circle K with 1700 (www.ministop.com.ph) and 3000 (www.circlek.com).stores respectively. Compared with the number of stores occupied by 7 Eleven (www.sej.co.jp) it could be concluded that the neither poses any real threat. Both provide very similar services to 7 Eleven including the provision of ready to eat food products, internet services and bill payment facilities (www.circlek.com and www.ministop.com). It is worth noting that Circle K is also a major competitor in Hong Kong. In North America two of the major competitors are B. P North American with 5166 stores including trading names such as AM/PM Mini Market, Amoco, Arco, BP, B Connect, BP Express and Shell Oil Company with 4907 stores (www.csnews.com/csn/images/pdf/CSN_2006_Top100_CStores_Chart.pdf). In Australia the two major competitors to 7 Eleven are Caltex with 566 stores and Coles Express with 595 stores (http://www.cstore.com.au/industry/acn/acn2006.pdf). In Australia both Caltex and Coles Express enjoy a higher market share than 7 Eleven. All of 7 Elevens competitors use management information systems to assist them with data collection and smooth management of their value chain. The evidence suggests that in Australia and North America, the biggest competitors are those that also provide petrol. In Australia this could be partially attributed to the incentive schemes offered by Coles Express and Caltex, providing a distinct competitive advantage that gets the customer through the door and whilst they are there they pick up their bread and milk and other last minute items. The difference could also be distinguishable due to a cultural difference between Japan and western nations such as Australia and North America. Unlike Australia and North America, Asia does not operate on a car dominated transport system. Due to high levels of congestion and inadequate roads, on the whole Asia does not compare with Australia or America in the car ownership stakes. (Moriaty, P, 2000, para.3) Australia has 522 passenger vehicles for every 1000 people in (www.abs.gov.au) the United States has 776 per 1000 population (http://www.unece.org/stats/trends2005/transport.htm) compared with 374 per 1000 population in Japan (Moriaty, P, 2000, para.6). Perhaps the difference in market domination can be attributed to the difference in a cultural need. 7 Eleven have managed to find the niche market in Japan but perhaps they have failed to recognise the key aspect of the consumer oriented decision making in Australia and America. Q3. Which of porters five forces are countered by the 7 Eleven system described here? With a large and varied operation base, 7-Eleven requires advanced business processes and information systems to keep ahead of rising customer expectations and an increasingly challenging business environment. To accomplish these goals, 7- Eleven maintains a business and technology alignment that produces strategy and tactics that are not only efficient and cost effective but are also capable of delivering competitive advantage. The system adopted by 7-Eleven has a consistent and predictable IT infrastructure, one that can adjust to capitalise on changes in the business environment. The Five Forces model of Porter is an outside-in business unit strategy tool that is used to make an analysis of the attractiveness (value) of an industry structure. The Competitive Forces analysis is made by the identification of 5 fundamental competitive forces; the following are countered by the strategic framework for 7-Eleven. Threat Of New Entrants The system adopted by 7-eleven maximizes the threat for new entrants the reason being that 7-Eleven has already reached economies of scale through maintaining a strong customer base and brand loyalty. The access to latest technology and capital investments in the same ensures that the barrier for entries for new entrants is huge .The chain also maintains a wide distribution channel thus the likelihood of retaliation from existing players is diminished. Bargaining Power of Suppliers With the implementation of inventory control systems such as JIT and production of customised products by specialized companies the supplier base is strong for 7-Eleven. However since these suppliers are not dominant they do not threaten to integrate forward into the industry, the reason being the product line is huge and few specific products do not dominate customer requirements. The broad range of products supplied has seen them forge sound relationships with a plethora of suppliers. Additionally they have achieved a level of horizontal integration with the creation of their own supply companies who make customised products under their own branding. Intensity of Rivalry 7-Eleven has emerged as a clear market leader in terms of competition with similar convenience stores because of its highly customer focused orientation and implementation of various information systems adding to its differentiation strategy. Rivalry is further reduced because of the switching costs buyers face with the presence of customised goods. The organisation does not possess high fixed costs and this discourages competitors from manufacturing with price cuts. Q.4 Which strategies of those suggested in the various frameworks are noticeable in this case? 7-Eleven Japan is thriving, owing largely to their digitized foundations, IT infrastructures and business processes that automate core capabilities. Building such foundations requires a sound operating model, a solid enterprise architecture, and IT engagement throughout the company. The company bases its business strategy on a retailer initiative. Each 7-Eleven store tailors its products and services to its neighborhood; the retailing environment is highly dynamic and complex. 7-Eleven Business Model The 7-Eleven business model consists of five key strategies: 1. A differentiated merchandising strategy; 2. utilisation of 7-Elevens retail information system; 3. managed distribution; 4. providing a convenient shopping environment; and 5. a unique franchise model (Stout J, 2005). Differentiated merchandising strategy. 7-Eleven offers a broad array of products, including many not traditionally available in convenience stores, to meet the needs of its customers. These products include high-quality fresh foods that are delivered daily to stores. In addition, the company sells a number of products that are developed specifically for its stores. Utilization of 7-Elevens retail information system. 7-Eleven was the first major convenience store chain in the United States to use an integrated set of retail information tools. Effective utilisation of the system is the foundation of the companys business model. Managed distribution. 7-Eleven works with its vendors and distributors to provide daily delivery of fresh food and other items to its stores, to lower the cost of delivery, and to shift deliveries to off-peak hours. Providing a convenient shopping environment. 7-Eleven seeks to provide its customers with a convenient, safe and clean store environment. The majority of 7-Eleven stores in the United States and Canada provide more than 6 million daily customers with 24-hour convenience, seven days a week. Unique franchise model. More than half of the 7-Eleven stores in the United States are operated by independent franchisees. The companys franchise model is different from most others because 7-Eleven owns or leases the stores and equipment used by its franchisees. In addition, the ongoing royalties that the company receives from its franchisees are based upon a percentage of store gross profit (Stout J, 2005). Apart from this The Just In Time approach for inventory management makes sure that the goods are delivered on time to the point of sales keeping the customer orientation strategy in mind. Q.5. Which business pressures are evident in this case? Retailing is a competitive market in Japan. As stated by Lohtia Subramaniam (2000), in 1994 Japan had 1.5 million retail stores. To put this into context, there were 12 retail stores per 1000 persons in Japan compared to six in USA. In the countries of western Europe, the number of establishments per 1,000 people was close to seven, (Tsuchiya Riethmuller, 1997). While this trend is slowly changing in Japan with the number of retailers declining, the number of convenience stores has been growing. In 1994 there was 48,405 convenience stores compared to 29,236 in 1985. In this same period 7-Eleven has grown from 2,651 stores in 1985 to 5,905 stores in 1994, up to 11,310 (as of February 28, 2006) (www.sej.co.jp, 2007). Low availability and high cost Japanese real estate has seen a trend of small food retail outlets across the country. In 1993, 28.3 per cent of stores had a selling area of under 20m2 and 89.2 per cent had a selling area of under 100m2, (Tsuchiya Riethmuller, 1997). In addition to the high competition the floor space to display and store stock is very limited in Japan. In contrast to the typical US distribution channel which is open, independent and margin-driven, Japanese distribution channels have typically been long, complicated networks where it was not uncommon to have as many as four layers of wholesalers. Such intricacy of the Japanese distribution channel is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture and socio-economic setting that underlies Japanese business customs (Min,1996). Wholesalers have long controlled the Japanese distribution channel through vertical integration, financial linkage, and reciprocity dealings. By the late 1980s 7-Eleven US was losing a lot of money, which continued through to the early 1990s. It was seen as a franchise system with retailers sharing little more than a common brand name with tired generic products. A lot of stores were not only performing badly, they looked run down and unappealing to the customer. Due to poor management of its supply the fresh foods where limited in range and often far from fresh. Pricing was inconsistent with high discounting on some lines and prohibitively high prices on others. It was viewed as a last resort rather than a convenience-shopping experience. 7-Eleven US had got itself into considerable debt and was bankrupt when it had to be rescued by its Japanese franchisee in 1991. Q.6. Which corporate response activities are evident in this case? The success of 7-Eleven Japan has set itself as a benchmark. Meyer-Ohl (2004) states that the perception of the convenience store in Japan is of being the most advanced form of Japanese retailing in having considerable success in merchandising backed up with comprehensive systems. The achievements of 7-Eleven have largely influenced this as it is the largest company and most other companies did not achieve the same level of profitability. 7-Eleven Japan has displayed strong growth and today it remains Japans most profitable retailer and has a market capitalisation that ranks it in the top three retailers in the world. It has achieved this despite the fact that the Japanese economy in the 1990s had been in deep recession and many retailers have seen major losses and faced incredible operating difficulties (Sparks, 2000). Japans success came from a customer driven merchandising system. Its implementation of a $200 million information system for its stores in the early 1990s. The purpose of this system was to (1) discover who their customers were and what they want and (2) create a sophisticated product tracking system, (Case Study). It based its operations around the information provided. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Relays its orders electronically to its distribution centres and suppliers directly from its point of sale system. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 7-Eleven Japan has formed relationships with its suppliers that break the traditional Keiretsu networks of distribution, where wholesalers have had control of the relationship. It has formed strategic relationships with suppliers where it orders directly from them using a Just-in-Time approach. It has even created its own companies to manufacture customised products in response to its market trends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring customer preferences from both the point of sale system and staff entering data about the customer as well as any requests customers make for products 7-Eleven doesnt have. This enables individual stores to change stock from slow moving lines. 70% of products are replaced each year. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Determining product mix and how much shelf space allocated to each product. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rotating stock at least twice each day to suit purchasing trends of customers throughout the day. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Monitoring staff performance and rewarding high performers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Quality control data is collected by a team of 200 inspectors regularly visiting the stores. This is entered into and analysed by a computerized decision support system at headquarters. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expanding on its traditional convenience food, beverages and fuel type product offerings with, such as ATM, phones and phone cards, internet kiosks and even beer. As outlined by Sparks (2000), the Japanese model of convenience stores has been introduced to the United States. 7-Elevens core functions are managing the data on what its customers buy and honing its unique merchandising skills. 7-Elevens core business is merchandising the pricing, positioning and promotion of ready-to-eat food, snacks, fuel and sundries (Gottfredson Phillips, 2005). It improved its systems to enable it to control and make the most of critical capabilities such as stock price to key metrics like inventory turns. While sticking to its core competencies and some core products the Japanese model used market information for a localised approach at the store level in product offering. The slow but strategic changes for 7-Eleven US have been concentrated on the following elements: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Poorly located and performing stores have been closed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The stores have been remodeled, with new designs and layouts. The remodeling has included the introduction of point of sale systems (POS). This enables a customer driven approach where using their feedback for product selection and development. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Offering a core range which is supplemented by products selected to meet local needs, stocking proprietary or exclusive products where possible. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Non-food products have been introduced including phone cards and phones as well as additional services through ATMs and trailing of a financial services centre. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Standardised pricing that is more competitive. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Re-positioning of the business to have fresh foods and convenience elements to meet modern consumer demands. Daily supply of many of these products through a reconstructed distribution and production chain. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The combination of new products of a high quality and found only in a 7-Eleven, and backed by trademark development and protection and a more focused advertising strategy is summarized in the companys first, best and only slogan. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The distribution system itself has been re-engineered and Combined Distribution Centres have been introduced to better manage the flow of products into the stores. A high level of control of the supply chain has been achieved. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A high quality and advanced retail information system has been introduced, which closely resembles the model in Japan. Many of the business processes were operated manually for a long time to understand the critical elements driving the business. Now with the introduction of technology this process can move further ahead and can aid the store employment and management situation by freeing up staff time. This extra time will enable gathering market information. Q.7 Does the procedure of collecting customers information infringe on their privacy? Why or why not? Is it unethical? Should customers have the right to anonymity, or check that information collected on them is accurate? The procedure of collecting information about customers does not infringe on their privacy at all. The procedure is very simple and is done by observing customer behaviour and preferences in order to serve them better. It does not involve any sort of interviewing or interference with the customers. It is only an efficient way of running an organisation. As 7-Eleven is well aware of customer preferences and choices it makes it easy for them to make only those products available in ample quantities so as to serve the customers better. It is not at all unethical. Different customers have different choices. As per demography i.e. age, location. Thus 7-eleven keeps a perfect record of demand of products as per their age and location. At different times during a day different products are required by the customers. The information collected is purely from 7-Elevens point of view a way of serving them better. There would be no point of having products that do not match the customers need. So every store must be well aware of the demand of customers. If some customer questions the management as to why a particular product is always available and why some other product is not then in such a situation he can be given the reason of the information collected. Besides there is no reason for the customers to interfere with the 7-Eleven way of managing as it does not in any way infringe on their privacy. Q.8 Surf the Internet to find information about recent IT related initiatives of 7 Eleven, both in Japan and the United States. Relate them to gaining the strategic advantage. In its latest effort, 7-Elevens procurement staff have developed a tool that makes procurement productive and efficient. Its an automated system where procurement professionals can manage hundreds more requests for proposals (RFPs) and contracts per person. An important part of 7-Elevens procurement initiative is to encourage franchisees to use the new streamlined system and, ultimately, buy from recommended suppliers. Although franchisees can purchase from any convenience-product supplier, the new centralised system enables 7-Eleven to aggregate suppliers and items for consolidated negotiations (7Eleven news room, 2007). With a solid enterprise IT foundation in place, 7-Eleven has begun adding layers of advanced systems and functionalities to its industry-leading business process and technology strategy. Recent initiatives include a contact less payment option at POS to provide more convenience to 7-Elevens customers. Using radio-frequency (RF) technology, these systems enable customers to make quick and secure transactions by holding close to or tapping a reader with an RF-enabled credit card or alternative device, such as a key fob. All other aspects of the contact less payment process are handled in the same way as a traditional credit-card or debit-payment transaction (Anonymous, 2006). The contact less payment initiative has gone chain wide to 5,300 stores in the U.S. in 2006 in partnership with Chase with Blink, the MasterCard PayPass, American Express Express Pay and Visa Contactless systems. Authorisation is accomplished in seconds, and no signature is required for many purchases under $25, making this a speedy, easy, convenient and secure customer transaction. Contactless payment systems are often a first step by retailers into the emerging world of radio frequency identification (RFID), and this may be the case at 7- Eleven. We anticipate adding RFID technology to other products and services offered at 7-Eleven stores, adds Rick Updyke, 7-Elevens vice president of business development, to provide even convenience for consumers( Updyke R., 2006). Other Initiatives à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increasing use of an integrated set of retail IT tools to analyze sales on individual items, sales trends and customer preferences to improve product assortment, eliminate slow-moving product from inventory, and increase same-store sales by developing new products, such as the new fresh-food offerings that attract new customers and increase transaction size. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expanded use of Vcom, a proprietary multi-function, self-service kiosk that offers check-cashing, bill payment, money order, money transfer, pre-paid credit cards, ATM services and access to residential telephone services (Updyke R., 2006). Conclusion Through its long term involvement and study of the market along with its extensive information systems Seven-Eleven Japan has been characterised as a major innovator in convenience store operations. By its continual improvement and sustaining this over a long period of time it has resulted in significant growth. 7-Eleven has used continual improvement in its model of a customer focused information systems approach. 7-Eleven has succeeded in the essential steps for marketing management as outlined by Wen Peng (2002), market segmentation, market segment targeting, and design and implementation of marketing mix. It has used its information systems combining its POS and staff driven customer profiling to capture market trends to base its selection and stocking of products through to aiding its inventory management and Just-in-Time approach. 7- Elevens distinct competitive advantage can be attributed to the way the information management system links with the corporate strategy and the o perational strategies of logistics, merchandising and day to day store operations (http://www.worldscibooks.com/eastasianstudies/4981.html). From this it has gleaned efficiencies that enabled it to become the number one retailer in Japan at a time of fierce competition and poor economic conditions.

Contemporary studies in physical education Essay

There are many ways in which the sport of football is controlled and organised, a majority of the sport is monitored and controlled by governing bodies that distribute funds, organise competitions, present awards and ultimately promote the sport so that football can be accessible to everyone. One of the main football governing bodies is UEFA. The Union of European Football Associations governs football all over Europe and makes sure the rules that are formed by this organisation are enforced and abided by, as well as organising competitions and so on. Moreover, as I live in Wales I will talk about the Football Association of Wales or FAW. The FAW are more of a regional organisation that relay rules etc. from UEFA and make sure that there are competitions, and matches taking place all over Wales, as well as distributing limited funds to grass roots schemes and to various clubs in the region. The FAW are based in Cardiff, the capitol, of Wales, which is, in itself relevant as it means that it is easily located. Here are some details I obtained from UEFA.com: Personnel: Communications: President Address Desmond W. Shanklin. Plymouth Chambers, 3 Westgate General Secretary Street GB – David George Collins. Cardiff CF10 1DP Head Coach Telephone Leslie Mark Hughes. +44 29 2037 2325 Press Officer Fax David George Collins. +44 29 2034 3961 As you can see there are quite a number of personnel working at the top of the FAW, these people make sure that everything goes as much to plan as possible and also make sure that there is some sort of authority associated with the sport. This governing body organises a lot of competitions around Wales resulting in leagues and league tables being formed, one such league is the Welsh Premier. There are many football clubs associated with this league ranging from Aberystwyth, Llanelli and Newtown, to Bangor, Caernarfon and Welshpool. All of these teams are entered into the Welsh Premier and compete against each other throughout the season all in the hope of winning and coming top of the table. The way to find out information on the Internet is to log on to www.uefa.com and then look out for the titles reading Welsh football Associations. Regional structure. Although UEFA are a huge organisation, they cannot control every single aspect of the game in all European countries, such as Wales. It is therefore essential that regional, intra-national organisations or governing bodies take as much control as possible and are aware of as much as possible in their area. Wales uses a pyramid system to organise its football events/competitions. The Welsh Premier is Wales’ national league and the only national competition and all leagues below it operate on a regional basis, the leagues become more localised the further down the pyramid you go. Governing bodies need to structure leagues into regional leagues so that they are more easily managed and are more organised. Like the British Premier League, many foreign countries have adopted segmented or divisional type football leagues. Wales uses this tiered league system to organise many competitions. The Welsh Premier is the top tier or first division and all those below this division are on lower tiers. The second tier consists of two leagues that each covers half of the country. The first represents South Wales and the second, central and North Wales. The champions of both these leagues are promoted to the League of Wales. However although this may sound quite simple, it gets much more complicated the further down the system you go. The similarity is that the teams that come top of the lower leagues are also eligible for promotion. As I’ve said, the system gets a lot more mixed up and complex the further down the pyramid you go, with teams having less professional players, and a lower status. The lower less well known teams face a larger competition and less chance of getting promoted due to the larger number of teams. Coaching Awards. It is obvious that if a team succeeds in a particular league and win matches, then, as well as the skill and professionalism of the players being a contributor to their success, the coach of the team must be doing a good job as well. Many organisations present awards to coaches who are seen as successful and who are leading their club well. Without coaches, teams would stand little chance of playing as a team, keeping fit and developing skills, coaches maintain the levels of professionalism whatever the status of the club. Many coaches have to go through training to acquire qualifications in order to coach at the highest level and receive award after doing so. The FA present awards to qualified coaches after they complete training courses at different levels. One such award is the FA Level 1 which is a certificate in coaching football, the course can be taken by anyone over the age of 16 and is an intensive 20 hour course that involves the person dealing with practical coaching, child protection, emergency first aid, over use injuries, child development and growth spurts. Another coaching award is from the NGB or National Governing Body of football. People who have obtained qualifications through their NGB normally go to work shops to further their experience and become better at their job. When someone has obtained qualifications and coaching awards they can pursue a career in coaching their chosen sport and can apply their knowledge acquired through previous courses to coach at various levels. Once in a part time job a coach earn anything from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 an hour and full time jobs can pay from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12,000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000 per annum. Promotional/grass root schemes. It is essential for professional and semi-professional teams to be able to pick or select the next best players in order to maintain the reputation of the club and the skill levels required to reach the top of their league. Without grass root schemes young players would not be able to develop their skills or play enough to get recognised by larger clubs. Grass root schemes also make sure that young children are made aware of the benefits of football or any sport and are also taught rules, and the value of teamwork from a very young age. Sports such as football are huge and although the sport does benefit from promotional and grass root schemes, the sport does have a huge following, it is estimated that there are around 70,000 boys playing football for either schools or clubs between the age ranges of under 11 to under 16 and that over 500,000 play between the ages of 9-16. Grass roots football in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the 43 county football associations that are affiliated with the FA and make sure everything is organised at a local level. Within the individual county associations there are technical directors that oversee the development of football players from their grass roots all the way up to the highest level of the game. There are centres all over the UK that the FA manages and that develop players at grass root levels. Promotional schemes arise all the time around the country and may take the form of celebrity appearances that may boost the turnout of the event and thus the chance of the sport appealing to more young children is increased. The ability to promote a sport such as football depends largely on the willingness of children to participate at grass roots levels and their eagerness to participate at higher levels. Ultimately the children need to have the drive or enthusiasm to take part at low levels of the sport and maintain that ambition so that they will achieve the highest possible level of success in the sport. In Wales, grass roots schemes such as Dragon Sports help to promote football and get more young children involved by using players that can be used as examples of what you can achieve if you persevere. Dragon Sports organise events where the children can turn up and spend the day being taught by professional players and obviously having fun. Regional and national competitions Throughout the country there are various leagues that I talked about previously in my work, these leagues area made up of various teams that compete for promotion to a higher, more competitive league. Regional competitions or matches, are held between more localised teams which compete to win matches in order to gain points and status within their league. If a team win a majority of their games within their own league and against localised opponents, of inter-county matches, they move on to play against the victors from other leagues in various other counties. Ultimately, the teams that are the best in each area of a country will move into a position where they have to play against each other in order to proceed to the next level. After all of the county matches have been played the victorious teams may be promoted into a larger more advanced league that caters for the best regional teams. Theses teams will then play against one another in a national league that offers bigger more prestigious rewards. The teams/clubs at this level are the cream of all the inter-county teams and all compete for national recognition. Doping control and testing. Over the years there have been numerous incidents where athletes have been tested for drugs and were found to have been abusing illegal, performance enhancing narcotics. It is now the norm for most athletes, including footballers, to be tested for doping and drugs that may affect their performance. There are many different ways in which drug testing can be performed, namely, urine samples, hair samples, perspiration and residues found on the athlete or on items of their possession. The urine sample involves the footballer giving a urine sample just before a game, which is tested for the existence of drugs or any evidence of doping. If the results come back positive then the footballer will be suspended and will not be allowed to play in the match or matches following the test until a governing body tells them they are allowed to play. Hair testing involves the footballer/athlete giving a sample of their hair, which, like the urine is tested for evidence of drugs, again, if the test shows that that person has drugs in their system, then appropriate action will be taken. The perspiration test involves the sweat of the athlete being analysed for the presence of any performance enhancing drugs. This is an effective way of doping control and testing, as there are not many ways in which you can avoid this sort of test, or any of the others for that matter. Residue testing involves the footballer giving an item of theirs to the drug analyst that may have residue from the footballers body on it, this could include a drinking flask, mug etc. that may have the persons saliva on it, or a towel that may have hair on it that could be analysed, i.e. anything that may have any residue on it that could be analysed in order to prove the existence of drugs or doping. Here is an example of how the FA intends to deal with the increase in drug abuse in football; The FA is conducting random drug testing of gifted footballers as young as nine years old. These unannounced spot-checks on 9-16 year olds is being carried out at 147 centres of excellence across England and Wales. However, what I find amazing is that each of these drug tests costs the FA à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½230, but I do think that it is necessary as the drug problems with youth football is escalating. Assessment of development and placement on the performance pyramid. There are five levels to the performance pyramid, these are: 1. Grass roots. Here, everyone is encouraged to take part in the sport and anyone can play it. At this level young children are the focal point as trying to get children involved and interested in a sport from a young age is essential if they are to develop into a potential professional player. This is the stage that many governing bodies and organisations are now becoming interested in in-order to develop players of the future. 2. The second stage is recreation. At this stage, players have developed an interest in the sport and are playing quite frequently. This is also the stage where the player will have developed their interest enough to join a club or team. 3. The third stage is sport. This stage involves the person playing at higher levels and their standards have risen to such a point that means that they have become competitive and driven to win. They will also be playing in some sort of league with aspirations of success. 4. If a football player reaches this level they have entered a stage of excellence. The player probably would have been selected for their talent as a player and will be provided with support so that they can train without much hassle etc. They would be sent to train at a centre of excellence where they will receive professional help from qualified coaches in order to play to the best of their ability. Furthermore, the player will probably be playing at county level with the best players in the area who were also selected for their talent. 5. The final level or stage is elitism. At this stage the player is playing at the highest level and has a desire for winning. Moreover, the chances are that the player is at a professional level and is getting paid to play for a particular team. This is the highest of levels that you can reach in any particular sport. Considering all of the stages I would place myself at stage three, sport. I play football at a competitive level and at quite a high standard. I would say that my interest for the sport has developed into one that I can play football at a level where I feel that winning is important but losing is an inevitable factor. With this in mind I can say that there is little chance of moving to the excellence stage and therefore the elitist stage, as I do have other interests and I do not see football as the only sport that I can play. I believe that I am at this level because I have been playing football since I was seven, and I have developed a love for the sport and can appreciate the effort that is put into playing for such a long period of time. Discussion of the effects on my progress. There are many ways in which I have been helped through my time playing football, there are also many ways in which without extra help, I would not have been able to progress. Without a football organisation such as the FA, there would be little order or organisation in the development of football, such as football clubs at grass root levels. I can also say that the funding that these organisations distribute to various clubs is essential for their survival and maintenance of most equipment and grounds etc. At grass roots level, there is emphasis placed on playing for the enjoyment of the sport, which puts little pressure on players. This way of thinking allows players of the future to develop a love of the sport and thus will tend, like myself, to carry on playing football into their teens and beyond, some will eventually develop their natural abilities to such an extent that they can play football professionally and at an elite level where they can live from the money they are paid by their team/club. From a young age I learnt to play by the rules from grass roots football during matches, I learnt how to control myself in various situations and developed a lot of skills. All of this would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible to do, without the help of governing bodies and organisations such as the FA and FIFA distributing funds and carrying out administrative procedures that ensured players, such as myself, the opportunity to play in a controlled manner in supervised games etc. During my time playing football at club level and at grass roots, I had to pay subscriptions, or â€Å"subs† that would be paid into the FA who would recycle the money and put it back into the various football clubs in the country. This money is used by the FA to fund training camps and centres of excellence throughout the country in order to develop the players of future teams and representatives of our country. Furthermore, without these governing bodies and organisations, lower level clubs, like those at grass root levels, would not be able to support themselves as well as with the assistance of such bodies. The transition from level to level throughout the life of a footballer relies not only on the willingness to pursue the sport, but on the dedication of the governing bodies and organisations to help young players and athletes move on with the most support that they need.

The Temperature Range of Rainfall

If youve ever wondered why getting soaked in a rainstorm makes you cold, its not just because the precipitation moistens your clothes and skin, the temperature of the rainwater itself is also to blame. On average, raindrops have temperatures somewhere between 32 F (0 C) and 80 F (27 C). Whether a raindrop is closer to the cold or warm end of that range  depends on a number of things including what temperature it starts at high up in the clouds and what the air temperatures are in the upper atmosphere where those clouds are floating. As you can imagine, both of these things vary from day to day, season to season, and location to location, which means there is no usual  temperature for raindrops.   Temperatures in the atmosphere interact with raindrops, starting from their birth high up in a cloud to their final target—you and the ground—drastically affecting the temperature of these droplets of water. Cold Beginnings and Cold Descents Surprisingly, most of the worlds rainfall begins as snow high up in the clouds overhead—even on a hot summer day! Thats because temperatures in the upper portions of clouds are well below freezing, sometimes as low as -58 F. The snowflakes and ice crystals found in clouds at these cold temperatures and heights warm and melt into liquid water as they pass below the freezing level, then exit the parent cloud and enter the warmer air below it. As the melted raindrops continue to descend, they can become cooler through evaporation  in a process that  meteorologists call evaporative cooling,  wherein rain falls into drier air, causing that airs dewpoint to increase and its temperature to lower. Evaporative cooling is also one reason why rainfall is associated with cooler air, which explains why meteorologists sometimes claim it is raining or snowing high up in the upper atmosphere and will soon do so out your window—the longer this happens, the more the air near the ground will moisten and cool, allowing the precipitation a path to fall to the surface. Air Temperatures Above Ground Affect Final Raindrop Temp In general, as precipitation nears the ground, the atmospheres temperature profile—the range of air temperatures that the precipitation passes through—from around the 700 millibar level down to the surface determines the type of precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or freezing rain) that will reach the ground. If this temperature is above freezing, the precipitation will, of course, be rain, but how warm above freezing they are will determine how cool the raindrops will be once they hit the ground. On the other hand, if the temperature is below freezing, the precipitation will fall as snow, sleet, or freezing rain depending on how much lower than freezing the range of air temperatures is. If youve ever experienced a rain shower that was warm to the touch, its because the rains temperature is above the current surface air temperature. This occurs when temperatures  from 700 millibars (3,000 meters) down are quite warm but a shallow layer of cooler air blankets the surface.

Effect of Railroads on the United States