Abstract The paper reviews the literature in the area of small business and its competition against the 'bigbox' retailers such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart. The paper identifies various strategies for small businesses to compete with the 'bigbox' companies, such as location, use of the Internet and customer service. The paper concludes that consumers greatly desire small business competition to return to their hometown, but the small business must provide something more than the 'bigbox' while remaining competitively priced, retaining quality products and providing customer service.
Outline:
Introduction
Management, Marketing and Service
Summary
Conclusion
From the Paper "Bannock (2003) states that "the vulnerability of small firms arises virtually by definition from the small scale of their human and financial resources." Bannock states that The Committee of Inquiry on Small Firms, chaired by the late John Bolton identified three characteristics in itS economic definition of small firm as follows: (1) A small market share, that is not large enough to influence national prices or quantities; (2) 2. Managed in a personalized way; and (3) Independence or the exercise of ultimate management responsibility. (Bannock, 2003) Bannock states that these three characteristics "are to be founding the vast majority of all businesses, but the economic definition is of no use for statistical purposes since business statistics are not classified in terms of market share, owner-management and employment dimension, a threshold that seems appropriate to define a 'small firm' in one activity may not be appropriate for another." (Bannock, 2003)"
Tags: customer, service, competition, prices, management, marketing, service
Abstract This paper discusses how bigbox retailing has become more than a strategic operating format in the Canadian market. Recent studies verify what anecdotal evidence has been indicating for the last 10-15 years. That is, bigbox retailers are not only harming mall based retailing but are rapidly becoming the modus operandi for the majority of retailers regardless of specialty or segment.
An analysis of the range of variables that have contributed to the decline of the urban, inner-city retail strips and the rise of the suburban economic power centers.
Abstract This paper discusses the decline of the urban, inner-city retail strips and the rise of the suburban economic power centers featuring the massive commercial developments known as "bigbox" or "category killer" retailers. The paper examines this phenomenon and focuses on the experience of the greater Toronto area. It looks at the range of variables that have contributed to this phenomenon, the most significant of which is the explosive levels of growth in North American suburbs as immigrants bypass the traditional inner-city reception areas and settle directly in the suburbs.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Death of the Inner-City Retail Strip
Immigration and Growth
Characteristics of Suburban Retail Growth: The BigBoxes Conclusion
From the Paper "Rather, as this essay has attempted to show, demographic factors have also played an important role in both diminishing the local clientele for inner-city retail strips and fuelling the growth of not only the suburbs but the "big box" retailers situated in the suburbs. Immigrants have been central in this dynamic, as migration from overseas bypassing the traditional immigrant reception areas in Toronto's downtown core, as well as intra-city migration of already established immigrants, are not only resulting in the collapse of retail strips such as Chinatown East, but are accentuating the growth of Chinese suburbs and malls. In this analysis, while the suburban power-centres and inner city retail strips are not in direct competition, they are twin poles of an economic dynamic that is reshaping the retail and settlement patterns of cities such as Toronto."
Abstract This paper examines the two sides of the 'big-box' controversy as to whether or not one should support the practice and formation of big-box retailing in terms of the effects that these outlets, which include large stores such as Target and Wal-Mart, have on local communities, as well as the effects that they have on suburban sprawl and the associated argument between downtown and suburban development. The position of this thesis is that big-box retailing does have adverse effects on local communities, which causes many of these communities to form a reaction against the retailers; consumers would be more likely to support a more aesthetically pleasing paradigm in which these retailers are held more accountable for expansion and sprawl.
Paper Outline
Introduction
Literature Review
Retail Trends
Super Stores
Power Centers
Effects of the BigBox Economic
Environmental
Social
Cultural/Aesthetic
Parking
Relationship to Surrounding Community
Hypothesis
Research Design/Methodology
Findings and Recommendations
Case Study Research
Quantative
Qualitative
Policy Structure Examples
Case Study on 'Sprawlternatives'
Planning and Zoning Strategies
Design and Land-use Standards
Urban Growth Boundaries
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "For example, in some areas, states and communities have banded together to introduce legislation regarding big box retailers and their presence, often with extensive conditional modifiers when the establishments are allowed. Moratoriums on big box type architecture are also common. But there is a lot of difference in between different states and communities in terms of the costs and benefits of either prohibiting big box superstores or drawing them towards the area. For
example, some states have been very prohibitive towards superstores, power centers, and other categories of big box retail mentioned above. At the same time, however, other states have situations that are totally different, with tax incentives being offered to direct investors in a way that seems to break down a communication barrier in terms of community goal alignment, or install a barrier, depending on one's perspective."
Abstract The paper uses the cities of Guelph and Vermont to show how communities can combat the phenomenon of dying downtowns. The paper illustrates how cities must focus on a sustainable economic development strategy and must have a commitment from all sectors of the community with the city council. The paper also looks at Mexico as an example of the negative effects of a Mexican version of Wal-Mart on downtown.
Outline:
Introduction
Downtown Death Delayed By Design
Power of the People
Vermont Vs BigBox Construction
Mexico's Malingering BigBox Londerville-A Synthesis of the Research
Summit Report-Waterloo-Guelph
Summary and Conclusion
From the Paper "In all cities and towns all over both the United States and Canada something is dying, or perhaps already dead and that something is downtown and cultural heritage being replaced by something generic and that comes in a big box - that something is 'Wal-Mart'. While Wal-Mart has brought lower prices to these communities, Wal-Mart has also brought decay, decline, and crime. These lower prices have come with a high price tag to communities and society as this work in writing intends to show."
Abstract This paper analyzes an article about the issue of urban sprawl in Montreal. The author points out that urban sprawl is a continuing problem, which has devitalizing the city center of Montreal. The paper relates that this is the result of several factors, but the article alleges that the most relevant factor is the fact that the regional government does not really have a voice in this issue.
From the Paper "The Canadian city is changing, mostly as a result of urban sprawl, and not enough is being done to stem the flow of this change or to direct it in more desirable directions. This is the emphasis of the article which forms Chapter 14 of the text The Changing Canadian Metropolis (Volume 2), edited by F. Frisken. The chapter, entitled "Urban Sprawl in the Montreal Area - Policies and Trends" by Charbonneau, Hamel and Barcelo of the University of Montreal, gives us a comprehensive picture of what is going on in Montreal in recent times with regard to its city planning - or, more relevantly, the lack of urban planning."
Abstract This paper discusses what is known as the 'urban sprawl'. According to this paper, the urban sprawl is the shifting trend of young adults that were raised in the suburbs by parents who left the city for a more suburban lifestyle, returning to the city to make their home.
From the Paper "In the latter half of the 20th century the phenomenon of urban sprawl came to define the urban and suburban landscapes of North America. However, towards the end of the 1990s and in the early 21st century geographers began to take note of shifting trends regarding urban sprawl as formerly suburbanized populations, such as the children of the "baby boom" generation, began returning to the cities."
Abstract This third year environmental planning course assignment discusses urban sprawl in the greater Toronto area. The paper examines urban sprawl, the Oak Ridges moraine, planning problems and planning solutions. The paper further examines the implementation of the greenbelt plan.
From the Paper "There are many environmental, social and political issues that can be solved through effective planning. However, some environmental, urban and political problems have been caused by a lack of planning. One of the most potentially disastrous environmental, urban and political issues is urban sprawl. According to William Norton in Human Geography, The term urban sprawl is often used to describe the deconcentration that involves low-density expansion of urban land uses into surrounding rural areas (Norton 418). This rather clinical definition is misleading because it treats urban sprawl as if it is not problematic."
Abstract This paper describes the urban sprawl and the statistics related to it contending some recommendations from the public administrators viewpoint.
Abstract This paper considers the history of black slave boxing and what this activity provided to plantation owners and to slaves. The paper notes that for the slaves, there were benefits in terms of special privileges, but there would also be added burdens. Just as many poor blacks today take up boxing as a way out of poverty, so many black slaves took up boxing to gain advantages, even to the point of being manumitted or freed in some cases.
Abstract This paper looks at Joan Ryan's essay "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes" that applies observations of society from George Orwell's novel "1984." It looks at how Ryan's essay centers on the treatment of young female women, mainly athletes, that fits into Orwell's vision of a dystopian society.
From the Paper " Joan Ryan chooses the title of her essay well. The girls she writes about are little. They are little in physical stature immature of mind and body. Yet they are boxed into the telescreen of society's superficial eye under the "
Tags: Joan Ryan, Little Girls in Pretty Boxes, gymnastics, figure skating, George Orwell, 1984, Dystopia
Abstract This paper focuses on the rise of big business in the U.S. and examines what allows this to happen. It concentrates on demand related factors as well as the supply side factors.
From the Paper "In a laisse-faire economy it is strictly hands off for the government. It is an economy in which, there is free trade with no government intervention. In this economy firms share knowledge thusly creating a highly competitive market where no firm has "economic power". At least this is the thinking behind Adam Smith's classical economic theory which was the accepted theory in the U.S. This seems self explanatory for a people with a history of tyrannous rule and people whose main reasons for coming to America were for economic freedom. It is what these people fought for against England during the Revolutionary War. "
Abstract This paper analyzes Chester Finn's article "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Test?", which concerns national education testing. It explores Finn's view that national educational testing is the solution to the problems confronting education today.
From the Paper "Chester E Finn Jr has written an article that supports establishing national testing standards for schools. This is not a balanced article that considers the advantages and disadvantages of the issue and ..."
Tags: education, big bad test, finn, national, education, testing
Abstract This paper reviews Daniel Wallace's novel "Big Fish: A novel of Mythic Proportions" and highlights the elements of fantasy that are found in the work. The role of the fantastic is analyzed and it's impact is contrasted with the concrete and realistic outlooks of other characters in the novel. In particular, the paper focuses on the protagonist William and the depiction of his expedition to unravel the truth. The reviewer concludes that Wallace proves that words have the power to transform reality into a group of ideas that leave an impression that does not disappear.
From the Paper "William's desire to understand his father through a staunch reality is never met in the novel, and there is a reason for this. Edward, even in his last days is trying to compel William to see the world through the eyes of fantasy, to make everything more meaningful. William wishes that Edward would speak the truth, rather than what he, as a boy and as an adult believes are his father's attempts to spin his life into fantasy to impress him, despite his long absence form his son's life. William gives the impression that he believes his father's stories are a fabrication that he has concocted, during long hours in lonely hotel rooms, while he traveled the south as a salesman. He seems not to believe, at first in any truth in the fantasy. "
Tags: Daniel, Wallace, Big, Fish, a, Novel, of, Mythic, Proportions
Abstract This paper first outlines the various problems associated with different aspects of suburban sprawl, including businesses and consumerism, residential expansion, government policy, satellite cities, and privatization. Next, the paper outlines ten general concepts of smart growth that can be applied by policy makers in an effort to stop the negative effects of sprawl.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Sprawl Business, Consumers and Sprawl Residential Expansion and the Rise of Sprawl Governing the Suburbs
Satellite Cities
Privatization
Smart Growth and Solutions for Sprawl
From the Paper "Farmlands are another frontier of urban and suburban encroachment. Subsequently they are forming the frontlines of the fight against sprawling suburban developments. This is especially true in western state where sprawling suburban areas are competing with farmers and agriculturalists for precious resources such as water and even the very land they use. By preserving lands previously used for farming and helping to sustain those still in use through economically hard times, sprawl can be limited and in some cases even stopped in its tracks. By supporting farmers and agricultural groups through funds, land productivity, and extension services, anti sprawl activists and advocates can take an active role in its prevention. (U.S. Dept. of Ag. 1997.)"
