Summary
Bower’s case study focuses on the measures that the management of Marcs & Spencer took to restore the company’s image as a retail power. Founded in 1884, the firm has had numerous periods of decline and growth. For example, despite its progress at the beginning of the 20th century, M&S faced major challenges in the 1970s. This was mainly due to various socio-economic tensions in the UK. During that period, M&S decided to expand their chain to Canada, which brought unsatisfactory results at first; in turn, bringing the chain to the Continent was more successful. In 2001, the company recruited a new CEO, Luc Vandevelde, who took a number of crucial steps to recover this premium retail brand. These measures included building a stronger team by hiring a new managing director, design director, a new CEO of the financial service group, a new director of women’s clothing. In addition, it was decided to shift focus entirely to the UK retail, close loss-making businesses, cut costs, and improve capital structure.
Analysis of Business Practices
Shifting its focus to the UK retail market exclusively, M&S developed a recovery plan for Clothing while expanding to new areas, such as Food, Home, and Beauty. The company sharpened its pricing for clothes through rebalancing its price architecture and increasing the variety of entry-price merchandise. In addition, new campaigns and clothing lines, such as an extremely successful Per Una line, were launched to increase the customers’ confidence, allowing the company to earn their trust again. M&S Food performed well, giving the company new opportunities to grow, reach new locations and establish new selling channels. As for the Home business, furnishings and gifts have been the most successful products areas.
The company’s management applied different models and concepts to further introduce positive changes, such as the value realization frameworks and cost reduction techniques. As part of its cost cutting strategy, the company closed loss-making businesses in Continental Europe, reduced costs for administrative purposes at the headquarters, and began renting more property for its operations instead of owning it. To improve its capital structure, the company decided to reduce its working capital by cutting the investments in inventories.
Another major business practice implemented by M&S to restore its image was the initiative to improve its financial services. Thus, the company introduced changes to the M&S cards, launching the M&S and More card, which combined the usual M&S card with a credit card, allowing customers to earn M&S loyalty points. This did not only significantly impact the company’s profits, but also helped it improve relationships with the customers.
Problems and Suggestions
It can be suggested that some of the major weaknesses the company had prior to the changes introduced by Vandevelde’s management were based on its inability to compete in foreign clothing markets. Suggestion for remedies that would be appropriate in this case is to analyze competition in the markets that the company plans to expand to and close the businesses that cause severe losses. Another weakness observed was the lack of tight relationships between the company and its customers; to tackle this problem, M&S developed new financial services and expanded in the new product areas. As a measure to prevent this problem in the future, the company can be recommended to apply its resources to introducing further changes focused on improving the quality of its products and increasing customer satisfaction.
Phonological Fragment Of Arabic Language
Introduction
Arabic language has three different forms, namely, classical, or Quranic Arabic, modern, or standard Arabic, and colloquial, or daily Arabic. With 420 million people speaking the language globally, Arabic is one of the most commonly spoken languages globally. In addition, about 28 countries use Arabic as an official language, which has led to the evolution and development of different dialects. Modern Arabic is the most spoken version due to the fact that it is universally used in the world, taught at universities, communication, trade and business. Moreover, it is the language of literature, technology, medicine and education. Like many other languages in the world, Arabic has many dialects, which differ in phonology, but only one of its versions is used learning institutions in the Arab world. Although learning Arabic may necessitate getting used to entirely new alphabet, after mastering the language, one will realize that its phonetic structure is intuitively understandable and easy to learn, namely, that every word is spelled exactly as it sounds and there are no rules as per intonation and annunciation Arabic (Watson, 2002).
Arabic Dialects
Egyptian non-standard speech is among the most commonly spoken Arabic dialects along with the Maghrebi non-standard speech. Furthermore, being the foremost understood non-standard speech in Arabic culture, as well as a plethora of resources for learning it, Egyptian non-standard speech has recently become quite popular among second language learners. Likewise, Egyptian non-standard speech is widespread in TV shows, movies, and is frequently studied by non-Arab speakers. On the other hand, Maghrebi non-standard speech has over seventy million speakers within the world, being the second most popular dialect compared to the Egyptian one. Gulf non-standard speech has over thirty-six million speakers in Arab world and is employed principally in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, some of the Asian nations, and the Sultanate of Oman. However, there are significant variations in pronunciations, synchronic linguistics and vocabulary in different dialects of the Gulf non-standard speech since it is a product of multiple dialects being merged into a single entity. Additionally, there is Levantine non-standard dialect spoken by around twenty-one million individuals over the world; however, its speakers still prefer using a more popular Arabic version. Levantine is generally widespread in Syrian Arab Republic, Jordan, Palestine and Asian nation. The Levantine dialect is the second most-spoken one compared to the Egyptian non-standard speech, including both personal communication and popular media. Furthermore, Levantine has a history that dates back to seventh century, when Arabic non-standard speech shifted from Aramaic language. In addition, one should mention the existence of numerous minor dialects, which are significantly less popular and used by an infinitely smaller number of people compared to the Levantine and Maghrebi non-standard speech (Watson, 2002).
Mesopotamian non-standard speech is also referred to as Iraqi non-standard speech. It is spoken by over fifteen million individuals and has been built on the Arabic cultures, the representatives of which inhabited the area currently known as the Mesopotamian basin. This includes Asian countries, several territories belonging to the Syrian Arab Republic, Iran, and Southeastern Turkey. Similarly to Levantine Arabic, Mesopotamian non-standard speech shifted from Aramaic to Arabic. Because of the gaps between several speakers of this non-standard speech, its synchronic linguistics is usually laborious to understand and analyze. However, it follows the twenty-eight consonants of the Arabic alphabet closely, even though there are some wide variations within the emphatic sounds.
There is also the Sudanese Arabic dialect that is spoken throughout Sudan and has over seventeen million speakers. Sudanese Arabic is quite similar to Egyptian Arabic because of closeness of the 2 countries, yet it has distinct traits that make it easily distinguishable from the Egyptian dialect. Sudanese non-standard speech is additionally named as a pure and archaic interpretation of Arabic. The described phenomenon can be explained by the fact that Sudanese Arabic has maintained several archaic pronunciations and writing sequences that different dialects have abandoned. Moreover, there is Sudanese Arabic that is spoken across Sudan and has over seventeen million speakers. Sudanese Arabic is also often likened to Egyptian Arabic owing to the proximity of the 2 countries. However, it has distinct traits that make it a unique language. Sudanese idioms are additionally observed as a pure and archaic interpretation of the Arabic ones, which can be explained as a result of Sudanese Arabic maintaining several archaic pronunciations and writing sequences that alternative dialects have abandoned. Yemeni idioms are amongst the few Arabic dialects that have maintained a plethora of classical practices and tones. Over fifteen million individuals in Republic of Yemen speak Yemeni, as well as citizens of southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Djibouti. Due to its giant variety of speakers, the Yemeni dialect is divided into several sub-dialect teams. The Yemeni dialect maintains several classical options that are not employed in alternative components of the Arabic-speaking world.
The Hijazi dialect (West Arabian Arabic) is the native dialect of concerning fourteen million individuals within the geographic region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The language is spoken differently in the city and among the residents of the country, with a distinctive urban and rural version. The urban version is spoken largely within the cities of urban center, Mecca, and Medina.
The Hijazi dialect represents some of the most ancient legacy of the Arabic language. It incorporates classical forms that have been largely forgotten and abandoned, while also coexisting with some of the newer versions of Arabic, therefore, combining the ancient tradition and the new language trends. However, the Hijazi dialect still consists primarily of the older versions of the Arabic language, which is why it has been slowly ousted by newer and more popular versions of Arabic.
In turn, Maltese is a remarkable dialect since it his distinctively different from any other Arabic dialect. In some cases, it is related to entirely different Arabic dialects since it has a lot of variations, which allow it to overlap in some areas, including its grammar and vocabulary, with other Arabic dialects. It takes its origin from Siculo-Arabic, an extinct type of Arabic that was developed in Sicily before being introduced in Malta. The dialect started to become prevalent around the end of the ninth century and continued to develop throughout the twelfth century. Maltese contains a broad range of various vocabulary elements from many other linguistic backgrounds. A substantial part of the language is comprised if the original Semitic basis, whereas around 0.05 of its vocabulary comes from Italian or Sicilian. Maltese is written with the help of Latin characters, which represents a striking contrast to the traditional Arabic writing. The earliest living example of Maltese is from the late Middle Ages, which makes Maltese the sole living Semitic language written in Latin script.
The Hassaniya dialect is spoken by three million people in the Arab world. It is principally used in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and the related geographic region. Originally, it had the status of a regional dialect that was spoken solely by the Beni Hassan Arabian tribes. As WHO extended their authority to areas between Mauritania, Morocco, and geographic region between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the organization influenced language adoption in those regions.
Phonetically, the Hassaniya dialect is often referred to as both implausibly innovative and implausibly conservative. It incorporates all of the phonemes in Classical Arabic, also introducing several new phonemes. As a result, a significant number of new second-language learners find the specified dialect particularly difficult to master. Several educated Hassaniya Arabic speakers additionally follow code-switching, displaying their linguistic talent. Code-switching occurs particularly often between Hassaniya Arabic, trendy commonplace Arabic, Spanish, and French.
Phonemes
The standard/modern Arabic has twenty-eight consonant phonemes along with six vowel phonemes, although most of the commonly used dialects incorporate eight vowel phonemes. All phonemes have a distinction between non-emphatic consonants and uvularized, or emphatic, consonants. Though Arabic has evolved significantly from what it used to be several centuries ago, some of the more archaic phonemes are still in use; moreover, the mode in which they are used nowadays is virtually indistinguishable from the one practiced centuries ago. Arabic countries still view the classical language as their formal language (Watson, 2002).
Phonological Process and Syntax
The phonological system of a language is like a sieve since everything that passes through it, allowing the native language system to update continuously and enriching the vocabulary and the range of expression methods for the people speaking it. Hearing another language being spoken encourages one to use the familiar phonological sieve of the mother tongue intuitively to analyze what has been said (Watson, 2002). The Arabic language system is marked by a constrained vocalistic system and a wealth of consonantal system. Three vowels are used in both their short and long forms, namely, a, t, and u. However, Arabic is rich in guttural consonants, which include laryngeals (h) and a pharyngeal fricative (h), the pharyngeal (c), and (l), and the uvula fricative (x).
Arabic features a triad of voiceless, voiced, and emphatic elements in some subsets of the set. Additionally, Arabic features a root and pattern morphology, where the root may be a linguistics abstraction with two, three, or less consonants derived through templatic patterns.
Allophones
Allophones are phonemes whose sound changes depending on the letters that surround them. They are similar sounds which are in mutually exclusive or complementary distributed. For example, voiceless labial consonant passive /p/ has no correlation within the Semitic languages, and, due to its soundlessness, it is often replaced by its voiced associate /b/ when native Arab speakers pronounce it. The described occurrence features a curious phenomenon within the Arabic language system. Besides, the labial dental affricates /v/ do not have any correlates within the Arabian consonantal system and do not seem to be ordinarily used by Arabic speaking individuals, typically being replaced by the sound /f/. The emphasis is uncommon in Arabic; moreover, it is traditional for Arabs to have difficulties with the random nature of English stress patterns. The elision (swallowing) of sounds that are common in spoken English is also problematic for Arabs.
The word order for Arabic syntax is VSO (verb, subject, and object); however, over the past several decades, a tendency for the VSO to be changing towards the SVO model has been noticed. Arabic is regarded as a non-configurational language because it has high word order freedom. Specifically, it has great freedom of word order, frequent use of discontinuous constituents, and sophisticated verb-word system. In Arabic, dynamic verbs occur before a noun subject as opposed to stative verbs. At intervals phrases, a word that is used because the qualifier follows the qualified terms. Likewise, the adjective follows the noun that it qualifies (Watson, 202).
Phonotactics and Sound Structure
Phonotactics is the study of sound distribution patterns and distribution restrictions at intervals words, and in some cases across word boundaries. Phonotactic syntax has a tangible influence on Arabic morphology, as well as the derivation of words, namely, on word-building, and on the lexical root structure. There are two aspects about Arabic phonotactics that should be kept in mind. These are the phonotactics of root morphology and phonotactics of word-building and morphology. Four phonologic processes area unit key for Arabic sound; these include assimilation (one sound fascinating the other), articulation (vowel insertion), deletion (semivowel), and vowel shift.
Assimilation is amendment of phonetic feature values that build similar or even identical segments. In Arabic, the described occurrence happens because of phonologic rules applied at the intersection of morphological processes. Assimilation is non-phonemic; to be more precise, it does not have an effect on the meaning of a word; however, it implies that the word will be either progressive or regressive.
Syllables are typically recovered from the speech signal; however, segments sorted into syllables are usually helpful in explaining several phonologic patterns languages. The language unit henceforward seen as an abstract is a part of the content of the syllable structure. The sound structure has been influenced by the study of Arabic for two reasons. First and foremost, several dialects of Arabic offer samples of regular and productive processes contributing to the creation of the sound structure. The latter incorporates vowels into clusters of consonants that otherwise cannot be accommodated within the list of available language units and stress systems supported syllable weight. Secondly, many forms of spoken Arabic represent different classes of language unit varieties, and these completely different clusters are related to a constellation of various properties across the existing dialects. Every language unit in each word represents a peak in prominence. The most distinguished portion of a language unit is its nucleus, which is usually a vowel (V). Each language unit should have a nucleus; however, syllables may have one or a lot of consonants (C) organized around that nucleus. Consonants preceding the nucleus structure the language create an onset and consonants following the nucleus structure the language create the finale. Onsets and codas are known as language unit margins, and margins with one consonant are known as straightforward onsets or codas, whereas those with over one consonant are complicated onsets or complicated codas. Syllables that end in vowels are known as open syllables. Although a language unit with only a nucleus could seem to be the foremost basic structure, it is typical that the universally most popular language unit consists of a single-consonant onset and a nucleus (Watson, 2002).
Almost all varieties of Arabic share two features, namely, the presence of syllables with simple codas and the absence of onset syllables. Therefore, syllables of the CV and CVC format are found in all varieties of Arabic, while V or VC syllables are rare. The requirement that syllables should have onsets means that in a VCV sequence, the syllable boundary will always fall before the consonant (V.CV). Evidence for the onset requirement originates from the fact that vowel-initial words borrowed into Arabic are typically produced by Arabic speakers with an added glottal stop in onset position, as in [ʔotobiis] ‘autobus’ (Watson, 2002).
Conclusion
Arabic language has evolved over the years, having produced multiple dialects, but the modern or standard form of Arabic is the one used most commonly as formal means of communication by many Arab-speaking nations. Modern Arabic is the one adopted by most Arabic schools and learning institutions. The Arabic language has 28 consonant phonemes along with six vowel phonemes, although most of the modern dialects typically incorporate eight vowel phonemes. Due to its past history, the Arabic language has a broad range of dialects, which differ in phonology, yet the Egyptian dialect is the one used most broadly because it is easily understood by many Arabic speaking people in the entire Arab world. Likewise, the Egyptian dialect has been adopted by various media and communications channels because people learn it with ease.
References
Watson, C.E. (2002). The phonology and morphology of Arabic. Oxford University Press.
Controversy Of Testing Players For Steroids
Introduction
Steroids are drugs used to reduce inflammation in the body that are synthetic copies of hormones that the adrenal glands produce. Steroids, in addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, can help improve an individual’s athletic performance, which leads to their widespread use among professional athletes. This is the main argument of the supporters advocating for the use of steroids among athletes. However, the Major Baseball League was involved in a scandal involving the usage of steroids by sportsmen to improve their performance throughout the 1990s and the 2000s. This controversy is linked to the adverse effects of steroids and the harm they cause to a person’s body.
Steroids
Steroids are medications that are applied to decrease inflammation in one’s body. These medications are synthetic versions of hormones naturally produced by the adrenal glands. Apart from the anti-inflammatory properties, steroids can help enhance the athletic performance of individuals, which results in the widespread use of this medication among professional athletes. Between the 1990s and 2000s, the Major Baseball League has had a scandal linked to the use of steroids by athletes, which allowed them to enhance their performance. This paper will examine steroids, their effect on the body, and the Major Baseball League’s use of steroids. Steroids are not allowed for use in professional sports due to the substantial side effects that they cause, despite the benefits of enhanced performance.
Opposing Position
The argument opposing the restriction of the use of steroids is based on the benefits of this medication and the effect that it has on muscle strength and performance. Steroids are a type of medication developed from the blueprint of a hormone that a human body produces. Steroids are synthetic alternatives of hormones that are naturally generated by the adrenal glands, which are two small glands located above the kidneys (NHS, n.d.). Steroids diminish redness and swelling when taken at more significant levels than a person’s body typically generates, which is why these medications are prescribed to reduce inflammation. This can aid in the treatment of inflammatory disorders such as asthma and eczema (NHS, n.d.). Steroids also suppress the immune system’s functioning, which is the body’s natural defense against disease and infection. This can help when treating autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, which are caused by the immune system attacking the body (NHS, n.d.). However, similar to any medication, steroids should be taken with caution and only if prescribed by a medical professional. Despite this, many athletes have used steroids to enhance their performance, which subjected them to substantial side effects.
Context for the Opposing Position
One reason why athletes often use steroids is the effect of these medications on their performance. Bodybuilders, among other sports professionals, who want to improve their physiques are increasingly turning to performance-enhancing drugs (Fink et al., 2018). However, as the Internet has grown in popularity and regulations preventing the sale of these medications without a prescription, the route of procurement and administration practices has become increasingly perilous. Hence, the side effects and the performance enhancement effects of steroids have been recognized by regulators and organizations overseeing sports competitions, which is why these medications are banned from public access. Athletes undergo screenings to ensure they do not use these medications.
Before the mid-1970s, anabolic steroids were unregulated and widely available from physicians and pharmacies around the world (Fink et al., 2018). The Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 was adopted in the United States, resulting in the expansion of illegal markets and underground laboratories (Fink et al., 2018). The transition from pharmacy to underground websites for anabolic steroid procurement resulted in an increase in bogus goods with low purity and the potential to threaten the health of anabolic steroid users. Thus, apart from the apparent side effects of the uncontrolled use of steroids, there is an issue of using this medication that was produced without proper governmental control. People supporting the use of steroids may appeal to the fact that these medications are now available to people from unofficial suppliers, which is more dangerous.
Underground laboratories emerged both locally and in nations with loose legal frameworks. ‘Anabolic steroid tourism’ and huge networks of internet resellers arose, leading to the legalization of illicit anabolic steroid procurement (Fink et al., 2018). Furthermore, the increased circulation of anecdotal information on the Internet among anabolic steroid user forums results in increased ignorance and harmful practice. All in all, this leads to the cases of steroids misuse and people’s health being harmed due to uncontrolled use of steroids. The amounts and methods of administration advocated on these forums are based on unverified information that may be inaccurate and misleading to persons who lack a medical background and cannot obtain guidance from their physician.
Restriction of the Use of Steroids
Doping with anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) is prevalent among both male and female athletes, and it is becoming a serious public health issue. The use of AAS in female athletes has been linked to side effects such as acne, hirsutism, voice deepening, and menstruation abnormalities; life-threatening side effects such as cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death have also been documented (Huang & Basaria, 2018). As a result, detecting AAS usage in female athletes is critical to ensuring fairness in competition. Moreover, the use of detection practices is vital to preserving the health and lives of these athletes because, as was discussed in the previous paragraphs, the information on steroids available online is usually misleading and not based on empirical evidence. At the same time, athletes should be taught about the negative repercussions of AAS use (Huang & Basaria, 2018). Although exogenous androgen injection has been linked to ergogenic effects, it is uncertain if endogenous hyperandrogenism is exhibited in some medical illnesses such as disorders of sexual development (DSD), congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and polycystic ovary syndrome is ergogenic (Huang & Basaria, 2018). Even among the medical professionals’ community, there are many gaps in understanding how steroids work and how they affect one’s body.
Some studies have already confirmed the adverse effect of AAS use. Although exogenous androgen administration has been linked to ergogenic effects, it is unclear whether endogenous hyperandrogenism is seen in some medical conditions such as disorders of sexual development (DSD), congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and polycystic ovary syndrome confers any competitive advantage (Huang & Basaria, 2018). In general, more research is required to determine all the effects of AAS on the human body and particularly on the athletes’ bodies, considering that this medication is often used without medical supervision.
Context and Major League Athletes Steroids Scandal
Major League Baseball is one of the athletic organizations that was accused of the use of steroids. According to Palmerino (2021), Major League Baseball (MLB) is an American professional baseball league based in Midtown Manhattan, New York. Moreover, MLB is the oldest professional sports league in the United States and Canada, having been founded in 1876 (Palmerino, 2021). It is divided into two leagues, the American League and the National League, with thirty teams participating between April and October of each year. Teams compete in a 162-game season, with five teams from each league qualifying for a playoff tournament building up to the World Series Championship clash between the league champions (Palmerino, 2021). Considering Major League Baseball’s long history, the league has experienced a number of crises and scandals that have jeopardized its organizational stability, one of which was linked to the use of steroids by athletes.
The MBL has had several scandals, and some linked to teams being paid to lose, while others involved the unauthorized use of medications, which has harmed the reputation of this league. According to Gonyeau (2021), data gathered over the last several years suggest that baseball’s popularity has begun to fall in comparison to other sports such as football and basketball. While this problem may be ascribed to a variety of factors related to baseball, MLB has experienced several major crises that have jeopardized its place as one of North America’s main sports leagues. When the steroid and Houston Astros cheating scandals arose, the league’s popularity experienced a significant decrease (Palmerino, 2021). This shows that the public’s response to the athletes’ steroid use is adverse, and therefore, such practices are harmful not only to the people using steroids but to the businesses that support this approach.
One of the most contentious issues in professional sports history is the usage of steroids and other performance-enhancing substances (PEDs). According to Preiato (2019), the usage of these medications provides people, particularly athletes, with various advantages in terms of strength, power, muscular endurance, and improved recovery from workouts, which essentially boosts the ability of these athletes to perform. However, as was previously discussed, steroids carry a number of hazards, including the risk of infection and addiction, among others (Preiato, 2019). The Anabolic Steroids Control Act was approved by the United States Congress in 1990, making steroids a prohibited substance in the United States. Since then, unless they were prescribed by a physician (Axisa, 2022; Bates, 2022). There was no regular drug testing for Major League Baseball players at the time, during the 1990s, and thus, there was no incentive for the players to observe the regulation. For example, Jose Canseco, a known steroid user, led the American League with forty-four home runs in the 1991 MLB season. Three years later, the league’s slugging percentage had risen to.424, its best level since 1930 (Palmerino, 2021). These were unmistakable indications that the league was experiencing a steroid problem as the results of their athletes were remarkable. In 1996, seventeen different players hit at least forty home runs, which is still an MLB record (Palmerino, 2021). The public began to pay attention to the league and its regulations, causing backlash and demands for the leadership to impose rules that would allow monitoring the use of unprescribed medications by athletes.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper presents the arguments that justify the use of steroids by athletes and the position justifying the need to restrict the usage of this medication. In particular, the example of the Major Baseball League shows the public backlash that the use of steroids by athletes causes. Moreover, there are various side effects that uncontrolled use of steroids leads to, which is why these medications cannot be used without prescription in the United States. People who support steroid use may point to the benefits that this medication provides in terms of endurance, muscle strength, and performance.
References
Axisa, M. (2022). Why MLB has stopped testing players for steroids during the owner-imposed lockout. Web.
Bates, D. (2022). Major League Baseball has stopped testing players for steroids. Web.
Gonyeau, M. (2021). Why baseball is losing popularity across the nation. Web.
Fink, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., Hackney, A., Matsumoto, M., Maekawa, T., Nakazato, K. & Horie, S. (2019). Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Procurement and administration practices of doping athletes. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 47(1), 10-14.
Huang, G. & Basaria, S. (2018). Do anabolic-androgenic steroids have performance-enhancing effects in female athletes? Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 464(15), 56-64.
NHS. (n.d.). Steroids. Web.
Palmerino, J. (2021). Examining the strategies in response to rises in Major League Baseball. Clark. Web.
Preiato, D. (2019). Are steroids bad for you? Uses, side effects, and dangers. Web.