Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation Essay IntroductIon In September 2004, Wendy Wiley, the Northlake Bookstore manager, was considering the implications of a shocking development. For the first time in her seven years as the Bookstore manager, textbook sales for this fall had decreased from the prior fall sales. The sales decrease was approximately $180,000, or 3% of annual textbook sales. Wendy wanted to address this problem before it got worse. She found that this sales decrease was due to two emerging technology problems, possibly of equal magnitude: 1) the students’ increasing use of online textbook vendors, and 2) the professors’ increasing use of online textbook publishers. Wendy reported the bad sales news to her boss, Chuck Irwin, the Vice Chancellor of Finance at Northlake University. After commiserating with her, Chuck told her that he was not surprised by this sales problem and that she should consider how to deal with these emerging technologies in her next performance evaluation report by comparing the performance of the Northlake Bookstore against competitors using benchmarking analysis. This analysis would help Wendy find the strengths and weaknesses of the Bookstore. Additionally, Chuck wanted Wendy to develop a few key related short-term performance goals and related measures that could be used in future performance evaluations. He wanted to discuss the situation at their meeting next week, which was the annual review of the Bookstore’s performance for the prior fiscal year 2004 (July 2003 through June 2004). A benchmarking analysis was required by Chuck for the annual review of all the nonacademic departments under his management. Northlake is a private university, located in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest, with an annual enrollment of 12 ,700 students, mostly undergraduates. Northlake is quite dependent upon student tuition, which typically accounts for 60% of its total revenues. However, the Chancellor was concerned because donations and gifts to the University were down, possibly due to uncertain economic conditions and erratic stock market performance. Prior to becoming the Northlake Bookstore manager, Wendy had spent 15 years in retail sales, most recently as a Wal-Mart sales manager. She was an outgoing, supportive individual who really liked being a retail sales manager and enjoyed working with her employees. She strongly believed in continuous improvement of any sales department that she managed. Despite her extensive retail experience in the for-profit sector, this was her first experience working in an academic environment. Wendy occasionally became frustrated working with faculty due to their late or inaccurate book orders. However, she liked helping students and enjoyed working in an academic environment without all the pressures of a for-prof it business with aggressive sales and earnings targets like Wal-Mart. China Case Competition 2009 To prepare her benchmarking analysis report required for the upcoming annual performance evaluation of the Bookstore, Wendy had collected income statement, product line, and other performance measures for the last three fiscal years. To aid evaluation, she summarized the various Bookstore operations into five product lines: textbooks, supplies and sundries, clothing, software and accessories, and computers. The textbook product line included new texts, used texts, class notes (course packs), and general reference books. The supply and sundry line included school and office supplies, electronics, food, sundries, greeting cards, and miscellaneous campus department sales. The clothing line included all insignia clothing, gifts, and memorabilia. Wendy knew she needed to act fast to thoroughly analyze all the information needed for the Bookstore’s annual benchmarking analysis that Chuck and the Chancellor required. She had a lot of historical information and was wondering how to analyze this financial information for her benchmarking analysis report. BEncHMArKInG Benchmarking is the process of identifying superior performance of other organizations for products, services, and processes, and then attempting to improve necessary areas with the goal of achieving similar excellence. The benchmarking process first became popular in 1989 after Xerox advertised its success with the tool; however, the tool was initially employed by Xerox in 1972. In fact, more than 70% of the Fortune 500 companies—which includes ATT, Ford Motor Company, IBM, and Eastman Kodak—reported using benchmarking regularly. Benchmarking is useful in countless decision-making settings including performance evaluation, health and safety management, and supply chain management. To reach for greater standards of excellence, Ford would likely consider foreign automobile manufacturers that have been well known for high efficiency and quality, such as Toyota, the current world-wide leader in automobile sales. Wendy currently benchmarked the performance of the bookstore against other college bookstores and major booksellers. In performing a benchmarking analysis, it was imperative for Wendy to benchmark processes that were aligned with organizational strategic objectives. Since the Bookstore was a profit center, it was imperative that she compare the profitability of the various product lines with other universities. The Bookstore also had an objective to provide service excellence. Thus, if available, it would be beneficial for Wendy to benchmark customer satisfaction data with other universities. Once processes that were consistent with strategic objectives were identified, it was necessary to collect and analyze internal information vis-Ã ¡-vis external information from competitors. The benchmarking process did not stop once areas of excellence and inferior performance were identified. Rather, it was imperative for Wendy to identify how to sustain the areas of excellence and improve the areas of inferior performance. In determining how to improve poor performance, she needed to understand the reason behind the poor performance. Once that was attained, it would be possible to determine a long-term plan for improvement. A key role of the Bookstore was to supply the Northlake University communitywhich included but was not limited to faculty, students, alumni and parentswith textbooks, supplies, clothing and gifts, computers and software, and much more. The Bookstore’s formal mission statement was as follows: The Northlake Bookstore is an academic resource for the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests of the University. The Bookstore serves the University with a business presence dedicated to providing service excellence that meets or exceeds the needs of each customer and University department. The Bookstore played a significant role in enabling parents of freshmen to participate in getting their children ready for the first day of class. Additional temporary staff was hired to ensure there was adequate assistance available for new students and returning students who were purchasing their textbooks. These staff members were readily available and happy to answer any question that new parents or students might have regarding textbooks or the University in general. Also, congruent with the University laptop requirement for all students, the Bookstore sold computers and software. This was a great way for parents to enjoy onestop back-to-school shopping. Additionally, the Bookstore tried to promote the University as a brand name by selling clothing and accessories with the University logo and/or name. Availability of clothing and accessories was also a service provided to students, parents, and alumni who wanted to show their support for the school. Sales of merchandise with the University logo indirectly promoted the University, but the Bookstore did not try to formally create alumni support nor was that a formal goal. This was the function of the University Alumni Advancement (funding) office. As indicated by the mission statement, by the role taken to familiarize new parents and students, and by the sale of merchandise with the University logo, the Bookstore operated in a manner aimed at achieving high customer satisfaction. To measure customer satisfaction the Bookstore conducted an annual customer satisfaction survey and a separate faculty satisfaction survey. Customer suggestion forms were also readily available on the Bookstore website. In her years as the Bookstore manager, Wendy had developed various financial performance measures to help assess the performance of the Bookstore. Over the last few years, she had used these measures as part of her benchmarking analysis. She felt fortunate to have a fairly comprehensive benchmarking database available to her. It was provided annually to all bookstore members free of charge by the National Association of College Stores (NACS). The only requirement was that each bookstore had to contribute its own data to the benchmarking database in order to use it. The NACS database included income statement, product line, and other types of benchmarks. With the looming threat from online textbook vendors, Wendy had started to benchmark Northlake’s textbook prices against the major online textbook vendors. She also tracked mail orders and Web orders from Northlake’s own website (started in 2000). Her task now was how best to use this benchmark information. She believed that her first step was to compare her current financial and operating results with the benchmark data to pinpoint areas in need of improvement. This analysis would likely uncover some areas that needed her attention, which would be useful in identifying areas in need of improvement.

Snowmobiling on Priest Mountain Essay -- Descriptive Writing Examples

Snowmobiling on Priest Mountain In late May I never pictured myself carving a highmark on Priest Mountain. Priest Mountain is nestled on the east edge of the Grand Mesa National Forest. Deep sugary snow and feathery blue spruce trees cover the mountain and the area around. One fine day it occurred that I had the opportunity to carve my highmark and I still I have the mental image of my territory after that day. Even before that day, Priest has left a impression on me. Priest Mountain, for me, has been such a majestic riding area; IÃ ­ve been riding in this area for more than 10 years, and it is such a magical place to ride. On this one fine day, we had a typical Colorado snow storm.. I can recall this very trip to the wonderful Grand Mesa because my mom was sick and it was Mother's Day. She told me to go have fun, and that she'll wait until she feels better. My dad wanted to play in a golf tournament, but I wanted to go snowmobiling. We both agreed that he would play golf in the morning and once he was done, I would meet him in the parking lot on the mesa to go snowmobiling. My dad said, "Don't leave until I call you!" "Dad, just watching TV, I'll be here." I replied. The snow began to fall, and I could not control myself; so I just left. Jeff rode with me in the Power Stroke, and Alex rode with Justin in the Dodge. By the time I reached Cedaredge, I couldn't even see the sleds behind me because the snow was flying like crazy. I wondered why my dad was still playing golf in this weather, but that's my dad; he loves to play golf. The whistle of the turbo diesel and the classic rock was getting me pumped for the awesome ride to come. By the time we were on top of the mesa, there was one foot of new fluffy snow... ... halfway. Justin followed, he came down and told us to take the high side, there is less snow. I was ready; I hit the throttle and from the basin up, the ride seemed to last forever. I began to climb and my Yamaha screamed like a cat in a fight. I followed the backbone and kept climbing until I came out on top I arrived at the crest and quickly noticed the mountain top bowl lined with snow. I plowed through the snow up to the peak of the bowl; man, what a view from the top. I could see the guys down at the bottom and miles into the distance. I could almost see all of Delta County in one shot and it was magnificant. I had now conquered the mountain, Priest from now on feels like my place. This mountain will certainly be a part of me for the rest of my life. I'm sure I will travel to other places that will be beautiful, but nono of them will match Priest Mountain.

KFC Exploring Strategy Essay

Summary You are introduced to KFC organization. A fast-food chain restaurant comes from North Corbin, Kentucky that featuring fried chicken. KFC is recognized as the best fried chicken with its original 11 herbs recipes and produce most fried chicken to the world. What makes KFC still remain strongly while other companies are struggling to find a spot in the market? To answer this question, you will be finding out KFC strategic profile, vision, mission and values that is created and brought towards customers. Understanding the company strategic development and how the Corporate and Business level create and develop strategies and knowing what your competitors are doing. We will acknowledge about its customers perception, innovation and international strategy. What has KFC been doing to innovate its staffs, how innovation is created, what changes the companies has made and how did it result. The strategy analysis and main focus on home country – competitive advantage developed from hom e country. At the end of this report, you will be able to perceive the organization values in order to create competitive advantages that make the business sustainable in the presence and future. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background KFC (originally known as Kentucky Fried Chicken) a subsidiary of Yam! Brands. Together with Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and Pizza Hut they are forming the world’s largest restaurant system with more than 32,500 outlets in 118 countries worldwide. KFC was founded by an entrepreneur named Harland Sanders in North Corbin, Kentucky, 1930. He started by selling fried chicken at his roadside restaurant during The Great Depression and discovered the potential of fast-food restaurant franchising concepts. Since then he expanded his first franchise market in Utah and foreseen a rapid successful business. 1.1.1 Company Vision/Mission/Objective The company’s vision statement is to be â€Å"To be the leading integrated food services group in the ASEAN region delivering consistent quality products and excellent customer-focused service†. Its purpose is to bring people from all religions, ages and backgrounds together to enjoy good food, ‘proper food at reasonable prices’ KFC mission is about reasons to â€Å"Celebrate their achievements of others and have funs doing it† by customers focus and belief in people. â€Å"Recognition is everybody’s responsibilities† (Adonis Chapel, 2008) In achieving its vision and mission KFC plans to offer a healthy menu to customers. Providing customers with their best and making customers with smile every time they eat at KFC in order to make repeated and potential customers. On the other hands, all associates need to be trained to be customers maniacs. KFC has invented some options for healthier choices to meet different types of customers and expectation. They still continue to expand their business to get more customers purchasing their food 1.1.2 SWOT (www.business-docs.co.uk/documents/swot-analysis-template) Below table is SWOT analysis of KFC in 2013 Strengths KFC has earned the second largest sales in 2013 among those fast-food restaurants Secret homemade 11 herbs recipes First western food style to establish in China Subsidiary of the second largest fast-food in the world together with of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell Offering the most original and the advantage of market leader among restaurants offering chickens as their primary menu Weaknesses Too many anonymous suppliers that caused the excessive antibiotics in used chicken Experience high employee turnover as they always short of long term staffs Unhealthy menu, most of items are deep fried Not focusing on advertisement campaign Negative publicity Weak in marketing effects Opportunities Innovation on healthy menu in order to target different type of customers Providing customers’ needs by offering 24hour services, drive through and home delivery Expending on the variety of food choices, not only chicken Potential growth in Asian countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Philippines Threats Lawsuits against the company for its unsafe chicken Consumers are more concerned about their health and tend to reduce on fast and oily food Ups and downs currency rates in different countries More people are following the trend of healthy eating 1.1.3 PESTEL (www.dineshbakshi.com/igcse-business-studies/external-environment/revision-notes/63-external-environment-factors) KFC combines three major elements PESTEL which are P- Political: KFC political analysis is their directive to run the restaurant. They use politics to solve the problem. Because the claim of excessive antibiotics in chicken. They made a loss in their profits. CEO of Yum Chinese operations apologized to the public for the mistake and did a makeover menu for China to revive its sales and image. S- Social: analysis which supports the operation’s progress. It may involve culture, values, norms, behaviour and belief of a particular country and they have social activities for the environment. Malaysia is a Muslim country. In order to understand and satisfy its people, KFC has cut off the other meat in their menu. 100% chicken used is Halal certificate. It is a way to respect a country’s religion and its people. T- Technological: the most important element in order to be competitive and follow up your competitors and trends. Without modern technology a company will collapse in the market. KFC was the first to introduce new baking system in their restaurant. Preparation process which involves cooking, frying and all other works are seen in front of customers. 1.2 Strategic Development How does KFC create and develop strategies (www.functionformulabusinessstrategy.blogspot.sg/2010/10/strategic-visioning.html) 1.2.1 Corporate Level Headquarters are located in Louisville, Kentucky. Working as a whole organization at the corporate level, its headquarters first made KFC as a basic model focusing on limited menu, low price meals and convenience. Chairman and CEO of Yum!, David C. Novak is in control of the operations. He makes most important decisions that will affect the whole organization. His key focus are 1) build leading brands across China in every significant category; 2) drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere; 3) dramatically improve U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns; and 4) drive industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value (source: Taking people with you, David Novak, 2007) 1.2.2 Business Level In 1987 KFC was the first western restaurant to open in China; the brand has since grown rapidly throughout the island. KFC adapts its menu internationally to suit regional tastes, and there are over three hundred  KFC menu items worldwide. The company is now the largest restaurant chain in China. Sam Su is the chairman and CEO of Yum!’s Chinese operations. At the Business Level, the regional executive must have the understanding in the taste and culture of its country, to make some changes from the original menu that will satisfy the citizen but won’t affect the Corporate Level menu. Other than chicken, KFC in China is serving pork and skewers as well. Still keeping the original fried chicken but adding more items to interest customers and more various selections. Porridge is also being served because Chinese used to believe that eating a hot bowl of porridge in the morning is good for health and it is not too heavy. By inventing more items on the menu, Sam Su has on ly not targeted to the young people, but also people at different ages. Menu includes an average of 50 different menu items per store as he believes different people have different tastes. 1.2.3 BCG Besides fried chicken, KFC is also known for its delicious Zinger burger, which is at Star and the second best selling in store. Zinger burger is high for both market share and growth. Rice and Spice, newly invented item, high for market share but low growth. Twister is low for market share but high for market growth, certainly public acceptance. Arabian rice is low at both market share and growth. Today we hardly see it on the menu as it has recently removed. (www.download-reports.blogspot.sg/2011/09/new-product-development-at-kfc.html) 1.2.4 Porter’s 5 forces framework for KFC (www.hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1) Force 1: Power of Suppliers Suppliers are in control of providing KFC’s raw materials. Suppliers have the right to decide whether they still want to carry on contract with buyer. Any other buyers want to duplicate KFC menu they can just approach this supplier and offer a better price. If the supplier cut off the contract KFC will lose its market. Force 2: Power of Buyers KFC is in charge of making decision of which suppliers to get from. The amount of poultry used for KFC daily use is numerous. So suppliers must be able to supply the necessary amount without fail and ensuring that their raw materials are hygiene standard. Last year in China, KFC was having problem with its suppliers for the excessive antibiotics used in chicken. KFC immediately cut off more than 1,000 their suppliers after the scandal has affected the company’s image. Force 3: Threat of new Entrants New entrants are companies that recently enter in the same market and provide the same food. Radix Fried Chicken also specializes in fried chicken and has grabbed customers’ attention by switching their taste. Radix Fried Chicken was found in 2013 while KFC has started since 1930. Force 4: Threats of Substitute or Services Popeye’s is known for Louisiana kitchen. Their menu and taste are mostly similar to KFC. While KFC is specialised for its chicken Popeye’s also offer customer few seafood choices such as tempura and shrimp. They also invent biscuit and chicken mashed potato on their menu. Popeye’s is also offering free Wi-Fi. Force 5: Rivalry among existing competitors McDonald’s is KFC strongest competitors which also offering its menu items similar to KFC. Speed of service is extremely competitive and set meal price is mostly the same. McDonald’s has been offering its drive thru and 24hour services for years when KFC just recently tried out but only available in certain places. 2.0 Critical themes 2.1Customers (www.imeeta.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/business-strategy-bowmans-clock/) As evaluated, KFC is at position 3 which is Hybrid (moderate price and  moderate differentiation). Menu items offered like fried chickens, burgers, wings, drumsticks, side dishes, carbonated beverages and desserts are similar to other fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s, Popeye’s, and Burger King. Services are at tip stop speed comparing to other restaurants in the fast-food chain. KFC is always public acceptance and first option when they think of the phrase â€Å"fried chicken at an affordable price†. 2.2 Innovation In order to achieve a company’s success, staffs need to be encouraged. David C. Novak CEO and chairman of Yum! Brands, was recognized as one of the quick-serve industry’s Top 10 Most Innovative People on QRS Magazine. On his interview with â€Å"The CEO TV show- Interviewing American’s top CEO† he shared his learning while creating one of the most American products. He believed that people get excited about news and in the food business people love to try new things. The specific thing of what a CEO should do is extremely focus by looking and his own people and the way they do things. Driving innovation by getting out of the company and see what other people are doing. Listen to the voice of our customers, connect with them, and always reach for new innovations and excellence in everything they do He innovate his business by learning from his competitors in order to keep consistence. â€Å"Innovation by people’s inspiration† he said. David C. Novak devotes much of his time to personally train leadership skills for the company’s management staffs and franchisees, emphasizing teamwork and a belief in people that rewards and recognizes customer-focused behavior. In KFC there is no discrimination for old staffs. People after retirement can join KFC as a front clean-up staff. 2.3 International strategy KFC China’s global growth base on â€Å"go global, act local† by understanding the local culture, economic and regulatory differences becomes the key element to perform the business’s success. First KFC identified what the local like and dislike from customers’ feedback. Then they adapt the fast-food model to fit the local cuisine and culture. You won’t be able to find such thing called chicken with Sichuan spicy sauce, rice, egg tarts, and soybean milk on American menu. Chinese people use to in eat large group so KFC has  created larger value meal as well. They also hire local management staffs to take good care of customers and understand their way of local doing business well. The company also follows Chinese strict foreigner investment laws and in action with local producers. 3.0 Conclusion 3.1 Value KFC aims to achieve value by creating quality food at a reasonable price and convenient service. Making customer satisfaction as a priority and fulfill customer’s demands in order to meet their satisfaction. They have also developed value menu for kids and school children with lower prices, value meal and combo for large group of people to share instead of buying each person individually. Value is also created for royal staffs and who are rewarded with good customer services. 3.2 Competitive advantage KFC biggest competitive advantage is being the first fast-food restaurant chain to grow globally. They have gain popularity among years in the fast food chain featuring fried chicken. KFC is well-known for its homemade 11 herbs secret recipes and the leader market among those restaurants selling the same food. Secondly the company is in charge of setting the lowest price for others to follow. If any restaurant goes lower than that they will fail in the market share. 3.3 Sustainability For the last 84 years KFC has remained sustainable in the market. In 2016 KFC established the eco environment program by reducing the volume of water used and carbon footprint, encouraging energy efficiency and sensible material use. They have been working with Carbon Trust and to reduce their emissions. KFC is playing its part to reduce the environmental impact and protect our planet. 4.0 Recommendations Judging on the company business strategy, KFC should improve on its menu by creating for more choices of healthier food options. The purpose is to target different type of customers, customers with special needs or diet or people with obesity problems. They can offer brown rice or whole meal rice  instead of white rice, steamed chicken, boiled veggies. Or they can follow up with McDonald’s by offering KFC’s cafà ©, serving cakes, hot and cold coffee or tea, more ice cream options for the kids’ craving. In addition, they may also expand their areas for 24hour services and drive through for the convenience of late customers. References 1. The Associated Press (2011, October). Colonel Sanders secret recipes discovered; manuscript reveals KFC founder’s favorite hometown foods. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/colonel-sanders-secret-recipes-discovered-manuscript-reveals-kfc-founder-favorite-hometown-foods-article-1.975651 2. Brady, D. (2012, March). KFC’s Big Game of Chicken. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-29/kfcs-big-game-of-chicken 3. ENP Newswire (2014, March 28). KFC China Launches New Menu and Marketing Strategy Nationwide; Milestone Signifies Next Phase of Company’s Aggressive and Comprehensive Plan to Restage KFC in China. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://smart-grid.tmcnet.com/news/2014/03/28/7749628.htm 4. Harvard Business School (2011, June 17). KFC’s Explosive Growth in China. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6704.html 5. Jurevicius, O. (2013, March 10). KFC SWOT anal ysis 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/kfc-swot-analysis.html 6. Kassidy Emmerson, K. (2006, March 10). The History of Colonel Harland Sanders and His Kentucky Fried Chicken. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-history-colonel-harland-sanders-his-kentucky-23199.html 7. KFC Development (n.d.). Sustainability. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.kfcdevelopment.co.uk/sustainability.aspx#tab_greenfacts 8. Lencioni, P. M. (2010). The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. 9. Liu, W. K. (2008). KFC in China: Secret recipe for success. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia. 10. Novak, D. (2012). Taking people with you: The only way to make big things happen. New York: Portfolio/Penguin. 11. Novak, D. (2007). The education of an accidental CEO: Lessons learned from the trailer park to the corner office.

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The Truly Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Essay - 869 Words

The Truly Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Hopes and dreams are needed to give mans efforts a meaning, or a purpose. Pushing towards some ideal is how man can feel a sense of his own identity. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man with tremendous and infinite hope (Fitzgerald, 6). To be able to accomplish a life long dream, one must have strong determination that can in no way be weakened by any obstacles one might face. It is the hope of achieving your dream that keeps you from wandering away from it and guides you to the right path. In order to achieve his dream, Gatsby was motivated, optimistic and brave. Whether or not he eventually was able to accomplish this dream, having these qualities in a person certainly indicate†¦show more content†¦This lack of wealth motivated Gatsby and made him determined to work hard in order to become rich and regain Daisys love. He worked hard to reach his goal and was eventually able to achieve it as a result of his optimism and endless determination. Another evidence of Gatsbys motivation is his productive daily schedule which he set for himself. His father tells Nick about it: Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you. Rise from bed .................. 6.00 AM Dumbbell exercise and wall scaling 6.15-6.30 Study electricity, etc. .............7.15-8.15 Work ..................... 8.30-4.30 Baseball and sports ................ 4.30-5.00 P.M. Practice elocution, poise and how to attain it 5.00-.00 Study needed inventions .............. 7.00-9.00 GENERAL RESOLVES No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable] No more smoking or chewing Bath every other day Read one improving book or magazine per week Save $5.00 [crossed out] $3.00 per week Be better to parents (Fitzgerald, 181). This schedule clearly illustrates Gatsbys motivation. He was bound to get ahead (Fitzgerald, 182). 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Importance of Teamwork and Collaboration - 1014 Words

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Environmental Crime Control free essay sample

Outline and critically discuss what you see as the main examples of attempts to control crime using ‘environmental controls’ It is generally understood that crime prevention strategies developed with the neo-liberal governance that began in the 1970’s soon after the decline of welfarism. The rise of the neo-liberalism meant the weakening of rehabilitation efforts, the return of punitive punishment and an increase in the prison population, as well as an increase in society’s fear of crime leading to politicisation and populism linked to crime (Matthews, 2002). Attempts to eradicate or prevent crime have often focused on punishment and a ‘prison works’ system that deals with the offender once the criminal act has occurred, rather than specifically focusing on preventing the crime from happening in the first place. The past decade has shown that the British government’s dogmatic response to crime â€Å"gives priority to case-processing and the punishment of offenders† particularly due to the public’s fear of crime and want for a more punitive response to crime (Garland, 2000, pg2). We will write a custom essay sample on Environmental Crime Control or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although environmental control theories are not particularly recognised by the public nor have they been chiefly researched by criminologists in the past, evidence suggests that some forms of environmental control have proven to be highly successful (Clarke, 1983). The idea that crime can be prevented by the analysis of places in which crime occurs most frequently, followed by the alteration of the design of a building or reducing the criminal’s opportunities and temptation to offend, will be examined throughout this paper. Situational Crime prevention emphasises the use of target hardening, surveillance and access control in order to reduce the temptations of crime in urban areas that would usually experience high crime rates (Vellani, 2007). The fundamental theories behind situational crime prevention are rational choice theory and routine activity theory which will be analysed in order to understand their contributions to environmental crime controls today. Lastly, and most importantly, is the influence of ‘Crime Prevention through Environmental design’ in the decline of criminal activity in certain geographical areas. The ‘Defensible space’ theory relies on residents to practice the use of territorial surveillance (Clarke, 1983). All of these theories will be analysed in order to highlight the main examples of attempts to prevent and manipulate crime using environmental controls. Situational crime prevention, or control theory, is an important theory used by academics and criminologists in order to analyse environmental controls used to manage crime. Situational crime prevention emphasises the need to focus on the settings of a crime rather than specifically focusing on the offender (Clarke, 1997). By sourcing out the geographical areas that crime occurs most regularly, law enforcement can then anticipate and prevent that crime from happening. In the 1970’s, UK policy makers had a tendency to focus their attention on ‘dispositional’ rather than ‘situational’ variables when interpreting and approaching crime prevention, which meant focusing specifically on the individuals character and not on the situation or setting that the crime may take place (Hughes, 1998). Jock Young coined the term administrative criminology in the 1980’s in order to argue that â€Å"the search for causes is futile, but the opportunities to commit crime can be controlled† (Hughes, 1998, p59). Administrative criminologists’ focus their research on the setting in which the crime has taken place, ignoring the social causes of crime by assuming that the offender has made a rational decision by means of weighing up the costs and benefits of their behaviour (McLaughlin and Muncie, 2001). As said by Vellani, the four main goals that situational control theory aims to achieve are; â€Å"increasing perceived effort, increasing perceived risk, reducing anticipated awards, and removing excuses† (Vellani, 2007). In order to accomplish these goals successfully there must be some analysis of the criminal’s motivations because the termination of opportunity may infuriate the criminal and possibly lead to crime displacement (Gilling, 2007). Crime displacement theory presumes that once the opportunity of a crime is removed then the criminal act will only move to a different location, at a different time. However, much research indicates that crime displacement is very rare, and may not happen at all (Clarke, 1997; AGJ, 2011). Although administrative criminologists steer away from the social causes of crime the work of community safety partnerships that aim to prevent crime must not be ignored. Community safety partnerships that deal with the ‘social’ crime prevention aspect, aim to deter potential offenders from criminal activity through striving to enhance opportunities in education and employment, as well as improving leisure facilities, with the intention of deterring those most vulnerable away from crime (Ekblom and Tilley, 2000). Routine activity and rational choice theory have developed from situational crime prevention, emphasising the effects of the social environment and situational circumstances on a criminal’s decision to commit crime. Rational choice theory, developed by Ronald V. Clarke, derived from classical theory which suggests that people freely make decisions to commit crime once they have recognised that the pleasure gained from the rewards of committing the crime outweighs the potential pain of being apprehended (Wortley, et al, 2006). This can also be recognised as the concept of psychological hedonism, where the individual evaluates the pleasures and pains prior to committing the crime and then adjusts their behaviour accordingly, balancing the search for pleasure with the evasion of pain (Hughes, 1998). Therefore assuming that if an offender recognises that the opportunity displays a high risk of apprehension, and the benefits are outweighed by the costs, the potential offender may refrain from committing the crime. A noteworthy example is when the law in the UK made it mandatory to wear a crash helmet when riding a motor cycle for safety reasons and possibly, albeit unintentionally, reduced motor cycle theft. A potential offender who is not carrying a crash helmet may be reluctant to steal a motor cycle as the likelihood of gaining the attention of authorities is higher (Clarke, 1980). Although the opportunity for the offender to steal the vehicle was there, the increased risk of encounter with authorities may lead the offender to rationally choose to refrain from committing the crime. The underlying perspective of rational choice theory is that an individual’s choice to commit crime can be deterred because of fear of punishment or strong security measures that heighten the risk of being apprehended (Vellani, 2007). Evidence indicates that Rational Choice theory has been relatively successful due to its cost effective and efficient methods of deterring crime in contemporary society (Hayward, 2007). However, there are several critiques of rational choice theory, for example even if in certain situations a reduction in temptation or opportunities for a criminal who intends to commit crime may result in crime prevention, would this theory have the same outcome for violent and emotionally motivated crimes? Evidence suggest otherwise. An experiment conducted by Exum, indicates that an individual who is intoxicated by lcohol can behave aggressively regardless of the damaging consequences that may occur due to this behaviour (Exum, 2002). Several studies reveal that rational choice theory can be undermined when the perceived cost and benefits are not rationally weighed out by the individual due to intoxication, mental disorders, gang related crime and much more. Routine activity theory implies that the re must be a willing offender, a target (or victim), and no capable guardian present, in order for the crime to take place (Wortley, et al, 2006). Consequently, if an opportunity arises for the criminal, during his daily routine activities such as school or university, and he has calculated that the risk of being caught is outweighed by the pleasure of the crime, then it is likely to occur. It is important to understand that a capable guardian does not have to be a human, as now days CCTV is provided as a tool of monitoring and prevention. Research suggests that CCTV is a form of situational crime prevention used in order to deter criminals by the threat of being seen and even recorded. However, Richard Jones states that evaluation schemes of CCTV suggest that this form of surveillance was not as effective as expected in the 1990’s and suggested that â€Å"something as simple as street lighting may be more effective† (Jones, 2009). Furthermore, the use of CCTV has become particularly popular with British citizens since the UK riots of August 2011. According to a survey published in the Independent newspaper, three quarters of people felt that they were safer in public areas due to CCTV being in operation (2011). What seems to be the most alarming, is the fact that so many of the youth involved in the riots knew of the CCTV surveillance cameras but still continued to carry on committing crime. This demonstrates the inefficiency of CCTV for preventing crime, albeit footage can be used to warrant an arrest and be used as evidence in court. In order for situational crime prevention to work, there must be a reduction in the opportunities to commit crime, perhaps through concepts such as target hardening (Vellani, 2007). Target hardening is a crime prevention tool used to substantially increase the physical security of targets, making the target less vulnerable, especially when preventing theft. The North Yorkshire police suggest, wheel locks for cars, fencing and alarms for properties, and tough locks on windows and doors, in order to make objects and property more resistant to damage or removal (NYP, 2012). Target hardening differs from situational crime control as the aim is to make security measures visible to the potential criminal rather than taking away the criminals opportunity. This method derived from the theory of ‘Crime Prevention through Environmental Design’. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) was developed by C. Ray Jeffery in order to reduce opportunities for criminals and preventing the crime before the police or criminal justice system have to become involved (Clarke and Felson, 1993). CPTED uses the built environment to reduce criminal activity and fear of crime among the public, focusing on aspects of architectural design. There are four main strategies used to implement CPTED, which consist of the natural control of access and surveillance, territorial reinforcement and quality environments (NCPC, 2009). The idea of access control is to provide a design that offers indications as to who is allowed to access the area and who is not. This way residence can be their own security systems, with little cost, using strategies such as natural surveillance. Thus, using gateways, sidewalks and pathways to help map out the restrictions of a site that may be private, semi-private or are no longer a public space (Zahm, 2007; NCPC, 2009). The natural surveillance strategy can be enhanced by small physical features such as garden fences or flower beds as they illustrate the maintenance and care that the residents hold over their property and suggests to the potential criminal that they will be aware of trespassers (Zahm, 2007). If the criminal can see that the resident’s view from the windows looks upon the front or back garden they are likely to feel more of a risk is involved in committing the crime, than if the windows are covered by plants or are not overlooking the outside area. The theory of CPTED derived from that of Oscar Newman’s ‘Defensible space’ theory. Turning areas into ‘defensible space’ can be achieved through residential guardians monitoring their property, potentially deterring criminals from targeting their homes. Newman believed that urban residential areas could be redesigned to make them less vulnerable to crime and provide residents with additional â€Å"opportunities to control their space and defend it if necessary† (Reynald and Elffers, 2009). Newman believed that residents needed to take responsibility for the physical space around their property and in order to do so they needed to take care of the space and use it in order to encourage criminal users to stay away. A communal courtyard is an example of a space in which the residents should avoid isolating, and focus on keeping the area clean and respectable. Newman has been heavily criticised over the years for ignoring the social factors of potential criminals living inside the large council houses and in the surrounding areas. Many believe that focusing on the setting and design of a building to deter crime is less beneficial then crime prevention through analysis of social factors. Nevertheless, evidence indicates that there has been a positive outcome in many cases where a significant decline in crime related problems has happened due to the redesigning of buildings (Reynaldc and Elffers, 2009). The most significant aspect of Newman’s theory of defensible space is the idea of ‘territoriality’, meaning that residents will be able to control and defend their space. By dividing spaces into zones made up of real and symbolic barriers, the outcome will be a clear distinction between what spaces are public, semi- private and private (Newman, 1996). As stated before, physical barriers such as fences are defined as ‘real’ and symbolic barriers are those such as plants, that don’t physically limit criminals but psychologically portray to the criminal it is private and therefore restricted (Reynald and Elffers, 2009). Buildings that have large amounts of people living in them may be better protected by the natural surveillance of a receptionist, doormen, or elevator operators that can deter criminals by the increased perception that the criminal understands he may be seen (Newman, 1996). However, for low income, council housing, the natural surveillance of doormen etc. , is not a possibility due to financial restrictions. The use of sensor lighting in spaces such as stairwells and entrances to avoid blind spots and to startle an intruder may prevent criminal activity and is more cost effective for low- income families. Other examples may be to design buildings that ensure windows are overlooking car parks and entrances, and the use of moderately transparent fences in joining houses may deter criminals, as the neighbours’ ability to see if anyone is intruding (Crime stoppers, 2005). Traditional methods of preventing crime by addressing the social and psychological causes, with much focus on the individual, has not produced a significant decrease in criminal activity in many countries, specifically the UK over the past decade. Based on past, and current, research into the success of environmental controls used to prevent crime, it is clear that substantial efforts have been made to focus on changing the setting, reducing temptation and eradicating opportunities for crime to occur. The public’s increased fear of crime over the past two decades has had a considerable impact on the ground upon which crime control policies have been created, consequently leading to a populist and punitive response to tackling crime. Situational crime control methods such as target hardening, surveillance and access control have proved to successfully deter criminals by heightening the risk of apprehension and removing opportunities. CPTED has encouraged the public to take a territorial stand against crime by essentially defending their own homes and becoming their own security. Societies are recognising that simple alterations in the layout of their residential areas could potentially prevent crime. The ‘defensible space’ theory has helped law enforcement to urge the individuals to make small changes to their homes, such as lighting, direct pathways or trimming hedges that cover windows in order to reduce crime. Even if environmental crime controls are not the most effective form of preventing crime, it can be seen from the above analysis that they are still cost effective and beneficial to the public. Further research that combines the work of situation and dispositional crime prevention theories could result in a further reduction in crime. Bibliography Attorney General and Justice NSW (2011)  Displacement Theory and Crime Prevention  . [online] Available at: http://www. crimeprevention. nsw. gov. au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/cpd/m660001l2/displacementtheoryfactsheet_nov2011. pdf [Accessed: 8th May 2013]. Clarke, R. (1997)  Situational Crime Prevention Successful Case Studies. [report] New York: Harrow and Heston , p. 2-42. Clarke, R. (1980) Situational Crime Prevention: Theory and Practice . British Journal of Criminology, 20 (2), . 141. Available at: http://heinonline. org/HOL/Page? collection=journalsamp;handle=hein. journals/bjcrim20amp;div=19amp;id=amp;page=#148 [Accessed: 10th May 2013]. Clarke, R. (1983) Situational Crime Prevention: Its Theoretical Basis and Practical Scope. Chicago Journals, 4 Available at: http://www. jstor. org/stable/1147510? seq=1 [Accessed: 1st May 2013]. Clarke, R. and Felson, M. (1993)  Routine activity and rational choice. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Crime Stoppers (2005)  Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) Preventing crime through good layout and design | Crimestoppers UK. online] Available at: http://www. crimestoppers-uk. org/crime-prevention/helping-prevent-crime/community/crime-prevention-through-environmental-design-cpted [Accessed: 10 May 2013]. Ekblom, P. and Tilley, N. (2000) Going Equipped . British Journal of Criminology, 40 (3), p. 376-398. Available at: http://bjc. oxfordjournals. org/content/40/3/376. full. pdf+html? sid=e6467d4e-8345-4088-bd72-28e9bc9f934c [Accessed: 2nd May 2013]. Exum, M. (2002) The Application and Robustness of the Rational Choice Perspective In The Study of Iintoxicated and Angry Intentions to Aggress. criminology, 40 (4), p. 933-961. Available at: http://onlinelibrary. iley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1745-9125. 2002. tb00978. x/pdf [Accessed: 4th April 20 13]. Garland, D. (2000) The Culture of High Crime Societies. British Journal of Criminology, 40 (3), p. 347-375. Available at: http://bjc. oxfordjournals. org/content/40/3/347. full. pdf+html [Accessed: 4th May 2013]. Gilling, D. (2007) Making a reality of rural community safety. Safer Communities  , 6 (3), p. 7-13. Hayward, K. (2007) kwell Publishing Ltd. 2007 XXX Original Articles Social Policy amp; Administration, Vol. 41, No. 3, June 2007 Situational Crime Prevention and its Discontents: Rational Choice Theory versus the ‘Culture of Now’. Social Policy and Administration, 41 (3), p. 232-250. Available at: http://kar. kent. ac. uk/261/1/hayward2007spol_550. pdf [Accessed: 1st May 2013]. Hughes, G. (1998)  Understanding crime prevention. Buckingham [England]: Open University Press. Jones, R. (n. d. ) Surveillance . In: Hale, C. and Hayward, K. , et al. eds. (2009)  Criminology. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 532-535. Justice. govt. nz (2001)  Part C: Overview of the Target Hardening Programme Evaluation — Ministry of Justice, New Zealand. [online] Available at: http://www. justice. govt. z/publications/global-publications/e/evaluation-of-the-target-hardening-pilot-programme/part-c-overview-of-the-target-hardening-programme-evaluation [Accessed: 9 May 2013]. Matthews, R. (2002) Crime and control in late modernity. Theoretical Criminology, 6 (2), p. 217-226. Available at: http://tcr. sagepub. com/content/6/2/217. short [Accessed: 4th May 2013]. Mclaughlin, E. and Muncie, J (2001)  The Sage di ctionary of criminology. London [u. a. ]: Sage. National Crime Prevention Council (2009)  Best Practices for Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Weed and Seed Sites. report] Arlington : National Crime Prevention Council , p. 1-8. Newman, O. (1996)  Creating defensible space. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. North Yorkshire Police (2012)  Ten principles of crime prevention. [online] Available at: http://www. northyorkshire. police. uk/9701 [Accessed: 12 May 2013]. Reynald , D. and Elffers, H. (2009) The Future of Newmans Defensible Space Theory : Linking Defensible Space and the Routine Activities of Place. European Journal of Criminology, 6 (1), p. 5-46. Available at: http://euc. sagepub. com/content/6/1/25. full. pdf+html [Accessed: 6th May 2013]. The Independent (2011)  More support for CCTV after riots. [online] Available at: http://www. independent. co. uk/news/uk/crime/more-su pport-for-cctv-after-riots-2375768. html [Accessed: 12 May 2013]. Vellani, K. (2007)  Strategic security management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. Von Hirsch, A. and Garland, D. , et al. (2000)  Ethical and social perspectives on situational crime prevention. Oxford: Hart. Wortley, S. and Seepersad, R. , et al. 2006)  Chapter 3: Rational Choice And Routine Activities Theory. [online] Available at: http://www. children. gov. on. ca/htdocs/English/topics/youthandthelaw/roots/volume5/chapter03_rational_choice. aspx [Accessed: 9 May 2013]. Zahm, D. (2007)  Using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Problem-Solving. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Solving Tools Series Guide Number 8. [report] U. S Department of Justice, p. 1-57. Critical Literature Review Outline and critically discuss what you see as the main examples of attempts to control crime using ‘environmental controls’ A wide range of academic literature was required in order to accurately examine the main examples of attempts to control crime using ‘environmental controls’. It has become clear that the rise of neo-liberalism, along with the public’s increased fear of crime has called upon more punitive crime control methods, especially in the UK. The rise in prison population in England and Wales went up 41,800 prisoners between the years of 1993-2012 indicating that the current social control methods, and catering to the publics want for harsher punishment does not seem to be deterring crime (MoJ, 2013). Therefore, criminologists and policy makers have progressively continued to research different methods of crime prevention. This essay will use secondary sources such as books, journal articles, reports and newspapers in order to examine the different forms of environmental crime controls used in contemporary society. The essay will investigate situational crime prevention, rational choice and routine activity theory, crime prevention through environmental design and defensible space theory as the main examples of attempts to environmentally control crime. Each of these theoretical positions make an important contribution to the environmental aspect of crime prevention that is sometimes disregarded by criminologists because of its neglect to focus on the individual offenders dispositional attributes. However this essay will attempt to uncover the strongest and most influential aspects of environmental controls, nonetheless, also taking into account and examining the reasons for such criticisms. The book by Gordon Hughes, ‘Understanding Crime Prevention’ will be used to understand the foundations of situational crime prevention and the development of administrative criminology (1998). Hughes highlights the significance of target hardening and surveillance, but more importantly refers to other academics that delve further into the analysis of situational crime prevention predominantly. Hughes work assisted in identifying the need to analyse the works of Ronald V. Clarke, and David Garland and expressed the opinions of academics like Jock Young, on the opic of crime prevention. Essentially, the book was a perfect starting point for the analysis of crime prevention and later found to be very helpful in the examination of routine activity theory. The work of David Garland in the book The Culture of Control illustrated the changes in social and political responses to crime over the past thirty years, highlighting the â€Å"link between the coming of late modernity a nd society’s increased susceptibility to crime† (Garland, 2001, p90). Garlands book aided to comprehend the political factors and the role of the criminal justice system in situational crime prevention. Several academic literatures by Ronald V Clarke were examined in order to understand the development of rational choice theory from the classical school of criminology. Clarke reports that situational crime prevention has been extremely successful in the sense that it â€Å"introduces managerial and environmental change to reduce the opportunities† for certain crimes to occur (Clarke, 1997, p1). His emphasis on the understanding that a crime cannot be simply explained through dispositional attributes is backed up by his ability to defend many of the criticisms directed at situational theories. Karim Vellani’s book ‘Strategic Security Management’ also proved to be useful when exploring the theory of rational choice, as he introduces the perspective that encourages real or perceived security measures to persuade the rational actor (criminal) that the risks of apprehension are too high to carry out the crime (Vellani, 2007). Vellani’s stress on the significance of security measures as a major crime deterrence has continued to be recognised as successful for not only rational choice theory, but also routine activity theory and crime prevention through environmental control. Routine activity theory suggests that crime occurs when the target, being an object or victim, is unprotected and the reward of the crime is worth the slight risk of being caught, then it is likely that the crime will occur (Wortley and Seepersad, 2006). The journal article The Future of Newmans Defensible Space Theory, gave exceptional insight into the development of Oscar Newman’s ‘defensible space’ theory over the past thirty five years (Reynald and Elffers, 2009). The article also highlights the decline in crime related problems attributable to the redesigning of buildings, the importance of tenants to defend their neighbouring areas and examines the use of real and symbolic forms of crime prevention. In order to fully grasp the concept of defensible