Walmart analysis Essay Example for Free

Walmart analysis Essay Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart in 1962. He was a businessman who started working in retail in 1940 at a J. C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1945, he ran a retail store in Newport, Arkansas, part of a chain of variety stores named Ben Franklin. Instead of renewing his lease, however, he decided to open a new Ben Franklin franchise in Bentonville, Arkansas and called it â€Å"Walton’s Five and Dime. † He succeeded by selling at a discount. Wal-Mart’s purpose best exemplifies what the company still stands for today: â€Å"Saving People Money So They Can Live Better† (Walmartstores. com) Within five years, the company had grown to 24 stores throughout Arkansas, reaching sales of $12. 6 million. The company officially incorporated on October 31, 1969 as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. In 1970, it opened its first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. By this time, it had 1,500 associates working out of 38 stores. Its sales were $44. 2 million. In this same year, it began to trade its stock as a publicly held company and was soon listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By 1971, it had stores in five states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It expanded into Texas in 1973, and Kentucky and Mississippi by 1974, and Texas in 1975. By this time, it had 125 stores and 7,500 associates, with sales of $340. 3 million. By its 25th anniversary in 1987, it had 200,000 associates working out of 1,198 stores. Sales were $15. 9 billion. It also completed a satellite network that linked all operating units with its Bentonville home office via two-way voice and data transmission and one-way video communication. It helped its home office to track inventory and sales and communicate instantly with its stores. In 1988, Sam Walton turned over the CEO role to David Glass. However, he remained the Chairman of the Board. In this same year, the company opened its first Wal-Mart Supercenter in Washington, Missouri. In 1995 it entered South America, beginning with Argentina and Brazil. In 1998, the company introduced the â€Å"Neighborhood Market† with three stores in Arkansas. In 2000, H. Lee Scott became Wal-Mart’s President and CEO. Sales increased to $165 billion. By 2002 it had been listed at America’s largest corporation on Fortune 500 list, with profits of $6. 7 billion. By 2005, it had sales of $312. 4 billion, 6,200 facilities worldwide and 1. 6 million associates. Back Ground and Purpose of the Study Wal-Mart is known as a store where you can go shop and save a buck. They are friendly to the average consumer of moderate income, and in this market they have thrived. The purpose of the study is to analyze why Wal-Mart stores Inc. has their own internal issue. This report will provide a back ground of the study and focus on the methodology, provide findings, recommendations and implementation plans for the root causes of internal issue. . Findings and recommendations Decision Making- RESOURCES A. Planning Findings They are a highly competitive company in an industry and economic time where lower prices are exactly what consumers are looking for. Wal-Mart has found that the reason they are so competitive is through their cheaper prices as compared to most of their competitors. This can create an effect so that many suppliers fight over their business. This in return gives Wal-Mart great bargaining power over whom they buy products from, and they can basically manipulate the original system/relationship of suppliers and retailers. They can almost in a sense control what price suppliers offer. Wal-Mart has great deals, and those deals can bring almost anyone into their store. Wal-Mart has a vast array of customers, most of which at some point or another probably were loyal customers of another company who opposed the idea of Wal-Mart entering in their community. At some point or another most of these same people have gone into Wal-Mart to see what all the hype is about and they found it in the low prices. Within this section is discussed Wal-Mart’s internal analysis of the value brought to and perceived by the consumers through the value and rarity of their products, limitability of their practices, and organization. By evaluating these four categories within their company it is easier to appraise which areas are strong and which are weak and, subsequently, need revision. To begin the main resources and capabilities of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must be identified. As with many companies a major resource of Wal-Mart’s is their human capital; another is their image – concerning their layout of their stores, product quality, and satisfaction of their employees; Wal-Mart’s products and brands are a valuable resource; and Wal-Mart’s geographic locations are an important resource. B. Direction As we have reviewed and studied the strategy, culture, finances and the challenges and successes at Wal-Mart, there are many strategies we see that the company must undertake to hold its dominate position and drive further growth. Herein, we define our top four. These core strategies include: rebuild and recreate its reputation in the face of recent challenges; continue to show price leadership; improve the customer experience; and drive international growth. The financial performance of Wal-Mart continues to be strong. It delivered another record year in 2008 as total net sales increased 8. 6 percent to $375 billion. Yet, earnings growth rates and same store sales have slowed. And, the company faces a number of challenges to its operating procedures, reputation and growth prospects. Given the company’s stated objectives of â€Å"growing operating income faster than sales† and increasing shareholder value, the strategies we recommend will directly affect the company’s ability to overcome present challenges and meet these primary financial objectives. Reputation and Brand A key strategic objective, perhaps the most critical for the company going forward, is to rebuild and recreate its reputation. While brand and reputation are closely interlinked, author and business consultant, John Foley, differentiates the two attributes in this manner: â€Å"Brand is inside out. Reputation is outside in† (Foley 3). Wal-Mart’s reputation has waned in the past several years and, according to Foley, â€Å"the company’s reputation problems are dragging down its brand and business performance† (Foley). This conclusion seems to be shared by a number of analysts. Further validation can be found in a recent report (written in May 2007) by the company’s former advertising agency, GSDM. This report plainly states â€Å"Wal-Mart’s #1 overall business challenge is reputation. † Among the conclusions, the report states â€Å"(a) Wal-Mart’s consumer ratings as a â€Å"company I trust and respect† have steadily declined over the last two years, and (b) Shopping at Wal-Mart used to mean saving money and being patriotic, being a member of the community, being a part of the â€Å"American Dream. † Today, it just means saving money. All value no values† (Kofinis). So, with this challenge facing the company, there are several areas where the company can apply focus and action to help recreate and strengthen its reputation. Our recommendations for this strategic objective are: Ensure that â€Å"associates† are compensated fairly and receive proper benefits. Put programs in place to improve healthcare coverage for the workers in the stores and throughout the distribution network. Sam Walton’s insistence at the formation of the company on treating employees as partners, or associates, was heralded for years. This approach to managing must be reinforced through new benefits and compensation programs. Demonstrate leadership in societal issues including the environment, energy and healthcare. Wal-Mart’s power and influence are awesome and these forces can each be used to positively impact a broad number of initiatives around improving the environment, reducing carbon footprints and making healthcare more accessible and affordable to consumers. The company has started programs such as â€Å"Sustainability 360† in which it focuses on selling environmentally conscious goods. In 2007, US Stores â€Å"sold 145 million energy efficient light bulbs – enough to eliminate the need for three new coal-fired power plants in the United States. † In healthcare, Wal-Mart initiated a $4 prescription program to help consumers save money on critical prescription drugs. We recommend that programs like these be expanded in scale and that marketing and public relations dollars be increased to improve visibility to this work. Companies possessing a strong brand can easily topple without the support of a strong reputation. Given this and our strong belief that brand and reputation are primary building blocks to company growth and customer loyalty, we absolutely believe that this is the #1 priority the company must address. Price Leadership The greatest area of emphasis in Wal-Mart’s brand and company history has always been â€Å"Low Prices – Always. † And, while this emphasis continues today, we believe the company must continue to demonstrate leadership in this area. Value shoppers still represent the largest consumer base at Wal-Mart stores. Fulfilling this strategy will involve continued â€Å"early adoption† of innovative technologies, such as RFID and a new work scheduling system to support increasing efficiencies that lead to lower consumer prices. Customer Experience The next strategic area for the company is the enhancement of the customer experience. Also playing a factor in strengthening reputation, the company must find new ways to make the customer experience more enjoyable and impactful. This suggests new ways to reach expanded customer segments beyond â€Å"low price shoppers. † Besides the obvious merchandising strategies of optimizing product mix and bringing in new products that attract these customers, Wal-Mart must consider changes to store layouts, expanding aisles, installing better lighting and improving checkout procedures. During last year’s shareholder meeting, CEO Lee Scott addressed this area of their business saying, â€Å"†¦we have to improve in our merchandising areas†¦And we have to get better at consistently executing store standards and customer service, especially around the checkout. † (Forbes) International Growth In fiscal year 2008, Wal-Mart opened its 3000th International unit and grew sales by 17. 5%, representing $90. 6 billion of its total revenues. (Annual Report) An existing priority for the company, Wal-Mart’s ambition for higher growth rates will most likely be found overseas. Thus, we recommend continued investment in and focus on international markets be the fourth of our key strategies. International growth should be pursued through organic means and acquisition, both of which Wal-Mart has executed successfully since first expanding overseas in the early 1990’s. Regardless of the means of entry into markets, the company must understand and adapt to local consumer preferences, customs, attitudes and expectations. A great example of this comes from Wal-Mart’s foray into China. Among many adaptations, â€Å"the company had to accept that most Chinese tend to buy in small quantities, and that language differences required tailoring marketing approaches for product labeling and brand names† (Govindarajin). The sheer size of populations in markets throughout Asia and other untapped markets make this a â€Å"must pursue† strategy for the world’s largest retailer. Organizing Organizing is defined as the assembly and coordination of the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 20) This function is also referred to as the function used to build a dynamic organization. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 20) When looking at the organization process Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart made sure from the very beginning to keep up with his competitors. In 1972 Kmart expanded and at that time there were 15 Wal-Mart stores and Sam Walton could not afford to expand by building so he offered Wal-Mart stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Due to the large profit that occurred because of the sales of stock Wal-Mart could expand and by the 1980s they had 276 stores. Organizing is comprised of several organizational resources: physical assets, knowledge, money, and human resources. Resources are organized effectively by the use of tools such as charts and or graphs. These tools will present the various functions of management for instance human resources activities and responsibilities, employee duties and responsibilities, recording relationships amongst upper and lower management. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 290) Within each department there are specific method being used which helps them in managing the resources provided to them. For example accounting and finance departments commonly use Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets and software such as QuickBooks. The management and maintaining of the human resources department is vital when evaluating the effectiveness of the organizing function. â€Å"People are assets not commodities†. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 337) Managers as well as their companies must work together to hire the right individuals for the job. Human resource management is responsible for staffing, training, performance appraisals, rewards, labor relations, wages, and benefits. (Bateman Snell, 2009, pg. 354) Worldwide Wal-Mart employs about 2. 1 million associates, and depending on the size of the store there can be about 225 to 350 more associates in each store. According to Fortune Magazine 2010 reported that Wal-Mart ranked first on their list of most admired companies. This favorable rating is due to their sustainability leadership, corporate compassion, and employment opportunity. Wal-Mart’s staff practices the three basic beliefs and values established by Sam Walton in 1962. They are respect for individuals, services to our customers, and striving for excellence. Micromanaging is kept to a minimum and teamwork is highly encouraged by a style of leadership implemented back in the days of Mr. Walton called â€Å"servant leadership† where leaders work together with their employees. Wal-Mart also has an open door policy any issues which are questionable whether they ethical or immoral are brought to the attention of the store manager, market manager, and or the human resources department. In the past years Wal-Mart has faced several lawsuits in which their ethics has been questioned. Their policies of hiring, promoting, and equality have all been questioned in cases like the sexual discrimination of women in June 2001. Wal-Mart business practices article of 2010 reported that a survey conducted by Wal-Mart indicated a rapid turnover of 70 % of employees that leave the company within the first year of employment and stated that it is attributed to the lack of recognition and inadequate pay of the employees. (Business Practices, para. 5) Despite these various issues that Wal-Mart has been faced with and the speculation that the human resources department does a poor job is just that. Wal-Mart in fact aims to take very good care of their employees. They claim that their organization is one of the best to workplaces, which offers various health and wellness benefits. Wal-Mart offers 80 % coverage on to its eligible employees. Health care benefits such as doctor’s visits and annual checkups, pharmacy benefits, dental, business travel accident insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage (Walmartstores. com, 2010) Wal-Mart like many other organizations is affected by many factors such as competitive pressures, insurance costs, market trends, economic conditions, cost of goods and services, and unemployment. (Walmartstores. com, 2010) Yet another issue they are constantly faced with is their wages. Average Wal-Mart employees make anywhere from $ 12,000 to $ 17,000 which causes them to have to turn to the state for public assistance. Further reports show that employees on average take home less than $250 a week. (Business Practices, 2010) Full time employees make between $6 and $7. 50 an hour and work from 28-40 hour weeks. According to Business Practices 2010 this pay scale indicates that employees of Wal-Mart with dependents are below the poverty line. As mentioned previously the foreign exchange rate is a factor that Wal-Mart as a large retailer must beware of when maintaining their monetary and financial resources. Wal-Mart reported that fiscal year 2009 foreign exchange rates had a negative effect on international net sales by 2. 3 billion. (Walmartstores. com, 2010) When compared to overall company net sales there was still a slight increase indicated despite the negative effect. Wal-Mart also offer its employees various financial benefits to compensate stock option plans, employee’s discounts, profit sharing (401k plan), retirement accounts, and holiday and when determining the success of an organization. Being mindful and utilizing the organizing function will help not only determine and maintain current success but will aid in future and in preventing failure.

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Soccer Supporters Community The word community is primarily referred to our association with a neighborhood, town or city. But besides its dictionary definition, a community is also what holds a certain group of people together based on their interests, beliefs, practices and values. The world is conformed by many of these communities, but there is one that stands out because of its enormity and the passion that is shared within its members, the soccer supporters community. Soccer supporters are the most diehard fans in the sports world; their love and enthusiasm towards a soccer club is beyond normal and their distinctive practices makes them a worldwide community. This community is mainly defined by the devotion soccer fans have towards their favorite club and the things they’re willing to do to support their team at every game. This unique fanaticism makes them different from other sports supporters. The set of practices and habits that soccer supporters carry out are things like wearing the jersey of your team at all games, create banners on support, sing chants to motivate your team, travel to the away games, watch other soccer leagues, play soccer, stay tuned on what is going in the soccer world, but overall respect the game. Needless to say, every community has a sense of stability that declares what is acceptable and what is not. That stability is possible thanks to a community’s traditions and behaviors that must be followed by those who belong to them, and in this case, soccer supporters are not the exception. As Eduardo Galleano once said, â€Å"in life a man can change wives, political parties, or religions, but he cannot change his favorite football team,† and that’s is the number one principle of a soccer supporter, t... ... World Cup champions, their support and passion are going to be at the highest possible level. This amount of fervor is what holds the community together. Therefore the soccer supporters community is about love, respect, passion, loyalty, commitment and many other qualities that bring people from all round the globe together that share the same love for a sport. There are standards of behaviors and traditions that must be followed in order to have a sense of stability within the community. As I mentioned before, one of the main purposes of this community is to prevent every aspect that can spoil the image of the game, and lastly supporters must take advantage of such events like the World Cup, in order to interact and relate with supporters of other teams, so that all supporters share the love for the game, enjoy the game, respect the game and live for the game.

Equality, diversity and inclusion in work with children and young people Essay

1.1 What are the laws and codes of practice that relate to the promotion of equality and the valuing of diversity? (Make a list). Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 & 2005 Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 Human Rights Act 1998 Children Acts 1989 & 2004 Education Act 1996 Equality Act 2010 Carers and Disabled Children Act 2001 Every Child Matters 2005 1.2 Why is it important to support the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access? All pupils have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum, which schools have a duty to provide. They should have equal access to the curriculum irrespective of their background, race, culture, gender, additional need or disability. This curriculum refers to learning within and outside of the classroom and it is important that all children are provided with positive and high quality standards of teaching. By providing this equality of access personal achievements of CYP’s will be maximised. Participation involves everyone within a school. Inclusion of pupils and parents alike, regarding development of school policies perhaps, should be a two-way process with the teachers, via student councils and parents’ meetings. Participation could also take place in the classroom where CYP’s can relay what works best for them and they then feel that they have a voice. 1.3 What are the benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work  with young people? Why is it important? Recognising and promoting the cultural diversity of individuals and groups within a school will enrich learning and promote the knowledge and understanding of all pupils. By understanding the cultural diversity of the pupils within a school helps them make sense of their learning by making connections with their own lives. Taking account of CYP’s background is essential to build effective relationships and provide support. Diverse cultures in society should be recognised and reflected throughout the curriculum with regards to music, food, and music, to name but a few. By doing this demonstrates a valuing of their culture and supports all CYP’s to explore and understand different cultures to their own. Outcome 2 Assessment criteria 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5. Write notes about three imaginary children to outline how prejudice and discrimination might affect them and how you might deal with this. Example 1.  Hamish is a 7 and is hard of hearing. He is a loner and finds it hard to make friends. He has difficulty understanding what is happening within the classroom and playground. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Provide flashcards and more visual aids Introduce a ‘buddy’ scheme whereby other pupils assist him Educate the CYP’s about his disability via the British Deaf Association, perhaps, talking within the school Liaise with the parents as to how they may know of ways to help, as they will already have strategies in place at home Liaise with the SEN teacher Example 2. Maria is 9 and is a traveller. She is new to the school and this is the sixth school she has been to. She is very behind in education due to her moving around. She has a strong accent making it difficult for others to understand her and appears to have been isolated. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Educate the CYP’s about the traveller way of life, via perhaps having a member of their community attending the school for an assembly Provide extra tuition to improve grades Provide individual TA support Introduce ‘buddy’ scheme Example 3. Sam is 6 and he has moderate autism. He cannot sit still for long periods. He cannot read or write. Approaches I would make to support inclusion and learning Allow him to expel any of his pent up energy by going to a safe area and ‘running around’ Make sure during carpet time he has something to keep his hands occupied Provide SEN support Allow use of IT to type out words Extra TA support Outcome 3 Assessment criteria 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 Find out what inclusion means and write some notes about approaches to inclusion in supporting learning. Inclusion is about ensuring that CYP’s, whatever their background or situation are able to participate fully in all aspects of the life of the school. They should be provided with the same opportunities and access to a high quality of education. Best practice checklist for contributing to an inclusive environment Know the individual needs of children and any potential barriers to their learning Listen to children and involve them in their own learning Know the background and interest of individual children and draw on these when supporting their learning Include materials and resources in your own work with children which reflect diversity in society Find out about the individual targets of the children with whom you work Use different strategies to support children with their learning Have high expectations of all children Report any concerns that you have about children’s progress and/or well-being

Kingdom of Heaven

The Middle East has been a continuing source of rich history since the early times. Widely chronicled events in its history were the Crusades in which the â€Å"Kingdom of Heaven was based.† The story deals with the Crusades of the 12th century, and involves an artificer (a military mechanic; French: artificier) and Engineer (that is, someone who makes siege engines), serving as a village blacksmith who goes on to aid the city of Jerusalem in its defense against the great Islamic leader Saladin, who battles to reclaim the city from the Christians. The script is loosely based on the life of Balian of Ibelin (wikipedia.org, 2006) How the Crusades started were caused by religious, economical and political reasons. The order burning the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by a Fatimid caliph, and the molestation of pilgrims, cruelty of Muslims toward Christians, and following the papal â€Å"foreign policy† of expanding Christianity were religious sources of conflict why the Crusades were undertaken. One of the economical concerns was the overpopulation of Western Europe, consequently having the idea that Eastern Europe would be a new territory to conquer and would provide the necessary resources to provide for Western Europe’s burgeoning population, and politically, the Crusades would pave the way for wider trade. It would seem that the differences of faith is still one source of conflict today, considering the fact alone that Jerusalem is the central land of worship of different great religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as of the present time. These different religions with different beliefs, different perspectives, try to assert the claim that Jerusalem, by right, is there own Holy land. They do not know how to share as neighbors. Conflict arises. The oil-rich Middle East today provides for a backdrop of political and economical maneuverings by different countries, with vested interests of their own, to gain control of this rich region. The phrase â€Å"History repeats itself† is justified. Reference: www.wikipedia.org, 2006 [webpage] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Heaven_%282005_film%29 date accessed: 16 December 2006

Tyranny in Colonial America essays

Tyranny in Colonial America essays There are many ways to define tyranny. The Websters New Collegiate Dictionary defines tyranny as an arbitrary, despotic government; esp: rigorous, cruel and oppressive government. Many people tend to associate the British with tyranny in relation to the Revolutionary War but perhaps that assumption needs a second glance. The British, up until 1763, governed the colonies through a policy of salutary neglect. Although they had strict trading laws in place, it was not until this time period of necessity and debt that they truly enforced these laws. In fact, the internal colonial government was just as much of, if not more, a tyranny then the British. The colonial ruling class was made up almost solely of the wealthy and educated upper class that governed the colonies in a virtual tyranny. The distribution of wealth in the colonies was extremely uneven, creating huge class divisions. In the early 1770s the top 5% of Bostons taxpayers controlled 49% of the citys taxable assets. The growing resentment of these vile conditions is demonstrated in the way in which the poor colonists, sometimes known as the mob went about protesting their condition and grievances. Instead of merely making a point of protest, the colonists would smash and destroy any sign of wealth in their way in an attempt at leveling. This worried the upper-class colonials such as Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They realized that although for the moment the mobs hatred was turned towards the British-elite, it could soon be turned toward them. As protests grew to be more and more violent the rich set up armed patrols for their own protection. In North Carolina a powerful group of white farmers known as the Regulators formed in protest of wealthy and corrupt officials presiding over them. The Declaration of Independence itself is a huge violation of the very principles for which it is ...

Lady Mary Worley Turkish Embassy letters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lady Mary Worley Turkish Embassy letters - Essay Example ’Tis very easy to see they have more liberty than we have†. (Montagu 1718, XXIX). Turkish ladies must cover themselves from head to toe whenever they leave the house. This conceals their identity, leaving them free to undertake whatever activities they desire. The women conduct affairs while never revealing their identity to their lovers. The idea of women conducting extra-marital affairs was taboo in Western society at the time. The writer remarks that the difference in religion aids this. Islam does not preach punishment for marital infidelities, unlike Christianity. The women are free to conduct their affairs without moral guilt or fear of discovery. She challenges the conception that Islam oppresses women by stating that it does not preach damnation and hellfire for women who have affairs. The writer describes Turkish women as â€Å"the freest on earth†. The writer redefines the concept of the veil, a symbol of oppression and restriction to Westerners. The vei l sets the women free, giving them much more freedom than their Western counterparts. Turkish husbands dare not marry four wives even though their religion allows it. This contradicts the popular view that Islamic custom favors men by allowing polygamy. The women have the power to prevent the men from taking up extra wives. Turkish women own property, with some of them accumulating vast wealth. Women owning property was unheard of in England. Turkish women command respect from the men and are the last word in household affairs. They do not tolerate infidelity in their husbands; any man who desires a mistress has to keep it secret. Another strange custom the writer observes pertains to divorce. When a man who had divorced his wife wants her back, he has to let her spend a night with another man. This contradicts another popular notion that Islamic men wield all the power in divorce. The divorce must be thoroughly thought out and not done on a whim. The consequences of divorcing on wh im are painful for the man who wants his wife back. The writer once more challenges the view of Islamic women as oppressed. The women conduct marital affairs yet the men cannot. This is a reversal of Western culture where sexual expression was allowed in men but frowned upon in women. The women have their own private space, the harems, where men cannot interfere. They are waited upon by slaves and live lavish, pampered lives. In one of many descriptions of the lavish life in Turkey, Montagu writes; â€Å"The sofas were covered with cushions and rich carpets on which sat the ladies† (Montagu 1718, XXVI). The women have everything they desire and more. The quality of their lives is better than that of their Western counterparts. In letter XXVI, the writer narrates her experience in a Turkish bathhouse. The experience can only be described by a woman, as no men are allowed inside them on pain of death. She describes the mannerisms of the women there as courteous, pleasant and we lcoming. She contrasts them with women back home who are snide, spiteful and disdainful. The reception she gets from the Turkish women is nothing short of civil. Her visits to the wives of the grand vizier and the sultan reinforce the notion of courtesy, kindness and civility in Turkish women.

Immigration Policy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Immigration Policy - Coursework Example The essence and necessity of reforming the immigration sector in the US cannot be overemphasized. Most of the immigrants in the US fall short of the technical competence and skills required to ensure growth (Flannery, 2014). The immigration reforms should focus on providing visas to individuals who have the skills in engineering, science and other technical areas as a consequence of ensuring productivity. Most sectors of the American economy depend on the people who have technological and innovative skills capable of redefining growth in key sectors of the economy (Kramer, 2014). Unfortunately, most of the immigrants in the US are less productive and more established in the informal sectors other than the mainstream economical zones. Growth is directly correlated to the technical ability and skills of individuals in various sectors. Statistics have shown that scientists, engineers and programmers are responsible for growth that have been experienced in the US over the past few years (Kramer, 2014). It is, therefore, important to reform the immigration to ensure that skilled individuals are given a priority in terms of visa presentation. Flannery, N.P. (2014, March 24). Can corporate leaders push through immigration reform in 2014? Forbes. Retrieved from . Kramer, H. (2014, February 11). How immigration reform or lack thereof is hurting our economic competitiveness. Forbes. Retrieved