Answer To: HOLMES INSTITUTE FACULTY OF HIGHER EDUCATION Page 2 of 3 Assessment Details and Submission...
Abhishek answered on Jun 23 2021
Faculty of Higher Education
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INTEGRATED RESEARCH PROJECT
FINAL REPORT INCLUDING RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
IMPACT OF COVID ON WOOLWORTHS, COLES AND ALDI, AUSTRALIA
Table of Contents
1. Introduction 5
1.1 Background of the Research 5
1.2 Problem Statement 5
1.3 Research Aim 6
1.4 Research Objectives 6
1.5 Research Questions 6
1.6 Research Rationale 6
1.7 Research Structure 7
2. Literature Review 8
2.1 Overview of Covid-19 Pandemic 8
2.2 Morphology of the Coronavirus 8
2.3 Chronology of Pandemic Diseases 9
2.4 Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on Business 11
2.4.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Travel and Tourism Industry 11
2.4.2 Impact of Covid-19 on Hospitality Industries 12
2.4.3 Impact of Covid-19 on Baking Sector 13
2.5 Strategies to Mitigate Negative Impacts of Covid-19 Infection on Pandemic 13
2.5.1 Risk Mitigation Plan Development 13
2.5.2 Engaging Minimum Workforce for Continuity 14
2.5.3 Sanitary and Work Essentials Provision 14
2.5.4 New Remote Working Policies Development and Implementation 14
2.5.5 Needs Assessment 14
2.5.6 Innovations for Alternative Strategic Mitigation of Pandemic 15
2.6 Steps Implemented by Supermarkets to Maintain their Stability during Pandemic 15
2.7 Conceptual Framework 16
2.8 Question to be Discussed 16
3. Research Methodology 17
3.1 Research Design 17
3.2 Data Collection Method 17
3.3 Data Analysis Method 18
3.4 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 18
4. Analysis and Findings 19
4.1 Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security 19
4.2 Impact of COVID-19 on Rural Food Supply and Demands in Australia 19
4.3 Woolworths Strategy in the Pandemic Situation 20
4.4 Supermarket Coles and Covid-19 Situation 21
4.5 Coles’ Sale Fall During Covid-19 22
4.6 Coles' Reintroduced Limited Buying Theory 22
4.7 Aldi’s CEO Promises Restriction of Prices after a Corona 23
4.8 Aldi Preferred Online Medium to Assist the Customers 24
4.9 Aldi Strategy to deal with Covid-19 Situation 25
5. Conclusion 26
References 27
1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the Research
International trade and regional business and the domestic economy have been damaged due to the social distancing norms that emerged during the coronavirus surge across the world. Australia has been equally damaged that have affected various sectors, including the retail industry. Household supplies, specifically the food items, were being sold out immediately once the lockdown was declared as a fear of food shortage (Lim et al. 2021).
Unemployment and a fall in the countries' national income in the global economy were very evident from all the data in the newspapers and government websites. Labour shortage and because of which, collapsing supply chains has caused a great fall in the revenue generation of the retail industry (Loxton et al. 2020). About 77% of the market share in the retail industry is occupied by the three major companies Woolworths, Cole and Aldi (Whelan et al. 2021).
These top markets in Australia have suffered due to the regulations set by the government. This has significantly affected the sales of the companies. The closure of the outlets has caused cutting of jobs of the workers in the companies. The challenges that have been faced by the companies will take years to come out of with a change management strategy and a great paradigm shift towards the supply chain.
Since social distancing was the most important tool to keep the virus at bay, the restaurant hotels and cafes were shut down, as these were the normal sites of public gatherings, which have hampered the hospitality sectors (Siddiquei & Khan, 2020). Due to the sudden cancellation of the flights, both international and domestic, the aviation sector also faced great loss. The tourism industry and the educational system has fallen sharply in their contribution to the national income and per capita income.
1.2 Problem Statement
The Covid-19 pandemic situation had caused a panic buying when people thought in the coming days after lockdown period there will be a great shortage of food that led them to stockpile those in their home and afterwards there was tremendous food shortage as the demand arose highly at once then fell back to normal (Suau-Sanchez, Voltes-Dorta & Cuguero-Escofet 2020).
There was suddenly an imbalance between the demand and supply. This has disrupted the supply chain of the companies across all industries, specifically in the retail industry. All the economic sectors were affected by the pandemic and the retail industry was one of those that has faced a tremendous challenge.
1.3 Research Aim
The aim of this research is to analyse critically the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business of the major supermarket retail organisations of Australia. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have been chosen for this purpose.
1.4 Research Objectives
· To identify the impact of Covid-19 on various sectors during the pandemic situation
· To evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on the retail industry in Australia
· To analyse the ways of combating the challenges emerged from Covid-19 by Woolworths, Coles and Aldi
1.5 Research Questions
· How has Covid-19 affected various sectors during the pandemic?
· What is the impact of Covid on the retail supermarkets in Australia?
· How can Woolworths, Coles and Aldi combat challenges emerging from Covid?
1.6 Research Rationale
The first strike of the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the world leading to an economic recession. The deadly virus has caused unexpected financial loss since its inception, which is continuing. This has initiated the need for social distancing while staying in isolation was prioritised worldwide. The mortality rate was not so high in the initial period, but the rate of spread was higher than any other diseases in the world.
The national lockdown was imposed as a measure taken by the government to save human life, but that has caused a great loss in business and national income in all the countries, including Australia. This shutdown of the story of the supermarkets where the spread of the virus is a hotspot area was also closed down as many have lost their jobs due to the fall in the revenue of a business.
The top-notch supermarkets such as Woolworths, Coles and Aldi were also no different, which has undergone certain drastic changes. The supermarket chain has been hampered drastically due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation (Prentice, Chen & Stantic, 2020). However, the battle is not over and the companies are still struggling to find ways to come back to gain profit as well as customer satisfaction just like before.
1.7 Research Structure
Figure 1: Research Structure
(Source: Researcher)
Introduction highlights the basic context about the topic including the development of research aims, objectives and research questions. Literature Review discusses the basic concepts of the pandemic that have affected the market of the retail sectors and the different theories involving the pandemic. Research Methodology encompasses the different strategies of research that has been implemented in order to collect and analyse the data for the topic. In the analysis and findings section, the data has been obtained and analysed based on the literary evidences. Finally, the ultimate section has provided the overall conclusion of the findings from the research.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Overview of Covid-19 Pandemic
The unprecedented outbreak of Pandemic caused by the Covid-19 has shaken the entire world rigorously. All aspects of life are stuck by this sudden emergence of the pandemic. Sustainability from every aspect of life is a provocative question nowadays. Now, a general view of the Covid-19 pandemic is necessitated. Covid-19 being a part of the coronavirus family is transmitted from one person to another easily in comparison to other diseases.
Following the study that has been published so far, Covid-19 has been originated in China at the end of 2019. The infected people are reported to have symptoms that are similar to flu. The infected people with co morbidities have been succumbing to death. As the Covid-19 is contagious, intermittent hand washing, wearing masks and practicing social distancing norms are suggested by the scientists and healthcare professionals (McGuire et al. 2020). As per the evidence available, it has been concluded that the infected people could be either symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Therefore, it is a hard task to differentiate infected people from normal people. Therefore, imposing a lockdown is one of the potential means left for many countries. The measures of lockdown have been proven effective in avoiding the spread of the virus as well as from deteriorating the health of the infected people. Eradication of the disease has yet not been discovered. However, the ray of hope has been shown by the development of vaccines from different corners of the world.
Additionally, the treatment procedures also have been increasingly advanced by the extensive research on the part of the scientists (Amawi et al. 2020). However, there is a massive strike of Covid-19 on the entire world from every perspective of life, namely, economy, education and domestic lives. There have been imbalances also observed psychologically in the minds of people. Shaken by this severe stroke, humankind continuously has been looking for ways for sustaining itself instinctively. Looking back at history, it is hoped that one day, humanity would overcome this threat.
2.2 Morphology of the Coronavirus
Based on the research evidence, which is available until now, Coronavirus, is single-stranded and positive-sensed. Coronavirus is one of the largest RNA genomes. The RNA genome of the virus is covered by a sheath of proteins. The sheath could be spherical or rod-shaped or coccoid shaped. The sheath is also having projections of the glycoprotein of 80-120nm diameter on the surface.
The RNA genome of CoV is again found to be packed in the nucleocapsid protein (Singh et al. 2020). The packed RNA genome is further shielded with an envelope. Afterwards, with the help of the spike protein CoV attaches to the target cells. Coronavirus is belonging to the family of Coronaviridae.
Figure 2: Morphology of Coronavirus
(Source: Singh et al. 2020)
Coronaviruses have been regarded as important agents of gastrointestinal disease in humans. Coronaviruses are not only the important agents of gastrointestinal disease in humans but also a dominant agent of gastrointestinal disease in poultry and bovines. The species known as SARS coronavirus generates a highly infectious respiratory illness in humans (Singh et al. 2020).
This highly infectious respiratory illness is manifested by symptoms of fever, muscle aches and cough. All these flu-like symptoms sometimes give rise to progressive difficulty in breathing. However, symptoms vary from person to person. A person could be infected after having inhaled the droplets of an infected person that emerges during coughing, sneezing and talking (Singh et al. 2020).
2.3 Chronology of Pandemic Diseases
Since time immemorial, it has been observed that different diseases and illnesses have distressed humanity. It is an obvious fact that the mortal flow of humanity is influenced by a pandemic. Following the WHO, the definition of pandemic indicates that a new disease has been spread worldwide.
To be more specific, when an infectious disease becomes spread widely in several countries at the same time then it is called a pandemic (Nakazawa, Ino & Akabayashi, 2020). Usually, a pandemic affects a larger number of people and it becomes deadly. Moreover, a pandemic leads to general hardship on a large scale. More disruption happens socially as well as financially. Historically, the entire world has gone through several pandemics. The lists of pandemic stated below:
From 541 BC to 542 BC the Plague of Justinian occurred. After that, from the year 1346 to 1350, The Black Death took place. From 1899 to 1923, cholera pandemic happened. After that Spanish flu (H1N1) emerged, which continued from 1918 to 1920. From the year 1957 to 1958 Asian flu (H1N2) appeared. Swine flu (H1N1) continued from 2009 to 2010. In the year 2020, Covid-10 has broken, through which humanity has been going. Animals are sometimes found to have carried some viruses.
However, those viruses rarely are transmitted to humans. Sometimes if those viruses were muted then could be passed to humans. The WHO has formulated six phases in the process of identification of a potential flu pandemic. The aim of identifying the chronology of the pandemic is to supply a global framework. The global framework would help the affected countries to make preparation and extensive planning in handling the adversities caused by the emerging pandemic. The six phases of a pandemic have been undergoing revision to reach the level easily incorporated by different countries.
The phase is called one when none of the local health authorities has reported that humans are affected by an influenza virus, which are found among animals. Phase is called two when an influenza virus circulating among animals has caused infection in humans. This influenza, when caused infection in humans, has been regarded as a potential threat by WHO. The next phase is called three when it is established that an animal-human influenza virus caused illness to a small mass of people. In this phase, the transmission of the virus did not happen from human to human.
This transmission usually happens under restricted and limited circumstances. This transmission ability does not have the potential to create a pandemic. Phase 4 is identified when the influenza virus, which is human-animal could be able to cause outbreaks on a community level. This outbreak at the community level significantly would rise to the risk of a pandemic. If any country can perceive this risk then it should immediately convey this to WHO.
After consulting with the WHO, the concerned country can decide the possible measures to handle the pandemic. The phase is called five when that influenza virus causes outbreaks in two or more countries within a single WHO region. Finally, the phase is called six when the same influenza virus has caused disease in at least one other country belonging to a different WHO zone.
2.4 Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on Business
The global pandemic caused by Covid-19 has tremendously affected business that is considered as a massive attack on global finance. Owing to the rapid transmission, ability of the virus that hastens to decrease the mortality rate led different countries to impose strict lockdown. The imposition of lockdown has been effective in controlling the spread of the virus in a true sense. Though eradication of the virus has not been accomplished, yet a major setback has come upon the global business (Bartik et al. 2020).
Moreover, the entire world has been grappling to sustain itself financially. Because of this global pandemic, many countries have been compelled to throw themselves into recession that led those to a dip into economic depression. Economic shock has been taking place in developed countries as well as in developing countries irrespectively. Total devastation has prevailed upon the market in terms of demand, supply chains, trade, investment, price level and exchange rates.
2.4.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Travel and Tourism Industry
In the purpose of keeping the countries safe and secure, the governments imposed strict lockdowns on the national levels. The national level lockdown stated denial of landing of international flights. This restriction greatly affected the Travel and Tourism Industry. Therefore, people relating to the World Travel and Tourism Council have lost their jobs. Subsequently, the World Travel and Tourism Council have suffered a GDP loss. Even domestic flights were restricted to fly.
However, some of the domestic flights got permission to fly yet the people got afraid of travelling (Fairlie, 2020). The nature of spreading of the virus is so sensitive that the passengers cancel travelling by air. The impact of Covid-19 on the travel and tourism industry on a global scale is boundless in comparison to the result of the previous pandemic. It has been presumed that the travel industry globally would drop on average from -2.93 percentage points to -7.82 in the total GDP contribution.
Jobs relating to the travel and tourism industry also will dip to -2.44 percentage points to -6.55. The travel and tourism industry has observed a sharp falling in collecting revenues. In comparison to other industries, travel and tourism has been affected severely by the Covid-19 pandemic. Owing to the existence of strict lockdown, the students who wanted to travel abroad are denied travel.
Therefore, travellers were cut short from those who were used to travelling by air. It has been evident that by November 2020, over 60 million people were infected by the Covid-19 and Covid-19 has caused 1 million deaths worldwide. These calculations forced the closing for tourists of the international borders in most of the countries. Therefore, International tourism was totally prevented and domestic travelling is even found curtailed with the imposed lockdown (Hasanat et al. 2020).
It has been shown on the collected report that there is a decline of 70% in International Tourist Arrival from January to August 2020. By looking closer...