Topic > Analysis of the characteristics that contribute to the success of two companies: ownership and responsibility of Selfridges & Co. and British Heart Foundation

IndexSelfridges & CoBritish Heart FoundationComparison between Selfridges and British Heart FoundationThe two companies that I chose to use in my assignment are Selfridges as a profitable company and British Heart Foundation as a non-profit organisation, out of all the companies I could have chosen, I chose these two because I thought they were interesting and detailed. Selfridges is a huge high end retail chain with very good quality products and great customer service, they also have a very good and detailed history. The British Heart Foundation, however, was founded in 1961 by a group of medical professionals, who founded the charity because they were concerned about rising mortality rates from cardiovascular disease. They wanted to fund further research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of heart and circulatory diseases. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Selfridges & Co In 1908, Selfridges was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridges. Over the last 100 years Selfridges has really taken off as a company from having just one store in Oxford Street, London, to now having three very successful stores across the UK, one in Leicester, Manchester and the original London store. Selfridges has many partners involved in the business and their involvement means they share the running of the business and will share profits between individuals. However, most firms will have limited liability, meaning that each partner is not liable for other wrongful conduct that occurs within the firm. Selfridges has limited liability, meaning it cannot exceed the amount invested in a partnership. Shareholders can participate in the growth of a company, their liability is limited to the amount of investment in the company, even if it subsequently goes bankrupt and has residual debts. Since Selfridges was founded a long time ago, in 1908, it was not very expensive, also in 1908 there was not much competition in the designer clothing market, so it did not need to worry about other companies. The only thing Harry had to worry about was the risk he was preparing to take if he wanted to make a profit. When the business was starting to take off, the company partners were very helpful because he would have to talk to all of them to make important decisions. Another benefit of being part of the partnership is that Selfridges will have a much larger source of resources. capital within the company. This means that partnerships will be able to invest in more ideas towards the company. Additionally, when you have many different partners, they will all have different and varied ideas to propose and try to improve the company as a whole. In a company the partners are normally qualified and work in the business sector, this is because if something doesn't go as expected a specialist is there to help. However, partnerships also have disadvantages, for example a big disadvantage can be that business partners can have arguments and disagreements when expressing their ideas. This could be bad for Selfridges because it could lead to partners withdrawing because they may feel their points are not being heard. With the partners withdrawing it means that the company will have less capital in the business, this could result in Selfridges not progressing with projects because they don't have the backing and money to support the project. Another disadvantage of a partnership is that you have to pay taxes to the government. That isleads in the long term that Selfridges will not make as much profit because it will have to pay a larger sum to the government. British Heart Foundation The second business I chose for comparison is the British Heart Foundation. This is a non-profit charitable organization, The Charity's head office is located in London. The charity has helped many people suffering from heart problems such as heart attack etc. You can check out the most successful stories on their website. The British Heart Foundation has over 500 stores across the UK, meaning it is one of the most popular charities since it was founded in 1961. The British Heart Foundation funds over £100 million a year for heart disease research heart and circulatory diseases. . The British Heart Foundation is trying to reduce the number of 190 people dying of heart attacks a day to 0, as you can see heart attacks are a negligible problem and with donations come trying to research how to stop them. As the British Heart Foundation is a charity, this means you cannot buy shares in it. However, the British Heart Foundation has many stakeholders, for example people who donate to charity, people who care about the company and the government. Stakeholders play a huge role in the development and sustainability of a charity by helping to achieve its goals and objectives. . Having the ability to create public facing or exclusive access extranet areas ensures that information is shared with relevant stakeholders and that very strong relationships can be built between the charity and stakeholders. Being a charity can have many benefits, for example a charity pays no more than 20% of normal business rates on buildings it uses and occupies to further its charitable purposes. This is helpful in the long run because as they are an unprofitable company it would cost them too much to pay normal business rates. Additionally, another advantage of being a charity is that charities do not have to pay the same amount of VAT as other companies. A charity may obtain special VAT treatment in certain circumstances. Many think that charities are relieved of VAT, but this is not the case. However being a charity also has disadvantages, forming a charity is not an easy job. It takes a lot of effort to get a lawyer involved. This leads to the charity paying huge fees for a solicitor who cannot promise anything, an average solicitor would cost you around £4,000. Comparing Selfridges and the British Heart Foundation Overall, now that I have compared both companies you can clearly see that they are contrasting. Selfridges is one of the largest designer outlets in the world. They are always trying to bring forward new projects and expand the business. Selfridges always makes sure to offer the best customer service possible. As Selfridges is a limited company, they and their partners are the driving force of the company and will continue to drive until they become the largest company possible, meaning that in the long run they will still maintain their reputation and maximize their profits. Considering that the British Heart Foundation is a non-profit charity that tries to raise donations to help them improve heart cancer research and to try to find a solution to cure it, this means that the British Heart Foundation is focusing on the quality of their research. , while Selfridges focuses on the quality of its products. Also, the British Heart Foundation does a lot.