Irish Continental Group Plc

IRISH CONTINENTAL GROUP PLC

CONTENT

COVER PAGE 1
CONTENT 2
SPECIFICATION OF COMPANY 3
HEAD OFFICE 4 -5
MACRO ENVIRNONMENT 6 -7
TASK ENVIRONMENT 8 -9
SWOT ANALYSIS 10 -11
ORGANISATION CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT IMPACT 12
STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS 13 -15
REFERENCES
TIME SHEET 16

-17

IRISH CONTINENTAL GROUP PLC
- Specification of company

Irish Continental Group is a shipping, transport and leisure group principally engaged in the transport of passengers and car. Company have transport routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. The company also offers travel and holiday packages primarily in France, Britain and Ireland.

Firm contain few company;
 Irish Ferries
 Eucon Shipping and Transport Ltd.
 Feederlink
 EuroFeeders
 Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT)


HEAD OFFICE IN ICG

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Eamonn Rothwell
This is the Chief Executive Officer for the Irish Company.
He was employed in 1987 and worked on the non-executive director after 5 years he was promoted to the position of Managing Director. Before worked with AIB, Allied Irish Bank and in the Board Failte. He is a very experienced person in the financial and investment aspect.

Executive Directors
Gearoid O'Dea
Gearoid is Financial Director In ICG .Together with ICG work along 21 years and he is heard working and talented person.

Executive Directors
Tony Kelly
He joined to company in the 1973.Along seven years he is a Marketing Director and also he is a former director of the all-Ireland tourism body Tourism Ireland and a council member and former chairman of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.
Non executive directors
John Mc Guckian .
He is have 67 years. He is also Chairman of Ulser TV plc and Industrial Development Board. He has been a director of ICG science January 1988.

Non executive directors
Peter Clowley
Peter is a char acted accountant. He is a former CEO of IBI Corporate Finance Division and is past executive and current non-executive director of Sigma Communications Group. With ICG he is worked at 2003.

Non executive directors
Bernard Somers
He is non executive director of number of public companies (Independent News & Media plc or AIB group or DDC plc.

On the board we have three executive and three non-executive directors (directions is subject to re-election every 3years) and everyone have own role in the company. Each director brings independent judgment to bear on issue of strategy performance or risk.


MACRO AND TASK ENVIRONMENTNG


If we want present the Macro environment we will need :

Economic Impact
Economic system is very important for all of the countries. Most countries today are moving toward a market economy the key element for managers is freedom of choice. Consumers are free to decide what products and services they prefer to purchase and firms are free to decide what products and service to provide. The economic dimension of Irish Continental Group environments refers to the overall of health and vitality of the economic of the economic system of countries around the Irish sea. ICG is a shipping and transport Continental Group which is mostly engaged in the transport of passenger and cars on routs between Ireland, United Kingdom and Continental Europe.
ICG operates in an economy characterized by the strong growth low unemployment, high national output and decreasing inflation. This factor cause a positive development environment for organisation. Economic growth in 2006 had positive impact on ICG business, because a number of people travelling by their services definitely increased. Consumers make use of services supplied by ICG more frequently. ICG passengers number increased to 1,39 million while numbers of cars transporting increase to 340000 in 2006. Unfortunately economic position of countries cooperating with ICG begin slowdown in last 2 years. In 2008 nominal of GDP growth falling from 7,1 % in 2007 to 5,1% .
Social culture Impact
Ireland is multi nationality country. In this country lives about fifty percent different nationality. The almost most of society are; Irish , Nigerian, Polish, Russian and Latvian people. Moreover majority are young persons where have a pressure on the education. How we know social cultural environment is a part of the society, and this element include demographic and cultural factors in which ICG operates.



Global & Political Impact
The most important factor with was significant impact of general market of ICG is political and economic situation of countries like Great Britain , France and EuroZone which are co-operating on the market with ICG. Economic situation in UK in2008 was the reason of decreasing number of transaction and number of customers of ICG. The important problem in process of slow dawn of UK economic was that the unemployment increase to 5.5 % in 2008and people in United Kingdom in this time were spending less money than in the last year. Almost the same situation was in EuropeZone countries.
World changing value of petrol incrising or decreasing is another serious factor with have significant impact on organisation like Irish Continental Group.

Technological
Huge effect on growth in ICG of general environment has development in technology inside the company. Since the early 1990’s there has been an explosive growth of ICG who started using World Wide Web to introduce to market their services. The enforcement of new e-commerce techniques improving marketing and customers relations management of ICG, and this increased amount of customers. Irish Continental Group invested over 400milion euro for the developed of the ports facilities ant the new fleet. ICG now is one of the biggest company on the market of transporting passengers , cars and container with the most modern fleets in Europe and with the largest cars ferry on the world.


If we want present the Task environment we will need:

Suppliers
One of the most important suppliers of Irish Continental Group is provides a fuel. The prices of fuel are flexi and depend of the year the price can be different. This situation we can see in the annual profit of every year.

Competitors
Every single company have rivals on the market. Between the UK and Ireland the ICG have a six companies provide ferry services –Irish ferry, Swansea Cork Ferries, Irish Sea, Stena Line, Norse Merchant Ferries, P&O and Super Seacat. The Irish Ferry have better services because organisation is working along the full years but some companies run only in summer for example P&O.

Customers
Customers of ICG are the people which are travelling to UK, France or Ireland across sea routes. This people are usually tourists or some part of them is travelling in business case . For this customers ICG make a lots of attractions on the board for example Tv’s rooms, play room, restaurant, bars or duty free shops because all the time want improve customer service.

Distributions


Two of Ireland's top travel industry companies have joined forces in creating what is believed to be a world first in the supply of travel information and booking ability to a single country destination. Datalex, a world leader in the development of IT solutions for the travel industry, is supplying the technology for Irish Continental Group's exciting new initiative, Wannabeinireland.com. This Web site is a breakthrough in Internet travel distribution, providing for the first time, a full on-line travel booking service for car, ferry, and accommodation for people wishing to visit Ireland. The most popular and important way of distribution for ICG are IT solution like full on-line travel booking service which is around 50% of all company services distribution . We can see that in Car Booking Report from the years 2005-2006 which is presented below . IT solution still have significant role in ICG distribution.


Car Booking Report 2006
All Markets
Share
2006% 2005%
Call Centres 21 25
At our Ports 11 10
Internet 50 43
Direct 82 78
Travel Trade 18 22
Total 100 100

SWOT ANALYS

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Strengths Point of ICG:

Huge number of ports and terminal across Europe for example Dublin, Belfast and five different city such as Roscoff, Rosslare, Holyhead,Cherbourg or Pembroke.

Special committed to reducing the negative impacts on the environment and organisation special training for staff about environment care.

Good quality ferry.

High developed service and staff.

Winner the 'Best Ferry Operator' 2007 at TTG Awards in London.

Lead marine transport operator.

Clearly and easily to understand made their companies website.

Minimize the use of non-renewable fossil fuel.

Is shares are trade on the Irish and London stock exchange.

The world largest car ferry.

Sponsor of Special Olympics Summer Games in 2003.

ICG is one of the big employer in Ireland .



Weakness point of ICG:

The ticket price is very high and the food cost on the board is not reasonable.

Company can have a financial risk management. (bank borrowing, finance leases.

Is not enough places to sit and people sometimes have to sited on the floor.

Opportunities point of ICG:

Expand their ferry routes and open ports in the different countries.

Company can co-operate with travel agency or company in aim of advertising or commercial market.

Invest in the new modernized fleets in the future.

Threats point of ICG:

The oil price can incrise and ICG may have problem with the cost of petrol. At this situation company should think about different types of renewable energy.

In the time of recession or slow down of world economy, people reduce their expenses on holidays.

If company in the future will have financial problem , then some another corporations may take over the organisation in time of bankruptcy.

Important information about organisations culture and the development impact of
Irish Continental Group.

The Irish Continental Group have own missions about company, moreover all the time would like to developing and expending firm, through achieve aims shows below.
For company more important things is :

*RELIABLE PROVISION (new and modern ferry)
*anticipate customer needs (improved service thought innovation and technology).

*TIMELY- (control of time through staff in the office and staff which one work on the board and around the ports)

*HIGH QUALITY EXPERIENCE (long time experience and high quality crew)

*CARE ABOUT ENVIRONMENT (minimize the consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels, including using electricity to power our cranes, painting the hulls of all our ferries with tin-free, non toxic paints to avoid the release of harmful agents into the sea, recycling paper at Head Office in Dublin or using an oil recovery system to collect all waste oil from ships, this oil it then recycled.)

*SAFETY (ICG has developed management system that instil a safety culture throughout all aspects of operations, ashore and afloat. Company is committed to providing a high level of safety and quality training to all our staff, providing each of our employees with health and safety information, instruction and training, as appropriate, to enable them to work safety and contribute towards a safer working environment.

STAKEHOLDERS ANALISIS

Lots of attempts have been made to contact with the management team of the Irish Continental Group in order to arrange the interview or just conversation to get any information for assignment. It was no feedbacks from them. A number of phone calls have been made and massagers left, few times they said that they will call back to us, but they did not.

We have chosen the Feederlink organisation which is part of the container division of Irish Continental Group and based in Rotterdam, specialising in the feeder trades. The company is represented in the Northern parts of the U.K. by Messrs Denholm Shipping Services Ltd. Since its inception in February 1993, Feederlink Shipping & Trading BV has been firmly established as a leader in container feeder operations, with strong roots in Scotland and England.

Feederlink’s head office is based in Rotterdam and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Irish Continental Group PLC at Dublin. Related companies are; Irish Ferries Ltd. Dublin, Eucon Shipping & Transport Ltd. Dublin, EuroFeeders Ltd. (but the general office is in Holland, Seattleweg 15. NL - 3195 ND. Pernis RT. Port Number 2801. Rotterdam).
The company is currently providing high-frequency scheduled network of services connecting Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Grangemouth, South-shields and Immingham.

As business had developed the company had to regularly review the size and number of vessels employed and has tripled carrying capacity since the commencement of scheduled services. The company has now grown to a position of market leadership in North-sea feeder operations, with further expansion to follow soon.
As the company’s name suggests, our main objective is to link the needs of the deep-sea lines, logistics providers and their customers through the provision of reliable and pre-agreed feeder connections. The wide span of U.K. ports served can reduce inland haulage and related costs, whilst providing local customers with easier access and availability of their cargoes.

Feederlink also offers a dedicated team of ship brokers and support staff who are able to deliver the best possible feeder tonnage available in the Marketplace.
Although originally this activity was found to satisfy the demands and rigours of the Feederlink schedules, Eucon and EuroFeeders now take delivery of Feederlink vessels within their fleet of vessels.

The company is represented in the Northern parts of the U.K. by Messrs Denholm Shipping Services Ltd, whist their interest at Felixstowe are being looked after by it's sister company EuroFeeders Ltd..

Feederlink has few huge ships (vessels ) like for example, Cimbria',Clonlee', Komet III', Frisian Trader', Northsea Trader' and Western Trader'.
The largest ship is Frisian and Norrthsea Trade, this ship have a 549 tons capacity 116 m length.


The selling schedule is different for any city. The most busy port of loading is Rotterdam because sheep with container put to sea 12 times per weeks . Usually containers are loaded by cars, part for cars, furniture or IT items.

REFERENCE


*Irish Continental Group Rapport and Accounts , 2005, p.15 (Environmental)

*”Should ICG shareholders sail off intro the sunset?” J.Aughney,15th March
2007,Irish Independent Business, p20

*“Takeover panel contracted on ICG deals”,C.Hancock, 8 .10.2008 Irish Time

*”Share scheme sees ICG stave off offers for firm”, 1.10.2008,Irish Independent

*”Rapport and Financial Statement 2007”, p12-14, 21

*http://www.tourismreview.ie/submissions/access/irishferries.pdf date: 2003

*http://www.irish-ferries-enthusiasts.com/ date :2009

* http://www.morrigan.net/irsm/plough112.htm (9 December 2005)

*http://www.icg.ie/ :date 2009

*http://www.morrigan.net/irsm/plough112.htm date: 8th December 2005

*http://www.irishferries.com/index-ie-uk.asp date: 2009

*http://resources.bnet.com/index.php?q=envirnonment+icg