Management Principles & Practice Essay

A group of twelve lifelong friends put together $1,200,000 of their own funds and built a $6,000,000, 48-lane bowling alley, near Norfolk, Virginia. Two of the investors became employees of the corporation. Ned Flanders works full-time as General Manager and James Ahmad, a licensed CPA, serves as Controller on a part-time basis. The beautiful, modern-day facility features a multilevel spacious interior with three rows of 16 lanes on two separate levels of the building, a full-service bar, a small restaurant, a game room (pool, videogames, pinball),and two locker rooms. The facility sits on a spacious lot with plenty of parking and room to grow. The bowling center is located in the small blue-collar town of Wallingford. There is no direct competition within the town. The surrounding communities include a wide-ranging mix of ethnic groups, professionals, middle- to upper-middle-class private homes, and apartment and condominium complexes ranging from singles to young married couples to senior citizen retirement units. Nearly 200,000 people live within 15 miles of Wallingford. The bowling center is open 24 hours per day and has a staff of 27 part- and full-time employees. After four years of operation, the partners find themselves frustrated with the low profit performance of the business. While sales are covering expenses, the partners are not happy with the end-of-year profit-sharing pool. The bowling center operates at 100 percent capacity on Sunday through Thursday nights from 6:00 P.M. until midnight. Two sets of men’s leagues come and go on each of those nights, occupying each lane with mostly five-person teams. Bowlers from each league consistently spend money at both the bar and restaurant. In fact, the men’s leagues combine to generate about 60 percent of total current sales. The bowling center operates at about 50 percent capacity on Friday and Saturday nights and on Saturday morning. The Friday and Saturday â€Å"open bowling† nights include mostly teenagers, young couples, and league members who come to practice in groups of two or three. The Saturday morning group is a kid’s league, ages 10 through 14. There are four ladies leagues that bowl on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Business is extremely slow at the bowling center on Monday through Friday and Sunday mornings, and on the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It is not uncommon to have just three or four lanes in operation during those time periods. The owners have taken a close look at the cost side of their business as a way to improve profitability. They concluded that while the total operating expense of $1,466,000 might appear to be high, there was in fact little room for expense cutting. At a recent meeting of the partners, James Ahmad reported on the results of his three-month-long investigation into the operating cost side of other bowling alleys and discovered that the Wallingford Bowling Center was very much in keeping with their industry. James went on to report that bowling alleys were considered to be â€Å"heavy fixed cost operations† and that the key to success and profitability lies in maximizing capacity and sales dollars . QUESTIONS 1. Apply the decision-making process described in the chapter to this case. What is the major problem facing Wallingford? List five specific alternative solutions that could be implemented to solve that major problem. 2. As general manager of this company, how could you utilize and manage the group decision-making process and technique to improve company profits? Which employees would you include in the group?

Introduction, review of accounting process and financial statement Essay

Part 1 General acceptable accounting principle General accounting principles are set of rules generated by accounting board to guide accountant in preparation and reporting of financial statements. General acceptable accounting principles are accounting guidelines (GAAP) used in United States and are issued by financial accounting standard board (FASB). Other countries uses the guideline issued by international accounting standard board (IASB) supplemented by their own local laws. GAAP guide selection of events to be accounted for, the measurement of these events, and the mean of summarizing and communicating them to interested parties. In recording transactions GAAP make use of the following principles a) historical cost principle b) revenue recognition c) marching principle d) full disclosure GAAP facilitate comparability of financial statement for various firms. Information that has been measured and reported in a similar manner for different enterprise is considered comparable. Comparability enables users to identify the real similarities and differences in economic phenomenon. Comparability is achieved when companies use similar accounting procedures (e.g. use of same inventory method, depreciation) to account for similar economic circumstance (Porwal, 2008). Double entry accounting This is the method of recording accounting transaction where every debit entry must be accompanied by a credit entry and vice versa. If this method of accounting is not enforced then the basic accounting equation i.e. ASSETS = LIABILITIES + EQUITY will not balance. Therefore double entry accounting is used to ensure that financial record are complete and thus ensures that final statements give a true and fair view of financial performance at a given date otherwise if an accounting transaction is recorded on one side i.e. a debit or credit the balance sheet will not balance which indicate an error in preparation of financial statement (Fridson & Alvarez, 2002). Historical cost Historical cost is the original cost incurred in acquisition of assets. All assets and liability are recorded in financial statement under historical cost principle.   Under this principle the exchange price established or cost incurred at the time a transaction occurs is the basis for initially recording assets and liability. Cost is usually the best estimates of an asset or liability i.e. cost and fair value of an asset are equal at acquisition date. Historical cost principle ensures that there is consistency in recording asset and liability where assets are recorded at historical cost and subsequent loose of value is shown as depreciation and adjusted from historical cost to show the book value of an asset at a given date. Accrual basis vs. cash basis accounting Measurement of revenue can either be through accrual method or cash accounting basis. The two accounting method consists of rules that determines how and when expenses and revenue are reported. With accrual basis of accounting, revenue is recorded in the period in which it is earned and not necessarily when cash is received while expenses are recorded when they have been incurred. This method of accounting is used by all publicly traded company and large businesses. With cash basis of accounting revenue is recognized when cash is received while expenses are recorded when cash is paid (Fridson & Alvarez, 2002). The major difference between the two methods is that 1). In using the cash basis of accounting there are no any payables or receivable recorded in the balance sheet while in using the accrual basis both receivables and payables are recognized in the balance sheet. While reporting revenue using accrual basis both collected and uncollected revenue are recorded while for cash basis only the cash amount collected from sales and other activities are recorded. For instance if a customers pay $ 100,000 for goods which he has not yet received by the end of accounting period, using the cash basis this will be shown as revenue in the income statement but while using the accrual basis $100,000 is described as deferred revenue and   will appear in balance sheet as current liability. On the other hand when the firm deliver goods or offers a service but such amount remain outstanding at the end of the period using cash basis such a transaction will not be recorded but while using the accrual basis such amount will be described as accrued  revenue and will be recognized as revenue in the income statement and recorded in balance sheet as current asset (Siegel, 2007). 2) In a cash basis report, only the cash paid to vendors are shown as expenses while in accrual reports both paid and unpaid amount are included as expenses. For instance if a company pay rent amounting to $120,000 for 12 month but by the end of accounting period only rent for six month have been utilized using the accrual method $60,000 will be recorded as rent expense in the income statement while the remaining $ 60,000 are described as prepaid expense and are recorded as current asset in the balance sheet. For cash basis the whole amount of $120,000 will be recorded as rent expense during the current period. In preparation of financial statement the accrual basis of accounting is used where revenue is recorded in the accounting period it is earned irrespective of whether cash is received and associated cost used in generation of this revenue are also recorded in the same period. This is used in order to show the correct profit generated by an enterprise during a certain period. Current assets and liability vs. non-current items Assets include anything of value that is owned or due to the business. Current asset are those that mature in less than one year e.g. inventory, debtors, prepayment and note receivables. Liabilities represent a company’s obligation to creditors. Obligations that have to be paid within one year are called current liabilities. In preparation of financial statement asset are recorded as either current or non-current while liabilities are dividend  into current and non-current liability and companies have to adhere to this rule of financial reporting. Part 2 Bp group BP group present it final statement in term of income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. All the statement are presented in vertical format and each item is shown together with the corresponding item in the previous year. The income statement shows the income generated and division of this profit to various stakeholders i.e. among the total profit generated in year 2008 which amounted to $ 35,239 million the providers of finance received $1,547 million, government received $12,617 million and the shareholders received $ 21,666. The group balance sheet is dividend into five categories namely current assets, non-current assets, current liabilities, non-current liabilities and equity. The cash flow statement is dividend into three category i.e. the operating activities the investing activities and the financing activities. It financial statement are prepare in accordance with applicable UK law and international financial reporting standard. Quicksilver Inc The company also presents it final account in term of income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. The income statement show the profit generated and distribution to various stakeholders i.e. shareholders, government and minority interest. For each item in year 2008 the corresponding item in year 2007 and 2006 is also shown. The balance sheet is also presented in a vertical format where items are categorized into non-current assets, current assets, current liability, non-current liability and equity.  The cash flow statement is dividend in to operating, investing and financing activities. It financial statement has been prepared in accordance with the general acceptable accounting principles. RTL group It general presentation of financial statement is like in above two companies with the balance sheet dividend in to current asset and liabilities vs. non-current item and equity. The balance sheet and income statement are prepared in vertical format and show corresponding figures of previous year. Cash from operating activities is the best measure of company performance since it indicates whether or not the company will be able to meet it financing and investing need. Even if the company may have generated sufficient profit it may be in financial difficulty and may even be declared bankrupt for failure to meet obligation of creditor. Higher profit may be as a result of a change in accounting policy and not improvement in performance. More detail relating to each companies associate and subsidiaries can be collected from the filing they make in the respective country in which they are incorporated and their final report. Predicting company’s future trend Quick silver The company net income increased by 19% in 2007 compared to 2006. In 2008 the net income increased by 11% and in the year 2009 income is expected to grow by between  5%-8%. The company management also expect a hard time ahead due to current financial crisis which has led to a decline in household income and lower demand. RTL group In year 2008 revenue grew by 0.01% compared to and in year 2009 revenue are expected to decline by 2-5%. The company management and directors expect a drop in revenue in key market due to global economic crisis which has heightened the intensity of competition. Bp group The net revenue in year 2007 grew by 7% compared to 2006. In 2008 income grew by 27%. In 2009 revenue is expected to grow between 30-35%. Despite the harsh economic condition the management expects to increase it revenue earnings through higher fuel price.

Woodlice Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Woodlice - Lab Report Example Their food includes dead insects, roots of young plants and decaying vegetable materials. During the day they hide in cool dark places under stones and flower pots (Smith 7). Woodlice are harmless, and in spite of their name, they do not spoil wood. They have an external shell skeleton, which sheds off as they mature (Smith 6). The female woodlice are identified to keep fertilized eggs s under their bodies until they are hatched into small white young ones. Research has shown that females ones have the ability to reproduce sexually. Woodlice are crustaceans, which are found in the same class such as crabs and lobsters. However, their unpleasant taste distinguishes them from other group members. These types of creatures breathe through the lungs which are found in their hind legs. They are mainly found in earthly environment since they are used to losing a lot of water through excretion. Therefore, they live in damp and dark places such as rocks and logs, because they need moisture to survive. In comparison to other creatures, woodlice have predators such s spiders, lizards and birds. These predators depend on woodlice for their survival. To this effect woodlice have adaptive features that enable them to survive. Such features include rolling themselves in to some form of ball and stretch again to their normal size and length. They are found in varied lengths such as short, middle and long, and they also move at varied speeds. Method This experiment basically requires knowing how to control a population of woodlice. Around 24 of woodlice were place in the plastic container. The length and the length of internal of woodlice were taken by using a ruler and the microscope. Also, the number of plates was counted by using the microscope. In addition to that, the speeds of woodlice were taken by using two rulers to design the drag and the stopwatch as well to record the distance Results Trait Dorsal plate number Speed (seconds/10 cm) Length (cm) Color (values using so il color chart) Mean 7 21.20833333 0.991666667 5.083333333 Standard Deviation 0 +10.29131828 + 0.21450989 + 1.248187091 Standard Error 0 +2.100706547 +0.043786648 + 0.254785123 According to the information shown in the graph, the speed of woodlice has an effect to its survival. . From the report, short woodlice were shown to have survived (Therefore, predators are able to identify the long woodlice more easily than short ones. This explains the reason why woodlice roll in circular forms for their survival. When in their circular form, length can not be identified hence their survival. Short woodlice have the ability to hide from the predators since they are flexible. This enables them to survive because of their small size and speed. However, the long woodlice can be easily spotted by predators hence their decrease in population. In addition, their length makes them to move sluggishly compared to short ones who move fast and survive Discussion Scientific experiments depend on data t hat has been collected objectively. This indicates that researchers should not influence the results of an experiment with or without their knowledge. Instruments used in the study should be well placed and arranged so as to give reliable opinions and observations. Such observations shall be used to draw concussions, which may affect other areas of science negatively. This explains the reasons which led each group to encounter error in their experiment. For example, woodlice were not experimented in their natural habitat. When a living creature is removed from its natural environment, it tends o develop features that can assist it survive (Schmalfuss 76). However, if it fails it may die. Such deaths may decrease the woodlice population. Investigations should be carried in the normal area of the organism for

Effect of Television on Delivery of News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effect of Television on Delivery of News - Essay Example This information needs to be fair, precise, and just. The public relies on this information to know what exactly is going on around them, and the world at large. Media is what enables the passage or storage of information. Without it, the world and freedom would be something that people could only whisper about with fear of consequences and/or repercussions. Over the years, the media has been responsible for highlighting all the things that happen truthfully. They spearhead the campaigns against injustices and crimes. This provides them with the correct channels to use in order to find the proper manner in which this information is transferred from one medium to another. The media’s credibility depends on how accurate their information is, and how it may affect the public. It is a cause for worry if the information is biased, lacks neutrality, or is wrong. This may lead to wrong perceptions about the media and all it stands for in today’s world. This paper will examine the effects that television and other media have had on the delivery of news. Neil Postman’s: Amusing Ourselves to Death According to Postman, the rise of electronic media has led to the change in reality. Many people cannot put reality into context because the media is shaping the world into something that was not there. He goes on to insinuate that the media has changed the way in which people view politics, their immediate social setting, the economic standing, among other things. He believes that the media manipulates information for people to have some way of relating to it, even though they did not want to in the first place. In his book, Postman claims that the public’s priorities are altered with uncomplicated forms of entertainment rather than the use of violence, cruelty, and brutality when they want to fight against totalitarian authority. Postman also shows of how the media is responsible for manipulating the public’s social, economic, and political standing by presentation of fictitious information, and facts. All these are methods devised by television and other electronic media to divert the public’s attention away from matters that affect them. The public’s money and energy is directed toward such manipulation, and eventual subjugation through the media without them realising what is happening. This book and all its findings have created the state in which many continents are in today. It is, therefore, only right to say that communication brought through television and other media is biased and provides information which is destructive to the rational minds of individuals. After long periods of television watching, one gets to question and be suspicious of discussions, and arguments. These effects are growing and will continue to mature provided the media is involved in contextualising the lives of people. Matt Quayle’s article; ‘The Method of the Medium is in the Motion.’ In this article, Quayle argues that Postman’s conclusions, though somewhat true, were a little premature. He did not take the time to correctly evaluate all the factors that came into play when writing his book. Today, according to Quayle, many factors contribute to the growth of the medium used to communicate to the public. This is unlike how they did twenty-five years ago. He reiterates the fact that Postman did an exceptional job in finding out what affected the media during that time, but a lot of things have changed. Quayle insists there is a possibility of increasing the public discourse in this modern age of technology. A lot has changed since the last time Postman wrote the book on the media. Quayle asserts that the television news space has fully-grown, and there is more to look for in the

Sports industry offers a range of potential opportunities to Nike Essay

Sports industry offers a range of potential opportunities to Nike - Essay Example The company acquired annual revenue in excess of US$ 18.6 billion for the fiscal year 2008 despite the adverse impacts of the 2008 global financial crisis. Although Nike markets many of its products under its own brand, it also markets some additional brands including Nike Golf, Nike Pro, and Nike Skateboarding to effectively market its sports equipments across the globe. This paper will analyse micro as well as macro business environments of Nike, Inc. using appropriate analytical tools and a strategic fit analysis. TASK A - Market Environment Analysis In the section, different market analytical tools are used to evaluate the business environment of the Nike. Here, Porter’s five forces model is applied to analyse the sports equipment industry (micro environment) and PEST analysis is deployed to evaluate the market potentiality of the Nike, Inc. (macro environment). Porter’s five forces analysis Currently, the sports equipment industry constitutes a larger number of com panies dealing with production and distribution of numerous and different sporting and athletic equipments. The total market capitalisation has reached nearly $8 billion and it is still growing. Most of the players in the sports equipment industry are grand corporate structures such as Nike, Easton, and Wilson; they offer equipments to a variety of sports items. In contrast, other companies like Callaway and Schwinn own noticeable market share and prominence in their specific area of focus. Sports equipment manufacturing companies mainly make use of two means of distribution. Wholesalers and retailers constitute the most common avenue of distribution whereas the company-owned and contracted specialty shops shape the second mode of distribution. In order to popularise their products and dominate the market, most of the sports equipment companies tend to sponsor high profile or top-rated sportsmen and athletes. In addition, such companies are also willing to undertake the sponsorship of major sporting events like World Cup Football as part of promoting their products. Threat of substitute products and services In general, sports can be easily substituted with a variety of different other activities, and therefore the threat of substitutes is very high in sports industry. To illustrate, people may easily turn their interest from physically demanding athletic or other sports activities to video/computer games. However, higher prevalence rate of obesity in the United States influences people to turn to healthy and fitness activities (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services). This situation relieves the sports industry from the threat of substitutes to some extent. At the same time, the substitution threat exists even in the sports industry itself. For instance, people may choose to play basketball rather than golf. Intensity of rivalry among competitors The intensity of competitive rivalry is very high in the sports industry and many sports equipment companie s have been thrown out of the market due to this higher degree of competition. While analysing present trends in the sports industry, it is obvious that companies are striving for their market competency and searching for industry consolidation. It seems that most of the sports equipment companies adopt mergers and acquisitions strategy in order to broaden their product lines, to increase economies

Human Rights Movements in International Politics and its Effect on Research Paper

Human Rights Movements in International Politics and its Effect on State Behaviour - Research Paper Example The issue that will be tackled in this paper is the role of human rights movements in international politics and its impact on state behaviour—thus it shall be resolved whether the protestations and vigorous representations in international bodies which has jurisdiction over these acts of violence and other human rights transgressions eliminate or eradicate the occurrence of assault or attack against individual human rights. However, this paper shall limit its analysis on human trafficking which assaults the basic rights of individuals to life and liberty and whether the response of states towards its eradication is sufficient. According the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT), 2.5-million of the global population are in this predicament which includes forced labour and sexual exploitation. Majority of the victims or 1.4 million (56%) originate from Asia and the Pacific while the rest come from Latin America and the Carribean (10%), Middle East and North Africa (9.2%) and other sub-Saharan countries (5.2%), including industrialized countries (10.8%) and transition economies (8%). The tentacles of human trafficking can be felt in 161 countries either as source, route or destination countries. The recruitment occurs in 127 countries where these individuals will be sent or distributed against their will to 137 countries thus exploitation reportedly affects every continent and every type of economy.

Law and Legal Obligations Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law and Legal Obligations - Case Study Example The endorsing of the food by the celebrities, prominent personalities in visual media, The audio advertisements that tell about the taste and goodness of the junk food, The baseless topics that are publicised by the advertisements which do not have experimental proof, The instigating the children to eat junk food either by audio, visual, print media Can be considered as advertising the junk food under the criminalising of the sale of junk food to children and the ban of junk food vending machines in the schools and hostels Junk Food: The food that lacks nutrients and has more calories, The food that lack fibre and develops acidity The foods that have sugar content more than the prescribed level The foods that have less protein, fibre and that was replaced by starch and fats, The foods that have more fats than carbohydrates, The foods that have fat, carbohydrate, protein and fibre in disproportionate composition. (proportion is defined in the next section) The foods, which are not prescribed for good health of children. (health is defined in the next section) Vending Machines: The machine that supplies junk food without knowing to whom it is supplying. The machine which delivers junk food by taking the input of prescribed coins in to it. The machine which delivers junk food by taking the input of prescribed currency in to it. The vending machines which contain all the above three features and are installed in schools, hostels and the places where children buy the junk food directly without the consent of the adults. Section II In this section 'disproportion composition of the fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre, health of the children were defined. Disproportionate composition: the composition of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre in a food substance was... In this paper a law about banning the junk food for children will be drafted and various terms will be defined. The definitions will be given according to the spirit of the law and the explanations for offences and defences will be incorporated. The sale of junk food to children will be considered as a crime. The sale of the same food for the adults is not in the purview of this act. For this purpose the sale of junk food, where children will buy directly from the vendors will be banned and prominently the sale of junk food in schools and hostels was prohibited. This will be considered crime against the children and the society if it was observed to be done and the individuals or the organisations who are responsible for those acts will be prosecuted according to the clauses and provisions in the act. Disproportionate composition: the composition of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibre in a food substance was considered as disproportionate if they do not match with the composition of the food substances prescribed by Health department for the sake of health of children. The health of children can be defined according to the weight of them proportionate to their height, the extra fat they accumulate under their skin, the hip waist ratio of them, the good sight regarding their eyes, the accumul

OPERATIONS management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

OPERATIONS management - Essay Example By extension, adoption of standards in business operations leads to market fragmentation due to the rise of divergent requirements of resources for new products. However, implementation of various standards within an organization may come with challenges and disadvantages in the short run which nonetheless can be overcome in the long run. Research has shown that standards are vital in efficiency promotion especially during operations in manufacturing processes. Standards avail modalities through which processes can be carried out in large quantities without changes. In this regards, there is a reduction in technical errors which routinely occur during production of goods. When standards are put in place, a permanent design and materials necessary for production are specified which rarely change except when the standards are revised. By using the internationally acclaimed standards, organizations are at a vantage point where they can negotiate for favourable deals to boost their profi tability. In the end, contract ambiguities are avoided which often undermine smooth and efficiency running of organizations (Goldenhar and Schulte, 1994, 770). According to Aitken, Chaudhry, Boxall and Hull (1999, 190), conformation to accepted standards provides a means through conveyance of complex information with regards to a product is done. There are enormous challenges to organisations on how to inform the public about the suitability of their products. This is because some methods of manufacturing are widely used to produce products that are complex and hard to explain to the public. However, with standardised mode of operation and conformance, a shorthand mode of communication can be developed based on standards specifications. The standards even come with simplified ways and information on how different operations are carried out without including the highly technical details. In this regard, there is a common language which is easily understood by both designers and consu mers of different products. Reliability of the way operations are carried out within area of manufacturing is increased due to rationalisation and consistency of processes. When standards are put in place, mass production becomes easy because goods are produced within an accepted set standard which eliminates the need for constant check of quality. Therefore, many costly processes are eliminated such as inventory control and quality assurance processes which dig in the profitability of an organisation. In addition, training of workers to participate in the use of standardised procedures is efficient since the amount of time spent is little. In the end, there is streamlining of operations which results in production of goods and services that are internationally accepted (Nicholson, 2004, 147). Standards are very important to the management team of an organization since they help it in entrenching the culture of operational excellence. Operational excellence is vital for an organisat ion to realize its set targets and objectives efficiently without using many resources. Every organisation has its set business operations which must be conformed to acceptable standards within its sphere of operation. As such, business operation processes are important tools through which an organisation can achieve sustainable competitive advantage over other competing firms. In order to attain a sustainable

Robot Lawnmowers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Robot Lawnmowers - Essay Example The sellers make their customers buy them and thus ample time is saved for attracting new clientele and persuading them to buy robot lawnmowers. This not only saves time but also offers huge profit. 2.1.3. The best robot lawnmowers that are being sold in the market holding positive feedback from the elderly and the disabled consumers include Robomower, Lawnbott, and Husqvarna Automower (Squidoo LLC, 2011). Robomower is being made by a company in Israel named Friendly Robotics, and is being traded into the US by Systems Trading Corporation (STC). Lawnbott is being made by an Italian company named Zucchetti Centro Sistemi and is being imported by Kyodo America (KA). It is marketed by the name of Ambrogio in Europe. Automower is made by a Swedish company and is imported and marketed by official Husqvarna dealers. 2.2.1.1. Robot market is developing at a fast pace since robots are making lives easier by automating the systems and leaving enough time for leisure along with saving money (Fuller, 1991). Since new technology is continuously replacing the old one, the price of robot lawnmowers is dropping and is expected to further drop in the coming years with a simultaneous increase in their usage especially by consumers who are elderly or are disabled. 2.2.1.2. The technology regarding the hardware, software and design is being improved but the component prices are dropping since the demand is increasing. The robot market is seriously considering the needs of the elderly and the disabled persons and the robot lawnmower market also consider them their biggest consumers. 2.2.3.1. The robotic mower market is expected to quadruple in the coming few years. However, at least a decade is needed for these lawnmowers to replace the contractors’ business so in the meanwhile the contractors can make use of these intelligent devices to make money in their businesses. 2.6.2. In

Case study 11 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

11 - Case Study Example Janice should consider getting support from the hotel’s executives through Tony for her group business. In addition, Janice should focus HR practices to increase collaboration amongst group members and their superiors or supervisors. The best way to deal with group businesses is to employ HR strategies. Thirdly, Janice can use heritage relationships to form and organize these groups. Janice should first find out existing trends in the lodging sector. Second, Janice should determine the most promising domestic and visit trends. Third, Janice should find out The Christopher Hotel’s rivals and their success so far. The fourth step is finding out the likely accommodation market sectors in the region. Lastly, Janice can find out the residence and average room rate that a new property at can accomplish. Janice can simply find out what the competition is up to by visiting their website and associate blogs or social media accounts. If the competition has not posted the specifics and time of these activities on these sites, Janice can attend a conference held by competition and pick up news about their events and successes. Other ways for finding out the operations and timing of the competition is compiling a report, enrolling their suppliers, or even employing

The Way of Ford Motor Company Essay Example for Free

The Way of Ford Motor Company Essay * Introduction * Although to be the only one remaining member which have escaped bankruptcy of the Big Three among the automobile industry by June 2009, Ford suffers $14.7 million loss of revenue and elimination of stockholders’ equity due to the record-breaking fall in demand for 2008,US. However, to understand Ford’s position today requires understanding the American automotive industry. * General Industry analysis * From 1900-2008, US motor vehicle production has a rapid increase to9, 000,000 from 1900 to 1967, after not, there is a graduate decrease to 3,000,000 until 2008. At the mean time, the median age of passenger car in US was Spiral upwards. Combine the two phenomenon, we can get that the automobile industry market is quite saturated and the demand fell down. Regard to the automobile manufacturing technology, despite less differentiation between manufacturers due to the converge of technologies and design, the technological progress was incremental and lead to the various segmentations in each country. Follow the two situations, there are 3 big issues were emerged. One was the deep demand of auto cars result in excess capacity. Another one issues was the high cost among the technological development. Last one issue was the lacking differentiation. However, it also offers automakers new product segmentations and market. For an insightful analysis, we need to look at more information in details. * Porter’s Five Forces First of all, we can get a comprehensive industry environment analysis through the Porter’s Five Forces. In terms of the threat of new entrants of the automobile industry, it requires high capital costs for potential entrants, as the manufacturers are all carry out the mass-production-scale. However, when a new entrant face with the current competitors’ scale economies, smaller manufacturers could not survive since they cannot afford the massive product development cost, which was in excess of $6 billion. And it is easy to own the cost disadvantages independent of scale. Then, the product differentiation of automobile industry is not high as other industry. The automobile industry was a global network of collaborative arrangements. As the team-based approach became models for all major  manufacturers, there is no big difference in the function, model and design. They can only gain their differentiation by the firm’s service and effective advertising. Also, There is no switching cost in the automobile industry because no cost would be incurred when customer switch to a new supplier. However, the large capital requirement is demanding, as the automobile industry needs huge amount of capital to invest in its mass-production line. Furthermore, automakers have benefited from prodigious amounts of direct funds or indirect aids from the government around the world to keep car plants open and assembly line running after the global sales collapsed, and the industry has never operated on the pure free-market principles. It proved that the government always intervened in the automobile industry that suggests the government control entry into this industry. Then, the supplier group of the industry is powerful. In order to achieve lower costs and increased flexibility, the automobile manufacturing trend has been towards outsourcing. All of the manufacturers now have long-term relationships with their suppliers. Especially for the leading component suppliers that have the increasing responsibility for technological development, it gains a strong bargaining power. Because their goods as transmissions, braking systems, etc. are critical to buyers’ market success. Besides, it poses a credible threat to integrate forward into the automobile industry due to some suppliers like Bosch and Denso are as big as some larger automobile companies. What’s more, since a few large companies dominated the suppliers and is more concentrated than automobile industry, it is easy to get the conclusion that these suppliers are fatal and important threat to the automobile industry. Next, the bargaining power of the buyer is increasing. Although the auto buyers won’t purchase a large portion of cars in a given time since the auto is not cheap, the sales of the purchased product do not account for a significant portion of the seller’s annual revenue as well. Nevertheless, the customer cou ld switch to another automaker at litter or even no cost since automobiles are little differentiated, then the buyers pose a credible threat if they were to integrate backward into the sellers’ industry. In addition, the threat of the substitutes also is a vital factor of the industry analysis. As the passenger car substitutes, the public transportation like airplane, train and bus perform the same function. The technological change would offer opportunities for new entrants into the  industry. For the environmental concerns, it may also result in a decline in private transportation in favor of public transportation, or short-term rental car rather than car ownership. In general, these substitutes present a strong threat to the industry especially when the customers face few switching cost as I mentioned before. Moreover, the competitive rivalry is intense in the automobile industry. Firstly, there are equally balanced competitors within the industry. It can be found from company sales of these automakers, the annual average sales are nearly the same among several major big automakers as Ford, GM, Honda and Daimler. Industry with only a few firms of equivalent size and power tend to have strong rivalries. In another hand, as the high fixed cost and high storage cost of automobiles account for a large part of the total costs, the automakers will spread the costs across a large volume of output. However, excess capacity is created when firms try to maximize their productive capacity. And the excess capacity has become the greatest structural problem of the industry. To cut down the price is the most effective way to reduce inventories. At the mean time, this method often intensifies competition. Besides, lacking differentiation and low switching cost of the automobile industry are easy for competitors to attract buyers through pricing and service offerings. Finally, the high exit barriers intensify the automobile industry competition as well. With the recession and unprecedented fall in demand, automakers remain in the industry because they face the high exit barriers. Specialized assets, fixed cost of exit, strategic interrelationships, emotional barriers, government and social restrictions are make up the high exit barriers. To sum, the competitive rivalry is highly intense in the automobile industry. After the discussion about the Porter’s five forces, we have a comprehensive understanding that how is the American automobile industry environment. However, for a more accurate strategic competitiveness, we need to have a further analysis through the international markets and rivalries. * Industry analysis -Internationalization With the increasing competition in the industry, the intensified quest for cost reduction and the excess capacity among automobile manufacturers had make contributions to the internationalization. In another side, accessing growing market, exploiting scale economies in purchasing, technology, and new product development also mainly brought up the internationalization. In the market share part, the table shows that there is an apparent decrease in the automobile market share of local firms from 1988 to 2006.As the Big Three which held close to 85% of the US market in 1970, all of their US market share declined by an average of 6% in 2006. On the contrary, the reductive market share contributed to the increasing market share of Toyota and Honda in US. Not only the US market had an internationalization outcome as the above condition, but also many developed countries did. It illustrates that all the leading automobile manufacturers were competing in most of the countries of the world instead of dominated in focused national market as before, and the market dominance of local automobile firms was undermined. In addition, the global distribution of production shifts a lot due to the rise of new market and the needs of low production cost. As shown in the table4.7 and 4.8, the used biggest three automobile production countries and regions (US, Western Europe, and Japan) in 1980 have been taken place by Japan, China, and Germany in 2008. The world leading motor-vehicle producers-Korea, Brazil and India, also result in a rapidly growing domestic markets and low production cost that benefit a lot from the low compensation for workers. Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that there is a big cost advantages and huge potential market for the big automobile manufacturers due to the internationalization. Since there are a lot of leading producers with cheap labor cost and high productivity outside US, then it provide resources and factors of production in the world outside US, and it provide automobile industry a way to worldwide outsourcing, which is beneficial to the reasonable allocation of capital and products in the global flow. Besides, internationalization in the automobile industry is helpful for design and technology in the global expansion, promote the economic development of the underdeveloped areas, in turn, it stimulate the sales of automobile. Nonetheless, the fierce competition is a concern in the international market. On account of the collaborations with the industry’s development and no barriers to enter other countries, fewer differentiation and free-limit expansion lead to intensive rivalry. * Industry attractiveness Through the industry analysis among five forces in American market and  international market, it is obvious to find the automobile industry is attractive in international market instead of in American market. Although there is a little threat of new entrants, strong bargaining power of supplier, increasing bargaining power of buyers, big threats of substitute products and intense competitive rivalry still make the domestic industry not attractive. In the international market, it is attractive as the potential market expansion and worldwide outsourcing. But with the intensive rivalry and low differentiation in the internationalization, it is necessary to be well prepared on the risk and responses. * Fit between core competencies and opportunities Ford was the first one to combine mass consumption with mass production, and Ford use this concept to guide the enterprise entrepreneur. What is the Ford’s core competency then? To start, it’s brand recognition in global scale. Ford does have a model in most categories. It provides a large global scale to Ford. A more strategic core competency of Ford is its global supply chain network. Its strategic alliances and supplier base is possibly one of the most favorable in the world. In addition, Ford has many opportunities. Firstly, Restructuring plan that to downsizing was launched long before GM and Chrysler, moving the manufacturing to low-cost location, worldwide outsourcing as well. These actions improve the performance, meet the location economy and cut down the cost of Ford. Secondly, Ford has a long history in production innovation. Thus, new products are very likely to be continued in the future. Thirdly, Ford’s business is locked up in the European and North American markets, however it possess a significant share in emerging markets such as South American, which should provide enormous growth of the future as the middle class to grow and earn the money to spend on automobiles. Finally, One major sector that is full with opportunity is the electric automobile market, as the world looks for an eco-friendly alternative that operates like the original car. When we compared Ford’s opportunities with core competencies, they fit with each other. The constant production innovation that leads to continued new product and the significant share in emerging markets provide the opportunities for Ford’s brand recognition in global scale. Furthermore, the location economy and worldwide outsourcing give Ford the chance to strengthen its global supply  chain network. In sum, Ford gains a very strong competitive advantage in automobile industry. * Business-level strategy In terms of the business-level strategy, Ford had an ambiguous business-level strategy that neither successful differentiation nor cost-leadership based on the case. On one hand, because of the high technological development cost, large excess capacity and huge capital cost, it cannot and did not maintain a cost leadership strategy. On the other hand, with the internationalization, resources and technologies sharing, collaborations among competitors, Ford do not have a strong differentiation strategy. Type of cooperation The cost of new product development has been the major driver if mergers and acquisition in the industry. And sharing cost also encouraged increased collaboration and joint venture. For Ford, its corporation includes joint venture, joint research, licensing, partnership, and acquisition. With these different corporation methods that to share costs, resources and risks, Ford shows a strong alliance to its supplier and partner. And Ford also obtains a significant reduction in product development time and cost. To some extent, the strong connection with other automakers and suppliers also accelerate the speed to reach the market and the potential consumer. * How to approach market * At present, the biggest change of automobile society is the transition from emerging market to mature market. And the most significant feature is the industry has entered the era of micro growth. Micro growth poses a big pressure to the whole industry, but it also promotes favorable industry healthy and sustainable growth. Thus, with such advantaged external opportunity and internal strength, Ford needs to approach new market to earn the market share and worldwide competitiveness. Exporting, licensing, strategic alliances, acquisition and WOS are the entry modes alternatives, but how to choose one from these? * Since Ford already has a strong partnership with other automakers, Ford has a foundation to gain other alliances. Besides, as Ford does not have much profit margin and the initial investment of automobile industry is huge, the Exporting, WOS and  Acquisition are not acceptable due to the high cost. In terms of the licensing, although it has a low cost and risk, the low return and little control are not appealing. Thus, Ford should go on with the strategic alliances to cut the entry cost and risk, and to achieve the industry integration. * 5-year plan To conclude all the analysis above, Ford’s strategies for the later 5 years’ development need to be changed. Firstly, a real business-level strategy is imperative. Adopting a clear differentiation strategy and supporting value-chain activities should improve Ford’s position. Besides, to Continue cost cutting beyond those already specified in the plan and focus on reduction of manufacturing costs to achieve Ford’s cost parity. Additionally, cut in cost to achieve parity with foreign rivals. Invest in unique advertising and create uniquely designed vehicles with shared platforms and technologies to promote differentiation strategy. * The second part of Ford’s plan is to refocus on the consumer through repositioning of its brand and product mix to be more consistent with customer preferences. Currently, Ford lacks product differentiation between these brands sold by the North American division. Ford should emphasize development and production of several car models that presently enjoy strong reputations. Thus, their continued success will enhance the company image as a whole, again supporting a strong differentiation strategy. The final key piece of Ford’s restructuring plan is the constant introduction of innovative products and new development methods. It can bring up new customers. Based on the improved differentiation and efficiencies of scale, the market sales and market share will go up. Together with all these recommendations, Ford should be able to return to a competitive position in the marketplace and stabilize with improve its market share and financial position. *

White People and American Citizen Essay Example for Free

White People and American Citizen Essay The short story â€Å" How it Feels to be Colored Me† was written in year 1928 by Zora Neale Hurston who grew up in Eatonville, Florida. Zora grew up in an predominantly all black town. She had begun to realize the differences between blacks and whites at the beginning of her teens. Zora only had contact with the white people who passed through her town. These people who passed through Eatonville, Florida usually were going to Orlando or coming from Orlando, Florida. I believe the main reason why the story was written was to focus on the differences between black and white people. The short story â€Å" How it Feels to be Colored Me† was written in year 1928 by Zora Neale Hurston who grew up in Eatonville, Florida. Zora grew up in an predominantly all black town. She had begun to realize the differences between blacks and whites at the beginning of her teens. Zora only had contact with the white people who passed through her town. These people who passed through Eatonville, Florida usually were going to Orlando or coming from Orlando, Florida. I believe the main reason why the story was written was to focus on the differences between black and white people. When Zora Hurston states â€Å" I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored. I am merely a fragment of the Great Soul that surges within the boundaries. My country, right or wrong. † I believe she’s describing her feelings of being an American citizen and being colored. She does not have separate feelings of either. Zora seems to accept her identity for being colored and an American citizen. I think Zora is trying to achieve dignity/pride in America as an American. Zora doesn’t want to harp on the past Nor does she want the actions of others to affect her. Zora believes that she is an American citizen whether she’s black or white and everyone has the same rights. How It Feels to Be Colored Me Analysis by Terissa7.    N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 June 2014. . â€Å"How it Feels to Be Colored† The short story â€Å" How it Feels to be Colored Me† was written in year 1928 by Zora Neale Hurston who grew up in Eatonville, Florida. Zora grew up in an predominantly all black town. She had begun to realize the differences between blacks and whites at the beginning of her teens. Zora only had contact with the white people who passed through her town. These people who passed through Eatonville, Florida usually were going to Orlando or coming from Orlando, Florida. I believe the main reason why the story was written was to focus on the differences between black and white people. When Zora Hurston states â€Å" I have no separate feeling about being an American citizen and colored. I am merely a fragment of the Great Soul that surges within the boundaries. My country, right or wrong. † I believe she’s describing her feelings of being an American citizen and being colored. She does not have separate feelings of either. Zora seems to accept her identity for being colored and an American citizen. I think Zora is trying to achieve dignity/pride in America as an American. Zora doesn’t want to harp on the past Nor does she want the actions of others to affect her. Zora believes that she is an American citizen whether she’s black or white and everyone has the same rights. How It Feels to Be Colored Me Analysis by Terissa7.

British Airways Marketing Mix

British Airways Marketing Mix British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. The headquater of Britsh Airways is situated in Waterside near by its core London Heathrow Airport and BA is the biggest air commuter carrier on the based of swift, and long distance flights. The second main airport after heathrow is Gatwick airport, from where British Airways offers short haul flights. The British Airways Group was bring into existance through Labour Government on 1st of September 1974 through. The existance of BA was due to the alliance of two biggest London-based air passenger carriers, BOAC and BEA, and with the two comparatively quite small local airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle upon Tyne. All of these four originally separate companies finally got dissolved on 31 March 1974 to form British Airways (BA) and then after thirteen years, in February 1987, the company got privatised. Later on British Airways got expanded by acquiring British Caledonian in 1988 and then Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air in 1992. British Airways is the major and biggest buyer of boeing aircrafts.and in November 1998 British Airways placed its first main order of 89 A320 crafts.and then the second largest order was placed In 2007 for starting their long distance flights. The centrepiece of the airlines the long-haul fleet being the Boeing 747-400; with 54 examples. Now British Airways is counted as the largest operator of the type in the world. Richard Bransons established Virgin Atlantic in 1984 and after that Virgin Atlantic begin a rigid and tense relationship with British Airways . In 1993 British Airways apologised Virgin Atlantic without urguing on compaign against Virgin Atlantic. This was the first time in airline industry that any airline was penalised for damaging the reputation of other airline and so Britsh Airways had paid damages to them. But British Airways still stayed as a biggest airline till 2008 on the base of large number of customers which was around 35.7 million passengers . But later on Easy Jet get the tittle of carrying maximum customer in the same year which was around 44.5 million. British Airways got listed on the London Stock Exchange 2001 with FTSE of 100 index. On 12 November 2009, British Airways announced its alliance with the largest spain based airline called Iberia Airlines. This newly combined airline will make BA worlds third-largest carrier (Delta Airlines at number one ranking and American Airlines standing on second number) in terms of annual revenue. Literature Review 2. Marketing:- The American Marketing Association defines marketing as the process of planning and executing conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. So it can be said that marketing is getting the right product to the right people at the right price at the right time. 2.1. Marketing concept:- Marketing concept means the ways an organization should adopt to maximise their profits by fulfilling the needs of their customer groups. This marketing concept is very straight forward and that is why it has a great deal of commonsense validity. The effective marketing starts right with the identification and appreciation of customers needs and expectations and then working backwards to develop such products and/or services to satisfy their customers needs and or demands. The basic task of the marketing function operating under the marketing concept is not to manipulate customers to do what suits the interests of the firm, but rather to find effective and efficient means of making the business do what suits the interests of its customers. It does not mean that all firms practice marketing in this ideal way. However efficient as well effective marketing as defined here requires that consumers needs should be kept first in organizational decision-making process. 2.2. Marketing Objectives Growth in market share Clearer product differentiation Long term brand value to customers Creating and launching new products / services Innovation 2.3. Marketing Strategies Marketing Strategies are the means by which marketing objectives can be achieved and generally can be remembered as 7Ps (also known as Marketing Mix) are as follows: Price Product Place Promotion Customer Satisfaction Processes Physical evidence People Marketing Strategies of British Airways get fit into the marketing mix as:- Product: On the basis of BA high class products (services they provide their customers) they are awarded with official 4 stars ranking. Price: As far as pricing strategy of BA is concerned Officials of British Airways strongly, categorically and confidently address their customers to book their tickets online with full confidence at BA.com and if they ever find lower rates than British airways (anywhere online) they commit to refund all the difference, even if they make the booking online. Promotion: British Airways is famous for introducing different kinds of vouchers and discounted coupons for their customers. They always seem offering discount voucher codes to their customers even if they are not the club members (but requires a simple registration only once with them). They also offer special rewards and benefits in terms of long/ short holiday packages not only for cheaper flights but for rented cars as well (in order to make their customers more happy and loyal towards their integrated services). The only thing customer is supposed to do is just collecting the BA miles points by flying with them or with any of the partner airlines and by staying in selected hotels and also by rented cars. All adding to customers points towards getting more and more points. Place: British Airways having a vast network of flights across the globe serves destinations across all the six major continents including almost 371 destinations. Though main hub of British Airways is at London Heathrow airport but British Airways also operates a majority of their flights at London Gatwick Airport. Previously British Airways used to have its main hub in Manchester Airport which later on moved to London Heathrow. 3. Environmental Analysis of British Airways 3.1. SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a measure to audit an organization and its environment (internal and/or external). It is assumed as the first stage of planning and ultimately helps marketers to specifiaclly focus on the key issues facing that organization. SWOT analysis is comprises of four different factors strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are basically meant to represent internal environment of an organization while on the other opportunities and threats are considered as external factors directly or indirectly influencing business of the organization. (S)trengths   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Strength of British Airways is its Brand and rated as a first new speedy airline,specially purchased to promise comfortable travelling of passengers. This strategy was introduced by keeping an eye on customer complaints. previously received by the fleet used by British Airways in the past. The magnitude of Airways operations allows them on pro over all of their competitors by giving high class services to a far more wider variety of customers.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Moreover, on the basis of knowledge and skills, BA operational research department claims that analytical skills performed by the members of the company and its employees are its strengths. Their strong customer focus further develops expertise in customer service areas in terms of purchasing high-end software for the air services and wide selection of it further enhance the organisation strength on compititors. (W)eaknesses   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Britsh Airway is always great criticised on their poor marketing strategies which is one of the worst weeknesses of the airline which have had a bad impact on customer satisfaction. Despite the great infrastructure owned by the company, BA still needs to introduce and carry out better market schemes in order to attract more customers. Hence, a separate competitive package for customer service must be introduced in order to make the current service somewhat more attractive towards its clients, further prompting an opportunity of earning larger amounts of revenues. Morever limited knowledge about simulation software and its development is also reflects airline weeknesses. (O)pportunities   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   The rapid changing in techonologies and innovation in product , would implemented on the right time could be a great opportunity. As it is rightly said that the global changes can be considered and utilised as an opportunity to work with, while ignoring certain opportunities can be considered a weakness. In BA, virtual reality and appreciation of these opportunities could definately provide new sources for simulation and/or obtaining network softwares and ultimtely sharing expertise by means of special interest/focused groups. So opportunities derived from such kind of common thinking can really be utilized to further strengthen the companys business.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Technological trends further opens doors for new opportunities in terms of various business domains, (however, if it is taken for granted), opportunities can either be a treated as a threat or as a weakness as well. In order to promote global trends would be a greater chance for the organisation. (T)hreats   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   It is not really important that threats would be external it can be external. Internal threats as seen in management are not only the centralized but a bureaucratic system and above all poor decision-making really adds fuel to fire. Moreover, the companys focus on national and local problems pose a threat since much more problems which company seems to neglect can be easliy appreciated in the global scheme. It neglects the global problems instead focusing deeply on the national and/or local levels. The global problems greatly offer tremendous threats if and when companies will ignore such. Moreover, globalization can be an opportunity and strength but at the same time can also be considered as a threat if not to be keen and vigilant of its tricks and treachery. Further, rapid changes on technology and customers behavior (in accordance to their demands) can also be a threat if interpret ed mistakenly. 3.2 PESTEL Analysis A PEST analysis is a business measurement tool, looking at factors external to the organization. PESTLE is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, factors. These factors are generally used to assess the market for any business or organizational unit. The PEST analysis points present as a framework for reviewing a situation, and can also be used to review organiztions current strategy or position, direction of a company, its marketing proposition and /or idea. There are many variants on this model including PESTLE analysis. (P)olitical and (L)egal Factors Political factor does effect any organisation in certain ways if the appropriate step will not taken to resolve . The incident of 7/11 left security threat for the airline industry as well ,due to this kind of activity will effect the government stability . If we talk about war in Iraq does prove that country is in crisis or instable.So due to these kind of accidents athourities has to imposed more strick strick legislation which evryone has to follow. Recently legislation athourites has placed amended important regulations in airline industry which create opportunities and increase the competition as well. The most important legal factor which effects British Airways were the strikes called by union leaders and recently they announced one more call of strike in coming summer, well BA always stayed in the news either the issues raised by union or it is plane crash but these events have bad impact on the potential customers. (E)conomic Factors Economical factors are very important while doing external analysis because if the price of fuel gone up does effect airline. According to recent survey the average spending on travel is dramatically goes down due to global crisis. Many of the organisation working on cost effective soltutions and try to use alternates instead of spending more.The demand for air travel is characterised by very high income elasticity. Usuall fuel prices goes parallel to the value of $ dollar and the exchange rate or lower value of sterling will also effect airline industry. Due to the political instability in Iraq has effect the fuel prices and these price get record higher which add  £100 million in BAs budget. (S)ocial Factors The effect of social factor on trading is different for different countries but still this factor is considerable in growth and development of airline.So BA need to trained their staff on demographic changes. Recently in channel 4 they mentioned that the average people over than 50s do frequent travells as compared to young generation so, British Airways need to make such tempting strategies which brings more customers of this age . (T)echnology BA does around 57000 surveys every month to get best knowledge what their customers want and expect from them. Almost third of airline booking are now made online that again signifies presence of high class technology. With almost half of all Europe from UK site. Travellers can have access to their bookings or any changes via their mobile phones even. They can check-in and also access real time arrival and departure information with online system. This system is definitely saving their time as well as money of travellers and company. (E)nvironmental In Enviornmental analysis British Airways is focusing on climate change because this issue keep more value rather then others and on other hand new legislation on enviornment does efffect the company growth . British Airways have introduced programme on change of climate which has four core areas. Green Scheme Carbon emission Fuel consumption Noise pollution In March 2009 company carbon offset scheme became first ever airline offset product to meet the requirements of the UK Governments Quality Assurance Scheme. Company targets to reduce company net CO2 emission by 50% far by 2050. Meeting this target will require intense investment in terms of newer technology, appropriate bio-jet fuels and in cost-effective emissions reductions in other sectors of the economy by the creation of new effective global carbon trading markets. Company continue to look for newer ways to improve fuel efficiency and most surprisingly over 600 projects have been assessed so far of these 55 have been implemented successfully. 4. Market Analysis OF British Airways:- The main focus of Brtish Airways is on transportation but they also providing freight forwarding and leisure to their customers. Market of Britsh Airways has increased to 5.7% in 2009 which allow them to reach  £9.2 billion. Airline is considered as a most comfort medium of transport. In 2009 the ration of short distance flights was very high which gain 72.9% of the market. Currently other airlines acquiring maximum share of the short distance flight market because of cost effective.But these airlines still have a threat from the fuel prices. 4.1. Competitor Analysis The competition in airline industry is getting boom now if we compared this market with the past market, because now customers has more choice in terms of luxury, cost effectiveand many others. British Airways has two different marketing competitiotrs one based on short distance or at national level where as the other competitors are for international flights operating world wide. According to these two markets British Airways has keeping two different standards like national level flights are cost effective and very economical where as for international flight BAs has entirely different enviornment on the base of luxury,price and other aspects.. Therefore, BA seem competing on a global, European, national as well as on regional scales. New planes, new routes, additional (frequent) flights and management changes are all factors that promise an improved business. Such changes made by competitors need constant monitoring in order for BA to examine its current position and to develop future strategies. 4.2. Customer Analysis Shaw (2004) addresses what he calls the most fundamental and commonest mistakes made in airline marketing failure to make a proper distinction between the Consumer and the Customer. Consumers are the people who actually travel and avail the service however it is important that BA consider customers, as they are the decision makers. This is important in both consumer markets as well as in industrial markets. BAs customers can be found differ enormously in terms of their buying behaviour. Not only they differ in terms of their age, income, educational levels and geographic location but more fundamentally in BAs case in terms of their lifestyles and expectations which are influenced by many factors. BA also operates in an industrial market which differs in buying behaviour that can further be exhibited by the formality of BAs purchasing policies, their delivery dates and their expected and actual performance. Over the last few years increasing complexity in customer needs has been appreciated, as the customers have become more educated and demanding due to this following changes have occurred. A shift in demographic to older passengers rather Increased global connectivity ultimately allowing the customers more frequent usage of internet and search mediums (in terms of comparison of services, prices and general layout. Well maintained up to date data on company websites further make decision easier for the customers). Increased requirement of convenience (new destination, quick check-in, in flight service/ entertainment etc). Price no doubts remains more of priority. All bits of major and minor egments have become more defined within their needs. Evidence that British Airways is failing to respond to the changing customer landscape includes: The amount of BA customers recommending their services reduced from 61% in 2006/7 to 59% in 2007/8 (British Airways 2008). BA have been criticised for innovation (Doganis,2006, Pg 165). Poor reliability and baggage handling (AQR) Failed attempts to target the price conscious consumer through low cost airline operation (Eirma,2008). 5. Branding A name, term, sign, symbol, memo, design or a combination of all intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and at the same time to differentiate them from those of competitors. 5.1. Scope of Branding Branding creates a mental structure which helps consumers to organise their knowledge about the product or the service in such a way that clarifies their decision more in order to make appropriate decision ultimately providing positive value to the firm. British Airways brand value stresses to ensure that all behaviours and communication should properly reflect the qualities of their brand. Any sponsorship  by them  must get fit in with these values. Brand values of British Airways are: Safe and secure Professional Warm Thoughtful Responsible British. As a global company they are interested in working with other companies with the purpose of reaching far international audiences. 5.2. Brand Crisis Analysis: Early investigation shows that the British Airways get more damaged due to disaster in terminal. A Disturbance in Public relation occured due to disorgansed management , lack of strategy in marketing, and the events of the past few days blighted BAs brand for years. The problems at T5 hit 100% of the brand, all over the world. Then there is the very specific damage done to BAs brand equity. At the heart of its positioning are reassurance and reliability, making it peculiarly vulnerable to a debacle like that of T5. In branding terms, there is a world of difference between inconsistency and contradiction. BA is found facing the mother of all contradictions, which was further exaggerated by the coverage of international media. But this was favourable for international passenger carrier to shatter the compaign based on Scheduled-BBH- created brand building. But the unfavourable covering left bad reputation of brand on customer expeirence, on the other hand this will lead to Britsh Airways This, however, leaves the brand facing a torrent of negative coverage and a black mark on pass engers experiences, without any possible injection of brand equity in the predictable future. BAs poor strategy of marketing really effected the Brand. Few days before British Airways adverise that the Terminal 5 would be the future of airline to just create attention of customers. The image of BA chief Willie Walsh, arms outstretched, gushing, I think its great and its going to get better. This is a hundred times better than anything else at Heathrow, has been etched in the annals of PR blunders. Aside from undermining Walsh and his tenure as chief executive, this has compounded a huge damage to the brand name of BA. Britsh Airwayss have contigency plan for the worst situation whereas skillful and Public relation staff is not possible to managed. British Airways is always staying in the news wheather it was plane aircrash or some thing different. Like few months before an air craft was crashed and this news stay on news channel for long four days. The dilemma of Britsh Airways is not finished yet like loss of 15,000 bags of customers still missing, 10% of scheduled flights were canceled and no positive assurance that these problems are ssorted . So,in the end there is no point to claimed that British Airways is out from the crisis. A last weeken aspect is the issue on British Airways staff. One day higher offical of terminal 5 Gareth KirkwoodUnlike T5 boss Gareth Kirkwood, who usually around with praetorian come forward recklessly infront of media reporters for announcement but later on he moved back to his office before answering to the questions asked by media. When senior supervisors or managers are not around they want staff to deal annoyed passengers, even one of the union leader issue a statement in which he requesting customers that do not use harsh words for British Airways employees. British Airways announced terminal 5 as an favorable circumstances for their employeed but on the other hand prospect in its employer br and strategy to manage staff is quite weaken. Morever the major weak point for British Airways is its unfortunately weak chief executive; the terminal which will stay open for ages is destroyed at initial stages. Furthermore the Brand name of leading airline getting damaged in front of interntaional customers. 6. Customer Relation Management CRM is the development and maintenance of mutually beneficial long-term relationships with strategically significant customers (Buttle, 2000). CRM is an IT enhanced value process, which identifies, develops, integrates and focuses the various competencies of the firm to the voice of the customer in order to deliver long-term superior customer value, at a profit to well identified existing and potential customers.(Plakoyiannaki and Tzokas, 2001). 6.1.Customer loyalty: The term customer loyalty is used to describe the behaviour of customers/their tendency to come to same service or product again. In terms of air travel industry companies offering good ratings, reviews, or testimonials definitely have a strong impact on customers choice. Customers referring others to the same service they get satisfied really add to marketing of the company with absolutely no cost. By praising a service or in other words offering favourable word of mouth publicity regarding a product, telling friends and family, adding them to the number of loyal customers ultimately adds to the profitability of the company. British Airways is to announce a shift in strategy by providing passengers not only cheap fares but also providing them the access to luxury airport lounges and other benefits through their new loyalty schemes. The British Airways Executive Club is not just another frequent flyer programme. It has been designed not only to recognise but also reward business travellers every time they fly. The airline is responding to the slump in business travel during the recession by offering frequent flyers the elite membership of its Executive Club even sometime in a year to those passengers as well, buying discounted economy tickets. Previously, only passengers on expensive fares could earn Tier Points needed for Gold or Silver membership which opens the doors to world-class facilities for them, including its  £60 million Galleries lounges at Heathrows Terminal 5 featuring champagne bars and free fine dining etc. But now company introduces certain packages for the less frequent or short flight passengers as well, though they can avail its benefits in certain times not in the whole year like frequent flyers. 7. E-Marketing E-marketing means using digital technologies (newer and improved) to help sell ones goods or services. These technologies are definitely a valuable complement to traditional marketing methods whatever the size of the company or business model actually has. 7.1. E-Marketing Strategies:- Electronic sources- Internet, mobile, itv Interactive media Personalized communication service Global reach Cost efficiency Easy access Targeting right audience Branding Measurability 7.2. E-Marketing Tools Websites- easy to use, content specific, simple design SMS/ texting through mobile Email strategy Sell the product Speak to customers Serve people Save time Sizzle and extend brand identity The use of e-marketing strategies allows organisations like BA to approach customers at their convenience and improved convenience and quality of their services adding to positive word of mouth, ultimately better profitability. British Airways has announced its newly friendly user website, and promote this website as a planning tool for their customers to maximise their online business nad made it tempted for the customers who preffer to do online bookings and travel planning . As a Brand online bookings and travell planning is a far easy way of communication for its customers. British Airways spend more than around $180 million in developing and maintaining the websites which reflects a straight and simple version in context of online operations so in result the largest airline received customer satisfaction. Britsh Airways has always been focusing customer for their creativity and improvement.Rob McDonald leading staff of Britsh Airways said in a statement That website is not only cost and time effective , the extensive operation on new websites also allow the customer to get more control regarding time management, money and deliver them best travel experience on board. In addition he said that we are trying to devlop more smart website so customer can easily grasp information regarding their proposed travels, furthermore he said that we know our customer needs and to fullfil them is our priority. Online booking system through British Airways website has increased massively from 2001, customer getting awareness day by day and they do prefer online bookings rather then pop in to travel agent. The ratio of online booking in 2001 is just 3% but now it increased to 20% which is comparatively 7 times higher then before. Similarly overall worldwide revenue is also increased which is twice from the last 2 years and on other hand revenue for Asia Pacific region is five time higher then before so these online transaction system increased the company revenue. As a leading brand in global international airline market, aircrafts of British Airways landed on the runways to almost more than 200 destinations almost all over the worldand from which half of the flights are the worlds largest international passenger airline, British Airways plcs planes touch down daily on runways almost everywhere from Tehran to Lagos to Bogota. About half of its flights are across an ocean and most of the flights fly to US. British Airways marketing department has launched various email marketing strategies especially for the loyal customers who travels on long haul flights and introduced a niche website to maximise their online trasactions. Conclusion: British Airways as a leading international airline has to work hard and need improvement on their marketing strategy. The poor marketing strategy have always bad impact on company growth. I have analysed that British Airways need to improve marketing strategy to gain maximum customer loyalty. Furthermore British Airways is really effected due to global financial crisis, so to handle this situation Britsh Airways need to develop such marketing stratagies to get competitive advantage. Morever the new legislations imposed by the athourities on enviornment, noise pollution have direct and indirect impact on the airline. Britsh Airways need to target older people over 50s because they often travel and planned journeys so they would be potential customer. Britsh Airways is planning to introduce more rewards for frequent travellers. In addition British Airways has a threat for their short haul flights from Easy Jet because Easy Jet is cost effective for short haul flights so britsh airways should develop competitive stratagy to sustain in airline industry.

Socioeconomic effects on children :: essays research papers

When Both Parents are Employed Socio-economic conditions in North America have contributed to the need for dual incomes for families. Economically, â€Å"the number of two parent families below the poverty line would increase to an estimated 78% if they were to become single income families.† (Ontario Women’s Directorate 9) Socially, it was the norm, in the past, for women to stay at home having a more expressive role in the family; taking care of the children and providing emotional support for the family. Presently, women feel that their traditional roles as child bearers and homemakers must be supplemented with a sense of achievement outside the home. Recent studies reflect an increased trend towards the dual income family and projections are for this trend to continue. In 1961, 30% of married women were working; in 1978, 38% were employed; by 1981 50% were working and in 1985, 55% held paying positions outside the home. (Jarman and Howlett 95) In 1961, only 20% of all two parent families were! dual wage families, but by 1986, more than half (53%) of all families were dual earning families. (Ramu 26) In light of the fact that the majority of two parent families in the 1990’s have also become dual wage earning families, it is important to examine the effects of such a phenomenon on society in general and on child rearing in particular. Children acquire their goals, values and norms based on the way that they view or identify with their parents as well as from the quality and amount of care, love and guidance given to them by their parents. Parents who work present a different image to their children than parents who do not work. In addition, wage earners, including parents, must (in most cases), be absent from the home during the day. When considering these modifications to the family dynamics, there is considerable basis for proof that the positive effects outweigh the negative effects experienced by offspring in families were both parents are employed. The working parent occupies an important exemplary role within the family. Working parents often command considerable respect from their children, because they demonstrate the worthy characteristics of industriousness, social compatibility, self reliance, maturity, intelligence and responsibility. Because children identify with their parents, the feedback from such positive influences tends to be positive as well because many of these positive characteristics are imparted upon them.

A Critique Of d-day June 6,1944: The Climatic Battle Of Wwii :: essays research papers fc

The book D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II was written by Stephen E. Ambrose, and published by Simon & Schuester in New York. This book begins with a prologue that is followed by 32 chapters, a glossary, endnotes, a bibliography, an appendix, and an index. The first ten chapters give the events that lead up to D-Day, it discusses a variety of topics ranging from, general topics like the attackers and the defenders, to topics like what kind of weather conditions would be necessary for the invasion. Chapters 11 through 14 discuss the air invasion that occurred shortly after midnight, and the air and naval bombardment of the beaches prior to the infantry landing on the Normandy shore. Chapters 15 through 25 cover the landings on the beaches and the struggles of the American forces to get up the bluffs and inland. Chapter 26 titled "The World Holds Its Breath", is exactly what it says, it gives a view of the home front during the invasion. Chapters 27 through 31 talk about other allied landings on the beaches. Chapter 32 ends the book by giving a summary of the accomplishments of D-Day, and giving the general feelings toward the success of the invasion after the first day of fighting. This book was written to provide everyone with an up close and personal view of WWII.The first two chapters on the book are titled " The Attackers" and "The Defenders". In these two chapters the author talks about the warring nations. The Germans who originally used blitzkrieg style warfare to remove the allied powers from Europe, by 1944 had dug in, and was now a complete opposite of what they once were. This would have probably worked just fine had the Nazis not conquered more territory than they could defend. Hitler knew that an invasion was immanent and that if he could send the allies back into the channel with great loses it would take months to organize another attempt, and hopefully by then Roosevelt and Churchill, would be gone. The allies had to penetrate Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. This stacked the deck in Hitler’s favor, because the Allies would have to cross the English Channel an make an amphibious assault on the German fortifications. Prior to WWII there had only been two times that an attack such as this was successful One was led by Julius Ceaser, and the other was led by William the Conqueror.

Agamemnon :: Agamemnon

Agamemnon Communication In Aeschylus’s, Agamemnon, there is a great possibility that the death of Agamemnon could have been prevented, had the Chorus simply listened to Cassandra’s prophecy. But the words spoken between the two parties seem to have loss it’s meaning when it fell upon the Chorus; yet, they were obviously hearing what she was saying. But while they were hearing what she had to say, they did not listen to her words. Ironically, in this story, it is the women who posses all the knowledge. But once they try to share it, the men, who later suffer the consequence, ignore them. People only listen to what they want to hear, and a woman’s word is not considered important enough to listen to. Klytaimestra has thought up an ingenious plan to uncover the outcome of the Trojan War as quickly as possible; however, when she tries to share the news, the Chorus castoffs her declaration. This constant stichomythia between the Chorus and Klytaimestra annoys her because of the persistent disbelief, â€Å"And you have proof?/That, or a phantom spirit sends you into raptures† (272-274). The Chorus, which consists of men, do not accept that a woman can have any sort of knowledge before they do. They dismiss her claims until they hear it from a male messenger, which makes Klytaimestra very angry: â€Å"I cried out long ago!/You made me seem deranged† (580-586). Further, when she explains how she discovered the outcome, the men automatically assume that because she is a woman, she got her information from gossiping. â€Å"Just like a woman/to fill with thanks before the truth is clear . . . So gullible. Their stories spread like wildfire,/they fly fast and die faster;/ rumours voiced by women come to nothing.† To the Chorus, a woman to devise a plan as clever as Klytaimestra’s, is inconceivable. But even after Klytaimestra’s facts are proven, the Chorus will later undermine her abilities again. After coming out of the house with blood stained hands while announcing her murder, all the Chorus can do is talk about what a great loss they suffer. They accuse Klytaimestra for being a backstabber, and tell her she should be punished. When Klytaimestra defends her actions by pointing out how Agamemnon killed her daughter, they ignore her and keep mourning. Even though they can see with their own eyes that Klytaimestra killed her husband and Cassandra, they still refuse to really listen to her, as if they do not want to believe that a woman committed the murder of their almighty king.

Repeat purchasers

The legal environment of foreign marketing takes an added dimension of importance since there is no single uniform commercial law which governs foreign business transactions. † – Comment. International marketers must be aware of the legal environments that they operate in. As there is no uniform international law regarding business transactions, companies can find themselves wasting money or in legal issues if they do not operate according to the laws in the specific countries they are in.The customs, politics, and geography vary greatly from country to country and are affected by the gal environment. It is extremely important that international markers are aware of this added dimension and are prepared. No single, uniform international commercial law governs foreign business transactions. The foundation of a legal system Profoundly affects how the law is written, interpreted, and adjudicated Laws governing business activities within and between countries An integral par t of the legal environment of international business .Four heritages form the basis for the majority of the legal systems of the world Common law, Civil or code law, Islamic law, and Marxist-socialist tenets Common law Derived from English law. England, U. S. , Canada and countries who were once under the English influence. Seeks interpretation through the past decisions of higher courts which interpret the same statues. Applies established and customary law principles to a similar set of facts Civil or Code law derived from Roman law.Germany, Japan, France and non-lilacs and non-Marxist countries. All-inclusive system of written rules (codes) of law: Legal system is generally divided into three separate codes 1 . ) Commercial 2. ) Civil 3. ) Criminal Ownership is determined by registration. Considered complete as a result of catchall revisions found in most code-law systems Islamic law Places emphasis on the ethical, moral, social, and religious dimensions to enhance equality and f airness for the good of society. The basis is the interpretation of the Koran.Islamic law defines a complete system that prescribes specific patterns of social and economic behavior for all individuals: 1 . ) Property rights 2. ) Economic decision making 3. ) Types of economic freedom Islamic law This system prohibits investment in a business dealing with Alcohol, gambling and casinos In order to comply with Islamic Law following are terms that are frequently use: Trade with markup or cost-plus sale and leasing. These practices enable borrowers and lenders to share in the rewards as well as the losses in an equitable fashion.The international marketer must know the religion's system of belief and understand how the law is interpreted in each region Marxist-socialist Tenets of Russia and the Republics of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China. Legal system centered on the economic, political and social policies of the state. Now more directly involved in trade with non-Ma rxist countries Differences among the 4 law systems Due process may vary. Individual interpretation may vary Fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law. Combination of several legal systems. U. S. Sees both common and code law Marxist-socialist tenets strictly subordinate to prevailing economics conditions. Private ownership, contracts, due process and other legal mechanisms need to be developed. Russia and China differ because Each has taken a different direction in its political economic growth. Russia is moving toward a Democratic System. China is trying to activate a private sector within a mixed economy in a socialist legal framework Jurisdiction in International Legal Disputes No Judicial body exists to deal with legal commercial problems arising between citizens of different countries.Legal disputes can arise in three situations: 1 . ) Between governments 2. ) Between a company and a government 3. ) Between two companies Jurisdiction is generally determined on the basis of: Jurisdictional clauses included in contracts, Where a contract was entered into, Where the provisions of the contract were performed Jurisdictional Clause â€Å"That the parties hereby agree that the agreement is made in Oregon, USA, and that any question regarding this agreement shall be governed by the law of the state of Oregon, USA† Types of International Disputes Buyer refuses to pay.Product is inferior quality. Shipment arrives late Steps when a dispute arises†¦ Resolve the issue informally, Conciliation aka Mediation, Arbitration, Conciliation a nonbinding agreement between parties to resolve disputes by asking a third party to mediate differences. Sessions are private and all conferences between parties and the mediator are confidential. In all conciliation agreements An arbitration clause should be included The popularity of arbitration has led to a proliferation of orbital centers. Established by countries, organizations, and institutions.Inter-American Commer cial Arbitration Commission. Canadian-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (for disputes between Canadian and U. S. Businesses). London Court of Arbitration (decisions are enforceable under English law and English courts). American Arbitration Association. International Chamber of Commerce (select Arbitration) Arbitration clauses require agreement on two counts 1 . To arbitrate in the case of a dispute according to the rules and procedures of some arbitration tribunal. 2. To abide by the awards resulting from the arbitrationContracts and other legal documents should include clauses specifying the use of arbitration to settle disputes Problems with Arbitration Companies may refuse to: 1 Name arbitrators 2. ) Arbitrate 3. ) After arbitration awards are made companies may refuse to honor the award 4. ) In most countries, arbitration clauses are recognized by the courts and are enforceable by law within those countries Deterrents to litigation Fear of creating a poor image and dam aging public relations. Fear of unfair treatment in a foreign court.Difficulty in collecting a Judgment that may otherwise eave been collected in a mutually agreed settlement through arbitration. The relatively high cost and time required when bringing legal action. Loss of confidentiality 4 recommended steps for settling disputes Try to placate the injured party. Conciliate. Arbitrate. Litigate Companies spend millions of dollars establishing brand names or trademarks To symbolize quality and design. To entice customers Millions are spent on research To develop products, processes, designs, and formulas Lost sales from the unauthorized use of U. S. Tents, trademarks, and copyrights Amount to more than $100 billion annually Counterfeits anger from copies that have the same efficacy as the original to those with few or no active ingredients, to those made of harmful substances Inadequate Protection Failing to adequately protect intellectual property rights can lead to the legal loss of rights in potentially profitable markets A company that believes it can always establish ownership in another country by proving it used the trademark or brand name first is wrong and risks the loss of these assets It is best to protect intellectual property rights through registration In the U.S. , a Common-law country, ownership of intellectual property rights is established by prior use versus registration International Conventions Three major aspects: Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Inter- American Convention, Madrid Arrangement All countries have laws regulating marketing activities Promotion, Product development, Labeling, Pricing, Channels of distribution Discrepancies across markets cause problems for trade negotiators – particularly for managers and their firms U. S. Does not allow the buying or selling of human organs. Some countries only have a few marketing laws with lax enforcement.Others have detailed, complicated rules that are st ringently enforced 0 Advertising comparisons in advertisements are always subject to the competitor's right to go to the courts and ask for proof of any implied or stated superiority Green marketing laws Focus on environmentally friendly products and Focus on product packaging and its effect on solid waste management Antitrust a lot of the 20th century it was Nonexistent and Not enforced in most of the world's countries (U. S. Was exception) U. S. Laws Apply in Host Countries Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, National security laws, Antibiotics law, Extraterritoriality of U.S. Laws and Antitrust laws 0 00 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Makes it illegal for companies to pay bribes to foreign officials, candidates, or political parties 0 00 National security laws Prohibit a U. S. Company, its subsidiaries, Joint ventures, or licensees to sell controlled products without special permission from the U. S. Antibiotics law U. S. Companies are forbidden to participate in any unauthorized forei gn boycott. Required to report any request to cooperate with a boycott Extraterritoriality of U. S. Laws Especially important to U. S. Multinational firms.Foreign governments fear the influence of American government policy on their economies through U. S. Multinationals What is illegal for an American business at home can also be illegal by U. S. Law in foreign Jurisdictions for the firm, subsidiaries and licensees of U. S. Technology Cybercafà © – Unresolved Issues Supersaturates (CSS), Taxes, and Jurisdiction of disputes and validity of contracts Taxes In the past, a company was deemed to have a taxable presence in a country if it had a permanent establishment there The E Commission Proposes value-added tax (VAT) Jurisdiction of disputes and validity of contractsThe EX. Commission has adopted an e-commerce directive that will permit online retailers to trade by the rules of their home country unless the seller had enticed or approached the consumer by way of advertising S upersaturates buy and register descriptive nouns, geographic names, and names of ethnic groups and pharmaceutical substances, and other similar descriptors and hold them until they can be sold at an inflated price Businesses face a multitude of problems in their efforts to develop successful marketing programs Varying legal systems of the world and their effect on business orientations Legal questions must also be considered Jurisdictional and legal recourse in disputes. Protection of intellectual property rights. Extended U. S. Law enforcement Enforcement of antitrust legislation by U. S. And foreign governments Q . International marketing research and market research are Synonymous, since the research process is basically the same whether applied in USA. , U. K. , Japan or India? † Critically examine this statement. Marketing research process Stage 1: Formulating the Marketing Research Problem Formulating a problem is the first step in the research process. In many ways, res earch starts with a problem that management is facing. This problem needs to be understood, the cause diagnosed, and solutions developed. However, most management problems are not always easy to research. A management problem must first be translated into a research problem. Once you approach the problem from a research angle, you can find a solution. For example, â€Å"sales are not growing† is a management problem.Translated into a research problem, we may examine the expectations and experiences of several groups: potential customers, first-time buyers, and repeat purchasers. We will determine if the lack of sales is due to: ; Poor expectations that lead too general lack of desire to buy, or ; Poor performance experience and a lack of desire to repurchase. What then is the difference between a management problem and a research problem? Management problems focus on an action. Do we advertise more? Do we change our advertising message? Do we change an under-performing produc t configuration? If so, how? Research problems, on the other hand, focus on providing the information you need in order to solve the management problem. Stage 2: Method of InquiryThe scientific method is the standard pattern for investigation. It provides an opportunity for you to use existing knowledge as a starting point and proceed impartially. The scientific method includes the following steps: 1. Formulate a problem 2. Develop a hypothesis 3. Make predictions based on the hypothesis 4. Devise a test of the hypothesis 5. Conduct the test 6. Analyze the results The terminology is similar to the stages in the research process. However, there are subtle differences in the way the steps are performed. For example, the scientific method is objective while the research process can be subjective. Objective-based research (quantitative research) relies on impartial analysis.The facts are the priority in objective research. On the other hand, subjective-based research (qualitative resear ch) emphasizes personal Judgment as you collect and analyze data. Stage 3: Research Method In addition to selecting a method of inquiry (objective or subjective), you must select a research method. There are two primary methodologies that can be used to answer any research question: experimental research and non-experimental research. Experimental research gives you the advantage of controlling extraneous variables ND manipulating one or more variables that influences the process being implemented. Non-experimental research allows observation but not intervention.You simply observe and report on your findings. Stage 4: Research Design The research design is a plan or framework for conducting the study and collecting data. It is defined as the specific methods and procedures you use to acquire the information you need. Stage 5: Data Collection Techniques Your research design will develop as you select techniques to use. There are many ways to collect data. Two important methods to co nsider are interviews and observation. Interviews require you to ask questions and receive responses. Common modes of research communication include interviews conducted face-to- face, by mail, by telephone, by email, or over the Internet.This broad category of research techniques is known as survey research. These techniques are used in both non-experimental research and experimental research. Another way to collect data is by observation. Observing a person's or company's past or present behavior can predict future purchasing decisions. Data collection techniques for past behavior can include analyzing company records and reviewing studies published by external resources. In order to analyze information from interview or observation techniques, you must record your results. Because the recorded results are vital, measurement and development are closely linked to which data collection techniques you decide on.The way you record the data changes depends on which method you use. Stag e 6: Sample Design Your marketing research project will rarely examine an entire population. It's more practical to use a sample-?a smaller but accurate representation of the greater population. In order to design your sample, you must find answers to these questions: 1. From which base population is the sample to be selected? 2. What is the method (process) for sample selection? 3. What is the size of the sample? Once you've established who the relevant population is (completed in the problem formulation stage), you have a base for your sample. This will allow you to make inferences about a larger population.There are two methods of selecting a sample from a population: probability or non-probability sampling. The probability method relies on a random sampling of everyone within the larger population. Non- probability is based in part on the Judgment of the investigator, and often employs nonviolence samples, or by other sampling methods that do not rely on probability. The final s tage of the sample design involves determining the appropriate sample size. This important step involves cost and accuracy decisions. Larger samples generally reduce sampling error and increase accuracy, but also increase costs. Stage 7: Data Collection Once you've established the first six stages, you can move on to data collection.Depending on the mode of data collection, this part of the process can require large amounts of personnel and a significant portion of your budget. Personal (face-to-face) and telephone interviews may require you to use a data collection agency (field service). Internet surveys require fewer personnel, are lower cost, and can be completed in days rather than weeks or months. Regardless of the mode of data collection, the data collection process introduces another essential element to your research project: the importance of clear and constant communication. Stage 8: Analysis and Interpretation In order for data to be useful, you must analyze it.Analysis techniques vary and their effectiveness depends on the types of information oh are collecting, and the type of measurements you are using. Because they are dependent on the data collection, analysis techniques should be decided before this step. Stage 9: The Marketing Research Report The marketing research process culminates with the research report. This report will include all of your information, including an accurate description of your research process, the results, conclusions, and recommended courses of action. The report should provide all the information the decision maker needs to understand the project. It should also be written in language that is easy to understand. It's important to find a balance between completeness and conciseness.You don't want to leave any information out; however, you can't let the information get so technical that it overwhelms the reading audience. One approach to resolving this conflict is to prepare two reports: the technical report and the s ummary report. The technical report discusses the methods and the underlying assumptions. In this document, you discuss the detailed findings of the research project. The summary report, as its name implies, summarizes the research process and presents the findings and conclusions as simply as possible. Another way to keep your findings clear is to prepare several different representations of your findings. Powering presentations, graphs, and face-to-face reports are all common methods for presenting your information.