Marketing Communication Based on Video Research Paper

Marketing Communication Based on Video - Research Paper Example Absolut is a business entity which was originated as a brain child of Lars Olsson Smith, the king of Vodka. The Absolut organization exists to provide the best quality vodka in the world. Today it is one of the leading brands of Vodka. The originators suggest that the main ingredient required to produce Absolut is a grain grown in Ahus, in Southern Sweden. The producers have coined a â€Å"one source concept†. It is this one source concept that the manufacturers believe causes Absolut vodka to be absolute. The Absolut website states that it is made of only natural ingredients, namely, winter wheat and water. Absolut is viewed as a perfect unit in that its bottle, its taste and its price combine to form one package. Over the years Absolut has added many flavors to its original and premium product. Flavors include Peppar, Citron, Mandarin, Rasberri, Vanilla, Kurant and Pears. Absolut on their website proposes that their Mandarin and Orange are two of the most popular flavors in the world. The brand’s origins and its background The brand Absolut was established since 1889 when Lars Olsson Smith registered the brand name and began to revolutionize the manner in which vodka was made. By 1979, it was imperative for Absolut to begin to export to countries around the world in order to survive. The genesis for Absolut was the idea of the legendary Lars Olsson Smith who revolutionized the manner in which distillation was done. He created the rectification method of distillation and to this day producers of alcoholic beverages still use this method. For Smith, rectification allowed all the impurities involved in the production of vodka to be removed. Thus, Smith called the product of his rectification Absolut rent branvin which means â€Å"Absolute pure vodka† in Swedish. For this reason, Lars Olsson Smith is known as the King of Vodka. In 1992, Absolut advertising campaign was inducted into the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Hall of Fame. Amazingly, this feat was won without the use of te levision as an advertising medium. Richard Lewis (1996) the mastermind behind Absolut’s advertising campaign claims that the major purpose of the campaign was â€Å"to build a healthy and enduring brand for Absolut.† Throughout the first hundred years of its existence Absolut was perfected in its taste, its texture and its packaging. 1.3 The brand’s popularity Although Absolut in its website views itself as the number one selling vodka in the United States, other sources such as Impact International believe that in 2010 Absolut was the fourth largest â€Å"international premium spirit in the world. Impact International noted that Absolut is available in 126 markets. Lewis (1996) notes that in 1981 at the beginning of the Absolut advertising campaign, 20,000 cases of vodka were sold to the United States each year by 1995; sales had reached to 3 million cases per year. Sarah Edmunds of Reuters in her interview with Bengt Baron posits, â€Å"In the United States †¦ Absolut has about 10-1/2 to 11 percent of the total vodka market, sales rose to 4.9 million nine-litre cases in 2006, up from 4.7 million in 2005. Also at this interview Baron observed that Absolut has â€Å"98 percent brand awareness in the (U.S.) consumer (market) and we're still growing faster than the market in general†. Nonetheless, Absolut still advertises itself on its website as the leading brand of vodka in the world. A positioning- perceptual map is an

Environmental sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Environmental sustainability - Essay Example It would then only be a question of time that man ceases to exist. This paper discusses about environmental sustainability, mainly focusing on the Brundtland Report about the same. This report not just considers the earth’s â€Å"environmental decay, poverty, and hardship,† but also brings to fore the â€Å"possibility for a new era of economic growth† and how this possibility can be realized. Environmentalists and scientists alike have tried to bring the situation under control by closely examining the environment as well as the earth. They have proposed several theories and steps that would help man to protect the environment and safeguard it. One such concept is sustainable development, which is the â€Å"ability to make development sustainable (by) ensuring that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (Brundtland, 1987). So, in other words, sustainable development proposes some r estraints on the use of resources, which are to be followed in order to change the present perishing situation of the environment to some extent. It is a known fact that â€Å"poverty is no longer inevitable,† thus, such a world, is â€Å"prone to ecological and other catastrophes† (Brundtland, 1987). ... Even after they are implemented, there arise several changes in the environment, which curb the overall impact that the strategies might have had, had the environment remained the same as to when the plans were originally prepared. Therefore, it becomes clear that there are a lot of issues which stand in the way of environmental sustainability and its success. According to the Brundtland report, some of these issues include population growth, â€Å"food security, species and ecosystems, energy, industry and the urban challenge† (Brundtland, 1987). Population growth relates with not just the ever increasing number of people on the planet, but also the way in which this â€Å"number relate(s) to available resources† (Brundtland, 1987). The resources available are limited, but the population keeps on expanding, thus making it obvious that sooner or later consumption would increase so much that the resources would be finished off completely. Another factor that poses an iss ue is the unawareness or lack of knowledge on part of the greater number of people, who do not know how to use the resources efficiently. Therefore, the increasing population demands for increase in educational facilities and awareness programs, in addition to increase in other requirements such as food, health care, energy supplies etc. The problem in terms of food security is that though the production of food has increased rapidly â€Å"food is often not available where it is needed† (Brundtland, 1987). Thus, poor people frequently suffer from hunger and starvation. Similarly, when population grows, environmental risks such as pollution through means of increased number of transportation, factories and other chemical wastes also increase. In the case of species and

Key Areas Of The Marketing Environment Marketing Essay

Key Areas Of The Marketing Environment Marketing Essay This assignment emphasizes on relationship approach to explain the concept of marketing. With regard to service, the concept of marketing takes into consideration manufacturers service organizations as well as service operations. Traditionally marketing was considered as a function which includes expertise planning and implementation of marketing mix. However, when it comes to services, this function of marketing is not taken into consideration. Marketing with regard to service is more about relationships, like those involving one-on-one transactions or whose scope is narrowed, for example, marketing of breakfast cereal or soap. Other kind of relationships whose scope is wider consist of significant social interaction which are on-going as well as long lasting, for example, service offered by hospitality industry or financial providers. Next, this assignment investigates the term relationship strategy and its nature. A detailed comparison about marketing and organizational behavior, concerning functions of businesses as well as academic regulations, drawn from the relationship approach are argued in this assignment. Lastly, the assignment emphasizes on the importance of service culture and internal marketing in this challenging global market to meet the marketing aspect and organizational behavioral needs of any business. 1.2: Analyze the relationship between businesses vision, mission and marketing strategy For any organization, mission statement is the most important statement which directs the business to achieve its goal and built its name in the market. Mainly, this statement includes three most important aspects, namely, vision, mission and core values. Vision is a wider thought of what the company wants to accomplish in future. Mission is mainly concerned which what steps the company is going to undertake to accomplish the set vision and core value involves the behavior of the company and its member throughout the course of goal accomplishment. All these three aspects are essential to direct the business through the path of success accomplishment. After the company has created the mission statement, it is then important for it to set the goals, objectives and strategic or action plan/s. Goals usually involves targets which the company needs to complete in order to accomplish the vision. Objectives are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-framed) statements to accomplish companys goals. Strategic or action plans are the detailed executive plans which illustrate the ways in which goal and objective can be accomplished. 1.3: Evaluate the tools and techniques available for analysing key areas of the marketing environment and use them in realistic business situations To analyze the key areas of marketing environment, the businesses are now emphasizing on strategic philanthropy concept. This concept helps to develop and evaluate the marketing issues, illustrates the focus of the stakeholders, and examines the aspects that need to be considered while executing the business plan. Today companies are realizing the advantages of strategic philanthropy concept not only for the employees and the investors but also for the community as whole. Currently, the companies are also formalizing and combining philanthropic decisions with other strategic decisions related to the performance of the company. 21st century companies are more emphasizing on management of social marketing issues for the interest of essential stakeholders. 1.4: Examine the factors influencing consumer choice and behaviour In the current globalised market, there is an accelerating need for ethical choices as proved by most researches. However, not much has been printed about the decisions made by the ethical consumers and the impact of their decision making on marketing. Due to limited proven research work about ethical consumer choice, this assignment will highlight the outcomes of national survey conducted on large scale in UK on ethical consumers. Equation modeling and reliability analysis methods were use to study this most important and ignored area and also to investigate the essential factors influencing ethical consumer choice and their interconnectivity. Two sets of data was used to create decision making model and its cross validity was examined. This innovative model of ethical consumer choice and decision making showed remarkable improvement on consumers buying choice. Study results of this researched proved that the buying intentions of the consumers were highly influenced. The assignment, however, further discusses implications of these results on marketing practitioners. 1.5: Assess the role of market research in business decision-making Market research results frequently produce negative reactions to discontinuous new products (innovative products) that later become profitable for the innovating company. Famous examples such as the fax machine, the VCR and James Dysons bagels vacuum cleaner are often cited to support this view. Despite this, companies continue to seek the views of consumers on their new product ideas. The debate about the use of market research in the development of new products is long-standing and controversial. This paper reviews the literature in this area and examines the extent to which market research is justified and whether companies should sometimes ignore their customers. The paper offers a conceptual framework that may help companies to decide when market research findings may be helpful and when they may hinder the development of discontinuous new products. Amplification of assessment criteria 1.1 Examine the main contexts of marketing 1.1.1 Assess critically the role of marketing in business, e.g. the impact of marketing on society In todays time, marketing researchers and professionals are extremely interested in the value generated by marketing. Even though there is large number of research work on marketing, it is still unclear how the market value is interrelated with the interest of the marketing generators. Researchers further plan to examine how customer value and customer satisfaction are interconnected. This will help to lessen the uncertainty created around both the concepts. Both customer value and customer satisfaction are two different concepts in terms of theory and practical aspects. This assignment examines this along with highlighting whether customer value helps to predict the behavioral results in better way with compare to customer satisfaction, when it comes to business marketing. To address this issue, there are two different models generated and examined in a cross sectional survey with the purchasing management of a company. A direct influence of value on intention of purchasing manager is suggested by first model whereas the second model arbitrates the value with customer satisfaction. This research study proves that both customer value and customer satisfaction are two different concepts measured and conceptualized in different way, still are harmonizing with each other. 1.1.2 Demonstrate the contribution of marketing to business strategy, e.g. major contexts of marketing applications (consumer goods; business to business; services marketing) There can be no more important aspect of constructing an effective marketing strategy than understanding competitors and your own organizations competitive position. The techniques such as Porters Five Forces Model and a SWOT analysis have already been identified as ways in which an organization can assess aspects. 1.2 Analyze the relationship between businesses vision, mission and marketing strategy 1.2.1 Explain the relationship between businesses vision, mission and marketing strategy, e.g. developing a marketing strategy which supports the businesses corporate strategy A management team needs information about external environments to make sound strategic decisions. Environmental scanning is the process of gathering information about those external environments to inform decision-making. That information may come from a wide variety of sources. It is important to ensure that data gathering, interpretation/analysis and strategy formulation are seen as three separate stages of environmental scanning. Some organizations use the information they collect to construct different scenarios, which also contribute to their planning and prepare them for a flexible response. 1.2.2 Identify the key influences on shaping marketing strategy, e.g. competitor; capability and resources; target customers; external environment. A great deal of attention has been devoted to the concept of market orientation in marketing academe and practice. Numerous perspectives have been proposed as researchers endeavor to conceptualize the market orientation construct and implement it in practice. 1.3 Evaluate the tools and techniques available for analysing key areas of the marketing environment and use them in realistic business situation. 1.3.1 Identify the main tools and techniques available for analysing key areas of the marketing environment, e.g. environmental scanning This article focuses on defining and discussing the concept of critical success factors as input into the analysis, resource analysis, and strategy evaluation steps in the strategic planning/strategy development process. The reader is provided with eight possible sources of critical success factors including analysis, analysis of industry structure, industry/business experts, analysis of competition, and analysis of dominant firm in the industry, company assessment, temporal/intuitive factors and PIMS results. Examples of CSFs from various sources are provided and a scheme by which the reader can assess the relative importance of identified CSFs is presented. 1.3.2 Demonstrate the use of the main tools and techniques available for analysing key areas of the marketing environment, e.g. scenario planning The methodological tools and techniques that analysts use to assess the evolving Innovation, Science and Technology-related (IST) factors impacting their enterprises competitiveness and strategic environment. Studies generally show that a limited set of conceptual tools are regularly utilized by analysts in some enterprises; nevertheless, they are perceived only to demonstrate mixed success levels in meeting planning or decision-oriented needs. A performance gap exists between organizational needs to proactively address IST factors impacting their organizations competitiveness and the insights actually delivered to decision-makers by existing methods and the analysts who employ them. In this paper, the author defines the scope of IST analytical applications, identifies the conceptual tools and techniques used, applies a model for assessing the utility of the tools, describes the reasons why the tools do not deliver what is needed, and makes recommendations for improving the use of IS T-focused analysis tools. 1.4 Examine the factors influencing consumer choice and behaviour 1.4.1 Analyze the process of consumer product acquisition and consumer choice, e.g. models of consumer buying behaviour; impact of memory, perception and learning on consumer choice The ways in which consumers make choices are clearly of interest to those involved in marketing. Consumer behaviour includes elements which are rational and elements which are emotional. However, the process involved in making a choice and buying decision can be analyzed and represented in a step-by-step framework. This section examines that process and the underlying factors which determine consumer behaviour. 1.4.2 Analyze the factors which influence consumer behaviour, e.g. impact of personality, motivation, opinions, attitudes and values on consumer behaviour; role of reference groups on consumption behaviour In the field tourism progress and planning, the decision making process is highly multifaceted because companies and communities have to combat with economic, social and environmental aspects of greater development. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be considered as an essential tool of methods and technologies of high applicability to provide for the attainment of greater tourism development. To investigate conflict, Spatial (environmental) data can be utilized which examines competition, explores influence on and helps in making decision. The impact assessment and simulation is highly significant for the development of tourism, and GIS can a role in terms of the environmental audit, exploring the suitability of sites for the planned developments 1.5 Assess the role of market research in business decision-making 1.5.1 Differentiate between market research and marketing research, e.g. their roles in determining structural characteristics and understanding marketing strategy decisions Even when there is increasing talks on international standardization versus customization, to empirical intuitions existing fragmented light to deliver. On the basis of an integrated analysis of 36 studies revolving around outcomes of standardization / adaptation, his past, and performance, this flow has been found to be characterized by non-significant, contradictory, and to a certain level, the results disconcerting related to the concepts inappropriate pictures, poor design and poor analytical methods. The main termination arising from this analysis is that if you standardize or adapt to accomplish better business performance will fundamentally based on the totality of the conditions in which a company is faced with a scrupulous foreign policy of a specific time period. 1.5.2 Analyze the contribution of market research to the decision-making processes of a business, e.g. the role of marketing information systems; the importance of competitive intelligence This paper reports case study of an inter-organizational (IOS) of Cisco and Xiao Tong in China. We interviewed their senior managers, heads of departments and employees who have been directly affected in their work. Other sources of are company documents and publicly available background The study examines the benefits of the IOS for both corporations. The also reveals seven critical success factors for the IOS, namely intensive stimulation, shared vision, cross-organizational implementation team, high integration with internal, inter-organizational re-engineering, advanced legacy and infrastructure and shared industry standard. Outcome 02: Know how to build marketing strategy 2.1 Analyze critically how strategic market analysis, marketing goals and marketing actions influence marketing strategy After designing core values, vision, mission, you need goals and objectives that will help to accomplish your vision. Objectives The objectives are broad statements of what you want. Therefore they should be included in your vision. You should look into the mission, as you will be involved to realize your vision. Examples of business objectives: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improving profitability à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increasing the competence à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ capture a larger market share à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ give improved customer service à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Advance employee training à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ An objective should accomplish below given criteria: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Good: Is it fitting with the vision and mission? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Acceptable: Adjusts the values à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹of the company and its employees? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clarity: Is it easy to understand and easy to explain? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Flexible: can be adjusted and modified as needed? Ensure the objectives are paying attention on the significant aspects of the business. Do not use too many objectives or else you mind lose your concentration. Even the design of your objectives do not conflict and get in the way with each other. Demonstrate how an over-all view on the strategic position of businesses and the understanding of their competitors impact on their marketing strategy Here are AgVA strategies, goals, objectives and action plan. It should be considered that the strategy is a sequence of techniques to use mission is to accomplish the vision. The objectives are statements of what I required to be done to execute the strategy. The objectives are explicit milestones to achieve the goal. The milestones can be accomplished with the action plans which include specific actions to be taken. Vision: a vivacious rural economy determined by value-added agriculture. Mission: To generate and foster the growth of value-added agricultural enterprises. Strategy: utilize local peasant leaders with the skills for the development of company and for business development. Objective: the interest of local farmers / development work experience. Objective: generate a Subscription twenty farmers February 1st. Action Plan: Establish a membership committee to employ local farmers heads. Recognize the 40 farm heads in major cities in the area. Call qualifying. Contact individually, in the hope that half of crowd will be ready to participate. 2.3 Analyze critically the links between growth strategies and the main types of strategic marketing objectives Goals are specific, measurable, time-sensitive statement of what should be achieved and when it will be achieved. Milestones along the road to achieving your goals. Examples of the companys goals are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ at least a 20% after-tax rate of return on our investment in equity to earn during the next fiscal year à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the market share of 10 per cent increase over the next three years. Reduce operating costs by 15 percent over the next two years, improving the efficiency of the production process. The time of the call-back to reduce the investigation of the client and not more than four hours. The goals must meet the following criteria: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Measurable: What will happen and when? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Appropriate: apply it as a measure to reach the goal? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Feasible: It is possible to achieve? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Commitment: People are committed to achieving this goal? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Properties are the people responsible for achieving the objective included in the definition of the target. 2.4: Demonstrate how marketing strategies contribute to sustainable competitive advantages. This study examines the impact of the six dimensions of corporate social responsibility, sustainability marketing strategy the mediation influences of marketing image, customer satisfaction, stakeholder acceptance and marketing performance. CSR consists of human development, environmental considerations, community involvement, product and service innovation trend, the attention of consumers, and the competition is an important strategy that will help companies get image enhanced marketing, customer satisfaction, stakeholder acceptance marketing performance and sustainability marketing. Here ISO 14000 106 companies in Thailand, was selected as the sample of the study. The results showed that some dimensions of corporate social responsibility has a significant impact on the marketing strategy, customer satisfaction, stakeholder acceptance and sustainability marketing. Furthermore, the performance of marketing a potential positive effect on the sustainability of marketing. Moreover, the ethical vision and competitive intensity has a moderating influence on the partial corporate responsibility strategy social relationships, marketing image, customer satisfaction, stakeholder acceptance, marketing performance and sustainability marketing. Potential conversation with the results of the research is actually applied in the study Apply the main steps of marketing planning in practical business situations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ mission statement (or define the mission of the company) has an impact on all the planning throughout the organization, because it is a statement of the companys overall business philosophy. Normally, a set of guidelines, rather than something that is expressed in quantitative terms hard and fast. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Situation analysis involves assessing the internal and external factors that influence the planning process and asks the question: Where are we?. This means that the research and analysis of all the information that has an impact on the organization and its operations, internal factors such as individual departmental corporate resources, external factors such as the current political events may interfere with the activities of the company. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ organizational goals requires a management company to offer guidance on how the company to fulfill its mission, and it makes it clear that the company wants to be. This, in contrast to the mission, should be expressed in quantitative terms available. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ strategies to achieve these objectives, concrete ideas on the achievement of corporate goals and relate to choose the way in which the mission is accomplished. 2.1 Analyze critically how strategic market analysis, marketing goals and marketing actions influence marketing strategy 2.1.1 Evaluate the key influences on strategic marketing planning, e.g. analysing competitors; identifying strategic marketing goals. The creation of a marketing strategy inevitably takes place in a strategic context which is a mixture of internal and external factors. Because of this, it is essential to have a clear understanding of that context before the marketing strategy is constructed. A systematic approach to acquiring that understanding helps to ensure that it is well informed and covers all the relevant factors. 2.2 Demonstrate how an over-all view on the strategic position of businesses and the understanding of their competitors impact on their marketing strategy 2.2.1 Explain the importance of competitors, e.g. key issues when analyzing a businesss competitors Competitive analysis and strategic evaluation of the strongly corrugated and corrugated SWAK of current and potential competitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context to identify opportunities and threats. Profiling an average of all relevant sources of competitor analysis in a framework in support of the efficient and effective strategy formulation, implementation, monitoring and adjustment. analysis is an essential part of the corporate strategy. It is argued that most companies are not this type of analysis systematically enough to carry. On the contrary, many companies are working on what is called informal impressions, assumptions and intuition by goodies information about competitors every manager continually receive. As a result, the traditional sites of the area scanned many companies to the risk of dangerous competitive blind areas due to a lack of robust competitor analysis. Demonstrating the value of information about competitors, such examples of business use to answer questions which provides information on five main competitors Management for Impact means that that is what is needed to respond to changing conditions and greater understanding by the adaptation of the project so it will be more likely to achieve its expected impact such changes may result in minor changes to the assets or major strategic reviews .. Each project is managed to be impacted by its own set of limitations. hold the internal and external constraints will help you to have realistic expectations of what can be achieved and set. 2.3 Analyze critically the links between growth strategies and the main types of strategic marketing objectives 2.3.1 Explain the main types of strategic marketing objective, e.g. niche, hold, harvesting and divest objectives The purpose of strategic marketing analysis is to help managers understand the nature of the industry, the way firms behave competitively within the industry, and how competition is generally undertaken. From this information it becomes easier to determinate exactly what the marketing goals should be. There are several types of strategic objective but four main ones are considered here. These are niche, hold, harvest, and divest goals and are considerable briefly. However the section that follows considers a further objective, namely growth. 2.3.2 Demonstrate the links between growth as an objective and other key strategic marketing objectives, e.g. examine types of growth (intensive, integrative, diversified) in relation to other to strategic marketing objectives When an organization adopts a diversification strategy they are essentially moving outside current, known areas of expertise. Through diversification they begin to work with new products, in new markets, and this brings new risks. Diversification for single-product organizations is an important development for two main reasons. First, risk becomes spread across two or more markets, and secondly, organizational resources such as management, marketing, finance, production, and operations can be used more effectively and efficiently when deployed across more than one product or market. Horizontal diversification occurs when products that are technologically unrelated to The established product range are introduced to the same market. Concentric diversification occurs when products that are technologically related to the Current portfolio is introduced to new markets. Conglomerate diversification occurs when products that is technologically unrelated To the current portfolio are introduced to new markets. 2.4 Demonstrate how marketing strategies contribute to sustainable competitive advantage 2.4.1 Identify the conditions necessary for sustained competitive advantage, e.g. Porters ideas for sustainability He described a category scheme consisting of three general types of strategies that are commonly used by companies to achieve competitive advantage and maintain. These three generic strategies are defined along two dimensions: strategic scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope is a demand-side dimension (Michael E. Porter was originally an engineer, then an economist before he specialized in strategy) and look at the size and composition of the market you intend to target. Strategic strength is a supply-side dimension and look at the strength or core competency of the company. In particular, he has two powers which he felt was most important: product differentiation and product cost (effectiveness) identified. 2.4.2 Assess how different strategies contribute to competitive advantage, e.g. key positions that a business can adopt (cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies) and their impact in achieving competitive advantage Differentiate their products in a way to compete successfully. Examples of successful use of a differentiation strategy are Hero Honda, Asian Paints, HLL, Nike Sneakers, By-Pastor, Apple Computer, and Mercedes-Benz. Differentiation that is tuned when the target segment is not sensitive to price, the market is competitive or saturated, customers have very specific requirements that may be under-served, and the company has resources and unique features that allow you to these needs in a response mode that are difficult to copy. These include patents or other rights of intellectual property (IP), the only technical expertise (eg Apples ability to design or animation prowess PEER), talented employees (for example, a champion sports team or a company of merchants Star brokerage), or innovative processes. Successful brand management is only observed even when the physical product is the same competitors. In this way, Chiquita was able to banana brand Starbucks coffee could be seen, and cou ld sneakers Nike brand. Fashion designers are heavily dependent on this form of image difference. 2.5 Apply the main steps of marketing planning in practical business situations 2.5.1 Demonstrate the process of marketing planning in a business context, e.g. devise outline marketing plans to meet the needs of different sizes and types of business The assignment gives few guidelines, examples, methods, tools, and the procedure to write a business plan that generates effluent outcomes. There is also online guidance available which are not chargeable and which demonstrates ways in which marketing strategy can be generated or a company to write a basic business plan or a plan related to sales by making use of freely available templates, examples and tools of how specific the statement separately and theories and techniques for marketing strategy and marketing planning, consisting of tools and guidelines for advertising, press, public relations (PR), and media relations, generation of sales through inquiries , advertising copywriting, internet and web marketing, offers, and so on. There is an in-depth information available about sales planning and selling based on current market situations. Outcome 03: Understand the concept and role of market segmentation and positioning Differentiate between market segmentation and product differentiation A small business can differentiate its product using marketing techniques, by physically changing the product or by changing the price. Using marketing, you can create a brand or image in the mind of consumers by pointing out the difference between your product and those of your competitors. For example, your advertising can show that while your product may cost the same as your competitors, it lasts longer, making it less expensive to use. If you sell tennis shoes, you can reinforce the toes, making it a longer-lasting shoe that appeals to frequent players who wear out their shoes. Lowering or raising the price of a product differentiates you from your competition. Because consumers have different needs, even when shopping for the same product, its important to know who is buying your product. This will help you plan your marketing, product development and pricing. You can sell a higher-priced version of your product with extra features in specialty stores to attract young, affluent singles, and sell another version with fewer features at a lower cost to young families or seniors. You can sell one version of your product to consumers, and another to businesses. 3.2 Compare and contrast different targeting approaches Business plans come in all shapes and sizes. Pragmatism is essential. Ensure your plan shows what your business needs it to show. Essentially your plan is a spreadsheet of numbers with supporting narrative, explaining how the numbers are to be achieved. A plan should show all the activities and resources in terms of revenues and costs, which together hopefully produce a profit at the end of the trading year. The level of detail and complexity depends on the size and part of the business that the plan concerns. Your business plan, which deals with all aspects of the resource and management of the business (or your part of the business), will include many decisions and factors fed in from the marketing process. It will state sales and profitability targets by activity. In a marketing plan there may also be references to image and reputation, and to public relations. All of these issues require thought and planning if they are to result in improvement, and particularly increasing number s of customers and revenue growth. You would normally describe and provide financial justification for the means of achieving these things, together with customer satisfaction improvement. Above all a plan needs to be based on actions cost-effective and profitable cause and effect; inputs required to achieved required outputs, analyses, identifie

How Should We Treat The Homeless? :: essays research papers

How Should We Treat the Homeless? I think that to treat all homeless people in one certain way would be hard for me to do because there are many reasons for a person to be homeless, and some of them should be treated differently from others. I feel that the runaways and drug addicts don't deserve as much as the unemployed and war veteran types. But I feel in my heart that all people with no homes, or lives for that matter, should get some sort of help to survive and get back on their feet so that they can become a pro-ductive member of society. Lars Eighner, a homeless man, wrote a book entitled "Travels with Lizbeth: Three Years on the Road and on the Streets" in which he describes in one chapter "the process of scavenging Dumsters for food and other necessities." Eighner states that even though he is homeless with not much money, he still eats and sometimes finds money from scavenging Dumpsters. This seems like a form of self-reliance for him. In his story, Eighner tells us what is safe to eat, how to tell if it is safe, and where to get the food. He states that a lot of people throw away perfectly good food, and when they do he finds it. Eighner says the food "can be evaluated with some confidence largely on the basis of appearance." In my opinion, I don't care if the food looks perfect, I wouldn't eat garbage unless I was dying from hunger. But eating is only one problem facing the homeless. Their second priority should be shelter. Where will they go if it is freezing or something? Many large cities have homeless shelters, but sometimes they get full and the last to arrive might not be allowed in due to overcrowding according to fire laws. I wish that they would let these people sleep on the floor or something rather than sleep outside and freeze to death. I think that if the government can't help these people get back on their feet, then they should build larger shelters to house all of them. They could even serve more food at the shelters

Philippines Annexation Essay

Although controversial to some, the Americans made the right decision to annex the Philippines after successfully freeing them from Spanish tyranny and rule. Without American rule and support, the Philippines would have been an easy target to be taken over by Germany, England or Japan who all would have savaged the land and further suppressed the people. The Filipinos were weak, inexperienced and not ready to establish their own government and self rule themselves. During the time of the annexation, the Americans needed a strategic place in that part of the world to protect their interests, expand their trading partners and show the world they were a power to be reckoned with in spreading democracy. So even though the annexation of the Philippines was views by some as doing the same things as some of the other major countries, the Americans always viewed it as a short term solution to educate the people, help them establish themselves to self rule and to allow them time to prepare to protect themselves from other enemies. At the time the decision to annex the Philippines was made, there were other countries waiting and ready to attack and takeover the control that Spain had lost to the Americans. American rule allowed human rights, freedoms and quality of life that would not have been possible had America walked away and allowed the fledgling country try and rule itself. Germany, England, Japan and even Spain would have jumped at the opportunity to take over control of the Philippines and its many resources. Many important and profitable trade routes utilized the Philippines as a gateway to trade their goods and wares. Although it was profitable for the Americans to control this area and have access to the trade routes and resources, they were helping prepare the Filipinos to one day self rule and govern themselves as a free and independent country. Definitely not an opportunity they would have gained under rule of one of the other dominant and brutal governments. As Albert Beveridge so eloquently stated in â€Å"The March of the Flag† speech, â€Å"We can not retreat from any soil where Providence has unfurled our banner, it is ours to save†¦ for liberty and civilization. Having been brutalized  and controlled for so many years under the tyranny control of Spain and its leaders, the Filipinos were ill prepared and ready to set up their own government and rule for themselves. There would not have been any experienced and supported leader that would have gained the support of most Filipinos. This would have led to fractions fighting, internal battles and weakness within the country. These conditions would have made the Philippines an easy target to be retaken and lose their path to independence they had by being annexed by the Americans. The Americans trained their leaders, helped establish an internal military as well as set up a military base that helped to protect their people from outside attacks and takeovers from other coun tries. Even though others like Abraham Lincoln stated â€Å"that no man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent,† leaving the Philippines to be savaged by others would have been much worse for the Filipinos than the temporary annexation by the Americans. During the time the Americans defeated the Spaniards and gained control over Cuba and the Philippines, the world was in constant battle. Many of the powerful countries were trying to expand, conquer and takeover weaker countries and lands. The Americans who believe in democracy and freedom for people knew that they had to show their strength and protect others in the process. The part of the world where the Philippines lies was one of the most volatile and dangerous in the world. That being said, it also had some of the most profitable trade routes, richest resources and was a vital part of the world to have a stronghold. By following through with the annexation of the Philippines, the Americans were able to gain a stronghold on the other side of the world, enrich themselves by gaining access to the valuable resources that were so plentiful and to take the time to help spread freedom and democracy. William McKinley clearly believed and stated that â€Å" we could not turn them over to France and Germany – our commercial rivals in the Orient – that would be bad business and discreditable.† There were many arguments as to the merits of annexing the Philippines or to walk away and grant them their immediate freedom. The Filipinos had been tormented, had their land savaged and destroyed by Spain for so long, there was truly only one humane and correct decision and that was to annex the Philippines. The Americans although financially gained from the decision, never waivered from their long-term commitment to help to train, educate and prepare the Filipinos to  self-rule and govern. Establishing a stronghold in that part of the world helped the Americans establish themselves as a world power and leader in personal freedoms and spreading of democratic governments. With America and its military located on the Philippines they were able to protect the Filipinos from attacks from others with bad intentions such as Germany, England, Japan and Spain. During the time of American annexation, the Filipinos united together, learned the skills necessary to survive and protect themselves from others and over time gained the long-term independence and freedom they never would have secured if not for the annexation of the Americans.

Eye Witness Testimony Essay

â€Å"Eyewitness testimony is so unreliable that it should never be used in convicting criminals†. Eyewitness testimony is a legal term. It refers to; an account given by person(s) of an event they’ve witnessed. Eyewitness testimony is admissible in a court of law to assist in the conviction of individuals. In 1976, the Devlin report examined over 2000 identity parades in the U. K. Of the 2000 parades, 45% resulted in a suspect being identified and out of these, 82% were eventually convicted of a crime. In over 300 cases, the eyewitness testimony was the sole â€Å"evidence† used in conviction. 4% of these 300 cases resulted in criminal convictions. The significance of eyewitness testimony was highlighted in this report and resulted in much more research being undertaken. Cohen describes â€Å"erroneous eyewitness testimony† as being the â€Å"leading cause of wrongful conviction†. The multi store /Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model was first recognised in 1968 by Atkinson and Shiffrin. The model attempts to identify the process that a stimulus must go through to become a retrievable memory. After being criticised for its supposed simplicity, Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed the working memory model. Both of these models propose that memory is a complex phenomenon that must go through numerous stages to become an accurately recalled memory. It is this process that offers explanation into the complexity of memory and the many areas that may result in memory confabulation. The Psychology of Rumour study by Allport & postman’s (examined latter) also alludes to memory being more complex than previously thought and strengthens the theory that memory is a process as opposed to a simplistic film. Sir Frederic Bartlett, (1932) introduced the theory of â€Å"Reconstructive memory† & â€Å"schemas† to Psychology. Schemas where defined by Mike Cardwell as; â€Å"packages of information† or â€Å"unconscious mental structures†. These mental structures are acquired through our experiences, or as a result of our expectations and cultural norms. Bartlett proposed that people use schemas constantly to complete tasks and to assist in making sense of our surroundings. The theory of schemas also suggests that there are gaps in a person’s memory that are filled with confabulated information when reconstructed. Sir Bartlett (1973) devised an experiment to investigate the effects of schemas on people’s memories. Twenty participants read a story called; â€Å"The War of the Ghosts†. The story was culturally different western literature, and was difficult for them to comprehend. After some time, the participants were asked to repeatedly recall the story in as much detail as possible. After recalling the same story six times, once even a year later, participants accidentally shortened the story from 330 words to an average of 180. Participants also altered parts of it to better suit their westernized culture. A conclusion of this experiment is that Memory recall is influenced by our schemas of cultural background and pre-existing knowledge. The experiment has been criticised for a lack of objectivity, being lax on variable control and casual conditions. However, the experimenter’s findings were also strengthened by Cromberg et al whom in 1996 interviewed people one year after plane crash. Of the 193 questioned, 55% falsely said that they had seen the plane hit the building and 59% inaccurately reported that a fire had started immediately on impact. Allport and Postman (1947) conducted a study titled: â€Å"Psychology of Rumour† with participants who were all white. They were shown a picture of an argument between a black man and a white man on a train. The white man is holding a razor and threatening the black man aggressively. The participants were divided into groups of seven. One participant from each group was shown the picture and asked to describe it to the second participant, who described it to the third, and so forth. Over half the participants who received the final description reported that the black man, not the white was holding the razor. This was false and shows that memory is susceptible to alteration by our own biases and prejudices within society. This experiment has been at the forefront of the interface between law and psychology. The findings have been repeatedly relayed in courts of law to express the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. However, inaccurate accounts of the procedures and implications of the study have been substantially misunderstood and distorted. Language is very important in eyewitness testimony; the way that memory is retrieved from a witness strongly affects what that person recalls. Loftus proposed that witnesses could accept false information which would dramatically affect the reliability of their testimony. This is called: â€Å"misinformation acceptance† and May happen in a post event situation such as being interviewed. Loftus believed some interviews contained â€Å"leading questions†. A leading question is defined as a question that is phrased in a way as to influence or prompt a specific form of answer. To test weather leading questions could distort eyewitness testimony, Loftus and palmer (1974) conducted the: â€Å"Reconstruction of Automobile Destruction† experiment. Forty five American students were split into 5 subgroups. After being shown various car collisions on slides that were dependant variables for each group, Participants were instructed to answer questions on what they had witnessed. The groups where asked to estimate the speed of the cars before they either: â€Å"hit/smashed/collided/bumped/contacted†. Each subgroup was asked the same question but with different verbs (the independent variable. ) A week later participants were also asked questions such as; â€Å"Did you see any broken glass? † when none such existed. The findings of this experiment were that the verb used to describe the collision affected the participants speed estimate given. The Biasing questions which they answered systematically affected the participant’s memory of the accident. The participants in the â€Å"smashed† condition reported the highest speeds, followed by â€Å"collided†, â€Å"bumped†, â€Å"hit†, and â€Å"contacted† in descending order. The â€Å"smashed† group also had more participants reporting to have seen glass when there was none. This experiment shows that memory is easily distorted by questioning techniques and information can be accepted post event causing confabulated memory. Strengths of this experiment are that it was conducted within a controlled environment and has serious implications for interviewing witnesses. However there is weakness’s to the experiment such all participants were students and not a wide range of people. Also, the collisions where viewed on video not in real life. Videos may lack the emotional impact caused when witnessing a real-life accident Loftus et al (1978) proposed that emotion can affect memory. Loftus stated that emotional arousal during an event can lead to a reduction in accurate memory recall. Loftus et al conducted an experiment of the effect of emotion on memory by showing two films of an armed robbery to participants. One film was violent, the other was nonviolent. They then tested the participant’s memories for details of what they had witnessed. The findings showed that the high-arousal version of a young boy being shot and falling to the floor, led to impaired memory recall. This was when compared to the low-arousal version. These findings show that emotions can affect memory. This experiment is lab based and findings may be difficult to transfer into real-life environment. However, being conducted in a controlled environment gives it enhanced ecological validity. Peters (1988) supported Yerkes & Dodson that illustrated an optimum level of emotional arousal enhanced memory. Peters found that when receiving inoculations in a clinic (an anxiety generating event) patients found it difficult in accurately identifying the nurse who issued their jab. One can conclude that this was due to the high levels of arousal surrounding the participant during the time of the jab. There is conflicting evidence weather emotions strengthen or weaken the accuracy of eyewitness testimonies. However, both theories support the idea that emotion has an effect on memory. Eastbrook (1959) proposed that arousal narrows the focus of attention. This causes improved memory for central details but impaired memory for peripheral details. Another factor that affects the reliability of eyewitness testimony while witnessing an event is the: â€Å"weapons focus affect†. Weapon focus refers to the concentration of attention on a weapon by the witnesses of a crime. Loftus et al claimed that this diverted their attention and resulted in a reduction of remembering many other details of the crime or criminal. Loftus (1979) conducted an experiment to study whether the presence of a weapon in an emotionally heightened state could affect eyewitness memory. Participants believed they were waiting to participate in a memory study and were waiting outside a laboratory. As they waited, participants in â€Å"condition 1† overheard a staged yet civil conversation coming from a room regarding equipment failure. A man then exited the room with a greasy hand holding a pen. Condition 2 participants were also privy to a staged conversation from an unseen room. This conversation was â€Å"hostile† and was accompanied by the sound of breaking class and broken furniture. A man then exited the room holding a blood covered knife. Participants were asked to identify the men they saw from fifty photographs. Condition one participants accurately identified the man 49% of the time. However, condition two participants were able to accurately identify the man only 33% of the time. From these results, Loftus concluded that presence of a weapon and a hostile confrontation affected witness’s ability to identify the individual. They were unable to focus attention on the man because more attention was concentrated on the weapon. This study is important in demonstrating the impact a weapon has on the reliability of eyewitness’s testimony. However, there have been many criticisms of these experiments. No distinction is made as to whether the hostile experience affected participant’s memories or simply the weapon. There are also huge concerns over the ethics of this experiment, participants could have been psychologically damaged by the experience and were unable to withdraw from it as they were unaware it had already begun. This experiment was conducted under controlled conditions within a controlled environment; this strengthens the information obtained by increasing the ecological validity of the experiment. The findings are less transferable to real life situations. Chrstianson & Hubinette (1993) demonstrated that in real life settings, memory can be accurate with acute stress. Eyewitness testimony is heavily dependent upon face recognition, and so the study of this subject has acute implications in understanding how reliable memories of faces are. Research shows that people have difficulty accurately recognizing individual members of a different race. One explanation for this is that we use specific features to distinguish between members of our own race and those features are not always present between other races. In a study done by Platz and Hosch, (1986) convenience store clerks were asked to identify three customers: one white, one black, and one Mexican American, all of whom stopped in the store earlier that day. The results of the study showed that each of the clerks identified customers belonging to their own race accurately, but when attempting to identify members of the other races, they stated â€Å"they all look alike. † Cross-Race Identification Bias demonstrates how prone people are to making false identifications when asked to identity people from a different racial or ethnic background other than their own. This research offers some support to the existence of cross-race identification bias. However the experiment has many weaknesses; the participants may have seen many people that day and it’s unclear whether they were briefed prior to the experiment. This experiment has enhanced ecological validity because it is set in one environment. There are many independent variables within this research that if altered, may dramatically distort the previous findings. Fisher and Geiselman (1992) developed the cognitive interview† This is a specialised interviewing technique designed to increase the accuracy of information given and minimise false testimony. The interviewer attempts to eradicate all verbal & nonverbal responses that may affect the witness’s testimony. This is to avoid the â€Å"Clever Hans† effect where a witness’s may pick up cues. There are four basic principles of the cognitive interview; firstly to report everything; all details of an event, i ncluding information deemed irrelevant. Mental reinstatement of original context is another; the interviewee mentally recreates the incident fully. The interviewer may also change the timeline of events by reversing the events in order. Finally, the interviewee is instructed to imagine how other witnesses saw the incident. A meta-analysis found in 53 cases, an average increase of 34% in correct event recognition compared to a non-cognitive interview. However this was conducted within a laboratory not a real-life setting. Mine & Bull (2002) decided to test each of the four cognitive principles separately. Participants were interviewed with one cognitive principal as compared to the four. Recall of accurate information was broadly similar to other participants in a control group who were informed to â€Å"try again†. However, when participants were interviewed using a combination of the cognitive principles their components were significantly higher. Extremely young and old people tend to have an increased susceptibility to suggestion (Ceci & Bruck, 1993; Cohen & Faulkner, 1989) as well as those whom score high on measures of dissociation. It is clear that eyewitness testimony is not as reliable as a means of conviction as generally thought due to many various factors. There is however many improvements and safe guards that can be utilized to improve the reliability of eyewitness testimony such as; performing cognitive interviews and using multiple testimonies. Key factors such as: age, race, and the emotional stimulus of an event should be taken into account. Eyewitness testimony is a vital tool in convicting criminals but may not be accurate enough as a sole means of conviction.