The Issues Of Pepsico International Strategy Commerce Essay Example For Students

The Issues Of Pepsico International Strategy Commerce Essay Coca-Cola, the major rival of Pepsi has been exiled from the desert land. Because of this, Pepsi expanded into Arab Countries A ; has an 80 % portion of the $ 1 billion Saudi soft-drink market. Saudi Arabia is the 3rd largest foreign market of Pepsi, after Mexico and Canada. In 1993, approximately 7 % of Pepsi-Cola International s gross revenues came from Saudi Arabia. The environment in Saudi Arabia makes the state really favourable to soft-drink gross revenues because intoxicant is banned amp ; clime is really hot and dry. Outline1 Mode of Expansion:2 Beginnings of Competitive Advantage:3 Government Policies:4 Plague Analysis5 Political Influences:6 Economic Influences:7 Socio-Cultural Influences:8 Technological Influences:9 Porter 5 FORCES Analysis10 2. Menace of Substitute Merchandises:11 3. Dickering Power of Suppliers:12 4. Dickering Power of Buyers:13 5. Competition Among Rivals:14 SWOT Analysis15 1.Internal Properties ( Strengths A ; Failings )16 2.External Properties ( Opportunities A ; Threats )17 Critical Issues or Barriers:18 Recommendations:19 Decision:20 Appendix: Mode of Expansion: We will write a custom essay on The Issues Of Pepsico International Strategy Commerce specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Pepsi utilizations franchise system for international enlargement. Beginnings of Competitive Advantage: PepsiCo has competitory advantage in footings of worldwide distribution A ; the company is able to bring forth all its merchandises in the state where they are consumed. Pepsi has a competitory advantage over Coke because of its trade name image A ; good word of oral cavity. Pepsi promotes itself as the figure one pick of the Following Coevals . Government Policies: Presently a 50 per centum rise in Pepsi monetary values in Saudi has angered clients and provoked the land s authorities to name on more than 30 soft drink companies to keep off on farther monetary value hikings. Pepsi increased the monetary value of a can to 1.50 riyals $ 0.40 from 1 riyal.it. Saudi Consumer Protection Association investigated the sudden undue monetary value hiking, the Saudi Gazette reported that official permission should beA granted to soft drink houses before they are allowed to increase monetary values and monetary value rise should non be more than 10 per centum. Plague Analysis Political Influences: Many PepsiCo merchandises are capable to different federal Torahs due to their fabrication, distribution A ; usage, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act ad the Americans with Disabilities. The international ventures are capable to the Government stableness and concerns are subjected to different revenue enhancement policies in each consumer state. Economic Influences: PepsiCo relies on trucks to travel merchandises so fuel is an of import topic A ; fuel monetary values affairs. The economic impact of foreign exchange rates motions on them is complex because such alterations are frequently linked to variableness in existent growing, rising prices, involvement rates, governmental actions, etc. PepsiCo is besides subjected to other economical factors like money supply, energy handiness, cost and concern rhythms. Socio-Cultural Influences: Pepsi is capable to the lifestyle alterations, so it bases her advertisement runs in people with particular life style. For that PepsiCo has to pay particular attending on lifestyle alterations. It has to be really careful with the possible jobs with the authoritiess and those which could lift from PepsiCo act with the people of KSA. Technological Influences: PepsiCo is exposed to new fabrication techniques, for its three concern units, bite nutrient, juices and soft drinks. It has to pay attending while following flexible A ; advanced distribution techniques. Porter 5 FORCES Analysis 1. Menace of New Entrants: The menace of new entrants in the industry is little yet significant. This is because there are already four participants in the market other so Pepsi itself. .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .postImageUrl , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:hover , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:visited , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:active { border:0!important; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:active , .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48 .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u31492892bcd584a324f4c6cbece36f48:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Impressive And Edible Table Decorations Essay2. Menace of Substitute Merchandises: Presently, the menace of new feasible rivals in the carbonated soft drink industry is non really significant. Possible replacements that continuously put force per unit area on Pepsi include tea, java, juices, milk, and hot cocoa. 3. Dickering Power of Suppliers: The bargaining power of the providers tends to be low harmonizing to the recent analysis. PepsiCo needs to pull off its relationships carefully with the bottling units in order to do alterations in its manner to market the local retail merchants. 4. Dickering Power of Buyers: Here the concern is how to increase market portion and retain its current client because client ever seek to optimise benefit. The purchasing power of consumers besides poses a cardinal menace in the industry. Furthermore consumers can merely exchange to other drinks with small cost or importance. 5. Competition Among Rivals: Pepsi has 48.9 % portion of market A ; it is situated in an environment that is of all time altering and dynamic because coca Cola is keeping 30.9 % portion A ; Cadbury Schweppes 8 % . The local trade names are besides in the market to vie Pepsi. These trade names are Mecca Cola keeping 0.5 % market portion and 0.6 % Zamzam Cola. SWOT Analysis 1.Internal Properties ( Strengths A ; Failings ) Pepsi is inferior in its fountain drink division. The ownership in fast nutrient eating houses has ever been debatable for Pepsi. Coca Cola has been in the top locations for fountain drinks because of their ownership in Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and many others. 2.External Properties ( Opportunities A ; Threats ) In add-on to its big consumer base, Saudi Arabia has some of the part s biggest athletic nines, most passionate athleticss fans, and has a turning population of jocks and active people. When PepsiCo started its ain Pepsi Bottling Company, it allowed them to cut costs, cut down operating expense, and organize their distribution to make a better synergism. Critical Issues or Barriers: Pepsi can function the 90 % market but job is the bottling of the drink. War crisis between Palestine and Israel is conveying hatred against Pepsi that why USA is non involvement in deciding the issue As Pepsi is US merchandise and these yearss US and foreign merchandises are campaigned non to be used to demo ramp against non-Muslim Acts of the Apostless. Due to recent oil monetary values addition, there is international factor of rising prices and on the other manus Pepsi is cheaper in KSA compared to other states, so Pepsi is confronting job to keep the net incomes. Since employers in KSA are required to give their employees clip to pray toward Mecca five times per twenty-four hours, as set Forth in the Koran, interruption times caused extra operating cost. Health and tummy diseases due to over usage. Fleshiness job which is going common in Saudis. Rumors of Haram ingredients. The tough competition is carried out through packaging every bit good as monetary value. Recommendations: Pepsi is being forced to re-examine their strategic theoretical accounts, based on carbonated soft drinks and travel to new drink classs. Heavy investmentment in hazardous inventions may be suggested in order to reassign resources from other trade names. Pepsi spends 15 % of overall budget on advertisement and selling to be no.1 in the consumer sight. Pepsi should utilize all media vehicles to pull consumers. Decision: Consumers want to purchase soft drinks delivered at convenient locations with the right bundle. Pepsi have to do certain that the market keeps turning yearly, and that company merchandises are available everyplace. Pepsi has won the International Quality Award and Bottlers of the twelvemonth Award, so the company feels rather optimistic. Although hard challenges lay in front, yet to work chances through the execution of an effectual and comprehensive selling program 2009. .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .postImageUrl , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:hover , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:visited , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:active { border:0!important; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:active , .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2 .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u498322935f4bab07582799cc42b7a1c2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Osage Orange Tree - Peer Pressure EssayAppendix:

Rayovac Case Study

Rayovac Case Study Executive Summary Rayovac Corporation is contemplating expanding its rechargeable batteries line. This would be a shift from the alkaline disposable batteries. Currently, the company is the third largest battery maker, after Duracell and Energizer.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rayovac Case Study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Like all profit-making organizations, Rayovac is interested in maximizing its return on investment. The company intends to maximize shareholder value through growth. Battery consumers are divided into two groups based on size of purchase. There are individual (family) consumers and manufacturing customers. The threat of new entrants in this industry is insignificant. The current industry players already own all the patents related to manufacture. Since the market is composed mainly of individual buyers, the overall bargaining power of buyers is relatively low. There is stiff competition amo ng the top three industry players Duracell, Energizer and Rayovac. This is evident in the guerrilla tactics employed in their advertisement campaigns. A financial analysis was conducted to determine whether the rechargeable batteries option is viable. The Ansoff’s growth matrix has also been used to determine the strategic options available to Rayovac. According to these findings, it is not worthwhile for the company to implement the strategy. Rather, it should focus on market penetration and market growth. Problem Statement Rayovac Corporation is contemplating expanding its rechargeable batteries line. This would be a shift from the alkaline disposable batteries. Currently, the company is the third largest battery maker, after Duracell and Energizer. The market is yet to adopt the concept of rechargeable batteries fully. This is both an opportunity and a threat. It could be an opportunity for market growth or a fad, which may pass. Mr Falconi needs to decide whether to seek other means of creating sustainable competitive advantage in the disposable batteries market or to change the strategy to focus on rechargeable batteries. Rayovac needs answers to several questions before making this strategic decision. If they make the investment, will the company grow to be the market leader in this product line? Will the market embrace the product? Will the company have enough cash to execute the strategy? Which marketing strategies should be adopted if the plan is implemented? How are competitors likely to respond? Will this strategy grow the overall business?Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Situational Analysis Rayovac History Rayovac was founded in the early 1900s. Initially, it was called The French battery Company. The name was changed to Rayovac in the 1930s. In 1933, the company patented a hearing aid. This began the journey to dominate t he hearing aid market. Currently, Rayovac is the market leader in wearable hearing aids. In the years 1930-1988, Rayovac concentrated on manufacturing batteries for consumer products such as radios, flashlights and computer clocks. The company acquired several patents in this department. However, it did not manage to unseat the two market leaders Duracell and Energizer. In 1990, the company shifted its focus to Heavy Duty and Industrial products. The company launched a campaign to use renewable batteries in 1995 with Michael Jordan as the brand ambassador. The project did not do as well as expected. Despite this fact, Rayovac continued to develop and bring to market different chargers for the rechargeable batteries. The advertisement campaign with Michael Jordan created some brand equity for Rayovac. The company secured 20% of the rechargeable batteries market. Company Mission, Goals and Objectives Like all profit-making organizations, Rayovac is interested in maximizing its return on investment. The company intends to maximize shareholder value through growth. This growth should be achieved with minimal sacrifice of profits from existing products. This goal creates a conflict of interest. Growth in the rechargeable batteries segment will ultimately lead to decline in the alkaline battery segment. Rayovac is committed to environmental sustainability. The company aims at creating safe environments and minimizing damage by recycling and reusing. Whichever strategy Rayovac chooses to pursue, it should conform to these policies, goals and objectives. Finally, Rayovac aims at being the market leader in the industry. If the rechargeable batteries strategy can aid in achieving this goal, then the company will pursue it. Customers Battery consumers can be divided into two groups based on size of purchase. There are individual (family) consumers and manufacturing customers. Manufacturing customers buy batteries on a large scale to include in their products. Individual consumers can be divided into heavy technology users and medium technology users.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Rayovac Case Study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Heavy technology users use batteries for high-drain gadgets, replace batteries frequently and purchase impulsively. Medium technology users purchase based on price replace their batteries less often and use low- drain gadgets. The medium users compose the bulk of battery markets. However, the heavy users would be the ideal consumers of rechargeable batteries. The market for batteries is growing due to the increased popularity of high drain devices such as laptops and cameras. Traditional alkaline batteries account for 70% of the market in Canada. However, experts have pointed out that this product has reached its peak. Little innovation can be done on these batteries. Rechargeable batteries account for only 10% of the market. Though they are more conven ient, customers are yet to adapt to these batteries. The cost of the chargers put many consumers off. Rayovac’s major competitors are focused on the alkaline battery. This presents an opportunity for Rayovac to focus on the rechargeable battery, which has potential for market growth. Major Competitors Duracell Proctor Gamble (PG) currently own the Duracell brand. PG has extensive distribution networks for its consumer products all over the world. This is a source of competitive advantage for Duracell. The company offers batteries with long life and charges a premium price in return. Duracell is currently the market leader in consumer batteries in the US due to this strategy. The company also serves 39% of the batteries market worldwide. Duracell competes on innovation of the alkaline battery. The market recognizes this fact since Duracell batteries are very durable. This association of Duracell’s batteries with long-life is a source of brand equity. The company has al so executed a growth by acquisition strategy. It acquired both Geep of India and Rocket of South Korea. These two companies were market leaders in their regions. Duracell has managed to expand its worldwide reach through them. Energizer Eveready Battery Company was formed in 1896. It later renamed to Energizer. It is currently the world’s largest battery company followed closely by Duracell. The company advertises using the â€Å"Energizer Bunny†. The brand recognition has grown greatly due to this campaign. Its competitors have tried to copy this strategy without much success. Rayovac entered into an agreement with Disneyland to use their cartoon characters in its adverts. This campaign has not borne much fruit. Ralston Purina Co. had acquired energizer. Later, Energizer left the portfolio to become Energizer Holdings. Soon after, the company acquired a razor and sword blade company. This created a portfolio similar to Duracell and intensified their competition. Energ izer’s competitive advantage is based on strong brand equity and excellent distribution channels in the batteries and flashlights market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Industry Analysis Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants in the batteries industry is quite low. The current industry players already own all the patents related to manufacture. Thus, a new entrant would need to obtain permission to use their specialist knowledge. The capital requirements to start a battery company are relatively high. This locks out many potential competitors. The only new entrants who pose a threat are the manufacturing customers who may decide to practise backward integration. However, this is highly unlikely since making batteries is not one of their core competencies. The current industry players control most distribution channels. Their brand names have been established for decades now. Most customers are already loyal to one or two brands. It would be difficult for them to switch to a new supplier. These marketing issues make the threat of new entrants a weak force in this industry. The weakness of this threat is e vident in the inability of large Japanese firms such as Sony to gain market share in the batteries market. Bargaining Power of Buyers Battery consumers are divided into individual purchasers and manufacturers. Manufacturers purchase batteries to include them in their products while individual users buy them for home use in their electronics. Individual buyers have little bargaining power. They are price takers. Majority of battery buyers are individual consumers. Manufacturers have more bargaining power than individuals do. They can negotiate for discounts based on scale. Battery companies have to keep these large consumers happy or lose their large purchases. Since the market is composed mainly of individual buyers, the overall bargaining power of buyers is relatively low. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers in an industry is low if there are many fragmented suppliers and the switching costs are low. This is the case in the batteries industry. There are many suppliers of the necessary chemicals. Companies can also obtain packaging and marketing materials from many different suppliers. Actually, suppliers compete for the industry’s attention. This leads to price wars and reduces suppliers’ bargaining power. Specialist employees in Research and Design have a high bargaining power. They supply the company with skills that are crucial to survival in an industry driven by innovation. There are also few such specialists. This gives them advantage in negotiating for their salaries. Threat of Substitute Products Solar power and electricity are the major substitute products for batteries. People can use the two to run their electronics instead of batteries. However, batteries still have the advantage of portability. They are also more reliable. For instance, it would be almost impossible to use solar power during winter. Electricity on the other hand is liable to power cuts. Solar power is clean energy. This is its major attra ction. The available substitutes are cheaper and more inconvenient than batteries. The initial outlay required to acquire solar panels is quite high. Electricity is expensive. Therefore, this force is weak in this industry. Competitive Rivalry Within the Industry There is stiff competition among the top three industry players Duracell, Energizer and Rayovac. This is evident in the guerrilla tactics employed in their advertisement campaigns. There are also price wars with Rayovac pricing its products slightly lower than the others do. The fact that Duracell and Energizer have similar product portfolios serves to intensify their rivalry further. This rivalry should be kept in check to avoid reducing the industry’s profit potential. SWOT analysis for Rayovac Corporation A SWOT analysis helps to establish a company’s strategic position. Both internal and external factors critical to Rayovac’s success will be examined. The results will guide the next step of decision -making. Strengths Rayovac already launched an advertisement campaign with Michael Jordan. This campaign increased their brand equity. If the company were to launch another campaign, the product would not be new to consumers; rather, they would be reminded to use it. Currently, Rayovac is the market leader in rechargeable batteries in Europe. It also controls 5% of the small American market. This position can enable Rayovac to drive the trends in this segment. The company is also under a strong leadership team. Mr. Falconi has 27 years of experience in the batteries industry. He has also previously worked for competitor, Duracell. Weaknesses Rayovac’s major weakness is lack of the core competencies in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries. In order to grow its market share, Rayovac would have to rely on Japanese suppliers. This could develop into a threat later. Rayovac is currently lagging behind industry leaders in terms of sales of alkaline batteries. This means that i t has little influence over this market. Opportunities Duracell and Energizer are both focused on the alkaline battery market. Rayovac could take advantage of this to grow its market share in the rechargeable battery segment. Technological developments have led to a growing demand in high-drain gadgets. Majority of rechargeable battery users purchase them for use in these high-drain gadgets. This trend could lead to further growth in the rechargeable battery market. The world is becoming environmentally conscious. This trend has caught up in Europe, where rechargeable batteries are gaining popularity. With all the green campaigns, the rest of the world is likely to follow suit. If this happens, Rayovac can position its batteries as environmental-friendly in order to gain sales. Threats The largest threat facing Rayovac is its competitor’s likely retaliation. There is no way to predict how far Duracell and Energizer are willing to go to protect their market share. Alkaline bat teries are more profitable than rechargeable batteries. This is why the market leaders are unwilling to shift to rechargeable batteries. There is also the risk that the market may fail to embrace the product. Rayovac may make heavy investments and fail to recoup. This threat can be mitigated by carrying out extensive market research before commencement. The company can also carry out consumer education. Financial analysis This aim of a financial analysis is to establish whether a project is economically feasible. There are two options open to Rayovac. It could enter the market and employ a volume strategy or a niche strategy. Each strategy’s projections are shown in the tables. The Rayovac case study contains some information that will be used to conduct an analysis. We are provided with the projected market sales growth of the rechargeable batteries segment in Canada. We are also given the potential market share growth of Rayovac in this country. By multiplying the two, we c an obtain the projected sales Rayovac expects to make in subsequent years. The above computations show that sales will grow much faster if the Volume strategy is adopted. However, before a decision is made, we have to consider other factors such as contribution margin. The Canadian market is said to represent approximately 20% of the North American market. Using this assumption, we project the North American sales to be as follows: The gap between sales from the volume strategy and those from the niche strategy continues to widen as the years progress. If this were the sole decision criteria, Rayovac would choose the volume strategy. The impact of these strategies on total sales can be shown by adding the Canadian and North American projected sales. This table is useful in showing how Rayovac’s major markets would fair if the company adopted the proposed strategies. Contribution Contribution is the difference between sales and variable costs. Variable costs are considered bec ause they are the incremental cost of making one extra battery. In manufacturing industries, many fixed costs are also likely to be sunk costs and therefore not useful for decision-making. If Rayovac adopts a volume strategy, it will have to sell the batteries at a lower price in order to attract the mass markets. The contribution margin for such a strategy is 45%. The projected contribution is obtained by multiplying the margin by the projected Rayovac sales in that year. The niche strategy yields a higher contribution margin of 60%. This strategy would entail selling in specialist stores. The company can then charge a higher price than in the volume strategy. During the first two years, the Niche strategy seems slightly better than the volume strategy. However, in the end, the volume strategy will yield more in terms of contribution. If Rayovac adopts a volume strategy, it will have to sell the batteries at a lower price in order to attract the mass markets. The contribution margi n for such a strategy is 45%. The projected contribution is obtained by multiplying the margin by the projected Rayovac sales in that year. The niche strategy yields a higher contribution margin of 60%. This strategy would entail selling in specialist stores. The company can then charge a premium price. During the first two years, the Niche strategy seems slightly better than the volume strategy. However, in the end, the volume strategy will yield more in terms of contribution. One of the major expenditures in expanding the rechargeable batteries line is advertising costs. The cost depends on whether Rayovac adopts a niche or volume strategy. The costs associated with the niche strategy vary between 7% and 5% of the contribution. The costs associated with the volume strategy vary between 10% and 6%. The advertising cost was obtained by multiplying the projected proportion of contribution by the contribution obtained earlier. The volume strategy has a higher advertising cost than the niche strategy in all the years. The company should ensure it could meet the required advertisement costs before settling on a strategy. The net contribution represents the money that will be available to cover fixed costs and profit. This figure is very crucial in decision-making. In this case, it is obtained by subtracting the previously computed advertising costs from the projected contribution. The niche strategy is only attractive for the first two years. Thereafter, the volume strategy produces much higher returns. The company should therefore opt for the volume strategy. If the company chooses the niche strategy over the volume strategy, the difference in net contribution is shown below. If the company makes the wrong strategic choice, it stands to lose over $15 million in the years subsequent to 2006. Other Financial Considerations Exhibit 7 shows that Duracell made a profit of $ 325 million in North America during the 2004 financial year. According to these projections, Ra yovac is likely to make sales of $120 million in North America by 2010. Rayovac needs to triple these sales if it hopes to beat Duracell. The reality is this might take decades. Rechargeable batteries have a much lower profit margin than alkaline batteries. Actually, for each $2 made on the sale of a rechargeable battery, $ 250 is lost in alkaline battery sales. The company needs to come up with innovative ways to close this gap. If this does not happen, much revenue will be lost. Rayovac will end up making losses. This is quite undesirable. The final consideration is whether the company has the resources available to execute the plan. If there is no spare cash, Rayovac needs to consider credit. Strategic Marketing Options After examining Rayovac’s operating environment and the financial implications of the strategies, it is important to explore the options available to the company. In this paper, we choose to do so within the framework of the Product-Market growth matrix. Th is matrix shows the options Rayovac can pursue to grow its overall market share in the batteries segment. Market Penetration This strategy involves Rayovac defending its current market position. It can also attempt to grow its market share in the segments it currently operates. Rayovac’s present product portfolio contains nine major products. The most famous product in the portfolio is alkaline batteries. These batteries are useful for many home devices such as flashlights, remotes and toy cars. Most lone consumers purchase these products. They come in different sizes for different gadgets. The sizes are AAA, AA, C, D and 9V. The second largest product is the rechargeable batteries line. These batteries come in similar sizes to their alkaline counterparts. However, they can be re-charged and re used several times. They come with special chargers for this purpose. They are used in high-drain gadgets such as digital cameras and music players. This product line is environmental friendly Rayovac has a flashlights range too. There are outdoor and general-purpose flashlights. The company also makes flashlights for industrial use. This range also contains light bulbs. The fourth product line is the hearing aid range. Currently, Rayovac is the market leader in this market. The company enjoys competitive advantage created by the first mover advantage they possess. Rayovac holds several patents for manufacturing hearing aids. The company was the first to develop a wearable hearing aid battery. It continues to dominate 60% of the world market. Rayovac has a flashlights range too. There are outdoor and general-purpose flashlights. The company also makes flashlights for industrial use. This range also contains light bulbs. The fourth product line is the hearing aid range. Currently, Rayovac is the market leader in this market. The company enjoys competitive advantage created by the first mover advantage they possess. Rayovac holds several patents for manufacturing h earing aids. The company was the first to develop a wearable hearing aid battery. It continues to dominate 60% of the world market. The heavy-duty batteries are created specifically for devices such as clocks and smoke detectors. These devices discharge batteries slowly and are used rarely. The special feature in these batteries is long life. Rayovac also deals in lithium, specialty and lantern batteries. The final category is industrial batteries. The major purchaser of these products is manufacturing companies. Rayovac’s major market is Canada and South America. Unlike Duracell and Energizer, the company’s global distribution network is poor. A market penetration strategy involves defending the market share currently held. Rayovac can accomplish this through aggressive marketing campaigns. The company can acquire other smaller battery manufacturers in a bid to increase its market share. This strategy is likely to provoke guerrilla tactics from Duracell and Energizer. Product Development This strategy entails introduction of new products into the markets Rayovac currently operates. The rechargeable batteries strategy falls under this category. Rechargeable batteries are relatively new to the market. Consumers are yet to adopt their use. This is the perfect opportunity for product development. The European market is likely to adopt the product faster than the American and Canadian markets. This is due to their concerns for the environment and preference for long-lasting products. Rayovac could focus on controlling this market before competitors respond. Afterwards, the strategy can be implemented in America and Canada. This strategy is likely to succeed because Rayovac already has brand equity in this segment. The risk that competitors will respond aggressively is lower than in the market penetration strategy. This is because this strategy does not directly attack their market share. Rayovac also needs to consider the possibility of its suppliers integrating forward. Suppliers have a high bargaining power since they possess core competencies in manufacturing rechargeable batteries. The risk that competitors will respond aggressively is lower than in the market penetration strategy. This is because this strategy does not directly attack their market share. Rayovac also needs to consider the possibility of its suppliers integrating forward. Suppliers have a high bargaining power since they possess core competencies in manufacturing rechargeable batteries. Market Development A market development strategy would require Rayovac to take its existing products to new markets. This strategy is ideal if Rayovac reckons it will be unable to unseat the current market leaders. It is necessary when customers already have strong brand loyalty and are unwilling to switch suppliers. There is a growing demand for electronics in Africa and Asia. The company should consider exporting to these continents. The advantage associated with new marke ts is that consumers have no brand loyalty. Thus, with a creative advertising campaign, Rayovac can create brand equity for its products. If adopted, this strategy will require extensive market research and massive expenditure on advertisement and Public relations exercises. However, the results are long lasting. Rayovac needs an extensive distribution network if this strategy is to succeed. This is where strategic alliances become necessary. The company can negotiate with a large consumer company such as Unilever to carry their products in the latter’s distribution channels for a fee. Energizer and Duracell already have global networks. If Rayovac hopes to compete in the same league, it must acquire equal or better channels. Diversification Diversification entails creating and innovating new products. These products are then sold in new markets. This is the most drastic strategy. However, it presents the most opportunity for growth. Diversification is also the most expensive growth strategy to implement. It requires investment in both research and development and advertisement. The company needs to carry out market research in the proposed new market to establish customer needs. Thereafter, it should develop products to meet these needs. The marketing function should then ensure that the market is aware of the product’s existence. Solar panels are a viable diversification option. There is a high demand for clean energy in the West. On the other hand, in Africa and Asia, there is a high demand for a cheaper source of energy than electricity. Solar energy is a solution to both. Rayovac can use the knowledge it has acquired so far in developing batteries that can power vehicles. With the depletion of crude oil, the world is ready for innovative solutions to the problem of gasoline. Decision Criteria Profit Potential The strategy chosen should maximize Ryovac’s profit or increase it substantially. A business needs profit to sustain its operat ions, meet its financial obligations and still pay a dividend to shareholders. Any business that is constantly making losses is not sustainable. Profit potential of a strategy will be benchmarked against the market leaders’ current profit. If a strategy fails to demonstrate reasonable profit potential, it will not be adopted. Cost Rayovac must consider the cost of implementing the strategies. The company does not have unlimited resources. Therefore, the resources must be used efficiently and effectively. Drastic changes are indicators of a costly strategy. The strategy chosen should be one, which Rayovac can afford to implement. Environmental Impact Rayovac cannot ignore the environmental impact of its operations. The company must be conscious of the current global trend towards sustainable living. Therefore, though alkaline batteries are profitable, they may lose that edge in future when consumers’ decision criterion is based on environmental impact. Risk How much ris k does a strategy pose? Risk refers to the probability that things may not work out as planned. A risky investment is one that involves much uncertainty. There are no projections to support the claims. It is one based on pure speculation. Such investments should be avoided. The investment chosen should expose Rayovac to moderate risk. Strategic Marketing Choice I would recommend that Rayovac pursue two growth strategies. The first is market penetration and the second market development. Market penetration will enable the company to maintain its current share of the market. Market development on the other hand will facilitate revenue growth from these new markets. Market penetration is a low cost and low risk strategy. This is because Rayovac will be dealing with a familiar market. Market development is also low cost because the products to be sold are already there. Since they have succeeded in Rayovac’s current market, it is probable that with proper marketing, they will suc ceed in the new markets. Rayovac should not adopt the rechargeable batteries strategy. This strategy has a low profit potential yet it may have high initial costs. There is also no certainty that there will be market growth in this segment. Even if there is growth, Duracell and Energizer have such strong brand recognition that consumers are likely to purchase their rechargeable batteries over Rayovac’s batteries. This strategy is too risky. If it fails, Rayovac will be left to lag behind in both the alkaline and rechargeable batteries segments. Strategic Implementation and Control The market penetration strategy requires a fresh advertisement campaign that will attract new users. The campaign should focus on young men who buy batteries often for their electronics. There should also be a second campaign focused on mothers who control house budgets and control home purchases. This campaign should encourage buyers to switch to Rayovac because it provides value at low price. It s hould emphasize durability to challenge Duracell’s position. The products should also be priced slightly lower than competitors’ products. This will capture the attention of shoppers who buy based on price. Rayovac should position its batteries as the environmental friendly option. Market development requires careful study of the new market before any move is made. The company should determine which products would perform best and how to position them. If the market requires cheap products, then Rayovac should compete on price. However if the market requires high performance products, Rayovac should compete on efficiency. These strategies should be monitored on an annual basis. If there are no sales increases, then the company should take corrective measures. This may involve slight alteration of the current strategy or complete abandonment all together.

Issue 11 taking sides clashing views on political issues seventeenth Essay

Issue 11 taking sides clashing views on political issues seventeenth edition - Essay Example Nobody can know what will happen to them tomorrow and when they will exactly fall ill. The indispensability of health insurance is best understood at the time someone is critically ill and he/she cannot pay the hospital bill immediately. If he/she is assured of health insurance the person need not worry about how he/she will pay for the medical treatment. By this way it is within their reach to safeguard their health and future Apart from providing financial security the health insurance promotes good health. Reduced cost of health services offered by the insurance plans induces people to go for health checkups and to take preventive medical care thereby avoiding any impending major illness. Health insurance takes care of old people as well. Most of the working families have no time to look after elderly people and they are left in old age homes. The old people often feel helpless when they are ill and have no money to pay for the hospital fees. If health insurance is available to them it will come to their rescue at the time of crisis Many people believe that in addition to providing financial stability, health insurance promotes good health. By reducing the personal cost of medical services, insurance induces people to go for regular checkups there by avoiding any impending threat to their health. On comparing the health care system in US with the other industrialized nations in the world Ezra Klein says that Canada, France Great Britain and Germany provide better health care for their people at lesser cost than US Canada is a single payer, rather than a socialized system. That means the government is the primary purchaser of services, but providers themselves are private (Ezra Klein. The Health of Nations, the American Prospect, May 2007 (1820). In the single payer system the cost of medicines as well as administrative costs is less In the French system, which is appreciated for its

Euthanasia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Euthanasia - Essay Example In the two scenarios, the doctors argue that the actions were in the best interests of the patient. Legalizing involuntary euthanasia is likely to be opposed by law enforcers for many reasons. One of the reasons as explained by Lafollette is that people may shy away from hospitals and trained medical experts for fear of being killed against their wishes. Another reason for denial of legalizing it is the fear that unconscious persons will be terrified to be taken into hospitals and be killed against their will. These reasons have made it hard for euthanasia to be legalized because of the possibility that people may avoid hospitals whenever they get life threatening ailments. Based on a poll conducted on April 8th to 11th in 2005 by the Polling Company, 15% of interviewed persons agreed that doctors should be allowed to withhold life support machine, 77% said patients should be able to get the life support machine while the remaining 8% are undecided. With these results, it only shows how difficult it will be when it comes to legalizing euthanasia because it is clear that many people are opposed to its legalization. Many people believe that life is sacred and the strong argument that is favored, in my opinion, is that life is inviolable and it is wrong to take it away from someone without his or her consent. The suffering of one person does not give the other the right to help him or her die. I believe nature should be left to take its course. The responses are shown in the table below.

Analysing advertisement form a sociological and marketing perspective Essay

Analysing advertisement form a sociological and marketing perspective - Essay Example They communicate class, personality and taste. The Guinness advertisement shows ostensive communication because of it intends the audience to make personal conclusions. This means that the advertisement achieved in the development of ostensive stimuli. The aim of ostensive communication is for the communicator to inform the audience about the informative intentions, in addition to the communicative intention (Scott-Philip, 2014). The bubbles caused by the water wave in the Guinness advertisement mimics the bubbles formed when the beer is poured in a glass. Mimicking the bubbles produces contextual assumptions, which leads an audience to make conclusions. In the case of the Carlsberg advertisement, the product is presented in comparison to a banana. The advertisement intends the audience to make a conclusion on whether the beer is the best in the world. This is ostensive because of the intention for the audience to make conclusions based on the product. The advertisement achieved the informative intention because it had an intention of informing the audience about something. Ostensive communication is overt because it involves extra layers of communication intentions, which inform an audience about informative intentions. This differs from the covert way of conveying information, which is not manifest. This form of communication requires an individual to draw inferences. Inferences in covert communication are less controllable. This means that the reader is exposed to manipulation (Anisoara, 2008, p. 1). The Guinness advertisement employs covert communication. The consumer is manipulated to think that the beer is unique to other beers. The success of the advertisement is dependent on the audience’s ability to recognize the intentions of the advertiser. Covert communication is based on the tendency of the advertiser to maximize relevance. This increases the possibility to manipulate or predict

Advertising consumption

Advertising consumption Introduction: With the rapid development of technology, the way people advertise and consume has changed gradually. In the other words, technology is increasing the capacity and practices of consumption and providing more platforms for advertising. Some people argue that it might lead to weak social organisation and solidarity, however, the influence of technology on peoples daily life is inevitable. Take online shopping for example, it is magnificently affecting the traditional consumption habits. More and more consumers are getting used to purchasing online instead of high street shopping. This essay is going to observe how technology has expanded the scope of advertising and the spaces of consumption practices in terms of online shopping. Besides, critical evaluation will be carried out to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of the observation. Analysis: Holt D. (1995) pointed out that the act of consuming is a varied and effortful accomplishment underdetermined by the characteristics of the object. Any products can be typically consumed in a range of different ways by different consumers. Therefore, it is essential to analyse how online shopping is influencing the consumption practices of consumers. Consumption Practices: First of all, online shopping brings us a convenient, fast and time-saving consuming atmosphere, and this is considered to be the major concern of middle class who work eight hours in average, and they dont have much time to spend on shopping. Hence, they treat time like gold, and wish to buy everything they want as short as a few minutes. In traditional shopping pattern, consumers need to spend a large number of energy and time on selecting and comparing various goods in different high street stores. The information about the products often vary due to the misinterpretation of salesmen. Besides, there are always restricts of time and place. Take Newcastle city centre for example, most shops on Northumberland Street close before six oclock. People who work until six will not be able to do any shopping during the weekdays, and the people who live in suburbs where there is no shopping centre nearby will have to waste an hour or more on the way to city centre and back. Online shopping perfectly solves the problem. Shopping can be easily completed within a couple of clicks in anytime and anywhere as long as the customers have internet access. Itunes is a successful online software and platform that provides consumers a convenient way to buy their favourite music. Sometimes, people dont wan to buy the whole album. Instead, theyd like to listen to some specific tracks by different artists. Itune totally satisfy these consumers by offering download of every single track of various artists with a little amount of expenses, and it is really time-saving just a couple of clicks, then the track will be downloaded automatically and ready in a flash of time( depends on the speed of Internet service providers). Secondly, the advantage of online shopping on products price is obvious to obtain, and price is always the most important factor for consumers to consider. Online sales compared to traditional stores, it doesnt require any physical store. Besides, online sales are able to contact directly with upstream suppliers and ask them to send the products to customers when necessary. Hence, no self-storage facilities will be used to store goods so that the cost of logistics and storages can be minimised. In the other words, the total cost of online sales is much lower than the average cost of physical store sales. In addition, online bidding is getting more and more popular as consumers can get the products in an unbelievably low price from time to time. A typical example of online bidding is ebay. Therefore, the retail price online is relatively lower than traditional physical stores, which will be expected to attract more customers. Special promotion or sale will be another reason to shop online. For instance, there is 20% student discount occasionally throughout catalogues on the official website of Topshop/Topman when the customers make the purchase online, meanwhile there is only 10% discount in store for students, and this also reflects the advantage of online shopping on price. After all, no people are willing to pay more for something that is exactly the same. In addition, online shopping provides consumers more comfortable and pleasant shopping atmosphere. During the process of shopping, some consumers require the feelings of pleasure rather than the products themselves, and many of them have experienced various attitudes from different salesmen in physical stores. Those salesmen usually approach customers with smile when they step in the stores and recommend a number of products to the customers when browsing the shop, However, the smile on their faces will fade away with time as the customers dont show any interest on the products they recommend. Most consumers will not be pleased by the way the salesmen persuade them to make the purchase, instead, they want to shop in a Comfortable and pleasant mood. In contrast, those who have shopped online will find consumption via online shopping is a lot easier. They are always free to click on the products they are interested and able to compare different products as often as they want. Besides, they can make the purchase, save the products for later or leave the products without the interference from salesmen by simply clicking on the web pages. Take ASOS for example, customers can quickly find the clothes they want by narrowing down the search results. Besides, these clothes can be displayed in 360 degree, and can be even viewed by real models catwalk what can hardly be seen in physical stores. Furthermore, online shopping brings a customised products consuming platform for the customers who have special requirements. More and more products need to meet the consumers imagination to meet the needs of individual consumers with the development of society. The choices by consumers may no longer be practicalness of the products, but more needs to reflect the values of their own. How to make the products innovative and stimulate curiosity of consumer has become a crucial problem the product developer must consider. Many products sold in online stores can not be found in any physical shopping malls or stores. These unique products usually emphasis on trendy and interesting . They are customised to meet the requirements of every single customers. In online stores, costumers can find a range of special products which are beyond our imagination, from nails to laptops, from furnitures to clothes, every product involved in our daily life can be customised meet peoples needs. For instance, customers will be able to customise their laptop, mobile phone and even gaming consoles by altering their colours on a website called Colourware. There is a wide range of colours to choose and the front, trim or back of your digital devices can even be altered in different colours. Moreover, The prices of these luxury products in the traditional physical stores are relatively more expensive than online boutiques. Online shopping brings the opportunities to get famous brand products with a reasonable price for those label lovers who can not afford the price. As mentioned before, price is the most important factor that consumers should consider. For these people who need to purchase luxury products to show their status and prestige, they think certain products with famous brand will improve the quality of life, and reflects the social status at the same time. There is also another way to satisfy customers vanity, if they can afford these luxury products neither online nor in store : rent them. They dont need spend a lot on these famous labels as better solution is going to save them a great amount of money. In a website called Rent Luxury Bags ,customers can find most luxury bags theyve been dreaming of, and they can rent these bags in a reasonable price. Additionally, these bags can be rent from four week up to a year. Last but not least, all customers are able to put their personal belongings online and sell or trade them as second hand products. In the other word, everything can be commodity as long as the demand of these products exists. Take E-bay for example, millions of second hand products are updated everyday on this online trading platform. Sometimes, it is the only way to get the products when the brand new one is no longer in stock. Advertising: As more and more consumers are getting used to online shopping, advertising is also transforming from offline to online. A great number of online shopping websites are cooperating with social network websites,search engines and email service providers such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Bing, Hotmail etc in order to maximise the online exposure. When searching a keyword on search engine, all the hyperlinks of relevant products will be listed on the first page of search results, and all the relevant websites who have paid advertising fees to the search engine will be popped up on the advertisement column. Similarly, a range of products with hyperlinks will be recommended on your profile page of Facebook or Twitter according to users search history. To put it in different words, advertisement of online shopping websites can be seen everywhere once you get online. The individual owners of small websites are mainly making money through the website advertising alliance. the form of web advertising alliance was invented by Amazon in 1996. The advertising mode of Amazon advertising alliance is CPS (cost per sell), which means the amount of advertising income will depend on the actual sale figures on the online shopping website. With the moderate acceptance and recognition of CPS advertising mode by consumers , online shopping advertising has gradually become the major advertising method, and the revenue of online shopping advertising is increasing in a magnificent speed . More and more sites have been dug to a online shopping advertising market in order to get a share of this new market. There have been a range of online shopping advertising-based mode to promote different sites. Since online shopping has a large number of users, these owners of small websites also gained sustained, reliable and stable income. Cash back websites are becoming popular among online shopping consumers. Once the users make successful purchases through the links provided by the cash back websites, the online shopping websites offer these cash back websites all or part of the sales commission in the form of cash or points to users. The main advantages of cash back websites in one word is cheaper, as they save more money for the consumers, and the maximum savings may be up to 30%. This is a better way for those consumers who make the purchases online regularly. More importantly, these cash back websites are promoting more than 3000 retailers toward consumers at the same time. The most successful example in UK is Quidco. It is obvious to notice the online retailers on the frontpage of Quidco, such as play.com ebay, orange and so on. As consumers browse Quidco to find the cash back deal for their favourite products, the products on other online retailers have also been browsed. In addition, price comparison websites are another essential way to promote online retailers. A number of relevant products will be picked from different online retailers and listed from lowest price to highest price for the consumers to choose once the keyword is typed in. Price Grabber can be taken as the representative of these websites, and any products from appliances to wines can be search and compared in order to find the cheapest products for customers. Simultaneously, the online retailers who sell cheaper products will be exposed to more customers. It is also a practical online shopping advertising mode that offers users an alternative shopping experience. Furthermore, professional online shopping navigation sites are born to promote various online retailers or physical shops and focus on a certain area such as books, restaurants or travels. These websites publish free of coupons, offers, discounts , promotions, free shipping, and other shopping information about some specific websites or shops regularly. They are capable of gathering a large number of online retailers and physical stores and reorganize them in different categories. The updated information about these retailers can be spreaded to potential customers. These potential customers can reach the product or service pages they are interested in by simply clicking the links the navigation sites provide, and it saves a lot of time for the consumers. These professional navigation sites are practical online shopping advertising mode, and they provide a simple, easy, clear way to shop online. For instance, My Voucher Codes provide a wide range of promotional codes, e-vouchers or discount codes , which will offer consumers a discount or money off the listed retail price of many goods, at a variety of different online UK retailers. Moreover, online retailers can be exposed via products review sites. This type of sites mainly focus on film, television, books or restaurants, and guide users to make a purchase through the comment on a particular commodity by other consumers. The interaction between customers on these sites are relatively strong, and it will provoke potential customers to buy the products online shopping customers via the feedbacks from other users in order to achieve the promotion. Students will be expected to be the largest group of potential users of this kind of site. Evaluation: April 2009, the European Commission in Brussels hosted the first summit of European consumers, the them of the meeting is the opportunities and challenges in digital age. A copy of Euros statistics on online shopping was released during the meeting. These data were from family, personal use of information and communication technology survey in twenty seven European countries. According to the statistics on Euro Online Shopping Industry Report(2009), about one-third of customers in European countries have the experience of making the purchase online in 2008, the most popular consumptions online are tourism and clothing . In 2008, the individual consumers between the ages of 16-74, about 32% of the purchase or order through the network are personal goods or services. In recent years, the proportion of individuals online shopping steady growth (in 2004 was 20% in 2006 to 26%, 30% in 2007.) Basically speaking, all EU member showed a growth in online shopping. The majority of the 27 European countries, the most frequent consumer groups in online shopping is 25-34 years (representing the number of age 47%), while in Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bulgaria, age group of online shopping is 16-24 years old. In the 16-24 years old and 35-44 year-olds, online shopping is increasing moderately, the percentage is as high as 41% and 40%. In the 45-54 year-old ,55-64-year-old 65-74 years old, the online shopping rate gradually decreased, respectively, 31%, 20% and 9%. In 2008, the most products and services consumed online are travel and holiday products (14% of individual consumers have purchased or ordered such products in the past 12 months), followed by clothing and sporting goods (13%) Books and magazines (12%), household items or event tickets (both 11%), film and music products (9%), electronic products (8%). In Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Finland, more than half of consumers conducted online shopping. 16-74 year-olds, over 59% of the Danish people have the experience of online shopping, meanwhile in UK is 57%, 56% in the Netherlands, Germany and were 53% in Sweden , 51% in Finland. Among European Union countries, travel clothing and sporting goods occupy the highest proportion in Finland, these two were 31% and 27%, the highest proportion in purchasing of books and magazines is in Luxembourg (29%), purchase rate of home supplies and the highest proportion of electronic products in Germany were 26% and 18%, the highest percentage of purchase event tickets is in Denmark (28%), purchase products, movies and the United Kingdom occupies the highest proportion of music purchase (24%). Based on the online shopping statistics in the UK for November 2009 and February 2010 quarter (Harris G, 2010), the top ten e-commerce sites for that quarter are: Amazon.co.uk, Argos, Play.com, Apple Computer, Amazon.com, Tesco, Marks Spencer, John Lewis, Next and Easyjet. Among these sites above, most of them have been massively exposed via a range of online shopping advertising. The more these online retailers promote, the more customers will be. Besides, the comments about their products on product review sites are mainly positive, and this will have the influence on potential customers decision making. For those companies who have physical stores like Tesco, Marks Spencer or John Lewis, online shops have increased their share in online shopping industry, and customers now can enjoy the products from them anywhere and anytime. Although these companies have been existing for years, a number of customers would still like to purchase their products in an alternative and convenient way. According to the analysis by Redfern A. (2007), the UK online advertising industry has spent over  £2,015.8 billion pounds for the full year of 2006, occupied approximately 11.4% share of the UK advertising industry. This indicates the growth of online shopping advertising is affecting advertising industry and motivate more companies to establish online shops and promote their products in an alternative way. Besides,  £30.2 billion pounds have been spent online during 2006, and 19.7 million people are used to shop online in the UK, spending shopping basket of  £652 each in the past couple of months in average. It is assumed that by the end of 2011, 32 million domestic consumers will start their first shopping online, and the value of commodities they purchase online will be around 52 billion pounds in 2011. Hence, the amount customers spend online will be expected to double in five years, and more people will be persuaded to make the purchase online by the regular consumers who have been doing online shopping for a long time. Conclusion: In conclusion, technology did expanded the scope of advertising and the spaces of consumption practices. It is changing peoples life in every possible way, and is challenging traditional advertising and consumption practices. The revolution of shopping from physical stores to online retailers is inevitably taking place, and choices for online shopping advertising is moderately increasing. It is expected that more consumers will start shopping online and dont need to spend great amount of time on searching for the products they are interested in the future. On the contrary, these products will be able to find the consumers via online shopping advertising.

A Christmas Carol Essay -- English Literature

A Christmas Carol In a Christmas Carol, Dickens uses some of his past childhood experiences to show us that Christmas is very important and many messages come across in this book. It is split up into five ‘staves.’ The reason that they are staves instead of chapters as staves are used in music and it is called a Christmas ‘carol.’ In most cases, when people hear the word ‘Christmas’, we think of a time for giving and sharing with people less fortunate, a time for being thankful for everything we have no matter how little or how big, a chance to spend time with the people we love, joking, laughing and smiling. Generally a good time is had by all. Possibly the only exception is Scrooge. Scrooge is a cruel, cold, heartless, unwelcoming character who changes his heart and mind at Christmas. What messages were given by Dickens about Christmas? Can we change our hearts and ourselves just like Scrooge? Scrooge is an elderly miser. He’s living in the Victorian times when it was quite different to how we live nowadays, especially at Christmas. When we wake up on Christmas morning, the first thing we want to do is open our presents hoping someone has remembered what we asked for, watch others open gifts we’ve bought, cram as much turkey down our throats as possible and have parties with friends and family. In the Victorian times, they celebrated the birth of Christ. Even the poor who had hardly anything thanked God for all that they had, even though it was so little. Most people spent time with their family, singing songs and eating lovely dinners. It was usually the best dinner of the year. Scrooge did none of this. He hated Christmas. Whenever anything was mentioned about the event, he usually replied ... ...the same as any other day. I like how Dickens used the repetitiveness of the word ‘melancholy,’ as it just highlights how sad, depressed and boring his evening is. You can just imagine the street at which he lives. People in all the houses are laughing, enjoying themselves, singing, spending time together, apart from one man. All Christmas decorations are put up and the rooms are all bright, cheery and warm apart from in one home – Scrooge’s! After reading the final part, Stave 5, our feeling towards Scrooge changes dramatically and we start to feel empathetic because of his changes. Just the first sentence in the 5th Stave shows something has changed. A Holophrastic phrase is exclaimed and it is a total change from the 1st Stave. It says ‘Yes!’ Although Scrooge doesn’t actually say it, it is a positive comment which we rarely saw in the first Stave.

Look Not Only at The Now Essay

Shinichi Hoshi tells a great tale of irony and human stubbornness in the short story, â€Å"He-y, Come on Ou-t†. A great storm that hits a small town and destroys their shrine which leaves a gaping hole where it once stood; the villagers quickly figure out that the bottom of the hole cannot be found. A concessionaire buys the hole and people pay to dump very terrible things into it such as nuclear waste and incriminating evidence, but in the end it all ends up getting dumped on the village from the sky. Humans like to and tend to throw away future worries and enjoy the immediate benefits of a situation regardless of how dire the future situation may be, Hoshi expresses this by using symbolism and irony in his short story â€Å"He-y, Come on Ou-t†. Humans have caused and will cause dire circumstances for themselves by overlooking potential future threats in any given situation; this is conveyed in the short story through symbolism. When the hole is first found a young man says, â€Å"‘I wonder if it’s a fox’s hole’† (Hoshi 1). The fox symbolizes the villagers because foxes are seen as sly and the villagers think they are sly when they make a scheme to dump everything in the hole and profit from it without consequence, there is further symbolism when it is technically the village at the bottom of the hole. Soon after the people, â€Å"cut down some trees, [tie] them with rope and [make] a fence which they put around the hole† (2). Sbrocchi 2 This symbolizes that the villagers already know the hole is a bad thing and they need to protect people from it by building a fence around it, much like a pit bull or Rottweiler; also this is foreshadowing because the hole ends up being a dangerous th ing. Perhaps greatest moment of symbolism in the story comes at the last line, when it is revealed to the reader that all that is dumped in the hole is going to rain down on the city, because a builder is taking his break when, â€Å"a small pebble skimmed by him and fell on  past. The man however, was gazing in idle reverie at the city’s skyline growing evermore beautiful, and he failed to notice (4). The theme of the whole story is explained in the builder’s actions, the builder symbolizes humans as a whole, they ignore the future threat that the pebble symbolizes and look out at the â€Å"success† that they have created. Irony is a powerful tool in literature that is used to get a message through to the reader. In this story it is used in many ways to show the stubbornness of mankind to only focus on the today not the tomorrow. Near the beginning of the story before the young man is about to throw a pebble in the hole an old man warns him by saying â€Å"‘you might bring down a curse on us. Lay off,’ [†¦] but the younger one energetically [throws] the pebble in.†(2). This is so ironic because in the end the older man was right, it did bring down a curse on them, all that garbage came right back down on them. This is so important because it is exactly the theme of the story, the young man failed to recognize the threat in front of him, he set it aside so he could have his fun right now regardless of what the future may bring and the future brought evil, which was self-inflicted. The panicle of irony in the story that really throws the theme at the reader is when the narrator says â€Å"Everyone disliked thinking about the eventual consequences† That is Sbrocchi 3 literally the theme of the story, it is ironic because the eventual consequences that everyone thought would come many years later ended up right at the doorstep of the village in not long at all, and these consequences came in a form much worse than what anyone could have ever expected. There is a lesson to be learned from this story and it is that if a situation arises for something good to come in the now, in the today, but it raises problems for the tomorrow, those problems must be dealt with in the today and not pushed aside because they are unpleasant to think about. No matter how great a success something may bring it could all be in vein if the same thing will also bring pain and suffering in the future; it will not be a success at all, it will be a giant failure. In the story, something fictional happens to the villagers, but things just as bad or worse will come from actions in real life, they just may not be as obvious or come as  fast. Humans like to focus on the good in situations not in the possible bad, this has to change.

nutrient deficiences on fescue essays

nutrient deficiences on fescue essays In our experiment, different combinations and rates of Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus were applied to Festuca arundinaceae, or tall fescue. The goal was to determine which rate and combination would result in the highest rate of shoot growth. Tall fescue is a cool season perennial. It is used in areas with cold winters and mild to hot summers. General uses of tall fescue include as pastureland in some of the southern states and also as lawns, athletic fields and roadsides in certain areas. It is a coarse bunch-type grass that can have rhizomes that spread slowly. Tall fescue can handle soils that are wet, but also has good drought tolerance. Some of this drought tolerance can be attributed to the relatively deep root system it has. Besides drought tolerance, tall fescue tends to have a relatively good tolerance for heat and medium cold tolerance. Shade is tolerated by tall fescue as well. The ideal pH for tall fescue is from 5.5 to 6.5, but will survive under pHs that range from 4.7-8.5 (Beard, 1982-p594). Tall fescue has a medium cultural intensity. Mowing height of two to three inches is relatively high compared to most turf grasses (Collins, 1999-p 76). The high mowing height allows for more photosynthetic area than other commonly used turf-grasses. Nitrogen is a mobile macronutrient that is mostly available in pHs of 6 to 8 (Dole, 1999-p 68). Beyond the given range, it can be difficult or impossible for the plant to receive and utilize the nitrogen. Water is also necessary in order for nitrogen to be used by the plant. Nitrogen functions in leaf greenness, ability of the plant to recover from stress, quantity of grass clippings, root and shoot growth, resistance to disease, and cold, heat, and drought tolerance. The result of a nitrogen application is a sudden spurt of growth that depletes available nitrogen in two to six weeks. To keep growth at a steady rate, light and frequent fertilizer applications s...

Free Essays on Aristotle Virtue Ethics

Aristotle was a great philosopher during the forth century B.C. Throughout his article â€Å"Virtue Ethics†, he concentrates upon the concepts of virtue and happiness. â€Å"happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue(p. 394).† Both virtue and happiness are related to one another, for happiness is achieved through virtues. Aristotle defines happiness as the â€Å"highest of all practical goods†. It is agreed by the masses that happiness is associated with living well. â€Å"For happiness we always desire for its own sake and never as a means of something else(p. 392).† The purpose of happiness is not to gain anything, but to seek for the sake of being happy. All actions focus primarily on the achievement of happiness; honor, pleasure, and intelligence may seem like they are desired as means to themselves, but all amount in an achievement of some kind of happiness. There are two different kinds of virtues: intellectual, which is taught directly, and moral, which is gained through self-experience. Aristotle views virtues as â€Å"traits that enable us to live well in communities(p. 389)† He holds the better good of the community higher than that of the individual. Each person has a purpose to excel in their community, while at the same time adding to the greater good of their community. â€Å"consider virtue, as this will perhaps be the best way of studying happiness(p. 396).† Virtue and happiness are directly related, for virtues are the way of achieving happiness. Aristotle defines a virtue as moral excellence, or goodness. In order to achieve this excellence the mean between two extremes must sought. One extreme can be distinguished as too much, or an excess, and the other as too little, or a deficiency. By these vices and virtues are we judged, Aristotle says. In most cases, one extreme opposes the virtue more than the other does. For example, courage seems less opposed to foolhardiness tha... Free Essays on Aristotle Virtue Ethics Free Essays on Aristotle Virtue Ethics Aristotle was a great philosopher during the forth century B.C. Throughout his article â€Å"Virtue Ethics†, he concentrates upon the concepts of virtue and happiness. â€Å"happiness is an activity of soul in accordance with perfect virtue(p. 394).† Both virtue and happiness are related to one another, for happiness is achieved through virtues. Aristotle defines happiness as the â€Å"highest of all practical goods†. It is agreed by the masses that happiness is associated with living well. â€Å"For happiness we always desire for its own sake and never as a means of something else(p. 392).† The purpose of happiness is not to gain anything, but to seek for the sake of being happy. All actions focus primarily on the achievement of happiness; honor, pleasure, and intelligence may seem like they are desired as means to themselves, but all amount in an achievement of some kind of happiness. There are two different kinds of virtues: intellectual, which is taught directly, and moral, which is gained through self-experience. Aristotle views virtues as â€Å"traits that enable us to live well in communities(p. 389)† He holds the better good of the community higher than that of the individual. Each person has a purpose to excel in their community, while at the same time adding to the greater good of their community. â€Å"consider virtue, as this will perhaps be the best way of studying happiness(p. 396).† Virtue and happiness are directly related, for virtues are the way of achieving happiness. Aristotle defines a virtue as moral excellence, or goodness. In order to achieve this excellence the mean between two extremes must sought. One extreme can be distinguished as too much, or an excess, and the other as too little, or a deficiency. By these vices and virtues are we judged, Aristotle says. In most cases, one extreme opposes the virtue more than the other does. For example, courage seems less opposed to foolhardiness tha...

Communication strategy for Audi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Communication strategy for Audi - Essay Example What is meant by this is application of the appropriate media and messages with the aim of communicating the information to the targeted UK market successfully. There are basic things that may be needed by customers from different places in the UK. Despite their needs their preferences and tastes of a product always vary from one customer to another. The explanation for the difference lies in geographic, culture and socioeconomic environments. These are state in which the goods are consumed. The sociological and location factors influence the consumer’s behavior and directly apply to communication. Audi has got many customers in UK market inclusive of billionaires, and others are aged below 30 years. The statistics have been pointed out specifically to show that customers in this market change. Studies done in the past have revealed that decision making, purchasing criteria and channels of communication are different with the younger customers than the generation of the past w ho got wealth in the post cultural revolution. Although the currently rich customers in their 50’s make major targets for Audi products, a marketer should be in a position to forecast future developments. The main purpose of this report is to establish the targeted customers, their ways of processing information, how they use their personal and mass communication and their attitude to Audi products. Discussion The significance of implication of good strategies in communication marketing strategies by Audi is essential. Effective communication to the targeted market will grow into a critical state. The behavior of a consumer can be narrowed down to how the customers process information, the process of making a decision and their culture (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). Due to the difference in consumers, there must be a difference in marketing communication. Marketing communication is a process of management whereby the consumers communicates with an organization. It incorporates p ersonal and mass communication at various levels of the process. Personal communication is communication in marketing on how information is relayed to a consumer by the sales person. In addition to that, it is concerned with how media information is interpreted. Mass communication is communication in the market on different means through which firms convey information via mass media directed towards a large portion of the population. Based on Audi, the main reason for this report is to help understand Audi’s behavior on the grounds of its purchase, which defines a perfect strategy in marketing communication. This report will be divided into five. These are the Audi market, behavior of the consumer, market differences, market communication and the findings which to recommendation. Audi brand Horch one of the starters of Audi is also a founder of the automotive industry in German. This firm was situated in Saxony which is town well known of technology. In 1989, this firmâ€℠¢s yearly sales exceeded 100 for the first moment. In 1909, due to the misunderstandings between the supervisor and the board, Horch resigned from this firm and instantly started another company. Horch being the initial firm’s name was changed to Audi which was a Latin word having the same meaning as Horch. The development of Audi as a brand cannot be separated from the hard work and operations of Horch. From the time Audi came into existence, Horch made his point of attraction, which is the production of high quality. As his firm’s appearance, technology and performance improved Audi also earned a name. In 1969, the Volkswagen group under Audi with the support of finance by the

Analysing the industrial relations pressure in an industry or Research Paper

Analysing the industrial relations pressure in an industry or organisation in Australia - Research Paper Example The paper tells that the latter half of the twentieth century saw a progression of elite sports in Australia from the amateur and weekend pursuits towards the full time multi-million dollar enterprises. Along with the increasing professionalism in this industry the labour and industrial relations too has begun to resemble the traditional industries in various sectors. The sector has faced constant pressure to provide high wages to these elite players as they have taken up a more serious attitude towards negotiating and bargaining industrial relations issues. Sports are regarded as a lucrative business in which the players’ lifestyles can be determinant of the financial contracts that they can negotiate. Development of the enterprise bargaining (EB) in Australian sports bears relevance to bargaining in Australia. Negotiation occurring between the different parties occurs at the individual as well as the enterprise levels. However, the position of players’ associations as well as the sporting leagues in the bargaining process remains week and demands attention. The professional sporting players associations or unions have a chequered history. Out of thirty three attempts to form the players associations in the professional sports team in Australia only six remain in existence till date. Another important issue in the professional sports sector in Australia is that it is found to be very oppressive in terms of the employees’ labour rights. It is seen that players belonging to the major professional team sports remain strictly restricted by the league mandated labour regulations or industrial relations regulations.... Mobilising of members actually provides unions with the power to use their voice collectively to influence their employers and actions of institutions to benefit the cause of employees (Brooks, Callen, Singh, Felman & Thimann). The players associations particularly use such industrial actions in the same way and have successfully strengthened their positions in the industry which poses threat to this sector. Literature reveals that these associations capacity to engage in such industrial actions actually determines their success in the industry in terms of wages and salaries. These have yielded positive gains for these players in terms of their wages and other conditions of employments (Hanley & Rogers, 2004, p.4). There has been the generation of organizational conflicts in this industry. Common causes of conflicts identified are in terms of revenue sharing, refusal to compromise, welfare of players, and administrative incompetence. The failure to arrive at common objectives by the negotiating parties for the IR processes coupled with the reluctance of such parties to compromise on self interests are identified as two of the major reasons for organizational conflicts in this industry (Hanley & Rogers, 2004, p.5). Industry/ organisation The Australian sports industry has proceeded a long way since the last fifteen years. There are great entry of funds via such avenues as coaching, facility development, sports sciences, national sporting schemes, institute establishments, sport management and talent identification program. Being a relatively new industry in the market, this sector is quite unregulated and is yet to define its boundaries completely. Lack of minimum salary structures, dispute resolution procedures or