UK Supermarkets Competitive Strategy

UK Supermarkets Competitive Strategy Evaluate how UK supermarkets use market segmentation, targeting and positioning to gain a competitive advantage. 1. Introduction This paper sets out to apply basic segmentation, targeting and positioning concepts to the UK supermarket sector and will evaluate the extent to which the use of these concepts is leading to the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage with any or all of the supermarkets selected. The focus will be on the three major supermarkets: Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury. The paper will begin with an explanation of the concepts and will move on to a description of the strategic positioning of each of the major supermarkets in the current marketplace. Chapter 4 will evaluate the relative success of the three companies chosen and assess the extent to which their approach to segmentation and positioning has enabled them to achieve some measure of competitive advantage. Sources of information are: recognised marketing textbooks, articles from learned journals, newspapers and periodicals and company annual reports and websites. 2. Definitions, explanations and questions 2.1 Definitions of the basic concepts Jobber defines segmentation as â€Å"the identification of individuals or organisations with similar characteristics which have significant implications for the determination of marketing strategy.† [1] It is a process which results in the clustering of people with supposedly similar buying behaviour, such that marketing mixes can be designed to meet the specific needs and wants of people within the cluster. Once the market has been described in terms of an amalgam of homogeneous segments, companies need to decide which, if any, segments to target. Should they adopt a â€Å"niche† approach (like Morgan in the automobile sector), where only one type of vehicle is produced for a specific segment of the market, or should they adopt a â€Å"mass market coverage† approach (like Ford or GM), where vehicles are produced to appeal to the whole range of different requirements across the different segments? Positioning describes the manner by which a company differentiates its products/services from the competition within each target market. Sometimes these differences are very fine. Mercedes and BMW both have, for example, quality images and are priced high relative to most competitors but Mercedes has historically had a greater appeal among older, more conservative drivers and BMW has appealed more to those who see themselves as dynamic and thrusting.[2] 2.2 Segmentation rationale At one level the segmentation process enables companies to tailor their products or services to meet the needs of the market better than competitors and to choose segments which are aligned with their capabilities as a company. They are also able to select segments which are large enough for them to supply efficiently. Segmentation therefore facilitates differentiation, which should improve competitiveness, which should, in turn, lead to higher profitability. Barwise and Meehan draw attention to a possible fallacy in this form of reasoning. They cite the example of the different positioning strategies of One2One (now T-Mobile) and Orange in the battle for market share in the UK mobile telecoms market.[3] Orange offered â€Å"to provide a reliable, high quality overall customer experience with good value for money†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦(they) targeted the whole market, not just a specific segment.† [4] One2One, on the other hand, adopted a strongly focused, segmentation strategy. â€Å"†¦it positioned itself as a low-cost, friendly network suitable for people wanting to chat with friends†¦priority on big cities†¦free off-peak local calls.† [5] By far the most successful company (Orange) was the one which offered generic category benefits to the whole market, not a highly segmented approach. This is relevant to an understanding of success in the supermarket sector and will be referred to later. 2.3 Different forms of segmentation Marketing text books describe three basic types of segmentation: Behavioural Psychographic Profile The behavioural category covers: benefits sought, purchasing behaviour and product usage and perceptions and beliefs. The psychographic category covers: lifestyles and personality breakdowns The broad profile category covers: age, gender, stage in the life cycle, social class, geographic location, income.[6] Often a combination of variables across the categories is used. Research Services Ltd, a UK marketing research company, has developed SAGACITY, a segmentation scheme based on a combination of life cycle, occupation and income. They form 12 distinct consumer groupings with differing aspirations and behaviour patterns.[7] A.C. Nielsen, the international marketing research agency, uses a combination of all segmentation categories to describe types of shoppers in supermarkets. They break the market down into 6 distinct groupings: Habit-bound Diehards Comfortable and Contenteds Mercenaries Struggling Idealists Frenzied Copers Self-indulgents [8] The purpose of this breakdown appears to be to: match product and service delivery to the needs and wants of the different segments to identify the potentially most profitable segments One interesting point which emerged from this programme was that segments such as the â€Å"Struggling Idealists† were, at the time the TV programme was made in 2002, not of great interest to supermarkets as they did not spend a lot and insisted on organic and eco-friendly products, which did not seem to be of interest to the mass market . In just 4 years the market has changed dramatically and supermarkets are allocating significantly more shelf-space to such products and aim to attract shoppers with â€Å"green† values.[9] The segment has grown in terms of its potential value to supermarkets. This highlights the need for a creative and dynamic approach to segmentation. Orange now uses data-mining software within a sophisticated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to monitor segments on a day-to-day basis and to adjust its service approach accordingly. It will, for example adjust its pricing and service delivery to the value of the customer. Premium customers are immediately recognised by call-centres and accorded priority in the queuing system.[10] This keen focus on the most profitable customers contrasts with most supermarkets, which offer separate tills for customers who have not bought much, allowing them to move more quickly through the checkouts than the customers with laden trolleys. This will again be referred to in later sections. 2.4 Competitive Advantage Finally, in this chapter, a few clarifying words on the meaning, and sources, of competitive advantage, with specific reference to the supermarket sector. Grant defines the concept as follows: â€Å"When two firms compete†¦one firm possesses a competitive advantage over the other when it earns a higher rate of profit or has the potential to earn a higher rate of profit.†[11] It is important to note the main point here; competitive advantage relates to profitability or potential profitability, not to revenue, market share or more qualitative measures such as image or reputation. This is the definition which will be applied in this paper. The international consulting company, Accenture, published last year a paper called â€Å"Consuming Passions†, a study of the six leading global retailers. One of its aims was to identify the common factors which led to their high performance in the market over a long period of time.[12] It identified six core competencies which underpin high performance in the retail sector: strategic intent customer focus innovation and commercialisation operational excellence alliances and collaboration talent management[13] In the introduction to the paper the authors state: â€Å"The name of the winning game is differentiation that is meaningful and relevant to the customer base. But this isn’t just a matter of offering new products and services; those products and services must also be highly distinctive, relevant to target customers and in the right stores, with the right price and promotion combination and at the right time.†[14] These ideas will be developed further in the next chapter when examining the individual supermarket companies. 3. The Major Supermarkets 3.1 Overview The UK supermarket sector is highly concentrated. The five leading companies together have 73% of the total market. Only France has a more concentrated market, with 78% being taken up by the top five.[15] Until the mid 1990s Sainsburys was market leader but the number one position was taken by Tesco in 1996 and they have since grown market share to 30% plus of the UK market. Sainsbury is now in third position behind Asda, which was bought by Walmart in 1999. The paragraphs below briefly describe the current financial situation of each company, their strategic marketing focus and the extent to which each appears to be applying segmentation approaches. Most of the information comes from the respective company websites. 3.2 Tesco[16] In 2005 Tesco achieved sales turnover of  £37.1 bill. and profits of  £2,029m. Profits and sales have grown consistently over the past 5 years. Profits from 2004-5 grew by 20.5% on sales growth of 12.4%. The company employs 360,000 people worldwide and has 2,000 stores. 111 new stores are planned for 2006. Its long-term strategy is based on four parts: growth in the core UK business expansion from international growth to be as strong in non-food as in food to follow customers into new retailing services Tesco appears to take customer focus and staff focus very seriously. An ongoing project entitled â€Å"Every Little Helps† is in process which has used question times with more than 9,000 customers to help them to understand how they can best improve service to customers on a day-to-day basis. This has resulted in parking bays for trolleys (to stop annoying customers), extra staff on checkouts (to reduce waiting times) and fresh food counters and self-service cafes for customers in a hurry. Using their Clubcard as the data source Tesco send out mailings every quarter to 11million customers. The mailings have an annualised value to customers (if they use them) of  £250m. and can be adjusted to take account of individual customer buying behaviour. Tesco has a range of different stores in line with its belief that: â€Å"Customers have different needs at different times so we tailor our stores as well as our products. From Value to Finest and from Express to Extra, there’s something for everyone at Tesco.†[17] Value products are low-priced basics for customers on a tight budget. Finest are products with the finest ingredients for customers who appreciate fine food and are prepared to pay higher prices for higher quality. Express are smaller stores in local communities for people who would find it difficult to get to a large Tesco store. Metro are stores in town and city centres for the convenience of customers who prefer to shop in town rather than in the Superstores out of town. These Superstores are particularly for one-stop shoppers who can find â€Å"everything they need for their weekly shopping†[18]. They carry not only a wide range of food lines but also the most popular Tesco non-food lines. Tesco Extra is a major new development focusing on non-.food lines, but with extensive food and convenience lines. As only 20% of the UK population has access to such stores Tesco intends opening 20 more this year. For all health-conscious customers (viz. the â€Å"struggling idealists† in 2.3) Tesco has introduced better labelling, diet guides and â€Å"Free-from† and organic ranges. For price-conscious customers who also like good service they have introduced the â€Å"Step Change† programme and â€Å"Everyday Low Pricing†. For the growing number of customers who prefer to order from home and get home deliveries Tesco provides an on-line service which now supplies 150,000 customers/day. 3.3 Asda It is difficult to obtain separate financial results for Asda Wal-Mart as the figures are hidden away in Wal-Mart’s consolidated accounts. The corporate website in the UK is also not nearly as transparent about strategic and marketing issues as Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Morrisons. Figures therefore, for the most part, need to be gleaned from outside sources or estimated. Figures quoted below are taken, for the most part, from Datamonitor.[19] In 2005 Asda had a sales turnover of  £16.25bill., a growth of 19.8% over the previous year. Since Wal-Mart bought the company in 1999 market share in the UK has risen from 13% to 16%, putting them in second position ahead of Sainsbury. The company has 265 Asda stores, 19 superstores, 1 pilot store in General Merchandising and 6 trial George stores specialising in fashion clothing. The company plans to open 10-12 new stores each year. â€Å"60% of Asda’s sales are currently in grocery items, although it intends to build on the growth of non-food products in store, which may well change this balance. Asda sells six own-brand labels: Asda Smartprice, Asda, Good for You, Asda Organic, Asda Extra Special and More for Kids.†[20] Asda management appears to plan to grow in the future via more stores, a focus on clothing (via its George fashion range Asda has now overtaken Marks and Spencer as the UK’s largest clothing retailer[21])and non-food, growth from specialist outlets within the stores: opticians, jewellers and photographic and possibly a greater push into the children’s market. Their main marketing thrust – in-line with the Wal-Mart reputation – is to be seen by the mass market as the price leader. They in fact claimed to be the â€Å"official lowest price supermarket in the UK† but this was based on a survey of just 33 lines and, after complaints from Tesco, the claim had to be lifted.[22] Since Wal-Mart’s takeover of Asda there has been an ongoing price war with Sainsbury and Tesco, which has raised Asda’s profile as a low-price store. Apart from price the main differentiators are the twin focuses on non-food and clothing and the particular focus on the kids market. Like Tesco and Sainsburys they are also trying to attract higher income and â€Å"green† customers with its â€Å"Good for You†, â€Å"Organics† and â€Å"Asda Extra Special† brands. They also have an on-line ordering and delivery service. Asda undoubtedly has an image problem because of its association with Wal-Mart. â€Å"Asda has been criticised for misleading advertising, using suppliers who are known to have illegal employment practices, ignoring planning regulations and destroying greenbelt land, lack of serious environmental policy and blatant greenwash. With its ‘strategy of consolidation’, copied directly from Wal-Mart, Asda pursues an aggressive takeover policy of small towns, wiping out local competition and local jobs. False claims by the company about value and convenience, have been challenged, along with the exploitation of every opportunity to push impulse buying.†[23] No specific evidence was found, but negative information, such as the above about Wal-Mart, abounds on the internet and it is probable that this will make it more difficult for Asda to position itself such that it attracts the more educated, aware customers. 3.4 J Sainsbury Sainsbury achieved total sales in 2005 of  £16.36bill. and profits after tax of  £65m. This compared with slightly lower sales in the previous year and a significantly larger profit then of  £404m.[24] Sainsbury appears to be struggling. It has suffered from severe price competition from Asda and Tesco and also failed to implement effectively a new logistics system, which resulted in severe out-of-stock problems which alienated customers. The company has 727 stores in all, 465 of which are supermarkets and 262 are the smaller convenience stores. It employs 153,000 people. Sainsbury is currently undergoing a change programme entitled â€Å"Making Sainsbury’s Great Again 2007/8†[25]. Some elements of this programme are very relevant to its positioning in the market. In line with Barwise and Meehan’s thinking on â€Å"generic category benefits†[26] Sainsbury wish to restore the universal appeal of the brand. This comprises four elements: be all inclusive (appeal to all segments of the market) have a clear product hierarchy: GOOD, BETTER, BEST (not assuming that certain segments go for a defined quality of product but that all customers chop and change). invest in price and quality ( £400m in 2006) scale to succeed (ensure that there is sufficient overall demand in the chosen products/markets to get costs down to a manageable level) This all translates into a customer proposition which their annual report describes as follows: great food/fair prices market leaders in quality and innovation complementary non-food straightforward formats: supermarkets, convenience and Sainsbury’s to You(on-line) bank Sainsbury advertising focuses on two messages: we have reduced price on 4000 lines â€Å"Try something new today† The former has clear universal appeal and aims to enable Sainsbury to compete on price with Asda and Tesco. The former appears to be focused more on higher income categories (the â€Å"Self-indulgents† and â€Å"Comfortable and Contenteds† mentioned in 2.3. 4. Conclusions and final thoughts In a 1994 article on segmentation in the retail sector the following statement is made: â€Å"†¦any strategic option depends on clear positioning against competitors and customer groups (and the ) approach of integrating competitive analysis with market segmentation is a necessary first step to achieving a better understanding of the retailing environment and formulating effective marketing strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦supermarket retailers must attract customers from different and often incompatible market segments.† [27] This statement still appears to have validity to-day. All three supermarkets mentioned in this paper wish to attract customers from the higher income AB socio-economic category by offering them better service, high quality and tasty foods, organic foods and a clean and welcoming atmosphere. These customers will spend more and will buy products which offer the retailer higher margins. At the same time all supermarkets seek to position themselves as low price operators, thus appealing to lower income groups and those across all income groups who seek bargains (the â€Å"mercenaries† in 2.3). It is the observation of the writer that Tesco is clearly the most successful at positioning itself to appeal to both ends of the spectrum. According to data in Morrisons’ 2005 annual report about 25% of Sainsbury’s customers fall into the AB category whereas with Tesco it is only 20% and with Asda it is about 17%. Asda on the other hand (from the same annual report) rates very highly in terms of customer perception of value for money, Tesco is slightly lower and Sainsbury is even below Waitrose, a store which is traditionally associated with high prices. All realise that location is vital and that even to-day’s motorised customer will not put herself about too much to go to stores too far away. Hence all are moving towards the development of smaller stores to attract local communities. All use brand loyalty cards, but Tesco appears to be the most successful at using data on the card to enable it to adjust offerings to individual customer requirements. There are great similarities between the companies and their marketing approaches. Each follows the other very closely. What appears to make Tesco stand out is not so much a more sophisticated approach to segmentation and differentiation, but – one of the key competencies in the Accenture report, â€Å"Consuming Passions†[28] its ability to combine a clear strategy with operational excellence. At the time of writing (April 25, 2006) Tesco has just released performance figures for the past 12 months. They indicate a 13.2% growth in sales and a 16.7% growth in before tax profit. [29] BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Barwise B. and Meehan S (2004), Simply Better, Harvard Business School Press Grant RM (1997), Contemporary Strategic Analysis, Blackwell Jobber D. (2004), Principles and Practice of Marketing, McGraw Hill Kotler P. and Armstrong G.(2004), Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall Journals/Reports Anonymous author of â€Å"Asda Group Limited† in Datamonitor, June, 2005 Anonymous author of â€Å"Organics UK† in Mintel Report, November 2005 Mann S., Smith J. and Trouvà © O. (2006), â€Å"Consuming Passions†, Accenture industry report in Outlook 2005 Segal M. and Giacobbe R. (1994), â€Å"Market Segmentation and Competitive Analysis for Supermarket Retailing†, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, Vol.22, No.1, pp.38-48 Internet sources www.asda.co.uk www.corporatewatch.org.uk www.guardian.co.uk www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/textbooks/jobber www.morrisons.co.uk www.npr.org www.sainsbury.co.uk www.tesco.com Footnotes [1] Jobber (2004), Principles and Practice of Marketing, p. 210 [2] From A to B, Channel 4, 1998 [3] Barwise and Meehan (2004), Simply Better, p. 4 [4] Barwise and Meehan, pp. 3-4 [5] Barwise and Meehan, pp. 4-5 [6] Jobber, p. 214 [7] Jobber, p. 224 [8] Shop ‘till you drop, Channel 4, 2002 [9] Organics UK, November, 2005, Mintel Report [10] Orange: a Fruitful Passion, supplementary case on the Jobber website, www.mcgraw- hill.co.uk/textbooks/jobber [11] Grant R.M., Contemporary Strategic Analysis, p.151 [12] Mann S., Smith J. and Trouvà © O., Consuming Passions, Accenture, 2005 [13] Mann et al, p. 9 [14] Mann et al, p.3 [15] Mann et al, p.7 [16] www.tesco.com [17] www.tesco.com [18] www.tesco.,com [19] Asda Group Limited, Datamonitor, June, 2005 [20] Asda Wal-Mart: a Corporate Profile, www.corporatewatch.org.uk, Nov. 2004 [21] www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,1288594,00.html [22] Th e Marketplace Report: Wal-Mart’s UK Strategy, www.npr.org, August 17, 2005 [23] www.corporatewatch.org.uk, November 2004 [24] www.sainsbury.co.uk Annual Report 2005 [25]www.sainsbury.co.uk Annual Report 2005 [26] Barwise and Meehan(2004), Simply Better [27] Segal M and Giacobbe R (1994), Market Segmentation and Competitive Analysis for Supermarket Retailing, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, p. 45 [28] Mann, Smith and Trouvà ©, Consuming Passions [29] tesco.com, press release on April 25, 2006

Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of C

Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of Christ Christ, as the ultimate sacrifice in Christianity, gave his own life for the benefit of others. His self-sacrifice continues to this day to be celebrated in the Catholic Mass. Through communion, or receiving the Eucharist, one is able to actively partake of the fruits of that sacrifice. But how does one follow Jesus’ example? One surely cannot strive for the same kind of physical death that Jesus experienced. Thus, practice of another form of self-sacrifice becomes necessary. To eat, to nourish one’s self is an act that is essential for human life. What could cause more pain in this life than to deny one’s self sustenance? The practice of fasting, as one form of self-denial, can serve to bring one closer to identifying with the sacrifice of Christ. This is especially evident when fasting is examined in relation to the Eucharist in the Catholic tradition. But before we continue, a distinction must be made between two different types of self-denial. To fast, and to not eat do not constitute the same act. My own personal experience while exploring the topic of fasting has deeply colored my view of the practice of fasting. Many personal interests led me to pursue the question of fasting as a form of self-sacrifice. One was my personal engagement with and interest in the Roman Catholic tradition. Another, much more personal influence is my personal relationship with food. To stop eating is one of the (unhealthy ways) in which I personally deal with stress or depression. In reading Caroline Bynum’s book on the relationship medieval women mystics had with food I was able to identify on many levels. These women, in some cases, lived for... ...5 At the request of my friend, her name has been changed, in case her mother really does have spies everywhere. 16 Nussbaum, Melissa. â€Å"Your paper on fasting.† Email to Lorena Dremel. 03/06/2003 17 Dugan, Kathleen M. â€Å"Fasting For Life: The Place of Fasting in the Christian Tradition.† Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 63 Issue 3 (Fall 1995): 547 18 Repohl, Roger F. â€Å"Hungry Together.† Commonweal. Vol. 124 Issue 3 (02/14/1997): 9-10 19 Several articles including: Orsy, Ladislas. â€Å"Holy Days of Obligation? Holidays of Celebration?† America. Vol. 166 Issue 2 (01/18/1992-01/25/1992): 28-29. Rogers, Carole Garibaldi. â€Å"Why Catholics Fast: Searching for the Tradition.† America. Vol. 186 Issue 6 (02/25/2002): 6-10. Sherry, Mary. â€Å"Fasting? But That’s So Mortifying.† America. Vol. 186 Issue 7 (03/04/2002): 21-22. Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of C Fasting and The Eucharist: Catholic Participation in the Sacrifice of Christ Christ, as the ultimate sacrifice in Christianity, gave his own life for the benefit of others. His self-sacrifice continues to this day to be celebrated in the Catholic Mass. Through communion, or receiving the Eucharist, one is able to actively partake of the fruits of that sacrifice. But how does one follow Jesus’ example? One surely cannot strive for the same kind of physical death that Jesus experienced. Thus, practice of another form of self-sacrifice becomes necessary. To eat, to nourish one’s self is an act that is essential for human life. What could cause more pain in this life than to deny one’s self sustenance? The practice of fasting, as one form of self-denial, can serve to bring one closer to identifying with the sacrifice of Christ. This is especially evident when fasting is examined in relation to the Eucharist in the Catholic tradition. But before we continue, a distinction must be made between two different types of self-denial. To fast, and to not eat do not constitute the same act. My own personal experience while exploring the topic of fasting has deeply colored my view of the practice of fasting. Many personal interests led me to pursue the question of fasting as a form of self-sacrifice. One was my personal engagement with and interest in the Roman Catholic tradition. Another, much more personal influence is my personal relationship with food. To stop eating is one of the (unhealthy ways) in which I personally deal with stress or depression. In reading Caroline Bynum’s book on the relationship medieval women mystics had with food I was able to identify on many levels. These women, in some cases, lived for... ...5 At the request of my friend, her name has been changed, in case her mother really does have spies everywhere. 16 Nussbaum, Melissa. â€Å"Your paper on fasting.† Email to Lorena Dremel. 03/06/2003 17 Dugan, Kathleen M. â€Å"Fasting For Life: The Place of Fasting in the Christian Tradition.† Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 63 Issue 3 (Fall 1995): 547 18 Repohl, Roger F. â€Å"Hungry Together.† Commonweal. Vol. 124 Issue 3 (02/14/1997): 9-10 19 Several articles including: Orsy, Ladislas. â€Å"Holy Days of Obligation? Holidays of Celebration?† America. Vol. 166 Issue 2 (01/18/1992-01/25/1992): 28-29. Rogers, Carole Garibaldi. â€Å"Why Catholics Fast: Searching for the Tradition.† America. Vol. 186 Issue 6 (02/25/2002): 6-10. Sherry, Mary. â€Å"Fasting? But That’s So Mortifying.† America. Vol. 186 Issue 7 (03/04/2002): 21-22.

George Orwell Essay -- History Biography Biographies Essays

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 at Motihari in British-occupied India. While growing up, he attended private schools in Sussex, Wellington and Eaton. He worked at the Imperial Indian Police until 1927 when he went to London to study the poverty stricken. He then moved to Paris where he wrote two lost novels. After he moved back to England he wrote Down and Out in Paris and London, Burmese Days, A Clergyman’s Daughter and Keep the Apidistra Flying. He published all four under the pseudonym George Orwell. He then married Eileen O’Shaughnessy and wrote The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell then joined the Army and fought in the Spanish Civil War. He became a socialist revolutionary and wrote Homage to Catalina, Coming Up for Air, and in 1943, he wrote Animal Farm. It’s success ended Orwell’s financial troubles forever. In 1947 and 48 despite Tuberculosis, he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. He died in 1950 (Williams 7-15). This essay will show and prove to you that George Orwell’s life has influenced modern society a great deal. Biography In 1903, Eric Arthur Blair was born. Living in India until he was four, Blair and his family then moved to England and settled at Henley. At the age of eight, Blair was sent to a private school in Sussex, and he lived there, except on holidays, until he was thirteen. He went to two private secondary schools: Wellington(for one term) and Eaton (for four and a half years). After Eaton, Blair joined the Imperial Indian Police and was trained in Burma. He served there for nearly five years and then in 1927, while home on a leave, decided not to return. He later wrote that he had come to understand and reject the imperialism he was serving. He was stuck...between hatred of the empire and rage against the native people who opposed it, and made his immediate job more difficult. Blair, on his first six months of release, traveled to the East End to research the English poor. In Spring of 1928, he took a room in a working-class district of Paris. He wrote two novels, which have been lost, as well as publishing a number of articles in French and English, and later became ill with pneumonia. He then worked ten weeks as a dishwasher and kitchen porter, and later returned to England at the end of 1929. He used his parents’ home in Suffolk for writing and earned money from occasional articles and teaching. Bl... ...o is never swept away by his imagination.† Of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fredric Warburg comments, â€Å"This is amongst the most terrifying books I have ever read†. â€Å"Mr. Orwell’s latest book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, can be approached either as a political argument or as an indictment of materialism cast in fictional form,† writes Harold Nicolson. â€Å"Mr. Orwell is in every way similar to Huxley, especially in his contempt for people, in his aim of slandering man,† reports Isaac Anisimov for the Pravda. CONCLUSION As you can see, George Orwell is one of the most beloved and respected authors in history. His works speak out against money, hypocrisy, poverty and injustice. His style has influenced many modern authors and will, most definitely, influence many more authors to come. WORKS CITED Calder, Jenni. Animal Farm & Nineteen Eighty-Four. Philadelphia:Milton Keynes, 1986. Meyers, Jeffery. George Orwell: The Critical Hertige. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1982 Williams, Raymond. Orwell. London: Raymond Williams, 1991 Wykes, David. A Preface to Orwell. New York: Longman, Inc., 1987. George Orwell Essay -- History Biography Biographies Essays George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 at Motihari in British-occupied India. While growing up, he attended private schools in Sussex, Wellington and Eaton. He worked at the Imperial Indian Police until 1927 when he went to London to study the poverty stricken. He then moved to Paris where he wrote two lost novels. After he moved back to England he wrote Down and Out in Paris and London, Burmese Days, A Clergyman’s Daughter and Keep the Apidistra Flying. He published all four under the pseudonym George Orwell. He then married Eileen O’Shaughnessy and wrote The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell then joined the Army and fought in the Spanish Civil War. He became a socialist revolutionary and wrote Homage to Catalina, Coming Up for Air, and in 1943, he wrote Animal Farm. It’s success ended Orwell’s financial troubles forever. In 1947 and 48 despite Tuberculosis, he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four. He died in 1950 (Williams 7-15). This essay will show and prove to you that George Orwell’s life has influenced modern society a great deal. Biography In 1903, Eric Arthur Blair was born. Living in India until he was four, Blair and his family then moved to England and settled at Henley. At the age of eight, Blair was sent to a private school in Sussex, and he lived there, except on holidays, until he was thirteen. He went to two private secondary schools: Wellington(for one term) and Eaton (for four and a half years). After Eaton, Blair joined the Imperial Indian Police and was trained in Burma. He served there for nearly five years and then in 1927, while home on a leave, decided not to return. He later wrote that he had come to understand and reject the imperialism he was serving. He was stuck...between hatred of the empire and rage against the native people who opposed it, and made his immediate job more difficult. Blair, on his first six months of release, traveled to the East End to research the English poor. In Spring of 1928, he took a room in a working-class district of Paris. He wrote two novels, which have been lost, as well as publishing a number of articles in French and English, and later became ill with pneumonia. He then worked ten weeks as a dishwasher and kitchen porter, and later returned to England at the end of 1929. He used his parents’ home in Suffolk for writing and earned money from occasional articles and teaching. Bl... ...o is never swept away by his imagination.† Of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fredric Warburg comments, â€Å"This is amongst the most terrifying books I have ever read†. â€Å"Mr. Orwell’s latest book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, can be approached either as a political argument or as an indictment of materialism cast in fictional form,† writes Harold Nicolson. â€Å"Mr. Orwell is in every way similar to Huxley, especially in his contempt for people, in his aim of slandering man,† reports Isaac Anisimov for the Pravda. CONCLUSION As you can see, George Orwell is one of the most beloved and respected authors in history. His works speak out against money, hypocrisy, poverty and injustice. His style has influenced many modern authors and will, most definitely, influence many more authors to come. WORKS CITED Calder, Jenni. Animal Farm & Nineteen Eighty-Four. Philadelphia:Milton Keynes, 1986. Meyers, Jeffery. George Orwell: The Critical Hertige. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975. Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1982 Williams, Raymond. Orwell. London: Raymond Williams, 1991 Wykes, David. A Preface to Orwell. New York: Longman, Inc., 1987.

Critical Analysis of Group Work Essay -- Organizational Dynamics, Grou

After completing the group task of preparing a presentation on, transferring individual facilitation skills into a group work setting I will critically reflect upon my own participation. I will evaluate my self-awareness while working in the group, as well as those around me. The way that I personally dealt with any issues that arose within the group and how that affected the group dynamics. I will also briefly discuss the roles in which each member of the group took and how role allocation affected, the group dynamics and the working relationships. Finally I will evaluate my work having discussed it with my fellow group members. In order to evaluate my role within the group it is important to identify what makes a group. A group must firstly consist of more than three members, â€Å"Two members have personal relationships; with three or more there is a change in quality† of the personal relationship. (Bion 1961, p26) The group must have a common purpose or a goal in order to succeed. Having now completed my group work task, I can look back and reflect upon the process that my group went thought it get to the presentation end point. Firstly my group had to form (Kottler, Englar-Carlson 2010 p.93). There are many theories on how groups come together and the stages they go though. Tuckman is a commonly used theories due to the simple nature of his five stage theory. Tuckman believes that in order for a group to form they must go through his five stages: forming, storming, norming and performing (Tuckman 1965 p.17). In 1977 along side Jensen Tuckman added mourning to his process. Tuckman’s theory of development claims, â€Å"In the first stage of team development or organization, individuals come together to establish the ground ru... ...in Groups and other papers. London: Tavistock Publications. BENSON, J.E. 1987. Working More Creatively with Groups. 2nd edn. London: Routledge COREY, G. COREY, M.S. CALLANAN, P. RUSSELL, J.M. 2004. Group Techniques. 3rd edn. London: Thomson Learning COREY, M.S. COREY, G. COREY, C. 2010. Groups: Process and Practice. 8TH edn. Canada: Brooks/ Cole JAMES, N. 2010. Individual and Group Work Facilitation Skills. Newport: Newport University Press. KOTTLER, J.A. ENGLAR-CARLSON, M. 2010. Learning Group Leadership, An Experiential Approach. 2nd edn. London: Sage TUCKMAN, B. 1965. Developmental Sequences in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin 63, p 384 – 99. cited in DOEL, M. and SAWDON, C. (2001). The Essential Group Worker: Teaching and Learning Creative Group Work. London: J Kingsley. SCHNEIDER, M. 2003. Building a Team. New York: Delmar Learning Critical Analysis of Group Work Essay -- Organizational Dynamics, Grou After completing the group task of preparing a presentation on, transferring individual facilitation skills into a group work setting I will critically reflect upon my own participation. I will evaluate my self-awareness while working in the group, as well as those around me. The way that I personally dealt with any issues that arose within the group and how that affected the group dynamics. I will also briefly discuss the roles in which each member of the group took and how role allocation affected, the group dynamics and the working relationships. Finally I will evaluate my work having discussed it with my fellow group members. In order to evaluate my role within the group it is important to identify what makes a group. A group must firstly consist of more than three members, â€Å"Two members have personal relationships; with three or more there is a change in quality† of the personal relationship. (Bion 1961, p26) The group must have a common purpose or a goal in order to succeed. Having now completed my group work task, I can look back and reflect upon the process that my group went thought it get to the presentation end point. Firstly my group had to form (Kottler, Englar-Carlson 2010 p.93). There are many theories on how groups come together and the stages they go though. Tuckman is a commonly used theories due to the simple nature of his five stage theory. Tuckman believes that in order for a group to form they must go through his five stages: forming, storming, norming and performing (Tuckman 1965 p.17). In 1977 along side Jensen Tuckman added mourning to his process. Tuckman’s theory of development claims, â€Å"In the first stage of team development or organization, individuals come together to establish the ground ru... ...in Groups and other papers. London: Tavistock Publications. BENSON, J.E. 1987. Working More Creatively with Groups. 2nd edn. London: Routledge COREY, G. COREY, M.S. CALLANAN, P. RUSSELL, J.M. 2004. Group Techniques. 3rd edn. London: Thomson Learning COREY, M.S. COREY, G. COREY, C. 2010. Groups: Process and Practice. 8TH edn. Canada: Brooks/ Cole JAMES, N. 2010. Individual and Group Work Facilitation Skills. Newport: Newport University Press. KOTTLER, J.A. ENGLAR-CARLSON, M. 2010. Learning Group Leadership, An Experiential Approach. 2nd edn. London: Sage TUCKMAN, B. 1965. Developmental Sequences in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin 63, p 384 – 99. cited in DOEL, M. and SAWDON, C. (2001). The Essential Group Worker: Teaching and Learning Creative Group Work. London: J Kingsley. SCHNEIDER, M. 2003. Building a Team. New York: Delmar Learning

Age Related Changes That Occur in the Cardiovascular System

Age Related Changes that Occur in the Cardiovascular System Age Related Changes that Occur in the Cardiovascular System In the normal conduction of the heart the electrical impulse starts in the SA node, also called the pacemaker of the heart. The electrical impulse travels through the right atrium and through the Bachmann’s bundle into the left atrium. This stimulates the atria to contract. Next the signal travel to the AV node. The AV node slightly delays the signal. This delay is needed for the heart to beat properly.The Cardiovascular SystemWithout this delay the atria and ventricles would beat at the same time. The electrical signal then travels to the Bundle of His where it is split into the signals going to the right and left ventricle. The signal travels through the left and the right Bundle Branch to contract the ventricles. As the body ages there are changes in the cardiovascular system. Some of these changes include major changes in heart rate, blood vessels become more stiff and thicker, heart valves become thicker and more stiff, the SA node loses cells and developes fibrous tissue.One major change is the decrease in the elasticity of the aorta and great arteries. The normal aorta allows for normal expansion during systole. Left ventricular ejection creates a pressure wave which travels the length of the aorta to the periphery. The pulse generated at a peripheral vessel is the result of this pressure wave and is not a reflection of blood flow. The velocity of the pressure wave is termed the pulse wave velocity. Age-related aortic stiffening causes an increase in the pulse wave velocity.The wave velocity in the elderly results in an elevation in the systolic blood pressure. The pulse wave is faster resulting in the reflected wave reaching the ascending aorta in the late systole rather than early diastole. Coronary artery disease also called CAD is the leading cause of death in both men and women. CAD is the leading type of heart disease in th e United States. CAD is the hardening and build up of plaque inside the arteries that supply the heart with blood. The main part of plaque is cholesterol followed by other minerals.This type of build up is called atherosclerosis. As this grows it occludes the arteries which in turn decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the heart. This can lear to chest pain and heart attacks. The risk of CAD increases with age. 37% of people in the age range of 65-74 years old and 48% of those over the age of 75 (REF 1) reported having this type of illness. In the 75 years and over, more than one third of men and approximately one quarter of women are currently living with coronary artery disease. Hypertension is more common in the 60 and over range.Hypertension is define as a blood pressure of 140/90 or greater. Hypertension is related to the loss of elasticity in the aorta. Blood pressure mainly systolic pressure rises with age. In a community based study 90% of midlife adults with normal blood pressure developed hypertension in late life. (Ref 2) Arrhythmia is an abnormal heart beat. It’s more common in the aging adult. Arrhythmias occur when the electrical signals on the heart are not working correctly and making the heart beat in irregular rhythm. Many different things can lead to arrhythmias.Cardiac arrhythmias can be caused by a heart attack, scarring from prior heart attack, blocked arteries (CAD), hypertension, changes to your heart's structure, such as from cardiomyopathy. Most common arrhythmias in the elderly are tachycardia and bradycardia. Tachycardia is a heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute and bradycardia is less than 60 beats per minute. Tachycardia is most commonly caused by age-related deterioration of the heart or an underlying medical condition. It is a disruption of the normal electrical signal. Bradycardia is caused by changes to the heart related to aging.It is also a disruption of the normal electrical signal. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition caused by the weakening of the heart and the cardiovascular system. It develops when the heart is not able to pump enough blood. Some causes of CHF would include, narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle – coronary artery disease, past heart attack, or myocardial infarction, with scar tissue that interferes with the heart muscle’s normal work, high blood pressure, heart valve disease, primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy.High blood pressure is the leading cause of CHF in the elderly. High blood bressure put high demands on the heart to pump blood. This prolonged demand weakens the heart muscle over time. The heart doesn't pump as efficiently as it should, the blood slows down and less blood is pumped. The blood returning to the heart backs up in the veins forcing fluid from the blood vessels into tissues of the feet and legs. The swelling that results is call â€Å"edema†. Bibliography Medline Plu s, Aging changes in the heart and blood vessels, Retrieved April 1, 2013 From http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004006. htmJenkins, Kemnitz, Tortora (2010) Anatomy and Physiology From Science to Life Danvers, MA: John Wiley and Sons Inc Pat Joiner-Myers, Mosby’s Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions 8th Edition Medscape, Cardiovascular Physiology- Changes With Aging , Retrieved April 1, 2013 From http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/450564_2 References 1. Office for National Statistics: General Lifestyle Survey (2007) www. statistics. gov. uk/statbase/product. asp? vlnk=5756 2. Vasan RS, Beiser A, Seshadri S et al. Residual lifetime risk for developing hypertension in middle-aged women and men. JAMA 287, 1003–1010 (2002).

Study Guide Marketing Management Mba

Study outline schema question in preparation for final Exam MBA 531 1. What is marketing? Discuss the components of marketing? Marketing is the managerial function responsible for identifying and anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. It is a multi-disciplinary subject. The best way to gauge its scope is to know the components of it. There are four components of Marketing: The offer The market, The system and The forces. The offer: An offer is the outcome of marketing activities of the firm.An offer includes product or service and allied conditions of offer precisely, it includes â€Å"what†, â€Å"who† and â€Å"why† and through â€Å"whom† of the purchase. The Market: Market is the aggregate of forces or conditions within which buyers and sellers make decisions that result in the transfer of goods and services. In other words, it is the aggregate demand of the potential buyers for a commodity or service. The System: Marketing is co ncerned with the flow of goods and services from the points of production to the points of consumption. There is a systematic arrangement of these unctions of marketing to move the goods and services to the needy persons. The forces: The final component of marketing is to do with environment in which marketing takes place. It is taken as the final component because, environmental forces influence the nature and character of the â€Å"offer†, â€Å"market† and the â€Å"system†. Environmental forces contribute to every aspect of change and adjustment in a marketing network. 2. What are the major Functions of Marketing? Explain Marketing functions: Marketing function is an act or operation or service by which original product and the final consumers are linked together.The functions of marketing are â€Å"eyes and ears† of the business. Marketing is responsible for keeping the business in close contact with its environment and informed of events that influe nce its operations. Marketing functions are performed by the manufacturer and all middlemen in the machinery of distribution. 1 Marketing functions have been classified by different marketing experts in different ways. But the most acceptable and meaningful classification is as follows: Functions of Exchange 1. Buying 2. Selling 3. Pricing 4. Advertising 5. Sales PromotionFunctions of physical Supply 1. Transportation 2. Storage Facilitating functions 1. Financing 2. Risk-Taking 3. Marketing information 4. Marketing Research 5. Standardization & grading 6. Packaging 7. Branding 3. Explain the salient features of modern marketing? The following are the major features of Modern Marketing: 1. Modern marketing is consumer-oriented: in Modern Marketing what is offered for sale today is determined not by the seller at all. On the contrary, the seller takes the lead from the buyer what product is to produce to meet the demands of consumers.Therefore, the manufacturer can no longer determin e what the product should be without a close study of the needs and demands of the customer or user. It is more profitable as well as more responsible socially to find out when, where and what the people need and then set out to serve them efficiently. Thus, the modern marketing is not production oriented but customer-oriented. 2. Modern marketing starts and ends with the customer: Marketing starts and ends with the consumer, with information flowing from the consumer to the producer, and goods flowing back to the consumer from the producer.Under consumer oriented marketing, it is highly essential to know that the consumer really wants. This is possible only when proper information is collected 2 from the consumers. Therefore, to say that modern marketing starts and ends with consumer is true in all respects. 3. Modern marketing precedes and succeeds production: All organizations accept that the marketing activities start far ahead of production. It is not enough if the activities a re begun after the product is ready. The firm appreciates and understands the consumer’s strategic osition as a determinant of the firm’s survival and growth. In firms operating under the marketing concept, entire marketing is designed to serve consumer needs. 4. List out the various marketing concepts and suggest the one suitable to Ethiopia? There five types of marketing concept orientations that can be followed by the business firms to market its good or service. These orientations are Production concept: consumers will favor products that are affordable and available. Therefore organizations should increase their production and distribution efficiency.Product concept: consumers favor those products which offer high quality, performance and innovative features. Therefore, marketing strategy should focus on continuous product improvement. Selling concept: consumers will not buy the products unless the firm undertakes large-scale selling and promotion effort. Therefor e, the aim is to sell what the company makes rather than what the market wants. Marketing concept: achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction better than the competitors.Under this concept, customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits. Therefore this is a customer-centered concept. The job is not to find the right customers for your product but to find the right product for your customers. Social marketing concept: the marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the customer’s and the society’s well-being. Therefore it’s similar to the Marketing concept but adds the focusing on society’s well-fare. So there are three considerations underlying the social marketing 3 oncept: Consumers Satisfaction, Company’s Profit and Society’s Welfare. Considering the different aspects of these marketing concep ts and the economic structure of Ethiopia, I suggest that the production concept works for countries like Ethiopia who have huge labor force and abundant natural resources. The Managers, under production-concept, focus on achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution. Therefore, it makes sense in developing countries like Ethiopia where consumers are more interested in obtaining the product than in its features.Manufacturing firms take advantage of the country's huge inexpensive labor force to achieve market expansion through production efficiency, low cost, and be successful in today’s competitive market. 5. â€Å"Marketing begins with consumers and ends with consumers†. Discuss. Marketing starts and ends with the consumer, with information flowing from the consumer to the producer, and goods flowing back to the consumer from the producer. Under consumer oriented marketing, it is highly essential to know that the consumer really wants. This is possible only when proper information is collected from the consumers.Therefore, to say that modern marketing starts and ends with consumer is true in all respects. 6. What do you mean by â€Å"integrated marketing concept†? What are its outstanding attributes? The management functional areas are interdependent and not independent. The marketing functions influence production, finance, personnel, and in turn is influenced by these functions. The various departments in the company must recognize that the activities they take may have profound effect on the company’s ability to create and retain customers.When all the departments of the firm work together for customer interest, it is integrated marketing. The modern marketing concept or integrated marketing concept is the best concept because it is characterized by the following attributes of integrates: A. consumer orientation, B. consumers Satisfaction, C. integrated Managerial action and D. Realization organizational goals. 7. Distinguish between Marketing and Selling. 4 Marketing is social process by which groups and individuals obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging something of value with others.Whereas selling is the process of exchange of something of value to another which leads increasing the volume of sales of goods and services through different mechanism. In selling, the company make sale what is easily made by the company but not what consumer wants. But in marketing, the company sells what the consumer wants. Therefore, the difference between marketing and selling is the differences exist between in selling and marketing orientation concept. 8. What is â€Å"market† what are the differences between market and Marketing? A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product.These buyers share a particular need or want that can be satisfied through exchange. Thus, the size of a market depends on the number of people who exhibit the need, have resources to engage in Exchange, and are willing to offer these resources in exchange for what they want. Whereas; marketing is a set of activities under taken by the company to identify, anticipate and satisfy the consumer’s requirement and meet them profitably. 9. What is a â€Å"marketing-mix†? Discuss its elements or inputs Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.These tools Classified into four broad groups that are usually kwon four Ps of marketing mix: are product, price, place, and promotion. Product is something to be offered to the market with different varieties of forms, quality, and size and so on. Price is the return for the product or service offered to consumer Place is the availability of offers at convenient location for the consumer. Promotion is the process of an attempt to increase the sales by convincing and persuading consumers to buy the product. 10. D efine marketing micro-environment. Discuss the components of marketing micro-environment.Micro environment is the forces which are close to the firm. These factors affect the firm's ability to serve its customers and it surrounds both the firm and the marketing mix. The forces in micro environment directly influence marketing manager's decisions and actions through their influence on consumer's reactions toward the firm's marketing mix and mixes. The 5 company itself (including departments), Suppliers, Marketing channel firms (intermediaries), Customer markets, Competitors and Publics. 11. Explain the impact of the following on the marketing management of a firm: a. demographic environment . economic environment c. Social environment d. Cultural environment Macro environmental forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company. A. Demographic environment: Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation, and ot her statistics. It is of major interest to marketers because it involves people and people make up markets. B. Economic Environment: Markets require purchasing power as well as people. The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, savings, debt, and credit availability.Marketers must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power because they can have a strong impact on business. Marketers must carefully monitor economic changes so they will be able to prosper with the trend, not suffer from it. C. Socio-Cultural Environment: The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. Certain cultural characteristics can affect marketing decisionmaking. Some cultural values and beliefs are open to change, therefore, marketers want to spot them and be able to apitalize on the change potential. 12. Comment on the marketing environment in Ethiopia? Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political and legal environment. This environment is composed of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals. Sometimes these laws also create new opportunities for business. 13. What do you mean by â€Å"environmental scanning†? What are the different stages in environmental scanning? Marketing Environmental scanning refers to possession and tilization of information about occasions, patterns, trends, and 6 relationships within an organization’s internal and external environment. It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must identify the threats and opportunities existing in the environment and an organization must take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. 14. Discuss the marketing strategies a. Offensive Marketing strategy Firms engage in offensive marketing strategies to improve th eir own competitive position by taking market share away from ivals. Offensive strategies include direct and indirect attacks or moving into new markets to avoid incumbent competitors. Offensive marketing strategies take many forms from flanking attacks or bypassing the competition to all-out frontal attacks intended to defeat the competition with all available means at the attacker’s disposal Offensive Strategies are Frontal attack, flanking attack, Guerrilla attack, encirclement strategy, predatory strategy, Seek undefended markets, underdog strategy, Judo strategy and pivot and the hammer strategy b. Defensive StrategyBecause of ongoing rivalry, established firms need to engage in defensive strategies to fend off the various challengers. The primary purpose of defensive strategy is to make a possible attack unattractive and discourage potential challengers from attacking another firm. Defensive strategies work better when they take place before the challenger makes an inve stment in the industry, or if they enter the industry before exit barriers are raised, making it difficult for the challenger to leave the industry. There are two types of defensive marketing strategies. Pre-entry strategies are actions taken by incumbents before they are ttacked by challengers. Defensive marketing strategies may also take the form of post-entry actions that are initiated after the challenger has entered the market Defensive Strategies are classified as Pre-entry strategies are Signaling, Fortify and defend, Cover all bases, Continuous improvement and Capacity expansion. Post-entry strategies are Defend position before entrant becomes established; Introduce fighting brands and Engage in cross-parry 7 c. Niche marketing strategy: A niche is a more narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits.Marketers usually identify niches by dividing a segment into sub segments. The customers in the niche have a distinct set of needs; they will pay a premi um to the firm that best satisfies their needs; the niche is not likely to attract other competitors; the nicher gains certain economies through specialization; and the niche has size, profit, and growth potential. 15. Evaluate the role, scope and importance of Marketing Information System. In order to produce superior value and satisfaction for customers, companies need information at almost every turn.Good products and marketing programs begin with a thorough understanding of consumer needs and wants. Companies also need abundant information on competitors, resellers, and other factors and forces in the market place. Increasingly marketers are viewing information not just as an input for making better decisions, but also as an important strategic asset and a marketing tool i. e As a competitive advantage Market information includes all facts, estimates, opinions and other information used in marketing decisions, which affects the marketing of products.Therefore, the success of a p roducer or a merchant depends upon the knowledge of the demands of his product or products in the market. 16. What are the various stages through which the marketing research is organized? Briefly describe them. Marketing research is the systematic method of gathering, recording, analyzing and reporting of data and finding a solution relevant to specific marketing situation facing the company. † Marketing research process is a set of six steps which defines the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study. : Problem Definition: takes into account the purpose of the study, the relevant background information, what information is needed, and how it will be used in decision making. . 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem: includes formulating an objective or theoretical framework, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and identifying characteristics or factors that can influence the research design. . 3: Research Design Formulation is a fr amework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information. : Field Work or Data Collection involves a field force or staff that operates in the field to collect data. 8 5: Data Preparation and Analysis: This is a process of concerned with the conversion of row data into information. 6: Report Preparation and Presentation: The findings should be presented in a comprehensible format so that they can be readily used in the decision making process. 17. Distinguish clearly between marketing research and Market research? Market research deals specifically with the gathering of information about a market's size and trends.Market research is the research that may be done into a single market, focusing on the size and trends in that market. Marketing research covers a wider range of activities. While it may involve market research, marketing research is a more general systematic process that can be applied t o a variety of marketing problems. 18. What do you mean by â€Å"Market Segmentation†? Explain its objective and importance. Market segmentation is classification of large market in to smaller reachable target markets based on their similar wants, purchasing power, and geographical location, buying attitudes, or buying habits.The main objectives of segmentation of market is to prepare different programs and strategies for all segments so that maximum satisfaction may be provided to all the consumers’ of these segments, and the object of earning maximum profit may be achieved. 19. Clearly distinguish â€Å"Market Segmentation† and â€Å"Product differentiation† Product differentiation A marketing process that looks to make a product more attractive by contrasting its unique qualities with other competing products. Successful product differentiation creates a competitive advantage for the seller.Physical products may vary in their Form, Features, Performanc e, Conformance, Durability, Reliability, Repair ability, Style & Design. Whereas, Market segmentation is classification of large market in to smaller target markets based on their similar wants, purchasing power, and geographical location, buying attitudes, or buying habits. 20. Explain different market coverage strategies which can be adopted by marketers. 9 21. â€Å"There is close relationship between market segmentation and marketing mix† Discuss. 22. Define â€Å"Product† and explain its essential features and importance.Product is something that can be offered to the market to satisfy the customer’s need. A product can be tangible and intangible which would be good, service, an idea, information, experience, place and person that satisfy the needs of the consumer. Physical products may vary in their Form, Features, Performance, Conformance, Durability, Reliability, Repair ability, Style & Design. 23. Briefly discuss the various types of consumer goods and their characteristics. Consumer goods are goods that are bought from retail stores for personal, family, or household use. They are grouped into three subcategories on the basis of consumer buying habits:I. Convenience goods II. Shopping goods and III. Specialty goods. I. Convenience Goods are items that buyers want to buy with the least amount of effort, and most are nondurable goods of low value that are frequently purchased in small quantities. II. Shopping Goods are purchased only after the buyer compares the products of more than one store or looks at more than one assortment of goods before making a deliberate buying decision. These goods are usually of higher value than convenience goods, bought infrequently, and are durable. Price, quality, style, and color are typical factors in the buying decision.III. Specialty Goods are items that are unique or unusual—at least in the mind of the buyer. Buyers know exactly what they want and are willing to exert considerable effor t to obtain it. These goods are usually, but not necessarily, of high value, and they may or may not be durable goods 24. What is â€Å"Product life cycle†? Discuss different stages of the concept with implications. The stages through which individual products develop over time, begins with the introduction of the product, and then it moves on to the growth stage, the maturity stage, and ends with a decline in the product's sales.This process product’s life cycle -period usually consists of five major steps or phases: 1) Product Development begins when the company finds and develops the idea of a new product. In this stage, sales are zero and investments costs are high. 10 2) Introduction is a period of slow sales growth and no profits as the product is introduced in the market. 3) Growth is a period of rapid market acceptance and increasing profits. 4) Maturity is a period of slowdown in sales and profits decline. 5) Decline is a period when sales fall off and profits drop. 25.Explain the marketing strategies which may be adopted during the lifecycle of a product. Marketing strategies during the life-cycle of a product Marketing strategies during product life cycle Introduction stage Rapid Skimming strategy, slow skimming strategy, Rapid penetration strategy and slow penetration strategy, Distribution arrangements are introduced, Aggressive pricing Growth stage Product improvement, new models are developed, Enters new market segment, Enlarges distribution channels etc. , barriers are licenses and copyrights, price discount Maturity stageConvert nonusers, Enter new market segments, Win Competitor’s customers etc, Marketing mix modifications in Prices, Distribution, Advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, service, new brands are introduced, Promotion and advertising relocates from the scope of getting new customers, to the scope of product differentiation in terms of quality and reliability. 26. Explain the factors affecting the lif e-cycle of a product. Marketing and non-marketing factors contribute to new product failures. Researchers through several studies on new product success and failure described seven critical marketing factorswhich sometimes overlap. . Insignificant point of difference A distinctive point of difference is essential for a new product to defeat competitive ones-through having superior characteristics that deliver unique benefits to the user. 2. Incomplete market and product definition before product development starts A new product needs a precise statement before product development begins. Identifies a well-defined target market, specific customer’s needs, wants, and preferences; and what the product will be and do. Without this precision, huge amount money will be lost in research and development. 3. Too little market attractiveness 1 Market attractiveness refers to the ideal situation every new product manager looks for: a large target market with high growth and a real buyer need. 4. Poor execution of marketing mix 5. Poor product quality in critical factors One or two quality factors can kill the product, even though the general quality is high. 6. Bad/poor timing of the product The product is introduced too soon, too late, or at a time when consumer tastes are shifting dramatically. 7. Non economical access to buyers Many small manufacturers simply do not have the money to gain effective exposure for their products. 7. Explain the meaning and benefits of product diversification. What are the advantages and disadvantages of product diversification? Product diversification, Advantage, disadvantage Product diversification is a policy of management philosophy of operating a company so that its business and profits came from a number of sources, usually from diverse products that differ in market or production characteristics. Precisely, when a manufacturer or a distributor manufactures or distributes more than one product, it is known as â€Å"Product d iversification†.Advantages of product diversification Product diversification strategy brings in its wake some distinct advantages. They are: 1. Profit maximization: Product diversification increases the products and product types in the product port-folio of the concern. On account of increases in the number of products, it is possible to reduce the area of fringe market and the zone of indifference in the total market of a company and match larger number of consumer self-images. This product market integration brings in more profit caused by improved situation. 2.Growth with stability: New products in the company’s basket will enable it to exploit new markets and meeting the requirements of established markets in much better way than before. Increased market share is further sustained as the product-line is thoroughly overhauled to meet the changing requirements of the consumers. It 12 guarantees growth with stability because, it estimates seasonal and cyclical fluctu ation in demand and supply. 3. Long-term measure: Product diversification is not a shortterm measure which has far reaching and more durable influence on a company’s future.It requires adequate planning and due care and caution as it is likely to be misused. Disadvantage/ Weaknesses The most serious weaknesses or disadvantages are as follows: 1. Huge Investment: Any proposal for product diversification involves considerable investment of corporate resources in developing the necessary manufacturing and marketing activities. It is not easy to procure finances required for diversification purposes. 2. Risk-ridden: The risks involved in diversification strategy are in no way small.Though the diversification plan is undertaken to move up from the low level profits to high level, the dream remains dream because, consumer preferences change, competitors introduce close substitutes for the diversified products, and the government policies change. All these are sure to mar the profit potentialities of the diversification plan. 3. Trap of full-line competition: The trap of full-line competition is also a major drawback of the policy of diversification. Product diversification program involves addition of new products to the existing line to strengthen the competitive ability of the firm.With this effort to make the product portfolio full and complete, the firm is entering a trap which has no point of comeback. The competitors will not keep quite. They do add, hence, the firm adds again. It becomes a new war which is unmanageable and uneconomical at a point of time. The effect is sure collapse. 28. What is a â€Å"new product†? What are the stages involved in new product development? New Product Development Strategy The development of original products, product improvements, modifications through the firm’s own R efforts. Idea Generation: New product development starts with idea eneration. Idea generation is the systematic search for new 13 product ideas. According to one management consultant, companies â€Å"will run through 3000 ideas before they hit a winner†. Internal Idea Sources: Using internal idea sources, the company can find new ideas through formal research and development by picking the brains of its executives, scientists, engineers, staff and salespeople. External Idea Sources: New product ideas also come from watching and listening to customers. The company can analyze customer questions and complaints to find new products that better solve consumer problems.Idea Screening: Idea generation creates large number of ideas. Idea screening reduces that number – by spotting good ideas and dropping poor ones. Concept Development and Testing: A product idea is an idea for a possible product that the company can offer. A product concept is a detailed version of the idea stated in meaningful consumer terms. A product image is the way consumers perceive a product. Concept Testing: Concept testing calls for t esting new-product concepts with groups of target customers to find out if the concepts have strong consumer appeal. 29.What marketing strategies are employed while introducing a new product into the market? Marketing Strategy Development The next step is marketing strategy development. The marketing strategy statement consists of three parts: 1. The first part describes the target market, product positioning and sales, shares and profits goals. 2. The second part outlines the product’s planned price, distribution and marketing budget for the first year. 3. The third part describes long-run sales, profit goals and marketing mix strategy. 30. What is the â€Å"Consumer adoption process†? Describe the stages in the process of consumer adoption process.Consumer adoption process Deals with the question how do potential consumers learn about new products, try them, adapt to them or reject them? Adoption is an individual’s decision to become a regular user of a produc t. Stages in the consumer adoption process: Adopters of new products have been observed to move through five stages: 1. Awareness stage:-the consumer become aware of the innovation but lacks some information about it 2. Interest stage:-the consumer is stimulated to seek information about the innovation. 14 3. Evaluation stage:-the consumer considers whether to try the innovation. 4.Trial stage:-the consumer tries the innovation to improve his or her estimate of its value. 5. Adoption stage:-the consumer decides to make full and regular use of the innovation. 31. What is â€Å"pricing†? What are the major objectives of pricing? In the narrowest sense, price is the amount of money charged for a product or service. More broadly, price is the sum of all the values qthat customers give up in order to gain the benefit of having or using a product or service. A business firm can pursue any of the following major objectives through pricing: survival, maximum current profit, maximum m arket share or maximum market kimming. 32. Discuss briefly the procedure followed for determining the price of a product. Procedures followed in pricing Price denotes the value of product or service expressed in money. Price is a powerful marketing instrument. Price is one of the marketing-mix variables. Firms should be systematic in setting the prices. Certain logical steps are involved in the appropriate approach to pricing. The ultimate goal of price fixing process is to set a price that is compatible with the rest of the marketing mix. A systematic approach to pricing involves seven steps.These seven logical steps are: 1. Identifying the potential customer 2. Estimating the demand for the product 3. Anticipating competition 4. Determining expected share of market 5. Selecting suitable price strategy 6. Examination of firm’s marketing policies a. Product policy b. Channels of distribution c. Promotional policies 7. Selection of a specific price 33. Distinguish between skim ming price policy and penetration price. Marketing Skimming: Companies unveiling a new technology favour setting high prices to skim market revenue layer by layer.Market skimming makes sense under the following conditions: (1) A sufficient number of buyers have a high current demand; (2) the unit costs of producing a small volume are not so high that they cancel the advantage of charging what the traffic will bear; (3) the high 15 initial price does not attract more competitors to the market; (4) the high price communicates the image of a superior product. Whereas Market-penetration pricing is setting a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and deeply- to attract a large number of buyers and win a large market share.The high sales volume results in falling costs, allowing the company to cut its price further. 34. Describe the chief pricing methods which are usually used to determine the price of a product. Methods of Product Pricing Companies select pricing meth ods that enable to reach a specific price for its product. The company usually considers customers’ demand, cost and the competitors’ cost, price and offer in selecting the pricing methods. The company might use the following pricesetting methods: Mark up Pricing: is setting price by adding a standard mark-up or profit margin to the product's cost.Targeting Pricing; the firm determines the price that would yield its target rate of return on investment (ROI). Perceived Value Pricing: is setting price for their product based on the customer's perceived value, not the seller’s cost as the key to price. They use non pricing variable in the marketing mix to build up perceived value in the buyers’ mind. Value Pricing: the company charges a fairly low price for a high quality offering. Value pricing says that the price should represent a high-value offer to consumers. Going –Rate Pricing: In going-rate pricing, the firm bases its price largely on competit ors' prices.Smaller firms â€Å"follow the leader,† changing their prices when the market leader's prices change rather than when their own demand or costs change. Auction-Type Pricing: Auction-type pricing is growing more popular; one major purpose of auctions is to dispose of excess inventories or used goods. In the auction type of pricing the auctioneer announces either minimum or the maximum price of a product and slowly increases or decreases until the bidder accepts the price. 35. What do you mean by â€Å"price discrimination†? What are its objectives?Price discrimination occurs when a company sells a product or service at two or more prices that do not reflect a proportional difference in costs. The basic objective of price discrimination is that, by setting different prices for the same product in different markets / segments, a business can increase its total sales revenues, increases market shares and use as defending marketing strategy. 16 36. What is break even point pricing? Break-even pricing is a strategy that yields zero profit on a transaction. At break-even pricing the sales revenue equals expenses and is calculated by totaling the fixed and variable costs.Break-even pricing may be used as an aggressive marketing tool for market expansion or penetration. Understanding break-even price points gives management the tools to work toward generating profits or whether or not to even enter a particular market. 37. What do you understand by â€Å"promotion†? Explain the objectives and importance of promotion. Meaning of promotion Promotion is the form of corporate communication that uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with a certain message in order to achieve specific organizational objectives. Objectives of promotion The possible objectives for marketing promotions may include the following.I. Build awareness New products and new companies are often unknown to market, which means initial promotional efforts must f ocus on establishing an identity. In this situation the marketer must focus promotion to: Effectively reach customers and tell the market who are they are and what they have to offer II. Create interest Moving customer from awareness of a product to making a purchase can present a significant challenge. The focus on creating messages that convenience customers that a need exist has been the hall mark of marketing for a long time with promotional appeals argeted at basic human characteristics such as emotion, fear, and humor. III. Provide information Some promotion is designed to assist customers in the search stage of the purchasing process. IV. Stimulate demand The right promotion can drive customers to make a purchase. In the case of products that a customer has not previously purchased or has not purchased in long time, the promotional efforts may be directed at getting customers to try to the product. V. Reinforce the brand Once a purchase is made, the marketer can use promotion to help build a strong relationship that lead to the purchaser becoming loyal customer.For instance many retail stores now ask e-mail address of customers in order to follow up and maintain their relationship. 17 38. Explain the different Kinds of promotion. There are two main types of promotion: I. Informative promotion: attempts to give lots of details about the product. This is often used by the Government, for example to inform people of new laws. Informative advertising enables firms to draw consumers' attention to a brand and educate them about distinctive features and benefits. This is especially important when a product is new or technologically complex.II. Persuasive promotion: attempts to persuade the consumer that he or she needs the product. Its role is to convince consumers that one product is better than another in meeting their needs and delivering specific benefits they seek. It can also be used to motivate a higher-volume or more immediate purchase than a buyer wou ld ordinarily make. 39. What is â€Å"Promotion-mix†? Explain the factors which affect the promotion-mix of a company. Promotional mix elements Promotion mix is a combination of the tools that are used to accomplish an organization communication objective. The romotion mix element include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, direct marketing and internet marketing. Each promotional tool has its own unique characteristics and costs. a) Advertising: is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or service through an identified sponsor. It also includes any informative or persuasive message carried by a non-personal medium to achieve various marketing objectives. b) Personal selling: – is the form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist/persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company product.Here there is a face-to-face communication with one /more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders. c) Sales promotion is consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate trial, or quicker or greater purchase, of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. d) Publicity/public relation: – is no-personal communication regarding on organization’s product, service or idea that is not directly for usually comes in the form of news story, editorial and an announcement about an organization and its product.Public relation has broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to 18 establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its various publics. e) Direct marketing: -is use of mail telephone e-mail and other nonpersonal contact tools to communicate directly with or solicit a direct response from specific customer and prospects. Many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc. ; Four distinctive characteristics: Nonpublic, Immediate, Customized, Interactive; Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts. Factors in Setting the Marketing Communications MixCompanies must consider several factors in developing their promotion mix: Type of product market: Push-versus-pull strategy: A push strategy involves the manufacturer using sales force and trade promotion to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users. A pull strategy involves the manufacturer using advertising and consumer promotion to induce consumers to ask intermediaries for the product, thus inducing the intermediaries to order it. This is especially appropriate when there is high brand loyalty and high involvement in the category;Buyer-readiness stage: Promotional tools vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of buyer readiness (awareness, knowledge, liking convincing, preference, and purchase). Product-life cycle stage: Promotional tools also vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of the product life cycle. Company market rank: Market leaders derive more benefit from advertising than from Sales promotion. Conversely, smaller competitors gain more by using sales promotion in their marketing communications mix. 40. Define â€Å"sales promotion†. Describe the various methods of sales romotion. Sales promotion is consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate trial, or quicker or greater purchase, of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Sales promotion includes those promotional activities other than personal selling, advertising and public relations that are intended to induce buyers purchase or to stimulate dealer effectiveness in a time. Tools and Techniques of sales promotion 19 Two categories of sales promotion the trade oriented and consumer oriented sales promotion.Consumer sales promotion techniques are Price deal, Loyal Reward Program, Cents-off deal, Price-pack deal, Coupons, Loss leader, Rebates, Trade sales promotion techniques are Trade allowances, Dealer loader, Trade, Point-of-purchase displays, Training programs and Push money. 41. What is â€Å"personal selling†? Enumerate relative merits and limitations of personal selling. Personal selling: – is the form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist/persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company product. Here there is a face-to-face communication with one /more prospective purchasers for the urpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders. Merits and demerits of personal selling Merits of Personal Selling 1. Flexibility and Adaptability: Sales persons should adapt to each selling situation. Salesperson is to be sensitive to what is happening and flexible enough to make those adaptations. 2. Minimum Wastage: The efforts put in buy the salesman are highly focused on a single customer or a small group of customers. As a result of oral , face-toface presentation, the message is likely to reach the customer or customers without distortion and diffusion. 3. It is a Feedback:The salesman is, in effect, a marketing researcher. Being in direct contact with customers, he has the specific advantage of collecting and transmitting the relevant marketing information affecting his company, products and services and himself. 4. It creates impinge and Lasting Impressions: The process of personal selling is so direct and penetrating those long dashing business relations can be developed between the selling house and the class of customers. 5. It generates Gainful Employment Opportunities: Developing countries have the situation where people run after jobs rather than jobs running after people.Hence, there is good scope for self-employment and ready jobs in this line of selling. 6. Salesmanship makes the Economic System more Stable: Demerits of Personal Selling: 1. It is Expensive: 20 Personal selling, as a method of promotion, is quite expensive. Getting the good salesman is one thing and retaining them for longer period is another. 2. Problem of Getting Gifted Salesman: it is really very difficult to get a suitable salesman from the company's point of view. 3. High Stake in Consumer Loyalty: customer loyalty depends on the presence of a successful salesman.That is, firm's fortunes are tied to the loyalty of the customers which, in turn, depends on the very presence of a particular salesman or salesmen. 4. More Administrative Problems: Personal selling involves more administrative problems than impersonal selling. firm has to meet the challenges in the areas of manpower planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, motivating and controlling. 5. It is not an easy Profession: Salesmanship is not an easy job. It is needs long hours of hard work, to be away from family facing all the odds both mental and physical. 6.As a Profession has Little Respect: Salesmanship as a profession commands very little respec t. Many go in for salesmanship as it has easy entry points. 7. Mark of Fraud: In salesmanship, there are good chances of fraud and deception. Malpractices that are followed by salesman not all are sufficient to damage the very image of salesmanship the great art and profession. 42. What are the essentials of effective selling? Essentials of effective selling Personal selling is an art and a profession. It is a creative work. Success in personal selling depends upon the salesman and the framework in which he words.Personal selling demands a command over certain requisitions making selling a thrilling success. There are seven requisites or essentials of effective selling. They are: 1. Knowledge of self 2. Knowledge of product 3. Knowledge of company 4. Knowledge of competition 5. Knowledge of selling process 6. Knowledge of customers 7. Knowledge of advertising Knowledge of self: One should know himself and his own abilities and personality before embarking upon to do a particular job . Knowledge of Product: Product knowledge is almost inevitable, as the very existence of salesman is dependent on the products. So a 21 alesman should know all about his product: Materials from which it is made, how it is used and how it is maintained, Product features, Customer benefits and Selling points of the product in relation to its rivals and son. Knowledge of the company or enterprise: Most products, especially costly and complicated products, are not judged on their own merits. They are judged by the name of the company that manufacturers them. Knowledge of Competition: A salesman should constantly study the products offered by his competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to his own product.Awareness of competition enables a salesman if necessary, to compare his product with that of rivals on those points in which the buyer seems most interested. Knowledge of customers: A salesman must have adequate knowledge about both the customer’s w ants and desires, and the products offered by the company to satisfy customers. Knowledge of selling process: the salesman should have in-depth knowledge of the selling process and each stage of it. Selling process is made up of at least six stages to convert prospect into a customer.The stages are: prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation and demonstration, overcoming objections and closing the deal. A salesman should be well-versed in the principles and techniques of salesmanship. Knowledge of advertising: Publicity work undertaken by the concern is a good source of information and a force that creates a staged for his effective performance. Advertising copies helps him in planning his sales talk. Though advertising is an indirect way of selling, it supports and reinforces the efforts of salesman. Hence, a salesman is to study and analyze the advertisements. 3. Discuss the methods of personal selling? 44. What do you mean by â€Å"Advertising† Discuss its objective s and functions. Advertising: – is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or service through an identified sponsor. It also include any informative or persuasive message carried by a 22 non-personal medium and paid for by a sponsor whose product is in some way identified in the message. Depending upon the marketing situation, companies use advertising to achieve various marketing objectives: 1. To do the entire selling job (as in mail-order marketing) 2.To introduce a new product (by building brand awareness among potential buyers) 3. To force middlemen to handle the product (pull strategy) 4. To build brand preference (by making it more difficult for middlemen to sell substitutes) 5. To remind users to buy the product (retentive strategy) 6. To publicize some change in marketing strategy (e. g. , a price change, a new model, or an improvement in the product) 7. To provide rationalizations for buying (i. e. , â€Å"socially acceptable† excuses) 8. To combat or neutralize competitors advertising efforts. 9. To improve the morale of dealers and/or salesmen. 0. To acquaint buyers and prospective buyers with new uses of the product. 45. â€Å"Selection of advertising media should be preceded by an analysis of all factors involved in the total marketing situation†. What factors should you consider in such an analysis and why? 46. State the differences between advertising and Publicity? 47. What is â€Å"Physical distribution†? Explain its role in modern marketing. 48. What is â€Å"distribution channel†? What factors influence the length as well as width of the channel? 49. â€Å"Middlemen are parasites. They should be eliminated† Do you agree? Explain.Of course, why because in a Marketing chain where distribution comes, if i put it in a rough count, out of the 100% which we pay as MRP , about 40 % is the manufacturing cost and the rest 60 % is going as middlemen expenditure. We, the end cu stomers are paying 60% above the unit cost for a product. There are intellectual Distribution channels which will avoid these middlemen. Good Companies like Amway does that and in this case they can ensure that the original products reach the end customers. 50. What is tele-marketing? Telemarketing is one of the ways of direct marketing which involves the use of the telephone for the marketing purpose.The salesperson involved uses the telephone to directly convince the customer over 23 the buying of some kind of product or service with the complete information and detailing session. The telemarketing is basically categorized into two different types which are the Business-to-consumer telemarketing and the business to-business telemarketing. The most importantly used subcategories of telemarketing today are the Outbound and the inbound telemarketing. Outbound is the proactive marketing in which the customers either who exist lready or the prospective ones are all contacted directly f or the purpose of the marketing The Inbound telemarketing includes the reaction and reception of the orders and also information coming in so as to explain the customer about the product and give detailed information on which they are interested. 51. What is â€Å"international marketing â€Å"? Why firms want to go international or global? International marketing: is the performance of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and direct the flow of a company’s goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit.The only difference between the definitions of domestic marketing and international marketing is that in the latter case marketing activities take place in more than one country. The main reason for companies to go to international marketing is to exploit a better business opportunity in terms of increased sales and profits. Foreign markets may offer an opportunity for growth. The major reasons to go to international markets are : Market Saturation: When domestic markets are becoming saturated for faster than new markets are being found.Trade Deficit: To balance the trade deficit i. e. to balance import & export. Foreign Competition: Competition forced some companies to shift their products to foreign markets. Emergence of new Markets: The world is changing fast, resulting in the emergence of new markets. Eg. the growing Asian Markets. The Possibility of achieving economies of scale: In industrialized where economies of scale are feasible, a large market is essential, so it if the home market is not large enough, entering foreign markets may be an attractive alternative.Safety net during business downturns/to extend products life cycle/: Usually a recession starts in one country. Thus, firms that do business internationally can shift to foreign markets during recession. 24 To get cheap Labor costs: Since labor cost in developing countries is much lower than in the developed countries, it is economically att ractive for the companies to expand foreign operations. Tax Incentives: Some nations offer tax incentives to attract foreign business to their countries. To develop and /or test new products outside: This practice avoids exposure to competitors and to some extent, keeps new evelopment information secret until the product is ready for full introduction. E. g. Ford did much of its world car development in Germany. To find less competitive Markets: Some markets are less competitive than the home market of the company. 52. Explain the main tasks involved in international marketing? The International marketing Task is more complicated than that of the domestic marketing because the international marketing must deal with at least two levels of uncontrollable uncertainty instead of one.A foreign country where a company operates adds its own unique set of uncontrollable elements. With the growth of the number of foreign markets a company operates in, the variety of foreign environmental unc ontrollable become greater. A solution to a problem in a country might not be applicable to a problem in other country. To tackle these problems the following tasks should be considered. the market and 1. Distinguish between selling and marketing? Selling is the process of making the company’s sales volume increase 25 2.What is product positioning: Positioning is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market? The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm. 3. Direct and indirect channel distribution Direct distribution channel is marketing channel that has no intermediary levels; the company sells its product directly to consumers. Whereas indirect distribution channel is a channel containing one or more intermediary levels is called indirect marketing channel. 26