The Marketing Audits Lo1 Marketing Essay

The Marketing Audits Lo1 Marketing Essay a. There are two components of marketing environment micro and macro components some of these are uncontrollable and some of them are controllable. Political, economic, Social, Technological, Legal forces, and indirect competitors are macro components of this environment. These are also uncontrollable forces. Customers, direct competitors, distributors, suppliers, sources of finance and the public are the micro components of the environment. The audit is the means by which a company can understand how it is related and integrated to the environment in which it operates. Audit divided into two parts, which are external and internal audit. Market is subject to continuous change so marketing techniques adopted by a company needs to be dynamic and open to changes. If a company is not ready to embrace the new challenges and opportunities that a changing, developing market has to offer it is doom to diminish its activities. Therefore, like financial auditing marketing auditing is essential before introducing a new marketing plan. For instance, McDonalds did not pay attention to the changing needs of customers and altering market. McDonalds eventually changed its longer-term strategic marketing plan after gaining a dull understanding of the market. There are number of techniques and tools to assess organizational capabilities such as Value chain analysis, SWOT Analysis, TOWS Analysis, Porters Five Forces, and BCG Matrix. Lets assume that Starbucks is using Value Chain Analysis. It will go through these points to fully analyze it. Inbound Logistics: To acquire one of the highest quality beans available Starbucks collaborated with a little town to buy the entire stock of beans available. Operations: the beans that are bought are roasted in Starbucks own roaster and if the sample is not in the same quality with the other samples it is being discarded. Therefore, it is a pretty complex operations system. Marketing and Sales: TV advertisements are not Starbucks priority. Instead, it is using the most powerful tool; word of mouth marketing and conduct some promotions. Because, it claims to offer more than coffee, which is Starbucks experience, company are not offering so many promotions and advertisement. Human Resource Management: Training of all employees is extremely important. Employees are valued and there is a really low turnover rate. Administration: Starbucks is avoiding becoming a traditional organization. Therefore, it doesnt have a formal organizational chart. Macintosh HD:Users:sara:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-06-25 at 5.04.08 PM.png As the above example shows, it is inevitable to say that even a quick analysis (internal/external) is a must when considering forming a marketing plan in this volatile market environment. b. For auditing the organization, we should look at the capabilities of a firm. Our goal is to identify the firms strengths as compared to requirements of the market. Following capabilities can be examined while auditing the organization. Corporate capabilities, Resource audit, Utilization of resources, financial measures, Comparative analysis There are number of techniques and tools to assess organizational capabilities such as Value chain analysis, SWOT Analysis and BCG Matrix. For Starbucks Ive chose to conduct SWOT Analysis. SWOT Analysis SWOT ANALYSIS is used for measuring the organizations internal assessment. Strengths: Starbucks offer quality coffee and an experience for customers, which increase brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Starbucks has high brand equity. Starbucks is operating in 40 countries worldwide with offering same quality. Product diversification is high Very recognized logo and brand High visibility locations is a good way of attracting customers and staling share from the competitors Good relationship with suppliers Good working environment, happy employees lead to satisfied customers Weaknesses: Prices are higher compared to competitors. Operating costs are high. Profit of the business depends on coffee prices. Starbucks is so much focusing on expansion, internal focus is ignored Threats: Increasing number of competitors. Health conscious people decreasing the coffee consumption. US market saturation and increasing unemployment rate Coffee price extremely dependent on developing countries Opportunities: Entering India, Pakistan and other countries with high population Whole bean sales in supermarkets Adding new products Technological advances New distribution channels PEST Analysis PEST ANALYSIS is used for measuring the organizations goals against influences and demands of environment. It is a very efficient tool to assess external (uncontrollable) factors in the market. Political: Relationship between US and countries producing coffee beans The political stability of the countries in potential destinations The political stability of the countries, which provides raw materials to Starbucks Environmental regulations Industry-specific regulations Economic: Demand for food and beverages Customers purchasing power Exchange rate taxation Tariffs quotes Unemployment rates in potential destinations Social: Current trends in coffee shops around world Consumer Preferences Changes in lifestyle and occupation Education of employees and customers Technology: RD in manufacturing RD in biotech and agriculture RD in IT Following social media strategies Macintosh HD:Users:sara:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-06-25 at 12.37.59 AM.png Task 2- Barriers to Marketing Planning LO2: a. McDonald defines 5 areas in marketing planning that may have problems, which are cultural, behavioral, cognitive, systems procedures and resources. Cultural- lack of belief in planning or need for change Behavioral- lack of top management support, lack of team coherence Cognitive- lack of knowledge and skill Systems procedures- lack of data Resources- lack of time, people and money More in depth the barriers are, 1. Confusion between marketing tactics and strategy, 2. Isolating the marketing function from operations, 3. Confusion between the marketing function and the marketing concept. 4. Organizational barriers -the tribal mentality, for example the failure to define strategic business units (SBUs) correctly. 5. Lack of in-depth analysis, 6. Confusion between process and output. 7. Lack of knowledge and skills. 8. Lack of a systematic approach to marketing planning, 9. Failure to prioritize objectives, 10. Hostile corporate cultures b. Ten S Framework In order to overcome the above barriers McDonalds Ten S Framework can be used. If they follow this circle strategically Macintosh HD:Users:sara:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-06-25 at 2.43.09 AM.png According to Mc Donald, Principle I: Developing the strategic marketing plan. In this plan, the period should be between three and five years. Principle 2: Marketing function should be as close as possible to the consumers. Principle 3: Define clearly what is marketing. Principle 4: Company activities should be organized around customer groups and market segments. Principle 5: Scan the environment thoroughly (PEST analysis etc.) Principle 6: Scanning the internal environment (SWOT Analysis) Principle 7: Marketing personnel must have skills and technical knowledge for the job. Principle 8: Prepare written procedures, as it is a common and systematic format for marketing planning. Principle 9: Objectives should be prioritized according to allocation of resources, their urgency. Principle 10: Organization should make sure to have the active support and participation of culture leaders. Task 3- The Marketing Plan LO3: Starbucks needs to be innovative as the market is so harsh and it has lots of competitors. In addition to that, profit margins of Starbucks are low so it has to offer the same good quality. Also in order to keep and increase brand loyalty, Starbucks has to offer different ideas all the time. As people get bored easily of products and services offered. Starbucks is trying to find and embrace new ideas all the time, they have a website called My Starbucks Idea for people. Community shares their ideas in this platform and maybe Starbucks would apply some of them  [1]  . Developing meaningful products and services for long-term success. Innovative solutions are developed to improve peoples lives and to increase demand to the firm. Also, innovation makes businesses to think about why it wants to do something. It makes businesses to look ahead and think about the possible problems that could be solved. This can be achieved through thinking outside the box. New product development is an essential section of any company marketing strategy. There are some ways for new product development. For instance developing/creating products that are totally new to the world (Tablet computers), Product improvements (Panthene Shampoos with conditioner), product modifications (mobile phones), new brands. Starbucks can use these 4 ways to develop products. When we apply these techniques to Starbucks and its products; Products new to the world: Frozen Starbucks coffee cubes. Product improvements: Coffee mocha that makes you sleep better and tastes stronger. Product modifications: Coffee without any fat. Cappuccino with more skimming. New brands: Starbucks for juniors-Starkids. Pricing: There are several ways for pricing such as price making, price taking, niche marketing, cost-based pricing, market-oriented pricing, price skimming, and price penetration etc. Among these pricing techniques Starbucks can use price making for new products. Since, Starbucks is the market leader. It has the opportunity to dictate the market prices. Price makers can also manipulate the prices more easily to adjust market conditions. Therefore, the autonomy of control is much higher. Distribution: Manufacturers can sell directly to customers. Manufacturers can sell to retailers and then to customers or manufacturer can sell to wholesaler, wholesaler can sell to retailer and retailer can sell to customer. In this case, Starbucks is the manufacturer, wholesaler (selling to other retailers such as Krogers etc.) and the retailer. In addition to that, instead of traditional ways of distribution a company can use vertical marketing channel too. In this model, all three functions are integrated. Manufacturer is also in contact with the wholesaler and with the retailer. This includes sharing information, and know-how to ensure that the requirements of customers are always treated as the priority. This is an effective model for Starbucks as it is modern and suitable for Starbucks. In addition to distribution method, company also needs to decide on the distribution intensity of its products such as exclusive, selective and intensive distribution. When it comes to distribution intensity, intensive distribution method is appropriate for Starbucks. Macintosh HD:Users:sara:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-06-25 at 9.20.43 PM.png Communicating: The communication tools are advertising, radio, magazines, television channels, direct marketing, personal selling, promotions, exhibitions, telemarketing, events, public relations, sponsorship, and merchandising. Marketing communications (promotion) mix for Starbucks. Advertising: If Starbucks opens new location reminder advertising should be done. If Starbucks wants to inform and emphasize the guaranteed satisfaction for consumers persuasive advertising should be done. If Starbucks creates a new flavor for a beverage informative advertising should be done. Public relations: This is an important strategy for Starbucks as it is an essential strategy for community relationship. In addition to that, celebrity endorsement can be a vital strategy to target younger consumers. Social Media Marketing: In todays world consumers are very connected and social. Therefore, it is extremely important for companies to stay connected with potential consumers. d. The new product for Starbucks is create your own Frappuccino. Firstly, we need a review of the environment (PEST and SWOT). Then we need to conduct 7P Analysis then we need a review of the marketing system. The next thing to do is clarifying goals and objectives. If our objectives and strategies are feasible in terms of the market share, sales, costs and profits we can continue with our plan, if not we should revise our company goals. Finally, we can establish targets and standards. Analysis stage Marketing audit, environmental and organizational analysis (see task 1 for SWOT and PEST) Planning stage Setting objectives is in this part. Customize your Frappuccino will earn 20% of the market share within 2 years is our new goal for the new product. Implementation stage Promotion mix: Informative TV and magazine advertisings for the new product should be done. Also, through Facebook and Twitter social media campaigns will be started. Pricing: As the leader of the market, we make the price. For a limited time Customized Frappuccinos are for 4 $ (additional fees may occur due to seasonal changes and excessive amount of selections). Distribution: Same strategy vertical marketing channel applies here too. In addition to these, we target people around 15- 45 who enjoy trying new things and have an independent personality. Monitoring stage The last stage in the marketing planning process is where we monitor the plans performance. This diagram can be used in order to assess and monitor the achievement of the plan. One of our short-term goals might be increasing the awareness of this product 30% by the end of two months in Berlin. What is happening? Are we close to achieve it? Why or why not? Macintosh HD:Users:sara:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-06-26 at 1.19.05 AM.png Task 4- Ethical Issues LO4 : a. Some ethical issues in marketing are product recalls, product issues, product market research, pricing issues (price fixing, predatory pricing etc.). Considering these headings, Starbucks have couple of ethical issues, which are also taken into account by social media too. First of all, for years Starbucks claimed their cups are disposable/ green but consumers learnt that it wasnt recyclable. This is a product issue  [2]  . There is also another issue that Starbucks is making every other small coffee shops close their doors. Therefore, it is decreasing the competition by acquiring more and more places (to be more convenient), which can also be discussed whether it is ethical or not. Since, Starbucks is a very big company and has good relationship with the coffee beans suppliers, it is buying all of the premium coffee beans in a very small town, which is unfair to other competitors. b. Marketing Mix Ethical Issues: Because, Starbucks advertised its coffee cups as green it is false or misleading advertising. This may damage the reputation of the company and decrease brand loyalty. One of the major ethical problem and its implication on the distribution is the restrictions of supply. There is a small town, which produces high quality, premium coffee beans and their product is bought buy Starbucks only. Starbucks buy large quantities of coffee beans compared to its competitors throughout the world therefore it is inevitable to state that Starbucks both will have negative and positive image among consumers, competitors and media. Ethical issues will arise, the main success is diminishing and eliminating this ethical issues with sponsorship or good corporate relationships. Personal selling and counterfeiting (other ethical issues) dont apply to Starbucks case. c. Starbucks is the only coffee shop (comparing to Costa or Coffee Nero) that sells fair trade coffee. Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price that tracks slightly above market rates, the Rainforest Alliance label only guarantees that 30% of coffee beans in a product have been certified  [3]  . In my point of view, the main ethical issue Starbucks is their strategy of expanding. It ignores other smaller shops and other locally owned coffee shops go out of business and face bankruptcy. The Fairtrade Mark guarantees that Third World producers get a superior arrangement for the goods that they develop.

History Of Data Processing Essay

Data processing is a shop that works in many different working fields. One thing you do in data processing is learning to computer programming. In my shop we are learning to program in Visual Basic and QuickBasic. Programming is used to tell a computer what to do. Using code you can make programs that can answer math problems, which would take someone, days to calculate in a brief second. In data processing we also learn to word process. Word processing is taking written text and being able to save and manipulate the text as desired. We also use databases in organizing large sums of information. Another thing we learn to do is make web sites, using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In prehistoric times Data Processing was done with no machines. Machines did not exist at this time. People had just started thinking, and creating ways to organize the little amount of information they had. Using many different forms of languages, they engraved most of their information into stone, or painted with animal blood on cave walls and large stones. These engravings and drawing were the first real usage of word processing, which is a large part of data processing. It was not until the first account of written history, and the creation of machines that things could be processed a lot faster and accurately. Data Processing started to grow and have worth. During the year A.D. 300 data processing started to grow. The first true calculator was invented called the soroban, which was invented by the Chinese.# A strobe was a tool made of rows of pebbles, used for basic addition and subtraction. Japan also had their own version of the soroban, but it was only a little different. The soroban is one of the reasons that we have calculators today. When machines were finally developed around 1886 when Charles Babbage invented the Difference Engine. This machine used gears to do math and calculated complicated things very quickly. Most people thought that the Difference Engine Babbage was worth nothing, but a few people thought that it was the start of a great thing. One person who was very interested in the engine was Mr. Wilkins accounted in Babbage’s Journal. He talked with Babbage for days about his invention and was really the only person who thought it was advancement in calculation technology. From machines like this we grew too better, small, and more efficient calculation tools. Present day data processing is now done mostly on a computer. Computers completely revolutionized and changed data processing. The first successful computer was invented by an American inventor during the year 1888. Herman Hollerith, who devised a punch card system, used electronic charged nails that when a card passed threw it would create a circuit, which another machines would read and record it. This was later used to sum up the censuses. The first digital computer was invented by John Atanasoff during the year 1944. Atanasoff was a mathematician and physics at the time. This computer is many times faster and is where all computers today were started and influenced by. Instead of just using analog hardware, digital hardware. This hardware made the computer use half as much power, and made them 3 times smaller. The first general-purpose computer was created by two engineers during the year of 1945; the computer was called Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer (ENIAC). ENIAC was invented by Developed by John Presper and John W. Mauchly. ENIAC took up one thousand five hundred feet and was 1000 times faster then all the other computers created before it. It also consumed so much power that it would make the light in Philadelphia dim, that’s how much power it would take to run it. The next really big advancement in computer took place around 1951 when Eckert and Mauchly completed a more advanced computer called UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), which ended up being the first commercial computer. The first UNIVAC was installed at the U.S. Census bureau in June 1951. The types of computer we use today are called Personal Computers (PC’s). Two young Americans, Steven Jobs and Stephen Wozniak, who later founded Apple Computer, Inc created PC’s around 1975. These computers were much cheaper and finally became available to people. In the past, computers were only available to scientist because of the price, and how hard they were to understand how to work with them. The personal computer was later revolutionized by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 when they created the operating systems MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) which sold more then Apple sold in one week then they did over a year. With their new operating system they were unstoppable. Many other programs were created as time went on. One very important program that was created was the word processor. The word processor was first created in the mid 1980s which was an efficient was to organized words. It was placed in almost every computer. Many other advancement happen everyday. Computers always seem to be getting faster and increase in memory. People also expected the computer to become bigger but in reality ended up just getting smaller and smaller over time. As time passes by more advanced, and efficient programs are created, and better operating systems invented. Who knows where the computer will end up in the future? Data processing also has many different things that are new to it. One new thing in data processing is word processing. Word processing is taking written or thought and putting the text in to a computer program which always you to print, edit, and make it look business format. Word processing can be used to create many different business standard documents. Using Microsoft Word, which is the business standard program for businesses, you can make resumes look like a million dollars, and memos looking like they were met to be written in stone. In data processing we also make an assortments of databases. Databases can be used for many different things. One-way databases (Which we create using Microsoft Access) are used, is for  organizing large sums of information and help with the processing of that information. Databases in business’s are used a lot of times to create programs for barcode machines with all the prices in the machines. Have you ever been to market basket or your local food store and looked at the screen, which sums up all of your purchases, well databases are what make that work. Data processing also has a new thing called the Internet, which is mainly made with HTML programming language. Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is mainly used for the Internet because you can put a lot of information into a small file. When you put a web site that was programmed in HTLM code on the Internet, that file can be downloaded very quickly over a slow Internet connection. Last but not least in data processing now uses the computer to create worksheets. Worksheets are used to do many different things but mainly used to do accounting for a company or small business. Worksheets are a quick and easy way to sum up many different businesses accounts receivable and debit they have. Then after you figure it all out with formulas, you can chart the whole thing out and publish it so that the whole world can see it on the Internet (if you want it to be published). In conclusion, data processing has not really changed over the times it has just become faster, and more efficient. As time goes by who knows how much easier it will be to process large amount of information, we the human probably wont even any of it because it will all be done by the computer automatically. But who knows where things will go with data processing. We are always doing, and making better things.

My Future Essay

In my second year of college there are a number of things I have learned about myself. I have learned about my likes and dislikes as well as my strength and weaknesses. I have had to make goals and start planning my future. Through out planning, my choices have been influenced by people and issues. I have had to take in numerous considerations in making my decisions. I have chosen a career field, a major, and laid out a plan for my future in visual communications. My first two years of college have been not only an exploration of knowledge but also of myself. The one pattern I have noticed is that I change my mind A LOT! My tastes are changing as I am getting older and not as influenced by family. I am becoming my own person. Things I once enjoyed I no longer find interesting and things I despised in the past are now appealing. I long for an evening alone to clean house and painting my toe nails. In high school this would be a long boring evening but now sounds luxurious. Time is so important being a student and working so any free time is a treat. I have also learned to despise certain things that at one point did not bother me. For example, in grade school if there was something I may have known a little bit about but did not understands it did not bother me. I just simply did not care enough to want to learn the subject thoroughly. But know as soon as I learn something I want to know all parts of it and fully understand. This semester I made an effort to learn as much about our political system and the presidential candidates as I could prior to the election. This to me, now, is fulfilling. Overall, my first few semesters of college enabled me to learn more about myself. I have also begun mapping out my intentions in college. I have researched a number of careers and spoken with people in related fields to get an idea of what I would like to do. My fiancà ©, a senior at UTPB, has given advice to consider based on his experiences. I have also spoken with college graduates to hear about their experiences and what they would have changed or done different. I have taken many things into consideration in planning my college pathway. One consideration is that after this summer I will be married, and the following fall my husband will graduate. Depending on where he gets a job, I may have to transfer school. Because of this, I need to  make sure the classes I take will transfer to another university. I also have tried to start with general classes since I am prone to changing my mind, I may want to change majors. Another consideration I have perplexed is the demand for jobs in my chosen major. I have considered the type of work environment I want to work in, the hours I want to work, and how much traveling I want to do. Altogether, I have a well round idea of where I am headed in college. In planning my college career, I have considered numerous careers. The careers I am considering require a minimum of four years higher education and are computer related. My first pick for a career is that of a webmaster. This type of work would include designing and maintenance of web sites. My second career choice would be that of advertising. I would want to designer logos, banners, or flyers for companies. My third chose for a career would be design. I could design anything from magazine or book covers to animated characters or movie scenes. I would be qualified to work for a school, TV station; any type of movie or animation design company, and a long term goal would be that of working for myself. In my research and mapping out my college career, I have decided to major in fine arts to get a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications. There are a number of career pathways I could take with this degree. I would not be limited to just doing one job. I will have a number of options in a career field that is steadily growing. If for some reason I transferred to a school that does not offer this program, I would more than likely major in mass communications. I would be content doing anything with computers, less technical maintenance and more of a visual exchange of ideas. If anything else education would be a consideration for a career. Concisely, my chosen major is that of Visual Communications. In summary, my college pathway is that of this; I plan to take general education classes until I know where I will be more permanently going to school. I will than begin working towards a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Visual Communication. I would like to build, design, and maintain websites for numerous companies and businesses. I would also be interested in jobs  related to advertising and design. If all else fails it would be rewarding and a privilege to teach in either a public school or state university. Overall, I have a well thought plan for my future and am looking forward to being a contributing member of society. Bibliography The University of Texas. The University of Texas.

Analysis Of John Gould s Sea Rose Essay - 1694 Words

Midterm Paper How John Gould Fletcher Alludes to The Women’s Rights Movement in â€Å"Sea Rose† Plato is one of the most refined and well-respected philosophers of all time. In Book II of his work Republic, Plato claims that there are three versions of every object: the physical object itself, the 2D version of it on paper, and the mental image of the object you create in your mind when you think of that object. To Plato, this ideal mental image is the reality of that object more so than the 2D or physical forms. He goes on to discuss how he believes that this ideal image is something that the artist cannot portray in their work. He explains that â€Å"An image maker, a representer, understands only appearance, while reality is beyond him†(Plato 70). Plato uses the words â€Å"image maker† and â€Å"representer† to refer to artists-this term includes people like the painter, and the poet. By saying that â€Å"reality is beyond† these people, he is saying that people such as the painter and poet create work without instilling any true meaning behind i t; without expressing the ideal image of the subject of their art (Plato 70). Because they don’t express this ideal image of their subject, he claims that there is nothing real about their art. He goes as far as to say that they are not even capable of expressing anything real-it is literally â€Å"beyond† their abilities (Plato 70). He believes their words and images are created for art’s sake–the poet writes simply to soundShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesSouthern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History EricRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesproviding a voice of reason amidst all the consultancy excitement of seemingly new ways of costing the business world. He has played a similar role in the area of accounting standard setting, both taking forward the British tradition of the economic analysis of financial accounting and, of possibly greater significance, providing some very original analyses of the possibilities for meaningful accounting standardization. With an agenda as rich as this, it is all the more praiseworthy that Michael maintainedRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesand permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions Department, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, or you may fax your request to 201-236-3290. Many of the designations by manufacturersRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesFraser University v Acknowledgments For the 1993 edition: The following friends and colleagues deserve thanks for their help and encouragement with this project: Clifford Anderson, Hellan Roth Dowden, Louise Dowden, Robert Foreman, Richard Gould, Kenneth King, Marjorie Lee, Elizabeth Perry, Heidi Wackerli, Perry Weddle, Tiffany Whetstone, and the following reviewers: David Adams, California State Polytechnic University; Stanley Baronett, Jr., University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Shirley J. Bell