Friday, September 6, 2019
Experiential Leadership Essay Example for Free
Experiential Leadership Essay Executive Summary  The researchers’ aim is to point out to the effect of Experiential Leadership in the selected company liked Barras Home Improvements. Background:  The Progress Report Name of the Business Manager of Barras Home Improvement Company is Mike Allen. He supervised 16 employees. Eight of them were assigned in office and eight were outside in the field. Nature of business/service market Barras Home Improvements was formed in 1987. During the past year, the company has positioned itself as a leader in the sales and home improvement. Home Improvement is the field of expertise in fact customer can easily choose their desired lay out for their home improvement, guided by the advice support to meet the great improvement of the home. In addition, they are now celebrating a twenty years in service. Barras Home Improvements Company is classified as family Business. They have large selection of Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms gallery lay-out or so called showrooms. Their mission statements are choice and value for money, service and quality product, and first class workmanship. The purposed of the operation of the company is to provide customer with highest standards of quality and service. Their products are sinks, taps, wall and floor tiles, Amtico flooring and shower enclosures and etc. They are also specialised in the complete installation service covering every aspect from plumbing and electric’s, plastering and minor building work and tiling to maintenance free ceilings. Insurance work is also undertaken and a 12 month written guarantee is given on all our work. We are both CORGI and NIC EIC registered. They also have a promotion of  £50.00 deposit only for the customers instillation fee Customer scope and demographics The informational data that the company can offer to the customer is as follows: Local: This Company is situated at the top of Clay Lane, off Ball Hill Shopping Centre on the Walsgrave Road. M6 –  Heading South: Leave M6 at Junction 3. Follow A444 towards Coventry. Turn           left into Mercer Avenue and the showroom is at the top of this road, which is at           the junction of Clay Lane. M6 – Heading North: Leave M6 at Junction 2. Follow signs for the A4600 heading towards Coventry City centre. At Ball Hill shopping centre on the Walsgrave Road turn right into Clay Lane and our showroom is at the junction with Barras Green and Mercer Avenue.  Organizational Structure of the Barras Home Improvement Company Organization’s Workforce The Barras Home Improvement Company was subdivided into two groups of 8 in the office and 8 in the out field for installation and contractors. The people in office were responsible for customer service and do some paper works and entertain clients or customer. And in addition they lead the customer on the computer lay outing for the home improvement processing. Presentation Situation; The current situation of the organization is very exciting. Recently, business has relocated to a larger and more efficient facility. This move will enable the company to streamline its method of operation and increase its bottom line. Market environment; The market place is undergoing tremendous technological change. New Technologies of Home improvement and materials are making products increasingly attractive stronger and less costly. The business is poised now to take advantage of these changes, and expect to become an important supplier of home appliances and home improvement installation. Products and Services; The raw material and other home appliances that we are using were the latest awith high quality materials. This is primarily due to the strong influence of committed manufacturers and the demands of the appliances and raw materials. Gathering and Collection of Data: This investigation adopted the descriptive method of research as this is the appropriate way in evaluating the manager of the Barras Home Improvement Company in relation with his experience in Leadership Management style and behavior. This will be viewed from the responses of his 16 employees in the company. The descriptive method is also defined as studying components to serve as direction in reaching the goal. Its purpose is to tell what exist or what is about a certain business phenomenon, predicting and identifying relationships among and between the variables describe. The data and information was gathered through interview of some customers of Barras Home Improvement Company, employees and through internet the profile of the company has been gathered and studied.  Facts: The company is still a leading company in terms of home improvement because of the experienced manager of the company. The trend of the company was remarkably improving because of the good feedback and referral of the customer. They have the additional benefit of being able to provide a computer aided photo-realistic image that can even show the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom in the finish of their own choice. The Actual Report  Executive Summary  This paper studies the company named Barras Home Improvements (BHI). The purpose of this study is to evaluate effectiveness of the Experiential Leadership Manager to the Business Flows specifically in family business like BHI. This study was conducted to enlighten other businessmen in the market place to exercise Experiential Leadership Management. Background: Barras Home Improvements was formed in 1987. During the past year, the company has positioned itself as a leader in the sales and home improvement. Home Improvement is the field of expertise where a customer can easily choose their desired lay out for their home improvement, guided by the advice support to meet the great improvement of the home. In addition, they are now celebrating a twenty years in service. Barras Home Improvements Company is classified as family Business. They have large selection of Kitchens, Bathrooms and Bedrooms gallery lay-out or so called showrooms. The purpose of the operation of the company is to provide customers with highest standards of quality and service. Their mission statements are choice and value for money, service and quality product, and first class workmanship. Their products are sinks, taps, wall and floor tiles, Amtico flooring and shower enclosures and etc. They are also specialised in the complete installation service covering every aspect from plumbing and electric’s, plastering and minor building work and tiling to maintenance free ceilings. Insurance work is also undertaken and a 12 month written guarantee is given on all our work. They are both CORGI and NIC EIC registered. They also have a promotion of  £50.00 deposit only for the customer’s instillation fee Definition of the Problem   The objective goal of this research is to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of experiential leadership management in business. The Barras Home Improvement is the company that will be treated on this study. Initially, a simple random sample of 16 employees will be given a baseline test organized by the researcher. The results will be compiled for later comparison with the research results, and those initially tested will no longer take part in the study. Questionnaires are one of the most popular ways in which data may be collected. These are used for a range of purposes and will often be the tool used to collect quantitative data. But it is worth mentioning that although this may be classified as mostly a quantitative process of collecting data it may also be a qualitative method, depending on the number, depth and style of the questions. Research questions This study sought to evaluate the Business Manager of Barras Home Improvement Company. Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions: How to determine the degree that the person like working with task and people? What is the Leadership dimension of the Business Manager of Barras Home Improvement Company possess? What practice of leadership style does the Business Manager of Barras Home Improvement Company have? Is there a significant effect on experiential leadership management to the Barras Home Improvements company employees?  HYPOTHESIS: Ho      :  There is no significant effect on experiential leadership management to the Barras Home Improvements employees.        THEORETICAL Framework            the theoretical framework adopted for this study may be reflected in this model below. Input                                             Process                         output  Figure1. This paradigm was used to determine the effect on experiential leadership in the Barras Home Improvements.           This model suggests that Leadership behavior and leadership style survey questionnaire may be anchored on the manager of Barras Home Improvement Company who is Mike Allen. The conceptualization of this study revolved around the notions clearly represented by this model. The paradigm of the study consists of the inputs that contain all those which have been studied in this research. The process consists of the survey questionnaires that were used to analysis the company data. The output consists of the effects of Experiential Leadership Management to the company performance. Analysis of Variance was also used to treat the data statistically. Research design  Sample Size: All the employees were included in the sample and then the researcher calculated the weighted mean of the survey questionnaire to determine the effect of experiential leadership. Sample selection: Employees of Barras Home Improvements company were selected as sample selection of this study Instrument used: This study used a survey questionnaires of leadership behavior and leadership style  Editing of data: Standard editing and coding procedures with MS-EXCEL program. Analysis of data: Simple tabulation and cross-tabulation used. RESULTS: The following results were gathered and tabulated with the use of leadership survey questionnaire: This study reveals that the Manager of Barras Home Improvements Company has a characteristic of a Team leader. This is because the score 6.9 in the people section and a score of 7.3 in the task section revealed it. The quad where the two lines intersect is the leadership style in case of Team Leader quality. The manager used delegative and democratic leadership style. Sometimes he also used autocratic leadership style may be because it is necessary and it is revealed in the scores that 26 means being autocratic. This means that the style was used in some cases where the problem arises or decision making is required in the process for humanitarian sake. Conclusions: From the results of the experiential leadership management evaluation the following conclusions were drawn: The more experience the manager have the more effective and organized the business is. Experienced manager has more wisdom than an autocratic manager or even none experienced leader. Managers need to be team leaders for building much effective and successful business. A Team leader is the most ideal manager a company needs. Recommendation: This study suggests every businessman to undergo on the survey questionnaire to identify if their characteristics are autocratic, democratic or free reign. The new public relation officers must widen the scope and topics. Leadership Questionnaire Questionnaire Below is a list of statements about leadership behavior. Read each one carefully, then, using the following scale, decide the extent to which it actually applies to you. For best results, answer as truthfully as possible. Never         Sometimes         Always                                           0      1     2       3         4          5 _______ encourages team to participate when decision making time comes and also attempts to implement ideas and suggestions. _______ â€Å"Nothing is more important than accomplishing a goal or task†. _______ closely monitor the schedule to ensure a task or project will be completed in time. _______ enjoy coaching people on new tasks and procedures. _______ â€Å"The more challenging a task is, the more he enjoys it. _______ encourages employees to be creative about their job. _______ seeing a complex task through to completion, he ensures that every detail is accounted for. _______ found it easy to carry out several complicated tasks at the same time. _______ enjoy reading articles, books, and journals about training, leadership, and psychology; and then putting what have been read into action. _______ when correcting mistakes, he do not worry about jeopardizing relationships. _______ He manages time very efficiently. _______ He enjoys explaining the intricacies and details of a complex task or project to my employees. _______ breaking large projects into small manageable tasks is second nature to me. _______ nothing is more important to him than building a great team. _______ He enjoys analyzing problems. _______ He honors other peoples boundaries. _______ He Counsels his employees to improve their performance or behavior which is second nature to me. _______ He enjoyed reading articles, books, and trade journals about my profession; and then implemented the new procedures he learned.   Scoring Section Put your answers on the spaces provided for every question. PEOPLE TASK  Question 1.______ 4.______ 6.______ 9.______ 10.______ 12.______ 14.______ 16.______ 17.______ TOTAL ________ X 0.2 = ________  Question 2.______ 3.______ 5.______ 7.______ 8.______ 11.______ 13.______ 15.______ 18.______ TOTAL ________ X 0.2 ________ Leadership Style Survey Directions: This questionnaire is about leadership style ideas. Please encircle any of the number provided for at right-end of each item/statement to express your honest judgment by using the following code: Category                                                    Weight Almost Always True                                          5 Frequently True                                               4 Occasionally True                                            3 Seldom True                                                    2 Almost Never True                                           1 1. I always retain the final decision making authority within my department or team. 5 4 3 2 1 2. I always try to include one or more employees in determining what to do and how to do it. However, I maintain the final decision making authority. 5 4 3 2 1 3. I and my employees always vote whenever a major decision has to be made. 5 4 3 2 1 4. I do not consider suggestions made by my employees as I do not have the time for them. 5 4 3 2 1 5. I ask for employee ideas and input on upcoming plans and projects. 5 4 3 2 1 6. For a major decision to pass in my department, it must have the approval of each employee or the majority. 5 4 3 2 1 7. I tell my employees what has to be done and how to do it. 5 4 3 2 1 8. When things go wrong and I need to create a strategy to keep a project or process running on schedule, I call a meeting to get my employees advice. 5 4 3 2 1 9. To get information out, I send it by email, memos, or voice mail; very rarely is a meeting called. My employees are then expected to act upon the information. 5 4 3 2 1 10. When someone makes a mistake, I tell them not to ever do that again and make a note of it. 5 4 3 2 1 11. I want to create an environment where the employees take ownership of the project. I allow them to participate in the decision making process. 5 4 3 2 1 12. I allow my employees to determine what needs to be done and how to do it. 5 4 3 2 1 13. New hires are not allowed to make any decisions unless it is approved by me first. 5 4 3 2 1 14. I ask employees for their vision of where they see their jobs going and then use their vision where appropriate. 5 4 3 2 1 15. My workers know more about their jobs than me, so I allow them to carry out the decisions to do their job. 5 4 3 2 1 16. When something goes wrong, I tell my employees that a procedure is not working correctly and I establish a new one. 5 4 3 2 1 17. I allow my employees to set priorities with my guidance. 5 4 3 2 1 18. I delegate tasks in order to implement a new procedure or process. 5 4 3 2 1 19. I closely monitor my employees to ensure they are performing correctly. 5 4 3 2 1 20. When there are differences in role expectations, I work with them to resolve the differences. 5 4 3 2 1 21. Each is responsible for defining their job. 5 4 3 2 1 22. I like the power that my leadership position holds over subordinates. 5 4 3 2 1 23. I like to use my leadership power to help subordinates grow. 5 4 3 2 1 24. I like to share my leadership power with my subordinates. 5 4 3 2 1 25. Employees must be directed or threatened with punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 26. Employees will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 27. Employees have the right to determine their own organizational objectives. 5 4 3 2 1 28. Employees seek mainly security. 5 4 3 2 1 29. Employees know how to use creativity and ingenuity to solve organizational problems. 5 4 3 2 1 30. My employees can lead themselves just as well as I can. 5 4 3 2 1 Scoring Section Put your answers on the spaces provided for every questions. Item Score Item Score Item Score 1 ______ 2 ______ 3 ______ 4 ______ 5 ______ 6 ______ 7 ______ 8 ______ 9 ______ 10 ______ 11 ______ 12 ______ 13 ______ 14 ______ 15 ______ 16 ______ 17 ______ 18 ______ 19 ______ 20 ______ 21 ______ 22 ______ 23 ______ 24 ______ 25 ______ 26 ______ 27 ______ 28 ______ 29 ______ 30 ______ TOTAL _______ TOTAL ________ TOTAL ________ Authoritarian Style Participative Style Delegative Style (autocratic) (democratic) (free reign)         References:  Covello, Joseph and Hazelgren, Brian, (1998). Your First Business Plan.Sourcesbooks 3rd Ed., Inc.USA Culp, C.(2001), The Risk Management Process: Business Strategy and Tactics, Wiley, New York, 60 -75. Gardner, Lawrence , (2006) Why businesses fail: and strategies for a successful turnaround, Detroiter, retrieved July 3, 2006, www.findarticles.com Kiyosaki, Robert T. and Lechter, Sharon L. (2002) Prophecy. Rich Dad’s.Warner Business Books, Inc. USA Spindler, A.,(1984) Publication Information: Book Title: The Politics of International Credit: Private Finance and Foreign Policy in Germany and Japan, The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC., P. 37-50. Vlieghe, G.(2001) Corporate Liquidations in the United Kingdom, Bank of England Financial Stability Review Weygandt, Jerry J., Kieso, Donald E. and Kimmel Paul D. (1998) Financial Acounting, John Wiley and son Inc. Canada Yoder James, (2004) Time diversification and changing volatility in an options pricing framework, Journal of Academy of Business and Economics  Unpublished Book: No author, (2007) My firm, Business Resource Services, has developed a process that I call Profit Mastery., At the risky end of finance Credit derivatives, Economist
Black Death Essay Example for Free
Black Death Essay Around 1330, a horrible plague was reported to break out in China. Trade between Asia and Europe currently was frequent, and in 1347 rat-infested ships from China arrived in Sicily, bringing the disease with them. Since Italy was the center of European commerce, business, and politics, this provided the perfect opportunity for the disease to spread. To the Europeans, it seemed to come out of nowhere and kill everyone in its path. The bubonic plague, as it is called today, continued at 10-year intervals throughout the Middle Ages. It spread rapidly for a variety of reasons. Poor living conditions were probably the number one factor in the passing of this disease. People believed that washing themselves would open their pores and let the disease in, so bathing was rare. This of course, as we know today, only excelled the spread of the bubonic plague. The bubonic plague had extreme effects on the demographics of Europe. The worst epidemic claimed the lives of nearly 25 million people, all in under five years. It took at least two centuries for Western Europe to regain its population. Urban populations recovered quickly, in some cases within a couple years, through immigration from the countryside because of increased opportunities in the cities. Rural population recovered itself slowly, because peasants left their farms for the cities. This time period in which the plague spread and killed so many people was known as the Black Death. The Black Death had major effects on Europe. Wars stopped and trade slowed considerably. People were forbidden to gather in groups and religious services were suspended. Homes of infected people were sealed off to protect others from the plague. Businesses shut down their doors, having a huge impact of the economic aspects of Europe. Many people fled to the country to get away from where they thought was the hot spot for the plague. The bubonic plague changed the political, social, economical, and religious aspects of Europe forever and had an affect on the way things are today. There were many consequences to the increases and declines of population and European society. People fled to the city because everyone around them way dying. So many died, in fact, that it had major effects on the population in Europe, which, in turn had effects on many aspects of society. Farmers who had provided food for people were fleeing and food was scarce. Government, trade, and commerce virtually came to a halt. No aspect of European society was not affected by the coming of the plague and by its duration. The demography of Europe in the late middle ages can be easily related to overpopulation in the modern world. Poor living conditions due to overcrowding led to the rapid spread of the bubonic plague. If a plague was ever to break out in such places like China, Africa, or any other 3rd world country, it would be devastating. In Africa there is a major epidemic or the Ebola virus. It is still running ramped throughout the country, and it is not treatable by antibiotics. Poor living conditions contribute to the deadly position of this virus, and science has no known cure. If it was to ever spread to America the impact would be great and might be similar to the consequences of the bubonic plague in the middle ages. Overpopulation and overcrowding lead to poor living conditions which then lead to the rapid spread of any disease that may happen to come.
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Indian Biscuit Market: Segmentation and Customer Analysis
Indian Biscuit Market: Segmentation and Customer Analysis For an effective and efficient segmentation, however, a mix of all of these above mentioned parameters have to be used. Extending the above concept of basis of segmentation, the criteria of segmentation across different conditions is naturally different. For example, for the general understanding of a market, one should keep in mind the benefits sought, product purchase and usage patterns, needs, brand loyalty and switching patterns On the other hand, for positioning studies, product usage, product preference have to be taken into account. On one hand, incase of advertising decisions, when media usage and psychographic /lifestyle is considered seriously, on the other hand for distribution decisions, store loyalty and patronage clubbed with benefits sought in store selection is contemplated over. Also, it has been often concluded that the segment profitability is affected by five principal factors : Industry Competitors and the threat of segment rivalry Potential entrants to the market and the threat of mobility The threat of substitute products Buyers and their relative power Suppliers and their relative power Last but not the least, to decide on segmentation, a knowledge of following five patterns of market coverage is important . They are :- Single segment concentration, selective specialisation, product specialisation, market specialisation, full market coverage. PROMOTION :- For any promotion strategy to be successful, it is primarily important that the flow of thought process behind it be understood. A Marketing Plan is essentially a mix of Product, Place, Price, Promotion, physical evidence and Process Management . This Marketing Plan is a derivative of Marketing strategies and objectives, which is in turn derived from Corporate Objectives. And on an overall level, all of these are derived from the Final Corporate Strategy . Amongst these, the Promotion mix consists of a wide variety of selling tactics like Product Placement, Advertising and advertorials, Packaging, Personal Selling, P.O.S., Publicity .Sponsorship, Sales Promotion, Exhibitions, E-Mails, Text messaging etc. While developing the communications Plan, the following points have to be kept in mind by a Marketer :- The nature and detail of the target audience. The Short-term and Long-term communication objectives The messages that are to be used The Communication channels that will carry the message The Budget The Mix of communication tools that is to be used and how the elements of the promotion mix are to be integrated and how, in turn, the promotions mix is to be integrated with the marketing mix. The measure of the ROI of the campaign. Apart from the above mentioned, approaching the customer in a Integrated Marketing Communication Channel is the most effective. i.e. by achieving a higher level of integration between the individual elements of the communication mix, the planner should achieve a greater degree of clarity and consistency, with the result that there will then be a seamless integration of messages and a broader reach . Brand Management A fundamental element of any product strategy is the role played by the brand. Brands are designed to enable customers to identify products or services that promise specific benefits. As such they are a form of shorthand in that they create a set of expectations in the mind of customers about purpose, performance, quality and price. This in turn allows the strategists to build added value into products and to differentiate them from competitors. To be truly effective, a brand strategy has to develop over time and reflect environmental conditions. There is therefore a need from brand development, the key elements of which involve a detailed understanding of: Current perceptions of the brand amongst customers and the trade The expectations of both customers and the trade The strengths and weakness of each brand within the portfolio The value of each of the brands The links that exist between the different brands owned and the nature and significance of any overlaps and gaps The dangers of brand cannibalization When and where new brand names need to be developed The opportunity for brand stretching Probable competitor moves The starting point for this involves analysing the brand in order to understand detail what it means to customer and how much it is worth. In doing this, the strategist needs to identify the core values, the scope that exists for extending the brand name into other product or market sectors, and the areas that must be avoided at all costs. Developing a brand strategy For many organisations, branding is a fundamental element of the product strategy and provides the basis for a consumer franchise that, if managed effectively, allows for greater marketing flexibility and a higher degree of consumer loyalty. However, it needs to be recognised that branding involves a great deal more than simply putting a name on a package. Instead it is about creating, maintaining and proactively developing perceived customer value, it is only in this way that the organisation is able to promise and continue to deliver to the consumer a superior value than that offered by competitors. It follows from this that any brand strategy is, of necessity, a long term process that involves an investment in and commitment to the development of the brand over time. This long term perspective involves the dovetailing of a number of issues, but in essence can be seen to be concerned with the two principal issue that emerge from the discussion above 1. Where the brand is currently and how it is perceived 2. How the brand is to be perceived in three, five and ten years time, and how this might best be achieved. With regard to the first of these, the starting point for any brand strategy involves identifying: The brands current market positioning Competitors positioning strategies and resource bases The way in which the market is likely to develop, and the implications of product, brand and market life cycles Customers perception of the portfolio of brands in the market Customers expectations and the extent to which these are being met both by the brand and its competitors Levels of customer loyalty across the market The financial, managerial and operational that can be called in managing a brand The bases for competition The relative importance of the brand to the organisation Managerial expectations of the brand It is only against this background that the strategist is able to develop a vision for the brand. Finally in developing the brand strategy, the planner needs to give consideration to a series of financial issues, including the margins and contribution that the brand is required to generate in both the short and the long term, and the levels of investment that the brand needs if it is to achieve the objectives set. Consumer Behaviour From the viewpoint of the marketing planner, the mix of cultural, social, personal and psychological factors that influence behaviour is largely non-controllable. Because of the influence they exert upon patterns of buying, it is essential that as much effort as possible is put into understanding how they interact and ultimately, how they influence purchase behaviour. in doing this, it is important not to lose sight of the differences that exist between customers and consumers, and the implications of these differences for strategy. Against the background of an understanding of the factors influencing motivation, the marketing strategists needs them to consider the influence of perception, since it is the way in which motivated individuals perceive a given situation that determines precisely how they will behave. Consumer is at the centre of all decision making in an organisation. The linkage of the consumer to other aspects is shown in the following diagram. We can see that on the left, the consumer interacts through his perception, understanding (cognition), beliefs and social influences. These aspects determine the behaviour of the consumer. The search for this behaviour is through market research and insight mining. The market Research gives fodder for the strategy to be formulated. MARKSTRAT SUMMARY Before entering any market, it is important to understand what the market stands for, the kind of products in the market, the competitors that the company will face and various external and internal factors that will play a crucial role in making decisions after every quarter/period. The Industry Cheetah has 6 players in the Market namely A, E, I, O, U, Y. After the initial feelers of the whole simulation, it was evident that we would have to focus on certain key areas and others would be on low priority. The key-focus areas that were decided were :- Philosophy, Guiding Principals and Organization Product Portfolio Research Development Advertising and Sales Force Decisions Pricing Effects Competitor Dynamics New Product Launches Production Planning and Inventory Management Financial Focus After setting the above agenda, the next step was to decide what needs to be done in the first period. The single point agenda in this case was to enter the Sonite market while keeping away from the Vodite market . The logic behind this was that to, make Vheetah Y the Stock price leader clubbed with highest ROI. A snapshot of results varying across different periods are as follows :- Base (period 0): 1000 Period 11 (End): 1687 Highest: 2485 (Period 6 End) Lowest: 1000 (base) Highest Stock Price in Industry: 3244 (Cpny. I) Some of the pertinent stock prices Index observations over the periods were :- SPI increased by 68.7% after 11 periods compared to base value. A very encouraging positive growth was seen from Period 0 to Period 6 (138.9% growth from Period 0 to Period 6) On the Contrary there was a continuous decrease in SPI from Period 7 to 11 (32.11% decline in Period 7 to period 11). The high-point of the SPI game was that at the end of Period 6, Cheetah Y was the market leader in terms of SPI. A company vs Company comparison of SPI shows the following results :- The next focus shifted to pushing the Product through Sales and advertising .The logic behind our heavy Advertising Budget was that there was no point in having a perfect product if the target market does not know about it. A fine balance of quality and quantity does the trick.Down the line, Cheetah Y also realised that it is wisest to allocate the money to the products with the highest Return on Investment. Also, from a strategic point of view, it makes a lot of sense to be opportunistic and increase the advertising money when the competitors are squeezed for money . In this regard, the most important function is Competitive Advertising which defines a product (in this case SYGU and SYCA) against what its communication dimensions and message quality are. Initially, the dimensions Economy and Performance and Performance and Convenience fared pretty badly . But towards Period 7 (from Period 3 to Period 7), it reached the message Quality Excellent. Parallely, in the Vodite Market, the product VYLE on the communication dimension Economy Felxibility it scored a message quality of Excellent. A combined overview of how the sales department fared for Cheetah Y is given below. Also, it gives the insight into what cheetah Y fared vis-a-vis competitors and current market scenario. Base (Period 0): (a) Sales Volume: 167.53 Kilo Units (b) Revenue: K$ 48659.3 Million Period 11 (End): (a) Cumulative Sales Volume: 539.60 Kilo Units (b) Cumulative Revenues: K$ 1463564.9 Million Highest Sales in any Period (Units): 788.4 (Period 7 End) Highest Sales in any Period (Revenue): K$ 193776 (Period 7 End) Lowest Sales in any period (Units): Base Lowest Sales in any Period (Value): Base Highest Cumulative Sales (revenue) in industry after 11 periods: K$ 1949822 (Company I) (A snapshot of Sales Volume across all the competitors) After investing in adequate sales force across Speciality Stores, Department stores and Mass Merchandise, the next logical step was to analyse the Market Share after each period. Some of the key highlights in case of market share were :- Market Share at Period 11 (End): 7.03% Highest: 28.35% (Period 5 End) Lowest: 7.03% (Period 11 End) Highest Market Share in Industry (Period 11 end): 38.88% (Company U) The broad strategy to achieve the initially set agenda is that first we enter the Cheetah market with minimum number of products, and with zero product in the Vodite Market. Also, offering the same product across multiple segments enhanced the revenue base. There was an overall increased emphasis on targeted advertising to increase brand awareness. The Pricing strategy also worked in this direction, i.e offer the product at a cheaper price than the competitors (even when the product is superior) . But as dynamic as our market strategies, even the Market threw up a lot of surprises. There were the constantly changing consumer needs, aggressive product development of competition, large disparity in growth rates in different segments of the two markets. Thus a snapshot of the strategies pursued are given below, vis-a-vis what actions were taken . Thus, from the above describes strategies pursued and an analysis of their results, the following lessons were learnt : Offer customized products to each segment in the market Keep track of changing consumer needs; modify products accordingly If the product is not performing well, remove from market Pay emphasis to RD Observe competition and their strategy; tweak strategy suitably Advertising spend does not necessarily lead to greater sales Lowering price will not improve sales even in a price sensitive segment Possible Applications of the learnings :- There is space for growth for additional brands in the customer segments of Buffs and Singles as the entire market is concentrated in just a couple of players. A well positioned and well priced brand definitely has a lot of promise in these segments. We need keep a tap on ideal value evolution of the physical characteristics or dimensions. Continuous re-evaluation and modification of existing brands like SYGU and SYCA should be done and marketing and advertising efforts should be employed keeping the changes in mind. The position of SYGU brand needs to be questioned and, if need be, repositioned with a modified RD project. A product/brand catering exclusively to the Followers segment in the Vodite should be launched with the desired physical characteristics. Need to define the space for competition so that maximum efforts can be employed there with minimal overlap and wastage with any concurrent efforts for any other brand of the company a case in point is Company I which has excellently defined brands in each of the customer segments of Singles, others and followers. Need to use the MDS and SEMANTIC scales more precisely for setting advertising objectives for SYGU and SYCA. COMPANY STRATEGY :- Biscuit industry is the third largest producer and fastest growing industry in FMCG sector.Its Estimated Value is approximately Rs 5000 Crore. It forms a part of the Organized sector: 60% (approximately). Major Segments in which it operates are Glucose, Marie, Cream, Crackers, Milk. Major Brands in the industry right now are : Britannia, ITC, Parle, Priyagold, Dukes etc COMPANY OVERVIEW :- Britannia is Indias second largest food company with Sales close to Rs. 20 billion. Over the years it has shown a Consistent annual growth rate of 15-20% . It Sources products from more than 50 factories spread across the country. Key product lines include Biscuits, Bread, Cakes and Rusk .Product range serves to the whole spectrum from mass market to the premium segment . FINANCIAL ANALYSIS :- An indepth analysis of past few years shows that the Gross sales increased to Rs 2317.11 Cr in 2006-07 indicating a growth of 28% . Britannias Profits declined by 33% due to increase in input prices and stiff competition (like Parle, itc, Priya ). An interesting trend showed that Dividends of the order 100-150% were provided for the past 5 years. Although Britannia followed the industry growth rate for the past 3-4 years, the profit margin followed a zigzag pattern. But owing to Inflation, Costs have increased significantly on the production as well as on selling front. Company has very small debt and its Debt-Equity ratio is 0.01. Company is maintaining good debt rating for future requirements.PBITDM (Profit Before Interest Tax Depreciation Margin) expressed as a percentage of Sales is 6.58.ROE is at a healthy Rate of 21.14% .Current ratio has been improving over the years and hence the solvency position of the company. COMPETITIVE ANLAYSIS :- (Marketing Mix of Britannia ) PRICING :- On the basis of price, the biscuit market can be segmented into the following: Low Range Biscuits (less than Rs 40 per kg.) Medium Range Biscuits (Rs. 40-70 per kg.) High Range Biscuits (over Rs.70 per kg.) Britannia caters to the upper middle and high end of the market with a touch of premium to it. On the price quality matrix, Good Day biscuits can be classified as following a High-Value strategy. PROMOTION :- Britannia has engaged into various Integrated Marketing Communciation activities some of the more prominent ones are mentioned as follows. Since Consumers are becoming more health conscious Swasth Khao Tan Man Jagao (Eat Healthy, Think Better) campaign directly addressed this new trend (Tiger Biscuits). A new logo was created encapsulating the core essence of Britannia healthy, nutritious and optimistic. Good Day is positioned as a healthy and nutritious product and it advocates values that stand for health, hygiene, family, trust and taste. Since events form a major chunk of the Brand visibility agenda, Britannia sponsors a lot of Sports and sporting events as key channel for promotions. One of the majorly acclaimed campaigns of Britannia is Britannia khao, World Cup jao campaign in 1999 and 2003 and was awarded the most recognized sales promotion among all Cricket World Cup-related sales activity SEGMENTATION AND CUSTOMER ANALYSIS :- Before delving deep into Segmentation Targeting and Positioning, it is important to identify what the Key information areas are, specially the Demographic profile of the consumer on the parameters age, sex, income level and occupation. Some of the personal characteristics of consumers include the identification of When do customer consume biscuits, Type of biscuits consumed, Where do the customer purchase, Purpose of buying (personal consumption, gifting, serving guests), How much do consumers spend on biscuits, Factors Affecting the buying decision, order of preference etc. Different products will have different target group depending on the above mentioned factor. Though a Good-day would appeal to the consumers as a mid-range biscuit, a further extension of that product called Good-day Choco-nut falls in the category of High-end biscuits. RD :- Qualitative Research includes an in-depth analysis of the consumer needs and wants and for this, a wide variety of tool may be used. For ex ample, FGDS with a set of consumers to identify major factors influencing the purchase decision of biscuits (and Interacting with friends and family Quantitative Research Customer survey using questionnaire.Survey done through both face to face interviews as well as online. Tools Used are Factor Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Fishbein analysis . Consumer Behavior and MARKET RESEARCH IN CHEETAH Y Market Research forms the basis of almost all of the strategically important decisions that a Company makes over a period of time. Consumer psyche, Brand perceptions, Buying behaviours, Priority or preferences, all of these form the building blocks of information, on the basis of which a decision maker even goes to the extent of changing the very core proposition of a Brand ! BRAND AWARENESS :- To understand the awareness level of brands across our own company Cheetah Y and across competitors, it is important to have a comparative analysis. This has been made possible by Consumer Survey on brand Awareness Segment by Segment . The report delves deep into what exactly is the level of brand knowledge amongst the following segments :- Buffs, Singles, Pros, HiEarners and Others. Initially when the game began, the product SYGU occupied highest mindspace share amongst Singles while the product SYCA occupied highest mindspace amongst Pros. At the end of all 12 periods, SYGU continued to occupy the highest share amongst Singles while also capturing a significantly high percentage amongst Buffs. On the Contrary, the mindspace percentage of SYCA increased excessively for Buffs and Hiearners.Also one more product SYCO was introduced which managed to gain the highest mindspace . This helped in taking proper measures to increase brand awareness amongst the desired segm ent and helped in understanding the impact of increasing advertising expenditure . The next logical step after studying the Brand awareness is to find out that how much of it is actually getting converted into Purchase. To study the Purchase intentions, the report Consumer Survey-purchase Intentions is the apt report. Here we inferred that purchase intention for SYGU was the highest amongst the Singles, which is in sync with the level of Brand awareness amongst them. Also the purchase intention for SYCA was highest amongst the Hiearners which is again in sync with the Brand awareness.IF we analyse the trend across 12 periods, we notice that there is a visible trend reversal i.e. SYGU purchase intention was highest amongst the segment Others while incase of SYCA, the PROS showed the highest purchase intentions . This can be attributed to the fact that a lot of investment was made in the Advertising research and hence overall advertising budget which increased the brand awareness and purchase intention considerably. BUYING BEHAVIOR of consumers :- So where exactly are Cheetah Ys target audience buying from ! This is important to understand because it helped us plan the salesforce and distribute the salesforce accordingly amongst the Speciality stores, Departmental stores and Mass merchandise stores. At the start of period 1, Buffs were mostly buying from Speciality stores, Singles were mostly buying from speciality and Departmental stores while 50% professionals were buying from Speciality stores.High earners preferred to buy through Departmental stores. However, after understanding the buying behaviour, appropriate salesforce was installed in each of these store types. Hence after period 12, singles ended up buying equally from Speciality, Departmental stores and mass Merchandise stores. The result of all the efforts and budget put into Marketing has a direct impact on the market share and stock prices. In this regard, the Report Consumer Panel- Market Shares based on Unit Sales provide the perfect insight into the market share distribution of the two products amongst Buffs, Singles, pros, Hiearners and others. In the Period 1, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Singles, while highest share of revenue for SYCA was coming from Hiearners (this is in sync with the BRAND AWARENESS report). However, down the line after 11 periods, the highest share of revenue for SYGU was coming from Others while major revenue contributors for SYCA was the segment pros. Since the brand awareness for the product SYCO was low, this duely reflected in in share of revenue being almost nil from each of the segments. After understanding the current scenario and facts and figures related to Brand awareness and Brand purchase intentions, it becomes imperative to do an apt amount of Advertising Research and an estimate of Competitive advertising. The Market research report tells us that initially all the products in the Sonite Market had a rating of poor against the various communication dimensions, except SULI . But over a period of 12 periods, while the communication dimensions and ratings and its corresponding ratings for all the products (and companies) changed, the ratings for SYGU AND SYCA remained poor and only SYCO got a message quality of Good. This can be analysed through the fact that though investment in advertising was being made, simultaneously the changes in the parameters Design, Power, Weight etc through RD was not made. This resulted in a mismatch between the product quality and what is being advertised, hence resulting in poor message quality.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King) Essay -- Oedipus the Kin
The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King) "Truth has made me strong." This is a quote from Tiresias, one of the characters in Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus Rex. The quote has different meaning and relevance for each of the different characters, but for the character of Creon, the quote is completely true. By the end of the play, the truth had not only prompted Oedipus to forgive Creon, clearing his name of any previous accusations, but the truth had also made Creon Oedipus's successor. However, Creon was not one to squander the power that he knew can be gained from knowing the truth. He understood its power and importance, and kept it private. For the majority of the play, right up until the very end, Oedipus sees Creon as an enemy. He thinks that Creon, in league with Tiresias, is Laius's murderer and is conspiring to overthrow the king and take the throne for himself, "You the murderer so self-proved, the self-condemned filcher of my thrown..."(29). However, when the truth comes out that Oedipus has married his mother and killed his father, all is forgiven between the king and Creon. Oedipus makes this beautifully clear when he says "God bless you, Creon, bless your path through life, encompass you with surer joys than mine"(78). Having a good and unmarred reputation is a form of power in that people will respect the person, as well as listen to what he or she has to say. If the truth had never come out and Oedipus had never made peace with Creon, Creon's reputation would have been that of a traitor and a murderer. No one would have respected him and he would not have had any practical strength. The power that Creon ended up with is best described in this quote from the Chorus: "Wait! Here comes Creon...... ...ly saw the world. For the first time, he understands his surroundings, and understands the world for what it really was. Even though the truth takes away his family, kingdom, pride and possessions, the truth gives him something he needs more than all of those: understanding. Sophocles shows his brilliance as a playwright by adding intelligent, terrible irony to the end of the play. The irony is that at the monumental change in Oedipus' life, when he can, for the first time, see the world with clarity, he can see nothing at all, for he blinds himself. Oedipus becomes like Tiresias, visually blind, but mentally clear. Perhaps Oedipus unintentionally takes an example from Tiresias, learning that it is far better to live one's life without sight and see the world clearly through the minds eye, than to be able to see, but have ones sight blinded by pride.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening
LeBlanc’s Gender Criticism of Chopin’s The Awakening Tomorrow marks thirty years since the Roe vs. Wade decision that gave women a reproductive choice in America. The occasion reminds me that women are continuously struggling to attain and maintain various levels of freedom. Elizabeth LeBlanc’s gender criticism of The Awakening---a novel published before women acquired suffrage---highlights one such freedom: the freedom to live on one’s own terms. The discussion delineates how Kate Chopin’s tale of one woman’s â€Å"choices, actions and attitudes may be construed as the attempts of a woman trapped in a sexually (in)different world to reconstitute herself as lesbian†(241). LeBlanc clarifies that Edna is a â€Å"metaphorical lesbian†who â€Å"creates a narrative or textual space in which she interrogates accepted norms of textuality and sexuality and constitutes herself as subject†(238). The use of the word â€Å"trapped†connotes a state of being cornered, with few choices and at the mercy of someone else. At first, Edna does seem trapped to a drone existence of bourgeois Creole society. But once she was â€Å"initiat[ed] into the world of female love and ritual,†(247) she began â€Å"seeking fulfillment and selfhood†outside of marriage and motherhood (244). Her gravitation toward a woman-centered existence, outside of culturally defined spaces, is an act of self-reconstruction. For example, at the risk of damaging her reputation, she rejects the obligation of her social class to host ‘callers.’ This is a figurative loosening of the ties that bound her to a tradition of waiting for life to happen. She defies that tradition and, in doing so, restructures her existence as a woman. Edna progressively moves away from all-things-traditional, or culturally predefined, into a space all her own. As a metaphorical lesbian, she â€Å"engages in a variety of woman-identified practices that suggest but stop short of sexual encounters.†One such practice is finding solace in a woman who already lives on the margins of society, Mademoiselle Reisz, who LeBlanc suggests is the actual lesbian in this narrative. Edna, LeBlanc writes, â€Å"is drawn to [her] whenever she falls into despondency and hopelessness†because Reisz’s â€Å"music penetrated [Edna’s] whole being like an effulgence, warming and brightening the dark places of her soul†(Chopin 103). It is she, who describes herself as â€Å"captivated†by Edna, who â€Å"fosters in Edna a sense of the possibilities for joy and fulfillment outside the realm of male tradition and meaningless codes†(252). Edna learns not to define herself in relation to her familial attachme nts, such as mother or wife.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Societys Conception of Sex Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Paper
Society's Conception of Sex  The connotation of the word sex is so vague that it can be manipulated to mean virtually anything, however the definition of the word within society has remained the same. Penetration is the defining factor of sex in its literal sense, however it can be altered to include a variety of acts. Anthropologist Margaret Mead, and President Clinton found loopholes in the connotation of sex, and used it to the benefit. The context in which Mead used the word was to encompass the various acts that accompany intercourse, such as oral sex, to prove that Samoan society is far more promiscuous than our own. President Clinton also used the vagueness of the word to his benefit. He manipulated the connotation of sex to only include intercourse, so that he may escape incrimination of adultery and perjury. In both cases the hazy connotation of the word was used as an advantage, but society's definition of the word remained clear. Mead manipulated the definition to include acts other than penetration in order to prove that Samoan society is more open in their sexuality. She used the word to create a utopian Samoa, where people freely engaged in promiscuous sexual acts, like oral sex. Her definition of penetration included more than just penetration, it encompassed other actions such as oral sex. By altering the definition of sex to include other actions, Mead was trying to prove that Samoan society was better off because of their sexual freedom. She claimed that the openness to sex in Samoa created a sense of free love, a quality that our country lacked at the time. Her alteration of the word was used to criticize the co... ...p; Mead's definition of sex included many other acts, to prove that free love was rampant in Samoa. Society did not agree with her because the popular definition of sex did not include any other actions. Penetration has been the defining factor of sex. President Clinton used this social law to claim his innocence concerning his involvement with Monica Lewinsky. He asserted that he did not have sexual relations with his intern. This term sexual relations is so broad that any sexual act could fit under its definition. The American public did not agree with his statement, because under society's beliefs, oral sex falls into the category of sexual relations. These two situations prove that individuals have tried to manipulate the connotation of sex to their advantage, but society's conception of sex has remained static.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Hephaestus Made Up Story Essay
â€Å"Where am I?†asked Hephaestus, confused and hurt. â€Å"Why you’re on Lemnos Island, you took quite a hit. I’m guessing you did something to make Zeus distraught, am I right?†said Thetis, a Nereid nymph. And suddenly Hephaestus remembered it all. Seeing his mother, Hera, all tied up and Zeus madder than ever. As he began to go through all the emotions again he carefully disdained all of the bad thoughts and put an indifferent face on; there was no reason to scare his new friend away. â€Å"Something like that,†he barely replied. â€Å"Well, I’m sure you’re very crippled. I shall take you to the Sintian Men; they will be responsible of you, for now. Okay, Hephaestus?†said Thetis. There was no response. â€Å"Poor kid,†mumbled Thetis as she took him to the Sintian Men. The following day Hephaestus woke up in an unfamiliar place, full of unfamiliar people. â€Å"Who are you? What do you want?†Hephaestus entreated. â€Å"We are the Sintian Men, we mean no harm. We’re here to help you.†said one of the men. And from that point on the Sintian Men and Hephaestus became very close good pals. Hephaestus soon started to become very well known around the island, and everyone wanted to meet him. He was a celebrity, crippled but famous. I never had this much attention, he thought. I practically know everyone here, like my own heaven. And then with a whim he saw Aerdna, for the first time. A million of questions rushed to his head: who is she? Where is she from? Has she always been here? I need to get to know her. Shy and formidable Hephaestus quickly retreated and went home. There he made a plan, with guile included. He decided to woo her. Hephaestus, the god that had the special gift of building fine arts, gently made a beautiful scallop shell. He planned to give it to Aerdna as a token of his love. She gladly accepted it, for she too had feelings for him. Now, at this time, Aphrodite was about to get thrown out of the heavens. â€Å"I can’t go! I’ll do anything!†she pleaded to Zeus. Zeus just laughed and replied, â€Å"You must marry the son of my wife: Hephaestus. He is located on Lemnos Island. But, good luck with that. For I see he has found himself another woman.†Hephaestus with another woman? I don’t believe so. This won’t do. She thought to herself. When I see it, I’ll believe it. So, Aphrodite made a trip to Lemnos Island and found out that what Zeus said was true. â€Å"I am appalled! I shall change all of this, I will keep my spot as the goddess of beauty if it’s the last thing I do!†yelled Aphrodite. Quickly and cleverly, Aphrodite made a plan. She would lure Aerdna into a cave and kill her right then and there. Then she will go to Hephaestus and demand his hand in marriage. But, as we all know, not everything always goes as planned. Aphrodite successfully lured her prey into the cave but as soon as Aerdna caught the gist of what was happening she tried to run away. In the end, Aerdna turned into the scallop shell Hephaestus gave her; which later on would become a sign of Aphrodite. Aphrodite and Hephaestus later then got married. Aphrodite remained being a goddess and Hephaestus never really figured out what happened with his one true love.
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