Marketing and the Competitive Environment
Marketing objectives and approaches

Marketing focuses on the identification of the needs of the customers and working towards meeting these needs. Marketing activities involves primarily looking out for the customers needs and ensure that they convince the customers the business offers what will meet their particular needs and wants. The main objective of marketing is to ensure that the company promoters the idea that it offers the right product at an appropriate price, where they are needed and with the use of appropriate promotions. Marketing ensures that the benefits of the product are made known and not just the particular feature of what is being sold. For instance, a company can use an advertisement in the media to showcase the prices of the items they are offering. Another aim of marketing is to ensure that there is a barrier of entry by competitors.

Marketing objectives are for the…...

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References

Management study guide. (2012).Tools of Promotion - Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public

Relation & Direct Marketing. Retrieved April 23, 2013 from  http://www.managementstudyguide.com/tools-of-promotion.htm 

Miranda, K. (2012). Product Placement Strategies. Retrieved April 23, 2013 from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/product-placement-strategies-1684.html 

Samuels, D. (2010) Marketing Aims and objectives. Retrieved April 23, 2013 from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/marketing-aims-objectives-60412.html

Employing Strategy a Competitive Environment This assignment builds strategy elements created Assignment 1. Please assigment Write a (4) page paper: 1.Create environmental scan company indicating significant environmental threats discuss company respond threat ensure impact business minimal.
Employing strategy

Environmental scan

The Amber Snack Company operates in a highly complex and dynamic industry, in which the final success of the firm is influenced by a series of external factors, and mostly, by the company's ability to integrate these factors within its business model. The more relevant examples in this sense refer to the threats which impact the industry, which can be summarized as follows (the table also provides recommendations as to how the company should approach the threat):

The threat

The proposed solution

1.

Intensifying competition in both domestic and international market places

Attract new customers

Increase customer loyalty

2.

Increasing operational costs due to increasing international prices in commodities

Better budget allocation and internal planning processes

3.

apidly evolving technologies which force costly innovation…...

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References:

Dyck, B. Neubert, M. (2008) Management: current practices and new directions. Cengage Learning

Hill, C.W.L., Jones, G.R. (2012) Startegic management: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning.

Hitt, M.A., Ireland, D., Hoskinsson, R.E. (2012). Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning

Ireland, D.R., Hoskisson, R.E., Hitt, M.A. (2011). Understanding business strategy. Cengage Learning.

Auto Industry
Competitive Environment and Government Policies Facing the Global Automobile Industry

New Entry Activity

The automobile market is always a hotbed for mergers and acquisitions. In the early part of last century, General Motors was at the head of those gaining market share through mergers and acquisitions when they absorbed such companies as Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet. Ford followed suit, but made many of its agreements with companies later in the century with companies like Mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Land over, Jaguar and Aston Martin. However, the global financial crisis forced these large automakers to divest some of their holdings and to stop partnerships with other auto companies. Ford cut Jaguar and Land over, and cut ties with Volvos car division. Because these companies were available and there has been more money to invest lately in places like India and China, other companies were able to quickly add some of those that had…...

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References

IMAP. (2010). Automotive and components global report. Retrieved from   1839347.pdfhttp://www.imap.com/imap/media/resources/AutoIndustryReport_WEB_0E7D3D 

Global Economic Report. (2012). Global auto report. Retrieved from  http://www.gbm.scotiabank.com/English/bns_econ/bns_auto.pdf 

Shimokawa, K. (2010). Japan and the global automotive industry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Deltacom
Environmental Scan

The environmental scan is focused on identifying and analyzing the threats in the external environment. There are factors outside of the company that can reduce revenue or profits for the future. These can be obstacles, externally-driven changes or just competition (MindTools, 2013). Deltacom faces a number of such threats. The main threats in the external environment are competitors, regulators, and economic threats. Competitors are a significant threat. Deltacom operates in eight southern states, and it competes against other national and regional players. Deltacom has been purchased by Earthlink and renamed Earthlink Business, indicating that it competes for business with corporate customers (Deltacom.com, 2013). The competition includes some major companies, like AT&T, Verizon and more, in addition to smaller, more regional players. Competitors will use all manner of enticements to attract competitors, and this can affect the prices or the margins that Deltacom earns. Clearly, Deltacom faced substantial competition in…...

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References

Deltacom.com. (2013). Retrieved November 1, 2013 from http://www.deltacom.com/

MindTools.com (2013). SWOT Analysis. MindTools.com. Retrieved November 1, 2013 from  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm 

QuickMBA. (2010). Porter's generic strategies. QuickMBA. Retrieved November 1, 2013 from  http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml 

AT&T (2013). Built for business. AT&T. Retrieved November 1, 2013 from https://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/built-for-business/index.jsp?wtLinkName=BuiltForBusiness&wtLinkLoc=MNB&WT.svl=2

Human Capital Management
The modern world is intensely competitive and the proper management of the human capital plays a pivotal role in the success of an organization. Over time, we have seen drastic changes in all aspects of the human capital and have become the most critical and dominant key success factor in succeeding in the highly competitive environment.

Human capital management (HCM) is a sub-field of the HR function that focuses on the recognition, anticipation and anticipating human needs within an organization. Baron & Armstrong (2007) define HCM as the process of managing employees for them to make significant contributions to the organization's overall productivity. In accordance, this process involves the acquisition, managing, training, and retraining workers to enable them to contribute effectively to the organization's processes. In other words, it is the process of enhancing both the performance of employees and organization alike. This concept takes into consideration a person's…...

Mueller-Lehmkuhl Time Case
Describe the competitive environment facing Mueller-Lehmkuhl at the time of the case.

There are the two disadvantages faced by the company with comparison to the Japanese firm. The Japanese firm seem to have taken only one small segment -- the Automatic machine and converted it to a small guerrilla niche and though the market segment is small, it could hurt the company in terms of revenue because the Japanese do not have any cost overheads like this company that is incurred in customer service on sold manual machines. A portion of annual sales proceeds from both the automated segment and the manual segment is spent on servicing the non-returning manual segment which is draining away resources which the Japanese have avoided. On the other hand the analysis of demand shows from the table that the manual section is important and well could be made the company's forte in future…...

Organizational Behavior
In a competitive environment, where change is the only constant phenomenon, learning and knowledge management are vital for sustenance and growth of organizations. A precise universal definition of knowledge can be elusive, because it is complex and manifests itself in various forms in individuals as well as in organizations. Individual or tacit knowledge is confined to the people who possess it and cannot be structured or managed in the organizational sense. Implicit knowledge is difficult to communicate from person to person and limited to the perception of the individual. Organizational or explicit knowledge can be documented into policies and procedures and can be made available to employees. In whatever form, knowledge is regarded only within a system of legitimization that permits it to be accepted as knowledge (Mouritsen et al., 736). Put differently, knowledge is perceived and accepted based on social frameworks.

The rational theory of knowledge management is based…...

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References

Baum, J.A and Oliver C 'Towards an institutional ecology of organizational founding', Academy of Management Journal, (1996) 39:1378-1427

Carroll, G and Hannan, M 'Density dependence in the evolution of populations of newspaper organizations', American Sociological Review (1989) (54):524-541

DiMaggio. P.J and Powell, W.W 'The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields', American Sociological Review (1983) (48):147-160

Kloot, L 'Organizational learning and management control systems: responding to environmental change', Management Accounting Research (1997) (8) 47-73

Starbucks faced a generally favorable competitive environment. The company competed against smaller coffee chains, other fast food sources of coffee, independent coffee shops and drinking coffee at home. At the time of the case the other coffee chains were the biggest source of competition. These chains tended to be regional in nature. Some examples were Caribou Coffee and Gloria Jean's in the Midwest, Peet's on the West Coast, and Dunkin Donuts in the Northeast. The latter, along with other donut and bagel shops, competed by offering food to go along with their coffee. The coffee was of lower quality, and lower price. An advantage that chains like Dunkin Donuts had was that they were well-established, with strong brands and retail networks. In addition, because they offered a different atmosphere and product lineup, they were differentiated from Starbucks.
The coffee shop chains like Peet's and Caribou had arguably borrowed from the Starbucks…...

The bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers have a relatively high bargaining power. On a market like organic foods, suppliers are very important for companies' activity. In other words, they practically depend on their suppliers.

As a consequence, suppliers represent the most important environmental factor of influence for Whole Foods, and the same situation applies in the case of any organic foods company. This business consists mainly in the raw materials that the company uses to produce the goods it sells under this brand. The company's activity depends on the quality of the raw materials, and on any potential delays from suppliers. The prices negotiated with suppliers have a direct impact on the production costs, and on the end-user price.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The company's strong position on the market in ensured by the numerous strengths the company benefits from. First of all, the company is renowned by the quality of its products. This further creates…...

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Reference list:

1. Industry Statistics and Projected Growth (2008). Organic Trade Association. Retrieved February 8, 2010 from  http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html .

2. Hunt, N. & Dorfman, B. (2009). How green is my wallet? Organic food growth slows. Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2010 from  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50R01C20090128 .

Thus, the competitive intelligence assisted the company to align its strategic plan as well as keeping executive informed about the key element of decision-making. The company also derived advantages from market intelligence advantages and the advantages assisted the company to understand the market activities and competitive market environment. Typically, Avnet also used the competitive intelligence to create a Strategic Leverage Matrix (SLM) that the company literarily plots to understand the competitors in 2X 2 matrixes. Using this strategy, the company was able to understand the sales growth and the working capital of the competitors. The CI process includes:

Plan and Collect

Analyze and Access

Make ecommendations

Distribute EIS.

Using CI analysis, the company will able to analyze the industry and be able to make an informed decision about the market and the competitors.

Conclusion

The report shows how the Avnet could use the competitive intelligence tool to achieve a competitive market advantages. The CI is an intelligent…...

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References

Cavalcanti, E.P.(2005). The Relationship between Business Success and Business Intelligence. Journal of Competitive Intelligence and Management: 3 (1 ).

Downey, J. (2007) Strategic Analysis Tools Topic Gateway Series No. 34. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Haag, S. (2006). Management Information Systems for the Information Age. (Third Edition). McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Hovis, J.H. (2000). CI at Avnet: A Bottom-Line Impact . Competitive Intelligence Review.11(3): 5.15.

The modifications in the policies of the company's retail trade customers represent important risks that can lead to increased dependence on some of the retailers in developed markets. Another important risk is determined by the global manufacturing activities.
Although these companies develop and implement different strategies, some of the risks associated with their business are common. This is because some of these risks are determined by the international business environment that establishes the conditions in which these companies develop their activity. Some of the most important risks that these companies addressed in 2000 are represented by entering new markets. The potential presented by developing markets determined these companies to make investments in regions like Asian countries. Another important risk during that period was represented by companies' inability to retain important employees. This means that their human resources strategies did not reach the established objectives. In addition to this, the dependence…...

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Reference list:

1. Personal Care Appliances: A Global Strategic Business Report (2011). PRWeb. Retrieved May 19, 2011 from  http://www.prweb.com/releases/personal_care_appliances/hair_care_oral_care/prweb8128135.htm .

2. Annual Report (2010). Spectrum Brands. Retrieved May 22, 2011.

3. Annual Report (2010). Helen of Troy. Retrieved May 22, 2011.

Cost leadership

Attracting more customers and gaining financial advantage over the competition as profits would increase

4

Forces the company to drastically reduce costs, meaning that product quality could suffer demises

-4

0

6.

Focus strategy

Can achieve either of cost advantage or differentiation

4

Addresses a niche market

-4

0

7.

Differentiation strategy

Product uniqueness which allows for the charging of a premium price to cover for the additionally incurred expenditure

5

Additional costs which will reduce overall financial gains (they will however be recuperated from the premium price)

2

3

7. Description of the Selected Strategy

Based on the analysis conducted at the previous stage, it becomes obvious that the most adequate course of action at this stage is that of implementing differentiation strategies. These actions basically translate into the promotion of new products onto existent markets, meaning that Porter's differentiation strategy is the analogue of Ansoff's product development strategy. The table above even reveals that both these strategies have received the highest scores, meaning that they are the…...

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References:

Kotelnikov, V., Differentiation Strategy -- How to Survive in the Era of Hypercompetition, 1000 Ventures,   last accessed on July 2, 2009http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/differentiation_strategy.html 

Kowalski, M., August 14, 2007, Chocolate Prices On the Rise, Business Week,   accessed on July 2, 2009http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2007/gb20070814_776262.htmlast 

Rupani, S., August 31, 2007, The Sweet Business of Gourmet Chocolate, Business Week,   last accessed on July 2, 2009http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/aug2007/db20070829_846210.htm 

2009, Euphoria Chocolate Company, Hoovers,   -- /free-co-competition.xhtml last accessed on July 2, 2009http://hoovers.com/euphoria-chocolate/--ID__122582,FRIC__ 

competitive market environment that Victorian Diary Giant operates by answering four questions in the case. Victorian Diary operates under the perfect competitive market. In the last few years, the firm has cut the milk prices by 8.5% making the new price to move to $4.50 per kilogram leaving farmers at break-even level because of the glut of the milk in the world markets. While 8.5% cut of price is relatively good, however, the struggling famers does not achieve much comfort from the new price.
Competition occurs when there is a rivalry among firms producing similar products. In the competitive environment, firms always try to take away the market shares of other firms. However, a perfect competitive market is the kind of market where firms are price taker. The following requirements operate in a perfect competitive market:

Firms operating in the market produce identical products,

There are no barrier to enter the market,

In…...

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References

Andreu, M, Michael, W.D. & Jerry, G.R. (1995). Microeconomic Theory. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford.

Edwards, C. (2007). Milk Madness. Tax & Budget Bulleting . No 4.

Hugh, R. (2008). Price Controls. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Library Economic and Liberty.

Kraft Foods' Competitive Strategy
Kraft Foods is a one of North America's largest packaged food companies. To reach its current competitive position the organization is changed to great deal of the last decade, with increased focus on the core products, and the sale or spin-off of the non-core divisions, for example the sale of the frozen pizza division 2010 to Nestle, and in 2012 the demerger of Mondel-z International (Kraft Foods, 2014). This has left the company with a high level of focus in selected product categories and North American markets. The shift in the company's focus has impacted on the way in which they compete, but despite this change narrowing of focus, the organization still be seen as one which serves the mass market, with some type of Kraft Food product 90% of all households in the United States, 99% of all households in Canada (Kraft Foods, 2014).

2.

Competitive Strategy

Examining…...

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References

CSI Market, (2014), Kraft Foods, accessed at  http://csimarket.com/stocks/competitionSEG2.php?code=KRFT 

Kotler Philip; Keller Kevin, (2011), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall

Kraft Foods (2014), Home Page, accessed at  http://www.kraftfoodsgroup.com 

Kraft Foods, (2014) 10=k, accessed at http://ir.kraftfoodsgroup.com/secfiling.cfm?filingID=1545158-14-3&CIK=1545158

Competitor Analysis and Competitive Strategy
The competitor analysis for the Kia-Motors has been conducted in order to analyze and identify the key factors related to the strengths and weaknesses of its competitors i.e. Toyota and Dacia Automobiles. The competitive strategies are being suggested for Kia-Motors in order to grow its business in Turkey and attract customers and carry out production processes in ways that ensures the profitability and competitive advantage in the long run.

Kia Motors

Analysis of Competitors

Toyota

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Automobile Dacia

Suggested Competitive Strategy

Kia Motors

Kia-Motors with the sales of 2.75 million in the year 2013 is 33.88% owned by the Hyundai Motors and is known widely for its product Kia-Optima and Cadenza. The company possesses strong market position with respect to the quality that it has been providing to its customers. The company has followed the competitive strategy for pricing at which product quality is ensured with the competitive price and the company…...

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REFERENCES

Bondoc, M.D., & Banuta, M. (2007). Changes in the Romanian automotive parts sector in the context of globalization.

Coman, A., & Ronen, B. (2009).Focused SWOT: diagnosing critical strengths and weaknesses.International Journal of Production Research, 47(20), 5677-5689.

Drummond, G., & Ensor, J. (2006).Introduction to marketing concepts.Routledge.

D'Silva, D.A., & Patil, A.S. (2008). Lean Manufacturing.

1. Hedgehog vs Fox: A Comparison of Two Distinct Animal Personalities

2. The Hedgehog and the Fox: Exploring Contrasting Approaches to Life

3. Hedgehog or Fox? Understanding Different Philosophies on Problem-Solving

4. Hedgehog vs Fox: The Battle Between Specialization and Versatility

5. In Defense of the Hedgehog: Embracing Depth over Breadth

6. The Fox's Dilemma: Balancing Multiple Perspectives in a Complex World

7. Hedgehog or Fox: Navigating the Dichotomy of Focused Expertise vs Broad Knowledge

8. The Power of Adaptability: Lessons from the Fox and the Hedgehog

9. Embracing Complexity: Finding Harmony Between the Hedgehog and the Fox

10. Hedgehog Pride vs Fox Flexibility: A Debate on the Ideal....

Microeconomic Analysis of HSBC Bank

Introduction

HSBC Bank is a global banking and financial services corporation headquartered in London, England. As one of the largest banks in the world, it operates in over 60 countries and territories, offering a wide range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and governments. This essay will focus on microeconomic concepts that can be applied to analyze HSBC Bank, with specific examples and insights.

Market Structure

One important microeconomic concept to consider is market structure. HSBC Bank operates in a highly competitive global banking industry. It faces competition from numerous other large banks, as well as smaller....

Importance of Integrity in Shaping Character and Building Trust

Discuss the essential role of integrity in developing strong moral character.
Explore how integrity fosters trust and enhances relationships in personal and professional spheres.
Examine the consequences of lacking integrity and the impact it can have on reputation and credibility.

Integrity in the Workplace: Maintaining Ethical Standards and Promoting Fairness

Analyze the importance of maintaining integrity in the workplace, including ethical decision-making and fair treatment of employees.
Discuss the challenges of upholding integrity in competitive environments and the role of leadership in setting ethical standards.
Explore the consequences of unethical behavior in....

Title 1: The Anatomy of a Perfect Sales Pitch

Appropriateness:

This title effectively conveys the nature of the content. It promises an in-depth exploration of the components and structure of successful sales pitches. By using the metaphor of "anatomy," it suggests a comprehensive and systematic approach to the subject.

Reasoning:

It clearly identifies the topic as sales pitches, aligning with the expected context.
The term "anatomy" implies a detailed examination of the essential elements, appealing to those seeking knowledge about pitch construction.
It evokes a sense of precision and structure, suggesting a practical and actionable approach.

Title 2: The Psychology of Persuasion: Unlocking the....