Competitive Market
The author of this report is asked to look at a competitive market and its main business that leads or otherwise exemplifies the sector. The sector that will be looked at is retail. The far and away leader of this retail market is Wal-Mart but they have three competitors in the form of Target, Kroger and K-Mart/Sears, that each compete against Wal-Mart in their own way. Despite the fact that they are in the same general line of business, they each have their own niche that they target.

Niche of Each Business

Wal-Mart's clear objective is to sell in bulk at low prices. They deal heavily in the grocery and hardline sectors and are very aggressive discounters in both markets. In half a century, they have risen a nascent retail to a worldwide juggernaut that employs more than a million people in the United States alone and nearly two million worldwide…...

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References

K-Mart. (2013, September 26). Kmart - Deals on Furniture, Toys, Clothes, Tools,

Tablets & TVs. Kmart - Deals on Furniture, Toys, Clothes, Tools, Tablets & TVs.

Retrieved September 26, 2013, from  http://www.kmart.com 

Kroger. (2013, September 26). Kroger. Kroger. Retrieved September 26, 2013, from http://www.kroger.com

Competitive Market Analysis to Determine the Product's Potential Success
Issues that the automobile industry faces that affect its competitiveness and long-term profitability

The relevance of a competitive strategy for Car Company A is to establish a position within the 4-cylinder engine car market. This will help the company to compete with Toyota Corolla (LE) 1.8L four-cylinder engine competitive forces. As a potential entrant, Car Company A is at a disadvantage in capital markets. Unless it penetrates the Cylinder engine market through diversification, its four-cylinder car will be at an inherently riskier position than the established (LE) 1.8L four cylinder engine of Toyota (Maxton & Wormald, 2013). This will be reflected in the risk premiums Car Company A will be forced to pay to attract capital.

Car Company A will face barriers because other players like Toyota enjoy economies of scale in the industry. This means a decline in a product's unit costs leads…...

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Reference

Maxton, G. & Wormald, J. (2013). Time for a model change: Re-engineering the global automobile industry. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press

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.

Prevent Competitive Markets in the United States
The United States follows a system of "free market economy" in which most businesses are privately owned and where individual producers and consumers determine the kinds of goods and services produced as well as the prices of such products. Competition is a key factor in market economies as it keeps the prices of products in check, forces the competitors to enhance the efficiency of their production process, and drives the inefficient producers out of the market. However, "perfectly competitive market" is largely a theoretical economic concept which does not exist in any country and most countries, including the U.S., follow a system of mixed economy. In such 'mixed economies,' there are several factors which prevent the existence of a perfectly competitive market and the U.S. is no exception to this rule. In this paper, we shall discuss some of the factors that work…...

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Bibliography www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77421267

Karier, Thomas. Beyond Competition: The Economics of Mergers and Monopoly Power. Armonk, NY M.E. Sharpe, 1993.

United States (Economy)" Article in Encyclopedia Encarta. CD-ROM Version, 2003

Such markets are known as 'oligopolies.'

As long as it is not created specifically to monopolize commerce in interstate trade

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.

Market Structure of Subway Sandwiches
At the national level, Subway operates in a nearly perfectly competitive market: there are a number of franchise competitors (Blimpee, Quiznos), regional chains, and independent establishments, and supermarkets Market barriers are reasonably low (a food truck can offer sandwiches and compete with a local Subway), consumers have a high degree of buying power (there is a low commitment level when buying a sandwich) and there are many available substitute goods. However, in some areas, competition may be less 'perfect' depending on the availability of other establishments where people on a quick lunch break can eat. Although there still may be many possible options, such as bringing lunch, the location and lack of competitors can make it easier for a Subway to thrive within a certain area.

Q2. What type of competition does your firm face? Who are some competitors? (Even if you said your firm is a…...

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References

Weiss, Steven. (2011). Subway vs. Quiznos. QSR Magazine. Retrieved April 18, 2011 at  http://www2.qsrmagazine.com/articles/columnists/steve_weiss/1008/ 

Zajac, Andrew. (2010, August 25). Restaurant chains, vending machines will have to post calories. LA Times. Retrieved April 18, 2011 at  http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/25/nation/la-na-fda-calories-20100825

Market Efficient espect Set Information Impossible Makes Abnormal Profits
Market Efficient

In his work, Fama argued that given the massive use of resources by the brokerage firm to conduct studies on trends in the industry, the effects of changes in interest rates on corporate balance sheets and expectations of managers and/or political analysts of the companies should be able to systematically beat a generic portfolio with the same risk characteristics.

Since, according to Fama, professional in every situation, the analyst has a fifty percent chance of beating the market; although its specific capabilities did not exist he would beat a lot of the market. The analyst did "help" the market to be efficient if all the investors, in fact, would hold portfolios composed of stock indices, would open up significant opportunities for professional traders to take advantage of the situation. But the movement of traders to that "new market" would mean that the…...

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References

Arrow, K.J., 1959. 'Toward a theory of price adjustment', in M. Abramovitz (ed.), The Allocation of Economic Resources, and Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 41 -- 51.

Aumann, R.J., 1964. "Markets with a Continuum of Traders," Econometrica, Vol. 32, No. 1/2, Jan. - Apr., pp. 39 -- 50.

Clifton, J.A., 1977. "Competition and the evolution of the capitalist mode of production," Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 137 -- 151.

Frank, R., 2008. Microeconomics and Behavior 7th ed. (McGraw-Hill) ISBN 978-007-126349-8.

The segmentation recommended in this marketing plan includes the following:
Ensure that locals (there is an advantage to the restaurant's site) become regulars.

Differentiate the "Italian" notion for those who want something different from "standard," "middle of the road" Italian fare.

Come up with very targeted marketing which ensures focus on the three target customer groups:

Those living/working within a well-defined radius

Those who may know the restaurant from other experiences in Australia

Spur-of-the-moment tourists who see the restaurant and walk in.

Cost structure of industry (especially whether variable cost is a small or large proportion of the normal selling price, and whether there are significant economies of scale of production, importance of transportation costs etc.),

The relative margins earned by restaurants vary from zero to 10% of total sales. Price discounts may be attractive to customers, but can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line if not properly managed. These discounts are also so prevalent…...

(Dunn, 2009)
Arumemi-Ikhide believes that Arik can succeed due to a combination of the opportunity -- helped by economic and air transport reforms in Nigeria -- and the capability to deliver a high quality product." (Dunn, 2009) Also stated by Arumemi-Ikhide is that this "will be a key in differentiating it in the international market and providing feeder traffic. That will be the lifeline for the international network. That's what sets up apart from our rivals." (Dunn, 2009)

Martin Russell states in the report entitled: "Arik Air: The Future of African Aviation" that both the "internal opinion of African air travel and that of onlookers overseas was bleak before the arrival of Nigeria's newest treasure, Arik Air." (2008) Russell states that the aviation industry is African is "hampered by somewhat less predictable weather and frequent storms" resulting in aviation in African being "far from predictable with temperamental skies that readily unleash…...

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Bibliography

Nigeria's air traffic grows by 31% during 2008; defies global slump (2009) TradeInvest Nigeria Thu, 05 Mar 2009. Online available at:  http://www.tradeinvestnigeria.com/news/957188.htm 

Lawal, Lateef (2009)FG Invests Over N7b In Air Navigation, Safety, Search & Rescue - Nigeria Masterweb Daily News. Online available at: http://www.nigeriamasterweb.com/blog/

More Frequencies to Foreign Airlines Put Nigerian Carriers at Risk (2009) The Guardian -- Travels 17 Jul 2009. Online available at:  http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/travels/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=170709&ptitle=More%20frequencies%20to%20foreign%20airlines%20put%20Nigerian%20carriers%20at%20risk 

Dunn, Graham (2009) Arik Air: Pressing Ahead with International Plans. 3 June 2009. Airline Business. Online available at:  http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/03/06/323508/arik-air-pressing-ahead-with-international-plans.html

Mergers can also help at least come domestic companies become competitive with international ones. Mergers potentially free up increased money for research and development.
Yes, it is possible for mergers to be beneficial overall. There is no blanket yes or no judgement that applies to whether or not mergers are beneficial. They are generally beneficial if the above conditions are met along with the following conditions: There remains sufficient competition that the newly formed company cannot enforce monopolistic conditions and that there remains freedom of entry into the market sector for new firms.

3. Why are competitive markets considered more efficient than monopolistic markets? Give economic reasons. Give a real-live example of a market that tends to be competitive and one that tends to be monopolistic. Describe characteristics that support your classification. Is there evidence of efficiency or inefficiency in either of the markets you describe?

Competitive markets are considered to be…...

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References

Managerial Economics: Economic Tools for Today's Decision Makers (6th ed.). Retrieved from  http://www.coursesmart.com/login .

market structures in detail and analyses the pricing strategies that the firms have to undertake when they operate in different regimes. The case study on Toyota is considered next, which indicates that firms competing in various structures does not only have to focus on price and quantity ceteris paribus, they also have to consider external and internal variables that have a bearing on these decisions.
Introduction to Market Structures

Market structures are important parts of economic theory as they model market behavior that can help economists explain activities in industry with ease. Market structures, hence are basically models that define market behavior with respect to certain criteria so that it becomes simpler to compare events in real life to the postulated scenario as described in theory in order to be able to determine casualties and to define optimal strategies that firms operating in different market structures can use.

There are four main…...

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References

Bennett, D., Hagiwara, Y., & Kitamura, M. (2011, September 5). Toyota Bets on Japan. Bloomberg Businessweek, pp. 70-73,. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=fbe40510-c02e-4a4c-afc8-b21dbb1445c3%40sessionmgr11&vid=1&hid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=60477158

Cusumano, M.A. (2011). Technology Strategy and Management Reflections on the Toyota Debacle. Communications of the ACM, 54 (1), 33-35.

John Petersen (2011). Bernstein and Ricardo Report: Cheap Will Beat Cool in Vehicle Electrification. Retrieved from http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2011/11/bernstein_and_ricardo_report_cheap_will_beat_cool_in_vehicle_electrification.html

Lipsey, R.G., & Chrystal, K.A. (2007). Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from  http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=HgXWV8JMC10C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Economics+lipsey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qPIuT9DdPM7wrQeQ_LzYDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Economics%20lipsey&f=false

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

Market power can exist when there are substantial barriers to entry into the indus-try. Expectations about incumbent reactions, incumbent advantages, and exit costs all can serve as entry barriers.
The extreme case of a firm with market power is monopoly, where the industry con-sists of only one firm. Here, industry and firm demand curves are one and the same. In contrast to competitive markets, consumers pay more than marginal cost and the firm earns economic profits. Output is restricted from competitive levels. With a monopoly, not all the potential gains from trade are exhausted.

Monopolistic competition is a hybrid between competition and monopoly. It is like mo-nopoly in that firms under both market structures face downward-sloping demand curves. Market power comes from differentiated products. Examples include the toothpaste, golf ball, tennis racket, and shampoo markets. The analyses of output and pricing policies are similar in the two cases. The difference between…...

Pharmaceutical industries have to operate in an environment that is highly competitive and subject to a wide variety of internal and external constraints. In recent times, there has been an increasing trend to reduce the cost of operation while competing with other companies that manufacture products that treat similar afflictions and ailments. The complexities in drug research and development and regulations have created an industry that is subject to intense pressure to perform. The amount of capital investment investments required to get a drug from conception, through clinical trials and into the market is enormous. The already high-strung pharmaceutical industry is increasingly investing greater amounts of resources in search of the next "blockbuster" drug that can help them gain market position and profits. Laws, regulations and patents are important to the industry while spending billions of dollars in ensuring the copyright of their products.
It is the intention of this thesis…...

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Bibliography

Ansoff, H.I. (1957). Strategies for diversification. Harvard Business Review, 35(5), 113-124.

Ansoff, H.I. (1965). Corporate Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Ashour, M.F., Obeidat, O., Barakat, H., & Tamimi, A. (2004). UAE Begins Examination of Patent Applications. Tamino.com. Retrieved January 18, 2004, from the World Wide Web:  http://www.tamimi.com/lawupdate/2001-01/intprop.htm 

Bain, J.S. (1954). Economies of scale, concentration, and the condition of entry in twenty manufacturing industries. American Economic Review, 44, 15-36.

Competitor Profile
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.

Financial Statement

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) is a registered as a nonprofit corporation, licensed to conduct business in the United States according to rules and regulations of not for profit companies in the states in which the corporation operates. The YAP Institute as it is better known derives most of its revenues cash contributions made by private charitable sources. According to the Institute's 2009 IS 990, those sources are undisclosed, and line itemed according to a general statement about cash contributions in support of the organization's mission and programs. Some grant monies are also mentioned in the federal reporting narrative, yet the title to those sources of contribution also unmentioned with exception of annual totals.

External granting to YAP's international programs is mentioned, and is listed as earmarked funds for programmatic and operational support in those countries. YAP's connection to the court system, law enforcement agencies and…...

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References

Light, C. (2004). Sustaining Nonprofit Performance: The Case for Capacity Building and the Evidence to Support It. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (2010). Retrieved from:  http://www.yapinc.org/

I. Introduction (200 words)
A. Background and Context: Provide a brief overview of the salon industry in Kidapawan City, highlighting its importance to the local economy and employment. Discuss the significance of customer relationship management skills in driving business performance in this competitive market.
B. Thesis Statement: Clearly state the central argument or hypothesis of the essay, which should focus on the positive correlation between customer relationship management skills and business performance in salons in Kidapawan City.

II. Literature Review (300 words)
A. Define and Discuss CRM Skills: Explain key concepts and theories related to customer relationship management skills, drawing upon relevant academic literature....

Topic Idea 1: The Impact of Employee Retention on Organizational Performance

Explore the positive correlation between employee retention and key business outcomes, such as productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.
Analyze how high turnover rates can lead to financial losses, operational inefficiencies, and reputation damage.
Discuss the importance of identifying and addressing the root causes of employee turnover to improve retention.

Topic Idea 2: Strategies for Enhancing Employee Retention in the Digital Age

Examine the challenges posed by the changing nature of work and technology in retaining employees.
Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies such as flexible work arrangements, remote work options, and....

1. The Role of Visual Metaphors in Shaping Brand Identity

Explore the ways in which visual metaphors can create powerful and memorable brand identities. Analyze case studies to demonstrate how metaphors can convey brand values, connect with target audiences, and differentiate brands in competitive markets.

2. The Ethics of Image Manipulation in Advertising

Examine the ethical implications of image manipulation in advertising. Discuss the impact of altered images on consumer trust, body image, and societal norms. Consider the role of regulations and industry guidelines in balancing creative freedom with the need for transparency.

3. The Power of Data Visualization in Storytelling

Analyze the role of....

1. The impact of technology on society, specifically focusing on how social media has changed communication and relationships
2. The growing importance of sustainable fashion and its impact on the fashion industry
3. The rise of remote work and its implications for traditional office settings
4. The role of artificial intelligence in healthcare and its potential benefits and ethical considerations
5. The importance of mental health awareness in schools and ways to support students' well-being
6. The effects of climate change on global food security and potential solutions to combat food insecurity
7. The significance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and strategies for creating....