Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel - Essay Example It is not only about violence, murder, and terror. All these negative causes are not so numerous in our lives. On the other side, people are more inclined to be lazy, greedy and, finally, indifferent to each other, in particular, and to the environment, on the whole. Needless to say, indifferent people are helpless in loving somebody. It is impossible for them, as they feel free to neglect the virtues of the moral and right attitude toward each other. Hence, indifference gives birth to a host of negative feelings where hatred and cruelty are at the core. Among the rest of the quotes by Ellie Wiesel, the aforementioned highlights the roots of the human tragedy today as it was in the past. In other words, seeing indifference in one’s actions and attitudes toward a person or the mankind, there is no way other than the redemption. Redemption from everything one dreamed about and thought of in a sweet memory. Day by day, this feeling would likely grow up until one loses the temper and does harm to the environment where he/she lives. The consequences may simply overgrow into a collapse of living in mutual understanding of peace. What is more, Wiesel is right when she strikes out the concept of â€Å"hate† as lower in the meaning compared to the concept of â€Å"indifference.† It is natural to anyone to get rid of any haunting prejudices about the negative meaning of indifference just because it is an ability to make a change. No one is likely to pinpoint the threat of indifference able to ruin lives of people in need. An abrupt halt of passion and desire to help and to keep up with those in need is like a heart failure for a serious patient, so to speak. Thus, indifference is a hidden trick of the devil on his way toward total destruction of morale and humane as the pivotal virtues of the societal life.   

Social responsibilities and ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Social responsibilities and ethics - Essay Example The other impact is that the local community gets leadership and become more organized and coexist. The businesses require the local community to handle the projects due to sustainability purposes. This therefore means that the community has to have some form of organization on how the project will be run and maintained and this will lead to leadership. This organization uplifts coexistence among the community members as well as less conflicts and hence the project is likely to be sustainable. A negative impact of businesses on the local community is the assimilation the local community undergoes. Even though this does not happen in all communities, most community members due to constant interaction with the businesses start abandoning their culture to be more like the individuals in the business. This leads to loss of culture and even conflicts in the long run among the community members and spouses as well. This especially happens when the business people are involved in the project for long period of

Benefits of Developing Integrated Global Strategies

Benefits of Developing Integrated Global Strategies â€Å"As multinationals mature, they become aware of the opportunities to be gained from integrating and creating a single strategy on a global scale.† Discuss, with reference to theories regarding economies of scale, scope and global competitiveness, drawing on real world organisation to illustrate your answer. â€Å"Clearly, a substantial challenge for multinational corporations (MNCs), in the current environment of intensified competition and rapid industry consolidation, is one of much greater worldwide integration. Necessitated by intense competitive pressures, MNCs are integrating their disparate country operations in order to achieve economies across markets and operating units. Preliminary results from a pilot study of the characteristics of common global practices among a sample of MNCs†¦explore the benefits MNCs derive from the implementation of common practices across their worldwide operations, in pursuit of a global strategy.† (Cavusgil, Yeniyurt and Townsend, 2004) It is clear from this most recent piece of research into the worldwide integration of multinational corporations that there are immense potential benefits to multinationals from pursuing a strategy of integration across markets and regions. However, expanding internationally requires managerial adaptation due to differences between national cultures, and these dynamics have not necessarily been used to represent the cultural diversity that may hinder efforts to integrate and coordinate efforts as required by global strategies. Tempering popular perspectives that extol the benefits of diversity, some theories claim that cultural diversity among international divisions of a global firm may actually impede efforts to merge activities and expertise between those units. Specifically, direct, such as market, production and technology, and indirect: knowledge-based benefits are more difficult to exploit when cultural diversity makes activity sharing and expertise transfer less efficient. Pa rallel to established product relatedness theory, this postulates that culturally related international firms will enjoy greater efficiencies than culturally diverse multinationals. (Johnson and Scholes, 2002) Nowhere is this better seen than in the strategies of Novotel, a strategic business unit of the Accor group, and one of the worlds major hotel chains, occupying a leading place in Europe and with locations globally. Calori, Baden-Fuller and Hunt (2000) interpreted Novotels change management programme in the 1990s, summarising the actions that managers took in terms of strategy and organization, also carefully considering the sequence and timing of events, and how this resulted in rapid transformation in an organisation employing more than 30,000 people. They also strongly emphasised the dialectical nature of the change processes: an element often ignored in the literature, observing both deliberation and experimentation; both integration and differentiation. They found that, Novotel was careful to offer different offerings in each nation it operates, dependent upon the local customs, culture and expectations for a hotel. However they also found that, in line with several of Morriseyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s (1996) theories on long range strategic planning, the managers were careful to always ensure that the company’s global direction and overall strategy were clear and consistent in the minds of staff, and were strongly projected to the customers. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than on Novotel’s website, with its headline: â€Å"412 Hotels Resort in 56 countries. Novotel guarantees you the best price†, showing that no matter where in the world you go, Novotel always aims to offer you a budget hotel room. Such clear positioning and marketing is one of the main reasons the company has been so successful for so long. Another important consideration in integrating a strategy is that competitive advantage can be gained through quality, even in mature commodity industries, but that a quality-based competitive strategy will be successful only if managers understand both how quality is perceived by their customers and their company s level of quality performance. As such, the critical issue of many modern strategies is the importance of gaining customer attention: the underlying view that a global business strategy can be simply programmed and customers merely involved in the activity as rational agents ignores the value of seasoned judgment and, ultimately, critical thinking. The essential objective is clearly to engage in producing a value- added customer relationship, and therefore, gaining customer attention is equally, or indeed, more important than a simple focus on customer relationship management. What is required is a strategic focus on the real complexity of the relationship which organizati ons are initially able to establish with customers. (Pearson, 1999) Nowhere is this more apparent than in the UKs food and beverage sector, which remains the countrys single largest manufacturing sector, thanks in part to a general economic recovery and its world-renowned high quality and innovative products. In recent years, the economic performance of the UK has been robust, owing to low inflation, resilient growth, strong job creation and increases in consumer spending: â€Å"According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UKs GDP rose 3.1% in 2004, compared with 2.2% in 2003. As a result, household spending on food has been increasing over the past few years. Merger and acquisiton activity in the UK is on the rise. According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of MA in the food industry increased 14.4% in 2004 to 278 deals from 243 in 2003.† (Mergent Industry Reports, 2005) There is a significant foreign investor interest in UK companies, which shows a general confidence in the UK economy. In addition, the increase in convenience stores and hypermarkets: which sell groceries and offer a much wider choice of brand products, along with intense competition, has had a large impact on the food industry. As a result, many food companies are looking to consolidate their business to maximize competitiveness in terms of price, innovation and coverage. As companies seek to improve corporate profitability in a competitive market environment, further consolidation is expected. The growth of convenience stores and hypermarkets is likely to be the main force in the food and drink sector over the next few years. (Mergent Industry Reports, 2005) Judith Bevan (2005) examines the battle between the supermarkets in a recent book: â€Å"Trolley Wars†, where the ‘wars’ in question are not just price wars; they are space and strategy wars. With UK retail being the most competitive sector in one of the most competitive countries in the world, supermarkets desperate for supremacy fight over prices, squeeze suppliers and grab land in order to win. Each of the players has brought the industry forward at a crucial time: â€Å"Whether it was Sainsbury for quality, MS for innovation or Tesco for value, one message is clear: the winners, and today this is Tesco by a long way, never forget that the customer is king and that only by constantly listening, anticipating and reacting can they survive in todays market.† (Bevan 2005) UK supermarket customers are in search of quality, price and value, and are among the savviest in the world. The lesson is clear: complacency kills, and a fragmented, unclear, strategy, as witnessed in Sainsbury’s recent advertising campaigns, which have driven away some of the chains traditionally loyal customers. (Finch, 1999) However, it is also vitally important for firms to consider that any strategy they formulate should not only offer customers what they want and expect from the overall corporation, but should also be financially and commercially viable. In particular, managerial considerations, desires, priorities and egos should not override the need to remain profitable and fulfil shareholder, and other stakeholder, goals and expectations. This is covered quite clearly in the managerially theory of the firm, developed by Stoelhorst and van Raaij (2004) as a meaningful alternative to the neoclassical theory of the firm. Their paper argues that the main use of a managerial theory of the firm is explaining performance differentials between firms, especially in the area of marketing strategy, which we have already seen is of great import to multinational corporations. Indeed, the authors explicitly state that: â€Å"Marketing shares an interest in explaining performance differentials with strategic ma nagement and organizational economics.† (Stoelhorst and van Raaij, 2004) Likewise, they show that a generic understanding of the sources of performance differentials is emerging across these three disciplines, and incorporate this understanding in a unifying conceptual framework that is both managerially relevant and embedded in economic theory. The lessons from this paper would be well learnt by easyGroup ltd. director, and well known entrepreneur, Stelios Haji-Ioannou. In 2003, Haji-Ioannou announced that easyCinema would open in Milton Keynes, England, with the introductory cinema chain aimed at providing an addition to the existing easyGroup architecture, which at the time encompassed rental cars, internet cafà ©s and an airline. (Ritson, 2003) Haji-Ioannou has frequently admitted that price elasticities are ‘the core’ of the easy brand, and is careful to always select markets where consumers will make differential trade-offs between time and price. â€Å"For example, if one is a price-sensitive European student flying home to spend holidays, he is likely to book months in advance and will probably accept an early morning departure.† (Ritson, 2003) By using technology and just-in-time inventory systems, easyGroup allows its component firms to flexibly set prices and automatically respond to market el asticities. However, just two months after Ritson’s article, Haji-Ioannou was forced to admit, in June 2003, that he may have to close the easyCinema in Milton Keynes by the end of the year. EasyGroup companies, excluding the publicly owned easyJet, in fact lost about  £120m over the past four years, with EasyInternetCafe forming the bulk of this, turning in about  £90m in losses between 1999 and 2003. However, in the same time period, easyCar lost about  £20m, the Internet shopping portal easyValue lost  £5m and the easyMoney credit card  £2.7m. The basis for these losses can be seen in the fate of easyCinema, a good model for the management style of Stelios Haji-Ioannou and â€Å"his declining empire, EasyGroup.† (Kroll, 2004) Kroll’s article recalls the earlier giveaway of airplane tickets on the steps of an Athens courthouse, where he was being sued by travel agents, but focuses on his ‘potshot’ at U.S. film distributors, which initially refused to give EasyCinema first runs because his ticket prices were too low to offer them a decent cut. The US film distributors’ move was mirrored by distributors in Britain, which meant that, although Stelios had found another price elastic market: in its first week, easyCinema filled 56% of its seats, patronage has dropped steadily since. (Wylie, 2003) The main reason for this is the lack of recent release, as traditionally distributors make money by creaming a high percentage of box-office revenue in the first weeks of a films run, a percentage that easyCinema was unwilling and unable to provide. Stelios tried to persuade Britains Office of Fair Trading to investigate what he alleges is illegal collusion and resale price maintenance among distributors (Wylie, 2003); but this appeared to be yet another publicity stunt from the self-styled ‘consumer’s champion’, who had yet again failed to address the concerns of some of the most powerful stakeholders in one of his ventures. Of course, a single, integrated strategy pursued to it’s fullest: by integrating the strategy of a multinational corporation involved in just one market, can reap the highest rewards of all. Research into this was recently conducted by Kim and Lee (2001), who admit to being â€Å"motivated by an empirical observation that two Korean carmakers, Daewoo and Hyundai, have pursued very different globalisation strategies despite their structural similarities.† Using in-depth case studies and extensive interviews with top managers, they explained several lessons that can be drawn from these strategies. Being direct competitors in the Korean automobile industry has affected the firms globalisation strategies to a great extent: each company took into account its competitive position, vis-à  -vis the other’s, when forging its global strategy. For instance, Daewoo focused on achieving economies of scale by targeting the East European markets for its overseas capacity expan sion, as a way of overcoming its manufacturing cost disadvantage in the domestic market vis-à  -vis Hyundais. Likewise, Hyundais globalisation strategy: exporting supported by technological advancement; was driven by an implicit assumption of its competitive advantage vis-à  -vis Daewoos. This initial observed pattern of decisions was formed mostly by such determining factors as top managements commitment to specific strategic decisions and resources, both managerial and financial, from each companys parent business group. It is vital to note here that, unlike easyGroup’s strategy, driven largely by the ego and self-image of it’s director, was in fact driven by the core competencies of each company: developing and exploiting new markets to obtain economies of scale, and maintaining a technological advantage. Subsequently, these integrated strategies were altered or reinforced as each company accumulated different learning experiences, demonstrating that unless the learning process is well managed, it can do as much harm as good to a company. (Kim and Lee, 2001) Indeed, Hamid (2002) has shown that leading companies around the world are developing integrated global compensation and benefit strategies in order to help them stay ahead of the competition. â€Å"These companies are finding that their human resource strategy can be structured using similar philosophies to reward people regardless of their geographic boundaries.† (Hamid, 2002) The need to develop more consistent global strategies in concert with reward practices worldwide, is driven by companies finding that global compensation and benefit strategies can also, in fact, achieve cost savings through economies of scale. The ability to shed the costs of communicating, administering and coordinating several compensation strategies is proof positive that multinational corporations can derive benefits from integrating their global strategies in almost any area of their operations. An excellent example of this is Ryanair, which in August of this year (2005) shrugged off â€Å"soaring fuel charges, fierce competition and an ongoing row with pilots, to announce record pre-tax profits of â‚ ¬76.9m for the three months to July. Despite increasing capacity by 30pc, the airline managed to increase its yield per seat by 3pc, while simultaneously cutting costs per passenger by 6pc. Yesterday, by way of an encore, it released figures which showed that it carried a record 3,198,977 passengers in July, breaking the 3m barrier for the first time, and taking the number of passengers it has carried over the past 12 months to just over 30m. But, according to Michael Cawley, Ryanairs chief operating officer, whether you are talking about expansion, cost cutting or alternative revenues, the airline, which now operates on 250 routes across 21 countries, is only just beginning.† (McEnaney, 2005) One of the key messages from the latest results is that Ryanair has no trouble cutting costs and generating economies of scale: both vital advantages in the global budget air travel market. In fact, when you factor out fuel costs, over which the company has only limited control, Ryanair managed to reduce costs by 11pc in the last quarter. This is despite the fact that Ryanair is now unable to significantly reduce costs by cutting back on the trimmings: with no trimming left to cut, the company has been forced to take a ‘big-picture approach’, through a single intergrated global strategy: take as many passengers as cheaply as possible. According to Mr Cawley, much of the current cost reduction is due to the replacement of the companys 737-200 airplanes, which carry 130 passengers, with new 737-800 aircraft, which carry 189. â€Å"The 737-800 has boosted passenger numbers per plane by 45pc. As we get more and more of them in the fleet, our costs per passenger go down. Als o, newer aircraft have lower costs.† (McEnaney, 2005) There seems to be no end to the expansion of Ryanair, which also recently announced that it would fly eight routes to Poland by November, and recently made Pisa in Italy its fourteenth European base. In the coming months, the airline is expected to announce two new European bases. One of these will most likely be Beauvais in France, which is the only major European country where Ryanair does not yet have a base. The second is likely to be either in Spain or in Scandinavia. According to Cawley, this expansion also helps to lower costs: â€Å"We enjoy significant economies of scale. We used to have three routes from Pisa. Now we have eight, but there is no increase in our Italian advertising costs.† (McEnaney, 2005) Thus, the potential opportunities gained by multinationals that develop integrated global strategies are almost too large to measure, with economies of scope and scale, and large technological and consumer based advantages However, it is also extremely important that, as well as aim for these advantages, and the associated global competitiveness benefits, that MNC’s ensure that they are not pursuing a single integrated strategy for the wrong reasons, as easyGroup has done recently. They must also continue to monitor and analyse the needs and demands of all shareholders and stakeholders, especially the major ones, and remember that the most important stakeholders in many markets, regions, cultures and industries may not be the customers, as is usually believed. This task is far from easy, but for a multinational with the required knowledge, capabilities and learning capacity, the benefits cannot be overstated, and the potential to grow, diversify and consolidate, as Ryannair ha s recently shown, can be huge. References: Bevan, J (2005) Trolley Wars. Profile Books. Calori, R. Baden-Fuller, C. and Hunt, B. (2000) Managing Change at Novotel: Back to the Future. Long Range Planning; Vol. 33, Issue 6, p. 779. Cavusgil, S. T. Yeniyurt, S. and Townsend, D. (2004) The framework of a global company: A conceptualization and preliminary validation. Industrial Marketing Management; Vol. 33, Issue 8, p. 711. Finch, J. (1999) Rivals maul Sainsbury GM ad. The Guardian. Authors: Hamid, H. (2002) Global convergence in remuneration patterns. Business Times (Malaysia). Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2002) Exploring Corporate Strategy; Sixth Edition. FT Prentice Hall. Kim, B. and Lee, Y. (2001) Global Capacity Expansion Strategies: Lessons Learned from Two Korean Carmakers. Long Range Planning; Vol. 34, Issue 3, p. 309. Kroll, L. (2004) Easy.com, Easy Go. Forbes; Vol. 174, Issue 12, p. 138. McEnaney, T. (2005) Man with a mission, airline with a future. Irish Independent. Mergent Industry Reports (2005) Food Beverage – Europe. Morrisey G. (1996) A Guide to Long-Range Planning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pearson, G. (1999) Strategy in Action. Prentice Hall. Ritson, M. (2003) Stelios shows theres an easy way to a smart pricing strategy. Marketing (UK); p. 16. Rogers, D. (2003) Not So Easy After All. Marketing (UK); p. 20. Stoelhorst, J.W. and van Raaij, E. M. (2004) On explaining performance differentials: Marketing and the managerial theory of the firm. Journal of Business Research; Vol. 57, Issue 5, p. 462. Wylie, I. (2003) In Movieland Not So Easy. Fast Company; Issue 75, p. 35.

greek orthodox Essay -- essays research papers

The Greek Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of Christianity, which "stands in today's society as one of the communities created by the apostles of Jesus in the region of the eastern Mediterranean, and which spread by missionary activity throughout Eastern Europe" .The word orthodox comes from Greek, this means right-believing. Currently, the orthodox religion has more than 174 million followers throughout the world. The Greek Orthodox church is autocephalous, which means governed by its own head bishop. The head bishops of this autocephalous church may be called patriarch, metropolitan, or archbishop. These clergymen are much like the Pope; they decide church doctrine and generally make important decisions on controversial topics. In its doctrine statements, "the Greek Orthodox church strongly affirms that it holds the original Christian faith, which was common to East and West during the first millennium of Christian history" (Meyendorff 18). More particularly, it recognizes the authority of the ecumenical councils at which East and West were represented together. These were the councils of Nicaea I (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus(431), Chalcedon(451), Constantinople II (553), Constantinople III (680), and Nicaea II (787) (Encarta 1996). The power of teaching and guiding the community is bestowed on certain ministries, particularly that of the bishop of each diocese or is directed through certain institutions, such as councils...

Marketing Strategy Analysis: Dove Milk Chocolate Essay

Target Market Geography: New Jersey is a highly populated area located on the east coast of the United States of America with an array of different cultures (Mars Nutrition Incorporation, 2012) Rationale: The high population of New Jersey would provide a very large source of consumers regardless of the cultures Age: Gender: Both men and women. Rationale: At the very young ages, both genders consume chocolate and other confectionery at the same rates. However, with increase in age, chocolate becomes very common with women (Bailey,2012). Income: the segmentation of income may be all households with a yearly income exceeding one dollar. Ethnicity: They target all ethnicities. Rationale: Because all ethnicities have disposable incomes, thus they would all provide a very favorable target market. Specification on the basis of ethnicity would lock out potential consumers and deny the company the much needed revenue. Family Life Cycle: Married couples, Adult Singles Rationale: Unmarried individuals have adequate disposable incomes because they do not have many responsibilities. Separated individuals in some cases have children, thus these children would prompt their parents to purchase the products for them. Marriages usually result in the presence of children who would solicit their parents to purchase the products for them. Personality traits: this sector fundamentally comprises of emulators for instance fun loving people. These are the people who delight in enjoying life and believe in travelling and adventure. Lifestyle characteristics: in terms of lifestyle, it might be targeted at those who favor purchasing convenience products. They are as well willing to experiment with substitute products in place of food items that are conventional, as the world of chocolate is transforming from occasion led to more casual utilization. Usage Rate: the market might be more segmented on usage instead of attitude – whatever place, time snack. This is a faction of users that find conventional snacks to be heavy. Although an array of chocolates might be offered, a core brand may be initiated in the count line sector. Given that this sector is tipped to be the development engine of the industry and this sector encompasses a significant market share. Product classification Dove milk chocolate can be classified as a convenience good, which customers never plan to buy in advance. The consumer buys the candy bars when the need comes or when the consumer visits a place where the candy bar is sold. With convenience products, consumers are not willing to spend much time window-shopping for the products to compare prices, since the consumer knows the brands that are wanted. More so, the candy bars are not expensive, and consumers only pick the candy bars at their nearest shops since the candy bars are available in most retail centers, including large supermarkets such as Wal-Mart. In addition, dove milk candy is a product that consumers buy regularly, and the consumer knows specifically where to get the candy bar according to their tastes and preferences. Moreover, the candy bars are bought in small quantities and do not require much effort in buying. Many customers only buy the candy bars when it is necessary, to give to friends or eat when the consumer feel s the urge, qualifying dove milk chocolate as a convenience product (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011). Branding a) Dove milk product uses a family branding strategy, where all its products are marketed through the word Dove, and all have the same brand name. The products are closely related, differing in terms of flavor, and little content, but all have the same utility. The products range from dark chocolate, miniature, among others with different flavors. All of them carry the same name on their products. The name is written on a coherent clearer part of the package for all of them. b). The brand name of the product is Dove, which is written clearly in bolder letters, on a reflective paper of the packaging to make the name more visible. Each cover color of the dove milk chocolate depends on the flavor. For darker chocolate, the color is darker, but the similar in terms of the lay out of the paint. In all of the chocolate brands, there is a curved line across the package in a different  color, mostly defining milk content. However, there is a dark chocolate color defining all of them. In addition, the flavor of the chocolate inside such as silky smooth milk chocolate is inscribed at the right hand bottom corner. c). The level of brand loyalty is high for this product, and its users are used to buying from the same brand. Considering this is a convenience good, consumers prefer buying from one producer, whom the consumer trusts, or depending on the consumer’s preference (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011). This builds up exceptional customer loyalty since many will only prefer the Dove chocolate to other brands. OK. Packaging a) Packaging has been used in several ways for Dove milk chocolate considering it is a consumable food product, needing protection to remain safe for human consumption, as well as convenience. Some people may not have money to buy in large quantities, and prefer smaller quantities (Lamb, Hair & McDaniel, 2011). 1) The product is meant for human consumption and requires protection from harmful substances that might contaminate it. Therefore, the packaging provides for this by using a plastic, paper package for smaller quantities, while bigger quantities that might not be consumed at once are packaged in cartons and smaller foil or plastic paper packages for protection. The packages are well designed to let no substance inside, and can be easily opened and closable except for smaller packages that are consumed once. The Product Safety Act of a consumer necessitates that all packages enveloping products intended for human utilization or use be composed of materials believed safe for han dling and produced in amenities that encompass no cross-contamination matters with other commodities. These rules are set to guarantee that consumers do not turn out to be infected with food-borne diseases or other illnesses merely from handling packaging of a product. (Lister, 1999-2012) (Also, include the different size and types of packages. These should be listed clearly. In other words, 6 oz., 10oz, and 14 oz. Bars and 50 count and 100 count bags of individually wrapped bars. Then for the bars and individually wrapped units, describe the package.) 2) The packaging has been well designed to promote the product. The product lists the ingredients used, flavors and uses positional words such as miniature, silk, and smooth to attract customers. More so, its color is differentiated from other competitors. 3) The packaging has also been  designed to enhance storage since most of them are in rectangular shapes that are easily packed into bulk containers for shipment and wholesale. In addition, the package comes in different sizes, with different prices to serve convenience especially when one does not require purchasing larger amounts. The chocolate bar is also packaged in ounces for convenience. The packages are easily opened for customer’s convenience. Resalable for reuse? Is there a date to use the product by? 4) In terms of facilitating recycling and reducing environmental damage, some of the packages are made up of biodegradable material, while some, especially the smaller packages, are in plastic papers. However, packaging the bigger products degradable material reduces the amount of non-biodegradable material they release into the environment. OK. b) The product uses both types of labeling, persuasive and informational. On the packages, the labeling is quite persuasive with positional statements that are also informative of what the product contains, in terms of nutritional content. The product uses words such as smooth and silk to explain the taste of the product for persuasion. Xxx. Product Life Cycle All products go through a life cycle since the time they are introduced into the market, to growth, maturity, and finally decline. However, this is dependent on the product category. For the product category, which is convenience, their maturity stage seem to last for long considering people will continue to buy the product when they need it. In this case, the product is in the maturity stage, where sales are increasing slowly. At this stage, the company can use the strategy of differentiating its products, which it has done. Currently, dove milk chocolates comes in different flavors, with more and more differentiation taking place to fight off competition, which is high at this stage. However, declining for this category of product is hard since it is a product that people buy regularly for human consumption, and they will still need it another day when the urge comes back. The product is sold internationally, but mostly in America, where it has reached maturity due to this differen tiation of the product, and bearing in mind how long it has been in subsistence. Mode of Product Advertisement Given that Dove Milk Chocolate is a product widely known but is losing its appeal in the market, the best mode of advertising is ultimately product advertisement. The reason of using this mode of advertising is that institutional advertisement will not have the desired effect for this product. Most people acknowledge the existence of Dove Milk Chocolate, but they do not comprehend the advantages of using the new product leading to the need of sensitizing the larger population about it. According to the previous discussed reasons, pioneering advertisement is the best option for the reintroduction of a product that is losing touch with the consumers. The objective of this form of advertisement is giving consumers comprehensive information regarding the nutritional advantages associated with the product (Jugenheimer, 2010). Once consumers understand a product they are most likely to buy such products. Advertisement Appeal Used According to studies (Jugenheimer, 2010), any advertisement has to give the consumer reasons as to why they should buy a given product. That is, answering the questions such as what additional value they are to reap from the usage of Dove Milk Chocolate. Accordingly, in order to acquire competitive advantage, there is a need of combining a number of appeals. Since it is a product in its reintroduction stage, it needs to make sure that customers obtain the best for a subsidized price. In addition, an endorsement from influential people is also extremely valuable in such advertisements. Fun and pleasure is also beneficial in the promotion of the product of consideration. Explaining the pleasures that come with the usage of the product is significant at appealing consumers to use the commodity. However, influential people provide the best appeal. This is because many people adore their idols and believe that they always make the best decisions. Form of media It is not advisable to use one form of media. This is because although a given media might have certain advantages, it may lack values present in another. Accordingly, in the promotion of Dove Milk Chocolate bars, it is essential to use a number of relevant media. For the purpose of achieving geographical flexibility, newspapers are the best option. However, to reach out to the desired demographics magazines will apply. Internet and  television find application at ensuring a narrow target audience and visibility respectively. The internet is fast growing and though it does lack demographic or geographic specification, it is one of the best modes of ensuring low cost fast advertisements. Furthermore, Mars Company already has a website making it easier to promote the commodity on the internet. On the other hand, television ensures that the product becomes visible. Public Relation Functions To achieve product prosperity, there is a need for application of more public relations. Product publicity and lobbying are the best option for a new product. Product publicity ensures that there is a valid word going around and that the product gains favor in the public domain. This is because there are organizations campaigning against the consumption of chocolate. On the other hand, lobbying ensures that the government does not pass strict laws that will hamper prosperity of the product. In this regard, there should be a lobbyist mandated to the task of ensuring that chocolate bars are in excellent terms with the government and policy makers. Furthermore, publicity will play a vital role at ensuring that many people understand the advantages of using this product, as opposed to the many publicized demerits. Public Relations Tools As previously indicated, this product has been experiencing difficulties over the years meaning that many people do not favor its usage. To bridge the gap of this misconception about the product, there is a need for the application of both new product publicity and product placement by the marketers. Application of new-product publicity will be instrumental in explaining to consumers the nutritional benefits of using chocolate bars. Furthermore, placement of products in movies and in other advertisement will boost consumer awareness about its benefits (Jugenheimer, 2010). Movies are especially a larger tool of promoting awareness of a given product. Movies are more likely to find more usage in comparison to advertisements. This is because there are an extraordinarily high number of people watching movies and television programs. Sales Promotion Tools Managers’ objective will be acquiring new customers from already existing entrants. In order to accomplish this, there is a need of explaining product superiority in comparison to those offered by competitors. In addition, there is a need of ensuring that prices do not matter by offering a value added product to consumers at a considerable price. That is, having chocolate bars with nutritional value as opposed to those that are a hazard to consumer’s health. Having a bonus pack is extremely vital at this level in order to persuade consumers that switch brands to be loyal to this product. Bonus packs should vary to attract various customers. This means that there is a need for different discount packs to cater for loyal customers, competitor consumers, and price buyers. Personal Selling The concept of personal selling revolves around personal communication in trying to convince each other to purchase a given product. In its distribution channel, there will be effective personal communication, which will ensure that there is a conviction on the part of the consumer as to the reason of using Dove Milk Chocolate bars. Furthermore, ensuring that the company responds properly to any orders placed for the commodity will ensure an effective personal selling to the advantage of the product. Orders always act as a form of communication between the buyer and the product. Price Strategy Pricing Objectives Any product has to make a profit for its institution (Engelson, 2010). Maximization of profits is a paramount objective of pricing in many if not all corporations. Accordingly, the pricing of this chocolate bars will revolve around making profit. The purpose of this is ensuring that it does balance consumer-investor satisfaction. Given that the commodity has considerable competition, high prices are not the way to go. Accordingly, there is a need of ensuring lower production cost and increasing its sales to maximize profits (Ferrell, 2010). Other Price Determinants In its re-introductory stage, there is the urge to elevate the price but due to the competition evident, this is not an option. After this stage, the  prices will be on the decrease, and this will be due to increase in the number of players selling an alternative to this product (Ferrell, 2010). Given the fact that more competitors are likely to spur an increase in the supply there will be a decrease in prices. Accordingly, the major determinant of the pricing will be competition in the market. However, added value will ensure that there is differentiation of the product (Smith, 2011). Achieving this will ensure that consumers disregard the price factor and negative publicity. Discount Policies There are a number of discounts in application for the commodity. To promote the loyalty of consumers, there will be cumulative quantity discounts awarded. That is, buying in bulk ensures that the customers pay lesser. However, there is also a need of compensating retailers and wholesalers for their services accorded to a given product (Smith, 2011). There is an application of functional discounts on theStrategyproduct. Finally, seasons always experience increased spending by consumers (Engelson, 2010). Accordingly, offering seasonal discounts ensures that consumers remain loyal to Dove Milk Chocolate and price buyers choose the product. References Bo wersox, D, J., Closs D.J., & Cooper, M, B. (2007). Supply chain logistics management. New York: McGraw –Hill Publishing. Christopher, M. (2005). Logistics and supply chain management (3rd ed.). Essex: FT Prentice Hall Publishing. Engelson, M. (2010). Pricing strategy: an interdisciplinary approach. Portland: Joint Management Strategy. Ferrell, O. C. (2010). Marketing Strategy. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Jugenheimer, D. W. (2010). Advertising and Public Relations Research. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Lamb, C. W., Hair, Jr., J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2012). Marketing 5. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Lister, J. (1999-2012). Product Packaging Regulations. Retrieved from www.ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/list_6774882_product-packaging-regulations.html Smith, T. J. (2011). Pricing Strategy: Setting Price Levels, Managing Price Discounts, & Establishing Price Structures. Stamford: Cengage Learning.

Incentive as a Component of Salesman Compensation Structure

Incentives as a Component of Salesman Compensation Structure By Mohit Pandey 11DM-187 Sales Management-Section D What are Incentives? It is defined as a type of additional remuneration either in cash or kind given to an employee as a means of increasing output or as a motivational influence. Why do we need to give incentives? Firstly incentives work as psychological stimulant for a person to perform better. Incentives act like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Secondly, the turnover rate of a salesperson is very high and also the cost of replacing a salesperson is also quite high, approximately around $40-50k.Thus to retain the best talent in the company we need to provide adequate incentives to the sales force. The salesperson spends most of his time out in the field and this makes it quite difficult to monitor him. Incentives act as an automatic monitor to make sure that the salesperson is working towards achieving his sales targets. What are the types of Incentives given to a Salesman? The salesman compensation structure is divided into two parts: Fixed Salary and Variable Salary. In a totally risk-free situation there would be no fixed salary, the salesman compensation would consist only of 100% Commissions.But since the market is never 100% risk-free and also because of longer order-cycles the compensation plan has some amount as Fixed Salary. The types of Incentives are: * Cash: This is most widely given type of incentive. Everyone knows that the major lure in a salesman’s job is the opportunity to earn a lot of money and cash incentives are a major component. Cash incentives can be segregated into two sub-types: * Commissions: It is directly to the sales volume. Example: 5% commission on every T. V sold. It can either be calculated on the profit margin or on the price of the product.Commission are short-term incentives and lead to increase in the sales effort put in by the salesman. * Bonus: It is given if the salesman achieves a desired no. of sales known as sales target/quota. It is calculated on the base pay. It is a medium/long term incentive depending on whether it is given quarterly or annually. * Non-Cash: These are generally not counted as a part of the compensation plan. They are given to motivate the salesman and based on performance in the long term. Non-cash incentives include: * Gift Cards * Merchandise Travel What parameters are used to determine incentives? Generally the ratio of incentives as a percentage of the total compensation decreases as you go up the hierarchical structure. At a salesman level it can go up to 100% of his base pay while at the manager level it can vary from 40-60%. The parameters generally used to determine incentives are: * Total revenue * New revenue * Gross profit * Price realization * Units sold * Select product sales * New products * Outdated products * New accounts * Retained accounts * Account expansion Customer satisfaction * First order * Order volume * Contract commit ment * Key sales objectives or milestones The parameters used should be aligned with the business strategy of the company. For e. g. If a company is launching a new product into the market through the existing sales force, then it doesn’t make sense for the company to not have the sales nos. of the new product sold as playing a part in deciding the incentive level of the salesman. Normally only few parameters should be selected so as to make the compensation plan clear to the salesman.The compensation plan should be as clear to the salesman as possible so that he can easily calculate how much he can earn in that year. The sales target being set should be realistic and achievable. Ideally sales targets should be set after a discussion between the management and the salesperson both. Ideally incentives should not have an upper-cap, this deters the high performers. Even if a company has to set an upper-cap it should be higher than the maximum realistic possible of a salesperson. A few key points that should be kept in mind while setting the parameters for deciding incentives are: * The current market situation (growth or recession). * The product type (B2C or B2B) * The sales order cycle (long or short) * The business strategy ( Increase market penetration or may increase sales of a high margin product or launch of a new product) How much incentive to offer and to whom? The percentage amount of incentive offered to the sales force should not be equal across the board. The high performers must be rewarded for their performance, while the low performers need to be encouraged to perform better.The better the performance the higher should be the incentive level. Also in case of team selling the incentive has to be distributed proportionately amongst the team. It should not be the case wherein the laggards piggyback on the star performers and get the same level of incentive. Additionally a proper framework has to be devised on a company-to-company basis to decid e the distribution of incentive for a product sold amongst the team members so as to control costs and avoid giving multiple incentives for the same product to multiple persons involved in the sale.The incentives offered should be mix of both short and long term incentives i. e. commissions, bonus, non-cash rewards, etc. This is to ensure that the motivation level of the salesperson is up throughout the year and does not peak at certain periods. The level of incentive payout should be adequate neither too little so as to discourage the salesperson nor too much as it will increase costs and lower profits and also lower the morale of the non-sales staff. Conclusion:Hence we can conclude that incentives as a component of a salesman compensation structure is highly important. Following is a generic framework which can be used to decide an incentive plan: * The plan should be clear and well understood by the sales force. * Decide the level of incentive i. e. the percentage to be given an d how much and to whom, based on the performance level. * Determine criteria for giving incentives based on a proper analysis of the factors stated above in the report. Keep as less parameters as possible. Keep the sales target level competitive yet achievable. * The level of incentive should be adequate i. e. comparable to the competitor but neither too low nor too high. * Determine the periodicity of incentive payout. * The incentive payout should be based at proper intervals during the year. Sales contests and non-cash rewards are a good way to achieve this. * The plan should be flexible. Ideally make multiple plans and offer it to the sales person so that he can choose which one suits him best. Bibliography: Restoring Balance to Sales CompensationHead, Robert G. Sales and Marketing Management144. 9 (Aug 1992): 48. Readers' report: How we use incentives Donath, Bob. Sales and Marketing Management145. 6 (Jun 1993): 34. Talking money Anonymous. Sales and Marketing Management149. 12 (Nov 1997): 64-70. May the Sales Force Be with You Ladd, Scott. HRMagazine55. 9 (Sep 2010): 105-107. Reframing salesforce compensation systems: An agency theory-based performance management perspective Bartol, Kathryn M. The Journal of Personal Selling ; Sales Management19. 3 (Summer 1999): 1-16.