Busines Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Busines Strategy - Essay Example Strategy Safari presents ten schools of thought which according to Mintzberg are classified into two broader areas of Descriptive schools as well as Perspective schools. Under these two broader areas, there are ten different categorization of the various schools of thoughts. Perspective schools of thoughts are those which consider that the companies based on their assessment of their current situation and resources attempt to formulate strategies whereas under descriptive schools of thoughts, organizations tend to take a historical view of the events which has caused the companies to reach at their present status and position. The ten schools of thoughts than are discussed according to their individual characteristics as well as assumptions in order to accurately define the respective schools of thoughts. This essay will attempt to critically analyse the underlying assumptions, perspectives as well as the paradigm stance of the Design School of Thought as discussed in Strategy Safari by Henry Mintzberg. Before discussing the design school of thought, it is of great importance that we must first attempt to initiate a debate on the concepts of resources and capabilities and how both the concepts have been utilized in the literature and their link with the design school of thought. Apparently, the strategies... Outside In perspective of the strategy formulation look at the market and the external situations as the major influence over the strategy making process within the organization and is largely opportunity driven while working on Positioning approach. This approach also allows firms to be more responsive to the changes taking place outside and convert them into opportunities. However continuous repositioning by the firms may keep their focus away from their distinctive competencies. However on the other hand, the inside out perspective of strategy formulation tend to take into account the resources of the firms and not the market as the chief source of strategy making within the organization. The focus of this approach has been on resources and capabilities of the firm and not on the external forces such as market. This approach is basically strength driven based on the internal capabilities of the firm with more emphasis on delivering and achieving more internal competencies. This approach also allows the firm to tap the opportunities in much better way as compared to the firms working on the basis of outside in perspective. The inside out perspective is what the key perspective of design school of thought is basically. Design School of Thought In its essence, Design school of thought see strategy as a conceptual process. It attempts to match the internal resources of the firm to the external environment in order to find a best strategic fit between the organisational resources and organisational strategies. The historical roots of this school of thought can be traced to the Harvard Business School as it appeared in the work of Selznick in 1957 when he first coined the word of

Cruise Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Cruise Industry - Essay Example This therefore, divides the market into different influential spheres. The fragmented industry allows all its players to create niches and the market shares where each one of them can work in, unlike in the consolidated industry where there little or no niches for the small players (Enz' 514). Q.2 In the cruise industry the cruising market is a single and segmented entity where products are differentiated mostly by the preferences of consumers and the assumption is that there is an increase in the overall sustainability and completion. Therefore, the cruise industry can be characterized as an oligopoly. The market structure of the Cruise industry is noticeable by the fact that there are few large firms such as the Carnival Corporation, which dominate this market, which all offer identical services that have a significant barrier when making entries in this industry. The cruising industry is widespread in the world and diverse in all ways. It dominates most of the modern landscape tod ay and the economics. Each of the firms in the cruising industry keep a close eye on what other firms in the industry are doing. Thus, a firm’s success in the cruising world is not entirely dependent as a sole entity. The cruising industry can also be classified under the oligopoly as the prices are mostly rigid and competition is not involved through the change in prices. Q.3 Carnival Corp brands are the most recognizable in United Kingdom, North America, among other states. The brands offer numerous customer base products which are highly based on customer cultures, languages and other preferences. Numerous brands that are operated by Carnival Corp usually have synergies (Enz' 516). A synergy is a merger of two or more firms and produces an effect. For example, if one of Carnival Corp’s brands has excellent services and products but has poor distribution channels, and the other brand has an excellent channel of distribution but offers poor services and products, the two could form a synergy and benefit from each other. The firm’s brands range from the carnival cruise lines, Cunard line, Princess Cruises and the Holland American Line. A combination of these brands forms a synergy that is usually more than the sum of the sum value of these brands. Forward-looking statements of Carnival’s annual costs savings can be identified through the estimates made on synergies and the cost of time that is taken to implement the synergies in the brands. Q. 4. Brand strategy: The existing customer information can influence the brand strategies at Carnival Corps in the future by increasing the firm’s profitability and stock price. Customer information promotes the use of effective brand strategies for up-coming organizations. More information influencing the brand strategies is a guarantee of the future ability of Carnival Corp to compete strongly in this competitive market. Additionally, there is a guarantee that the firm will not introduc e any defective products to its customers, thereby reducing the risk of making of future losses. Information from the customers predicts on the firm’s future performance and increases the chances of the firm identifying its faults. Information from regular customers who have cruised in the same routes may remind Carnival Corps that they have to provide new port destinations and products (Enz' 516). Q. 5.Carnival’s existing customer perceptions of its brands: Carnival

Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay

Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay Procter and Gamble is a global multinational company, headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio Proctor and Gamble Wikipedia 2012. It manufactures through internal and third party manufacturers (3PM) consumer packaged goods in the following six segments (Beauty, Grooming, Healthcare, Pet Care, Fabric and home care, Baby family care) as per its 2011 Annual report. Closely linked to its current product portfolio of products, PGs vision is: Be, and be recognized as, the best consumer products and services company in the world whereas its mission statement is: We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper. (PG Annual Report) It was not only until 2011 that the Pringles brand was under the PG umbrella. PG sells a myriad of products with multiple segments, target consumers and specific positioning. It is so mind boggling that it could range from a Duracell battery to SKII a premium skin care product manufactured in Japan. In Australia, a bottle of 75ml facial treatment essence- one of its more popular SKUs sells for AUD100. The beauty segment offers cosmetics, female antiperspirant and deodorant, female personal cleansing, female shave care, hair care, hair color, hair styling, pharmacy channel, prestige products, salon professional, and skin care products. The Grooming segment provides electronic hair removal devices, home small appliances, male blades and razors, and male personal care. The Health Care segment comprises feminine care, gastrointestinal, incontinence, rapid diagnostics, respiratory, toothbrush, toothpaste, water filtration, and other oral care. The Pet Care segment offers pet care products. The Fabric Care and Home Care segment includes laundry additives, air care, batteries, dish care, fabric enhancers, laundry detergents, and surface care products. The Baby Care and Family Care segment consists of baby wipes, diapers, paper towels, tissues, and toilet papers products. (PG Profile, Yahoo! Finance) PGs vision of the best consumer products and services company in the world seems realistic and attainable as its consistently ranked as one of the as one of the Most Admired Companies in the Fortune ranking (CNN Money, World most admired companies); earning top spot in the consumer products industry and No 9 overall on the 2012 list. Over the recent years, PG has consistently earned the top spot within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry while ranking in the top 10 of the overall list. Whereas PGs mission statement is in tandem with its actions as its currently the CPG in the world based on sales revenues; and continues to strive for sustainability in its business actions. It is currently the worlds largest producer of household and personal products by revenue standing at USD82billion for 2011. PGs products reach 4 billion people worldwide and have 22 brands with over USD1billion in annual sales with another 19 brands generating over USD500 million in sales. The USD1billion brands include Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Pantene, Bounty, Oral B etc. With marketing spend of nearly $10 billion a year on TV, print and online advertising, PG is the worlds largest marketer. (PG ad spending hits $9.3 billion, Marketwatch 2012) However, the company has recently discovered the benefits of cost effective social and digital media and is gradually gaining traction in that arena which is mostly they believe was more cost effective and equally efficient as compared to traditional media. In the competitive Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, PGs brands are important to the company. It has spent a great deal of time and money to establish its brand image by developing superior products through extensive Research Development (RD), innovative packaging, ensuring its on shelf availability and backing it with engaging integrated marketing communications and reliable service. However, the company seems to suffer from the fame of its company rather than its brands as compared to say its close competitor Unilever. Many people do not know of the company Unilever but have heard of its brands like Lipton, Magnum, Dove, Knorr etc. Whereas for PG, many people have strong associations and recognition of the company but when you ask people to mention its billion dollar brands, people normal stumble over that. Because of the competitive landscape, PG is takes the initiative to reach out to the voice of the consumer through multiple consumer insight activities. They have realized that at the heart of their success will be a successful marketing strategy. PGs products are based on a sound understanding of who their customers are. This of course doesnt imply that the company manufactures products to meet the whims and fancies of every consumer. However, PG aggressively exploits opportunities in the market to their advantage and are continuously vigilant in the monitoring of those opportunities. Customer knowledge is thus important to PG which studies both end consumers and trade partners through continuous market research and intelligence gathering. As proof of their commitment, PG currently spends more than $100 million no small change on over 10,000 formal consumer research projects annually and generates more than 3 million consumer contacts via its email and phone center. It also emphas izes getting its marketers and researchers out into the field, where they can interact with consumers and retailers face to face in their natural environment. (PG kisses up to the boss, Advertising Age) PGs market oriented strategy continues to play a vital role in the company with the economic downturn and the onslaught of private label brands and consumers increasing demanding low price and good quality products. At this moment, PG brands still dominate the premium end of most of the categories in which they compete in and while their aspirational qualities resonate with consumers, PG will have to stay at the top of the game in the fickle consumer goods market. Issue 2: PGs leading market position (Top 3) in almost all its categories provides it with significant competitive advantage. However, with the economic slowdown and consumers starting to penny pinch, it is increasing difficult for branded product manufacturers like PG to maintain their sales volume and revenue growth while preventing discounting which dilutes brand image. Looking at the SWOT Analysis (Datamonitor), we can identify the current PG position: Strengths Strong RD and innovation culture. Spends more than twice on RD compared to its nearest rival Unilever. Leading market position in most categories Diversified Product Portfolio Strong brand portfolio- 24 USD1 billion brands. Weaknesses Increasing instance of product recall thus implication of poorer manufacturing quality Dependant on Walmart and few other major retailers for majority of its revenues Too many products, easily to get overextended, fight for capital amongst brands Opportunities Expansion in developing and emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India China(BRIC) Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey(MIST) Future growth plans and new segments Threats Regulatory environment Slowing global economic conditions Raw material cyclical prices Counterfeit goods or rip offs of innovation by Chinese manufacturers Other competitors like Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Essentially PG is its own competitor. Its strength of having such a diversified product portfolio is also its weakness because with so many products, its easy for PG management to get distracted, what more so its consumers who might be confused with too many choices. One of its main weaknesses is over-reliance on Walmart for majority of revenues. To increase distribution choices, PG could consider selling via its own website considering the popularity of ecommerce. Although, since this is not its core competency, it might not be a feasible strategy with some market research and feasibility studies. Its main external threats are controlling its cost base and also stiff competition between other FMCG giants. To control cyclical raw material prices, PG could work out long term deals with raw material prices and it needs to focus on improving its value proposition to its customers to prevent price wars. Customers: PGs customer base is unique. Because not only would PGs customers include those in the modern and traditional trade. They also encompass the end consumers both you and me. Modern trade refers to retailing at large format stores whereas general trade refers to retailing at the thousands of independent retail, wholesale and mom and pop stores. Some examples of its customer would include Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco who are more prevalent and dominant in the developed world. Whereas, the smaller mom and pop stores are the distribution channels of choice in developing economies like India or Mexico where consumers buy sachets worth a few cents with higher frequency than a large retail store. PGs biggest customer is Walmart, contributing more than 16% or revenue in 2011 down from 20% in the early 2000s.(Wikinvest) In this case, customer power with Walmart is very strong and PG normally has to concede to Walmarts request for certain promotions or price discounts. At this moment, PG has not yet discovered any alternative to Walmart and might have to yield to their demands. On the other hand, PG could use this to their advantage, using the judo move and utilizing the clout of Walmart and sell more products with sustainable profits. In terms of end consumers, end consumers are fickle and are subjected to Moments of Truth. The best known is the First moment of Truth (FMOT), coined by PG where in just 3-7 seconds, a shopper encounters a product on the store shelf and decides in those short moments whether to buy it. If the consumer does not find the product, she moves on to a competitors product. There is basically little consumer loyalty when it comes to soap and shampoo. The Second Moment of Truth (SMOT), is the moment when a consumer uses the product and is another powerful marketing opportunity but it is harder for the manufacturer to control because this is when the consumer uses the Pantene shampoo and decides whether she likes the texture, smell or after results of the shampoo. Then it progresses to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) where consumers are going online using blogs, facebook or twitter to find inspiration for their own looks and get tips and tricks from experts or take cues from a favorite celebrity. Because of this progression and the influence of the internet of consumer behaviors, PG has started to re-evaluate the brands true FMOT and is looking to shift to focus on the notion of store back which means that ad agencies need to start formulating ideas at the retail store, working backwards to outside the store. This also means that marketers need work on their pull marketing strategies which gets demand forecast from consumers, not only the traditional push strategies and find ways to match the two. PG puts on its priority list the importance that the end consumer always has a consistent and positive experience from ZMOT to point of purchase and beyond, and has strived to get in front of the consumer with the right brand message upstream in the process of discovery and to continue staying there. Collaborators: PG has many collaborators. They would include direct and indirect material vendors like: raw material suppliers, advertising agencies, marketing research firms, independent product testing laboratories, logistics partners, communication companies, banks and financial institutions, travel agencies and hotels etc. Of special mention would be its supply chain partners which would include warehousing, transportation, software providers and carriers as PG has one of the worlds best supply chain. In the 2012 survey, it placed in the Top 5 just behind Apple, Amazon, McDonalds and Dell. PG has showcased its ability to make efficient decisions across the supply network. It is a consistent challenge to ensure the right forecast demand and that shelves are filled, but PG has managed to find the right balance. With its best in class, open innovation platform, combined with an impressive new product operational capability that synchronized with its clockwork run supply chain, it taps a deep well of understanding its consumers, aligning to their ZMOT and FMOT, to continue to deliver new products on time and on demand. (The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 2012) In order for all cogs to move in sync, PG has to maintain a win-win partnership with its collaborators to create sustainable competitive advantages. Competitors: Due to PGs diverse product range, there is no one for one direct competitor with this behemoth. Some of PGs competitors include other FMCG multinationals like Unilever, Clorox, Kimberly Clark, Johnson Johnson (consumer division) and also Japanese FMCG companies like Kao, Lion etc. It faces strong competition from its competitors and has to constantly innovate, cut cost to maintain its position as the market leader. Its closest competitor would be the Anglo Dutch company Unilever but even then, Unilevers sales revenue is only half of PGs. PG also possess a higher operating margin than its competitors at 20.3% versus Unilever at 14.8% in the year 2010. Although PG has many competitors, it has established itself as a market leader and is thus well positioned to ward off competition or make necessary acquisitions of smaller companies. Its last notable acquisition was in 2005 of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company in the world and placing Unilever in second place. This added brands such as Gillette, Duracell, Braun and Oral B to their stable. Therefore, for new start ups to the consumer goods industry, they would find the barriers to entry pretty high. Whereas for the existing competitors like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, they have to continue to play the catch up game, in terms of market share. Context: A PESTLE analysis will be conducted to examine the current situation for PG in the global market. Political: With local operations in more than a hundred countries, based in different time zones and continents, PG has to manage the complexity of different political regimes, rules and regulations and political trends influencing its business operations. On one hand, PG has to adapt and thrive to the changing political pressures in different nations, yet on the other hand, due to its scale and size, it plays integral roles to cooperate and affect local government policy with its clout and manufacturing size. Therefore, It has considerable clout due to its ability to move and shift hundreds of jobs out of a country. Economic: The world economy is having shorter cyclical patterns and PG is seeing market share stagnant or decline in the developed areas like US and Europe. However, world demand is forecasted to grow in the next few years due to growing populations and development of economies in the developing continents like Latin America and Asia. Due to the different nuances and different cultural and consumer habits, PG has to be attuned to the changes in order to continue to grow and thrive and it must take note that developments in the different markets and nations will cause an uneven growth situation in different regions. It might thus have to focus its marketing firepower on previously neglected upon nations. Social: PG has to place great attention and importance to the different social norms when expanding overseas due to various cultural backgrounds in different market in order not to step on any taboo landmines. For instance, due to the changing masculinity trends, we have the advent of the metrosexual and the demand for men grooming is seen as a growth area for the FMCG market. Or for example, due to the increasing drive towards being socially responsible, PG needs to source its raw materials like tomatoes or palm oil from sustainable sources or face wrath from watchdogs like Greenpeace of other tree huggers. Because of this sustainability trend, PG has committed to developing USD50billion worth of products that have a sustainable impact. Technological: As the overall market of fast moving consumer products is very large and diversified, PG has invested significantly to gain technological advantage in order to maintain and expand its market position. As a result, technology investment in product formulation, packaging, product design is heavy and development is fast. PG has its own RD function reporting directly to the CEO and based on 2010 numbers; PG invested nearly USD2billion in RD up from USD1.95 billion in 2008. Legal: PG has to obey and comply with different legal and tax requirements on its products, manufacturing process and business operations. With the rising prices in commodities, FMCG companies would like to raise prices but are contained by certain price ceilings by governments and thus PG has to battle with price ceilings yet remain profitable. For example, it tried to raise prices but suffered mandated price cuts in Venezuela and import curbs in Argentina. Ethical: Because personal products are daily essentials, the quality and safety of the products are extremely important for the brands. Any scandals or rumors about the product can lead to significant and unconceivable damage on the image. For eg the recall in 2011 for their Oral B products due to Microbial contamination in Canada, China, Chile, Columbia and Mexico caused dissatisfaction amongst consumers in the way that it was handled where in China consumers who wanted a refund had to send the empty product bottles, receipt and a copy of their bank account passbooks to the companys Guangzhou office which caused ire amongst the consumers as it was unreasonable for consumers to keep the bottle after they consumed the mouth wash. Issue 3: PGs former CEO A.G Lafley who retired in 2010 coined a strong and simple message that the Consumer is Boss and PG followed his mantra and tried to get the true opinion of its consumers with the belief that the closer they get to the customers, the better it was for them. (Innovation Machine PG: 1 Billion $ for Consumer Insights. 2012.) PG spends more than USD400 million annual in external consumer insight activities. In those activities, they touch base with more than 5 million consumers spanning 100 countries. They also conduct over 20,000 individual research studies every year, all this time and money spent is to understand the consumer a little bit more better to better identify opportunities for segmentation, product innovation and how to create a better overall service delivery to the consumers. (PG.com Core strengths) Apart from external sources, one famous platform that is created in-house by PG is TREMORà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ in 2001 under which it created the website www.vocalpoint.com which is a website for a community of mums to share knowledge and exchange opinions. Tremor is the word of mouth marketing organization developed by Procter Gamble that combines PGs wide-ranging marketing expertise with key learnings from cognitive science. (Tremor) It was founded for a dual purpose: market research tool and Word of mouth (WOM) advertisement. On vocalpoint, it connects about 600,000 mothers and these mothers have an average of 25-30 touchpoints with other women as compared to 5 for a usual mom. They share product information with other mums and this is key for PG as most household products are purchased by mothers or women in the household. They get samples and coupons to create a network effect. However, social media has changed the way in which companies gather information through traditional streams as consumers move to a digital age. It now gathers information about consumers through digital means like Facebook, twitter, launching apps that can be used on Smartphones etc and requires on website traffic and analytics to spot the next trend. In terms of competitor intelligence, PG definitely closely monitors its competitors through various online sources and probably outsources this research to external companies. In turn, this information is shared through the intranet about competitor intelligence and updates employees on what their competitors are up to. As there is no public information on this, I am assuming PG does the same if not more based on my work experience in Unilever. Competitors that currently represent a threat to PG would be Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Clorox etc. The strategic group that PG is in would be the branded consumer goods section. However, PG isnt a direct competitor across all segments some of its competitors like Unilever still has a large portion of its revenue from its Food, tea and beverage business. Whereas Johnson Johnson not only consumer goods, but is also strong in medical and pharmaceutical industries. Its closest competitor in terms of direct product to product lineup in the household products market might be Colgate Palmolive. At this moment, PG is probably its own worst enemy. But in terms of its closest competitors that represent a treat, I would think that Unilever, Colgate Palmolive are two or its nearest competitors. One point to raise is the threat of private labels brands from supermarkets themselves. This is starting to be a threat especially during the economic recession when consumers dont differentiate between Shampoo Brand X and Shampoo Brand Y in terms of its value (reduces hair frizz) but on price alone. The in store brands by supermarkets like Coles or Woolworths compete in the same product category but obviously can afford to sell them at a lower entry price but higher profit margin. In order to mitigate this threat, PG has to spend more on branding and innovation to hopefully induce the willingness to pay for its products. The context of the FMCG industry is always dynamic. However, even though PG can probably use market research to stay abreast of latest developments, due to its size, it might not have the flexibility to react quickly to changes. It is clear in terms of the shift in power of the world economy; USA is the superpower of the past whereas Asia is the new superpower. With its headquarters still in Cincinnati Ohio, that in a sense is a constraint for PG as it is away from the business centers, away from the growth in the developing countries. PG needs the help of its collaborators to move to the next level as they are all part of the value chain activities. For example, it would needs its global logistics providers to ensure on time shelf delivery at competitive cost, it would need the 3PM to produce quality and competitively priced products, ad agencies to produce quality and engaging ads etc. In order to select the best collaborators, PG has balanced scorecards in terms of environmental sustainability to maintain its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint Issue 4: As one of the leaders in marketing, PG has spared no efforts in its marketing segmentation. For its paper products like tissues and toilet paper, it has household brands like Charmin, Puffs, Royale and Bounty. For its shampoo segment, it has famous brands like Head Shoulders, Vidal Sasson, Pert Plus, Ivory and Pantene, supposedly sufficient to cater to a wide range of hair: oily, dry, dandruff, coloured, split ends etc. For the laundry segment, one of its cash cows has in itself 8 brands for sale in the United States. This would include Ivory Snow, Dreft, Oxydol, era, Gain, Bold, Cheer and its crown Jewel Tide. Because PG also is based worldwide, it has many different specially created brands in each category to cater to different international markets. In Latin America, it sells 16 laundry product brands whereas in its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) geographic segment, it has a whopping 19 different brands for choice. PGs marketing strategy has clearly shifted from mass market to target marketing. It is aware that consumers have different needs through its elaborate consumer research, it has been trying to develop a product for every type of need a consumer has, it seems that PG is trying to have a race with itself to develop new products for any kind of customer. We can understand the motivation as PG wants to use its economies of scale and brand name to push out its products and expand market share to new and existing loyal customers. With the enormous number of brands in PG, we would imagine that each brand manager is trying to fight for publicity and capital for its brand. It is merely a hypothetical question, but could the multitude of brands be more of an internal fight for importance rather than actually meeting consumer needs? However, clearly PG positions itself in the premium section of the FMCG market. Its products like Pantene, Vidal Sasson can command higher prices than a lower end shampoo brand like Sunsilk from Unilever. As mentioned, the multitude of brands is both the strength and weakness for PG. For one, the same laundry products for example will be competing with each other for limited and precious supermarket shelf positioning and space. The fact that PG introduces several brands in one category might be economies of scale but could also crowd out the market. It could perhaps concentrate its resources on a handful of main brands and focus their targeting on specific customer segments instead of spreading itself too thinly. Because of the multitude of PGs categories, we will just examine in detail its laundry brands in US. In order to breakdown laundry segments, PG first has to look at the job to be done segmentation. It did research and probably thought that apart from using detergents to get clean clothes, people also want other things from detergent. For example, mothers might want cheap detergent because with a family of three kids, there would be many dirty clothes and washing cycles to do in a week. Thus, they would want detergent that is economical and powerful to get rid of dirt stains. On the same demographics of mothers, you get mothers with babies, and they would want detergents with less (zero) chemicals catered to the sensitive skin of babies. On the other spectrum, you might have some working professionals or yuppies who have a higher willingness to pay and value detergents that had a nice fresh smell and are sustainable for the environment. Thus, it is no surprise that PG has launched 8 b rands in the US to cater to all the individual niches of customers. A quick check on www.walmart.com (Appedix A) and entering in the word Tide prompts 65 hits on the detergent in the household essentials segment. The fact is that Tide comes in three forms: liquid, powder, pod forms. It also comes in many shapes, scents and sizes. This results in a minimum of 65 SKUS for just one laundry brand. By segmenting the market for laundry across multiple detergent brands, PG seems to have covered all bases for consumer laundry needs and wants. As a result, PG is the unrivalled leader in the USD7billion US laundry detergent market. Tide alone is the market leader with a respectable 38% market share. When we combine all eight of PG laundry brands, it comes up to a 60% share of the market-2.5 times that of nearest rival Unilever and much more than any single brand could obtain by itself. However, does this mean that market share is due to the fact that PG has that many brands and is successful in its segmentation activities or is it because of the overall value proposition PGs detergents provide to its consumers. Could PG attain its market share of 60% by optimizing the number of SKUs by half? PG recognizes that they cannot appeal to all buyers in the marketplace or at least not to all buyers in the same way. Buyers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practices. Moreover, PG itself varies widely in its abilities to serve different segments of the market. Rather than trying to compete in an entire market, sometimes against superior competitors, PG has identified the parts of the market that it can serve best and most profitably. Thus, PG is being more selective about the consumers that they wish to capture and retain. It has been a clear leader in moving from mass marketing, toward market segmentation and targeting-successfully identifying market segments after stringent market research and studies, selecting one or more of them, and developing products and marketing programs individually tailored to the specific niche. PG clearly believes the rifle approach is more effective rather than the shotgun approach. It has achieved previous success based on this approach, but would this strategy continue to work for the fickle and fussy FMCG market? It should however be noted that Apple -one of the best marketers of technology thinks differently, with the iphone is still managed as a mass marketing concept. Issue 5: PGs reputation as being the best in marketing is indisputable. They are known to be at least 5 years ahead of competitors in terms of how they go to market. They continuously train and invest in their employees at the beginning of their careers and like to promote from within. They spend enormous amounts of money training their people to become world class marketers and many of their people leave PG to lead other companies as their Chief Marketing Officer. PG clearly puts the consumer first. As such, their marketing strategy is based on deep consumer insights. This might mean their advertising probably wont be the most creative, but they will capture revenue and market share. This however, might prove to be a stumbling block with the changing demographics in the developing world. PGs marketing orientation makes business sense strategically. With a market orientation and micro marketing approach, PG can adapt to the 4Ps. In terms of Price, PGs premium pricing has shown that it can be moved with lower prices for the more cost sensitive developing countries. In terms of product categories, it competes in 35 product categories in US but only present in an average of 19 product categories globally. Therefore, PG is focusing on the launching more product categories in more countries, targeting expansion of the global average to presence in 24 product categories by 2014-15. With regards to place, PG currently distributes broadly through four channels: 1) supermarkets mass volume retail, 2) mom pop stores which are still prevalent in the third world countries especially when shops are inaccessible, 3) wholesale and 4) modern retail stores. As part of new channel strategy, PG also is focusing on expansion in the international pharmacy and e-commerce channels. This s hall contribute to PG products being available at more outlets. (PGs market share strategy set to pay off- Seeking Alpha) The PG brand plays a huge role in its marketing strategy as its one of the most recognized brands in the world. The PG brand is synonymous with premium pricing and quality. With the shift in the demographics, PG would need to shift to developing countries and the younger age segmentation. In terms of developing countries, it would be right on the ball to focus on India and China. At this moment, PG is definitely behind the curve for India as Hindustan Unilever is the clear leader in the CPG industry, however, PG does better in terms of brand penetration in China. The positioning in China is also very different as compared to India

Animal behavior :: essays research papers

The study of animal behavior is Ethology. A large part of the studies have been conducted by Lonrenz and Niko Tinbergen who wanted to find out how animals saw the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example, fishes. The male will protect its territory. They will become aggressive when they see the red belly of another fish. This reaction is innate or instinctive, it is automatic. An experiment was performed by placing a large red sheet of paper in the tank. This made the male fish aggressive. This aggressiveness is what will make the male more â€Å"fit† in order provide more sperm to the females. The red was the releaser/sign stimuli in this case.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you take a chick for example, its mother will respond to sound instead of sight. When a chick is distressed and is placed in a sound proof container, the mother will not respond. However, when there is a physical barrier but not sound proof, the mother will respond to the chick’s cries. The releaser/sign stimulus is sound in this case. A bee will never see a white flower but instead it will see the â€Å"target’, which is the pollen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pheromones are not hormones. They are chemicals that are released outside of the animal, and have a scent that will give an effect. Therefore, pheromones can also be releaser/sign stimuli as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a gull has captured a plentiful supply of fish in its neck, the baby will peck at its mother so the fish will be released for them to feed on. The baby gulls will respond to the back and forth swinging and the red dot on the mother’s beak.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When a releaser leads directly to behavior it is called a fix-action pattern. If an egg rolls out of a nest the mother will immediately try and recollect it. But if the egg is taken away the mother will still do it. This shows that once the switch is turned on it will continue. Fix action patterns can be learned by humans, and will soon become autonomic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Usually hormones and timing will motivate animals and drive their behavior; timing through biological clocks, the animals circadium rhythms (approx 24hrs). This circadium rhythm may be altered by changing the animal’s environment. If a squirrel is put into the dark and exposed to artificial light, its cycle may shift. Each cell has a biological clock, which means each organ as well as the individual animal has one.

Nursing During Civil War Essay

The American Civil War occurred between 1861 and 1865. When the war began, there was no organized medical corps for either the Union Army or the Confederate Army. Up until then, nursing was still considered a â€Å"loose term† as far what a nurse is and does. There were no official nursing schools or professional trained nurses available. As newspapers wrote about the poor and unsanitary conditions that wounded solider were subjected to, hundreds of women volunteered to help provide assistance to the wound solders (Egenes). Make-shift hospital and clinics were created on the battlefield to care for the wounded. As a result of having no organized medical corps in the army, conditions at most of the hospitals were poor. More soldiers during this time died of complications other than battlefield wounds such as dysentery, small pox, and pneumonia. (Son of the South). Hospitals were overcrowded and nurses lacked adequate quality of food and water, clean clothing, sanitation equipment, and other medication supplies to properly provide care for the injured. Because of this, hospitals were breeding grounds for disease and death. During this time, army physicians did not favor female volunteer nurses, believing female nurses were inexperienced and disorganized. Several woman help elevate the status of nurses during the Civil War and on. One woman that did just that was Dorothea Dix. Dix was a school teacher that was appointed as the Superintendent of Army Nursing for the Union Army. Through her position she was able to help organized medical efforts, set standards for military nurses, and to lobby for medical supplies for the Union Army. Another woman that had an impact on nursing was Clara Burton, also known as â€Å"Angel of the Battlefield. After her father died, she began to collect supplies and provide care to the wounded at the front lines. As word around the army grew about her compassion and care, Burton began getting support for her cause and the nursing cause as a whole. After the war, she continued her efforts in nursing and eventually inaugurated a movement to gain recognition for the International Committee of the Red Cross by the United States government (Epler).

How do Hardy and Wordsworth explore The theme of Nature and Childhood? Essay

Nature is beautiful. This is views of people in the 18th century. Nature was loved and appreciated back in time, true life based poems were written about it, two of them were Thomas hardy & William Wordsworth. These two poets were in love with nature not only did they write about it they fell in deep love with nature that they expressed their feelings within their poetry to the world. There is a quote in Hardy’s poem â€Å"I could live on thus till end†, point is that he could live with/sacrifice all his life for nature, just like a man sacrifices his life to women when he takes a marriage vow quote is â€Å"until death do us part† this shows the personification from nature to a human being Whereas Wordsworth has a different way of expressing his feelings which is describing nature with obsession such as â€Å"Small circles glittering idly in the moon,† Hardy’s poem ‘Childhood among ferns’ shows six different sides to nature which are: Beauty (â€Å"ferns spread out luxuriantly†), power (â€Å"The rain gained strength†); it acts like a: parent (â€Å"tall ferns sheltered me†) and friend (â€Å"brought forth a sweet breath†), and also he is at one with nature. William and hardy use a wide range of punctuation and description for effect and also for description of their wonderful nature. This is a very strong quote showing the beautiful side of nature â€Å"The sun then burst, and brought forth a sweet breath†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this quote is a personification of a human breathing and usually its friends that are sweet to you so it is also showing 2 faces to nature the other side is power â€Å"burst† this is a very strong word to use to explain the power of nature which gives a dramatic effect clearly shown to the reader as in Wordsworth poem he also shows the power of nature in his words â€Å"with voluntary power instinct† as if using a lot of its own power is sounds like a lot of power is being used by nature on its own. Childhood is also exposed by both poets but in individual ways such a Hardy wishes to go back to his childhood whereas William just has memories on his childhood â€Å"A schoolboy traveller at the holidays† and Hardy’s quote showing the point is â€Å"making pretence I was not rained upon†. This is showing Hardy’s childish acts for example when a child is having fun in the rain he does not want to go in the house just the same Thomas is pretending that there is no rain because he is refusing to take cover. In the prelude the childish act that the schoolboy does is he finds a boat on his way and immediately starts to own the boat and call it his possession. â€Å"A skiff that to a willow tree was tied within a rocky cave, its usual home†¦discovered thus by unexpected chance,† and soon after â€Å"my little boat mov’d on†. The personification used in ‘The Prelude’ is the boat which he says â€Å"surely I was led by her†, the her is the boat and it also shows the relationship of nature, well usually at one glance her could be a mother which usually would be first thoughts, because a boy is usually only led one women; his mother. After Thomas Hardy expresses his feelings at the end he also wants to stay in his childhood and live with nature for the rest of his living life â€Å"Why should I have to grow to man’s estate, And this afar-noises World perambulate?†. This quote shapes the writer telling us that he still hasn’t left his childhood he wants old memories back and he still has as much love for nature as he did as a child. Thomas also ha a view that he is at one with nature, the last side of nature where quoted â€Å"I sat on† which also compare William Wordsworth where he is also at one with nature when â€Å"went heaving through the water like a swan†. William calls himself a swan, the way he pushed his boat with difficulty through the water on his journey.