Thus, product development processes, sales terms and marketing programs, human resource policies and procedures, and accounting systems have to be examined in order to insure that they do not contain elements that contradict the Lean strategy” (Fiume, 2002). He goes on to focus on the role of the accountants and accounting systems, stressing that they “tend to be the most significant barrier to successfully implementing Lean” (Fiume). One of these barriers, according to Bruce Baggaley in his discussion paper regarding Lean and Lean Accounting, is that standard cost accounting principles are actually at odds with what Lean is trying to achieve. He states that standard cost accounting’s measurements motivate behaviors that are harmful to lean, “…and it does not provide reliable cost information for decision-making in a lean environment” (Baggaley, 2003). The reason Baggaley states
A Mission statement is defined by Peter and Donnelly in their Marketing Management textbook as, the statement or purpose, of an organization as the description of its reason for existence. “It is the long-run version of what the organization strives to be, the unique aim that differentiates the organization from similar ones, and the means by which this differentiation will take place” (p8). Many organizations can share similar mission statements. Indeed, it is a safe assumption to say that every organization intends to maximize the customer experience through a professional climate and quality performance. This generic phrasing, however, does not aid in the differentiation.
This case studies the difficulties that country managers confronted while trying to establish central direction over international / Pan European product development, positioning, and sales. It documents the rollout of a new spread alternative, "Krona", and how its strategy failed to balance cross country cultural differences and product perceptions, as well as biases of Unilever country managers. At the time of the case, Unilever was anxious to centralize management to improve its economies of scale, leveraging fixed investments in brands, new product development and manufacturing capabilities. It positioned itself to maintain a centralized management model while not sacrificing their core strength of local responsiveness. The new organization forced country managers to be concerned with diversity of other countries' tastes and needs in developing and marketing of new products.
• Explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. • Describe the elements of the marketing mix. • Explain the importance of the marketing mix in the development of marketing strategy and tactics. • Create a marketing plan. • Identify quantifiable elements that can be used to evaluate, monitor, and control marketing effectiveness.
The problem to be investigated is the relationship between leadership, ethical stewardship and trustworthiness in corporate organizations. The relationship of the three elements is based on the culture of the organization. Since global market is very competitive, organizations depend on employees’ creativity, commitment and ability to make advancement (Caldwell, Hayes & Long, 2010). According to Caldwell, Hayes & Long (2010), “the importance of understanding the relationships between leadership behavior, perceptions about leader’s trustworthiness, and the ethical duties implicit in the psychological contract have become increasingly important”. The relationship is related to the needs of stakeholders and the ability to expect peculiar things from the organization so that they can maintain a trustful relationship in the organization (Castaldo, 2007, p. 57).
Explain how different market research methods have been used to make a marketing decision within a selected situation or business Market research is the process of gathering information about your businesses industry, customers and competition in order assess the feasibility of your business idea. Prior to starting your research it is important to determine your objective and to clearly define your research questions. Many entrepreneurs avoid doing market research out of fear they will not find what they want to find or because it can be costly / time consuming. However, making decisions without first doing some research can be risky. Primary research (or field research) gathers original information directly for your purpose, rather than being gathered from published sources.
Identify the main reasons for reviewing working methods, products and / or services in a business environment. The main reason why a business should review working methods, products and / or services are to ensure that they are keeping in line with other businesses. An example of not keeping up with the times is HMV. Change can cause added pressures to the business. However there are changes that would have a small affect on the business.
Companies use differentiation to make their product unique and one that will catch the consumer’s attention. As it was said in the text book that being unique in today’s market is very difficult because there are imitators that follow what you have done or you yourself is following what some else has done in the past. The text book explains that positioning is the way the customers think about presented brands in the market. Without knowing what the consumer is thinking or feeling about the production being offered it is hard to differentiate. The ability to position a product is critical when it comes to certain products that are very similar.
Companies such as Land’s End face the challenges of maintaining competitive advantage. Effectively managing advantages in not easily imitated, can be rare, and is thus a great choice of how to keep the advantage. The facets with guided CEO David Dyer to embrace the advantages of customization were the amount of profitability it would bring, and the possibility of increased customer satisfaction. There are several constant factors which can affect the outcome of making an investment in an organization IT. These denominators cost, customer satisfaction, and achievements of plan goals must be evaluated.
Broad Differentiation, Mergers, and Acquisitions: Outperform the Competition Timothy Creed Cannon Belhaven University Abstract Throughout the text, Essentials of Strategic Management: The Quest for Competitive Advantage, the authors discuss many different strategies which organizations can implement in an effort to outperform rivals within their respective markets. Assuming that the organization does not maintain a monopoly on the product or service that they are providing, something that is very rare in the field of modern business, implies that these strategies are essential if the company is to survive the cutthroat nature of the business atmosphere. The following text will aim to compare and contrast the broad differentiation strategy with the merger and acquisition strategy using a SWOT analysis as the basis for discussion. Broad Differentiation One of the strategies discussed in Chapter 5 that companies can use to gain a competitive advantage is the “Broad Differentiation Strategy.” As defined by the text, the broad differentiation strategy is used by managers and administrators who are “seeking to differentiate the company’s product or service from rivals’ in ways that will appeal to a broad spectrum of buyers” (Gamble, Thompson & Peteraf, 2013). In other words, companies who implement this strategy aim to provide consumers with a product that is unique, in that it provides consumers with features that are so desirable that they will remain loyal to that brand.