Family Violence Essay

While it is difficult to create a concrete definition of family violence or blame anyone involved in it, no one will disagree with the fact that it can be disastrous for all members of any family. The inherent complexity of such situations makes it difficult to blame any single person of the family or to underpin a particular gender as the sole guilty behind such occurrence. Therefore this study briefly explores why this issue looks so complicated and whether such complication would help to solve the situation. According to Levesque et al. (2001), family violence involves family members’ acts of omission or commission that result in physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or other forms of maltreatment, which eventually hampers healthy development of humans.   The above definition fairly indicates that there are many faces of family violence and it can be difficult for an outsider to identify if there is any violence ongoing in a family. However, American Academy of Family Physicians (2009), explains family violence as the â€Å"intentional intimidation or abuse of children, adults or elders by a family member, intimate partner or caretaker to gain power and control over the victim.† While the first definition mostly emphasizes on action, the second one stresses on intention. This adds to the complexity by highlighting the fact that family violence can take place even without the knowledge of most of the members in a family (Lau et al., 1999). For example, a father may find spanking as an effective tool to intimidate his daughter, and may intentionally does that off and on, which may not be considered as violence by her mother or other members of that family and thus such practice might continue to ruin the victim’s future. This is very much possible, since many acts are considered as â€Å"socially accepted violence†, such as spanking, and which are not considered as â€Å"abusive violence,† which according to the researchers an â€Å"act which has a high potential for injuring the person being hit† (Straus et al, 1980, pp. 21-22). The above state of affairs shows that there is much ambiguity in pinpointing family violence which in turn points at the fact that how difficult it could be to redress it or to eliminate its occurrence. This signifies the importance of spreading awareness about the damaging potential of family violence and promoting the adoption of behavioral processes that can effectively eliminate such occurrences in a family. For example, encouraging parents to abstain from using corporal punishment to their children could be a way to lessen the instances of child abuse – because the intention behind corporal punishment, i.e., to cause pain but not injury for purposes of coercion and control (Strauss et al., 1980) may be lost with raised temper and loss of control. In all, any injury has the potential to leave a scar on human mind and thus can considerably influence the actions of the victims, which may create further problems to the society. It is from this angle, the hidden niches of family violence need to be identified and redressed, and from that perspective, humans have to go through complex discussions and debates in way of finding its solution. It is not that family violence is a new phenomenon of the society, since instances of it are spread all over in the literature of all times, and earning several sobriquets in different periods, like â€Å"battered child syndrome† (Kempe et al., 1962), â€Å"granny bashing† (Burston, 1975) or â€Å"battered woman† (Walker, 1979). Therefore, it is the pressing lifestyle of modern times have given it some more dimensions and accordingly, the educated minds of modern times are trying to deeply investigate its root as well as its intrinsic effects on human mind. Consequently, the perception about family violence is also gradually changing, where the earlier concept of focusing on the violence on women, children as the potential victims is making way to a newer concept that includes all humans and considers any act detrimental to human development as family violence (Pleck, 1987). Conclusion The apparent complexity in defining or determining family is actually an outcome of the honest search of the researchers that has brought forth many hidden niches of family violence. This is the right process, because the more the mechanism of family becomes clear before all, the more humans will be able to eradicate it and move towards a prosperous and happy future. References American Academy of Family Physicians. (2009). Family and intimate partner violence and abuse. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/policies/f/familyandintimatepartner-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   violenceandabuse.html Burston, G. R. (1975). Granny battering. British Medical Journal, 3, 592. Kemple, C. H., Silverman, F. N., Steele, B. F., Droegemullar, W., and Silver, Hl. K.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (1962). The battered-child syndrome. Journal of the American Medical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Association, 181, 105-112. Lau, J. T. F., Liu, J. L. Y., Tong, C. K., and Tan, P. M. E. H. (1999). Conceptualizations,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   reporting and under-reporting of child abuse in Hong Kong. Child Abuse &   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Neglect, 23, 1159-1174 Lavesque, D. A., Velicer, W.F., Castle, P. H., and Greene, R. N. (2008). Violence against   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   women. Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 158-164. Pleck, E. (1987). Domestic tyranny: The making of social policy against family violence from colonical times to the present. New York: Oxford University Press. Straus, M. A., Gelles, R.J., and Steinmetz, S.K. (1980). Behind closed doors:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Violence in American families. Doubleday, NewYork. Walker, L. E. (1979). The battered woman. New York: Harer Colophon Books.

Boost Juice Essay

Background Boost Juice Bars (Boost, 2014) is an Australian food and beverage brand, which was formed in 2000 with the first store located in the capital city in the South part of Australia- Adelaide. This food and beverage business has been done well since the business has been expanded globally in Asia, Europe, and Russia and even in Middle East. Unfortunately, Boost Juice Bars stopped part of business in New Zealand in 2006 after the franchiser due to liquidation. The stores in New Zealand are sold to Tank Juice. After a year reflection, Boost Juice Bars signed an agreement to re-start the brand in the UK. Nestlà © began a range of fruit smoothies in co-operating with Boost Juice Bars since 2008 as so to expand internationally. From this time onward until July 2009, there have been stores operating in Australia, and some places in Asia. The Franchising contracts have been confirmed in Asia and Europe as part of a global expansion plan. Following by the next  four years, Boost Juice got into a franchise agreement for providing the major supply to the whole India. By the end of 2013, the company had expanded into South America and some places in Asia. Literature Review The marketing strategy (Lusch, 1987) is collected from market research and product mix, in order to maximize the largest profit and maintain the stability of the business. The marketing strategy is basic cornerstone of a marketing plan. The marketing plan (Lusch, 1987) focuses on the idea of innovation by using brand new marketing mix to target the potential customers in the market. Most competitors are vending alike products. Between Competitors have strong competitions. One of the key competences is the innovative idea about new juice. The image of Boost Juice is the design of creating fresh, juvenile and healthy theme, so as to tempt more young people. Competitor may duplicate Boost Juice Bar’s goods and plan; however, the royalty of brand is important. Even if Boost Juice Bar is glad with its present marketing campaign to hold its customers for instance the Vibe club program which the purchaser could obtain a cup of free of charge drink on their birthday. It is intelligent to make sure if customers have less interest in Boost Juice or their awareness regarding to the weak brand image. The life cycle in different stage or timeline is necessary to estimate the correct marketing mix to strengthen some customer’s insight. It is necessary to ensure to stay in customer’s mind. Boost Juice Bar has a youthful and health picture, the market segment set on the young generation. Unfortunately, it is prudent to go back over its market segments. Inspecting the possibility on attraction from people age 18 until 25 is the most significant, as this group of people far more concerned their health and nutrition, in order to have a longer life expectancy. Young people sometimes are fascinated because of Boost cup’s design and even Vibe club Program (Boost Juice, 2014). Yet, fully grown customers tend to consider more on royalty of products whether benefits can be gained. Fresh and nutrition can offer vital benefit for body. Executive Summary The advertising and promotion are fundamental with product differentiation. Modernization is a key strategy that Boost Juice should across into its cup’s design and marketing promotion. Boost utilized a brand new method to connect fresh squeezed juice and nutrition together for the young generation. For the young people, they prefer to try new and special product; boost Juice has done excellence. Luckily until now, Boost has been using the same type of marketing tools more than five years, including publicity, media coverage and interactive website to represent the brand. One of the potential troubles of Boost Juice Bar may be facing is its old marketing message to its target audience or customers. This is the main issue if customers still have strong tackiness to stick the old message to Boost Juice Bar’s brand. Hence, Boost Juice Bar re-think about its goal customers. Boost also re-plans its marketing tools to the objective customers. However now, Boost is necessary to pay more attentions by using a popular marketing method, known as E- Marketing, such as Facebook and Twitters. The social media have been acting a considerable function in many companies, including small and large firms. The marketing mix is now very useful for understanding Boost Juice’s target customer, young generations. Product Range According to the survey I collected in a store at Macquarie Shopping Centre, the products of Boost Juice Bar mainly focus on health and nutrition. The following categories are the product range. 1. Smooth – Low fat smoothies. 2. Juice – squeeze from fresh fruit. 3. Complementary Product – healthy snacks (Fresh yoghurt and muesli bar). 4. Product in supermarket – juice, frozen yoghurt, and ready- to- eat snack (such as Low fat crunchy) Situation Analysis International Environment Analysis The main purpose of Boost doing this analysis is to figure out the flaw and and strength. Boost Juice Bar has established a questionnaire on its website to find out the acumen and insight factors, in order to maximise the profit. Marketing Situation When started the investment of Boost Juice Bar (Boost Juice, 2014), the founder and Managing Director Janine Allis targets an innovative way of offering juice in the Australian market. The new kind of juice bars have to be unlike from the long-established grocery store style juice, as well as the idea of juice bars in the US existed for more than 15 years. Earlier than Boost Juice existed, there were over 2000 juice bars in the US. Janine had an insight to believe that Boost Juice would have the capacity to have more than 500 branches. According to an interview with one of the store managers of Macquarie Shopping, since 2000, Boost Juice Bar was the only one brand that had the most and biggest expansion in Australia. Boost has had around 90 stores in 2004. At the same year they qualified the number 2 leading brand VIV A Juice, which means keeping the fresh and good quality fruits. After the combination in 2000, Boost had total about 124 stores. Nowadays, Boost Juice Bar has further 300 stores worldwide. Boost Juice Bar is successful on its inventive concepts with healthy and good taste. The fruits are squeezed into juice and smoothie for being a particular product. The original and normal styles of red and green colour give customer the thought of the product which is good for health. This is very strong brand recognition. Positive and energetic staffs serve the juice with bright smile; even speak out customer’s name loudly. These can force Boost to be particular with the other competitors. The product and sales are vastly generated to form a young and create active mood to attract younger. Aside from the customer’s royalty program (Boost Juice, 2104), Vibe Club card can keep hold as many as customers Boost can, for instance the members of Vibe club card could get a cup of unpaid drink on their birthdays. Management Situation Before the development of Boost Juice, Janine Allis was a Journalist; the work experience offered precious acquaintance on business practice, in particular management. Moreover, her husband, Jeff Allis worked in a radio station that a platform enables Janine to have better understanding on Boost’s target audiences. The background of Jeff has in radio industry enables them to use marketing tools for promotion (WR,1956). Boost Juice acquired VIV A Juice Bar in 2004, they employed VIVA Juice Bar’s creator Simon McNamarra being CEO, from another juice industry (Boost Juice, 2014). An extra factor could not be uncared is franchise system for expanding its stores. The franchising system allowed Boost to enlarge at a relative small cost whereas franchisees had to invest for installation for each shop. Actually, this helped Boost with the economic stress; meanwhile the joint fee of each shop has to shell out to the head office each year so that Boost has earnings by supply the material and charge shops from administration fees. This is a steady capital from the head office that could pay out on the promotion and advertising. Branding Branding position The theme of Boost Juice Bar was healthy and nutrition food (Boost Juice, 2014), provided to customers. Boost has to deliver this message to people that health is very important now. The mainly focus is not only taste and healthy drink, but also forms an active and fresh image. By various campaign, included off-lines or even online through the entire year, Boost Juice received strong attentiveness in the public such as Poster and advertisement on TV. External Environment Analysis In fact, the old juice industry has been at the maturity stage, since many juice shops had to convent into grocery stores for stay alive. Even though Boost created innovative idea of healthy juice drinks, happened from its first shop in south side of Australia- Adelaide, the smoothies juice bar are about to arrive at the stage of maturity. The external situation analysis concerned the external opportunity and threats that might influence the juice business. The threats included changing in society, demography and culture, change in economy and technology, competitor’s activities, and rule and regulatory. For the time being, the direct competitors of Boost have less action against to its market share. Actually, competitors could duplicate any of Boost’s products, but they are not enough to handle Boost Juice’s branding positioning. The problems may be arisen from the main location in the business areas that the district of Boost Juice’s retail shop could not attain. This provides an opportunity for the small competitors. For the change influence in cultural and society, people are far more anxiety on their health, they care about the amount of nutrition. SWOT Analysis Strengths: 1. Product’s development. 2. Strong spotlight on promotion (advertising campaign) 3. High customer royalty 4. Innovations 5. well-built ability to link with customers Weaknesses: 1. Heavy concentrate on promotional activities lead to high marketing cost 2. Sales decline obviously in winter time 3. Lack of further development in product in recent year Opportunity: 1. Without robust competitors directly 2. Health conscious Threats: 1. Many roundabout competitors started selling smoothies products. 2. Customers may have less interest over the time changed. Marketing Segmentation According to the survey I collected from Macquarie Shopping Centre store, there are some possibilities of target customers of Boost Juice, including regular households market, young, teenager, and healthy diet eaters. Boost need to analyse and develop products to meet the stratification from various customers’s needs and wants. Housewives in regular household market purchase juice for their families weekly or monthly. The juice product is necessary to be healthy, high in vitamin and fresh for the family. For the young people with age approximately between from 18 until 25, some of them prefer good-looking packaging to meet their idea that â€Å"perfect and exciting eat†. Some of them would begin to think of relatively healthy way, which is supportive to their bodies. The cup’s design of Boost is completely fit for those two above types of people. For teenager with age between 15 and 18, they expected the juice drink not just tasty but also fun and attractive. They are likely to buy the prestige other than the actual product. The good taste smoothies drink and nice-looking package of product is the important keys to this group of customers. For healthy diet eaters, they would look  deeply to the ingredients of products. They will look at the quality of product more than the design and appearance of the product. Marketing Objectives The marketing objectives are integrating marketing communication campaign, the marketing objectives of Boost Juice Bars could are target customers with aged between 25 and 35, which has higher ability of income to consume better quality products, as well as engage with new customer and retain the current ones by the social network. Strategies The marketing schedule of Boost consisted promotion and advertising, braining new ideas regularly, and seeking new customers through interactive program to connect with customers. Marketing Mix Marketing Mix is about what to use unlike marketing tools to meet the goal (WR, 1956). Normally, Marketing Mix is the mix of 4Ps (Lee, 2009). 4Ps are about the features of products; Price is how to set up the price strategy; promotion, such as advertising and public relationship; and place such as locations which is very critical in retail business. Product differentiation was very significant (WR, 1956), so innovative needs can be frequently carried out. Those factors were fraction of a general scheme of competitiveness. Being the most accepted smoothies in the market for over 11 years, customers who love trying new things; innovation could hold customers. In order to create a centre of attention of the new age level of customers from 24-35, TV commercial is significant to make awareness to people. The alternative factor is social Network, such as Facebook. None of people deny such social media became the most popular marketing tool for companies to interact with their target audien ces. Boost Juice should post more posts on Facebook and uploading up the â€Å"Today’s specials† on Twitter account. By not only utilizing those as a stage to keep contact with customers, but Boost also update customer’s needs for improvement. Boost’s target market are chiefly young people within 15 and 25, the rate of using social media is extremely high. The cost should be demonstrated effectively by using free media source, such as Facebook’s Page and writing blog. One of  the 4Ps – place, this can also be location. As mention before, Boosts are mostly residing in the high quantity of customers in business areas. These absolutely make attention more on customers; however, the cost of problem is very high. Hence, this do not fulfill as many customer’s wishes as possible. The potential approach in the place is special designon public transport, such as mini bus and taxi, which is like concept to Munch Lunch Van. Customers have to give a call for service in advance. The mobile van can go to the place where shop is not nearby. Doing the juice business, Boost should treat each product’s price as a standard. A price cut may cause low quality for ensuring the quality of product offered. On the other hand, the cause of Boost Juice has pretty high proportion of marketing expenditure and leasing cost. Hence, Boost tried to provide more benefits to customers. For example, free drink to allocate on street for promotion. The price discount could be offered in the alterative way. Something like buy 2 gets 1 free or jumbo size can enlarge the sales for profit margin. Product Differentiation and the Product Life Cycle In a market, there are many companies are all making related products; product differentiation is a real approach to analyse (WR, 1956). Refer to an academic journal (GS, 1981), extensive reference have been made; Armstrong, Brown and Adam had pointed out references detailed points. The product life cycle illustrates the alteration of a product from development and popularity, follow by maturity and even decline (GS, 1981). Boost illustrates the outlook of its business through product life cycle, in order to keep the position in the market and maximise the profit. The 4Ps comprise (Internal Marketing, 2004) the Product to understand product’s special and exclusive features, Price is referring to pricing plan), Promotion is about how to let people know the product, such as advertising and public relation, and Place is about distribution that the quality product allocated to different branches. The branch with more customers should have more sources to produce more products. Measures of Success According to an interview with a brand manager, the marketing research company called ACNielsen, which has been working in the area of media, entertainment, finance, and hospitality, revealed Boost Juice operated  several countries and served variety of industries, adjust Boost’s needs to measure its marketing outcome. The professional research of companies provided definite view of what is going to be happened. It has a leading of role in sharing of information in TV commercial. The methods of collecting data consisted retail forecast, consumer panels, and marketing investigate. Also common work included merchandising in goods, modeling and analytics, decision marking, and merchandising goods. Recommendation Social media is now being a new marketing tool to hold with customers preferably. Boost Juice maintain innovation as the main type of competence. A qualitative study is necessary to move toward with Boost Juice that the audience is necessary to recognize the right view. Conclusion For being successful, Boost Juice can not be described as lucky. When it comes to the founder Janine Allis’ passion in providing healthy and nutritious drink to this country, she is smart to target on the brand positioning to the right target customers by using the correct marketing tools. In overall, Boost is still having large room for growing, unfortunately, over the time passed by, the external environment, such as target customers are changing. Parts of fans have already become mature. Boost Juice Bar have to be more innovative deal with the problem of market change to preserve existing customers and attract more new customers. Reference Boost Juice, 2014, < http://www.boostjuice.com.au/> GS Day, 1981, â€Å"The product life cycle: analysis and applications issues.† The Journal of Marketing, vol.45, no.4 Internal Marketing website, 2004, Lee Goi, Chai, 2009, â€Å"A Review of Marketing Mix: 4Ps or More?† International Journal of Marketing Studies, vol.1, no.1 Lusch, R.F., and V.N. Lusch, 1987, Principles of Marketing, Kent Publishing Company, Boston, Massachusetts WR Smith, 1956, â€Å"Product differentiation and market segmentation as alternative marketing strategies.† The Journal of Marketing, vol.21, no.1

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Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Activity Research Paper

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Activity - Research Paper Example Within thÐ µ fiÐ µld of Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship studiÐ µs, it is dÐ µbÐ °tÐ µd whÐ µthÐ µr thÐ µ Ã' rÐ µÃ °tion of nÐ µw Ã' ombinÐ °tions rÐ µquirÐ µs thÐ µ Ã' rÐ µÃ °tion of Ð ° nÐ µw orgÐ °nisÐ °tion or if it is Ð °lso mÐ °dÐ µ possiblÐ µ through innovÐ °tion in Ð µxisting orgÐ °nisÐ °tion (;).In Ã' ompÐ °rison, thÐ µ psyÃ' hologiÃ' Ã °l Ã' hÐ °rÐ °Ã' tÐ µristiÃ' s sÃ' hool of Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship foÃ' usÐ µs on pÐ µrsonÐ °lity fÐ °Ã' tors Ð °nd Ð ° numbÐ µr of diffÐ µrÐ µnt Ð °spÐ µÃ' ts hÐ °vÐ µ bÐ µÃ µn Ð µxplorÐ µd in thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µÃ °rÃ' h. ThÐ µsÐ µ Ð °rÐ µ pÐ µrsonÐ °l vÐ °luÐ µs suÃ' h Ð °s honÐ µsty, duty, rÐ µsponsibility Ð °nd Ð µthiÃ' Ã °l bÐ µhÐ °viour, risk-tÐ °king propÐ µnsity, thÐ µ nÐ µÃ µd for Ð °Ã' hiÐ µvÐ µmÐ µnt (MÃ' Ã ¡lÐ µllÐ °nd, 2000) Ð °nd loÃ' us of Ã' ontrol (StorÐ µy, 2001: p25). Ð dhÐ µrÐ µnts to this sÃ' hool of thought do not bÐ µliÐ µvÐ µ thÐ °t Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurs Ã' Ã °n bÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µlopÐ µd or trÐ °inÐ µd in thÐ µ Ã' lÐ °ssroom. ThÐ µ Ã' lÐ °ssiÃ' Ã °l Ð µÃ' onomiÃ'  sÃ' hool is rÐ µflÐ µÃ' tÐ µd in thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µÃ °rÃ' h by Ð °uthors suÃ' h Ð °s Ð ¡Ã °ntillon (1992) Ð °nd SÃ' humpÐ µtÐ µr (1986). In fÐ °Ã' t Hjorth (2004) points out thÐ °t ЕuropÐ µ hÐ °s Ð ° long Ð µstÐ °blishÐ µd trÐ °dition of Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship Ð °nd thÐ °t thÐ µ tÐ µrm â€Å"Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur† dÐ µrivÐ µs from thÐ µ FrÐ µnÃ' h vÐ µrb â€Å"Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µndrÐ µÃ¢â‚¬ , mÐ µÃ °ning to undÐ µrtÐ °kÐ µ. KÐ µy Ð °spÐ µÃ' ts of this sÃ' hool of thought Ð °rÐ µ innovÐ °tion, Ã' rÐ µÃ °tivity Ð °nd disÃ' ovÐ µry. In pÐ °rtiÃ' ulÐ °r, SÃ' humpÐ µtÐ µr (1986) sÐ °w thÐ µ Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur Ð °s somÐ µonÐ µ who would disrupt thÐ µ Ð µÃ' onomiÃ'  Ð µquilibrium, thÐ µ SÃ' humpÐ µtÐ µriÐ °n Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur would bÐ µ Ð °n innovÐ °tor providing thÐ µ indispÐ µnsÐ °blÐ µ driving forÃ' Ã µ for Ã' Ã °pitÐ °li st Ð µÃ' onomiÃ'  growth. ThÐ µ mÐ °nÐ °gÐ µmÐ µnt sÃ' hool of Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship is bÐ °sÐ µd on thÐ µ bÐ µliÐ µf thÐ °t Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship Ã' Ã °n bÐ µ tÐ °ught (SpinosÐ °, 1997). Ð s Ð ° rÐ µsult, Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship is viÐ µwÐ µd Ð °s Ð ° sÐ µriÐ µs of lÐ µÃ °rnÐ µd Ð °Ã' tivitiÐ µs with foÃ' us on thÐ µ Ã' Ã µntrÐ °l funÃ' tions of mÐ °nÐ °ging Ð ° firm. In Ã' ompÐ °rison, thÐ µ lÐ µÃ °dÐ µrship sÃ' hool of Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurship is oftÐ µn viÐ µwÐ µd Ð °s thÐ µ non-tÐ µÃ' hniÃ' Ã °l sidÐ µ of thÐ µ mÐ °nÐ °gÐ µmÐ µnt sÃ' hool Ð °s foÃ' us is upon thÐ µ Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur Ð °s Ð ° â€Å"pÐ µoplÐ µ mÐ °nÐ °gÐ µr† or Ð °s Ð °n Ð µffÐ µÃ' tivÐ µ lÐ µÃ °dÐ µr/mÐ µntor whosÐ µ mÐ °jor rolÐ µ is in motivÐ °ting, dirÐ µÃ' ting Ð °nd lÐ µÃ °ding pÐ µoplÐ µ (Ð ldriÃ' h, 1999). ThÐ µ FrÐ µnÃ' h trÐ °dition Ð °ssoÃ' iÐ °tÐ µd with thÐ µ work of Ð ¡Ã °ntillon (1992) suggÐ µsts thÐ °t thÐ µ Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur is thÐ µ kÐ µy figurÐ µ who opÐ µrÐ °tÐ µs within Ð ° sÐ µt of Ð µÃ' onomiÃ'  mÐ °rkÐ µts. HÐ µ hÐ °s thÐ µ forÐ µsight to Ð °ssumÐ µ unÃ' Ã µrtÐ °inty; hÐ µ rÐ µÃ °Ã' ts to profit opportunitiÐ µs Ð °nd bÐ µÃ °rs unÃ' Ã µrtÐ °inty. This Ã' ontrÐ °sts with thÐ µ GÐ µrmÐ °n-Ð ustriÐ °n trÐ °dition rÐ µprÐ µsÐ µntÐ µd by SÃ' humpÐ µtÐ µr (1986) whÐ µrÐ µ thÐ µ SÃ' humpÐ µtÐ µriÐ °n Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µur plÐ °ys Ð ° disÐ µquilibrÐ °ting rolÐ µ by innovÐ °ting, i.Ð µ. introduÃ' ing nÐ µw goods or mÐ µthods of produÃ' tion Ð °nd thÐ µ opÐ µning of nÐ µw mÐ °rkÐ µts.ThÐ µ Ð ¡hiÃ' Ã °go trÐ °dition is Ð °ssoÃ' iÐ °tÐ µd with thÐ µ work of Knight (2000), who suggÐ µsts thÐ °t Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurs Ð °rÐ µ rÐ µsponsiblÐ µ for thÐ µir own Ð °Ã' tio ns. ЕntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurs Ð °rÐ µ prÐ µpÐ °rÐ µd to tÐ °kÐ µ risks in Ð °n unÃ' Ã µrtÐ °in Ð µnvironmÐ µnt. Knight Ð °lso suggÐ µstÐ µd thÐ °t Ð µntrÐ µprÐ µnÐ µurs hÐ °vÐ µ skills Ð °nd Ã' ompÐ µtÐ µnÃ' iÐ µs thÐ °t Ð µnÐ °blÐ µ thÐ µm to suÃ' Ã' Ã µssfully Ã' o-ordinÐ °tÐ µ sÃ' Ã °rÃ' Ã µ rÐ µsourÃ' Ã µs, whiÃ' h distinguishÐ µs thÐ µm from othÐ µr individuÐ °ls.

Personal Development as a Manager Journal Essay

Personal Development as a Manager Journal - Essay Example It will take into account the significance of my own beliefs, attitudes and values which are implied by me into the task that I am assigned to perform. Reflective Manager The application of reflective practices is an essential fundamental for those individual who are heading an education or specially a healthcare institution. Similarly, I, the manager of a nursing home, think that reflective ability plays a vital role in my management processes. The reflective practices are defined as a set of basic skills and abilities which require the undertaking of a critical step an orientation to the state of mid or solving problems (Weick, 2001, p. 91). In the real instance, all the managers and leaders are busy reflecting upon their own work and create it an intentional event requiring both the commitment and time. I, as a reflective leader, think that this type of management is one of the basic keys towards creating and organization which is relationship-based. According to the basis of refl ective leadership, I have characterized myself by three major skills: careful observation, self-awareness, and flexible response.   Through these abilities, I am able to study my own decision-making processes and am critical regarding the relationships with workers and colleagues in a constructive manner. I am successfully able to analyze the gaps between knowledge and skills. Besides this, a reflective manager faces the painful and problematic episodes through the identification of learning needs. The process of reflective leader pertains to the assistance of leader teams, communities and committees in leading and managing them with an open heart. The process of this type of leadership tends to assume the leading abilities with joy, fulfilment, peace and creativity disregarding of the various consequences and hassles that might come up during the day. According to my experiences and opinions, such individual or leader, who is able to understand him/herself and is capable of shari ng the joy, fear, weaknesses, strengths and achievements with the followers, is on the way to becoming a reflective leader and manager. Similarly, my nursing home exists with a mission towards improving the lives of all those people who are living in the nursing home (Limerick, Cunninton & Crowther, 1998, p. 280). As the manager, fulfilling my purposes and goals require me to understand and value the human dimension of leadership. I think, translating the relations into actions is an inner journey, and is the practical concept of the struggle for living. Though, it is next to impossible to attain this need fully, however, we constantly strive towards the achievement of a personal vision of enhanced service and self-awareness to others. Thus, theoretically and practically, the practices of reflective leadership, concentrate the attention on such a level where the leaders are most leveraged and the stage impacts and influences their actions the most. It refers to giving the managers t he space of feeling and thinking the stories that exist about the unwritten rules of culture and how the world operates. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory Amongst all other management theories, in my perspective, the theory which concerns most with the management aspect is the Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory. The following pyramid reflects the elements that the managerial theory given by

Is nothing private Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is nothing private - Case Study Example Monique Masters that her quest is honorable aimed at offering more good than bad. The main ethical issue in the case is primarily the privacy and confidentiality of all persons who holds driver’s license. The case is characterized by a number of relevant details. To start with, FatAway’s president, Monique Masters presents her need to advertise for a newly developed product line. The products to be advertised are deemed safe, reliable and effective. The advertising undertakings are referred to an advertising agency that is supposed to gather specific and relevant information for the advertisement, design the advertisement and further market the entire campaign. The information required is available, but not specifically gathered for advertisement and marketing purposes. Another relevant detail that pertains to this case is the procedure to use in getting the required information. The advert needs to identify the ten fattest people in each state. This information is dependent on getting access to all persons who hold driving licenses. Once this is done, their height and weight is to be matched and the grossly fat persons identified for the advertisement pursuit. The identified persons will be asked to consent to the move, with those who get into a weight loss program getting paid for every pound of weight lost. The other detail is that of getting access to the required information. The privacy and confidentiality of the information held by drivers’ registries seems to be jeopardized. This is regard to the alternatives available in getting access to this information. Subscriptions are allowed and even in some cases secretaries of state provide this information at a cost. Business and professional conduct is therefore central to the dealings between Monique, the Advertising Agency and the Executive account Manager. The case details therefore revolve around the FatAway Inc., the advertising agency and its

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

Global Marketing Strategy - Essay Example As a result, most housing industries have been on the rise. This has also attracted growth in the transport sector and computer systems. Most of the industries in this sector opt not to use market-oriented approach. According to Walker and Mullins, the competitive nature of the environment does not necessitate ultra sensitivity of the needs of the buyers. However, these companies have mastered the economic needs of customers and are moving speedily to address them. They have identified a growing need for assets as the vital driving force for consumer appetite. They have also dealt with the long-term consumer needs and are working on pricing structures and increasing consumer demands. Companies like The Home Depot are known to have adopted that approach. The automobile manufacturers have increased sales by having to re-look at the global trends and the changing consumer demands and the economic conditions in key target markets. According to Morningstar, poor mid to long-term performan ce strategy can cost companies if not well handled. A good casing point is the Nissan Company compared to the general motors. Market positioning is essential when it comes to long-term consumer strategies and brand differentiation (Walker&Orville, 2011). General motors’ have made its reputation in conducting research on consumer needs and attitudes with helps them in developing products that are appealing to consumers (Bartlett & Wozny, 2005). Nissan is accused of not coming up with differentiated products that do not stand out. This is due to inadequate through market research when it comes to consumer needs. Successful marketing is known to affect organizational productivity directly. This necessitates companies to take... This paper proclaims that the growing global marketing strategy demands that the next generation of organizational leaders get employees who have a large knowledgebase. Organizations are looking for a multiplicity of talents and experience. Such a workforce is known to maximize productivity and minimize organizational costs. The new global marketing strategy demands the employees engage in critical thinking and take up their roles with passion and understanding. Organizations have taken to training workers with an aim of enhancing leadership skills and innovation. However, training alone is inadequate. Employees must be directly involved in decision making, in the own portfolios. They must become part of the solutions to the organizational challengers through employee participation in the leadership process. In conclusion, the paper aproves that the modern day aspect of managing market and strategy calls for stakeholder engagement and long-term strategy in marketing. The new market myopic of viewing the customer as mere short term consumer is changing fast. The consumer must be viewed as a member of the global society who has complex needs and long term targets. Organizations have begun paying close attention to research based on culture and consumer perception to avoid imposing consumer needs. The link between the roles of stakeholders in marketing organizational products is being addressed. The global market place has shifted radically, and it demands the use of both conventional and unconventional marketing strategies to address the challenge of appealing to and satisfying modern, empowered consumers.

The IOM Report and The Impact of Nursing Essay Example for Free

The IOM Report and The Impact of Nursing Essay The Institute of Medicine and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation worked together to create a report that would change the future of nursing. The two teams worked on this project for two years. During this time they came up with four key messages. The four key messages are as stated, â€Å" Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training, nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression, nurses should be full partners, with physicians and other health care professionals, in redesigning health care in the United States, and effective workforce planning and policy making require better data collection and information infrastructure. † (The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health 2010) The IOM report shows the importance of a nurse and how this will help change the future of nursing. The Institute of Medicine report informs everyone how important nurses are in giving high-quality, safe, patient centered care. The IOM report wants nurses to continue their education and help with the health care system. The future of nursing report wants more nurses to have a baccalaureate and doctoral degree in nursing. The nurse must commit to continue learning new information for the rest of their life or career. Nurse should also function to the full extent of their scope of practice. When caring for patients you are caring for them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. (Fights S. D. 2012) The Institute of Medicine report has a big impact on nursing education. According to the report and one of its key messages, â€Å"Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression.† (The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health 2010) Nurses are required to have 24 continuous education hours every time they renew their license. Nurses are always learning new protocols and procedures when they are at work. Most hospitals are beginning to require you have a bachelor’s degree to even get hired on at their facility. They want more nurses to achieve their bachelor’s degree in nursing. In nursing school the instructors are teaching more public health, preventative care, and are preparing the nurses to be able to use their learned knowledge on the job. I think schools are making it easier for nurses to begin working with the clinical setting teaching. Most of the test taken in school is based on clinical setting questions rather than knowledge based questions. Through this type of testing you must use your critical thinking skills in the classroom first before using it on the job. The Institute of Medicine report also has a big impact on the nursing practice. The goal to caring for patients is care for them at their own individual needs and not at the nurse’s convenience. The care of a patient must be centered on the patient. Instead of having just acute care or specialty care, the care has been broken into more define groups. Some of the groups include preventative care, palliative care, primary care, chronic conditions, and hospital-acquired infections. Every nurse must practice to their full potential of their education and training. Teaching is a major way you can help your patients with their health. Most patients take medications and don’t even know what they are taking them for. When patients are educated about their condition and the preventative care they can better care for them self and know signs and symptoms to report to you and the physician. The Institute of Medicine report has had a big impact on the nurse’s role as a leader. When you are a nurse you must take charge and be the leader to care for your patients. Many people are working with each patient and one person needs to know what is going on with that patient at all times and that would be the nurse. The nurse plays a very important leadership role. Nurses must communicate with the physicians concerns about the patient. Nurses also need to communicate with other nurses for report or if they need help with a patient. Everyone needs to work together as a team in order to provide the patient with safe, patient centered care. I will make sure I am communicating all my concerns to the physician and fellow nurses to better care for my patient. The IOM report shows the importance of a nurse and how this will help change the future of nursing. Nurses are the main person caring for the patients while they are following the physicians’ orders. The nurse is the one who will notice changes in the patient first and needs to be able to communication with the physicians and other nurses efficiently. Caring for patients is a team effort. Physicians, nurses, and other specialized medical staff needs to work together in order to provide safe care. By focusing on the patient and their unique needs you can provide safe, effective, patient centered care. Nurses are very important to help maintain the health of patients to their full potential. References Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine,Institute of Medicine. Front Matter. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011 Fights, S. D. (2012). Nurses Lead From Where We Stand: How Can You Impact the Future Of Nursing?. MEDSURG Nursing, 21(2), 57-58. The future of nursing: leading change, advancing health. (2010). Connecticut Nursing News, 83(4), 1.

Bending of an Aluminum beam Essay Example for Free

Bending of an Aluminum beam Essay â€Å"Beams are long straight members that are subjected to loads perpendicular to their longitudinal axis and are classified according to the way they are supported†[1]. When a beam is subjected to an external load there are unseen internal forces within the beam that one must be aware of when implementing it into any design or structure. These internal forces create stress and strain that could result in failure or deformation. This lab looked at how an aluminum cantilevered beam performed under symmetric and unsymmetrical bending as well as the stresses and strains developed as a result. Objective â€Å"To study the stress and strain induced in an I-beam under symmetric and unsymmetrical bending† [2]. Theory: ? – Normal stress (Mpa) ? – Strain (mm/mm) M – Moment (kN†¢m) I – Moment of inertia (mm^6) E – Modulus of elasticity (Mpa) G – Modulus of elasticity (Mpa) v – Poisson’s ratio. L – Length (m) *Subscripts x, y, z indicate plane of reference. The strain rosettes are orientated so that ? b = 0, ? c = -45, and ? a = 45. The strain gauge equations then simplify to ?x = ? b, ? y= ? c+ ? a- ? b, and ? xy = ? c- ? a Using Hooke’s Law: ?x= ? xE, ? y= -v ? x, ? xy=? xyG This Experiment consisted of symmetric and unsymmetrical bending. For symmetric bending the relevant theory is as follows: Because the moment about the z-axis here is zero the equation equates to: Where: My = PLA. When rotated 45 degrees: My = PLA Cos(45) and Mz = PLA Sin(45) there is compressive stress along the y-x axis The moment of inertia about the y-axis is found by determining the inertia of the shape and subtracting the imaginary parts as shown: The max normal stress with be at the furthest distance from the neutral axis which is h/2 therefore: (? x)max = The strains can be found by implementing Hooke’s Law: Since ? y and ? z are zero in symmetric loading, the two equations simplify to: Because the there is no shear stress in the x-y plane when the normal stress is at maximum the shear strain will also be zero. The vertical displacement of the end of the beam is determined by multiplying the area under the moment diagram and the distance between the end and the centroid of the diagram. This equates to: For unsymmetrical bending the theory is the same however there is a moment about the y-axis and z-axis. This will affect the calculation of the normal stress and the strain in the x and y plane. Also the moment of inertia in the z-direction will need to be determined. Procedure (a) *Mount the I-beam on to the support frame. Make sure the mounting screws are tight. (b) Measure the dimensions of the I-beam including its components. (c) Mount the magnet bases of the dial gauges at appropriate positions to permit the measurements of the deflections at the free end of the beam in the vertical and the horizontal directions. (d) *Connect properly the wires from the strain gauges to the readout unit. (e) Place weights to the hanger in increments: 4, 6, 10, 26, and 42 kg. (f) Unload the hanger in increments in the reversed order as for loading. (g) For each increment, measured the strain readings at the given locations and the vertical and horizontal deflections at the free end of the beam. (h) Repeat steps (a) to (g) by rotating the beam with the following angles: 45 °. [3] Results *Refer to appendix for sample calculation and calculated results. Part 1: I-beam at 0o Loading Loading (Kg) 4 6 10 26 42 Strain Gauge 1 (? ) 1 2 4 12 20 Strain Gauge 2 (? ) 6 10 16 43 69 Strain Gauge 3 (? ) 3 4 7 18 29 Displacement 1 (mm) 0. 09 0. 15 0. 23 0. 44 0. 5 Displacement 2 (mm) -0. 19 -0. 34 -0. 55 -1. 4 -2. 25 Load (N) 39. 2 58. 5 97. 9 255. 5 413. 1 Unloading Loading (kg) 42 26 10 6 4 Strain Gauge 1 (? ) 20 10 -3 -5 -7 Strain Gauge 2 (? ) 69 42 19 11 9 Strain Gauge 3 (? ) 29 18 6 3 2 Displacement 1 (mm) 0. 5 0. 49 0. 25 0. 16 0. 07 Displacement 2 (mm) -2. 25 -1. 46 -0. 59 -0. 37 -0. 23 Load (N) 413. 1 255. 6 96. 4 58. 7 39. 2 Part 2: I-Beam at 45o Loading Loading (kg) 4 6 10 26 42 Strain Gauge 1(? ) 1 2 2 7 13 Strain Gauge 2 (? ) 5 9 14 36 54 Strain Gauge 3 (? ) 1 1 2 8 13 Displacement 1 (mm) -0. 33 -0. 50 -0. 79 -1. 88 -2. 75 Displacement 2 (mm) -0. 66 -1. 02 -1. 69 -4. 23 -6. 40 Load (N) 39. 4 58. 7 98. 2 256. 5 413. 6 Unloading Loading (kg) 42 26 10 6 4 Strain Gauge 1 (? ) 13 4 -22 -25 -26 Strain Gauge 2 (? ) 54 38 22 20 17 Strain Gauge 3 (? ) 13 6 2 0 0 Displacement 1 (mm) -2. 75 -1. 95 -0. 92 -0. 62 0. 46 Displacement 2 (mm) -6. 40 -4. 46 -2. 17 -1. 51 -1. 15 Load (N) 413. 6 256. 3 98. 1 58. 7 39. 4 Discussion For both the symmetric and unsymmetrical bending the theoretical stresses and strains were greater than experimentally determined ones. However the experimental displacement was much higher than the theoretical displacement. These two factors can lead one to believe the I-beam has undergone this procedure many times before. Another interesting point to note is that the stresses and strains are higher at equivalent loads when unloading demonstrating that there is residual stress in the I-beam even after it has been fully unloaded. For the most part however the measured and theoretical values are very close. It is to be expected that the theoretical stresses would be higher than the experimental values. The theoretical calculations rely on a ‘perfect’ material. The modulus of elasticity and cross-sectional are said to remain the same through the length of the beam which is rarely the case. Minor imperfections in the beam would result in a weaker beam and less stress is required to deflect the beam. This is exactly what has been observed in this experiment. For the symmetric and bending theoretically there would be no horizontal displacement however some horizontal displacement was shown on the readouts. This is most likely due to the slight swaying of the weights. Since the scale of this experiment was relatively small a lot of the sources of error are pretty large. Just by not having the readout computer not calibrated properly or zeroed all the way would cause pretty large discrepancies. Even the measuring or millimeters by eye caused some error. Rounding errors would be relatively small for this experiment. Conclusion In conclusion theoretical and experimental values for stress and strain are very similar to the values observed in experimental conditions. The theoretical and experimental displacements were pretty far off and at larger scales the theoretical values would not be of much use. Closer results could have been obtained by collecting more accurate measurements or by collecting multiple sets of data using a series of strain rosettes. APPENDIX I Sample Calculations Iy= = (Mz)a =(4kg)(9. 81m/s2)(0. 77m) =30. 215 Nm (Mz)b =(4kg)(9. 81m/s2)(0. 33m) =12. 95 Nm (? x)a = = = 1. 259 Mpa (? x)b = 0. 5397 Mpa (? b)v = = = -0. 0902 mm ?xy = = = 0. 0398mm (? x)a = = =17. 22*10^-6 (? y)a = -0. 35*(? x)a = 6. 027*10^-6 Experimental Symmetric Mass (Kg) 4 6 10 26 42 26 10 6 4 ?x (E-6) 6 10 16 43 69 42 19 11 9 ?y (E-6) -2 -4 -5 -13 -20 -14 -16 -13 -14 ?xy (Mpa) 2 2 3 6 9 8 9 8 9 (? x) (Mpa) 0. 438 0. 731 1. 17 3. 14 5. 04 3. 07 1. 39 0. 804 0. 657 (? y) (Mpa) -0. 146 -0. 292 -0. 365 -0. 950 -1. 46 -1. 02 -1. 17 -0. 950 -1. 02 ?xy (Mpa) 0. 054 0. 054 0. 081 0. 162 0. 243 0. 216 0. 243 0. 216 0. 243 Theoretical – Symmetric Mass(Kg) 4 6 10 26 42 (Mz)a (N†¢m) 30. 2 45. 3 75. 5 196 317 (Mb)b (N†¢m) 12. 9 19. 4 32. 3 84. 1 135 (? x)a (Mpa) 1. 25 1. 88 3. 12 8. 13 13. 1 (? x)b (Mpa) 0. 536 0. 804 1. 34 3. 48 5. 62 ?xy (Mpa) 0. 0398 0. 0598 0. 0996 0. 258 0. 418 (? x)a (E-6) 17. 1 25. 7 42. 8 111 179 (? x)b (E-6) 7. 33 11. 0 18. 3 47. 6 77. 0 (? y)a (E-6) -5. 99 -8. 98 -14. 9 -38. 9 -62. 8 (? y)b (E-6) -2. 57 -3. 85 -6. 41 -16. 6 -26. 9 ?a (mm) 0. 0902 0. 135 0. 225 0. 586 0. 947 ?b (mm) 0. 00710 0. 0106 0. 0177 0. 0461 0. 0745 Experimental –Unsymmetrical Bending Mass (Kg) 4 6 10 26 42 26 10 6 4 (? x) (E-6) 5 9 14 36 54 38 22 20 17 (? y) (E-6) -3 -6 -10 -21 -28 -28 -42 -45 -43 ?xy (E-6) 0 -1 0 1 0 2 24 25 26 (? x) (Mpa) 0. 366 0. 658 1. 02 2. 63 3. 95 2. 78 1. 61 1. 46 1. 24 (? y) (Mpa) -0. 219 -0. 439 -0. 731 -1. 54 -2. 05 -2. 05 -3. 07 -3. 29 -3. 14 Theoretical – Unsymmetrical Bending Mass (Kg) 4 6 10 26 42 (Mz,y)a (N†¢m) 21. 3 32. 0 53. 4 138 224 (Mz,y)b (N†¢m) 9. 15 13. 7 22. 9 59. 5 96. 1 (? x) (Mpa) 0. 381 0. 572 0. 954 2. 48 4. 00 (? y) (Mpa) -1. 40 -2. 10 -3. 51 -9. 12 -14. 7 (? x) (E-6) 5. 22 7. 83 13. 1 33. 9 54. 8 (? y) (E-6) 1. 83 2. 74 4. 57 11. 9 19. 2 ?x-y (mm) 0. 0902 0. 135 0. 225 0. 586 0. 946 ?x-z (mm) 0. 391 0. 587 0. 978 2. 54 4. 11

Product life cycle and its concept

Product life cycle and its concept All products and services have certain life cycles. The life cycle of a product, also known as PLC, is a model that illustrates the six different stages that a product/service will go through. The PLC shows the life of a product from its conception to its final withdrawal and each phase has its own characteristics and varies in length depending on the product/service. When a company introduces a new product in the market is very important to identify the six stages of its products life cycle because it has to take specific marketing actions in each stage in order to have the more profits it can. The understanding of the PLC can help the businesses to find out the right timing to introduce or withdraw a product from the market and realize whether their products are successful or not. THE HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE AND ITS CONCEPT The product life cycle concept was developed in the 1950s and became very popular during the next decade. Up until now, it represents a core element of marketing theory and it is widely accepted because of its extensive applications. The PLCs concept can be applied to other theories such as new product development, portfolio analysis etc. The concept of PLC involves that: All products and services have a limited life similar to the human life (or the life of any other living organism). The product sales range. They pass through several and unique stages which pose certain challenges, opportunities and problems. The profits of a product/service range also. During different stages the profits are bound to rise or fall accordingly. Finally, at each stage of PLC, the firms must alter their strategies and their marketing in order for their product to be as profitable as it can. The product life cycle and its stages refer to three production levels: As far as it concerns a specific product (brand) of a company (e.g. Samsung captivate Galaxy S cell phone). A specific company that produces similar and parallel products (e.g. Samsung cell phones). And the whole industry. The group of companies that produce competitive products (e.g. the whole cell phone industry). The brands usually have shorter product life cycles. The products on the other hand, follow standard PLC, while the product categories (industries) have the largest PLCs and stay in maturity phase for a long time, sometimes indefinitely. THE PLC STAGES The products life cycle consists of six phases: Development Introduction Growth Maturity Saturation Decline Fig.1 3821925.gif PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PHASE The development phase begins when a company generates and develops a new product idea. Its a process that demands the translation of different kinds of information (market and consumers trends, competitors products, environmental analysis etc.) which will have to be organized, combined and incorporated into the new product. This product must pass several test market and laboratory tests (Beta testing) in order for the company to see if it will be profitable and if the customers will benefit from it. Only those products that survive the tests can be introduced into the real market. Its obvious that during the development stage the company does not have any sales or profit. INTRODUCTION PHASE The introduction phase begins with the launch of the product in the market. The company tries to promote the new product, develop a market for it and spends a great deal of money in order to achieve this. During this phase the sales generally are low and the profits of the company even tend to be sometimes negative (low sales, high unit costs). The companies produce a small amount of products and their employees must be highly educated. Expertise is needed now. There is little or no competition and there may be high skim pricing for the company to recover the development costs. Finally, the distribution is very selective until the consumers start showing acceptance of the product and start buying it. Sadly, most of the times, the new products fail this stage and the company must withdraw them early from the market. GROWTH PHASE The products that managed to pass the first two stages with flying colors can now proceed to the growth stage. Thats the most profitable stage for the firms. The product takes-off in the market place and the sales increase rapidly. Costs decline on a per unit basis and we have scale economies in production. Thats the time that the company wants to increase the market share and find loyal customers (brand loyalty). However, the success of the product draws the competitors attention. The pricing, which would have be maintained with little competition, starts changing. The company must now become the leader, indicate all the products offerings and differentiate the brand from those of competitors. Basically, the companies during this phase try to find sources of competitive advantage and establish position in the market. The promotion continues as well, but not in the same extend that was needed in the second phase and is also aimed at a broader audience. Finally, distribution channels are added since the product is now successful and the demand continues to increase. MATURITY PHASE Its the stage where the sales have reached to their maximum point (peak) and now start decreasing. The strong growth in sales diminishes and the competition becomes harsher. Now there is a plethora of similar products in the market and the first basic product becomes less wanted. However, if the company managed to achieve its market share goal, now is the time to enjoy the most profitable period. The maturity stage is a period that the firms try to extend their products life as we will show further down. During this stage, pricing strategies change and usually the companies lower their prices because of the new competition. Price wars start. Discounts, coupons, BOGOF offers etc. give an advantage to those who are leaders, helping them to withstand the crisis caused by the low prices. Promotion changes and focuses in finding new buyers. Emphasis is given to the product differentiation especially in terms of quality, use, reliability and price. The distribution becomes more intensive and the use of multi distribution channels begins. The phase of the maturity is a period that drives many companies to stop the production and withdraw (shake-out) since they cannot handle the competition. Its a phase that lasts for a long time and includes the majority of products (mature products of mature industries). SATURATION PHASE This phase usually is excluded because it has many characteristics of the maturity phase. However, the saturation stage is even more extreme. During this stage, sales are impossible to increase and the profits decline sharply. The competition becomes more and more austere and relentless and the customers now search for the low cost substitutes. Meanwhile, the quality of the similar products gradually rises and the previously new product straggles to keep up and not fade away. DECLINE PHASE This is the final stage. In the decline phase sales decrease rapidly either because new products are launched in the market or the buyers behavior starts to change. Its the time that the companies start to withdraw their products, minimize the promotion and lessen the distribution channels. Sometimes, the firms continue to sell their products in a lower price to their loyal customers but that cannot continue for a long time since ultimately the costs will exceed the profits. At this phase the firm has several options such as: To maintain the product by adding new features or by finding new uses of it (extension strategies). Sell the product to another company which is willing to continue the production. This is called divestment and basically refers to companies that want to associate the dying product with their production line or sell it to a different market. Harvest the product. With this option, the companies reduce costs and offer the product until they run out of stock. Most of the times the product is sold to the loyal customers who already know the product and the places where they can acquire it. The group of these loyal customers is also called Niche segment. Withdraw the product. (Sometimes this becomes a 7th phase called the abandonment phase). Fig.2productLifeCycle.gif Fig.3product_life_cycle-2-797072.gif Fig.4 (a PLC compared to the companys profits) product_lifecycle.jpg In the table bellow there is a summary of the strategies that the companies must follow in each product life cycle phase. The table has been taken from the book Strategic Industrial Marketing Development Phase Introduction Phase Growth Phase Maturity Phase Decline Phase Strategic Goal Make your product known and establish a test period Acquire a strong market position Maintain your market position and build on Defend market position from competitors and improve your product Milk all remaining profits from product Competition Almost not there Early entry of aggressive competitors into the market Price and distribution channel pressure Establishment of competitive environment Some competitors are already withdrawing from market Product Limited number of variations Introduction of product variations and models Improvement upgrade of product Price decrease Variations and models that are not profitable are withdrawn Price Goal High sale to middle men Aggressive price policy (decrease) for sales increase Re-estimation of price policy Defensive price policy Maintain price level for small profit Promotion Goal Creation of public market product awareness Reinforcement of product awareness and preference Reinforcement of middle men Maintain loyal to middle men Gradual decrease Distribution Goal Exclusive and selective distribution trough certain distribution channels and creation of high profit margins for middle men General and reinforced distribution through all distribution channels available General and reinforced distribution with good supply to the middle men but with low margins of profit for them General and reinforced distribution with good supply to the middle men but with low margins of profit for them Withdrawal from most channels of distribution except those used in development phase Source: Avlonitis G. THE DIVERSITY OF PRODUCT LIFE CYCLES Beside the usual and common product life cycle that we have just analyzed, there are some special categories. They are usually called alternative Product Life Cycles and appear very different PLC patterns. As the majority of products go through the normal six stages of their PLC, there are many that do not or will not follow them. These special categories of PLC are mainly five: the style, the fashion, the fad, the low learning and the high learning. However other PLC patterns are also the instant bust, the aborted introduction, the market specialty, the growth stump -maturity pattern, the cycle recycle pattern, the scalloped pattern etc. STYLE Style is a basic and distinctive model of expression appearing in a field of human endeavor. Once a style is invented it can last for generations Examples of Style appear in clothes, home art etc. FASHION Fashion is a currently accepted and popular style in a given field. It passes through four stages. The stage of distinctiveness, where some buyers approve something new and innovative that will characterize them. The stage of emulation, where other buyers approve this fashion in order to imitate the fashion leaders. The stage of mass fashion, where fashion becomes very popular and companies start producing in large quantities (mass production). The stage of decline, where the customers live behind the particular fashion and begin heading towards a new one. FAD Fads are fashions that rapidly appear to the consumers. They become accepted with great enthusiasm, peak early and decline very fast. Their acceptance cycle is very short and products that we will come across in this category are the tattoos or the body piercings. HIGH LEARNING PRODUCTS High learning products are products which have very long introductory phases. After their appearance in the market, they need time in order to become accepted either because they are complicated (require significant education of the customer) and expensive or simply because they are not compatible with the existing values of the society (e.g. Video phones, microwave ovens etc.). LOW LEARNING PRODUCTS Low learning products are the exact contrary of the high learning ones. Their introduction is very fast and some time it is difficult to separate the introductory and the growth stage. They peak rapidly because of their high relative advantage. The customer already knows how to use them and understands the benefits of having them. ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLES As we have already mentioned, there are also other product life cycles which do not exhibit a bell shaped PLC. Growth slump maturity pattern Its a pattern that usually comes up in new drugs. At the beginning, the products success leads to a high sale level but later slumps. After that point the sales fall to petrified level (other examples are the kitchen supplies like spoons, mixers, kitchen knives etc.). Cycle recycle pattern Cycle-recycle pattern often suits in the pharmaceutical industry. At start, the firm aggressively promotes the product. As a result sales grow producing the first cycle. After their peak, sales start declining and the firms give another promotion push in order to have other smaller growths which produce a second, third cycle and so on. The Scalloped pattern The scalloped pattern on the other hand, differs from the other two. Here sales go through a series of PLCs. This succession of life cycles is the result of good marketing. The company finds new uses of the product, discovers new future customers and sometimes the launches the product to new foreign markets. A great scalloped pattern example would be again a certain drug which company found new applications of it. Other Other alternative Product Life Cycles would be the Instant Bust, the Aborted Introduction, The Market Specialty and the Extended Life Cycle which is the most common type and we are going to analyze next. EXTENDING PLC EXTENSION STRATEGIES The life cycle of the products varies, as we have already mentioned, but sooner or later all products will eventually reach the maturity stage which will be followed by the decline stage. Since the most profitable period of the PLC is during the stages of growth and maturity, companies pay strong attention on the life cycle of their products and try hard to extend them especially as those life cycles near an end. This kind of extension can be achieved by operating certain strategies which usually are introduced during the maturity phase. The most usual and effective PLC extension strategies are the following: Re-Packaging Re-Branding Pricing Re-Designing Promotion New Markets RE-PACKAGING Re-packaging the product means basically that you alter the image of a mature product. The companies try to give a new image to their products in order to make them look more appealing to their existing customers and/or attract new customers. This slight alteration can be done by changing the materials, the size or the messaging on the package. Take for example a chocolate that a company has been selling for decades. Though the product was popular in the 1970s, the new generations will not buy it because is not as modern as they would like it to be. However, if the company changes it just a bit, then it can reach out to those people who will start buying it. RE-BRANDING Re-branding a product is a difficult extension strategy because the companies must change the packaging, the name and the total appearance of their product. This strategy is usually followed when the company wants to reach out to a different audience, target a different market. Take for instance a shampoo. The firm must consistently offer improved versions of this product to maintain the interest of its customers. Re-branding this product would mean giving it a fresh look and name and can involve developing comparative ads that explain how the product has changed and is now better than ever before. PRICING A widely used extension strategy is the re-designing of the products pricing strategy. This can be done by either reducing the products existing price, discounting, or by offering different pricing options. By using this technique, the companies reach out to target markets that couldnt afford the product, gain customers and sustain market share for the products that they offer. RE-DESIGNING Re-designing a mature product is actually the modification of the products features. This strategy is usually followed when the product must adapt to market changes or changes in buyers preferences (customers behavior). In order to do so, the companies, can change the color, the shape or the decoration of the product depending on what their target groups want. Additionally, the companies can add new features to a product providing alternative uses for it. These modifications must be noticeable to the buyer and satisfy his needs in a better way than before, or satisfy him in more ways. Finally, there are two types of value adding modifications: The retention type modification that increases the attractiveness of a product/service to the loyal customers of the company. The conquesting type modifications that allow a company to attract another companys loyal customers by increasing the appeal of its product/service to them. PROMOTION Promotion is used for every single product no matter the stage they are in. However when a product nears the end of its life cycle, the company tends to increase the advertising in order to increase awareness and remind customers the benefits of purchasing this product. The marketing departments can develop new advertising campaigns or stick to the old ones but increase the frequency of the ads. By using persuasive promotional techniques such as BOGOF (Buy One, Get One Free), companies try to stimulate demand. NEW MARKETS Companies can always expand abroad and launch in new markets. By expanding their products abroad, they can reach out to completely different customers (numerous cultural, social, political or geographical differences) and extend the PLC. This strategy can be very expensive since the market will be new and unknown, however, if its done properly, the product will be very profitable and wont fade away. To sum up, if the above product life extension strategies are done properly and be successful, then they can increase the profitable period of a product, generating additional profit from a mature or declining product. THE PROBLEMS OF PLC MODEL As mentioned above the standard PLC model is not followed by each and every product/service. In spite of the companies efforts, sometimes the poor marketing or the misunderstanding of the environments and the consumers messages can lead a product straight to the decline stage. Usually, the firms cannot predict the time that their product will need to go from one phase to another and sometimes they cannot even realize their products current stage. All these ultimately will lead the firm to take marketing actions too early or too late. Since every product is bound to spend different lengths of time in each stage there is no physical way of showing this on the PLC model. As Day (1981: 65) points out: The identification of the boundaries between phases will be affected by the variety of product life cycles patterns. The more variations of the PLC identified, the more difficult the positioning process becomes. Through the years, several scientists and authors have criticized the PLC model and have questioned its validity. In the table below we present some of those along with the problems that they found in this extraordinary model. Major criticisms and problems Authors The PLC concept has no practical use Levitt (1963: 93) It is still difficult to determine at which phase of the PLC a product or service is Levitt (1963: 93) Dhalla and Yuspeh (1976: 102-110) Grantham (1997: 9) The PLC concept has not yet been tested systematically Polli and Cook (1969: 385-400) The PLC led many companies to make costly mistakes and to neglect opportunities. It is often difficult to accurately determine in which phase of the PLC a product actually is. Shortcomings on the practical application of the PLC concept Dhalla and Yuspeh (1976: 102-110) There is still no evidence of the efficacy of the PLC as a tool to predict marketing strategy Dhalla and Yuspeh (1976: 102-110) Grantham (1997: 9) Most empirical studies testing the product life cycle concept have found that it lacks validity or usefulness for explaining sales growth Weber (1976: 125-132) The problem with the PLC concept is that sales are modeled primarily as a function of time and are expected to produce curves that display growth, leveling and decline Tellis and Crawford (1981: 125-132) In many markets the product or brand life cycle is longer than the actual planning life cycle or organizations Mercer (1993: 269-274) There is still serious doubt about the application of the product life cycle as a marketing tool Grantham (1997: 4) THE INVERTED PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE The inverted product life cycle was first invented by John A. Weber. Its a new framework that provides new aspects for viewing and understanding the possible growth opportunities for the organization. It is nothing more than the classic PLC concept. However, this inverse expands it into a detailed, inquisitive and intuitive tool for planning future growth. According to Weber the inverted product life cycle will help organizations to estimate the sales likely to result from taking advantage of available growth opportunities. The inverted PLC uses the industrys life cycle and not the products itself. It can be used in plenty ways such as to help the top management and the product line managers, assess alternative growth choices and international markets, separate the market segments etc. PRODUCT CANNIBALISM Product cannibalism is a phenomenon that appears when a company launches a new product, similar to other pre-existing ones, regardless of their market position. This is mostly due to the introduction of new technologies in the market, which makes cannibalism common among technologically advanced companies. When a firm decides to follow this strategy, it launches a new product to replace previews ones, which cannibalizes on the market share of its predecessors. The favorable case of cannibalism Product cannibalization has both a negative and a positive side. In a usual case of cannibalism, the improved product is introduced to the market when the older one reaches its peak sales. Prices for the new product are high, in order to sustain profit, as the previous version reaches the end of its life cycle. Sometimes, companies introduce a new product, before the existing one even reaches its maturity phase. It is important, for managers, to know exactly the right moment to introduce the new product, as mistimed actions can be catastrophic. The unfavorable case of cannibalism If cannibalism is implicated without caution, the results might be harmful for the company. These are: Smaller contribution to profit, as the new product sold at a lower price, does not yield as much profit as the previous one and does not expand the companys market share. Switching to a new product causes smaller combined profits from both products, compared to not cannibalizing. Changes in the manufacturing process may be too expensive to handle and cause a decrease in profit. A new product with higher risk may cause an unexpected rise in production cost and a decrease in profit margin. Offensive and Defensive Cannibalism strategies Product cannibalism can be used in order to hit the market leader, or repel competitive companies from stealing market share. Offensive cannibalism is useful when a company wishes to establish itself in a new market or expand its market share. For the market leader it is advisable not to cannibalize, until it is necessary. Companies should wait for the right moment, when they have developed or acquired technology allowing them to develop an innovative product. When competitors arise, they will be ready to quickly launch their new product, not only sustaining their market share, but increasing it as well as gaining larger profit. This is not always the case, as delays give competitors the opportunity to attack market share, before the leader is able to react. Defensive cannibalism strategies include: Cannibalizing before competitors, using proper timing. Early use of this strategy causes profits to drop, while late use causes a loss in market share. Using product cannibalism as a way to maintain a technological advantage over competitors. The market leader adjusts the length of the products life cycle this way. This is the case with Intel corp. cannibalizing its older processors in favor of new ones. Adjusting the cannibalization rate to pricing. The price of a new product determines the mix in sales between new and old. Giving the new product at a lower price causes cannibalization to be slow. In the opposite case, cannibalization becomes fast, as the new product is considered to be superior to the previous one. Minimizing cannibalization with the introduction of a new product to specific market segments. This strategy helps the company to maintain a balance between gain and loss in the market. Cannibalism and e-commerce Cannibalism is also common among companies that operate on the internet. Their strategy is to offer products at a lower price on the internet, compared to retail prices. Since buyers are affected by prices they choose to buy online, causing a reduction in volume for retail sales. Large companies such as Toys R Us (United States of America), have launched online ventures in order to achieve this result. THE PLC AND PRODUCT PORTFOLIO THE BCG MODEL Bruce Henderson of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has developed a matrix called BCG matrix. The BCG matrix is a portfolio planning model which is used to identify products, current and future market position, profitability, capital requirements and development opportunity. The BCG matrix is based on the theory of product life cycle and it is a well-known portfolio management tool. The BCG matrix is often used to know which products in company gets more funding and attention. Each product has its product life cycle and each phase in the product life cycle represents a different profile of risk and return. A company should retain a balanced portfolio of products that includes both high growth and low growth products. The high growth product is a new product that has to get to the market and it takes a lot of effort to get it there. The high growth products are those which are expected to bring the most profit in the future. A low growth product is already established and known by th e market. In other words these products are the milking cows that brings a constant cash flow. It is important for the companies to know what phase their products are in and in order to find this out they can use the BCG matrix. The model has four categories in a portfolio of a company. These four phases are: Star. If a product is placed in the category of stars it has a high growth and a high market share. The products are also those which are the leaders in the business but still they need to retain the market share with a lot of marketing and promotions. If the company manages to keep the market share the stars will grow into cash cows. The most important thing for a star product is to maintain the strong market position to later develop into a cash cow and try to avoid moving to a dog. Cash cow. When a product has reached a high market share in a mature market it becomes a cash cow. It is characterized by a low growth but a high market share. Due to the high market share there is no reason to invest on the product. A cash cow generates a lot of cash flow because of the high profit margins. This phase of the product life cycle is what every business strives for. Question mark. This phase of the products life cycle exists when the product enters the market and is waiting for the buyers to discover it. The strategy is to get the customer use the products. It is about a high growth and a low market share therefore question marks have high demands and low returns due to the low market share. If the managers do not manage to increase their market share these products will become dogs. When a product reaches this phase the company has to decide if they want to invest in it or to sell it. Dog. When a product has reached the low growth limit and when it has a low market share it is time for the company to remove the product from the market because expensive turn around plans do not help. One possibility the company has is to focus on a defensible niche. Generally, dogs should be avoided and minimized. These four steps of the BCG model can be compared to the model of the product life cycle. When the product life cycle is compared to the product portfolio concept, the marketing manager can take strategic decisions with greater certainty. We can compare the question mark phase to the introduction phase. When the product has evolved to become a star it has reached out to the market and also managed to get a strong market position. This can be compared to the phase of growth. After the period as a star the product turns to a cash cow which is also the maturity stage. Finally a declining product can also be called a dog. CONCLUSION The product life cycle model has been a central and crucial element of marketing theory for four decades. It has been helpful to marketers in their attempt to understand, conceive and analyze their products success and profitability and has proved itself to be an important research tool. Despite the criticism that it has received and the g

The Birth of P-Funk: George Clinton Essay -- essays research papers

In ancient African civilizations music took precedence in all activities that the tribes participated in. There was a song for every celebration, every birth, and every death. As Africans were enslaved and moved to North America by Europeans, many customs and traditions followed with them. As their culture was stripped from them and European ideals were placed upon them, they kept song as their universal language and their link to the motherland. From early on, slave songs also known as â€Å"Negro Spirituals† were the first inclination of what could be considered African American music. These songs were largely influenced by the conversion of many Africans to Christianity, and generally held a religious overtone. As slavery came and went and those enslaved Africans settled and made this country their home. The music they made and celebrated evolved along with the culture. Gospel was one of the first of many musical styles to emerge from black communities. Developed as a religious style of music, gospel was one of the first indicators that the â€Å"black church† had formed. Out of Gospel music emerged a more secular form of music called Blues. Blues spoke of some of the same hardships that negro spirituals and gospel music, but the object was not to ask for guidance from a spiritual entity. Many other musical genres were created and shaped from the experiences of Africans living in America. Everything from: Jazz to Soul to R&B all are direct contributions from the experiences o...

Qualitative Research for Instructional Technology Essay -- Qualitative

Qualitative Research for Instructional Technology Background: A trend of the past several years has been the growing use of qualitative research for educational research. Qualitative research, broadly defined, means "any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification. Where quantitative researchers seek causal determination, prediction, and generalization of findings, qualitative researchers seek instead illumination, understanding, and extrapolation to similar situations. Qualitative analysis results in a different type of knowledge than does quantitative inquiry. " (Hoepfl, 1997, p.13). "During the past several decades, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s, naturalistic inquiry (or qualitative research) has gained considerable acceptance. Nevertheless, the debate between quantitative and qualitative methodologies, as competing positions, persists. It is important to recognize the limitations of viewing quantitative and qualitative methods as completely differen t or competing approaches" (Custer, 1996, p. 4). What exactly are the basic differences between the two forms of research? Hoepfl (1997) explains it by saying that "phenomenological inquiry, or qualitative research, uses a naturalistic approach that seeks to understand phenomena in context-specific settings. Logical positivism, or quantitative research, uses experimental methods and quantitative measures to test hypothetical generalizations (p. 14)". Custer (1996) also points out that "the qualitative-quantitative dichotomy dates back as early as the 17th century where quantitativists were characterized by some as ‘vulgar statisticians’". Basic Features: The following list... ...." The decision to use qualitative methodologies should be considered carefully, though. "By its very nature, qualitative research can be emotionally taxing and extraordinarily time consuming. At the same time, it can yield rich information not obtainable through statistical sampling techniques" (Hoepfl, 1997, p. 37). References Custer, R. L. (1996). Qualitative research methodologies. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 34, 3-6. Hoepfl, M.C. (1997, Fall). Choosing qualitative research: A primer for technology education researchers. Journal of Technology, 9, 12-39. Johnson, S. D. (1995, Spring). Will our research hold up under scrutiny? Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 32, 3-6. Sutton, B. (1993). The rationale for qualitative research: A review of principles and theoretical foundations. Library Quarterly, 63, 411-430.

Math Coursework - The Fencing Problem :: Math Coursework Mathematics

The Fencing Problem A farmer has 1000m of fencing and wants to fence off a plot of level land. She is not concerned about the shape of plot, but it must have a perimeter of 1000m. So it could be: [IMAGE] Or anything else with a perimeter (or circumference) of 1000m. She wishes to fence of the plot of land with the polygon with the biggest area. To find this I will find whether irregular shapes are larger than regular ones or visa versa. To do this I will find the area of irregular triangles and a regular triangle, irregular quadrilaterals and a regular square, this will prove whether irregular polygons are larger that regular polygons. Area of an isosceles irregular triangle: ======================================== (Note: I found there is not a right angle triangle with the perimeter of exactly 1000m, the closest I got to it is on the results table below.) To find the area of an isosceles triangle I will need to use the formula 1/2base*height. But I will first need to find the height. To do this I will use Pythagoras theorem which is a2 + b2 = h2. [IMAGE] [IMAGE] First I will half the triangle so I get a right angle triangle with the base as 100m and the hypotenuse as 400m. Now I will find the height: a2 + b2= h2 a2 + 1002 = 4002 a2 = 4002 - 1002 a2 = 160000 - 10000 a2 = 150000 a = 387.298m Now I will find the area: 100*387.298 = 3872.983m2 My table shows the areas of other irregular triangles, but to prove that regular shapes have a larger area I will show the area of a regular triangle: Area of a regular triangle: Tan30= 166.6666667/x X= 166.666667/Tan30 X= 288.675m 288.675*166.6666667 = 48112.5224m2 This shows clearly that the regular triangle's area is larger than the

Case Critique: Black Fly Beverage Company Inc Essay

Black fly is enjoying a comfortable growth, their product has been well received by consumers and they have also benefited from positive feedback from the media. Now would then be a very good time to undertake an expansion as the company would take advantage of the momentum and exposure it currently has to introduce new products or features to the market. Let’s evaluate the different options available to Black fly. First Alternative: Launching a new Flavour: Launching a new flavour of an existing product has been the most common expansion initiative taken by companies in the food and beverage industry. It is a conservative approach as it usually does no require a significant investment mostly because it benefits from economies of scale and often does not require any new equipment for the production as it is the case with Black fly beverages. Furthermore the company currently has enough capacity from a production perspective to support the expansion. However the main risk, as it was assessed by the company, is that the new flavour may â€Å"cannibalize the original recipe† and will not result in an increase of market share but rather split sales between the products. The flavour is less likely to attract consumers and could only be an additional option to existing customers allowing them to choose or switch between flavours which does not increase revenues but rather keeps them steady. Also, if we take in consideration the psychological buying process of consumers it has not been proven that consumers are more likely to purchase a product because it offers more than one flavour nor does it help a consumer revisit his choice if he did not like the product in the first place. Second Initiative: Creating a new product line ‘Spiked Ice† The spiked ice is an innovative idea, a first in its kind to be introduced to the wine and spirit marketplace and like any new idea it is important to establish that it is also an opportunity. The LCBO being the largest retailer of alcoholic beverages in the world, it is safe to assume that it has the best knowledge of trends in the industry as it is almost the only channel of distribution of alcoholic beverages in Ontario. The LCBO is then the best resource a company can use when it comes to product/industry feasibility as it carries out a stringent assessment of quality, price and market potential for each new product. Therefore there is an opportunity and a market potential for this new product since the LCBO is willing to provide shelf space for the Spiked Ice, furthermore it has a provided a firm commitment for a 4 months order. The â€Å"Spiked Ice† also has the potential â€Å"real† additional revenues since it is a different product and can also target consumers who are not typically fond of vodka coolers (i.e. consumers that prefer drinking beer but whom during the summer month would quench their thirst on a freezee with a vodka twist) Allowing the company to increase and diversify its customer base. This initiative however does require a significant capital investment to upgrade the production facilities and the company would be facing a significant loss should the product not generate enough sales however the company has commitment from LCBO for a large quantity which will also help them boost the roll out of the new product. Also from a managerial/organizational perspective the company has proven that it is capable of successfully undertaking similar projects. I would recommend the company to launch the â€Å"Spiked Ice† as it is the only option that has the potential to generate additional revenues allowing the company to truly expand by penetrating a different segment of the market share. Introducing a new flavour has a low potential as it does not target a new segment or customer base and will most likely not generate additional revenues however it is a good initiative that could be launched for retention purposes to increase customer satisfaction.