Financial plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial plan - Essay Example During this time, a majority of the students on campus leaves and return to their homes and if they have a pet, they must either take it home with them where it might not be allowed, or they have to find a boarder, which is where we come in. We will be offering not only students, but also all members of the Bloomington community, the ability board their animals for extended periods for a fee. Some of the major sources of revenue to the Hoosier Pet Palace include pet grooming and boarding, breeding, and handling. On the other hand, the expenses are in the form of food for dogs, veterinary services, wages, electricity, interest on loan and others. Situational Review Hoosier Pet Palace is a unique entity, being the first to incorporate both pet care service and waste food recycling, Hoosier Pet Palace has a great potential for growth and limited competition in Bloomington, Indiana. There are two major pet care service providers in Bloomington: Canine Companions and The Dog House. Canine Companions was established in 1993 that distinguish themselves from others as â€Å"the only complete full-service one-stop pet care facility in the Bloomington area.† Not only do they provide daycare, they also provide boarding programs, medical treatments, training, exercise options, and grooming services. The Dog House, established in 2005, prides themselves as â€Å"Bloomington’s first and only cage-free boarding and doggy daycare facility.† Both of them have been in Bloomington for years and have established a customer base, which would compete directly with Hoosier Pet Palace. However, unlike Hoosier Pet Palace, they only provide caring services for dogs. Not only would Hoosier Pet Palace provide our service to owners of dogs, we would also provide our service to owners of cats, rabbits, birds, and more. Sources of Start-up Funding Hoosier Pet Palace needs approximately $185,000 for start-up and is in the process of going to banks and different loan agenc ies to borrow sufficient starting capital to acquire all necessary property, materials, and resources. We will be presenting our business plan to different loan agencies hoping for investment. We believe that our business will be successful because of the need that we will be satisfying. Our target market is in abundance in the Bloomington area, so we see a direct need to have an animal boarding facility available to them. Another reason we believe our business will be successful is because of the â€Å"green† initiative that we will be basing our company off. This will appeal to not only the students of the community but also the environmental friendly activists in the community. Strategy for Paying the Loan The bank loan is the largest expense the Hosier Pet Palace will incur throughout the first three years of operation. The business believes it will be successful in its activities and generate enough revenue to continue the business and pay the loan. This is justified by the fact that the target market is abundant in the area and there is need for an animal boarding facility. In addition, the college students have many pets that need services that will be offered by Hoosier Pet Palace. Operational Expenses during start-up Period Hoosier Pet Palace needs approximately $185,000 for starting up the business. This money will go into paying start-up expenses shown in the table below and acquiring the list of equipment for pet care.

Information Systems In Business Organizations Essay Example for Free

Information Systems In Business Organizations Essay The website of PC Magazine, upon looking at its physical makeup, and design, was designed to entice and provoke consumers all over the world, some of them, I assume, are hooked on online shopping, to purchase products featured on their website. The home page of the website appears to be patches of commercial billboards as it is occupied by advertising ads publicizing their line of products. Some of the wide variety of products presented in the website includes printers, digital cameras, laptops, mobile phones, software and hardware products for computers, mp3 players, to flash drives, speakers, projectors, subscriptions for PC magazine as well, and many more. There is also a broad range of links that you can visit that depends on your fields of interest. For online window shoppers, there is a link for product guides and reviews. Products available in the market, including all brand names, companies and corporations who pay Pcmag.com for advertisements, and product partners, are reviewed and rated. The reviews are useful enough, containing the positive and negative feedbacks of each product. The ratings on the other hand are based on the features, compatibility to other gadgets, design, and the price of the product. There are also software products, for shareware, demo trial, and freeware that the online client can sample and access. As tagline of the Pcmag.com goes, their website is intended for an independent individual. To prove their claim, they have provided links for how-to’s, do-it-yourself’s, tips and guides, and video blogs. For the online information-seeker, there are links for news updates and columns about products in the market, whether these are upgrades, new product launches, additional reviews, comments, etc. Aside from the advertisements plaguing the website, there is also a separate link for online shoppers, which constitute numerous merchandises that are available for purchasing, shopping options, and technology solutions. Moreover, there are discussion boards for online clients who wish to communicate with other online clients about gadget finds, current trends, and other issues about technology and its advances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, the website of PC Magazine spells out the words â€Å"to sell.† There isn’t any link in the website which does not feature an advertisement or stimulating signs such as low prices, sales, and discounts for products. For each mouse click, there is always a provocation to purchase gadget items. The website accommodates online shoppers, online window shoppers, and consumers deciding on what products to purchase for their particular needs and why. However, pcmag.com primarily caters to businesses or corporations that are planning advertising strategies for the promotion of their products. In as much as the website would want to display themselves as a consumer-centered community, it is likely that business corporations are more benefited by them than their consumers. People who are knowledgeable about management and marketing issues or even rational consumers who are not easily swayed by advertising would know this. Advertising is a very powerful and persuasive tool in stimulating consumers to believe what they are trying to sell. It does not even contribute much to information technology because it is only concerned with the promotions of software and hardware products. Although there are links provided for how-to’s and such, it still lacks depth and beneficial information to sustain the demands of learning information technology. The extensive amount of information provided in each link would be a subject of interest to you if you are a techie and gadget-dependent or if you want to learn how to operate gadgets that are widely used nowadays. If these are your objectives in visiting the sites, then it would be an advantageous and helpful thing for you to do. The product guides and reviews would prove to be the most interesting and valuable links for consumers, as it has the most consumer-centered feel to it. In general, the usefulness and value of the website depends upon your needs and concerns.

My company is lays

My company is lays My company is lays FRITO LAYS I am SUBODH KUMAR, owner of FRITO LIMITED, which produces lays. My company was started with a capital of 2 crore on 12th Dec, 2009. The main product of my company is lays. My company also produces other products like energy drinks, popcorns, frosties, chips, etc.But the main product is lays. The name of my corn flakes is FRITO lays .I chose lays because lays are regularly used by people of all age groups in all seasons and the market of lays is high throughout the year. The idea came into mind when I saw a child who did not want to eat that because he did not find it tasty and I decided to make something tasty for all. And the idea worked. I succeeded in making my own cornflakes. Frito lays are made of. Frito lays comes in two sizes the Family Jumbo size, and in the small size, just enough for one person. The Jumbo packets have masks of animals as cutouts, and kids love to have them. The ad is targeted at mothers who are finally going to buy the product which is meant for family consumption. Kids are surely going to demand it,. Ingredients The main ingredients of FRITO LAYS are: EDIBLE VEGITABLE OIL, SPICES, ONION AND CHILLY POWER, CORIADER POWDER, SALT, GINGER POWDER, BLACK PAPER POWDER, TERMARIC POWDER, SALT, AND TARTERIC ACID VARIOUS FLAVOURS: There are various flavours of NUTRILLES corn flakes. NUTRILLES Banana Bite. Delicious strawberries. Mango mania. Chocoleceous Chocà ³s Musculaceous Frostiest for fun. Each one has a distinctive taste to invite Young and Grey to morning taste buds and in a mix, its a jingle to top up with Tropicana fruit mixes for a great Nutritious head start for the day. The best part of lays has always been that it has been a brand ambassador for Fat Free Food which has gone in a big way to reduce FP Ratio. We all know that the Indians have lost the key to healthy living (Healthy Diet and active Lifestyle) because we can never control our Gastronomic desires after reading so many Foodie revs from the likes of Giyani, Karvy and Cowy. Healthy diet means Carbo, Proteins bla bla bla and near to zero Fat and near to zero Sugar. Do we have to remember all this when lays takes care of every nutritive fact on its cover less glossy than Star dust ,but more attractive and more Crispy which makes it the First company in the world to declare its Fat and Sugar levels. Wholesome Facts-Thought for food For all those who think that you should eat like Kings for BF, Lunch and Dinner and those who think that you should starve like Beggars to break weight, healthy BF is the most important way of getting adequate Energy and Nutrition which can be had by wholesome grains and wholesome diet. Complete planned food as per MY PYRAMID means the right combination of Grains-Non refined whole potato, brown rice preferably and refined white rice, wheat or bread if not. Vegetables-Dark Green orange, starchy Vegetables, Peas and Beans. Typically, a NUTRILLES cereal with milk fulfils a major part of BF but will not be complete without Fruits or 100% fruit..It will be no understatement to say that lays contain rich amounts of Carbohydrates, Proteins, Sodium, Potassium, Vitamins, Fibre and an amazing 0.3 grams of Fat only in a bowl full. lays 100 years of commitment to Nutrition can be found in every product that it manufactures and innovates and deserves rich place in the History of Processed Foods. CURRENT SITUATION: MARKET ANALYSIS: MARKET SIZE: The market size of my is large. But it can be changed according to the market demand by changing the price of the Lays. My objective will be to increase the market share of my product. I will develop strategies accordingly. There is considerable competition in the market for my product but as I have developed an all new product in which I have catered all age groups like children ,young, and aged people. So obviously the market size of my product is considerably large. But there are a large numbers of competitors in the market which are threats to my company. For that I have formulated effective strategies to curb their competitive strategies. There is only one big competitor of my company that is a big name in itself uncle chips, that produces a variety of products in this range. PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS: Porters 5 forces analysis is a framework for the industry analysis andbusiness strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. It uses concepts developed in Industrial Organization (IO) economics to derive 5 forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. 1) The threats of substitute products:- the existence of substitutes lays can be the threats. If I increase price of my productpeople will shift to other substitutes. Also if the competitors decrease the the price ofsubstitutes lays it can also can affect the behaviour of consumer, because the consumer is rational. buyer propensity to substitute relative price performance of substitutes buyer switching costs perceived level of product differentiation 1. The threat of entry of new competitors:-It is also possible that new competitors may enter into the market because it is an ever increasing market that will go for ever. Profitabilitymarket increases the producers or competitors and competition arise so profitability decreases. The existence of barriers to entry (patents, rights,etc.) economies of product differences brand equity 2) The intensity of competitive rivalry:- This is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry. Sometimes rivals compete aggressively and sometimes rivals compete in non-price dimensions such as innovation, marketing, etc.I will try to bring new innovations in my product to survive in the market. number of competitors rate of industry growth intermittent industry overcapacity exit barriers 4) The bargaining power of customers The bargaining power of the customers does matter a lot. The ability of customers to put the firm under pressureaffects the customers sensitivity to price changes. buyer concentration to firm concentration ratio bargaining leverage, particularly in industries with high fixed costs buyer volume buyer switching costs relative to firm switching costs buyer information availability 3)The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers of raw materials, components, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm, or e.g. charge excessively high prices for unique resources. supplier switching costs relative to firm switching costs degree of differentiation of inputs presence of substitute inputs These factors are likely to affect my company and I will have to accept to their conditions. MARKET SEGMENTATION: I have segmented the market on various basis like: 1) AGE :I made the segmentation on the basis of age. For kids there are various flavours and attractive shapes of the lays. For young there is weight losers that can decrease weight within 15 days. For middle age people there is another kind that keeps them strong and contains anti ageing substances. 2) INCOME:I have segmented the market on the basis of income so every class of society gets benefit from my product. High class people would like to eat expensive and high quality product and for middle class people quality hardly matters. laysbets on localisation to beat others ORIGINAL lays maker Frito has begun exploring new formats of cereal consumption, category segmentation and localisation, with Quaker, HULs Amaze and Nestlà ©s Cerevita beginning to occupy space in the Rs 250-crore small but rapidly growing Your browser may not support display of this image.breakfast cereal market. FRITO Your browser may not support display of this image.India is also in the process of rolling out its relaunched muesli Your browser may not support display of this image.brand Extra and plans capacity expansion at its current plants. Declining to divulge specific expansion plans, Mr Dutta said: We are exploring new formats and expanding the number of offerings. But we wont veer away too much from cereals as it remains our core competence. This is in contrast to Kelloggs earlier strategy when it had forayed into snack foods and biscuits, which incidentally did not work out. Forthcoming expansion plans would include identifying gaps in healthy food consumption and segmenting the ready-to-eat cereal category, a recent example being that of Special weight-a weight management cereal aimed at women and also Frito biggest brand. Your browser may not support display of this image. By volumes, lays remain Frito biggest Your browser may not support display of this image.brand in India, followed by Chocà ³s. Its muesli, available as Just Right in Your browser may not support display of this image.India previously, has now been rebranded extra. FRITO Your browser may not support display of this image.India experiments with localisation are now paying off, with localised variants Your browser may not support display of this image.such as mango and honey and the low-priced K Pack bringing in volumes. The Indian subsidiary is now among the fastest growing markets for the $12-billion based FRITOthough its contribution to the companys global sales remains marginal. My Your browser may not support display of this image.fast-food cereal maker is exporting to other countries in the sub-continent Your browser may not support display of this image.such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan. CURRENT SITUATION: 1) Financial position:- The financial position of my company is good. I have enough funds to compete in market .My company has good financial record. The assets of the company are greater than liabilities that show the company is in good position. The company is earning increased amounts of profit. 2) Skills:- In my company, educated and qualified staff or people are there, who have best abilities and skills. Who have new ideas to compete in market? 3)Time:- In my company there is flexibility in timings. Work occurs in three shifts .This makes the employees feel comfortable at work. 4)People:- In my company FRITO people are Divided into 3 management level. Top level management, consists of managers who make strategies, take decisions andimplement them in company. Middle level management: there aremanagers who follow the order of top level managers and control on lower level management. In lower levelmanagement: there are supervisors and labour. Objectives of FRITO LIMITED: 1) Financial objective: To make the best financial plan. Earn net profit nearly Rs. 1 crore lakh per year. Every year reduce losses nearly 10%. Make reserve surplus nearly 5% per year. 1. Marketing objective: these are following: Introduce a product that all sections of people like and get benefit from it. Capture as many customers as I can get from all sections of society. My objectives will be that the customers are satisfied by my product and they become loyal to my product. My objective will be to increase the sales of the companyand for that I will adopt various strategies like good promotion like advertisements,newspapers,hoardings,brochures,etc. 2. Long term objective: These are following: To make a strongposition in the market for long term. Provide best possible services to the people. To introducenew and nutritious products in market. To forecast the coming challenges of competition in market. Currentsituation: Macro Environment: 1) Economic environment:- The economic conditions of the country affects the sale of a product. The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, savings, and debt and credit availability. We must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power, because they have a strong impact on business. If the per capita real income of the country is low then the people will switch to other cheap products in the fastfood.However the high class people will switch to my product. That is why I have segmented the market on the basis of income .I have made lays for various income classes.Various prices of the product are available. 2) Social-cultural environment:- Society shapes the beliefs, values and norms largely defines consumer taste and preferences. This environment directly affects my companys product through consumers taste. 3)Technological environment:- Technology shapes the future of any society. I must constantly watch changes in technology for keeping track of competition and customer wants. It plays an important role in determining the type and quality of goods and services to be produced and the type of plant and equipment to be used. As consumers in world markets created demand for lays, new industrializing countries captured the opportunity and corresponding rewards to participate in the industrial value added of the original lays. These countries were able to participate in the $1.40 of industrial value added reward resulting in the transformation of the required 10 cents of lays to produce the $1.50 box of Frito lays. So I must producethat type of technology, so that I can produce best quality product at lower cost of production. 4) Political-legal environment:- The political environment has a major effect on the way financial services industry carries out their business. Parliament passes out legislation to these organisations who then apply it to business in the financial sector which influence the way they go about their business. The three main forces within the political environment are National and Local government, the EU and different regulatory bodies. These regulatory bodies approach to the supervision of those it regulates will be to apply these principles, other rules, laws, government agencies and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals. Consumer behaviour:- It is the study of how individuals, groups and organisations select, buy, use dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. We study of consumer by following ways: o Demographics:-In this we divide consumer on the basis of variables such as age, family size, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality social class. For example I have divided the consumers on the basis of income, age,family size. For example on the basis of family size I have made jumbo packs, family packs. Psychographics:- In this we assess consumers at mental level to determine choices for buying the products. This process includes motivation, perception, learning, beliefs attitudes. Motivation:- It refers to way in which urges, drivers, desires, aspiration, needs direct, control or explain the behaviour of human beings. Motivation has close relationship with consumer behaviour. So with the help of motivation we can calculate the consumer feelings for the product. By the help of effective advertisements I will try to motivate the customers to buy my product. Perception:- It is the process by which consumer selects, organises and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the product. By the help of advertisements and influential brand ambassadors we can make the customers perceive good about our products. Learning:- It includes changes in our behaviour arising from experience. Most human behaviour is learned, although much learning is incidental. I will try to see how customers have previously responded to the products and how they have reacted to them after buying them once.. Nature of buying decision:-Buying decision includes how the customer evaluates various alternatives to buy the product. It includes various steps like : 1) Problem recognition:- In this the customers see where from the need has risen or the product. Need can arise from various sources like family friends. The need for my product i.e. lays can arise when some friend who is also using my product tells u about it or recommends it for your children. Problem recognition is that result when there is a difference between ones desired state and ones actual state. Consumers are motivated to address this discrepancy and therefore they commence the buying process. Sources of problem recognition include: An item is out of stock Dissatisfaction with a current product or service Consumer needs and wants Related products/purchases Marketer-induced New products The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with problem recognition is motivation. A motive is a factor that compels action. 2) Information search:- Once the consumer has recognised a problem, they search for information on products and services that can solve that problem. Belch and Belch (2007) explain that consumers undertake both an internal (memory) and an external search. Sources of information include: Personal sources Commercial sources Public sources Personal experience The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search is perception. Perception is defined as the process by which an individual receives, selects, organises, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world 1. Information evaluation: After the customers search the information about the product they will evaluate various alternatives. At this time the consumer compares the brands and products that are in their evoked set. How can the marketing organization increase the likelihood that their brand is part of the consumers evoked (consideration) set? Consumers evaluate alternatives in terms of the functional and psychological benefits that they offer. The marketing organization needs to understand what benefits consumers are seeking and therefore which attributes are most important in terms of making a decision. 2. Purchase decision:- Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a purchase decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. The marketing organization must facilitate the consumer to act on their purchase intention. The provision of credit or payment terms may encourage purchase, or a sales promotion such as the opportunity to receive a premium or enter a competition may provide an incentive to buy now. The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with purchase decision is integration. 3. Post purchase evaluation:- I will have to check out whether the customers go repurchase or not. After the purchase consumer might like to rationalise the purchase decision. The consumer would go for post-purchases action and uses of products. Post-purchase satisfaction is the function of trade off between the expectation and the performance achieved. Summary of situation analysis ofFRITO LAYS LIMITED. Internal strengths:- The main strength of my product is that it tastes so good, a quick and easy eat on the run food. There are a lot of flavors,lots of crabs. It is cheaper than any other nutrition bar out there .The main strength of my company is quality new innovations in products. The product that is lays meets the requirement i.e. a light and fast food. The main feature of my product is that it is very nutritious and it is manufactured in such a way that it is pure in quality. The strength of my company is that there are a range of flavours in the lays that suits every persons taste. Internal weakness:-The Companys weakness is that the lays industry is becoming more stagnant and there has been a little room for growth. EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITIES:- The main opportunities to my company is that the main competitor UNCLE price is very high and people in India rarely buy that .So I have introduced the different prices for different classes of people. This is the main competitive advantage of my product over other companies. External threats:-The main threat to my company is UNCLE that is the main competitor in INDIA. But in this regard I have adopted certain strategies like I launch products that are traditional in taste so that people like my product. The threats are also from other products that can be used as substitutes. Marketing Research Steps: Marketing Research Approach Once your problem is better defined, you can move onto developing marketing research approach, which will generally be around a defined set of objectives. Clear objectives developed will lend themselves to better marketing research approach development. Developing your approach should consist of honestly assessing you and your teams market research skills, establishing a budget, understanding your environment and its influencing factors, developing an analysis model, and formulating hypotheses. Overall Theory of the Marketing Research Approach What is your overall theory and hypothesis? What do you intend to prove or disprove? What actions are your company willing to take based upon survey results? What are the internal/external roadblocks that will need to be overcome to drive results? Marketing Research Design: I designed the market research in a very effective manner. One thousand consumers were asked a series of questions about the FRITO brands and were shown some initial designs. In particular, the researchers wanted information about the impact of the designs on the shelf, the ease of recognition and the clarity of the brand name and product. The results of the market research confirmed that one design led the field. It highlights the N logo, .. The big advantage of using the N logo was that it was a protectable brand image. Other competitors would not be able to imitate it. Having decided on the new corporate brand icon, the designers had to incorporate it into the design of the packaging for all 29 individual brands. The latest computer technology was used to digitally generate the artwork and the familiar characters such as Snap, Crackle and Pop, Captain Rik and Tony the Tiger were re-drawn in a more modern style. For each product the image was designed to wrap around the box and each side, including the bottom have also been given a strong branded look. The only part of the old design to be kept was the nutritional information, which had itself been re-designed in 1998 and had even received recognition from the Plain English Campaign for the clarity of its explanations. This had already proved to be very consumer friendly and a big success so it was simply incorporated into the new design. It was essential not to alienate consumers with radical new designs and it was important to maintain the individuality of each brand. This is known as the brand equity and means the value of a brand that has been built up over a number of years. Frostiest, for example, keep Tony the Tiger, the familiar blue background and typeface, while FRITO still radiates sunshine and keeps the red and green cockerel. Although the changes in the corporate image were quite radical, the designs of the individual brands retained enough elements to be instantly reco gnisable. Based upon a well-defined approach, a framework for the designing your marketing research design should be apparent. Marketing research design is the most encompassing of all steps in the marketing research process, requiring the greatest amount of thought, time and expertise and is the point at which those less experienced with market research will obtain assistance from an internal market research expert or perhaps partner with an external marketing research provider. Marketing Research Data Collection Marketing research data collection (often called survey fielding) is the point at which the finalized questionnaire (survey instrument) is used in gathering information among the chosen sample segments. There are a variety of data collection methodologies to consider. Market research data collection methods: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) Internet survey Mail survey Mall intercepts Traditional telephone interviewing Internet panel Mail panel In-home panel Survey Data Analysis Any survey data analysis will depend on how the survey questionnaire was constructed. Less complex survey data analysis can be handled with any of a number of office suite tools, while more complex questionnaire data analysis requires dedicated market research analysis programs. Make the decision: After collecting all information, after analyzing, the next and last step is taking decision. This step is based on above informations. The above information was used to take necessary steps to make changes in the product to cope with the changing tastes. Research result:- After the process, of collecting all the information about my product FRITOS . On the basis of this research result, I will take all the decisions of present as well as future. Marketing strategy: Product:- It may be defined as a bundle of utilities consisting of various product features and accompanying services. My marketing strategy with regard to product will be to show the various features of the product: Nutritious value. Hunger erasing value. Longer shelf life. Good taste Different flavours. Product mix:- It refers to all the products offered by a firm. It should be differentiated from the product line, which refers to the group of products which are classified together for reasons of similarities on any one of the several criteria such as customer needs, market served, channed used, or technology used in manufacture. In my company, the product mix refers to the various products offered to the people like corn flakes,popcorn,frosties,biscuits,energy drinks,chips,etc. Product strength:- The main strength of my product is that it tastes so good, a quick and easy breakfast, on the run food. There are a lot of flavors,lots of crabs. It is cheaper than any other nutrition barred out there. The main strength of my company is quality new innovations in products. The product that is cornflakes meets the requirement i.e. a light and nutritious breakfast. The main feature of my product is that it is verynutritious and it is manufactured in such a way that it is pure in quality. The strength of my company is that there are a range of flavours in the LAYS that suits every persons taste. Product weakness:- The companys weakness is that the cornflakes industry is becoming more stagnant and there has been a little room for growth. Product life cycle Your browser may not support display of this image. The product life cycle goes through many phases, involves many professional disciplines, and requires many skills, tools and processes. Product life cycle (PLC) has to do with the life of a product in the market with respect to business/commercial costs and sales measures; whereas product lifecycle management (PLM) has more to do with managing descriptions and properties of a product through its development and useful life, mainly from a business/engineering point of view. To say that a product has a life cycle is to assert four things: That products have a limited life, Product sales pass through distinct stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities, and problems to the seller, Profits rise and fall at different stages of product life cycle, and Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life cycle stage. The different stages in a product life cycle of my productare: 1. Market introduction stage Cost was high Sales volume was low because people were not aware of the product. No or little competition. Demand has to be created. Customers have to be prompted to try the product. Heavy expenditure on the advertisement to make the people aware of the product. Profits are low in this stage. STRATEGIES IN INTRODUCTION: I visualised the various markets which I could enter because I knew that I could not enter all of them at once. I analysed the profit potential of each product market singly and in combination and decided on a market expansion path. Then I moved the product into another market .I then surprised the competition by developing a second product for another market. I then took the second product to the first market and then launched a third product for the first market. My game plan worked and I served the market with two or three products. 2. Growth stage costs reduced due to economies of scale and Sales volume increases significantly. Profitability. Public awareness. Competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market. Prices to maximize market share. STRATEGIES IN GROWTH STAGE:I improves product quality and added new product features and styling. I also entered new market segments. I also increased distribution coverage and entered new distribution channels. Also shifted from product awareness advertising to product preference advertising. I also lowered the prices to attract the new layers of price sensitive buyers. 3. Mature stage Costs are very low as you are well established in market no need for publicity. sales volume peaks increase in competitive offerings prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products brand differentiation, feature diversification, as each player seeks to differentiate from competition with how much product is offered Industrial profits go down. STRATEGIES IN MATURE STAGE: Converting non users. Entering new market segments. Winning competitors customers. Use the product on in new ways. Improve the product. 4. Saturation and decline stage Costs become counter-optimal Sales volume decline or stabilize Prices, profitability diminish Profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales. STRATEGIES INDECLINE STAGE: I increasedth

Netflix competitive analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Competitive Analysis Blockbuster Inc. and Movie Gallery are currently the two strongest competitors in the market, and therefore pose the biggest threats to Netflix. Amazon, Intelliflicks, and Cleanfilms are all present in the market, but don’t possess enough force at this time to be considered a threat to Netflix. Blockbuster As of right now, Blockbuster is the biggest competitive threat to Netflix. Blockbuster was incorporated in 1989 in Delaware and is a major renter of home videocassettes, DVDs and video games throughout the Americas, as well as Europe, Asia and Australia. Blockbuster operated about 9,100 stores in the U.S. and 24 other countries, as of Dec. 2004. In the summer of 2004, Blockbuster launched an online rental program that provides a challenging competitive match for Netflix. Blockbuster’s online debut was in development for years. In 2002 Blockbuster purchased FilmCaddy, an online movie rental company that became Blockbusters internet channel. Blockbuster completed consumer research, both qualitative and quantitative, and found that online customers preferred a program that would give them both Internet convenience and in-store benefits. Blockbuster decided to incorporate its extensive network of stores to provide a powerful competitive edge. In addition, the chain has said it wil l invest $170 million this year alone in its online-rental operation. Financially, Blockbuster has revenues of 6.10 billion, with a gross profit of 3.61 billion, and a negative ne...

Christian Counseling Notes

I. The Possibility of Change A. Unbridled Pessimism (Cavanaugh) B. Exuberant Optimism (Mahoney) C. The Balanced Truth II. The Potential of Change: Series of Questions A. What Are We Trying to Change? 1. The Core Personality? 2. Discovering Who We Are in Christ? 3. The Desires? B. What Do We Change People Into? C. By What Authority? 1. The Scriptures: 2. The Goal: Maturity; Christ-likeness As Christian counselors, we are under the authority to encourage people to change or conform to the pattern (the behaviors and desires) of Jesus Christ. III. The Barriers to Change A.Apathy – Lacking Motivation (Elijah) Elijah’s lack of motivation was directly applied to â€Å"bad believing. † B. Lack of Sustained Commitment – Resistance to Change (Hosea) C. Lack of Belief that Change is Possible – Victim-Orientation (Saul/Jonathan) â€Å"My environment has been bad so I can’t change. † D. Lack of Knowledge – Concerning what God says about chan ge, concerning the process of change, and concerning what needs to be changed IV. The Bible on Change A. We Can Change. 1. Regeneration – Immediate (Based on the Resurrection) 2. Transformation – Training Process (Through the Holy Spirit and the Word)B. What Needs to Be Changed? 1. Sin (Isaiah 1:18) 2. Pride (Revelation 3) 3. Relationships (Malachi 2) 4. Behavior (Ephesians 4:28) 5. Attitudes and Beliefs (Matthew 19) C. Elements Central to the Process of Change 1. Other People (Galatians 6:1) 2. The Word (Romans 12:1-2) 3. The Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5; Galatians 5:16) 4. The Community of Faith (Hebrews 10:24-25) V. Elements Requiring Attention as We Help People with the Process of Change A. Create an environment that optimizes the potential for change (Proverbs 29:18). B. Provide loving direction throughout sessions (Ecclesiastes 12).C. Be flexible in your approach (1 Corinthians 12). D. Work out a framework that enables comprehensiveness and direction. 1. Addiction Is sues 2. Thinking Issues 3. Feelings (Indicators) 4. Spiritual Issues 5. Environmental Issues 6. Developmental History Issues E. Work collaboratively to decide where we need to begin and go. F. Get a commitment to action plans. G. Give them something to accomplish outside the session. H. Monitor the process and commit to intercessory prayer support. I. Terminate and transition to service and community Change comes as a result of training not trying.CCOU 203 Study Questions: 1. What are the opposing beliefs about change? Is change possible? What authority establishes the direction of change for the Christian caregiver? 2. Name four barriers we encounter when we seek to help people with change? 3. According to the Bible, what needs to be changed in people’s lives? Name four elements that are central to the change process. What elements should be fostered to create an environment that optimizes the possibility of change? 4. Is it good for the Christian caregiver to provide direct ion for the care-seeker?What do we learn from I Thessalonians 5:14 about flexibility in care-giving? Why should we work collaboratively with the care-seeker to develop an action plan? 5. Why is it important to pray for people we are helping with change? What attitude does faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ produce in those who are seeking to change their lives? Soul Care Notes: I Kings 19 Isaiah 1:18 Hosea 6:11 Romans 12:1,2 II Corinthians 5:17 Philippians 4:13 Ephesians 4:12-16 Ephesians 5:1 II Timothy 1:7 II Timothy 3:15-17 I Thessalonians 5:14

Making a killing

In an unfortunate event Blackwater guards killed three civilians of Baghdad who were mistaken as terrorists. What is in the scenario is the strong reaction of the new Iraqi government. The next 24 hours saw the process of deportment of the troop. It was reported that there was indiscriminate shooting and this is completely an unfathomable error. According to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki this was a complete criminal act. However there are many allegations against Blackwater and it is believed that they smuggle arms into Iraq. There is enough trouble in the region and it can well be stated that further problems can be avoided to restore peace in the region. (Scahill, 1) It can be remembered that each of the wars included major and minor battles.   They had varying and distinct reasons behind them.   Allies and foes were distinctly different in each case. Each of the wars had a level of analysis.   These levels were individual state, and system.   The levels of war analysis form a hierarchy.   The responsibilities of the hierarchy rely on the scale and nature of the operation. The individual level of analysis in war includes a basic idea of how human traits cause many of the social outcomes in historical instances, including war and peace. From the perspective of sociology it can be stated that there are variations of this idea as listed in a paper written by Wade L. Huntley, Ph.D. titled Causes of War and Paths to Peace written in May of 2004. Those variations include: basic human nature, varying features of human nature and both perception and misperception. His considerations behind this would include that in factoring basic human nature, people are basically aggressive, loving, greedy and fearful and so forth. People would be of all sorts of types, some aggressive, others peaceful, greedy or generous. Perception and misperception can result as bad decisions are made, especially in times of stress, which continually exemplifies the limits of human understanding of more than just human nature. The incident in Iraq, as depicted by Scahill is basically a view that was conducted from the US point of view the views or the sociological parameters of the residents of Iraq are fundamentally overlooked in the article. (King, 145-7) It can well be stated that some analysts argue that democracy in the Middle East will elevate Islamists, including radicals, who will use democratic institutions to gain power but then implement their autocratic agenda. Democracy can also lead to instability. In short, things may get worse before they get better, which may be bad news for the US. Many however believe that in the long run increased democratic governance or the break up of static autocracies will lead to a better outcome than the status quo even if the emerging governments initially oppose U.S. policies. Some furthermore argue that any type of somewhat democratic government would find more common ground with the U.S. than the existing ones even if rapprochement was gradual and difficult. But from the point of view of an Iraqi it can be stated that independence is all that is relevant and it can be mentioned that Scahill was unable to relate himself to this consequence. Traditional security policy emphasizes military means for reducing the risks of war and for prevailing if deterrence fails. Human security’s proponents, while not eschewing the use of force, have focused to a much greater degree on non-coercive approaches. These range from preventive diplomacy, conflict management and post–conflict peace building, to addressing the root causes of conflict by building state capacity and promoting equitable economic development.   The new dimensions of human security are well outlined by the United Nations Development Program in their Human Development Report of 1994. (Lamb, 288-9) Human Security has always been at issue in some format or another. You see it in the methods employed during peacetime and during war time. The methodology utilized might in fact be different from generation to generation, but the concept itself has hardly managed to evolve into something other than what its basics stem from. The pursuits of life and liberty, happiness and peace have been a part of the psyche of humanity since the beginnings of human existence and it would have been much better if the article had developed on these principals. Keeping in mind the developments in Iraq the only solution the USA is left with is one that most people connected to the White House consider absolute anathema. But the truth remains that a military ‘solution’ to the issue is no solution at all but rather a spiralling tunnel leading to a thousand other issues, all of which are far too dangerous to be contemplated. So what can USA do? Well, for starters it can seriously rethink some of its recent policies and shift its focus from military attack to some old fashioned diplomacy instead. But while that sounds simple enough for Washington it is a job unparalleled in its difficulty and, if present indications are anything to go by then, something that is hardly likely to happen and Scahill as a journalist must keep his position as humane and compassionate as possible in this context. Works Cited: Scahill, Jeremy; Making a Killing; The Nation; October 15, 2007 issue; September 27, 2007; retrieved on 24.11.2007 King, Herbert. Middle East Today Vol. IV Plymouth: HBT & Brooks Ltd. 2005 Lamb, Davis. Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. Wellington

3 Cases of Distracting Usage

3 Cases of Distracting Usage 3 Cases of Distracting Usage 3 Cases of Distracting Usage By Mark Nichol Word choice is problematic when the sense of a selected word, when read in association with another word, creates a diversion for the reader that distracts from the content. Here are three sentences with distracting words, along with solutions for revising them to avoid the distraction. 1. â€Å"He turned heads in scientific circles when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution.† The association of the past tense of the idiom â€Å"turn heads,† which means â€Å"draw sudden attention,† with the phrase â€Å"scientific circles,† a figure of speech in which the plural form of circle refers to a broad community of people with a common interest, unfortunately suggests that the subject caused the heads of his colleagues to rotate in a scientific manner. Revise one expression or the other: â€Å"He turned heads in the scientific community when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution† or â€Å"He attracted attention in scientific circles when he proposed that climate change is the driving force in human revolution.† 2. â€Å"The redrawn logo has drawn criticism.† The proximity of the adjective redrawn, which refers to the act of drawing an illustration over again, and the use of drawn as a verb to mean â€Å"attracted† creates an unintentionally humorous collision of ideas. Again, reword the adjective or the verb: â€Å"The revised logo has drawn criticism† or â€Å"The redrawn logo has attracted criticism.† 3. â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit over 911 calls.† Because over is often used in place of â€Å"more than† to mean â€Å"an excess of,† the reader may momentarily assume that the number 911 is an amount rather than a sequence of digits that constitute a phone number. Replace over with another word (â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding 911 calls†) or, better, provide unambiguous details: â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding emergency 911 calls† or â€Å"An Ohio city will settle a lawsuit regarding calls made to 911.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)How Long Should a Paragraph Be?I wish I were...