Marketing Strategies of Mcdonalds in India

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marketing is a procedure of attracting prospective customers and consumers in your products and services. However the crucial word in the above sentence is â€Å"procedure â€Å", hence marketing incorporates researching, advertising, selling, and distributing your products or services. Hence we planned to focus on one of the best known brands worldwide, McDonald’s Corporation. The following executive summary presents the key marketing aspects of McDonald’s Corporation and should be read as a complement to the contents of this report. Summarized content Page No. †¢ Key facts about the firm. External environment forces and consumer behaviour. †¢ The concept of Marketing mix and its various aspects. †¢ Decision making process and brand image. 2 2 3 †¢ The Product Life cycle and what steps the company is taking to revitalise its existing products. †¢ The different communication strategies used by the company in advertising its p roducts and the varying styles of television advertising carried out since McDonald’s launch in India. †¢ The distribution and the supply chain network of the firm in India. †¢ The SWOT analysis of the firm along with inference and some recommendations. 8 9 10 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Marketing is understood by majority of business groups as simply to mean simply to promote, sell and advertise. But this is not entirely true as marketing incorporates all techniques from human behaviour and cultures through research, new product launch, product life cycle, advertising, public relations and finally the sales function. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) describes marketing as ‘the management method accountable for discovering, anticipating, and satisfying consumer requirement valuably. ’ Hence the most significant concept of marketing lies in knowing and understanding your customer. This report aims at investigating how McDonald’s Corporation, a global restaurant has achieved this enormous success in international growth and challenges due to its marketing strategies. 2. 0 BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Out of the enormous market of fast food industry, McDonald's Corporation is the globe's fastest growing firm, with more than 20,000 restaurants in 100 countries (Vignali, 2001). In the UK, McDonald's operates a staggering 900 restaurants (www. bc. co. uk ). Initially it was started as a hot dog stand by Dick and Mac McDonald at California, USA in 1937. The business began in 1955 when Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers opened a restaurant to the north of Chicago. From then on, McDonald's grew rapidly and today is known as an international brand. However, the cuisine menu has been changed to meet the demand and lifestyles of the customers. India has been a di fficult market for any overseas firm to do business considering its diversity and cultural differences. However McDonald’s established its first Indian outlet in Vasant Vihar, New Delhi in October 1996. McDonald's India has a 50-50 joint venture involving McDonald's Corporation, US and 2 Indian business men, Amit Jatia’s (Hard castle Restaurants Private Limited) and Vikram Bakshi (Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited). About major percent of the menu available in McDonald’s in India is Indianized and exclusively designed to attract Indian consumers (Dash, 2005). But the success have not come at ease, the firm had to meet a lot of obstacles and problems in attaining its high standards. . 0 EXTERNAL MARKETING ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES McDonald’s faces many external marketing environmental forces, which the firm has to familiarize with and deal accordingly. With respect to environment forces, the firm has to adapt highly fragmented foodstuff marketplace and developing transportation. Considering the fact that India’s food expenditure is on the rise, Mc Donald’s also has to compete with the millions of road side stalls, dhabas (Regional Food Stalls) and carts which offer popular foodstuffs across India (Dash, 2005). Hence the company has come up with a variety of reasonable products at reasonable prices. In view of the cultural force, the firm has to conquer the major regional languages and the educational barrier among the people. Hence McDonald’s adapts to the local language and uses signs as a strong display of firm’s assurance to the localities (Chauhan, 2008). On the political front, the firm also has to check on the government intervention and pressure from various regional environmentalists and health camps (check http://www. hinduonnet. com ). Even on the economical front, some pressure exists as swadeshi (regional) mindset exists. The company also has to focus on the diverse distribution of income across the country. According to Mr Jatia, M. D, South and West Region, India, Indian people are increasing their visits to McDonald's as it has become more than an occasion meal especially to the middle class. (http://online. wsj. com ). Hence looking at the success, the fact can be drawn that both local management directors (Mr. Bakshi and Mr. Jatia) have played important roles in shaping McDonald’s to the prospects of the Indian market. . 0 MARKETING MIX The concept of Marketing Mix consisting of the 4P’ was formulated by McCarthy in 1975. This was used as principal foundation for many years. In the year 1996 Fifield and Gilligan added 3P’s (People, Process and Physical) to the existing 4P’s of Marketing Mix. These 3P’s are an integral part of services marketing. The 7P’s used to anal yse the Marketing Mix of McDonalds in India are: 1) Product (Features, Quality, Quantity): McDonalds aims to create standardized set of items, that taste same everywhere. But along with this it concentrates on localization by adapting to local tastes, customs, customer preferences etc. For example, McDonalds changed the ingredients of its ‘French Fries’ after it protested that it was made out of the oil from beef. This was done as Cow is considered sacred among Hindus in India. McDonalds has a variety of products specially made for the Indian market. Some of them are Vegetable McNuggets, Mutton based Maharaja Mac (as Hindus do not eat beef and Muslims do not eat pork). Apart from all these its menu includes beverages, frozen desserts and breakfasts combos. ) Place (Location, Number of Outlets): McDonalds follows concept of standardization in component of place also. The ambience and outlook all restaurants are the same. The reasons why most of its outlets in India are in Malls, shopping complexes, famous street markets is its locating strategies. It has over 130 outlets in 34 cities all over India. 3) Price (Strategy, Determinants, Levels ): In India McDonalds has set prices on the basis of the prices of its nearest organized competitors. For example, initially it set price in New Delhi on the basis of the price of Nirula’s, its biggest competitor in that area. Vignali, 2001) This way it attracted the customers, as they were getting an international brand at the price of a local brand. The pricing strategy of McDonalds with respect to competition is explained in the later stages of the report. 4) Promotion (Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relation): â€Å"Brand globally, advertise locally† is McDonald’s promotion strategy. (Vignali, 2001; Sander & Shani, 1991). For years it has maintained extensive promotion strategy. It focuses on children, overall eating experience and portrays itself as a ‘Family Restaurant’. Its global tag line is â€Å"I’m Lovin’ It†. Tag line to attract Indian customers is â€Å"Aap Ke Zamaane Mein Baap Ke Zamaane Ke Daam†, which means buy at a price, which your father used to buy in his days† 5) People (Quantity, Quality, Training, and Promotion): â€Å"The Company is strongly committed to staffing locally and promoting from within. This means that McDonald’s has managers who understand both the corporate and the local cultures† (Vignali, 2001). Particularly in India it is important to have local people, as language differs from state to state and staff from some other state might not be able to understand the local people’s language. ) Process (Blueprinting, Automation, Control Procedures): In McDonalds the procedure for making food is identical everywhere. For example, one out of two fries must measure 75mm, meat for Big Mac’s weighs 45g and is 20 per cent fat. (Vignali, 2001). The following is the process in McDonalds: 7) Physical (Cleanliness, Decor, and Ambience of t he Service): This is one of the most important components of the Marketing Mix. If the place where the food is served is not clean and hygienic then there will be no result from the components. Keeping this in mind, McDonalds aims at cleanliness, speed, quality and transparency of process. Strict standards of cleanliness are maintained at all times. 5. 0 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR In terms of consumer behaviour, McDonald’s associates its products with routine response behaviour and in some cases limited decision making for some classes. For example, enjoying a happy meal for some people may just be a case of hunger while some for some eating at McDonald's may be luxury and hence they may only turn up on occasions. Majority of the decision starts with experimental buying. Personal factors which affect the firm in relation to the consumer are demographic factors like age, gender and race. However the firm can also produce some situational factors like offering free sport coupons and offering 2 meals at one price (Deng, 2009). McDonald's also enhances the individual level of involvement by offering healthy meal packages for adults and toys for children. Bearing in mind the social factors, the firm has understood various cultures and classes across India. As different people have different local tastes, the firm produces products with a mix of regional taste (Dash, 2005). In terms of opinion leaders, celebrities are being increasingly used in marketing communication by marketers to lend personality to their products. 5. 1 UNDERSTANDING THE INDIAN CONSUMER Understanding an Indian consumer was extremely important for overcoming the challenges of expansion in India. Some facts of Indian consumer are that they have a high degree of family orientation. In solution to this? In India, McDonald’s has placed itself as a family restaurant. The foundation of its approach is to attract families and friends (Dash, 2005). Secondly Indian consumer is influenced by discounts and freebies. Hence the firm has constantly distributed free schemes on its products with its pricing strategies. Notable fact is that Indian consumers choose expensive products as they feel that price is an indicator of quality and they are likely to buy environmentally responsible products and packs as the environmental awareness has started affecting India. In response to this McDonald's attracts the consumers with good quality products and its ethical and ecological responsible products and packaging help in clean environment. . 2 DECISION MAKING PROCESS After investigating the behaviour of Indian Consumer, McDonald’s has produced an effective decision making process which involves five stages. The firm initially tries to recognize the desired need of the customer with its research on regional consumers. Secondly McDonald’s provides information of the products through internet, reports, media and campaigns which he lps the buyer to differentiate and understand the product better. Information related to pricing, offers and health are provided to the consumer. Thirdly McDonald’s provides a range of alternative products and its benefits to different consumers and helps them to evaluate accordingly. In the fourth stage the company uses its price strategy and benefits; the company aims to attract customers and their decisions to purchase their products. And finally, through quality and service, McDonald’s tries to improve its service with customers providing Post-purchase evaluation. 6. 0 BRANDING In terms of brand experience, McDonald’s is not just a product but a fast, clean and easy way for families to enjoy together. In view of the firm’s branding, McDonald's emphasizes on Customer driven and goal oriented techniques. According to Arvind Singhal, Head of Marketing at McDonald's India, McDonald's chooses to familiarize the customer with the brand in terms of a marketing communications. Since the brand image symbolizes how customers view the organisation, the company launched a clown named Ronald. Sitting on the Ronald McDonald bench and pumping sauce from the sauce machine became brand rituals for children. Hence the company ensured that it as to be aware of fundamental needs by identifying, predicting and serving their consumers rather than just selling the product (http://www. businessweek. com ). Hence the firm concentrates not only on delivering products for the instant demand but also defending the long term brand status. Family values being important in India, McDonald’s promotion assured that it’s is not just a fast-food joint but a quick, healthy and easy way for famil ies to relish together. Thus McDonald's focuses not only on delivering sales for the immediate present but also protecting the long term brand reputation. . 0 COMPETITION AND RECESSION In terms of pricing strategies, which is a part of marketing, McDonald’s faces tough competition on several fronts. Traditional rivals such as Pizza Hut, KFC and most importantly the local dhabas and road side stalls are eating reasonable margins of McDonald’s sales. Considering the prices, a happy meal in Pizza Hut which consists of 2 pizzas would approximately cost ? 4. 5 (Rs 350) and similarly a burger and drink at a KFC outlet would cost around ? 1. 5 (Rs 120). But with its consumer value strategies, McDonald’s offers a happy meal at only (Rs 90) ? 1. 12 (www. businessworld. in ) Recession may affect organisations to change their marketing policies because as recession occurs, the consumer spends less money on the product or switches to alternatives of low cost. But recession seems to be an advantage for McDonald’s as Consumers will cut back on high-end dining, and McDonald's is the beneficiary as they provide food at reasonable prices. (www. europe. wsj. com ). The company also introduces new offers accordingly to the situation. McDonald's has benefiting from its worldwide existence during the present recession, by the launch of new products like McAloo Tikki (prepared with potato and vegetables) and the Maharaja Mac in India (http://money. cnn. com/2009 ). According to Vikram Bakshi, M. D of McDonald's operations in India, McDonald's will be doubling-up its returns in three years, and tripling our restaurants in the next five years. Currently the fast-food chain has 123 outlets in India (http://in. reuters. com ). 8. 0 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Underpinning the product life cycle concept is the belief that products move through a sequential, predetermined pattern of development similar to the biological path that life forms follow. This pathway is known as the Product Life Cycle (PLC)† (Baines et al. , 2008). According to Kotler & Keller (2009), a company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change as the product, market and the competitors change over its PLC. [pic] Figure 1 As it can be s een from the above figure a product basically has five stages, with four of them directly related to the consumers who in many terms dictate different aspects or the whole of product. Thus all products have a limited life for the consumer as well as the product. Since McDonald’s is a company that deals in food items, its products will have a definitive period within which they have to get acquainted to the customers tastes, grow in value and earn profits for the company. Also since the McDonald’s products are perishable they have a short life cycle (see www. bbc. co. uk). Thus regular innovation of the food items is required by McDonald’s. For instance, McDonald’s French Fries have been an important part of the company’s menu worldwide. But in India, at one stage their sales were on decline. To counter this problem the management tried to implement certain steps. They introduced the fries with a mix of certain Indian spices. The product came to be known as Shake Shake Fries. This was well received by the consumers and it once again revitalised the sales of the fries. Thus without cannibalising the existing product a new product was created by the firm to delay the decline of a well established product which had the potential to generate income (Ghosh et al. , 2009). 9. 0 MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS The managerial system that ensures timely and comprehensive input to the corporate information and the decision making process and consequence production and expression of credible, persuasive representations of beneficial exchange opportunities with actual and prospective customers and other stake holders. (Varey, 2002). On a more a simple terms it is the method of communicating the right message, through the right medium, to the correct audience (see www. thetimes. biz). If a firm fails to comprehend these steps, it may result in its product failure. The communication methods adopted by McDonald’s in India are as follows, Newspapers, Journals and other forms of Print Media †¢ Television advertisements †¢ Point of Sale Display †¢ Merchandising †¢ Direct Mail †¢ Door drops †¢ Demonstrations †¢ Tele-Marketing(see www. thetimes. biz) Thus effective communication is, when the company develops a campaign which makes use of the above methods to ge t the desired results. Considering only the Television Advertisements of McDonald’s in India, these were not on the company’s radar until the turn of the century (see www. thetimes. biz). This was despite its entry into the Indian market in the latter part of 1996. This step was undertaken by the company so that it could concentrate more on the development of its stores, improve the quality of its products and tailor its global menu to suit the Indian tastes. It was only after 2000 that the first advert of the firm was telecast. â€Å"The first advert of the firm featured a child who suffers stage fright and is unable to recite a poem. On entering McDonald's, he easily recites it in the store's familiar environment. † This advert of the company basically focussed on McDonald’s being a comfortable and a familiar place (Chaturvedi, 2008). The next ad was based on a family moving to a new place. The kid in the family feels lonely in the new surroundings until he finds a McDonald’s. This ad was basically the friendliness of the McDonald’s personnel. Also the management of the firm in India noted that the local people were price sensitive. Thus they took out and ad with a tag of ‘Yesteryear’s Prices’. â€Å"It features Bollywood stars from past decades together with their sons and a message that prices have not risen in line with the passage of time† (Chaturvedi, 2008). Thus McDonald’s with a clear agenda timed their ads to perfection which gave them good returns. McDonald’s also with its advertisements gave its tagline utmost importance. This is evident from the fact that its initial ads were delivered with a punch line â€Å"McDonald’s Mein Hai Kuch Baat† which translates to ‘There is something special in McDonald’s’. When McDonald’s had been successfully established, its tagline changed to â€Å"To Aaj McDonald’s Ho Jaye† which means ‘Why not celebrate with McDonald’s today†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Vikram Bakshi, MD, McDonald’s India). He also adds that the main focus of the company with its advertisements was to change the perception of the Indians that McDonald’s was an ‘American brand with typical American values’. As Arvind Singhal, Head of Marketing at McDonald's India says â€Å"From a marketing communications standpoint, we chose to focus on familiarizing the customer with the brand. † Presently all of the McDonald’s communication strategies are focused to move the consumers to some kind of action. This may either be to visit the restaurant, buy the product or recommend it to a friend. It is also framed so that the consumers remember the product. Thus the mantra of the firm is that the more it knows about the people it is serving the more it will be able to communicate messages that appeal to them. 0. 0 DISTRUBUTION AND SUPPLY CHAIN McDonald’s uses an outsourcing model al all its markets, in some places it actively imports but in India gets materials from different places in India (Dash, 2005) it has suppliers all over India, supplying different inputs. This is done on order to procure best quality of input at the best possible price. Selecting a supplier involves a fou r step process. In each step the prospective supplier is evaluated carefully. Only item imported is the equipment to dish out burgers. The major suppliers in India are: Input Product |Supplier Company |Location | |Iceburg Lettuce |Trikaya Agriculture |Talegacon(Maharashtra) | | |Ooty Farms |Ooty | | |Meena Argitech |Delhi | |Cheese |Dynamix Dairy |Baramati (Maharashtra) | |Milk & Milk Products for Frozen Desserts |Amrit Food |Delhi and Mumbai | |Buns & Sauces |1)Cremica Industries |Philluar (Punjab) | | |2) Shah Bector and Sons |Khopoli ( Maharashtra) | | | | | |Patties, Pies & Pizza puffs |Vista Processed Foods |Taloja | (Dash, 2005) The entire distribution process is carried on by AFL Logistics Ltd, McDonald’s official partner in logistics and supply chain. 10. 1 DISTRIBUTION McDonalds in India uses what is called as a ‘Cold Chain’. This means that the vegetables are stored in cold storage from the moment it is harvested. These are then transported to restaurants in refrigerated vans. Semi – finished products are also stored a particular temperature. This ensures freshness and maintains the moisture level of the food. In the restaurant also the products are refrigerated. In the restaurant the deliveries are made to the customer within 60 seconds and the mode of service is self service. This is done to maintain speedy and quick service. 11. 0 SWOT ANALYSIS McDonald’s in India has been for around for around 13 years. Till now it has complimented the values and the cultures of the locals in an extremely ethical way. But still it has some weaknesses and threats, which if not countered, may well become grave. Thus the SWOT analysis shows the areas where the firm can build up on its existing strong image. ? Strengths †¢ Strong Brand – The McDonald’s Corporation in India has been able to live up to its global image of being able to handle any type of market. It has shown that by adopting the right approach and methods, any market can yield positive results. This has not only consolidated its powerful image and strong brand values but also has made the job difficult for the new entrants. Customer Intimacy – The firm in India with its correct mix of communication has been able to tap majority of the audience it focused on and has also developed affection from the large children populace of the country with its Children Centric ads. †¢ Product Innovation – the Compan y with its timely product innovation has regularly kept the consumers interested in its menu which caters to their tastes. †¢ Variety in Menu, Reasonable Prices and Great Service – Also with wide options in the menu McDonald’s also offers great prices with burgers starting from Rs20 ( Around 15p) plus with ‘1 Minute Service’ customers do not return disappointed from the place. ? Weakness †¢ Product on the scale of Health – McDonald’s in India is still not selling products which are good for health or which are made keeping consumers fitness. They are trying to fine tune their menu by adding more baked products rather than fried patties, but apart from McCurry Pan (launched 2003) it has not been able to introduce more healthy products (Dash, 2005). This fact forces many health conscious people to avoid the place altogether. ? Opportunities †¢ Expanding in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities – Despite the firm’s success in the urban and the metropolitan cities of India, McDonald’s has still not explored the whole of the country. This is due to the fact that the smaller cities in India are more inclined towards the home cooked food and eating fast food out is generally limited to local food joints that specialize in Indian cuisine. This presents a good prospect for the company to experiment with its menu, as McDonald’s has already localized its menu to a very great extent in the country. Entry into Breakfast Category – One of the other things that the company has still not made a complete foray into is the ‘Breakfast Menu’. McDonald’s have started only a couple of outlets in Mumbai and Delhi on experimental basis that serve Breakfast menu in December 2008. The options in this menu are available from 7 am to 11am in the morning. But the company is still to operate it on a large scale. †¢ Strong Beverage Brand – McDonald’s in India have till now only concentrated on to the food items they serve. The beverages they offer are just plain Coke available in small and large and coffee, tea and hot chocolate with no proper advertising. But it still has the opportunity to advertise and bring in its own brand of beverage as compared to something like Star Bucks’ The beverage may hot or cold and would give McDonald’s its own identity in the market which is dominated by Coke and Pepsi. ? Threats †¢ Changing Customer Lifestyle – Today, India has changed considerably as compared to 10 years back. Simultaneously the customer tastes are changing at a very fast pace. McDonald’s needs to keep this thing in mind since the customer taste for a particular product in today’s environment is very short-lived. †¢ Increased Competition – Today with the increasing number of malls and shopping centers in India, the number of fast food joints and restaurants has increased significantly that offer similar kind of food at comparable prices. This can turn out to be a disadvantage to the company since it mainly concentrates on opening its franchises in these malls. 12. 0 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS From the above report it is clear that McDonald’s marketing strategies in India have been successful. With complete understanding of the consumer and considering the various marketing environments, executing very reasonable prices to timely product innovation and lastly extremely effective communication techniques have included India in their long list of successful countries. The only thing that the company needs to focus on is to try and add more menu choice and variety to promote healthier lifestyles. Also it should contemplate its already existing operations before continuing expansion in rder to increase their profit margin and since India is a developing country the firm should try and concentrate on penetrating, at timely intervals, into more budding cities. 13. 0 REFERENCES Baines, P. , Fill, C. , Page, K. (200 8) Marketing Oxford University Press, New York. Chaturvedi, P. (2008) Super-localize me: how McDonald's evolved its marketing in India, Warc Exclusive. Chauhan, G. (2008) Language in India, Languages Group, Vol 8, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India. Deng, T. (2009) McDonald’s New Communication Strategy on Changing Attitudes and Lifestyle, International Journal Of Marketing studies, Vol 1, SolBridge International School of Business, South Korea. Fifield, P. and Gilligan, C. 1996) Strategic Marketing Management, Butterworth- Heinemann, Oxford. Ghosh, R. , Balaji, D. , Shah, J. , Sherlekar, N. , Sidana, D. , (2009) McDonald’s: Behind Golden Arches. Kotler, P. & Keller, K. L. (2009) Marketing Management, 13th Edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, USA. McCarthy. (1975) Basic Marketing: A Management Approach, Irwin, Homewood, pg – 98. Media Trust, The Institute For Volunteering Research (1997) Introduction To Marketing, Volunteering England and the Centre for Inst itutional Studies at the University of East London, UK. Prof. Dash, K. (2005) McDonald’s in India, The Garvin School of International Management, USA. Sander. D. M. & Shani. D (1991) â€Å"Brand Globally but Advertise Locally? An Empirical Investigation, International Marketing Review, Vol – 9, No – 4, pg – 18 – 29. Varey, R. J. (2002) Marketing Communication: Principles and Practice, Route ledge, London,pp 127-129. Vignali. C (2001) McDonalds: Think Global, Act Local – The Marketing Mix, British Food Journal, Vol – 103, No -2, pg – 97 – 111. INTERNET REFERENCES http://www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h2g2/A593525 – viewed on November 16, 2009 http://www. bbc. co. uk/dna/h2g2/A3816740 – viewed on November 16, 2009 http://www. hinduonnet. com/2001/05/06/stories/01060003. htm – viewed on November 16, 2009 http://online. wsj. com/article/SB124628377100868055. html – viewed on November 16, 2009 http://www. businessweek. om/innovate/content/may2006/id20060508_952455. htm – viewed on November 16, 2009 http://www. bbc. co. uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/marketing/productlifecyclerev1. shtml – viewed on November 23, 2009. http: //in. reuters. com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-29999520071015 – viewed on November 23, 2009. http://money. cnn. com/2009/07/10/news/companies/mcdonalds_global_international_menu. fortune/index. htm – viewed on November 23, 2009. http://www. businessworld. in/bw/2009_10_10_Quickening_Service. html – viewed on November 23, 2009. ———————– DELIVERY UNIVERSAL HOLDING CABINET ASSEMBLER INITIATOR FROZEN FOOD MATERIAL

Case Analysis: the Early Bird †Electric Power Load Despatching

Case Analysis: The Early Bird – Electric Power Load Despatching The Early Bird – Electric Power Load Dispatching Electric utility firms have, for more than two decades, used marginal productmarginal cost concepts to generate and dispatch electric power in a more efficient, lowercost manner. Southern Company, the nation’s third largest utility, refers to its load dispatching method as the â€Å"Early Bird† system. Southern’s Early Bird is designed to provide automatic, computerized control of all the company’s power production and transmission facilities. The Early Bird continuously calculates the marginal cost of delivering additional kilowatts of electricity to Southern Company customers anywhere in the company’s service area; then, as electricity demand rises or falls at points throughout the system, Early Bird transmits â€Å"raise† or â€Å"lower† impulses to the company’s generating units and routes the correct amount of electricity along the most economical transmission path to the end user. Periodically, Southern Company engineers test the operating efficiency of every piece of power-generating equipment the company has in service. The purpose of the test is to determine how much fuel, labor, and other variable inputs are required to produce electricity with that unit and, subsequently, to calculate a production function for that generating unit. Experience has shown that revised production function equations must be calculated from time to time because normal wear and tear, maintenance problems, and mechanical efficiency vary over time and from generator to generator, depending on who manufactured it, when it was purchased, how long it has been in service, and the reliability with which it has performed. In other words, the production function for a given generating unit shifts by sufficiently large amounts over time to make it worthwhile to update the input-output equation. The equations for the production functions of each generating unit are then fed into Early Bird and combined with information as to fuel prices, wage rates, and other variable input prices to obtain marginal cost functions; from these, MC values can be calculated for a particular generating unit at whatever rate it is being operated. In addition, because there is a loss of electricity in the course of â€Å"shipping† it through the transmission wires, Southern engineers make studies to determine the transmission loss coefficients from generating units to distribution substations. These, too, have to be updated several times a year since the transmission loss depends not only on the distance factor but also on the varying load characteristics of the system and changes in the transmission grid. The marginal cost equations, together with the transmission loss coefficients, are the nucleus for Early Bird’s control of power generation and transmission. When, during the course of a day, the demand for electricity picks up, the Early Bird system is programmed to compare the marginal costs of generation at each on-line unit and then to send impulses to raise the electricity output of the unit (or units) where MC is lowest. Simultaneously, another Early Bird program analyzes the transmission loss coefficients to calculate how best to allocate the increased load on the transmission grid so as to minimize transmission loss to the many substations and end-user locations. In similar fashion, when electricity demand falls off (as work shifts end and businesses close at the end of the day), the Early Bird system automatically sends impulses to reduce electricity generation at those power units where MC is highest and reroutes the remaining load to maintain maximum transmission economy and load-generation balance. At periods of peak demand, when on-line generating units are already operating at or near their minimum cost points, and assuming that water levels in Southern’s dam reservoirs are ample, Early Bird sends impulses to Southern’s hydroelectric facilities to open the gates and generate enough power to get across the peak. Southern’s power system control center is also equipped to forecast short-term loads for the next hour, day, or week. For example, weather data from all round Southern’s four-state service area are fed into the Early Bird network several times a day to help forecast heating and air-conditioning loads. The hourly, daily, and weekly Early Bird forecasts of upcoming load demands are used to preplan the mix of generating units to put on line and those to put on standby, to schedule maintenance, and to determine whether to exchange blocks of electricity with neighboring utilities. For instance, approximately 15 minutes prior to the beginning of an hour, Early Bird calculations as to the next hour’s generating and transmission costs are made; this information is then compared immediately with similar information obtained from adjoining utilities having interconnections with Southern’s transmission network. If it is determined that it would be more economical for Southern to buy a â€Å"block† of electricity from an adjacent company than to generate the electricity needed itself (because at the forecasted generating rates the other company will have lower MC than Southern), then an order is placed for that unit at a price set forth in the interchange agreement between the two companies. On the other hand, if Southern’s marginal costs are lower than those of its neighbors, then it may agree to sell a block. The exchange of electricity among interconnected companies based upon marginal cost calculations is common throughout the electric utility industry. As bigger and faster computers have become available, the functions of the Early Bird system have been expanded to permit. 1. Reductions in unnecessary â€Å"load-chasing,† with resultant savings on maintenance; 2. Monitoring the current operating status of generating units, line flows, voltages, station breakers, and switches as a basis for assessing the prevailing degree of security (reliability) within the system: . Altering the dispatch criteria to allow for reducing power output at a particular facility because of unexpected air or thermal pollution, yet doing so in a way which entails the least increased costs to the system; 4. Operating hydro, steam, combustion, and nuclear generating units in a mix which seeks to minimize fuel costs; and 5. Monitoring temperatures, oil pressures, stream flows, and so on at unattended hydro stations to give early notification of potential troubles.

What Do We Do with Howard

â€Å"What do we do with Howard? † Synopsis:Tad Pierson had recently been appointed as a project engineer. As project engineer for one of Agrigreen’s plants, he is responsible for the operation of the plant surveying group. For some time now Tad had been aware of some performance, safety, and conflicts with personnel within the group. These issues appear to be escalating in frequency and are causing Tad concern regarding the safety of the employees, the production schedules, and possible actions that he might need to take. Agrigreen, Inc. s a company that manufactures a verity of agricultural fertilizer. With plants located in the western United States and Canada, Agrigreen employs certified surveyors to ensure quality and safety of each project. Eighteen years ago, Agrigreen’s survey crew was composed of part-time drafting personnel or project engineers. Howard Lineberry, a lead surveyor had been employed with Agrigreen for eighteen years. Over his tenure he had been supervised by five different managers, and had three surveyor’s helpers. Howard’s work over the years has caused multiple safety and production issues.He has also had conflicts with the engineering staff, his managers, and almost everyone he worked with. Mel Cutler, a surveyor’s helper, after being employed by the company for only a few years was assigned to assist Howard. Five years into this assignment, Mel began to notice problems due to Howard’s note keeping method. These problems contributed to the production and safety issues with several projects. Later Mel began to notice that Howard was taking an excessive amount of snack breaks, coming to work late and leaving early.He also noticed Howard taking naps on the job. When the opportunity presented itself, Mel accepted a part-time assignment away from Howard. This reassignment resulted in a new surveyor’s helper being assigned, Vince Adam. Vince, an impressible young high school graduate, took on several of Howard’s inappropriate habits. Tad is concerned that the performance, safety, and personnel issues in the plant surveying group is getting out of control and is considering what action(s) that he should take, if any, at this point to intervene and correct the situations.Finding of Fact #1:One of the key issues of concern that Tad faces is the escalating quality of work being performed by Howard. Howard’s inefficient work processes in his note keeping and time management has caused issues in both production as well as safety violations on the job sites. These continual issues have cost Agrigreen in both extra man power to rebuild and delays in production. By examining Howard’s work process Tad can better understand what needs to be done and work toward eliminating these errors. Recommendation #1:Howard’s performance at work is a product of miss management and poor attitude.When Howard was first employed, his manager, Jerry Givens [now r etired], supervised with an iron hand. His management style can best be described as Theory X. Jerry took a command-and-control approach to management based on a negative view of Howard’s knowledge, skills, and ability. [ (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr. , 2008) ] He told Howard what to do and how to do it. Upon Jerry’s retirement, the next manager, Paul Jackson, used the Theory Y approach to management. He took on an empowering approach with Howard. This is where the problem truly began.Howard, with his new found freedom took it upon his self to improve the process by working directly with the project engineers. Howard’s efforts increased the pace of the work which called for a number of last minute requests and frequent changes in work schedules. By not having an establish plan of action in place, errors were made which cost the company time and money. Over the years, Howard’s performance issues escalated and upon several attempts by different managers, he refused to change. Tad has his work cut out for him.Regardless of how Howard may feel, Tad is still his boss and he is there to work for Agrigreen. Howard’s performance is not acceptable in any manner. While the failures of the previous managers to confront Howard about his performance problems have cost the company money it is now up to Tad to correct this issue. In doing so, there are a few things Tad should keep in mind. First, Tad should have a plan of action as to how he is going to confront this issue. With this plan of action, Tad should set define time as to the expected behaviors and outcomes expected in Howard’s performance.Next, Tad needs to meet with Howard and be specific in defining the poor performance that occurred in the past, and remind Howard when each error occurred. Tad also needs to be specific as to the plan of action and the established time frame to correct these errors as well as the consequences of non conformance. Tad needs to focus on the p erformance required for the job and make sure that he reiterates the guidelines that have been outlined for the workplace. Tad should consider Howard’s personality and how he handles feedback.Regardless of how Howard has been performing, Tad should always be clear and straightforward during his communication with Howard. He needs to focus on the performance which Howard has control. At the conclusion of this meeting, Tad should check Howard’s understanding to avoid any miss communications. After the meeting with Howard, Tad should document this meeting from his notes. He should document the issue and the action that has been taken to correct or eliminate the problems. After summarizing this meeting a copy of Tad’s report should be given to Howard and the original placed in Howard’s file.Finally, timely feedback should be given to Howard as Howard works on improving his performance. Should Tad note that Howard needs additional training, he should check wit h the human resource department for additional training classes, or set Howard with a mentor. Tad should realize that confronting Howard about his poor performance is not going to be easy. But once he has a plan of action in place, he will fine getting Howard back on track is far better for the company than having to replace him. [ (Busines & Legal Reports, 2006) ]The above action is how we handled an employee in our office who was a poor performer. I was set as her mentor, and working one-on-one with her I had to re-train her in our processes to ensure that she had a full understanding as to what was required in performing our job. After a brief three months, she is now producing high quality of work. As a reviewer, this young lady’s work is â€Å"spot on. † She is now off corrective action and is no longer in jeopardy of losing her job. Finding of Fact #2:The next issue Tad faces is Howard’s attendance.Over the years of Howards’ tenure, he had becom e complacent. He has been increasingly taking additional snack breaks, arriving to work late, leaving work early, as well as fall asleep on the job. For years, under the previous management, Howard’s actions have been over looked. Tad had witnessed several of these company violations, and has also noticed Vince; Howard’s assistant has been following the same pattern as Howard. Recommendation #2:Identifying attendance issues are not a simple process. There may be underlying issues which could be the driver of Howard’s absenteeism.Tad needs to first research the company’s policy and gain a full understanding of what he can and cannot do to resolve the issue. Tad also needs to consult with the human resource department as well as the legal department to understand and educate himself on the potential legal issues that also are involved. Once Tad had educated himself, he needs to approach Howard to determine if there are underline reasons for the continuing a ttendance issues. It depends on why the Howard is late, absent, or taking frequent breaks will drive the action that Tad needs to take.During Tad’s conversation with Howard, if it is determined that the reason for this attendance problem is caused by some type of stress issues, violence and or family problem Tad may need to refer Howard to the Employee Assistance program (EAP) for assistance. If the reason is medical, Tad may suggest Howard use the benefits allowed to him under the American’s with disability Act (ADA) or the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Should the outcome be something else, Tad may need to take a different approach. (Vikesland) ] A good approach is to counsel with Howard of the important of keeping time and punctuality while driving down the corporate policy and procedures. A â€Å"carrot-and-stick† approach is a time-tested method of dealing with attendance issues. Through this approach, Tad can use a combination of reward and punishmen t. As with the plan of action, Tad created for the production issue, he may wish to either add the attendance issue to the original plan, or write a separate plan of action. Also, Tad should use the same method of communication, documentation, and feedback with this issue as e does with the production issue. [ (Nayab, 2010) ] I work with a person who appears to have an attendance problem. This person comes in at various times during the day. I cannot a test to when she leaves as I’m already on my way home while she is still in the office. At times, I’ve noticed that she takes two sometimes two and a half hour smoke breaks. The issue here is we are exempted employees. Since this person sits next to me I talk with her a great deal, so I know her attendance problem is mostly stress related. I have told her about our EPA program, but she has opted not to take advantage of their services.Finding of Fact #3:The final issue may appear to be one of the hardest for Tad. This is the moral of the plant’s surveying group. For years, Howard’s continued errors and attendance has caused issues with the other employees. Mel Cutler was originally assigned to work with Howard as a surveyor’s helper. A few years ago Mel began working on other projects away from Howard. Now that the temporary assignment is reaching its conclusion, Mel had expressed his concerns with working with Howard. Tad appears to understand, since he has known the original surveyor’s helper Dan Richards and the same concerns were expressed than.There also appears to be concerns being expressed by the engineering crews. It appears that they do not trust the work that Howard produces, and takes additional time (which cost extra money) to verify Howard’s findings. As Howard’s new supervisor, Tad needs to get a clear view of the situation from different perspectives and act on them accordingly. Recommendation #3:The plant surveying group at Agrigreen works closely with the project engineers. For some time now, anxiety, frustration, and resentment has been building in reference to the growing problems with Howard.This appears to be the major cause of the low morale and high levels of employee dissatisfaction within the plant. If left unchecked this issue will only accelerate the problem and the company will lose key personal. When Tad was assigned the group, he knew that there was a continual conflict brewing. He needs to confront this issue head on. This can be accomplished by fostering interpersonal communication within the group. Tad needs to become an active listener by paying attention to the concerns of the group withhold holding judgment on those who chose to share their thoughts.He needs to develop open communication between this cross-functional team. He need to develop clear and specific goals for the team to work through their concerns. As Howard’s performance and attendance issues are protected by employment laws and regulations as well as corporate ethical policies, the solutions to those issues cannot be shared with the team. For this reason, the team must learn to work past these issues knowing that Tad is on top of those concerns. [ (Hellriegel & Slocum Jr. , 2008) ] Conflict at times can be a good thing.However this is not the case with the plant surveying group. Tad will have his work cut out. He not only has to resolve the conflict within his team, but he also need to understand his own personal issues with Howard. Tad needs to get his team together to work through these concerns. He needs to set the stage by working on an agreement within the team that the conflict is a mutual problem for all and that it can best be resolved through open communication rather than allowing the issues to fester. Next, Tad needs to get to the underlying issues and/or concerns of the team.He should ask each team member for their view points and respect their opinions and feelings. He also should express that he will need their cooperation in solving the problems. If the team cannot reach a common perception of the problem, than the team needs to try to see the problem from the other members view point. Sometimes brainstorming sessions are a great way of getting to the key factors of the conflict. This session if worked correctly, is a great tool at working through these conflicts and reaching a viable solution. (Conflict Resolution) ] As for Tad and his interpersonal conflict in reference to Howard, Tad needs to keep his concerns in check while on the job. Now that he is Howard’s boss, additional training may be needed to improve his interpersonal skills. This is what I believe my former manager should be doing. In working with her for the past two years, it has become apparent that she lacks interpersonal skills. Another lady I work with who trained the major of the staff when we first was awarded our contract has more than ten years of experience.When our former manager t alks with her, she comes across as demeaning and at time condescending. It is no wonder why she is no longer a manager. I personally feel that she needs to re-educate herself on how to deal with people.Works Cited Busines & Legal Reports, I. (2006, October 12). 8 Rules for Dealing with Poor Performers. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from HR. BLR. com: http://hr. blr. com/shitepapers/Performance-Termination/Performance-Employee-Appraisal/8-Rules-for-Dealing-with-Poor-Performers/ Conflict Resolution. (n. d. ). Retrieved December 5, 2010, from Mindtools. om: http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newLDR_81. htm Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum Jr. , J. W. (2008). MGMT 362: Organizational Behavior Columbia College. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning. Nayab, N. (2010, October 10). Strategies for Dealing with Employee Time & Attendance Problems. Retrieved November 5, 2010, from brighthub. com: http://www. brighthub. com/office/human-resources/articles/90380. aspx Vikesland, G. (n. d. ). Ho w to Deal with Employee Absenteeism. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from Employer-Employee. com: http://www. employer-employee. com/absent. html

Process Analysis Essay on The Paperwork Approach versus HR Functions A

Process Analysis on The Paperwork Approach versus HR Functions Automation - Essay Example The organization adopts the null hypothesis that it is policies rather than approaches which determine organizations productivity. As such, the essay develops a critical analysis through which to evaluate the individual theory against the organizational null hypothesis.Currently, the organization applies the null hypothesis that there exists no productivity impact based on the management approach used. Therefore, the hypothesis is established on the assumption that an organization’s policy influences its productivity and future market success. The global market system is changing with increasing global competitions from both local and international organizations. There is a need to develop systems and practices to increase global market presence and competitiveness. To this end, the organization argued that one of the strategic approaches through which to achieve increased competition was through the reduction of the overall costs of production in the organization. Also, the o rganization adopted the need to reduce infrastructure development and installation costs required in the development and adoption of modern technology. As Heineman and Greenberger (85) stated, although this approach reduces organizational management costs in the short run period, this hypothesis can be disapproved in the future. For instance, the application of an automated HR system would reduce the overall errors and mistakes encountered when calculating and evaluating restive employee rewards and financial amounts owed by the venture. Thus, this reduces the error costs incurred by organizations in the industry.

Fidelity Investments partnership with schools Case Study - 2

Fidelity Investments partnership with schools - Case Study Example One of the benefits accruing from Fidelity Investments’ partnership with Citizen Schools is the improvement of its employees’ team building skills. Another benefit is that the partnership enabled majority of Fidelity employees who participated in the apprenticeship exercise to improve their public speaking, communication, and presentation skills. Through participation in the program, both the employees and the entire Fidelity Investments Company got fulfillment for influencing vulnerable students positively. The partnership helped Fidelity Investments employees develop and others to sharpen their leadership skills. It was beneficial for some Fidelity executives to sit in the schools’ top decision-making body, the leadership board (Discussion Case: Fidelity Investments’ Partnership with Citizen Schools 424). Lastly, offering apprenticeship services for the areas in which they were experts made Fidelity employees feel relevant in the real life and might have helped them reflect on how much they knew. A risk with this partnership is the overworking of Fidelity employees or disruption of work schedules. Fidelity employees could be overworked because they worked both in their company and in the Citizen Schools teaching. Work schedule might have needed modification in order to accommodate time for Fidelity employees to teach at Citizen Schools. The two-way flow of benefits between Fidelity Investments and Citizen Schools is one of the things that qualify the partnership as an example of strategic philanthropy. This is because the partnership helped improve Fidelity employees’ skills while benefitting Citizen Schools with labor from these employees. Secondly, the partnership helped build higher profiles for both Citizen Schools and Fidelity Investments.  

The Role of the Midwife in supporting women with Breech presentation Essay

The Role of the Midwife in supporting women with Breech presentation to have a safe vaginal delivery and the implications for practice - Essay Example As a result, without sufficient training and experience for obstetricians and midwives in managing vaginal breech births, the skills of these practitioners have been reduced. Based on this critical assessment of studies on vaginal breech births, it has been established that there are various factors affecting the incidence of vaginal breech births, lack of experience among birth attendants at the top of the list. Also, the fear of litigation is impacting on the conduct of vaginal breech births. These practitioners are also unwilling to risk the life of the infant by attempting to deliver these infants vaginally. However, as was mentioned, studies have not definitively indicated that caesarean deliveries are actually improving survival rates for breech infants. More studies in line with this research are needed in order to provide specific and definitive results which can be applied in the practice. This dissertation examines the decreasing use of vaginal breech deliveries, in the context of choice available to women, the experience and expertise of the responsible midwives and the trends toward preferential delivery by caesarean section. This dissertation will be based on the author’s perspective, available evidence and current practice and will further evaluate if the women’s choices with regards to delivery of the breech are significantly impacted by the deskilllling of midwives or by the actual risks of the procedure itself. Current practice, as supported by the NICE and RCOG Guidelines recommends the counselling of women on their possible options for delivery, emphasizing the risks involved in vaginal and caesarean births (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 2006). Many obstetricians and midwives however have only ever experienced vaginal breech deliveries in a simulated environment, often making vaginal breech births riskier options for women (ROCG, 2006). Since practice is now

Leap motion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leap motion - Essay Example Before developing Leap Motion, Holz and Buckwald first developed a small device that resembled an iPod with an end that can be plugged into the USB port of a computer and enhance motion detection so that â€Å"the exact movements of individual fingers and rotations of the wrist can be accurately detected and processed with no latency† (Spiegelmock 2013). Leap Motion itself is 80mm long and 12.7mm wide and connects to the computer or Mac allowing a person to interact with the computer via simple hand movements. In other words, Leap Motion is a sensor that identifies each of an individual’s movement and changes them into a specific action. â€Å"Leap Motion constitutes of two LEDs and three infrared cameras that analyze al the movements of the hand† (Design, User Experience, and Usability, User Experience Design for Diverse Interaction Platforms and Environments 2012). In analyzing the movement of the hand, the device covers a radius of 1 meter. Its accuracy is also very high; it is 1/100th. Leap Motion has the potential to detect fingers, hands as well as pencils by coming up with a 3D environment. Although it works like a mouse, Leap Motion does not in any way aim at replacing the keyboard and the mouse. It is an additional tool aimed to improve the user experience as well as interaction with the computer. The use of Leap Motion in any computer calls for some things. It detects on the type of the operator system that a computer should have. For instance, the device works best and only in the computers installed with Windows 7, 8 or Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. The hardware of the computer also plays a very significant role. â€Å"Leap Motion only works in computers with either AMD Phenom (tm) II or Intel  ®core (TM) i3, i5, i7 processor, and with a 2GB of RAM† (Spiegelmock 2013). Additionally, the computer needs to have an internet connection in addition to a

Biophysical Aspects of Pharmacology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biophysical Aspects of Pharmacology - Essay Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that the physician may prefer to insert a gastroscope to promote safety in the delivery of food and medications for patients who developed increased difficulty of swallowing. With the insertion of the tube, an assessment must be carefully performed to ensure the correct placement of the tube and prevent accidental dislodgment. Specifically, placement of the tube can be checked by listening to a gurgling sound over the epigastric region of the abdomen while injecting a small amount of air into the tube. In addition, it might also be useful to aspirate a small amount of stomach content and test for pH. An acidic pH provides accurate information that the tube is in the stomach. Furthermore, abnormal breathing patterns suggest that the tube has been dislodged and is possibly blocking the airway. While the presence of any foreign material can be very uncomfortable, the tube should remain in place unless the physician orders fo r its removal. Lastly, the assessment of drug allergies and adverse reactions remains an important part of management. Practically, the healthcare professionals should take the subjective data from the patient as truth aside from considering the objective signs manifested by the patient. Thus, the patient really is experiencing pain at the moment. The patient’s report of pain should be the primary data to assess pain. This data would be further validated using an appropriate pain rating scale. Moreover, the patient’s behavioral manifestations can also be important factors in determining the patient’s pain tolerance. The medication chart should also be consulted to prevent over and under dosage of pain medications.  

Walmart's Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans Essay

Walmart's Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans - Essay Example One of the main issues that had become the root of all problems was its core values of providing low prices always. Some of the strategies that the company had implemented into achieving these policies were called into question. One of the important objectives of implementing the strategy for change management was to revive the falling sales and get the company back on growth platform. One of the turnaround factors for wall mart that is going to lift it out of the stage that it is currently in is to grow leaders at all stage. To grow leaders at all stage of the organizations among both the managerial and non managerial workforce is to impart them adequate training. Since wall mart is a large multinational organization so to impart training at large scale will require adequate planning. The plan to grow leaders at all stage of the organization should be done step by step (Walmart Inc, 2006b). The plan should be first inducted as a training module for a single branch and then slowly spread into other branches at first in a country, then in a continent and then through all the continents. Before going into next step of the process the company must first ensure that the first step has been successful with clear and positive results. The company by utilizing its innovative CRM tools has huge pile of customer data that it has collected over the years. A simple strategy would be look into what has changed in the customers buying behavior. If the customers are moving towards other store why on earth are they doing so? The key is to analyze the key lacunas and fix them. One of the key areas where wall mart might be lacking as compared to its competitors is that in a drive to give its customers â€Å"Always low prices. Always† the company gives discriminatory wages to its employees. So the company suffers from low employee productivity as compared to many of its competitors (Cascio, 2006b). Costco produced $21,805 in operating profit per hourly employee. This is

Key Difference between Consumer and B2B Marketing Assignment

Key Difference between Consumer and B2B Marketing - Assignment Example Most of the large firms which produce goods such as production, steel, and equipment along with computer memory chips cater to the business market customers and the organizations do not directly interact with their customers. The introduction of the laser printers along with the personal computers had brought HP which was a B2B marketer into the consumer market. Conversely, Apple strength has also extended towards the business market as its iPad was being used or tested in more than 75% of the fortune 500 companies just after a month of its launch. Corporate using iPad includes J.P. Morgan Chase, Tellabs, Inc., and Cardinal Health. Products such as office furniture, smartphones, software, and personal computers are products which are purchased both by the consumers as well as by the business markets. The feature that tends to distinguish consumer goods from business marketing is the â€Å"intended use of the product â€Å"and the intended consumer.† Some of the global big bra nds belong to the business marketing section and they include Google, Blackberry, Cisco, Caterpillar, FedEx, IBM, HP, 3M to name a few organizations (Hutt & Speh, 2012, p.8-9). Some of the key differences which exist between B2C and B2B marketing have been shown in table 1. B2B marketing focuses on fewer and on varied customers and involves complex and technical sales processes as compared to consumer marketers. The issue of complexity such as multiple stakeholders which includes, purchasing agents, financial analysts, engineers, layers, manufacturing managers all of these stakeholders proceeds through the multi-stage decision-making process. The presence of however few but powerful customers who often account for a high percentage of sales represents that most of the powerful and common statistical tools in the B2C domain should be adapted in the B2B domain. In addition, most of the transaction in B2C sectors happens through common channels. For example, consumer packaged goods in the retail stores through which the retailers are able to capture and host about competitive consumer marketing. In contrast, transactions in B2B marketing are mostly private and negotiation happens mostly the ough a downstream channel of distribution. Therefore it can be said that data about the terms and nature of transactions and consumers are not visible to the common people (Lilien & Grewal, 2012, p.4). B2B marketing generally involves wholesalers, manufacturers, and the service firms which markets the good and service to another form of business but not to the ultimate consumers. Thus the distinction between B2C and B2B is not only the service or the product but the ultimate users of the product and the service. For example, if a pair of jeans had been sold to industrial business which then to the custodial firm where the employees would have wears them on the workplace, such transaction would still be termed as B2B transactions. Another major factor of difference between busi ness marketing and consumer marketing is the role e of the salesperson. Salespeople are important and essential in dealing with consumer goods such as FMCG, consumer electronics, jeweler, insurance and real estates.

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Management - Essay Example Internal forces of business environment include: strategy, employees and its own culture. External forces of business environment include government, climate, political and economic conditions. Business environment is of utmost importance to an organization and a manger has to work while monitoring the external and internal sources of business environment and either change or continue its operations in accordance to the changes in the business environment to remain successful and increase profitability of the organization. If managers are able to keep a watch on its business environment, they can benefit from opportunities available in the environment, they can counter the threats and weaknesses that are available in the internal and the external business environment and further enhance the strength of the business. For example: Managers need to continuously monitor the changes in the demographics of the country in which it is operating in so it can adjust its marketing and human res ource activities accordingly and benefit from opportunities. ... People may have a desire to purchase a good or service, but their desire does not create a market. A market is created with a customer can be qualified as able to make a purchasing transaction. Customers are only qualified to make a purchase if they have an existing need that needs to be satisfied, have the ability to make the purchasing transaction, have monetary resources to conduct the transaction and have the power to complete the transaction. Contemporary society consists of connections between human beings; market is a network that creates such connections by connecting buyers and sellers. When humans of the contemporary society interact with each other, they achieve wellbeing and the conditions of their life increases. Markets provide individuals with goods and services to satisfy their needs which help in improving the conditions of individuals and leading to well being of the society. Works Cited Weimer, Arthur M. Business Administration: An Introductory Management Approach. Homewood, Ill: R.D. Irwin, 1966. Print. Paper 2 One of the major elements in the marketing mix is the place of distribution of product. Distribution is regarded as the procedure through which a good or service is made available for the consumers to consume by a manufacturer or business making that product or service (Longenecker 200). The activity of distribution can be conducted through direct and indirect methods. This form of transfer of products from the manufacturer to the consumer is conducted through one of the options of channels available to the producer. Channels are referred to as organizations that are dependant on other organizations and all these organizations combine

Franklin Denalo Roosevelt’s new deal program Essay Example for Free

Franklin Denalo Roosevelt’s new deal program Essay The prosperity and harmony which was prevailing in the United States of America during the 1920s came to an abrupt halt with the stock market crash in 1929. This was pursued by the Great depression. The great depression rendered people unemployed and endangered their jobs, investments, assets, farms, houses and other belongings. During 1930’s America suffered from the greatest economic depression of the history. It was unique in its sternness and the consequences. It shook the establishment of the western capitalism and prevailed through the 1930s. When the depression was at its peak one worker in four daily lost his job. On October 24, 1929 a day came known as â€Å"black Thursday†. On this fateful day the stock market crashed and so did the economy. Unemployment increased on a rapid pace and millions of Americans became jobless and were out of money. The nation surrendered to one of the fiercest events of the history. Franklin Roosevelt was the governor of New York at that time and was well aware of the situation and the need to take some major steps about it. He won the elections and assumed presidency. And soon after taking charge he spoke about the New Deal. Which he said could be a new and better start towards the improvement of America’s economy. He claimed that the New Deal program would solve all the problems and would successfully guide America during those dark times and would put a stop to the great Depression prevailing at that time. The new deal was considered a ray of hope during those dark and difficult times. Although the economic set back continued through the 1930s, the new deal lessened its impact to a great extent. ‘The new deal’ was a program launched by the US president Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1939 of liberation, revival and restructuring. The new deal program’s main objective was to solve the ever rising economic problems of the United States of America during the great depression. The new deal aimed at motivating industrial recovery, help the people affected by the great depression, and take steps to avoid future economic crisis. Low employment rate, increasing unemployment, and the actuality that 20% of the schools going children were underweight and ill asked for desperate and prompt action. Franklin Roosevelt said Firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itselfnameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror. (1) This statement might have seemed quite ridiculous at that time. But there is a lot more to this saying of Roosevelt. He meant that as long as the whole nation would remain paralyzed by fear and not take any steps to help themselves, their condition won’t be improved. The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, demands bold persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it freely and try another. But above all else, try something! † (2) By this Roosevelt wanted to forge the message of action into his nation’s mind. He wanted to tell everyone that until and unless people wont work at improving their own condition and won’t make efforts for their own development they would never succeed. Many Americans looked up to Roosevelt and had great faith and confidence in him. They believed that Roosevelt could guide them during those times of despair and could help them in curbing the misery and pain they were in. Mr. Greifer, a spring valley, New York farmer wrote a letter to Roosevelt; which shows how highly some people thought about him.

Marketing strategy for Swatch Original watches in Vietnam

Marketing strategy for Swatch Original watches in Vietnam Statement of purpose Swatch (Swiss + watch) is a famous brand of the Swatch Group. In Vietnam, one of the main product lines of Swatch is the Original family which targets the young Vietnamese (aged, 18-25). In recent years, the brand faces not only fierce competition but also new opportunities. Thus, this report aims to introduce an approach for Swatch to increase the brand identity, sales volume and maintain customer loyalty in Vietnam market. Wrist watches industry in Vietnam: Back ground: Due to the limitation of available data, it is difficult to account the numbers of wrist watch brands in Vietnam market. However, according to an informal source, it is believed that there are about 400 brands have been recorded. They are classified to eight levels (website): Mass market Mid-end market US$150 -300 Premium market US$1.000 10.000 Low market US$10 50 Upper mid-end market US$300 -500 Super premium market >US$10.000 Lower mid-end market US$50-150 High-end market US$ 500 1.000 Focus segment: (US$50 -150) Currently, Swatch Original watches address in lower mid-end level, with the pricing vary from US$60 -80 (website) Players in lower mid-end market include: Casio, Endura, Guess, Ogival, Seiko, Swatch, Titan, Roamer, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. However, Casio is the main competitor of Swatch because these firms target the same segment, the young Vietnamese with extrovert lifestyle. Company and products: Swatch Swath is one of 19 brands which belong to the Swatch Group. This brand is famous for watches that utilising plastic housing, strap, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. with fresh and cool designs. Mission statement: Though Swatch hasnt announced its mission statement, it is believed that the brand implicit mission is to offer low cost, high quality and accurate watch with synthetic material (website) Products: Swatch has 5 product lines named: Skin, Irony, Original, Beat, Bijoux, in which the Original family is designed as youthful, witty and colourful. Distribution: Swatch watches are distributed in Vietnam mostly through Trading Development Company Limited (TDC Ltd.), the authorised distributor of Swatch. Following that, TDC Ltd. utilises 6 retail outlets (shop-in-shops, stores) and its website to deliver watches to customers (website). However, the website of the dealer is poor developed. The website provides poor contents in meager format. There are little details of Swatch watches specifications and the prices of most of the products are unavailable to check. Casio Casio Company Co. Ltd. is a famous company in consumer electronics field. Casio watches are designed as both digital and analogue watches. Mission statement: Casio Watches believe the beauty of time lies in precision with no compromise, no shades of grey and no half measures. Its all about accuracy and control (http://www.thewatchhut.co.uk/casio-watches.htm). Products: Casio has 13 different brands that target different segment. Among these, Casio Standard is competitor of Swatch Original. Casio Standard: This is the basic range of Casio watches. The concepts behind Standard are digital watches that are durable, long lifetime battery and affordable price. Casio standard target low to lower mid-end market with the pricing vary from US$35 -80 (website) In overall, regarding added functions, durability and battery lifetime, Casio watches are more competitive against Swatch (figure). Situation analysis: Internal environment analysis: Tangible resources: The Swatch Group is the world largest watchmaker corporation. Belonging to the Group, there are 156 production centers which are in charge of producing watches and watch components (website). Furthermore, there are 6 electric components and systems companies(website) which take response for manufacturing automotive, industrial electronics. Together, these firms form a system of interrelated values chains, so each parts of Swatch watches are produced with high compatibility and high quality. On the other hand, the Swatch Group has 6 general corporate companies (website) which specialise in RD, designing, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Thus, Swatch watches are likely to be updated with the latest technologies and designs. Intangible resources: Considering branding, it is one of the most valuable assets of the Swatch Group. Firstly, the Swatch brand is well known in many places worldwide. Secondly, there is a solid reputation for the brand as Swiss made watches and cool design watches. Unique selling proposition: Overall the corporations intangible and tangible assets contribute to three exclusive points: The brand reputation for quality and creative designs Ability to produce a vast array of different watch collections Ability to develop and implement new technologies and new materials in watches External environment analysis: Political: Vietnam is a country which follows one-party political system, with the central role of the Communist Party. This entity is believed to put an end to a long time of internal conflicts and generally conductive to political stability. However, regarding wrist watch businesses, there is little support from the government, the tariff on imported watches is relatively high (20% imported tax) compares to other nations (5% imported tax in Philippine) (website). Economic: Over the last decade, Vietnam is one of the best performing economies in the world. Real GDP has grown on average by 7.3 percent per year during 1995-2005, reached 90.64 billions US$ in 2008. In 2010, GDP of the first nine months is predicted to increase by 6.52% as compared to the same period last year (Vietnam key country index WB). Considering the GNI per capita, it rose double from US$ 390 in 2000 to US$ 910 in 2008 (Worldbank). As the economy continues to grow, Vietnam has moved from poorest country list to lower-middle income group in 2010, with average income per capita reached an estimated US$ 1.200. (Ministry of planning and industry) Consumer Confident Index of Vietnam remains in the top score groups (14th out of 50) in the first half 2009 (figure). Likewise, Vietnamese customers showed a great optimistic about future prospect, with the trend went upward from 85 points in the first half 2009 to 109 points in the second half of the same year (figure). Thus, it is confident to say that Vietnamese will spend more in the next year. Overall, it is believed that Vietnam economic is still growing briskly in 2011 and customers are more willing to purchase luxury products as they are becoming wealthier. Thus, there are relatively high potential for wrist watch demand in the next year. Social: Population Vietnam is one of the largest population countries in the world (ranks 13), with the composition of population reached 87,279,754 in 2009 (Worldbank). Among that, 20% of the total population is at age 15-24 in which there are approximately 1.45 million males in Ha Noi city and Ho Chi Minh (Nielsen). The number of young females is roughly equal to young males. Lifestyle: Vietnamese youngsters (aged, 15-24) are identified in three categories: Regular (48%), In-betweens (27%) and Uber modern (23%) (Nielsen). Regular group is limited in social activity and traditional values whereas the Uber modern is more individual and has high demand for social and consumer activity. On the other hand, the in-betweens embody a combination of the Regulars daily routine and Uber moderns mind set. Thus, there is a large gap between how the three youngster groups prefer products features. Regular: they are conservative buyers who look for established brand watch. They prefer durability, products functions and value over cost. In betweens: they are trendy and fun loving who look for similar values as the Uber modern, however, their consumer activity is comparatively lower. Uber modern: they are extrovert, enthusiastic who look for cool watches which can reflect their style. They are also impulse buyers. Approaches to the young Vietnamese: (see more detail in appendix B) The main points that Swatch should consider are: High quality products Creative designs watches Innovative marketing campaigns Technology: Currently, the most remarkable technology trend in Vietnam is communication technology. It is estimated that by the end of September 2010, there was 142.1 million of cellular phone subscribers. On the other hand, in 2010, the numbers of internet users was 26.6 million (Ministry of planning). Among the composition of internet users, a large part is young Vietnamese. It is reported that 88% of aged 15-24 Vietnamese (in HN and HCM) uses internet more than once a day. Moreover, Vietnamese youth show great fascinated to cyber activities, with 49% of those surveyed by TNS Vietnam had responded that they engaged in social networking (TNS). On the other hand, a lot of Vietnamese youngsters are also TV user, as the research of TNS pointed out that one of teens main activities is watching TV and movie (TNS). In conclusion, TV and internet are very potential communication channels to approach Vietnamese young generation. However, telephones pose a deliberate threat to wrist watches as they are designed with clock capabilities as well. SWOT analysis: Strengths: Swatch watches value perceived is very high among young customers For a long time, Swiss watchmakers have built for their watches a solid reputation of quality and reliability which have been experienced by numerous Vietnamese. Through mostly word of mouth, young Vietnamese have been profoundly influenced by this perception. The creative and artistic appearances The Swatch watches of the Original family have long been favored for its design. Bering simply characterized by plastic housing and trap, those products can come up in vast array of different styles from the fresh and wittiness of Gent to the dandy and femininity of Lady. Weaknesses: Electronic commercial website is poorly developed It is believe that the distributors website with regards to a bridge connects customers and the firm is not well designed. The website provides poor contents in meager format. There are little details of Swatch watches specifications and the prices of most of the products are unavailable. By contract, the results for keywords such as Swatch Vietnam, dai ly Swatch give 242.000 addresses; however, the authorised dealers website is not among the top results. Thus, this is very inconvenience for customers to find the website. Few added values A part from branding and designing, there is few added values from Swatch watches as compare to competitors products. In terms of additional functions, durability and battery lifetime, Casio watches are move competitive over Swatch. Threats: Threats from competitors (High) A major threat which Swatch has to confront is the fierce competition of rivalry brands such as Casio G-shock, Casio Standard, Tommy Hilfiger and so on. Especially Casio Vietnam, this firm has built a wide and large distribution network, with roughly 36 stores in HCM and about 6 stores in HN. Threats from replica watches (Low) On the other hand, counterfeits of branded watches also pose an implicit risk. Firstly, they are cheap. Spending about US$25 US$75, people can have a replica of luxury watch which is difficult to be detected just by judging its appearance. Secondly, replica watches are selling in many places and in the internet without being banned by the government. Threats from substitute (Medium) The large number of mobile phones used in Vietnam is another threat to Swatch. However, mobile phones are vulnerable to water and their batteries are not last for long and must be charged daily. Threats from governments policy (Medium) Finally, the high imported tax on watches of Vietnam government increases the costs of the Swatch distributor and adds higher VAT to the end customers. Consequently, the profit margin for the dealer goes down while the retail prices rise up. Opportunities: The increasing Vietnamese household income There is a bright prospect for Swatch watches as Vietnam economic is growing relatively fast. There is an estimated 77% in HN households and 67.5% in HCM achieved middle income rank and above (Nielsen). Hence, increasing income can boost up the demand for quality wrist watches. The increasing of young population Secondly, there is a population of 3 million of urban Vietnamese who are at age 18-24 (Statistical yearbook). They are currently demographic targets of Swatch Vietnam and a vast major of them have not been converted to customers. Furthermore, it is estimated that in the next 1-3 years, there will be roughly 1.5 million young Vietnamese enter the target market (Statistical Yearbook). Marketing strategy for Swatch in Vietnam market: Poster generic strategies, the Differentiation strategy will be implemented for Swatch in Vietnam. This strategy will be designed to differentiate Swatch and the competitors, then conductive to the raising of the brand awareness. Furthermore, the strategy is also expected to boost up sales volume in the targeted markets. Overall, the marketing strategy will aim to emphasize strong points of Swatch watches that are the Swiss made reputation and cool designs. Segmentation and targeting: Segmentation: Variable Typical breakdowns Geographic North Vietnam Ha Noi Middle Vietnam Da Nang South Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho Demographic Gender Male Female Age 0-10 10-14 14-17 18-25 26-35 36-49 50-64 65+ Psychology Life style Regular In-betweens Uber Modern Targeting: Regarding geographic variable, there are five key cities in Vietnam (Nielsen). However, only HN and HCM can be targeted markets. First of all, there are considerable high expenses to open a Swiss wrist watch store due to high stocking costs, renting and interest rate. On the other hand, Swatch should invest more in HN and HCM market in order to achieve sustainability and profitability. Males and females at age 15-25 will be the target group of the firm. Because the designs of the Swatch Original are shaped as youthful, witty and colourful, which are symbol of youth. Following that, the choice market is narrowed down to 50% of the young Vietnamese who are fashion seekers (In-betweens and Uber modern group). Positioning: In order to incorporate with the differentiation strategy, Swatch Original watches will be positioned based on its two main advantages: Swiss made quality and youthful design. On the other hand, the Original watches have higher value as compare to Casio Standard in overall (figure). Hence, the products should be positioned as more value more price. Objectives: Marketing objectives: Increase brand awareness in HN and HCM market by 20% by the end of 2011 Financial objectives: Increase sales volume by 15% by the end of 2011 Marketing programmes: Marketing mix Product policy: The product choice is the Original family which embody for youthful, artistic and outlandish. New designs should be developed regularly and new collections must be released each year because the young Vietnamese are well updated to the new trends of global youngsters Regarding quality, it is vital that Swatch watches must satisfy the customers expectation of the products. Basically, the watches have to be water-resistant (up to 100 feet) and durable enough to take certain levels of impact without being scratched or broken. Additionally, packaging should also be designed artistically in order to contribute to the brand image and satisfy customers expectation. Place policy: Push strategy In short-term, Swatch watches are distributed mainly through the authorised dealers retail outlets and its website. In long-term, as the Vietnam market grows mature, Swatch manufacturer should consider open Swatch stores which are decorated in artistic style and sell only Swatch watches. These selling entities will polish the brand image and become a channel to communicate the firms campaigns to customers. Furthermore, new Swatch stores should be opened in other cities which have high household income such as Hai Phong, Can Tho and Da Nang, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. However, these stores are required to locate in good location and well decorated. Pull strategy To adapt with customers expectation and to retain their loyalty, a pull strategy must be implemented in which customers can order their favourite watches through the authorised distributor, who in turn asks the Swatch manufacturer for those products. Regarding an important source of Swatch watches information, the website of TDC Ltd. should be improved. Actions that the firm should take are re-designing and working with a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) agency. These steps aim at raising the websites attractiveness and improving its accessibility. By contract, information about pricing, watches specification and new collections must also be updated regularly. Pricing policy: Pricing from the Swatch manufacturer to the distributor A cost-based value approach should be employed by Swatch manufacturer. The pricing to the wholesaler is set by taking total production costs plus desired margin. Thus, a fair price can be offered to the distributor. Furthermore, as businessmen are very price conscious, the firm should also leverage them by price promotion. Pricing from the distributor to customers Value-based pricing policy should be employed for Swatch watches. As Swatch watches quality and designs are highly evaluated. Hence, the price should not be low; otherwise, it may confuse customers about the watches value. On the other hand, the pricing also reflect the value of Swatch watches against Casio Standard. So the products price should ranged from US$60- US$80 On the other hand, a pricing relation policy should also be implemented. For customers who have purchased more than three watches, they will receive a loyalty card which offer 15% discount for next purchases. This policy is not only aim to incentive customers but also build a firm footing for Swatch community in Vietnam in future. Promotion policy: A promotion policy is built to retain customer loyalty and leverage them to re-purchase Swatchs watches. Two types of sales promotion that will be applied are loyalty card and free gift giving on special occasions. Marketing communication mix: In order to achieve to the firms objectives in 2011, it is vital that Swatch must employ different media channels to reach its targeted customers. Three approaches that will be applied are advertising, public relations and sales promotion. These media channels are not only being utilised to convey the brand message and image but also to introduce a fashion trend to young Vietnamese. Finally, product features such as quality and designs must be emphasised in the media message. Advertising: (see detail in appendix C) Advertising on magazines and newspapers for youth Advertising in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Advertising in internet media Advertising in TVs Public relations: (see detail in appendix C) Holding flash mob events Sales promotion Where as advertising and public relations are implemented to increase Swatch watches awareness and sales volume. The promotion approach is used to retain customer. Two types of sale promotion are loyalty program and free gift offering. With loyalty card promotion, customers will be given a special ticket for each time they purchase a Swatch watch. Following that, they will get a discount card for 3 tickets that they collected. On the other hand, on special events like Vietnamese New Year Event or Christ Mast, a free gift will be giving to customers associating with the watch they buy. Conclusion: Because of Vietnamese average income is rising, it is believed that the demand for wrist watch will grow higher in next years. Hence, Swatch should invest more in RD, distribution and communication channels to not only increasing revenues but also to capture more market share. Appendix Appendix A Figures Figure 1 Vietnam quarterly GDP growth Source: Taking stock 2010 An update on recent Vietnam economic development Figure 2.1 1H Nielsen Consumer Confident Index (Source: Nielsen Global Online Survey Consumer Confidence, March 2009) Figure 2.2 _ 2006-2009 Consumer Confidence Index: Vietnam Source: Nielsen 2H 2009 Global Omnibus Study, September 2009 Reasons for favourite brand of Vietnamese youth 59% Top quality 39% Innovative, ground breaking 38% Well designed, easy to use 34% Affordable, good value of money 27% Great marketing and advertising Figure 3 Reasons for favourite brand of Vietnamese youth Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Swatch Original Product attributes Casio Standard 3 Materials 3 3 Lifetime battery 4 5 Cool design 3 3 Durable (water-proof, shock-proof, scratch-proof) 4 5 Reputable brand 4 4 Precision 4 3 Additional functions 4 Very low Low Normal High Very high 1 2 3 4 5 Figure 4 Value assessing between Swatch Original and Casio Standard This figure is designed based on my estimation from available data in http://store.swatch.com/ and http://www.casio-intl.com/wat/g_shock/standard.html Vietnamese youth top sources to get news and information Television 84% Internet 58% Magazines and newspapers 24% Word of mouth 13% Figure 5 Young Vietnamese sources of information Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Figure 6 Vietnamese youths digital life Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Figure 7 Vietnamese youths attitude toward brand interaction on-line Source: TNS Vietnams shifting consumer landscape Appendix B Approaches to Vietnamese youth The FCB matrix was invented by Foot, Cone Belding Advertising. The matrix is applied to explain customer buying behaviour and present approaches for media strategy. There are two directions in the FCB Grid: product involvement (high low) and product emotion (thinking feeling). Thinking Feeling High involvement Swatch Original watches Expensive products but decision making is driven by emotion Low involvement It is believed that a majority part of young Vietnamese who aged 15-25 spending a lot of their time for study and having little time for working. As a result, their financial availability is mostly depended on their parents. Which this in mind, wrist watches which cost them US$ 60- 80 will be considered as expensive products. Thus, Swatch watches are classified as high involvement products. On the other hand, Swatch watches are fashion accessories which youngsters can use them to express their style, make them feel cool and fresh. Thus, Swatch watches involve high emotional responses. Regarding reasons for favourite brand (figure 3), it is clear that products quality, designs have significant impacts on Vietnamese youth by 59%, 39% respondents respectively. In contract, these elements engage high emotional responses as they are mostly based on customers perceived value. Hence, quality, designs should be focus points in Swatch media campaigns. In conclusion, FCB Grid suggests that Swatch advertising campaigns should be creative and inspire customers by psychological benefits. Appendix C Communication mix choice Advertising: Advertising on magazines and newspapers for youth Newspapers and magazines is the number three source of information and news to young Vietnamese (figure 5). They use this channel to pull out information of various aspects which they concern include entertainment, fashion trends, news and so on. Thus, it is confident to say that printed media can deliver the brand image and message to a majority of Vietnamese youth. Advertising in social media This approach is absolute must in order to reach the targeted groups. Social networking is a new trend in Vietnam, with half of the online youngster engages in (figure 6). The advantage of this media channel is that information can be spread and shared quickly and widely as internet users are keen in communicating with others. On the other hand, young Vietnamese also pose a positive attitude toward brand interaction on-line. They accept to interact with the brands in many activities from e-mail to news and social (figure 7). Thus, a Swatch community can be built to provide not only information about the products but also to offer promotions and provide a fan space. Furthermore, through social networking, global contests of Swatch (CreArt, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) can be introduced to Vietnamese. Famous cyber communities include: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Advertising in internet media Internet magazines or information portals for youth are viable mediums for Swatch. They are Vietnamese youngster favourite sources of information in which they rank number two among the others (figure 5). The advantage of this media include: low costs, wide market coverage. Popular websites include: www.hihihehe.com, www.kenh14.vn, www.hoahoctro.vn, www.zing.vn Advertising in TVs TV media should be considered as a channel to reach customer. It is reported that television is the youngsters number one source of news and information. Its advantages are wide reach (% of targeted customers who watch the advertisement) and high frequency (number if time each customer watches the advertisement). Hence, TV advertising can highly increase the brand awareness among young customers. However, there are relatively high costs (costs to produce television commercials and costs for booking TV channels) in utilising this medium. However, it is notable that the advertisements should be creative in order to impress the young audiences. Furthermore, advertisement must be launched at an effective frequency to maximise the effect while spending reasonable budgets. Public relations: Holding special events is an indirect way to advertise for the products to the targeted customers. Alternatively, TDC limited can also give aid to events that are attractive to young customers. It is noticed that special events must be creative and bring joyful to audiences. Consequently, the products image is expected to be benefited from word of mouth and news on magazines. Holding flash mob events Recently, there is a new trend of the youngsters, flash mob event. It is recorded that three big events (with over 1200 participants) and a lot of small ones has taken place in HN and HCM in 2010. Thus, TDC limited can contact with key members of flash mob groups to offer them sponsorship. In return, these members will indirectly promote for Swatch watches and influence the preference of the other event participants.