Why has the FTC warned consumers about penny (bidding fee) auctions?

FTC has warned consumers about bidding fee because it poses many problems. First, consumer must pay a substantial fee and other charges when placing a bid.  Other point which consumers need to know is that there are unscrupulous auctioneers who use bid bots and human shills (Hix, 2001).They set fraudulent sites which ensure that people are bidding regularly and are spending lot of money. FTC warns consumers against penny auction pitfalls such as time lags-bidding item is a process which may take a long time to deliver the item and sometimes the item is not delivered at all. Consumer keeps complaining of late shipments, poor quality items and so on (Hix, 2001). Other pitfall with penny auction is hidden costs.  Some penny auctions sites provide unclear terms and conditions. Consumer find that they are charged for membership, shipping and are forced to follow different rules which were not indicated in terms and conditions.  Next is an insecure payment option. The payment options such as money wiring service is insecurity and some consumers do not receive their merchandise or else they receive unexpected things (Hix, 2001). All the same, it is advisable that consumers should use credit card.  Penny auctions have phishing trips which are used to access consumers’ financial information.

What is herd behavior and how does it impact auctions?

Herd behavior is a form of bias where bidders are made to place bids on items with higher bids and ignore items with fewer bids (Khosrow-Pour, 2009). There are positive and negative impacts of this behavior. First, measure of auctions is determined by success and success is achieved when   there are completed sales in the auction. However, if bids are not placed on some items, then success will not be achieved. In addition, herd behaviors will affect dependent variables such as closing price, seller revenue, price premiums and number of placed bids (Khosrow-Pour, 2009). The impact on these variables will lead to unsuccessful auction.  Other point is that consumers are affected by paying higher prices with no economic reality. The positive impact is that sellers and buyers use strategic information disclosure where they create an ideal platform for negotiation (Khosrow-Pour, 2009).  Since numbers of bids are valued, online bidders eliminates uncertainty and risks by adding value to some items.  The seller benefits from higher number of bids since buyers tend to focus on items with higher bids.

Name and describe five types of possible abuses and frauds that may occur with auctions.

 Abuses and frauds in auctions include;

• Shill bidding- this happens when an individual brings a false identity with a purpose of increasing the price of an item during bidding so that the seller can benefit (Synyder, 2000). This affects the legitimate bidders as they are encouraged to raise their bids to become winners.  It has been confirmed that sellers engages themselves in this fraudulent behaviors through placing bids on their own merchandise.
• Bid shielding-this occurs when two buyers raises the bids. This involves bid inflation and other bidders are affected as they are forced to stop bidding due to high level of bidding (Synyder, 2000).  The higher bidder then cancels the bid so that second bidder-his partner-can become a winner.
• Transaction non-performance- this happens when the bidder with the high price sends payments to the seller but the seller fails to deliver the merchandise. Consumers are unable to retrieve money back after fraudulent payment (Synyder, 2000).
• Failure of the seller to send the right merchandise-this is a common fraud which occurs when the bidder sends payment to the seller only to receive nothing or inferior goods (Synyder, 2000).
• Failure of the bidder to send payment after winning the bid-this happens when the bidder refuses to clear the transaction. The seller is forced to start from scratch and sell items again. This creates distrust in the auction system (Synyder, 2000).

Reference

Khosrow-Pour, M. (2009). Consumer behavior, organizational development, and electronic commerce:

Emerging issues for advancing modern socioeconomies. Hershey, PA: Information Science

Reference.

Hix L. Nancy. (2001). The Business Guide to Selling Through Internet Auctions: A Proven Seven-Step Plan

for Selling to Consumers and Other Businesses. Maximum Press.

Synyder M. James. (2000). “Online Auction Fraud: Are the Auction Houses Doing All They Should or Could

to Stop Online Fraud? ,” Federal Communications Law Journal: Vol. 52: Iss. 2, Article 8.

Driving Innovation in Consumer Products

Wall street journal

Summary

Despite the growing  industrial opposition,  consumer  products  corporations  that holds  stronger innovation  collection  and  abilities  can create  more  shareholders value.

Consumer products  corporations  are  faced  with  the ongoing  issues  of  performance , from  the slowing growth  of the  industry  to the  reduction  of  brand  loyalty  and the  increasing  unconventional  competitors.  While  most of the international  corporations  are  undertaking  innovation as the  primary  growth  driver,  very  few of the  companies  are  actually  generating  fresh,  viable business  provisions   that  generate  value for the  shareholders and the consumers.

The rule however, has an exception.  An analysis  conducted  on  44  leading  companies  that are  focused  on  consumer  products represented  over  900 billion dollars.  Delloitte Consulting LLP Company established that fewer corporations are influencing disproportionate performance from the actual innovation.  The  corporations  succeeded in the utilization  of the approaches  to  being innovative ,  focusing  on consumers  and  holding systematic  abilities.

Summary

Innovating Beyond Products

Innovation  to  many consumer  products  companies  is equated  with the  development  of fresh products  as well as  products  expansion.  Nielsen  states  that  there  have  been  over  20,000 launches  of  product since the  start  of 2008 yet  only  74  were fresh  and  viable.

In addition Deloitte’s analysis  made the revelation that  more than 90% of those  products  innovations  that  have been launched by the leaning CP organizations were  either  based on performance of  products  of the  expansion of products lines.

While the  center  for most  corporations, innovation that  is based on  products  can  simply be  imitated or identified since  it  presents  rare  chances  of  creating adequate market sustainable  competitive advantage.

In  order  to succeed the  transformative  industrial  landscape CP  corporations  can  obtain  benefits  from the  consideration  of innovation  from a more broad ground.  The benefits may be acquired for example with:

1. Building strong  partnerships
2. Personalizing consumer experience
3. Creating a comprehensive  integration  platform
4. Designing for the  behaviors of consumers
5. Motivating the adoption  for innovation
6. Promoting the journey for  the buyer
7. Development of systematic  abilities
8. Creating a strategy
9. Managing selections
10. Building, construction  and the  scale of  innovation
11. Fueling innovation

Summary

The Bottom Line: Driving Value

The study  conducted  by  Deloitte established  that  consumer  product corporations  that  are engaging  in  beyond products  innovation,  the setting  and design  of  consumer  conduct and at the same  time  leveraging  abilities  in a repeatable  and systematic  fashion  create  greater  value  or returns  that are  from  their innovation  investments.

Greater values are created through: 

Considerably greater shareholders value generation.  In the  consumer  products  corporation’s innovation  leaders have  stated  to experience  a minimum  of  14 percent  yearly  stock price  increase  in the  period of  five  years as compared with the  0 percent  growth  that  is  experienced  by  laggards.

In addition, they experience significant increased economic value generation.  The  economic value  that  is  generated  by innovation  leaders in organization  results  in a spread of  at least  7 percent  that  is spread  across  the  five years which  wins over  the 1 percent  that  is  gained  by other  consumer product  corporations as revealed  by the study.

Moreover, they also create developed consumer brand perception for their organizations and industry.  Innovative  leaders are  able  to create and  launch innovative products  that  are highly valued  by consumers  as  compared  with  the  products  that  can easily be  replaced  that are  generated  by average  Consumer  product  companies.

Summary Conclusion

Based  on   the distinct  combinations  of  abilities  and  collections the  suggestion  made  is that there is no a single  size  that  fits  all  the  approaches  involved  in  developing  innovation.  Every  consumer  product  company  holds a distinct  success  definition  as well as  distinct  strategic  priorities  that  are bound  to inform  the  general  orientation  of the  innovation  collects.

However,  the  analysis  of the  report  creates  the belief  that  consumer  product corporations  that are  more  focused  on  working  beyond  the innovation  of products,  designing of  consumer  behavior and  implementation of the appropriate systems are  more  equipped  in  obtaining repeated  efficiency thus  increasing the  general  capability  of enjoying considerable competitive advantage.

Course Relation

Innovation versus Process:-

Product innovation for corporations tends to be an apparent one and the output and the created value without excluding efficiency must be considered.

the subject  is relevant  to the course in  that  product  innovation  is  not  just  successful because  it is  based  on  product  innovation  rather  it  should  focus on  creating  value  for both the  organization  and the consumers.

Critical Analysis

The article offers creative   and useful ideas that regards to the   focus of innovation beyond the given products.  The  article  offered  real case  scenarios  of  how  consumer products  innovative   corporations  that  focuses  of  changing  consumers behavior  and creating  brands  loyalty  are creating  more  value.  More so,  the article  stated  that  less  corporations  are involved in  innovative and viable generation  since most of the  launch products are a mere extension.

However,  the article  failed  to offer detailed  insights  on  how  companies  can  focus  on  being innovative  beyond their  products  and how  brands  that  cannot  be  imitated easily  can be created.

            Reference

McLain, S. (2017). Driving Innovation in Consumer Products. Retrieved from             http://deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/2017/03/27/driving-innovation-in-cp-companies/

Coca-Cola’s Case Study in India

Introduction

The case study is based on Coca-Cola’s initiatives regarding the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India.  This is the  strategies that the  corporation adopted  in its management  as  well as by staffs  in offering its contributions to the  Indian communities where  its  operations are  based (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  Corporations  are required  to be  socially  responsible  by  placing the  wellness of the community  before  its  own  and  helping the  communities where  it  operates  to  develop.

In India Coca-Cola can be described to the among the leading and largest beverage corporations. The  corporation  made the realization  that  its CSR  should be integrated  with  the  general objectives  of the  corporation  for  more  benefits (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).   The community   necessitates the compensation from corporations as the offer a market and a favorable environment for the corporation to work.   Based on a report by the corporation it was  fully  are  of the  social, economic, political  as well as the environment  effect   caused  by  its  business operations  and  with this  it  recognized and  accepted the  need of implementing   more  initiatives.  This  decision  was developed  as  a strategy  of improving   the consumer’s  life  quality , the  employees  as well as the  general  society.  The  approach was  a positive one  that  resulted  into  being  highly responsible  to the community  and in turn  created  more sales  and widened  the  company’s market (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).

However, the corporation  fell  into a drastic  criticism from the country’s activists as well as  environmental specialists charging  it with the exhaustion  of  underground  water  sources  located  in the  area where  the  firms involved  in  bottling where  situated (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  The  charges  were  that  the exhaustion  of the water  sources by the company’s  operations  was  negatively  impacting  the lives of all the  poor  farmers  since the  firms where  dumping toxic wastes as well as  hazardous material  wastes near  the  facilities.  The  wastes  that the company  was  discharges was  alleged  to  have  been directed  to the  agricultural  farms  thus  affecting  productivity.  The environmental pollution by the facilities would not have been considered as social responsibility since it was a form of destruction.  Moreover,  this act  was  alleged to  be  under  unethical  business conducts  which resulted  into a boycott  of  its  products  worldwide  and particularly because  it  was  charged  with  the  conduct  in several developing states (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).

in spite of the rising criticisms against the  corporation,  it  continued  in  championing  different  responsible  initiatives  like the  restoration of  groundwater sources,  rainwater  harvesting,  the adaptation  of  recycling and packaging  as well as offering different  community  services  in all  its  locations.  Coca-Cola made the  decision  of  becoming  neutral in the  context  of  water  in  its  Indian  location by  the year  2009 as a section of its  international  approach of  obtaining  water objectivity (Coca-Cola, 2016 1). However, despite its resistance criticisms against the corporation failed to leave.  Those  criticizing  it  held the  belief that  the corporation  of  utilizing  so  much  money  in terms of million  dollars in sustaining the  green project as well as  creating an environmental  friendly reputation for  its own benefits. It was  alleged  while  this  was  happening the  corporation  failed  in  making  any changes  to all  its  operations  that  were  ruining  the wellness of the  community.   This  attempt was  developed  in order to  wash the company’s  business  conducts  in the country  thus  tarnishing its brands  reputation  both in  India and  globally (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).

Company Overview

Coca-Cola Corporation began its establishment in the year 1886 in Atlanta Georgia (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  The  company  is accounted to be  leading  globally in the  delivery of  non alcoholic drinks ,  first positing  in manufacturing, distribution ,  better relations  and  marketing  of all its  products  which are both  syrups  and  concentrated  beverages (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  The products are normally distributed to the bottling corporations for packaging, and the last and standard dilutions to customers.  The company generates an increased range of   distinct beverage products which ranges from five hundred distinct products globally. The  company’s  globalization  initiative was  implemented  in  1920’s  and  toady  the company operates  in  an exceed of 200 nations  which  follows a simplified  international  approach (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  This approach states that  the  company  is objected  at  offering  a refreshment  moment  for  less cost  for a million times  each day.

The  company along  with the firms that are  involved  in bottling the  beverages creates  the best  distribution and  manufacturing  systems  globally. The  systems are  created in a way that  motivates  the  employees   and ensures that  they are  fully dedicated  thus placing the  aims of the  company  as their  priorities (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  This strategy  values  culture  with  helps  in  connectedness  and  teaming up as employees  and  consumers  are highly  involved  in the  operations  of the  company.  The  company’s  products   have been established  to  be the  most effective  soft  drinks  in  quenching  the  customer’s thirst with  the utilization of  non  alcoholic  products globally  for  more than  the  115 years that the company  has  been operating (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  One of the  prime  aim of the  corporation  is  to ensure that  its general  market  share as well as  value  increases  annually. This  aim is  mainly  accomplished  via  the  utilization  of  associates  who offer  increased  satisfaction  to consumers  by valuing the  general  needs of the  customers  while  still protecting  the  assets  of the  firm and minimization  of business  threats.

In 2004, the company’s revenue totaled to 22 billion dollars from the global market which has been growing since then. In  India  Coca-Cola  has  continued  to  be a leading  seller  of soft  drinks despite  the  rising  criticisms against  it (Coca-Cola, 2016 1).  It is estimated that the corporation’s investment in India is approximately 1 billion dollars (Gulati & Ahmed, 2012 1). This therefore makes the corporation to be one of the highest investors globally in India.  This demonstrates its commitment and ability to grow in the Indian market with the adaptation of effective corporate strategy.  The marketing, sales, manufacturing and distribution of goods in the country is not of much concern as company to its corporate responsibility. 

the  corporation is  involved  in the  beverage  production  with  about  7000 staffs  at its  27 distinct an fully  owned  bottling activities which are  supplemented  by bottling  operations  which are franchisee owned (Muhtar, 2015 1).  Additional  to the  employees who are  situated  in the firms , the company states  that  it  develops  jobs  indirectly  for  more than 125,000 persons  through is supply, distribution as well as  supply  networks (Muhtar, 2015 1). The CSRs  initiatives  for the  corporation in  the  Indian  society  are mainly  focused  on communities  as well as the environment. The corporation has been involved in setting up projects for primary education which primarily offer benefits to children from slums as well as remote places. In addition the company recently established engaged in a major responsibility in setting up national projects for water sustainability. This  projects mainly  incorporates  offering  the local  communities  with  education  regarding  the conservation of water.  The company  has  additionally  partnered  with  different  NGOs  in the  country  as well as local agencies  in the provision  of  healthcare for the poor (Muhtar, 2015 1). Additional  initiatives that the company  is  involved  in  includes  the  cleaning  of  cremation locations  as a form of community  services  and also giving working  opportunities  at its  firm that is involved  in bottling  to deaf students  in  nearby schools.

Industrial Overview

Soft drinks  can be describes  as  distinct  popular  beverages  that are  primarily  comprised  of  sugar, flavor  and carbonated  water.  These drinks do not consist of any form of alcohol are usually sold in terms of cans or even bottles.  The beverage companies for the non alcoholic products are mainly, Pepsi, Schweppes as well as others (Ziobro, 2011 1).  The soft drinks industry is a mature market that involved established and globally situated corporations.  The  sector is characterized  by reduced  growth  chances  as compared to the  general  market  and thus most  of the firms involved  in the sector  and focuses  of  on products diversification  as well as differentiation to increase their competing abilities  as well as  gaining a reasonable share  in the  market. Most of the  firms are  involved  in productive distributions as well as  acquisitions strategies  that are aimed at  growing  the  general operations,  products  images and  ease  the venture  into  distinct locations (Ziobro, 2011 1).

Energy  drinks  are  being  embraced  highly in developing  states  which is a form of  threat  to the  general  competition in the  market.  Pepsi  and  Coca-Cola are characterized  with the  dominance of the beverage  market based  on their  abilities  and  global  positioning (Ziobro, 2011 1).  The general  demand  for  carbonated  drinks is  fueled  by  customers  demographics  as well as taste. The general profitability that is obtained by the involved corporations is normally determined by the marketing effectiveness.  The dominating companies such as Coca-Cola uses scale economies both in its distribution as well as manufacturing (Muhtar, 2015 1).  For the  smaller  companies  they  normally  offer competition through  prices reduction,  serving local preferences  and  bringing distinct and fresh  products  in the market.

In reference to the carbonated  drinks  they account  to a 65percent  revenue in the  particular  industry  while  the non carbonated  drinks accounts  to  35  percent (Muhtar, 2015 1). This therefore shows that the carbonated drinks are characterized with high sales. Generally Coca-Cola holds a market share of 42 percent globally while Pepsi holds 32 percent; Schweppes 15 percent and 11 percent is held by others (Muhtar, 2015 1). In order to understand the industry a PESTLE analysis will be utilized in assessing the external surrounding which involves political, environmental, economic, legal, and social as well as the technological environment. Despite the  fact that  Coca-Cola company is still the  leading one in the  manufacturing as well the distribution  of soft beverages  globally  a Pestle analysis  would  be  essential in  understanding  its external concerns (Muhtar, 2015 1).  This is in particular the existing treats as well as opportunities to adopt competitive strategies for a better positioning. Coca-Cola Company is a global empire in the servicing of soft beverages that are characterized by affordability and high quality.  In  the distribution of the  products  to the consumers  the  company  follows  strict  laws  as well as  high  adherence  to  the  demands  of consumers  with the utilization of the  best  technology that is available.

Political Environment

Since the  company  is a non-alcoholic drinks manufacturer Coca-Cola’s  products  are normally  evaluated by the FDA which works in ensuring that  the  products  meets the  necessarily  regulations that  are  offered  by  the  governing  bodies  for the wellness of the  customers.  FDA  is  from the  American  origin   which is well  known in the global  food industry as it is involved  in the  evaluation and verification of the ingredients  that are being  utilized  in the  manufacturing of  goods mainly  for  direct  consumption (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 253). The  changes  that  may  occur in the  stated  laws  may  result in the  prevention  of the  corporate  from delivering its  yields.  These  may  include  changes  in internal marketing,  accounting, taxes as well as  the  changes  in the  labor  policies which may  affect  production  and sales.  The company examines its yields carefully prior to presenting them to the agency for more verification (IDOWU, 2009 202).

Beside from the  agencies  requirements from the  company several other  primary  political forces  that are  designed  and implemented  in reference to the  country  domain  that includes  regulations, political  crisis and income taxes  affects the operation of the  company.  If the regulation for export or rather imports are high this implies that the company’s ability to sell is low which is similar to the high income taxes which affects demands (IDOWU, 2009 202).  Political  crisis  in any state   can occur  in the nature  of  protests  that  can mainly  impact  products  demand. In addition  political  violence creates a surrounding  that  is challenging  for  products  to penetrate different  zones  due to the lack of stability (IDOWU, 2009 202).

Economic Environment

These are the economic factors which are utilized by the corporation in future’s forecasting on investment decisions. Coca-Cola yields are mainly distributes to its more than two hundred nations.  This implies that the countries are characterized by diversity since they posses different languages, tastes, preferences, customs, desires as well as cultures (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 259).  The company deals with the diversified consumers in distinct ways in ensuring that their needs are met without fail.  The company has in the  recent  transformed  and innovated  its  strategies in handling  products  through  creating  distinct  flavors that  best  accommodate  all its  consumers.  The  economic  factors  that affects  the company  includes , inflation,  interests  rates, living standards, rate of exchange,  high unemployment level, wages  and the  general growth  of a state economically.  The economic forces are normally different based on a state.

The company ensures that the economic analysis of a new country is analyzed before a venture. If the  market  is characterized  by high  power  of purchasing this implies that  the  country  is well situated for maximum  gains. Coca-Cola corporation  utilizes  the  strategy  in  products  marketing  and  it has  about 63 distinct  currencies from the  different nations (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 258).  Based on the continuous fluctuations of the foreign currencies in exchanges the weaknesses or the strength of the currency stands to be the primary determinant of profit.  The maximization of profit is affected by currency fluctuations and therefore an evaluation is required in weighing the strength of a currency before a venture (IDOWU, 2009 203).

Additionally  the  company  utilizes  an analysis  of borrowed  money interest  rate  which may  affect  its general  operations. The  changes  in the  rate  of  interests  impacts  the  profit status  of any corporation  as well as  additional investments because  the  operational cost is increased.  The company manages to handle the interest levels fluctuations through the implementation of imitative tools (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 254).   If inflation  occurs  the  company  offers  their staffs  higher  salaries  in the affected  nations  which stabilizes their  ability  to handle the situation.  This additionally benefits the company since the rise in salaries results in an increase in the costs of products.  This is however, not designated on the goods prices because the market is characterized by high competition as well as high risks. This threat  is  mainly  faced  by most  corporations  from their  external  environment  due  to the  failure to manage it (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 254).

The corporation is characterized by more than 80 billion dollars equity value in its global locations. Most of the  value is normally  derived  from the  beverage  market  as  it holds the highest  demand  and  value.  The corporations  income  is acquired  from  all its  global  locations  and  about 70 percent of this  revenue  is generated  outside  the American  market (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 253).  However  the  corporation is  faced  with a threat  since  modernization  has  its  unique needs   which are  not being incorporated  by the  company. For instance  consumers  are  highly  demanding for  healthy  or  drinks with  no preservatives  as the alternative drinks to a healthy  living (IDOWU, 2009 204). However, the corporation has implemented very minimal efforts in regard to addressing the need.

Social Environment

Social  forces  are  mainly  the things  including  traditions,  cultures,  health perceptions,  fresh trends,  safety as well as the growth of  demand.  The  company  does not therefore, have the capability of transforming  its social  forces  but  mostly  it is required  to  make  an adoption  and suit  to the  needs of the society.  This aspect is very crucial for Coca-Cola which is directly allied to consumers.  The element of cultural diversity is analyzed prior to the introduction of goods and marketing to the specific market.  Since the  company  has more than  3300 differentiated  products  market  analysis  begins with  the  introduction  of  less  products based on social  preferences (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 253).

Coca-Cola’s products distribution mainly occurs in states that are characterized by active cultures.  However , the  effectiveness of the  corporation is determined  by its general  ability  to meet the  necessities  and demands  of the  consumers  without fail.  For instance in countries such as India and Japan high products differentiation are a necessity to satisfaction of consumers.  The company developed 30 distinct flavors in Japan in the quest of alluring to its consumers (Muhtar, 2015 1).  Similarly, the  corporation is attempting to develop  such  diversification in china as the market  is characterized  by  distinct  needs  and  a unique cultural  preference and taste.

However, in countries such as America individuals are mainly focused on healthiness and some just preferences.  The  country’s preferences are  rapidly  switching  as most of them  are  switching  from  sugary  drinks to the consumption of  water  as well as tea.  This is mainly because the drinks are much better in regard to benefiting them health wise.  Coca-Cola  is therefore  required  to  make  a quick response  to these needs through  the creation of healthy drinks  so that  the  consumers  can respond (Ziobro, 2011 1). The government  as well as  the modern  customers holds  great  concerns in  regard  to  products  safety and healthiness.  Most individuals are concerned about being obese in regard to the beverage products particularly by young individuals.  Nutritional content is very crucial in the mind of consumers today.  Coca-Cola  was  recently able to  utilize  the opportunity  by  introducing dietary products  that  includes, Light Coke, Coca-cola zero  and diet  coke (Ziobro, 2011 1). The highest market share is derived from young adults and children and they hold the highest population growth thus the need to address their needs is a necessity.

Technology Environment

The beverage industry   benefits highly through technological advances in offering services such as branding, packaging, marketing, research as well as the distribution of goods.  The  packaging  for the   products are  dependent  on its  bottling  partners  but the corporation does  not  hold  full  control  of its operations (Ziobro, 2011 1).  The  availability  of the  distinct branding and packaging  is influenced  mainly  by technological advances  as well as sales  which is fueled  by the  availability  of increased  vending  machines.  Technology  has  also  assisted the  company  in  designing  stylish  cans  which  are  highly  desired  based on their attractiveness  particularly  to young  people (Ziobro, 2011 1). This   acts as a form of a marketing tool which is useful in creating awareness.

Technological  development  has been a major help for manufacturing corporations and particularly  Coca-Cola thus resulting into the  rise  of  high  quality,  quantity  and speed  in production.  The company has factories that are situated in Britain and works to ensure that quality as well as the production speed is enhanced (Ziobro, 2011 1).  In addition, the company utilizes the technology in making direct and simplified connections with the consumers.

Legal Environment

Legal  laws that  governs  corporations  globally  are  employment law,  consumer law,  health, antitrust law, discrimination  as well as  safety  law.  In the united states alone corporations are managed by distinct regulatory acts such as safety, health, FDA and drugs (IDOWU, 2009 209).  Beside from these  policies  which are  also applied  in the  global  regions  environmental  regulations are part of the legal  forces  which may include  advertising regulations,  production , as well as  sales (Peck, 2015 1).  The slight  changes that  may either  be applied  to the  regulations  or  policies  may  result into a desirable or  a non desirable  effect on  the corporation. In addition, the  violation of any  of the mentioned  laws, regulations or  even policies  may result in the  rise  of serious  punishment  which  will  bring  obvious effects on the  company’s capabilities and may  also ruin the  well established  reputation. The  company reserves  all the  associated  rights  towards the  business  which includes ownership of its  yields  and  it is  fully  responsible  of its  practices globally.

Environmental

Coca-Cola is normally   affected by criticism against its waste disposals as well as the consumption of water.  The  company is mainly  impacted  by water  accessibility  since  it requires  more  water  in  its  manufacturing.  Water  is a core  necessity  for the  development  of soft  drinks  which implies  that  even climatic changes  holds   effects on  the  firm.  The  company  mainly  acquires  its water from the  underground  sources  which is  alleged to  be an  exhaustion of the  sources (Peck, 2015 1).

Coca-Cola is expected to respect all the environmental regulations in all its stations.  However,  it  has  been  blamed  for  being  environmentally  irresponsible  based on  its  excessive water  requirement  as well as wastes  disposal  which is related  to high  pollution (Muhtar, 2015 1).  This  issues  are  highly  relevant  and needs to be  addressed  as  the  reputation  of the  company’s  brand may   be affected.  In addition  most  of the  consumers  may  switch their  soft drinks demands  to the  existing  substitutes  with  better reputation  in regard to  environmental  conservation.  However,  in the  recent the  company  has continuously  engaged in the green project  through  changing its  branding and  packaging  to suit a conservative  surrounding. The  company  is  additionally  offering  education  to  communities   in regard  to  how  water  can be conserved (Muhtar, 2015 1).

 It is  widely  known that a brand that  yields high  value  is  very important  for any corporation  in operating in the  market  that  is characterized by high competition.  Developing  brands  with  high  value  should  also  incorporate  high  performance  for the  corporation  in order  to  eliminate the  issues  that  may  hinder its sustainability  issues (Peck, 2015 1). This   reflects  the  level in  which a company  is  responsible socially  since  poor performance  ruins  reputation  and  sustainability.  Based on the  operations of the  modern businesses most of the consumers  who account to  approximately 85 percent  are  highly  impressed  by  brands  if it  the corporation has a  good reputation (Peck, 2015 1).  In addition the  reputation  should have been generated  from the  company’s  ability  in engaging  in things that  are  aimed  at improving  the society.

When the  issues of  pollution and  water exhaustion  began  to  prevail in the  public domain, the  company  was affected  economically  as well  as   a loss of  its  good  reputation.  However, the  company  ignored the occurrence  and instead  of addressing  the  public  it began to  implement  the  green  project.  This  was  criticized  too  based on the  objective that the  corporation was  only  doing it  for  its  individual benefits  and  to build back  its  reputation  without  caring  on how  it  impacts  the  society undesirably (Peck, 2015 1).  This  resulted into the  rose  of a negative  reputation  towards the  corporation  by the society  in  the global  market  and  particularly in the  developing  countries.  The company’s  products  had been  boycotted  for  a while with  consumers  switching  to the  existing  substitutes.  Under  the  scenario,  it is  clear  that  the  corporation  is needed  to  recognize  and adopt  sustainable  initiatives  which will  resolve all the issues that  involves  social  responsibility.  In short,  Coca-Cola should  be driven by  the needs of the  consumers  in order  to adopt  changes  to benefit  it  in  gaining a higher  share as well as  creating a better reputation  in India (Peck, 2015 1). The sustainable  projects  should  be grounded  mainly  on the  areas  of  the environment  which includes  underground conservation, extensive water  use and  pollution  from  wastes.

Coca-Cola recognized the  necessity  of incorporating  social  responsibility  as part of  its  corporate objectives  to  increase  its stability in the  India market. This  was  an effective strategy  since  social  responsibility  helps in  attaining a positive image, increasing demand  and  market  share (Peck, 2015 1).  However, the company  did not  adhere to  its   responsibility fully  as it only  focused  on the  sectors  that  would benefit  it  more. Corporate  responsibility  requires the  company  to  place  the  society’s needs  first  before  its individual  interests.  This was however, contrarily to what the company did.  It  is  good to note that  the  provision of  education  chances  to the  poor children in the  Indian  community  as a part  of  social  responsibility  is a good thing.  In addition  the fact that  its  branding,  manufacturing  and  packaging  is  based  on the  green project  is an additional  positive thing.  However,  disposing  toxic  and  hazardous  wastes  in the  open thus  leading  them to the  poor  farmers  farms  is  something  that cannot be  accepted (Peck, 2015 1).

Making the decision of conserving the environment totally means committing to the responsibility. The  corporation  was additional accused  of  water  exhaustion  despite  its  initiative  which educates  the communities  about  water  conservation.  It is  true that the  production of softy drinks is one that  necessitates  much  water  but the  company  should be utilizing  the  water  minimally  to ensure that  pollution  does not occur  as  that  may  affect  farming  which is depended  by many (Rana, 2016 1). After  the corporation  suffered  to a crisis of its  image  both  in  America and  in India,  most of  its  economic and social  forces that   leads to  its  stability  were  altered which affected most  of its  operations.  The  company  from the  particular situation  recognized  that  it  was very important  to  build  a better  reputation  by  improved handling  of environmental  and  social  forces. Success cannot be  attained  through  prioritizing the  needs of the  company  and ignoring  the  necessity  for the  society  to  value the  company.  In order  for  success  to be  achieved  the  corporation  needs  to  work  on its  brands reputation  which is crucial  in fueling sales (Rana, 2016 1).  Corporate  responsibility  needs to be planned  as  a primary  section  of developmental  approaches  for the  future  growth.

The modernized  society  is  characterized  by  high  needs  based on the  high living cost in accessing  services  such  as  health  or even education.  The  company  has  made  a crucial  step  in  assisting   children  from  unstable  backgrounds to  accessing  education.  In addition it  should  implement  initiatives  to  help  individuals in accessing  health  services  as a strategy  of  sustaining wellness  for  its consumers (Rana, 2016 1).  This  will  create  a much  desirable image  but  changing  how the  community  perceives  the  company and its  operations.  This  implies that  the  company  does not need  to  change  much  but  it is  highly  necessitated  to commit  to the  necessities  of the  society  without fail. Moreover, the corporation  should  work more on  protecting  its image  which seems to be  affected  by  environmental  issues.  It should collaborate with NGOs and the government in making moves that will serve the community better (MAY, CHENEY& ROPER, 2007 256).  But this must begin  by  developing  better strategies  in  releasing its  wastes  as well as  utilization of water  in minimal  nature.  These strategies if adopted by the corporation will benefit it in the long-term.  If it is  made to be part  of  its  objectives this implies that  it  will  be hard  for the corporation to  lose all that  it has  built  in  years.

An effective corporate responsibility works best with the incorporation of compliance, minimization of harm as well as creator creation of value.  The  first  step that  the corporation should take  should  involve  the  adaptation  of  the legal  policies  and industrial  standards  which may  include  environmental  regulations,  consumer  rights as well as employment laws (Rana, 2016 1).  This will  help to ensure that the  company  operates  based on the  provided standards  without  fail  to eliminate  all the chances  for  advanced  criticism.  The second part involved elimination or the reduction of the unenthusiastic effects that are subjected to the community by the company’s practices. This  means that  the corporation  should  operate  effectively by  avoiding  negative  impacts such as  toxic and  dangerous  wastes disposal, underground pollution and water  wastages. The community  depends  on the water  for  faming  and thus  it should be utilized minimally  without  affected  its  sources. In addition  wastes disposal  exposes the community  to disease  which  may  acquired  through  consuming  foods  or water  that  is infected  by bacteria’s (Rana, 2016 1).  The company should therefore, establish strategies to avoid the high pollution as a way of reducing harm.  This strategy will be effecting in increasing a desirable brand image.

Moreover, it  should focusing  on increasing  desirable impacts  that  best creates  value for the  communities  and the  corporation in India.  This  may  be achieved through focusing  of  high  investments,  collaborations  and investment  into the  existing social  needs (Wharton, 2010 1).  For instance the  company  should made  partnership  with  parties that  holds  the  objective  similar to its own on water  usage as well as conservation. This will help in covering its past’s activities that were alleged to be destroying water sources. The corporation is highly engaged in social activities which is a beneficial thing for the growth of its abilities globally.  It should therefore in  this case  utilize  its  establishment  and great  potential  in relating well  with  its consumers  to  regain  its image (Wharton, 2010 1).

Protecting  the  society  does not  only  mean that  the corporation has  to help them  in acquiring serves  rather  it should  also be  involved  in conserving its  surrounding.  Coca-Cola is more  focused on  building  a better  image  without  observing  the  impact  that  is caused by  its activities  on the  environment (Wharton, 2010 1).   The corporation  holds a higher  engagement  in  social  developments  but  all of its  efforts  and investments are being  outweighed by the  undesirable  impacts that  are caused on the  environment.  It is a high time that the corporation incorporates environmental measures as part of its objective in India.

Conclusion

It is clear  that social  responsibility programs  are  crucial  in  creating and enhancing  the  global  reputation  for a company.  Company  are therefore  necessitated  to  work more  on the  generation  of  better relation  with  the society  through  environmental  conservation.  After  Coca-Cola  got the  negative  experience  that  was based on  its  negative practices  that were  harming the  society  it recognized the need  of integrating  social  responsibility  in its  corporate  objective to appeal to its market.  Despite the fact that  the crisis affected  productivity, revenue generation  and the  image of the  company  a basis  for corporate responsibility  in India  has been  affirmed via the  introduction of  various CSR schemes.  In addition the  devotion of the  corporation  to the  global environment  is a reflection of  the  need  in  sustaining the  positive  attitude  held by  the corporation.

The implementation of the  differentiated  initiatives  by the  corporation  adds  value to the  society  thus enhancing  its  reputation.  If the company is effective in the application of its corporate responsibility globally, it is more likely to attract an increased number of consumers and high brand acceptance.  Thus, after obtaining the conflict’s experience the sales and the value of the company’s product have risen in the nation.  However,  despite the fact that  CSR is a beneficial  thing  for the  company  in India it  should  not  work on the  implementing too many initiatives. This may result in the loss of focus for the corporation since they will necessitate attention. In addition  this will additionally  require the general allocation  of more  costs  towards  the project  which   may  reduce the  general value that the  company generates from operations.  As much as there is a necessity to build a good reputation the company needs to keep expenses lower for profit maximization. 

            References

Coca-Cola. (2016). Coca-Cola Company India. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colaindia.com/

Coca-Cola. (2016). Coca-Cola Company, CSR and sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.coca-colaindia.com/archives/awards/csr-and-sustainability/

Gulati, N., & Ahmed, R. (2012). India Has 1.2 Billion People But  Not Enough Drink Coke. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490092413939410

IDOWU, S. O. (2009). Professionals Perspectives of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer Science & Business Media.

MAY, S., CHENEY, G., & ROPER, J. (2007). The debate over corporate social responsibility. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Muhtar, K. (2015). Coca- Cola: We Will Do Better. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-well-do-better-1440024365

Peck, P. (2015). Coca-Cola Latest  Environmental  Victory  Is More  Complicated  Than It  Seems. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coca-cola-environmental_us_55dbd255e4b0a40aa3ac0091

Rana, P. (2016). Coca-Cola Closes Plant in India. https://www.wsj.com/articles/coca-cola-closes-plant-in-india-1455122537

TULEJA, E. A. (2008). Intercultural communication for business. Mason, OH. USA, South-Western Cengage Learning.

Wharton, K. (2010). Coca-Cola India: Winning Hearts and Taste  Buds  In The  Hinterland. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB127296814079186501

Ziobro, P. (2011). Coca-Cola Lifted By Overseas Sales. Retrieved  from https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303661904576455740346065676

Target market research

Executive summary

            Entry into a new market is never easy. A lot of research goes into evaluating the target market to assess its profitability, type of target customers and the cost of operation. While this is often a challenging endeavor, it is a process that is necessary as it gives a rough idea of the nature of the business operations that are more likely to bring desired result. For this reasons, a thorough research concerning New Zealand as an ideal destination for Vibe hotels was conducted to assess whether it was a good market to enter. The city of Auckland was given the most consideration as it offers the most promise for serving as location for establishing Vibe Hotels premises. New Zealand has been experiencing a high amount of tourists every year which sparked the interest in the country. Due to the high number of tourists visiting the country, there is a significantly high demand for hospitality products that the country is finding challenging to deliver. Although there are a few organization offering tourism and hospitality services, there are few hotels in the area which makes it an ideal market. Vibe Hotels should therefore highly consider establishing a basis of operation in Auckland, New Zealand.

Target market research

            In the year 2015, New Zealand was ranked first as the country where it is easiest to start a business in the world by a survey conducted by the World Bank. The country is well known for its stability, fair dealings and openness especially when it comes to conducting business. It is also ranked as the second most ideal place to start a new business. The study was conducted amongst 189 other countries and the only country that is better for starting a new business is Singapore. When it comes to corruption, the country was ranked as the least corrupt country in the world and was rated third by Forbes as the most ideal country to conduct business in. These statistics are an indication that New Zealand has a good environment that greatly encourages companies to consider it as a target market. The good environment is facilitated by New Zealand citizens who often employ the use of fair play in their interactions as well as practicing honesty, trust and integrity in all their transactions. With such an environment, great consideration ought to be given to the country and this paper will therefore focus on identifying why New Zealand is an ideal target market for Vibe Hotels.

            When identifying an ideal target market for the hotel industry, one must look at various factors that offer a promising market for such a business. Some of these requirements include a good hospitality and tourism industry, a stable economy, accommodating legal regulations, lack of intense competition and a demand for the product that the company is going to provide (Salle, 2014). New Zealand is therefore an ideal location for Vibe Hotels as it boasts of all the amenities that are a necessity for the success of the hotel industry. The country is well known for the breathtaking view and amazing scenery that attracts tourists from across the globe. The attractions are so vast that the country can accommodate tourists of all ages with different interests as it has a lot to offer as a tourist attraction site (Salle, 2014). Over the years, the reputation for New Zealand as a tourist destination site in the international market has continued to grow and more people are willing to visit the country for its beautiful attractions thus making it a top tourism destination site for a significant number of people across the world. An increase in the number of tourists flocking into the county has greatly boosted the economy due to the high inflow of foreign exchange that is facilitated by the tourism industry.

            New Zealand receives both local and international tourists who visit the country for various reasons such as holidays, business, educational purposes, visiting friends or just to enjoy the occasional sporting and cultural events held in the country. While other attractions draw in their fair share of tourists, most tourists visit New Zealand for the purpose of enjoying the scenery as it is the most attractive element of the country’s tourism industry (Salle, 2014) While this may be the case, a lot of effort has been put in place to ensure that tourists enjoy their visits into the country as much as possible. To ensure a memorable stay, services such as transport, accommodation, entertainment, food and tour and travel activities are provided as a way of making the tourists’ visit more enjoyable and accommodating. Although New Zealand has relied so much on agriculture as the driver of its economy, tourism is becoming a promising venture and more effort has been put into improving the country’s hotel and tourism sector. It is estimated that about 10 percent of the country’s population is employed in the tourism sector and the number is expected to increase with time (New Zealand Government, 2017).

            In the past, the hotel industry was considered as a risky venture in New Zealand with other investments like retail centers and office spaces being given more priority over hotels. Most people were not willing to venture into the hotel industry as it was not as successful as other businesses in the country. However, the country has continued to grow and the hospitality industry has become very lucrative due to the rise in demand for hospitality products. Vibe Hotels must therefore consider New Zealand as an ideal target market due to the growth it has made as a tourist destination site (Salle, 2014). Tourism has become a key factor in the country’s economic growth due to the increase in the demand for tourism products and tourists visiting the country. Because of this, the tourism industry has contributed to 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product which is roughly 18.6 billion dollars attained from the hospitality industry every year (Statistics New Zealand, 2015). In the case of employment, one out of every ten people in the country is employed in the tourism industry. For businesses identifying the country as a target market, the popularity of the tourism industry will make it easy to find employees to ensure that the company is able to serve its clientele and also to meet its target objectives.

            The growth of the hospitality and tourism industry can be attributed to the increase in the number of international visitors coming into the country. In the year 2013 for example, there were 2.7 million tourists who visited the country and this was a six percent increment from the number of international tourists who visited the country the previous year (MBIE, 2016). However, despite this tremendous growth in the hospitality industry in New Zealand, there has been a lack of supply to meet the demand that exists in the country’s hospitality market. Although there are various hotels operating in the country, they greatly fall short when it comes to dealing with the high demand for tourism products that the country is experiencing. The hotel industries for example have experienced an increment in hotel occupancy rates and room tariffs as a response to the unavailability of the supply needed to meet the tourism industry demand in the country. In a place like Auckland for example, a 78.8 percent occupancy rate was recorded in the period of between the year 2012 and 2013 and this was a 3.8 percentage improvement in the hotel occupancy rates (MBIE, 2016). Despite the fact that New Zealand is growing to become a lucrative tourist destination site, few developments have been put in place to take advantage of the demand that will be created. It is because of these reasons that Vibe Hotels should jump on the opportunity to enter New Zealand and take advantage of the increasing demand for hospitality products before competition intensifies. Entering the market early will ensure that the Vibe Hotels will be well established and well positioned to meet the needs of the targeted customers long before competitors start entering into the market.

            At present, there are only 16 projects that have been initiated and they are expected to provide an average of 2,900 rooms for tourists who visit the country. The projects will result to a 12% increase to the inventory for accommodating tourists (New Zealand Government, 2017). However, most of these projects are from off shore developers as hotels are yet to take advantage of the opportunity created by the increase in tourism demand. This is despite the continuous growth of the number of visitors flocking the country for its various attractions. Hotels that are venturing into the area are focusing on converting offices into hotels or extending buildings to accommodate the requirements of the hospitality industry. This is mainly because such projects take shorter periods to complete and facilitate faster cash flow since they take shorter periods to open up than constructing new buildings. However, although the approach taken by this hotels in getting operation sites is quick and allows business to start faster, they are far below the expectations for meeting the needs of the type of clientele that are flocking the tourism market in New Zealand (Salle, 2014). Vibe Hotels should therefore venture into this market and instead of extensions or conversions, the hotel should focus on constructing a new business premises that meets the needs of the targeted customers. While this may take time, it will guarantee that tourists enjoy their stay and feel the hospitality that Vibe Hotels has to offer. Time factor is also not an major issue as the tourism demand is expected to be high since the number of tourists visiting New Zealand is expected to continue increasing.

            New Zealand’s tourism industry comprises of both domestic and international tourists. in the year 2012, a total of 16.6 million domestic tourists went on overnight trips to other parts of the country (NBIE, 2016). These tourists spent roughly three nights while travelling to their various destinations within the country. A total of 31 million trips were made by domestic tourists travelling for distances exceeding 40 kilometers from their homes for hospitality and tourism purposes. As for international tourists, over 2.99 million tourists visited New Zealand in 2015 from countries such as China, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Japan (NBIE, 2016). Majority of those visiting the country were tourists coming for holidays followed by those visiting friends and family and then followed by those travelling for business related reasons. For international tourists, majority of them spent an average of 24 days in the country before travelling back to their homes. This indicates that the country attracts a high number of tourists which makes it a favorable market for the hotel industry. With such a continuous flow of tourists, the country is guaranteed of a continuous demand for hospitality and tourism products and Vibe Hotels ought to establish this as an ideal market to enter.

            There are several other factors that make New Zealand an ideal target market for Vibe Hotels among which is security. According to a study conducted by the Global Peace Index in 2015, New Zealand was ranked fourth in relation to security out of the 158 countries examined (Salle, 2014). Security is essential in that it determines how safe employees, company property and the entire hotel infrastructure will be if the country is selected as the site for setting up Vibe Hotels. Security is also important in that it encourages tourists to visit the country as their security is guaranteed. While New Zealand has various tourist attraction sites, security is crucial for the hospitality industry as tourists will only visit places where their safety as well as that of their property is guaranteed.

            Another factor that makes the country ideal for setting up Vibe Hotels in New Zealand is its stable democracy. The country operates under a stable British modeled political system. The government is made up of only one house of parliament and the Queen of New Zealand, Queen Elizabeth II plays the role of head of state (Salle, 2014). The citizens are also democratic and 80 percent of them show up for the general elections to vote for their respective leaders. The legal system in the country is based on English law and it prides itself on having an independent justice system. When it comes to private property rights, contracts are upheld and rights are protected for all citizens equally. Transparency is also enhanced and this is facilitated by an independent media that monitors corporate organizations and the government alike.

            New Zealand also has a strong economy which is promoted by the agricultural sector as well as the tourism industry and the manufacturing sectors. The country is strongly focused on economic freedom and is open to international trade allowing the country to bounce back quickly even after the recession period (NBIE, 2016). When it comes to infrastructure, the country has world class transport and communication systems that ease operations within the country. The roads are of high quality and this makes it easier to transport goods and services within the country. The roads are also ideals as they will ease travelling for tourists from one place to the other while visiting the various destinations. Other than roads, there are major international airlines that are accessible from various urban areas giving access to tourists from different parts of the country. There are also shipping lines that operate internationally as well as an extensive railway system that will ensure that the hotel can easily transport all raw materials and products needed for operation. Over 119,000 people are directly employed in the tourism industry and 67,000 work indirectly in New Zealand. Vibe Hotel will therefore be well equipped when it comes to seeking workers since the hotel industry is already considered an ideal source of employment (NBIE, 2016).

            While New Zealand is an ideal target market for Vibe Hotels, there are some factors that may make it challenging for the company. With the increase in demand for hospitality products and services, New Zealand is likely to become the target destination for most hotels looking for a new place to start operations (New Zealand Government, 2017). The increasing number of tourists will make new Zealand a lucrative market and this will lead to aggressive competition amongst companies looking to establish hotels. Auckland for instance is the most lucrative area as there is a lot of tourists visiting the area and investors are likely to rush in and establish hotels so as to benefit from opportunities present. Although this may be a disadvantage, Vibe Hotels can overcome it by entering the market early before others start moving in. Vibe Hotel is a recognized brand and tourists all over the world will be more than willing to use their services. Early entry into the market will ensure that the hotel has already developed relationships with the tourists and that they recognize its brand. Early entry will also facilitate dominance in New Zealand’s tourism industry market as there will be fewer competitors offering similar services. Even if competition does become a factor in the future, Vibe Hotels will be well established and equipped with the resources needed to ensure that it stays above the competition.

            Tourism is a valuable commodity for New Zealand and all efforts are being put in place to ensure that the tourism and hospitality industry is as profitable as possible. The interest in tourism has led to the refurnishing of even small towns to ensure that tourists have unlimited destinations to visit whenever they are in the country. This in turn has opened up the country to greater opportunities as more tourists are flocking into the country to enjoy all the attractions and amenities that it has to offer. Although entry into a new market is never easy, Vibe Hotel should take advantage of the opportunities created in New Zealand and establish the city of Auckland as its new basis of operation.

References

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, (2016) “Economic overview” retrieved from,             https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/opportunities-outlook/economic-      overview

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, (2016) “Stability and security” retrieved        from, https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/investing-in-nz/stability-security

New Zealand Government, (2017) “New Zealand’s investment advantage” retrieved from,             https://www.nzte.govt.nz/en/invest/new-zealands-investment-advantage/

Salle L, (2014) “New Zealand hotels sector experiencing strong demand” retrieved from,             http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1405/S01007/new-zealand-hotels-sector-           experiencing-strong-demand.htm

Statistics New Zealand, (2015) “Tourism satellite account: 2015” retrieved from,             http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/Tourism/tourism-satellite-       account-2015/Summary_results.aspx

Business

Question 1

Social responsibility can best be described as the principled framework that makes suggestions for an organization duty in acting for the general benefits of the society generally (Roy, 2009).  This strategy can be utilized in overcoming competition rivalry through enhancing the balance existing amid the economic and the environment surrounding.  The five forces that shape an industry’s competition according to porter are competition rivalry, fresh entry threats, products as well as services substitute, consumers bargaining power and suppliers bargaining power (Chandler & Werther, 2013).

To begin with, competitor’s rivalry is the competition struggle in acquiring a share in the particular market amid the involved firms in the sector (Roy, 2009). In this force, social responsibility can best be enhanced through a responsibility to the consumer’s society and environment.  The activities aimed at attaining a share market should be socially and environmentally responsible through acting for the primary benefits of the community. This reduces the rivalry thus reducing profitability threats (Chandler & Werther, 2013).

Market  entry  risks  for the  potential  competitors is normally  for the  firms that  are not engaged  in competition  by hold the capacity  to  compete  if an opportunity  is  offered.  The entry of more potential firms can help   in creating loyalties of brands as well as consumer’s costs switching (Roy, 2009).  This implies that consumers pay less in acquiring the same services and even products in the market.  This is a form of responsibility socially that benefits the consumers and can enhance the production of environment friendly brands. This  strategy  however  , differs  from that of  Mark Payne which makes the  claim that  innovation is normally driven  by  different inspirations  but can only be evaluated through  what  it derives in terms of  growing the  business,  transforming  lives  and increasing  the share  of a firm in the industry.  This strategy  holds it that  killing of  the  established  firms and their  products  it not  what matters  rather  it is  the  achievements that counts  most (Chandler & Werther, 2013).

The buying authority  of buyers  refers to the capability  of  consumers  to  bargain towards the  reduction of the  prices  offered  by  firms or even raise  the  firms  costs  through making demand for better  services  as well as  product.  This force  therefore , enables firms to  be socially responsible through  offering  quality which lowers the  bargaining power  which would  reduce  the industry’s profit (Roy, 2009). On the other hand  the  bargaining authority  of suppliers s their potential to rise  the  inputs  prices  this  increasing the industry’s cost. Strong suppliers disregard buyers who makes up the society and therefore, lowering suppliers power can help in embracing social responsiveness for firms. Products substitute  are the  products  that  holds  the  cp ability  to satisfy the  needs of  consumers  effectively.  This   affects  the capability  of the involved  firms  to  increase  products  prices  that  may  otherwise  affect  social expenditure  due to low  demand (Chandler & Werther, 2013).

Question 2

Disruptive innovation can best be described as the form of innovation that generates fresh opportunities in the market and unique channels for network thus displacing the previously established firms. A corporation in Florida can offer disruption to the global industry through the implementation of IT software’s to increase communication and effectiveness. This will best create increased chances for being highly innovative as compared to other established firms through the development of unique value channels (Manu, 2016). This strategy would be crucial in generating fresh product and an increased consumer base.

Porter’s and blue ocean models offer threats to the established forms in the industry as their competitive position may be displaced if they fail to adapt to the existing threats (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015). The position can be sustained through creating defensive and innovative approaches that offers them a much better position in the given industry to cope with threats posed by innovation disruptions (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).  This can best be achieved through the utilization of innovativeness differentiation for both the services as well as products be offered and the use of cost leadership. This implies that the firms have to offer unique, innovative or quality services and the associated products in combination with low prices.  This makes it hard for innovation disruption to occur since the high innovativeness is characterized by increased cost which affects demands.

Question 3

There is a high need globally in reducing the generation of waste products and increasing their use to achieve sustainability.  Companies and individuals can utilize technology in reducing the general waste production thus decreasing the general utilization of natural resources (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015).  Innovative corporations can utilize technology in offering stiff competition to the waste management services which are mainly run by the government.  First  the companies  can promote the use of emails at  workplace  rather  than  utilization of  paper  letters and  notes which will  in turn  promote effective communication (Kim & Mauborgne, 2015). Most of the wastes that  reaches the landfills can be utilized  through  recycling to create  other  products , utilizing  product packages that can be recycled  and  adopting technology to accomplish most  things such as  communication.  Through the use of smart cans and truck for trash it is easy to collect wastes and make a distinction of those to be recycled.

Using porter’s model it is clear that the waste management industry is characterized by high purchasers bargaining power, low power of supplies, low competition, and reduced entry threats.  This means that  the adoption  of  innovation  can work best  with the adoption  of innovation  that  encourages  environmental  responsibility.  In addition, the  general  prices  of goods  can best  be handled  through  paying consumers  for  providing wastes that will later  be utilized  for  recycling  purposes. Consumers in the  market  have the  high  potential  of controlling  services  prices  by  demanding  quality  which  can be  offered  through  innovation.

Porter’s Five Forces Model analysis

Question 4

HR analytics refers  to the  analysis field that  handles  the application  of analytical  procedures  in the HR department of most organization today,  with the desire  of  improving the general performance of employees  thus improving the  general return (Smith, 2013).  This kind of analytics is not generally based  of collecting  data related to the  efficiency of employees  rather  it is aimed at offering  relative decisions  on how  the procedures  can be  developed.  On the other hand people analytics. People analytics involves the utilization of individuals associated data in improving as well as offering information to the different departments within an organization in influencing decisions.  This process  is  essential  during the  hiring and  recruitment  of fresh  staffs  as  it  states their general efficiency.  The  best  strategy to utilize  in the case is HR analytics  which will identify  the need  of training  and  motivating employees  to increase  their  performance as  well as boost the retention rate (Smith, 2013).

Question 5

The phrase radical  transparency  is utilized  across different fields such as  business, software design, politics  as  well as governance  to  offer  a description  to the  strategies  and actions  that rising the  fundamental openness  of the  firm’s  data and procedures. The performance of the business is developed by the strategy through creation of high engagement, focus, development and talent recruitment. This is similar to  Embedded sustainability which is  the environment  engagement , social  value  and health  into  the corporation’s primary business  without any  trade off  in regard  to quality  and price. Laszlo and Zhexembayeva states that sustainability can best are leveraged by sustainable development as endurance of profit. Both concepts are relevant and essential for the business in being competitive (Laszlo, 2011).

Question 6

Data translators can lower the gap amid scientists and executives by increasing communication. Miscommunications amid  scientists and executives is a common occurrence  that  hinders the ability  of  supporting  decisions  based on the inconsistent  disconnection  amid the  parties. Effective  decision  can best  be  made  with adequate  knowledge  which  can best  be offered by the translators (Kim  & Mauborgne, 2015). Data translators utilize evidence based theory in analyzing the needs and operational techniques with the use of actual data which helps executives in forming better decisions. The AI’s decision was made after the contextualization of the acquired analysis from the translation.  The validity of the decision is based on its sophistication, knowledge based, comprehensiveness and high embedment within the real context.

Dialogue Example

Data scientist: My wish is to grow  and  build  the  most innovative algorithm with the ability to directly  calculate  prime solution to the mathematical  methodology  including all sorts  of data.

Manager: The  annual  objective  is to rise  the  profit margin  by  at least  10 percent as compared  to the  previous year.

Question 7

Cloud system is an innovation approach that can benefit the health sector by improving services and enhancing affordability. Affordable healthcare is essential to the American market which is characterized by high demand for affordable services. The cloud system can decrease  the  general starting expenses  for  electronic health  details  which may include  software, licensing,  personnel,  hardware and  networking thus  facilitating  affordability  efficiency (Christensen et al., 2011).  The data centers should be suited in the head departments in every state to increase data movement and management efficiency. This would make it easier to access data within all the locations in the state for easier management. For the national implementation the star topology would be effective. In that the  system will utilize a central  location   and all  the other  locations will  be connected to one  another  in  ways that are not direct via the  central  location  which will increase effectiveness.

Question 8

Artificial  intelligence can be  described  as the broader concepts  of the general abilities  of machines to accomplish their  duties  in  approaches that can be termed  as  smart (Shi, 2011).  While on the   other  hand  machine  learning can best refer  to  a present utilization of AI that is  grounded on the  thought  that that there  should be the capability  of offering machines  data access  in order  to  permit data access (Shi, 2011).  This helps in understanding the general performance within an organization and how best different techniques can be utilized to eliminate issues to develop performance. The test began by formulating a hypothesis, analyzing the test to establish the findings. Both bots holds the capability of conversations since they are developed past the human behavior.  This can be  caused by  the memory of  words conversations since  the words are  not  based on  program and it utilizes thus  matches  searches  and inputs.

            References

Chandler, D. B., & Werther, W. B. J. (2013). Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders, Globalization, and Sustainable Value Creation. SAGE Publications.

Christensen, C. M., Christensen, C. M., Christensen, C. M., Christensen, C. M., Raynor, M. E., Christensen, C. M., Dyer, J., ... Gregersen, H. B. (2011). [Disruptive innovation: The Christensen collection].

Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2015). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Harvard Business Review Press.

Laszlo, C. (2011). Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage. Sheffield: Greenleaf Pub.

Manu, A. (2016). Disruptive business: Desire, innovation and the re-design of business. London: Routledge.

Roy, D. (2009). Strategic foresight and Porter's five forces: Towards a synthesis. München: GRIN.

Shi, Z. (2011). Advanced artificial intelligence. Singapore: World Scientific.

Smith, T. (2013). HR analytics: The what, why and how--. Numerical Insights LLC.

Articles review

Simatupang & Sridharan (2004) assert that the high level of competition in global market is forcing companies to create a strong collaboration with partners who are involved in supply chain.  Organizations have developed collaborative schemes such as supply chain collaboration for the purpose of creating an effective supply chain performance.  In supply chain management, benchmarking is used as a management tool in searching practices, ideas and procedures which will lead to positive outcomes (Simatupang & Sridharan, 2004).  Through benchmarking, companies are able to develop performance standards which   lead to higher profitability.  The authors of this article assert that companies use benchmarking to compare products and services thereby increasing productivity.  In addition,  the benchmarking scheme  in performance metrics  help companies  with four best practices namely; delivery performance,  managing assets,  evaluating logistic cost and  offering flexibility and responsiveness (Simatupang & Sridharan, 2004).  The supply chain benchmarking   is a framework which companies use to manage supply chain performance.  In benchmarking, supply chain collaboration means that members should create collaborative practices in creating an effective supply chain performance. The collaborative relationship is fundamental in creating mutual benefits and strategic objectives.  

Security in the emerging economy is a concern. Organizations are demanding supply chain security management in order to have effective operations and achieve business goals (Zailani et al, 2014).   Security management in this case refers to the policies which should be followed in protecting supply chain assets and managing business risk.  The article asserts that there are two main supply chain security measures namely preventive and corrective measures.  The former stands for both physical and nonphysical security   measures towards preventing security-related risk such as cargo security. Corrective measures involve the use of corrective actions for unpredicted crisis. Corrective measures include resilience management and other measures which the company uses in returning the business into normal state (Zailani et al, 2014).  For a company to implement security measures and ensure security practices there is a need for security culture   where employees are involved in creating policies.  By having a security culture, employees can participate in creating security policies and minimize the overall risk.  The article asserts that in logistic industry, security practices leads to security performance in cargo management, HR management and information management.  Human intervention in security practices is fundamental in ensuring that security policies are followed in order to achieve operational security (Zailani et al, 2014).  In order ensure sulky chain security, a security culture should use internal and extern strategies in order to have positive effects.

Xing and Guoling assert that supply chain is a process which requires effective management in order to achieve good performance.  In this case, supply chain integration is fundamental in that all enterprises are involved in planning, inventory management and marketing for the purpose of achieving a competitive strength.  The point is that in order to have an effective management on products and services, companies should apply supply chain integration (Guoling & Xing, ND).  In order to understand the supply chain integration, the authors provides case study for LianHua supermarket.  The company has seven operation procedures and due to lack of supply chain integration, it faced challenged   in areas of interaction, platform function and integrity, supply management problems and lack of coordination.  The supply chain has hindered many developments in Lian Hua supermarket (Guoling & Xing, ND). However, the article asserts that the company has offered solution to these problems through implementing integrated supply chain management.  The strategy led to positive change in this company in areas of platform building and maintenance and   quality customer services to both suppliers and retailers. The article concludes that retail industries are facing challenges in competition market. However, the challenges can be eliminated by providing Supply Chain Web in order to maximize competitive capability and collaboration (Guoling & Xing, ND).

 In improving quality performance, organizations apply logistics and supply chain management.  This acts as a crucial factor in maintaining competitive edge in global markets (Xiang, 2014).  In order to understand the role of logistics and supply chain in operation management, it is important to define the terms. Logistics is the process of controlling the flow of goods and services. Supply chain management on the other hand is the process of coordinating business functions through supply chain. Both logistics and supply chain serve similar purposes in product circulation (Xiang, 2014). In modern industry, the article asserts that there are hot issues which need the implementation of both logistics and supply chain management.  First, the transportation management requires a biobjective optimization model where transportation will be minimized (Xiang, 2014). Sourcing and marketing is a hot issue which requires a great attention.  Sourcing contracts problems require an optimal procurement strategy in order to create an effective supply chain management. Focusing on economy and technology, logistics and supply chain will play a big role on e-business and the use of bid data (Xiang, 2014). Due to environmental related research and high global population, organization need a socioeconomic development through logistics and supply chain.

Reference

Simatupang M. Togar & Sridharan Ramaswami. (2004).  A benchmarking scheme for supply  chain

collaboration.  Institute of Information Sciences and Technology, Massey University, Palmerston

North, New Zealand

 Zailani. S,  Hanim., Subaramaniam K. Seva.,  Iranmanesh M,.   & Shaharudin. M Rizaimy. (2014). The

impact of supply chain security practices on security operational performance among logistics

service providers in an emerging economy Security culture as moderator. International

Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

 Guoling   Lao & Xing  Lei. Supply Chain System Integration in Retailing: A Case Study of LianHua. School

of Information Management and Engineering, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics,

Shanghai 200433, P.R. China This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Xiang Li. (2014). Operations Management of Logistics and Supply Chain: Issues and Directions. College of

Economic and Social Development, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China

Competitive Analysis and Strategic Assessment

The training market is quite big and there is a need to carry out effective rational estimates that is based on research and economic analysis. The market is made up of both local and international organizations so as for a firm to gain a competitive advantage over in an industry that is quite dynamic. The goal is to develop various strategies that and marketing tactics that will ensure that Back 2 Basics is able to attract customers and to fend off competition in the market. This will enable the firm to use its strengths to overcome weaknesses and use various strategic positions in to develop niche that ensures its productivity and profitability. The adoption of such approaches will ensure that the firm is able to face its challenges while developing clients abilities and training them to achieve their personal goals.  it also requires adapting to changes occurring in the market so as to remain competitive and grow the business by utilizing the  various opportunities identified in the market. To achieve these effective funding options are needed to keep the new firm afloat while it establishes its products, before it breaks even and even a continuous endeavor to maintain profitability.

Competitive analysis

The training market is characterized by various local, regional and international training organizations that are well established and which offers various products such as personal training and corporate training. The market is also fragmented and complex such that no key company can claim dominance for any specific segment (Bersin 2014). The existing training companies that poses stiff competition for Back 2 Basics as a new entrant operate in a very dynamic market where intensity in competition is driven by the larger firms that are able to offer variety of products at low cost  while operating over large areas. This enables them to achieve economies of scale.  To sustain this competition, Back 2 Basics has to integrate the traditional solutions or corporate training with other products such as personal training programs so that it can have a large pool of products from which new and potential customers can select from. In addition, major firms have blended such products with online based sessions and virtual training so that to beat competition. The market also has customized products or solutions which address the individual customer training requirements especially among the corporate clients.

The technical segment forms a major part the market share and it has been dominant in the industry over the recent years. This implies that the Back 2 Basics Company has to pay a lot of attention and lay emphasis on the technical segment in order for it to start on an effective and competitive pace. There is need to consider that the rise in number of training firms around the globe is based on capitalizing on the opportunities presented by this segment to remain competitive and profitable. This is informed by the  fact that many organizations around the globe that emphasize on  employee personal development have focused more on technical skills development so as to improve productivity and operations which are key factors in driving growth and profitability.  The expansion of operations by firms in various regions especially among the developing countries creates opportunities for training individual employees which will bolster the growth prospects of markets (Bersin 2014). Moreover, the training market is prone to many new entrants which can present stiff competition for the firm.  This means that Back 2 Basics Company has to employ the best marketing strategies in order to compete for potential customers in a highly diversified market.

As noted above factors affecting the competiveness of a training business includes the competitors, the products and customers. There is need to constantly study the market environment to determine the needs of customers before providing any product for them to purchase. Back 2 Basics company has to determine the products the customers are willing to accept, whether personal training or corporate training for specific employees. The acquired customers may also have changing preferences since their expectations keep on shifting in an effort to attain personal development goals. Corporate clients especially management may want to acquire more technical skills that are individually focused.  Products also may influence the firms’ competitiveness since personalized programs can become obsolete when over taken by any technical developments (Bersin 2014). Competitors may embrace improved programs which attracts customers to the loss of Back 2 Basics Company. If the products are not able to meet the needs of the clients or if they are outdated, the competitive strategy adopted may fail to impress. What is needed is an adjustment of competitive strategy so as to offer the best products at reasonable prices or introducing new versions of advanced programs at higher prices.  As a business is considering the competitive strategies that can offer advantages in the market, knowing the competitive environment helps the firm to consider factors which can influence such strategies (Allen, 2012). This enables monitoring of major variables and adjusting of any action to tap into the opportunities and advantages.

Marketing strategies and tactics

Back 2 Basics needs to come up with ways of ensuring that it can attract the potential customers in the market. To popularize its products it will use advertising as a major strategy. Advertising will involve the use of the social media in reaching out to those potential customers who may need the products (Rothaermel, 2015). Such customers are therefore able to get information concerning the product, hence, can make informed decision concerning becoming a member. Establishment of Back 2 Basics website is an important advertising tool. The potential customers will be able to visit the website and get authentic information concerning the products sold and products used in training by Back 2 Basics. In fact, they can make inquiries concerning Back 2 Basics and the products available. Besides, they are in a position to make purchase requests through the website. According to Hollensen (2015), the use of media to carry out a company's advertisement has proven to work for any serious company. Such is because many people are fond of watching their television sets and listening to the radios. Moreover, having an advert that follows a popular program in the media will ensure that more potential customers get to know about the new product in the market for them to make purchases.

Apart from marketing, Back 2 Basics will need to evaluate the process set by other companies to ensure that their products have favorable prices to attract potential customers. The customers from other companies will be attracted to purchase products that are cheaper compared to what they are used to buying from the competitors (Mullins, Walker & Boyd, 2012). To achieve this, Back 2 Basics will need to cut on its cost of production so that even if the products are sold cheaper, profit target is achieved. The quality of products sold by Back 2 Basics is another important strategy to be explored. Having quality products compared to the competitors will attract customers into purchasing the new company's product. Customer service provision is also an important strategy for the new customer. Treating the new customers well while making purchases will ensure customer loyalty and attract even more potential ones in buying Back 2 Basic’s products.

Strategic positions available

There are various strategic positions available that the company will utilize to achieve growth and profitability. A reasonable pricing strategic position will attract potential customers who are sensitive to prices. Such prices will not comprise quality so that to maintain the newly acquired customers. Another strategic position is that Back 2 Back will be offering a variety of products as new firm and this presents an opportunity for those potential customers who wish to taste of new products in the market. The product quality will aim at getting approval of new customers and thus gaining their loyalty which will create a strong customer base.  A demographic strategic position will involve targeting customers whose training needs have not been satisfied which will ensure exploitation of the opportunity presented by non-served or underserved clients. Providing an alternative product to the ones already existing is a strategic position that ensures the attraction and retention of customers.

Risk faced by Back 2 Business

The risks faced by this business involve insufficient capital and cash flow, cut-throat competition and attraction of best talents. Insufficient capital means that the business may run out of cash flow stifling its operations or making it unable to pay debts. This can also force the company to seek for expansive debts which can make its profitability to be untenable.  Cut-throat competition from new and entrants or already established firms may make adopted marketing strategies and tactics to be unproductive by not attracting customers.  This can lead o losses and closure of this venture. Due to limited capital the firm may be unable to attract the best talented employees in the labor market which can compromise on quality of products introduced into the market.

Funding, Operating Costs, and Break-Even Analysis

The initial funding of this new venture who be obtained from venture capitalists and the small shareholders whose contribution will be vital. As a private company, the firm will raise additional capital through selling shares for its expansion once its operations have picked.  The venture capitalist will be individuals or banks who have agreed on this business proposal.

The operation cost plan for Back 2 Basics involves allocating 70 percent of the budget to fixed and variable costs including rent, insurances cost, legal costs and administrative costs.  The variable costs will also involve marketing and sales expenses and commissions. For the purpose of cash flow the part of the funds will be set aside to ensure that operations are on-going. Losses for the company are expected for the first two months of operations and revenue expected to increase in the subsequent month, a point at which break –even will be reached.

Conclusion

The Back 2 Basics venture will venture into the training market with an aim of exploiting existing opportunities for profitability and growth. The market analysis presents various areas the company will focus to gain competitive edge against established firms and new entrants using appropriate marketing tactics and strategies. The various strategic positions will enable the success of the marketing strategies.

References

Allen, K. R. (2012). Launching new ventures: An entrepreneurial approach. Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning. 295-296

Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Hollensen, S. (2015). Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education

 Bersin J.,(2014).Skillsoft Acquisition of SumTotal: Corporate Training Market Disruption? Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2014/10/01/skillsoft-acquisition-of-sumtotal-corporate-training-market-disruption/#1a7a23f0781a

Commercial Report

Long Stress May Result In Becoming Fat

During the news, the message that was being sold to the public is with regard to health matters through living in a healthy way.  The commercial targets individuals of all ages and especially teenagers and adult who are normally involved in extended stressing.  Obesity is a primary issue in the society today and stress is one of the major causes which when prolonged may lead to being fat.  According to the commercial report chronic stress is directly linked to increased level of obesity.  Cortisol is generated by adrenal glands as a hormone that is later released to the blood in form of stress. This causes the rise of inflammation makes it difficult to regulate body pressure (Lamotte 1).

The weight gain can be explained in that Cortisol release is driven by the receptors that are deeply situated in fat tissues.  Based on the recent studies chronic Cortisol high exposure plays a primary role in maintaining obesity.  In addition, when most individuals are stressed they tend to consume foods that are high in fats and sugar which may increase fats capacity in the body (Lamotte 1).  Comfort foods are normally hard for the body to digest particularly when people are stressed.  Stress reduces the ability of the body to control hunger and in order to slow the mind comfort food are the best options for many. The report made the suggestion that during chronic stress individuals should establish other ways to handle the situation other than just eating which may include, mindfulness, meditation, interactions, and Yoga (Lamotte 1). These strategies are the best in balancing the general performance of the body and ensuring that hunger does not affect the ability of the body to burn fats.

Work Cited

Lamotte, Sandee. Long Stress Might Make You Fat, Study Says. 2017.  Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/23/health/stress-weight-gain-study/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_health+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Health%29

Victoria secret in China

            China has over time transformed from being a poor state in terms of the economy worldwide into being a second largest economy through the nominal exchange and through the purchasing power. Victoria’s secret has been operating their business in China digitally. The shop has integrated a number of ways to sell to their customers in China online through the various shows where China models are featured in. This has made the headlines of most of these social comments all over in regards to these China models and it has ultimately increased the popularity of the brands in China market. This inspired outfit on the run way has changed the perception of potential and the targeted market in China and through the trending comments in the internet, the company has been able to realize the most appropriate tastes for their target market. This paper, therefore, will discuss on the market mix, the market plan and the strategies that the Victoria’s Secret Company has undertaken in venturing in China.

            Though the company has advertised and launched the products inline in China, still it is not the expected form of growth and profit they are targeting at. This is because of the lack of a single store in China. The flagship of the Shanghai has delayed from the time that it was anticipated to be launched and this has means that there is still no store that sells the Victoria’s secret products such as the bras as well as lingerie. Hence there is no physical touch or sight and no chances to try on the outfits before making a purchase of these outfits. This has thus reduced the number of customers and hence reducing the number of sales as most of the customers wants to try out these outfits before they make their purchases. The need to meet the customers’ demands and wants in China has put in pressure to the company causing the company to take in a different and unusual path so as to enter in China (Donald 2016).

The company has thus faced a lot of challenges in bringing of the products into China. The company has faced challenges of illegal stores, forged outfits and replica Victoria’s Secret runway shows. In order to attract the Chinese customers, the company has to understand the Chinese culture. Therefore in advertising and coming up with runways shows, the company has to choose the best way to advertise their products without affecting the people’s culture (Donald 2016).

            Understanding the market is quite essential as it will enhance the company to better know their target wants and needs and their demands. In this case, the young generations in China are the most interested in lingerie and mostly those who got a chance to grow up in China during the reform and opening. These youngsters have therefore been exposed to the modern life and all the offers that come along with modernity. Hence, they are mostly attracted to the civilized life and the Western lifestyles and clothing and are thus ready to welcome the new brand as compared to the old-fashioned people of China (Donald 2016). Though they identify their culture, they however are not slaves to the old culture but they are willing to rebel and reject the old fashion and the mode of dressing of their ancestors. They are thus in between the pride of their Chinese way of dressing and the Western modern consumerism. Thus the brand that the Victoria Secret Company will bring into China should be able to address the tension concern in relation to the Chinese consumers so as to gain their loyalty.

            Though the lingerie brands and options of the global market for the Chinese in increasing each and every new day, there are only a few market strategies have been able to go to China and especially the lucrative grouping. However, since 2008, the demand for the lingerie products are increasing among women in China with the ultimate overtakes of the dollar in the US. As a result of this it is evident that the Victoria’s secret has a great opportunity to experience growth and expansion in their market in China as they also expand their market share as the luxurious lingerie product. Chinese society has so much love and admiration for the Western brand and the women of this generation are looking for premium brands which they think that will satisfy their personal needs as they do away with the cheap lingerie.

Market research is a must for this company as well as the brands so as to be able to attain a sustainable market in China. Creation of the social media as campaign platforms will greatly enhance the Victoria’s company to be able to win the Chinese consumers. The increasing number of users of the internet and the technological revolution in China, social media campaign platform is the best advertising place for the company onto the Chinese population. This tool will enhance the boosting of the reading of fashion news and thus making known the products that the Victoria Secret sells.

            In their advertisement, they therefore target women through the use of captivating market strategy. Thus in selecting models for the runways shows, the company chooses models whom they are convinced will relate to the women consumers who are targeted. Hence as they strike a balance between the women being sexy and also being approachable, the company achieves its goal of creating a mass appeal. Hence, the women consumers are usually probable to be willing to pay the entire cost for the outfits. The company also strives at providing products that are accessible, affordable as well as all inclusive. This ensures that the brands come in various sizes to fit different body types and shape and thus accommodating all kinds of potential women (Chrisler 2013).

            The price of the products should be kept relatively higher than that of their competitors depending on the value of the imported product.  The products are of higher quality and of higher fashion as per the brand name, Victoria’s Secret. The location of the stores in China should be determined by the Victoria’s Secret brand reputation. The company should also introduce the use of a common language in the business with employment of staff from China so as to be able to understand more about this place and to allow the Chinese people to appreciate the company due to its impact on the society through job creation.  Shipping arrangements into china should be well organized so as to ensure that minimal delays and losses are experienced.

            In the arrival of the company in China, they were not focused on the sale of lingerie brand but they rather concentrated on the sale of accessories, beauty products and perfumes. This was among the market plan as the company was aiming at getting the market feel in China as they also utilized the opportunity to build their products locally just before they entered the market fully through the entire introduction of the lingerie brand. Hey thus partnered with a franchise who run twenty six stores.

            Basing on a single store in China by the Victoria Secret store, a 1000 square feet rent space will amount to $90,500 and the total expenditure for the running of this store will amount to $2000000. So as to cover for the budget cost, the company will have to finance themselves from the savings that they have saved over the years. Increases in sales observe the other regions will increase the profits which they ultimately use to fund their expansion to China. The profit will be shared among the shareholders of the Victoria’s Secret Company.

            The company should adapt to alternative measures as escape plan in case the market plan fails to fully succeed to the expectation of the company. The company should diversify their products through introduction of new products such as the swimming costumes and all kinds of under clothing. Thy company should also have a variety of options for lingerie products with extensive online stores. All this should custom fit in the advise services and hence allowing for less time of searching for the brands. The company should as well adapt to provisioning of extensive style varieties with high accessibility to all classes of customers. The company should consider making market modifications through the products standardization of the prices. They should also integrate the use of promotional strategies such as the provision of coupons as well as offering considerations on the public’s reaction on the social platforms (Verhoef et al 2009).

            It is evident that the company has had bad experience over the past years in their efforts to open up new stores and in the launching of the brands. Therefore to reverse and redress all these challenges, the company should ensure that they follow all the right procedures in making their entry into China. This will minimize cases of illicit entries and the consequences of this entry type. The company should reevaluate their expansion to China so as to ensure that they have the right experience and the right brands in the market. The company should ensure that they offer appropriate customer services thus making them more competitive in the Chinese market. The company should constantly ensure that they provide their customers with the world’s best fashion products as they collaboratively offer captivating customer experiences that ensure that they have a long term loyalty as well as a sustainable growth of the stakeholders. The annual Victoria’s Secret fashion runway show which targets a large customer base in terms of demography is one of the strengths that the company should cultivate on. The company should also consider the social, environmental, cultural as well as local elements. The feminine society is changing and thus their needs and wants are changing and hence changing the demands of the women. In making the right move as the company ventures in China will be the most essential step that will see the company to success.

References

Investigating market research ethics

In the journal “Investigating Market Research Ethic”, the author explores the code of ethics used in marketing by business men. According to the author, business people should be able to uphold high degree respect and proper relationship with their clients, thus ensuring they provide the best support to their clients in times of need. Moreover, in the marketing research industry, it is necessary to ensure that markets ensure credibility through working under the code of ethics. There is a cumulative pressure in the marketing and research industry, to identify and utilize precise standards and procedures in making sure ethical behaviour, consistency in the industry concerning suitable and unsuitable practices. Furthermore, to also uphold integrity with the public since the industry depends on their goodwill. In different parts if the world, different marketing research companies have come up with codes of ethics which are supposed to be followed through by their associates. This is in a bid to make sure that marketing research is conducted in a very absolute way thus providing the best and credible results without being bias at all. Due to the recent developments in the markets, the standard guidelines of the code of ethics have also changed in order to suit the new marketing trends in different parts of the world (Yallop, & Mowatt, 2016).

The information provided by the author mainly focuses on the real issues at hand in the field of marketing research. The author has clearly pointed out the reasons as to why the code of ethics needs to be followed, due to the operation of the markets in different parts of the world. Furthermore, in order for clients to receive the best services from companies. Moreover, industries need to consider the health of the consumers while manufacturing different products. In as much as the author has been able to clearly explain the different methods of market research, he has been bias when comes to Marketing Research of New Zealand (MSRNZ), the author has only concentrated on the negative side of the research approach (Yallop, & Mowatt, 2016). The author points out that these code was not seen as important by the participants, in other words, it was not very effective at all. This is mainly because more than half of the participants were not familiar with these type code. On the other hand, the participants who claimed to be familiar with the code had problems in recalling the content of the code. The author therefore focused on the negative side and not the positive side of the research. On the other hand, according to different researches concluded, MSRNZ seems to be effective even though the process of creating awareness of the code seems to be faulty. The code has been able to improve marketing research in the country, and its results can be seen through the findings that it has brought about. In addition, MSRNZ has enabled market researchers to be able to conduct researches in a very clear and unique manner thus avoiding making any mistakes at all.

Rogues in the ranks of selling organizations: using corporate ethics to manage workplace

bullying and job satisfaction

            According to the author’s the sales profession is a very competitive and self-motivated type of work which can be impacted negatively, by negative behaviour which leads to unethical conduct. Due to the unique type of job, it is therefore hard for the management to be able to conduct an oversight, hence leading to misconducts and very poor work insolences. On the other hand, evidence stipulates that the growth of commercial ethical values can alleviate concerns of unethical conduct, thus this principle might be very useful in the reduction of bullying, thus improving job satisfaction. The type of morals that each and every sales agent is supposed to work under, is important in helping to shape the lives that sales agents lead, and thus being able to avoid job misconduct (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). Moreover, corporate ethics helps in providing guidelines through which each and every sales agent can be able to follow thus making sure that all sales agent are treated equally. In addition, this also helps in making sure that bullying is done away with, hence improving job attitudes and employee turnover rates in the company.

            The research is bias in the sense that it has only pointed out the emerging problems which can harm sales organizations. In so doing, the authors have pointed out how the employees can plot to and steal from the company, thus affecting the company negatively. Moreover, the author has only focused on the negative side of the sales agents which include sexually harassing others, abusing drugs at the workplace, destroying the properties of the company, and embezzling funds in the company (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). This is in a bid to explain how deviant sales agents can becomes and thus make the company to face huge debts, while on the other hand frustrating other employees. When it comes to customer relationships, the authors have also pointed out how the sales agents lie to the customers in order to lure them into buying the products. This is on the contrary to what most sales agents do which is to provide the best information to the clients, thus making sure that they maintain their clients, and hence being able to increasing their sales at the end of the day due to the large number of customers that they may have.

According to other researchers, most of the sales agents are usually frustrated due to the targets that they fail to meet. This consequently makes their leaders to scold them, thus making them to lack the motivation to carry on with their job, and in the end they opt to look for other jobs in different fields (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). Even though sales agents are usually bullied, in most cases they are not bullied by their colleagues but by their leaders who use them as examples of negative performance which really kills their working morale. Out of ten sales agents, two will always lie and use nice language in order to make customers to buy their products in order to reach their targets. On the other hand, the remaining eight would rather tell the truth in order to maintain their customers.

Reference

Yallop, A. C., & Mowatt, S. (2016). Investigating market research ethics. International Journal Of Market Research, 58(3), 381-400. doi:10.2501/IJMR-2016-011

Valentine, S., Fleischman, G., & Godkin, L. (2015). Rogues in the ranks of selling organizations: using corporate ethics to manage workplace bullying and job satisfaction. Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(2), 143-163. doi:10.1080/08853134.2015.1010542

Purchasing Management

Purchasing strategies are usually employed by companies in order to come up with cost effective procurement choices.

The following are purchasing strategies used by companies:

Supplier optimization

Total Quality Methods (TQM)

Risk Management

Green Purchasing

Supplier Optimization

Companies choose prime mix of sellers who can be able to provide the best terms and prices. This process therefore discards suppliers who are less able to provide excellent services at the prices and the terms. Due to its approach, this is therefore the most popular purchasing strategy as compared to other purchasing strategies (Friedman et al, 2012).

TQM

The strategy requires sellers to provide a consistent high quality services which is free from any errors. Suppliers are therefore supposed to ensure that they ensure buying best practices through employing different tools (Friedman et al, 2012).

Risk Management

Different companies obtain suppliers from different parts of the world, and this consequently requires them to be concerned with risk management (Friedman et al, 2012). This is basically so, simply because the suppliers avoid making any losses due to trading with certain countries. These companies therefore consider the risks that they are likely to face while receiving supplies from certain countries.

Purchasing management strategies are very different from supply management and supply chain management, simply because purchasing management is mainly concerned with the movements of goods from the company to the supplier. In purchasing management, the supplier is supposed to come up with ways through he or she can be able to influence the buyers to stick to a certain product, through providing quality services to the buyers (Friedman et al, 2012). On the other hand, supply management involves controlling the costs of products, and allocating resources to the required buyers. When it comes to supply chain management, it is basically the oversight of products, information and services as they move from the manufacturer to the supplier.

Reference

Friedman, D. M., DeCorla-Souza, K., Science Applications International Corporation., Transit Cooperative Research Program., United States., Transit Development Corporation., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2012). Guidebook for evaluating fuel purchasing strategies for public transit agencies. Washington, D.C: Transportation Research Board.

Chris Hackley (2013), Marketing in Context: Setting the Scene

From  Chris Hackley (2013), Marketing in Context: Setting the Scene book the selected chapter for revision is chapter two which holds the title marketing as communication.  The chapter was selected since from most studies it has been established that communication is the most important aspect of marketing as it helps in getting direction and determining the general outcomes (HACKLEY, 2013, 29).  The marketing is directly integrated.  The part that needs to be revised is demonstrating how marketing communication is can help in prioritizing the needs of the target population as well as achieving the desired aims by the particular business. This is because through the revision of this section and particularly the online marketing platforms the benefits and the barriers of effective communication engagement during marketing shall be identified fully (HACKLEY, 2013, 31).   This will set a much better ground for business marketing particularly in the modern society where globalization is highly taking over thus requiring better marketing communication strategies.

Hackley’s (2013), second chapter on marketing as communication offers an improved and well-structured understanding and knowledge of the influence and role of communication in marketing especially in the present-day society (BERGFELD, 2009, 3). This is an excellent chapter that raises the desire for the marketing communication to be more sensitive, creative and effective in delivering the intended information and satisfaction to the targeted populace in the quest of shaping the cultural context of the consumer. The market reality of marketing and consumption are well communicated in the chapter through covering all the necessary sections. However, there is a growing need to establish the integration between marketing and communication and why the two aspects cannot be separated (BERGFELD, 2009, 3).

Hackley through the use of a straightforward methodology clearly shows that for marketing communication is everything. According to BERGFELD, (2009, 3), maintaining in mind  the dynamic surrounding of the  business today marketers are  highly necessitated to  generate products that holds the general  capacity  of satisfying  the needs,  price, availability and wants of the products in an attractive manner  in ensuring that the target consumers  are well prioritized as the fundamental part of the business. However, this operation does not end at this particular point as the business is required to communicate with the target population about what they offer. Communication in this particular case can be described as the procedure through which messages are shared in gaining a desired conduct goal or direction.  The general responsibility of communication within a targeted market populace is referred to as marketing promotion.  A business can utilize different marketing promotion strategies which may include personal selling, advertising, public relations, direct marketing and sales promotion in order to attain the communication aims of the corporation (HACKLEY, 2010, 14).  In the recent previous two decades, there has been a tremendous transformation that has been experienced in promotion methods that are used by most businesses around the globe.  This is based on the fact that the daily living has been revolutionized by technology and thus marketing communication is not being exempted (HACKLEY, 2013, 32). It is thus important for corporations to understand that marketing and communication are directly linked and the particular sector is experiencing continuous change. Therefore for the corporations to attain success in the future, the marketing manager is highly required to use emerging novel communication strategies.

Marketing as communication is aimed at ensuring that consumers are well informed about the corporations offering.  This additionally implies that marketing communication must be done with the consumers in mind.  This means that the pricing needs, as well as the wants of the consumers, must be considered to ensure that they are attracted to what is being offered. This implies that marketing must be able to communicate the need of the consumers to acquire the services and brands that are being offered. Marketing communication must thus be objected at satisfying the general needs of the consumers through establishing ways to maintain them which may be achieved through good pricing as well as offering high-quality products to meet the needs of the consumers. This, therefore, implies that the most appropriate marketing communication is the one that does not solemnly prioritize of transforming the psychology of the consumers but the one that is objected at meeting all the cultural level requirements of the consumers.

Through meeting the requirements of the consumers, the target audience may not release that their buying decisions are highly being influenced through marketing communication (BERGFELD, 2009, 7). Marketing as a communication to most individuals can be interpreted to imply to different things by most individuals but most would definitely agree that marketing does not exist without communication (HACKLEY, 2013, 33).  Marketing communication can be described as the coordinated messages promotion that is achieved via a single or more channels which include radio, direct mail, radio as well as personal selling.

Despite the fact that there is no marketing without communication it is good to note that marketing communication is essential in defining the relationship of the corporation with the consumers (HACKLEY, 2010, 27). Communication in marketing acts as a predictive directive but at the end of it is important for the corporation to establish the autonomy as well as the unpredictability of consumers particularly in the modern society. Hackley would have noted that marketing communication is more of a strategic marketing approach rather than a mode of marketing mix promotion.  However, Hackley noted that products normally live in the consumer's mind not basically through their general experience of the particular service of brands being offered but also as a result of the long-term implications of communication (HACKLEY, 2010, 24).

According to Hackley, (2013), traditional strategies fail in getting the contemporary consumer complexity. Simple source and effect are no longer depended upon as a predictive direction for the consumers.  Figuring that communication in marketing is a magic point of getting into the minds of the consumers in order to ensure that they comply fully with the plans which can be termed as inadequate.  It would be have been good to note that communication that is utilized in marketing helps in building better relations between the business and the consumers.  This is the generation of managing and building associations with the administration and consumers thus increasing marketing communication effectiveness (KOEKEMOER, & BIRD, 2004, 16).

Based on KOEKEMOER, & BIRD, (2004, 16), marketing communications assists in describing the relationships in an organization with the consumers not solemnly based on the type of messages sharing but also through the media selection  and the occasion  in suiting the consumer's  preferences. Marketing communication works beyond the specific tools of promotion.  The packaging and pricing should be properly being communicated to the consumers (HACKLEY, 2013, 36). However, promotion is a primary operation of communication in order to achieve the desired effect.  This helps in identification of the target audience which helps the corporation in designing and managing the relationship with consumers over a certain time period.

Marketing communication can be described as a general subject area subset of marketing.  Marketing, in general, is comprised of a marketing mix that is comprised of the brand, promotion, place and price that involves individuals, physical justification and procedures during marketing services (KOEKEMOER, & BIRD, 2004, 18).  Marketing and communication are fully combined in making a full picture.  This implies that a single message is delivered by all the communications marketing. Marketing as communication is an essential and complex section of an organization’s marketing efforts. This can thus be an implication of all contents and the media that are utilized in marketing communication.

KLOPPER, (2006, 20), asserts that marketing communication is mainly based on two different objectives which are creating and sustenance of product and preference demand as well as shortening the cycle of sales. Generating product preference is mostly a longer period effort that is objected at the utilization of communication channels in assisting the organization in the target consumer. Hackley failed to mention that developing and positioning a product takes much time and necessitates a particular consistency and the depiction of the corporation’s commitment.  Developing preference and decreasing  the sales cycle  holds a direct impact on the consumer  market share as well as profitability thus generating value that is long-term. The ability of sales cycle to be reduced implies that channels and sales partners  in their identification efforts help in the development of engagement and consumer delivery (KLOPPER, 2006, 22).  The ability to understand consumers buying procedure generates critical visions in how the sales cycle can be shortened.  It is marketing communication focuses mainly on the generation in informing relevant information to consumers needs to acquire information.

Marketing communication is not solemnly utilized in reaching to the consumers alone but also in building a product as well as better relations with individuals.  This means that the objectives of marketing must be properly aligned with those or marketing which helps in attaining a well-balanced structure.  It is true that in general marketing is a communication platform. This is because marketing utilizes communication in achieving its objectives in general.  This in general means that communication plays a key role in the general marketing. Despite the continuing outlandish claims marketing as a platform of communication marketing can be considered as a lesser than consumer control science.  However, its general influence was profound as a force of a culture that is persuasive implicitly based on a cultural view.  The better that communication is fully understood the best that the marketing effectiveness can be.

Marketing as a platform of communication is a concept that emerged in the modern society in regard to the continuous product messaging across the marketing channels.  This concept was developed based on the objective of handling the businesses requirement of offering consumers more as compared to just average advertising (KLOPPER, 2006, 22).  These concepts state that consumers should be considered as the first priority of the business. This implies that through communication consumers should be exposed to the things that fit their needs, trends as well as preferences in which they establish to be more credible as well as attractiveness.  This can be considered as a revolutionary step since it helps in supporting the general marketing culture (KLOPPER, 2006, 22).  Communication can become a significant theory in marketing since technological advances have transformed how shareholders in business marketing associate.

Marketing used as a communication platform is a planning concept that evaluates and combines strategic functions of distinct communication discipline in gaining, accuracy, greater effect and consistency (KLOPPER, 2006, 24).  Communication is utilized in marketing is used in execution as well as planning how the stated objectives can best be gained.  Communication in marketing helps in designing and aligning different force aspects in the communication market. This helps in ensuring that the outcomes of marketing are positive since communication helps in sharing effective messages that consider all the needs and preferences of the consumers (HACKLEY, 2013, 42).  Communication in marketing is basically directed towards a particular goal thus developing better images for the corporation.  The mode in which consumers attain information as well as delivery is communication that in hidden in the procedure of marketing.  The form of content, as well as the message, should be directly linked to the requirements of the consumers.  Marketing as a communication platform helps in the determination of the most suitable channel for reaching to the consumers.

Marketing as a platform of communication can be considered as a business approach which is utilized in getting the maximum positive effect on the general operation of the business (DUHÉ, 2007, 291).  In usual nature, this can be considered as the general integration of distinct mix of promotion in the generation of seamless information about the consumer’s effect.  Marketing communication is utilized in the generation of a better brand image in the memory of the consumers in that consumers share the best mouth words to others.  DUHÉ, (2007, 291), asserts that marketing consumers prioritize on consumers that the greater value can thus be transferred to the consumer by an organization that is encouraged which helps in making better by attacking the general organizational performance.

According to GERBER, (2008, 53), marketing is a platform of communication that involves the general procedure of conveying ideas and sharing the general meaning amidst individuals and the organization.  Communication is a channel of distributing information. The function of communication within the space of marketing is an essential issue based on the theoretical as well as managerial points of perception.  Communication in the channel of marketing is a general procedure through which influential data is transferred to the target audience.  It is highly admitted by the existing research that in marketing communication plays a critical role in the functioning channel.  Communication has been conceptually connected to the structural as well as behavioral in the communication channel (GERBER, 2008, 53).

The best marketing communication strategies do on the consumer psychology thus operating on a cultural status. Marketing communications is a depiction of the brand’s components that can promote the sharing and building of information of the brand being offered (GERBER, 2008, 53).   Corporations utilize distinct tools in the promotion of the corporation services as well as the brand.  Marketing as a platform of communication generates a definite sense as it helps in creating a better relation between the consumers as well as the consumers.  The planning of marketing communication is an evaluation and combination of strategic.  Modern marketing communication is very distinct from the traditional form of marketing since it is more based on increasing the corporation’s efficiency and increasing the general competitive. Communication helps to create better relations through the provision of the actual points of understanding the want of the consumers as well as the needs (HACKLEY, 2013, 48).  This helps the organization in the provision of the consumer’s lifetime value.

In general, there is a positive effect of marketing communication in the general organization performance.  This helps in monitoring the performance of the organization via interactivity, marketing mission, approach consistency, evaluation and planning (GERBER, 2008, 53).  This helps in increasing the coordination and increasing the awareness of the brands. Marketing communication is a specialized function of communication that operated previously within the given autonomy degrees.  This, therefore, implies that if the entire organization fails in the integration of different communication channels.  This is, for instance, the concrete advertisements offering while this is meant to signal the transmission of messages.  This will generate the consumer’s ambiguity in understanding the general thing that the corporation is attempting convince (HACKLEY, 2013, 54).  Marketing communication is essential to the organization in building the brands identity and building stronger associations in the corporation’s reputation and the general image of the brand. 

In summary, revising the communication and marketing sector is an effective way of ensuring that better grounds for modern marketing are developed. In addition, this will help in ensuring that a better understanding of the marketing complexity that is mainly influenced by the changing trends in the market is attained. Thus most organizations can be able to opt for the best marketing communication strategies in attaining their proposed objectives.

            References

BERGFELD, M.-M. H. (2009). Global innovation leadership: the strategic development of worldwide innovation competence. Norderstedt, Books on Demand.

HACKLEY, C. E. (2010). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communications approach. Los Angeles: SAGE.

HACKLEY, C. E. (2013). Marketing in context: setting the scene.  Palgrave Macmillan.

KLOPPER, H. B. (2006). Marketing: fresh perspectives. Cape Town, Pearson/Prentice Hall South Africa.

KOEKEMOER, L., & BIRD, S. (2004). Marketing communications. Lansdowne, South Africa, Juta Academic.

DUHÉ, S. C. (2007). New media and public relations. New York [u.a.], Lang.

GERBER, K. (2008). Marketing communication. Cape Town, Pearson Education South Africa.