Product

You may have heard of the so-called “,” where female-oriented items such as razors, deodorant and soaps, even if they are mostly identical to a male version, will carry a higher price tag. But it isn’t only grooming products that are unfairly impacting women’s wallets — there’s a too.

This summer, became the 11th state in the nation to not apply a sales tax on tampons and pads. But for the rest of the country, these products are taxed because they are considered ” items,” and not necessities such as food, clothing and other medical products. Some of the items that fall under the medical products umbrella that were exempt from the tax included chapstick, Rogaine and shampoo.

But this week, in an effort to raise awareness about the pink tax, 3-year-old bulk shopping startup Boxed.com will begin offering discounted women’s personal care items when the price is higher than the equivalent men’s products, and discounting pads and tampons by 9 percent.

Related: 

The company found that on average, per ounce, women are paying 167 percent more than male consumers for a bar of soap, 108 percent more for razors, 10 percent more for body wash, 8 percent more for deodorant and 5 percent more for shaving cream.

As for how the move might impact the company’s bottom line, Boxed CEO and co-founder Chieh Huang says that “We’re in a unique position, because we ship on average 9.8 items to the typical consumer. So if we take away a margin on one or two items, you have close to eight other items that we’re making a decent margin on to make up for the loss,” he says. “It’s a no-brainer. It’s just the right thing to do.”  

Related: 

The company’s aim is to hold both governments and manufacturers accountable and begin to see tangible changes in how these products are considered.

Nature view is a company that has specialized in dairy products focusing on the production of yogurt. It has retained its focus on organic yogurt since its inception in 1989, unlike its competitors who manufacture yogurt blended with artificial ingredients. This has enabled Nature View to cut a market niche for its products in the organic foods industry (Fleming, 2007, p. 2). Nature View as a company has to maintain a clear focus on its marketing strategies for it to retain its competitive advantage over its competitors. Nature View’s Problem

The company’s predicament is a strategy that would stimulate instant increase in its revenue by above 50% in a year. Nature View seeks to shift from the already established channel strategy that focuses more on the Natural foods stores to the more competitive supermarket channel. This shift in strategy will create a problem in that it has the potential to change the company’s core market and corporate image (Fleming, 2007, p. 1). Nature View’s problem can be summarized as positioning, segmentation, targeting, and competitive advantage.

Positioning, Segmentation, Targeting and Competitive Advantage Positioning focuses on the image of the company. Nature View needs to identify its best suited marketing mix for it to retain its position as the preferred choice to the customer. The company will need to identify the appropriate concepts for positioning for every target segment. Nature View must then select the appropriate positioning concept, then develop it and make known the selected concept to all the relevant stakeholders (Kotler, 2003, p. 25).

A market segment is a cluster of customers who have similar set of wants (Kotler, 2003, p. 22). The main objective of segmentation is to ensure better allocation of resources in order to attain competitive advantage (Farnsworth, 2008. p 1). Nature View has to identify and focus more seriously on its market segments. There are basically five forces that influence the viability of a market segment. The analysis of the five forces assist the company in comparing and understanding the competitive business environment (Wimalachandra, 1989, p.

1) These five forces are; the threat of rivalry within a segment, the threat of new players or entrants into the market, the threat of products which can be substituted for the company’s products, the threat of an increase in the bargaining power of the customers and finally the threat of an increase in the bargaining power of the suppliers (Kotler, 2003, p. 9). Targeting follows after market segmentation. This will focus on how best Nature View targets the identified segments. The company will need to evaluate the suitability of each of the segments and then select the appropriate segments to be targeted (Kotler, 2003, p. 25).

SWOT Analysis and Industry Analysis Strengths The company’s revenue has grown from $100,000 to $13 million in a period of ten years. With an increase in the demand for organic foods the company’s products are leading products in the organic foods market. Unlike its competitors Nature View manufactures its yogurt without artificial ingredients. This not only gives the products a better appeal to the customers but also has a longer shelf life. In event that the company shifts to the supermarket channel it will not need to increase its production plants hence will not have a big impact on current costs of production (Fleming, 2007, pp. 2-3).

The company has successfully diversified its products offering twelve flavors in 8-oz cups, four flavors in 32-oz cups, children’s brands in 4-oz cups and 2-oz Yogurt packed in tubes. Innovative marketing strategies such as unconventional marketing tactics (guerilla tactics) have been successful in the marketing of its products. Natural view maintains strong relationships with leading natural foods retailers which is demonstrated by a market share that accounted for 24% of the yogurt sales through the natural foods channel.

Natural view is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing trend in the natural and organic foods (Fleming, 2007, pp. 3-7). Weaknesses The natural foods retailers where Nature View has more focus lacks vital sales information since they do not track sales from promotions and price discounts. Nature View sells its products through brokers who charge 4% of the manufacturer’s sales for all the products sold through them, thus increasing costs to the company. The costs of advertising in the supermarket channel are prohibitive for a small company like Nature View.

The natural foods store where nature view has more focus suffers lower price elasticity than supermarkets (Fleming, 2007, pp. 4-5). Promoting the 8-oz yogurt cup sizes in order to enter the supermarket channel would require a huge budget. Sales, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) would increase by $320,000 annually. Entry into the supermarket channel requires the promotion of the 32-oz yogurt category which will be inappropriate since there are less chances of the customers’ enthusiasm with a 32-oz category.

The marketing department was inadequate in handling the challenge in terms of resources and staff in the proposed shift into the supermarket channel Fleming, 2007, pp. 6-9). Opportunities Yogurt earns higher revenues in the natural foods stores where customers are more informed and have more disposable income. 58% of U. S households are of the opinion that they would buy more organic foods if the prices were lower, 46% of U. S households are said to require a more diversified selection of products in the organic foods market and approximately 40% of the U. S population consumes yogurt.

The factors that influence customer purchase decisions favor Nature View. The natural foods consumers are more concerned with the health-promoting qualities of the product. The 8-oz yogurt cups are among the most popular product sizes representing 74% of total category supermarket sales (Fleming, 2007, p. 3). The company has 4 flavors in 32-oz cups represents 9% of the category sales and is growing at above 12. 5% per year. The customers for the 32-oz size represent 8% of the sales. This segment grows at 2%. The consumers at this segment are heavy-users.

There are fewer competitors in the 32-oz category and Nature View has a 45% market share (Fleming, 2007, pp. 4-7). The promotion of the 32-oz yogurt would require only 10% of the projection for the 8-oz. In both channels, the 8-oz cups are strategically placed at the eye-level in the shelves. Natural foods retailers do not charge manufacturers slotting fees. Horizon Organic’ products, the major competitor have a shorter shelf life. In the event of a shift in channel, the company will not need to spend $30million in constructing a new facility.

Supermarkets are considering attracting the higher-income, less price-sensitive customers by increasing the organic products in their stores to attract (Fleming, 2007, pp. 5-7). Threats Prices of the organic foods are considered to be prohibitive by 67% of U. S households. The shelf size allocated to yogurt in the natural foods stores is smaller than in the supermarkets. The 2-oz tubes and the 32-oz containers are placed at the lower levels in the shelves, making them less conspicuous. The company will have to accrue extra $80,000 to each supermarket chain to have its products in the supermarket.

Horizon Organic, the core competitor is a national brand with a full range of organic dairy products. The threat of price concessions is real if Nature View shifts to the supermarket channel where its products will sell at 15% lower. The natural foods stores may drop nature view’s brand in favor of the competitors if it shifts. Other competitors are positioning themselves to enter the supermarket channel. The natural foods stores may make similar demands as the supermarkets (Fleming, 2007, pp. 3-9). Option No. 1. Strategic Advantages and Risks

Expansion of the six stock keeping units which will enable the company to have a conspicuous shelf presence while at the same time savings on the slotting expense charged by the supermarkets. The six stock keeping units preferred are Nature View’s best selling products (Fleming, 2007, p. 6). Due its diversification in products Nature view has a competitive advantage over the competitors. Supermarkets are considering increasing the organic products in their shelves to attract the higher-income, less price-sensitive customers who shop at natural foods stores. There is a possibility of achieving a 1.

5% share of the supermarket yogurt sales per year and hence an increase in annual sales volume to approximately 35 million units. Supermarket consumers in the north eastern and western regions are more likely to purchase organic and natural foods than consumers in other regions (Fleming, 2007, pp. 6-7). Competitors have introduced new brands into the supermarkets. A major competitor is planning to enter the supermarket channel. Promoting the 8-oz yogurt cup sizes in order to enter the supermarket channel would require a huge budget and a financial constraint of $1. 2 million per region per year in advertising (Fleming, 2007, pp. 6-7).

Option No. 2 Strategic Advantages and Risks The 32-oz yogurt cups produce a gross profit margin that is above average. This is 43. 6% compared to the 8-oz cups which generate 36. 0%. The company has a competitive advantage in this category since fewer competitors specialize in the 32-oz yogurt cup category. The company commands a market share of 45% in this category. The costs of promotion for this category are lower (Fleming, 2007, pp. 7-8). The major risk would be a low reception of the product in the market. A competitor is planning to launch a product that would give the Nature View 32-oz cup direct competition (Fleming, 2007, pp. 7-8).

Option No. 3. Strategic Advantages and Risks The company has existing good relationships with the natural foods stores. Yogurt has a ready market in the natural foods stores. The option has better prospects of increasing profits with a projection of approximately 37. 6%. Sales and marketing costs in this option are lower than in the previous two options. The growth of the natural foods channel is seven fold above the supermarket thus promising increased growth of Nature View. This option has no financial constraints as there are no extra SG&A costs as in the two previous options (Fleming, 2007, pp. 8-9).

The consequences of the shift to the supermarket channel has not received adequate considerations (Fleming, 2007, pp. 8-9). Channel Management and Conflict Issues Involved The core role of the marketing channels is to facilitate the marketing strategies of an organization. The performance of the company is directly influenced by the quality of implementation of the channel strategy (Valos & Dubelaar, 2003, p. 1). There is a likelihood of a conflict between the natural foods channel and Nature View in the event that the company shits to the supermarket channel.

This conflict would be created by the severance of the long standing good relations the company has had with the natural foods channel yet the natural foods channel has enabled the company to grow. There is also the likelihood of the natural foods channel replacing the Nature View brands altogether and replace it with the competitors’ brands (Fleming, 2007, p. 6). This would be detrimental to the company’s corporate image. Nature View sells its products through brokers, and it is possible that the brokers are not of the opinion that the shift to the supermarket channel would be appropriate.

This will generate controversial management issues between the company and the brokers. The brokers would like to see the supermarket purchase more products from Nature View without necessarily having Nature View shift to the supermarket channel (Fleming, 2007, p. 7). The shift will create a channel management problem since it will increase the SG&A costs. The logistics involved in the shift to the supermarket channel are overwhelming to Nature View which is inadequate in meeting the resources and human capital involved (Fleming, 2007, pp.

8-9). In comparison, the natural foods channel has better prospects in terms of revenue that it can generate for the company. It sells a wider variety and at higher prices than the supermarket channel. The projected growth at the natural foods channel will create better financial prospects for Nature View. The natural foods channel is growing seven fold faster than the supermarket channel and this should be the better option for Nature View in the long term (Fleming, 2007, p. 9).

Action Plan Nature View will need to build on the SWOT analysis by building on its strengths, exploiting the opportunities in the market, while at the same time dealing with the weaknesses and threats. Nature view has several strengths that would make it achieve a competitive advantage in the dairy products industry. Unlike its competitors Nature View manufactures its yogurt without artificial ingredients. The company has successfully diversified its products and this will enable the company retain a competitive advantage in the market.

The innovative marketing should continue being implemented as they have been successful in the marketing of its products. Natural view is currently uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing trend in the natural and organic foods (Fleming, 2007, pp. 2-7). There are several opportunities Nature View posses in the industry. Yogurt earns higher revenues in the natural foods stores where customers are more informed and have more disposable income. The factors that influence customer purchase decisions favor Nature View. The natural foods consumers are more concerned with the health-promoting qualities of the product.

The 8-oz yogurt cups are among the most popular product sizes representing 74% of total category supermarket sales (Fleming, 2007, p. 3). There are fewer competitors in the 32-oz category and Nature View has a 45% market share (Fleming, 2007, pp. 4-7). Supermarkets are considering increasing the organic products in their stores to attract the higher-income, less price-sensitive customers (Fleming, 2007, pp. 5-7).

References

Farnsworth. R. , (2008). Wal-Mart China: Building Wal-Mart in China. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www. uspaacc. com/uspac/news/ctm-wal-mart.ppt Fleming, K. M. (2007). Brief Cases. . Harvard Business Publishing. Kotler, P. (2003). Marketing Management. 11th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Valos, M. J. & Dubelaar,C. The Relationship between Channel Metrics, Strategy and Marketing Performance. Conceptual Papers. Marketing Theory. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://smib. vuw. ac. nz:8081/WWW/ANZMAC2003/papers/CON03_valosm. pdf Wimalachandra, N. (1989). Five Forces Analysis. Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www. nishanw. org/Corporate%20Strategy%20lession%202%20tools. doc

The camera cuts to a c/u of his rear pocket to reinforce the style of the jeans. He begins to undo his belt, which would be shocking to the audience at that time. It was an unusual action. This is inter-cut with a contrast shot of a stereotypical man, who has no appeal and contrasts directly with Kamon. (Levi Strauss). Western iconography is emphasised with the removal of Kamon’s belt like a whip. This adds strength and control, masculine connotations as well as tension, excitement and sex appeal. We have a c/u of buttons being undone almost like a striptease.

The camera cuts to a 2 shot of a woman and girl giggling stereotypically. Quickly it cuts to a full shot of Kamon. Every woman watching longs for a man like him. People will begin to see laundrettes from a different point of view. The colours used throughout are masculine, blues, whites and greys that fit in with the Levis iconography. All types of women have turned their gaze on him. Reduced to boxer shorts he casually takes out a newspaper and sits beside the stunned girls and an older, less appealing man as if his actions were normal.

Kamon naturally became an icon overnight. His character was bold and outrageous. Teenagers and twenty something’s shouted out for Levis. Orders for their most expensive jeans, 501s were up by 800% in 2 years. Advertising made Levi’s jeans an essential part of the 80s wardrobe for both males and females. The soundtrack HEARD IT ON THE GRAPEVINE soared up the charts and boxer shorts experienced a revival. Its appeal was bigger than expected. Adverts from now on used similar techniques to attract viewers with the male occupying the central focus of the audience’s viewpoint.

It was realised that selling jeans has very little to do with what the jeans looked like. It had more to do with the characteristic of cool which surrounds them i. e. another advert showed an actor getting into the bath with only his Levis jeans on. The connotation to an unusual act is that they are skin-like, tailored to your body shape, increasing their popularity. A much later advert for Levis was again produced in a realistic way to promote 501s the ‘Antifit’ look.

The script entails a young trendy couple in casual loose fitting Levis. They represent the chic, modern couple, each accessorises the other in their ‘of the moment jeans’. They meet an old friend wearing shades, tight jeans and challenge him on his appearance. In contrast he looks, like the women in the earlier advertisement. In the late 90s Levis, inspired by a yellow puppet created an unusual advert that would promote flat press products. The scene depicts a male driving along in an ordinary style with his companion, a yellow puppet.

They drive and move to the beat not noticing the policeman behind them who pulls their car in. The puppet personifying itself gets his driving license out as well as a picture of his self and changes the soundtrack. In this way they reassure the policeman that they are bone-fide travellers and are sent away with a caution. When this ad was previewed on the internet in a ten second tease and showed a flat pack of ERIC the puppet, many dot. com users were interested and began sending their own version of the ad to their friends.

They created one of the most successful and cheapest campaigns. The soundtrack went to number 1 and the sales of flat press went up 40%. A recent Levis 501 ad is located in a fast food outlet and relies on the appeal of the relationship/ communication between the young female attendant and the customer. Emphasis is on realism as it is difficult to make out exactly what is being said and fits in with the anti-advertising and the anti-fit style of the jeans. This coupled with humour is used to promote the everlasting appeal of 501s.

Once more the name of the product is only endorsed in the final shot which reveals the brands familiar logo. It is clear to see that advertising is an essential part of a day-to-day consumerist society and is an effective way of informing consumers about new products and services. Some criticism directed at advertising is that it creates false hopes and expectations, plays on our insecurities and promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models. At best it provides humour and escapism.

As in product organisation, the geographically based organisation tends to produce decentralised activities, which may cause additional control problems for the senior management. Hence it is usual with such structures to find groups of senior functional managers at headquarters in order to provide direction and guidance to line managers in the regions or product groups. Finning (UK) Ltd. operates this type of structure also.

They have their main UK organisation as well as organisations based in Canada and Chile. As well as this they also have this system in operation within the UK. The head office based in Staffordshire, but they also have 19 other branches throughout the UK. This enables them to cater to a wider customer base and claim more of a market share within their industry sector. Below is an example of Finning (UK) Ltd. International geographical structure.

PROJECT TEAMS

A project team may be set up as a separate unit on a temporary basis for the attainment of a particular task. When this task is completed the project team is disbanded or members of the unit are reassigned to a new task. Project teams may be used for people working together on a common task or to co-ordinate work on a specific project such as the design and development, production and testing of a new product; or the design and implementation of a new system or procedure. For example, project teams have been used in many military systems, aeronautics and space programmes. A project team is more likely to be effective when it has clear objectives, a well defined task, a definite end result to be achieved, and the composition of the team is chosen with care.

One such team is ongoing at the moment within Finning (UK) Ltd. A project team (DBSi team) has been set up to enable Finning (UK) Ltd., Finning (Canada) and Finning (Chile S.A.) to standardise their computer database system for the Construction and Materials Handling divisions. This will ensure all Finning dealer operations are working together to ensure that the service they provide to their customers is the same no matter where they are located in the world.

MATRIX

Matrix structures are organisational forms which have come about as a result of co-ordination problems in highly complex industries such as aircraft manufacture, where functional and product types of structure have not been able to meet organisational demands for a variety of key activities and relationships arising from the required work processes. A matrix structure usually combines a functional form of structure with a project-based structure.

For example, in a two year project to produce a modified version of a standard aircraft, one project manager will co-ordinate, and be held accountable for, the work to be undertaken by the project team, and he will be the person who deals on a regular basis with the client. However, in addition to reporting to his own senior line manager on progress with the project as a whole, he will also report on specialist matters, such as design issues, to one or more functional managers, depending on the complexity of the project. The functional managers provide technical expertise and organisational stability. The project manager provides the driving force and the day-to-day control required to steer the project through during its relatively temporary lifetime.

The main feature of a matrix structure is that it combines lateral with vertical lines of communication and authority. This has the important advantage of combining the relative stability and efficiency of a hierarchical structure with the flexibility and informality of an organic form of structure. A matrix form focuses on the requirements of the project group, which is in direct contact with the client. It helps to clarify who is responsible for the success of the project.

It encourages functional managers to understand their contributive role of the purely functional form, i.e. individual empire building by the functional heads. However, like all organisational form, matrix structures do have their disadvantages. Many managers are reluctant to delegate because they don’t know how to do so or they feel threatened by a subordinate who performs well. Organisations need to help managers decide how much responsibility to delegate and to overcome the threat of being overshadowed.

Decisions about how to distribute authority throughout an organisation result in decentralisation or centralisation. Decentralisation is the systematic delegation and responsibility to middle and lower levels of an organisation. Centralisation is the systematic retention of power and responsibility at higher levels of an organisation. Decentralisation and centralisation are the opposite ends of a continuum. Most firms are relatively more decentralised or relatively more centralised. Centralisation generally allows top managers to exercise control over the organisation, however, it also slows decision making and constrains innovation.

Decentralisation distributes control more evenly throughout the organisation. It also tends to speed decision making and make the organisation more flexible and responsive. However, decentralisation allows more opportunities for errors in decision making. The decision to decentralise or centralise is influenced by the organisation’s environment, size and economic performance.

Delegation is essentially a power-sharing process in which individual managers transfer part of their legitimate authority to subordinates / team leaders, but without passing on their own ultimate responsibility for the completion of the overall task which has been entrusted to them by their own superiors.Functional relationships apply to the relationships between people in specialist or advisory positions, and line managers and their subordinates. The specialist offers a common service throughout all departments of the organisation, but has no direct authority over those who make use of the service. There is only an indirect relationship.

For example, the personnel manager within Finning (UK) Ltd. has no authority over staff in other departments; this is the responsibility of the line manager. But as top management would have sanctioned the position and role of the personnel manager other staff might be expected to accept the advice that is given. The personnel manager, however, could be assigned some direct, executive authority for certain specified responsibilities such as, health and safety matters throughout the whole organisation. However, specialists in a functional relationship with other managers still have a line relationship with both their own superior and their own departmental subordinate staff. Another example of this relationship within Finning (UK) Ltd. would be the Regional Manager who has a functional relationship with the Customer Services Manager, whilst he also has a line relationship with the Sales Representatives.

STAFF RELATIONSHIPS

This type of relationship exists where authority is representative and responsibility advisory. Employees in a staff position have no direct authority in their own right, but act as an extension of their superior and exercise only ‘representative’ authority. An example of this kind of relationship within Finning (UK) Ltd. would be between the branch administrator and the regional manager. There is no direct relationship between the branch administrator and other members of staff except where delegated authority and responsibility has been given for some specific task. However, the branch administrator often has some influence over other members of staff, especially those in the same department or grouping.

This may be partially because of the close relationship between the branch administrator and the regional manager, and partially dependant upon the knowledge and experience of the administrator and the strength of the administrators own personality. In this respect the branch administrator exercises the regional managers authority. Having no personal authority she cannot take decisions herself, although she does have a duty to advise the manager on all aspects of the business and to offer her own recommendations.

Product development involves a lot of planning. There is no point in developing a product that may be highly technical, if there are no market for them or if the present market standing and reputation becomes obsolete in the near future. If true customer satisfaction is the company prerogative, hen there must be a serious debate on whether the company can and will invest in technological product development In order to do so, the first and foremost objective would be to analyse the organisational capability and resource availability to match customer demands.

The organisational heads need to address the following issues before proceeding with product development:

1. Understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the product in question
2. Weigh the customer’s options on why they will buy, or won’t buy
3. Assess the ability to produce and develop these products over a long period of time, keeping in mind the customer’s needs and demands
4.  Factors that can hamper future production An organization must place its customers before self. It is therefore desirable to view the product in the context of what customers value rather than the organisation.

A reason why many reputed organisations falling by the wayside is due to their ineptness in ignoring customer needs, and engages in image changes to glamorise themselves and their products. In the cause of the customer, it is necessary to examine in detail, the nature of product(s) and activities of competitors (Richard Pettinger, p. 215-217, 2004). Algeiser Software Pvt. Ltd. is a company of national repute. Despite its size, the company has been able to grow steadily in a highly competitive market. The list of growing clientele is testimony of its product reliability and user friendliness.

With the advent of foreign companies into the Indian market, Algeiser finds itself fighting a new kind of competition, a global brand and ample financial resources to attract the best talent in the country. This has brought worries to many smaller organisations, who risk losing their brain to lucrative financial offers. This is why Malhotra has been entrusted the job of seeking alternative means to fight for market presence in the country as well as abroad. Malhotra is faced with the situation of rethinking his marketing and development operatives. In order to do so, Malhotra had to answer some strong queries.

His company now had to fight for international recognition first, quality was a prerogative, backup was deemed a necessity, and lots of money to finance R&D, the only way to stay in front. This led him to debate on the possible solution to this problem. With the advent of the big players, Algeiser had no other option than to go in for co-production, involving a foreign participant. Certain points that had to be addressed were:

Markets had to be created to sell the new product

Product is market-led; the organisation identifies gaps in market, and produces in anticipation of filling gaps.

Products are considered from the benefits they deliver to customers, and their life cycle

Product benefits, such as:

1. Security, comfort and confidence
2.  Product reassurance
3. Creativity
4.  Power
5. Tradition (Richard Pettinger, p. 218-220, 2004)

2 Business Development

A customer’s relationship with an organization is built on trust and reliability. A customer’s relationship strategy fundamentally reshapes the thought process of an organization to build a strong customer base. Focusing on people, business processes, performance management systems and technologies are sure ways to satisfying customer needs.

With an effective Customer Relationship Strategy, an organization can: • Identify, acquire, retain and develop more profitable customers • Align the business, marketing, and sales strategies with customer care • Achieve a customer centric organization with a clear contact management strategy (Hitachi Consulting, 1994). No product or company can survive competition or sustain its identity without asserting itself on two basic components in marketing: Image, and people. If not managed properly, these components can break a brand. Brands and people have to be owned, nurtured and developed by an organization.

They are the ultimate differentiators and value creators. Companies such as Pepsi, Coca cola, Levis, and Cadburys are a few examples of well managed brand companies, whereas Enron and Anderson are the adversaries. So powerful is this medium, that unless harnessed properly, sustainability, popularity, and growth are at risk. Thus, the elements that affect an individual’s relationship with a brand are: The relationship between the product and the customer, and The type of person the brand represents. The consumer obviously would like the personality traits to be that of his own.

One important relationship for many brands is a friendship link characterised by trust, dependability, understanding, and caring. A friend is there for you, treats you with respect, is comfortable, is someone you like, and is an enjoyable person with whom to spend time (Brand Personality-The relationship Basis Model, groups. haas. berkeley. edu). An organisation depends on its management and strategic leadership capability to make critical adaptations for higher performance, especially in highly competitive markets like mobile telephones.

These leaders capitalise on external and internal market changes, stimulate debate, and motivate people to take action. This may sound easier than done. One must not forget that it takes a lot of persuasion and dedication to exploit current business opportunities while developing new ones. What organisational designs best facilitate this? Strategic renewal process of course! In such a situation, the strategic leaders arrange for a back-to-basics meeting with their support team to identify and analyse what the organisation stood for.

This is a time for introspection and a revisit to the drawing board where among other things the following questions are asked: 1. What does the organisation stand for and what does it do to achieve this? 2. Why does the organisation do this and how does it do this? 3. Does everyone know the way this business operates and also how the organisation covers its risks? 4. Do you all know how well the business is doing and if so, is it going in the right direction? Do you foresee further growth potential, and if so, how? This is the time for introspection.

How many times have employees of an organisation been called for such a critical meeting or discussion as this? None, to be honest, would be most replies. It’s true. Management never brings their support staff into any critical decision meetings, for the simple reason that they see workers as slaves. This is not the right attitude towards workers. Strategic management involves the participation of all class of employees, whether they are programmers, developers, marketers, or managers. Many people work for an organisation, yet only a chosen few would know how their organisational business evolves and how its many components work holistically.

Process mapping is a way to demonstrate these issues. Once these issues are addressed, questions are raised and answers recorded. Questions in the context of total participation sharpen the awareness of process interrelationships among the working group. The strategic team then uses these inputs to identify ways to improve quality and productivity and to drive significant cycle time out of operations. As in the case of Algeiser BC Pvt. Ltd. , the competitive landscape demands new strategy formulation and implementation (John Kittredge, p. 1-2, 2003). Employment Opportunities.

When a company pursues its interest of developing or expanding its existing business, employment opportunities arise. Stiff competition in the U. S Mobile industry has led to mobile phone (Cell phones) manufacturers to look for features that can enhance their market value and develop brand equity. The U. S and UK have a strong mobile usage base, and this has led to many more companies entering the fray to bite into the large market segment. Production costs are cut through lay-offs and contracting works and some of the major players have opened their production units in these countries to beat logistic costs.

With the opening of such production units within their country, many natives are assured of employment and better life. As mentioned a little earlier, production increases on demand, and demand arise from additional features and other attractive parameters that customers elicit from it. This leads to increase the country’s GDP, employment level, and government revenue through taxes. The following figure 1 gives an insight of how the economics works. Figure 1 showing the Supply and Demand side of the cellular wireless industry in the United States Figure 1: Courtesy: Benefits from wireless technology, Entner et al.

2005 The above figure gives a clear demarcation between supply and demand. Once supplies decrease, prices tend to rise with demand. This can be overcome by strengthening the workforce to produce more. This directly leads to more employment opportunities, a definite increase in the national GDP, demand for better and much improved systems, and hike in government revenues. On the demand side the use of wireless technology enhances the performance of American conglomerates, which has access to the latest technology involving wireless voice services and wireless data services.

When the demand for wireless phones increase, it’s but natural to interpret that the business community is healthy and vibrant. No longer do individuals need to climb the walls to do business. However, all of the effects which are described above have already happened. Has wireless technology begun to experience a decline in marginal revenues? If that be the case, production would stagnate for insufficient orders and labour cuts would be effected. Therefore, the incorporation of new features through advanced technology is imperative for growth. Consumers’ interests must be tickled and they should be encouraged to continue their buying trend.

The market will also continue to grow along with the latest technology. Who would want to be tied down with the same old technology and features? It’s no good to do business that way, for the loss of business is the loss of the economy. The market must be encouraged to innovate and bring about changes from time-to-time. Take for example the automobile industry. Japanese car manufacturers work tirelessly to introduce new models and features to their existing models to rekindle the interest of the consumer. There may be a handful of people around who still love their 60s and 70s car.

The same thing should and will happen in the wireless mobile industry. Schumpeter (1934) described the concept of creative destruction. To develop new technology requires resources (finance, know-how and raw material); however, in a competitive economy this means either making existing products more efficient or channelling resources from other projects to improve existing product. Either way, to bring new features into mobile phones, old ones must be removed from the market. Not surprisingly, most mobile phone outlets offer spot exchange on old telephones; an incentive to encourage sales. 3. 0 Background.

It was almost 25 years ago that mobile phones came to the United Kingdom. And when they did, they were huge in size with very limited features. They were expensive fashionable tools used only by the elite class. It took sometime before the common man could get his/her hand on such a luxury. The huge progress since is thanks largely to a progressive, deregulated environment, and the work of some pioneers and evangelists who understood where mobile could take the country to. Believe it or not, but this country today boasts of more mobile phones than UK citizens; 63 million according to data collected in 2005.

The big handsets have given way to minute palm-size phones that have just about everything that a man could hope for. These phones are capable of amazing things. Playing music, checking email and playing games are standard practice. As technological advances bring about revolutionary features, the demand and crave for more has only heightened competition and opportunities. That’s right! With the growing demand for better products, companies are pressed to expand their operations and employ more people, improving the company’s and the country’s revenue.

As the technical capability of devices accelerates, so has the UK’s mobile landscape. It is still evolving incredibly fast. Five years or so ago, there were only a handful of significant companies operating outside the network operators’ world, but this has changed rapidly, and now there are hundreds. A survey conducted by O2 in conjunction with Real Business, identified more than 200 independent firms that were creating innovative mobile products and services for businesses and consumers.

Of these, there were a list of 50 companies to watch, which accounted for nearly ?1bn in revenues in the past year, a sign of the trend in mobile telecommunication in relation to mainstream telecom and internet technologies. The implications for UK businesses are vast, with most of the listed companies in some of the fastest-moving and most profitable markets, devising marketing strategies for the likes of Google, Disney, Coca-Cola, Ford, Cisco and Visa (Short, 2005). In order to understand the impact of telecommunication in the development of a nation’s economy, I would like to state the case of China, which till a decade ago was among the poorest of nations.

The Chinese telecommunication sector witnessed tremendous growth during the period 1997-2002, which was about 20%. This formed a very strong portion of the country’s GDP and is considered the strongest and fastest growing industry in the world. In such a prospective market, the major Chinese fixed-line and mobile business houses have invested approximately 25 billion American dollars on network infrastructure in the past year alone, considerably more than the whole of Western Europe put together. This goes to show the market potential in China and is amply illustrated by the 1.

3 billion fixed-line and mobile connections in operation there. Only one out of ten Chinese citizens had a phone five years ago. Today, this figure has more than multiplied and more than one out of three have a fixed telephone subscription and more than 1. 25 million cellular subscribers signing up every week. It is estimated that in another five years, this figure will jump vertically to reach a figure of 950 million fixed and mobile subscriptions, thrice the population of the United States (Uria-Recio, 2004). China’s economic growth has created a greater boon for the telecommunication market here.

It is forecast that by 2010, there would be over 600 million cell phone users in mainland China alone and this figure is expected to jump further. The Ministry of Information Industry said the number of users in 2007 is expected to reach a mind-boggling 520 million pieces, up from 460 million in 2006. Liberalization has fueled the telecommunication revolution in this country and the ministry is having said that the number of Chinese using the internet will cross 200 million, accounting for 15% of the country’s population (China Economic Review, 2006).

This project sets explore the wireless technology growth and its impact on the growth on the economy of two of the world’s major economies: The United States of America, and the United Kingdom. The research will concentrate on the features of the high selling mobile phone companies in the UK by setting up two questionnaires, one for the consumer and the other for the manufacturer. The thoughts of retailers (as a proxy for mobile phone developers) are compared to those of general consumers to see whether the consumers appreciate similar devices and have the same appetite for new functions as the retailers predict.

While technological advances have improved features and services, it has analogically increased the misuse of this system for criminal benefits as well. To consider the potential damaging effect of wireless technology on the economy the questionnaire asks for the opinion of individuals and retailers of the dangers of malware and its awareness. The limitations of the research does not restrict the additions or reduction of inputs based on the ever changing market situation due to a sharp shift in mobile technology, or more likely to the availability of respondents to the questionnaire.

A representative sample of consumers is necessary, however if it is difficult to find sufficient retailers, a number of industry representatives are potentially available such as mobile designers or developers or others with a leading role in the wireless technology industry. The research seeks to provide an insight in to the way wireless technology changes over time and the possible growth potential, considering that the inclusion of new features require acceptability and in turn generate high volume of sales to have any sort of impact on the economy. There are three aspects that require serious post-mortem here:

Development of business Possible employment opportunities from this Product development involves a lot of planning. There is no point in developing a product that may be highly technical, if there are no market for them or if the present market standing and reputation becomes obsolete in the near future. If true customer satisfaction is the company prerogative, hen there must be a serious debate on whether the company can and will invest in technological product development In order to do so, the first and foremost objective would be to analyse the organisational capability and resource availability to match customer demands.

The organisational heads need to address the following issues before proceeding with product development: Understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the product in question Weigh the customer’s options on why they will buy, or won’t buy Assess the ability to produce and develop these products over a long period of time, keeping in mind the customer’s needs and demands Factors that can hamper future production An organization must place its customers before self.

It is therefore desirable to view the product in the context of what customers value rather than the organisation. A reason why many reputed organisations falling by the wayside is due to their ineptness in ignoring customer needs, and engages in image changes to glamorise themselves and their products. In the cause of the customer, it is necessary to examine in detail, the nature of product(s) and activities of competitors (Richard Pettinger, p. 215-217, 2004). Algeiser Software Pvt. Ltd. is a company of national repute.

Despite its size, the company has been able to grow steadily in a highly competitive market. The list of growing clientele is testimony of its product reliability and user friendliness. With the advent of foreign companies into the Indian market, Algeiser finds itself fighting a new kind of competition, a global brand and ample financial resources to attract the best talent in the country. This has brought worries to many smaller organisations, who risk losing their brain to lucrative financial offers.

This is why Malhotra has been entrusted the job of seeking alternative means to fight for market presence in the country as well as abroad. Malhotra is faced with the situation of rethinking his marketing and development operatives. In order to do so, Malhotra had to answer some strong queries. His company now had to fight for international recognition first, quality was a prerogative, backup was deemed a necessity, and lots of money to finance R&D, the only way to stay in front. This led him to debate on the possible solution to this problem.

With the advent of the big players, Algeiser had no other option than to go in for co-production, involving a foreign participant. Certain points that had to be addressed were: Markets had to be created to sell the new product Product is market-led; the organisation identifies gaps in market, and produces in anticipation of filling gaps A customer’s relationship with an organization is built on trust and reliability. A customer’s relationship strategy fundamentally reshapes the thought process of an organization to build a strong customer base.

Focusing on people, business processes, performance management systems and technologies are sure ways to satisfying customer needs. With an effective Customer Relationship Strategy, an organization can: Identify, acquire, retain and develop more profitable customers Align the business, marketing, and sales strategies with customer care Achieve a customer centric organization with a clear contact management strategy (Hitachi Consulting, 1994). No product or company can survive competition or sustain its identity without asserting itself on two basic components in marketing: Image, and people.

If not managed properly, these components can break a brand. Brands and people have to be owned, nurtured and developed by an organization. They are the ultimate differentiators and value creators. Companies such as Pepsi, Coca cola, Levis, and Cadburys are a few examples of well managed brand companies, whereas Enron and Anderson are the adversaries. So powerful is this medium, that unless harnessed properly, sustainability, popularity, and growth are at risk.

Product Development is vital for a business’s survival. Yet it must also be balanced with product selling. Finding the right balance is the prime goal in looking for maximum profit. According to Smith and Reinertsen (1998), time is worth money. Products that are sold earlier would ensure that a business has earlier profits. This means that certain levels of product development could be sacrificed in order to ensure that a product is released fast in order to maximize profit due to longer sales as compared to products that are released later.

A product that is released early, however, could suffer from low quality or marketing and thus have a small customer base. Thus it is also vital that product development could also be prioritized rather than early product selling. A product that is developed more, and thus released later, could spell higher profit due to customer demand for higher quality and a larger customer base.

In the long run, this could spell a larger profit from products which are released earlier but still lack development. A next concept in the maximizing of profit related to product development is the speed of product development. A product that undergoes quick development would take competitors by surprise by dominating the market even before the competitor’s products are released. It could also mean that customers would develop brand loyalty to the product.

Furthermore, a switch-over could cost to a competitor’s product, which underwent slower but higher development, could become expensive and thus they remain loyal to the original product Nevertheless, a product that is released later could have more profits due to commanding a higher price than the original product. Whatever strategy a company makes, product development and product market release go hand in hand in the search for profit.