Bud Shaw’s Back Yard Burgers: A Company Analysis

Bud Shaw is the current Vice President for Administration and Support Services in Back Yard Burgers, Inc. However, until 2007, he held the position as Vice President of Corporate Operations Services. (â€Å"People Search Results,† 2008) Shaw has been successful in the business due to his determination and perseverance to perfect his craft. His excellence may be attributed to his flexibility in terms of carrying out and accomplishing roles and responsibilities that are granted to him as one of the highly-revered leaders of Back Yard Burgers.For instance, his capabilities to shift from operations to administration reveal his litheness as one of the people in charge over the business organization. Perhaps, the aforementioned trait, coupled with good education, steadfastness, thirst for more knowledge and opportunities for enhancing skills, rationality and open-mindedness, and the ability to take on various roles and responsibilities, contributed to his success as part of Back Yar d Burgers Inc. The most important thing, however, is his dedication to carry out his job excellently, if not perfectly.His ingenue as once a leader in the operations service has catapulted Back Yard Burgers Inc. to success as he was able to lead operating services which directs majority of the functions and operations of the organization. At present, his undertakings cover a more extensive scope as he is second in command in the area of administration and support for Back Yard Burgers Inc. Shifting to the dimensions of Back Yard Burgers Inc. , the organization over the years has proven to be successful in its field, which is under the leisure industry operating under the context of restaurants & cafes.Back Yard Burgers Inc. specifically operates as one of the leading fast-food and quick-service restaurants in the United States. The organization was established in 1987 Lattimore Michael with the assistance of investors. The success of Back Yard Burgers Inc. has launched it to obtain a position as one of the top fast-food and quick service restaurants. In fact, its top competitors are highly established food service organizations, such as Burger Kind, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s. (â€Å"Back Yard Burger’s Inc. ,† 2008) Back Yard Burgers Inc.operates fast-food restaurants built in several states in the country, and it is also an active franchiser of the brand. Majority of Back Yard Burgers restaurants are concentrated in the south and the Midwest. It has over 170 fast food restaurants built in numerous states in the nation, including Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois, Texas, Arkansas, Vancouver, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Connecticut, to name a few. Franchising is at the heart of the success of the company as it sets the backdrop of growth for Back Yard Burgers Inc.(â€Å"Company Search Results,† 2008) Therefore, to obtain more profit, the organization is looking into expanding more t hrough strengthening the area of franchising and providing quality services for its costumers by improving Back Yard Burger’s menu. As of the moment, the organization has launched new product offerings – the Mushroom Swiss, which is a gourmet burger (made from Black Angus Beef, sauteed mushrooms, Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomato), and the Chicken Sandwich available in new traditional or Chipotle (made from chicken tenderloins, Chipotle pepper sauce, lettuce, and tomato). (â€Å"New Products,† 2008)Costumers will be expecting other additions to Back Yard Burger’s menu, with inventive food recipes that will capture their taste. As for individuals who are interested to franchise the Back Yard Burger line, the organization is opening its doors for them as a means to augment return of investment and added income. Geographically speaking, Back Yard Burger’s has no determined plans to expand into specific areas or states. The organization does, however, allow interested parties to franchise Back Yard Burgers to fill up a request form where they can state on which area they are planning to establish the planned franchise.(â€Å"Franchising,† 2008) Back Yard Burger’s will be looking into the matter in order to determine the feasibility of establishing a franchise in stated areas. Currently, the organization is operating in twenty states – Tennessee obtaining the most establishments with thirty nine stores of Back Yard Burgers to date. The success of Back Yard Burgers Inc. as a fast-food and quick-service restaurant is mainly attributed to the attractiveness of the industry under which it operates. Food is basic commodity, an item that never goes off the consumer’s list of necessities.Organizations that establish themselves through food servicing will never fail to attract consumers, as long as it positions itself in the corporate arena as one of the best. Moreover, our modern society has adapted to changes brought about by technology fostering the need for fast servicing of consumers. This kind of modern life fits well with the concept of fast-food and quick-service restaurants as they are able to grow with the demands of modernity. On the other hand, the unattractiveness of the fast-food and quick-service as an industry sets the potential risks and threats to any organization operating under this field.This is attributed to competition and diverse consumer population. It will be difficult to maneuver an organization which operates under an industry with loads of competition, and established organizations at that. There are so many fast-food chains and quick-service restaurants that are highly popular, such as McDonald’s, which plays down an organization’s competitive advantage. Another unattractive feature is the nature of the consumer population. A diverse consumer population necessitates the innovativeness of organizations to present a menu that is new, but at the sa me time appealing to them.It is a great challenge which requires much time and effort. However, with the company culture of Back Yard Burgers Inc. , it is perceived that it will be able to weather all these challenges. The organization does not only focus on profit, but is also sensitive about the need to satisfy its consumers and society as well through corporate social responsibility. Moreover, the organization is working hard to accomplish its mission by nurturing the development of its employees – the human capital – who are expected to carry out the goals and objectives of Back Yard Burgers Inc.through excellence and quality service. (â€Å"Mission,† 2008) References â€Å"Back Yard Burgers, Inc. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Hoover’s Inc. Website: http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. xhtml? ID=ffffchrskrxrsfhjfh â€Å"Company Search Results. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Hoover’s Inc. Webs ite: http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/search/simple/company/index. xhtml? query_string=Backyard+Burgers&which=company&page=1&search_x=43&search_y=3 â€Å"Franchising. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Back Yard Burgers.Website: http://www. backyardburgers. com/www/41_37_0. cfm â€Å"Mission. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Back Yard Burgers Inc. Website: http://www. backyardburgers. com/site/mission. cfm â€Å"New Products. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Back Yard Burgers. Website: http://www. backyardburgers. com/www/38_29_0. cfm â€Å"People Search Results. † (2008). Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Hoover’s Inc. Website: http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/people/bio. xhtml? ID=chrskrxrsfhjfh&OID=1958540

Bukidnon Deer Park and Wildlife Center Reaction Paper Essay

On August 26, 2012 I visited the Bukidnon Deer Park and Wildlife Center located at San Miguel, Maramag, Bukidnon. The purpose of the trip was to look at some fascinating wild animals that live from different parts of the world and to learn more about them. The first animals I visited were the mammals. Mammals are class of warm-blooded vertebrate animals that have, in the female, milk-secreting organs for feeding the young. The animals available at the park that represents this class were the Long-tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis), Palawan Bear Cat (Arctictus binturong), Common Palm Civet (Paradoxuros hermaphrodites), Balabac Mouse Deer (Tragulus nigricans), Leopard Cat (Pronailarus bengalensis), Philippine Mouse Deer (Cervus marianus), and lastly the Wild Pig (Sus philippinensis). After we have visited the mammals we then go straight to the Aves. But on the way to the Aves we came along to pass by the Japanese Koi (Cyprinus carpio). These are carps with red-gold or white coloring, kept as an aquarium or ornamental pond fish, native in Japan. They were so fun to watch. Finally we arrive where the Aves are caged. Aves are two-legged, warm-blooded animals with wings, a beak, and body covered with feathers. These animals lay eggs from which their young hatch, and most of the species can fly. The animals available at the park that represents this class were the Philippine Serpent Eagle (Spilornis holospilus), Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indicus), Single-wattled Cassowary (Casuarius unappendiculatus), Dwarf Cassowary (Cassuarius bennetti), Indian Blue Peafowl (Pavo cristatus), Indian Ringneck Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Blue-naped Parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis), Pied Imperial Pigoen (Ducula bicolor), Nicobar Pigeon (Caleonas nicobarica), Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus), Spotted Imperial Pigeon (Ducula carola), Lady Amherst Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae), Blacked-chinned Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus leclancheri), True Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera), Mindanao Rofous Hornbill (Buceros hydrocorax mindanensis), Visayan Hornbill (Penelopide panini ), and lastly the African Ostrich (Struthio camelius) which I liked the most because of its beautiful eyes and long eyelashes. Ostrich is also the largest and fastest living bird. It is a two-toed fast-running bird with a long bare neck, small head, and fluffy dropping feathers. But sad to say, it cannot fly. The third and last animal I visited were the reptiles. Reptiles are animals with tough, dry skin covered with horny scales. Reptiles are vertebrates – animals with backbone. They share characteristics common to other vertebrates – fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. But reptiles display a unique combination of characteristics that distinguishes them from other vertebrates. Like amphibians, modern reptiles are cold-blooded, or ectothermic. This means that they are unable to produce their own body heat, so they rely on the sun for body warmth, and much of their behavior is directed toward regulating their body temperature. Some of the most widespread living reptiles are turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and alligators. The park only exhibit crocodiles among the class reptilian. They have the Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and the Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis). The Bukidnon Deer Park and Wildlife Center helped for the maintenance of these wild animals that are near to endangerment and they also hatch eggs and do breeding for these animals to survive in this cruel world. This is very important so that our next generation can still see this wonderful creatures and gain knowledge at them.

Contrasting Differences Between “the Cooperative” and “Hsbc Plc”

The purpose of this essay is to explain and analyze contrasting differences between â€Å"The Cooperative† and â€Å"HSBC plc†, and to explain its stakeholders. At the end I will explain and evaluate their mission aims, objectives and impact of their companies. The simplest form of ownership and possibly the most common too, is sole-trading, which is owned by one individual. Possibly this individual opened his company by using his savings or quite commonly by means of a bank loan. He is capable of running every aspect of his business and is solely responsible for is business.Most multinationals generating billions of pounds per year of our days started as sole-trading companies. Partnerships are the next evolutionary step. They are owned by two or more individuals, usually specialists who join venture. As sole-trading all parties contribute privately towards the business’ capital through savings or bank loans, usually profits are shared depending on how much capi tal was invested by each party. There can be partners who usually do not take part in the running of the company called sleeping or dormant partners they mainly invest and share the profits.Private Limited Companies (Ltd) are companies whose ownership is divided into equal parts called shares, who own these shares in turn are called shareholder, only by consent of all shareholders can shares be sold to a particular buyer and usually who owns more shares ultimately has majority of the decision making. This type of company is considered to be an entity of its own, the owners only run it. Public Limited Companies (Plc) follow the same principle has Ltd companies but they must first of all, raise sufficient capital, minimum of ? 50,000. 0 by selling its shares in the stock market . A minimum of two directors, two members and a qualified secretary are needed to trade as a Plc and its directors must provide statutory documentation to the companies house. Cooperative Companies are raised t hrough an association between individuals united usually by socio-economical factors. Capital is raised privately and no matter how much one shareholder invests in contrast with others, shareholders he or she has only one vote, meaning this every shareholder has the same power. Democracy is the cornerstone of this type of company.Shared responsibilities towards decision planning policy making and aims of this company are done by every member, capital is owned in common property of the cooperative. Main advantages are equally shared ownership, equally shared profits depending on how much invested social and economic awareness services and products, environmental awareness. Main disadvantages can be financial control, management effectiveness poor planning, `and longer decision making less trust in the cooperative ideology. Franchises are defined as trading under the name of a third party company.The franchiser gives a license to the franchisee to trade under its name. Its main charac teristic is how the business is ran, the franchisee owns and operates the business but the franchiser maintains control over the products or services sold, its marketing, quality and standards of the entire business. The two companies I will talking will be The Cooperative which falls into the cooperative type of company and HSBC Holdings which is under the public limited company category. HSBC Holdings exist to provide financial services worldwide.The Co-operative are democratically run by members to meet their common needs and aspirations Their main reason is not chasing profits like other types of ownership businesses, but the ability to steer their products and services in a more responsible direction. The Cooperative provides food and retail products, financial, funeral care, legal, pharmacy and travel services. HSBC Holdings provide a range of financial services, personal, commercial, corporate investment and private banking customers. The Co-operative is run by over two-and a -half-million of members who share on how the businesses are run.HSBC Holdings is run by a board of directors but the owners are the investors and shareholders who have bought the company’s various types of shares. HSBC Holdings is an entity of its own, meaning it has legal rights and responsibilities and is used in such way to conduct business totally in the interests of its shareholders who invest their capital and the employees who contribute towards the company with their labour. The Co-operative is defined as being an association of individuals who voluntarily unified to meet common cultural, social and economic needs.They come to be a democratically owned and controlled business. Its members have a say in how the business is run, by attending meetings, voting for their representatives, this way members influence policies, both at ethical and operational levels. The level of influence is irrespective of how much a member invests, it can be one pound or one hundred thousa nd pounds. Stakeholders are individuals or groups who contribute voluntarily or involuntarily with their wealth to create profitable businesses. They are the potential beneficiaries or risk bearers of their business.They can be active or non-active representatives members in their companies. Commonly these days stakeholder term is used to represent individuals or organizations who have legitimate interests in projects or entities. The concept of stakeholder can be more widely used to include other forms of individuals or organizations that may not take part in benefit or profit sharing but still have a â€Å"stake in the business involved, this can be employees, pressure groups, customers, suppliers, communities, governmental bodies.HSBC Holdings, and The Co-operative have various types of stakeholders and the ones with a direct influence over the company are the internal stakeholders. In the case of HSBC Holdings these are the owners, board of directors, and employees. In the case of The Co-operative these are the owners, board of directors, employees’ and its members who actively are encouraged by the company to take part in the running of the business. The mportance of stakeholder is to support its organization in achieving its strategic objectives, by interpreting and influencing the external and internal environments and creating positive relationships, the stakeholders through correct management of their expectations and agreed objectives. This management is a process that must be planned and guided by the principles stipulated by the stakeholders. In the case of the Co-operative we can see their entire business in managed in accordance of all their members.Has the business was created to help and support communities all their stakeholders from directors to staff members have the same influence on how the business is run. Most importantly all its shareholders agree the main factor of the company is to provide goods and services at reasonable pric es, ethically viable and do not look for profit margins with the exception to stay in business and grow. HSBC Holdings believe their success is the only outcome required by their shareholders if not their stakeholders would not invest, good employees would not want to work for them and the customers would not want to bank with them.They want to be the largest international financial institution, have a cosmopolitan customer base and to have considerable financial strength. Except for The Co-operative whose stakeholders do not necessarily look for profits, like HSBC Holdings, both cases owners and senior staff look for performance and direct their business according to their aims and objectives they want to get a good return on their investment, non-managerial staff mainly look for quality and security of jobs, good pay of rates, job satisfaction, good benefits promotion prospectus.Their main external stakeholders even if not necessary for this essay I feel it is important to explain their importance too, governments look for low employment risks and ability to gain profits through taxation, trade unions look for working conditions, wages and legal requirements, customers for quality, value and more recently for ethical services or products and local communities who want to be involved in their business and expect job security, expect environmental and social issues best interests to be answered.Both companies have been around for more than a century, both believe their stakeholders internal or external have a fundamental importance in their companies both have different objectives and aims but, similarly both believe in managing their business in a sustainable way and taking responsible attention in their decisions to be successful in the long term. They have taken very different routes simply because the aims and objectives expected by their stakeholders are not just that.Creating aims and objectives is no easy task especially when both terms have vague disti nctions and imprecise definitions. All business has a hierarchy which usually starts from their mission statement to their aims and finally to their objectives. Objectives give the business clear defined targets it is a detailed picture of the business and plans must then be setup to achieve the objective in question, they are stated into measurable targets using â€Å"S. M. A. R. T. † definition-. †-Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic and Time.Objectives can then be considered medium to long term goals required by a business to maintain its path these are the strategic objectives, the day -to-day or short-term objectives are called tactical objectives they help the strategic objectives being accomplished. Aim is the goal or general statement a business wants to achieve. They are important in developing implement and evaluate a business future. Aims are long term plans necessary for a business and where businesses objectives derive.Usually businesses may have se veral aims and objectives, all simply depend of the nature of the business. The most common can be to make profit, survive, expand, break even, improve quality, competitive value, and more recently, more and more business aim to be environmentally friendly. All of these help any business to be able to stay, in business. Objectives and aims provide a clear structure for all of the various activities that an organization carries out.Measuring how well an objective have or not been achieved, managers can make necessary arrangements to their activities to ensure progress and achievements of the stated mission statements, aims and objectives are followed. Aims and objectives within an organization are established at a number of levels from top level corporate objectives, all the way down to team objectives and individual objectives that create a framework for operational activities.An example could be the customer service department of HSBC Holdings which aims to satisfy customers, and t he marketing department which aims to identify customer’s needs. HSBC Holdings mission statement is â€Å"We are the world’s local bank† meaning they want to be the largest international emerging markets bank, widespread international network focus on a unique international customer base and have unquestioned financial strength. To achieve this their aim is to run a sustainable usiness in long terms, to do this they want to give their stakeholders sustainable profits, have and build long-lasting relationships with their customers, value their employee, respecting environmental boundaries and investing in communities. The Co-operative mission statement is â€Å"From community projects to a share of the profits, we’re good for everyone†. They believe in providing ethical services and goods from banking travel, pharmacy, legal services, funeral care, food and on-line shopping only in the United Kingdom.They are a group who base their aims on their eth ical values, influencing this way the way they do business. Their aim in this way is to show good quality products and services do not have to come at the expense of honesty and social responsibility. We can see HSBC Holdings and The Co-operative mission statements, aims and objectives focus their business in maintaining their purpose. Both businesses believe in sustainability of their employees, communities and environmental values but differ on how their profits are shared and who runs the business.The Co-operative by being managed in a democratically way focus its aims and objectives in ethical issues, in the interests of all their internal and external shareholders. HSBC Holdings most important aim and objective are actually to produce profits for their internal shareholders and expanding worldwide.Bibliography: www. hsbc. co. uk -Accessed more than once www. thecooperative. coop -Accessed more than once Tutor Handouts: http://go. guildford. ac. uk/webapps/portal/frameset. jsp? tab_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_9140_1%26url%3D

Eurognosi in European Crisis Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Eurognosi in European Crisis - Literature review Example From the report it is clear that  education is a type of learning where the skills, habits, and knowledge of people or a society are transferred to immediate generation through research, training, and teaching. Professionals usually conduct education. Most nations divided their education into preschool, primary school, secondary school, and University, apprenticeship, or college. Preschools give education to children aged between three to seven years. Preschool education is imperative to a child as it gives him/her a competitive age in an education climate and the world. Children who did not go through a preschool are usually behind when compared to who passed through the system.According to the essay findings primary or elementary education takes about six to eight years of structured and formal education. Most children start the primary education while aged 5 or 6 years. However, differences exist between countries. Most countries have committed themselves to achieve universal en rollment in elementary education, by 2015 due to the Education for All Program advocated by UNESCO. The separation of elementary and secondary education usually happens at about 11 or 12 years of age.  Higher education also known as the third stage, post-secondary education or tertiary, is a non-compulsory education stage, which follows the completion of a secondary school. Tertiary education includes undergraduate, postgraduate, and vocational and training education. Universities and colleges offer tertiary education.

Psychology Chapter Reading Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology Chapter Reading Summary - Essay Example This will not only impact the person to whom the communication is being directed but to other listeners as well. Another way in which admiration and appreciation can be more powerful is being specific. Being specific will place more emphasis on the person giving the appreciation rather than on the person being appreciated. It is more powerful to focus on the specific quality that is being admired or appreciated. Being specific can benefit the speaker as well into doing some introspection. A third way of allowing appreciation and admiration to be more powerful is to make the communication non attributive. Usually one makes general descriptions in communicating appreciating and admiration. Telling someone about his qualities or characteristics is not effective. It doesn’t allow the person to recognize the value. A more effective method would be to communicate to the person in such a way so as to relate your experience gained from his actions. In communication, it is felt that it is more useful to speak in the first person rather than in the second person when we are communicating negative experiences. When the first person is used the listener is placed in a passive position. The same holds true for communicating positive experiences. In using the second person there is a lack of sincerity and originality. Ongoing reward shows our experience of the person and not about the persons themselves. Words are very powerful in the field of communication. They are capable of influencing our thoughts, feelings, and inter personal relationships. Words can be misinterpreted according to the context, cultural setting and even by gender differences. Words communicate a literal meaning as well as a subjective and personal meaning and are more precise if they have a concrete rather than an abstract meaning. They have the power to evoke negative reactions as

Managing Decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Managing Decision - Essay Example As such, it requires a certain kind of a person to make such major decisions which will make the business successful. It is imperative to note that the whole process of starting a business requires an ardent decision maker who can sacrifice the safety of his comfort zone for the good of the business (Teale, 2003). Good decision making is necessary because a new venture is very risky and makes heavy demands on professionalism, resources, personal time and funds. With a strong inner drive to reap good fruits from the business that is just started, the entrepreneur needs to take control and make plausible decisions. This report will consider techniques to a business opportunity- a coffee shop. The business opportunity chosen is Luna coffee shop. The business seeks to provide beverage products near the hospital located at the city center of Atlanta. When analyzing the market, it was clear there was a gap as most of the patients, nurses, doctors and workers in the hospital preferred to have their tea, coffee and other beverages delivered to them from outside the hospital. This coffee shop will offer the proximity and comfort of delivering coffee near the hospital while at the same time giving the customers their convenience. Furthermore, the coffee shop seeks to tap into a new medical college that has nearly been opened near the hospital. The mission statement is â€Å"Fresh, revitalizing and nourishing†. This shows that the beverages are unique, fresh and packed with natural ingredients to give the customer that nourishing and revitalizing feeling. The business wishes to work with direct suppliers of natural herbs such as cinnamon, ginger, garlic and other therapeutic herbs which are key to making our coffee unique and attractive. The coffee shop will start at a twenty person sitting capacity but will soon be expanded as the number of customers increase. Luna coffee shop wishes to make their approach

Discuss the Impact of the Recession on Consumer Behavior and on Essay

Discuss the Impact of the Recession on Consumer Behavior and on Marketers - Essay Example At the same time, marketers are resorting to new promotional campaigns in order to remain competitive and gain consumer attention in the face of this current economic downturn. Food and technology Statistics indicate that six in 10 consumers have reduced the volume of frequency as it pertains to eating-out in restaurant environments (Bainbridge 2010). As a result, especially noticeable in the pizza restaurant industry, marketers have changed their promotional activities to include vouchers with significant pricing discounts (Bainbridge). Where once major companies in this industry, such as Pizza Hut, used psychographic segmentation and targeting to gain attention and loyalty, they are finding it more difficult to compete especially when their products carry high price tags over competition. Companies like Pizza Hut once had well-established consumer segments that were devoted to the brand and were able to use rather low-cost marketing and higher price methodology to ensure positionin g in terms of quality. Today, however, the recession has created price wars that continue to erode profitability especially with more consumers eating within the home and avoiding the high costs of restaurant eating. This is also noticeable in the fast food industry with new promotions being added to traditional menus, such as McDonald’s with its dollar menu variety. However, this marketing effort is not bring the type of profit results marketers had once experienced early in the recession. Today, new freebie offers and Internet-based incentives coupons are becoming the norm for many consumer segments (Glazer 2009). This shows a shift in consumer behaviour toward active searching in the consumer search process to identify coupons before they will frequent even their favourite restaurants. There is clearly a value-driven methodology in consumer groups that change their buying behaviours and choices. This is even apparent in how grocery stores market their food products, with t he new value-based consumer searching for low-cost products. Statistics indicate that 53 percent of today’s recession-minded consumers are buying fewer organic products and 50 percent are even turning toward generic or private label brands (Frozen Food Age 2008). Organic products and well-known product brands used to be the driver for significant profitability in the grocery industry, however the recession is changing the supply chain to identify new value for consumers in order to sustain their business. Morrisons, one of the largest grocers in the UK, has control over much of its supply chain and is therefore able to ride out the recession successfully by using new promotional tactics. The store is able to provide fresh food options at a much cheaper price than competition and uses this fresh quality positioning to sustain higher profitability than other markets without control over their purchasing system (Mortimer 2009). However, it shows that the consumer propensity to c hange from their loyal and trusted brands to generic and private label brands and how it has affected total marketing and purchasing/distribution strategies. The grocery industry has identified that 44 percent of shoppers now consider private label products to be on par or even better than long-standing trusted brands (just-style.com 2009). This is a danger to

WEEK 4 DQ 7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WEEK 4 DQ 7 - Assignment Example Legitimate, coercive and reward as forms of formal power. Personal power deals more with what other individuals see and regard of someone they respect or like, thus giving someone the ability to influence. Expert, information and referent power have been classified as personal power. An example of an unethical use of power was when I was instructed by my superior to perform a task that was supposed to be his. In this case, my superior exercised his formal power, and was able to influence me to do the work for him. My superior unethically used legitimate power over me, emphasizing that I should be the one following the orders. Such scenarios I believe are common in many organizations where the people in authority tend to abuse the power accompanied in the positions they fill in. Political behaviors are actions with which an individual or a group of individuals make to be able to influence others in the organization to get the result they want. The three dimensions of political behavior are: upward influence, downward influence and peer influence. Upward influence refers to the capability of the people at the lower level of the organization to influence the decisions of the people with authority in the organization. Downward influence is the capacity of a superior to influence those under his or her department, such as general managers influencing department managers and their subordinates. Peer influence is the most common and this usually occurs with people who are in the same level of the organization. In laymans term, this may also be seen as peer pressure. However, this kind of influence may be destructive if there is no common goal among the people involved. Individual and organizational antecedents greatly influence political behavior. Political skill, investment in organization, internal locus control and expectations of

Social networks weave uneasy web for workers Essay

Social networks weave uneasy web for workers - Essay Example ional secrets that are vital for the company’s success and for this reason the HRM feels that there should be ethics of using social networking websites. As well as employers think that use of social networking websites will turn their workers unproductive and less interested in the work. Moreover employers also have the fear of losing organization’s reputation when employees make unsuitable comments about their companies or employers. Despite of the valid reasons employers cannot stop the workers to quit using social networking websites during working hours; it’s a habit which is getting stronger day by day. Although, HRM can find out ways to make valuable use of social networking, which could be beneficial to their organizations rather than prohibiting the use of social webs (Holland 2011). This paper will suggest the ways how HRM can control the use of social networking websites of their workers, what policies should be created for use of such sites and how to make the beneficial use of social networking because on the other hand, it is an efficient source of spreading the business. Social networking is a useful tool, which can be used by companies as a way of communication between supervisors and subordinates. Moreover, social networking can form alliances and workers can help each other in their work by sharing information among them. Due to traditional hierarchy, flow of information among different departments and level of managements were difficult and time consuming and resulted to be the cause of delayed work and decisions. Social networking websites proved to be proficient in this regard as it quickly delivers the message between managers and the employees and the managers can make decisions instantly, without wastage of time. According to Swartz, a corporate social network make the duration of time shorter because these social webs convey the message in minimum time possible. Social networking indirectly decreases the completion time of work

Project on Cement Essay Example for Free

Project on Cement Essay Any accomplishment requires the effort of many people and this work is no different. I especially thank Mr. R.K.Gupta; Director of Cii CITMS, whose support and patience was instrumental in accomplishing this project. I would like to thank our Faculty Guide Miss.Pubali Koley whose diligent effort made this project possible. My grateful acknowledgement to all the staff member of Ultra tech Cement limited for their support and cooperation. At last again I want to extent my thanks to all the teachers of Cii CITMS – Durgapur for giving support and confidence for doing this project. [pic] This ambitious project at ULTRATECH CEMENT under the project title â€Å"ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY† has been carried out under the able guidance of company institutional experts. The vision or the objective of this project was to identify the Advertising needs. As the growth is a continuous process, so it is also very much important to find out the corners or the areas where the scope for the development is present. The effectiveness of the Advertising was also under the scan during this period where it is observed that the effective Advertising can effectively maximize sales volume revenue. This Advertising process is also effective to manage the planned sales strategy. The Advertising process at WEST BENGAL CEMENT WORKS is judiciously planned Divided into four parts. This practical project helped a lot to get the knowledge from all the avenues of the Marketing Management it is also perceived that it will help the company time to time in its growth process. Introduction T he function of Advertising is to close the gap between the desire performance and the actual job performance. The need for quality Advertising program is on the increase due to the fact that the highly competitive business environment is throwing up new and complex challenges, literally every day. New and complex services are coming into existence, thereby pushing up the need for high- quality Advertising program. Due to the slowdown in the economy, many jobs are coming into existence, many jobs cuts are taking place leading to a situation where works must retain themselves to stay employed in the same organization or to complete in the market place. [pic] †¢ To identify importance of Advertising in the organization. †¢ To identify the specific Advertising area. †¢ To identify the effectiveness of different types of advertising. †¢ To identify the best methods and techniques for advertising. †¢ The development of Advertising and sales promotion schemes to meet desired goals of organization. ââ€"   Increase in sales volume ââ€"   Maximize profit ââ€"   Developed sales promotion schemes [pic] ↠ Because of busy schedule of the employees the interview was quite tough after a quite of waiting time. ↠ Most of the executives were too busy, thus to obtain the desired accurate data there was a need to take the prior appointment from them. ↠ 50% of the sample size were not giving the correct feedback (due to varied hidden reason), thus there will be variance in the outcome of the study. ↠ Most of the employees were not confident about the proper management (misuse) of the information provided by them. ↠ They were also often reluctant in identifying the needed information. [pic] TITLE: â€Å"Advertising promotional strategy† at West Bengal Cement† Works.† Research methodology is the method through which the project has been done. This includes various sources of collecting data. TARGET GROUP: The target group for the survey was Managers, Officers, Supervisors and of â€Å"ULTRA TECH CEMENT LIMITED† and press releases. SAMPLE SIZE: Out of 38 employees, 35 were taken as a sample for the survey QUESTIONNAIRE The company is having small number of staff. So, the questionnaire was made mainly for Managers, Officers and Supervisors. Some specific questions have been prepared relating to the topic and have been analyzed in such a way that it can fulfill the objective of the project. FORMAL INTERVIEW: Formal interview has been taken during the non peak office hour. [pic] [pic] UltraTech [pic] OUR VISION TO BE PREMIUM GLOBAL CONGLOMERATE WITH A CLEAR FOCUS ON EACH BUSINESS OUR MISSION TO DELIVER SUPERIOR VALUE TO OUR CUSTOMER SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES AND SOCIETY AT LARGE OUR VALUES INTEGRITY, COMMITEMENT, PASSION SEAMLESSNESS AND SPEED UltraTech [pic] West Bengal Cement Works OUR RESOLUTIONS – 2009 †¢ ‘ZERO’ BREAK DOWN †¢ GOOD HOUSE KEEPING †¢ TRUST AND SUPPORT R.B.SINGH Sr.dy.general manager COMPANY PROFILE Company Name:UltraTech Cement Limited (An Aditya Birla group of company) Industry : Cement manufacturing Type of Company: Public Limited Company Unit Name Address:West Bengal Cement Works Near EPIP, MUCHIPARA, G.T. ROAD Post-Rajbandh Durgapur-713212 District- Burdwan West Bengal Registered Office : UltraTech Cement Limited B- Wing, Ahura centre, 2nd floor Mahakali Caves Road Andheri (east), Mumbai-400093 Board of Executives †¢ Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman †¢ Mrs. Rajashree Birla †¢ Mr. R. C. Bhargava †¢ Mr. G. M. Dave †¢ Mr. N. J. Jhaveri †¢ Mr. S. B. Mathur †¢ Mr. V. T. Moorthy †¢ Mr. O. P. Puranmalka †¢ Mr. S. Rajgopal †¢ Mr. D. D. Rathi †¢ Mr. S. Misra, Managing Director Board of Directors Executive President Chief Financial Officer Mr. K. C. Birla Chief Manufacturing Officer R.K. Shah Chief Marketing Officer Mr. O. P. Puranmalka Company Secretary Mr. S. K. Chatterjee AT THE HELM ULTRATECH The Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited is the Groups apex decision making body and provides strategic direction to Group companies. Its Board of Directors comprises: †¢ Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman †¢ Mr. S. Aga †¢ Mr. D. Bhattacharya †¢ Mr. S. K. Jain †¢ Dr. S. Misra †¢ Mr. S. Misra †¢ Dr. B. K. Singh †¢ Mr. K. K. Maheshwari †¢ Mr. Vikram Rao †¢ Mr. Ajay Srinivasan MILESTONES [pic] 2009 †¢ Grasims pulp and fibre division has won the highly prestigious Asian CSR Award. The Asian CSR Awards, Asias Premier CSR Awards program, is a project of the Asian Institute of Management, Manila. †¢ The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Government of Thailand will be conferred â€Å"The Best Labor Relations and Welfare Award, 2009† on Indo Thai Synthetic Company Limited. †¢ Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has been named The Asset Management Company of the Year, India, by the Hong Kong based magazine, The Asset, in the country awards category of their Triple an Investment Performance Awards 2009. †¢ CNBC TV18 Crisil recognized Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund as The Mutual Fund House of the Year in 2008 and 2009 (for 2007 and 2008), creating history as the only fund house to have won this recognition in two consecutive years. †¢ The Birla Sun Life Equity-Linked FMP won the Best Local Currency Structured Product-India at Triple an Investment Performance Awards 2009. †¢ The Best Onshore Fund House India Award by Asian Investor, a Hong Kong based magazine at Asian Investor Investment Performance Awards 2009†. †¢ Rajiv Gandhi Award for Eminence in Social Field, 2009 was conferred on Mrs. Rajashree Birla by Mr. Jyotiraditya Scandia (Union Minister of State, Commerce Industry) on 19 August 2009. The award recognizes Mrs. Birlas path breaking work among the poor, more so in Indias villages, carried out through the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development. †¢ Idea Cellular wins the Economic Times Emerging Company of the Year Award for 2009. MILESTONES [pic] 2008 †¢ The President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil conferred the much coveted Rotary International Polio Eradication Champion Award on Mrs. Rajashree Birla in an elegant function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Delhi), attended by the Chairman, select Rotarians and WHO officials. †¢ The Aditya Birla Group was honored with the India Today Groups Readers Digest Gold award in recognition of the work that truly exemplifies the highest values of society as well as those of Readers Digest. The award was received by Mrs. Rajashree Birla, Chairperson, and Aditya Birla Center for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, at the Pegasus Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2007 function. MILESTONES [pic] 2007 †¢ Hindalco in a joint venture with Alex USA Inc. Tran Works Information Services announces success of bid to acquire Minacs Worldwide. †¢ Grasim Industries Limited, India; Thai Rayon Public Company Limited, Thailand and P.T. Indo Bharat Rayon, Indonesia form a JV with Hubei Jingo Wei Chemical Fibre Company, China, for VSF. †¢ Hindalco awarded the Genentech Safety Silver Award for its outstanding safety performance during 2005-06 †¢ Hindalco awarded the CII Sorabji Green Business Centre National Award for Excellence in Water Management 2007. [pic] 2006 †¢ Indian Rayon re-christened as Aditya Birla Novo. †¢ Aditya Birla Group to set up a world-class aluminum project in Orissa. †¢ The Aditya Birla Group signs a framework agreement to acquire St Anne Nackawic Pulp Mill, Canada. †¢ Board reconstituted with Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla taking over as Chairman. †¢ Completion of the implementation process to demerge the cement business of LT and completion of open offer by Grasim, with the latter acquiring controlling stake in the newly formed company UltraTech. †¢ Grasim, Nada, received the FICCI Annual Award 2003-2004 in recognition of corporate initiative in rural development. MILESTONES [pic] 2005 †¢ Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Group, is selected as Business Indias Businessman of the Year 2003. †¢ Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is selected as The Economic Times Business Leader of the year. †¢ The Group is ranked 16th in Indias first ever survey of Great places to work in, published in Business World magazine. The Groups joint venture concern, Birla Sun Life Insurance, is ranked 9th in the same study. †¢ The Group is ranked 20th in a study on the Best Employers in India, conducted by Hewitt Associates and Business Today. †¢ Hindalco receives the Asian CSR Award for its Rural Poverty Alleviation Program. LOCATION OF W.B.C.W IN WEST BENGAL [pic] Organizational environment West Bengal Cement Works has rail road connectivity to meet inward outward logistics requirements. The private railway siding is connected to main line of eastern railway at Durgapur, which is 8.72 KM from plant. The cement is packed in bags with the help of three packers operating round the clock. The packed cement is dispatched to various destinations by road rail. Organization Culture ⠝â€" Purpose: To produce the cement as per marketing requirement with minimum cost. ⠝â€" Objective: Zero breakdown, Good Housekeeping, building trust support. ⠝â€" West Bengal Cement Works is having following facilities: âž ¢ Clinker unloading by wagon tippler (cap. 15 trips per hour) âž ¢ Fly ash bowers unloading system âž ¢ Cement mill with 1.0 million ton per annum capacity âž ¢ Cement dispatch facility by road rail âž ¢ Clinker, Gypsum fly ash receipt by rail road respectively Land Details: o Factory:61.67 Acres o 16 flat residential complex:10202.4 Esq. o Assisted siding:2830 M. o Private assisted siding:2210 M. WHY DURGAPUR? West Bengal Cement Works (WBCW) is the 10th cement manufacturing unit of Ultra Tech Cement Limited, Which is located at Durgapur. ⠝â€" RAW MATERIALS Clinker : Hirmi Cement Works Fly Ash : Bakreswar Thermal Power Station Durgapur Project Limited (DPL) Gypsum : Hindi Liver Chemicals, Haldia Slag : Durgapur Steel Plant (DPL) Bokaro Steel Plant POWER : GPL, DVC TRANSPORT : North Eastern Railway, National Highway-2 WATER : River Damodar MARKET : Local Growth of City development LAND : 62.92 acres of good land for Construction. CAPITAL : Huge number of Bank for getting easy Cash MANPOWER : Available amount of skilled and Unskilled Labors from local area DEMOCRACY : Good demographic structure is found Here CEMENT PROCESS GYPSUM from Yard Gypsum hopper Electronic weigh feeder SLAG from Yard Slag hopper FLUASH from Bin Supplied SCHENK For accurate quantity CLINKER from Silo Slag hopper to Mill SEPAX SEPARATION CEMENT PACKING PLANT PRODUCT MIXESPacking in 50 kg bag with electronic packer loading in truck or rack PORTLAND POZZALANA CEMENT CLINKER : 70-74% FLYASH : 20-25% FLYASH : 3-4% PORTLAND SLAG CEMENT CLINKER : 50-54% SLAG : 40-42% GYPSUM : 3-5% Plant Layout [pic] A Partial View of West Bengal Cement Works [pic] [pic] ON [pic] [pic] ââ€" ¡ Advertising is the dissemination of information by non personal means through paid media, where the source is clearly identified as the sponsoring organization. Advertising is one of the important components of the promotion mix. It is a powerful communication medium and a vital marketing tool. FEATURES: ââ€" ¡ Advertising is one of the methods of promotion mix. ââ€" ¡ It is a paid mass communication, not aiming at a specific individual. ââ€" ¡ It is salesmanship in writing or printed salesmanship. ââ€" ¡ It is undertaken to influence the buying behavior of the customers. ââ€" ¡ The communication media are diverse such as print (newspapers and magazines), broadcast (radio and television), and direct (mail, billboards and motion pictures). `NATURE OF ADVERTISING ↠ Element of Marketing Mix ↠ Promotion Mix ↠ Mass Communication ↠ Massages ↠ Price of Advertising ↠ Sponsor ↠ Persuasive ↠ Element of Control ↠ Identifiable ↠ Target Group SCOPE OF ADVERTISING ↠ Effectiveness of Massages ↠ Appropriate Media ↠ Merchandise ↠ Advertising Functions ↠ Responsibility of Advertiser ↠ Fulfillment of Objectives ↠ Generates Various Activities ↠ Advertising as an Art Science PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING: âž ¢ To increase sales âž ¢ Persuading dealers to stock âž ¢ Assisting dealers to stock âž ¢ Increase in per capita use âž ¢ Recognition for quality âž ¢ Protecting manufacturers’ interest âž ¢ To eliminate seasonal fluctuations âž ¢ Creation of demand SECONDARY FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING: âž ¢ Oral support to salesman âž ¢ To furnish correct information âž ¢ Ensures product improvement âž ¢ Sense of security âž ¢ Appointment of efficient employees †¢ The scope of Advertising includes these activities such as selection of media, communication with customers, and maintenance of brand loyalty and so on. Advertising Objectives: ââ€" ª Simulating Demand : âÅ"“ The current user of a product may be persuaded to increase the existing rate of product consumption. This may be reminding them about the product, its brand and the possible advantages of the product. âÅ"“ The second way of stimulating demand for the product is to attract new user into the market by telling them the qualities of the product and possible uses so that they may change their brand. âÅ"“ The third way of stimulating demand is to tell the current users about new users of the product so that customers may use the company’s product for several other purposes. ââ€" ª Increasing profits âÅ"“ Advertising does increase sale of the product. âÅ"“ Advertising will reduce various ‘marketing costs’ Specific objectives of Advertising: âÅ"“ It introduces new product to potential customers. âÅ"“ âÅ"“ It promotes the brand by repeat purchase leading to brand loyalty. âÅ"“ It increases the timing and number of uses. âÅ"“ It builds the product and company image. âÅ"“ It sets the trend by changing perception and behavior. âÅ"“ It aids sales promotion campaign. âÅ"“ It shoots up the sale and increases the market share. âÅ"“ It answers the competitive attacks. Reminder advertising: †¢ Reminding them where to buy it. †¢ Maintaining its top of mind awareness. ââ€" ª Information Advertising : âÅ"“ Informing the market about a new product âÅ"“ Suggesting new uses for a product. âÅ"“ Informing the market of a price change. âÅ"“ Explaining how the products work. âÅ"“ Describing the available services. âÅ"“ Correcting the false information’s. âÅ"“ Reducing consumers fears. âÅ"“ Building up a company’s image. ââ€" ª Persuasive advertising : âÅ"“ Building brand preference. âÅ"“ Encouraging switching to your brand. âÅ"“ Persuading customer to purchase now. âÅ"“ Persuading customer to receive a sales call. Advertising Goals: âÅ"“ To increases sales âÅ"“ To establish brand equity, and âÅ"“ To enter the target market. Behavioral goals: âÅ"“ Advertising goals aim at changing the attitude and behavior of the target audience towards a brand. âÅ"“ Advertising goals in behavioral terms is analysis of the communication and decision process that will affect the desired buyer behavior. âÅ"“ Advertising could be aimed at any of these or a communication of these intervening variables. Communication Related goals: âÅ"“ Advertising is directed at a group of users of product called the target audience. âÅ"“ Attract attention âÅ"“ Secure interest. âÅ"“ Build desire for the product and finally âÅ"“ Obtain action. Approaches for setting Advertising Objectives: ââ€" ª AIDAS model âÅ"“ A’ refers to Attention âÅ"“ ‘I’ refers to Interest âÅ"“ ‘D’ refers to Desire âÅ"“ ‘A’ refers to action; and âÅ"“ ‘S’ refers to Satisfaction ADVERTISING COPY ELEMENTS âž ¢ Headlines âž ¢ Subheading âž ¢ Body copy âž ¢ Captions âž ¢ Blurb or balloon âž ¢ Boxes and panels âž ¢ Slogan, Logo, Signature GUIDELINES FOR COPY WRITING âž ¢ Cash in on your personal experience âž ¢ Write from the heart âž ¢ Learn from the experience of others âž ¢ Study the product âž ¢ Study competitors’ advertisement âž ¢ Study testimonials from customers âž ¢ Solve the prospect’s problem âž ¢ Put your subconscious mind to work âž ¢ â€Å"Ring the changes† on a successful idea COLOUR ↠ Colors are often used to attract attention and to enhance memory value. ADVERTISING LAYOUT PROCESS [pic][pic] VARIOUS ADVERTISING MEDIA ââ€" ¡ PRINT MEDIA: âž ¢ Newspapers âž ¢ Magazines âž ¢ Journals ââ€" ¡ OUTDOOR MEDIA: âž ¢ Advertising Boards âž ¢ Vehicle advertising âž ¢ Electric displays âž ¢ Sky writing âž ¢ Sandwich men ââ€" ¡ DIRECT MAIL: âž ¢ Leaflets âž ¢ Sales letters âž ¢ Folders âž ¢ Booklets âž ¢ Catalogues âž ¢ Brouchers ââ€" ª BROADCASTING MEDIA: âž ¢ Radio âž ¢ T.V âž ¢ Film âž ¢ Web based advertising [pic] AN OVERVIEW S ales promotion includes all those activities other than advertising, personal selling, public relation and publicity, that are intended to stimulate customer demand and improve the marketing performance of sellers. Need of sales promotion: ââ€" ª To secure attention towards new products. ââ€" ª To improve the market share of a company. ââ€" ª To avoid duplication of goods. ââ€" ª To create awareness among consumers about new brands. ââ€" ª To face competition in the market. ââ€" ª To create talking points for their sales force. SALES PROMOTION TOOLS ââ€" ª Contest ââ€" ª Premium offers ââ€" ª Mail – in free offers ââ€" ª Free gifts with goods ââ€" ª Picture cards ââ€" ª Gift coupons ââ€" ª Coupons ââ€" ª Cross coupons ââ€" ª Jumbo packs ââ€" ª Money – off offers ââ€" ª Sales letters SALES PROMOTION STRATEGY [pic] ADVERTISING SALES PROMOTION STRATEGY TAKEN BY ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED ADITYA BIRLA GROUP AT A GLANCE o The roots of the Aditya Birla Group date back to the 19th century in the picturesque town of Pilani set amidst the Rajasthan desert. It was here that Seth Shiv Narayan Birla started trading in cotton, laying the foundation for the House of Birlas. Through Indias arduous times of the 1850s, the Birla business expanded rapidly. In the early part of the 20th century, our Groups founding father, Ghanshyamdas Birla, set up industries in critical sectors such as textiles and fibre, aluminums, cement and chemicals. As a close confidante of Mahatma Gandhi, he played an active role in the Indian freedom struggle. He represented India at the first and second round-table conference in London, along with Gandhiji. It was at Birla House in Delhi that the luminaries of the Indian freedom struggle often met to plot the downfall of the British Raj. Aditya Vikram Birla: putting India on the world map |[pic] | | | A formidable force in Indian industry, Mr. Aditya Birla dared to dream of setting up a global business empire at the age of 24. He was the first to put Indian business on the world map, as far back as 1969, long before globalization became a buzzword in India. In the then vibrant and free market South East Asian countries, he ventured to set up world-class production bases. He had foreseen the winds of change and staked the future of his business on a competitive, free market driven economy order. He put Indian business on the globe, 22 years before economic liberalization was formally introduced by the former Prime Minister, Mr. Narasimha Rao and the former Union Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh. He set up 19 companies outside India, in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Egypt. [pic] Quality push: Mr. B. Venugopal, Senior Vice-President, UltraTech Cement Ltd, at the inauguration of mobile concrete laboratory in Durgapur. UltraTech Cement, as part of its ‘product plus’ services, has introduced a mobile concrete testing laboratory for ascertaining the quality of reinforcement materials and for guiding those building houses about its quality. ULTRATECH: BRAND POWER Excerpts from an interview with O.P. Puranmalka, Group Executive President, Grasim Industries and Chief Marketing Officer, UltraTech Cement Ltd. |[pic] | | | In step with its global agenda, the cement business of the Aditya Birla Group, is orchestrating a contemporary brand makeover. With UltraTech Cement, the Aditya Birla Group has established itself as not only the most respected domestic player but also among the global leaders in cement. Associate Editor Vidyut Kumar Ta in an exclusive interview with O.P. Puranmalka, Group Executive President, Grasim Industries and Chief Marketing Officer, UltraTech Cement Limited, analyses the strategy behind promoting a single brand identity of the companys cement products. Signature line [pic] The name UltraTech with the signature line, The Engineers Choice, admirably captures the premium nature of the brand and its salience. According to Mr. Puranmalka, excellent product quality and customer care will remain the hallmark of UltraTech cement. Jaan Wahi Pehchaan Nayi [pic] K eeping pace with the current industry trend and taking the UltraTech brand to a new pedestal, the group decided to have one national brand. Birla Plus with its very strong presence in the North was a very well known brand. Its tag line Har Nirman Ki Jaan and Is cement mein Jaan Hain had become household phrases. Observes Mr. Puranmalka: We opted for UltraTech as the national brand because while on the one hand, it gives us the opportunity to strengthen common attributes of a premium brand, scale of operations and the Aditya Birla Groups reputation, it also provides an opportunity to build on the positioning platform of expert and imagery signifying progress, cutting edge technology and modernity. Strategy A lthough cement is said to be a low-involvement category, the brand awareness in this category is very high. Major brands like ACC, Ambuja and some strong regional brands have been fighting for mind space. Says Mr. Puranmalka: Brand awareness is the category driver. We wanted to be different and were constantly on the look out for high visibility media. We found that cricket has a great following in our country and we wanted to explore the possibility of associating with this sport. CHAK – DE STRATEGY [pic] I ndia, the worlds largest producer of movies in as many as 10-12 different languages, provides a great opportunity for advertisers to reach the masses. Films are a great entertainment platform for most Indians. Many FMCGs have encased this opportunity. The in-film branding opportunity was used by UltraTech for the first time ever in the cement industry. The film Chak De India, promoting womens hockey in India, became an all-time hit. In the movie UltraTech was the sponsor of the Indian womens hockey team. UltraTech branding was all over, throughout the movie. It was a big gamble we took,  says Mr. Puranmalka. Initially we were skeptical, with many big banners with big stars failing in the recent past. After a lot of deliberation, we decided to go ahead with this gamble and finally Chak De India almost became like a national anthem, with India winning the womens hockey title in reality and our cricket team winning the inaugural 20-20 World Cup. BRANDED CHANNELS S urging ahead of competition, the cement business brought in a new concept in cement marketing — UltraTech Building Solutions, a one-stop shop for all construction needs. This is a unique concept and was tested in Rajkot which is one of the fastest-growing cities in construction in the country today, says Mr. Puranmalka. Advocating our Plan, Build and Support philosophy, it seeks to enhance the shopping experience of customers and strengthen existing trade partnerships, by upgrading the service proposition. It offers a wide spectrum of end-to-end home building solutions, high quality construction materials and allied value-added services. As a business model, UltraTech Building Solutions offers home building solutions from planning to completion. B asically, every customer who walks in to UltraTech Building Solutions outlet receives guidance on construction-related issues as well as value-added services like Vastu, usage of budget software to estimate costs involved for construction, paper clearance procedures, etc. The customer gets a ready reckoner of information on how to choose and buy quality construction materials. With the Rajkot success and with key learning points, the company intends to open many more outlets across the country. Measuring Effectiveness O nce the goals are well defined we need to measure the effectiveness of all such initiatives that are undertaken from time to time, says Mr.  Puranmalka. We are research-savvy in our approach. We go into minute details to find out the cause and effect, keeping the larger picture in mind. This is true right from the selection of the brand name UltraTech to ad campaign testing, media effectiveness and so on. Regular Brand Health Monitoring studies are undertaken to understand various critical issues like awareness, usage pattern, equity indices, psycho-economic mix of the target group (TG), etc. Mr. Puranmalka adds: Recently we initiated and completed a customer satisfaction survey to understand the expectations of customers and benchmark with the best in the industry. Of course there are some insights, which we need to address internally, but overall we are happy with the outcome. The results are very encouraging and you would be glad to know we are steering ahead of competition. Rajasthan Royals ropes in UltraTech as team sponsor: ⠝â€" Rajasthan Royals has roped in UltraTech Cement as their team sponsor. With this, the Emerging Media-owned IPL franchises sponsor roster stands at eight. ⠝â€" Rajasthan Royals CMO Raghu Iyer, All deals are intended to be long-term. Our earlier team sponsor was Bajaj Allianz but we agreed to mutually part ways amicably. ⠝â€" UltraTech Cement will have branding on the team jerseys and team-replica merchandise. Iyer added that plans are being worked upon as to how the two parties can best take this relationship forward. ⠝â€" As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, TCS is the franchisees technology partner. TCS will offer expertise in IT solutions to the T20 cricket team on and off the field for the next three years. The Television Plan: âž ¢ The franchisee is planning activities with Super sport which will air the IPL in South Africa. Rajasthan Royals had earlier entered into a strategic  partnership with the Nashua Cape Cobras. The first match will be played on 11 April. In the days preceding the encounter, there will be special features in the form of player profiles and interviews. âž ¢ In India the franchises partners are Aaj Tak and Times Now. The plan is to offer them special footage and capsules. Ayer added that the franchisee is in talks with several broadcasters to air their DVD. Victory will be aired on the channel. âž ¢ Rajasthan Royals claims that it is witnessing good sales of the two DVDs that it has launched earlier. While Road to Victory is about how the team triumphed in the IPLs inaugural edition, Access All Areas aims to give fans an idea of what goes on behind-the-scenes to make the IPL a success. [pic] The prime purpose of the project is to identify Advertising and sales promotion strategies of ULTRA TECH CEMENT LIMITED. The ingredient for a successful analysis is a structured questionnaire, for the better construction of analysis of the data generated from the questionnaire. The following step by step analysis is a proportionate mix of good high quality and dire views. 1. How ‘advertising’ is effective to increase the sales volume? Always: 65% To great extent: 25% To some extent: 10% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: As there is no magic for success and to increase sales volume and profit, Advertising is the only key. 2. How ‘advertising’ is effective to stimulate demand for the product? Always: 60% To great extent: 25% To some extent: 15% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Without advertising its’ very complex to stimulate demand for product. 3. DO you feel that ‘Advertising’ will reduce various ‘marketing costs’? Always: 55% To great extent: 35% To some extent: 10% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Advertising is so effective to reduce various marketing costs. 4. Do you feel that ‘Advertising’ increases repeat purchasing? Always: 70% To great extent: 20% To some extent: 5% To very little extent: 5% Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Maximum no. of customer accepts that advertising increase repeat purchasing. 5. Do you feel that ‘Advertising’ informing the market about a new product? Always: 85% To great extent: 10% To some extent: 5% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Advertising is highly effective to inform the market about new product. 6. Is ‘Advertising’ act as building up a company’s image? Always: 68% To great extent: 23% To some extent: 5% To very little extent: 4% Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Advertising is a successive method to build up company’s image. 7. How ‘Advertising’ is helpful method for market positioning? Always: 52% To great extent: 25% To some extent: 10% To very little extent: 7% Not at all: 6% [pic] Remark: Advertising is quite impressive method for market positioning. 8. How ‘Sales Promotion’ effectual to improve the market share of a company? Always: 55% To great extent: 20% To some extent: 15% To very little extent: 10% Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Sales promotion is effective policy to improve the market share of a company according to people. 9. How ‘sales promotion’ work to face competition in the market? Always: 70% To great extent: 20% To some extent: 10% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Sales promotion used as effective tool to face competition in the market. 10. Do you feel that ‘Sales Promotion’ should attract the attention of the target audience? Always: 75% To great extent: 20% To some extent: 5% To very little extent: 0.0 Not at all: 0.0 [pic] Remark: Sales promotion should attract the attention of the target audience to purchase particular product. ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS Most advertiser try to measure the communication effect of an AD – that is, its potential effect on awareness, knowledge, or preference. They would also like to measure the AD’S sales effect. ââ€" ª The consumer feedback method asks consumers questions such as these: 1) What is the main message you get from this AD? 2) How likely is it that this AD will influence you to undertake the action? 3) What works well in the AD what works poorly? 4) How does the AD make you feel? 5) Where is the best place to reach you with this message? ââ€" ª Portfolio tests ask consumers to view or listen to a portfolio of advertisements. Recall level indicates an ad’s ability to stand out and to have its message understood and remembered. ââ€" ª Laboratory tests use equipment to measure physiological reactions – heartbeat, blood pressure, pupil dilation, galvanic skin response, perspiration – to an ad. SALES EFFECT RESEARCH What sales are generated by an ad that increases brand awareness by 20% and brand preference by 10%? The fewer or more controllable other factors such as features and price are, the easier it is measure advertising’s effect on sales. The sales impact is easiest to measure in direct marketing situations and hardest in brand or corporate image – building advertising. Companies are generally interested in finding out whether they are overspending on advertising. Researchers try to measure the sales impact through analyzing historical or experimental data. [pic] SALES PROMOTION EFFECTIVENESS [pic] O nce the goals are well defined we need to measure the effectiveness of all such initiatives that are undertaken from time to time, says Mr. Puranmalka. We are research-savvy in our approach. We go into minute details to find out the cause and effect, keeping the larger picture in mind. This is true right from the selection of the brand name UltraTech to ad campaign testing, media effectiveness and so on. Regular Brand Health Monitoring studies are undertaken to understand various critical issues like awareness, usage pattern, equity indices, psycho-economic mix of the target group (TG), etc. Mr. Puranmalka adds: Recently we initiated and completed a customer satisfaction survey to understand the expectations of customers and benchmark with the best in the industry. Of course there are some insights, which we need to address internally, but overall we are happy with the outcome. The results are very encouraging and you would be glad to know we are steering ahead of competition. [pic] The improvement in sales profit is the evident for an organization. So requirement of advertising and promotional schemes is tremendous. ↠ The structure of a persuasive message can influence the effectiveness of advertising. ↠ Customers influenced by message appeals like comparative, fear and humor appeals. ↠ The designs of advertisement impress customers. Design means the arrangement of various parts in a pre determined order say a blue print. ↠ Advertising media should be elected carefully. Media reduces gap between customer and manufacturer. ↠ Sales promotion schemes lead to increase of sales. [pic] ↠ It has been observed during the course of questionnaire survey that 56% interviews suggested improvement of advertising and sales promotion techniques. Management is being advised to improve inefficiencies such as: âž ¢ Advertising message should be meaningful. âž ¢ Avoid unethical advertisings. âž ¢ Reduce use of women as sex objects in Ads. âž ¢ Banned on alcohol tobacco ad. âž ¢ Reduce using of false claims info. âž ¢ Careful about social values consumer rights. ↠ These are some initial steps which improve advertising efficiency. Efficient advertising and sales promotion schemes increase profit of organization. So, it helpful to meet organization goals. [pic] †¢ PHILIP KOTLER, Marketing Management †¢ Monthly Magazine issued by company †¢ Mr.B.Devamaindhan, Advertising management and Sales promotion †¢ Web based information CONCLUSION †¢ Design good layout and message of advertising to make it effective. †¢ Organize sales promotion programs to increase sales volume and repeat purchase. †¢ Care about ethical issues and social values. †¢ Provide quality service to the customers. †¢ Use reliable schemes to promote consumers. A FINANCIAL REPORT ON ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED Cash Flow statement of UltraTech Cement Limited |Profit before tax |1,361.46 |1,507.01 |1,166.19 |285.59 |43.24 | |Net cash flow-operating activity|1,457.57 |1,375.26 |1,113.09 |551.63 |337.42 | |Net cash used in investing |-1,645.43 |-1,441.79 |-1,046.25 |-357.24 |-87.18 | |activity | | | | | | |Net cash used in fin. Activity |191.66 |77.63 |-38.84 |-191.02 |-235.81 | |Net inc/dec in cash and |3.80 |11.10 |27.99 |3.37 |14.43 | |equivalent | | | | | | |Cash and equivalent begin of |100.69 |89.59 |61.60 |58.23 |41.83 | |year | | | | | | |Cash and equivalent end of year |104.49, |100.69, |89.59, |61.60 |56.6 | Dividend Sheet of UltraTech Cement YEARMONTH DIVIDEND (%) |2009 |Apr | | | | |50 | |2008 |Apr | | | | |50 | |2007 |Mar | | | | |40 | |2006 |Jul | | | | |18 | |2005 |Apr | | | | |8 | |2004 |Sep | 5 | Annual results in brief – UltraTech Cement Limited |   |Mar 09 |Mar 08 |Mar 07 |Mar 06 |Mar 05 | |Sales |6,436.96 |5,509.22 |4,910.83 |3,299.45 | | | | | | | |2,681.05 | |Operating profit |1,760.29 |1,720.06 |1,417.81 |554.26 |272.81 | |Interest |125.51 |75.67 |86.83 |89.64 | | | | | | | |106.88 | |Gross profit |1,684.46 |1,744.24 |1,392.44 |501.62, | | | | | | | |188.18 | |EPS (Rs) |78.48 |80.94 |62.84 |18.46 |0.23 | Profit loss account |   |Mar 09 |Mar 08 |Mar 07 |Mar 06 |Mar 05 | |Income | | | | | | |Operating income |6,385.50 |5,512.43 |4,909.05 |3,299.45 |2,681.05 | |Expenses | | | | | | |Material consumed |1,193.97 |1,008.92 |902.06 |733.72 |609.13 | |Manufacturing expenses   |1,805.56 |1,314.78 |1,194.54 |958.30 |839.40 | |Personnel expenses |216.76 |171.55 |117.22 |92.26 |72.96 | |Selling expenses |1,256.46 |1,143.02 |1,137.66 |843.99 |650.98 | |Administrative expenses |177.93 |160.03 |133.93 |109.57 |137.36 | |Expenses capitalized |-8.38 |-13.37 |- |- |- | |Cost of sales |4,642.30 |3,784.93 |3,485.41 |2,737.84 |2,309.83 | |Operating profit |1,743.20 |1,727.50 |1,423.64 |561.61 |371.22 | |Other recurring income |99.29 |87.31 |57.65 |23.11 |21.70 | |Adjusted PBDIT |1,842.49 |1,814.81 |1,481.29 |584.72 |392.92 | |Financial expenses |134.09 |81.93 |92.61 |96.99 |128.05 | |Depreciation   |323.00 |237.23 |226.25 |216.03 |221.78 | |Other write offs |- |- |- |- |- | |Adjusted PBT |1,385.40 |1,495.65 |1,16 2.43 |271.70 |43.09 | |Tax charges |384.44 |499.40 |383.91 |55.83 |-36.45 | |Adjusted PAT |1,000.96 |996.25 |778.52 |215.87 |79.54 | |Non recurring items |-23.94 |11.36 |3.76 |1.48 |-77.24 | |Other non cash adjustments |- |- |- |12.41 |0.55 | |Reported net profit |977.02 |1,007.61 |782.28 |229.76 |2.85 | |Earning before appropriation |2,575.14 |1,782.77 |962.85 |239.87 |20.77 | |Equity dividend |62.24 |62.24 |49.79 |21.79 |9.33 | |Preference dividend |- |- |- |- |- | |Dividend tax |10.58 |10.58 |6.98 |3.06 |1.33 | |Retained earnings |2,502.32 |1,709.95 |906.08 |215.02 |10.11 | SUBSTANCE: Observing this financial report we say the company is in good condition financially. The gross profit of this company was 188.18 in Mar 05’ and it increased 1496.28 in Mar 09’. We find a steady growth of UltraTech cement limited in six year. Company’s dividend jump 5 – 50 in six year only (2004 – 2009). Net profit was 2.85 in Mar 05’ and 977.02 in Mar 09’. Advertising expenses of UltraTech cement limited jump 605.48 point in six years (04 – 05). Advertising expenses of this company increases cause of advertising formulation strategy being changed. Company wants to capture potential market by good advertising and sales promotion activities. [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] PCS SILO1 PCS SILO2 BALL MILL Step 1 THUMBNAIL SKETCHES STEP 2 ROUGH STEP 3 COMPREHENSIVE STEP 4 PASTE UP OR MECHANICAL DEFINING THE SALES PROMOTION TARGET SETTING SALES PROMOTION OBJECTIVES SETTING THE SALESPROMOTION BUDGET DEVELOPING THE SALES PROMOTION STRATEGY SELECTING TYPE OF SALES PROMOTION COORDINATING THE PLAN EVALUATING SALES PROMOTION EFFECTIVENESS SHARE OF MARKET SHARE OF MIND AND HEART SHARE OF VOICE SHARE OF EXPENDITURES

Group Definition Of Cross Cultural Awareness Management Essay

Group Definition Of Cross Cultural Awareness Management Essay The purpose of this report is to add to the group slide presentation on cross cultural awareness and the training program that was formulated to tackle the issue. Within this report there will be a summary of each the points that the group focused on. The task that the group were faced with was in the form of a training program that was geared towards increasing cross cultural awareness of a group of 10 British sales managers who work for IBM. Group Definition of Cross Cultural Awareness As more companies expand globally involving expatriates, the need for culture awareness has increased. The lack of cultural awareness is the main cause of misunderstanding and conflicts because of the cultural differences and where the behaviour perception of one culture may be different for another. (Cushner Brislin, 1996). The authors gave different names to cross-cultural awareness such as cross-cultural competence, cross-cultural training, intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity. Based on several academic literatures, cross-cultural awareness means that a good understanding of its own culture will help the individual to understand more the others cultures and then to be more successful in cross cultural behaviour. In other words, the individual should be conscious enough of their own culture in developing the managers intercultural competence. That means increasing the ability to behave in intercultural way and improving communication across cultures as the intercultural competence shows consideration for others needs and fulfilment of ones own satisfactions (Gupta Govindarajan, 2002). In addition, cross-cultural awareness enables the individual to create a self-awareness through which he can identify his own knowledge and cultural values. Importance of Cross-Cultural Awareness Cross-cultural awareness is considered an important tool that reduces the consequences of cross-cultural conflict. It helps to learn how to behave in appropriate way across different cultures and create a feeling for these cultural differences. This results in enhancing cross-cultural communication skills like listening, speaking and observing which play a vital role to build trust between people of different cultures. The improvement of partnership skills as well, that requires a greater international collaboration. In addition, it decreases the cross-cultural misunderstanding and creates a winning working environment in the workplace. It is a business benefit and cost-effective solution for many companies since it maximizes their potential globally and develops the intercultural sensitivity of expatriates by providing better results to the organisation. It has a significant importance because the expatriates would understand and accept and build a strong relationship with people fr om various cultural backgrounds. Appropriateness of Training Bush and Thomas (2000) explain that it is of a main important for developing successful buyer-seller relationship. A sales manager will have to go through special training which we can call cultural diversity training. Before going through this training Bush and Thomas (2000) argue that it is a requirement for sales people to be exposed to a culturally diverse encounter. This phase will lead sales managers to realise the impact cultural diversity will have on business relationship and will enable them to be really aware of its importance, instead of neglecting it. Requirements can be achieved thanks to management training games such as the BAFA BAFA game. This game begins with the creation of two teams. The sales management team will have to be split into two teams that have different languages and cultures and will have to handle with the rules of the game, and to understand each culture. This game has a long history of success and it was proved to be a good tool to make people from different background work more effectively together. Once the sales managers are aware of the benefit cross cultural training could bring to them, they can move on the proper training. Montagno,R.(1996) say this will enable sales mangers to  acquire the three main qualities needed to do business abroad such as initiate conversation and establish and maintain a meaningful relationship. Type, content and length of training Seven types of training were identified by researchers Litrell and Salas (2005). These seven approaches are identified in the appendix. Each of the seven have their meanings, for example with regards to the groups specific training program, language training means that individuals do not have to become fluent but a general understanding of common courtesies in the host language is provided. (Befus 1988; Bennett 1986) It was decided that six months would be a worthy timescale for the training to take place in order to cover the ten methods and contents chosen by the group. These ten, were sourced from the handbook of intercultural training the ten can be viewed in table 1. These link to the groups definition of cross cultural awareness because the group had identified the key words, such as sensitivity, which is linked to the content of culture sensitizer. From the ten, a table (table 1) was created, which described factors such as what the outcome of the training will be, whether the training will give them knowledge into about or across cultures, what the learning styles would be as different people have different learning styles, for example British people have a different style to American people. The ten were chosen because we felt these were most likely to fit the definition of cross cultural awareness that we produced, for example self-awareness will give employees an understanding about their own culture as well as other peoples cultures. Table 1: Training Methods Cultural Effects Yang, et al (2009) suggest that the effect of trainees cultural background could be examines by Hofstede cultural dimensions. According to Hofstede (1994), nation cultural is defined as the collective programming of the mind in a nation or region. Hofstede (2009) suggested that cultural has several dimensions which include Individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, time orientation, power distance and masculinity and femininity. The review on cultural effect to the British participants learning performance will base on Hofstedes framework. Table 2 is a summary of the participants cultural effect: Table 2 Cultural Effects in Cross Cultural Training (Sources: Geert Hofstede, 2010) Dimensions Score Effects Approaches Individualism/Collectivism 89 The UK individualism cultural have higher intrinsic motivation than participants from collectivism cultural. The UKs participants valence and training motivation are higher when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. The UKs participants cultural adopt a concrete, intuitive, and inductive learning style. Uncertainty Avoidance 35 The UK participants cultural training effectiveness is associated with a lower level of valence. Short/Long-term Oriented 51 The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. As a result, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. Power Distance 35 The UK participants cultural is higher when the training is implemented by using a decision-making process. Muscularity/ femininity 66 The participants culture will have higher training motivation and valence when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. The UK has high individualism culture, Yang et al. (2009) showed that participants from individualism cultures have higher intrinsic motivation than participants from collectivism cultures and their valence and training motivation are higher when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. Therefore, the training program should focus on increasing individual performance rather than organizations competencies. Yang, et al. (2009) reported individual cultures adopt a concrete, intuitive, and inductive learning style. As a result, the course shall include elements of solid example to gain best result from participants. They also suggested lower uncertainty avoidance cultural training effectiveness is associated with a lower level of valence. Consequently, the training shall include more individual works rather than group works. They found that the participants from short term oriented will require immediate benefit from the training program. However, the participants from long term oriented will require future benefit from the training program. The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. Therefore, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. Yang et al. (2009) found that the participants from short term oriented will require immediate benefit from the training program. However, the participants from long term oriented will require future benefit from the training program. The UKs culture has an average score on time oriented dimension. Therefore, the course shall take care on both long-terms and short terms benefits. They also suggested that masculinity cultural will have higher training motivation and valence when training is perceived to increase the competencies of individuals. Therefore, the training program should focus on increasing individual performance rather than organizations competencies. Evaluation The evaluation is an important stage to be considered in the implementation of cross-culture training. It aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cross-culture training by linking logically the content of measures to the training content (Kraiger et al, 1993), assess the improvement of participants awareness about cultural differences and whether the skills and knowledge learned from the training has been implemented in the workplace (Littrell, Salas, 2005) in order to provide recommendations for future cross-culture training. In order to evaluate IBMs cross-culture training, it is important for the evaluator to understand the meaning of culture awareness and sensitivity and set up success criteria for CCT program (Guzman, 2003). Only then they can evaluate participants knowledge and cross-culture training outcomes. The evaluation requires mixed methods including both qualitative and quantitative in order to increase the reliability of the findings. Thus, we will use various evaluation methods at this stage namely conducting interviews with participants in order to determine the change of their cognitive, affective and cognitive behaviour during the training, their self-maintenance and their adjustment to multicultural environment that have been also mentioned by Cross, et al, (1992) A set of congruent behaviours, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross cultural situations. Th is method will be followed by pre-training and post-training survey in order to rate their competency and ability to deal with different cultures in the workplace. The return on investment (ROS) should also be used in order to measure the outcomes of this CCT program. This will help to decide whether CCT program should be modified or not and improve it in the future. Conclusion In conclusion, the pace of globalisation has raised a great attention of managers on the cross-cultural issues due to the conflicts and misunderstanding encountered in the workplace. These issues led to harsh consequences taking the form of frustrated shareholders and business opportunity losses. Therefore, there is a growing need to have an extensive interpersonal skills and knowledge than in past (Kealey and Protheroe, 1996). In other words, companies with an international growth strategy, such as our company IBM, are getting to implement a cross-cultural training for their global managers dealing with individuals from various cultures and this was an effective strategy to achieve their multicultural objectives and organisational performances. The six-month cross-cultural training implemented in IBM sales department will be a mean for our managers to increase their cultural awareness both at the professional and individual level including their communication and negotiation skills. Word Count: 1500 (exclude the tables and references) Appendix: Presentation Slides

Company Comparison of Customer Satisfaction

Company Comparison of Customer Satisfaction CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH FINDINGS: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 4.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter attempts to analyse questionnaire findings regarding customer satisfaction with the two land transport companies involved in the present study: a publicly-owned company (referred to as Company A) and a privately-owned company (referred to as Company B). Satisfaction rates of customers of both companies are also compared against each other in Chapter Five to illustrate which company provides more satisfactory services to its customers. Seventy questionnaires were distributed to the passengers of Company A and sixty to the passengers of Company B. Fifty questionnaires were completed by passengers of each company and returned to the researcher. This gives response rates of 71.4% and 83.3%, respectively. These return rates are acceptable response rates. Passengers who declined to participates either they claimed that they were not interested in the survey, whereas some other claimed they did not have the time to complete the questionnaire. 4.2 FACTORS MOTIVATING CUSTOMERS TO DEAL WITH THE COMPANY A Responses to the factors that have motivated the customers of this company are presented in Table 4.1 and illustrated in Figures 4.1 to 4.3. Factors motivating customers are divided into three groups: Reliability and Customer Service (RCS) factors (eight factors), Convenience and Accessibility (CA) factors (nine factors) and On-Board Services (OBS) (five factors). Responses to the eighteen statements are illustrated in Table 4.1. To facilitate data analysis, responses to the Strongly Agree and Agree groups were combined and presented in Figures 4.1 to 4.3 as SA/A. Similarly, for the Disagree and Strongly Disagree groups were combined as DA/SDA. The No View responses (NV) were left as it is. Table 4.1 indicates that between 4% and 20.0% of responding passengers declined to express their views. This indicates their indifference to the questionnaire items. Table 4.1. Reasons for choosing to travel with Company A Variables SA A NV DA SDA CA Convenient reservation and ticketing 76.0 16.0 8.0 0.0 0.0 CA Prompt and accurate reservation and ticketing 44.0 40.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 CA Good checking-in service 44.0 44.0 12.0 0.0 0.0 CA Frequent journey programme 40.0 40.0 20.0 0.0 0.0 CA Convenient journey schedule 36.0 48.0 12.0 4.0 0.0 CA Seat allocation 28.0 56.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 RCS Courtesy of employees 28.0 56.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 RCS Employees willingness to help passengers 36.0 48.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 RCS Employees knowledge to answer passengers questions 40.0 48.0 8.0 4.0 0.0 RCS Passengers are given personal attention 44.0 40.0 8.0 4.0 4.0 RCS Neat appearance of employees 40.0 44.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 RCS Safety of Driving 44.0 44.0 8.0 0.0 4.0 RCS Sincere interest in solving problems 36.0 44.0 16.0 4.0 0.0 RCS On-time performance 36.0 48.0 16.0 0.0 0.0 OBS Seat comfort 40.0 40.0 12.0 8.0 0.0 OBS Meal service 48.0 32.0 8.0 12.0 0.0 OBS On-Board entertainment services 40.0 44.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 OBS Up-to-date coach and on-board facility 40.0 44.0 4.0 4.0 8.0 CA = Convenience and Accessibility RCS = Reliability and Customer Service OBS = On-Board Services 4.2.1 SATISFACTION WITH CONVENIENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY FACTORS Passengers (thereafter referred to as respondents) were asked to express their agreement or disagreement with the six items relating to convenience and accessibility factors: Convenient reservation and ticketing (Item No. 1), Prompt and accurate reservation and ticketing (Item No. 2), Good checking-in service ((Item No. 3), Frequent journey programme (Item No. 4), Convenient journey schedule (Item No. 5), and Seat allocation (Item No. 6) (see Table 4.1, Figure 4.1). Patterns of their responses are analysed below. It is noted in Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1 that 92.0% of the respondents were satisfied (strongly agreed/agreed, SA/A) with the reservation and ticketing procedures undertaken by the company (Item No. 1). Only a small minority of respondents showed their indifference to this item, whereas none of them disagreed with it. The majority of the respondents (88.0%) were satisfied (SA/A) with check in service (Item No. 3) (Table 4.1, Figure 4.1), and a minority (12.0%) did not express their views, but none of the respondents were dissatisfied with this service. In terms of prompt and accurate reservation and ticketing (Item No. 2), convenient journey schedule (Item No. 5), and seat allocation (Item No. 6) (Table 4.1, Figure 4.1), 84.0% of the respondents were satisfied with these three items, and only 4.0% of the respondents were dissatisfied with convenient journey schedule (Item No. 5). 4.2.2 SATISFACTION WITH RELIABILITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE FACTORS Respondents were asked to indicate their rate of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with eight items concerning reliability and customer service factors. The majority of respondents (88% of the sample) indicated that they were satisfied with employees knowledge to answer passengers questions (Item No. 9), and with safety of driving (Item No. 12). Only 4.0% of the respondents were dissatisfied with these services and 8.0% of them indicated their indifference. With regard to courtesy of employees (Item No. 7), employees willingness to help passengers (Item No. 8), passengers are given personal attention (Item No. 10), Neat appearance of employees (Item No. 11) and on-time performance (Item No. 14), the majority of respondents were satisfied (SA/A) with these items. However, between 8.0% and 16.0% of the respondents expressed their indifference to these items, and only 4.0% to 8.0% of them were dissatisfied with some of these items, as indicated in Table 4.1 and Figure 4.2. With regard to the item: sincere interest in solving problems (Item No. 13), 80.0% of the respondents were satisfied with it, and 16.0% of them expressed their indifference, whereas only 40.0% of them disagreed with it. 4.2.3 SATISFACTION WITH ON-BOARD SERVICE FACTORS Respondents were asked to indicate their rate of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with four items concerning on-board service factors. Table 4.2 and Figure 4.4 clearly show that 84.0% of the respondents were satisfied with on-board entertainment service (Item No. 17) and up-to-date coach and on-board facilities. However, 12.0% of them were dissatisfied and 4.0% expressed their indifference. Figure 4.3 also illustrates that 80.0% of the respondents were satisfied with the seat comfort (Item No. 15) and meal service (Item No. 16). However, 8.0% and 12.0% of the respondents were dissatisfied with Items No. 14 and 15, respectively, and 12.0% and 8.0% of them expressed their indifference with these two items, respectively. It can be noted that more respondents were dissatisfied with these four services than with the other items in other two dimensions. 4.3 FACTORS MOTIVATING CUSTOMERS TO DEAL WITH THE COMPANY B Responses to the factors that have motivated the customers of this company are presented in Table 4.21 and illustrated in Figures 4.4 to 4.4. Table 4.1 indicates that between 20% and 40.0% of the responding passengers declined to express their views. This indicates their indifference to the questionnaire items. 4.2.1 SATISFACTION WITH CONVENIENCE AND ACCESSIBILITY FACTORS Data presented in Table 4.2 and illustrated in Figure 4.4 show that 76.0% of the respondents were satisfied (strongly agreed/agreed, SA/A) with the reservation and ticketing procedures undertaken by the company (Item No. 1). However, the remaining 24.0% of the respondents expressed their indifference to this item, whereas none of them disagreed with it. Around two-thirds of the respondents (68.0%) were satisfied (SA/A) with prompt and accurate reservation and ticketing, whereas the remaining 32.0% of the respondents did not express their views, and none of the respondents were dissatisfied with this service (Table 4.2, Figure 4.4). With regard to the remaining four items (good checking-in service, Item No. 3; Frequent journey programme, Item No. 4; Convenient journey schedule, Item No. 5; seat allocation, Item No. 6), 60.0% of the respondents were satisfied with these services. The remaining 40.0% of the respondents either expressed their indifference to these items, or were dissatisfied with them (Table 4.2, Figure 4.4). Table 4.2. Reasons for choosing to travel with Company A Variables SA A NV DA SDA CA Convenient reservation and ticketing 36.0 40.0 24.0 0.0 0.0 CA Prompt and accurate reservation and ticketing 28.0 40.0 32.0 0.0 0.0 CA Good checking-in service 20.0 40.0 40.0 0.0 0.0 CA Frequent journey programme 16.0 44.0 32.0 8.0 0.0 CA Convenient journey schedule 20.0 40.0 32.0 4.0 4.0 CA Seat allocation 24.0 36.0 28.0 4.0 8.0 RCS Courtesy of employees 16.0 46.0 30.0 4.0 4.0 RCS Employees willingness to help passengers 20.0 42.0 26.0 8.0 4.0 RCS Employees knowledge to answer passengers questions 16.0 42.0 32.0 4.0 6.0 RCS Passengers are given personal attention 18.0 34.0 38.0 6.0 4.0 RCS Neat appearance of employees 20.0 44.0 20.0 8.0 8.0 RCS Safety of Driving 10.0 42.0 24.0 12.0 12.0 RCS Sincere interest in solving problems 12.0 40.0 32.0 12.0 4.0 RCS On-time performance 16.0 30.0 36.0 12.0 8.0 OBS Seat comfort 20.0 28.0 32.0 16.0 4.0 OBS Meal service 16.0 12.0 40.0 20.0 12.0 OBS On-Board entertainment services 12.0 24.0 44.0 12.0 8.0 OBS Up-to-date coach and on-board facility 16.0 44.0 24.0 4.0 12.0 CA = Convenience and Accessibility RCS = Reliability and Customer Service OBS = On-Board Services 4.3.2 SATISFACTION WITH RELIABILITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE FACTORS Respondents were asked to indicate their rate of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with eight items concerning reliability and customer service factors. About two-thirds of the respondents (64.0% of the sample) indicated that they were satisfied with employees neat appearance (Item No. 11) (Table 4.2, Figure 4.5). One-fifth (20.0%) and 16.0% of the respondents expressed their indifference or dissatisfaction with this item. Most respondents (62.0% of the sample) were satisfied with the courtesy of the employees and employees willingness to help passengers. However, many of them either expressed their indifference, or were dissatisfied with these services. Less than three-fifths (58.0%) of the were satisfied with employees knowledge to answer passengers questions (Item No. 9), and 32.0% of them expressed their indifference and 10.0% of them were dissatisfied. Around half of the respondents (52.0% of the sample) were satisfied with passengers are given personal attention (item no. 10), safety of driving (item no. 13), and sincere interest in solving problems (item no. 14). The remaining half either expressed their indifference or, to a lesser extent, was dissatisfied with these items. However, only 46.0% of the respondents were satisfied with on time performance (Item No. 14), and the remaining 54.0% of them either expressed their indifference or were dissatisfied with this item. 4.3.3 SATISFACTION WITH ON-BOARD SERVICE FACTORS Respondents were asked to indicate their rate of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the four items relating to onboard service factors (Item No. 18) (Table 4.2, Figure 4.6). Figure 4.6 indicated that about two-thirds of the respondents (68.0% of the respondents) were satisfied with up-to-date coaches and on-board facilities, whereas the remaining respondents either did not express their views (16.0% of the sample) or were dissatisfied with this item. Data presented in Table 4.2 and Figure 4.6 clearly indicate that less than half of the respondents were satisfied with seat comfort (Item No. 15) (48.0%), meal service (Item No. 16) (38.0%), and on-board entertainment services (item No. 17) (44.0%). The remaining respondents (62.0% to 52.0% of the sample) either did not express their view or were dissatisfied with these items. On the whole, it can be said that more respondents either showed their indifference to these three items (30.0% to 36.0% of the sample) or were dissatisfied with them (20.0% to 32.0% of the sample). 4.3 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RESPONDENTS The demographic characteristics of the respondents from both companies, Company A, and Company B are analysed and compared in this section. Figure 4.7 clearly demonstrates that the majority of respondents of both companies (88.0%) were young between 21 and 50 year old. This is not surprising given that these ages represent people who are more active and more mobile than in other age groups. Forty-six respondents (92.0% of the sample) of Company A were Libyan nationals and the remaining four (8.0% of the sample) were Arab nationals. As for Company B, all fifty passengers were Libyan nationals. In terms of gender, thirty (60.0% of the sample) of Company A respondents were males, and the remaining twenty (40.0% of the sample) were females. As for Company B, twenty-six respondents (52.0% of the sample) were males and the remaining twenty-four (48.0% of the sample) were females. It can be argued that females represented a high proportion of the total number of respondents. As regards their income, Figure 4.8 clearly demonstrates that the majority of respondents of Company A (72.0% of the sample) and Company B (88.0% of the sample) were on the high salary scale of between Libyan Dinars (LD) 201 and over LD350. People with these high salaries, in the Libyan context, are those who can afford to travel more than lower paid people. With regard to their occupation, the majority of respondents of both companies were managers, employees of a company, or government employees (Figure 4.9). Respondents referring to themselves as professional or students were not represented in Company B sample. Most Company A respondents (60.0% of the sample) have been working for periods of 3 to more than 6 years, and 64.0% of Company B respondents were also working for that period of time. The remaining respondents have been working from less than one year to three years. As for their qualifications, Figure 4.10 indicates that the majority of respondents were highly qualified educationally. Most of the respondents of both companies held Diplomas and Bachelors Degrees. In the following chapter, the rate of satisfaction with the eighteen questionnaire items indicated by the respondents of Company A and Company B will be compared and contrasted against each other. Research conclusions will be drawn out and recommendations for both companies and for future research are also outlined in the following chapter.