Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Food And Wine Tourism in Newzealnd - Essay Example Along these lines, so as to illuminate the significance of Special Interest Tourism, this paper discusses â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. Extraordinary intrigue the travel industry It is the sort of the travel industry that includes tourist’s occasion decision that is completely enlivened and affected by their particular inspiration and want. There are various types of extraordinary intrigue the travel industry, similar to training, magnificence, sports, food, social and diversion (Cook 2007, pp.63). Various nations have various claims to fame, for instance Dubai is well known for its shopping, and New Zealand, Australia, and Turkey are renowned for their food. Peruse characterized explicit intrigue the travel industry as â€Å"The travel for individuals who are heading off to some place since they have a specific intrigue that can be sought after in a specific area or at a specific goal. It is the center point around which the absolute travel experience i s arranged and developed†. (Ritchie, Carr, and Cooper 2003, pp. 28) Food and Wine the travel industry The uncommon intrigue the travel industry that has been chosen for this paper is â€Å"Food and Wine tourism† in New Zealand. The food and wine don't mean unimportant eating and drinking, yet are identified with the individual country’s culture and legacy. ... es of pro food creation districts are the essential rousing elements for travel.†(Buhalis and Costa, 2006) Food is straightforwardly identified with a country’s legacy, culture, and customs. Food is viewed as a significant part of the travel industry, at all is the kind of the travel industry; food consistently goes about as a vacation spot. Along these lines, purposefully or accidentally, the vacationers are continually looking for astounding quality food and wine when they are on their days off. Wine the travel industry Today, wine is making a significant huge business throughout the previous hardly any years. Wine creation has been expanded at a monstrous level in various nations like New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Europe, and this has brought about improvement of the travel industry in the individual nations. In addition, â€Å"wine the travel industry is a subcategory of food the travel industry, which infers visit for explicit top notch vine to vineries, viney ards and eateries to a nation. The wine the travel industry likewise remembers visit to the wine celebrations for a specific country†. (Buhalis and Costa, 2006) Food and wine the travel industry doesn't mean an outing to an eatery; rather it is the craving to taste and experience a specific sort of food or an exceptional conventional cooking can go about as an inspiration to traverse the nation of origin (Thach, 2007). Food and wine the travel industry qualities and typologies Food and wine the travel industry is thriving because of various reasons the world over. The most significant and overwhelming explanation of advancing the food and wine the travel industry is to improve financial development. Additionally, food and wine the travel industry has picked up consideration because of expanded enthusiasm for the different country’s cultural qualities, natural intrigue, and their way of life. Today, numerous individuals and nations are demonstrating enthusiasm for feasti ng and cooking, consequently which has brought about an

Reflective Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Intelligent Report - Essay Example something and that the business they decide to give will be compensated by an association that really pays special mind to their own wellbeing. Simultaneously, the assets that any given business needs to send are constrained. Accordingly, it is similarly significant that they see all that they can about any individual provider or business in their endeavors to smooth out expenses, and boost introduction and benefit. It is striking to consider the innovation that is accessible today to fulfill the expanding need for information. This has a lot to do with the every day tasks of a business, as clients need and require information rapidly and without any problem. They want the business to be available to them, on their standing, and at their own expertise level. I currently better comprehend the idea of my potential in any future business try. The regular goal and reason behind this idea is to build up an approach to sort out and acclimatize information in an easy to understand way that both representative and client can profit by. This is actually quite difficult, however the way toward creating client and brand dependability is in question here. Through this experience, I have taken in the idea of client information the executives and its different parts. From a business point of view, a working information on all the client inside an association enables an organization to remain serious both locally and comprehensively. It is evident that clients are no longer by limited by physical and topographical area. It is regularly similarly as simple to work with an organization a few landmasses away for what it's worth to connect with a business directly down the road. In light of this reality, organizations have started to treat client information the executives forms with restore energy and excitement (Borges, 2007). This procedure likewise implies that business today have opened up their entryways across fringes and they, themselves, are not, at this point essentially choked to existence. Information, whenever bridled appropriately, empowers a business

What to Know About Adderall XR

What to Know About Adderall XR ADHD Treatment Print What to Know About Adderall XR Adderall XR: Uses, Side Effects, Dosages, Precautions By Amy Morin, LCSW facebook twitter instagram Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, author of the bestselling book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Dont Do, and a highly sought-after speaker. Learn about our editorial policy Amy Morin, LCSW Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Daniel B. Block, MD on February 12, 2020 twitter linkedin Daniel B. Block, MD, is an award-winning, board-certified psychiatrist who operates a private practice in Pennsylvania. Learn about our Medical Review Board Daniel B. Block, MD on February 12, 2020 Ezra Bailey / Taxi / Getty Images Plus More in ADHD Treatment Diagnosis Symptoms Adult ADD/ADHD Living With ADD/ADHD School Parenting In This Article Table of Contents Expand Uses Dosage Side Effects   Warnings and Interactions View All Back To Top Adderall XR is a central nervous system stimulant most commonly used to treat ADHD. It’s a Schedule II drug that works by altering certain natural chemicals in the brain. It can increase concentration, help people stay on task longer, and manage behavioral issues associated with ADHD. Adderall XR is the extended-release version of Adderall. Half the dose takes effect immediately, and the other half takes effect in four hours. Amphetamine salt combo XR (amphetamine and dextroamphetamine salts) is the generic version. Finding the Best Treatment for ADHD Uses Adderall XR is FDA approved to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Off-Label Uses Adderall XR may be used as an adjunct for treatment-resistant depression.     Before Taking A diagnosis of ADHD can only be made if an individual experienced symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity or inattention prior to the age of 7. The symptoms must have caused social, occupational, or academic impairment, and this impairment must have been present in two or more settings. There isn’t a single diagnostic test for ADHD. A diagnosis requires the use of medical, psychological, educational, and social resources. A diagnosis is made based on the history and evaluation of the patient. Patients who are taking divided doses of immediate-release Adderall (such as twice daily) may be switched to Adderall XR at the same total daily dose taken once daily.   Adderall XR is titrated at weekly intervals to ensure that it’s well-tolerated. Adderall XR should be used as part of a total treatment plan for ADHD. Other treatment measures may include psychological, educational, and social support. Precautions and Contraindications Stimulants are not intended for use in patients who exhibit symptoms due to environmental factors or those who have other psychiatric disorders, such as psychosis. Psychosocial and educational interventions are often helpful, and medication should only be used when those interventions fail to resolve the symptoms. A physician’s willingness to consider stimulant medication depends on the chronicity and severity of symptoms when remedial measures alone are insufficient. Stimulant medications cause a modest increase in blood pressure (about 2 to 4 mmHg) and a slight increase in average heart rate (about 3 to 6 beats per minute). Some individuals may experience larger increases. These changes wouldn’t be expected to result in short-term consequences, but all patients should be monitored for larger changes in blood pressure and heart rate. Caution should be taken in patients whose underlying conditions might be compromised by increases in heart rate and blood pressure, such as the following: pre-existing hypertensionheart failurerecent myocardial infarctionventricular arrhythmia. Prior to starting Adderall XR, individuals being considered for treatment should have a careful history (including assessment for family history of sudden death or ventricular arrhythmia) and physical exam to assess for the presence of cardiac disease and should receive further cardiac evaluation if there is any evidence of disease. Patients who experience symptoms such as exertional chest pain, unexplained fainting, or other symptoms that may indicate cardiac problems should undergo a prompt cardiac evaluation. Stimulants may exacerbate symptoms in anyone with pre-existing psychotic disorder. Particular care should be taken in using stimulants to treat ADHD patients with comorbid bipolar disorder due to concern that the medication may induce mixed/manic episodes. Prior to starting any stimulant, patients should be screened for the risk of bipolar disorder. Treatment-emergent psychotic or manic symptoms in children or adolescents without a prior history of mania or psychosis may be caused by stimulants, even at the usual doses. Symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, or manic episodes. If symptoms occur, discontinuation of treatment may be appropriate. In short-term, placebo-controlled studies, such symptoms occurred in about 0.1% of patients being treated with stimulants. Aggressive behavior is a common symptom seen in children with ADHD. Although there is no evidence that stimulants cause aggressive behavior or hostility, patients who are starting treatment for ADHD should be monitored for increased aggression or hostility. Understanding Anger in Children With ADHD Other Drug Class Names Other ADHD medications that contain a dextroamphetamine/modified amphetamine mixture include: Adderallâ€"lasts four hoursAdzenys ERâ€"extended-release oral suspensionAdzenys XR-ODTâ€"orally-disintegrating tablet that is immediate and delayed releaseDexedrine Spansuleâ€"immediate relief flowed by gradual releaseDyanavel XRâ€"liquid extended releaseEvekeoâ€"immediate-release tabletProCentraâ€"immediate-release liquidMydayisâ€"long-acting capsuleVyvanseâ€"capsule and chewable tabletZenzediâ€"immediate-release tablet Dosage Adderall XR is administered at the lowest effective dose. Dosages depend on therapeutic needs and response of the patient. All listed dosages are according to the manufacturer. Check your prescription, and talk to your doctor to make sure you are taking the right dose for you. In children who are between the ages of 6 and 12, medication is often started at 10mg once daily in the morning. The dosage may be adjusted in increments of 5mg or 10mg at weekly intervals. There may be times when a physician decides to start the dose at 5mg once in the morning. The maximum recommended dose for children 6 to 12 years of age is 30mg/day. Doses greater than 30mg/day have not been studied in children. Adderall XR has not been studied in children under 6 years of age. In adolescents with ADHD who are between the ages of 13 and 17, the recommended starting dose is 10mg/day. The dose may be increased to 20mg/day after one week if ADHD symptoms are not adequately controlled. In adults, the recommended dose is 20mg per day. Adderall XR comes in capsules. It should be taken by mouth. Capsules should be swallowed whole. They should not be chewed or crushed, as this could release all the medication at once and increase the risk of side effects. Modifications The entire contents of a capsule may be sprinkled on a small amount of applesauce just before taking. The mixture should be swallowed immediately and should not be chewed. How to Take and Store Adderall XR can be taken with or without food as directed by your physician. It is usually taken once in the morning and should be taken the same way with every dose (such as with or without food). Drink a glass of liquid after each dose. If you forget to take your medication, take it as soon as possible. Take caution when taking it in the afternoon, however, as it may interfere with sleep when it is taken too close to bedtime. Store Adderall XR in a safe place at room temperature (50 to 86 degrees F). Side Effects   It is important to talk to your doctor about what to expect in terms of side effects. Common HeadacheDecreased appetiteNervousnessMood swingsDizzinessStomach acheTrouble sleepingWeight lossDry mouthFast heartbeat  Severe SeizuresSlowing of growth or height in childrenEyesight changes or blurred vision   Warnings and Interactions It’s important to talk to your doctor about any prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements that you or your child is taking. Adderall XR may interact with other medications and cause serious side effects. Especially tell your doctor if you or your child takes: AntidepressantsAntipsychoticsLithiumNarcotic pain medicationBlood thinnersBlood pressure medicinesStomach acid medicines You may need to be weaned off Adderall XR slowly if you and your physician decide to discontinue the medication. Quitting cold turkey may lead to withdrawal symptoms (such as severe tiredness, sleep problems, or mental/mood changes such as depression). Withdrawal symptoms are more likely if you have used this medication for a long time or in high doses. You should only decrease your dose or discontinue your medication under the supervision of your physician.   Adderall XR may sometimes cause addiction. This risk may be higher if you’ve had a substance use disorder. Do not increase the dose, take it more often, or use it for a longer time than is prescribed. Properly discontinue the medication when directed to do so by a physician. Adderall XR may affect you or your child’s ability to drive or do other dangerous activities. The use of stimulant medications has been associated with: Heart-related problems â€" sudden death in patients who have heart problems, stroke or heart attack in adults, and increased blood pressure and heart rateMental problems â€" new or worse behavior or thought problems, new or worse bipolar symptoms, new or worse aggression and hostility, and new psychotic symptoms in teensCirculation problems in fingers and toes â€" fingers or toes may feel numb, cool, or painful, or they may change from pale to blue or red It should not be taken by anyone who: Has heart disease or hardening of the arteriesHas moderate or severe high blood pressureHas hyperthyroidismHas glaucomaIs very anxious, agitated, or tenseHas a history of drug abuseIs taking or has taken an antidepressant medication called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor or MAOI within the past 14 daysIs sensitive to, allergic to, or had a reaction to other stimulant medications Adderall XR should not be taken by breastfeeding mothers. Patients who become pregnant or intend to become pregnant should notify their physician.?? What to Know About Vyvanse and Adderall for ADHD

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The Impact Of We Have On Youth Athletes - 1910 Words

Calvin Hoang Mr. Fisher Expository Reading and Writing 5 March 2015 The Impact We Have on Youth Athletes In the US alone, we carry roughly around 45 million children and adolescent that participate in an organized youth sport. These organized programs run from companies such as YMCA, ACES, AYSO and other ethnic organizations like SEYO and JETTS. According to an article written by Donna L Merkel, she informs us that about 75 percent of American families within the age of four to nine, have at least participated in an organized sport. In most cases, it is said that these children are becoming more happy and living in a much more healthy lifestyle when they go to these events. Although, statistics have show that these kids are being injured drastically over the years. Researchers have shown that there have been over 2.6 million emergency visits each year for those that have been aged between 5-24. That being a problem, parents have been second guessing themselves whether they should put their children s back into these programs. We all know that it is tough to come back from an injury, but that s the thing that only makes us stronger to learn from our mistakes. Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan once said that If you wish to achieve, there will be roadblocks. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Over the last few decades, hundreds of coaches have been pushing these kids to the best of their abilities by giving them hours and structureShow MoreRelatedYouth Sports Help Children Develop Values, And Teach Children1092 Words   |  5 Pagessucceed. Youth sports help children develop values, and teach children resilience. Not only do they teach children values, but they teach children why it is important to be physically active. Youth sports teach children how to transfer values into the classroom and become a better student. 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This bruise or tearing ofRead MoreJcc Maccabi Games Swot Analysis1425 Words   |  6 Pages Company and Industry Overview Industry Overview The Tucson Jewish Community Center is included in the Civic, Social, and Youth Organizations industry and has a NAICS code of 81341. This industry is in the decline stage of its life cycle. Membership rates have stagnated recently as people turn to social media for community inclusion (ibisworld.com). The revenue growth for 2016 was -5.4%, and the number of enterprises in this industry is expected to decline 1% annually(ibisworldRead MoreAre Sports Programs For Children And Teenagers Too Intense?1539 Words   |  7 PagesAre sports programs for children and teenagers too intense? Youth sports are being questioned by the public as being too intense. One of the reasons for this is that sport specialization is up to a record high 25 percent(Sirs). This means that one in every four people are only playing one sport which can lead to injuries and psychological issues. Another issue is injuries in youth sports. Most specifically football is being researched intensely for head injuries that can hurt the children forRead MoreThe Effects Of Concussion Within Ks3 Rugby And Discuss The Signs And Symptoms It Has On Young Athletes Essay1037 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Within this assignment I will be exploring the influence of concussion within KS3 rugby and discuss the signs and symptoms it has on young athletes and the impact it has on their return to physical activity. Understanding concussion Before we can recognize the symptoms, we must first understand what concussion actually is. Minor traumatic brain injury (Mtbi) is the medical term used when there is a sudden onset but brief loss of cognitive function that occurs after a blow or other moderateRead MorePlaying Through The Pain : Sports And Injury1468 Words   |  6 PagesChampionship a week later, and the Super Bowl a week after that. (Block, 2013) Believe it or not, this scenario and many like it happen every year in every level of competitive sports. Playing with an injury can be very serious and can have life altering consequences. Athletes are supposed to be tough and maintain a positive attitude while regularly playing through pain. (Heil, 1993) When they are forced to sit out because of an injury, they should be focused and driven to return to play as quickly asRead MoreSports Violence Must Be Abolished963 Words   |  4 Pagessports, but we have to draw the line somewhere. When there is primary intent to injure and physically hurt someone this is considered â€Å"violence†. 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After all, in today’s society theRead MoreMission And The Ideology Of A Company1590 Words   |  7 Pagesmovement towards the future and visions cannot be created without a stable foundation. (Collins Porras, 1991) To reiterate, the core ideology defines a company’s timeless character, it is the glue in which holds together the enterprise. The company must have a consistent identity that transcends in the decisions it makes. (Bart, 1998) The Little League Baseball Association relies on a mission in which focuses on the development of children that centres o n the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamworkRead MoreThe Effects Of Youth Sports On Children1249 Words   |  5 PagesYouth sports in America has become a trend that has touched every household. Sports has become so ingrained in American culture, that toddlers have even begun to experience it. Almost all children from the ages of six to ten have kicked a soccer ball or hit a ball with a bat. While studies have shown that youth team sports have a tremendous positive impact on a child’s social development, many children have run into serious injuries. Some of these injuries can require extensive surgeries, rehabilitation

Leading Supply Chain Turn Around Free Essays

string(29) " of the global supply chain\." Five years ago, salespeople at Whirlpool said the company’s supply chain staff were â€Å"sales disablers† Now, Whirlpool excels at getting the right product to the right place at the right time-while keeping inventory low. What made the difference? by Reuben C Slone a Supply Chain Turnaround ^ ^ eading T hings would be very different today-for me, my colleagues, and my company – if the votes of Whirlpool’s North American leadership team had swung in a different direction on May 3,2001. It was a move I hadn’t expected; Mike Todman, our executive vice president at the time, decided to go around the table and ask each member of his staff for a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the investment that Paul Dittmann and I had just formally proposed. We will write a custom essay sample on Leading Supply Chain Turn Around or any similar topic only for you Order Now Did I look worried? I can’t imagine I didn’t, even though we’d spent hours in individual meetings with each of them, getting their ideas and buy-in. We thought we had everyone’s support. But the facts remained: Our proposal had a bigger price tag than any supply chain investment in the company’s history. We were asking for tens of millions during a period of general belt-tightening. Some of it was slated for new hires, even as cutbacks were taking place elsewhere in the company. And Paul and I, the people doing the asking, were coming from the supply chain organization. Let me be clear: The supply chain organization was the part of the business that Whirlpool’s salespeople were in the habit of calling the â€Å"sales disablers† in 2000. We were perpetually behind the eight ball, tying up too much capital in finished goods inventory – yet failing to provide the product availability our customers needed. Our availability hovered around 87%. Our colleagues grimly joked that in surveys on the delivery performance f the four biggest appliance manufacturers in the U. S. , we came in fifth. 114 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW OCTOBER 200 U HBR The 2Xst-Century Supply Chain. spotlight And here, with all the credibility that track record conferred on us, we were proposing an ambitious new suite of IT solutions – something, too, for which the company h ad little appetite. It had been just 20 months since Whirlpool North America had flipped the switch on a massive new ERP system, with less than desired effect. Normally, Whirlpool ships close to 70,000 appliances a day to North American customers. The day after we went live with SAP, we were able to ship about 2,000. A barrage of bad press followed. Even though the situation was soon righted (SAP remains a valued partner), the experience of being treated as a sort of poster child for ERP folly had left scars. So imagine our relief when we heard the first voice say â€Å"yes. † It was the executive who headed up sales to Sears. Paul and I looked anxiously to the next face, and the next. The heads of our KitchenAid, Whirlpool, and value brands followed suit-a watershed, given that the funding would have to come from their budgets. I could see that J. C. Anderson, my boss and senior vice president of operations, was happy, too. He had tried to voice his support at the beginning of the meeting, but Mike Todman had asked him to wait. Now that it was his turn to vote, he did it with a fiourish:†I am fully committed,†he said,†to moving our supply chain from a liability to a recognized competitive advantage. † Only after Todman had heard from everyone in the room – brands, sales, finance, human resources, and operations-did he cast his vote. costs. Sales had risen to record levels in 2000 as our launch of some nnovative products coincided with an uptick in housing starts. With the rest of the company chugging on all cylinders, there was only one thing holding us back: our supply chain. Jeff called me into his office and gave me a two-word order: â€Å"Fix it. † If that constitutes a mandate, we had one. But it was up to us to figure out what fixing the supply chain would entail. At the top level, of course, it’s a simple formulation: getting the right product to the right place at the right time – all the time. That gets complicated very quickly, however, when you consider the scale of the challenge. Whirlpool makes a diverse line of washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens, with manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. We sell those appliances in lOO countries, through retailers big and small and to the construction companies and developers that build new homes. In the United States alone, our logistics network consists of eight factory distribution centers, ten regional distribution centers, 60 local distribution centers, and nearly 20,000 retail and contract customers. M We needed to formulate a battle plan that would include new information technology, processes, roles, and talents. But before we could begin to imagine those, we needed to define our strategy. Looking to the future, what would it mean to be world-class in supply chain performance? The decision we made at this very early point in the process was, 1 think, a pivotal one. We decided that we could answer that question only by focusing on customer With that last yes, the tension broke, and everyone was requirements first. Our approach to developing our supsmiling and nodding. Paul and I had a sense of triumphply chain strategy would be to start with the last link-the but also trepidation. Because now, we knew, there could consumer-and proceed backward. be no excuses. We were on the hook to deliver some serious value. It’s an obvious thought, isn’t it? Fxcept that it wasn’t. The overwhelming tendency in a manufacturing organization is to think about the supply chain as something Devising the Strategy that originates with the supply base and moves forward. It’s understandable; This is the part of the chain over y responsibility at Whirlpool today is for the which the company has control. But the unfortunate performance of the global supply chain. You read "Leading Supply Chain Turn Around" in category "Papers" But effect is that supply chain initiatives typically run out of in 2001,1 was focused only on North America, steam before they get to their end point-and real point. and I was utterly new to the supply chain organization. Whether or not they make customers’ lives easier be(I had come into the company a few years earlier to lead comes an afterthought. its e-business efforts. ) By contrast, Paul Dittmann, the vice president of supply chain strategy, was a Whirlpool vetUnderstanding Customers’ Needs. If you start with the eran with a tenure spanning a quarter century. ustomer, the customer can’t be an afterthought. The way I expressed this to my colleagues was to say,†Strategic relOur lots were cast together in October 2000 by Jeff Fetevance is all from the consumer back. † And conveniently, tig. Jeff is now Whirlpool’s chairman and CEO, but at the we had new research to consult on the subject of contime he was president and COO – and he w as good and sumer needs. Whirlpool and Sears had recently engaged tired of hearing about spotty service and high logistics Boston Consulting Group to study consumers’ desires Reuben E. Slone iReuben_E_Sone@Wbirlpool. com) is the with regard to appliance delivery. The top-line finding vice president of Global Supply Chain at Whirlpool Corpo- was that people value what I call â€Å"delivery with integrity. † That is, your ability to get it there fast is important, but ration in Benton Harbor, Michigan. 116 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Leading a Supply Chain Tux*naround not as important as your ability to get it there when you said you would. â€Å"Give a date, hit a date† is what they’re asking for. This sounded familiar to me, coming from the automotive industry. In my previous position at General Motors, I’d been involved in several studies that emphasized the psychology of delivery date commitments. Identifying Trade Partners’ Priorities. Moving upstream, we needed to understand the desires of our direct customers better. We conducted our own interviews to define requirements by segment. As well as looking at smaller retailers versus larger ones, we focused individually on Sears, Lowes, and Best Buy, our three biggest customers. And within the contract-builder market, we studied many subdivisions, from contract distributors and apartment developers to ingle-family-home builders. We asked about their overall availability requirements, their preferences in communicating with us, and what they would like to see along the lines of e-business. We asked about inventory management and how they might want Whirlpool to assist in it. In all, we discovered 27 different dimensions along which our performance was being judged, each varying in importance according to the customer. Benchmarking the Competition. Naturally, our customers’ expectations and perceptions were shaped in large part by what others in our industry were doing. So we benchmarked our competitors-primarily GE, which was our biggest rival. We obtained cross-industry information and competitive intelligence from AMR, Gartner, and Forrester Research to make sure we had a broad and objective assessment of supply chain capabilities. Then we mapped out what would be considered world-class (versus sufficient or transitional) performance for each of the 27 capabilities and how much it would cost us to reach that top level. It turned out that to prevail on every front would require a total investment of more than $85 million, which we knew wasn’t feasible. It was time to get serious about priorities. Now that we had established the cost of world-beating performance, we asked ourselves: For each capability, what improvement could we accomplish at a low investOCTOBER 2004 ment level, and at a medium level? We quickly staked out the areas where a relatively small investment would yield supremacy, usually due to an existing strength. A few areas we simply decided to cede. Our plan was to meet or beat the competition in most areas, at minimum cost. Building for the Future. Strategy, of course, does not simply address the needs of the moment. It anticipates the challenges of the future. A final component of our supply chain strategy was identifying the probable range of future operating scenarios based on industry, economic, and technological trends. The point was to assure ourselves that our proposal was robust enough to withstand these various scenarios. To date, the planning has worked. Having set a course, we’ve been able to deal with situations we hadn’t conceived of and to continue evolving in the same basic direction. Selling the Revolution I t’s always a difficult decision-when to involve your internal customers in the planning of a major capital investment. Their time is scarce, and they typically 117 HBR T h e Spotlight Chain. don’t want to be embroiled in the details of what you, after all, are getting paid to do. You must have your act together and have a solid plan to which they can respond. On the other hand, you can’t be so far along in the process that you’ve become inflexible. You need to maintain a careful balance between seeking their guidance and selling your vision. Paul and 1 liked to think we had that mandate from Jeff Fettig to get the supply chain fixed. But it wasn’t the kind of mandate that comes with a blank check. Like most well-managed companies, Whirlpool will not undertake a capital investment without a compelling business case. As a cost center in the company, we had to justify our project wholly on expense reductions and working capital improvements. Even if we believed that better product availability would boost sales, we couldn’t count those chickens in the business case. We spent an enormous amount of time talking with the brand general managers and others who would be needed. They said they had nothing more to add. But we persisted. I remember telling Paul, â€Å"If they won’t let us in the door, we’ll go through the window. And if they lock the window, there’s always the air vent†¦. † Along the way, we’d been particularly concerned about cherry-picking. We knew that, in a company of smart businesspeople, the first reaction to a multimillion-dollar price tag would be, â€Å"OK, what can I get for 80% of that total? † And indeed, from a project management standpoint, we knew it was important to break out each component of the plan into a stand-alone initiative, justified by its own business case. Yet we knew the whole thing came together as a sort of basket weave, with each part supporting and relying on multiple other parts. What helped here was our competitive analysis, in which we had plotted our capability levels against others’. We charted our current position against our number one competitor on each dimension valued by customers, then extrapolated to show how, depending on the level We staked out the areas where a relatively small investment would yield supremacy, usually due to an existing strength. affected by the changes we were proposing. The Japanese call this kind of consensus-building nemawashi (literally, it means â€Å"root binding†), and it is impossible to overstate its importance. Yet it is often neglected in the midst of a complex project. Note that, at the same time we needed to be meeting with key decision makers, we were also in the thick of the analysis and design of the solution. In those early months, the project needed leadership in two directions – the kind of work people typically refer to as needing a â€Å"Mr. Inside† and â€Å"Mr. Outside. † I made sure we had sufficient consulting resources for the inside work while Paul and I devoted 50% of our time to the outside work – interfacing with the trade, outside experts, and internal stakeholders. In our initial meetings with these key people, we’d essentially say, â€Å"Here’s what we’re doing. What do you think? â€Å"Typically,the executive would half pay attention, half blow us off. But we’d get some input. In a second meeting, we’d show how our work had evolved to incorporate their ideas and others’. Usually, we’d see more engagement at this point. By the time we were asking for a third meeting, reactions were mixed. People were more or less on board, but some felt another meeting wasn’t 118 of investment, we could overtake that company or allow the gap to widen. Sure enough, the competitive instincts of our colleagues kicked in. No one wanted to fall behind. Getting Focused O ne of the earliest successes in the turnaround of Whirlpool’s supply chain was the rollout of a new sales and operations planning (SOP) process. Our previous planning environment had been inadequate. What passed for planning tools didn’t go far beyond Excel spreadsheets. Now, we had the ability to pull together the long-term and short-term perspectives of marketing, sales, finance, and manufacturing and produce forecasts that all the participants could base their game plans on. We soon pushed our forecasting capability further by launching a CPFR pilot. The acronym stands for collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment, with the collaboration happening across different companies within a supply chain. The idea is straightforward. Traditionally, we forecast how many appliances we will sell through a trade partner (Sears, for example) to a given HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Leading a Supply Chain TumarouiuL market And at the same time, that trade partner develops its own forecast. Each of us has some information that the other lacks. With CPFR, we use a Web-based tool to share our forecasts (without sharing the sensitive data behind them), and we collaborate on the exceptions. As simple as it sounds, it isn’t easy to pull off. But we have, and it’s been a real home run. Within 30 days of launch, our forecast accuracy error was cut in half. Where we had close to 100% error (which isn’t hard, given the small quantities involved in forecasting individual SKUs for specific warehouse locations), today we’re at about 44% or 45%. To put this in perspective, a one-point improvement in forecast accuracy across the board reduces our total finished goods position by several million dollars. These were just two of many initiatives we launched in rapid succession after May 2001. A couple things were absolutely critical to keeping them all on track: a highly disciplined project management office and stringent performance metrics. The key was to think big but focus relentlessly on near-term deadlines. We organized the change effort into 30-day chunks, with three new capabilities, or business releases, rolling out monthly-some on the supply side, some on the demand side. The job of the project management office was to ensure the completion of projects on time, on budget, and on benefit. Paul oversaw this for me. Also keeping us honest were new metrics – and the man 1 brought in to enforce them. My colleague John Kerr, now general manager of quality for the North America division, was then in charge of Whirlpool’s Six Sigma program. He’s a real black belt when it comes to performance management. It took some persuading, aimed at both John and the North American leadership team, before he was freed up and allowed to dedicate himself to the supply chain turnaround. But we absolutely needed his data-driven perspective. When one of my team would say, â€Å"We need to take this action tofixthis issue,† John would always counter with,†Please show me the data that allowed you to draw that conclusion. † Were these demands sometimes a source of irritation? I’d be lying if 1 said they weren’t. But they forced all of us to rebuild the metric â€Å"fact base† and hone our problem-solving skills. By the third quarter of 2001, we had already done a lot to stabilize product availability and reduce overall supply chain costs. And, after a challenging fourth quarter, we took a huge step forward by implementing a suite of software products from i2, which specializes in supply chain integration tools. That was in January 2002. Six months later. Whirlpool had historic low inventories and a sustained high service level. Before the year was out, we were delivering very near our target of 93% availability across ail brands and products. (Momentum has since carried us OCTOBER 2004 well into the mid-nineties. ) We delivered slightly more than promised by reducing finished goods working capital by 10% and improving total cost productivity by 5. 1%. Our customers were voicing their approval. By May 2002, a blind Internet survey given to our trade partners showed us to be â€Å"most improved,†Ã¢â‚¬ easiest to do business with,† and â€Å"most progressive. † I remember that after these results came out, our VP of sales said, â€Å"You’re good nowbut more important, you’re consistently good. † It was a turning point in the trade’s perception of Whirlpool. Engaging Talent I ‘ve touched on the state-of-the-art technologies we’ve employed in our turnaround-the Web-based collaboration tools, the planning software, i2’s rocket-science optimization-but let me correct any impression that this is a tory about technology. More than anything. Whirlpool’s supply chain turnaround is a talent renaissance. It’s sometimes hard for us to remember how demoralized this 3,000-person organization had become. In 2000, many people in supply chain roles had been with the c ompany for years and had watched in frustration as competitors outspent and outperformed us. Part of the problem was the massive effort required by the ERP implementation. As an early adopter of enterprise systems in our industry (SAP and other vendors got their start with process-manufacturing concerns like industrial chemicals). Whirlpool had bitten off a lot. With limited attention and resources to spare, it put other projects on hold. We took our eye off the ball in supply chain innovation and fell behind. As a newcomer, I tried to inject some fresh energy into the organization and give people a reason to be confident Paul Dittmann told me this project gave him a â€Å"second career wind. † He’s a brilliant guy, with a PhD in operations research and industrial engineering, and suddenly, he had the opportunity to innovate in ways he had only dreamed of in his first 20 years at the company. Other people benefited from changes to how we develop, assess, and reward talent. With help from Michigan State University and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), we developed a supply chain â€Å"competency model. † This is essentially an outline of the skills required in a top-tier organization, the roles in which they should reside, and how they need to be developed over time. And we created a new banding system, which expanded the compensation levels in the organization. Now people can be rewarded for increasing their expertise even if they are not being promoted into supervisory roles. 19 The 21st-century Supply Chain^ We also put a heavy emphasis on developing people’s project management skills. Here, we relied on a model developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a sort of standard for assessing and enhancing an organization’s project management capabilities. I wanted as many supply chain professionals as possible to be come PMI-certified, and not just because of the glut of projects we were facing at the moment. My view is that project management’s disciplined planning and execution is just as vital to ongoing operations management. After all, the only real difference between running an operation and running a project is the due date of the deliverable. Over time, my operating staff stopped dismissing project management as a lot of â€Å"overhead† from a former management consultant and car guy. Now they’re the ones insisting on things like project charters and weekly project reviews. Meanwhile, we hired at least 13 new people on the business side and at least as many more on the information systems side, and I made sure that every one of them was top-notch. To fill out our project management ranks, we recruited young people from companies with strong supply chains and from premier operations-oriented MBA programs like Michigan State and the University of Tennessee. Perhaps we were lucky that our talent drive coincided with a downturn in the consulting industry. On the other hand, it might have been the excitement of a turnaround situation that drew the best and brightest to Whirlpool. Finally, I wasn’t so arrogant as to believe that my senior team and 1 didn’t need development ourselves. We assembled a supply chain advisory board and chartered its members to keep challenging us. The group includes academics Don Bowersox of Michigan State and Tom Mentzer of the University of Tennessee, and practitioners Ralph Drayer (the Procter Gamble executive who pioneered Efficient Consumer Response) and Larry Sur (who mastered transportation and warehouse management in a long career at Schneider National and GENCO). Get a group like this together, and you can count on creative sparks flying. These experts keep us on our toes in a way no consulting firm could. Sustaining Momentum refrigerators, washing machines, and other products that appeal to a broad range of consumers. They are the equivalent of a supermarket’s milk and eggs; running out of them has a disproportionately negative impact on customers’ perceptions. We’re now formulating a supply chain strategy that allows us to identify these SKUs across all of our trade partners in all of our channels and to ensure that the replenishment system for our regional warehouses keeps them in stock. That constitutes the â€Å"plan to sell† part of the program. At the same time, for our smallest-volume SKUs, we are taking out all the inventory and operating on a pure pull basis, with a new, more flexible build-toorder process. The inventory avings on the small-volume SKUs helps offset the costs of stocking up on the highvolume SKUs. We’re also working on the capability to set service levels by SKU. That is, instead of having one availability target for all our products, we are recognizing that some products are of greater strategic importance than others. Some of them, for instance, are more profitable. Some hold a unique place in our brand strategy. Again, it’s easy to grasp the value of being able to vary service levels accordingly. But in a sprawling business like ours, shipping thousands of different SKUs daily, it’s a very difficult thing to accomplish. We continue to develop new Web-based tools. Recently, we’ve been focused on system-to-system transactions, in which our system talks directly to a customer’s system for purposes of transmitting orders, exchanging sales data, and even submitting and paying invoices. We’ve rolled out this capability with a number of trade partners over the past i8 months. At the same time, we keep enhancing our Partner Store, which allows customers to check availability and place orders via the Internet. The site allows them to find near equivalents of models, for those times when a SKU is out of stock or retired. They can even find deals on obsolete inventory. By the time this article appears in print, we’ll also have implemented event-management technology, which will allow us to be more on top of the movement of goods through the supply chain. An event manager provides an alert whenever an action in the process has taken place-for example, when a washer is loaded into a container in Schomdorf, when that container full of washers is loaded onto a ship in Rotterdam, when the ship departs, when the ship arrives, when the container is unloaded from the ship in Norfolk, when the container leaves the port via truck, and, finally, when the washer is unloaded at the Findlay, Ohio, warehouse. The result is that people’s attention is directed to what needs to be done. We’ll also be further along in our application of HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW T 120 hree years into the project now, we continue to assign ourselves and deliver three new capabilities per month. This doesn’t get simpler over time, either. As I write this, for example, we’re focused on something we call â€Å"Plan to Sell/Build to Order. † Here, the notion is that certain high-volume SKUs should never be out of stock. These are the heart-ofthe-line dishwashers. .l^ading a Supply Chain Turnaround ean techniques (usually associated with manufacturing operations) to our total supply chain. This involves using pull concepts and kanbanlike triggers to speed up processes, reduce inventory, and enhance customer service. On the Hoz4zon W hirlpool has much to show for its supply chain efforts. By the end of 2003, our product availability had reached over 93%, up from 88. 3% in 2001. (Toda y it’s more than 95%. ) That allowed us to attain an order fill rate for key trade partners of over 96%. The number of days’ worth of finished goods we were holding in inventory had dropped from 32. 8 to just 26. We drove freight and warehousing total cost productivity from 4% to 7. 2%. From 2002 to 2003, we lowered working capital by almost $100 million and supply chain costs by almost $20 million. Does all this add up to value in excess of the expense our leadership team approved? Absolutely. In fact, total payback on that original investment occurred within the first two years. Still, our work is far from finished. In October 2001, just months after we kicked off our turnaround, we were fortunate in that the new executive vice president brought in to run Whirlpool’s North America region had deep supply chain knowledge. Dave Swift, who came to us from Kodak, believes strongly in the strategic importance of the supply chain both for building brands and for creating sustainable competitive advantage. Immediately after joining us, he elevated our sales and operations planning process by personally chairing monthly executive SOP meetings. These meetings have become the model for the company and the basis for much of our just-started global supply chain efforts. In the future, we’ll face greater demands for end-toend accountability. We’re already responsible for the resale of any returns. Soon we’ll be accountable for the disassembly of products in Europe. It’s only a matter of time before similar laws are enacted in the United States. And we’ll be taking an even closer look at the design of the products themselves. If we can redesign a productOCTOBER 2004 make it in a smaller plant, make it with smaller parts, ship it in smaller pieces – we can dramatically affect supply chain economics. It’s great to improve forecasts, optimize transportation, and speed up our processes with existing SKUs. But what if we could push the end stages of production closer to the consumer and get higher leverage from those SKUs? That’s the kind of thing that can change the rules of the game. It’s a wonderful thing about our business: We have fierce competition all over the world, and on top of that we have very smart trade partners who deal with numerous other suppliers. We may be a white goods, big box supplier, but because our customers also buy electronics and apparel and so on, we’re constantly being challenged by the benchmarks of other, more nimble industries. Technologies continue to evolve, channel power continues to shift, and the bar is constantly being raised. But I’m confident that the talent in Whirlpool’s supply chain organization will be equal to it all. ^ Reprint RO4IOG To order, see page 159. 121 How to cite Leading Supply Chain Turn Around, Papers

Its The People Essays - Human Resource Management, Employment

It's The People With today's workforce becoming increasingly diverse and organizations doing more to maximize the benefits of the differences in employees, Human Resource managers are evolving from the old school sideline player to the front-line fighters. Organizations are relying on managers to get the people who get the job done, and of course, make the company money. People have always been central to organizations, but their strategic importance is growing in today's knowledge-based business world like never before. An organization's success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of its employees, particularly as they help establish a set of core competencies which distinguish one organization from its competitors. When employees' talents are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and organize, an organization can achieve a sustained competitive advantage. In order to compete through people, an organization has to be able to do a good job of managing their human capital: the knowledge, skills, and capabilities that add value to the organizations. Managers must develop strategies for identifying, recruiting, and hiring the best talent available. Develop these individuals in ways that are specific to the needs of their individual firms, encourage them to generate new ideas while familiarizing them with the company strategies, invite information sharing, and rewarding collaboration and team work. The basis on which compensation payments are determined, and the way they are administered, can significantly affect employee productivity and the achievement of organizational goals. Establishing compensation programs require both large and small organizations to consider specific goals. Employee retention , compensation distribution and adherence to the budget must be carefully weighted against the overall organizational goals and expectations. Compensation must reward employees for past performance while serving as a motivation tool for future performances. Internal and external equity of the pay program will affect employees' concepts of fairness. Organizations must balance each of the concerns while still remaining competitive. For internal equity an organization can use one of the basic job evaluation techniques to determine relative worth of job. The most common are the ranking and classification methods. The job ranking system arranges jobs in numerical order on the basis of the importance of the job's duties and responsibilities to the organization. Job classification slots jobs into preestablished grades with higher rated grades requiring more responsibilities, working conditions, and job duties. External equity can be determined by a wage survey. Data obtained from the surveys will facilitate establishing the organization's wage policy while ensuring that the employer does not pay more, or less, than needed for jobs in the relevant labor market. Base salary is only one aspect of a retention plan for important employees. Benefits and incentive plans are valuable perks in recruiting and retaining essential employees. Benefits are an established and integral part of the total compensation package. In ord er to have a sound benefits package there are certain basic considerations. It is essential that a program be based on specific objectives that are compatible with the organizational philosophy and policies as well as affordable to the company. By utilizing a flexible benefits package, employees are able to choose those benefits that are best suited to their individual needs. Incentive pay plans can be advantageous to both the employer as well as the employee. The success of an incentive pay plan depends on the organizational climate in which it must operate, employee confidence in it, and its suitability to employee and organizational needs. Importantly, employees must view the incentive plan to be equitable and related to their performance. Performance measures should be quantifiable, easily understood, and bear a demonstrated relationship to organizational performance. Performance appraisal programs serve many purposes, but in general those purposes can be clustered into two categories: administrative and developmental. The administrative purposes include decisions about who will be promoted, transferred, or laid-off. They can also include compensation decisions and the like. Developmental decisions include those related to improving and enhancing an individual's capabilities. These include identifying a person's strength and weaknesses, eliminating external performance obstacles, and establishing training needs. Within many organizations, performance appraisals are seen as a necessary evil. Managers frequently avoid conducting appraisals because they dislike playing the role of judge. As a result appraisals are conduct annually, for good or evil,

The Stinging of the USS Scorpion essays

The Stinging of the USS Scorpion essays In the years immediately following World War II, the United States was confronted with an ill equipped submarine force unprepared to face the new challenges of the Cold War. In response to the emerging threat, the United States Navy developed the Skipjack class of nuclear powered submarines. Among the first Skipjack models was the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) and was designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare against the Soviet sub fleet. It carried a special team of Russian linguists specifically to translate intercepted Russian naval communications. It was very fast, stealthy and durable. Yet with all these strengths, the United States lost contact with the USS Scorpion on May 22, 1968. Much confusion ensued and many asked how a state of the art submarine could essentially explode on its way home; the answer is that it didnt. The USS Scorpion was sunk by a Soviet torpedo and was subsequently covered up by the United States and Soviet militaries in order to preserve the countri es relationship and to avoid escalating the already passionate Cold War. On May 17, 1968, the USS Scorpion was on its way home after a three month deployment when an encrypted signal ordered the submarine to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance on a group of Soviet ships lurking off the southwest coast of the Canary Islands. A review of recently unclassified Navy documents proves this assertion. Captain W.N. Dietzen said we recognized the high desirability of getting...over there and taking a look at them [the Soviets], Dietzen said. I was salivating in the [Pentagon] corridors to find out what they were doing (Offley 3). Although the Navy has yet to declassify the information obtained from the Scorpions surveillance mission, from what has been leaked, the Russians were developing a way to support warships and submarines at sea without the need for foreign seaports or refueling depots. The U....

Publishing Horror Stories

Publishing Horror Stories Publishing Horror Stories Publishing Horror Stories By Sharon Want to know which mistakes to avoid? Heres a publishers perspective. In the latest issue of Publishing Basics, Carolyn Madison reveals some of the errors that make publishers cringe. These include misspellings, poor grammar and punctuation, structural problems, ambiguous messages and inaccurate content. They have a nice list of the always common misspelled words also: Affect or Effect Ensure, Insure, or Assure It’s or Its Two, Too, or To Set or Sit Then or Than There, Their, or They’re That, Which, Who, Whom, or Whose Like or As if Roll or Role Quite or Quiet Though or Thorough Since or Because Should of or Should have Less or Fewer Amount of or Number of Over or More than Capitol or Capital Check out the full list of publishing horror stories. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About Numbers41 Words That Are Better Than Good20 Ways to Laugh

The development of English for specific purposes (ESP) Essay

The development of English for specific purposes (ESP) - Essay Example in fact, Swales (1985) uses the development of EST to illustrate the development of ESP in general: ‘With one or two exceptions†¦English for Science and Technology has always set and continues to set the trend in theoretical discussion, in ways of analyzing language, and in the variety of actual teaching materials.’ The phase took place between 1960’s and 1970’s. The major proponents of this phase included Peter Strevens (Halliday, McIntosh and Strevens, 1964), Jack Ewer (Ewer and Latorre, 1969) and John Swales (1971). Operating on the basic principle that the English of, say, Electrical Engineering constituted a specific register different from that of, say, Biology or of General English, it is important to distinguish the grammatical and lexical features of these registers. Teaching materials have adopted these linguistic features in their syllabus, a good example being A Course in Basic Scientific English by Ewer and Latorre (1969) (see below p. 26). In fact, as Ewer and Latorre’s syllabus shows, register analysis revealed that there was little distinction in the sentence grammar of scientific English beyond the tendency to favor particular forms such as the present simple tense, the passive voice and nominal compounds. However, the syllabus did not reveal any forms found in General English. But we must be wary of making unfair criticism. Although there was an academic interest in the nature of English registers per se, the main motive behind register analyses, such as, Ewer and Latorre’s was the pedagogic one of making the ESP course more relevant to learners’ needs. The main purpose was to create a syllabus that would give priority to forms of language that students would use in their Science studies. Ewer and Hughes-Davies (1971), for example, compared the language of the texts their Science students had to read with the language of some widely used school

Social Sciencee Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Social Sciencee Term paper - Essay Example If you want to even talk about firms setting prices you have to talk about firms that have some ability to do so, and those are firms that have some market power: they are imperfectly competitive. Is there any other method which can help us to resolve more effectively and efficiently the many problems which are menacing the foundations of Western society What is wrong with the alternative of Marxian economics as applied in the Socialist countries, which also harbor a plethora of unresolved problems Is the thinking of our time upside down, or are we using the wrong approach - both in the West and the East - and therefore cannot resolve the pending problems These are some of the leading questions to be answered during the rest of the twentieth century. First, he broke the prevailing conventional wisdom of the past, i.e. the classical economics and method of reasoning, and brought for debate a new economic vision where government intervention becomes a part of and a major rule in the economic system. This was a new economic philosophy in contrast to the classical view where government intervention in a free society was conceived as an exception to the rule or not needed at all, according to the formula of laissez-faire or "hands-off policy". Second, he wSecond, he was able to develop new tools of analysis like the multiplier theorem, the consumption function or the paradox of thrift - all devised to prove that his new economic philosophy based on the concept of active and permanent government intervention was necessary and workable. Third, he was able to induce a large number of his peers in the economic profession to accept and follow his method of approach and the overall conceptualization, even though this was a sort of inverted type of analysis when compared with classical economics, as will be shown later. The fact of the matter remains that his influence upon the thinking of his time was tremendous and unprecedented. Indeed, no other economist since Adam Smith enjoyed the opportunity to see that during his lifetime his ideas have conquered the world. This was a performance which raised Keynes to the status of the most influential economist of the twentieth century. A new composite method of approach: equilibrium vs. disequilibrium Classical economists were deficient in two major areas, one theoretical and the other practical. Their great performance was the study of stable equilibrium in theory where they found natural laws. This direction culminated with the formulation of the Walrasian theorem of general equilibrium. However, they were deficient in not having studied with the same diligence and attention problems of disequilibrium which were closer to the existing economic and financial conditions of their time. In other words, they were not aware of the existence of a gap between the harsh and unstable realities staring them in the face and the conceptual construction of an economics of stable equilib

The Silk Road Essays -- Chinese History

Long before there were trains, ships and airplanes to transport goods from one place to another, there was the Silk Road. Beginning in the sixth century, this route was formed and thus began the first major trade system. Although the term â€Å"Silk Road† would lead one that it was on road, this term actually refers to a number of different routes that covered a vast amount of land and were traveled by many different people. Along with silk, large varieties of goods were traded and traveled along this route both going to and from China. Material goods were not the only thing that passed along this path, but many religions were brought into China via the Silk Road. These topics will be discussed in detail in this paper. From Babylon in the west to Chang’an in the east and from Jada Gate in the north to Patna in the south, the Silk Road stretched over a wide space of the Asian and Middle Eastern countries. There was not one road or one direct route between the many stops between these destinations. The caravans that traveled the Silk Road mainly skirted the Taklimakan desert, also called the â€Å"Land of the Dead† by the people in that area. Nomadic tribes traveled from oasis to oasis, often with little or no protection from bandits. These bandits were accustomed to engaging in raids on the merchants that used this route to trade with other countries, attacking and stealing from the merchants and later selling what they acquired in this nefarious manner. It is important to note that while the deserts were a challenge to navigate, the highest mountain ranges also made travel difficult. Many of the people who used this trade route never traveled far, but instead traded goods many times between merchants. It is because of these ... ...hina as well. Along the Silk Road, Buddhism, Christianity, and Manichaeism also migrated towards the east. The Silk Road supported trade of goods and services and the spread of ideas and religions, beginning the shrinking of the world to the relatively small place it has become in our time. Works Cited Wild, Oliver. Department of Earth System Science; University of California Irvine, "The Silk Road." Last modified 1992. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html. Lendering, Jona. LIVIUS Articles on Ancient History, "Silk road." Last modified 03/30/2012. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://livius.org/sh-si/silk_road/silk_road.html. Major, John. Asia Society, "Silk Road: Spreading Ideas and Inovations." Last modified 2012. Accessed March 31, 2012. http://asiasociety.org/countries/trade-exchange/silk-road-spreading-ideas-and-innovations.

Marketing Sample Essay

Table of Contents Executive Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Market plan and Auditing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 SWOT Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Strengths †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Weaknesses †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 Opportunities †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Threats †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 Market Conditions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 The 4Ps of Marketing †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Price †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Products †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10Place †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Promotion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Works Cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 Audi Executive S ummary Audi is a brand of vehicle that is manufactured by a German automobile company, ranging from super-mini to cross over SUVs, accompanied by various body styles as well as different ranges of market price. Audi is leveled on the same brand as the Volkswagen Group (Oneighturbo). Audi is named after its founder- August Horch.Horch means to listen in German and on translation it means Audi in Latin. Though the Audi headquarter is in Ingolstadt, Germany, the brand is marketed and known worldwide. This paper will give main focus on marketing the brand Audi, in regard to the product, market segmentation, the size and the growth Audi market, market analysis regarding strengths and weaknesses as well as fronting recommendations. The marketing strategy of Audi is to emphasize the ability of the car to beat other automobile manufacturers in the global market. Audi is a global brand and is widely embraced far and away from the company headquarters inGermany. The management of the Audi Com pany has been at the forefront of improving and evolving into new models since its inception. The car status has to be improved by all standards in order to avoid being overtaken by other new car ventures in the competitive market. Introduction August Horch (1868-1951) established an automobile company in 1899 first as A. Horch & Cie. in Cologne Germany. However, due to the dispute between him and the advisory board, he quit the company. Later on, in 1909, Horch established another automobile company known as Horch Automobil-Werke GmbH (Baldwin and Laban).In 1910, the initial Audi automobile Type A 10/22 (16 KW) Sport-Phaeton in Zwickau (audiusa). Horsh continued to face tribulations and was evicted out of the company he had played an important role at creating (Audi Website). He proceeded to start a new company in Zwickau. The Audi car first went to the market with an inclined-four engine, a 2612 cc model, thereafter a 3564 cc, and then 4680 as well as 5720 cc models came into the market (Baldwin and Laban). Volkswagen is the largest shareholder of Audi. It owns over 99 percent of the overall share capital.Furthermore, Volkswagen, in its own financial statements, owns the consolidated accounts of Audi. Audi however was at the helm of the heading the Audi Brand Group which is a subdivision of the Volkswagen group, consisting of SEAT and Lamborgini, that mostly focused on sports car (Volkswagen Group). The Audi has four rings as its badge, which is considered to be one of the oldest emblems of automobile manufacturing company in Germany. The four badges symbolyze the merger of four automobile manufacturing companies namely; the Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. These companies form the connerstone of the current AUDI AG (Volkswagen Group).The figure below shows how the badge looks like; The old logo used by Audi until 2009, courtesy of the Audi Website. The Audi Company today is currently having a reputation of high quality, durable production of cars. Their sloga n, â€Å"Vorsprung durch Technik†, significantly implies â€Å"Progress through technology† (Volkswagen Group). Automobile users have been yearning for high-quality, durable and efficient cars, and apparently, this is what the company has been giving its clients. It is worth noting that the automobile market is very competitive and the company annot downplay this notion, if it wants to retain the current status or increased sales in the global market. Market plan and Auditing It is significantly imperative for any business to have a plan for the future in an effective manner so that it may be successful. It is equally important for any business to have a well established and outlined marketing plan in order to well sell its products. These are precautions that are carried out by every firm. In this regard, Audi, a global firm, is not left behind; starting from the moment it was established up to today. Audi has been effectively doing this through marketing its model.Th rough marketing the Audi model, the company sets down easy to accomplish objectives. The firm does the current position auditing as well as having policies of developing and implementing the current achievable objectives. Audi can achieve these through the following; * Setting corporate objectives such as profit and growth * Gathering information through market research * Assessing the current situation, referred to as the market analysis * Production of SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) * Setting objectives of the market, such as market share, revenue among others * Implementing market plan Using reviews through market research SWOT Analysis for Audi The SWOT analysis gives a breakdown of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that an organization is faced with (USDA, 2009). The strengths and weaknesses base their analysis on the internal factors that affect the organization while the opportunities and threats focus on the external factors. Strengths One of the main strength the company relies on is the good reputation that it boasts of in the worldwide arena. The Audi Company has the capacity of producing a car of high quality as well as using premium pricing.The spending power is large since they have built the brand over a long period of time, and as a global company, have been profitable in the market during the past period. The company is able to produce quality cars and has a vast marketing budget, through promotion of its brands, through addition of luxurious features, thus having advantage in the otherwise competitive market. In addition, the company relies on the success and the good reputation of the previous models, which included the A6, as well as the quality of the cars, which attract higher prices, in turn ending up building the overall company reputation.Weaknesses The company has a challenge of having to charge exorbitant prices for its cars, including A6 to cover the costs, with the eventual aspirati ons that potential customers will cater for these costs. The company, in order to effectively fight other competitors, has to ensure that they manufacture new models through technology and innovation, which during many occasions prove to be quite expensive. This will eventually lead to high pricing in order to cover the costs of production, transportation and costs of promotion. OpportunitiesAudi has in the most recent times released market price for its cars that none of its major competitors in the market have had an opportunity of meeting, thus gaining an ample part of the market. The Audi, which has been in the market for many years, has tremendously been growing, though other competitors have had to pull out of the market. The good economic environment is an opportunity for Audi to venture into the global market. Threats Audi is faced by the threat of its other main competitors releasing new models of cars immediately after it releases its own, thus attracting new potential cli ents away.Other highly regarded competitors in the automobile industry such as the Mercedes and the BMW have been having a good reputation, and Audi have to ensure that this threat is contained. One of the models, A6 has been having an elastic product and the price fluctuation may result in revenue loss. Consequently, the SWOT analysis enables the Audi Company to embrace one of the following methods; * Matching; Audi Company may have to build on its strengths and take the advantages imposed by the opportunities, or; * Conversion; the company may resort to reating new and innovative strategies that will overturn the weaknesses into strengths and eventually into opportunities. Market Conditions Besides using the SWOT analysis, Audi Company will employ the examination of the current market conditions prior to producing a good marketing strategy. Market examination can be done through carrying out research in relation to the opinions of the potential customers. The following are the maj or issues to be cross-examined; a) Market size; this implies that Audi will have to look at the overall size of the market, through measuring the market in terms of volume or value (price x volume).In this regard, it is equally important to ascertain that Audi owns a large market. b) Market share; this is the total sales percentage that a particular brand/product has as compared to the total market. In 2003, Audi boasted of 2. 7% of the total market share in the United Kingdom. From the initial perspective, this can percentage of market share can be deemed to be small, but when several factors are put into consideration, say, the number of automobile companies in the market, as well as the market share that Audi has in Germany, which is depicted to be three times the market share it had in the United Kingdom (Niedermeyer). ) Market growth; this refers to the actual rate of increase in the size of the market. Audi has been experiencing tremendous growth in market size. For instance, in the 2002, 2003 period, Audi had significantly increased the sales of its brand in the United Kingdom by 6. 9%. however, this only portrayed the rise in market share by 0. 6%. this therefore means that the Audi market is experiencing recommendable growth at a faster rate (Niedermeyer). d) Market segmentation; this is the appeal made by a brand to different parts of the market, mostly in different ways by transfrming the market mix.For instance, Audi Company has been on the forefront of changing the features of the Audi car so that it appeals to different individuals, such as women, youth, sporty individuals among others, through re-inventing different body size and engine size. The 4p’s of Marketing The 4p’s of marketing is a marketing tool that looks at how the business is positioned to reap the benefits of marketing. The 4p’s are the price, product, place and promotion (Ehmke, Fulton, & Lusk, 2009). The graph below is a representation of the benefits of usin g the 4p’s of marketing (Ehmke, Fulton, & Lusk, 2009).Price The pricing of a product is a big determinant of how the market responds to the product. Factors that affect the pricing of Audi car include; costs; the company will be obliged to cover the costs in order to make profits. For instance, making and testing Audi car is quite expensive, hence it’s high pricing (Huber). Pricing of Audi is also affected by the price elasticity of demand; this implies the sensitivity of the product to change the price. Therefore, if the price is sensitive, lowering of a product’s price will lead to turnover increase.Audi does not experience price elasticity, hence the high pricing. High pricing is directly linked to heavy branding, limited competitors (lack of new automobiles in the A6 class), having a selling point that is unique, high unit cost since constructing prototypes,testing the product as well as the overall production of the product is quite expensive quality design , and having limited distribution ( Audi is mainly sold in the showrooms and via the internet) may, among others also increase the pricing.There are quite a number of pricing methodologies that Audi may embrace, including; Price skimming-this is the process of setting the initial price high so as to achieve maximum profit that is short-lived,-penetration pricing;- in this case, Audi may set lower prices in order to gain the market share. When the market share is gained, the prices will eventually be hiked, competitor based pricing;-Audi may resort to setting the same prices as its competitors, demand based pricing;- when the demand is high, the prices are hiked. The company approximates the expenditure of consumers on its products.In this regard, the company will use the history of the previous sale of A6, cost plus pricing;- a firm may decide to increase a certain amount to the unit cost, a simple and a popular method. Audi may resort to use thi method so that it ensures that cars are not sold at a loss, predatory pricing;- this is the process of setting prices at a lower level with the main aim of driving away other competitors, eventually increasing the price when the competitors are out of the market, price discrimination;- this method ensures that different prices are charged for different segments of the market, for instance diplomatic personnel, overnment personnel, civil servants, and finally, psychological pricing;- this is whereby the consumers’ perception of the the pricing is given attention. Consumers would feel that they are not getting value for their money when the price is set high, and on the other hand, when the price is too low, they would thik that the product is of poor quality. Product The product is what the customer buys, and therefore it needs to be branded well, have an attractive cover and satisfy the expectations of the customer (Volker). The product must be of high quality.Audi has a good performance, has ideal features suc h as air conditioning, CD player, cruise control as well as good reliability. Place The place refers to the location of the business, and how reachable it is to the customers (Londre), or the channel of distribution. Audi is a company that is well established in the global market, thus needs no big expansion into new markets. Promotion Promotion refers to the communication regarding a product so that customers are informed about it. It is the creation of awareness (Londre).Audi is mostly promoted through advertisements through the T. V, automobile magazines and billboards. This will eventually increase the sales since the customers will have been informed about its features and price. Recommendations Audi is a brand that is recognized world wide and as such should endeavor to retain its current status, as well as bringing innovative technological cars in the market. This therefore means that the company should adopt new marketing strategies that many a times are used by various othe r companies in marketing their goods and services.For instance, different marketing strategies should be adopted for different Audi models such A6’s marketing strategy ought to be different from the rather cheaper, though well established A3 model. Even though, as mentioned in the preceding parts of this paper, Audi has a wide global market and therefore should not endeavor in expanding its market place, the product should strive to penetrate the existing market. It is imperative to increase the market share for Audi through venturing and penetrating the existing market, through changing marketing mix.This can easily be achieved through new product development and diversification of the existing market. Audi should also resort to developing a new car/product for the already existing markets. However, Audi has been endearing to achieve this goal through manufacturing of the new A6 model, though exposed to the already competitive car market. The process of new Product developme nt starts with both internal and external generation of ideas. Internal process involves research and development, while, on the other hand, external processes involve investors, consumers and competition.Audi Company should then put these ideas into analysis in order to ascertain their feasibility, therefore developing them through methods of prototypes, before testing for quality and safety of the products. Since Audi is competing in the massive world wide market, it is imperative for the company to maximize on the promotion of its products. In this regard, the A6 will be accorded several advantages over its main competitors, since the buyers will be fully aware of the offers that Audi has. The extensive promotion should be done by maintaining the already reputable brand name, hence improving sales.Furthermore, if the Audi brand name is maintained through A6, then the model will have a bright future. It is recommended that Audi strives in investing in maintaining the current marke t for its A6 product. This will eventually lead to increasing the market share as well as achieving long term profit margins and the gaining the set internal and external targets. In order to achieve this, investment in the long term must be carried out so that short term profit is reduced. Competitive pricing must well be established in the already competitive market, so that the potential buyers are not scared away by the exorbitant prices.The company should ensure that they minimize the costs, so that the innocent consumer is not made to pay for it. Conclusion Audi is a company that manufactures durable and high quality cars for a long period of time, and this reputation should be withheld by the management. When the mentioned recommendations are followed to the letter, then the already reputable Audi Company will increase its market share, eventually increasing its sales. The management should ensure that the current market share is increased through new innovations, thus not gi ving enough space to its competitors. Works Cited Audi website http://www. udiusa. com/us/brand/en/about/main/history. html Baldwin, Nick and Brian Laban. â€Å"The World Guide to Automobile Manufacturers. † Facts on File (1987): 43-44. Brand family tree. audiusa com. Retrieved 21 September 2011. Ehmke, C. , Fulton, J. , & Lusk, J. Marketing’s Four P’s: First Steps for New Entrepreneurs (Revised ed. ). Warren, Michigan, USA: SAGE Publishers, 2009. Huber, Peter. Manufacturing the Audi Scare. Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 1990. Londre, L. S. Marketing, IMC, Advertising, Promotion, Media and More (Revised ed. ). Perth, Australia: Wiley & Sons, 2009. Niedermeyer, Paul. The Audi 5000 Intended Unintended Acceleration Debacle. † The Truth About Cars ,2010. Oneighturbo. â€Å"Oneighturbo. † 10 December 2009. Oneighturbo. com. 21 September 2011 . Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Instructions for Conducting a SWOT Analysis (Revised ed. ). Newton , MA, USA: Education Development Center, 2009. USDA.. SWOT Analysis: A tool for making better business decisions (Revised ed. ). Perth, Australia: Routledge, 2009. Volker, M. 4 P's f MARKETING. Ed. Illustrated. Southfields, Michigan: SAGE, 2010. Volkswagen Group – Business lines and markets. Volkswagenag. com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.

Time Travel Is Not Only Possible Essay - 2401 Words

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