Category: Business

My preferred topic is organizational change; it is essentially defined as a process that involves transition from one way or system of performing work (which includes the culture) to a new way or cultural relation of an organization. I have chosen Taxes Electric Inc which is a small organization with vibrant presence in the market.

To position itself effectively in the market, the management has identified particular areas that need to be changed. A strategic team has been appointed by the management to draft a paper on how the organization will implement the strategies to harvest maximum benefits. After several sittings, the strategic team identified several areas that needed some changes. Among some of the areas to be reviewed was, the organizational structure, operations, and organizational culture.

The organizational structure was reviewed with some of hierarchy levels being scrapped to avoid conflicts and redundancy. This meant that some employees would lose their position or be redeployed to serve under other departments. Those affected received this with a lot of resistance because of the change in the status quo. The current structure had a poor reporting relationship with many employees unable to tell whom to report to. There were many overlaps of duties and responsibilities that rendered operations inefficient.

The current operations of the company were very inefficient. With the global economic meltdown, the company employees had to contend with working more hours for less pay.

This strategy was not received well by the employees. The strategic team identified that to support the change strategies developed, a strong organizational culture had to be cultivated. The culture will encourage innovativeness and greater individual flexibility. The employees should develop ownership of the company and freely participate in increasing companys productivity.

The transition mechanism put in place to oversee the changes was not successful. The greatest mistake was the composition of the strategic team. Top management was over represented giving an impression that is unbalanced. This invoked a lot of resistance from the lower level employees who felt left-out of the process.

The management did not communicate the need to change to its employees in time. The employees learnt of the changes through informal networks prompting the management to resort to damage control. The need to change though positive was critically negated by the management of transition process.

According to change theories, people are always resistant to change. If the management of Texas Electric Inc needed to implement changes in the organization, they needed to be keen in managing the transition. Kurt Lewin theory explains change transition in his freeze, unfreeze, and refreeze model. Before the change, the organizational behavior is in the freeze stage (repeated pattern of behavior based on the past experiences which people are unwilling to change).

To unfreeze these behaviors, the organization should communicate and develop the need to change amongst its employees. When all the employees have understood the need to change, then the desired change strategy can be implemented. After implementation, behavioral effectiveness and efficiency can only be achieved when individuals refreeze the changes. This can be done through monitoring and support where necessary.

Texas Electric could have easily managed change and obtained the desired result if they had adopted such a system. The company needed to have communicated the need for change to all its members. The next stage would be to build consensus on what areas need to be reviewed and the potential implication to both the employee and the employer.

Appointments to the strategic team should reflect the composition of the organization in order to build credibility. When specific strategies have been achieved, then the implementation process should be followed by close monitoring mechanism and support in order to achieve the desired goal.

Mean Well Company

Brief History

Meanwell is a limited company that leads in switching power supplies to various places worldwide. The company was established in 1982, with an initial capital of NT$ 1,000,000, and its current location is in Taiwan (Global Sources, 3). This company acquired the ISO-9001 certification in 1994.

Companys Goal

The companys central objective is to provide services to the satisfaction of the customer as well as provision of total quality assurance. Meanwell Company therefore ensures that they offer more personalized and quality services to the customers. It is as a result of this ultimate goal that the company is dedicated to following stringent procedures of designing, going through design verification procedures, component selection, design quality control checks, and mass production (Global Sources 6).

Interview conducted

In a bid to understand the company and kits operations, an interview was conducted with the companys manager in charge of exporting products to foreign branches, Linda Chou. Several questions were asked including companys products, decision-making patterns, transportation modes, product pricing, quality control, government intervention, sales, marketing strategies, and future prospects of the company among other questions. The responses and analysis of these questions are discussed in the subsequent section.

Supply Chain Management

The Products Offered by Meanwell Company

The company deals with a variety of power accessory products, which include battery chargers, AC/DC switching power supplies, DC/AC inverters, and DC/DC converters. All these products are offered in diversified quality models that are widely applied in communication, automation, and office automation fields, health industry as well as LED lighting, etc (Global Sources 7).

Method of Transportation Used

Mean well company uses vehicle trucks for delivery of their goods to other local distribution centers. For export purposes, the company uses aircrafts and shipping as means of transportation to foreign countries (Global Sources 13).

The Application of Logistics and Supply Chain Management Concept

The logistics model focuses on a sole business enterprise and works towards attainment of more efficient logistic strategies acquired through both internal and external planning and control. When various enterprises come together and form assimilation, a supply chain is created. Supply chain management refers to the management of relationships that have evolved due to amalgamation of businesses in an effort to deliver faster and more efficient services to their consumers (Jespersen and Larsen, pp 13-14).

Meanwell company ensures that they have a large stock in store to enable their customers do access these products conveniently and on time. Meanwell is strongly dedicated to providing faster local services to its distribution centers and end users. With a special focus on this, Meanwell is dedicated to providing reliable and long-term personalized services as well as enjoy negotiated costs of products. In addition, Meanwell ensures that each service or product provided has thoroughly been evaluated.

Some of the key factors put under consideration every time a given decision is being executed include the initial cost of goods sold, the prevailing foreign exchange rate, the freight or shipping cost, as well as the implication due to transportation of logistics. Mean well normally fixes prices to their commodities. The factors that they consider in price determination are whether there is stiff competition in the market for the commodity.

Secondly, they consider they consider the cost of goods sold. Under this, they put into consideration the cost of the raw materials used to come up with the product .etc. They also put into consideration the cost of labor and other related costs incurred to manufacture or produce the commodity.

Price determination is also dependent on the rate at which foreign money are being valued. Additionally, the Mean well directors evaluate the response gathered from its customers regarding a given product to fix the price of their goods (Trent and Monczka, 30).

Quality Control

Mean Well applies quality standards to be observed while manufacturing or processing its products. This is of significant importance since it helps provide good quality and uniform products.

The quality of their commodities is evaluated by use of a quality mechanism in the production process. Meanwell ensures that they manufacture or generate products of similar quality standards by including the R/D model of designing, production, selling procedures, etc. The quality assurance of Meanwells products is determined through ISO-9001 certification.

Moreover, Meanwell maintains control over its laborers by use of standard operating procedures (SOP). This regulatory measure helps to regulate the quality of labor offered by the staff in order to ensure that tasks are performed in the more efficiently and effectively. Additionally, they use previously recorded and analyzed statistical data to regulate and control the standard quality of their goods (Mentzer, 9-10).

Government Involvement

The state government plays an important role in regulating or controlling the operations of the company. For instance, the government was involved in provision of security of their products. This resulted in changes effected on the companys international logistics as well as the supply chain management.

The government regulates the customs duties extracted from exporting of products. Moreover, it ensures that all the required documents for shipment and freight are available and that all the requirements are met. In case any of these requirements is not met, the government holds the goods in their custody until they comply with the set regulatory measures. In such a case, the delivery or production process is delayed (Mentzer, 11).

Sales and Marketing Strategies

Mean Well has adopted an Interactive Marketing Strategy which is a customer-focused concept aimed at establishing transactions between the chains and potential customers. The company has gone online in advertising and marketing its products and services, which has yielded better returns than even television and print. The company is currently working towards availing the sales representatives detailed software data to equip them with marketing activities and strategies to ensure they yield better results (Mentzer, 12).

The Future of the Company

The company intends to expand its trading foci to international levels. It is working towards establishing more and more integrations with different companies of other continents. Mean Well is determined to open new branches all over the world where each branch will have its individual marketing strategy. This marketing concept will be based on the increasingly competitive business environment so that the company will stand out to offer exceptional services and products (Jespersen and Larsen, pp 8-9).

The company intends to lay emphasis on product competition as well as cut back on the cost of transportation. This calls for strategic planning and organization by the companys management team. In this regard, the company is proposing the use of air transportation for less consignments as well as emergency operations while the huge and bulky goods are transported by ship. This will cut on the cost of labor as well as shipment charges (Trent and Monczka, 32).

Recommendation

I recommend the adoption of the logistics and supply chain management tools early enough in any business enterprise to immune the organization of any complexities that may be experienced as trading tends towards increased competition and cooperation. From what has been gathered as a result of incorporating these concepts, it is evident that they can be applied to any enterprise to boost its performance (Trent and Monczka, 27).

This marketing concept will be based on the increasingly competitive business environment so that the company will stand out to offer exceptional services and products. As a consequence, the company intends to lay emphasis on product competition as well as cut back on the cost of transportation. With this insight in mind, the company will least be assured of continued growth and development of their company.

However, this calls for strategic planning and organization by the companys management team. In this regard, the company is proposing the use of air transportation for less consignments as well as emergency operations while the huge and bulky goods are transported by ship. This will cut on the cost of labor as well as shipment charges (Jespersen and Larsen, pp 8-10).

Conclusion

The use of logistics and supply chain management tools will help ease the operations of the growing and competitive market even as trading tends towards globalization. These concepts will provide solutions to the problems accrued due to business amalgamations and help to deliver faster and more efficient services to their consumers at more customer-friendly prices (Mentzer, 12).

Works Cited

Global Sources. Global Sources electronic components. Singapore: Trade Media Ltd Publishers. 2007.

Jespersen, Birgit and Larsen, Tage. Supply chain management: in theory and practice. VA: Copenhagen Business School Press DK Publisher. 2005.

Mentzer, John T. Supply chain management. Edition 2. London: SAGE Publisher. 2001.

Trent, Robert and Monczka, Robert. International Purchasing and Global Sourcingwhat are the Differences? Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp 2637. 2003.

Abstract

Crowdsourcing has become an established business concept among small and large businesses. While firms of all sizes have applied the concept and derived its values, crowdsourcing has been effective among small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. However, crowdsourcing is an emerging concept with the development in technologies. Businesses should plan adequately for risks and benefits associated with the concept.

Introduction

Many forms of businesses have adopted the concept of crowdsourcing as a form of marketing strategy. Such businesses collect data and ideas in order to gain competitive advantages in their business processes. As a result, the idea has proved to be effective form of marketing, but only few firms have realized its potential. Crowdsourcing has demonstrated its effective in promoting business growth, but some critics believe that the strategy can fail due to inherent challenges.

They claim that the crowd may not possess the necessary knowledge and good advice, which businesses can rely on to restructure their strategies. Although some organizations had used crowdsourcing before, the concept gained popularity with the growth in the Internet technologies when businesses noted that they could crowdsource different tasks, which they could not complete indoors through their own employees. In this essay, the focus is on pros and cons of crowdsourcing as a business model.

What is crowdsourcing?

People have defined crowdsourcing as the process of giving work to online communities in order to collect information and complete tasks, i.e., it depends on the power of the crowd. Facebook has relied on the concept of crowdsourcing. Facebook has provided a community of workers who can accomplish tasks through fan pages and other platforms.

People participate in contests where they generate ideas, some are brilliant, and others are not. Wikipedia has also used a similar approach to develop data bank of information by using various people. This shows how firms have exploited crowds to generate new marketing concepts.

Jeff Howe introduced the term, crowdsourcing in 2006 (Howe, 2009). However, some firms had previously relied on the idea to generate new ideas and create new products. In 1936, Toyota used the concept in order to develop its logo. The idea has gained momentum due to increased online activities among people, and companies have taken advantages to recruit such people to generate new ideas. In the recent period, Procter & Gamble has called people on several occasions to solve technical scientific challenges. Small businesses like

Threadless and iStockphoto have also used the concept to generate millions of dollars with few employees. These companies have demonstrated that they can rely on the peoples creativity and finish highly specialized projects. The crowd has various talents, creativity, and rates of production. In addition, crowdsourcing overrides issues like gender, race, age, experience, and qualification in order to achieve a quality performance. Thus, people who can perform the job take it.

On the other hand, crowdsourcing has changed work processes, research activities, talent management, generation of product concepts, and marketing activities. The crowd has upset the normal forms of labor and marketing practices. Significant changes shall take place within organizations in which some may be positive while others may be negative.

Application of crowdsourcing in business

Marketing

Businesses have used crowdsourcing in several areas. One such area is marketing. Organizations use crowdsourcing in product development and design. The aim is to obtain inputs and recommendations on product development from users and professionals. Professionals or experts may contribute to the process by solving technical challenges. Other organizations require the community to design new products.

Such firms may use those designs and share the revenue with the crowd. Still, other organizations use crowdsourcing communities for all services and products, which are usually in written forms or data. The company then provides such services, products, or information to its customers.

Another marketing area that crowdsourcing has been effective is in advertisement and promotion of products and services. One can identify two different forms of activities. First, organizations outsource laborious, tedious, and menial jobs to the crowd. Most firms may not have the workforce or time to complete such tasks. Second, firms also crowdsource highly specialized tasks, particularly in the development of advertisement and promotional messages.

Some firms do their marketing research through crowdsourcing. Marketing managers have noted that they can gain valuable information from a large number of consumers from various parts of the world in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The aim is to get the crowd to answer questions provided at a small fee within a specified time (see Amazon mechanical turk). In the process of marketing research, short projects, which the community can complete in few minutes, have emerged. These tasks tend to differ with the extensive marketing research that organizations give to specialized marketing firms.

Other areas of application

Businesses have also used crowdsourcing in other areas other than marketing. The concept is applicable in the real estate sector. For instance, the site, Popularise is a crowdsourcing site for real estate development. The owners of the site (Ben and Dan Miller) use the crowds opinions to allocate tenants residency in their vacant premises. In addition, they also use crowdsourcing to determine the kind of building for construction in new locations.

In the UK, people can now crowdsource a home (Collinson, 2012). Individuals can pull their resources together with aim of acquiring a home at no risks and charges. In some cases, sites aim at bringing the crowd and resources together for creating a change in the neighborhood (Bricskstarter). This is a business venture in which interested crowds normally conduct their research in order to understand its operations.

Crowdsourcing has also been effective way of sourcing for funds. People have raised startup capitals from the crowd (Steinberg, 2012). This is the main purpose of a Web site like Kickstarter, which has facilitated the idea of crowdfunding. This is a method of raising a modest sum of cash by providing certain service and goods in return for money or donations.

Others firms or individuals have used crowdsourcing as a way of accomplishing tasks that people can perform online. People can fill up questions, rate a Web site, review tasks, correct grammar, write new projects, and technical aspects of a job among others. Crowdsourcing has been effective for such tasks. A Web site like Fiverr provides online services at a minimum rate of five dollars.

There are also tasks that require human inputs and many people may not have adequate time for them. Small businesses or individuals can crowdsource such tasks to online communities. Small businesses or individuals pay for photo tagging, proofreading, translation, transcription, and interpreting some materials. Crowdsourcing offers a solution to such tasks through its widespread workforce. Organizations can get their tasks accomplished fast, securely, anonymously, and at low costs.

Pros and cons of crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing has provided a cost-effective method of accomplishing tasks online through the community at cheap rates and on a timely manner. Crowds can perform any task of their interests at a small fee. This provides an opportunity for the business to place several orders on the same project and then later choose the best outcome. For instance, LG brought the idea of Design the Future in which the crowd took part in generation of new ideas for the future phone, and the company offered rewards and gifts for top performers.

Crowds can generate the best ideas ever because of the vast community (Dawson and Bynghall, 2011). Businesses have generated millions of concepts for improving or designing new products. The crowd can provide ideas that the business needs in order to improve its products or services.

Large and small businesses have used crowdsourcing as a method of getting suitable talents for completing and outsourcing their projects. This could be the long-term benefit of the concept. In some cases, firms have turned their regular projects into contract with the crowd that handles most of their tasks. Some firms have recruited talented individuals through crowdsourcing.

It is a powerful marketing tool for small and large businesses (Sherman, 2011). Firms like LG and Procter & Gamble have been able to market their brands through crowdsourcing because any crowdsourced ideas usually go viral among crowdsourcing communities.

Others believe that crowdsourcing provides simple processes of completing a technical task. Some firms can now crowdsource their R&D projects and reduce the number of workforce.

On the other hand, crowdsourcing has a myriad of challenges. Some firms have complained about the quality of the final work. The crowd is good and affordable method of accomplishing tasks. However, issues concerning project quality, suitability, and accuracy may be low.

It is also difficult to find the right idea from thousands of ideas the community generates. Obviously, this is a difficult task, which may take several months to accomplish because the company may only be interested in an exceptional idea.

In some cases, a business may crowdsource the wrong task such as R&D projects. The crowd may share such ideas with other companies that may be seeking for similar ideas. Therefore, firms should ensure that any crowdsourced ideas do not result into a serious loss to them in case of a leakage.

Businesses may also crowdsource and get wrong marketing ideas and final products. This is usually a challenge during the product design and development in which the final product from the crowdsourced ideas may not impress the consumer. Consumers may blame the company for delivering poor products or services, and such bad publicity can ruin a brand.

Finally, disputes are also always in any form of human interactions. Dispute resolution model may be the major drawback to crowdsourcing. Members of a crowd may copy others ideas, the client may get a poor quality job, and crowd may lose the income. The method has not established effective dispute resolution method because of virtual nature of participants. However, some virtual crowdsourcing companies have internal dispute resolution mechanisms.

Conclusion

Crowdsourcing is an evolving concept with technology. It has been an effective tool for businesses to get their tasks accomplished at low-costs and on a timely manner. However, in some cases, the task may fail to meet the desired standards. Therefore, businesses, which engage in crowdsourcing, must also know the inherent challenges.

References

Collinson, P. (2012). Property investment rebranded for crowdsourcing generation. Web.

Dawson, R., and Bynghall, S. (2011). Getting Results From Crowds: The definitive guide to using crowdsourcing to grow your business. San Francisco, CA: Advanced Human Technologies.

Howe, J. (2009). Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business. New York: Crown Business.

Sherman, A. (2011). The Complete Idiots Guide to Crowdsourcing. New York: Penguin.

Steinberg, D. (2012). The Kickstarter Handbook: Real-Life Success Stories of Artists, Inventors, and Entrepreneurs. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books.

PPQ Parts is a distributional company which aims at providing international expansion to Germany and Japan. There are a lot of different purposes and strategic goals which should be met to reach this aim. The strategic management plan provided in this report is going to cover some specific areas, like location consideration, managerial and financial strengths and weaknesses, economic, competition, and political environment, and short-term and long-term strategic goals of the company.

Environmental conditions in the sphere of global expansion including economy, competition, and political stability

Being a distributional company, PPQ Parts works only on the territory of the USA but wants to provide its influence all over the world. Conducting an analysis of the economic position in the whole world, it should be stated that the crisis effects are reducing that makes it possible for the economy development.

Thus, if the real GDP growth in the world was -0.9 in 2009, not it is 3.8 and the forecasts show that it is going to be 3.5 the next year (Economic forecast, 2010). The distributional institution at the international arena is really necessary for the long term periods as the demand on different products increases. Moreover, the residual effects of the economic crisis allow this kind of business to develop and flourish in a number of reasons. It is crucial to state that demand plays a vital role in this process (OHara, 2006).

The competition in the sphere has always been strong, so much effort should be made to enter the international distributional market. Moreover, the company which enters the international market for the first time always feels more tension from the side of other members of the market than those who have already entered it.

The world market members unwillingly allow new entrants to become the part of their business as this increases the competition and makes some companies leave the market. In the relation to political environment, it supports the international business development. In spite of the fact that political environment in most cases is strong and tense, the current situation is stable and there are no essential hazards that can influence the distributional business.

Managerial and financial strengths and weaknesses

The international expansion involves a number of different challenges which may be faced. The international arena involves the notion of the multiculturalism. Thus, managers may face the problem of multicultural barrier in the work at the world market. It is crucial to consider the main principles of work with clients and running business in the counties where the company wants to expand to, Germany and Japan in our case.

Germany and Japan are the countries which development may be identified as stable and successful. Still, there are some tendencies which may create a number of problems. Therefore, Japan development is unbalanced that may create a number of problems in the future. It is important to note that the developed countries invest in the business on their territory and invite the international companies if the local ones do not cope with the amount of work which should be done.

The main weakness of the managerial and financial sphere is that it is more difficult to organize the business on the distance. The main office should be created in the country for running and monitoring the business. When the work will be completed and arranged, the office in another country is going to be the company strength.

Short-term and long-term strategic goals

Planning to enter the international market and to increase the global expansion, PPQ Parts is planning to reach the following short-term and long-term strategic goals. Firstly, it is natural that the increase of the company influence presupposes the increase of the employees. Thus, the company is planning to increase the number of employees from 5,000 up to 10,000 in four years. Secondly, it is obvious that the international expansion requires from the company to increase its building potential worldwide.

The warehouses in different countries are extremely necessary for the international distributional company. Thus, the company is working on the increase of buildings which are going to be used beyond the territory of the USA. Entering the international market, the company is planning to increase its small SUVs market share from 5% up to 9% in the next four years.

Within this problem, it should be stated that the current stock price is considered to be $10 per share, while the companys goal is to increase it up to $22 per share. Having a 6% profit margin in 3 year average, and the same level of industry average during this time, the company wants to reach the activity of 13% in four years.

The industry average activity of the employee turnover comprises 25%. It should be mentioned that the employee turnover in the company has been 28% for the last 3 years. This activity should be reduced and the company wants to lower it up to 17% in the nearest 4 years.

The company supports local communities and contributes to their business. The company donates 0.5% of its profit to this sphere. Being a company value, it wants to increase this charity rate up to 5%. Thus, here are the short-term and long-term strategic goals the company wants to reach with the help of the chosen strategy of entering the international market.

Location benefits and limitations

Having considered some information, it is possible to state that the labor power involved in the distributional sector in Japan is much lower than that involved in the USA. It may be concluded that the location of the PPQ Parts in Japan is a successful decision due to the fact that this territory needs more distributional companies (Miwa, Nishimura, & Ramseyer, 2002).

Germany is a perfect company for locating the PPQ Parts distributional facilities, as the country lacks the distributional services in the following sectors of the economics and industries, chemicals, financial institutions, food and luxury goods, etc. (Wiedenfels, 2009).

Moreover, Germany is located in Europe and Japan is an Asian country. The company location strategy may be easily understood. The desire to enter the European and Asian markets may be rather successful in the future from the point of view of the possibilities to increasing PPQ Parts business in other countries of Europe and Asia. Thus, the company will have to spend much effort on establishing contacts with German and Japanese neighbors.

In conclusion it should be stated that PPQ Parts is the company with good strategic goals and strong position. Setting the short-term goals on entering the German and Japan markets, the company establishes the long-term strategic goals for becoming one of the leading distributional companies at the European and Asian markets. Moreover, the political and economical environments are rater successful in those countries and the countries have managed to come out of a recession fast.

Reference List

(2010). Economic forecast. Country Report. Germany, (4), 6.

Miwa, Y., Nishimura, K., & Ramseyer J. M. (2002). Distribution in Japan. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

OHara, P. A. (2006). Growth and development in the global political economy: social structures of accumulation and modes of regulation. London: Routledge.

Wiedenfels, G. (2009). Trust of potential buyers in new entrepreneurial ventures: an analysis of trust drivers, the relevance for purchase intentions, and the moderating effect of product or service qualities. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag, 2009.

Introduction

The purpose of the present report is to provide recommendations for the packaged potato chips export opportunities. One of the most promising markets for this kind of product is China. First of all, the Chinese market is very profitable due to the number of potential consumers. Secondly, according to French and Crabbe (2010) snacks market is increasing in the country due to the popularity of western ways of life.

Thus, potato chips have become high-value products in recent years (French and Crabbe, 2010, p.56). These two features make the Chinese market one of the most appropriate for international expansion. However, to succeed on the Chinese market some changes in the products packaging, flavor and advertising style should be implemented due to the peculiarities of the culture and consumers tastes and habits.

Analysis of the future product peculiarities

Admittedly, before entering new market (especially in the other country) it is necessary to learn the culture, habits, customs and preferences of the consumers since these are those essential details which influence business success (Daft, 2010, p. 102). Thus, Daft (2010) illustrates hardships of companies which did not take into account some important characteristic features of the culture (language peculiarities, religion, beliefs). Thus, it is important to make the product fit the new market.

Advertising style

As far as the advertising style is concerned it is necessary to stress the origin of the product due to the popularity of western culture. So, it can be beneficial to point out that his product is the most popular in the western world and it, in fact, symbolizes the entire western culture.

It will be useful to use the images of active and successful people who are aware of the latest trends in the popular culture. Moreover, Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) report that to date Chinese consumers are eager to try something new trying to impress everyone with their sophistication and courage (72). Of course, this trend is already known for many producers and Lays, for instance, uses an image of a mountain climber.

To promote the product in question it is possible to use the image of people challenging some unpopular traditions. It is also possible to feature a person who will be regarded as the symbol of popularity suggesting joining the club of winners who can impress the rest of Chinese people.

Naming

It goes without saying that the name of the product should reveal the same idea of popularity. For example, it is possible to use such names as Top chips, Pop chips, Star chips, Hot chips, The hottest, No limits, etc. These names are associated with popularity, success and challenge which is necessary to promote the product.

Packaging

As for packaging, first of all, it is necessary to point out that the size of packages can be remained the same. However, it can be helpful to consider colors more carefully. One of possible outlines for the package is red background and several bright (golden or yellow tinges) stars in the center and blue background with the same stars. Such colors and images will, in the first place, attract consumers attention and will be easily recognized. On the other hand, such packaging is also associated with success and popularity.

Flavors

By all means, not only packaging and advertising company can make the product successful. It is essential to take into account consumers tastes.

According to Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) the tastes differ even in different areas of China: in Shanhai people prefer sweet tastes, in Hong Kong consumers prefer salty products, in the western areas people like spice flavors, in Beijing consumers like meaty flavors (72).

Interestingly, Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) report that Chinese people do not like eating chips in summer since chips are regarded as hot food. Thus, Lays provided a new flavor  lemon chips- which have become quite popular (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007, p.72).

Such information should be also taken into account: it is possible to work out flavors with mint, and/or other herbs which are common in China to create the same effect of freshness as mint produces. It is but natural to provide different regions with chips in accordance with consumers tastes (salty, sweet, meaty). Notably, Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) report that cheese flavor is not popular in China, so this kind of product should not be sold in the Chinese market.

Pricing

As far as prices are concerned it is possible to remain prices the same. Even if the prices are reasonably high it can be associated with exclusiveness of the product. So, Chinese consumers will have another opportunity to impress others with their wealth.

Conclusions

In summary, it is necessary to point out that the most promising market for exporting packaged chips is China. To become successful on this market it is necessary to follow the basic strategy points. The main stress should be made on the notion of popularity and success. The naming and packaging should reveal the same idea: must be bright and recognizable (red and gold colors should prevail).

There should be several flavors for several parts of China (sweet, salty and meaty, with no cheese flavor). The prices can be quite high which will underline the exclusiveness of the product and will become one of the items necessary to build an image of popular and successful Chinese.

Reference List

Daft, R.L. (2010). Management (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

French, P., Crabbe, M. (2010). Fat China: How Expanding Waistlines are Changing a Nation. New York: Anthem Press.

Hellriegel, D., Slocum, J.W. (2007). Organizational Behavior. Mason, OH: Thompson South-Western.

Introduction

Promotion is one of the components of the marketing mix. Kurtz, MacKenzie and Snow (2010) define promotion as the function of informing, persuading and influencing the consumers purchase decision (p.464). Thus, promotion is one of the important steps on the way to increasing a companys profit. However, the question arises: what if profit is not the focus of a companys activity?

The purpose of a not-for-profit organization is offering services to the citizens. Like any for-profit company, a not-for profit organization has income from its operation and employs staff whose work is paid; however, the surplus income is not distributed to its owners or shareholders: it is used as compensation for an organizations services that are provided for a public purpose and is directed to advancing its purpose.

Nevertheless, in their operation, not-for-profit organizations also have to apply marketing techniques to promote their services. We will discuss development of a promotional brochure of Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Center, a not-for-profit organization located in Canada.

Conclusion

Despite the operation of a not-for-profit organization is not focused on earning profit, it nevertheless needs to apply elements of marketing to promote their services to citizens. Promotion, one of the elements of the marketing mix, can be used by a not-for-profit organization to inform citizens about their services and influence their decision to use them.

To be successful, the promotional strategy of a not-for-profit organization should meet a range of requirements. First of all, it should be consonant with the overall purpose and objectives of an organization (Kurtz, MacKenzie & Snow, p.464); it should correspond to its mission and reflect the intents that its services have.

Secondly, it should be effective in terms of communication with the citizens: promotion is successful when a message sent by a company is comprehensible and interesting for an addressee. These hints should be taken into account any time an organization develops a promotional activity.

Another aspect of developing a promotional action is clear understanding of its purpose. Despite the main aim of a promotional action is, of course, promotion, there is a range of objectives that it may have: informing, stimulating demand, differentiating a service, accentuating its value and stabilizing sales (p. 471).

This approach is applicable to the operation of a not-for-profit organization as well: for example, a promotional brochure aimed at informing citizens about services an organization offers will differ from another brochure that an organization issues to stimulate demand for a service or accentuate its value.

However, as a not-for-profit organization itself has certain peculiarities of its operation, its promotional activities should also be in accordance with these peculiarities. In many cases, not-for-profit organizations aim at helping disadvantaged citizens or those who need certain kind of support.

These peculiarities of an organizations customers should be taken into account. When developing a promotional action, a not-profit organization should consider how peculiarities of the target group may influence their ability to receive, comprehend and accept a message that this action communicates.

Thus, despite the purpose of activity of a not-for-profit organization differs from that of a for-profit company, we may state that the purpose of promotional actions taken by them is similar. Besides, the principles that are applied when developing promotional actions for for-profit companies can be applied in not-for-profit organizations promotion as well. At the same time, a not-for-profit organization should take into account peculiarities of its activity and its clients.

Considering all said above, we can suggest the Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Center using promotion as the means of attracting newcomers to the services the organization provides:

1. The Center may prepare printed materials, such as brochures and leaflets. To make promotion successful, it is necessary to distribute these materials to the places that newcomers may visit, for example, embassies, local cultural centers and cultural events, schools etc.
2. As newcomers tend to actively communicate with people of the same culture, it may be reasonable to develop a promotional action that will encourage clients who already use or have ever used the Centers services to invite those who have not used them yet.
3. If the Center has enough funds, it will be effective to order billboards with its advertisements.
4. The representatives of the Center may visit local culture centers and culture events and inform newcomers about its services. It may also organize its own cultural events (concerts, watching movies etc).
5. The Center may offer a familiarization city tour to newcomers and promote its services during the excursion.

Reference

Kurtz, D.L., MacKenzie, H.F., & Snow, K. (2010). Contemporary Marketing. 2nd Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education.

Today, workers have the best formal education and they tend to continuously pursue their studies in different educational institutions for the sole purpose of advancing academic levels. Pursuing further studies is an important endeavor as most employers today demand the highest form of academic qualification from their employees.

In this era, there are vast advancements in technology and information systems that take place almost daily. These are the vehicles of most activities carried out by employees required at work. Information technology is highly embraced today and almost no work is carried out manually.

As far as organized labor is concerned, the idea of obtaining formal education as well as advancing ones training from time to time yields positive results both for the employers and employees. Employees can now enjoy security of tenure as they cannot lose their jobs due to lack of knowledge on new methods of operations in their day to day activities.

The employees already possess the theoretical knowledge about the new items in the form of either equipment or information technology. Therefore, they simply need demonstrations after which they quickly pick up.

On the other hand, employers are never allowed to sack their employees without a substantial reason. Therefore, this forces the employers to make sure that they give their workers proper training as far as new technology and information systems is concerned. However, with employees obtaining formal education and going back to school, it simplifies employers work to mere demonstrations and physical illustrations which are time saving and cost effective for their businesses.

The formation of workers unions and other forms of employee organizations has gained high popularity over time. The unions formed are intended to favor the workers in many different ways since they act as the voice of the workers in aspects that affect their lives. Their opinions and demands are collected and aired through the unions. The unions also shield their members against maltreatment that may emanate from the employers and this ensures that the right of every single member is respected and fairness prevails.

The formation of workers unions is stimulated by factors such as; the need to have appealing working environments with good working conditions, the urge to receive fair treatment from employers as well as the fight for fair and deserved remuneration policies. The unions also work towards ensuring that the works welfare is up to the required standards.

Some non-union employers usually engage their employees in the process of evaluating their supervisors and managers. This is to the advantage of the employers since the subordinates involved are always in contact with the supervisors and managers and understand their level of performance better than the presented testimonials which are prone to editing.

However, the responses given by the subordinates may be highly inaccurate as they may either be bribed to provide biased information or give negative information due to misunderstandings between them and those being evaluated who also happen to be their seniors.

In the United State, labor relations are characterized by adversary especially in the industries where the interests of labor and management coincide. This is due to the need to involve an antagonistic element in labor management and relations. They also work towards having the highest possible quality of labor and present criticism to the employers, this is an important element and leads to the achievement of a good working environment.

In general, workers need to keep advancing in their education from time to time. It is important as well, to form unions that speak and defend the workers from injustices at the work place. It is advisable to provide room for antagonism in labor management which aids in achieving high quality management in the sector.

TRADE is the best practice benchmarking model. The TRADE methodology is used in monitoring the exchange (trade) of information and the most useful project management practices to enhance the performance of products and processes. The benchmarking tool has superior project management systems and training materials that make it apposite for running many benchmarking projects concurrently. Therefore, it is a tool for saving time and money.

The benchmarking model has five phases. These are the terms of Reference, Research, Act, Deploy, and Evaluate. Within each phase are various procedures that need to be followed for the success of a project. The terms of Reference is concerned with the planning of the project.

The Research phase involves the exploration of the current state of affairs of the project. The Act phase focuses on the process of undertaking data collection and analysis. The fourth phase, Deploy, focuses on communicating and implementing the best practices. The final phase Evacuate is concerned with evaluating the benchmarking process and the results.

The TRADE benchmarking methodology is highly recommended due to its flexibility and easiness to understand, among other reasons. It can be used to manage projects that run for between one to twelve weeks and those that run for between 13 to 36 weeks. Moreover, the TRADE model is easy to understand, as it comprises of only five phases.

Moreover, within the five phases, there sub-steps that are simple to comprehend and follow. In addition, the benchmarking methodology presents a proven management approach. The methodology has been adopted by countries such as Taiwan, UAE, and the U.K. Moreover, it is the approved benchmarking model for Singapores Public Service and other countries. Notably, the methodology has been endorsed by the Global Benchmarking Network.

Additionally, the TRADE benchmarking methodology presents a meticulous system for planning. The system guarantees that projects can only progress to advanced phases after cost/benefit analysis has been carried out and the chances of success determined. Therefore, the model reduces the possibility of failure in project planning.

The opportunity for success is further enhanced by the use of a distinct project management spread-sheet as well as a Benchmarking certification plan. Moreover, a benchmarking methodology training annual that incorporates an inclusive set of resources for benchmarking, guide forms, and a Benchmarking certification plan makes the tool be highly useful. The comprehensive training manual plays the role of enhancing the effectiveness of TRADE.

Further, the TRADE Benchmarking methodology saves time and money. There are numerous TRADE materials and forms that have been developed and advanced over the years. TRADE license holders have full access to these resources and have their projects managed efficiently and in a timely manner.

The license holders do not need to create their own materials. Further, the TRADE delivers results. After completing a particular phase of the TRADE, the project is reviewed to ensure that it is on the right track. The results of the review determine whether the project is to continue, be stopped or remoulded to meet the original objective. As a result, the TRADE can help deliver planned outcomes efficiently. It can also help to generate a lot of money for large projects.

Conclusively, the TRADE benchmarking methodology has five flexible and easy to understand phases. These are the terms of Reference, Research, Act, Deploy, and Evaluate. The methodology provides mechanisms for carrying out cost/ benefit analysis at each of its five phases to ensure that planning is successful.

General description of the business

The business will be structured as a limited liability company. The international hotel business has a lot of potential as more people are moving across borders for leisure, business or tourism purposes. United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) has been categorized as 18^th among tourism competitive businesses by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The UAE is well known for its great shopping facilities, hotels and other tourist destinations. All the year round, tourists and business people flock the UAE to catch a glimpse of the splendid world out there and spend some money too.

The hospitality industry in the UAE is experiencing a boom in business as new and returning customers are flocking the local hotels causing an influx of patrons. Travelers, such as tourists are in pursuit of comfort, which they are willing and able to part with a fortune, while businessmen are in search of convenience and the business opportunities the region offers.

Considering the hospitality industry in the UAE, there is still a lot of potential although the market is quit dominated by established brand names. However, for new entrants into the market there is still a lot of potential. We intend to establish a startup company in Dubai, by the name C-Zones Bar & Breakfast.

The B&B is a charming facility that would be located in a remarkable region recognized as a trendy tourist and traveler target, it is well appropriate for this use. In addition, the locality is recognized for its magnificence and focus of such facilities.

Tenancy, income and room rate analysis are confirmed by broad research carried out over a four year period. The analysis consists of certified data and information obtained through countrywide commerce associations and the personal market analysis. Expenditure management procedures have also been acknowledged through industry connections. From these connections, the facility will be able to gain from reserves which were not available to a smalltime purchaser.

An growth map is also in position that will let the Bed & Breakfast to expand its client blend and enhance revenues. The premise has an amazing common lounge where the patrons may hang out, a private garden courtyard, and the adventurer Culinary Centre.

The market

Within the hospitality industry, C-Zones will be competing directly with other Bed & Breakfast facilities and indirectly with hotels. C-Zones will be targeting three main categories of clientele: the holiday travelers. This category of visitors to the UAE is increasing at 12 percent a year with 14,000 prospective clients. The second category is the business travelers, which is growing at 10 percent with a lot of potential. The last category is the locals.

Competitive edge

C-Zones has two main cutthroat edges that distinguishes it from the opponents. The first is to provide a first class facility with attention to detail and client service. The employees realize that their mission is to make sure that the clients have the best stay with them and are happy. Their second competitive edge is the uniqueness of the premises whereby, the premises has a wonderful structure that is located in a unique place.

Mission

The task of C-Zones Bed and Breakfast is to offer an amazing bed and breakfast experience within UAE. We intend to attract and retain customers and get a market niche. Our facility is expected to go beyond the expectations of our clients by providing a contemporary, world class experience, through never-ending commitment to the advancement of our affiliates and products to attain optimum growth and profitability.

Company Summary

C-Zones is an amazing inn located at Dubai. We are a startup company that will provide several furnished rooms to our clients who are looking for the finest service. All the rooms are individually furnished with antiques and overlooking the towns splendid scenery. We will offer a full breakfast every morning to our customers at our competitive prices.

Ownership

The C-Zones Bed & Breakfast is owned and managed solely by Jamaal and Aziz. They have renovated an old house that can accommodate 105 visitors at a time. This is a new start-up company for the partners who are equal owners in the business in terms of capital contribution and share of liability. Jamaal and Aziz bought the premises a little over a year ago and have renovated the place to become a wonderful facility.

Strategies and objectives

The goals of C-Zones B & B for the first three years of existence are:

• To create a Bed & Breakfast whose main objective is to go beyond the clients expectations together with the guideline of unprecedented hospitality and service standards.
• The C-Zones B & B will attract more visitors on a weekly basis at any time of the year.
• To raise the number of customers by 10 percent every year through deluxe service to 90 percent occupancy in the third year.
• To create an ongoing concern, which carrys on off its individual cash flow
• Create a customer satisfaction rate of over 90 percent.

Strategies

According to (Wheelen and Hunger 30-66) strategy for business falls under a hierarchy of three levels, a companys most important strategy that determines the overall direction of the organization which are called corporate strategy and can be fulfilled by formulating and implementing business/divisional strategies which occur at the product level and go ahead to give businesses an advantage over others as far as their product offering is concerned.

Furthermore (Wheelen and Hunger 82) suggest that for business strategies to be successful functional/operational strategies which aim to maximize productivity within various functional areas must be formulated and implemented.

Therefore strategies are divided into 3 classes. The top most level of strategy includes corporate strategies which are the overall set of strategies that define the overall direction which a business is to follow. Corporate strategies may consist of growth, stability, or retrenchment strategies.

Startup businesses in this case, the hotel, employ a strategy which is known as a stability strategy in its first years of operations, this is because in most cases entrepreneurs who operate start up businesses understand that during the initial year of their businesses they expect to make no profits because of the huge costs that are involved in setting up the businesses.

This is therefore why startup businesses employ a stability strategy that intends to take a pause and rest because of the usually large investments that investors might have put in the business. If managers of these businesses do not do so, they may exhaust all resources and end up with no further resources to operate their businesses forcing closure.

As time goes on, the hotel can then adopt a pause and precede strategy that is dependent upon the actual situation on the ground. After a period of say 2 years, the hotel may then decide to adapt a growth strategy or settle upon serving a smaller market depending on the situation on the market then.

Hotels business strategy is a cost leadership model that intends to sell its products at a low price. In order to achieve these corporate strategies, the hotel will be required to put strong policies, programs, budgets and procedures that will go to ensuring production schedules and sales targets are met in time without and delays. Functional strategies intend to foster quality, cost saving, and differentiation.

Tactics that will be used to achieve strategic goals

Keeping the Customers is quite important once the hotel acquires a customer, it will be best if it attempts to maintain a relationship between itself and its consumers in order to retain its customers. The company will need a loyal customer base, and the loyal customers are the most important factor of their company.

The company has to device some important promotional strategies so that the customers always come back to their concern. These strategies include providing a superior customized service for its products at the cheapest possible prices that is consistent with the specific consumer needs (Case 220-238).

Trying to acquire new customer will mean that the hotel will device means to allure new customers and try to retain them as far as possible. These will increase the boundaries of the company in a new level.

Furthermore, the hotel will encourage existing consumers by using various techniques to bring in new customers and therefore the importance of maximizing the consumer experience is critical so that consumers will always have something good to say. When consumers use Word of mouth and lure other consumers it is cheaper than using other means of acquiring consumers.

Safety is a key concern for consumers and therefore in recent times security has been a very important concern for the individuals who use hotels (Kotler Principles of Marketing 20-50). The company therefore, will take strong security policies that will ensure the safety of consumers and their property

Trying to acquire new properties by expansion and is a long-term corporate strategy that involves either acquiring and opening up new branches with the aim of serving a larger market in order to increase revenue. It is therefore necessary if the hotel wants to expand to acquire new properties.

Keeping an eye on the competitors is a very important tactic that leads to technical excellence especially since every day new organizations are entering into the hospitality market with a very huge financial backing. It is therefore necessary to use competitive intelligence to gather useful data that will be used by the hotel to achieve a competitive advantage (Case 210).

Promotion is a critical part to a brands success and therefore entrepreneurs and companies should appropriately apply various parts of the promotion mix in order to increase the chances of the product selling in the market. Promotional activities aim to educate, inform, remind, persuade and encourage repeated purchase about products and brands at the end of the day. A good promotional mix should always target the consumers and sellers. Consumer promotional activities encourage consumers to buy more of the product. And therefore consequently the hotel will use advertisements, brochures and direct selling to achieve its objectives and stimulate sales and revenue growth.

Liabilities and risks

The hospitality industry is faced by many risks. For C-Zones just like any other player, the market is still an open place.

Management Team

The C-Zones Bed & Breakfast can only attain its missions and objectives through the management. Jamaal is an experienced entrepreneur with work on invaluable business experience. While Aziz has earned his MBA giving him amazing insight and experience directly related to what he is doing now.

The C-Zones Bed & Breakfast will be able to leverage its wonderful facility and turn it into a beautiful, deluxe Bed & Breakfast catering the entire city. This will be done through the commitment and business skills of the two partners. It is expected that the Bed & Breakfast will be doing so by the third month in operation and will make reasonable returns by the end of year one.

Organization Structure

Organizational structures trys to explain the relationships between authorities and communication lines in the organizations hotels (Kotler Principles of Marketing 20-50). Organizational structures within companies cause or allow views to be brought forward, or presented as a model to be studied on how those businesses are managed and run.

If an organization has a clear framework/structure put in place, it is made very clear within the departments in the organization on who does what and so forth thus leaving no room for sloppy work and blame games erupting due to unfulfilled objectives. Different organizations employ different organizational structures depending on their objectives and what they intend to achieve after a set period of time.

These structures may either be flat or tall for example the Hotels organizational structure takes a flat format. The organization structure of the hotel is a flat structure that will assign the duties of management between all the partners. It is vital that entrepreneurs closely monitor start-up businesses during their initial years of operation by dedicating a lot of time to oversee their smooth running.

Therefore all the employees and supervisors will be directly answerable to the partner who is sitting as the managing director. It will therefore be the responsibility of the partners to perform all relevant managerial duties and consult with other partners to make well guided decisions.

Personnel plan

The final personnel mix will consist of both permanent and part-time employees thus enabling the company save costs. If work and demand for lodging facilities increase according to demand and supply patterns depending on the situation, the company may the make a decision to lay off or employ more part-time workers. The existence of permanent employment contracts goes ahead to instill loyalty amongst employees which can be used to the benefit of for the hotel.

Services

The C-Zones facility offers three-star lodging on the amazing Dubai coast. We are an all inclusive B & B facility with a full complimentary breakfast served every morning. Impeccable rooms, each with its own theme are ready to embrace the individual who is looking for solitude, or the more adventurist person who likes to be active. We organise trips around the city for those who are interested.

Market Analysis Summary

The C-Zones B & B has various target groups that it is intending to draw. The first are the local residents who just want to have a weekend getaway. Kotler, (141) notes they may have activities planned for the weekend on the coast or just chose to relax in a homely environment.

The second category is the travellers and vacationers who choose to stay in Bed & Breakfasts instead of a hotel, or onboard their boats. While others just want to experience a themed weekend. However, our target customer could include others outside these categories though these are our target groups.

Market Segmentation

Our clients can be generally grouped into three categories:

1. Weekend getaway customers. These local residents looking to get away from their life so they come to the C-Zones B & B to escape.
2. Travelers/vacationers.
3. Experience Executive B & B Service. These people are mostly delighted returning customers who will be looking to experience our deluxe services.

Market analysis

Segmentation and market analysis

Segmentation is a process by which an organization partitions a market in order to make products that are specifically meant to cater for the needs that are specifically meant for that portion of the market hotels (Kotler Principles of Marketing 82).

Companies may either choose to serve the whole market and therefore have a mass market orientation or else decide to serve a given portion of the entire market. It is therefore appropriate to state that the hotel will serve the lower end of the market which consists of individuals who desire to spend less in accommodation and therefore save funds.

The hotel will consequently design bed and feeding packages that will match the needs and resource capabilities of clientele who fall within this specific segment.

Competition

It is highly important that every business operates with a certain degree of competitive advantage. It is also vital that the hotel comes up with an overall competitive strategy that the hotel will pursue in order to compete with other industry participants. According to Michael porters, there are generic competitive strategies that participants within an industry are allowed to pursue.

These strategies either concentrate on a narrow or a wider perspective of the total market and at the same time either adopts a low cost strategy or a high differentiation approach (porter 64). The choice of competitive strategies has an impact on the price strategy followed by an organization.

Companies who dont adopt a differentiation approach may at the end of the day adopt a mass market strategy end up pursuing a market penetration strategy which is basically a pricing strategy that aims to sell affordable low priced products to the market.

When Companies follow a differentiation strategy they are most likely to adopt a skimming/milking price strategy which involves charging high rates for a product in order to recover extensive funds that may have been involved in the process of product research and development stage of product design.

Marketing Research will be gathered continuously and the subsequently obtained Information that will be used in the process decision making and policy selection will be attained from industry research publications and other sources of data. Marketing research firms can be contracted from time to time depending on the actual situation to achieve more specific information nevertheless the company can also use its resources to serve the same purpose (Kotler Principles of Marketing 222).

Diagram 2: A diagram of generic competitive strategies that can be pursued by businesses. Adopted from Wheelen and Hunger strategic management (2002) and business policy printed with permission of Free Press from the Competitive Advantages of Nations by Michael E Porter 1990.

The ability to operate on cost leadership is advantageous because it means the hotel will use less capital that is usually high in the case of differentiation, the company will in turn go ahead and offer its products and services at a low price and therefore attract a lot of customers ( Porter 12-23)

To further understand forces driving competition within the industry Porters model can be used to look at the five forces which shape any industry. These five forces that will determine how well a company can operate in a given environment and be able to satisfy its customers and realize a profit by affecting either the floor or ceiling price for goods and services. The forces in porters model include

Threat of new entrants Barriers are placed by existing companies and regulatory authorities to prevent new entrants from causing abnormal profit flows for existing companies, some of the threats include government policies, exploiting cost advantages, access to distribution, capital requirements. In this case the hotel industry is known to be very capital-intensive since acquisition property to build hotels is quite expensive. Making this venture of the hotel industry an excellent one is vital since the higher the capital structure of an industry is, the more harder is it for new entrants therefore, companies venturing into this industry can experience some sense of security

Intensity of competitive rivalry among existing firms firms within the same industry always compete for the available market this can be through powerful competitive strategies, innovation, structure of industry costs, switching costs, degree of product differentiation and so on and therefore the hotel intends to place itself strategically to compete with rivals (Case 11).

Threat of substitute products or services-consumers can opt to go for substitute products if quality is better, price is relatively better, or the cost of switching is favorable. The hotel also expects to set strategies that will also compete with any substitute services and products at the same time using its low cost strategy to achieve competitive advantage.

The bargaining power of customers-the bargaining power of buyers depends on the number of buyers within the industry who purchase from the available suppliers. The hotel will develop suitable strategies and products that will enable it satisfy consumers while at the same time spend less therefore leaving them feeling as if they have a high bargaining power.

The bargaining power of suppliers-Suppliers who provide raw material can determine the profitability and viability of an industry by setting prices of implements which in turn affect the profit margins (Case 190). Therefore the hotel will devise strategies which will involve multiple sourcing strategies to reduce the barging power of suppliers that may be disadvantageous to the hotel by imposing extravagant expenses.

Swot analysis

External environment

Strategic planning be it short or long term, is done in the light of companys strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A companys strengths and weaknesses take a critical look into internal factors such as company resources, culture and structure while on the other hand opportunities and threats take a look at a companys external environment (Wheelen and Hunger 2002).

In business management, external analysis is one of the most important factors of the existence of the company this is because only in the light of what the external environment is all about that a company can successfully formulate and pursue strategy. The basic external analysis is an attempt to match an organization with the outside impacts in which the business is situated and how this influences overall strategy. To understand the external analysis on the Hotel International, we have to concentrate on one property of the hotel.

Opportunities-The availability of massive tourists and individuals flying into the U.A.E to conduct business is a perfect opportunity that the hotel is expected to pursue and make a profit out of it. Furthermore the economic integration of U.A.E and other countries within Asia is good advantages that can be exploited in the long run to increase and expand the level of business enabling the hotel even go multinational depending on the business environment (Porter 88-120).

Threats The increasing level of competition within the Dubai hotel market presents a threat for the hotel. Much bigger and better hotels that have more resources may have the ability to imitate and even steal potential clientele.

Furthermore, increasing government regulations on the hotel industry is more likely to limit the level of business operations simply because the law has made it clear that there are many compliance rules that the hotel must put in place before operations begin and these compliance regulations may have a quite costly impact on business of the hotel.

Internal Environment

The internal analysis of a company basically focuses on the strength and weaknesses of the organization itself, and how they impact the total business scenario of the concern and company strategies (Wheelen and Hunger 2002).

In this aspect one thing is very important, what can be determined as strength can change into the weakness in another aspect. There are factors like finance, marketing, and the service providing capabilities, the macroeconomic factors, the technological changes and most importantly the different legal matters that come with the maintenance of the properties.

Strengths A key strength of the hotel is expected to come from the highly experienced partners who all have had a background in doing business or either the corporate world. The partners are expected to import their wide variety of knowledge and apply it into the hotel to make the hotel business become successful.

Furthermore the use of a flat organizational structure means that the managing partner together with other partners will be able to keep a close and keen eye on the business and therefore be part of day to day decision making. This will enable more valid and practical decisions to be made to the advantage of the business (Wheelen & Hunger 44).

Lastly since the hotel is new it will be much easier and simple for the leadership to mold the most suitable corporate culture into the mindset of their employees. Companies with a good culture are more likely to be effective and highly efficient in the process of service delivery and therefore consumers of the service may end up being very pleased and highly satisfied (Case 180-188).

Weaknesses Constraint financial resource may limit the level of growth that the hotel may intend to achieve during its operations. This is simply because every partner has made it clear that they are willing to operate on a given budget and they are no longer willing to increase the overall capital structure.

They instead intend to wait for returns and plough them back into the business. It is this situation that may hinder the hotel from competitively competing with other hotels who are key players within the same segment of the industry. Additionally, lack of previous direct experience by the business partners in the hotel industry may prove as a challenge to the hotel and may at some point present itself as a weakness.

Financial analysis

Assumptions

1. The business will operate smoothly for the first 3 years.
2. Only 40% of all costs are fixed costs while the rest are variable costs.
3. The business will realize growth in revenues is subsequent years.

Table 1: List of total expenses (2010-2013)

Sales Forecast

Table 2: Sales Forecast for years (2010-2013)

Expense Forecast

Expenses will be incurred on labor costs, equipment and departmental costs, as well as advertising and promotional activities. Labor costs for the company are not expected to rise drastically since employees may be re-assigned to operate in the new department. New personnel may be sourced for if need arises. Labor, advertizing and promotional expenditures are estimated to be around 20 percent of the proceeds from the department.

Breakeven

Table 3: Contribution Margin Forecast (2010-2013)

By assuming that 40% of all costs are fixed costs and the rest are variable costs then the breakeven point in dollars using the formula break even=fixed costs/total variable cost/total sales revenue will be

Year 1 =$ 133,333

Year2 =$64,621

Year3=$73,415

Pro forma Profit and Loss Statement XYZ Hotel

NB: When adding up the total expenses it is advisable to subtract any capital expenditures that may have been used to acquire assets which will be used to realize future benefits for XYZ hotel. Therefore prepaid rent is an asset and so are plant equipment and machinery therefore they will not be included as expenses. Until the end of the financial period falling under year one pre-paid rent will be then entered into financial records as an expense once it has been fully consumed.

Pro forma Balance sheet for XYZ Hotel

Assets

Cash 130,000

Prepaid Rent 60,000

Plant and equipment 60,000

TOTAL Assets 250,000

Liabilities

Equity Capital (500 shares @ $50) 250,000

Total Liabilities 250,000

Implementation Milestones

The brand management department will constantly evaluate its performance levels, which will be measured in comparison to the anticipated contribution margins in the three years of operations. Implementation will start by setting simple short term goals which by using special tactics which will be incrementally applied in order to achieve, long term objectives of department and the company as a whole.

Follow up will be done on a periodical basis so as to make sure that initiatives are complete and targets realized. The plans made should be specific, so that performance can be measurable and realistic enough so that they can be achievable. Once a concrete plan is set upon, milestones will be agreed upon to aid in the implementation process.

Therefore key performance indicators such as month to month customer traffic, sales levels and inventory levels, consumer satisfaction reports can be used in the process of changing and altering strategy.

Conclusion

Businessmen and entrepreneurs can no longer ignore the importance of business planning and strategic planning because they are a key pillar of success for both startup and mature business organizations. It is therefore important to develop plans and ensure that implementation is done within time, furthermore it is important to continuously evaluate progress of business plans and also make strategic adjustments when necessary in order to achieve overall organizational objectives.

Works Cited

Case, James. Competition: The Birth of a New Science (180-236). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Print.

Kotler, Philip. Marketing Insights from A to Z: 80 concepts every manager needs to know, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2003.

Kotler, Philip. Principles of marketing, (2nd edn), New York: Prentice Hall, 1999.

Porter Michael. The Competitive advantage of nations, illustrated edn, Northampton, MA: Free Press, 1990.Print.

Wheelen, Thomas. & Hunger, David. Strategic management and business policy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.

Introduction

Madam C. J. Walker was an African American businesswoman and a philanthropist who had a company that dealt with hair products for black women. Her company was known as Madam C. J. Walker manufacturing company and later on in her career life, she founded a beauty training school by the name Leila college for Walker hair culturists.

Leila was her daughter. She fits well in American business history because she was the first American woman to become a millionaire through her own efforts. She lived between 1897 and1919 and she became an orphan by the age of seven. She was named Sarah Breed love when she was born and later in her career life came to be called Madam C. J. Walker (Women in History, 2010).

The idea of hair products originated from a large black man who confronted Madam Walker with a formula that he alleged would be suitable for making a product that would eliminate baldness. The main reason for this was the fact that the man had observed that Sarah was experiencing hair loss like many American women in her era.

In her efforts to find a cure for the scalp disease, which brought about hair loss in order to have a healthier scalp for healthier hair growth, she tried many home remedies and the products in the market and she finally managed to make her own shampoo and ointment that contained sulfur (Women in History, 2010).

Madam Walker soon afterwards started selling her products to black women throughout USA and her business picked very fast and very well. Many whites claimed that she wanted to transform blacks hair to that of white but she insisted that her objective was to maintain a healthy scalp that facilitates hair growth for black women.

On realizing her potential, she became an inspiration to many black women through lecturing them to promote her business as well as to empower them into business. Throughout her career, she used to practice philanthropy by donating funds to National Association for the Advancement of colored People (NAACP), the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA), black schools, organization, orphan homes, and homes for the elderly among others (Women in History, 2010).

Historical eras and circumstances experienced by Madam C. J. Walker and her manufacturing company

Madam Walker had a big challenge of breaking hair and desperately tried many homemade and manufactured products to maintain her hair and to keep it straightened. In desperate circumstances when none of the products worked, she prayed that God might save her hair.

The first experience came through a dream whereby a large black man appeared and told her the components to mix up in order to save her hair as she told a reporter of Kansas City Star. When she did the practical, it worked very well and that marked the beginning of her career (Oakwood Publishing Company, 2010)

In 1921, Madam Walker beauty culture contributed a lot to the transformation of the new Negro world. Her achievements together with those of other women of her era lead to a big challenge on the definition of beauty where by a University of Chicago anthropologist went ahead to claim that there was no real beauty among white American girls.

Her advert A Million Eyes Turned Upon it daily was a clear indication that the black woman had made impact throughout the globe. The objective of her advert was to emphasize on global capitalist expansion but it also had a great impact on the black women re creation on the new Negro experience (Weinbaum, 2008, pg 69).

Madam Walker was an inspiration to many black women and she gave them lectures on how to start their own business as well as healing them to take proper care of their hair. Madam Walkers husband and daughter played key roles in the growth of their company.

In 1906, they traveled throughout the country with her husband promoting their products and training sales agent while their daughter Leila ran a mail order operation in Denver (Women in History, 2010). In 1908, they opened a beauty school in Pittsburgh, which was closed in 1910 when they moved their business to Indianapolis to utilize eight major railway systems and still because Indianapolis was the countries largest manufacturing base (Women in History, 2010).

As her fame rose, she became a political figure whereby she encouraged black Americans to support the mission of World War 1 and fought for equality between whites and blacks in America. In 1917, she campaigned for lynching to be made a federal crime after the bloody race riot of East St. Louis, which made her a key speaker in many NAACP anti-lynching operations (Women in History, 2010. Bundles, 2001, pg 187).

How Madame C. J. Walker and her Company Fits in to the Context of American Business History

The American business history is characterized by extensive entrepreneurship, globalization, conflict among competing groups and influence from the dominating political arena (Nelson, 1996). Madam C. J. Walker Company was the best of its time and its formation shook the whole cosmetic industry.

It is reported that the whites claimed that Walkers intention was to transform black hair into that of whites but she defended her objectives firmly. By the time of her death, Madam Walker was the first American woman millionaire through her own initiative. Her business ran nationwide and in her advert A Million Eyes Turned Upon it Daily, was a clear indication that her company was operating on the global community.

In her career, she developed her political ties and ran many campaigns especially for the racism that was prevailing in America in those days. She trained many sales agents who helped build roots for her business through extensive door-to-door marketing which enabled her live a very lavish life in posh apartments (Geisst, 2006, pg 481).

Unique Aspects of Madam C. J. Walker and Her Company in the American Business History

Most of the American companies are founded on a strategic plan from professional in a certain field, through research or some sort of discovery. Madam Walkers Company originated from a dream whereby a large black man told her what to do and the results seemed to be useful.

She began her business by selling these products and demand increased sharply which lead to the birth of the company. She never had any prior knowledge on the cosmetic industry and she had not planned to build a company in future. This is a very rare occasion, which makes Walker a very outstanding businesswoman (Oakwood Publishing Company, 2010).

Madam Walker had a very harsh beginning but this did not hinder her from becoming the first African American millionaire. For instance, her parents were slaves, she became an orphan at the age of seven, her brother-in-law abused her, and she never had a stable marriage, among others.

Regardless of the racism that was prevalent in America during her time, she was able to build her career to the point of owning an empire. She ever worked as a house help and when she was venturing in to this business, she was working as a laundress (Oakwood Publishing Company, 2010).

During her time, law and customs excluded most African American from enjoying full citizenship for America. For instance, they were excluded from American Universities, corporations, professions, government positions and American women had no rights to vote. Madam Walker stood out as uneducated laundress from women who never dared imagine doing business to an empire executive (Bundles, 2010)

Madam C. J. Walker Company on the Global Economy

Walker had many women participate in her empire as sales people and she lead an international sales force of many financially independent African American women. With time, Walkers principles of entrepreneurship enabled her expand her market beyond US to Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Panama, and Costa Rica (Bundles, 2010).

Within the global economy one of her advert said that a Million eyes looked upon her company, products, and her efforts daily. This means that her hair products not only served the American blacks but the whole black race in the world (Geisst, 2006, pg 481). She encouraged the African American to support the cause for World War 1, which was a global phenomenon.

Conclusion

From the history of the development of Madam Walkers business from a community that never recognized women and worse still African American, it is a clear inspiration to all of us to the spirit of business. Madam Walker thrived on her entrepreneurship principles, which enabled her to be on the frontline marketing her product starting with her family and later on venturing in to extensive training of sales agent through out the country.

References

Bundles, A. (2001). On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker. New York: Simon and Schuster. Web.

Bundles, A. (2010). Diversity. Web.

Geisst, C. (2006). Encyclopedia of American business history. Volume 1. New York: Infobase Publishing. Web.

Nelson, D. (1996). The history of Business in America. Web.

Oakwood Publishing Company. (2010). Walker, Madame C. J. Web.

Weinbaum, A. E. (2008). The modern girl around the world: consumption, modernity, and globalization. NY: Duke University Press. Web.

Women in History. (2010). Madam C. J. Walker. Web.