Cost Leadership Strategy For Tune Hotels Tourism Essay

Cost Leadership Strategy For Tune Hotels Tourism Essay As a business development manager of Tune hotel, I have been requested to propose and justify the implementation of an overall cost leadership strategy for Tune hotels.com. this proposal is consists of preparing a strategic service vision for Tune hotels.com by taking few aspects as a consideration into account, such as the target market segment, service concept, operating strategy and also the service delivery system as well. Besides that, I have been asked to identify what are the service dimensions in setting the benchmark for service qualifiers, service winners and service losers as well. Hotel overview Air Asia is a low cost carrier (LCC) airline, with the image of making flying feasible for everybody, where it is well known for the largest low fare and no frills airline, and Tune hotel is one of another luminous thought invented by the air Asias Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and also the founder of Air Asia as well, Datuk Tony Fernandes. Tune hotels have open its first no frills hotel branch in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman,Kuala Lumpur on 9th april 2007. Tune Hotel is currently operating in places such as Malaysia, Downtown Penang, Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, KLIA LCCT Airport, Johor, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Indonesia and United Kingdom and London as well. Question 1 Target market segment As in the context of a business, target market segment is an essential element which is needed to be considered and it is important in facilitating and directing the business path in the market. Target market segment, which is targeting the audience, is very important to sustain the survival of a business or industry as well. Tune hotel which has been categorized under the service industry and it can be considered as the market leader in the no frills budget hotel in Malaysia and South East Asia. Tune hotel has implemented a creative and innovative concept to be used in Malaysia, and they differ from their competitors since no any hotel or company has claims to be in the same market segment. Tune hotel has used the geographic segmentation dimensions to influence the market opportunity, for instance, tune hotel at Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which is known as the budget hotel which has the similar concept of no frills Air Asia Airlines,tune hotel also adapt the same concept where it is also the first no frills hotel in Asia as well. Tune hotel Kuala Lumpur are strategically located at the central of Kuala Lumpur in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, whereby it is close to major shopping, food and beverage outlets and entertainment areas. Moreover, the location is also convenient and facilities such as LRT and bused as well. (Anonmous, n.d) Swot analysis of tune hotel Strength Tune hotel has a great strength whereby they have a reward system to those customers who have done an advance booking service through internet with them. By introducing this system, tune hotel will be able to attract more customers and maintain those loyal customers in future as well. Besides that, Tune hotel have a great central location with facilities such as LRT and buses and it is nearby shopping areas, entertainment areas, and food and beverage areas as well. This attracts and encourages those customers, especially foreigners to choose Tune hotel as well. Moreover, Tune hotel are attractive with their pricing strategies as well, in situation where most of the Air Asia customers are those tune hotels loyal customers. Weakness Tune hotel has a very limited number of customers in the region who are conscious of the Tune hotel. This could be one of the weaknesses faced by Tune hotel. Tune hotel should be able to work on their advertising method and emphasis more on their service provided. Opportunity In order to gain the competitive market and be the first market leader in service industry, Tune hotel can be able to attract more customers by improving their marketing strategy effectively to gain the customers satisfaction and their support as well in future. Threat Tune hotel receives a high competition in the service industry since it has been unique in the industry. High Competition among competitors is one the biggest threat to tune hotel to sustain in the market in the future. Outsourcing is also one of the threat to Tune Hotel since other Hotels do provide facilities which tune Hotel doesnt provide, for instance other hotels have basis necessities of customer such as the boiler, drinking water and many more, meanwhile Tune hotel does not provide all this. Service concept Source: http://www.xm-msia.com/xm/tunehotels/facilities.asp Tune hotel is unique in providing their service, compared to their competitors, and they operate a limited service concept, where they only offer single and double room for its customers. They have 5 star beds provided in each rooms feature high quality spring mattress beds with basic needs such as pillows, pillowcase and bed sheets. Each of the room consists of attached private bathrooms together with heated power showers with the minimal room rates. Tune hotel are have a central and convenient and strategic location which is nearby to shopping areas, ATM services to withdrawal purposes, food and beverage such as kopitiam outlets and entertainment as well. Moreover, Tune hotel has 24-hour security facilities as well whereby it is secure and safe to be in the surroundings of the hotel. Operating strategy Tune hotel makes use of the outsourcing as their operating strategy to save the operation cost and to improve and get better output and efficiency of the hotel. For instance, Tune Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the maintenance, Kopitiam, 7 eleven which is available for 24 hours, money changer kiosk, fast food outlets such as Subway, and CIMB ATM and bureau the change are certainly part of outsourcing. By implementing this operating strategy effectively, Tune Hotel have be able to save a huge amount of their cost and this eventually helped Tune Hotel to improve on better production and productivity effectively and efficiently of their hotel. ( Batcha, 2007). Service delivery system Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4089502/Tune-Hotel The service delivery system in Tune Hotel is overwhelming, and core and supplementary services provided are identified through the flower of service model. The service are divided into 2 main sections, where the information, order taking, billing and payment are categorized under the facilitating services, meanwhile consultation, housekeeping, hospitality and exception are categorized under the second section named as enhancing services. TUNE HOTELS STAKEHOLDERS Source: http://www.xm-msia.com/xm/tunehotels/about_us_3.asp Tune hotels sdn.bhd is 40% owned by Datuk Tony Fernandes, 30% by Dato Kamarudin Meranun, 25% by Dennis Melka and the rest 5% by Tune Strategic Investments Limited. Tune Ventures Sdn Bhd owns 72.19% stake in tune hotels, followed by Dato Kalimullah Hassan which now the chairman of ECM avenue which is one of the listed Malaysian investment bank owns 12.03% stake in tune hotels, Lim Kian Onn the chairman of ECM avenue, also owns the same percentage as Dato Kalimullah Hassan 12.03%, and lastly followed by tune hotels employee holding sdn bhd where the company is formely owned by the key employees of tune hotel owns 3.75% stake in tune hotels as well. Question 2 Service qualifiers Tune hotel is classified to be the service qualifier since it is providing a good service which meets the requirements of a consumer. For instance, tune hotel has a clean environment around, whereby they provide housekeeping services to make sure the consumers feels safe and clean with the surrounding environment. Moreover, Tune hotel are concerned with the safety as well, where they have the 24 hour security system applied, whereby they uses electronic key card to access into rooms, CCTV cameras services, round- the- clock on duty reception staff and no access to the main lobby without a keycard pass midnight.(anonymous, 2007) Moreover, tune hotel also has introduced tune hotel insurance only in Malaysia, and said to be globally soon. Those insurance are not only responsible for the lost of travel documents, but also has take the responsibilities of being cautious of guests personal accident, medical expenses and also delayed check in as well.(anonymous, n.d). Service winners Service winners are those competitive dimensions used to make the final choice among competitors, for instance is the price. The pricing strategy of Tune hotel is from the range of RM 9.90. Tune hotels price will be different during peak seasons, promotion seasons and also a different price range for the advance booking as well. Service loser When tune hotel fails to deliver the needs and wants of the customer, they might entitle to be the service loser. Service loser occurs when there is a failure to meet the expectations of what customer actually wants. Tune hotel should be able to implement new marketing strategy as Tune Hotel is having a high competition among its competitors which is a threat to them. Question 3 Porters generic strategies Source: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml Tune hotel has adopt the cost leadership strategy overall. This cost leadership strategy mainly emphasis on the low cost producer in the industry. Setting price low sometimes might influence the way of thinking of a customer, where low price may give a negative perception of the quality and the brand image of the company itself. For instance, there are not many out there are aware about Tune hotel and its services, since it is new in the market. This is mainly because the strategy used to representation about Tune hotel is done ineffectively. Tune hotel should come up with an effective strategy to expose their brand name by having advertisement about its service and facilities provided to attract not only the Air Asias customers, but also to the locals and foreigners who travel frequently. Placing Tune hotel in a strategic location with the lower price is valuable, but it should also be a place where customers feel flexible and convenient with the environment as well. Tune hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman where it is a location which is popular with prohibited immigrations and place where they gather together. The place is nearer to the place where most of the time it is famous with prostitution, drugs and offense are indivisible. This might not guarantee the safety at times and it could be one of the main problem customers will have a choice to choose other hotels as their choice. Tune hotel can improve this by making a deep study and research about those place and plan the location as well to avoid those circumstances occur. Moreover, Tune hotel has limited services where they dont provide the basis necessities such as boiler, drinking water and so on. Tune hotel save cost on this, but yet it should not be limited in providing the services since its known as the budget hotel. Tune hotel can improve on their service provided to enhance the satisfaction of the customers and maintain its competitive advantage than its competitors. Conclusion Overall, Tune hotel has been taking the efforts to reach the audience by implementing the no frills concept hotel. Since it is still new in the market, Tune hotel should implement new ideas to expose its brand name and win the local consumers perception as well to adopt their name as well.

Using Technology in Sports :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Using Technology in Sports The ball comes speeding over the net and slams down onto the face of the court landing just beyond the base line, the line running along the back of the court. I had called her winning point... "out." As I turned towards her, I could see the anger building in her eyes. We walked towards each other, and with only the net separating us, she began to confront me. She argued that, as she saw it, the ball was obviously in and that we should replay the point. I wanted this game as much as she did and we were both standing strong. I finally decided that there was no use in fighting. We had to resolve this argument between ourselves because there were no line judges to decide for us. We decided to replay the point and she won. I tried to convince myself that there would be times when a call would be questionable and that I should try not to point fingers. I still went home discouraged that night because I knew that the call I had made was fair. The next day I sleepily drifted in and out of my Ethics lecture, although, the teacher was able to catch my attention by an interesting question that he presented. What is morally correct? This got my mind going. I was bothered by the match the previous day and I began to question myself about my call. Was it morally correct or was I being partial to my own success? I reflected on that final call that I had made, the point that won the game. I was positive that I had made a fair call but a little hint of doubt kept ringing in my head. What if I had made a bad call? What if I saw the ball differently than everyone else? Questions like these continued to haunt me throughout the hour. One of my close friends, Sarah, noticed that something was bothering me. She asked me what was wrong, and I told her that I was upset about last night's match and was wishing that there was a way to tell for sure if the ball had been in or out. As soon as I had finished, an excited look washed over her fac e. Being a track star, she proceeded to tell me about a new technology that was being used for runners.

VIP remains a leader ‘Kal Bhi, Aaj Bhi, Kal Bhi’ with Strategic Changes

Established in 1971, VIP Industries Limited is the flagship company of the 200 million dollar DG Piramal Group. Its longstanding familiar Indian brand VIP is the largest luggage brand in Asia and the second largest producer of moulded luggage in the world after Samsonite. The first VIP suitcase was rolled out in 1971, and since then over 60 million pieces of VIP luggage have been sold around the world. In the organized Indian luggage market, VIP leads with a 60% market share, followed by Samsonite at 40%. In the international market Samsonite leads with 20% market share where as VIP follows at 6% with operations spread across 5 continents and in 27 countries. VIP’s product range includes a variety of hard and soft luggage – strolleys, suitcases, duffle bags, overnight travel solutions, executive cases, backpacks, and even school bags. Apart from the mother VIP brand, the company also owns other reputed brands such as Alfa, Footloose, Elanza, Buddy, etc. It also markets under license Delsey products in India. Moreover, it has acquitted the UK-based Carlton brand in a bid to penetrate the European market. VIP’s products reach over 8000 retail outlets across the country and over 1300 outlets across 27 countries globally. Ever since its launch, VIP has been an epic brand synonymous with luggage in India. Its products priced for masses, enjoyed a near monopoly till the mid’90s, and its sentimental, powerful, and long-playing advertising campaign ‘Kal bhi, aaj bhi, kal bhi†¦. ’ remained etched in public memory for years to come. However, the scenario started changing with the international leader Samsonite’s entry into the India market in 1997. After a few initial setbacks, Samsonite started cracking the Indian market and posing a challenge for VIP. Along with tha t, a gabble of unorganized players also started confronting VIP at the lower end. This propelled VIP to take stock of the situation and realign its strategies with the changing market situation. VIP discovered that while competition was heating up, the Indian luggage industry had also been growing owing to a number of favorable factors. Most importantly, steady economic growth had ed to an increase in people’s disposable incomes, thereby propelling the travel sector, which in turn had boosted the luggage industry. Frequent travel for business was also on the rise with organizations going global. This was also redefining people’s need for luggage. Convenience and variety in luggage based on specific travel occasions had started assuming prime importance. People no longer looked at suitcases as just a means of safeguarding and securing their belongings , but also cared for aesthetics, which increased the importance of soft luggage. Design, style, and attractive colors also guided people’s purchase decisions. Hence, luggage had transformed from being merely a functional product to a fashion or lifestyle statement. And people were no longer using the same suitcase for all travel requirements, but purchase had become more need-based with consumers buying luggage according to a particular type of holiday, trek excursion or business travel. Further, luggage in the premium segment had been growing the most. In the wake of these changes, the age-old leader in luggage segment, VIP realized that youngsters perceived VIP as a brand belonging to parents’ and grandparents’ era. In order to be in sync with the times, VIP decided to change this perception and reposition itself as a contemporary lifestyle brand, which catered to people who traveled widely and followed a particular lifestyle. On the product front, it rehashed its soft luggage portfolio since that was the category driving sales. Besides it also allowed the company to play around with styles, which were becoming a major criterion in luggage selection. In addition, VIP also started adding more variety, designs and colors to its traditional category of hard luggage. However, it reserved the hard luggage segment primarily for exports since VIP and Samsonite were the only two hard luggage brands in the world. In order to address varied traveler segments, VIP designed products for all travel needs, durations, and prices, be it a long haul journey, short weekend or daily travel, leisurely holiday or business travel. Its mother brand VIP was developed as a slick lifestyle brand that focused on comfort nd convenience for long-duration travels. Alfa provided reliable, good quality luggage for price-conscious consumers who otherwise had to make do with low-quality local luggage. Footloose focused on the daily or longer duration travel needs of the youth, while Buddy was a school bag brand focusing on providing fun, innovative and quality products in a segment that was dominated by cheap, local products. In order to reinstate its lifestyle p roposition, it also launched a collection for women called Aura and a business collection called Matrix in Nov’05. At the premium designer end, it offered ranges like Elanza and also marketed high-priced products costing Rs. 12,000 under its Delsey range. Thus with its extensive product portfolio with over 250 products matching different prices, VIP covered the entire luggage segment and has been constantly innovating keeping in mind travelers’ requirements. Following on VIP’s footsteps, Samsonite, which initially offered only high-end collections, also launched the American Tourister range for the mid-price segment in the range of Rs. 800 – Rs. 2,000 in 2002. VIP also aggressively promoted its prominent ranges to establish its new image. For example, the Alfa campaign conveyed both the importance of a better quality luggage as well as the affordable price points of Alfa. However, maximum promotional attention was showered on to the power brand VIP to position it as an all-encompassing, contemporary lifestyle travel companion. In 2002, its advertising campaign ‘Looking at me? ’ introduced some new lifestyle products as travel companions. The campaign informed consumers of the contemporized brand’s styles and colors, features, prices, VIP lounges where the brand was available etc. Then in 2003, VIP felt it needed to recreate the magic of its yesteryears with a more encompassing campaign that would reposition itself as a fresh, young, smart, and exciting brand. Thus, VIP launched a television ad campaign entitled ‘bye-bye’ emphasizing a major shift in its marketing communication strategy. The campaign, designed by Lowe, began by airing a montage film that showed people bidding bye-bye to their kith and kin at the start of their journeys – an elderly lady waving to a car making its way out of the gate; a doorman at a hotel waving to departing guest; a mother idding goodbye to her children; etc. A peppy ‘bye-bye, goodbye’ track played in the background and the film ended with the tagline, ‘Happy journeys began with VIP. ’ Other ads in the campaign presented more ‘bye-bye’ situations – people bidding bye-bye to Monday mornings, women bidding bye-bye to men and coolies since new VIP bags were light, etc. Given VIP’s heritage and iconic status, the underlying objective of the new campaign was to get VIP to own the travel space, rather than just the luggage space that it occupied earlier. The company hoped that this would increase consumers’ involvement with VIP during their travel planning process, rather than the brand featuring only at the far end of the process. The time of departure was chosen for portrayal in the ads since the agency felt that this was the time that caught a range of emotions – people bidding farewell to their dear ones, looking forward to the journey and to returning home, and being most closely involved with luggage. By depicting the happiness associated with the start of the journey; and through more vibrant, smart and youthful imagery such as a contemporary metro train in place of a workmanlike diesel train used in the ‘Kal bhiE’ campaign, or the bubbly bye-bye tune and situations; VIP tried to make itself relevant to a new generation of consumers, without alienating its traditional base of loyalists. VIP also has plans for a series of communications to the ‘bye-bye’ campaign that will portray its contemporary product range and strengthen its new stance as a travel companion. The ‘bye-bye’ television campaign was supported by an outdoor campaign as well, but the company refrained from any sales promotion activities in order to reinforce the new exclusive positioning. Below-the-line activities were only used to complement above-the-line communication in supporting new launches, addressing niche audiences or audiences difficult to reach by mass media, motivating trade force etc. For example, VIP ran an exclusive ‘Mystery Shopper’ program, which encouraged the shop salesmen to better demonstrate its product features. It also designed interactive games to convey the superior features of its Alfa brand. Media relation activities were also conducted, albeit in a limited manner, to break the news of product launches or new stores. On the other hand, competitor Samsonite’s campaigns are carried out by its global agency and it doesn’t have any India-specific campaigns, since it mostly caters to business travelers whose needs are the same the world over. For instance, in one print ad, Richard Bronson of Virgin Airlines testifies, â€Å"To me, business isn’t about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It is about being true to yourself, your idea and focusing on the essentials. Further, in order to retain its premium image, Samsonite too does not indulge in any sales promotion activities. Its distribution strategy is also selective with the company retailing only out of high-profile stores such as Shoppers’ Stop, LifeStyle and Witco. VIP’s distribution strategy also complements with its varied product range and new positioning strategy with the right products available at relevant outlets throughout the country. VIP suitcases are made available at convenient retail locations with a self-select approach and appropriate display showcasing the large range of VIP products in an in-store ambience set to attract. The company also has forayed into retailing by opening exclusive stores that showcase all its product ranges. It has opened stores called ‘VIP Lounges,’ which compete with the franchised ‘Samsonite Travel World. ’ Its ranges with products below Rs. 1,500 are also distributed through hypermarkets and malls. It also has an on-line store although online sales haven’t really picked up in India. Also, VIP’s distribution in the European market is primarily done for its premium Delsey and Carlton brands. The brand’s repositioning efforts have paid off by helping it retain its leadership position. Even today, the VIP brand enjoys 97% unaided brand awareness, one of the highest in the world and has over 65 million customers. Questions: 1. Can you identify VIP’s prime source of competitive advantage from this case? If yes, what do you think it is? 2. What strategy of segmenting and targeting the market has VIP followed? What segment(s) is the mother brand targeting? In what alternative ways can luggage market be segmented? 3. Identify the points of differentiation of the VIP brand from its prime competitor Samsonite. How sustainable do you think the differentiation is? . How was VIP positioned earlier in the minds of consumers? Why did it decide to reposition its image? Briefly state what steps it took to reposition itself and whether the attempt was successful. 5. What was the objective of VIP’s new communication strategy? Did the product, price and distribution changes complement this strategy? How cohesive do you think VIP’s new marketing mix is? 6. What was the difference between the ‘looking at me? ’ and ‘bye-bye’ campaigns? What objectives did they both serve? How did they complement VIP’s product-related decisions? . Comment on VIP’s distribution strategy. What message does it convey? Visit two-three outlets or exclusive stores selling VIP brands. Do you think they convey a message similar to the communication message delivered by the brand? Preethi Meets Venkat Through Shaadi. Com â€Å"I didn’t want to fall into the traps of a typical Indian arranged marriage; I believe it doesn’t give you the required time and opportunity to know and understand your would-be partner, especially with families breathing down your necks while calling for a decision,† said Preethi. And I always wanted to choose my partner myself,† concurred Venkat, adding, â€Å"That’s why Shaadi. Com worked for both of us. † Preethi and Venkat are among the 48% of Internet users who surf matrimonial sites for alliances. While traditionally the activity of matchmaking was left to the elderly aunts of the family, marriage bureaus, and newspaper matrimonials, with the advent of Internet and a change in youngsters’ preference s, online alliance search has taken off with a frenzy, especially with 60% of the online population in India being below the age of 25. With 12 million urban Indians undertaking online matchmaking, it is the 13th most popular online activity among Indian surfers. Although online dating is ahead of matrimonial searches as the 10th most popular online activity, it does not enjoy the high user loyalty and brand premium of matrimonial websites. This is because Indian culture has yet not fully accepted the concept of dating before marriage and people do not register on a dating site for finding a life partner. There is also a huge overlap between the two activities suggesting that people who date are also looking for a mate. Owing to a close-knit social structure of India, families and friends still have an important role to play in online matchmaking. Often parents are seen posting their children’s profiles, and while the final choice may be the children’s, parents extensively carry out activities like gathering information, filtering profiles, matching horoscopes, etc. Experiences of friends also guide in the decision-making. Online advertising as well as conventional television and print advertising are popular media choices for most portals. Advertising seems to be harping on factors like wide profile choices, relevant matches, and a joint selection process that satisfies the entire family (Figures 3. 23a-d). Smaller portals such as Simplymarry. com have also adopted viral tactics such as creating a website, rather a catchy microsite, for Mom-in-Law Day (Figure 3. 23e) on October 28 to promote its portal. The site has a collection of videos of interviews of people expressing their feelings and opinions about their mothers-in-law, text messages, tips, and a link to Simplymarry. com. One such communication triggered the dormant desire of finding a life partner for Venkat. While watching the film Metro, Venkat was exposed to Shaadi. com. The movie depicted Konkana Sen Sharma and Irrfan Khan getting older and feeling the need to find a life partner, and then turning to Shaadi. com for help. Sen Sharma was shown logging on to the website, and there were mentions of Shaadi. com in her conversations with Khan and even comical scenes in which the protagonists viewed some funny profiles on the site and enjoyed a good laugh. The movie propelled Venkat into online matchmaking. He believed that the biggest advantage of online matrimonial sites was their massive database, which offered people a wide choice of matches across both objective and subjective evaluation criteria such as education and career, religion, family background, location, personal preferences, personality, etc. He zeroed in on Shaadi. com after a little search, most importantly because the name had created a distinct impression in his mind through the movie. One of prospects he mailed was Preethi; the two of them hit it off and decided to marry. Preethi had chosen Shaadi. com as she was particularly impressed with its strict profile screening system, and the simplified search technology that increased the relevance of the matches. She also appreciated the portal’s attention to details through features like password-protected photographs that allowed members to maintain secrecy. Their choice was much like the rest of the consumers’; Shaadi. com and Bharatmatrimony. com were the two biggest websites in the online matrimonial space, each with 33% user preference. Another study by JuxtConsult pegged the websites’ shares at 28% and 29% respectively as on April 2007. A study by AdMomentux measuring ‘audience mindshare’ for television commercials, based on parameters like top-of-the-mind recall; appeal, likeability, relevance and comprehensibility of the ad; brand differentiation and preference created by the ad; etc. also showed similar results. Bharatmatrimony. com’s television commercial depicting how a modern boy and girl followed traditional rituals when it came to marriage, was the most effective, with 43. 8% mindshare. The television commercial of Shaadi. com showing the photographs of its various members received 36. 1% audience mindshare. Jeevansathi’s commercial came in third with 18. 4% audience mindshare. Yet another study marked Shaadi. com as the leader with 987,000 unique visitors in July’07. Convinced of Shaadi. com’s effectiveness after a month-long free registration, Preethi and Venkat had signed up a 6-month premium membership. When they found each other and finally decided to marry in a year, they posted their success story like many others (Figure 3. 4) who had also found the right partners through Shaadi. com. Questions: 1. Based on the case, identify the various cultural and social factors that influence the decision of match-making through online matrimonial portals. 2. What motivated Venkat to go for online matchmaking? Identify the cues that triggered him into action. Could there be any deep-rooted motives behind the apparent one? 3. What beliefs did Venkat a nd Preethi hold regarding online matrimonial portals? What was their attitude towards Shaadi. com? Why? 4. What communication factors seem to be reinforcing purchase decision? Do you think consumers should experience cognitive dissonance after subscribing to Shaadi. com? Visit Shaadi. com’s website and identify ways in which it may trying to alleviate any possibility of cognitive dissonance. 5. Why does most communication for online matrimonial portals harp on joint family decision-making? Do you see any attitude change strategies adopted by any of the websites in their communication? Explain. 6. Map the five-stage buying decision process for Preethi and Venkat identifying the internal and external influences that could have shaped their decision on choosing Shaadi. com.

Ecco’s global value chain management Essay

1. Describe the competitive environment of ECCO and determine how well ECCO is positioned (vis-à  -vis the competitors) to take advantage of changes in the industry. http://wulibraries.typepad.com/files/footwear.pdf 2. Analyze ECCO’s global value chain. How well does this configuration match the drivers in the industry? Analyze ECCO’s global value chain. High demand for quality and reduced lead times led the company to a self-sufficiency approach on streamlining its entire value chain from raw hides to finished shoes unlike its major competitors who only designed and marketed their products without in house manufacturing. In having a global network of tanneries, production facilities, research centers and distribution centers, ECCO is able to meet customer demands in specific geographic locations in terms of response times which lead to customer satisfaction. Additionally the firm accrues from benefits of lower labor and production costs and different expertise levels in different locations which can be in turn transferred down to the customers. http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/operations-consulting-services/pdf/pwc-supply-chain-and-risk-management.pdf According to Porter’s value chain framework, ECCO utilized various strategies to achieve a balance of responsiveness and efficiency in their efforts to improve its global value chain . http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/tools/value-chain-analysis.html Specifically, the firm utilized: 1) Firm infrastructure In having a factory based in Slovakia, uncertainty and risk of political instability in Thailand could be mitigated by helping to drive up volume between plants and ensuring quicker delivery speeds to markets in Russia & Poland. 2) Human Resources Management ECCO ensured knowledge remained in the company through promoting workers from within and improving worker skills through trainings. 3) Technological Development R&D activities were relocated to the production sites where they could adequately support production processes and optimization of materials. The key competencies of the firm were in product development and production technology to ensure customer comfort in the shoe designs. 4) Procurement ECCO maintained high demands for quality and lead times for the vendors and worked only with experienced firms in building their factories. 5) Inbound Logistics and Outbound Logistics Streamlining of logistics was performed through location of tanneries adjacent to shoe production facilities in Indonesia & Thailand Distribution centers in United States and Denmark were strategically located to serve the market demand in order to match market needs. Appropriate modes of transport such as by sea, vans, freight planes and lorries were utilized depending on the nature and urgency of deliveries. 6) Operations The firm also accrued benefits of sustainability by having control over the entire value chain as it could directly tailor its R & D efforts into production and closely monitoring operations. The distribution centers adapted to changing business environments by expansion to meet capacity demands and closure of some warehouses when sales to the Danish market reduced. 7) Marketing & Sales Utilization of specialty outlets and multi-brand stores ensured ECCO’s shoes would be accessible to the target market of consumers focused on high quality rather than fashion and elegance. Establishment of sales subsidiaries and production units spread all over the world enable the firm to save in terms of labor costs and spread risk. ECCO’s marketing team screened samples and made forecast volumes and production styles before the set shoes were scheduled to be in demand. 8) Service The firm concentrated on utilizing special expertise to its advantage in the case of the Thailand firm producing complicated shoes due to the ability of the Thais to deliver first class workmanship. In addition to shoe manufacture, ECCO supplied leather to auto & furniture industries which offered an alternative market for the tanneries and generated more revenue for the firm. How well does this configuration match the drivers in the industry? Ownership of tanneries, factories and leather research centers  maintained the firm’s brand of commitment to quality and boosted the company’s ambition and confidence in delivering products that met customer expectations In reducing the number of vendors, the company was able to maintain high quality levels through close quality control measures and maintain its brand image of working to create the perfect shoe. The firm also made compromises to its approach in some cases by outsourcing its production for shoes that could not be nefit from its in-house technology. Most firms in the shoe industry outsourced production as a way to cut production and vendor logistic costs. 3. ECCO has a fully integrated vertical value chain. What are the pros and cons of this strategy? What economic and strategic factors should be analyzed to answer this question? Pros: Higher demands of quality can be achieved (e.g. through better quality control) supports the company’s vision of high quality products Core Technology stays within the company You have more price control (=> less exposed to price fluctuation) Eliminate the intermediaries (and obtain the margin of supplier / intermediaries) Higher economies of scale Ability to access leading expert knowledge about tanning Implement shoe and company specific Research & Development (for example less pollution => can be used for marketing) Potential for growth Access new markets  attaining market power => eventually monopolize the market Get into new markets (auto and furniture industries) => diversification => risk spreading Shorter lead times achievable Shows a high level of ambition and confidence Less transaction cost Easier coordination of all stages to reach the objective of customer’s satisfaction More control: You can have more influence on how the product is presented to the people and you can block competitors from getting access to scarce resources Reduce transportation costs if common ownership results in closer geographic proximity ECCO example: factory and tannery in China Increase entry barriers to potential competitors, for example, if the firm  can gain sole access to a scarce resource Cons: Difficulty of integrating the different stages into one entity It requires different skills It may decrease the focus on core competencies High organizational requirements => eventually costs too high It deepens the position in the same field => less flexibility for different variants => not responsive to changing wants of the customer e.g. ECCO is attached to leather shoes Maybe less quality because of lack of competition Strategic and economic factors that should be analyzed: How technology intensive is the market? What skills are needed? Do we fulfill these needs? Can we compete with other companies? Is there a market entry barrier? How much do we have to invest? How many distributors / suppliers are available? How competitive is their market? How big is their margin and market power? Will an integration result in less price fluctuation? Do we have enough resources to realize the organization of the whole supply chain? Do we really want to reinforce our position as a leather shoe fabricant? Or do we want to achieve higher flexibility to open chances to enter new markets? Do we generate a higher supply chain surplus with a vertical strategy? Are there laws or political issues to be considered? Are current suppliers unreliable, expensive or cannot supply the required inputs? References: http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/topics/vertical-integration.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-vertical-integration-strategy-20987.html http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/vertical-integration/ 4. Is ECCO following the inside-out or outside-in strategic perspective? What are the implications of this choice and how can ECCO increase their sales/marketing efforts? ECCO is following the inside-out strategic perspective. Inside-out strategic perspective definition: â€Å"You pick your own brand direction. You take a stand, confidently go out to the world and declare, â€Å"This is what we stand for and the way we are going.† A combination of gut instincts and sheer courage is enough to create the conviction that your brand strategy will resonate with your target audience. You believe with all your heart that by sticking to your guns, you’ll win a loyal following.† http://thefinancialbrand.com/1162/inside-out-vs-outside-in/ Evidence supporting this perspective in the paper: â€Å"most wanted brand within innovation and comfort footwear – a position that can only be attained by constantly and courageously researching new paths†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Company Vision Statement â€Å"Evidently, trends in the market it terms of fashion and elegance were important, but usability was ECCO’s highest design priority.† This indicates that ECCO has chosen their brand direction, and even though they do follow market trends, they are maintaining their current course. â€Å"ECCO is not a fashion brand and it never will be. We do not sell shoes where the brand name is the most important and quality is a secondary consideration. Primarily, we sell high-quality shoes and that is where we seek recognition.† – Soren Steffensen (Executive Vice-President, ECCO) A â€Å"fashion brand† would be a good example of a company utilizing an outside-in strategic perspective. Steffensen also addresses ECCO’s brand direction in this quote. Implications of following the inside-out strategic perspective: Often not enough market research is done by companies following this strategic perspective because they are supremely (over) confident in their vision. Inside-out strategic perspective leads to undifferentiated brand strategies like â€Å"excellent usability†, â€Å"high quality†, or â€Å"great value†. An inside-out brand strategy really doesn’t take into account wants/needs of customers. Instead, ECCO attempts to dictate what these wants and needs should be. Ways to increase sales/marketing efforts: ECCO can increase sales by shifting more from â€Å"inside-out† to â€Å"outside-in† in their strategic perspectives. This means instead of simply saying â€Å"X is our priority and Y and Z are our goals†, the company should take customer wants/needs and market trends more into account and tailor their brand direction around this target market. Even though Soren Steffensen states that ECCO is essentially a shoe company focused on utility, perhaps sales would increase with a greater focus on fashion. A company with a greater  emphasis on fashion would probably be a company utilizing an outside-in strategy. Companies based on an inside-out strategic perspective usually require more extensive marketing efforts than companies founded on an outside-in perspective. This is due to the fact that inside-out companies are creating products that the customer has less input in. With this less input, the customer needs to be convinced to purchase the product. 5. How is family ownership affecting ECCO? Comment on the corporate ownership structure and its implications for strategy-making and implementation. What alternatives exist?

An Outline of the Basic Concepts of Narrative Therapy Essay Example

An Outline of the Basic Concepts of Narrative Therapy Essay Example An Outline of the Basic Concepts of Narrative Therapy Paper An Outline of the Basic Concepts of Narrative Therapy Paper Essay Topic: Narrative Michael white and David Epston are best known for their use of narrative in therapy. According to white individuals construct the meaning of life in interpretive stories which are then treated as truth. Adopting a postmodern, narrative, social constructionist view sheds light on how power knowledge and truth are negotiated in families and other social and cultural contexts. Key concepts Focus narrative therapy involves adopting a shift in focus from most traditional theories. Therapists listen respectfully to clients stories to search for times in the clients lives where they were resourceful, use questions as a way to engage clients, avoid diagnosing and labeling clients, assisting clients in mapping the influence a problem has had on their lives and to assist the client in separating themselves from the dominant stories they have internalized so that creation of new stories can occur. The role of stories the stories we live our lives by shape our reality in that they construct and constitute what we see, feel and do. Clients tend to be the victors or heroes of their own stories and the therapist is privileged to be a part of this unfolding process. Listening with an open mind All social constructionist theories place an emphasis on listening to clients without judgment or blame, affirming and valuing them. Therapists can encourage their clients to reconsider absolutist judgments by moving toward seeing both â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad† elements in situations. Narrative therapists aim to help clients create new meaning from the stories clients share. As the client tells their story the therapist is able to listen for opportunities where the client was able to overcome difficulties in the past thus highlighting the clients own strengths. One of the therapist’s roles is to remind the client that they are able to capable of managing and overcoming the problems they face even when the client is not able to see this. Another important role the narrative therapist undertakes is to separate the problem from the client by listening and responding. Narrative therapists do not assume an expert stance and clients are the primary interpreters of their own experiences, thus the process of change can be facilitated but not directed by the therapist. The therapeutic process There are several steps in the therapeutic process but it is important to remember that they do not follow a linear progression. Create a mutually acceptable name for the problem with the client Personify the problem and attribute oppressive intentions and tactics to it Investigate how the problem has been disrupting or discouraging the client Invite the client to see his or her story from a different perspective Discover moments when the client wasn’t dominated by the problem Find historical evidence that the client was able to overcome problems in the past As the client to speculate about what kind of future could be expected from this new competent person who is emerging from the newly constructed story Find or create an audience for perceiving and supporting the new story It is more realistic to consider events happening in a cyclical progression containing the following elements; Move problem stories toward externalized descriptions of problems Map the effects of a problem on the individual Listen to signs of strength and competence in an individual’s problem saturated stories Build a new story of competence and document these achievements Therapy goals a general goal of narrative therapy is to invite the client to describe their experience in new and fresh language. In doing this the client explores new possibilities and enables clients to develop new meanings for problematic thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Narrative therapy almost always includes an awareness of the impact of various aspects of the dominant culture on human life. Therapists function and role Act as active facilitators. The concepts of care, interest, respectful curiosity, openness, empathy, contact and even fascination are seen as relational necessity. A main task of the therapist is to help clients construct a preferred story. White and Epston both start with an exploration of the client in relation to the presenting problem. From there they would attempt to separate the client from the problem and in doing so objectify the problem as external to the client. Therapist adopts a not knowing attitude through language choice and avoids diagnosis and pathologising. There are no set formulas or recipes for the practice of narrative therapy. The process will vary with each client because each person (and their stories) is unique. The therapeutic relationship great importance is placed on the qualities the therapist beings to the therapy venture.

(Personal Recruitment)choose employee interview Essay

(Personal Recruitment)choose employee interview - Essay Example inal hiring decisions, tracking applicant flow, managing employment support staff and developing strategies for filling future employment opportunities that arise. Moreover, references from Harvard showed that she maintained an A average throughout school, which demonstrates her intellectual prowess, which in turn means that she would be very good at making decisions, tracking, managing staff and developing strategies for future requirements. Her references from Salient stated: â€Å"Jada is a no nonsense type of employee who always gets the job done. She hires quality employees who tend to perform well once employed.† This further establishes that she would be able to select talented and productive candidates for a fast growing bio-tech company that receives many federal government contracts. Salient’s references go on to say that â€Å"She is not especially popular among her fellow co-workers and seems to think she is smarter than everyone else. She is out-spoken to superiors, peers and subordinates and seems to intimidate others. Jada was recently passed over for a promotion and has threatened to file a discrimination suit against us.† Although, this may sound alarming at once, but if one reflects on Jada’s background it is easy to understand. As an African American (black), Jada most probably had to fight at every step of the way to accomplish her current position. Even, today it is not easy for an African American to make it to Harvard, and Jada most probably not only had the brains but also the brawn to make it in an institution and culture dominated by the white population. Hence, it is not surprising that her stance is rather aggressive and she behaves overconfidently with her peers and superiors, but as long as this does not affect her and the organization’s work negatively, this should not be a problem. And Salient, clearly states that she is very efficient and lets nothing get in the way of her duty; this is most reassuring and even her

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 82

History - Essay Example Through legislation, advocacy and litigation against this brutal and barbaric institution, the general public and civil rights organizations attempt to forbid executions and attempt the elimination of capital punishment. The issue of abortion in terms of politics is a matter of individual’s rights to privacy. The basic notion that is linked with the issue of abortion that makes it a moral dilemma is the fact that whether a female has a right to abort the development of an upcoming human and whether an child in the womb has its right to survive or not. However the court decisions reflect that the abortion right is protected by the fourteenth amendment as in order to be granted right of privacy, an individual is needed to be born. The issue of same sex marriage has been in discussion since last decades. As it was not a legalized marriage, people demanded that it to be legalized so that individuals may live in the manner they want to live with the partner they want to be with. The basic dilemma seems to have resolved as the basic right has been soon recognized by the whole United States and the political, cultural and religious objections making the act a taboo will be disregarded (Singh, 2003). Theoretically human life can never be priced and may be considered as priceless. However, various organizations do estimate the human lives worth and according to international standards, it is around $50,000. This international standard has been implemented by most government-run and private insurance plans globally use to ascertain while deciding upon covering a novel medical procedure. Usually the value of a human life is estimated in order to help the governments plan the amount to be expensed for healthcare of an individual citizen. However, there are certain other issues too that do incorporate valuing human life while