First Essay Prompt Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

First Prompt - Essay Example What we see is only our dim reflections on the walls, metaphor for our imperfection and ignorance. There are prisoners in the cave who are chained to the floor in the darkness and unable to move their bodies to see what is happening around them. Under the protection of a parapet there are the puppeteers who display shadows on the walls. The prisoners are disillusioned that this is their reality. The story is told not from the perspective of the prisoners, but rather as a conversation between Socrates and Plato's brother - Glaucon. Plato's idea is that people are governed by the supreme forces of nature and Gods and we are unable to control our destiny and life. Everything is decided upon Gods and they are who captivate us and release us. And because people are under the possession of a higher power, we can not understand. Scharffenberger and Jowett (2004) comment that Plato's work "Republic" is identified mainly with the concept of the good. Plato's philosophy is often written as conversations and dialogues which shows that before reaching some conclusion the readers must be pres ented with all arguments and viewpoints (Scharffenberger and Jowett, 2004). In the "Allegory of the Cave" scene Socrates is the one describing the situation in the cave and he is the one to convey the idea that behind the prisoners puppeteers exist who move objects to resemble the reality. Another important aspect of the story besides our human imperfection and wrong interpretations of reality and goodness is that we often give names to objects to make sense of the world. However, language appears to be the limit of our understanding for the physical objects that surround us, and the invisible remains indecipherable and unreachable for our mind. Our thinking is bound by our imagination and we can think as long as we see and witness existence with our sense. Beyond this, our mind can not grasp other realities. Thus, human knowledge is full of mistakes and too limited. Once the prisoners of the cave are released they face different world - they see the sun, the light, the people around. They realize that these new images are the "truth", the reality. Now prisoners change their perceptions and start to believe that the sun leads their own existence. Scharffenberger and Jowett (2004) remark that this is the climax of the storyline - people regard as good what they are presented with. Then human goodness and knowledge are questionable, since they are not omnipresent and we do not possess them by nature. We have to discover them alone. So goodness and knowledge are controversial, because they depend on individual's reactions and beliefs. And there is no ultimate, supreme notion to unite them for all human beings. Apology is Plato's interpretation of Socrate's speech where they accuse him corrupting the young men of Greece through worshiping gods, which are not recognized by the state. With Apology Socrates defends himself and give reasons for his actions. "The Delphic Quest and the Gadfly are the two poles of Socrates' public self-vindication: the one submissive to the dawning wonder of the complexity of political and moral affair, the other aggressive in the hunt for clarification of this wonder (Newell 98)." Newell (2000) remarks that Socrate's philosophy consists of two dimensions. The holistic - represented by the Delphic Quest in Apology, and the analytical - embodies by the Gadfly. Socrates'

Costa Rican Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Costa Rican Economy - Essay Example (Culture in Costa Rica 2002) Recently, Costa Rica has been trying to shift its economic trend, and adopting a more global approach. Plans are to turn Costa Rica, from a coffee exporter, to a silicon based company. Skilled labor, new opportunities, global participation is the new goal, as it is with most developing countries. (Costa Rica Businesses 2008) A small scale chain of grocery stores in a developing country can go both ways when it comes to 'making it'. If we talk about the current world events, then there are many going on right now. With the phenomenon of global inflation taking over the planet, businesses, both small and large scale, are feeling the thump. A global issue that engulfs us all, are the prices of fossil fuels, namely; oil. As oil prices sky rocket above, everyone is feeling the shock. Major steps are being taken such as the development of alternative fuels, international talks, visits and conferences. This is an issue that affects the global economy. A grocery store chain in Costa Rica wo uld be no exception. It is simple economics that, the inflation caused by the rise in oil prices, would result in higher prices of goods and products all across the globe. Products will be more costly to produce and thus, will be exported at a higher price. The local Costa Rican grocery store will have inflated prices as well, of both, local and imported products. As prices of products increase, their demand goes down. Extreme conditions could result in recession or worse. Local producers would find it costly to produce with input costs going high because of the oil prices, and thus, a decrease in production could result in loss of jobs and a lower standard of living. This situation can be seen in many regions around the world including many third world countries. Obama vs. Clinton Another major global event is the U.S presidential elections. The ongoing rivalry between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is heating up day by day. (Troy 2007) The United States being a neighboring country and a trade partner can have a significant role in the Costa Rican economy. A change in government often results in a change in trade policies and international relations. New government expenditure would result in creation of employment in the country. This would open up newer opportunities to earn and contribute to a raise in the GDP. Demand for local and imported goods would increase and people would be willing to buy more. If situation in the U.S improves further and employment over there increases, such activity can bring about a rise in the demand for Costa Rican imports. As a result, employment is created in Costa Rica, with production increasing and firms hiring more skilled and unskilled labor, resulting in a higher aggregate income level. This would stimulate demand for products locally and people would have a higher level of disposable income. In this way, the chain of grocery stores could experience higher levels of business and revenues. War and Unrest Another major issue is the ongoing unrest in the Middle East. Though the whole scenario may seem geographically far away but the world is a global village now. War and unrest in the Middle East is causing countries around the world to experience threats to national security, strained international relations and so forth. (Yahoo News 2008) With many countries, including the United States,

Social Value of Scientific and Technological Enterprises Essay - 1

Social Value of Scientific and Technological Enterprises - Essay Example There are many types of social value associated with research. International Business Machines, for instance, has stated that â€Å"Our research needs not only to attract the attention of academia but also to have an impact on a wide range of sectors in society. Fortunately, IBM has various systems to utilize research results for the benefit of society† (Research Value to Society, 2008: n.p.). First, IBM intends to convert its research into products. This creates social value in the form of employment, increased tax revenues for social services, business stability and expansion, and a better standard of living. Second, though the research is protected by intellectual property rules, it does become disseminated in many ways as public knowledge. Although others may not violate the research protected the intellectual property laws, they may learn how to build on the newly discovered knowledge. Finally, research enterprises tend to be rather collaborative in modern times and this means that knowledge is being shared commercially and socially; as an illustration, IBM has stated that â€Å"IBM supports the promotion of open systems that optimize open standards and open sources with the goal of realizing collaborative innovations. TRL is working with governments and corporations to conduct research in open technologies, including open document formats (ODF)† (Research Value to Society, 2008: n.p.). The significance of the research is fundamentally the dissemination of knowledge which is most often commercially-oriented but which is increasingly being used to promote social values such as public health and safety and other social objectives.

Case Analysis, Turnaround of JC Penny Assignment

Case Analysis, Turnaround of JC Penny - Assignment Example With the rapidly changing customer lifestyle and preference, the retailer can look into modifying its offerings like including more low-priced items in its merchandise. JCPenney can also take advantage of globalization by opening new stores in rapidly developing economies. 1. Pursue relationship marketing. Relationship marketing is now becoming essential in recognition of the lifetime value that repeat transactions from a single customer can bring. Relationship marketing will help JCPenney by cultivating customer loyalty, lowering transaction costs, and more targeted marketing. However, this new strategy will be bringing in more costs; will necessitate the introduction of a new corporate culture; and training of human resource. 3. Improve pricing. Since customers are searching for trendy yet high value products, JCPenney should improve its pricing. Improved pricing will attract more customers, heighten demand, and gain their loyalty. However, price cuts might harm the company by reducing margins and erode company's image. This case analysis recommends that the best strategy that JCPenney can pursue is relationship marketing. The company can implement this through its database of customers.

Fastenal Case Essay Example for Free

Fastenal Case Essay The comprehensive document is an overview of Fastenal Canada LTD and how it relates to sales management. The document first provides an introduction to the problem and company background of Fastenal, which includes a description of various views of Fastenal. It further goes into detail about the recommendations that relates to the two main parties involved, which are the customers and the company itself. The document also includes an in-depth implementation plan, which is broken down into short, medium, and long-term tasks to accomplish. Through out the document there is a mention of the vendor managed inventory model (VMI). By using VMI, we were able to use a different approach to avoid risks associated with the â€Å"bricks and mortar† approach. Fastenal should choose to implement the following business plan because a well thought out analysis went into determining the problem and coming up with a solution for the future growth of the company. All decisions were made with the company in mind and focusing on the strong relationship between the costumer and Fastenal. Introduction Fastenal Canada LTD is a subsidiary of Fastenal Company, which was founded in 1967. Fastenal Canada LTD operates as a wholesaler and retailer of industrial and construction supplies in Canada. They have over 200 stores across Canada, 66 of which are in the western region. Fastenal’s growth strategy has always relied heavily on new store opening because the high demand for its products and services across Canada (Fastenal, 2012). It tends to be risky as well as costly when opening stores using the â€Å"bricks and mortar† approach. The introduction of the vendor managed inventory model (VMI) has been advantageous. Fastenal receives an electronic data via email, informing them of its distributor sales and inventory stock level. This system makes it fast and efficient for the customers and sales associates. Fastenal interprets the electronic data and there is an automatic responsibility of maintaining the inventory level for the customer. Fastenal is looking for a different expansion model approach to be used as a growth driver in Western Canada. Our new proposed strategy gives Fastenal the ability not only maintains its desired identity but it gives them the ability to increase the market share and tap into a fresh new market. Our goal is to assess the situation in hand and work in the given environment to keep the strong customer relationships since it is an important component in the company. Problem Definition How can Fastenal use its new vendor managed inventory model to increase its market share? End market sales during the months of 2012 grew 19.8% from the manufacturing customers while the residential construction customers grew 17.9% (Fastenal, 2012). The advantage to VMI is that it releases the customer of having to worry about the level of their inventories. Fastenal interpret the electronic data and automatic take control of the responsibility of maintaining the inventory level for the customer. How can Fastenal reduce financial risk? Every scenario where there is a change in the way things are done or achieved there is always risks to failure or loss. In many cases where there is loss or failure, there is often a way that it could have been avoided or done differently to avoid the negative outcome. Fastenal needs to avoid these situations by planning ahead and finding ways to avoid the risks that may pose problems or loss in the near future. â€Å"Bricks and Mortar† approach induces many financial risks so another approach is necessary to prevent them. Situation Analysis Customers and the sales force are the stakeholders who are most affected. Strong customer relationships are the essence of Fastenal’s success and form an important component of their competitive advantage. The problem arises due the to lack of education the customer has about ordering online which deceases the efficiency PartStore has to offer. Ordering online reduces rushing the parts to the counter or waiting on the phone. Customers are also able to check parts availability and prices, as well as place an order. However when PartStore was introduced there was some confusion with it. Creating a frustrating relationship between the customer and sales person. Recommendations Consignment Inventory Consignment inventory usually involves the supplier, placing inventory at a customer’s location without getting rid of its ownership of the inventory. Since the owner retains the ownership of its products the customer does not pay until it is sold or used. However, before we examine how Fastenal can benefit from our proposed consignment program it is important to first examine some potential market of interest. The City of Edmonton According Edmonton’s 2012 budget report, almost all municipalities across Canada face a significant infrastructure deficit. Neighborhood renewal occurred periodically with funding from other orders of government, yet it failed to address the full life-cycle requirements of preventative maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Over time, the condition of roads, sidewalks and sewers deteriorated, resulting in more frequent collapsed sewers, increased sidewalk hazards, and dramatically increased maintenance like pothole repairs. The Office of Infrastructure and Funding Strategy highlighted the need for ongoing funding for neighborhood infrastructure to overcome an anticipated $2.2 billion funding gap in neighborhood roads and related infrastructure. This situation provides a tremendous opportunity for Fastenal to penetrate and serve this market. Market potential The total number of potential infrastructure that needs to be fixed in any given time is the market. The market potential for Fastenal products in units would be equal to the number of potential infrastructure that require repairing, assuming that each infrastructure repair would use Fastenal product. Fastenal can benefit for inventory consignment within the city of Edmonton, however administration is important to understand how the current business model can be used to Fastenal’s advantage in delivering the services. FAST 5000 is a vending machine that provides workers with immediate access to materials and equipment’s. The FAST 5000 machine is installed at customer sites and Fastenal keeps them filled with needed products ranging from safety equipment’s, cutting tools supplies to office supplies. Fastenal handles everything from the delivery of the machines to the installation and restocking of the machine whenever the inventory level becomes low. Through the flexible web reporting system Fastenal customers are able to view and manage the machine’s inventory usage. Cory Jansen, Fastenal’s Vice President of Internal Operation have claims that having the FAST 5000 have reduced production consumption in many cases by more than 30 percent (City of Edmonton, 2012). In the midst of 2.2 billion dollar worth of infrastructure repairs that the city of Edmonton needs, someone will have to supplies this market with their required materials and tools to complete the repair work. Fastenal should approach the city of Edmonton with a proposal outlining how the FAST 5000 can be beneficial to the construction site and within the city offices. The city of Edmonton as a corporation serves a population of more than 750,000 residents; the corporation is segmented into seven different departments each department is responsible for providing a particular service to Edmonton residents. We suggest that Fastenal concentrate on the four main departments within the corporation that is more likely to benefit from the FAST 5000 or the FAST 3000 services, which are the: Office of the City Manager, Sustainable Development, Transportation Services and Infrastructure Services. Office of the City Manager will benefit from the FAST 5000 if Fastenal stocks them with office supplies, such as pens, pencils, papers, etc. Since each development must akin to a strict budget the FAST 5000 can provide the solutions to maintaining those budget, by reducing product consumption, having on-hand inventory, and administration costs, while providing new insight into usage and spending habit that can be used toward next years City budget. Fastenal can implement the same strategy within other municipalities across Canada. Implementation Fastenal needs to place a unit in each site under the City of Edmonton. We believe it to be reasonable to set one to three year goal to place a FAST 5000 machine in each site over the next three years. First step is to write up a proposal to bring to the Simon Farbrother, who must approve it. He is the city manager and makes the major decisions in these cases. This process can take up to three months to be able to present the proposal. This also creates awareness of the product to the potential client. The proposal must go through other levels of approval and be voted on by the city council, therefore this may take another three months. Once the plan is approved the production and distribution can be put into motion. The city of Edmonton has many different branches and sites in the Edmonton area. The marketing department in Fastenal will start to put together the proposal and presentation. The marketing department will create a miniature FAST 5000 as part of a press kit along with a formal written proposal. The press kit will also open up and contain testimonials from previous clients Fastenal has worked with. It will also have a brief description of the key factors and attributes of the FAST 5000 and what sets it apart from prior units. Once the plan is approved, Fastenal will be required to submit the bet to the city manager. Since Fastenal is the sole provider of the vendor managed inventory systems (FAST 5000, FAST 3000). This implies that there is only one supplier that can fulfill the requirement and that any attempt to obtain bids would only result in one supplies being able to bid on the contract which is Fastenal. The bid will contain the benefits and costs of going through with the deal and the estimated completion date of placing the units in different sites throughout Edmonton. Once the city has awarded them the contract they will immediately move forward, and Fastenal will provide the services as stated in the proposal. Fastenal will place the minimum required machines in each site as outlined by the contract. Time Line Immediately| Delivering units| Week 1| Submitting a bid| Week 2| Proposal| 3 months| Meeting with Simon Farbrother | 3 months| Vote by city council| 6 months| Full Approval| TBA| Expansion into further sites and markets| Budget Since we do not have any costs that are being associated with this project our cost is zero, therefore the budget is not present. Risk and mitigation Risk| Mitigation| Underperformance of sales force | * Bring on a skilled team * Have the team mentor new people * Make teamwork part of the culture * Hire skillful and enthusiastic employees | Sales loss on FAST machines| * Proper training * Information to customer about store * Finding good location| Unrealistic customer and schedule expectations| * Make the customer feel comfortable and at ease * Set schedule goals around frequent deliveries | Conclusion The problems we wanted to address were â€Å"How can Fastenal use its new vendor managed inventory model to increase its market share?† and â€Å"How can Fastenal reduce financial risk?†   Our new proposed strategy gives Fastenal the ability to not only maintains its desired identity but it gives them the ability to increase its market share and tap into a fresh new market. Strong customer relationships are the essence of Fastenal’s success and have formed an important part of their competitive advantage. Our business purposed plan intended to keep the strong customer relationships. Through our implementation approach we have demonstrated how Fastenal can transform it’s current solution into a continued transparent business model. Fastenal’s opportunities will be awarded by the skill and creativity they have to meet the customer demands. Reference City of Edmonton. (2012). Budget. Retrieved April 2012, from http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/budget_taxes/budget-2012.aspx Fastenal. (2012). Fastenal . Retrieved April 2012, from http://www.fastenal.com Mackenzie, H. (. (2008). Sales Managment in Canada (1st Edition ed.). (D. Thompson, Ed.) Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Person Prentice Hall.

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay

The American Company Kraft Foods Ltd Marketing Essay In the current economic situation, companies are putting all their efforts to keep their customers loyal and present market shares. To attain these objectives they are launching new products, implementing new and more interesting marketing campaigns or releasing loyalty programmes. No matter the industry they activate in, all the companies want to build long lasting relationships with their customers, as it is easier and cheaper to keep existing customers rather than acquire new ones. This paper will focus on the operations of one giant in the food industry, the American company Kraft Foods LTD, and all the attention will be centred on the chocolate confectionery branch of the organisation and on its leading chocolate brand in Europe, Milka. After a thorough analysis of the chocolate confectionery industry in the United Kingdom, the introduction of a new product in the Milka range will be discussed. Corporate Objectives Kraft Foods is the worlds second largest food organisation with revenues over $42 billion as they state in their fact sheet published in 2008. It has operations in many subsectors of the food industry such as: snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals and groceries (Datamonitor, 2009a). The companys manufacturing plants are located in 70 countries all around the world and it sells its products in more than 150 countries (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Being such a big company in the industry, it has set well defined long term objectives to help its growth strategies. Firstly, the company is well aware of the new trends in its sector and is aiming to offer consumers healthy products, as people have become more health conscious. Secondly, the issue of conserving the environment is intensively discussed nowadays therefore Kraft Foods has decided to implement projects for sustainability. Also, the company wishes to expand even more and increase its world coverage (Kraft Foods, 2009b). To satisfy this last objective the company is acquiring different companies which are operating in key markets. One example could be the recent acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury, which offers the company to opportunity to consolidate in the UK chocolate market (Mintel Oxygen, 2010). Kraft Foods also wants to expand to Southeast Asia as the countries here present high growth rates in the food industry (Mintel Oxygen, 2008) Furthermore, since 2008 the company has decided to implement a restructuring plan designed to lower its cost structure and optimize capacity without affecting the quality of products (Kraft Foods, 2009a). Market Overview As stated before, this paper will focus on the chocolate confectionery operations of Kraft Foods in the UK market and therefore an overview of this particular market is necessary. Datamonitor (2009b) states that the chocolate confectionery industry accounts for almost 67.5% of the total value of the UK confectionery market, which also includes gums, cereal bars and sugar confectionery (Chart 1). Chart 1: Market segmentation in the UK (Datamonitor,2009b) The UK chocolate confectionery industry has been in a permanent growth from 2003 until 2008, increasing by 11.1%. (Mintel Oxygen, 2008b). This particular segment is characterised by fierce competition as some of the most well known food giants are competing here. The main players in 2007 were Cadbury, with 35.3% market share, Masterfoods, with 30%, Nestle, with 14%, Ferrero, with 4% and Kraft Foods with 1.8% as it can be seen in Chart 2. Mintels 2008b forecast on market growth states that it will grow by 17% until 2012, if the prices of chocolate would have remained at the 2007 value. In real terms and taking into consideration inflation this growth will be of just 2%. Chart 2: Manufacturers value shares in the UK chocolate market 2003-2007 (Mintel. 2008b) The report on chocolate confectionery published by Mintel Oygen (2008b) states that current trends in the market highlight the fact that more healthy foods need to be released on the market, forcing in this way companies to produce healthier chocolates. As childhood obesity is an important issue in the UK, there is an absolute need of healthy products and what now is a trend it will later become a way of living. Also, consumers tend to become more educated on chocolate and soon will demand high quality products. Moreover, the same report shows that consumer preferences have started to change and shortly they will ask for new flavoured chocolates. Marketing Audit: Internal and External After getting a brief insight on the chocolate confectionery sector in the UK, an internal and external marketing audit needs to be done in order to identify which are current problems of the company. Firstly, since it has consumer products the overall marketing mix implemented needs to be analysed. Then, the strengths and opportunities must be identified in order to overcome the companys weaknesses and threats. Also with the help of the PEST model and Porters five forces the chocolate confectionery industry will be further analysed. Marketing Mix Kraft Foods is doing business in the consumer products domain, therefore its marketing mix is specially tailored for its consumers. Its main products are food items such as chocolates, biscuits, different beverages, snacks and convenient meals. Some of the companys products have become leading brands worldwide proving that the company offers qualitative products and also knows what its customers want. The company prefers to buy its raw materials from third parties such as agricultural cooperatives and independent producers to ensure high quality of the final product. (Kraft Foods, 2009a) The pricing policy of any company has to be elaborated in such a way that it retains current customers and also attracts new ones (Brassington and Pettitt , 2006 pg.431 ). The company charges acceptable and affordable prices for its products. However these prices are affected by raises in raw materials, as was the case in 2008 when the company had to raise prices to dairy, coffee, cocoa, wheat or nut products as a result of price increases for the raw materials (Kraft Foods, 2009a) When talking about promotion, Kraft Foods invests important amounts of money into well developed marketing campaigns which are meant mainly to attract new customers but also to consolidate its image in the eyes of present consumers. The company uses some of the tools in the promotional mix such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations. The organisations products have a wide distribution, reaching many markets all around the world. The main places where the products can be fund are supermarket chains, wholesalers, convenience stores, retailers, club stores or mass merchandisers (Kraft Foods, 2009a). SWOT As it has already been stated, Kraft Foods operates in different sectors of the food industry and in many markets in the world, so for each sector the company faces particular threats and has different strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the chocolate confectionery industry in the UK, the following SWOT analysis can be elaborated based on information provided by Datamonitor (2008). Strenghts: Kraft Foods has a strong brand image worldwide Well developed distribution network Manages a variety of brands in UK such as Milka Chocolate, Oreo biscuits, Toblerone, Terrys Chocolate Orange and others; well managed brand portfolio The raw materials used for production are always of high quality Weaknesses: Over the years the company had to recall some products, action which has damaged its image Its margins have constantly decreased causing problems in the implementation of new growth plans Opportunities: The acquisition of the British chocolate manufacturer Cadbury offers access to its expertise, research and information on consumer trends in the UK Permanent growth in the demand for healthy products New technologies and developments in the industry Threats: Fierce competition in the UK Governmental laws regarding alimentation Too much divestment, having a large portfolio of brands worldwide might affect the companys cash flow PEST Kraft Foods is doing business in a constant changing environment and as a result it must always know what is happening in the UK environment. The UK business environment is continuously affected by political/legal, economical, social and technological /environmental factors. Political factors The laws in the UK regarding alimentation are quite tough with for companies, but they work in the benefit of the consumer, demanding more usage of healthy products. Any law imposed by the UK government or by the European Union can affect the companys operations and revenues. Economical factors Currently the UK has not entered the Euro Zone and it is still able to have a stronger currency then the Euro Zone. However, in the context of recession, the UK has reported a drop in GDP and in the third quarter of 2009 the GDP contracted by 0.2%, and remained 5.1% lower than in the same period of 2008 (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010a). The recession has affected greatly this country and as a result the disposable income has decreased, affecting the populations buying habits. Consequently, companies had to reduce prices and implement different schemes to maintain their customers and lose a small percent of sales. Social factors The UK population is very affected by the recession and many of them have lost their jobs. Unemployment rate has reached 7.8% in November 2009, but however there has been registered a decrease in the number of unemployed people (www.statistics.gov.uk, 2010b). Since unemployment is quite high, not many British people afford to spend money on other things that are not of strict necessity, such as chocolates. Confectionerynews.com (2009a) states that women are more likely to have chocolate due to the fact that when they reach menopause they become more stressed and need to get relieved. Technological factors Technological advances always occur in any industry. Companies in the chocolate confectionery sector have to invest in research and development in order to come up with healthier products as customers demand these intensively. Recently, Kraft Foods and Nestle were accused of using palm oil and indirectly encouraging deforestation in Indonesia (www.confectionerynews.com, 2009b) and as a result both companies had to review operations and decided that from 2010 will use only certified palm oil. Porters 5 Forces Analysis The UK chocolate confectionery industry can also be assessed by using Porters five forces. Threat of new entrants The UK industry is quite fragmented with many companies competing within. Since some of the largest companies are present here such as Nestle, Kraft Foods, Cadbury and Mars Inc. it is very difficult for a smaller company to enter this market. However there are also niches, such as premium chocolates which could still welcome new players. This particular threat is considered to be low as it is difficult to enter the UK market. Competition It is common knowledge that the UK market presents high levels of competition. The worlds food giants are in a continuous quest for market shares and increased sales volumes. This particular force might seriously affect Kraft Food since it still doesnt have a high market share, but because of the new acquisition of Cadbury this might change. This force is considered to be high, as there are important companies battling for supremacy. Buyers bargaining power Nowadays British people choose to spend money just on the necessary products and have eliminated premium products from their daily shopping. As a result, this force is considered to be quite high and have serious impacts on the companies activating in the industry. Suppliers bargaining power Over the years companies have built lasting relationships with their suppliers, as a result suppliers work jointly with buyers to ensure productivity. Due to these relationships the suppliers bargaining power is considered to be medium, as raises in raw materials can occur and affect the final products of the company. Threat of substitutes Chocolate can have many substitutes such as gums, candy or ice cream. As new consumer trends show that there is a serious shift to healthy products chocolate could be seriously affected, unless producing companies launch healthier versions. Consequently this threat can be considered as being medium to high. Current year Competition Five years time (assumption) New entrants Power of buyers Substitutes Power of suppliers Figure 1: Porters five forces (current year and five year prediction) Assumptions The VAT has increased to 17.5% (www.hmrc.gov.uk), automatically causing increases in the prices of all products. A further increase might endanger future plans for launching new products and present product sales might be affected. Also, if the UK decides to join the Euro zone serious price changes might occur and people might think they are paying more for a product then when they were using the sterling pound. It must not be forgotten that consumers are changing their buying patterns and preferences so they might choose to replace chocolate with other sweets. Marketing Objectives and Strategies for new product Growth Strategy As it has been previously presented, Kraft Foods does not have a considerable market share on the UK confectionery industry. It should focus more on its leading European chocolate brand, Milka, and make it a preferred chocolate in the UK too. Milka chocolate is present on the UK market in just six assortments (www.milka.co.uk, 2010) while other chocolate brands have more assortments. The need for a new product has been identified, and the proposed product is Poppin Milka. This new product will be alpine milk chocolate and in the interior it will have a bounty of popping candy. Since it is a new product for the Milka brand, Ansoffs new product existing market growth strategy will be followed (Dobson and Starkey, 2002). Marketing objectives Gain more market share on the UK chocolate market Build a strong brand name and image for the Milka brand Attract new customers, while retaining current ones Identification of Alternative Plans In the worst case scenario the new product could prove to be a failure, even though prior research would show that it should have success. Since the product has already been launched Kraft Foods could enhance it by adding new flavours such as melon, strawberry or cherries, fruit flavours which make a good combination with popping candy. Confectionerynews.com (2009c) shows that nostalgia has helped boost the UK food market, and since popping candy was very popular few years back, it could make a comeback. Also, it should be noted that the new product will be targeting children, but their parents are the ones who have to be convinced to buy the product. If the product does not manage to reach forecasted sales for the first months, the marketing plan should be reviewed and changed where it went wrong. Promotional Programme Objectives of the campaign: the main objective of the campaign will be to draw attention on the new Milka product and promote it throughout the year. Also, through this campaign it is intended to raise Milkas brand awareness and help build a stronger brand image. Target audience: the main target audience is children aged 5-13, but indirect target audience is men and women aged 25-40, who have children aged 5-13, since they are the ones who will buy the products, even though they might not be the users. Message: since the product is mainly targeted to children, the message has to be appealing and funny. It will stress on the fact that it is fun to have popping candy together with chocolate, a soft and creamy chocolate like Milka. Budget: the product launch campaign could be quite expensive, but Kraft has to take the risk and invest approximately  £2 2,5 million, to develop an effective and integrated marketing campaign. Since the company is a world giant it should be able to afford such a campaign especially when aiming to gain market share. The company already has a contract with Ogilvy to make the advertisement for Milka, so it can count on the help of a well known advertising agency. (Mintel Oxygen, 2009) Promotional mix: prior to the actual launch of the product (two weeks ahead), a guerrilla marketing campaign will be conducted such as to raise interest in the new product. Teaser ads would be placed in supermarkets and short TV ads will be played on kids TV networks. After the launch, samples will be given to customers of selected supermarkets such as Tesco or Sainsbury for a period of one month. Then full length ads will be played on kids TV networks for the next three to four months. In conjunction with TV ads billboards will be posted close to supermarkets and playgrounds to make sure the target audience becomes familiar with the product. At celebration times sales promotions will run to encourage and increase the product sales. The tagline used in all the ads will be Poppin the magic with Milka and will feature the Milka symbol, the liliac cow dancing on a popping candy dance floor and in the end the dance floor will explode as fireworks, showing the properties of popping candy. Time frame: the marketing campaign is designed for a period of twelve months commencing January, 2010. Measurement, Review and Control Any marketing campaign has to be evaluated before, during and after implementation (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006). The campaign will be evaluated before implementation through focus groups. During the campaign, sales will be closely followed and on-site interviews will take place. In the end, the campaign will be assessed by evaluating sales volumes and revenues, and check if the marketing objectives have been attained. Conclusion Launching a new product in a market where Kraft does not have high market share might be very difficult, but such actions must be done in order to become known on the market. With a well designed product and marketing campaign the new product should be able to reach expectations. Poppin Milka should be a success since Milka chocolate is a European leading chocolate brand, and British people are familiar to the brand.

Commercial Media As A Hegemonic Ideology

Commercial Media As A Hegemonic Ideology In this capitalistic twentieth-century, we cannot ignore the role established by the mass media as a principal and crucial tool in shaping the cultural sphere of our society. Pubic information, intercommunication and exchange of the social knowledge in society now solely depends upon mass media (Hall, 1977:340). Its role rests on the information that it provides which stimulates political ideas, social action, public policy agenda and priorities and further more (Khuori, 1999). Hence, what media imparts as information to the public becomes very important, for as mentioned earlier, this information is what produces the values in cultural sphere that drives the world today. In order to understand the mass cultural process one needs to examine how media industries function (Gottdiener, 1985: 980). So, in this essay we examine and dissect mass media through the concept of hegemony, to understand its role. How hegemony exists in the media system, in corporate decision making process and h ow ideological hegemony is deep-seated in the very intellectuals responsible for providing information to the general public will be discussed. We firstly will understand the concept of hegemony before analysing the media system and also talk about counter-hegemony to shed light on how media can sometimes go against the existing dominant hegemonic ideology in a society. Lastly we will talk about the limitations of hegemony in arriving at an understanding of the role media plays with in the society. Theoretical Background: Hegemony is a concept that was first posed by an Italian Marxist thinker Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) in his notebooks; while he was imprisoned. He was attempting to understand why after World War I, there was no working class uprising over fascism in Northern Italy during the regime of Mussolini (Gitlin, 2003: 252). An ardent follower of Marxism he witnessed the failure of the Marxist theory the process by which masses (proletariats) should overthrow oppressive capitalist bourgeoisie systems, to move towards a less oppressive economic system (Marx and Engels, 2002: 10-12). Gramsci built upon Marxism to conceptualize hegemony focusing more on the ideological independence and human subjectivity rather than economy (Daniel, 2000). One of the limitations of Marxist theory was the fact that superstructure .i.e. cultural and political institutions were seen as being dependent on the economic base; Gramsci tried to highlight the autonomy of such superstructure away from the base (Stevenson , 1995:15). Hegemony according to Gramsci centres on cultural and ideological means through which the dominant or the ruling class retain their dominance on subordinate classes by building spontaneous mass consent (Strinati, 1995: 165; Gitlin 2003: 253). Stevenson (1995:16), suggests that hegemony is a continuous battleground where the bourgeoisie and the working class construct economic, political and cultural alliances with other social groups and that ideology is represented as the social cement that binds together different class alliances. He further adds that the ideology works only when it is able to relate to the common sense of the people and influence them for change. Hence, Gramscis hegemonic ideology is based on the fact that the dominant social group in a society have the capacity to exercise intellectual and moral direction over society at large and to build a new system of social alliances to support its aims (Thussu, 2000:68). Military force might not always be the best possible way to gain power; in fact it is achieved not with legal and legitimate compulsion but by winning active consent of the subordinate class (Hall, 1982: 85). The dominant class develops and upholds its hegemony in civil society, i.e. by generating cultural and political consensus through unions, political parties, schools, media, the church, and other voluntary associations which is where hegemony is exercised by the dominant class over allied classes and social groups (Thussu, 2000:68). There is still a question as to why people would indisputably consent to let the dominant class control them, why would they agree to cultural and political consensus. Gramsci answers this by suggesting that the subordinate group is not ideologically indoctrinated but accepts the values and leadership of the dominant class since it also reflects their own interests (Strinati, 1995: 166; Hall, 1982:85; Gitlin, 2003: 253). As Strinati suggests (1995: 167), if we accept that hegemony is also about the battle for ideas, and the consent to dominant ideas, then it might be argued that it also includes concessions to the ideas and values of subordinate groups. However, we can also disagree by saying that perhaps it is merely a false consciousness created by gradually shifting the public interests and perception towards the dominant class without the public consciously realizing it (Stevenson, 1995:16). Regardless, Gramsci is able to explain precisely what the earlier Marxist were not able t o that is the free consent of the governed to the leadership of the governing classes under capitalism (Hall, 1982:85). Hegemony and the media: Gramsci highlights the importance of certain institutions in particular mass media, as the subject to production, reproduction and transformation of hegemony (Strinati, 1995: 168). Gramsci therefore points out the fact that it is important to analyse the role of media in the context of hegemony (Strinati, 1995: 169). Media is no doubt a powerful tool that affects not only individuals, but other institutions including society and culture (McQuail, 1997: 90). In Halls word (1982: 86) media are the institutions that not only reflected and sustained the consensus but helped produce consensus and manufactured consent, acting as an important tool to establish hegemony. Hall analyses the media through a hegemonic framework, he starts by saying that public trust media because ideologically they projects independence and impartiality from the political or economic interests of the state. However, media existing within a state are obliged to follow the formal protocols of broadcasting and depe nd on the form of state and political system which licenses them (Hall, 1982: 86-87). Hence the question of their operation being state driven is very likely. Hall (1982: 88) mentions media as being an ideological state apparatus used to mediate social conflicts. An interesting example of this state driven hegemonic ideology is the one given by Curran who compares the modern media with the medieval church showing how media is still used for social control by different dominant players. According to Curran (1982: 227) like the medieval churches media bind different people together by promoting collective values and social solidarity; back then it was the Christian faith while now it is consumerism and nationalism through international sporting contests and consumer features. He specially focuses on British media and how they promote collective identity through monarchy just like the Church. Cannadine (1983) gives an example of how the BBC in 1932 helped create a fascination for British royal family and helped project an image of British as one whole by broadcasting an image of the fatherly figure of George V (cited in Stevenson, 1995:17). Here we can easily see the BBC supporting the British regime in other words the state to build a common co nsensus while supporting hegemonic ideology. Curran (1982: 227) also adds that just like the medieval churches, media now also gives attention to the outsiders, earlier it was witches and warlords now its youth gangs, terrorist, drug addicts, militants etc. The role of mass media says Curran (1982: 227) is interpreting and making sense of the world to the mass public; and while doing that they tend to reproduce the hegemonic ideology. Production of hegemonic ideology can best be explained in regard to the professional communicators, like journalists, who are very important to amplify systems of representation that legitimize the social system (ibid). Journalists can be termed as intellectuals, who according to Gramsci are responsible for production and dissemination of ideas and knowledge (Strinati, 1995:171). We also need to understand that Journalists though thought to be autonomous are bounded by the hegemonic system, they unconsciously frame the news that is in keeping with the institutional arrangement of the society (Gitlin, 2003: 269), or in other words the hegemonic ideology and though they do not do it intentionally, it stems from the way they make news decisions, the way they have been trained and socialized from childhood (Gitlin, 2003: 257). They unknowingly have a tendency to promote the ideology of the political and economic elite by simply doing their job. According to Ben Bagdikian, there are three stages of selection for the news. First the editor decides that a certain site or event needs to be investigated for news; second a reporter decides what to look for at the site and lastly the editors decide on how to pitch the story to public (cited in Gitlin, 2003: 258). However, these are just the three processes; behind this there are various other aspects governing what news to cover and why. There is the institutional structure of the media, managers who set the corporate policy, then the budget. Further, the owners of the media who fall into the elite class want to respect the political economic system in order to gain their own political and economic advantages (Gitlin, 2003: 258). Since legitimacy in media organisations is what attracts audience, the top media managers make sure that their news operations are carried out in the way that this is projected, their forms of social control must be indirect, subtle, and not at all necess arily conscious (Gitlin, 2003: 259). We see here that there are lot of ideological forces that shape the news. Media that acts as a window to the world and a provider of social knowledge are in reality controlled by corporate and political elites who, by controlling ideological space, are making the public think what the dominant class want them to so that they remain in power. So, basically hegemony is enclosed in the news or programs, which helps maintain the dominant ideology. Commercial media as a hegemonic ideology: While discussing about hegemony in respect to media, we also need to talk about the commercial media. According to Gitlin (2000) commercial media have slowly through format and formula influenced people to think and behave in a certain way (cited in Murphy, 2003:59). Today people who are not consumers they might be regarded as an outsiders, such is the trend created by the media. It has instilled a feeling that each one of us must become a consumer or aspire to be one in order to be in the norm of the society. With the help of media and through the expansion of consent, slow but powerful ideological process began to shape both moral order and common sense, aligning the cultural practice of consumption with freedom, individuality, civil liberties, etc (ibid). Stevenson, (1995:146) gives an example of a Levi jeans advertisement and how by watching just the advertisement a consumer is addressed with a unique sense of craving, the ideology has an effect on the consciousness of the consum er without him/her realising that they are in reality a social class exploited by a hegemonic ideological process. The way media operates now is exactly what Gramsci proclaimed about hegemony, it is about one classs struggle over another by creating values that the dominated class must follow. Counter hegemony: Gitlin argues that by controlling what the media feeds the public (the dominated class), the ruling elites are infusing a false consciousness among them, which limits them in acting for change. However, Williams who follows in the footsteps of Gramsci differs by suggesting that there can be room for change with counter-hegemony (Stevenson, 1995:17). According to him hegemony is not constant and is always changing by challenging, resisting and reaffirming the dominant hegemony (ibid). William states that traditions, institutions and formations are the three cultural processes for hegemony, where in the traditions are always invented and reinvented by the national state and these newly formed traditions rely on institutions such as mass media and education for transmission in order to establish a dominant consensus in contemporary society (ibid). For example media can be said to promote counter-hegemonic ideology if it shows a program or a report that questions the government involveme nt in war. We all know about the invasion of Afghanistan by the USA on 2001 after the 9-11 attack. During that period, the USA media was more concentrated on sending messages about the war on terror and Al-Qaeda, hence no one questioned the invasion of Afghanistan and as a result the elite group in this case Bush received consensus from the public for the invasion (Rall, 2002). If the war on Afghanistan by the USA had been questioned at the point when the war was beginning then the media would have acted against the hegemonic ideology of the US government led by Bush. Hence according to Williams, the concept of hegemony does provide space for critical reasoning, so that a new class may challenge the existing ideology and resist change from the hegemonic ideology (Stevenson, 1995:181). Another example of counter-hegemonic ideology could be the 30 November, 1999, Battle of Seattle, where tens of thousands people took to the streets to protest at the launch of new millennial round of t rade negotiations at the World Trade Organizations Ministerial Meeting. This can be said to be against an existing hegemonic ideology, consequently a counter hegemonic approach. However, we have to understand as recognised by Schiller (2003) the importance of informational and cultural power as being a key factor in governance and that these are no less important than the army and the police, to achieve social control (cited in Stevenson, 1995: 5). Also it is difficult to challenge the elite hegemonic ideology reinforced by the media because it collides head on with the fundamental interest of the dominant class and since they are the ones who have control over the informational apparatus and the cultural institutions that influence, if not determine, social thinking, the idea of challenging them becomes hard (ibid). Limitations: Hegemony cannot always explain the role played by the media in a society. According to Gottdiener (1985: 982), since hegemony suggests that the dominant class controls the class consciousness in a society, it neglects the fact that people are different and people have a different reflective thought capacity and that there are no homogeneous human subjects. Further, when hegemonisst talk about false consciousness they neglect the fact that consciousness and ideology are two separate entities for ideology is not consciousness it is the representation of imaginary (Gottdiener, 1985: 983). That is why he suggests a semiotic analysis of mass culture in the society because the users of mass culture are more active and more creative than previously thought (Gottdiener, 1985: 978). He thereby modifies the concept of hegemony one step further through a semiotic approach because it is a fact that ideology cannot be controlled fully and that the struggle to control it will always continues (Got tdiener, 1985: 978). Another research done by Johnstone et al. (1976) on the background, orientation, and ideology of journalists found that homogeneity in background or orientation is not the rule. For example, those who had a journalism education tended to think it was not necessary, while those who lacked it thought it would be worthwhile. There were important regional differences in regard to prestige, reliability, and whether a journalist would use stories from other media in his/her own reports (cited in Altheide, 1984:481) Thereby concluding that news or information selection in mass media might not necessarily be inflicted by hegemonic ideology and that journalists are not always socialized to dominant ideology. Conclusion: Though the concept of hegemony has its own limitations it has proved worthwhile in understanding the media organisation and the information they impart against a broader background (Altheide, 1984:486); which helps create a mass culture that in turn influences attitude and behaviour in the society. It has equally contributed to an understanding of the relationship between media and power. By using the hegemony concept and analysing how the media industry functions we were able to understand the role that the media plays in mass culture, and how this role reinforces hegemony. This essay tries to cover the concept of hegemony drawing arguments from various researchers and at the same time also sheds light on its limitations. We discussed how media itself works in a hegemonic framework and how managers try hard to project impartiality. We also briefly discussed the relationship between the political elite and media owners and how intellectuals working for the media,http://palv.files.wor dpress.com/2011/01/man.jpg?w=640are conditioned to bolster hegemony in the society. As a result, an important institution such as the media that plays a vital role in the society if, in itself, is influenced by hegemony, the role that it might play in the society is unquestionably influenced by hegemonic ideology.