Asnwer 2 questions need to be answered Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Asnwer 2 questions need to be answered - Essay Example More so, outdoor media like billboards contain features that attract and captures the needed attention from the pedestrians, and that is why it offers the best business opportunity. This is a fact because irrespective of technological revolution that advanced mass media offers, like efficient means of mass communication, social networking and advertisements, the outdoor media still dominates the mass media industry (Gosselin, 2007). Though the print media through magazines and other printed materials could offer the best business opportunities, online media have challenged it by presenting printed information via the internet; hence, allowing outdoor media to be the major traditional industry to stand out in the digital world and offer the best business opportunities. The media industry that faces the greatest challenge in the digital universe is the print media. The print media use physical objects like newspapers, books and other physical aspects relay its message. The print media existed since the 15th century and gradually grew to a reliable source of information over the centuries until it started diminishing in the 21st century (Fingleton, 2009). The greatest challenge that faces the print industry is the rising generation of consumers who yearn for efficiency and speed in acquiring any form of presented information. This same generation finds it hard attending libraries or visiting the magazine stalls to buy printed pieces of information, and still find it tiresome to peruse over numerous pages in search of the needed content. The other reason that challenges the print media is availability of the internet, which seems to grant the rising generation the right thing by allowing them acquire any needed content from any book or magazine throu gh online. This is a fact because internet sources like Google books and Amazon grants

Marketing Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Marketing Audit - Essay Example However, this was a great challenge to Nokia, specifically because new companies began to emerge, that were able to produce cheap mobile phones, which were also innovative. During the 21st century, Nokia began losing competition to mobile phone giants such as Apples, Samsung, and the numerous Chinese mobile companies that produced cheap, but innovative mobile phones (Sundback, 2008). One of the major reasons as to why Nokia was losing competition is based on the fact that it had a poor marketing strategy. Nokia was unable to effectively communicate its proposition, and what their products stand for. This is an aspect that Apples and Samsung have managed to communicate effectively in their marketing campaigns. Furthermore, the advertisements of Nokia are not consistent, communicating messages which are not relevant to their target market (Barnes, 2011). It is important to understand that to achieve success in marketing, it is essential for a business organization to highlight how their products serve the needs of their customers. On this note, failure of Nokia to achieve market growth is not because of low quality products, but mainly because of their poor marketing strategies. Nokia is a company in the telecommunication industry. In reviewing the marketing strategy of Nokia, there is a need of concentrating on the strategy that the organization employed in marketing its Nokia brand of mobile phones (Glotz, Bertschi and Locke, 2005). This report will provide a critique of the marketing strategy of the organization, identifying various weaknesses that the company needs to improve on. The main intention of providing a critique on the marketing strategy of Nokia is to make a recommendation on how to improve its marketing mix, in order to be an effective competitor in the telecommunications industry (Häikiö, 2002). On this basis, this report is a critical analysis of the marketing strategy of Nokia

Enron Corporate Culture Essay Example for Free

Enron Corporate Culture Essay Bench was founded in the Philippines by Ben Chan in 1987 originally selling men’s t-shirt in small retail stores. The brand is registered under the trademark of Suyen Corporation. The brand also grew on providing ladies’ line, underwear, fragrances, house wares, snacks, and a wide array of other lifestyle products, Kyle Marco P. de Vera, Justin Andrew Lawrence L. Rigor and Jolo Marco R. Tayag are junior students from the Department of Marketing and Corporate Communications in San Beda College AY: 2012-2013. The researchers have equally contributed to the fulfillment of the research with the help and advice of Dr. Jennifer T. Ramos. with the distinction of being present in virtually every retail space in the Philippines, and with a worldwide network of stores and outlets, reaching as far as the United States, the Middle East, and China. It has also been a pioneer to the use of celebrity endorsers, television, and giant billboards to push for a fashion brand that offers premium quality products at affordable prices in the market. By multiple product line and brand extensions, Bench was able to go through demographic divisions such as age, gender, socioeconomic status having â€Å"Bench is forever† as the company’s article of faith. Emerging as a global brand, Bench has 610 stores worldwide, 67 internationally 543 locally. (Adapted from Bench’s Website) Growing globally resulted to creating new product lines and extensions of the Brand; known for being an apparel brand, Bench as a product-oriented company have evolved into being a market oriented brand not only selling clothes but also extending to the market’s needs in terms of lifestyle such as food and personal care. One of Bench’s promising extensions is Bench Fix, aside from the Fix salon, hair wax is also one of the commonly sought product today in their offerings. Many companies or brand today have been adapting to the trends and needs of the society, by utilizing the brand that they have established in the market, they make their offerings relevant at the fast changing time. Product-line and brand extensions do not only create new markets but it is also one of the strategies in maximizing brand equity to survive in the competitive industry. The intention of the study is to know whether Bench is a strong Brand, by assessing its brand equity, brand positioning and competitiveness in the market and eventually make realizations for other pioneered and extending brand entities. The researchers got interested with this particular study because they want to discover whether a local brand of apparel like Bench, can be a strong brand and if it can be as appealing as those of the foreign brands that Filipinos patronize. Operational Framework Input Process Output Figure 1. 1 showed the three variables that have been assessed to know whether Bench is a strong brand, it can be measured through the independent variables, and these are the brand equity, the brand positioning and how Bench deals with the competition. The dependent variable is Bench being a strong brand because it has been the variable subject for result. The figure also displayed the process that the researchers have worked on. The research is a descriptive type of study. Survey was used to gather quantitative data which had been interpreted by its corresponding verbal interpretations. The person triangulation was intended to check and balance the consumers’ evaluation and be able to supplement qualitative data. Conceptual Framework This concept was adapted from , which suggested that a strong brand is manifested through the following indicators; Strong Brand Equity, Strong and Clear Brand Positioning, and Competitiveness. The main problem of the study is to know whether Bench is a strong brand. It specifically seeks to answer these following questions: 1. What is the assessment of the consumers to Bench’s brand equity? a. Brand Awareness b. Perceived Quality c. Brand Loyalty d. Brand Association 2. What is the consumers’ assessment on Bench’s brand positioning level? a. Attribute b. Benefits c. Beliefs and Values 3. How does Bench deal with the competition? a. The relative strengths and weaknesses of competition. b. The marketing strategies of their competition. Assumptions were used in this study. The researchers assumed that the product line and brand extensions of Bench are only categorized into accessories, apparel, personal care, footwear and food that the consumers have assessed in the questionnaire. They also assumed the determinants used in assessing the brand positioning. The researchers presumed that the close competitors of Bench are Folded Hung, Mint, Penshoppe, and People are People. The researchers assumed that Bench is not a strong brand. The study will benefit local competitive company brands to push for a more valuable product and service to create stronger brands enabling them to prepare for product and brand extensions so that they can survive long in the competitive market, not only that they will focus on their current products and services but they can also focus on the other needs and interests of the market. This study will also be able to provide companies and researchers a basis for assessing whether a brand is strong or not. The study will also benefit Bench, because the study will be able to provide an insight with regards to the brand’s current standing and be able to help them identify their existing constraints that inhibit their full brand development. To the researchers, the study will serve as ground for development, as future marketers. This research will be a good foundation for their career. In this study they will be able to assess, select, and apply carefully theories and concepts that they have learned and to the future researchers, the study will be a good source of information if ever it will relate to their topic well. The researchers are expecting that this will be available to the public since the current researchers also had a hard time finding local studies, this will be a good reference for them. Hopefully, the future researchers will be able to improve on this study and also be aspired to help other local researchers as well. It will also benefit the consumers, with the study conducted they will be able to learn and explore more of a brand’s offerings in the market. With more choices, variation in the brand, it will likely improve their buying behavior as to how they manage their lifestyle of selection and consumption. The scope of this study was limited on the assessment of the indicators of a strong brand, which was adopted from Armstrong and Kotler, namely; brand equity, brand positioning, and how a brand deals with competition in the market. The researchers were only focused on Bench as subject. With regards to the quantitative data, there is an ideal number of one hundred (100) respondents composed of buyers and nonusers of the brand to avoid conditional sampling; For the qualitative data, one (1) of Bench’s brand manager and one (1) brand manager of Bench’s competitor has been interviewed, particularly Folded Hung. Because the study is only good for duration of five (5) months, it has to meet with the researchers’ convenience. The researchers are bounded by time financial difficulty, respondents and lack of expertise. Review of Related Literature Building a Brand, a Strong One Brands play an important role in the purchasing decision of the product or service . Companies establish a brand primarily because they want to be considered a reference for customers when purchasing or availing products and services. Like what have said in their study, brands act as shorthand in the consumer’s minds so that they do not have to think much about their purchase decision. Being a reference provider, the brands are the interface between consumers and the company; on the other hand consumers are subject to commit to brands. Since brand is a cluster of functional and emotional values that promises a unique welcome experience (Chang Liu, 2009) and are fundamentally about relationships, these should form the main source of any company’s connection to the customers so that a brand may be able to avoid negative perception and aim for positive feedbacks. Brand’s influence is not imposed by the company or the business; rather their relevance depends on the needs and wants of the people because â€Å"the power of the brand lies in the minds of consumers† . â€Å"Brand name alone does not make a brand† one has to be strong enough to develop a market-leading brand capacity that is essential for long-term competitiveness. What is a strong brand anyway? In identifying a strong brand, we have to take in consideration some key indicators of such; high brand equity, brand positioning and competitiveness. The Brand’s Labor: Brand Equity Aaker defines brand equity as a set of assets and liabilities inked to a brand’s name and symbol that adds to or subtracts from the value perceived by a product or service to a firm and or the firm’s customer however Keller defines brand equity as the differential effect of the brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand . Aaker’s definition on brand equity is centered on the consumer’s negative or positive perception attached to the brand while Keller described it as the difference between the business’ projection of the brand on the consumer’s interpretation and perception of the brand. Taking it from a study’s perspective, have suggested that brand equity is the outcome that accrues to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have a brand name, simply put it is the outcome of the overall marketing effort of the brand. Since there is already an evaluation of the product and service, brand equity plays a role in how information is learned and then retrieved and used in making choice . That is why brand equity has emerged as a key strategic asset that needs to be monitored and nurtured for maximum long-term performance . Not only that it serves as an important signal to reduce perceived risk but it is also why considers brand equity as the value of a brand to the firm. According to brands with higher equity have an established strength in the market for they are able to generate higher immediate returns from their marketing mix efforts and higher loyalty brands generate greater stockpiling from promotions. Also have mentioned that buyers respond to branding by purchasing the same products or brands or by showing preference toward a particular brand, bringing firms higher in the market share, higher profits or share value. To sum it all up, brands which have higher equity can get the customer’s preference and tendencies and result in higher level of sale . The concept of brand equity has remained a complex phenomenon for many researchers because of the many associated concepts applicable under it. To understand it fully, the researchers would have to identify its key components. Aaker approaches brand equity as a set of fundamental dimensions grouped into a complex system comprising mainly: brand awareness, brand perceived quality, brand loyalty and brand association. The Impression, Brand Awareness For a brand to sustain a presence in the marketplace, people must be aware of it. As such, at its most basic level, knowledge encompasses brand awareness and the extent to which customers recall and recognize the brand. . To define brand awareness, it is the consumer’s ability to identify the brand and can be measured with the help of brand recall and brand recognition. Brand recall is the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory, when the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or some other type of probe, is given as a cue. Brand recognition reflects the ability of consumers to confirm prior exposure to the brand . It is also the extent to which a person able to recognize a particular brand given a set of brands according to . According to the role of brand awareness in building brand equity depends on the strength of the brand’s presence in the consumers’ mind and with that brand awareness had become a vital factor to influence the buying decisions and purchase intentions . It also enhances the prospects of being considered in the future purchase situations. . But awareness alone is not enough according to for the initial work was found that awareness alone was not adequate to build brand understanding. It will also need help of the other brand equity’s dimensions. Perceived Quality: The Judgment To sustain one’s presence in the market, awareness had been the founding principle to perform such but is the image just right to deliver positive quality perception that may even push more knowledgeable consumers to buy or purchase products. Perceived Quality is defined as the customer’s judgment of performance of a performance excellence of a product or service relative to the expectations of quality (Balaji, 2011). In other words perceived brand quality represents consumers’ view of how well a brand meets their requirement and expectations . According to , he stated that â€Å"perceived quality also represent consumers’ judgments regarding a brand’s overall superiority†. To add on Huang’s study, said that consumers’ apparel purchase decisions may be more likely to be influenced by their perceptions of apparel attributes such as price, quality, and style than by their concerns about the ethnical conditions under which apparel is or was produced. Perceived quality is a consumer’s subjective judgment about products or services . It is personal and irrational, quality may only equate to a certain features and benefits that are unique or different from others and these qualities may not be of standard or preference of one prospect, meaning a brand may only be able to be successful if they impress the right people or the target market per se. Brand Association: The Synapse Associations represent what the brand stands for and imply a promise to customers from the organization members. This means that brand association is something that provides meaning to a brand . In other words, brand association are ideas or descriptions consumers can relate with the product or service offered by the brand. Other definition of brand association stated by and is that it is anything linked in the memory of the consumers to the brand and the thoughts that come up to mind after brand or offering is recalled. Brand associations help consumers retrieve and process information and evoke a positive effect and cognitive considerations of the benefits . By convenience, brand association can actually make the product information more accessible that it can influence faster purchase decisions of consumers. Brand Loyalty: The Corner Stone Another dimension of brand equity is brand loyalty. To define brand loyalty on understanding, it is â€Å"a deeply commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product or service consistently in the future, causing repetitive same brand or same brand set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior†. In relation to the study, mentioned that loyalty is understood to be a long term attachment to a firm and it is considered to be intimately linked to consumer based brand equity. Now how can brand loyalty be of use, brand loyalty is of strategic importance for companies to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage because it is considered as one of the most important factors affecting consumer choice according to and. In identifying loyalty, satisfaction strength is a vital determinant because it plays a crucial role in the translation of stated satisfaction into customer loyalty and research of indicates that though satisfaction is link to some aspects of loyalty, its impact may depend on facets of the prior relational experience. In addition, the authors anticipate that satisfaction strength will influence both loyalty and the translation of satisfaction into loyalty, also suggested that the willingness of individual consumers, employees, friends the investor personal sacrifices in order to strengthen the relationship may help. One of brand loyalty’s substance is, Brand self-connection wherein according to is the idea that attachment involves a bond with the brand included as part of the self; it suggests that a critical aspect of attachment involves the cognitive and emotional connection between the brand and the self. That’s why trust in a brand is important and is a key factor in the development of brand loyalty according to because it can result to customer retention. In metaphor, brand loyalty is the cornerstone of brand equity and brand itself. Brand Positioning According to marketers need to position their brands clearly to target costumer’s minds at the lowest level; they can position the brand on product attributes. However attributes are the least desirable level for brand positioning. A brand can be better positioned by associating its name with a desirable benefit. The strongest brands go beyond attribute or benefit positioning. They are positioned on a strong beliefs and values. They explained the concept of brand positioning in terms of its three levels. The brand must be aligned to its goals and prospect consumers in order to be positioned well in the market. Like what have mentioned in their study, consistency in value delivered helps brand providers understand the value targets and helps customers understand the brand positioning. In the study of , they stated that it is important for businesses to create attraction in their brand to be better positioned than their competitors. In return, when a brand has a relative advantage in consumers’ mind, its market share should increase or at least not decrease . The study of mentioned that positioning is a very left brained phenomenon, where brands are narrowly defined by either personality or benefits. When one defines brands so rigidly, the advertising gets predictable, and there’s no margin for creativity or expansion. Fluid nature and flexibility is one of the ways for brands to survive. Brand belief works by tracking a particular brand also by trying to see it in the context of other brands of the same category, the comparison creates a distinct positioning. Advantages to Competition

External And Internal Audit Of Zurich

External And Internal Audit Of Zurich The scope of the report is a comprehensive external and internal audit of the company Zurich Insurance, providing a base for formulation of its new 5-year marketing plan. The company, Zurich Financial Services (Zurich Insurance) is a global insurance-based financial services provider, which offers life insurance, non-life insurance, risk management and other related products. Group headquarters are in Zurich, Switzerland, it employs 60,000 people, while its main markets are in Europe and North America. The group operates thought three main units targeting three main segments (Zurich Insurance 2010): General insurance targeting the non-life insurance segment; Global life targeting the life insurance segment; and Farmers that targets the life and non-life segment in US. The analysis in the report identified several key issues of importance for the further activities of the company. Key emerging issues The current external and internal situational impact as provided with the audit identifies several important opportunities for development of the company in the period to come. In line with its current corporate objectives, these directions include: Expansion on emerging insurance market especially the non-life market; Capitalisation on its position at the mature markets for a better positioning in the new segment (ageing population) at the mature markets Improve its operational profit margin; and Placing Corporate Social Responsibility at the core of its strategic positioning reinforcing its brand and working towards decreasing the high level of groups risks. Table of Contents 1.Vision, Mission and Corporate Objectives 4 1.1 Vision 4 1.2 Mission Statement 4 1.3 Corporate Objectives 5 2.Situational Analysis 6 2.1 External Analysis 6 2.1.1.Macroeconomic Analysis-PESTEL 6 2.1.2.Industry Analysis 8 2.1.3. Market Analysis 11 2.1.4. Opportunities and Threats 11 .2. Internal Analysis 12 2.2.1. Value Chain Analysis 14 2.2.2. The Balance Scorecard 15 2.2.3. Core Competences and Capabilities 15 2.2.4. Zurich Insurance Culture Web 16 2.2.5. Identified Strengths and Weaknesses 16 2.3.Summary of the current situation impact- SWOT 17 3.Marketing Objectives Five year plan 20 4.Marketing Strategies 21 6. Marketing Implementation 7Ps 22 7. Budgetary Requirements 23 8. Gantt 25 Vision, Mission and Corporate Objectives The concept of vision and mission comes from the influence of the rationalists approaches towards strategy promoted by Chandler and Ansoff and the famous hierarchy of plans (Linstead et.al. 2004, p. 501). Within the hierarchy of plans, there are four levels of strategy: enterprise, corporate, business and functional plans, while at the top of the pyramid is the enterprise strategy. The enterprise strategy is the broadest level of strategy that articulates the role of the business entity in the society. Its main aim is to answer two questions why does the company exist and what does it serve for the society. In contemporary management language it seeks to provide the Mission and the Vision of the company as a whole. 1.1 Vision The Zurich Way or the Zurich vision is to become the best global insurer as defined by its customers, its shareholders and its people (Zurich Insurance 2010) in serving its three target segments. 1.2 Mission Statement Zurichs mission is to deliver help when it matters so that customers feel valued and taken care of (TheTimes100 2010, p121) is reflected in its comprehensive range of general and life insurance products and services accustomed to the needs of all of its customers, accompanied with an in-depth customer knowledge, a global network and local expertise, high-quality service and ease of doing business, backed by strong capital and talented employees (Zurich Insurance 2010). 1.3 Corporate Objectives According to Linstead et.al. (2004, p. 502) ,the corporate objectives should be specific, realistic considering the internal and external environment, achievable with a reasonable amount of effort, and must reflect the expected reality, or in short SMART. For Zurich Insurance they are (Zurich Insurance 2009a): 1.3.1 Profitable growth The company seeks to identify and exploit opportunities for profitable growth. These opportunities arise when there are strategic gaps in offer at target markets or locations. It is either achieved though the existing business of the company or through acquisition of new business. Key performance indicators (KPI) for this objective are groups operating profit margin and its net profits. 1.3.2 Operational transformation The operational transformation objective aims at building strength at core areas as risk management, investment management, underwriting and claims, measured through the level of quality of services. 1.3.3 Customer centricity The customer centricity is the centre of companys mission achieved through five specific indicators as presented in Figure 2. People management The companys objectives are to employ the best talent, and to provide opportunities for its further professional development. Situational Analysis A situational analysis in the strategic management, consists of analysis of the external and internal context of the company, and serves to identify possible gaps in the strategic positioning of the company that can be a strategic opportunity or threat, and in identifying its internal strengths and weakness. In essence, it is what practitioners call a marketing audit. A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent, and periodic examination of a companys or business units marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the companys marketing performance (Kotler and Keller 2006, p.719). Thus it is a tool that assists the management in describing current activities and their outcomes, performed for setting new strategic direction of the company, or as in the case of Zurich Insurance for setting a new marketing plan. 2.1 External Analysis The analysis of the business environment is a significant step in understanding the external concept in which the company functions. According to Johnson et.al (2005, p.64) this understanding is built on several levels: the macro environment, the micro environment-the industry, the competitors (strategic groups) and the markets (segments). 2.1.1.Macroeconomic Analysis-PESTEL The PESTEL tool helps in identifying the factors that determine the external strategic opportunities and threats of companies operating in a certain industry (Johnson et.al 2005, p.57). Thomson and Strickland (2003, p.93) regard these factors as key drivers of change, shaping the strategic environment of the industry (Lynch 2009, p.79), and significant in the process of building scenarios of possible futures (Johnson et.al 2005, p.57). In the case of Zurich Insurance, these factors are given as follows. Political environment The more conditions which globalisation brings to businesses and their operations as are the openness of trade and easier movement of capital, the impact of the lack of more structured global governance represents a high systematic risk for the insurance sector. According to the Global Risk Report (WEF 2010), in most of the cases of risk identification, the experts identified weak or inadequate institutions or agreements in almost all of the risks covered. This is why global governance gap emerged as a systematic risk crucial in addressing many critical global issues over the coming years of importance for the insurance industry as are the climate change effects and the natural disasters. Economic environment The GDP growth is one of the most important pre-conditions for the profitability in the insurance sector. The global economy is a contrast of the stagnant growth in the developed countries (2-3% projected growth in the next 5 years) and a stronger positive growth in the developing regions (7% growth by 2015) (IMF 2010, p.4). This slowdown, negatively affects the insurance business in the areas of property and casualties, as the market is not growing causing a fierce competition pressuring margins. Many countries, especially the ones from the developed world as a response to the financial crisis from 2007, responded with overextending their fiscal positions, endangering unsustainable levels of debt which, in turn, may lead to full-fledged sovereign debt crises (WDF 2010). Based on IMF data, WEF (2010) reports of G20 budget deficits at 7.9% of their combined GDP. Although necessary these costs created a mountain of debt, that will have to be serviced on behalf of reduction in government spending on health and pensions, increasing the opportunities for the private life and pension insurance. Socio-cultural environment A key socio-economic driver influencing the environment of the insurance industry and thus Zurich Insurance is the ageing of the population in the developed countries. At the moment, many public health are not designed for meeting these needs, and will contract pushing the population towards the private insurers (WEF 2010). Technological environment Technology as a key driver of change, in particular affected the insurance sales channels, enabling transparency for the end buyers and a possibility to compare prices. In some target markets this possibility affected and still affects insurance premiums. From the aspect of the fast penetration of the IT/IS in the operations of companies, the risks of a major failure which could jeopardise the operations of the industry on a global scale are small, as the financial industry in general is very conservative towards the new trends of use of IT, while cloud computing is still out of industry comprehension. Environmental environment A key driver of change for the insurance industry coming from the environment is the global climate change. The severity of extreme weather accompanied global catastrophes in the form of natural disasters as hurricanes, wildfires and floods, may result in greater damage of the environment, infrastructure and property, even loss of life, increasing insurance claims (WEF 2010). Legal environment The financial industry in general, and the insurance sector is particular is one of the most regulated areas in the world that penetrates all its operations. In many cases, insurance is obligatory as is the motor-insurance, and in some countries the prices are set. As a result, it can be argued that the industry products in general are price inelastic. 2.1.2.Industry Analysis Economic theory defines an industry as a group of firms producing the same principal product (Rutherford 1985 as cited in Johnson et.al 2005, p.77) or, more broadly, a group of firms producing products that are close substitutes for each other (Porter 1980, p.5). From a strategic management perspective, analysing the attractiveness of the insurance means determining the profit potential through understanding the competitive forces in that industry and the way in which Zurich Insurance chooses to compete (Johnson et.al. 2005, p78). 2.1.2.1. Key Strategic Groups The insurance industry is characterised with two specific market segments, life and non-life insurance. The industry is highly fragmented with large number of players (Datamonitor 2010b, p.) of which most function in the both markets, and the markets are heavily regulated, as a result there are no specific strategic groups within this industry. 2.1.2.2. Five Forces Analysis While many times put on test, challenged and questioned, for almost three decades Porters five forces model (1980, 1985), is the dominant model accepted for analyzing the attractiveness of industries. Porters analysis shows that in the insurance industry the competitive rivalry is high and intensive. It is an industry in the shakeout phase of its cycle, characterised with small annual growth (Johnson et.al. 2005, p.86). The industry phase is characterised with a shakeout of the weakest competitors, encouraging acquisitions and consolidation. The main buyers in the industry are the policy holders, individuals and corporations, while the main suppliers are seen in the IT companies. Although the switching costs for the buyers are high due to contract obligations, the overall buyer power is assessed as moderate due to the large number of individual customers, which devaluates the meaning of the choice of an individual buyer. Within the business segment, the buyer power is lowered further due to the fact that businesses actually require insurance to protect their companies from risk; however, large companies excursive stronger negotiating power compared to the individuals. As the insurance industry works with information and stores huge amounts of data, the IT companies and software houses are its main supplier. It usually is a larger company as IBM, while the software systems are complex and interlinked, which increases supplier power and the switching costs. In recent years there have been trends of outsourcing the tasks to off-shore companies; however, this is not the dominant trend in this industry, which is why the supplier power is assessed as strong. It is a capital incentive industry which serves as a major entry barrier to newcomers; however, competitors from within the large financial industry as Banks, wherever the legislation allows them, can easily enter at the market. The overall treat coming from newcomers is assessed as moderate. There are no real substitutes to insurance. Many insurance products are legally required in many countries, which is why the threat coming from the substitutes is assessed as weak. Overall, the attractiveness of the industry in combination with its life cycle stage is assessed as moderate (Datamonitor 2010b). 2.1.3. Market Analysis The insurance market consists of two very important segments: the life and non-life insurance. Zurich insurance operates in the both segments. The life insurance segment participates with 57% in the total value at the market. The non-life segment has a significant growth potential in the emerging markets as China where this rate is very low (Datamonitor 2010c), where the state still covers the life-insurance. According to the estimations of Datamonitor (2010b), the market had a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% for the period 2005-2009 with an anticipated annual growth of 6.7% for the period 2009-2014, with a higher market growth expected on the Asian market. 2.1.4. Opportunities and Threats The external analysis presented in the preceding sections identifies the existence of several external strategic opportunities and threats for Zurich Insurance. The opportunities come from the process of consolidation and geographic expansion in the emerging markets, from the ageing population at the developed markets and the good developments at the assets management market. The industry faces tough times due to the slow recovery of the global economy and the increasing environmental risks for the only risk taker in the society. The risks from a catastrophe, either from a severe weather, or a major natural disaster, are high, and the insurance industry is the only one taking accountability for these occurrences on a global level thus there is a global governance gap that threatens the industry. Table 1.Telescopic ObservationFramework Technological considerations Economic considerations Legal and regulatory requirements Ecological and Environmental issues Sociological Trends Competition Organisational Culture Portfolio analysis International issues Cost efficiencies and cost structures New technology and fast penetration of IT in the insurance channels Slow growth of the global economy, Heavily regulated industry in almost all countries. Climate Change causing severe weather and catastrophes Ageing population in the mature markets; longer life expectations; Population growth at the emerging markets Intensive rivalry, many players Strong and unique Life and non-life products, and products for global companies Global governance gap a major risk for the insurance industry Strengths Zurich is successful in IT implementation. Zurich is 5thglobal player Unique Culture Proposition UPS Strong Weaknesses Needs more security Opportunity Increased demand for new life insurance products; Penetration at the emerging markets Opportunity to acquire competitors Threats It will decrease company revenues It will increase insurance claims No strong global governance increases global risks .2. Internal Analysis In the contemporary strategic management, the analysis of internal business environment covers a wide range of issues that developed in the past two decades mainly as a result of the emergence of the resource based view on strategy (Barney 1991, Rumelt 1991). Unfortunately, as Herrmann (2005) argues, since the RBV did not produce a dominant design, it developed in many different ways identifying key company resources, capacities, core capabilities, dynamic capabilities, ending with the knowledge-based competitive advantages (Johnson et.al 2005, Lynch 2009). At the end it got merged with the positioning school providing a strong academic background to the use of SWOT (used by companies from 1960s) (Linstaed et.al. 2004, p.502). Today there are several models available for the internal analysis. This report will use the Porters value chain (1985), which explains how the company is internally organised to reach its objectives. The chain further serves as a good base for identifying comp anys core capabilities and competencies (Hamel and Phrahald 1990), while the use of the Balance Scorecard (Kaplan and Norton 1996) as a tool, complements Porters Value chain as it provides the measures and the benchmarks against which the companys internal performance is measured in line with corporate goals. 2.2.1. Value Chain Analysis Zurich Financial is one of the largest insurance groups in the world serving approximately 60,000 people in more than 170 countries (Zurich Insurance 2010). Its value chain is developed using information from companys Annual reports. Table 2. Zurich Insurance Value Chain Analysis PROFIT MARGIN Firm Infrastructure (ZI Annual report 2009a) Successful integration of activities in a strong international value-chain with highly developed IT infrastructure; Centralised organisational structure, but with strong local adaptation decision making as products depends on national legal requirements and culture (EB 2008); Companywide culture emphasising customer centric behaviour. Human Resource Management (ZI Annual report 2009, ZI Business Review 2009,EB 2008) Recruitment and selection of the best high qualified teams of employees; Succession planning structures; Global approach to leadership development; Continuous training and development; Global performance management,; Global learning management system; Compensation programs with variable remuneration designed to encourage customer centric behaviour and creativity, but discourage risk-taking (ZI Annual report 2009, p.99); Innovative benefits scheme encouraging employee collaboration; Technology development Heavy investments in technology deployment 0 needs a good security (Insley 2010) Procurement (ZI Annual report 2009) Long-term contracts with major IT suppliers; Procurement systems in place for the other minor suppliers. Inbound logistics Information technology and internet Operations New Product development; Underwriting, Risk management, Investment management; Outbound logistics Forms, design management, filling and printing of the insurance policies. Marketing and sales Strong CRM build on a unique proposition deep customer understanding; Frequent promotional activities; Use of many sales channels and different compensation schemes of third party agents to reach customers but avoiding cannibalisation. After Sale Service Technology driven claims handling and servicing which enable easy fast way to deal with the company (ZI BR 2009b, p.27); Following up the client and its needs; Increasing knowledge on the client needs deep customer understanding; It is important to note, that Porters Value chain is designed to focus on a business unit, rather than on a group comprising of three core business units as Zurich; however, due to the merge of many of its core operations, the value chain can be simplified as provided in the Table above. 2.2.2. The Balance Scorecard The application of the Balance Scorecard propositions (Kaplan and Norton 1996), provides for the capability of measuring the financial and non-financial impact of the operations of the company, seen through measuring four thematic areas: Financial, Customers, Processes and People (Competence). It indicates that Zurich Insurance operating model as presented with the Portes Value chain, resulted in the 5th global rank of the Company in 2009 with an annual increase of the operating profit margin of 8% (target at 10%) (Zurich Insurance 2009b). The company in 2005, had a significant improvement in companys operations from 2007, when the group reported a decrease of 64.9% with a decrease in net profits of 46.8% . In the more mature countries, UK, US, Switzerland and Japan, it is among the top three insurers on every service (Zurich Insurance 2009b). Zurich strongest business unit is the general insurance, which brings the highest revenues and profits ((Zurich Insurance 2009b p.13), and with USD 34,157 million in premium fees, reflects the immense scale of companys global operations. Zurich Insurance employees more than 60 000 employees globally are one of its main stakeholder groups. Employees receive trainings and developments, while a sophisticated annually survey measures employee satisfaction (Zurich Insurance 2009b, p.35). The group as well implements annual customer feedback surveys. 2.2.3. Core Competences and Capabilities The core capability of Zurich lies in its right combination of tangible (finances, people, premises) and intangible resources (knowledge, expertise, culture and brand) (Grant 2005, p.140). Zurichs strong risk management knowledge combined with its social capital, supported with strong companys culture based on trust and knowledge-sharing, and its innovative, but risk-averse provision of new solutions, differentiates the company from the rest at the market and is the essence of its core competency and competitive advantage (Zurich Insurance 2009b). The strong customer relationship and customer dependability increase Zurich Insurance ability to introduce new products, charge premium price on certain products and cross-sell on others. It as well builds on the strong and unique Culture, which as Kingl (2010) argues is Zurichs Unique Selling Proposition, or Unique Culture Proposition. 2.2.4. Zurich Insurance Culture Web To better understand the premise of Zurichs UCP, we will use the culture web tool as recommended by Johnson et.al. (2005 p.202), based on the preceding analysis Zurich Insuranc and on the findings of Kingl (2010) case study 2.2.5. Identified Strengths and Weaknesses The company is characterised with a strong market position, a strong brand, a unique, value delivering culture and an impressive financial performance in terms of profits and revenues (compared to the results from 2008). Moreover, the company has an impressive record of successful integrations with acquisitions which indicates that it is using the opportunities presented from the shakeout phase of the industry business cycle (Zurich Insurance 2010). There are only very few weaknesses. First, the operating profit margin is still bellow the target of 10%. Second, the group is highly dependent from the revenues coming from the general insurance segment which participates with 53% in the operating profit. Third, the risk management system of the general insurance segment must improve to provide better capacity for accumulating larger number of claims in cases of natural or other type of disaster, having in mind that the main impact of the increased claims in these areas impacted the low financial results in 2007. Summary of the current situation impact- SWOT The current external and internal situational impact as provided with SWOT and with the telescopic Observation Framework (Panagiotou and Wijnen 2005) in the table below identifies several important areas of development for the company in the period to come. In line with its corporate objectives, Zurich should: exploit the good opportunities that come from the growth in the emerging and the developed markets; improve its operations, especially the operating profit margin. In addition, as the companys operations are extremely vulnerable to the effects of the climate change and the global governance gap, and as its interests are aligned with the interests of the majority of stakeholders (which is not the case in many industries as the oil or tobacco industry), it should make the CSR at the core of its strategic positioning in line with the model of Porter and Keller (2006). It can be done through promoting its knowledge, analysis and insightful perspective regarding the global risks as much as possible, and positioning in the minds of its current and potential customers as a business genuinely interested in reducing these effects. Marketing Objectives Five year plan Marketing objectives are specific and quantitative benchmarks of marketing goals that guide the implementation of marketing plans (Ferrell and Hartline 2008, p.140). Objectives exist because marketing goals without measurements are meaningless. Researchers and practitioners (Armstrong 2009 et.al., McDonald 2008, Kotler and Keller 2006) emphasise that they must reflect: (1) the corporate and business objectives; (2) the target market needs and companys competitive capability to serve these markets; (3) the industry and markets evolution, and be (4)SMART (Sustainable, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound). In line with the findings of the preceding analysis, and the Telescopic Framework (Table 3) the following marketing objectives should guide the Zurich Insurance five year plan: Increase its market share at the emerging markets, in all targeted segments, but in particular in the non-life segment which is underdeveloped; Increase its penetration at the mature markets of the developing countries thorough targeting current and new segments (the ageing population needs); Make Corporate Social Responsibility part of its positioning and tide it strongly to the word help associated with its customer centric culture and its strong brand. The CSR will reinforce the positioning of the brand across all segments. Marketing Strategies For accomplishing these objectives, the companys choice of market activities will depend on its choice of strategic development strategy. 4.1 Ansoff s Matrix According to Johnson et.al. (2005, pp: 341-347) the Ansoff product/market can be used for identifying directions for strategic development, taking into account the product/market coverage and the strategic capabilities of the company. Figure 6 Ainsoff Matrix of Zurich Insurance Market Development New capabilities (existing products in new markets) Life and non-life penetration into the emerging markets; Market Development New segments Increasing the scope of existing life insurance policies to certain segment of the ageing population at the mature markets in the developing world. Diversification with new capabilities (new products at new markets) Not suggested at the moment, as the finances are required to fuel the growth in the mature and the emerging markets. Market penetration Penetration and market share accumulation on the existing markets through acquisitions. Product development with new capabilities (new products at existing markets) New products for the ageing population at the mature markets in the developing world. 6. Marketing Implementation 7Ps According to practitioners (Kotler and Keller 2006, p), the implementation of the marketing strategies is achieved through making decisions regarding the content of the offer (product), its price, how it will be delivered to the customers and what distribution channels will be used, i.e. the 4Ps of the marketing mix. The 4Ps of the marketing mix were introduced in the 70s of the past century, and since then dominate the methodology used in strategic marketing. As Kotler et.al. (2008) services have three very distinctive characteristics compared to the physical products as are intangibility, inseparability and perishability. These characteristics made it difficult for the service practitioners to adapt the 4Ps model to their offerings, which is why the model expended with three additional elements: People, Processes and Physical assets. In its essence the insurance industry is a service industry, which is why the designed marketing mix will have 7Ps and will aim at accomplishing compa nys marketing objectives in terms of market share, development, or penetration. The 7Ps implementation model for the three business units of Zurich Insurance is given in Table 4. Table 3. 7Ps Segments General Insurance (non-life) Global Life (life) Farmers Product/Service: 1. The traditional product offer, strengthened with new products at the mature markets; 2. New products for the needs of the emerging markets. The traditional product offer, strengthened with new products in the pension insurance; The traditional product offer, strengthened with new products due to the good prospects of the market; Price: Price reflects the regulatory requirements in each of the sectors and the intense rivalry in some segments. Place:

The Benefits of Responsible Human Cloning Essay -- Argumentative Persu

The Benefits of Responsible Human Cloning      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On an unremarkable afternoon in July of 1996, in an unremarkable shed in Scotland, a lamb was born. This lamb was to spark a controversy that would be one of the defining arguments of this era. This lamb, simply named "Dolly" (after Dolly Parton in reference to the mammary cell used as the donor), was the first clone to be born using specialized cells from an adult mammal. The fact that the lamb was cloned from these specialized cells - such as muscle cells, liver cells, or mammary cells - is what made this discovery of such importance. Before this, scientists had thought that these cells had lost their ability to grow into a new embryo. They had already cloned embryos, but this revelation meant that a clone could be produced from an adult subject. At first, one would think that little benefit could be derived from such a discovery, beyond the novelty of being able to make an exact copy of one's self, but scientists soon theorized many benefits that could result from such a procedure. A more hom ogeneous control group for use in science experiments involving animals would be an obvious example. A completely similar group of animals is extremely difficult if not impossible to accomplish without the use of cloning. The current research being conducted on aging would benefit greatly from this application of cloning. The medical field could also be helped by cloning. Cells from a cloned embryo could be used to treat such illnesses as Parkinson's Disease and muscular dystrophy. Also, entire organs could be grown to replace failing ones, thus entirely eliminating t he long wait for a matching donor. This would also eliminate the harvesting of organs from the prisoners... ...fin, Dr. Harry. "Cloning and Genetic Modification: A Brief History of Nuclear Transfer." Roslin Institute Online. Online. 11 Dec. 1997. Herbert, Wray, Jeffery L. Sheler, and Traci Watson. "The World After Cloning: A Reader's Guide to What Dolly Hath Wrought." U.S. News and World Report 10 Mar. 1997: 59-63. Kolata, Gina. Clone: The Road to Dolley and the Path Ahead. New York, William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998. Macklin, Ruth. "Human Cloning? Don't Just Say No." U.S. News and World Report 10 Mar. 1997: 64. Mario, Christopher. "A Spark of Science, a Storm of Contoversy." U.S. 1 Newspaper 5 Mar. 1998. PrincetonInfo.com. Online. 9 Mar. 1998. "Papal Panel Condemns Cloning, Warns of Genetic Research Dangers." Fox News. Online. 3 Mar. 1998. Shapiro, Harold T. "Ethical and Policy Issues of Human Cloning." Email to the author. 10 March 1998.

Effective Use of Pathos and Connotative Language :: Analysis Hawaii Culture Essays

Effective Use of Pathos and Connotative Language The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to â€Å"get away† their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture. In the beginning of her paper, Trask wastes no time in bringing the reader into her essay. â€Å"E noi’I wale mai no ka haole, a, ‘a’ ole e pau na hana a Hawai’i ‘imi loa.† â€Å"Let the white man freely research us in detail, but the doings of deep delving Hawai’i will not be exhausted.† (Trask, 175) Kepeino said this, a nineteenth century Hawaiian historian, in response to the white mans involvement to Hawaiian history. Using an expert’s opinion as support she backs her argument up without hesitation. The quote states that if the white man deems it necessary to unveil the doings of Hawaiians, let them come; they will not find what they are looking for. The connotative language used sounds much like an invitation to be sought out. She gets under the readers skin, making it hard for them not to support her side of the argument. Trask uses pathos as her main tactic to support her argument. She gets close to the audiences’ hearts to gain sympathies from them. She introduces Hawaiian words such as â€Å"‘Ohana† (family), a personal subject to most people, to make them feel more comfortable in the setting of the essay. If one feels they are apart of something, they are more likely to take up with you and fight for what you believe in.

Human Nature Essay

After reading Mencius essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Good† and Hsun Tzu’s essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Evil† It made me realize that men are shaped by experience. People are born with a blank mind with a desire of some knowledge. Much of what we learn affects our behavior. Throughout our life, experiences have been shaping what we are. Both Mencius and Tzu believe the complete opposite, arguing that men are born with a nature of being good or evil. By reading these articles I’ve come to assume that people are born neither good nor evil; instead both of these are obtained through the filling of our mind with experiences and all this together has influenced what we become. Hsun Tzu’s theory about how human nature is inherently evil and Mencius about how we are good caught my attention, because it made me realize that man can go either way. Even though I don’t agree with either of them entirely, they opened my mind about how nature can turn one way or another. People are not born inherently good because if that’s the case then every society would have to be good and would not bother with problems like violence and other chaotic scenarios. To go into a good pathway, people must be straightened by mentors. Like Tzu uses on his essay â€Å"A warp piece of wood must wait until it has been laid against the straightening board, steamed, and forced into shape before it can become straight; a piece of blunt metal must wait until it has been whetted on a grindstone before it can become sharp† (101). Family, schools, and religion are a fair way to obtain this goodness. For example these three sources have taught us since childhood to be respectful. This is the kind of experiences one has to follow in order to be good. Family has taught us to have good manners; therefore they work as our mentors. It is just your choice whether to implement these experiences of being good into your life or to go by the experience you been having with the wrong people. People aren’t born evil either. Instead people learn this through experience as well. For example traumatic experience and experiencing poor family conditions can make a child into a delinquent. Mencius said that â€Å"If you plant the seeds carefully at the same time and in the same place, they’ll all sprout and grow ripe by summer solstice. If they don’t grow the same- it’s because of the inequities in richness of soil, amounts of rainfall, or the care given to them by farmers. And so, all members belonging to a given species of thing are the same† (97). In this metaphor Mencius is trying to say that if you are placed in a different habitat where you learn from the outsiders, you are grown by the influence of them, which in his opinion is evil. I found this to be true but also I want to add that it is not always evil, it can be for the good of somebodies development. Being with the family can be good however sometimes we experience inconsistent parenting or poor parenting where it affects our development. Sometimes people can’t avoid these kinds of experiences but others like being with friends and acting up to their level of immaturity can be avoided. It is up to the experiences you’ve had that will form into what you become. After going through both essays my mind is set into these ideas. People are born with a blank mind but also we can change after what become of us, either it is for the good or for the evil. Peers have much to do with a person’s behavior. As friends you might have the feeling of just fitting in, having to change your manners to feel part of the group. It depends much on our surroundings; this is what triggers our brain to learn from others and development starts operating. Society is an important factor to our development because it is that, what forms our way of living and thinking. People might not like society because they don’t agree with something cultural or religious but whatever the circumstances are they still are triggered by it. At last, my beliefs are now more explained and understood after going through the readings. These articles influenced me to the point that I now believe human nature starts as a blank mind which means we are born without any knowledge and habits. This is when experience comes in. Through our experience with everything around us we become what we are. Our experience since childhood has a great impact in what we are; in other words most of our nature comes from family. Nevertheless, I don’t mean that everyone is shaped from their parents, what I mean is that there are other sources from experience out there that shapes our development (nature). It is your choice to either keep following those experiences, whether the good or the evil, but any how nurture is what will define what you become. Works Cited Austin, Michael, ed. Reading the World: Ideas that Matter. New York: Norton. 2010. Print. Mencius â€Å"Man’s Nature is Good†. Austin 94-98 Tzu, Hsun â€Å"Man’s Nature is Evil†.