Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Marketing Management - Essay Example "the organization wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs, dissemination of the intelligence across departments, and organization wide responsiveness to it" (in Weitz, Wensley; 2002, Pp. 72). It is essentially concerned with devising strategies which aim to fulfill the needs and wants of the target customers. The market oriented organizations, thus adopt approaches which are customer centric and put the customers first, and all the organizational activities are planned in accordance with the needs of the customers. The key characteristic of any market oriented organization is its unconditional support for its customers’ needs. Toyota is one such company which has consistently monitored the needs and demands of its customers and catered to all their concerns by developing products which are not only suitable to them but are beneficial to the environment at large. It was the first auto manufacturer which developed the environmentally friendly Prius, keeping in mind the growing concerns of its customers about global warming, generating high customer value in the process. Toyota has adopted the TQM and J.I.T. philosophies which ensure better value to its customers (Langford, Male,

Understand the concept and process of marketing Assignment

Understand the concept and process of marketing - Assignment Example ntify the needs and wants of its customers to have a competitive advantage in the market and be able to provide the services or products to the customers which best suits the needs and wants of the customers. It is necessary to satisfy the specific needs and wants of the customers because it would ultimately help to generate more revenues and achieve the overall mission, vision and objectives of a particular company. Customer’s Value Customer value can be defined as the values gained by him as a result of owning and utilising a particular service or product in excess of how much it had cost to him in the process of acquiring such service or product. Customer satisfaction is dependent on the extent up to which the expectations of the buyer matches with the performance of the product or service as perceived by him. If in any case the product performance does not match or falls below the expectation levels of a customer he becomes dissatisfied with the service or product offered to him. Marketing actually takes place when people takes the decision of satisfying their wants and needs through exchange. Exchange is thus a process through one obtains the desired product from someone and in return offers something back to the person. Thus a company offers its products or services to its customers in exchange of money. However the concept of marketing is changing rapidly and is no longer limited to the exchange process only. Relationship is also vital to the marketing process and the companies are now focussed on relationship marketing which helps to create, maintain and build a strong long term relationship with the stakeholders of the company including its customers (Palmatier, 2008). Evolution of Marketing The concept of marketing has evolved over time and customer is... Understand the concept and process of marketing The other important sectors of UK include agricultural and fishing, tourism and finance. Social – The social factors include trends in demographics such as population size, age, cultural factors and consumer activities. The culture of UK refers to the idiosyncratic cultural norms. UK generally speaks English as the native language. It is characterized by the existence of different types of consumers in the market. Technological – Technological factors include rate of new product development, increase in process automation and other technical infrastructures such as technology inducements, technology transfer, impact of internet and R & D activity. In UK technology is one of the central parts of any business. They make heavy use of technology in almost every sector. Marketing objectives of a firm are designed in such a way that ultimately it leads to the attainment of the overall objectives of the business firm. The marketing objectives actually set out path for an organisation towards achieving the marketing activities that are needed to be performed by the company. Some of the marketing objectives of Vodafone include retaining the leadership of the company in the market measured on the basis of revenues earned per customer, customer satisfaction and network quality.

An analysis of the Feminization of War

An analysis of the Feminization of War Throughout history, women have found ways to interject themselves into combat roles, whether openly or undercover. Stories about women serving in combat roles during the American Revolution and the Civil War have spread to groups who support the idea of including women in such roles. However, a womans traditional role during war has been to hold things together back home while the men were responsible for defending the nation. During the turn of the 20th century, the roles for women changed dramatically when it comes to the military. Some 33,000 women served in the US armed forces during World War I, most in the Nurse Corps; more than ten times that number served during World War II (Field). Additionally, women fulfilled roles in manufacturing plants that produced the equipment vital to the war effort. Recently, women have been indirectly attached to combat ground troops where they have been placed in a position to defend themselves from enemy combatants when necessary. Female vetera ns such as Catherine Ross feels, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦she faced the same dangers as her male colleaguesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦why arent women allowed to serve in full combat roles in the American army (Horn). Supporters make a very convincing argument for overturning the current exemption prohibiting women from serving in direct combat roles. However, Elaine Donnelly from the National Review believes otherwise. She states, Civil affairs, even in a combat zone, does not fit the definition of direct ground combat: deliberate offensive action, attacking the enemy under fire à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Rose has therefore not actually experienced the role she is advocating for her fellow women (Horn). The assertions that other countries have overcome the problem of allowing women in combat roles have been taken out of context when the details are studied thoroughly. Israel is a country that is frequently mentioned when debating whether women should fulfill combat roles. Dorian de Wind of the Moderate Voice states, The Israeli military have actively recruited women since the start of the Israeli state in 1948, and now allow women to serve in any role that men may (Horn). However, there are reports that contradict this statement. No Israeli woman has served in combat since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 (Van Creveld). The people of Israel, including feminist groups, have any objections to this situation (Dougherty). So the question remains, Should women be allowed to fulfill full combat roles within the United States military? The answer should be unequivocally NO! Women are physically incapable to handle the rigors of war, will cause a break-down in unit cohesion, and to be honest, Americans are not truly ready to see large numbers of young women returning home in body bags. The first major problem deals with the physical capabilities of the average woman entering the military. When in a combat situation, each member of the team will need to be able to pull their load, many times without the assistance from anyone else. One critic states, Women on average do not have the physical capability to lift a fully loaded male soldier who has been wounded under fire, in order to save his life. No one should have to die because women do not [have the capability] (Horn). Time is of the essence when in battle, and when a soldiers life is at stake, the unit will need capable individuals to carry-out the duties and responsibilities required to bring everyone home safe from a dangerous mission. Most women lack those very important skills crucial to combat. Some may argue to include those women who may be considered capable, but that will not be the correct answer due mostly to the difference in physical training standards. Proponents say, There are no current tests that specifically measure the physical skills required for each military occupation specialty the only way to test this is have the soldiers simply go out and perform their task. The goal is to create these gender-blind specific tests that more accurately predict a soldiers success in combat (Willens). The promotion of such tests will be disastrous in the end. To merely, test a soldier on how well he or she carries a gun is a far cry from the unpredictability of an intense combat situation. There is no way to predict each and every task that maybe required of a soldier when a combat situation arises; therefore, the task test for every specialty would only be beneficial to those specialties while in peace time conditions and would be thrown out in combat. As of now, men and women are held to two different standards. Men are required to do more, physically, than their female counterparts. Another critic states, If women were held to the same standards as men, more than 14 percent of our armed forces would not be women. Feminists aver that scrapping the double standard would be discriminatory (Kirkwood). These remarks speak for themselves. Everywhere in society, the physical standards differ between men and women. Lets consider the New York Marathon. The men and women start out at the same time and run the same course, but when it comes to finishing the race, the division begins. There is always a man that finishes the race first and shortly afterwards, the first woman crosses the finish line. When the top participants are identified, they are split between the top man and the top woman. If this split does not occur, the top performing woman would never be recognized even though she may have finished before hundreds of male participants . Proponents, deep down inside, recognize there are strength differences between male and female, and really do not want to push for the physical standards to match. Besides, the strongest woman is usually only as strong as the weakest man (Kirkwood). Does the military want a less than capable combat force? Most logical thinking human beings would say, No! The second major problem to be discussed is the disintegration of unit cohesion within the combat team. This disintegration takes place in many forms that are also found within civilian society such as mistrust and pregnancy. Trust within the unit is paramount. One scholar states, Just the perception of unfairness is often enough to poison the atmosphere (Simons). This perception of unfairness will be experienced by both men and women. For example, certain tasks are perceived to be unfairly assigned to men due to the mixed gender environment. Leaders do not want to be on the wrong end of such an intense situation and therefore chooses men to complete the task because they would be the ones performing it in an all male environment. When this takes place, mistrust in the chain of command creeps in and starts the breakdown in cohesion. On the other hand, if the women are assigned these types of tasks, they too will feel that the leadership is treating them unfair based on gender. Where is the leadership to turn? It takes a delicate balancing act to make such a situation work. And when in combat, the leadership needs to know that each service member completely trusts their decision making ability or the whole unit is lost. Take a look at the corporate world. Women are positioned throughout the company at all levels. Even though the women are there, they are still unevenly represented at the upper levels of management. Some may ask, Why? A simple explanation may be in order. There are things that only happen to women that may or may not impact their decision. The board of directors at these companies needs to be comfortable that their team will be intact for years to come and pregnancy disrupts this plan. In the corporate environment, many women extend their maternity leave and then willingly surrender high-status positions (or resign their commissions) after giving birth in order to spend more time at home (Simons). This type of behavior would not be acceptable in a Special Forces unit. These units spend years together perfecting their communication skills and fighting techniques. A decision of this magnitude cannot be made on a whim. No one has the right to tell a woman that she cannot start a family if she chooses to do so. The unit will suffer for this decision and will make it ineffective. Therefore, all women have to be considered potentially non-deployable for some length of time (Simons). The final problem with women being assigned in combat roles is that Americans are not ready for their daughters to be brought home in body bags. During World War I and World War II (WWII), Americans accepted the fact that war produces casualties on both sides and seen it was necessary to participate in such a horrific act. However, over the past forty years, some Americans have changed their perceptions on the need for war. Statistics show that the number of casualties have drastically decreased since WWII with Vietnam combat casualties being listed at 58,209 compared to the 5624 combat deaths of the entire Global War on Terrorism (Wikipedia). Now imagine that 14 percent of the deaths during the War on Terrorism were women. It paints a grim picture to know that nearly 800 women could have been killed in combat while performing a highly dangerous job that some feminists are advocating so strongly. If this was the case, the streets would be crowded with angry parents and family members protesting the use of their daughters in such combat roles. Women are needed to play the counterbalancing role for the men in society. If society is composed of individuals who all think alike, the country would go down the path of no return. Women should be spared the carnage and cruelty of war and turning a woman into the kind of person who views such gore without blinking an eye, or who participates in the wanton killing war requires, is a step down to cultural suicide (Kirkwood). It is usually the mothers who teach the youth of America and by turning them into killing machines, Americans are essentially destroying their future because the sanity check would not be place to keep this country from becoming the war mongering state that some Americans believe it is today. Movies make the case for including women in combat roles and there are some who have fought valiantly when thrust into a kill or be killed situation. However, the few women who have encountered such activities do not constitute the total restructuring of full combat units that are performing effectively as they now stand. Maybe in the future when strength capability and unit cohesion is not a part of the equation, then women will be utilized in a more modified combat role where service members will never come into contact with enemy forces. This would be the problem assigned to the Department of Defense Warfare engineers for a solution. How would combat units fight a close quarter without seeing the enemy face-to-face? When this problem is solved, then and only then women should be allowed to become a part of fully engaged combat unit.

Motivation and Manipulation in Julius Caesar Essay -- William Shakespe

In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare illuminates the themes of human motivation and manipulation. He examines the relationship between actions and motivations, cause and effect, and word and deed, using the symbols of hands and hearts. Throughout the play, the characters Brutus and Marc Antony express their different understandings of this relationship rhetorically. In his 1953 film interpretation, Joseph L. Mankiewicz demonstrates these characters’ understanding through both the play’s original dialogue and his own interpolated action. It is interesting to see the different effects of spoken rhetoric, as we experience it in the play, and the visual rhetoric of the film. The play itself complicates matters of motivation and therefore does not answer the question of blame. When reading one character, the audience feels connected with their point of view, and when reading the other, they are made to feel unsure about their initial opinion. In the end, it is nearly impossible t o discover the characters’ inner motives, and it is therefore difficult to place blame on one or the other. However, Mankiewicz visually presents the complex relationship between these two symbols and in doing so, he creates a more sympathetic persona for Brutus than the one in the play. He focuses on the hands as a symbol of unity, love, and friendship, and where characters use hands for evil acts, he is quick to juxtapose the actions of hands from the motivations of the heart. While Shakespeare uses this juxtaposition to merely complicate the matter without solving it, Mankiewicz uses it to simplify the question. For Mankiewicz, Brutus’ involvement in the murder of Caesar, does not wholly reflect his character, and the audience is made to see a more human, vulne... ...wn in the play. In Brutus’ words, â€Å"Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power,† and in that instance, the film shows Antony’s abuse of authority (2.1.18-19). Because Antony believes that the hands’ actions and the heart’s motivations cannot be separated, his language demonstrates this belief, and he acts accordingly. While Brutus may act maliciously at times, he believes that hands and hearts are not always inextricably linked and therefore, that is especially true of his evil actions. Though Shakespeare may the leave the audience in doubt, Mankiewicz does not avoid blame and suggests that the exclusive joining of hands and hearts disjoins compassion from power and leads to true butchery. Works Cited Mankiewicz, Joseph L., dir. Julius Caesar. 1953. Film Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2007. Print.

International human resources Essay

It is the biggest challenge of companies today to maintain and attract best employees thus the realization in holding trainings and conferences for top executives to level officers is exceedingly in demand. Initiating strategies and solutions regarding employee retention and human resource management keep on going to minimize costs and money. There are many promising solutions in going through a lot of obstacles in human resource recruitment. We may start on some questions that would spark a new beginning: are the employees are given the chance to speak? Are new ideas accepted? Are benefits really beneficial to employees? Does the employees’ opinion count? Are works valued, evaluated and rewarded on their performance? This are simple questions that has an impact to the existing problems in many companies, regardless of size, incorporating other issues like repatriation, better opportunities, poor treatment, differences in culture and disagreement on the direction of the company, lack of recognition, indefinite growth prospects and poor relationship among co-workers. Keeping people and maintaining them for a longer period of time is the most difficult and challenging tasks for all human resources managers nowadays, hopefully, we will answer possible keys and solutions to these burning questions throughout the discussion. Why are people leaving from one company to another? A wide variety of reasons why are people leaving their jobs to find new companies includes: expectations were not satisfactorily fulfilled, unsuitable for the role, do not fit with the company’s culture, insufficient opportunities for growth and development, inadequate acknowledgment and admiration, problems with a manager or supervisor, not satisfied with the compensation, stress, lack of work and life balance, and lack of confidence in the company and leadership (Meyers). According to Susan Heathfield (Heathfield, 2007), most employees are leaving their work for reasons of searching new opportunities with other companies. Three top reasons were identified by Heathfield: fifty three percent of employees look for better rewards and benefits, thirty five percent were discontented with prospects of career growth and development, and thirty two percent were ready for a new experience and new environment. The motivating factors that can enhance the continuous stay of employees were examined by Bob Losyk on his article, here are the different factors that he stated: dignity and respect, involvement and participation, pay above the industry average, showcase superior workers, and by showing support to employees (Losyk). Giving dignity and respect is one of the most important key elements in satisfying the employees, harsh words, shouting, insults, and abuse of power will only result to demoralization, low morale, increase possibilities of absenteeism, and in turn resignation. Losyk added that employers should be treated with high respect, worth and goodness, let them relax, be independent and empowered. Do not crash on people who make mistakes instead make it more constructive and let them learn from it. Involvement and participation is also a significant factor in dealing with employees’ motivation to stay in the company, by listening to their suggestions, aspirations, and ideas can make them more involved and active much as with belongingness and partnership. Paying above the industry average will surely and literally compensate the best employee thus giving and making more money for you. Great employees should be compensated for what they gave back to the company and it should not be as simple as paying back but to reward and constantly recognize their efforts. For sure, companies who have the best employees will have more satisfied clients because of the excellent services they receive and in return a greater chance of repeat business will likely to come. Another tip from Losyk is to highlight and draw attention to outstanding employees by giving awards, certificates, extra remuneration, dinners as well as posting their photos on bulletin boards or company newsletters. To share and show support, to listen and know their personal and family problems can be a key factor for lasting relationship with employees. It will create a positive and motivating atmosphere resulting to a more productive and high-quality employees (Losyk). Increasing demand for immigrant workforce and opportunities abroad: The increasing demand of hiring cross-cultural workforce is a global necessity to respond the needs internationally. But because of the terms and conditions in hiring immigrants, it is very difficult to establish a worthy and constant employee for a particular business due to numerous alternative employment with other companies. To better understand the recruitment, hiring and retaining the best employees especially the immigrants and ethnic workers, it is important that we should consider the culture, traditions, and beliefs, know the different ethnic lifestyles and values, appreciate the impact that the immigrant workforce is influencing the management, and study the fabrications on recruitment of diverse ethnic groups. In addition to Losyk’s article, he stressed that it is significant that companies must understand the needs and desires most Hispanic and Asian workers want from a workplace, discover how to give comment to immigrant employees, determine the critical factors needed to train Asian, Hispanic and other cross-cultural groups, and create management techniques that can work and understand the involvement and recognition with the ethnic groups (Losyk). Further problems encountered by other employers is when their employees who are assigned to work overseas over a period of time will transfer to another companies in a few months to seek greener pastures. These are real and actual happenings in most development organizations when workers or volunteers enter into a contract to gain experience overseas and marked it as a stepping stone to find great opportunities abroad. How can companies and organizations struggle to this concurrent problem? Is this just a cycle to be left out and find new workers to continue the job? Are there any other holistic means that we can manage to surpass this continuing global recruitment problem?

Divorce Rates in America

America’s Divorce Rates: Why Are They So High? The sanctity of marriage is a tradition that has been entered by generations over the past thousands of years. In the United States alone, 2,200,000 people choose to enter the lifetime commitment of marriage every year. Yet, less than half of that population is expected to keep that commitment. In a 1999 Rutgers University study, it is said that only 38 percent of Americans consider themselves happy in their married state, which has decreased from 53 percent 25 years ago.With the current, alarming statistic of over half of marriages resulting in divorce, there is much reason to take notice of how these numbers got so high. Although I personally have not grown up in a divorced household, I sought to understand why so many other people have, and in turn possibly gain knowledge to avoid becoming a part of the divorced population as well. In Steven Nock’s article, â€Å"America’s Divorce Problem,† he encloses the important point that â€Å"Divorce is not the problem, but rather a symptom of the problem† (1 Nock).With varying symptoms such as the feminist movement in the 1960s, an increase in financial dependence, increased career mobility, and the overall changed perception of marriage, the divorce rates have increased rapidly since the 1960s and deserve further explanation. The overall family structure has been challenged, and fault lines in American families have widened since the 1960s and the 1970s, which is when the divorce rate doubled.In the magazine article, â€Å"The Pursuit of Autonomy,† Alan Wolfe states that â€Å"the family is no longer a haven; all too often a center of dysfunction, it has become one with the heartless world that surrounds it. † While this statement may be a slight exaggeration of the family perception, reasons remain for the rapid increase of 30 percent in the divorce rate since the 1960s. Discussed in Barbara LeBay’s article, †Å"American Families Are Drifting Apart,† there are supposedly four main societal changes that occurred in the 1960s, which have greatly impacted today’s traditional family structures in America.Such societal changes include the sexual revolution, women's liberation movement, states' relaxation of divorce laws, and mobility of American families and are said to be responsible for many of our family alienations. During this time frame, society’s youth fled from the confines of family, while other family members sought to keep them close and as a result, it is said that there were most likely more problematic issues between children and parents during the 1960s and early 1970s than ever before.More importantly, the women's liberation movement in the workplace played a large role in changing the values and perceptions of family structure in America. Before this time, men were the assumed leader of each household and were given the largest responsibility of advancing i n their careers to make a living, while women were for the most part financially dependent upon them. However, starting in the 1960s women with a college degree could live independently and establish a life for themselves.There was a new recognition in society that civil rights meant equal rights for everyone, including women (243 Finsterbursch). Women sought sexual equality, which included a wider range of career opportunities and promotions that were once available only to men. By having this form of financial independence, women also had more of the freedom to break away from destructive or unhappy marriages. Although this movement is an important and productive one, it also impacted the traditional notions of marriage.Marriage had suddenly become a â€Å"choice,† rather than a â€Å"necessity,† and the entire concept of divorce became less of an issue. Another great change during this time period was the increase in mobility of families in which many family members were no longer living in the same household with one another. Men and women began to move to wherever they could advance in the corporate ladder in the shortest amount of time. Despite how far it was from where they grew up, college students took more jobs away from home, jeopardizing family unity.People needed to invest lots of time and energy to recreate their lives without the support of their family with these relocations, and still today many are willing to sacrifice their family relationships in order to advance in their careers. Barbara Lebay makes the important point that strangely, the more financially independent people become, the more families scatter and grow apart and tolerance levels decrease as their financial means increase (1 Lebay).In relation to this observation, Joseph Ducanto makes a similar point about the financial effects of divorce on poverty, along with the idea that while fixing the divorce system will not eliminate the future of poverty, certain changes can help to bring the problem into an easier resolution. In the article, â€Å"Divorce and Poverty are Often Synonymous,† there is praise for the concept of prenuptial agreements due to the fact that in recent years, prenuptial agreements have been adopted by many states of the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act.The adoption of this Act is said to â€Å"significantly strengthen the legal basis for acceptance and enforcement of these agreements within marital proceedings† (90 Ducanto). In today’s society, the need and importance of prenuptial agreements signifies our priority of finances being a common theme to marriage termination. Often times, who makes the money in the family and just how much can determine whether a marriage will stay together or not, an issue that was not common before the 1960s. The accumulation of marriage and divorce laws over the years are also said to have affected our increasing divorce rates.Since the 1970’s, all states have had access to what are called â€Å"no-fault divorces,† with the only real restriction being a waiting time limit of a few months to a year. The motivation for this concept came from the movement of people who felt this would benefit women and children who were stuck in verbally or physically abusive marriages. However, in Steven Nock’s article, â€Å"America’s Divorce Problem,† he discusses that many believe that the facility of this idea has also created somewhat of a â€Å"divorce culture† to the United States in which the traditional sanctions of marriage are no longer respected as much.Others also disapprove of the no-fault divorce saying that it often leaves women dependent, harms the interest of the children, and deteriorates the general social welfare (1 Nock). Although I personally have not grown up in a divorced household, I sought to understand why so many other people have, and in turn possibly gain knowledge to avoid becoming a part of th e divorced population as well.With varying symptoms such as the feminist movement in the 1960s, an increase in financial dependence, increased career mobility, and the overall changed perception of marriage, the divorce rates have increased rapidly since the 1960s and 1970s. During this time, there came the beginning of what some would describe as a â€Å"divorce culture† for America in which divorce was not seen as such a serious matter, with even the electing our first divorced President of the United States, Ronald Regan.Although events and movements of this era such as women’s empowerment in the workplace are very important to history, they have also impacted the traditional notions of marriage. Marriage has become a â€Å"choice,† rather than a â€Å"necessity,† and the entire concept of divorce is much less of an issue. This new attitude on divorce has clearly prevailed to current times and will hopefully correct itself throughout more changes in ev ents to our society. Works Cited Ducanto, Joseph N. â€Å"Divorce and Poverty Are Often Synonymous.   American Journal of Family Law  24. 2 (2010): 87-94. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. Finsterbusch, Kurt. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Social Issues. New York: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print. LeBey, Barbara. â€Å"American Families Are Drifting Apart. †Ã‚  USA Today Magazine  130. 2676 (2001): 20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. Nock, Steven L. â€Å"America's Divorce Problem. †Ã‚  Society  36. 4 (1999): 43-52. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.