Sony Ericsson Essay Example

Sony Ericsson Essay Example Sony Ericsson Paper Sony Ericsson Paper MGMT 3101 – Case study essay The formation and evolution of Sony Ericsson alliance Creativity and flexibility is required in order to succeed in the mobile-phone industry. No other industry changes faster, or experiences more sudden and rapid changes to fortunes (Bowman 2006, pg 1). The industry was shaken by the alliance of two consumer electronic giants in October 2001, Sony Corporations and Ericsson AB. Sony Ericsson mobile communications is a fifty-fifty joint venture between Japan’s Sony Corp. nd Sweden’s Ericsson AB. Their mission is to establish Sony Ericsson as the most attractive and innovative global brand in the mobile handset industry (Sony Ericsson website) through combining Ericsson’s mobile technology alongside Sony’s expertise in consumer electronics (Kristine 2005). With headquarters located in London, Sony Ericsson became the sixth largest global mobile phone corporation in 2005 following closely behind competitor Nokia (Kristine 2 005). Motivations for the joint venture alliance as well alternatives to a joint venture will be explored, concluding with an examination of the problems and strategies used throughout the alliance to aid Sony Ericsson to become a world renowned mobile supplier. Complementary asset sharing and knowledge transfers were among several reasons motivating the alliance. Ericsson was heavily criticized in the past for poor manufacturing capabilities (Manuel 2002) as Ericsson previously outsourced its production procedures to Flextronics in order to reduce costs (Electronic Times, 2001). Alongside that, Ericsson was associated with poor designs in terms of aesthetics and was unable to attract a large pool of consumers especially teenagers and young adults. Furthermore, due to the ever changing industrial environment of the mobile-phone industry, Ericsson was forced behind due to its inability to keep up-to-date with the market and as a consequent, slowly loosing its already minimal market share (Manuel 2002). However, the joint venture with Sony expected it to assist Ericsson fill in the gaps (Lamar L, 2001). Sony was the pioneer in the portable consumer electronics industry due to its ability to master design and marketing techniques (Electronic Times, 2001). Its expertise in digital camera and walkman made the 3G phone outstanding and provided Sony Ericsson with an initial competitive edge, as the features of digital camera and music functions were the basic requirements for the new generation of mobile phones (Alfred H, 2004). Sony also enjoyed Ericsson’s world-class knowledge of radio frequency technology and its existing distribution channels around the world. Exploiting Ericsson’s knowledge, Sony was able to build lasting relationships with wireless carriers across the world (Mark V, 2001) which aided Sony to re-enter the U. S and European market in response to its expansion project. It was an extreme challenge and near impossible for Ericsson or Sony alone to compete with the worlds leading telecommunications corporation Nokia, due to their relatively small market share they both experience (Electronic Times, 2001). The joint venture in 2001 saw Sony and Ericsson combining key competence resources and capabilities such as capital, management and technological skills to enlarge their market share together in hope to compete with telecommunications giant, Nokia. The pivotal reason behind the alliance by Sony Corp. and Ericsson was to combine Sony’s world-class technological skills in audio, video and communications with Ericsson’s technological leadership to challenge Finland’s Nokia and United State’s Motorola in gaining the markets leading position as the world’s most advanced global telecommunications corporation (Ericsson Annual Report, 2001). The alliance allowed both parties to enjoy the resources and technology of each party. Ericsson was at the leading edge in communication systems and protocols, whereas Sony enjoyed leading strengths in consumer electronic production processes, including design and product planning, as mentioned briefly earlier. According to Ericsson’s 2001 Financial Report, both Ericsson and Sony were in desperate need of a deal to secure skills and tactic knowledge which the opposing company possessed in hope to expand their market share to compete with Nokia and Motorola. It is clear that instead of a joint venture, Sony and Ericsson could have chosen an alternative method to collaborate and form Sony Ericsson, as long as its objectives and motivations were not at any risk. One method was acquisition where we would see one company acquiring the other. A joint venture is a legal entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together (Hill C, 2005). An acquisition on the other hand is when one entity takes legal control over another in the same target market (Hill C, 2005). A joint venture and acquisition experience the same advantages and benefits of access to foreign markets and technology a company may not have. The main feature that distinguishes joint venture from acquisition is the company’s share of profits and losses. A fifty-fifty joint venture signifies both parties will share the profit and losses, whereas an acquisition the entity that acquired another company is obliged to overcome all the losses and gains solely. It is suggested that this aspect of an acquisition alliance was what turned down both companies from acquiring each other. The initial stages of strategic planning and formation between Sony Ericsson saw both companies with the objective of expanding their individual market into the opposition’s territory and to reap benefits off each other. Neither Sony nor Ericsson was willing to invest large amounts of money and capital to acquire the other entity, so in essence, the method of a joint venture could possible be the best form of international alliance between the two parties. The industry’s fast and ever-changing environment saw many mobile-phone companies struggle to keep up-to-date and secure its existing market share. And Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications is no exception (Bowman R, 2006). Since its formation in 2001, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications have encountered numerous problems and have overcome them with new strategies and mind-frames. Two challenges and techniques to overcome them will be discussed below. Sony Ericsson’s first major strategy mistake was only targeting a small pool of high end markets (Strategic Decision, 2004) anonymous author. Since its creation, Sony Ericsson has targeted the high-end, low-volume market. Initially, mobile phone sales exceeded all expectations and the Sony Ericsson strategy was thought to effective. However, in the long-run, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications failed to maintain or increase its market share in high-end and low-volume market, with sales decreasing significantly. Furthermore, the shelf life of each handset alongside the selling price of each handset was also decreasing per year (Strategic Decision, 2004). In September 2003, Sony Ericsson held just 5. 4 percent of the global market share compared to Nokia’s 34. 5 percent (Strategic Decision, 2004). As a result, Sony Ericsson’s strategy of targeting a proportion of the market was seen to be a risky choice. With its strategy failing to win Sony Ericsson market share and positive profit levels, the corporation has since increased its investment into Research and Development facilities in order to facilitate the continuous improvement and innovation of its products. By doing so, Sony Ericsson is able to provide better quality products in hope they will aid the expansion of its small market share percentage in high end market. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications believes that this initiative will effectively improve and increase its long-term competitive advantage by being more innovative and creative in such a dynamic industry. Gaining entry into the high end market alongside its improved product quality by increasing production efficiency will lower any unnecessary production and transaction costs. Following this theory, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications offered its consumers with better quality at affordable prices it was able to gain entry into the high volume market and increase its overall total market share within the global mobile phone industry. Outsourcing non-core competencies is a move most businesses are now undertaking in belief that it will lower transaction costs and allow the company to concentrate on its core product competencies. Low cost and low risks are the benefits of outsourced production experienced by Sony Ericsson (Strategic Decision, 2004), however the associated transaction costs such as managing the supply chains can be somewhat high. Such high costs need carefully calculations to ensure it is worth the investment. Sony Ericsson along with Nokia both outsources its non-core competencies but differs in terms of the strategy used, which have resulted in markedly different results (Strategic Decision, 2004). Sony Ericsson chose a vertical model which saw its production manufacturing facilities outsourced. The manufacturing arm of the company was, as mentioned earlier, taken over by Flextronic in America. The main reason behind this decision was cost benefits along with reduction of risk. However, in hindsight the hidden costs associated with outsourcing were overlooked. In response to its failed strategic choice of outsourcing, Sony Ericsson decided to develop effective management, communication and training channels (Strategic Decision, 2004). Creation of effective communication channels such as corporate intranet, allowed Sony and Ericsson to communicate important facts, updates and knowledge with each other effectively and quickly. Training programs were also developed to ensure consistency of product quality standards (Strategic Decision, 2004). Another response to this strategy failure was improved commitment from both parties to work towards achieving mutual trust and understanding between the parties as well as with its suppliers. Continuous development and innovation not only creates company competence’s in the Business to Business (B2B) level relationship, but also within the industry in terms of creating completive advantage and sustaining market share in the relevant domains of each business (Strategic Decision, 2004). Maintaining respectable relationships with its suppliers, Sony Ericsson saw a more effective and efficiently delivery of programs and processes; and reduced opportunistic behaviour between not only Sony Corp. and Ericsson but also among the parties involved in the day-to-day business activities of Sony Ericsson, and so may also reduce the potential of creating future rivalries. Sony Ericsson has encountered numerous challenges, but in response to those challenges, Sony Ericsson has grown, developed and has a better understanding and knowledge of the mobile-phone industry, and what they can expect from the ever-changing dynamic industry. Sony Ericsson saw the many challenges as opportunities to advance and gain invaluable experience which will assist them with future challenges. The strategies and techniques Sony Ericsson formulated in response to its past challenges have allowed it to sustain a high level of market share up until this present date. Initially, as an infant company they were challenged with no only problems faced in the industry but also with sales and profits. In essence, the formation of Sony Ericsson in 2001 saw the company experience many ups and downs. This was partially due to the changing environment of the mobile-phone industry, and also to its inabilities to cooperate together effectively. Now that Sony Ericsson has formulated new strategies to overcome the old challenges, and these strategies are continually assisting Sony Ericsson to brighter outcomes, what remains is whether or not Sony Ericsson is able to learn from its strategic mistakes and experience future growth to compete with the other major players within the industry, fulfilling its core objective of forming the alliance. In 2003 the chief executive announced that Sony Ericsson’s crisis was over, and since then the network businesses have began to enjoy successful operations (Strategic Decision, 2004). Share prices have doubled since April 2003 and cost-cutting procedures will see annual expenses fall by more than half (Strategic Decision, 2004). These figures and recent performance of Sony Ericsson suggests they should able to enjoy long-term success within the industry by learning from past experience and failure and ensuring they do not repeat history. Word Count: 1,878

The best ways to cut down time-to-hire [INFOGRAPHIC]

The best ways to cut down time-to-hire [INFOGRAPHIC] Advancements in technology have transformed recruitment in many ways. Now, you can easily leverage technology and tools to decrease your time-to-hire.However, there are still some companies that take a lot of time to identify and hire the right candidates. Many recruiters struggle to find top talent who are a good fit for their open job positions.Studies have found that only around 30% of companies are able to fill their open jobs within 30 days. The rest take up to four months to close their positions.Most candidates prefer companies that have a quick and efficient hiring process. You might be surprised to learn that 57% of job seekers lose interest in a company if they have a lengthy hiring process.If you don’t want to lose top talent, take a look at the following strategies. They can help you decrease your time-to-hire and close positions quickly.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Recruit via social mediaRecruiters can use social media platf orms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to source quality candidates. These platforms can help you identify, approach, and recruit top quality candidates for your company in less time.You can run recruitment ads on your social media accounts to attract people who might be interested in your job openings. This method can help garner quite a few responses to your ads in a short time.Interview candidates remotelyRecruiters can speed up their time-to-hire by organizing online interviews through video calling platforms like Skype. It can help you save time as you don’t need to visit other cities to recruit people or ask them to visit you.You can also record your conversations for further screening. This will enable you to review your candidates’ qualifications as well as soft skills. You can select candidates who are a good fit for your open jobs.Leveraging technology can help you cut down your time-to-hire to a great extent. The following infographic can help you learn s ome more strategies to help you hire quickly.Image courtesy: CandidateRewardsAbout  the  author:Alex Miles is a PR specialist for Candidate Rewards TotalRewards Software which is a unique candidate experience software that enables companies to communicate the true value of their offer to candidates. She helps brands reach wider audiences and build good reputations with well-nurtured, cooperative relationships.Social accounts:LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

Current Australian Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Current Australian Issues - Essay Example They try to persuade the computer novices, who barely have any idea of their computer system and are alarmed by such calls and due to their limited knowledge are inclined towards believing on such scams. The technician asks the consumer to log on to a third party website for the purpose of remote access troubleshooting to the consumer’s PC. The telemarketers go to such extents that they claim they belong to reputed computer organizations such as â€Å"Microsoft† and â€Å"Windows†. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) are looking forward into investigating towards this matter and warning the consumers to remain attentive about such scams (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission). The calls come at all odd times of the day, due to the fact that the telemarketers are not from Australia. A new trend in the type of PC-related scam calls have been observed, in which the caller falsely claims to belong to some foreign government, or from the consumer’s bank and they try to convince the consumers to recover their money that they have lost in previous scams, in return for a moderate fee. This is again a fraud and the consumer ends up paying more money, without any retrieval. PC scam calls are just one genre of the telemarketing abuse. Retrieving consumer’s personal identification details also helps these scammers to provide language-specific calls. The consumer is dealt with the telemarketer of the same foreign language, in the hope of optimized persuasion strategies. Lately consumers have complained of calls by telemarketers for enrolling their kids in tuition centers for specific subjects. Another genre of scam calls relate to the religious preferences of the consumers. Consumers have been asked to join religious centers that preach certain beliefs. The idea behind these telemarketers is to scrape out as much money as they can from the consumers, by stealing their identification details, in order to

Architecture, law and politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Architecture, law and politics - Essay Example The obvious mistake in public housing over the last fifty years overshadows the occasional and long honored history of architect’s participation in social housing. Seventy percent of the cost of a new building is influenced by planning and design (Muir, 2013). Careful planning and sensitive design that save even the ten percent of those costs can reduce the monthly payments by over one hundred euros. Although any single design decision is not likely to yield dramatic savings and improved quality, thoughtful unit planning will. For instance, a social housing plan that does not utilize the space efficiently may call for long hallways, which add little to the dwelling and costs money to construct. Additionally, they need to be lighted and heated, an ongoing expense for the occupants of the social housing. For all that one might save by utilizing materials of poor quality and scrimping on space, such short-sighted penny-wise attitudes are ultimately costly both economically and so cially.     United Kingdom’s contemporary social housing can be tracked back to humanitarian responses to the overcrowding upon industrialization and urbanization of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Outbreaks of cholera in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s significantly led to the creation of social settlement. Added with the release of a report on the Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population of Great Britain by Chadwick in 1842 established the powerful direct adverse impact of industrialization on population health.

Astoronomy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Astoronomy - Essay Example Ancient Chinese thought Heaven to be of a round shape. The Emperor lived in the highest level. At the center of this heaven is the North Start. Note that for them, the center is the most pivotal part. Ancient Chinese Cosmology had its obvious influences from Taoist philosophy. It values balance, or the harmony of the yin and yang, good and evil. Dualism pervades their thinking, and this has contributed to the rise of two prominent personalities: the Emperor and Imperial Astronomer. The latter is said to use astronomy to predict the future, while the former used the findings of the latter to make decisions. This structured, overlapping thinking permeates their society, and that we cannot help but conclude that astronomy was also part of their life (â€Å"Ancient Chinese Cosmology†). Ancient Chinese astronomers catalogued every star visible to their naked eye. After which they grouped them into constellations called â€Å"palaces† or â€Å"mansions.† (â€Å"Early History of Astronomy – Ancient China†). The ancient Chinese had a systematic way of classifying a star. They assign a particular ordinal number of an asterism to a star. For example, â€Å"the 4th star of name of ‘asterism.’† (â€Å"Chinese constellation†) Scholars consider that ancient Chinese records of astronomical events are very significant for today. The findings have saved modern astronomers if they were to grope from no knowledge. Hence, rapid progress in observation was made possible (Wang, 2006). For example, China had large records of meteor showers. One of those that compiled such records was Shen Kuo in his book Dream Stream Essays. He reportedly wrote: "When stars fall to the earth, they become stones." (Jessie, 2003). China has created and maintained an old but successful tradition in science and technology. This has enabled China to position itself into the forefront of development. As far as Astronomy is concerned, China’s contribution to it

Analyze The Mix And Activities Of Nestle Marketing Essay

Analyze The Mix And Activities Of Nestle Marketing Essay In this report we are trying to investigate and analyze the Marketing Mix Activities of NESTLE. Most of the marketing practitioners regard marketing mix as a tool for transaction marketing and the archetype for operational marketing planning. (Gronroos, 1994:347) 4ps.png Elements of Marketing Mix (Armstrong and Kotler, 2001). MANAGING THE MARKETING MIX Customer Wants Marketing Mix Variables Managing the Marketing Mix (Baker, 1999:302) The above figure describes how a company could by research and successful adaptation can understand and develop products to match the customers requirements. According to Baker (1999: 303), by understanding and matching the needs of the customers efficient management of marketing mix is possible. COMPONENTS OF MARKETING MIX Impact Positive and Negative PRODUCT Kotler and Armstrong (2001) define a product as any entity that can be offered to a market by a company for attention, acquisition, consumption or use that might satisfy the needs of their customers. Product Mix Product mix is the total range of products that are manufactured by a company. The major aspects to be considered in product mix are explained below. http://genevalunch.com/files/2010/01/Nestl%C3%A9_products_1001192.jpg Variety: Nestle offers a wide product mix that comprises of food, health and nutrition products to meet the customer needs. Nestle offers its products in the following categories: Bottled water, Baby foods, Breakfast cereals, Chocolate and confectionery, Coffee, Dairy products, Drinks, Ice cream, In the Kitchen, Nestle Professional, Nutrition and Health, Pet care. Quality: Nestle is well known for the quality and taste of its products. Nestle Believes that Success is built on Quality. Design: As its variety range, Nestle also has a greater range of design. Nestle make sure all their new products look different and attractive. Nestle creates more jobs in Yorksmarties-jh4_gem.jpg smarties image by libsta_girl Features: Nestle have made sure that all their products have special features to make it more attractive to the customers. For example: In case of their ice creams, they have tried to include the special feature that is the low fat and sugar content. http://squeezydeals.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/picture-11.png?w=273h=258 Brand name: A strong brand name is important for both the company and the consumers as it adds to the value of the company, differentiates the products from those of its competitors and affects the consumer discernment of the company (Jobber 2007:328). A strong brand name also acts as a source of quality certification and can influence consumer preferences of products. Nestle, through its strong brand name and market presence has captured the heart of the customers worldwide. In the present health- conscious society, Nestle has captivated a loyal customer base through its focus on nutrition and health requirements and consumer preferences at a competitive price and it has enhanced the reputation of the company. A Nestle brand name on a product is a promise to the customer that it is safe to consume, that it complies with all regulations and that it meets high standards of quality Packaging: Packaging involves designing and developing a cover for a product in order to make it attractive to the consumers. Packaging was just a means for protecting the product in the past, but today increase in competition has resulted in the need to differentiate the product from those of its competitors to attract the customers and to describe the features of the product in order to gain consumer recognition. Poor designs can be one of the reasons for reduction in sales of a product due to less customer satisfaction. Nestle uses very attractive packaging as one of their main marketing strategies. For its efforts, Nestle has won several accolades such as the Silver Star and Best in category as Best Packaging Innovation leading to a significant reduction in household waste by the British Institute of Packaging for the Dairy Box biodegradable tray which is manufactured by using renewable resources. http://www.sophiesflorist.co.uk/images/chocolates/dairy%20box.jpg ROMOTION Stanton and Futrell (1987:418), describe promotion as an important element of marketing mix which aims in informing and persuading the market about the products and services of the company. J:uad18.jpg J:nescafe.jpg According to Baker (1999, 310) the method of communicating the product offer which is made by a company to match the needs of the customers and to persuade them to try the product is Promotion. They feel that the significance of promotion increases when the distance between the producers and customers increase and as the number of customers increase. Promotion activity does not depend on the demand; even if the demand is high promotional activities should go on in order to keep the manufacturers name before the customers. Nestle uses promotion as one of the major source to reach their customers to make them aware of the value of different products introduced in the market. Nestle adopts a promotion mix with a perfect blend of several different promotion tools to promote the value of its product and make the customers aware of their products. Promotion Tools PERSONAL SELLING: According to Stanton and Futrell (1987: 418), personal selling is mainly used when the market is geographically concentrated (Few customers) and when the products are custom made. It is defined as a face to face communication with buyers in the aim of pursuing the customers to purchase by Simon(). Its a one to one marketing. Tele marketing, door drops inserts, Door to door selling are all techniques used in personal selling. J:7_essentialprotein_image.jpg J:6_essentialprotein_image.jpg Nestle uses personal selling for specialized and sophisticated products. ADVERTISING: Advertising according to Groucutt (2005:215) is to communicate to a specific audience to stimulate action and its success is in the way the right information reaches the right person at the right time. Majaro (1993) says that advertising is any paid form non-personal communication of products, services or ideas through a commercial media. (Stanton and Futrell, 1987) Promotion through advertising is mainly done when the market is geographically dispersed or when the product is standardized. Nestlà ©s advertisements are well known in the market and they have made sure that the advertisements are attractive through all the possible media. Nestle also uses internet to promote their products, where they have different websites hosted for different products. Different strategies for each product like online competitions and distributions. HOW ADVERTISING WORKS Tim Ambler and Demetrios Vakratsas have formulated a framework for studying how advertising works for a company. How Advertising Works (Ambler, Vakratsas 1999:26) They have considered the input to be advertising own and competitive brands. Scheduling the media and message contents are the motivation factors or triggers the consumers response. Cognition, the thinking dimension of a persons response, and affect, the feeling dimension, are portrayed as two major intermediate advertising effects (Ambler, Vakratsas, 1999:26) SALES PROMOTION: Sales promotion represents non- media campaigns such as sampling displays, shows, exhibitions and contests (Majaro, 1993:35). Stanton and Futrell (1987:418) believes that sales promotions one of the fastest growing promotional methods these days. Free samples, Money off coupons, extra value offers buy one get one free, bundling, privilege points are all different methods used in sales promotion. Nestle also uses sales promotion as one of their promotion tools by offering programmes like every day eating coupon codes and discounts and offers for online shopping on nestle products. PUBLICITY: Publicity is a promotional method where the organization is not paying for the communication about its products and is benefiting from it (Stanton and Futrell 1987:419). This occurs either through a non-personal news story appearing in a mass medium or is delivered by a person in an interview or a speech. Publicity is achieved mainly through public relations activities. According to Jobber (2007) sponsorship provides more opportunities for publicity in the media. Nestle is a well known brand in the market and its fame describes its publicity and the further publicity occurs during various interviews of officials of Nestle. Publicity for Nestle also occurs during the launch of every new product and when the annual sale reports are published. This publicity obtained by Nestle is not by paying any of the media. Nestle, public relation activities is evident from how they try to communicate with government organizations as well as the customers about the different issues that they face. Through public relations Nestle try to bring to the attention of all the customers and organizations concerned about various issues and the current approach they are taking towards these issues. PRICE Price is defined as the value of a product that we get in return for all the effort that was taken for its production and also for marketing of the same product. Price is the revenue earner so it is considered as the odd one in the marketing mix. It is also considered as an important market tool which is visible to both customers and competitors (Baker 1985). The price of a product depends on a number of factors like, changes in technology, effect of suppliers, competitive pressure and the increasing price sensitivity of the customers. Price is also directly dependent on the demand of the product. If the demands increase the price will also increase and vice versa. Consumers generally show a keen interest in tracking the prices of the products which they usually purchase. This enables them to analyze the attractiveness of the product and be vigilant about the changes in price of the product, thus enabling them to compare the prices of the product in various stores (Vanhuele and Dreze 2002:72). Pricing of the Product Companies usually do not set a single price, but rather develop a pricing structure that reflects variations in geographical demand and costs, market-segment requirements, purchasing timing, order levels, delivery frequency, guarantees, service contract, and other factors (Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman and Hansen: 2009). According to David Jobber, pricing of a product mainly depends on 3 factors: cost, competitor and the market. COST ORIENTED PRICING The most common method of pricing of a product is cost oriented pricing, in which it is divided into full cost pricing which involves the calculating of cost of all labour and materials and direct cost pricing which involves the calculation of only those costs that are likely to rise as output increases. COMPETITOR ORIENTED PRICING The approach to pricing which only depends on the competitor rather than costs when framing a business is called competitor oriented pricing. Every consumer will judge the price of a product by comparing it with a similar product in the same range which is produced by their competitor (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong 2001). MARKET ORIENTED PRICING Market oriented pricing is one of the important area which depends on competiveness of a product in the market. For a new product the positioning strategy controls the pricing and for an existing product price will depend on the strategic objectives. Price-Quality Relationships Price is directly dependent on the quality of the product. As the quality of a product increases the price also goes up. Nestle is a quality focused company and hence to compete with current market it need to carry out the pricing process of the product very carefully. Nestle is a very successful company and all its products are at affordable prices. PRODUCT LINE PRICING Most of the companies usually develop product lines rather than single products. In product line pricing the management must decide on the pricing steps to set between various products in a line (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and Wong 2001). In product line pricing, cost difference between the product in the line, evaluation of customers and also the competitors products with small price difference is also taken into account. EXPLICABILITY Explicability is defined as the capability of sales people to explain a high price to customer. In market customer demands the economic justification of product prices. If the sales people fail to give a clear idea of the product development stages, it will reduce the value of product. As Nestle is very innovative it needs a high financial support for its RD and it is not easy to give idea about the product development costs to an ordinary customer. COMPETITION Competition plays an important role in the cost consideration of a product in a business. The main competitors of Nestle are Heinz, Kraft, ConAgra, Mars Incorporated, Hershey, Cadbury, General mills etc. Since all their main competitors are also well branded, they cannot price a product without analyzing the competitors pricing. But the main advantages behind their successful pricing are that they are very superior in its market position. NEGOTIATING MARGINS In certain market customer expects a price reduction in some products. Competitive discounts, fast payment discounts an annual volume bonus and other promotional allowances come under this category. Nestle and its negotiations with its suppliers made them to gain a good reasonable margin in all its goods. EFFECT OF DISTRIBUTORS/RETAILERS Well qualified suppliers and efficient retailers is also a factor which affects the price of a product. If a distributor supplies a product with high price or a retailer sells a product in high margin it will cause the variations in price of the products. Nestle itself agreed that their distributors are well developed and hence the company can control the price of its products. POLITICAL FACTORS Nestle sometimes blames the policies of governments for its poor reflection on the exports. Some of the government policies which results in increase in packaging cost makes the product less competitive in the global exporting market. PLACE Armstrong and Kotler (2001) describes place as the activity of a company to make the products available to the customers. Place Strategies The major factors to be considered while formulating a place strategy are Channels, Coverage, Assortments, Locations, Inventory, Transportation, and Logistics. Channel distribution strategies deal with the decisions on making the products available to the target customers in usable condition. A channel of distribution is the combination of institutions through which a seller markets the products to the user or ultimate consumer (Peter, Donnelly 2004:145). As the time and finances required for setting up a channel of distribution are comparatively high, the place strategies are often critical for the success of a firm. The channels of distribution can be of two different types on the basis of the targeted consumer. It may differ when the end user of the product is a consumer or an organization, the Consumer Marketing Channel and the Business Marketing Channel. Consumer Marketing Channel: Armstrong and Kotler (2001) Nestle adopts the consumer marketing channel where the products from the producer reaches the consumer through the wholesalers or retailers. Nestle has e-marketing for some of its products where the products reach the consumers directly from the producer. Business Marketing Channel (Armstrong and Kotler, 2001) According to Donnelly (2004:150),the channel of distribution strategic decisions are determined on the basis of the following factors: Distribution coverage required Degree of control desired Total distribution cost Channel flexibility Distribution coverage may vary based on the features of the product, the market and the target customers. The company may opt for intensive distribution, selective distribution or exclusive distribution. In the case of intensive distribution, the company tries to sell the product through the maximum number of retailers and wholesalers. In selective distribution, the company may limit the number of wholesalers and retailers which are the best in that market while in the case of exclusive distribution; the manufacturing company may provide exclusive rights for distributing the product to only one or a few distributors. Nestle has adopted intensive distribution strategy in order to make its products available to a large customer base. Nestle products are available through a large number of retail outlets. Besides this, Nestle has also launched an e-shop for promoting its confectionary in Japan which allows the consumers to buy Kit Kat chocolates online. The coverage of Nestle is world-wide as it has a wide distribution channel and several manufacturing units at different places around the world. Marketing logistics involves the planning, implementing and controlling of physical flow of goods, services and related information from points of origin to points of consumption to meet customer requirements at a profit (Armstrong and Kotler 2001:342). Nestle underwent a complete re-engineering of its supply chain which was aided by Total Logistics which has benefitted both Nestle and its consumers. Nestle has been able to operate composite pallet loads for entire UK, combining beverages and confectionery through two vehicle fleets and two distribution hubs (http://www.total-logistics.eu.com/logistics-clients/logistics-consultants-case-studies/nestle.html). Through this, Nestle has been able to decrease its fleet size and satisfy smaller delivery volumes without any increase in the costs.

Dr. Faustus Essay -- essays research papers

Dr. Faustus Dr. Faustus, written by Christopher, is the story of a man that represents the common human dissatisfaction with being human. He sells his soul to the devil for what he believes to be limitless power, with full logical knowledge as to the consequences of such a transaction. He knows the stakes of his gamble with the devil. His extensive education and his cultural environment had certainly alerted him as to the dangers associated with Lucifer. Although aware of the consequences of such a pact, he is blinded by three things that bring about his ultimate demise. His greed to know all, his pride that made him believe he was better than man, and his denial that in the end he would bring his own downfall upon himself. If Faustus had not been these things he would not have brought an end to himself. Dr. Faustus denies the existence of everything, from his eventual torture in hell if he does not repent, to men, society, and indeed the world. The only aspect of his life which he does not deny is his physical reality. When Faustus meets with Mephistopheles (a messenger of the devil) he is frightened and demands a new appearance for his devil servant. "I charge thee to return and change thy shape; Thou art to ugly to attend on me. Go, and return an old Franciscan friar; That holy shape becomes a devil best." (Marlowe p.14) By choosing Mephistopheles to change his form, he i...