Macro & Micro Environmental Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Macro & Micro Environmental Analysis - Essay Example This report stresses that considering the analysis of the above five industry forces, the hotel industry holds moderate to high level of attractiveness as three out of the five forces are in beneficial state and the threat of new entrants is also not high but moderate. Only adversely positioned industry force is the high rivulet levels within the industry and companies who specialize in their marketing and differentiating strategies and build strong brands will be able to counter this force as well. Thus, organisations with high internal capabilities will be able to enjoy strong profits within this industry. This paper makes a conclusion that it can be noted that the organisations and its performances are affected by a myriad of factors in its macro and micro- environments. While the factors within the micro environment is within the reach of organisational influence, the macro factors tend to affect the organisation but remain beyond the control of the company. Organisations can assess the conditions of its macro environment through application of SPECTLE analysis while the microenvironment can be assessed through stakeholder analysis or Porters five force concepts. While these analysis will only yield an insight in to the conditions of the environment, its the strategic responses which the company makes in relation to the environmental conditions which will decide how successful the company be in surviving and thriving in the turbulent business environment.

Strategic Management and Possesses Good Customer Essay Example for Free

Strategic Management and Possesses Good Customer Essay 1.What are the key issues presented in the study? Barclay’s is one of the four most dominant retail and commercial banks in U.K. but the company has faced many challenges between the time periods of 1980-2000. Key Issues: †¢Underperformance: The bank had lost confidence in its abilities due to years of underperformance. It had failed to reach global market place with negligible growth in divestitures and acquisitions. †¢Leadership issues: The bank failed to find a good leader between 1995 and 19999. It had five different CEOs in five years failing to contribute. †¢Cost reduction: The bank was struggling to make significant changes which could reduce its cost base. Its cost to income ratio was higher than that of competitors. †¢Lack of Planning: The bank lacked strategic planning and also had a inadequate management performance system. †¢Media and investors: The bank had become the easy target for media because of its performance and changing CEOs. This resulted into unhappy investors and demoralized employees. 2.Is Barclay’s performing well? Justify your answer. Considering the size and resources the bank has, I would say the bank is not performing according to its standards. Justification: Barclay’s possesses good customer relationship skills. They have built personal relationships with one out of five personal customers, and have direct relationships with 25% of the businesses in U.K. This is a great resource to have; unfortunately it is not able to use the resources effectively. The infrastructure of the company is not capable of using the resources properly. One of the most important things needed for success of any organization is to have a good leader which the bank lacks. The bank has little indication on where they are losing money and where to cut costs. This is due to absence of a strategic plan and poor management system. The cost to income ratio was higher than its competitors which greatly affected the company’s balance sheets. The bank had been unable to grow globally due to unmotivated and demoralized executives. The employees were not able to work in a team due to lack of communication and other corporate difficulties. In all, Barclay’s was a brand and had a reputation which it failed to fulfill because of poor management decisions and lack of proper planning and execution. 3.What are the processes that Barrett used to formulate decide and implement new strategy? Matt Barrett had a difficult task ahead to imp

Customization And Personalization Through Emarketing Marketing Essay

Customization And Personalization Through Emarketing Marketing Essay The most current and relevant literature on e-marketing is examined and the relevant areas disused in various literature which has connection with the objective of the business project are explored in this chapter. E-business and e-commerce are modern form of business which is performed in a technologically advanced business environment. The e-business is termed as the application of information technology for internal business process as well as activities in which a company engages during commercial activity. These activities can include functional activities such as finance, marketing, human resources management and operations (Philips, 2003). Ecommerce is the use of Information and communication technology to enable external activities and relationship with individuals, groups and other businesses (Laudon and Traver, 2002).Due to the growth in electronic media for business functions , the way of interaction between the supplier, distributor, seller and customer has become changed and more enhanced. E-commerce channels allow businesses to get to the customer faster, with more velocity, and more value (Budhwani, 2001) E-Marketing E-marketing is a process of building and maintaining customer relationship through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas, products and services that satisfy the goals of both parties (Mohammed et al, 2001). Strauss et al (2003) suggest that e-marketing covers a wide range of IT related applications with three main aims: Transforming marketing strategies to create more customer value through more effective segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning strategies; more efficiently planning and executing the conception, distribution, promotion and pricing of goods, services and ideas; creating exchanges that satisfy individual consumer and organisational customers objectives. Business is mainly based on exchange process; e-marketing has the ability to be beneficial for all the people who involve in the business. Mainly organization has realised this and started to refocus their marketing strategy using e-marketing. E-Marketing versus Traditional Marketing As number of individuals spending their time on internet is increasing rapidly, e-marketing is growing as a powerful marketing tool. Due to advancement and utilisation of technology in Internet has grown rapidly, thereby e-marketing gained more attention by most of the firms and due to this the traditional marketing methods loses its value. The traditional marketing channels like as television, print media, and radio are becoming less popular. The traditional media are competing with the electronic media for seeking customer attention but the Internet and appear to be gaining over the other media. On implementing E-Marketing a company can reach its customer directly through website, e-mail, social networking sites and various other means. E-Marketing is cost effective and also gains lot of attention of the customer. These factors make E-Marketing to overlap the traditional marketing. The Internet is assumed to be an important channel for marketing and distribution of products and services. This is, among other things, due to the cost-effectiveness of the Internet and the convenience for customers. With the Internet marketers can reach out to a broad customer base, locate target customers, identify their needs and communicate with them at a relatively low cost. The Internet provides an opportunity for market testing and optimization. Increasing digitalization will make it progressively easier to experimentally alter particular aspects of a business and quickly observe how customers respond (Wyner, 2000) Benefits of e-marketing E-marketing has several benefits which can be capitalised by the organisation to gain competitive advantages; those benefits are listed below, The web allows non-linear communication in which there is free flow and exchange of information, and there is a potential for two-way communication between a business and its audiences in different contexts on a one to one basis, and a many-to-many basis. The many-to-many model involves communication between customers (Hoffman and Novak, 1995). E-marketing can increase an organisations geographic coverage beyond its traditional operating area. E-marketing will also make the organisation to have a global presence and a wider reach. New market and new customers can be obtained by the company, if the e-marketing is utilised effectively. Moreover e-marketing provides a cheap way of communicating with customers and the business transactions can also be cared out in low cost. A website can be used as a powerful business tool for carrying out sales and services all day providing greater convenience for the customer. Besides that e-marketing can be used for an online sales promotion and provide targeted offers and special privileges to the customer. E-Marketing is fast and flexible communication tool and helps to fulfil the customer retention objective of the company. The internet provides rich sources of marketing data for the marketers, which can be used for decision-making purposes. Additionally e-marketing research supported with appropriate software and technology provides a good data analysis to streamline the process of research. Similarly e-marketing help to improve the brand name and provides a better platform for development of the brand presence. The purpose of branding is to facilitate the organisations task of getting and maintaining a loyal customer base in a cost-effective manner to achieve the highest possible return on investment (De Chernatony and McDonald, 1998, p.17) E-marketing problems There are also few problems with e-marketing that marketers must understand and respond to. Those are outlined below: A companys marketing environment consists of the actors and forces outside marketing that affect the marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its target customers. The marketing environment offers both threats and opportunities (Kotler et al, 2001) The major problem of e-marketing is lack of trust among the online users to make transactions with unknown traders and the customers resistance to change, mainly older and disadvantage people. Next big problem is customers concerns over privacy issues such as spam and unwanted marketing communication. Rising network security doubts over fraud and hacking cause huge setback for e-marketing. Moreover the technology gap between the organization and customer is a disadvantage. There are also difficulties and social impacts in cross-broader trading using electronic media. Customization and Personalization through E-marketing The e-marketing provides customization and personalization benefits to both firm and the customer. Customisation refers to more personalised products availability and tailored communication. The Internet marketing environment offers extensive customization and personalization opportunities. The evolution from marketing on the averages to marketing on the differences is a very prominent theme and a major advantage of the Web market compared to real environments (Reitman, 1994). Customization provides the ability to the customer to order product uniquely as per their need and specification. This helps the firms to know more about the individual customer, so that the offers and communications can be tailored as per the behaviour of the customer. This provides a great competitive advantage. E-marketing and Customer Focus The customer focus is very essential for any business organisation and marketing activities are will be build to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. Customer loyalty is emerged from satisfaction and from loyalty come more profitability and sales. The customer is the key element for all business but the e-marketing make customer even more powerful. Due the technology advancement customers are more demanding with search engines, more substitute product availability and multi-channel user friendly technology. Customer makes up the online communities of an organisation. Consumer behaviour growing to be more complex. But e-marketing coupled with emerging technologies enables more precise segmentation and targeting of customer. E-marketing helps to implement personalised offering to each customer, this done by obtaining permission and sends offers to target customer. The interactive nature of internet allows getting quicker customer feedback. These factors of e-marketing helps fi rms to remain customer focused.

Helping Beyond Our Borders Essay -- International Crime

There are currently 14 names on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) â€Å"Most Wanted† list (USA for the International Criminal Court). This is the list of the individuals that are responsible for the most heinous crimes happening around the world. It is the goal of the ICC to find these criminals and bring them to justice. American Involvement in the International Criminal Court, designed to provide enforcement and prosecution for crimes against humanity, is critical to its success in fighting those who are responsible for the world’s worst crimes. The International Criminal Court was first established in 1998 when 120 countries voted to adopt the treaty outlining its structure. This treaty went into effect on July 1, 2002, and 108 countries have ratified it as of 2008. The goal of the ICC is to bring the most serious international war criminals to justice and stop crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes (USA for the International Criminal Court). The involvement of the United States in the ICC has changed with each president in office. During the Clinton Administration, President Clinton participated in negotiations with the ICC and signed its statute in 2000. However, he did not ratify the treaty because he believed it to be flawed. Then, in 2002, the Bush Administration announced that it would no longer participate in any ICC activity and would not support the court when it was established (AMICC). Since then, the Obama Administration has changed the United States’ relationship with the ICC f rom that of hostility to positive support. Under Obama, the U.S. has supported international criminal justice and principled engagement with international institutions. The U.S., however, does not wish to become... ...fference. Aggressive prosecution aided by the strength the U.S. would add to the process, would help deter future events. There are many people behind all of these horrific crimes, and American involvement in the ICC is crucial to its success in bringing those individuals to justice. Works Cited American Non-Governmental Organization Coalition for the ICC. AMICC, 2012. Web. 12 Mar 2012. MacPhee, Briony. "The United States Should Be a Part of the International Criminal Court." American Non-Governmental Organizations Coalition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC), 2008. Gale Opposing Viewpoints. Web. 9 Mar 2012. "U.S. Influence Being Felt at International Criminal Court." America.gov Press Release. 16 Jun 2010. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 09 Mar 2012. USA for the International Criminal Court. Citizens for Global Solutions. Web. 12 Mar 2012.

Meat Industry Essay

People all over the world eat meat for its nutritional value and taste. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that in the year 2011 people in the U.S consumed 25.6 billion pounds of beef. Most of this meat was produced in America. A Holistic approach to food production is important in order to improve the quality of beef. What we feed our cattle, the housing conditions and the slaughter procedure directly impacts our food. What the farmers feed cattle directly affects the quality of beef for the consumer. The cow has many more benefits from eating grass than being fed corn. It is a lot healthier for cows to consume grass because that is what their stomachs are made for. The stomachs have three sections that are made specifically for digesting grass (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Today, most cows are put on a diet that is based on corn. The cows used to be fed grass and roam free but since than there have been changes. The idea about feeding cattle grain began during World War II. It all started when farmers were producing more grain than the American population could handle, so the rest of it was fed to cows. It was discovered that feeding a cow different types of grains fattened them up a lot faster than when cows were consuming grass. With a grass fed diet, it takes cows about five years to reach 1,200 pounds. However, with the grain-based diet it takes a cow about 390 days to get to a reachable weight for slaughter (Healthy Theory -Corn-Fed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Also, the producer benefits more from feeding his cows corn because it is cheaper than grass. Therefore, a diet based on corn is more cost effective but the quality of meat has less nutritional value (Why Grass Fed- Health Benefits of Grass Fed Beef). The consumer benefits more from meat that comes from cows that consume grass rather than in-taking different types of grains. The cow is a lot healthier and happier when it is eating grass, which results in higher quality meat. Since cows’ stomachs are meant to break down grass, a corn based diet causes changes in the digestion of a cow leading to serious health problems, such as diarrhea, ulcers, and a weakened immune system. As a result of these issues, the cows are given antibiotics to help prevent this from occurring, which makes the meat unhealthier (Healthy Theory -Corn-F ed Vs. Grass-Fed Beef). Another huge topic of concern is the disregard of animal welfare. These animals aren’t being cared for and they are treated as units of production (Learn About The Issues). In order to fatten up cows in time for slaughter, many farmers put them in feedlots. The conditions these cows go through are unbearable. As many cows as possible are crammed into each pen. The result of this is massive amounts of waste covering the animals living space (The Issues Animal Welfare). This causes the air to be unhealthy and creates many gases and diseases that aren’t wanted. During the whole time the cows are in the feedlot they are breathing in methane gas. Large amounts of methane are bad for animals because it takes away oxygen from the air, which can affect the central nervous system (2- Health Effects of Methane). The alternative is a more holistic way, which allows the cattle to roam around freely on huge pastures until they get fat enough to get slaughtered. In the United States, animal welfare is being ignored, because cows are being treated i n a cruel and unhealthy way. When they are living in the feedlots, they are covered with manure and aren’t being cared for. As soon as cows are fat enough to get slaughtered, they are sent to the closest slaughterhouse. On their journey they are faced with heartbreaking situations. They are often transported from 1,200 to 1,500 miles away in scorching hot weather or freezing temperatures. Dr. Lester Friedlander, a former U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian inspector said, â€Å"They are crammed onto trucks and go without food or water for days†. When it is cold, they are in the back of a trailer with nothing covering them. As the driver drives sixty miles per hour, cows are being exposed to a variety of extreme weather. Many cows collapse in hot weather. While they are traveling they urinate. After sometime it begins to freeze while their hooves are standing in it. Also, the fur of the cows â€Å"†¦ freezes to the sides of the trucks until workers pry them off with crowbars†(Cow Transport and Slaughter). When the cows get to the slaughterhouse, they are often in bad conditions. Most of them are sick and cannot walk because they are too weak. In order to move weak and injured cows they are dragged along with a bulldozer by a chain around their neck or leg. Even though they are in bad shape, cows are still being used for their meat because it means more money in the producer’s pocket. If some of the cows are able to walk, they are still abused. Workers beat them with a metal rod in order to move them faster (The Humane Society of the United States). Also, before they are killed the cows are lined up to wait for their turn to be stunned so that they will pass out before they get slaughtered. Sometimes the stunning procedure does not work. Ramon Moreno, a slaughterhouse worker has stated that he often has to cut the legs off of cows that are completely conscious. â€Å"They blink. They make noises,† he says. â€Å"The head moves, the eyes are wide and looking around. †¦ They die piece by piece.† If workers try to report that the cows are still alive they risk loosing their jobs (Cow Transport and Slaughter). After cows reach a certain weight they are ready to be slaughtered for meat consumption. The process of tu rning cows into packed meat can cause the meat to be infected. Before they are slaughtered, cows are cleaned. However, in some cases not well enough. The waste of the cow can get into the processed meat that is being cut by the workers. This can contaminate the meat with E-coli, which is a type of bacteria that can lead to death. â€Å"According to Centers for Disease Control estimates, up to 20,400 cases of E. coli infection and 500 deaths from E-coli disease occur annually in the United States† (Escherichia Coli 0157:H7). Another disease that is created in these fast paced industries is mad cow disease. (the issues-slaughterhouses and processing). Mad cow disease affects the cow’s nervous system and it causes the cow to act confused and loose control of the ability to walk (What is Mad Cow Disease). When people eat infected beef they may contract a human version of mad cow disease. It affects the nervous system causing depression and loss of coordination. As it becomes more severe, it causes dementia (The Basics of Mad Cow Disease). With our modern day technology, slaughterhouses are able to kill thousands and thousands of cow’s every day. There are many solutions that can change the food industry to produce their meat in a more animal friendly way. To help cut back more meat being produced in factories, consumers can support local farms by eating food that is grown locally. Holistic farming care for their animals and focus on getting delicious, healthy meat than just producing more and more for profit. The food quality of holistic farmed meat is a lot better because the cows are raised and treated well as opposed to when the animals are abused their whole life. If we really want a change, it is up to Americans to demand that. Currently, laws support the industrial farming methods and lack the attempt of helping small farms grow. An example is that American tax money goes to support research and the operating cost of large food producing companies (Learn About the Issues). In order for there to be a change, citizens need to become aware of the process. Change will happen by the consumer supporting politicians who are looking to change the food industry. Consequently, producers would need to be more focused on the care of the animals than earning as much money as possible. What American farmers feed their cattle, where they raise them and how they get slaughtered directly impacts the quality of our food. It is important for consumers to be aware of the United States food industry because there is so much more behind the food brought to you in the supermarket. If the consumer buys meat that is produced holistically, and legislation puts focus on the care of animals, the food industry will be forced to improve their methods.

Australia and China Tade Essay

China is a country located in East Asia. It is the world’s most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. China is the fourth largest country in the world behind Russia, Canada, and the United States. Australia is a continent and a country in the Southern Hemisphere, lying to the south of Southeast Asia, which divides the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. The population of Australia is 23 million. In 2009 China surpassed Japan to become Australia’s largest export market, the Australian and Chinese economies are strongly complementary. As a result, our trade and investment relationship is substantial and has developed well beyond its modest beginnings in the 1970s. According to Australian statistics, two-way merchandise trade has grown from $113 million in 1973, just after the establishment of diplomatic relations, to $78.2 billion in 2009. China is Australia’s largest trading partner, with total trade (goods and services) in 2009 valued at $85.1 billion, an increase of 15.1 per cent over the previous year. Government and/or NGO Roles: The Australian Government established the Australia-China Council (ACC) in 1978 to promote mutual understanding and foster people-to-people relations between Australia and China. The Chairperson is appointed by the Executive Council on the recommendation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who also appoints the Board members. The function of the Council is to make recommendations to the Australian Government through the Minister for Foreign Affairs on strengthening the Australia-China relationship in ways that support Australia’s foreign and trade policy interests. The Australia China Business Council (ACBC) is a membership-based, non-profit, non-governmental organisation comprising of a National Office, six Branches, and more than 1500 representatives from over 700 Australian companies who do business with China. Founded in 1973, ACBC actively promotes two-way trade and investment, and economic cooperation and understanding, between the business communities of Australia and China. ACBC plays an influential role as an advisor to the Australian Government on commercial relations with China. They are a strong supporter of the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and China to foster more competitive business in both nations. Founded in Beijing in 1996, The China-Australia Chamber of Commerce’s (AustCham Beijing) overriding goal is to advance Australian Business in China. It functions to provide members with the information, resources and contacts they need to succeed in China. The Chamber maintains a good working relationship with the Australian Embassy and with the various Australian government departments in China. AustCham is a non-profit organization, which operates independently from government. It is funded entirely by their membership and Chamber activities. Together with their sister AustChams in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, they work to promote strong trade and investment links between Australia and China. Treaties and Agreements- formal and/or informal: On the 18th of April 2005, Australia and China agreed to commence negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following consideration of a joint FTA Feasibility Study. The study was completed in March 2005, and concluded that there would be significant economic benefits for both Australia and China through the negotiation of an FTA. From April 2013, WESTPAC and ANZ banks will now be the first to directly trade Australian dollars into Chinese Yuan. Due to this fact, deepening of relationships between China and Australia, it signals deepening of trade connections and great opportunities for future growth.† Advantages and Disadvantages to Australia of this link: Advantages: Employment will increase in exporting industries and workers will be displaced as import competing industries fold (close down) in the competitive environment. With free trade many jobs have been created in Australia, especially in manufacturing and service industries Consumers benefit in the domestic economy as they can now obtain a greater variety of goods and services. The increased competitions ensure goods and services, are supplied at the lowest prices. Disadvantages: This can impact upon large numbers of workers, their families and local economies. Often it can be difficult for workers to find employment in growth industries and government assistance is necessary. This means that businesses, employees and consumers are more vulnerable to downturns in the economies of our trading partners. Future Direction of link: Australia and China share a strong and rapidly growing trade and economic relationship. Further strengthening and deepening this relationship is a major priority for both countries, with both governments committed to sustaining the impressive trade and investment performance achieved in the past two decades. In that time, China has become Australia’s largest two-way trading partner and vital to Australia’s future economic prosperity.