Giving Consumers Props to Play Their Roles: the Implication for Marketers from the Symbolic Consumption in Consumer's Behavior
Giving Consumers Props to Play Their Roles: the Implication for Marketers from the Symbolic Consumption in Consumer's Behavior Introduction There are two basic premises to make good films. Firstly, there must be good director. Secondly, there must be good players. A good director knows how to choose players and provide them with good scenarios. A good player knows how to play its role in specific scene. To some extent, the relationship between the director and player is quite similar to that between marketers and customers. A good marketer knows how to set a marketing strategy according to the different customers. Customers would choose different products and services under the influences of marketers. Customers also have something in common with players. Players may wear specific costumes and use other props to play the specific role according to the scenarios whist customers may "buy some products for their symbolic value in enhancing their self-concept" (Assael, 1992, p292). In both situations, the objects are not used for their original function. Players and customers all give some specific meanings to them. Furthermore, the meaning that players attach to the props is in accordance to the player's identity and scenarios' requirement. The meaning that consumers attach to the products is in accordance to the consumer's social identity, life style and self-concept (the
Why did mass-production emerge as the dominant industrial process in the late 19th/early 20th century? Provide examples to support your argument.
Why did mass-production emerge as the dominant industrial process in the late 19th/early 20th century? Provide examples to support your argument. "As a concentration on principles of power, accuracy, economy, system, continuity and speed - mass production is one of the most prolific production technologies the world has ever known." (Hounshell D, 1984) Mass production is not merely quantity production or machine production, for this may be had with none of the requisites of mass production. It is characterized by mechanical pacing of work, no choice of tools or methods, repetitiveness, minute subdivision of product, minimum skill requirements and surface mental attention. (Huczynski A and Buchanan D; 2001) The late 19th / early 20th century saw the rise of mass production as the dominant industrial process; where single-purpose machines and unskilled labour were combined to produce standard goods. This essay will endeavor to evaluate the emergence of mass production as the undisputed emblem of industrial efficiency and throw light on some examples to support this view. Furthermore, the essay will outline the decline of mass production, and compare and contrast it with flexible specialization. However, before dwelling into the aforementioned aspects it is essential to study the classical view which throws light on mass production as a historical necessity. The core of the
Law of Financial Services.
IF260 Law of Financial Services Coursework Due date: 3 December 2003 By: Daniel Mckeown Student Number: M206765 Course: BA Banking & Finance No of words: 2676 The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) was passed on the 31 July 1974 and took effect on the 20th May 1985. The CCA was based on a report by a committee that was headed by the late Lord Crowther in 1971. The main body of work for the CCA was conducted by Sir Frances Bennnion. His work was titled "Consumer Credit Control" and in the main was the CCA. The CCA replaced the Hire-Purchase Act 1964, Money Lenders Act 1900 and the Pawnbrokers Acts 1872, 1922 and 1960 it also filled in the gaps left by those acts.1 In the UK during the 1960's/70's there was a huge increase in the market for consumer credit. Previous to the CCA there was very little in the way of regulation in the consumer credit industry that protected the individual. The result of this was that many unscrupulous individuals and firms could offer money lending to individuals. The individual could be charged very high amounts of interest. The result was if an individual was unable to pay then repayments they could face legally proceedings and have their property seized. The CCA was introduced so as to stop unscrupulous firms and individuals from operating and to offer greater protection to individuals purchasing using credit. The
Fraser Components Ltd.
Fraser Components Ltd. Fraser Components LTD is in the manufacturing business. They are involved in the secondary sector of industry because they manufacture or make burglary alarms, processors and car alarms. The chain of production which is the various stages, from raw materials to finished products, through which goods pass before they are sold to a consumer, are included in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. They fit into the chain of production because they turn raw materials into finished goods, that is in the secondary sector. The method of production currently used by Fraser Components LTD is a flow production because they are continuously making the goods along a production line. The advantage of this is that it is quick and everyone does an equal amount of work. One disadvantage would be that workers might get bored with the job and this may lead to mistakes being made. Another disadvantage is the capital cost of setting up lines of production is enormous. Breakdowns of machines can stop the whole line. This would lead to massive delays in work and would also lead to slow production. 2: Fraser Components LTD are divided into 5 departments. Here are some examples on each department. Human Resources: This department deals with recruitment. They train staff and look after the employees. For example, they deal with
"Utility is a theoretical concept that cannot be observed or measured in the real world. Hence, it has no practical value in decision analysis."
Assignment "Utility is a theoretical concept that cannot be observed or measured in the real world. Hence, it has no practical value in decision analysis." Module: Managerial Economics Instructor: Student's name Contents Definition of utility.............................................................3 Total and marginal utility...................................................4 Graphic description of total and marginal utility....................6 The utility of different goods and services, and the balance of the consumer...................................................................8 Application of the theory of utility.........................................9 Indifference curves..........................................................14 Uncertainty and the consumer..........................................17 Definition of utility "The assumption of rational economic behavior leads logically to a further assumption fundamental to economic theory, that economic agents decide their market plans so as to maximize some target, objective or goal believed consistent with self interest. In demand theory, the objective function which households are assumed to wish to maximize is the utility obtain from the set of goals and services consumed. Utility means the usefulness or fulfillment of need which a consumer gains from consuming a good, though for many goods
Why is consumer protection needed?
GNVQ INTERMEDIATE BUSINESS UNIT 6 CONSUMER PROTECTION ASSIGNMENT 1 TASK 1 Why is Consumer Protection needed? Consumer protection is the rights granted by law to those who buy goods or services as private citizens for their own use. Consumers are given protection both in the quality of the goods and their safety. In other words consumer protection is the legislative protection of the consumer from unsafe products and unfair business practices. In our lives we consume, or simply come into contact with numerous different products and we should be able to believe that those products, which we use, are safe. However, that is not possible for all products or services. Therefore one of the aims of the Consumer Protection Act is to help protect the consumer from products that do not reach a reasonable level of safety. It is clear the consumer gains from this legislation however many firms will also recognize that they too can benefit in a few ways. So that products/services are reliable. Businesses are expected to produce goods or services of a high standard or quality. The English law requires that products must be of a quality that is fit for the purpose for which it is usually used i.e. if a washing machine does not spin clothes it is not reliable. If this guarantee is broken, the consumer can return the goods and get a refund of the payment made, if the person acts
Introduction to Tesco.
Introduction to Tesco Tesco is Britain's leading food retailer employing 160 000 people in the U K throughout its 702 stores. Over the past five years Tesco has expanded from a traditional U K based supermarket into new countries, products and services including a major non food business, personal finance and internet shopping. Tesco has progressed into a truly international retailer employing a further 140 000 people throughout 214 stores in nine markets worldwide. The increasing scale and internationalization of Tescos sales and purchasing operations contributes to a significant increase in efficiency and profitability. In this assignment I will be examining Tesco's position in the economy, explaining the role of economies of scale within Tesco and drawing up a detailed swot analysis of the organisation. I will also be examining the role of production within the firm. Tescos position in the economy Tesco is a public limited company (plc). Public limited companies are businesses with share price on the stock exchange. To become a public limited company, a business must have an issued share capital of at least £50 000. The company must have reissued at least 25% of the nominal value of the shares. Tesco can raise significant sums of capital by selling shares to the general public. Shares are bought and sold on the stock market. Management of Tesco is in the hands of
Supply Chain Management.
.0 Introduction The manufacturing supply chain is increasingly complex while technology continues to hold the promise of greater efficiency and lower costs. Businesses today are examining their supply chain operations and looking for innovative solutions. As global competition increases and customer expectations rise, companies are competing on the agility of their supply chains. As the world's second largest automaker, Ford Motor Company had proved that how successful they implement the supply chain management in the industry. For the over two decades, the company had facing some problem in the increasing of production cost, increasing importance of e-commerce, increasing levels of outsourcing and competitive in the industry etc. Consequently, the company decided to change their strategy and integrated supply chain. However, in the process of implement the supply chain to the company, the management team of the company also faces some problem before they succeed. 2.0 Concept of Supply Chain Management The supply chain has been defined as 'the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services in the hands of the ultimate customer' (Christopher 1992). Information Flow (order, schedule, forecast etc.) Supplier Manufacturer
Business policy and environment.
ANNIE MACKENZIE HE ACCESS TO BUSINESS STUDIES & COMPUTING BUSINESS POLICY AND ENVIRONMENT ASSIGNMENT NO.2A CONTENTS Page No Terms of Reference 3 Procedure 4 Introduction 5 Production Process 5 Research & Development 6 Introduction of Modern Technology 7 Quality Control 8 Implications On Other Factors 10 Conclusions 12 Recommendations 12 Bibliography 13 TERMS OF REFERENCE This report has been compiled by Annie Mackenzie of Manassist Limited for Select Systems and Data PLC (SSD) on request of Mr John Thorn. This report attempts to address the following points: . The nature of the different types of production, but especially CAD and CAM - how such systems operate and how they can benefit a company, such as SSD, in achieving production quotas on time (Operational Goals). Also, the resources that this requires, i.e. human and physical resources or Factors of Production. 2. The requirements of R&D to achieve design targets. 3. Full advice on Quality Control and management, and some of the techniques that could be adopted. PROCEDURE The time allocated for this report was 4 weeks. The information within this report has been gathered following careful research of the production methods available for utilisation by Select Systems Data PLC. Books and the internet have been an important
The Internet Grocery Market in UK
Student: Magnús Helgason Lecturer: Peter Bell and Khaled Soufani Course: MSc Finance and Investment Module: ECM02 - Economics and Business Finance in Context Date Due in: 6th November 2008 Number of pages: 7 Word count: 2868 Internet Grocery Market in UK '...grocery shopping is a pain' (Butler, 2007) . Introduction This assessment is part of Economics and Business Finance module in phase 1 in MSc Finance and Investment at University of Brighton 2008-2009. The main emphases of this assessment is to do a full analysis of a market of my own choice and write a report as if I was an analyst submitting a document to my professional colleagues in a finance house. In the process of choosing the market I looked up in books to see the definition of a market. I found out that Sloman & Hinde (2007) define a market as the interaction between buyers and sellers. Knowing that, I logged into www.keynote.co.uk to find a market to make a report that was of my interest. After looking over different types of markets I decided to go ahead and make a report about the Internet grocery market in UK. In a report I found on Key Note from 2007, "E-Commerce: The Internet Grocery Market" (2007), the market has been divided into two main sectors: Supermarkets online; and niche and specialist suppliers. I'm mainly going to analyse the market for supermarkets online, but these sectors