Over the past few decades America has been noticing a weight problem. Even though society has come up with the idea that everyone must be thin to be beautiful, almost two thirds of the United States is considered to be obese.

Over the past few decades America has been noticing a weight problem. Even though society has come up with the idea that everyone must be thin to be beautiful, almost two thirds of the United States is considered to be obese. Throughout these past few decades there have been several diet fads, exercise techniques and get thin quick schemes. When a good one comes along, it seems that it is all you hear about. The reason for this is that the environment will effect organizations. An organization must understand the environment and other competing threats. They must find out how the external environment is affecting consumers, design competitive structures and strategies, position their products and then use effective promotion and advertising strategies. The latest diet craze is the Atkins diet. It is a weight loss plan that subtracts most of the carbohydrates from a persons' normal eating habit. Although there are tons of carbs in breads, pastas and potatoes, many of the carbs a person will intake is from snacks. Within the last year or so, junk food producers have been catering to low-carb customers. One snack substitute that has done very well is a chocolate bar called Z-Carb. "Since reaching 7-Eleven's shelves in June, the Z-Carb has sold almost as well as Nestlé's venerable and heavily marketed Butterfinger candy bar" (Time). Diet food producers are filling

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Marketing of Red bull

Business Unit 3 Marketing Of 'Red bull' Introduction As part of my marketing assignment, I will be looking at the marketing of a consumer product or service. Therefore, my chosen product is 'Red bull', which is an energy drink. I have assumed that my product is targeted at people that have similar situations to the ones used in advertisements for red bull. I will be looking to spot if the strategy used is based on the principles of marketing: > Understanding consumer wants: to become successful, it is vital for a business to understand the wants and needs of its target audience. For example the needs and wants of a target audience for a high street retail store depend upon the age, style and income of its customers. > Understanding and keeping ahead of competition: businesses must consider their competitive markets as well as the products and prices provided by their competition in order to gain customers and provide a better standard of services and goods than other companies. This can be done through devising strong, different marketing strategies and by selling a product that is unique and efficient. > Communicate effectively with its customers to satisfy customer expectations: communication with customers is vital for a business to understand the wants and needs of their customers. A good relationship must be continuously created between a business and its

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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“When selling a good, price is the single most important factor”

"When selling a good, price is the single most important factor" Price is one part of marketing mix. It used to deciding what price should the firm charge on each product to cover its fixed and variable costs. Before introducing a good into the market, a firm must consider about price of its product. In deciding upon a price a business must find out something about the quantities that they are likely to be able to sell at different prices. This information may be found though market research, or by experimenting - trying out different prices to see now customers react. Imagine that a business has obtained the following information about the qualities that customers will be willing to buy at different prices. The factors that should be considered before deciding the price of product are shown below: * What are our objectives as a business? Is it aiming for a large market share (mass production/market penetration) or a niche market (market skimming) * What about the rest of the marketing mix? Price is not the only element of the marketing function. The pricing method chosen must be compatible with the decisions made concerning the product itself, promotion. * What market segment(s) is the product aimed at? Clearly, if mass production aimed at socio-economic groups C and D is the target, a relatively low, competitive price must be chosen. * How much does it cost to produce

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Buying Processes and Experiences

Essay One - Buying Processes and Experiences INTRODUCTION Everyone is doing shopping and buying everyday, maybe groceries, maybe clothes or house equipments, but who has ever thought about how do we make the purchase decision? How do we decide what brand is good and the place we shop is cheaper than others? What factors would affect our decision? What factors motivate us to seek out a purchase? What sources of information are used in evaluating competing products? The basic consumer purchase decision processes involved in purchase decisions are: problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and postpurchase behaviour. An underlying need triggers a search for need satisfying solutions. When possible solutions have been identified, these are evaluated according to some criteria. The final purchase decision is seen as a product of the interaction between the final decision-maker and a range of influencers. Finally, after purchase and consumption, the consumer develops feelings about their purchase which influences future purchase decisions. In reality, purchase decision processes can be complex iterative processes involving large numbers of influencers and a variety of decision criteria. Consumer Purchase Decision Processes Two weeks ago, I bought an alarm in the airplane while on the way of coming back to New Zealand. The digital

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Strategic management - The Body Shop

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Strategic management is vital for the effective functioning of an organization, should provide long term focus, and is founded on some process of analysis. The most fundamental strategic objective is typically seen as 'beating competitors'. " This is the objective on which every business should be focused" (Pearson 1999:63). Strategic management locates the organization externally and internally in terms of position and organizational culture, providing a consistency with which to address both major and less significant decisions. Many management gurus have quoted various company successes to justify their latest strategic theories, attracting followers from across industries and sectors by their strategic holy grail. These frame works range from long-range planning, through evolutionary frameworks, portfolio frameworks, competitive strategy and the core competency framework. For the purpose of this essay on Body Shop's strategic management, author have chosen to refer to porter's frame work, because it is espoused as the " most important and most widely adaptable" of the frameworks (Pearson 2000: Keele open learning course text). THE BODYSHOP: The Body Shop began in Brighton in 1976. By September 1989 the business had grown to include some 422 shops with 127 branches in the UK and the Channel Islands. Now The Body Shop is an international company

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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iPod vs. Cell Phone Case Analysis

iPod vs. Cell Phone Case

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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CASE STUDY: INNOCENT DRINKS

CASE STUDY: INNOCENT DRINKS Evaluation of the current environmental (green) and ethical/social policies and practices Executive Summary: Although the mention of environmental topics and ethical/social responsibilities of corporations can be dated back to pre-70's last century, these issues turn into actual business practices much later. In concerning of protect our environment and build a fair and better world, the influcences from government and organizations are not enough, and the drivers and forces come from stakeholders and businesses' managers themselves play a much more important role. The importances of consideration of environmental and ethical/social issues in business management are two-fold: first of all, these are the right things to do and are criteria of good business; secondly, as these topics are becoming more and more popular and have drawn more and more attention in nowadays, taking them into businiess management consideration can help corporations better satisfy customers' needs. In this essay, we will use the example of Innocent Drinks, the regarded model of ethical business, to examine how the business successfully emploied the 'healthy', 'environmental considering', and 'ethical' ideas in business practices. TABLE OF CONTENTS: INTRODUCTION 3 HOW TO MAKE A GOOD BUSINESS 3 CASE STUDY: INNOCENT DRINKS 5 The Overall Review 5 The Environmental

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Commodity branding in India - "From commodity trading to commodity branding".

COMMODITY BRANDING IN INDIA "From commodity trading to commodity branding" Prepared by:- Nilay Mehta Namit Laller 48 Ashutosh Mookehrjee Hall 72 Ashutosh Mookehrjee Hall IIT- Kharagpur, IIT- Kharagpur, Kharagpur - 751320 Kharagpur - 751320 West Bengal West Bengal Mail ID:- [email protected] Mail ID: [email protected] Vinod Gupta School of Management - IIT KHARAGPUR Kharagpur - 751320 West Bengal Executive Summary Commodities are products and services that customers perceive to be homogenous, and a market or industry remains commodity driven if products fail to differentiate themselves in the eyes of the consumer. A recent study by AC Nielsen ORG, places the branded FMCG retail market in India at Rs 44,000 crore and the total FMCG retail market at Rs 1,74,000 crore. Of the total, commodities constitute 83% of total retail sales but 90% of this is yet again unbranded. This poor state of India commodity market may be due to the marketer's myopic orientation of 'Selling' and a perceptive socio-economic situation of market it operates in. With the advent of globalization, an era of increased competitiveness has erupted in our day to day life. The market has reached a level of maturity where consumerism is such that the nature of purchase lends itself to choice and

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Examine the significance of GUI's in the development of the personal computer. Your answer should make reference to the impact of this technology on the initial success of the PC as well as the long term impact on the industry as a whole.

Examine the significance of GUI's in the development of the personal computer. Your answer should make reference to the impact of this technology on the initial success of the PC as well as the long term impact on the industry as a whole. Introduction: Being a discussion of what a GUI actually is and what it actually does. Further considers the ease of use that the development of GUI's brought to an otherwise very technical market, comparing CLI with GUI and highlighting the benefits the home PC user enjoys today. Main Body: In which we look at the initial development of the Graphical User Interface, who the main players were and considers the role of the major software manufacturers and the part they played in GUI development. Also looks briefly at the differences between the Linux interface and the Windows interface, the decline in popularity of Linux in the past only to recently regain some commercial ground. In addition we look at the problems of software compatibility across operating systems and the subsequent effect of this on the home user. Also, we consider the argument that without the development of the GUI the home PC may never have gained its current success, with its consequential effect upon the I.T. industry. Conclusions and Issues Raised That without the development of GUI computers would only be in use today in a commercial or academic environment.

  • Word count: 1369
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Critical strategic decisions.

Jessops of Leicester Critical strategic decisions .1 Frank Jessop founded the Jessop Group in 1935, his son Alan joined in 1960 and the Group operated as a family firm until July 1996 in the photographic retail sector, through effective planning which ensured Jessop's survival and future direction. .2 In 1968, a major threat to the business was brought about by the construction of a flyover outside the store which virtually destroyed passing trade. Alan Jessop saw that the abolition of retail price maintenance provided the means to turn the threat into an opportunity. The firm undertook an aggressive advertising campaign in specialist photographic magazines such as 'Amateur Photographer' and offered to sell high quality Japanese cameras cheaper than other photographic retailers- a prime example of a deliberate strategy with unknown consequences. However, the strategic choice proved to be successful in this case. Many enthusiasts travelled long distances to save money, purchasing on a cash and carry basis. Such successful variations in strategy are retained and become embedded within the firm so effective routines become those that 'work' in practise. .3 In 1978, Jessops had to tackle the problem of a lack of space with the inevitability of relocation to a 20,000 sq ft premises and it was listed in the 'Guinness Book of Records' as the Worlds largest

  • Word count: 1683
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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