Oppurtunity cost on economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Oppurtunity cost on economics - Essay Example According to Varian (1999, p327): â€Å"In the expression for cost we should be sure to include all the factors of production used by the firm, valued at their market price. Usually this is pretty obvious, but in cases where the firm is owned and operated by the same individual, it is possible to forget about some of the factors.† Varian (1999, p327) went on to give the following example which will enable a better understanding of opportunity costs: â€Å"If an individual works in his own firm, then his labor is an input and it should be counted as part of the costs. His wage rate is simply the market price of his labor – what he would be getting if he sold his labor on the open market. Similarly, if a farmer owns some land and uses it in his production, that land should be valued at its market value for purposes of computing the economic costs. We have seen that economic costs like these are often referred to as opportunity costs. The name comes from the idea that if you are using your labor, for example, in one application, you forgo the opportunity of employing it elsewhere. Therefore, those lost wages are part of the cost of production. Similarly, with the land example: the farmer has the opportunity of renting his land to someone else, but he chooses to forgo that rental income in favor of renting it to himself. The lost rents are part of the opportunity cost of his production. The economic definition of profits re quires that we value all inputs at their opportunity costs.† When firms are making profits in an industry, the industry becomes attractive to prospective investors. The costs of firms should include all costs incurred at their market price. This market price is the opportunity cost. â€Å"After all, the cost curve is supposed to include the cost of all factors necessary to produce output, measured at their market

The impact of culture differences on advertising Essay

The impact of culture differences on advertising - Essay Example Different cultures have different requirements, which are catered to by the advertisers at the time of creating marketing strategies. This study also analyses how religion and celebrity endorsements influence advertising. With the examination of cases involving Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and cosmetic brands, some strategic tools will be suggested that may be helpful for creating effective advertising strategies and which could allow culture to have a positive impact on advertising. The conclusion will include the limitations of this study and suggestions for future research. With globalisation, societies across the world are experiencing increasing cultural diversity. Undoubtedly, globalisation has affected every aspect of human life – cultural, social, or corporate. However, while this has brought about the generalisation of the customs and values of a global society, it has also opened the doors for great concerns. The field of advertising is one such example that has been influenced both positively and negatively. International marketers and advertisers have to carefully target their strategies towards certain ethnic communities, which can involve deep emotions and controversies at times. According to Hofstede (2010), â€Å"Culture is defined as the collective mental programming of the human mind which distinguishes one group of people from another.† Hofstede further stated that cultural differences between nations are observed at the deepest level, i.e. the level of values. Advertisers, as organisations, are classified at the level of their practices; these practices, according to Hofstede (ibid), are more tangible than values. The Cultural Dimension Theory by Hofstede is basically an outline for cross-cultural communication. It effectively shows the relationship of the culture of a particular community / society to its members (Hofstede, 1980). The behaviour of the members of a society are directly associated with

Regular basis Essay Example for Free

Regular basis Essay The new four day work week is causing frenzy in the corporate world as more employees are writing proposals for a compressed work week. The advantages of this short, long-hour work week is the security of a full-time income in a fewer days of the week. Professionals with families and other social responsibilities are finding these advantages a great way to add more fulfilling events in their lives. The advancement of technology has allowed many professionals to remain home to complete majority of their assignments while shortening their commute to work on a regular basis. The advantage of a short week also gives professionals an opportunity to recuperate every other day instead of prolonged work hours as a regular 40-hour week. With these great opportunities comes more responsibilities including increased workload in less days, increased hours per work day, and childcare expenses to cover additional work hours in the four day week. The increased workload comes from the additional hours added into one work day versus the consistent 8-hour day many professionals work now. In reality, today’s professionals work approximately 50-60 hours a week anyway. A compressed work week could turn into 13-14 hour work days if they are not careful. The prolonged working schedules can increase the employee’s likeliness of high-stress, burnout, and fatigue from constant demands. Some professionals feel these advantages outweigh the disadvantages of the four day week. The impact of this opportunity affects the professional more than anyone. Employers must think of the workloads they are offering their employees, but the responsibilities to make those decisions are primarily up to the professional. The needs of freedom and consistency means there is a price to pay for the work completed by many professionals. Professionals driven by the four day work week could offer employer’s an opportunity to recuperate from a rigorous schedule too.

Strategic Management Report For The Campbell Soup Company Marketing Essay

Strategic Management Report For The Campbell Soup Company Marketing Essay 1.0 Introduction The report discusses the application of strategic process and stages such as strategic analysis; strategic formulation, and strategic implementation in the food processing industry. The company chosen is Campbell Soup Company. 2.0 The Campbell Soup Company Profile Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high quality, branded convenience food products. The company profile and its position within food processing industry are discussed at appendix 1. 3.0- Strategic Analysis External Analysis- Scanning Competitive Environment Conducting an external analysis to scan the company competitive environment which focused on predicting the dynamics of competitors actions, responses and intention, can help a business in understanding the dynamics of its industries and markets in order to compete effectively with its rivals in the marketplace. (Henry, 2008) 3.1.0-Porter 5 Forces Model Porters Five Basic Competitive Forces (1996) analysis which deals with microenvironment and related to the competitiveness of an industry has been conducted to find out five featured competitiveness existing in food processing industry. The factors that are considered in this model are according to the analysis of The Campbell Soup Company. Figure 1. Porters 5 Forces http://student.dcu.ie/~slejhad2/pics/porter.jpg 3.1.1-Competitive Rivalry within Food Processing Industry The rivalry among companies in the food processing industry is high and intense. These food processing companies are competing on price, quality, taste, health factors, product innovation, and product benefits (The Food Processing Industry 2006). Campbells major rivals are General Millis Progresso, Heinz and Kraft Foods. As a multinational food processing company, Campbells faces an extremely competitive market in internationally, nationally and locally due to the similarities between each soup producer and wider selection of products provided by other food processing company. (Ellison, Sarah 2003) On the other hand, various types of generic soup brands in the existing market which offer products in lower price have raised the competitive pressure. However, the Campbells high quality of soup products and the ability to keep low production costs weaken the rivalry of the generic soup brands. For instance, Campbells price their soup products only 20 to 25% higher than generic brands while maintaining a level high quality. Campbells would have to continue developing superior healthy food to distinguish itself from Progresso and smaller soup maker companies. 3.1.2 Threat of New Entrants The threat of entry depends on the presence of entry barriers and the presence of new entrants to a food processing industry typically bring to it new capacity and the want to gain market share. (Wheelen Hunger J.D 2007) Campbells major rival- Kraft foods and General Mills, create high entry barriers in food processing industry through their high levels of advertising and promotion. Besides, the intense competition in the food processing industry makes it hard to access in the market. Smaller food processing companies often have difficulty obtaining supermarket shelf space for their products as large retailers charge for space on their shelves and give priority to the established companies who can pay for the advertising needed to generate high customer demand. According to Ghemawat Collis (2001), the economy is a major factor as if the company wants to be a part in this food processing industry it must be able to face high costs for strong competition. Moreover, the slow market growth rate for the food processing industry causes acquisition between companies, resulted the barriers to entry are high with so many food processing companies and little to zero capacity remaining for any more companies. 3.1.3-The Threat of Substitutes Products The rivalry from firms of other industries which offer substitute products is intense as they are producing, supplying and serving the same food products that the food processing companies are. For example, Dunkin Donuts is in the foodservice industry and Campbell Soup Company is in the food processing industry, yet Dunkin Donuts serves soup and Campbell Soup sells soup. Consumers can still go to Dunkin Donuts and acquire the similar soups that Campbell sells. (Wall Street Journal 2003) 3.1.4- Bargaining power of buyers Consumers affect the food processing industry through their ability to force down prices, bargain for higher products quality and services, and play competitors against each other. The bargaining power of buyers is high as there are huge tendency of new entrance with new and variety of products. Besides, consumers prefer choosing products which offer lower prices. For example, Campbells soup products price is relatively 20 to 25% higher than generic brands in grocery stores, hence some consumers would choose generic brand products in the market rather than Campbells. Besides, the profitability obtained by the company is also determined by consumers. Food processing companies would be forced to lower prices if consumers think that the prices are too expensive as consumers tend to stop buying their products or switch to supplements. 3.1.5- Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers can affect the food processing industry through their ability to raise prices or reduce the quality of purchased goods and services. In case quality products the suppliers face an important factor. Due to the inflation the overall price of materials has been significantly increased. Campbell has always purchased high quality ingredients produced from local farmers. In 2006, Campbell launched Campbells Supplier Diversity Program to grow its diverse supplier base and to ensure that the supplier base better reflects the markets served. In 2007 the Campbells goal to spend with diverse suppliers was $121 million, but the actual spend with diverse suppliers was $129 million. (Campbells CSR 2008) So for Campbells, there is a cost exists to get the reliable supplier. There is a tendency the world nowadays makes a backward integration and wants to minimize the cost of suppliers. 3.2.0- Swot Analysis A swot analysis allows the Campbell Soup Company to determine the extent of the strategic fit between its capabilities and the needs of its external environment. According to Henry(2008), the company can seek to match its strengths and weaknesses to the opportunities and treats it faces in current competitive food processing industry. The Campbells products portfolio includes soups, sauces, biscuits and chocolates and has a strong research function with high capabilities in new products development. 3.2.1-Internal Analysis-Strengths Innovative Campbell has always applied the spirit of innovation in every aspect of its business. At Campbells manufacturing plants in Napoleon, Ohio, and Paris, Texas, an innovative method called overland flow is used to treat wastewater. In terms of products introduction, the company has been consistently quick to come up with new products in the market. For example, the first portable soup product, Soup at Hand, the new microwaveable products such as Chunky and Select. Besides, Campbell frequent updates the products appearance with more contemporary design and new photography. Its popular gravity fed shelving system have been installed at 24,000 retailers nationally and credited for rejuvenating the soup aisle, expanding the category and vastly improving the shopping experience. Campbell is innovative to gauge consumer satisfaction and expectation. (Campbells Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2008) 3.2.2-Weaknesses Declining Market Share The Campbells market share in soup drop from 60% in 2007 to 49% as of October 2009. This is due to more and more private labels continue to enter the market by providing quality products in lower price. Some consumers have switched to try private labels and resulted private labels have gained 11%of the market share. On the other hand, Campbell has also faced stiff competition from brands such as General Mills Progresso and Nestle. (Campbell Soup Co Form 10-Q Quartery Report 2010) 3.2.3-External Analysis-Opportunities Demand for Wellness Products In recent years, the trend towards being more health-conscious has arisen from two main consumer groups. The younger generations currently focus more on low calorie content and on the go meals. For the more mature age group, their diets require health-consciousness in terms of limiting their sodium intake due to increased risk of ailments. Campbells Soups core product categories, notably soup and bakery products, are widely perceived as healthy and are compatible with the further development of health-oriented products, such as the existing and expanding line of Select Harvest and Healthy Request soups. In conjunction with the product improvement, Campbell has announced to expand its industry-leading sodium reduction program and to reduce the sodium content in 23 of its condensed soups by up to 45 percent in fiscal 2011.(Campbell Growth Plans for U.S 2010) 3.2.4-Threats Intense Competition Campbells main profitable core soup category has been facing intense competition and also been losing market share to its strong competitors, particularly General Mills Progresso and private label brands produced by companies such as Wal-Mart. Moreover, Campbells other segments have not produced consistent profits. According to Wolpert (2002), shifting consumer habits and preferences indicate the need to constantly innovate their products and minimize costs, in order to retain loyal consumers and keep up with the fast-changing consumer environment Extensive Laws The company is governed by a multitude of local and international laws and regulations with regards to food safety and environmental standards. For instance, in accordance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, Campbells food products must be inspected before they can be marketed. The company faces the risk of fines, injunctions, recalls or asset seizures, and criminal sanctions if it violates these laws and regulations. ( Campbells CSR 2008) 3.3.0- Benchmarking Campbell understands the importance of using benchmarking to evaluate performance. Hence, the company analyzed few top companies which mainly involved in food and beverage processing manufacturing company in a few aspects such as sustainability, supply chain, consumers, community and workplace. Moreover, Campbell have also highlighted the primary ways that companies are implementing their goals as well as select initiatives and key past achievements. In terms of community, Campbells have chosen to focus on nutritional and environmental programs by partnering with nonprofit organizations, universities and Think Tanks to conduct RD for new products. Besides, it also partnered with environmental experts to develop innovative solutions to protect the environment. For instance, Nestle has been launching malnutrition and obesity programs targeting children and adolescents of lower-income families while General Mills has been contributing 5% of pretax profits to charitable causes. The Campbells benchmarked the best practices by promoting nutritional and hunger elimination programs. Besides, Campbells also promote micronutrient products to attend lower income families and develop environmental initiatives. (Campbells Annual Report 2009) In terms of workplace related programs, Nestle, Coca Cola, Pepsi.co, General Mills, have done excellent job. For instance, Pepsi CO has been providing job opportunities for people with disabilities while General Mills, the company has reduced lost-time injury rate by 25% over five years. Hence, Campbell benchmarked and developed workplace programs by focusing four key areas: Ensuring diversity of the workforce thereby bringing a broad range of talents and perspectives to the business Helping employees achieve both personal and professional development Ensuring the health and safety of employees both at home and at work Ensuring that employees have a fair work environment Campbells strived for an injury-free workplace through a strong health and safety program supported by high employee engagement. They train their employees to conduct their activities in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. (Campbells CSR 2008) 4.0 Strategy Formulation For Campbells to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in food processing industry, strategy formulation which derived from the objective and mission is undertaken. Porter (1980) argues that competitive strategy is about developing a defendable position in an industry which enables a firm to deal with the five competitive forces and thus generate a superior return on investment for the film. 4.1 Business Level Strategy-Differentiation To achieve superior value that is recognized by the consumer, Campbells needs to provide unique and superior value to the customers in terms of its products quality and value added up services. It is appropriate to relate differentiation strategy to the Campbells Soup Company as the companys goal is very straight forward, which is Together we will build the worlds most extraordinary food company by nourishing peoples lives everywhere, every day. Campbell has always focused on providing superior, healthy and nutrition food by expanding their icon brands in simple meals (especially soup). The Campbells latest plans are to enhance more than 60 percent of its condensed line with product improvements, further sodium reduction, more contemporary packaging, improved shelving systems and new marketing aimed at the simple meals category. ( Campbell Growth Plan 2010) Nowadays there are increasing numbers of consumers who are very concerned with nutritional values of foods they eat. The Campbells Soup Company which is having superior research abilities has been taking advantage of this avenue and further develops this product line. According to Douglas R. Conant, Campbells President and CEO, Campbell is going to fire up the important condensed soup business and step up the competitive posture of their ready-to-serve products. (Campbells 2009 annual report) The improvements and innovations of Campbells has made over the past several years has made Campbell outwit most of its rivals in the condensed soup category. Low-sodium products are pivotal to Campbells long term success as the majority of Campbells consumer base is  baby boomers. The majority of baby boomers diets are comprised of low sodium. A recent study shown that high cholesterol, attributed to high levels of sodium intake, is the number one diagnosed health condition for the baby boomer generation.  The condensed soups have one of the highest sodium contents of all processed foods in existing market. Therefore Campbells low-sodium products have differentiated themselves with many rivals. Besides sodium, Campbells also has to focus on other aspects such as MSG and low calories of its soups by hoping that these healthier offerings will help gain market share among younger, more health conscious consumers. (Campbell CSR Report 2008) Besides, Campbell understands that creating a quality product begins with quality ingredients. Campbell purchases most of the ingredients from domestic farmers in countries where they manufacture products and also obtain certain ingredients from carefully selected suppliers around the world. Any ingredient that does not meet the quality requirements will not be used in a Campbell product to ensure superior product quality. On the other hand, providing value-added services help Campbells to outwit its existing rivals. Campbell continually experiments with new programs to provide consumers with useful information on meal ideas, health and wellness, and other tips. For example, each day their Campbell Meal-mail program delivers nearly 500,000 recipes electronically to busy Americans who are hungry for convenient, great-tasting meal ideas that will please their families. Consumers can access the Campbells Kitchen website at any time to download recipe ideas that have been tested and approved by Campbells nutritionists. Consumers also have the opportunity to share their ideas and comments on recipes with one another on the Campbells Kitchen website. ( Campbellsoupcompany.com) It is suggested that the Campbell Soup Company to improve the flavour of its soup products to attract more demand. Besides, Campbell can try to create more contemporary design for its existing soup products instead of the familiar red and white colour design in order to stand out from various types of products in the market. 4.2 Corporate Level Strategy-Diversification The corporate level strategy of The Campbell Soup Company deals with three key issues: i) The firms overall orientation toward growth, stability, and retrenchment. ii) The market in which the company competes through its products and business units iii) The manner in which management coordinate activities and transfer resources and cultivates capabilities among product lines and business units The Campbells operates with four products divisions and has expanded its product to microwavable soups to make customers more convenient for preparing soup without container. (Campbells annual report 2009) Obviously, the Campbell Soup Company, which is a decentralized company, has been using a related diversification multiproduct strategy. Its strategy is to diversify its business to produce several products, and expanding its market share. Campbell used its engineering support and diversified production to support customers with convenient, good taste and quality food. To support its operating system, department such as Research Development (RD), product development, engineering systems, are required to produce high quality and stable operating system to avoid the unexpected shut down. Campbell has tried to use unrelated diversification strategy under the leadership of McGovern as Campbells CEO with the aim of rapidly expand product line to increase profits and revenue. Campbell has tried to acquire other firms to quickly gain access to new products and new markets. Instead of acquiring only food products, Campbell began to use the unrelated diversification strategy to acquire firms that it felt were positioned to capitalize on the consumers trend and also bought firms involved in all types of business. For example, the triangle Manufacturing Company, a fitness products maker, which is clearly unrelated to the firms core products. (Ireland, Hoskisson Michael 2006) A major reason for Campbells failure to generate financial economies while using the unrelated diversification strategy is that the firms approach to managing its core products divisions never changed. At the same time, corporate headquarters personnel didnt implement the strong financial controls necessary to efficiently manage an internal capital market. David Johnson who replaced McGovern decided that Campbell should not longer use the diversification strategy but to reduce the level of diversification by using related constrained strategy to create value through operational relatedness. Campbells related constrained diversification strategy involves transferring core competencies which lead to competitive advantage and start with value chain analysis to identify ability to transfer skills or expertise among similar value chains and on the hand, to exploit ability to transfer activities. Campbell should enhance more than 60 percent of its condensed line and be more committed to ac celerate the performance of their existing portfolio, most notably in U.S. soup, and continuing to lay the foundation for superior long-term growth. (Campbell Growth Plan 2010) 4.2.1 External Acquisitions and Partnerships Through value-creating external development, Campbells is able to increase its market presence throughout its product lines. For instance, Campbells Baking and Snacking segment is positioned to grow due to the companys recent acquisition of Ecce Panis, a manufacturer of artisan breads. This acquisition allows Campbells to enter into the thriving artisan bread market. With the ever growing foreign population in America, it is suggested that Campbells should consider products that have more of the ethnic background of these immigrants. The brand could quite possibly extend the depth of the line with consideration to the vast number of different tastes in the society today. 5.0- Strategy Implementation A clear mission statement helps in providing focus to an organization and is essential for effectively establishing objective and formulating strategies. (Haberberg and Rieple 2001) In order for the Campbell to proceed into a future where competition is highly competitive, they need to define who and what they truly are, their concerns, their philosophies, and what gives them the competitive advantage over their competitors. This must be clear throughout all areas and divisions, at all levels in the company, in order for the implementation of the mission statement to be successful.   The Campbells strategy implementation includes designing the organizations structure, allocating resources, developing information and decision process, and managing human resources, including such areas as the reward system, approaches to leadership, and staffing. According to Wheelen and Hunger (2007), the strategy implementation process includes the various management activities that are necessary to put strategy in motion, institute strategic controls that monitor progress, and ultimately achieve organizational goals. 5.1- Management Issue Restructuring In food processing industry one year is relatively indiscernible from the next from a macroeconomic point of view. Campbells corporate strategy and the companys management structure have undergone several restructuring since 1980. On April 28, 2008, the company announced a series of initiatives to improve operational efficiency and long-term profitability, including selling certain salty snack food brands and assets in Australia, closing certain production facilities in Australia and Canada, and streamlining the companys management structure. As a result of these initiatives, in 2008, the company recorded a restructuring charge of $175 millions. The charge consisted of a net loss on the sale of certain Australian salty snack food brands and assets, employee severance and benefit costs, including the estimated impact of curtailment and other pension charges, and property, plant and equipment impairment charges. The cost of restructuring activity is shown at Appendix 2 Workforce Diversification The Campbell strive to uphold their promise of Campbell Valuing People, People Valuing Campbell by providing employees with the resources required to do their jobs well; competitive compensation and benefits; the opportunity to learn; and grow through their work. At present, the Campbells Board of Directors consists of 14 independent members and one company executive, the CEO, Doug Conant. Board operations are managed by an independent, non-executive Chairman. The Board believes that diversity in the backgrounds and perspectives of their directors contributes to sound corporate governance. Currently, three of their directors are women, one director is from India and one director is African-American. The Campbells Board of Directors is shown at Appendix 3. The CEO believes that workforce diversity is essential to be a mainstay within the company overall strategic objectives. Hence, Campbells is committed to attract a diverse group of talented employees and providing all their associates with development opportunities and a culture in which they can flourish and provide their employees with career development and quality-of life enhancements that make Campbell a special place to work. Campbells diversity and inclusion strategy is focused on five specific goals: -Firmly establishing leadership support and accountability -Linking diversity and inclusion to performance management -Integrating diversity and inclusion into talent management -Building diversity and inclusion into business practices. -Educating and training to advance diversity and inclusion ( Campbell Annual report 2009) The directors receive annual fees equal to the median directors compensation paid by peer food and consumer products companies. Approximately 50 percent of each directors fee is paid in cash and 50 percent is paid in common stock. Director stock ownership requirements have existed at Campbell since 1993. Currently, the directors beneficially own more than 44 percent of the companys common stock. (Carlin, M Harris R 2008) Though the Campbells has successfully implemented workforce diversification strategy, it is recommended that the company offers stock options to their rank-and-file employees too. By offering employee stock options, workers are given the chance to buy shares in their company at a specified price. The grant or strike price, should be pegged to the value of the stock when it is offered to employees. Employees have the option of buying the stock at a set price then selling it after a period of time. Employee Engagement The Campbell believes that employees will feel most valued when they are fully informed, understand the companys business goals and plans and are invited to offer their feedback on a regular basis. In 2007 and 2008, Campbell was recognized by Gallup as one of the Best Places to Work in America. The company believes that its work environment has contributed to their relatively stable retention rate and their improved marketplace performance. (www.euroinvestor.co.uk) Campbell conducts annual employee survey to develop work group action plans, empower individual employees to improve the workplace and to strengthen the companys business practices. 5.2 Marketing Issues The Campbells understands that successful marketing implementation is affected by marketing variables. 5.2.1 Market Segment The companys 2009 financial reports segment their business into four key categories: US Soup, Sauces and Beverages, Baking and Snacking, International Soup, Sauces and Beverages, and North American Foodservice. With sales approximating $3.8 million, US Soup, Sauces and Beverages accounted for approximately half of the sales in FY 2009 and drove the bulk of profits for the company. Core brands like Campbells, V8, Swanson and Prego delivered a combined 4% growth through a combination of innovation, consumer trade downs, and improved distribution channels.( Appendix 2) 5.2.2 Marketing Strategies Product The Campbells positioning is providing healthy and nourishing products within the product line. The product line width come in many different options. This being said, the depth of the product line is in fact the largest. Each product comes in a multitude of different sizes and flavours. The brand offers adequate products for the consumers. In addition to the size and flavours, the packaging is well organized for that of single or multiple item purchasing. The packaging also achieves an accurate perception in the consumers mind. They use well known athletes to convey the message of health to the consumer. Price The pricing of the products within the brand name are consistent with that of the positioning. They provide the perception that to eat healthy the consumer should not have to pay more. The Campbells brand is typically priced at twenty cents above that of their major competitors. This is the act of swaying the consumers mind to the perception that Campbells is of a higher quality than the competitors. While operating in an elastic market, Campbells employs special event promotional pricing strategies in order to remain competitive. The company also offers discounted pricing on certain seasonal items and during holidays. In addition to these promotional strategies, they employ the odd even strategies to convey the message that their brand is that of higher quality. Distribution Campbells brand is distributed intensively throughout all geographic locations within the United States and many foreign countries. In the distribution process, Campbells deals with wholesalers and retailers thus creating the supply channel. This is a very profitable concept as long as the lines of communication remain opened. Catalog marketing is also another form of distribution that is employed. This is easily achieved due the fact that the shelf life of the products is long. The products are very easily purchased at any marketplace at any given region of the US. Promotion In using the most recent athletic figures in their advertisements, they are successful in maintaining their position of health. In the use of the retailers to help marketing, they are employing the cooperative advertising technique. This helps to advertise their products from numerous different angles. The effectiveness of the  marketing  strategies  employed by Campbells has made them recognized as the premium brand within their product lines. In comparison to the competition, Campbells focuses a great deal on interacting with the public with such efforts as sweepstakes and giveaways and also education. Their public relation efforts have ranked them as one of the most society conscious brands in the business. 6.0 Conclusion A strategic analysis is most applicable to strategic management at the business unit level of large multinational firm such as Campbell Soup Company. At the strategic analysis stage, internal and external environmental scanning by using Porters 5 forces model and Swot analysis are conducted. Besides, benchmarking is used to evaluate performances. Strategy formulation which derived from the Campbells objective and mission is undertaken to outline the business level and corporate level strategies. Strategy at business level deals with which market the company chooses to compete while strategy at the corporate level is more concerned with managing the portfolio of business. The final strategy implementation stage includes the management issues, staffing and marketing variables which can influence the profit margin of the company. ( 4498 words) Prepared by _______________ ( NG LIN JIA) List of References 1. Campbell Soup Company, About Us, online, retrieved 2 March 2010, http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/about_us.asp 2. Henry, A 2008, Understanding Strategic Management, Oxford University Press, New York United States 3. Porter, M. E. (1996) What is Strategy,  Harvard Business Review, 74 (6):61-78 4. Food Processing Industry,2006, retrieved 6 March 2010, http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/documentstorage/com.tms.cms.document.Document_7674150a-c0a81573-2d952d95-c9439446/Chap%2019.pdf 5. Wheelen T.L, Hunger J.D, Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy, 2007, tenth edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, United States of America 6. Ghemawat, P., Collis, D., Pisano, G. and Rivkin, J. (2001) Strategy and the Business Landscape: Core Concepts, Upper S

Fragile Families Essay -- Article Review, Family Policy

Fragile Families: Articles and How They Contribute to Family Policy This paper will review two articles pertaining to â€Å"fragile families† and assess how they help contribute to family policy. â€Å"Fragile families† are very pertinent to the core of family policy. In the 1990’s the term â€Å"fragile families† originated out of a need to describe families not fitting into the traditional married – unmarried couples with children (McLanahan, Garfinkel, Mincy, & Donahue, 2010). Over a 60 year period non-marital births of children increased significantly. In 1940, 4% of children born were to non-married parents. However, by 2007 this number reached a high of 40%. These families can be compromised of cohabitating couples, non-cohabitating couples, or single mothers (Kalil & Ryan, 2010). They are deemed â€Å"fragile† because they are more likely to experience difficulties economically and relationship wise. They tend to be more impoverished, experience material hardship, and have absent fathers. More importa ntly fragile families are of great concern because they often lack stability as a family unit. Yet, fragile families have become one of the new family types and seem to be a permanent structure steadily on the rise. Bogenschneider (2006) stated that one of the main underlying issues of the family policy debate is the conflicting ideas of families (types). These conflicts are evident when you look at the 3 perspectives with regard to family policy: Concerned, Sanguine, and Impatient. This is why there has been increased focus on this new type of family. One of the issues that need be assessed with regard to fragile families is mothers’ economic conditions and their support systems. (McLanahan et al., 2010). Kalil and Ryan (2010), discuss mot... ... Craigie, and Gunn, 2010). Second, address factors that place the child at risk such as a lack of parent involvement. Third, directly address children’s risk through early child hood education amongst other things. There are also policy changes that can be implemented with regard to mothers’ economic plights and the resources available to them. There should be a strengthening of community based programs that aid mothers and a focus on them working efficiently (Kalil & Ryan, 2010). Safety nets provided in the form of things such as food stamps need to be strengthened as well. Policies should support these resources and have an ultimate goal of economic self sufficiency for mothers in fragile families. The issues presented allow policy makers to be well informed of the possible risks associate with fragile families and the issues they face, especially economically.

Student Loan Debt Should be Forgiven Essay examples -- Student Loan De

Does the amount of student loan debt have an effect on the economy? If so would forgiving student loan debt help lower the national debt or would it just increase it? According to Mary Claire Fischer, a writer for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, â€Å"two-thirds of students who receive bachelor’s degrees leave college with an average debt of twenty-six thousand dollars† (Fischer). This means that the average student debt has doubled since 2007 (Ross 24). The total student loan debt is $1.2 trillion with $1 trillion being from federal student loans (Denhart). This debt accounts for six percent of our nation’s $16.7 trillion debt (Denhart). Since student loan debt is such a big part of the national debt, if the student defaults on their loan then the United States tax payer has to carry the burden of the loan (Denhart). Students who are graduating with debt do have a couple of different options that they can choose from. There is a six month grace period after graduation to allow the student time to find a job and programs to try to help eliminate debt. â€Å"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that one-fourth of the American workforce may be eligible for repayment or loan forgiveness programs† (Atteberry n.p.). The problem with these programs however, is that they are hard to get into and stick with. Some of these programs that are options for students may require that student to move to another city or even another country. This option would work well for someone who is able to move, but what about someone who cannot leave where they currently live. These graduates may not want to leave because of family for example. Another problem with these programs is that the student with loan debt must fully comp... ... Emily. â€Å"Student Loan Forgiveness: What you Don’t Know (but Should).† USA Today. 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. Denhart, Chris. â€Å"How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis is Crippling Students, Parents, and the Economy.† Forbes. 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. Fischer, Mary Claire. â€Å"Student Loan Forgiveness: What to Know.† MSN. 9 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2015 Morici, Peter. â€Å"Forgiving College Debt Won’t Help Students.† CNBC. 14 May 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. Pisani, Joseph. â€Å"A Guide to Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Options.† Huffington Post. 26 Sept. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015. Ross, Andrew. â€Å"Mortgaging the Future: Student Debt in the Age of Austerity.† New Labor Forum (Sage Publications Inc.) 22.1 (2013): 23-28. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Mar. 2015 Webly, Kayla. â€Å"Is Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Good Idea?.† TIME. 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Luna Pen Case Writeup

Report on Luna Pen case PA major 0420830 Lee Joo-Hyun Q1. If you were in Erika’s position, what steps might give you the best chance of achieving your goals? First of all, I think it’s rather dangerous to prepare negotiation plan solely based on stereotype of specific race/nationality. But still it’s foolish to ignore cultural difference. Since negotiation counterpart Feng is not from mainland China but from Taiwan, I believe there would be little or no disadvantage of Erika being female.But in case DGG is planning a bigger picture (for example, sharing distribution system of Global Service in Asia region) than just resolving trademark right issue, I think it is better to consider the fact Taiwanese regard Guan-Xi (relationship) as important aspect in terms of long term, friendly relationship. Therefore it would probably be a good idea to prepare a male represent with similar position to Erika along with her. Secondly Erika needs to gather more information about the counterpart; Feng and Global Service.After all, negotiation process is to find compromise or creative option between my constraint conditions/needs and their constraint conditions/needs. I’ll discuss about it more in following Question #2. Thirdly, Erika needs to build up negotiation plan. She need to determine what DGG intend to/should earn and how far DGG can back down. After defining goals & constraints (or setting Maginot Line), assuming the worst case scenario is also important step.In this case, the worst case possible could be something like this; â€Å"Feng & Global Service refuses to negotiate, pointing out that DGG abandoned and stop making product under the name of Luna. Thus DGG is left with no other choice but to file an uncertain lawsuit which would be both time consuming and costly. † To prevent this from happening, it would be unwise to start the first contact with firm stand like writing Feng that his company must cease its unauthorized use of he L una name, and that DGG is prepared to file lawsuit if necessary. Instead, I think it’s better to mention that DGG is aware of the fact that Luna pen is selling well under the marketing and distribution power of Feng and Global Service and DGG is more than willing to negotiate about the usage of Luna name. Q2. What further information might you need before contacting Feng; and how might you realistically obtain it? First of all, DGG need to figure out brand value (or brand power) of Luna by doing brief market research.By doing so, DGG can tell how much the brand power affected the total sale of Feng’s Luna pen and use it as a sharable standard in negotiation. I believe this data can be obtained rather simply. All DGG have to do is to run series of survey to group of customers, asking their willingness to pay for given pen with/without brand name Luna. Secondly, it would be a good idea to find potential buyers that are willing to buy the trademark Luna. The information o f potential buyers could later be used as a mean to pressure Feng and Global Service if necessary.Since selling Luna brand would not harm DGG, by contacting company in pen making business, DGG can obtain information of potential buyers while spreading news that DGG is trying to sell Luna name as well. And as a last resort, DGG should investigate the legal position of DGG in this case. (Especially in terms of Taiwanese court) If DGG files a lawsuit, what are the odd of winning the case, how long will it take, and how much is the estimated cost of lawsuit?The answers to these questions are key factors to decide whether to file a lawsuit or not. If odds are against DGG, it will be more reasonable to approach this negotiation in more cooperative, soft stand. On the other hand, if the odds are in favor of DGG, DGG can use lawsuit both as leverage to pressure Feng and last resort to settle this matter. Such data can be obtained via corporate legal department.