The Restaurant Industry Today Marketing Essay

The Restaurant Industry Today Marketing Essay Restaurants are one of the most highly regulated businesses today. The nature of the project is starting a new Asian restaurant in North West London. We decided to open the new restaurant in Wembley central. According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record $537 billion in 2007 and they have estimated that there are approximately 935,000 restaurant-and-food service centres. Firstly we need to do first business plan in order to open a new restaurant. Project objectives Opening up a new Restaurant in Wembley central area will meet the following set of objectives: Achievement of companys objective which includes maximisation of shareholders wealth. Fulfil its growth organically. Accomplishing customers requirement such as easy access to our stores and good customer services. Industry Analysis Although the restaurant industry is very competitive and as the number of people have less time, resources, and ability to cook for them it is important that the restaurant is well positioned for the current interest and people get healthier foods at moderate to low prices. The Restaurant Industry Today The food service business is one of the third largest industries in the country. It accounts for more than $240 billion sales annually. The independent restaurant accounts for 15% of that total. According to a survey the average American spends 15% of his/her income on meals eating away from home. This number has been increasing for the past seven years. In the last five years the restaurant industry has out-performed the national GNP by more than 40%.Due to the change in people lifestyles, economic climate, and due to the increase in the variety of products there are more than 600 restaurants opening every month and over 200 more needed to keep pace with increasing demand. Future Trends Strategic Opportunities The predicated expansion movement is very positive both in short and long-term projections. Folkney states again that as modern living creates more demands, people will be forced to eat more meals away from home. According to the DMR Industrial Report (April 1995) estimates this as high as 30% over the next five years. According to the National Restaurant organization (1998) released that how the Foodservice industry might look in the year 2000. Some highlights from the panels findings are as follows: Consumers will spend a superior quantity of their food dollar away from home. Independent operator and entrepreneurs will be the main source of new eating place concept. Food concern will be critical at all types of foodservice operations, and food flavour will be of greater significance. Ecological concerns will receive increased interest. Feasibility Study Financial Feasibility A Financial Feasibility study is an estimation of the financial aspects of something. This project has been assessed in terms of its financial feasibility and it feasibility in terms of cost and benefit analysis. The benefit that can be derived from this project and will outweighs it initial cost. Taking into account performance of restaurant with similar size in Wembley area, I have used those performances as to project the expected cash flows where on average they both produce  £10,000 per week. Operational Feasibility I recommend that this restaurant will be able to achieved these targeted payback period of five months to make back the initial investment. This analysis has been shown below: Revenue per month:  £78,350/5 =  £15,670 Revenue per staff per operating hours:  £78,350/ (10*8) =  £980 as part of company training policy, all staff will be well trained to deliver excellent customer service standard. Revenue per week:  £15,670/5 = £3,134 Social and Environment Feasibility I have undertaken a market a market research and environment scanning to ascertain whether there will be interest on our restaurant, what is the demographic settlement like in terms of food. My study indicated that most people will like our food because we will provide different kind of variety. Timescale In order to open a restaurant, we need to prepare business plan first. It will take around 1 month. About finding location and finding restaurant name will take 1 month. Finance the business will take 2 month because sometimes it takes time. Installation of electricity and equipment will take also 1 to 2 month. And last we need to obtain business licence. Task-1.2 SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is a tactical preparation process used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the purpose of the business course or project and identifies the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable for achieving the business objective. Strengths Brand equity The Restaurant location ( Wembley area ) Reliability of food Consumers choice at reasonable value and great service Cheaper price than others We have take-away option Different menu items Weakness Quality and taste of products Our restaurant is new and not established Our restaurant has poor disabled facilities Limited funds Opportunities A new office complex is being built near by A new housing development is planned Threats The high street brand is moving into the area A main competitor has lowered their prices Our operational costs are set to boost PEST Analysis A PEST analysis stands for Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis and describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Political Factors This relates to direct impact of political influences and it impacts our project. In the case of this project local council will support to our business because it will create jobs as well as optimize councils tax revenue. Especially creating job is a major priority for the national government so they will be in support of the project. And also there will be less political risk that will affect this project such as government rejection of the propose moved, increased in tax at present time in very unlikely. Economic Factors The general economic environment shows that spending level among some people individual will fall due to difficulty in gaining credit but most young people with relative disposable income can at least spend and these are the people we are targeting. Social Factors Social factors mainly include the educational aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. In this area I have undertaken a market research and environment scanning to ascertain whether there will be interest on our restaurant food. My study indicated that most people are Asian in Wembley area and will be interested in our Asian. . Technological Factors A technological factor includes the ecological and environmental aspects, such as RD activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. Here the impact of technological changes which we already possessed will help the company to gain competitive advantages such as e-commerce. Stakeholder Analysis A Stakeholder Analysis is a essential tool for identifying those people, groups and organisations that have significant and genuine interests in a specific urban issue. Clear understanding of the likely roles and contributions of the many different stakeholders is a original condition for a successful participatory urban Governance process, and stakeholder analysis is a basic tool for achieving this understanding. The Stakeholders are; Customers Suppliers Employees Shareholders Customers Each of the stakeholders will have different expectation of an organisation. They try to engage with customers. They provide sales information, monthly monitoring of views. Their customer question time meeting help to identify and respond to changing customers needs. Suppliers The relationship of interests between an organisation and its suppliers can be seen as very similar to that between the organisation and its customers, but reversed. They do regular visits, meeting and discussions with suppliers. They have direct relationships with important raw material suppliers. Suppliers stock the business with all its business supplies. Suppliers may want an increase in wages. Suppliers have an interest in ongoing and mutually beneficial business relationships, and they expect to be paid on time. Employees The Company try to engage with employees. They have many ways such as internal communications including an employee magazine and regular business updates. Employees many want an increase in pay rise. Staffs have a very big interest in the business in the form of wages, bonuses, discounts and holidays pensions. Employees interests may be seen as the assertion of certain rights deriving from what is seen to be acceptable in the way in which employees are treated within society. Shareholders The Company have shareholders. They do collection of feedback questions from individual shareholders. Shareholders are the owners of a company. Their only real involvement in the organisation will be at the Annual General Meeting, when they are called upon to approve, by a vote, the overall direction of the organisation and the senior management team responsible for achieving that direction. Oftentimes, the only difference between floating and drowning is the direction. Without the restaurant financial analysis, a restaurant may be face downwards without even knowing it. A restaurant financial analysis analyzes routine metrics such as profits and losses, cash flow, cost of sales and cost of labour. By assessing this data, operators can evaluate their finances and establish systems and structures to keep their restaurant a float. Restaurant financial analysis performance metrics Profits and losses Whether we are produced monthly or weekly, profit and loss statements give restaurant operators a broad overview of their sales history. But the information only becomes useful when broken down to reflect the cost of sales, cost of labour and other overhead costs. Restaurant financial analyses assess the profits and losses With a vital eye to settle on specific areas taht should be improved upon. . Cost of sales A restaurants cost of sales, sometimes referred to as cost of goods, is the sum of all expenses associated with producing the menu items. Should food costs be running at 20 percent or 40 percent? The answer can vary depending on A restaurants positioning (fast casual, casual or upscale) and menu mix. Restaurant financial analysis can help operator decide where their cost of sales should be by building academic food and beverage costs. Cost of labour Cost of labour is another donor to cost of sales. A fine line exists between overstaffing a Restaurant and scheduling enough employees to run a restaurant effectively. Sensible setting up and employee output are the best ways to control cost of labour. In addition, tools should be available to assess mid-shift needs. Many restaurateurs are unwilling to phase out employees in a timely fashion. Restaurant financial analysis can re-examine payroll reports, sales reports and customer counts to optimize Scheduling and productivity and decrease cost of labour. When to undergo restaurant financial analysis Opening a new restaurant When opening a restaurant, restaurateurs can make use of financial analysis to forecast their success. A restaurant financial consultant can sketch a five-year plan and financial forecast based on industry and division standards. Financial analysis can also be used to establish financial systems for a new restaurant. Wheels for cash handling, inventory, payroll and daily sales reconciliations should best established well in advance of a restaurant opening. By implementing these systems early in the game, a restaurant can effectively monitor them, giving it a greater chance of succeeding financially. Purchasing an existing restaurant Before the purchase of an existing eating place concept, restaurateurs should conduct financial analysis and feasibility studies to determine the productivity probable of the operation. This can be sketchy by evaluating pattern and trend in the restaurants past presentation and estimate the effect of probable changes. Running an operating restaurant Restaurant financial analysis is not just for new operations. Generally, it is most beneficial for restaurants already in operation. Whether a restaurant has been in business for a year or 20, financial analysis can help identify losses and hidden costs. That information will help establish proper financial systems or process existing ones to keep money from slipping through the crack. Who can perform a restaurant financial analysis? Restaurant financial analysis shouldnt be performed by just any financial consultant. It is best to work with consultants that specialize within the restaurant industry. The main goal of restaurant financial analysis is to help operator understand how their restaurant can become more profitable. A restaurant-specific consultant can explain the analysis course and their findings in terms that restaurant operators will know. A financial consultant will know the aim routine metrics for specific restaurant categories and the industry as a whole. They can provide guidance for the selection and performance of point-of-sale and accounting systems and show operators how to get best results from these systems. A financial consultant can help eating place operators build the necessary tools to pull and analyze their own financial reports. Eventually, financial analysis should be ongoing, becoming an everyday part of a restaurants thinking. Restaurant financial analysis doesnt just keep a restaurant floating, it helps their business fly. Task-1.3 Market Competitively and Activity This project will fit the business strategic of the restaurant because it will help gain competitive advantage, create new market for potential customers, gain market share in as well as responding to changes in business environment, increase profitability, establish local branch, obtaining new customers, expansion of business and improve companys image which could be achieved since there is an existing market gap which we can fill via Ansoffs matrix. Marketing Analysis shows that this project will make the business more competitive in the following ways: Demographic population: In west London area, the population is very high. There are many Asian restaurants available in the area. And the all restaurants provide good services and good food. Food variety: The social society will be interested in our food because we will provide variety in the food along with music. Market gap: the economic feasibility have highlighted that our competitors are doing well in these area. Industry Trends Studying industry trends is one of the first steps in conducting a market analysis. It will help you recognize opportunity and threats in the industry that may affect your productivity. Consider the following Food Service Industry 2000 Trends, reported by the National Restaurant Association: Consumers will spend a greater portion of their food dollars away from home; Competition in the food service industry will be more intense as growth continues; Major food service chains will increase their shares of both sales and units; Independent operators will be the main source of new restaurant concepts; Nutritional concerns will be critical at all types of food service operations; and Service will become a more important point of differentiation. Industry Tends Checklists: Growth in Industry Sales Quick-service vs. table-service Chain vs. Independent Types of restaurants (steakhouses, ethnic) Catering Deli, bakery and takeout operations Monthly/seasonal dining out patterns Industry sales outlook Market Demand Economic trends Consumer confidence Demographic trends Food away from home trends Factors that motivate one to dine out Eating habits of different market segments Menu Preferences Appetizers/soups Entrees Sandwiches Desserts Nutritional concerns Menu pricing Alcoholic beverage consumption Vegetarian trends Restaurant Success Factors New and popular concepts/themes Customer service innovations Pricing practices Food production methods Labour saving techniques Debt-to-Sales ratios and other statistics Legislative and Regulatory Issues Business meal tax deductibility Health insurance Wage and hour requirements Americans with Disabilities Act Competition:- This is restaurant in the area is very good because in this area almost Indian and mix people living. So restaurant is also provide verity of foods and dices serve. But in our restaurant totally different from other like blue ginger, Panther, Tikka world, Bombay bits etc .these all are our competitors but we provide best services, best food, best drinks so automatically our restaurant beet our restaurant . Competitive Strategy There are three major ways in which we will create an advantage over our competitors; product identity, quality, and novelty high employee motivation and good sales attitude Innovative and aggressive service options The restaurant will be the only restaurant among all the competition which focuses the entire menu on healthy, low-fat cooking. Each of the competitors offers at least one healthy selection on their menu. The target market will perceive the restaurant as the destination location for healthy, low-fat cooking. The main points are Pricing, Location, Reputation, Image/Brand, Choice/Variety, Service and Atmosphere. References www.essortment.com (12th June 2010 ) www.awib.org (12th June 2010 ) www.mplans.com (12th June 2010 ) www.virtualrestaurant.com (12th June 2010 ) http://www.bplans.co.uk/steak_buffet_restaurant_business_plan/financial_plan_fc.cfm (12th June 2010 Part 2 Task 2.1 Resources Materials: Rented property from an individual landlord in west London as a perfect location for the new restaurant to be open, this is critical factor in terms of visibility and easy access of the restaurant for our customers. Equipments: Different kinds of restaurant will require different kinds of equipment. Typically equipment needed to open a restaurant includes a service kitchen (oven, microwave, heat lamps, prep tables and dish washer, fryers, boilers, refrigerators (table, chairs, spoon, glasses and cash registers). Labour: Ten staff normal standard hours (8 hours per day) and contractors the fixed day of work for one month. Finance: Most banks and lenders require you to put some of your own money into the business and contrary to popular belief, they do lend money for businesses. The project financed can be source from long term borrowing from bank in Iceland of  £50,000 to finance the project deliverables. Cost Associated With Resources These are one-off capital cost required immediately to deliver project deliverables. Materials: property rent in west London area will requires a normal rental agreement with the landlord. A deposit of  £15,550 plus one months rent in advance including council tax will be require total  £32,350. Equipments: Kitchen equipment will cost  £10,000, boiler will cost  £2000, till and it maintenance will cost  £12000 and general things e.g. tables, chairs will coat  £8000. Labour: External contractors for refurbishment are expected at  £12,500 this will includes: electrician, refurbishing the restaurant and painting the restaurant. Sources of Finance The project financed can be source from long term borrowing from bank of  £78,350 to finance the project deliverables. They could be approach on the based that this project will recoup its initial investment within four months time; and that revenue generate can be used to pay of principal loan plus interest. Budget for the Project This project has been budgeted on the grounds of Zero based budgeting which involves identification of tasks to be performed and then funding resources to complete the task independent of current resourcing it ensure that resources are efficiently allocated. The project budgets have been made on this bases with each cost justify in terms of their usage in the project: Resources  £ Cost Rent 16,800 Total 16,800 Resources  £ Cost Deposite 15,550 Equipments 32,000 Labour 12,500 Miscellaneous expenses 1,500 Total 61,550 Cost Benefit Analysis Cost Benefit Analysis is classically used by governments to assess the attraction of a given interference; it is an analysis of the cost success of different alternative in order to see whether the benefits outweigh the costs. The aim is to gauge the competence of the involvement relative to the status quo. The costs and benefits of the impacts of interference are evaluated in terms of the publics willingness to pay for them (benefits) or willingness to pay to avoid them (costs). Inputs are typically measured in terms of opportunity costs the value in their best alternative use. The guide attitude is to list all of the parties affected by an intervention, and place a monetary value of the outcome it has on their benefit as it would be valued by them. Years 0 1 2 3 Present value 78,350 3,90,180 1,090,860 1,072,163 Probability 50% 50% 50% Certainty equivalent 1,95,090 5,45,430 5,36,082 D.F 9% 1.000 0.880 0.945 0.820 Present value (75,000) 1,71,679 5,15,431 4,39,587 NPV  £10,51,697 The project is viable because it will yields to shareholder wealth conception of about  £2.01 million in three years time. However incorporate rick to the cash flows using certainty equal, and for the fact that current economic climate in terms of expenses will affect all industries, I am certain that the 50% of the cash flows will be generate in each of the years. This is show below: One time investment Budget Overview    Sources of Funds Proposed Loan from Bank  £100,000 Uses of Funds Construction  £65,000 Walk-in Refrigerator  £10,000 Cooler for Beverages  £5,000 Stove oven  £5,000 Deep Fryer  £4,000 Two sinks for Kitchen  £1,000 Microwave  £500 Toaster  £100 Cash Register  £400 Furniture  £7,000 Dinnerware  £1,000 Pots and Pans  £1,000 Plan by Month or Period Most of the restaurants use a scheme of 12-month or 13 four-week periods to way their yearly accounts. By infringement the budget down into these types of sections, it is easier to see when money is moving in and out of the eating place. Anticipate Your Costs In the eating place, budget is often a game of evaluation costs and income. In fact, a budget is much like a profit and loss (PL) account extended over a longer period of time. Be set to account for the following costs in your yearly budget: Rent or mortgage payments Taxes Insurance Labour/payroll Utilities Loan payments Operational supplies Repairs and maintenance Marketing Training Food service professional recommend that you plan to spend about 30 percent of your budget on food, 25 percent on labour, 10 percent on rent or advance, and 3 percent on utilities.1 The rest goes in small part to operational charge, promotion, taxes, continuation and other patchy costs. These are purely sketchy plan to follow, as every restaurants payment and budget are different. Look below for a graphical image of these suggested expenditures: Know Your Breakeven Point The cope point is the volume of sale needed to cover all charge without making a profit. It is the bare least amount amount of sales the restaurant process needs to bring in to survive. It is central to know your restaurant breakeven point so that future monetary decisions can be made in hopes of making a reasonable profit. Analyze Your Financials Every Period Exploratory your PL and your budget on a weekly and monthly basis will help you keep your bases covered in terms of realize your payment and income. Appraise your budget operational payment and your actual expenses, as well as the net profit you expected and what your eating place actually made. Make a note of any areas in which your expenses exceed your budget amount. When budgeting for the year, especially if you are doing so for the first time, it helps to have a budget worksheet. Download a sample budget worksheet to your own back office computer. Cost of Goods Sold The cost of goods sold was strong-minded by taking actual Profit and Loss statement from various eating place concepts and then using our price structure and guest counts to arrive at costs. Management Payroll Figures are based upon the use of five managers per unit at our maximum bonus and salary levels. If we use four managers per restaurant, this will lower our payroll. Fixed and Variable Expenses The various fixed and variable expenses were determined by taking actual numbers from several different restaurant concepts. Marketing Fees These funds will be used for the production of various marketing materials. Advertising These funds will be used, if necessary, to maintain our sales at projected levels. If we are management appreciably ahead of our sales projection, then these funds may not be necessary. Management Fees We will use these pounds for accounting and payroll services of our firm. As we grow in size, this cost burden will shrink per store due to efficiencies in volume. Important Assumptions The financial plan depends on important assumption, most of which are revealed in the following table as annual assumption. The journal assumptions are included in the annotation. Interest rates, tax rates, and personnel burden are based on traditional assumptions. Some of the more important causal assumption is: We assume a strong economy, without a major recession. We assume, of course, that there are no unforeseen changes in consumers tastes or interests to make our concept less competitive. Task 2.2 Report TO: Management FROM: Project Manager DATE: 20th May 2009 SUBJECT: Staff Development and Training Cost Introduction This report is concerned staff training and development it related cost associated to this project. The company sales force plays a vital role in delivering better customer services and each member have different training needs depending our their position. The companys their future depends on nurturing great individual talent and providing an environment where staff can flourish personally and professionally. Successful training will help to develop the following skills. Deliver excellent customers Well motivated Increase morale Improved job and staff performance. Recruitment takes place from the point when a business decides that it needs to employ somebody up to the point where a pile of completed application forms has arrived in the post. Selections then involve choosing a suitable applicant through a range of ways of organization out suitable candidates leading to interview and other tests. Training involves providing a range of planned performance that enable an employee to develop the skill, attitudes and knowledge required by the organisation and the work required. A job account is also helpful because it sets out: The job description can be sent out to probable candidate along with a person arrangement, which sets out the pleasing and vital description that someone will need to have to be selected to the post. A variety of media will be used to be a magnet for applications e.g. national newspapers for national jobs, and local papers and media for local posts. Objectives of Training and Development The main objective of staff training and development is to improve the qualities of the trainee, formulation of objectives for different needs and ways to achieve it. The training objective is very important because it determine the calculated and content of the training programme. Contents of the training stay put the same no matter the type of training occupied. It is to increase personnel efficiency, professional growth and smooth and more useful organizations operations. Methods of Training and Development On the job training/coaching: This relates to formal training on the job. A worker becomes experienced on the job over time due to modification of job behaviours at the point of training or acquisition of skills. Induction/orientation: This is carried out for new entrants on the job to make them familiar with the total corporate requirements like norms, ethics, values, rules and regulations. Apprenticeship: A method of training where an unskilled person understudies a skilled person. Demonstration: Teaching by example, whereby the skilled worker performs the job and the unskilled closely observes so as to understand the job. Vestibule: This is done through engineering part for the purpose of skills and technology transfer. It is therefore achieve through residency of an individual within anothe

Auditory Learning Style Essay

Individual differences establish the well-acknowledged concept of the variety of learning styles exhibited by learners. This means that learners are likely to learn differently according to their fortes and preferences. The ability to learn by using one’s auditory capabilities is one learning styles. Students who are more likely to learn through auditory learning styles focus on the things that they hear. Information that they obtain through auditory sounds is more likely to register within their minds, allowing the retention of the information, thus, reinforcing the learning process. Other learning styles include bodily-kinesthetic, visual, social, and such. With this in mind, teachers should be able to realize the need to accommodate these individual differences regarding learning styles in order to teach purposefully and efficiently, realizing the goals and objectives of learning. However, accomplishing this particular motive is not an easy task since teachers themselves have their own learning styles. It becomes a difficult challenge for teachers to accommodate all learning styles when they themselves are inclined to learn by a singular means. For the remainder of this text, the strategies and techniques on how to facilitate the different learning styles exhibited by the students considering I myself display an auditory learning style will be discussed. Since the issue concerns me as a teacher, I believe that the changes or modifications should start from me. Primarily, I should not even consider or dwell on my learning style as it will only contribute to the difficulties of trying to get over the challenges of overlooking all the varied learning styles. The task at hand should focus on understanding the structures and dimensions of each learning style. In this way, I will be able to obtain comprehensive knowledge on how students with unique learning styles are able to learn and from this kind of information, design the teaching-learning or instructional process in order to facilitate the various learning styles. However, the first thing that I should do is to conduct a survey or to observe how my students learn in order to identify the kind of dynamic styles that exist within the learning situation. Perhaps, exhibiting auditory learning style myself would be able to help in achieving my purpose of accommodating the various learning styles of my students. Surveying or understanding their learning needs may be implemented through recitation. This is so, because my own personal learning style permits me to learn most efficiently by hearing, and conducting a recitation to understand their motivations and preferences during the learning process will greatly assist my in my considerations of what they need during the teaching-learning process. In addition, during the learning process, it would help to listen to the students in order to pick up some hidden concerns or complaints that I should be considering in designing the teaching-learning interaction. Responding to the acquisition of knowledge on the variety of learning styles is another challenge that I should be able to conquer. For instance, each lesson or course presented to the learners should be able to incorporate all strategies or techniques that are common to the various learning styles in order to accommodate all the students. For instance, an entire lesson should utilize music for auditory learning styles, iconic materials such as pictures and videos for visual learning styles, practical activities such as demonstrations, role-playing, dramatizations, and such for bodily-kinesthetic learning styles, groupings and social interaction for the extroverted learners, individual work sheets and activities for the introverted learners, etc. The most important thing to consider is to incorporate the requirements or necessities of each learning style, particularly on the instructional materials that are being utilized to facilitate the learning process.

Manufacturing strategy Essay

1.1 Introduction to OFF Shoring and NEXT Shoring: Off shoring is the type of relocation of an industry or an company of a business from one country to another i.e typically an operational process, such as manufacturing process. Next shoring is â€Å"the transfer of business or manufacturing processes to companies in a Nearby location. Where both parties may be benefited from one or more of the following dimension of proximity i.e Cultural, linguistic, political etc., 1.2 Understanding the change in Market, Manufacturing Cost and Technology: Over the decade Manufacturing cost, market and Technology has played an important role in selecting the location of the Manufacturing industry weather it has to Off shored on Next shored. Therefore understanding these three are the major factors for selecting the location of an Industry. Combination of economic force is fast eroding in developing nations cost advantage as an export platform for developed countries market. Mean while with an increasingly flexible work force and a better corporate sector is becoming more attractive place for manufacturing many goods consumed in the developed countries. An Analysis conducted by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) that by sometime around 2015 for many goods destined in the developed countries manufacturing in their neighbouring place is more economical than producing in the developed nations. The key reasons for this thought are mentioned below, Wage and benefits increases of 15 to 20 % per year at the average in developing countries which will slash the advantage over low cost states in the Developed countries. Because Labour accounts a portion of Products Manufacturing Costs. Transportation Cost, Duties, supply chain risks, Industrial real estates and other cost have increased considerably in the past decade this also plays a role but this additional cost will be differed at the minimum level when compared to developed and developing nations. Technology which is another major factor for choosing the Location of Manufacturing Industries. Where Automation, R&D and other measures to improve the productivity in developing nations may reduce the manufacturing price but in modern decade Technology is wide spread it reaches every nook and corner at a rapid phase than in the 60’s. Market is the main criteria  for an Industry to be started. An Industry which has started Next to its marketing area will have an advantage of immediate feedback, customer response to the product. Thus gives them an edge for R&D to develop their products to further level. Thus from our understanding change in Market, manufacturing cost and Technology will have a say on setting up an OFF Shore or a NEXT Shore location for an Product. 1.3 Drivers for OFF Shoring and NEXT Shoring: 1.3.1 Drivers For Next Shoring Manufacturing companies look to externalise back office Responses on impact of Next-shoring on supply chain, services to focus on core operations. Risk associated with supply chain management are increasing in low-cost countries Labour wage rates in offshore locations in emerging synchronization economies like India, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are increasing, as workers are demanding higher wages. Cost of shipping goods around the world is rising due to Lead times and higher fuel price Eastern Europe has emerged as a location for Next-shoring operations, backed by favourable factors like highly skilled talent, especially technical talent and close proximity to end markets like the UK. Other factors include cultural similarities, time zone and strong data protection laws Tax incentives are usually not the main driver but they could tip the balance just as manufacturing taxes may make a country less attractive. 1.3.2 Drivers for OFF Shoring: Key driving forces for demand shifts to the developing countries are economic growth, demographics and rising incomes in emerging markets, in particular in Asia. further major factors driving this trend are: – Localisation of products to address local mid market – Proximity to demand and regional raw materials resources – Vast scale of operations and flexibility – Diligence and industrial skills of workers – Better â€Å"time to market† and reduction of logistics costs ASIAN economies have emerged as major sourcing destination for global  companies. Growth of the employable population and increased investments in the region. National/regional regulatory effects (safety standards, etc.) and free trade agreements. Within Asia itself, a shift can be noticed as rising wages and higher costs in china are making manufacturers consider other locations in southeast Asia. ASIAN countries like India, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam provide a dynamic talent pool with highly educated and young people as well as lower wage costs. 1.4 Debate on â€Å"In future, next shoring, not the off shoring, drives manufacturing location decision† According to me I accept the topic â€Å"In future, next shoring, not the off shoring, drives manufacturing location decision†. In the Next future next shoring is what the manufacturing industries will consider to have competitive edge over the market. Over the past few decades there has been an advantage over the cost (like Labour, land) in developing countries over developed countries. Eg. In India, China, etc., where the manufacturing industries have got much cheap labour force and land for their industries to start. They have enjoyed a great success by installing their manufacturing units in these low cost locations. But in recent years the advantage over the cost has shrinking due to globalisation and annual wage rise, which might see off their advantage over the developed nation. Rewind 15 or 20 years. Offshoring was all the rage. As far back as 1979, companies were starting to send manufacturing to low-wage destinations like India, China, Taiwan and Vietnam to lower labour costs. According to John Shook of the Lean Enterprise Institute, â€Å"There was a herd mentality to offshoring and an inability to see the total costs.† Today, wages in Asia are rising from 15 to 20% annually, according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). As a result, the economics of manufacturing in India, China, Taiwan and Malaysia aren’t as appealing as they once were. In fact, today, manufacturers are doing something that would have been unthinkable a decade ago: they’re bringing manufacturing home. A few examples: in January, Bill Simon, Wal-Mart U.S. President and CEO  committed to buy $50 billion of American-made products over the next 10 years. Similarly, after producing appliances offshore for years, General Electric is moving production operations back to the United States. GE CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, stated in the Harvard Business Review that outsourcing â€Å"is quickly becoming outdated as a business model for GE Appliances.† According to The White House blog, Ford, Apple, and Caterpillar are making large investments in U.S. facilities. Thus according to the above points I accept â€Å"In future, next shoring, not the off shoring, drives manufacturing location decision† 1.4.2 A Case Study for selecting Next Shoring than off shoring: Melville, N.Y.-based MSC Industrial Direct Company, a direct marketer and distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations supplies, distributes approximately 600,000 industrial products from 3,000-plus suppliers to 320,000 customers. Global sourcing is here to stay, whether operations are in Mexico, China, or other countries, said by Doug Jones, the company’s executive vice president of global supply chains in 2013. There is just as much opportunity in global sourcing as there was five years ago—if not more. â€Å"They used to be focused on China or India, but their Shanghai office now is looking at a number of countries.† There is pressure to source in America, and MSC Industrial Direct’s product offering takes that into account. â€Å"The way we go to market is to have a ‘Made in the USA’ product in every category,† Jones said this earlier this year. G lobal sourcing does brings challenges, however. The company follows a rigorous process to qualify a new production source, with a focus on quality. MSC also weighs the impact of lead time on cost and service. We realize our service model increases from 10 or 15 days to 180 days from purchase order to receipt if we source in China or India,† Jones explains. â€Å"We weigh the additional investment in lead time and inventory, currency valuations, and other factors, and make sure our total landed cost (TLC) still looks good or almost equal to cost in USA, Where they receipt the product at much less time. Monitoring TLC is no small task at MSC, which maintains a global sourcing team dedicated to managing it. This add further cost to monitor. On considering all these MSC starts to Next shoring its supplier base to market  area 1.5 Conclusion Thus from the above case studies and market analysis it’s time to move on from OFF shoring to Next shoring in the Near future which seems more economic and fruitful for manufacturing sector. Even though OFF shoring at present seems more economic currently but in the Near future we are expecting the wage rise factor which would nullify the cost advantage in developing nations and will make the manufactures to rethink on their strategies of OFF shoring and tends to change their strategy for Next Shoring. Thus â€Å"In future, next shoring, not the off shoring, drives manufacturing location decision† PART-B 2.1 Role of Korean Culture in Samsungs Success: It has become increasingly important for employees to have vested stake in the growth potential of its company. People expect a participatory work environment where they can feel a sense of dignity, pride, and ownership of the organization’s vision. Samsung Mobiles strives to build a creative organizational culture, and acknowledges that the investment we make in strengthening the core competencies of our employees will have a direct impact on our competitiveness. We actively promote a flexible organizational culture that allows employees to pursue a healthy work-life balance, in a dynamic, creative and challenging work environment that is not risk-averse. As an international company we embrace individuals with different background and abilities. Korean Culture :- Work & Life Balance through Work Smart Samsung Mobiles has not only contributed to balancing work and life but also to improving productivity by adopting a flexible work schedule in Korea to help eliminate unnecessary overtime and to maximize work performance through effective time management. We introduced a pilot, flexible work schedule in  our TV, mobile phone, and consumer electronics sectors beginning in 2009 and expanded it to all divisions in 2010. Under this new effort, employees arrive at work between 6.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. and to work eight hours per day. As of March 2012, approximately 65,000 Korean employees have taken advantage of this system out of a total of 100,000 Korean employees. Samsung believed it is important for everyone to be able to assume personal responsibility for their time. This will continue to contribute to a working atmosphere that allows employees to focus on their job in an autonomous and creative atmosphere. Thus they branded this as Work smart strategy. This helped Samsung a lot in its success. Work Culture that Encourages Learning and Development Samsung Mobiles has established a Creative Development Research Institute System to provide employees with opportunities to pursue creative new ideas that take full advantage of their talents and professional passions in a way that encourages taking risks. This new initiative encourages employees to be more entrepreneurial in developing creative ideas that can become new businesses. Once an employee’s plan is accepted, they may concentrate on the project as a member of a task force for up to one year. During this period, they will be free from their usual responsibilities and may receive a dedicated work space, development expenses and necessary equipment as appropriate. Successful outcomes are encouraged through an incentive program; however they are not subject to penalty if they don’t achieve their goals. The first outcome of the Creative Development Institute, ‘eyeCan,’ was launched in February 2012. The eyeCan is a special mouse for the disabled, which allows its user to use a computer using eye movement. Samsung Electronics will continue to support similar technology projects that our  talented workforce introduces to assist those in need. 2.2 Analysis of Samsung Mobiles using P.E.S.T and Poter’s 5 Force Model: As the main objective of this thesis is to analyze the European and the U.S. mobile phone markets, the selected framework supports this aim by approaching the markets on two different levels. Primarily, the analytical framework focuses on micro-environment i.e. looking at the markets from the viewpoints of the actors (suppliers, distributors, customers) and from that of competition. To analyze the contribution of each of these actors and other sources of competition, another well-established model, Porter ´s five forces, will be utilized (Section 2.3). Where necessary, the observed phenomena are also interpreted from a wider, macro environmental perspective although more detailed analysis of macro-environmental factors will be omitted. The exclusion is justified by the fact that competition, even though influenced by the macro environment, takes place within the micro environment. In addition, concentrating on the micro-environment allows a broader and more in-depth treatment of th e most relevant actors present in the micro-environment. On another dimension, the framework applies two different conceptual approaches, namely, international business (IB) environment and industrial organization (IO) economics. These approaches together serve to supplement the strongly microeconomics focused framework with suitable concepts grounded in the strongly 7 related IB and IO disciplines. While the industrial organization focuses on the company/market boundary from the perspective of imperfect competition, international business focuses on the qualities of international markets and companies operating across country boundaries. These approaches will be discussed in detail in Section 2.4. The analytical approach of the thesis is summarized in . Figure 1. Analytical framework of the study 2.2. Macro-environment By definition, the macro-environment involves factors outside of the direct  control of the business. These factors, then, include the economy, government policies, social changes etc. A firm may, for example, be influenced by new legislation or changes in taxation policies but the firm rarely has power to shape them itself. Thus, macro factors have the ability to fundamentally change the environment of an organization but the relationship is typically one way. (Gillespie, 2007) One of the most utilized frameworks to analyze the macro factors is the PEST analysis. The PEST framework stands for â€Å"Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal† and is used for analyzing the macro-environment in which companies operate and which also significantly affects each business independent of its size (Johnson et al., 2006:65) in each case including (or excluding) some factors and giving more weight to some in comparison to others. However, it always aims at capturing the essential of the macro-environment under a few broad categories to facilitate understanding and management of each factor within the business and to identify the key drivers of change (Johnson et al., 2006:69). Table 2.1. Components of the PEST analysis (Gillespie, 2007) Even though the macro-environment will not be analyzed in detail in this thesis its influence in a company’s decision making processes is evident as well as its ability to change to conditions under which competition takes place. For example, the Finnish government’s decision to allow bundling of mobile phones had a direct impact on both handset manufacturers’ and mobile operators’ business. Thus, references to the macro environment and changes in it will be made alongside the analysis on companies and their micro-environment. 2.3. Micro-environment The micro-environment can be defined as consisting of â€Å"stakeholder groups that a firm has regular dealings with† (Gillespie, 2007). For the purpose of this thesis, the focus will be on suppliers, distributors, customers and competition as illustrated in Figure 1 following the concise definition of micro-environment by Gillespie (2007). Suppliers In regard to its suppliers, any company generally needs to address questions such as â€Å"Can they provide the quality we require at a good price?†, â€Å"Can they adjust to changes in the supply volume?† and â€Å"What is out power relative to our suppliers and vice versa?† Increasingly, however, large multinational companies in particular are concerned about the ethicality of their suppliers’ operations. Recently, for example, Samsung was alleged to have used so called ‘blood metals’ in their mobile phones, to which Samsung responded by implementing yet more stringent systems to track the origin of its raw materials (Yle, 2010). Especially in the business of mobile phone manufacturing, suppliers and supply chain management (SCM) play a crucial role. Since mobile phones, smart phones in particular, contain numerous highly specialized components and modules, handset manufacturers generally acquire most of the components, software and even ass embly from their suppliers and subcontractors (see the mobile phone value system in Figure 9). Samsung, for example, lists 35 countries as its main supplying locations and applies its so called Code of conduct to all its business partners. In the Code of conduct (Samsung,2011f) Samsung states that â€Å"†¦Samsung encourages its partners, subcontractors, or suppliers to strive beyond legal compliance in areas such as governance, human rights and the environment. Samsung incorporates ethical, social and environmental criteria in its procurement agreements and commits to monitoring the performance of its partners and to taking immediate and thorough remedial steps in cases where the ethical performance of its business partners comes into question.†- Samsung Thus, mobile phone manufacturers rely on suppliers to varying but generally great extent and can even be held responsible for choosing suppliers that use e.g. child labour or non-recyclable materials. To construct an iPhone, Apple, for example, sources its Retina display from LG, the A4 processor from Samsung, gyroscopes from STMicroelectronics, touch sensitive panels from Wintek and TPK, and chips from Skyworks Solutions and TriQuint Semiconductor (Apple Insider, 2010). However, some conglomerates, e.g.  Samsung manufacture most of the modules in-house which enables cutting down the number of suppliers and facilitates integration in the production process. Even if the recent business wisdom has advised companies to divest non-core functions and focus on a few core competencies, Samsung has proven that conglomerates may be highly profitable while retaining their non-core parts. Unlike Motorola, Samsung kept its component manufacturing in-house and focused on synergies from producin g both components and end products. (Hyà ¶ty, 2011:250-252) Distributors The second essential element of a company’s micro-environment is distributors. The choice of distribution channels is critical for a number of reasons. Firstly, the distributors strongly influence the final sales price of each product and thereby directly affect the sales quantity. Second, the distributors and later retailers play an important role in how the product is presented to the customer and, to some extent, how it is positioned relative to competing products. Finally, the choice of the distribution channel affects how customers perceive the brand. While Samsung, for example, utilizes a wide range of sales channels for its Samsung branded products, it sells its luxury phone brand Vertu (typically gold and diamond decorated, ranging from $6000 to $300 000) only in Vertu and Samsung flagship stores (Vertu, 2011; Dialaphone, 2007) In the mobile handset business, the distribution channel plays a crucial role. While in Europe most mobile phone manufacturers rely on a large number of individual distributors and retailers, in North America the bulk of handset sales is carried out by mobile network and virtual operators (see Figure 22). The long-lasting dominance of mobile operators over distribution in the United States has allowed them to introduce additional requirements related to e.g. tailoring and branding of phones, and together with subsidies a commanding position in the industry. Still, the choices related to distribution come down to the same basic questions, i.e. what are the total costs, how is the brand communicated, how flexible is the distributor etc. Customers The third element of the company’s micro-environment is customers. In this  respect, it is common to separate between individual consumers and organizational (or industrial) customers (or buyers). While consumers are traditionally considered less rational and impulsive in their decision making process, companies tend to be viewed as professional buyers following strict budget, cost and profit considerations. (see e.g. Webster & Wind, 1972; Baumgartner & Steenkamp, 1996) These kind of clear differences in purchasing behaviour have been questioned (Wilson, 2000) and today’s B-to-B marketers widely recognize that emotions play an important role also in business buying decisions (Kotler & Armstrong, 2006:178). In the mobile phone business, consumers represent an enormous variety of tastes, preferences and affluence. In developing countries, the sales of low-end mobile phones (often under $50) dominate, while in developed markets of e.g. Europe and North America, consumers often opt for more advanced models incorporating cameras, GPS navigation, Internet browsing etc. Moreover, most of these consumers appreciate value added features and post-purchase services provided by the manufacturer (e.g. Apple App Store, Nokia Ovi Store and Google Android Market) and often base their purchase decision on the combination of the phone and the availability of these services (see e.g. Singh & Goyal, 2009). Industrial buyers, on the other hand, tend to value services related business use of the phone (e-mail, data security etc.) and supplier’s ability to provide a communications solution to the company instead of only handsets. Finally, with regard to the mobile phone industry in Europe, Asia and the United States, there are some significant differences in customer profiles. While in Europe & Asia a handset manufacturer can sell both directly to the consumer and via distributors and retailers, in the United States the only major customer is the operator that, then, functions as a distributor and retailer. This, obviously, has its effect on what kind of marketing is needed to reach the end customer. Competition The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines competition as â€Å"the effort of two or more parties acting independently to secure the business of a third party by  offering the most favourable terms†. (Merriam Webster Online, 2011) Correspondingly, The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics states that â€Å"competition arises whenever two or more parties strive for something that all cannot obtain.† (Stigler, 2008) In this thesis, these competing â€Å"parties† are handset manufacturers who act to â€Å"secure the business† or â€Å"strive for† the limited resource, i.e. the money, of their customers. In terms of developed economic theory, competition is one of the most researched areas of economics. Economists generally differentiate perfect and imperfect competition, concluding that no other system is more Pareto efficient than perfect competition. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 1999) perfect competition is defined by four conditions: a) There are such a large number of buyers and sellers that none can individually affect the market price. This means that the demand curve facing an individual firm is perfectly elastic. b) In the long run, resources must be freely mobile, meaning that there are no barriers to entry and exit. c) All market participants (buyers and sellers) must have full access to the knowledge relevant to their production and consumption decisions. d) The products should be homogenous. Imperfect competition, thus, occurs when any of the criteria for perfect competition is not satisfied, e.g. when there is information asymmetry between buyers and sellers, either buyers or sellers are able to influence prices or products are not homogenous. In regard to the mobile phone industry, there is a clear case of imperfect competition. Firstly, the three largest manufacturers Samsung, Samsung and Nokia held about 64 % of the global unit sales in Q1/2010 while the tenth largest Huawei had 1,3 %. (Gartner, 2010) This kind of a market situation is generally referred to as an oligopoly â€Å"in which producers are so few that the actions of each of them have an impact on price and on competitors† (Merriam Webster Online, 2011). Second, there are fairly high barriers to entry due to the capital intensive nature of the business. In addition,  gaining market share generally requires significant investments in marketing and established manufacturers can benefit from advantages of scale. Poter’s 5 Force Model The Porter’s five forces model has been criticized, for example, for its underlying assumptions. Firstly, an industry is assumed to consist of an unrelated set of buyers, sellers and substitutes and competitors that interact at arm’s length. Second, companies can gather wealth that allows them to erect barriers against existing competition and new entrants thereby creating structural advantage. Finally, the prevailing uncertainty is assumed low enough to permit predictions about the participants’ behavior and choose a strategy accordingly. In addition, one should also note that the model was developed more than 30 years and, since then, new industries have been born and the old ones taken new shapes. In an argument that the classical model such as the Five Forces and value chain analysis were designed for the analysis of traditional industrial firms and do not apply well to today’s knowledge-intensive companies. Figure 2.2 Porter’s Five Forces –model The rationale for choosing the Five Forces framework was as follows. The model was to be well-known and tested. Even though Porter’s model has been criticized for its applicability to certain industries and for its assumptions, few models have gone through such thorough testing and prevailed. While no model is perfect the limitations of the Porter’s framework are, nevertheless, well-known and documented. Finally, the use a widely accepted framework facilitates reading and interpretation of the results as opposed to some other model with less prevalence and academic/practitioner interest. Table 2.2 Opportunities and Threats for Samsung Mobile 2.3 Suitable Business strategy to overcome threats and grab Opportunity in Samsung: Global R&D (Research & Development) In 2003, Samsung invested 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) or 8% of total revenues in R&D. It acquired 1,313 US patents in 2003, ranking it 11th in  the world in US patent awarded. (Exhibit 9) Samsung has about 19,700 researchers working in R&D. Researchers account for approximately 34% of its total employees. Every year, R&D engineers developed about 100 new technologies and they work on the development of core technologies in the fourth generation (4G) mobile communications and in next generation memory chips. Samsung’s Information and Telecommunication R&D Center is in Suwon, where the company’s headquarters are located. This R&D Center was designed to incorporate all of its business specialties—semiconductors, electronic components, multimedia, and telecommunications—to maximize technological synergies among them. The Suwon R&D Center also interconnects with other R&D centers, both in Korea and in other countries. In the mobile business, Samsung has applied for 12,000 patents in Korea and 25,000 patents overseas since 1998. The main focus of R&D is the development of new technology standards for 4G communications and the mobile Internet. Samsung holds approximately one hundred patents related to 3G and 4G technologies. Recently, Samsung sold its cdma2000 1x EV-DO system to Japan and Southeast Asian countries. Global Marketing Samsung’s clever marketing strategies played an important role in lifting Samsung’s image from that of a low-end manufacturer to that of a global digital technology leader. For effective global marketing and branding, Samsung established a new organization to deal with its integrated global marketing activities. Eric B Kim, who used to work at IBM, was recruited to lead the Global Marketing Department. One of his most important decisions was to cease all existing contracts with 55 advertising agencies and to sign a $400 million contract with one ad agency, FCB Worldwide. Since then, Samsung has unveiled a series of corporate branding campaigns and the slogan, â€Å"Samsung DIGITall: Everyone’s invited.† One of Samsung’s major global branding strategies is Olympic sponsorship. In  1996, Samsung was an unofficial sponsor of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, having sponsored the Samsung Expo in the Pavilion of the Main Stadium. In the same year, Kun Hee Lee was selected as an IOC member, and Samsung received an opportunity to participate in TOP (The Olympic Partners). The IOC proposed that Samsung participate in sponsoring the home appliance category for the Olympics. However, Samsung wanted to utilize the opportunity to promote a high-tech image, and felt that the home appliance category was not enough to emphasize Samsung’s technological advances. Samsung set its sights on the telecommunications category and believed that, through the Olympic sponsorship, it could shed its image as a low-end home appliance maker and reposition itself as a high-tech mobile communications company. To win the sponsorship negotiations, Samsung concentrated its marketing resources on the mobile phone business. Samsung’s Key Issues to rectify their threats Though Samsung has continued its success in the mobile phone business, it faces a number of challenges to keep the growth momentum in the future. First, competition in the mobile phone market will become more intense. Lower entry barriers will bring in more competitors to the market, and the â€Å"digital convergence† will accelerate the competition even further. Companies from other industries such as PCs or network services will compete directly with Samsung. As such, it will have to devise more creative win-win strategies in the highly uncertain digital convergence landscape. Second, the sustainability of Samsung’s high-end strategy, which was attributed to Samsung’s brand building, may be in question. Samsung has achieved high profit margin, which is comparable to that of Nokia, mainly based on its high price, while Nokia has done so based on its cost dynamics. In terms of per-unit cost, Nokia spends less on R&D and marketing. One might doubt whether the high-end strategy can really be sustainable. As the mobile communications market becomes saturated, future revenue sources  will come mainly from emerging markets (China, Brazil, India, Eastern Europe, etc.). First-time buyers in emerging markets tend to prefer affordable phones. This could hurt Samsung unless it begins to cover the low and middle-end markets. Nokia and Motorola, as well as many newcomers from China, have already targeted those emerging markets. How to compete in the low and middle-end markets, while preserving its premium brand image, will be important questions in Samsung’s future growth. Third, Samsung is highly dependent on foreign companies for core technologies and modules. For example, it sources core CDMA base-band chips from Qualcomm and sophisticated camera-phone modules from Japanese firms. Consequently, the proportion of royalty payment in total manufacturing cost is likely to increase unless Samsung develops its own technologies. Some industry experts argue that most of Samsung’s patents are on applied technologies, which are developed based on others’ patent-protected core technologies. Recently, Samsung experienced a shortage in the supply of Qualcomm chips and camera-phone modules. This suggests that Samsung’s high dependency on core technologies and product modules would threaten not only its future profitability but also its competitive position. Product Life Cycle of Samsung Galaxy : For my analysis it will be useful to understand how Samsung has introduced its Galaxy Smartphones. The introduction stage of a product is one of the most important, because in this stage a company positions its products in the market. In order examine the strategic choice of the company I need to understand the strategic possibilities in the introduction stage of a product. According to Kotler and Keller, company’s positioning and differentiation strategy must change throughout the life of its products. I will give a brief description of the stages of the product life cycle and strategic possibilities in each of these stages. According to Kotler and Keller to be applicable to a product the assumptions behind the life-cycle are that the product must have limited life; sales go through different stages, with different challenges, opportunities and problems; profits change at different stages; products require different manufacturing, financial, marketing, purchasing and human re source strategies in each life  cycle stage. The Smartphone products fulfill these assumptions. Kotler and Keller recognize 4 different Life-cycle stages for a product. Introduction Stage Introduction is a period of slow sales growth as the product is just introduced. It is also recognized with heavy advertising. According to Shaw (2008) in the introduction stage a company can choose by penetration strategy or niche strategy. A penetration strategy involves aggressive marketing mix and product for the mass market offered at a low price. A niche strategy according to Shaw (2008) involves a narrow market segment and a higher price. In this stage Shaw (2008) recognizes only two possibilities targeting the mass market with low price and a niche strategy involving higher price. Looking at the smartphone market it is possible for the companies to target mass market with higher price as for instance iPhone & Nokia does. This is also due to the affordable terms of the mobile operators where people can buy the Smartphone on leasing. 6.2 Growth Stage This is a period of rapid growth and market acceptance. Here the profits are higher. According to Shaw (2009) in the growth stage companies can choose between two strategic options these are segment expansion and brand expansion. In segment expansion, the company can add new target segments, with their own marketing mixes. Strategic alternative to segment expansion might be brand expansion. This strategy adds new products or variations to the existing line. The strategy delivers to the customer segment bigger choice, or greater value. Some of these strategy ideas might be delivery, gift-wrapping (Shaw, 2012). 6.3 Maturity Stage In maturity stage the sales are lower as the product is already bought from most of the Potential buyers (Kotler and Keller 2009 p.490). According to Shaw (2010) in Maturity stage it is common for a company to employ s stable marketing mix. As the Product moves further on the curve harvesting strategy becomes necessity. 6.4 Decline Stage Here sales decline and profits erode (Kotler and Keller 2009 p.490). In this stage Shaw (2011) recognize only divesting strategy as an option. The following picture shows the life cycle of Samsung Galaxy (first model in Smartphone ) by Samsung which was launched in 2008. Where in the introductory period it was blooming since it was on affordable cost. This model was soon hit in the market. In 2009 its has started its tremendous growth. In around 2010 it reached its maturity state. Where Samsung enjoyed a lot on its success. This encouraged Samsung to do R&D in Galaxy model and they started to develop a lot newer version. Due to introduction of new models and everyone had the current model, Galaxy has started to decline in 2011. Figure 2.2 Product Life cycle of Samsung Galaxy

Julius Caesar A Tragic Hero - 863 Words

Julius Caesar is a well known piece of literature written by William Shakespeare in 1599. Within this play Julius Caesar is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as â€Å"the main character of a tragedy (who is) usually dignified, courageous, and high ranking† (Novel Study Guide). Also vital to defining a tragic hero is that, â€Å"the hero’s downfall is caused by a tragic flaw† (Novel Study Guide). It is evident that Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a tragic hero given that he is of noble stature, has a fatal flaw and comes to an unhappy end. Julius Caesar is the tragic hero because of his noble stature. The noble stature of Caesar is made evident through his position in society and his outstanding qualities. Caesar’s position in Rome was that of dictator. At the start of the play Brutus enlightens the reader that â€Å"... the people/choose Caesar for their king†(I.ii.77-78). When Brutus says â€Å"king† he is actually informing the audience that Caesar has been made dictator of Rome for life. At this time in Rome the Roman society prided their republic. Therefore, electing Caesar was a monumental event. A dictator was the most powerful position in Roman society. Indeed, as stated in Encyclopedia Britannica, a dictator was â€Å"a temporary magistrate with extraordinary powers† (â€Å"dictator†). Furthermore, as opposed to the usual six month term Caesar was appointed a life-long term (â€Å"dictator†). With this in mind, one could say that Caesar was the most powerfulShow MoreRe latedJulius Caesar : A Tragic Hero934 Words   |  4 PagesJulius Caesar is a work of art by William Shakespeare in 1599. Within this play Julius Caesar is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is defined as â€Å"the main character of a tragedy [who is] usually dignified, courageous, and high ranking† (novel study guide). 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Although the play is named after Caesar, it is evident that Brutus is the tragic hero as the audience watches the events of the play unfold. Brutus’s characteristics and actions line up perfectly with Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero which statesRead More Julius Caesar - Tragic Hero Essay1028 Words   |  5 Pages Julius Caesar as a Tragic Hero amp;#9;Julius Caesar is a play written by William Shakespeare during the year 1597. Julius Caesar’s story involves a conspiracy against Julius Caesar, a powerful senator. The play involves a highly respected senator, Brutus, who decides to join the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar, in the effort to keep democracy intact. Brutus believes that if Julius Caesar is allowed to live, Caesar will take a kingship and turn the government into a monarchy. 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