Advertising Strongly Persuasive or Nudging. Loyal and Switcher Customers

Advertising may be both strongly persuasive and nudging, depending on the chosen audience and the main idea a new advertising campaign wants to implement. Advertising is a strategy which applies to customers’ emotions.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Advertising: Strongly Persuasive or Nudging. Loyal and Switcher Customers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is persuasive when it is directed at the switchers, people who either have never used the products of a specific company, or who do not use it constantly. The same advertising campaign may be nudging for those who have been using the products of the company constantly. It is obvious that two different kinds of customers, loyals and switchers, should be influenced by means of advertising in two different ways. The research conducted in the sphere of customer attitude to different brands with the purpose to understand companies’ price promoti onal decisions has allowed us to make a number of important conclusions. First of all, when brands have high number of loyal customers, they offer high range of price and higher regular price. Second, in case when a number of switchers are low, the strong brands use higher average proportional depth and vice versa. Third, having low customer loyalty, brands try to promote their products more frequent (Jing Wen 2008). Segments of Loyal Customers It will be correct to say that most customers are multibrand buyers, but, at the same time, it has been noticed that many people claim that they buy the products of a specific brand. If to consider the loyal customers’ segmentation from the time perspective, it can be stated that almost all appear to be 100% loyals in a week and even in a month. About 10% remain 100% loyals in a year time perspective (Barnard Ehrenberg 1997, p. 3). Considering loyals’ segmentation, we should touch the issue of loyalty conceptualization. Custom ers become loyal in three reasons, (1) positive primary attitude, (2) revealed behavior, and (3) purchase situation (Uncles, Dowling Hammond 2003, p. 295). Segment of Switcher Customers Switcher customers’ segmentation is a difficult affair, there is no clear literature evidence which shows that such segmentation is systemic, still, it is possible to create three different subsegments which create switchers segmentation.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Deal sensitives. People who buy different things without being dedicated to a specific label. Price sensitives. Price is the main activity for choosing an item. Switching from one brand to another, customers just try to buy the item they can afford. Private labels. Buying private labels, these people still use manufactured products without differentiating brand names due to their unimportance for them (Barnard E hrenberg 1997). Reference List Barnard, N Ehrenberg, ASC 1997, ‘Advertising: Strongly persuasive or nudging?’, Journal of Advertising Research, January/February, pp. 1-10. Jing, B, Wen, Z 2008, ‘Finitely loyal customers, switchers, and equilibrium price promotion’, Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 17, 3, pp. 683-707. Uncles, MD, Dowling, GR Hammond, K 2003, ‘Customer loyalty and customer loyalty programs’, Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 294-316. This assessment on Advertising: Strongly Persuasive or Nudging. Loyal and Switcher Customers was written and submitted by user Haylie Olson to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Life and Works of Krzysztof Kieslowski essays

The Life and Works of Krzysztof Kieslowski essays Well-known director Krzysztof Kieslowski, has stated that he dislikes making films but appreciates the life they've allowed him to live. Kieslowski was born in Warsaw, Poland, on June 27, 1941. His father was ill for most of his life and when he was 16, his father died at the age of 47. At this time, Kieslowski had no idea what he wanted to do with his life so he decided to try being a fireman. However, the discipline that position required didn't suit him, so he dropped out. Kieslowski's uncle told him about The College for Theater Technicians in Warsaw, and Kieslowski enrolled, having no other direction for his life. Once in college, he fell in love with theater and decided to become a director. In order to enter the program, he first had to complete studies in another field, so he chose film directing because he thought it would relate well to theater work. Kieslowski failed his entrance exams to Ldz Film School two successive years. When orders for him to sign on for service in WWII came his way, he purposefully starved himself and faked psychological instability in order to avoid military service. He avoided the draft and supported his family through various jobs, from office positions to theatrical tailoring (where he met many actors who would later work for him), and dabbled in poetry and drawing. His early professional film work consisted of a series of one-act films designed to be shown in theaters as supporting material for features films. Throughout the remainder of his career, public consensus of the director remained split - many in Poland admired his work, while others considered him an opportunist. They also believed him to be a traitor to himself and his country. Despite being well known in Poland, he wasnt internationally known until his trilogy of films "Three Colors". Throughout his career he turned more and more toward drama, however, Kieslowski insisted that his work remained true to the pr...

REDBOX Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

REDBOX - Research Paper Example In the year 2009, Coinstar paid the other share holders of Redbox and McDonald’s and solely owned the company. Redbox has increased its kiosks and the locations in the United States from that of 2007. The number of the locations even surpassed Blockbuster, one of the leading companies. Mitch Lowe, the former Co-Founder of Netflix joined Redbox in the year 2003. Initially, he started as consultant for the company and then gradually he progressed as Vice President of purchasing and operation departments. And in the year of 2005, he was introduced as CEO of the company and in 2009 his name was announced as the President of Redbox. The year 2010 is remembered as the year from when the company started to rent Blue Ray movies in most of its kiosks (Redbox, â€Å"The History of Redbox†). Video rental has been attached with the US culture for over 30 years, yet Redbox has been successful in establishing its presence in the market as well as in the industry just within the period of last 5 years. The marketing strategies adopted by Redbox emphasizes mostly on customer acquisition and increasing distribution. Marketers decided on using the color red to attract people’s attention for about a decade since its inception since red is the color which one’s eyes recognize faster. And this has become their signature. They have even focused on keeping the rate of the DVD provided for rent low comparatively and is charged per night basis. Since watching movies are enjoyable to people belonging to different age groups, the target market is huge in size. Redbox has always considered the interest of its customers as high preference, the renting price of the movies is always kept low to accommodate maximum customers from different economical groups. Varieties of DVDs belonging to different genres are another marketing approach of the company to meet the need of the customers. They have always made sure to keep updated videos and recent releases to hold

School-Appropriate Social Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School-Appropriate Social Skills - Essay Example These skills include feeling confident and being approachable, being interested in others, and the degree of feeling alone. Feeling acutely lonely and being extremely shy can cause the child to be "pushed" into a situation or into participating and this is counterproductive. Activities such as "Show and Tell" will help a child in building confidence, being approachable, developing an interest in others, and to thwart the feelings of loneliness. as they learn all the other social skills that come with participating in group activities. Changing the seating arrangement occasionally and playing games such as "Star of the Week" where a child brings in his/her favorite photos and/or snack, etc. and are asked questions by other students. This promotes group time and social interaction. Alone time, quiet time, and individual activities will help children have the appreciation of self, the desire to be alone, and to build self esteem. Quiet time such as reading, doing a puzzle, and drawing are examples of individual things that students can do. These activities led by the teacher will help give children the balance that they need as they are encouraged to develop the skills that kindergarteners should acquire.

Box 13.2 Crisis Preparedness Scale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Box 13.2 Crisis Preparedness Scale - Essay Example X 5 Legal considerations do not override ethical and human concerns. X 6 Our organization has a trained crisis management team (CMT) that can assemble quickly and make effective decisions. X 7 Our organization has the capabilities to investigate and determine a. the precise type or nature of whatever crisis could occur. X b. the early warning signals that precede each type of crisis. X c. whether such signals were blocked or ignored. X d. the exact, human, organizational, and technical causes of a crisis. X 8 Our organization has properly designed, constantly maintained, and regularly tested damage containment systems in place. X 9 Our organization has backup manufacturing equipment and computers so that it can resume operations as quickly as possible. X 10 Our organization has recovery mechanisms to restore full site and organizational operations. X 11 Our organization has recovery mechanisms to restore the surrounding community and environment. X 12 Our organization has the capabil ities to communicate effectively, notify the proper authorities, respond to the media, and reassure a wide array of stakeholders. X If you answer no to two or more of these statements it is likely that your organization will have a crisis and that it will have difficulty handling it properly. 1. Short summary of results The preceding assessment indicates that the organization I am assessing has general provisions for addressing crises of a general sort, and provides for the manpower, equipment, and resources for most crises as they occur within the organization. It does not, however, have sufficient capability to quickly and accurately assess all types of injuries that may result in a crisis, nor does it have sufficient resources or provisions to restore the community or surrounding environment outside of the organization. It is doubtful that a quick and accurate assessment of the exact cause of the crisis could immediately be determined on its own without expert help. 2. What the r esults reveal about leadership communication behaviours The results reveal that leadership communication behaviours in this company fail to give due attention to important details about the causes and repercussions of the crisis, and likewise fail to go beyond the immediate confines of the organization. There is also a lack of importance given to people, both within and outside the organization. Because of this, my self-understanding has increased about the necessity of ascertaining details, especially in the human aspect, when assessing the effects of a crisis, because lack of detail compromises the effectiveness of any general crisis response plan that the management may have drawn. The assessment also reveals that in my role as leader or follower, my potential strength lies in my empathy with the human aspect, whether they involve the employees of the organization or the community, because I am able to appreciate the need for the human focus, and possess an insight about how it c ould be enhanced. On the other hand, I believe my weakness is in the establishment and operation of a mechanism to determine details such as the exact causes of a crisis. As far as I can perceive, a developing crisis is manifested by certain situations, but it will take a post-crisis assessment to determine the exact causes. While the crisis is unfolding, it appears highly unlikely that the exact cause of it may be immediately determined. In this weakness, I believe that the

Business Strategy In Global Environment Mcdonald Marketing Essay

Business Strategy In Global Environment Mcdonald Marketing Essay McDonalds is one of the worlds leading fast food makers, 1995 when Ray Kroc started the franchising system till now McDonalds have seen an era of constant growth in both in terms of reach to the customers across the globe or in terms of sales and profits. There are number of driving forces of its basic aims that kept it at above all system wide sandwich market throughout its most magnificent years. The idea of making a system of restaurants with low priced menu items available to local community in a fast, efficient and hygienic way as well as a enjoyable environment lead McDonalds to become worlds largest sandwich chain. (Marino, 2004. p.C213) http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQpd5oqJsfyDAeDoy7AST6YNQfaNhLV25kSdfuI_KXZH6mcilIt=1usg=__7clK98n3FRPjsriVl9qBT21ydm8= After a years of hard work McDonalds has developed its customer loyalty and brand image across the world and strong financial base to counterbalance the impact of extreme competition by the similar sandwich industry players such as Subway, Burger King, Wendys. During early 1990s, when MacDonalds intensified its international operations to balance the impact of growing competition in USA, its brand image became so popular outside USA that on its opening in Beijing 1992 more than 40,000 customers flooded the restaurant. Earlier in 1990, an opening of a new restaurant in Moscow drew about 30,000 people. (Marino, 2004, p.C214) throughout 1990s McDonalds have seen many year of radical transformation in its strategic policies besides its glorious years, particularly in the later years of 1990 most of its efforts to overcome its falling performance, customer satisfaction and monetary profits resulted in further decline in brand image as well as sales. The top management launched a plan to further boost restaurants growth and diversification away from just a sandwich maker by adding no less than 40 new items in the menu. In order to achieve the target of 10 to 15 percent of profits an investment of $420 million was made to upgrade few things such as kitchen and research and development. Despite all these efforts it appeared that nothing was working to put McDonalds back on track. (Marino, 2004, p.C215) This was the first time when McDonalds posted its first time ever fourth quarter loss in 2002. It is the same time when Jim Cantalupo took over the charge of the corporation and introduced Plan to Win strategy to win back the lost empire of unprecedented history of McDonalds. Jim Cantalupo preferred to focus companys generic strategy on marketing mix of the company in order to overcome the declining brand image and negative publicity experienced just before him taking over the company. His plan focused on offering customers a better experience of enjoying their fast food as compared to competitors. (Marino, 2004) WHAT IS A BUSINESS STRATEGY By all the management scientist and academicians business strategy has been defined in many variable ways. Strategy can be simply defined as a plan to reach from one point to another or it can be as composite as the global market place. In a global corporate industry environment strategy is a complex and comprehensive framework of actions put together after careful analysis of capabilities and strengths and the environmental impacts of peripheral forces manipulate the organization (Elkin, 1998) Strategy can also be defined as a framework which steer those choices that determine the nature and direction of an organization. (Tregoe Zimmerman, 1980) Leadership in a highly competitive market depends on narrowing the focus of business strategy instead of broadening it. Business strategy includes identification of organizations operational excellence, its customer intimacy, and the product leadership. These three elements are the powerful dynamics of a business strategy. (Treacy Wiersema, 1989) To achieve objects an organization can exploit its unutilised resource strength and capabilities or it can altogether develop a core competency. A companys strategy is a plan of its management to achieve and sustain a market position, conduct its operations, attract and please customers, compete successfully, and achieve organizational objectives. (Thompson Strickland, 2003, p. 3) http://www.softsia.com/screenshots/Deep-SWOT-analysis-software_sxtn.gif INTERNAL STRENGTH AND RESOURCE CAPABILITIES STRENGTHS: The assessment of in-house resources of an organization is evaluated in relation to the competitors. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) MacDonalds business strategy still upholds the philosophy of Ray Crok who in 1958 said that, the basis for our entire business is that we are ethical, truthful and dependable. It takes time to build a reputation. We are not promoters. We are business people with a solid, permanent, constructive ethical program that will be in style years from now even more than it is today. (mcdonalds.com) a) Market Leadership In the fast food chains in the world McDonalds has one of the strong international presence, in the USA alone it has over 13,500 restaurants and 16,500 restaurants worldwide. It was operation in 120 countries of the world with Burger King at number two in 2002 was operating in 120 countries of the world with Burger King at number two with only 58 countries. Its operating income from worldwide operations almost compared the income from domestic operations. In USA McDonalds secured over 32 percent of the sales of top no less than 30 chains in 2003 out of which about 30 percent of the sales come from its international operations. The leadership of McDonalds amongst restaurants chains have widely been recognized and have placed it in a very strong position to increase and retain a major part of this market share. (Marino, 2004) B) Financial Strength Another very important policy of McDonalds is to own all real estates for franchised or company operated location. This gives a large rental income and asset base for the company. Beverley Vasquez in his article; McDonalds Takes Bite from its Land holding published in Denver Business Journal in 1998 says that McDonalds generate more money from its rent than from its franchise fees. (Denver Business Journal 50, p. B9) its strategy to own its real estates has given it even more control over what it can do with the land. The major advantage of this policy was to choose a piece of land to build a restaurant in any suitable location to generate maximum sales and to make financial assets and remove the impact of development McDonalds keeps about 100% of profits from company owned restaurants. (Marino, 2004) like any other company in the same business McDonalds liquidity is within the industrial standards. McDonalds current ratio in 2003 was 0.76, maintaining or improving current ratio help meet current liabilities and short term debts without putting further constraints on company operations. c) Brand Image In 2003 McDonalds brand value was placed at 8th number among worlds most valuable brand with $24.69 billion (source: interbrand). Brand image is the totality of consumer perceptions about the brand, or how they see it. Companies have to work hard on the consumer experience to make sure that what customers see and think is what they want them to. (Temporal, 2002 Marino, 2004) d) Innovative Skills In a global market place a company needs to be well aware of particular needs and requirements of the people defined by their cultural and religious affiliations and their particular eating habits. Due to changing eating habits of its customers McDonalds has improved its menus many times. This was due to many reasons such as innovation in food processing and cooking and growing health awareness in people. (Marino, 2004) Its menus in almost all countries reflect the local traditional elements and tastes. Kosher for Jewish people in Israel, introduction of low fat food across the chain, and menus according to particular French, Chinese and South American tastes are a few examples. It has integrated local eating trends and traditions successfully across the world by changing the local menus in several regions of the world, McDonalds have almost always adapted to the changes in the costumers preferences despite some of its failure to regain sales revenues in late 1990s. WEAKNESSES: a) Weak Strategic Direction Chairman and CEO Alan Greenberg took the full responsibility of its poor performance and resigned after face the first ever loss In fourth quarter 2002. The collapse was mainly cause of launching many concordant initiative and be deficient of will to completely implement them or waiting for the outcome of any particular initiative. Due to this deprived strategic decision making, management was left with no clear directions. Increased competition and hostility among the franchises forced company to review its policies regarding development, association, quality and customer services. At one stage company publicized 40 new menu items and customized cooking system which cost company a hefty $420 million. (Marino, 2004) A week strategy or failure to fittingly launch a strategy may result in a week performance of the overall business. (Thompson Strickland, 2003) If a company alter its business strategy it may result in customer confusion, price oriented customer may switch to another low cost leader if the business employing a low cost strategy shifts its focus to differentiation strategy At the same time those customers willing to pay a premium price may not identify the organizations strategic change. (Parnell, John A.,2003) b) Customer Services McDonalds discontinued its principal of restaurant evaluation system in early 1990(namely QSVC, Quality, Service, Value, and Cleanliness) in order to reduce the tension among franchises and to pave way for international growth and to improve its partnership with leading superstores. It was expected that companys image would regain When Greenberg reinstituted its Quality, Service, Cleanliness inspections and mystery shopping in 2001, but in 2002 company was ranked lesser than its main rivals including KFC, Wendys, Burger King, and even US internal revenue services. c) Revenues Losses and Share value In the start of 2003, McDonalds had to face a loss of $343.8 million in its first quarter Followed by a constant decline in revenue during 12 months to April 2003. Companys share value dipped to all time low. At one point in March 2003 it was being traded at $12.50. Putting further pressure on short term and long term liquidity and constraining the company to keep equity at sustainable level. d) Employees Turnover Employee turnover is very important in any organization accurate, efficient and quick customer service mostly relies on staff training and experience. McDonalds has 300 percent high employees turnover than industry average. This clearly means McDonalds not only have to train more than average employees but also have to wait until they are fully functional and experienced. It is 40 seconds slower than its close rival Wendys in drive-thru operation but still it generates almost 60 percent of its revenue from them. EXTERNAL MARKET FACTORS OPPORTUNITIES: a) Revenue Generation The strong worldwide presence of McDonalds provide it an opportunity to produce revenues from public offering and this was experienced successfully in case of Japan. Public offering could be phased out in 120 countries of the world once McDonalds could grow strong in each country. b) Diversification materialization of mega-store and expansion in their process has unlocked a new market segment for McDonalds retail products. Further new opportunity include launching McDonalds novelty products like watches and toys to be sold across the world and going into joint schemes with non rival companies to use MacDonalds premises to uphold their product. THREATS: a) Trends in Sandwich Restaurant industry McDonalds has faced challenges by the new trends in eating healthier food alternatives along with the other industry players. Customer dietary awareness grew after findings of various scientific researches advocating eating healthy food with lesser fats, oil and sugar contents. Sandwich chain have to keep modifying their menu in order to be concerned about customers wellbeing. McDonalds has to continue focusing on adjusting its policy to reflect healthier aspects of menu items or it could be an easy target for negative publicity. McDonalds main rivals Burger King and Wendys have addressed current consumer health trends more successfully. Particularly, Wendys has responded to this with the introduction of their gourmet salad line. Typically 30% of those consumers visiting Wendys do so specifically for the purpose of purchasing salads from their Garden Sensations salad line. (Marino, 2004) Soon after recognizing the market, the super store jumped into sandwich industry by offering read ymade meals and sandwiches at competitive prices further increasing competition for McDonalds and its rivals as well. b) Intense Competition After 2003 it was expected for systemwide sandwich industry in USA to grow around only 2 percent for foreseeable future. There was a shrinkage in local restaurant industry due to increased competition amongst traditional rivals, many chains were copying McDonalds theme at that time increasing market share was more difficult in both USA and worldwide. (Marino, 2004) a large number of customer was shifting to other low price outlets of similar quality and service as they were becoming more price conscious. The ideal condition is for the strength/ competitive assets to outweigh its weakness/ competitive liabilities by an ample margin-50/50 balance is definitely not the desired condition. (Thompson Strickland, 2003, p120) PEST ANALYSIS The analysis of macro environment in which business operates is called PEST analysis its consist of four elements Political, Economical, Social and Technological. POLITICAL FACTORS Individual state policies enforced by the government greatly influenced the international operations of McDonalds. Many groups in Europe and USA clamor for the actions taken by the state pertaining to the hygiene, health and fitness proposition of eating fast food. They have pointed out that things like cholesterol are harmful for human body and adverse effects like obesity are attributable to consuming fast food products. (ivythesis 2010) On the contrary, there are number of internal policies and regulation in order to control the company, specific segments of the market focus on different fields of concern for example environment, worker protection and specially health. In all parts of country and outside the country government check all these elements before issuance of any kind of license in the respective states. In countries like India it is a looming legal dispute in the franchise of McDonalds where certain breach of rights and violation of religious laws pertaining to the contents of the food, it is highly offensive to the Hindu religion in that region to have meat in their menus. There are also other studies that points to the infringement of McDonalds Stores with reference to the existing employment laws in the target market. Like any business venture, these McDonalds stores have to contend with the issues of employment procedures as well as their tax obligations so as to succeed in the foreign market. (ivyth esis 2010) ECONOMIC FACTORS It is seen that there are always numerous problem available to fast food industry and no organization in this business are excused for any disputes and troubles, all have concerns up to certain extant regarding economic factors individually. Branches and franchises of fast food chains like McDonalds are likely to experience difficulties in case the economy of any country is hit by inflation and a rapid change in exchange rates. In conditions like this customer have to go over the usual budget and they have to think whether or not they should use up more of these foreign fast food chains therefore these businesses must think of some solutions to deal with the effects of the economic environment specially when the problem are caused by the consumer behavior these issue can lead to a serious problem as it could influence their general sales. In regarding the operations of the company, food chains like McDonalds tend to import much of their raw materials into a specific territory if ther e is a dearth of supply.   Exchange rate fluctuations will also play a significant role in the operations of the company. if a franchise operates in a particularly economically weak state, hence their products shall cost higher than the other existing products in the market, then these franchises must take on certain adjustments to maintain the economies of scale. (ivythesis 2010) SOCIAL FACTORS The surveys and articles on the international strategies of McDonalds have been working in many areas to assure worthwhile returns for the organization. The company put so much effort to improve on establishing a favorable mind set from their basic consumer. McDonalds indulge a particular variety of consumers with definite types of personalities. It has also seen that McDonalds has provide the market such as United Kingdom an extra option in their dining needs and requirements as they have introduced a valued and reasonable set of food that affectionate a reliable level of quality for the respective market where it operates.   Additionally, those who are aged just below the bracket of thirty-five are said to be the most frequent consumers of McDonalds franchises. ( 2005) TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS McDonalds produces demand for their own products. Television advertisement is one of the companys key tool for marketing. It has also been seen that McDonalds are inclined to the interest the younger populations more, this can been seen in different ways such as distribution of toys in their meals offered by the company and the existence of play spots in the restaurant areas. Similar demonstrations can be seen in the commercial they make it clearly reflects their marketing strategy. They employ animated depictions of their characters like Grimace and Hamburglar. On the other hand they hire popular celebrities in order to promote their products. Their campaign regarding their logo Im Loving it is renowned across the globe and is recognized well in people of all ages. Moreover McDonalds has significantly been infused with new technology in their operating system and their biggest achievement is to introduce a Just In Time strategy Elements like the inventory system and the management o f the value chain of the company allows for easy payments for their suppliers and other vendors which the individual stores in respective markets deal with. The integration of technology in the operations of McDonalds tend to add value to their products. Basically, this is manifested in the improvements on its value chain. The improvement of the inventory system as well as its supply chain allows the company to operate in an international context. (ivythesis 2010) FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS 1. Rivalry Amongst Existing Competitors It has been seen that the competition in restaurant industry is too high as there are large number of many fast food businesses that are fighting with each other in order to get the bigger market share and to improve their customer base, McDonalds is not an exception to this, it has excelled in this sector of the market since its commencement in 1940. Nevertheless to stay competitive they started with McCafe and gained a huge success as a fast food providers. Another major step came out when McDonald started Breakfast to compete with the existing business serving breakfast. Hence, this industry is extremely competitive and the MDC should be up to date with customer taste preferences.(quickmba 2010) 2. Threat of Entrants It is hard to set up a different brand name as well as to enter the restaurant business, The cost of entry in the market is extremely high there is big research and development costs. Large established companies with strong brand identities such as McDonalds do make it more difficult to enter and succeed within the marketplace, it is difficult for new entrants to find their place as they are faced with price competition from existing chain restaurants.(quickmba 2010) 3. Threat of Substitutes There are many substitutes in this industry. Since there are a wide variety of products that people can choose, they could either be substituted by MDC Burgers, Beverages, dairy products, and others. 4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Power of suppliers within the fast food industry would be relatively small, unless the main ingredient of the product is not readily available. 5. Bargaining Power of Buyers Relatively strength of buyers is low in this industry http://maven.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/porter5forces3.gif SCHOOLS OF STRATEGY Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel discuss various approaches to strategic planning and they identify 10 different schools of thought which are divided into Prescriptive and Descriptive. We can apply Prescriptive schools for Strategy formulation and Descriptive School for Strategy formation. A) PRESCRIPTIVE SCHOOLS Prescriptive means what can be done most realistically. The prescriptive strategy takes other factors into consideration while analyzing multiple criteria and conflicting objections. After this, then chooses what strategy would or could be done realistically based on the objectives previously listed. According to the prescriptive strategy, the second best decision might be more appropriate. The prescriptive approach includes an analysis of possible decisions around a chosen solution known as sensitivity analysis. 1. Design School: This strategy is adopted by McDonalds in a way they have matched their internal situation of the company with the outside situation caused by the environment. Thus the strategy of the company is made and function to signify the best likely fit. 2. Planning School: Here strategy arrangement is seen as a prescribed procedure, which follows a thorough set of steps from scrutiny of the condition to the growth and exploration of different substitute scenarios. 3. Positioning School: This is very important approach as it is very much influenced by the Porters work, formation of strategy as an logical process that place the organization in the same context of the business the company is in, McDonald as a business used this as a strong tool of their strategy. B) DESCRIPTIVE SCHOOLS Descriptive means what is usually done. The descriptive strategy is done based on past evidence. It is something that has been most likely done in the past. 1. Entrepreneurial School: In McDonalds this approach look upon strategy formation as a visionary process, that is going on within the mind of the captivating founder or leader of the company. 2. Learning School: The whole function of this strategy is to educate people where the management of an the company take care of the workers that they work efficiently and does not work over time and incorporates these lessons learned into their overall plan of action. 3. Power School: Here strategy progress is appear to be a process of cooperation between power holders within the company, and or between the company and external stakeholders. 4. Cultural School: This strategy talk about developing a culture that makes the working condition comfortable for all this school takes the strategy formation as collective process that includes multiple groups and departments within the organization the strategy developed is thus a reflection of the corporate culture of the organization. 5. Environmental School: In response to the current challenges imposed by the external environment, this strategy structuring is seen to be a reactive process. 6. Configuration School: This is the last school and the purpose of strategy formation can be easily seen as method of altering the organization from one type of decision making structure into another. CONCLUSION McDonalds have increase its product line to ensure they have multiple products to choose form and to remain competitive to their rivals, and have focused to provide better and continuous service, they also have reduced their cost by reducing their supply chain expenses. In order to retain customers they have expanded their happy meal choices and took further step by adding premium and different coffees in their beverages menu as well as cakes and pastries. The concept of toys introduced by McDonalds for all kind of generations specially for kids was new to everyone in the market. As a suggestion they must provide special promotion during the festivals, apart from organizing birthday parties they should move on to one step ahead in organizing or sponsoring college festivals. After analyzing the marketing mix of McDonalds, it is clear that the company can be said to be `global, i.e. combining elements of globalization and internationalization. McDonalds have achieved this through apply ing the maxim, `think global, act local REFERENCE Marino, L. Jackson, K.B., 2004; McDonalds: Polishing the Golden Arches, p. c213-c234, Case Study 13, Thompson A. A. Strickland, A. J., 2004, Strategic Management, Concept and Cases, 13th Edition, McGraw Hill †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Thompson A. A. Strickland, A.J., 2003, Strategic Management, Concept and Cases, 13th Edition, McGraw Hill. †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Johnson, Gerry Scholes, Kevan; 2002, Exploring Corporate Strategy, Text and Cases, 6th Edition, FT-Prentice Hal †¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Hooley, G.J., Saunders, J.A. Piercy, N. 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Memo to Martha Stewart, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia Essay -- Lette

Memo to Martha Stewart, CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia Dear Ms. Stewart, I am writing to address some concerns I have about the future of your company, Martha Stewart Omnimedia (MSO). Perhaps the one issue that you are grappling with at present is about the Imclone scandal. You have been accused of selling $227,000 worth of Imclone stock based on inside information. Because of these charges of insider trading, your critics have summarily associated you with other disgraced company directors: Kenneth Lay of Enron and Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom. But the strange thing about your case is that while other CEOs have been charged for making use of their own companies to gain profit for themselves, you, on the other hand, have not purposefully misled investors or doctored MSO’s accounts. William Evan and Edward Freeman, in their essay â€Å"A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation,† argue that the objective of a company and its managers is not only to maximize profit for its owners and stockholders, but also to balance the benefits received or losses incurred by other stakeholders—employees, suppliers, customers, and the local community, all of whom may be influenced by company decisions. As the owner of MSO, your aim is ostensibly to maximize profits for yourself, but unlike most other indicted CEOs, you have not tried to obtain personal gains at the expense of the stakeholders of your enterprise. Rather, the charges that have been brought against you are for your dealings with another company; in this day and age where investors bemoan the lack of ethics of CEOs who use the power of their position in the boardroom to achieve selfish gains at the expense of their own company and its stakeholders, the charges of insider t... ...ks Cited Carnegie, Andrew. â€Å"Wealth.† Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Denice Martone. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 279-84. Didion, Joan. â€Å"Everywoman.com.† Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Denice Martone. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 143-52. Evan, William M. and Edward R. Freeman. â€Å"A Stakeholder Theory of The Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism.† Advanced College Essay: Business and Its Publics. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Denice Martone. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 329-38. Hays, Constance L. â€Å"Martha Stewart Living Says Revenue Fell 14% in the Quarter.† The New York Times. 1 May. 2003. Martha Stewart Omnimedia. Martha Stewart Omnimedia. 16 Oct. 2001. http://www.marthastewart.com