Essay on Inventory Managment - 1206 Words

Inventory itself is a list of products that a company has available for sale to customers. So what is Inventory Management? By definition according to BusinessDictionary.com, â€Å"Inventory Management is policies, procedures, and techniques employed in maintaining the optimum number or amount of each inventory item†. There are many other definitions such as â€Å"a retailer seeking to acquire and maintain a proper merchandise assortment while ordering, shipping, handling, and related costs are kept in check† or â€Å"all functions related to the tracking and management of material†, and in business management, the management of †a list of goods and materials held available in stock†. Inventory Management is necessary in order to provide continuous†¦show more content†¦According to InventoryManagement.com â€Å"The scope of inventory management also concerns the fine lines between replenishment lead time, carrying costs of inventory, asset management, inventory forecasting, inventory valuation, inventory visibility, future inventory price forecasting, physical inventory, available physical space for inventory, quality management, replenishment, returns and defective goods and demand forecasting.† Inventory is usually never the direct responsibility of the finance department. They have more of an oversight or policing responsibility for the management of inventory. Inventory is more the responsibility of functional areas of manufacturing or operations. The executives in those areas are the ones who set the levels and how the inventory is to be managed. From there, is the levels get too high, the finance department steps in and calls attention to the problem and points out that the problem might be that it could be managed more efficiently. The finance department will also monitor levels of lost and outdated inventory to make sure that the levels don’t become too high. They need to write off this inventory but has to make sure that it isn’t excessive. Finance people also monitor the counts or physical inventories in order to reconcile what is actually on hand with what has been recorded in the company’s records. The finance department does not manage the inventory personally but it does have to make sure that the peopleShow MoreRelatedSupply Chain Design601 Words   |  3 Pagesworking at a constant output rate. Shortages and surpluses are absorbed by fluctuating inventory levels, order backlogs, and lost sales (Jacobs amp; Chase, 2011 pg.534). Employees in a level strategic manufacturing facility benefit from stable work hours at the costs of potentially decreased customer service levels and increased inventory costs. Additional concerns are the possibility that products held in inventory run the risk of becoming obsolete (Jacobs amp; Chase, 2011pg.534). Metrics AccordingRead MoreAdvance Medical Tech. Corp. Case Study2619 Words   |  11 PagesHaskins, president of AMT visited the Western National Bank to secure a Line of Credit because he was dissatisfied with AMT’s loan arrangement with Sunnyvale bank from which it had a credit line of $6 million, secured by accounts receivables and inventories. †¢ April 1986, Tom Winter, vice president and loan officer of the Western National Bank of San Francisco reviewed the loan request for $8 million from Peter Haskins of AMT. May 8, 1986, Biological Labs had made its final investment of $4 millionRead MoreInventory System Analysis2126 Words   |  9 PagesInventory Systems Analysis – Team C QRB/501 April 2, 2012 Dr. Maryam Bolouri Inventory Systems Analysis – Team C Inventory systems are something in which practically every business needs to properly function. From the small business of just a few employees to the large corporations, inventory systems are a vital part of a business s success. The types of inventory systems will vary with the number of businesses that use these different kinds of systems. Team C will present findings on theRead MoreValuation of David Jones Essay4937 Words   |  20 PagesEARNINGS MANAGEMENT 9 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS 10 TIME SERIES ANALYSIS 11 Evaluating Operating Management 14 Evaluating Investment Management 15 Evaluating Financial Management 16 CROSS SECTIONAL ANALYSIS 18 Probability 18 Investment Managment 19 Financial Management 20 FORECASTS AND VALUATIONS 21 FORECAST 21 SALES GROWTH 22 NOPAT MARGIN 23 WORKING CAPITAL TO SALES 23 NET LONGTERM ASSETS TO SALES 24 CAPITAL STRUCTURE 25 VALUATION 26 COST OF EQUITY 27 Read MoreProject Report on Inventory Management10923 Words   |  44 PagesA PROJECT REPORT ON INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A STUDY OF PIDILITE INDUSTRIES UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: Dr. Anil Sinha Dean ,Prof. Corporate finance Session: PGDM 09 IILM, GREATER NOIDA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We have prepared this study paper for the â€Å"Inventory Management System – A Study of Pidilite Industries†. We have derived the contents and approach of this study paper through discussions with company executives and internet as well as with the help of various Books, Magazines and Newspapers etcRead MoreBusiness Management and Planning for Small Businesses1738 Words   |  7 Pagesto the organization that they will face when providing such a service. Fixed Assets Since the organization will not have much in the way of actual inventory, a plan to manage their fixed assets is more practical. For example, the fleet of vehicles that the organization uses will require maintenance and periodic safety inspections. The inventory of vehicles will have to stay in top working order so that this also protects the safety of the children. Any potential accident or breakdown could resultRead MoreLsi Paper1065 Words   |  5 Pagescircumplex slice of one of the styles. The site will bring you to a customized interpretation of the style you clicked on. Click on each of the 12 slices to see all of the customized style description pages. How to Use the Inventory | Click here to go to the Life Styles Inventory (LSI) exercise.Follow the instructions given on the LSI Website. | | The content of your LSI paper must include a copy of your LSI results (circumplex and chart) and the following written sections: Section | PointsRead MoreEnterprise Resource Planning : Effective Communication And Proper Data Exchange Within Internal Departments Essay1059 Words   |  5 Pagesmodifying due to its license free feature and thus latest source code is available whenever required. Integrating different modules like Sales, HR, Accounting, Marketing, Finance, CRM, etc. Managing all the background processes right from the inventory management to shipping, or from purchasing to production, or from marketing to invoicing, or from shopping through website to delivery and many more. Facilitates Charts/Graphs/Report generation, Quotations, Invoice creation, Email facilities, etcRead MoreExample Of A Business Plan801 Words   |  4 Pagesour operational manager, would be the main manager of our business for ultimate success. Rebecca brings experience, as well as special and distinctive compentencies to our business. This would include; her abundant knowledge in human resources, inventory, operational planning, labor, pay structure, training, and certain work tasks. Overall, Rebecca will plan and budget, organize and allocate resources, and solve problems. If Rebecca is lost, incapacitated, or cannot fulfill her duties as our headRead MoreExamples Of Project Management1027 Words   |  5 PagesChange management includes the following: †¢ Providing a focal point for all modification requests. †¢ Categorizing and approving modification requests. †¢ Centralizing the management and tracking of modification activity. †¢ Insuring that software inventory information is maintained. Task Mode Task Name Duration Start Auto Scheduled IS PROJECTS 30 days Tue 7/4/17 Manually Scheduled Intake from Service Manager 5 days Tue 7/4/17 Auto Scheduled Planned Work 30 days Mon 7/31/17 Manually Scheduled IS Supoorted

Christopher Columbus And The New World - 847 Words

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451, in his childhood, Columbus is a boy has proved to be a sea charm and ambition want to become sailors. Columbus hired to work on a sailing ship in the convent and then the Columbus expedition begins. On day, in the early morning of October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus mariners stepped ashore an island in America, a land that no one known. This is a historic event, it was a prelude to understanding the New World, and led to the proliferation of western civilization on this continent. (Congress, 2010) Christopher Columbus intent was to find a sea route to Asia and to the sight of this land; Mr. Columbus has achieved the goal and ranked Columbus is one of the greatest navigators. Christopher Columbus was self-taught, he knows the visionary experienced by the maritime voyage. Like many contemporary intellectuals, Christopher knows that the earth is round. The belief that the sea route to the west, he could reach Asia is a land of wealth. Asian goods if transported by road, will face many obstacles and damaged, causing prices can rise. Therefore, the ship can transport more commodities, it will make items have cheaper price. Christopher believes that Asia is located in the western part of Europe, but the question appeared that how far the distance between the two continents. After many years, he spent time to research about evidence from scholars and seafarers from fame, Christopher Columbus expedition to submit his plans to the King JohnShow MoreRelatedChristopher Columbus And The New World1554 Words   |  7 Pagesfind new routes to these places to get there faster, but Christopher Columbus had a completely new and perilous way to get to the East Indies. Christopher Columbus suffered many lengthy years trying to obtain approval of royals around Europe, but finally Spain agreed after being rejected once before by the Spanish. In 1492, Christopher Columbus made his first of many consequential voyages to the New World with the help of the King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. Christopher ColumbusRead MoreChristopher Columbus : The New World964 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, correct? Actually, class it is incorrect. I know your teachers in the past have taught you this numerous times. You learned that Christopher Columbus discovered the America’s which had been previously known as the New World. Also that Columbus was a hero and that is why every year the second Monday in October we celebrate Columbus Day for all the amazing things he did! Unfortunately, everything you have been taught has not been the truth. But do not worry kids;Read MoreChristopher Columbus And The New World1579 Words   |  7 PagesAugust 3rd, 1492, Christopher Columbus would depart from Spain in efforts to reach the New World and to try to colonize it. December 5th, of the same year, Columbus would arrive to an island in the Caribbean, which he proceeded to claim and call â€Å"La Espanola† (Hispaniola). More Spaniards came to the isl and to colonize it and create a plantation economy because the island was so rich and diverse in their resources. Nearly 200 years later, when France became a major European power, the French decidedRead MoreThe New World By Christopher Columbus1328 Words   |  6 PagesThe New World opened many opportunities to the Europeans. Although everyone country that came to America wanted to conquer land, they also had many different motives on what they wanted The New World to provide for them. The Spanish, French, and British all had different motives for conquering The New World, while some worked and some didn’t. The Spanish were the first to settle in The New World. Christopher Columbus, who was part of the Spanish voyage, was the first person to discover America.Read MoreChristopher Columbus s The New World1619 Words   |  7 PagesThe Federal holiday of ‘Christopher Columbus Day’ is celebrated on the second Monday of October because of Columbus’s ‘discoveries’ of the Americas in the New World. What most people do not know is that Christopher Columbus’s intentions were only for the betterment of himself. Columbus was a devout Catholic and could have been looking to spread the word of God to the ‘Indies’, his main goal was to find a water route from Europe to the West Indies. How did Christopher Columbus’s motives impact theRead MoreChristopher Columbus s The New World1194 Words   |  5 PagesAs Christopher Columbus takes the Atlantic Ocean by sail, many scholars take him as to be the â€Å"First† European traveler to have set both feet on the ground of the Americas. As Columbus reaches land on October 12,1492, he first sets foot in the Bahamas, on an island he claims â€Å"San Salvador†. While on the island, Columbus successfully takes control of the land and its â€Å"habitant† people, with the support of the Spanish. When Columbus writes the letter to Luis de Santangel, the minister of finance forRead MoreChristopher Columbus Discovered The New World851 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the â€Å"New World.† After his discovery many other explorers and missionaries from Europe explored, and eventually settled in America. By 1700 the Anglo population in the English colonies in America reached two hundred and fifty thousand (Carlisle and Golson, 2006, p.233). This was the first time European settlers came into contact with American indigenous people. Europeans were shocked and confused when observing the Native Americans. In Europe at this timeRead M oreChristopher Columbus A Hero And Founder Of The New World1569 Words   |  7 PagesWas Christopher Columbus a hero and founder of the new world or villainous destroyer of indigenous people? There is much controversy and debate around this man. Many people believe that Columbus’s discoveries were falsified or over exaggerated and that his misdeeds are left untold. Others believe that he was a great explorer and was responsible for the discovery and shaping of the new world. Is Christopher Columbus the brave explorer who ushered in the â€Å"age of exploration†, or was he the brutal andRead MoreReview Of Christopher Columbus s The New World 1605 Words   |  7 Pages3. Achievements of Christopher Columbus. 3.1. Finding and Colonising of the New World. King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I, the Catholic Monarchs of Aragon, Castile, and Leon in Spain sponsored Columbus’ first journey. The funding was used to give Columbus crewmembers, and the money to afford three ships called the Nià ±a, Pinta, and Santa Marà ­a. Columbus and his crew then sailed west in hopes to find an alternate route to the lucrative Chinese trade markets or a new Silk Road. After two monthsRead MoreChristopher Columbus s The New World1881 Words   |  8 Pages When Christopher Columbus first arrived in America 1492 on board the Santa Maria a new time line of settlements began. However, he was not the first one who discovered ‘the new world’ but he was the first one who was able to establish a permanent connection and relation with the new discovered land that was going to have great effects on the future. At first there were only a few hundred colonists from England, but later on in the early 1600s thousands of people were emigrating from Europe to North

Buad 3010 Text Bank Chp 1 Free Essays

Marketing: An Introduction, 11e (Armstrong) Chapter 1 Marketing: Creating and Capturing Customer Value 1) ________ is defined as a social and managerial process by which individuals and organizations obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging value with others. A) Value reengineering B) Human resource management C) Financing D) Marketing E) Root cause analysis Answer: D Page Ref: 5 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 1 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 2) The first step in the marketing process is ________. A) capturing value from customers to create profits and customer equity B) constructing an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value C) building profitable relationships and creating customer delight D) understanding the marketplace and customer needs and wants E) designing a customer-driven marketing strategy Answer: D Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 1 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 3) ________ are states of felt deprivation. We will write a custom essay sample on Buad 3010 Text Bank Chp 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now A) Needs B) Desires C) Demands D) Values E) Exchanges Answer: A Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 4) ________ are human needs as shaped by individual personality and culture. A) Offerings B) Wants C) Demands D) Values E) Exchanges Answer: B Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 5) When backed by buying power, wants become ________. A) social needs B) demands C) physical needs D) self-esteem needs E) exchanges Answer: B Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 6) Abel now has the buying power to purchase the computer that he wanted for the last six months. Abel’s want has now become a(n) ________. A) need B) necessity C) demand D) exigency E) desire Answer: C Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 2 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 7) ________ refers to the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products a company offers than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. A) Buyer’s remorse B) Out-of-home advertising C) Caveat emptor D) Marketing myopia E) Winner’s curse Answer: D Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) The art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them is called ________. A) marketing management B) market capitalization C) marketing liquidity D) market buzz E) marketing liberalization Answer: A Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing ) Selecting particular segments of a population of customers to serve is called ________. A) value reengineering B) brand synchronizing C) mass customizing D) target marketing E) selective administering Answer: D Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 10) The BakeWay Bite is a popular cookie sandwich marketed by the Posco Division of Home Foods. It is famous for its white cream-filled center. Home Foods created a different version of these biscuits for consumers in Germany. To appeal to German consumers, Home Food created dark chocolate filling for the same cookie sandwiches. This is an example of ________. A) bulk breaking B) cost leadership C) diversification D) target marketing E) vertical integration Answer: D Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 11) A brand’s ________ is the set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to satisfy their needs. A) dominant affect B) fringe benefit C) cardinality D) value proposition E) fundamental benefit Answer: D Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 12) Which of the following marketing management concepts is most likely to lead to marketing myopia? A) the customer-driven marketing concept B) the customer-driving marketing concept C) the societal marketing concept D) the selling concept E) the production concept Answer: E Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 13) The production concept holds that ________. A) consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless the firm undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort B) a company’s marketing decisions should consider consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, and society’s long-run interests C) consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable D) achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do E) consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features Answer: C Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 14) Henry Ford’s philosophy was to perfect the Model-T so that its cost could be reduced further for increased consumer affordability. This reflects the ________. A) customer-driving marketing concept B) marketing concept C) societal marketing concept D) production concept E) selling concept Answer: D Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 5) According to the product concept, a company should ________. A) improve marketing of its best products only B) market only those products that have high customer appeal C) focus on the target market and make products that meet those customers’ demands D) devote its energy to making continuous product improvements E) make promoting products the company’s top priority Answer: D Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course L O: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 16) The selling concept holds that ________. A) consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless the firm undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort B) a company’s marketing decisions should consider consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, and society’s long-run interests C) consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable D) achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do E) consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features Answer: A Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 17) Which of the following reflects the marketing concept philosophy? A) We don’t have a marketing department, we have a customer department. B) We’re in the business of making and selling superior products. C) We build them so you can buy them. D) When it’s profits versus customers’ needs, profits will always win out. E) You won’t find a better deal anywhere else. Answer: A Page Ref: 10-11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 18) The ________ concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do. A) marketing B) product C) production D) selling E) societal marketing Answer: A Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 19) Customer-driven marketing is most likely to work well when ________ and when customers ________. A) a clear need exists; are difficult to identify B) customers do not know what they want; have limited budgets C) there are few competitors; are concerned about their long-run welfare D) a clear need exists; know what they want E) a want exists; cannot afford it Answer: D Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 20) When customers don’t know what they want or don’t even know what’s possible, the most effective strategy is ________ marketing. A) customer-driven B) customer-driving C) societal D) production E) product Answer: B Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 21) Josie enjoys her work at Futuristic Designs Inc. Her organization understands and anticipates customer needs even better than customers themselves do and creates products and services to meet existing and latent needs, now and in the future. Josie’s firm practices ________ marketing. A) product concept B) customer-driving C) societal D) donor E) production concept Answer: B Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 22) The societal marketing concept holds that ________. A) consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless the firm undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort B) a company’s marketing decisions should consider consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, and society’s long-run interests C) the society will favor products that are available and highly affordable D) achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions better than competitors do E) consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features Answer: B Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 23) The societal marketing concept seeks to establish a balance between consumer short-run wants and consumer ________. A) short-run costs B) short-run benefits C) long-run welfare D) long-run costs E) long-run reputation Answer: C Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 24) Some fast-food restaurants offer tasty and convenient food at affordable prices, but in doing so they contribute to the national obesity epidemic and environmental problems. These fast-food restaurants overlook the ________ concept. A) marketing B) product C) production D) societal marketing E) selling Answer: D Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 25) ________ marketing is socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. A) Customer-driven B) Mass C) Sustainable D) Customer-driving E) Differential Answer: C Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 26) The overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction is called ________. A) customer lifetime management B) societal marketing C) customer relationship management D) database marketing E) sustainable customer management Answer: C Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 7) Which of the following terms refers to a customer’s evaluation of the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer relative to those of competing offers? A) customer-perceived value B) customer-oriented brand equity C) customer-perceived performance D) customer-oriented promotional mix E) customer-oriented price mix Answer: A Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course L O: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 28) Nickson released a new range of watches that were titled after the famous mountaineer Adam Wills. These new watches were promoted through claims that the design is a favorite of Adam Wills who used a similar watch designed by Nickson for its high durability and quality on his expeditions. Such a measure to entice customers to buy one’s products aims at creating ________. A) customer equity B) relationship marketing campaign C) customer-perceived value D) equitable relationship E) societal marketing campaign Answer: C Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 29) Sally purchased the newly launched â€Å"Jolie† lotion. By attempting to find out if the lotion’s perceived performance matches her expectations, Sally was measuring her level of customer ________. A) perceived value B) satisfaction C) equity D) engagement E) lifetime value Answer: B Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 30) Ryan attempts to deliver customer satisfaction every day in his installation business, Audio Expressions. The key to achieving this goal is to match the customer-perceived performance of his product with ________. A) company projections B) customer values C) customer expectations D) customer relationship levels E) company expectations Answer: C Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 31) Bill recently bought a BMW M3. Bill had several preconceived notions on the elegance and reliability of the car. After the purchase, he discovered that the car had a lot more attributes than he initially perceived. Hence, it created an emotional relationship with the car resulting in ________. A) customer delight B) customer satiety C) customer equity D) customer value E) customer engagement Answer: A Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 32) Which of the following terms refers to the customers who make repeat purchases and tell others about their positive experiences with a product or service? A) hyper-satisfied customers B) customer evangelists C) viral marketing D) relationship partners E) social customers Answer: B Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 3) Companies can build customer relationships at many levels, depending on the nature of the target market. Hence, a company with few customers and high margins is most likely to seek to develop ________ with key customers. A) full partnerships B) basic relationships C) selective relationships D) categorical partnerships E) community relationships Answer: A Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 34) You are an assistant marketing director for a firm in a market with many low-margin customers. Which of the following types of relationships would be most profitable for you to develop with these customers? A) full partnerships B) basic relationships C) categorical partnerships D) selective relationships E) community relationships Answer: B Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 35) The Niketown running club that organizes twice weekly evening runs for Nike customers is an example of a ________. A) frequency marketing program B) customer-driven marketing event C) club marketing program D) consumer-generated marketing program E) sustainable marketing event Answer: C Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 36) Greater consumer control means that companies must rely more on marketing by ________ rather than marketing by ________. A) interruption; involvement B) attraction; intrusion C) socialization; information D) producing; selling E) inspiration; competition Answer: B Page Ref: 18 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 7) Which of the following is an example of consumer-generated marketing? A) Toyota’s page on Facebook which provides information about its upcoming cars to its customers B) Nike’s Nike Plus Web site which helps its customers to customize their shoes C) BMW’s use of brand-related videos posted on video-sharing Web sites by its customers D) Neiman Marcus’s InCircle Rewards program fo r its best customers E) the Lexus Covenant aimed at creating customer delight Answer: C Page Ref: 19 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills; Use of information technology Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) Ellis, a marketing manager at a regional chain restaurant, has decided to create a contest calling for customers to create commercials for the restaurant. Winning entries will be posted on the organization’s home page. Ellis’ plan is an example of ________ marketing. A) consumer-generated B) sustainable C) customer club D) differential E) mass Answer: A Page Ref: 19 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 39) ________ describes a longer channel, stretching from raw materials to components to final products that are carried to final buyers. A) The supply chain B) Direct marketing C) Partnership relationship marketing D) DSS E) CRM Answer: A Page Ref: 20 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 40) The final step in the marketing process is ________. A) capturing value from customers B) constructing an integrated marketing program C) building profitable relationships with the customers D) understanding the marketplace E) designing a customer-driven marketing strategy Answer: A Page Ref: 20 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 1) At Ken’s boutique, the policy statement posted in the reception states that â€Å"Without our customers, we don’t exist. † Ken and his staff aim to delight each customer and they are quick to offer discounts or extra services whenever a customer is anything less than satisfied. Instead of focusing on each individual transaction, Ken and his staff are putting a priority on ___ _____. A) maintaining customer-perceived value B) managing partner relationships C) attracting â€Å"butterflies† D) converting â€Å"strangers† into â€Å"butterflies† E) capturing customer lifetime value Answer: E Page Ref: 21 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 42) ________ refers to the portion of the customer’s purchase that a company gets in its product categories. A) Value proposition B) Share of customer C) Brand equity D) Customer ownership E) Customer equity Answer: B Page Ref: 21 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 43) ________ is the total combined customer lifetime values of all the company’s current and potential customers. A) Share of customer B) Customer payoff C) Customer equity D) Customer cardinality E) Customer perceived value Answer: C Page Ref: 22 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 44) The ultimate aim of customer relationship management is to produce ________. A) high customer equity B) high current market share C) steady sales volume D) high customer payoff E) profit maximization Answer: A Page Ref: 22 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 45) Customers can be classified into four relationship groups, according to their profitability and projected loyalty. Based on this classification, you should avoid ________ and shouldn’t invest anything in them. A) barnacles B) strangers C) butterflies D) true believers E) true friends Answer: B Page Ref: 22-23 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 46) Customers can be classified into four relationship groups, according to their profitability and projected loyalty. According to this classification, a highly profitable, short-term customer is known as a ________. A) true friend B) butterfly C) stranger D) barnacle E) true believer Answer: B Page Ref: 23 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 7) Customers can be classified into four relationship groups, according to their profitability and projected loyalty. With reference to this classification, a firm should turn true friends into ________, who come back regularly and tell others about their good experiences with the company. A) barnacles B) butterflies C) strangers D) true believers E) stars Answer: D Page Ref: 23 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 48) Carla, a team leader in charge of customer relationship management, is planning strategies for improving the profitability of her firm’s least rofitable but loyal customers. She is also examining methods for â€Å"firing† customers in this group who cannot be made profitable. To which of the following customer relationship groups do these customers belong? A) butterflies B) true friends C) strangers D) barnacles E) short-term customers Answer: D Page Ref: 23 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 49) Which of the following has been the most common consumer response to the economic downturn that began in 2008? A) spending more on luxury items B) discontinuing any spending on luxury items C) spending less and choosing products more carefully D) spending more on leisure and travel E) saving more and spending more on grocery items Answer: C Page Ref: 24 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 5 50) Your state’s department of health has budgeted a significant amount of money for a radio, print, television, and online advertising campaign emphasizing the ill effects of smoking. This is an example of a(n) ________ campaign. A) ethical B) social marketing C) for-profit D) consumer-generated E) differentiated Answer: B Page Ref: 28 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 5 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 51) With its marketing strategy chosen, the company constructs an integrated marketing program consisting of a blend of marketing mix elements called the ________, that transforms the marketing strategy into real value for customers. A) three stars B) customer values C) four Ps D) perceived attributes E) five domains Answer: C Page Ref: 29 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 5 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 52) Marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 5 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 1 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 53) The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 5 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 1 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 54) Wants are the form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 55) The difference between human needs and wants is that needs are not influenced by marketers. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 56) When backed by buying power, needs become wants. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 57) Market offerings are limited to physical products. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 58) Market offerings can include products, services, information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 59) When sellers pay less attention to the specific products they offer and more attention to the benefits and experiences produced by these products, they suffer from marketing myopia. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 60) If marketers set consumer expectations too low, they may satisfy those who buy but fail to attract enough buyers. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 7 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 2 1) The process of dividing the market into segments of customers is known as market penetration. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 62) Marketing managers are interested in serving all customers in every way to remain competitive in today’s markets. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 63) A brand’s value proposition is the set of benefits or values it promises to deliver to consumers to satisfy their needs. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 64) The production concept and product concept are orientations that can lead to marketing myopia. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 65) Nickson Cameras has developed a new design for cameras that their staff believes will offer the most in terms of quality, performance, and innovative features. Nickson Cameras is practicing the production concept here. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 66) The selling concept holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 67) The major difference between customer-driving marketing and customer-driven marketing is that the customer-driving marketing considers only existing needs. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) The societal marketing concept holds that a company’s marketing decisions should consider consumers’ wants, the company’s requirements, consumers’ long-run interests, and society’s long-run interests. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 11 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 69) Product, price, place, and promotion make up the elements of a firm’s marketing mix. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 12 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 70) In its broadest sense, customer relationship management (CRM) is a customer data management activity. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 71) Customer value is defined as the customer’s evaluation of the perceived difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer relative to those of competing offers. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 72) To all consumers, value means sensible products at affordable prices. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 3) Customer-perceived value depends on the product’s perceived performance relative to a buyer’s expectations. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 74) In markets with few customers and high margins, sellers should try to develop basic relationships rather than full partnerships . Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 75) Club marketing programs reward customers who buy frequently or in large amounts. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 76) Greater consumer control means that companies can no longer rely on marketing by attraction. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 18 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 77) Through consumer-generated marketing, consumers themselves are playing a bigger role in shaping their own brand experiences and those of others. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 19 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) In addition to being good at customer relationship management, marketers must also work closely with others inside and outside the company to jointly bring more value to customers. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 20 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 79) Success at delivering customer value rests on how well their entire supply chain performs against competitor s’ supply chains. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 20 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 80) Customer equity is a measure of the past value of the company’s customer base. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 22 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 81) Customers can be classified into four relationship groups, according to their profitability and projected loyalty. With reference to this classification, â€Å"barnacles† are potentially profitable but not loyal. Answer: FALSE Page Ref: 23 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 82) Ever since the Great Recession, marketers are focusing on value-for-the-money, practicality, and durability in their product offerings and marketing pitches. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 24 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 5 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 83) Most traditional brick-and-mortar companies have now become click-and-mortar companies. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 27 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 5 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 84) In the final step, the company reaps the rewards of its strong customer relationships by capturing value from customers. Answer: TRUE Page Ref: 30 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 5 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 5) What is marketing? Briefly describe the marketing process. Answer: We define marketing as the process by which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return. The marketing process consists of five steps. In the first four steps (Understand the marketplace and customer needs and wants, Design a customer-driven marketing strategy, Construct an integr ated marketing program that delivers superior value, and Build profitable relationships and create customer delight), companies work to understand onsumers, create customer value, and build strong customer relationships. In the final step (Capture value from customers to create profits and customer equity), companies reap the rewards of creating superior customer value. By creating value for consumers, they in turn capture value from consumers in the form of sales, profits, and long-term customer equity. Page Ref: 5-6 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 1 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 86) Briefly compare and contrast the concepts of needs, wants, and demands, giving an example of each. Discuss how these concepts relate to marketing practices. Answer: Human needs are states of felt deprivation. Needs are part of the human make-up; they are not created by external forces. Humans have a basic physical need for food, clothing, warmth, and safety; a basic social need for belonging and affection; and a basic individual need for knowledge and self-expression. Unlike needs, wants are not innate; instead, wants are needs shaped by culture, society, and individual personality. For example, an American needs food but wants a Big Mac and a soft drink. An American needs food, wants a Big Mac and soft drink, and demands lunch at McDonalds. Wants become demands when they are backed by consumers’ buying power. Marketers conduct extensive research to understand customers’ wants and demands. They then attempt to fulfill customers’ wants and demands through their market offerings. Page Ref: 6 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 2 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 87) Explain market offerings and marketing myopia. Answer: Consumers’ needs and wants are fulfilled through market offerings—some combination of products, services, information, or experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or a want. Market offerings are not limited to physical products. They also include services—activities or benefits offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. Examples include banking, airline, hotel, retailing, and home repair services. More broadly, market offerings also include other entities, such as persons, places, organizations, information, and ideas. Many sellers make the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products they offer than to the benefits and experiences produced by these products. These sellers suffer from marketing myopia. They are so taken with their products that they focus only on existing wants and lose sight of underlying customer needs. They forget that a product is only a tool to solve a consumer problem. A manufacturer of quarter-inch drill bits may think that the customer needs a drill bit. But what the customer really needs is a quarter-inch hole. These sellers will have trouble if a new product comes along that serves the customer’s need better or less expensively. The customer will have the same need but will want the new product. Page Ref: 6-7 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 2 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) How does a company decide whom it will serve? Answer: A company decides whom it will serve by dividing the market into segments of customers (market segmentation) and selecting which segments it will go after (target marketing). Some people think of marketing management as finding as many customers as possible and increasing demand. But marketing man agers know that they cannot serve all customers in every way. By trying to serve all customers, they may not serve any customers well. Instead, the company wants to select only customers that it can serve well and profitably. Ultimately, marketing managers must decide which customers they want to target and on the level, timing, and nature of their demand. Page Ref: 9 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 89) Compare and contrast the product and production concepts. Answer: The production concept holds that consumers will favor products that are available and highly affordable. Therefore, management should focus on improving production and distribution efficiency. This concept is one of the oldest orientations that guides sellers. The production concept is still a useful philosophy in some situations. For example, both personal computer maker Lenovo and home appliance maker Haier dominate the highly competitive, price-sensitive Chinese market through low labor costs, high production efficiency, and mass distribution. However, although useful in some situations, the production concept can lead to marketing myopia. Companies adopting this orientation run a major risk of focusing too narrowly on their own operations and losing sight of the real objective-satisfying customer needs and building customer relationships. The product concept holds that consumers will favor products that offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features. Under this concept, marketing strategy focuses on making continuous product improvements. Product quality and improvement are important parts of most marketing strategies. However, focusing only on the company’s products can also lead to marketing myopia. For example, some manufacturers believe that if they can â€Å"build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to their doors. † But they are often rudely shocked. Buyers may be looking for a better solution to a mouse problem but not necessarily for a better mousetrap. The better solution might be a chemical spray, an exterminating service, a house cat, or something else that suits their needs even better than a mousetrap. Furthermore, a better mousetrap will not sell unless the manufacturer designs, packages, and prices it attractively; places it in convenient distribution channels; brings it to the attention of people who need it; and convinces buyers that it is a better product. Page Ref: 10 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 90) Compare the selling and marketing concepts, listing the key components of each philosophy. Answer: The selling concept reflects an inside-out philosophy, while the marketing concept takes an outside-in perspective. The selling concept is typically practiced when an organization is marketing products or services that buyers do not normally think of purchasing, such as insurance or blood donation. Aggressive selling focuses on creating sales transaction rather than on building long-term relationships with customers, with the aim of selling what the company makes rather than making what the customer wants. The marketing concept, on the other hand, is based upon identifying the needs and wants of target markets and then satisfying those needs and wants better than competitors do. Under the marketing concept, customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits. Instead of a product-centered make and sell philosophy, the marketing concept is a customer-centered sense and respond philosophy. The job is not to find the right customers for your product but to find the right products for your customers. Page Ref: 10-11 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 91) Briefly explain the societal marketing concept. Give an example of an organization that has effectively used the societal marketing concept. Answer: The societal marketing concept questions whether the pure marketing concept overlooks possible conflicts between consumer short-run wants and consumer long-run welfare. Is a firm that satisfies the immediate needs and wants of target markets always doing what’s best for its consumers in the long run? The societal marketing concept holds that marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the consumer’s and society’s well-being. It calls for sustainable marketing, socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Johnson Johnson is an example of a company that has successfully implemented the societal marketing concept. The organization stresses honesty, integrity, and putting people before profits, an ethic that helped Johnson Johnson quickly address and recover from the poisonous tampering of Tylenol capsules in 1982. Page Ref: 11-12 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 3 AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning abilities Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 92) Define customer perceived value. Answer: Attracting and retaining customers can be a difficult task. Customers often face a bewildering array of products and services from which to choose. A customer buys from the firm that offers the highest customer-perceived value. It is defined as the customer’s evaluation of the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a market offering relative to those of competing offers. Importantly, customers often do not judge values and costs â€Å"accurately† or â€Å"objectively. † They act on perceived value. Page Ref: 13 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 3) The aim of customer relationship management is to create not just customer satisfaction, but customer delight. Explain. Answer: Customer satisfaction cannot be taken for granted. Because brand loyalty is dependent upon strong customer satisfaction, companies strive to retain, satisfy, and even delight current customers. Firms create customer delight by promising only what they can deliver and then delivering more than what they promised. They also create emotional relationships with key customers. Delighted customers make repeated purchases and become customers for life. More importantly, they also essentially become an unpaid sales force for the firm as â€Å"customer evangelists’ who tell other potential customers about their positive experiences with the product. Page Ref: 14 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 94) Companies can build customer relationships at many levels, depending on the nature of the target market. Explain the different types of relationships with examples. Answer: At one extreme, a company with many low-margin customers may seek to develop basic relationships with them. For example, Nike does not phone or call on all of its consumers to get to know them personally. Instead, Nike creates relationships through brand-building advertising, public relations, and its numerous Web sites ad apps. At the other extreme, in markets with few customers and high margins, sellers want to create full partnerships with key customers. For example, Nike sales representatives work closely with the Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, and other large retailers. In between these two extremes, other levels of customer relationships are appropriate. Beyond offering consistently high value and satisfaction, marketers can use specific marketing tools to develop stronger bonds with customers. For example, many companies offer frequency marketing programs that reward customers who buy frequently or in large amounts. Airlines offer frequent-flyer programs, hotels give room upgrades to their frequent guests, and supermarkets give patronage discounts to â€Å"very important customers. † Other companies sponsor club marketing programs that offer members special benefits and create member communities. Page Ref: 16 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 95) Discuss the opportunities and advantages that new communication technologies have created for marketers. Answer: Through the Internet and related technologies, people can now interact in direct and surprisingly personal ways with large groups of others, from neighbors within a local community to people across the world. With communication technologies such as e-mail, blogs, Web sites, online communities, online social networks, and Twitter, today’s marketers incorporate interactive approaches that help build targeted, two-way customer relationships. Marketers can create deeper consumer involvement and a sense of community surrounding a brand, making a brand a meaningful part of consumers’ conversations and lives. However, while new communication tools create relationship-building opportunities for marketers, they also create challenges. They give consumers a greater voice, and therefore greater power and control in the marketplace. Today’s consumers have more information about brands than ever before, and they have a wealth of platforms for airing and sharing their brand views with other consumers. This benefits companies when views of its products are positive, but can be damaging when customers share stories of negative experiences with a company’s products. Page Ref: 18 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills; Use of information technology Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 96) Compare and contrast between customer-managed relationships and consumer-generated marketing. Answer: Today’s consumers have more information about brands than ever before, and they have a wealth of platforms for airing and sharing their brand views with other consumers. Thus, the marketing world is now embracing not only customer relationship management, but also customer-managed relationships. Greater consumer control means that companies can no longer rely on marketing by intrusion. Instead, marketers must practice marketing by attraction—creating market offerings and messages that involve consumers rather than interrupt them. Hence, most marketers now augment their mass-media marketing efforts with a rich mix of direct marketing approaches that promote brand-consumer interaction. For example, many brands are creating dialogues with consumers via their own or existing online social networks. A growing part of the new customer dialogue is consumer-generated marketing, by which consumers themselves are playing a bigger role in shaping their own brand experiences and those of others. This might happen through uninvited consumer-to-consumer exchanges in blogs, video-sharing sites, and other digital forums. But increasingly, companies are inviting consumers to play a more active role in shaping products and brand messages. Harnessing consumer-generated content can be a time-consuming and costly process. Page Ref: 18-19 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Communication abilities Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 97) Define customer equity and explain why it is important to a company. Answer: Customer equity is the sum of the lifetime values of all of the company’s current and potential customers. Customer equity is dependent upon customer loyalty from a firm’s profitable customers. Because customer equity is a reflection of a company’s future, companies must manage it carefully, viewing customers as assets that need to be maximized. Page Ref: 22 Difficulty: Easy Chapter LO: 4 Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 8) Describe and compare the four types of customers classified by their potential profitability to an organization. Identify how an organization should manage each type of customer. Answer: The four types of customers are strangers, butterflies, true friends, and barnacles. 1. â€Å"Strangers† have low potential profitability and loyalty. A company’s offerings do not fit we ll with a stranger’s wants and demands. Companies should not invest in building a relationship with this type of customer. 2. Another type of customer in which a company should not invest is the â€Å"barnacle. Barnacles are highly loyal but not very profitable because there is a limited fit between their needs and the company’s offerings. The company might be able to improve barnacles’ profitability by selling them more, raising their fees, or reducing service to them. However, if they cannot be made profitable, they should be â€Å"fired. † 3. Like strangers, â€Å"butterflies† are not loyal. However, they are potentially profitable because there is a good fit between the company’s offerings and their needs. Like real butterflies, this type of customer will come and go without becoming a permanent, loyal consumer of a company’s products. Companies should use promotional blitzes to attract these customers, create satisfying and profitable transactions with them, and then cease investing in them until the next time around. 4. The final type of customers is â€Å"true friends;† they are both profitable and loyal. There is a strong fit between their needs and the company’s offerings, so the company should make continuous relationship investments in an effort to go beyond satisfying and to delight these customers. A company should try to delight true friends so they will tell others about their good experiences with the company. Page Ref: 22-23 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 4 AACSB: Analytic skills Course LO: Discuss the fundamental concepts of marketing 99) Explain how the Internet has transformed the way in which we do business today. Answer: The Internet links individuals and businesses of all types to each other. The Internet allows firms access to exciting new marketspaces. The Internet has spawned an entirely new breed of â€Å"click only† companies–the â€Å"dot-coms. † The post-Internet frenzy of the late 1990s has introduced companies that are both savvy and face promising futures. These companies use a set of new Web technologies to reach customers, including blogs (web logs), cell phones, video games, and social networking sites. â€Å"Brick-and-mortar† companies of the past are now â€Å"click-and-mortar† companies, with online presences aimed at attracting new customers and strengthening bonds with current customers. More than 75% of American Internet users now shop online, making a Web presence a necessity for any organization. Page Ref: 26-27 Difficulty: Challenging Chapter LO: 5 AACSB: Use of information technology Course LO: Describe the steps involved in developing an advertising campaign How to cite Buad 3010 Text Bank Chp 1, Essay examples

Project Team Roles Construction Industry

Question: Discuss about theProject Team Rolesfor Construction Industry. Answer: Introduction The construction industry of Singapore is facing issues of productivity due to rise in costs and lack of manpower availability. Organizations need to find ways to improve productivity such that the costs can be reduced, project period can be reduced, and profitability can be increased. This research aims to identify reasons behind low productivity and come up with recommendations for improvement. Key Activities The research would involve some key steps to attain the objectives of the research including: Survey: Survey would be conducted in order to gain information on what problems or challenges are faced by the construction industry in Singapore, the underlying causes of the declining productivity and possible solutions that some of the flourishing organizations may be using to remain competitive in the environment. An objective survey would be conducted on the respondents who would include the project managers from multiple construction organizations. Literature Research: Literature review would be a major part of the research and it would involve exploration of secondary data and information sources to understand the challenges of construction industries, causes of productivity decline and possible solutions. Literature review would allow researchers to explore the methods used all over the world as well as those used in the selected region such that the collective lessons may be applied to the case of Singapore to come up with necessary recommendation. Project Outline Preparation: The research project would need to be conducted in steps and the report would include specific sections. Project outline would explain these steps and define the sections along with the brief of the content to be included. This would serve as a guide for proejct team members to follow it for completion of the project. Deciding Scope of work: The scope of work would include specific activities that are to be done in order to achieve the objectives of the project. It would also define the items that are not in the scope of the project. The project scope includes the following activities: Formation of the objectives of the research from the aim Study of past literatures on the subject and analysis of the gap in literature Brainstorming to come up with a suitable research methodology Defining a research methodology and applying sampling techniques to come with sample for primary data collection Forming questionnaire for the survey Distribution of survey and data collection from the respondents as per the sample size Data analysis of the responses obtained from the survey Bringing out recommendations through brainstorming for improving the productivity in construction industry Preparing the literature review and gap present the gap analysis Writing the whole research report including introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, conclusions, recommendations, citations and appendices. The activities that are not included in the scope of this project include: Application of the recommendations in the real scenario Testing of the recommendations given for construction productivity improvements. Team Roles The team consist of 4 members who would be assigned specific work within the research project as reflected below: Field Researcher: One of the team members would be involved in the research as a field researcher who would take care of the data collection. He would also be responsible for creating, distributing, and collecting data. He would also be responsible for managing the data formats, entry into the SPSS file and setting the variables on the file as per the requirements, and clean the data before data file is finalized for conducting analysis of the file. The questionnaire would actually be prepared using the inputs from the entire team. Research Report Writer: One of the team members would be responsible for managing the writing of reports starting with the introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, conclusions and recommendations. He would be conducting literature review and would decide on the methodology after having brainstorming with the other members of the team. Data Analyst: One of the team members would be involved in conducting the data analysis of the primary data obtained. He would be performing the analysis using SPSS and would also make interpretations by taking help from the other team members. Project Manager: One of the team members would be responsible for managing all the activities and ensuring that they are completed on time. He would e responsible for creating the plan, provisioning resources, accessing research reports, reaching out to the respondents and connecting with them for sampling and data collection. Project Plan: Project plan would go through a set of stages including pre-planning, problem definition, purpose determination, Constraints identification, Literature review, methodology, Data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, conclusions and recommendations. During re-planning, research idea would be formed and a discussion would be followed to take a decision on the investigation of the research. Time frame and budget for the research would also be identified in this stage. In the problem definition stage, research problems would be identified and each problem could have multiple interpretations and purpose. The purpose is always to achieve a certain goal which in the current research is to understand the causes of the reduction in the productivity of the construction industry in Singapore such that recommendations can be made on their improvement so as to enhance the productivity of companies in Singapore. There can be several constraints on a research project such as: Ethical concerns that can pose limitations on the research methods and their usage. For instance, ethical codes say that the researcher must not have any personal information of the respondents that can later be used for identification. Time limitations as per the defined schedule can pose limitations on a project which has to be completed within specified time limits. Budget decided for conducting research would also put limitations on how the researches can be conducted, what methods could be used, what ethnographic profiles can be approached and the size of the sample to be used. As this research has limited budget which only allows for data collection, a survey methodology is being used. The manpower involved here is only 4 members and thus, there are constraints on where to travel. Thus, most survey respondents would be approached using internet through an online survey to reduce the travel needs. The project plan for the research study would contain the following details: Aims Objectives: Aim of this project is to explore the challenges faced by construction industry of Singapore causing their productivity to decline and identify methods that can be used for improving productivity. Major objectives of this research include: Compare productivity levels of construction companies of Singapore with companies in other countries that are flourishing well in construction Identify reasons that cause productivity decline in the construction companies of Singapore. Come up with recommendations for improvements in the productivity of the construction companies in Singapore through adoption and modifications in government policies. Background and Significance: The construction industry of Singapore is currently hit by some major problems because of which productivity of the industry has been reduced. Major drivers for this decline in productivity include rising costs and inability to find the right workforce due to tight worker quota policy of the Singapore government. Growing cost of labour and lack of the talent has cause major productivity declines in the industry. The objective of these companies remains reduction of cost, improvement of profitability, and reduces the period of construction project completion. The industry has been booming for past few years and the boom is still continuing with more and more requirements for construction getting generated. There is a very strong demand for infrastructure project and public housing construction projects. This demand is going to increase over the coming 5 years. In such a situation, managing the costs would be a bug challenge for the company. The problems are further aggregated because of the fact that the economy is open to investments and entries of companies from different countries that may be capable of handling the cost factor in a better manner causing threat to the domestic construction organizations. Further, living standards of the people in the country have improved and thus, the construction outcome by the companies based in Singapore may not be considered very great by them and they would open up more to the external investments (Baguley, 2008). On the labour side, construction work appears to be dirty and dangerous which makes it difficult to attract a large amount of labour force which may be needed by the construction companies in Singapore. Thus, in order to get the workforce, organizations woo them with higher salaries which increase the cost of the project thereby causing limitations of the number of labour that can be hurried. Considering these challenges, it is important that the challenges and possible solutions of the construction industry productivity are explored by a thorough research which would be helpful in improving the conditions of the industry. Thus, this report would explore the methods used for managing construction project, identify ways costs can be reduced and productivity can be improved for construction industry (Cisneros, 2013). Preliminary Studies: There have been past studies done on the subject that have revealed some useful insights. Some major issues have been identified in these studies such as unattractiveness of the industry when considering career development and impacts of the government policy on the construction workers migrating from foreign companies. Preliminary studies have also revealed some important highlights that would be useful for the current study such a (Cleland and Kerzner, 2012): Most unemployment in Singapore is found in construction and manufacturing industry Construction industry plays a significant role in national and economic development In 2014, the employment rate of the industry has fallen down by 0.5% while production has reduced by 0.4% in the same time There are several construction companies that have winded up since 2007 including 51construction companies that have filed for liquidation. Okuns law can be applied to the case of construction companies in Singapore which explains the situation of the country. Because of low wage rates that are not comfortable with construction workers, the demand is more than labour supply causing labour shortage. This shortage can actually be eliminated if wages are increased but the industry fails to increase this supply of money and thus, supply curve is very inelastic. The law says that if there is one percent increase in unemployment, there is a 2% fall in production. As the country is developed and has good level of people who can afford education and thus, there would be more students who can afford to take higher education and thus, would look for a white collar job. Thus, there would be less number of people in the country who would be willing to join lower salaried or lower status jobs like those in construction. They are further discouraged due to the danger involved in construction work (Margerison and McCann, 2012). Some research methods have been used by researchers for such studies like: Labour and productivity impacts are studied and correlation analysis has been conducted by researchers and a positive correlation was found between the two. Most researchers have followed positivism approach to deciding research methodology and thus, have relied on the facts about people instead of their subjective perspectives. Most studied are explorative and there is no approach made for establishing any theory related to the subject Some articles have taken a deductive approach to research and tested hypothesis to understand if there is a significant relationship between labour engagement and productivity. Researchers conducted in past have used both primary data from people and secondary data such as financial or economic reports (Saynisch, 2013). Research Design and Methods There are two hypotheses that are formed in this research and would be tested in the research: Hypothesis 1: Singaporean will not work as construction workers even if the wage increases to S$2,000 per month. Hypothesis 2: Singaporean has never voiced its displeasure against hard labour workers that have never taken their job away. It is the governments wrong perception to appease Singaporean by reducing the number of foreign workers in Singapore. There are two questionnaires one containing variables related to career and job satisfaction and second questionnaire researching dependent variables derived from the past studies on the subject. A sample size of 217 is taken for each questionnaire and the researchers anticipate a response rate of 80%. A stratified random sampling method has been used for deciding the people to be surveyed. Data Analysis: The data collected in this research would be quantitatively tested using Chi-Square tests which would be used for testing the association between two major variables including type of job and job prospects. Mutually exclusive variables are less than 5 in numbers. In the second questionnaire, a likert scale would be used for understanding perceptions of people on jobs. Project Milestones and Timeliness The project would follow a stepwise procedure for completing the research considering it as a project. In this process, certain milestone dates would be planned which would determine accomplishments such that the researchers would have to complete all the tasks as planned before specific milestones. These milestones include: Milestone Deliverables Milestone Dates Milestone activities Aims and objectives refined 5th Feb 2017 Refine aims Define research objectives Introduction 10th Feb 2017 Write introduction containing research background, research aims and objectives, research significance and research paper outline Literature review 25th Mar 2017 Study previous research papers Identify gaps in literature Write literature review section for the research report. Research Methodology 5th Apr 2017 Identify research design Identify research methods for data collection and data analysis Develop a research methodology Write a research methodology Develop hypothesis statement Questionnaire 1 2 preparation 10th Apr 2017 Develop questionnaire one Test questionnaire with peers Develop questionnaire two Test questionnaire with peers Finalize questionnaire and prepare consent letter for respondents Research Data Collection 1st May 2017 Create online survey for online users Take survey questionnaire print outs for other respondents Approach respondents with questionnaire Fill the responses Collect data and feed into SPSS Conduct statistical analysis on the collected data. Define variables in SPSS Data Analysis 13th May 2017 Decide analysis methods to be used for analysis of the statistical data considering two hypothesis Conduct tests on SPSS for hypothesis testing Data Interpretation 15th May 2017 Based on the data analysis results, make some interpretations that help achieve research objectives Write conclusions recommendations 20th May 2017 Write the summary of research including key findings and come up with recommendations based on the interpretations. Finalise the report 25th May 2017 Proofread and edit the report for formats, grammar, and citations. This would mark the completion of the project and would be followed by submission. The specific milestone activities have to be achieved before the milestones to mark it as complete. If there are delays in the completion during a milestone, the time may be adjusted in other milestones or an additional time may be taken from the tutor or adjustments may be made in responsibilities such that team members share them to achieve the results faster. References Baguley, P. (2008).Project management. [New York]: McGraw-Hill. Cisneros, S. (2013).The house on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books. Cleland, D. and Kerzner, H. (2012).Engineering team management. Malabar, Fla.: R.E. Krieger Pub. Co. Margerison, C. and McCann, D. (2012).Team management. London: Mercury. Saynisch, M. (2013). Project management system for a large international project.International Journal of Project Management, 1(2), pp.115-121.

Marketing Concepts free essay sample

Therefore the customer wins and so does nokia, as nokia once again are satisfying the need of support their customers request and In Conclusion, Marketing isn’t just a posh name for selling; in fact selling is part of the marketing component. It is the process of communicating; selling is the delivery of a product to the potential customer, converting them into actual customers.Whilst it can be assumed that marketing is a posh name for selling, the difference that separates both areas is evident through simple definition and actual process. In order to sell, the consumer must want, need and afford the product, therefore without the process of research, development and catering to the consumers needs, (Marketing) Selling would not be as profitable. An organisation that fails to provide marketing will allow itself to be a business that is hoping to simply sell its products by having it available, assuming the consumers will purchase its product. We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Concepts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Whereas an organisation that adapts the marketing concept, caters for the consumer’s wants, needs, price range, customer service, through the research of its objective and the development of these objectives, along with achieving the business goals of the calculated profit it ‘Intends’ to make prior sale. Using the example of Nokia, it is clearly evident that an organisation can only obtain worldwide success through the power of marketing.Should Nokia simply release products to a store without communicating with its consumers, the organisation would be no better off than a market stall that is ‘attempting’ to Sell its products. Instead, Nokia markets its brands and as a result has successfully pre sold its brand with complete knowledge of its consumers wants and needs. For example Nokia markets and provides products for its Personal and Business consumers where as an organisation selling phones, would simply have a range ‘for sale’.Finally, marketing is the process of identifying a need and communicating a message relating to satisfaction of the need through a product to its customer. The marketing process informs the market of who you are and what you do, whilst the sales process begins when a formal offer for services has been made, and concludes when the offer is accepted or rejected. In Conclusion, Marketing isn’t just a posh name for selling; in fact selling is part of the marketing component. An organisation can improve its marketing activities through implementing the marketing concept as this will: * Develop key competencies of knowledge, experience, commitment and communicat ions * Develop strategies through overcoming areas of weakness or threats by competitors through understanding the needs/wants of their customers * Maintain the organisations vision, focus is crucial for the development of objectives and the achievement of these objectives * Allows an organisation to Define, Develop and Deliver Customer Value which in turn will create greater customer loyalty leading to profit creation

Free Essays on Development Of Christianity

The Development of Christianity Karl Marx once said, â€Å"Religion is the opiate of the masses†, this making religion a controlled substance which free practicing citizens feed off of. Religion gives people a back bone; it instills a feeling of comfort knowing that because of religion, people will not sin, or people will be good to others. Yet if religion makes people good and respectful why do people all over the world feel necessary to kill for their respective god or goddess. There are six thousand five hundred religions in the world today. And many wonder why so much religion based terror acts occur on a daily basis. It is because of the vast number of religions why we live each day in fear. It’s the people who feel their religion is superior, and feel the need to use violence to prove their point. In today’s society how did the world as whole derive so many religions? For the most part starting a new religion is not too difficult. All one needs is a new belief and followers. Take for exam ple the development of Christianity. Christianity was started by Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew, who like many others was unhappy with the beliefs of Judaism. Christians were called so because of Jesus’ title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, and grew up in the town of Nazareth. Contrary to its late rising, the new religion slowly caught on. Paul of Tarsus was considered the most important religious leader in the developing and spreading of Christian beliefs, although the religions messiah is considered to be Jesus. The Roman governor took Jesus into his control and Pontius Pilate demanded his crucifixion, because Pilate feared Jesus may start an uprising. However, a number of devoted followers were able to spread the story of Jesus. They pronounced that Jesus had overcome death, been resurrected and rose into Heaven. Still after Jesus was crucified, Paul of Tarsus wrote letters and epistle... Free Essays on Development Of Christianity Free Essays on Development Of Christianity The Development of Christianity Karl Marx once said, â€Å"Religion is the opiate of the masses†, this making religion a controlled substance which free practicing citizens feed off of. Religion gives people a back bone; it instills a feeling of comfort knowing that because of religion, people will not sin, or people will be good to others. Yet if religion makes people good and respectful why do people all over the world feel necessary to kill for their respective god or goddess. There are six thousand five hundred religions in the world today. And many wonder why so much religion based terror acts occur on a daily basis. It is because of the vast number of religions why we live each day in fear. It’s the people who feel their religion is superior, and feel the need to use violence to prove their point. In today’s society how did the world as whole derive so many religions? For the most part starting a new religion is not too difficult. All one needs is a new belief and followers. Take for exam ple the development of Christianity. Christianity was started by Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew, who like many others was unhappy with the beliefs of Judaism. Christians were called so because of Jesus’ title Christos, which is Greek for Messiah. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, near Jerusalem, and grew up in the town of Nazareth. Contrary to its late rising, the new religion slowly caught on. Paul of Tarsus was considered the most important religious leader in the developing and spreading of Christian beliefs, although the religions messiah is considered to be Jesus. The Roman governor took Jesus into his control and Pontius Pilate demanded his crucifixion, because Pilate feared Jesus may start an uprising. However, a number of devoted followers were able to spread the story of Jesus. They pronounced that Jesus had overcome death, been resurrected and rose into Heaven. Still after Jesus was crucified, Paul of Tarsus wrote letters and epistle...

Coke going Green Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Coke going Green - Term Paper Example The earlier intention of manufacturing Coke was not to vend it as a soft drink but as a form of medicine. Ironically, the opening year of its sale saw Pemberton incur a loss of $20. He never perceived that his inventiveness would be celebrated globally. Later, Pemberton sold his invented Coke formula as a Chandler in the late 1880s (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). Using his entrepreneurial and marketing skills, Chandler made the trademark a nearly global over a remarkably short time (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). His relentless advertising popularized the drink in nearly the whole of US in its early years of invention. The initial Coke was not bottled. It was Thomas and Whitehead who came with the idea of bottling the soft drink. They approached Chandler and proposed on bottling the drink (Chisholm-Burns, Vaillancourt and Shepherd, 84). However, Chandler disregarded their idea, but gave them the right to bottle the drink for only $1. It later came out that the populace preferred the bottled drink to the earlier container edition. Coca cola has expanded thus turning out to be the foremost trademark in the globe. Though the brand has become popular globally, its ingredients formula remains a mystery. Besides, the Coke Company is popular for its munificence, since it funded the foundation of the University of Emory, among other charitable

Rational Approaches to Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Rational Approaches to Organizations - Essay Example It also highlights through examples how taking an open system or a natural systems approach could benefit managers. Rational Approaches to Organizations Rational approaches present a planned and systematic approach to decision making. Applying such an approach helps managers to maintain order and resoluteness in the decision-making process. Dyck (1997) observes that rational approaches generate reason and order through a sequence of steps starting with the discovery of an opportunity or a predicament and culminating with measures to be undertaken in regard to the decisions reached. Mintzberg (1990) argues that rational approaches are based on meticulousness of analysis and assessment of all probable courses of action. This may be appealing to managers considering the fact that future actions are predetermined at the strategy setting stage. Rational approaches to strategy formulation comprise environmental scanning, portfolio and industry analysis, all which are focused on establishin g the business opportunities and threats. Environmental scanning helps managers to determine the nature of the operating environment and to set strategies for utilizing emerging opportunities as well as dealing with potential threats (Robbins & Barnwell 2006). Portfolio analysis is the formal structured examination that encompasses decisions regarding the relative significance of the accessible business opportunities where a company can invest. It allows the management to devise strategies that can supplement the business portfolio in regard to emerging investment openings and products (Ferraro et al. 2005). Industry analysis helps managers to understand the nature of a particular market in which an organization presently sells its products or is planning to penetrate in future. Such rational approaches allow managers to determine the significance of the various strategic business units and prioritize the allocation of resources depending on market attractiveness (Williamson 2000). Strategy development through this process culminates in a well-detailed scheme with various courses of action that are meticulous with monetary aspects and resource affiliated data. This process is characteristic of the standard SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) analysis in strategy development. Mitzenberg (1990) developed a comparable approach to strategy development. His planning approach involves formulating a strategy with a time line, goals and objectives which are stated and formulated to help achieve the organizational objectives. A plan is a critical source of direction for the company since it contains clearly stated objectives. Planning is a continuous process as variables keep changing hence the need for management to be ready for changes through out the organization’s life cycle (Glueck 2009). Litzenberg's planning model is limited in the sense that it is suitable for static operating environments otherwise the management needs to continuously review plans in a constantly changing environment. Plans can also not be relied upon in the long run due to technological and infrastructural advancements. The rational approaches integrate an evaluation of the organization and its operating environment with the underlying assumption that changes in the business environment will seldom affect the plan.  

Assessment of The Current Economic Situation in the US Essay

Assessment of The Current Economic Situation in the US - Essay Example This essay offers a brief informative review of the developments in the US economy after the financial crisis of 2008. The United States economy growth rate has declined considerably, after the economic crisis. The number of unemployed persons remains high. The slowing economic growth remains a concern due to the negative impacts it has had on the GDP. United States is considered to have the most technologically advanced economy with an approximated GDP of about $48, 000. The private sector dominates the economic sector with the government purchasing most of its goods and services from the private sector. One of the major disasters facing United States is the high level of unemployment, which is attributable to the 2008-2009 economic recessions. The economic recession is considered to be the worst economic crisis after the great depression. About 8.3% people remain unemployed within the U.S. The number increased after the 2008 recession as most companies tried to reduce their workforce as an attempt to counteract the inflation. In the attempt to offset the increased unemployment, the federal government enacted the American Jobs Act. The Act aimed at creating ways to prevent the slowed economic growth The United States financial sector remains fragile with increasing budget deficits. The gross domestic product remains delicate. Attempts to cut down on financial spending affected the revenues negatively. The slowed economic growth has the disadvantage of subsequent increase in unemployment but diminished possibility of inflation.

Should the US End Overseas Military Operations?

Should the US End Overseas Military Operations? Do we really feel the protection that our country is giving us? Are wars productive for a nation? Do we have to fight with each other to get better? The United States has always been involved in international issues because they always want to be the saviors of the world. The planet earth is composed of wonderful and fascinating places in which humans live, but wars in the economy and social area destroy those wonderful and exciting places. Wars bring severe consequences to our society and economy that causes destruction and lives lost. Today, sometimes distinguish between armed conflicts and wars. According to this view, a conflict would only be a war if the groups have made a formal declaration of the same. In a conception of U.S. military doctrine no distinction is made, it is referrer to armed conflict as fourth generation wars. Invasions by the United States in the world in many countries, war against terrorism and progressive impairments through the years. Although U.S. troops were on the battlefields of France in 1918, there were not serious confrontations between these countries. President Wilson wins reelection on campaign promise of maintaining neutrality, but United States is soon drawn into war raging across Europe. World War I proves to be bloodiest war in world history, often referred to as The Great War or The War to End All Wars. After World War I, disagreements arise regarding proper U.S. role as regulator of world affairs. At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? American losses 48,000 killed in battle, 56,000 lost to disease seemed trifling compared to the staggering costs paid by other countries. Germany lost 1.8 million people; Russia, 1.7 million; France, 1.4 million; Austria-Hungary, 1.2 million; and Britain, 950,000. The War to End All Wars, as it was called, turned out to be just another test of humans aptitude for killing other humans in large quantities. Will the U.S.-led military coalition hold together even as France and others dash for the exits in coming months? Will enough Afghans come to embrace the corrupt government in Kabul as a preferred alternative to the militant Taliban? We are probably headed for stalemate in 2014, says Stephen Biddle, a George Washington University political science professor who has advised U.S. commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq. If that is the case, the U.S. will have to pump billions of dollars a year into Afghanistan for decades to prevent its collapse, Biddle says. Theres no reason why Americans should die when Afghans are perfectly capable of defending their own country, Obama said. Terrorism: According to Martin Indyk, vice president and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, the tragedy of 9/11, and the subsequent war on terrorism waged by the Bush administration affected the U.S. role in the world. In the future, the U.S. administration will depend much of the Joint Special Operations Command, a military body à ©tite secret that has increased tenfold in the last decade, said The Washington Post. As American interests in the Pacific expanded, easy access to the region became vital. For that reason, U.S. leaders proposed a canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Some people in Latin America and the United States opposed Roosevelts actions. They believed that he had interfered in Colombias affairs in order to cheat it out of land. In 1921, the United States finally paid Colombia $25 million for the loss of Panama. The Panama Canal was only one sign of U.S. involvement in Latin America. As the U.S. economy continued to grow, so did Americans interest in the resources of their southern neighbors. As economic interests drew the United States deeper into Latin American affairs, U.S. leaders became concerned about political stability in the region. They were especially worried that instability might tempt European nations to intervene in the region. The War in Afghanistan (2001-present) began on October 7, 2001, as Operation Enduring Freedom, a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States of America (U.S.). This marked the beginning of the U.S. War on Terrorism. The stated purpose of the invasion was to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbour to al-Qaeda. The imperative to monitor, suppress, attack, and ultimately eradicate international terrorist groups seeking to strike the United States, its citizens, its interests, and its allies is prompting significant changes in the demands placed on the armed forces of the United States. U.S. forces will often be called upon to assist foreign governments that wish to eradicate terrorist groups on their territory but lack the capabilities to do so on their own. Despite a surge of troops to nearly 150,000 soldiers, the country remains a war zone. Earlier this month, 30 American soldiers were killed when their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban, bringing our death count for 2011 to 299. This, combined with a major Taliban offensive in May and the assassinations of prominent leaders, such as Karzais half-brother and the governor of the Oruzgan Province, indicates that military success is unlikely. It shows that U.S. has paid for its wars either through debt [World War II, Cold War, Afghanistan/Iraq], taxation [Korean War] or inflation [Vietnam]. When comparing the direct multiplier effects of military spending to other forms of government spending, it is not as productive in economic terms as spending in infrastructure, education, or even as tax cuts to increase household consumption. The U.S. economy has other problems, but Europes troubles have undermined consumer and business confidence on both sides of the Atlantic. And the deeply divided U.S. political system has delivered growth-chilling uncertainty. The economy shed a staggering 8.8 million jobs during and shortly after the recession. Since employment hit bottom, the economy has created just over 4 million jobs. So the new hiring has replaced 46 percent of the lost jobs, by far the worst performance since World War II. The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Said George Orwell. Findley suggests that war can alter a persons behaviour negatively. War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sadly, some resort to suicide to escape their insecurities. Soldiers, however, are not the only ones affected by wars; family members also experience mental hardships when their loved ones are sent to war. I disagree with the wars because besides many innocent lives lost, we also lose millions of money that we could invest in schools, our seniors, in top positions work for all Americans and the millions of immigrants entering each year day in this country. In conclusion, I say that the wars against other countries are not the way how we are going to deal with the problem with have in our planet. The wars against weak countries are unfair and damaging more lives because they cannot defend themselves because they do not have weapons necessary and not even often lack the mentality to fight against others. Although the United States is a country rich in many fields, is losing the essence and respect for other countries because of wars. The money spent each day for these foolish wars we could use it in areas that really need help to grow and move forward as a nation entities. The economy suffers with the wars and with it we also suffer because a country without a stable economy does not help its citizens to get what they want. Wars not help but destroy. Work Cited Tran, Hinh. America should no longer be involved in costly wars overseas. The Daily Californian. August 21, 2011. Opinion. October 24, 2012. America should no longer be involved in costly wars overseas Rand Office of Media Relations. Americans Will Back Military Action Overseas If They Believe the United States Has Important Stakes in a Battle. For Release May 29, 2005. Web. October 24, 2012. http://www.rand.org/news/press/2005/05/29.html Bingham, Amy. War in Afghanistan. ABC News. Oct. 15, 2012. Web. October 1, 2012. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/afghanistan/index.html Bowman, Steve. Iraq: U.S. Military Operations. Congressional Research Service. July 15, 2007. Web. October 24, 2012. Ochmanek, David. Military Operations Against Terrorist Groups Abroad: Implications for the United States Air Force. Monograph Reports. December 3, 2003. Web. October 26, 2012. http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1738.html Burns, Robert. New Afghan war phase, with no decisive end seen. AP National Security Writer. October 26, 2012. Web. October 29, 2012. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hgNrnpMS0e0Qm905d0U4wPF2Cx3w?docId=5e1baf1d205e4dc29097f2ee2b284200