Tag: Business Finance

Marketing a Product

PRODUCT: Denim dressmaker shop

Write a 3-5 page paper where you create an original product. Describe your product and explain its use and purpose. Be sure to thoroughly explain your assessment of the market and how you plan to develop a successful marketing strategy for your product. Note: You will continue working with this product throughout the course so give it some thought and come up with something that will impact a large market share!

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

Write between 750 – 1,250 words (approximately 3 – 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.

Use font size 12 and 1” margins.

Include cover page and reference page.

At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.

No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.

Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.

Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

*References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing.

Book Marketing Management, 5th Edition

Dawn Iacobucci
ISBN-10: 1337271128
ISBN-13: 9781337271127

Hi, I will attach instructions, our proposal aka topic, and a sample project. Please follow the directions clearly and use the topic I chose Instant Messaging (FaceBook Messenger). This is for an Information Systems class. Also send over a powerpoint with completed project.

Information

The ability to communicate and interact with different cultures is extremely important in this day and age due to the internet, the cultural make-up of America, and our close proximity to another country. This assignment asks you to explore a country and culture that you are interested in and that is different and unique from your own. You will need to brainstorm, conduct research, organize a journal of your excursions, and then present your project in front of your classmates.

This is a fun assignment that will let you pair your understanding of Intercultural Communication & Tourism with your creativity to present a unique journal/portfolio of your expedition in a new country.

I recommend being judicious with your time. You will have several weeks to prepare for this project so make sure you are proactive and delegate time wisely. Below you will find the requirements for this project.

Requirements

The following are requirements for the written report component of this assignment

1. After reading Chapter 10 Intercultural Communication in Tourism Contexts, pick a country you are interested in visiting. This cannot be a country you have previously visited. In addition, we are not picking Mexico and Canada to visit. For this reason, you may want to consider 2-3 countries, in case your first option is already chosen by a classmate.

2. Book your travel to this country.

A. Select the time of year you will travel to this location (month & year)

B. Pick at least 3 cities to explore in the country

C. Select at least 3 cultural activities to participate in these cities. (ex: museums, landmarks, festivals, shows, historical sites, etc.)

D. Select at least 3 souvenirs you may purchase.

3. Explain why you chose this country, these cities, and these cultural activities.

A. What are at least 3 important events in the history of this region/country from the past 50 years?

B. What are at least 3 individuals of importance from this region/country from the past 50 years?

C. How is your trip socially responsible tourism (Chapter 10)? Be specific and imaginative.

4. Keep a tally/accounting of all your expenses including, but not limited to, lodgings, food, transportations, excursions, activities, etc. Your budget for this project must not exceed $3,500.

5. What communication challenges did you experience in your host country during your travels? How did you approach/handle these challenges?

6. Finally, explain how your travel constitutes Socially Responsible Tourism?

Your report may take many forms. Make sure the formatting is consistent throughout, you use a clearly legible font (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.), and it is saved as a MS Word document or PDF file. You may want to use the Report Template to organize your thoughts and ideas. You may also turn in this template as your report, if you like. Be sure to write in full and complete sentences.

Research Paper
The final paper should be written in essay form and not bullet points, where (APA) headings are acceptable. The paper should not contain more than one block quote and not over two quotes per page. Students should paraphrase as much as possible. Students should use at least 5 peer-reviewed sources published within the last 5 years. Please do not use blogs, Wikipedia, ghostwriters, or past assignments. However, other business sources can be used, but not limited to for example, (Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg Business Week).

Each of the below components is required to be included in the final paper. However, it is encouraged for students to expand on these topics using learning and terminology from the strategic management discipline. The topic areas include:

Mission Statement
Description of the Organization (Location, target market, product or service)
Innovation (Artificial Intelligence)
Strategic Leadership (Transformational, Transactional, Emotional Intelligence)
Corporate Culture (Humanistic, Empathetic, Paternalistic, Materialistic, etc.)
Globalization
Competitive Environment

Format

The Strategic Management paper has 7 main sections, which must be covered. APA format (Links to an external site.) is required. 2500 words/10 pages APA double spaced

Company Mission Statement

The company’s mission statement explains what your business is trying to achieve. For internal decision-making, the mission statement guides employees to make the right decisions, which should be in sync with helping the company achieve its mission. For external parties, such as partners, investors, and customers, your mission can motivate them to take the actions you want.

Description of the Organization

Here are some guiding questions, but you are not limited to just these questions. Where do we compete? Where does the organization operate? What type of organization is it?(Service, E-Commerce, Manufacturing, Marketing, Software, etc.) What is the goal of the company?

Innovation

Innovation is a key part of the firms’ efforts to achieve success with their strategies, which means that information and technologies play vital roles. Good strategy almost always involves an innovative mindset within the organization. Many firms have taken on the motto of innovate or die. In this paper, explain how innovation fits into the corporate structure of your organization. Provide unique details of how innovation would be a tool to develop the company and sustain its value. It is your company, so synthesize your learning with your corporate structure and how you see the organization maintaining sustainability.

Strategic Leadership

Strategic Leadership is based on power and influence. How leaders motivate followers is an important aspect in the organization’s success. Leadership over people is exercised when people with motives and determination come together for a common purpose, using available resources to arouse, engage, and satisfy the needs of followers. How does leadership impact your organization?

Corporate Culture

Culture has traditionally been defined as the way we do things around here. It involves people and the unique quality of the organization. A successful organization is defined by the strength of the organization. In this paper, describe the corporate culture. How does the culture impact the organization to help with gaining a competitive advantage?

Globalization

It is often challenging to discuss strategic management without a discussion on globalization. Globalization involves the connectivity of people, goods, services, intelligence, marketing, and technologies around the globe. It is the unique access to doing business anywhere in the world. Discuss how globalization fits into the corporate structure of your organization. Demonstrate how it impacts the organization.

Competitive Environment

At the core of strategic management is competition. Strategic management rests on gaining a competitive advantage over other organizations that occupy the company’s market space. In your paper discuss the competitive environment. How do you see changes within the industry that will impact your organization’s ability to continue to compete and gain market share?

Assignment Instructions

1. Use the organization that you designed in week one of the course to write your
   Strategic Management Research Paper.
2. You should include all the components of the paper listed in the assignment
   description including (Mission Statement, Description of the Organization,
   Strategic Leadership, Corporate Culture, Globalization, Competitive
   Environment)
3. This paper must be 2500 words not including the title page or references in
   APA format

Rubric

Read OM in the News:McDonald’s Improves Operations with a Smaller Menu from Jay, Barry & Chuck’s OM Blog – A Blog for Operations Management Educators.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the more limited menus currently seen at McDonald’s? If you were a McDonald’s executive, would you stick with the current menu after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, or would you recommend changes? Support your position.

After posting your inital response to the questions, respond to at least two others’ posts in the discussion. before participating in discussions so you know the criteria I’m looking for when you post look at the attachement.

Please after you write the discussion post I want you to reply on two of my peer’s posts:

Mackenzie 1-

There are many advanatges of McDonald’s limiting their menu during the pandemic. Drive-thru times are being reported as shorter which I feel is huge for a fast food restaurant as I know I personally like when the line at a drive-thru goes quick. Another advantage is that people are saying the food tastes better and that there are less errors in fulfilling their orders. This makes sense as there are not as many food options anymore so there is not as much to work with or opportunity to mess up. Some disadvantages n my opinion are that some of the nicer and unexpected food options are the ones that were taken away. Salads, bagels, and yogurt parfaits are not typical items you would think about McDonald’s serving, so if someone saw them on the menu they may be more tempted to try it. Another disadvantage is that these are some of the healthier options. I think if I were a McDonald’s executive, I would stick with the current menu after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. I say this because what they are doing now seems to be working just fine, and people are happy. I think if someone wanted specifically a bagel or salad, McDonald’s would not be their first choice of place to eat anyway, so I feel as though McDonald’s should keep doing what they are doing.

Megan 2-

Something I’ve personally found as a huge disadvantage of the change in McDonald’s menu is no longer serving all day breakfast. I’m not a huge morning person, so I really liked it when McDonald’s added all day breakfast. By changing to a limited menu, McDonald’s might push away previous customers by taking off some of their favorite menu items. However, by reducing menu items to those that are most popular, customers can get through the drive through faster and have also reported that their orders have been more accurate. If I was a McDonald’s executive, I would stick to a limited menu like the current one, even if it does not have all day breakfast, due to the increased customer satisfaction in regards to wait times and food quality. I think that by limiting their menu items and reducing operations, it helps McDonald’s to focus more on customer satisfaction with food quality and customer service, something that McDonald’s has been known to lack. I think another food chain that portrays a good example of this is Raising Canes. Raising Canes has limited menu items resulting in high order accuracy and low wait times for their customers. I think it is necessary for McDonald’s to keep the limited menu in order to simplify operations and improve areas that they are not as strong in.

I’m working on a business discussion question and need support to help me understand better.

How Your Thinking and Learning Has Evolved

You have now conducted a simulation of strategic planning. In the real world, you would normally engage professional peers and superiors as well as decision-making bodies, investigate other organizations, and evaluate past performances as part of the process. While you may have been able to undertake some of these activities, you have probably also had to invent possible realities to simulate the process.

Reflect on your experience discussing your initial preparedness to undertake the simulation. How have you evolved in your thinking, learning, and acting, after completing the strategic plan?

he concept behind the triple bottom line is that companies are responsible to all their stakeholders. This includes everyone involved with the company, whether directly or indirectly. It also includes the planet on which we all live. This approach views shareholders as very important stakeholders. This approach also recognizes the need for companies to consider other important stakeholders in the company, including employees, customers, vendors, and the larger community.

Before writing this week’s discussion posting, review this MindTools article, The Triple Bottom Line: Measuring Your Organization’s Wider Impact, for more details on the triple bottom line.How would you implement the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) concept at your chosen company, whether you are using the snack food company scenario or the company of your choice?

Keep the following format in mind as you complete this week’s discussion:

Profit: When looking at profit from this theory’s perspective, the idea is that profits will help empower and sustain the community as a whole. Profits are more than just a benefit for shareholders. Briefly explain your approach.

People: Describe your approach to caring about suppliers, customers, employees, and the community. For example, one way to care about employees is to provide a good working environment, training and development opportunities, and health care.

Planet: Explain your approach to minimizing your company’s impact on the environment. For example, your company might develop a process to minimize waste or reduce energy usage, such as using recycled materials in its production process.

SPARKLY AUTOMOBILE CAR WASH

Sparkle care wash is located at 1070 Congdon Ave, Stroudsburg, PA, 18360. For more than three decades, the company has been operated by Kevin Detrick and his mother as partners. They are committed to continuing to provide better car wash services and covet customer experience. It started its operation in 1981, and it has grown to meet customers’ desires and increase satisfaction.

It is located in a large state with more than 168,000 individuals, where they can manage to wash over 190,000 cars (Pröllochs & Feuerriegel, 2020).

Most of the Sparkle customers are men and women aged 30-45 years and have an average income earns of $ 250 and $1500 per year. And most of the approximately 34% have undergraduate degrees. Although its original location provided car wash service for more than two decades, Detrick and his team extended the car wash service to Benny, Pennsylvania, behind a well-established and known c-store chain just off Route 248. This new car wash assisted in reducing traffic in the local mall, which served as a destination location for the community (Zyndorf, 2021).

Most Sparkle car wash customers shop in Stroud mall. It is a shopping mall that is found in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Its location is near The Poconos region, near the New Jersey border adjacent to Pennsylvania Route 611. Most Sparkle car wash customers drive Volvo, Jd power car, Ford, ted, and Mazda car type. Many people in Stroudsburg love sports adventure, which they do most of their leisure time (Zyndorf, 2021).

Sparkle car wash use equipment of high technology to provide quality and consistent car wash for each customer. This will enable them to minimize any chances of damage. Our price charges a very friendly and affordable to our customers. This has enabled us to maintain many customers over the years (Aleksandrovic, 2021).

References

Aleksandrovic, M. A. (2021). Neural network approaches companies’ marketing strategy problems identifying based on analysis of users discussions in social networks.

Pröllochs, N., & Feuerriegel, S. (2020). Business analytics for strategic management: Identifying and assessing corporate challenges via topic modeling. Information & Management, 57(1), 103070.

Zyndorf, B. (2021). The federally sponsored housing market crash: race, finance, and heartbreak in the Pocono Mountains (Doctoral dissertation, Rutgers University-Graduate School-Newark)

Question # 1: Discuss how human-centered design assists with the development of your business model.

Clint said: Well, I had to first learn what human-centered design was and is all about, in order to relate it to my business model. In a nutshell human-centered design is humans asking other humans what is the problem in your corner of the area and what do we or can we do to solve the problem and help find a solution (IDEO, 2015). Another aspect of this approach is in the seven different mindsets that are used as tools to solve these problems; Empathy, Optimism, Iteration, Creative Confidence, Making, Embracing Ambiguity, and Learning from Failure (IDEO, 2015). This particular frame of reference is different from any other system because you are not looking at the business from a financial point of view. However, as you progress and relate all of this material you are normally using the same tools but in a different context.

I think for my business model this will help shed some reality and approach problems or sides of the business I have not used my left side of my brian to tackle. Along with other simple measures I could incorporate to again help and possibly get behind a few other causes I support that could run in parallel with my business model. Nonetheless, I think I could connect with other like minded business leaders to have the conversations and learn from others, which is free business advice.

How can I respond to Clint? 

Deanne said: Human-centered design places the customer at the center of the product as well as the business model. One goal of human-center design is to develop, gain and maintain deep empathy with your customers so their needs are fully met. There are three phases of human-centered design these are: Inspiration, Ideation and Implementation phase. In the inspiration phase the designer engages with the customer to better learn who they are and what their specific needs are. In the ideation phase the designer develops several models that may meet the needs to the customer. These models are shared with the customer and the designer obtains feedback to see which model best meets the needs of the customer. Lastly, in the implementation phase the best model is put into production and distributed (IDEO, n.d.). Human-centered design greatly assists the development of the business model because a key aspect of any business is to establish a deep relationship with your customer(s). When the needs of the customer are placed at the center of the business model the customer will likely be loyal to the business. They will be more inclined to become a returning customer and may also refer others to the business.

How can I respond to Deanne? 

Brian said: Human-centered design assists in the development of my business model in several ways. First, it is based on the desire to solve a problem with specifically tailored solutions in order to fulfill a quantifiable need from the perspective of the consumer (Design Kit, n.d.). Second, it follows the tenants of inspiration, ideation, and implementation in the following ways (Design Kit, n.d.):

1. Inspiration has created a grounded approach to the need and produced ideas in line with the desires of the consumer.
2. Ideation created a proof-of-concept model capable of producing desired end results and solutions that can be further refined into a more robust and capable product.
3. Implementation has developed partner relationships that allow for the development and creation of the finalized product for the consumer.

Finally, it cannot be understated that empathy for the consumer must be at the forefront of every decision and design iteration as it is with my business model (Design Kit, n.d.). This is the essence of human-centered design.

How can I respond to Brian? 

Question #2 Describe the key items management will likely seek answers for in your specific model. Why would management need to focus on those elements?

Deanne said: The key items management will more likely seek answers to is those that tie to your business model and that creates value for your customer. Does the Business Model require drastic revisions or changes? One important element management will want to seek answers to is the cost structure. Such as, will we be earning revenues before we are incurring costs. Are we better than our competitors? Your customers and key stakeholders. Such as who are the people outside of your organization you interact with. Scalability is also another important key factor. How easily can you expand without facing barriers (e.g., infrastructure, hiring)? Additionally, Management will want to know if the business model requires drastic revisions or changes and the risks (Osterwalder et al., 2014).

In business management will want to focus on a few key elements. Management will want to know about costs because it affects revenues and about their customer’s needs. If your business incurs more costs than revenues, your business will sink. A business model will need to be ?nancially sound. If your model is not very pro?table, management can decide if changes to the business model need to be made. (Osterwalder et al., 2014). Customer segmentation is also part of your business model and will help management with finding out who to segment, who are the target customers that need our service or product. Management must understand their customer’s needs, since satisfied customers will be more prone to becoming a regular customer. Likewise, customers can also tell others about their experience.

How can I respond to Deanne? 

Katelynn said: One key item management will likely focus on in my business model is cost and profit. Due to the item of business being AI it can be an extreme up front cost. Particularly in the fashion industry AI could cover robotic arms, trend forecasting, replacing manual labor, and more. Another item they might focus on is how the model will expect to receive profit. Will they only receive profit from initial installation? Will they make profit off of updating the AI software? etc. Another item management might focus on is the likelihood of companies switching or partnering with AI. 

Management would focus on these elements because there are always fundamental challenges that confront entrepreneurs. “That can include money shortage, talent, intellectual property, distribution, and more” (Collis, 2016).That is why it is important for management to focus on these elements so that a strategy can be put in place that answers these questions in case something goes wrong and at the very leas the company will know what to and what not to do. 

How can I respond to Katelynn? 

William said: If I approached a new up and coming idea in a managerial position, my primary focuses would be how much is the production going to cost the company, the primary market to be targetted (to ensure strategies are also financially accounted for), and to know what kind of returns or profits this new idea is going to bring. Considering the overall purpose of the business model is to ensure a profit is received (Kopp. 2020), costs of production would certainly be on the top of my list.
Focus on the cost of development will define the price per unit, the sales cost, and the break even (BE) point to ensure profit is made from the product. Being that profit is the only way a business will stay afloat, concerns of the initial prices going in to the product should be considered first. Who the targetted consumer will be will define how the product is marketed and what kind of “persona” should be given when advertising. The bottom line to the business model are the returns the organization will be concerned with as well. If the BE point won’t occur within an allotted amount of time, it may not be cost effective at the time the product is presented to develope it at that time. Production could be slower than demand thus consumer interest could be lost. This is when time and finances have to be presented as a manager or someone in a key leadership/decision roles have to consider the amount of time a product is produced, the time it takes to produce it and market it, and the price that is sales for. What does it cost, who’s buying it, and what will the company make?

How can I respond to William?