Impact of New Technology and Internet Influencing Marketing Mix. LEGO Assignment

Impact of New Technology and Internet Influencing Marketing Mix. LEGO Company - Assignment Example Lack of innovation and advancement of technology would engender stagnation of the organisation. Without an innovative approach and technological progress an organisation would not be able to prolong in the extremely aggressive and competitive era. Thus, an organisation has to be innovative in every aspect. Considering LEGO Group, it splits its eminent innovative efforts into eight divergent parts from development of the products to model innovation. It gives principal recognition to technology and in recent times the prominence of intellect and behaviour had been acknowledged and through a partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Robot technology had been pooled with LEGO construction system ensuing in LEGO Mindstorms which allows its prospect customers to construct and design a robot within 30 minutes. LEGO has also a mission with regard to quality assured products. Mindstorm was an outcome of partnership amongst LEGO and MIT. The key idea behind it is to make th e children assess the toy. Another remarkable innovative product launched by LEGO is the movie maker which uses the similar proposal which allows the kids to make their own movies through the access to the computers. Marketing Mix Marketing procedures always require necessary attention on part of the management as production of goods would not have any intent unless products are sold in the market. Marketing mix signifies the assimilation of various marketing elements in an efficient way that would lead to the accomplishment of the organisational target in the best probable and desirable way. It is the strategy framework implemented by the marketer to achieve sensation in the marketing field. For being a thriving marketer one should always take into severe consideration the customer satisfaction as it is known that it is not the products that are sold in the market it is the satisfaction in terms of the product that is sold. The four heads under which the marketing elements are cate gorised are the product, price, promotion and place. Thus, a marketing mix is regarded as the unification of the four chief elements known as the 4P’s. Product refers to a physical and tangible characteristic allied with it for which the consumers are ready to pay for to derive satisfaction whereas services are intangible in nature which is purchased by the customers. Product is considered to be a key constituent for any marketing mix. The various decisions with respect to the product may be regarding the branding, product attributes product service support, product mix, product standardizing, colouring, packaging, product innovation, product modification and development of the accurate product among others (Russell Smith & Taylor, 2004). Price is the second constituent of the marketing mix affecting the sales. It comprises of determination of a pricing object and procedures, profit margins, price fixation, discounting policy, credit policy and concession policy among others. Promotion being the third constituent deals with influencing and drawing the attention of the customers. Promotion implies to the swaying communication about the vivid aspects of the product such as advertising, public relation, personal selling, sales promotional activities, displays and demonstrations among others (Russell Smith & Taylor, 2004). Place, also referred as distribution mix, is blend of decision making with context to location,

SWOT Analysis Essay Example for Free

SWOT Analysis Essay The strength of the company mainly lay on its popularity and its wide range of network. Blockbuster had realized these strengths and has taken advantage of them to the full extent. Advertising and in-house promotion have been performed quite successfully in maintaining the image and popularity of Blockbuster, particularly in the eyes of US consumers. Today, the company has also developed a popular presence on the internet and it has help to increase Blockbuster’s competitive advantage against its competitors (Lieberman, 2004). Blockbuster’s weaknesses include its high cost of operations and maintenance, limited stocks of popular movies and insensitiveness toward recent developments in the industry. Financially, the company needs to reduce operational costs of its stores, because it decreases operating profit into minimum profit or even losses. Strategically, blockbuster needs to maintain awareness of what competitors are doing and develop new programs to attract customers. Within the stagnant market, the company could not afford to miss-out on new development in video rental marketing and sales. Opportunities Opportunities for blockbuster come in several packages. The first is in foreign investments. The company which already has a significant presence and popularity in United States could easily gain market share in Europe or even developing countries that crave American products. Another opportunity is increasing customer service by recording customer preferences in corporate data. †¢ Threats One of the apparent problems in the video-rental industry is related to copyright issues and legal aspect of the business. Players within the industry are threatened by the presence of many illegal download centers on the internet. Sales have already been reported decreasing due to the prevalent of illegal downloading activities. On the other hand, video rentals have the obligation to pay legal fees for every title it possess which prevent them from competing with the decreasing costs of downloading movies through the internet. II. Conclusions This paper has elaborated the performance of Blockbuster Inc by using the environmental and SWOT analysis. From the financial perspectives, the company shows the declining performance due to cost of rental revenue was recorded to increase while sales were decreasing. The companies also experience the hardest force from industry that faces several technology alternatives for seeing movies. The situation causes the company to experience declining revenue into $5. 7 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002. Vertical analysis on the other hand, described a tendency of financial development. Blockbuster records more than $5 billion in 2006. In terms of sales, 2006 actually revealed a declining performance, but it is still much better compare to 2002 sales (Blockbuster Inc, 2006). The undulating Blockbuster performance has caused the undulating performance as well. Furthermore, from the environmental analysis, we find that movie rental industry has a stagnant market condition since the substitutes of products are vastly available from the video download via iPod and the free sample of video at www. youtube. com, for instances. Although the company faces threat for their future business, still, they have the strong brand when expanding into foreign market especially the Europe. III. Recommendations Following professional guidance along with taking advantage of the internal and external analysis previously performed, we will then formulate several of the foreseeable solutions and suggestions. These general suggestions to increase Blockbuster’s operational efficiency are ones that might already exist within the corporate strategy, but requires further attention and development: †¢ Providing Employee with Access to Required Information Employers always suggested that employees should do their best to satisfy customers and generate a rebuy or revisit. Ironically, some employers are doing this without equipping their employees with the proper tools to provide customers with satisfactory services. Those tools could be sufficient training, guidance in the workplace or access to sufficient information. Block buster should pay attention particularly to the latter tool. By developing a customer preference list, employees could help customer pick-out movies that they would like. This would not only increase customer retention but increase employee working satisfaction.   Improve Employee Satisfaction and retention People that have the best knowledge on how to enhance the operational efficiency of a rental operation are the employees. Employers should spend time and effort ensuring that employees are performing their functions with sufficient motivation to recognize efficiency opportunities if they see one. Most workplaces are trapped with poor efficiency performance because they never let employees provide them with suggestions and insights. Develop Long-term Technology Plan. One of the recorded mistakes of Blockbuster is not to create their presence in the internet when they should have. An untimely entrance to an extremely competitive market could well mean no entrance at all. To prevent similar occurrences, Blockbuster should develop a long term technology plans where managers of the company formulate long term objectives of the company and then revise a technological plan based on the formulated goals. †¢ Reducing Rental Centers For a more radical solution, the company could simply reduce the amount of retail locations to reduce operational cost. Instead of building and maintaining stores every 5 blocks, the company could otherwise increase the technology investments in remaining stores and provide customers with state of the art customer services. †¢ Rent-out Spaces Furthermore, in locations which are not contributing sufficient profit, Blockbuster could rent the space for external businesses. This has been a normal practice for many gas stations or other business settings when they have unproductive space within their facilities. Other opportunities could be gained from partnering with other video-rent retailers. Partnering with other Retailers Instead of building new stores and increasing operational costs, Blockbuster could otherwise try to create alliances with other existing resources retailers. An example of those retailers could be the grocery chains. Blockbuster could sign a leasing agreement with the grocery store and perform operations within the grocery store. There are two main advantages of this plan, first, Blockbuster will only need to pay for the lease instead of building and maintaining another building, and second, Blockbuster could benefit from gaining access to customers of the grocery store. If the first implementation of this strategy is successful, Blockbuster should begin to consider the benefits of moving all of Blockbuster’s retail locations into grocery stores. Bibliography About Blockbuster. com. 2006. 08 Mar. 2006 http://www. blockbuster. com BBI: Profile for BLOCKBUSTER INC. 2006. Retrived February 20, 2008 from http://www. finance. yahoo. com/q/pr? s=BBI Blockbuster Inc; Investor Relations – Various Press Releases; 2005-2006 http://www. blockbuster. com Brem, Lisa and Narayanan, V. G.2002; That’s a Wrap: The Dynamics of the Video Rental Industry; Harvard Business School Case 9-102-051. Lieberman, David. 2004. â€Å" Blockbuster jabs back at rivals†. USA Today. â€Å"Videotape Rental. † 2004. Encyclopedia of American Industries. U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://www. galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC. Wagner, Holly J. â€Å"2003: a breakout year for previously viewed: top previously viewed retailers. † Business Company Resource Center (2004). U of Florida Business Lib. , Gainesville, 20 July 2004 http://galenet. galegroup. com/servlet/BCRC.

Impact Of Television Violence In Relation To Juvenile Delinquency :: TV Violence Television Cause Essays

When children are taught how to tie their shoes, it is because of how their parents showed them. When children are taught how to do math problems it is because how their teachers show them. With all of the role models how does television affect our children? Many adults feel that because they watched television when they were young and they have not been negatively affected then their children should not be affected as well. What we must first realize is that television today is different than television of the past, violence is more prevalent in todays programming unlike the true family programming of the past. EFFECTS OF TELEVISION - THE BEGINNING Questions about the effects of television violence have been around since the beginning of television. The first mention of a concern about television's effects upon our children can be found in many Congressional hearings as early as the 1950s. For example, the United States Senate Committee on Juvenile Delinquency held a series of hearings during 1954-55 on the impact of television programs on juvenile crime. These hearings were only the beginning of continuing congressional investigations by this committee and others from the 1950s to the present. In addition to the congressional hearings begun in the 1950s, there are many reports that have been written which include: National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence (Baker & Ball, 1969); Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior (1972); the report on children and television drama by the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (1982); National Institute of Mental Health, Television and Behavior Report (NIMH, 1982; Pearl, Bouthilet, & Lazar, 1982); National Research Council (1993), violence report; and reports from the American Psychological Association's "Task Force on Television and Society" (Huston, et al., 1992) and "Commission on Violence and Youth" (American Psychological Association, 1992; Donnerstein, Slaby, & Eron, 1992). All of these reports agree with each other about the harmful effects of television violence in relation to the behavior of children, youth, and adults who view violent programming. The only thing that we know about the effects of exposure to violence and the relationship towards juvenile delinquency we gather from correlational, experimental and field studies that demonstrate the effects of this viewing on the attitudes and behavior of children and adults. Children begin watching television at a very early age, sometimes as early as six months, and are intense viewers by the time that they are two or three years old. In most cases the amount of televised viewing becomes greater with age and then tapers off during adolescence. ). The violence that is viewed

Math Is Not a Language

Mathematics is Not a Language Language can be defined as the following: A medium in which communication occurs. However, there may be many misperceptions that mathematics is a language. One may argue that one can utilize numbers to represent certain letters in the alphabet, for example, a= 1, b = 2, c = 3. It is just using numbers, to represent a language. However, this is not mathematics. Numbers themselves can be a language, however numbers are just symbols. Numbers are not mathematics.Do we use mathematics to communicate? No. This is because mathematics is not a language, it is a process of logical reasoning. Yes, we can use any system of language to communicate the process of logic that mathematicians use. However, mathematics itself is not a method of communication. We can explain how to find the value of â€Å"x† in an equation in Babylonic cuneiform, or in C++, however, one cannot reach the conclusion without the method of inferring the answer, which is mathematics.Do w e use language to find the instantaneous rate of change in a parabolic equation? No. We use a process of logical reasoning called mathematics to solve the problem. We do not use Latin to solve the problem. We do not use Morse code to solve the problem. We can use numbers to solve a problem, however, numbers by themselves are completely meaningless unless mathematics is used to manipulate numbers. We can define language as: A medium in which communication occurs. Or a system of communication.Or a method to communicate one's thoughts or ideas. We can define mathematics as: A procedure of manipulating numeric values to reach a desired conclusion. Or a method of finding answers to a numerical problem using logical reasoning. Or a science of numeric value, quantity, and space. Mathematics is a process, not a medium. Mathematics is a method of reasoning, not a method of communication. Now, perhaps it is clearly understood why mathematics is not a language; only the poetic can state that à ¢â‚¬Å"Mathematics is the language of the universe. â€Å" Test: â€Å"Study Guide Algebra†

Women’s Health & Preventative Care

Women’s Health Care and Preventative Care In the United States, the cost of health care is on the rise and it is almost impossible to receive any health care service at an affordable rate. Whether insured or uninsured, women of all demographics are faced with this problem. Women should not put their health or life at risk because they fear receiving another medical bill. Due to the rising cost of health care and insurance, more women do not receive preventative medical treatment and are currently in debt.Often, women do not receive or delay receiving preventative health care due to the cost of treatment. â€Å"Learning about and practicing preventive healthcare, i. e. maintaining your body and good health throughout your entire lifetime, is properly the best method to prevent disease from happening in the first place† (World Research Foundation, n. d. ). Women require more preventative health care than men and some of these preventative services are not always fully cov ered by insurance such as mammograms or prenatal care.Prenatal care is not only important for the woman’s health, but also for the child’s health. Preventative health care can detect as well as prevent diseases. Early detection is sometimes the key to curing certain diseases. More women currently are in debt or have unpaid medical bills. The rising cost of health care combined with the current job market has left more women in debt (Robertson & Collins, 2011). Health insurance providers do not always provide the coverage women need.In fact recent studies have shown â€Å"few plans offer maternity coverage and young women can face substantially higher premiums than men of the same age† (Robertson & Collins, 2011). Although,† The Affordable Care Act is bringing change for women through required free coverage of preventive care services, small business tax credits, new affordable coverage options, and insurance market reforms, including bans on gender ratingà ¢â‚¬  the law will not be implemented until 2014 (Robertson & Collins, 2011).Something needs to be done before then in order to cut down on debt from unpaid medical bills. The federal as well as the state government should implement more programs that offer preventative care at income based rates. There should also be more programs directed at lowering medical bill debt. A debt acquired by a medical bill should not affect a person’s credit. More insurance companies should provide age and gender specific plans at affordable rates, in order to ensure everyone receives the proper healthcare needed.Although, some of these solutions may have to be funded with higher taxes or budget cuts, these programs would definitely have a large impact on the amount of women who receive preventative care. Preventative care is a necessity in ensuring healthy living for women. Receiving preventative care is a cost effective way to save lives by treating and diagnosing diseases and conditions ear ly. Insured and uninsured women should be able to receive preventative care without worrying about how and if they will pay the medical bill.Although women’s health care cost is a rising issue in the U. S, there are cost effective solutions to alleviate this problem. References Robertson, R. , & Collins, S. R. (2011) Realizing Health Reforms Potential. Retrieved fromhttp://www. commonwealthfund. org/~/media/Files/Publications/Issue%20Brief/2011/May /1502_Robertson_women_at_risk_reform_brief_v3. pdf World Research Foundation. (n. d. ) Preventive Health Care Helps Everyone. Sedona, AZ: WorldResearch Foundation. Retrieved July 15, 2012 from http://www. wrf. org/preventive-healthcare/preventive-healthcare. php

John Downe Essays

John Downe Essays John Downe Essay John Downe Essay John Downe In John Downe’s letter to his wife, he strategically establishes and develops ethos as well as pathos to convince her to join him in the United States with their children. Throughout the letter, Downe develops his credibility through his use of ethos which includes the repetition of â€Å"I. † â€Å"I have got a situation,† â€Å"I dined with him,† â€Å"I went into the market yesterday,† all progress towards the establishment of his plausibility in his wife’s eyes. He provides his wife with examples of the many positive situations he, himself has endured while being in the country of America. Downe hopes that his persuading words will convince her to emigrate with their children to America. â€Å"I know you will like America† is Downe’s primary hope and purpose for writing this persuasive letter. By describing all the things that he has been able to do in this country, â€Å"I can go into a store, and have as much brandy as I like to drink for three half-pence and all other spirits are in proportion,† Downe hopes that these credential words will be approved by his wife. His elaborations on the things he has managed to do in America are essentially used to provoke his wife’s interest in this country. These descriptions are used as reassurance for his wife to know of the great opportunities he has found in America but not back home in England. Downe believes this will strike his wife as another reason why she will enjoy her new life in America and compares their troublesome life in England to the great possibilities that can be accomplished in this new country. He explains, â€Å"this is a country where a man can stand as a man, and where he can enjoy the fruits of his own exertions, with rational liberty to its fullest extent†, hoping that his comparisons to the life in England and the life in America will evoke in his wife a sense of longing for this kind of living. Downe’s convincing words showing all of the achievements he has experienced in America lead his wife to want this same kind of exposure. Downe continues to expand on the things he has accomplished in America with his development of pathos through long, periodic sentences. He mentions that on the table there was â€Å"pudding, pyes, and fruit of all kind that was in season†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"they do not think of locking the doors in this country† to assure his wife of the safety and prosperity of this country. He then goes on to acknowledge, with emotional appeal, that all he â€Å"wants now is to see you, and the dear children here, and then I shall be happy, and not before†. This is Downe’s development of pathos for the purpose of persuading and influencing his wife to make her decision much easier about emigrating to America with the children. He hopes to influence her decision by explaining how much better off they would be as a family, together in one country. Although he announces that he will only be happy if his family comes to America to live with him, Downe concludes that he does not â€Å"repent of coming† and he â€Å"would rather cross the Atlantic ten times than hear my children cry†. By his mentioning that he does not regret one bit coming to America, Downe hopes to display for his wife how great of a country America is. The pathos are purposefully placed there by Downe to show to his wife that although he has left his family, he would do it all over again just to live in the convenient country of America- hoping this will stir some kind of desire in his wife’s mind. Through his emotional words, Downe demonstrates that the travel to America is nothing compared to what this country holds in store for their family. Although he explains to his wife there will be â€Å"a few inconveniences in crossing the Atlantic†, in the end she will enjoy the United States of America. In the midst of his pathos, it is possible to conclude that Downe’s reason for leaving his family behind is to find opportunity for a new life, which America provides. Through his use of repetition and periodic sentences, John Downe develops credibility and emotional appeal. Through his repetition of â€Å"I†, he is able to bestow upon his wife a feeling of longing for the same freedom and prosperity he has gained when coming to America by showing her all of the things he has accomplished while living in this country. With Downe’s strategic pathos, he manages to convince his wife that all he wants for their family is wealth, health, and land- all of which can be found in America.

Feature Article Conventions Essay Example

Feature Article Conventions Essay Example Feature Article Conventions Paper Feature Article Conventions Paper A feature article differs from a straight news story In several ways. A news story provides Information about a (generally current) event or situation. A feature article has more functionality and longevity- It Interprets news, adds depth, opinion or entertainment. Headline: The headline of a feature article uses bold and descriptive language to draw the attention of the reader. Also works to construct a vivid image In the mind of the reader. Headline is always visually appealing: bold and clear. Can sometimes contain Jokes. Puns or provocative language to entertain reader. Can also ask rhetorical questions. Structure Introduction: The introduction entices the reader, whilst clarifying the subject. It establishes the writers point of view/thesis. Uses direct quotations, recounts, questions, descriptions or a personal Interest story (the experiences of a person unique to the topic) to encourage readers to read further. Body: Goes Into further detail about the topic. Answers any unanswered questions raised in the introduction. Uses direct quotations, expert opinions, interviews, anecdotes, statistics and facts. Avoids lengthy complex paragraphs as articles are often written in columns. : Conclusion: Closes the epic by making final conclusions. Malignant the mood of the story. Language: The language used in feature articles is persuasive and emotive: intended to create a particular emotional response in the mind of the reader (this could range from sorrow to anger or intrigue depending on the article). Articles can sometimes use catch phrases or a repetitive phrase to trigger a response In the audience. Selection and omission of detail Is significant. Language can sometimes be bold and exaggerated to create an emotional response: when reading, highlight words with particularly strong connotations. Makes use of motive language, inclusive language (we, our), rhetorical questions and a mixture of long and short sentences. The language is also well suited to the target audience. For example, a feature article from Girlfriend magazine may use vocabulary that is suited to a young teenage reader, where as The New York Magazine may make specific references to places and words only New Yorkers would know. Images, data, graphs and statistics: Images that are unique to the story are often used to add to the emotion of the story. Photos of the people featured in the human-interest stories are often used. Graphs ND pie charts are sometimes used as they add a visual element and can often snack ten reader. CE rattan Important quotations are Elodea Ana drawn out AT ten text to catch the readers attention (even if they do not read the full article, they are aware of the impact through the quotations used). Source and target audience: When analyzing a feature article, you must ask: What source did the article come from (I. E. What magazine, newspaper of Internet source)? Does the writer have an agenda (I. E. Are they trying to promote a particular point of view)? Who is the intended target audience (you can determine this by tidying the language, and visual cues such as colors and images used)? Is the article free or do you have to pay to access it? Bias and point of view: Bias is the representation of one side of an issue or topic, without exploring or acknowledging an equally valid (but opposing) point of view. The writers of feature articles sometimes face pressure to promote a particular product, way of thinking or political point of view. Feature articles will also present one side of the story: writers may omit (leave out) certain ideas to add to the emotional power of the story.