Renting, buying, or stealing software

Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Current and future status of software Software theft Stealing software and hardware Conclusion References Abstract The software industry is one of the most lucrative business ventures that make enormous contributions to the global economy. The process of software development involves several steps. Currently, the industry is growing at a very high rate. However, software piracy, risks slowing down the growth unless preventive measures are taken to stop the vice.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Renting, buying, or stealing software specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It affects both users and developers. Renting is one of the future prospects of the industry because of its cost effectiveness and high reliability for use by small businesses. In addition, buying and stealing will also determine the future of the software industry. Other factors that affect the industry inclu de hardware theft, which infringes on the privacy of individuals. The software industry has several opportunities for developers. Therefore, it has a bright and promising future. Introduction The software industry has grown tremendously over the past few years. Several corporate and individual developers have emerged, and changed the industry tremendously. People develop software for three main reasons. These include fulfillment of certain business needs, fulfillment of certain user preferences, as well as for personal use (Commander, 2005). The process of developing software involves aspects such as research, development, prototyping, and maintenance. Software theft is one of the challenges facing software developers. It involves copying and subsequent use of software despite existence of copyright protection measures (Buxmann et al, 2012). Software sale is a lucrative business that has a bright future. Users buy, rent, or steal software. Current and future status of software Curre ntly, software development is a very lucrative venture. However, its future is under threat due to piracy. The software industry has become very competitive with the entry of both individual and corporate developers. Currently, many organizations are changing their businesses in order to embrace technology (Whiting, 2004). Technology plays a critical role in helping businesses improve efficiency, and reduce the cost of operation (Commander, 2005). The information technology industry is providing solutions to businesses and organizations by developing software that caters for their needs. For example, Oracle develops business solutions that help businesses improve excellence, reduce costs, and improve risk compliance. This has created high demand for software and stimulated high competition among software developers (Buxmann et al, 2012). The industry has many opportunities because of increasing demands among various users (Whiting, 2004). Therefore, it has a very bright future. It i s possible to make money from the industry by developing software that fulfills the various individual and business needs. Afterwards, developers can either sell or let their creations to users. For example, Microsoft makes an annual income of about $54,270 million from sale of software licenses, technical support, and maintenance.Advertising Looking for report on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are several advantages of renting software especially for small businesses. It is cost effective compared to buying, and it eliminates the need for in-house technical help form professionals (Pavley, 2013). Finally, software vendors usually provide technical support to individuals and businesses that use them under rental agreements. Software buyers do not enjoy these privileges. They pay for updates and technical support. Software theft Software theft is a common practice that leads to great losses for software developers. R esearch has revealed that 27% of software used in Britain is pirated. Globally, the rate of software piracy stands at 49% (Fitzgerald, 2012). For example, software companies made loses that amounted to $ 18.7 billion in the Asia-Pacific region in 2010. The United States has the lowest level of piracy among all nations. In 2009, its piracy level was 20%. Factors that determine levels of piracy include the strength of piracy protection laws, cultural attitudes, and price of software relative to the income of users (Honick, 2005). Examples of countries with the high levels of piracy include Armenia (93%), Libya (88%), Yemen (89%), Ukraine (83%), Vietnam (85%), Pakistan (84%), Sri Lanka (90%), Zimbabwe (91%), Bangladesh (92%), and China (82%). Examples of countries with low levels include the United States (20%), Germany (27%), the United Kingdom (26%), and Japan (23%). Software theft is both illegal and unethical. Stealing software and hardware Stealing software refers to copying, ille gal use, distribution, or sale of copyright protected software. People steal software because of poor copyright protection legislation, low income, and high software prices (Honick, 2005). Software theft affects both developers and users. Developers lose money and reputation. For example, in 2010, software vendors in Pakistan lost $ 217 million in revenues. On the other hand, users do not get access to technical support from developers. In addition, they do not get access to updates and may buy products with malware agents or viruses (Fitzgerald, 2012). Software theft is preventable by storing license agreements safely and refraining from accessing suspicious websites. Hardware theft involves stealing of computer devices or constituent parts (Honick, 2005). It exposes the privacy of owners because thieves can access private information stored in computers or external devices. Software theft can be prevented by using real time location systems (RTLS) to track the location of computer s, as well as keeping computers in secure rooms and safes (Honick, 2005).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Renting, buying, or stealing software specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion The software industry has experienced numerous changes in the last decade. Users have the choice of either buying or renting software. Currently, the industry has many opportunities and experiences high competition. It has a bright future. However, software theft threatens growth in the industry. Software theft involves reproduction, illegal use, distribution, or sale of copyright protected software. It is common in countries such as Pakistan, Zimbabwe, China, and Libya. The United States has the lowest cases of piracy. On the other hand, hardware theft involves stealing of computer devices or parts. It promotes violation of individual’s privacy because many people store personal information in their computers and assoc iated devices. References Buxmann, P., Diefenbach, H., Hess, T. (2012). The Software Industry: Economic  Principles, Strategies, and Perspectives. New York: Springer. Commander, S. (2005). The Software Industry in Emerging Markets. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing. Fitzgerald, B. (2012). Software Piracy: Study Claims 57b Percent of the World Pirates  Software. Web. Honick, R. (2005). Software Piracy Exposed. New York: Syngress. Pavley, J. (2013). Renting, Buying, and Stealing: the Future of Software Applications. Web.Advertising Looking for report on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Whiting, R. (2004). Industry Leaders Look to Software’s Future. Web. This report on Renting, buying, or stealing software was written and submitted by user Bast10n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Jealousy Essay Example

Jealousy Essay Example Jealousy Essay Jealousy Essay Many people get Jealous of others and this leads to trouble. Vive been In a situation that reflects Arthur Millers play, The Crucible, in which reputations are ruined due to Jealousy. Jealousy has become a major Issue since I met this boy In high school. My friend accused me of being Jealous! This surprised me because he Just blurted out when we ere playing some Narrator game. I defended myself by saying l dont care If you think other girls are cute As long as you dont do anything wrong. I guess he got annoyed because he started telling me about some girls at school. He even asked me If I was jealous yet. After a while he told me that some girl told him I liked some other dude. He was being mean to me because HE was jealous. I found out that jealousy really does make you act differently. It changes who you truly are, and may even ruin a relationship. I almost smacked him for being so obnoxious. The way jealousy affected my relationship, is similar to Act II of The Crucible. Jealousy also tugged at John and Elizabethan relationship. Since Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft, she wanted to find out who accused her. When she found out that Abigail accused her, she immediately said she wants me dead. I knew all this week it would come! This quote shows that Elizabeth believes that Abigail is out to get her just because shes Proctors wife. Elizabeth states, Shed dare not call out such a farmers wife but there be monstrous profit in it. She thinks to take my place, John Elizabethan Jealousy is evident and causes John to get upset and actually grab a rifle as he tells Elizabeth hes going to curse Abigail. Similar to my example of jealousy affecting my relationship that only lasted for a while, Elizabethan Jealousy in Act II of The Crucible caused Proctor to go crazy! BY jacketed others and this leads to trouble. Vive been in a situation that reflects Arthur Millers Jealousy has become a major issue since I met this boy in high school. My friend were playing some Narrator game. I defended myself by saying l dont care if you think because he started telling me about some girls at school. He even asked me if I was He was being mean to me because HE was Jealous. I found out that Jealousy really The way Jealousy affected my relationship, is similar to Act II of The Crucible. Get her Just because shes Proctors wife. Elizabeth states, Shed dare not call out rifle as he tells Elizabeth hes going to curse Abigail. Similar to my example of Jealousy

Difference Between Nurse Leaders and Nurse Managers Essay

Difference Between Nurse Leaders and Nurse Managers - Essay Example Nursing managers remain responsible for chairing of organizational meetings and determining the organizational projects, nursing leaders on their part work to determine the particular participation of unit nurses in particular organizational projects. Based on such a perspective, it is possible a nursing manager also becomes a nursing leader at the same time. As such, a clinical manager would as well step in to work as an in charge nurse and perform the necessary roles associated with a nursing leader such as the application of fairness in dealings with people. In most instances, nursing leaders lack management position but still perform to the satisfaction of the concerned parties in a similar manner of a nursing manager. Such roles include assigning of nurses on different roles and responsibilities depending on an individual’s ability to complete such tasks. On a similar perspective, it is possible that a nursing manager becomes a leader. As such, the nursing leaders would be in a position to influence control over other nurses such as giving them directions (Finkelman, 2012). Additionally, a nursing leader must not be in a management position in order to perform effectively. Generally, all nurses need to be leaders by default, with appropriate qualities of effective performance.

The theoretical framework of social marketing Essay

The theoretical framework of social marketing - Essay Example (Canada Health, 2005) Social marketing is not a new concept it has been around for a long time in one form or the other. Ever since there have been societies people have tried to persuade, inform, motivate and some how gain acceptance for their ideas and hence bring about a change. But social marketing was first introduced as a discipline in 1970 by Philip Kotler and Gerald Zaltman when they realized that the same marketing principles and strategies used to sell products can be used to sell and promote ideas, attitudes and behaviors. Kotler emphasized that the only difference between marketing and social marketing was that in social marketing the aim is not to maximize the benefit for the seller but to bring about a social change. (Weinreich, 2006) Six basic principles of social management set it apart it from other marketing approaches. Firstly the marketing conceptual frame work is intended to bring about a change that is the ultimate goal of marketing is to influence an action. Secondly there should be recognition of competition as recommended behaviors almost always have competition that should be understood and addressed. Thirdly there is a consumer orientation which is the focus on meeting the needs of one's consumers. Fourthly seminal research is to be used to identify with consumer's desires and needs that is programs will be more successful if they are based on the target audience's own perceptions and views. Fifthly there is to be a segmentation and careful selection of the target audience as audiences are rarely consistent in their perceptions or likely responses to marketing efforts and thus should be separated. And sixthly there is to be constant monitoring and modification of program tactics as the market is cons tantly changing and the management should be ready to rapidly adjust and alter its strategies. (Social Marketing Institute, n.d) Social marketing relies on the commercial marketing's conceptual frame work to guide program development and implementation. This frame work places the consumer at the heart of the exchange process where they try to maximize their wants and needs and minimize their costs of doing so. There fore social marketing identifies consumer wants and needs and tries to develop ways to satisfy them. In other words social marketing focuses on the consumer and tries to learn what the consumer wants and thus attempts to provide for the his or her needs. The planning process takes this consumer focus into account by concentrating on the elements of the marketing mix. This refers to the Ps of social marketing which incorporate the four Ps of marketing which are price, product, place and promotion as well as a few others. (Meischke, n.d) The first "P" is the social marketing product which might not always be in physical form. Products can be tangible such as condoms, ideas such as environment protection, habits or practices such as healthy eating and even services such as regular medical check ups or exams. For the product to be effective the consumers have to identify the fact that they have a problem and that the product offers a good solution to that problem. Here research can be used to determine the consumer's perception of their problem and how willing they are to solve that problem. (Weinreich, 2006) The second "P" is price which refers to what the consumers

Case for Analysis Marching Towards Market Essay Example for Free

Case for Analysis Marching Towards Market Essay Introduction Whirlpool Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $20 billion. Whirlpool entered the Indian market in the late 80s, and had entrenched itself as a formidable player in the Indian home appliances market by the mid 1990s, with a comprehensive product portfolio covering washing machines, refrigerator, microwave ovens and air conditioners. Today, Whirlpool is one of the most recognized brand in home appliances in India and holds a market share of over 20%. While Whirlpool is an acknowledged player in many of the water purifier markets across the world for the past several years now, Whirlpool entered the growing water purifier market in India in 2008. Given its focus on â€Å"attaining market leadership through Customer loyalty†, Whirlpool aspires to be the market leader in the water purifier market by 2012. This case presents the situation of the water purifier market in India, and poses challenges that Whirlpool will have to overcome to achieve its vision of becoming the market leaders. Drinking Water : A perspective Even as world bodies and governments across the continents are strategizing to manage the growth humanity in a holistically sustainable manner, availability of safe drinking is a major area of concern for all. As high as 884 Mn people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly  one in eight of the worlds population. 1.4 million children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation one child every 20 seconds. Approximately 80% of diseases in India are caused by water borne micro organisms. This is true in rural as well as urban India. However, awareness of health risks linked to unsafe water The use of water can be broadly divided in to two major categories, namely for Consumption (drinking, cooking etc) and Sanitation. This case focuses on water used for drinking purposes. A brief on Water Treatment methods Throughout human history, different methods of treating water before consumption have been devised. Up until about 100 years ago, it was always found that water flowing from natural springs was safe for drinking in its natural state, but in the 21 century even spring water is first scientifically tested before it is recommended or bottled for drinking. Each of the above methods carries with them significant disadvantages either from a convenience point of view or from health and hygiene perspective. This calls for more sophisticated methods of purifying water, to suit with the evolving lifestyles in the societies. Current State-of-the-Art Water Purification Technologies Today, the more sophisticated and commercially available water purifying technologies are, †¢ †¢ †¢ Manual fill Purifier (Drip Type) Ultra Violet (UV) purification Reverse Osmosis (RO) purification The latter two are generally referred to as Electronic Water Purifier technologies (EWP); by exception, the first one is referred to as Non EWP.  The above three are given in the order of chronological evolution, with RO technology being the latest in the Water Purification technology. The manual fill purifiers do not run on electricity, which is a scarce resource in many parts of rural India, and also have significantly lower costs in comparison to the EWPs. Interestingly , these manual fill purifiers which primarily use chlorine or UF technology are at par in performance with UV in terms of microbial protection. UV has been the oldest technology in the industry. It typically involves preliminary stages of filtration, followed by treating the filtered water through UV rays to deactivate the microbial organisms.   In the RO technology, even the smallest of microbial organisms are filtered using the reverse osmosis technology. RO technology especially scores over UV when the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) count in the source water is high . One disadvantage of RO systems is the wastage of significant quantum of water during its processing. Needless to say, the costs of the products under these different technologies increase from manual fill purifiers to UV purification systems to RO purification. The typical price range of manual fill purifier products is Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3500, while the UV products range in price between Rs. 4000 to Rs. 9000. The RO products are priced on the higher side starting from Rs. 8000 to Rs. 20000. Many products available in the market today in India use a combination of technologies but for the products in the lower end technologies (manual fill purifiers). Water Purifier Market in India The delivery of purified water in the Indian markets follow two conduits, namely, water purified in purification plants delivered to residences and other consumption locations (e.g. restaurants) in cans; and installation of water purification instruments at the place of usage. While the former  One of the oldest methods of treating water, and one still used constantly in Third World and often in developing nations or areas that have seen recent natural disasters, is boiling to kill microbes (but this causes loss of taste and may leave in dirt). Other methods of water treatment include filtering and distilling, use of chemical agents such as Iodine or Silver or Potassium Permanganate into the water supply, or the use of candle filters. methodology predominantly uses multiple technologies mentioned above, provides economies of scale and eliminates initial costs of investing in equipments, the costs involved in distribution of the treated water counters these economies of scale. The l atter provides for visibility and ease of use, which are significant perceived benefits in comparison to the former. While both the delivery mechanisms exist, the latter is fast catching up. This case focuses on the latter, which is typically referred to as the Water Purifier industry. This industry is broadly divided in to two categories namely Electronic Water Purifiers (EWP) comprising of products using UV or/and RO technologies and Non Electronic Water Purifiers (Non EWP) comprising of products that use the manual fill purifiers. Frost and Sullivan report of primary research in 2009, estimates the total market size of the Water Purifier industry in India to be 2000 Cr of which 63% is from product sales and 37% is after sales revenue. Despite the size of this industry, the Water Purifier industry in India has a low penetration (2% Urban and 0.5% All India) as per IRS 2007 and is growing at a strong rate (others use traditional water treatment methods like boiling and filtering, or use of chemical additives like Chlorine, Potassium permanganate etc). As per AC Nielson 2006 study( and internal estimates), the industry is expected to touch approx 2.3 mn units by the end of 2009. Expected growth rate of 15% and a CAGR (‘04-‘09) 21%. The average ASV of the industry is Rs 6700. With a size of approx 1.7mn (units), the EWP market is divided into 2 sub-segments – RO (30% sal) UV (70%). The RO segment is the premium end of the category and has an ASV of Rs 12000 while UV has an ASV of Rs. 7000 .RO UV growths , CAGRs(‘04-‘09) are (15% ,16%) and (10% ,10%) respectively. The Non-EWP segment operates at a sub 2K ASV (Rs 1900). This segment is witnessing an explosive growth with the entrance major players like HUL etc . The Annual growth rate was witnessed at 25% while CAGR(‘04-‘09) at 77%. It is important to note that the technology sold in a given local market is also dependent largely on the characteristics of the source drinking water in the given demography. For example, a region like Delhi with high TDS calls for RO technology, while regions like Cochin with low TDS would depend on products with UV technology. Also, one of the detriments to EWP products is the availability of continuous flow of source water and availability of power, both of which advantages are addressed the products dependent on Manual Fill Purifier technology. While the major element of the market in the water purifier equipment business in India is still in the unorganized sector, branded products are catching up and their market share is improving. The major branded players in the market are Eureka Forbes (AquaGuard, AquaSure brands), Kent, Philips, HUL (Pureit), Ion Exchange (Zero B) Ushabrita and Whirlpool (Purafresh). As per Frost and Sullivan report 2009 , Market share by player and by technology- Approx Shares ( for 2008) Eureka Forbes: RO(20%) , UV(35%) , Drip Type(33%) Kent: RO(25%) , UV(0%) , Drip Type(0%) ZeroB: RO(15%) , UV(0%) , Drip Type(0%) HUL : RO(0%) , UV(0%) , Drip Type(42%) OTH: RO(40%) , UV(65%) , Drip Type(25%) The Non-EWP segment was primarily dominated by local players until recently, when HUL entered the category with its drip type purifier under the brand Pureit at a break through price of Rs 1800 and took the market by storm. The other key players in this segment are Ushabrita Eureka Forbes. The channel for this segment has traditionally been the Direct to Home (DTH) route, with this route still accounting for a whopping 65% of the product sales in this category. The ratio of Eureka Forbes’ DTH sales is higher at 75%. On the trade side(contribution bal 35%), the DAP channel (Domestic Appliances Products) accounts for the larger proportion of the share with 65% while the Durable Trade accounts for the remaining 35%. The DAP Channel mainly consists of small appliance sellers  who sell products like iron , blenders , mixers , gas burners etc. These retailers primarily sell products which lie within the price range of Rs 500-Rs 5000. They are typically not in the prime locations in the market place and their shopfloor size is on an avg10X10ft. The products are displayed mostly in a packed form. The products are sold very close to the MRP and the discounts offered are in the range of only 5-10% HUL has made an entry through a unique channel. It has opened up a large number of ‘Water Safe Zones’ / â€Å"Product Experience Centres’ and is pushing the volumes from there while catering to direct to home service as well While HUL is establishing itself in the entry level segment through consistent advertising and promotions , the more established players in UV RO like Eureka Kent too are active in the media space and are seen promoting their products through several media elements. Recently, HUL was seen rolling out a ‘Rs 1 Crore’ challenge offer and heavily promoting the same. At the same time Eureka Forbes was also seen throwing a ‘Money Back Guarantee’ offer on its products. Eureka Forbes operates with a strong sales service force of 6000 people on the company rolls along with an equally large group of third party franchises. The company has been under pressure to expand its volumes since the avg the productivity of its sales team has come down over years. Lately, they have been seen heavily focussing on retail through their ‘Aquasure’ brand while the ‘Aquaguard’ brand is operating in the DTH section. Kent has its own sales service set up in Northern India while it depends on third party franchises for its operation in the rest of the country. It has branch offices in 6 cities (AP , Karnataka, Kerala , Mumbai , Gujarat , West Bengal). In order to counter HUL’s explosive growth, Kent recently rolled out a NON-EWP (UF based) purifier at a price of Rs 2500 under the sub-brand  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Kent Gold’. This product is being primarily marketed through the retail channel. HUL has set up its Safe water zones with external KSPs ( Key service providers) while continuing to have its internal sales team supervising the operations . In Delhi for example , it has 27 such zones with a sales team of 750 sales men, 17 Territory sales executives (TSE) , 3 business development executives (BDE) , 1 area head.(AH) and 2 service officers . The TSEs, BDEs AH are on company rolls. The following table summarizes the typical product price points in the various segments. Price range (In Rs) Unorganized 1500-2500 4000-6000 8000-12000 Organized 2000 – 3500 6000-9000 8000-20000 Whirlpool Not Applicable Not Applicable 12500-20500 Segment Non EWP Ultra Violet (UV) Reverse Osmosis (RO) Whirlpool’s entry in the Water Purifier Market in India Whirlpool has been present in the Water category in all the key regions of the world including US, Canada, NAR, Europe, Brazil, Mexico Asia in several value added segments like water heaters, bottled water dispensers, water softeners , Refrigerator filters etc. Whirlpool entered the Water Purifier Market in India in the early 2008 to tap in to the growing Water Purifier Market, focused on the RO segment to start with, with the launch of the Purafresh range of purifiers. Currently, Whirlpool Water Purifier products are available across all markets in the country. Whirlpool has garnered a Market Share of 5% in the RO segment in the past 1  ½ years. The Water purifier category is a perfect brand fit for Whirlpool. It is a home appliance used by the home maker to provide safe and pure drinking water to her family, thus building a strong case of placing trust in the brand. This category will lend a lot of credibility to the Whirlpool brand. Whirlpool’s communication strategy also revolves around reinforcing this element of Trust. Equipped with Whirlpool’s patented 6th Sense technology, the new ‘Purafresh’ water purifier is the first Reverse Osmosis system on the market that not only purifies but also protects the purity and freshness of the water with its prestigious gold seal certification (from GOLD Seal of Water Quality Association, USA WQA). Purafresh is available in three models – Purafresh Platinum, Purafresh Elite and Purafresh Deluxe. Trigger Questions for Analysis Given the situation described above, suggest a comprehensive â€Å"Go-To-Market† plan following a systematic methodology for Whirlpool to achieve its overall objective of achieving market leadership in the Water Purifier Market (in the organized sector) by 2012, and its interim goal of achieving market leadership in the RO segment, ensuring its premium brand image, and its operational philosophies (given in the annexure for ready reference). A) Understanding and presentation by a Systematic methodology. B)Inputs: Should reflect comprehensive understanding of the company and competitive environment. 1) Analyze company development , history, Growths. 2) Identify Strengths , weaknesses , 3) Analysis of external environment (Porter 5 forces , SWOT etc) C) Outputs: Understating should result in output 1) Strategy on all 4 P’s 2) Channel Strategy ( Spl Focus) a) Evaluation of SWOT b) Key market insights c) Business Level Strategy d) Recommendations (including articulation of hypothesis) e) innovative approach especially in the communication/promotion strategy Phase II Build a detailed business plan arising out of the above strategic plan, and project the profitability of this business over time, including investments that may be required for new products and their market entries, while achieving this objective. Recommendation evaluated by 1) Strategy 2) Product choice 2) Financials ( volumes, Margins , costs , etc) 3) Process of executing strategy 4) Innovative approach/ideas. {In the first phase, the second phase question and related references should not be circulated} Whirlpools high end Purafresh platinum model, is Indias first and Only Direct Flow RO with no storage tank enabling immediate consumption of freshly purified water with 72 litres per hour capacity (Normal RO products have 8-10 litres per hour capacity). It has an advanced 5-stage purification process and also boasts of a first–of–its–kind electronic interface with a Filter change indicator, which alerts the consumer on the need to change the filter and thus ensures continual purity protection of the water. Other diagnostics functions like no water on tap indication, self cleaning mode indication, and water extraction indication makes it the most advanced and best in class product available in the Indian market today. Whirlpool entered the Indian market mainly leveraging their strength in the durable retail channel and has the highest share (30%) of all Water Purifier sales in this channel. Whirlpool has also entered the DAP Channel and are currently having a 10% share in that channel. The â€Å"Surging to Lead† Challenge Given its focus on â€Å"attaining market leadership through Customer loyalty†, Whirlpool aspires to be the market leader in the water purifier market by 2012, with an interim goal of attaining market leadership in the RO segment by 2010, while at the same time maintaining its brand position. This, no doubt, is a challenging aspiration for Whirlpool, given the well entrenched players in the market like Eureka Forbes, aggressive players like HUL who is focused on tapping the market at the â€Å"Bottom of the Pyramid† and a large unorganized market who would significantly benefit from the growth fuelled by these players. However, Whirlpool has to its advantage of its strong brand position in the hearts and minds of the home makers, and a strong, well established channel in the white goods market. The challenge for Whirlpool is to leverage its strengths, and perhaps work out completely innovative market strategies if it has to achieve its intent of becoming a  market lea der in the Water Purifier Market in general, and that in the RO segment. Annexure : A brief about Whirlpool Whirlpool, right from its inception in 1911 as first commercial manufacturer of motorized washers to the current market position of being worlds number one manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, has always set industry milestones and benchmarks. The parent company is headquartered at Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA with a global presence in over 170 countries and manufacturing operation in 13 countries with 11 major brand names such as Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Roper, Estate, Bauknecht, Laden and Ignis. The company boasts of resources and capabilities beyond achievable feat of any other in the industry. Whirlpool initiated its international expansion in 1958 by entering Brazil. However, it emerged as truly global leader in the1980s. This encouraging trend brought the company to India in the late 1980s. It forayed into the market under a joint venture with TVS group and established the first Whirlpool manufacturing facility in Pondicherry. Soon Whirlpool acquired Kelvinator India Limited in 1995 and marked an entry into Indian refrigerator market as well. The same year also saw acquisition of major share in TVS joint venture and later in 1996, Kelvinator and TVS acquisitions were merged to create Indian home appliance leader of the future, Whirlpool India. This expanded the companys portfolio in the Indian subcontinent to washing machines, refrigerator, microwave ovens and air conditioners. Today, Whirlpool is the most recognized brand in home appliances in India and holds a market share of over 20%. The company owns three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at Faridabad, Pondicherry and Pune. Each of these manufacturing set-ups features an infrastructure that is witness of Whirlpools commitment to consumer interests and advanced  technology. In the year ending in March 09, the annual turnover of the company for its Indian enterprise was Rs.1,719 Crores. The companys brand and image speaks of its commitment to the homemaker from every aspect of its functioning. It has derived its functioning principles out of an undaunted partnership with the homemakers and thus a slogan of â€Å"You and whirlpool, the worlds best homemaker† dots its promotional campaigns. The products are engineered to suit the requirements of smart, confident and in-control homemaker who knows what she wants. The product range is designed in a way that it employs unique technology and offers consumer relevant solutions. Whirlpool Corporation : Vision and Mission Whirlpools pervasive vision, â€Å"Every Home, everywhere, with pride, passion and performance†, rests on the pillars of innovation, operational excellence, customer-centric approach and diversified talent. These are embedded within our business goals, strategy, processes and work culture. Be it our products that are the result of innovation and operational excellence to meet every need of our consumers or the people behind these products that come from a wide spectrum of backgrounds, everything we do features a distinct Whirlpool way. Core Competencies Innovation: Unique and compelling solutions valued by our customers and aligned to our brands create competitive advantage and differentiated shareholder value. Operational Excellence (OPEX): A methodology for solving problems continuous improvement of products processes through pursuit, acquisition, and utilization of knowledge using critical thought and planned experimentation helps us achieve operational excellence. Customer Excellence: Excelling the customer expectation from the company, its brands,  products and services are a three-step process. The three steps are: Know a customer, Be a customer, Serve a customer. Knowing a customer helps us know who our customers are, how to treat them, how we add value, and what the drivers of brand loyalty are. This information is gathered from the customers data base history. This way we are better able to customize products for them and recommend the right product to solve problems. Being a customer is important to share customer knowledge and insights, drive actions based on customer insights, be passionate about our brands and customer loyalty and provide a positive voice for our brands. We show empathy for customers and seek to resolve their problems by creating consistent customer touch-points, with our endeavour always being to provide unique solutions for the customer . Whirlpool Corporations Transformation Agenda Whirlpool is transforming into a completely customer-centred company where the customer lies in the core of every of our functions. This focus has arrived as direct consequence of our core IDEATE up of five elements: competency of customer excellence. It allows us to build Customer Loyalty. The transformation is made The elements of the transformation hold the promise of making Whirlpool a growing company and thereby increasing value for our shareholders. The five  elements are the basis for describing our strategy internally and guide the development of our plans and initiatives. Whirlpool has swiftly moved from being a World Class Manufacturer to a World Class Marketer using the brand-building framework. We are dedicated to creating unique branded solutions that build customer loyalty and achieve brand excellence.

An Analysis of Marks and Spencer Essay -- BTEC Business Marketing GCSE

An Analysis of Marks and Spencer INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRM AND ITS INDUSTRY Marks and Spencer is one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom, and is also known as a major retailer selling diverse product ranges under their own exclusive brand in more than thirty countries. Customer confidence in the Marks and Spencer brand remains second to none. According to recent research undertaken by the Company, it shows that, in clothing, Mark and Spencer has a clear lead over all its major competitors in the key areas of fit, quality, trust, breadth of range and customer service. In November of 2000, Marks and Spencer will launch a trial of three new lingerie-only outlets in Paris, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. According to industry statistics, Marks & Spencer remains the clear leader in the UK lingerie market, with over thirty percent of the market share. These pilot stores, distinctly branded 'msl', are designed to showcase the product range, taking the very best of Marks & Spencer lingerie to the Continent. Moreover, twenty-five percent of the 'msl' range has been designed exclusively for the continental market (Marks & Spencer PG). According to David Norgrove, Marks & Spencer Executive Director, the new stores developed by Marks and Spencer "clearly show how we can give customers what they want in the way they want it. Today we have both depth of product and a variety of retail formats, so that we can encompass factory outlet stores and designer clothing under the Marks & Spencer brand. Our new concept stores carry a wide range of products and services tailor-made for its local customers but, at the same time, we are also launching the European pilot of a specialist retail format which builds on our core strength in lingerie. All of these products and formats are being in response to customer research, to meet a proven need" (Marks & Spencer PG). THE COMPETITIVE STRUCTURE OF THE INDUSTRY The British retailer Marks & Spence decided to close its one Edmonton store, along with fourteen others across Canada, with the eight remaining stores being closed just one month later. This marked the ending of Marks and Spencer's 26-year run in Canada. The chain announced its Canadian pullout, which will affect only sixteen staff, was a surprise for Canadian shoppers. Heritage Mall manager Kirby Nishikawa said "the shutdown hurts the shopping cen... ...rnational expansion plans and probably sell U.S. clothing chain Brooks Brothers. EXPAND E-COMMERCE Sell online through partnerships with Microsoft Network, the BBC's beeb.com, and digital-television providers such as Telewest (Capel 35). A Marks & Spencer spokesman confirmed that its non-executive directors changed their minds over who should lead the company last autumn because of the huge changes within the business. Over the next five years the company is expanding its selling space by nearly a fifth in Britain and by forty percent in overseas markets (Rankine PG). By the year 2005, Marks & Spencer should once again be on the top of their category. Works Cited: Author not Available. "Outlook: M&S investors don their hair shirts." Independent, (1999), 21. Capell, Kerry. "Britain: lighting a fire under Marks & Spencer." Business Week International, (2000): 35. Le Riche, Timothy. "Closure date set of M&S leaves voide at Heritage Mall." Edmonton Sun, (1999): July, 44. Marks and Spencer. "Marks & Spencers Launches Two New Formats." (2000), October: PG. Rankine, Kate. "M&S asks outsiders to review strategy." The Daily Telegraph, (1998), PG.

New York Life – Marketing Management Case Analysis

BAB25 – Case analysis 2: New York Life and Immediate Annuities Unlike the old days where a retiree could rest assured that they could live out the rest of their life on their pension and social security checks, the retirees of today receive their pensions paid out in a lump sum that takes the place of the pension check, but encompasses the total amount a retiree has to live on until they pass away. This creates uncertainty in the amount a retiree can spend per month, and if the total amount is sufficient to last them until they pass away. Immediate annuities help to create certainty in the financial situation of retirees. While retirees can be certain that they will receive a social security check each month, the amount of income they are able to receive from their pensions can vary depending on their contribution plan. Immediate annuities are a one-time purchase that guarantees a monthly payment for the remainder of the purchaser’s life. They solve the problem well as they take away the uncertainty of where a retiree can receive their income from, they are the â€Å"ideal vehicle to guarantee retirees a lifetime income† (Rotemberg & Gourville, 2010, p. ). Generally speaking, neither the buyers (the retirees) nor the sellers (agents/advisors) of immediate annuities are very enthusiastic about them. Consumers have several interrelated reasons for not buying immediate annuities. Firstly people are often not familiar with immediate annuities, which evidently causes fewer buyers. Then, buying immediate annui ties means spending a large sum of money as usually immediate annuities cost at least $100. 000 or more. This large sum of money has to be paid at once, while the purchase is irrevocable which causes doubts, most importantly because the retiree does not know if they will live long enough to make the purchase profitable. If not, more money will be put in the purchase than they will get out of it, meaning it is quite a gamble to buy immediate annuities (Rotemberg & Gourville, 2010). The agents and advisors that are supposed to sell immediate annuities, on the other hand, also have their doubts. Investment advisors actively manage their clients’ money. Immediate annuities do not allow for this as it is a one-time investment. This also means that the advisor/agent gets a one-time commission, which is less profitable compared to collecting multiple fees from one client over time for revocable investments (Rotemberg & Gourville, 2010). Additionally, advisors/agents often also do not have enough knowledge of the product, making it very hard to sell. Agents/advisors that do have knowledge of the product often state that immediate annuities are a bad retirement product. Only 9% of financial advisors (strongly) prefer the product, against 64% having a (very) weak preference for it (Morgan Stanley Research, 2007, as used in Rotemberg & Gourville, 2010). New York Life (NYL) has set its mind on growing the Guaranteed Lifetime Income (GLI) business in the future, but faces several possible paths in order to reach this goal. To be as cost-efficient as possible, we think that the company should select its pool of end-customers wisely. The focus on retirees should be maintained and even enforced, as many still do not know the products proposed by NYL. Furthermore, the focus should be broadened to a larger target group, to include the â€Å"typical† customers of the companies, families with children. As noted by Rotemberg and Gourville (2010), NYL tends to build long term relations with its clients, as agents follow them over time and sell multiple contracts to them. We can think that an ageing family would present a â€Å"risk management mindset†, as their children's future is not secured yet. We can hence position the product by presenting it as a safe solution adapted to one's own needs. Differentiating the product from those of NYL's competitors is important; potential clients of GLI annuities should understand the superior benefits of the product. Building on the company's reputation, GLI annuities should be promoted as a long term investment from a responsible company, concerned with its customers and providing long term relations between agents and customers. In order to reach a greater public and change customers' mindsets, we need to strengthen the core components of the company. For this, we believe that the focus should be put on NYL's agents rather than collaboration with investors that would force NYL to compromise on its values and products. While the pool of agents is already significant, only 4000 of them sold GLI annuities, as only 40% of the 11,500 agents had received the training specific to the product (Rotemberg & Gourville, 2010, p. 12). Therefore we believe that the GLI business would grow if all agents are trained to improve their knowledge of the products and hence their services to customers. We believe that the pool of agents should be increased gradually as number of customers grows in order to sustain the aforementioned values of NYL while the price of GLI annuities should not be changed, considering the customized services NYL provides. Instead, they need to focus on convincing customers that they're worth their price as their product is unique. i. e. NYL needs to emphasize the novel aspects of its product to differentiate from competitors', while promotion should be built on NYL's values.