Promotional Activities Essay Example for Free

Promotional Activities Essay Section 1.0 Introduction Throughout this assignment, I will be producing a plan of a promotion campaign for an existing business. I have decided to choose Marks and Spencer Plc. I will be looking at how Marks and Spencer use promotional activities and incorporate them into a promotional mix creating a vital choice in the success of the promotion campaign. As well, I will be considering whether promotional activities can affect a business’ final choice of promotional mix. Marks and Spencer Plc are located all over the UK, with currently 600 stores that range from the large stores to the simply food stores, but their largest store is situated at Marble Arch on London’s Oxford Street. By 1975 Marks and Spencer had opened over 285 international stores. The locations of all Marks and Spencer have nearby bus stops and car parks enabling it to be accessible to its customers, in addition, a large number for the stores have collect by car facilities for customers to pick up their goods at a later time. They currently employ over 75,000 employees in the UK and internationally. Marks and Spencer was founded by Michael Marks in 1884. He opened a stall at Leeds Kirkgate Market and all the items were sold for a penny. In 1894 Thomas Spencer invested  £300 to become Michael’s partner in the company.  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ Marks and Spencer have a very user friendly website, that shows their aims and objectives that they want to achieve to be a successful business. It provides links to their promotions and to their online shopping. I will be using this website throughout my coursework. (See appendix A). They have a lot of competition that is mainly the large supermarket chains Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda who are all wanting customers to come to their stores because they have the products that customers are looking for at the right price for them. They do not specialise for a specific target market as  they cater for women, men and children in clothing, however their food lines tend to be the more luxurious, high quality and expensive. Their market share is 10.7% for clothing and footwear (See appendix B) and for food the market share is 3.9%. (See appendix B). Their annual turnover in the UK is  £8.16 billion and internationally is  £898 million. (See appendix B). To ensure a business succeeds within the promotional mix, promotion is key in achieving this. I will be looking in depth to see whether Marks and Spencer have achieved this or whether they need more advertisement enabling their customers to become aware of their aims and objectives in finalising the promotion. Marks and Spencer’s objectives are: Continue to invest in and grow our core UK retail business, by introducing new goods and services. Strengthen our UK property portfolio. Drive our MS Direct business. Expand our International business. Integrate Plan A (our ‘eco plan’) into every aspect of how we do business, so that we grow in a sustainable way.

Barries are an illusion :: essays research papers

The Actual Illusion â€Å"It calls for the unity of all Frenchmen across class barriers,† claims Raymond Durgnat in his book Jean Renoir, about the film The Grand Illusion (149). It’s a war movie without a single battle scene, where only one soldier is killed, and there’s not one character which could be portrayed as the villain. Just by the death toll, we get the sense that the film is more than about WWI, but how people are different from each other. The story examines soldiers from different classes and nationalities in an effort to show their common humanity despite these divisions. The film begins with pilots de Boieldieu and Marechal deciding to investigate an area to plan a military attack. While on their mission, their plane is shot down by the noble German officer Von Rauffenstein. After celebrating his win, Von Rauffenstein orders his German soldiers to seek the fallen pilots and invite them over for lunch before being sent to a prisoners of war camp. Even though they share different allegiances, the moneyed de Boieldieu inevitably strikes up a friendship with Von Rauffenstein since they hail from the same upper social class unlike his fellow countrymen Marechal; who is just a French middle class worker. A German soldier helps Marechal cut his steak and even sparks up a conversation. The dignified Von Rauffenstein Von Rauffenstein apologizes for the death of one of their men. From the beginning of the movie, social division is displayed by seeing people from the same social class uniting like Marechel did with the German and de Boieldieu with Von Rauffenstein. As aristocratic officers, both men are witnessing the gradual erosion of their inherited privilege and the resulting power shift to the working class and try to stay together. When they arrive at the camp, both Boieldieu and Marechal, are befriended by their fellow countrymen. The prisoners devise a plan that consists of digging a hole through the ground that ends in the gardens on the other side of the wall. They are forced to switch camps before being able to finish their plan. While in the camp, many examples of closed composition as stated by Gollin in his book A Viewer’s Guide to Film â€Å"The world in a closed framed but always seems to some extend self defined and self contained† are used (59). Throughout most scenes the soldiers are filmed either enclosed in a door or window frame which added to the feeling of them being trapped in the POW camp.

International Journal of Business and Management Essay

As one of the most successful fast food chain in the world, throughout the development of McDonald’s, we could easily identify many successful business strategy implementations. In this paper, I will discuss some critical business strategies, which linked to the company’s structure and external environment. This paper is organized as follows: In the first section, I will give brief introduction to the success of McDonald’s. In the second section, I will analyze some particular strategies used by McDonald’s and how these strategies are suitable to their business structure. I will then analyze why McDonald’s choose these strategies in response to the changing external environment. Finally, I will summarize the approaches used by McDonald’s to achieve their strategic goals. Keywords: Strategy, McDonald’s structure Introduction McDonald’s, originated in California, USA, 1954, has become one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world. The success achieved includes that they have established more than 30,000 franchising stores in 119 countries, serving more than 47 million people each day, and generating about $15 billions revenues annually. McDonald’s also continuously enhances its brand imagine through different social activities and the sponsorship of special events and sports i.e. as a major sponsor of the world cup since 1994 and the Champions League football in England from 1996 to 2000.(www.McDonalds.com) How can McDonald’s achieve such success? There are many formulating strategies, which we could use for our analysis of their recipe of success such as Porter’s competitive strategies model, which includes differentiation and low-cost leadership; or Miles and Snow’s ‘strategy typology’, which defined prospector, defender, analyzer, and reactor strategy. Obviously, it is extremely important for McDonald’s to choose the most appropriate strategy to be successful. From my personal point view, to be an Analyzer is the most suitable strategic position for them to develop their business as a whole especially when they facing an extreme complex continuously changing world. As Miles and Snow defined that â€Å"The analyzer tries to maintain a stable business while innovating on the periphery. It seems to lie midway between the prospector and the defender. Some products will be targeted toward stable environment in which an efficiency strategy designed to keep current customers is used. Others will be targeted toward new, mor e dynamic environment, where growth is possible.† (Richard L.Daft) It is also very important to consider how McDonald’s applies these strategies and how their strategies interact with their business structure and the external environment. 1. How McDonald’s business structure influences its strategy? The McDonald’s business structure is based upon a geographic structure. When log on their website, you will be asked to choose the country that you are interested in. Actually, McDonald’s divided its operations into five geographical divisions. (www.McDonalds.com) International Journal of Business and Management November, 2008 As shown in above pie charts that around 65% of McDonald’s restaurants and approximately 75% of its revenues are generated in the United State and Europe. So, to McDonald’s, the most important strategic approach for maintaining its leading position is to keep their major markets at the same time expanding their business into the other emerging markets. However, different consumer groups in different countries may have very different tastes and/or requirements. So each full functional geographic unit of McDonald’s was required to wholly response for producing and marketing its products in that region. Through this regional structure, McDonald’s could not only satisfy the local consumers’ needs in different geographical areas but also pursuing ‘maximum local development’. Actually they produce and market slightly different types of products in different areas, and they even have different prices. As Jim Skinner, the vice-chairmen of McDonald’s illustrated that ‘if you are looking for a command center with one push button that operate our restaurant in every corner of the world, you won’t find it’. However, their philosophy of QSC&V-quality, service, cleanliness and value is same for everywhere. And McDonald’s targets the similar consumer segments that need fast service, affordable price and good standard hygiene. So their main products are similar in most countries, where they provided service, including beef, chicken, bread potatoes and milk. As the consumers in different countries having different foods requirements, McDonald’s keep launching new products for their regional consumers. In this case China and France can be very good examples. 2. McDonald’s in China: In 1990, McDonald’s opened their first store in shenzhen (near HongKong). But before they actually started their business, McDonald’s had already carried out 5 years business research and all sorts of information gathering such as the income level of the Chinese people, the kind of foods they enjoy etc. Moreover, their re-design of the counter, chairs and desks also reflected their considerations of the height and body shape of Chinese people. They made lots of efforts to promote their American burgers, and wanted to repeat the same success in China market as they has done elsewhere. Unfortunately, they are not as successful as KFC, their biggest rival, in China now. There are lots of reasons to explain it, one important issue which has once been ignored by McDonald’s is that Chinese people are more prefer chicken dishes than beef burgers, which are their main products. After identified this problem, McDonald’s has tried to adapt more Chinese tastes by adding more chicken meals into their menu for attracting more customers.(Chinese website) 3. McDonald’s in France: In France, where customers has been resentful of the fast-food chain’s incursion, McDonald’s has boosted it sales by remodeling restaurants i.e. hardwood floors, wood-beam ceilings, comfortable armchairs, and also by adding new menu items such as espresso, brioche and more upscale sandwiches. Actually they have successfully responded to the preferences of the local area. (Richard L.Daft) In the other countries the situation is the same. For example, in Canada, McDonald’s has introduced new Canadian feature breakfast. In Belgium, the McCicken Premiere has been added to the menu. Although McDonald’s has been regarded as the ultimate example of standardization for the world market. 4. How the strategy is influenced by external environment? The external environment can be divided into several sectors. In this section, I will only discuss two important parts: competitors, social concept (healthy problem) and uncertainty situation, which can greatly influence McDonald’s strategies. Then at the last part of this section, I will discuss one particular strategy they used which served for their future development purpose. Competitor: It’s unlikely that McDonald’s can always be No.1. In an annual consumer satisfaction survey, McDonald’s has been scored dead last among fast-food restaurants since 1992. In the fourth quarter of 2002, McDonald’s disclosed its first-ever quarterly loss, one reason why McDonald’s is struggling is that the consumers began to switch to its competitors, such as Burger King, Wendy’s, and Subway. These companies emphasized on offering fresher, hotter, high-quality foods at lower price with faster service. On the other hand, McDonald’s decided to close 719 poorly performing restaurants around world. All of these simply proved that McDonald’s might no longer be competitive in the fast-food market. And if McDonald’s cannot adapt external environment change, they might be gradually diminished and even replaced by other competitors. In order to keep their market share, increasing sales and profits. McDonald’s has to respond to the threat of competitors. In 2003, McDonald’s offered the McGriddles sandwiches in the US and the Canada feature breakfast. Meanwhile, McChicken Premiere and a zesty chicken have been introduced in the UK, France, Italy and Belgium. McDonald’s was trying to satisfy customer’s desire for premium products at affordable prices. Furthermore, McDonald’s is providing more choice with respond to offer ‘ Happy Meal’ to keep the children. For example, Happy meal now including chicken selects, and no-sugar –add fruit drink (juice and low-fat drink) and also to produce McDonald’s coffee which appeals to adult. Those products have been made to attract existing customer and develop new customers.(www.McDonalds) Moreover, in addition to the innovative menu, McDonald’s is also rebuilding and even relocating some of their restaurants to make the environment more attractive. At the same time, McDonald’s is differentiating itself by creating 73 Vol. 3, No. 11 International Journal of Business and Management more relevant experiences such as allowing the customers to access the Internet with the wireless technology platform. This innovative way not only attracts the teenagers, but also perfectly fitting the modern professionals’ requirements. Social problem –healthy issue With the economic development, people’s living standards have increased dramatically these years. People are becoming more concerned about their health issues. It cannot be denied that McDonald’s has attempted to make itself more convenience for the people. However, people also believe that such kinds of fast food are not good for their health. The world health organization‘s report presented that those food not only can cause the obesity of children, but also is part of the reason of causing cancer. Healthy issues became the biggest stumbling block to the development of McDonald’s. Customers were switching to healthier offering, such as Subway’s sandwiches, or KFC’s mashed potato instead of fried potato. McDonald’s has responded to this healthy trend. In order to compete, McDonald’s has added salads and other lighter options into their menu. If a mother comes in, she is not only buy the happy meal for her children, she will also be likely to buy herself a meal too .the lighter options also encourage existing customers to come back more often, because there is a greater variety of choices. Focus on Children No matter how different the tastes and the local needs are, McDonald’s has paid considerable attention to the children in every country. They built ‘happy land’ for them, offering fantastic â€Å"happy meals† with novelty toys to them. Furthermore, McDonald’s has just launched computers with games that were designed to inspire the children’s imagination at the same time shape their personal characteristics. There are three main reasons for McDonald’s to focus on the children: (1) Children are one of the biggest consumers groups to McDonald’s. And McDonald’s has been regarded, as their favorite place to go .The brand culture â€Å"happiness† is known by children. (2) McDonald’s believe that focusing on children can build the stable business, and will provide the best engine to encourage the whole family to come to McDonald’s. For example, one happy meal for a child only cost $ 5 but McDonald’s can produce more new products in addition to happy meal to offer the whole family. (3) By Building a brand loyalty with the children, McDonald’s more likely to be successfully today and in the future. In my opinion, McDonald’s is not just selling the happy meal to children; it is selling the American culture to the children – the enjoyable individual life. Actually this strategy with focused children segment is fully worked for their future development purpose. Whatever how the environment changes this strategy can always develop future generation customers’ loyalty. And the â€Å"happy children† can also bring in the whole â€Å"happy families†. Conclusion To sum up, there is a strong possibility that if the company fails to recognize the new competitions, shifting of consumer interests, and the social trends or innovative technologies, it will loose its market share. Previously, McDonald’s emphasis on adding new restaurants for near 5 years, more than 50% of increase in new restaurants opened. Unfortunately, there was only 2% of increase in the sale of the food. So, in the year 2003 McDonald’s decided to change its focus on increasing sales at existing restaurant and reduced capital spending which allows for a sizeable amount of cash be returned to shareholder. For achieving their objectives, the McDonald’s strategy should be attract more new customers, encourage existing customers to visit McDonald’s more often, build brand loyalty and, ultimately, create enduring profitable growth for the company. References Edstrà ¶m. A., & Galbraith, J.R. (1977). Transfer of managers as a coordination and control strategy in multinational organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, June, 248-263. Egelhoff, W.G. (1984). Patterns of control in U.S., U.K. and European multinational corporations. Journal of International Business Studies, Fall, 73-83 Fatehi, K. (1996). International Management, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Geringer, J.M. & Hebert, L. (1989). Control and performance of international joint ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, Summer, 235-253 Hodgetts, R.M., Luthans, F. (1994). International Management, New York: McGraw-Hi Richard L.Daft,(2005).Organization Theory and Design, 8th edition, Thomson ,south-western(Chapter 10) Mead, R. (1994). International Management. Cross Cultural Dimensions, Oxford: Blackwell. http://baike.baidu.com/view/4676.htm

Justice System And The United States - 1083 Words

In a case there are three sides, the defendants, the plaintiffs and the truth. Often times the truth may be hard to find but when it is available, justice should be served. That is where the justice system comes in and their job is suppose to allow justice to be served. Over the years, the criminal justice system has lacked in that area according to almost half of the United States citizens. Many may ask the question, why?, but there is no definite answer for why the justice system has lacked in its area of justice. The real question is, how? How can this be changed? That is the question many American Citizens are asking. The American justice system is lacking in the area of justice in many ways. The United States has a Constitution that protects its citizens from abuse in the criminal justice system. The right to a trial, to fair treatment by law enforcement are enshrined. Importantly, the Eighth Amendment also protects those convicted from cruel and unusual punishment. In spite of all this, the American penal system is broken in many ways. Examples of this happening throughout the United States are unfair punishments, prison health care and sentencing young children life in prison without parole. The Justice system has been well known for its unfair rulings lately and that is just sad. This is nothing new to society but it is a serious problem that needs to be fixed. An example of unfair ruling and unfair trial would be the Scopes trial. This is a trial that tookShow MoreRelatedJustice System Of The United States Essay1674 Words   |  7 Pagesextremely excited to witness our justice system in action for the purpose of this paper. Through the first amendment of the Constitution, the public has a constitutional right of access to criminal proceedings; yet knowing this, I was immensely repentant that as a criminal justice student in hopes of attaining a career in law enforcement have never previously stepped foot in any courthouse. It is paramount that an individual learns how the justice system of the United States is conducted, whether you haveRead MoreThe United States Justice System1234 Words   |  5 Pagesthe practice of law enforcement officers to stop African American drivers without probable cause† (Weatherspoon, 2004). The United States Justice System is based upon a flawed designed through miseducation of students in the school system, maintaining of a slave mentally in the prison system, and the perceptions of African Americans in America. Currently, the Public School System is readying African American for a life in prison. Today, many schools have been issued metal detectors and excessive camerasRead MoreThe United States Justice System1096 Words   |  5 PagesThe United States justice system has been around since the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787. It was created to protect its citizens and provide justice throughout the nation. The U.S. Justice system is broken down to three branches. These branches are Policing, Courts, and Corrections that create the justice system. Policing is the branch that enforces the law in the public. Courts is the decision to whether you are guilt, not guilty, or fined for the actions from the enforcementsRead MoreThe Justice System Of The United States1040 Words   |  5 PagesThe justice system here in the United States has been set up to provide justice through a due process system in our nation s courts. Our nation s due process is set up to ensure Constitutional Rights to all involved. The courts provide certain rights to both the victim and the defendant during all stages of the due process. The primary goal in all phases of the criminal justice system is to ensure the protection of rights and guarantee justice is served. To ensure citizens freedoms are protectedRead MoreThe United States And The Criminal Justice System Essay1662 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States considers itself to be the best country in the world. This sense of nationalism is present because of the country’s history of opportunities and their emphasis on the power of their people. Safety is a crucial aspect that peopleconsider when choosing where to live. The United States provides their citizenswith national safety throughthe enforcement of their criminal justice system.As a result of their intentions of maintaining a secure living environment, the United States has theRead MoreCriminal Justice System Of The United States1722 Words   |  7 Pages  Crim inal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Those accused of crime have protections against abuse of investigatory and prosecution powers. Goals In the United States, criminal justice policy has been guided by the 1967 President s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, which issuedRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System Essay1132 Words   |  5 Pagespunished for a crime. The film focuses on racism in the United States’ criminal justice system. According to DuVernay, the part of the 13th Amendment that says â€Å"unless you are being punished for a crime† is a loophole that has been used to allow slavery to continue in the early days during reconstruction and even now. This loophole coupled with the criminalization of the black man has led to mass incarceration of minorities. The United States which has only five percent of the world’s population butRead MoreThe Criminal Justice Systems And The United States1169 Words   |  5 PagesThe criminal justice systems in Bolivia and the United States have different structures with some similarities. I was born in La Paz Boliv ia and we will be taking a look into Bolivia and the U.S’s governmental and criminal justice systems. Bolivia is a republic with a democratic government. The U.S. also has a democratic government. The Napoleonic code (civil code) and Spanish law compose Bolivia’s legal system, whereas the US is based on common law. The U.S. and Bolivia may have their similaritiesRead MoreCriminal Justice System And The United States2244 Words   |  9 PagesAbstract The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Many failed policies have led us to the issues we have today. Policies such as America’s â€Å"get tough on crime† failed us and put us into a bigger hole than we already were in. Our criminal justice system needs to be evaluated and failed policies and procedures must be thrown out. It is a time for a reform for our criminal justice system. However, we must first address these policies and procedures that led us to where weRead MoreThe United States Criminal Justice System1670 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States Criminal Justice System is an extremely complex, but yet extremely important part of the United States. The criminal justice system is defined as â€Å"the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws). Although there are many different groups of people that make up the criminal justice system, the two main and mos t discussed the state division or the federal division. The state division of the criminal justice