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The case about Lincoln electronic company is an anatomy case which describes management success in operating high efficient company. Over the years, Lincoln could record a steady growth, satisfied thousands of customers, and financed with internally generated funds. 1 . How would you describe Lincoln approach to the organization and motivation of their employee? Lincoln had a lot of results control in the company. The first thing to mention is that the company created a piecework system where the employees were paid for producing more and more.Therefore, there were some workers on the factory floor ho had earned more than 45,000 in a single year. Other employees had the chance to own their own houses and cars and they didn't have any debt. The company didn't reward only for productivity, but they also rewarded for high quality, cost reduction, and new ideas. The workers guaranteed their work and every one of them felt like a boss for him/herself. Moreover, the promotion and hiring fo r a new Job give the current employees the opportunity to get advanced and usually they train the employee for a new Job to be qualified.They only hire new people if the Job needs special skills. Furthermore, the company used the open door policy where the employee problems can be heard and solved. The managers were sharing the workers the same parking and dining room. The company top executive Gorge E. Willis knew at least 500 employees personally which satisfied the workers need to be recognized. 2. What role do you think this approach has played in Lincoln performance over the last 25 years? Have any other factors been more important? In fact, satisfying the workers had played a big role in Lincoln success.No matter of how good the managers are, the work is completed by the workers, it was essential to motivate them to produce more products. As the company succeed in satisfying the employees, as they willing to stay in the company and be more productive. That helped the company t o apply their strategy perfectly; produce more for lower cost. 3. What factors will be critical to Lincoln continued success? It is important to Lincoln Company to guarantee the employee loyalty instead of counting on the paying system and giving bounces to them.In anytime that the company couldn't satisfy the financial needs for the workers, it will be the end for them. They should focus more on other types of rewarding. For example, the most productive employees can have special parking, or quicker promotions. Also the company needs to hire supervisor for the employees. The company had a worker who was able to manipulate the system and use the lunch break to finish some work with on hand while eating the lunch with the other one! Furthermore, there should be some delegation of authorities in the company. He top executive managers are making even the smallest decisions in the company which may cause some obstacles for middle managers to take a quick necessary decision. 4. What reco mmendations would you make to Mr.. Willis? I believe Mr.. Willis should continue using the open doors policy and maintain the good relations with employees. In the same time he needs to give some authorities to middle managers to make the decisions they need to keep the work stream flows. He should also focus more on making the products delivered in the right time and fix the delay in delivery.The company strategy hasn't changed for a while, and it is important to make some critical changes in the company environment to attract more employees instead of making the company place the employee go to in order to have high wage only. Implementing new technologies that assure reducing the number of workers will be more efficient. Finally, he can't depend on the employees self observation only, but also needs to have closer eye on them to determine how efficient they are. CASE-8 DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS CORPORATION: 1 .Evaluate both the design of the EDP Performance Bonus Program for Us-based f ield service engineers (Fees) as it currently exists and the way in which the program is being implemented. What changes would you suggest, if any? Explain The program were based on the Fees performance in six areas: 1- cross training 2- PM completion 3- teamwork factor for MS 4- complete first visit 5- call back rate and 6- administrative functions. The current system is not affective in evaluating the employees because of many reasons. First, the employees have no complete control in some areas.For example, complete service events in the first day are not always possible no matter of how hard the employee tries because of many factors that are not related to the employee abilities. Second, there were some problems raised after implementing the program such as some subsequent visits were not a call back. Therefore, the program readjusted to include some areas as exceptions. Finally, the evaluation is based on subjectively Judgment which can be varying depending on the manager's per spectives. Some improvement may be implemented to improve the whole program.For instance, as the managers realized that completing services in the first visit is not always possible, they need to count points for every employee who finished his part of the service in the first day. Regardless of the delay was caused by other factors. Another essential improvement is making the evaluation based on objectively Judgment rather than the manager's opinions. It is important for the employees to know how they exactly evaluated. In that way they can guarantee that the personal problems will not affected their evaluations.Finally, as the system was applied to assure the customers satisfaction, the company should focus more on their opinions of the customers services by hiring an employee to provide them an evaluation form and take it back from them. For the customers who seek assistance via phone, the company can take their opinion after the service was provided by making the customer bush a number to evaluate the employee. 2. Instead of using a results-control system like the Performance Bonus Program could EDP control its Us-based Fees effectively using only action and/or personnel/ cultural controls?If so, what would such a system look like? If not, why not? Explain. I believe that there were plenty of choices the company can use in order to achieve their goal. They can use action control to prevent employee from hiding the customer's bad evaluation by hiring an employee who's responsible for giving customers the evaluation forms and take it back from them. With closer supervision on the employee they will tend to perform better. Furthermore, in the case there was nothing about the company's effort to create a good work environment for the employee! There were not closer relation between the employees and their managers.Even the rewarding program was not big enough to attract the employee's attentions. There was not anything about giving them promotions or higher sa laries for good work. 3. In answering the question posed below, assume the following hypothetical facts: In February, Joe, a EDP FEES, was called to a large laboratory in a small Midwestern US city to perform a repair Job on an Emulate 2000 instrument. Soon after he arrived, he told the laboratory client personnel that he thought he could complete the Job in 2 hours. However, he encountered some significant difficulties and the Job took 2 days.Harvey, the laboratory manager, was quite upset because the laboratory could not afford to have the instrument down for that long in such a heavy workload period. After the Job was completed, Joe invited Harvey out for a â€Å"conciliatory dinner. † After a few rounds of drinks, Joe explained why the repair Job had taken longer than expected. Then he handed Harvey the EDP customer satisfaction survey form and asked him â€Å"to be kind† in completing it. The restaurant bill for the two of them for the evening was $179. 80. Questi on: How would you analyze the ethics of Joey's behavior?Joe has no ethics at all! ( I know you will say I am going so far here 0 ) He did not finish his Job in the right time. The Job needed about 2 hours to be done and he took 2 days! He did not only cost the company money and time, but he also fail in satisfy the customer who was upset because of the work delay. Moreover, he invited the customer to â€Å"conciliatory dinner â€Å"and tried to manipulate the customer to get positive evaluation for his lousy work. The company should cover the expenses for this dinner to as a part of travel expense which mean they will pay 179. 80 for unnecessary dinner!

Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 1

Maggie Neely woke up to the sound of her mother screaming. She'd gone to bed as usual, with Jake the GreatDane sprawled heavily across her feet and the threecats jockeying for position around her head. Hercheek was resting on her open geometry book; there were homework papers scattered among theblankets, along with fragments of potato chips andan empty bag. She was wearing her jeans and a flowered pajama top plus the only two socks she'dbeen able to find last night: one red velveteen anklet and one blue cotton slouch sock. Those particular socks would eventually meanthe difference between life and death for her, but at the moment Maggie had no idea of that. She was simply startled and disoriented frombeing wakened suddenly. She'd never heard thiskind of screaming before, and she wondered howshe could be so certain it was her mother doing it. Something†¦really bad is happening, Maggierealized slowly. The worst. The clock on her nightstand said 2:11A.M. And then before she even realized she was moving, she was lurching across her bedroom floor,with piles of dirtyclothes and sports equipmenttrying to trip her up. She banged her shin on a wastebasket in the middle of the roomand ploughed right on through. The hallway was dim,but the living room at the end was blazing withlight and the screams were coming from there. Jake trotted along beside her. When they got tothe foyer by the living room he gave a half growl,half bark. Maggie took in the whole scene in a glance. Itwas one of those moments when everythingchanges forever. The front door was open, letting in the cold airof a November night in Washington. Maggie's father was wearing a short bathrobe and holding hermother, who was pulling and tearing at him as ifshe were trying to get away, screaming breathlesslyall the while. And in the doorway four people were standing: two sheriffs, a National Park ranger, and Sylvia Weald. Sylvia. Her brother Miles's girlfriend. And knowledge hit her quick and hardasa hammer blow. My brother is dead, Maggie thought.

Causes of over Eating

Early Tuesday morning this young lady was walking home. The young lady all of a sudden she fell out on the ground. She was rushed to the hospital. The doctor told her that she was eating too much junk food and not enough health foods. The food she was eating wasn’t giving her enough energy. This is just to show how over eating unhealthy foods can affect you over all health. Over eating unhealthy foods cause serious health problems such as, heart problems, diabetes, and high blood pleasure. First, over eating can be so dangerous towards a person’s health. Heart problems are the worst sickness a person can have; in fact it’s one of the leading causes of death due to unhealthy eating. Whereas to avoid having heart problems by eating health and exercising. Greasy food causes fluid to crowd around the heart other body organs. It’s important to take care of the body so that there wouldn’t be health problems like this. Because who wants to have heart problems they get old in age no one does. Heart conditions are major issues. Second, diabetes comes from eating a lot of sugar, not burning calories, and fried foods. People with diabetes have to watch what they eat at all times. A person might look health on the outside but is unhealthy on the inside. Diabetes is a huge responsibility to withhold. A person with diabetes have to give there self a shot at least twice a day in the stomach, that’s very painful to go through. It’s obvious that people who find out that they have diabetes can’t leave a normal life anymore. Third, high blood pressure is one of the major causes of over eating. People seem to eat their pain away and its causes them to have all kinds of health problems. Dealing with high blood pressure and eating unhealthy food can really make a person have a nervous breakdown. In addition, high blood pressure it causes stress makes a person want to just eat more and more. The stress of this over eating make a person blood pressure goes up so high that it causes them to be hospitalized. Over eating isn’t good for a person with high blood pressure. Most seem to beat themselves down or just eat their hearts out because of their health problems. When people over eat the foods that they know is bad for them, in contrast its makes them have health issues. Heart problem are no good for those who have over eating addictions. Diabetes can get worse if a person continue to over eat unhealthy food. High blood pressure is very hard to deal with knowing that self is the cause of this bad health condition. Overall the cause of over eating has its down falls on a person’s way of living there life on a day to day bases.

What are some Issues that Lead to the Rise of the Labor Movement and Essay

What are some Issues that Lead to the Rise of the Labor Movement and the Problems Organized Labor Faced both Internally and Externally in their Struggle for Social Equality - Essay Example Most employers since as early 19th century have been known for their ruthless treatment of their workers without considering their wellbeing and the civil rights to which they are entitled. For workers in the industrial sector, labor movements were organized with the core objective of bettering wages, reasonable hours, improved conditions at the work place. The movement’s efforts have since transformed the labor society to what it is today. It has resulted to dismissal of child labor, health benefits accrued to workers as well as provision of assistance to workers who get injured in the course of duty and support to for the retired group. Factors that have led to the emergence of the labor movements include mistreatment of workers at the work place by their employers. Incidences of workers mistreatment had become prominent in the American society that compelled them to form unions in an effort to fight for their rights and protect them from the inconsiderate, self-centered employees. The workers were kept working for longer hours with little or no pay at all. Such terms of contract fuelled formation of mass protest by the workers in protest of the cheap labor. Another factor that was key in the rise of labor movement was political involvement and sensitization of the workers. Local leaders and politicians played a significant role in the formation of unions as they sought to fight for the rights of their people. Most leaders of the time sensitized their community to stand their grounds and fight for their rights. The call by leaders propelled residents who were getting unfair treatment to congregate together and stag e a protest against their masters. This was evident in the colonial era where political leaders led their troops against their masters who were taking advantage of them to gained cheap labor leading to reforms in the sector. Marxism taught believed that trade

Strategic Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Strategic Management Accounting - Essay Example Management accountants are perfectly trained and they have this ability potential and expertise to contribute along with the strategies and with the evaluating process to over those decision-making problems that they have in the market. Adapt during practice lean towards pause on the reverse apparitions conversed through assured specialists, intellectuals. Adjustments made under according to accounting in several cases have of no use. In its basic and easy form, strategic management accounting is basically a study that gives financial information about the expenses of the competitor; company’s financial position as far as the market is concerned and also has an eye on ventures plans of both of its own and of its competitor’s over a number of periods. This emerging concept had given an emerging life and provided emerging ways in strategic management accounting. The dealings that required developing strategic management accounting came thoroughly on the end that is rather conflicting. Most of the people think and this is also a fact that accounting has turn into the collective language as far as the businesses are concerned and talking about strategic management accounting, strategic management accounting basically helps the managers to take decisions and also to take effective control on the strategies that they have, but you couldn’t say this is enough because the market where things has changed on daily basses with the impulsion of emerging technologies in market and the threat from the emerging entrants these are a few factors on which one despite that have to work to help the managers to take decisions in a proper manner. Even though one couldn’t say that accounting has over came all the problems that one have and also despite that one couldn’t say that accounting can tell us the position of a business or the competitive advantage that a company have, but despite that

Teenagers and modern social media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teenagers and modern social media - Essay Example Therefore, teenagers, parents, television producers and social media managers among others can read this article and obtain insightful knowledge. The author ensures to be as persuasive as possible so that the audience can be convinced. Mainly, the author uses facts and a combination of inference and observation to persuade the audience. For instance, the author condemns television stations for airing programmes that show teenagers drinking and using drugs as well as making some celebrity figures famous for partying, instead of focusing on celebrity role models such as Angelina Jolie (2). This is more convincing to the audience because they can relate to it and thus read the hypocrisy of the media in wanting the best for teenagers. The author uses the third person point of view. This brings about the notion that the author is well informed on the role of the media in the lives of teenagers. The author is quite disappointed by the media, especially television, thus holds a negative attitude towards them. For instance, she notes that the media is only interested in making profit and does not care whether it influences teenagers positively or negatively. In this article, the author does not include other people’s views. Additionally, she does not hold opposing views, as she only believes that the media is out to â€Å"destroy† the morals of teenagers and wash away what their parents taught them. The author does not use unfair arguments. However, her argument should have included the role of parents as well as the teenagers themselves in choosing what is morally right. When teenagers decide to watch only insightful programs, they will reduce the negative influence that the media will have on them. The author employs logos in persuading the audience through reason. She reasons out how the media is negatively influencing teenagers and proposes the best ways the media should act. Overall, this article is

The History of Banking in the United States Research Paper

The History of Banking in the United States - Research Paper Example At its core, a bank, no matter at what place in history or where it is located, does the same thing: it deals with taking in, recording, and giving out money. It is ironic to note that, upon the celebration of the United States of America gaining their independence from England, there was no bank in existence in the former colonies. As colonies of England, they had fallen under the Bank of England, and used the British forms of money, as their legal tender (Rothbard 47). Far more common, however, was trade in the form of barter of items, such as beaver fur and wampum, as well as tobacco and rice (Rothbard 48). Called â€Å"commodity money†, it served the needs of the colonists during trade with each other, especially in outlying rural areas; however, an actual legal tender was needed, it was found, when trading in cities or in a foreign market with other countries. Thus the newly-formed states were forced to bring in money from other countries to act as their own currency; before long, Spanish doubloons competed alongside French, Portuguese, and Brazilian coins for tender (Rothbard 49). This controversy was solved when, in 1781, the Bank of North America was founded by Roger Morris in Philadelphia (Foster 176). As the first bank established on the new soil, its primary aim was to finance the American Revolution, as well as economize the use of cash. Its primary aim was to do this by using the money that it was paid by depositors as loans to others, often at two or three times the amount of cash on hand (Foster 176). It succeeded admirably in both areas, making loans to not only the government but private citizens, and was quickly followed by more banks. To stay out of the limelight of the raging debate of whether or not Congress had the power, under the Articles of Confederation, it procured a charter from the State of Pennsylvania, which was continuously renewed until the bank entered the national banking system (Foster 178). This bank was quickly followed by other banks, including the Bank of Massachusetts, established in 1784, the Bank of New York, also founded i n 1784, and the Bank of the Manhattan Company, founded by Aaron Burr under the disguise of a company that was to supply pure water to New York City (Foster 179). While all of this was going on, a debate was raging in the new Congress. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, called for a national bank, stating it was needed to manage the government money and to regulate the credit of the nation (Johnson 7). Thomas Jefferson argued that there was no provision for a national bank in the U.S. Constitution, therefore it was not within the power of Congress to create one (Johnson 7). Hamilton, after lengthy discussions on the fact that the new government had created fiscal powers in the past, and therefore owed it to the people to exercise some control over them, won the argument and the First Bank of the United States was

Monitoring and Controlling Project Deliverables Essay

Monitoring and Controlling Project Deliverables - Essay Example There are many differences between physical security, and information security. Information security is concept that entangles most aspects of the society, majorly because of the ubiquitous adoption of computing technology in the modern world. In our daily lives, we use computers at work place for our employers, play on computers in homes, study online, do business, and check emails, and so on. The level of development in the modern world has greatly improved especially with the increased rate of innovation, and growing technology. Everyone in the modern world is impressed at how the level of technology is increasing so fast because they benefit from it in very many different ways (Matford & Whitman, 2012). Owing to the fact that most people have the urge to make things easier in the modern world, everyone is turning towards the direction of Information technology because online seems to be the future of everyone, and everything. The web is viewed as the future of most activities in the world today since currently it serves as a very useful tool even though it also has some intimidating proposition. Although technology enables more productivity and allows access to much information, it also carries a lot of security issues. Employers preserve information about their companies, employees, and other important documents on the computer systems. Banks also store vital information on money transaction between them, and other clients. One of the most common challenges in the modern technology world is hacking, and piracy. When someone hacks information about a company, then this leaves the company in danger of either breaking down or losing credibility from the public that it serves because this interferes with its reputation, and competitors can take advantage of this situation. Employers can lose millions of dollars, and suffer damage of reputation, face legal

Supreme court case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Supreme court case - Essay Example In 1954, Oliver L. Brown began the process of reversing this by challenging the Topeka Board of Education on its policy of segregated schools. He was angry because his daughter had to walk six blocks across, cross train tracks, then board a bus and ride for over a mile to get to her black school, while there was a white school only six blocks away. This seemed especially ridiculous because his daughter’s playmates were largely white and attended that school. Unlike many areas, Topeka worked very hard to ensure that its white and African American schools were largely equal – they had equal funding, facilities and staff, so it essentially came to question whether it was possible for two facilities to actually be equal if they were separate. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court said that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, and that the only way to ensure truly equal access to education was to have them not be segregated at all. This decision made it illegal to segregate schools based on race, and began a process of re-integration, which would eventually pave the road for many other improvements in race relations in

Puritans vs. Native Americans Essay Example for Free

Puritans vs. Native Americans Essay In 1608, a group of Christian separatists from the Church of England fled to the Netherlands and then to the New World in search of the freedom to practice their fundamentalist form of Christianity (dubbed Puritanism). The group of people known as the Native Americans (or American Indians) are the aboriginal inhabitants of the Northern and Southern American continents who are believed to have migrated across the Bering land bridge from Asia around 30,000 years ago. When these two societies collided, years of enforced ideology, oppression and guerrilla warfare were begun. The great barriers of religion, ethics and world-views are the three largest factors which lead to the culture clash between the Puritans and the Native Americans. Religion played a very important role in both Puritan and Native American society, though their ideologies differed greatly. According to Puritan beliefs, God had chosen a select number of people to join him in heaven as his elect. The Native Americans, on the other hand, believed that everyone was the same; no one was better than anyone else. As Sitting Bull once said, Each man is good in [the Great Spirits] sight. (Quotes from our Native Past). This theory was in direct conflict with the Puritans view. The means through which the beliefs of these two groups were carried on also differed greatly. The Puritans had their Bible which detailed their entire religion and held the answers to all possible questions. The Native Americans on the other hand relied on oral transmission of their theology. Thus, while the Puritans had a constant place to turn to when they wanted to figure out what they believed, Native Americans were forced to fill in the blanks between stories they had heard when it came to their basic ideals. This aspect made them both unable to relate to one another. The most prominent difference between the two religions were their gods. The Puritans believed in one God and one God only. The Native Americans, though also worshipping their own almighty Great Spirit, took further reverence for all living (and once living) things, worshipping the trees and their ancestors as well as their omnipotent Tirawa (or Wakan Tanka). The Puritans, holding all aspects of the Bible literal and as divine mandate, saw this worship of beings other than their God as idolatry (which was in clear violation of the first commandment). Therefore, the Puritans held the Native American society as a society wallowing in sin. Sin was the basis for another big hurdle in Puritan/Indian relations; their differing sets of moral and ethical values. The Puritans valued their faith above anything else. They believed that their conviction for God held precedence over anything else. Even their actions were of less consequence than their faith. The Native Americans, on the other hand, lived their faith and used their actions as tools of their beliefs. Rituals like food preparation and dancing were all actions giving veneration to the spirits of nature. Puritans also believed in the buying and selling of land, a practice completely foreign to the Native Americans. As Crazy Horse said, One does not sell the land people walk on (Quotes from out Native Past). As for the augmentation of terrain, utilization of natural resources and beautification of the land (which the Puritans took part of and advocated), the Paiute Indian Wovoka was quoted, You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear at my mothers bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. You ask me to dig for stones! Shall I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again. You ask me to cut the grass and make hay and sell it and be rich like white men, but how dare I cut my mothers hair? (Quotes from our Native Past) The Puritans were unable to understand why the Indians viewed their cultivation of the land as barbarism, and the Native Americans were also unable to understand why the Puritans viewed their lack of clothing and lack of forced organized worship as savagery. The final, and arguably most important, of the factors leading to the Native American and Puritan culture clash was the conflict of self and world views held by the two groups. The Puritans viewed themselves as flawed and (basically) evil. According to Eagle Chief, a Pawnee Indian, In our minds we are two, good and evil. (Quotes from our Native Past). Also, the Puritans believed that the mortal world was temporary and of little consequence. They believed that the only place of significance was the next world; Heaven or Hell. The Native Americans, on the other hand, believed that the world they inhabited was the next world. They thought that by dying, they simply returned to the earth. With this train of thought, it seems unlikely that they would be forced into worship through fear if they knew that they were headed home no matter what practices they held in life. The Puritans believed in a specific set of religious ideals, while the Native Americans had a less conformist view of worship. The Puritans held things like faith and use of the land over the Native Americans daily ritual and reverence for nature. The Puritans considered themselves all evil and considered life as a momentary transition, while the Indians thought of themselves as equal halves of good and evil and mortal life (and its logical successor) as fundamentally the same thing. These three things all contributed to the cultural conflict that plagued the Native Americans and Caucasians for years.

Social Exclusions Relationship With Poverty

Social Exclusions Relationship With Poverty Is The Term Social Exclusion Just A New Euphemism For Poverty? Introduction In some quarters the terms social exclusion and poverty are used almost interchangeably. This has led some writers to question whether social exclusion is a catch all term, and a new euphemism for poverty. In recent decades unemployment levels have risen dramatically and continue to do so. This has led to a rise in the number of those who are long-term unemployed. It has also meant that there are now a large number of people dependent on benefits. During the same period social changes and successive government policies have served to widen the gap between rich and poor. Field (1996) believes that under the Conservatives, there were fundamental contradictions in social security policy which continued up until 1997 when John Major was voted out of power. Conservatives vowed to get people back to work and to reduce the role of the ‘nanny state’. The Government targeted benefits, which became means tested, thus increasing dependency and putting people into a poverty trap fro m which it was difficult to escape. This Field (1996) contends is the major contributory factor to social exclusion and has, he states, led to the development of an underclass whereby some people are denied the social and citizenship rights enjoyed by other members of society. This paper will examine what is meant by social exclusion and compare this with some debates about poverty to assess whether the term social exclusion might be regarded as a new euphemism for poverty. Social Exclusion The Social exclusion unit was originally set up in December 1997. The Government’s approach, in setting up the unit is to find ways of tackling what they call the intractable problems of teenage pregnancy, deprived neighbourhoods and troublesome behaviour. The Unit aims to achieve this through the use of what they term a connective approach. New Labour’s social exclusion unit has produced a number of reports on the root causes of social exclusion and on initiatives intended to tackle them. Government documents[1] maintain that people who are economically disadvantaged are also liable to be disadvantaged in other areas. They may live in areas with the poorest housing, and have less access to decent schools and health services. Poverty is not just going without ‘things’ The Child Poverty Action Group has identified the fact that the poorest members of society suffer from poor health, stress and stigma. Theorists speak of the poverty trap because people become stuck in a never ending cycle of making do and mending in situations where people would choose differently, were they given the option. Poverty curtails freedom of choice. The freedom to eat as you wish, to go where and when you like, to seek the leisure pursuits or political activities which others accept; all are denied to those without the resources†¦poverty is most comprehensively understood as a state of partial citizenship (Golding, ed. 1986 quoted in Browne, 1998,p.61) Social exclusion is not restricted to the poor in society. Traditional families in rural areas may be excluded from leisure opportunities and cut off from basic services such as public transport (Giddens, 2001). Government policy often gives with one hand and takes back with another. On the one hand it initiates drives for social inclusion, many of them aimed at young people, on the other, there have been moves to restrict the amount of Local Authority Housing to young, lone mothers and the curtailment of benefits for those who are not regarded as actively seeking employment. Some of this is related to other Government policies, not least the pledge to strengthen families. The result has been that an increasing number of young, unmarried mothers and their children live with their parents thus shifting the responsibility back into the private sphere. The 2004 government report on tackling social exclusion maintains that exclusion is a generational problem and that those who have parents living on the margins of society are more likely to be among the socially excluded in society. The reasons for social exclusion are connected. Thus, poverty, unemployment, and a lack of education are all facets of the same problem. Government recognises that they cannot tackle social exclusion unless they adopt an approach that deals with all these issues together (ODPM, 2004). The report maintains that its efforts are paying off and that there is a reduction in the number of households where no adult is working and that what they see as the seemingly intractable problems of single parents and youth offending are being addressed (ODPM, 2004:6). It should be noted here that while the Government expresses concern, and pledges to help excluded groups, at the same time it labels them and crime and illegitimacy become increasingly linked with poverty in public consciousness. Poverty The Department for Work and Pensions Website published a paper on 8th April 2004, it states that the Government is determined to tackle poverty and its causes, not just its symptoms and that this will involve joined-up Government action across the board.[2] Definitions of poverty are highly contested however, and some sort of measure is needed if any practical application is to be achieved. The concepts absolute and relative poverty, are most commonly used, and raise heated debate as scholars fail to agree on the issue. Absolute poverty is the most minimum standard of resources that people could be said to need and is defined by the poverty line or poverty rate. Because standards of living vary widely between countries the poverty rate is calculated as relative to the standards that apply in a given country (Giddens, 2001). This is the poverty index. There are a number of indicators that are used to measure poverty in Britain and to assess whether a person is living in absolute or re lative poverty and the poverty index is widely used in policy decision making. This is problematic because Government measures of poverty are taken as relative to the household incomes of the whole population. The Institute for Fiscal Studies argues that this: obscures the true picture (because)..Previous predictions were too optimistic because they largely did not take into account the fact that the governments target measure of child poverty is a relative one (Guardian,25/6/03).[3] Since Townsend’s work in the 1970s many theorists argue that there are large numbers of people in Britain who live in a state of relative poverty. One of the problems with speaking of relative poverty is that societies do not remain the same, rather they change and develop and with this is the need for understandings of relative poverty to change also. Western society in particular is becoming increasingly more affluent and standards of relative poverty are adjusted upwards in response to this (Giddens,2001). The British Medical Journal (2000) report looked at absolute and relative child poverty in developed countries where household income is more than fifty percent lower than the average. The report found that in the league table of relative child poverty one of the four bottom places was held by the UK. Nickell (2003) contends that since 1979 increased unemployment coupled with a rise in benefit payments and earnings that are index linked to prices rather than wages, has re sulted in a massive increase in the number of people in the UK who are living in relative poverty.[4] The concept of relative poverty causes problems in a number of areas rather than using household income as the regulator it might be better if statisticians calculated the prices of basic goods and services (Daily Telegraph 27/08/02). Another approach to measuring relative poverty is through people’s perceptions of what constitutes the necessities of life. The work of Mack and Lansley (1985, 1992) identified a number of categories that were considered to be necessary to modern day life. There were twenty six things that most respondents considered important and included new clothes, heating, a bath and indoor toilet. Relative poverty was thus measured by the presence or absence of those things. The research found that there was a rise in the number of people living in poverty in the 1980s, this was defined by the lack of three or more of the basic necessities. Between 1983 and 1990 when the two studies were undertaken the number of people living in poverty rose from 7.5 millio n to 11 million and those living in severe poverty (lacking more than 7 items) from 2.6 to 3.5 million (Mack and Lansley, 1992). Poverty is also defined by people’s ability or inability to participate in social activities such as visits to the cinema or school trips. Social Exclusion and Poverty In recent years there has been a concentration on social exclusion, which does not look at poverty simply in terms of a lack of material resources, but at the wider picture of people’s ability to participate in society. The 2004 Report maintains that social exclusion is inter-generational and that such families are more likely to be headed by a lone mother, more inclined to be on the fringes of petty crime and to be long term unemployed. Children from these families often follow the same patterns as their parents and grandparents, There is, however, little concrete evidence to suggest that children of socially excluded parents always follow that pattern, there are many who do not. Unemployment, single mothers and homelessness are mentioned alongside rising crime levels, drug abuse and anti-social behaviour. Chambez (2001) Argues that single parent households are very often among the poorest. English speaking countries have the highest number of single parents, and those who ar e working are among the lowest paid. Employment chances are still limited for women with children because employers expect that motherhood is more important than a career (Walby, 1990). These are parents who are attempting to be self-reliant and while family working tax credits may seem like a good idea it is, arguably the case, that they serve to encourage a dependency culture for people who might prefer to be independent. Lewis (1992) has argued that Britain is a strong male breadwinner state with gendered welfare policies, for example its inadequate childcare provision. While no effort is now made to stop women working, the assumption is that women will be secondary wage earners and, despite the large numbers of women in paid employment, they tend to be in short, part-time, low status work (Lewis,1992:165). As Pierson (1998) contends women (and in many cases their dependent children), because of the way in which society works against their proper enfranchisement, are more reliant on the welfare state. This is a state which looks on them with less favour than it does the masculine majority because the latter are generally in more secure, long-term, and better paid employment. Such and Walker (2004) contend that public and policy debate on the lives of children and the family has increasingly centred around the idea of responsibility. The Prime Minister has gone on record as saying that people need to be responsible for themselves and their families and that New Labour was offering a hand-up rather than a hand-out. The Conservative Government had been voted out because they had failed to act and had not cared about the disadvantaged in society. Their values were wrong and the time had come for a new set of values where the better off and the disadvantaged worked together. There is a new u nderclass in Britain Tony Blair has said, who are cut off from mainstream society. He argued for a better society one where everyone was included, provided that if they wanted to get something out then they had to put something in. On the one hand Blair was handing out a vision of a utopian Britain while at the same time implying that if people were on the margins of life then by and large it was from their own rootless morality and they needed to act responsibly in order to be part of the new society that New Labour would create. What was termed anti-social behaviour is spoken of in the same light as criminal behaviour and Blair said that these things would be rooted out. The following excerpt from an early speech by the Prime Minister is, arguably, a central factor behind much of the Government’s agenda to those it deems to be on the margins: Now, at the close of the twentieth century, the decline of old industries and the shift to an economy based on knowledge and skills has given rise to a new class: a workless class. In many countries- not just Britain-a large minority is playing no role in the formal economy, dependent on Benefits and the black economy. In 1979 only one in twelve non-pensioner households had no-one bringing in a wage, today one in five are in that position  (Blair, T. 1997 no page number) This kind of rhetoric perpetuates the stereotypical view that people who live on benefits are work shy and thus quite happy to live on handouts. Walker (1994) argues that public conceptions that people on benefits have taken the easy option are misplaced, in the majority of cases life becomes a greater struggle. She contends that: Despite sensational newspaper headlines, living on social assistance is not an option most people would choose if they were offered a genuine alternative. Most find themselves in that position because of some traumatic event in their lives; loss of a job, loss of a partner or the onset of ill health (Walker, 1994:9). The Government’s 2004 report on social exclusion conflates it with poverty. In this way the Government resorts to nineteenth century views of the undeserving poor. Social exclusion has come to be a catch all term for anything that authority sees as detrimental to the workings of a capitalist society. It has become the new euphemism for poverty because in capitalist societies poverty has always been regarded as some sort of crime. Conclusion Poverty means that people are unable to afford the goods that are associated with an acceptable standard of living, social exclusion on the other hand, refers to more than the lack of resources to obtain commodities, it is, rather, a process of being shut out, totally or in part, from the social, cultural, political and economic systems which contribute to a person’s integration into society (Haralambos et al, 2000). Nolan and Whelan (1996) contend that, Talking of social exclusion rather than poverty highlights the gap between those who are active members of society and those who are forced to the fringe, the increasing risks of social disintegration, and the fact that, for the persons concerned and for society, this is a process of change and not a fixed or static situation (Nolan and Whelan, 1996:190). The effects of social exclusion, the 2004 Report further maintains, result in huge costs to society and to the economy. It would seem therefore that Government concerns over social exclusion are motivated primarily by budgetary concerns. Making social exclusion the new euphemism for poverty effectively criminalises those who in many instances are poor as a result of successive Government policies rather than through any fault of their own. Bibliography Alcock, P. 1997 2nd ed. Understanding Poverty. London, Macmillan. Blackman, S. 1997 â€Å"Destructing a Giro: a critical and ethnographic study of the youth underclass† in Macdonald R. ed. 1997 Youth, the Underclass, and Social Exclusion. London, Routledge Browne, K.1998. (2nd ed.) An Introduction to Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press. Chambez, C. 2001. â€Å"Lone-Parent Families in Europe: A Variety of Economic and Social Circumstances† Social Policy and Administration 2001, 35, 6, Dec, 658-671 Field, F. 1996. Stakeholder Welfare. London, IEA Giddens, A. 2001. (4th ed). Sociology. Cambridge, Polity Press Haralambos et al 2000. 5th ed Sociology: Themes and Perspectives. London, Collins Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1985. Poor Britain. London, George Allen and Unwin. Mack, J. and Lansley,S. 1992. Breadline Britain 1990s The Findings of the Television Series. London, London Weekend Television. Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003 Poverty and Worklessness in Britain Nolan, B. and Wheelan, C. 1996 Resources: Deprivation and Poverty. Oxford, Clarendon Press Such, E. and Walker, R. 2004 â€Å"Being responsible and responsible beings: childrens understanding of responsibility† Children and Society 18 (3) Jun 2004, pp.231-242 Walby, S. 1986. Patriarchy at Work. Cambridge: Polity. Walker,C. 1994 â€Å"Managing Poverty†. Sociology Review April, 1994 p.9 The Daily Telegraph 27th August 2002 The Guardian Newspaper 25th June 2003 Townsend, P. 1979. Poverty in the United Kingdom. Harmondsworth, Penguin. Blair, T. 1997 The Will to Win, http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=59 (no page numbering) http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=44 Mental Health and Social Exclusion Consultation Document ODPM 2004. Count Me In http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id= ODPM. 2004 Tackling Social Exclusion: Taking Stock and Looking to the Future http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id=13 page 17 Community Care, 2005 communitycare.co.uk/articles/article.asp?liarticleid=48388liSectionID=30sKeys=anti+social+behaviourliParentID=14th April (no page numbers). 1 [1]http://www.socialexclusionunit.gov.uk/downloaddoc.asp?id [2] http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2004/childpov-response/govt-response.pdf [3] Appendix One [4] http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0579.pdf Nickell, S. RES conference paper April 2003

Issues with Strategic Marketing Management

Issues with Strategic Marketing Management Introduction This course is designed to help you understand and learn advanced principles of marketing and is aimed at marketing managers, or professionals who are working in business or commerce. Who have perhaps a qualification in marketing and several years experience of working in a marketing role, or managers who would like to increase their marketing knowledge. Part of the courses assessment of learning will involve you in undertaking an assignment based on a marketing strategy plan carried out in your own company/organisation. You will be given detailed guidance and advice about this element of assessment later in this workbook. Aims of the unit The aim of the unit is to identify and discuss key issues associated with marketing principles. The course is focused on strategic principles of marketing, which form an essential underpinning to an understanding of strategic marketing in action. The theoretical underpinning will be complemented by a series of short work-based activities. Objectives of the unit To equip you with the knowledge and skills to understand and interpret strategic marketing principles To provide you with practical experience of applying strategic marketing principles and preparing a strategic marketing plan within your own company/organisation. Learning outcomes On successful completion of this Unit you should be able to: Understand the strategic marketing process Recognise the importance of creating strategic advantage Produce a strategic marketing plan in your own company/organisation Understand the importance of developing a specific competitive position Strategic Marketing Management What does this workbook contain? This workbook contains a number of information and learning resources: Background and contextual information about strategic marketing management Key ideas, theories, concepts, structures, processes in relation to strategic marketing ‘Recall and review and ‘Activity points designed to engage you in reflection and action-focused thinking Case examples of strategic marketing in action Assessment You are required to write a 2,500-word assignment as follows: Prepare a strategic marketing plan for your own company/organisation, paying particular attention to creating and sustaining a competitive advantage over rival firms. Strategic Marketing Management How should this workbook be used? This workbook will direct your study throughout the learning experience. There are  six sections, designed to be studied sequentially. However, a good learning technique is to refresh your learning by re-reading, so you are recommend to read back and forth between sections whenever you feel the need. Each section deals with a different topic and, together with any associated activities, practical work or further reading, is designed to require approximately 20 hours of study. The workbook uses an interactive learning approach. This is achieved through the use of self-assessment questions and activities throughout the text. These will enable you to apply the concepts presented in the workbook and explore issues that extend your knowledge and skills. Preparing to use the workbook If you are new to the study of marketing and/or this study method, then we suggest it is worth you spending some time becoming familiar with its contents and approach to learning and development. This will enhance your own understanding of key ideas in strategic marketing management, and your ability to lead and facilitate the learning of others. Strategic Marketing Management Table of contents Title Page Unit 1 The strategic marketing process Objectives 5 Drivers of change 5 Corporate strategy/ Marketing interface 7 Strategic marketing plans 8 Summary 9 Unit 2 Marketing Information Systems Objectives 10 MIS and the use of strategic intelligence 10 Summary 14 Unit 3 Strategic intent Objectives 15 Strategic intent/vision and mission 15 Goals and objectives 17 Stakeholders 18 Summary 19 Unit 4 Creating strategic advantage Objectives 20 Approaches to developing strategic advantage 20 Alliances and networks 22 Declining and hostile markets 24 Strategic wear-out 25 Summary 26 Unit 5 Developing a specific competitive position Objectives 27 Strategic alignment process 27 Innovation and new product development 28 Strategic evaluation 31 Summary 32 Unit 6 Implementation and control Objectives 33 Implementation 33 Control 35 Summary 37 Strategic Marketing Management Unit 1 The core theme of this unit is the importance of market-led strategic change to ensure organisational success. Objectives By the end of this unit you will: Be able to discuss, and give examples of drivers of change Understand the relationship between corporate and marketing strategy Know the process and structure of marketing planning and be able to discuss the differences between strategic and tactical planning Drivers of change Change is inevitable and companies that wish to maintain a market-led approach must take into consideration both cyclical and evolutionary change when developing their marketing strategies. The rate at which the external environment changes varies according to the nature of the business but increasingly all organisations are facing escalating levels of change. Change is inevitable. To survive companies need to adapt and to convert the threats caused by the changing environment into opportunities in order to avoid strategic drift. Marks and Spencer is a prime example of a company that has not adapted to the changing customer demands and as a result has lost many of its loyal customer base. Case history Drivers of change Greenhalgh (2001) identifies the following drivers of change that have created challenges for companies over the last few years: Domestic businesses of any significance have become rare. They are now global, drawing on supply chains that transcend national boundaries and serving customers worldwide Customer expectations of quality have increased and are now applied to all goods and services, rather than just luxury goods Concern for the environment has become a major item on companies agenda. They now have to consider their environmental responsibility as well as their profits. Large institutional investors are exerting their influence on how organisations are managed Start-up companies play an important role in introducing innovative products and new ideas to the marketplace. Young, technologically-competent workers are drawn to these vibrant workplaces, making it harder for other companies to recruit and retain them Strategic Marketing Management Activity 1.1 Consider thedrivers of change outlined above. Identify the impact of these factors on your own company/organisation. What is strategy? The term strategy is probably one of the most used and often misunderstood terms in business. There is no universal definition of strategy and yet it is used extensively. Strategy has the same meaning whether we are discussing corporate, marketing, promotional or even advertising strategy: it is concerned with how we might achieve our objectives. The difference between each type of strategy relates to the level at which the strategy is being developed. Corporate strategy according to Johnson and Scholes (1999), is: â€Å"concerned with what types of business the company as a whole should be in and is therefore concerned with decisions of scope† whereas marketing strategy aims to transform corporate objectives into a competitive market position. The main role of marketing strategy is to differentiate products/services from those of competitors by meeting the needs of customers more effectively. Therefore, according to Drummond and Ensor (2001) marketing strategy can be characterised by: Analysing the business environment and defining customer needs Matching activities to customer needs Implementing programmes to achieve a competitive position relative to competitors Strategic management consists of three elements: Strategic analysis concerned with answering the question where are we now? This involves analysing the external environment, internal resources and capabilities and stakeholder expectations Strategic choice what are the options available and which is the most attractive? Strategic implementation often the most overlooked of strategy. It is concerned with allocating resources and turning the plans into action. This process can be as equally well applied to marketing strategy. Strategic Marketing Management The corporate strategy/marketing interface It is impossible to discuss marketing strategy without first putting it into the context of corporate planning. The relationship between corporate planning and marketing planning can best be explained by figure 1.1 below. It is helpful to think of these decisions sitting in a hierarchy with corporate planning at the top and marketing planning below it. The diagram also illustrates that, alongside marketing planning, plans should be developed for other functional areas of the business such as human resources management (HRM), logistics, and operations. The vision and mission will drive the overall direction of the company and the functional areas of business will all work towards achieving the corporate objectives. The vision and mission will be discussed in Unit 3 Strategic intent. Strategic Marketing Management Marketing strategy is concerned with three elements customers, competitors and internal  corporate issues as illustrated in Figure 1.2. Strategic marketing management has three major  phases: firstly, strategic analysis in order to answer the question where are we now? This will include external analysis of customers, competitors and the macro environment and internal analysis of corporate capabilities; secondly formulation of strategy in terms of creating and evaluating options and thirdly implementation where the strategies are translated into action. The three stages are not mutually exclusive and are not necessarily linear. In fact it is expected that there will be some feedback and amendments as the process progresses. Strategic marketing plans A strategic marketing plan is the means by which the strategy is communicated within the organisation. The structure and content of a strategic marketing plan will vary considerable between organisations. However, normally the following components are included: Current situation external and internal analysis Objective setting Strategy formulation Marketing programmes Implementation issues Control measures Strategic Marketing Management There is no one best format for a strategic marketing plan and organisations will develop their own frameworks that match the needs of their companies. Strategic marketing plans need to generate action and not just be filed away. They should also be sufficiently flexible to take into account the changing environment. Activity 1.2 Read a copy of your own organisations strategic marketing plan. Give your opinion on whether the strategies outlined in it have been actioned. Has the plan shown sufficient flexibility to take into account the changing environment. If the answer to 3. is no, how could the plan have been improved? Summary In this unit we have seen that: Organisations operate in a dynamic environment and therefore they have to take into consideration those external influences that will impact on their business. These influences are often referred to as drivers of change. In market-oriented organisations it is likely that marketing will be the largest contributor to corporate strategy. Corporate strategy is concerned with what types of business the company as a whole should be in, i.e. the scope of the business. Marketing strategy is concerned with transforming corporate objectives into a competitive market position. A strategic marketing plan is the vehicle by which the marketing strategy is communicated within the organisation. The structure and format of a strategic marketing plan will vary considerably between organisations. There is no one best structure. Strategic Marketing Management Unit 2 Marketing Information System (MIS) Introduction The focus of this unit is to understand how the use of marketing intelligence and key marketing information can assist marketing managers to produce an effective marketing information system which will assist marketing decision makers to return higher profits. Objectives Upon successful completion of this unit you will: Understand the strategic use of information Understand how a MIS can assist marketing managers to make key decisions Marketing information is a key requirement for any strategic marketing plan and therefore the development of effective management and marketing information systems is an important task for marketers. Senior marketing managers should not become too heavily involved in the details of the MIS and marketing research but should be concentrating on how to utilize the information in helping to understand the market and develop successful marketing programmes. Definition A Management Information System consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers. The MIS begins and ends with marketing managers. First, it interacts with them to assess their information needs. Next, it develops the needed information from internal company records, marketing intelligence activities and the marketing research process. Information analysis processes the information to make it more useful. Finally, the MIS distributes information to managers in the right form at the right time to help them in marketing planning, implementation and control. Developing information The information needed by marketing managers comes from internal company records, marketing intelligence and marketing research. The information analysis system then processes this information to make it more useful for managers. Strategic Marketing Management Internal records Most marketing managers use internal records and reports regularly, especially for making day to day planning, implementation and control decisions. Internal records information consists of information gathered from sources within the company to evaluate marketing performance and to detect marketing problems and opportunities. The companys accounting department prepares financial statements and keeps detailed records of sales, orders, costs, and cash flows. The customer service department provides information on customer satisfaction or service problems. Research studies done for one department may provide useful information for several others. Managers can use information gathered from these and other sources within the company to evaluate performance and to detect problems and opportunities. Information from internal records is usually quicker and cheaper to get than information from other sources, but it also presents some problems. Because internal information was collected for other purposes, it may be incomplete or in the wrong form for making marketing decisions. For example, accounting department sales and cost data used for preparing financial statements need adapting for use in evaluating product, sales force, or channel performance. In addition, the many different areas of a large company produce great amounts of information, and keeping track of it all is difficult. The marketing information system must gather, organize, process and index this mass of information so that managers can find it easily and obtain it quickly. Marketing intelligence Marketing intelligenceis everyday information about developments in the marketing environment that helps managers prepare and adjust marketing plans. The marketing intelligence system determines the intelligence needed, collects it by searching the environment and delivers it to marketing managers who need it. Marketing intelligence comes from many sources. Much intelligence is derived from the companys personnel executives, engineers and scientists, purchasing agents and the sales force. However, company people are often busy and fail to pass on key information. It is important to realise that staff are intelligence gatherers, and they need to be trained to spot new developments and urged to report intelligence back to the company. The company must also persuade suppliers, resellers and customers to pass along important intelligence. Some information on competitors comes from what they say about themselves in annual reports, speeches, press releases and advertisements. The company can also learn about competitors from what others say about them in business publications and at trade shows. Or the company can watch what competitors do buying and analyzing competitors products, monitoring their sales and checking for new patents. Strategic Marketing Management Companies also buy intelligence information from outside suppliers. Dun and Bradstreet  is the worlds largest research company with branches in forty countries and a turnover of $1.26bn. Its largest subsidiary is Nielsen who sell details on brand shares, retail prices and percentages of stores stocking different brands. Marketing intelligence can work not only for, but also against a company. Kellogg used to allow the public to tour its plants but recently closed its newly upgraded plant to outsiders to prevent competitors from getting intelligence on its high tech equipment. Some companies set up an office to collect and circulate marketing intelligence. The staff scans relevant publications, summarizes important news and sends news bulletins to marketing managers. It develops a file of intelligence information and helps managers to evaluate new information. These services greatly improve the quality of information available to marketing managers. To summarise it is clear that a MIS has four main components: Internal records there is a wealth of information available within the organisation and it is essential that it is organised in such a way as to facilitate its usage. This may include sales data, customer orders, prices, stock levels, customer complaints, etc. Marketing research this is concerned with the systematic collection of information that is specific to a particular problem. For example, a piece of marketing research may be commissioned to investigate attitudes to a new advertising campaign. Marketing intelligence this may include any information that is collected on an ad hoc basis, such as competitor intelligence gleaned from the press, customer trends, registered patents etc. Marketing decision support systems the processes that convert the data into usable information. For example, statistical tools or modeling techniques. Activity 2.1 Write a short summary detailing how a MIS is used to support management decision making in your own company/organisation. Strategic Marketing Management Intelligence gathering: checking out competitors Competitive intelligence gathering has grown dramatically as more and more companies need to know what their competitors are doing. It is essential that managers are not myopic and spend time amassing information about their major competitors. Techniques that companies use to collect their own marketing intelligence fall into four major groups. Getting information from recruits and competitors employees Companies can obtain intelligence through job interviews or from conversations with competitors employees. According to Fortune magazine: ‘Companies send engineers to conferences and trade shows to question competitors technical people. Often conversations start innocently but engineers and scientists often brag about surmounting technical challenges, in the process divulging sensitive information. Getting information from people who do business with competitors Key customers can keep the company informed about competitors and their products. This information can be vital and can prevent a company from being left behind on product launches or price discounting strategies dreamed up by competing companies. Intelligence can also be gathered by infiltrating customers business operations. Companies can provide their engineers free of charge to customers. The close collaboration the engineers on loan enjoy with the customers design staff often enable them to learn what new products competitors are developing. Getting information from published materials and public documents Keeping track of seemingly meaningless published information can provide competitor intelligence. For example, the types of people sought in job adverts can indicate something about a competitors new strategies and products. Getting information by observing competitors or analyzing physical evidence Competitors can get to know competitors better by buying their products or examining other physical evidence. An increasingly important form of competitive intelligence is benchmarking, taking apart competitors products and imitating or improving on their best features. Companies should take advantage of publicly available information but they should avoid practices that might be considered illegal or unethical. Strategic Marketing Management With all the legitimate intelligence sources now available, a company does not have to break the law or accepted codes of ethics to get good intelligence. Activity 2.2 Write a short synopsis of how your own company/ organisation gathers intelligence on its competitors. Summary This unit has demonstrated that: Marketing intelligence is an essential component of an effective MIS Internal records are a vital source of information for marketing managers Senior marketing managers should be concerned with how to use the information generated from the MIS rather than with the details of the system Intelligence gathering can be carried out in various ways but it is important not to break the law or accepted codes of ethics Strategic Marketing Management Unit 3 Strategic intent Introduction The focus of this unit is to consider the aspirations and future plans of an organisation, and the components of a suitable mission statement and development of appropriate objectives. Objectives Upon successful completion of this unit you will: Be able to define the terms strategic intent / vision and mission statement Know the components of good mission statements Be able to discuss the development of appropriate objectives Strategic intent/vision and mission Strategic intent refers to the aspirations of an organisation rather than just its current activity. According to Aaker, strategic intent provides: â€Å"A long-term drive for advantage that can be essential to success. It provides a model that helps break the mould, moving a firm away from simply doing the same things a bit better and working a bit harder than the year before. It has the capability to elevate and extend an organisation, helping it reach levels it would not otherwise attain.† It is apparent that many organisations that have an appropriate and well-constructed vision are focused on the future and ways of continually attaining sustainable competitive advantage. A vision can help guide strategy, identify and maintain core competencies and provide inspiration and motivation to its managers and its employees by providing them with a sense of purpose. Hamel and Pralahad (1989) suggested that strategic intent combines: A dream that energizes the company (i.e. acts as a motivator) Implied stretch, (looks for new opportunities rather than relying on existing businesses) A sense of direction A sense of discovery Coherence to plans Definition Strategic intent/vision: The desired future state or aspiration of the organization. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p.243) Strategic Marketing Management Mission statements A mission statement is concerned with providing daily guidance rather than a vision of the future. According to Piercy (2000), in order for mission statements to contribute anything they must: Reflect an organisations core competencies and how it intends to apply and sustain them Be closely tied to the critical success factors in the marketplace Tell employees, managers, suppliers and partners what contribution is required from them to deliver the promise of value to the customer Definition Mission statement: A generalised statement of the overriding purpose of the organisation. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999,p241) Mission statements are influenced by a number of factors, such as the resource availability, the external environment, the core competencies of the organisation and the current preferences of its current chief executive and senior management. The extent to which the mission statement serves its purpose is influenced not only by the quality and relevance of the mission but also by how it is communicated to staff and other stakeholders. A successful mission statement is one that is wholly embraced and believed by staff. Just having a mission statement is insufficient, the staff must also buy into the idea. Drummond and Ensor (2001) suggest that successful mission statements should demonstrate the following characteristics: Credibility it must be realistic and believable Uniqueness not bland and generic Specific capabilities embrace core capabilities Aspirational needs to motivate individuals Activity 3.1 Write a brief critique of your own companys mission statement in the light of the above characteristics Strategic Marketing Management Goals and objectives The vision and mission provide guidance on the overall direction of an organisation. Objectives, whether corporate or marketing, are the expected outcomes of the strategy. Goals are often regarded as less specific than objectives and more difficult to measure. However, it is normally accepted that objectives should be SMART: Specific Measurable- expressed in quantifiable terms Acceptable to stakeholders Realistic- attainable Time bound- achievable within a certain time frame Definition Goals and objectives Goal general statement of aim or purpose Objective Quantification (if possible) or more precise statement of the goal (Johnson and Scholes, 1999,p14)) Activity 3.2 Critically review your companys key objectives using the SMART method There are many different types of objectives with which an organisation should be concerned. Drucker (1954) identified the following: Market standing e.g. market share objectives Innovation e.g. number of new products launched Productivity e.g. inputs compared with outputs such as increased sales whilst maintaining the same number of sales staff Physical and financial resources relating to the use of resources Profitability e.g. return on investment Manager performance and development performance criteria Employee performance and attitude loyalty Public responsibility e.g. reduce dependency on fossil fuels It is likely that many organisations will place greater weighting on some areas than others. For example, the Co-operative bank places great emphasis on their responsibility to the public in the form of their ethical banking policy. There may be a danger that some companies are preoccupied with productivity objectives and trying to improve the efficiency of existing activities without actually questioning whether they are doing the right things. Stakeholders A key consideration when developing strategic direction relates to an organisations various stakeholder groups. Stakeholders refer to all the different groups of individuals that are influenced and/or have influence on the activities of an organisation. Stakeholders have different expectations and can exert varying levels of influence over the organisation. It is important that organisations have a good understanding of the varying needs of their various stakeholder groups. There are three main groups of stakeholders: Internal stakeholders (employees, management) Connected stakeholders (suppliers, distributors, shareholders, customers) External stakeholders (community, government, pressure groups) Definition Stakeholders: Those individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn the organisation depends. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p213). The following figure illustrates an outline stakeholder map. Customers Banks/sources of finance Suppliers The local community Distributors Society at large Managers Employees Activity 3.3 Stakeholder map Draw a stakeholder map for your own organisation and consider the varying needs of each group and the implications on the organisations strategic direction. How does your organisation manage the differing expectations of each group? Strategic Marketing Management Summary This unit has shown that: Strategic intent relates to the aspirations of an organisation and is sometimes referred to as the organisations vision. An appropriate and well constructed vision can help guide strategy, identify and maintain core competencies and can act as a motivator for staff by providing them with a sense of purpose. Mission statements are more concerned with providing daily guidance rather than a vision of the future. They should reflect an organisations core competencies, relate to the critical success factors in the market and also inform employees and other stakeholders what contribution is required from them to deliver value to the customer. Issues with Strategic Marketing Management Issues with Strategic Marketing Management Introduction This course is designed to help you understand and learn advanced principles of marketing and is aimed at marketing managers, or professionals who are working in business or commerce. Who have perhaps a qualification in marketing and several years experience of working in a marketing role, or managers who would like to increase their marketing knowledge. Part of the courses assessment of learning will involve you in undertaking an assignment based on a marketing strategy plan carried out in your own company/organisation. You will be given detailed guidance and advice about this element of assessment later in this workbook. Aims of the unit The aim of the unit is to identify and discuss key issues associated with marketing principles. The course is focused on strategic principles of marketing, which form an essential underpinning to an understanding of strategic marketing in action. The theoretical underpinning will be complemented by a series of short work-based activities. Objectives of the unit To equip you with the knowledge and skills to understand and interpret strategic marketing principles To provide you with practical experience of applying strategic marketing principles and preparing a strategic marketing plan within your own company/organisation. Learning outcomes On successful completion of this Unit you should be able to: Understand the strategic marketing process Recognise the importance of creating strategic advantage Produce a strategic marketing plan in your own company/organisation Understand the importance of developing a specific competitive position Strategic Marketing Management What does this workbook contain? This workbook contains a number of information and learning resources: Background and contextual information about strategic marketing management Key ideas, theories, concepts, structures, processes in relation to strategic marketing ‘Recall and review and ‘Activity points designed to engage you in reflection and action-focused thinking Case examples of strategic marketing in action Assessment You are required to write a 2,500-word assignment as follows: Prepare a strategic marketing plan for your own company/organisation, paying particular attention to creating and sustaining a competitive advantage over rival firms. Strategic Marketing Management How should this workbook be used? This workbook will direct your study throughout the learning experience. There are  six sections, designed to be studied sequentially. However, a good learning technique is to refresh your learning by re-reading, so you are recommend to read back and forth between sections whenever you feel the need. Each section deals with a different topic and, together with any associated activities, practical work or further reading, is designed to require approximately 20 hours of study. The workbook uses an interactive learning approach. This is achieved through the use of self-assessment questions and activities throughout the text. These will enable you to apply the concepts presented in the workbook and explore issues that extend your knowledge and skills. Preparing to use the workbook If you are new to the study of marketing and/or this study method, then we suggest it is worth you spending some time becoming familiar with its contents and approach to learning and development. This will enhance your own understanding of key ideas in strategic marketing management, and your ability to lead and facilitate the learning of others. Strategic Marketing Management Table of contents Title Page Unit 1 The strategic marketing process Objectives 5 Drivers of change 5 Corporate strategy/ Marketing interface 7 Strategic marketing plans 8 Summary 9 Unit 2 Marketing Information Systems Objectives 10 MIS and the use of strategic intelligence 10 Summary 14 Unit 3 Strategic intent Objectives 15 Strategic intent/vision and mission 15 Goals and objectives 17 Stakeholders 18 Summary 19 Unit 4 Creating strategic advantage Objectives 20 Approaches to developing strategic advantage 20 Alliances and networks 22 Declining and hostile markets 24 Strategic wear-out 25 Summary 26 Unit 5 Developing a specific competitive position Objectives 27 Strategic alignment process 27 Innovation and new product development 28 Strategic evaluation 31 Summary 32 Unit 6 Implementation and control Objectives 33 Implementation 33 Control 35 Summary 37 Strategic Marketing Management Unit 1 The core theme of this unit is the importance of market-led strategic change to ensure organisational success. Objectives By the end of this unit you will: Be able to discuss, and give examples of drivers of change Understand the relationship between corporate and marketing strategy Know the process and structure of marketing planning and be able to discuss the differences between strategic and tactical planning Drivers of change Change is inevitable and companies that wish to maintain a market-led approach must take into consideration both cyclical and evolutionary change when developing their marketing strategies. The rate at which the external environment changes varies according to the nature of the business but increasingly all organisations are facing escalating levels of change. Change is inevitable. To survive companies need to adapt and to convert the threats caused by the changing environment into opportunities in order to avoid strategic drift. Marks and Spencer is a prime example of a company that has not adapted to the changing customer demands and as a result has lost many of its loyal customer base. Case history Drivers of change Greenhalgh (2001) identifies the following drivers of change that have created challenges for companies over the last few years: Domestic businesses of any significance have become rare. They are now global, drawing on supply chains that transcend national boundaries and serving customers worldwide Customer expectations of quality have increased and are now applied to all goods and services, rather than just luxury goods Concern for the environment has become a major item on companies agenda. They now have to consider their environmental responsibility as well as their profits. Large institutional investors are exerting their influence on how organisations are managed Start-up companies play an important role in introducing innovative products and new ideas to the marketplace. Young, technologically-competent workers are drawn to these vibrant workplaces, making it harder for other companies to recruit and retain them Strategic Marketing Management Activity 1.1 Consider thedrivers of change outlined above. Identify the impact of these factors on your own company/organisation. What is strategy? The term strategy is probably one of the most used and often misunderstood terms in business. There is no universal definition of strategy and yet it is used extensively. Strategy has the same meaning whether we are discussing corporate, marketing, promotional or even advertising strategy: it is concerned with how we might achieve our objectives. The difference between each type of strategy relates to the level at which the strategy is being developed. Corporate strategy according to Johnson and Scholes (1999), is: â€Å"concerned with what types of business the company as a whole should be in and is therefore concerned with decisions of scope† whereas marketing strategy aims to transform corporate objectives into a competitive market position. The main role of marketing strategy is to differentiate products/services from those of competitors by meeting the needs of customers more effectively. Therefore, according to Drummond and Ensor (2001) marketing strategy can be characterised by: Analysing the business environment and defining customer needs Matching activities to customer needs Implementing programmes to achieve a competitive position relative to competitors Strategic management consists of three elements: Strategic analysis concerned with answering the question where are we now? This involves analysing the external environment, internal resources and capabilities and stakeholder expectations Strategic choice what are the options available and which is the most attractive? Strategic implementation often the most overlooked of strategy. It is concerned with allocating resources and turning the plans into action. This process can be as equally well applied to marketing strategy. Strategic Marketing Management The corporate strategy/marketing interface It is impossible to discuss marketing strategy without first putting it into the context of corporate planning. The relationship between corporate planning and marketing planning can best be explained by figure 1.1 below. It is helpful to think of these decisions sitting in a hierarchy with corporate planning at the top and marketing planning below it. The diagram also illustrates that, alongside marketing planning, plans should be developed for other functional areas of the business such as human resources management (HRM), logistics, and operations. The vision and mission will drive the overall direction of the company and the functional areas of business will all work towards achieving the corporate objectives. The vision and mission will be discussed in Unit 3 Strategic intent. Strategic Marketing Management Marketing strategy is concerned with three elements customers, competitors and internal  corporate issues as illustrated in Figure 1.2. Strategic marketing management has three major  phases: firstly, strategic analysis in order to answer the question where are we now? This will include external analysis of customers, competitors and the macro environment and internal analysis of corporate capabilities; secondly formulation of strategy in terms of creating and evaluating options and thirdly implementation where the strategies are translated into action. The three stages are not mutually exclusive and are not necessarily linear. In fact it is expected that there will be some feedback and amendments as the process progresses. Strategic marketing plans A strategic marketing plan is the means by which the strategy is communicated within the organisation. The structure and content of a strategic marketing plan will vary considerable between organisations. However, normally the following components are included: Current situation external and internal analysis Objective setting Strategy formulation Marketing programmes Implementation issues Control measures Strategic Marketing Management There is no one best format for a strategic marketing plan and organisations will develop their own frameworks that match the needs of their companies. Strategic marketing plans need to generate action and not just be filed away. They should also be sufficiently flexible to take into account the changing environment. Activity 1.2 Read a copy of your own organisations strategic marketing plan. Give your opinion on whether the strategies outlined in it have been actioned. Has the plan shown sufficient flexibility to take into account the changing environment. If the answer to 3. is no, how could the plan have been improved? Summary In this unit we have seen that: Organisations operate in a dynamic environment and therefore they have to take into consideration those external influences that will impact on their business. These influences are often referred to as drivers of change. In market-oriented organisations it is likely that marketing will be the largest contributor to corporate strategy. Corporate strategy is concerned with what types of business the company as a whole should be in, i.e. the scope of the business. Marketing strategy is concerned with transforming corporate objectives into a competitive market position. A strategic marketing plan is the vehicle by which the marketing strategy is communicated within the organisation. The structure and format of a strategic marketing plan will vary considerably between organisations. There is no one best structure. Strategic Marketing Management Unit 2 Marketing Information System (MIS) Introduction The focus of this unit is to understand how the use of marketing intelligence and key marketing information can assist marketing managers to produce an effective marketing information system which will assist marketing decision makers to return higher profits. Objectives Upon successful completion of this unit you will: Understand the strategic use of information Understand how a MIS can assist marketing managers to make key decisions Marketing information is a key requirement for any strategic marketing plan and therefore the development of effective management and marketing information systems is an important task for marketers. Senior marketing managers should not become too heavily involved in the details of the MIS and marketing research but should be concentrating on how to utilize the information in helping to understand the market and develop successful marketing programmes. Definition A Management Information System consists of people, equipment and procedures to gather, sort, analyze, evaluate and distribute timely and accurate information to marketing decision makers. The MIS begins and ends with marketing managers. First, it interacts with them to assess their information needs. Next, it develops the needed information from internal company records, marketing intelligence activities and the marketing research process. Information analysis processes the information to make it more useful. Finally, the MIS distributes information to managers in the right form at the right time to help them in marketing planning, implementation and control. Developing information The information needed by marketing managers comes from internal company records, marketing intelligence and marketing research. The information analysis system then processes this information to make it more useful for managers. Strategic Marketing Management Internal records Most marketing managers use internal records and reports regularly, especially for making day to day planning, implementation and control decisions. Internal records information consists of information gathered from sources within the company to evaluate marketing performance and to detect marketing problems and opportunities. The companys accounting department prepares financial statements and keeps detailed records of sales, orders, costs, and cash flows. The customer service department provides information on customer satisfaction or service problems. Research studies done for one department may provide useful information for several others. Managers can use information gathered from these and other sources within the company to evaluate performance and to detect problems and opportunities. Information from internal records is usually quicker and cheaper to get than information from other sources, but it also presents some problems. Because internal information was collected for other purposes, it may be incomplete or in the wrong form for making marketing decisions. For example, accounting department sales and cost data used for preparing financial statements need adapting for use in evaluating product, sales force, or channel performance. In addition, the many different areas of a large company produce great amounts of information, and keeping track of it all is difficult. The marketing information system must gather, organize, process and index this mass of information so that managers can find it easily and obtain it quickly. Marketing intelligence Marketing intelligenceis everyday information about developments in the marketing environment that helps managers prepare and adjust marketing plans. The marketing intelligence system determines the intelligence needed, collects it by searching the environment and delivers it to marketing managers who need it. Marketing intelligence comes from many sources. Much intelligence is derived from the companys personnel executives, engineers and scientists, purchasing agents and the sales force. However, company people are often busy and fail to pass on key information. It is important to realise that staff are intelligence gatherers, and they need to be trained to spot new developments and urged to report intelligence back to the company. The company must also persuade suppliers, resellers and customers to pass along important intelligence. Some information on competitors comes from what they say about themselves in annual reports, speeches, press releases and advertisements. The company can also learn about competitors from what others say about them in business publications and at trade shows. Or the company can watch what competitors do buying and analyzing competitors products, monitoring their sales and checking for new patents. Strategic Marketing Management Companies also buy intelligence information from outside suppliers. Dun and Bradstreet  is the worlds largest research company with branches in forty countries and a turnover of $1.26bn. Its largest subsidiary is Nielsen who sell details on brand shares, retail prices and percentages of stores stocking different brands. Marketing intelligence can work not only for, but also against a company. Kellogg used to allow the public to tour its plants but recently closed its newly upgraded plant to outsiders to prevent competitors from getting intelligence on its high tech equipment. Some companies set up an office to collect and circulate marketing intelligence. The staff scans relevant publications, summarizes important news and sends news bulletins to marketing managers. It develops a file of intelligence information and helps managers to evaluate new information. These services greatly improve the quality of information available to marketing managers. To summarise it is clear that a MIS has four main components: Internal records there is a wealth of information available within the organisation and it is essential that it is organised in such a way as to facilitate its usage. This may include sales data, customer orders, prices, stock levels, customer complaints, etc. Marketing research this is concerned with the systematic collection of information that is specific to a particular problem. For example, a piece of marketing research may be commissioned to investigate attitudes to a new advertising campaign. Marketing intelligence this may include any information that is collected on an ad hoc basis, such as competitor intelligence gleaned from the press, customer trends, registered patents etc. Marketing decision support systems the processes that convert the data into usable information. For example, statistical tools or modeling techniques. Activity 2.1 Write a short summary detailing how a MIS is used to support management decision making in your own company/organisation. Strategic Marketing Management Intelligence gathering: checking out competitors Competitive intelligence gathering has grown dramatically as more and more companies need to know what their competitors are doing. It is essential that managers are not myopic and spend time amassing information about their major competitors. Techniques that companies use to collect their own marketing intelligence fall into four major groups. Getting information from recruits and competitors employees Companies can obtain intelligence through job interviews or from conversations with competitors employees. According to Fortune magazine: ‘Companies send engineers to conferences and trade shows to question competitors technical people. Often conversations start innocently but engineers and scientists often brag about surmounting technical challenges, in the process divulging sensitive information. Getting information from people who do business with competitors Key customers can keep the company informed about competitors and their products. This information can be vital and can prevent a company from being left behind on product launches or price discounting strategies dreamed up by competing companies. Intelligence can also be gathered by infiltrating customers business operations. Companies can provide their engineers free of charge to customers. The close collaboration the engineers on loan enjoy with the customers design staff often enable them to learn what new products competitors are developing. Getting information from published materials and public documents Keeping track of seemingly meaningless published information can provide competitor intelligence. For example, the types of people sought in job adverts can indicate something about a competitors new strategies and products. Getting information by observing competitors or analyzing physical evidence Competitors can get to know competitors better by buying their products or examining other physical evidence. An increasingly important form of competitive intelligence is benchmarking, taking apart competitors products and imitating or improving on their best features. Companies should take advantage of publicly available information but they should avoid practices that might be considered illegal or unethical. Strategic Marketing Management With all the legitimate intelligence sources now available, a company does not have to break the law or accepted codes of ethics to get good intelligence. Activity 2.2 Write a short synopsis of how your own company/ organisation gathers intelligence on its competitors. Summary This unit has demonstrated that: Marketing intelligence is an essential component of an effective MIS Internal records are a vital source of information for marketing managers Senior marketing managers should be concerned with how to use the information generated from the MIS rather than with the details of the system Intelligence gathering can be carried out in various ways but it is important not to break the law or accepted codes of ethics Strategic Marketing Management Unit 3 Strategic intent Introduction The focus of this unit is to consider the aspirations and future plans of an organisation, and the components of a suitable mission statement and development of appropriate objectives. Objectives Upon successful completion of this unit you will: Be able to define the terms strategic intent / vision and mission statement Know the components of good mission statements Be able to discuss the development of appropriate objectives Strategic intent/vision and mission Strategic intent refers to the aspirations of an organisation rather than just its current activity. According to Aaker, strategic intent provides: â€Å"A long-term drive for advantage that can be essential to success. It provides a model that helps break the mould, moving a firm away from simply doing the same things a bit better and working a bit harder than the year before. It has the capability to elevate and extend an organisation, helping it reach levels it would not otherwise attain.† It is apparent that many organisations that have an appropriate and well-constructed vision are focused on the future and ways of continually attaining sustainable competitive advantage. A vision can help guide strategy, identify and maintain core competencies and provide inspiration and motivation to its managers and its employees by providing them with a sense of purpose. Hamel and Pralahad (1989) suggested that strategic intent combines: A dream that energizes the company (i.e. acts as a motivator) Implied stretch, (looks for new opportunities rather than relying on existing businesses) A sense of direction A sense of discovery Coherence to plans Definition Strategic intent/vision: The desired future state or aspiration of the organization. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p.243) Strategic Marketing Management Mission statements A mission statement is concerned with providing daily guidance rather than a vision of the future. According to Piercy (2000), in order for mission statements to contribute anything they must: Reflect an organisations core competencies and how it intends to apply and sustain them Be closely tied to the critical success factors in the marketplace Tell employees, managers, suppliers and partners what contribution is required from them to deliver the promise of value to the customer Definition Mission statement: A generalised statement of the overriding purpose of the organisation. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999,p241) Mission statements are influenced by a number of factors, such as the resource availability, the external environment, the core competencies of the organisation and the current preferences of its current chief executive and senior management. The extent to which the mission statement serves its purpose is influenced not only by the quality and relevance of the mission but also by how it is communicated to staff and other stakeholders. A successful mission statement is one that is wholly embraced and believed by staff. Just having a mission statement is insufficient, the staff must also buy into the idea. Drummond and Ensor (2001) suggest that successful mission statements should demonstrate the following characteristics: Credibility it must be realistic and believable Uniqueness not bland and generic Specific capabilities embrace core capabilities Aspirational needs to motivate individuals Activity 3.1 Write a brief critique of your own companys mission statement in the light of the above characteristics Strategic Marketing Management Goals and objectives The vision and mission provide guidance on the overall direction of an organisation. Objectives, whether corporate or marketing, are the expected outcomes of the strategy. Goals are often regarded as less specific than objectives and more difficult to measure. However, it is normally accepted that objectives should be SMART: Specific Measurable- expressed in quantifiable terms Acceptable to stakeholders Realistic- attainable Time bound- achievable within a certain time frame Definition Goals and objectives Goal general statement of aim or purpose Objective Quantification (if possible) or more precise statement of the goal (Johnson and Scholes, 1999,p14)) Activity 3.2 Critically review your companys key objectives using the SMART method There are many different types of objectives with which an organisation should be concerned. Drucker (1954) identified the following: Market standing e.g. market share objectives Innovation e.g. number of new products launched Productivity e.g. inputs compared with outputs such as increased sales whilst maintaining the same number of sales staff Physical and financial resources relating to the use of resources Profitability e.g. return on investment Manager performance and development performance criteria Employee performance and attitude loyalty Public responsibility e.g. reduce dependency on fossil fuels It is likely that many organisations will place greater weighting on some areas than others. For example, the Co-operative bank places great emphasis on their responsibility to the public in the form of their ethical banking policy. There may be a danger that some companies are preoccupied with productivity objectives and trying to improve the efficiency of existing activities without actually questioning whether they are doing the right things. Stakeholders A key consideration when developing strategic direction relates to an organisations various stakeholder groups. Stakeholders refer to all the different groups of individuals that are influenced and/or have influence on the activities of an organisation. Stakeholders have different expectations and can exert varying levels of influence over the organisation. It is important that organisations have a good understanding of the varying needs of their various stakeholder groups. There are three main groups of stakeholders: Internal stakeholders (employees, management) Connected stakeholders (suppliers, distributors, shareholders, customers) External stakeholders (community, government, pressure groups) Definition Stakeholders: Those individuals or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfil their own goals and on whom, in turn the organisation depends. (Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p213). The following figure illustrates an outline stakeholder map. Customers Banks/sources of finance Suppliers The local community Distributors Society at large Managers Employees Activity 3.3 Stakeholder map Draw a stakeholder map for your own organisation and consider the varying needs of each group and the implications on the organisations strategic direction. How does your organisation manage the differing expectations of each group? Strategic Marketing Management Summary This unit has shown that: Strategic intent relates to the aspirations of an organisation and is sometimes referred to as the organisations vision. An appropriate and well constructed vision can help guide strategy, identify and maintain core competencies and can act as a motivator for staff by providing them with a sense of purpose. Mission statements are more concerned with providing daily guidance rather than a vision of the future. They should reflect an organisations core competencies, relate to the critical success factors in the market and also inform employees and other stakeholders what contribution is required from them to deliver value to the customer.