Users of HR services and their needs

Users of HR services and their needs One of the HR users for an organization is line manager. The line manager basically observed the activities that are associated with services and products. The duties of line managers are staffing, ensuring health and safety of employees and supervision of manufacturing plants. The need of line manager is the timely services of the manufacturing plants. Their monitoring work will reduced. They are also responsible in hiring staff. Another need of line manager is that the company will organize certain training session for the employees. These sessions will increase the efficiency of employees and line managers can easily supervise them. The employees are main asset for an organization. An employee needs good working environment where there is no discrimination between the employees and where they feel secure. Another need of employees is that they will be awarded with some rewards like praise, bonuses and promotion. These methods will motivate them to work more efficiently. Another HR user is potential employees. The success of any organization is depends on the potential employees. The potential employees demand flexibility at work. Employees should be allowed to choose their working hours according to their efficiency. The other demand of potential employees is that they are allowed to work from home if there presence at the company is not necessary. (user of HR services and their needs) Identify and prioritized conflicting needs The needs of the employees and managers with the organization are different. It is not possible for an organization to fulfill each and every demand and needs of the employees. This will leads to the degradation in the performance of the employees. Now it become necessary for an organization to identify and prioritized the conflicting needs according to the performance of employee and welfare of the company. The employees need such an environment at organization where there is no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste and region and where they can communicate comfortably. This need of employees should be prioritized first and make such rules and regulations to create such environment so that there performance level will increase. The priority should be given to those needs which help the organization to achieve its goal and the needs which are beneficial for most of the employees. It should not be done on individual basis whether he is a manager or an employee. The employees also need that they should be awarded with some bonuses and incentives according to their work. This demand of employees is beneficial for all the workers and because of this their performance level will increase. This need should be prioritized first because it helps in gaining companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s goal. The employees also demand that company should apply flexibility at work. According to the flexibility at work, the employees and managers are allowed to choose their working hours according to their stamina. This demand will increase the efficiency of the employees and give benefit to the organization. The organization should conduct the performance review. It is an in depth and more formal way to identify job related needs of an employee. According to the review the company is able to design such policies which will fulfill the needs of the maximum employees. An organization can also use the motivation inventory which will be used to identify needs of employees. They should also arrange various training session and meeting where the employees can discuss their needs and demands with the human resource managers. These sessions helps the managers to identify common needs and which need should be prioritized first. At the time of job interview, the manager should ask certain question which will uncover their needs at the workplace. These questions will help the organization to indentify those employees who can work at vigorous condition and with limited resources at the time of emergency. Another to indentify the customer need is effective communication. The effective communication between employees and managers are important because most of the problems and needs can be resolved just by communication. The employees also demand the better health facility at the organization. The priority should be given to this need also because the employee who has good health can work more efficiently and quickly. This will save the time of both workers and organization . (identify conflicting needs) Methods of communication The effective communication between employees and managers plays a vital role in the progress of an organization. Communication at workplace should be organized in the systematic manner like other activity. Top management is responsible for the successful communication at workplace. The main link in any method of communication is line supervisors and managers. Ineffective communication by line managers causes poor performance. The method of communication used for line managers is direct communication. The advantage for this method is that the line managers become more aware about the needs and problems of their employees. According to the needs of employees, they can easily plan the working schedule. Various training session and meeting should be organized by an organization so that the employees can easily communicate with their managers directly on different issues. The communication must be concise, easily understood and clear. Sometime, the employees force their line managers to accept their needs even they are not useful for an organization. In direct communication, there is no written proof for any communication and because of this a person can not claim anyone at the time of any problem. Team briefing is another method of communication. The mentor of the group provides their employees with new information so that they the employees can ask any queries and discuss any problem. In this method the employees can easily cover all the important area. It is very time consuming and these session should be organized at regular interval. Another method of communication is electronic media. Electronic media helps in delivering important information cheaply and quickly. The employees can search any information on the website of their respective organization. The information through this method can be delivered at fast speed without any face to face contact with each employees and at one time information can reach too many employees. This method will save the time of both employees and management. The disadvantage of this method is that the information can not be delivered at the time of any technical problem or system crash problem. The employees also send their problems or any suggestion through email. Another method of communication is written document. Every organization has its own employee handbook which has information related to job. The employees are provided with this handbook so that they can aware of rule and regulation of an organization. The performance report of an employee is prepared in written document. This report will help the employee to analyze his performance and try to improve it. Newsletter and journals are another method of written document. These provide information to the employees on the regular basis about the company. It contains large amount of personal and social information. The aim of notices is to bring the attention of the employees, matter of specific interest and general information. Individual letter is a method of communication which ensures that the specific information is reached to the specific employees and targeted group. The advantage of the written document method is that the company has legal documents of information and because of this nobody will claim for any damage. It is also beneficial for those employees who has a part time job and who work from home. The disadvantage of this method is that it is very time consuming and sometime document get misplaced due to some human mistake. (method of communication)

1787: The Grand Convension by Clinton Rossiter :: essays research papers

The book I reviewed was 1787: The Grand Convention by Clinton Rossiter. In it he Breaks down before during and after the convention into four parts: The Setting, The Men, The Event, and The Consequences. In the Beginning Mr. Rossiter sets up for us a country that was going trough sever growing pains was without some serious help would not become the world power that it is today. The congressional form of common government that was formed during the Articles of Confederation, though not a failure, where not a success either. In order to finish what had begun with the revolution the great minds and characters of that time must band together and set aside the many differences they had in order to become one powerful government instead of a band of bickering siblings. Although Mr. Rossiter states that they did not come to Philadelphia because they all agreed they wanted to form a new structure for they government, they did feel that something had to be done or else the country that they fought so hard for to become free, would fail. Set up for the readers also were the wonderful and easy to understand breakup of all the men who were going to the convention. All of which were well-to-do men with businesses, prior political experience, and degrees from various University’s from all over the New World. As going over the names and descriptions of the Framers of the Constitution we are forced to agree with the author and others as well who say this group is the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of the political business and military world like Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and Franklin. I must also admit though that those names were the only ones I had heard and recognized. What this book is good for it to fill in many of the spots that were missing in High School and Elementary school classes. The people who are only given 1 paragraph or a few sentences in to describe their personalities come to life in this book. For which we all must applaud Mr. Rossiter for being able to piece this pivotal moment in our history so well from notes and letters taken from the great men of this era. By far the most important part of this book was the description of the event itself that went on for many months from May 14th to September 17th.

Tobacco :: essays research papers

So many people are putting their health in danger by this nasty life taking produce. Smoking it's like a deadly disease that you can either choose to have it or not. Choosing not to is the best way to go for you will have better health. Life is so short why make it even shorter. If we could teach people about how smoking can harm your body then we could save many people from being addicted. Not only is smoking bad for you it's also unattractive. Tobacco is highly addictive, and people who have smoked for many years show a higher death rate then non-smokers. Smokers lose an average of twenty to twenty five years of their lives compared to most non-smokers. To all the mothers out there children with parents who smoke have a higher risk of respiratory symptoms and have an increased frequency of bronchitis and pneumonia. Smoking effect many teen they get started at such a young age they don't stop to think about what it might do to them. Many teens underestimate their risk of death or endangering their health and creating an addiction that they will regret. Teens tend to ignore or think they will never get lung cancer or heart problems. Maybe they are thinking they can smoke until they get older, and have kids and a family then stop, but it is not that easy. When a person smokes a tobacco product, they inhale the smoke which contains nicotine as well as over five hundred chemicals. The person gets addicted to the nicotine, they feel as if they need nicotine in order to function normally. Another dangerous substance in smoking is carbon monoxide, which can cause heart problems. Now we all know smoking is bad for your health so lets try to fix the problem. All the little thing will help, like trying to quit, telling people about the risk they are taking or even doing something big. Like banning cigarette advertising and promotion, and sponsorship of Tabasco products like what you see on nascars .

Utilitarianism or God, do we have to choose? Essay -- essays research

Utilitarianism or God, do we have to choose? During many years that question is being formulated and many scholars had a very difficult time to decide if it was possible to follow God’s will and the principle of utility maximization. The principle of utility maximization was a theory created by John Stuart Mill and presented in his book Utilitarianism (1863). Societies throughout the years have argued that those theories are hard to combine, since Utilitarianism seeks for self-development and God’s teachings seek for community growth. This paper will start with a context on actuality of society, then it will try to clarify what is the Bible view of Utilitarianism by explaining the principle of Utilitarianism, what society has to change to avoid to forget God’s principles and only base their behavior on Mill’s theory, how society should accept both theories and combine them into one in order to create a better society. An important part of this discussion is based on understanding what is happening with society nowadays. Societies all around the world are becoming more and more individualists, what is causing problems that can affect the whole world, problems such as terrorists attacks, war or even in a lower but maybe more important scale hunger. This is basically happening because every single member of every society is only looking after themselves instead of the group, they are only trying to progress individually, but most of these individuals forget that to really achieve the top you need help, and that help comes from other individuals. The following part of the paper will try to clarify the biblical view of Mill’s theory, the Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism has always been seen as an opposite theory from God’s teachings. That is not absolutely correct. Jesus gave us the major example of understanding Mill’s principle by dying on the cross. Of course it is simple to say that Jesus died for every human being and that is a proof of community spirit instead of individualism, however Jesus showed that He was following actually not His will but God’s will, what is showed on the passage before Jesus is captured by the roman soldiers: â€Å"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt† (Matthew 26:39). What Jesus was showing is that every single human has the principle of utilitarianism inside themselve... ...s Consulted †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rose, John T., â€Å"Utility Versus Self-Sacrificing Love† Christian Scholar’s Review Fall 2004 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leightner, Jonathan, â€Å"‘Not my Will†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢:Further Thoughts on Utility Versus Self-Sacrificing Love† Christian Scholar’s Review Fall 2004 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NRSV Bible †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"FAO unveils global anti-hunger program† http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/5500-en.html †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mill, John Stuart, Utilitarianism, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1979, Original Publication, 1861 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harcourt, Edward, â€Å"Mill’s ‘Sanctions’, Internalization and the Self† European Journal of Philosophy; Oct98, Vol. 6 Issue 3, p318, 17p †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kant Immanuel, Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morals, Third Edition, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1993, Original Publication, 1785 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Smart, and Bernard Williams. Utilitarianism: For and Against. Trowbridge: Redwood Burn, 1973 †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lewis, C.S., â€Å"Mere Christianity† Harper Collins Edition 2001

Mobile phones Essay

Consumers have when choosing between different mobile phone brands. The study was built upon six key attributes (telephone features, connection fee, access cost, mobile-to-mobile phone rates, call rates and free calls) related to mobile phone purchasing respondents had to importance rate. The research showed that consumers with prior experience about a product can predict their choices relatively well, although respondents tended to overestimate the importance of features, call rates and free calls and underestimate the importance of a monthly access fee, mobile-to-mobile phones rates and the connection fee. 1.Demographic factors have an influence on the evaluations of different attributes related to mobile phone choice. Specifically, gender and social class will impact on the evaluations of the attributes as men belonging to higher social class seem to be more technology savvy. 2.Consumers value personal time planning properties in the choice of new mobile phones. Consumers value in smart phones features that enhance their personal time planning (e.g., Jones, 2002). These high-rated features include calendar and e-mail services .However, while synchronization of calendar and e-mail services to PCs has become easy and fast, the importance of time planning in mobile phones becomes more and more important. 3.New technical properties increase consumer willingness to acquire new phone models. Another important aspect that has risen from different studies is that consumers purchase new phones due to the fact that their existing one’s capacity is not appropriate referring to the idea that new technology features such as built-in cameras, better memory, radio, more developed messaging services, and color displays are influencing consumer decisions to acquire new models. Thus it can be expected that new features will influence the intention to acquire new mobile phones. 4.When choosing between different mobile phone models, consumers value larger screen size but the whole phone should be small enough and light to carry in pocket. 5.When choosing between different mobile phone models, consumers value familiar brands. Price of the phone has been identified as a critical factor in the choice of the mobile phone model, especially among younger people. besides new technological advances price is the most influential factor affecting the choice of a new mobile phone model. In addition, it seems that size and brand play to some extent an important role in decision making. Liu (2002) for instance surveyed Asian mobile phone users and found that size of the phone had no impact on mobile phone choice, but this finding might be due to the fact that all competing brands have quite similar sized phones that are small enough. Liu continues that the trend will actually be not towards smaller phones but towards phones with better capability and larger screens. While companies are advertising new models and services that do not yet exist, it according to the paper signals to the market that the company is at the cutting edge of technology and shows what will be available in the very near future. The sales of new phones will then be driven by replacement rather than adoption.

Cuyahoga River

Daniel Groves Environmental Geology Case Study November 22, 2011 Cuyahoga River Fires â€Å"In the United States, a concerted effort is underway to reduce water pollution and thereby improve water quality. † (Keller) A case history of river pollution is the Cuyahoga River located in Northeastern Ohio. The river is 100 miles long flowing south to Cuyahoga Falls where it then turns north until it empties into Lake Erie. Cleveland and Akron are two major cities located along the river. The Cuyahoga is known as an infant glacial river, this is because it is one of the youngest river created from the melting of the glaciers.It is estimated that the river is about 13,000 year old. The story of the Cuyahoga is one with many lows and highs. The fires being the lows; new legislation and organizations formed to clean up and then prevent this from happening to other rivers being the highs. The name â€Å"Cuyahoga† comes from Native American word meaning crooked river. The river wa s very useful to early Native Americans; it allowed for easy transportation and plenty of food. The river supported all types of wildlife that the natives would kill for their furs.Just as the Cuyahoga was useful for Native Americans, the European settlers used it in many of the same ways. Early European fur traders may have played a large part in the demise of the Cuyahoga. Many hunters would set up trading post along the river. During the War of 1812 the Native American had been displace by the new settlers. The Cuyahoga River Basin was a desirable area for most settlers. The Founding Fathers knew that the area that is now Ohio would be of great importance. They knew that the Cuyahoga was the prime spot because the river empties into Lake Erie.Soon large steel and rubber industries would build factories that produced tremendous amounts of untreated wastes. These industries are characterized by heavy manufacturing activity and an outflow of production. The pollution that was produc ed by these industries caused the river to be unsafe. The Cuyahoga River has had many fires over the years. The first fire in 1936 was rumored to be started by a blow torch spark. In 1952 a fire caused a million dollars’ worth of damage to river boats and riverfront businesses.On June 22, 1969 another river fire engulfed the river, this time the media coverage captured the attention of the nation. Time Magazine described the Cuyahoga as the river that â€Å"oozes rather that flows† and in which a person â€Å"doesn’t drown but decays†. Many of the residents of Cleveland accepted the pollution as a necessary evil because they had jobs at these factories. This article helped the people of Cleveland pass a 100 million dollar bond to clean up the Cuyahoga River. Much of the industry that both made Cleveland rich and caused its river to burn may never be coming back.The costs of these fires were tremendous, but it did help lead to laws being passed to prevent this from happening in other rivers. One such law was the Clean Water Act of 1972. The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in which the US governs water pollution. The Act states the objectives of eliminating releases of high amounts of toxic substances into water. The CWA made it unlawful to dump toxic materials into navigable, waters unless given a permit. The permit is given through the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.The purpose of The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System is to regulate point sources that flow into bodies of water. The Clean Water Act has been changed over the years because of the development of technology. Another was the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a document constructed to keep the physical and biological integrity of the Great Lakes and the surrounding regions. It also includes many objectives and processes to maintain the integrity that was outlined in t he document.According to the 13th biennial reports on Great Lakes Water Quality December 2006, â€Å"We further believe that such progress depends, to a very substantial extent, on whether the Parties and other levels of government, working together, create the means by which they can be held accountable for progress toward achieving the objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. † (Commission) Another Organization that was formed as a result of the Cuyahoga River fires is the â€Å"Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan† or RAP. RAP was created in 1988 by Ohio EPA as a community based program aimed at restoring the Cuyahoga River.Their goals are to inform the community of the effects of pollution and to work with industries to stop the pollution of the river. â€Å"The RAP is a proven resource for bringing together technical knowledge, stakeholders and local officials in a supportive setting to develop and implement effective solutions for restoring our loca l streams. † (Erie Brand Streams and Rivers) It is amazing how a river catching fire opens the eyes of so many people. It took Time Magazine to scare a nation into do something about individuals and companies dumping untreated waste into rivers and lakes.When more people realized what these industries were doing to their hometown, they took action. Even though things for the Cuyahoga and the Great Lakes are improving there is still much to be done. Works Cited Commission, International Joint. 13th Biennial Report On Great Lakes Water Quality. 2006. Erie Brand Streams and Rivers, . â€Å"Operations and Maintenance. † Epa. gov. CRCPO, Nov 2003. Web. 21 Nov 2011. . Keller, Edward A. Introduction To Environmental Geology. 4th. Prentice Hall, 2008. Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River is located in northeastern Ohio running through the major cities of Cleveland and Akron. The river is 100 miles long and empties into Lake Erie. It was said to be formed by the advancement and retreat of ice sheets during the ice age. The final retreat caused the river to flow north ward which had flowed southward before. (Michael) In more recent times, the Cuyahoga River was known as â€Å"the river that caught fire. † This is because the river was polluted from industrial companies spilling their waste into the river during the late 1880’s all the way up to the mid 1900’s.The river had a top layer of oil coating it which got thicker as years went by. People who worked on the river had a goal of not falling overboard into the river. One Cleveland mayor, Rensselaer R. Herrick, of the 1880’s even stated, â€Å"It is a sewer that runs through the heart of the city. † (Michael & The) The river was so polluted that it was like a cauldron to most. Even rats had been seen flowing down the river. Residents near Cleveland said they could feel the pollution. (Michael) Richard Ellers was a resident in Cleveland. He states, â€Å"Back in the '60s †¦I went on a news excursion on the river downtown to show how bad the pollution was. I remember we could see a layer of crud on the water but didn't appreciate its thickness of the pollution on Cuyahoga River until I dipped my hand into it. † (Cuyahoga) The river was devastating to live by, but much worse to be around. It was so contaminated that it caught on fire multiple times. The fires had started ever since 1868. River fires became the most occurring incidents on the river. These occurrences quickly gave Cleveland a tarnished name and a realization for all about how unclean the river really was. Michael & The) As the dirty river got worse over time, so did the fires. The Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 happened in June of that year beside Campb ell Road in southeastern Cleveland near the Republic Steel Mill. (Michael) There were large amounts of debris soaked of oil that were just waiting to all burn up in flames one day. It was said to be either sparked by a passing train or molten steel. (Ohio & The) The fire grew enough for flames to be leaping up from the water. (Michael) It could’ve burned down Cleveland if not tamed.It was swiftly doused by local firefighting tugboat crews. It was safe to know that it did not cause maximum damage or any fatality. Fortunately, it was also the last river fire to happen. (Ohio & The) This incident became known all over the country. The U. S. was becoming more eco aware of the environment. Cleveland started taking strides in protecting the river and cleaning it up. Residents passed a bond that granted 100 million dollars to clean it up. Cleveland was still the symbol of environmental degradation even though it was taking steps towards pollution control though. Ohio) â€Å"The thi ck pollution on the water and the fire became a convenient example of what ‘bad' really is,† said Frank Samsel, whose company aided in early 1970s cleanup efforts. â€Å"And the more you talked down about how terrible it was, the more the press and news jumped on it. But it also made people aware of the fact that things could be different. † Cleveland was wide awake about how bad they let things get. (Cuyahoga) Time magazine wrote an article about the incident which put pressure on Cleveland about hygienic regulation.They already had enough pressure due to their bad reputation about the unhygienic river. (Ohio) Mayor, Carl Stokes, started to become very active in the situation. He could see how it affected the city and used that to make positive changes. (Cuyahoga) Carl Stoke’s brother got involved as well. US representative, Louis Stokes, urged federal involvement. The legislature passed the National Environment Protection Act (NEPA) which was signed into law Jan 1st, 1970. It was an act that formed the agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which led to the put forth of the Clean Water Act of 1972.It mandates that all rivers in the United States to be hygienic enough to allow mass amounts of swimmers and fish in the water by 1983. (Cuyahoga & The) The progress became very noticeable to not only the residents near the Cuyahoga River, but to the country as well. (The) The legislature had invested 3. 5 billion into the purification of the river and new sewer systems. (Ohio) The Cuyahoga River became safer and residents felt at ease again. Most importantly, the country was educated and thought more about the environment in which they lived in. Michael) The Cuyahoga River of 1969 brought positive change after all. The U. S hasn’t seen a river fire since 1969. The water quality improved greatly. (The) Today, it is a playground to fish and swim in like most rivers. The river is now home to 60 different species of fish as well. The river fire reshaped Cleveland and the realities of life. (Ohio) Bibliography Michael Rotman, â€Å"Cuyahoga River Fire,† Cleveland Historical, accessed February 25, 2013, http://clevelandhistorical. org/items/show/63 Ohio History Central – An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History – Ohio Historical Society. Ohio History Central – An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History – Ohio Historical Society. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. . Cuyahoga River fire 40 years ago ignited an ongoing cleanup campaign | cleveland. com. † Cleveland OH Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather – cleveland. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. . The return of the Cuyahoga. Dir. Lawrence R. Hott. Perf. Cleveland. Ideastream ;, 2008. DVD.

Marketing Plan for Lords Ice Cream Parlour

TABLE OF CONTENTS *1. 0 EXECUTIVE* SUMMARY ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’, one of the prime ice cream products situated in St. Johns Wood with a good market share is one of the best in that area providing ice cream with fresh taste and modern packaging. It was established in 1998, ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’, at present uses straight-line technology for manufacturing more than twenty three types of premium ice cream in its factory in Swiss Cottage, producing nearly 530 liters of ice cream each day . Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ has a two year marketing plan for current customers as well as its new consumers to attract and satisfy those target groups of consumer. The company wants to increase its market share by 7% and compete with the current and new entrants. For the next two years the company wants to increase its promotional activity. The management has a plan to utilise its one- fourth of its profit for promotional activity. The manag er is also planning to increase its branches in two to three different locations. *3. *0* COMPANY* PROFILE 4. 1 MISSION Mission is the organisation’s reason for existence. The mission describes the organisation’s shared values, beliefs and reason for being. ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ without playing an exception, being committed to achieving the highest quality products and positioning itself as a good brand by gaining the consumer’s trust aligns effectively to its guided mission that echoes-â€Å"The world of great taste†. This includes a dedication to review the existing operations, the evaluations and the creation of the new products by not only manufacturing the highest quality products but also delivering the product by maintaining this high quality. To satisfy the ever-changing needs of the customers, ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ is launching regularly new ice creams and introducing new flavours. Thus in a few words it can be said –‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ is based the relationship with customer. 4. 2 VISION The message from the managing director of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ propagates as: â€Å"I dreamt of a business venture that would have distinct appeal to society for its unique qualities and eventually will become a role model for other business enterprises. This simple but extraordinary quality is â€Å"Be True to The Society. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ as being a very prospective SBU’s which is guided by this similar vision. As a result this key philosophy has earmarked ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ as the most trusted and one of the better companies in the country. † 9. OBJECTIVES Corporate Objectives: To give an insight to the ice cr eam industry, the company and the product line. To make an assessment of the interaction between ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ and its immediate environment and analyse the impact of various trends upon its survival and long-term success. To conduct an investigation of the wide range of strategies pursued by ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ with a view to achieving its objectives. Marketing Objectives: To analyse the marketing strategies for ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ and assess its target consumers and competitors. To regain the 15% of the inactive member by December 2010. To provide an introduction of the strategic aspects of marketing with particular reference to the analysis of marketing mix. To increase the revenue by 12% by December 2010. To increase the market share by 7% by December 2010. To analyse the techniques of segmentation, targeting and positioning of products. To analyse the distribution channels and the role of intermediaries in the distribution network. To develop an appreciation of the need to evolve a promotional mix appropriate to the product. To explain and analyse the role of Marketing Research. To have a clear analysis of the various growth strategies for the market opportunity identification. Research was undertaken by gathering descriptive information from the managers, customers and employees in the form of personal interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis has been emphasised. Both primary and secondary data were obtained through informal interviews with the company and questionnaires to customers. Moreover in cases where managers and customers were unwilling or unable to provide information, observational research played a vital role. It must be added that the report though, tried to give an overall view of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’, it focused on London City as their area of study. Primarydata was first collected by taking in depth interviews of the Marketing Executive and Sales person to have a better insight to the marketing aspects of ice cream. Mostly personal interviews were undertaken since flexibility, quality of data that can be collected, speed of data collection and response rate is extremely high and information seems to be more reliable and effective. Only unbiased, relevant and valuable data of related issues were recorded to ensure a critical evaluation of the marketing techniques and strategies used by ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’. Problems were faced during the interview, as the managers were reluctant to disclose some of the confidential aspects of the organisation. All the data obtained were not always reliable and hence subject to error. Due to the time constraints I could not complete a comprehensive investigation and there were some areas that were left unexplored. In many occasions managers were hesitant to cooperate in providing honest answers. 8. 1 The Marketing Environment No business is large or powerful enough to create major change in the external environment. These factors are generally uncontrollable, thus market managers are basically adapters rather than agents of change. So it is vital for ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ to take these factors into consideration in every step of their decision -making process and day-to-day activities. THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENt {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} The Task Environment ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’s task environment consists of those micro groups in the environment such as suppliers, distributors, customers and competitors. These are interrelated groups that influence managers on a daily basis. SUPPLIERS: From 2010 January the management decided to open two new branches. And two other retail stores are interested to take the product from ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’. The main function of the distribution unit of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ is to create a sequence of effective network so that an important strategic edge over competing channels are created and ensure a continuous flow of its products to the ultimate consumers – target market. The activation of the distribution channels proceeds from their factory and ends at the retail outlets of refrigerated vans. CUSTOMERS: Being the major source of survival and profit, customers form the most important component for an organisation like ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ considers customers as being their life-blood of survival and is taking the maximum innovative efforts that can be utilized for utmost customers’ satisfaction. Customers here can be segmented to family, kids, teenagers of high end, mid end and low end of the market. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ operating in such ever-changing world of tastes and preference pays heed to customers’ choices and their attitudes. They, very keenly take on customers’ advice, try and amend as well as add new dimension to their business in order to ensure survival in this highly competitive industry. COMPETITORS: One of the most important forces that always keep an organisation on guard is its competitors. Competitors are organisations that produce similar goods. In the context of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’, Movenpick, Baskin Robbins, Thorntons and Marine Ices are their competitors. But surprisingly, the marketing management of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ views these local brands as mere participants in the same industry rather than as competitors. The General Environment Economic, technological, socio-cultural, demographic, political and legal, and global forces form the macroeconomic environment that ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ operates in are as follows: ECONOMIC: Economic forces are of concern to businesses involves producing goods and services that people want and pay for, as because the economy is an indicator of the general health and well being of a nation. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ takes into account various economic factors, preferably the rates of inflation, the exchange rate and level of income. The prime reason for such is to have a control over its allocated budget for domestic and imported raw materials. But most importantly alertness of economic variables is necessary to determine ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’s pricing strategy so that all segments of the population can afford to buy their products. One of the most pervasive factors in the environment, the impact of technology is seen as the combination of skills and equipment’s that marketers use in their day-to-day operations. In ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’, use of technology can be seen in terms of the automated cone baking machines, chocolate making machines, injected deep freezers, milk processing machines and others. These innovate machines are able to produce ice creams at a faster rate while not undergoing any sacrifice in the level of quality, and thus their warehouse has capacities in five hundred liters. The socio-cultural environment is made of institutions and other forces that affect social values, perceptions, preferences and behaviour. In the context of a diverse people, ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ has customized its services according to the country's culture. While the producing ice cream, ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ puts strong emphasis in it. DEMOGRAPHIC: The demographic forces are of interest to marketing managers because it involves people and people make up the markets. Demography shows the populations inclinations towards certain social structure and the increase or decrease in certain age groups . For ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ demographic factors are of advantage if it shows an increase in the number children and teenage population (the most lucrative segment for the ice cream industry). POLITICAL AND LEGAL: The formation, maintenance and survival of any organization are dependent on the stability of a country’s political and legal system. A comprehensive analysis of the political and legal factors by ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ helps in ensuring stability in terms of its operations. The legal consideration lies in the awareness of various laws regarding import of raw materials and the like. 8. 2. * Current* Situation Analysis Core Competencies: Among its normal premium and novelty cup, stick and family pack items, chocobar is the most popular among consumers contributing 29% to the total sales, while vanilla, mega, cornelli and macho, each with sales of about 5%, and have also made their distinct places in the minds of the consumers. The company is giving its effort and concentration for some new and modified flavour of ice-cream. The company wants to increase its market share by 7% for which it is introducing some new marketing strategy and it will be implemented from the next year. Market information: ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ is in their 10th year of business. Being an ice-cream parlour in the St. Johns Wood High Street area, its main activity is to attract customer by its variety of ice-cream flavour. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ possesses good information about the market and having a good idea about the consumer trends and the likeability of the consumers. And this information helps them to understand how well they can communicate with their consumers and how better they can be served. Geographic The geographic target for the ice-cream parlour is St. Johns Wood area. Five square kilometre people are targeted. Total targeted population is approximately 13,500 64. 9% are economically active and 35. 1% are economically inactive. A fulltime employee’s individual average income is ? 29,305. 48. 8% are educated and 52. 2% has got no qualification. Behaviour factors Recognize the need to have a good dessert like ice-cream. People likes ice-cream more than any other dessert. Ice cream is the symbol of lifestyle. Market needs: ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ is providing their customers delicious ice-cream and a place for enjoyment. It seeks to offer the following benefits that are important for their customers: Customer’s preference is to get healthy ingredients in their specific flavour. Customers also prefer a better service and attention from the staff. Market Trends: ?Last two years’ consumers has less money in their pocket, so that they are spending less money on dessert and ice-cream. Fitness is very important for the people, that is why people are avoiding ice-cream A big percentage of people are going to pubs and bars rather than coming to the ice-cream parlour. *09. * BCG MATRIX Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix is a framework for highlighting and analyzing product development policy and associated cash flows implications in a firm. The BCG approach is based on the philosophy that a product’s market growth rate and its relative market share are important considerations in determining its marketing strategies. The marketing strategies of ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ is based on the BCG matrix which includes an integration of the firms products into a single overall matrix and an evaluation to determine appropriate strategies for all the different strategic business units (SBUs) of the company itself and the overall portfolio strategies. ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ identifies the BCG matrix as a powerful tool To analyze the current situation of the company which is based on the present and projected market growth rate and proposed market share growth. To determine and classify each product expected future cash contributions and future cash requirements. To examine the competitive position of a product or a product line and the opportunities for improving products contribution to profitability In figure below, which is based on work by the Boston Consulting Group, consist of four quadrants in the grid, which represents distinct categories of SBUs or major products of ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’. The categories differ with respect not only to market growth share and industry growth rate but also on cash generation and needs for appropriate strategies. draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:frame} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:frame} {draw:frame} Cash Cow: Cash cow has high market share but low growth rate. Since its inception as a business in 1998, the Construction Company has had a remarkable track record and has grown to be a better co nstruction houses in the country. Long run survival through effective strategies of defending its market share by reinforcing customer loyalty has insured the generation of more cash than can be reinvested profitably in its own operations. As a result cash from the construction company flows out to support other SBUs that needs more resources. Star: Star has high market growth rate and high market share. The Marketing Manager of ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ identified Construction and Ice-cream as their star businesses. A number of prospective factors can be reckoned to as being responsible for both SBUs performance. Both Construction business and Ice-cream occupy a dominant position in the market. Star businesses usually grow very fast and have high prospects for growth. For example, Ice-cream grew by 3. 1% in the last year (2008), compared to their 5%in (2007). Question Mark: Question Mark has high growth rate, low market share. The identification of the marketing division of ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’ as its problem child, has characterized this business to have high prospects for growth but which has not yet achieved strong foothold in an expanding but highly competitive market. This inability to generate cash has resulted in poor profit margins and hence its need to be augmented by heavy investment from outside sources. Dog: According to ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’, no SBU (currently operating) falls under the grid of low market share and low growth rate, that is, the dog. On a concluding note, the long run health of any company depends on having some products that generates cash (and provide acceptable reported profits) and others that use cash to support growth, with no exception to ‘Lord’s Ice-cream Parlour’. Among the indicators of the overall health are the size and vulnerability of the cash cows, the prospects for the stars, the number of problem child, and dogs if many. 10. SWOT Analysis SWOT is the planning exercise used by ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’, which provides a framework for identifying internal strengths and weakness and the external opportunities and threats it faces. WEAKNESS: The major weaknesses of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ comprises of: Incurrence of high-level expenses in the Research and Development (R) sector. High operating and maintenance expenses resulting from the large size of the business. Excessive reliance on foreign suppliers. Entering new related businesses – This is also visible through its new items as Ammo milkshake. Widening the product range. Seeking faster market growth. Exploiting new market segments. Changes in demographic factors. Change in consumer taste: This might result if there is an increased awareness among the health conscious people, which may cause a decline in the purchase of ice cream. Increase in foreign competition. Rise in new or substitute products. Changes in Political factors. 10. THE *Target *AUDIENCE (*Marketing*) The kind of market ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ operates in is characterized by the volatility of its general environment, the dynamism of its competitors and most of all the varying and the inconsistency of needs and buying preferences of the consumers market, which are important consideration guiding their day to day operations. Keeping this in mind, ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ has developed sound marketing programs, which starts with identifying the differences that exists within a market, deciding which segments will be selected and developing specific marketing mixes so as to influence intended customers, and overall perception of the brand, ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ . Market Segmentation ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ has designed various marketing mixes according to the different products needs and preferences with regard to the consumer market and has clustered people with similar needs into selected segments. Domestic Market Segmentation For a consumer-oriented company like ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’, whose main operations rallies around the domestic market, a lion’s share of its resources is devoted towards serving the domestic consumer segments. After thorough analysis, behaviour and demographic segments have been identified as their prime areas of focus. Demographic Segmentation From the viewpoint of an ice cream manufacturing company, demographic segmentation holds importance in terms of its close relation to customer product needs and purchasing behaviour and the ready measurability of variables such as consumers’ age and life cycle and their income. Age: This is the most important component of demographic segmentation. Over the years, ice creams were considered to as being more of a recreational product, but standing on this new century, the effect of globalization has placed ice cream as more of a regularity in our lives. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ has divided its markets in segments according to different age groups such as kids, teenagers, and the family range. Different ages of people are influenced by different flavours of ice cream, different presentations of packaging and different product attributes. Kids incline more towards ice creams, which contains animated and colourful packaging, taste of sweet strawberry, fresh mango, pure vanilla, ripples, hazzle nut coating and crispy flakes. Teenagers prefer low calorie ice cream, more daring and wider range of tastes. Families are influenced more by ice creams that fulfil the general appeal and taste of all the members of the family. Income: Income is the key determinant of consumers buying behaviour. It is the most popular demographic variable for market segmentation. For a larger part of the population to buy the product, it is very important to segment the market in different income groups. This is given utmost importance in London where there is wide variation in the average levels of income. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ has divided the market into three income groups – low-income group, mid-income group and high-income groups. Market Targeting After market segmentation, ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ goes for designing, implementing and maintaining marketing mixes intended to meet the needs of the target groups, resulting in mutually satisfying exchanges. Domestic Market Targeting The two general strategies ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ uses for selecting target markets are differentiated and undifferentiated marketing. DIFFERENTIATED: UNDIFFERENTIATED: Undifferentiated target strategies approach the segment as one big market with no individual segments and thus require a single marketing mix. Chocobar and the newly introduced Kulfi are the prime examples related to successful targeting of the mass market. Chocobar priced at ? 3. 4/-, mini chocobar priced at ? 2. and Kulfi priced at ? 1. 6 with sober colour packages enables ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ to go for mass marketing. Market Positioning Positioning refers to developing a specific marketing mix to influence potential customers overall perception of a brand, product line or organization. The marketing manager of ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ assumes a realistic view of how customers think about their offerings in the market. At the same time, the ma nger also knows how he wants target customers to think about its marketing mix. According to him positioning issues are especially important when a competitor in a market appearsto be very similar, with the ice cream industry being a prime example. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ follows several positioning strategies. Products Attributes Macho – Exquisite Chocobar – Energetic Shell & Core – Metange Lolly – Eager Clown – Animating Mega – Energetic Coffee – Refreshing Ripple – Praiseworthy Pralin – Puissance Cornelli – Dual Usage Occasion: Usually consumers perceive ice cream as an integral part of summer. Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ aims at positioning ice creams to as being a winter item along with its regular summer item image. ‘Lords Ice-cream Parlour’ is trying to position its ice cream as a item for all seasons in other parts of the country like that is perceived in London, through different promotional activities. *11. THE* Marketing Mix There are many possible wa ys to satisfy the needs of target customers. A product can have many different features and quality levels. Service levels can be adjusted. The package can be of various sizes, colors or materials. The brand name and warranty can be changed. Various advertising media – television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and billboard can be used to attract the potential customers. A company’s own sales force or other sales specialist can be used. Different prices can be charged. Price discounts may be given and so on. With so many possible variables, is there any way to help organize all these decisions and simplify the selection marketing mix? The answer is – The customer is surrounded by the four P’s. There are additional three P’s newly invented by the marketer. An important point to note is the customer should be the target of all marketing efforts but it is not the part of the marketing mix. Hence, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ follows this concept and places its customers in the centre. Product: for ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ the Product decisions revolve around developing the right product for the target market and this includes not only the physical unit but also features, brand name, company image, value and many other factors. Apart from maintaining a superior quality through its imported ingredients and bringing regular production consultants from Belgium, Denmark and Holland, the units’ separate R department regularly can analyzes new products through its market research to answer questions as: At what price consumers would like to buy the product. Flavours and essence to be used. Consumers’ feedback. Analyze other markets. ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’s Product line includes distinctive ingredients, as some are vanilla flavour with chocolate hazelnut or milk coating, some may have crispy flakes, others include cashew nut. On the other hand, to provide a taste of refreshment there are flavours including coffee, strawberry, mango, with almonds and ripples. Each of these delicacies has positioned itself as a unique brand in consumer’s mind. These eclectic tastes have been able to exceed consumer’s expectations resulting to delightful consumers and thus to the creation of a powerful company image. Apart from that ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ also can operates through some trolleys for extending its reach to various consumers at different locations as schools, alleys, streets, parks e. . c. Consumers – Availability of scratch cards through purchase of certain flavoured ice creams enables consumers to obtain different types of gifts such as iPod, mp3 player can be achieved by them. Also last year (2008) every purchase of Macho had a Kit Kat free. *PEOPLE*: The management of the ice-cream parlour is very particular about the selection of the people. They are hiring only the mot ivated, energetic and passionate people. The parlour has on job training and skill development continuous activity by which employee can be skilled. But from next year every after three months they are going to arrange a training and motivation program for the improvement of their business. *12. MARKETING* Growth Strategies ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’, like any other company, in order to maintain a stable growth rate, focuses on reviewing the existing operations, the evaluations and the creation of the new products by not only manufacturing the highest quality products but also delivering the product by maintaining this high quality. In seeking growth, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ considers both its market and its products. It then decides whether to continue what it is doing – only do it better – or establish new venture. The product/market growth matrix depicts this option for ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’. The matrix is divided into four possible combinations of old and new products with old and new markets. {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:frame} MARKET PENENTRATION: Here, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ tries to sell more of its present products to its present markets by the help of supporting tactics, which might include spending on price, promotion and packaging. For example, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ regularly alters its ice cream packaging, and provides occasion oriented price cut. MARKET DEVELOPMENT: ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’s market development strategy is evident by its entry to an entirely new area – Marble Arch. In future, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ plans to expand in other parts of London and are undergoing business consultancy of possible expansions in Netherlands. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: Nothing is more important to a company’s long-term survival and growth then the successful introduction of new products. By flipping through ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’sbook of achievements, it is evident that one of prime reasons for success has been due to constant introduction of new products. The exquisite Macho, energetic Mega, which hit the markets around two years back, were and are a real feast for ice cream lovers. The very recently introduced Kulfi has once again placed ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ to as being a people’s brand providing a world of great taste, and which deciphers ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’s drive to maintain satisfaction of all segments of the market. Lords ice-cream parlour’ has, for the time being confined itself only to the ice cream business. Any diversification related businesses would be future-wise. The Marketing Budget {draw:frame} Recommendations In spite of ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’s remarkable success certain loopholes in the marketing aspects has been detected. After my research I came up with some possib le steps and solutions that we would like to state below. Competitors are an important component of the task environment. ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ should pay heed to its potential competitors rather than treating them as mere counterparts. Lords ice-cream parlour’ should involve in backward vertical integration to lower the costs of value creation and lessen its reliance on foreign suppliers. For instance, incidence such as credit crunch may hinder the flow of supplies in the production process when there is excessive dependence on foreign inputs. To enhance the maturity level, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ should undertake the task of sponsoring more social events such as concerts, cricket, football and other such tournaments to retain its popularity in the younger market segments. Emphasize should be given on TV commercials, to capture a greater share of the market. A proper customer help line should be developed to mitigate the further needs of the customer. Conclusion From an extensive marketing analysis of the ideas and marketing concepts at work in the operation of ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’, it is possible to obtain an insight to the essential marketing practices adopted by the company. Adherence to proper marketing strategies in terms of company objectives, paying heed to target consumers and potential and existing competitors, close relationship and liaison with distributors and suppliers ensure substantial market capitalization as indicated by ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’s market share of 63% in the ice cream industry. Evidently by virtue of its unique product attributes, high quality, exquisite and mouth- watering varieties of ice creams, attractive and distinct packaging, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ has been able to ensure marketing excellence and enhance its competitiveness. Today’s fiercely competitive environment compels ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ to pursue the right set of pricing strategies, policies for effective segmentation and targeting, market oriented structures of distribution and retailing, which lies at the heart of the company’s success. Its new sales and distribution flow enables the company to achieve its desired goals. In its quest to create satisfying customer relationship and optimizing the performance of the entire system, ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’ has resorted to a system of timely distribution. With the combination of effective promotional campaign and advertisement in various media, it is able to retain valuable customers and inform them about multiple brands they are offering at present. Appendix This questionnaire is conducted only for educational purposes (For Customers Only) Name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Profession†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. What is your age group? How long you are coming to this ice-cream parlous? Why have you chosen this place? Do you think ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’done a better job for their customers? What do you think about the product image of ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’? If you are satisfied then which factor- Do you think that ‘Lords ice-cream parlour’is one of the top ice-cream parlous? Manufacturing and Warehousing Capacity: Manufacturing Capacity: 530 liters per day. Warehousing Capacity: Warehouse No: 3 Nos Warehouse: Store Capacity Factory: 1,000 liters Technology and its usage of modern equipment: Machine Supplier: Mark – Italy Tetra pack (Hoyal), Denmark Sabore, Denmark Hass, Austria Machine Model: Free mark 1100, Italy FM 3000, FM 6000, Italy SL 600, Denmark Cone Baking: Hass, Austria Chocolate Making: Macentyre, UK.