Major Ingredients Of A Leader Management Essay

Major Ingredients Of A Leader Management Essay Introduction First of all, in terms of the two perspectives-leaders are born and leadership skills can be developed, I support both of them. A successful leader is definitely born with certain and extraordinary talents, which provide the foundation that can be further developed during his/her life (Cyril Levicki). But possession of just the innate traits is not enough to become a leader. A leader also needs the training and development of leadership skills which can be acquired through school, workplace and experience. There are many types of leaders in the world, including the politics leader, military leader, science leader and business leader, etc. In this essay, the leadership in business organisation is mainly discussed. The main body of this essay is mainly divided into four parts. In the first part, the definition of leadership is given. The major nine ingredients concluded by Cyril Levicki is listed in this part, and some of these ingredients will be discussed. I also introduce a leadership when managing the professionals. With the development of technology and society, there are more and more companies consisted with mainly professionals. So this kind of leadership is worth mentioning. Evidences of leaders are born will be provided in the second part. The achievement of Jack Ma, the most successful business leader, will be used as an example to illustrate this kind of opinion. The second part has a great connection with the third part, because the person who is to be leader relies not only on his innate traits, but also the training and development of leadership. So the third part is about why leaders need to develop the leadership skills and how they can develop that. In this part, two types of leadership are introduced, which are charismatic leadership and intelligent leadership. In addition, the steps of developing leadership skills are discussed. The last part is about the implications for the management development. The implications are discussed from three aspects. They are selection of leaders, training for leadership and strategy of leadership development. Because training leaders is a long term plan, so the company should formulate a complete and suitable policy for that. Definition of leadership What is the leadership? Although the type of leadership varies in different contexts, for example, Sir Winston Churchill is the leader in the politics in UK while Newton is the leader in science, a leader is always leading. A leader possesses a good combination of personalities and skills and makes others to follow his directions. An effective leader always makes good judgement and benefits the whole organisation. In this essay, the definition of business leaders includes those senior managers and executives in the company. John Maxwell defined leadership as having influence on others, no matter positive or negative, for example, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Winston Churchill and even Adolf Hitler. Van Home said in his paper that employees pay for the price of leadership, and they also reap the benefits from the successful leader. To be a good leader, one should firstly be a role model, which might exert a great influence on employees (Van Home, B.). In addition, the leader should have broad vision, which enables him/her to better make decisions without vital mistakes. The vision can be broadened with the accumulation of his/her experience. The leader should also have the ability to multi-task, especially for those efficient leaders. The ability to multi-task enables leader to do more things at a limited time. Those abilities mentioned above all can be developed after they were given birth. But some characters, such as calm and persistence, were in most cases innate traits. Major ingredients of a leader Cyril Levicki has concluded nine ingredients of a business leader. They are: Tenacity Stamina Long term wisdom emotional intelligence judgement about what is worth fighting for Equanimity Character Capacity to inspire followership Generalized love for fellow human beings As we can see, among the nine ingredients, some of them are innate traits (tenacity, stamina equanimity and emotional wisdom), and others need developed through out life. Tenacity and stamina mean the ability to stick to the job and task, no matter how difficult it might be. The long term wisdom and judgement about priorities require the leader to have broad vision and forecast the future of the business and make good judgement. The rest four ingredients are all about the influences of leader on others. The great business leader should have positive value and use it to lead and motivate employees. And the leader should also make sure that people enjoy being led by you (Cyril Levicki). Leadership in managing professionals Nowadays, there are many companies consisted of professionals. Managing those professionals could be a big question for leaders. Most professionals would like to describe that they are in a better position that managers, who are here to serve them. Mintzberg thinks that the leadership should be covert when managing professionals. He generated this idea from his friend Bramwell, a conductor. Bramwell leaded an orchestra, among which were all professional musicians. Bramwell did not see himself as a manager, but a lion tamer. What he gave those professionals was not direction, but support and protection. And he ensured that the whole team was in great harmony. So Mintzberg concluded that the leader should not be in complete control nor be entire unimportant. The relationship between the conductor and the orchestra is just like that between senior manager and professional engineers. If the manager acts like a overt leader and let those professionals to fellow his plan, which might be wr ong. The professionals would definitely feel depressed and the interest of company would be damaged. What the manager should do is to provide a good workplace which allows professional to do their best and to give them enough support. So the key point of managing those professionals is to let them appreciate the management, and be willing to corporate with managers. Summary So the leadership is about both innate good traits and skills and knowledge acquired through training and experience. When the potential leader was born, he /she was given the raw material of talent, which can be further developed. Both of them are essential for the leadership. Evidences of leaders are born After working with thousands of leaders, Cyril Levicki said in his book that almost all good leaders are born with a special talent, which is modified as they develop as children. Cyril Levicki had illustrated this point by some evidence. He said from 1960 to 1990, the leadership training and development in business schools in USA and UK increased dramatically, but there were no signs of the same increase in the national growth rates of business and corporations. While in Japan and Germany, where there were not so many business schools, had continuous growth in national economy and corporations. Cyril concluded that the training of leadership showed no significant influence on the growth of leaders. Although this argument is just generalized according to the national context, not individual, it can somehow reflect that not all the people taking the course of leadership in business schools can be leaders. The potential leader was born with some special characteristics, which can be nurtured during his/her whole life. Without those characteristics, the person has nothing to be developed to be a leader. So not all those potential leaders can be leaders, but all l eaders are given the genetic talents where they were born. Examples of leaders are born I think a good example of leaders are born, not made is Jack Ma, the CEO of Alibaba.com Corporation. He was a really born leader. He got the Bachelor degree of English and never received any management education before he set up his company. When he graduated, he became an English teacher. He went to USA one time, and found that the online trade was highly developed in US. Then he made up his mind to do this kind of business, even although he had never got into internet before. Now he is the most famous business leader in China. He runs one of the worlds biggest B2B online marketplaces and becomes one of the worlds 100 most influential people in the Time Magazine in 2009. He is such an effective business leader that his consumer-auction website -Taobao.com defeated eBay which shut down its site in China in 2006. He has not received any education of leadership, but he can lead approximately 5000 employees and get success. What he has got are his courage, confidence persistence and act ive mind, which cannot be trained. But his further success cannot only attribute to his given characters, but also to his working experience and the management education he gets in recent years. Some leaders dont have concentration on classroom and some want to begin their career as soon as possible in stead of staying at university, just like that Bill Gates quit of the University of Harvard. This is determined by his innate traits. He just could not wait to do what he wanted to do and to stick to the business that he thought would make a big different to himself, even to the world. And finally he made it. In a Food Manufacture HR Forum (Green Rebecca), HR experts from different companies gathered to discuss whether leaders are born or nurtured and how they justify the investment to the board. Most of them agreed that leaders were born not made. The HR manager in Kerry Ingredients said that leaders cannot be trained, what you can do is to provide the culture to allow them to develop by themselves. But I dont quite agree with what he said later you cannot train competence, vision and drive. Clearly, competence can be trained, for example, the management skills and technical knowledge. The vision of a person can be broadened with the accumulation of his/her experience, especially the time during a crisis in the workplace. Summary All those leaders were born with special talents, which formed the foundation of their future leadership characters. Those talents become more and more obvious and sound when the person grows up. Those traits play a significant role when the person tries to become a leader in the future. But it does mean that relying only on the innate talented traits one can become a leader. He/she also needs to get training and development in the classroom and school, and accumulate experience in the workplace. The next section will talk about this. Development of leadership skills Scott M. Reithel, and David M. Finch pointed out that: The very idea of developing leaders suggests there are existing skills and abilities to be developed. It is the right mix of traits, skills, experience and the organizational environment that makes great leaders. They admitted that innate traits were essential for the better and further development of leadership, but the technical knowledge were acquired through school, university, experience and other sources. Some of the innate traits could not be changed, but might be able to be improved through training and development. Reithel and Finch had given an example that an introvert could not be changed into an extrovert, but the introvert could be trained to get along well with peers. The needs for nurture of leadership There are some interesting nurture-influencing factors concluded by Cyril Levicki: being the eldest child in the family and having a father who achieved high levels of success. That is because the family factor might exert great influence on the development of the person, especially during his/her childhood. The treatment and education from parents would have impacts in different aspects. The child would learn from and follow his/her parents. A father who achieves great success usually wants his child to follow his steps and carry on the business. He would do what he can do to nurture his child, especially the eldest boy. The effective leadership needs rich experience. Dov Frohmans experience as a leader of Inter Israel in crisis is a very good example. During the Gulf War, Dov had to make a hard decision which was whether to close the operation of Intel or to keep Intel open. The government had warned that Iraqi missiles which might carry chemical weapons would fall in Israel. It would be easy close the business, just like other companies, and the senior executives would not blame Dov on this issue. Dov had a belief that a leader should ensure the survival of the organization. If he closed the business, that meant he agreed that Israel was not suitable for investment. So he finally decided to keep Intel open. In the first day of the war, most of the Intel employees attended the operation. Because of their continuous working during the six weeks of war, the Israel Intel won a great reputation which allowed Israel Intel to be the largest private employer and the mainstay of high-tech economy (Frohman D .). Just as Dov said, My experience in the Gulf War taught me a lot about responding to crisis situations. He had accumulated rich experience during the Gulf War. Dov concluded three big rules for the leader during a crisis -focus on long-term survival, go against the current and trust your instinct. I do think that Dovs instinct, belief and judgment were not born, but gradually formed with the increase of experience. Types of leadership Leadership can be developed. There are several types of leadership. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, I will talk about the charismatic leadership. A charismatic leader is able to let workers to listen to his, follow his order and complete tasks as soon as possible. He seems to be glamorous and respectful to all the employees. However, the bad thing is that he might sometimes persuade workers to do some of his bad plans. And creative workers might stop thinking of their own plans but to follow the leaders policy. Charisma is superficial, which can be felt by employees through the leaders clothing, manner of speech, and behaviour. All of these can be developed. Clothing can be brought in the famous branded shops. Good manner of speech can be practiced over and over again. Polite and suitable behaviour can be learnt through classes or from other people. Second is the intelligence of leaders. Take the example of Jack Ma again. Jack Ma was born with special characteristics which potentially enabled him to become a good leader. But if he didnt learn the knowledge of internet and business, if he didnt go to USA to contact the on-line business, he cannot manage to success. After he found the Alibaba.com Corporation, he never stops learning both professional PC skills and management. Bill Gates has got great innate traits, but he was not born to know how to create Windows. He came out of beginning his career in the field of PC after years of learning and experience. So the intelligence should be developed. Development of leadership abilities Defining the task is a major ability that a leader should possess. As a leader, you cannot do everything all by yourself. You mush define the task and arrange people to complete the task together with the least turnover. However, task is a general meaning, so it has to be specified into objectives, aims and purpose (Adair, J.). The leader should always be clear about the task and be able to answer all those questions relating to it. In addition, the leader should also be good at communication. The leader does not have to talk fluently and endlessly. What the leader has said should be brief, simple, yet effective. This kind of simple activity also needs to be developed. When leading a team, the leader should formulate the plan after define the objects they are going to achieve. So planning is the second ability that a leader should develop. In order to make a good plan, we should keep five W and one H in our mind: When, What, Why, Who, Where and How. Those six factors are the essential components of a plan. The leader should also prepare for both plan A and plan B, even plan C. When emergency happens, the team and the company can have alternatives to choose. So making the contingency plan is crucial for a leader. The third important ability might be the use of control. Here the control from leaders is not the completely dominant control that a leader uses his/her power to force every employee to follow his/her plan which sometimes might be wrong. And the type of control differs from different companies. In the company consisted of mainly professionals, as I mentioned in the form section, the leader should not have complete control of them, who need support and protection (Mintzberg). But in this case, the leader should not be absolute powerless, and he/she needs to balance the power of control. Another thing is that the leader should learn to be self-controlling. If the leader cannot control himself/herself, how can he/she controls others? The ability of organising needs development. A leader should not only organise his/her own work, but also the business of the organisation. Organising is to arrange different parts into a right order. The leaders priority is to organise the company well and lead his/her team in a right direction. Also, the leader needs to organise his/her own time, thinking about the future. Organising the time can gradually becomes a very good habit of leadership. There are still many other abilities that need to be developed, such as motivating and evaluating (Adair, J.). The development of leadership skills is really a long-term plan, which needs the persistent endeavour from both the potential leaders and the company. Implications for management development Most companies, especially those large corporations, have to prepare leaders for their future needs. When there is a vacancy, someone is able to take the job. Due to the importance of nature (innate traits) and nurture (leadership development), organisations should create certain conditions for the potential leaders. Just like a plant need light, warmth and water, a leader needs fruitful source (Adair, J.). Selection Not everyone can become a good leader, so the selection of the right people for the leadership and management development is very important. How to get to know whether the person has the potential to become a leader or not? Scott Reithel, and David Finch suggested that 360-degree feedback technique can be used. 360-degree feedback is an efficient tool, with which feedbacks gathered from superior, colleagues, subordinate and customers can be analyzed. From the feedbacks, the persons work, communication and leadership skills can be judged. And this tool can also improve the persons self-awareness, because he/she must do his/her best to prove his/her ability. Some people might say that 360-degree feedback would cost plenty of time and money, but I think the wrong choice of the potential leaders might lead to more waste of time and money. However, there is another opinion about the selection for management development. In the HR forum mentioned in the former section, Blackburn argued that the selection should not only focus on the successful employees, but also concentrate on those struggling workers, who might make big impacts on the company as well. Matthews had made a very good description, Like a gardener, you nurture all the plants but weed out the ones that wont grow. Her point of view was to nurture most of the employees, and wash out some who are thought to be unqualified to become leaders during the management development. Training for leadership A leader cannot effectively manage the complex organizational business without possessing enough technical skills, knowledge and savvy (Scott M. Reithel, and David M. Finch). Those skills and knowledge are acquired through training and experience. What the company can provide directly is the training, in terms of training them internally or sponsoring them to go to business school or both of the two. The company can also provide the experience indirectly by letting those people working in the workplace. For example, many companies send their managers to Action-Centred Leadership course or run this kind of course inside the company (Adair, J.). The most difficult question might be the investment and return. The investment on leadership development is a long term project. It is not like the retail and manufacture that you can see the benefits in a short time after the investment. So the managers, especially HR managers, should be cautious when taking the leadership development plan. HR managers should take the responsibility of making good use the money invested in the plan. To be a leader requires a spirit of life-long learning. There is an old saying in China, one is never too old to learn. On the whole, the development of human society is getting faster. If the leaders do not enrich themselves with knowledge all the time, they might be washed out of their role as leaders, and somebody else will take their positions. Being a leader does not mean that one person does not need to learn anymore. Instead, he/she should learn continuously. So no matter the senior managers or leaders in the company, they should be arranged to receive the training and development regularly. Strategy of leadership development The leadership development is a long-term plan, so the organisation should formulate a specific policy which might be amended with the change of industry environment. Leadership development should be seen as an important activity in management. Most of the sections in the organisation will take part in the plan. Line manager, for example, can be the leadership mentor, who will inform the future leaders during the training program. So the company should formulate a career management development policy for leaders. The leader should have the experience of the business in company as a whole. A specialized sales manager cannot be the general managing director, just because he has no ideas about the finance or manufacture of the company, so that he cannot make decisions relating to these. He cannot see the company as a whole, because he is just a professional in sales. This example can also be seen on the financial manager. That is why the company needs the long-term policy. John Adair has used an example to illustrate this opinion: in a bottling company, a managing director had moved his finance director to the sector of marketing and distribution. He said that the finance director did a very good job in financial sector, but lack of experience in other sectors. He needed to learn from the different sector and other people, such as line managers. Most organisations would train more leaders that they really need, so some of them might go to other companies. Why we should train leaders for other companies? Some managers might complain. Indeed, training one leader could cost a lot of money and time, let alone training more leaders. Most of the successful business leaders, including those senior managers, had worked for more that one company. From another angle, just as Adair said, the training of more leaders would benefit the industry as a whole. Conclusion Leadership is nature or nurture? The answer is both. Without the innate traits, one has no raw material to develop. And an extraordinarily talented person would know nothing if he does receive any education or training. Both of nature and nurture are important for one to become a leader. Since we cannot change our nature, we should make good use of nurture. The development of leadership skills requires the endeavours from both individuals and companies. Individual should firstly be the right person to become a leader, and then begin to work hard for it. The company should formulate the long term plan for the leadership development and then provide a good culture for the training of leadership skills. Managers should be cautious when implement the plan of leadership development, ranging from selection and training, because they have to make full use of the investment. Every leader has the remarkable innate traits, but not everyone who has those traits can become a leader. To some extent, the determinant is the management development.

Plastic Cups Industry

{draw:frame} December 8, 2009 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 2 Industry/Product Category Overview 2 Market Size 2 Growth of Product Category 3 Recent Product Innovations 3 Market Sub-Segments 4 MARKET SECTOR RESEARCH 4 Differentiation 5 Value to Consumers 5 Fit in the Market 5 Pricing Strategies within Market 6 NEW PRODUCT INFORMATION 7 PRICING STRATEGY, TACTICS, AND THEORY 8 CONCLUSIONS 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 11 Introduction Industry/Product Category Overview The Foodservice Packaging industry deals with plastic products such as plastic bowls, cups, plates and cutlery. The industry encompasses packaging for the home, commercial use and government institutions, such as schools and correctional facilities. Specifically, the product being developed belongs to the reusable cup category, in which the primary national competitor is Solo Cup Company. Although the Foodservice Packaging Industry was impacted by the economic situation, the challenges proved beneficial for the industry as they led to increase in product innovation. More notable, the â€Å"greening† of products, making them less harmful to the environment, has become a signal of the changing times. Additionally, the reason for the resiliency in some product categories in the industry, is the result of consumers downgrading their, spending on dining out and increasing their spending on home cooked meals. As consumers continue to downscale they will be looking for more disposable items to use in their homes. The foodservices packaging industry contains already established firms, such as Solo Cup Company, however, our product will service a niche in the market not effectively reached by other vendors. Market Size Recycled, reusable plastic wear finds its place in the disposable sector of the industry under the segment, â€Å"Cups and Lids. This market accounts for several segments of plastic ware: Cups and Lids, Containers, Dinnerware and others. In addition, the market includes several â€Å"end-use† markets such as restaurants, retail stores, and various institutions. With respect to the â€Å"cup and lid† market the U. S. is predicting increases over the course o f a four-year layout. It has been speculated that between now and 2012, demand for this respective segment will continue to grow by approximately 4. 3 percent to a figure of $7. 8 billion. Looking further ahead, we see predictions that this industry is expected to eventually reach $16. 52 billion by year 2015. This growth has been associated with increasing away-from-home expenditure, and dual-income families with reduced time for making elaborate home cooked meals, finds immense applications in restaurants, institutions, and retail stores among others. Increase in the number of working women and changing trends in ethnicity have also led to greater indulgence in foodservice disposables. While these aren’t figures directed at the cup market in its entirety, research has noticed a close correlation between purchasing plastic dinnerware (i. e. plastic plates and eating utensils) and the significant increase in plastic drink ware. It’s been noted, however, that of the foodservice market, cups and lids are anticipated to produce the quickest growth in profit from now until 2015. This is expected to be fueled by the increasing demand in environmentally friendly cups, such as compostable cups or recycled content cups, will add value gains as these cups tend to be higher in price than conventional cups, thus generating a respectable profit. Growth of Product Category The Solo cup company was founded in 1936. Solo was and still is one of the biggest companies in the plastic disposable cup industry. In 2006, the company posted sales of over 2. billion dollars. Since the founding of the consumer packaging industry, growth has been exponential. The industry is multi-billion dollar commerce and one that most consumers contribute to at one point or another. Plastic cups are now an everyday item in many people’s lives and have literally countless uses. With the modern, fast-paced lifestyle, convenient, disp osable plastic cups are practical. There are also niche products that are still plastic disposable cups but they have a bit of flare to them. Some of these products include insulated plastic cups and cups that have hand grips added to them. The first Solo red, basic cup that most people know was introduced in late 1972. Since then, the popularity has grown exponentially. What used to be just a family consumer product has now morphed into a product that is used by some of the biggest corporations in the world. 80% of Solo’s sales come from these large corporations such as Starbucks and fast food restaurants who use other, smaller containers as condiment holders. What started out as just simple cups has evolved into something much more broad and diverse. The aforementioned condiment containers are an example. Another example would be the lines of complete tableware that some companies now offer. They are entirely plastic and disposable, just like the cups. The industry has grown from just a simple singular product into completely separate lines and product trees. The expansion from the beginning is enormous. Recent Product Innovations In the plastic tableware industry, lines have blurred between â€Å"disposable† and â€Å"reusable. † With many disposable cups now being marketed as dishwasher safe, low-grade dinnerware has become single-use for some market segments, but multiple-use for others. The â€Å"Green† movement has also influenced this industry. Increasingly, consumers are willing to spend more on products made from recycled or biodegradable materials. Several companies have taken advantage of this new market segment by promoting â€Å"green† product lines. MicroGreen Polymers, for example, is a Seattle-based company that manufactures disposable coffee cups produced from recycled pop bottles. The company uses a thermoformed plastic technique that infuses tiny bubbles into the plastic, resulting in a â€Å"more bang for your buck† product. In addition to resisting temperatures up to 400 degrees, the product also costs fifteen to twenty percent less than competing products. Another eco-friendly tableware producer is EcoProducts, which makes plastic-looking cups that are made from compostable corn. The cups require less energy than a traditional plastic cup to produce, resist heat up to 145 degrees, and compost in only 45 days. Solo Cup Company, the market share leader in plastic cup manufacturing, has also come out with a line of â€Å"green† products called â€Å"Bare. † It is the first nationally available full line of food service and consumer products made of recyclable or renewable materials, and because Solo has the brand recognition that emerging companies don’t, it has a unique advantage over the competition. Another recent product innovation is the beveled cup design that allows for a slip-free grip of the beverage. Solo has released products with this feature called â€Å"Grip Cups†, while Hefty released a similar product called the â€Å"Easy Grip Cup. † Advancement in the industry is the development of color-changing plastics which are being used in the production of low-grade cups. The company MoodCups uses this technology to produce customizable cups for large-scale customers that change color in response to contact with cold temperatures. MoodCups is one of a variety of companies which currently utilize this technology, but thus far the products are only available in mass orders of 250 or more rather than in family-size quantities. Market Sub-Segments There are two main market sub-segments for this product: college students and home users. College students (24 and under) are often price sensitive, with less sensitivity to quality. Additionally, this segment already uses this type of cup for playing drinking games, keg parties, and everyday cup use. Kooler cups will be a draw to this segment because of their unique color-changing technology, low price, and versatility. Home users, generally classified as those consumers 25 and older, are interested in value rather than price alone. The ability to use the product we have created, Kooler Cups, at dinner parties or in everyday settings will add value to the product for this segment. As with college students, these cups will draw in home users looking for that little extra bit of flare to throw in at a home party or with the kids. Market Sector Research The presence of myriad â€Å"off-brands† offering substitute products to the classic Solo cup creates a unique challenge in this product category. While Solo remains the number one competitor in this product category, almost identical products are available to consumers at a lower cost that are packaged under generic and store brands. Throughout our in-the-field pricing research, we found that the store brand alternatives to Solo cups were consistently priced much lower than comparable name-brand products. Differentiation Our product will compete with existing products in the market sector through characteristic differentiation rather than low cost. Kooler Cups will be considered somewhat of a novelty item by offering consumers the ability to own a disposable cup that is more fun and different that other items they see by major competitors. Kooler Cups are temperature activated cups that change colors which add excitement and allows for the consumers to see that the beverage is the perfect temperature. This feature is currently not part of the market our product is entering and this is a main reason it will be successful. Additionally, Kooler Cups are made of a harder plastic that is both inexpensive and manufactured of a higher quality material than competing products. By producing Kooler Cups with a higher quality material, we can ensure that the product is dishwasher safe. Value to consumers These unique features bring a whole new set of desirable and valuable traits of disposable cups to the consumer. The higher quality material establishes a large part of the value of the product as consumer will pay less for a reusable cup that is able to be disposed at the consumer’s discretion. This feature allows for a range of uses at an affordable price which leads to a decrease in consumer disappointment with the accidental destruction or loss of the product. Additionally, the products material provides value by being dishwasher safe which will decrease the spread of germs or residue that may occur with hand wash only cups offered by major competitors. The new material will also add to the ease of cleaning the product, saving the consumer time as well as money because they will need to purchase the cups as frequently. The color change features adds value by bringing an element of surprise and excitement to whatever event the product is used at. For the inexpensive nature of the product, this feature will be a major selling point and will lead to a higher perceived value by consumers. Fit in the market Kooler Cups will participate in the disposable food service products market with products manufactured by major companies like Solo Cup Inc. Kooler Cups will be available at a comparable price to other products in the market because they can be considered disposable even though they are not necessarily one-time use cups. We will package and sell Kooler Cups in comparable quantities to its competitors in the market to encourage the selection of this product for gatherings where many cups are required. Pricing Strategies within Market With several outside factors affecting the profitability and bottom line of a firm, pricing plays a crucial role in reaching that yield. Understanding the costs associated with the product (cost of goods sold and operating expense) is the first step before determining an appropriate pricing strategy. The cost of goods sold accounts for the various costs that go into production of the good as well as shipping and handling expenses. In addition, operating expense takes into consideration the costs associated with overhead, marketing, payroll, and office supplies. The pricing strategy used should more than cover these expenses to result in a respectable profit. With respect to the Palouse region, it appears that our main competitor, Solo Cups is employing a promotional pricing strategy. This strategy is best used as new products are introduced into the market, or in our case, to stimulate demand for an already-established product. The demand for this well established product comes with respect to seasonal changes, given the â€Å"special events† occurring during those seasons. During the fall and winter months, Solo cups are found on sale because of the influence of the two most common sports in our area, football and basketball. With the multitude of residents who tailgate as well as attend or host pre-game parties, breakeven on sales of cups are surely met and exceeded with the use of effective promotional efforts. Also, it was noticed that during off seasons such as late spring throughout summer, the plastic cup industry aims to target the outdoor enthusiast crowd. This group includes those involved with barbequing, casual camping, outdoor sporting events, as well as general picnicking. With this, Solo can maximize reach of its target audience under various shifts, both seasonally as well as activity-based by providing a recognizable price during these respective months as well as using other products to help promote their cups. Upon visiting local stores such as WinCo, Wal-Mart, Rosauers, and Safeway, we observed that Solo Cup places a significant emphasis on product positioning as they are determined to set an inviting, yet profitable price. In WinCo, Rosauers and Safeway, they take advantage of end-cap displays generally strategically positioned with complementary products such as America’s â€Å"beverage of choice,† Busch Light and Keystone beer. This type of strategy grabs the consumer’s attention through use of effective signage, as they are stocking up on supplies for any given event. Given the availability of wide aisles, such as the bordering aisles at Wal-Mart, Solo can position its cups at conveniently located product islands. These islands are also generally shared with other complimentary items, namely Busch Light and Keystone beer as well as twelve pack cases of soda. This is especially effective because people will pass these islands on their way to satisfy their regular shopping lists, being reminded of their need for cups and beverages, if not already realized. New Product Information Our product is a sixteen ounce plastic cup. The features that distinguish Kooler Cups are that they are reusable, dishwasher safe, and color-changing. We believe that by adding these, our product will have value associated with it that the products we are competing with do not have. These features add extra cost to the production of the cups; however, these will be strong selling points to the consumers and will bring in the volume of sales needed to counter the extra costs. By having Kooler Cups made as reusable and dishwasher safe cups, they are more appealing to a broader market, ranging from the household parent who is purchasing to entertain guests, to the college student who is looking for an affordable option as a party cup, and everyone else in between. If a consumer were to go to the grocery store and purchase a pack of Solo brand cups, they would use them for the evening, and throw them away at the end of the night just like any other trash. However, with Kooler Cups, the consumer is able to use the time after time, making our product a much better value over the life of the cup. Kooler Cups will be the life of the party with the color changing technology. This feature will appeal especially to college students looking something extra to have at their party, as well as being a strong selling feature to mothers who go hopping with their children. It is a feature that is sure to be determining factor in the minds of potential consumers, and will result in Kooler Cups gaining a sizable amount of market share from the product launch. Kooler Cups will be positioned on the shelf where all of the other plastic party supplies are located. They will be at a higher price point than most of the competing products because of the reusability a nd color changing features of the cups. Kooler Cups will be offered in packs of twelve, even though many of the competing plastic cups come in packages of twenty. Our product cost would be too high if we offered packs of twenty, so at packs of twelve, the price will seem closer to the competing cups, even though the price per cup will be much higher. The Kooler Cups will sell in packs of twelve cups, and made so that they are stackable. The design of the cup will have a more modern of a look, with a slight outward curve on the upper half of the cup. It will be constructed out of Polypropylene plastic (No. 5), which is a food safe plastic that is dishwasher safe and more durable than Polystyrene (No. 6) that Solo brand cups are made out of. Polypropylene plastic is also able to be engineered to have thermodynamic qualities. Forecasting the demand of our product has proven to be somewhat of a difficult task. After looking at many different factors, the estimated monthly demand in the first year of Kooler Cups is 155,000 packages of Kooler Cups. This was found by looking at the total amount of college student in the United States which is about 14 million. We estimate that probably about 3/5’s of college students participate in drinking, which would bring the number of college age drinkers to 8,400,000. Assuming that each drinking college student consumes about 3 plastic cups a month that would bring the number of cups used monthly to 25,200,000. We are estimating an initial market share of 5%, which would equal 1,260,000 cups purchased monthly. That is 105,000 packages of cups sold per month, and we added an additional 50,000 cups to be consumed by other markets such as households. This gives us a monthly demand of 155,000 packages of Kooler Cups. Pricing Strategy, Tactics, and Theory Our plan is to implement a price-skimming strategy to establish Kooler Cups as a competitor in the market. By pricing the cups slightly higher than our primary competitor, Solo Cup, we will communicate high product value and capture the price insensitive market first. While the price for a package of thirty sixteen oz. Solo cups ranges from $2. 67 to $5. 49 (depending on the distribution channel), we will package our product in twelve cup packages for approximately $3. 99. Because our production cost per cup is much higher due to the higher-grade plastic used for raw materials and the thermodynamic technology, offering the same package size as Solo would make the price per cup difference obvious. However, packaging the cups in sets of twelve accomplishes two goals: 1) increasing the customers’ propensity to purchase the product because the package price is within an acceptable range of competitors’ prices, and 2) reinforcing the reusable feature of the cups (i. e. , if they’re reusable, why buy thirty of them? ). Once the price insensitive market is saturated, we will lower the price slightly to capture more price sensitive markets. Logistically, this strategy makes sense for a company starting with limited production capacity. As a result of high startup costs and little brand awareness (and, consequently, low initial revenues), we will only have the capital to produce limited quantities of the product in the beginning. Then, as brand awareness increases and we begin to re-coop our startup costs, we will generate enough cash flow to increase production capacity and decrease our cost per cup. With a lower cost per cup, we can lower the price without eroding our margins. Because our product has a differentiating feature (the color changing technology), we won’t be forced to compete on price. Additionally, since there are no comparable substitutes for this product’s differentiating feature, we can be the ones to determine its value. Rather than choosing between a name brand Solo cup and a store brand cup that looks virtually identical, customers are choosing between a commodity (the classic disposable cup) and a whole new product entirely. Firms often times find too much comfort in their pricing strategy, and are too optimistic, that they fail to realize what could go wrong with regards to sales or driven demand. As a business, it’s crucial to analyze these â€Å"what-ifs,† if you will, to determine the next plan of action. It becomes entirely necessary during the initial stages of product development and marketing, to come up with something known as a worst case scenario. So, with this scenario in mind, what if the demand for Kooler Cups plummeted during the first three to six months, creating a significant decrease in our sales figures? Would we just â€Å"call it quits,† and bail before too much of our time, money, and efforts are wasted? Well, the primary strategy behind price-skimming doesn’t say to bail, but instead reduce price if that initial market isn’t purchasing our product. The idea behind this strategy resides in the fact that there are different pricing phases over time to generate profits with respect to various price-sensitive markets. If, in our case, consumers aren’t buying during the initial phase of pricing [first 3-6 months], we will reduce the price to try and capture the next segment, using an effective promotional strategy. For example, we would attach a $. 50 off coupon on the outside of the package, as to not degrade the price or brand of the cups, but increase the value leading to higher sales volume. This will keep broadening the consumer base until, eventually, we have maximum market potential given our product. Looking on the other end, if sales skyrocket given a drastic increase in demand, there are a couple different options to consider: increase capacity while maintaining (or even lowering) price, or implement a slight price-increase to counteract demand. Seeing as the product is rather new into the market and un- established, most would agree that the appropriate strategy to take would be to slightly increase price without coming across to customers as charging an unreasonably high price. A brand new business, such as ours, would not hold the necessary resources needed to expand and increase capacity (i. e. purchasing new equipment or hiring additional people). The next best alternative at hand would be a slight price increase until demand starts to level off again. *Conclusion * The disposable sector of the Foodservice Packaging industry is comprised of single-use products such as plastic bowls, cups, lids and cutlery for the commercial, government and home use sectors. The specific product category that Kooler Cups will be competing in is titled â€Å"Cups & Lids†, and includes disposable beverage products made from various grades of plastic, Styrofoam and molded paper. This category is projected to have the highest revenue growth between now and 2015, due largely to innovations in environmentally friendly products such as compostable cups and cups made from recycled materials. Solo Cup Company, the primary competitor in this product category, has overwhelming market share and posted sales of $2. 4 billion in 2006. Created in 1936, Solo enjoys well-established brand equity and has the advantage of low production costs due to its high volume manufacturing. These factors allow Solo to retail its products at a premium price, resulting in high profit margins. By differentiating our product based on its unique characteristics, we will enter the market as a high-quality alternative to the classic Solo cup. With its color changing technology and durability, Kooler Cups will compete in the market by providing the customer with a uniquely valuable product. Bibliography â€Å"Ammended Annual Report. Solo Cup Co.. N. p. , 1 Jan. 2006. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. . â€Å"Cold Cups & Lids. † EcoProducts. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. . â€Å"Cups & Lids to 2012 – Market Research, Market Share, Market Size, Sales, Demand Forecast, Market Leaders, Company Profiles, Industry Trends and Companies including Solo Cup, Dart Container and Georgia-Pacific. † _ The Freedonia Group – Market Resea rch _. N. p. , n. d. Web. 14 Nov. 2009. http://www. freedoniagroup. com/Cups-And-Lids. html. â€Å"Cups & Lids. † Market Research Reports – Business Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis. N. p. , n. d. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. http://www. marketresearch. com/product/display. asp? productid=2021950. Dunn, Collin. â€Å"MicroGreen: Recycled Plastic Cups Cut Heat and Waste : TreeHugger. † TreeHugger. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. http://www. treehugger. com/files/2006/02/microgreen_recy. php. â€Å"Our Values, Vision and Mission. † Foodservice Packaging Institute. N. p. , n. d. Web. 14 Oct. 2009. http://www. fpi. org/EXPAGES/ourvalues. asp. â€Å"Packaging Industry Related News. † IDS-Packaging – Online Information Resource, Exhibition, Conference, Packaging White Papers, Suppliers, Products, and much more. N. p. , n. d. Web. 16 Sept. 2009. http://www. idspackaging. com/packaging/us/newsrelease. html. â€Å"REVOLVER. † ONESHOT CORPORATION. N. p. , n. d. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. http://www. one-shot. com/solocup_r. html. â€Å"Solo Cup Company | Company profile from Hoover's. † _Hoovers | Business solutions from _Hoovers. N. p. , n. d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. http://www. hoovers. com/company/Solo_Cup_Company/hsxrti-1. html. â€Å"US Census Press Releases. † Census Bureau Home Page. N. p. , n. d. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. http://www. census. gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_

Compare-Contrast

Compare-Contrast This paper is on compare-contrast of two advertisements dealing with two beauty products. One will be targeted towards men, while the other will be targeted towards women. The two beauty products advertisements that will be compared and contrast are the Axe Body Spray advertisement (18-19) and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement (Bath and Body Works). Both advertisements use different marketing promotions technique to try to get the attention and win over their target audience.The manufacturers know in order to get the audience attention it has to rely on several demands of the audience; one of them is the sex appeal their products bring to the table, because that’s what evidently moves the product off the shelves. The manufacturers also try to impress the audience by using the passion, credibility, and the traditional demands that they need to sell their products. The Axe Body Spray advertisement is more effective than the Victoriaâ€⠄¢s Secret fragrance mist advertisement because of its emotions, authority, and cultural appeal.The Axe Body Spray advertisement shows the emotion and excitement women are looking for. Women will demand more passionate fragrance giving women satisfying. The Axe Body Spray advertisement uses several more exciting colors than the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement which uses only feminine colors. Women like more passion and exciting colors, making Axe Body Spray advertisement more interesting and appealing. By using those specific colors the Axe Body Spray advertisement is telling the audience that with intense and exciting colors the consumer will get what he or she wants and desires.While the Axe Body Spray advertisement shows a more emotional and exciting look, Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement shows a more sexy and feminine look. The Victoria’s Secret advertisement adds a different flavor by only showing a simple but effective pink col or which represents a fresh and glowing appearance. By using their worldwide known brand name, the Victoria’s Secret advertisement doesn’t have to be complex to draw the interest of their audience.Victoria’s Secret has a history of producing the highest quality products and remains very effective to continue to provide supply and demand, keeping the consumers content. When looking at the Axe Body Spray advertisement and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement, Axe Body Spray advertisement shows more of an intense and extreme look. It has a look women seem to enjoy and appreciate by showing a new different look. It also catches the audience’s attention by adding a curve and a twist, presenting a more masculine appearance.By adding a curve and a twist, the advertisement is able to tell the audience what direction the advertisement wants them to go. The Axe Body Spray advertisement presents the control it has when using the right special ef fects. Victoria’s Secret advertisement already has the authority and credibility created history by it’s that has attracted the younger through mid-age generation. The perception that the advertisement has given is a sense of that the fragrance are fresh, simple and sexy.The Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement also shows it is dependable and effective in its ability to attract their target audience by getting their attention through a wide range of fragrances. There is a cultural belief that all males Body Spray such as Axes’ always have a strong and masculine fragrance. Axe Body Spray has always tried to impress women with their fragrance, despite the opinion that all body spray has a strong and masculine fragrance. Well, that’s not always the case.Axe Body Spray now has some fragrances that have a more desirable fragrance for women. In which Axe Body Spray uses more sweet smelling fragrances, making the fragrances more appealing to wom en. Traditionally, what the female audience is looking for is a variety of fragrances that are sexy, feminine, and fresh and at the same time appealing to men. Once again, the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement shows there are a large variety of fragrances to choose from, proving it provides supply and demand, what their audience are looking for.With the advertisement showing several different fragrances it gives it a more of a selective look to see if there is any fragrance that might appeal to the audience, which makes it a more marketable product. With both beauty products advertisements targeting their audience, sex appeal continues to grab the attention of the audience and that’s what sells the product. Advertisers have to be careful not to put too much sex appeal into their advertisements or their message on their product will be overlooked.By using sex appeal appropriated and not over doing it will easily benefited the manufacture. Axe has commercial s showing women who are running after men wearing Axe Body Spray. Victoria’s Secret has commercials showing beautiful women wearing sexy lingerie and using their fragrance mist. The Axe Body Spray and the Victoria’s Secret advertisements aren’t showing muscular men or sexy lingerie wearing women, but just by their presentation layout and their worldwide brand name gives the audience a very good idea what the manufacture is trying to sell and gets to the point consumers are looking for.In conclusion, we all can make the argument that Victoria’s Secret is a worldwide known name brand that’s been around for years and Axe Body Spray which seem like it is just now getting started. Both advertisements make it clear that it’s very important for each person to feel at ease and comfortable when he or she steps out of their home and into the world, to feel that he or she can overcome whatever lies ahead. The audience can feel more comfortable and they don’t have to worry about putting out an unpleasant scent when they are not using one of their body sprays.The strategies between the two advertisements, the Axe Body Spray and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist differ from the standpoint of the target audience and the viewpoints that are offered. While the Axe Body Spray advertisement used advance technologies and modern promotion techniques directed to the strong and masculine audience, Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement addressed the younger through mid-age generation stressing a more simply but sexy appeal.The Axe Body Spray advertisement is shows to be more effective than the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement because of its emotions it is trying to express, authority, and the cultural appeal. Work Cited Axe Twist Body Spray. advertisement. Rolling Stone. June 2010: 18-19. Print Bath and Body Works. â€Å"Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist. † bathandbodyworks. c om. Bath and Body Works, Inc. 2012. Web. 22 May 2012. Compare-Contrast Compare-Contrast This paper is on compare-contrast of two advertisements dealing with two beauty products. One will be targeted towards men, while the other will be targeted towards women. The two beauty products advertisements that will be compared and contrast are the Axe Body Spray advertisement (18-19) and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement (Bath and Body Works). Both advertisements use different marketing promotions technique to try to get the attention and win over their target audience.The manufacturers know in order to get the audience attention it has to rely on several demands of the audience; one of them is the sex appeal their products bring to the table, because that’s what evidently moves the product off the shelves. The manufacturers also try to impress the audience by using the passion, credibility, and the traditional demands that they need to sell their products. The Axe Body Spray advertisement is more effective than the Victoriaâ€⠄¢s Secret fragrance mist advertisement because of its emotions, authority, and cultural appeal.The Axe Body Spray advertisement shows the emotion and excitement women are looking for. Women will demand more passionate fragrance giving women satisfying. The Axe Body Spray advertisement uses several more exciting colors than the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement which uses only feminine colors. Women like more passion and exciting colors, making Axe Body Spray advertisement more interesting and appealing. By using those specific colors the Axe Body Spray advertisement is telling the audience that with intense and exciting colors the consumer will get what he or she wants and desires.While the Axe Body Spray advertisement shows a more emotional and exciting look, Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement shows a more sexy and feminine look. The Victoria’s Secret advertisement adds a different flavor by only showing a simple but effective pink col or which represents a fresh and glowing appearance. By using their worldwide known brand name, the Victoria’s Secret advertisement doesn’t have to be complex to draw the interest of their audience.Victoria’s Secret has a history of producing the highest quality products and remains very effective to continue to provide supply and demand, keeping the consumers content. When looking at the Axe Body Spray advertisement and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement, Axe Body Spray advertisement shows more of an intense and extreme look. It has a look women seem to enjoy and appreciate by showing a new different look. It also catches the audience’s attention by adding a curve and a twist, presenting a more masculine appearance.By adding a curve and a twist, the advertisement is able to tell the audience what direction the advertisement wants them to go. The Axe Body Spray advertisement presents the control it has when using the right special ef fects. Victoria’s Secret advertisement already has the authority and credibility created history by it’s that has attracted the younger through mid-age generation. The perception that the advertisement has given is a sense of that the fragrance are fresh, simple and sexy.The Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement also shows it is dependable and effective in its ability to attract their target audience by getting their attention through a wide range of fragrances. There is a cultural belief that all males Body Spray such as Axes’ always have a strong and masculine fragrance. Axe Body Spray has always tried to impress women with their fragrance, despite the opinion that all body spray has a strong and masculine fragrance. Well, that’s not always the case.Axe Body Spray now has some fragrances that have a more desirable fragrance for women. In which Axe Body Spray uses more sweet smelling fragrances, making the fragrances more appealing to wom en. Traditionally, what the female audience is looking for is a variety of fragrances that are sexy, feminine, and fresh and at the same time appealing to men. Once again, the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement shows there are a large variety of fragrances to choose from, proving it provides supply and demand, what their audience are looking for.With the advertisement showing several different fragrances it gives it a more of a selective look to see if there is any fragrance that might appeal to the audience, which makes it a more marketable product. With both beauty products advertisements targeting their audience, sex appeal continues to grab the attention of the audience and that’s what sells the product. Advertisers have to be careful not to put too much sex appeal into their advertisements or their message on their product will be overlooked.By using sex appeal appropriated and not over doing it will easily benefited the manufacture. Axe has commercial s showing women who are running after men wearing Axe Body Spray. Victoria’s Secret has commercials showing beautiful women wearing sexy lingerie and using their fragrance mist. The Axe Body Spray and the Victoria’s Secret advertisements aren’t showing muscular men or sexy lingerie wearing women, but just by their presentation layout and their worldwide brand name gives the audience a very good idea what the manufacture is trying to sell and gets to the point consumers are looking for.In conclusion, we all can make the argument that Victoria’s Secret is a worldwide known name brand that’s been around for years and Axe Body Spray which seem like it is just now getting started. Both advertisements make it clear that it’s very important for each person to feel at ease and comfortable when he or she steps out of their home and into the world, to feel that he or she can overcome whatever lies ahead. The audience can feel more comfortable and they don’t have to worry about putting out an unpleasant scent when they are not using one of their body sprays.The strategies between the two advertisements, the Axe Body Spray and the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist differ from the standpoint of the target audience and the viewpoints that are offered. While the Axe Body Spray advertisement used advance technologies and modern promotion techniques directed to the strong and masculine audience, Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement addressed the younger through mid-age generation stressing a more simply but sexy appeal.The Axe Body Spray advertisement is shows to be more effective than the Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist advertisement because of its emotions it is trying to express, authority, and the cultural appeal. Work Cited Axe Twist Body Spray. advertisement. Rolling Stone. June 2010: 18-19. Print Bath and Body Works. â€Å"Victoria’s Secret fragrance mist. † bathandbodyworks. c om. Bath and Body Works, Inc. 2012. Web. 22 May 2012.

Residuary Power Art.248 - 9736 Words

TITLE â€Å"A shift from traditional parliamentary legislation to judicial legislation with reference to Residuary Power† INTRODUCTION The topic for research is, â€Å"A shift from traditional parliamentary legislation to judicial legislation with reference to Residuary Power† To which the statement of object and reasons are as follows: U.S.A is regarded as the example of true federation, whereas India has followed the Canadian model of federation and is regarded as the example of loose federation. In the words of D.D.Basu, the Constitution of India is neither purely federal nor unitary, but is a combination of both. It is a union or a composite of a novel type. It is often defined to be quasi-federal in nature. Under Indian Constitution seventh†¦show more content†¦Indian Constitution only lay down the provision as to residuary power of the parliament and not of the judiciary. But through various landmark judgments it can be analyzed that judiciary also has important role in law making process in residuary matters through giving guidelines in various judgment. RESEARCHABLE QUESTION * Whether vesting of residuary power with parliament is justifies the federal character of Indian Constitution? * How the concept of residuary power differs in countries like India, U.S.A, Australia and Canada? * Whether there has been shift from parliamentary legislation to judicial legislation with respect to residuary power? SCOPE Distribution of power is one of the important features of Federalism. Under Indian Constitution powers are distributed amongst the union and the state as per the seventh schedule as in: * Union List * State List * Concurrent List The three different lists in seventh schedule are exhaustive in nature. Entry 97 of list I along with Article 248 deals with the concept of residuary power. According to which power to makes laws on the subjects not enumerated in any of the three lists mentioned in seventh schedule vest with the parliament. The scope of residuary power is very wide and