...BUS 508 Coca Cola and Pepsi marketing are a consumer products company operating in highly competitive markets. They heavily rely on continued demand for products. To generate profit and bonus, they both must sell products that appeal to our customers and to consumers. Any significant changes in consumer preferences or any inability on the part to anticipate or react to such changes could result in reduced demand for our products and erosion of our competitive and financial position (Dyer, Jeffrey H., page 3). The achievements of Pepsi and Coca Cola relies on being able to answer to daily needs of buyers, concerning health and wellness, obesity, product attributes and ingredients, and to broaden into similar categories. Changes in product category consumption or consumer demographics could indicate a deductible demand for the good that’s produced. Consumer preferences could change for many reasons, such as generations being affected by the age (Hoffman, Benjamin, page 17). Socializing has also expanded and became very diverse. Traveling, vacation or leisure activity patterns, weather, seasonal consumption cycles, negative publicity resulting from regulatory action or litigation against companies in our industry, a downturn in economic conditions or taxes specifically targeting the consumption of our products. Any of these changes may reduce consumers’ willingness to purchase the goods of Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola (20). Any damage to their reputation could have an adverse effect...
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...Under Armour vs. Nike A David and Goliath Story Nike is a multinational publicly traded company that originated in 1950s between partners who were determined in providing a competitive edge for athletes through footwear. Originally the partners started out with a storefront selling manufactured shoes until they decided to design their own in 1971. During the 1972 US track and field trials they found a local athlete to endorse their new shoe design, Steve Prefontaine (Nike Inc, n.d.). Prefontaine was a world renowned runner who would send Nike shoes to other athletes which provided legitimacy within the sports world for the Nike brand. Nike continued to gain momentum through the decades through pairing cutting edge sophisticated sports apparel and peripheral merchandise with league branding. It is now considered to have more than 67.2% of the global footwear market share (Nike INC, 2013). Under Armour founder, Kevin Plank, was a former football player for University of Maryland. Much like the founders of Nike, in 1996 he saw a need in sport apparel that was not currently being addressed (Under Armour, 2013). Performance apparel began with developing the perfect t-shirt for athletes that would be compressing but also would remain drier and lighter than cotton. This idea steam rolled into a publically traded company. Their portfolio has grown from clothing to other peripheral merchandise and their newest launch is to take on the shoe industry hegemon, Nike. Promotional...
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...Financial Management BUS 508 Financial Management Action 1 Using current ratios gives companies the means to see if the assets can turn to cash to pay their debts. One of the main issues with using current ratio is a false since of working capital (the excess of current assets over current liabilities). This happens because the assets in a company may not liquefy fast enough to pay off the debt when it is due. So this gives a false working capital, which can show as a positive, when this reading is of assets that have not been liquidated yet. If a company cannot liquidate its assets into cash, they will not be able to pay their debts or issue dividends to stock holders. It is always good to have some cash on hand and not tied up in inventories and investments. Keeping this concept in mind will give you the capability to pay payrolls, debts, and daily expenses needed to run the company. Action 2 Using the profitability ratios of the last two years shows that both Pepsi and Coke Cola had a decrease in profits between the 2008 and 2009. Pepsi had better sales profit then Coke Cola in both years. With this information Pepsi’s management is doing a better job at employing the company’s total assets to make profit (Loth, Financial Ratios:). Action 3 Due to that I can’t seem to get my numbers to calculate correctly, I am going to do estimation from what information that I can find. Having a good cash flow, show that you can pay your debts without barrowing...
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...In 1986 the first Five Guys location opened their doors in Arlington, VA, when Jerry and Janie Murrell advised their two older, of four sons to "Start a business or go to college.” The business route won and the Murrell family opened a carry-out hamburger business. In 1987 after the birth of Mr. Murrell’s fifth son, the name "Five Guys" evolved. As their family grew, so did their business. Under the guidance of Jerry, founder and CEO and Janie, the Murrell family served only hand-formed burgers cooked to perfection on a grill along with fresh-cut fries cooked in pure peanut oil. Five Guys was the place to get a fresh, juicy burger with all the toppings you could stuff between fresh-baked buns. What started as a modest burger shack in a Virginia strip mall has exploded into America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain, with five stores opening each week. Five Guys serves up made-to-order burgers with beef that’s never frozen and absurdly large servings of hand-cut fries. The fresh, generous meals allow them to charge more than fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King (Weise, 2011) The Five Guys mission statement is aligned with the philosophy that if you're going to sell hamburgers and french fries in a restaurant industry that is crowded with hamburger-french-fries chains, you'd better do hamburgers and french fries better than anyone else. Simply stated, the mission statement of Five Guys Burgers and Fries is: "We are in the business of selling burgers." "Five Guys...
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...Good customer service is the life of any business. Promotions and slashing of prices bring in new customers, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business will not be profitable. The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and company spirit (www.southwest.com). Their competitor Delta Airlines simply states, “We Delta's employees, customers, and community partners—together form a force for positive local and global change, dedicated to bettering standards of living and the environment where we and our customers live and work.” We are Delta's Force for Global Good. Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies lies in keeping customers happy, both companies think of ways to elevate their business above the competition. Determine how each corporate culture differs from the other. Southwest Airlines, base their model on the motto, which states "If they're happy, satisfied, dedicated, and energetic, they'll take real good care of the customers. When the customers are happy, they come back. And that makes the shareholders happy," Southwest has very good relations with all their employees. Southwest Airlines' success is primarily because they have focused sharply on their goals. This is evident by their no-frills, low-cost model: their goal is to provide the cheapest form of short air travel between two cities; providing the bare...
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...Assignment # 2 Amazon.com’s E-Business Model Date: Oct. 31, 2010 Instructor Professor: Wesley E. Phillips, Jr., D.M. (ABD) Khaled El_Khodari Strayer University 1. Discuss whether or not Amazon has lost its identity by expanding into markets well beyond books. 2. Recommend what Amazon should do to protect its brand. 3. Recommend what Barnes & Nobel and Borders Barnes & Nobel and Borders should do to recapture some of their online share. 4. At one time Dell sold computers exclusively online, now the same computers are available in retail stores (Wal-Mart for example). Discuss whether or not you foresee Amazon expanding its channel of distribution to include retail locations. Create a table to compare and contrast the Websites: www.Amazon.com, www.BarnesAndNoble.com, and www.Borders.com, using the following criteria: functionality, design, content, originality, professionalism and effectiveness. Include the table as an appendix to the required paper. Company / Criteria | Functionality | Design | Content | Originality | Professionalism | Effectiveness | Amazon | | | | | | | Borders | | | | | | | Barnes and Noble | | | | | | | Reference List Entrepreneurial Strategies, Drucker, Peter F., California Management Review, Winter 85, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p9-25, 17p; (AN 4761590). How Can SCORE Help Me? Retrieved from http://www.score.org/index.html People, Passion, Perseverance: You've...
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...Running Head: CONTINUAL PARADIGM SHIFTS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP Continual Paradigm Shifts in Entrepreneurial Leadership Barbara Gilley Professor Daniel Frost BUS508013VA016-1116-00: Strayer University July 17, 2011 CONTINUAL PARADIGM SHIFTS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP Pg.2 ABSTRACT This paper will focus on Creating a hybrid theory/philosophy which combines the common elements found in the thinking of Case, Kouzes, and Drucker, including the new definition of entrepreneurial leadership presented in Understanding Entrepreneurial Leadership in today’s Dynamic Markets, and will describe what type of organization a transactional, transformational, and authentic leader would thrive in the most, as well as which type of leader would thrive the least, as well as, evaluating the resources and tools available through the Small Business Administration and SCORE, and determine which single resource or tool is most useful to the greatest number of businesses; a rationale will be explained. This paper will evaluate the resources and tools available through the Small Business Administration and SCORE, and determine which single resource or tool is most useful to the greatest number of businesses and a rationale will be explained; and this paper will create a list of leadership best practices that would apply to the greatest number of businesses both small and large, and a rationale will be explained. CONTINUAL PARADIGM SHIFTS IN ENTREPRENEURIAL...
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...Entrepreneurial Leadership BUS508 Assignment 1 Dr. Janet Durgin 1.) Discuss the common elements described in the theories/philosophies of Case, Kouzes, and Drucker including how their principles/strategies relate to the new definition of entrepreneurial leadership presented in Understanding Entrepreneurial Leadership in today’s Dynamic Markets. Both cases Kouzes and Drucker both agree that the leader must have a very intense passion to succeed. The two authors description of the desire needed by leaders is passion which is a deeply intense desire to succeed and strive to make the business grow. It was stated a leader must possess passion for the business, which gives them drive to want to plan and accomplish goals. Kouzes makes similar statements, he says that a leader can motivate others by aspiring to share their goals, encouraging others under them they can obtain the same success and accomplish many goals. Drucker’s thoughts were very similar to Case and Kouzes, along the lines of being effective it requires extreme discipline of effort and passion for anyone gaining success focusing on their goals. The theories of all three gentlemen are share similar thoughts and agreements on leadership being ready to take charge and lead in spite of discouraging or opposing others to be passionate about their positions, jobs or business. Kouzes mentions the leaders should challenge the process by searching for opportunities to grow and improve 2.) Discuss your leadership style...
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...Entrepreneurial Leadership BUS508 25 July 2013 Determine how Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains. “Do you want to flip burgers your whole life!” How many times has a parent said this? Even though this is usually said out of sarcasm this line of work has been very good for the Murrells. The founder and owner of Five Guys Burgers and Fries Jerry Murrell started with a business plan of keeping their business limited and simple and sticking by his philosophy of providing a quality product at a reasonable price in a clean environment. Five guys spends the most out of its competers to product a quality product. When Jerry Murrell began franchising he was just a small burger operation with an almost cultish following in Northern Virginia. Today, the business is, by some, estimated heading in the direction of the $1 billion in value mark. Analyze the original values of the start-up company and how it remains strong today. During the early years the Murrells’ worked long and hard to prefect their product. And to this day Five Guys serves up made-to-order burgers with beef that’s never frozen and absurdly large servings of hand-cut fries. Murrell stated that each topping was a family decision and something that was taken very serious. Having accomplished creating a successful product the Murrells now focus on maintaining this quality by paying attention to detail. One way that the Murrells ensure that the product quality is maintained is by writing...
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...Production and Operations Management The Business Enterprise-BUS508 Dr. John Woodard Tammy English Strayer University August 11, 2011 Marathon is an integrated international energy company engaged in exploration and production; oil sand mining; integrated gas; and refining, marketing, and transportation operation. Marathon is among the top five crude oil refineries in the United States, so surely there is a way to reduce the time involved in the production process. The major crude oil refineries in the United States are located in the hurricane region of the gulf coast. One possible option that Marathon could take to reduce the time involved in the production process would be to create new petroleum refineries in different regions allowing operators to shift process and production responsibilities in the event of a natural disaster or scheduled outage. There may be one feasible alternative as to why Marathon would want to reduce the time in the production of the petroleum products. In order to produce gasoline, the crude oil must go through the refinery and transportation processes. In those processes sometime could be saved either by increasing the speed of separation in the crude oil refinery process or by increasing the speed in the transportation process. Crude Oil, like any other product, is traded on the world market. In recent times, crude oil prices have been rocketing, driven by rising global demand and political instability in several oil...
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...The Business Enterprise – BUS508 Submited by: Michael Nelson Instructor:L.B. Crowson 1/18/2011 Common Elements in Entrepreneurial Leadership in today’s Dynamic Markets The Theories of Case, Kouzes, and Drucker have many common elements related to the new definition of Entrepreneurial Leadership. The philosophies of these individuals highlight principal characteristics that are necessary in good leadership. Case’s theory focuses on people, passion, and perseverance as the key to strong economic growth for the country through entrepreneurship. Five of the key elements identified by Kouzes include; modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act and, encouraging the heart (Rising to the Leadership Challenge, 2008). These elements identified by Kouzes center around the people passion and perseverance that Case states as In the podcast the Kouzes describes how through the proper use of these principles that one is able to effectively lead. He also states that of the five principles that enabling others to act is the one that most directly influences the outcome of a project. When comparing this to the entrepreneurial style of leadership it fits very well. The definition of “Entrepreneurial leadership is one of an enterprising, transformational leader who operates in a dynamic market that offers lucrative opportunities” (The George Washington University, 2001). This definition is taken from the transformational...
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...Competitive Strategies La-Quisha L Hill | DANIEL R SERSLAND | Contemporary Business 11/03/13 Introduction This is a comparison of the two of the most popular carbonated beverages in the world Coke and Pepsi. Pepsi and Coke products are something I can’t live without. I will always have a Pepsi or a Cherry Coke. Pepsi and Coca Cola contrast each other on their taste, its associated colors and themes, and corporate culture. Coca-Cola and Pepsi differentiate in more ways than one. Coca-Cola has more of a coke flavor taste. It is fizzier than that of Pepsi. When you drink it doesn’t feel as hard on your teeth as Pepsi. Pepsi on the other hand has a sweeter taste than that of Coca Cola due to the addition of artificial sweeteners and leaves a mild chemical taste after you drink it. When drinking Pepsi compared to Coca Cola, Pepsi tends to have a more “fruity” taste to it. Pepsi-Cola was created in 1898 by Caleb Bradham, a North Carolina pharmacist who formulated the drink as a refreshing and energizing tonic. Today, it is one of the world’s most iconic and recognized consumer brands globally. Pepsi have a complementary food and beverage portfolio that enables us to provide more choices for our customers, and drives lower costs, productivity enhancements and new capabilities. The...
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...BUS508 Competitive Strategies Corporate culture is seen in an organization’s behavior and its structure (Moore). When a company is formed it is generally formed with a plan which was founded based on a particular set of ideas of how the organization will operate. This plan is probably based on the founder’s ideas and/or the values that the founder holds to be important. These ideologies are often the foundation of the company. And from these foundational ideologies a corporate culture of a company is formed. This is why each company’s culture has its own unique attitudes, ideas and attributes that often times enhances the competitors culture which is not always a negative since both companies corporate cultures have shown to support a successful business. 1.Determine how each corporate culture differs from the other. In the fast food industry the corporate cultures can be as different as night and day. While one company may believe that training is time and money well spent another may believe that training, whether it be cross training or promotional training, is a waste of time and money and that most employees will better serve the company by cooking more food. In other words better the bottom line not the employee. However the above mentioned “bottom line” mentality is not part of the culture at Chipotle or Chick fil A. Both of these companies hire with the mindset of hiring to promote and grow that employee. “The key to our success there is the strength of...
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...Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies Sherris Mundell Dr. Bagher Fardanesh Contemporary Business (508) 03 May 2014 ABSTRACT Since it’s inception in 1977, Apple, Inc. has taken to task, the business of balancing social and ethical responsibility to include the impact of violations on the company. Apple has employed standards for suppliers to adhere to wage and benefits standards developed by its company and made itself a brand of value in the world market through diversity and innovation in its marketing strategy. In 2011, Apple, Inc. stated on their website that “Apple is committed to ensuring the highest standards of social responsibility wherever our products are made. We insist that our suppliers provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, and use environmentally responsible manufacturing processes.” (Klein, 2011) According to Boone & Kurtz, social responsibility is “management’s acceptance of the obligation to consider, profit, consumer satisfaction, and societal well-being of equal value in evaluating the firm’s performance.”(2013) According to their website, Apple, Inc. demonstrates that they have met the standard in regard to social responsibility as they provide the following: free education and development programs to train employees in Workers’ Rights; monitoring outsourced work through suppliers with compliance with the 60-hour workweek; safeguarding worker health and safety by sponsoring an 18-month program...
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...Promotional and Advertising Strategies By Aveon Sims Strayer University BUS 508 Contemporary Business Professor Jean Fonkoua August 31, 2014 Promotional and Advertising Strategies Promotion and marketing are among the most essential market mix features or elements. Market mix involves different strategies commonly known as the 4P’s: product, price, place and promotion. The key motive of promotion is to increase clients’ awareness of a brand or a project increase brand loyalty and generating sales. Promotional mix is composed of diverse elements such as personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, publicity and direct marketing. Both large and small customers understand the importance of promotional advertising strategies such as turning a new product to become a household name or established products into to top priority of the customer. Small and large companies benefit through applying different strategies of promotion and attracting more customers. A television set has become a necessity in the modern life with all the families searching for the best brand that is easier to operate and has more applications. Different organizations have ventured into the manufacturing and assembling of television set to enjoy the advantages (Scissors & Roger 2002). The paper will focus on advertising and promotional strategies applied by different companies that concentrate with manufacturing and assembling television sets. Samsung and Sony have emerged as the two most successful...
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