...Campbell Soup Company 1 Campbell Place Camden, NJ 08103-1701 March 23, 2011 Dear Colleagues: Mr. Edmund Carpenter; Mr. Paul Charron; Mr. Douglas Conant; Mr. Bennett Dorrance; Mr. Harvey Golub; Mr. Lawrence Karlson; Mr. Randell Larrimore; Ms. Mary Alice Malone; Ms. Sara Mathew; Ms. Denise Morrison; Mr. William Perez; Mr. Charles Perrin; Mr. A Barry Rand; Mr. Nick Schreiber; Mr. Archibold van Beuren; Mr. Les Vinney and Ms. Charlotte Weber, On behalf of The Distasio Consulting Company, we are deeply honored and privileged to conduct an in depth analysis of the business climate for the Campbell Soup Company. In this report, you will find a complete SWOT analysis, including the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company, an examination of the company’s stock ownership and a financial analysis through the last five years within the industry. The report includes a variety of inquiries that will prove to be imperative to survive in the corporate world. The analysis includes several studies including the environment in which Campbell’s operates in, the performance of the company based on its financial ratios, the performance of the company on the basis of the trend analysis of the financial ratios and Campbell’s Soup benchmarked against other competitors in the industry. Once again, our firm is greatly appreciative of this opportunity to work with your world-renown corporation. Campbell’s has been an industry leader for many decades and will continue...
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...businesses I chose to research are Amazon, the more successful business in diversification, and the Campbell Soup Company, the less successful business in diversification. Amazon was launched in July 1996, by Jeff Bezos, and is one of the most frequently visited shopping sites on the Internet with over 12 million customers in 160 countries, employing 1,600 staff. Amazon.com is was one of the first companies to make the Internet safe for shopping by encrypting credit card numbers and storing them on separate systems. The original plan was to give customers access to an enormous selection of books many more than any single bricks-and-mortar bookstore could hold while, being free of the considerable time and expense required to build stores and warehouses and to purchase inventory (Hamilton, D., 2004). Amazon revenues, around $4 billion a year, and is growing by more than 20 percent annually. Marketing, inventory, and warehouse operating costs have been whittled nearly to the bone. Building nine high-tech warehouses, at a cost of about $50 million apiece, parlayed Bezos' idea into the phenomenon that is Amazon.com. While keeping the business at least for then from operating in profit. That changed around 2004 and stock prices have already risen more than 150 percent in anticipation of Amazon's first profitable year (Hamilton, D., 2004). Campbell Soup Company was founded in 1869, and is one of the leaders in manufacturing and marketing branded consumer food products...
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...Methodology The methodology of a Simulated Test Market can typically be broken down into five steps. First, respondents are selected to provide a sample of consumers who satisfy predetermined demographic characteristics. Next, consumers are shown commercials or print ads for the test product as well as ads for competitor’s products. Then, consumers are given the opportunity to purchase, or not purchase, the test product either in a real or simulated store environment. After they’ve had the opportunity to use the product, consumers are re-contacted in effort to determine the likelihood of repurchase, as well as other information relative to the use of the product. Finally, this information is processed through a computer and various other programs that assess the data; in order to, generate outputs such as estimated sales volume and market share. There are many advantages to Simulated Test Markets. They are relatively fast and typically take only eighteen to twenty-four weeks, as opposed to the twelve to eighteen months standard test markets usually take to set up. Additionally, Simulated Test Markets are exceptionally confidential and competitors are less likely to know about the test and more importantly the data collected. Another advantage is that they tend to be extremely cost efficient by producing helpful information at a very low cost, typically 5-10% that of the cost of standard test markets. However, there are a couple of large scale disadvantages. The first...
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...Forms of Industrial Organization Forms of Industrial Organization University of Phoenix Introduction Society has a limited amount of land, labor, and capital out of which to make things. Consequently, society must be very attentive when figuring out how to best convert its limited resources into the goods and services that people mostly desire. Firms may or may not face a lot of competition from other firms. At one extreme lies monopoly, in which a firm faces no competition because it is the only firm in its industry. At the other extreme lies what economists call perfect competition, a situation in which a firm competes against many other firms in an industry in which they all produce an identical good. Between the extremes lie two situations: oligopoly, where there are two or more firms in an industry; and imperfect (monopolistic) competition, in which there are many competitors, but each produces a slightly unique good. Market Simulation Market structure is not a concept that is stable. In fact, it is not uncommon for a firm to have more than one market structure over time. It is interesting to examine how the dynamics of market structure evolve by adding competition. The market simulation showed a great example of market structure evolution. In the simulation Quasar entered the computer market with cutting edge technology making it a monopoly. Team B then recognized that investing in advertising was profitable for Quasar only if it reduced the price...
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...CEO Institute Bill Knaust BUSI 630 FHSU “An effective training program needs a high-quality program design to maximize trainee learning and transfer of training. Program design refers to the organization and coordination of the training program.” (Noe, p. 193) Doug Conant became CEO of Campbell’s Soup in 2001 in the midst of a tumultuous time for the company. Campbell’s Soup stock was hitting rock bottom and “in Conant’s words, the company had "a very toxic culture." Employees were disheartened, management systems were dysfunctional, trust was low, and a lot of people felt and behaved like victims” (Duncan, 2014). To change the culture, Conant implemented the CEO Institute to “create a meaningful leadership experience for its participants” (Noe, p. 228). The design elements of the CEO Institute follow the three phases of the program design process. Using the design process allows Campbell’s to teach and train employees through learning which refers to a permanent change in human behaviors, and competencies that are not the result of growth processes. Transfer of training refers to trainees effectively and continually applying what they have learned in training to their jobs. (Noe, 152) This entire process is based on the adult learning theory, how adults learn. Phase 1, pre-training, involves preparing, motivating, and energizing trainees to attend the learning event. Phase 1 also involves ensuring that the work environment supports learning...
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...The CEO Institute at Campbell Soup Benjamin Stern Organizational Training and Development BUSI 531 Columbia College Under the leadership of Douglas Conant, Campbell Soup instituted a program known as the CEO Institute (Duncan, 2014). Conant saw a need to develop and engage employees since “the company had ‘a very toxic culture.’ Employees were disheartened, management systems were dysfunctional, trust was low, and a lot of people felt and behaved like victims” (Duncan, 2014). Recognizing that employment engagement was part of the problem, Conant sought to transform the culture of Campbell Soup. “When Conant first entered the scene, employee engagement was extremely anemic: for every two people actively engaged, one person was looking for a job” (Duncan, 2014). Conant knew that workers "won’t be personally engaged unless they believe their leader is personally engaged in trying to make their lives better" (Duncan, 2014). The CEO Institute arose out of the need to inspire such leaders and bring about a transformation in Campbell Soup’s culture. “The goal of the CEO Institute at the Campbell Soup Company is to “create a meaningful leadership experience for its participants” (Noe, 2013, p. 228). “The CEO Institute is a unique, intensive, two-year program only open to 20-24 participants per year. Candidates must be submitted for consideration by their business unit president or functional leader” (Newell, 2011). Upon their selection, “each participant is required to handwrite...
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...1. Select one of the following products listed below. First, list your assumptions about how the sales force is organized. Second, describe what the selling process would look like when selling these products in relation to the first foursteps in the selling process (pp.13-16).Please be specific in describing the activities involved in the selling steps, i.e. what information would you collect and how/where would you get it? * Large computersystems that cost millions of dollars sold to a large manufacturer * Copiers that cost $5000 sold to a law firm * Campbell’s soup sales sold to a grocery chain * PVC pipe fittings sold to a plumbing distributor Ans: The product selected is Campbell’s soup sales sold to a grocery chain. The sales force is organized in a geographical structure in this case as the company can keep a track which area is purchases which product or soup is in majority. The first four steps of selling process: * Prospecting: The company will research and look for a wholesale markets or departmental stores where the product is easily accessible to people. The company can make formal or informal visits to stores and can survey on the number of people who purchase soup on a regular basis. * Pre- Approach: The company can research on the competitor companies and the products they are selling. This will help Campbell to expand more in variety, flavors etc. * Approach: This will involve in getting the customers attention....
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...Background: Campbell Soup Company is a large food processing company headquartered in Camden, NJ, whose product lines include soups, vegetable juices, spaghetti products, frozen dinners, and baked goods. With revenue of $4.5 Billion in 1987, Campbell’s soup division accounted for 35% ($1.6B) of this revenue and was an established market leader in the condensed and (canned) readytoserve (RTS) soup segments. In response to demand for higher quality “convenience foods,” Campbell’s then CEO Gordon McGovern responded by championing the New Products and Markets division with preliminary emphasis on frozen entrees, but ultimately shifted focus to Microwaveable “shelfstable” soups. Since the New Products and Market division’s revenue was estimated to increase from $650M to $3B by 1992, their internal strategy was to respond to this demand to maintain dominance in the soup market. To accomplish this goal as well as improve overall company management, McGovern revamped technical capabilities in three areas: R&D, packaging, and engineering. The first step was the decentralization of manufacturing into five regional facilities to offer greater manufacturing flexibility. Research & Development was then subdivided into the Campbell Institute for Research and Technology (CIRT) and the Containers and Capital Improvement Division (CCID). CIRT focused on agriculture, process, and product development, while CCID’s focus was real estate, packaging...
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...weaknesses. Conant wanted to the company to make a turnaround. Campbell company sales plummet by 30% during the early 2000’s. Conant incited a SWOT planning exercise that helps identify where Campbell needed to change to help the company keep up with what the public wanted. The public wanted healthier foods and sports drinks. Conant internal analysis identified a number of in major weakness [ (Jones/George, 2011) ]. The staff level was high, and the machinery used to make soup needed to be updated. Conant increased his profit by coming up with a three –year plan based on the SWOT analysis. He realized that the customers wanted a healthier appealing soup. He introduced more variety of soups which contend less sodium and low of salt. Conant made a decision that was very bold. Godiva chocolates were a good fit but he questioned its profitability. He decided it was a weakness to the company so he sold it for $850 billion dollars. Conant decided it was time to make Campbell brands global. “Campbell shares have increased in the last 5 years and posted an 11% return” [ (Jones/George, 2011) ]. Conant used the low cost strategy because he wanted to gain a completive advantage by cutting the cost down below the costs of its industry rivals” [ (Jones/George, 2011) ]. Conant stated that he realized that his staff levels high compared to his competitors and the machines were outdated. Just by downsizing the staff you can save a company and jobs. I believe that was a good...
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...Question 1. Visit Campbell’s Soup home page at www.cambellsoupcompany.com. Click on “Governance” and then “Code of Ethics for the CEO and Senior Financial Officer.” What leadership concepts presented in this chapter are illustrated in this code? Is this code consistent with the presentation of Douglas Conant in the Learning from Experience feature? Explain. Campbell Soup Company is committed to conducting its business in compliance with the law and the highest ethical standards. The Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Financial Officers (the “Code”) summarizes the standards that must guide the actions of Campbell’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and the members of the Chief Financial Officer’s Financial Leadership Team (collectively, the “Senior Financial Officers”). While covering a wide range of business practices and procedures. Douglas Conant says, leadership is craft and a leader has to work at it and the leadership model that he has is behavioral. In his presentation he focused on what leaders do and behave with their subordinates and how they do it. Two elements play role in achieving work’s goal , which are superiority and amount of work that is done. So Code of Ethics for the CEO and Senior Financial Officer at Campbell’s Soup is consistent with the presentation of Conant. Question #2 Review self competency feature on Colin Powell’s lessons in leadership. What statement in the feature...
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...by assessing Penney’s current performance and lays out the game plan on how the mission will be accomplished. Mr. Johnson has clearly formulated his strategy by analyzing Penney’s internal problems along with the problems they have are facing from their competitors. Penney’s is currently n the strategy implementation part of the process this will take much investment but cost cutting and the elimination of sales have been “engineered” to pay for it. It appears to me that with Mr. Johnson’s leadership Penney’s is following the five steps of strategic-management process. 5. I feel Penney’s is trying to follow Porter’s Cost-Leadership Strategy: Keeping Costs & Prices Low for a Wide Market. This strategy puts pressure on the company to work at their strategy. They need to be innovative and have...
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...break a company. The head must be lead by example; it will set the tone for the company. One must be organized and have a clear and concise plan for business. All of the orders are given at the top and carried out accordingly. For example, the human body can live without many parts; an arm, a leg, a foot etcetera, but the head is command central, it is essential. Organizations are “complex social systems of patterned interactions among people.” The success of the company is directly correlated with the patterns and orders from the leader. The style of the leader determines the way that they motivate employees. According to Douglas McGregor, there were two different theories; Theory X and Theory Y. In the case of theory X, the management was more hands on; “directing, controlling and modifying their subordinates’ behaviors to fit the needs of the organization”. Theory Y was more effective because the leadership rules with open arms; firm, but effective. For example, Douglas Conant is President and chief executive of Campbell’s Soup Company of which he exemplifies good leadership. Conant developed a 10 year plan called the “Campbell’s Journey.” To show his appreciation for a job well done, he sent out over 20,000 thank you letters to the company’s employees. He encourages employees by developing programs to provide promotions. Therefore, employees appreciated his expertise and were willing be good followers. 2. Discuss Mulally’s leadership style at Ford Motor Company and provide...
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...those that exploit the negative emotions of the consumer to drive advertising impact M ANY ADVERTISERS ARE wary of creating ads that evoke negative emotions in consumers, for fear of creating negative associations with their brand. This is not surprising, since the mental processes involved in transferring emotions generated by advertising to the emotional equity of a brand are not understood: playing with the dark force can be risky. I remember one of the first copy tests we conducted for IBM. Ogilvy had created ‘Blue Letterbox’ TV executions; however, this one had an unusual twist. The commercial had a dark storyline about hackers breaking into a company’s accounting systems and emailing sensitive payroll information to the entire company, but the story ended on a promise that IBM software would keep your systems secure. There was a debate at the highest level about this. Lou Gerstner, then CEO of IBM, who was engaged in his turnaround of the high-tech giant, was not sure about it. Steve Hayden, head creative on the account was a strong advocate. To resolve their debate, the two agreed to research. The lesson from research was that TABLE 1 negative emotion, properly used, can be a powerful driver of commercial performance. The commercial generated strong pre-test scores, and Lou agreed to run it. Tracking data validated the ad’s effectiveness. Negative emotions are a key ingredient in all forms of storytelling, to create tension and suspense. The best movies usually have...
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...Case Study 1 Brannigan Foods is the leading brand in the soup industry, but has been experiencing declines in every aspect of their division. The primary problem is that Brannigan Foods sales, market share, and profitability has slipped in the last three years. One of the only reasons they have been able to keep up their sales is due to them increasing their product prices, resulting in a plateau of sales. The secondary problem consists of Brannigan foods not reaching out to other target markets besides the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and they are completely missing the Millennials (19-30). There are a few conventional alternatives that would work best for Brannigan Foods, the first being from Srikant Tipha, Director of the Simple Meals unit consists of reinforcing awareness of the new items and introducing trial by upping the advertising investment in Fast & Simple soup meals and the Heart Healthy soup line, providing promotional couponing and sampling of the hot new flavors in the dry mix of Gazpacho and Teriyaki Beef Fast & Simple meal, which will help Brannigan break into and grow in the Asian soups category. The last part of her plan is to continue to promote dry soups even if they will cannibalize RTE soups. Another alternative comes from Bob Pugh, VP Sales and Marketing of Brannigan Soups. He believes a good alternative would be to take a five cent price-per-can cut on the core ready-to-eat wet soups, increase the A&P budget by $20MM to restore the fair share...
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...is very important that companies set code of ethics to follow in their transactions. This becomes a high profile concern, so companies, in their decision making process, urged these moral value to be taken seriously into consideration not only because these ethical rules express to managers and employees the position to take when acting or deciding on behalf of the firm, but also the company`s image depends on the level of honesty, fairness, and integrity within the firm`s corporate culture. Therefore, it is in the company`s best interest to embrace moral and ethical norms not only to build trust and good relationship between the firm and its stakeholders, but also for social responsibilities concerns. Therefore, the firms` marketing professionals must take all the measure to act as ethically as possible because, the company`s marketing strategy express the voice most stakeholders are concerned about. Keywords: marketplace, business, ethics code of ethics, transactions, concern, decision making process, moral values, image, honesty, fairness, integrity, firm, corporate culture, trust, stakeholders, social responsibilities, marketing, professional, strategy. Introduction Being part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was established in 1930 and had mission to be guardian to consumers for their safety and well-being, when it comes to use products in the marketplace manufactured by companies. It gave responsibility...
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