Electronic Communication At Work

Advantages:

• an easy and effective communication with anybody anywhere in the world.
• you can respond to clients quickly and easily
• messages can be sent in an instant
• the cost of sending emails is very low comparing to other form of communications (such as phoning) 
• use of emails is very simple
• you can send distinguish attachments such as photographs or spreadsheets
• it speeds up the workflow process
• it also saves time because you don't need to go to another office to talk to the person
• email saves papers, and therefore trees; it also save printing cost

Disadvantages:

• spam emails can be sent which are dangerous because their can clutter the computer
• email hoaxes
• many viruses can be sent via emails which can eventually destroy your computer
• not everyone has internet connectivity
• if you send the emails to someone else, then the confidential information might end up in the wrong hands
• employees might get tired of the emails and they might stop reading them thinking they are not important

The Four P's (Price, Product, Promotion and Place)

Price

World's Most Admired Companies

Apple:

Even though Apple has had a rough time with its stock price in a free fall and with failure of it Maps feature, it still remains the most profitable company in the world. Last quarter its net income was $13 billion. The company still refuses to decrease their prices. Despite its high prices iPhone 5 became the world's best selling smartphone and was followed by the iPhone 4S. This article clearly relates to price as it talks about Apple's net income which makes the company to be the most profitable.

The reason why Apple Inc. was ranked as Number 1 world's most admired companies is because of its huge profit and undeniable popularity among the consumers. Even extremely high prices of Apple's product do not discourage consumers from buying them. Consumers buy Apple products not only because of the product's quality, luxury design but because of the feeling of being "cool" that the product give them. I'm sure that if Apple Inc. keeps producing and developing new devices and upgrading the older ones, the consumers will like them and buy their product. I would not recommend Apple to decrease their prices because it might ruin their brand name.

Product

What Makes Samsung Such An Innovative Company? 

Many people do not understand how Samsung approaches innovation so they started to criticize them for copying. It's publicly known what kind of strategies Apple or Google use. For example: Apple often assigns three teams that compete with each other and Google gives engineers more bench time. On the contrary is seems like the reason why Samsung is such an innovative company is that its strategy is based on creating elite. Samsung realizes the importance of innovation and is willing to invest lots of money into it. In late 1990s and early 2000s Samsung started to think about adopting a systematic approach to innovation which seemed to be a main reason for their current success. Samsung has also become a partner with Russian Academy Of Science. Because of the company's willingness to grant enough visas Samsung has been able to buy Russian expertise for a quite low price. Russian experts help Samsung with its smart-phone software development. They have also introduced and recommend to Samsung TRIZ, which is a methodology for systematic problem solving. By using TRIZ Samsung saved over $100 million in its first projects. It looks like Samsung is on a roll. The article "What Makes Samsung Such An Innovative Company" relates to product. Even though this article doesn't talk about the specific product of it focuses more on the company and its strategies for improving and innovating several products instead of just one. It reveals us the ways Samsung develops its products which is very important and interesting. It is obious that Samsung uses company or corporate branding.

The reason why there's many critics about Samsung is that some people still do not undestand how come that Samsung can easily compete with American masters like Google and Apple. The truth is that Samsung strongly focuses on quality of its products as well as on innovation. It may not concentrate as much on design though (comparing to Apple Inc.). The reason why Samsung has chosen Russia as partners is that Samsung recognizes it as a country in which technology develops rapidly. Samsung knows that in order to be successful it is neccessery to keep developing and improving its products. In my opinion Samsung will continue cooperating with Russian Academy of Science and improving their products. If Samsung starts working more on its products design, the company might become among the customers even more popular than Apple as Samsung offers lower prices. So I would recommend Samsung to start playing with the design more. 

Promotion

Chavez's death won't spur new Venezuela oil drilling

In the 1990s, Venezuela's democratically-elected governments that were seen as quite stable comparing to oil-rich countries (the Middle East, Russia) attracted many foreign investors from all around the world such as U.S. oil giant Conoco Phillips. However, thanks to the oil industry's biggest villain, Hugo Chavez, who expropriated lands and equipments from foreign oil companies and eventually managed to destroy Venezuela oil company, overall Venezuelan oil output started to decline. Because of his stupidity and corruption, Chavez completely devastated the good image of Venezuela. Even though that Hugo Chavez's death did definitely rock the oil industry, it did not make any change in Venezuelan dysfunctional energy industry as well as in its incapable and poor reputation. This article relates to promotion. It's a clear example of negative promotion that was caused by the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Venezuela used to be one of the largest oil reserves on the planet but Hugo Chavez's actions created bad images of this oil giant which made the consumers like ExxonMobil to stop buying oil from them.

There were several reasons for the decline of Venezuelan oil output:

1. Hugo Chavez started making financial frauds. For example: PDVSA (Venezuela's state oil company) has paid hundreds of millions less to Exxon Mobil Corp than they were supposed to. Chavez's explanation was that the difference reflected the debt owed by Exxon Mobil Corp to PDVSA.

2.Venezuelan oil production had suffered under Hugo Chavez

3. He also trashed contracts with many foreign oil partners.

In order to increase the overall Venezuelan oil output and to create a good image of this oil reserve a new president of Venezuela will need to dismantle the policies, rhetoric and structure. An effective promotion will be very important too. Venezuela cannot afford to make another bad step. It might take some time for the Venezuelan government and PDVSA to become third largest oil exporting giant again but they have to try and work on it systematically.  If the new government was stable, it might attract new foreign investors again.

Place 

Apple to open its own stores in Russia

Apple Computers plans to sell its products in Russia without the use of any middlemen. Apple has already registered a company Apple Rus and assigned Vitaly Morozko as its director general. One of the Apple managers assumes that the company could start direct sales in Russia in 2013 but nobody knows when the first Apple Store in Russia will be open. Apple's first official Russian distributor was diHouse and most of the Apple products are still distributed through this distributor. iPhones are in Russia distributed by MTS and Vimpelcom.The statement that says prices of Apple products will fall as Apple Store comes in Russia is false. Apple Inc. is not planning to decrease their prices. The only benefit Russia might get from having Apple Store is that there will be probably a smaller delay between announcing a new Apple gadget, and its appearance on the Russian market. This article is related to place as it talks about Apple Inc. and selling their products in Russia. It also reveals that Apple is interested in building the Apple Store in this huge country.

By selling Apple products and opening the Apple Store in Russia, Apple Inc. wants to become even more popular and to make sure their products are available everywhere. Even though Apple products have been already distributed to Russia, opening of the plushy Apple Store will definitely attract even more consumers. Another reason for building Apple Store is that some distributors such as Vimpelcom and MTS want the phones to be sold in their shops only and are not interested in any wider market. I think that if Apple joins Samsung and Sony, companies that have been already working on direct contracts, the prices might become more affordable in the future.

 

 

Culture And International Business

Power Distance:

It relates to the different solutions to the basic problem of human behavior. Cultures that demonstrated what Hofstede called "low power distance" in which there's a concern to minimize inequalities between boss and workers. We can find low power distance in these countries: New Zealand, Sweden, Austria. In high power distance cultures, inequalities within society are more acceptable. For example: Spain, Portugal, and all countries of Latin America

Uncertainty Avoidance:

It relates to the level of stress in society in the face of an unknown future. In relatively low uncertainty avoidance cultures, precision and punctuality are less important. Innovation is encouraged and people are motivated by being esteemed by, or belonging to, other above things.Countries with low UAI are Singapore, Jamaica and Denmark. High uncertainty avoidance scores mean that there's a fear of ambiguous situation and a preference of being busy, punctual and precise. For example: Japan, countries of Latin America, South Korea.

Individualism vs. Collectivism:

Individualism means that people in a society take care of themselves and their closest family. It's a loosely-knit social framework. For example: France, UK, Canada.Collectivism represents societies that take care of everybody. It's a tightly-knit framework. Countries with collectivism are Russia, India, Egypt.

Masculinity vs. Femininity

They stand for a division of emotional roles between women and men. In high femininity societies, social gender roles overlap with both men and women valuing 'feminine' qualities like modesty and quality of life above the more traditionally 'masculine' qualities of aggression and competition. For example: Netherlands, Denmark, Scandinavian countries. A high masculinity ranking indicates the country experiences a high degree of gender differentiation. Females are controlled by male domination. Countries in which we can find masculinity are Japan, Germany, U.S.

Long Term vs. Short Term Orientation

It relates to the choice of focus for people's efforts: the future or the present and past. Long  Term: it stresses perseverance and being sparing with resources. For example: China, Taiwan, Japan. Short Term: it involves a greater emphasis on quick results. We can find short term orientation in these countries: Pakistan, U.S., Great Britain.

Indulgence vs. Restraint

Indulgence societies allow relatively free satisfaction of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun.  For example: Venezuela, Brazil, U.S. Restraint societies  suppress gratification of needs and regulate it by means of strict social norms. For example: Pakistan. 

AUSTRIA:  This country has very a low power distance. Austrian culture has following characteristics: equal rights, attitude towards managers are informal and on first name basis, citizens of Austria don't like to be controlled by someone else. Austria has a strong preference for avoiding uncertainty. Austrians feel an emotional need for rules and they always make their decisions after a long analysis of all important information. This country has a individualistic society, which means Austrians look after themselves and their closest family. Another characteristic is that offense very often  causes guilt and a loss of self-esteem. Society of this country is also more masculine than feminine. "A clear example of this dimension is seen around election time, with ferocious, no-holds barred battles between candidates." We can say that Austria has a short-term orientation and that Austrians have respect for traditions.

CANADA: Canada is a country with a quite low power distance. Canadian managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise and ideas. They often consult one another and share information freely. Canadians value a straightforward exchange of information.Canadian culture accepts uncertainty and is not very rules-oriented. Everyone is free to express their opinions and ideas. Canadians also tend to be less emotionally expressive.Canada is definitely an individualistic country. Employees are expected to be independent and full of energy and initiative. When Canadians hire new people they look for evidence of what they have done or are able to do. We can say that Canadian culture is somewhere in the middle between masculinity and femininity. Canadians are very good at finding balance between working hard and their personal life. They are hard workers who always find time for fun and enjoyment. This country is also short-term oriented. "A Canadian business entity measures performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis."

BELGIUM: Belgium has a high power distance. In business, inequalities between workers and boss are expected. There should be more formal attitude towards managers. The information flow is hierarchical as well. There's a high lever of uncertainty avoidance in Belgium. Rules and security are very important otherwise the lack of rules would create stress.Trainings and teachings are more inductive. Belgium is one of the most individualistic countries. Even though Belgium is an individualistic country, Belgians still need a hierarchy. "High score on power distance and high score on individualism create a specific “tension” in this culture, which makes the relationship so delicate but intense and fruitful once you manage it." Similarly like Canada, Belgium is also somewhere in the middle of masculinity and femininity. Mutual agreements are more important  than actual winning and discussion. Win-lose style would not be very effective in Belgium. Belgium is a short-term orientated country. Belgians feel a need for norms and absolute truth as guidelines.Management and business are based on self reliance, personal achievement, hard work and managers are judged on short term results.

International Marketing

There are more reasons why international marketing has grown so much during this decade. One reason is a development and enlargement of market opportunities. Nowadays, there's greater economic security which makes producers expand their markets. Some nations have complementary economic bases and they offer and produce similar products or services. Therefore, producers have started realizing that some of their products might be even more successful abroad. Another reason is that political relations between countries are much better and more positive than they were in the past. A market arrangement between the countries is very important. The countries with a very similar culture have the biggest of making free trade agreements too. Cultural similarities support the economic cooperation with other nations. Three major factors that support development of international marketing are economic, political, and cultural factors.
There's many  reasons why it's beneficial to sell product in foreign market.
1. Poor trading conditions in the home market
2. Potential to increase profits and to earn more money
3. Spreading risks between different markets
4. Saturated new markets
5. Experience
Political Differences:
The change of government as well as terrorism or other threats might cause instability  in countries and might lead to destruction of a company's assets.  This could really hurt your business, so before  you start doing business in some country, you should check its political situation. For example: Egypt (it was attacked by terrorists, and there is an instability caused by the change of president & government).
Economic & Social Differences:
Difference in tax rates, interest rates, the age structure of the population, importance of marriage, and the role of women play a huge role in your marketing activities. In order to be successful in your international marketing, you should realize that living standards of countries vary across the globe. For example: There are so many economic and social differences between countries like U.S. and Ethiopia.
Legal Differences:
Some products like weapons are in some countries illegal. Just because you can sell and buy them in one country doesn't mean that they are sold everywhere. Product labeling control are much stricter in some countries than in the others. For example: North Korea is known for its production of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, it's illegal to sell or produce nuclear weapons in South Korea.
Cultural Differences:
Even though cultural differences are not laws that you have to follow, they play a significant role in people's behavior which affects marketing. For example: In some countries you cannot really use a woman as a model in a advertisement. It's just not acceptable. For example: Many Arabic/Muslim countries have totally different culture than Europe. Women rights and etc...
Differences in Business Practices:
Accounting standards and rules vary in parts of the world. Also some formalities might take much more time in one country than in another one. For example: In the UK it can take a few days to set up a limited company. On the contrary, in Sierra Leone it might take one year.

Distribution Arrangement

Intensive

It's a product distribution where the company sells as many outlets as possible, so the consumers can find the product everywhere they go. The advantage of intensive distribution is that it makes customers remember and eventually buy the product, because they come across the product frequently. Products that are distributed in this way are the ones that you use everyday like a toothpaste. The original shop for toothpastes is a drug store, but you can buy them in grocery stores and supermarkets too.

Selective

This retail strategy involves making products that are available only in certain markets. It's the opposite of intensive distribution. Basically, the benefits of selective distribution are that a retailer is able to control his product, which means he can limit distribution of his products to specific geographical areas. This creates a "good image" of products, because it looks like they are special in some way as you can't get them everywhere. An example of this is luxury goods, or goods that are expensive because of their brand. These products are just for one group of people (upper class) so not everybody can afford, and are not sold everywhere.

Exclusive

It's a distribution where distributors and suppliers make an agreement that allows only some named distributors to sell a product. A positive thing about exclusive distribution is that a supplier has once again a control of how distributors display the product. It gives  a competitive advantage to retailers too because they can pay for displaying the product in a particular section of the store. For example, Nike and Adidas use this technique all the time.

Integrated

Integrated means combining or putting this together. Therefore, integrated distribution is a distribution that puts different types in one effective group. Advantage is that a supplier has a close relationship with other channel members. An example is the Carnegie Steel Company where the company controls not only the mills where the steel is made but also the mines where the iron is extracted. 

When you are choosing a distribution channel it is important to realize that it is not short term. It also requires careful choosing among and between distributors, direct marketing, retailers and sale force. Distribution is one of the two main roles of marketing., therefore it definitely requires strong strategic thinking.
Here are some things you must consider about  selecting a channel partner: Services capabilities, Partnership attitude, Noncompetitive, Marketplace credibility, Sales capabilities, Geographic coverage, Cost model., Technology fit.

How does the promotional mix change at different stages of the product life cycle

Before the first stage which is introduction, the product is still just an idea. During this very first stage, the product producer develops plans for the future product and starts researching marketing methods that might be very useful in the future. This includes ways to promote the product or to attract customers' attention through campaigns and other promotions. This phase is all about planning, which means the producer doesn't use any marketing strategies yet. As the product hits the market, which happens during the introduction stage of a product life cycle, it's very important to bring awareness of the product. For this stage, the producer should choose a type of promotion techniques that will make customers be aware of the product. This requires lots of effort. During the second stage, which is growth the customers are already aware of the product and sales usually increase. In order to keep it this way, the company should start to use marketing techniques like branding, which would make the product different from the others. Maturity stage is a stage, where the product gains over its competition. In this stage, the producers want to get costumers from competitors. That's why it is important and very beneficial to use special, and interesting promotions. The last stage of the product life cycle is decline. The company can retain their old customers, but it's hard to attract new sales from new customers. The company tries to keep the good and positive image of the company. The main focus is on the reinforcing the brand image. During this stage marketing efforts decline.

Case Studies

Blood Donors Respond

In Pennsylvania, American Red Cross was organizing an interesting summer blood drive campaign. To motivate and attract donors, all the donors who participated and gave their blood, received a small Route 56- logoed Red Cross Keytag. All of them had also a chance to win a year's supply of gas that was around $2,000. Eventually, donations increase more than 16% over the last year. This blood donation was very important because when people are on vacation they usually don't donate blood. In my opinion the reason why it was that effective is that people like getting new things for free. They got a good feeling for helping others and at the same time they were rewarded for it by having a chance to win something special. A year's supply of gas served as a temptation and drove peoples' attention.

Museum gets huge membership boost!

The Cleveland Museum of natural history, which is a great and popular destination for visitors, started to feel a need for more members that would support the Museum's collection. In order to promote a new traveling exhibit and to entice visitors, a new tactic was used. They started to send an instant prize promotion-"Conceal & Reveal" game cards in a form of a direct email. The email included a custom scratch-off that gave people a chance to win great prizes like free tickets for the Museum party. This campaign attracted more than 500 new members in the first 10 days which was an unexpected success. This is just another example of attracting people by giving them a chance to win. Even though, the chance of winning is very small and not everyone can win, people still want to try it.

A Starbucks "Gotcha!" 

The aim of this interesting and unusual campaign was to increase the awareness of the Starbucks Holiday Red Cups. The chief at Free Car Media, Dew Livingston, got an idea of attaching these cups to the roofs of cars. These cars would drive around in huge cities like New York, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco. It gives people the impression that a driver put this cup on the roof of his car, and then forgot about it. This promotion produced a favorable reviews on some Internet websites and definitely did increase the attention of customers. It was a non-traditional way of promoting cups that attracted people the most. This is an example of "targeting marketing."

Nike Incentive Program Boosts Attendance 

Nike is a huge company that gives a job to factory workers all around the world. Without these customers, Nike would be forced to shut down some of their factories, which would cost the company lots of money. In order to avoid this situation, Nike developed a one-year program that would motivate workers. In each quarter, the workers were given mugs. These mugs were different every quarter which makes workers to compete between each other. To make it even more interesting, Nike started to reward workers who were in some way better than the others with a T-shirt with a slogan "Just do it." The results of the campaign were great. There were no shutdowns and the attendance of workers rapidly improved. I think this idea was very effective and smart because it motivated workers and made them to compete between each other.