Marketing environment Essay Example for Free

Marketing environment Essay Product Offerings Kellogg’s is in the breakfast cereal market. It principal products are related to ready-to-eat cereals. In addition to this the company also manufactures and sells many convenience foods such as crackers, cereal bars, veggie foods, frozen waffles, toaster pastries, fruit snacks cookies etc. As of 2009, the manufacturing of these products took place in 19 countries across the world and were sold in over 180 countries. The company’s brands include Kellogg’s, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin and Famous Amos. The company also has several brand names attached to its products such as: Apple Jacks, Mueslix, Pops, Corn Pops, Cruncheroos, Bran Buds, Cocoa Krispies, special K, Smacks etc in US; Suchrilos and related products and Zucharita and related products in Latin America; Vive and Vector in Canada; Optima, Choco Pops, Muslix, Honey Loops, Country Store, Ricicles etc in Europe; Cerola, Sultana Bran, BeBig, Chex, Frosties etc. in Asia and Australia (Kellogg’s Investor Information). Following is the market share for the different cereal brands over the past 14 years. Fig – 12 Most Popular Cereal Brands (Topher, 2008) Target markets Customers Kellogg’s has separated its business into two segments: North America and International. The company generates two thirds of its revenues in North America which consists of United States and Canada. These are shown in the figure below. Fig – 13 Kellogg’s market sales by region, in millions (wikinvest, 2009) In United States, the biggest retail consumer of Kellogg’s are the Wal-Mart Stores that accounts for about 20% of its net sale. In fact no other consumer accounts for more than 10% of its net sales. Kellogg’s revenue in North America is further divided into different sections based on product types such as cereals, snacks and frozen and specialty categories. This is shown in the figure below. Fig – 14 Kellogg’s sales by Product Category (wikinvest, 2009) Competition The company faces competition for sales of all of its principal products in its major markets, both domestically and internationally. The Companys products compete with advertised and branded products of a similar nature as well as unadvertised and private label products, which are distributed at lower prices, and also with other food products with different characteristics. Principal factors for competition include new product introductions, product quality, composition, and nutritional value, price, advertising and promotion (Kellogg). The primary competitors of Kellogg’s are General Mills and Kraft which sells breakfast cereal under the Pos brand. Among this the revenues of Kraft are triple as compared to the other two brands with its leading segment being snacks. However, both Kellogg’s and General Mills receive more of their revenues from the cereal segment. The table below shows the company comparison. Company Net Revenues (in millions) International Revenues as % of sales Gross Margin % Kellogg’s $ 10,906 32. 6% 44. 2% General Mills $ 12,442 17% 36% Kraft $ 34,356 32. 4 36. 1% Table – 15 Company Comparison (wikinvest, 2009) Supply chain As mentioned, Wal-Mart accounts for about 20% of the company’s product sales in United States. The company uses both its sales force as well as business arrangements with brokers and distributors to sell its products. The products are eventually resold to consumers in retail stores, restaurants and other food service establishments (Kellogg’s Investor Information). The figure below gives the different types of distribution channels of the company. Fig – 16 Kellogg’s distribution Channels (http://www. docstoc. com/docs/3584505/Kellogg%EF%BF%BDs-Marketing-Strategy-and-Marketing-Plans ) Market position Product Sales Regardless of the bad moments it has faced over the year, especially thorough the 1990s, Kellogg’s still the market leader in the US cereal market. Despite increasing competition Kellogg’s has slowly increased its share in the market and control about 1/3rd of the market. This is followed by General Mills and Quaker and Post. In addition to this, Kellogg’s controls as much as 50% of the market for new cereals in the United States with the introduction of more new cereals than either of its competitors. The figure below shows the 2008 US cereal market. Fig – 17 US Cereal Market Share (wikinvest, 2009) The figure below shows the market share trends for the top cereal producers over the past 10 years. Fig – 18 Market share trends for the past 10 years (Topher, 2008) Employment Financial statistics The company employs about 32400 employees worldwide which its latest figures as of 2009. It has generated about 12. 8 billion in net worldwide sales of which its earning were $ 1. 1 billion. The company keeps low sales targets for its internal net sales since it is a mature market. The figures are between 1-3 %. The company exceeded this target with a net sales growth of 9% in the year 2008 and a growth rate of 5. 4. The targets for internal operating margins are between 4-6% which the company achieved by reaching a figure of 4. 5%. The net earnings per share target for the company is between 7-9%. The company achieved a diluted earning per share grew by 8% which the currency neutral EPS grew by 10% which was more than its target. The figure below shows the financial highlights of the company for the past 3 years. Fig – 19 Kellogg’s 2008 financial highlights (Kellogg’s Investor Information) Since one of the major draws of the company is the innovation of its products,, the company sets aside a considerable budget for RD. The expenditure figures for this head were $181 million in 2008. The corresponding budget was $ 171 million in 2007 and $191 million in 2006. Marketing Advertising The company has an excellent marketing team which has used varied channels for sales and promotion of its products. These include: Mass Advertising – popular characters like Tony the TigerTM and Snap! Crackle! Pop! TM, on TV; Direct Promotions: Coupons; Trade Promotions: In-store displays, Samples; Personal Selling: Prime-account reps, Area reps; Penetration Chain stores, Independent wholesalers; Sales Channel Brand equity; Logistics Finished goods warehouse centers or independent warehouses (Kellogg’s Company – Products).

Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness and Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and

Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness and Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Although wildly different in subject matter and style, Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness and Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World both show how Japan has been internationalized as well as how it has remained traditional. Kawabata’s novel is traditional and acceptable, much like the haiku poetry he imitates, but has a thread of rebelliousness and modernity running through the web that binds the characters together. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is devastatingly modern, and yet has a similar but opposite undertone of old Japan, or at least a nostalgia for old Japan. In both novels a more international culture has taken root in Japan, and it seems that the characters both embrace and run from the implications of a globalized, hybridized culture. With the graceful starkness of traditional Japanese haiku, Kawabata reveals a twisted set of love affairs between four people that ultimately lead to their downfalls. Haiku depicts a meditational view of the world where nothing is meaningless; in Beauty and Sadness all of the relations represent aspects of new and old Japan, mirroring the rise and fall of Japanese culture in their movements. Among these relationships, perhaps the most traditional is found between Oki and Otoko– although it is tragic and somewhat leacherous, the bond between a young woman (or girl) and an older man is an acceptable affair in traditional Japanese culture. They represent the oldest parts of Japanese custom, and adhere to that measure throughout the novel. Oki’s wish to hear the temple bells with Otoko reflects this long established pattern of old man and young girl, as ... ...lly, however, he begins to fight back against this loss of identity and struggles to regain himself, realizing that â€Å"stealing memories was stealing time... forget the end of the world, I was ready to reclaim my whole self.† (Murakami, 239) As he sits back in his car and waits for his world to end he gives himself the tools to fight this loss of identity, telling himself tâ€Å"Now I can reclaim all I’d lost. What’s lost never perishes.† (Murakami, 396) Although his identity has crumbled almost past recognition, the Narrator and the Dreamreader hold the key to retrieving it– memories and the unrelenting search for identity. Even though the identity of the Japanese culture has been undermined by globalization and internationalization, Murakami believes that it will be found again when the culture receives the proper stimulus– when they begin to read the dreams of unicorns.

Educational Reforms in Bhutan

The purpose of the article is to discuss the weaknesses of Bhutan’s educational reforms focusing on how the educational system is not able prepare the youth for the world of work. The author implicitly discusses two questions. The first question pertains to how the education reforms fail to provide the youth with better knowledge, skills and values to match employers’ needs. The second question relate to how the educational system should be reformed to address the employment challenge. The author has used descriptive method designed to provide rich descriptive details of education reforms in Bhutan between 1961 and 2008.This article is targeted at policy makers, educationalists and public. While the research design involved in-depth narrative analysis, it did not use scientific inquiry into the subject, especially the empirical analysis and hypothesis testing. Rather than making some sweeping statement, the author could have supported those statements with some empirica l analysis. However, the article can serve as the first step towards more rigorous research, as it identifies important factors leading to mismatch of education and employment in the country.The author begins by discussing the overall context of the education-employment mismatch in the country. The historical development of education system was discussed explaining the low enrolment rate in the beginning (1960s), positive change in the Bhutanese people’s attitude towards western education, and now the problem of enrolment pressure. He discusses (with figures) a growing difference in the quantitative expansion of educational facilities and the sharp rise in enrolment rate.The author also discussed about the growing number of school dropouts, entering the job markets unprepared to meet the needs and expectations of the public and private employers. He contrasts the unemployment problem in general with the shortage of workforce in the agriculture sector. The author does not ment ion about field research, interviews or literature reviews based on which he tried to answer his research questions. The analysis identifies six main factors of the high youth unemployment scenario in the country.These factors are inadequate education quality, limited diversity of educational tracks, mismatch between demand and supply of the youth, youth’s preference for civil service, reluctance to enter the private sector and negative attitude towards blue collar jobs. These factors are valid, but they are not consistent with the topic and research questions, that is, education reforms in Bhutan. By discussing these factors, the article is concerned more about the overall youth unemployment rather than focusing on the aspects of education system such as curriculum, pedagogy, infrastructure, quality, etc (the title seem to point out). Educational Reforms in Bhutan The purpose of the article is to discuss the weaknesses of Bhutan’s educational reforms focusing on how the educational system is not able prepare the youth for the world of work. The author implicitly discusses two questions. The first question pertains to how the education reforms fail to provide the youth with better knowledge, skills and values to match employers’ needs. The second question relate to how the educational system should be reformed to address the employment challenge. The author has used descriptive method designed to provide rich descriptive details of education reforms in Bhutan between 1961 and 2008.This article is targeted at policy makers, educationalists and public. While the research design involved in-depth narrative analysis, it did not use scientific inquiry into the subject, especially the empirical analysis and hypothesis testing. Rather than making some sweeping statement, the author could have supported those statements with some empirica l analysis. However, the article can serve as the first step towards more rigorous research, as it identifies important factors leading to mismatch of education and employment in the country.The author begins by discussing the overall context of the education-employment mismatch in the country. The historical development of education system was discussed explaining the low enrolment rate in the beginning (1960s), positive change in the Bhutanese people’s attitude towards western education, and now the problem of enrolment pressure. He discusses (with figures) a growing difference in the quantitative expansion of educational facilities and the sharp rise in enrolment rate.The author also discussed about the growing number of school dropouts, entering the job markets unprepared to meet the needs and expectations of the public and private employers. He contrasts the unemployment problem in general with the shortage of workforce in the agriculture sector. The author does not ment ion about field research, interviews or literature reviews based on which he tried to answer his research questions. The analysis identifies six main factors of the high youth unemployment scenario in the country.These factors are inadequate education quality, limited diversity of educational tracks, mismatch between demand and supply of the youth, youth’s preference for civil service, reluctance to enter the private sector and negative attitude towards blue collar jobs. These factors are valid, but they are not consistent with the topic and research questions, that is, education reforms in Bhutan. By discussing these factors, the article is concerned more about the overall youth unemployment rather than focusing on the aspects of education system such as curriculum, pedagogy, infrastructure, quality, etc (the title seem to point out).

Greater Writer of the English Language William...

Shakespeare arguably had some of the most bewildering language in all of literacy. His creativity and English ingenuity granted him to be considered the greatest writer of the English Language. Unfortunately, Pete Langman feels Shakespeare is far too difficult for the majority of schoolchildren. He feels that making them struggle through it just because Shakespeare is this great, shinning cultural icon simply alienates them, makes them hate the man, hate the plays, while giving them the sneaking suspicion that high culture excludes them. Langman feels that everyone might do better if they embrace the fact that Shakespeare is tough and accept the fact that it’s too difficult for some people and should be taught until they reach the†¦show more content†¦Hamlet in this soliloquy is conveying, who would put up with all life’s humiliations, the abuse from superiors, and the insults of arrogant men. This correlates to what these young students are going to learn lat er on in life and something they need to prepare for. They need to understand how society is and Shakespeare does a good job in introducing this in his play. To some students this may be a bit early for them, but it’s better for students to be introduced to death early then later. In this excerpt from Hamlets Soliloquy, â€Å"The undiscovered country form whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Act 3 Scene 1 Lines 85-90. In this quote from Hamlet, Shakespeare is describing how we really don’t understand what’s waiting for us after death and how people are scared of death. This is a question that even amongst mature adults still can’t answer and it’s something students should spend some time on and ponder. In sum, Pete Langman had some interesting points and pointed out things that people have wonde red for years. Maybe it is too difficult for school children and maybe it isn’t, but it’s good to have a different perspective on things in order to point out what others might have overlooked. If something gets tough pushing it till later on won’t make it easier, it might make you understand it a littleShow MoreRelatedEssay about Ben Johnson and William Shakespeare 1275 Words   |  6 Pagesweaknesses and despite them still finds joy in your company. A friend can also serve as a muse that inspires a person to greater heights. Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare had an enduring friendship that was intertwined with threads of rivalry (Ben Jonson). These men shared a common love of writing and both would impact the literary world in different ways. Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare had different experiences in life, styles of writing but both would leave a lasting mark on the literary world. Read MoreWilliam Shakespeare as the Greatest Genius in British Litera ture1014 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare as the Greatest Genius in British Literature Even after four centuries, the literary world remains to uphold Shakespeare as the greatest genius in British literature. While best known as a dramatist, Shakespeare was also a distinguished poet. Shakespeares extraordinary gifts for complex poetic imagery, mixed metaphor, and intelligent puns, along with insight into human nature are the characteristics that created the legend he is today. The following essay will address howRead MoreMusic in Elizabethan England817 Words   |  3 PagesThe Elizabethan era was a very important time in english history.Queen Elizabeth the first was the royal majesty back at that time, which explains why the era is called that way. The Elizabethan era was in the 16 century and it was also thought to be the golden era of english history. That was because music and art were promoted, spread, sold and England was becoming more of a highly developed Empire. The golden age represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the beginning of poetry, musicRead MoreThe Elizabethan Age: Is There a History Behind the Theater? Essay examples1668 Words   |  7 Pagesperiod embodies the work of Sir Philip Sidney, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, the well-known, William Shakespeare, and various other writers. Literary expression was an important part of the Elizabethan era, in which a variety of themes and outlines endured while others see med to fade or darken. This was a time where national pride to influenced contemporary drama reflected in the work of writers. Furthermore, the Elizabethan Theater exemplifies the production of theater, while also presentingRead MoreThe English Sonnet768 Words   |  4 PagesThe English Sonnet The sonnet is the most important, as it is the most perfect, of all modern lyric forms (Reed, 119). Although the sonnet made a relatively late appearance in English literature, it has become a staple in the lyrical expression of private emotions. The sonnet has been used by every poet from Petrarch, who created the original Italian sonnet, to Shakespeare, who reinvented the sonnets form. Because the Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet is the original form, it is the legitimateRead More The Works of William Shakespeare Essay1429 Words   |  6 PagesThe Works of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare is customary regarded to be the finest dramatist the world has ever seen and the greatest poet who has created his plays in the English language. Besides, Shakespeare has been the world’s most famous author. No other writer’s works have been published so many times or read so broadly in so many places. Shakespeare knew human nature as few other writers have. He could notice in a particular dramatic case the qualities that refer to all humanRead MoreEssay about The Influence of The English Renaissance1790 Words   |  8 PagesWhat is the English Renaissance? It was known as the period of rebirth and was the period in European civilization that immediately followed the middle ages. Its popularity grew by a surge of interest in classical learning and values. It was primarily a time of revival after a long period of social decline and stagnation. The renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement dating from the early 16th to the early 17th centuries. It is associated with the pan-European renaissance that manyRead More17th Century Shakespeare Sonnet 331780 Words   |  8 Pages16th CENTURY SHAKESPEARE SONNET 33 Jackson Hawkins Ms. Sokash Honors English Literature Per 4 20 May 2015  Jackson Hawkins Ms. Sokash Honors English Literature Per-4 20 May 2015 In the early 16th century, the English language did not have the prestige as it does today. Many great works were written in other languages like Latin. One of the first major works to be written in English was Thomas More s Utopia which was originally written in Latin and finally translated into english in the 1550’sRead MoreThe Flea By William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, And John Donne1521 Words   |  7 Pagesform of self expression for centuries. Consequently, poetry has no means of resisting the constant shifts in style, prose, and content that come with the times. This is showcased in the works by famous poets like William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, and John Donne. William Shakespeare is credited to be a wordsmith ahead of his time for crafting some of the most well known works in literature, Emily Dickinson is considered one of America’s leading female poets of the 1800s, and John Donne is recognizedRead MoreShakespeare vs Dryden3975 Words   |  16 Pag es COMPARATIVE STUDY Introduction:- The following study is based on the plays Antony and Cleopatra which is written by William Shakespeare and All for Love which is written by John Dryden. Both writers are the most prominent playwrights in the history of English literature. We can see that both writers through their respective works have focused on the relationship between two prominent characters of the ancient world- Marc Antony, who was a Roman ruler and