The Role That Corporate Advertising Plays In Marketing

The Role That Corporate Advertising Plays In Marketing In recent years, a number of internal and external forces have urged companies to pay increased attention to the role that corporate advertising plays in marketing communications strategy. Despite this increased importance, a comprehensive view of current corporate advertising practices does not exist. In spite of the increased importance given to the role of corporate advertising, little has been done to provide management with an integrative view of the current corporate advertising practices. The objective of this study is three fold: 1) to find out key issues related with corporate advertising 2) importance of the usage of corporate advertising in an organization in the context of Singer 3) Critical review of the core message to be used for Singer and mixed media approach to perform corporate advertising. What Is Corporate Advertising? However, with the advent of modern corporations with multiple product and/or service offerings, a different type of advertising has appeared, the primary purpose being to promote the corporation. Corporate, institutional, or corporate image advertising has been defined with some very basic consistency since the 1950s but has broadened to include advocacy and issue advertising (Ewing 1982; Heath and Douglas 1986; Heath and Nelson 1985) and the current hybrid ads (Winkleman 1985), which blend product and company promotion. Corporate advertising may also influence consumers knowledge about products marketed by the corporation (Hartigan and Finch 1986;Winkleman 1985). Main Types of corporate advertising can be categorised as follows: Advocacy advertising Image or Institutional advertising Recruitment advertising Key Issues in Corporate Advertising There are many functions that corporate advertising can perform and most of the companies spend millions of money. Technically majority of companies dont know how to do advertising since they are being getting low results from corporate advertising. Some practices remain far behind their potential since marketing and advertising are used incorrectly. Extremely Expensive to Do a Better Job In the present situation carrying out a successful corporate advertising campaign can be very costly because it has many inbuilt components such as production, designing, etc. It is an additional large investment for the company which will not give proper results as the organization expects. e.g.- In the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, most of the Indian companies, many corporate pitched on the expected success of the Indian cricket team which involved extremely expensive endorsements, production costs and fowrad bookings in channels and match broadcasts. Indias early elimination at the quarter final stage, rendered many of the adverts unbroadcastable due to the anger that was built up against the team. On the otherhand, these monies, if channelled to consumer and trade promotions, would have had a far higher level impact on generation of sales. Credibility Large reach enable the organization to reap the benefits of corporate advertising. As an example a TV add might not reach the target segment since currently people avoid advertisements and they dont pay attention towards ads. Only one out of five consumers has a positive attitude towards advertising (InfoTrends, 2010). Also if the product distribution system is not in line with the advertisement (e.g, products are not available in those areas) itll be a huge cash outlay for the organization. This process must be statistical and focused if a company wants to become successful in corporate advertising. This can happen due to the following reasons: Organizations havent looked at their advertisements from consumers point of view and didnt share their unique selling proposition. Lack of consideration when selecting media which means organizations assume what consumer read, watch, or listen to is what their prospects enjoy as well. Opportunity cost is high when compared to other mediums such as social media and personnel selling which have large reach and better targeting abilities. Contrary to mass scale advertising, social meadia llows people to choose the adverts that are of interest to them and view / explore if it is of interest to them. This also drives search for more information and sharing with others, even if no action in terms of purchase is generated. Social media has been growing at a fast pace and it cannot be ignored by organizations. With Web 2.0 individuals get the opportunity to interact with each other about their personal experiences, buying preferences etc. The organization can convey the message to many target groups using social media at a lower cost and in a widely expanded way and this medium is very useful and easy to measure their advertising efficiency. Figure 1: Social Networking Growth by Worldwide Region Source: www.compete.com, 2009 Difficult to Measure the Efficiency Corporate advertising is a pull medium where organization cannot always expect it to translate into sales. Because cost per contact has been an issue for many organizations because the amount they spent hasnt effectively resulted in sales. There is difficulty in ascertain where the adverts pulled in customers vs those who would be attracted by the brand it self. Uncertainty of the Situation Corporate advertising will either be helpful to increase the corporate reputation or be misunderstood by the consumer which will lead to damage their image. This can happen due to miss interpretation by consumers about the company such as ethical issues. In such situations company has to bear a huge cost due to add withdrawal. Not Exciting, Not Addressing the Consumer Most ads are made on a one size fits all thus turning some viewers off. Corporate advertising can be very creative and give a nice, warm feeling but sometime it will make little or no effort to address the readers needs. Sometimes it will build the reputation but not result in purchasing. Organizations should stamp and convey their current or desired position in advertisements without stating the obvious. Importance of Corporate Advertising for Organizations and Singer According to research carried out it is evident that most of the companies havent identified the core essence of corporate advertising because they are entrapped with product advertising. Corporate advertising should brand a company the way that product advertising brands a product. Benefits of Corporate Advertising in General Corporate advertising is more efficient in building recall for a company name than product advertising and creation of a good citizen image through consistent dedicated effort. Frequent corporate advertisers rated better on virtually all attitude measures than those with low corporate ad budgets Reducing the Perceived Risk, Prompt Buying: From the past most of the reputed companies branded themselves due to usage of very strong advertisement slogans. Those slogans have been designed to influence consumer habits. These types of corporate advertisements are powerful than the visual product presentations as consumers are more likely to recollect the popular brand messages due to constant media exposure. e.g., In Britain, Glaxo Wellcome filled television screens in 1996 with the slogan, Man has no greater enemy than disease has no greater enemy than Glaxo Wellcome. (The Economist, 1998) Get Rid of Negative Perceptions: If a company is unpopular with or misunderstood by opinion-formers to an extent that it harms its business, that can be diminished through proper usage of corporate advertising. Articulate the Strength/Power of the Company A good proportion of spending on advertising may also signal to potential customers and competitors that a company is rich and important. e.g., Honeywell, another American giant, has borrowed GEs theme and is about to launch a more modest $4.5m campaign, showing how its mundane range of thermostats and controls touch peoples lives. (The Economist, 1998) Ability to Generate Corporate Contacts Corporate advertising will help to acquire more business consumer due to the popularity and reputation of the company. Business customers are more likely to be wooed by price, product range and personal relationships. Increase the Trustworthiness Corporate advertising, says its target audience is much broader than for normal consumer goods advertising. It is aimed at three specific constituencies: business customers; opinion-formers (investors, politicians, activists, media) who can influence share prices or strategy, and employees. Cherish subsidiaries and Enter New Markets Not only to enhance the parent company image, corporate advertising can be used to permit or encourage subsidiaries. Particularly where they are engaged in manufacturing operations-to identify themselves to their own customers, prospects and other important, local publics. Also this will enable the company to enter into new business/markets under the same name. Umbrella Covering By performing corporate advertising it covers all the products and services associated with the company and its strategy which always aligns with the mission and vision. e.g., General Electric spends 40% of its $100m advertising budget on this kind of corporate advertising. Its we bring good things to life campaign has been running for almost 20 years. (The Economist, 1998) Enhance the Goodwill: Corporate ads can be used to express their philanthropic, CSR and community idea which will be capable of improving their goodwill. e.g., New York Toyota launched a new corporate advertising campaign, highlighting the companys economic impact, environmental commitment, and social responsibility. Built around the question Why Not?, the campaign will include print and online ads, as well as a new television commercial directed by an Academy-award winning cinematographer. (The Economist, 1998) Exert a pull for New Hires Boost both employee management relation employee morale enabling all members of the internal public to discover a new vitality. Perhaps the best reason for corporate advertising is to reach employees. It can be a good way to attract bright new recruits. Essential Benefits of Corporate Advertising for Singer As explained above Singer will be able to obtain many more advantages by perusing corporate advertising in a meaningful way. One of the most important things that Singer needs to remember is that they need to follow the best practises if they want to improve corporate reputation through corporate advertising. Following are the key benefits they can achieve through corporate advertising-: Go after Singers target audience: Since Singers product advertising couldnt reach their target segments, corporate advertising can be the most effective way to convey the organization purpose of existence and values which will help to grab the attention of Singers potential customers. Highlight Singers competitive advantage: One of the keys to all corporate advertising is to emphasize the strengths of the company, those factors that give Singer to gain a competitive edge. Too many ads might be witty but fail to sell the benefits of the corporation unlike product advertising. Establish an image: As explained in the previous chapters Singer lacks the corporate reputation due to quality concerns and negative perception. But performing good corporate advertising with measure objectives will open a way to increase customer image, awareness and trust. Suggest you expand this area a bit more. Critical Review of Singers Tagline and Media Approach Singer has conducted few corporate advertising but, has spent millions for that purpose with product advertising. Singer sells their own consumer electronic products and global brands like JVC, Phillips, Panasonic, and Samsung etc. Since they are doing many businesses, corporate advertising is the best option available for advertising. As explained in the previous section about personality, Singer has been aiming higher end customers since they have less belief in the Singer products quality. Inconsistent slogans and lack of intelligent advertising has led to this situation which has in turn caused poor performance in some of the product ranges. If a powerful tagline can address a key issue, that would boost their reputation and image. (e.g, Adidas introduced its mainstream marketing slogan Impossible is nothing in the year 2004 with the intention to capture the essence of the Adidas brand.). In order to become successful in the future, Singer needs to deliver a simple, catchy core message in a consistent way using corporate advertising. The proposed tagline for corporate advertising is as follows Trusted Excellence Singer has been using this as a slogan but not for corporate advertising or product advertising. Since the tagline is very strong changing the context of the usage will add more value to the organization. Which means the way they have used should be changed. This tagline is very simple and most importantly it reminds the history of Singers long journey of 135 years. This core message communicates the benefits of customers who create intrigue, interest and attention and therefore it will be able to persuade consumers. This tagline shows the consumers can trust the company since they have been in the industry for such a long-time with consistent quality products and to draw their attention on a specific product which results in buying. Higher social class people who had negative ideas about Singer products will be persuaded by this message. Being a cost leader has harmed the Singer corporate image but proper usage of this message will help them to overcome it. With this tagline people will start to associate the communicated characteristics in the slogan with the products such as quality and olden gait. It will be highly successful in rejuvenating Singers image in the public and will also earn numerous awards. Singer as a whole will become a cult and can be the re-emergence of the company as an important player in the electronic appliances industry in decades to come. Recommended Mixed Media Approach for Singer Corporate Advertising is no longer simply about visual appeal. Particularly in this web 2.0 has become a vital ingredient of an organizations branding strategy, developing the right media mix holds the key to building powerful brand equity. Traditional Media TV, News paper, and Radio advertisements can be used in a corporate advertising campaign at a high level where they can express their idea in a more epic way but the cost might be really high. TV advertisements are one of the easiest ways to communicate the message more emotionally and visually. TV advertisements can be expensive but it can bring out the message what Singer wants to convey visually which will be evaluated below. Radio advertisements could also be done to spread the message to the mass population in a cheaper way. According to InfoTrend researches print medium ads are significantly doing better than other mediums. Figure 2: Global Ratings of Different Advertising Media Source: InfoTrends, 2010 Advertising through newspapers and magazines can be a very cheap option and it also can target the rural population as well as the high class people. Social Media Online Advertising Singers corporate advertisements should be posted on sites such as Cricinfo, Wow and social networking sites such as Face book, Linkedin, Online newspapers, Hit add online magazines etc. as these are the most visited sites by an individual in Sri Lanka. Source: www.compete.com, 2009 Source: www. Alexa.com, 2009 Figure 3: Top 10 Social Networks Figure 4: Top Sites in Sri Lanka Use of social and internet media is very emerging which has been discussed above. The progress and the efficiency of their advertising can be monitored very easily (e.g., daily hit rate on the website). The segments which cannot be reached by the traditional ways can be targeted. Outdoor Advertising Singer competitors have been very active in these areas where Sony, Panasonic, Samsung are being doing many outdoor advertising campaigns. To increase the corporate reputation and build the brand equity this strong tagline can be communicated very broadly using this medium. Singer has to spend money carefully even if those mediums are cheap such as hoardings, road shows, participations in business fairs, exhibitions, etc. Strategic Films and Corporate Video Production This is been a latest and more important process in corporate advertising. Usually these kinds of media approach cannot be seen in product advertising. This has become necessary elements of road shows, exhibitions and other promotional campaigns and also corporate video production is a very important tool for branding an organizations corporate identity. E-Mail Campaigns E-mails can be used to spread their corporate advertising core message to consumers easily and cheaply. The graphically designed corporate advertisement can be placed on an e-mail and it can be sent to various people which might prompt an interest within the viewer of the e-mail. Significant growth in email and internet would enable to convey the message to a broad geographical crowd. Source: TRC (www.trc.gov.lk), 2009 Figure 5: Email internet growth (1995-2009 December) How they Deliver the Message Using the Recommended Media Mix The key issue here would be the upliftment of the image of singer SL in to that of a brand that sells quality electrponics vs cheap, meant fr lower income segments. The campoaign should address High quality, modernity and technology advancement affordable to all (not cheap) Thus the folliwng message is proposed to be carried out in key media. A well known super star like Lasith Malinga (Famous Cricketer) who has a good charisma within the country can be used to promote their corporate brand where people will start believing him and change their perceptions and result in buying products. For this purpose Singer can run a TV advertisement that features Malinga who is looking to his parents to get an advice to purchase a LED 3D TV, where his father reminds of the Old Singer TV at home, which is still working well. This advert if placed well, will drive that Singer products are not inferior in quality and they are highly trustable on performance with latest technology (Innovativeness). Social media such as Facebook and Youtube should be used and advertisement videos should be uploaded where people will be able to watch and give their feedback instantly. Also Singer can publish the reviews of popular people who are using Singer products in those websites with eye-catching images. Financial and Political Constraints of Recommendations In this section the only highly possible political (organization) and financial barrier which obstruct the successful implementation of corporate advertising would be discussed: Singer has not conducted much of corporate advertising which is a new concept for them. Processing developments will require change in terms of learning regarding corporate advertising. Due to proposed web 2.0 involvements the technological skills of the employees need to be improved to get the potential of the emerge of social media. Training and development should be provided to the employees for improving their creative and innovative thinking skills which will be helpful to corporate advertising. Singer carries out product advertising and conducting corporate advertising would demand more expenses which can be an additional expense. Physical resources such as vehicles might be needed additionally to carryout corporate advertising. Hiring a celebrity for advertising is an expensive affair since the person maybe well known and hence higher charges are applicable. There would be extra expenses inspite of product advertising been conducted in parallel.

Shild critical thinking questions Essay

Describe and give examples of changes in your child’s exploratory or problem solving behavior from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information processing theories. Note that 8 months is included, so you’ll need to use the time-line to look back at 8 months for examples. Starting at 8 months my child has already gone through the first 3 sub stages of Piaget’s six sub stages of the sensorimotor stage. Simple reflexes was demonstrated while feeding, first habits and primary circular reactions where shown when studying things while looking at them and not touching. Secondary circular reactions happened when playing with toys like a rattle. Coordination of secondary circular reactions were seen when you would try to find a toy that was hidden, and even if the spot was changed would still look and find it under another toy. An example of the tertiary circular reactions was when in the bath he would push his toys under water and watch how the further he pushed down the higher they would pop back up. For the beginnings of thought he now seems interested in dancing or singing along to music, and will respond to it. Information processing approach I can categorize the finding of the hidden toy as the encoding, storage and retrieval, because initially he could not find it, then could find it but not if you changed the location, and then finally could find it no matter where you hid it. Analyze your baby’s temperament in more detail at 18 months than you did at 8 months. How would you describe your baby in terms of the five aspects of temperament utilized by the Virtual Child program (activity, sociability, emotionality, aggressiveness vs. cooperativeness, and self control)? Has @NAME’s temperament been stable over the first 18 months? A blurb defining and providing examples of the five aspects of temperament is provided at 12 months, but you should seek out further explanations of temperament from your textbook. Explain how the concept of goodness of fit (also discussed in the blurb on infant temperament) applies to your interactions with your child. When looking at the 5 aspects of temperament Sebastian has been pretty much  stable over the first 18 months. When it comes to activity he has been very active, but still sleeping a good amount of time that gives him enough energy. Loves to spend time outside adventuring, but can also have calm time. Sociability has been a bit of a struggle, because he is very attached and doesn’t like new people until he is given time to warm up to them. He is a very cooperative child, actually being more so than he should be for his age, and gets along well with the other children at the daycare. Emotionality I think he is more an emotional child, as when he gets upset when says we have to part he gets rather upset, but will calm down after the event. Self-control I haven’t really seen any examples on so far, so I’m not sure how to answer that. When it comes to goodness of fit, I go along with his moods and behaviors. I wont force him one way or another to do something that d oes not suit him. Regardless of that though, it doesn’t mean I’m lax on things like rules. Were you surprised by anything in the developmental assessment at 19 months? That is, does your perception of your child’s physical, cognitive, language and social development differ from that of the developmental examiner? Give specific examples. If you were not surprised, write instead about some aspects of your child’s development that need the most work. I was not real surprised by any aspects of development. From the choices I chose I expected my child to be advanced in the cognitive aspects. I also had the feeling he was going to be overly attached which is something that really needs to be worked on because his sociability is lacking greatly because of it with people like adults and those older than him, but with other children his age he is fine. He should also work on speaking more.

Mabe Case Essay

Internationalization Strategy MABE has a good internationalization strategy with widely spread manufacturing plants in Mexico and Latin America, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. It relies highly on acquisitions and JVs with local brands to lower manufacturing cost and increase its market share by entering different markets. This strategy is valuable as it decreases net costs and increases net revenues. It is rare because one third of all gas, electric ranges and refrigerators sold in the U.S. are manufactured by MABE. It is also hard to imitate as MABE spent many years to develop its plants in Mexico and Latin America, thus, competitors would face a cost disadvantage in developing similar strategy. Its products can be easily substituted as GE is still one of the largest competitors. However, MABE has exploited the full potential of this strategy in the international market. Research & Development In the early stage of development, MABE formed alliance with GE and took advantage of the foreign technology and penetrated new market. Later on, it developed higher and more sophisticated technical skills and decreased reliance on GE and developed its proprietary technology. It has used its R&D capability to exploit opportunities in the electric stoves, refrigerators, dish washing machines and clothing dryers markets. Thus, its R&D skill is valuable. Also, it is rare and non-substitute because very few competitors possess these skills and it will be costly for competitors to duplicate. MABE exploits its R&D by constant adaptation and innovation to ensure success in the growing appliance market. Organizational Culture MABE has a well-established multinational organizational culture. It hired engineering graduates and assigned them with seasoned MABE and GE executives. It used GE’s methodology of â€Å"action learning† so that multidisciplinary teams of executives can work together to recommend ways to enter into new markets. This organizational culture is valuable as it plays an important role in shaping management and employees’ values, expectations, behaviors, and experiences. It is not rare as many multinational firms have good organizational culture. Notwithstanding, it is non-substitutable because organizational structure is set up by many years of business experience and every organization has its own typical organizational  culture, so it is hard to imitate from one to another. MABE is organized to fully exploit its resources and capabilities. Summary: MABE has a sustainable competitive advantage in the international market because it takes advantage of all of its uni que resources and capabilities and continue to expand its market and remain competitive. External Analysis Porter’s five forces Degree of Rivalry — Moderate to High In the Russian appliance industry, majority of the market share is shared among Indesit, Bosch-Siemens and LG. MABE occupies less than 1 percent of market share and falls far behind 9 other major competitors. Due to the market size (i.e. $3 billion) and profitability (i.e. two times the average operating margin), the appliance market is attractive to foreign investors. Thus, the degree of rivalry is moderate to high. Threat of Substitute — Low to Moderate Before entering the appliance industry, initial capital and technologies are required. MABE has existed for a while now and has continuously produced good quality appliances, therefore, no better substitute for stove, freezer and washing machine are available. However, due to weather conditions, living habits and customs, the consumption of canned food may substitute the freezer sales as it is convenient and easy to store. Hence, the threat of substitute is low to moderate. Threat of New Entrants — Moderate to high The threat of new entrants in Russia is moderate to high. On one hand, new entrants need to consider Russia’s culture, low foreign acceptance, trust issues, economic environment and unstable political position before entering Russian market. All these factors may result in potential risks in business. Conversely, the profitability of the appliance market in Russia attracts new entrants to the industry. Bargaining power of Buyers — Moderate to high Customers have many options in the Russia appliance industry. They can select products based on their preferences as there are nearly 9 strong brands to satisfy buyers various needs. Thus, the bargaining power of buyers is  moderate to high. Bargaining power of Supplier — Low to Moderate Suppliers have low to moderate bargaining power. When production is done by the JV, the supplier will have low bargaining power but when production is outsourced, supplier tend to have moderate bargaining power. Conclusion: Based on the analysis, the Russian economy is favorable with growing potential for the JV to exploit. Nevertheless, they have to pay more attention to the intensified rivalry and political and economic status and learn about customers’ needs as well as strive to increase economy of scale in order to achieve competitive advantage and increase profit and market share. PESTEL Analysis Political Russian State has high involvement and enormous influence over business activities and decision making. Moreover, there is political instability, weak legislative and enforcement regimes as well as immense corruption and bribery at all level. Therefore, it is vital that MABE understand the political risk when entering the market as it could have negative impact on their business as well as their reputation. Economic In 2008, the Russian economy was devastated by the recession which affected its monetary system. Among the BRIC countries, Russia has the highest FDI, per capita and discretionary incomes. It is also the world’s largest gas reserve and the second largest oil reserve. However, Russia economy offers low entry to small and medium size companies and its financial system is monopolized by one big bank resulting in a rather small domestic investment by locals and loan difficulty. Notwithstanding, there are still numerous opportunities for development that MABE can take advantage of if they can implement a method to handle these issues. Sociocultural Russia has a collective culture with informal social orientation and considers trust as a prominent factor in doing business especially with foreigners and it takes a considerable amount of time for foreign firms to earn the trust of locals. Therefore, the adaptation of MABE to the Russian cultural cues is essential. Furthermore, Russia is facing comparative  problems of population abatement, human capital deterioration, high mortality, low level of life expectancy, health and knowledge. In spite of the Russia’s vast natural resources, their declining human capital, low level of knowledge and other related issues have limited its social and economic development which will pose a problem for MABE to extract high skilled and competent workers. Technological Technological innovation and improvement is one of the main success factor to achieve competitive advantage in the appliance sector. In a merging market like Russia, with increasing competition, it is imperative that MABE invest more in technology improvement, innovation and development so as to stay abreast with the rapidly changing technological environment and improve their business efficiency, performance and competitiveness. Environmental Russia environment can be quiet hostile for foreign investment with several laws and regulations pertaining to environmental protection. For instance, doing AIDS test to obtain work permit and also, the hiring of several local work force in order for business to successfully operate in Russia. Additionally, there have been energy consumption regulations imposed by most government including Russia. Thus, MABE has to take into consideration these requirements and conditions. Legal Russia has had weak legislative and enforcement regimes with increasing corruption and bribery. Its biased legal and judicial systems, corrupt law enforcement, weak capital market institutions and poor private property right protection has relatively formed and increased the volatility and instability of its economy. This will lead to the loss of interest of existing and potential foreign firms to do business there. C onclusion Russia has an attractive and profitable appliance market with high technical innovation capabilities. However, the poor legislative and judicial system with a corrupt government that highly influences business practices makes it quite challenging and risky for entry into the country. Despite its social impediment and structure, there is still opportunities for successful entry in the market and for the joint venture to achieve its goal, it must adjust  itself to the Russian environment. CAGE Analysis Cultural Distance Administration and Political Distance Geographical Distance Economical Distance Attributes creating distance -Different languages, -Different religions, -Different ethnicity, Different social norms -Absence of colonial ties, -Different monetary system & currencies -Government policies -Different country size -Different climate -Limited sea access -Difference in customer income Cultural distance: Russia and Mexico have very distinct cultures. They have different languages, ethnicity, social norms and religions, hence, there is a huge cultural difference between them. Administration and Political Distance: Both country’s government have high influence on all aspect of business and other operations in the country. Although they suffer from the same poor political and legislative system as well as corruption and bribery, some administration and political differences still exist. Geographical Distance: Due to the large geographic distance between Russia and Mexico, goods can be exchange via transportation and most communication through information system. Economical Distance: Russia and Mexico are developing countries with similar economic situations such as average salary, GDP and population size. In this regards, the economic distance is little. Conclusion Russia and Mexico are somewhat similar in term of their political, economic and administrative situations while very different in term of culture and geography. However, as many factors need to be considered to adjust to the changes, the JV must adapt to the Russia environment. Alternative and Recommendation Decision Criteria Mabe has to make a decision based on its business objectives and these will be discussed below: International expansion Whether or not MABE decides to stop or continue with the JV, it will most likely still seek to go to other markets in the world since the JV was a result of its aim of wanting to explore new regions of the world and expand to other markets. If it decides to stay, it may partner with a local manufacturer in Russia as discussed in our third alternative or if Mabe decides to leave Russia, it may seek to enter into other markets in other regions of the world but these markets will also have their potential threats in addition to their opportunities and benefits. Business growth The major aim of Mabe wanting to expand operations to other regions of the world is to grow its business. In order to ensure that this happens, Mabe will have to tailor its next step on what to do about its JV in Russia to something that not only helps it expand to other countries, but one that also increases the growth of the business. Other factors Whether or not Mabe decides to continue with its present JV, go into another JV in Russia or go to another region of the world, it has to consider the current market situation there and the major market players to see if it can gain adequate market share that will sustain its business there. In addition to this, it also has to consider the business culture in the region and see  if its business can fit into their ways of doing things there. The available opportunities in those regions also matter but this may not be a huge problem in emerging markets unlike under developed regions. Even in the midst of these available opportunities, Mabe has to see if it has the resources that will enable it benefit from these opportunities. Another important factor is the threats in the region since they can serve as a major hindrance to not only taking advantage of opportunities, but also the growth of the business as a whole. The environment in which a business operates in goes a long way in determining how well it will perform. More on the external environment has been discussed in our external business analysis section. Alternatives Pros Cons -Strong customer purchasing power -Low economic and financial risk -Relatively lower cost of manufacturing -Transportation system is well established -Large number of potential business partners and investors -The level of price sensitivity is high. Thus, how to set up proper price becomes critical -Faces intense competition, i.e. Haier, Midea, Mitsubishi -A high level of government regulation and business requirements -Relative a high level of local bribery Recommendation According to the internal and external analysis, MABE should form a new joint venture with a Russian company for growth. Russia have one of the largest appliance market in the world with an impressive profit margin. However, it is relatively difficult and challenging to do business in Russia due to its political structure, sociocultural and economic environment. It’s best for MABE to work with a local Russian partner who knows the system and has extensive line of network in order to reduce the various connected risks. Furthermore, by entering the Russian market, Mabe will fully exploit its  resources and capabilities and will achieve its objectives of international expansion, business growth and increase in market share. Therefore, Alternative 3 is recommended. Implementation In order to resolve the above issue, it is important for MABE’s executives to comprehend and gain extensive knowledge of Russia’s business system and environment in order to be competitive. To implement the recommended alternative, a short and long term plan is discussed below. Short-run implementation Plan (See Exhibit 1) Phase 1 (day 1-7): A board meeting need be held to discuss and form a research team. A professional market analysts and few expatriates of MABE should travel to Russia on an exploratory visit to understand Russia market and find a reliable Russian manufacturer. At the same time, the research team should also hire local employees who are acquainted with the appliances market in Russia. In addition, the expatriates and executives should begin to learn the language and gain more knowledge about Russian culture because it helps to communicate with local manufacturers and employees in order to effectively operate the JV. Phase 2 (day 8-12): The research team should be divided into several groups to collect more information and make sure every aspect is considered. The groups should regularly meet to exchange information and insights to ensure that the current situation in Russia is updated. In this case, the advantage and disadvantage of each potential Russian company could be listed orderly by professional market analysts. Meanwhile, expatriates should keep learning. Phase 3 (day 13-19): Presentation should be well prepared for board members to show the knowledge and analysis about potential Russian partner. Board members will analyze and negotiate with these manufactures based on what is on the list. Phase 4 (day 20-31): With the help of lawyers, a contract will be drafted and negotiated with local partner about the business model, routine, strategy and management structure. Negotiation should not be stopped until the two companies are satisfied with the details. Phase 5 (day 29-38): The final contract should be prepared and signed by MABE and local partner. Then, the new Joint Venture would be set up and operation would begin. Long-run  Implementation Plan MABE should focus on the fastest growing segment, that is, the small and middle end products to increase profit and should show concern for the local employees and society by increasing salary, offering employee benefit and donating to the society. With extensive knowledge of Russia economy, MABE could forecast on the future trend of the Russian market and develop new strategies to compete in future situations There should be vast and continuous investment in R&D, technical innovations and process improvement in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness After fully develop in Russia, MABE could expand their reach in larger international markets like China to take advantage of the numerous growth opportunities. Contingency Plan If the recommended alternative does not work out, we would recommend that JV be dissolved and Mabe should exit the Russian market to another emerging market like South Africa. This is because it is relatively easy to do business there; it will help Mabe gain more presence in Africa as a whole which is politically and macro-economically stable with competitive labor costs. In addition, the country has better patent and copyright laws that will protect its innovations and designs from knockoffs as opposed to some other emerging markets like China.

Key Features of AL and CLT Approach - 1363 Words

1. Compare and contrast the key features of AL and CLT approach Audio-lingual approach Communicative teaching language approach Approach Nature of language -structural view -Language: a system of structural phonological, grammatical and lexical patterns to express the functional meanings -functional view -Language: a medium for social interaction and communication Nature of language learning Behaviorism – Habit formation via over-learning Learners’ engagement in authentic and meaningful task to promote language learning. (the learning process is influenced by linguistic, social, cognitive and individual factors) Design Objectives -Focus on positive habit of language response -Start to focus on fluency (meaning) -Start to focus on oral competence - Focus on learners’ communicative competences development ( including linguistic competence , actional competence, discourse competence, socio-cultural competence and strategic competence) - Focus on both accuracy(form) and fluency (meaning) (Fluency is more important than accuracy) Syllabus-content and its organization -Linguistic functions = teaching units; -Sequence = ascending difficulty/complexity; -Teaching materials = dialogues - The teaching content is organized functionally. -content: relevant to learner’s need/ level and learning styles/strategies. -The teaching content would normally be organized: - functionally; - notionally (theme-based); - in a task-based manner; - Or withShow MoreRelatedLanguage Pedagogy And Teaching Strategies1464 Words   |  6 Pagesgrammar-translation toward Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) (Brandl, 2007). 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Unfortunately, high performance in these well-structured problems is not necessarily an indicatorRead MoreTeaching A Foreign Language : The Direct Method2375 Words   |  10 PagesTeachers play a key role in the students’ proficiency in acquisition of a foreign language and consequently, prominent debates about using one method or another in order to make the learning process more effective are crowding the bookshelves in libraries. Despite this outstanding proliferation a clear response is still not given. This essay will discuss many aspects of one of the major methods used when teaching a foreign language: the Direct Method, an approach that sets forth something differentRead MoreEnglish As Foreign Language Classes1883 Words   |  8 Pagesexpressed that â€Å"The cognitive domain refers to the use of our mental skills and to how we process knowledge†. Additionally, challenge is essential for learners because it could develop cognitively (ibid, p.15). 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The art of teaching does not lie in accessing a checklist of skills but rather in knowing which approach to adopt with different studentsRead MoreChapter One : Theoretical Framework Essay6065 Words   |  25 Pagesto cover the drawbacks of teacher-centered approach, education has adopted a new approach to learning, particularly language learning calling it the learner-centered approach. We will divide this chapter into two related sections. First part provides a cursory review about the learner-centered approach believing that it is the most suitable and fertile ground to cultivate critical thinking. We start by defining the concept of the learner-centered approach and its historical background. Then, we displayRead MoreIelts Syllabus Design2685 Words   |  11 Pagesgrading of content. At last, a conclusion will be given to summarise the key points in this essay. 2. The definition of syllabus Basically, a syllabus is a specification of what is to be included in a language course; and it concerns the selection of items to be learnt and the grading of those items into an appropriate sequence (Jordan, 2003; Hamer, 2002). Additionally, Nunan (1988) defines syllabus to a broad and a narrow approach. In a broad view, the syllabus and methodology should be togetherRead MoreTopic: Evaluation of Listening and Speaking Skills Activities of English Textbook Grade 5(P.T.B).4711 Words   |  19 PagesEnglish is considered to be a useful to access the world and among the four language skills i.e. listing, speaking, reading and writing. Speaking is the most important (Ur, 1997Haq.s, 2000- A training course for teachers. Cambridge University. An approach to the teaching of English- Ali printers). Oral language is the greatest use of language and is the basis communication. Through listening and speaking students learn about themselves and about their world. Learning to express ones thoughts, ideasRead MorePresenting the Rationale for the Field-Study, Its Aims and Scope, the Research Questions, Significance, Methods, and Design of the Field-Study.11884 Words   |  48 Pages(Allwright, 1982). Another concern is that since textbooks are often written for global markets, they may not suit all classrooms and might require adaptation to better meet students’ true needs (Richards, 2005). Non-authenticity is also the most limited feature of almost text books. Due to teaching purpose, both content and language are presented in idealized and standardized ways rather than they are in real life (Cunningsworth, 1995). Many experts have written on how to choose or develop materials, which