Project Management Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project Management - Term Paper Example In the case of the first question, two good sample projects would be the automation of a marketing firm and creating an antivirus product for personal and business use. When it comes to software life cycle, the waterfall model fits the automation system for a marketing firm as it expands its services online.2 Through its entirely programmed sales page, sales presentation and email response to its target market, it only requires the plan and specifications, program design, application, validation, installation and maintenance. On the other hand, antivirus program needs agile development model as the testing, feedbacks and upgrades must be frequent as the viruses easily change and new ones are created by the hour. When it comes to the role of the project manager, he needs to put more efforts on the antivirus program which needs more effort than the automated marketing system which may not need any upgrade. 2. The second question deals with conflict. Conflict pertains to any clash betwe en ideas and may become personal as well. Although people at work must remain as objective as possible, sometimes conflict goes out of bounds and the people involved attack one another personally. It may develop early on or late in the project. An early conflict may take in the form of an idea to make the use of resources more efficient. To solve that, people must consider the advantages and disadvantages and come into agreement by integrating some ideas from both parties.3 When it comes to late conflict, it may include solutions to improve the software. Again, people may combine their ideas for the betterment. 3. The third would deal with Pareto Principle. The principle indicates that 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes. The very meaning laid down by Pareto can be dubbed as 80-20 Rule. In the context of a project manager, he can deal with it as a disturbance handler. He must be able to figure out the 20% of the causes that can bring the 80% of the results so he can direc t his staffs to focus on the 20%. For examples, if they get errors on their software, they must identify the 80% of the bugs and get to know the 20% of the codes that may bring about the majority of the bugs.4 He may develop plans to make the whole search for the bug origin in a systematic way. 4. The fourth question deals with four qualities needed for the criteria in choosing a good model. Money required, time needed, manpower required and ease of use or practicality. Money is needed as anything can be purchased by money especially the needed resources. Time required is necessary also since it dictates the span in terms of days, weeks or months to accomplish the project. Manpower needed is also important as it brings about the necessary staffs to work on the project and ease of use talks about the program being user-friendly.5 5. Question five deals with payback and earned value. The former pertains to the time needed to receive the money invested while the latter pertains to the ability of the project manager to check the project performance and evaluate the current accomplishments and compared them with the objectives or desired results.6 6. The last question depends upon the model made by Noland regarding the process maturity. It pertains to the degree of performance at its maximum possibility. The five stages include

Assess Friedman's assertion that business does not have social Essay

Assess Friedman's assertion that business does not have social responsibilities other than to maximise profit - Essay Example world on whether sustainable business and corporate social responsibility are a distraction to the sole purpose of which is to act in the best interest of the shareholders (Cosans, 2009:392). In other words, when companies act responsibly, they risk foregoing revenue and minimising profits at the expense of a positive reputation in society. Milton’s assertion is supported by the diagram below that states a company’s profitability is achieved where Total Costs = Total Revenues. In his article, Friedman sought to understand the statement that ‘corporate executives have a social responsibility as businesspersons’ (Makower, 2006). This statement meant that corporate executives were not to act in the best interest of their employers or stakeholders. He gave several examples that supported his argument. He questioned whether it is right for companies to avoid increasing the prices of goods to contribute to the social good of curbing inflation or that they employ the unemployed in a move to reduce poverty or that they set aside a huge amount of their profits to minimise pollution contrary to the business objectives. He argued that such measures would turn companies’ executives into civil servants. Corporate Social Responsibility and ethical business practices are considered strategic business moves in the contemporary world. This is because they contribute positively to the company’s reputation and the public is willing to buy goods from a company that considers their needs. Ignoring social and environmental issues can be damaging to companies in the current times. Companies that pollute the environment risk poisoning the public who are discouraged from buying goods from them. Furthermore, companies that raise the prices of goods to increase their profits may end up losing their customers to their competitors. Finally, companies that exploit their workers experience high employee turnover rates and increased training costs. However, the current globalised

Case Study Marketing Mix Marketing Essay

Case Study Marketing Mix Marketing Essay It has already become a commonplace to say that marketing is now constantly evolving and changing; marketing approaches are increasingly applied in commercial companies and nonprofit organizations all over the world. In this regard, many elements of the marketing theory have become universally accepted classical marketing tools: segmentation and positioning, the concept of product life cycle, Ansoff matrix, BCG and GE matrix, SWOT-analysis, etc. The same world popular marketing tool became the concept of Marketing Mix that is generally known as the Four Ps. Thus, it is necessary to describe main elements of the marketing mix in this project. Also it is necessary to show how each of the four elements of the marketing mix affects the development of the organizations marketing strategy and tactics. The organization of my choice is Sony Corporation. Marketing Mix Definition The term marketing mix became often used after a famous Neil H. Borden published his article titled The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1964. It was not the first mentioning of this term, because Borden began using this term in the late 1940s when James Culliton had described the marketing manager as a special kind of mixer of ingredients. Interpretation of those ingredients in marketing mix by Borden included not only product, price, place and promotion, but also planning, branding, personal selling, servicing, distribution channels, advertising, analysis etc. Thus, in this part of this project it is necessary to define the concept of the marketing mix. According to Wilson and Gilligan (2004), it becomes obvious that nowadays Marketing Mix is a major concept in modern marketing and involves practically everything that a marketing company can use to influence consumer perception favorably towards its product or services so that consumer and organizational objectives are attained, i.e. Marketing mix is a model of crafting and implementing marketing strategy. In other words, marketing mix is a set of marketing tools through which the company seeks a way to influence the demand for goods or services; also it is a set of actions (strategies) that form the demand for certain goods at a specified price at a certain place with the use of certain promotion. Marketing Mix in Details As it was above mentioned Marketing mix consists of four main elements: Product; Price; Place (distribution); Promotion. Describing marketing mix with more details it is necessary to say that the above numerated marketing tools have been isolated from many others primarily because their use has a direct impact on demand and could encourage consumers to make purchases. Conducting of market research, analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the firm, segmentation and other marketing tools, of course, also help marketers in their quest to increase demand for products and services of certain companies, but have only an indirect effect: for example, the demand will not increase just because the firm had marketing research or segmentation of consumers. The result of a successful marketing research can be used to change one or more elements of the marketing mix and is the only way to influence consumer demand. (We should note that the aim to increase demand is not always the true aim, because the elements of marketing mix can be combined and used with the aim to reduce demand that is called demarketing, accord ing to F. Kotler definition.) Another useful property of the elements included in the marketing mix, is their control the marketer can control every element to the desired impact on demand, choose the most promising combination of elements. In addition, the order of the elements of the marketing mix clearly shows the sequence of the main marketing functions implementation. Product as an Element of marketing mix Product offered by a company in the market implies the presence of a set of specific properties in its nature, both material defining the physical features of product (color, packaging, warranty, size, taste, etc.) and intangible the elements of emotional evaluation (degree of commitment to consumers, easy handling, prestige, quality, style, etc.). First of all, it is necessary to determine what the company promotes on the market: consumer goods or industrial goods, product or service. From the standpoint of marketing mix, during the sale of industrial products is more important factual information about a product, since the decision on their purchase depends on professionals opinion. In turn, when referring to buyers of consumer products marketers usually used more emotional appeal. Price as an Element of Marketing Mix In most cases price represents a monetary expression of value of the products and should be installed as the compromise between the seller and buyer. Marketing mix should reflect the price from the buyers position. Companies use price marketing mix strategies for the purpose of to stay competitive and create a positive consumer attitude to the product. In addition, for the purpose of remaining competitive marketing mix strategy, the company can sell the product, comparable to the basic properties of a similar nature at a lower price. If the seller uses the value of the products to fight with competitors, he must show the buyer the price ratio of its product in comparison with others. Place as an Element of Marketing Mix Distribution channels are people and organizations that help move products from the producer to the end consumer. Marketing mix distribution is based on the following scheme: wholesalers buy goods from a manufacturer or another wholesaler and sell it using retail or wholesale trade. They tend to use promotion as an element of marketing mix (personal selling, for example) and take measures to stimulate sales. But at this stage they may also use other marketing mix strategies, such as the sale of mail order, advertising in specialized publications, issue directories, participating in trade fairs. Promotion as an element of Marketing Mix According to Lancaster and Reynolds (2005), we see that in the context of the marketing mix, promotion represents the various aspects of marketing communication, that is, the communication information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response. In addition Lancaster and Reynolds (2005) stated that marketing communication decisions include: promotion strategy (push, pull, etc.), advertising, personal selling and sales force, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, and marketing communications budget). Sony Corporation in Brief Sony Corporation is an active follower of marketing mix and we are going to discuss the implementation of the marketing mix four elements by giving it as example. Thus, modern Sony Corporation is a giant organism. It is large in size, complex in structure, operates in nearly all countries of the world and managed by an international team of managers. It becomes obvious that Sony Corporation is not only a multinational conglomerate corporation, but it is also considered to be one of the worlds largest media conglomerate. In its rapid development, Sony Corporation has passed through three major stages: the small producer, specialized company and the big monopoly. The key points of Sony Corporation development are the choice of major goals and setting ambitious scientific and engineering problems. Marketing Mix and Sony Corporation Analyzing product as the first component of the marketing mix by giving Sony Corporation as example we see that Sony products are oriented on different people and companies that allow to make the circle of potential consumers as wide as possible. Customers always look for novelties having good brand and excellent quality, so a variety of products ranging from different electronic devices to entertainment area (such as games, for example) allows Sony Corporation to be not only competitive, but also successful company. In Sony Corporation pricing, decisions are always made in consultation with marketing management and relating Sonys prices to the quality of its products, all customers are sure that they will pay normal price for excellent product. Thinking about the distribution we should mention that Sony Corporation sells its products in various channels. Three branches of distribution such as exclusive, selective and intensive network give the opportunity to satisfy the need of every consumer, who is interested in Sonys products. Promotion is a key element of success of any company and Sony Corporation has a huge promotional budget that covers not only advertising, but also personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and publicity. In this case promotion of products is a marketing pressure applied in a certain limited period of time to stimulate trial purchases, increasing demand from customers or improve the quality of the products. Thus, using all components of marketing mix Sony Corporation operates successfully. Despite the fact that Sony Corporation is not a young company, it can not be considered ossified. The style of the companys management still distinguishes by newness and freshness of the young company and it remains popular through a series of measures to control the implementation of all marketing mix components. Conclusion Thus, after considering the transformation of the marketing mix it can be concluded that the marketing mix is a set of parameters of the marketing activities of the organization, when it tries to meet the needs of target markets in the best way. To sum up, it is possible to say that there were discussed all necessary components of marketing mix and its implementation by giving Sony Corporation as example.

The Participial Adjective Part of English :: Free Essay Writer

The Participial Adjective Part of English I’ve always found the I-N-G words in English grammar rather annoying and bothersome. Of course Gerunds are I-N-G words that look like verbs but act like nouns in sentences. For example the sentences â€Å"Skating is fun,† â€Å"My favorite sport is skating,† â€Å"I like skating† and â€Å"There are many moves in ice skating† show the Gerund skating as a subject, as a predicate nominative following a linking verb, as a direct object following an action verb and as an object of the preposition â€Å"in.† Gerunds only occasionally give me a hard time as in the cases of me not wanting to own a lightning rod out of fear of being electrocuted or me wondering in which direction a newspaper heading is actually heading. The I-N-G ending (or Present Participle) words that behave like verbs occasionally give me a hassle. I sometimes speculate that â€Å"mowing lawns† could cut me up pretty good and that â€Å"pet grooming† advertised on a sign makes me think, â€Å"I don’t want any pet grooming me!† I mean â€Å"painting houses† could change your skin color in-a-hurry and â€Å"hearing aids† sounds plenty more dangerous than H-I-V. Revolving charge accounts can make you dizzy if you watch one long enough, and I often wonder if fencing companies sometimes abandon using sabers and instead fight with swords? If an idea is swimming around in my head, would I then be a candidate for contracting water on the brain? Incidentally I believe that eating crow is for the birds, particularly the buzzards, but I prefer telling the truth while standing up rather than lying on the ground. And how could a person ever be caught throwing a tantrum unless the spectator knows exac tly what a tantrum looks like and how much it weighs. And once at a circus sideshow I was gullible and paid a dollar to see â€Å"the man-eating crabs† only to walk into a back room and see a man sitting at a table eating crabs. Sure stupid jokes can be made by inter-playing ing verbs but it’s when the Present Participle is used as a Participial Adjective that my patience and tolerance are absolutely tested to their limits. I mean how would you like to go into a large contingent of stores and have to compete with a shopping mall. And why don’t hunting lodges walk around in the middle of the forest with loaded shotguns?

Reaction Paper on Hello Garci Tape Wiretapping Issue

The electoral fraud issue on last 2004 election has proven an obvious breach in the national security. The tape evidence presented by Samuel Ong, former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director for intelligence, contained a conversation between the former President Arroyo and Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. Having analyzed the content of the said conversation, proven and admitted by the former president that the voice was hers, somehow confirmed the point of manipulation of the count in favor of the administration , perpetrated by the COMELEC However, even with the evidences, with the public apology made by the former president herself, and with the possible outcomes known, still no final course of action was taken to resolve GMA’s legitimacy or so to prevent electoral fraud. This is only due to the fact that the ‘original tape’ has not been authenticated by the anonymous wiretapper. If I may put my two cents in, our election system is just so full of dirty tricks. No one gets caught or punished also because of the flaws in the Philippine law and electoral rules. The fraudulent electoral system has been the way of the cheaters to win, and with their get away schemes comes the delayed progress of the country. Most are often suspicious of the winners and it is not a surprise that people generally doubt their leaders. If the leader is successful of curtailing the truth, what more can people expect of its underlings? Along with this, it is only imperative that electoral reforms be pushed through the senate or the country will continue to suffer from recurrence of such scandals and crisis. After the sprung of the aforementioned issue, wiretapping became a major contributor on certain issues from the government. Some of which are those that involve Chair Benjamin Abalos and Jose de Venecia III in connection with the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) contract, and Cheche Lazaro’s wiretapping case filed by the GSIS. The latter however in opinion of the many, was only one of the attempts by government agencies to silence the media through harassment and intimidation. None of the aforementioned issues that involve wiretapping has been resolved. It is just poignant that people find no justice in the wrongdoings of those in high power. Seemingly, in most cases our own system constricts punishments of those guilty personnel, only allowing recurrence of such events. If only our country IS or WILL be able to make a change for the greater good, those types of cases will not be dismissed without fair justice.

Display advertising involved purchasing advertising space on websites Essay

3.Why did BBVA sign multiyear sponsorship deals with NBA and ESPN? Do you agree with this decision? To increase brand awareness. Yes, brand building is a long term process and needs continuous input. 4.What are the various steps in the online acquisition process and how can the bank improve this process? Paid search: Buy key words—ad shows up with the key word- banner with promotional offer(ipod, 5% cash back, or $100 to $150 in cash, under certain conditions)-link to official website–Open account Display: Buy ad space in prospect’s website— banner with promotional offer(ipod, 5% cash back, or $100 to $150 in cash, under certain conditions)-link to official website–Open account How they can do: Increase the people who see and click. Put more budget on Simply step/information required for online application. 5.What is the effective acquisition cost and lifetime value of customers acquired through the online channel? BBVA acquired its customers through its branches, website, telephone and direct mail. About 80% of the new checking accounts had been set up through BBVA’s branches, 15% through telephone and direct mail and 5% came from the on-line channel. BBVA’s goal was to keep the customer acquisition cost below $200 per new account. The bank considered acquisition cost between $100 and $150 to be good and below $100 to be great. The online channel had the least acquisition costs of all – on average, the effective cost of these promotions was about $100 for each new online checking customer. In the banking industry, the average lifetime value of a new checking account, with expected life of five years, is approximately $800. However, the net annual income generated by online customers is slightly higher than returns from clients using the local branch (online customers have lower balances and therefore pay higher fees). 6.What is the role of display and search advertising in acquiring new checking account customers? Is the 2010 advertising budget allocation between display and search appropriate? Paid search advertising entailed purchasing keywords on Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, the three major search engines. The largest portion of BBVA’s paid search budget was allocated for Google, as it had the biggest share of search queries. Words purchased included generic keywords, such as â€Å"consumer checking,† â€Å"checking account,† and â€Å"free checking account† as well as branded keywords, including â€Å"BBVA Compass† and â€Å"BBVA brand.† Buys for these keywords were analyzed and tracked through the bid management tool, which evaluated competitive prices, search volume and share of voice for each keyword. Media Contacts also sent weekly performance reports with analysis and recommendations for campaign optimization.