IT and Customer Relationship Management Essay Example for Free

IT and Customer Relationship Management Essay Read the Harvard Business School case for Maru Batting Center, # KEL688. The optional technical note, Using Customer Relationship Management to Analyze the Lifetime Value of a Customer #KEL695, can also help walk through the exercises. The data in Excel format is available for download in the course package, #KEL691. Answer the questions below based on only information presented in the case and your understanding of the case. You may answer the questions in either essay or bullet points form. Be concise and substantiate your answers with logical arguments and flow of thoughts. Question 1 What is the customer acquisition cost for Maru Batting Center (MBC) for the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 2 Without discounting cash flows to take into account the time value of money, how soon will MBC break even on the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 3 Taking into account the time value of money and assuming that 100 percent of a customer segment will have experienced attrition once the net present value of annual profits per customer falls below  ¥100, what is the lifetime value to MBC of the following customers? a) A Little Leaguer b) A Summer Slugger c) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC places the ad in the local baseball enthusiasts magazine d) An Elite Ballplayer if MBC purchases the List and invites all target customers to the gala event e) An Entertainment Seeker Question 4 Little League representatives have approached MBC from the nearby Chiyoda ward who are eager to gain the jersey subsidy the Minato ward has enjoyed due to the company’s sponsorship. Because the parents of Chiyoda Little Leaguers will have to travel a greater distance, Maru believes there will be a lower response rate (8 percent) and a lower retention rate (65 percent), which she can make up for by purchasing slightly lowerquality jerseys, reducing the cost of sponsorship to just  ¥600 per player. However, the Chiyoda ward representatives demand that theirs be the only ward receiving such a sponsorship, which means MBC must choose between the two wards. The Chiyoda representatives argue that because their ward has twice the number of Little League customers, it is more attractive than the Minato ward. Should MBC pursue the Chiyoda ward sponsorship? Explain your reasoning.

Human Chip Implants Essay Example for Free

Human Chip Implants Essay It is now possible to track humans wherever they are, thanks to the new technology of human chip implants. While this statement may sound interesting for the developers of the technology, the issue has attracted enormous debate about the ethical implications that surround the application of the technology. Human chip implants are sophisticated silicon microchip devices that are inserted to an individual’s hand or face for identification purposes (Alam, 2010). Prior to human applications, the microchip devices were used to identify and track lost and stolen pets. The first human to accept the device be implanted into his body was Professor Kevin Warwick on August 24th, 1998 (Witt, 1999). Warwick, a director of cybernetics at the University of Reading, U. K became the first person to host the controversial microchip after a procedure which took 20 minutes. Dr (Witt, 1999). George Boulos led a team of doctors who inserted a glass capsule the size of a pearl into Warwick’s left arm just above his elbow. The glass capsule comprised of several microprocessors work to recognize the human and give commands and communicate with other electronic devices (Witt, 1999). The device that was implanted into Warwick’s arm was about (23 X 3) mm and it stayed in his body for only nine days in order to avoid medical complications (Witt, 1999). In addition, the device had been found to have lost some power to function and the removal of it was to ensue. Half of the device was an electric coil while the rest of it was purely an arrangement of silicon microchips that processed and stored the information (Witt, 1999). The device could use only 8 bits of the total 64 bits of information to interact and communicated efficiently with the intelligent building at the University of Reading. The device functions to pass radio signals between the door frames that have rigged up doorways (Witt, 1999). When a human with the device implanted into his body enters or gets through the doorways, the radio signal energizes the coil which then produces an electric current that chips use to communicate signals which the computer recognizes a person as ‘authorized. ’ After this intelligent authentication, the door opens and the person can enter the building. For the nine days after implantation, Warwick was able to make security doors that required only smartcards to swing open through an electronic node system that tracked Warwick’s movement through the entire building (Witt, 1999). The technology of human implants claims several applications such as the identifications of lost children as well as the confused individuals suffering from Alzheimer disease (Mcgee Maquire, 1999). It is also proposed that the technology can have potential uses in the verifications of job applicants to determine whether they are criminals or illegal immigrants (Alam, 2010). The devices can carry criminal and medical history after encoding the device only with one number (Alam, 2010). This shows how the device can be used for tracking among many different uses. The device can be used to gain access to facilities in a secure manner reducing the cases of theft and unauthorized access to buildings, libraries, laboratories or other places where security is of high relevance (Alam, 2010). There are human rights that are infringed when the human microchips are implanted. For example, the human chip implant would impinge the constitutional rights in relation to the Fourth and Fifth Amendments (Alam, 2010). The device is also argued to be violating the Fourteen Amendments which provides for the rights of properties. All persons are protected from unreasonable seizures and searches according to the Fourth Amendment and one of these searches is the electronic surveillance which reveals the privacy of persons without their consent (Macgee Maquire, 1999). Two implications about human rights abuse are made in the use of the human microchip implant; the attachment of the surveillance device on humans and the continued monitoring of the person once the device is in the body. The ability of the microchip implanted into the body to read-write and track predisposes individual personal information to be revealed (Alam, 2010). Even if the read-only devices are used, they can be easily be scanned by the police and unauthorized searches violates the Fourth Amendments. At the same time, the use of microchip implants would violate the Fifth Amendment since the application of the microchip could be one form of self-incrimination where the device presents some tracking capabilities which breach the Fifth Amendment which provides that no citizen shall be forced to witness against himself (Macgee Maquire, 1999). Although the Amendments refer specifically to verbal self-incrimination, it has been argued that the Amendment applies to modern technologies which forcibly take the evidence from someone. Another violation of the implantation of microchips involves the internal property interest (Alam, 2010). The chip installation involves the breaking into the skin and implanting the device just the similar ways a pacemaker or an artificial eye. In the case of eye and pacemaker implants, the procedure is acceptable for medical reasons. Contrary, in the case of human chip implants where the aim of the gadget is for the accounting system as well as to act as a repository for government information. In general, the human chip implants pose a number of ethical and legal issues despite their potential applications in ensuring security and tracking lost and kidnapped individuals. It is important to enact appropriate legislations that will prevent any grievous intrusion into individual privacy as the technology gets a big vote among Americans.

Budgeting Process and Performance Analysis of Vershire

Budgeting Process and Performance Analysis of Vershire Company Description and Background Vershire Company is a diversified packaging corporation with various large divisions. Its most prominent segment; the Aluminum Can division, is one of the largest manufacturers of aluminum beverage cans in the United states. This case focuses on the budgeting process and performance analysis of Vershire. A major concern of the company is pleasing the customers as most of their buyers have several suppliers on hand, meaning that Vershire can be easily replaced if the customers expectations on quality, cost or service are not met. As a result, efficiency and low costs are top priorities to the company. The main problem of Vershire is that they are treat plants as profit centres instead of expense centres, which is an inefficient measurement of performance for manufacturing plants. Questions Vershire Companys Planning System Strengths: Divisional managers submit reports to predict outlook on sales and capital requirements five years forward as a part of the strategic planning process. This demonstrates the companys preparedness for future event predictions and its ability to formulate long term goals Sales forecasting are formulated at the corporate level and then sent to the divisional managers for analysis and fine tuning. This promotes more realistic and accurate numbers as the managers understand and know how each line functions personally Before the submission of budget plans, controller staff from the head office visits each plant to analyze the current operations and gives the opportunity for plant managers to explain their situation and reasoning behind their numbers, improving accuracy and usability of these documents Weakness: Corporate headquarters make fundamental assumptions such as new products, new plants, inventory carry overs, forward buying, and packaging trends, even though divisional managers are responsible for managing the division which lowers the accuracy of the forecast and decrease efficiency due to necessary corrections during review All division lines use the same method of forecasting regardless of size, which impedes on the accuracy due to the different customer base, products and demands each line possesses District managers determine the sales budgets rather than the plant managers even though it is the responsibility of the plant managers to achieve the goal and is tied to their performance report Vershire Companys Controlling System Strengths: Divisional managers are given full control over their own business with exceptions to the raising of capital and labour relations which are centralized at head office. This allows the opportunity for divisional managers to make necessary decisions that is specific to achieving their own objectives Quick and easy communication between various levels within the organization as there are few tiers in the division Consistent effort in meeting the companys budget as large unfavourable variances are to be made aware of on a daily basis by plant managers and variance analysis sheets are prepared monthly Weaknesses: Vershire focuses on profit for measuring the plant managers performance and to determine bonuses. This analysis tool is not efficient as there are other contributing factors to determine the effectiveness of plant managers May Divisional General Managers formulate preliminary report summarizing the outlooks for sales, income and capital requirements for the next budget year and evaluates trends anticipated for the two subsequent years for corporate management Rationale: Divisional General Managers possesses the most knowledge about their own region and is more equipped to create these documents. It also provides a rough idea of where areas of productions can be improved Central Market Research staff develops a more formal market assessment, examining the next budget year in detail and the following two years in general terms Rationale: Uses the information provided by the divisional managers to produce a more refined and detailed market analysis Central Market Research staff develops separate sales forecasts for each division and a combined forecast for the entire company Topics such as economic conditions and their impact on customers and market share for different products by geographical area are taken into account Fundamental assumptions are made to price, new products, changes in particular accounts, new plants etc. in order to produce forecast Rationale: Promotes uniformity in the formulation in all sales forecasts, determine areas for improvement, assesses areas where market share can grow, and ensures that overall corporate sales forecasts were both reasonable and achievable Divisional Managers compile their own sales forecast from bottom up with input from District Sales Managers to be submitted for review by the Vice President of Marketing Rationale: To review of the head offices sales forecast and mark any changes and additional investments needed. District Managers inputs are utilized as theyre most familiar with sales (more accurate estimates) Vice President of Marketing reviews consolidated sales forecasts and submits it to corporate level No changes are made unless the district manager agreed who is originally responsible for the forecast Rationale: Ensures the forecasts accurately reflects both the knowledge of the district manager and the vice president of marketing Process is repeated on the corporate level (approval from District Manager if needed) until budget figures are approved and become a fixed objective Rationale:Ensures that all levels of the company is agreement to the calculated figure and that the budget is sufficient to achieve company goals Overall sales budget is translated and broken down according to the plants from which finished goods would be shipped and sent to Plant Managers Rationale: Sales budget are sent to these plants as they are the ones to generate revenues Plant Managers then categorized the budget according to price, volume and end use Once categorized, the plant managers budget for gross profit, fixed expenses and pre-tax income Can request help for the Industrial Engineering Department to develop cost reduction plans Rationale: All cost standards and cost reduction targets are developed by the Industrial Engineering, therefore, it makes sure that numbers consistent and reasonable for input Before the submitting budgets, controller staff visit each plant and review plans with managers (usually takes half a day) until it is finalized and sent to Division Head Office Rationale: Gives opportunity for plant managers to reason their figures September Division Head office looks over budget and may return it to Plant Manager if discrepancy is found Will ask plant manager to looks for any additional savings if the budget is not quite in line with expectations When it is finalized, the budget will be sent to the Chief Executive Officer Rationale: Due to the plant manger having direct experience with the plants operations, it is necessary for them to make any changes for savings December Chief Executive Officer makes any modifications to the final budget if needed until it is sent it to the Board of Directors for final budget approval Final review and ensures that budget is appropriate for corporate goals Plant managers should not be fully responsible for profits as they arent able to control all aspects of the products profitability. Since profit is calculated from revenue subtract expenditures, plant managers should only be responsible for expenses, a measure that they can control. This includes direct material and labour, variable manufacturing overhead and fixed overhead budget. Revenues are usually controlled by the sales department; which possesses control over the price, sales mix, and delivery schedules of products. Also, since the sales managers opinion is always favoured over the plant manager due to satisfying the customer, it negatively affects the plant managers ability to control profit and efficiency in output costs. In Exhibit 2, the evaluation system focuses on the profits of Vershire which includes revenues and expenses. Since plant managers have no control over the revenue aspect of products, the information provided does not properly evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the plant. Factors such as variances in sales price, sales mix, and sales volume are solely handled by the sales department with no input from plant mangers, making results unreliable and irrelevant. In Exhibit 3, the individual plant level reports give a more detailed insight of the variances shown in Exhibit 2. Once again, it does not provide an accurate representation of the plants performance as it includes variables that are uncontrollable by the plant manager such as sales. Regarding divisional level reports, the comparative profit performance analysis focuses on net sales while the comparative manufacturing efficiency analysis compares varying sized plants that produce different products together, making it another unreliable and inaccurate source of analysis. Some changes I would recommend for Vershire company are to redesign how bonuses are given to plant managers as the current measurement mechanisms do not accurately reflect performance, improve comparisons of manufacturing efficiency between different plants due to the varying size and product offering of each plant and improve communication across the tiers in order to minimize error corrections and time for budget reviews. Possible solutions include organizing meetings to include all managers and corporate levels to discuss about the companys performance, relate managers performance with cost reduction measures to determine bonuses, and develop a universal measurement unit to fairly compare plants together. Conclusion In conclusion, Vershire Company should reconfigure its measurement mechanisms in order to truly analyze the performance levels of the company and begin treating its manufacturing plants as expense centres rather than profit centres. Therefore, Vershire can gather more accurate and reliable information to use for achieving objectives.

Future of the grocery store :: essays research papers

Where will the grocery industry be in the near future? Chester Sideman and his wife Carmen married 25 years ago. After they married they decided that they did not want to be typical working Americans who worked from 9-5 and retired at age 55. They had always envisioned running their own company and running it in the form that they saw fit. After thinking long and hard they decided to build a company from the era that they were from. Being that they were from the â€Å"hippie† era, they fell in love with the idea of running a grocery store that provided a healthy alternative to the grocery shopping experience. A few years after opening, Chester and Carmen began to notice a trend. They were seeing that their health food store was beginning to gain popularity with the locals here in San Francisco, since so many were from the same era. Seeing this, the couple decided that they needed to expand and take full advantage of their popularity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First they decided to expand into a neighboring store that had gone out of business. With this added space, they were able to triple their size and bring in an enormous variety of products that tied into the theme of the store. With this added size, they also found that they needed help in the day-to-day operations of running the store. Due to this fact they hired Craig Premer. Craig was a grocery industry professional that had worked for years in the business. He was also able to see the great potential that this store had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After five years of Craig taking control of running the store, he had implemented all the ideas that he had to help build the grocery store. At this point, the store was doing great. Profit was double what it had been before Craig got there, but beginning to level off. Craig noticed this and had a talk with Chester and Carmen. Craig: Chester, we need to reevaluate what it is that you want out of this store at this point. I understand that this store has been doing very well the past few years, but with the increase in competition from stores like Whole Foods and Rainbow Grocery, I feel that changes need to be made. Chester: I know that our profits have been doing well and have started to level off, but do you think big changes need to be made?

W.H. Audens Musee des Beaux Arts and Pieter Bruegels The Fall of Icar

W.H. Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts and Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of Icarus W.H. Auden and Pieter Bruegel were both keen observers of the ordinary. In Bruegel’s painting â€Å"The Fall of Icarus†, he is able to look past the tragedy of the death of Icarus and focus on the simple scene surrounding the event. Auden’s poem, â€Å"Musee des Beaux Arts†, has the same qualities: it glazes over the nature of tragedy, and chooses to instead examine the fact that life goes on while disaster occurs. Arthur F. Kinney highlights this idea of calm in the face of tragedy in a critical essay entitled â€Å"Auden, Bruegel, and Musee des Beaux Arts†. Kinney explores Auden’s inspiration for the theme of the poem. The theme, Kinney explains, is not merely generated by â€Å"The Fall of Icarus†, but also two other Bruegel pieces. â€Å"The Numbering at Bethlehem† portays Joseph and Mary arriving at Bethlehem, while â€Å"The Massacre of the Innocents† shows a torturer and his horse in a town square. Both pieces conv ey the same main theme as â€Å"Musee des Beaux Arts†: the complex nature of a substantial event, contrasted with the simplicity of every day life. Each of the paintings reflects on human nature, in the context of apathy amidst tragedy. In his critical article â€Å"Auden, Bruegel, and Musee des Beaux Arts† Kinney asserts that â€Å"the same statement [is] made by two art forms†, and that Bruegel’s painting and the poem it inspired, â€Å"Musee des Beaux Arts†, â€Å"juxtapose the unique and the commonplace.† â€Å"The Fall of Icarus†, the only one of Bruegel’s paintings mentioned by name in Auden’s â€Å"Musee des Beaux Arts†, concludes the final octet of the poem. The plowman in the foreground, not the splashing legs of Icarus, is what the canvas is centered on. Bruegel’s focus on the sim... ... Works Cited Bible, King James Version. Luke 1-5. 12 Dec. 2005 . Auden, W. H. ""Musee Des Beaux Arts"" The Longman Anthology. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Longman, 2003. 2789-2790. "Daedalus in Greek Mythology." Mythography: The Legend of Daedelus in Myth and Art. Loggia. 12 Dec. 2005 . Kinney, Arthur F. "Auden, Bruegel, and 'Musee des Beaux Arts'" 7: 529-531. EBSCOhost. Homer Babbidge Library, Storrs. 11 Dec. 2005. Keywords: Auden + Musee Des Beaux Arts. "Musee des Beaux Arts." 2003. Poetry Pages. 12 Dec. 2005 . Pieter, Bruegel. The Fall of Icarus. Musee des Beaux Arts. Pieter Bruegel Oil Paintings. 12 Dec. 2005 . Pieter, Bruegel. The Massacre of Innocents. Musee des Beaux Arts. Pieter Bruegel Oil Paintings. 12 Dec. 2005 . Pieter, Bruegel. The Numbering at Bethlehem. Musee des Beaux Arts. Pieter Bruegel Oil Paintings. 12 Dec. 2005 .

The Dominican Republic Stock Exchange :: Spanish Essays

The Dominican Republic Stock Exchange La Bolsa de Valores: Conceptos En nuestro idioma y en nuestros medios, existen palabras que son sencillamente eso, la expresià ³n de una idea precisa, y existen otros tipos de palabras que nos hacen pensar en una implicacià ³n mà ¡s allà ¡ de lo que realmente expresa esa palabra. Asà ­ en el mundo actual cuando decimos invertir en algo pensamos en un resultado final, que es el lucro, o para ponerlo mà ¡s claro sacar el mayor rendimiento de nuestro dinero a travà ©s de esa inversià ³n. Ahora bien, si se nos ocurre decir vamos a especular con tal o cual cosa inmediatamente hay una connotacià ³n que implica que vamos a tomar un riesgo, y en la mayorà ­a de los casos se toma esta palabra con un sentido totalmente negativo. Si buscamos estas palabras en un diccionario encontraremos que tienen algo de similitud. La definicià ³n de Invertir es: comerciar, traficar, procurar provecho o ganancia. Especular se define como: operacià ³n comercial que se practica con mercaderà ­as, valores, o efectos pà ºblicos con la idea de obtener lucro. El inversionista que acude a la Bolsa de Valores, se puede catalogar como un especulador, la gran diferencia es que es un especulador racional, porque tiene el poder de estudiar y decidir cuà ¡l serà ­a su mejor inversià ³n y para eso hay muchas opciones. En la Bolsa de Valores las inversiones se hacen a travà ©s de muchos tipos diferentes de instrumentos, que el ingenio, y la inteligencia del hombro ha ideado, y los cuales dependiendo de las culturas de los diferentes paà ­ses en donde operan las Bolsas de Valores, se adecuan a las leyes y normas regulativas de cada nacià ³n. Asà ­ se puede encontrar instrumentos de alto riesgo, mediano riesgo y bajo riesgo. El especulador racional que invierte en la Bolsa tiene la oportunidad de analizar estos riesgos y decidir quà © tipo de inversià ³n desea realizar.  ¿Quà © es una Bolsa de Valores? La forma mà ¡s simple posible en que se puede definir la Bolsa de Valores es la siguiente: lugar donde se reà ºnen ofertantes y demandantes de los tà ­tulos de valores para poner en venta y/o comprar tà ­tulos de valores. Los tà ­tulos de valores son las acciones que representan el capital de una empresa; las obligaciones que representan instrumentos de deuda a largo plazo de una empresa; y cualquier otro tipo de instrumento o tà ­tulos que se emiten para ser comercializados en la Bolsa de Valores. En nuestro paà ­s la Bolsa de Valores de Santo Domingo Inc.

Marketing Report Bokomo Foods Essay

1.0. A report presenting market data in order to inform a cereal company Bokomo Ltd. To consider whether to expand more in the United Kingdom market. 2.0 Executive summary. This is a short report, containing marketing data on both the cereal market and a specific business, Bokomo UK. The data was obtained from secondary marketing research. Bokomo ´s website was one of the main reference guide. With the findings and analysis, it was recommended that Bokomo should expand their own brand products more in the UK. The PEST analysis of the UK grocery industry included in this report was used to highlight the external factors that can affect Bokomo’s operation and interpret how these factors will influence Bokomo. Furthermore, through the market analysis it was found that Kellogg’s and Weetabix mainly lead the cereal industry, followed by Nestle and Jordans. These companies have a wide range of brands targeted at different consumers, and they have customer loyalty, which can make it harder for newer companies to enter this sector. As mentioned before, in the cereal market there are a large variety of targeted consumers like children, women, and families. The main key trends in the market are convenient snacks and consciousness towards health. Apart from that, own branded labels are also gaining popularity as they offer consumers the same product at a cheaper price. SWOT analysis allowed us to devise the company’s internal analysis. Strengths included their well-known reputation and customers such as large food retailers (Tesco ´s), to which they sell manufacture and packaging services. Weaknesses consist of the negative aspects the company faces, including their not household name, and general negative publicity they face in this complex sector. Opportunities were devised from the social factors from the PEST analysis as changes in consumer tastes and trends are opportunities were this company can benefit from by meeting those needs. These were also  an important part of the report as it affected the final recommendations for the company. Threats included the financial recession and increasing levels of immigration. Bokomo Foods is a major cereal producer in the United Kingdom, established around 80 years ago. Despite not being a household name, is a UK leading cereal maker and the company has achieved diversity by producing a range of own-label products. Furthermore, they manufacture branded products for large companies, as well as branded packaging services like Bag in Box, Pot or Pouch. All of these services are for leading retailers such as Tesco ´s, Sainsbury ´s and Morrison’s, among many others. 3.0 Introduction + Aim. This is a report whose aim is to present market data in order to inform Bokomo plc. a cereal company, whether further expansion in the UK market is beneficial at this time. The report will identify and analyse the current business situation, using SWOT analysis, and review the macroeconomic perspective of the general UK grocery industry using PEST analysis. The SWOT analysis will help us examine the specific company factors, as it is essential to understand these in order to relate them back to the PEST and market trends. Both internal and external factors affect how Bokomo will operate now and in the future. 4.0 The grocery market environment – PEST analysis 4.1 Political Political factors have a great influence on the analysis of external factors since they are determined by the degree of government intervention in the economy. The political situation in the UK is stable. Her Majesty’s Government, led by Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservative Party, is mainly concerned about the financial crisis affecting economies all over the world and to strengthen the economic position of UK globally. Through employment legislations, the government encourages retailers to provide a mix of job opportunities from flexible, lower-paid and locally-based jobs to highly-skilled, higher-paid and centrally-located jobs (Balchin, 1994). Migration has a large impact on the grocery industry, as it provides new customers, as well as opportunities for supermarkets to cater to the different culinary cultures of immigrants. Migration also leads to a change in size of labour pool, which could have an effect on the availability of workers. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show some 503,000 people came to live in the UK in the year ending June 2013, compared with 517,000 people the previous year (ONS.gov, 2013). 4.2 Economic Economic factors are important to consider in regard to the UK grocery market, as they are highly influential to demand, costs, prices, and profit. One of the most influential factors on the economy is high unemployment level, which decreases the effective demand for many goods, adversely affecting the demand required to produce such goods. Unemployment in the UK is at 7.1% as of January 2014, according to BBC. Another highly relevant economic factor is the grocery market size and the market growth. IGD forecast that the UK grocery market value will be worth  £205.9bn in 2018, a 21.3% increase on 2013 (IGD.com, 2013). This is beneficial news to Bokomo, since any expansion would be possible in regard to the availability of area in the market to expand. Another market characteristic of importance is the amount of spending on groceries in regard to overall retail expenditure in the UK. The grocery market’s share accounts for 54.9p in every  £1 of UK retail spending (IGD.com, 2013). 4.3 Social According to Askew (2013) sales in the cereal industry have been under pressure in these past years, especially due to the changing social trends and habits of consumers. Even though sales in this market have been stable, growth has been slow. Traditional breakfast habits have changed and people consume fewer cereals because of a busier lifestyle. Also increasing number of consumers skip breakfast. An increase in female workers has also had an impact on this, which is why competition for convenient options is growing  more each time. An increasing number of people now look for easy and quick alternatives to sitting down and eating. However, they expect to receive the same nutrients and healthy benefits with these convenient options. A growing number of women now pay special attention to what they are eating, checking the labeling, nutritional information and ingredients of each product. Increasingly, women have a greater concern with their weight and healthy eating. Lately, the demand for children’s cereals has declined because of the sugar content it has. Cereal companies use marketing to their advantage and attract kids with unhealthy products. Their main source has been television adverts and most of the cereals for children have high sugar content with low nutritional value, a fact of which more parents are aware. Apart from consumer concerns about health, they are also becoming more aware of the environment. In this specific market, many cereal companies now control their water use, energy use, waste produced, etc. Most of them also pay close attention to the packaging of the product, like using recycled packaging. Another social factor that affects the grocery market in general is the diverse culture in UK. There are so many people with different cultures that do not choose cereals as their first choice for breakfast; instead they have their own eating habits. Therefore, it is important for the producers in the grocery market to understand the needs of the entire population and meet them. Furthermore, supermarket own-brand products have gained a lot of popularity because of the economic downturn. As consumers have limited spending power, they prefer spending on a cheaper product that allows them to get the same benefits. 4.4 Technological In the present technological age, everyone, from personal to professional  interaction, is highly reliant on technology. Therefore, technological advances are important for the development and maintenance of business culture. Advances in technology have allowed the grocery industry to grow. An excellent example is the demise of Blockbuster, who was reluctant to explore online options, and their consequent refusal to buy Netflix and to adapt to changing trends lead to their bankruptcy and final closure on January 14, 2014. Online grocery shopping holds 11% of the distribution channels of the UK grocery market and predictions suggest online sales in the US will grow by 15% in 2014 to  £189.3 billion, while in Europe, sales are expected to rise by 18% to  £131.2 billion. Online shopping has helped people spend their day more efficiently and reduced the effort of having to carry heavy grocery bags. Technological advances at the supermarket has contributed to more efficient customer service and stocking efforts. The adoption of Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS), Electronic Funds Transfer Systems (EFTPoS) and electronic scanners have greatly improved the efficiency of distribution and stocking activities, with needs being communicated almost in real time to the supplier (Finch, 2004). Devices such as the self-checkout machine and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) have permitted the grocery industry to grow and accommodate customers in an effective way. 5.0 Description of product specific market 5.1 Main competitors The leading cereal brands and the biggest competitors of Bokomo cereals in the UK are Kellogg’s and Weetabix, reported Companies&Markets (2013). Kellogg’s arrived in the UK in 1922 and since then has maintained its position in the market, by focusing on innovation and expansion of their products. In 2012, it had 32% of value share, leading in the UK cereal market offering a wide range of products. Over the years, Kellogg’s has expanded to over 180 countries in the world and has around 39 brands of cereals. Weetabix, on the other hand, was launched in 1932; it has been a  long-standing brand and has fought its competitors to stay in this position in the UK. Weetabix has also introduced many different brands and has been innovating to adapt to consumer preferences over the years. Also Jordans, a breakfast cereal company based in Bedfordshire, founded in 1855. Although, the company produced its first cereal in 1981 called Original Crunchy, it was in the years between 2000 and 2005 when it faced rapid growth and became one of the largest cereal brands in the UK. Its great focus over the years has been on the packaging, to make it stand out in grocery stores and it is also known to be included in the â€Å"healthy, natural cereal segment† Moreover, Nestle formed in 1990. It was launched as a joint venture between General Mills and Nestle S.A. and named Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW). They offer the traditional cereals, as well as a range of brands including the world-known Cheerios. 5.2 Targeted consumers Cereal companies target many different kinds of people, although the easiest group of people to target has been children. BMSG (2013) stated they do it through advertisements on television, and somehow try to grab their attention by creating colourful, animated images and providing gifts in the cereal box each time. Another group targeted in this sector are the women because of their increasing concern for health and weight loss. Along with the children, women also form a big part of the consumers of this market. Nowadays, there are so many brands that have launched low-fat cereals and cereal bars also. Some also provide some advice, tips and dietary plans, Nytimes article (2010). Generally, families in the UK are also targeted consumers because some families still sit and have their meals together and believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Apart from that, families are more concerned with what they are eating, especially making sure that the smaller ones eat healthy (Marketingmagazine(2010) Unlike maybe some students at university who would not pay so much attention to their breakfast, particularly not on a daily basis. 5.3 Key trends in the cereal market Marketingmagazine (2008) stated A rising key trend in the cereal industry is the quick and convenient ‘good to go’ snacks, like cereal bars. Cereal bars have gained a lot of popularity among a wide range of audience in recent years because people not having time for breakfast. Due to this reason, there has been a significant decline in the sales of the cereal market. Companies have been mostly focusing on this convenient aspect of the market so that people don’t just skip breakfast entirely and their business doesn’t face a loss. As health also plays a crucial role in this market and recently people are more conscious about what they are putting in their body, convenient snacks are the best option as they cover both points. Nowadays, ‘good to go’ snacks are not just used for breakfast but also during the entire day as an alternative to other unhealthy snacks. As a result of the sudden popularity of these snacks, now there are a great variety of them in different formats. On the other hand, the popularity of own branded labels is growing in the grocery market. It saves consumers a significant amount of money and they offer a similar or better quality product. It has resulted in a much higher level of competition in the market. 5.4 SWOT Analysis Bokomo website (2014) 5.4.1 Strengths Bokomo is UK’s leading cereal maker; this is a major strength as they have established a firm position in the British cereal market. They operate in various markets inside the cereal industry, providing food manufacture, retailing and catering. Bokomo can provide tasty, fresh cereal products any business is looking for, at a very competitive and cost-effective price†. British company (although owned by South Africa’s Pioneer Foods) with substantial manufacturing plants in Wellingborough and Peterborough. This means Bokomo has the resources and specialist expertise to offer unique flexible manufacturing and packaging services. Companies needing a brand-new  breakfast cereal raced through New Product Development (NPD) or an innovative production line set up in record time can contact Bokomo. This makes them have an advantage as nowadays there are many organisations looking for branded cereal products. Bokomo is a world-class player, and in order to maintain that s tatus they need world-class facilities. They have two factories in the UK, specifically in Wellingborough and Peterborough. These factories offer them a cutting-edge manufacturing plant, in other words, the latest, high quality, reliable and sustainable facilities. This leads to the production of high quality products. Food standards are also controlled and supported by SAP business information software, which makes customers feel more confident and secure with the products and services Bokomo delivers. Bokomo ´s experts in the management team and the company ´s aim of constantly innovating and removing old production facilities has helped them produce large quantities of high quality products very efficiently and to the shortest imaginable lead-times. Their customers know Bokomo as a business that main objectives is to offer high quality products. This has been maintained by using high quality ingredients and top experts in recipe formulation. They are one of only 2 manufactures that produce wheat biscuits in the Northern hemisphere enabled them to have the largest control and knowledge of this production process. Even if Bokomo UK is based in the United Kingdom, they have also diversified. Geographic market diversification has enabled them to sell in many countries around Europe, Scandinavia and even as far as the United States of America or the United Arab Emirates 5.4.2 Weaknesses Bokomo stated â€Å"you’ve possibly never heard of us† – this means that individual customers do not know them as their own – branded products is very niche, and they are more specialized in producing in a business to business way. This is a very common weakness for companies that operate Behind the Brand. Constant changing of consumer’s tastes (opting for cereal bars, instant porridge or other breakfast solutions) can be considered a weakness, as its difficult and expensive to innovate and keep up to meet their needs. Difficulties to compete with well known brands cereals  products such as Corn Flakes, Crunchy Nut, Special K. Have to create a delicious product that attracts customers quickly and expensive to implement the R&D and marketing. On the other hand it can also be considered and opportunity. Negative publicity to which ready-to-eat cereals have been subjected due to their high sugar content 5.4.3 Opportunities Social trends are important opportunities for Bokomo. Customers aiming towards healthy living or any other lifestyle changes means there is an opportunity towards which research and operate in. They have achieved and been keeping up to date with this as they have many products related to this trend. Great health benefits, such as products enabling the final consumer to control cholesterol levels. Multi-grain flake is another trend and potential opportunity for Bokomo. Consumers are changing their tastes towards healthier goods, and leaving behind old-fashioned sugary confections. Consumers are also increasingly purchasing Branflakes as they are considered to be great for supporting a healthy digestive system. Another trend â€Å"busier schedules†, people are increasingly feeling they have no time to spend on having breakfast and snacks. Bokomo muesli is available to cater for the increasing demand for â€Å"breakfast on the go†. They offer them in bags and boxes, which facilitates the final customer to transport to their work place. This is an example of an opportunity for Bokomo because if they keep-up to date with trends, they will become more efficient and desirable for large retailers to purchase their products, and everyone will benefit form the sales. UK retailers are also focusing on added-value products: Add value by introducing natural minerals and vitamins into whole grain wheat and making the final product more healthy and nutritional. Own-label share of the business mix for large supermarket retailers. It is a main direction for Bokomo to go towards to as they can increase considerably their business operations, as the focus is now towards manufacturing own-label and branded products. Bokomo has realized the immense potential for expansion as the large retailers keep increasing the sale of this type of good. ‘One-stop’ shopping, or shopping in large supermarkets were customers can find any type of product in the same building has been  beneficial for Bokomo as these businesses are their main clients. If they increase their sales, Bokomo will also benefit from this, as they will sell them more and so increase revenue will mean increase levels of profitability. 5.4.4 Threats The cereal industry offers products which are considered to be relatively expensive, which can be easily replaced with simpler breakfast choices such as bread. The financial recession has been a main factor for the decrease in expenditure, specially concerning families, as there are other much cheaper products to replace the cereals and cereal bars. High unemployment has made a substantial impact on the demand for such goods, adversely affecting the demand required to product those goods. Increasing levels of immigration specially in the UK, has meant that they do not have the same culinary cultures and so those breakfast products will not satisfy the needs and wants of everyone. 5.0 Recommendations With the above analysis it is better for the company to target smaller retailers where their own labeled products won’t be affected by competitive brands like Kellogg’s, and when they achieve this they should concentrate more on developing their own branded products around the UK. As mentioned above in the SWOT analysis, cereal products are considered to be expensive due to the added value implemented on them so it would be better to decrease these levels of adding value and start off with lower prices, in recession periods. 6.0 Limitations Bokomo website allowed us to obtain up-to-date and official information and statistics of the company. The information was limited because the company sold themselves and emphasized on its positive aspects because they have to promote their brand to the consumers. A part from this we also used other sources including, online articles about food industry, which helped us, get an un-biased view of the company and the cereal market as a whole. The  drawback of using other sources or secondary research was that the methods used were unknown so we examined the most official and valid sources. 7.0 References Askew, K. 2013. Breakfast cereal: Are cereal sales going soggy? [Online] Available at: http://www.just-food.com/analysis/are-cereal-sales-in-developed-markets-going-soggy_id123417.aspx Bainbridge, J. 2010. Sector insight: Breakfast cereals | Marketing Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/990662/sector-insight-breakfast-cereals Bainbridge, J. 2008. Sector Insight: Cereal bars | Marketing Magazine. [Online] Available at: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/817580/sector-insight-cereal-bars Balchin, A. (1994) Part-time Workers in the Multiple Retail Sector: Small Change from Employment Protection Legislation? Employee Relations, Vol. 16 Iss: 7, pp.43 – 57 BBC News. 2014. UK unemployment rate drops to 7.1%. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25841570 BERKELEY, C. 2013. Cereal companies leverage online marketing to target children with sugary products | Berkeley Media Studies Group. [Online] Available at: http://w ww.bmsg.org/newsroom/news-releases/cereal-companies-leverage-online-marketing-to-target-children-with-sugary-products Bodimeade, M. 2013. UK breakfast cereals market dominated by Kellogg’s and Weetabix. [Online] Available at: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/News/Food-and-Drink/UK-breakfast-cereals-market-dominated-by-Kelloggs-and-Weetabix/NI6602 Bokomo.co.uk. n.d. About | Bokomo. [Online] Available at: http://bokomo.co.uk/about Business News Daily (November 22, 2013) PEST Analysis: Definition and Examples, Available at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5512-pest-analysis-definition-examples-templates.html Euromonitor.com. 2013. Breakfast Cereals in the United Kingdom. [Online] Available at: http://www.euromonitor.com/breakfast-cereals-in-the-united-kingdom/report Igd.com. 2013. UK Grocery Retailing. [Online] Available at: http://www.igd.com/our-expertise/Retail/retail-outlook/3371/UK-Grocery-Retailing/ Internetretailing.net (March 18, 2014) UK retailers expected to make