Gillette Essay Example for Free

Gillette Essay 1. Statement of issues/problems/opportunities (10%): Very briefly describe the organisation‟s situation. Be sure to focus on the underlying issues / problems / opportunities and not symptoms. Do not just reiterate organisational facts. 2. Recommendations (40%): What should the organisation do? Provide a detailed description of the actions necessary for the organisation to deal with the identified problems and opportunities. Be specific enough that a organisation could pick up your recommendations and act on them. 3. Justifications and analysis (50-60%): Provide a set of carefully considered arguments for why your recommendations are likely to be effective. Perform any type of analysis you like on facts obtained in developing your justifications. You can also draw on logic and experiences from materials in other sessions or courses. The bottom line, however, is you must be logical, convincing, and exhaustively thorough. Case Study One: Gillette Gillette stock price is falling from $64 in early 1999 to $24 in 2001. Market share for the profitable disposable razor sector declined about 5 percent while its competitor picked up. The sales declined three percent in 2000. The new CEO James Kilts joined Gillette in February 2001 and realized that the market share of this high profit margin brand is dropping while debt increasing. There are underutilized production capacity which can help the company to save $350 million; management looking at short-term success where they â€Å"stuff† products to distribution channels where the supply is higher than demand and caused aged stocks; to further reduce the relevant cost and solve â€Å"stuck stocks† – he is considering brand advertising and promotions – (something that Gillette seldom do to maintain leadership status). He felt that support for the brand globally got sidelined in the rush for short term results. Better forecast should be impleted to control the budget and costing better based on the market size and targeted market to penetrate. Lower down debt. Assignment questions: 1. To what extent does Gillette rely on incremental innovation or leaps in technology with each product introduction? Gillette may goes after innovation too heavily where the product is technical and sophisticated. Consumers may not understand the complexity and value the high technical functions of the product that sells at a very premium price – X% even more expensive than its preceeders. While it has ignored the value perceived of customers on shavers. The company should consider both factors – internally and externally for strategic marketing. Including political factors, economic factors (rising inflation), company financial situation, as part of the pricing strategy. 2. How successful has Gillette been with its trade-up pricing strategy and its ability to charge premium prices? Very successful. As the number of trade up is high.  However, cost of advertising to existing customers should be much lower than new customers. Priority advertising should be targeted to new market to increase market share, aside from maintaining brand position reinforce the brand in consumers. Message of advertisement is often simple and sharp. However, focus of the ads is very much on product with arg umentative wording, such as â€Å"the best†, â€Å"the only†. The brand may need to focus on brand advertisement for reinforcement purpose and stabilize the market share over the long run. 3. Should Gillette be concerned about the possible cannibalisation of the healthy sales of existing products by each new product launched? Yes. New products should target different market but should not cannibalise existing sales in long run. Different target market, e.g. more premium group where they are early adopters and enjoy premium brands As the company still sells old versions of shavers, it has even more reasons to target different products to different arget group to increase market share. 4. How global and integrated is Gillette‟s global marketing communications? Localised message should be applied to synergy better with other countries as different countries have different cultural background, norms and etc Gillette has a broad coverage strategy in place today and its â€Å"The best a man can get† theme supports this broad coverage strategy. It serves consumers ranging from disposables to high end cartridge systems. Gillette has struggled in the past when it has made attempts to add complementary goods to its offerings. Past attempts at this strategy were subsequently divested. We propose an alternative for phase 3 of the strategy. Rather than adding products that might not carry the value of a strong brand and image we propose that Gillette focus on areas of the world where they don’t have strong market share. Japan is an area specifically mentioned in the case. It is mentioned that Shick has a first mover advantage in Japan. Gillette has a very strong share of the market in the North Atlantic area. It has invested heavily in RD and is getting ready to invest more in advertising and adding plant capacity. Gillette should work to maintain its advantage in the North Atlantic through patent enforcement, new product innovation, and building on customers perceived benefits through advertising and delivery of superior products. Solidifying its leadership position in the North Atlantic, Gillette can then focus on other areas of the world. Rather than allowing Shick to imitate its new Sensor, Gillette can aggressively go after market share in other areas of the world. The marketing campaign will be critical to capturing market share in other areas of the world. Gillette has the opportunity for a first mover play in Japan with Sensor. Marketing campaigns should be tailored to position Gillette uniquely in different parts of the world market. Rather than going for a consistency approach, Gillette should customize the marketing campaigns to either strengthen its leadership position or establish itself as an innovator. The consistency approach to the marketing campaign as outlined in the case does not support this direction. Gillette might even consider launching Sensor in Japan or other parts of the world, followed quickly by a North Atlantic launch. A marketing campaign in Japan promoting first mover status with new technology could help capture increased market share. Gillette has made investments in developing the Sensor system. It now needs to ensure it is capturing appropriate levels of value based on what it can build in the way of perceived benefits to consumers through advertising and superior product. Building this benefit advantage in new and existing markets will allow Gillette to price at a point where it can capture more economic profit than it does today. The investment in plant, equipment, and inventory is a bet that needs to be made for this new product. It will be important for Gillette to be able to deliver enough product to the market and let its competition know that it is dedicated to this production and to protecting its patents. 5. Assess Gillettte‟s approach to women‟s shaving needs? Very manly design as the female designs looks very similar to the male wet shavers. Focuses on technical heavily where it may ignores the demand of consumers – females are different from males during purchase decision and process. Company should penetrate female market, new and large market for the company to yield further profit from the same technology. Focus should be on female buying process and demand, e.g. color, demand, preference, etc. in order to maintain the position of leader in wet shaver market. Both male and female markets can be equally important. However, the company can leverage on the brand equity and value of its success on male wet shaver and hence reduce the cost of advertising – advantage over other products. Penetration of female market should be easier, fast, to enjoy economies of scale at high profit margin ahead of other competitors. Should enhance on product packaging. Overall value to targeted consumers. Psychographic segmentation is concerned with identifying personality traits and distinguishing characteristics in groups of the population. Examples are young and outgoing (for the sale of new forms of music) or grey and conservative (for classical and 60s music). Pyschographic segmentation is clearly relevant to shaving patterns and behaviours. For example, busy well groomed people are likely to go for an upmarket shaving system. In order to fully penetrate market, older versions of the wet shavers – on promotions. To capture middle market and mass market. At an affordable price. Commodity and mass market products. Should achieve both cost advantage differentiation. Didn’t achieve cost advantage because there is underutilized production which may save $350 million According to the product lifecycle, it should allow higher quality at lower price Unit operation cost should go down during growth stage The case points out that Gillette’s competitors were quick to copy new products. Trac II was copied by the competition within five months and other product imitations appeared in 18 and seven months. Historically Gillette did not pursue patent enforcement because of antitrust challenges. This tactic needs to be re-thought. The RD spend needs to be protected to help Gillette retain its competitive advantage and its position as a technology leader. Gillette aggressively patented ideas during the Sensor development. Twenty-two different patents were applied for and obtained by end of 1988. Gillette has access to the patents as an isolating mechanism for building competitive advantage in the market. To protect the investment Gillette has made in the development of the Sensor system, it must leverage the isolating mechanism of the patents. By not pursuing the patents, Gillette maintains market share but does not increase market share. It is allowing consumers of the competitions’ products to stay with that brand versus switching to Gillette’s products. Why would they switch if their brand will be coming with an imitation soon? Image, reputation, and credibility all are important to protecting the superior benefits of an experience good. By not protecting the patents, Gillette is not building the consumer view that it is providing superior products. Protecting the patents will also allow Gillette to further immobilize the resource it has in technology. The equipment and plants are certainly not very mobile, but the people that developed the ideas and technology are very mobile. The patents may offer an advertising or marketing advantage; the 22 patents help Gillette illustrate the innovations they have achieved with Sensor. Though being at the top, Gillette now deals with the problem of product innovation in a somewhat stagnant and mature shaving market and needs to find other ways to remain on top. The possible solutions relate to acquiring its competitors’ business, developing and expanding the women’s market and further reducing the prices to reach more customers.

An Analysis of Russos Empire Falls :: Empire Falls Essays

An Analysis of Russo's Empire Falls The characters in Empire Falls go through many changes throughout the novel. By the end of the novel Miles is changed drastically. He begins the novel as a slow moving, trusting, somewhat depressed individual. By the end of the novel, Miles has achieved an epiphany. No longer letting the world step on his dreams, Miles goes after with a roar the dreams and desires that have lain dormant for twenty years. His ex-wife, Janine, also comes to realize that the dreams she thought she had are not necessarily what she wants after all. Janine comes to accept herself for Janine, instead of flailing around wildly trying to find herself in outward appearances. Tick has learned a lesson that we all come to at some point in our lives, that people are not always good and there is danger in the world. Charlie Mayne tells Miles that "There are things that grown-ups intend and want to do, but somehow just can’t." (p. 472). In all of Empire Falls, this theme is echoed. There are dreams denied or put on hold. There are characters desperately trying to do what they think is right but failing miserably. The entire town is moving in slow motion toward their own individual explosions. The novel itself meanders along, like the Knox River. Russo says in the Preface, "What water wanted to do was flow downhill by the straightest possible route. Meandering was what happened when a river’s best intentions were somehow thwarted." This is what the population of Empire Fall’s has been doing for twenty years meandering. To emphasize this theme, Russo himself meanders, oftentimes leaving the reader wondering when something dramatic would happen. In life, this is what so many people do also. People are always waiting for something to happen, always hoping that their waiting is the right thing to do and everything will come out right in the end. But all this attitude does is cause a build up that explodes when the dam bursts, as can be seen in the events that unfold in the last chapters of the novel. Russo won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel, Empire Falls. The paragraph above emphasizes the main reason that I find for the novel being such a success. The manner in which Russo is able to actually weave this concept of ‘waiting’ into his story by creating a feeling of time moving slowly, of anticipation.

Castration

For quite some time, humans have had the reputation of always carrying out sins and criminal activity. In many societies, they have rules and regulation that govern them and have specific measures that they take once a person carries out a particular negative criminal act. Traditional societies have been on the frontline towards ensuring that criminal activities are minimized efficiently and effectively in their locations. There are different methods of punishment that exist and the most common ones are imprisonment or death.However, contemporary societies have en to it that there be an introduction of another means of punishment and this Is through castration (Somerville, 2013). Castration Is a method of punishment that involves the authorities mutilating or interfering with the anatomy and hormones of those convicted of certain sexual offenses. Right now there are several states that practice this form of punishment via chemical castration or surgical. These states include Georgia, Florida, California, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin.These states allow chemical and surgical castration as a condition for a educed sentence, which I don't agree with. Chemical castration Is the administration of a medication given Intravenously or orally called AMP, which Is commonly known as Depraver, this medication is prescribed to women for various issues such as birth control, uterine, menstrual, menopausal issues but when used by men it decreases the hormone testosterone to the pre-puberty level. Health officials state that this procedure works by minimizing or reducing the desire, interest, libido and making it difficult to perform sexual activities.Although this is said to work it has several side effects such as blood clots, menopausal symptoms, cardiovascular, blood level, blood pressure and allergic reactions, the effects are reversible. After the person stops taking the medication. Surgical castration is the removal of a man's testicles or a women's o varies and is not reversible. Do not see where removing this part of the anatomy would prevent sexual activity. In my opinion, I do not believe that removing or lowering the hormone levels of men or women reduces or prevents sexual crimes, but I do not have a problem with using castration as a punishment to repeat offenders.I do agree that pedophilia and rapist deserve this as punishment and this goes for men and women who commit these hideous crimes. In researching castration as a punishment I found no information pertaining to women being castrated only men, and if this is the case then I disagree I feel this should pertain to both sexes as both commit these terrible crimes although more men are charged, tried, convicted and sentenced, then women. Various debates have existed on whether this method of punishment is fair, Inhumane, violates the eighth amendment of cruel and unusual punishment.I have several Issues that I will attempt to address on the pros and cons of castration as a punishment and is it appropriate or violates human rights in my own opinion. Many people have argued that this method of punishment is not fair, and it is inhumane while others argue that this form of punishment is just and appropriate for it assists in punishing and deterring criminals who engage In or attempt to commit these hideous sexual crimes (Golden, 2013). In my pollen, I have no sympathy for these Individuals as they had or punishment.One issue that I have is if we are going to mutilate a person for the crimes they commit, then why aren't we setting standards for all crimes committed, for instance if we are to mutilate and castrate for certain sexual crimes then wouldn't it be fair to mutilate or remove an offenders hand or fingers for robbery or burglary, or surgically removing someone's foot or legs for escaping. The other issue I have is forcefully removing a particular anatomy if an offender is a first time offender. What happens in a situation of innocence or wrongl y accused.There are so many cases where individuals are tried, convicted, sentenced, that are innocent, and years later proven and released, what happens in this case if we castrate, we cannot reverse this procedure once completed. I think repeat offenders should receive this punishment. In 2004, a man named David Wayne Jones, previously employed as a counselor at the east Dallas Ymca confessed to molesting over 40 young boys agreed to be punished by surgical castration, he would make the second offender to have had this reoccurred performed since the law was passed.Although he voluntarily agreed to have this procedure done and was later released, I do not agree that these offenders should have the choice to have this as a sentence reduction. I feel that these criminals should have this procedure done in addition especially when it comes to violating young, helpless, defenseless, innocent children. Another argument that can be used to show the fact that these people ought to be cast rated is the issue of repeat offenders. Many cases exist where the person who carried out the raping rime carries out the same mistake again and again (Becker, 2012).After being caught and imprisoned for the first time, these people have the ability to feel as if they did not deserve the punishment and as a sign of rebellion may rape again. This matter has existed for a very long time. However, if a person is castrated after carrying out the crime for the first time, then there is no chance that he can carry out the crime again but the case has to be 100% proven guilty, I would not want to have the thought of castrating a innocent individual on my head.Castration ought to be a sentencing option to the Judges and this is for the fact that when a person is sentenced to punishment of castration, he goes through much pain and suffering that may be effective enough to act as a warning and deterrent to other people that may have had similar intentions. Moreover, this method of sentencing ensures that the offender does not carry out the crime again even after the release (Tracy, 2013). There are different cases that have come up over the years where the offender may eel obliged and guilty to a point that he practices voluntary castration.Voluntary castration is a method of castration where the Judge does not instruct the prosecutors to castrate the criminal but rather offers it as a suggestion. Now this I agree with 100% and have no issues or objections. The criminals that go for this option ought not to receive a shorter sentence and those that do not should receive the maximum time aloud. This is a very sensitive subject that has to evaluated more in depths before it can be completely considered, it has to be tweaked to perfection.

My Childhood And Teenage Years - 784 Words

There are still a few more things regarding my childhood and teenage years that significantly shaped my character but also were the reason of huge struggles with myself and a great pain. Living with my immediate and extended family in a tiny 550 square feet apartment was a school of sharing everyday objects, food (if there was enough bars of chocolate in the store and mom was able to get one, we shared that hard earned bar of â€Å"magical† snack with 6/7 people), patience, cooperation and respect one another. Aren’t they features that are helpful to function agreeably with other people? I really liked that time of my life and even though my dad was not with us, I felt safe and loved. When my father came back from Iraq (he worked there as a builder for two years), we moved to his parents’ apartment and lived with father’s mother for some time, before she went to live with her sisters. Years between I was 7 and 19 years old were a sort of unpleasant dream. My father used to get drunk every day and he often stroke my mom, he even stroke her when he was sober. He never respected her, never talked to her nicely, he was always distant, always angry and almost always drunk. I remember one night when my parents began arguing, I entered the kitchen and wanted to separate them (I was about 7 or 8 years old) and saw my father holding an axe in the air; now I know I came just in time, because when he saw me, he dropped it on the floor and mom immediately took it away. From that moment IShow MoreRelatedMy Childhood And Teenage Years Essay2300 Words   |  10 Page s I was in a heavy sleep when the shouting of crude remarks and curse words penetrated my bedroom walls and woke me. I was accustomed to noise coming from my parents’ bedroom late at night. They spent a huge portion of their bedtime arguing. Their arguments ranged from the most trivial things like the flushing of the toilet to more complex matters such as whether my mom spoils me. 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