Alibaba Competing in China and Beyond

Case: Alibaba Competing in China and Beyond Electric commerce (e-commerce) is the buying and selling of products or services over an electronic medium like the internet. The advantages of e-commerce are speedy transactions, less travel, low operational costs, ability to reach a large customer base, and round the clock buying and selling. Some of the disadvantages of e-commerce are the minimum amounts of customer to company interactions which leads to trust issues, e-commerce is prone to fraud and theft, and there is no guarantee on product quality.In a market like China, it's important to understand the local culture, values, the political government, and the language. The political government in China has a major impact on the Internet companies in China. It is important for e-commerce companies in China to understand how to successfully launch a Chinese language website or design a search engine that would suit the complex language. In order to gain an edge amongst their competitor s, international companies must seek out local help to understand the local culture and values, the language, the consumers, and how to deal with the politics of the region.Alibaba, founded by Jack Ma, is a website which allows for buyers and sellers all over the globe to engage in electronic business transactions. Alibaba played a major role in bringing the Internet Revolution to China. Ma achieved this by allowing small and medium-size enterprises (SME) in China to benefit from cross border trade through his website. Alibaba made their money from the 21 million users who paid annual subscriptions. Alibaba established itself when the Chinese Internet industry was still in its infancy.This was the perfect opportunity for e-commerce companies because of the lack of competition. However, the competition that they did face were Global Sources and MeetChina, which were also launched in 1999. In order to gain a competitive advantage in the B2B market Alibaba did not charge fees for any t ransaction. That was a strategy that critics were skeptical about. However, Alibaba built a customer base that would end up to be unrivaled. What made Alibaba so successful was its ability to rapidly adapt to current market trends in China.In the dotcom bubble burst Alibaba reformulated their strategy to concentrating on improving its business in China rather than focusing on global markets, they moved the headquarters back from Shanghai to Hangzhou, and they would concentrate on the richest regions in China. Foreign companies saw opportunity in China's expanding e-commerce market. One of those companies was US-based eBay Inc. , who entered China by acquiring stake in Shanghai's EachNet. com for $30 million. Ma then launched Taobao to rival eBay in the Business to Consumer (B2C) and Consumer to Consumer (C2C) market.Again, Taobao employed the free concept strategy to attempt to build a consumer base by offering free listings on their website. Alibaba also developed a promotional str ategy for Taobao in which they advertised through online ads and billboards. Taobao also had a unique feature where users can e-mail and chat with each other onsite unlike their eBay counterparts who concealed sellers identity and only offered communications through offline messaging. Taobao also addressed the trust factor during online transactions between buyers and sellers by developing AliPay, similar to Paypal.The first mistake that eBay Inc. made was that they based their business strategy on the US business model. What works well in one region will not work in others. Ma quoted â€Å"We knew that someday, eBay would come in our direction. † indicating that Alibaba had done their research and they were prepared for the arrival of any potential rivals. After cornering 79% of the market shares in China, eBay soon found itself in fierce competition with Alibaba when Alibaba made quick marketing adjustments. Bay ‘s other mistake was that they entered China assuming th at they have a global product. What they failed to realize is that the Taobao product was designed for the local consumer while eBay's product was more product based, meaning they are more concerned with how to get more consumers to use their product rather than does this product fit the consumers wants and needs. eBay declined to drop their auction fees and failed to improve consumer interaction on their website to compete with Taobao. eBay should have focused more on the local strategies that other local business use.They could have done this if they were more consumer driven and aligned with the local environment. eBay should have went through the process of environmental scanning. They should have conducted an analysis of their current and potential competitors to find out what their goals and strategies are and what are their strengths and weaknesses. eBay's lack of knowledge and ignorance of the local market left them unprepared for rapid change that local businesses employ. F oreign competitors fail to enter the Chinese market because they lack the nderstanding of the language, the culture, and they lack the ability to adapt rapidly to change. Foreign companies can address this issue by preparing a strategy for entry such as organize ways to enable fast communication and processes for quick business decision making. They should hire within the country to adopt the workers who have a understanding of the local culture and values. They should be prepared for change and learn to adapt with the local market trends and prepare a plan of action to react faster.

How far do the sources agree that the philosophy of separate spheres implied that women were inferior to men? Essay

Source one is implying that men and women are different and it’s due to God’s decision. He made the decision to have them in separate spheres. What makes the difference bigger and more significant was that women weren’t educated unlike males and their manners were vastly different. From the source it says, â€Å"They are designed to move in separate spheres but occasionally to unite together, in order to soften each other.† This is suggesting that God wanted men and women to be different and have almost no interaction when at work and just away in general from the house. They’re placed in two separate spheres and are isolated from each other when at work as men and women had very different jobs. When a woman managed to get a job it was highly likely to be something involved in domestic labour around the household of a person who was of a middle or upper-class status. Men on the other hand had a much larger variety of jobs to work towards and have, as men were seen as much smarter and stronger than women. This actual source was adapted from The Christian Library : Volume 8, published 1836. This source is strictly about what exactly a Christian believer has learnt and what they believe, as women weren’t educated they were never seen as intelligent people and were treated alost like animals in the household. Being told what to do by their husbands and in general men as if they were some sort of pet. In source two, it’s explained that it’s impossible to assert the superiority of either man or woman. It says, â€Å"It is impossible to assert the superiority of either man or woman, because their separate spheres are so different.† It’s saying that men and women are so different due to their separate spheres and roles being so unlike one another. Due to the way they’re both brought up so differently at a young age they’re never connected together, as men were seen as superior and were educated unlike women. They were dominant and should go to school for an education when women would learn how to cook and clean and basically learn how to serve their husbands for the future. â€Å"That man is a fool who is continually referring to the inferiority of the opposite sex. And the woman is worse who is always asserting either her equality or her superiority to the man.† Here it suggests that men believe in women being inferior to men and have grown up knowing that. This source was taken from Mary Tucker Magill, Women, or, Chronicles of the Late War. The text was written by a female and she says that men who say that women are inferior to men are ‘fools’. This woman has striked back and said that women aren’t inferior. Mary Tucker Magill then says that the women who always say and are certain that women are either equal or superior to men. In her opinion women weren’t inferior to men but neither were they equal or superior. This then leads and gives evidence to the firt part of the texts where it says that men and women can’t be compared and that they can’t assert who is more superior. This third source is from John Milton Williams, Women Suffrage. In this text the writer identifies just how muc women do for their husbands and a huge majority of it is behind closed doors which leads to people not recognising. â€Å"Women has not to call the ballot-box, but she has a sphere of her own, of amazing responsibility and importance.† Here, the writer has said that women have ‘amazing’ responsibility and importance, women in this text have been called out as having much larger roles than in the other two texts. â€Å"She is the divinely appointed guardian of the home. She should more fully realise that her position is the hoilest, most responsible, and queenlike assigned to mortals, and dismiss all ambition for anything higher, as there is nothing else here so high for mortals.† In this text, separate spheres isn’t clearly outlined in the text but you can see that women’s roles are distinctive in this text. The roles have been delegated and men aren’t mentioned suggesting that they aren’t capable of performing these tasks frequently like women or at all. This text also supports the ‘Angel of the House’ as it says â€Å"She is the divinely appointed guardian of the home.† Divinely meaning supremely good or beautiful also helps to show that this text suggests that only women are capable of these tasks as they’re ‘queenlike’ in their own household. It’s almost like their house is their kingdom and they have ti keep it in perfect condition for the ‘King’ of the household for when he returns from work as the female stays at home. The three sources akk have unique opinions on the concept of separate spheres but source one and two are the easier texts to identify it from. Source one is written for Christian believers to read and it seems to be that they believe that God placed the difference between the two genders at the start with the chance that they could bring equality together but instead the differences had increased because of the people choosing to only educate men during that period of time. There is a part in the text in which it explains that men and women do meet and that is through marriage and living in the same household, work is not mentioned. Source two is from a female’s point of view and she suggests that women and men can’t be chosen between for who is more superior due to the idea of separate spheres, because this has been implemented they can no longer be compared to as they go on separate paths (go into separate spheres) and play different roles in society implying that women aren’t inferior to men. The third source implies that women shouldn’t play or have the same roles as men as they have important jobs at home and it’s seen as a full time job for women. Again showing the separate spheres idea as women should only have one particular job and that’s to be at home.

Animal right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Animal right - Essay Example According to his theory, when value is given to all other humans regardless of their mental and rational abilities then the same value should be ascribed to the non-human animals as well. His arguments are based on the views of Immanuel Kant that all animals have moral rights but he criticizes Kant’s belief that only rational beings are subjected to respect. Regan rejects this view and argues that humans gain the value and respect regardless of their rationality as with infants and those who are mentally instable thus non-human animals are also subjected to the same value and respect regardless of their rationality. Since all human and non-human animals are subjects-of-a-life, life is the only attribute which would subject to value. Thus every being that is subject-of-a-life must be treated with respect and must be given moral rights (Regan, 2004). On the other hand, utilitarianism is a theory which proposes that any action will be morally right only when it benefits and provides good to a large number of people. According to this theory, what’s right is determined by the value of pleasure or pain that it causes to other people. If an action causes pleasure to most of the people then it is considered as morally right while if it causes pain and suffering for the people, it will be considered morally wrong. Utilitarianism is often used to justify animal rights as their pain and pleasure is also counted for actions that are morally right or wrong (Brooman, 1997). Utilitarian theorists believe that biologically it is justified that non-human animals are sentient and biologically they are able to feel pain and pleasure. This is justified also practically as many people have experienced such feelings in animals, especially cats and dogs. There is a lot of evidence that non-human animals are sentient and they feel

Post industrial and information society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Post industrial and information society - Essay Example The transition from manufacturing industry to service sector and putting more emphasis in education in the current society can be described as an information and post industrial society. Information technology is currently employed in the service sector and in communication (Harvey, 1990, p.4). This can describe the present society as post industrial and information technology oriented. A number of countries around the globe are going through a period of information change as a result of post industrial society effects. The features of both post industrial and information societies describe well the current or the present society. But the concept of information society best describes the present society. This is because the present society is majorly characterized with the rapid change in information technology, use of information technology in provision of services and the use of information technology to improve communication from the traditional modes of communication. The post in dustrial society which emphasizes on education to improve the quality of life for humans makes use of information technology to achieve this goal. The post industrial and information societies are share close features. The current world can be described as a joint post industrial and information society. The transition from manufacturing production to service industry is largely aided by the development of information technology. This is part of information society. ... It is characterized by the rise of professionalism and scientists in special areas, and the transition from production of goods to service industry. The information society is a society which involves the establishment, sharing, diffusion, utilization and information manipulation as an important economic, cultural and political activity. Through the economic exploitation of comprehension, wealth is established. Information technology is the prime factor and central to the role of economic production to the society. The present society can be described as an information society in that; it highly embraces the use of information technology in a productive and creative way. The knowledge economy is a counterpart to information society in terms of economy. It involves the creation of wealth by exploitation of understanding economically (Webster, 2006, p. 3). The features which have been experienced in the current society indicate that humans are in a new era of society. The present infor mation society is characterized by information consciousness, advancement of the information sector, empowering information, using information as part of an economic resource, and development of an information industry. Information sector is developed in order to contain the need of information services and facilities by the society. Countries are developing their information sectors in order to keep with the pace of rapidly changing information market internationally. The information sector of several countries is facilitated with telecommunication networks and computers as part of their technological infrastructure (May, 2002, p. 5). To compare the two concepts of post industrial and information societies, there is a transition of the society

Apple IPhone 5s Advertisement Campaign Assignment

Apple IPhone 5s Advertisement Campaign - Assignment Example Advertising, that is discussed in this assignment normally serves a key role when in the field of business communication. This is because through proper advertising, a corporations, like Apple are in a position to reach its target customers hence high income in form of sales. In this high school assignment, advertisement campaign that promoted Apple Iphone 5S is researched. During this campaign, the Apple company used three main advertisement platforms: print, online and outdoor. This essay focuses on describing real examples from the Iphone 5s campaign, message of an advert that was created, advertising outlets, audience targeted, such as teenagers and business persons, development of the promotion design, duration of the Apple campaign, and a number of tactics used. Also this assignment explains various advertising forms, that the company may adher to, such as pioneering, competition and reinforcement. It the pioneering stage, the Apple company went to the people to offer information about their latest product besides benefits that come along with owning one. To be at par with its competitors, such as Sumsung, the Apple company marketers emphasized to their target customers the uniqueness of the device compared to other devices. In conclusion, this essay states that big advertisement campaign, that Apple created fr Iphone 5s is very effective. It will stay for a long period in people's minds and continuous advertisement would result to even more customers, which normally translates to sales.

Apple Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Apple - Assignment Example is the story of the late Steve Jobs life and history, and he is in many ways linked to the success of the company. In the 1990’s Apple’s market share and fortunes suffered a dip and spiraled down. Steve Jobs, who had left the company in 1985, made a comeback in 1996, became the CEO and embarked on changing the company’s fortunes. His return heralded the beginning of a new way of doing things. He introduced products that were easier to use and more responsive to consumer needs (Elliot, 2012). The first of these was the iMac introduced in 1998, followed by the iPod music player in 2001 and the iTunes music store in 2003. These products under the leadership of Jobs significantly turned around the company’s fortunes and changed its philosophy, from a computer company to a consumer electronics and media sales one. More eye-catching products including Smartphones and tablets were introduced and by 2012 it was the largest global public trading corporation with a US $626 billion value higher than that of established names like Microsoft or Google. Its revenue in 2012 totaled US $ 65 billion dollars and rose to US$ 156 in 2012 which was a major turnaround (Dubrin, 2015). This turn around teaches us several lessons in Management starting with the inspirational leadership of Steve Jobs. He relied on a group of engineers and designers to innovate Apple’s products. This group was highly motivated and inspired. They would often go for retreats to brainstorm and come up with suggestions. The core team would be comprised of the best brains, and the retreats would serve as means of creating a work-life balance. This team would be well compensated in line with Maslow’s motivation theory and ERG expectancy theory. The core team was close-knit, loyal and stuck together. It was tasked with the creation of Apple’s unique products; a challenging, intrinsic as well as extrinsically rewarding job. Steve Jobs set them clear and inspiring objectives and pushed them

A proposed study on facility planning and design in manufacturing Assignment

A proposed study on facility planning and design in manufacturing process - Assignment Example Three types exist in manufacturing system, which includes process layout, product layout and group layout and they are further classified into flow line, cell and centre (Khusna, Siti, Jamasri, and Hideki 1). A techniques recommended in planning analysis of a facility is simulation techniques, which helps the designer in identifying the assembly system storage in this stochastic situation. It is developed as an analysis tool reconfiguration of line to handle the future demand fluctuation. Simulation tools in planning include Flexsim software, QUEST (17), Arena (9), Witness (21), ProModel (25) and IGRIP (17). The tools used for optimizing layout design include Simulated Annealing (SA), Tabu Search (TS), and Genetic Algorithms (GA) (Khusna et el. 3). Different studies have been carried out by different authors to explain the application of those tools. Different investigation have been carried out to identify the appropriate tools for planning and manufacturing process though they have been faced with limitation such as time. The studies done found out that the facility design analysis such as material handling system and layout are crucial in manufacturing industries (Khusna et el. 3). Khusna Dwijayanti, Siti Zawiah Md Dawal, Jamasri, and Hideki Aoyama. A Proposed Study on Facility Planning and Design in Manufacturing Process. Viewed on May 2010, from

The Parable of the Sadhu Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Parable of the Sadhu - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that extensive surveys and research have indicated the requirement of continuous commitment, enforcement, and modeling of leadership along with defined policies of ethical, legal, and sociocultural conduct can reinforce morality and ethics to a large extent. McCoy’s contemplation on the ethical dilemma experienced during his travel to Nepal and the Himalayas, along with a group of travelers belonging to different nationalities and cultures, draws attention to the reasons and causes that influence human behavior during different situations and different places with similar situations. Although organizations attempt, by large, to define expected codes of conduct in ethical, legal and sociocultural perspectives and specific to the nature of the organizational business, in general ethics cannot be defined. As rightly pointed by Dewey, ethics is not confined to only ‘doing the right thing,’ and is a ‘reflective conduct.â €™ McCoy’s dilemma expressed in this narration is also on similar grounds, encompassing different leadership behaviors and reasons shaping these specific behaviors. Based on individual behaviors, the three-dimensional leadership theory was proposed, and each style was defined based on the traits exhibited by the leaders. The 3 leadership styles include autocratic, democratic and Laissez-faire leadership. Applying autocratic leadership style in the context of the abandoned Sadhu in the Himalayas, if one traveler assumed the role of autocratic leader, he could have made decisions on his own as to how best the Sadhu could have been taken care of.

Behaviour and Individual Differences Case Study Essay

Behaviour and Individual Differences Case Study - Essay Example 139). The commission on Warnock report highlighted the necessity to introduce support facilities that would enhance education for special needs students (Cox 1985, p.31). Among the recommendations of the report was the requirement to identify students with special needs, at an early age. The commission emphasized on the use of applicable and relevant strategies to address the concerns of SEN students (Dash 2006, p.21). The report also proposed the necessity to attend to every SEN student on an individual basis. This would replace the traditional trend that featured practitioners attending SEN students based on categories and groups with nearly similar needs and complications. The existence of individual and behavioral differences among learners in their early years, in any learning environment, is an indisputable reality that practitioners experience. This necessitates an extensive and inclusive mechanism for analyzing the activity and performance level of SEN students. Practitioners should adopt methods to enhance initial identification and assessment of the existence of any individual needs that students may have. Practitioners apply diverse methods of early identification and assessment of the presence of students’ individual needs in most learning environments. ... Through the assistance of coordinators, SEN students receive special support. SENCO coordinators can recommend the assistance of other professionals as educational psychologists. SEN assessment programs constitute part of the responsibility of SENCO coordinators to identify early learners with individual needs. The program is in stages and involves the role of the teachers in addressing the needs of the early learners. The EYFS profile is a contemporary method that practitioners use in to identify and assess the existence of individual needs among learners in their early years. EYFS profile is a statutory outline that defines various standards as the benchmark requirements for all learners in their early years should acquire (Beckley, Elvidge & Hendry 2009, p.3). Early education providers should meet the benchmark standards as a means of ensuring comprehensive education of children and their proper development. Fulfillment of all the standards set in the EYFS profile is helpful in pr oviding children with a proper foundation for commendable progress through their educational life in whole system (Palaiologou 2013, p.21). Practitioners may apply the EYFS profile as a method to identify and assess the existence of individual needs in students. EYFS aims to reduce the goals of early learning for students and simplify the system (Wheeler & Connor 2009, p.5). If a practitioner ascertains that a child has difficulties in attaining the requirements set in the EYFS profile, the child most probably has individual needs. The profile also ensures healthy development among young children in three main pillars. It emphasizes on communication and language development among children in

European nations Essay Example for Free

European nations Essay 1. Analysis of data collected from these sources has led researches to conclusively establish the fact of huge wealth gap existing in US society along with establishing the trends in the wealth distribution over almost past 80 years. Studies indicate that in the period 1915-1925, though the wealth gap was large per se, it was more equally distributed than the gap existing in European nations. Wealth inequality, thereafter, continued to rise from 1930s to 1960s, until reaching its peak in 1962 when top 1 percent of wealth owners owned nearly 35 percent of the total wealth and top 5 percent wealth owner had control over more than 80 percent of the total wealth. Further research suggests that where the total wealth of all the Americans has rom 1960 to 1990s, the gap between mean and median wealth has also increased considerably, indicating towards widening inequality in wealth. The gap appeared to decrease through rest of 60s and 70s due to various social welfare and income generation programs launched by government. In this period the share of top 1 percent of wealth owners declined to 19 percent from previous high of 30 percent. However, by 1980 it again started to climb, reaching to peak in 1990s when the former sharp inequality was restored. Research from Danziger et al 1989, Wolff 1993 and many other economists and social scientists show that from 1983 to 1989, share of top 0.5 percent of wealth holders increased by 5 percent. This rise becomes especially conspicuous in the face of corresponding decline in wealth of poorest 80 percent of population by 2 percentage point in the same period. Further, the bulk of growth in net wealth for the period from 1983 to 1989 took place in top 10 percent of wealth owners, strengthening the idiom that ‘Rich gets richer and poor get poorer’. By 1990s, wealth distribution in US had become much more skewed and in favor of the elite group than European nations. Meanwhile the advent of Information Technology and a dot-com revolution created class of neo-riches that further skewed the wealth map of United states. Wealth distribution from 1989-2001 Implementation of new technology, globalization, and Internet revolution created new set of Internet multi-millionaires, while taking the stock of many existing corporations over many fold. The new model of income generation also had significant on wealth distribution in American society. Following table indicates family wealth generation and distribution for period from 1989-2001. Figure1- Family distribution of wealth As the table shows, for the period between 1989-2001, all families in higher income group has shown significant increase in percentage point. Also, it is evident from table that for the same period, the percentage of poorer families lost out in almost all the segment, registering decline in their wealth holding. An interesting revelation about nature of wealth gap emerges from study of wealth distribution among the lowest 90 percent of wealth holders (Figure 2). It can be seen for this group that the overall pattern of unequal wealth distribution holds true even at macro levels; among the lowest 90 percent population, the lowest 50 percent are allocated mere 3 percent of the total wealth. Reasons of Wealth Gap Economists have tried to definitively ascertain unequal wealth distribution and wealth gap that has almost historically existed in every society. Presently, economists look at the issue of unequal distribution of wealth from macro and micro perspective-the first dealing with implication of wealth at overall national scale, and second looking on personal and family role in wealth distribution. The macro analysis states that it is in nature of wealth to increase itself. Wealthy people possess stocks, bonds, shares, equities and other capital stock whose values tend to increase with time and thus it creates additional wealth for them, by the mere virtue of its presence. The micro analysis states that individual effort, family work abilities and cooperation also increases income and consequently wealth. As wealthy families have already better resources and opportunities to invest them, they stand to gain more even in this process of wealth creation. As a solution, government can take measures to ensure that even though wealth gap may exist, there should be a minimum upgrade in income and wealth possession of people from all the income group, to give society a more equitable appearance and standing. Reference Lisa A. Keister , and Moller, S. 2000. Wealth Inequality in the United States . Journal-Annual Review of Sociology. Chandrika Kaul and Valerie Tomaselli-Moschovitis. Statistical Handbook on Consumption and Wealth in the United States ,; Oryx Press, 1999. 296 pgs. Arthur B. Kennickell. A Rolling Tide. Changes in the distribution of wealth in US. 1989-2001. Survey of Consumer Finances. Available on line on 17. 12. 2007. https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/oss/oss2/papers/concentration.2001.10.pdf

Importance of Brand Management in SMEs

Importance of Brand Management in SMEs Study on Fast Food Takeaways of West London Executive Summary Many remarkable studies and literatures have been produced which discusses critical activities of the Brand management in LOs (Large organizations) while research on the importance of the brand management this in SME (Small Business Enterprises) has been neglected. I have tried to emphasis in my dissertation that what were those important factors of brand management which can be applied in small business so that these businesses can develop a better brand image in the market. I have tried to limit my research on the fast food takeaways of west London area. My dissertation is based on primary and secondary research to support the literature and authenticity. It has been highlighted in the previous studies that two major research streams have been emerged in this field first focuses on providing an overarching brand management framework to guide managerial decision making (Keller, 1998; Macrae, 1996; Aaker, 1991; Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis, 1986) while the other concentrates on various discrete aspects of the process (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000; Berthon, Hulbert, and Pitt 1999a; de Chernatony and Riley 1998). Two gaps in the literature have been identified; 1) It has been identified that developed organizations are involved in numerous courses at once, 2) the brand management researches had been focusing utterly on large organizations, while the small and medium enterprises have been overlooked (Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008) To manage a brand image requires a number of activities which shows that importance of brand management in SME are different than large organizations. On this basis an important question has been raised by the authors that how brands are in fact controlled in SME. Though I am not been able to find any study specifically focusing on brand management in SMEs but I have tried to explore the areas mentioned by previous authors. Visual identifications, exhibiting business in food exhibitions and magazine and keeping customer records are some of the important factors mentioned by the respondents. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Following Blankson, C. and Omar, O.E. (2002), SME is explained as a small to medium firm having employees less then 250, having a relatively small share of the market in economic terms, and managed by its owner(s) in a personalized way. Brands may have been there for more than a 1,000 years; but never has any society come across the influence of branding as is witnessed nowadays. Brands are prevailing in all portions of human life like food and clothing, production and consumption, personality and lifestyle and pop culture to politics. Branding themselves has become a kind of culture because it promotes represents brands and like yesterday, it is no longer just about adding value to a product. In the eyes of Carson, D. (1990) (quoted in Hall, 1999); brands are currently gunning for a share of inner lives, their values, their beliefs, their politics, and their souls of consumers. The effect of brands and branding is far away from the field of marketing and advertising. Branding is an economic construct as it has been considered from both marketing and financial perspectives and is a social construct as brands hasnt been completely understood owing to the lack of academic research in this area. Advertising in all probability is the most visible factor of marketing but branding in all probability is at the centre of any marketing communications. The roots of most problems of advertising lies in branding strategy. In 1990s Benettons shocking advertising tactic is an infamous example. Majority people would relate to a big business brand with large advertising expenditures, trying to reinforce the mindset that big businesses can be brands unlike the small businesses. Small business branding is frequently referred to as an oxymoron, so might the term entrepreneurial branding (Blankson, C. and Stokes. D, 2002). In small business branding, there is very less research. The research is mainly concerned with brand management of an existing venture. There seems to be very less academic research of branding in small business new ventures. In SME marketing management it has been recognised that management style; operations and functions of SMEs are different from LOs (Knight, 2000; Cohn and Lindberg, 1972). The use of advertising or recruitment agencies is rare. Definition of survival mentality has been mentioned as ‘when a business meets resources and time constraints SME managers adapt a habit called Survival Mentality. Marketing, human resource, management and general business planning are the major problems quoted by the authors in an SME (Huang and Brown, 1999). Corporate image and corporate reputations have been differentiated under the umbrella of brand management. Corporate image has been defined as the â€Å"publics latest beliefs about the company† (Balmer, 1998 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 29) while corporate reputations has been defined as â€Å"value judgments about an organizations qualities, trustworthiness and reliability built up over time† (Balmer, 1998; Fombrun and Van Riel, 1997 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p.29). It has been mentioned that there is a consistency between an organizations and stakeholders belief about a brand though unfortunately SME and stakeholder relation hasnt been discussed yet in detail. The importance of the building a positive brand image in the market has been emphasized in order to create a niche in the market place. â€Å"Regardless of whether an organization is comprised of a singular or multiple brands, it is necessary that marketing efforts be directed tow ard establishing and maintaining a positive brand image in the minds of key stakeholders. Ultimately, this can contribute to the development of a favorable corporate reputation† (de Chernatony, 1999, cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 30). â€Å"Few small businesses follow a reputation building strategy and when a need for â€Å"image management† is recognized, it is often limited to implementing a public relations campaign† (Goldberg, Cohen, and Fiegenbaum, 2003 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 30). However, a brand can be best considered as a psychological phenomenon. Formally, a brand can be defined as a â€Å"name, sign, symbol, logo, etc. that identifies the goods and services of one selling the goods and differentiates the goods from others† (Deshpande, R., Farley, J.U. and Webster, F.E. Jr, 2003). A brand takes on meaning with customers through commercial messages, personal experiences, interpersonal communications and other means. The power of a brand resides in the minds of customers through countless brand interactions like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, behavior. The brand protects a product or service with meaning that differentiates the product from other product or services proposed to fulfill the same need. A brand is much more than a name. Branding is not a naming problem but a strategy problem (Deshpande, R., Farley, J.U. and Webster, F.E. Jr, 2003). A brand is a precious asset which must be managed carefully to preserve and enhance t he meaning so that customers form strong relations as a result. Several essential principles of brand management applicable to industrial branding are highlighted here (Fuller, P.B. 2004). Brand awareness and brand image are two components of the psychological meaning of a brand. Customers should be aware of what products or services are associated with a brand (brand awareness) and should be aware of what attributes and benefits the brand offers and what makes it superior and unique (brand image) (Gadenne, D. 2004). Industrial brands can distinguish themselves on the basis of a complete host of characteristics and benefits that range in tangibility and their association to the product. Some relationship will be associated to the brands functional performance such as products value proposition and promised benefits and more intangible considerations will be indicated from further associations like corporate image dimensions embodying such characteristics as trust, ethics, credibility, reliability and corporate social responsibility (Gilmore, A., Carson, D. and Grant, K. 2001). Branding is a central part of marketing activity. To brand or not to brand? isnt the question. Moreover, every company has a name which will function as a brand for it. For many industrial marketers, the company name is the brand. The question is What you want your name stand for and what it is to mean in the mind of the customer(Gray, B., Matear, S., Boshoff, C. and Matheson, P. 2007) every contact involving the company and the customer becomes an input. The brand must be managed as a strategic asset otherwise it will be managed by customers there or thereabouts at random. An industrial brand managed properly can realize the same reward as a consumer brand like price premiums, greater loyalty, and ability to extend into other categories, and so on. Brand positioning brings in the heart of the brand (Hogarth-Scott, S., Watson, K. and Wilson, L, 1996). They should have both points-of-parity and points-of-difference with regard to competitors product offerings. Those associations where the brand â€Å"breaks even† with competitors and negates their intended points-of-difference are called as Points-of-parity while those associations where the customer behavior is driven by strong, favorable, and unique brand associations are called points-of-difference (Hill, J. 2001a). The core brand promise or brand mantra is an internal marketing expression that captures key points-of-difference that are the essence and spirit of the brand in a three-to-five word phrase. The brand slogan is based on the brand mantra which is used in advertising and other communications where a translation of the mantra is done in consumer friendly language. For instance, Nikes internal brand mantra is â€Å"authentic athletic performance† while th e external brand slogan is â€Å"Just Do it† which is used as signature to many of their ads (Hill, J. 2001b). Examples for industrial brands slogan which reflect principal brand mantras are Agilent Technologies Dreams Made Real, Emersons Consider It Solved, GEs Imagination at Work, Hewlett Packards Invent, Novells The Power to Change, United Technologies Next Things First, and Xerox The Document Company. The Brand Charter summarizes the development, history, and positioning of a brand. All marketing action must be consistent and be evaluated against the Brand Charter. Strong brands have a uniform brand image for every individual customer and across the customer population. Strength of a brand reflects the quality and uniformity of the firms marketing efforts and the concern with which the brand has been managed in due course. For a brand to be successful, it has to be consistent with the firms strategy and the strategic marketing management (Hurmerinta-Peltomaki, L. and Numm ela, N.1998). 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives AIM: * To recognize the forces of brand Management which generates a brand image for a little fast food restaurant/takeaway in the market? Objectives: * To recognize the suitable literature produced on brand management in SMEs. * To get hold a few of the key fast food restaurants/takeaways. * To discover and take into account a methodological approach which will assist in finding primary (qualitative or quantitative have to be determined yet) * To vitally analysis and evaluate results with the preceding findings and provide the significance of brand management in the SMEs. 1.3 Value and contribution In the intellectual perspective, this research will try to highlight the importance of branding in small businesses investigating the concept in fast food and takeaways of London. Though the research and literature done in Branding in small businesses is very less. In the industrial context, the study will provide a strategic understanding of the potential application of Branding at the early stage of business development and how it can be used as a strategic tool for building a brand image. 1.4 structure of the dissertation The report is structured in the following format: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter provides the background to the research topic discusses the aims and objectives of the study. It also illustrates the academic and industrial value the research seeks to address. Chapter 2: Literature Review Literature review highlights the literature the research is based upon and concludes with the research done into the effectiveness of brand management in small business enterprises and different concepts of branding like product branding and corporate branding and their differences. It also discusses new theory of branding for small businesses which is of importance to the dissertation at hand. Chapter 3: Methodology This chapter includes the methodology adapted by for this research paper. Sample data of the research is being discussed in this chapter. It will also highlight the research philosophy, research question, research design, data collection and analysis methods and reliability and validity of the data. Chapter 4: Findings This chapter discusses the finding of the questionnaires in graphical representation followed by descriptive description. It also presents the important factors highlighted by the respondents during the survey. Chapter 5: Discussions and Limitations You will be able to find the comparative analysis of the findings and recommendations in this chapter. This chapter also highlights the limitations of the research and future research possibilities in this area. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The strategic importance of the effective brand management has been recognised and been highlighted by many researchers (Kirby, D., 2003). Two major streams which have emerged in the brand management field includes; â€Å"providing an overarching brand management framework to guide managerial decision-making† (Keller, 1998; Macrae, 1996; Aaker, 1991; Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis, 1986 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 27); whereas â€Å"the second concentrates on various discrete aspects of the process† (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Berthon, Hulbert and Pitt, 1999a; de Chernatony and Riley, 1998 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 27). Authors have identified two gaps in the literature, 1) It has been becoming common that developed organizations are involved in multiple directions which probably means that they have enhanced their business operations or they have probably entered into different product lines which normally most of the small medium s ized business do to increase their profits and sales (Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008) it is also been quoted by the authors, as ‘Organizational Ambidexterity (Berthon, Hulbert and Pitt 1999). The second major gap which is identified is that previously empirical studies have focused brand management concept only on the large organizations which normally includes top 100 companies of the world. The suggested reasons for this gap are given by some of the other authors which are also quoted in this article; it may be because SMEs typically lack the capabilities, marketing power and other resources of large organizations (Knight, 2000; Cohn and Lindberg, 1972) or it may be because SMEs are failed to realize brand can also be built with the help of relatively reserved budgets (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 1999) Authors do contend that SMEs can build a brand image with limited budget but the major question is what management principles they should follow to build it? An initial precise study on SME brandings is Abimbola (2001) who has tried to explore how branding can be a competitive strategy. Other studies have also explored this theme like Cravens (2000), but not in an SME context. According to Abimbola, new brands are like new products, and there is a particular need to draw on inventiveness, innovation and imaginative flair in brand extensions. For instance, the imaginative flair of the owner, like Virgin or Easy Jet, help deliver creative applications of branding programs. Though, similar principles pertain to SME in comparison to large-scale branding, Abimbola (2001) advises SMEs, having fewer resources, need better focus and effectiveness. For example, an SMEs center of attention be corporate brand or just a handful brands and run very closely specified and targeted campaigns. Utilizisation of the entrepreneur in public relations was also encouraged. For instance, a study of Dyson appliance company (Doyle, 2003), a firm used an entreprene urial approach to create its brand. Attention was paid as to how Dyson built a brand personality as part of its marketing. A useful typology of branding among SMEs based on case research of eight smalls- to medium sized firms have been provided by Wong and Merrilees (2005). Three different types of small businesses were identified, At the bottom was the minimalist branding approach, where firms have minimalist marketing across the board, in the middle was an embryonic branding archetype, these firms are stronger than the first archetype with respect to marketing, but their understanding of branding isnt well developed and at the top was the integrated branding archetype. Branding is very informal, optional, and a narrow range of promotional tools. Wong and Merrilees (2005) initiate that SMEs at the top were the integrated branding archetype and possibly the least familiar. â€Å"Small business branding is not a good logo, a rhyming name, or special font. Small business branding is the owner. Its what the owner does, says and how the owners traits come through in every aspect of the business. Its the way relationships are built and maintained, the way a person does business and treats other people. Its how rapport is established at an individual level, where trust and comfort exist as human characteristics, not from theme music, models or slogans.† Yaro Starak, 2005 Marketing as well as branding were stronger; informal approaches and formal approaches were taken to branding; branding was essential to the business; branding was not merely a choice; and a wider assortment of promotional tools were used. A clearer understanding of customer needs was there among the integrated branding small businesses: The letter Z was included in a firms name to appear close to the top of any industry list while another firm to remind its employees posted a laminated description of its brand on the back-office door to remind employees of it. One more substantive outlook on SME branding is offered by Krake (2005), who agreed with the deficit of earlier literature on the subject, compared to SME marketing research and uses a qualitative case study of ten medium-sized firms. A varied set of approaches to branding was seen but little at a conscious level. However, the cases did not propose a common tack or brand success route. Krake (2005), drawing partially from the cases and particularly the common branding literature, built-up a â€Å"funnel† model of brand management in SMEs. The SMEs special features incorporated: the most important role of the entrepreneur/owner in terms of their obsession of the brand and this may widen to their epitome of the brand. The entrepreneur will have a particularly controlling authority on the company structure; and there may be more imagination used in marketing promotions. In other words, there is a more personal character to the brand. In addition, the owner appreciates the significance of branding; there may be extra room to take the brand throughout the firm. The most current documents on small business branding inspect the role of corporate branding for start-ups (Rode and Vallaster, 2005). This study is flanking to the realm of the current paper. Start-up companies refer to pre-launch as well as early start-up activity, while the nine cases in Rode and Vallaster (2005) look to focus on the first fe w years of operation. Their work suitably sums up the connection among corporate identity and corporate image and they point out its significance to new ventures. Their experiential evidence of nine cases shows a miserable picture of how well small businesses have incorporated corporate identity ideas. The majority of the interviewed entrepreneurs had only an imprecise idea of their business concept, market positioning core values and the business concept was seldom documented (Inskip, 2004). Submissions to banks were to a little extent contrived in order to secure financing. Philosophies and basic values and seemed fluid, answers brand names, and consistency not at all times was achieved. Selection and training of staff was disorganized. Corporate communication and sharing of information proved difficult. All in all, the corporate identity and cultural developments looked unstructured, encouraging Rode and Vallaster (2005) to build up three propositions that potentially could start to move this observed near to ground performance. Fascinatingly, four out of five most important studies have alluded to the essential role of the founder in the b randing process; therefore it would seem that any new theory of small business branding should do the similar. 2.2 Branding Branding can somehow be explained as a strategy, a process, an orientation and a instrument (Majumdar, 2006). Branding is defined as the method through which a marketer aims to build long term relationship with the consumers by evaluating their requirements and needs so that the product (brand) can fulfill their mutual desires. Branding can be looked as an instrument to locate a product or a service with a reliable of quality and also the value for money to make certain the development of a habitual liking by the consumer. It is a general knowledge that the costumers selection is inclined by many factors out of which the simplest one is a brand name (Kotler, et al, 2007). Even though there can be equally pleasing products available in the market, the customer once pleased with some brand will not want to make an additional endeavor to assess the other substitutes available. Initially if the customer is satisfied with a particular brand, than he or she is inclined to stick with it, unless and until there is a great increase in the price of the product or an evident superior quality of product comes to their knowledge, which force the customer to change the brand (Lancaster, Massingham, 1999). Branding may be generally applied as a segregation strategy when the products available cannot be differentiated easily in conditions of tangible traits or in products that are apparent as a commodity. In all these conditions marketers apply branding as a differentiation strategy and attempt to build up a relationship with consumer groups. That is, they attempt to expand and provide the customized products and auxiliary services with customized communications to tally with the self-image of the consumer. Such differentiation is a regular procedure and the beginning and on-going measures are explained (Majumdar, 2006). 2.3 Corporate Branding In coordinating the brand-building process, corporate brand architecture plays a vital role which is defined by core values shared by different products with a common and overall brand identity. The major part of the corporate brand is to give credibility in cases such as communications with government, the financial sector, the labor market, and society in general (Urde, 2003). Corporate Brand has different fundamentals like organizational values, core values and added values. The relation between these foundations helps to form the value-creating process of the corporate brand (Urde, 2003). Companies face different disputes and challenges of organizing their resources and internal procedures so that the core values for which the corporate brand stands can be strengthened, differentiated and expressed as added value for consumers. The firms brand equity and competitive position is significant for the linkage between core values and corporate brand. Management and organization-wide s upport is crucial in this process (Urde, 2003). A corporate brand is not necessarily limited to a single corporation. It can also apply to a variety of corporate entities, such as corporations, their subsidiaries, and groups of companies (Balmer and Gray, 2003). Balmer (1998) suggests that to differentiate the firm from its competitors, corporate identity is an important corporate asset which represents the firms ethics, goals and values. The reason being that the markets are becoming more complex and products and services are quickly imitated and homogenized which is rather difficult in maintaining a credible product differentiation, requiring the positioning of the whole corporation relatively than simply its products. Therefore, the corporate values and images appear as key elements of differentiation strategies (Hatch and Schultz, 2001). A corporate brand has an assumption that it will support all aspects of the firm and differentiate the firm from its competitors (Harris and de Chernatony, 2001; Ind, 1997; Balmer, 2001). Corporate branding allows the firms to use the vision and culture of the whole organization clearly as part of its distinctiveness (Balmer, 1995, 2001; de Chernatony, 1999). De Chernatony (2001) suggests for firms to incorporate their strategic vision with their brand building. In contrast with the product brand, the firms visibility, recognition and reputation to a greater extent can be increased with the corporate brand. Balmer and Gray (2003) propose that one of the benefits of strong corporate brands is that investors may seek them out deliberately. They furthermore play an imperative role in the recruitment and retention of valuable employees and offer more chances for strategic or brand associations. Alan (1996) illustrates the flow of corporate branding to the rising costs of advertising, retailer power, product fragmentation, new product development cost efficiencies, and consumers expectations of corporate credentials. 2.4 Product Branding Product branding yields different advantages for firms. McDonald et al. (2001) argue that, a firm using a product-brand strategy rather than corporate branding will experience less damage to its corporate image if one of its individual brands fails. When the Tylenol brand was under siege in the USA because of tainted batches, Procter Gambles name and reputation were somewhat shielded by the product-branding strategy, leaving Pampers and Tide undamaged by the Tylenol scare. A product brand allows firms to position and appeal to different segments in different markets which also makes it flexible. For instance, Budweiser beer is a quality beer that is solid value for money and which is sold in the USA as large temptation. In contrast, it is marketed in some overseas markets as a premium product, and its product image is linked to the American lifestyle. Although a challenge which is faced with product branding is to target different small segments through different brands that can res ult in high marketing costs and lower brand profitability. The main role of branding and brand management is to create differentiation and preference in the minds of customers. The development of product branding has been built around the core role that maintains differentiation in a particular market (Knox and Bickerton, 2003). Corporate branding builds on the tradition of product branding, seeking to create differentiation and preference. However, corporate branding is conducted at the level of the firm instead of the product or service, and furthermore to an extend on which its reaches beyond customers to stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, suppliers, partners, regulators and local communities (Hatch and Schultz, 2001). 2.5 Corporate Branding Versus Product Branding To present a controlled representation of the corporations value system and identity, the corporate brand can be considered as the addition of the corporations marketing efforts (Ind, 1997; Balmer, 2001). It has been differentiated from a product brand in its strategic focus and its implementation, which combines corporate strategy, corporate communications and corporate culture (Balmer, 1995, 2001). Balmer and Gray (2003) and Hatch and Schultz (2003) argues that corporate branding differs from product branding in several other ways. First, the focus shifts from the product to the corporation. Corporate branding therefore represents the corporation and its members to a greater extent. Second, corporate brands generally involve strategic considerations at a higher executive level even though managerial responsibility for product brands usually rest in the middle-management marketing function. Third, corporate brands usually relate all of the firms stakeholders and products and service s to each other whereas product brands typically target specific consumers. Fourth, product-brand management is normally conducted within the marketing department, while corporate branding requires support across the corporation and cross-functional coordination. Fifth, product brands are reasonably short-term, compared to corporate brands along with their heritage and strategic vision. Hence, corporate branding is more strategic than the normally functional product branding. Hatch and Schultz (2003) further argues that to position the firm in its marketplace and to set up internal maintain arrangements appropriate to its strategic importance corporate branding engineers interactions among strategic vision, organizational culture and corporate image. Similarly, Ind (1997) classifies three key differences. First, corporate branding attains a certain degree of tangibility through the messages the firm delivers and the relationship it establishes with various stakeholders. Second, corp orate branding is more complex than product branding because of the variety of messages and relationships and also the potentially consequent confusion. Third, it is being inclined to demand greater attention to issues of ethical or social responsibility. The focus of a product brand is on customers while corporate brand has its focus on stakeholders. Therefore, corporate brands can provide a sense of trust and quality for the firm in extending a product line or diversifying into other product lines (Balmer and Gray, 2003). An effective corporate brand also has an intrinsic â€Å"excess capacity†, or â€Å"leverage†, which can possibly be translated to other markets (Peteraf, 1993). It is observed that corporate brands are extensively used to launch new products in new markets. Corporate branding usually exercises the total corporate communication mix to engage target audiences who perceive and judge the company and its products or services. The overall image of the fi rm at the corporate level is therefore expected to generate brand equity (Keller, 2000). The firm is expected to be largely influenced by the core company values and heritage. In addition, strategic vision also contributes to the image, in the sense that stakeholders normally seek and use information about the firm beyond what it provides. Hatch and Schultz (2003) concludes that those firms who are successful in creating a corporate brand are more competitive than firms relying only on product branding in the uneven markets created by globalization. On the other hand, corporate branding also requires immediate and effective interaction of strategic vision, organizational culture, which makes it more complex than product branding. de Chernatony (1999) embraces that it facilitates customers desire to look deeper into the brand and evaluate the nature of the firm. The firm offers liable customers to accept its claims about other products and services which is build through trust in the products and the brand.< Importance of Brand Management in SMEs Importance of Brand Management in SMEs Study on Fast Food Takeaways of West London Executive Summary Many remarkable studies and literatures have been produced which discusses critical activities of the Brand management in LOs (Large organizations) while research on the importance of the brand management this in SME (Small Business Enterprises) has been neglected. I have tried to emphasis in my dissertation that what were those important factors of brand management which can be applied in small business so that these businesses can develop a better brand image in the market. I have tried to limit my research on the fast food takeaways of west London area. My dissertation is based on primary and secondary research to support the literature and authenticity. It has been highlighted in the previous studies that two major research streams have been emerged in this field first focuses on providing an overarching brand management framework to guide managerial decision making (Keller, 1998; Macrae, 1996; Aaker, 1991; Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis, 1986) while the other concentrates on various discrete aspects of the process (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000; Berthon, Hulbert, and Pitt 1999a; de Chernatony and Riley 1998). Two gaps in the literature have been identified; 1) It has been identified that developed organizations are involved in numerous courses at once, 2) the brand management researches had been focusing utterly on large organizations, while the small and medium enterprises have been overlooked (Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008) To manage a brand image requires a number of activities which shows that importance of brand management in SME are different than large organizations. On this basis an important question has been raised by the authors that how brands are in fact controlled in SME. Though I am not been able to find any study specifically focusing on brand management in SMEs but I have tried to explore the areas mentioned by previous authors. Visual identifications, exhibiting business in food exhibitions and magazine and keeping customer records are some of the important factors mentioned by the respondents. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background Following Blankson, C. and Omar, O.E. (2002), SME is explained as a small to medium firm having employees less then 250, having a relatively small share of the market in economic terms, and managed by its owner(s) in a personalized way. Brands may have been there for more than a 1,000 years; but never has any society come across the influence of branding as is witnessed nowadays. Brands are prevailing in all portions of human life like food and clothing, production and consumption, personality and lifestyle and pop culture to politics. Branding themselves has become a kind of culture because it promotes represents brands and like yesterday, it is no longer just about adding value to a product. In the eyes of Carson, D. (1990) (quoted in Hall, 1999); brands are currently gunning for a share of inner lives, their values, their beliefs, their politics, and their souls of consumers. The effect of brands and branding is far away from the field of marketing and advertising. Branding is an economic construct as it has been considered from both marketing and financial perspectives and is a social construct as brands hasnt been completely understood owing to the lack of academic research in this area. Advertising in all probability is the most visible factor of marketing but branding in all probability is at the centre of any marketing communications. The roots of most problems of advertising lies in branding strategy. In 1990s Benettons shocking advertising tactic is an infamous example. Majority people would relate to a big business brand with large advertising expenditures, trying to reinforce the mindset that big businesses can be brands unlike the small businesses. Small business branding is frequently referred to as an oxymoron, so might the term entrepreneurial branding (Blankson, C. and Stokes. D, 2002). In small business branding, there is very less research. The research is mainly concerned with brand management of an existing venture. There seems to be very less academic research of branding in small business new ventures. In SME marketing management it has been recognised that management style; operations and functions of SMEs are different from LOs (Knight, 2000; Cohn and Lindberg, 1972). The use of advertising or recruitment agencies is rare. Definition of survival mentality has been mentioned as ‘when a business meets resources and time constraints SME managers adapt a habit called Survival Mentality. Marketing, human resource, management and general business planning are the major problems quoted by the authors in an SME (Huang and Brown, 1999). Corporate image and corporate reputations have been differentiated under the umbrella of brand management. Corporate image has been defined as the â€Å"publics latest beliefs about the company† (Balmer, 1998 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 29) while corporate reputations has been defined as â€Å"value judgments about an organizations qualities, trustworthiness and reliability built up over time† (Balmer, 1998; Fombrun and Van Riel, 1997 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p.29). It has been mentioned that there is a consistency between an organizations and stakeholders belief about a brand though unfortunately SME and stakeholder relation hasnt been discussed yet in detail. The importance of the building a positive brand image in the market has been emphasized in order to create a niche in the market place. â€Å"Regardless of whether an organization is comprised of a singular or multiple brands, it is necessary that marketing efforts be directed tow ard establishing and maintaining a positive brand image in the minds of key stakeholders. Ultimately, this can contribute to the development of a favorable corporate reputation† (de Chernatony, 1999, cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 30). â€Å"Few small businesses follow a reputation building strategy and when a need for â€Å"image management† is recognized, it is often limited to implementing a public relations campaign† (Goldberg, Cohen, and Fiegenbaum, 2003 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 30). However, a brand can be best considered as a psychological phenomenon. Formally, a brand can be defined as a â€Å"name, sign, symbol, logo, etc. that identifies the goods and services of one selling the goods and differentiates the goods from others† (Deshpande, R., Farley, J.U. and Webster, F.E. Jr, 2003). A brand takes on meaning with customers through commercial messages, personal experiences, interpersonal communications and other means. The power of a brand resides in the minds of customers through countless brand interactions like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, behavior. The brand protects a product or service with meaning that differentiates the product from other product or services proposed to fulfill the same need. A brand is much more than a name. Branding is not a naming problem but a strategy problem (Deshpande, R., Farley, J.U. and Webster, F.E. Jr, 2003). A brand is a precious asset which must be managed carefully to preserve and enhance t he meaning so that customers form strong relations as a result. Several essential principles of brand management applicable to industrial branding are highlighted here (Fuller, P.B. 2004). Brand awareness and brand image are two components of the psychological meaning of a brand. Customers should be aware of what products or services are associated with a brand (brand awareness) and should be aware of what attributes and benefits the brand offers and what makes it superior and unique (brand image) (Gadenne, D. 2004). Industrial brands can distinguish themselves on the basis of a complete host of characteristics and benefits that range in tangibility and their association to the product. Some relationship will be associated to the brands functional performance such as products value proposition and promised benefits and more intangible considerations will be indicated from further associations like corporate image dimensions embodying such characteristics as trust, ethics, credibility, reliability and corporate social responsibility (Gilmore, A., Carson, D. and Grant, K. 2001). Branding is a central part of marketing activity. To brand or not to brand? isnt the question. Moreover, every company has a name which will function as a brand for it. For many industrial marketers, the company name is the brand. The question is What you want your name stand for and what it is to mean in the mind of the customer(Gray, B., Matear, S., Boshoff, C. and Matheson, P. 2007) every contact involving the company and the customer becomes an input. The brand must be managed as a strategic asset otherwise it will be managed by customers there or thereabouts at random. An industrial brand managed properly can realize the same reward as a consumer brand like price premiums, greater loyalty, and ability to extend into other categories, and so on. Brand positioning brings in the heart of the brand (Hogarth-Scott, S., Watson, K. and Wilson, L, 1996). They should have both points-of-parity and points-of-difference with regard to competitors product offerings. Those associations where the brand â€Å"breaks even† with competitors and negates their intended points-of-difference are called as Points-of-parity while those associations where the customer behavior is driven by strong, favorable, and unique brand associations are called points-of-difference (Hill, J. 2001a). The core brand promise or brand mantra is an internal marketing expression that captures key points-of-difference that are the essence and spirit of the brand in a three-to-five word phrase. The brand slogan is based on the brand mantra which is used in advertising and other communications where a translation of the mantra is done in consumer friendly language. For instance, Nikes internal brand mantra is â€Å"authentic athletic performance† while th e external brand slogan is â€Å"Just Do it† which is used as signature to many of their ads (Hill, J. 2001b). Examples for industrial brands slogan which reflect principal brand mantras are Agilent Technologies Dreams Made Real, Emersons Consider It Solved, GEs Imagination at Work, Hewlett Packards Invent, Novells The Power to Change, United Technologies Next Things First, and Xerox The Document Company. The Brand Charter summarizes the development, history, and positioning of a brand. All marketing action must be consistent and be evaluated against the Brand Charter. Strong brands have a uniform brand image for every individual customer and across the customer population. Strength of a brand reflects the quality and uniformity of the firms marketing efforts and the concern with which the brand has been managed in due course. For a brand to be successful, it has to be consistent with the firms strategy and the strategic marketing management (Hurmerinta-Peltomaki, L. and Numm ela, N.1998). 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives AIM: * To recognize the forces of brand Management which generates a brand image for a little fast food restaurant/takeaway in the market? Objectives: * To recognize the suitable literature produced on brand management in SMEs. * To get hold a few of the key fast food restaurants/takeaways. * To discover and take into account a methodological approach which will assist in finding primary (qualitative or quantitative have to be determined yet) * To vitally analysis and evaluate results with the preceding findings and provide the significance of brand management in the SMEs. 1.3 Value and contribution In the intellectual perspective, this research will try to highlight the importance of branding in small businesses investigating the concept in fast food and takeaways of London. Though the research and literature done in Branding in small businesses is very less. In the industrial context, the study will provide a strategic understanding of the potential application of Branding at the early stage of business development and how it can be used as a strategic tool for building a brand image. 1.4 structure of the dissertation The report is structured in the following format: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter provides the background to the research topic discusses the aims and objectives of the study. It also illustrates the academic and industrial value the research seeks to address. Chapter 2: Literature Review Literature review highlights the literature the research is based upon and concludes with the research done into the effectiveness of brand management in small business enterprises and different concepts of branding like product branding and corporate branding and their differences. It also discusses new theory of branding for small businesses which is of importance to the dissertation at hand. Chapter 3: Methodology This chapter includes the methodology adapted by for this research paper. Sample data of the research is being discussed in this chapter. It will also highlight the research philosophy, research question, research design, data collection and analysis methods and reliability and validity of the data. Chapter 4: Findings This chapter discusses the finding of the questionnaires in graphical representation followed by descriptive description. It also presents the important factors highlighted by the respondents during the survey. Chapter 5: Discussions and Limitations You will be able to find the comparative analysis of the findings and recommendations in this chapter. This chapter also highlights the limitations of the research and future research possibilities in this area. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The strategic importance of the effective brand management has been recognised and been highlighted by many researchers (Kirby, D., 2003). Two major streams which have emerged in the brand management field includes; â€Å"providing an overarching brand management framework to guide managerial decision-making† (Keller, 1998; Macrae, 1996; Aaker, 1991; Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis, 1986 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 27); whereas â€Å"the second concentrates on various discrete aspects of the process† (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Berthon, Hulbert and Pitt, 1999a; de Chernatony and Riley, 1998 cited in Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008, p. 27). Authors have identified two gaps in the literature, 1) It has been becoming common that developed organizations are involved in multiple directions which probably means that they have enhanced their business operations or they have probably entered into different product lines which normally most of the small medium s ized business do to increase their profits and sales (Berrthon, Ewing, Napoli, 2008) it is also been quoted by the authors, as ‘Organizational Ambidexterity (Berthon, Hulbert and Pitt 1999). The second major gap which is identified is that previously empirical studies have focused brand management concept only on the large organizations which normally includes top 100 companies of the world. The suggested reasons for this gap are given by some of the other authors which are also quoted in this article; it may be because SMEs typically lack the capabilities, marketing power and other resources of large organizations (Knight, 2000; Cohn and Lindberg, 1972) or it may be because SMEs are failed to realize brand can also be built with the help of relatively reserved budgets (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 1999) Authors do contend that SMEs can build a brand image with limited budget but the major question is what management principles they should follow to build it? An initial precise study on SME brandings is Abimbola (2001) who has tried to explore how branding can be a competitive strategy. Other studies have also explored this theme like Cravens (2000), but not in an SME context. According to Abimbola, new brands are like new products, and there is a particular need to draw on inventiveness, innovation and imaginative flair in brand extensions. For instance, the imaginative flair of the owner, like Virgin or Easy Jet, help deliver creative applications of branding programs. Though, similar principles pertain to SME in comparison to large-scale branding, Abimbola (2001) advises SMEs, having fewer resources, need better focus and effectiveness. For example, an SMEs center of attention be corporate brand or just a handful brands and run very closely specified and targeted campaigns. Utilizisation of the entrepreneur in public relations was also encouraged. For instance, a study of Dyson appliance company (Doyle, 2003), a firm used an entreprene urial approach to create its brand. Attention was paid as to how Dyson built a brand personality as part of its marketing. A useful typology of branding among SMEs based on case research of eight smalls- to medium sized firms have been provided by Wong and Merrilees (2005). Three different types of small businesses were identified, At the bottom was the minimalist branding approach, where firms have minimalist marketing across the board, in the middle was an embryonic branding archetype, these firms are stronger than the first archetype with respect to marketing, but their understanding of branding isnt well developed and at the top was the integrated branding archetype. Branding is very informal, optional, and a narrow range of promotional tools. Wong and Merrilees (2005) initiate that SMEs at the top were the integrated branding archetype and possibly the least familiar. â€Å"Small business branding is not a good logo, a rhyming name, or special font. Small business branding is the owner. Its what the owner does, says and how the owners traits come through in every aspect of the business. Its the way relationships are built and maintained, the way a person does business and treats other people. Its how rapport is established at an individual level, where trust and comfort exist as human characteristics, not from theme music, models or slogans.† Yaro Starak, 2005 Marketing as well as branding were stronger; informal approaches and formal approaches were taken to branding; branding was essential to the business; branding was not merely a choice; and a wider assortment of promotional tools were used. A clearer understanding of customer needs was there among the integrated branding small businesses: The letter Z was included in a firms name to appear close to the top of any industry list while another firm to remind its employees posted a laminated description of its brand on the back-office door to remind employees of it. One more substantive outlook on SME branding is offered by Krake (2005), who agreed with the deficit of earlier literature on the subject, compared to SME marketing research and uses a qualitative case study of ten medium-sized firms. A varied set of approaches to branding was seen but little at a conscious level. However, the cases did not propose a common tack or brand success route. Krake (2005), drawing partially from the cases and particularly the common branding literature, built-up a â€Å"funnel† model of brand management in SMEs. The SMEs special features incorporated: the most important role of the entrepreneur/owner in terms of their obsession of the brand and this may widen to their epitome of the brand. The entrepreneur will have a particularly controlling authority on the company structure; and there may be more imagination used in marketing promotions. In other words, there is a more personal character to the brand. In addition, the owner appreciates the significance of branding; there may be extra room to take the brand throughout the firm. The most current documents on small business branding inspect the role of corporate branding for start-ups (Rode and Vallaster, 2005). This study is flanking to the realm of the current paper. Start-up companies refer to pre-launch as well as early start-up activity, while the nine cases in Rode and Vallaster (2005) look to focus on the first fe w years of operation. Their work suitably sums up the connection among corporate identity and corporate image and they point out its significance to new ventures. Their experiential evidence of nine cases shows a miserable picture of how well small businesses have incorporated corporate identity ideas. The majority of the interviewed entrepreneurs had only an imprecise idea of their business concept, market positioning core values and the business concept was seldom documented (Inskip, 2004). Submissions to banks were to a little extent contrived in order to secure financing. Philosophies and basic values and seemed fluid, answers brand names, and consistency not at all times was achieved. Selection and training of staff was disorganized. Corporate communication and sharing of information proved difficult. All in all, the corporate identity and cultural developments looked unstructured, encouraging Rode and Vallaster (2005) to build up three propositions that potentially could start to move this observed near to ground performance. Fascinatingly, four out of five most important studies have alluded to the essential role of the founder in the b randing process; therefore it would seem that any new theory of small business branding should do the similar. 2.2 Branding Branding can somehow be explained as a strategy, a process, an orientation and a instrument (Majumdar, 2006). Branding is defined as the method through which a marketer aims to build long term relationship with the consumers by evaluating their requirements and needs so that the product (brand) can fulfill their mutual desires. Branding can be looked as an instrument to locate a product or a service with a reliable of quality and also the value for money to make certain the development of a habitual liking by the consumer. It is a general knowledge that the costumers selection is inclined by many factors out of which the simplest one is a brand name (Kotler, et al, 2007). Even though there can be equally pleasing products available in the market, the customer once pleased with some brand will not want to make an additional endeavor to assess the other substitutes available. Initially if the customer is satisfied with a particular brand, than he or she is inclined to stick with it, unless and until there is a great increase in the price of the product or an evident superior quality of product comes to their knowledge, which force the customer to change the brand (Lancaster, Massingham, 1999). Branding may be generally applied as a segregation strategy when the products available cannot be differentiated easily in conditions of tangible traits or in products that are apparent as a commodity. In all these conditions marketers apply branding as a differentiation strategy and attempt to build up a relationship with consumer groups. That is, they attempt to expand and provide the customized products and auxiliary services with customized communications to tally with the self-image of the consumer. Such differentiation is a regular procedure and the beginning and on-going measures are explained (Majumdar, 2006). 2.3 Corporate Branding In coordinating the brand-building process, corporate brand architecture plays a vital role which is defined by core values shared by different products with a common and overall brand identity. The major part of the corporate brand is to give credibility in cases such as communications with government, the financial sector, the labor market, and society in general (Urde, 2003). Corporate Brand has different fundamentals like organizational values, core values and added values. The relation between these foundations helps to form the value-creating process of the corporate brand (Urde, 2003). Companies face different disputes and challenges of organizing their resources and internal procedures so that the core values for which the corporate brand stands can be strengthened, differentiated and expressed as added value for consumers. The firms brand equity and competitive position is significant for the linkage between core values and corporate brand. Management and organization-wide s upport is crucial in this process (Urde, 2003). A corporate brand is not necessarily limited to a single corporation. It can also apply to a variety of corporate entities, such as corporations, their subsidiaries, and groups of companies (Balmer and Gray, 2003). Balmer (1998) suggests that to differentiate the firm from its competitors, corporate identity is an important corporate asset which represents the firms ethics, goals and values. The reason being that the markets are becoming more complex and products and services are quickly imitated and homogenized which is rather difficult in maintaining a credible product differentiation, requiring the positioning of the whole corporation relatively than simply its products. Therefore, the corporate values and images appear as key elements of differentiation strategies (Hatch and Schultz, 2001). A corporate brand has an assumption that it will support all aspects of the firm and differentiate the firm from its competitors (Harris and de Chernatony, 2001; Ind, 1997; Balmer, 2001). Corporate branding allows the firms to use the vision and culture of the whole organization clearly as part of its distinctiveness (Balmer, 1995, 2001; de Chernatony, 1999). De Chernatony (2001) suggests for firms to incorporate their strategic vision with their brand building. In contrast with the product brand, the firms visibility, recognition and reputation to a greater extent can be increased with the corporate brand. Balmer and Gray (2003) propose that one of the benefits of strong corporate brands is that investors may seek them out deliberately. They furthermore play an imperative role in the recruitment and retention of valuable employees and offer more chances for strategic or brand associations. Alan (1996) illustrates the flow of corporate branding to the rising costs of advertising, retailer power, product fragmentation, new product development cost efficiencies, and consumers expectations of corporate credentials. 2.4 Product Branding Product branding yields different advantages for firms. McDonald et al. (2001) argue that, a firm using a product-brand strategy rather than corporate branding will experience less damage to its corporate image if one of its individual brands fails. When the Tylenol brand was under siege in the USA because of tainted batches, Procter Gambles name and reputation were somewhat shielded by the product-branding strategy, leaving Pampers and Tide undamaged by the Tylenol scare. A product brand allows firms to position and appeal to different segments in different markets which also makes it flexible. For instance, Budweiser beer is a quality beer that is solid value for money and which is sold in the USA as large temptation. In contrast, it is marketed in some overseas markets as a premium product, and its product image is linked to the American lifestyle. Although a challenge which is faced with product branding is to target different small segments through different brands that can res ult in high marketing costs and lower brand profitability. The main role of branding and brand management is to create differentiation and preference in the minds of customers. The development of product branding has been built around the core role that maintains differentiation in a particular market (Knox and Bickerton, 2003). Corporate branding builds on the tradition of product branding, seeking to create differentiation and preference. However, corporate branding is conducted at the level of the firm instead of the product or service, and furthermore to an extend on which its reaches beyond customers to stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, suppliers, partners, regulators and local communities (Hatch and Schultz, 2001). 2.5 Corporate Branding Versus Product Branding To present a controlled representation of the corporations value system and identity, the corporate brand can be considered as the addition of the corporations marketing efforts (Ind, 1997; Balmer, 2001). It has been differentiated from a product brand in its strategic focus and its implementation, which combines corporate strategy, corporate communications and corporate culture (Balmer, 1995, 2001). Balmer and Gray (2003) and Hatch and Schultz (2003) argues that corporate branding differs from product branding in several other ways. First, the focus shifts from the product to the corporation. Corporate branding therefore represents the corporation and its members to a greater extent. Second, corporate brands generally involve strategic considerations at a higher executive level even though managerial responsibility for product brands usually rest in the middle-management marketing function. Third, corporate brands usually relate all of the firms stakeholders and products and service s to each other whereas product brands typically target specific consumers. Fourth, product-brand management is normally conducted within the marketing department, while corporate branding requires support across the corporation and cross-functional coordination. Fifth, product brands are reasonably short-term, compared to corporate brands along with their heritage and strategic vision. Hence, corporate branding is more strategic than the normally functional product branding. Hatch and Schultz (2003) further argues that to position the firm in its marketplace and to set up internal maintain arrangements appropriate to its strategic importance corporate branding engineers interactions among strategic vision, organizational culture and corporate image. Similarly, Ind (1997) classifies three key differences. First, corporate branding attains a certain degree of tangibility through the messages the firm delivers and the relationship it establishes with various stakeholders. Second, corp orate branding is more complex than product branding because of the variety of messages and relationships and also the potentially consequent confusion. Third, it is being inclined to demand greater attention to issues of ethical or social responsibility. The focus of a product brand is on customers while corporate brand has its focus on stakeholders. Therefore, corporate brands can provide a sense of trust and quality for the firm in extending a product line or diversifying into other product lines (Balmer and Gray, 2003). An effective corporate brand also has an intrinsic â€Å"excess capacity†, or â€Å"leverage†, which can possibly be translated to other markets (Peteraf, 1993). It is observed that corporate brands are extensively used to launch new products in new markets. Corporate branding usually exercises the total corporate communication mix to engage target audiences who perceive and judge the company and its products or services. The overall image of the fi rm at the corporate level is therefore expected to generate brand equity (Keller, 2000). The firm is expected to be largely influenced by the core company values and heritage. In addition, strategic vision also contributes to the image, in the sense that stakeholders normally seek and use information about the firm beyond what it provides. Hatch and Schultz (2003) concludes that those firms who are successful in creating a corporate brand are more competitive than firms relying only on product branding in the uneven markets created by globalization. On the other hand, corporate branding also requires immediate and effective interaction of strategic vision, organizational culture, which makes it more complex than product branding. de Chernatony (1999) embraces that it facilitates customers desire to look deeper into the brand and evaluate the nature of the firm. The firm offers liable customers to accept its claims about other products and services which is build through trust in the products and the brand.<

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry :: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Essays

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry An important idea in the novel "Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry" written by Mildred D Taylor is racism. This idea is important because it tells us how life was in the 1930s for a little black girl who matures with racial conflict around her. "Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry" is about a young, black girl, Cassie Logan who tries to understand with her family, why the blacks are different to the whites. Cassie, the narrator leads us through all the disaster and trouble that her and her family have been through in relation with the white folks in Mississippi. The first example that shows racial conflict between the blacks and whites is the Jefferson Davis School bus, which is full of white children. Blacks do not have a bus so Cassie and her brothers have to walk to school. However, each morning the children would be threatened by this bus, "a bus bore down on him spewing clouds of red dust like a huge yellow dragon breathing fire". This is surely because of racism. The whites in the bus seem to find it amusing with "laughing with faces" to see the black children run for their lives. Another example is the incident Cassie takes a trip to Strawberry to the market. There she is made to apologize to Lillian Jean Simms (a white girl) for bumping into her. Cassie does not like to get pushed around and she stands up for herself. She says, "I ain't nasty, and if you're so afraid of getting bumped, walk down there yourself" to Lillian Jean after she is told to "get down in the road". This example tells us how the whites can tell the black people to do whatever they want them to do. In return, the black person would do what they are told but Cassie is strong and stubborn, and she refuses until her Big Ma tells her to apologize. Overall, life in the 1930s for the black people was very difficult as they were pressured and pushed around as if they were animals.

Henrys Speeches in William Shakespeares Henry V -- Papers Henry V 5

Henry's Speeches in William Shakespeare's Henry V I will be writing about how Henry V wins the hearts of his men. Using, five main speeches that Henry V makes. I think that Henry won the hearts of his men by persuasion. Beforehand, I would like to apologize because I may talk about what ‘Henry’ says but I truly know this is what Shakespeare wrote. In the first speech the Dauphin presented Henry V with a set of tennis balls as a joke and insult. He was suggesting that Henry was a ‘child’ and not fit for being a king. I expected Henry V to be angry and yell with frustration but I noticed a sudden silence before Henry started his speech; it seemed as though he was collecting his thoughts and thinking how to answer Dauphin’s so called, â€Å"joke.† Henry used that time exceptionally wisely, he starts off with alliteration (which he also uses in Speeches 3, 4 and 5), â€Å"Pleasant/ Present/ Pains.† These words may sound calm and polite, but all these words need to be said with clenched teeth. I found the line 290, Act One Scene 2, interesting where Henry says, â€Å"†¦dazzle all the eyes of France, Yea strike the Dauphin blind to look us,† Henry compares himself to the sun: so bright and successful that the Dauphin would not be able to look up to him, making the Dauphin feel inferior. Henry here plays splendidly with words as we can see throughout the play, â€Å"Turn his balls to gunstones,† Henry changes something as harmless and simple as tennis balls into weapons of destruction. Henry is often religious and spiritual in his speeches. Here he says, â€Å"and soul shall stand sore†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he attacks the Dauphin n... ...e me thinks, me/ fear, fellowship,† once again to give a rhythm to his speech and it makes one think about the words said. Henry names the day, â€Å"Feast of Crispin’s Day,† to me that sounded more of emotional blackmailing than encouragement. Henry says that if they win this battle they would be as common as, â€Å"household words.† Shakespeare utilizes the technique of ‘use of three’, â€Å"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,† making it easier for his soldiers to trust him, making him sound more trustworthy. He uses emotional blackmail again as well, â€Å"Shall be my brothers.† I admired how different each speech is. I found it inspiring how Shakespeare can make Henry sound so trustworthy, sensitive and compassionate and two minutes later he can change the way one seems Henry just by the words he says.