Pioneer Electronics Essay Example for Free

Pioneer Electronics Essay In 1975 Pioneer maintained relationships with approximately 3,500 franchise retail outlets, the retail outlets benefited from a 5% Pioneer investment in local advertising, and attractive gross margins and credit terms. However, that same year, Pioneer and three competitors were forced to sign consent decrees with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission promising not to engage in alleged anti-fair competition practices – namely requiring distributors to use suggested list prices and punishing those distributors who didn’t comply either through delayed shipments or revoked franchises. A market price war followed the signing of the consent decrees, lowering franchise’s profits while increasing revenue for Pioneer. Pioneer followed with a new marketing strategy aimed at pushing its new lower-priced hi-fi components over compacts or consoles, this further boosted Pioneer’s profit, continuing to erode the franchise distributors’ profit margins. The final outcome was a select few distributors’ shifting from supporting Pioneer component sales to pushing competitors’ products in order to make a larger profit. Central Problem Pioneer Electronics must determine how to move forward from franchise distributors’ complaints that they cannot make an adequate profit selling Pioneer components over the lesser quality, more affordable competitors’ components. The result is â€Å"dissident behavior† by the distributors– including disparaging comments about the Pioneer brand to potential consumers, poor product placement in franchise stores and â€Å"bait and switch† sales tactics. These actions reflect a possible erosion of franchise distributor support, which might force Pioneer to alter its business model. Relevant Facts With the repeal of the fair-trade laws, the market changed drastically for Pioneer, sales and market share increased significantly during this period, prices and margins dropped. As the target market for their products expanded, Pioneer changed their marketing strategy to focus on selling mid-priced hi-fi products. Pioneer’s sales continued to climb, but this strategy squeezed the dealers’ margins even more and made it difficult for them to make a profit selling Pioneer products. Pioneer decision to reposition itself from a premium-priced brand into a â€Å"mid-priced, mainstream† brand affected the profit margins of its distributors negatively. At the same time, the company’s profit margin increased dramatically. Based on 1976 data from Exhibit 13, an average retailer profit margin was about 3.4%. Pioneer had a comparable profit margin of 3.9% in 1975, based on Exhibit 14 data. This margin increased by almost 3 times in 1976 to 9.4%. This clearly shows how Pioneer benefited from its market repositioning strategy while its distributors profits declined. Although surveys showed customers were very satisfied with Pioneer products, the sales force was unhappy and felt the lower margins were unacceptable. This drove a few dealers to speak disparagingly about Pioneer products and use bait and switch tactics to create profits for themselves. Mitchell knew the dealers’ support was critical to the current distribution chain, but he couldn’t go back to the old incentives. To continue to be profitable and adapt to the new electronics market, Pioneer reconsider its current distribution network. Alternative Courses of Action †¢Alternative #1 Shift distribution to department stores: Shift retail distribution from specialty stores to department stores and catalog showrooms. 75% of U.S. Pioneer’s sales were from hi-fi specialty stores, 5% by department stores, and 7% by catalog showrooms. Advantages: Extensive credit facilities, strong consumer â€Å"pull† advertising, and lower prices. Industry sources predicts a substantial increase in the market shares of department stores and catalog showrooms. Disadvantages: Department stores and catalog showrooms do not offer the extensive customer services provided by specialty stores, including professional sales assistance, demonstration, extended store warranty, on-the-premises repair, home delivery and installation, and loaner component programs. †¢Alternative #2 Multiple Branding U.S. Pioneer would offer several product lines of varying quality and price points under separate brand names. Different product lines would be carried by different types of retail outlets. The department-store line would be of lower quality and price than the signature line. Advantages: Multiple branding had been used successfully in other industries. It would enable U.S. Pioneer to adapt most effectively to future changes in retail distribution. Pioneer already sells compacts and car stereos to discount stores under the Centrex brand name. Disadvantages: This strategy could tarnish Pioneer’s reputation for selling only top-of-the-line products. Pioneer may have trouble keeping their distribution channels distinct, and therefore be incurring too much cost on the low end products or being destroying the brand value of the high end products. †¢Alternative #3 Company-owned Stores Another alternative is to operate its own retail stores. Some retailers in the low-fi market had been selling their own house brands for some time. House brands are starting to make in-roads in the hi-fi market and the specialty stores are carrying house brands in increasing numbers. Advantages: One way to protect Pioneer from the risk of large specialty store chains promoting house brands which would impact its sales. Disadvantages: A large initial fixed investment for starting up is required. The risk of expanding into a non-familiar territory which Pioneer does not have good expertise in. †¢Alternative #4 Dealer Communication improvement Dealer support is crucial for Pioneer growth. From Table A â€Å"Factors Influencing Purchase of Hi-fi Products† in the case, it clearly shows that dealer recommendations, advertising and store displays accounts for 42% of the factors influencing consumers decisions. The company needs to hire more salespeople to increase the frequency of dealer visits, provide higher cash rebates or other incentive programs and organizing yearly dealers’ conferences at different resorts. Pioneer needs to stop forcing its dealers to prominently display low-end components and push lower-priced components. Selling lower priced components affects the retailer’s profit margin. This results in placing higher sales emphasis on house brands or competitor products. Advantages: Retailer’s salespeople are the company’s point of contact with its customers. Happy and content dealers will push Pioneer product which will increase company’s sales. Disadvantage: The brand is what sells the product. The company should not waste funds on dealer rebates and conferences. This will result in a rebate war between different manufacturers. Plan of Action: Pioneer should pursue a multiple label branding strategy to capture sales in both the high end and lost cost market segments, which will increase total revenue and profits. The company is already implementing this through its Centrex brand name in Japan. This strategy will enable Pioneer, through the Centrex brand, to target the growing department stores market with its lower price product segment. The signature Pioneer brand can still be marketed through Hi-Fi specialty stores. Under this arrangement Pioneer will need to develop a customized sales and marketing plan for each brand and have separate sales and distribution channels. Pioneer will continue to contribute a percentage of sales to local marketing campaigns to assist local specialty retailers in maintaining local recognition within the community. The Centrex brand will be distributed through the larger department stores and because of the national recognition of these stores there would not be a need to contribute a percentage of sales to assist in local marketing. These funds should be used for other promotional items in the large department stores, such as contests for the largest sales in a month or quarter or number of a specific product sold. The company should also simultaneously invest in improving its working relationship with their dealers. The first thing that Pioneer will need to do is to cease printing ads in newspapers and/or journals to communicate to dealers about unapproved behavior. These types of conversations should be conducted behind closed doors, as neither side wins when they communicate in a public forum. Pioneer will need to begin to request their feedback and input on new market trends, consumer needs and product improvement suggestions and adjust the Pioneer products accordingly. Pioneer should implement the sales program from Exhibit 12 and shift some of the funds from the marketing campaigns to have local contests to spur sales among local sales force.

Old Leisure - Literary Devices :: essays research papers

History has seen advancements in technology, philosophy, and industry, all of which radically changed the lives of those witnessing such developments. Slower, more relaxed lifestyles have given way to lifestyles of a faster paced nature. George Eliot describes her preference for the leisure of the past, conveying the message that the rushed leisure of her time is hardly leisure at all. She accomplishes this by using several stylistic devices, including personification, imagery, and diction. The most obvious stylistic device used by Eliot is that of personification. She uses this device to create two people from her thoughts on old and new leisure. The fist person is New Leisure, who we can infer to be part of the growth of industry in the 19th century. He is eager and interested in science, politics, and philosophy. He reads exciting novels and leads a hurried life, attempting to do many things at once. Such characteristics help us to create an image of New Leisure as Eliot sees him. Old Leisure is quite contrasting to New Leisure. Being a stout country squire of the 18th century, he is laid back, simple minded, well fed, and financially well off. He reads but one newspaper and favors Sunday services that "allow him to sleep." "He never went to Exeter Hall, or heard a popular preacher, or read Tracts for the Times or Sartor Resartus." He is not bothered by his "inability to know the causes of things" and sleeps "the sleep of the irresponsible." Eliot describes Old Leisure more than New Leisure because today's readers are familiar enough with living a life as hurried and fast paced as New Leisure's. Her description of Old Leisure is nostalgic of a slower paced way of life. While Eliot uses human characteristics and actions to describe Old and New Leisure, she also creates images of both personages to further depict their contrasting lifestyles. The images of Old Leisure include him "scenting the apricots when they were warmed by the morning sunshine." They also depict portraits of life in Old Leisure's era as "slow waggons," "spinning wheels," and "pedlars, who brought bargains to the door on a sunny afternoon." They also tell of how Old Leisure "fingered the guineas in his pocket" and was "fond of sauntering by the fruit-tree wall." New Leisure, on the other hand, does not live in a world where such images are present. He is ""prone to cursory peeps through microscopes" and is "prone to excursion- trains, art museums, periodical literature, and exciting novels.

Operations Business Report – Case Study: Qantas

Executive Summary Cantatas Is Australia largest domestic and International airline Cantatas was founded In the Queensland outback In 1920 and It began Its operations with one aircraft carrying mail and now it has expanded to 146 planes transporting people all over the world Cantatas' major influences they have to deal in today's market with include globalization, technology and the increased cost-based competition and the strategies that they have Implemented to meet these influences are outsourcing and a mix of established and leading edge technology .Competitive Advantage Cantatas, having two flying services (Cantatas and Starters) allows them to organism and book two aircrafts to serve the passenger to compete the competitive advantage more than others Cantatas established the frequent flyer program that different from other Lorene to make customer loyalty. Cantatas Is also In coalition with many local companies.Woolworth is the most known and the idea is to provide a competitive advantage to each other Cantatas is known for premium service so they incorporate Starters as a budget flight giving a competitive advantage, but also a cost advantage Cantatas is one of the worlds most recognizes and reputable brand, which gives them an opportunity to exploit their competitive advantage. 3. Operations Cantatas manages to sustain a competitive advantage In the market, predominantly due to how their operations function and how they manage It. 3. 1 – strategic Role of operations Cantatas has three different strategic roles of operations.These strategies that Cantatas has incorporated are cost leadership, differentiation and market focus Operations management within Cantatas includes scheduling, determining staffing levels and staff training and has demonstrated its ability to respond quickly to challenges and the success of rival low cost airlines Cantatas' operations are strategically important because most organizational activity comprises the day-to-day acti vities within the operation function Its strategy and operations go hand-in- hand and Is a key determinant of its ability to achieve long term success and ultimately, a competitive advantage within the marketThe influences and current operational responses by Cantatas include globalization, rapidly developing technology and increased cost-based competition Globalization has made Cantatas re-think about their operations as they need to not only keep up with constant fluctuations and how the world is responding to it, to sustain their competitive advantage.The responses from Cantatas regarding globalization include o launching new airlines in Asia due to the Asian century we are experiencing and o cost minimization to be more internationally competitive. The rapidly developing technology from Cantatas has allowed for operational processes to be a lot more efficient and effective. The changes have included o newer planes o new check ins o Q bag tags Due to the expanding market of aircr aft, it has resulted in an increased cost based competition.Cantatas has had to respond to these changes within the market and the responses from Cantatas include o outsourcing o online bookings o employing more labor saving techniques The influences that Cantatas has had to deal with has made them change a lot of heir operations but the way they have responded to it, has allowed them to sustain a competitive advantage 3. – Operations Processes The operations processes are classified into three separate groups, inputs, the transformation process and outputs Inputs are classified into sub groups, which are transformed and transforming resources This means, Cantatas focuses on food ingredients for their catering services, computers, labor, and capital. The transformation process are also classified into subgroups, which include volume, rarity, variation in demand and visibility (the four Vs..) and monitoring, controlling and improvement. In terms of the four vs.., Cantatas expe riences a predictable major increase in demand for the school holidays and other major events but also had to cope with major decreases such as the 9/1 1 bombings Monitoring and controlling at Cantatas involves taking corrective action and making new plans if necessary Customer service is Cantatas' major output and they continually focus on delivering the highest levels of customer service. They have recently adopted the â€Å"Net Promoter Score† as a key measure of customer service. The processes that Cantatas have implemented, how they identify peak times of the year and then deal with those situations has given them a competitive advantage over other businesses, which fail 3. 4 – Operations Strategies There are a number of strategies for improving operations at Cantatas and the two major strategies that Cantatas have implemented are outsourcing and technology Outsourcing is on the increase within Cantatas and currently, Cantatas outsourcer early all of its IT operat ions and some small call centre operations.The advantages that outsourcing has given Cantatas include saving in capital outlay, saving in labor and saving in cost Cantatas relies heavily on technology, but airline technology is complex and it is continually being advanced and updated. Cantatas was one of a number of airlines, who placed advance orders for the new Airbus AWAY, but they were opted to make sure they were not the airline to receive the very first ones asCantatas are all about quality for the customer Cantatas made sure that they could sustain their competitive advantage within the market by ensuring that they got leading edge and established technology that was well reviewed and started outsourcing the right things to keep the operations effective and efficient 4. Conclusion Through Cantatas' strategies they have adopted, the way they have changed and adapted to the influences within the market and the efficiency of the their processes, it has allowed for Cantatas to no t only gain a competitive advantage but sustain it as well

Racism analysis - 1785 Words

The theme that I have selected to analyse is Racism. The texts that I will use to explore this theme are the films ‘Django’ directed by Quentin Tarantino, ‘Schwarzfahrer’ directed by Pepe Danquart, the poem ‘Racism is around me everywhere’ by Francis Duggan and the novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. In this report I will research how racism affects individuals with dark skin, what the consequences of racism are, and how racism is the norm throughout different periods of history. Racism is an ongoing issue and in my report I aim to change the way you think of racism and what we can do to end this abominable behaviour. Across all texts that I studied, characters are racially ill-treated. In Pepe Danquart’s Oscar-winning short†¦show more content†¦He then turns to the African Americans and throws them the key for their shackles. â€Å"So as I see it, when it comes to the subject of what to do next, you gentlemen have two choices. One, once Im gone, you lift that beast off the remaining Speck, then carry him to the nearest town. Which would be at least thirty-seven miles back the way you came. Or....Two, you unshackle yourselves, take that rifle over there... put a bullet in his head, bury the two of them deep, and make your way to a more enlightened area of the country. The choice is yours.† They decide to use violence in an act of vengeance after they have been repeatedly whipped and beaten for the color of their skin. This is a similar case as in ‘Schwarzfahrer’, when the black man seeks revenge against the old lady who repeatedly racially abuses him for no reas on at all. As the ticket collector comes round to see who is a ‘Schwarzfahrer’, the black man violently grabs and swallows the old lady’s ticket. When asked by the collector for her train pass her reply of â€Å"this nigger just ate it!† is â€Å"the stupidest excuse I have ever heard† and the old lady is then escorted off the train. In both these texts revenge is sought after a response to racial treatment. The black man in the train in ‘Schwarzfahrer’ acted rashly just to get rid of the lady so she couldnt continue her racist pontificate, and the seven African Americans in ‘Django’ murdered the white man in an act ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Racism In A Rose For Emily914 Words   |  4 Pagesimportant to the town, but the new generation wanted to change that. They sent many notices to her but they were not receiving any payments from her. I can connect this to a New York Times article, the article is called â€Å"Dove Drops an Ad Accused of Racism†, the article talks about how Dove and many other soap companies had made controversial ads regarding with African Americans cleaning themselves and becoming white. The idea of slavery was first known during the 1400’s , that when the Europeans startedRead MoreStructural Racism And Racial Equity Analysis Essay1850 Words   |  8 PagesIt is evident that structural racism has become increasingly worse throughout the years. The question is, will there ever be an end to the belief of white privilege? There are organization’s and continuing protests to try to end inequality, but is there work truly enough? With structural racism existing in today’s society, immigrant’s must work harder than whites, in order to succeed and prosper. Structural racism has been around for decades now, with whites believing they are ethnocentric overRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Dimensions Of Racism In Advertising864 Words   |  4 PagesIn Chapter 4 of Dimensions of Racism in Advertising: From Slavery to the Twenty-first Century, Kieh discusses how racism and stereotypes influence politics in America. He states that racism influences all elections in America, no matter what level the election is on. The author states that the purpose of the particular chapter. He states that the chapter â€Å"examines the racism-political advertisement nexus, especially its use as an instrument for priming and conditioning white voting behavior in presidentialRead MoreSociological Analysis of Racism American History X2317 Words   |  10 Pages Sociological Analysis of American History X: A Breakdown of the Stages of Racism Racism being a common concern for most sociologists is somewhat inevitable and a cause for a large proportion of the problems that occur in the society. American History X (1998) is a film that tells a rather heartrending tale of two brothers that got caught in a ghastly web of bitterness and hatred. Although racism is openly practiced, it isn’t entirely irreversible. The process of escaping from it, however, canRead MoreEssay on Analysis On Racism In Huck Finn2025 Words   |  9 Pagesthemes are not characteristic of such a genre. The themes that are developed throughout the novel include that of hypocrisy, racism, violence, and gullibility. These four themes represent the elements of pre-War Southern society that bear Twain’s main criticisms throughout the pages of the novel. Specifically, much of Twain’s critical focus landed upon the theme of racism. Racism, in all of its ignorance and crudeness, is present in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the Wi dow Douglas and MissRead MoreEssay on Analysis of Appiah ´s View of Racism 850 Words   |  4 PagesIn this paper I will be arguing that racist beliefs are cognitive problems according to Appiah’s account of racisms. In order to defend this position, I will first explain Appiah’s account of how racism is heritable through genes, focusing specifically on what he thinks the connection between extrinsic racists and intrinsic racists are. Then, I will define what Appiah takes a extrinsic and intrinsic racists to be, and show how his definition of what an â€Å"insincere† extrinsic is distinctive by contrastingRead MoreAnalysis Of Let s Talk About Racism Essay1784 Words   |  8 Pagesrocked by the idea that one pigment of color is superior to another. This discrimination is caused by a lack of education in our generation and an aversion to difference that has been passed down from our ancestors. Rick Wormeli in â€Å"Let’s Talk About Racism in Schoolsâ €  argues â€Å"The violence among U.S. residents of different colors, cultures, religions, and political groups has heated to new levels. Social media may have exacerbated the divisive rhetoric and fanned the flames of hatred more than in pastRead MoreRacism In Othello Analysis829 Words   |  4 PagesLittle, Arthur L. â€Å"An Essence That’s Not Seen: The Primal Scene of Racism in Othello.† Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 3, Oct. 1993, p. 304. In this article, the author relates the idea of primal scene to racism in â€Å"Othello†. Primal scene is a psychoanalysis theory by Sigmund Freud. This theory claims once a child imagines or sees their parents having sexual relations they will be unable to repress this image from reappearing in theirRead MoreTo Kill A Mockingbird Racism Analysis1348 Words   |  6 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr., became the leader of the movement, and the issue began to gain serious national attention. This is when public opinion in the US began to seriously oppose racism. The main subject of â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† is the injustice of racism and inequality in the American South. The book helped to expose racism in the US. â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† is a novel about growing up in the 1930s in the southern United States. The story discusses three characters in the novel. These charactersRead MoreRemember The Titans Racism Analysis859 Words   |  4 Pages ¬******DRAFT****** To What Extent Did the Titans Success Eliminate Racism in The Community? Discuss. Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin, is a movie set in the early 1970’s that focuses on the ways in which a particular school, where black and white students are forced to integrate, reduces racism in the community. This reduction in racism is mainly the result of the success of the School’s football team, the Titans. Yakin uses numerous film techniques throughout the film such as lighting