INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION:

different segmentation variables (demographic: income/gender/ethnic group) geographic, psychographic (when looking at AIO: lifestyle, activities, interest and opinions) and geodemographic /benefit/usage.

need 3 paragraphs to a page max on the different methods of segmenting consumer markets. WITH a couple of EXAMPLES

Products often service different needs, appeal to different buyers, or are perceived differently in different markets.

Consider a good or service that is sold in your country and another using different marketing strategies in each.

One of the countries must be the countries home market.

Describe the factors to consider in developing international product strategies.

Explain the factors to consider when designing international distribution strategies.

The term social sustainability? What does it mean for organizations in the developed world?

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

what are the advantages of in-house vs outside agencies with details and examples. dont be so advanced with words please, and 3-5 paragraphs max.

need as soon as possible. thank you

Identify and explain each of the six domains that are measured when the VOI of an Employee Health and wellness program is assessed

The principle of the separate legal entity has been considered as the most fundamental principle of modern corporate law. This independence or distinction is not a new concept as it forms the backbone of the corporation’s legal issues. It is argued, however, that the sanctity of the principle of corporate veil principle is only drawn under compelling

Critically analyses the above statement in light of recent development of cases in the commonwealth jurisdiction of Malaysia and United Kingdom.

After having initially started out in 1988 as a reseller of third party software to small distribution businesses and corporate systems for retail home offices, by 1993 Datavantage grew to 16 employees and $1.5 million in sales with only $50,000 of external financing. Very few products were developed internally and, by 1993, Datavantage was slowly transforming itself into a consulting company. Despite relative success, it wasn’t exactly what Marvin envisioned to be an exciting entrepreneurial opportunity and he was ready to get out of the business. A radical change was needed in order for Marvin to consider staying and growing the company.

The opportunity for change arrived in 1994 when Datavantage acquired the services division of LDI, with Chaz joining Datavantage as part of this acquisition. LDI was a reseller of products for store systems and provided a complementary foundation for Datavantage’s further development. This dramatically changed Marvin’s perception of Datavantage’s future potential.

Also in 1994, the organization made a conscious decision to better control its own destiny and transition away from reselling third party software and into internally developing its own Point of Sale software products. After developing Store 21, a complete store management system based on full transaction Point of Sale (POS) applications software, Chaz and Marvin were considering the acquisition of XBR Track, a small loss prevention software company, based in Boston, Massachusetts.

The opportunity for XBR Track emerged out of the need of Specialty Retailers to minimize their internal losses from theft and shrinkage. Chaz and Marvin determined that retailers in the U.S. were losing an average of 2 percent of sales due to retail theft or shrinkage each year. The losses due to shrinkage directly affect the bottom line of the retailer in the form of a pure profit loss. It was estimated that retail employees account for 55 percent to 75 percent of lost revenue because of various fraudulent transactions. Transaction fraud ranges from improper cash refunds and price overrides to employee discount abuse and fraudulent credit card activity. XBR Track was offering the retail industry a solution to the $13.2 billion loses annually due to employee theft.

Chaz and Marvin find themselves in the final stages of negotiation to acquire XBR discussing many related issues regarding the acquisition and its impact on the entrepreneurial culture currently at the company. While there is no doubt about the attractiveness of the acquisition, the case brings up multiple concerns about the post-acquisition integration directly relating them to the challenge of continuing the organizational entrepreneurial culture. Specifically, the two founders are concerned with whether Datavantage will be able to successfully serve the existing customers and maintain its current level of customer support; whether XBR’s geographical location will become an issue during the integration; whether the existing sales force has enough knowledge and competency to sell XBR; and whether Datavantage will be able to effectively execute the “get into the castle” strategy intended for XBR. Above all, however, Chaz and Marvin were wondering if the potential rapid growth that XBR can provide for Datavantage can have a negative impact on the small start-up entrepreneurial culture that made the company successful.

1. There are many reasons for the growth success of the company for its current (at the time of the case) growth. What does the case describe as the main reason? Hint: it has to with entrepreneurship.
2. What are the aspects of the company’s performance that are directly affected by these factors? Identify what aspects of the company’s performance are directly affected by its ability to sustain and nurture its entrepreneurial culture. What are the 3 areas that ensured the company’s success?

Anytime is a good time to inspire change. Is slow and steady is the best way to transition into change? I have said this before, and it always bears repeating…. The only constant in business is changing. Discuss how you bring about/affect/effect change in your business world.

Explain "State sovereignty". Explain, what practical impacts it has in environmental law and give a practical example.

For your company Amazon:

(Please answer step by step) (Dont copy/paste information please)

1. What is your company's innovation process?
2. What is the life cycle for the company's industry?
3. Which type of innovation does your company use? Explain why or why not you believe this is the appropriate innovation type.
4. What is the company's growth strategy?
5. Select a foreign country where your company currently does not operate and perform a CAGE Distance framework between your home country and the selected foreign country.
6. Which global strategy does your company deploy using the integration-responsiveness framework?
7. Is your company's organizational structure mechanistic or organic? Explain why.
8. Which strategy and structure does your company utilize - simple, functional, multidivisional, or matrix?
9. What is your company's corporate governance policy?
10. What is your company's ethics policy?

(The answer to this question must be atleast 2 pages long and must not be copy and pasted from previous answers)

Case Study:

Can Amazon Trim the Fat at Whole Foods?

WHEN FOUR YOUNG entrepreneurs opened a small natural-foods store in Austin, Texas, in 1980, they never imagined it would one day turn into an international supermarket chain with stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Some 35 years later, Whole Foods has about 450 stores, employs 85,000 people, and earned $16 billion in revenue in 2016.

Whole Foods' mission is to offer the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the highest quality standards in the grocery industry, and remain firmly committed to sustainable agriculture. The grocery chain differentiates itself from competitors by offering top-quality foods obtained through sustainable agriculture. This business strategy implies that Whole Foods focuses on increasing the perceived value created for customers, which allows it to charge a premium price. In addition to natural and organic foods, it also offers a wide variety of prepared foods and luxury food items, such as $400 bottles of wine. The decision to sell high-ticket items incurs greater costs for the company because such products require more expensive in-store displays and more highly skilled workers, and many items are perishable and require high turnover. Moreover, sourcing natural and organic food is generally done locally, limiting any scale advantages. Taken together, these actions reduce efficiency and drive up costs. The rising cost structure erodes Whole Foods' margin.

Whole Foods Market:

Stuck in the Middle

Given its unique strategic position as an upscale grocer offering natural, organic, and luxury food items, Whole Foods enjoyed a competitive advantage during the economic boom through early 2008. But as consumers became more budget-conscious in the wake of the deep recession in 2008—2009, the company's performance deteriorated. Competitive intensity also increased markedly because basically all supermarket chains and other retailers now offer organic food. As a result, sales performance of existing Whole Foods stores ("same-store sales," an important performance metric in the grocery business) has been declining since 2013. Overall, Whole Foods Market has sustained a competitive disadvantage, underperforming not only its competitors, but also the broader market by a wide margin. Over five years, Whole Foods Market underperformed the broader stock market by some 200 percentage points!

To revitalize Whole Foods, co-founder and CEO John Mackey decided to "trim fat" on two fronts: First, the supermarket chain refocused on its mission to offer wholesome and healthy food options. In Mackey's words, Whole Foods' offerings had included "a bunch of junk," including candy. Mackey is passionate about helping U.S. consumers overcome obesity

to help reduce heart disease and diabetes. Given that, the new strategic intent at Whole Foods is to become the champion of healthy living not only by offering natural and organic food choices, but also by educating consumers with its new Healthy Eating initiative. Whole Foods Market now has "Take Action Centers" in every store to educate customers on many food related topics such as genetic engineering, organic foods, pesticides, and sustainable agriculture.

Yet, a 2015 mislabeling scandal in New York—in which city officials found that Whole Foods had mislabeled weights of several freshly packaged foods such as chicken tenders and vegetable platters, leading to overcharges of up to $15 an item—reinforced the public's image of Whole Foods as overpriced. Mackey made a video apology and said this was an unfortunate but isolated incident caused by inadvertent errors of local employees. He also emphasized that the problems were found in only nine out of 425 stores (at that time).

Second, Whole Foods is trimming fat by reducing costs. To attract more customers who buy groceries for an entire family or group, it now offers volume discounts to compete with Costco, the most successful membership chain in the United States. Whole Foods also expanded its private-label product line, which now includes thousands of products at lower prices. The company also launched a new store format, "365 by Whole Foods Market," based on its "365 Everyday Value" private label. The 365 stores focus exclusively on Whole Foods' discount private labels, primarily to address the rise of discount competitor Trader Joe's. The risk, however, is that this strategic initiative will cannibalize demand from the higher end Whole Foods Markets, rather than taking away customers from Trader Joe's. To offer its private label line and volume-discount packages, Whole Foods is beginning to rely more on low-cost suppliers and is improving its logistics system to cover larger geographic areas more efficiently.

Mackey indicated that he planned to grow threefold in the future and believes the United States can profitably support some 1,200 Whole Foods stores. Larger scale and more efficient logistics and operations should allow the company to drive down its cost structure.

Whole Foods got stuck in the middle. It was outflanked on the low end by national grocery chains such as Publix or Kroger that offer a wide variety of organic foods at lower prices. At the higher end of the market, Whole Foods Market was outperformed in urban centers by more specialized grocery stores focusing on specific segments such as seafood, meats, breads, cheese, or wines.

Amazon Acquires Whole Foods

Mackey's turnaround initiative failed. This became more apparent as activist investors honed in on Whole Foods' poor performance and highlighted the strategic shortcomings of the organic grocery chain. Even though Whole Foods Market attempted to strengthen its strategic position and also changed its board of directors, bringing in more large-chain retail experience, it was too little, too late. In 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for close to $14 billion.

With the acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon continues its vertical integration along the value chain into physical retail spaces. Two aspects about this acquisition are particularly noteworthy. First, the Whole Foods acquisition is 10 times larger than any other acquisition the Seattle-based technology firm has undertaken (its second-largest acquisition, Twitch, a live-video streaming site was acquired for less than $1 billion in 2014). Second, Amazon chose to make an acquisition in the grocery business and not in any other retail space. Why?

Amazon already dominates categories such as consumer electronics; therefore, it has no need to acquire a retail outlet such as Best Buy. The Whole Foods acquisition also offers Amazon a slew of new benefits: The organic grocery has a national footprint, which allows the ecommerce firm to test its latest technology on a much larger scale. For example, it has experimented with Amazon Go, a grocery concept without checkout counters. Shoppers fill their carts, and software automatically tallies the bill and deducts it from the person's account. This technology could be rolled out at Whole Foods Market. Amazon will also be in a position to gather more data about shopping behavior. Grocery shopping is a particularly important need for consumers, and Amazon reasons if shoppers start associating groceries with Amazon, they will want to buy other items online also. In addition, Amazon is notoriously cost conscious. Bringing down the cost structure of Whole Foods by applying Amazon's world-leading logistics technology could significantly strengthen the grocer's strategic position.

Finally, Amazon bought Whole Foods to compete more effectively with Walmart. The largest physical retailer in the world is the largest U.S. grocery chain, accounting for some 15 percent market share. In addition, the grocery business is Walmart's most profitable, and is the strongest draw for customers to the big-box stores. In recent years, Walmart has been more aggressively moving to combat Amazon's dominance in ecommerce. The Bentonville, Arkansas, retail chain purchased Jet.com for more than $3 billion in 2016, just one year after the site was launched. Jet. com offered lower prices than other retailers, expecting that many consumers would be willing to wait a bit longer for their shipments. The entrepreneurs were correct in making this assumption. In addition, Jet. com's strategic approach was tailor-made to enhance Walmart's online presence. Walmart.com has become a star performer as the site's user-friendliness has improved. Walmart has also been at the forefront of implementing a hybrid retail concept where consumers order goods online and pick them up in stores.

The stage is set for a battle of the retail giants, with the number-one old-line physical retailer in one corner of the ring and the ecommerce leader in the other. Stay tuned!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.    Why was Whole Foods successful initially? Why did it lose its competitive advantage and underperformed its competitors?

2.    Why did Whole Foods end up being "stuck in the middle"?

3.    What changes do you expect at Whole Foods following the integration with Amazon?

4.    Why did Amazon acquire Whole Foods? What are some operational and strategic reasons for this decision? Do you think the Whole Foods acquisition was a good move for Amazon? Why, or why not? Explain.

After having initially started out in 1988 as a reseller of third party software to small distribution businesses and corporate systems for retail home offices, by 1993 Datavantage grew to 16 employees and $1.5 million in sales with only $50,000 of external financing. Very few products were developed internally and, by 1993, Datavantage was slowly transforming itself into a consulting company. Despite relative success, it wasn’t exactly what Marvin envisioned to be an exciting entrepreneurial opportunity and he was ready to get out of the business. A radical change was needed in order for Marvin to consider staying and growing the company.

The opportunity for change arrived in 1994 when Datavantage acquired the services division of LDI, with Chaz joining Datavantage as part of this acquisition. LDI was a reseller of products for store systems and provided a complementary foundation for Datavantage’s further development. This dramatically changed Marvin’s perception of Datavantage’s future potential.

Also in 1994, the organization made a conscious decision to better control its own destiny and transition away from reselling third party software and into internally developing its own Point of Sale software products. After developing Store 21, a complete store management system based on full transaction Point of Sale (POS) applications software, Chaz and Marvin were considering the acquisition of XBR Track, a small loss prevention software company, based in Boston, Massachusetts.

The opportunity for XBR Track emerged out of the need of Specialty Retailers to minimize their internal losses from theft and shrinkage. Chaz and Marvin determined that retailers in the U.S. were losing an average of 2 percent of sales due to retail theft or shrinkage each year. The losses due to shrinkage directly affect the bottom line of the retailer in the form of a pure profit loss. It was estimated that retail employees account for 55 percent to 75 percent of lost revenue because of various fraudulent transactions. Transaction fraud ranges from improper cash refunds and price overrides to employee discount abuse and fraudulent credit card activity. XBR Track was offering the retail industry a solution to the $13.2 billion loses annually due to employee theft.

Chaz and Marvin find themselves in the final stages of negotiation to acquire XBR discussing many related issues regarding the acquisition and its impact on the entrepreneurial culture currently at the company. While there is no doubt about the attractiveness of the acquisition, the case brings up multiple concerns about the post-acquisition integration directly relating them to the challenge of continuing the organizational entrepreneurial culture. Specifically, the two founders are concerned with whether Datavantage will be able to successfully serve the existing customers and maintain its current level of customer support; whether XBR’s geographical location will become an issue during the integration; whether the existing sales force has enough knowledge and competency to sell XBR; and whether Datavantage will be able to effectively execute the “get into the castle” strategy intended for XBR. Above all, however, Chaz and Marvin were wondering if the potential rapid growth that XBR can provide for Datavantage can have a negative impact on the small start-up entrepreneurial culture that made the company successful.

1. What implications on the Datavantage as a growing organization will the purchase of XBR have? Is it a good fit? What are the main areas of Datavantage that can be directly affected by the XBR acquisition
2. How would you implement the integration of XBR into Datavantage’s organizational and business model structure to ensure the company’s long-term success?

the inability of differing emergency responders from various jurisdictions to communicate with each other has been a major problem. Even though the situation has improved over the last decade, problems still exist.

1. What do you think are the primary obstacles to completely solving this issue? (EXPLAIN IN DEPTH)
2. What do you think can be done to ensure that the differing responding agencies can at least communicate on a basic level during an emergency?(EXPLAIN IN DEPTH)