Question

Using the techniques from the flowing topic notes develop plan for Marketing, General Management and Operations for the business concept for NIKE Company .

Business Planning: Marketing, General Management and Operations

Marketing is best presented through the Marketing Mix. The Marketing Mix is also called The 4-Ps of Marketing. The 4-Ps are product, price, place and promotion. Each “P” is identified separately, but they work together to promote the right product in the right place and at the right price.

Product

There is significant overlap in the product and concept. Where the concept focused on the big picture of your product and services, in the product section we will focus on more of the specifics.

Once you have the concept in mind, you should now think about the following:

1.       Is there a single product or does it have many separate categories? An example would be for a clothing store which sells men’s, women’s, and children’s clothes.

2.       Who will be supplying this product? Am I manufacturing the product from scratch, or am I buying from a supplier?

3.       If manufacturing the product, who is doing the engineering, beta testing, etc.? (You should have a separate section of your plan just for the manufacturing that answers these questions as well as covers your overall production facility, production lines, including plant and equipment, quality assurance etc.).

4.       If buying from a supplier, identify who these suppliers are, what the lead time is for orders, what the shipping cost is, etc.

5.       How will my office or store be presented to customers? Will it be a physical location or virtual space (web presence) or both?

6.       What will my sign look like? Will I have a logo? Who will be designing the logo and preparing the signs?

7.       What colors will I be using? Are these appropriate for my target audience?

8.       How will I present my product in an appealing way? (Consider everything from shelving to label and signs at this point.)

9.       Will there be music playing? If so, by what medium and what will be the cost on that?

10.     From the time the customers come to your store (or website), what will be the total experience? Consider everything from the welcome to the checkout process.

These are just a few of the things you need to consider regarding your product. Each product or product line is different and will need great consideration to ensure you are maximizing your potential success and profitability.

If your product is something others already sell, do some research by going to a competitor’s site or store and purchase something. Find out what they are doing right and wrong. How will you differentiate your product?

After considering all these questions and many more, revisit your product and make any changes. The time to change is in the planning process, not once your product is on the shelves.

Price

Pricing can be a very complex issue for most people. Pricing is one of the

most important decisions you will make as a new business owner. It needs to be taken seriously as will affect your business at every level. So, how do you price your product? Many times, pricing will be driven by your competition. You must

be careful, however, that you do not allow your competitions improper pricing make you unprofitable as well. You must take into account many variables, only one of which is competition. Other variables are your industry norms, information from your local business association, your fixed cost and your cost of materials and labor, just to name a few.

You need to determine your cost of labor and materials to make your product.

Once you are happy with the price, compare it to your competitors. Are you competitive? If your prices are too high, can you make this work? If your prices are too low, should you increase the cost, or are you trying to be the price leader to attract customers?

Place

Placement of your product or service is undoubtedly the most difficult part of the marketing plan for most businesses. You may have a great product with a great price, but you need to remember that stores are inundated with request to sell new products.

If selling through a retailer (in other words, someone else is selling the product you are producing), you need to consider the following:

1.       What stores or other outlets will be selling your product(s)?

2.       Have they agreed to sell your product? Do you have a contract or some other agreement?

3.       How will you distribute this product (delivery, shipping, etc.)?

4.       Will you need to pay a fee to put your product on the shelves?

5.       What will you be responsible for as far as shelving, displays, advertising/presentation, or anything else that could increase your overall cost?

6.       Are you responsible for promotions such as buy one get one or other promotional activities?

7.       Is your production capacity able to meet the estimated needs

If you are going to sell your product directly to the consumer in a retail style space, you should consider the following:

1.       How much space will you need for retail space and for storage?

2.       What system/software, etc. will you be using for cash registers?

3.       What will you need for displays (shelves, hangers, etc.)?

4.       How will you make the interior attractive and best display your products?

5.       How will you be drawing customers in? Signs, banners, etc.?

6.       How will you minimize theft/loss?

7.       What will be your initial and ongoing inventory needs?

If you are going to sell product via the web, the following should be considered:

1.       Who will build and host your site?

2.       How will you distribute/ship product?

3.       How much will shipping costs be?

4.       How will you attract people to your site?

5.       How much inventory will you need to have on hand at any given moment?

Regardless of the way you will be selling your product, you need to give significant consideration in making these more detailed decisions, as your success will depend largely on the decision you make early on in the process.

Promotion

There are myriad ways to promote your business. They may include advertising in your local newspaper to being on a lecture circuit or advertising in trade publications. Individual businesses need individualized promotional activities. If you are a mine equipment manufacturer, advertising in a large city’s newspaper is not likely your best avenue. However, for a local pet shop, it may be just the ticket. As stated earlier, this varies widely from business to business.

General Management and Operations

Management Theory:

- Contingency Theory

As the word Contingency indicates, this theory is based on the principle that managers will make decisions according to the situation they are dealing with at the time. This approach is commonly used in cultures, like the United States, that have high levels of independence. This approach leaves managers to determine the best approach for their particular group and is often appropriate for smaller organizations and some larger ones as well.

- Systems Theory

A Systems Theory approach to management is a much more regimented style of management and is often used in more autocratic organizations and cultures. Many large organizations use this style or management as it allows uniformity across many departments and/or divisions. This approach may be used for smaller organizations but may seem heavy-handed to employees who are used to a more casual, familial environment.

- Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory recognizes that organizations are ever-changing as they grow and face new opportunities and challenges. This theory works well with other theories and approaches as your organization evolves.

- Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X and Theory Y assumes that workers fall into one of two categories: either they are naturally lazy and lack ambition, or they are naturally driven and will take responsibility. In Theory X, workers are not encouraged to take any role or responsibility in management or leadership; instead, they are given structured assignments that are closely supervised. In Theory Y, workers are encouraged to participate in decisions and are more autonomous in work schedules, workloads, etc.

- Scientific Management Theory

Developed by Frederick Taylor around the turn of the 20th century, the Scientific Management Theory espoused measurement of all organizational tasks. Everything that could be standardized was, and workers were treated similar to school children as they received either reward or punishment for their activities. This was typically used (and sometimes still is) in assembly line or other manufacturing facilities.

- Bureaucratic Management Theory

In the 1930s and 1940s, Max Weber expanded on the scientific approach, adding hierarchies and strict lines of authority and control. Today we call this the Bureaucratic Management Theory. Weber espoused the belief in standard operation procedures throughout and organization.

Activities of managers:

Organization and Departmental Objectives

A much less stressful, but equally important role of the manager is to set organizational and departmental objectives. In order for employees to all be marching in the same direction, you, as a leader, must determine objectives that are understandable and achievable for the organization, departments, and individual employees. It is important that you involve all managers when setting your organization objectives. If your managers have “buy-in” to your objectives, they will most likely then become everyone’s objectives throughout the company, and they are more likely to succeed. Furthermore, if your managers are involved during

this process, they can assist you in heading off potential problem areas or give you a “check” if you are being too aggressive. However, it is also important to lead your managers in a balanced way that allows for feedback but does not deter you from achieving your ultimate goals.

Planning

Once objectives have been established, the planning process can begin. Essentially, the planning process takes the established objectives and puts into place a plan of action to achieve those goals. Planning is a more exhaustive and detailed process than the setting of objectives and may include such details as human resource requirements, budgeting, processes, and equipment needs, just to name a few.

According to the complexity of the plan, software may be needed to forecast and track the process over time. Many industries have specific software to assist in this process, but there are many programs already developed and readily available on the open market.

Directing

A large amount of your time as a manager will be spent directing subordinates in daily activities. This time can be mitigated by delegating some activities to your managers/supervisors, but ultimately you will be tasked with staff direction, either firstly or indirectly. Many days a manager may feel like a firefighter, putting out little fires all day long. Other days may be spent planning or talking to staff to ensure morale is high, but each day will be different, requiring agility and flexibility in your schedule.

Controlling

The old adage, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” is important to remember. It is impossible to determine how a particular objective is being met if there is no plan. Furthermore, if you cannot objectively measure the progress of a plan, how will you determine success and failure on a daily basis?

Reflection and Adjustment

It is important that you, as a manager, take time to reflect on your decisions and how your company is performing. It is easy to get caught up in the daily whirlwind of activities, leaving you exhausted at the end of each day with hardly a minute just to think. Take time, each day, to reflect on your work. Even if it is only a few minutes, write down your thoughts, how you can do better, and what your tasks are before the end of each day. As you come to work each morning, you can then look at your list and plan your day accordingly, being better prepared for whatever may come your way. Another way you should reflect is either as a group (all managers) or as an organization. Allowing employees to vent frustration is a great way for you t keep your hand on the pulse of your operation. It is also a great opportunity for you and others to assist one another in problem solving.

Answer 1

1.       Is there a single product or does it have many separate categories? The product line should consist of different categories addressing all the ages since this is more inclined towards sportswear. This should comprise of t-shirts, trousers, shoes, band, socks and sports items.

2.       Who will be supplying this product? Am I manufacturing the product from scratch, or am I buying from a supplier? First of all the raw products should be sourced from cheap markets like China, Vietnam, etc. Such places would help to arrange the raw materials at a competitive price with high durability.

3.       If manufacturing the product, who is doing the engineering, beta testing, etc.? (You should have a separate section of your plan just for the manufacturing that answers these questions as well as covers your overall production facility, production lines, including plant and equipment, quality assurance, etc.). Engineering should select raw materials and test the endurance of the materials used in their product and accordingly choose the item and impart it in their product line. This should be solely done by the company.

Providing athletes with professional specialized products, where customers can modify and personalize their products. moreover, they have various numerous distribution channels to reach their targeted market easily.

4.       If buying from a supplier, identify who these suppliers are, what the lead time is for orders, what the shipping cost is, etc. Most of the suppliers to be sourced from places where the labor is cheap and at the same time with more workforce. This shall ensure more products to be dispatched on time with less number of quality issues. Diversification of suppliers is an important aspect as it will ensure even if there are some quality issues from one particular country or maybe because of any natural calamity.

5.       How will my office or store be presented to customers? Will it be a physical location or virtual space (web presence) or both? Nowadays, people are too busy to find time to go to a shop and get the items they need. So it should be available virtually too which can allow much more visibility and also it can allow the customers with alterations, choose their comfortable payment options and delivery options.

6.       What will my sign look like? Will I have a logo? Who will be designing the logo and preparing the signs?

The logo should be simple and easy to identify without the brand name. One should be able to identify the brand without a second thought and maybe with a tagline enough to energize, push confidence and strength. The logo should be designed internally by the design section.

7.       What colors will I be using? Are these appropriate for my target audience?

Colors should be vibrant and more youthful to attract all the age groups. When bright colours are used with simple design, it will attract more people as it can be multi purpose.

8.       How will I present my product in an appealing way? (Consider everything from shelving to label and signs at this point.)

9.       Will there be music playing? If so, by what medium and what will be the cost on that?

10.     From the time the customers come to your store (or website), what will be the total experience?