Marketing Activities To Affect The Potential Buyer Influences Marketing Essay

Marketing Activities To Affect The Potential Buyer Influences Marketing Essay This assignment will be addressing the issues faced by a company operating in the highly competitive sportswear market in the United Kingdom. The issues presented in the assignment will be discussed in relation with the changing nature of consumer behaviour. Firstly, it is vital to analyse the current position of the company as follows. SOLE-RUN Sole-Run is a company operating in sportswear market in the United Kingdom specialising in football boots. It is said that the firm has entered the sportswear market at a quite late stage of the market development which can be assumed to be at a stage where the market was maturing with high competition from the market leaders like Adidas and Nike. However, Sole-Run was able to capture 12% of the market share despite not having either the production capacity or the financial budgets to compete with such market leaders. On the other hand, it is said that fashionable trainers remain as the largest single part of the sports footwear market. While it was found that customers valued comfort and did not want to pay high price research findings also showed that low-to medium priced trainers provided the same levels of comfort as high priced trainers where paying a higher price for trainers did not ensure a higher quality or a higher level of comfort. Sole-Run is currently facing difficulties in increasing its sales despite the high potential market for trainers as consumers are buying trainers as a piece of fashionable clothing as well as for sports especially among the teenagers and older people with high disposable income. SPORTS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR In order to identify as how Sole-Run can influence the consumer purchase it is essential to understand the consumer behaviour of this particular market. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2010) consumer buying behaviour is the individual purchasing or consuming decision of an individual or household and whoever buys goods and services for personal consumption. Sports consumer behaviour is the process involved when individuals select, purchase, use, and dispose of sport related products and services to satisfy needs and receive benefits (Funk, 2008). This process is created by a desire to seek sports consumption experiences that provides benefits and satisfy needs (Funk, 2008). TASK 1- BUYER INFLUENCE AND PURCHASING PROCESS 1.1 WHAT IS BUYER INFLUENCE? Buyer influences will affect the degree of motivation in consumers to make purchasing decisions. On the other hand the level of involvement in sports will also affect the decision making. It is important for Sole-Rune to understand the consumers buying behaviour when designing a marketing strategy for its sports-fashion wear trainers or any other sports related products. Involvement involves represent a state of motivation with regard to a product, an activity, or an object (Rothschild, 1984). This state of motivation reflects the level of arousal, interest, or drive evoked by a particular sports stimuli or situation that influences consumer behaviour (Mitchelle, 1979). 1.2. INTERNAL INFLUENCES Generally consumer behaviour can be influenced by factors such as motivation, learning and perception which are known as internal factors. Also called as personal factors these gives the ability for the consumer to directly benefit from the product. 1.3. EXTERNAL INFLUENCES Social norms are a prominent external factor influencing consumer buyer behaviour. As pointed out by Kotler and Armstrong (2010) consumer purchases are influenced by forces such as social, cultural, individual and psychological. Cultural characteristics consists of the set of basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviours learned by an individual from being a member of a society. In this context Sole-Run will have to identify the cultural characteristics of the potential British based consumers who tend to be highly fashion conscious. Social characteristics on the other hand consists of social factors such as the targeted consumers relation to small groups, family and social roles. Individual characteristics can be regarded as the consumers age, economic situations and occupation. Psychological factors consist of the motivation, perception and beliefs and attitudes of the targeted potential consumers. Here it is evident that the targeted consumers for the sports-fashion trainers come from social groups which consist of individual characters of fashion conscious teenagers and old consumers who have high disposable income. 1.4. MARKETING ACTIVITIES TO AFFECT THE POTENTIAL BUYER INFLUENCES According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), marketing can be defined as a managerial process whereby you indentify, anticipate and satisfy customer needs and wants for a profit. In order to come up with marketing strategies that will affect potential buyer influences, it is vital that Sole-Run have a better understanding on the consumers decision making as this will not only increase consumer demand but will also help to sustain its demand. While Sole-Run should identify properly its market segments in order to design targeted marketing activities, it is said that the teenagers and older people with high disposable income are the highest consumer purchasers in the sports-fashion trainers market. On the other hand, it is also found through research that consumers do not wish to pay high prices for trainers while seeking for comfort. As it is said that Sole-Run does not possess adequate financial budgets, it is evident that Sole-Run cannot invest on large scale nationwide marketing activities by advertising on mass media such as television and on radio to influence potential buyers. The starting point of Sole-Run can be to influence the potential consumers by providing information about its sports-fashion wear trainers consisting of the marketing mix in other words, the product, price, place of availability and promotions. This information will lead the potential observable buyers to respond to product choice, brand choice, dealer choice, purchasing timing and amount. It is said that sports events play a significant role in a communitys marketing and branding strategy (Higham Hinch, 2003). Hence Sole-Run can target more local or regional sports events which are less costly in terms of marketing budget compared to national events. Sole-Run can have special promotions in its outlets for the first time buyers. Also, by having direct marketing campaigns online which is less costly and highly effective compared to television or radio advertisement, the company can easily target the technology savvy teenagers such as by uploading videos on YouTube, and creating pages on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter encouraging them to comment and give their opinions on the trainers perhaps with special discount codes online which the potential buyers can redeem when purchasing in-store. On the other hand Sole-Run will be encouraging interactive marketing online where consumers will start conversation online about the Sole-Run trainers creating positive network influence for the company among others targeted consumers. On the other hand, in order to target the older consumers who has high disposable income, Sole-Run can advertise on sports related magazines and financial newspapers which are read by these targeted consumers and sponsor events created by sports clubs where these potential consumers can be found. TASK 2 ROGERS DIFFUSION CURVE AND ADOPTION MODEL 2.1. ROGERS DIFFUSION CURVE- Predicting buyer behaviour becomes particularly important with innovations and is particularly important in decisions concerning new product developments. Rogers (1962) attempted differentiate consumers according to their response to innovative products and identified five types of consumers based on the idea that certain individuals are inevitably more open to adaptation than others. These consumers were categorised as follows; 1. Innovators- brave consumers pulling the change and are very important communication mechanisms 2. Early adopters repectable people, opinion leaders, try out new ideas but in a careful way than innovators. 3. Early majority thoughtful people, careful but accept change more quickly than average people do 4. Late majority- sceptic people who will use new ideas and products only when the majority is using 5. Laggards traditional people who love to stick to the old ways and are critical about new ideas ad will only accept it if the new idea has become mainstream or even tradition. The research focus of diffusion has five elements which are; 1. characteristics of an innovation which may influence its adoption 2.decision making process that occurs when individuals consider to adopt a new idea, product or practice 3. characteristics of individuals that make them likely to adopt and innovation 4. consequences for individuals and society for adopting an innovation and 5. communication channels used in the adoption process (Kotler, 2010) According to this theory, the innovators and early majority comprise an estimated 15% of the population and are regarded as important as opinion leaders in the diffusion curve. Another important implication which this theory provides is that it is of no use of convincing the mass market in one go at the very beginning spending heavily on marketing and advertising. Thus the implication this provides for firms like Sole-Run is to establish the characteristics of the first two types of groups in other words, the innovators and the early adopters and to focus the marketing communication accordingly as according to this process there is always some consumers who would like to take risk and purchase the new products. This model shows the diffusion of new products as a chain reaction on influence between pioneering consumers and the mass market. 2.2. ADOPTION PROCESS MODEL The adoption model which is also called the AIETA model will help Sole-Run to identify the new product adoption process of consumers within the sports-fashion trainer market. This model suggests on how to help consumers move through the stages of purchasing especially new products. Adoption normally in this context applies to the new products. Kotler and Armstrong (2010) defined the adoption process as the mental process though which an individual passes from first learning about an innovation to final adoption. Consumers before purchasing new products will go through a five stage process which if successful will lead to adoption of products where adoption is the decision by an individual consumer to become a regular user of the product. 1. Attention also known as awareness is where the consumer becomes aware of the new product but lacks information about it. 2. Interest in this stage the consumer will seek information about the new product 3. Evaluation with the information the consumer received the consumer will consider whether or not to try the product 4. Trial here the consumer tries the product for the first time to improve the estimate of its value 5. Adoption finally the consumer decides to make full and regular use of the new product According to this model, adoption comes at the end of the process through which an individual consumer may go from initial awareness through to adoption at which point the consumer becomes a regular user of the product. Here, Sole-Run should identify the product characteristics that will affect the readiness of the targeted potential consumers to adopt the product in other words the unique characteristics of its sports-fashions trainers. The product characteristics would include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, divisibility, and communicability. On the other hand the product characteristics would not include the other aspects of the marketing mix such as price and promotions though these may also affect the rate of consumer adoption. TASK 3- EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION TO INFLUENCE FIRST BUYERS It is essential that Sole-Run pleases the initial buyers of its trainers by providing right information with effective communication that will lead to make a purchase as they will in-turn influence many subsequent customers brand choices. This can be especially true among the targeted market of teenagers due to network externalities. 3.1. THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS Before purchasing a product, consumers generally go through a process called the decision making process which needs to be identified by Sole-Run in order to come up with a better communication strategy especially for the first time buyers as the decision making process can be influenced by the personal, social, cultural and psychological factors as well as by the marketing mix variables and situational factors. 1. Need recognition this is the first stage of the buyer decision process where the consumers recognise a need or identify a problem. This can be triggered by internal or external stimuli. 2. Search for information in this stage the consumer is aroused to search for more information where the consumers will tend to obtain information from various sources such as personal through family and friends, commercial advertisements, mass media, and experiential sources. 3. Evaluation of alternatives here the consumers will use information gathered to evaluate between alternative brands in among the chosen ones. 4. Purchase decision the consumers decisions about which brand to purchase will be made at theis stage. However, two factors can come in-between the purchase intention and the actual purchase decision. The first being the attitude of others such as friends and family, and the other being unexpected situational factors such as sudden economic downturns. 5. Post purchase evaluation the final stage of the buyer decision process in which consumers take further action after purchase based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. If the product is not up to the expected standards of the consumer than cognitive dissonance may occur. The decision making process shows that the buying process clearly starts long before the actual purchase and continues long after that where Sole-Run will need to focus on the entire buying process rather than focusing on just the purchasing decision when coming up with communication strategies to influence first time buyers. 3.2. THE DECISION MAKING UNIT On the other hand, many decisions consumers make had been either made for example in the case of youngsters or influenced by one or more parties. This is collectively known as the decision making unit which consist of 5 different roles of people consisting of an initiator, influencer, decider, financier, buyer and user. Initiators are those who initiate the idea of making the purchasing decision where influencers are the people who, because of their expertise, set the specification of what is to be bought. On the other hand, deciders are those who make the actual buying decision with financiers making the purchase, and buyers processing the purchase orders and users actually using the product bought. While there can be few people playing different roles in the buyer process as well as none among a particular consumer, it is essential that Sole-Run communicate the right information and provides the expected value to the consumers who are first time buyers. 3.3. INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION As identified above the different kinds of information that are needed to influence the first time buyers as well as the people who will affect the purchasing decision of consumers, Sole-Run can adopt a intergrated marketing communication strategy where through different communication channels the company can effectively target each personnel involved in the decision making unit while providing the information for the decision making process of the targeted consumers. Thus, this marketing communication strategy will allow Sole-Run to have individual personalised and tailor made communication among the targeted consumer groups. TASK 4- CUSTOMER ATTRACTION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY 4.1. DIFFICULTIES ASSOCIATED WITH CUSTOMERS DEFECTING FROM ANOTHER BRAND TO THE SOLE-RUN BRAND Sole-Run should take into account the type of buying behaviour of its targeted market as this highly affects the marketing mix decisions. On the other hand the buyer behaviour differs greatly for different types of products and services. The psychological theories of buyer behaviour differentiate consumer behaviour emphasising the environment which is the behavioural approach and the consumer behaviour emphasising mental processes called as cognitive approach. Mainly, there are four types of buying behaviour based on a buyers involvement and the perceived differences among brands. 1. Complex buying is where the level of involvement is high with high degree of perceived difference among brands. While this behaviour is tend to be cognitive in nature the involvement arises from uncertainty of product quality, high price, and personal factors such as self image, value and needs. 2. Dissonance buying which high in involvement and low in perceived brand difference tends to be cognitive and behavioural in nature mainly associated with risky, infrequent and expensive purchasing. 3. Habitual buying has a low consumer involvement with little brand difference and less price sensitive. This tends to be more of behavioural. 4. Variety seeking which is more cognitive has a low involvement purchase but significant difference in brands. In this situation consumers, if curious about a new brand or dissatisfied with the product choice, will engage in switching to another brand easily. The differences of buyer behaviour will largely reflect on the information and communication needs of potential buyers and the best means, in each case, of meeting these needs with respect to communicated messages and media by Sole-Run. According to the types of buyer behaviour, it can be said that purchases with regards to sports-fashion wear tends to be more variety seeking where customer are highly attached to a brands perceived difference. Thus in order to get consumers using brands such as Nike or Adidas to purchase Sole-Run, the company should create a unique selling proposition targeting comfort of the trainers and positioning as a brand which provides the same comfort level as the premium brands but for a much low price. This can be done through means of proper marketing communication strategies which will help consumers differentiate the brand as opposed to competitor brands employing more cognitive approaches to its marketing and advertising. Hence, Sole-Run should also draw strategies to retain these customers by offering better service for the value. 4.2. RETRAINING CUSTOMERS THROUGH CUSTOMER LOYALTY After successfully attracting customers to purchase Sole-Runs sports-fashion trainers, the company should also then put efforts for retraining the customers with differentiated marketing strategies. Sole-Run can develop loyal customers if the company is able to successfully influence the variety seeking consumers in the market to purchase its brand and to become habitual buyers by positioning itself in the consumers mind through means of effective marketing communication as then the customers will addicted to buy trainers from the brand Sole-Run. This can be done through marketing strategies that passively communicates information as they watch television or surf the internet where unconscious advertising repetition will create familiarity, which often translates into a brand purchase when the consumer in deciding which brand to buy (Ali Gomez, 2009). As this is pure behavioural decision making, Sole-Run can focus its advertising on classical conditioning in which the potential buyers can identify the products by a single symbol repeatedly attached to it (Ali Gomez, 2009). Thus, this will not only help Sole-Run to increase sales from its loyal consumers but will also help to g ain market share in the largest market. In order to retrain its loyal customers Sole Run should mainly engage in customer relationship marketing as research has found that it is five times costlier to attract a new customer than maintaining an existing customer and loyal customers mean repeat purchases. Thus loyal customers are a powerful source of marketing the companys brand identity through recommendations and word of mouth especially within the target market of teenagers creating positive impact of the brand Sole-Run. Although relationship marketing does not correspond to a specific set of techniques it does emphasise the need to build a continuous, strong and mutually beneficial relationship between the buyers and Sole-Run which is maintained even in periods that any purchase is not in the process. Further, through loyalty marketing, Sole-Run can also increase customers life time value in the long run as it is said that especially teenagers purchase trainers to match their clothing and outfits and if they become habitual buyers of Sole-Run they will be stick to the brand throughout their life as a partner. CONCLUSION It was identified that although Sole-Run entered the sportswear market at a later stage, there is a high market potential in the sports-fashion trainers with the increase of purchase by teenagers and consumers with high disposable income. Hence it is recommended that in order to increase its market share in the highly competitive industry, Sole-Run should also target the sports-fashion trainers market with a right marketing and communication strategy. Given the research findings that consumers do not wish to pay premium prices for trainers, Sole-Run can position its trainers as providing the same comfort level the consumers expect for a lower price than of the market leaders. This will in-turn help Sole-Run not only to increase its sales in the trainers but also its overall market share in the industry by capturing the largest market in sportswear.

Availability :: essays papers

Availability It requires a great deal of money to fund the use of assistive technology in schools. There are training costs, teacher’s salaries to be paid, and the expenses of constantly upgrading technology. It also requires a great deal of testing to figure out what students have disabilities and what the best course of action would be to aid their learning. For students that attend school in a low income neighborhood, the facilities they are exposed to are most likely not up to par with the standards of higher education, or at least can not compete with the technology in schools in higher income neighborhoods. People with higher income live in better areas and they pay more in taxes, which, in part, goes to the schools their children attend. These schools are more likely to have teachers that are sufficiently trained in the different technologies used to help the students. The socioeconomic stand point also highlights the fact that people with more money will have more resources outside of schools to help their children receive the best education possible. Whether it be hiring tutors, investing in computer programs or just going over the children’s homework with them, it is often easier for families with higher income to provide these resources to their struggling children. Teachers must be well trained in the uses of the technologies needed to help the students in their classrooms. Mull and Sitlington stated in a 2003 journal article: Successful integration of computer technology and assistive technology into special education programs depends on the training of the professional required to use it, and they cannot be expected to teach students how to use the technology if they themselves have not been properly taught its uses. (pp. 26-32) If teachers are poorly trained, or not trained at all, students receive little or no useful assistance with their learning. There are many different kinds of technologies used to help students perform better in the classroom. There are proof reading programs, spell checker, speech synthesis (Bryant, Bryant & Raskind 1998), Braille calculators, printers and typewriters, as well as electronic readers (Bryant & Rivera, 1995). Also useful are tutors, interpreters and note takers, to name a few. Some other techniques that proved helpful in the classroom setting, as stated by Bryant and Rivera’s (1995) study, are instruction and modeling, grading, rewards, materials and resources, activity structure and roles, and both individual accountability and collaborative/social skills.

Equus Essay

Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, tells a young man’s story of faith and struggle. Through Alan, Shaffer explores man’s relationship with God and himself, the concept of pain and passion, and eventually, shame. Indeed, Alan blinded the horses because he was shamed, not merely of his inability to perform, but more so because Equus, through the horses’ eyes, witnessed how he gave in to temptation and betrayed his god. Alan is like any man who is brought up to his parents’ beliefs. In his case, his mother was a devout Christian who read to him verses from the Bible, where he learned of God and Jesus. His father, on the other hand, was an atheist, and seeing Alan’s growing interest in religion tore the picture of the crucifix Alan had and replaced it with a picture of a horse. This is a powerful act of symbolism. The young Alan was confused because of his parents’ differing religious beliefs. He could sense that his father did not approve of the kind of fervent religion his mother is practicing, and but Alan has already been raised to love God. He could have just become a nominal Christian; instead he turned his intense beliefs towards a substitute god, a god that his father does not hate. Hence, Equus is born – his conception of a deity embodied in every horse. Yet, essentially, his faith remains traditional orthodox Christian. Like God, Equus sees everything, like Jesus, Equus suffers for the sins of the world. Alan’s devout love in Equus culminates to his riding the horse Nugget naked and barebacked, flagellating, riding to the point of sexual/mystical/religious climax, when he screams of his love and his desire to be one with the horse. This image illustrates Alan’s intense religious beliefs that he wants to share the pain, the passion or the suffering of Equus, and be one with him, akin to the intense devotion of saints. In the next part of the play, Alan goes with Jill to a pornography theater where they accidentally run into his father. This leaves an impression to Alan that sexual desire is common to all men. It can be said that since he found his father there, he made the logical conclusion that it was something that his father does not disapprove of. So when Jill suggests they have sex in the stables, he acquiesces. But the presence of the horses makes him nervous, and he is unable to get an erection. He becomes frustrated, and he threatens away Jill. He is more than just ashamed because he was not able to perform. He was ashamed because he could feel Equus’ eyes on him, and he knows that he has sinned. Alan felt guilty about his act, about his giving in to temptation, his attempt to do it with Jill, because he perceived it as an act of betrayal to his god. He declared his devotion and desire to be one with Equus, and yet he found himself a sinner, one of those who cause Equus’s/Jesus’s pain and suffering that he professed to want to share intensely. Whereas before he devoted himself body and soul to Equus, now he has succumbed to his body’s desire and suddenly he is aware of his nakedness. His nakedness is metaphorical with his nakedness on stage and the nakedness of Adam and Eve in Genesis. Literally he becomes aware of his nakedness, when previously he rode the horse naked anyway. This awareness brings forth shame, and since his depiction of god is within reach in the form of the horses, he lashed out at them. Consumed by shame, he vents out his anger and puts out the horses’ eyes, so that he they, and Equus, through them, could no longer see him naked, nor would they be able to see his sins.

Bioethics and gene patents

Among the most controversial issues in biotechnology over the last ten years has been the patenting of human DNA sequences as well as human genes. The medical, pharmaceutical along with economic interests at stake are huge, making investments in biotechnology firms involved in gene patenting highly volatile. Gene patenting is a relatively broad term and refers to the patenting of individual processes that involves the isolation of DNA or other associated material and also to any chemical substance that is related to DNA. The idea of gene patents has played a key role in the rapid growth of the biotech industry over the last two decades.The earliest of the gene patents were obtained back in 1978. One of the biggest issues involving biotechnology and the law is the patenting of human genes. Because of advances in technology, it is relatively routine a procedure to isolate genes and determine their genetic sequence (Birren & Rommens 1999). With the recent completion of the Human Genome Project, we now know the entire genetic sequence of the human genome. All that remains is for science to determine which portions of the sequenced genome correspond to actual genes (Eisen & Laderman 2007).For these reasons, the United States Patent and Trademark Office witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of patent applications for human genes. The number of applications more than doubled in the last ten years, from approximately 16,000 applications in 1990 to 33,000 applications in 2000, and in the last twenty years, â€Å"the [PTO] has granted patents on about 1,000 human genes or gene fragments† (Willing 2000). USPTO has issued a large number of patents for gene fragments. Full sequence as well as function is in many cases not known for the gene fragments being issued patents on.Many questions have arisen over when, from the discovery to development into viable products, the exclusive right to genes may be claimed. This is important as a patent lasts for 20 years. Congress exercised its powers under the Constitution to pass the Patent Act. Under the Patent Act, a patent gives one the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented invention in the United States â€Å"beginning on the date on which the patent issues and ending 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed. â€Å"The 300- to 500-base gene fragments which are better known as expressed sequence tags (ESTs), make up about 10 to 30% of the mean cDNA, while the genomic genes typically happen to be 10 to 20 times bigger than the cDNA. A cDNA molecule is made in the laboratory and is a version of the gene which only contains the information-rich (exon) regions; these molecules offer a way to researchers to fast-forward through the genome get to more biologically significant areas. The initial chromosomal locations as well as biological functions of the while genes identified by ESTs happen to be unknown in the majority of ca ses.The patenting of genes has been a controversial area to say the least. The argument is that patenting such discoveries is not justifiable because the effort to find a certain EST is meager when compared with the work of isolating and characterizing a gene and gene product, finding out what it does, and developing a commercial product. They feel that allowing holders of such â€Å"gatekeeper† patents to exercise undue control over the commercial fruits of genome research would be unfair.Similarly, allowing multiple patents on different parts of the same genome sequence –say on a gene fragment, the gene, and the protein– adds undue costs to the researcher who wants to examine the sequence. Not only does the researcher have to pay each patent holder via licensing for the opportunity to study the sequence, he also has to pay his own staff to research the different patents and determine which are applicable to the area of the genome he wants to study. Some physic ians believe that if a lot of genes receive patents, the genetic testing of patients could end up being prohibitively costly.Even though the technological knowledge is there to develop such tests, a lot of work remains to produce them. And if the license fee that is associated with the use of each test is charged via multiple companies and entities, each owning multiple genes, then this technology may never be exploited effectively in order to help patients. On the other hand, if protection is not offered to the industry, then R & D expenses may not be recouped, therefore reducing incentive for investment in the industry. The implications of gene patenting on R & D have been the subject of considerable debate.Advocates say that gene patents like normal patents encourage the disclosure as well as dissemination of ideas by opening critical uses of gene sequences to the publicly domain. Patents also offer more incentives to investors who may otherwise be reluctant to invest in ideas th at may simply be copied by competitors if not allowed patent protection. Many argue that genes are not â€Å"inventions,† but rather they are â€Å"discoveries† which do not require an inventive effort. Because the discovery of genes does not require an inventive effort, the PTO should not issue patents for genes (Hettinger 1995).In the same regard, because genes are â€Å"discoveries† and not new â€Å"compositions,† genes should not be patented because they are not â€Å"novel,† as required by section 102. For example, human genes have existed as long as the existence of humanity; therefore, an inventor can never discover a gene and claim that it is â€Å"novel† (Hettinger 1995). Finally, carrying patent law to its extreme, some argue that anyone containing patented genes within his or her body could be considered an infringer, because he or she is â€Å"using† a patented gene merely by being alive.Some argue that because of recent advances in the isolation, purification, and sequencing of genes, (Birren & Rommens 1999) it may take only a few days to determine the sequence of a particular gene. Therefore, the relative ease of determining the sequence of a particular gene should preclude patenting of the gene because obtaining the sequence is obvious. There is a difference between patents on compositions and patents on processes. Patents on compositions are considered broader than patents on processes because patents on compositions can cover all processes that use the composition.In order to limit the number of patents for genes, some argue that the PTO should limit patents on genes to processes that utilize the genes, and not the composition of the genes themselves, ESTs a case in point (Auth 1997). In the US patent system, an inventor's reward for an invention is the receipt of a patent, which permits the inventor to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the invention. The inventor can use this â€Å"right to exclude† to commercialize the invention or to license the invention and receive royalties.The â€Å"reward† of a patent thereby encourages invention and discovery, and the PTO takes the opinion that â€Å"the incentive to make discoveries and inventions is generally spurred †¦ by patents. † Some may argue that research and discovery satisfies an intellectual curiosity, and as such, hardly qualifies as labor. Therefore, intellectual endeavors, such as research and discovery, do not require rewards. Nevertheless, Congress designed our patent system with the underlying premise that reward is required, and it is difficult to envision why the law should distinguish the discovery of genes from other discoveries in this regard.Another argument is that the patenting of genes discourages others from performing research and discovery (Hoffert 1998). Under our patent system, after a researcher discovers and patents a gene, the researcher, as an in ventor, may exclude others from using the gene (Sturges 1997). When a second researcher studies a particular disease and the patented gene's role in that disease, it may be difficult to design an experiment that does not require the gene. In order to use the gene, the second researcher must seek a license from the patentee, undoubtedly requiring a fee in the form of a royalty.Some argue that this is a waste of valuable resources that could be used for research, rather than royalties, and therefore all human genes should be in the public domain (Bruce 2000). This is a compelling argument because it is difficult for a molecular biologist studying a particular gene or protein to conceive of experiments that do not require use of the gene itself. In this regard, perhaps it is better to view this perceived problem not as creating a disincentive to invent, but rather as impeding scientific progress. However, this argument is not unique to the patenting of genes.In fact, one could argue th at a patent on any invention might similarly impede scientific progress. Ethical arguments is the most difficult to marshal and address. As such, this author will briefly address only the two most common arguments against the patenting of genes. One of the most common ethical arguments is that the government should not issue patents on human genes because genes belong to all humankind, and therefore no single group should have the exclusive property right to exclude others from their use (Doll 2001).However, gene patents are not owned in the same sense as property is owned. A patent is intangible property (Haseltine 2000), and therefore, granting a patent on a human gene does not deprive humankind of â€Å"property† in the traditional or tangible sense. A gene patent only deprives other researchers, often attempting to realize a financial gain, from its use. The second most common argument against the patenting of human genes is that researchers derive a human gene from a hum an being, which violates our society's 150-year prohibition on humans having property rights in another human being.However, should a human gene qualify as a human being or a living entity? The U. S. Supreme Court has offered a potential framework for analyzing whether a gene should qualify as a living entity. In Roe v. Wade, the Court held that the State did not have a â€Å"compelling† interest in proscribing abortion where a fetus was not viable (Nature 2003). While we cannot equate a woman's right to seek an abortion with an inventor's right to patent a biological product, the viability test may have applicability in determining whether a human gene qualifies as a living entity.The viability test established by Roe v. Wade was whether the fetus could have a meaningful life outside the mother's womb. Human genes fail this test for viability because human genes are inanimate compositions of matter. Even with all the recent scientific advances, creation of a human being in v itro from the entire human genome is scientific fantasy (Mappes & DeGrazia 2001). However, even if human genes are not viable, some may argue that patents should not be issued for genes for the same reason that it is illegal to market other human products such as organs (Justine & Harris 2002).Clearly, society believes that some human products should not be for sale, although, society somewhat relaxes this policy by allowing one to â€Å"donate† certain bodily fluids, such as plasma, for money. The underlying concern for this ban on the sale of organs may be to protect those that are impoverished from sacrificing vital organs for financial gain, but this policy is not particularly applicable to the patenting of human genes. First, one can argue that patenting of genes is distinguishable in that there is not a market for genes similar to the market for human organs.Second, one may be able to isolate, amplify, and sequence a gene from a single cell (Overwalle 2007). Thus, a pat entee that patents his or her own genes is not deprived of a vital organ in the same way as an organ donor. Undoubtedly, there are additional ethical arguments against the patenting of genes. Ultimately, however, society determines what is ethical, and consequently whether the patenting of genes meets our ethical standard. The impact on the economy if gene patenting was banned is still a measure of debate. Most advocates in the biotech lobby are of the view that it may discourage investment in genetic research.Even so it is important to realize that the expense of identifying the function of a particular gene is only a small fraction of the total cost of turning it into something viable such as a drug. There is also an argument which says that the pharmaceutical industry would perform better if scientists and companies could work freely with any genes and rather focus their energies on patenting drugs. Since 1953, when Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helical structure of DNA in chromosomes, scientists have known that the sequence of compounds called nucleotides along the DNA strands was the key to their information content.These gene sequences encoded instructions on manufacturing and controlling protein products that build, manage and organize everything in the cell. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies with high stakes in patenting genetically engineered products and their sequences have registered multiple patents over the last two decades to exploit that discovery for commercial use to make new products. List of References â€Å"Battle Over Gene Patents: The Legal, Economic, and Social Implications of Licensing the Core of Life Could Alter the Current Patent System.† (1996). Business Week -New York, NY. 3484: 56-59. â€Å"Gene Patents and the Public Good. † Nature. 423. 6937 (2003). Auth, D. R. (1997). â€Å"Are ESTs Patentable? † Nature Biotechnology. 15. 9 911-912 Birren, B. , & Rommens, J. M. (1999). Resource â €“ BOOK AND JOURNAl REVIEWS – Genome Analysis: A Laboratory Manual (Vol 1) Analyzing DNA; (Vol 2) Detecting Genes. Trends in Genetics. 15, 41. Bruce D. (2000). Ethical concerns about patenting in relation to living organisms. Human Reproduction and Genetic Ethics. 6, 10-4. Doll, JJ. (2001). â€Å"Talking Gene Patents.â€Å"Scientific American. 285. 2 Eisen, A. , & Laderman, G. (2007). Science, religion, and society an encyclopedia of history, culture, and controversy. Armonk, N. Y. , M. E. Sharpe. Haseltine, W. A. (2000). The Case for Gene Patents. Technology Review -Manchester NH: 103, 59. Hettinger N. (1995). Patenting life: biotechnology, intellectual property, and environmental ethics. Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review. Boston College. Law School. 22, 267-305. Hoffert, S. P. (1998), PTO Issues Biotech Patent Guidelines, The Scientist, July 6.Justine B. & Harris J. (2002). A Companion to Genethics. Blackwell companions to philosophy, 21. Malden, MA: Bla ckwell Publishers, 2002. Mappes, T. A. & DeGrazia D. (2001). Biomedical Ethics. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Overwalle, G. V. (2007). Gene patents and public health. Brussel, Bruylant. Sturges, M. L. (1997). Who Should Hold Property Rights to the Human Genome? An Application of the Common Heritage of Humankind. American University International Law Review. 13, 219-261. Willing, R. (2000). Gene Patent Gets Tougher, USA Today, Nov. 15, at 14A.

Responsibility Cost Control System

Assignment: Cost Modules Essay Cost management in China has been evolving over the past ten years due to influence by the foreign concepts of management accounting. This can be traced back to year 2001 where increased market openness, reduced government interference, and increased management autonomy were mandatory for China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. This change in market condition has incentivized Chinese firms to improve their management accounting practices.Subsequently, the traditional costing method is also facing a sudden threat by the influx of ABC/M, Target Costing, Responsibility Accounting, etc. Presented with new ideas, this essay will discuss the popular cost management accounting trend in China, specifically the responsibility cost control system. I will also compare the changes in the Chinese management accounting practices and give opinions on the possible future outlook of the cost and management accounting landscape.According to the research on contemporary management accounting in China by Jason Zezhong Xiao and Rong-Ruey Duh, the most widely used techniques are, cost behavior analysis, cost allocation, responsibility accounting, and cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis. On the other hand, the lowest levels of adoption are techniques like the activity-based costing/management, kaizen costing, standard costing, and environmental accounting. This result is gathered by providing the firms with 25 management accounting practices and asking them to feedback the extent to which they applied each of the 25 practices in the running of their businesses.Results showed that the responsibility cost control system, together with CVP analysis, are among the most popular ‘new’ practices adopted by Chinese firms since market reformed. Specifically, I will discuss responsibility cost control system using the example of Han Dan Iron and Steel Company. Han Dan Iron and Steel Company was established in 1958 and was originally a state-owned iron and steel mill under the administration of government authority at provincial level. It introduced ‘responsibility cost control ystem’ in the beginnings of 1990s, and went public in the next half of that decade. There are four underlying principles for the responsibility cost control system. 1. Setting cost and profit targets that take into account market pressures 2. Assigning target costs to various levels of responsibility center 3. Evaluating performance based on fulfillment of the responsibility cost targets, and 4. Implementing a reward scheme with built-in inventive mechanisms.To explain the first principle of responsibility cost control system using Han Dan Company, all 60 units and subsidiaries were regrouped and decentralized in accordance to the Company’s operational goals into two main categories – producing divisions and servicing units. Han Dan Company has 13 primary producing divisions and within each is a design of multi-t ier responsibility centers. This is crucial in the cost setting and profit targeting of responsibility cost control system and they are designed to be dependent on sales and demand, incorporating market pressure.The assignment of target costs to the various levels of subdivisions is by a top-down approach. It is different from the traditional standard costing method and is in line with the above principle of taking into account market pressure. The market prices are first determined and subsequently, target costs and profits will be just moving averages of the fluctuating market price. The third principle cannot hold without a good design and implementation governed by the DFA, the department that is also responsible to the evaluation of individual responsibility centers.This principle focused mainly on the target costs and is the most important indicator of responsibility performance in the responsibility cost control system. All bonuses will be forfeited when a responsibility cent er fail to meet its cost targets, even if other targets are fulfilled. The reward system however, does acknowledge and encourage the achievement of other related responsibility standards such as production output, product quality, etc. beyond the cost targets even though it is a secondary subject to the ‘cost-veto’ mechanism illustrated above.Although the responsibility cost control system is often compared to target costing, I feel that it is actually better than target costing due to the fact that it focuses more on actual results than forecast. Target costing on the other hand focuses more on forecast and new product planning, and extends cost management beyond the firm to include supply chain partners. Moreover, responsibility cost control system has proven great success in the case of Han Dan Company. It is an exemplary model for the government and business community in China to consider in other state-owned enterprises.Looking forward, with China’s market c ontinuing to evolve and opening up to foreign ideas and companies, we can foresee it moving towards a market-oriented economic system where companies are more motivated to adopt management techniques to improve performance. However, the adoption does not guarantee efficiency and profitability if government forces it onto them without considering the unique business situation. Like Han Dan Company, Chinese firms should diffuse and develop innovative management techniques to suit their own needs and we will definitely see even better developments by Chinese firms in the future.References Duh, R. , & Xiao, J. Z. (2008). An overview and assessment of contemporary management accounting research in china. (Special Issue ed. , Vol. 20, pp. 129-164). Journal of Management Accounting Research. WU, J. , & BOATENG, A. (2010). Factors influencing changes in chinese management accounting practices. Journal of Change Management, 10(3), 315–329. Lin, Z. J. , & Yu, Z. (2002). Res ponsibility cost control system in china: A case of management accounting application. Management Accounting Research, 13(4), 447-467.

Introducing an Innovative Product to the UK Market Case Study

Introducing an Innovative Product to the UK Market - Case Study Example The Smarttrainer is a shoe also known as 'intelligent' shoes. They are sports shoes that have permanently built-in drip in each shoe. The chips measure a variety of aspects of the user's measurement and upload this in real time to a display/controller worn on the wrist. The chip runs on a built-in battery that is kept charged by the movement of the shoe. The use of the chip is each shoe enables great accuracy in measurement as the movement of the shoes, for instance, stride distance and speed are measured by the chips comparing their location against one another. It is a specially designed shoe which is accompanied by a wrist controller. The shoe adds the wrist controller are sold as one product. Data from the shoe is transmitted wirelessly to the wrist unit. The wrist acts as a display, data store and also a timing device. With this unit, the user can read data and programme the chips to give the information required. The product will come in three types all containing the same chips. These are a track running shoe, a general cross-trainer and a walking shoe. These will be one type of wrist for all types of shoes. It will help the consumer to get vital information on health and other areas especially when exercising. It will help show the progress the consumer is making when exercising. It is important for Goldsport to understand how the product will be classified in the UK market. The Smarttrainer is considered to be a durable product. This is because the product will not be consumed relatively quickly as it last as for a long period of time. () considering this, the company can be aware of how to position the Smarttrainer in the UK market. 4. The Environment To reach the set objectives, it is obligatory to understand the current situation of the firm. It is therefore essential for the company to be aware of the environmental factors that may affect its product in the UK. According to Masterson and Pickton (2004), the environment of a firm can be divided into two parts; internal and external environments using the pestle method of analysis.

Thinking design from the outside in Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Thinking design from the outside in - Essay Example al attention or techniques that might have added value to the finished result; or perhaps points to the value in terms of discovering or inventing new techniques for further study. Knowledge of the degree of expertise involved in the making of the object also lends a degree of value to the finished product. However, the design must also be understood from within its museum context. This includes consideration of whether the museum is working to highlight a particular characteristic or illustrate a noteworthy period in history or design. To more fully understand what is meant by socio-cultural, economic, technological and museum contexts, this paper will closely examine a decanter created by William Burges in 1865-66 that is currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In terms of its socio-cultural context, this decanter captures the opulence and elaborate detail of the later Victorian period in which a great deal of the artwork designed represented a return to some of the more ornate Gothic styles of the past. Although speaking of architectural elements, Brett Ketter’s definition of the Victorian Gothic is equally applicable to this piece: â€Å"The characteristic feature of Victorian Gothic is its polychromy, in which materials of different colors and textures are used to create decorative bands †¦ different materials are used as well† (2001). In its use of several varieties of metals and glassware to present differing colors and textures as well as the use of gemstones and other materials to provide decorative elements, this decanter certainly typifies this definition sufficiently to reflect this culture. Further, the illustrative details of the piece, including the Greek and Roman coins and Roman font-style used in the engr aving throughout the piece denote the deep connection to England’s past. â€Å"Burges looked to the arts of China, Assyria, ancient Greece and Rome, and medieval Europe as inspiration for the design† (Eatwell, 1997, p.