The Effects Of Snowboarding On The Skiing Industry Essays

The Effects Of Snowboarding On The Skiing Industry Jones 1 The ski industry has been around since the beginning of the century. Since that time the retailing industry of the ski world has been on a steady increase. At the beginning of this decade the increase began to skyrocket. However, skiing was not the reason for the growth. The reason for the dramatic increase in industry sales in the retail world of skiing was due to snowboarding. By now almost everyone in the country has either seen a snowboard, ridden one, or knows someone who has. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what snowboarding is, and to shed some light on the financial aspects of this new sport. Snowboarding hit the scene in 1972. Jake Burton, at the age of 15, decided that he had enough of skiing and wanted to do something a little different. With a little ingenuity and some of his dads tools he began working on the first snowboard. His project lasted about three weeks and when he was done he decided to take his invention to the slopes and she how it worked. This was almost the end of snowboarding. Every slope Jake went to denied him access, saying that they only allowed skis on the hills. Jake was a very determined kid and this did not stop him. He began hiking every back-country trail he could find and he became quite efficient at snowboarding. At the same time he continued to knock on all the ticket windows at every resort but still had no success. He decided that the only way he could prove his invention was nothing more than a different version of a ski would be to make a video of himself riding down the back country hills. This was no easy task, keep in mind the year is 1972. Jake was Jones2 determined and he met up with a guy named Craig Kelly who at the time was into video production of skateboarding and skiing. Jake gave the sales pitch and Craig bit hook, line, and sinker. The next week the video was complete and Jake took it to all the resorts with Craig and they pled their case. By this time Jake had made about a dozen more prototypes of his snowboard and all his best friends were riding them. Finally a small mountain, Okemo, said O.K. Jake you can ride, but only during the week This was all it took and from then on almost anyone that saw this crazy kid zipping down the hill on a wooden board with both feet strapped to it began to ask questions. From that moment on Burton Snowboards, INC. was created and is now the number one manufacturer of snowboards in the world. (Burton 1988). In the 1980's snowboarding was still not extremely popular and it was very rare for a resort to allow it on the hills. As the yuppie age ended and the Generation X'ers began to get into skateboarding, BMX bikes, bungee jumping, and roller blading, snowboarding took off. By 1991 eight-five percent of all ski resorts allowed snowboarders to share the mountains with skiers. (Gatlin 1993) According to the same article over 73% of the people snowboarding in 1991 were under the age of 25. This age group typifies Generation X. Along with snowboarding came an entire new image. Brad Wilson, the marketing director for Big Bear Mountain in southern California summed it up well with this quote: It was kind of like the 1960's all over again, snowboarders dress differently, they have different haircuts and they ride on this different-looking board down the hill. (Feldman 1995). In an age where being different is normal, snowboarding Jones3 just seemed to fit right in to the picture. Now, in 1996 only 3% of ski resorts do not allow snowboarding. The resorts have realized that if they want to stay in business then catering to snowboarders is one of the easiest ways. Many resorts have begun to add new trails to the mountain just to accommodate snowboarding. Most of these extra slopes have huge jumps, half-pipes, tables, trash cans, metal pipes, and even cars for snowboarders to jump on or over. The most important feature of these special slopes is the fact that skiers are not allowed on them. The reason that many resorts have added these snowboard parks is because of the problems between skiers and snowboarders. (Feldman) Roger Hauser, the director of Massanutten

Macro-Environmental Analysis Essay Example

Macro Macro-Environmental Analysis Paper Macro-Environmental Analysis Paper Essay Topic: Marketing An organisations marketing environment can be defined as the actors and forces external to the marketing management function of the firm that impinge on the marketing managements ability to develop and maintain successful transactions with its customers (Kotler, 1997). In order to fully analyse Marss marketing strategy, it is important to look at its marketing environment first, which is made up of a micro-environment and a macro-environment. According to Kotler (1984), the macro-environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect micro-environment (internal). The micro-environment, on the other hand, consists of the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its stakeholders (external). Macro-Environmental Analysis Macro-environment, in Marss case, refers to the whole European ice cream market, since it is beyond the immediate environment but can nevertheless affect Mars as a company. European Ice Cream Market Capital requirement in advertising and branding is extremely high in the ice cream market. The spending is responsible for developing brands and generating effect on consumers decision-making process. For the premium ice cream where Mars has positioned itself, launching heavyweight advertising is of more importance, in an effort to create particular brand imagery by convincing consumers of its quality. In the ice cream market, the power of buyers and suppliers has been seen less strong as in other markets, because of the lack of concentration of its buyers and suppliers. Instead, buyers of ice cream has spread widely across all ages, although children are always the primary consumers. The threat of substitution may take forms of product-for-product substitution or substitution of need by a new product or service (Johnson Scholes, 1997). Ice cream, as a fulfilment of needs such as light hunger, refreshment, indulgence, fun sharing and thirst quenching, might be substituted by biscuits, chocolates, crisps, or some traditional snacks in some European countries. In competitive terms, there are two leading companies who dominate most shares in the European market, Unilever, headquartered in the UK and Netherlands, and Nestle, a Switzerland-based company. It indicates the unbalance of competitors. The attractiveness of industry is particularly high when the market growth rate is high (Johnson Scholes, 1997). Even up to the year 2000, the market was predicted to grow at around 5% per annum, especially in the super premium market where the growth rate is over 15%. This is unusual in mature European food markets. The high level of grow rate intensify the competition among various market players. It might also attract potential entrants, which, on the other hand, result to an even more intensive rivalry. However, rivalry can be alleviated to some extents through differentiation strategy. According to Naylor (1999), differentiation refers to the added value in which strategic business unit expects its customers to appreciate. The extra value offered by the company must also be valued by customers more than the extra cost it takes to provide it. In the ice cream market, the offerings of premium and super premium ones are regarded as kinds of differentiation. In this way, some companies will aim to gain market share by focusing on premier or super premium segment whereas the rest will fight for economy ice cream segment, thereby reducing the intensity of competition within the market. Finally, if the exist barrier is high enough, it can increase the competition as well. It is especially a concern of family firms, such as Mars. They tend to not leave the marketplace if this is the only business that they are in (Finlay, 2000). By taking all this factors listed above into account, the opportunity and threat for Mars can be categorised below. Opportunity After looking at the market in the general way, it is time to relate it to Mars company. Europe is relatively a stable environment, which provides a secure market for business, in terms of political factors. As its market share is spread evenly across Europe, Mars benefits a lot from the trading agreements, including EEC, EC, EEA, as they further lower the tariff and create customs union (Brooks Weatherston, 2000). Therefore, the prices of Mars Ice Cream tend to uniform all around the Europe. The expected increase in personal disposable income over a couple of years will also help Mars as consumers will have the necessary funds to realise their desires, and be more likely to go for high quality and more expensive products. The rise in personal disposable income helps the fast expand of Marss premium ice cream market, and indicates that this segmentation will still be beneficial to Mars in the future. As a recent trend, the traditional family meal time has now been challenged. It is largely due to peoples busy working lives. Therefore, it becomes common to find different family members eating different foods at different times. As an easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat dessert, ice cream has obviously attracted a large number of consumers. Ice cream can be taken back to home and served in flexible portions (take home) or rather consumed immediately (impulse). Deseasonalisation has considered being a tendency in recent years. It implies the less dependency on the hot weather, which, in some European countries, last for quite a short time. Marss Ice Cream has been sold all over the Europe, thus producing deseasonalised items is of more importance on companys agenda. The production of the ice cream is subject to the use of advanced technology in areas like prevention of fat accumulation and coarse texture, sweetness, or drawing temperatures. It, in some ways, raises the threshold of entering ice cream industry, thereby protecting the existing companies, including Mars, from a too fierce rivalry competition. Continued innovation is also a key issue here. Unlike a stapler or cigarette, ice cream is the kind of product which needs continued refreshment and constant innovation in its taste, flavour, texture or ingredients in order to maintain consumer interest and encourage sales and repurchasing. The ability to conduct it relates to the technology as well, which re-invigorate the product portfolio. This kind of requirement has put Mars onto an advantage position since the company has been well-known for its ability of innovation. Threat The biggest threat refers to the counter-offensive defence strategy (Kotler Singh, 1981) employed by Unilever against Mars, since Unilver has effectively prevented Mars from accessing its freezer cabinets. It is done by supplying smaller outlets with free freezer cabinets, which are exclusive to other brands, thus increasing and enhancing its retail outlets. Since macro actors are more difficult to manage and control, a proactive action is required in order to survive in the market. Overall, the European ice cream market is a stable, growing, but highly competitive environment. Stale always indicates that the low level of changeability, higher level of predictability and visibility. Therefore, a prescriptive strategy can take place. Micro-Environmental Analysis Micro-environment is the internal factors that impinge directly on Mars. Mars Ice Cream Mars is highly profitable in confectionery and prepared petfood areas, acting like the market leader in these two categories. However, since the growth rates of these two industries are not high enough, its confectionery and petfood can be regarded as cash cows. The profit generated by its cash cows is actually used to support its question mark, namely Mars Ice Cream (see Figure 1). According to Mars, the ice cream has not generated significant profit since its launch in late 1980s. Mars Ice Cream, enjoying only 5% to 10% market share in Europe, demonstrates an ambiguous future in this growing ice cream market. In this scenario, the company should decide whether to continuously fund it in order to increase market share, or withdraw it from the marketplace as it erodes the companys profit. Therefore, It is said that Mars Ice Cream is a question mark. However, in its product portfolio, no star or dog has been observed. It might imply the unbalance of its current product offering. Strength Probably the major strength Mars has demonstrated for years is its innovation ability. It refers to what Lynch (1998) calls as distinctive strategic element relevant to competing in the marketplace. However, during the early 1990s, this strategy was borrowed by Nestle, a major competitor of Mars. For that reason, the advantage of being able to innovate is a competitive advantage of Mars instead of a core competence. By adopting Porters (1985) model for generic strategies, Mars concentration on a segment of the market is categorised as differentiation (see Figure 2). One of Marss strategies was to price the ice cream at a premium level, which proves to be highly successful. By doing so, Mars has implemented a flanking attack by concentrating distinct market segments that are not adequately served by Unilever and Nestle (Kotler, 1997).

Relationship between Theory and Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Relationship between Theory and Research - Essay Example Descriptive theories are the most common theories. They classify or describe characteristics or dimensions of an individual, group, situation, or event by summarizing similarities found in discrete observations. Descriptive theories mostly required when remarkably little about the phenomenon under discussion (Ellis and Yair, 2008). Descriptive theory described into two categories, that is, classification and naming. A classification theory is elaborate in that it defines how the characteristics or dimensions of a given phenomenon interrelated structurally. Naming theories describe the characteristics or dimensions of some phenomenon. The dimensions may be exclusive, overlapping, mutually exclusive or sequential. A classification theory can be mostly referred to as taxonomies or typologies. A descriptive theory is tested and generated by descriptive research. This research usually referred to as explanatory research. Explanatory research specifically directed towards knowing the existing characteristics of the real world relative to the question being researching upon. A descriptive may or may not use an empirical method. Non empirical methods include historic and philosophic inquiries. Philosophic inquiries classify and describe phenomena through critical discussion. Moreover, historical research directed towards the description of phenomena that occurred at an earlier time (Harlow, 2011). A descriptive study employing the empirical method involves observation of a phenomenon in its natural setting. Data gathered by a participant or a non participant observation, as well as by structured interview schedule, questionnaires or by open ended. The raw data gathered in a descriptive study may be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data usually analyzed by various parametric or non parametric measures of central tendency and variability. Qualitative data may be analyzed by a means of content analysis. This technique sorts data into a priori category or into a category that emerge during the analysis (Kerlinger, & Lee, 2000). Empirical- descriptive research involves surveys, ethnographies, case studies and phenomenological studies. A case study is a systematic and intensive investigation of many factors for a group, a community or a small number of individuals. Surveys yield accurate and factual descriptions of an intact phenomenon. Surveys use structured instruments fo r collecting data although open ended questions may be included in the instrument (Harlow, 2011). The method of grounded theory yields a description of social situations and processes in those social situations. Every piece of data constantly compares with every other piece in order to discover the dominant social processes that characterize the phenomenon under study. Ethnography yields a theory of cultural behavior for a

Constitutional and Administrative Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Constitutional and Administrative Law - Essay Example Out of the three mentioned above the parliamentary sovereignty is the elementary principle which guides the action of the constitution. The root of the doctrine is in the political events of the late seventeenth century and the legal hypothesis propounded by Professor Dicey (Loveland, I, 2006, pp. 21-93.). The Parliament is a sovereign law creator and thus has the power to either make or unmake any law. According to Dicey (1885:39-40), â€Å"Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognized by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament†(Turpin, C. & Tomkins, A, 2007, p.40). Thus this doctrine entails that there is no law which is higher than the Act of Parliament. The Human Rights Act 1998 contributed the European Rule on Human Rights into UK domestic law. Section 3 of the Act produces an informational responsibility for the courts. It calls for all Acts of Parliament to be understood in a manner which is well-suited with the Convention rights. The informational powers of the courts can change the meaning of legislation when the circumstances demand for it, even though it may be clear that such an intrepretation is against the intention of the legislature. In cases of discrepancy the courts are handed the opening to make a proclamation of repugnance (section 4 of the Act)( http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/19980042.htm accessed on 13th August 2009..) The Human Rights Act 1998 also disputed the querry of whether it is reliable to the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. Even if it is feasible for the parliament to revoke or alter the Act, it can certainly be said that parliament can not break out from the force which the public opinion o n Human Rights puts on it. According to Elliot "it will become much rarer for legislation to contradict human

How was paper first made and how has it effected our world Essay

How was paper first made and how has it effected our world - Essay Example He made paper from textile waste i.e. rag and propagated paper. In those days the paper was also made from the bark of mulberry tree. The oldest paper making technique comes from China where pulp was poured into a primitive mould. The Chinese paper making technique spread throughout the world, be it Korea, South East Asia, Arabia or Europe. It was in Europe that paper got it shape as we know paper today. (Holick, Herbert.2006; Popular Science - Vol.124.1934) In the olden times, paper held great importance and paper making was an art and was kept as secret because of its immense advantages. It was an important mode of communication, i.e. a carrier of information. With time paper making has changed and every step in the process has been re-engineered too with the aim of producing a better quality of paper. (Holick, Herbert.2006) After modern paper invention in China further work was done on effective paper making techniques. China introduced many types of special papers. After Chinese developments in paper making, paper made its way all over the world. In every region and place it was developed and improved. European industrialization and mechanization added many aspects to paper making and wide uses of paper were discovered during 16th and 17th century. With the invention of printing and press media in the 14th century a new dimension was given to the creation of paper. The first paper machine was invented in 1799, which was further developed in England and USA. With the passage of time and growth in technology giant presses and publication houses were made which made the availability of newspaper, books, journals and magazines possible today. (Holick, Herbert.2006) The world wide consumption of paper has grown tremendously over years. The paper is consumed in different patterns depending upon their social, economical and technical needs. A large variety of paper grades and types are

Five Forces Analyses Of Fulham Football Club Marketing Essay

Five Forces Analyses Of Fulham Football Club Marketing Essay If existing competition is interpreted as simply emanating from other Premiership football clubs, then it is unlikely that customers will shift their support en masse to a competitor, such as London neighbours Chelsea FC. Despite the fact that some fans do attend both grounds, football is one of those products, where, what Brassington and Pettit term competitive marketing, in which promotion deliberately compares products (i.e. a BMW with a Mercedes) is inapplicable. (Brassington and Pettit 2005: p.306) Threat of New Market Entrants Similar considerations as above apply in this respect. There have been instances of new entrants competing for local market share, such as the case of MK Dons and Wimbledon AFC. However, that situation arose out of a particular set of circumstances, (i.e. control of business premises) rather than a straightforward competitive proposition. Power of Suppliers In common with all other UK businesses, Fulham FC will enter a new and more hostile environment in January 2011, when the VAT rate rises to 20 per cent. Fulham will also have to contend with inflation in its business-to-business transactions, i.e. those with building contractors, caterers, transport and hospitality service providers, insurers, utilities providers, communications and administrative contractors, security providers, and the police service. However, the Clubs principle suppliers are its contracted players and there is little to suggest that they are prepared to reduce their fees, rather player wages increase year on year. Bargaining Power of Buyers This could be a major threat to Fulham FC, in the short, medium and long term. As discussed above, the impending introduction of VAT must be regarded as exerting a downward pressure on consumer demand. Although it only represents a  £0.50p increase on a  £20 ticket, the real effect of the rise upon actual consumer demand should be viewed holistically. Fulham supporters will be paying 2.5 per cent more for all of their discretionary living expenses, with a commensurate reduction in their disposable income. If buyers (supporters) stop coming to games Fulham FC will be forced to reduce prices. Threat of Substitute Products A major consideration for Fulham FC, substitutes from outside of football may become significant, especially if alternative sports and leisure offerings were available at a competitive price. This should be considered a proportionate rather than total threat; if, for example, a percentage of football supporters switched to an attractive new product, such as basketball, ice hockey, speedway, or similar, it could impact negatively on club revenues, rather than eliminating them. 1b The Major Points for Consideration for Success in the Football Industry? It may be argued that the most important point for consideration in the success of a football business is liquidity and/or capitalization. It is definitely the case that the best-financed clubs often have the most realistic prospects of winning major trophies. In recent years such investment has become associated with the chairmanship of super-rich entrepreneurs such as Abramovich at Chelsea, and Fayed at Fulham. The latters support of the club even included the opening of a concessionary outlet on the fifth floor of his Harrods store in Knightsbridge. (Brennan et al. 2003: p.229) However, as the Financial Times indicates, dependence upon a wealthy benefactor implies contingent risks, especially if supporters are expected to replace such capitalization on the departure of the former. (Kavanagh 2010) In May 2010, Fayed sold the Harrods store to Qatar Holdings for a reported  £1.5 billion. (Arnold and Rigby 2010) Earlier meetings between Fayed and Lakshmi Mittal prompted speculation that a sale of the heavily indebted Fulham club was immanent. (Smith 2005) The important point here is that, as elsewhere, Fayeds capitalization of the club is secured through debt, a liability which would remain, should he depart. (Buhler and Nufer 2010: p.9) 2 The cost of Premiership players is constantly increasing and yet Fulham must continue to purchase strong international players if it is to continually improve. Fulhams wage/turnover ration is reputed to be around 120 per cent for the 2000 season. In what areas should Fulham Football Club focus its revenue generation activities so that it covers its costs in the longer term? Brennan et al point out; the rationale of footballs primary consumers (i.e. ticket-buying supporters) cannot be analyzed through conventional marketing considerations, since consumption of football is mediated through a variety of non-commercial criteria. Moreover, since the core product is the game itself, Fulham cannot avoid investment in the requisite skills base. (Brennan et al 2003: p.229) Since the Club cannot capitalize its skills-base (i.e. playing and managerial staff) to the extent of the top Premiership clubs, it must pursue the CRM (customer relationship marketing) strategy already adopted. As Brennan et al. express it, †¦since marketers cannot influence the outcome of the game†¦emphasis should be placed upon†¦an offering that†¦extends to an overall package built around the game. (Brennan et al. 2003: p.230) However, as Hooley et al. indicate, effective marketing and segmentation can only succeed if there are commercially significant differences within the customer base. (Hooley et al. 2004: p.271) It cannot be assumed that Fulhams 1999 market research based on an 800-strong participant sample provides enough data about these. (Brennan et al. 2004: p.232). It should therefore commission contemporary market research within a larger sample, i.e. at least 5,000 participants or 25 per cent of aggregate attendance. This data should then be use to Concentrate on developing a CRM (customer relationship marketing) approach with existing customers, through personalized e-commerce, loyalty and reward schemes etc. Their continued support will secure a stable income in the long term, and this is vital, even if it is at a reduced level. As Christopher et al. indicate, in mature markets featuring intensifying competition, existing customers imply less costs and are therefore more profitable to sell to. (Christopher et al. 2002: p.46) Hasten the development of its youth academy output and attempt, wherever possible, to engineer advantageous contractual conditions with players. This could also be used to enhance Fulhams Corporate Responsibility profile, in support of a cause-related marketing approach. (Pringle and Thompson 1999: p.xix) Continue to develop the Fulham Business Club as a means of partnership and investment with local and national businesses. As the Club states The objectives of the business club are straightforward to provide a framework for Fulham supporters in business to come together on a social and informal basis. (Fulham FC 2010) This should nurture what Buhler and Nufer term an industrial marketing perspective, †¦concentrated towards strong, lasting relationships. (Buhler and Nufer 2010: p.22) Concentrate on diversification essential to club revenues, as Brennan et al indicate. (2003: p.236) Since 2009, Fulham FC has been in partnership with Fenway Sports Group, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team. This pairing was regarded by many as unorthodox; the Red Sox are a leading US baseball side, whilst Fulham, although in the Premiership, cannot be regarded as falling into the equivalent category in English football. This stands in contrast to the earlier partnership between Manchester United and the New York Yankees. However, a spokesman for the Boston team asserted that Craven Cottage is 150 years old and Fenway Park is almost 100 years old. Both clubs have strong heritage and strong local ties in the cities in which they play. (Garrahan 2009) The arrangement allows Fenway to benefit from the growing American interest in the English Premier League; it has even been suggested that Premiership games could be played in Boston. Meanwhile, Fulham benefits from Fenways established marketing of sports in the US, a largely virgin market in comparison to UK/Europe. The important point here is that this partnership could yield valuable new market shares in the US if the Fulham/Fenway partnership succeeds, increasing revenue and profitability accordingly. 3 Fulham has a relatively low fan base and a ground capacity that is currently hindered by the need to obtain planning permission approval. How important are the fans in the generation of revenue? Why couldnt Fulham simply focus on television spectatorship? Fulhams ground capacity is low by Premiership standards, with a 25,700 capacity, including provision for 6.500 away fans. (Fulham 2010) However, an over-reliance on television revenues might expose the Club to a loss of revenue as prices rise. Even before the forthcoming VAT increase, British Sky Broadcasting has raised both the wholesale and retail prices. (Fenton 2010) In addition from January 2011, pay-per-view subscribers will begin to pay VAT at 20 per cent. The precise effects of this are unpredictable, but precedents elsewhere suggest weakening consumer demand e.g. the German Bundesbank calculated that a VAT rise in 1997 depressed domestic private consumption by 0.5 over the succeeding decade. (Unattributed 22.7.10) The important point here is that pay-per-view subscriptions nor match attendance represent a recession-proof source of income. On this basis alone, over-reliance on TV receipts is a risky strategy. Also in football marketing generally, it is not the case as Porter argued that a †¦firm gains competitive advantage by performing strategically important activities more cheaply or better than its competitors. (Christopher et al. 2002: p.121) Physical and televised spectatorship cannot be entirely divorced; there is a relationship between the two. Television spectators derive their appreciation and enjoyment of the game partly through the visual and aural stimulus of the crowds behavior at the ground, as well as the uncertainties inherent in the game itself. (Brennan et al. 2003: p.230) Half-empty and quiet grounds, therefore auger badly for the uptake of pay-per-view. It must also be considered that even neutral supporters hold in high appreciation, highly charged grudge-match atmospheres. It must also be remembered that, in the specific business scenario of English Premiership football, increased revenue is not the panacea which the question seems to suggest, since it would not necessarily lead to increased profits. Essentially, Fulham cannot escape the effects of what independent observers term the dysfunctional business model of the English Premier League, in which †¦clubs are continually driven to maximize wages rather than profitability. (Kavanagh 2010) As the Financial Times reports, Premier League wage inflation during the 2008-9 season was 11 per cent; a  £39 million increase in club revenues was dwarfed by a  £132 million rise in total wage costs. At  £1.3 billion, these accounted for 67 per cent of revenues. (Kavanagh 2010) What this means is that increased revenue, whether derived from ticket receipts or TV revenues, would undoubtedly be taken into account by players agents when negotiating future contracts and salaries. Therefore in relative terms, Fulham FC might be no better off. Fulham might also realise profits through marketing the output of its youth academy. However, the professional services group Deloitte reported that transfer expenditure was down 22 per cent to approximately  £350 million in 2010, compared to  £450 million in each of the previous years. Moreover, much of the 2010 total (40 per cent) is accounted for by the  £115 layout of Manchester City. (Blitz 2010) As a Deloitte spokesman put it †¦an absence of new owners and clubs striving to improve their financial balance has diminished the vibrancy of the transfer market. (Blitz 2010) It must also be borne in mind that Premier League rules now limit the overall size of first team squads to 25 players, of whom the overseas contingent must be no greater than 17. (Blitz 2010). To date however has had little impact on the domestic-overseas balance: accountants Grant Thornton reported that only 16 per cent of 2009-10 expenditure was on home-grown players, 20 per cent down on the previous years figures. (Blitz 2010). As one Financial Times commentator puts it Fulham have several advantages over Chelsea their tickets are cheap and easy to get hold of, their ground is picturesque and closer to my house, and their supporters unlike Chelseas thuggish, hyped-up followers are amiable and philosophical. (Rachman 2009) However, as suggested above, it is this exclusivity and character which may limit the scale ability of the brand; if it starts trading down to a wider but less stereotypically Fulham type of fan, its brand equity may be diluted. As Brennan et al. indicate The role of the brand is to act as an important link that brings the club, supporters and potential sponsors together. Building a brand that emphasises values is important to the supporters and other stakeholders alike†¦ (Brennan et al. 2003: p.240) Furthermore, there are inherent dangers in the categorisation of consumers into convenient segments. As Brennan et al. also argue Individualism is becoming increasingly important in society and paramount to ones sense of self†¦ therefore †¦Classifying supporters on the basis of their supposedly homogeneous behaviour may not serve any real purpose. (Brennan et al. 2003: p.236) As discussed above, contemporary market research data must be secured to establish a viable segmenting strategy in contemporary terms. In conclusion Fulham cannot focus solely on television spectatorship as revenue generation is directly linked to the fans, an empty ground will lead to lower Television viewers and lower television viewers means less people likely to become Fulham fans who aspire or wish to watch live games at Craven Cottage, Fulhams home ground, which in turn negatively affects all other revenue generating elements like merchandising etc.

Case 17 ? Johnson & Johnson :: essays research papers

Case 17 – Johnson & Johnson 1. Diversity should provide greater alternatives and inputs into the decision process, but if diversity is blocked due to organizational infrastructures that do not allow the free flow of information, than the diversity goes unutilized. Johnson & Johnson (J&J) structured its company to insure the positive impact of diversity in regards to decision making through its creation of FrameworkS. Through Frameworks, the executive committee is partnered with a variety of managers from around the organization that concentrate on specific, unprogrammed organizational decisions. FrameworkS matches the problem with appropriate decision making method. In this approach, managers share the problem with others and engage the group in consensus to arrive at a final decision. By incorporating managers from around the organization, FrameworkS provides a process that successfully incorporates knowledge from a wide variety of sources. Managers are able to bring a variety of perspectives and experiences to deal with the problem at hand. The knowledge brought into focus is greater with these additional individuals involved. In addition, difficulties including decision biases (confirmation traps and hindsight traps) and escalation of commitment can be countered in a constructive manner. J&J provides an environment that supports information search and open discussion among members of the group. By challenging long-held assumptions, a better decision develops from the interaction of group members. 2. J&J wished to increase both the number and quality of strategic choices for creating its future. Groups are often more successful than individuals in developing creative solutions due to the increased diversity of ideas available to the members. J&J managers attempted to benchmark high performance activities by investigating processes at its three internal and three external organizations. With a focus of identifying and implementing the new processes into J&J, the program "What's New" was the focus of the collection of J&J’s executive and senior management team. By mixing managers from different organizations within J&J, the executive board hoped to manage knowledge in a manner that supports new ideas. A manager from one area may be able to shed considerable insight into the problems of a manager from another section of the company and as a result, organizational learning is increased through a free exchange of ideas. 3. J&J has shown through its Credo and actions that the company is very committed to ethical behavior on the part of its employees and managers. Its reaction to the Tylenol poisoning, with its emphasis on socially responsible behavior above immediate profits, was entirely consistent with its ethical code of placing the customer first and shareholder interests second.