...Article Review: McDonald and Leppard (1993) The Marketing Audit The Marketing Audit Model Any marketing plan will only be as good as the information on which it is based, and the marketing audit is the means by which information for planning is organised. A marketing audit is a systematic, critical and unbiased review and appraisal of all the external and internal factors that have affected an organisation’s commercial performance over a defined period. By providing an understanding of how the organisation relates to the environment in which it operates, the marketing audit enables management to select a position within that environment based on known factors. Any organisation carrying out an audit will be faced with two kinds of variable: those over which if has no direct control and those over which it has complete control. The former include economic and market factors, while the latter usually concern the organisation’s resources, or operational variables. This suggests that the marketing audit should be structured in two parts: * External audit—the uncontrollable variables (business and economic environment, the market, the competition). * Internal audit—the controllable variables (organisation’s strengths and weaknesses, operations and resources in relation to the environment and competitors). Chapters 1—6 McDonald and Leppard’s The Marketing Audit Model is a comprehensive set of exercises that a company can go through to develop insight into all aspects...
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...strategic management audit is a technique of measuring the organization's performance. It helps to evaluate the performance of management team. An audit of management performance with regard to external strategies helps to identify problem areas and correct strategic approaches that are not effective. An assessment of the external environment shows where change has happened and where strategic management no longer matches the demands of the marketplace. Thus the organization can improve business performance by periodically conducting such an audit (http://smallbusiness.chron.com/conduct-external-strategic-management-audit-67898.html) External strategic management audits provide management with both insight and preparation for the changing marketplace, it helps finding hidden opportunities and reducing the impact of future threats in a rapidly changing business environment through identifying and evaluating trends and events that are beyond the control of an organization, such as increased foreign competition, population shifts, an aging society, information technology, and the computer revolution. An external strategic management audit reveals key opportunities and threats (the OT portion of the SWOT Analysis) confronting an organization, so managers can formulate strategies to take advantage of the opportunities and avoid or reduce the impact of threats (www.freeessays123.com/.../externalstrategic.html). 2. CONDUCT AN EXTERNAL STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AUDIT Management has to...
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...The Marketing Audit Comes Of Age Philip Kotler, William Gregor and William Rogers Comparing the marketing strategies and tactics of business units today versus ten years ago, the most striking impression is one of marketing strategy obsolescence. Ten years ago US, automobile companies were gearing up for their second postwar race to produce the largest car with the highest horsepower. Today companies are selling increasing numbers of small and medium-size cars and fuel economy is a major selling point. Ten years ago computer companies were introducing ever-more powerful hardware for more sophisticated uses. Today they emphasize mini and microcomputers and software. It is not even necessary to take a ten-year-period to show the rapid obsolescence of marketing strategies. The growth economy of 1950-1970 has been superseded by a volatile economy which produces new strategic surprises almost monthly. Competitors launch new products, customers switch their business, distributors lose their effectiveness, advertising costs skyrocket, government regulations are announced, and consumer groups attack. These changes represent both opportunities and problems and may demand periodic reorientations of the company’s marketing operations. Many companies feel that their marketing operations need regular reviews and overhauls but do not know how to proceed. Some companies simply make many small changes that are economically and politically feasible, but fail to get to the heart of the matter...
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...Marketing Audit Approach for Digital Global Payments Technology Visa, Inc. Marketing Audit Approach for Digital Global Payments Technology Introduction Visa, Inc. (Visa) is one of the leading global payments technology companies that operates as the middle-man in connecting consumers, banks, businesses, and the government in the use of digital currency transactions. Compared to its competitors (MasterCard, Discover, and American Express), Visa is able to manage more than 10,000 transactions per second with high-level security and convenience to all of its customers. Visa has offices around the world and employs approximately 5,500 people with three data centers in different continents. In this day and age, most people utilize credit cards and debit cards for purchases and bank transactions. Checks are out-dated and are not accepted by most merchants. Around the world, transactions in every form are becoming paperless. What people do not realize is that Visa does not issue credit/debit cards nor extends credit to customers, Visa simply provides away for its customers, as stated above, to offer digital payments at the time of the transaction. The ability of a business to sustain a profitable existence in any industry can be an extreme challenge. Learning how to survive in the industry as a business for longevity relies on the decision-makers in the business in which, various techniques are considered in order to maintain a marketable competitive edge within the market. When...
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...PROJECT PROPOSAL ON EFFECT OF MARKETING AUDIT ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN SELECTED NIGERIAN FAST FOOD (A Case Study of MR BIGGS) BY OGUNRINDE FATIMO OLAIDE 090822049 1.1 Background to the Study In recent years, increasing pressure to reduce costs has forced many companies to radically reengineer the way they do business. This pressure is also leading marketing executives to reconsider the goals, structure, and effectiveness of their marketing arms. As a comprehensive review of a company’s market environment, the marketing audit identifies any inadequacies in overall marketing structures. It also identifies operational strengths and weaknesses and recommends the necessary changes to the company’s marketing strategies. If the marketing audits are done correctly, they will provide management with a useful and analytical tool for evaluating, measuring, motivating and revising management actions (Mylonakis, 2003). The growing complexity of the current market environment necessitates a more systematic scrutiny and evaluation process of the organisational preparedness to deal with the dynamic market. The existing information gathering and processing methods, generally, lack a comprehensive and integrated structure that incorporates the entire marketing function as well as providing strategic recommendations for action. The marketing audit, characterised as a systematic, comprehensive, objective, and independent approach, can assist the...
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...communication function. Corporate communication strategy is seen to be the outcome of a strategic thinking process by senior communicators and top managers taking strategic decisions with regard to the identification and management of, and communication with, strategic stakeholders" (Steyn 2000a). 1.1 Discuss the purpose of corporate communication strategies. In simple words, for any organisation the main and basic purpose of corporate communication strategies is to achieve its corporate objectives. In the case of Orange, the scenario was a bit different with lot of difficulties in 1994 at the time of its launch. Because they were the last entrant in the market at that time and three other companies were dominating the market. They have identified Cellnet and Vodaphone as their main competitor because they already had ten years of market existence at that time with nationwide coverage with millions of subscribers. At this situation, Orange's higher management realised that to achieve its corporate objectives, they have to build a strong corporate brand with the help...
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...Anhui Management Development Centre/ Anhui Economic Management Cadre’s Institute BTEC Center Program: HND in Business Unit Title: Marketing Planning Unit No: 19 Assignment Title: Case Study for Marketing Planning Assignment No.: 1901 Issue Date: March 16, 2015 Submission Deadline: April 30, 2015 Assessor/Tutor: Dai Chun Internal Verifier: Qiao Hui Student: Student’s Reg. No: NOTES TO STUDENTS • Check carefully the submission date and the instructions given with the assignment. Late assignments will not be accepted. • Ensure that you give yourself enough time to complete the assignment by the due date. • Do not leave things such as printing to the last minute – excuses of this nature will not be accepted for failure to hand-in the work on time. • You must take responsibility for managing your own time effectively. • If you are unable to hand in your assignment on time and have valid reasons such as illness, you may apply (in writing) for an extension. • Failure to achieve a PASS grade will results in a REFERRAL grade being given. • Take great care that if you use other people’s work or ideas in your assignment, you properly reference them in your text and any bibliography. • When you refer to the work of other authors in your assignment, you must practice citation by following Harvard System for Referencing. • If you are caught plagiarizing, you could have your grade reduced to zero, or...
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...MARKETING PLAN FOR ABIGAIL’S MEDICAL BILLING AND CODING Abigail’s Medical Billing and Coding Services, LLC is an accurate, timely and affordabl Here are the major elements of a marketing plan: Executive Summary: The Executive Summary should be a brief summary of the entire marketing plan and include the highlights of each section to be included in your marketing plan. It should also include your Business's Mission (or Vision) Statement. Start with your Mission Statement and use this as a foundation for the rest of marketing plan. Next, work on the rest of the plan, skipping the remainder of this section until the rest of the marketing plan is complete. Your Mission Statement should be a simple paragraph describing your company's values as well as what your company does and who it is. After the rest of the marketing plan is complete, come back and finish the Executive Summary. Product Description: The product description is the detailed description of the products and/or services that you intend to market. Anywhere in length from a few paragraphs to a few pages, use this as an opportunity to communicate your ideas regarding exactly what your product is and how your customers will use it. Market Analysis: The Market Analysis is drawn from in-house or third party Marketing Research and includes: * A description of the target market * Distribution channels with any applicable laws or regulations * The unique positioning of the company and its products...
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...THE EMPLOYER PLAN SPONSOR’S PERSPECTIVE CRAIG STERN PART 1 FUNDAMENTALS OF HEALTHC ARE BENEFITS FROM THE EMPLOYER PLAN SPONSOR’S PERSPECTIVE INTRODUCTION Healthcare benefits are designed to meet the needs of beneficiaries. Benefits must rest on the foundation of the organization’s needs and expectations. As such, a benefit is not defined until there are analyses of demographics, utilization, and the current and future requirements of the beneficiary population. Then the healthcare resources, costs and financial projections are analyzed to determine the infrastructure that will be required to deliver the benefits. This chapter focuses on the elements of healthcare benefits. WHAT IS THE NEED FOR HEALTH INSURANCE? Individuals at different age levels must ascertain their need for healthcare services. The uncertainty of one’s health and the expense of requiring hospitalization, physician care, or other health resources lead many to consider purchasing health insurance. As an economic and cultural decision, some purchase monthly benefits, while others choose only catastrophic care for unintended problems requiring hospitalization. 413 32400_CH17_Pass1.qxd 10/5/08 3:17 PM Page 414 414 Chapter 17 Fundamentals of Healthcare Benefits WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF HEALTH INSURANCE? Individuals (beneficiaries) may receive health insurance protection through several vehicles. They may be covered under federal and state government sponsored plans like Medicare...
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...Markets are complex and dynamic. They are continuously evolving and require a level of understanding at both the macro and micro levels, that is necessary in order to run a successful enterprise that is adaptable and profitable. While it is not uncommon for businesses to stablish themselves in their initial stages, there is a reason why most do not survive past the Stage II phase of their cycle. The fluid nature of an enterprise’s business environment, both internal and external, require insight into the environment, the business’ position within it and it’s interactions with it. This is where strategic auditing becomes a powerful tool that can tell those driving the business what their capabilities are and how they fit in to the current market, while making strategic recommendations to help improve the company’s standing within that market. (As a side note, it is now clear to me that the entire course was basically a layout for the steps to be taken during a strategic audit.) Procuring all of the necessary information is the first step towards delivering a good strategic audit. A discerning audit identifies all of the resources available to a business, both human and in capital. Assigning proper value to each of these resources is a crucial step in formulating a plan. Looking at a company’s value chain through a Value Chain Analysis, one can discern the activities that take place in a business and break them down into both primary and secondary activities. These can then...
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...Pre- engagement activities are the processes of determining risks, choosing the best team for the engaged firm and agreeing on the terms of engagement which includes the engagement letter. 2. Preliminary Planning Preliminary planning is analyzing the internal and external factors that might have an effect on the entity’s financial status. In this step, the chosen audit team gets familiar to the entity’s application systems understands the accounting process. This step, is the start of analytical procedures. 3. Develop Audit Plan Developing an audit plan consists of 5 main steps. First one is assesing the potential error level and risks. Second step is deciding on the audit approach. Third step is controlling; in this step potential errors are tested such as cutoff, valuation, completeness. Tn fourth step, substantive tests are planned. In the last step, all of the steps above are summarized and submitted to the entity. 4. Perform Audit Plan In this process, auditor performs the plans which are made in the previous step. The auditor checks the effectiveness of the audit plan. Then, substantive analytical procedures goes on. The auditor identfies the account balance and errors to be tested. An expectation of the entity’s substances are developped. The properties which requires a further imnvestigation are identified. Briefly, further investigations are planned and the analytical results are evaluated in this step. Then the tests of detail takes place...
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...dictate policies and procedures. This control starts with the board of directors, followed by the Chief Executive Officer, vice presidents, and continues as necessary. Starbucks’ bureaucratic manages through policy rules and number of operating procedures, which helps to determine the behavior of divisions, functions, and individuals. The essential of Bureaucratic Controls, the profit motive on a larger-scale enterprise tend to help the business grow and achieve a higher level of profit. The stock market valuation of the firm is the influence by expectation of future sales and profit, produce negative growth. The cost motive the economics of scale could have an effect of increasing the productive capacity of the business, and help increase the profit margins. The market power object can increase job market dominance and increase pricing power. The risk concept provide the business expansion by stimulation with diversify production and sales, this resolution calls sales to fall in one market and rise in another (Growth Firm). Budgetary Controls Starbucks budgetary controls would begin with what is sold and expected income from that sale. The advantages of formulating budgetary controls are to reduce cost to maximize profits, and to determine weak spots for elimination. The...
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...Assurance Bulletin is intended to help raise practitioners’ awareness in a timely manner of significant new or emerging issues or other noteworthy circumstances related to engagements addressed by the AASB pronouncements. It is also meant to direct practitioners to relevant requirements, application and other explanatory material in the CICA Handbook – Assurance. auditing and assurance FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS PERFORMING AUDIT AND REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS BULLETIN Staff contact Chi Ho Ng, CA, CPA(IL), MBA Principal Auditing and Assurance Standards Department 277 Wellington Street West Toronto, ON M5V 3H2 Tel: (416) 204-3443 E-mail: chiho.ng@cica.ca Fax : (416) 204-3408 Auditing Considerations in an Uncertain Economic Environment Uncertainties in the current economic environment There is a possibility that the Canadian economy may weaken in the near term. This has been noted in various sources, including the economic forecast for Canada issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Heightened risks from renewed financial-market turmoil linked to the European sovereign debt crisis and high levels of household indebtedness are eroding consumer confidence. In January 2009, staff of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) issued a Risk Alert, “Auditing Considerations in the Current Economic Environment,” to highlight matters for auditors to consider when responding to higher risks of material misstatements of financial statements of entities...
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...From Last Submission 3.1: Plan an external corporate communications audit An external corporate communication audit requires for corporate communication for developing strategy. Knowledge in communication is required for executives to develop proper communication strategy and determine main issue for developing functions for major public issues. The proper strategy ensures inner messages for communication that perceive intended audience. For developing a corporate communication strategy, organization is not necessary and required to develop process. The productive strategy is affected by the organization as a whole performance evaluation to determine strategic goals. It is important for developing internal and external environment....
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...Running head: KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS, INC.: A CASE ANALYSIS Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.: A Case Analysis Presented to By October 09, 2009 Table of Contents II. Table of Contents 2 III. Executive Summary 3 IV. Situational Analysis 5 A. Environment 5 B. Industry Analysis 5 C. The Organization 7 D. The Marketing Strategy 9 V. Problems Found in Situational Analysis 10 A. Statement of primary problem. 10 B. Statement of secondary problem 12 C. Statement of tertiary problem. 13 VI. Formulate, evaluate, and record alternative course(s) of action 14 A. Strategic Alternative 1 14 1. Benefits 14 2. Costs 15 B. Strategic Alternative 2 16 1. Benefits 16 2. Costs 19 C. Strategic Alternative 3 19 1. Benefits 19 2. Costs 21 VII. Selection of Strategic Alternative and Implementation 22 A. Statement of Selected Strategy 22 B. Justification of Selected Strategy 23 C. Description of the implementation of strategy. 23 VIII. Summary 28 IX. Appendices 29 A. Financial Analysis and Selected Tables 29 B. Reference List 32 Executive Summary Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., began as a family-owned business back in 1937, as an expansion of a pre-existing business, when Vernon Rudolph purchased a doughnut shop along with the now-famous secret recipe for making yeast-raised doughnuts. His doughnuts, which he delivered to grocery stores in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area, quickly became...
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