... Situational Analysis Company: USPS Strengths – access to entire network of mail distribution Weaknesses – consumers thought that USPS was unreliable, no volume discounts Product – Overnight Delivery Service (ONDS), guaranteed morning delivery, drop ship and reship service, weekend/holiday delivery at no extra charge, delivery to post office boxes Price - 8 oz letter costs $8.75, on call pick up for incremental charge of $4 per stop Promotion – 1988 advertising cost $5.5million Competition | Fed Ex | UPS | Emery-Purolator | Airborne | Product | Overnight Delivery Service (ONDS), warehousing and inventory management in conjunction with expedited delivery | Overnight Delivery Service (ONDS), package tracking, guaranteed deliver, morning deliver | Air and ground delivery service | Overnight Delivery Service (ONDS), | Price | 8oz letter cost $10.50, Volume discounts to secure large share of business accounts, $3 drop off discount | 8 oz letter costs $8.50, No discount for volume shippers | unknown | ODNS rate for the government: $5 for the first pound. Offered large accounts exclusive carrier contracts using deep discounts | Place | Retail kiosks | Retail kiosks | unknown | unknown | Promotion | unknown | No advertisement prior to 1982, 1988 advertising costs $100 million | unknown | unknown | Consumer There are two bases to segment the market. One basis is reliability/certainty versus price. The second basis is business size versus...
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...individuals, small businesses, and large businesses? List these services. The UPS website provides information and services regarding billing, shipping, tracking, and business solution for large and small businesses, and individuals. Services for Individuals are: • My UPS and UPS account – This service has features such as billing information, account summary, address book, etc; and can be maintained online by the customer. • Shipping – The customer can create and start a shipment online, calculate the time and cost for the shipment, schedule pick-ups, and create returns and imports. • Tracking – This feature allows the customer to track packages and freights with services like Quantum view, UPS my choice, Flex global view and Void a shipment. • Freight – Services for freight are Critical Freight, Air Freight, Ocean Freight, LTL (Less then truckload) and Trucking (Full truckload), and UPS Cross border connect. • The website lets customers order supplies online. • UPS Communication via E-mail – The website has features like New product announcements/enhancements, promotions and offers, newsletters, and service updates/ regulatory changes. • Customer service – Customers will be able to contact to the UPS staff via Live chat, phone call, and other online support. They can also connect with UPS on Facebook and Twitter. • Locations – Customers can find various UPS locations on the website. Services for Small and Large Businesses are: • My UPS and UPS account...
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...(The Impact of Affordable Care Act on Small Business) On March 23, 2010 President Obama signed into law the comprehensive health reform known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act informally known as Affordable Care Act. According to the Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisors (EOP/CEA), “the key goals of health care reform is to reduce the growth rate of costs while maintaining choice of doctors and health plans and assuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans.” (The Economic Case for Health Care Reform, June 2009) The ACA is created to improve the overall quality of health care delivery and its’ systems while adding new consumer protections. In the ACA there is a clause known as the individual mandate. This mandate requires most U.S. citizens and legal residents to obtain qualifying health care insurance coverage, and if not will be required to pay a tax penalty. Effective January 1, 2014 employers with fifty or more employees that do not provide affordable health coverage will receive an assessment where for those businesses with less than fifty employees are exempt. States have created health benefit exchanges for individuals and small businesses through which health coverage can be purchased at affordable prices. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published several fact sheets and brochures highlighting what the ACA means for large and small businesses, individuals, families and those that...
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...Title: Critical Writing and analysis Course Code: C07CP Assignment Title: ‘Final Essay’ Word Count: 2,561 Social media at small businesses Introduction Social media is defined ‘as the way in which people interact to create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks’ (Katona & Sarvary, 2014). Few of the most common social media platforms are differentiated into social networks (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, instant messaging), collaboration networks (examples: slideshare, Wikipedia, Prezi, Google docs, Zoho docs, survey monkey), image sharing (Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest and Picasa), blogging (Tumblr, Blogger and Word-press), micro-blogging (Twitter) and video-sharing platform (YouTube, Blip and Vimeo). Apple does not use Facebook or Twitter for social media marketing because it is a multinational corporation, but not every business is as large scale and successful as Apple. Social media now represents a new horizon of marketing opportunities to businesses. Marketing is a practice, which establishes what products or services the customers might be interested in. Social media supports the development of marketing of businesses, to have a different perception about the brand; this allows creative methods to implement basic marketing. Social media marketing provides the tools that the businesses needs to be able to observe discussions through the internet efficiently (Assaad and Gómez, 2011). According to Gamboa and Gonçalves...
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...sets out to evaluate the role that small businesses play in the economy of South Africa. It discusses the role of small businesses in creating jobs, developing of new products and new markets, the flexibility of small businesses to changing markets as well as their aggregate taxes. Promoting small businesses makes sense as an economic development strategy, but with some qualifications. Small businesses are potent job creators, but so are large businesses. The attribution of the bulk of net job creation to small businesses arises largely from relatively large job losses in large firms, not to especially robust job creation by small firms. More importantly, data show that large businesses offer better jobs than small businesses, on average, in terms of both compensation and stability. Further, there is little convincing evidence to suggest that small businesses have an edge over larger businesses in innovation. However, research and experience show that pursuing large businesses is likely to be a poor economic development strategy, which suggests that promoting and fostering small businesses may offer a more viable alternative. Small businesses also contribute to the tax returns in the country. Although their contribution is far lesser than those larger companies provide, it still counts. The competition that small businesses stimulate is a driving force in the economy, as well as a challenge to the larger companies. Background Reading Small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME)...
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...they are offering those they contact, and are well versed in adapting their scripts on a case by case basis. Background Information Cold calling has always been an inexpensive way of reaching out to potential customers in order to persuade them to purchase a good or service from a business. Companies frequently buy lead lists, which include the contact information for potential customers and may be tailored to the needs of the company. For example, a pest control company may purchase a list of names and information about people who have just purchased a home. These people have been prescreened to potentially need such a service, so they are a god solid foundation for cold calling. A cold calling strategy is more than just picking up the phone and speaking to a person. A caller must realize that they need to have a well formed script and approach in order to be successful. Often, people feel as though these companies are interrupting them, so these companies need to have a good plan of action when discussing the company they represent and the products as well as their value to the potential customer (Blount, 2015). Without this, all calls...
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...Business in the Small Community Paula Vaughan Texas A&M University – Commerce Operating a small business in a small community has many challenges. There are no large marketing firms, boards of directors, or legions of employees to make the operation run efficiently and productively. It is simply the owner, one or two other employees (usually family members), and the products being sold. In the case of some small businesses, there are a myriad of products to increase sales opportunities, and profits. I will be focusing on those businesses within the Choctaw Nation located in southern Oklahoma, and how they serve the citizens within their community. Small towns and small businesses with a large impact. Southeastern Oklahoma is home to 31 towns, or communities, within Choctaw County alone. Most of these have a store that serves as gas station, grocery, hardware, and over-the-counter drug store. In addition they have a mechanic, a small diner, and two or three churches. Most mail is delivered on rural routes with post offices being located in the larger of the towns, or smaller ones several miles apart. In this area small business is a big deal. The people of southeastern Oklahoma are in one of the five Promise Zones identified by President Obama in January 2015. The Promise Zone is “an anti-poverty initiative that provides resources such as grants and tax incentives to help improve conditions in persistently high poverty communities” (Cosgrove, 2015). As one...
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...IS SMALL BEAUTIFUL? Examining whether size plays a role in the entrepreneurial process Business Thinking – Comm-210 Section GG Instructor: Dr. Isabelle Dostaler Prepared by: Group no.2 Faizan Khan Dorfam Kheiri Elissa Kheirallah Talal Challah Kayla Fuelscher i.d.# 6289169 i.d.# 6114199 i.d.# 6329934 i.d.# 6351964 i.d.# 9098895 Date Due: Date Submitted: April 11th, 2012 April 11th, 2012 The triumph of an underdog story seems to be mythologized in North-American culture. That may, in part, explain why small innovators are often lauded as white knights, champions of business ethics whose chief preoccupation is to galvanize a moribund economy with up-to-the-minute ideas. At any rate, reality deals a heavy blow to newly-minted entrepreneurs. Centralized, staff-laden enterprises possess the economic clout to employ economies of scale, making it very hard for the small business owner to break through. Amidst this competition, can small businesses truly thrive? Is small beautiful? In order to reach a satisfying answer, one may examine the trickle-down effect of employer-employee relations. In particular, the manner in which professional relationships in small enterprises can influence the company’s decision-making process, core values, and competitive advantage. To answer this question, a two-pronged approach...
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...Computing in Businesses Cloud computing has been a controversy in Information Systems since Salesforce.com, the first of its kind, was released in 1999. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, “cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” (Mell). In other words, the cloud uses the Internet to store, access, and process data. Before cloud computing, the only other way to store and process data was through in-house servers, which are simply a server located within the company. The invention of all new technology brings controversy because the amount of issues that could come from it must be compared to the amount of benefits. There are three different types of cloud computing, all of which can be incredibly beneficial for both personal and business use: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Turim-Nygren). Although they all function similarly, they take on their own roles and process information differently. The most commonly known is cloud storage such as Dropbox and Google Drive, which are categorized as SaaS. The pros and cons of cloud computing have been debated over the past decade, and individuals and businesses alike...
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...Analysis Summary The market for office cleaning in the Davao City area includes household subdivision, small offices (1-5 employees), medium offices (6-20 employees) and large offices (21 employees and up). In the Kansas City area, businesses with offices are growing as the service sector increases, with a net of 3,000 new businesses established in 2008. Due to the economic renewal occurring in this community, this growth is expected to continue over the next two years. Small offices are targeted as well as large, although margins will be lower due to the increased amount spent on sales and travel relative to medium and large offices, because many small businesses will expand, giving HH chores services a foothold in this market by the time competitors are willing to sell to them. Market Segmentation The market for HH chores services is comprised of small offices, medium offices and large offices in the Davao City area. Household Subdivisions: This group serves as the fundamental market and have the greater demands Small Offices: Either newly established ventures, or small businesses designed to remain small, few cleaning businesses seek to serve this market because of the cost in doing so. Therefore, business owners generally require employees to do their own cleaning, assuming they are saving money through this work. HH chores services must show these businesses not only that they do not save money by having employees do this work, but that by having professional cleaners...
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...INTRODUCTION Due to the introduction of the Big Box Format, many small business owners have been forced to close their doors, consequently leaving them in limbo with regards to how they are supposed to support their families. The Big Box Format of conducting business has stiffened competition in business as a whole. These Big Box Organizations have the ability to use their vast amount of resources to exploit market opportunities and neutralize threats, as well as take advantage of the economies of scale and scope. Subsequently, this report touches upon the large scope effects of the Big Box Format; as well as addresses certain strategies that small businesses could apply and if they are realistic. Big Box Firms are organizations that undermine local business as well as entrepreneurialism and innovation. They are composed of Firms that occupy a minimum of 50,000 square feet of land containing a wide variety products available for sale (Investopedia, 2013), therefore many consumers consider Big Box Firms as one stop shop. Subsequently, the Big Box Firms apply predatory marketing strategies, in which they highlight their ability to offer cost savings as well as convenience. FINDINGS Modern Concept, Classic View Although the Big Box format of conducting business can be considered somewhat of a modern business concept, the Big Box format contains certain elements that relate back to classic business theories. The way that these Big Box firms conduct business,...
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...Different methods of measuring the size of a business The number of employees: This will not work on capital intensive firms as they use more machinery and technology, yet there businesses may still be large. The amount of capital invested: This method does not work on labour intensive firms as the business may have a high amount of capital employed yet a low output and therefore low efficiency. The sales turnover: A business may not always be able to achieve maximum results in sales however this does not mean that they are not a large business, only that the business is not at its best at the moment. Market Capitalization: Markets tend to be highly volatile, and the prices of shares differ on a daily basis however this does not determine the size of the business. Therefore, when determining the size of a business, a combination of factors must be considered. Advantages and disadvantages of being a small business Advantages * Low start up capital required: small business is the relatively low startup capital needed. Personal savings, small grants and loans from friends and family are usually enough to start up a small venture. * Independence: you have the freedom to make the decisions that are crucial to your own business success. * Easier to manage: Dealings are usually local. * Decision making is faster * Profits are solely the owners * Creative freedom and personal satisfaction: you’ll gain personal satisfaction from implementing your ideas...
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...eliminate barriers to international e-commerce for small businesses? AMBA 600: MBA Fundamentals Executive Summary With the birth of the Internet and the trend of globalization, small businesses are now able to reach beyond their immediate neighborhoods for both a captive market base and increased access to global manufacturers. Gone are the days when customer interactions were limited to face to face and supply resources were limited to goods purchased within driving distance of your hub. The introduction of the Internet has made our world a much smaller place to conduct business. I started an online business that primarily uses suppliers based in China and India, while our client base mostly hails from the Western hemisphere. Without the internet, we would have grossly reduced access to affordable wholesale goods and would have been limited to a local customer base to survive. It has expanded our reach far greater than we could have ever imagined. It is amazing to have customers in a country that neither of our company’s founders have ever visited. Throughout this paper, I will examine how the Internet has helped small businesses compete on a global scale through its impact on customer interactions, communication and competitor research. Creating and sustaining a company is a very rewarding, but challenging experience. The statistics are daunting; U.S. Census data reports that almost 50% of all businesses fail within their first five years. And while the reason...
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...Computing Introduction Back in the year 1995, Amazon was opened as a bookstore, one that has grown over the years and morphed into a large reputable internet based company. One of the largest virtual superstores today in the world, Amazon offers up to thirty six categories of products. Jewelry, furniture, clothing and groceries are just but a few of the products that Amazon has to offer. Today, Amazon boasts of being the top online retailer in the whole world (Andrei and Jain, 2009). In an effort to modernize its data centers and software and also be able to add new features in the existing product pages, it developed a number of important services that have proved significant in its growth over the years. Question 1 World over, Amazon is known for the provision of cloud computing also known as utility computing or demand computing. In essence, it refers to allowing the firm to offload peak demand for computing power to large scale data processing centers that are remote. In a nutshell, the Amazon Company offers computing capacity on a per usage basis. Amazon is at an advantageous point in terms of business in the sense that it can generate more income from a number of other businesses (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg and Brandic, 2009). This can be achieved through provision of its extra and additional capacity to those in need. Amazon uses only a small percentage or portion of its computing capacity and any one time, a scenario that is synonymous with a number of establishments...
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...Computing Introduction Back in the year 1995, Amazon was opened as a bookstore, one that has grown over the years and morphed into a large reputable internet based company. One of the largest virtual superstores today in the world, Amazon offers up to thirty six categories of products. Jewelry, furniture, clothing and groceries are just but a few of the products that Amazon has to offer. Today, Amazon boasts of being the top online retailer in the whole world (Andrei and Jain, 2009). In an effort to modernize its data centers and software and also be able to add new features in the existing product pages, it developed a number of important services that have proved significant in its growth over the years. Question 1 World over, Amazon is known for the provision of cloud computing also known as utility computing or demand computing. In essence, it refers to allowing the firm to offload peak demand for computing power to large scale data processing centers that are remote. In a nutshell, the Amazon Company offers computing capacity on a per usage basis. Amazon is at an advantageous point in terms of business in the sense that it can generate more income from a number of other businesses (Buyya, Yeo, Venugopal, Broberg and Brandic, 2009). This can be achieved through provision of its extra and additional capacity to those in need. Amazon uses only a small percentage or portion of its computing capacity and any one time, a scenario that is synonymous with a number of establishments...
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