Monday, January 27, 2020

The Furniture Company Spark Furniture Marketing Essay

The Furniture Company Spark Furniture Marketing Essay Introduction This report is based on the furniture company Spark Furniture. This report helps us to assess the current strategy of our enterprise using internal and external analysis. External analysis of spark furniture will identify major factors affecting the industry in which it is operating and to relate its opportunities and capabilities. PESTEL, Michael Porters Five Forces framework and SWOT helps to examine the strategy of spark furniture. Company overview Spark furniture emerged by taking over a small enterprise dealing with furniture groups operating from couple of years. It went with a unique strategy of cost leadership. Its products are Bed, Sofa, Dining table, and Coffee table. It has the third highest market share in overall market segment. The company is well s and known for its lower unit cost and offers lower price than competitors. Strategy Strategic management is defined as The art and science of formulating, Implementing, and Evaluating cross functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve objectives. (Fred, 1999) The strategic position is concerned with the impact on strategy of the external environment, an organizations strategic capability (resources and competences) and the expectations and influence of stakeholders (Johnson et al., 2008). Strategy is the pattern or plan that integrates an Organizations major goals, Policies, and action sequence into cohesive whole (Henry et al., 2003). Goals: States what is to be achieved and when results are to be accomplished, But they do not state how the result are to be achieved. Major goals those that effect the entitys overall direction and viability are called strategic goals (Henry et al., 2003). Policies: policies are rules that express the limit within which organization action should occur. These rules always take the form of contingent decisions for resolving conflicts among specific objective. (Henry et al., 2003) The strong strategic position is an indicator of high profitability and growth. The strategic position of Spark Furniture can be understood by carrying out different analysis on its external and internal environmental factors, and understanding its capabilities. External environmental analysis The different layers of environment that affect the market trends can be classified as macro-environment, Industry, competitors and markets. The analysis of these layers will give a better understanding of factors affecting the performance of Spark Furniture. (Refer Appendix A) PESTEL In analyzing the macro-environment, it is important to identify the factors that might affect a number of essential variables that are likely to influence the organizations supply and demand levels and its costs. (Henry et al., 2003) The Pestle Analysis is used to analyze the factors prevailing in macro-environment which may or may not influence the business, but knowing them and understanding them will help in overcoming uncertainty. (Refer Appendix B) Political Factors: Government regulations like taxation, labor policy, and excise duties issues may be a threat, as these policies will change with the change in government. Recently increase in VAT by 20% led our sales to decrease we are trying to cut down prices and provide customers with their requirements with a reasonable and effective fair price keeping in mind both companies and customer interest. This would help Spark furniture to increase its sale. Recession also affected the companys market share. It reduced peoples earning and spending capacity. Environmental Factors: Furniture industry has a number of environmental impacts that are caused by humans. The emergence of environmental concern as one of the critical factors in strategic business planning indicates the growth of environmental movement in the market place (Menon et al., 1999). Spark furniture focuses on furniture reuse, Environmental disposal green transport and recycling the products which cannot be repaired. This becomes advantage to some extent as it is able to reach the people easily with eco-friendly sense. Social Factors: These refer to what is taking place socially in the markets in which it operate or expect to operate like cultural norms, Population growth rate, Age distribution, Global warming(Due to cutting down of trees). The changes in life style of the people and attitudes to work and leisure also persuade market share. Sometimes strikes affect the market share. In Spark furniture there was a transport strike as the labour union and the employers have not reached a new collective labour agreement. For this reason during 6th period only 70% of goods are delivered and during 7th period no goods are delivered because of which company has to suffer a share loss of -0.17%.(Refer Appendix C) Technical Factors: Change in trend throws a challenge in providing customers with latest trend in the market. But on the other hand this gives an opportunity to be a leader in the market if the trend is grabbed by using latest technology and brought it to customers. These factors can affect the cost, Quality and may lead to innovation. For example, development of online shopping is well established in the market and upgrading the manufacturing process will yield to high quality products. Economic Factors: Economic factors affect industries are Access to credit, Demand for goods, and Technological advancement. The main economic threat would be existing competitors in the market. Company had a loan of  £150,000.00. Interest rate may go up due to inflation in the market this could affect the supply chain due to shift in the cash flows. Spark furniture has successfully sold its entire inventory from last 6 periods at the cheapest price possible apart from its competitors. Legal factors: Spark furniture follows the rules and maintains the specific standards set by the law, so that there is no difference of interest. These factors can affect how a company operates, its costs, and the demand for its products. Also, as it is taken over an existing business, all the legal documentation must be verified thoroughly. Limitations of Pestle Analysis: As the external environment is changing constantly, PESTLE analysis should be done on the current market situations (Cambell et al., 2002). It is also essential to analyze the level to which PESTEL is applied. When considering companies such as Apple, Samsung, PepsiCo, Volvo and Disney it is important to consider that they have many different parts to their overall business they include many different divisions and in some cases many different brands. Porters five forces model Porters five forces is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E. Porter in 1979. It draws upon economics of industries to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. (Refer Appendix D) SWOT analysis An analysis of strengths weakness and opportunities threats has been drawn for Spark Furniture. (Refer Appendix E) SWOT analysis of Spark indicates where the company is good at and the areas of improvement. It helps as a planning tool to evaluate its strategic position and to relate it to its competitors (Basu, 2009). Stakeholder Mapping Stakeholder Map shows relationship of stakeholder individuals and groups to one another and finds out the role which each entity is playing. It also shows how an organisational environment must be navigated for successful implementation of change (Berkhout, 2002). Stakeholder Map of Spark Furniture is shown in Appendix F. Strategic group analysis Strategic groups are organisations within an industry with similar strategic characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases (Johnson et al., 2009). Strategic group analysis can be useful for the following: Understanding competition Deciding a Strategy In the Furniture sales world there exist many companies that try to be the market leaders by maximising their profits and expanding their market share. Spark Furniture is accompanied by other competitors like Leaf furnishing and Green furnishing. The identical strategies like cost leadership, differentiation, focus or stuck in the middle could be followed by these companies because most of the furniture companies deal in common products like the Bed, Sofa, Dining table and Coffee table. Entry of new competitors in the market increases the competition. Availability of more attractive and cheaper versions of products and services will always makes Spark Furniture to upgrade the technology which could increase the research cost. Down fall in the economy could result in the decrease of demand for furniture goods which could affect the overall demand and market share. Strategic capabilities According to Johnson Scholes (2009) strategic capability can be defined as the resources and competences of an organization needed for it to survive and prosper. These capabilities differ from organisation to organisation. Examples of capabilities are logistics, frugal systems etc. Having these capabilities differentiates them from others in achieving a better market share. Strategic capabilities are combination of Threshold resources, threshold competences, unique resources and core competences. Threshold resources: Threshold resources of Spark Furniture are its ability to provide a wide range of choices and offers to consumers at a low price than its competitors backed up by its product quality. Threshold competences: Threshold competences are the processes to be followed, to meet the requirements of customers. For Spark Furniture their aim is to provide products at an low price while keeping the standard quality. Unique resources: The unique resources are unique techniques that help in knowing the drivers of competitive advantage. The unique prices and exhibition of products by Spark Furniture help them to reach a wide range of customers like people who could not spare more money for shopping. Core competence: Core competence for Spark Furniture is its growth strategy of Cost Leadership which helps in offering unique attributes valued by customers for a low price, and perceived to be better than that of competitors. This allows the enterprise to achieve leadership in market and long term sustainability. Diagnosing strategic capability The strengths and weakness of organisation can be identified by analysing their strategic capability: Strengths: Spark offer benefits to valued customers. As a Furniture company, the unique marketing techniques backed up by the inbound and outbound logistics helps them to maintain the uninterrupted supply of products to the customers thus helps in providing qualitative services and products at affordable cost. Weaknesses: Targeting only a particular market segment of people by proving products at low prices could slow down the growth of the company from emerging markets. Evaluation of current strategies of Spark Furniture The strategy adopted by Spark Furniture is based on the generic strategies of Porter and that of Growth Strategy (Ansoff). That is the Cost Leadership and Market Penetration Strategies. The following analysis shows how the decisions undertaken affect the market share of Spark Furniture and its impact on its income and growth. (Refer appendix G) Cost Leadership: The strategy of Cost Leadership helps the way Spark Furniture operate as they tend to target to provide their customers with a good quality products at a very low price than its competitors which helps them to perceive better than their competitors. Market Penetration: This strategy of growth has been adopted by the company to introduce existing products in existing markets in an attempt to leverage the companys brand name. This could enable the company to create a broader customer base. The impact of the above decisions can be known by looking at the market share they are able to take part of the competitors market share and by finding new customers or by getting current customers to use more products. It is considered a low risk method to grow business. Strategic clock The model of strategic clock has been adapted from Cliff Bowman. Strategic clock shows the different positions in a given market where customers have various needs in terms of price (Johnson et al., 2009). By using this model we can study the competitive advantage of Spark Furniture. Bowmans strategy helps us to find out the companys competitive status by using some strategic options. These options are the No Frills, Low Price, Hybrid, Focus and differentiation. Of the various strategic options Spark Furniture had opted for Low Price that is where the company seeks to achieve a lower price than its competitors at the same time providing similar benefits and quality as their competitors. (Refer Appendix H) The reason for the company to adapt a strategy like Low Price is that it could target the people that are most interested in Low price products. As result of the above strategy the concept of Cost Leadership will also be achieved so that control over the price elasticity of the goods sold can be achieved. Competitive advantage The main competition for Spark Furniture is from Leaf Furnishing and Green Furnishing for the leadership in market share and growth. This is making the market segment competition more severe. As a result of the Cost Leadership strategy adopted by Spark Furniture, they are enjoying a healthy market share which is reflected in the rising growth of their market share considerably and as a result the inventory turnover is good and which in turn increased their income. (Refer Appendix I) Sustainability of spark furniture Sustainability of Spark furniture can be explained by analysing the key areas in its organisational growth. The main strategic decision of Cost Leadership helps the company to retain their own customer base which in turn helps in achieving a steady share in market for a long time. Its policy is to provide good quality goods at an affordable price due to its innovative price strategy. This helps the company to maintain its aim of providing products at lower prices than its competitors and thus increasing its brand value. The main costs that could occur for Spark could be, in its education level in order to build up its innovation areas to provide more quality products and still been able to maintain low price. It also needs to spend a bit on Human Resource areas in order to keeps its staff happy and retain their loyalty for a better future as the loyalty of employees is not looking great at the moment which could affect the quality.(Refer Appendix G) From customers perspective Spark Furniture could sustain in the future as long as it can give customers the quality products at a lower prices than its competitors and by doing so it can maintain its brand value and image which could help the company to grow more heights. The other factors that could threaten Spark Furniture sustainability like their slow growth in innovations which could bring down quality of products and thus affecting its market share and need to improve its HR area in order to be more affective in their customer service. Though the company is having a consistent income there is a need to increase its income growth by increasing the sales income of the income which at the moment is bit low. (Refer Appendix G) Conclusion By examining the strategies implemented by spark furniture it seems like they adopted a strategy which suits them. However, they need to be aware of the internal and external environment which changes continuously and the company needs to be ready to adopt a different kind of strategy that could be appropriate for the situation for retaining and increasing their market share. Works Cited Basu, R., 2009. Implementing Six Sigma and Lean: a practical guide to tools and techniques. 1st ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinenmann. Berkhout, M., 2002. Service support. Norwich: TSO. Cambell, D., Stonehouse, G. Houston, B., 2002. Business Strategy. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. Edu-Finntrack, 2010. Edu-Finntrack. [Online] Available at: http://courseware.finntrack.eu/learners/strat_mgnt.htm [Accessed 14 March 2011]. Fred, R.D., 1999. Strategic Managment. New jersey: Prentice Hall. Henry, M., Joseph, L., James, B.Q. Sumantra, G., 2003. The Strategy Process. New Jersey: fourth. Johnson, G., Scholes, K. Whington, R., 2009. Fundamentals of strategy. spain: Prentice Hall. Johnson, k., Scholes, k. Wittington, R., 2008. Exploring corporate strategy. Italy: Prentice Hall. ktnrchobby, 2011. ktnrchobby.com. [Online] Available at: www.ktnrchobby.com [Accessed 2011 March 15]. marketingteacher.com, 2011. Marketingteacher.com. [Online] Available at: http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-bowman.html [Accessed 15 March 2011]. Menon, A., Chowdhury, J. Jankovich, J., 1999. Evolving paradigm for environmental senstivity in marketing programs : a syenthsis of theory and practice. Journal of marketing theory and practice, pp.1-15. Porter, M.E., 2008. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

E-waste: Cathode Ray Tube and New Equipment

Electronic waste or e-waste is any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliance. E-waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users. E-waste is the inevitable by-product of a technological revolution. Driven primarily by faster, smaller and cheaper microchip technology, society is experiencing an evolution in the capability of electronic appliances and personal electronics. For all its benefits, innovation brings with it the byproduct of rapid obsolescence. According to the EPA, nationally, an estimated 5 to 7 million tons of computers, televisions, stereos, cell phones, electronic appliances and toys, and other electronic gadgets become obsolete every year. According to various reports, electronics comprise approximately 1 – 4 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. The electronic waste problem will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Electronic, or e-waste, refers to electro nic products being discarded by consumers.Introduction of E-Waste†¢ E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world. †¢ It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from toxics ingredients, posing a threat to the occupational health as well as the environment. †¢ Rapid technology change, low initial cost, high obsolescence rate have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe. †¢ Legal framework, proper collection system missing.†¢ Imports regularly coming to the recycling markets. †¢ Inhuman working conditions for recycling. †¢ Between 1997 and 2007, nearly 500 million personal computers became obsolete-almost two computers for each person. †¢ 750,000 computers expected to end up in landfills this year alone. †¢ In 2005, 42 million computers were discarded†¢ 25 million in storage †¢ 4 million recycled †¢ 13 million land filled †¢ 0.5 million incineratedIT and telecom are two faste st growing industries in the country. †¢ India, by 2008, should achieve a PC penetration of 65 per 1,000 from the existing 14 per 1,000 (MAIT) †¢ At present, India has 15 million computers. The target being 75 million computers by 2010. †¢ Over 2 million old PCs ready for disposal in India.†¢ Life of a computer reduced from 7 years to 3-5 years. †¢ E-Waste: Growth Over 75 million current mobile users, expected to increase to 200 million by 2007 end. †¢ Memory devices, MP3 players, iPods etc. are the newer additions. †¢ Preliminary estimates suggest that total WEEE generation in India is approximately 1, 46,000 tonnes per year. E-waste: It's implications :†¢ Electronic products often contain hazardous and toxic materials that pose environmental risks if they are land filled or incinerated . †¢ Televisions, video and computer monitors use cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which have significant amounts of lead. †¢ Printed circuit boards contai n primarily plastic and copper , and most have small amounts of chromium, lead solder, nickel, and zinc. †¢ In addition, many electronic products have batteries that often contain nickel, cadmium, and other heavy metals . Relays and switches in electronics, especially older ones, may contain mercury. †¢ Also , capacitors in some types of older and larger equipment that is now entering the waste stream may contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) .You can reduce the environmental impact of your E-Waste by making changes in your buying habits, looking for ways to reuse including donating or recycling. Preventing waste to begin with is the preferred waste management option.Consider, for example, upgrading or repairing instead of buying new equipment to extend the life of your current equipment and perhaps save money. If you must buy new equipment, consider donating your still working, unwanted electronic equipment. This reuse extends the life of the products and allows non-pr ofits, churches, schools and community organizations to have equipment they otherwise may not be able to afford. In South Carolina, for example, Habitat for Humanity Resale Stores, Goodwill and other similar organizations may accept working computers. When buying new equipment, check with the retailer or manufacturer to see if they have a â€Å"take-back program†Ã‚  that allows consumers to return old equipment when buying new equipment. Dell Computers, for example, became the first manufacturer to set up a program to take back any of its products anywhere in the world at no charge to the consumer. And, when buying, consider products with longer warranties as an indication of long-term quality. E-waste: Cathode Ray Tube and New Equipment Electronic waste or e-waste is any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliance. E-waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users. E-waste is the inevitable by-product of a technological revolution. Driven primarily by faster, smaller and cheaper microchip technology, society is experiencing an evolution in the capability of electronic appliances and personal electronics.For all its benefits, innovation brings with it the byproduct of rapid obsolescence. According to the EPA, nationally, an estimated 5 to 7 million tons of computers, televisions, stereos, cell phones, electronic appliances and toys, and other electronic gadgets become obsolete every year. According to various reports, electronics comprise approximately 1 – 4 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. The electronic waste problem will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Electronic, or e-waste, refers to electron ic products being discarded by consumers. Introduction of E-Waste†¢ E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world. †¢ It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from toxics ingredients, posing a threat to the occupational health as well as the environment. †¢ Rapid technology change, low initial cost, high obsolescence rate have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe. †¢ Legal framework, proper collection system missing.†¢ Imports regularly coming to the recycling markets. †¢ Inhuman working conditions for recycling. †¢ Between 1997 and 2007, nearly 500 million personal computers became obsolete-almost two computers for each person. †¢ 750,000 computers expected to end up in landfills this year alone. †¢ In 2005, 42 million computers were discarded†¢ 25 million in storage †¢ 4 million recycled †¢ 13 million land filled †¢ 0.5 million incineratedIT and telecom are two faste st growing industries in the country. †¢ India, by 2008, should achieve a PC penetration of 65 per 1,000 from the existing 14 per 1,000 (MAIT) †¢ At present, India has 15 million computers. The target being 75 million computers by 2010. †¢ Over 2 million old PCs ready for disposal in India.†¢ Life of a computer reduced from 7 years to 3-5 years. †¢ E-Waste: Growth Over 75 million current mobile users, expected to increase to 200 million by 2007 end. †¢ Memory devices, MP3 players, iPods etc. are the newer additions. †¢ Preliminary estimates suggest that total WEEE generation in India is approximately 1, 46,000 tonnes per year. E-waste: It's implications :†¢ Electronic products often contain hazardous and toxic materials that pose environmental risks if they are land filled or incinerated . †¢ Televisions, video and computer monitors use cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which have significant amounts of lead. †¢ Printed circuit boards contai n primarily plastic and copper , and most have small amounts of chromium, lead solder, nickel, and zinc. †¢ In addition, many electronic products have batteries that often contain nickel, cadmium, and other heavy metals . Relays and switches in electronics, especially older ones, may contain mercury. †¢ Also , capacitors in some types of older and larger equipment that is now entering the waste stream may contain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).You can reduce the environmental impact of your E-Waste by making changes in your buying habits, looking for ways to reuse including donating or recycling. Preventing waste to begin with is the preferred waste management option. Consider, for example, upgrading or repairing instead of buying new equipment to extend the life of your current equipment and perhaps save money. If you must buy new equipment, consider donating your still working, unwanted electronic equipment. This reuse extends the life of the products and allows non-pr ofits, churches, schools and community organizations to have equipment they otherwise may not be able to afford.In South Carolina, for example, Habitat for Humanity Resale Stores, Goodwill and other similar organizations may accept working computers. When buying new equipment, check with the retailer or manufacturer to see if they have a â€Å"take-back program†Ã‚  that allows consumers to return old equipment when buying new equipment. Dell Computers, for example, became the first manufacturer to set up a program to take back any of its products anywhere in the world at no charge to the consumer. And, when buying, consider products with longer warranties as an indication of long-term quality.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Mapping Channel Flows in the Music CD industry

In the music CD industry, the choice of the efficient marketing policy is one of the crucial factors in the success of the particular brand. CD’s are one of low-involvement products which can be bought by the customers out of the large selection. In order to be successful, every particular producer in the music industry has to define the marketing mix of the product which includes product, price, promotion, and place. While the first 3 components of marketing mix are very important, the last one which is place seems to â€Å"catch all† of the 4 P’s.Place is a very complex component of marketing mix because it includes such important areas of marketing as decisions about channels, logistics, retailing, customer support and many other issues. The right choice of distribution policy and channels are very important for the success of the producer, and those aspects cannot be neglected.The easiest way for the producer to sell the products to the final customers is by direct selling. The dialog between the supplier and the buyer is the easiest way in which the product can be purchased. However, most industries do not have such a luxury. It becomes inefficient for the producer to sell items directly to the customer, and he gives those functions to all types of intermediaries. In most cases, complex industries have a whole chain of intermediaries which bring the product to the end-user. This system of distribution represents a kind of a channel through which from the producer to the first intermediary and from the first intermediary to all others one by one product, payments, and information flow are channeled.Whenever the chain is very long, it’s obvious that every member in the chain, as well as the end-user has his specific needs, which all have to be taken into account by the producer. It’s very important to make sure that the information flow through the channel does not break. The more intermediaries there are between the produc er and the end-user, the more complicated the relationships inside the channel become, and more attention has to be paid by the producer so that the quality of the product remains high as in the very beginning of the chain. CD’s industry deals with rights on a particular part of property, therefore it’s very important to maintain the chain of suitable distributors which provide the highest quality of the music record companies products.The most widely-used forms of â€Å"channels† of distributions used by the companies include the following:v Selling direct (with the help of salesforce);v Mail order (including telephone sales);v Retailer;v Wholesaler;v Agent (who acts on the behalf of the producer) (Mercer, 467)In order to maintain the quality of the production, it’s necessary for the producer to keep some control over the members of the distribution channel. Most music record companies pay close attention to that. Once the control is entirely lost, it mi ght be hard for the producer to monitor the sales and the quality. The most efficient structure is when the producer structures the distribution channel by himself. Depending on what market the producer is in, this issue touches him in a different way. For example, when the producer produces mass consumer goods and there are many competitors in the market offering the same type of product, it’s not that important for the producer to control all the distributors who offer his product.The producer’s goal is to increase the number of distributors offering his product because he wants to have a large share of the market. In the opposite case, when the goods produced by the company have some unique features and the company competes with competitors mostly in quality, it has to take responsibility over the quality of the products which it offers and may suffer losses if the quality of the products end-users receive is low. Therefore, the producer will very much care in such a case about the quality of the goods which are offered to the end-users, and do his best to determine only very reliable distributors of his production in order to have a strong emphasize on quality. The mentioned approaches which can be used by the producer in the distribution policy therefore include:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Intensive distribution;2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Selective distribution;3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Exclusive distribution.In the case of the intensive distribution, the main emphasize is made on the number of distributors selling the company’s product. The price competition is evident in such a case and quality of all the similar goods offered in the market is pretty much the same.Selective distribution means that the producer selects suitable distributors to re-sell the product. Those distributors who have a good reputation get a chance to sell the company’s products. The selection can be quite wide, and the producer in such a case in not very concerned about the top quality of the products which he is offering. Exclusive distribution is common in such fields where companies offer products with unique characteristics and the main point of the marketing policy of the company is offering goods of the highest quality. Every little detail of the product is important in such a case.Therefore, companies choose a very limited selection of distributors who will be re-selling their product in order to maintain the highest quality. The main partners of the company in the distribution channels include such establishments as specialty outlets, supermarkets, department stores, and discount outlets. Specialty outlets have a narrow product line (Mercer, 473). For example, in fashion industry specialty outlets aim at women of a specific age group with a specific taste. Such distributors offer a greater degree of personal service and usually the selection of products for the targeted group of customers is very large.Supermarkets can be characteriz ed by the following principles: self-service and self-selection displays; centralization of customer services; large scale; a strong price emphasize; a broad assortment of merchandise. The most famous supermarkets include Sainsbury, Tesco, Wal-Mart, and others. Department stores cover a large variety of products in different departments of the stores and offers great competition for supermarkets. Examples of department stores include Boots, Marks & Spencer, British Home Stores. Discount outlets specialize in a â€Å"high turnover at low cost†. They usually specialize in products of one field and get a 30-day credit from their suppliers. For example, they include Dixons in consumer electronics/electrical; MFI in furniture.A major feature of the distribution channel is that there is a â€Å"value-add’ of every level of channel. Just as the product and information are channeled from one level of the channel to another, the value is also added at every level step by step. For example, in the music industry, the value is first added by the manufacturer who makes the music label, then the CD’s are passed to distributors, sometimes on a couple of levels until they reach the customer. At every level, the value is added because more companies participate in the process.The manufacturer is the one who owns the music label and therefore is the main player in the game. He adds the most value to the product, which consists of the cost of production and the profit. However, without the distributors the CD would not be able to get the end-users, so at every level of the channel new value is added to the primary product. The first level of distributors can be wholesalers, the second level can consist of retailers. Therefore, value is added at 3 levels until it reaches the end-user.In the music industry, the efficiency of channel members is very high. Companies producing CD’s pay close attention to the distributors who specialize in selling CD†™s and for the most part, those channels fall into the category of selective distribution. The channel distribution in the music industry is very complex due to the characteristic features of the industry. Nowadays, there are many companies which produce CD’s (give the music label) and there are many customers in the market who are willing to buy those CD’s.   For example, Sony Records, Inc. is one of the leaders in the music industry production.However, it faces some competition in the market. Customers can give preference to CD’s produced by other companies as well. Therefore, every music record company needs to make sure there are many distributors who are brining CD’s to the end-users and also maintain high quality of the product. The distributors in the music industry include music stores which deal with CD’s in particular, supermarkets where one can also find this product, and Internet distributors which specialize in music CD’s. T he chain of distributors is quite large in the music industry. It’s very important for music record companies to provide the highest quality of their musical CD’s.One of the reasons of the need in high quality is that nowadays music record companies face sharp competition from the Internet. It has become very simple for people who are fond of music to download music files from the Internet, and they no longer need to go into the music stores in order to get the CD’s. The files which people can download from different sites are free of charge, and no money goes to the singers from those operations. One of the ways to fight with that competition for music record companies is by offering the highest quality of their products. If a person can buy a CD of the highest quality in the music store, he might stick to it and not use Internet for getting his favorite music albums.Another way is to include Internet distributors of music products which can compete with free m usic upload by offering additional services. Such distributors as Amazon.com for example can guarantee high volumes of CD’s sales due to its closeness to the customer. It’s common truth that many people who use Internet are interested in music. As long as they can order their favorite CD’s on Amazon.com, they will keep their hands off the free file upload. However, in such a case the emphasize on the quality is important as never: the customers will order CD’s from Amazon.com as long as the quality of CD’s is beyond competition. In addition to that, it’s important to make sure Internet users get some additional benefits together with CD’s, for example, suggestions about their future possible purchases, discounts, or free information about their favorite singers.The efficiency of the CD’s and payment in the music industry through the distribution channel is very efficient but there can be some developments made in it. The most i mportant is to keep in mind the importance of Internet in the distribution of CD’s. It’s also possible to devote some attention to such types of direct marketing as teleselling, direct mail, and direct selling. By mailing catalogues to potential customers, large volumes of sales can be achieved. For maximum efficiency of distribution in music industry, it’s necessary for music record companies to devote lots of attention to maintaining a large chain of distributors but at the same time monitor the quality of the products which are being offered to end-users.Bibliography.David Mercer. Marketing. Blackwell Business. 1992. J. Barry Manson, Moris L. Mayer, Hazel F Ezell. Foundations of Retailing. Business Publications, Inc., 1984. Kevin J. Clancy, Robert S. Shulman. The Marketing Revolution. HarperBusiness, 1991. Kotler. Marketing Management. 1986. R.M. Johnson. Market segmentation: a strategic marketing tool. Journal of Marketing research, vol. 7, 1981.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Technology Is The Fear Of Being Removed From Mobile...

Nomophobia is the fear of being removed from mobile contact. Just twenty years ago and mobile phones were obsolete. Now, we have a word for the fear of being separated from our phone. Nomophobia is important, not because of its meaning, but because of its existence. Technology has evolved exponentially, faster than anyone could have expected. Innovation has been at the forefront of society for the past thirty years. Innovation has been of utmost interest to all for the past thirty years. Technology conglomerates and the dot com bubble of 2000 hit the world by storm and has changed each and every one’s life. Apple, Twitter, Facebook, and many other companies that are now part of every day and minute of our lives were just small seedlings in the 1990s. After the 200’s the companies controlled our lives; one day without one of these companies nowadays and we would be devastated with problems. However, the dot com bubble also caused a major problem that no one could foresee . After the world experienced the robust growth in the early 2000’s, all things changed in 2008. Banks became too optimistic about the future and gave out mortgages and loans to anyone who wanted one. After all, with the booing economy, banks believed that consumers would be able to repay the loans without any analysis on the future. Once banks realized people could not pay back these loans, everything collapsed. Millions of people around the world lost their jobs. Many companies were forced to close dueShow MoreRelatedHow Communication Skills Can Help A Person s Personal, Professional And Social Life1688 Words   |  7 PagesIn order to move from where they are, to where they want to be, you will need to be able to use a range of communication skills. These skills involve being able to communicate understanding, care and concern and the capacity to explain events, provide encouragement, allay fears, contain anxiety, and provide practical help and support in ways that help t o build trust and confidence. REF This will form the focus of this essay. DEFINE COMMUNICATION Communication is a process where information is exchangeRead MoreSafeguarding Children and Young People Essay2886 Words   |  12 Pagesof children and young people. The different agencies involved are Social Services Police Health Services NSPCC E Safety Council Social Services They are there to work with the families. They are there to decide wether a child is to be removed into the care system. They meet and conduct interviews with families and children and leaise with other agencies. Police The police are there to gather information and decide wether a crime as been commited. If a crime has been commited theyRead MoreSecurity Issure Due to Smart Phones3394 Words   |  14 PagesIntroduction: Mobile phones have become a necessity in the modern era as their use has rapidly increased. They have advanced to a level where we can use them to access data from anywhere at any time. Many businesses and users use smart phones to communicate, carry out business deals and organize their work and private life. The advancement in this technology has also increased concern about the security related issues. The increase in technology is causing profound changes in the organization andRead MoreTDA2.2 – 1.1 – Identify the current legislation, guidelines, policies and procedures for safeguarding the welfare of children and young people, including e-safety.4380 Words   |  15 Pagesperson. Safeguarding the welfare of children and young people involves more than just protecting children from abuse, it also includes promoting their interests, keeping them safe and protecting their rights. Young children are extremely vulnerable and rely on adults to meet their basic needs including providing food, warmth and shelter, as well as protecting their security and keeping them safe from neglect or harm. The main points of legislation that support the safeguarding of children are: ChildrenRead MoreChild Care Level 35400 Words   |  22 Pagesgender, religion or ethnicity. Each person that comes into the childs or their familys life even for just one day have a duty to keep the children safe. Safeguarding legislation and government guidence feels that safeguarding means protecting children from maltreatment, preventing impairment of childrens health development and ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care. Undertaking that role as to enable those children to have optimumRead MoreFactors Influencing the Adoption of Mobile Banking49642 Words   |  199 PagesFactors influencing the use of Mobile Banking: The case of SMS-based Mobile Banking offered CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Mobile banking is an application of mobile computing which provides customers with the support needed to be able to bank anywhere, anytime using a mobile handheld device and a mobile service such as text messaging (SMS). Mobile banking removes space and time limitations from banking activities such as checking account balances, or transferring money from one account to another. In recentRead MoreFactors Influencing the Adoption of Mobile Banking49628 Words   |  199 PagesFactors influencing the use of Mobile Banking: The case of SMS-based Mobile Banking offered CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Mobile banking is an application of mobile computing which provides customers with the support needed to be able to bank anywhere, anytime using a mobile handheld device and a mobile service such as text messaging (SMS). Mobile banking removes space and time limitations from banking activities such as checking account balances, or transferring money from one account to another. InRead MoreMobile Phones5820 Words   |  24 Pagesï » ¿Mobile Phones: A boon or a bane By Ankita S., ahmedabad, India More by this author Email me when Ankita S. contributes work Image Credit: Joseph S., San Anselmo, CA Is a knife useful instrument or a perilous weapon? It depends on how it is used. Same implies with the case of technology. The greatest invention are those which affect the mass of people; and of those greatest invention is cell phones .It would be very ungrateful on our parts not to recognise how imperative are they to us. Cell phonesRead MoreGuidelines, Policies And Procedures For Safeguarding Children10761 Words   |  44 Pagesaffecting the safeguarding of children and young people. The Director of Children’s Services has the overarching responsibility for child protection but safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility and every child has a right to be kept away from harm. All of these following areas have a vital role to play: †¢ Parents †¢ Teachers †¢ Teaching support staff †¢ School parent helpers †¢ School volunteers †¢ Communities †¢ Police †¢ Local authorities †¢ Professional/charitable organisations The ‘Teachers’Read MoreBenefits Of A Dental Practice3496 Words   |  14 Pageshas not had any formal training of any sort in how to run a business and recognizing customer needs and expectations. The need to advance in new technologies such as dental equipment, staff training, wages and insurance the costs have risen from 70% to 80%. The surgery wants to be recognized as offering a high level of dental service in opposed to being a standard provide. In this case study I will be exploring the criteria on what the best ways are to increase the perceived likability of a dental

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Christmas Shopping Is The Most Difficult Time Of The Year...

Polos and Sperrys Christmas shopping is the most difficult time of the year for a lot of people. The gift-giver anxiously waits for the recipient’s delight while really the recipient could be masking an impending disappointment when opening the gift. The Christmas shopping season has turned into the annual â€Å"Hunger Games.† Parents arm themselves with lists filled with the â€Å"essential† technology gadgets and devices for the day; however, those without the time or the means to do so face disappointment. In this generation, children are no longer content with receiving simple gifts from the heart. They have been indoctrinated, at vulnerable ages, to adopt the trends of their day. When we shop, we buy stuff to fulfill our own desires based on what we like and what we are accustomed to buying. When it comes to buying items for other people, we try incredibly hard to identify with what they like, but more than usually, we miss. Does that mean that the products we buy play a fact or into who we are and how we define ourselves? According to Ashley Bickerton’s piece, Tormented Self-Portrait (Susie at Arles) (1987-88) , he personally answers this question under his own opinion: without a doubt. Bickerton provides us with evidence of how social conformity can easily boost our status in society but we do it at the loss of our own identities. Ashley Bickerton models his ‘tormented self-portrait’ after the acclaimed artist, Vincent van Gogh. Through the simplified use of basic logos,Show MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On Black Christmas787 Words   |  4 PagesNow, that Halloween is over! It’s time to start preparing for Christmas shopping. One of my favorite times to shop is on Black Friday! Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for shoppers and can be exhausting. For the past several years I’ve been a frequent Black Friday shopper. If you’re anything like me, you know how hectic it can be trying to ge t the best deal. Standing in line for one sale item is difficult in itself. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way to makeRead MoreA Brief Note On U.p. S And Retailers916 Words   |  4 Pagesdestination in time. There were lots of reasons for the ups Christmas debacle some of them being like U.P.S could not forecast the online rush.It actual forecast was 8% average rise in its daily shipping volumes during the holidays. But online sales during Christmas holidays jumped by 37% from its previous year, according to the data from IBM Digital Analytics, especially on December 23 online orders grew by 63% more than its previous year. Change of customers behavior was an important factor people waitedRead MoreChristmas Essay : Christmas : The Meaning Of Christmas974 Words   |  4 PagesChristmas is the most wonderful time of the year. How many times have we heard this phrase and yet a lot of people don’t know the actual meaning to it. For me the meaning of Christmas is the value of family time and the all the delicious food that this lovely season makes us cook. In this lovely season, we cook the famous tamales. This is by far my favorite dish, but it is also the most difficult dish to make. There are three portions to make tamales get all the ingredients needed to cook, organizeRead MoreWal Mart s The Lasting War Among Discount Superstores Essay1429 Words   |  6 Pagesthrifty customers can follow a few of their go-to stores for deals back to that year: 1962, when Walmart, Target, and Kmart all opened their entryways. Following 50 years of moving back costs, bull s-eyes, and Blue Light Specials, Cheapis m set out to figure out which discount retailer has transcended the others as far as value, quality, and administration. As anyone might expect, Walmart posted the least cost on a shopping basket of 30 indistinguishable and like things - almost 5 percent less expensiveRead MoreA True Hero : Martin Luther King Jr.1001 Words   |  5 Pagesone of the most important sparks in an individual’s life. These heroes come from an array of places whether it be books, movies, or reality. Similarly, the definition of a true hero can vary from person to person. Some individuals define a hero as fictional character who is invincible, dresses in a cape, or can fly. Others even define a hero as a member of the military. Many people around the world have heroes however, the definition of a hero to me is not a man in a cape but real people right hereRead MoreA Study On Annan Academy s Geography Class1741 Words   |  7 Pages automatically making it the administrative centre of the county. Ot her than administration, Carlisle has several other areas in which its activities are focused, such as tourism, shopping, and education. These areas are known as settlement functions. Functions tend to change and develop as a city grows over the years. Carlisle is a successful city, but whether or not this is due to its changing functions is debatable. Annan Academy’s Geography class went to Carlisle in September 2015 to obtainRead MoreWalmart : Target And Kmart Essay1417 Words   |  6 Pagesthrifty customers can follow a few of their go-to stores for deals back to that year: 1962, when Walmart, Target, and Kmart all opened their entryways. Following 50 years of moved back costs, bull s-eyes, and Blue Light Specials, Cheapism set out to figure out which discount retailer has transcended the others as far as value, quality, and administration. As anyone might expect, Walmart posted the least costs on a shopping basket of 30 indistinguishable and like things - almost 5 percent less expensiveRead MoreFive Characteristics of Us Market1643 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States is the most open market in the world, with the annual trade volume more than 1,100,000,000,000 U.S. dollars. The United States is Chinas major trading partner. Now the total volume of products that are made in China importing into the United States is m ore than 100,000,000,000 U.S. dollars. These products are consumer goods, mostly through a number of intermediate links into the United States. Many Chinese factory productions and the market are out of touch. They lack understandingRead MoreUnion Square As A Tourist Attraction1705 Words   |  7 Pagesand love called Union Square has a history that would be unknown to the naked eye. The park has undergone redevelopment multiple times in hopes of bettering the neighborhood. Within the little area, there is shopping, varieties of food, all kinds of entertainment, and of course, places to rest. Even though there is not the same overwhelming amount of stimulation as Times Square, Union Square has still become a big tourist attraction Rather, all along the outskirts of it are different neighborhoodsRead MoreEssay Five Characteristics Of United States Market1596 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States is the most open market in the world, with the annual trade volume more than 1,100,000 ,000,000 U.S. dollars. The United States is Chinas major trading partner. Now the total volume of products that are made in China importing into the United States is more than 100,000,000,000 U.S. dollars. These products are consumer goods, mostly through a number of intermediate links into the United States. Many Chinese factory productions and the market are out of touch. They lack understanding

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Client and Customer Relationship Management and Strategies Assignment

Essays on Client and Customer Relationship Management and Strategies Assignment The paper "Client and Customer Relationship Management and Strategies" is a worthy example of an assignment on marketing. As Edward Gibbon puts it, we cannot specifically certain the possible height the human species is aspiring to achieve in his own heart. In his quote, he says that we can accept in a comforting position that every generation of the world is increasing in terms of the real wealth, happiness, the knowledge and at times the morals as well. This affirms the use of technology that has taken the whole world with surprise. Use of technology is applicable in every discipline how much more is it applicable in the department of Client and Customer Relationship Management and Strategy with the ever-increasing population. Walter Disney a businessperson, came with an idea to solve the problem of a long queue in the field of business through the use of technology.Disney was a popular person in the American animation Industry. He was a producer, director voice actor, and screenwr iter. He was a significant figure in the world of entertainment. As a businessman in the Hollywood industry, he founded the Walter Disney Production Company in cooperation with his brother Roy Disney. The company later changed the name to Wilt Disney Company which was best known in film production. Disney was well known as an innovator in the field of film production. The main question is how could he use his innovation to improve CRM in his business. This paper will help us underscore some of the technological innovations he used to solve business growth problems to ensure customer relationship management.As the business grows, the customers stream in to get services to meet their needs. Customers sometimes get it difficult to be served due to the long lines making them for long hence tiring them. This was the case in Walt Disney World Company which handled more than 30 million visitors annually. One of the strategies he used was to fit an underground operation center known as Disn ey’s’ Operation Center. Within the center, there were technicians who could tell that you are on the line and most probably annoyed of the stay. For this matter, they could look for a mission to get out of the line very fast. To manage their clients who were over 30 million without one going unsatisfied Wilt Disney World turned the art of controlling the crowd into a science.Wilt Disney World regarded as being the best and happiest place in the world was eager to fasten the movement of the line in the company. Therefore, they shifted into a culture of impatience within the customers. Clients were fed with video games and smartphones to keep them busy before they were served.As a result of the increasing number of clients, Disney fitted the underground nerve center to deal with the problem of low technology in the firm that might lead to long queues making the clients feel dissatisfied. The new underground center was under the supervision of Cinderella Castle.

Monday, December 9, 2019

Putting Capita Income Back Into Trade Theory -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Putting Capita Income Back Into Trade Theory? Answer: Introduction The present report provides an overview about the comparison of GDP, GDP per capita and economic growth between the two countries. The two countries selected for this study are Australia and US. Gross domestic product (GDP) refers to the monetary value of the final products and services that is produced within the geographical boundary of the nation for the specific time period. GDP has huge significance as it is considered as one of the vital indicators of economic performance and standard of living of a particular nation (Gillespie, 2014). The GDP of a country fluctuates owing to business cycle while various macroeconomic indicators including inflation rate, unemployment rate varies owing to fluctuation in GDP growth rate. Economic growth indicates rise in inflation adjusted value of products and service manufactured by the nation and is conventionally measured in terms of real GDP. Moreover, economic growth rate of the country is basically compared using ratio of GDP to the per ca pita income. The differences and similarities between these selected nations have been analyzed in this report using PPF (Production Possibility Frontier) concept, GDP accounting method and the business cycles. GDP, GDP Per capita and economic growth rate of Australia and US during 2012-2016 Economic growth The economy of Australia has experienced unremitting growth and featured with low inflation as well as unemployment rate, low public debt and stable financial system during the year 2012-2016. During this period, this nation had experienced high economic growth with respect to the last 20 years and hence has been averaged to 3.5% per year. This nation had remained unaffected by GFC (global financial crisis) since the banking system was strong and the inflation rate was under control. The economic growth of this nation during this period has been mainly due to rise in terms of trade (TOT), diverse natural resources attracting increased levels of FDI (foreign direct investment) and minimal restrictions on the imports of products and services. In addition, this procedure of opening up also increased total productivity, which in turn stimulated this nations economic growth (Lewis, 2013). However, this made the nation highly flexible and dynamic. During this period 2012-2016, the economic growth of US measured in terms of real GDP grew by near about 2% -3%. In the year 2012, this nation had created more than 2.17 million jobs, the inflation rate had also remained low at 1.9% and even the value of dollar had also remained low (Summers, 2014). In fact, the Federal Reserve had also kept the interest rate low, which in turn increased the flexibility of the US firms. However, all these indicators reflect that the economic growth of US had increased during this period. GDP The GDP of US refers to the products and services manufactured within the boundary despite whether the organization is international or the individual offering the service is their citizen (Jorgenson, Gollop Fraumeni, 2016). The GDP of US during the period 2012-2016 has reflected continuous increase thereby reaching the highest in 2016 at $18624.48 USD billion. Although the GDP of this nation lowered during the period 2008-2009 owing to financial crisis, it recovered during the expansion phase if business cycle. In the year 2016, this economy had been recorded as the biggest trading country and the second largest producer in the globe. On the contrary, though Australia has been recorded for the uninterrupted GDP growth rate in the longest run around the globe, the GDP of this country reflected slight fluctuation from the year 2012 to 2016, reaching all time high in the year 2016 at $1567.18 USD billion. Moreover, this economy had shown huge resilience to GFC (global financial crisis ) and was one of the developed nations whose GDP recorded positive in 2009. In 2016, this country was ranked as the 14th biggest economy as measured by nominal GDP, 20th largest in terms of PPP- adjusted GDP and 25th biggest as accounted by exporter as well as importer of goods. The GDP of Australia and the US has been shown in the diagram below: GDP Per Capita GDP per capita is another indicator that helps in analyzing the economic health of the countries. GDP per capita signifies the measurement of total output of the nation that is evaluated by the ratio of GDP to the total number of persons living in the country (Markuse, 2013). This macroeconomic indicator is mainly useful for comparing the total productivity between the two countries. The GDP per capita in US highlights increasing trend during the period 2012-2016, the highest being recorded at 52194.9 US dollars in the year 2016. Moreover, GDP per capita in Australia has also reflected rising trend from 2012 to 2016, the highest being recorded at 55670.9 dollar. This reflects that the Australian workers were more productive as compared to the workers in US in account of output per hour . This productivity gap has the basic determinant of the income gap between the US and Australia (Rios, McConnell Brue, 2013). The main reason behind these productivity gap are relative factor intens ities, product differences, policies in labor market and other divergence between geographic as well as historical context. Relative factor intensities indicate the average human capital level and regulations in labor market. As labor is the only input for production, data reflects that labor productivity in US was lower than that of Australia since US used more labor intensive methods of production. Moreover, advancement of new technology, competition and rationalization also led to rise in productivity level in Australia as compared to US (McLean, 2012). The productivity level in US declined owing to great recession as it adversely affected their labor market while the labor market of Australia was not least affected by this recession. Thus, although US has started to recover from recessionary period, its productivity was low with respect to Australia that is measured in terms of GDP per capita. Production possibility Frontier PPF also known as production possibility frontier usually signifies the point at which the nations economy has been efficiently manufacturing their products and services and thus allocating resources in best possible way. Economic growth is also defined as the rise in total output by the economy if it uses all scarce resources. However, rise in nations output is mainly shown by outward shift in the PPF (Sloman, Norris Garrett, 2013) . This outward shift means the nation has increased their total capacity in producing products. As the quantity of labor is another factor that contributes to economic growth, raise in total population shifts the PPF curve outwards. Both the US and Australia has changed their immigration policy in order to increase their labor force, which shifts the PPF curve outward. Therefore, this increase in labor force increases the human capital, which in contributes to productive economic activities. Hence, the PPF curve of both these nations reflects high econom ic growth. GDP accounting methods There three various ways of accounting GDP, which includes- income approach, production approach and expenditure approach. In case of Australia, income, production and expenditure estimates are usually integrated within the annual balanced supply. The reason for using national accounts is to provide time series of production aggregates as well as expenditure that are free of impact of price change (Taussig, 2013). The ABS ( Australian Bureau of Statistics) derived estimation of constant price as means of estimating variation in volume of aggregates. Moreover, they also measure the GDP value in every period by applying equal unit prices. On the other hand, in US the most important method used in estimating GDP is the expenditure method. In this method, the GDP is calculated by the summation of total consumption, government expenditure, investment and net exports. Business cycles Business cycle also known as economic cycle refers to the downward as well as upward movement of GDP around their long term trend in growth. It is usually measured by taking into account real GDP growth rate. There are mainly five phases if business cycle such as- expansion, peak, recession, trough and recovery (Gal, 2015). In expansion phase, the economy grows at increasing rate. At peak, the economy increases more than 3%. At recession, the economy slows down but does not become negative. At Trough, the economic moves into recession and at last in recovery stage the economy again increases. The government of the respective nation manages the business cycle. The policymakers of these two nations implements fiscal as well as monetary policies for influencing the economy. During this period 2012-2016, both the US and the Australian economy existed in expansion phase, where the economy grows at stable rate. Conclusion The above report reflects that the US economy has slightly better economic health as compared to the Australia during this period 2012-2016. Although the GDP and economic growth of US reflects better economic performance than Australia during this period, the GDP per capita highlights that Australia had higher productivity than US. Overall, both these economies are prevailing at expansionary stage of business cycle and are moving towards peak. Reference Australia GDP | 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News. (2018).Tradingeconomics.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018, from https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp Gal, J. (2015).Monetary policy, inflation, and the business cycle: an introduction to the new Keynesian framework and its applications. Princeton University Press. Gillespie, A. (2014).Foundations of economics. Oxford University Press, USA. Jorgenson, D., Gollop, F. M., Fraumeni, B. (2016).Productivity and US economic growth(Vol. 169). Elsevier. Lewis, W. A. (2013).Theory of economic growth(Vol. 7). Routledge. Markusen, J. R. (2013). Putting per-capita income back into trade theory.Journal of International Economics,90(2), 255-265. McLean, I. W. (2012).Why Australia prospered: The shifting sources of economic growth. Princeton University Press. Rios, M. C., McConnell, C. R., Brue, S. L. (2013).Economics: Principles, problems, and policies. McGraw-Hill. Sloman, J., Norris, K., Garrett, D. (2013).Principles of economics. Pearson Higher Education AU. Summers, L. H. (2014). US economic prospects: Secular stagnation, hysteresis, and the zero lower bound.Business Economics,49(2), 65-73. Taussig, F. W. (2013).Principles of economics(Vol. 2). Cosimo, Inc.. United States GDP | 1960-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News. (2018).Tradingeconomics.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018, from https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp