Mainland china culture oriented market Research Paper

Mainland china culture oriented market - Research Paper Example Essentially, the diversity in culture is among the core aspects significant while a company puts interest in the global market; moreover, most business researchers and leaders put a lot of focus on this factor, as it is a core determiner of where a company stands in the international market. In some countries such as China and Japan, people buy products basing on the perception of a group i.e. people buy foodstuffs putting into consideration every member of the family: however, in the US and UK people purchase things according to their own opinion or preference (Fernanda 2009). This is among the main factors causing the difference in market approach and market plan i.e. States in Asia prefer collective advertising while the United States concentrates on individual advertising. The main cypher that relates to how the culture impacts, is the language which most states consider to signify vanity and a legacy; however, there are other symbols that matter just as much but this is the basis of how an organization approaches a certain market. This research paper focuses on mainland China as an emerging market; moreover, it analyses the difference between China based companies and others from the west evaluating the market plans and approach for the two. Most corporations in China have developed over the years as their businesses plans, strategies continue to become more refined and leaning more to the culture; however, this poses as a challenge to the companies in the western countries (Sin 2004). Most of these corporations that try to enter the international market fail because they overlook the cultural differences in mainland China and the only way out is to understand the diversities and exploit them through new marketing strategies that will be the foundation of the overall success in these markets. In an exploration of the Chinese’ market approach, its essential that one compares the dissimilar kinds of corporations and organizations

Experimental Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experimental Study - Essay Example Initially, participant clinics, instead of individual participants, were recruited based on the following inclusion criteria: (1) willingness to participate in the study; (2) the number of patients; and (3) similarity of clinical routines. During this stage, there were a total of 179 patients in all the clinics being considered. The following exclusion criteria were adopted in the selection of individual participants for both groups: (1) duration of diabetes of less than 6 months; (2) mental retardation; (3) lack of fluency in the Dutch language. Only eight patients were excluded, but 80 patients refused to participate. After the baseline data have been obtained, 2 clinics were allocated for monitoring intervention and 2 clinics were allocated to control group. Informed consent was administered among patients willing to participate in the research study. The initial sample size is 46 patients for the intervention group and 45 patients for the control group. Data collection at baseline was not discussed in detail in this study, but in the related study with the same set of authors (De wit, et al., 2007).   All patients and their parents were administered a booklet containing questions regarding demographic information and questions to assess their physical and psychosocial well-being which were to be answered at home and returned by mail or submitted to the clinic during one of their routine appointments. Most recent glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c)  and treatment regimen were recorded form the patients’ charts. Physical and psychosocial well-being  of the patients was measured using the 87-item child report version of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-CF87), while their parents completed the CHQ-PF50 equivalent to the CHQ-CF87. Depression, as part of the psychosocial well-being of the patients was assessed using the 20-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Scale for Depression (CES-D)  for both patients and their

Marketing Strategy Of Sony Marketing Essay

Marketing Strategy Of Sony Marketing Essay Question. What is the relevance of Setting of marketing objective vis-à  -vis product launch. Please explain with the help of a product / company. Ans. MARKETING is defined as a social and managerial process by which individual and group obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and exchanging products of value with others. Marketing objectives define what you want to  accomplish through your marketing activities. There are several important factors to consider when establishing effective marketing objectives. Stating marketing objectives directs the development of your marketing plan. Marketing objectives should contribute toward achievement of the overall business objectives i.e. how much do you need to sell to achieve X% cost recovery or profit/loss-and should be based on the information gleaned in market research. Marketing objectives must: Be clear. Be measurable. Be achievable. Have a stated time frame. Include a sales forecast (at least one marketing objective). SMART Approach = Setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific objectives When setting objectives it is very important to ensure that your objectives are; specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time specific, or SMART for short. The SMART approach allows you to effectively manage your marketing activities and importantly be able to determine how successful they have been and whether they have delivered the particular benefits sought. The SMART approach is explained to illustrate how you address each area; Specific   are your objectives stated in a way that is precise about what you are hoping to achieve? Measurable   Can you quantify each objective, i.e. can you use a unit of measure such as market share in percentage or dollars or other to provide a way to check your level of success? Achievable   Are your objectives reasonable in terms of what you can actually achieve or are you setting your sights too high? Realistic   Do you have sufficient employees and resources to achieve the objectives you have set, if you dont then they are likely to be unrealistic? Time specific   When are you hoping to achieve these objectives, you need to define a timing plan with target timing for each specific objective? Having some marketing objectives is a must for success RELEVANCE OF SETTING MARKETING OBJECTIVES:- When a business creates a new product, a comprehensive marketing plan is expected to accompany the product release. A marketing plan is put in place to help reduce the financial risks involved in releasing a new product. Active Products When you advertise new manufactured goods, you are also marketing the whole company. One of the marketing objectives for new products is to take you back customers about the products that the company already has on the market, according to the small business experts writing for the Entrepreneur website. The simplest way to make obvious this is when a musical artist has a hit record. Not only does that hit record sell well, but the documentation label will also try to include the artists entire directory in the marketing as well. Good marketing works to set up the product and the company both as brand names that the consumer will remember. Competitive Analysis Your marketing plan for your new product needs to show how your produce exposes new weaknesses in the competition, according to business legal expert Carol Ann Waugh writing for The Publishing Law Center website. In order to remain competitive, your marketing study for new products needs to include a competitive examination that includes information on how your product fits into the market and how the competition may be able to take hold of more of your market share. Without understanding how your product is affected by the competition, you may see any initial sales gains wiped out as the competition releases a product that makes yours obsolete. Preparation for the Future A positive company is always thinking ahead, and the information gathered on a new product release now can help make future releases more successful. Pay close concentration to the function your new product receives from preliminary consumers prior to the product being accepted by the mainstream. By doing wide-ranging market research of how yours new manufactured goods accepted, you can develop ways to move future products into the mass demand phase of the marketing process faster. You can expand effective test groups that will help you make the necessary alterations to your products that will make future new product marketing programs more successful. Example of relevance of setting marketing objective is:- Marketing strategy of Sony: The marketing strategy of Sony aims at gaining youth consumer attention and creates their brand image as innovative brand. Sony is also having an attention gathering slogan i.e. MAKE.BELIEVE which means its an invitation. And a promise. We promise you that anything you imagine, you can make real. Sony is also having the official partnership with the 2010 FIFA World Cup Football Competition in South Africa. Sony offers wide range of products like bravia TV, cyber shoot camera, vaio laptop, etc. Sony had launched its nationwide sales promotional campaign entitled Sony Days 2009 Lets Cheer-offering a wide range of special offers- starting from June 12 until August 2, 2009. Increasing Brand Awareness or Brand Recognition. Good Graphical representation in the form of Billboards, Posters, Animated banners, etc. Change from Theory P (Push Based) Company must make view of marketing to Theory T (Trust Based) focusing on customer relationship. Other Schemes- example: Lustrous coating, custom keyboards, etc. The other Promotion strategy is the Sony Notebook Recycle Promotion. Purchase a Sony VAIO notebook receive free recycling for your existing notebooks.

The Themes in Oedipus Rex Essays -- Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

The Themes in Oedipus Rex  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus Rex, contains one main theme, which this essay will consider. The theme is the general doctrine or belief implicit in the drama, which the author seeks to make persuasive to the reader (Abrams 170).    In â€Å"Sophocles’ Moral Themes† Robert D. Murray Jr. cites a critic who is strictly moralist in the interpretation of the theme of Oedipus Rex:    Let C. M. Bowra speak for the moralists:    The central idea of a Sophoclean tragedy is that through suffering a man learns to be modest before the gods. . . . When [the characters] are finally forced to see the truth, we know that the gods have prevailed and that men must accept their own insignificance.    In short, for Bowra, the essence of each play of Sophocles is a message urging humility and piety (45).    Van Nortwick, seemingly in support of Bowra, describes Oedipus’ tragic flaw as something equivalent to the lack of modesty before the gods which Bowra refers to:    As ruler, he is a father to Thebes and its citizens, and like a father he will take care of his â€Å"children.† We see already the supreme self-confidence and ease of command in Oedipus, who can address not only other people’s children as his own, but also be a father to men older than he is. But beyond even this there is, in the sretched posture of the citizens, the hint of prostration before a deity. We are â€Å"clinging to your altars,† says the priest. . . . That he also exudes a godlike mastery in the eyes of his subjects only strengthens the heroic portrait. . . .(21-22).    The â€Å"godlike mastery† to which Van Nortwick refers is the same mastery which Creon in his final lines designates as the cause of the... ...of Oedipus Rex, edited by Michael J. O’Brien. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.    Jevons, Frank B.   â€Å"In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Murray, Robert D. Jr. â€Å"Sophocles’ Moral Themes.† In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Transl. by F. Storr. no pag. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed new?tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&part=0&id=SopOedi    Van Nortwick, Thomas.   Oedipus: The Meaning of a Masculine Life. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.   

The Vernacular Language

The Vernacular Language Over the course of humanity, there have been many different languages that have come and gone. As this topic is being discussed, we can probably assume that there is another spoken or written language being developed for use in one way or another. Latin is one of the most prominent languages and was one of the longest used amongst those that were educated and within literature. The real questions that beg to be answered are the origins of the language and what were the impacts the spread of vernacular language had on cultures during this period.The Latin language has survived in one form or another for over two thousand years, dating back to around 75 B. C. and still in use today. No matter where we look, we can see the influence of this language. Dating back to the founding of Rome, in 753 B. C. , they have been at war and have been a nation that has conquered many different countries. While the rise of the Roman empire began in 406 B. C. with the attack of V eii, there was not a true injection of country traditions until later in history and ending in the 12th century.This spread of the empire is where the spread of the Latin language took place and the spread of the vernacular language. To start, what is vernacular language? According to the free dictionary (n. d. ), vernacular is defined as the standard native language or a country or locality. The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language or a variety of such everyday language specific to a social group or region. Note that this term originates from Latin vernaculus. Even some of our definitions of words come from Latin.As we progress through this report, we are now starting to see how much of an impact this language had on society. The Roman Empire was vast and their reign over a large portion of the world lasted for many years. As they conquered nations, their traditions slowly became the traditions of that native land. Most of their reign cov ered Europe as we know it today and spanned hundreds of years. With the spread of a nation, comes the spread of their culture as well. Language is the oldest form of expression within a culture and passing this on either through force or assimilation has a lasting impact on those involved.The Latin language has survived in one form or another for over 2,000 years. It is the parent language of many modern day languages such as Italian, French, Romanian, Portuguese, and the Spanish language. As it was already noted earlier in this paper, even words in the English language have roots that can be traced back to the Latin language. One of the main reasons that the Latin language was so prominent is the fact that it is a form of communication. Culture does not spread without communication. Without communication, we cannot pass on knowledge or exchange ideas amongst each other.If we did not have communication, we would not be the culture that we are today. To say that the Roman Empire had an impact on the entire world is making a very moderate statement. The Roman Empire has had influences in all of society and include areas such as poetry, music, the arts, and architecture as well as language. While most people associate the Empire with a lot of the aforementioned, none of it would have been possible without the Latin language. Again, we are pointed back to the ability to communicate with others and to be able to pass on knowledge.It does not matter how advanced a culture is or may appear to be if they have no ability to pass any of this on to another culture. Not only does it allow the passing of knowledge, it also accomplishes one other hurdle in terms of the world and the growth of the world. With different languages and having nobody be able to communicate, we would never be able to come to a form of peace. Having the ability to relate to others in different parts of the world allow us to relay intentions, be it for good or other purposes.Without this communicat ion, most wars may have ended in the complete annihilation of countries instead of peace or some form of agreement between the two nations that were at war. The last section to discuss today is the lasting impact that the vernacular languages had on our society. What are some examples of this? Look around and you can easily see them if you know what you are looking for. Let’s begin with the author of this paper and continue from there. The author has had his name passed on from generation to generation. While the use of his name stopped for a while, it was started again with his great grandfather.Passing this down, the use of Latin numbers, or more commonly known as Roman numerals, is used to dictate which number of that name he is. For the author, he is the fourth consecutively named son and as such, after his last name is IV to represent the fourth. Look at dictionaries when researching words and you will also notice that these words have root definitions to them. An excell ent example of the use of Latin is in scientific studies. Genus, phylum, etc. all come from Latin origins. The last one to mention that still has Latin roots is the naming of the NFL Superbowl games using the Latin numbering system.In closing, the Latin language and the vernacular language has had a lasting impact on society and will continue to have this impact. It is a part of almost every culture today in some form. Without this vernacular language, society would not be where we are today. References Latin Language Blog (2010, March 24). Latin Numbers 1-100 | Latin Language Blog. Transparent. com Blogs. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://blogs. transparent. com/latin/latin-numbers-1-100/ Map of The Roman Empire. (n. d. ). Global Ministries – The United Methodist Church – General Board of Global Ministries.Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://gbgm-umc. org/umw/corinthians/empire. stm Matthews, J. (2007, October). Beginnings of Vernacular. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://ac-support. europe. umuc. edu/~jmatthew/naples/vernacular. htm Pulju, T. (n. d. ). History of Latin. Rice University — Web Services. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://www. ruf. rice. edu/~kemmer/Words04/structure/latin. html The History Channel (n. d. ). Timeline – Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire on History. History: Shows, Schedules and Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://www. history. o. uk/shows/rome-rise-and-fall-of-an-empire/season-1/timeline. html TheFREEdictionary. com (n. d. ). Vernacular languages – definition of Vernacular languages by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. In Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus – The Free Dictionary. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from http://www. thefreedictionary. com/Vernacular+languages University of Calgary (1996, August). First Europe Tutorial – Latin and Vernaculars. Home | University of Calgary. Retrieved November 18, 2012, from htt p://www. ucalgary. ca/applied_history/tutor/firsteuro/lang. html

PUMA case study Essay

In order to arrive at the correct judgment of what will be puma’s opportunities and threats, let analyze the external environments factors affecting the company basing on the PESTEL and industrial competitive factors using five forces framework. And later when determining the company’s strengths and weakness I will look at the company’s internal capabilities by looking at its value chain, value network and any other competitive factors which gives the company more competitive advantage than rivals. By definition external environmental factors are those factors which have impact on company although the company has either very little or no control at all over those factors. Usually these factors are classified as PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal). External Political Factors These refer to the following sub-factors:(I)Government stabilityThis has influence to any business. When the government in which Puma operates become unstable politically business will definitely be affected. For example civil wars affect both operations, leisure’s and sports events which are Puma’s business. In our case study we saw that after terrorist attacks of September, 11, 2001 and wars in Afghanstan, geopolitical uncertainty led puma to shift its production from Pakistan to China (Puma case study, 2003). (ii)Foreign Trade Regulations These includes treaties and agreements which must be respected by the member countries and Companies (Czinkota, Rivoli and Ronkainen, 1992).For example General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT),regulations in respect of monopoly and competition standards, Trade fair Act(1997), Paris conventional for the protection of industrial property, to name but a few. These have impact on Puma since wherever it operates it must adhere to. (iii) Taxation Policy These have impact on Puma’s business because are an expenses which reduce revenue but it can also be used as the barrier to entry to the targeted potential markets. Some government use to fix higher tax to incoming foreign company. Economic Factors These factors have a huge impact on Puma’s business. These are factors like cost of energy, oil, inflation, recession and recovery. For example interest rates(interest on loans and borrowings), inflation and unemployment has got negative impact on business since an increase of one or both of these factors is equivalent to the raise of business running costs at the same time will mean reducing the purchasing power(inflation and unemployment) of the people. GNP Trends can have impact on Puma’s business since a good GNP shows that the per capita income of the people is good. Positive growth trends means increases on people purchasing power which has a positive influence to Puma. People with big disposable income can spend more on the leisure like sports and also buys more of the products as oppose to the people with less disposal income. Sociocultural factors(i)Population demographic; there are arguments that the population is getting older and therefore Puma should starts to focus on the senior people segment in order to remain profitable and for business growth. (ii) Uneven income distribution means there are few people with disposable income (the rich) and the majority have very less purchasing power. It is not therefore a market puma should target. (iii) Lifestyle Changes These have the impact in business and it needs the company to be strategically innovative in order to cope with peoples’ taste/fashion changes to retain and persuade the customers. This is one of the factors making customers switch from one product to the others of the same use. (iv) Attitudes to work and leisureSince Puma operates globally it is possible to meet different societies with different attitudes to work and leisure. Negative attitude to work and leisure will have negative impact to business and positive one will have positive impact to Puma business. Technological FactorsProbably these are the most dramatic forces shaping our destiny which creates whole new markets and destroy others. These are such as;New discoveries/development and speed of technology transferThese makes the products life cycles get short and creates a fierce competition among industries and hence forcing the company to invest more on R&D so as to remain strategically innovative (cost implication to business). Technological factors can lead to both high rate of obsolescence and Increase Company’s budget (through R&D). Environmental factorsMost of the nations and international bodies have been enacting laws to protect the environment (green issues).Companies have been compulsorily required to adhere to these laws; for example the law to internalise pollution, waste remittance and all legislations regarding safety and environment issues. These have significant impact to business like Puma because it reduces revenue. Legal factorsThe company which operates globally must expect different laws in different markets place within its operations. For example employment laws, health and safety regulations and financial regulations. It will also need to know advertising and promotion regulations, pricing regulations and consumer protection legislations. (Brassgton and Pettiti, 2007). Porter’s five forces of competitive strategyWas developed as a way of assessing the attractiveness (profit potential) of different industries. It helps to identify the sources of competition in an industries or sectors (Johnson, scholes and Whittington, 2006).The focus is in the environmental factors influencing this competitiveness; which are as follows;(i) Threats of new entrantsThere are six major sources of barriers to entry which includes economies to scale, capital requirements, and control of distributition channel, customer loyalty, experience and retaliation. (Porter, 1998). To my opinions and with reference to sports industry for more than three decades, threats of entry has a very little influence to Puma. This is because to enter into sports industry you need not only heavy capital and technology but experience and knowledge together with attractive customer base which is the strong barrier to entry. Suppliers Power Suppliers can have power if;(a)There are a concentration of suppliers and they can purchase in big quantities(b)Suppliers have a wide range of customers and can easily switch from one supplier to the other(c)The cost of switching from one Supply another is very high and,(d)If they pose a credible threats of integrating forwards into the industry business. To my opinion these conditions does not apply to Puma and therefore can not be threats because Puma policy on suppliers is such that Puma have no long term relationships with supply and the fact that production, logistics, distribution have been outsourcing surely Puma will be having very few suppliers (mostly not related to production and transport departments). In addition to that it is not possible for those suppliers to integrate backward into industry’s business. Buyers bargaining power According to Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2006) buyers are likely to have influence on industry’s business if the following condition prevails;(a)There are concentration of buyers and they purchase a big volume(b)The cost of switching a supplier is lower or involves little risks(c)The buyer pose a credible threats to integrate backwards to make the industry’s product. To my views this factor is not a threat to Puma because buyers are scattered all over the world such that they can not have collective bargaining power and the cost of switching from Puma to another suppliers is very big and risks because Puma is among reliable and paying company. The threat of substitutes Substitutes reduce demand for a particular â€Å"class† of product as customers switch to alternative even to the extend that this class of products becomes obsolete (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2006).Looking at the trend of sports industry for more than 40 years you will find that there are always Puma and the big three which dominates the sport industry and each having a very attractive customer base and thus this is a justification that Substitutes is no a threats to Puma. Competitive rivalryRefers to organisations with similar products and services aimed at the same customer group; which for Puma can be Adidas, Nike and Reebok and Fila, Diesel and Prada for football, running, basketball and apparel and accessories respectively. This is not a threat at all since for this factor to be threats the following conditions must prevail; there are must be numerous competitors and are roughly have equal size and power which is not the case for sports industry(Look at Adidas,Nike, Rebook and Prada,diesel and Fila) all have different power and sizes. The other factor is that for the rivalry to take place the markets must be matured but this is not the case for Puma because although the traditional market segment were heading to mature there are several niches which offer attractive growth, and yet analysts expect growth in geographical regions for football especially Europe, Asia and Americans. Opportunities and threats Looking at the environmental factors and the five forces affecting Puma I have noted some of the opportunities and threats for the company;OpportunitiesTrends of accessories/equipments is attractiveIf accessories can be properly managed can be greater opportunity for puma to grow the business. Currently 60% of the total sales are generated from footwear division, but according to experts apparel and accessories categories are showing attractive growth rate .why not Puma utilise this opportunity by providing its customer variety of such products by focusing on both high-value and stylish product and lower priced products so that can get shares from companies like LVHM, Hugo Boss and Prada. In my opinion Puma can start focusing on virgin markets such as Racing especially Horse racing, skateboarding, snowboarding to mention but a few. Alliances and joint venture Although puma has acquired some of the largest companies such as Swedish Tretorn the European third largest manufacturer of Tennis balls, it is not enough. Alliances and joint venture is one of the major opportunities for Puma to both expand geographical markets for its products and at the same time get access to valuable technology and competences. Threats Puma faces both intertype and intertypes competitorsPuma’s internal capabilitiesIf the companies are to achieve competitive advantage by delivering value to customers, they need to understand how that value is created or lost (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington, 2006).Puma’s value Chain has been divided into two; Primary and Support activities. If you consider the primary activities side you must understand that puma is described as Virtualized Company. Its in-house resources and activities such as inbound outbound logistics, operations and Procurement have been outsourced. This gives the company to deal with its core competency more effectively. It does not mean however that the company doesn’t care for the outsourced activities but the management are very careful on the selection of suppliers, logistics providers and producers but also it has a strong information technology infrastructure which helps them to coordinate easily and efficiently. Human resources management Puma with no doubts it has a strong HR by looking at the CEO and his deputy. The CEO being graduate in international business administration and having an ample experience in international business and marketing and worked for Colgate-Palmolive. Also the deputy CEO having an extensive experience in supply chain management and strategy implementation is one of the justifications that the company have strong HR capability. Technology development Puma has a proprietary technology which helps the company in terms of innovation and designing and also in information technology. For example the company due to technological ability developed shudol shoe. One of the technological innovations can also be seen on â€Å"cell technology†. To manage its entire coordination and consolidation from all 80 countries is one of the justifications that Puma is strong technology wise. Marketing and SalesPuma’s strengths come from the best implementation of its strategies in marketing and sales. Puma’s core competencies have been divided into marketing, brand and product management. Brand ManagementOne of the major reasons for puma’s turnaround was the new  positioning of the brand itself (refer to case study).One of the strategies used is sponsorship of either individual player or teams and associated the company with charismatic personalities who proliferate the desired brand perception, recogonition and awareness It has association with biggest names in history of sports such as Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. Recently the CEO, use the technique of associating the company with entertainment professional such as Arnon Milchan (the influential film maker),David Matalon and Peter Chernim these stars making brand appears in several Hollywood production. Apart from sponsoring teams like Jamaica and Cameroon Puma has been organising several events such as Puma street soccer in 1994 and 4SOME competition in 2003 aiming at both displaying puma label and communicating Puma philosophy. By 2003 the brand was so high that super stars like Madonna were proud to wear Puma Product without any compensation. Marketing Puma’s marketing division is responsible for all Puma advertising, promotions, PR and selling. Strong promotion and advertisement helps Puma be known company globally. Management are careful to select a media of advertisement and promotions.Footbal, Basketbal and running cups have become the mega events watched by viewers from across the global. Puma has been sponsoring either individual or teams. As a result these events offer excellent marketing opportunities for the company to create awareness of its brand. It has been fine turning its marketing strategies for football cups from 1960’s when Stars like Pele, Maradona and Cuyff to recent stars like Madonna. Product management Product management at Puma concerned with designing, operating and maintaining good products. This ensures that the company doesn’t only produce but creates a product that people will want to buy. Fistly; the company has a wide range of product which help the company to easily respond to different customers with different levels and interests. For example Puma football, running and basketball and others in accessories and equipments. In terms of technology and also to ensure that it offers customers’ product of high quality Puma has association with engineers and famous designers such as Jil Sander Mihara.For instance Puma innovation was â€Å"Cell technology† which convinced famous athletes to be Puma products such Cameroon National soccer team and Jamaica running professionals. Puma is innovative in each stage of the production for example to develop the new â€Å"Shudol shoes† worked with the team of Jordan Grand prix engineers. From Puma’s internal capabilities the following strengths and weakness have been observed;StrengthsStrong brand-name image/company reputationPuma has a reputation for being a pioneer in sports and the brand has very strong heritage in world football, featuring a glittering list of past brand ambassadors which includes some of the biggest names in the history of the game such as Maradona, Pele and Cruffy.It boasts most of the exiting teams and individuals and as a result of having such sports people as customers creates good atmosphere for Puma to enjoy not only the survival but also the company growth. Attractive customer base Having the association with quality players it gives an image to most of the people that the company have quality as well. As the results puma has loyal customers worldwide. This landmark deal laid a foundation for sports marketing and PR drive which saves and strengthens Puma’s position as one of the best performers on footwear, apparel and accessories for years now. Lower cost base and marketing Focused CompanyPuma is a virtualized company because it has outsourced all production, procurement of materials, distribution and logistics making its working capital just small. This make the company not only have a lower cost base but more importantly focuses in its core competencies. Weakness(i)The virtualized company can have serious strategic weaknesses in the long runPuma mainly depends on partnerships, collaboration and networking. Although virtual can meet and satisfy its customers adequately just like other, there arguments that such an extreme form of outsourcing are likely to result in serous weakness in the longrun, as the company become devoid to core competences and cut off from the learning which can  exists through understanding these activities in house (Johnson,Scholes and Whittington,2006). (ii) PricePuma products’ prices are relatively lower than rivals. This is a weakness because price may bring implication that you product has lower quality because most of customers associates high price with high quality. Therefore if the product is priced lower to some customer it will mean that its quality is lower as well. Secondly it reduces the revenue especially if it is not accompanied by high volume of sales. To determine and propose the optimal strategies for Puma in light of the above SWOT and analysing possible change issues and challenges in implanting the strategies. Having looked at Puma’s strengths and weakness and taking into consideration opportunities and threats the company can encounter. The following are my proposal of what would be the optimal strategies for the company:-A Hybrid strategyUnder this strategy the company seeks to not only provide product or services benefits which are valued by the customers that are different from those of competitors but also provide those products at a lower price than that of competitors. It has both lower price strategy and differentiation strategy. Lower price strategyThis can be a best strategy for Puma given its financial position and market shares as compared to rivals. Also Puma has already some element of this strategy which can be a foundation for the implementation of hybrid strategy. For example Puma’s products have lower price than those of competitors, defenitely is because the company have a low cost base after outsourcing all logistics, production, procurement of materials and distribution.Without lower cost base you can not sustain this because lower price reduce margin which unless you have some where within other portfolio to subsidise your business will be very difficulty to sustain. However lower price strategy alone can not be effective and sometimes is dangerous because is can led to â€Å"price war† as your rivals imitate what you  have done. Thus to be strategically safe it should be accompanied by differentiation. Differentiation seeks to provide products that offer benefits different from that of competitors and that are valued by buyers. In this case Puma can upgrades its product’s quality and add to them appealing attributes than that of competitors. This can be achieved by Puma because the company have been in this line of business for decades now such that it clearly know its strategy customers (what they want ) and it clearly know what are the competitors(what they offer and their strengths).After upgraded the products Puma can sell them at similar price of that competitors. In this occasion Puma will be increasing its market shares as more people will go for its products. In addition to that Puma can use hybrid strategy to enter into the markets where their rivals are well established. If you look at the big three i.e. Adidas, Nike and Reebok you will note that they are more well off in terms of both financial and present in every country than Puma making it difficulty for Puma to grow the business and grab from them the market shares. But entering the market with a superior product and with lower price will help Puma to take market share, divert the attention of the competitors, and establish a foothold from which they could move further (Porter, M, 1998). It should clear however that the best results from implementation of the hybrid strategy depends on the sustainability of the strategy itself. And to achieve this Puma need to work harder in order to achieve more sales volume so that to compensate the reduced margin due to selling products at the lower price. This can be achieved by strategically driving down costs .For example Puma should encourage more e-business which will enable the company to sell more but maintain lower cost base. It will also enable the company to sell across the boundaries with very minimum resources but yet be able to achieve high volume at least cost. Also incorporating the supply chain into the system with a quick delivery time which can be a critical success factor. Change issues and possible challengesDefinitely what is behind hybrid strategy is selling at the lower price than that of competitors and at the same time seeking to provide products that offer benefits different from those of your competitors. To achieve efficiencies and productivity from hybrid strategy Puma will need to make changes on the entire staff within and around the organisation. It will need to change employees ‘attitudes so that to direct efforts and dedication to achieving of the positive results from the operations with least costs. This can only be achieved if the management will inspire the people towards Maximising output subject to minimisation of cost (cost sensitive strategy) and build and maintain the marketing and sales focused team. To achieve lower cost base require real time visibility to cost-critical information for many important decision that impact cost prior to products delivery. This visibility must be immediate available and understood to all who impact costs in the process across the enterprise. Selling at a lower price reduce margin and to compensate the lost margin you need to increase sales volume. You can achieve this by having a skilled and competent sales force because such a sales force can; †¢Effectively persuade customers to buy and hence increase market shares. †¢Reduce time and efforts necessary to sell by increasing the relationships level with customers. †¢Increase competitive ability and strengths by reducing predictability and delivery concise and consistent. Financially the good sale force can have the following positive results;†¢Good team can expand the size of each deal and close more deals. †¢Can decrease selling expenses. When the team doesn’t perform well sales cycles are extended and multiple calls are required to convince customers. †¢Lower recruitment and training cost. †¢Also if you able to sell more with fewer costs associated with sales efforts your margin increase. †¢A good team easily adapt to changesAll these can positively contribute to lowering down the cost base for the best implementation and achievement of the hybrid strategyReferencesBrassington and Pettitt (2007) Principle of MarketingCzinkota, rivoli and Ronkainen (1992) International business (2nd edition) New York, London, sydnet, Tokyo-The Dryden pressJohnson, Scholes and Whittington (2006) Exploring corporate strategy (7th edition) London Prentice Hall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_strategyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_5_forces_analysishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PESTELArmstrong. M. (2006). A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, (10th edn), Kogan Page, LondonGrant, R.M. (2005), â€Å"Contemporary Strategy Analysis†, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford (U.K.), 2005Hunger, J. David & Wheelen, Thomas L. (2003) â€Å"Essentials of Strategic Management†. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.