Plan Business Strategic Market Planning Marketing Define Objective Management

Plan Business Strategic Market Planning Marketing Define Objective Management

Strategic Marketing Planning

Introduction

As noted in the Preface, the primary objective of this book is to reinforce understanding of the key concepts and ideas covered by formal courses in marketing strategy and management. Its content and structure will also be useful to practitioners as an aide-memoire or checklist covering the basic steps involved in developing an operational marketing plan.

In this chapter we open with a short overview of the nature and purposes of strategic marketing planning (SMP) and a fuller statement of objectives. Next, we describe the structure of the book and the organizing principles which determined this. Specifically, we identify a number of key questions which the planner/decision maker must address and answer in developing an effective marketing strategy and plan for its implementation. Each of these key questions is the subject of a chapter which contains narrative, to remind the reader of salient issues and topics, and a series of exercises or assignments which require application of knowledge (and experience) to produce a useful solution.

Having described the structure and sequence to be followed, we conclude with some advice on how to use the book to best effect. This includes completion of the exercises themselves, interpretation of the answers provided, and the role of the Barnstaple Company case study as an example of the implementation of the exercises to produce a new strategy and operational marketing plan for a small company experiencing declining profitability.

As noted in Marketing Strategy and Management (Baker, 1992), there is no single, universally accepted definition of Strategic Marketing Planning - SMP. Seven definitions identified by Brownlie (1983) in a survey of the subject are cited:

1. 
   
   
   The answers to two questions implicit in Drucker’s early conceptualization of an organization’s strategy: ’What is our business! And what should it be?’
2. 
   
   
   Chandler defined strategy as: ‘the determination of the basic long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals’.
3. 
   
   
   Andrews’ definition of strategy combines the ideas of Drucker and Chandler: ‘Strategy is the pattern of objectives, purposes or goals and plans for achieving these goals, stated in such a way as to define what business the company is in or is to be in and the kind of company it is or is to be’.
4. 
   
   
   Hofer and Schendel define an organization’s strategy as: ‘the fundamental pattern of present and planned resource deployments and environmental interactions that indicates how the organization will achieve its objectives’.
5. 
   
   
   According to Abell, strategic planning involves: ‘the management of any business unit in the dual tasks of anticipating and responding to changes which affect the marketplace for their products’.
6. 
   
   
   In 1979, Derek Wynne-Jones, head of the planning and strategy division of PA. Management Consultants, considered that strategic planning: ‘embraced the overall objective of an organization in defining its strategy and preparing and subsequently implementing its detailed plans’.
7. 
   
   
   Christopher Lorenz, late editor of the management page of the financial Times, considered strategic planning to be: ‘the process by which top and senior executives decide, direct, delegate and control the generation and allocation of resources within a company’.

But, while these definitions may differ in the particular, there does appear to be a common thread, which is that Strategic Marketing Planning - SMP is concerned with establishing the goal or purpose of an organization and the means chosen for achieving that goal. Perhaps, then, the differences of opinion revolve around how one defines an organization or ‘business’. We must recognize that differences of size, scale, diversity, complexity, etc. will inevitably result in significant differences between ’firms’ and so make generalizations about them difficult if not impossible.

Plan Business Strategic Market Planning Marketing Define Objective Management Book

To overcome or reduce this difficulty most analysts now prefer to define the business in terms of its strategic functions rather than try to define businesses first and then discover that there are major discrepancies in strategic functions between them. As a consequence, most discussions of Strategic Marketing Planning - SMP are now focused upon the concept of the strategic business unit (SBU) which has been defined succinctly by Arthur D. Little as:

A Strategic Business Unit - or Strategy Centre - is a business area with an external market place for goods and services, for which management can determine objectives and execute strategies independent of other business areas. It is a business that could probably stand alone if divested. Strategic Business Units are the ‘natural’ or homogeneous business of a corporation.

The Marketing Manual

Communication Approach and Technique to Influence

Communication Approach and Technique to Influence

The Power of Indirect Influence

Author : Judith C. Tingley, Ph.D

Getting people to do what you want or need them to do can be the most difficult task faced by leaders, managers, and CEOs. As a leader, how do you influence people successfully? Do you use the command-and-control style of communication? Do you hint around, figuring your people will get the drift and take the initiative to follow through? Do you model the behaviors you want from your employees? Do you count on the power of your position to persuade people to take action?

Do you say nothing, believing that good senior managers shouldn't have to be told what to do? Do you use examples and stories as a way of inspiring people to follow your lead? Or do you try any or all of these ways to communicate so that you can be effective at influencing people, directly or indirectly?

In the business culture of the United States, the direct, assertive, or even aggressive style of communication is the preferred mode for influencing others. The direct style fits with our historic origins as a country of independent, aggressive, pioneering men and women, and with our current status as a country of entrepreneurs.

Leaders are often lauded for their command-and-control style, their cut-to-the-chase communication. '' She tells it like it is." "He doesn't mess around. He says exactly what he means and he gets exactly what he wants." "She leaves no doubt in your mind. You always know exactly where she is in her thinking." Those who don't speak up, who are nonassertive, are often run over by their more assertive competitors and never make it to the top.

But there is another way to communicate, verbally and nonverbally, in order to influence people: the "Beyond Assertiveness" (BA) approach. BA refers to a group of indirect influence communication techniques that are intentionally used to increase success in achieving a specific outcome. They are not "beyond" in the sense of being even more direct than assertive, but in the sense that they don't align with the continuum of nonassertive, assertive, and aggressive communication.

The techniques are "beyond" assertiveness in the sense that they are in a completely different plane or sphere. They are an entirely different breed of influence skills. Influencing people through indirect communication is an advanced skill that many U.S. managers now need to acquire. The changing emphasis on management as transformational, rather than transactional, the increasingly diverse workforce and marketplace, and the move toward transnational companies and a multinational workforce all point toward the need for a broader spectrum of influence skills.

Although direct communication is the hallmark of the Western business culture, Eastern Europe, Asia, some Western European, and many Latino cultures prefer and practice the finesse of indirect communication. In the United States there are many situations and events that also call for the subtlety, as well as the cooperative aura, of an indirect influence approach. Indirectness certainly works better with people from countries and cultures that more commonly use indirectness, and with people who are resistant to influence. But it also may work better than directness with younger employees who want to be full participants in making decisions that affect them. The more entrepreneurial, independent-contractor class of employee that's growing in size and strength often responds more favorably to an indirect rather than a direct approach. The Beyond Assertiveness approach will also work best for people who are new in a position of power, and for leaders who need not only to delegate but to inspire, to be visionaries.

Ideally, leaders have a broad range of direct and indirect communication techniques at their beck and call. Good leaders should use situational or adaptive communication in the same way they use situational leadership. They choose their style of leadership depending on the situation rather than on their personal comfort and preference.

They also choose the communication approach and technique that best fits the individual or group they're attempting to influence, as well as the specific situation and context they find themselves in at any given moment. Indirect influence techniques can be a powerful part of the communication tool chest, but few leaders have learned how to use these advanced skills. They are particularly useful when: the direct approach doesn't feel right in a particular setting; the direct approach has been tried and hasn't worked; aggressive or nonassertive people are the communication recipients; or the target person or group tends to be resistant, oppositional, or defensive.

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Biological Wastewater Treatment TextBook – Water Recycling Systems

Biological Wastewater Treatment TextBook – Water Recycling Systems

Fundamentals of Biological Wastewater Treatment

Author : Udo Wiesmann, In Su Choi, Eva-Maria Dombrowski

Clean water is an essential nutrient for humans, animals and plants. Because of its limited resources, especially in countries with low rainfall, little surface water, deep ground water levels and relatively high temperatures, careful use and frequent reuse after appropriate treatment are requirements for healthy life. This awareness is relatively new, because it was not until the late 19th century that the population of larger industrialized cities learned that wastewater must be treated to prevent disease. The reuse of treated water is still a topic of controversial discussions.

However, the authors of this book are convinced both that we must learn to develop and continue to promote water recycling systems and also that biological wastewater treatment processes play a highly important role. The modern concept of industrial wastewater treatment is moving away from the classic “end-of-pipe” technology towards “decentralized effluent treatment processes”, “process integrated water management” and ultimately in a number of cases being as close as possible to “fresh water-free processes”. The central concept is to save water. In the classic concept, the groups producing intermediate or finished products are relatively isolated from the group which treats the wastewater, frequently treating several different effluents mixed together.

This situation characterizes the first period of industrial wastewater treatment. After sampling, the water quality is determined and compared with regulations and the treated water is discharged into surface water. In all but a few exceptional cases, municipal wastewater treatment is performed in this same manner. Frequently, it is more favorable and economical to treat some industrial effluents by using specialized processes (“decentralized effluent treatment”), giving a water quality which makes it possible to reuse one or more water streams and to save fresh water. The next phase of development is to combine production processes and wastewater treatment, often called “process-integrated water management” (sustainable water use, industrial water use, cleaner production, etc.).

Typically, the improvement comes about through a complete change of the production process paradigm to reduce water and energy consumption, as well as waste production. Here, productional and environmental engineers need to cooperate and build one team. In this book, the fundamentals are discussed which are needed to better understand the processes taking place in “end-of-pipe” and “decentralized effluent treatment” plants. In the last chapter, examples of “processintegrated water management” and “decentralized treatment” are presented.

Two different wastewater treatment concepts can be followed: either the separation of impurities from water, or the partial or complete mineralization of impurities. Separation processes are based on fluid mechanics (sedimentation, centrifugation, filtration and flotation) or on synthetic membranes (micro-, ultra- and nanofiltration, as well as reverse osmosis). Additionally, physical–chemical processes can be used – like adsorption and coagulation – to separate dissolved or emulsified compounds from water. Impurities can be mineralized by biological and chemical processes (advanced oxidation with ozone, H2O2, UV, etc.). We want to concentrate our attention on biological processes. Other ones, such as sedimentation or membranes, will be discussed in connection with the activated sludge process and membrane bioreactors.

The main advantages of biological processes in comparison with chemical oxidation are: no need to separate colloids and dispersed solid particles before treatment, lower energy consumption, the use of open reactors, resulting in lower costs, and no need for waste gas treatment.

The advantages of chemical oxidation over biological processes are: no sludge production, mineralization of non-biodegradable compounds and smaller reactor volumes. If it is necessary to remove very large amounts of organics, both processes should be coupled if possible, first the biological step and then the chemical step. We will concentrate our discussion on the fundamentals of biodegradation.

Because of the early development of wastewater technology in industrialized countries, we frequently find “end-of-pipe” treatment plants in industry which simultaneously treat municipal wastewater and vice versa. “Decentralized effluent treatment” plants are initiated only if a large plant would be overloaded or the process would be negatively influenced by hazardous compounds. The main aim is then to optimize the treatment process by using process controls and thereby to reduce the cost of aeration and pumping.

In countries with rapidly growing industries and no municipal treatment plants, the construction and operation of a “decentralized effluent treatment” plant frequently has to be tested for each factory and realized as necessary. An appropriate treatment method should be applied rigorously to enable water reuse in regions with water scarceness or high water prices, for irrigation in agriculture, or as cooling water for power stations or industry. In addition, it is often very important to protect natural water systems used for drinking water supplies, recreation and conservation.

Compared with “end-of-pipe” treatment, “decentralized treatment” is often the more economical process. A better understanding is needed of the biological, physical, ecological, social and economical interactions surrounding water and wastewater. We cannot consider all these aspects, but this book provides important information about the fundamentals and engineering aspects of biological wastewater treatment. The methods used to describe and solve the problems presented are those used by biochemical engineers developing models based on mass balances which are valid for specific systems. The authors made every effort to present mathematical derivations so comprehensively that at least graduate students can follow. The target group also includes all engineers, biologists and chemists working in the field of wastewater treatment who are interested in learning more about its fundamentals.

After a survey of the historical development of microbiology and wastewater treatment, we give a brief introduction to wastewater characteristics and relevant legislation as well as microbial metabolism and stoichiometry, which is of fundamental importance for mass balances with biological reactions. Gas/liquid oxygen transfer is discussed in detail because of its high importance for all aerobic processes in wastewater treatment. Anaerobic substrate degradation is discussed afterwards as a very interesting alternative for the treatment of high-load effluents.

Persistent, industrially produced compounds are not easily treated in biological processes. Therefore, the results of several recent studies are summarized and discussed here. The great significance of nitrogen and phosphorus removal has led us to report about their stoichiometric and kinetic backgrounds individually. In the past two decades, discussions about modelling of the activated sludge process have increased. To gain a better understanding of activated sludge model number 1 (ASM 1) and its description of nitrogen removal, we give detailed explanations. We have dealt with the use of membranes in place of secondary clarifiers to emphasize that new possibilities exist for reusing and recycling water in the future. Therefore, they may be suitable in tandem with the topic of the previous chapters which discuss production-integrated water management and decentralized effluent treatment.

Over the past 25 years, many new processes have been tested successfully, a lot of them have gone into operation and a great number of papers have been published in this field. We hope that this book will help provide a better understanding and orientation in the important and interesting field of “Biological Wastewater Treatment”.

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Marketing Strategy and Management at the Advanced Undergraduate or Postgraduate Level

Marketing Strategy and Management at the Advanced Undergraduate or Postgraduate Level

The Marketing Manual

Author : Michael J. Baker

This book has been developed primarily for persons who are pursuing a formal course of study in marketing strategy and management at the advanced undergraduate or postgraduate level - a Master’s in marketing, MBA or the postgraduate Diploma of The Chartered Institute of Marketing.

It has three basic objectives:

1. 
   
   To test the user’s understanding of key concepts and practices.
2. 
   
   To reinforce learning by applying the knowledge base to the solution of practical problems.
3. 
   
   To develop skills and competences in problem solving and communication and, particularly, in the specification, diagnosis and solution of marketing problems.

The structure of the book follows the sequence adopted by most marketing management courses. It has been designed for use specifically with The Marketing Book (ed. Michael J. Baker, 3rd edition, 1994), Marketing Strategy and Management (Michael J. Baker, 2nd edition, 1992) and Strategic Marketing Management (Wilson and Gilligan, 2nd edition, 1997). However, its approach and content are directly relevant to other leading texts on the subject.

Each chapter in the book deals with a distinct phase or stage in the strategic marketing planning (SMP) process and so may be used as appropriate quite independently of the others. However, taken together, the chapters cover the complete process involved in developing a strategic marketing plan and so may be used by students for purposes of case analysis as well as by practitioners working on real-world problems. While the latter are not the primary target it is hoped that practitioners will find the various diagnostics and pro formas a useful aide-memoire when developing practical marketing plans.

As is explained in greater detail in Chapter 1, the purpose of the book is to provide a framework to address the four fundamental questions facing the planner/decision maker:

• 
  
  0 Where am I now?
• 
  
  0 Where do I want to go?
• 
  
  0 How do I get there?
• 
  
  0 How will I know when I’ve arrived?

To answer these questions the book comprises eight chapters, each of which addresses a specific topic.

Chapters 1 and 2 provide a broad introduction to the structure of the book, the approach to be followed and a discussion of issues such as problem definition, data collection and analysis, etc. which are common to all problem solving.

Chapters 3 to 8 deal with discrete steps or phases involved in developing a comprehensive marketing plan and comprise narrative (to remind users of relevant concepts, ideas and techniques) and a series of assignments or exercises to test and apply their knowledge and understanding. Taken together, the worked exercises provide the essential elements of an operational marketing plan.

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The Marketing Manual

Spread of Diseases Associated With Air, Water and Food

Spread of Diseases Associated With Air, Water and Food

Environmental Engineering, sixth edition:

Prevention and Response to Water-,

Food-, Soil-, And Air-Borne Disease and Illness

EDITED BY NELSON L. NEMEROW, FRANKLIN J. AGARDY,

PATRICK SULLIVAN, AND JOSEPH A. SALVATO

The pressure placed on the environment as the global population approaches seven billion people has brought about the proliferation and spread of diseases associated with air, water and food. The pressure of population, especially in urban areas, has placed a great burden on public health agencies in attempting to deal with these problems. Many diseases which were thought to have been eliminated by prior public health efforts have not only rebounded but are often difficult if not impossible to treat.

Recognition must also be given to the fact that developing countries, by definition, do not have the resources to address water treatment and pollution problems to the same degree that more advanced nations, with much larger budgets and technical skills, have accomplished. Where economic and technical constraints limit treatment options, taking care of basic needs and minimum levels of sanitation become the driving force underlying technological implementation.

Increasingly, the world is faced with a new set of challenges to the environment, namely the need to develop plans to address emergencies—in real time. Issues such as hazard analysis, security assessment, emergency training, response logistics and standby medical equipment have taken on new meaning. Increased population densities in urban areas and along coastlines puts many more lives at risk from environmental emergencies and requires increased levels of detail and response, not seen in the past.

These problems can and are being addressed and dealt with and it is hoped that this text will aid in putting the problems into the proper prospective and bring forward solutions which can be implemented.

CONTRIBUTORS

PIEROM. ARMENANTE, Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, piero.armenante@njit.edu

NABARUN DASGUPTA School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, nab@email.unc.edu

HARVEY F. LUDWIG Consulting Environmental Engineer, Bangkok, Thailand, hfludwig@truemail.co.th

JAMES P. MACK New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, James.Mack@njit.edu

RICHARD F. UNZ, Emeritus Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, rfu1@psu.edu

Doctors Agardy and Sullivan would like to dedicate this sixth edition of Environmental Engineering to Nelson L. Nemerow who passed away in December of 2006. Dr. Nemerow was born on April 16, 1923 and spent most of his productive years as a educator and prolific author. He spent many years teaching at Syracuse University, the University of Miami, North Carolina State, Florida International and Florida Atlantic University. He authored some 25 books dedicated to advancing the art of waste disposal and utilization. His passion was waste minimization and the title of one of his most recent publications, Zero Pollution for Industry summed up over fifty years of teaching and consulting. A devoted husband and father, he divided his time between residences in Florida and Southern California. Nelson served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War Two. His committment to excellence was second to none.

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Environmental Engineering, sixth edition: Prevention and Response to Water-, Food-, Soil-, And Air-Borne Disease and Illness [PDF]