Functions and role of a marketing audit

Functions and role of a marketing audit A marketing audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of companies or business units marketing environment , objectives, strategies and activities with a view to determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the companys marketing performance'( Kotler.P,1977 ). Product- products in Hilton Kensington restaurant (west eleven) offering guest a wider selection of dishes and healthier choices. They not only incorporate important elements such as nutritional values, serving size and standards but also locally produced ingredients which is good. Price and promotion- price and promotion in west eleven restaurant is quiet amazing. The breakfast buffet is just  £12.95 which is a combination of both continental and English foods and dinner is contemporary European cuisine and carvery (buffet) for 21.95. Promotion includes highlife cards for regular guests which gives 50% discounted price for lunch and dinner. For promotion with kids meal drinks are free as well. People- The staffs and managers having a very good communication links and power distance is low to medium as well. The main strength is each and every staff working as a team and a team leader to control as well. So we are enable to make a good relationship with customers or in other words a good buyer- seller relationship. These all things help to realize that the reputation of brand that we are involved in, is in peoples hands. Process- In west eleven restaurant micros is a good technology which is using now to make good relation between waiters, chefs and the guest. The services of starters from 7min and main course 20min now a day. Physical evidence- we are maintaining a better brand image now for extending customer service relationships, selection, value, low price and to challenge with competing brands. It is the element of service mix as well which allows the customer again to make judgement on the organisation. Environment Environmental analysis enables an organisation to develop appropriate marketing strategies including the marketing mix. Environment can be divided into micro environment and macro environment. Important external forces that influence the marketing strategy include Customers- customers in west eleven restaurant always looks for quality of food rather than quantity. Most of the guests who are regular because they are meeting their needs. In the guest comments card 90% of the guest rating 7/10which is good not excellent. The major marketing segment is internet and apart from that print media, brouchers etc was there as well. The things like printed media will work inside the hotel wall posters of special offers, sports calendars etc to promote the guest. Competitors- competitors with Hilton Kensington hotel is Mariots south Kensington and novhotel Hammersmith which are upscale category but not luxurious category. The competition is taking place because they are patronized by same target customers, in same product class but there are differentiation, with a same geographic area and a similar price category. All of these hotels got good size, quality and interior decor in restaurants. But the price and value offered is just satisfactory when comparing to west eleven and the emarketig is not good enough as well. Both hotels having bit different strategies because they are concentrating more in leisure guest when Hilton restaurant is focusing mainly for business customers which includes business executives and airline staffs. PORTERS 5 FORCE MODEL Barriers of new entry Existing competitors entering new attractive domestic market.Economies of sale. Emergence of new entreprenal players. Supplier bargaining power Importance of volume to supplier Availability of skilled employees and management. Powerful brands( customers married to loyality scheme) No of competitiors Ratio demand capacity Industry profitability Buyers bargaining power Product diffrenciatioon Willingness to pay for brand name. Buyers incentives Threat of substitutes Switching costs Price-performance trade Of substitutes Products for products. Eg: same food ingredients and Products by competitors in differ-ent names. Five force analysis (source : porter 1980) Macro environment- it impacts on hospitality industry and affects all competitors. PEST frame work is very helpful in carrying out an environmental analysis of the organisation. PEST stands for political, economical, social and technological influences. Political/ legal:- political factors have a direct impact on the way of business operates. The political environment is not stable enough and things are getting changing in regular intervals. V.A.T is changing from January onwards from 17.5 to 20. Terrorism activities are increasing day by day. Economic:-Global recession happened in the mid of 2008s affects badly to the Hotel industry nationally and globally. But now its slowly recovering from the second quarter of 2010 and expected to continue the level of growth in the coming years. Currency inflation is playing a major role in economic growth. Intrest rates which are growing will affect partially as well. I.T has made a lot of difference in the current environment. Eg: If we take wi-fi or broadband in London 95% (est) of the people will use at home, work place or while travelling which is v.good, when comparing countries like Cuba which will be 5% or less which shows a huge penetration of I.T. Social:- one of the sociological factor increased population growth which adversely affecting hospitality industry. Now a days people are not spending much because of recession. When taking age distribution according to census of 2008 UK labour force is about 30.3 million workers, roughly the same size as the combined labour force of California and Texas. What the demographic trends shows is people of age group between 16-34 only working 30% of the total labour force which is bad as young people not working and the others work a lot. London society consists of a cosmopolitan culture which is much much larger in the amount when comparing with other major cities. Technological:-Introduction of ERP systems, emodels and High Speed Broadband systems increased their efficiency to serve their royal customers. But control measures have to take to mitigate the system failure risk, otherwise it will harmful the customer satisfaction. Productivity Productivity is a measure relating a quantity or quality of output to the inputs required to produce it. The benefits of marketing in Hilton are global reach, lower cost than traditional market methods, trackable and measureable results, personalisation, better conversion rates etc. In the other hand the risk which facing are dependability of technology, security, privacy issues, worldwide competition through globalization etc. The Main current problem and challenge which facing cost effectiveness are increased commodity prices. So now a days what is happening is food cost is going higher. Systems The use of intranet is more than extranet in my restaurant. The use of intranet is dominated by email followed by new service and product information, market information, employee listing etc. Marketing information systems providing accurate and timely information about development in the market place. Marketing control systems are good . The control procedures are looking and evaluating quarterly.most of the annual plan objectives are being achived. Provision is made to analyse periodically the profitability of different products, markets and channels of distribution. In my restaurant marketing auditor is responsible for all these systems. Organisation Marketing organisation audit is mainly considered as effectiveness of the organisation activities as well as efficiency of the operation of a company. The organisational structure supports most of the marketing activities. We got good working relation between sales and marketing. Product managers are able to plan profits and sales volume as well. Strategy The mission statement was not that much clear and feasible. The objectives stated in a clear form to guide marketing planning. The markets are segmented at an average fasion. For overall marketing decision process key things which are using are marketing performance audit and marketing competency audit. Marketing resources are some what allocted optimally to prime market segments and marketing mix like product quality,service,promotion, distribution etc.

National Forest :: essays research papers

National Forest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many National Forests in the United States, and they are spread over the whole country. National Forest also have a huge variety of climates. Ranging from the very cold weather of the Chugach National Forest in Alaska to the warm weather of the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana or even to the intermediate weather like our on Wayne National Forest in southeastern Ohio. National Forest are also very helpful towards humans and the way we live. On the other side of the hand they may also be harmful to us. Indeed there are many interesting things in the world of National Forest today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like I said before the climates in National Forest are different that means that the animals that live there are also different. For example Polar Bears won’t live in Florida and alligators won’t live in Alaska. The Chugach National Forest has animals likes the moose, the black bear or the elk and has a huge variety of fish to go with it. But the Kisatchie National Forest has the wild turkey to go along with many different other kinds of birds, and fish, and deer. The Wayne National Forest has animals from deer to foxes to turkeys and even some black bear, it also has many birds and fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of the good things about National Forest is that they give us plenty of oxygen to breath to begin with. They also give us some really beautiful scenery for us to look at and many animals to admire. Without them every tree in the United States would probably be cut down and used for probably useless things. The National Forest give plants for animals to eat and give animals for humans to hunt and kill with some regulations in the process then you can eat them. Not only can you eat the animals that you hunt you can eat the animals that you fish for just make sure that the fish isn’t poisonous before you eat it or else. It gives you beautiful plants and trees that gives us oxygen to breath and it also gives us plenty of fish and animals to hunt and fish for and eat if we want.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then there is some of the bad things about the National Forest. Like protecting how many of the animals we kill witch could feed many starving people in other countries. Also by not letting people kill a lot of animals the animals could get really over populated and overrun the city streets.

A Swimming Adventure Essay

Awaking early, I decided to sit on the screened porch and watch the Florida sun come up. Within a very short time as I sat there, the sun peaked on the horizon as it gradually awakened from its night of slumber. The dew sparkled like diamonds as the sun’s rays tenderly caressed the grass. Off in the distance, I could hear the world spring to life as the birds began to sing a spectacular melody, growing louder and louder as each bird began to chirp in unison, like a choir singing in church on Sunday morning. A new day had dawned and I remember thinking how magnificent the birds’ song was and what a wonderful day it was going to be. Returning to my duties as a mom, I started making breakfast for my children, who would wake shortly wanting to eat. Within a few minutes, the wonderful aroma of the pancakes and bacon cooking on the stove gave way to the sound of pitter-pattering little feet as they hit the floor. My children Michael, Laura and Misty were awake and joined me in the kitchen. I seated the children; gave them their breakfast and told them that it was going to be a very hot day and if they ate all of their breakfast and cleaned up the toys, I would take them to the beach to go swimming. The children, bustling with excitement over the news, hurriedly ate their breakfast and started cleaning up their toys while I cleaned the kitchen. Around noon, the temperature was a blistering 95 degrees as we packed a cooler with sandwiches and drinks. We loaded the trunk with our chairs and headed off to the beach. On the way, we saw a black and white cat racing across the street chasing a gray mouse. We played a game called I Spy and sang songs to pass the time. Growing closer to the beach Michael spied a snake lying in the road, and asked, â€Å"Why is the snake lying in the middle of the road mommy?† The snake  was dead and not wanting to upset him, I replied, â€Å"The snake is basking in the sun so it can get warm†. It was not long before we had reached our destination. Anticipation filled the air as we found the perfect spot and unloaded the car. The children helped set up the chairs and then headed off to swim. Deciding to relax a few minutes, I took in the peaceful views that lay before me. The beach was covered with white sand and on each side of the swimming area were large boulders and rocks that had been piled up. There were several covered tables and a bathroom area. Many people were playing in the water while others were lying on their towels and blankets on the sandy beach. A volleyball game was taking place a few yards away and I remember thinking how hot it was as the glaring sun beat down on everyone. Watching the children playing in the surf, the waves from the shore looked fun and almost childlike as they crested and then crashed over one another. I could taste the salt in the air and watched little rainbows glisten through the prisms of the ocean’s spray. The warm ocean water toward the shore was covered with foam and bubbles from the rumbling waves as my children and other families played in the gritty sand of the Gulf. I watched the seagulls swoop  down as a child threw small pieces of bread up in the air. The sea gulls were white and gray and had a long orange beak. I remember thinking to myself, â€Å"This is going to be a perfect day†. The children are playing and laughing in the ocean and call out â€Å"Come on mom, come and play†. I start towards the water trying not to step on any of the tiny hermit crabs as they emerge from their sandy homes in search of scraps. I reached the water; no crabs injured and plunged head first into a two-foot wave coming to shore, hah! How refreshing. My children and I are swimming and playing together in the cool refreshing water. I lift them one by one tossing them slightly in the air and letting  go, I hear them shriek with delight as they plummet towards the water with a splash! This exciting activity is repeated several times until my arms give out and I am forced to take a break, much to the dismay of my children who are having a wonderful time. I stand there in about three feet of water when my children come up with another exciting game; they start swimming through my legs playing mommy is a bridge. I remember thinking boy! I wish I had their energy. After resting a few minutes I picked them up, placed them one at a time on my back and began to swim; we slowly swam under the blue water and up again and I could hear them giggle with excitement and say â€Å"Do it again mommy, do it again†. A short time later a commotion broke out interrupting our games, I struggled to hear what everyone was shouting about and saw people running to the water’s edge and pointing about fifty feet from where the children and I were playing. Looking in the direction they were pointing, a  man with his daughter in tow yells, â€Å"SHARK!† without hesitation, I yelled to my son, â€Å"Michael, get out of the water!† I grabbed Laura and Misty and headed to shore. My adrenalin pumping we reached the shore incredibly fast, like a bolt of lightning streaking across the night sky. Only when we were safely on shore did we look back to see three fins just skimming the surface of the water. I stood there stunned and shocked watching the fins, wondering what kinds of sharks they were and very grateful that everyone was in one piece. A few minutes later, the fins disappeared beneath the surface and everyone was treated to a wondrous sight, there off in the distance, were three dolphins jumping high into the air and making a big splash as they entered the water. The dolphins took turns jumping and playing; sometimes they would jump in unison, as if dancers in a chorus line. As fast as they had appeared, the dolphins slipped beneath the waves and headed out to sea. I wondered if the dolphins laughed to themselves; thinking about how they had scared the two-legged creatures from the water  or if they were just as curious about us as we were of them. With the all clear, we headed back into the water and continued swimming and playing games. A short time later, the children became hungry so we decided to get something to eat and drink. The ham and cheese sandwich tasted good and the Pepsi was refreshing. As we ate, the children began to get goose bumps so I covered their shoulders with a blanket. Hours later, the sun setting, we gathered our belongings, packed up the car and ventured home. The children tired from a full day of fun and games fell asleep quickly. Not wanting to wake the children, I turned off the radio and listened to the hum of the motor as we made our way home. Later as I lay in bed I replayed the day’s events in my mind, from the stunning sunrise, the splendor of the birds as they sang, the laughter of they children as the played, the show of the dolphins, the beauty of the beach and the setting sun, I thanked God for all the wonderful gifts he had given me. THE END Graded and Corrected A+ paper The teacher wanted us to write an essay about something that happned in our lives. I scored a 94% on this essay due to poor punctuation, which has since been fixed.

Financial Scandals Of Enron, Worldcom, And Tyco Occurred...

Risk Management After the major financial scandals of Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco occurred risk management became a high priority for companies. According to Brown, Steen, and Foreman (2009) risk management can be defined as the culture, processes, and structures that are directed towards taking advantage of potential opportunities while managing potential adverse effects† (p.547). To assist companies in the risk management process, companies are incorporating a risk management system, this helps to improve the management and mistreatment of opportunities, helps to improve the development and achievement of companies, improves information handling and communication, assists to enhance a company’s liability, guarantee, and governance, and lastly, it helps to improve a company’s character (Brown, et al. p. 547) Risk management assists companies by concentrating on company objectives by accomplishing activities while being aware of the risks involved. Background Brown et al. (2009), researched risk management after the global financial crisis occurred in 2001 and 2002. The authors found companies during this time had inadequate risk management processes and were all subject to becoming fraud victims (p. 546). Additionally, Brown et al. notes the board of directors and senior management is responsible for the implementation and enactment of risk management. The authors also note the responsibility of the audit committee and how corporate governance can play a role inShow MoreRelatedAccounting Scandals. ENRON, WORLDCOM1894 Words   |  8 PagesENRON Enron shocked the world from being â€Å"America’s most innovative company† to America s biggest corporate bankruptcy at its time. At its peak, Enron was America s seventh largest corporation. Enron gave the illusion that it was a steady company with good revenue but that was not the case, a large part of Enron’s profits were made of paper. 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