Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay

Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay Our Company, Houston Incorporated has decided to expand into online sales. The goal is to continue to sell our products in the retail stores located throughout the United States but also establish a presence on the World Wide Web. Your company has recently decided to expand into online sales. The company wishes to continue to sell its products in the retail stores located throughout the United States opportunities available for retail sales and provide a report to your manager which includes the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, As Marketing Manager, I was tasked to research online marketing opportunities available for retail sales. This report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of internet marketing, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online processing. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerce typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Online marketing offer many advantages as this report shall show. Having a presence on the World Wide Web offers the opportunity to reach customers not only on a national level but globally. Doing business 7 day a week and 24 hours a day is a reality with online marketing. The gathering and analysis of information gather via online marketing is possible. This information can be used to improve marketing strategies both online and in traditional retail segment. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Increase sales, increased brand recognition coupled with the low cost of operating online leads to increase revenue. These are only a few of the overall impact of online marketing. Executing a comprehensive online marketing plan encompasses virtually the same processes and procedures as traditional marketing. It also requires the establishment of a web site for product display, online ordering, and online payment systems to process payments. The decision to expand into online sales is justified by this research. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. The current marketing strategies can be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website. Introduction The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. That quote was attributed to Bill Gates, Cofounder of Microsoft. Tomorrow has come and according to an article on Reuters website, Online retail sales in the United States could reach $248.7 billion by 2014, growing 60 percent from 2009. As Marketing Manager, my job is to do market research and develop market strategies. This report will outline the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. The goal of online marketing, similar to traditional marketing, is to communicate and provide value to the customer and manage relationships with customers that benefit the company and stakeholders. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerces typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online payment processing. The advantages of online marketing, including the ability to reach a larger market, far outweigh the disadvantages. Online selling tends to be very competitive and may necessitate lower pricing. This is one of the few disadvantages. Establishment of a globally presence and increased sales are ways that the company can be impacted. However, having an internet presence does not guarantee success. It requires a comprehensive marketing strategy aimed at attracting new customers to our website. Online marketing has its own process and tools that contribute to the achievement of marketing goals and objectives. . Research Findings Advantages: Similar to traditional business, online marketing presents many advantages and disadvantages. However, the advantages of online marketing significantly outweigh its disadvantages. Online marketing can expand the geographic reach of the company by accessing customers in markets where the company does not have a physical presence. In the ecommerce world, doing business around the globe, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day is a reality. (Hossein Bidgoli, 2002) Online Marketing or e-commerce creates the ability to sell virtually any product that can be sold in a traditional retail environment. Nights, weekends, holidays, and time zones are no barriers to e-commerce. Online marketing can also reach customers that for various reasons can not personally visit a traditional retail store. Another advantage of e-commerce is the ability to gather additional information about the customer via tools such as cookies, email, and online surveys. This information can be used to personalize marketing effort s in a way that can lead to higher trade volumes. E-commerce also provides increased flexibility for customers. Customers can make purchases without having to leave the comfort of their homes. The customer does not have to deal with the hassle of parking or the worry of losing contact with their small children presented by traditional retail methods. Shopping tasks can be accomplished from the safety of their homes with a few clicks of a mouse. Of course, increased sales are the first thing people thing about when they consider online market. Market research shows that online sales are trending up despite the current depressed retail market. . Revenue generated by online businesses and the online part of traditional retail businesses exceed $96 billion in 2006, up from $86 billion in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An added advantage of online marketing is decreased cost. Traditional retail businesses have overhead costs that associated with online marketing. These includ e utilities, insurance, store lease, and labor. Lower overhead cost generally result in lower overall cost and increased revenue. Therefore, online expansion will give the company a globally presence at a relative low cost. Disadvantages: Online shopping is not attractive to all consumers. They cite the loss of social contact experienced when shopping with others. While many researchers do not see any fundamental differences between the traditional and online buying behavior, it is often argued that a new step has been added to the online buying process: the step of building trust or confidence. (Constantinides, 2004) Many consumers are concerned with the privacy and security issues associated with doing business online. Almost 95% of Web users have declined to provide personal information to Web sites at one time or another when asked. (Otto Chung, 2000) Credit card fraud, unwanted solicitations, and use of their information for other than its intended purpose are a few of the reasons cited. The difficulty in attracting customers is another disadvantage to online marketing. That, coupled with increased competition due to the ease of comparative shopping greatly decreases the attractiveness of online marketing. Onlin e consumers can quickly access information from other online businesses and make better decisions. In fact, some websites are designed solely for that purpose. Therefore, online pricing is very competitive. Additionally, online marketing does not afford the consumers the luxury of examining and getting a feel for the quality and fit of merchandise sold online and generally require the seller to have liberal return and refund policies. The lack of after sales service is another concern of online shoppers. Time also is a problem with online marketing in that consumers are not able to take immediate possession of their purchases and are faced with added expense for faster delivery. Potential impact of online sales to the company: The greatest impact to the company may be the establishment of a globally presence. This means company growth at relative low cost. . Online marketing does not require the overhead cost associated with maintaining a brick and mortar store. This results in lower cost, increased efficiency and greater profit margin. Another potential impact, online sales increases in-store sales. Having an online presence leads to increased brand recognition and consequently leads to increased in-store sales. Conversely, not having an online presence means loss of potential valuable customers. Online marketing creates the opportunity to interact with customers. Exchange of information facilitates product and process improvement and can lead to greater customer satisfaction. It also allows for greater flexibility in that website information such as price, product availability, and promotion can be readily adjusted in response to market conditions. Information gathered via online sales information can be used when considering future expansion of the traditional retail operations. Requirements for a successful online marketing campaign Developing a successful online marketing campaign comprises most of the same processes and procedures used in traditional marketing. The company will need to establish goals, objectives, strategies and tactics much like traditional marketing. Likewise, market research is required. When formulating objectives, strategies, and tactics for online marketing product display it is imperative that such customers requirements as ease of use, quick access to product information, and effective distribution networks including order tracking for transparency is addressed. Understanding consumers motivations and limitations to shop online are major consideration in making adequate strategic, technological, and marketing decisions. (Monsuwe, Dellaert, De Ruyter, 2004) This is part of identifying your target audience and determining how to reach it, a very critical step. To attract customers, firms need to offer dynamic content, keep their sites fresh, and to install security devices to protect th eir customers privacy and interests. (Wei, Moreau, Jennings, 2005) Customer retention should also be included in any successful online marketing strategy. Retaining online customers depends on the overall experience when visiting a website, which includes factors such as perceived value and trust (Pitta, Franzak, Fowler, 2006; Wang Head, 2007). In addition, every online business must be able to accept online payment. Customers need a level of confidence with your website and business when making on line payment. Integration between the e-business arm and the traditional business segments helps to promote confidence. (Gay, Charlesworth, Esen, 2007) The reputation of the tradition retail environment can be extended to e-commerce. Likewise, an online presence enhanced the marketability of the traditional business. Traditional firms can adopt a range of strategies to combine offline and online market channels to derive synergies. For example Barnes and Nobles e-business model overla ps its traditional brick and mortal business model. Regardless of whether the merchandise is sold online or in a physical retail outlet, the warehousing operation is the same. (Rich, 2008) Retail companies should also integrate offline and online operations such as allowing customers to order online for pickup at stores. (Steinfield, Adelaar, Liu, 2005) Lastly, print and word of mouth advertisement will be needed to attract customers to the web site. Recommendations Based on research data, the company should expand into the online sales arena by creating an ecommerce arm of our traditional retail operation. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. Analysis suggests that firms should tailor their e-commerce approaches to improve service to existing customers in addition to pursuing new customers and markets. (Adelaar, Bouwman, Steinfield, 2004) Integration is advantageous in that perceived shopping risks are lower when a company also provides a physical location. Integrating online and offline operations adds additional cost saving measures such as such as ordering online for pick-up at physical location. . The current marketing strategies should be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website Conclusion There are advantages and disadvantages to online marketing. While online marketing presents an opportunity for the company to expand its market nationally, even globally, online shopping is very competitive, as consumers have access to comparison shopping. In addition to reaching new markets, online marketing can also improve relationships with existing customers. To be successful, ecommerce websites must be properly designed so that it is easy to use, engages the customer, and provides a pleasant and trusting shopping experience. It must negate all perceived shopping risks such as concerns about giving financial or personal information, and after sale concerns such as refunds and after-sale service. Marketing strategy formulation for ecommerce businesses are very much like traditional marketing. Market research, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics are the making of a successful online marketing campaign. Analysis of the research data indicates that integration of the tradition al brick and mortar operation with an ecommerce business segment is the best method of creating an online presence. Annotated Bibliography Adelaar, T., Bouwman, H., Steinfield, C. (2004). Enhancing customer value through click-and-mortar customer experience. Telematics and Informatics, 21, 167-182. This article explains how traditional retail stores can combine online marketing to increase geographic reach and to improve relationships with existing customers of physical stores. Dr. Thomas Adelaar, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam Business School. Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies, Michigan State University. Awards and Honors include; Winner of the Graduate Office Scholarship Best Ph.D. Research Paper in the Dept. of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media, MSU (2004). Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Constantinides, E. (2004). Influencing online consumers behavior: The web experience. Internet Research, 14(2), 111-126. Dr. E. Constantinides conducted research showing that online marketing can increase business for companies at their physical retail locations. Dr. E. Constantinides is and Assistant Professor of Marketing, Netherlands. His research activities focus on strategic and commercial aspects of Ecommerce and E-media, and he is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Social Media Research Center. Gay, R., Charlesworth, A., Esen, R. (2007). Online marketing. New York: Oxford University Press. This book provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of online marketing as well as the techniques that can maximize revenues. Richard Gay is a professor at the Newcastle Business School, North Umbria University. Alan Charlesworth is a Senior Lecturer in marketing and emarketing at the University of Sunderland. Rita Esen is a Law Consultant and Visiting Lecturer at Durham University. Hossein, B. (2002). Electronic commerce: principles and practice. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Academic Press. This book is a four-part overview of electronic commerce. The book provides a balance of theories, applications, and hands-on material. Dr Hossein Bidgoli is a Professor of Management Information Systems. School of Business and Public Administration                California State University, Bakersfield, California Monsuwe (2004). , P., Dellaert, B., De Ruyter, K. (2004). What drives consumers to shop online? A literature review. International Journal of Service Industry Management. Using the technology acceptance model framework, the authors conducted a review of literature and identified website characteristics such as ease of use and usefulness as well as personal consumer traits as critical factors for online shopping. P. Monsuwe is a professor at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. His research focuses on the effects of media on strategy and decision-making processes, such as corporate environmental management. Otto, J., Chung, Q. (2000). A framework for cyber-enhanced retailing. Electronic Markets, 10(3), 185-191. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of online retailing for companies with existing brick and mortar retail locations, and provides a framework for analyzing whether the company should engage in online retailing. Q.B. Chung is an Associate Professor at Villanova University. He earned a PhD in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as an M.B.A. in Management Information Systems. He has over twenty two published journal articles, numerous published books and is a seminar speaker. J. Otto is an Assistant Professor with many publications involving Management Information Systems and Operations Research and Management Science. Pitta, E., Franzak, F., Fowler, D. (2006). A strategic approach to building online customer loyalty. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(7), 421-429. The article integrates previous research to draw the conclusion that customer loyalty to online websites depends on the perception of value as well as emotional factors such as trust. Danielle Fowler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Baltimore. She has many awards and grants including The John and Margaret Thompson Professorship in Management Information Systems, and the Presidents Teaching and Learning Initiative Competition. Frank Franzak is a professor with Monash University and Director of Information Systems Honors Program. Steinfield, C., Adelaar, T., Liu, F. (2005). Click and mortar strategies viewed from the web. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 199-212. The authors analyzed retail store websites and found that few engaged in online and offline integration such as allowing customers to order products online for pickup at physical store locations. Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Wang, F., Head, M. (2007). How can the web help build customer relationships? Information Management, 44(2), 115-129. The authors conducted empirical research to identify the factors critical for building customer relationships online and found that satisfaction, trust, and switching costs determined whether a customer would continue using a website. Dr. Milena Head is an Associate Professor of Information Systems and the Associate Dean at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada. Specializing in eBusiness and Human Computer Interaction, she has published over 50 papers in academic journals, books and conferences. Her research interests include trust and adoption in electronic commerce, interface design, mobile commerce, identity theft, cross-cultural issues in electronic commerce and human computer interaction, e-retailing, and web navigation. Dr. Fang Wang is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the School of Business Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Her research interests include e-commerce, e-marketing and marketing strategy. She has published in journals such as Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Comparative International Management, Internet Research, and Journal of Business Strategies. Wei, Y., Moreau, L., Jennings N. (2005). A market-based approach to recommender systems. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 25(3), 227-266. The research described in the article uses simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of recommender systems for personalizing customer experiences and customer retention. Yan Zheng Wei is Director of The Department of Broadband Wireless Management, Shenzhen, China. Dr. Nicholas Jennings is an Assistant Professor at The School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK.

A Psychological Profile Of Holden Caufield :: essays research papers fc

Thesis: Holden Caufield is a hostile, negatively charged character that suffers from depression which stems from a desire not to grow up and a lack of closure in his brothers death."If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like . . . "(pg. 1) These first words that Holden Caufield communicates during his tell of events that brought him to his breakdown, show the pent up hostility that still lingers. This pattern of speech, the constant expression of negativity, is a character trait of Holden that shows his inner anguish. Holden also feels a continual need for affirmation of what he just said with phrases such as, "He really would."(pg. 25) or "It really isn't." (Pg. 89) This continual need for approval shows a lowered level of self-assurance. This lowered self-assurance probably stems from his self-awareness that he is an unreliable source. The reason he is unreliable is due to his deceitful narrative of occurrences. This is seen repeatedly as Holden builds an individual up as good or righteous such as Stradlater, (pg. 25) then tears him down later. (pg 43) This inability to give truthful accounts of individuals could stem from his constant digression from the point at hand. Holden freely admits to this trait on page 183 when he says "The trouble with me is, I like it when somebody digresses. It's more interesting and all.""Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone."(pg. 122) This phrase Holden made while discussing how things were different each time he went to the museum, stems from an inability to accept that he must grow up. The thought of growing up has driven Holden into bouts of depression as inhis discussion on page 133, " It'd be entirely different. I said. I was getting depressed as hell again." This nonconformist desire has led Holden to have illusions of grandeur as a fictional savior, "The Catcher in the Rye."(pg. 173) The catcher in the rye is undoubtedly a metaphor, for keeping children from falling into the same norm as adults. The inability of Holden to accept growing up and the depression caused by it has made Holden suicidal, "what I really felt like, though, was committing suicide.

Religion in History

Hebrew religious beliefs differed from the beliefs of other people in the ancient Middle East. â€Å"Of all the ancient civilizations, it was the Hebrews who exerted perhaps the greatest influence on western society as well as the western intellectual tradition† (â€Å"Hebrew'). The Hebrews first appeared in Mesopotamia and then migrated from Mesopotamia to Canaan and then into Egypt and back to Canaan. The Hebrew people were different. For them, there was only one god, Yahweh. This was a fundamental difference between the Hebrews and their neighbors in the ancient Middle East.The Egyptians, Babylonians, and others did not worship Yahweh. Not Reason but Revelation was the cornerstone of the Hebrew faith† (â€Å"Religion†). Yahweh was the focus of Hebrew life; therefore, the Hebrews would give no praise to royalty. Moses received the Ten Commandments as guidelines for the Hebrews. The poor, children, and sick were all protected and rich and poor were to be treated under the same laws. Personal property was not most important and did not define a person for the first time.Hebrews' felt that Yahweh was fair; however their neighbors felt different about their Gods. â€Å"The ancient lands of Canaan, Israel, and Judah were overrun at various times. The peoples who ruled them brought with hem their own gods and religious practices. Wherever they went, the Hebrews kept their customs and their belief† (â€Å"Hebrew†). The Persians were settled in the area long before the Hebrews. â€Å"The Persians had two gods, Ahura Mazda, who created all the good things in the world, and Ahriman, who created all the bad things in the world.These two gods were at war all the time. Their struggle kept the world in a delicate balance. If one god gained the upper hand, then more of his influence would be felt† (â€Å"Middle†). The Phoenicians also believed in gods that were responsible for parts of nature, such as rain and wind. Baal, the storm god, was the second most important Phoenician god, behind El, the chief god† (â€Å"Middle†). The Phoenicians also believed in a life after death, as did their neighbors the Egyptians.Both embalmed their dead and wrapped them in linen; the Phoenicians placed the bodies in stone coffins in hillside cemeteries It was believed that people could decide which god they wanted to follow. â€Å"Those who followed Ahura Mazda, the god of good, did good deeds like keeping their word, giving to the poor, treating other people well, and obeying the king. Those who followed Ahriman did bad things, like lying, cheating, being lazy, and being reedy' (â€Å"Middle†). In the end, Ahura Mazda would triumph and good would win. People who supported this god would enjoy happiness after death.Those who supported Ahriman would be punished for that support. â€Å"This religion, later called Zoroastrianism, was the religion practiced throughout the Persian Empire when Alexander the Great conquered it in 330† (â€Å"Middle†). With his influence, Alexander brought the religion of the Greeks. Sumerians and Hebrews had many similarities and differences in their beliefs. They both give high regard to the Gods. Gods have the most power and can bring ood fortune, good harvest, good health, and good life. On the other hand, the Gods can take all these goods back and cause death, sickness, and plague.Sumerians and religious beliefs of the Hebrews from the belief systems of Egypt or Mesopotamia was clearly their monotheism. This monotheism made possible for a new awareness of the individual. Man had the capacity to choose between good and evil. Sumerians practice polytheism; in fact, they think of the Gods as human. Eastern polytheism used images to represent their gods and goddesses. The Sumerians believed that the forces of nature were alive. The people couldn't control these forces of nature, so they worshipped them as gods.The people also believed t hat they were living on Earth only to please the gods. â€Å"The Sumerian gods included Anu, the ruler of the gods; Enki, the god of earth; and Enlil, the god of the air, who separated heaven and earth. Enlil it was also who gave the Sumerians their knowledge of farming† (Hebrew'). Each Sumerian city also had its own god. The focus of the city was the ziggurat, a large temple, which was the home of that city's god. The priests who worked in the ziggurats were the only ones who knew the will of the gods, so hey were very powerful.

Logitech and Wearable Computing - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2983 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category IT Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Introduction Wearable computing is the study or practice of inventing, designing, building, or using miniature body-borne computational and sensory devices. Wearable computers may be worn under, over, or in clothing, or may also be themselves clothes (i.e. Smart Clothing (Mann, 1996a)). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Logitech and Wearable Computing" essay for you Create order Unlike a laptop or a palmtop , wearable computer is constantly turned on and interacts with a real-world task. Information could be even very context sensitive. Wearable computers are especially useful for applications that require more complex computational support than just hardware coded logics. Logitech International is a Swiss global provider of personal computer and tablets accessories with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland and Americas headquarters in Newark, California. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, trackballs, microphones and webcams. Logitech also makes home and computer speakers, headphones, wireless audio devices, as well as audio devices for MP3 players and mobile phones. More recently, the company has begun making keyboards and covers for tablets. In addition to its Swiss and Americas headquarters, the company has offices throughout Europe, Asia and the rest of the Americas. Logitechs sales and marketing activities are organized into three geographic regions: Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. Part 1 Value Creation There are a number of wearable computing applications and can be divided by product as explained in the figure below: Google Glass Google Glass comes under Eye-Wear and is a wearable computer that is being developed by Google with a mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format, that can communicate with the Internet via natural language voice commands. Google is considering partnerships with sunglass retailers such as Ray-Ban or Warby Parker, and may also open retail stores to allow customers to try on the device. A touchpad is located on the side of Google Glass, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen. Sliding backward shows current events, such as weather, and sliding forward shows past events , such as phone calls, photos, circle updates, etc. Some of the applications of Google Glass are: Logistics One of the biggest opportunities for Google Glass and other wearable computer technologies is in the logistics industry. Already warehouse managers and trucking companies have tools to monitor stock levels and positioning, the new devices though offer more effective, compact and less obtrusive ways to collect real time data. Taxi industry GPS devices have become an essential tool for the modern taxi driver. Google Glass could put the directions right in front of the driver along with booking information and traffic conditions. The glasses could give drivers warnings about the likelihood of fare evasion, assaults or robberies in the neighbourhoods they are travelling through. In the most extreme cases, the glasses could even help network controllers communicate with drivers in dangerous situations without passengers being aware of the conversations. Trades people Building sites have some common feature with mines, particularly when it comes to visualising how designs are going to work in real life. Having devices like Google Glass could have helped those NBN contractors stymied by bad mapping data in the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s early stages. For the working tradesman, using augmented reality and Google Glass could help with estimating job costs and maintenance works, such as finding blocked pipes or malfunctioning parts. Architects and Engineers Staying in the building industry, wearable computers could help designers planning new buildings or infrastructure. Fly-through computer simulations of new buildings are standard architectural design tools today. With augmented reality displays designers, clients and stakeholders can visualise what anything from a new freeway, apartment block or kitchen extension is going to look like and the effects on the neighbours. Government agencies Emergency services, medical tre atment and law enforcement are areas where devices like Google Glass will prove invaluable. Having a mobile head up display of critical information during life threatening situations will prove to be an essential tool for early responders. Nike Fuel Band The Nike+ Fuel Band is an activity tracker that is worn on the wrist and is to be used with an Apple iPhone or iPad device. The Fuel Band allows its wearers to track their physical activity, steps taken daily, and amount of calories burned. The information from the wristband is integrated into the Nike+ online community and phone application, allowing wearers to set their own fitness goals, monitor their progression, and compare themselves to others part of the community. Application The Fuel Band comes with access to the Nike+ web community that is setup via the Nike+ Connect Software. The Nike+ web community allows product owners to create an online profile where they can showcase their personal statistics, such as how many goals have been met, how many steps have been taken, and how many Nike Fuel points have been amassed. Upon logging into the Nike+ site, users are given a graphical display of their daily activity, proximity to hitting their goal, positive feedback, and recommendations for more activities. Pebble watch The Pebble is a smartwatch developed by Pebble Technology and released in 2013 that was funded via the crowd funding platform Kickstarter. The Pebble is compatible with iPhones and select Android devices. When connected to your phone, it is able to receive a vibrated alert to text messages, emails, incoming calls, and notifications from social media accounts, Facebook and Twitter. Some of the applications are as follows: Check sports scores For sports fans, the ESPN Pebble app might be the most tempting reason to get a smartwatch yet. At a quick glance, users can check NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA Football or NCAA Basketball scores, making boring dinner parties and pia no recitals a little more bearable. Send texts from your watch Major cellular providers usually provide email-to-text services, which deliver short emails to your phone as SMS messages. The Email to SMS app takes advantage of this, letting users create a few pre-written textsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ such as On my way! or Driving now. Will text you laterà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ that can be sent directly from the watch. Maintain your health As a wearable tech device, smart watches and health features should go great together. Looks like Pebble app developers got the memo. A scan of the store reveals numerous options for monitoring steps, sleep patterns, calories burned and more, thanks to apps like Runtastic, Lets Muv, Movable and many others. Or, if youre not into quantifying yourself, just load 7-Minute Workout and get illustrations of exercises, for easy reference on your watch. Get directions Apps like Pebble GPS Map, PebbGPS and Maptastic can geo-locate you using your phones GPS. But if displaying maps on your arm is not enough, youll love the turn-by-turn directions some of them can put there as well. Nothing says tourist quite like checking your phones maps on the street. Dont let it happen to you. Part 2 Managerial planning and goals PEST Analysis: Political Economical These factors are related to what the government intervenes in the economic climate. Specifically, political factors include areas such as taxation policy, employment law, environmental law, trade barriers, taxes and prices, and political stability. These factors include growth in the economic , foreign exchange rates and the inflation rate. These factors have major impacts on how companies operate and make strategic choices. For example, interest rates affect a firms cost of capital and therefore to what extent a company grows and expands. Exchange rates affect the costs of exports and the supply and price of imports. Social Technological These factors include the cultural facets and include, growth in population, demographic set up, job attitudes and emphasis on health and safety. Fluctuations in social factors affect the demand for a companys products and services. These factors include technological aspects such as RD activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate of technological change. They can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. Furthermore, technological shifts can affect costs, quality, and lead to innovation. As Logitech is a Swiss based company and it has head quarter in US, the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new product may be launched in these two countries. However, the Far East market especially China is another avenue where the product can do well. China is Technology intensive and consumers spend a lot of money on electronics. In addition to that, the government has announced a reduction of import tax for international company, which means Logitech can have incentive in tax rates. Due to the recent recession, the Logitechà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s sales were decreased. Most companies are still recovering, however this may help the growth of sub sector (strategic groups) that offer value for money (H. Adrian R. Alison, 2008). Although wearable technological products are expensive, their perceived value is high which may increase the revenue for the company. It is clear from recent developments that the wearable technological market is differenciated. Worldwide wearable technologies sales totalled 285.1 million units in the second quarter of 2013; a 6.2% decrease from the second quarter of 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. Customers demand better technology and also easier to use, hence the company is facing strong competition from its rivals like Google, Nike and Samsung in wearable technology products. The company needs to be equipped with latest innovation in order to have a market share in this new market. The company on the other hand doing well in the electronics market with their latest designs and products. Part 3 Innovation Management Different entities are combining together in the form of acquisitions, mergers or joint ventures in order to acquire new technology, product or creating economies of scale. However, integration of two companies is not an exact science as culture is the predominant barrier in successful integration to get the desired output. A culture is a pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it resolved its issues that has worked well enough to be considered viable and is transferred on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in connection to those issues. There are a number of managerial implications of integrating Logitech staff with the new high tech company. The effects of this integration on employee morale can be significant if the reorganization of the business is not handled effectively. During the integration effort, there are at least two groups of employees involved, often coming from organizations with di stinctly different cultures and styles. Learning a new culture can be challenging, but is especially so when employees are faced with uncertainty about what the future may hold and whose job is on the chopping block. Stress Change is often difficult for employees, especially if they were not directly involved in decisions that impact their jobs. During mergers and acquisitions, change can be especially difficult and can lead to stress which can have a negative impact on morale if not handled effectively. Communication is critical during these times, says Linda Pophal, a communication consultant with Strategic Communications, LLC. To the extent possible organizations should strive to share as much information about what is happening and, most importantly, how the changes will affect individual employees, as they possibly can. Fear of Job Loss When two or more organizations come together, culture clash is inevitable. Rarely do two organizations have the same culture. As th ese groups get to know each other there will inevitably be conflict and perceived or real losses on both sides, says Pophal. Employees may fear losing their jobs or losing opportunities that they formerly had. This fear can negatively impact productivity and may even result in employees leaving the company to seek jobs elsewhere. It is important for organizations and their managers and HR staff to recognize this and to provide opportunities for employees to get to know each other, to openly address concerns, and to work together toward the creation of a new culture that will merge the best of both worlds. Competitiveness When employees are concerned about their own job security they are more likely to become competitive with others and this competitiveness can result in conflictsometimes even violence. During the integration, it is important for managers and HR professionals to be alert to signs of negative competition and to ensure that employees are being kept informed about impacts on their jobs and their futures with the company. While some competition is good, competition is not good when it creates tension and negative conflict in the organization. Part 4 Strategic Leadership Companies that have flourished in the 21st century are those that have learned to respond to turbulence by managing change effectively. Some of the proposed programs to influence cultural and organisational changes are: Make culture a major component of the change management work stream. Often the main change management task during integration is providing communications. This focus may minimize the importanc e of change management, when communication becomes reporting the decisions of others, belatedly, rather than driving actual decisions. If culture is recognized as a major challenge that the change management team is responsible for, then this team assumes an essential role in achieving integration goals. The change team needs resources whose numbers and caliber are consistent with enacting a critical role. Identify who owns corporate culture and have them report to senior management. Choose owners from both companies to the integration to allow for representation of all views, even in a takeover. These owners typically will be senior Human Resources or Organizational Development practitioners. This is also an appropriate task for outside assistance, given the value of external insights in identifying culture. To drive home the importance of the issue, culture should be on the agenda of regularly scheduled (monthly/biweekly) Steering Committee meetings. Insist that the cultu ral work focuses on the tangible and the measurable. The Steering Committee should reject soft, vague, and poorly defined presentations of culture. Instead, culture owners should be required to discuss issues that are specific, well defined, and supported by specific examples that can be tied to business results. This is the difference between culture being addressed by general exhortations to enact teamwork and being addressed by analysis and interventions to increase measurable collaboration among the members of, for example, the new companys merged sales force. If the culture program focuses on whether members of the sales force are effective in selling the products of each others companies and removing the barriers to doing so, that will be a more substantial contribution than a culture effort that creates communications to inform the sales force about the desirability of teamwork. Implement a decision-making process that is not hampered by cultural differences. Decisio n-making style is often deeply ingrained in a companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s culture. However, few things have a greater impact on integration results than the ability to make speedy decisions. Customer and employee loyalty can erode quickly if a company is perceived as unable to reach decisions. Leaders of integrating companies find themselves thrust into a situation where they have to make decisions quickly. While varying decision-making styles may hamper this, the differences among decision-making styles are often less important than the difference among these styles and the decision-making style required for an effective integration. This is an urgent matter. The leaders of the integration project must address this with the support of the culture team by: Identifying decision-makers for each area of the integration. Understanding the decision-making style of each company both in terms of what the style is and the assumptions, processes, and structures that support that style. Use this as a basis for assisting decision-makers in moving beyond their assumptions to a point where they can act effectively. Communicating expectations to those decision-makers, including the deadlines when decisions are required. The demand for speed can be used to force changes in how decisions are made. Specific techniques can be used to support this, such as encouraging 80/20 decision-making rather than complete certainty before a choice is made. Build the employee brand with a view toward how it will be understood by employees. If retaining the employees is a goal of integration, then an effort must be made to secure their loyalty, just as customers loyalty must be reinforced. When one company is acquiring another, then the emphasis should be on making the acquiring companys brand attractive, in terms of the career opportunities, rewards, and the sense of identity that it offers to acquired employees. When equals are merging, it is important to find a common point that will not be so novel as to appear alien to all employees. It should neither install one company as dominant nor fail to recognize that employees from the merging companies have different expectations. Conclusion Wearable computers have a huge impact on different fields of sciences and arts. They also have enormous potential for uses in health and fitness, navigation, social networking, commerce, and media. The wearable computer provides the ultimate in network access hands-free, heads-up operation with complete mobility and ample computing power. Now personnel can connect to enterprise information systems without interrupting their work. With the convenience of voice activation and head-mounted or touchscreen display options, they can meet their ever-broadening responsibilities, supported by immediate access to on-line manuals, catalogs, parts lists, drawings, supplier information, work forms and more.Whether on-site, in transit or at home, wearables could enable users to maintain communication with company computers through direct connection or Internet. The device brings forth a whole new concept in mobile computing, offering the ultimate in PC portability. Much like conventional hand held and palmtop computers, wearables can upload and download data and software from various systems to desktop PCs. References https://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-companies-in-wearable-tech-right-now-2013-10?op=1 https://en.wikipe dia.org/wiki/Google_Glass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pebble_(watch) https://readwrite.com/2014/02/10/10-cool-things-a-pebble-smartwatch-can-do#awesm=~ozlR82QYsnp2qw https://www.itnews.com.au/News/341535,making-the-business-case-for-google-glass.aspx https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120718141757AAelhD8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass https://www.itnews.com.au/News/341535,making-the-business-case-for-google-glass.aspx Page 1 of 16