Digital Marketing in Retail Industry Example – Zara

Prompt: Choose one company from the retail industry and critically analyse how they use Digital Marketing to engage with their customers. Using appropriate theory recommend how they can improve their online engagement in the future. – Digital marketing in retail industry example – Zara Digital Marketing.

Digital Marketing Zara Case Study/Report

Introduction

Zara is an international fashion company that produces and markets different kinds of apparel. The company, whose headquarters is in Arteixo, Spain, was established in 1975. Today, Zara is known to be one of the world’s largest fashion and apparel retailers (Roll, 2019). The company has a presence in close to 96 countries in different parts of the world and owns close to 2,238 stores in these countries (Hanbury (2018). The company retails a wide variety of products including shoes, bags, perfumes, and clothes. Most of these products are made by different suppliers and are then transferred to the headquarters of Zara for branding (Hanbury, 2018). Given that it has customers spread across the globe, the company needs to find ways of interacting with its clients to understand their needs and views regarding its products and services. In this regard, the company exploits digital marketing to communicate with current and potential customers and to maintain a strong brand name. This report discusses how Zara applies digital marketing to engage with its current and potential customers.

Digital marketing in retail industry example

Customer Engagement

In today’s highly competitive business environment, the importance of customer engagement cannot be overstated. Retailers must hence change their approach to marketing from linear (involving one-way communication) to one that involves two-way mutual dialogue and the sharing of benefits between the organisation and the consumer (Fuxman et al., 2014; Karimova 2011). This implies that communication and engagement between the company and the consumer should flow freely and should be more non-linear. Such communication and engagement should be one-on-one, one-to-many, or both depending on the situation. Rihan (2017) notes that in the current world, consumers are more and more getting online to research products, find deals and promotions, and compare prices before making their purchasing decisions. Given this reality, it is only wise for firms to have an online presence and to engage in online marketing which, compared to traditional marketing, is often cheaper …

Zara engages in several digital marketing activities as part of its market communication endeavours. The company owns several websites, which play an important role in giving it the continuous web presence that it needs while giving customers and consumers the opportunity to browse the products that the company has on offer (Appendix 1). Zara has… facebook pages … Twitter accounts … with each account having a huge following. Read more …

Contents for this article:

Introduction
Customer Engagement
Berlo’s Model of Communication
Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing at Zara
Recommendations
References
Appendices

Main Features of Haier’s Internationalization Strategy

What are the main features of Haier’s internationalization strategy since early 1990s and how does it differ from the pattern of international typical of Western enterprises? How successful has Haier’s internationalization strategy been and why? What are the principal features of Haier’s management system? In what ways do Haier’s principles and methods of management differ from those deployed by Western companies? What lessons might be drawn by a) other Chinese companies and b) by Western enterprises? – Haier Group Internationalization Strategy and Management System (below).

Key text: Grant, R (2016). Contemporary Strategy Analysis.

Haier Group Internationalization Strategy

Haier Group’s Internationalization Strategy and Management System

Introduction

Haier Group is a multinational company that manufactures and markets home appliances and consumer electronic products. Simply referred to as Haier, the group started off as a small bankrupt company called Qingdao General Refrigerator Factory before growing to become a global leader in the production of house hold appliances. Today, the company markets its products in well over 100 countries across the world (Haier UK 2014). While the company has its global headquarters in Qingdao China, it has a number of regional headquarters (including Paris and New York) to serve its clients in the respective regions. There is wide agreement among business experts and scholars that Zhang Rumin contributed greatly to the growth and success of Haier. As CEO of the company, Zhang saw the company transform from the bankrupt Qingdao General Refrigerator Factory to the highly successful and leading brand that it is today. Under his leadership, the company focused on producing high quality products and began applying a management system that was customer centric with product development focusing greatly on fulfilling consumers’ needs. The company also began and greatly advanced its internationalisation journey under Zhang’s leadership. Haier’s internationalisation strategy and management methods have been a subject of great praise and admiration worldwide given their contributions to the Group’s success. However, they have also been criticised by pundits who feel that the strategy was not as orderly and not as integrated as it should have been. Questions have also been raised regarding the cohesiveness of the strategy and its rationale especially considering its uneven performance in different markets. These criticisms notwithstanding, there is wide consensus that the strategy was a success and that it presents important lessons for companies that wish to internationalise. This paper discusses Haier’s internationalisation strategy and the Group’s management system as established by Zhang Rumin. More specifically, the paper answers the questions: What are the main features of Haier’s internationalization strategy since early 1990s and how does it differ from the pattern of international development typical of Western enterprises? How successful has Haier’s internationalization strategy been and why? What are the principal features of Haier’s management system? In what ways do Haier’s principles and methods of management differ from those deployed by Western companies? What lessons might be drawn by a) other Chinese companies and b) by Western enterprises?

The Main Features of Haier’s Internationalization Strategy and How the Strategy Differs From the Pattern of International Development Typical of Western Enterprises

Companies can expand beyond national markets through internationalisation. An internationalisation strategy is basically the strategy that a firm applies to sell its products in foreign markets. It involves applying one or more modes of international business (Chryssochoidis and Clegg 1997). Some of the modes of international business include exporting, licensing, franchising, partnering or strategic alliance, acquisition, establishing new, wholly owned subsidiary, and joint venture (Shaker et al. 2000; Azuayi 2016). In different situations, Haier applied different modes of international business. To enter the U.S. market, for example, the company initially exported manufactured products to the country and relied on a strategic partner (Wellbilt Appliances) to distribute the products. To market its products in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy, the company exported its products under the Haier brand (Grant 2016). In countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines, the company formed joint ventures with local companies and relied on them to produce and sell products such as refrigerators and air conditioners (Grant 2016). For Haier, the goal behind its internationalisation was to build a global brand and to become an internationally competitive brand, rather than merely to exploit China’s low manufacturing costs (Grant 2016). In addition, the company sought to create the famous brand of China in the world through its internationalisation. Furthermore, it was aimed at challenging the company to raise to word-class level its standards of marketing, customer service, manufacturing, and product development (Grant 2016). The internationalisation strategy applied by Haier had certain key features which will be discussed in the following sections. Read more …

One key feature of Haier’s Internationalisation strategy was its focus on entering and tackling difficult or more sophisticated markets first before tackling easy or less developed ones. As noted by Yan and Guanli (2011), in the process of internationalisation, companies have two modes or options. Continue …

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Contents

Introduction
The Main Features of Haier’s Internationalization Strategy and How the Strategy Differs From the Pattern of International Development Typical of Western Enterprises
The Uppsala Model in Relation to Haier’s Internationalisation Strategy
The Success of Haier’s Internationalization Strategy
Principal Features of Haier’s Management System
Haier’s Principles and Methods of Management
Lessons that can be Learnt from Haier
Conclusion
References

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Companies Need for Relation-oriented Skills

Companies Need for Relation-oriented Skills Solved: ‘Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need for relation-oriented skills in their global endeavours. Female managers working for Western companies, for example, could generally be regarded as potentially effective managers in say, Asia because of their person-oriented leadership skills. The consideration women show others, as well as their ability to empathise, are features that are said to be held in high esteem in that part of the world. Why do you think that some multinationals nevertheless tend not to give serious consideration to female candidates for managerial positions in, for example, the Middle East?’ (Browaeys and Price 2015, p. 233). Critically discuss, referring to relevant research and supporting your answer with examples from international business. Companies Aware of the Need for Relation-oriented Skills: Cross-cultural management.

Why Some Multinationals Do Not to Give Serious Consideration to Female Candidates for Managerial Positions

Introduction

Every business organisation seeks to grow or improve its performance and appreciate that without good leadership, this goal may not be achievable (Law 2015). Owing to this fact, companies are constantly looking out for people who seem to have leadership and management skills and who will hopefully propel the organisation in the right direction. High performing leaders are people who can develop and implement good strategies, ensure tasks are properly performed and done in a timely manner, and can establish and maintain relationships across the organisation. As noted by Law (2015), business leaders or managers can apply relationship-oriented leadership or task-oriented leadership to achieve desired organisational goals. In the contemporary business environment, relationship-oriented leadership is valued given its emphasis on creating relationships that last between the leader and other workers. In this regard, this kind of leadership helps avoid limitations commonly linked with authoritarian leadership such as poor employee motivation (Oni 2017). Relationship-oriented leadership has been closely linked to feminine qualities and as such is commonly preferred in positions in which a lot of cooperation, use of intuition, communication, and flexibility is demanded. There is no doubt that this kind of approach to leadership is practical and vital in business. Even so, some multinational organisations do not give serious consideration for having women, who naturally tend to apply relationship-oriented leadership, to occupy management positions in some countries. In this paper, the possible reasons for this situation is discussed based on Hofstede’s theory and more especially with a focus on the cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity versus femininity. The paper begins by discussing task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership before discussing the main issue which is the reason for gender segregation in business management. The paper concludes with recommendations for businesses and women. Continue …

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Health Care Systems Comparison – US versus UK

This article presents a health care Systems comparison; a comparative analysis of the U.S. and UK healthcare systems.

Comparison of US and UK Health Care Systems

Introduction

Health Care Systems Comparison Roemer (1991) defines the term “healthcare system” as the combination of resources, organisation, financing and management that results in the delivery of health services to the population. People’s health are impacted by factors outside the healthcare system such as poverty education, infrastructure, the social environment, and the political environment (Annex, 2007). This notwithstanding, a successful healthcare system should provide accessible, quality, responsive, and affordable healthcare services to the population according to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2015). Countries differ in the way their healthcare systems are organised and how they operate. In this paper, the U.K. and U.S. health care systems will be analysed and compared. For each of these countries, the country profile will be presented and the organisation and functioning of their healthcare systems discussed. The paper will also discuss health care coverage, healthcare financing and expenditure, and access and quality of healthcare in the two countries. The paper concludes by briefly evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare systems of each of the two countries – A Comparison of US and UK healthcare systems.

The UK Healthcare System

The United Kingdom Country Profile

The United Kingdom is made up of four constituent countries; Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. The island country has a population of roughly 65,648,000 people with the majority (87.2%) of the population being white. The country’s minority population includes Blacks, Asians, Pakistanis, and other minority groups (CIA 2018). Its population growth rate is estimated at 0.52% while its death rate stands at 9.4 deaths per 1,000 people (CIA 2018). As noted by Parpworth (2016) the country is a constitutional monarchy governed by the rule of law and based on parliamentary democracy. In Europe, the U.K. has the third largest economy after Germany and France. Its GDP was roughly 2.88 trillion U.S. dollars (purchasing power parity) and 2.565 trillion U.S. dollars going by official exchange rate in 2017 (CIA 2018). Read more …

How Jeff Immelt Redirected the Strategy of GE

1. In what ways has Jeff Immelt redirected the strategy of GE?
2. To what extent is the strategy aligned with
a. The requirements of the 21st century business environment?
b. GE’s resources & capabilities?
3. What organisational changes has the new strategy necessitated? Will GE be able to successfully execute the new strategy?
4. What alternative strategies should GE consider?

General Electric Case Study

Introduction

How Jeff Immelt Redirected the Strategy of GE The term “strategy” comes from the Greek word “Strategos” which means “generalship” (Nickols 2016). Strategy is a common term or concept in the business field today, having been borrowed from the military. The term has been defined in different ways by scholars and experts. Johnson and Scholes (2011) define the concept as the long-term direction that a firm assumes. On the other hand, Chandler (1963) defines it as the determination of long-term objectives and goals of an organisation and relates it to the actions and allocation of resources needed for the achievement of the organisation’s goals and objectives. On his part, Steiner (2008) associates strategy with the actions that one takes to counter the predicted or actual moves of an opponent. According to Mintzber (1994), strategy is commonly applied in four different ways; as a position, as a pattern, as a plan, and finally as a perspective. Business organisations develop and apply different strategies to achieve their objectives and goals, respond to changes in the business environment, and to counter the moves taken by their competitors. This paper will focus on the strategy of General Electric (GE) under the direction of Jeff Immelt. The paper will begin by providing a background to General electric and its strategy under the leadership of Jeff Immelt before discussing the how the company’s Strategy was aligned with the 21st century business environment. The paper will then discuss GE’s strategy alignment with the company’s resources and capabilities and organisational changes in the company concluding with a brief discussion of alternative strategies that General Electric could have adopted. Continue reading: 30-64.

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Social Policies on Housing in France and Germany

This article presents a housing social policies comparison – social policies housing comparison focusing on France and Germany.

Social Policies on Housing in France and Germany: A Comparative Analysis

Introduction

Housing has been and continues to be vital sector of the economy of developed societies across the world (Sassen 2012). Housing contributes to the economy in three main ways; as part of the construction sector, as part of the real estate market, and through banking in the form of mortgages. Today housing is also an used as an instrument for the innovation of financial instruments and in this regard has raised the distance between itself and the asset that underlies it to the extent that it is associated with high-risk financial innovation (Sassen, 2012). Appreciating its importance, different countries have put in place different social policies in a bid to ensure that their nationals are properly housed and that even the poor do not remain homeless. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the housing policies implemented by French and Germany. The paper presents an overview of the housing policy in the two countries, their guiding principles, housing ownership, the cost of housing, security of tenure, housing benefits, and the financing of private and social housing. The paper also discusses issues such as subsidies and housing allowances in France, role of government and NGOs, beneficiaries of social housing, regeneration, and the Anglo Saxon Liberal Welfare Regime in Germany.

French Social Policy on Housing

Overview of Housing Policy in France

As noted by Blanc (2004), France is known to be a centralised nation with officers at the central government making most of the decisions that touch on social policy. The government of France normal moves with speed in trying to solve problems, a situation that has led civil society in the country to have great mistrust for the government. After the Second World War ended, France realised that she was faced with housing shortage. Consequently, the government emerged as a dominant player in trying to solve the housing problem in the period preceding the 1960s. However, in the 1960s, the government opted to become more indirect while maintaining its economic intervention, a change that was influenced by the appreciation of the neo-liberal ideology (Blanc, 2004). Read more …

Housing Social Policies Comparison.

The Launch of a New Product Under Consideration

1. Solved: The launch of a new product is under consideration. Its unit variable costs will be £30 and it is estimated that incremental fixed costs of £250,000 will be incurred if production is commenced. Forecast sales are 50,000 units. At what level of price for the new product will the organisation break even? If the actual planned selling price is £48 per unit, what will be the organisation’s margin of safety? 2. The following information is about two organisations, A and B. Organisation A Organisation B £ £ Fixed costs 60,000 12,000 Variable costs per unit 0.20 0.50 Unit selling price 0.60 0.60 Expected sales levels (units) 160,000 160,000 Which firm has higher operating gearing? What is the expected net income of both firms? What would expected net income be for both firms if sales were a) 140,000 units and b) 180,000 units? Which firm is facing more risk in terms of its current sales predictions?

Launch of a new product

2. Solved: The following information is about two organisations, A and B.

	Organisation A	Organisation B
	£	£
Fixed costs	60,000	12,000
Variable costs per unit	0.2	0.5
Unit selling price	0.6	0.6
Expected sales levels (units)	160,000	160,000

Which firm has higher operating gearing? What is the expected net income of both firms?
What would expected net income be for both firms if sales were (a) 140,000 units and (b) 180,000 units?
Which firm is facing more risk in terms of its current sales predictions?
Be sure to demonstrate your numerical workings.

Launch of a new product …

Solutions

1 (a) At what level of price for the new product will the organisation break even?
Variable cost per unit = £30
Fixed costs = £250,000
b (in terms of price) = ?
Total sales revenue = fixed costs + total variable costs
50,000 units x b = £250,000 + (£30 x 50,000)
b = (250,000+ 1,500,000)/50,000
Break-even price = Read more …..

b) If the actual planned selling price is £48 per unit, what will be the organisation Read more ….

2 a) Which firm has higher operating gearing?
An activity with relatively high fixed costs compared with its variable costs has a high operating gearing (Atrill and McLaney 2006, p. 229). According to Cima Global (2006), one way of determining operational gearing is by evaluating the contribution-to-sales ratio (C/S ratio). A low C/S ratio indicates that a business has low proportion of fixed costs and vice versa (Cima Global, 2006).

The contribution per unit for organisation A is £0.4 (0.6-0.2) while that for organisation B is £0.1 (0.6-0.5).
Contribution‑to‑sales ratio = (Contribution per unit / Sales price per unit) as a percentage
Contribution-to-sale ratio for:
Organisation A = (0.4/0.6) x 100= 67%
Organisation B = (0.1/0.6) x 100= 17% Read more …

b) What is the expected net income of both firms? Read more ….

What Is Wrong With Having a Nanny? – Philosophy

What is Wrong With Having a Nanny?

What Is Wrong With Having a Nanny There are countless chores that fall within the domain of housework; washing dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, cooking, food shopping, and caring for children and countless others (Peacock, 2012). Housework is commonly assumed to be women’s work (Townsend, 2016). Every year, an average housewife spends between one and four thousand hours performing housework (Davis, 1981; Peacock, 2012). This amount of time does not include constant and unquantifiable attention that mothers have to give dedicate to their children. In spite of the huge amount of time and effort spent in it, housework is rarely appreciated (Davis 1981). In this regard, Ehrenreich and English (1975) note that housework is never noticed until it is not done. For example, people do not notice the scrubbed and polished floor but will quickly notice the unmade bed (Ehrenreich and English, 1975). From a philosophical perspective, this paper attempts to answer the question, what, if anything, is wrong with having a nanny – nanny philosophy | philosophy?

Nannies are charged with the responsibility of taking care of children in their home; work that squarely falls under the umbrella of housework. As noted by Ghaeus (2013), among other duties, nannies meet children’s security, affection, social and other needs and guide them in different situations. For many people, taking care of children at home is mindless work; work that they would rather leave to others if money allows (Townsend, 2016). Unlike the carpenter, electrician, or plumber who earn their respect because of the intelligent skill they apply in their labour, housework seems to demand no particular skill. There continues to be raging debate among philosophers, feminists, economists and other experts regarding housework, its importance and whether it should be done in the first place. Drawing on different perspectives, this paper seeks to answer the question, what, if anything, is wrong with having a nanny? The paper also discusses the nature of what nannies do (domestic work), and different perspectives on domestic/nanny work (including Marxist and feminist perspectives) -nanny philosophy. Read more …

Online Sales Bans By Product Manufacturers

If a manufacturer of a product requires that its distributors do not make online sales, then that must harm competition and so such “online sales bans” should be strongly presumed to be anti-competitive. Do you agree? Online Sales Bans By Product Manufacturers on Distributors – online sales bans anticompetitive.

Should Online Sales Bans Imposed By Product Manufacturers On Distributors Be Strongly Presumed to Be Anti-Competitive?

Introduction

Firms may engage in vertical agreements with other firms or parties as a way of achieving goals they may not otherwise realise acting on their own. When they make such agreements with other companies or parties, firms may impose vertical restrictions. Such restrictions may come in the form of selecting distributors, limiting online sales among other conditions. An Online sales ban come into effect when a company requires its distributors not to make online sales. With anti-competitive practices generally prohibited in the European Union and indeed in many other jurisdictions, the question of the legality of online sales bans is one that lingers in the
minds of many business owners and distributors. If, for example, a manufacturer of a product requires that its distributors do not make online sales, then that must harm competition. Should such “online sales bans” be strongly presumed to be anticompetitive? This paper attempts to answer this question and argues that absolute online sales bans by manufacturing companies are strongly presumed to be anticompetitive.

online sales bans by product manufacturers

Anti-competition Laws and Vertical Restraints

Many countries have in place laws aimed at protecting consumers and businesses from unfair practices and practices that inhibit or thwart competition. In the UK in particular, Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 expressly prohibits any agreement or concerted practice that restricts, prevents, or distorts competition unless such action enjoys exemption from the prohibition. In the same spirit, Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) forbids concerted practices, agreements and decisions by undertakings or group of undertakings acting together that aim to restrict, prevent, or distort competition within the common market or that may affect trade between European Union (EU) member countries. Read more …

Human Capital and Financial Statements

Should human capital be included in financial statements?

The global economy has over time shifted from an industrial economy to an economy that is based on information and knowledge (Monday, 2017). As a result, human capital has more than ever before become of greater benefit to organisations. Many human resource and business experts agree that the human capital is an organisation’s most important asset (Dean, et al. 2012 ; Cobb and Wallace, 2016). Although this is the case, employees are often considered to be liabilities in financial statements given that they are paid wages and add to business expenses such is the case with their pension contributions. People play an important role in creating intangible such as research and development, brands, patents and intellectual property. In turn, these intangible assets greatly contribute to the creation of tangible assets such as land, equipment, vehicles and plants. Human capital, therefore, emerges as a core contributor to company profits and shareholder value (Dean et al. 2012). While this is the case, human capital often does not feature in balance sheets as assets in spite of its direct and indirect contribution to business profitability and shareholder value.

Human capital and financial statements

Washer and Nippani (2004) hold the opinion that the importance of human capital in financial decisions can be appreciated by including human capital in the statement of financial position. Given that financial statements are mainly aimed at trying to portray as accurately as possible a company’s economic reality as well as providing users with relevant information to enable them make sound investment decisions, it is relevant and logical that human capital is featured as an asset in such statements. This is more so the case given that human capital is a key contributor to the organisation’s profits and shareholder value.

Definition of Human Capital

Human capital is the skills, training, education, competencies, experiences, and innovation of a person that enables the transformation of raw materials into more valuable products (Micah et al., 2012; Dean et al. 2012; Oseni and Igbinosa, 2015). Cobb and Wallace (2016) define human capital as the productive capacity of an individual including their talent, innate ability, skills, and learned knowledge among other attributes. Essentially, the human capital of an individual determines their ability to generate ideas and produce goods and services, as well as their economic productivity (Cobb and Wallace, 2016). An organisation’s human capital can be said to be sum of the current and future economic valuation of the capabilities and skills embodied within all the persons that together make the organisation’s entire work workforce at a given date (Cobb and Wallace, 2016). In essence, human capital contributes to a business’ market value as it contributes to intellectual value. Intellectual value on its part contributes to organisational reputation and brand value. Continue reading “Human Capital and Financial Statements”