BUS 203 Augusta State University Organizational Culture Discussion According to Edgar Schein, organizational culture are the shared beliefs and values amon

BUS 203 Augusta State University Organizational Culture Discussion According to Edgar Schein, organizational culture are the shared beliefs and values among a group of people which influences how they perceive, think, and react in the organization. There are four types of organizational culture:

Clan-Internal focus that values flexibility
Adhocracy-A risk taking culture with an external focus on flexibility
Market-A competitive culture with an external focus on profits over employee satisfaction
Hierarchy-A structured culture valuing stability and effectiveness internally

How would you describe the organizational culture of a previous or current place of employment? And why?

Do you think this type of culture is best suited to help the company achieve its strategic goals? Explain.

Part 2: Respond to a Peer

Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections. UNIT VIII STUDY GUIDE
Pricing Strategies
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VIII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Explore the ethical management of marketing implementation.
1.1 Explain the ethical practices followed by an organization.
2. Synthesize the use of marketing research to predict global business outcomes.
2.1 Develop a global marketing presentation using business research.
3. Analyze the use of marketing strategies in the management of global customer brand equity.
3.1 Explain how the four Ps (product, price, promotion, and place) impact the marketing strategy of
a global customer brand.
3.2 Explain whether a company holds a competitive advantage.
4. Compare the development of innovative new products on competitive product strategies.
4.1 Summarize product strategies used by an organization.
5. Examine pricing strategies for effective marketing scenarios.
5.1 Summarize pricing strategies used by an organization.
6. Summarize distribution management as a marketing method.
6.1 Summarize distribution strategies used by an organization.
7. Explain the key aspects in managing marketing promotions through traditional and digital methods.
7.1 Summarize traditional and digital marketing promotional methods used by a company.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
1.1
2.1
3.1
3.2
4.1
5.1
6.1
7.1
Learning Activity
Unit VIII Project
Unit VIII Project
Unit VIII Project
Unit VIII Project
Unit VIII Project
Unit Lesson
Chapter 16, pp. 461–487
Unit VIII Project
Unit VIII Project
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 16: Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs, pp. 461–487
Unit Lesson
Price is defined as the amount of money that is exchanged for something of value, which is defined by the
customer. This value proposition directly aligns with the amount of money that a consumer is willing to pay for
the prescribed product and/or service. Prices are adjusted based upon discounts, which could include
seasonal discounts, quantity discounts, cash discounts, or sales discounts. Another factor that could change
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the price are allowances, which include trade-ins and damaged goods allowances.
canGUIDE
be set based
UNIT Prices
x STUDY
on a one-price policy, which suggests that prices are the same for everyone. These
Title tend to be low-cost,
frequently purchased, and convenience goods. Alternatively, prices can be set based on a flexible price
policy, which allows for prices to be set differently for different customers. These prices tend to be set by
salespeople who are working directly with the customer. A good salesperson understands his or her customer
enough to know how high of a price the customer will bear and will adjust the price accordingly to secure the
business. This model is used at car dealerships within the business-to-consumer (B2C) model as well as in
most purchasing situations in the business-to-business (B2B) sector.
The Unit VIII Pricing Policies Presentation reviews
the terminology and purpose behind each type of
pricing policy. A transcript and alternate format for
the presentation are below.
?
Alternate format for Unit VIII Pricing Policies
Presentation
(Altmann, 2016)
In looking at each of these pricing objectives, it is easy to understand that the cost-driven objectives place a
greater value on achieving certain financial goals with less consideration for the consumer’s needs and value
proposition. These strategies are considered very favorable to stockholders as they realize a greater return.
Conversely, the status quo, competition and demand orientation, justify the pricing level based on customer
needs but fail to provide the stockholders any assurance of reaching the financial goals.
Value in use is another consumer pricing consideration. What this involves is consideration of how much the
customer will save over the duration of a period of time if he or she purchases the item. An example of this
might be a cell phone service company claiming savings over a period of months if the customer switches to
them. Another might be a solar panel company attempting to justify the high cost of the panels with a cost
analysis of the consumer’s monthly energy savings. This leads up to the point at which the consumer will
cover the costs of their investment with the solar panels. Theoretically, from that point on, the consumer is
enjoying a monthly energy savings.
A concept used quite heavily in the business-to-business (B2B) world is that of bid pricing. This pricing model
suggests that a company will bid on a project with the projected pricing to complete the project. The idea is to
be awarded the project thereby bringing additional business to the company. Initially, one might think that the
lowest bid will be the winner. While this may be the case in the majority of situations, it is not the only
determinant in securing the bid. Reputation of the company, delivery terms, quality of product or service,
financial terms, and a host of other criteria are included in the bidding process. When negotiating a bid,
consideration must be given to all criteria that would be considered of value to the potential customer.
Marketing is everywhere! Now that you have traveled through this marketing management course, do you
believe this statement to be true? While we are sometimes annoyed about marketing and advertising, think of
a world with absolutely no marketing (traditional or digital). How would you find out about products or
services? How would you learn about new products or service offerings? How would you be educated about
new prices or new locations to purchase products? How would you be exposed to customer reviews? What
about essential information that is currently included on company websites? Without marketing, consumers
would rely 100% on the opinion of others. While this may be appropriate in some cases, it might not be a
favorable situation in all cases. Within the scope of this course, understanding that marketing consists of both
digital and traditional marketing is important. While digital marketing has taken a solid place in the
effectiveness of marketing, remember that traditional marketing methods still has significant value to all target
markets.
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Thinking of marketing as a necessity for society, marketers need to manage the
marketing
organization
UNIT
x STUDY
GUIDE
toward overall sustainability. Kotler and Keller (2016) suggest that marketers must
Titleplan, implement, and
control the marketing activities to maintain the overall brand. Planning in the largest sense suggests that
actions are not spontaneous but instead calculated and pre-determined with a vision on the objectives of the
organization. This more or less sets an overall direction of the marketing efforts allowing for specific tactics to
be determined. Implementation applies all the plans and strategies toward actual execution, and control
brings in some level of measurement in order to determine the overall effectiveness.
To state that marketing has changed over the course of the last 15 years is an understatement of significant
magnitude. Technology created efficiencies in all aspects of marketing; the Internet has become a primary
form of communication, and information can be obtained in record time. Kotler and Keller (2016) discuss other
shifts in marketing, including how outsourcing and supplier partnering create additional marketing
opportunities. Another significant change is the overall organization of the marketing departments. Additional
focus has been placed on the product or brand management organization, which supports the traditional
functional organizational setup. These brand managers become champions of the product or service by
taking on the overall responsibility of the assigned product. This includes both short-term and long-term
strategy development as well as the fiduciary components of the annual marketing plan and sales forecasts.
Product or brand managers basically eat, drink, and breathe their assigned product category and work with all
functional areas within the organization to ensure that their product is represented, funded, and taken care of
in order to meet the continuously changing needs of the customer. The use of digital marketing has provided
for a more succinct delivery of product/service information to a precise target market.
While socially responsible marketing practices have been in existence for years, the importance of this
corporate social responsibility (CSR) has never been greater. In definition, CSR is behavior on the part of the
company that reflects ethical and socially responsible behavior. It is thought that this type of behavior not only
benefits the employees, customers, community, and environment but also the stakeholders (Kotler & Keller,
2016). The idea behind this is that, if given the chance, customers will buy more often from companies that
demonstrate good CSR practices. Companies are coming up with innovative programs such as Toms’ One
for One program where Toms pledges to provide a pair of shoes to children in need for every shoe purchased
(Toms, n.d.). This business model has been trending as other companies incentivize and motivate customers
to buy their products over their competitors’ products while also providing a program of social good.
Moving away from the CSR programs, at the opposite end of the spectrum is controversial marketing and
advertising practices. These practices include discussions around whether advertising directly to children is
ethical. Should we allow companies motivated toward the desires of stockholders to potentially influence
these young minds into purchasing their products or services? But, then, why should these companies be
unfairly targeted with additional restrictions? Another area of controversy is the advertising of tobacco or legal
marijuana. Since tobacco and legal marijuana represent unhealthy ventures that could lead to addictions,
should advertisers be allowed to advertise these products? One has to remember that these are legal
products. Should consumers not be given the opportunity to make their own choices? The use of sex in
advertising is yet another area of controversy. At what point does this become distasteful, and how do we
protect young children from viewing and interpreting these advertisements? The advertising of unhealthy food
products brings another controversial topic to the forefront. With obesity rising at alarming rates, should we
allow advertisers of these products to continue to advertise?
Finally, the use of shock or scare advertising to influence consumers’ actions comes into question. At what
point is it unethical or unhealthy for individuals to be shocked into acting in a certain way? An example of this
might be the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) attempting to advocate for a reduction in animal
cruelty with the use of visuals showing abused animals. The video CDC: Tips From Former Smokers – Terrie:
“Terrie, What Are You Doing?” demonstrates one of the anti-smoking campaigns focused on convincing
people to stop smoking (transcript for CDC: Tips From Former Smokers – Terrie: “Terrie, What Are You
Doing?” video). these types of commercials be restricted, or is this type of technique necessary to curb the
abuse of tobacco? While one side of the controversy suggests that there should be legislation prohibiting
these advertising attempts, the other side suggests that all companies have the freedom of speech and the
right to present the benefits of their products/services to consumers. Who has the ultimate responsibility
here? Is it the company, government, legislative bodies, or consumers (parents) themselves?
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Social responsibility in advertising is becoming more relevant in today’s world.UNIT
We, as
consumers,
prefer to
x STUDY
GUIDE
buy from companies that represent socially responsible behavior. To be considered
Title as socially responsible,
the advertising must be truthful. The presentation of factual information that is not deceptive is crucial. The
second requirement is that the advertisement should not promote anything that is damaging to society.
Obviously, both of these requirements can be misconstrued and is up to interpretation in many situations. The
ultimate goal is for companies to ensure their actions have a positive impact on all of the company’s
stakeholders, which include employees, the community, consumers, and shareholders. Marketers then
communicate these actions to the public through social marketing campaigns.
Understanding ethical behavior in the marketing area is complicated as many facets are not necessarily
black-and-white in nature. This video Marketing Strategy_ Ethical Behavior in Marketing- What Are Marketing
Ethics provides an introduction into the basics of ethical marketing (transcript for Marketing Strategy_ Ethical
Behavior in Marketing- What Are Marketing Ethics video).
Now that you have a good understanding of how ethical development intertwines with the marketing
discipline, how might companies promote an ethical culture within their marketing efforts? Remembering that
profit motives can sometimes counter ethical behavior, how can a company move beyond this? The video
discusses consequences. Is this a sound method of implementation? What about policies and procedures?
How might a company go about establishing a culture of ethical behavior within the organization and
subsequently within their marketing efforts?
A related topic is corporate social responsibility (CSR), which involves companies that implement initiatives
that benefit society as a whole. This concept reaches beyond just the marketing area to the entire company.
These efforts can involve simple donations of funds or manpower to implementing green operations within the
company. This concept is self-regulated and viewed positively by consumers, employees, stockholders, and
all stakeholders. Consumers again prefer to work with companies that are promoting a healthier world, and
employees are more engaged and supportive of the company they work for if they are employing these CSR
practices. An additional perk of these programs is the building of teamwork, collaboration, and morale among
employees. One such example of this is when a company shuts down operations for a day to employ the
entire staff to build playgrounds for a neighboring community that is struggling or to visit a local food pantry
and pack food for the hungry. The feeling of working together as a team on these socially good programs
translates to a better working atmosphere when employees return to work the next day.
As marketers compile their marketing plans/strategies as well as their marketing budgets, control or
measurement needs to be conducted in order to ensure that the firm’s marketing dollars are most efficiently
being used. Kotler and Keller (2016) summarize four types of control, which include the annual plan control,
profitability control, efficiency control, and the strategic control. The annual plan review determines whether
the overall planned results are being achieved, whereas the profitability control looks at whether the company
is achieving a profit. The efficiency control evaluates the specifics of the marketing dollars spent, indicating
whether these dollars were actually spent in the best way. Finally, the strategic control reviews whether the
products, target markets, and channels used are actually the most efficient.
Marketing managers use a variety of different measurement devices within each of these overarching
categories. Comparative and longitudinal analysis provides marketers and the executive team with a solid
basis of measurement and control. This might be conducted through the marketing audit, which provides a
holistic look at all aspects associated with the marketing strategy for the company. Electronic measurement
methods are also used, including an analysis of a variety of digital communication methods such as SEO,
PPC, email marketing, and social media to name a few. At the end of the day, these measurement processes
provide marketers with important information allowing for strategic changes in order to adapt to the changing
needs of consumers and, specifically, the target market. Accountability is the key component in this holistic
approach to measurement and control.
References
Altmann, G. (2016). Arrows, growth hacking, marketing, strategy, startup [Illustration]. Retrieved from
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/arrows-growth-hacking-marketing-1229845/
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Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
UNIT
x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Toms. (n.d.). We’re in business to improve lives. Retrieved from https://www.toms.com/one-for-one-en/
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Running head: SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY – ADVANCED MARKETING
Caterpillar Inc. Marketing Plan
Valerie Lovato
Columbia Southern University
1
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY – ADVANCED MARKETING
2
Caterpillar Inc. Marketing Plan
Introduction
The Caterpillar Corporation, which is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, was founded in
1995 as a merger of Holt manufacturing and the C. L. Best Tractor Companies. The firm has
been operating for over a century dealing with the design and production of heavy equipment
and earthmovers. The firm also manufactures engines and sells machinery and has extended to
the provision of financial products and service delivery, for example, insurance. The firm often
shortened as CAT is ranked as the world’s largest construction firm and 65th on the Fortune top
500 lists. Caterpillar has an extensive operational base with 110 facilities worldwide, where 59
plants are located overseas, while 51 are located in the United States. Caterpillar company has
recorded total revenues of $54.7 billion and an $8.393 billion operating income, as noted by
(Team 2020). As per the 2019/20 financial year, the company noted a net income of $6.147
billion. The company employs more than 100,000 employees with total assets at $79 billion and
total equity of $14.28 billion. Here is the company’s website: www.caterpillar.com.
Competitive Analysis
The company has incorporated product diversification, thus having a broad scope of
competitors in its operational base. Its biggest competitors are Doosan Group Company and the
CNH Industrial N.V. They aim at increasing their sales through strategic investments in
technology to reinforce its supply chain sector and earn sales through their products as
commercial transportation and powertrains. According to Denison et al., (2012), the CNH
Industrial has three operational strategies to improve its marketing scope. The three are
continued operational performance through margin advancements. The other is portfolio
SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY – ADVANCED MARKETING
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questions, where the company develops a strategic roadmap, and lastly, it endorses are strong
dealer community to ensure high-level customer satisfaction. The Doosan Group, on the other
hand, focuses on an excellent performance in new markets to ensure it captures the environment
and continuously expands. The company has also secured a free cash flow to ensure resources
are available for production to match market demand. Lastly, the firm has invested in creating a
strong brand portfolio (Belo et al., 2014).
Caterpillar firm has a reliable cash flow, which is free, like at CNH Industrial company,
that helps in the provision of resources at all levels to maintain the firm’s growth. The company
also has the same strengths as its competitors since it focuses on an outstanding performance in
both new and old markets. The company has also built expertise in venturing new markets that
its competitors find risky. The company also focuses on the automation of its activities to enable
it to withstand the prevailing market conditions. The company als…
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