Company Case MKT 202 Essay Example for Free

Company Case MKT 202 Essay 1. Microenvironmental factors involve actors, who remain close to the company and they affect the company’s ability to serve its customer. The company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer market, competitors, and publics all of these are part of microenvironment. Toyota Prius introduction and relaunch were affected by several microenvironmental factors. These factors are discussed below: a. Firstly, the Toyota Company itself was a major microenvironmental factor that affected its product at the very beginning. The marketing department of Toyota didn’t do enough promotional activities for its new vehicle. In a country like U. S. where as we all know all SUVs sell likes hotcakes, no one would really be interested to buy a dull hybrid car. Also the department involved in designing the product was too weak to attract customers at first. When it was launched people considered Prius to be small, cramped compact with a very dull design. Also due to its low horsepower, the pickup time was very long. The car took 14. 5 seconds just to go reach a speed of 60km/hr. No matter how much environmental friendly and energy saving the car was due to low promotional efforts by the company and also the dull design, the introduction of Prius was highly affected. Also, even if the car was worthy enough of a purchase because of its environment friendly quality and fuel saving, enough people didn’t hear about it. But later on, Toyota did make its new version and the marketing of the product was raised as the brand image developed. b. Secondly, as we all know, the presence of a competitor can really make it hard for a company to position its product well. During the time Prius was being launched it had to face, Honda as its competitor. Honda successful launched its insight even before Prius came to the market. Of course not to mention, vehicles like Hummer, Ford were already there before Prius to keep customer’s attention towards them. But Toyota did differentiate its product from its competitor on providing benefits which other competitors weren’t able to provide at a cheap cost. c. Third factor was the customer themselves, who were totally inclined towards the brands which they have been using all their lives like General Motors, Ford and others. So the international markets for Toyota in U. S. were pretty weak at first. But then again, as new version was developed with new style a design and as the car’s horsepower was improved it did get customer’s attention. 2. Macroenvironmental involves larger societal forces, which includes demographic, economic, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces. There were several macroenvironmental factors, which played a role in affecting the introduction and relaunch of Toyota Prius. The factors are discussed below: a. Firstly, demographic factors played a part in affecting Prius. Even though Baby Boomers and Gen X had people who were middle aged and old and were potential customers for Prius. But the Gen Y included the young bunches who were more into sporty and stylish vehicle, attributes which Toyota Prius lacked. Toyota simply didn’t speak Gen Y’ers language. But Toyota had been able to deal with it since people from Gen X’ers had environment conscious people who were a big market for Toyota. b. Secondly, cultural factors played a big role too. American culture has been prone in using 4-wheel drives and they simply didn’t want a weird looking car to be a part of their lives. Also, people view of society, under cultural factor, played a part too. A patriot American would buy his countries product rather than buying products from other countries. Another factor under culture is people’s view of organization. Companies like General Motors, Ford, Audi had a stronger brand image then Toyota during that period of time. As the time went, new version came out, Toyota was able to fit in the culture and the U. S. government on introducing various incentives on hybrid vehicles also helped it. c. Thirdly, technological factor. Technology has always been there making our lives a better and there has been so much competition in the market on providing superior technology that, some company have trouble to establish a image against those companies who have already established a strong position in the competition. Toyota was technologically inferior compared to its rivals like Audi, Ford, and GM. Also, Prius at its very initial stage was not the car which people took interest in driving because of its technical lacking. Low horsepower, high pick up time, dull design all of these affected its image. Toyota was able to deal with it on its new versions. 3. Toyota market strategy was first used on people who were techies. It focused on early adopters, techies who were attracted to the advanced new technology. Techies were so into the Prius that they started modifying it technically and paying a great deal of attention to it. Toyota was able to differentiate its product in a way that no other company could with such a low cost. That’s why Prius became the best car ever used in US. After absorbing large revenues from the techies, it used it second version to target a wider market segment. Toyota was able to serve the bigger segment which consisted of those people who were environmentally conscious and as well as those desirous of fuel efficiency. Toyota did an immense amount of spending on media to let people know about its second version. In future Toyota can improve its strategy by introducing the hybrid feature into several models of car it has and thereby making a greater sales in return. But it shouldn’t introduce the hybrid feature in all the cars, since if other competitors starts making the same kind of car and has better brand image, then Toyota can no longer differentiate its product. But as demand for hybrids go up, Toyota should maintain a steady production and invest on making other new types for serving other segments and maintain a balance.

Human Gene Therapy :: Biology Genetics Essays

Human Gene Therapy Everybody carries about half a dozen defective genes. Many don't know this, unless someone they know is affected by a genetic disorder.(1) The genetics of many diseases are passed from one generation to the next by inheriting a single gene, such as Huntington's disease. Many other diseases and traits are influenced by a collection of genes.(4) About one in ten people has, or will develop, an inherited genetic disorder. Approximately 2,800 specific conditions are known to be caused by defects, or mutations, in just one gene. Most of us don't suffer any harmful effects from our defective genes because we carry two copies of nearly all genes. In most cases one normal gene is enough to avoid all the symptoms of disease. If the affected gene is recessive, and we inherit two copies of the gene, the disease will develop. If the affected gene is dominant, only one copy is enough produce the disease. There are also X-chromsome linked genetic diseases.(1) A potential approach to the treatment of genetic disorders in humans is gene therapy. Gene therapy is the delivery of a correct version of a mutated gene to a cell, where its expression will produce the normal protein and restore normal cellular function. The mutated gene must be delivered to the nucleus of the cell.(2) There are essentially two forms of gene therapy, somatic gene therapy and germline gene therapy. Somatic gene therapy involves the manipulation of gene expression in cells that will be corrective to the patient but not inherited by the next generation.(4) Germline gene therapy involves the replacement of defective genes in the germline cells, which contribute to the genetic heritage of the offspring. It has the potential to affect not only the individual being treated, but also his or her children. Germline therapy would change the genetic pool of the entire human species, and future generations would have to live with that change. It is not likely germline therapy will be tried on humans in the near future due to ethical problems and technical difficulties.(1) In vivo gene transfer is the introduction of genes to cells at the site at which they are found in the body. Ex vivo gene transfer is the transfer of genes into viable cells that have been temporarily removed from the patient and are then returned following treatment.(6) Foreign DNA can be injected into the cell, or its entry can be facilitated by various chemical or electronic ways, but these methods aren't very efficient.

Guns, schools and criminal minds Essay

Due to a massive shootings events in the last years, we, the people have been wondering â€Å"Is it a good idea to have guns in our children’s school? I’ve always believe that schools are the safest places in the world, until December 14, 2012, when 20 years old Adan Lanza fatally shot twenty children and 6 adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Now, do you feel safe when leaving your child at school? and, would you agree in sending your children off to a place full of guns? David Thweatt, superintendent of schools in Harrold, Texas, described how his small rural district implemented a plan to allow some staff members to carry concealed weapons in addition to other security members. Mr. Thweatt emphasizes that they are at least half-hour away from closest law enforcement ofï ¬ cials, they believe that they have done everything possible to protect their children. This plan is called â€Å"The Guardian Plan†. Many people thi nk that the world without guns would be a world at peace, this people claim that they love their children enough to not want them to go to school prisons. Plenty of new issues can emerge while teachers carry guns, who is going to protect them if a teacher lose control? Different opinions say that having an armed staff of educators will only increase the problem, they think that bad people are the problem and government should focus on create better and smarter solutions to keep bad people off to schools. According to teachers, they feel offended when someone scoff the idea of a teacher being trained to use a ï ¬ rearm, they already have much to deal with, such a crowd control, conï ¬â€šict resolution, and maintain order amidst chaos. Unfortunately, Mr. Thweatt’s is not very popular on educators†¦ However, a job as a teacher does not require to be armed, they have enough responsibilities to in addition put the weight of carrying a ï ¬ rearm over their shoulders. These money may well be used to buy books, pencils, electronic equipment, to keep classes that have been suspended due to lack of income, and some other needs that we all know most school have. On the other hand, the tragic situation in Sandy Hook Elementary has changed many people’s mind. Having a good guy adequately trained would be a great way to keep terrorist off schools and most important to keep children safe. As long as all the staff involved had passed all different kind of tests, it should be an idea to considerate. We need immediate solutions, and since NRA will always support our â€Å"gun culture†, and acquiring a gun has only became easier we need something that work, something that give us peace every time we leave our kids at school. The Guardian Plan may be our best bet to avoid, and be aware of catastrophic act of terrorist. At the same time that I believe guns against guns are only more death and danger, I also believe that we are not in a position to decline systematized plans that will keep our children protected. Many people might believe that the children would be living on the edge while being in a guns environment, for now, and until our society shows progress, I will be strongly agree with the idea of having schools prepared to any kind of terrorist attack.

Sinornithosaurus - Facts and Figures

Of all the dino-bird fossils discovered in the Liaoning Quarry in China, Sinornithosaurus may be the most famous, because its the most complete:  the perfectly preserved skeleton of this early Cretaceous dinosaur shows evidence not only of feathers but of different kinds of feathers on different parts of its body. The feathers on this small theropods head were short and hairlike, but the feathers on its arms and tail were long and distinctively birdlike, with tufts of intermediate length along its back. Technically, Sinornithosaurus is classified as a raptor, on the basis of the single, oversized, sickle-shaped single claws on each of its hind feet, which it used to  tear  at and disembowel prey; on the whole, though, it bears a greater resemblance to the other dino-birds of the Mesozoic Era (like Archaeopteryx and Incisivosaurus) than it does to famous raptors like Deinonychus​ and Velociraptor. At the end of 2009, a team of paleontologists generated headlines by claiming Sinornithosaurus  to be  the first identified venomous dinosaur (never mind that poison-spitting Dilophosaurus you saw in Jurassic Park, which was based on fantasy rather than fact). The supposed evidence in favor of this behavior: fossilized pouches connected by ducts to this dinosaurs snake-like fangs. At the time, reasoning by analogy with modern animals, it would have been surprising if these sacs werent exactly what they appeared to be--repositories of venom that Sinornithosaurus used to immobilize (or kill) its prey.  However, a more recent, and more convincing, study has concluded that the supposed  pouches of Sinornithosaurus were created when this individuals incisors loosened from their sockets, and arent evidence of a venomous lifestyle after all! Name: Sinornithosaurus (Greek for Chinese bird-lizard); pronounced sine-OR-nith-oh-SORE-us Habitat: Woodlands of Asia Historical Period: Early Cretaceous (130-125 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet long and 5-10 pounds Diet: Probably omnivorous Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; bipedal posture;  long tail; feathers