Country Exploration (5 of 5) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Country Exploration (5 of 5) - Essay Example Thus, refinement of commodities makes an economy enter and survive into the international market. Hence, the simplest way of measuring the value of a product is the demand of that commodity. The same is the case with measuring the value of entering the international market. Entering into an international market gives the commodity an introduction with global perspective, where the exporters and importers belonging to the pole apart regions as well as divergent communities, races, religions and ethnic groups exchange their views regarding different products and the producers get an opportunity of highlighting the merits of their commodities on the one hand, and improving their quality to bringing them at international standards on the other. This is also applied on the growing economy of the world i.e. India. The Indians have command over selling their commodities in an extremely distinguished manner. It is also a fact beyond suspicion that India sometimes imports products from other countries, but presents these products as her own at international level. For example, Gujranwala city of Pakistan produces the best of the best rice, which has no match all over the world, but Pakistan does not know how to sell it at international market. So, Pakistan sell s rice to her neighbor country i.e. India, and India presents the same rice as her own product in a very sophisticated manner, and earns a lot out of it. Not only this that India earns financial gains, but also wins applause from all corners because of her splendid presentation. Hence, entering into international market helps India enter into more and more new contracts with other importers and businessmen of the world. Consequently, India finds magnificent economic gains while entering the international market. Thus, the best methodology of measuring the value of entering of an economy into an international market is the growth in the export volume and number of the

Assignment 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

3 - Assignment Example Through this style, the employees were given the freedom to come up with innovative ideas to transform the operations of the business. In addition Sir Richard involved the subordinates in decision making process. As a result, they felt as an integral part of the company. This motivated them to work hard towards the organizational goals, an aspect that was replicated in the overall performance of the firm. Sir Richard Branson also understood that the employees were the one who interacted with the customers in the market. As a result, he used them as an important source of information. He gave the workforce a role of identifying opportunities and noting any changes in the tastes and preferences of the target market. Therefore, the company was able to make the necessary changes in its operations before the competitors (Chan 2013). This gave it an upper hand in the market. Furthermore, it improves the customer relationship, thereby, increasing their loyalty levels. Sir Richard implemented a functional organizational structure in order to streamline the operations of the company. Each department is held by a manager who oversees and manages its operations. However, all functional units work together towards the common objective of the company. Setting up functional units enabled the company to maximize the returns from the employees as they are grouped according to their areas of specialization. This has been very instrumental in establishing very strong teams that are able to deal with the diverse challenges that are facing the company in the market. Sir Richard Branson led the organization from the front. He has been the role model for the rest of the workforce. In addition, he always ensured that he was there when critical decisions concerning the operations of the business were made. He has always offered suggestions but open to critics and challengers. This ensured that the decisions that were

Candia Milk: Expansion Strategy and SWOT

Candia Milk: Expansion Strategy and SWOT CDL (Chaudhry Dairy Limited) is one of the reputable and renowned companies in Pakistan. CDL was established in 1984 as a private limited company. The company came up with its first product Haleeb Milk ´ and continued to expand its product line. In 1988, CDL introduced Haleeb Cream ´ which was not only launched directly for consumer market but also supplied to many ice cream factories where it was used as a core ingredient. The company has its head office in Lahore and a plant located 65-km from Lahore in BhaiPheru. The plant is equipped with latest equipment and technology, specialized workers scientists and professionals who assure quality at every level of production process. Chaudhry Dairies limited is one of those who have entered the dairy industry of Pakistan and have posed serious threats to well established firms like Nestle. The name of Chaudhry Dairies limited was changed to Haleeb Foods Limited with effect from February, 2004. Candia is a product of CDL, which was launched in 1999. Candia is a French brand and it is processed and packed under and licensed in CDL. Candia already is a very popular brand in Europe and other 52 countries. Now it is also available in Pakistans major cities under CDL distribution channels. CDL invested around 200 million rupees to launch Candia in Pakistan out of which 10 to 15 million were spent on its advertisements as it was launched early during the World Cup of 1999. Candia is Europes Number One selling milk. CDL Foods Limited and Candia of France have joined hands to bring the people highest quality milk. For the first time in Pakistan, CDL Foods Limited has introduced milk packed in food grade plastic bottles. These bottles are manufactured from imported materials at CDL Foods latest plant. They ensure longer shelf life, highest quality and storage with ease of use. SWOT Analysis Strengths The Major strength of Candia is the product itself because there is no other product with such uniqueness in the market. Thickness: It is more caramelized milk in its nature. Convenience: It is in a bottle shape so it is easier to open. Just take the lid off and pour milk. Weaknesses Their product is ignoring female taste; Mostly, Men use to drink thick milk as compared to Women. The color of the milk was yellowish thus making the consumers reluctant to buy. There is no running promotion. Only Niche markets targeted to serve the likes of N.W.F.P and Punjab. Music plays a vital role in marketing of any product. According to one research in 70% ads, it is music, which attracts the attention of audience. The ads for Candia did not have any music or melody in them. Opportunities Big Market is there because 77% of the market share is yet to be captured. Threats Haleeb bottle milk is its biggest threat since there will be a cannibalizing situation in the market. Tetra Pack is the biggest threat for CANDIA because it is the only bottled natural product in Pakistan. Reasons Why Candia Milk Failed In Pakistan According to research, it was noticed that there are areas of weaknesses in the market efforts of Candia. Candia has not shown the result which was expected of it.It launched the whole advertisement expense in the beginning and it only paid in for the first three months. After that, the sale of Candia milk has been falling and it is forcing the company to cut down on its promotional expenses. Following are the major factors of its failure: POOR ADVERTISING AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN Candia milk failed to do a proper advertisement and marketing campaign. There was hardly any on air advertisement and no other medium for advertisement was used let alone marketing. COLOR AND TASTE The important attributes that Candia lacks are color and taste of the milk. The color is not purely white due to which people begin to think that the milk is not pure and hygienic. AGE GROUP Candia does not cover all ages of group. It fails to cover all age groups. It targets the age group of 6-12. People over this age barrier; Youth and elderly people, they are not targeted. The young people aged 20-34 have a high purchasing power. However, they do not prefer Candia or any other packaged milk and prefer fresh milk. PRICING Another area of weakness is the pricing strategy used for Candia. Its price was higher than the other brands available in Pakistan. This did not allow Candia to penetrate the market effectively. PACKAGING Packaging is the the most important factor contributing to bad taste and coloring of the milk. Even though it has a USP packaging but if exposed in the sunlight, the milk is discolored. BRANDING The name Candia was relatively unknown to the people of Pakistan and many thought it was some kind of candy or something of that sort. They were and still not aware of the original Candia, which was so popular in Europe and other 52 countries around the world. The brand has flavor of milks rather than just plain milk. DEPTH Another major reason for the failure of Candia is that the company has not been able to increase the depth of their product since launching its flavors, colors, sizes, and overall variety. These innovations are necessary tocreate a good image of the brand in the mind of the consumer. INCENTIVES No incentive or discounts are offered to the consumers. No bulk discounts are given either. The competitors however, follow this practice. CDL is also not providing deep freezers and fridges to big retail outlets and departmental stores of Candia. Due to this, there are many areas where Candia milk is not performing well, especially in areas of their target markets. Candia milk targets the high-income person living in pushing areas, which has dramatically reduced its sale. Research Material The concept of packaged milk has grown over the last decade and is getting increasingly popular. The questionnaire that we floated adamants this as 62% of the people said they consumed packaged milk whereas 38% did not. One of the main reasons for the increased trend, as depicted by our questionnaire was the peoples concern for hygiene. A large percentage, nearly 46% of the people said they consumed packaged milk since they thought it was much more hygienic. About 20% ought for it based on its convenience, 15% as per the recommendation of their family/friends and 18% because of its longer shelf life. According to our questionnaire, 40% of the people believe that they consider high-priced milk brands to be deceiving and do not fulfill their quality criterion. 23% perceived such a brand to be of higher quality, 29% were indifferent and a negligible 8% thought they would see it as targeting a specific market segment. About 36% of the people said that a tune or a jingle could single-handedly be the most important factor in making them notice or recall an advertisement. 16% said that the theme of the ad would be that important factor, whereas the duration, frequency, and endorser scored 20%, 18%, and 10% respectively. 5. As per the stats that we received from our questionnaire, 49% of the people believe that the color of the milk itself affects their buying decision. Whereas 38% disagree with this and a mere 13% were not particularly sure on either one of thee. Upon asking, what sort of packaging did the consumers preferred to buy the milk in, to half; 54% of the people said they preferred it in a bottle. The remaining favored otherwise, meaning they preferred the packaging to be either in a pouch or a tetra pack. The percentages were 16% and 30% respectively. A high percentage of the consumers, 35%, errand the diversity in flavors offered in a milk brand to affect their buying habits of consuming a particular milk brand. Whereas 26% said that, the catchiness of the advertisements itself increases their chances of choosing milk brand. Apart from that, a relatively similar amount of consumers were affected by the popularity, type and pricing of the milk brand. The medium of advertisement that the consumers thought hooked them the most again, had more or less the same percentages. However, 39% of the people said that, it was not just one medium of promotion but it was instead the amalgamation of all these means together, the combined advertisement through all these mediums that caught their attention the most. The mediums being Television, Magazines, Radio, Social media and Signboards. In accordance with the data that we gathered from the questionnaire, Candia as a milk brand is seen/recalled by 39% of the people as a brand that was not promoted a lot let alone highly advertised. About 15% of the people remember it as being highly priced, 13% as popular, 15% as targeting a target market, and 18% as a brand imparting high quality. 10. A fairly high amount of the people recommended that Candia ought to use a much more catchy theme, along with a nice jingle, something that clicks the minds of the people and stays in their heads. They also proposed that Candia should advertise its brand much more than it already does so that the people are more aware of the brand. Apart from that, they projected the possibility of success of Candia if they targeted not just the youngsters or a specific target market but a mass market instead. Changing Consumers Perception Consumers come across many products daily but do not always remember them all. The ones they recall are usually the ones they have experienced or just the ones they are exposed to.There are some products to which they get exposed in such a way that the memory of that product stays with them. Such products have attributes like flashy packaging or something unusual. Other such factors include the way the product is promoted, how it is advertised, and who endorses it. The medium used for advertising plays an important part in the learning and memory of a consumer concerning a particular product. The frequency of a television ad might be more than a print ad or a billboard and that television ads incorporate the sense of sight and hearing. It is seen that most consumers over time associate the product with a jingle or melody used in the ad as it seems to be repetitive and catchy in nature. The slogan, Candia All-purpose milk The best for your family shows that the company is trying to position the brand as having a high quality in the consumers mind and right for everyone in the family, also depicting a change of lifestyle.This indicates that Candia has now employed a more aggressive promotional approach and is trying to be more persuasive and displaying a new brand personality and attitude. Candia has looked at similar factors in its re-launch as previously it was lacking;a musical television ad thus not engrossing the consumers in the ad itself. Its new ad has a very catchy tune and triggers the happy mood. In addition, the way the advertisement is shot is quite different from its competitors that exist in the market. They typically show how the milk is processed and tested or simply show a family using milk forming a story ad. According to the survey, Candia is recalled as a lowly promoted milk brand, therefore Candia has now engrossed in heavy promotional activities to persuade the consumers. Also the fact that how the ad would be shown, at what times and at what frequency has been looked at by the company as it plays a vital role. Too much repetition of the ad tends to annoy the viewers so keeping that in mind it shall not be repeated at short intervals instead it would be aired at the peak times at which people watch television. Furthermore the billboards along the road are put up in such a way that while driving or passing by that area it comes within the threshold and is easily viewed by everyone who passes by. While advertising it is important to keep in mind to somehow involve the consumers and trigger their sensory receptors immediately to capture their attention. Candia in its ad has done the same, the melody used in it immediately grabs attention and also the innovativeness in the ad, the concept of stop motion used in the ad is interesting and visually appealing and makes sure that the viewer watches till the end as it seems to be stimulating seeing a bottle of milk moving on its own. Companies tend to use more than one sensory appeal and the most important in a television ad are both sight and hearing as in the Candia ad. Thus, this can be counted as a competitive advantage for the company. Until this date, the consumers tend to remember Candia as the first milk brand in Pakistan that was launched in a plastic bottle. Keeping that in mind, while re-launching, Candia used this and changed the shape of the bottle a bit, so that it stays at the differential threshold level. According to the survey, 54% of the people preferred to buy milk in a bottle with a handle, thus Candia made the changes required. Candia Consumer Related Factors Candia was introduced in Pakistan in 1999, and although, when launched, it had high expectations attached, it failed to deliver. If it were to be re-launched, Candia would have to change its overall perception in the minds of the consumer. Factors like Self-Concept, Self Esteem, Personality and Life style of the consumer and overall consumer attitude do have an impact on the sales of a certain product. Hence, Candia should focus on these concepts to understand their consumers in a better way and to make their product more appealing to the consumer mind. Self Concept- The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives him or herself. The self-concept is how we think about and evaluate ourselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself. The self-concept is a very complex structure. We describe attributes of self-concept along with dimensions such as content, positivity, intensity, and stability over time and accuracy. In the discipline of consumer behavior, people derive their sense of self at least partially from the goods and services they consume. Through the consumption of the symbols contained in products, consumers attempt to enhance their self-concepts by using products to communicate particular personal characteristics to themselves and others. When it was first launched, Candia mainly focused the younger generation. If it were to be re-launched now, it should target people of all ages. They should present themselves in a way that everyone can associate himself or herself with Candia. Nestle is a brand that was very successful in doing so. It should highlight how it is healthy, because a major portion of the market is kids and they should focus on attracting the mothers and focusing on how the consumption of Candia is good for their kids can do that. Self Esteem- The term self esteem refers to the positivity of a persons self-concept. People with low self-esteem feel that they will not perform very well, and they would try to avoid embarrassment, failure, or rejection. If Candia were to re-launch it would have to plan its strategies out in such a way that the consumers feel that consuming Candia would be good for their image. When asked in a questionnaire whether the color of the milk was of any relevance to the consumer a majority of 49 % said yes. This affected the self-esteem of the consumer as they felt that the milk that they were consuming as not pure/ healthy. Candia should plan their strategies out in a way that people would feel good about consuming it and feel that they made the right decision in choosing Candia as a brand. Personality- Each person has personality characteristics that influence his or her buying behavior. By personality, we mean a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to environmental stimuli. Personality is often described in terms of such traits as self-confidence, dominance, autonomy, deference, sociability, defensiveness, and adaptability. Personality can be useful variable in analyzing consumer brand choices. The idea is that brands also have personalities, and consumers are likely to choose brands whose personalities match their own. We define brand personality as the specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. 1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, and cheerful) 2. Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, and up-to-date.) 3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, and successful) 4. Sophistication (upper-class and charming) 5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy and tough) Candia should go for the personality attributes of Sincerity and Competence. As the brand would be targeting the mass, the consumers should feel that what they are consuming is good for them and the brand would give good value. Lifestyles- Lifestyles defines a pattern of consumption and reflects a persons choices on how to spend his/her time and money. In an economic sense your lifestyle represents the way to elect to allocate income. Candia should strategize in a way that the consumer feels that they are able to meet high standards of quality and fit their perceived lifestyles within the disposable income that they have. Consumer Attitude- An attitude is a predisposition to evaluate an object or product positively or negatively. We form attitudes towards products and services that often determine whether we will purchase them or not. The strategy that Candia should adopt should focus on it being a safe brand. The consumer should think of it as a brand that would deliver value and is able to meet high standards of Quality. Candia was criticized for not using very effective promotions. This resulted in the consumers forming a very negative attitude about the brand. They should focus on their promotions and they need to maintain consistency among their promotional messages. Gaining Competitive Edge over Competitors Concentrate on the consumers and try to understand their physical and emotional desires. Introduce a wide range of products that can be consumed by all age groups. Try to understand the economic, geographic and social factors which affect the diets of the consumers and try to concentrate on the nutritional and health value of the products. Also in the long run concentrate on the lower-income consumers and make their products available at affordable prices while providing a diet compensating the local dietary deficiencies and including relevant nutrition. Try to understand the motivations, routines, decision making and purchasing habits of the customers by spending time with the people Has to become a more market oriented company to understand the customer or market needs and produce products accordingly to achieve the organizations goals. Should try to create a brand name as strong as; A Nestle brand name on a product is a promise to the customer that it is safe to consume, that it complies with all regulations and that it meets high standards of quality Candia can try to be at the forefront of developing new customer- centric health products and align their researches accordingly with consumer and business needs. Should use promotion as one of the major sources to reach their customers to make them aware of the different products introduced in the market and the value of the products introduced. Candia should adopt a promotion mix with a perfect blend of several different promotion tools to promote the value of its product and make the customers aware of their different products. Advertisements should be attractive through all the possible media. Internet is one of the latest media and should be used by Candia to promote their products, where they have different websites hosted for different products. Different strategies for each product like online competitions and distribution. Through public relations Candia can try to bring to the attention of all the customers and organizations concerned about the various issues or concerns and the current approach they are taking towards these concerns. Candia should adopt a favorable marketing channel, which is most appropriate for the consumers. They should try to focus on differentiation strategy. They differentiate their products with their competitors by giving them better customer satisfaction and quality with in an acceptable price limit. They reduce the risk of complexity of supply chain and lower attractiveness for discounters to follow this differentiation strategy In addition, Candia must maintain a good customer relationship according to the taste and demand of the emerging market. Corrective Actions To Be Taken By The Company Buyer behavior and readiness: Candias market share was declining and there was a need to make a comeback policy to strengthen the brand and this can only be done through promotion mix to make an image in the minds of the people. Advertising strategy: During summers, as the milk production declines because of low supply of raw milk from dairy farms, the supply decreases, which increases the demand for packaged milk, it was recommended that the management should emphasize on a Pull strategy as Candia now may be used as an alternative product. Advertisements, print media, electric media campaign, etc.must be used for the heavy promotion of the product. Sales promotion strategy: During winters, push strategy was recommended by giving incentives to the consumers because the milk supply is good and the competition is intense. Personal selling tools: Emotions- sales force should target the emotions of parents and persuade them to select Candia as drinking milk for their kids. Direct marketing tools: It was strongly recommended that Haleeb foods must have an effective web presence in this interactive world. To promote the entire site, an online marketing program was launched. A comprehensive, highly targeted group of destination web sites was chosen for the program. The web site was registered with yahoo search portal and a number of tactical elements helped drive online awareness and inquiries into the program Internal Communication: Over the years, organizations have now started understanding the importance of internal communication in achieving corporate goals and objectives. We strongly believed that by implementing the above-mentioned strategies the management has been capable of enhancing corporate profitability; create a resounding brand name of Candia. Positioning strategy: Candia has a current positioning strategy that Candia milk is mostly meant for drinking purposes. It is firmly believed that the management has modified the product positioning and has positioned it as being a multipurpose milk brand that can be consumed by all age groups. Promotion strategy: Following ways were adopted for the promotion of Candia that was helpful for the improvement of the sale of Candia Television Television played an important role for the promotion of Candia a marketing budget was spent on the ad on different TV channels for the promotion of that product. Newspapers Haleeb Foods advertised Candia Milk in all reputed daily newspapers like Jung, Dawn, Din, Nawa-e-Waqat, The Nation etc. Sign Boards Sign boards and billboards can also play a vital role in the promotion of Candia. Neon Candia signs can be easilynoticed by the eye and must be displayed on most eye-catching locations in the cities.

Ten Thousand Proud Elephants :: Personal Narrative Homosexuality Essays

Ten Thousand Proud Elephants I wore a dress to the gay pride parade this year. It’s a grand parade, fun filled with hundreds of stories like this, and how people go there looking for voice and they scream so loud for it that they come home voiceless. I wore my voice in the threads of a dress. I’m not gay but these are the bravest, most respectable people I’ve ever seen, and I wore a dress for hope that people feel safe to be people. The day began with a beer breakfast morning. My lover, Stephanie and I walked our dog, bleu (whom we think is secretly gay), and then came home to countless phone calls from friends planning to get together, all of them recognizing that the reason they were doing so was because they had dreamt the night before that people in the world started to make plans to get together. Stephanie lent me the dress and we started out the door hand in hand, man in drag, and the day rolled on like the curve of a rainbow. Walking through Chicago was frightening, but the very thought gave even more purpose to the day so I walked a little prouder. Stephanie showed no fear and I look back at a very beautiful couple. We were met outside of jock-ville u.s.a., Wrigley field, by a bunch of cross dressing, wig wearing, loudly free with passion like jack hammers for hearts†¦homosexuals. We follow them to the beginning of the parade. One of the first things you see at the parade is people drinking beer on the streets in front of the cops who are there for "protection." Another thing you might see is those same cops also drinking beer. Soon nudity, free-wielding like breasts and butts were newspapers†¦Street Wise! and fancy free, is fleshed before you, and every once in a while a flash of seriousness that is lying under the covers of freedom for fun like a body awake at night, rears it’s fancy face. An organization called PFLAG (parents of gays and lesbians) gathered to march, holding signs proclaiming that they are "†¦proud of my gay son!" and "I love my lesbian daughter." I started crying. Following this crowd a group of Chicago’s gay cops walked by, and that just about sold the crowed a kleenex for every wave of those brave peoples hand.

Quality of Care Essay

STANDARD 1. Safeguarding and Child Protection Children are safeguarded through systems and practices that are consistent with the Regional Child Protection Policies and Procedures. Safeguarding children is afforded the highest priority. To meet Standard1 : â€Å"A designated child protection officer must be available at all times during the hours of service provision for contact and consultation with staff and to offer instruction, advice and support to staff and this officer’s details should be available to parents and carers. As I will be stepping up to a leaders post, I need to avail of this training asap. Section 2 – Quality of Staffing, Management and Leadership The quality of staffing, management and leadership impacts directly and indirectly on children’s care. Strong, competent and effective management means efficient running of a setting and high standards set for others. Staff who are happy in their role, secure in the knowledge of their responsibiliti es and well-trained to deal with all aspects of their job provide an environment where children can thrive. A culture of professional, reflective practice and a willingness to challenge practice is vital. A whole-team approach and ownership of the setting is key to ensuring a safe, high-quality service for children, parents and families. STANDARD 10. Management and Monitoring Arrangements There are effective and efficient management and monitoring arrangements in the setting to support the work of staff and the care of children. To meet Standard 10: A record of the name and telephone numbers of the registered person is maintained and a contact point is made available for parents. The manager/person in charge provides monitoring reports to the Registered person at least quarterly to facilitate the regular review of the quality of the service. Not all settings will have a management committee, but where they are in place, members’ and Trustees’ roles and responsibilities must be made explicit in writing and audited to ensure adherence to expected standards.

New Product Development Essay

This literature review shall be reviewing journal articles that discuss the importance of the Fuzzy Front End Phase to the processes involving the development of new products. It would first give an overview of the role the Fuzzy Front End Phase has on new product development. The factors and characteristics of the said phase would also be presented to gain a better understanding of the topic at hand. Afterwards, it would review the different articles written about the topic using three perspectives: (1) organizational; (2) environmental; and finally, (3) individual. Of the aforementioned perspectives, this literature review would focus on the third one, the individual. A number of authors have recognized the important role that the fuzzy front end phase has on new product development (Ottenbacher, Shaw and Ermen 2006; Drexkler 2006). The study of Reid and Brenanti (2004) was one of the researches that give importance to the role of the fuzzy front end phase in ensuring the success of the whole process of new product development. In technology-based enterprises, transforming different forms of technologies into new products and processes is one of the greatest challenges. It is then within the said process of innovating these technologies that the early phase of the FFE (Fuzzy Front End) is said to have the greatest impact not just to the process but also to the result as it would significantly affect the design and the costs of the said project. Unfortunately however, this particular stage according to both Herstatt and Verworn (2004) is the least well-structured part of the whole innovation process, looking at both theory and practice. Herstatt and Verworn (2001), Kim and Wilemon (2002) and Kohn (2006) all recognize the fact that the competitive nature of today’s society are pushing for the development of innovative and unique products in a faster pace yet at a lesser cost. Manufacturing firms, without a doubt, are developing new products and it is because of this that they give so much importance to the New Product Development Processes. However, despite the tremendous focus to this particular stage, Herstatt and Verworn (2000) note that failure rates remain high. As a result, many researchers as well as practitioners within the manufacturing industry are in constant search of finding ways by which they could make the New Product Development Process successful. One of the greatest opportunities to improve the stage, as indicated by some of the researchers such as Herstatt and Verworn (2000) is through the fuzzy front end or the pre-development phase. Moreover, Herstatt and Verworn (2000) developed a causal model in order to pave the way for a better understanding of the fuzzy front end phase and its role in ensuring the success of new product development. Figure 1. The Four Important Front End Factors (Herstatt and Verworn 2000) Looking from the model presented above, one could see the four important front end factors that help in the improvement of communication and at the same time, reduce the deviations that the firms may encounter during the execution of their project. In the same manner, the factors could also help in increasing the efficiency and satisfaction of the research and development (R&D) managers with regard to the project. Herstatt and Verworn (2000) list the following as the factors that are very important to the fuzzy front end phase: (1) interdisciplinary idea generation and selection; (2) reduction of market uncertainty; (3) reduction of technical uncertainty; and finally, (4) intensity of initial planning. The first factor mentioned by Herstatt and Verworn (2000) was interdisciplinary idea generation and selection. According to the authors, this includes the process of incorporating different functions into the generation and selection of new product ideas. It is usually a combination of the identification of an organization’s need problem or opportunity together and the purpose they have in order to satisfy these. Afterwards, they go directly to the reduction of uncertainties since these are already usually present with the first factor. The second factor is the reduction of market uncertainty. According to Herstatt and Verworn (2000), this particular factor refers to the knowledge that organizations have about their target markets and customers as well as the needs of their users. Furthermore, Ottenbacher, Shaw and Ermen (2006) assert that this knowledge could help them understand the attractiveness of their new products based on the perspective of their market and how they could continuously develop the said product. Through the fuzzy front end phase, manufacturing firms that are involved in the development of new products are able to reduce the uncertainties of their projects. However, Herstatt and Verworn (2000) stress the need to look into technical uncertainties during the fuzzy front end phase rather than giving too much emphasis on the market. This is because of the fact that it is through this knowledge that they will be able to identify whether or not they have the necessary technology and requirements to make their projects feasible. Lastly, the factor initial planning must be considered in order to guarantee the success of new product development. According to the authors and developers of the causal model, this factor helps in translating the overall project goals into a series of activities, properly allocating the resources for each phase (Belliveau, Griffin and Somermeyer 2007; De Jong and Vermeulen 2006). Likewise, Koen et al (2001; 2002) views the fuzzy front end as a phase wherein a set of activities happen that are essential to the process of New Product Development or NPD. They describe these activities as something chaotic, unpredictable and unstructured, something that Kim and Wilemon (2002) concur with. Kim and Wilemon (2002) describes the FFE phase as something filled with fuzziness, ambiguity and uncertainty. In fact, stages are often performed in an environment where there are many unknown factors. In the same manner, the information to be used for decision making are rather more informal and approximate rather than quantitative, formal and precise. Fuzziness, for Kim and Wilemon (2002) usually comes out from a firm’s uncertainty regarding their technical capabilities in making a certain project or product feasible. It also comes from their lack of knowledge with regard to the requirements of their customers, their markets, the resources required of them, the ability of the company in pursuing this project, taking into consideration their capabilities and limits. Aside from being the phase wherein these uncertainties are identified, the fuzzy front end helps in the elimination of these risks in order to ensure the success of the next development processes. In summary, the fuzzy front end phase of product innovation is generally concerned with the development of certain concepts regarding the product that is essential to its innovation and development (Audretsch and Acs, 1991). The development of a clear product concept during the FFE stage allows the different enterprises to clearly understand factors essential to the development of products which include time, costs, required technical expertise, the formation of the right development team, market potential and positioning, risk and organizational fit. It generally helps in avoiding decisions that are costly and risky (Beck, et al. , n. d. ). Although it generally contributes to the successes of the whole process concerning new product development, the FFE stage is not spared from limitations and advantages. Processes involved in the fuzzy front end phase of product innovation generally face different delays especially those related with costs. During this particular phase, different activities are usually carried out during under different conditions. Unfortunately, there are barriers that exist in every situation, hampering the success of these activities. The following are the barriers to the FFE phase: (1) lack of vision, (2) lack of perceived urgency. (3) lack of formalization, (4) lack of effective project leadership, (4) ineffective communication processes and finally, (5) ineffective people conducting the work associated with the Fuzzy Front End phase of product innovation. The Fuzzy Front End Phase: An Environmental Perspective This part, as the heading implies would discuss the Fuzzy Front End Phase and its importance based on the environmental perspective. It would look into the views and researches conducted by scholars who had been long been respected in the field: (1) Herstatt and Verworn; (2) Khurana and Rosenthal; (3) Kim and Wilemon; (4) Reid and Brentani; (5) Koen; (6) Garcia and Calantone among others. According to Brentani and Reid (2004), the environmental perspective has been one of the most important approaches in studying fuzzy front end as an essential part of new product development and innovation. Brentani and Reid (2004) defines the environmental perspective as that which views three aspects (industry, institutional and country) as impacting innovation. The idea that the fuzzy front end involves processes of information gathering and adoption from the environment is based on the assumption that the environmental external to the firm is the primary source of new ideas for discontinuous innovations that even in-house ideas ultimately have some input from external sources (Brentani and Reid 2004). Eldredge and Gould (1972), on the other hand, note that according to the first perspective, innovation processes fail to continue because of certain phenomena affecting the environmental level. They further state that †¦ While organizational species change little during most of their history, random events can foster rapid speciation, thereby punctuating or interrupting this stability and resulting in concentrated periods of change and new paths of evolution. Authors who come from the environmental perspective of the fuzzy front end phase usually looks into innovation coming from a macro-level. The usually make use of the historical industrial analyses in order to examine the long-run nature and economic impact of failed innovations, Brentani and Reid (2004) mention. Furthermore, the environmental perspective promotes the idea that companies must be able to exhibit an advantage over the other members of the industry in order to stay alive despite the presence of a fierce competition. In order to establish this advantage, they must be able to produce products at a faster rate using technologies that only they have. Moreover, it is also due to this that firms are encouraged to first look into their environment of operation before actually proceeding on to the development of new products (Griffin, Hoffman, Price and Vojak 2007; Montoya-Weiss and O’Driscoll 2007). Because of this, firms once again innovate depending on what their environment requires of them. Quinn (1985, in Brentani and Reid 2004) says: Technology tends to advance through a series of random insights frequently triggered by gratuitous interactions between the discoverer and the outside world. These interactions provide the new combinations of old elements. . . The accelerated world of today demands manufacturing firms to be more competent in terms of the production of new products and at the same time, speed up their development processes (Griffiths-Hemans and Grover 2006; Zhang, Lim, Cao 2004). All organizations nowadays have recognized the importance of innovation in order to become successful today, tomorrow and in the near future (Resources for Success 2006). However, new product development for technologically advanced industries is facing many difficulties and uncertainties. Furthermore, the environment perspective of analyzing the fuzzy front end phase of new product development must also pay attention to what kind of products that a manufacturing firm must be able to produce. The study of Koen (2006) will be presented towards the latter part of this section that could give a better understanding of the different kinds of products and the appropriate FFE process that could be used for this. Garcia and Calantone (2002) and Broring and Leker (2007), on the other hand, note that the different strategies being used by the manufacturing firms must be positively related with their organizational structure which must then be patterned after the competitive environment of the industry to which they belong to. Brentani and Reid (2004) further states that in order to understand the fuzzy front end phase using this perspective, one must understand that the environment plays a very important role in the decisions made by individuals who are exposed to early information regarding technology. It is because of this that Kim and Wilemon (2002) give importance to the introduction of technologically challenging products at the right time as one of the so-called success factor for firms living in today’s world wherein innovation becomes more important. An example of this would be companies that are being threatened by a situation wherein a competitor is on the verge of taking away its business due to the introduction of a new product. Failure to respond to the competitor’s action could mean the loss of a certain firm’s market share and profits. Undoubtedly, the importance of the fuzzy front end phase is once again highlighted. Kim and Wilemon (n. d. ) concur with the claims of various researchers that the fuzzy front end phase is a topic that is usually neglected in the literature discussing new product development. This is because of the fact that scholars would usually focus on the efficiency of the firms’ processes rather than examining the fuzzy front end phase which is said to be important in cutting down cycle time. Thus, the said phase is given much importance in terms of its ability to make a critical contribution to the success of new products (Weissenberger-Eibl and Koch 2007). According to Kim and Wilemon (n. d. ), the following are the prime goals that are usually addressed in the fuzzy front end phase: (1) selecting the right opportunity; (2) producing a well-defined product concept; and finally, (3) clarifying customer and project requirements before the actual development of the new product. It is then because of this that developers who are well experienced in the entire process are becoming more attracted to investing considerable time and money in this stage to ensure that the project is feasible. Kohn (2006) shares the same view with Kim and Wilemon (2002). According to the said author, for members of the mature industries that are exposed to fierce competition, the processes regarding new product development gains tremendous importance. This is due to the fact that they are in faced with challenges of producing new, unique products at a shorter period of time and at lower costs. However, the new product development process fails to guarantee the firms as it is said to cause both time delays and substantial increases in cost. As a result, more and more researchers are giving more importance to an early phase where the functions and other factors related to the development of new products would be examined and analyzed. Khurana and Rosenthal (1997) also mentioned some of these factors in their discussion of the fuzzy front end process in order to give an in depth analysis on how this could help in ensuring the success of new product development. All the activities included in the fuzzy front end phase of product development are individual activities which are logically related to each other. The description provided for the process should be analyzed based on concepts such as product ideas, market analysis and technology options. Because of this, it is but proper to understand the relationships that exist between the different activities involved in the fuzzy front end phase of product development. The main focus should be placed on product strategy and portfolio plans. Focusing on these two would ensure that the development of the product jives with that of the capabilities and competencies of the companies developing them yet at the same time, recognizing limitations such as roles, communications and finally, culture. The aforementioned elements thus can be seen as having played very important roles as they serve as preconditions or foundations for the many activities that a certain enterprise would undergo as part of their new product development process. As a result, companies implemented a phase-review management system to define and serve as guidance for these project-specific activities (Wycoff, 2003). Companies usually begin working on new product opportunities, usually referred to as pre-phase zero when they begin to see an opportunity for their businesses. If they see that the exploration for this opportunity could be beneficial to their businesses, they then assign a small group which may or may not include suppliers to join forces in the development of the product’s concept and definition (this is where phase zero then begins). Phase one immediately happens after phase zero. It is in this particular phase wherein the enterprises examine the feasibility of their project (at the business and technical level). It is also in this particular phase wherein these companies start preparing and planning for their NPD (new product development) project. The development team then identifies the new product, how it could be developed and the rationale for the business proceeding behind it. The fuzzy front end phase then ends upon the completion of this phase wherein the team presents the business case and the business units involve would then choose between the commitment to fund, staff and launch the project or kill it (Montoya-Weiss and O’Driscoll 2007). Khurana and Rosenthal (1997) also give importance to activities which are product-specific and must be present during the fuzzy front end phase. Product-specific front-end activities are essential in making product concepts clear. At the same time, it also gives specific definitions to both product and market requirements; it also aids in the development of plans, schedules and estimates how much resources does one product need. However, the limiting factor that is associated with these elements is the fact that they could not create detailed designs and other specifications for the product and its other parts (Broring and Leker 2007). Generally, Khurana and Rosenthal (1997) defines product concept as one of the basic steps wherein (1) customer needs, (2) market segments, (3) competitive situations, (4) business prospects and (5) alignment with existing business and technology plans are identified. Studies made states that the different product concepts must be clearly defined so that the managers could identify the opportunities that could be beneficial for their companies. They must be able to identify and understand what their consumers need and at the same time, recognize the available technologies and applications that they could use in satisfying these wants and needs. In illustrating intangible products, one could sketch a three-dimensional of such products to be able to understand and identify the wants and needs of the consumers. Herstatt and Verworn (2000) also recognize the presence of these factors as a vital part of the causal model they developed in order to understand the fuzzy front end phase as an essential aspect of the new product development process. As seen from the aforementioned discussion, Herstatt and Verworn adopted the factors of the fuzzy front end phase as presented by Khurana and Rosenthal (1997). According to the authors, these factors are an essential part of the fuzzy front end phase in order to ensure the success of New Product Development. Basically, the identification of these would help the companies pinpoint their needs as an organization and the manner by which these could be achieved. In this manner, they will be able to identify the product that they have to produce in order to stay alive despite being in the midst of competition. Aside from this, the fuzzy front end phase also helps organizations in determining their market and technical uncertainties. This would help them understand their target markets, their customers and their needs, the potential of their products vis-a-vis the market, and finally, the attractiveness of their product when introduced to the market. On the other hand, it could also give them a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations they have as a company. This is because both market pull and technology push are becoming more important to recent times. Traditionally, most products were distinguished as either driven by the customer (or markets), also known as market pull or affected by recent technological advancements, also referred to as technology push. Bretani and Reid (2004) stresses on this matter by identifying two kinds of technology: (1) generic technologies and (2) application technologies. Generic technologies are defined as those required to manufacture the products and are held widely by all participants that get involved in the industry. On the other hand, application technologies are those that distinguish the organization from the competition and that are developed systematically within the firm building on generic technologies.