Analyse And Discuss Strategic Issues In Unilever Food Marketing Essay

Analyse And Discuss Strategic Issues In Unilever Food Marketing Essay Introduction Because the market in which the world of business operates is highly dynamic, it is essential for a company performing in this industry to understand its background and structure in order to develop a business strategy. This essay focuses on strategic issues in one of the foods business giants, Unilever Food Division and based on the Porters five forces of competition framework, the aim will be to analyse the strategic positioning of Unilever food division. Porters Five Forces of Competition Framework In order to cope with the competition, it is necessary to understand the rivals and the industry in which the company performs. In addition to the knowledge about competitors, the knowledge about suppliers, customers, potential entrants and substitute products has a major role in developing strategic issues in a company. (Porter, 2006, 2008) In order to analyze and comprehend Unilever Food Divisions strategy, the five forces of competition framework is chosen since it recognizes the main influences in industry. (Porter, 2008, p.80) Rivalry among existing competitors Unilever Food Division has numerous competitors -transnational companies such as Nestlà ©, Kraft Foods or Mars Food which are generally equal in size. All these companies offer a wide range of products to a customer, which leads to an intensive rivalry. The Unilever products are divided into strategic groups: edible fats, ice-cream, beverages, meals and meal components. (Maljers, 1992, p.47) These are represented by brands such as Flora, The Heartbrand, Lipton, Bertolli and Knorr, respectively. (Unilever, 2010) Although Unilever Food Division owns such premium brands, the products of its competitors are in most cases nearly identical, e.g. Maggi, a  Nestlà © solutions brand (Nestlà ©, 2010) or Mars Foods Uncle Bens brand providing ready meals (Mars, 2009). Moreover, for the food products are perishable, there is a relatively urgent need to sell them before their value is lost. Rivalry among existing competitors takes many familiar forms, including price discounting, new product introductions, advertising campaigns, and service improvements. (Porter, 2006, 2008) It can be thus concluded that the competition from established rivals does play a large role and is worth considering while developing a strategy. The bargaining power of buyers The buyers play a vital role in the industry by forcing prices down, demanding better quality or more service (thereby driving up costs), and generally playing industry participants off against one another. (Porter, 2006, 2008) With regards to all the Unilevers competitors, a customer has a wide range of products to choose from. It is to be acknowledged that although one customer might stay loyal to one particular product or brand, the buyers costs of switching from one product to another is not high. This is, however, relative since for Unilever supplies with food retailers such as Tescos or Carrefour, such distributors risk losing their customers (thus decrease in profits) by not providing Unilever food products. In many cases, the importance of the buyers price sensitivity needs to be emphasized. Given that a consumer is offered two similar products of the same quality but different prices, there is a higher possibility that the cheaper product will be chosen. Even though one might stay loyal to the brand, the other can incline to try a rival product. The power of buyers is therefore of high importance. The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers can exert bargaining power on participants in an industry by raising prices or reducing the quality of purchased goods and services. (Porter, 2006, 2008) Even though every company is dependent on its suppliers, it can be stated that in terms of food production there is a wide range of raw materials providers that Unilever can choose from. In this case, Unilever becomes the buyer. Hence, it is suggested that Unilever has a wide range of substitutes at disposal and a strong bargaining power. Moreover, what Unilever might need in order to perform is office and technical equipment, means of transportation and spaces for production. As previously discussed, Unilever in the position of a large customer can choose and negotiate prices. The emphasis should be instead put on labour suppliers since the workforces in warehouses play a vital role in production processes. Having understanding of the scope of the employment can avoid many complications. Other workforces also play a vital role. In order to develop new tasteful and healthy options of solutions, cooks and specialists are needed. Unilever, in term of its Foodsolutions division trains its people, thus ensuring development of its employees knowledge. (Unilever Foodsolutions, 2010) It is suggested that the bargaining power of the suppliers shapes the strategy only to some extent, given that the price of suppliers drives the price of products as well. However, for Unilever has many substitutes for use, in this case the prices are not driven significantly. Threat of substitutes As stated, a substitute performs the same or similar function as an industry product by a different means.  [1]  (Porter, 2006, 2008) In case of Unilever Foods, one of the possible substitutes would be a homemade product. The customers might use alternates due to various reasons; due to the belief that the costs of e.g. preparing a homemade pasta sauce will be lower than actually buying a Bertolli pasta sauce. (Unilever, 2010) Other buyers might switch to this alternative in order to live healthier. Nevertheless, homemade products do not signify a huge competition to the food giant Unilever. Recently, there is an increasing trend of eating out. Using services can also be considered to be a substitute to purchasing food. The foodservice division of Unilever Unilever Foodsolutions, therefore co-operates with restaurants and caterers, by providing them with its brands and products. In doing so, Unilever benefits from peoples using services. It can be thus concluded that the threat of substitutes to Unilever Foods is not high. Threat of Entry New entrants to an industry bring new capacity and a desire to gain market share that puts pressure on prices, costs, and the rate of investment necessary to compete. (Porter, 2006, 2008) The threat of entry in food industry is, however, low. As already mentioned, Unilever is one of the leading companies in food business. It already competes with other food giants (Nestlà ©, Kraft Foods or Mars Foods). Due to positions of the mentioned companies, it would be difficult for new companies to enter the market. Relatively high barriers to entry will have to be overcome in order to success. Besides restrictive government policies and the need of large financial resources or diversification of products, there will be also lack of tradition, experience and advantages that incumbents already possess. The competition from entrants is thus relatively insignificant. Conclusion Whilst not underestimating the threat of new entrants, the power of suppliers and the threat of substitute products or services, it can be concluded though that mainly the power of buyers and the rivalry among existing competitors shape the strategy of Unilever Food Division.

Ambition as a Theme in Macbeth

In todays society, different themes such as ambition, good vs. evil, and believing in superstitions are still prevalent. Similar to Macbeth, many people will go great lengths in order to achieve their goals in life. Some are consumed with ambition to the point where it doesn't matter what the consequences are for their actions as long as they are satisfied. An example of this is seen when our economy fell into a deep recession as a result of ambitious business people. Good vs. evil is oftentimes viewed in todays society through our Justice system.It is this constant battle between the police and criminals that keep our society at balance. Superstitions play a big part in some cultures and are still prevalent in todays society. Just like Macbeth, people follow these superstitions that are put into their mind. They believe that there will be a bad outcome so, they follow these superstitions to keep out of danger or bad fortune. When the three witches informed Macbeth about his prophesy he was in shock but felt anxious for it to happen sooner than later.The ambition that made him want to fulfill that prophesy took a lot of wrong doing but he went ahead and did it anyways. The fact that his wife's ambition for Macbeth was even stronger than his own and encourages him even more to make that prophesy come true. In todays society there are many ambitious people out there because without ambition people wouldn't get very far and would Just give up. For high school teenagers their ambition may be wanting to attend a college of their choice and will work hard in order to omplete their goal.Along with ambition, violence is also s recurring theme in Macbeth because there was a murder in basically every act. Throughout the play there is a lot of killing, fighting and blood, which are all results of violence. No matter how much we wish violence wasn't around in todays society it is still present because of the disagreement between two parties. War is a big factor of violence because two countries or whoever cant come to an agreement so they result in violence.

The Optimal Bar Top Height

The most common height for a bar top, whether it is a kitchen breakfast bar, a basement wet bar, or a commercial bar down at the corner pub, is 42-inches. Construction Conventions Standard conventions support the 42-inch bar height. Most pre-made backsplashes are four to six inches tall. When that height is added to the standard countertop height, the backsplash can slip underneath the overhang of the finished bar top for a smooth transition. Comfort The optimal and most ergonomic height for a top that services both the seated and standing user is 42 inches. With a bar stool of the proper height, it is comfortable to sit at a 42-inch bar. This is also a comfortable height for most people to lean against. Additionally, the bar top at this height is in easy reach of a standing person, so they can set their food and drink down without leaning over. A bar top is typically too high to serve as a good seated work surface and is mainly useful for leisure activities. The Multiple Benefits of Bars The main benefits for a bar top come from one person, the bartender, working standing up on one side and another, the customer, sitting on the other. The bartender has a comfortable height to prepare drinks on his feet, and the customer has a comfortable height to drink them—or to eat a meal—while on a seat or standing. The standing bartender is also at a comfortable height to engage the seated customer, whether for the simple business transaction or for the age-old traditions of chatty banter or deep heart-to-hearts that often happen in this setting. The other benefit of a bar top is its aesthetic appeal. In another common context for bars: A kitchen bar top can divide the space up nicely by serving as a divider and transition area, between the cooking area and the eating area.

What I Learned About My Life During The Decade Of The 1980...

Everyone has a different background to their early lives. We all have went through events that other people have never even thought about going through whether it being a positive or negative circumstance. However, we all have went through the same historical timeline. By this I mean that people living through the same decades have went through the same historical events such as with wars, precedencies, and all the signings between countries throughout the world. As I thought about who I wanted to interview for my history report, I concluded that I wanted to learn more about my mom when she was the same age as me. My interviewee that I chose was my mom, Lora Phelps, as she lived through the late 1980’s between the ages of 18-20. I wanted†¦show more content†¦That’s a huge reason why I have nothing to do with my grandma, because of the way that she treated my mom all those years throughout her childhood. My mom had to learn to grow up real quick and take over as head of the household and care for her 5 other brothers. So as soon as mom turned 18, she moved in with her grandma and took her brothers with her. Now under her grandmas roof lived 8 people total in a small 3 bedroom house. Mom worked hard throughout high school and ended up graduating early so that she could hurry and get into the workforce. She wanted to help her grandma out and bring more income in for her family. At the age of 18, Mom put in an application at the Osh Kosh B’ Gosh factory in her hometown of Clinton County. Every day for a week, Mom would borrow her grandpa’s truck and drive down to the factory to check on her application. Exactly a week from the date that she put her application in, they told her that she had been hired. Clinton County was and still is a very small town so it was only a certain number of job opportunities that people could partake in. 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