Pascal And The Meaning Of Life Book Review Religion Essay

Pascal And The Meaning Of Life Book Review Religion Essay This is a religious text book based on the facts existing on Christianity, it was written by Thomas Morris who was the most gifted writer and philosopher of the time. The book is titled, Making Sense of It All: Pascal and the Meaning of Life. was published in 1992 by, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. The book has addressed several issues such as; need for a guide, folly which arise due to indifferences, dangers which are caused by diversion, understand the meaning of life, how one can live a good life, how God is hidden to human beings, mysteries of human beings, how truth assist in human beings coexistence, how faith is related to heart and how one can be able to love God and life. Thomas Morris amplifies Pascal in the ways that someone may not have a clue about before; this clearly has an intriguing effect on the critical mind that is about the possibility of the Truth hidden behind Christianity. The leap associated with the link between the mind and the faith does not seem to be strange especially after reading this book. The title, Making Sense of It All. is one of the best volumes that expound the topic of Christianity and its philosophy and the apologetics. There is uniqueness in this book based on its organization and the content. Morris has utilized the scientific, some of the philosophical, and at some point, the apologetic sentiments of the great creative Christian thinker called Blaise Pascal from his titles, the Pascals book Pensees. and he shows how having faith in Jesus Christ is the only unique answer given to mankinds longtime and deepest yearnings for the meaning, the purpose, his significance, and the eternal life. This book has skillfully and in the most successive manner answered most of the existential objections of which people have given as the reasons for not believing. Morris has achieved this by weaving together many of the Pascals brilliant insights specifically into a significant and most powerful Christian apologetic writings. Though the content has been covered a lot in terms of the philosophical and the theological grounds, the book has remarks that are readable and at some places quite humorous. The philosophical, theological, and the apologetic concerns have been extensively addressed in a tremendously clear and the engaging style. Therefore, in this volume Thomas Morris has provided a very deep insight as to why people who live in todays world tend to avoid the urge to think about the ultimate issues. Thomas V. Morris due to his enticing works has been recognized as one of the Christianitys finest contemporary philosophers. This book is intended to address the Christian believes who in most cases have been having thoughts on their faith, it explains to them the facts as they are linked to the religion and the general human philosophy. This book suits with the needs of its audience who in this case, the Christian. As Morris tries to captures the essence of the Pascals thought. He deftly weaves it with some of the insights of the other thinkers and he shows this in a practical application for the believers lives. This book enriches the believers mind and the spirit, thereby deepening their walk with God. Pascal is just an example of a very brilliant and scientific mind who found it to be very reasonable to have very strong beliefs in God, or to be more specific, A Christian God. Therefore, Morris, through Pascal, has showed that faith and reasoning can take a believer farther than anything can alone. This is a great thought provoking book which is meant for the person who is always seeking to understand some of those hard questions. The author articulated on how most of the time we shall be in need of urgently providing guidance which is needed by most people, it is informative on how its readers would understand how the indifferences would be solved. The author emphasized on how diversions provide a risky environment and how it would be taken care of and how one can live a better life by being skeptical and the role which research does in improving someone life. Morris makes the reader to understand the nature of God being hidden from human beings who would not even know the intentions of God and how truth is importance in promotion of self development and relation with others. As Morris wrote about need to guide which he argues that, When you stop to think about it, life can be very confusing (p. 1). Having been given this reality, there is the need for a good guide that shows us how we are supposed to live. Morris insists, that Blaise Pascal is partly one of the best guides, who attunes to our concerns although he existed 350 years ago. Pascal was one of the great thinkers in the human history. He made the original contributions in the mathematics; he became the fixture of the French intelligentsia, on the night of November 23, 1654, at the age of thirty-one, Pascal had a profound and deeply moving mystical experience that dramatically turned him around, reorienting all his priorities (p. 9). He was able meet God. He emphasized that he met the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . God , who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he Immersed himself in the spiritual concerns, Pascal, during the following eight years, wrote down notes meant for a theological treatise that he tirelessly planned to write, this was an explanation and the defense based on the Christian faith that he highly hoped would make an appeal to non-believers. Unfortunately at the age of 39, he died, leaving us only with the loosely organized collection of the thoughts, which were his Pensees, According to Morris thinks, these thoughts, may possibly guide us towards our own discovery of what life means. In the next Chapter 2 The foolish indifference, due to our bored indifference towards ultimate realities, the timeless truths, makes our greatest flaw. According to his views, This negligence in a matter where they themselves, their eternity, their all are at stake, fills me more with irritation than pity; it astounds and appalls me; it seems quite monstrous to me (p. 23). This is like hoarding the pennies while using thousands of dollar bills for then cooking fuel! Those who are charged with teaching philosophy together with theology, of course, almost on a daily basis face almost the same apparent indifference that Pascal condemned. Thomas was mystified by the interests that his students showed in some trivial campus events as compared to their frequently and bored response to questions that are concerned with the heaven and hell, or death and immortality. Therefore if we as human beings dont just ignore the ultimate issues, then, we find the ways to keep our minds on other things. These Diversions always fill our waking hours and tend to dull our minds away from the possibilities of most important things. Analyzing chapter 3: Risk of diversion there is no writer, in my experience, who can better dissects this malaise. Being unable to cure death, wretchedness and ignorance, he wrote, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things' (p. 31). This is contrary to our media-dominated culture, where as there is constant amusement by ourselves to death. Therefore, one can easily and only imagine, However, it is very clear that many of us tend to seek the shelter from the reality by making sure that we are always immersed in a state of noise and activity. In his efforts in trying to makes us think in a more seriously manner, Pascal tried to set forth some ways to do so. He struggled very hard in order to discern what makes life to be meaningful? And what makes life to be good? Such like questions could not be reduced to a scientific inquiry with the empirical data and the logical proofs. The Thinkers who tend to make metaphysics or theology to be purely rational, with the endeavor to prove the existence of God, will always fail because they tend to take the wrong approach, by failing to remember Aristotles wise advice to using the right methodology while approaching a given realm of the reality. Morris wrote about skepticism, research and a better life, the Christians use reason. Pascal was able to do it with the best, However they know that there is more to the reality than the reason, that some of the realms of reality just need to be encountered through some other means. Pascal said that, We know the truth not only through our reason but also through our heart. It is through the latter that we know first principles, and reason, which has nothing to do with it, tries in vain to refute them' (p. 82). In the write-ups of the hidden God, he shows the emphasis that we all know God, who has constantly hidden from us, more so through the heart than it is to the head.: What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence, nor the manifest presence of divinity, but the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this stamp' (p. 94).Therefore God, and the lifes meaning, tend to reveal themselves to those who truly and honestly seek Him (God). Therefore God does not necessarily reveal himself to those who are intellectually able and those who demand that He conforms to their established standards. Indeed, he re-marked that, Pius scholars rare' (p. 37). While in Tokens of truth  he wrote that Truly religious people must humble themselves in the worship and obedience of a creator they do not see (p. 146). God comes only to those who are very much willing to bet their lives on the truth of His Being. In his comparison to Pascals philosophy he challenges human beings to risk to believe in God, and to dare commit ourselves to the living truth that God unveils reality and assures the humans of immortality. For one to able to find meaning in our lives, we must be in a position to understand not only the truth about God but also the truth about ourselves. Evaluation Morriss focus of the, Making Sense of It All. is much more than the scissors-and-paste technique of collage that is normally done the quotations with the transitional comments and the explanations of the famous French genius (Pascal). In showing how contemporary some the issues Pascal raised are, Morris injects the illustrations that range from the Tolstoys novels to Woodie Allens movies. Therefore this book is an illustration of a gifted religious teacher at work: The audience is introduced to one of the most famous and greatest philosophers, This makes the authors ideas to be very clear and most relevant without the compromise of the essence of his views on the title, I like the book very much because it has greatly motivated me as a believer in Christian faith.

jackie robinson :: essays research papers

The first man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball in the 20th century, Jackie Robinson is one of the most celebrated baseball players in history. Jim, the moral center of Mark Twain’s The Adventure’s of Huckleberry Finn .Who doesn’t portray a baseball player, yet both Jackie Robinson and Jim both share the same heroic qualities. Both are courageous, noble, and strong-minded. Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and grew up in Pasadena, California, where he attended UCLA. While attending there he won letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He was regarded as the most all-around athlete in the U.S. at the time. After serving three years in the army, he began playing baseball with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues. After hid successful season in 1946 with the team’s Farmclub he became the first African American major league baseball player since the 19th century. In 1947 he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But before Jackie Robinson there was Moses Fleetwood Walker, he was the 1st African American major league baseball player to play baseball in the late 1800’s. On April 15, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the 1st African American to play major league baseball. He broke the color line, which led to many white teams playing against all black teams or interracial teams: Jackie Robinson caught many Americans attention and his story was widely retold through American culture in many different forms. Such as through movies, radio talk shows, sheet music, comic books, and sports magazines. Even though many of Jackie’s fans showed their support towards him, many who hated him sent him death threats or even threw things at him. While under all this pressure Jackie still focused on baseball and showed everyone that he was a great baseball player:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å" Baseball was just part of my life. Thank God that I didn’t allow a sport or a business or any part of my life to dominate me completely †¦ I felt that I had my time in the athletics and that was it.† He won a lot of peoples respect and also became a symbol of black opportunity. Even the magazine Sporting News, which was against black baseball players, acknowledged his great skill and ability in the game of baseball and awarded him with the Rookie of the Year award in 1947. Robinson’s outstanding ten-year career compiled a .

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY McDonald’s Philippines is a subsidiary of the Filipino-owned Golden Arches Development Corporation. The first Filipino McDonald’s to open for business was in the Morayta university districts in Manila during 1981. These days McDonald’s is operating over 150 restaurants throughout the islands of the Philippines. Being a 100% Filipino-owned franchise allows McDonald’s Philippines to be more agile and take quicker actions, making them an even more competitive force in the Filipino fast-food market. It is one of the leading fast-food chains internationally as well as in the Philippines, with a rapidly developing consumer brand and growing customer base. . It is a place for family togetherness organized around a common love of the traditional food. Its operating system is characterized by focusing on uniformity for consistent quality, the formation of partner relationship with its franchises and supplier to improve operating system innovatively and last but not least the introduction of new products. With its steady drive for improvement and consistently high quality, McDonald’s revolutionized the entire supply chain. Instead of regimenting its supplier and franchisees, McDonald’s expected commitment from them in terms of adherence and experimentation. The implemented, smooth operating chain of suppliers, McDonald’s corporate management and franchisees balances each other, creates an entrepreneurial spirit that added value, innovation, economics of scale, the bargaining power for advertising and purchasing, as well as new product and process ideas to the company. Additionally, all involved parties maintained a collective emphasis on disciplined quality standards. As years passed by, McDonald’s needed to adapt to industry changes by accomplishing some process design innovations in fruitful collaboration with its suppliers and franchisees. In this context, McDonald’s improved the chain’s chicken and fries’ quality and consistency by switching from raw to frozen delivered fries as well as the productivity of employee. Another major process enhancement was the introduction of the breakfast at McDonald’s. In this way, the corporation expanded its operating hours since it had to pay for rent, utilities and insurance 24 hours a day, anyways. The generation of a totally new business came along with the nice side effect that it again distinguishes itself from its competitors. This marketing plan is used in outlining the product, pricing, and distribution and promotion strategies to be implemented and executed during this time. It proposes a revitalization of the McDonald’s philosophy so as to focus on the quality of products and services for customer’s value and a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits, smart choices and education. The plan also outlines the structural issues that may arise during its implementation and execution, tactical initiatives to turn strategy into action. II. CHALLENGE Problem: Before, the company use grilled direct system. Which becomes the problem of the company because the customer always complaining about the quality of the product like chicken mcdo, when it is served to the customers it is not crispy because it stays longer in the warming bin, and also the patty of the burger, it is not juicy because it is not hot. The access of McDelivery to the call center is another problem of McDonalds because some times the information about on the location of the customer is wrong. Solution: Now a day the McDonald’s uses the Made for You (MFY) system. †¢ Food is made or prepared to actual customer demand, providing each and every burger only when it is needed just in time (JIT). †¢ It standardizes assembly of all sandwiches to one or two at a time. †¢ Requires minimal Human Decisions Making. †¢ It requires Behavioral change ⠝â€" Quality ⠝â€" Complete waste ⠝â€" Equipment ⠝â€" Standard procedure III. SITUATION ANALYSIS Company Analysis †¢ Goals – Develop a solution to improve kitchen layouts, people positioning and operational procedures for a better guest experience. In simple terms: our goal is to have a happy and satisfied customer. †¢ Focus – the company should focus on products and services. McDonald’s is a customer-oriented company that strives to offer Filipinos a combination of great tasting, quality food productions at value prices with excellent service. †¢ Values – Customer – driven, Malasakit, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellent. †¢ Strengths ⠝â€" Quality of the product, services and cleanliness of the store. ⠝â€" The service of the company is fast and accurate, and we believe that taking good care of our customers is the first vital step toward effective sales building. ⠝â€" Patents and Trademark ⠝â€" Branding such as through the use of logos, colours, slogan and other images. A key part of the McDonald’s brand is its ‘M’ logo otherwise known as ‘The Golden Arches’. †¢ Weaknesses ⠝â€" The competitors like Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Burger King etc. ⠝â€" Lack of cooperation between the management and in the crews. †¢ Market Shares – McDonald’s has captured more than 40% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. Customer Analysis †¢ Number – 30% is ages 60 and above, 20% is ages 1-15, 50% is ages 16 and above. This is the percentage of customer who are eating at the McDonald’s everyday especially during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. †¢ Type – Class B & C †¢ Value Drivers – a part from our product and services. McDonald’s gives back to the community through the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC supports children’s development and well being through Bahay Bulilit and Bright Minds Read (BMR). Every happy meal purchase gives 50 centavos to RMHC. †¢ Decision process – The customer have a lot of decision making it is base of what they needs and wants, also the customer decide to buy a discounted product like in coupon and the mcsaver meals. Competitor Analysis †¢ Market Position No. 1 (Jollibee) No. 2 (McDonald’s) †¢ Strengths Lasang Pinoy Raw materials are environment friendly †¢ Weaknesses Jollibee has a poor service †¢ Market shares – Jollibee has captured more than 52% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. SWOT ANALYSIS Strength †¢ Risk diversity †¢ Large market share †¢ Strong supply chain †¢ Promoting ethical conduct †¢ Competitive fast-food chain †¢ Attentive and friendly staff/crew’s †¢ Rigorous food safety standards †¢ Good reputation among customer †¢ Decentralized yet connected system †¢ Strong brand name, image and reputation †¢ Strong financial and performance and position †¢ Affordable prices and high quality products †¢ Nutritional information available on packaging †¢ Strong global presence and performance in the global marketplace †¢ Specialized training for managers known as the Hamburger University †¢ McDonalds Plan to Win focuses on people, product, place, price and promotion Weaknesses †¢ Unhealthy food image †¢ High staff turnover including top management †¢ Customer losses due to fierce competition †¢ Lack of access to the best natural resources †¢ Lack of access to key distribution channel Opportunities †¢ Growing health trends among consumers †¢ Joint ventures with retailers †¢ Consolidation of retailers likely, so better locations for franchisees †¢ Respond to social changes by innovation with in healthier lifestyle foods †¢ Strengthen its value proposition and offering, to encourage customers who visit coffee shops into McDonalds †¢ The new â€Å"formats†, Mccafe, having wi-fi internet links should help in attracting segments. Also installing children’s play-parks and its focus on educating consumers about health, fitness. †¢ International expansion into emerging market’s of other country †¢ Growth of the fast-food industry †¢ Low cost menu that will attract the customers †¢ Providing many promotional activities Threats †¢ Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country health issue of high cholesterol, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity †¢ McDonalds competitors threatened market share of the company both internationally and domestically †¢ Global recession and fluctuating foreign currencies †¢ Affordability of the competitors products †¢ Similar flavors and products of the competitors †¢ Competitors endorsers are much popular when it compares to McDonalds IV.Market Segmentation Market Segmentation is the process of splitting customer in to different groups, or segment within the customers with similar characteristics have similar needs. Geographical Segmentation Mcdonalds offered their services based on certain country basic food. Like Philippines McDonalds realized that Filipino basic food is rice which with fried chicken as its local basic food. Demographic/Psychographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation divided the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion; family life cycle and family size McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer base on age, religion and family life cycle. To offer the best service McDonalds still concern about variations due to differing tastes and cultural issues for their customer over the world. Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation focuses on dividing consumer based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, benefit sought, or responses to company’s product. One of the best forms of segmentation is to divide buyers according to the different benefits that they want to get by purchasing the product. Usually people who look for in their product class or look for each benefit. For example, McDonald provide McDelivery for 24 hours, this is the only one delivery service that not stop even once in a while a day by just call it and order, after that within a minute it comes to your place with the food that still hot and fresh. V. Alternative Marketing Strategies McDonalds has seen recent success through a careful implementation of its â€Å"Plan to Win† strategy, which focuses on several key aspects of the business, namely increasing traffic to restaurants, providing everyday value to customers, innovating the company through the creation of new menu items, re-imaging the company’s look, as well as its marketing campaigns. McDonald’s Plan to Win is based on a core set of four main goals: †¢ Acquire more customers †¢ Get these customers to eat at McDonalds more often †¢ Develop more brand loyalty for the McDonalds brand †¢ Ultimately become more profitable Increasing restaurant visits Current market condition help the appearance of McDonalds as a low cost alternative to eating at more expensive restaurants in the minds of customers, which has consequently led to an increase in foot traffic at McDonalds franchises. McDonalds has addressed these conditions through an increase in advertising, specially displaying the company’s attention toward a diversified menu of low cost items. Such advertising serves to satisfy all four of goals of Plan to win program, drawing customer interest through a short display of the plethora of new menu options recently added, while also helping to change the look and feel of McDonalds in the minds of customers. Providing everyday value In order to create an overall feeling of value for customers to experience, McDonalds has released a modular value meal, where customers have the benefit of both low prices coupled with increased freedom when deciding on a meal. While traditional menu options emphasize a trade-off between ordering freedom and price, the McDonalds value menu provides customers with both all at once, helping customers associate the brand with good value. Innovating new menu items At the same time as their menu choices have become modular and less expensive, McDonalds is also creating value for customers by providing a diverse menu with many more ordering options. Customers can now expect an increase in health-conscious options by adding some vegetables in the burger and also they provide some dessert like apple pie or pineapple pie. McDonalds also provide a mccafe like ice mocha, ice latte, and cappuccino, Americano to provide some different variety of coffee to satisfy the customer. Marketing campaigns As well as considering the important of keeping customers informed of the continuing changes to the company through advertising media and social media dialogues, McDonalds also recognizes the value of maintaining an ongoing support system and training structure for each of its franchise operators. As mentioned above, McDonalds uses well defined, and measurable milestones to help their constituents meet company goals with as few inconsistencies as possible. McDonalds’ training programs have been continuously recognized for their excellence, and with the continuing changes being carried out throughout the company, this attention to the value of training is a terrific asset to the company. Re-imaging the restaurant Directly benefiting the company’s goals of brand development for the company, McDonalds is reenergizing their brand through an understanding of â€Å"brand power†, which is built on the cultivation of four key areas of the brand, brand identity, familiarity, specialness, and authority. Brand identity is defined as the set of characteristics that customers recognize your brand by; in McDonalds’ case these are speed, consistency, value, and variety. Brand identity works with brand familiarity, helping to expand the message that symbols of the company, or even the overall impact of advertisements themselves in reinforcing the identity of the brand in the minds of customers. If carefully managed, McDonalds can use their brand identity to make their investments in advertising go much further. Beyond this, brand specialness and authority continue the process, representing the perceptions of McDonalds as the company appears to customers. Ideally, McDonalds should leverage brand specialness and authority to clearly stand out as a distinct and trustworthy source of value, allowing customers to increase the value of the McDonalds brand through their positive interactions with the company. McDonald’s adopts different strategies to attract customers of different age groups, but still the main target remains to be children. So in order to attract them, McDonald’s use a key tool: the Happy Meals, which seem to fascinate children due to the toys included in the menu. In addition to this, they have a tie up with The Walt Disney Company for the Disney characters included in the menu, in order to make sure that they offer the kids a wide range of toy options. Moreover, McDonald’s provides the children with a special facility, unique for food venues and fast-food restaurants: a playground. This strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a pleasant and fun environment for both kids and parents. Even the exterior of every restaurant is also strategically designed using bright colors to invite in the customer, especially kids who can easily be influenced by these aspects. So not only that the children like it, it is a chance for the parents to spend some â€Å"quality time† with their kids. Another aspect of their marketing strategy is the fact that every McDonald’s restaurant provides Wi–Fi facilities, a detail that adds to the attractive qualities and is aimed at teenage customers. In addition to this, what is representative for this chain is their clown mascot, Ronald McDonald, who is essential for creating the bond with children and entertaining them. They can even have private birthday parties in the facilities, again part of McDonald’s aim to induce happy memories in children’s minds, and to make them associate the McDonald’s brand and logo with happy moments. VI. Selected Marketing Strategy Product Suppliers are dedicated to providing McDonald’s with top quality material that is continually monitored for freshness and safety. McDonald’s uses regional suppliers to ensure that the freshness is delivered to customers in every product they buy. Food quality is keys at McDonald’s. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, onions and pickles, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. All of the beef, chicken and pork that are used are purchased from federally inspected facilities to ensure freshness, wholesomeness and peak quality when served to customers. Non-Vegetarian Ingredients Chicken The chicken products are made from high quality boned rib and leg meat and are covered in a specially seasoned, lightly battered coating. They are shaped in uniform sizes to ensure consistency in weight and value. Fish The fish products in McDonald’s Filet –O- Fish are 100% pure whole white fillets that are lightly breaded. Their exacting quality standards for fish surpass federal requirements. The ocean-fresh quality of Filet-O-Fish is a result of the process and ability to freeze the fish at sea to maintain freshness. Vegetarian Ingredients Vegetables McDonald’s use freshly shredded lettuce, onions, pickles and tomatoes in their restaurants. All their vegetable products are processed from high quality graded vegetables in a 100% dedicated vegetarian plant. Potatoes McDonald’s French fries are famous around the world. To make French fries, McDonald’s uses only the best potatoes available from their own potato farms. Their potato suppliers make many of the same nationally recognized brands of potato products to make customers feel that they are with their family at home. These potatoes are cut, blanched and processed on state-of-the-art processing lines to ensure maximum retention of nutrients. Their French fries and Potato Wedges are cooked at the plant in 100% vegetables cooking oil. Other Ingredients Cheese and other Dairy Products All dairy products like cheese, McShakes and Soft Serves are made from fresh dairy milk. All dairy products including cheese have a role to play in balanced diet because they contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, fat solubles, phosphorus, etc. McDonald’s uses a special blend of pasteurized American cheese to complement the flavor of their sandwiches. Buns McDonald’s uses buns made from locally grown wheat flour. They are baked locally and delivered fresh, several times each week to McDonald’s restaurants. Cooking Oil Food preparations are done in 100% refined vegetable oils at the restaurants plants. They use liquid oil and not hydrogenated oil. This means there are no TFAs or Trans Fatty Acids in the French Fries or any other products. Additionally, these vegetable oils contain some essential fatty acids necessary for growth. Quality Food quality is the crucial element at McDonald’s. Despite extensive and meticulous quality test at the suppliers end, all products are once again carefully scrutinized at the restaurant. Immaculate of quality allow for nothing but the best to reach customer’s tray. Their products are sourced from the highest quality ingredients, prepared hygienically and treated to regular quality checks such as the McDonald’s Inspection Program (QIP). Scope of Product Line Distribution (Place) Place, as an element of the marketing mix, is not just about the physical location or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer. McDonald’s outlets are very evenly spread throughout the cities making them very accessible. Drive in and drive through options make McDonald’s products further convenient to the consumers. Intensive Distribution Distribution arrangements tend to be long term in nature. Because of this time horizon, channel decisions are usually classed as strategic, rather than tactical or operational ones. Many of McDonalds restaurants are open 24 hours per day which satisfies the customers needs and wants, especially for exists their hunger. This kind of distribution strategy is called â€Å"intensive distribution†, means marking the product available for sale through all possible channels of distribution. â€Å"Intensive distribution is stocking the product in as many outlets as possible.† Promotion The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications One of the methods employed is advertising, Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, in cinema, online, using poster sites and in the press for example in newspapers and magazines. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, point of sale display, merchandising, direct mail, loyalty schemes, door drops, etc. The skill in marketing communications is to develop a campaign which uses several of these methods in a way that provides the most effective results. For example, TV advertising makes people aware of a food item and press advertising provides more detail. This may be supported by in-store promotions to get people to try the product and a collectable promotional device to encourage them to keep on buying the item. At McDonalds the prime focus is on targeting children. In happy meals too which are targeted at children small toys are given along with the meal. Apart from this, various schemes for winning prices by way of lucky draws and also scratch cards are given when an order is placed on the various mean combos. VII. Conclusion Since the problem of McDonalds is about the customer that keeps on complaining for the quality and freshness of the products that is being served. Therefore I conclude that the company should use the MFY (Made for You) system, so that the food is made or prepared for the customer just in time with a good quality for a reasonable cost. The company should also provide a large number of riders to avoid late delivery.

Analysis of Toyotas Marketing Strategy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2376 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Level High school Did you like this example? Analysis of Toyotas Marketing Strategy Toyota Motor Corporation Profile According to Toyota Global (2015) Toyota is a worldwide Japanese automotive corporation headquartered in Aichi, Japan. Toyota was founded in August 28 1937 by founder Kiichiro Toyoda. Marketing Strategy Fifield (2012) claims there are countless meanings for the term Marketing Strategy. Fifield (2012) accumulates and provides a number of meanings from various authors for the term Marketing Strategy. But the most captivating definition from Fifields (2012) research was from an author named Craven. Fifield (2012, p.xxiv) quotes Cravens definition of a marketing strategy in which he defines it as a process that involves strategically analysing environmental, competitive as well as business factors that affect business units and forecasting future trends in business areas of interest to the company. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysis of Toyotas Marketing Strategy" essay for you Create order Penetration Pricing Marketing Strategy A marketing strategy currently used by Toyota is a strategy called penetration pricing (See Appendix A). Ferrell and Hartline (2010) reveal that the purpose of the penetration pricing marketing strategy is to maximise sales and to attain widespread market share within the market a company is competing in. Ferrell and Hartline (2010)also bring to light that the penetration pricing marketing strategy has the objective of capturing a large market share rapidly by setting low prices for products that a company sells. Furthermore Ferrell and Hartline (2010) claim that penetration pricing is best executed when consumers are sensitive towards the price of the product. Harrison and John (2013) highlight Toyotas usage of the penetration pricing marketing strategy which states that Toyota sell their cars in the low end of the price spectrum. This strategy caters to the price sensitive consumers. Whats more Wood (2007) exemplifies Toyotas use of the penetration pricing marketing strateg y when Toyota introduced their Yaris Subcompact car production to the Europe market. Wood (2007) highlights that Toyotas usage of the penetration pricing marketing strategy for their Yaris car production enabled the corporation to compete with other well-known automotive companies such as Ford, Volkswagen, Renault and Vauxhall. Guerrilla Marketing Strategy Another marketing strategy used by Toyota is a marketing strategy called the guerrilla strategy (See Appendix B). Boone and Kurtz (2014) inform that guerrilla marketing involves companies using unconventional techniques to attract consumer attention. Boone and Kurtz (2014) also regard the guerrilla marketing strategy as a fairly new marketing technique, in addition Boone and Kurtz (2014) reveal that the strategy is normally used by companies that do not have financial resources for other well-known or more effective marketing strategies. What is more Boone and Kurtz (2014) bring forward that established companies such as Toyota and Pepsi also employ the guerrilla marketing strategy even though such companies have the financial capacity to implement more effective marketing strategies. Boyles (2008) acknowledges Toyotas incorporation of the guerrilla marketing strategy which outlines that Toyotas main reason for using the guerrilla marketing strategy is to attract the younger cro wd i.e. young adults. Boyles (2008) also points out that companies such as Toyota conduct this strategy by placing advertisements on objects that are used everyday e.g. food or drink packaging. What is more Boyles (2008) goes further by revealing that companies such as Toyota use alternative methods for the guerrilla marketing strategy such as placing advertisements in locations where people commute frequently. Social Media Marketing Strategy A further strategy currently used by Toyota is the social media marketing strategy (See Appendix C). Marketing via use of social media is considered a contemporary strategy in the marketing world and is also considered a very effective marketing strategy. Many companies in this day age are now taking advantage of the social media marketing strategy such as Toyota. Zarrella (2009) notifies that social media marketing involves the usage of web technologies. Zarella (2009) also points out that social media web technologies include activities such as blogging, social networks (such as Facebook and LinkedIn) and media sharing sites (such as Flickr and YouTube). Tybout and Calde, (2010) present a detailed example of Toyotas usage of the social media marketing strategy. Tybout and Calde (2010) exemplify Toyotas usage of the social media strategy marketing by unveiling Toyotas affiliation with a company called iCrossing. Tybout and Calde (2010) go further by acknowledging iCrossings rol e in building awareness of Toyotas IQ city car which was released by Toyota in 2008. Tybout and Calde, (2010) declare that iCrossing is a UK based company who specialise in digital marketing. Additionally Tybout and Calde, (2010) mention that iCrossing helped to promote Toyotas IQ car model via the use of a campaign called the The Hypermiling Campaign. Hypermiler (2015) is an online community that focuses on providing fuel saving advice. iCrossings assistance in promoting the IQ car production helped Toyota to generate positive anticipation amongst the communitys online users. Tybout and Calde, (2010) continue by talking about Toyotas IQ blogging site which was created specifically for the IQ car production. Tybout and Calde, (2010) carry on by disclosing Toyotas increase in traffic on their blogging site which increased by more than 212 percent as a result of their affiliation with iCrossing. Tybout and Calde, (2010) lecture on how the social media marketing strategy has enabled Toyota to reach new audiences through the use of alternative social media marketing techniques such as blog posting, Flickr and Twitter. Tybout and Calde, (2010) conclude by addressing an additional technique used by Toyota in the social media realm which is the integration of their online newsroom with social media outlets such as YouTube, Flickr and Twitter. The result of this marketing technique integration has allowed the web community to access Toyotas images, videos, activities and anything else associated with Toyota. Trade Show Marketing Strategy The last strategy used by Toyota is trade show marketing strategy (See Appendix D). This marketing strategy is used by many well-known automotive companies within the car industry. Trade show marketing involves companies exhibiting their new product(s) or service(s). SÃÆ' ¶ilen (2013) describes trade show marketing as person to person, information exchange and selling. SÃÆ' ¶ilen (2013) proceeds by stating that trade shows involve the gathering and distribution of information. Toyota uses this particular strategy to exhibit new car productions. An example of Toyotas trade show marketing strategy is their collaboration with a German company called B+s exhibitions. B+s exhibitions (2015) illustrate the partnership between the two companies where they present galleries as well as video footage of Toyotas trade shows. Toyota and b+s exhibitions have worked together since the early 1980s. B+s exhibitions are a company who have been specialising in trade shows for over 40 years where one of their primary focuses is trade show marketing for top automotive companies all around the world. Recommendations to Improve Toyotas Marketing Strategies Penetration Pricing Marketing Strategy Improvement Based on the findings, Toyota could improve their penetration pricing marketing strategy by initially selling their cars at a low price then slowly increasing their prices once they have established a strong clientele on any new production they release. As mentioned earlier companies use the penetration strategy to attain widespread market share within the market they are competing in. What this means is companies such as Toyota using the penetration pricing strategy are trying to build a strong clientele which Toyota achieved many times over the years with the various car productions they have released. Holden and Burton (2010) address this issue in which they write about the problems that can arise from the penetration pricing strategy. First Holden and Burton (2010) tackle the issue of customers who come to companies such as Toyota based on price where they highlight such customers as being the first to leave once another competitor enters the market. What is more Holden and Burton (2010) state that competing with competitors based on price is the least sustainable competitive advantage strategy to have. Even though Toyota has been one of the worlds leading automotive competitors for many years it is imperative to take such precautions into consideration for the reason that they could sooner or later find themselves in such a situation. The tactic of starting off with low price then slowing increasing the price could help sustain the companys competitive advantage years down the line. Guerrilla Marketing Strategy Improvement Toyota could improve their guerrilla marketing strategy by integrating their guerrilla marketing strategy with their social media marketing strategy. Levinson and Gibson (2010) speak about the effectiveness of combining the two marketing strategies. Levinson and Gibson (2010) delve into how guerrilla marketing strategy is able operate alongside the social media marketing strategy by noting the cost aspect of combining the two marketing strategies. They reveal that creating a social media platform requires zero fees. Levinson and Gibson (2010) carry on by discussing that all guerrilla marketers should take advantage of this idea as it gives guerrilla marketers such as Toyota the opportunity to maximise their brand to a wider audience. Social Media Marketing Strategy Improvement Based on the findings Toyota has already constructed a solid social media marketing strategy. However Toyota could improve their social media marketing strategy as a way to study their competitors. West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) bring to light how the social media marketing strategy can useful weapon when analysing your competition. West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) provide an insight on how the social media strategy is a contemporary tool for monitoring and gathering information about competitors within your market segments. Moreover West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) go further by making a note of the type of information that can be gathered about competitors where information can include competitor brands, strengths, weaknesses and strategic decisions. Additionally West, Ford and Ibrahim (2015) present an extra commodity where they state corporations such as Toyota can employ specialist firms to analyse competitors on their behalf. Having access to such information would provide Toyota with ammunition which they can then use to get a better understanding of the market they are competing in. Trade Show Marketing Strategy improvement Toyota could improve their trade show marketing strategy by integrating their trade show and social media strategies together. Executing their social media strategy before and during their trade shows would help Toyota to improve traffic and awareness of their trade shows. Stratten and Kramer (2012) bring to attention that social media is one of the best ways to increase traffic at a trade shows. This can be done is by engaging in social media before and during the event. Stratten and Kramer (2012) offer an example of this tactic by saying that users of the trade show marketing strategy could use a social media outlet such as Twitter for their trade shows by using the hashtag tool. According to Chen et al. (2014) the hashtag tool is a feature on social media that is used to identify messages by topic. Stratten and Kramer (2012) continue by explaining that the use of hashtags enable the hosts of trade shows to see what people are saying about their conferences. This tactic can be carried out days or weeks before the event. Conclusion Research has revealed how instrumental marketing strategies can be to a companys success. Additionally the report has shown how various marketing strategies play different roles to elicit varied results. Research has also illustrated how marketing strategies can be the catalyst to a companys longevity and possess the power to separate successful companies from unsuccessful companies. What is more from research conducted it can be seen that even established companies such as Toyota still have room for improvement as development is a never ending process. Overall the report has helped to discover how Toyota has attained their current status within the automotive market. Toyota is good example of a company that executes effective marketing strategies. The marketing strategies outlined in the report have helped to expose how Toyota has had such a strong force in the automotive market over the years. References Boone, L. and Kurtz, D. (2014). Contemporary Marketing. ArkansasBoyles, D. (2008). The Corporate Assault on Youth. New York: Peter Lang B+s exhibitions (2015). b+s exhibitions GmbH |. 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Available at: https://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/toyota-protect-whats-behind-you/ Seymour, R., Haddon, E. and Brownlee, S. (2012). Hot looks and Cool Connections with New Toyota Aygo Fire and Ice UK Media Site. [online] Media.toyota.co.uk. Available at: https://media.toyota.co.uk/2012/02/hot-looks-and-cool-connections-with-new-toyota-aygo-fire-and-ice/ Appendix A: Penetration Pricing Marketing Strategy Example Model Transmission OTR Price Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 3dr 5MT  £8,495 Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 5dr 5MT  £8,850 Aygo+ 1.0 VVT-i 3dr 5MT  £9,095 Aygo+ 1.0 VVT-i 3dr M/M  £9,595 Aygo+ 1.0 VVT-i 5dr 5MT  £9,495 Aygo+ 1.0 VVT-i 5dr M/M  £9,950 Aygo Ice 1.0 VVT-i 3dr 5MT  £9,895 Aygo Ice 1.0 VVT-i 3dr M/M  £10,395 Aygo Ice 1.0 VVT-i 5dr 5MT  £10,250 Aygo Ice 1.0 VVT-i 5dr M/M  £10,750 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 3dr 5MT  £9,595 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 5dr 5MT  £9,950 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 3dr + AC 5MT  £10,095 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 3dr + AC M/M  £10,595 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 5dr + AC 5MT  £10,450 Aygo Fire 1.0 VVT-i 5dr + AC M/M  £10,950 Sourced from Toyota UK Media, 2012 Appendix B: Guerrilla Marketing Strategy Example Sourced from Creative Guerrilla Marketing, 2012 Appendix C: Social Media Marketing Strategy Example Sourced from YouTube, 2015 Appendix D: Trade Show Marketing Strategy Example Sourced from Auto Types, 2015