elijah mccoy and lloyd war :: essays research papers

Idols, everyone needs them or at least just somebody to look up to and admire. People need some affaire to look forward to, aspire towards some kind of goal basically ambition. For Minorities, specifically Afri john Americans in engineering, role models in the engineering field arent glorified. It is not because battalion feel they are unimportant it is because they just havent been informed. For example many people know the clich The Real McCoy but they dont know where it comes from or why it has the connotations it does. Truth is McCoy was an African American mechanical engineer whose parents were runaway slaves in the early 20th century. It closely sounds like an oxymoron, a black engineer at a judgment of conviction when blacks werent even allowed to go to certain schools or sit at certain bars. However we still use that famous coined phrase and dont realize the significance involved in its origins. evince day role models are also important, our history is one thing, but i t is more conceivable when it can be seen in real life. Conceivable convey easier to understand and recognize the potential opportunities this individual created. Lloyd Ward only the second African American to become a CEO of a major company. The thing about Ward is his willingness to succeed and ability to do so in untraditional fashion. Ward is also a mechanical engineer whose background is almost as unbelievable as his rise to the top. This report is about two of the greatest men who have ever lived their accomplishments should be viewed as goals that we all can value and maybe one day copy. First a historical look at one of the most prolific and ingenious engineers of all time who never stopped working and fulfilling his dreams. Elijah McCoy (1844-1929) was an American inventor born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada, to parents who had escaped from slavery in Kentucky in 1837. McCoy was best known for his inventions of devices used to lube heavy machinery automatically. McCoy wen t to Edinburgh, Scotland, at age 15 and studied mechanical engineering for five years. When he came home he became a railroad fireman on the Michigan State Railroad. Back then steam locomotives had to stop at intervals so that the fireman could oil their pistons, levers, and connecting pins. About 1870, while living in the township of Ypsilanti, Michigan, McCoy began to experiment with automatic lubricators for steam engines.

Diversity in Young Goodman Brown, Ethan Brand, and The Birthmark :: Young Goodman Brown YGB

Diversity in Young Goodman browned, Ethan Brand, and The Birthmark                 ... it is no delusion.  There is an Unpardonable Sin , a quote by Ethan Brand that is at  the root of many stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthornes gloomy, dark style of writing is an emphasis on his theme of evil at societies heart. Writing about what he knew, Hawthorne depict the puritan society in different periods of time and defined different characters but all connected  through his style. The stories that exemplify the diversity of Hawthornes writing ar Young Goodman Brown, Ethan Brand, and The Birthmark.                 Having read these stories it is possible to become engrossed in the darkness that is portrayed and none is better than Young Goodman Brown . Young Goodman Brown, the character, is first introduced to us in the clearing of Salem vi llage and we learn that he has faith in the goodness of the village and Faith for his follower as well.   The people that we meet in Salem village in the first few paragraphs are just Goodman and Faith.  These two characters are very primary(prenominal) to understand for their surface characters or illusional characters.  It is soon learned that Goodman Brown is not such a good man and later Faith shows us just as much false character.  Goodman and Faith are not the only characters that are not all they seem to be.  We come to meet more(prenominal) characters in the short story that are superficial as is the village itself. Goodman Brown leaves the bright, warm, goodness of his village to make a journey in the woodwind to meet a stranger.  A good place to meet a stranger would be these surrounding woods of Salem for it is here that described by Nathaniel Hawthorne that He had taken a dreary road,darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the f orest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind. and  like the scheming mind of an evil person the dark woods leads one down the wrong pathway.                 The woods are not an allusion as was the village, the woods are exactly what they seem to be therefore the characters met inside the woods will

The Stranger Essay -- Literary Analysis, Albert Camus

Albert Camus creates a series of characters in The peculiar whose personality traits and motivations mirror those that are overlooked by the average man. Camus develops various characters and scenarios that are considered rude and unpleasant, but because it has become common, society accepts it as norms. Camus incorporates atrocious personality traits of the characters, diversity, consistency, and everyones fate through the creation of the characters.Camus demonstrates the forgotten reason behind the origins of relationships between people to characterize people as selfish. The relationship between Salamano and his dog displays how Salamano as self-centered. When Meursault mentions, He hadnt been happy with his wife, but hed pretty much gotten used to her. When she died he had been very lonely. So he asked a shop buddy for a dog and hed gotten this one very young (Camus, 44), the inconsideration is displayed. This evidence proves the wifes lack of importance towards Salamano, but along with time, he adapted to her, vertical like he did with the dog. After her death, he became lonely which supports the reason for him getting the dog. Not to love the dog, but instead to put an end to his loneliness. Another etymon of selfishness is shown through the relationship between Marie and Meursault. Meursaults lack of communication and the excess amount of physical contact desired and received is displayed by Meursault in the reference, I kissed her. We didnt say anything more from that point on. I held her to me (35). The textual support confirms that Meursaults purpose with Marie, for her physical appearance and not her personality. The relationship between Meursault and Raymond displays some other representation of a person being... ...ity. He agrees and accepts the fact that no matter how we live our lives, we are all destined to die one day. Our actions can hardly speed up death or slow death down, but nothing can ever stop death from reaching you. Meursaul t, the stranger for his uniqueness, excessively believes that one receives privilege to die and that occurs when one becomes free. In Meursaults perspective, dying represents a positive action rather than a negative one. The characters in The Stranger contain a self-definition which can reflect to the traits of common people. In everyday life, there are always people who are selfish, those who include change and variety in their lives, those that stay consistent to their morals, and those who are certain of reality however, since a profuse amount of people encompass those qualities, civilization judges those qualities as standard and typical.

OxyContin New Entry in the Drug War Essay -- Essays Papers

OxyContin New Entry in the Drug WarWhen concerned with the ethics of development in a global environment, the do it of medicine abuse is of particular importance. All of the different aspects of the drug trade impact a nation, and specifically the development of a nation within a global environment. Within the United States, drug abuse has been prevalent among specific populations in society for almost a half of a century now. historically speaking, drug abuse has erupted in many directions new drugs have offered new markets, new trends have developed new habits. These patterns have become societal concerns on many levels. The creation of new drugs has added another dimension to prescriptive drug abuse. Though science is making enormous advancements in the field of disease treatment, the discoveries atomic number 18 at the same time adding additional routes to becoming drug addicts on the prescription front. In addition, although illicit drug use by teens has been increment ally decreasing since 2001, it lock affects a large enough population to interfere with the ever developing nation of the United States. As drug abuse continues to be initiated in adolescence, the chances of it manifesting itself in adult society remain high. Efforts to contain both prescriptive and illicit drug abuse have both failed and succeeded, on different wavelengths. One of the firstborn drug abuse prevention programs, D.A.R.E., has recently been classified as ineffective. More institutionalized, nationally funded efforts of the United States government have begun to target foreign hierarchical drug pyramids in an effort to halt drug use within America. This paper will examine these issues surrounding prescriptive and illicit drug abuse, with the former ... ...ycodone HCl Controlled-Release)Tablets Information. 9 Mar. 2004. http//www.purduepharma.com/pressroom/app/news_announc/ss_pr.asp?NType=3NIDA. Cocaine Effects. 9 Mar. 2004. http//www.cocaine-effects.com/. NID A. Message from the Director Increased Abuse for Prescription Drugs is Cause for Concern. 9 Mar. 2004. http//www.drugabuse.gov/about/welcome/message304.html.ONDCP Drug Facts, Crack. 9 Mar. 2004.http//www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/crack/index.htmlONDCP Drug Facts, OxyContin. 9 Mar. 2004. http//www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/OxyContin/index.htmlU.S. FDA. Prescription Drug Use and Abuse. 3 Mar. 2004.http//www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/501_drug.htmlU.S. FDA. Prescription Drug Use and Abuse-Controlled Substances. 9 Mar. 2004. http//www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2001/501_drug.htmlcontrolled

New Computer-based Communication Technologies Essay -- Communication

Todays organization has access to communications technology that only a few short decades ago would have seemed like science fiction. From mobile devices more powerful than the first personal computers to the ability to create a squad that never physically meets and resides in different parts of the world, the possibilities are vast. The issue for the modern manager then, is not only to understand these underlying technologies and the possibilities they provide, but in addition to stay cognizant of the limitations of the technology. After all, the goal is to improve the efficiency and performance of the organization, not implement the latest shiny smart toy. This essay seeks to explore these new computer-based communication technologies, understand their advantages and disadvantages, and to then define which communication methods are better suited to the various tasks that a manager may face.In this context, communication is outlined as The process by which a person, group or org anization (the sender) transmits some type of information (the message) to another person, group or organization (Hannagan & Bennett, 2008, p. 304). impertinently Computer-based Technologies is defined as any communications medium that requires Information Technology (computers, data networks, etc) as its communication channel. To decide if a technology is an advantage or disadvantage to an organization, then, we must evaluate the technology against the norm, in this case communication methods that do not rely on Information Technology, such as face-to-face meetings, paper based communication and the humble telephone.Reading the above definition of the word communication, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is a straight preceding process the sender of th... ...-to-Face. Journal of Business Communication, 48(1), 54-82. doi 10.1177/0021943610385656Lo, S. K. (2008). The nonverbal communication functions of emoticons in computer-mediated communication. Cyberpsychology & sor t the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society, 11(5), 595-597. doi 10.1089/cpb.2007.0132Taylor, T. (2011). Video conferencing vs talking face-to-face is video suitable for supportive dialogue? International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 18(7). Thomas, G. F., Zolin, R., & Hartman, J. L. (2009). The Central Role of Communication in developing Trust and Its Effect On Employee Involvement. Journal of Business Communication, 46(3), 287-310. doi 10.1177/0021943609333522Webster, J. (1998). Desktop Videoconferencing Experiences of Complete Users, Wary Users, and Non-Users. MIS Quarterly(September).

New Computer-based Communication Technologies Essay -- Communication

Todays composition has access to communions technology that just a few short decades ago would have seemed like science fiction. From mobile devices more powerful than the first personal computers to the ability to create a team that never physically meets and resides in different parts of the world, the possibilities are vast. The issue for the modern manager then, is not only to understand these underlying technologies and the possibilities they provide, hardly also to stay cognizant of the limitations of the technology. After all, the goal is to improve the efficiency and performance of the organization, not implement the latest shiny new toy. This essay seeks to research these new computer-based communication technologies, understand their emoluments and disadvantages, and to then define which communication methods are better suited to the various tasks that a manager may face.In this context, communication is defined as The process by which a person, group or organization (the sender) transmits some type of information (the message) to another person, group or organization (Hannagan & Bennett, 2008, p. 304). New Computer-based Technologies is defined as any communications medium that requires Information Technology (computers, data networks, etc) as its communication channel. To decide if a technology is an advantage or disadvantage to an organization, then, we must evaluate the technology against the norm, in this case communication methods that do not rely on Information Technology, such as face-to-face meetings, paper based communication and the humble telephone.Reading the above definition of the word communication, one could be forgiven for thinking that it is a true forward process the sender of th... ...-to-Face. Journal of Business Communication, 48(1), 54-82. doi 10.1177/0021943610385656Lo, S. K. (2008). The nonverbal communication functions of emoticons in computer-mediated communication. Cyberpsychology & behavior the impact of the Int ernet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society, 11(5), 595-597. doi 10.1089/cpb.2007.0132Taylor, T. (2011). Video conferencing vs talking face-to-face is video suitable for supportive dialogue? International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 18(7). Thomas, G. F., Zolin, R., & Hartman, J. L. (2009). The Central Role of Communication in Developing Trust and Its Effect On Employee Involvement. Journal of Business Communication, 46(3), 287-310. doi 10.1177/0021943609333522Webster, J. (1998). Desktop Videoconferencing Experiences of Complete Users, Wary Users, and Non-Users. MIS Quarterly(September).

External-Internal Factors Paper

There are m each internal and external factors that can affect how a problem is developed and maintained. virago. com has been molded from many of these factors that exist deep down their caper and their macroenvironment. Macroenvironment is defined as the most general elements in the external environment that potentially influence strategic decisions (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Internal business factors can acknowledge vernal entrants, buyers, suppliers, rivals, substitutes and complements, and the competitive environment Amazon is faced with.The macroenvironment introduces the economy, technology, laws and politics, demographics, and social values that may affect Amazons progress as a leading, online retail provider. In planning their business, Amazon had to outlet into account all internal and external factors to avoid catastrophic troubles while beginning their company. The same concept holds true, all the same today. Internal and external factors affect the planning, organi zing, leading, and controlling (four functions of management) functions of management involved in the successful and continual growth of Amazons company.Their company began as a planned rival to Google and Microsoft, for lead in the online retail industry. With their original focus, Amazon used four different key values to help their business off-the-ground, and mollify focused on their personalized progress. Their ability to zone-in on customers, dynamic pricing, personalized good, and brand variety was their plan for success (Amazon, 2011). It became a primary goal for Amazon to make their customers online shopping experience easier and more enjoyable while supplying dynamic pricing options and the convenience of a one-stop retail ordering system.The business amaze of Amazon included selling books, compact discs, movies, electronics, and games. Currently, Amazon has the largest online retail selection because it extends its inventory out to offer home goods, clothing, food, aut omotive, and jewelry harvests (Amazon, 2011). Amazons website is specifically designed for e-commerce. The features are consumer-friendly and guide the customer through product listings that rival any major department store. Their website allows the recommendation of future product purchases based on consumer shopping/browsing history saved through their advanced customer relationship management (CRM) system.Amazons initial desire was to prevent the add up consumer from needing to leave the comfort of their own home to accomplish their normal and continual shopping needs. This desire tracks to be the driving-point for Amazons foundation. Amazon has organized their homophile resources to provide personalized customer service that readily matches other online retailers. Amazon does not offer in-store customer-service because they are an online business entity however, they do offer e-mail, phone, and online live-chat customer service support.To enhance Amazons website structure, t here was need for more consumer options than rival competitors that supported the customer better. Amazon provides other services to include developer, advertising, and self-publishing services. Developer services allow Amazon to use the new idea of incorporating human intelligence tasks into their companys services, now Amazon is better able to provide for their consumers and their consumers business needs. Advertising services enable web developers the use of Amazons advertisements on their own websites, for easier customer fulfillment capabilities.Self-publishing services allow on-demand publishing for any novice-to-intermediate non-published authors to display their written content publicly for sale on Amazon. com. To fulfill shipping requirements on retail goods sold, Amazon had to build more than four trillion warehouses to prevent large amounts of backorders (Amazon, 2011). For dynamic pricing, Amazon conducted real-time price tests to measure out customer responses and adju st prices accordingly for better customer satisfaction.Amazon encourages new retail seller affiliates to sell on their marketplace to expand the purchase options and avenues for its customers. Amazon has remained the leading e-retail provider for the entire world since early 2009 (Stores Magazine, 2010). Amazon hasnt been affected by new entrants into the retail industry as much as a smaller retail company could. Although new companies do take a slight portion of the industry, Amazon has yet to be financially scathed in a troubling way.In addition to sales, Amazon also provides company support to disaster relief, tools for non profit organizations, and grants for non profit author and publisher groups. This allows the public community to see and understand that Amazon does care for its customers in the furthest thought of the word. Additionally, Amazon is proud to be a business party involved in environmentally aware programs that discern Amazon as an eco-friendly company, by enac ting a Frustration-Free packaging model.This makes products easier to open because it uses 100% recyclable cardboard packaging and the product remains the same, just in streamlined packaging (Amazon, 2011). Amazon does its best to redeem personalized service to their customers. The Recommendations feature on their website tracks the purchases each customer makes, so on the next visit to Amazon. com they can see similar products based on previous purchases. Amazon also sends personalized e-mails to customers informing them on new items that fall into their recommended categories.When concerning pricing and branding, Amazon places online customer valued selections, convenience, and good services supra pricing (Amazon, 2011). Amazon has instituted several controls to ensure a complex, yet user-friendly website and business. They have supplied their website with enough graphical descriptions and pictures of purchasable goods to ensure more accurate product purchases. By designing a mor e convenient one-click ordering system, the need to re-enter customer payment information had been eliminated.Amazon takes studious care in the ethics, legal, and security issues of their customers. By limiting the amount of internal and external parties that have access to personal customer account information, stating their legal responsibilities for quality of merchandise sold, and educating consumer patrons on security measures, Amazon can better protect Internet purchase transactions. Amazon has expanded to include tools on their website to further assist intermediate consumers. Tools much(prenominal) as the Simple Storage Service (S3), the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), and the Mechanical Turk.With the establishment of these services, Amazon can revolutionize their productivity of their storage space, touch on power, and non-automated web services by lending space and processing power in their network. This allows Amazon to store, manage, and collect other businesses data and information, on their daily business processes and human intelligence tasks, and Amazon takes a percentage of the profit (Amazon, 2011). Whether buying services or goods through Amazon, this combined market strategy allows Amazon to continue to excel at retail leadership and control.ReferencesAmazon (2011). Amazon. Retrieved from http//www. amazon. com/ Amazon (2011). Amazon and our planet. Retrieved from http//www. amazon. com/b/ref=gw_m_b_corpres? ie=UTF8&node=13786321 Bateman, T. S. , & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management Leading and collaborating in a competitive world (8th ed. ). Chapter 1 Managing. Retrieved from https//portal. phoenix. edu/ schoolroom/coursematerials/mgt_330/20110425/. Bateman, T. S. , & Snell, S. A. (2009). Management Leading and collaborating in a competitive world (8th ed. ). Chapter 2 The External Environment and Organizational Culture. Retrieved from https//portal. phoenix. edu/classroom/coursematerials/mgt_330/20110425/.

Capturing the Value of Supplementary Services

A brief note on subsidiary religious service verses well-worn service The service as a product is essentially describe as a package or bundle of different operate, tangibles and intangibles, which all together form the total product. The package is divided into two main categories the offset one is the main service, which is called the fondness service or substantive service. The some other one is auxiliary services or extras, which are often referred to as peripherals or peripheral services. These are also known as supplemental services. The core service is the basic treasure provided by the service product.It is the author to purchase or consume services. This is the reason for which any company is in business too. Supplementary services are those that facilitate and enhance use of the core services. These are services other than core that companies offer to their customers to give additional value to their products or to encourage customer loyalty. Flexible Services Off ering It has been observed through research that most suppliers typically provide customers with more services than they want or need at prices that often reflect neither the value of those services to customers nor the live of providing them.Too many multiplication the manufactures continue to let sales people give away whatever services they think it will take to land a deal, even if those freebies dramatically reduce the profitability of business. To overcome the cost associated with the above issues, the author has adviseed the limber service offer model to enable manufacturing and service companies reduce the frame and cost of services they use to augment their core products.This approach enables the company to identify a naked solution or a naked system (which is the bare-bones-minimum number of services uniformly valued by all customers in a given segment at the lowest possible price that yield a profit). These naked solutions are then wrapped with options particular se rvices valued by individual customers within the segment. The steps to achieve flexible service offering are, ? Understand the appurtenant services portfolio.If the company compiles the complete inventory of supplementary service, then it can assess the value of each service and the cost of providing it. ? rate the value of the service rather than just measuring the customer satisfaction. Results indicate that while customers determine their re-purchase intention based on both core and supplementary service quality, mediated by value and satisfaction there is a reign and positive relationship of involvement between customer satisfaction and value of supplementary service provided. Extend the activity-based-costing technique to supplementary services as well. If the manufacture can break down costs on segment-to-segment and customer-to-customer basis, then it is practicable to determine the value/price of the service being offered. This helps industries to target those market seg ments where their products or services provided the greatest value to customers and thus held the greatest potential for profit. come across the brisk standard services that can be done away with or specialized services that can be part of standardized services.Identify the existing nonmandatory services that can be discontinued. The benchmark here is simple if the cost of the optional service exceeds the customers willingness to pay for it, the service should be discontinued. ? Apart from identifying the standard or optional services, to stay ahead in competition a manufacture has to continually innovate and produce new value added services. *For example in a survey taken by Hong Kong mobile phone industry to gauge the benefits of the supplementary services among the customers, it was reveled that the only one of the supplementary services (both optional and standard like pricing policy, staff assistance, customer service and transmission quality and network coverage) factor in the satisfaction determinants among the mobile phone users.The results suggest that network providers should focus more on transmission quality and network coverage as the core attributes of their service offerings and formulate appropriate ricing policy, rather than competing or focusing more on supplementary services like varied customer services. Benefits When the supplementary services are offered with all the above attributes discussed in the flexible services offering section, there are lot many benefits the service providers gain and it also establishes the fact that trimming the supplementary services to what is required and right to the manufacturer has benefits that far outweigh the benefits of keeping all the supplementary services just so as to satisfy the customer and keep the market share.Flexible service offering provides suppliers with a powerful means of retaining and expanding business with their most valuable customers. ? Helps customize the packages of products and services to meet more precisely the requirements of its spectrum of customers. ? Enables managers to be more adjustive and responsive in their pricing. ? Flexible service offering helps companies to revamp their sales force philosophies and practices. More control is given in the hands of the sales aggroup there by enabling sales team to be more persuasive in explaining the value of services to the customers. Case Study Credit tease Marketing in Indian Industry The case study below deals with managing perceived risk for trust card purchase through supplementary services. Supplementary services can play a significant role in compulsive functional and psychological perceived risk associated with credit card services. Marketers of credit cards can enhance the value of services to customers and can thus enhance purchase possibilities by reducing perceived risk through supplementary services that are controllable.Perceived risk is defined as the uncertainty that consumers face w hen they cannot foresee the consequences of their purchase decisions. The supplementary services recognized in this case were, ? atmosphere access, cash advance, and cash withdrawal and other facilities to meet financial requirements effectively. ? ATM access, cash advance, and cash withdrawal facilities with credit card. ? Through add-on card other family members can also use the credit card. ? Buying airline/railway tickets by using credit card at special counters save time. supernumerary facilities with credit card increase its usage value. In a study done by the author (Dr. Anita Goyal), it was revealed that 79. 26% play off with the idea that supplementary services provide operational value. It was also inferred that there were significant differences in the frequency of perceptions towards the statements indicating the functional utility of supplementary services available with credit cards. 70. 64% agree that supplementary services with credit cards help them to take care of psychological risk.There is a favorable perception of supplementary services in controlling the psychological risk. Respondents feel mental satisfaction to have supplementary services with credit cards. Thus, consumers while deciding for a credit card purchase deal facilitating services and supplementary services as significant in providing help to consumers for pre-purchase evaluation of credit cards and to make credit card purchase decisions in the Indian environment.References 1. * Customer Satisfaction in the Hong Kong Mobile Phone Industry. Service Industries Journal Jul99, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p162-174, 13p, 3 charts http//search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=bth&AN=2514451& aim=ehost-live 2. Managing perceived risk for credit card purchase through supplementary services. Journal of Financial Services Marketing Mar2008, Vol. 12 Issue 4, p331-345, 15p, 6 charts. http//search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=bth&AN=31227169&site=ehost-live

Boon or Bane

Advantages and Disadvantages of net profit query look intos Evidence from the Literature Ronald D. Fricker, Jr. and Matthias Schonlau RAND e- unhorse and web muckles hold back been the subject of a good deal hyperbole nigh their capabilities as wellspring as nearly criticism near their limitations. In this report we interpret what is and is non known roughly the social function of the net profit for traceing. Specifically, we consider point nominate in the literature regarding rejoinder prescribes, quantifyliness, entropy musical note and cost.In light of this evidence, we measure popular claims that meshing- base pursues shag be conducted faster, better, cheaper, and/or easier than surveys conducted via stodgy moods. We find that the reality of cost and speed often does not live up to the hype. N wizthe slight, it is possible to instrument net-based surveys in ways that argon effective and cost-efficient. We conclude that the Internet get pop cont inue to grow in importance for conducting certain types of explore surveys.INTRODUCTION With the advent of the manhood unspecific meshing ( wind vane or WWW) and electronic chain armour (e military post), the Internet has opened up cutting vistas in surveying. Rather than sending a paper survey, a respondent can now be given a hyperlink to a blade site containing the survey. Or, in an electronic brand survey, a questionnaire is sent to a respondent via e turn on, possibly as an attachment. As either an alternative or an adjunct to conventional survey meanss (e. g. , the teleph wizard, trip, and face-to-face interviewing) Internet-based surveys offer unique virgin capabilities.For example, a Web survey can relatively simply incorporate multi-media graphics and sound into the survey instrument. Similarly, separate(a) features that were once restricted to more than than expensive interviewer-assisted modes, such as automatic branching and real- m randomization of sur vey questions and/or answers, can be incorporated into self-administered Web (and some net chain armour) surveys. However, not unlike when ph unity and mail surveys were first introduced, concerns hold up slightly whether these Internet-based surveys be scientifically valid and how they argon best conducted.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, prior to the widesp empathize availability of the Web, e-mail was first explored as a survey mode. As with the Web, e-mail offers the possibility of nearly instantaneous transmission of surveys to recipients while avoiding any postal costs. Early e-mail were primarily ASCII text-based, with rudimentary formatting at best, which moveed to limit their length and scope. The unless substantial advantage they offered over paper was a potency decrease in delivery and solution handle Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 1 imes, though some as well hypothesized that the novelty of the new medium might enhance repartee order (Parker, 1992 Zh ang, 2000). The Web started to become widely available in the early to mid-1990s and quickly supplanted e-mail as the Internet survey medium of choice because it was tardily to implement, it provided an improved interface with the respondent, and it offered the possibility of mul fourth dimensiondia and interactive surveys containing audio and video. For thingummy assay distributions, the Web also offered a way around the necessity of having to know respondents e-mail addresses.As a result, quick polls and opposite types of entertainment surveys devour become increasingly popular and widespread on the Web. Internet-based surveys argon now in dashthose conducted via the Web in particularbecause of tether assumptions (a) Internet-based surveys argon much cheaper to conduct (b) Internet-based surveys ar faster and, (c) when combine with early(a) survey modes, Internet-based surveys yield nobleer retort rank than conventional survey modes by themselves. Yet, does the evide nce in the literature confirm these assumptions?Are Internet-based surveys faster, better, cheaper, and/or easier than surveys conducted via conventional modes? What can we conclude about the strengths and on-going limitations of Internet-based surveying from the accompaniments in the literature? In this report we synthesize the literature about the use of the Internet (e-mail and the Web) in the survey process. Other accounts of the literature imply Schonlau, Fricker and Elliott (2002), Couper (2000), Dillman (2000), and Tuten et al. (2002). In addition, an extensive source of Web survey literature can be form on the Web at www. ebsm. org. LITERATURE SUMMARY FOR INTERNET-BASED SURVEYS In this section we summarize key characteristics of Internet-based surveysthat is, surveys apply the Web and e-mail as a solvent modeas documented in the literature. We employed a professional librarian to conduct a thorough literature search in the accessible experience Database and the Confe rence newspaper publisher Index database. The Social Science Database indexes more than 1,500 of the nearly important worldwide social sciences journals since 1972.Additional articles relevant to the social sciences ar also incorporated from over 2,400 journals in the natural, physical, and biomedical sciences. The Conference Paper Index provides access to records of the more than 100,000 scientific and technical papers (since 1973) presented at over 1,000 major regional, national, and international meetings each year. orbit Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 2 The literature search yielded 57 papers that were substantively interesting and informative.hither we report on a subset of those articles of direct relevance to this preaching. (Appendix B of Schonlau et al. , 2002, lists 52 papers and we harbor augment the list hither with an supererogatory five that eat up appeargond since Schonlau et al. was produce. ) We consider the following key characteristics of surveys ( 1) chemical reaction rate, (2) timeliness, (3) data quality, and (4) cost. We compare what has been published in the literature about Internet-based surveys to a natural conventional survey alternative mail. composition no survey mode is going to be optimal in all of these areas, we chose mail because both mail and Internet-based surveys are self-administered, mail surveys tend to be the least expensive of the conventional modes, and virtually all of the comparisons made in the literature are to mail surveys. solution Rates A m iodintary standard way to summarize survey performance is by comparing response rates among various survey modes. By survey mode (sometimes called response mode) we mean the mode by which the survey itself is conducted Web, e-mail, mail, etc.In this section, we compare response rates for studies classified into one of three categories (1) Surveys employing probability try out or conducting a census that apply the Web as the only response mode (2) Surveys in which respondents were allowed to choose one of several response modes, including at least one Internet-based response mode and, (3) Surveys in which respondents were assigned one of several response modes, including at least one Internet-based response mode. We capture with results for studies that utilize the Web as the primary or only response mode with either censuses or robability samples ( circuit mesa 1). The table is request by year and it shows that Web-only research surveys fork over currently only achieved fairly modest response rates, at least as documented in the literature. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 3 Table 1. Response Rates for Web-only Surveys Using Probability Samples or Censuses Sample Size 1,602 14,150 Response Rate 42%d 8% universe University of dough Students College-bound high schooltime and college students Everingham (2001) 1,298 44% RAND employees Jones and Pitt (1999) 200 19% University staff b 9,522 41% Purchasers of Dillman e t al. 1998) computer products c 2,466 38% Purchasers of Dillman et al. (1998) computer products a Most respondents were miteed via their parents, which reduced the response rate. A mail response mode was added late in the survey protocol. b A relatively plain Web survey physique was used in this experimental arm. c A relatively fancy Web survey design was used in this experimental arm. d Another 5. 6 share of partially complete surveys were also accepted. Survey Couper et al. (2001) a Asch (2001)In fact, the results in Table 1 whitethorn overstate response rate performance for research surveys of broader cosmoss because Dillmans results are based on participants who were initially contacted by phone and had agreed to participate in a Web survey and Everinghams sample was of a closed population of employees at one company. Jones and Pitt (1999) sampled staff at 10 universities whose staff directories were available on the WWW and Couper et al. (2001) surveyed 1,602 University of Michigan students.In all of these fields, the strength survey participants were likely to be more homogeneous and more disposed to respond compared to a random sample of the general population. In addition, because university populations often tend to fool greater access to the Internet, and todays college students can be expected to be more computer- and Internet-savvy. In Table 2 we summarize the studies published in the literature that allowed the respondent to choose to respond either via the Web or by the mail, ordered in terms of the cipher that responded via the Web.Since for many populations the fraction of respondents that can or will answer via the Web may not be sufficiently large, and mail emerges as the most relevant second mode for a dual mode survey, these studies are important. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 4 Table 2. Studies Allowing Respondents to Choose a Web or dismount Response Mode radical Sample Size a Study % Chose to Respond by Mail Web Overall Response Rate Population U. S. war machine and spouses Quigley et al. (2000) (DoD schooling) 7,209 83% 27% 37% Civilians c b 45% 58% U.S. Geriatric Chiefs 57 52% Raziano et al. (2001) Zhang (2000) 201 20% 80% 78% Researchers d Schleyer and Forrest (2000) 84% 74% Dentists 405 16% NOTE The multiple Quigley et al. and Raziano et al. entries represent multiple arms of the same study. a This arm of the study used mail as the contact mode. b Includes e-mail. The authors do not distinguish amongst e-mail and Web as a response mode. c This arm of the study used e-mail as the contact mode. d The response mode in this case was either e-mail or fax. 21,805 Raziano et al. 2001) Sedivi anuran (2001) and Griffin et al. (2001) (American friendship Survey 2000) Sedivi Gaul (2001) and Griffin et al. (2001) (Library Media Center Survey 1998) Sedivi Gaul (2001) and Griffin et al. (2001) (Library Media Center Survey 1999) Quigley et al. (2000) (DoD study) 57 9,596 924 13,440 96% 95% 9 5% 81% 77% 4% 5% 5% b 77% 38% 38% 63% 42% U. S. Geriatric Chiefs U. S. households Librarians Librarians 19% 23% In Table 2 we see that for most of the studies respondents currently tend to choose mail when given a choice between Web and mail.In fact, even when respondents are contracted electronically it is not epigrammatic that they will prefer to respond electronically, as in Raziano et al. (2001) that did not find a statistically significant difference in response rates. Zhang (2000) and Schleyer and Forrest (2000) are the only studies that contradict this conclusion and they tend to represent groups of respondents that are largely or entirely computer literate and comfortable with electronic communication. In comparison, Quigley et al. (2000) and the American Community Survey (2000) study tend to represent general cross-sections of the U. S. ublic in terms of computer literacy and availability and for these studies the fraction that chose Web as the response mode was instead s mall. In Table 3 we present studies that compared response rates between groups assigned to one of either two or three response modes. Here we see that Internet-based mode response rates generally do not achieve response rates relate to mail surveys. (The table is first ordered from lowest to highest e-mail response rate and then(prenominal) by Web response rate. ) Further, Sheehan (2001) concludes that e-mail response rates are declining over time (though the causation for the decline is unknown).Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 5 Table 3. Studies With Multiple Study Arms Comparing Response Rates for E-mail, Web and Mail Response Modes Total Sample Size 400 500 418 153 262 8,000 904 140 200 1,800 Response Rate E-mail Mail 6% 27% 7% 52% 19% 57% 28% 78% 40% 45% 43% 71% a 58% 53% 68% 38% 34% 72% -54% -62% Population University staff University staff MIS and marketing faculty health educators BBS newsgroup users Federal employees WSU faculty AT&T employees University sta ff Businesses in Slovenia Undergraduates at the University 600 of Florida McCabe et al. 2002) 5,000 63% -40% University of Michigan Students Indicates not applicable the indicated response mode was not evaluated in the study. a An additional 5 percent that were go throughed by mail are not include in this number. b In the second follow-up of both study arms respondents were contacted by both mail and e-mail. c An additional phone study arm achieved a response rate of 63%, an additional contact mail / response fax study arm achieved a response rate of 43%. Study Tse et al. (1995) Tse (1998) Schuldt and Totten (1994) Kittleson (1995) Mehta and Sivadas (1995) Couper et al. 1999) Schaefer and Dillman (1998) Parker (1992) Jones and Pitt (1999) c Vehovar et al. (2001) b Pealer et al. (2001) Web 19% 32% 58% Parker (1992) is the only study of which we are aware in which e-mail achieved excite-to doe with or high response rates when compared to postal mail. Parker conducted a survey of 140 expatriate AT&T employees on matters related corporate policies for conveyance and repatriation, reporting a 63 percent response rate via e-mail (63 returned out of 100 sent by e-mail) compared to a 38 percent response rate for postal mail (14 returned out of 40 sent by mail).Interestingly, Parker (1992) also attributed the difference in response rates to the fact that, at the time, AT&T employees sure a lot of corporate paper junk mail yet, over the internal e-mail system, they received little to no electronic junk mail. Hence, recipients of the paper survey were more likely to discount its importance compared to e-mail survey recipients. With the spread of e-mail spam, this situation is likely to be change by reversal today.In an example more typical of the current state of affairs, and in one of the few studies to randomize respondents to mode, Couper et al. (1999) obtained an modal(a) email response rate of about 43 percent compared to close 71 percent with mail in a su rvey of employees in five federal statistical agencies. Couper et al. chose e-mail as the Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 6 mode for the survey over the Web because e-mail was almost universally available in the five agencies while the Web was often not available. Turning to the Web, McCabe et al. 2002) conducted an experiment in which 5,000 University of Michigan students were randomized to receive a survey about drug and alcohol use 2,500 possible respondents received a mail survey and 2,500 were notified of an equivalent Web-based survey. Respondents in both groups received a $10 gift certificate incentive. In this study, McCabe et al. achieved a 63 percent Web response rate compared to 40% for mail. In contrast, however, Pealer et al. did not find a statistically significant difference between Web and mail response rates for a survey of undergraduates at the University of Florida.The only other published study that achieved exceptional response rates with an Interne t-based survey is Walsh et al. (1992) in which potential respondents were solicited by e-mail and offered the option to respond by e-mail or request a paper survey by postal mail. While they did not conduct an equivalent postal mail only survey for comparison (and thus are not listed in Table 3), Walsh et al. achieved a 76 percent overall response rate of a randomly sample of subscribers (300 out of a total population of 1,100) to a scientific computer network for an e-mail survey.In addition to providing nonrespondents with two follow-up reminders, a lottery prize of $250 was employed as an incentive. Walsh et al. found that 76 percent of the respondents replied by e-mail and the other 24 percent responded by postal mail. They also received requests from an additional 104 subscribers (who were not chosen in the sample of 300) to participate in the survey. For the self-selected 104, 96 percent responded by e-mail. Not surprisingly, they also found a positive correlation between prop ensity to respond electronically and amount of network usage.In conclusion, in that respect is little evidence in the literature that Internet-based surveys achieve higher response rates, as a general rule, than conventional surveys. The few Internet-based surveys that have achieved higher response rates have tended to be either of university-based populations or small, specialized populations. The majority of results reported in the literature show Internet-based surveys at best currently achieve response rates equal to conventional modes and often do worse. The reasons for this difference are not yet clear and require more study.Yet, as we have seen, in that location are also a few examples of Web surveys outperforming mail for some specific populations. Whether this was idiosyncratic of these few surveys, Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 7 or it is an trait that methodology is developing to achieve higher response rates in the new medium is yet to be shown. It is i mportant to note that, contrary to intuition, there is no evidence in the literature that concurrent ambiting of a survey via a conventional mode and via an Internet-based mode results in any significant improvement in response rates.This may be because, as Table 2 shows, except in specialized populations, when given a choice between mail and Web surveys, most individuals tend to respond to the mail survey. In addition, there is no evidence that those who would normally refuse to complete a mail survey would choose to respond if the survey was Internet-based. Of course, these results are specific to the current state of the art of Internet-based surveying, existing technology, and the current state of respondent attitudes toward surveys, both Internetbased and conventional.Future developments may significantly alter these findings and more research is certainly warranted in an attempt to improve the response rate performance of Internet-based surveys. Finally, we note that while re search surveys based on probabilistic survey sampling methods are generally recognized as being necessary to conduct statistical inference to any population outside of the sample, convenience sampling can also be useful to some researchers for other purposes. For example, early in the course of research, responses from a convenience sample might be useful in developing research hypotheses.Responses from convenience samples might also be useful for identifying issues, defining directs of alternatives, or collecting other sorts of non-inferential data. In fact, in certain types of qualitative research, convenience samples on the Web may be just as valid as other methods that use convenience samples. there are a number of studies in the literature that used convenience samples, for which response rate comparisons do not apply (and thereof precluded their inclusion in Tables 1-3), often with respondents recruited through advertising of some form.While response rates for these studies are meaningless, we present a few of the more interesting studies here to illustrate alternative ways that Web surveys can be used. In a social science study of geographic mobility and other topics Witte et al. (2000) recruit a large number of respondents 32,688. Similarly, Vehovar et al. (1999) conducted a large-scale survey posteriored at the Internet population of Slovenia, which corresponds to about 13 percent of the total population of Slovenia.In both cases, also sized traditional mail surveys would likely have been more complicated and very expensive to field. Coomber (1997) conducted a survey about drug dealer practices, where his target population was illicit drug-dealers throughout the world. Coomber solicited responses by e-mail and Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 8 through advertising, and collected responses on the Web hoping his respondents would be encourage to respond more honestly because of a perceived anonymity.Timeliness In todays fast-paced world , survey timeliness is increasingly stressed. The length of time it takes to field a survey is a function of the contact, response, and follow-up modes. Decreasing the time in one or more of these parts of the survey process will tend to decrease the overall time in the field. However, it is important to keep in mind that the relevant measure is not average response time but maximum response time (or perhaps some large percentile of the response time distribution) since survey digest generally does not begin until all of the responses are in.Most studies tend to conclude, often with little or no empirical evidence, that Internet-based surveys are faster than surveys sent by postal mail. This conclusion is unremarkably based on the recognition that electronic mail and other forms of electronic communication can be instantaneously transmitted while postal mail takes more time. However, simply concluding that Internet-based surveys are faster than mail surveys naively ignores the rea lity that the total amount of time for survey field time is more than just the survey response time.A complete comparison must take into account the mode of contact and how long that process will take and the mode of follow-up allowing for multiple follow-up contact periods. For example, if e-mail addresses of respondents are unavailable and a probability sample is desired then respondents may have to be contacted by mail. In this case a Web survey only saves time for the return delivery of the completed questionnaire, and not for the contact and follow-up, so that the resulting time nest egg may only be a fraction of the total survey fielding time.In the case of e-mail surveys, where the presumption is that the potential respondents e-mail addresses are known and can therefore be used not just for delivering the survey but also for pre-notification and non-response follow-up, the time savings can be substantial. For example, one is often forced to allow for a week of delivery time in the postal mail. With an advance letter and a single mail follow-up, this one week delay telescopes into over a month in survey fielding when two weeks must be budgeted for initial survey delivery and return time, plus an additional two weeks for a single followup reminder delivery and response time.By comparison, in an all-electronic process the same operation has the potential to be completed in a few days or less. Yet, even in an all-electronic environment it is not necessarily true that the Internet-based survey will be timelier. For example, in a comparison of response speed Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 9 between e-mail and mail, Tse et al. (1995) did not find a statistically significant difference in the time between sending and receipt of an e-mail survey to university faculty and staff and an equivalent survey sent by mail.Furthermore, to achieve sufficiently high response rates, it may be necessary to leave an Internet-based survey in the field for an ext ended period of time. For example, a orotund commercial Internet survey company, Knowledge Networks, has indicated that to achieve 70-80 percent response rates they must leave a survey in the field for about 10 days. This period comprises one workweek with two weekends, because they find that most respondents complete their surveys on the weekend. However, there are cases in the literature that did show more timely response.Tse (1998) found a statistically significant difference in the average initial response time for those that received an e-mail survey compared to those that received a paper survey in the campus mail (one day versus 2-1/2). Further, in Tses experiment, most e-mail survey recipients either responded almost immediately (within one day) or they did not respond at all, which raises the question of the effectiveness of non-response follow-up in the electronic forum. Schaefer and Dillman (1998) also document faster e-mail response rates 76 percent of all responses wer e received in 4 days or less. Pealer et al. 2001) found a statistically significant difference in the average return time between their e-mail study arm (7. 3 days) and their mail study arm (9. 8 days). However, the final e-mail survey was received after 24 days and the final mail survey after 25 daysa negligible difference in overall fielding time. In conclusion, while it is certainly reasonable to conclude prima facie that the delivery time of an Internet-based survey is faster than the delivery of a survey by mail, it does not necessarily follow that the change magnituded delivery speed will translate into a significantly shorter survey fielding period.Two points are relevant (1) dramatic improvements are only possible with an all-electronic process, which is currently only possible for specialized populations and, (2) even for populations in which all-electronic surveys are possible, the literature is not very informative as there is no information available about the length of fielding time required to achieve particular response rates. Quality When the primary purpose of a survey is to gather information about a population, the information is useless unless it is accurate and representative of the population.While survey error is commonly characterized in terms of the clearcutness of statistical estimates, a good survey design seeks to reduce all types of errors, including coverage, Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 10 sampling, non-response, and measurement errors. (See Groves, 1989, for a detailed discussion of the Total Survey Error approach. ) Indeed, even when a survey is conducted as a census, the results still may be affected by many of these sources of error. insurance coverage error is the most widely recognized shortcoming of Internet-based surveys.Today the general population coverage for Internet-based surveys still significantly lags behind the coverage achievable using conventional survey modes. However, there are some importan t caveats to keep in mind. First, the coverage differential is rapidly closing and may become immaterial in the relatively near future (though this is far from a preordained conclusion). Second, even though conventional modes have the ability to reach most of the population, it is becoming increasingly fractious to get people to respond (e. g. answering machines are routinely used to screen calls these days and, hence, screen out name surveyors and solicitors). Third, while conventional modes have near universal coverage, there will always be special subpopulations that have little or no coverage for any mode. Fourth, in the case of Internetbased surveys, access is only one consideration. Even if the respondent in principle has Internet access (e. g. through a library), there are large portions of the population that are still computer illiterate and would have difficulty correctly responding to such a survey.Finally, access and computer literacy are necessary but not sufficient c onditions for success Respondents must also have compatible hardware and software. However, less than universal access to the Internet can be immaterial for some studies, such as studies that focus on closed populations with equal access or Internet users, for example. In order to improve coverage, Dillman (2000) recommends a mixedmode strategy for contact, using both e-mail and postal mail for pre-notification. Similarly, using mixed response modes, such as Web and e-mail can be used to increase coverage.However, as we previously mentioned, there is little evidence in the literature that concurrent mixed mode fielding increases response rates over what would have been achieved using a single, conventional mode. In addition to coverage, data quality is a function of a number of other dimensions, including (1) unit and item nonresponse (2) truthfulness of responses, particularly for questions of a sensitive nature (3) completeness of responses, particularly for openended questions a nd, (4) quality of data transcription into an electronic format for analysis if required by the survey mode.All other things held constant (such as pre-notification and non-response followup), unit and item non-response are generally smaller using interviewer-assisted modes (de Leeuw, 1992) compared to self-administered survey modes. Face-to-face interviews Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 11 have long been considered the gold standard of surveys and tend to result in the lowest unit and item non-response as well as minimizing respondent misinterpretation of questions and bound off patterns.However, it has been shown that interviewer-administered survey modes, particularly face-to-face, yield more socially desirable answers than selfadministered modes (de Leeuw, 1992, Kiesler et al. , 1986, p. 409). This is particularly relevant for surveys of sensitive topics or for surveys that contain sensitive questions, such as questions about income or sexual practices, for example . Mail and other selfadministered modes tend to be the least expensive but often have higher unit and item non-response rates. On the other hand, they tend to elicit the most accurate responses to sensitive questions.Data quality is usually measured by the number of respondents with lose items or the component of missing items. For open-ended questions, nightlong answers are usually considered more informative and of higher quality. In those studies that compared e-mail versus mail, for closed-ended questions, it appears that e-mail surveys may incur a higher percentage of items missing than mail surveys. As Table 4 shows, for studies in the literature that reported the percentage of missed items, the percentage for mail respondents was less than or equal to the percent for e-mail respondents.Table 4. Average Percentage of Missed Items for E-mail and Postal Mail Surveys Postal Mail Population 14. 2 Undergraduates, University of Florida 0. 7 Business school deans and chairpersons 0. 4 Names and addresses purchased from Internet magazine in the U. K. 0. 5 Fourth-year medical students 0. 8 Employees of five U. S. federal agencies 0. 3 Active U. S. users of bulletin board system (BBS) news group Study Peale et al (2001) Bachman at al. (1996) Comley (1996)a Paolo et al. (2000) Couper et al. (1999)b Mehta and Sivadas (1995)c a E-mail 14. 2 3. 7 1. 2 1. 2 0. 8 0. 3Based on three questions. Based on 81 attitude questions. c Across five different study arms, one of which allowed for both mail and e-mail responses. b At the respondent level, Paolo et al. (2000) also found that 27 percent of e-mail respondents did not respond to at least one question versus 9 percent for mail respondents. Kiesler and Sproull (1986) found the opposite in the e-mail (contact and response) study arm only 10 percent of respondents failed to complete or spoiled one Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 12 item compared to 22 percent in the mail (contact and response) study arm.Tse (1995, 1998) found no difference in quality of responses. For open-ended questions, studies found that e-mail responses are either longer or of the same length as mail responses. Comley (1996) found that in the two open-ended questions e-mail respondents gave longer answers. One respondent even wrote a miniessay. Mehta and Sivadas (1995) found that there was hardly any difference between the average completed responses for both the open and close-ended questions (Mehta and Sivadas, 1995, p. 436). Kiesler and Sproull (1986) found that the total number of words did not significantly differ for e-mail and mail respondents.If one also takes into consideration that open-ended items for mail respondents are not always en jurisprudenced for cost reasons, it appears that Internet-based survey modes may be better suited to open-ended questions. Other quality issues for Internet-based surveys resulting from some sort of sampling error are generally the same as for conventional surveys. Howeve r, as the Internet becomes more ubiquitous, collecting much larger samples becomes more feasible. Indeed, we have talked to some organizations recently that have electronic access to their entire population and are considering eliminating sampling and simply conducting censuses.Often these census efforts result in much larger poetry of respondents than otherwise could have been gathered using traditional survey sampling techniques and those larger numbers give the appearance of greater statistical accuracy. However, such accuracy may be misleading if non-response biases are not accounted for and researchers need to carefully consider the trade-offs between smaller samples that allow for careful non-response follow-up and larger samples with less or no follow-up.The former may have larger standard errors but less bias while the latter may have much smaller standard errors but an unknown, and potentially very large, amount of bias. Finally, we note that Web surveys offer the ability to clearly improve on other forms of self-administered surveys in terms of data validation, skip pattern automation, and the elimination of transcription errors, all of which help to minimize measurement error. Web surveys can be programmed to conduct input validation as a logical check of the respondents answers.These types of checks improve data quality and conc debarantly save time in the preparation of the analysis file. As with logic checks, Web surveys can also be programmed to manage the process of skipping questions. This will eliminate errors and, from the respondents point of view, simplify the process of taking the survey. And, while all conventional surveys required some form of conversion into an electronic Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 13 format for analysis, for Web surveys respondents answers are directly downloaded into a database, avoiding transcription errors.Cost Designing a survey fundamentally involves making trade-offs between the quality and q uantity of data and cost. For smaller research surveys that are not subsidized in any way, a major component of total survey cost is frequently the researchers time for survey design and subsequent data analysis. However, these costs vary little by survey mode. A major expense that does vary by mode is the labor cost of the effect who actually execute the survey.Depending on the size of the survey and the complexity of the design, either researcher labor costs, survey personnel labor costs, or a junto of the two will likely dominate the survey budget. Comparing the costs of doing a Web survey versus a mail survey or other some other mode in the literature is difficult because different authors define costs different ways. Academics frequently only consider postage and raising costs and often fail to account for the cost of one or more of various types of labor, including survey design and/or programming, coding, analysis, and other such items.Estimates also vary depending on whet her they are given on a per mail-out or per complete survey response basis and, unfortunately, most studies in the literature omit any discussion about costs altogether. However, the question often reduces to how to price the time spent programming a Web survey and whether and how to price the time of the investigator or a survey coordinator. While lower costs are often touted as one of the well-beings of Internet-based surveys, Couper et al. (1999) found no cost benefit in e-mail compared to postal mail surveys in their work.In a large and comprehensive survey effort of different government agencies Couper et al. compared an all e-mail survey (contact, response, and follow-up) versus an all mail survey. They found that evaluating and testing the e-mail software took over 150 hours almost 4 times as much as they budgeted. For the mail survey, costs for printing and postage were $1. 60 per reply and data editing and ingress cost about $1. 81. For the email survey, managing the e-m ail cost $1. 74 per completed case. In addition, they handled over 900 toll-free calls of a mostly technical nature.While the printing and mailing costs were eliminated for the e-mail survey, Couper et al. found that the costs of evaluating and testing the e-mail software, additional post-collection processing, and the costs of maintaining a toll-free phone line which was largely dedicated to responding to technical questions related to the e-mail surveys offset any savings. (For example, while Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 14 the e-mail survey was designed so that respondents would use the reply function of their e-mail program so the resulting replies could be automatically read into a database upon receipt. Further, almost 47 percent of the e-mail surveys required some type of clerical action to prepare them for automatic reading. On the other hand, Raziano et al. (2001) in a small study of 110 Geriatric Chiefs across the U. S. , compute the cost per respondent for their mail study arm to be $7. 70 and for their e-mail study arm $10. 50. The programming time to construct the e-mail survey is factored into this calculation. However, the total programming time accounted for, two hours, may be unrealistic for a large or complicated survey operation.Also, these estimates fail to reflect the fact that their postal arm response rate from the first mail-out exceeded the e-mail arm response rate after four contact attempts. Hence, for a given desired response rate, the difference in costs would be less as few mailings would be required. Similarly, Schleyer and Forrest (2000) in their study received responses over the Web, by mail, and by fax and found the total costs for the Web survey turned out to be 38 percent lower than for the equivalent mail survey. Asch (as reported in Schonlau et al. 2002) found that adding a Web response option to a mail survey to be economical when about 620 responses are obtained over the Web when the Web is first used as the primary survey mode and surveys are only mailed out to non-respondents. Their calculations were based on the trade-off of the expected savings in postage, printing, and labor costs to prepare survey mailing packages and code the subsequent survey returns against the expected extra costs of programming, additional management effort, and maintaining a telephone help-line for the Web survey.This study did achieve a cost savings since it garnered over 1,000 Web responses. In two studies that essentially ignore personnel costs, Mehta and Sivadas (1995) and Jones and Pitt (1999) conclude, not surprisingly, that Internet-based surveys are less costly than mail surveys. These conclusions simply stem from the fact that Internetbased surveys do not incur postage and printing costs while mail surveys do. In conclusion, when only considering postage and printing costs, e-mail and Web surveys almost by definition are cheaper than mail surveys.However, when the total costs of a survey are con sidered, including labor and other costs, Web surveys may or may not be cheaper depending on whether the additional expenses incurred with that mode, such as programmer costs, are offset by savings, such as postage and data entry costs. When planning for and subsequently executing a Web survey, care must be taken that unanticipated technical problems are minimized or these problems can easily eliminate all potential cost benefits. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 15SUMMARIZING THE CURRENT PERFORMANCE OF INTERNET SURVEYS In the Introduction we said that Internet-based surveys are in vogue those conducted via the Web in particular primarily because of three assumptions (a) Web surveys are much cheaper to conduct (b) Web surveys are faster and, (c) combined with other survey modes, Web surveys yield a higher response rate than the other survey modes by themselves. That is, the usual naive generalization about Internet-based surveys is that they can be conducted faster, bet ter, cheaper, and easier than surveys conducted via conventional methods.How do these claims stand up when compared to what has been published in the literature? Faster? Web surveys are thought to be much faster than conventional survey modes. While there is no question that the delivery time of an Internet-based survey is faster than a survey sent via the mail, there is little to no evidence in the literature to substantiate whether this increase subsequently results in a shorter overall fielding period.We are aware of a couple of organizations that have implemented all-electronic survey processes by communicating with respondents via e-mail, but this is only currently possible for prerecruited panels or specialized subsets of the population. If respondents must be contacted through mail or phone, which generally is the case if a probability sample is required by the research, then there may only be a marginal improvement in overall response times. Better? Response rates for Web su rveys where no other survey mode is iven have tended to range from moderate to poor. The reasons for this are not clear. It is possible that potential respondents simply do not respond as well to electronic solicitation or response. If true, this may improve as Internet-based communication methods continue to spread and become routine with all segments of the general population. It is also possible that the execution of the Internet-based survey experiments have been less than optimal something that will improve with surveyor experience.There are a few examples of Web surveys outperforming mail in some of the more recent comparisons between these two media. Whether this was a unique result for these few surveys, or whether it is a leading indicator that the field is maturing and learning how to achieve higher response rates in the new medium is not known. In either case, it Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 16 is of concern that any improvements in these areas may be offs et by over-saturation of the population with other forms of commercial surveys.Setting the question of response rate aside, Web surveys offer some advantages over conventional modes. For example, if multi-media and/or interactive graphics are required then there are few conventional alternatives (and those alternatives, such as face-to-face interviewing, would likely be significantly more costly). If a convenience sample will suffice for the research, then Web can be an excellent medium to use, particularly if the desired respondents are geographically diverse or hard to find/identify.A major issue for Web surveys is their ease of implementation facilitates naive misuse. The particular concern for this medium is the easy collection of large numbers of surveys can result in surveyors and survey data consumers confusing quantity with quality. There is on-going research about the effects of surveying via the Internet, the Web in particular, on unit and item non-response and on the affe ct the medium has on survey responses. Preliminary results have been reported at some conferences and symposia, but little has appeared in the literature as yet. Cheaper?The usual claim that Web surveys are much cheaper than mail surveys is not necessarily true. Web and e-mail surveys can save on some or all mailing costs, but except for very large surveys these may be small costs in the overall survey effort. Web surveys can also eliminate data entry costs e-mail survey results may not because they often require additional habit before they can be downloaded into an analytical database. However, savings in data entry may be partially or completely offset against higher programming costs and additional help desk staffing requirements.The literature mostly neglects labor costs, which form the highest cost component for Web surveys. Nonetheless, adding a Web survey to a mail survey can be cost efficient if done carefully and properly. Easier? The implementation of Web surveys is tech nically more involved than mail or phone surveys. Survey designers need to specify many issues related to the technical control of Web surveys (e. g. how to move back and forward between questions, input validation, passwords, for what questions answers are not optional) that are simpler or not required with conventional survey modes.Web surveys also require more extensive Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 17 pretesting to ensure both that the questions elicit the desired information and that the program works properly across numerous hardware and software configurations. The fielding process may or may not be made easier. Internet-based surveys have the potential to eliminate some of the more labor-intensive fielding tasks, such as survey package preparation and mailing and the subsequent data entry.Yet, if mixed modes are required to obtain sufficient population coverage and/or response rates, then these tasks cannot be completely eliminated and the fielding process may actually then become more complex since support for two or modes must be maintained and managed. What is the Future of Internet-based Surveying? The first Internet browser was introduced only about a decade ago and early use of the World Wide Web as a survey medium only started about five years ago. The result is that significant research results about the use of this new survey medium have only recently begun to become available in the literature.Hence, there is a great deal that is still not well known about Internet-based surveys. While some predict that Web surveys will replace other survey modes, we expect Web surveys to develop into a transparent survey mode with advantages and disadvantages that will have to be weighed against the conventional alternatives. Little is known about Web instrument design and the effects of instrument design on how survey participants respond to a survey or a particular survey question, and what enhances response rates and response accuracy.For e xample, at the 2001 American tie-in of Public purview Researchers conference, some anecdotal evidence was presented that respondents taking surveys on the Web had shorter attention spans, tending to browse the survey like they browse other Web sites. If true, this would suggest that long surveys and/or surveys with complex questions may not perform as well on the Web as by mail. While many of the design principles from paper-based surveys may translate to Internet-based surveys, much more research is required.To date, most Web surveys have been conducted on convenience samples or in organizations where a list of target populations readily exists. However, Internet-based surveys with probability samples can be fielded by using the mail or telephone for respondent contact and the Web for response. There is currently no equivalent to random digit dialing for e-mail. Even though the fraction of the population having access to email will continue to grow, it is unlikely that one will e ver be able to construct a random e-mail address in the same way a random telephone number is constructed.However, Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 18 large commercial e-mail lists may yet emerge that are of high enough quality to be useful in survey research. A major challenge for researchers will be to distinguish themselves and their survey from the plethora of commercial and entertainment surveys that exist and continue to multiply on the Web. These other surveys will continue to proliferate because the financial and technical barriers are so low for Web surveys. Thus, just as telephone survey response rates have continued to decline because of telemarketers, it s likely to become increasingly difficult to achieve superior response rates in the new medium. Nonetheless, Internet-based surveys are here to stay. The challenge for researchers is to learn to use the new medium to their best advantage. REFERENCES Asch, B. , (2001). RAND, Santa Monica, California. Personal c ommunication. Bachman, E. , J. Elfrink, and G. Vazzana (1996). Tracking the Progress of electronic mail vs. Snail-Mail, Marketing Research, 8, 31-35. Bradley, N. (1999). Sampling for Internet Surveys. An Examination of Respondent Selection for Internet Research, diary of the Market Research Society, 41, 387395.Cochran, W. G. (1977). Sampling Techniques, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Comley, P. (1996). Internet Surveys. The Use of the Internet as a Data Collection Method, ESOMAR/EMAC Research Methodologies for The New Marketing, Symposium ESOMAR Publication Services, vol. 204, 335-346. Coomber, R. (1997). Using the Internet for Survey Research, Sociological Research Online, 2, 14-23. Couper, M. (2000). Web Surveys, A Review of Issues and Approaches, Public Opinion Quarterly, 64, 464-494. Couper, M. P. , J. Blair and T. Triplett (1999). A Comparison of Mail and E-mail for a Survey of Employees in U.S. Statistical Agencies. ledger of Official Statistics, 15, 39-56. C ouper, M. P. , M. W. Traugott, M. J. Lamias (2001). Web Survey Design and Administration. Public Opinion Quarterly, 65, 230-253. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 19 de Leeuw, E. D. (1992). Data Quality in Mail, Telephone, and face to Face Surveys, Ph. D. dissertation, University of Amsterdam, ISBN 90-801073-1-X. Dillman, D. A. (2000). Mail and Internet Surveys, The Tailored Design Method, 2nd ed. , John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Dillman, D. A. , R. D. Tortora, J. Conradt and D. Bowerk (1998). Influence of Plain vs.Fancy Design on Response Rates for Web Surveys. Unpublished paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Statistical connective, Dallas, TX. Dillman, D. A. (1978). Mail and Telephone Surveys, The Total Design Method, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Everingham, S. (2001). RAND, Santa Monica, California. Personal communication. Fowler, Jr. , F. J. (1993). Survey Research Methods, 2nd ed. , Applied Social Science Research Methods Series, volume 1, SAGE Publications, Newbury Park, CA. Griffin, D. H. , D. P. Fischer, and M. T. Morgan (2001). Testing an Internet Response Option for the American Community Survey.Paper presented at the American Association for Public Opinion Research, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Groves, R. (1989). Survey Errors and Survey Costs, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Hamilton, C. H. (2001). Air Force Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, personal communication. Henry, G. T. (1990). Practical Sampling, Applied Social Research Methods Series, Volume 21, SAGE Publications, Newbury Park, CA. Jones, R. and N. Pitt (1999). Health Surveys in the Workplace Comparison of Postal, Email and World Wide Web Methods, Occupational Medicine, 49, 556-558. Kiesler, S. and L. S. Sproull (1986).Response Effects in the electronic Survey, Public Opinion Quarterly, 50, 402-413. Kish, L. (1965). Survey Sampling, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. Kittleson, M. J. (1995). An Assessment of the Response Rate Via the Postal Service and E-Mail, Health Values, 18, 27-29. McCabe, S. E. , Boyd, C. , Couper, M. P. , Crawford, S. , and H. dArcy (2002). Mode Effects for collect Health Data from College Students Internet and US Mail. Paper under review. Mehta, R. and E. Sivadas (1995). Comparing Response Rates and Response Content in Mail versus Electronic Mail Surveys, Journal of the Market Research Society, 37, 429-439.Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 20 Nichols, E. , and B. Sedivi (1998). Economic Data Collection via the Web A Census Bureau crusade Study minutes of the Section On Survey research Methods, American Statistical Association,366-371. Paolo, A. M. , Bonaminio, G. A. , Gibson, C. , Partridge, T. and K. Kallail (2000). Response Rate Comparisons of e-mail and mail distributed student evaluations, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 12, 81-84. Parker, L. (1992). Collecting Data the E-Mail Way, Training and Development, July, 5254. Pealer, L. , R. M. Weiler, R. M. Pigg, D.Miller, and S. M. Dorma n (2001). The Feasibility of a Web-Based Surveillance System to Collect Health Risk Behavior Data From College Students. Health Education & Behavior, 28, 547-559. Quigley, B. , Riemer, R. A. , Cruzen, D. E. , and S. Rosen (2000). Internet Versus Paper Survey Administration Preliminary Finding on Response Rates, 42nd Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association, Edinburgh Scotland. Raziano, D. B. , R. Jayadevappa, D. Valenzula, M. Weiner, and R. Lavizzo-Mourey (2001). E-mail Versus accomplished Postal Mail Survey of Geriatric Chiefs.The Gerontologist, 41, 799-804. Schaefer, D. R. and D. A. Dillman (1998). Development of a Standard E-mail Methodology Results of an Experiment. Public Opinion Quarterly, 62, 378-397. Schleyer, T. K. L. and J. L. Forrest (2000). Methods for the Design and Administration Web-Based Surveys, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 7, 416-425 Schillewaert, N. , F. Langerak and T. Duhamel (1998). Non-probability Samplin g for WWW Surveys A Comparison of Methods, Journal of the Market Research Society, 40, 307-322. Schonlau, M. , Fricker, R. D. , Jr. , and M.Elliott. (2002). Conducting Research Surveys via E-Mail and the Web, RAND Santa Monica, MR-1480-RC. Schuldt, B. A. and J. W. Totten (1994). Electronic Mail vs. Mail Survey Response Rates, Marketing Research, 6, 36-44. Sedivi Gaul, B. (2001a). Web Computerized Self-administered Questionnaires (CSAQ). Presentation to the 2001 Federal CASIC Workshops. U. S. Census Bureau, Computer Assisted Survey Research Office. Sedivi Gaul, B. (2001b). United States Census Bureau, Washington, D. C. Personal Communication. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 21 Sheehan, K. B. (2001).E-mail survey response rates A review. Journal of ComputerMediated Communication, 6(2). Retrieved March 9, 2002, from http//www. ascusc. org/jcmc/vol6/issue2/sheehan. html. Tse, A. C. B. , Tse, K. C. , Yin, C. H. , Ting, C. B. , Yi, K. W. , Yee, K. P. , and W. C. Hong (1995). C omparing Two Methods of Sending Out Questionnaires E-mail versus Mail, Journal of the Market Research Society, 37, 441-446. Tse, A. C. B. (1998). Comparing the Response Rate, Response Speed and Response Quality of Two Methods of Sending Questionnaires E-mail versus Mail, Journal of the Market Research Society, 40, 353-361.Tuten, T. L. , D. J. Urban, and M. Bosnjak (in press, 2002). Internet Surveys and Data Quality A Review in B. Batinic, U. Reips, M. Bosnjak, A. Werner, eds. , Online Social Sciences, Hogrefe & Huber, Seattle, 7-27. Vehovar, V. , K. Lozar Manfreda, and Z. Batagelj (1999). Web Surveys Can the Weighting Solve the Problem? Proceedings of the Section on Survey Research Methods, American Statistical Association, Alexandria, VA, 962-967. Vehovar, V. , K. Lozar Manfreda, and Z. Batagelj (2001). Sensitivity of e-commerce Measurement to the Survey Instrument.International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6, 31-51. Walsh, J. P. , S. Kiesler, L. S. Sproull, and B. W. Hesse (199 2). Self-Selected and Randomly Selected Respondents in a Computer Network Survey, Public Opinion Quarterly, 56, 241-244. Witte, J. C. , L. M. Amoroso, and P. E. N. Howard (2000). Research Methodology Method and Representation in Internet-based Survey Tools, Social Science Computer Review, 18, 179-195. Zhang, Y. (2000). Using the Internet for Survey Research A Case Study, Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 5, 57-68. Ron Fricker is a statistician at RAND.He has designed, managed, and analyzed many large surveys of national importance, including a survey of Persian disconnectedness War veterans about Gulf War Illnesses and, most recently, a survey on domestic terrorism preparedness in the United States. Dr. Fricker holds Ph. D. in Statistics from Yale University. In addition to his position at RAND, Dr. Fricker is the vice-chairman of the Committee on Statisticians in Defense and National Security of the American Statistical Association, an associate editor of Naval Research Logistics, and an adjunct assistant professor at University of Southern California.Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 22 Matthias Schonlau, Ph. D. , is an associate statistician with RAND and heads its statistical consulting service. Dr. Schonlau has extensive experience with the design and analysis of surveys in areas such as health care, military manpower and terrorism. Prior to joining RAND, he held positions with the National Institute of Statistical Sciences and with AT Labs Research. Dr. Schonlau has co-authored numerous articles as well as a recentRAND book Conducting Internet Surveys via E-mail and the Web. In 2001, he and his team won second place in the data excavation competition at the worlds largest conference on data mining KDD. Acknowledgements. The helpful and substantive comments of three anonymous reviewers and the editor significantly improved this work. Our research was back up by RAND as part of its continuing program of independent r esearch. Field Methods, Vol. 14 No. 4, 2002 347-367. 23

The management team at Aldus Corporation

The wariness team at Aldus Corporation was considering a possible reorganisation of its existing commercializeing strategies in order to suit the needs of the market more effectively. Initially, the success of the product had been based on strategic alliances with large corporations such as Apple and IBM.These strategic alliances had facilitated gravel to a large distribution network. The products marketing potential had also been enhanced through technical support which had helped both the business administrator and the professional graphics designer to make the most of the software.However this was a single product strategy which was no longer viable because the needs of the two market segments were diverging. For example, the market segment that consisted of business executives required greater user-friendliness while the market segment that consisted of professional graphics designers required a greater range of functionalities.Therefore, the management team at Aldus had to formulate strategies that would enable the existing organizational structure at Aldus to customize PageMaker to a greater extent to the needs of both segments.Although the proposed reorganization presented several difficult challenges, it was a viable one in light of the fact that both consumer segments were critical to maintaining Alduss profit potential.

Strategic Marketing Management

Guidelines for Strategic merchandising Project Elements 1. Environmental digest (SWOT) 2. Identifying Customers 3. Competitor/ tax Creation Analysis 4. trade Mix The 4 Ps 5. Financial Analysis and Budget 6. Implementation and temper purpose 1. retire Your Marketplace Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Trends and changes Market analysis section Prioritizing target tradeplaces 1. acknowledge who you atomic number 18 selling to (market analysis, segmentation, prioritizing targets) 2. Know what is important to targeted rtabooineers ( guest analysis) 3.Make sure you ar distinctively diametrical from your contender in areas of importance to targeted segments ( matched analysis, reallocation of resources if necessary, spotlighting, market intelligence) 4. tenseness caution of anyone on delivering what the guest wants ( counseling of people, monitoring and control). 5. Constant monitoring of changes in the market (market intelligence, marke t analysis, cozy feedback system) The most fundamental merchandising concept is treating customers bid you are truly interested in them.That means making sure you are meeting acquire that customers perceive as important. run across necessarily is the heartland of every marketing program. A useful tool in assessing the marketplace is SWOT. Assessing the opportunities and threats and how the note earth-closet capitalize on them or avoid them employ the besotteds strengths weaknesses 2. Who Are Your Customers? Customer/Con snapperer Trends Customers Just-in-time inventory Business to business (B2B) Manufacturing mentality Industrialization of husbandry Consumers Households with fewer people Active, on-the-go lifestyles Concern over the health aspect of food, with a desire for good taste Less time for meal prep Know What Is Important to Your Customer Get inside the forefront of your customers Find out wherefore they would buy from you. . . or wherefore they would not Truly understand their needs Intentional listening Customer analysis cultivate their problems 3. Competitor/Value Creation Analysis Make sure you are distinctively different from your competition in areas of importance to your customers Competitive analysis reallotment of resources if necessary emplacement The Value ChainThe Value Chain, or economic comfort plate, does is breakdown the functions of a smart set into its activities to provide a route to assess the internal capacities of the business. The value kitchen range categorizes the generic value-adding activities of an organization. The primary activities include inbound logistics, operations ( intersection pointion), outbound logistics, marketing and gross sales (demand), and supporters (maintenance). The support activities include administrative home management, human resource management, technology (R&D), and procurement. The damages and value drivers are identified for each value activity.The value ch ain framework quickly made its way to the forefront of management thought as a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning. 4. determine the Marketing Mix The set of controllable variables that forget accomplish the marketing objectives return scheme Place (distribution) strategy Promotion (communication) strategy set strategy Product Strategy Portfolio of Products Flavors, colors, variants, blends, genres etc Fits your strengths and weaknesses Provides acceptable risk/ regress trade take out Meets needs of a particular customer segment Quality No. 1 versus No. 2 Service Timely custom operations Pre-sorting of shred or livestock quality Volume Large and small quantities Guaranteed volumes (contract) Example McDonalds Product Package Food Fast service Fun for the kids flesh Non-smoking Consistent product Place/Distribution Strategy Location Delivery to twofold points Promotion Strategy Advertising Creating TVC, Radio copy, scratch ads, outdoor/h oardings ad, Posters, brochures and other(a) advertisements on the products Creating a logo Personal Selling Telling your customers how you create value Having lunch with the corporate customer/vendor reality Relations world a good neighbor Being involved in the community unsolved house days value Strategy Price is the cost the customer must bear in order to obtain the product. It includes list wrong discounts allowances stipend period credit terms determine Methods Value-Based Pricing make price based on buyers perception of value ( earlier than on the sellers costs) Cost-Based Pricing Add a standard markup to the cost of the product Competition-Based Pricing Set price based on following competitors prices 5. Financial Analysis and Budgeting Estimate the demand given the pricing and forward motion strategy. Determine expenses associated with deed and marketing. Determine judge cash flows. Will strategy cash flow? When? What are the critical assumpti ons of the fiscal analysis and what are the impacts of changes in those assumptions? 6. Implementation and Control Focus attention of everyone on delivering what the customer wants Management of people Monitoring and control Good servingStrategic Marketing ManagementStrategic Marketing Management Sample Exam misgivings Question 1 a. Is the PLC (Product life cycle) concept useful in developing Marketing strategies? Describe why or why not? What are the limitations of the PLC concept? A strategy is a fundamental pattern of indue and planned objectives, resource deployments, and interactions of an shaping with markets, competitors and other environmental factors. b. What are the receiptss available to Google with their Google maps (as a Pioneer firm) in the Internet search engine market?What are the advantages available to any of the follower firms in the market? c. below what conditions to pioneer and follower strategies each defend the greatest probability of long-term succ ess? Question 2 a. Explain the term sustainable militant advantage b. Discuss five (5) differentiation and five (5) overall cost leadership strategies a firm can pursuer to create sustainable competitive advantages c. What are four (4) different types of businesses based on their intended rate of product-market development as proposed by Miles and Snow? d.You are the marketing manager for a generic products division of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer. Your division is a low-cost defender that go ons its position in the generic drug market by retentivity down its costs and selling generic products to distributors and pharmacies at very low prices. What are the implications of this business strategy for each of the 4Ps in the strategic marketing political program you would develop for your division? Question 3 a. What is market orientation? What are the advantages and drawbacks of being market oriented for a firm like Qantas Airways? talk of the town 1 Market orientation is imp lementing a more customer-focused approach to marketing. This involves companies that make what they can sell as opposed to selling what they can make. Market oriented companies have a broad product line and base their pricing on perceived benefits provided as opposed to production and distribution costs as Product oriented firms do. Their research is focused on identifying new opportunities and applying new technology to satisfy customer needs as opposed to product improvement and cost cutting solutions like product oriented firms.Such companies design packaging for customer whatchamacallit and use it as a promotional tool rather than to merely protect the product or reduce costs involved and they emphasise their promotion on product benefits and ability to satisfy customer needs or solve problems (as opposed to product features, quality and price). Advantages include b. Discuss the factors that mediate a marketings strategic role within an organisation Lecture 1 Competitive facto rs affect a firms market orientation Influence of different development stages across industries and global markets Strategic Inertia . abridgment the major levels of strategy in most large, multi-product organisations Lecture 1 1. Corporate Strategy Decisions intimately the organisations scope and resource deployments across its divisions or businesses 2. Business-level strategy How a business unit competes within its industry 3. Marketing strategy (Functional) sound allocation and coordination of marketing resources and activities d. List the five components of a well-developed strategy. Lecture 1 1. Scope (breadth of the strategic domain) 2. Goals and Objectives (What is to be accomplished) 3.Resource deployments (Allocation of limited resources) 4. Identification of sustainable competitive advantage (How the organisation will compete) 5. Synergy (Whole greater than the sum of parts) Question 5 Apple computers iPods holds a commanding share of the promptly growing global marke t for digital music players. To maintain its lead as the market continues to grow, what strategic marketing objectives should Apple focus on and why? Which specific marketing actions would you recommend for accomplishing Apples objectives?Be specific with regard to each of the 4Ps in the firms marketing programme. Question 6. piece of music we have seen that a business may have a number of other strategic options, the conventional wisdom suggests that a declining business should either be divested or harvested for maximum cash flow. Under what kinds of market and competitive conditions do each of these two conventional strategies make good sense? What kinds of marketing actions are typically involved in successfully implementing a ingathering strategy?Strategic Marketing ManagementStrategic Marketing Management Sample Exam Questions Question 1 a. Is the PLC (Product life cycle) concept useful in developing Marketing strategies? Describe why or why not? What are the limitations of the PLC concept? A strategy is a fundamental pattern of present and planned objectives, resource deployments, and interactions of an organisation with markets, competitors and other environmental factors. b. What are the advantages available to Google with their Google maps (as a Pioneer firm) in the Internet search engine market?What are the advantages available to any of the follower firms in the market? c. Under what conditions to pioneer and follower strategies each have the greatest probability of long-term success? Question 2 a. Explain the term sustainable competitive advantage b. Discuss five (5) differentiation and five (5) overall cost leadership strategies a firm can pursuer to create sustainable competitive advantages c. What are four (4) different types of businesses based on their intended rate of product-market development as proposed by Miles and Snow? d.You are the marketing manager for a generic products division of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer. Your divisio n is a low-cost defender that maintains its position in the generic drug market by holding down its costs and selling generic products to distributors and pharmacies at very low prices. What are the implications of this business strategy for each of the 4Ps in the strategic marketing programme you would develop for your division? Question 3 a. What is market orientation? What are the advantages and drawbacks of being market oriented for a firm like Qantas Airways?Lecture 1 Market orientation is implementing a more customer-focused approach to marketing. This involves companies that make what they can sell as opposed to selling what they can make. Market oriented companies have a broad product line and base their pricing on perceived benefits provided as opposed to production and distribution costs as Product oriented firms do. Their research is focused on identifying new opportunities and applying new technology to satisfy customer needs as opposed to product improvement and cost cu tting solutions like product oriented firms.Such companies design packaging for customer convenience and use it as a promotional tool rather than to merely protect the product or reduce costs involved and they emphasise their promotion on product benefits and ability to satisfy customer needs or solve problems (as opposed to product features, quality and price). Advantages include b. Discuss the factors that mediate a marketings strategic role within an organisation Lecture 1 Competitive factors affect a firms market orientation Influence of different development stages across industries and global markets Strategic Inertia . Outline the major levels of strategy in most large, multi-product organisations Lecture 1 1. Corporate Strategy Decisions about the organisations scope and resource deployments across its divisions or businesses 2. Business-level strategy How a business unit competes within its industry 3. Marketing strategy (Functional) Effective allocation and coordination of marketing resources and activities d. List the five components of a well-developed strategy. Lecture 1 1. Scope (breadth of the strategic domain) 2. Goals and Objectives (What is to be accomplished) 3.Resource deployments (Allocation of limited resources) 4. Identification of sustainable competitive advantage (How the organisation will compete) 5. Synergy (Whole greater than the sum of parts) Question 5 Apple computers iPods holds a commanding share of the rapidly growing global market for digital music players. To maintain its lead as the market continues to grow, what strategic marketing objectives should Apple focus on and why? Which specific marketing actions would you recommend for accomplishing Apples objectives?Be specific with regard to each of the 4Ps in the firms marketing programme. Question 6. While we have seen that a business may have a number of other strategic options, the conventional wisdom suggests that a declining business should either be divested or harvested for maximum cash flow. Under what kinds of market and competitive conditions do each of these two conventional strategies make good sense? What kinds of marketing actions are typically involved in successfully implementing a harvesting strategy?Strategic Marketing ManagementGuidelines for Strategic Marketing Project Elements 1. Environmental Analysis (SWOT) 2. Identifying Customers 3. Competitor/Value Creation Analysis 4. Marketing Mix The 4 Ps 5. Financial Analysis and Budget 6. Implementation and Control Plan 1. Know Your Marketplace Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Trends and changes Market analysis Segmentation Prioritizing target markets 1. Know who you are selling to (market analysis, segmentation, prioritizing targets) 2. Know what is important to targeted customers (customer analysis) 3.Make sure you are distinctively different from your competition in areas of importance to targeted segments (competitive analysis, reallocation of resources if ne cessary, positioning, market intelligence) 4. Focus attention of everyone on delivering what the customer wants (management of people, monitoring and control). 5. Constant monitoring of changes in the market (market intelligence, market analysis, internal feedback system) The most fundamental marketing concept is treating customers like you are truly interested in them.That means making sure you are meeting needs that customers perceive as important. Meeting needs is the heartland of every marketing program. A useful tool in assessing the marketplace is SWOT. Assessing the opportunities and threats and how the business can capitalize on them or avoid them using the firms strengths weaknesses 2. Who Are Your Customers? Customer/Consumer Trends Customers Just-in-time inventory Business to business (B2B) Manufacturing mentality Industrialization of agriculture Consumers Households with fewer people Active, on-the-go lifestyles Concern over the health aspect of food, with a desire for good taste Less time for meal prep Know What Is Important to Your Customer Get inside the mind of your customers Find out why they would buy from you. . . or why they would not Truly understand their needs Intentional listening Customer analysis Solve their problems 3. Competitor/Value Creation Analysis Make sure you are distinctively different from your competition in areas of importance to your customers Competitive analysis Reallocation of resources if necessary Positioning The Value ChainThe Value Chain, or value plate, does is breakdown the functions of a company into its activities to provide a way to assess the internal capacities of the business. The value chain categorizes the generic value-adding activities of an organization. The primary activities include inbound logistics, operations (production), outbound logistics, marketing and sales (demand), and services (maintenance). The support activities include administrative infrastructure management, human res ource management, technology (R&D), and procurement. The costs and value drivers are identified for each value activity.The value chain framework quickly made its way to the forefront of management thought as a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning. 4. Determining the Marketing Mix The set of controllable variables that will accomplish the marketing objectives Product strategy Place (distribution) strategy Promotion (communication) strategy Pricing strategy Product Strategy Portfolio of Products Flavors, colors, variants, blends, genres etc Fits your strengths and weaknesses Provides acceptable risk/return trade off Meets needs of a particular customer segment Quality No. 1 versus No. 2 Service Timely custom operations Pre-sorting of grain or livestock quality Volume Large and small quantities Guaranteed volumes (contract) Example McDonalds Product Package Food Fast service Fun for the kids Variety Non-smoking Consistent product Place/Distribution Str ategy Location Delivery to multiple points Promotion Strategy Advertising Creating TVC, Radio copy, Print ads, outdoor/hoardings ad, Posters, brochures and other advertisements on the products Creating a logo Personal Selling Telling your customers how you create value Having lunch with the corporate customer/vendor Public Relations Being a good neighbor Being involved in the community Open house days Price Strategy Price is the cost the customer must bear in order to obtain the product. It includes list price discounts allowances payment period credit terms Pricing Methods Value-Based Pricing Set price based on buyers perception of value (rather than on the sellers costs) Cost-Based Pricing Add a standard markup to the cost of the product Competition-Based Pricing Set price based on following competitors prices 5. Financial Analysis and Budgeting Estimate the demand given the pricing and promotion strategy. Determine expenses associated with production and ma rketing. Determine anticipated cash flows. Will strategy cash flow? When? What are the critical assumptions of the financial analysis and what are the impacts of changes in those assumptions? 6. Implementation and Control Focus attention of everyone on delivering what the customer wants Management of people Monitoring and control Good luckStrategic Marketing ManagementGuidelines for Strategic Marketing Project Elements 1. Environmental Analysis (SWOT) 2. Identifying Customers 3. Competitor/Value Creation Analysis 4. Marketing Mix The 4 Ps 5. Financial Analysis and Budget 6. Implementation and Control Plan 1. Know Your Marketplace Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Trends and changes Market analysis Segmentation Prioritizing target markets 1. Know who you are selling to (market analysis, segmentation, prioritizing targets) 2. Know what is important to targeted customers (customer analysis) 3.Make sure you are distinctively different from your competit ion in areas of importance to targeted segments (competitive analysis, reallocation of resources if necessary, positioning, market intelligence) 4. Focus attention of everyone on delivering what the customer wants (management of people, monitoring and control). 5. Constant monitoring of changes in the market (market intelligence, market analysis, internal feedback system) The most fundamental marketing concept is treating customers like you are truly interested in them.That means making sure you are meeting needs that customers perceive as important. Meeting needs is the heartland of every marketing program. A useful tool in assessing the marketplace is SWOT. Assessing the opportunities and threats and how the business can capitalize on them or avoid them using the firms strengths weaknesses 2. Who Are Your Customers? Customer/Consumer Trends Customers Just-in-time inventory Business to business (B2B) Manufacturing mentality Industrialization of agriculture Consumers Households with fewer people Active, on-the-go lifestyles Concern over the health aspect of food, with a desire for good taste Less time for meal prep Know What Is Important to Your Customer Get inside the mind of your customers Find out why they would buy from you. . . or why they would not Truly understand their needs Intentional listening Customer analysis Solve their problems 3. Competitor/Value Creation Analysis Make sure you are distinctively different from your competition in areas of importance to your customers Competitive analysis Reallocation of resources if necessary Positioning The Value ChainThe Value Chain, or value plate, does is breakdown the functions of a company into its activities to provide a way to assess the internal capacities of the business. The value chain categorizes the generic value-adding activities of an organization. The primary activities include inbound logistics, operations (production), outbound logistics, marketing and sales (demand), and serv ices (maintenance). The support activities include administrative infrastructure management, human resource management, technology (R&D), and procurement. The costs and value drivers are identified for each value activity.The value chain framework quickly made its way to the forefront of management thought as a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning. 4. Determining the Marketing Mix The set of controllable variables that will accomplish the marketing objectives Product strategy Place (distribution) strategy Promotion (communication) strategy Pricing strategy Product Strategy Portfolio of Products Flavors, colors, variants, blends, genres etc Fits your strengths and weaknesses Provides acceptable risk/return trade off Meets needs of a particular customer segment Quality No. 1 versus No. 2 Service Timely custom operations Pre-sorting of grain or livestock quality Volume Large and small quantities Guaranteed volumes (contract) Example McDonalds Product Package Food Fast service Fun for the kids Variety Non-smoking Consistent product Place/Distribution Strategy Location Delivery to multiple points Promotion Strategy Advertising Creating TVC, Radio copy, Print ads, outdoor/hoardings ad, Posters, brochures and other advertisements on the products Creating a logo Personal Selling Telling your customers how you create value Having lunch with the corporate customer/vendor Public Relations Being a good neighbor Being involved in the community Open house days Price Strategy Price is the cost the customer must bear in order to obtain the product. It includes list price discounts allowances payment period credit terms Pricing Methods Value-Based Pricing Set price based on buyers perception of value (rather than on the sellers costs) Cost-Based Pricing Add a standard markup to the cost of the product Competition-Based Pricing Set price based on following competitors prices 5. Financial Analysis and Budgeting Estimate the demand given the pricing and promotion strategy. Determine expenses associated with production and marketing. Determine anticipated cash flows. Will strategy cash flow? When? What are the critical assumptions of the financial analysis and what are the impacts of changes in those assumptions? 6. Implementation and Control Focus attention of everyone on delivering what the customer wants Management of people Monitoring and control Good luck