Aloha Case Essay Example for Free

Aloha Case Essay 1. What should be Alohas competitive strategy? Low cost? It is difficult for Aloha to compete with the industry giants like Nestle, PG and Phillips Morris on low cost. The reason is simple volume. These industry giants have much higher volume than Aloha and enjoy a tremendous advantage in economies of scale. It is probably suicidal for Aloha to try to adopt a low cost strategy. It will probably be crushed like an ant, unless the giants play â€Å"oligopolists† and charge high prices to maximize profits. Differentiation; i.e., selling gourmet coffee a la. Starbuck? It is probably easier for Aloha to position itself as a gourmet coffee maker, catering to the yuppie type and charging a premium price for a coffee experience different from that offered by â€Å"regular† brands. Differentiation seems to be the choice strategy for small companies in that its success does not rely on size or volume; anyone with little resources but a great idea can be the David that slays the industry Goliaths. Examples abound: Ben Jerry in ice cream and Paul Newman in spaghetti source. In fact, while the case tells us little in this regard, I suspect that Aloha has been able to survive in this competitive industry for all these years and seems to be thriving entirely because it started out occupying a special market niche and positioning its coffee as a gourmet brand. 2. How should the roasting plants, and marketing and purchasing departments be evaluated? Roasting Plants Given the differentiation strategy, the roasting plants should be treated as a profit center, as it is already now. That is because the differentiation strategy can be successfully implemented only if the quality of the coffee lives up to its image as a gourmet brand, and evaluating plant managers on profit, rather on cost alone, motivates the managers to constantly improve the quality of the coffee and maintain it at high levels. In contrast with plant managers evaluated on cost alone, plant managers evaluated on profit are penalized if they sacrifice quality on the altar of cost minimization; when quality declines, so will revenue and profit. On the other hand, if Aloha pursues a low cost strategy, then the plant managers should be evaluated on cost control alone. For a firm adopting a low cost strategy, volume is the king in order to achieve economies of scale and the customers targeted are less conscious of the quality of the coffee brands they drink. Thus, keeping cost down would be the primary objective for the plant managers. Marketing Department Since Aloha positions itself as a gourmet coffee maker, the objective for the marketing department is to keep both the price and gross margins high. Volume would not be very important as the firm knows that it only appeals to a limited group of coffee connoisseurs. Thus, the marketing department should be treated as a revenue center and annual evaluation of its performance should be based on a comparison of actual prices with target prices. Alternatively, marketing could be treated as a â€Å"pseudo† profit center with its â€Å"profit† defined as sales minus standard cost of coffee sold. If a low cost strategy is pursued, then the marketing department should be treated as a revenue center as well. But the focus now is on volume, or more precisely, volume growth. Thus, the marketing manager and his lieutenants should be constantly reminded of the importance of sales growth over time and be rewarded for good sales growth. Purchasing Department The purchasing department currently purchases coffee on both the spot and forwards markets. The policy is to make purchase commitments (forward contracts) based on maximum potential plant requirements and sell the rest on the spot market. That sounds like speculation. One may argue Aloha should meet its need for coffee beans only on the spot market and refrain from the speculation business, which is distracting attention from is main business grinding and selling gourmet coffee. A counter argument is that good coffee traders probably can spot market trends others cannot and are able to reduce the cost of coffee beans by purchasing forward contracts. I question that argument because it is doubtful that any market participants can â€Å"beat the market† and consistently purchase coffee beans on the forwards market at a lower cost than on the spot market. One drawback of the policy of buying forward contracts is it allows the purchasing department to transfer the most costly coffee beans to the plants and make the plants shoulder losses from their trading mistakes. Buying on the spot markets means that the purchased amount is equal to the need of the plants for coffee beans, and thus the purchasing department would not be able to burden the plants with high-cost beans and keep low-cost beans for themselves to boost trading profit. If the purchasing department is forbidden to play the forwards market, performance evaluation for the department is easy. It would be treated as a cost center, and the cost it incurs for coffee bean purchases will be compared with market price averages in the periods that the purchases take place.

Isolation of Casein from Milk and Powdered Milk

Isolation of Casein from Milk and Powdered Milk 1.1 Introduction (Walsh, 2002) stated that, proteins are biological macromolecules composed of amino acids proteins consist of one or more polypeptide which are the chain of amino acids interconnected by peptide bonds.Alberts et al., (2013) detailed that, amino acids of proteins is either hydrophobic or hydrophilic in nature. Therefore the resulting polypeptide chain shows an amphipathic characteristic. Hydrophilic amino acids exist peripherally in some biological system and they are highly water soluble. Whereas some amino acid does not exist the polar groups to the environment. ‘’The most important factors that influence protein solubility are structure, size, charge and the solvent‘’ (Burgess, and Deutscher, 2009). Also Burgess, and Deutscher (2009) stated that, once the precipitation obtained, the solution can be separated by centrifugation or precipitation. ‘’Protein precipitates are aggregates of protein molecular large enough to be visible and to be collected by centrifugation. The distribution of hydrophilic and hydrophobic residues at the surface of a protein determines its solubility properties‘’. (Rosenburg, 2006). Precipitation is mainly done for concentrate the target protein. And it is attained by adding reagents such as salts (ammonium sulfate) or organic solvents (acetone or ethanol). (Hatti-Kaul and Mattiasson, 2003) 1.1.1 Isolation of casein Milk contains three kinds of proteins: caseins, lactalbumins, and lactoglobulins, all of which are globular proteins. (Spurlock, 2014). Ahluwalia and Dhingra, (2005) stated that, Casein is a combination of phosphoproteins presenting in milk and cheese.it is existing to the amount of 3% in milk along with 4-5% of lactose and 3-4% of fats and the rest is water. Caseins exist in micelles which are composed of sub micelles linked by the characteristic of hydrocolloid which are freely suspended in the aqueous phase of milk. (Tarte, 2009). Casein can be electrophoretically fractioned into four major components: alpha-, beta-, gamma-and kappa- casein. Casein develops precipitation from milk at pH 4.6, which has a negative charge when compare to the pH of the milk. Therefor it can be precipitate as salt by adding acids. (Miller, Jarvis and McBean, 2006). 1.2 Objectives To learn the methods of protein precipitation and to relate the solubility of protein with its structure. To learn the methods of isolation of casein from milk and to determine the percentage of casein presented in the (powdered) milk. 1.3 Materials Test tubes Beakers Pipette Clamp Filtering paper Electronic balance Watch glass Bunsen burner Albumin sample Ammonium sulfate Sodium hydroxide Copper sulfate Ethanol Picric acid Lead nitrate Powdered milk Warm water 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Precipitation by salts Albumin, 3.00ml was taken into a test tube, ammonium sulfate was added to it and was mixed until the solution gets saturated. The solution was allowed to stand for about 5 minutes and filtered by using filter paper. The biuret test was done to the filtered solution. 3.00 ml of filtered solution was taken into another test tube and same amount of NaOH was added to it, CuSO4 was added drop by drop. 1.4.2 Precipitation by organic solvents Albumin, 1.00 ml was taken into a test tube using a pipette. And 4.00 ml of ethanol was added .the solution was mixed well and was allowed to stand. 1.4.3 Precipitation by acidic agents Picric acid solution, 1.00 ml was added into 1.00ml of albumin solution. 1.4.4 Precipitation by heavy metal ions Lead nitrate, 8 drops were added into 1.00 ml of albumin. 1.4.5 Precipitation by heat and acid Albumin, 10 ml was taken into a test tube and the upper part of the solution was held over the Bunsen flame. After the observation few drops of 1% acetic acid were added. 1.4.6 Isolation of casein Powdered milk (non-fat), 17.5 g was weighed by using electronic balance and was dissolved by adding 62.5 ml of warm water in a 200ml beaker. Acetic acid (10%) was added in a drop wise manner with stirring until the liquid changes in to clear solution. the obtained solution was filtered by using clamp, filtering material and beaker. The yield casein was allowed to dry and was weighed using electronic balance. Biuret test was done for the filtered solution. 3.00 ml of filtered solution was taken into another test tube and same amount of NaOH was added to it, CuSO4 was added drop by drop. 1.5 Results Test Observation Interference Precipitation by metal ions White color precipitation Proteins can be precipitated by metal ions(positive for proteins) Precipitation by heat and acid Initially cloudy white precipitation was observed on the upper part of the solution and by adding acetic acid white color precipitation was observed. Proteins can be precipitate by heat and acid(positive for proteins) Precipitation by organic solvents White color precipitation was observed Proteins can be precipitate by organic solvents(positive for proteins) Precipitation by acidic agent White color precipitation was observed Proteins can be precipitate by acidic agents. (positive for proteins) Precipitation of salts Biuret test White color precipitation was observed. Purple color ring was observed Proteins can be precipitate by salts. Positive for proteins. Isolation of casein Biuret test for filtration Casein 13.01g was weighed Purple color ring was formed in filtered casein solution Yield %= Ãâ€" 100 = Ãâ€" 100 = 74.30% Positive for proteins. 1.6 Discussions Precipitation of protein can be obtained by isoelectric precipitation method. ‘’isoelectric precipitation is the most widely used method’ (Fox and McSweeney, 2003). Proteins can be precipitated by bringing their pH to its isoelectric point in which protein solubility is very low. (Shankara, 2008) Proteins can be precipitate by salts in two ways, half saturation with ammonium sulfate and full saturation with ammonium sulfate. Rashmi, (2002) stated that, different proteins show different precipitation reaction towards diverse agents. The full saturation with ammonium sulfate was done in the laboratory. Also the filtrate was tested by biuret reagent, resulted purple color. ‘Compounds with two or more peptide bonds give a violet color with alkaline copper sulfate’ (Rashmi, 2002) Proteins are strong in solution when they are enclosed by entirely hydrogen-bonded water molecules, as water molecules with additional hydrogen bonding ability have greater entropy and are more aggressive. (Chaplin, 2014) hydrated sphere decrease the non -polarity. Higher the diameter of the sphere higher the solubility. For an example, it is easy to precipitate globulin from proteins by adding salts, than albumin because globulin has small diameter of hydrated sphere when compare to albumin. The similar concept is used in precipitating proteins by organic solvents and acidic agents. Organic solvents remove the hydrated sphere and decrease solubility resulting increase precipitation. Acids neutralize the polarity of the hydrated sphere and decrease solubility in order to increase precipitation. Denaturation occur on heating or adding acidic agents to proteins. Therefor its change the polarity of a protein by changing the arrangements of polar and non-polar groups within the molecule. Less polarity decrease the solubility and increases the precipitation. Precipitation by heavy metal ions lead nitrate was used instead of lead acetate or mercuric nitrate. Shankara(2008) stated that, metal ions which are positively charged interrelate with negatively charged groups of the protein producing precipitation as metal-proteinate complex. According to the percentage of yield and from the result of biuret test of the filtrate, there can be some proteins present in the filtrate. Because, the milk contains about 3.5% protein by weight and of the total protein, about 80% is casein and 20% is whey protein. (Miller, Jarvis and McBean, 2006) Filtration of casein can be done in two ways. Such as, gravitational filtration and sucktional filtration. 1.7. Conclusion Proteins were precipitated by using metal ions, heat, organic solvents, acidic agents and salts. The percentage of yield casein of the sample is 74.30%. References Ahluwalia, V. and Dhingra, S. (2005). College Practical Chemistry. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=1OgRECl_nwMCpg=PA276dq=isolation+of+caseinhl=ensa=Xei=s0rBU_jZEtOzuATSzICACgved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepageq=isolation of caseinf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Alberts, B., Bray, D., hopkin, K., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K. and Walter, P. (2013). Essential Cell Biology, Fourth Edition. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=Cg4WAgAAQBAJpg=PA371dq=proteins+and+hydrophilic+and+hydrophobichl=ensa=Xei=oj7BU-jdAYaUuATRyYCwDgved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepageq=proteins and hydrophilic and hydrophobicf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Burgess,, R. and Deutscher, M. (2009). Guide to Protein Purification. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=f6Lp4yna4hoCpg=PA118dq=protein+precipitationhl=ensa=Xei=W-jAU4icLtChugSK0IDoDgredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=protein precipitationf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Chaplin, M. (2014). Home | London South Bank University. [Online] Www1.lsbu.ac.uk. Available at: http://www1.lsbu.ac.uk/ [Accessed 13 Jul. 2014]. Fox, P. and McSweeney, P. (2003). Advanced Dairy Chemistry: Volume 1: Proteins, Parts AB. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=RMNkAc5PkVECpg=PA5dq=isoelectric+precipitation+of+proteinhl=ensa=Xei=MmPBU4yaIs-SuATO_IKIBgved=0CCsQ6AEwAw#v=onepageq=isoelectric precipitation of proteinf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Hatti-Kaul, R. and Mattiasson, B. (2003). Isolation and Purification of Proteins. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=CdHn45QCU_8Cpg=PA226dq=protein+precipitationhl=ensa=Xei=W-jAU4icLtChugSK0IDoDgredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=protein precipitationf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Miller, G., Jarvis, J. and McBean, L. (2006). Handbook of Dairy Foods and Nutrition, Third Edition. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=5tleQ0aLJvoCpg=PA1dq=components+of++milkhl=ensa=Xei=RQzCU8_-EI-_uAS2kYCQBwved=0CD0Q6AEwBw#v=onepageq=components of milkf=false [Accessed 13 Jul. 2014]. Rashmi, J. (2002). A Textbook of Practical Biochemistry. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=wBfAshZ3ZaUCprintsec=frontcoverdq=bio+chemistry+lab+practicalshl=ensa=Xei=XGrBU6i9ENWRuASr9oL4Bwved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepageq=bio chemistry lab practicalsf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Rosenburg, (2006). Protein Analysis and Purification. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=gi-UgCF8G6ECpg=PA143dq=protein+precipitationhl=ensa=Xei=W-jAU4icLtChugSK0IDoDgredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=protein precipitationf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Shankara, (2008). Practical Biochemistry 2008. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=nPphGdHO_XcCprintsec=frontcoverdq=bio+chemistry+lab+practicalshl=ensa=Xei=XGrBU6i9ENWRuASr9oL4Bwved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepageq=bio chemistry lab practicalsf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Spurlock, D. (2014). Deborah Spurlocks Chemistry Homepage. [Online] Homepages.ius.edu. Available at: http://homepages.ius.edu/DSPURLOC/ [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014]. Tartà ©, R. (2009). Ingredients in Meat Products. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=C-wrQaaXxj0Cpg=PA132dq=principle+of+milk+proteinhl=ensa=Xei=lgjCU_DhDZGTuASf_oGoAgved=0CCcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepageq=principle of milk proteinf=false [Accessed 13 Jul. 2014]. Walsh, G. (2002). Proteins. [Online] Google Books. Available at: http://books.google.lk/books?id=EXTEjL2wTnYCprintsec=frontcoverdq=proteinhl=ensa=Xei=oEjBU4nXFZeTuAS62YGYDQved=0CD8Q6AEwBg#v=onepageq=proteinf=false [Accessed 12 Jul. 2014].

The Bogart Essay -- essays research papers

Have you ever wondered how great it would be to inherit a castle in Scotland? What if it was haunted by a sprit called a Boggart? The book I read called The Boggart by Susan Cooper is a story based on something like that happening. The main story takes place in Toronto, Canada. The Volink family inherited a castle in Scotland from Mr. McDevon the mother’s uncle. The two children in the story are Emily and Jessup. Emily is the oldest. She is smart brave and very sensitive towards the Boggart, once she understood him. Jessup is very smart, loves computers, and was a member of a computer gang called the Gang 5. The parents of Emily and Jessup were Robert and Maggie Volink. Robert works in the theater and Maggie owns and runs an antique store. The Volink family were excited and amazed that they inherited a castle. But what the Volink’s did not know was that a spirit called a Boggart lived there. The Boggart is a sprit that is neither good or bad. He mainly plays practical jokes on people. It is like a little child that can be friendly towards mortals. Boggarts cannot be seen or heard.. The Volink family sold the castle right away because it would be to expensive to keep. Emily and Jessup kept two pieces of furniture to bring home. What they didn’t realize was that a Boggart was sleeping in the desk they took home. When the Boggart got up he realized he was no longer home in Scotland in his castle. As the Boggart got comfortable he began his practical jokes in Toronto. He wou...

Manhattan Project :: essays research papers

Manhattan Project II. The Race for the Bomb The theoretical possibility that an explosion could be brought about by atomic fission became known in 1939, the year that war broke out in Europe. Scientists discovered then that uranium atoms can fission when struck by neutrons to split other atoms in a chain reaction, releasing large amounts of energy. Two Hungarian physicists who had recently emigrated to the United States, Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner, alerted the US government to the possibility of an atomic bomb. Along with Albert Einstein, they wrote a letter to President Roosevelt warning that Nazi Germany might also be working towards a uranium bomb; many of the important discoveries in atomic physics had been made at German universities. Roosevelt responded by setting up an advisory committee on uranium in October 1939. Under the aegis of this committee, American scientists at several centres examined the problem. The uranium that fissions is an isotope, a variation of an element that is chemically indistinguishable but different in its atomic structure. It is uranium-235, which constitutes only 0.7 per cent of uranium. Scientists questioned whether significant quantities could ever be separated. Much of the initial work was done at Columbia University in New York, and the military direction was from an office in Manhattan. This was located in the Manhattan Engineering District, and the whole programme became the Manhattan Project, under the command of Major General Leslie Groves. Meanwhile, in Britain, two immigrant physicists, the Austrian Otto Frisch and the German Rudolf Peierls, decided that an atomic explosion using uranium-235 was a practical possibility. They alerted the British authorities in early 1940 with a memorandum showing how such a bomb could be produced. After more studies, the British government set up a project to build an atomic bomb. The United States and Britain exchanged information on weapons developments. British progress towards an atomic bomb convinced American scientists in the summer of 1941 that it could be done, and spurred on their work. In November 1941 a committee of scientists recommended that the United States embark on an all-out research programme, and President Roosevelt gave the go-ahead the following January.

The War of Northern Aggression Analyzed from the Confederate Viewpoint :: American America History

The War of Northern Aggression Analyzed from the Confederate Viewpoint Thesis: The world today is blinded from the truth about the "Civil War" just like they are the truth of the creation vs. evolution debate. They're blinded in the same way as well, misleading text books. The truth is that the North, Lincoln, etc. weren't as great as they claimed to be, and that they went to illegal measures for an unjust cause. The public school system was used as a tool of the government and still is to skew the American mind into believing whatever it wants. For example: at the present time the school child has evolution drilled into their head as fact, even though it has already been accounted for as false. The C.S.A. (Confederate States of America) President Jefferson Davis actually predicted this. He taught that if the South lost, then the North would write it's history. Therefore, the generations to come wouldn't understand the Confederate call for independence (Kennedy 17). The public school system was put into effect after the North won the war. It's plan was to appeal with a free education, which it did. Then it used it's captives in it's scheme of confusing them about their parents cause. They were fed by such lies as the Confederates were prejudice slave-holders who beat black people for fun. This, of course, was very successful. Now a people who once believed in the federal government was here to help the states reach common goals, believe it's their supreme authority. One of the lies that has already been mentioned is that the "Civil War" is over slavery. This is one of the most dead wrong statements that one could think of. First of all, 70 to 80 percent of Southern soldiers didn't even own slaves (Kennedy 34). People just don't get motivated enough to give up their life over whether their neighbor is going to be able to continue having something. One soldier in the Confederate army claimed, "I declare I never met a Southern soldier who had drawn his sword to perpetuate slavery." Secondly, even for the few slaveholders in the war, C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis, their leader, predicted that all slave property "will eventually be lost" no matter what the outcome (Kennedy 35). Why would a slaveholder risk his life to keep a slave that his leader already told him he'll lose in the future?

Defeat in The Old Man and the Sea Essay

â€Å"As human beings, our greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.† To achieve a goal in life, man must persevere through all pain and suffering and continue to search for the light at the end of the dark tunnel. The journey of The Old Man and the Sea describes struggle and the will to discipline oneself to achieve an aspiration. An old fisherman, Santiago, is faced with exactly that; he has a dream of ending an eighty-four day streak without catching a fish and has to use all of his will power to overcome the sea’s obstacles. Because Santiago successfully catches the great marlin by fighting through physical fatigue, Hemmingway, in The Old Man and the Sea, proves â€Å"a man can be destroyed but not defeated.† In the prolonged struggle between the fish and the old man his conscience questioned his justifications for battling such a great creature. Always in the back of his mind was the young boy who he valued for friendship and companionship. These ideals helped Santiago remember his discipline for fishing and his integrity for his own manhood. The pain and suffering the old man must endure to overcome the sea’s adversity help to justify Santiago’s rebirth of manhood. His legendary journey provides mental and physical altercations Santiago must survive in order to prove to himself that he is still a man capable of catching fish. Society labels Santiago as an unlucky fisherman for not catching any fish for 85 days, and yet ignore his skills as a wise, witty fisherman. â€Å"It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.†(32) Santiago coordinates good luck with offerings from the sea. He also said, in order to catch the big fish I must go out far enough where the great one will be distracting death for his own adversity with the open sea. He almost distains fate into his situation with the fish by taking all the pain and suffering his body endures to complete his desires. â€Å"He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and into dullness that he mistrusted.†(74) Once both the fish and Santiago had reached the breaking point of conflict the story seemed to slow down in time to exemplify the adverse conditions that both characters were suffering from. For eighty-four days, the old man, Santiago, has not caught any fish. Because of this, the old man’s fishing partner and pupil, Manolin, whom the old man loved like his own son and taught since he was five, has not been permitted to fish with him but has been forced by his parents to fish in a more productive boat. On the eighty-fifth day Santiago sets out to the deep recesses of the sea, certain that this would be the day when he would catch his big fish. He eventually does catch a marlin, but the struggle has only begun. For two days Santiago holds the line that is attached to the fish, and he suffers though tremendous obstacles to kill the great marlin. After harpooning the fish, he straps the marlin against the skiff and heads for home, doubting if the victory was real. The obstacles, however, were not yet over. The blood drawn from the fish brought the scent into the water, and it was not long until a mako shark began to take its bite out of the marlin. In protection of his fish, Santiago hit the shark with the harpoon. With the mako dead, shovel-nosed sharks came to the fish to get their chance to devour it. Bravely, Santiago fights with all the weapons he has, thus causing him great physical pain, and an injury to his chest. Despite his courageous fight, it is to no avail for when he arrives at his town only the carcass is left The old man proves himself worthy of personal suffering with the cuts and scars on his hands and back along with all of the pulling and slipping the cords had upon his fragile body. Hemmingway shows in a big way how an out of proportioned conflict with an old fisherman and an 18 foot long marlin helps to magnify the significance of Santiago searching for his rebirth to manhood. With constant abstraction describing the fish and the sea in relation to brotherhood create interesting questions for Santiago to ponder. His rationalization for his fishing is that he was born to do it. â€Å"A man can be destroyed but not defeated.† (103) Hemmingway proves that this fish represents all of Santiago’s built up tension to total the size of a gigantic marlin that is perceived as devastating but not unconquerable. The cause of a man’s destruction is in his own hands. The free will given to man enables him choose his own path to follow. The twist and turns of the life can change man’s perception of himself, leading him only to self-destruct through his own actions. By losing, the man is not defeated; he has fallen to the ground. Is this his end, his defeat? No. Because, man is given a light that lifts up spirits in a time of need picking them up off the cold, hard earth to try once more. No matter, the depths of destruction in which a man may find himself, the light never goes out. Despite being broken down to what feels to be his destruction, the light allows him to rebuild, never being entirely defeated.

Eastman Kodak Marketing Strategy Essay

Q1. Summarize the market characteristics and trends. In the photo film market the major suppliers were Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and 3M. Fuji and Kodak sold only branded product whereas Agfa and 3M sold their film as branded product as well as to other firms in private label. Total Market In 1993 the total market was around 670 million 24 – exposure rolls. Typically a consumer paid between $2.5 and $3.5 for a 24 exposure rolls. So in average they used to pay $3 for a 24 exposure roll. So Total Market = 670million * 3=2 billion Market Share The market within USA was monopoly as Kodak’s market share was about 70%. But worldwide, the market was competitive. Fuji was a strong competitor in worldwide sales (Fuji -$10 billion, Kodak – $20 billion). Appendix A depicts the unit market share of Kodak in U.S. Market Growth The market’s annual unit growth rate was averaged only 2%. So this is basically a fully developed mature market. We can categorize this market as Cash Cow according to the BCG growth share matrix. The annua l growth of Kodak had been only 3%which is much lesser in compare to the rivals. Appendix B depicts the annual growth rate of different companies. Consumer Information Consumer were less educated about the technical aspects of film and view it as a commodity often focusing on price alone to purchase. Appendix C depicts the graph showing the consumer buying pattern trend. Price Tier Based on the price tiers there were multiple category of brands (i.e. Superpremium, Premium Economy & Price) available in the market. Appendix D depicts the price tier ranges. Superpremium brands were not the major sellers . For Premium products of Kodak, the gross margin was approximately 70%.It seems that Kodak implemented market skimming price strategy to handle Premium products. Fuji’s gross margin was about 55% for the economy brands. The margin of  Price product was lower. This lower price brand was targeted towards the segment of customers where consumers were less educated about photography and focused on price alone to purchase. Appendix E depicts the different distribution channel of the overall photo film market. Q4. Considering introduction of Funtime and ignoring Royal Gold, calculate the market shares of Funtime and Gold Plus that would make Kodak indifferent to introduce Funtime or take no action. Evaluate how realistic it is to improve profits with introduction of Funtime taking into account the existing market segments and plausible competitive reaction. Reasons for failure of Funtime The first problem is that they plan not to advertise. This seems to be a mistake because funtime is a new product for the consumers. Consumers need to be educated that they have a new product offering and they need to know what the value proposition is. However, if there is no education of the product, which could lead to consumers to believe that Kodak is offering less quality for their existing products, rather than rolling out a new lower price alternative. In case of failure of the funtime, Kodak Gold and Royal Gold would be able to maintain the same share of the market currently because of brand Loyalty and separate segment of customers targeted. The extra expenses done (packaging, features, styling) to release this product would be a loss for Kodak. But in the near future as the price sensitive customer segment remained unserved by Kodak and growth in private label film activity will decrease the market share of Kodak. Reasons for Success of Funtime and side effects on the market shares Making a move to enter the Economy Tier is a smart play for Kodak. The market appears to be heading toward price being the most important dimension for consumer. So the customer segment who tend to view film as a commodity and often buy on price alone (Price Sensitive Customer Segment) is the main target of funtime. A few of their ideas seem to make sense: For instance, it is probably a good idea they only offer limited speeds. This would probably be sufficient for consumers who are buying in this tier. Also, making them available in value packs seems like a good idea because they will be able to sell more units (rolls) of film this way. Positive Side effects and Market Share: If launching funtime is successful then the market share of Kodak Gold would  remain the same because of its loyalty and brand, Ektar market share will be converted to Royal gold share because of its special segment offering (special occasion) and finally funtime will be able to target the price sensitive segment .As a result the market share of Kodak should be restored back to 75% or more in the upcoming years. As shown in exhibit 2 there would be definite loss of revenue of Fuji and Others. Polaroid and Private market share will remain unaffected as they are out of scope market for Kodak. Negative Side effects and Market Share:Now there are few major drawbacks. As the offer is limited throughout the year consumers may just wait until that time of year to buy fun time film instead of buying their other Kodak products that are available year round. This can cannibalize Kodak’s Gold Plus market share in premium category. Kodak Gold Plus was the flagship brand of Kodak and Kodak’s gross margins were believed to be about 70%.So if the market share of Kodak Gold Plus reduces it may lead to huge loss for Kodak as a whole. As shown in Exhibit 2 though the market share of funtime has increased and it has snatched 5% (Fuji + others) from competitors but it has also capability to cannibalize the market share of Gold Plus which can reduce 10% or more. Like Kodak Gold Plus if we keep the same assumption that the gross profit margin is 70%, retailer’s margin is 20% for funtime then we will be able to see (Exhibit 1) that the profit earned for Kodak Gold plus is $0.39 per unit. Exhibit 3 shows that the total revenue from market has been (1777 – 1692) =85 million dollars It can also be stated that as being limited throughout the year the market growth of fun time will be very less. Also lowering industry profitability by reducing average price of film would keep the customer expectation of lo wer prices in the future product release.