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1:

1.

Segment A

I would recommend upper-middle class, outgoing single women. In addition, I would suggest developing their market plan to also entice single males as well. Though they aren’t the main target audience, they do make up enough of the potential market to be worth pursuing. In addition, keeping your segmentation base slightly more open may reap benefits in the event the brand gains popularity (Malcom, 2012).

Segment B

Males aged 13-35 would be my recommendation. The 13-21 year olds make up the largest segment so they would naturally want to target them. The 22-35 year olds make up the same amount as the 9-12 year olds. However, it is more likely that the older of the two groups have the expendable income available for video games.

2.

First, I think it depends on the style of watch. For high-end watches (think Rolex), I would include style and quality. For traditional everyday wristwatches, I would include price and reliability. Someone who can afford an expensive watch likely isn’t too concerned with the price but rather the status symbol the watch represents which to them means more (Bijmolt, Velden 2012). However, though they are willing to look past the price tag, they would likely expect it to be very reliable and stylish. On the other hand (no pun intended), for the traditional watch I would include price and dependability.

3.

Barnes & Noble

I have them at high price, high quality, widely available and lightly promoted. Their struggles are related to the fact many people are moving towards e-readers and away from hard copy books. They have tried numerous things to include adding more food vendors and merchandising. That is changing their entire business model, which in it of itself is a huge undertaking. With that said, I feel they need to move towards lower price if they wish to hang on to any part of the retail book portion. Chances are the new things they incorporate in their stores are not going to be Barnes & Noble exclusive. Meaning the Starbucks they now have in there can be found on about any street corner. What they will have is their backbone of selling books. Instead of focusing on only new book releases, they can start to incorporate older books or specialize in offering all publications from popular authors for example. This could allow them to attract a new part of the market while they rebuild their brand.

4.

World-class, industry-leading companies require the highest quality employees. Adding me will bring years of experience and proven success to your team.

References

McDonald, Malcolm. Market Segmentation : How to Do It and How to Profit from It, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bellevue-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1040905.

Bijmolt, T., & Velden, M. (2012). Multiattribute perceptual mapping with idiosyncratic brand and attribute sets. Marketing Letters, 23(3), 585–601. https://doi-org.ezproxy.bellevue.edu/10.1007/s1100...


2:

Working as a consultant for a Boston-based consulting agency I would go after the “go for it” quadrant or the most profitable and strategic fit for the respective needs. For the national grocer I am going to go after the Single women client for the new Lean Cuisine product because piecing together the single woman, the attributes of potentially being a stay at home mom, a working mom, or career focused woman suggest that she provides for others such as her kids in addition to her or may not have the time to make a meal as others do being on the go. She is going to buy this product for survival. For the game console I would go after the education client because this impacts individual parents on various levels such as in a county, state, or federally meaning more potential revenue to come in and more clients to position ourselves to.

Aside from the cost of the watch and the quality of the watch that is depicted in Chapter 5 already I might consider the exclusivity of the watch. An example of this would be that certain cars you have to have a certain amount of income to qualify for due to how expensive the cars are which creates a sense of exclusivity that no other car can have.

A recognizable name and staple in history due to its catalogs and variety of offerings, Sears, unfortunately filed for bankruptcy. Although there maybe some internal issues that need to be addressed with the company being a good steward of its money, I do feel that changing its positioning would drastically help but maybe not save the company. Personally, when I think of sears I think of my grandparents having large catalogs that they use to order things through and this unfortunately doesn’t help the reputation that Sears has. In addition to this its low prices and low quality doesn’t help with making its offerings relevant with the next wave of generations that will have a lot of buying power. As a consultant I would do focus groups with existing sears customer and with non-sears customer to understand the perception of Sears and to “prevent challenges regarding the potential for bias” (Mansell I, Bennett G, Northway R, Mead D, & Moseley2014). According to Englund “Communicating results is almost important as achieving the results” (Englund 2015). The customer not having a voice could silently kill the company. The focus group could easily point out why Sears is not a relevant as it used to be. I would focus on closing deals with relevant brands that Sears can offer and phases out the less relevant products and then leverage social media and major influencers to bring attention to various promotions that we may offer.

As a consultant to your management team at Apple, my graduate level education and years of management experience will allow me to monitor and develop the customer experience to match the integrity of your products and services.

Englund, R. L., & Bucero, A. (2015). Project Sponsorship : Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success (Vol. Second edition). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.bellevue.edu/login?url=http://searc...

Mansell I, Bennett G, Northway R, Mead D, & Moseley L. (2004). The learning curve: the advantages and disadvantages in the use of focus groups as a method of data collection. Nurse Researcher, 11(4), 79–88. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.bellevue.edu/login?url=http://searc...


3:

2. Discuss the factors that influence internal pay structures. Based on your own experience, which ones do you think are the most important? Why?

There are numerous factors that influence internal pay structures. These influencing factors are both external and organizational. One example of an external influence is economic pressures. The influence of economic pressures can be seen in supply and demand of labor where there is a need for a particular job there is likely to be better pay. “The elasticity of demand for the organization’s product/service puts a lid on the maximum pay level it can afford” (Delaney 2000). Also when looking at marginal productivity as an example employers will pay based on what an employee can produce if the value of that is equal to the value they receive in wages. “A structure based on job value determines wages (compensation) through an analysis of the worth of the incumbent jobs, in relation to their contribution to the goals of the organization” (Delaney 2000).

Government policies, laws, and regulations can also influence internal pay structures. There are rules and regulations put in place by The Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act that forbids discrimination of an employee based on their age, gender, race, religion, or national origin. This can be seen not only in how employees are hired but in how they are paid as organizations are required to provide equal pay for equal work. This also affects the minimum pay requirements for a position. “The most obvious place to affect an internal structure is at the minimums and maximums” (Gerhart, Milkovich & Newman 2017). The cost of living for a particular area can also affect the pay structure as some places may pay more dependent upon the living wage.

Another external factor are cultures and customs. For instance a group with shared mind-sets might view a pay structure in a particular way “shared mind-sets may judge what size pay differential is fair” (Gerhart, Milkovich, & Newman 2017).

Organizational structure and strategies heavily influence the internal pay structures as well. In order to have a functioning pay strategy/structure the organization’s strategy and the pay structures must be aligned, but also adaptable to new situations and circumstance. The organization’s work design can also influence the pay as technology is another important organization factor that influences that design. “Technology that can be used to produce goods and services influences the organizational design, the work to be performed, and the skills/knowledge required to perform the work” (Gerhart, Milkovich, & Newman 2017).

The human capital of a company is another major influence. Human capital is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “the skills the labor force possesses and is regarded as a resource or asset” (Human Capital 2018). This can be considered the education, experience, knowledge abilities, and skills that an individual possesses. The greater the skill a person possesses the greater the value of their work. This in turn leads to more pay based on those skills. This also places value on education and courses to advance an employee’s knowledge and skill set. “Learning is one of the most fundamental human activities and accounts directly or indirectly for the success of any organization” (Gleeson 2018).

There are other human resource policies as well that can influence the pay structure. This includes monetary devices such as raises and bonuses that are used to help entice employees to apply for a higher-level position. If a company has more levels it can offer even more promotions which will help motivate employees and “offer a sense of career progress to employees” (Gerhart, Milkovich, & Newman 2017).

Looking through all of these pay structures I can see where each has its own influences. From technology to economic pressures, laws, and strategies there is a wise variety of both external and organizational influences. Through my own experience the factor I find the most important is human capital. Human capital places value on what the employee can provide including education and a skill set. To me that is motivation to learn more and do better in order to be rewarded. For instance at my last job there were insurance classes we could take to be certified for new accounts. Each course brought a new skill set and knowledge to the job and each certification helped during yearly reviews when raises and bonuses were handed out. Those that took advantage and wanted to further their career and increase their capital were rewarded for the work they put in to grow their skill set.

References:

Newman, J., Gerhart, B., Milkovich, G., (2017). Compensation. McGraw-Hill Education. New York, NY.

Gleeson, P. (2018). Internal & External Factors That Affect an Organization. Retrieved from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/internal-external-factors-affect-organization-16641.html

Human Capital. (2018). Oxford Dictionary.

Delaney, B. (2000). Importance of External Factors in Wage Determination. Retrieved from: https://www.hr.com/SITEFORUM?&t=/Default/gateway&i...

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Explanation & Answer

It was a great pleasure working with you. The replies are in the attached document.

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Reply 1
I agree with the recommendation of using upper-middle class women who are single and
outgoing for segment A. The women will offer a suitable target market that will lead to success.
Targeting young single men can be considered however, I agree that they should not be the
primary market for this segment. In segment B it is clear that the younger men are more inclined
to buying video games that those who are older (McDonald). However, it is key to note that the
older men are the ones who have more money and targeting them is essential since they may buy
the video games for their young sons.
Buying a wa...


Anonymous
I was struggling with this subject, and this helped me a ton!

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