"Over the past two weeks, our readings and discussions have been focused on establishing a baseline for understanding technology. This week, we begin our tour through the four lenses, beginning with history. As we dive into the four lenses, keep in mind that each lens is framed as a way of seeing the issue, not necessarily tied to the associated discipline. So looking through the historical lens isn't just about History Channel documentaries, but about how you use this lens to understand the past and present. As you write your initial post, answer the following questions:In what ways does looking through the history lens enhance your understanding of the role of technology in society?Consider a current event regarding technology in the news that has a historical counterpart. How does looking through the history lens influence how you perceive both the current and historical events? Please share a news link to your events.How does analyzing the relationship between history, culture, and technology have an influence on your discipline of study or chosen profession?"

Project 4: Developing and Implementing a Marketing PlanStep 7: Develop Marketing ObjectivesThe next component of the marketing plan your team needs to tackle is the strategic analysis report.As a marketing team, you need to decide on the marketing objectives for your target market before you develop your company’s marketing strategy. Marketing objectives translate the company's mission and business into long- and short-term goals. Marketing objectives are usually quantitative and include sales (both in units or dollars), market share, and profitability. They may also include qualitative factors such as quality, customer satisfaction, and social responsibility (Kerin & Hartley, 2017). Knowing exactly where you want to go is essential in deciding how to get there. The objectives have to be measurable, specific, and have a set time limit.Marketing objectives should be challenging but achievable. They are mainly quantitative (with some qualitative ones), and they should be precise and focused.Using figures from your own market research, please include your projected annual...growth percentagemarket share percentagesales (in both units and dollars)average unit priceprofitability percentagecustomer satisfactionCSR outcomesemployee satisfaction rateBe sure to include a time frame. Also, presenting the figures in a table in the end would look professional.Deliverable: By the end of Week 9 prepare a one-page document outlining your marketing objectives. This will ultimately form part of your strategic analysis report. Submit your document to your team’s study group.You will continue your work on a strategic analysis report in the next step, where you will begin to examine your market and determine how the company can meet the marketing objectives you identified.ReferencesKerin, R. & Hartley, S. (2017). Marketing (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.Project 4: Developing and Implementing a Marketing PlanStep 8: Conduct a Segmenting and Targeting of the US Market and Product Positioning (STP)The next step in developing your strategic analysis report involves segmenting, targeting, and positioning (STP).Take NoteSegmenting refers to breaking the market down into homogenous groups.Targeting refers to selecting the customer group or groups that you will focus your marketing efforts on. The appropriate segmentation variable is dependent on the needs and wants of customers.These decisions are directly tied to your value proposition and require extensive marketing research on the customers. Once the segmentation variable is determined and the target markets selected, you need to develop a positioning strategy, which refers to the way you want the customer to view the product or service relative to the competition.Describe the market research you would conduct to analyze and segment the US market. Explain how you would select your target markets and explain the process of positioning the company's products or services relative to the competition.Deliverable: By the end of Week 9 detail your STP in a six-page document. This will ultimately form part of your strategic analysis report. Submit your document to your team’s study group.Your overall STP is important, because it will create a foundation for the refinements you will make in the next step, where you will compete and submit your strategic analysis report.Project 4: Developing and Implementing a Marketing PlanStep 10: Complete Breakeven Analysis and Implementation, Controls, and Contingency PlanThe final component of your marketing plan is a breakeven analysis report that also includes a schedule for implementation, any needed control measures, and a contingency plan.Present your breakeven analysis in a table that includes the following details about your client:forecasted total number of units sold (for a service industry, products could be service contracts or the number of customers served)forecasted average unit price (AUP)forecasted total sales (in US dollars)forecasted average unit variable costforecasted fixed costbreakeven point (units)breakeven point (in US dollars)Read about breakeven analysis to assist your calculations.In addition, use the following guidelines as you develop your implementation, controls, and contingency plan:Decide on the team that is going to implement the plan.Determine the time frame for implementation.Secure the financial and human resources needed.Distribute the tasks among team members.Periodically check and communicate performance against the marketing plan metrics (benchmarks) to ensure that implementation is on track.Make changes if there are any deviations from the key performance indicators (KPIs) for those metrics, preferably using a dashboard. KPIs may include the number of sales calls, the number of new customers, sales, profitability, growth, etc.Contingency plans should deal with severe deviations from productions plans, sales figures, market share, profitability, changes in government regulations (e.g., increased taxation), and drastic competitors’ moves (e.g., launching a competing product or service or an offering that may render your offering obsolete or less attractive to the market).Deliverable: Early in Week 9 submit a report that explains your breakeven analysis. Also, include a table at the end of the report that highlights your financials. In addition, explain your schedule for implementation as well as the controls you intend to put in place and how you intend to proceed when your benchmarks are not met (contingency plan).Your breakeven analysis and implementation report should be three pages, excluding cover page, the reference list, and appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.Support your work with scholarly sources and reliable nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover's and ABI/INFORM. All sources need to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.Early in Week 9, submit your breakeven analysis and implementation, controls, and contingency plan to your team's study group.In the next step, you will combine the work from all of your analyses to create your final marketing plan.Project 4: Developing and Implementing a Marketing PlanStep 12: Complete Skills Gap AnalysisINBOX: 1 New MessageFrom: Denna Chartreuse, HR Specialist, MCSTo: YouGreetings,I’m reaching out to let you know that MCS’s Human Resources department conducts a 10-week post-project self-evaluation of your skills. Using the same skills gap analysis file that was sent to you when you began, each team member will self-evaluate their own project-related knowledge and skills accounting for their growth during their tenure within our organization.The skills gap analysis will help you to identify the skill areas you have enhanced by completing your recent assignments and will reflect any changes in the way you see the importance of those skills to your career success.Select the Project 4 worksheet in the bottom left of the file. After completing your self-evaluation, take the time to deeply assess your progress by writing a 400- to 500-word reflection that describes two to three gaps you worked to reduce over the past 9 weeks and discusses whether and how much you improved. Also think back on the learning activities you pursued to help you develop competencies.Thank you for your attention to this request, we look forward to hearing of your forward movement.Deliverable:Strategic analysis 1-Marketing objectives (including financial objectives) *** step 7 one page excluding cover page, the reference list, and appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability. 2-Market segments *** on STEP 8 two Pages excluding cover page, the reference list, and appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.Financial analysis 3-Expense forecast - STEP 10..excluding cover page, the reference list, and appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.STEP 12 ******Use this skills gap analysis instrument to self-evaluate your knowledge and skill.