Lenovo Brand Strategy

Lenovo Brand Strategy Abstract Purpose This study aims to apply the reviewed literature of brand identity, brand strategy, and product positioning to analyze the lessons and improvements on how Lenovo, a No.1 PC manufacturer in China, implements brand integration as part of its global brand strategy to increase brand awareness and recognition. Approach This study introduces multiple methods to analyze the pros and cons of brand integration, and brand product positioning such as product segmentation and perceptual map as well as the companys revenue comparison. Findings Lenovos co-branding strategy in its first two phases of global brand strategy benefit its revenue growth dramatically but in limited level to its own brand awareness. And the global sales loss happened after Lenovo forgone co-branding with IBM brand on its ThinkPad/ ThinkCentre brand lines in its third phase of global branding strategy. Moreover, the unsatisfactory sales performance forced the company to trade-off the premium price of ThinkPad in attempt to cater to more consumers, gaining market share and revenue growth, but only result in the opposite situation due to the unclear repositioning of ThinkPad. Research limitations/implications The inaccessibility of the overall statistics on the sales of ThinkPad by Lenovo in overseas market over the past five years impacts the accuracy of the analysis result. Besides, the depth of the study is hindered due to the lack of Lenovos investment in branding and marketing promotions, as well as sales volume of its major competitors such as US, Europe, etc. Practical implications Leveraging a well-known ThinkPad brand can expedite Lenovos access to the cutting-edged technology and distribution channel setup, however, it will takes a long process to build and increase a strong brand of Lenovo globally. Apart from focus on quality and technology innovation, Lenovo should emphasize its value-added brand positioning, i.e. nurturing the brand in the dimensions of relationship, personality and culture. The separation of Lenovo and ThinkPad should be the best solution for the sake of maximizing each brand equity. Originality/Value This study is an attempt to discuss disconnection of distinctive brands like Lenovo and its sub-brands ideapad/ideacentre from ThinkPad / ThinkCentre to maximize each brand equity. Literature Review According to Arnold (1992), brand strategy is the process whereby the offer is positioned in the customers mind to produce a perception of advantage. And strategy implies the execution of the organizations vision, mission, and objectives. In another word, the essence of the brand needs to be reflected in everything the company does, especially those that impact the consumer. When making branding strategies, a company should first have an insight into their brand and brand equity. Brand equity is the differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or its marketing (Kotler, 2009). A successful brand has high brand equity and its image (B) can be thought of as the combination of three elements: a good product (P), a distinctive identity (D), and added values (AV), i.e. B=P*D*AV. Especially the brand preference depends on added values that give customers confidence that this product has qualities, status or associations not possessed by alternative choices (Doyle, 2008). It helps customers navigate the choice process by reducing risks and saving time of evaluation (Doyle, 2008). Brand management centres on creating perceived added value for the companys offer among customers, which can be achieved by shaping the brands identity. Brand Identity is everything the company wants is brand to be perceived by customer (Temporal, 2002). It has six dimensions, which is also called now as brand identity prism (Kapferer, 2007), namely , physical, reflection, relationship, personality, culture and relevance (Kapferer, 1997). The identity of strong brands reminds us that identity is not just a matter of functional attributes (Kapferer, 2007). With time, brand associations typically move up from tangible to intangible values -No brand should be without a strong intangible component became the top priority of 10 key principles of strategic brand management (Kapferer, 2007). Due to the increasing fierce competition and rapid imitation, the focus of keeping customers in marketing highlights the building lasting relationships on brand management, namely, classifying the different types of relationships consumers have with brands (Fournier, 1998), or the different types of interactions companies engage in with their clients (Rapp and Collins, 1994; Peppers and Rogers, 1993). Kapferer (2007) claims the establishment and recognition of brand identity is one of the key stages in the process of brand globalization. That is, the brand must have an identity that will serve as a medium for its globalisation, specifically for its brand positioning and brand strategy. Clearly, for existing brands, positioning derives from identity. But it exploits a specific, coherent and salient aspect of identity at a given point in time in a given market and against a precise set of competitors. At the level of global brands, the brand positioning emphasizing a unified identity should occupy a distinct place in the target markets mind (Kotler, 2000), ensure the distinctive position of the products of a company from its competitors offerings, maintain or increase market share by satisfying current or potential customers, and finally achieve higher revenue (Hassanien and Baum, 2002). Bingham and Raffield (1995) identified six positioning alternatives for firms: price, technology , product quality, distribution, image and service. Although repositioning is increasingly inevitable as the changing marketing environments that influence organisations (Trout and Rivkin, 1995; Kotler, 1997), any decisions companies need to make about repositioning will demand careful consideration of all of the brands attributes (Park et al., 2002). When brand managers decide brand strategy, the added-value lever on which a product is based should be taken into consideration as an important parameter in choosing different brand architectures. A single (corporate) brand umbrella or master brand strategy is often recommended when the added value in a particular market is linked to reputation and scale (Kapferer, 2007). However, the more segmented the market, with top-quality, personalised products, the more one has to favour either an endorsing brand strategy or a new portfolio of product brands. Besides, cost factors have to be considered. Doyle (2008) gave insightful explanation and said that the objective of adopting brand strategies is to increase long-run economic profits, which leads to an orientation to sharing brand names For companies in its initial phase of going global with limited resources, the simplified brand lines can reinforce each brands selling power and reduce marketing cost, provided that the company has complementary products. Another factor that can not be neglected in formulating brand strategy is the country background of a brand. COO (Country of Origin) refers to the impact that generalisations and perceptions about a country have on a persons evaluation of the countrys products and brands (Nebenzahl, Jaffe, and Lampert 1997; Lampert and Jaffe 1998; Dinnie 2004). COO helps or hampers the development of brand equity in the new market. Yet to some extent, acquired brands can produce a short-cut to overcome the negative effect of COO in brand globalization (Ying, 2008) and co-branding provides a buzz around the brand among opinion leaders to create an image (Kapferer, 2007) facilitating brand into global arena, but it is not a substitute or alternative for brand building in the long term. Co-branding can generate greater sales from the existing target market as well as open additional opportunities with new consumers and channels as it can increase cash flow through increased number of touch points betwee n brands (Srivastava et al., 1998). In addition, co-branding can reduce the cost of product introduction and help stage a brand into a new market by leveraging the existing brand with global awareness. This is reflected in the increasing number of cases of mergers and acquisition of such kind worldwide. Undeniably, it can boost the business of a company but does not necessarily mean the success of integrating brands (Swystun, 2001). It is difficult to change an established brand identity and a good fit between brands is essential to the successful marriage. For a company going global, a distinctive and consistent brand identity should be nurtured and matters most in distinguishing itself from other competitors despite of manufacturing the same high quality products. Clayton M. Christensen (2004) noted that most organizations can acquire resources, but it is the application of the process (how to solve problems) and values (past investments) that distinguish a company. And branding strategy is the process of such kind as one of the key factors which will ultimately determine a companys future success. About Lenovo and its internationalization and global brand strategy Founded in Beijing, China, Lenovo is No.1 PC manufacturer in China and the worlds fourth largest PC maker with its revenue in 2007-2008 reaching 16.4 billion US dollars and its market share in China stabilize at 29%-30%. In 2004, its acquisition of IBM PC business (Thinkpad brand) for 1.25 billion US dollars made the company the worlds No. 3 PC company after Dell and HP and signified the beginning of its steps into international market. Since then, Lenovo has established more than 200 branches in 66 countries (Lenovo official website: http://appserver.lenovo.com.cn/About/aboutus_overview.html, accessed Nov 23, 2009). Lenovos sports marketing, the Olympic marketing, and co-brand marketing strategy enhance the brand image and capture the market share. Its global branding strategy incorporates three phases. In the first phase focused on the continuity of the brand in overseas countries to strengthen the relationship between the Lenovo and Thinkpad; In the second phase to consolidate t he high-end business Thinkpad image. And in the third phase to accelerate Lenovo brand building (Gu, 2006). Methodology and descriptive analysis We can compare Lenovos branding strategy with its revenue over the past five years. Investment in the brand must come first to ensure revenue enhancement. (Jeff Swystun, 2001) From the comparison, the dramatic revenue growth in 2004-2006 seems to verify that the branding strategy of leveraging IBM brand and reinforcing ThinkPad benefit the corporate performance. Meanwhile, however, Lenovos global brand awareness got increased during the process? Since Lenovo had the right to use the IBM brand only for five years until 2010, the company decided to drop it two years ahead of schedule, such was its confidence in its own brand (http://www.economist.com, 2008). Despite of the right move, the result is the decrease in the corporate revenue: Lenovos sales volume was down by 5 percent in the third quarter 2008, sales revenue dropped by 20 percent, and market share declined from 7.5 percent to 7.3 percent (Ming, 2009), especially, the sales in America and Europe fell by 17% in the 3rd quarter compared with the same period last year due to the sluggish demand in those markets and notably, its domestic sale grew and accounted for 48% of its total sales(http://www.economist.com, 2009). Actually, the unsatisfactory result can be attributed in a sense to the abrupt brand shift from IBM ThinkPad to Lenovo ThinkPad. Whereas, the point is that it is not the inappropriate timing to forgo co-branding with IBM brand, but it is during the initial phase of implementing global branding strategies when Lenovo did not handle well the relations between leveraging IBM brand and, more importantly, enhancement of Lenovo brands identity and differentiated advantage in its new market outside Asia where the brand name was little known, especially in US and Europe, the focus of Lenovo business outside China. To gain an insight on the brands strategy, we can look at Lenovo brand architecture transition below for the major product lines and brand integration in the early 2008. After the brand integration, under the corporate umbrella brand of Lenovo, the streamlined product brands resulting in global marketing cost-effectiveness can be categorized into ideaPad and ideacentre sub-brands for consumers and ThinkPad sub-brand for consumers and commercial segment and ThinkCentre sub-brand for companies. Notably, there is a change in customer positioning for ThinkPad by serving companies only switching to companies primarily and consumers secondly served with individual models of ThinkPad products. This is to meet the increasing needs for consumer PC. Besides, ThinkPad is expanding its position from high-end only to both middle and high-end in light of Lenovos pricing system. And a question comes to arise: Is Lenovo ThinkPad is as good quality as IBM ThinkPad? Lenovos reaction to the sceptical v oices is the price cut of ThinkPad is to cater to those customers feeling pinch in the current situation. But the transition risk should be foreseen that the customers who know ThinkPad very well may not have that sense of advantage that the original brand identity confers, and eventually the transformation may harm the brand equity. Lets look at the brand positioning of Lenovo and its competitors. Over time, PCs has become ubiquitous and play a growing role in many important aspects of daily life. Consumers are therefore looking for more innovation (Quelch and Knoop, 2006) with appropriate pricing. Capping the product features of each company in terms of innovation and pricing, we can see that HP, Dell and Acer-the strong competitors of Lenovo in US and European market -are all positioned as economy brand whereas Lenovo as bargain brand positioned as overall high level of innovation and IBM as premium brand. Highly recognized by its customers, ThinkPad brand, with high innovation and high price of a differentiate advantage, best represent the culture of IBM brand. The branding strategy should first take into consideration the environment and customers (Doyle, 2008). Although Thinkpad brand has nothing to do with IBM after the acquisition, the customers perception of high level of innovation and pricing of Thinkp ad brand is deep-rooted, thus, it is not necessary and even harmful to its original image in its customers mind for any attempt to lower its pricing arrange. As for Lenovo brand, on one hand, competitive pricing is the core value that the company embraces to contest its key competitors internationally, and on the other hand, like many other Chinese company going global, it still take time for Lenovo to get away from Made in China image interpreted as manufacturing cheap products. Thus, the implementation of its bargaining pricing system in its another brand line ideapad and ideacentre can embody its differentiating advantages lower price but good quality and higher level of innovation and lower the entry barrier to the consumers in the new market(Doyle, 2008). Of course, this is what Lenovo is doing, promoting its idea brand line in US, Europe and other major overseas market (Lenovo official website: http://appserver.lenovo.com.cn/About/aboutus_overview.html, accessed Nov 23, 2009 ). It can be concluded that there is distinctively different brand identity between ThinkPad/ ThinkCentre and Lenovo and its sub-brands ideapad/ideacentre. Discussion on improvement In developing a global brand, Chinese companies could choose between a traditional and modern approach (Ewing, Napoli, and Pitt, 2001). And Lenovo has adopted the modern (although more risky) approach that accelerates internationalization via joint ventures and acquisition of foreign brands, enabling them to leapfrog to the advanced stage in the process. Product differentiation and brands management separation Lenovo should resume the high-end brand identity of ThinkPad targeting companies and high-end consumers to gain premium price and high margins. And this branding strategy can not waver surrendering to the current economic conditions. And for the medium and lower-end market, idea brand line can play its flexible role catering to different subdivision market. In addition, the ideapad/ideacentre identity should be enriched to increase its value-added specifically in its relationship and personality prospective to differentiate with other competitors brands. Apart from product pro motion, creating customers product experience should be the remedy to have them gain better knowledge of the new entry brands and enhance the recognition of Lenovo. Most important, ThinkPad/ThinkCentre brand should be separated from Lenovo and its sub-brands. The case of the separation of product brand Lexus and company brand Toyota means the success of the both brands even though few know Lexus brand is under Toyota.(Jean-Pierre and David, 2002) . Conclusion This study emphasizes on the analysis and discussion on the brand integration of Lenovo, idea brand line, and IBMs ThinkPad brand, which features an indispensible process of implementation of global brand strategy by Lenovo. The strategy of co-branding of Lenovo and IBM in ThinkPad products in the initial phase impelled the process of Lenovo brand into international arena. At the same time, however, Lenovo should have engaged in its own brand identity and equity, which will alleviate the loss arising from the disconnection of IBM and Lenovo. An effective positioning/repositioning brand strategy should highlight the consistent process of enhancing brand awareness. At this point, Lenovo took a either slower or inappropriate action which entail improvement and transformation. As for the established ThinkPad brand, the dimensions of its brand identity should be taken into full consideration otherwise any branding initiatives will damage its brand value through confusing or depriving the sense of status and pride from its customers. To avoid the collision of two distinctive brand identities ThinkPad and Lenovo with its sub-brands ideapad/ideacentre, disconnection is the best solution to maximize brand equity.

Characterising Mesenchymal Stem Cells Health And Social Care Essay

This abstract is related to a seminar delivered by Dr. Platt sing Isolation of Mesenchymal root cells from kids ‘s dentitions and geographic expedition of their function in tissue fix. The seminar provided a comprehensive overview of root cells before concentrating on Mesenchymal root cells ( MSCs ) from the dental mush of kids deciduous dentitions. By definition, â€Å" a root cell is an unspecialised cell that can both self-renew and distinguish into functional phenotypes † ( Grad et al. , 2012 ) . Stem cells are divided into two chief groups: embryologic root cells ( ESCs ) and big root cells ( ASCs ) ( of bodily beginning ) . ESCs derive from blastocyte phase and are capable to give rise to all sorts of cells. Therefore, ESCs are considered pluripotent. On the contrary, ASCs are merely multipotent because they have restricted distinction potency ( Barbara et al. , 2011 ) . Stem cells give rise to different cell types, and are classii ¬?ed into totipotent, pluripote nt, and multipotent harmonizing to their grade of distinction or potency ( Arce et al. , 2007 ) . Totipotency is the ability to organize all cell types including the full foetus and placenta. Pluripotency is the ability to organize several cell types of all three sources beds ( exoderm, mesoblast and entoderm ) excepting excess embryologic tissues. Multipotency is the ability of giving rise to a limited scope of cells and tissues appropriate to their location such as Mesenchymal root cells ( MSCs ) ( Mirzapour et al. , 2011 ) . MSCs are ASCs with mesoblastic and neuroectodermal beginning ( Barbara et al. , 2011 ) .For case, MSCs possess an drawn-out grade of malleability compared to other ASCs populations, including the ability to distinguish in vitro into non-mesodermal cell types such as nerve cells and astrocytes. MSCs, in add-on to their multipotency, are easy to be isolated and cultured in vitro and they do non seemingly represent an ethical issue based on their beginning of beginning ( Barbara et al. , 2011 ) . The first unequivocal markers of MSCs were proposed in a new survey of Pittenger et al. , the group who besides developed consistent in vitro checks of MSC multipotentiality towards bone, gristle, and fat line of descents ( Pittenger et al. , 1999 ) . These MSC markers correspond to CD105 and CD73 molecules, severally. Of note, CD stands for â€Å" bunch of distinction † , the standard terminology for cell surface molecules ( Boxall et al. , 2012 ) . These two markers alongside CD90 are positively expressed on MSCs and remain the primary molecules used to place MSCs by the International Society of Cell Therapy ( ISCT ) place statement ( Dominici et al. , 2006 ) . The ISCT place statement besides advices that MSCs should be negative for the look of CD11b or CD14, CD19 or CD79a, CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR ( Dominici et al. , 2006 ) . MSCs harvested from assorted beginnings, such as bone marrow, adipose tissue and dental mush, have been tested for their periodontic tissue regeneration potency. MSCs have shown improved efficaciousness and duplicability compared to current clinical pattern ( Tobita & A ; Mizuno, 2011 ) . Tooth derived cells are readily accessible and supply an easy and minimally invasive manner to obtain and hive away root cells for future usage. Obtaining root cells from human exfoliated deciduous dentitions ( SHED ) of kids is simple and convenient. Every kid loses primary dentitions, which creates the perfect chance to retrieve and hive away this convenient beginning of root cells — should they be needed to handle future hurts or complaints and nowadayss a far better alternate to merely flinging the dentition or hive awaying them as souvenir from the yesteryear. Stem cells can besides be recovered from developing wisdom dentitions and lasting dentition. Persons have different chances at different phases of their life to bank these valuable cells ( Arora et al. , 2009 ) . However, it is best to retrieve root cells when a kid is immature and healthy and the cells are strong and proliferative ( Arora et al. , 2009 ) .In fact, the research of Dr. Platt showed that dental mush cells from 2 twelvemonth old female have increased attachment to plastic than those of 3 twelvemonth old female after 11-days post-seeding. SHED are instead freshly discovered MSC ( Miura et al. , 2003 ) . When compared with grownup bone marrow stromal root cells ( BMSSCs ) and dental mush root cells ( DPSCs ) , SHED of kids showed a higher proliferation rate ( Fig.A 1 ) and a higher figure of population duplicating ( Miura et al. , 2003 ) and interestingly express many of nervous cell markers in the cell civilization ( Huang et al. 2009 ) . Therefore, root cells from dental mush ( largely SHED from younger kids ) demonstrate increased multipotentiality and capableness to renew multiple dental/periodontal tissues in vitro and in vivo compared with MSCs from other niches ( Huang, 2009 ) . Fig1: Datas obtained from Miura et al. , 2003 Dental mush root cells can be preserved for long periods without losing their multipotential distinction ability ( Laino et al. , 2005 ) . The dental mush plays a major function in tooth regeneration after hurt, by take parting in a procedure called reparative dentinogenesis. An ideal signifier of therapy might dwell of regenerative attacks in which diseased or necrotic mush tissues are removed and replaced with regenerated mush tissues to regenerate the dentition ( Sun et al. , 2010 ) . In fact, Dr. Platt isolated MSCs from deciduous dental mush ( SHELD ) by the enzyme-digestion method. This method involves the aggregation of the mush tissue under unfertile conditions, the digestion with appropriate enzymes ( collagenase, dispase, and trypsin ) for 90min at 37EsC/5 % CO2, the seeding in civilization dishes incorporating a particular medium supplemented with necessary additives, and so the incubation at 37A °C. It can be concluded from Dr. Platt research informations that Mesenchymal root cells from kids dental mush are fictile adherent cells with a fibroblastic morphology. These cells signifier settlements in vitro which is declarative of a stem/progenitor cell. In fact, it was proved that these mush cells have multi-lineage distinction potency in vitro, into several cell types including nervous primogenitors, chondrocytes, endothelocytes, adipocytes, smooth musculus cells and bone-forming cells ( Sloan & A ; Waddington, 2009 ) . To day of the month, several surgical techniques have been developed to renew periodontic tissues. The clinical result of presently available techniques is undependable, although assorted intervention modes have shown regenerative potency. Progresss in root cell biological science have yielded promising consequences in vitro and in vivo, proposing that future applications in dental medicine may be accomplishable ( Tobita & A ; Mizuno, 2011 ) .

Psychology of Color - 2625 Words

Psychology Research Paper 1/23/11 The Psychology of Color The brain receives signals from three different color channels: red, blue, and green. When the brain receives a mix of these signals, we perceive colors that are mixtures of these three primary colors through a process called color addition (Think Quest â€Å"Color Psychology†). All colored visible light can be expressed as either mixtures or consistencies of red, blue, or green, which by perception between the eyes and the brain, produces the vast spectrum of color that exists to humans and other organisms alike. With the ability to alter our moods and bodily functions, color has more of an impact on us than we may realize. Each color produces different effects on†¦show more content†¦How much money would you be willing to spend on your date? (Science Daily). 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Essay about Sustainable Design - 1184 Words

Sustainable design has steadily become the architecture catch phrase of the day, being thrown around to make us aware that everything we â€Å"design† has an environmental burden. Many designers, architects and builders have installed the â€Å"idea of green† into their buildings to demonstrate a potential to improve performance and reduce costs through sustainable strategies. One of the main methods of creating sustainability in buildings is with passive design. It has been applied by architects and engineers to achieve highly thermally insulated structures with low energy use. With rising prices and political pressures energy economy has become a key feature in a lot of contemporary buildings. Green star is Australia’s primary â€Å"green† large†¦show more content†¦As you descend the stairs through the Walter Young Garden, you finally are greeted with new facade of Innova21, standing out amongst the bricks and mortar of its surroundings. 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Teaching And Mentoring Experience For Undergraduate Students

Teaching and Mentoring Experience Teaching has been a fundamental component of my academic training. I have been actively involved in teaching, tutoring, and mentoring high school and undergraduate research students throughout my doctoral and postdoctoral work at the City University of New York (CUNY). I taught General Chemistry (I II) laboratory courses and recitation sections at CUNY for four years. I volunteered as a physical chemistry tutor for undergraduate students from CUNY. At St. John s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, my teaching assignment included a General Chemistry Laboratory course that also involved a synergistic approach to conducting several laboratory sessions guided simultaneously by two instructors. Along with Dr. Ruth Stark and her graduate students at City College, I designed a curriculum for a biophysics foundation course (â€Å"Touring the tomato: A suite of chemistry laboratory experiments†) geared for undergraduate and high school students seeking research experience through CUNY’s College Now program. The eight-module course introduces a panel of analytical techniques for studying the structural properties of biopolymers obtained from an inexpensive source such as the tomato fruit at increasingly detailed molecular levels. In its final phase, students design independent research projects related to structural investigations of various biomaterials obtained from fruits and vegetables. We tested our new curriculum by giving a summerShow MoreRelatedBucknell University Personal Statement996 Words   |  4 Pagesno: 493839). 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Discuss Computers/ Telecom Convergence and Revolution Free Essays

In a global study conducted by IBM and the Economics Intelligence Unit (IEU), around 80 percent of respondents (telecom executives) affirm the importance of convergence in raking in profits (IBM, 2005). Voice and data convergence is seen as the one that would have the biggest effect, with fixed/ mobile access technology, telecom and media convergence, and IP/IT network convergence lagging behind (2005). ‘Convergence’ has been a buzz word way back in the sixties, something that affects technology, economics, legal/regulatory, and human aspects of a society. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss Computers/ Telecom Convergence and Revolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now In this Information Age, convergence allows us to do more things conveniently. But what but exactly is ‘convergence’? ‘Convergence’ is defined as â€Å"coming together or towards the same point† (Thompson, 1996). The term fits in the telecommunications world for it signifies movement using a single medium. It occurs in four categories- transport, switching, application, and telecommunications/information technology (Fowler, 2002, p. 12). See table below. Figure 1. The Four Levels of Convergence (Fowler, 2002, p. 13) The idea behind convergence is that it should not just improve productivity, but also provide a better Return on Investment (Fowler, 2002, p. 15). Convergence, by any means, is aimed to provide make life easier both for the manufacturer (lower cost, easier management, less maintenance) and at the consumer-end (easy to use, new or improved services) In the 1960s, convergence in the transport level began, with the conversion of the telephone system to digitalization, bringing us the first T-carrier services (p. 12). Since it was barely new at that time, the Bell System was able to monopolize these services (p. 12). On the other hand, convergence at the switching level initially went by the term integration (Fowler, 2002, p. 3). Every seven years, an integrated solution is presented. A rundown of these is presented below: 1975: Satellite Business Systems’ The One- a digital controller with satellite access for integrated voice, data, and video 1982: Integrated Voice/ data private branch exchange or PBX 1988: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) 1995: Broadband ISDN or BISDN (p. 13) Some of these so-called ‘integrations’ were huge hits but on the whole, they fizzled out. Sprint, for instance, lost around $ billion when its Integrated-On-Demand (ION) services panned out (Fowler, 2002, p. 4). ION was targeted as a solution to those numerous voice and data networks by allowing the users to do voice, data, video, Intranet/Internet and fax applications utilizing a single connection (p. 14). However, the company was able to sign up around 4000 customers only (p. 14). Even its VP of Design has admitted having problems brought on by ION (p. 14). Convergence at the application level pertains to information delivery from various sources, whether data, audio, video or graphics (Fowler, 2002, p. 24). The Internet and the intranet are examples of this. In this Information Age, the Internet has become the greatest source of information of practically anything. Users have infiltrated it so much that one click on the Internet could come up with millions of user-generated content. Time Magazine has seen this phenomenon, naming the people or â€Å"you† as its Person of the Year 2006 in its year-ender issue. Even video uploading has crept into the World Wide Web, with over 65,000 new videos uploaded every day (Cloud, 2006, p. 46). Convergence at the telecommunications/IT deals with accessing a single resource to do multiple chores (Fowler, 2003, p. 5). In a way, it is an integration of transport, switching and telecommunication and a wider scale. For example ASP or Application Service Providers are IT-based processing units that divest certain tasks from web sites. ASP is currently losing its own battle with companies taking of ASP-units. The IBM study indicates that the drive towards convergence is brought on by four things- competition, demand for broadband access, technological innovation, and IP- networks- enabled income growth (IBM, 2005). These set the motion for telecom convergence. In a research conducted by the Deloitte Touche group, it found out that convergence may cause also problems for the industry. The group interviewed telecom executives to assess telecoms predictions. Among its findings is the continuous need to innovate and reinvent. The Internet, for instance, has reached its peak with its explosive growth (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2007, p. 4). Demand is high which may lead to a growth in traffic. More so now with the demand of online videos, this may affect the transfer on the Internet’s backbone (p. 4). This very same influx may likewise clog the system, thereby slowing down its service. It is important to note that any Internet viewer wants high-speed access. Any service slowdown, even just in seconds, may case customer satisfaction. This should serve as a precaution to telecom businesses. It may also open a window to new technologies to address these problems. Broadband application is very much in demand now. Companies should take advantage of this. Either they are able to supply the demand or bold enough create other broadband appliances other than the Internet. Broadband appliances could usher in a new era in telecom convergence. Moving on. The mobile sector in the telecom industry has seen applications such as SMS, 3G and mobile television. The public is also starting to experience mobile Internet, with most units now equipped with Wireless LAN network technologies. SMS and mobile downloads make up a major chunk of mobile operators. It is therefore important to capitalize on this without sacrificing content and delivery. The government should work alongside operators to ensure that laws are implemented not just in the mobile sector but in the entire telecom industry. Connectivity plays a vital role in economic progress thus it is important to have policies that are appropriate. The telephone, facsimile, Intranet, and Intranet are involved in communication. It plays a big part in transmitting pertinent information, in spreading decision. Thus, is it is important to have sufficient quality support. To do this, it is imperative to involve all players- the users (buyers), operators and businesses (sellers) and the government (regulatory). The government should not just involve the telecomm operators in drafting laws but also the consumers in order to come up with appropriate and pertinent laws. It is a challenge for all concerned parties to come up with polices that benefit all. Speaking of the government, it should embrace convergence to improve its services. Government agencies web sites are sprouting already but the government needs to come up with additional services. For example, doing a government-related query via videoconferencing may save time and effort both for the citizen and the government employee. One does not need to line up in an agency to ask something if he can do so in the comfort of his own home. Convergence impacts everybody. With the global market increasingly becoming competitive, it is important to know how to leverage convergence. Innovation and reinvention do not necessarily equate to satisfaction. There should be a strong commitment in the part of the government, telecomm industry and users to share technological benefits worldwide, to discern all realistic implications and come up with practical solutions, to create technological solutions that would be embraced as a way of life. If all can do that, it would be one step in making this world a better place to live in. How to cite Discuss Computers/ Telecom Convergence and Revolution, Papers

Impact of Hybrid and Electric Cars-Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the impact of hybrid and electric cars in the world automobile industry. Answer: Introduction: The report is a discussion on strategic management based on a case study provided. The case study is based on the impact of hybrid and electric car on the worlds automobile industry. A hybrid vehicle makes use of two or distinct power types such as internal combustion engine for driving the electric generator that helps on powering electric motor. An electric car on the other hand is an automobile propelled by electric motors and uses the energy stored in the rechargeable batteries. The report deals with a discussion on impact of production of electric and hybrid cars on the automobile industry through porters five forces. There is also discussion on the strategic options adopted by premium automobile manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW for defending their competitive stance. Impact of Production of Hybrid and Electric Car on the Worlds Automobile Industry using Porters Five Forces Bargaining Power of the Customers The bargaining power of the customers is determined by the presence of a large of competitors (Fabbri and Klapper 2016). The purchase of a car is considered costly and consumers at the same time are quality conscious so they show a greater inclination towards the Western brands. There is a thorough search undertaken by the consumers before they actually they make a purchase. Therefore, a higher criterion for the purchase lowers the bargaining power of the industry because of limited quality offerings. The history in relation to the battery quality of the Chinese electric car shows the fact that buyers prefer brands that ensures best battery range and technology. Producers such as BMW and Tesla should therefore build a charger network that will help them in the expansion of the car range (Porter and Heppelmann 2014). This will not only help them in ensuring a competitive advantage but also ensure offering a complete ecosystem that helps in benefiting the customers. This will also help in decreasing the bargaining power of the consumers. However, at this point it also vital to note that the presence of other hybrid and non-electric cars can contribute in increasing the buying power of the consumers (Abu-Rub, Malinowski and Al-Haddad 2014). However, the difference lies in quality offerings made in the electric vehicle segment that seems to lows the consumer buying power. Moreover, there always lies a probability for the consumers to opt for a substitute and therefore the overall bargaining power of the customers stands at medium (Linxweiler 2017). Threat of Substitutes Threats of substitutes are substantial since there are innumerable alternatives for buying the electric car (Li et al. 2013). The hybrid cars with the combustion engine have dominant share in the market and happen to be the largest competitor of the electric cars of China. The hybrid cars provide same utility as that of the electric car although they differ in the aspect of environmental friendliness. Automakers like the Hyundai and Toyota have made plans for the release of first commercial cars with fuel cell (Hua et al. 2014). Manufacture of such cars also requires huge investment in infrastructure and technology in order to be successful and thereby reach a broader market. This aspect could make them a potential threat in future. Threat of New Entrant The electric vehicle has higher entry barriers and in order to be successful there is a requirement for large amount of capital investment along with specific set of technologies and skills (Wesseling, Faber and Hekkert 2014). There has been a release of patents by Tesla and at the same time pressure from the Chinese government for the electric vehicle producers for sharing their technology for accessing the Chinese market. This provides a platform for the new entrants as they can concentrate on the understanding the technology instead of doing research and development from the scratch (Stringham, Miller and Clark 2015). As a market leader of electric automotives Tesla, is taking initiatives for investment in the new manufacturing plants for increasing their economies of scale and offer affordable products (Bohnsack, Pinkse and Kolk 2014). The Chinese electric vehicle market is predicted to be one of the largest by the year 2019 thereby providing an opportunity for the existence of the new entrants (Zhou et al. 2015). There have been a number of incentives put forward by the Chinese government in support of the battery producers and electric automotive manufacturers (Brown and Zhou 2013). This makes the national as well as the local officials in setting goals for the increase in the number of the environment friendly vehicles. There is however uncertainty about the fact of the amount of goodwill earned by the foreign brands since they are produced locally. The Chinese government however wishes to build and protect the local producers. However, around 26 percent of the car buyers showed interest in the green technology (Sha, Huang and Gabardi 2013). These figures can attract newer entrants and can be a threat to the new players entering the market (Christensen 2013). Many entrants undertake partnership with the local fi rms like the BMW or Mercedes for making an entry. There are also additional barriers that the new entrants have to overcome in spite of the entry strategy. Therefore, the threat of newer entrants ranges from medium to high (Acharya 2014). The Bargaining Power of Suppliers Tesla along with its suppliers in the Industry is secretive and therefore it becomes difficult to derive information regarding the suppliers (Heimeshoff and Klein 2014). Producers of the electric vehicle are however facing higher switching cost because of the higher quality of the parts that were required for the manufacture and there is a limited supply of some of the components. This aspect enhances the power of the suppliers (Fabbri and Klapper 2016). Tesla depends highly on Mercedes-Benz since the company supplies certain interior car parts and components like airbags. It also provides Mercedes with batteries for electric drive of its B class. Thus, higher cost of technology leads to the higher pricing of the electric vehicle in comparison to the conventional cars (Moatti et al. 2015). For instance, the key battery supplier for Tesla is Panasonic and therefore the company tries to impose certain bargaining power since Tesla cannot find a new supplier that produces the similar quality and amount. However, the overall suppliers of the industry comparatively possess higher power since the manufactures relies on few suppliers for providing higher product quality (Van Alstyne, Parker and Choudary2016). Therefore, there exists a trend in the automobile industry where there exist mutual benefits between the producers and the suppliers that help in reducing the bargaining power to medium (Shi, Zhang and Ru 2013). Threat of Rivalry Although the automotive industry considered as highly competitive, the fully electric car industry is not only different but at the same time modestly competitive. Increasing number of companies are making investments in the electric cars. This can make the future market highly competitive (Sperling 2013). There are however fewer options of the electric vehicle in the exclusive segments and they remain differentiated by other attributes and price. The players are mutually dependent since they supply each other and try to expand in the electric vehicle market for making it profitable to all (Colmorn and Hulsmann 2014). Strategic Options Adopted by Automobile Manufacturers for Defending their Competitive Stance Mercedes Mercedes defended their competitive stance by the introducing plug in hybrids. Such hybrids represent a technology on road that leads to emission free future for the automobiles. These hybrids ensure offering the customers best of both the worlds (Mercedes-benz.co.uk 2018). This is because within the city the hybrid versions drive through its electric mode while on longer journeys the range of the combustion engine benefits the car. Further, hybridization also enhances the combustion engine with a unique dynamic performance thereby making the drive absolutely pleasurable. Mercedes have also adopted a strategy for production of batteries and electric vehicles across the globe (Mercedes-benz.co.uk 2018). Mercedes announced that the electric vehicles would be manufactured in the six plants across the three continents thereby setting the ground for the creation of the global battery network that would also ensure production of batteries for vehicles. Mercedes thus have plans of launching the fully electric EQ brand, set for the production in the year 2019. In addition Mercedes will have an investment close to $11million for converting the entire Mercedes Benz category into hybrid or fully electric version by the year 2022. This indicated that the company adopted an aggressive approach for the production of the electric cars compared to the competitors. Although other brands have expressed their ambitious plans regarding electric vehicles, the intention of Mercedes in building the battery range signaled towards the seriousness of the brand in becoming one of the key players in electric market. The doubling down of the battery factories of Mercedes showed that company stands just after t he business of Tesla. BMW BMW defended its competitive stance by creating charging corridors along the greatly travelled routes on the west and the east coast (Bmw.co.uk, 2018). This initiative will help in meeting the growing demand for the publicly available fast chargers of the electric vehicles. The company aims at selling around 100,000 electrified vehicles and by the year 2025, the rise in demand for the plug in hybrids and the electric models would be around 15 to 25 percent of the sale. This is applicable to the electrification of all the models of BMW since they believe in the goal of sustainable mobility. BMW also hedges the bets on future by implantation of plans regarding the hybrid and electric versions of the core nameplates thereby ensuring that all the three varieties come from similar assembly line. The approach will also aid the automakers to keep the factories in a working condition compared to the other plants. BMW also put forward strategy for the development of future proof platforms that have the capacity to handle the power trains and the combustion engine. However, the factors like incentives, regulation and infrastructure for charging plays a vital role in determining the electrification scale from one market to the other. Thus, for reacting appropriately and quickly to the demands of the customer the BMW has ensured developing a flexible system across the global network for production. The group in future will therefore help in creating production structures that helps it in building plug in hybrid, fully electric drive and combustion engine together. Conclusion: The report ends with a discussion on the strategic options adopted by Mercedes and BMW in defending their competitive stance. There is also discussion on the impact of production of the electric and hybrid cars on the automobile industry of the world using porters five forces References: Abu-Rub, H., Malinowski, M. and Al-Haddad, K., 2014.Power electronics for renewable energy systems, transportation and industrial applications. John Wiley Sons. Acharya, C., 2014. Study on Macro Analysis of Automobile Industry with special focus on Four Wheeler Segment. Bmw.co.uk. (2018).Plug-in Hybrid Cars | Model Types | BMW UK. [online] Available at: https://www.bmw.co.uk/model-types/plug-in-hybrid [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018]. Bohnsack, R., Pinkse, J. and Kolk, A., 2014. Business models for sustainable technologies: Exploring business model evolution in the case of electric vehicles.Research Policy,43(2), pp.284-300. Brown, M.A. and Zhou, S., 2013. Smart?grid policies: an international review.Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment,2(2), pp.121-139. Christensen, C., 2013.The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business Review Press. Colmorn, R. and Hlsmann, M., 2014. Strategic perspectives for electric mobility: some considerations about the automotive industry. InEvolutionary Paths Towards the Mobility Patterns of the Future(pp. 155-168). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates.Competitiveness Review,24(1), pp.32-45. Fabbri, D. and Klapper, L.F., 2016. Bargaining power and trade credit.Journal of Corporate Finance,41, pp.66-80. Fabbri, D. and Klapper, L.F., 2016. Bargaining power and trade credit.Journal of Corporate Finance,41, pp.66-80. Heimeshoff, U. and Klein, G., 2014. Bargaining Power and Local Heroes Hua, T., Ahluwalia, R., Eudy, L., Singer, G., Jermer, B., Asselin-Miller, N., Wessel, S., Patterson, T. and Marcinkoski, J., 2014. Status of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses worldwide.Journal of Power Sources,269, pp.975-993. Li, X., Clark, C.D., Jensen, K.L., Yen, S.T. and English, B.C., 2013. Consumer purchase intentions for flexible-fuel and hybrid-electric vehicles.Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment,18, pp.9-15. Linxweiler, J.A., 2017. Sensitive Analysis of Tesla Motors, Inc. Mercedes-benz.co.uk. (2018).Discover Mercedes-Benz World - Mercedes-Benz Cars UK. [online] Available at: https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/the-brand/mercedes-benz-world.html [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018 Mercedes-benz.co.uk. 2018.eMobility - Electric Cars - Mercedes-Benz UK. [online] Available at:https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/emobility/emobility.html [Accessed 9 Feb. 2018]. Moatti, V., Ren, C.R., Anand, J. and Dussauge, P., 2015. Disentangling the performance effects of efficiency and bargaining power in horizontal growth strategies: An empirical investigation in the global retail industry.Strategic Management Journal,36(5), pp.745-757. Porter, M.E. and Heppelmann, J.E., 2014. How smart, connected products are transforming competition.Harvard Business Review,92(11), pp.64-88. Sha, S., Huang, T. and Gabardi, E., 2013. Upward mobility: The future of Chinas premium car market.McKinsey Company: Automotive Assembly Practice. Shi, R., Zhang, J. and Ru, J., 2013. Impacts of power structure on supply chains with uncertain demand.Production and operations Management,22(5), pp.1232-1249. Sperling, D., 2013.Future drive: Electric vehicles and sustainable transportation. Island Press. Stringham, E.P., Miller, J.K. and Clark, J.R., 2015. Overcoming barriers to entry in an established industry: Tesla Motors.California Management Review,57(4), pp.85-103. Van Alstyne, M.W., Parker, G.G. and Choudary, S.P., 2016. Pipelines, platforms, and the new rules of strategy.Harvard Business Review,94(4), pp.54-62. Wesseling, J.H., Faber, J. and Hekkert, M.P., 2014. How competitive forces sustain electric vehicle development.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,81, pp.154-164. Zhou, Y., Wang, M., Hao, H., Johnson, L. and Wang, H., 2015. Plug-in electric vehicle market penetration and incentives: a global review.Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change,20(5), pp.777-795.