Question 10 - EasyClean

EasyClean has been involved in the production of a range of cleaning products since the early 1970s, with the aim of producing affordable, high quality goods. Over the years, EasyClean has developed a wide product range in response to changing consumer demands.

CreamClean is the oldest product in the range and is a multi-purpose, no frills cleaner. In attempt to boost flagging sales in the early eighties, the product was repackaged and two new fragrances were added. Sales levels improved a little, but over the last ten years, demand for CreamClean has steadily dropped.

HandyClean range was initially launched just over ten years ago and comprises of a kitchen and bathroom cleaner, both packaged in an easy to use spray bottle. HandyClean was an instant success and sales still remain high.

FoamClean is a relatively new foam-based product that has not been as successful as EasyClean had hoped. Although initial demand for the timesaving product was high, to EasyClean’s surprise, sales have recently started to fall.

AntiBacClean is a hugely successful product, which entered the market just over two years ago. Since then, sales have steadily increased and show little sign of slowing down.

QuickClean simply requires the user to spray the product and leave it to clean. It is the latest product to be launched onto the market and demand is still low.

ProtectClean, a product that contains an active protective ingredient to prevent staining, is currently undergoing development. The development process is becoming very costly but the managers at EasyClean are determined to continue with it. In the competitive market of cleaning products, innovation and product development is a key way to protect market share.

Questions
1. a) Describe the stages of the product life-cycle. (2 marks)
There are 4 stages in the product life-cycle.

• Introduction (birth)
• Growth
• Maturity
• Decline

Also there's a stage for a firm to continue with the product, it's called Product Extension strategy.

b) At what stage of the product life-cycle are EasyClean’s products? (4 marks)
EasyClean has already been at the stage of Maturity and now they're on the product extension stage.

c) Comment on the balance of EasyClean’s product portfolio. (4 marks)

2 a) Explain what you understand by the term ‘extension strategy’. (3 marks)Extension strategy means the business keep the product in a market with their improvement in packaging or other features that can help the product to be selling continuously; therefore to extend the product life cycle.
b) Explain the reasons for the failure of the extension strategy used for CreamClean. (4 marks)

3. Evaluate the likely success of ProtectClean. (8 marks)

The success of ProtectClean may levied on its innovative ideas of active protective ingredients to prevent staining, which customers need more new product, suppliers need to improve their idea frequently to satisfy people. Also the undergoing development shows the extent that it can still be improving and more developed comparing to others. The demand for ProtectClean would likely be successful if they keep their innovation on the right track.

PS. Im not sure what is meant by 'flagging sales'... I couldnt really find the meaning.

Charity Vending Machine

A vending machine that offers nothing but a feeling of contribution as we have donated the money to one of the nominated charities. This idea is quite fascinating as customers usually think that a vending is ought to come out with something when they insert some money into the machine.

According to the resource, they show their idea and goal for the vending machine. 'Our mission reflects our strategy to deliver new profit to retailers and a range of services to consumers at the front of the store. This mission is to become the world's premier provider of business solutions for the retailer's front end, offering a network of consumer products that are convenient, reliable, safe and fun. Through an innovative spirit and strong company values we continue to deliver on this mission.' Simply by setting this machine at any place that most people would pass by, it therefore create more and more opportunities for making new profits, also benefits those retailers or suppliers.

How does it work? It's really simple. When using the Coinstar charity vending machine, just choose the 'donate' option, select a charity, and then you can put the amount of money in coins into the machine while the donation will be complete.

Coinstar has cooperated with a wide range of valued non-profit organizations, including The British Heart Foundation, The British Red Cross, Cancer Research Campaign, The Children's Society, UNICEF and The World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

There are a list of retail customers,

• ASDA
• Sainsbury
• Tesco
• the Co-operative group
• Morrisons

This is a quite good business idea and it works because it cooperate with charities and it's supportive for those who need helps.

Brain Sex

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/add_user.shtml?users=1

This is an interesting test for finding out your 'Sex I.D'

According to the resource, it says 'Some researchers say that men can have 'women's brains' and that women can think more like men.'

I just found it quite interesting =).

New Website

This is my new website, but... nothing much has been included at the moment.

http://fantiasv.synthasite.com/

Metal/Frosted Translucent Business Cards

They have 2 types of cards which are gold metal business card and translucent plastic business card.

A metal business card that would makes a business special and stands out in the market, this is a good idea which features specific skills to make the card, also offering a free design service without extra charge.

Their metal business cards are manufactured using stainless steel, which they chemically cut through the card with precision, in order to produce a beautiful, unique design to differentiate from others. On the other hand, customers may also design it by themselves if they'd like to!

What makes the translucent plastic card special is that the cards are made from frosted clear plastic; therefore it got the contemporary look to attract people to buy it. Meanwhile, the company, PlasmaDesign has got years of experience in how to make their cards creative and more fascinating.

The service including international shipping to many different countries, such as Canada, Australia, Germany, France...etc. Therefore they are building up a worldwide reputation.

According to the website, http://www.plasmadesign.co.uk/metalbusinesscards.htm, we can see that they show a detailed information for their card's features, structures, additional services and also pricing! In one of the resources said that the price are listed in British pound sterling and including VAT but shipping charges aren't included; this indicates the purpose of including VAT in the product is usually necessary in almost every businesses who are selling specific things/designs.

Here's an example of specifications about the translucent plastic card.

• Dimensions:86mm x 54mm
• Thickness: 760 micron
• Corner radius: 3mm
• Design service: FREE
• Minimum order quantity: 100
• Lead time from artwork approval: 5-7 working days

The pricing they have provide, for instance,

Although they have got all these benefits that form an attraction for business people, but do people really needs these kind of special cards to promote or impressed customers? or do they need to invest part of their business just to make a unique business card? As we know that the siginificance of how we can reduce the cost in a business; in fact, we shouldn't spend too much on advertising, that means sometimes a specific business card would be unnecessary; therefore PlasmaDesign may need to drop their price in some case.

GCSE Business studies revision guide, Chapter 3

Enterprise and management

Entrepreneurs, the risk taker,are those who can think of a business idea an have enough confidence to try to make it work. Enterprise is the quality that Entrepreneurs show.

Why bother?

• Independence - the desire to work for themselves


• The pleasure comes along with success


• A higher income, as long as the business is working and making profit


• Using their own skills, knowledge or experience


• Needing new challenges to keep them on the ball

Business failure

• Not including all costs


• Taking on too much debt


• Not meeting customers' needs (lack of market research)


• Not having the right skills, knowledge or experience


• Being over-optimistic about sales


• Being unable to pay suppliers or other business debts

Why is management needed?

• organised and managed ---> people do not automatically do what they are supposed to do, or carry out jobs in the most efficient or effective manner.

Time management

• Having the self-discipline to know when jobs need to be done by, and to make sure that enough time is devoted to them.

Delegation and trust

• Responsibility needs to be delegated


• Trust people to get on with the job

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are people who have a stake in a business.

Internal stakeholders

People who have a direct interest in the business which they are employed by it/who own it. They rely on the business and their income.

• Owners

1. Sole trader


2. Partnerships/Cooperatives


3. Institutional owners/Holding companies


4. Government (public sector businesses)

• Shareholders ---> take the sare of the profits [Dividend]


• Employees


• Managers ---> The link between the employers and the employees

External stakeholders

People or other businesses that have a less direct stake in a business.

• Customers


• Suppliers


• Financial stakeholders


• Community


• Government


• Pressure groups

Conflicts

Sometimes stakeholder groups have conflicting aims.

E.g.

• Customers may want lower prices while shareholders want higher profits


• A business may want to expand operations while the community would like to keep it small.

Business aims and objectives

Aim is a long-term goal that businesses usually set to themselves. Objectives are usually more clearly defined than aims; they are the steps on the way to achieving an aim.

SMART targets

• S pecific - should be definite
• M easurable
• A chievable
• R ealistic and relevant
• T ime related - targets should be achieved within a set time period

Maximum aims versus minimum aims

Maximising aims involve making the most of something.

• Sales revenue


• market share


• Growth

Minimising aims involve making the least of something.

• Low employee turnover


• Low numbers of complaints


• the least possible impact on the environment

Small businesses

Small businesses often have less fat-reaching aims than large business. They are likely want to,

• Survive as a business


• Reach a breakeven point at which costs are covered

Satisficing aims, owners may have other aims they want to achieve; for instance, independence, a good reputation and loyal customers.

Business organisation

For any business to operate, it needs to have some structures to work it out.

Functions

• Finance


• Marketing and sale


• Administration


• Production


• Customers service and human resources


• Communitcation

Small businesses

In a small business it is unlikely that the functions will be divided into separate areas.

Larger businesses

They need a more formal organisation structure.

• Geography - where the barious parts of the business are located


• Product - what each part of the business makes


• Process - what each part of the business does in the chain of production

Organisation charts

The most common type is the 'family tree' chart, showing each 'family' of workers undera manager or director.

Each manager has a number of people under his/her control, it called span of control.

• Authority - the power that a manager has in a business


• Delegation - the right within the organisational set-up to make decision; sometimes this authority may be passed on.

Vertical organisations

Most organisations are hierarchical.

Hierarchical pyramid - people at the top have more authority than those at the bottom.

Horizontal organisations

There are few layers and many people in each layer, this kind of structure can make decision making hard.

Business size and growth

Businesses can grow internally by increasing market share/product range.

Measuring size

• Number of employees


• Value of assets


• Value on stock market (value of each share x no. of shares issued)


• Size of sales revenue


• Share of market

Small or large?

• Employees

1. Small - Fewer than 50
2. Medium - 50 - 249
3. Large - 250+

• Revenue

1. Small - Less than £2m
2. Medium - £2-8m
3. Large - £8m+

• Assets

1. Small - Less than £1m
2. Medium - £1-3m
3. Large - £3m+

SMEs

It stands for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, a special groups of businesses that the fovernement tries to help.

A definition that includes micro businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

Growth

• Internal growth

When a business grows larger from within by increasing sales, using new tecnology...etc.

• External growth

When a business grows by joining with other businesses; either merger or takeover

Why stay small?

• It's already achieving its objectives without getting any bigger


• It's providing a local service - hair dressing, for instance


• It's supplying specialist products to small markets

Management style

The style that managers shoose to use will affect how efficiently the business operate and how well staff react to their decisions.

What is management?

• Strategic decisions - Top managers

Have an overview and decide on the general direction of a business

• Tactical decisions - Middle managers

Decide on intermediate targets and how they will be reached

• Operational decisions - Other managers

Involves the day-to-day running of a business

Motivation

Many businesses include representatives on management boards because employees work much better if the're motivated.

Management styles

• Autocratic


• Democratic


• Laissez-faire


• Bureaucratic

Communication

Clear communicatoin is vital to all businesses. Any communication consists of 5 parts,

• the sender


• the message


• the medium - the way the message is sent


• the receiver


• the feedback

Types of message

Communications may be internal or external.

• Internal ---> organisation


• External ---> with people or bodies outside the organisation

Businesses communicate with all their stakeholders.

Formal communications

• Reports


• Letters


• Memoranda


• Forms

Informal communications

This can take place at any time, using any medium.

The role of ICT

ICT stands for Information and Communications Technology. It is used for internal communication, within a business, and external communication, with other businesses and individuals.

Hardware

It refers to communications equipment.

• Laptops


• Destops


• Screens


• Projectors


• Servers


• Peripherals (Scanners, printers...etc.)

Software

It refers to the programmes run on computers.

• word processing


• spreadsheets


• databases


• publishing


• presentation


• control technology

Networks

Networks inernal to a business are called intranets. To ensure that everyone in a large organisation gets the same messages at the same time.

The biggest external network is the internet.

ICT and the customer

Provides the business with records of what customers have bought and can even update stock.

Problems

ICT still has some drawbacks:

• A computer is only as good as its operator. It known as GIGO (garbage in, garbage out)


• Losing the personal touch


• Speed of development


• Viruses can destroy records and attack software

Misuse of emails

Electronic media have made sending messages cheaper and more efficient, but there are still many drawbacks regarding privacy, security and firness for purpose.

*Next Im giving it to Robin*

Balance Sheet