Measuring Construction Performance - Term Paper Example

MARKETING PLAN The important elements of marketing plan are to precisely define the business, identify the goals and serve as the firm's resume. Pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, planning precise strategies and cash flow analyses comprises the basic components of a marketing plan. Preparing a marketing plan helps in the allocation of resources properly, making good decisions and handling of unseen or unexpected complications that may become hurdle in the future development of the business. One of the important aspects of marketing plan is that it provides organized information about the company and importantly a good business plan helps in attaining a loan application. Other important applications include informing the details of the company to the sales personnel, suppliers and others so that they become aware of company's goals and achievements. Let's look at the essential elements of marketing plan for a computer-centralize system for a group of hotels. I have decided to study on a hotel business which caters both as retail and huge earning potential. It has enough scope to develop and market its name there by making fast money. High fields Hotels comprises a group of five hotels based in Southampton and concentrates more on weeknight business clienteles. Employing proper technological applications for appropriate work solves many problems. High fields Hotels uses outdated technological applications that create more problems than solutions. High fields Hotels use standalone PCs to meet the requirements like billing, checking in and checking out of the customers etc. Using PCs is not the problem; the problem arises due to non-availability of network systems in the five hotels. They don't have any central reservation systems that can keep them updated about the different activities of the hotels all the time. Most of the work is done manually at these five hotels. All the five hotel general managers are answerable to group managing director (MD). The hotel general mangers prepare a report by extracting the required data from various systems of the hotels and create management reports using a word processing application. This report is submitted to the group-managing director that would be analysed to make any changes in the daily activities of the hotels. FEASIBILITY STUDY Feasibility study is an important phase in the software development process. It enables the developer to have an assessment of the product being developed. It refers to the feasibility study of the product in terms of outcomes of the product, operational use and technical support required for implementing it. Feasibility study should be performed on the basis of various criteria and parameters. The various feasibility studies are: Economic Feasibility Operational Feasibility Technical Feasibility Economic Feasibility: It refers to the benefits or outcomes. We are deriving from the product as compared to the total cost we are spending for developing the product. If the benefits are more or less the same as the older system, then it is not feasible to develop the product. In the present system, the development of the new product greatly enhance the accuracy of the system and cuts short the delay in the processing of Birth and Death application. The errors can be greatly reduced and at the same time providing great level of security. Hence, we do not need any additional equipment except memory of required capacity. No need of spending money on client for maintenance because the database used is web enabled database. Operational Feasibility: It refers to the feasibility of the product to be operational. Some products may work very well at design and implementation but may fall in the real time environment. It includes the study of additional human resources required and their technical expertise. Technical Feasibility: It refers to whether the software that is available in the market fully supports the present application. It studies the pros and cons of using particular software for the development and it's feasibility. It also studies the additional training need to be given to the people to make the application work. In the present system, the user interface is user friendly and does not require much expertise and training. It just needs a mouse click to any sort of application. The software that is used for developing i.e., PL/SQL server pages fully is highly suitable for the present application since the user required fast access to the web pages with a high degree of security. This is achieved through integration of web server and database server in the same environment. To stay in the present marketing world a company should have good customer support services. The competition among companies is high and they to stay at the top they are using aggressive marketing strategies. The operational management and the Human Resource (HR) departments have a bigger role to play in the development of the respective companies. The quality of the product should always be of high standard. The service side concentrates mainly on providing services to the customer. Customer care section plays an important role on deciding how good a company and should be taken seriously at all times. To become a multinational company the management has to expand its units across the country. As company and its other units are slowly expanding so does the problems are increasing day by day. The HR division plays an important role in any organizational plans. It is the think tank of the company; they are the one who takes important decisions that comprises the management. Able and qualifies managers are the heart and soul of the company; therefore recruitment of qualified personnel is the requirement that should be fulfilled immediately. A qualitative and quantitative research is must in developing an Information system. Qualitative research is more of collecting data, conducting interviews, using documents and to understand and explain social phenomenon. Quantitative research involves is of development of natural sciences to study natural phenomenon. Survey methods, formal methods, econometrics, etc., are some of the examples of quantitative research. It's the research and analysis done by the scientists and programmers in software engineering yielded fruitful results in the development of different programming languages, which became more and more user friendly. The main purpose of these programming languages was to develop applications that could be used in everyday life. The research involves finding potential problems in the present applications used and resolving them by updating them or using new applications. The researchers found the flexibility of a language enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to use cost effective applications. Another important feature developed by the researchers was reverse engineering. In reverse engineering the work is done from final stage to the initial stage. The main purpose of reverse engineering is to extract the code from the final product, working on the final product to the scratch. By using reverse engineering technique one can extract their competitors application and introduce own application in the market accordingly. Qualitative research methods are more often used as it involves observation of data that helps in finding solutions to the problems. Qualitative research has been categorised into three categories named as positivist, interpretive and critical. Positivist research methods involves attempt to test theory that to understand the predictive element of the phenomena. It involves formal propositions, hypothesis testing, measuring of quantifiable variables, etc. In this type of research it is assumed that the objectives are given in reality and can be measured by their properties. Interpretive research method involves sharing of information and social constructions such as language. Interpretive method is used to understand the meaning of the given information that was assigned to the researchers. Critical research as the name implies concentrates more on the critical view of the subject. It highlights the critical viewpoint of the situation that has to be analysed. Action research and Case study research methods are as important as above-mentioned methods. The action research method describes what problems an organization is facing; what appropriate steps should be taken to resolve these kinds of situations. It is more often action-oriented method. Case study method involves studying the main object of the organization, how the situation is related to the real life context, etc. Case study can be positivist, interpretive and critical. Planning In any marketing sector marketing plan is considered to be very important and a thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasizes because much hinges on it: financial support, management of the available resources like operation and finances, credit from suppliers, promotion and marketing and last but not the least company's goals and achievements. Implementation Plan: The main plan for the system developed is to upgrading and existing system to proposed system. There are mainly 4 methods of upgrading the existing system to the proposed Parallel Run System Direct Cut-Over Method Pilot System Phase-in Method Parallel Run System: It is most secure method of converting from an existing to anew system. In this approach, both the systems are run in parallel for a specific period of time. During the period of if any serious problems were identified while using the new system, the new system is dropped and the older system is taken at the start point again. Direct Cut-Over Method: In this approach, the existing system is converted to the new system abruptly, some times over a weekend or even overnight. The old system is used until a planed conversion day. There exist no parallel activities. Pilot Method: In this approach, a working version of the system is implemented in one art of the organization such as a single work area or department. When the system is deemed complete it is installed through out the organization either all at once (direct cut-over) or gradually (phase-in). Phase-in Method: In this method, a part of the system is first implemented and over time, other remaining parts are implemented. The marketing plan is considered to be a necessity and if a person fails in it then he or she is in trouble. Many entrepreneurs argue the importance of marketing plan; according to them the market place has the tendency of changing very fast and therefore implementation of the marketing plan merely remains in spirit and not in action. Another lame excuse is that the entrepreneurs haven't got that much of time to prepare a marketing plan. As builders won't start the construction of any structure without any blueprint entrepreneurs shouldn't rush into new ventures without a proper business plan. Before writing a marketing plan some of the important questions that has to be addressed are: 1. What service does the business provide to the clients 2. Who are the potential customer and reasons for purchasing the service or product 3. What are the steps or ways you reach the potential customer 4. From whom or where the funds come Using the Plan A marketing plan is considered to be a tool comprising of three basic purposes, which are communication, management and planning. A business plans serves as a communication tool that helps in attracting investment capital, attainment of loans, hiring workers and convinces them to work for the company and importantly plays a part in attracting strategic alliances and business partners. A marketing plan is said to be successful if the outcome of the business is profitable, a business plan that cannot help in attain profits is said to be an incompetent business plan. A realistic approach is required at almost every stage of business and allows an entrepreneur to workout all the potential problems and all the alternatives before launching the actual business. A marketing plan helps as a management tool in tracking, monitoring and evaluating the progress of the business. It gives a realistic and hands on experience on developing management skills and gain knowledge on different aspects of management. Business plan helps in establishing timelines and milestones and compare theoretical projections to the realistic accomplishments. As a planning tool marketing plan can be used as a guide throughout the different phases of the business. Proper planning helps in coping with the problems in advance and use of alternate methods. Understanding between the employer and employee yield good results and helps in the development of the company. There are two types of economic nationalism. The first protection in trade is represented in establishing a system of rates and tariffs in favor of domestic production and discourages foreign imports. This kind of protection is desired to encourage establishment of industrial base by saving small and infant industries against the competition of larger and well-established firms in abroad. The second economic protectionism is a post world war -II phenomenon that is related to the proprietorship as businesses by foreign traders and investors. Multinational companies have been set up after world war-II due to immense investments of foreigners. Multinational companies thought that they could evade tariff restrictors by introducing their own branches plants and subsidiaries, which allowed them to go to markets, mobilize resources and capital and get favors with the government. These kinds of investments have created to the economic nationalism due to expansion of multinational companies. The foreign owned companies could not take central position over economic decisions from their head office from outside. The economists are compelled to demand for bringing out a legislation to oversee the activities and restrain the growth of foreign ownership. Financing One of the frequent reasons of business failure is poor management and insufficient and poor management of financing comes second. For starting or relocating or expanding a business sufficient capital is required. Having good financing is not enough in attaining profits; proper knowledge and planning are required to manage it well. These help in strengthening the management of financing and avoid common mistakes like miscalculating or underestimating the cost. The following points had to be addressed before inquiring about financing: 1. How much capital is needed 2. Why it is required Is it for expansion or for tackling risks 3. Are the risks involved greater than anticipated 4. At what stage of development is the business 5. How is the capital used 6. How is the business going Whether it is stable or depressed 7. Does the management team can withstand the challenges 8. How does the financing helps the business plan Financing is of two types, equity financing and debt financing. When you are in need of money or looking for capital, company's debt-to-equity-ratio should be considered. It is the relations between the Dollars or Euros that an entrepreneur has borrowed and Dollars or Euros invested in the business. The more the investment by the owners the more they attract the financing. When the equity to debt ratio of the firm is high then debt financing should be taken. If the proportion of the debt to equity ratio of the firm is high then it is advised that the owners should increase their equity investment, that way they cannot jeopardize firm's survival. Equity Financing Limited equity financing is used by most of the small or growth stage businesses. Whereas in debt financing, funds pour in from different quarters like from friends, relatives, etc. Venture capitalists are the most common source of equity funding. Venture capitalists may be institutional risk takers, financial institutions, wealthy persons, etc. and most of them specialize in industries. Debt Financing Commercial finance companies, financial institutions, banks, savings and loans, Lloyds Bank small business, etc. are some of the sources for debt financing. Because of their positive impact on the whole economy local and state government encourage the growth of the small companies. In debt financing additional funds comes from friends, family, relatives, and industry colleagues, etc when capital investment is smaller. Breakeven Analysis Breakeven Analysis is an important tool that helps us to determine whether a company or a firm is able to properly use available funds and gain profits. For the businesses that just started it is important for them to know their startup costs, which provides the required information that helps in generating the sales revenue to pay the expenses for running the business. When revenue equals all business costs then breakeven point is reached. Calculating breakeven point Breakeven point = annual fixed costs/ gross profit percentage Break-even Analysis: Monthly Units Break-even 22 Monthly Revenue Break-even $1,615 Assumptions: Average Per-Unit Revenue $75.00 Average Per-Unit Variable Cost $10.00 Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $1,400 Pro Forma Profit and Loss FY 1 FY 2 FY 3 Sales $4950 $9000 $9360 Direct Cost of Sales $609 $1124 $1247 Other $0 $0 $0 ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Cost of Sales $609 $1124 $1247 Gross Margin $4290 $7800 $8112 Gross Margin % 86.66% 86.66% 86.66% Expenses: Payroll $0 $0 $0 Sales and Marketing and Other Expenses $247 $450 $468 Depreciation $0 $0 $0 Leased Equipment $0 $0 $0 Utilities $150 $15 $15 Insurance $180 $200 $220 Rent $510 $510 $510 Payroll Taxes $0 $0 $0 Other $0 $0 $0 ------------ ------------ ------------ Total Operating Expenses $1087 $1175 $1213 Profit Before Interest and Taxes $3203 $6625 $6999 Interest Expense $0 $0 $0 Taxes Incurred $800 $1657 $1754 Net Profit $2403 $4968 $5245 Net Profit/Sales 48.54% 55.2% 56.00% References Sharon McClements, Adrain blumenthal and George Heaney (2002) . 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Measuring prices and price competition online: Amazon and Barnes and Noble., Available from, http://gsbwww.uchicago.edu/fac/austan.goolsbee/research/amzn.pdf accessed 29 april 2007 Frey, Christine, and Cook, John. (2004, January 8). How Amazon.com survived, thrived and turned a profit. Seattle Post-Intelligence. , Available from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/158315_amazon28.htmlsource=techdirt. (accessed 29 april 2007) Read More