Marketing and Public Relations and Quality Improvement - Assignment Example

Marketing and Public Relations A. Marketing Analysis and Its Involved Processes “Basic market analysis requires setting of objectives, identifying the target market, analyzing the needs and preferences of the potential customers and finally, evaluating the variables affecting competition in the environment” (Hess, 2011, p. 379). Processes “ Prior to the conduct of a market analysis, an eight (8) pointer-prerequisites must be achieved in the preparation of a Dietetics Marketing Planning Model, to include: a) identify the target market; b) conduct a market research to include the use of SWOT analysis; c) set realistic and measurable goals; d) determine the strategies while considering the influential factors within the market environment; e) develop an action plan and designate responsibility; f) establish a reliable financial reporting system; g) monitor ,measure and evaluate outcomes; and finally, h) establish the organizational support or commitment to the project” (Hess, 2011, 379). 1.0 “Identification of Target Market refers to the group of potential consumers or customers who has the authority and ability to purchase or take advantage of a particular product or service which satisfies their shared demand. There are two major types of markets, namely: “(Hess, 2011, 379) 1.1 “Consumer Markets (buy the product(s) for personal use)” (Hess, 2011, 379) 1.2 “Industry Markets (use of the product usually by government institutions, private entities or agency in their operations to produce to produce their own product”(Hess, 2011, p.379). 2.0 “Determination of customers’ needs and wants requires various information revealing their needs, characteristics and preferences in order to segment the market” (Hess, 2011, p.280). 2.1 “Market Segmentation is the division of the total market into market groups with common characteristics and interests. Market segmentation is based on: a) behavior patterns, b) physical characteristics (to include age, sex, health); c) psychological straits, d) opinions of goods on the market, and finally, e) degree of competition from other products” (Hess,2011,p.380). 2.2 “Social Marketing is more on the application of commercial marketing principles to the advancement of a social cause, idea or behavior, specifically to increase the acceptability of a social idea or cause, often used in public health campaigns such campaign to reduce or ban smoking” (Hess, 2011, p.380). 2.3 “Marketing Mix is said to be an effective marketing research tool if it establishes and incorporates the interrelationships between and among the product, program or service, pricing, promotion and distribution strategies to achieve marketing success. The strategies change based on the product’s life-cycle” (Hess, 2011, p.380). 2.4 “Customer Satisfaction is one of the most significant measures used to achieve a product rank placement and market share. This attribute differentiates one product or service from the others. This indicates how your product or service is valued by your clients and this is sourced from the customers’ feedback or evaluation” (Hess, 2011, p.380). 3.0 “Documentation and Evaluation should be initiated at the onset of the project. It measures: a) financial data, b) evaluation forms accomplished by clients to compute and analyze their feedbacks, c) survey results and finally, d) different studies to measure its effectiveness (e.g. increased nutrition knowledge, attitude and compliance scores, dietary intake records, among others.)” (Hess, 2011, pp.380-381). 4.0 Marketing Strategies 4.1 “Product strategies refer to labels, packaging, trademarks, guarantees, new product development in terms of new uses and new users)” (Hess,2011,p.381). 4.2 “Service strategies include to convenience, individual attention, guaranteed satisfaction, among others” (Hess, 2011,p. 381). 4.3 “Placement strategies refer to use of systems and channels to position the product or service accessible to the consumers’ hands, maximizing speed and ease while economizing on costs” (Hess,2011,p.381). 4.4 “Promotional strategies consists of developing a blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity to meet sales or revenue objectives” (Hess, 2011, p. 381). 4.5 “Pricing strategies include meeting the competition’s price; pricing above the competition (to promote perceptions of quality) and pricing under competition (to promote cost advantage)” (Hess, 2011, p.381). 5.0 Rationale of Pricing 5.1 “Pricing Adjustments include discounts, free or reduced costs for designated recipients or accredited membership as in participants to a workshop-seminar” (Hess, 2011,p. 384). 5.2 “Options Pricing allows increases in pricing as customers add options to the basic products” (Hess, 2011, p.384); and 5.3 “Product Line Pricing offers a range of prices for a variety of products or services offered” (Hess, 2011,p.384). 6.0 Types of Pricing 6.1.1 “Cost-Based Pricing is calculated as total cost is divided by the estimated units sold. Breakeven includes” (Hess, 2011, p.381): 6.1.2 “Breakeven Analysis seeks to identify a level of production to cover all fixed and variable costs of production in the short term. Profit at the breakeven level of output is zero” (Hess, 2011, p.381). 6.1.3 “Breakeven Point is the point at which an operation is making no profit but incurring no loss, where the total revenue is equal to total expenses” (Hess, 2011, p.381). 6.1.4 “Revenue Generating Pricing Methods ultimately aim to generate revenue to offset costs incurred in operations. Each organization has to decide how to price the product or service they offer in order to generate income” (Hess, 2011,p. 382). 6.1.4.1 “Demand Oriented Method is based on what the customers perceive the cost to be and are willing to pay; usually occurs when a new trendy product or service is introduced in the market. Close control and close monitoring of sales are required to justify pricing” (Hess, 2011, p.382). 6.4.1.2 “Food Cost Percentage refers to the ratio of cost of food over the revenue received from selling the food” (Hess, 2011,p. 382). 6.1.5 “A 40% Raw Food Cost refers to the general rule of thumb in pricing of sales reflected in the total menu” (Hess, 2011,p. 382). 6.1.5.1 “To calculate raw food costs for each recipe ingredient multiply the quantity (as purchased weight) by the ingredient unit price” (Hess, 2011, p.382). 6.1.5.2 “To calculate raw food per serving divide the total raw food cost for all ingredients by the number of servings” (Hess, 2011, p.382). 6.1.6 “Mark up is determined by dividing the desired percentage of food income spent on raw food (e.g. 40%) into 100 (representing total sales) and the resulting figure is known as the Markup Factor (MF). MF is usually set to include overhead, labor, utilities and other equipment among others” (Hess, 2011, p.383). 6.1.7 “Selling Price is figured out by considering in its calculation hidden costs and losses that occur during the preparation, cooking and serving. In most cases, 10% is added to food costs before figuring out the markup factor” (Hess, 2011, p.383). 6.1.8 “Prime Cost Method, initiated by Harry Pope, reflects labor costs directly. Prime costing spreads the cost of foodservice evenly among clients” (Hess, 2011, p.383). 6.1.9 “Loss Leader Pricing is selling of item at a price that is lower than actual cost of the item. This is intended to bring consumers to the store with the expectation that they will purchase other items not on sale. It is also a type of promotional pricing” (Hess, 2011, p.383). B. “Public Relations specifically refer to the relationship developed between the public and an organization. Maintaining excellent public relations is a key to success in any field” (Hess, 2011, p.384). 1.0 Media Relations “Use of various forms of media (television, newspapers, radio and internet) is an effective option (also cost effective) in sharing your messages. Reaching out to the media by means of press releases, press kits and media kits is a good sign of being proactive. This generates and promotes interest towards a particular product or service” (Hess, 2011,p. 384). 2.0 Social Networking 2.1 “Blogs refers to Online web “diaries” where entries are published chronological order” (Hess, 2011,p. 385). 2.2 “PodCasts are downloadable audio files of information. Some pod casts are rebroadcasts while vodcasts are similar except they include video to audio” (Hess, 2011,p. 385). 2.3 “Social Networking Sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln) refer to online websites that allow individuals and groups to interact, exchange information and publicize events, etc.”(Hess, 2011,p. 385). 3.0 “Campaign Development refers to effective campaign that carries relevant message to its target audience” (Hess, 2011, p.385). Quality Improvement 1.0 Regulatory Guidelines (e.g. Federal, local, TJC) 1.1 “Quality Assurance has threefold requisites. One is the commitment of every employee to put their best even under system constraints. Management should provide the needed systems that will lead workers to deliver high quality work output. Lastly, regulatory guidelines provide comprehensive quality guidelines for systems, products and services” (Hess, 2011,p.385). 1.2 “Quality assurance: refers to the established programs that address customer’s or clients’ needs” (Hess, 2011, p. 380). .0 “Regulatory System implemented with inspection program to facilitate early detection of defects and non-conformities” (Hess, 2011, p.385); .0 “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is the systematic analysis of all process steps in foodservice subsystems to ensure that food is safe for consumption” (Hess, 2011, p. 385); 4.0 “SERVSAFE, developed by NRAEF, refers to risk management series program that checks on serving safe food, responsible alcohol service and employee and customer safety” (Hess, 2011, p.385); 5.0 Federal Regulations 5.1 “The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987 and its amendments that mandate individualized resident assessments and a team process to support resident autonomy and independence. Other mandates require Dietitians: a) to determine resident’s nutritional status; b) must provide a balanced diet that is responsive to the needs of each resident and c) determine the adequacy of nutritional intake and initiate suitable responses for each resident as necessary” (Hess, 2011, p. 386). 5.2 “Voluntary Regulations – The Joint Commission (founded in 1951) is an independent and non-profit organization whose mission is to consistently improve public health care”(Hess, 2011, p. 386). 5.3 “Accreditation Programs include: Ambulatory care facilities, Behavioral Health organizations, critical access hospitals, home care health services, hospitals, laboratory services, long-term care, and office-based surgery” (Hess, 2011, p. 387). 5.4 Certification Programs 5.4.1 “Diseases Specific Care Certification Program is designed to evaluate clinical programs addressing specific treatment of chronic diseases or conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart illnesses”(Hess, 2011,p.387). 5.4.2 “The Health Care Staffing Services Certification Programs focus on enhancing ability of a health staff firm’s ability to provide qualified and competent services. In some cases, some states require dietitians to be licensed or acquire specific certifications to further ensure the public health safety” (Hess, 2011, p.387) 6.0 Process, Evaluation and Implementation 6.1 “Quality Assurance (QA) or Quality Improvement Program is a crucial process that provides: some degree of confidence to customers in terms of having the product or services fit for use, reliable, consistent and reasonably priced; ensures the quality and appropriateness of care through continuous monitoring and evaluation; provides an “opportunity for improvement” when a level of quality is made” (Hess, 2011, p. 387). 6.2 “ Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management theory intended to improve quality based on total organization involvement and commitment, using statistical quality control, seeking to raise worker’s performance and continuous re-evaluating performance to plan for further interventions. TQM has been modified with eight (8) stages” (Hess, 2011, p. 388). 7.0 Tools for Evaluation 7.1 Indicators “Refer to expected standards and criteria set must be fully documented. Criteria should be written in behavioral terms to express a single action or a consequence of a single action” (Hess, 2011, p. p.388). “Indicators should be Relevant, Understandable, Measurable, Behavioral and Achievable (RUMBA)” (Hess, 2011, p.390) 7.2 Criteria 7.2.1 “Criteria are important in designing control systems. These are predetermined elements or standards against quality of care or services which can be compared. “In the field of nutrition, standards must be developed for nutritional assessment and nutrition intervention in order to demonstrate outcomes of services” (Hess, 2011, p.388). 7.2.2 “7 Steps to develop quality assurance criteria: a) pick a target population; b) identify the problem (s); c) write the criteria to include critical time, expected level of performance and exceptions; d) reference criteria from literature; e) verify application of criteria; f) verify criteria by field test; and g) revise as necessary” (Hess, 2011, p. 389). 7.3 Measure Performance Measuring Performance is an ongoing and repeated process with frequency dependent on the type of activity being measured. The time between measurements should not be unduly long” (Hess, 2011, p.389). 7.4 Compare Performance to Criteria: “Performance should be analyzed to determine if established criteria have been met or if problems exist in any criterion”(Hess, 2011, p. 389). 8.0 Plan Corrective Action: “Corrective measures must be taken should performance fall short of standards or if any negative response registered to actions or programs” (Hess, 2011, p. 389). 9.0 Integration: “Quality control integrates quality standards acceptable to the client or customer with cost containment policies of the supplier. Quality control means providing maximum quality for resources used” (Hess, 2011, p.389). 10.0 Collection of Data and Monitoring “Effective quality improvement plan begins with commitment and involvement of top management. Collect and organize data. Quality and productivity must be measured to determine whether goals have been achieved” (Hess, 2011,p. 389). 11.0 Evaluation of Effectiveness “Effectiveness is based on the degree of variation between the intended goal of a product or service and its actual performance. A 100% achieved performance standard is usually unattainable so threshold for evaluation was introduced” (Hess, 2011, p. 390). “Thresholds designate a point (lower limit) at which collected data require further investigation. Thresholds of 100% are set for Sentinel Events wherein an error is not acceptable” (Hess, 2011, p.390). “The Compliance Rate is a percentage established for each item monitored”(Hess, 2011, p. 390). 12.0 Report 12.1 “Cost Benefit Analysis provides the evaluation whether or not a particular project is worth completing or not. This is done by comparing the total costs of the project with the total benefits, all delineated in financial terms” (Hess, 2011, p.391). .2 “Productivity Studies is measured as the ratio of input to output. Increased productivity promotes increased profits”(Hess, 2011, p. 391). 12.3 “Work Simplification is the process of finding easier and effective ways to handle tasks so that operations, time and motions can be reduced, thus increasing production and decreasing costs”(Hess, 2011, 391). 12.4 “Work Sampling is synonymous to Random Ratio Delay Sampling and Occurrence Sampling is a tool for fact-finding and a method whereby there is intermittent observation of the worker in various activities” (Hess, 2011, 391). 12.5 “Total efficiency units measures the quantity of work performed per unit of time (e.g. in hours)” (Hess, 2011, p.391). 12.6 Charts or Flow Diagrams 12.6.1 “Pathway Charts (Flow Diagram) are scale drawings of the worker’s path, measuring time and distance (commonly used to save time and money for repeated tasks)” (Hess, 2011,p. 391); 12.6.2 “Operations Chart document efficient movement of hands based on transport and action” (Hess, 2011,p. 391); and 12.6.3 “Process Charts are graphic presentations of work motions designed to improve the efficiency of the method” (Hess, 2011, p.391). 13.0 “ Micromotion Studies use photographs of motions taken at a fraction of a second. Chronocyclegraphs are photographic records of work patterns made by tying lights to hands. These records are used to identify and reduce unnecessary motions (Hess, 2011, p.391). 14.0 Outcomes Management Systems “These systems are used to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of an operation. Users of these systems are insurance companies and financial officers” (Hess, 2011, pp.391-392). 15.0 Vendor Performance and Evaluation “A vendor evaluation program becomes imperative since the ability of the vendor to supply the organization with the necessary supplies and equipment can make or break an organization. They should be regularly evaluated on the basis of the regular intervals of one order/ delivery” (Hess, 2011, p.392). “Parameters of Vendor evaluation includes the following: Product line, Delivery service, Sales Personnel, Accounting, Stability of the Company and Facilities” (Hess, 2011, p.392). Reference Hess, Mary Abbott. (2011). Review of Dietetics: Manual for the Registered Dietitian Exam: 2012-2013. (Ed.) Chicago, IL. Hess and Hunt, Inc. Nutrition Communications Read More