Contract Management

Archive for September, 2009

i’m confused on how to do the case study.

Mark Juarez Case
What to Make of a New Product

In March 1991 Mark Juarez, an American, was living in Berlin, Germany, where he worked under contract as a masseur. He had invented a product that he found helpful in his work and was considering what to do with it. The product consisted of five wooden balls, four small ones approximately one inch in diameter that were connected to a larger one, about two inches in diameter, with wooden dowels that angled out about one inch each form the bottom of the large ball, as can be seen in the sketch of Exhibit 1.

In use, the product was gripped by a masseur as an aid in transmitting pressure to the client, reducing the strain on the masseur’s hand while applying the pressure more firmly at the same time. It had been well-received by a few of Mark’s colleagues, to whom he had given copies, and by their customers.

How, he wondered, should he apply his time and very limited personal financial resources? Should he pursue licensing, manufacturing, patenting or investigating whether there were already other such products on the market, and if so with what sequence of specific actions? Or should he simply stick to his massage work and let his simple product find its own way into whatever market might or might not exist? What would be involved in creating a company to produce and sell it, and how might such things best be done, if that were the chosen path?

Background
Mark had held a number of different jobs prior to his present occupation. In the mid-1970s he studied marketing at Chabot Community College in California while working nine months for a wine company followed by seven months with ARA Services, a national company providing laundry services for institutions and restaurants.
In early 1977 he began working in sales for a company that marketed energy efficient air conditioning systems for the home. Although successful, Mark felt by 1978 that his life was unrewarding and his lifestyle incompatible with his ideas. He took an unexpected leave for two weeks and just drove up and down the West Coast. He then decided to quit his job and flew to Europe to travel and explore. Ten of the next 15 years, he spent in Europe working odd jobs in his travels. Whenever he ran out of money, he would go back to America and work to save enough to go back to Europe. During these return visits to the United States, he started a landscaping company, sold for a company that made “environmentally correct” living/work spaces, and participated in other small ventures.
In Berlin during 1987 Mark became interested in massage. At first, he thought it would be difficult to learn locally, since he did not speak German and did not have much money to pay for massage classes. But a massage teacher who encouraged him to learn more about massage explained that massage could be learned regardless the language barrier, because massage was about touch and the body, both universal subjects. To further encourage Mark, the massage teacher offered him a job at the massage school.

By year end Mark was a certified massage therapist. Eventually, he too became a massage teacher. He also learned that traditional techniques of massage were very tiring to the hands. Many massage therapists developed carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful illness of the hands and forearms.

One February morning in 1991, through a vision in a dream, Mark conceived of a device that might help with his work. He envisaged a wooden ball with four wooden legs and little wooden balls on the ends of each leg. He also envisioned having a smiley face on the big wooden ball. He told a friend of his idea and she encouraged him to go to a “wood dollar,” a person who carves wood on a lathe, who could make the pieces for his design.

With the help of a wood dollar, some prototypes were completed, and Mark tried them on his students. The students said they loved the device and the following week requested more copies of it for their friends. Mark built more, and enthusiasm and demand for the new massage tool increased.

Because of this student interest Mark began to think about protecting his design idea by seeking a patent. He visited an American patent attorney in Berlin. The patent attorney quoted a cost of $4000 for “researching” the patent. This task was not to be confused with actually filing to receive a patent on the new device. It would simply look through the records of prior American patents to ascertain whether the same product features had been patented in the U.S. before. If it had not, then Mark could try to obtain a patent, which would cost considerably more. Should he, as a result, be granted a patent, he would then have the right to sue anyone who imitated the product in the country where the patent was issued and claim that they were violating his patent. If the patent court then agreed, he could prevent further such imitation
Questions:

Case Study Questions
Provide thoughtful and complete answers (minimum of 3 double spaced pages to maximum of 5 double spaced pages total for the entire assignment) to the questions below. Use your textbook chapters, powerpoint slides or any other material covered in the course to frame your answers.

1)Rate the company on the dimensions below: Rating 1 to 5 (1 is Highest and 5 is lowest)
Provide an explanation and defense of your rating for each dimension.

Strength of the New Venture Team/Organizational Leaders:
A significant part of the success (or failure) of an organization is often attributable to the organization’s leaders. Thus, assessing their abilities/capabilities can provide insight into the ultimate success or failure of a company.

Strength of the Opportunity:
Whether or not there is a significant and identifiable market is also of great importance to the success or failure of an organization.
Strength of the Industry:
Organizational research tells us that about 20% of a firm’s performance can be explained by the attractiveness (or unattractiveness) of the industry in which the firm competes. Thus, an understanding of industry forces which affect the firm is important. Use the powerpoint slides which discuss Porter’s Five Forces to answer this section.

Strength of the Business Model:
Ultimately, the organization must make money in order to survive and grow. Provide some insight on whether you feel this company has a strong or weak business model. Use the powerpoint slides on the Business Model as a guide.

2)Provide 3 changes/adjustments the company should/could make in their current strategy in order to gain more effective results.

A case study is just a big SWOT analysis. Those questions that you are supposed to respond to are just overly lengthy descriptions of SWOT analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. The Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal components, which means they are within the company and should be under the company’s control. Opportunities and Threats are the external components which the company must recognize so that they can exploit the opportunities and minimize the effects of the threats (relating to the marketplace, industry, economy, laws and other such "external" factors).

Whenever you do a case study you’re first thought should be SWOT analysis – make a page for each letter and start listing out the items that fit each category for that company. Strengths should always be core competencies (things the company does well that most other companies have trouble doing) and the competitive advantage (something unique to the company that no other company can do or has). These can be based on people, procedure or products.

Once you have your SWOT outlined, go back and find proof to substantiate your claims that those really are strengths, weaknesses, etc. Once you have that outlined and everything clearly defined and explained then add your input and recommendations for the company. Bring in what the company already has and what the company could easily obtain in your recommendations. Also try to add one thing that is very creative as a solution/recommendation that those in the company may not be aware of because of their limited focus. For example, Dove (the body lotion company) could have been so focused on making beauty products that they could have spent money on improving their formula, but they launched an ad campaign to promote self-esteem and set their products apart as being used for hygienic reason instead of beauty reasons. This was an opportunity that most lotion companies would not see.

This technique can be used for all case studies. Good luck.

Your lunchtime thoughts are comprised of brilliant marketing strategies and anxiety over bill payments. You’re the CEO, human resources director, janitor, and administrative assistant all wrapped up into one. You open the doors at dawn and lockup when it’s time to wrap up for the day.

Welcome to the world of small business ownership. Lovely, isn’t it?

Of course, the rewards of small business ownership are quite high. Your focus determines your reality and your success, you never have to answer to an angry boss, and (for most owners) you get to work in an industry of your choice. There’s an obvious trade-off with the long hours, multiple responsibilities, and occasional panic attacks of “how am I going to get this done?”

Not to worry. You’re not alone. In fact, almost all small business owners face the same issues you do. And many have survived and lived on to tell the tale (in small business seminars, in fact!), so don’t get discouraged. Here are several easy tips to get your business head out of the clouds.

Become an expert at time management: If you went to college, chances are you learned how to balance midterm studying, paper writing, socializing, and plain old partying into a somewhat successful formula. Dust off those time management skills, because they’ll get your small business running in an efficient fashion. A great way to do this is to use the tools that come with modern office software. Any sort of email program that features a calendar, such as Outlook, will allow you to track appointments, follow-up emails/phone calls, and important dates. It will also allow you to create daily to-do lists while maintaining an organized list of your contacts. You can also use spreadsheet software, such as Excel, to keep track of the progress of multiple tasks, calculate and crunch numbers, and store tables upon tables of information. Get this software, load it on to your office computer or laptop and use it religiously. It will organize your life and allow you to attend to the important things for your business.

Contracts are good things: Here’s a hint – if you’re not an expert at something, don’t do it yourself. Your budgets are stretched and your time and sanity are running low. How about a hired hand? From virtual administrative assistants to business planners to copywriters, hiring out help on a contract basis can free you from the logistics of running a business and allow you to stay focused on what your business really does. Obviously, hiring professional costs money, but it also means a separate set of eyes specializing in something that you’re not the most adept at. The process could even pay for itself. If the quality of work these contract professionals bring in generate revenue by allowing you to work harder at what you do best.

Seize every opportunity: When you’re a small business, you’ve got to get creative with your marketing. Fortunately, every single moment and action presents itself as a time to sell your business. Writing an email? Then attach your business description to your signature and casually mention your business. Going to the library? Bring some flyers and tack them on the bulletin board. Going to get office supplies? Ask the supply store manager how you can place your business cards on the counter. Every scenario grants you the opportunity to reach another person. And even if it’s just one person, that someone can tell a friend, who may tell two friends, and so on. Word-of-mouth and grass-roots marketing can be a powerful tool, and it’s cheap – so use it!

Keep your chin up: It might be a cliché, but it’s true – the best way to have run a successful business is to stay positive. Keeping a positive mindset affects you, the ones you work with, and your customers. No one likes to work when they’re down in the dumps. But if you’re chipper, motivated, and ready to go, you’ll inspire yourself and the ones around you. It may sound trite, but it’s the truth. Maintain a positive attitude and work hard and the results will present themselves!

While running a small business is consuming and exhausting, don’t forget that you also need to stay mentally and physically healthy. These tricks will help you run your business more efficiently, but it doesn’t excuse you from running yourself into the ground. Remember to find an outlet for the physical and emotional stress that come with running a small business. You’ll feel refreshed and energized and ready to work hard and efficiently – and that means more business and more profits!

SONU KUMAR GARG
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/staying-sane-survival-tips-for-small-business-owners-367563.html

The term SEO has become somewhat of a buzzword and is constantly changing to encompass many other internet marketing tasks, like pay per click ad campaigns, web design techniques and affiliate marketing strategies.

Good SEO takes a lot of hard work, attention to detail, and careful planning. Because search engines provide a huge amount of potential traffic, a strong, solid SEO and internet marketing campaign is imperative. An SEO campaign done correctly results in increased sales, branding, and exposure; an SEO campaign done badly will at best get you a couple links and at worst, get you banned.

With this in mind, here are a few tips to think about and ask your SEO company:

1) Do they provide an overall package? Meaning, do they offer a solid search marketing campaign that includes off-site and on-site optimization, web development and writing services?

2) Do they give you a complete competitor analysis? This arms you with a more accurate understanding of your competitors and how hard or easy it will be to rank you for your chosen keywords.

3) Search engine marketing strategies vary in price, but beware of ridiculously cheap companies; you won’t get the value for your money and you may actually hurt your site. Ask for client testimonials and ask to see other sites they’ve done.

4) If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. For example, if they say they will have you on the first page in under two to three mos, be wary. SEO isn’ an instant process; its a gradual building whose end result, if built correctly, can do amazing things for your company or website.

5) The search engine marketing company you choose should ideally have several top ranking sites for different sets of keywords.

6) Make sure they aren’t using techniques that are “black hat” e.g. methods that can get you banned from the search engines. The best and most common example of this is spamming.

7) Consider a blog or content management system to supplement or even replace your current site if you are a small company. This is ideal for anyone from large or small companies. Blogs, if updated often enough, can greatly increase your SEO. For best results, the blogs themselves should be optimized too.

Before going outside your own country for SEO, think twice. While there are a number of excellent SEO companies around the globe, companies are only subject to the laws in their country. For example, say you are in the US and you contract with a firm in India and they don’t deliver at all or to your satisfaction. It may be virtually impossible to get your money back, and vice versa.

9) Look for results and a proven track record over all other qualifications; actions and results speak far louder than words.

10) Find an SEO company with good customer support; this can make a huge difference in managing and handling your project.

Aurora Brown
http://www.articlesbase.com/sem-articles/top-10-search-engine-marketing-tips-to-read-before-you-choose-an-seo-firm-141311.html