Reckitt Benckiser: Fast & Focused Innovation

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s the automobile was considered an expensive, custom made, consumer product that only the wealthy could afford to dazzle themselves with. In fact, in 1895 there was a report of only 300 cars in the United States, but that number grew dramatically in the years to come to nearly 1.7 million by 1914 (Car History, n.d.). This increase was due in part by two major shifts in the American society; the new consumer economy and the ideas that every family in America should be able to afford an automobile. Henry Ford was a large contributor to this massive increase in the United States and would make changes to the automobile industry that

In addition to their green initiatives, Ford is looking at other trends regarding consumer elasticity and behavior towards the automobile market. In addition to dealing with the shift in consumer short-term behavior (going from “I really want” to “I do not really need”), the automotive industry, along with all others are wondering what the long-term change will be in consumer behavior due to the recent recession. According to Barkley US, there will be significant long-term changes in consumer behavior. Most notably, the changes will be the consumer going back to a basics mentality, the use of technology and green strategy, and women influencing more purchase decisions. The biggest changes will take place in America and parts of Europe, where housing and stock market bubbles have imploded and unemployment has soared. Companies will also need to show they empathize with consumers’ new concerns. “There will need to be a move from passion to compassion in

The fourth part of this report will investigate the claim that “smaller cars provide better values than larger cars,” given the provided data. The claim does not make clear what measurement for determining “values” is to be used, but we will proceed with the assumption that Consumer Report’s Value Score is an accurate representation of real-world value. Because we determined that the Size category and the two related ‘dummy’ variables did not have a significant relationship with the Value Score (which caused their subsequent deletion from the equation), and also because Size is largely represented by Cost/Mile—the choice was made to analyze the coefficient for Cost/Mile to help come to a conclusion. We are going to use the following estimated regression equation (which we constructed in Part III) for our analysis:

Over the past sixty years, the American car scene has been dominated by two completely different vehicles and the entire communities that believe in them. Both designed, founded, and rooted in Detroit, Michigan, the Ford Mustang and the Corvette have continued to fuel the chase for the label of America’s true muscle car. The question over the years has been, why and how do consumers choose which to own, and which one is our “bald eagle”? Investigating deeper into the roots of each American superpower, it all began with introduction of something that would change the automotive industry forever. “Corvette: Dream Car Come True”, is an article that highlights the beginning of the car movement in the United States: the birth of Chevrolet’s Corvette. “Born in 1953 at the General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, the Corvette grew up on the raceway and has ruled the road ever since” (Seiden 14). The article also goes on to mention that “the Corvette is not for racers only. True car lovers own Corvette cars for everyday driving… and the highest performance standards have been built into every model” (Seiden 14). Early dominance of Corvettes on and off the racetrack, led other competitors such as Ford Motor Company wonder why and how the Corvette could be out-driven and out-sold. Directly opposing the release of the Corvette and its multipurpose ingenuity “Lee Iacocca, then general manager of Ford Motor Company, challenged his design team to create a car that could be driven ‘to

Procaine, the generic name of Novocain is an anesthetic. It is used as an injection to reduce the pain during surgery or other medical procedures. Novocain stops the sense organs from activating afferent impulses so it can provide analgesia. It blocks the sodium ions from entering in to the axon. Blocking these ions that carry pain signals is how Novocain works as an anesthetic. Since Novocain is part of the ester local anesthetics group, this anesthesia does not work for long because they are processed by an enzyme called cholinesterase, this is why a vasoconstrictor is needed.

Ideas introduced in the article assist in understanding Ford’s current situation. Ford reported sharp falls in U.S. auto sales in May 2008. Sales of its most profitable pickups and SUVs suffered the most (“US Auto Sales Slide”). Some of the main

For our initial strategy we wanted to choose a product line that would be most intriguing to customers in this poor economy. To initiate this we focused our products around better gas mileage, safety, and quality. In order to do this we needed to evaluate consumers’ needs and desires when making a high involvement purchase such as a car. We believe the best target market for this type of car would be a middle class family that does not have as much disposable income due to the recession in our economy.

18. Why did Ford, GM and Chrysler undergo a harsh downturn relative to other car makers?

The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world’s most important economic divisions by profits. This analysis focuses on the industry, specifically, manufacturers of automobiles. There are five competitors in the StratSim environment: Firm A, B, C, D, and E. Industry sales in the most recent year were 4.3 million units, with expected growth in the next year. Within this industry, there are seven-vehicle classes: Economy, Family, Luxury, Sports, Minivan, Truck, and Utility. There are two new classes with potential – if properly marketed.

The Mustang is segmented by end user. Mustang buyers are typically male, and relatively young, with the company attempting to reach ever-younger segments of the market to ensure that the car maintains its market share (Greenberg, 2009). The company also uses special models in order to maintain interest in the Mustang among pony car aficionados, many of whom are older, are interested in collecting, and remember the Mustang's glory days in the 1960s. Thus, the bulk of Mustangs are sold to today's core target audience, but the company also uses the brand to market to some middle-aged and older males as well, in a more premium segment, where marketing is based primarily on nostalgia for the Mustangs of old, and the new cars that capture that aesthetic.

Synopsis: Gillette has long been known for innovation in both product development and marketing strategy. In the highly competitive, but mature, razor and blade market, Gillette holds a commanding worldwide market share. The peak of its innovation occurred in 2006 with the introduction of the Fusion 5-bladed razor. Today, innovation in razors and blades is thwarted by a lack of new technology and increasing consumer reluctance to pay for the “latest and greatest” in shaving technology. Gillette must decide how to put the razor wars behind them and maintain or increase its share of the global razor market.

As medicine progresses day by day so are the varieties of procedures that can be accomplished on patients in order to improve quality of life. One of the areas of the health care system that has developed the most is the dental field. Now a days, the diversity of dental procedures performed on people of different ages is extraordinary. Dentists have also improved, not only their techniques thanks to the advances in technology and new equipment that allows them to perform all the different procedures, but as well as on their training. Dentists today, thanks to that intensive training; are capable of screening for

Describe the company and the major initiative(s) they have planned for the next 5 years.

The financial crisis starting in 2008 and the following recession hit hard the US auto sector. Traditional car makers had to realise that substantial changes were needed in order to maintain their strong position in the

It is June 6, 2010. A few minutes before a business meeting in California A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble´s President – Global Beauty Care and North America receives a phone call from John Pepper, Chairman of P&G. John Pepper gets right to the point: “Are you prepared to accept the CEO job at P&G?” Durk Jager who has been P&G´s CEO resigned the day before after 30 years of service for P&G. Without too many questions A.G. Lafley accepts John Pepper´s offer. He becomes P&G´s new CEO.