Marketing. Wireless headphones

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Marketing

 

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Market Segmentation

            Market segmentation is defined as a form of separating a  market of potential consumers into segments, or groups, depending on several divergent characteristics. Established segments comprise of customers who need to react in accordance withthe applied strategies of marketing and who have similar traits. For instance, interests, needs and locations. Market segmentation assists the marketers to personalize the marketing campaigns — the enterprise’s aim segmented groups, instead of targeting each potential customer personally. The market segmentation assists marketers in saving money, time efficiency, and other resources, rather than targeting customers on a personal level. The aspect of grouping similar clients together with enables marketers to target cost-effective audiences. Market segmentation also mitigates the risk of an unsuccessful campaign. As the marketer divides the market depending on main characteristics and personalizes their marketing strategies depending on that particular information (Kitunen at el, 2019), there is a high likelihood of success than if they were done through the general marketing campaign and attempt to make it actualize it across all marketing segments. The marketers may also utilize segmentation to make their target audinces more attractive. For instance, if the segmentation reveals that individual consumers are more likely to purchase a product than others, the marketer opts to distribute their resources and attention.

There exists four different types of market segmentation which are mainly used. They includegeographical, demographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation. The increase of customer population and preferences as well as the availability of the competitive options, marketing segmentation has become crucial in the marketing plan. Demographic segmentation splits a population intomany divisions based on specific variables. Demographic segmentation has its variables such as gender, age, family size, religion, income, occupation, nationality, and race.  People in the same age, life cycle stages, income, and gender, are likely to have the same interest. Therefore, it can be used for market segmentation. Behavioral segmentation splits based on the patterns of usage, behavior and decision making. The psychographic segmentation usually utilizes other people’s lifestyles, interests, opinions and their activities to make up a market segment (Chen &Gassner, 2012). The geographic segmentation splits based on their location. The consumers always have different needs based on their location.

Total Product Concept Model

Whole product concept means the package of services given by a service or product.  Customers usually benefit psychologically and health wise through the use of  the product. They also save time by using online shopping to purchase the product and also through after-sales services offered by the manufacturer. Customers use the whole product concept to distinguish and evaluate the products; benefits between many different brands. This makes customers to choose a suitable product that provides value for the capital spent. Because of these reasons, the organization uses total products concept to make their products different from their competitors as well as creating a special position in the market for them (Hänninen&Kauranen, 2006).

The total model is analyzed using four different levels which include the basic core, which is the package of the functionality benefits. The fundamental core entails all accrued benefits that the organization promises to offer. The accessory ring has added value benefits which haven’t been received yet nor paid for. These are the benefits which are given to customers as added value services separate from the assured main services. The enterprises depend on these benefits to create a competitive edge over their cpmpetitors by differentiating their products. Psychology ring is created by benefits resulting from client’s feeling connected with using the product. It entails all the thoughts and emotions of a client concerning the using or ownership of the product (Warren, Rhodes& Carter, 2001). This usually differs from client to client. Therefore it might be complicated to get it as there analysis of customer’s minds to get information. Time saved when service or products are purchased, which can be harmful or useful. This is concerned with the time used when buying and using the product. These kinds of benefits can be a crucial factor for consumers who are highly engaged in life.

Successful Immigrants and Status Matter’s Groups Needs and Wants

The successful immigrants contain young people, and they are literate in terms of technology. Their lifestyle is much oriented on the technology advancements, and they have buying power. The young people and mid families are in one market segmentation of the use of wireless headphones. The group is also consolidating on the same geographical location. The group have a steady source of income and have everyday behavioral activities in terms of their wireless headphones usage. Hence they have the same decision making pattern. The group requires entertaining products, technology products, and wireless headphones to listen to music and video in their social lives (Reisinger, 2016). The group requires facilities that maintain silent due to their academics and connection to social life through wireless headphones. The group is conversant with most of the technology products because of their literacy levels.

Status matter’s group is well educated and digital-oriented; they are in one geographical region. This group use the wireless headphone with their smartphones to shop and to get alerts about the new fashion cloths available in the market.  The group has the same status of high earning and career-oriented group. This group has the same interests and also they have the product buying power. The group has the same behavioral characteristics which means they have similar wireless phone usage, behavior and decision making pattern. The group has the same lifestyle of people, interests, activities as well as opinions of the products they buy. The group requires a way to digitally connect and means of communication to their families and the digital market. The group also require unique products that are identified to their status and this calls for wireless headphones instead of wired headphones.

Both successful immigrants and status matter’s of the groups have young professionals who have high income and are willing to spend on buying products. The group has young people who would like to monitor the market of fashion products; hence they are likely to adopt wireless phone. The groups have people who are proactive in social sites, reading and reviews. The wireless headphones demand usually rise because the group has smartphones that have features that can be connected with wireless headphones. The digital wireless headphones have both noise canceling and sound quality (Research&Markets, 2019). The wireless headphones come with integrated volume, call, and playback controls. They have dedicated smart assistant button, which is used to cycle via the model’s variable noise canceling function and can let in less or more ambient sound. The ear cups usually spin flat to ease storage, and wireless headphones come with a carrying case.

Wiressless Headphones Attributes

The wireless headphones are not cheap; nevertheless, they have great budget options. Their price is worth it because they will provide fantastic noise canceling ability and high sound quality features. The wireless headphone will provide artificial intelligence to incorporate digital assistance, music playback and calls. The wireless headphones will provide water resistant features.The wireless headphones will enhance novel charging function as well as charging case that has a built-in battery that can recharge the earphones twice. The wireless headphones will save users from the curbersome problem of wired headphones. These attributes will have customer psychological satisfactions, provides satisfactory services , and benefits accrued to the money spent to buy the product. The product is available in the online market to save time spent in buying the product.

The successful immigrant group groups have significant disposable incomes which significantly propel the sales of wireless headphones in the market. Most organizations accept the use of wireless headphones in the offices, and this has increased the demand for the product. The group is characterized by demands and technology competition innovations, which have made the wireless headphones technologies to put more emphasis on wireless connectivity, good noise canceling functionality as well as sound quality. The wireless headphones are feature-oriented products with ease of use. The status matter’s group have many electronic entertaining products that might be in use of Wi-Fi that might facilitate the demand for wireless headphones (PR Newswire, 2019). Wireless headphones have innovative features that attract consumers. They are excellent user-friendly and extensively used for public safety, travelers and commuter. The wireless phone has secured the willingness to buy through adding value by additional services and use features such as Google assistance. The wireless headphone innovation through fitness attracts most of the young people in this group.

The Wireless Headphones Demand in the Successful Immigrants and Status Matter’s Group.

The successful immigrant’s group will buy wireless headphones because of their lifestyle in technology advancement. They are also literate as well as the use of Smartphone that has wireless headphones extended features. The same geographic factors of the group may influence it to buy wireless headphones. The group entails teenagers and middle age people who have interest in music, and this will result to demand wireless headphones that provide quality sounds.        The status matter’s group is professions oriented and have the financial stability that enables them to buy smartphones and other electronic devices that may require wireless headphones to listen to music. The Google assistance of wireless headphones can attract the group since they are digitally connected. The professional group usually like quite an environment, and this attracts the need for wireless headphones that are not cumbersome to carry and have excellent services satisfaction. This group likes to be associated with class products to maintain the social class and well as a feeling of satisfaction through the use of the technological features provided by the wireless headphones technologies. The market segmentation helps to sell the wireless headphones since it is easy to establish the market and able to deal with the customers than individual level. The wireless headphones have services that satisfy the groups’ needs as well as compatibility with most the exciting electronic products the groups possess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Chen, S., &Gassner, M. (2012).An Investigation of the Demographic, Psychological,        Psychographic, and Behavioral Characteristics of Chinese Senior Leisure           Travelers. Journal of China Tourism Research8(2), 123–145.        https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2012.677340

Hänninen, S., &Kauranen, I. (2006). A Multidimensional Product-Concept Model Enhancing       Cross-Functional Knowledge Creation in the Product Innovation Process: The Case of    the Suunto t6 Training Wrist Computer. Creativity & Innovation Management15(4),        400–409. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2006.00409.x

Kitunen, A., Rundle-Thiele, S., Kadir, M., Badejo, A., Zdanowicz, G., & Price, M. (2019).           Learning what our target audiences think and do: extending segmentation to all four             bases. BMC Public Health19(1), N.PAG.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-6696-2

PR Newswire. (2019, February 21). The global earphones and headphones market is projected to             reach values of more than $36 billion by 2024. PR Newswire US. Retrieved from             http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=201902211711PR.N            EWS.USPR.SP61106&site=ehost-live

Reisinger, D. (2016). 10 Worthy Wireless Audio Accessories for Your New iPhone 7. EWeek, 1. Retrieved from    http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=120753115&site=ehos t-live

Research and Markets. (4AD, March 2019). Global Wireless Headphones Market Size & Share   Projections to 2027 with Granular Analysis on Key Segments – ResearchAndMarkets.com. Business Wire (English). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

Warren, J. P., Rhodes, E., & Carter, R. (2001).A Total Product System Concept. Greener             Management International, (35), 89.https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3062.2001.au.00009

 

Effects of psychological and physical control on individuals in 1984

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Effects of psychological and physical control on individuals in 1984

Denying human their individuality is one way in which a totalitarian regime looks to stay in control of government. They use terror and propaganda to stop independent thinking from people. Individualism is a social and political philosophy which focuses mainly on the moral worth of an individual (Triandis 2018).

Independence can be defined as freedom of influence, control and accepting others. Independence is a critical aspect for individuals who want to have control over their own lives. Being dependent on oneself means one has the freedom to do whatever they like and be whoever they want without worrying about other people’s thoughts about them (“Identity and Independence”). Winston tries to be independent by going against the party’s wishes of collective identity. He tries to be independent by engaging in a sexual relationship that is forbidden by the Party, keeping a private diary and insisting that his reality version is the true one. All his decisions are against the ruling Party’s rules and he tries to have a say in the control of his own life than being controlled by the Party.

Individuals versus Collective Identity in 1984

In 1984, the party uses psychological manipulation to destroy any sense of individuality and independence. The Party is against individuals engaging in ownlife and considers it dangerous to people but Winston decides to look for solitude in his apartment and also wanders the prole neighborhood alone (LitCharts 2013). His behavior is a reflection of independence because he does things contrary to what is expected of him by the Party and thus Winston can be considered to be independent.

In this case, the individual is Winston who is later joined by Julia in his struggle against collective identity. The Party is the collective identity and is a force that looks to manipulate every aspect of people’s lives including their emotional, mental and psychological life. The party is against independent thought, propaganda. This is because the party is against the idea of mankind thinking independently, dreaming, imagining and ability to criticize. The party was able to manipulate and control the minds of people and make sure they accept their stand on what is true. Winston is against the idea of collective identity and psychological manipulation by the party.

Psychological manipulation is used to control people by bombarding them with rules, regulations and other methods to make people anti-individualistic (Bowker 2013). The party instills doctored information to the public by using every opportunity available to manipulate the people in the form of propaganda such as the Two Minutes Hate, Hate Week, posters of Big Brother. Another example is the party’s stance that two plus two made five, which Winston is against.

“In the end the party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.” In his diary, he writes “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four”.

In addition, the party uses physical control to tune people into their control. An example is the capture of Winston and his subjection to seven years of torture so that they can destroy his ability to think critically (LitCharts 2013).

Works Cited

Triandis, Harry C. Individualism and collectivism. Routledge, 2018.

Bowker, Gordon. George Orwell. Hachette UK, 2013.

LitCharts. “The Individual vs. Collective Identity Theme in 1984.” LitCharts, 2013, www.litcharts.com/lit/1984/themes/the-individual-vs-collective-identity.

“Identity and Independence.” Open the Door to 1984, Open the Door to 1984, 24 Oct. 2015, openthedoorto1984.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/identity-and-independence/.

HOW MODERN FORMS OF WORK SUCH AS THE GIG ECONOMY ARE CHANGING THE NATURE OF WORK

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HOW MODERN FORMS OF WORK SUCH AS THE GIG ECONOMY ARE CHANGING THE NATURE OF WORK

Introduction

Gig economy is a system of a free market where there are positions that are temporary and firms contract workers that are independent for engagement that is short such as Uber and Deliveroo. The gig economy relies on the scientific management theory. All the operations in the gig economy are controlled scientifically through an algorithm (Dokko, Mumford and Schanzenbach, 2015: 78). The algorithm is responsible for the assignment of roles to the employers. The employers are also rewarded scientifically through the algorithm. The assignments of the customers are the deliveries that they are supposed to make to their customers. The application links the customer and the employee who then takes the product that has been ordered to the customer. The algorithm measures the performances of each employee and consequently the wages that employees earn depend on the amount of work that they have accomplished in a day.

The manner in which the gig economy operates continues to be adopted by many sectors. This has contributed to the nature of work in the modern economy changing. This paper will look into the gig economy and how it operates. Its arguments will be based on the scientific management theory which is the mother of the operations of the gig economy. It will explore the two areas concerning the gig economy. These areas are its organizational structure and groups and teams. These two areas will help in bringing out the operations of the gig economy and how these modern ways of carrying out business are changing the nature of work including other sectors of the economy (O’connor 2016, p3).

Organizational structure

Organizational structure entails the direction of certain activities so that they can achieve the set goals in an organization. The activities consist of rules and responsibilities (Ehrenberg and Smith 2016, p111). The organizational structure is a determinant of the flow of information in all levels of an organization. The operations of the gig economy are structured in a way such that they operate with the help of an algorithm.

The organizational structure of the gig economy relies heavily on the scientific management theory. This theory has principles one being the replacement of rule of thumb and instead using a scientific method in studying work and determining the way that is most efficient in carrying out specific tasks (Barley, Bechky and Milliken 2017,p93). In the gig economy, the algorithm is used in the management of work and the employees. The algorithm is a scientific management tool that is used to manage work and the employees. In the gig economy, employees do not report to physical workplaces. Instead, they are employed scientifically by the algorithm.

The scientific management theory was aimed at bringing the best out of the workers hence improving their productivity. The work that each worker performed was studied scientifically and how they performed and how their productivity was affected (Cherry and Aloisi 2016, p635). Frederick Taylor believed that making the workers work hard as possible was not efficient and it could not optimize the way work was being carried out. Therefore, there was a need to optimize and simplify jobs. This would, in turn, increase productivity. The gig economy is also structured in this manner.

In the gig economy, employers carry the work within the areas that they can reach and areas that they know geographically. Employers prefer their geographical areas of work (De Stefano 2015,p461). The maximum distance one can go from the marked geographical location is set implying no covering of long distances. This improves the productivity of workers. Making deliveries within a short distance increases the productivity of the employees as it increases the number of deliveries made.

Scientific management theory advances the idea of the employees and the managers cooperating with each other contrary to the little contact between managers and the employees as before. The cooperation is aimed at ensuring the smooth running operations (Dokko, Mumford and Schanzenbach  2015,p 78). This is what the gig economy applies. The employees and their employers who are the algorithm interact on a daily basis. Once an employee has logged into the application, for instance, the Uber app, the employee is notified of any delivery that is to be made. If the employee cannot manage to make a delivery, he or she can decline it.

According to the scientific management theory, every worker is supposed to the paid according to the work one has done. This means that the productivity of the workers has to be measured accordingly (Graham, Hjorth and Lehdonvirta 2017, p 138). In measuring the accomplishments of the workers, a scientific method is the most appropriate. When workers are working without being measured, they cannot work efficiently with the aim of producing the desired outcomes. As a result, the set goals may take a lot of time to accomplish. However, when they are measured and rated, they work hard hence increasing their productivity. The employers that perform poorly are notified for them to improve. If the ratings of an employee fall deeply with a large index, the services of the employee are terminated.

The employees can keep track of their performance and this can help them in making improvements. This has contributed to the increase in productivity (Kässi and Lehdonvirta 2018,p 245). This has changed the modern forms of work greatly. Employers across all sectors have adopted a scientific method of measuring the performance of their employees. This helps in determining the employees that are attaining the set goals. This is helpful to the human resource managers. This assists the HR when making decisions concerning the workers. For instance, when making decisions such as promotions, rewards, the HR manager refers to the measuring tools to determine the employee to the promoted based on hard work. It also helps the HR managers in making difficult decisions such as termination and retrenchments decisions.

According to the scientific management theory, employees are supposed to be paid according to their amount of work done. This requires the optimal levels of performance to be determined (Kuhn 2016,p 222). The various forms of work in the modern economy are adopting ways of paying their employees based on their performance. The more the productivity of an employee the more the pay that particular employee will receive. The idea of getting a pair of pay for a fair work that is done is being adopted in today’s economy.

The idea of an employee being paid the same amount of wages as another employee whose productivity is high is being discarded. The time of accomplishing a certain task is measured by the algorithm (O’connor 2016, pg 4). The calculation of the time needed for a certain task to be completed helps in determining the performance of an employee, whether an employee is working hard or not. The time needed for the completion of tasks also helps in the development of the best way of completing a task.

Some employees work in a more efficient way than others. By application of the time needed to accomplish a task, the employers can determine the type of employees they should hire (Means and Seiner2015,p 1511). The selection of the right personnel for the jobs is significant in improving the efficiency of the workplace. This is the formula that has been adopted in the gig economy. The efficiency of the employees is improved through them being given the mandate of choosing their working hours and their areas of operation. Choosing the hours they are comfortable means that they are all set for work at that particular time. This contributes to job satisfaction which contributes to more productivity.

The organizational structure of the gig economy is influencing the other sectors of the economy. Instead of just assigning employees any job, they are being matched with jobs in which they have a high capability as well as motivation. They are also being trained on how to work at high efficiency (O’connor 2016,p 3). This is in the emulation of the gig economy where employers employ employees that are willing to work in the sector. Any persons that are interested in working in the gig economy register with the algorithm. In addition, they chose their area of operation and the working time (O’connor 2016,p 4). The idea behind this is to give an employee much autonomy which will, in turn, enable them to apply approaches that are appropriate in the execution of their duties. This improves the productivity of the workers.

Groups and teams

The gig economy does not embrace groups and teams. It advocated and prefers individual work. This is unlike other sectors that embrace teamwork. In other sectors, employees can be assigned to complete a certain task collectively (Pinsof 2015,p341). Their individual work is not measured and consequently, the amount of wages that they earn is not based on the tasks that they have accomplished. Tasks are not broken down into smaller tasks. However, the gig economy advocates for individual work. The performance of the employees is measured based on the number of tasks that they complete successfully in a day.

In the gig economy, tasks are divided into smaller tasks and each employee assigned his or her own task. It also emphasizes the steps that are supposed to be taken by each employee in accomplishing the work (Schor 2015,p122). For instance, there can be a situation where there are two customers in the same location that require certain products to be delivered to them. If these customers order their products, these tasks will be given to two employees such that each employee attends each customer. Two employees cannot be assigned to accomplish a task collectively. Instead, it encourages individualism. There is no collective responsibility and each employee is liable to any errors committed.

The opposition of the teamwork and groups in the gig economy is borrowed from the scientific management theory. The theory discourages the holistic measuring and evaluation of the performance of employees (Graham, Hjorth and Lehdonvirta 2017,p 154). Instead, it focuses on the performance of an individual. It emphasizes that productivity will be increased if the productivity of each individual is increased. However, this contradicts some modern ideas that aim at providing a work environment that is motivating and satisfying to the employees.

Conclusion

The gig economy is based on measuring the performance of individuals. Its organizational structure emphasizes the management of the employees and their roles through an algorithm. It highly discourages teamwork as tasks are divided among different individuals. The employees are rated individually and the wages earned depend on the number of tasks that have been completed successfully. It gives the employees the freedom of choosing their area of operation and the working hours.

However, the gig economy does not address the plight of the workers. For instance, there is no contact between the employees and their employers as they are managed by an algorithm. This encourages the suppressing of the workers through being given low wages. The safety of the employees is not guaranteed as sometimes they can be sent to make deliveries in places that are far or places that are dangerous. They are also not covered by insurance in case they get injuries in their course of work. Their services are also terminated without following a proper procedure. All this is because there is no particular person that is their employer. Therefore there is a need for their rights to be addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Barley, S.R., Bechky, B.A. and Milliken, F.J., 2017. The changing nature of work: Careers, identities, and work lives in the 21st century.

Cherry, M.A. and Aloisi, A., 2016. Dependent contractors in the gig economy: A comparative approach. Am. UL Rev.66, p.635.

De Stefano, V., 2015. Crowdsourcing, the Gig-Economy, and the Law. Comp. Lab. L. & Pol’y J.37, p.461.

Dokko, J., Mumford, M. and Schanzenbach, D.W., 2015. Workers and the online gig economy. The Hamilton Project.

Drahokoupil, J. and Fabo, B., 2016. The platform economy and the disruption of the employment relationship.

Ehrenberg, R.G. and Smith, R.S., 2016. Modern labor economics: Theory and public policy. Routledge.

Graham, M., Hjorth, I. and Lehdonvirta, V., 2017. Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods. Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research23(2), pp.135-162.

Kässi, O. and Lehdonvirta, V., 2018. Online labour index: measuring the online gig economy for policy and research. Technological forecasting and social change137, pp.241-248.

Kuhn, K.M., 2016. The rise of the “Gig Economy” and implications for understanding work and workers. Industrial and Organizational Psychology9(1), pp.157-162.

Means, B. and Seiner, J.A., 2015. Navigating the Uber Economy. UCDL Rev.49, p.1511.

O’connor, S., 2016. When your boss is an algorithm,“. Financial Times7.

Pinsof, J., 2015. A New Take on an Old Problem: Employee Misclassification in the Modern Gig-Economy. Mich. Telecomm. & Tech. L. Rev.22, p.341.

Schor, J., 2015. The sharing economy: reports from stage one. unpublished paper, Boston College.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Obama Effect

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This is nothing personal

But we will make it our Business,

In the west, Obama hails from Kenya,

In Kenya, Kogalo is his home,

Jateros are his people(that’s what they claim)

Trying to stop one from seeing him is a century’s fight,

Forget about Mayweather and the other guy.

The most powerful man in the world will be landing,

Grass in Nairobi is coaxed to grow in hours, yet he won’t even notice it

All main roads and highways that Obama will ride over will be

Out of bounds for the common us

Even those close relatives from the lakeside will join us

As we stare on our screens eager to receive what he got us.

Lets not forget our ambitious brothers offering dowry

To the powerful daughters

Did we anticipate this? No way…

In my dreams, I saw the beast, the decoy beasts

Stuck in a jam, hapo Mombasa road,

That guy with a packet of sweets n the one with bananas

Fighting for that one window to get the dhow

Then I woke up to reality, the closest the common us;

Jateros and the rest of us will get close to him

Will be those much advertised set top boxes and our t.v

Karibu Kenya.

Author: Nyaemo Moses.

My inheritance

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Over 20 years now,

Or something close to that,

It’s a little blurry but the purity of the innocence then

Paints a picture.

It began with much tender care and love

Then your mama taught you everything patiently

She never got angry when you robbed her sleep

Or bit on her while she fed you; she groomed you

Because you were innocent

A blank slate, so they said was being scribbled

By Mother Nature and her inhabitants

Time passed and pages turned,

A few years now and the book can be substantiated

What have we here?

What is your inheritance?

Society gives what society receives…

The innocence all soiled now.

Look at how we lowly hang our pants,

Look look!!

It’s nothing compared to how high the short skirts go!

But then no sin is greater than the other

This is our inheritance,

You and I

A thoughtful person said, smoke’s genesis is fire

And fire comes fourth from a spark,

Find your spark and quench your shameful inheritance

Change the destiny and inheritance of those we predicate

But look!!! Words ain’t gonna change a thing,

It’s going to be your voice

My voice.

For the inheritance.

by Moses Nyaemo