Critically analyse how ethical factors affect the communications mix Essay

Critically analyse how ethical factors affect the communications mix in an organisation of your choice. The organisation should - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the examination of particular aspect of marketing, the marketing communications process – known also as marketing communications mix; emphasis is given on two specific elements of the marketing communication mix: advertising and pricing. At the next level, the ethical aspects of advertising and pricing are examined specifically in regard to the international market; in order to make clearer the relationship between ethics and advertising/ pricing strategies in the global market, a firm operating in this market has been chosen: Sony. It should be noted that reference is made to the advertising policies of the firm in two specific markets: the British and the US market. It is revealed that the firm’s current advertising and pricing policies in Britain and US need to be reviewed and updated in order to fully meet the ethics held in the particular field. 2. How ethical factors affect the the communications mix in Sony Corporation - advertising and p ricing practices of the firm in Britain and US One of the most crucial requirements for the success of any marketing plan is its alignment with the characteristics and the expectations of the targeted market. In practice, the needs and the preferences of consumers in the targeted market can be identified more effectively using appropriate marketing techniques known as communications mix, a framework incorporating the policies that a firm can develop in order to improve the quality of the communication with its customers. In accordance with Kotler et al. (2010) the communications mix framework refers to the following activities: ‘advertising, publicity, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and online marketing’ (Kotler et al 2010, p. 512). A graphical representation of the marketing communications mix is presented in the Appendix section (Figure 1). It is clear that the development of effective communications channels with the customers is related with spe cific activities, such as advertising, public relations and sales. It is assumed that the failure of a firm to succeed in one or more of the sectors included in the marketing communications mix can cause delays in the firm’s marketing projects. In the literature, different approaches have been used in order to describe the criteria used by marketers in order to develop effective marketing communications schemes. A model of the marketing communications process is presented in the study of Sandhusen (2000); it is explained that the specific model has been developed by Merton Electronics in order to support the promotion of the firm’s products; in the context of this model, the main parts of a successful marketing communications process should be the following ones: ‘a) the design of the advertising campaign, b) the proposition of the campaign to the media, c) the presentation of the advertising through the media, d) the decoding of the advertising campaign’s messages, e) the response of the public to the advertising campaign’ (Sandhusen 2000, p. 437). In any case, the effectiveness of marketing communications schemes is depended on the ability of marketers to use the appropriate type of media for the promotion of a firm’s products/ services to the public (Kurtz et al. 2009). Through the same point of

Japan Foreign Direct Investment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Japan Foreign Direct Investment - Research Paper Example The behavior of exchange rates on the international capital market has a significant bearing on the quantity of capital resources that can be marshaled by multinational corporations to enable them carry out investments in the host countries. A country's currency is said to have undergone depreciation if there is a general fall in the value of the country's currency relative to the main value of another country's currency. Within the context of this essay, the Japanese Yen can undergo a depreciation against one of the leading currencies such as the US Dollar or the Euro if its value falls in relative terms to any of them. Suffice to cite a hypothetical illustration to buttress the foregoing point. Should the Japanese Yen fall against the United States Dollar by say 25 percentage points then the most likely impact is that cost of production by another hypothetical corporation will be significantly lower by 25%. The resulting low cost of the Yen can serve as an incentive for investment because a would be corporation will have to pay low cost for wages in addition to the prevailing low cost of production relative to what it will be in the United States. This phenomenon of attractiveness due to exchange rate differences amon g countries is known as the relative wage concept (Froot & Stein, 1991). However, this latter assertion ought... llel between the significant changes in the relative costs of production across both the United States and Japan and above all this should not in any way be altered by any overt or covert changes in either the cost of production or the wages in Japan where this investment will be taken place. In addition, the overall relevance of the relative wage factor will become negligible in the event of an advent of an anticipated movement in exchange rate. This has to do with either a direct or indirect rise in the cost of carrying out an investment in the host nation in this case which is Japan. The point that should be noted here is that in the most conventional form the factors that fulfill the interest rate parity are consistent with risk-adjusted rates of return in both the United States and Japan. Any shift in any of the above mentioned factors can change the entire course of a foreign direct investment stream. In a deeper sense the effects of changes on the foreign exchange market on investments are more profound on multinational corporations. Citing again the instance of a decline in the value of the currency of the host country relative to the investing source country, it is worth stating that should this situation of depreciation in the value of the host country's currency then the potential impact can be a significant rise in the wealth of the multinational corporation in relation to the host country. By this leverage the investing multinational corporation is better placed to engage in robust bidding for assets in the home country in view of the fact that it has relatively stronger capital base to engage in these activities. Of course saying this is an extension of illustrations presented in the preceding chapter with regards to wages and cost of production and how