Product life cycle (PLC) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Product life cycle (PLC) - Assignment Example Introduction Stage Pepsi Next is a beverage drink manufactured by Pepsi. Pepsi introduced it into the United States market in 2012, and therefore, it is at the introduction stage. Ever since, Pepsi has introduced the product to the international market. The company had a strong launch for the product. This shows it commitment to making the product globally recognizable. Its target market includes lapse cola drinkers. According to Pilger,†the company had lost a significant number of cola drinkers to competitors and the main aim of Pepsi Next was to win them back† (54). The company used â€Å"drink it to believe it† tag line in launching the product. The philosophy has worked well for the company. In terms of promotion mix, the company applied television adverts, direct mail, digital marketing, and heavy free trials. The product is at the introduction stage because of the high cost per a new customer acquired. The high cost is associated with the marketing costs, for example, the heavy free trials. The company offered free samples for the product including the over 800 Wal-Mart stores. Although the company’s top leadership believes that the product has performed beyond expectation, it has registered low sales. For example, because of a strong launch and promotional activities, the product had acquired a market share of 1 percent. However, the market share has declined to 0.6 percent because of low repeat sales. However, the management is convinced that the product would perform better in future. Growth stage Coke Zero is a soft drink manufactured by Coca-Cola. The company launched the product in 2006. It is at the growth stage in the product life cycle. Since the product was introduced into the market, it has been registering increasing sales. It has contributed a lot to the company’s profitability. For example, within the two years of the introduction into the UK market, the product sales reached ?75 million. Hays states that â⠂¬Å"the drink has been launched in over 70 countries and is experiencing growth in over 80 percent of its new markets† (98). The target market for the product is young men and women who are concerned about their sugar intake. After the product was introduced into the market, Pepsi sugar free drinks experienced decreased demand within the first two years. Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max, for example registered a demand of 129 million liters for the seven months after the product was launched. This was a decline compared to the demand of 138 million liters registered within the same period the previous year. Coke zero currently is registering increasing profit and an average cost per customer. This is because there are no costly promotional activities going on as the product is already established. Maturity Stage Sprite manufactured by Coca-cola is at maturity stage. The soft drink has been in existence since 1961. The product is at the sales peak, which cannot grow further. Baldwin st ates â€Å"Sprite has a low cost per customer (32)†. One reason behind this is the fact that the product is already globally recognizable and there are no costly promotional methods used in marketing it. There are as well high profits associated with the product now. Additionally, Sprite does not face a stiff competition as it was facing during the growth stage. Decline stage Diet Dr. Pepper, on the other hand is a soft drink that was introduced in 1963. After it was introduced, the product enjoyed increased support from its target

Personal Development as a Mentor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal Development as a Mentor - Essay Example Novices need golden wisdom that only comes from hands-on experience. The needs above are only a handful of reasons why the concept of having a mentor emerged. The pleasure of finding an experienced colleague who can impart a legacy to the new generation of practitioners is invaluable. Yet despite the proliferation of the mentoring in almost all professions, the concept of a mentor is still vague. Many mistakenly consider a mentor as an ordinary friend that they can deal with lightly and unprofessionally. Others, on the other hand, highly venerate mentors to a point where they already consider them as their formal professor and instructor. As a nurse mentor, I need to elucidate what my role really is and to elaborate my obligations to my mentees. According to the paper submitted by Ehrich, Hansford, and Tennent, the term "mentor" was coined from the classic Greek epic, Odyssey wherein Odysseus on his trip to the Trojan War entrusted his son, Telemachus', education to his loyal servant, Mentor (2003). Whilst mentoring is initially done informally, in the last thirty years, this practice has gradually blossomed into an official and legitimate position in many companies. Still despite the general acceptance of the term it is still vague for most of those practicing the mentor-mentee relationship. Part of this is the lack of formal research regarding the practice and effectiveness of mentoring. Definition of Mentoring Technically, mentoring is defined by The Standing Committee on Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education as a process by which "an experienced, highly regarded, empathic person (the mentor) guides another individual (the mentee) in the development and examination of their own ideas, learning and personal and professional development (1998)." As a practicing nurse mentor, this technical definition is insufficient to provide an overview of what mentoring really is. To have a more vivid picture of what a mentor is let me provide a functional definition of mentoring using SWOT analysis and Gibbs Reflective Model. SWOT Analysis Strength Being a mentor my most familiar strength would be my extensive experience and the wisdom and values that I acquired from it. As a mentor, my job is to guide new nurses to succeed in their career by imparting them in different ways the knowledge I had for years. These practical knowledge that I have used for my own career advancement is what I would advice them to do. A role model that they can follow, I can use myself as an example to inspire them in reaching their career goals and in realizing their fullest potential. I can also use my experience as a yardstick in measuring the level of their success and in appraising their skills and current career status and what they can still achieve. This way I can open doors for possible career improvement. I can also become their advisor, someone that my mentees can lean on when they experience problems and dilemmas. All in all, as a mentor, I act as a bridge to link them from their current status towards their career plan. Weaknesses Being merely a link and not a superior to my mentees, my relationship with them might be tinged with "coolness" or become too personally attached with mentees, which might result into loss of respect and professional treatment to me by my mentees. Also my