Marketing assignment Essay

1.1 Ryanair are pioneers of low cost airlines in Europe operating more than 1600 daily flights from 57 bases across 1600 low far routes connecting 180 destinations in 29 countries. They recently announced that they have ordered 175 new Boeing craft. 1.2 In order for Ryanair to keep the costs to a minimum, their airline uses small, regional airports only to reduce operational costs and operates as a point-t-point airline carrier, thus when other airlines avoiding the cost associated with a hub-and-spoke service. 1.3 Ryanair advertises it’s self as a â€Å"The low fare airline† and has a price promise under which it will pay double the difference if a customer finds the same flight cheaper elsewhere. 1.4 They pay as little as possible for their aircraft. They get big discounts on aircraft because they buy them when other airlines want them. 1.5 They spend as little as possible on advertising. They do not employ advertising agencies; instead all of their advertising is done in-house. 1.6 They don’t use travel agencies, so they don’t pay commissions. Ryanair uses direct marketing to recruit and retain customers and to extend products and services to them and this reduce cost. You book online or on the internet. This saves 15% on agency fees. Question 2 Kulula and Mango are South Africa’s low cost airlines. These airlines have in some areas imitated the Ryanair business model. 2.1 Kulula uses Lanseria Airport as an alternative to OR Tambo airport which can be attributed to reduction operational costs. Ryanair makes use of smaller airports instead of the large busy airports to reduce costs and reduce the time between flights. 2.2 The low cost airlines in South Africa, such as Kulula and Mango also upsell products such as car hires, travel packs and hotel accommodation. This is similar to the business model of Ryanair. 2.3 The low cost airlines in South Africa also reduce their costs by not including food on the fare; you can buy your food if you want. 2.4 To make bookings simpler the customers of Kulula and Mango can also book and buy flight tickets at Shoprite/Checkers for there’s is no commission paid to travel agencies. The internet online process also exists for self-service of making bookings. Question 3 The marketing environment consists of Micro and Macro environment. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2012;90) Micro environment consists of the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers such as the company its self, its suppliers, its marketing partners, customers and the general public. The macro environment is said to consist of the larger societal forces that affect the macro environment such as political, economic, social, technological, natural environment, and legal framework (Kotler & Armstrong, 2012) 3.1 The Micro environment 3.1.1 Company Ryanair’s mission is to keep their customers happy by offering a simple service and that involves maintaining low-cost fares, such as offering no meal options or extended service elements such as beverage consumption, thus keeping labour-related costs low and inviting the more humble or thrifty consumer to enjoy travel to regional destinations without the worry of excessive airline expense. 3.1.2 Suppliers Suppliers are very important to the company and they are the determining factor for Ryanair to keep customer value. In a running an airline Ryanair require a lot of fuel but they are unable to influence their suppliers since the price of fuel is controlled by external bodies such as OPEC(Ryanair Annual Report, 2004). 3.1.3 Competitors The increasing number of competition with carriers offering lower-cost fares is impacting the consumer mentality regarding which carrier to choose when travelling within European destinations. 3.1.4 Marketing Partners Ryanair does not use advertising agencies instead all their advertising is done in-house by doing so they are cutting cost and making sure that they maintain low cost strategy. They simple use adverts that tell passengers that Ryanair has low fares. 3.2 Macro environment 3.2.1 Political The external political environment is one of significant advantage to Ryanair, as the majority of its operations are contained within Europe. It is relatively common knowledge that this region maintains political stability, thus Ryanair does not experience issues with governmental instability in Europe as a concern regarding passenger volumes or flight destinations. 3.2.2 Technological The technological environment does not appear to significantly impact the firm in a negative capacity as the firm. Additionally, supply chain software programs and other integrated software applications are available to assist Ryanair in streamlining labour functions and improve internal organisational efficiency. 3.2.3 Economical Economical factors in the Euro region such as the Greece debt issues, increased unemployment in Spain and other countries have a negative impact in the number of customers for air travel like Ryanair. Question 4 Low cost airline offer a no-frill service, they sell the cheapest tickets you can buy. Unlike branded airlines that argue that passengers are willing to more for a better level of service. These are the reason I would not use low cost airlines such as Ryanair. 4.1 Customer Service Ryanair offers poor customer service such as when your bag is broken into no compensation is provided. It is also reported that their staff is unfriendly and rude. Ryanair also do not make provisions for fragile items that you wish to carry on the aircraft with you. Musical instruments and sporting equipment can be taken but at a fee. 4.2 Value added services There is no complementary food and what is offered is expensive and unhealthy. 4.3 Misleading pricing The policy of 70% sets sold at lowest fares and 30% at higher fares can be misleading. This means that you may not always be paying the lowest price for the fares. 4.4 Convenience Ryanair does not offer convenience as you cannot chose seat. You also cannot change flights. Their plains are old and offer low comfort. They use secondary airports which tend to be smaller regional airports. Question 5 Ryanair’s objective is to firmly establish itself as Europe’s leading low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service. Ryanair aims to offer low fares that generate increased passenger traffic while maintaining a continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies 5.2 Understanding customer needs and wants 5.2 Design a customer driven marketing strategy 5.3 Construct an integrated marketing program that delivers superior value 5.4 Build profitable relationships and create customer delight Question 6 6.1 Product or Service Low cost, no frills air travel to Europian destinations. There is no free food or drink on-board. Food and drink are income streams. You buy on-board, or you do take your own food and drink if you like. 6.2 Price Ryanair has low fares. 70% of seats are sold at the lowest two fares. 24% of seats are charged at higher fares. The last 6% are sold at the highest fare. 6.3 Place Ryanair does not use travel agents so it does not pay agency commissions. It uses direct marketing techniques to recruit and retain customers, and to extend products and services to them (i.e. Customer Relationship Management). This reduces costs. You book online over the Internet. This saves them 15% on agency fees. They are based in Stansted in Essex – which is known as a secondary airport. It is new and accessible. It is cheaper to fly from Stansted than either Heathrow or Gatwick, and since it is less busy Ryanair can turn aircraft around more quickly. 6.4 Promotion They spend as little as possible on advertising They do not employ an advertising agency. Instead all of the advertising is done in-house. In fact O’Leary himself oversees much of the promotion of Ryanair. They use simple adverts that tell passengers that Ryanair has low fares. Ryanair employs controversy to promote its business. For example in 2009, the company reasoned that passengers would be charged  £1 to use the toilets on board. O’Leary reasoned that passengers could use the terminals at either the destination or arrival airport. This would speed things up. It was reasoned that this is what passengers wanted – since they did not want other passengers leaving their seats and walking the aisles to go to the toilet. O’Leary also argued that larger passengers should be charged more since they took up more room – again it was reasoned that this is what the majority of passengers wanted. 6.5 People Pilots are recruited when they are young as pilot cadets. They work hard and take early promotions and then move on after 10-years or so to further their careers. Cabin crew pay for their uniforms to be cleaned. They invest in their own training. They are mainly responsible for passenger safety as well as ancillary revenues onboard 6.6 Physical Evidence They pay as little as possible for their aircraft. Planes are the most expensive asset that an airline can make. They get big discounts on aircraft because they buy them when other airlines don’t want them, for example after September 11th, or on the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Aircraft manufacturers cannot simply stop a supply chain in minutes. If orders are being cancelled or delayed, this is when to buy. It was rumored within the industry that Ryanair was buying Boeing 737s – list price around  £40,000,000 (forty million pounds) – with up to a 50% discount. 6.7 Process There is no check in. You simply show your passport and supply your reference number. You cannot select a preferred seat. It is first come, first served. This aids speed. There are no air bridges (the tunnel that connects to the side of the aircraft when to board it). You walk or are bused to the aircraft. Baggage is deposited directly onto the terminal – it’s quick. However if your bag is broken don’t expect high levels of customer service. Question 7 7.1 Cultural factors Ryanair has addressed a global cultural need for leisure travel by making their prices extremely low and the easy availability of tickets operating between two points. One of the factors that influence consumer behavior is social class such as people’s income. Ryanair get most of their business from lower income group. 7.2. Social factors One the factors that influence consumer factors is the social factors such as consumers small groups family and social roles. According to the case study Ryanair make use of buzz marketing by their controversial promotions. This influences people opinions about their services as it gets people to discuss the controversial promotions. 7.3 Personal factors Personal factors are influenced by personal characteristics such as customer’s age and life cycle stage, occupation, economic situation, life style and personality and self-concept. The people that would be influenced into buying Ryanair’s would need to have an easy going personality and not be concerned much about the service of the airline since many of the luxuries are removed from the service. 7.4 Psychological factors A person’s buying choices are further influence by four psychological factors motivation, perception, learning and beliefs and attitudes. Customers that would be influences to use Ryanair are customers that believe that are getting value for money through the low cost pricing. Question 8 Consumer market consists of individuals and households that buy goods and services for their personal consumption. These would normally be consumer goods such as soft drinks, cosmetics, travel and household goods. Ryanair’s consumer market is the individuals in the European region that use air travel as a form of transportation. Question 9 Below is an example of Ansoff’s Matrix which shows growth strategies that organisations can use to expand their operation followed by the explanations for each growth strategy (Riley, 2012). Figure 1 Ansoff’s matrix. Sourced from Riley (2012) 9.1 Market penetration Market penetration is when the company expands in the same market using the same products. For Ryanair, market penetration would involve increasing the number of flights in the same routes. This way they are in the same markets and using the same service. 9.2 Market Development Market development requires the companies to enter new markets while using the same products. For Ryanair, this would require the company to go to new markets such as Africa, Asia or America using the same low cost air travel service. 9.3. Product Development Product development means that in order to expand the company must introduce new products or services in the existing market. For company like Ryanair, product development would mean that they introduce new service such as business class or first class into the existing market. 9.4 Diversification Diversification is when the company seeks to enter into new markets with new products. For Ryanair diversification could mean that the company introduces new services such as leisure sea cruising. This would also mean that the company moves into a new market since leisure sea cruising would require different destinations and customer base. References Riley, J. 2012. Ansoff Matrix. [online]. Available at: http://www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm [Accessed on 02 September 2013]. Kotler, P. and Armstong, G. 2012. Principles of marketing. 14th edition. Essex: Pearson.

Enterprise systems Essay Essays

Enterprise systems Essay Essays Enterprise systems Essay Essay Enterprise systems Essay Essay Enterprise systems are complex and must be tailored to the organisation they are being implemented in. Common challenges in edifice endeavor systems include specifications and demands finding. interlingual rendition of specifications and demands into concern regulations that can be followed by the endeavor system and preparation and conformity issues. The most of import facet of an endeavor system is the concern regulations on which it is based. In order to find these concern regulations. the system developer must take the specifications and demands provided by the users and direction and transform them into machine patterns. However. garnering the specifications and demands can be a ambitious procedure. Enterprise systems are supposed to pattern the patterns of the human resources of the endeavor – for illustration. if a occupation offer is made to an applier and accepted. the HR subsystem will necessitate to execute certain undertakings. like employment verification. informing the supervisor of the start day of the month. originating benefits allotment and whatever other undertakings have been set out for it. Often organisations attempt to pattern a old procedure wholly within the endeavor system. utilizing work instructions. manuals and guidelines to find the right process for a given undertaking. However. if the organisation has a high investing in silent cognition ( cognition which is non written down. but is passed from individual to individual in an â€Å"apprentice† manner ) . these paperss may be deficient to reflect the full procedure flow. In order to avoid losing silent cognition during the execution of explicit concern processes. it is of import to use personal interviews and observation every bit good as scrutiny of formal paperss when finding specifications and demands. After specifications and demands have been determined. a secondary challenge is interpreting the specifications and demands into concern regulations for processing by the endeavor system. These interlingual renditions are non ever wholly obvious. and inaccurate or imprecise specifications can frequently do the system to act in unexpected ways. For illustration. if a concern regulation that proctors industry statistics in order to foretell market conditions misses a deciding factor. it may foretell inaccurately. These consequences may non be obvious until it is excessively late. peculiarly if there is no human inadvertence of the system. In order to forestall inaccurate or uncomplete interlingual rendition of specifications and demands to concern regulations. human inadvertence of the operation of the system should be provided. One concluding trouble in developing and implementing endeavor systems is non with the system itself. but with its users. Enterprise systems are a paradigm displacement in operations direction for most organisations. and considerable opposition can be demonstrated by some employees. who may experience the system is excessively complex. inaccurate or merely unserviceable. The developer of an endeavor system must pull off the alteration for the users every bit good as implement the system. Expectations direction and preparation should be used to pull off this alteration. User’s outlooks should be managed so that they are sensible – a system should neer be sold as â€Å"solving all the problems† . because the complexness of execution means that things will likely acquire more complicated for a clip. instead than less. Thorough preparation in the usage of the system should besides be offered ; in order for the endeavor system to be to the full effectual. users must understand how. when and why to use the system for best consequences. and how to execute their undertakings within the system efficaciously.

The Life Of Charles Dickens Essays - Charles Dickens, Free Essays

The Life Of Charles Dickens Essays - Charles Dickens, Free Essays The Life of Charles Dickens INTRODUCTION This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature. In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life. EARLY LIFE Charles Dickens was born at Landport, in Portsea, on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the Navy Pay-Office, and was temporarily on duty in the neighborhood when Charles was born. His name was John Dickens. He spent time in prison for debts. But, even when he was free he lacked the money to support his family. Then, when Charles was two they moved to London. 1 Just before he started to toddle, he stepped into the glare of footlights. He never stepped out of it until he died. He was a good man, as men go in the bewildering world of ours, brave, transparent, tender-hearted, and honorable. Dickens was always a little too irritable because he was a little too happy. Like the over-wrought child in society, he was splendidly sociable, and in and yet sometimes quarrelsome. In all the practical relations of his life he was what the child is at a party, genuinely delighted, delightful, affectionate and happy, and in some strange way fundamentally sad and dangerously close to tears. 2 At the age of 12 Charles worked in a London factory pasting labels on bottles of shoe polish. He held the job only for a few months, but the misery of the experience remain with him all his life. 3 Dickens attended school off and on until he was 15, and then left for good. He enjoyed reading and was especially fond of adventure stories, fairy tales, and novels. He was influenced by such earlier English writers as William Shakespeare, Tobias Smollet, and Henry Fielding. However, most of the knowledge he later used as an author came from his environment around him. 4 MIDDLE LIFE Dickens became a newspaper writer and reporter in the late 1820's. He specialized in covering debates in Parliament, and also wrote feature articles. His work as a reporter sharpened his naturally keen ear for conversation and helped develop his skill in portraying his characters speach realistically. It also increased his ability to observe and to write swiftly and clearly. Dickens' first book, Sketches by Boz (1836) consisted of articles he wrote for the Monthly Magazine and the London Evening Chronicles.5 On April 2, 1836 he married Catherine Hogarth. This was just a few days before the anoucement that on the 31st he would have his first work printed in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. And this was the beginning of his career. 6 Then, at 24, Dickens became famous and was so until he died. He won his first literary fame with The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. Published in monthly parts in 1836 and 1837 the book describes the humorous adventure and misadventures of the English Countryside. After a slow start, The Pickwick Papers as the book was usually called gained a popularity seldom matched in the history of literature. 7 Then in 1837, Catherine's sister Mary, died. Because of her death Dickens' suffered a lot of grief. This led some scholars to believe that Dickens loved Mary more than Catherine. Catherine was a good woman but she lacked intelligence. Dickens and Catherine had 10 children. Then later in 1858, the couple seperated. 8 LATER LIFE His later years was basically consisting of two main additions to his previous activites. The first was a series of public readings and lectures which he began giving it systematically. And second, he was a successive editor. Dickens had been many things in his life; he was a reporter , an actor, a conjurer, a poet, a lecturer, and a editor and he enjoyed all of those things. 9 Dickens had a remarkable mental and physical energy. He recorded all his activites in thousands of letter, many of which made delightful readings. He spent much of his later life with crowded social friends from arts and literature. He also went to the theater as often as he could,

Why the sale of human organs should be legalized Research Paper

Why the sale of human organs should be legalized - Research Paper Example While societal morals may not allow sales of the organs, the contemporary market promises a price for the organs just like any other commodity in the market. In the US, just like in many parts of the world, sale of organs is permitted. However, this can only be done when one passes away, but not the other way round. Studies show that the number of people on the queue to get life-saving organs (often the kidneys, eyes parts) have been growing steadily over the last two decades, whereas the number of potential organ donors has stayed constant (Woodcock 1-3). While in the US the black-market is experiencing an increase in the sales of body organs; blood donation, which is legal, is also on the increase (Kennedy 34). In fact, donation of blood attracts rewards such as free tickets to an event and free clothes, among other gifts. Opponents of selling organs also underscore the fact that if the free market is allowed, there would be a proliferation of vulnerable groups (such poor people) d ue to market imperfection. This paper supports the argument that the sale of human organs should be legalized. Although many people are waiting for organ transplantation in the US, the supply of organs is limited or even unavailable; hence legalization of selling organs would be importance as it would lead to saving of many lives. For instance, the number of patients in the US, who are waiting for an organ transplant, is bigger than the number of donors by almost four folds (The Voice of Russia 1). As a result, on a daily basis, nearly 18 people pass away as they wait for someone to donate them an organ (The Voice of Russia 1). Therefore, permitting the sale of organs will stimulate supply to meet the ever increasing demand. In the US, those who decide to become organ donors are supposed to have the word ‘organ donor’ marked on their licenses, but the donation is only possible after the eligible donor passes

IKEA looks to furture Penetrate the U.S Market Case Study

IKEA looks to furture Penetrate the U.S Market - Case Study Example As such, the author of this brief marketing case study will seek to implement this approach with regards to IKEA’s proposed expansion and further integration/penetration within the United States market. According to the previously mentioned chapter’s rubric, the first letter of the DEFINE acronym states that the firm in question must define the problem. Obviously, this may seem as a simple approach; however, the reader would likely be horrified to know just how many very large and otherwise successful firms had sought to work out the problem that they saw as represented without seeking to define or recognize the full scope of the ancillary and tangential issues that were acting on the exemplification of the problem within the firm. With relation to IKEA, the definition of the problem will herein be discussed. IKEA is faced with a situation in which although its product line is understood and appreciated, there is a great deal more market engagement and customer utility that the firm can ultimately be gained should the popularity of IKEA in the United States begin to mirror that what is experienced in Europe and other markets in which it competes. As the rubric of the article in question states, the second determent in the â€Å"DEFINE† acronym is that of enumeration of the decision factors. This of course follows that once the issue has been defined the next step would be to focus upon the key hinge points that would most assist in providing a plan of action with regards to future steps. In the case of IKEA, this automatically references the ability of enumeration with regards to recognizing the key strengths and weaknesses that exist within the firm. Although one may be convinced that they should focus exclusively upon the weaknesses and outright ignore the strengths due to the fact that they are already in existence and bear little correlation to the issue at hand, this is very much the wrong approach. Rather, the correct approach of the enumeration phase is to consider both strengths and weaknesses simultaneously as a means of ensuring that weaknesses are appropriately listed so that actionable plans can be drawn to minimize or reduce entirely their existence and plans can be effected which lead to retention of the key strengths that are noted. For the case of IKEA, the key weaknesses that the article has illustrated revolve around their strong focus on sustainability, brand image, added amenities, do it yourself approach, corporate structure, and low cost structure. Likewise, the key weaknesses that should be enumerated upon are the limited promotional expenditures, weak online support, limited customization, the do it yourself approach being seen as cheap and law quality, economic conditions, demand for convenience, and the popularity of stylish cutting edge sustainable products. Within the given rubric, the next step would be to consider the relevant information that the preceding two steps have detailed. Within the case of IKEA the relevant information is the fact that the firm has been considered by many within its customer base as representing the same quality products that they might purchase at Wal-Mart or Target. Similarly, the firm should realize the most relevant information that the preceding steps of analysis has yielded is the fact that its current â€Å"thrifty† marketing concept will likely do little to re-engage customer opinion

Jurisprudence 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jurisprudence 2 - Essay Example uggests that though main purpose of law is to protect interests of common people and maintain an atmosphere of social discipline, the issue of equality should not be ignored and all those institutions that are responsible for legal enforcement, should also be restrained from executing such steps that would violate the state of equality. Equal protection of law, which comes aftermath, reflects the ideal that law should be protected equally and the state of equal protection can only be attained if equality before law is respected accordingly. However, looking at social structure and consequent legal discourses that are aimed at attaining the situation of equality, it can be said that such state of equality has not been attained and in â€Å"Law & Ideology†, Robert Gordon, after analyzing nature of such legal discourses has pointed out, â€Å""[L]egal discourses ... routinely help to create and maintain the ordinary inequalities of everyday social life †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gordon, 20 08, p. 1226). A chronological study of ancient to modern legal philosophy, sociology and theories of social construction would clearly point out that according to jurisprudential arguments, one of the major reasons behind failure to attain desired social equality is several issues that have become integrally associated with different traits of human existence and restrain them from respecting the issue of equal existence. It is very often said that people were equal at the stage of their natural existence but since the time they became aware about necessity to develop community and live as social creatures, factors of equality or inequality intervened and later on started to dominate their existence. With the progress of human civilization and result of intellectual movements, people were gradually becoming aware of factors like, gender, class, social status, ethnicity, national identity, sexual orientation etc. While a particular section of people regarded understanding of these factors as scope to

Factors on the Four Functions of Management Essay Example for Free

Factors on the Four Functions of Management Essay In regards to internal and external factors that can significantly influence the four functions of management, include such items as globalization, technology, diversity, ethics and innovation. Furthermore, all of these items pay an important role in the dominance of General Motors in the automotive industry. GM has changed manufacture attitudes to concentrate on some strategic priorities those being to become common, envision lean and compete fast, participate on a worldwide footing, cultivate the business and as a rule significantly keep their attention on the finished goods. General Motors is determined to be committed to a lean and familiar single, global manufacturing approach (Automotive Intelligence News, 2003). The external factor of globalization is a major factor in today’s business world. Globalization additionally adds to the factors of cultural diversity and cultural ethics as it pertains to business climate, culture and organization. Likewise, even in the US General Motors deals with the issues of diversity and values based of the many cultures that live within the country. Diversity can be both a help and a hindrance to the four function of management, in that when cultural diversity is utilized correctly it aids in all phases of business. However, if both the countries or the individual workers feel that their culture or beliefs are being looked down upon or are demeaned this can lead to serious repercussion. The same ca be said concerning the ethics each culture holds management must walk a fine line to ensure no vilification or no indignity occurs. Globalization needs a firm touch and a steady hand in the first planning, which entails what countries a company wants to build and sell their goods to, while maintaining a presence in that country. What value the product will bring, the cost of materials, taxes or tariffs, and if the people of those countries have a  need, the cost, and the desire to purchase their vehicles. As to organizing, in globalization GM must ensure that local customs will not be pushed aside and must they maintain a proper level of respect and decorum in dealing with the local population and their cultural identity. Manager must organize by creating a dialog with other countries on GM’s products, explaining the utilization of each countries environmental assets and capital, showing how that being a partnering country with GM will help their country and its people. They must correspondingly incorporate the concept of co-design and systems approach, during the organization function to ensure each country has the belief that they are truly partners with GM. General Motors is currently in the process of restructuring their Global Vehicle Engineering organization. The reason they are doing this is to enhance cross-system integration and to bring more coherent implementation across vehicle platforms. They are also further addressing the functional safety and compliance in its vehicles worldwide (GM News, 2014). Whereas this reorganization moves GM away from long-established regional authority toward an organization built on global functions. As to the role of leading, globalization brings with it a different set of problems and requirements. In General Motors situation the leading function of management, in the terms of what the role intention is remains the same and can be defined as the focus of guiding the activities of personnel with motivation. However, the challenges of doing so on a global scale are daunting because of issues in cultural difference, in ethics and diversity. Managers must have a working knowledge of the country’s culture, its ethical stances, and language differences both verbal and nonverbal. The controlling function of management within globalization again comes with its own set of issues that need to be overcome. Likewise, to be able to establish standards, then measure the performance in contrast to those standards and make corrective changes to those standards and plans that have been determined ineffective (Merchant, 1982). In a global setting put additional meaning to the controlling function of management. Management for General Motors have been successful in the endeavor and proof of this can be seen in how they continue to rank near or at the top the list of vehicles sold worldwide. GM is closing the gap on Toyota lead in sales, because of changes in how they are using the control function of management to correct the situation.  Since, GM began to renovate its vehicle roster into one of the keenest and newest in the automotive industry from one of the eldest and more outdated ones (Jie, Horie, 2014). So any and everyone can see how globalization as an external factor affects a company such as General Motors in its operations of the four functions of management. Technology in this c ase should be considered both and external and internal factor that can affect a company such as GM. Since, technology deals with not only information and enterprise systems to run a business, it also deals with the creation of new products and equipment to be use in their cars and trucks. General Motors in being such a large global company have an extensive enterprise system to deal with employees, customers, security, and data collection to enable it to run both effectively and efficiently on a global scale. However, technology in the creation and advancement of products goes hand in hand with innovation. We can see how technology is part of innovation, in the way GM addresses the idea of a fully electric car that can go 200 miles between charges. Additionally, the connection of technology and innovation is seen in General Motors electric and gas hybrid car the Chevy Volt. GM similarly has an all-electric car that can go 82 miles on a charge called the Chevy Spark (The Denver Post, 2013). General Motor’s innovations created a need for better technology in electric car batteries, charging systems. They also created a need for electric charging facilities for people who are traveling on long trips, which are still under research as to cost, viability, and the possibility. All of this innovation leads to technology to design and build components that will be needed to compete in this sector of the industry. What is more, all four functions of management are thoroughly affected by globalization, diversity, ethics, innovation and technology as these elements play a crucial role in the structure and running of any business in today world economy. References Automotive Intelligence News. (2003). GMs Global Manufacturing System A System To Build Great Cars and Trucks. Retrieved from http://www.autointell.com/News-2003/January-2003/January-2003-1/January-03-03-p6.htm GM News. (2014). GM Restructures Global Engineering for Cross-System Integration. Retrieved from http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2014/Apr/0422-global-eng.html Jie, M. Horie, M. (2014). Toyota Beats GM in 2013 as 10 Million Vehicles Seen. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/toyota-beats-gm-vw-in-2013-car-sales-sees-3-growth-this-year.html Merchant, K. (1982). Controlling Function of Management. Retrieved from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/ The Denver Post. (2013). General Motors working on 200-mile electric car, exec says. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_24109259/general-motors-working-200-mile-electric-car-exec