Volkswagens International Marketing Strategy

Volkswagens International Marketing Strategy Companys snapshot: Volkswagen is a German automobile company. It operates as a manufacturer and distributor of automobile parts in the Global automotive industry. One of its subsidiaries is the Volkswagen of America that is based in United States. The Groups principal activities are to design, manufacture and distribution of cars and other vehicles worldwide. These activities are carried out through two divisions: Namely Automobile and Financial services. The Automobile division involves development of vehicles and engines, as well as the production and sale of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks and buses. The Financial division involves dealer and customer financing, leasing, Banking and insurance services, rentals and fleet management. Overview of Volkswagen Group of Companies: It leads the continent as the Europes number one car maker. The Companys major production line include Volkswagen Passenger car, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley ranges of vehicles. The Companys major emphasis is on increasing its focus on core business, profitability and reducing the production cost. In order to achieve this it is considering divesture of non core business segments and adapting many Modular strategies in the process of production and introduction of new models. Company at a Glance: Major Industry: Automotive Industry. Sub Industry: Diversified Automotive Mfrs. 2008 Sales: 113,808,000,000 (Year Ending Jan 2009). Employees: 357,207. Market Cap: 30,656,317,749. Share Type: Stammaktie. Stock Data: Current Price (12/30/2009): 76.58 In Euro. Revenue generated in the year 2008: 113.808 BLN EUR. History: It was setup in 1930 by Ferdinand Porshe in Germany and was known as Porshe Buro. In early 1930s German Automotive industry was mainly involved in making Luxury cars. And so an average German could only afford nothing more than a motorcycle. In 1934 Ferdinand Porshe was commissioned by Adolph Hitler to build a small inexpensive car. He required a basic vehicle that could transport two adults and three children. And this vehicle would be available to all at the price of a motorcycle. On 22 June 1934 Ferdinand Porshe agreed to create a Peoples Car for Hitler. There were many changes including better fuel efficiency, reliability, ease of use, and economically efficient repairs and parts. The prototypes of the car in the form of KDF-Wagen started appearing from 1936. this car had its peculiar round shape and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine. Only a handful of cars were made before the second world war started, that is in 1936. The post war existence of the Company owed to a British major Ivan Hirst. He indented to dismantle the Company and ship it to Britain as no car manufacturer was interested in the Company as it lacked the fundamental requirements. The Company survived by producing the cars for British Army. Volkswagens were first sold in America in 1949. And even though these models were universally known as Beetle, the Company never officially named it, instead it was referred as Type 1. During 1960s and 1970s the car was becoming outdated the Company introduced several Type 3 and Type 4 models. It differed from the previous models notably with the introduction of monocoque/unibody construction, the option of a fully automatic transmission, electronic fuel injection, and a sturdier power plant. In 1964, Volkswagen succeeded in purchasing Auto Union, and in 1969, Motorenwerke AG (NSU). VW ultimately merged Auto Union and NSU to create the modern day Audi company. Companys mission statement: Provide a quality product. Create a safe environment. Enhance productivity. Eco Friendliness. Volkswagen projects: The engineers at Volkswagen are constantly trying to develop new fuel efficient Models which have very less fuel emission and offer great performance. It is involved in developing many fuel efficient vehicles such as BlueMotion Models, alternate powertrain technology and supporting many other projects for environmentally sound driving. Golf BlueMotion is the example of the most fuel efficient vehicle created by them with CO2 emissions less than 107g/kg. Volkswagen is one of the company to become the member of Business and Biodiversity Initiative. Where ever possible they use recycled and recyclable materials and most eco friendly methods of construction. They are constantly working on developing vehicles which are fuel efficient and which have minimum impact on the environment. The company is engaged in many research projects relating to biotopes, the environment and protection of the species and supports research programs. Marketing Strategy: Volkswagen mainly uses Double Marketing in order to position its brand. Double marketing mainly means running multiple campaigns at different places carrying different messages simultaneously. Initially coke was the only company that tried this because of their huge Budget by engaging different ad agencies and pitting them against each other.At times there were different campaigns that were put up at the same time. But they didnt really work together. In the time period of last few months they have launched campaigns such as Unpimp my ride to prevent the modifications done by people and for design control, theobeying your fast for the GTI as well as the safe happens jarring TV ad spots for the Jetta. The Companys major emphasis is on easier availability of its products. And to make that possible it has around 44 sites all over the world. That gives them the Geographical advantage. As they can reach the demands of their customers and even provide a good after sales service through their service centres. Its major marketing strategy is branding its products into different segments of production lines. Its brands go from Skoda (economically priced family vehicles) to Rolls Royce. Use of Latest Technology: Blueprinting is the latest technology used by them. Blueprinting is the science of engine rebuilding. At times the engine becomes rigid and there is often disturbance during the start of the engine. This is due to incorrect shimming, vibration from poorly balanced cranks, rough low speed running from valve clearances being too large, so generally speaking there is a lot of room for improvement. Careful measuring, fitting and balancing are the main steps involved in Blueprinting. This enhances the performance of the engine providing fuel economy and dependability. In simple words the engine becomes brand new. After Blueprinting the Gear shifting feels very positive and the vibrations will be nullified aiding Longitivity. Volkswagens Closest Competitors: Ford, Toyota, Mercedes and General Motors are the major competitors. Out of which Volkswagen claims that Toyota is its major competitors. Company Sales Revenue (Year 2008) Loss (%) General Motors $148,979Billion 8% Ford $146277Billion  Ã‚  Ã‚   11% Mercedes $23.8Billion 7% Toyota $204352Billion 8% Volkswagen made a profit of about 1.2 Billion in the year 2008. Their sales revenue was 113.808 BLN SWOT Analysis: Volkswagen AG Strengths Strong Market Share: As it leads the continent as the number one car maker, it holds a strong reputation in the market. Due to this its stock value cannot be brought down easily. Strong RD Activities: This is a major advantage over its competitors. They are always inquisitive of finding some alternate technology which make vehicles more fuel efficient and decrease the emissions ensuring a better environment. Strong Brand Equity: It holds a strong brand value as people are aware of each and every Brand owned by them. And those stand among the top brands amongst others in the industry. Geographic Diversification: As it has 44 sites all over the world, it can meet up the demand of the consumers over every product. Strong Growth Prospects: They should continue to live up to the reputation created by them in the Automotive industry. Volkswagen AG Weakness Limited Liquidity Position: As they have a huge capital invested in Research and development and promoting other projects they have limited liquidity position. Declining Market Share in Sector Volkswagen AG Opportunities Strategic Alliances: Volkswagen from the very beginning started forming alliances with other companies. The Brand such as Audi was formed by merging of Volkswagen with Auto Union and Nsu. Demand for Fuel Efficient and Hybrid Vehicles: There has always been an increase in demand of better fuel efficient vehicles with very low emissions. So if they continue to meet the demands through their Research and development they can survive in the emerging market. Growth Opportunities in Emerging Markets: Using their knowledge and efficiency in finding new technology which can be used in the engines, for example Blueprinting technology, they can always have a strong position in the market. Volkswagen AG Threats Intense Competition: There are many companies which are providing a good competition in terms of market share. Last year Volkswagen claimed that Toyota is its biggest competitor. Global Economic Slow Down: Due to recession there has been a very stiff competition among the companies as there has been very limited demand in the automobile sector. Stricter Emission Standards: Due to the advancement of technology there has been a demand of very low emissions and to some extent the companies have been able to meet up the demand, so the emission standards get stricter and stricter each time a new technology comes up. Conclusion: Volkswagen is successful mainly because of manufacturing automobile parts, rather than waiting for the manufacture of a new car and launching it. Most of the major brands that they own were purchased by them. People were to some extent aware of those brands. But they did not hold much bigger market value. References: Volkswagen Chronicle Volkswagen Beetle History 1938 to 2003 Jpost.com www.rememusem.com Volkswagens American assembly plant Rumors.automobilemag.com Companiesandmarkets.com Corporate information snapshots IBISWorld Institute for Sustainability and Technology Polic Articlesbase/Volkswagen Gti, Automobile Magazines Car of the Year CJS Racing South West http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1161/volkswagen-steals-toyotas-crown-as-worlds-largest-automaker/ Was Hitlers Beetle designed by a Jew? | Jewish Features | Jerusalem Post. Jpost.com. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804553863pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2009-10-07. Volkswagen to Shut U.S. Plant. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7D6113DF932A15752C1A961948260. Retrieved 2008-05-17. VW picks Tenn. for its 1st US car plant since 88. Bloomberg News Volkswagen to take a 42.0 percent stake in Porsche AG. Taume News. 2009-08-14. http://news.taume.com/World-Business/Business-Finance/Volkswagen-to-take-a-42-0-percent-stake-in-Porsche-AG-11861. Retrieved 2009-01-22. Todd Kaho (2007-10-01). Volkswagen Pushes for Development of Clean Diesels. Green Car Journal. http://www.greencar.com/articles/volkswagen-pushes-development-clean-diesels.php. Retrieved 2009-04-19. VW revs up its clean-diesel technologies. Oct.11, 2007, mlive.com May 3, 2008

Resolved: Presidential Signing Statements Threaten to Undermine the Ru

The subject of signing statements has created much debate among the houses of Congress, government officials, and the public alike. These signing statements fall under the categories of constitutional and legislative history signing statements. Constitutional signing statements are those in which the president deems certain provisions of the legislation as unconstitutional, therefore they should not be enforced (Bradley & Posner, 2006). Legislative history signing statements are executive interpretations of ambiguous legislation (Bradley & Posner, 2006). The Constitution very specifically outlines the process of a bill being passed up to the executive level, but the issue of presidential signing statements is not explicitly discussed, therefore it becomes a controversial grey area; specifically when a President uses a signing statement to express partial support and intent to enforce a law. This essay will discuss signing statements and the role that they play in the legislative pr ocess. In addition, the legality of presidential signing statements in respect to the constitution will be argued through the exploration of the origins, past applications, and attempts at limiting such presidential implements. Presidential signing statements are a president’s formal declaration of their interpretation of a bill that is being signed into law, namely the objections to segments of the bill that they have deemed in opposition of the constitution as well as the measures of the bill that will be enforced. (CRS, 2006) They can also convey support or appreciation towards the bill and its contributors (Kelley, 2007) Signing statements tend to occur on significant pieces of legislation and function similarly to presidential vetoes in that th... ...igning statements: Constitutional and institutional implications (Order Code RL33667)Congressional Research Service. Kelley, C. S. (2007). The law: Contextualizing the signing statement. Presidential Studies Quarterly,, 37(4), 737-748. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27552286 Kinkopf, N. (2006). Signing statements and the president's authority to refuse to enforce the law. American Constitution Society for Law and Policy Lee, M. (2008). Reorienting the debate on presidential signing statements: The need for transparency in the president’s constitutional objections, reservations, and assertions of power. Manuscript submitted for publication, School of Law, UCLA, Retrieved from http://www.uclalawreview.org/wordpress/?p=339 Lund, N. (2007). Presidential signing statements in perspective.William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 16(1), 95-111.

Sherman Alexie “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian”

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is an eye opening book about the life of an Indian boy in the Reservation called Arnold Spirit Jr, or just Junior as his people call him. Junior is considered weird by his people because of many reasons. He also lead a hard life with his parents, sister, grandmother, and Rowdy as his only friend. As a baby, Junior have too much fluid in his brain that caused his thinking process to slow down, and highly susceptible to seizure.Fortunately, surgery on his head solved this problem, but with some side effect. Junior’s head is larger, one of his eye is near-sighted while the other is far sighted, his feet is also larger making him looks like a walking letter L, and he have ten extra teeth which need to be taken out in one day in order for him to eat normally(Alexie 3). However, despite of all his drawback, Junior manage to live a normal life not including the treatment from all his friend. The majority of the story i s divided into two parts which show how junior grow and try to get ‘hope’.The first part is when Junior still go to school in wellpinit without any friend except Rowdy, and the second part is when Junior start going to Reardan and mingle with the white kids. By the end of the novel, Junior is a much different person than the one introduced to us at the beginning. Alexie shows us that only through constant struggle and failure will we ultimately experience true success. At the first part of the story, Junior struggle with his family through their poor life which lead Junior to realize what it means to be poor.The life of an Indian in the reservation is full of down mainly because they are always poor. Moreover, most of the Indians are alcoholic and tend to cause many problems when they are drunk. According to research by National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiological Study (NLAES), â€Å"reservation residents were likely to report greater quantities of alcohol consumed p er drinking occasion than were other Americans†(Beals 340). The reason that they continue to drink excessively is because they have no means of entertainment, and they want to forget their suffering because of the poor life.The first event that make Junior realize what it is to be poor is when Oscar, his dog, is sick and dying. His parents choose to shot it to death and there is nothing he can do about it. They are too poor to bring him to the hospital while a bullet only cost a few cents. This event make Junior think that â€Å"poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor†(Alexie 13). People who is poor will always be poor if they do not start thinking otherwise.Alexie want to convey this to the reader because there are many poor people who just give up and accept the fact that they are poor. The point where Junior start thinking about hope is at the end of the first part when he throw a b ook to his teacher accidentally. When it is time to study geometry, his favorite subject, in his school, Junior realize when he got the book that the previous owner of it was his mother before she even married. Because of this, Junior feel angry that the school is so poor that they cannot afford using a new book to educate their student. Junior then throw the book out of anger but it hit Mr. P, the teacher without any intention to do so.This is the reality of the education in a reservation but, some of the reservation have better education depending on the funding from the government or private party. According to research, â€Å"Inspite of our continental complaints, it should be obvious that indian education has made some major progress since 1960, and that while funds are hard to come by for many students, the overall pictures appears very bright† (Deloria 113). After this accident and Junior got suspended for a week, Mr. P come to Junior’s home to forgive and advic e Junior to leave the rez in pursuit of hope. Mr. P told Junior that all the people in the reservation have given up except Junior which become the reason why Junior throw the book.Mr. P also told Junior that if he choose to stay, the whole reservation will kill him which means that Junior will have the same future as the other from reservation. After Mr. P go home, Junior immediately asked his parents for him to transfer to Reardan, one of the white school 22 miles away from where he lives. His parents consent and support his decision, but not his friends. He got hit by his best friend, and he was labeled traitor by his own people, but he still continue on in order to find hope.Alexie wants to show us how important it is to be able to throw away one past in order to get to a better future. Most people always afraid to take a step forward because they are not certain what will happen if they step out of the norm, but sometimes, like junior, one will need to be different in order to be successful. The second part of the story is the main cause of Junior’s change although he needs to climb his way up to be accepted by the white people in Reardan. When junior first arrive at Reardan, the first impression that he got from the white kids was the difference of wealth between them and the Indian.The white kid is the opposite of Indian, and Junior feel that he do not deserve to be there as the only Indian, but this did not stop him. At first, he was mocked and scrutinized by the white kids because he is the only Indian. But, it changes when Roger,one of the popular kids, went to far and cause Junior to hit him in the face. Immediately after that, Junior feel that he will be destroyed by him as revenge but to his surprise, he gain their respect instead. according to his grandmother, the wise person in his family, Junior gain respect because he prove himself to the head of the pack that he is not weak and can be terrorized every time.Roger become his first friend at the school, and the bullying lessened considerably. The next friend that he got is Penelope, the popular girl in the school, the one who Junior have a crush with. He manage to be her friend after he console her after she got sick, and manage to increase their relationship steadily after that. With two of the most popular kid as his friend, The bullying completely stop, and Junior also gain more friends including Gordy, the genius and weird people in the school, after he help Junior in one of the class that they have together.Junior also got into the varsity basketball team because the coach remember him as a good shooter and he refuse to give up when the coach test him in the tryouts. This part of Junior’s life teach us that respect need to be gained through one own effort, and one need to show something worthy of that respect. Junior start to get a better life in Reardan compared to Wellpinit, but he began to question his identity since he feel more as a white while bein g Indian is a part-time job for him. Junior first feel that way when he first play against wellpinit in a basketball match.He feels like he become two different people inside one body. He is an Indian, but he thinks like a white people as his people said, he is like an apple; read on the outside, but white on the inside. In the game, all of the people in the reservation who watch the game except Rowdy, turn their back against Junior. One of the people even throw a quarter to Junior’s head which cause bleeding and cause him to go out of the game. When he came back, Rowdy hit his head and give Junior a concussion taking him out from the game.At the second game against Wellpinit, Junior fight again with Rowdy and even win against him and bring reardan team to victory. He was happy at first, but then he realize that he just beat his own people. Junior continue to ask himself his identity while he also need to handle the death of his father friend, one of the people who support Ju nior’s decision and not brand him a traitor, his grandma and his sister. This three event lead Junior to the answer about his identity that he is both Indian and white or as Rowdy said it in the end of the story, Junior is a nomad.He will not be tied down by any tradition, and he will continue to improve himself. This also teach us how important it is to know our own identity because it can be used as a base on how to think when in time of confusion. At the end of the story, Junior have already grown a lot after all the experience he got while he study in Reardan. He grow from a nobody into someone who is important to all of his friend in Reardan. At the reservation, all the people also stop mocking him after his grandma death. Rowdy also get back to being friend with Junior and turn to support junior in his decision.Rowdy also said that Junior is a nomadic Indian, old time Indian who continue to move around to look for food, water and grazing land. Rowdy also said that Junio r is the only nomadic Indian in the reservation and no one else. So in the end, Junior manage to gain height where no other people in the reservation ever hope to achieve. Junior got it with sheer effort and never giving up no matter what obstacle he have to face. Even at the death of his family member, how hard it is to travel to school, despite being different, despite having drawback during his childhood, he never gave up and finally got his hope.

The QAP Ternary Diagram Is Used to Classify Igneous Rocks