Several weeks before the exams...

Don't relax and bury your head under a pile of sand thinking that its still in the distant future; this is the time to start getting organised!



Get organized:

 

1. Organize your TIME - look at your weekly time table.  Planning your time now will reduce stress in the future.  Look at the number of hours of homework you do each day (6 days a week - leave one day to relax!).  Make a new schedule just for revision.
   
   
   
   • To start with, add 1 hour per evening just for exam revision.  This hour is in addition to the normal homework you do.  Pick a subject which you will study for that hour that day.  For example Monday - Math, Tuesday - History, etc.
   
   
   • A week or two before the exam, increase it to 2 hours of revision each day.
   
   
   • DO NOT plan to study all weekend or during vacation time.  Neurobiological experiments show that the human brain does not work like that.  The brain works better (and you feel less stressed) if you study information a little bit at a time over several weeks rather than asking your brain to 'cram' information in during marathon study sessions a few days before the exam.  It's like not eating anything for 3 weeks and then suddenly eating 30 kilos of food in one day!   Your stomach, like your brain, likes things in reasonable quantities.
   
   
   • Where will you find the time?  The revision hours will probably have to come out of hours you spend playing video games, watching TV, talking on the phone or going to the movies.  This having been said, though, planning your time means that you plan not only the time to work but also the time to have fun.  And when you are having fun you can really enjoy yourself knowing that you did the studying you said you would do and you don't have to worry about it!
   
   
   • Why not make up your schedule with a friend?  Pick the same hours and the same subjects for each night.  That will not only push you do stick to the schedule, it will also mean that if you have a question about history, you can call your friend knowing that s/he is studying the same thing.  Also plan to go out and have fun on the same night with that friend.  That way, one of you won't say "Let's go to the movies tonight!" while the other one says "Oh, sorry, I planned to study French tonight."
   
   
   
   


2. Organize your PAPERS - get your folders and notebooks in order.  Make sure they are complete.  Put the homework assignments, tests and quizzes, worksheets and notes together by chapter or topic.  If you realize the day before the exam that you missed a chapter of notes or you do not have a copy of your last homework to study from, it will be too late to ask the teacher or go find it in your locker.  Start now to avoid problems later.  When you are leaving school, look at the revision schedule you made to see which books or folders you need for that night's revision.

What to study:

Ask each of your teachers what you should study and write down what they say. Start asking several weeks in advance so that if you find something which you do not understand, you have time to ask the teacher about it.

Some teachers just say "study everything since the beginning of the year" or later in the year they might say "everything since the last exam."  If that is the case, make a list by yourself and show the teacher what he or she thinks.  There might be some things on the list the teacher will say, "spend more time on this part here" or "don't worry about this section - that's not important."  Or you could show the teacher your folder, notebook or textbook and flip through the pages asking which things had more importance.  Other things which could give you hints about what is important is to look back at the homework or quizzes and tests.  Were there certain themes which came up frequently?  Can you see a pattern?



How to study:

First of all, studying is a solitary act.  You must choose a place where you can concentrate and where you will not be interrupted by family, friends or pets.  There is no such thing as 'studying' with a friend.  Yes, you can work with a friend helping each other to explain things or you can quiz each other but revision or learning is not something you can do with someone else.

Only you have access to your brain, no one else can do the learning  for you.

What about techniques for learning?  There is no one method which is 'right' or 'wrong' because each person's brain works a little differently.  Some people are visual and need to see a diagram or a graph to understand ideas.  Other people are more number-oriented and things need to be logical in order to be clear.  Other people are better at remembering things which they hear rather than see.  Some people need to write something down before it really sinks into their memory.  Knowing which method is best for you means trying different techniques and seeing which one works best.

You need to find what works for you.  Here are some ideas:

• Flashcards help to remember both by writing and by seeing.  Just making them helps to get ideas into your brain.  Using them frequently helps you to remember.


• Outlines ("des fiches") - are a good way to summarize what you have been learning and helps you concentrate on only the most important bits of information.  Making them takes a long time but in the process of writing and thinking about what is important to write helps you to remember.


• Audio recordings - read your notes or chapters aloud into an audio recorder and then put on your headphones and listen.  This is a good way to study while walking to school, waiting for a bus or just giving your eyes a rest during those study sessions.  Don't spend all your time making the recordings and when you listen, really listen - don't daydream!


• Mnemonics - little "tricks" to help you remember things.  For example, in biology, "KingPhilip Came Over For Good Soup" is one way to remember the classification system ofKingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and species. You can invent your own. For example, to remember numbers, you could associate each number with a letter A=1, B=2, C=3, etc.  Sometimes there are little rhymes to help you remember a date:  "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."  Doctors often say that mnemonics were the only way to remember the hundreds of names of muscles, nerves and bones in anatomy class at medical school!

Whichever method you use, make sure that you stick to your list of what to study.  As you progress, check off what you have done and make sure you have planned enough hours to be able to study everything for that subject.

To find out if your studying is productive and useful, test yourself.  Cover up words and dates and names and see if you know them without looking.  Use flashcards to see if you know the information without turning each one over.  Ask a friend or family member to give you a quiz.  Make it fun.  Keep score for yourself.  When you get tired and nothing makes sense, take a 10 minute break - have a glass of milk - open the window and get some fresh air.  Look at your favorite cartoon book and have a good laugh - then get back to the studying.  All the hard work will pay off and you'll feel better about yourself.  Exam week will be over soon and you'll be able to relax again!

Don't Stress Out!

Exam time is often thought of as stress time.  The definition of stress is asking your body to do things above and beyond its normal capacities.  Stress can be good - pushing you to perform better and increasing your abilities.  Like the muscles in your body, sometimes your brain has to hurt a little to grow and become more powerful.  But stress can be managed.  The best way to manage stress is to get organized (that's why I put it first in this section).  Prepare your time so that you don't run into endless hours of worry and panic.  Plan your weeks so that you know when you will be studying hard and when you will be rollerblading or going to the movies. Another way to reduce stress is to make sure that your body is operating at 100% potential:

• Did you ever wonder why your parents made you eat your vegetables?  One reason is that they help reduce stress by helping your body to operate at optimum levels.  Take a look at the table below showing different ways of eating and of spending your time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  	Tired / stressed-out / poor results	Energetic / optimum performance
  Snacks	junk food: potato chips, chocolate bars	real food:  bananas, apples, carrots
  Free Time Activities	time wasters:  watching TV, surfing the web	energy-boosters:  rollerblading, walking the dog, laughing with a friend
  Habits	bad habits: smoking, alcohol, all-nighters (staying up all night)	good habits:  reasonable sleep patterns,  read the newspaper, drink lots of water

  
  


• It should be clear that if you want your brain to do its best, you have to treat it well.  Taking care of your body, too, means that the brain will focus better.


• Just as a mobile phone won't work unless you recharge the battery, you need to recharge your body by eating well, sleeping well and getting some exercise.  Stay away from the things that drain your batteries.


• Screen time (time in front of a TV, a video game or Internet) is fine for a little while - helping you to escape and relax after a busy day.  After more than about half an hour, though, these activities numb you into a state of total breakdown of creativity and interaction.  You become a zombie drained of motivation and inspiration.   Turn it off, get up, go for a walk, get some air.  Get your blood flowing and wake up your brain.  (Well, finish reading this page, first, then get up).


• Do you smoke?  Smoking introduces carbon monoxide into your blood.  This molecule takes the place of oxygen in your body.  As a result, your cells (including the ones which make your brain work) are literally gasping for air - they are suffocating.  Brain cells which are not getting enough oxygen cannot process information correctly.  Also, if all you can think about during the exam is when you are going to get out of there and be able to light up a cigarette, it is clear that your brain is wasting a lot of neurons on that thought rather than on thinking about the exam.  Personally, I never understood why people say "Cigarettes help me to relax," because the main active ingredient in them is nicotine, which is a stimulant, a type of drug which actually makes you more stressed-out and nervous.

Life is kind of like an exam.  Every day.  Those who have developed strong positive habits have rewarding, successful lives.  They never seem to run out of energy because they are constantly recharging their batteries.  And then there are those who always waited until the last minute to study.  They may still have those bad habits today in their adult lives - paying their bills after the deadlines - always running late - always stressed out.  Look around.  Do you know anyone in each of these categories?  Among your friends?  Your family?  Your teachers?

 

IB Science - Multiple choice questions

Multiple choice questions come up on practically every Group 4 IB subject - be it physics, chemistry, biology, ecosystems, sports sciences and so on....... Hence thats a lot of marks given as a gift - if you know the right techniques ;)!

Firstly, get familiar with the several types of questions:

Sequence type questions

Sequences are best addressed by reading down the first item in the sequence to eliminate the choices and then proceeding across the sequences until you have only one choice remaining.

For example:

What is the correct order of taxonomic categories from largest to smallest?

1. kingdom--> order--> class--> phylum --> species


2. species--> order--> phylum--> kingdom--> class


3. kingdom--> phylum--> class--> order--> species


4. species--> order--> class--> phylum--> kingdom

Now you have only to choose between the two.  Next look down the second item of the sequence to eliminate the false choice.

1. kingdom--> order--> class--> phylum --> species


2. 
   


3. kingdom--> phylum--> class--> order--> species


4. 
   

Finally you have the answer!

1. 
   


2. kingdom--> phylum--> class--> order--> species


3. 
   

Table type questions

Frequently, it is easier to read down one of the columns and eliminate the items that are not correct.

The questions usually are comparative of structures or functions.

Which of the following shows the correct features of arteries and veins?

artery vein a thick elastic wall thin inelastic wall b thin elastic wall thick inelastic wall c thin inelastic wall thick elastic wall d thick inelastic wall thin elastic wall
so if you read down you can eliminate: artery vein a thick elastic wall thin inelastic wall b thin elastic wall thick inelastic wall c
d and finally:
artery vein
a thick elastic wall thin inelastic wall

Genetics questions

Various type of genetic crosses, pedigrees will be shown here.  How to identify genotypes and inheritance patterns will be illustrated.

• Crosses


• Monohybrid ( single trait)


• Dihybrid (two traits)


• Non-Mendelian crosses


• Sex-linked


• blood types


• codominant- dihybrid


• Polygenic ( multiple genes)

Data based question strategies

See the more detailed post on data response questions.

Graphical presentation questions

See the more detailed post on how to interpret graphs.

I, II, III- type

These questions give you  a combination of three or four options.  The best way to attack is to eliminate the options (I, II, III, IV) you know (feel) are incorrect and then eliminate any answers with those options.  Be ready to accept all the options!

Which of the following are required for proper blood clotting?
I.       Release of thrombokinase from platelets and damaged tissues
II.     Damage to leucocytes
III.   Prothrombin in the plasma
IV.    Fibrinogen in the plasma
A. I only
B. III and IV only
C. I, III and IVonly
D. I, II, III and IV

Since leucocytes are not involved in blood clotting, this option is not required so any answer choice with II is wrong- eliminate D.

Since thrombokinase, prothrombin and fibrinogen are all needed, then C is correct answer.

Image interpretation

The IB will present diagrams, drawings and electronmicrographs in questions.  You will be asked to interpret the image for knowledge about specific details:

-- structure and function of organelles

-mitochondria

-- structure and function of  cells- acini, epithelial (microvilli)

-- prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells

-- plant vs animal cells

You should be able to accurately measure and calculate the magnification or actual size given relevant information.

Other images to interpret:

-- organs or systems- structure and function

-- food chains, pyramids, cycles

-- metabolic pathways and processes

-- DNA profiles, karyotypes, pedigrees

 

IB: Business Management: Marketing Product (Unit 4.3~the product)

THE PRODUCT - notes

• A product is something that the company seeks to sell to satisfy customer needs and wants


• The product was ‘add value’ meaning that the value of the finishing product needs to be higher than when it first went into the factory, meaning that the company is actually able to make a profit from it


• There are different classifications for products:


• Fast moving- products that are necessary for daily use, like toilet paper and it is something that consumers need to buy. Something that is bought for a short period of time, meaning quick and rapid resales. Usually a large volume is sold with a low profit margin due to the low prices. There is small customer loyalty, and therefore a high elasticity of demand( consumers are more sensitive to price changes)


• Perishables- products that easily and quickly are out of use, for example flowers or food, that have a certain time period where the product is useful. They are usually priced very high during peak times like valentines day for flowers, however due to the temporary nature of the products, it means that it is therefore costly to get rid of excess stock.


• Durables- products that are used for a long period of time, like a phone or electronics in general. This means that there is usually a high profit margin due to the high prices, it takes up a large portion of the consumer’s income but it also means that they wont be buying very rapidly.


• Specialty- these products have a high profit margin due to their high prices, they are very exclusive products like the iPod for apple, these cannot be sold from any other brand meaning that they have a low elasticity of demand  and the consumers are less price sensitive. This is also applied to the Porsche and the Ferrari.


• Product range- This is all the range of products in the product mix of a company, meaning all the products that it sells.


• Product mix- The different types of products that your company offers, like a phone or television. It doesn’t necessarily mean specifically touch screen phone and non-touch screen phone, but just a phone.


• Product line- the different types of product within your product mix, like different sized television screens. They are essentially the same product(product mix) but they are different variations of the same product.


• New product design and development


• Must have market research to support design and development to ensure that what you produce is what the consumer wants reducing sales


• Product life cycle


• This is looking at the way a product behaves throughout time on the axis of sales revenue and time

• Research and development is the stage before introduction, and this is the stage where new products are being test marketed and tested before it is launched to minimize risk


• The research and development stage is very costly due to the high rejection rate of products and also the industrial espionage risk, as many car products are publicized during testing periods


• High investment with no return, very risky for business


• Introduction is the stage where the product is launched and pubicised to the general public, a lot of intense marketing is used here like launch campaigns, below the line promotion to enhance consumer awareness of the product


• Little growth and little market share and little profit due to the lack of consumer awareness to begin with


• Objective is to get to growth as quickly as possible as that is when they start making profit


• Growth is the stage where consumer attention has been yielded, and also sales revenue begins to increase quite rapidly


• There is still low market share as the product is still being noticed by the consumers


• Starts facing competition


• Many companies wish to stay in growth for as long as possible because of the fast growing market share and fast growing profits of the product


• More product differentiation occurs here, the product is distinguished amongst other products causing it to increase in sales


• Increase in distribution areas- place


• Maturity is the stage where the growth slows down, with a high market share but low growth quite equivalent to the cash cow on the boston matrix


• This is the stage where a lot of promotion and above the line promotion is used because of the high and intense level of competition, making it crucial for a distinguishing advertising campaign to work.


• Highly reliant on promotion to differentiate itself


• Products like coca cola and mars bar stay at this level for a long period of time


• High level of Economies of scale in terms of production and marketing


• Unsuccessful competitors then drop out


• Decline is when the product grows old, and many replacements appear, making it not worthwhile for the business to continue investing in that product


• For example cathode ray televisions have now been replaced by LCD screens in televisions


• Equivalent of the dog in the boston matrix


• Sales fall and prices decrease as there is no longer a demand for the product


• Extension strategies, are strategies that a company uses to prevent their product from entering the final stage of the product life cycle(decline) for example

-          Re-advertising, with a completely new image to provoke a different impression of the product, like Hello Kitty advertising towards teenage girls rather than young girls

-          Below the line promotion, like discounts and coupons to encourage sales in the short term and to stimulate consumer interest in the product

-          Creating new variations of the product, like a fun sized chocolate bar to arouse consumer interest and also to prevent the product from entering decline

-          Target towards different market segment, aim it towards a different set of people with a different marketing strategy to maximize sales to a larger group of people

-          Redesigning and repackaging, different types of packaging to change the image of the product

Branding

• Branding is referring to the identity that is usually given to a product to improve customer loyalty and brand recognition, it represents the product and the company in a shape or a word


• This is a key product differentiator, allows the product to be separated from others.


• Intangible asset in the way that it is not something that you can achieve just by buying it, it is something that is built over time


• Trademarks are legal rights to protect the brand, to allow the business to enjoy the benefits of a good and established brand

Brand development

• Build the awareness of the brand, which is crucial for a successful brand and successful product, because even if the product is good, it doesn’t mean that it will sell very much because of the lack of awareness and recognition of the brand


• This is a long term investment, and it is very expensive


• But to build a strong brand is the aim of every marketing department

Brand Loyalty

• Very important to business to encourage customer resales, and it ensures that consumers will buy from them rather than from a competitor, hence ensuring that their product is differentiated from that of another company’s because of the strong and established brand

Loyalty programs

• This is to encourage the loyalty of consumers, for example with the use of membership cards, or certain below the line promotion schemes that encourage buyers to buy from that certain brand, hence building a good brand recognition and brand loyalty

Why should firms develop a brand?

-          Reduces risk, so if they try to expand into different product markets, it means that there will be less risk as there is an increased brand recognition, which means that people will buy it because they recognize the brand. For example, Mars advancing into ice cream products, because of the well known and established brand of Mars, it means that consumers are more willing to try their new ice cream products due to their already established impressions of the mars bar.

-          Foster extension strategies, it means that the extension strategies of that successful brand is likely to work, for example by re-advertising a product with a different image or changing the product to appeal to different target markets, it is likely to be more successful because of the brand loyalty and brand recognition

-          Distribution advantages, it means that the business will not have to look especially for a distributor to sell the product, if the product is well known and it sells it means that all the distributors will be fighting for the most recognized products as they have a highest chance of selling. 

-          Competitive advantage, with a more successful brand it means that it can potentially generate a large volume of sales, this is due to the fact that consumers trust the product and are willing to spend money on it as they associate the quality of the product with the price

-          Premium pricing, the business or firm is able to use premium pricing and get away with it because their products are associated wth a higher quality, and because of the brand recognition and customer loyalty it usually entails that there will be a high elasticity of demand, and customers will be less sensitive to price changes if they are loyal to that brand

• Barriers to entry,it means that with a lot of well established brands in the industry it prevents any small business from wanting to establish themselves in that market. This is because of the high economies of scale for the businesses with big brands, for example Mcdonalds has a very high economies of scale due to it’s size, purchasing and also because of it’s well known brand, which makes it hard for a new unknown business to establish themselves. This is because of the relatively high startup costs, and also they cannot compete with the low prices of these successfully branded companies.


• Types of branding


• Family branding- many products under the same brand, like virgin has a wide variety or a wide product range all under the same brand name


• Company branding- meaning that the branding follows after the name of the company like adidas or nike, this is useful for marketing economies of scale


• Own brand- many retailers like park’n shop have their own brands, that are set at lower than the prices of the big brands. Appealing to consumers who are more price sensitive, and also this is possible due to the high purchasing economies of scale


• Product branding- under the same brand name like coca cola there can be many different individual brands. For example coca cola with sprite and fanta, these are all separate brands but under the same company, this may be used to allow consumers to not associate the products together by creating a different brand image for both. Also shown in Lexus in Toyota


• Manufacturer’s brand- this is branding that is from the company in itself, the company is responsible for manufacturing and selling. For example dell is able to directly sell to the customer.


• Branding in a global market: this makes it important for a business to have an established brand, which allows it to be easily recognizable across nations. For examples Mcdonalds has a very recognizable brand, which allows the consumer to recognize the brand


• Some brands are ‘glocalized’ meaning that they are adapted to certain areas to suit the demands of the local customer, for example a brand name that may seem suitable in one nation may not be the same in another, to cater for different target markets


• A globalized brand also allows the firm to have global marketing economies of scale, as one advertisement can be used worldwide, rather than repeatedly creating new ones for each brand name in each different nation


• It encourages customer loyalty

Product differentiation

• Companies need to differentiate their product in order to survive in the competitive market


• In terms of


• Design(also includes durability and quality)


• Appearance


• After sales service


• Loyalty programs


• Availability, abundance of their product in terms of distributors.

Benefits of differentiation

• More competitive advantage


• Increased customer loyalty and recognition of the brand as you are differentiated from other competitors


• Allows premium pricing, because your product is not something that other businesses can offer


• Distribution advantages, more people want to sell your product in their store

Boston Matrix

• A measure of market share against growth


• Used to analyze the product portfolio of a business and to assess whether they are worth investment or not


• Good to have a large range of products, this is because risk is spread, if your business is declining in one market but expanding in another it means that your business is at less risk as compared if you had a less diversified product range


• This is because different products do well in different economic climates, for example certain airlines under virgin will do well in economic recessions but not so well in other times.


• It is also good because it means that larger revenues can be generated due to the diversity of the products


• Boston matrix analyzes different products and assesses where they lie within the matrix and is used to judge whether or not a product is worth investment


• CASH COWS: are products that are in the maturity section of the product life cycle, they are the bread and butter of the company’s profits, and they generate a lot of sales revenue. High profits, low growth, high market share.


• STARS: Relative to the growth section, high growth, high market share but still need investment to go onto being cash cows


• QUESTION MARKS: They have a high growth but a low market share, this is a product that could be a dog or a star, it depends on the nature of the product and the availability of resources within the business, the fate of the question marks usually is the outcome of market research on the demand of such a product-requires a lot of investment


• Low revenues


• DOGS: lack of demand, equivalent of the decline stage of the product, there are many substitutes and they gradually become out of fashion and out of production. Low market share, low growth they are considered an opportunity cost as that money could be used elsewhere for example in training.


• However there are limitations to the Boston matrix as the boston matrix highly focuses on the sales revenue, when indeed a lot of sales revenue does not necessarily equate to a high profit because it depends on the management of costs within the business

 

IB Business Management Task: Examining Hitler as a Leader

Examining Hitler as a leader

Hitler was quite an autocratic leader, as he is infamous for his ability to make a large mass number of people follow his orders and decisions.

WHAT MAKES HIM AN AUTHORITARIAN (AUTOCRATIC LEADER)?

• Hitler did not consult the German people for decisions, and people had no rights to oppose the laws of the Nazis. This shows that Hitler was definitely not a democratic type of leader.

EXAMPLE: Hitler did not consult the people of Germany whether he should exterminate all the Jews during the Holocaust; it was mainly based on Hitler’s strong anti-Semitic ideas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust)

• Hitler is not known for delegating tasks to other people, actions are done based on his own judgment. This shows that Hitler did not adopt a ‘laissez-faire’ type of leadership style as he sought to control every aspect of people’s life.

EXAMPLE: Hitler always had to be in charge of the affairs in Germany, he had to be in control of everything. This is shown in the Hitler Youth groups; where youths were taught follow the rules of Nazism.

• Hitler told the people of Germany exactly what to do, for example people were ordered to join the Nazis and help the Nazi cause, like exterminating the Jews.

 

Why was he a good leader?

1. Hitler was a good orator; his oratory skills were effective in persuading people to do what the Nazi’s wanted. Hitler had the skills that allowed many people to follow him, which is good for management and leadership.


2. Hitler was quick to make decisions, he was not democratic so therefore decisions were made quickly, and because he had a lot of support they were obeyed.


3. Hitler kept people disciplined, if he had a laissez faire type of leadership it would make his position as leader of Germany vulnerable as it didn’t keep people restrained.


4. People believed in Hitler, and what he said was always seen as rational as Hitler had a large amount of support.


5. Hitler’s style of leadership made people want to reform to his ways better, for example they all attended his Nazi-run organizations. This continued the support they have for him, and also it is good for self improvement for people. This is a good style in management as well, because it encourages staff to continually improve.

 

IMPROVEMENTS FOR HITLER AS A LEADER

 

• A disadvantage for autocratic leadership is that many people tend to be de-motivated because the leader is not always amiable. Hitler controlled people out of fear, so therefore I think that Hitler should have been more democratic to keep his support, as many people had complaints about the Nazi state.


• Situational leadership might have been good for Hitler as well, as it means that he was not always autocratic but instead democratic when needed. This would keep people disciplined AND have his continued support.

Hitler’s influence on others and their achievements

 

• Hitler was effective in influencing a large section of the German population; people often followed his decisions because his influence was great.

-  People were quick to join Nazi-run organizations to become the “ideal German” where they learnt racial differences between Jews and non Jews and also Nazi ideology.

- Hitler created a very strict atmosphere in Germany where people were made to obey the laws; people often achieved a lot to satisfy the needs of the Nazis.

 

 

 

IB: Business Management - Notes on Marketing (Unit 4.1)

“Marketing is the identification, anticipation, and satisfaction and of customer needs and wants profitably. “

• Marketing is important to businesses as they will need to satisfy customer needs and wants to survive and also to prevent them from buying from any rival businesses.


• They will have to appeal to people by the use of price, product, promotion and place.


• The right price has to be chosen because it is crucial that the customer can afford the product and so they don’t buy from other competitors


• The right product has to be selected as the product has to be appealing to the customer in terms of size, colour, functions. This is needed to satisfy customer needs and wants


• Promotion is crucial as they need to make consumers aware of the product and to be persuaded to buy it.


• Place is also important because it has to be fitted to suit customer’s convenience

The marketing mix is a key part in marketing as it involves the success the product will produce if it is marketed properly.

• A business that sells mainly to customers and private individuals(like the general public) will be called consumer markets.


• While a business that sells to other businesses or organizations will be involved in commercial or industrial markets.


• A business usually wants to know three things;

-          Market share that they hold

-          Market size

-          Number of competitors

-          Potential for market growth

• MARKET SIZE is usually defined by;


• customer base, if there is a large customer base then that means that the market is quite diverse and has a lot of opportunity of expansion(like the fast food market) while if the market is quite niche then there will be a limited customer base and therefore small market size


• barriers to entry, if there are many natural or legal barriers of entry it restricts market size and it means that the market will have fewer suppliers as there are fewer competitors


• location, a business may operate in certain geographic area because the market there may be more successful due to the abundant potential customers there. However, now increasing globalization prevents a market from being hindered by geographical restraints.


• Volume of sales- if the value of sales in this market is very small then the market is not likely to be big as suppliers are not attracted into this market.

MARKET GROWTH- another thing that businesses will be interested in

• this refers to the increase of size that a market faces over time


• during market growth it means that more suppliers enter the market and the volume of sales go up.


• This market growth usually attracts more suppliers in because of the potential of bigger profits.

MARKET SHARE

• How much of the overall sales in the whole market a certain business owns.


• This is usually used to measure success of the business over time


• See how well the business is doing over competitors

 

 

• Market concentration looks at the degree of competition within a market;


• This is done by calculating the market shares of the largest firms in the market (like apple and Microsoft in the computer industry)


• This is given by the concentration ratio, if there is a 98% concentration ratio is means that the two top competitors(apple and Microsoft) produce for 98% of the whole industry- so this will not be a very competitive industry because the small businesses only account for 2% of the whole industry


• Such big industry-dominating businesses are called oligopolists

PRODUCT ORIENTATION

v  This is used to describe a business that focuses production on the product in itself instead of producing to satisfy customer needs and wants.

v  The product is produced in the belief that it will be sold, and it may be for popular products like the iPod

v  Sell products that they can make, rather than selling products with elevated costs due to marketing

v  Product orientation may be successful because of Say’s law (supply creates its own demand)

v  Producers are not always sure if they will sell, it is highly risky because suitable market research has not been undertaken, money for R&D may be wasted as a cause of “hit and miss” strategies

v  Many product orientated businesses may focus upon producing more luxury items where the production process may be scrutinized with more detail- so quality can be assured

MARKET ORIENTATION

• A business that focuses upon satisfying customer needs and wants, and produces what the customer wants rather than what they can actually make


• Usually involves market research to look into the present and future demand of the product- this is costly but it is worthwhile as it makes the product less risky and more likely to form good profits


• A market orientated business is also flexible to changes in the market, like different trends because they can be kept up to date


• A disadvantage for market orientation is the costs associated with it, there is not always a guarantee this method will be successful.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT MARKET OR PRODUCT ORIENTATION

• What type of product it sells, if it is a product that is quite homogeneous then not a lot of market research will be required.


• Organization culture- if a firm believes that customers should be placed above all then it will usually be market orientated


• Nature of barriers to entry; firms with less competition will be more product orientated and vice versa. This is because if there are many barriers of entry there will be less suppliers in the market, so consumers don’t have such a broad range of options

Social marketing

• Usually for a cause instead of selling of products


• Like the government imposed adverts to prevent people from taking drugs and smoking, this is a form of social marketing


• “an activity that affects social behavior”


• This differs from commercial marketing because people are not persuaded to buy anything, but instead informed of causes and persuaded against a certain action


• A challenge to social marketing is the unwillingness of people who change their social behavior due to habits


• Clients of social marketing agencies are usually non-profit organizations and this is how it differs from profit making organizations

 

Economic Development - Notes

Factors that determine the level of economic development:

1. Quality & quantity of Factors of Production
   
   
   
   1. Capital
   
   
   2. Entrepreneurship – Singapore devoid of many natural resources but became a logistics hub
   
   
   3. Land – Malaysian rubber trees; Singapore’s natural harbour
   
   
   4. Labour – China (emerged into the global economy because of its huge supply of cheap labour that developed into a manufacturing hub)
   
   
   5. Government decisions & governance
      
      
      
      1. Corruption – hinders economic activity and growth
      
      
      2. Gangs & unrest – decreases economic activity (e.g. Nigeria gangs in Lohas create a protection racket under the pretence of ‘labour unions’ to extort money from bike-taxis, roadside traders…)
      
      
      3. Not clearly defined property rights & legislation
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   

- (a.), (b.) and (c.) create allocative inefficiency which is very bad for developing countries as it disrupts the market, decreases economic activity and creates deadweight loss. [Graph]

1. Infrastructure


2. Strength of institution
   
   
   
   1. Legal system; Established property rights – greater incentive to set up businesses
   
   
   2. Politics (e.g. emerging economies: India’s democratic (short-term policies) vs China’s communist party (increased political stability; allows more time for policies to be seen through and long-term aims to be made))
   
   
   3. Natural factors
   
   
   
   

Sources of economic development:

• Land quality

- Better planning for land use; fertilization/ irrigation of the area for primary industries

• Land quantity

- Land reclamation (Singapore); build upwards (Hong Kong)

• Resources

- E.g. Natural harbor – Singapore; Oil discovery – Dubai, Brazil; Gold deposits – South Africa

1. Human factors

• Quantity of human capital

- Baby boom; Immigration

• Quality of human capital

- Education/ training; health awareness/ promotion; attract skilled migrants

1. Physical capital & technology

• Build more infrastructure (e.g. schools, hospitals, roads, housing)


• Invest more in capital such as machinery, factories etc.


• Promote saving & investment (e.g. by offering government assistance; loans; grants; subsidies; lowering interest rates)

Capital widening: More people have access to capital – Ratio of capital: per worker doesn’t change.

Capital deepening: Each worker has access to more capital.

1. Institutional factors

• Adequate banking system

- Money stays in the country, which allows banks to provide loans to firms and start-up companies, which drives investment (unlike Nigeria where all money earned is sent abroad to safeguard its value)

• Structure of legal system with established property rights

- Encourages entrepreneurship and businesses to start-up

• Reliable infrastructure

- Most importantly telecommunications and the internet – needed for most business transactions nowadays

- Transport networks – mobility of labour, raw materials, capital… etc.

• Education system


• Political stability

- E.g. China (stable, one party rule – allows the government to make long-term goals and plans for sustainable development of the country )vs India (democratic leadership – where politicians focus more on getting re-elected and tend to implement short-term policies)