Introducing an emicropayment method using the internet Essay

Introducing an emicropayment method using the internet - Essay Example Using credit cards is the most common way to purchase items online. When a buyer tries to buy an inexpensive item through a credit card, the authentication and verification process of user account is often quite cumbersome and in most cases is infeasible and unpractical. For merchant selling inexpensive items, finds its profits disappear due to the high credit card fees and associated costs (Geer, 2004). Therefore the tools used for online payments are one of the biggest factors in deciding the fate of e-micropayments. Since the sales are often low and the profit margins thin, the sellers don't feel comfortable in investing into e-micropayment technologies and goods. They feel that the risk taken to sell inexpensive goods is not worthwhile. Therefore the supply of inexpensive goods and seller's attitude is another factor deciding the existence of e-micropayments. (Smith, 2003) Since its start, e-micropayments haven't shown the intensity and promise that was expected. Due to not enough successful inexpensive products in the market (compared to more expensive items) the demand for keeping inexpensive assortments in the inventory is low (Geer, 2004). Therefore the historic trends, not enough success stories and the hype in the market are other factors that need to be considered to make e-micropayments method a success. For all online transactions, a buyer or a merchant needs to have a secure and reliable e-micropayment technology (Geer, 2004). Since critical personal information and credit card (account) information is given over the net, a secure (usually SSL) and safe technology must be in place. Without such a technology, the method can never be a success. To run e-micropayments methods, dependant technology like computers, servers, internet etc. should be reliable (Geer, 2004). If the internet link is unreliable, or the merchant's website has a high downtime, the customers would simply move to a different merchant which provides the same products and services but which does not offer e-micropayment technology. Another issue is the cost of the e-micropayment technology and how much of the commission is charged from the merchant. If this cost is high, the merchants would not agree to have this system and would rather prefer a normal credit card payment option. (Electronic Payment Systems, 2006) As we have seen from the discussion above, there are a lot of stakeholders involved in the entire process which complicates the matters. Although e-micropayments are convenient and needful, their lack of practicality at the moment has let it down. Building a secure, reliable and inexpensive e-micropayment solution is required at a time where PayPal and credit cards have taken over the sale of expensive items. Works Cited 1. Electronic Payment Systems. (2006). Retrieved February 8, 2008, from Prentice Hall: www.c5c6.com/upfile/down.phpfilename=908a738581.ppt 2. Geer, D. (2004). E-Micropayments Sweat the Small Stuff. Retrieved Februa

Maritime Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Maritime Insurance - Essay Example Furthermore, there are also few other insurance policies categorised as credit or debt insurances and buying insurance (Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 2011). The primary objective of the paper is to present a view on the maritime insurance served by Lloyd’s Insurance Broker. This insurance will be served to a manufacturer of domestic electrical appliances and the pertinent aspects of the insurance will be described by a presentation report which includes the overview of the Lloyd’s company and maritime or marine insurance along with including merits for the manufacturing company. Lloyd’s is a United Kingdom based company which serves the customers in insurance and banking sectors. Lloyd’s had planned to start an insurance business after being influenced by the growing population and problems faced by the people. Since then, the idea was formulated and a corporate body was formed in 1688 from its own coffee house. Lloyd’s insurance corporate body was formulated underneath ‘Lloyd’s Act 1871 of the British Parliament’. The business processes of Lloyd’s are run by the members, managing agents, brokers and other members who support the governing body in operating the business. Lloyd’s generally deals with or serves its customer with a financial backup at the time of facing problems. The policies those are issued by Lloyd’s for their customers are related to casualty, energy, reinsurance, property, marine, motor and aviation. The history of Lloyd’s states the fact that they were the first insuran ce company to insure the commercial flight. However, it is also observed that Lloyd’s serves their customers with new and innovative insurance policies from its past till recent times. Lloyd’s fundamentally serves certain polices to protect the customers from certain risks which are unique and complicated. It serves in over 200 countries worldwide. Lloyd’s is one of the best and largest insurance

Vodafone international strategic development Essay

Vodafone international strategic development - Essay Example The initial acquisition move of the company was a merger with AirTouch Communications Inc. of the United States in a $61 million deal. The company briefly renamed itself as Vodafone AirTouch in a gradual move towards aligning AirTouch to its global strategy (Johannes and Ashok, 2009, P.263). The company’s North American branch was integrated into a new entity branded Verizon Wireless together with Bell Atlantic’s mobile business with the company retaining 45% stake in the new venture. Verizon wireless was the largest mobile phone operator in the North American market with 36 million customers and 24% market share in 2003. The targeting of large firms is in line with literature that suggests that large scale acquisitions provide potential scale economies and are expected to outperform small scale acquisitions (Risberg, 1999, P.76). The targeting of large firms is also observed in the acquisition of Mannesmann in a deal that helped it own D2 mobile phone business, which w as the private market leader in Germany. This deal made Vodafone one of the 10 largest companies in the world helping it achieve scale and scope economies (Johannes and Ashok, 2009, P.264). ... was a good strategy as mobile companies shared some similarities with Vodafone in capabilities and were likely to exhibit some level of homogeneity with its structure. Such acquisitions also helped Vodafone secure a platform for acquiring the existing business position (Risberg, 1999, P.82). Unlike its competitors, the company used shares for its acquisitions. This strategy helped the company emerge from the telecom crisis relatively early so that it could concentrate on growth while virtually all of its competitors were preoccupied with debt reduction (Johannes and Ashok, 2009, P.264). The company had acquired other businesses along with the mobile phone business as was the case of Japan Telecom and Mannesmann where it owned fixed line operations. Vodafone had an explicit desire to concentrate on its core business of mobile telecommunications, and this made it look for ways to dispose of the other non-core businesses. Vodafone insisted that it was mobile focused and intended to stic k to that strategy in all of its acquisitions and subsidiaries. The emphasis on only retaining those operations in the acquired firm that were core to its expansion strategy is in line with literature that suggests that strategic fit is important in creating shareholder value (Risberg, 1999, P.81). Vodafone’s strategy was to increase revenue growth and margin improvement by providing enhanced services to its customer base. This principle had three tenets. The company would increase voice and data revenues through increased marketing focus on its established high-quality customer base. It intended to extend its operational leadership of the mobile industry through maximizing the benefits of scale and scope by using partner network agreements, increasing equity investments in firms where

QUESTIONS 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

QUESTIONS 2 - Assignment Example 2. Such a leader has to use the charismatic leadership style, which is a style of transformational leadership. In this style, the leader will inspire the team members and motivate them to move in the required direction without the use of power or command. For example, a company introduces a new organizational culture where certain dressing codes and behaviors have to be observed. The leader would best inspire others by being an example in observing such dressing or behavioral codes, while the others will be motivated and inspired to follow them. 3. The first approach would be to audit all processes involved from ordering material from suppliers, delivery and logistic processes to reviewing all lead times. Additional machinery or workforce may be added where the review points to such problems. Streamlining processes would ensure supplies are done well in advance, delivery of all necessary equipment and material completed where necessary before starting the project, and eradicating any lead time that may surface from these processes. Logistical processes in most cases may lead to delays. Next would be to review the conditions of the workforce and machinery with a view of establishing any weaknesses, and with a view of adding more workers or machinery where necessary. After all the review of processes, next would be to ensure manpower and equipment are utilized at an optimum level to maximize their utility in the project and cut the time required for delivery of such project. The graph above portrays the trends in demographic and revenue changes based on patients below and above 65 years of age who are under Medicare. The revenue in thousands portrays a drastic decrease in the Medicare revenue based on a rapidly increasing number of patients above 65 years. Patients in this category as the chart shows are rapidly increasing compared to those less than 65 years who as the graph portrays have a gradual

Evolution of Integrated Marketing Communications to Integrated Brand Essay

Evolution of Integrated Marketing Communications to Integrated Brand Promotion - Essay Example As marketers become more sophisticated, they are recognize that IMC is more that just coordinating the various elements of the marketing and communications to have a 360 degrees approach to deliver a single message, as the concept of branding is emerging and more importance is laid upon the creation of an experience and promise that the brand holds, the concept of integrated brand promotion is a phenomenon that focuses on building brand identity and equity with the use of IMC to communicate and deliver the branding message effectively and efficiently. Building and maintaining brand identity and equity require the creation of well-known brands that have favorable, strong and unique associations in the minds of the consumer. 2. Imus Brothers Coffee, distributed by Fred and his radio disc jockey brother Don Imus' mail order Company, makes ground coffee and has targeted heavy users in the past. The company is now considering, however, switching to targeting college students, a target seg ment that is comprised largely of people who have just started to drink coffee and don't consume anywhere near as much as the heavy users. What are the disadvantages of the heavy-user strategy? What is the term used to describe the college students the company is considering targeting? What are the advantages of targeting this college student segment? Heavy users are more conscious about the quality of the coffee and are often choosy about what they want. They may be put off by some small mistake and have a negative image of the brand and may also lead to negative word of mouth among other heavy users. The company is targeting an emerging market which is untapped when it comes to coffee and this could mean that they could have a new segment to enter and achieve. This market development and would lead to increased market share and growth in sales. 3. You are the marketing manager for a mail-order company that ships spices from all over the world to customers across the globe. Given a choice between access to a mailing list and access to a marketing database, which would you choose? What are the advantages of your choice? Be as specific as possible. Marketing database would be a more efficient choice as it would be diverse and dense. The marketing database is created taking segmentation into consideration and it is more useful in terms of reach. Marketing database would hold complete information of the users and could also enable targeting and segmentation according to the company offerings. 4. Describe what branded entertainment is, how it differs from brand/product placement, and what its future is as a branding tool. The advent of brand entertainment is considered as one of the most major changes in the way IMC takes place since the past few years. The enormous growth of the concept of brand entertainment appends to its future as a successful branding tool. Brand entertainment can be described as a blend of marketing and entertainment and the process of using the entertainment media to grab the attention of the consumers and help them gain better exposure to the brand. Brand entertainment makes us of television, music, film and technology to create the mix between entertainment and marketing. Product/brand placement was a long time phenomenon used in films although brand entertainment is the same concept, but brand entertainment has led product placement to go beyond films to now embrace all forms of media. From films, to music videos, to computer games, all forms of media can be used to create or recreate an emotional connection with the consumers and increase exposure with

Respond to questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Respond to questions - Assignment Example Furthermore, social media has become another platform which can be used to influence people against acknowledging thin models being used in fashion shows or adverts. However, being thin should not be deemed as unhealthy. Nevertheless, this campaign should be directed towards those using drugs or skipping meals in order to be thin. Such people should be banned from participating in adverts or fashion shows in the country. Therefore, all people who want to participate in these shows should have a record of their weight reviewed and an approval from a physician. The current challenges that the world is facing such as global warming exist because there has been no strict regulations on the industries. Therefore, leaving the decision on the use of sustainable materials to designers is a major risk to the existence of the future generation. The student has argued logically on the need for the current generation to protect the scarce resources and an already strained environment. The essay is clear with only minor grammatical issues. However, the essay can be used in major arguments that are related to

Metaphors on Teens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Metaphors on Teens - Essay Example Communicating with your teenager on a regular basis Communication is blinding family with love, care, support, and bringing a parent-teen relationship to harmonious respect. Teens are spending less time talking with their parents and more time with peers, deteriorating and disconnecting their relationship. In this scenario, communication is needed to prevent relationship from being torn. Just as food and air are necessary for human survival, so is communication necessary for the development and sustainment of a relationship. Thus, communication is like a bridge that connects two separate ways into one. Communication is a tool for showing love and interest, resolving conflicts and issues and a means of building close relationships. As supported by Norbeck and Fitzpatrick (125), in a parent and adolescent relationship communication is a commonplace means of understanding. Meanwhile, teens of today are more exposed to negative influences through factors such as technology and peer press ure --destructing powers that increase as time ages. Therefore, teens must be parented properly and should be treated and comforted like a pillow. How to parent your teens with love and compassion Children are highly precious people to their parents’ lives. ... â€Å"Am I a controlling parent? Do I listen to my child?† parents often wonder. Parents, especially those who are autocratic, want their teens to follow every command and rule they impose. However, just as if too much weight is placed on a bridge it will break, so will parents acting too strictly result in cracks in the relationship. Indeed, if parents are too strict in not considering teens’ feelings, desires and opinions, conflict may arise. Parents must show love and compassion to their teens despite disobedience. Teens want to be loved and cared by parents, and see their parents as their protective shield when it rains. There are many ways parents can show love and compassion to their teens. According to Taylor (2005), parents must teach love and compassion so that teens understand its essence. Second, parents must plan activities that establish compassion and increase love, such as family outings, family prayer and scripture study, and watching movies together etc . Meanwhile, teens might get mistaken, so it is a perfect time for parents to show love and compassion through comforting, teaching teens how to make decisions, and â€Å"encouraging them to rise after having stumbled down.† How to parent the stubborn and argumentative teenager through peer pressure At their age, teens are like the ball that keeps on rolling. Peer pressure greatly influences teens’ behavior as they might apply what they have learned from peers. Some teens are stubborn and very augmentative. Parents of this kind have hard times negotiating with them. According to Thompson (2006) some teens often love to argue and persist in their ideas. They want to be always right, and do the things they want. Parents want the best for them, so generally what they consider is the best and