The Marketing Concept

The Marketing Concept Abstract The marketing concept remains a fundamental parameter of marketing that makes organizations meet the needs and wants of their customers thereby surviving and flourishing in the dynamic market. Organizations should treat customers as Kings that is giving them the first priority in all their activities. In laying marketing strategies, organizations ought to consider the tastes and preferences of their customers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Marketing Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This will enable them to produce services and goods that fit into the customers’ bracket of needs and wants. If this process continues, customers’ satisfaction will be assured leading to attraction and maintenance of customers. Since most firms target profit maximization as their main objective, they will also meet the set objectives in the end thus gaining competitive advantage over their competitors i n the marketing environment. This essay will analyse the relationships that exist between satisfaction of customers’ needs and the organizational needs. It will analyse the marketing concept form a historical perspective and analyse the elements that an organization can do to satisfy its customers. In marketing, customers are the most vital aspect since the main objective is to satisfy their needs. The entire organization should understand and uphold the marketing concept as it is not a single domain of the marketing department (Bell, 2010, p. 27). Success in businesses requires an inclusive approach from all the departments. Every manager and employee should put the customer’s needs and satisfaction in the frontline. The marketing concept and philosophy is involved in product, selling and marketing. Product philosophy enables the organization to know what it can produce and what it cannot produce. It can put emphasis on high quality products with low cost of productio n. This philosophy does not lead to poor sales; instead, it creates more market for products made than before. During the industrial revolution, the production was extremely low as goods were made using hands, but the goods were still marketed. Customer’s satisfaction was extremely low because of low and slow production that led to low market. Currently, there is mass production, but it has not covered all customers’ satisfaction.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, it has created economies of scale thereby leading to low cost of production and low price of goods (Hooley et al., 1995, p. 10). This implies that the production philosophy can work in a newly established industry. According to Henry Ford, different colour of products can increase the cost of production, which leads to more market. He argued that to get more customers, one should lowe r prices for goods (Cochran, 2003, p. 15). During the Industrial revolution, there was an increase in the volume of products; this prompted the need for a marketing department that will focus on selling of the goods. Increase in supply and production brought to an end the surplus production leading to advertising and personal selling to reduce inventories and increase sales. Additionally, it enables the organization to focus on the production work, and sell whatever property they produce. Nevertheless, distributing goods according to the consumer’s preference is easier. Further, a good sales department cannot meet the needs of all customers since the customers have many choices. It struggles to make the organization understand the customers before designing and making products. When needs and wants of customers are included in the production work, the organization will increase sales since they will meet the customer’s preference thereby maximizing its profit. The mana gement in organizations should be skilful in order to understand their customers, as this is the key to quality service provision (Cochran, 2003, p. 17). In environmental scanning and forecasting, firms should be able to foresee the needs of their customers. This approach will help organizations meet and exceed the expectations of their customers. In addition, organizations that understand the needs of their customers will be able to alter their services and goods in line with the customers’ change in tastes and preferences in future.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Marketing Concept specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can do this without any challenge of reorganization or loss since they keep continuous contact with their customers. Markedly, continuous contact with customers requires an attentive management that can listen to complains that customers raise and reward perennial ones; this increases the ir loyalty to the business. Major business organizational units aim at surviving in the market. How a firm manages its working capital determines its financial health or status. Strategic working capital policies should be available to ensure that the firm will make profit even during a financial crisis. This management helps to generate new capital to settle future debts. A good management of working capital can also make it possible for firms to engage in risky ventures, which have huge returns (McClelland, 1995, p. 97). Therefore, it encourages investment options that can fully satisfy the needs of the customers. Secondly, organizations target growth and development of their internal services in terms of institutional and professional competency, innovations in products and services and customer growth. Firms also aim at fostering strong relationships among its external networks. Lastly, another organizational need is serving and uplifting all its stakeholders; for instance, an o rganization can engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to make changes in the world. It can also encourage its employees to work towards achieving their life objectives through continuous training on life skills. Customers will also like an organization that educates them on the content of various products and how to use them. For organizations to understand their customers, they should try to be in the customers’ shoes, use various organizational data, or even ask the customers on what they think on productivity and service provision. Using the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) can assist firms to understand the needs of their customers. This data shows how customers take orders and how quick the company delivers these orders. CRM systems contain information on consumer behaviours and preferences that can help an organization to identify various needs of its customers’ thereby increasing profitability (Mckitterick, 2000, p. 21). If an organization utilizes this data carefully, it can improve in customer satisfaction and retention.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A customer survey can also be helpful to an organization that is interested in meeting the needs and wants of its customers. In engaging customers in a satisfaction survey, they feel more valued than in another firm that does not inquire on their views and contributions. Notably, a firm can gain meaningful insights if it goes ahead to inculcate the views of customers when making improvements or changes in their services. Such a scenario will increase customers’ loyalty, which makes it easier for the firm to understand the needs of these customers hence tailor its products towards satisfying these needs. Evidently, such a marketing strategy will alter the performance of a firm since the customers will be able to inform the organization of the behaviours that they feel should be altered. For instance, customers can inform the organization of bad behaviours among its staff only if they are close to the management. If the management can proactively consult its customers, it will be able to correct its wrong doings that could have caused dissatisfaction to customers. Moreover, an organization can opt to be in its customer’s shoes. In this manner, the management will study the points at which the customers access the enterprise. Some of these points include deliveries, phone calls, and correspondence; the management should scrutinize if there is immediate responses to phone calls and the friendliness of its receptionists. The slowness in handling customers’ complains coupled with the arrogance of the receptionist can be the reason behind customers’ dissatisfaction. To avoid losing customers, the management should try to put the interest of its customers at the forefront by addressing their complaints promptly (Mckitterick, 2000, p. 23). Further, the firm should deliver on it promises and even surpass the customers’ targets. All the departments in an organization should focus on surpassing the expectations of the customers. Understa nding the customers remains a secret that businesses can use in identifying the needs and wants of its customers thereby enhancing satisfaction among the customers. Markedly, a firm will realize and surpass its organizational goals of continuous expansion and growth in the market with continuous loyalty of customers. In meeting the customers’ needs, businesses should design products and services that are affordable, attractive, work well and always available. They also engage in product promotion to alert consumers on the existence of their products hence encouraging them to purchase the products. In the current market, customers tend to adopt the new technological systems such as online shopping. An organization should upgrade its information management system in order to be in line with the requirements of the customers. First, organizations with updated Information Management (IM) have all their data well managed in the systems. This information management fosters growth, as it reduces the cost of operation (Bhatt, 2010). Organizations can develop websites that can promote communication. For example, pizza companies have designed a website where their customers can order their own pizzas from the stores. Since organizations handle large volumes of data, there is the need to employ the Information Technology in ensuring proper data storage. Organizations handle clients’ data, employees’ data, managerial data, suppliers, and procurements data amongst others. There is the need to align these pieces of information for easy access by the prospective owners and the organization. This is where the Information management is applicable. Research has revealed that businesses that have a well-organized and managed data improve customer satisfaction minimize cost on IT thus increase revenue and realize improvement on operational efficiency. Further, a properly managed IM eliminates decisions based on assumptions as the information can be retrieved within the shortest time possible; it enables organizations understands their customers’ behaviours and preferences. This enables organizations to serve their clients well and even retain most of them (Bhatt, 2010). IM also increases efficiency as customer care agents can access clients’ data at an instant. Business outlets are inculcating technological modifications into their systems in order to increase their efficiency and reduce the cost of operation. Organizations should use specifications or approaches that they can undertake. Remarkably, the success of Information Management depends on their alignment and integration with the Human Resource (HR) and organization’s objectives. Clearly, an organization that tends to meet the meet the needs of its customers will actually meet its strategic goals and objectives. The customer service department in an organization can assist in attracting, serving, and retaining customers by applying proper knowledge managemen t techniques. Knowledge Management (KM) can assist a firm to predict the future behaviour of its customers in terms of their tastes and preferences. Therefore, KM and environmental forecasting can help a firm to save on the cost of production; therefore, it can direct these funds in expanding its services to occupy large market area (Pride Ferrell, 2002, p. 45). Such a firm will avoid wastage on producing goods or services that will not receive positive market response. Understanding the needs of customers is the job of all departments in an organization. From the above analysis, businesses should put more resources on researches that aim at learning the needs of their customers. Customers remain the epicentre of all businesses since without them, no transaction will occur. Organizations should pay immense attention to the behaviour and complaints of their customers to ensure continuity. An organization that is updated on technology, provides a variety of products, and interacts fr eely with its customers will satisfy the needs of its customers. This act will increase profitability of the organization. The firm will use the profit to expand its services and invest in other risky, but profitable ventures. Therefore, organizations that align their strategic objectives towards customers’ satisfaction will achieve their missions. References Bell, M. L. (2010). Marketing; Concepts and Strategy. University of Minnesota: Houghton Mifflin. Bhatt, Y. (2010, March 1). Information Management: A Key for Creating Business Value. The Data Administration Newsletter – TDAN.com. Retrieved from http://tdan.com/information-management-a-key-for-creating-business-value/12829 Cochran, C. (2003). Customer satisfaction: tools, techniques, and formulas for success. Chico, Calif.: Paton Press. Hooley, G. J., Lynch, J. E., Shepherd, J. (1995). The Marketing Concept: Putting the Theory into Practice. European Journal of Marketing, 24(9), 7-24. Web. McClelland, S. B. (1995) . Organizational Needs Assessments: Design, Facilitating and Analysis. Atlanta: Greenwood Publishing Group. Mckitterick, J. (2000). What is the Marketing Management Concept?. Chicago: Houghton Mifflin. Pride, W., Ferrell, O. C. (2002). Marketing: Concept and Strategies. Abingdon: Deep Deep Publications.

The History of How Cows Were Domesticated

The History of How Cows Were Domesticated According to archaeological and genetic evidence, wild cattle or aurochs (Bos primigenius) were likely domesticated independently at least twice and perhaps three times. A distantly related Bos species, the yak (Bos grunniens grunniens or Poephagus grunniens) was domesticated from its still-living wild form, B. grunniens or B. grunniens mutus. As domesticated animals go, cattle are among the earliest, perhaps because of the multitude of useful products they provide humans: food products such as milk, blood, fat, and meat; secondary products such as clothing and tools manufactured from hair, hides, horns, hooves and bones; dung for fuel; as well as load-bearers and for pulling plows. Culturally, cattle are banked resources, which can provide bride-wealth and trade as well as rituals such as feasting and sacrifices. Aurochs were significant enough to Upper Paleolithic hunters in Europe to be included in cave paintings such as those of Lascaux. Aurochs were one of the largest herbivores in Europe, with the largest bulls reaching shoulder heights of between 160-180 centimeters (5.2-6 feet), with massive frontal horns of up to 80 cm (31 inches) in length. Wild yaks have black upward- and backward-curving horns and long shaggy black to brown coats. The adult males can be 2 m (6.5 ft) high, over 3 m (10 ft) long and can weigh between 600-1200 kilograms (1300-2600 pounds); females weigh only 300 kg (650 pounds) on average. Domestication Evidence Archaeologists and biologists are agreed that there is strong evidence for two distinct domestication events from aurochs: B. taurus in the near east about 10,500 years ago, and B. indicus in the Indus valley of the Indian subcontinent  about 7,000 years ago. There may have been a third auroch domesticate in Africa (tentatively called  B. africanus), about 8,500 years ago. Yaks were domesticated in central Asia about 7,000-10,000 years ago. Recent mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies also indicate that B. taurus was introduced into Europe and Africa where they interbred with local wild animals (aurochs). Whether these occurrences should be considered as separate domestication events is somewhat under debate. Recent genomic studies (Decker et al. 2014) of 134 modern breeds supports the presence of the three domestication events, but also found evidence for later migration waves of animals to and from the three main loci of domestication. Modern cattle are significantly different today from the earliest domesticated versions. Three Auroch Domesticates Bos taurus The taurine (humpless cattle, B. taurus) was most likely domesticated somewhere in the Fertile Crescent about 10,500 years ago. The earliest substantive evidence for cattle domestication anywhere in the world is the Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures in the Taurus Mountains. One strong strand of evidence of the locus of domestication for any animal or plant is genetic diversity: places that developed a plant or animal generally have high diversity in those species; places where the domesticates were brought in, have lesser diversity. The highest diversity of genetics in cattle is in the Taurus Mountains. A gradual decline in overall body size of aurochs, a characteristic of domestication, is seen at several sites in southeastern Turkey, beginning as early as the late 9th at Cayonu Tepesi. Small-bodied cattle do not appear in archaeological assemblages in the eastern Fertile Crescent until relatively late (6th millennium BC), and then abruptly. Based on that, Arbuckle et al. (2016) surmise that domestic cattle arose in the upper reaches of the Euphrates river. Taurine cattle were traded across the planet, first into Neolithic Europe about 6400 BC; and they appear in archaeological sites as far away as northeastern Asia (China, Mongolia, Korea) by about 5000 years ago. Bos indicus (or B. taurus indicus) Recent mtDNA evidence for domesticated zebu (humped cattle, B. indicus) suggests that two major lineages of B. indicus are currently present in modern animals. One (called I1) predominates in southeast Asia and southern China and is likely to have been domesticated in the Indus Valley region of what is today Pakistan. Evidence of the transition of wild to domestic B. indicus is in evidence in Harappan sites such as Mehrgahr about 7,000 years ago. The second strain, I2, may have been captured in East Asia, but apparently was also domesticated in the Indian subcontinent, based on the presence of a broad range of diverse genetic elements. The evidence for this strain is not entirely conclusive as of yet. Possible: Bos africanus or Bos taurus Scholars are divided about the likelihood of a third domestication event having occurred in Africa. The earliest domesticated cattle in Africa have been found at Capeletti, Algeria, about 6500 BP, but Bos remains are found at African sites in what is now Egypt, such as Nabta Playa and Bir Kiseiba, as long ago as 9,000 years, and they may be domesticated. Early cattle remains have also been found at Wadi el-Arab (8500-6000 BC) and El Barga (6000-5500 BC). One significant difference for taurine cattle in Africa is a genetic tolerance to trypanosomosis, the disease spread by the tsetse fly which causes anemia and parasitemia in cattle, but the exact genetic marker for that trait has not been identified to date. A recent study (Stock and Gifford-Gonzalez 2013) found that although genetic evidence for African domesticated cattle is not as comprehensive or detailed as that for  other forms of cattle, what there is available suggests that domestic cattle in Africa are the result of wild aurochs having been introduced into local domestic B. taurus populations. A genomic study published in 2014 (Decker et al.) indicates that while considerable introgression and breeding practices have altered the population structure of modern day cattle, there is still consistent evidence for three major groups of domestic cattle. Lactase Persistence One recent strain of evidence for the domestication of cattle comes from the study of lactase persistence, the ability to digest milk sugar lactose in adults (the opposite of lactose intolerance). Most mammals, including humans, can tolerate milk as infants, but after weaning, they lose that ability. Only about 35% of people in the world are able to digest milk sugars as adults without discomfort, a trait called lactase persistence. This is a genetic trait, and it is theorized that it would have selected for in human populations that had ready access to fresh milk. Early Neolithic populations who domesticated sheep, goats and cattle would not have yet developed this trait, and probably processed the milk into cheese, yogurt, and butter prior to consuming it. Lactase persistence has been connected most directly with the spread of dairying practices associated with cattle, sheep, and goats into Europe by Linearbandkeramik populations beginning about 5000 BC. And a Yak (Bos grunniens grunniens or Poephagus grunniens) The domestication of yaks may well have made human colonization of the high Tibetan Plateau (also known as Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau) possible. Yaks are extremely well adapted to the arid steppes at high elevations, where low oxygen, high solar radiation, and extreme cold are common. In addition to the milk, meat, blood, fat, and pack energy benefits, perhaps the most important yak byproduct in the cool, arid climate is dung. The availability of yak dung as a fuel was a critical factor in allowing for the colonization of the high region, where other fuel sources are lacking. Yaks possess large lungs and hearts, expansive sinuses, long hair, thick soft fur (very useful for cold-weather clothing), and few sweat glands. Their blood contains a high hemoglobin concentration and red blood cell count, all of which make cold adaptations possible. Domestic Yaks The main difference between wild and domestic yaks is their size. Domestic yaks are smaller than their wild relatives: adults are generally no more than 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, with males weighing between 300-500 kg (600-1100 lbs), and females between 200-300 kg (440-600 lbs). They have white or piebald coats and lack gray-white muzzle hairs. They can and do interbreed with wild yaks, and all yaks have the high altitude physiology they are prized for. There are three types of domestic yaks in China, based on morphology, physiology, and geographical distribution: a valley type distributed in the valleys of north and east Tibet, and some parts of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces;a plateau grassland type mainly found in the high, cold pastures and steppes that maintain an annual average temperature below 2 degrees centigrade;and white yaks found in almost every region in China. Domesticating the Yak Historical reports dated to the Chinese Han Dynasty state that yaks were domesticated by the Qiang people during the Longshan culture period in China, about 5,000 years ago. The Qiang were ethnic groups who inhabited the Tibetan Plateau borderlands including Qinghai Lake. Han Dynasty records also say the Qiang people had a Yak State during the Han dynasty, 221 BC-220 AD, based on a highly successful trade network. Trade routes involving domestic yak were recorded beginning in the Qin dynasty records (221-207 BC)predating and no doubt part of precursors to the Silk Roadand cross-breeding experiments with Chinese yellow cattle to create the hybrid dzo are described there as well. Genetic (mtDNA) studies support the Han Dynasty records that yaks were domesticated on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, although the genetic data does not allow definitive conclusions to be drawn about the number of domestication events. The variety and distribution of mtDNA are not clear, and it is possible that multiple domestication events from the same gene pool, or interbreeding between wild and domesticated animals occurred. However, the mtDNA and archaeological results also blur the dating of the domestication. The earliest evidence for domesticated yak is from the Qugong site, ca. 3750-3100 calendar years ago (cal BP); and the Dalitaliha site, ca 3,000 cal BP near Qinghai Lake. Qugong has a large number of yak bones with an overall small stature; Dalitaliha has a clay figurine thought to represent a yak, the remnants of a wood-fenced corral, and fragments of hubs from spoked wheels. The mtDNA evidence suggests domestication took place as early as 10,000 years BP, and Guo et al. argue that the Qinghai lake Upper Paleolithic colonizers domesticated the yak. The most conservative conclusion to draw from this is that yaks were first domesticated in northern Tibet, probably the Qinghai Lake region, and were derived from wild yak for the production of wool, milk, meat and manual labor, at least 5000 cal bp. How Many Are There? Wild yaks were widespread and abundant in the Tibetan Plateau up until the late 20th century when hunters decimated their numbers. They are now considered highly endangered with an estimated population of ~15,000. They are protected by law but still illegally hunted. Domestic yaks, on the other hand, are abundant, an estimated 14-15 million in central highland Asia. The current distribution of yaks is from the southern slopes of the Himalayas to the Altai and Hangai Mountains of Mongolia and Russia. Approximately 14 million yaks live in China, representing about 95% of the worlds population; the remaining five percent are in Mongolia, Russia, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Sikkim and Pakistan. Sources lvarez I, Pà ©rez-Pardal L, Traorà © A, Fernndez I, and Goyache F. 2016. Lack of specific alleles for the bovine chemokine (C-X-C) receptor type 4 (CXCR4) gene in West African cattle questions its role as a candidate for trypanotolerance. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 42:30-33. Arbuckle BS, Price MD, Hongo H, and Ãâ€"ksà ¼z B. 2016. 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