Throughout An Individual’S Life, One Will Go Through...

Throughout an individual’s life, one will go through experiences which make them gain certain values and standards that one will always believe in and abide by. Although one’s beliefs are held to a certain standard, it is hard in everyday life to always strictly commit to these beliefs. But, at many times it’s hard for an individual to always act accordingly with their beliefs, this is when a conflict arises. The cognitive dissonance theory can be explained by the first concept of dissonance and three hypotheses to then reduce the dissonance. This theory begins with first recognizing the dissonance between one’s certain behavior and one’s certain belief. Within the cognitive dissonance theory, Festinger hypothesized three mental mechanisms†¦show more content†¦For about two months now she has changed up her diet. Ally is now a vegetarian and only eats organic food. She lives by this motto and considers it now a ‘healthy living lifesty le’. Not just a faze, but for life. Since she has been on her diet, she only goes grocery shopping at organic food stores. Ally will only buy organic food, which is drastically more expensive than shopping at a regular food store. She does this because there isn’t as many pesticide’s or bacterial in organic food, and it is more natural. Recently, Ally has lost her job at the gym she works at, and her income flow is very low. She is having a problem because she wants to eat healthy, which she lives by, but can no longer afford buying organic food or going shopping at organic food stores. Ally is having dissonance in her beliefs. Now I will be exploring Ally’s specific issues on why she is experimenting cognitive dissonance. Unfortunately, going against Ally’s beliefs, she is slowly starting to not being able to afford to buy organic food or go grocery shopping in organic stores anymore. Ally now resorts to start going to go eat at McDonalds again. Her job loss has made her actions change. Because of this action of eating fast food, she is starting to feel depressed because she is starting to feel bloating and feels unhealthy. This is an example of cognative dissonance, the distressing mental state caused by inconsistency between a person’s two beliefs or aShow MoreRelatedPersonality Is A Definition Of Personality1483 Words   |  6 Pagescharacteristics and the behavioural attitudes that form an individual’s distinctive character. There has been much debate as to whether one’s personality can change throughout their lifetime or if it’s ‘set in plaster’ after a specific age. Longitudinal studies were undertaken on the aspects of the five-factor model in an attempt to come to a conclusion about whether or not one’s personality can change. Changes in personality may occur due to certain life experiences which can leave indents in one’s personalityRead MoreTheories Of Personality And Personality1039 Words   |  5 PagesTheories of Personality At one point in life, at a young age or as a resident in an elderly home, the question of who am I will arise. It is a convoluted mesh of thoughts and feelings that a person will go through before coming up with an answer. Some people may even experience cognitive dissonance in trying to explain different stages of life, while others will be comfortable in responding instantaneously with minimal cognition. In going through this process and drawing up the ‘who am I’ andRead MoreTheories of Personality Essay1147 Words   |  5 PagesAt one point in life, at a young age or as a resident in an elderly home, the question of who am I will arise. It is a convoluted mesh of thoughts and feelings that a person will go through before coming up with an answer. Some people may even experience cognitive dissonance in trying to explain different stages of life, while others will be comfortable in responding instantaneously with minimal cognition. In going through this process a nd drawing up the ‘who am I’ and individual is further confrontedRead More America: The Land of Opportunities1139 Words   |  5 Pagessociety, a college degree leads to people making specific assumptions about an individual’s capabilities, which proceed to shape social generalizations that may assist or inhibit the success of an individual in the economic system or job market. Universal standards form throughout the job market as a result of those assumptions made about students who attend college that may not encourage a full understanding of an individual’s ability to perform his duties. The assumptions made about a college educationRead MoreAn Individual s Personality Change Essay1353 Words   |  6 Pageschanged. Growing older, experiencing life, and seeking personality change are all factors that play a part in this change. Throughout an individual’s life, they are constantly strengthening and weakening certain traits, whether they want to or not. In the contents of this paper, personality change is discussed, showing that it is possible for an individual to change their personality.Can an Individual’s Personality Change? Sometimes it seems unfair that individual’s are assigned certain personalityRead MoreA Curious Incident Of The Dog1456 Words   |  6 Pagesnovel, explore the way certain factors can affect an individual’s growth within a familial environment through similar themes exhibited in both novels. Haddon and Laguna show their main characters Christopher and Jimmy growing up within a dysfunctional family in 20th century Swindon and Melbourne, where each main character in their respective novel suffer from a mild case of autism, Christopher in particular, Asperger’s Syndrome. An individual’s perception of reality directly impacts the developmentRead MoreNature And Nurture s Effect On Behavior1690 Words   |  7 Pagesof one’s environment versus the influence of one’s parents and home life may not seem to be much of importance to the average individual. Prior to learning more about human psychological development, I too was guilty of not seeing the importance behind the influences effecting an individual. Both nature and nurture seem to have some relevance of importance; however, when taking a step back and looking at the entire picture, one seems to outweigh the other. â€Å"When first born, the brain is like aRead MoreThe Multidimensional Model Of Wellness And Maslow s Hierarchy Of Needs999 Words   |  4 Pageshealth and how does one go about obtaining it? In order to achieve true health, one should not focus on small, subjective issues but rather should view health as a general, comprehensive issue. The multidimensional model of wellness and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs illustrate this concept by examining multiple facets of an individual’s life to determine one’s overall well-being. In order to facilitate a healthy lifestyle, health care administrators should focus on both an individual’s physical well-beingRead More406 week 1 life cycle Essay968 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Life Cycle BSHS/406 08/04/2014 Life Cycle In this paper I will be writing about the life cycle and the understanding of what impacts an individual. I will be explaining three major concepts such as how self-determination impacts an individual’s ability to successfully negotiate challenges in each life cycle. Also how autonomy impacts an individual’s ability to successfully negotiateRead MorePiaget s Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay1293 Words   |  6 Pagesall aspects throughout their life. In this essay, I will be discussing two types of human development. Cognitive development, which is to do with the ability to think, remember and reason, and Social development, which involves relationships and interactions in the world around the individual. I will focus on how they relate to two significant experiences in my life and how these experiences were critical to my development as a learner. I will do this by analysing these experiences through Piaget’s

Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism Analysis - 1168 Words

Dead poet’s society was filmed through the eyes of transcendentalism using Emerson’s philosophy, as seen in walden. The film deals with a group of young men who attend a very strict boarding school and the english teacher who gives them a new perspective on everything, the damaging effects of conformity, beautiful sense of nature, and emphasis of simplicity and individuality are shown in many elements throughout Dead Poet’s Society and are ultimately highlighted by emerson and thoreau’s philosophies, making the overall concept of transcendentalism understood. _________ One of the main characters of the film Neil Perry, an overachieving, good natured young man who is unwillingly committed to the academic career of a doctor due to his very†¦show more content†¦The boys had a different idea: they refer to the school as â€Å"Hellton† and the four pillars as travesty, horror, decadence, and excrement. Neil Perry was not the only one to face challenges at â€Å"Hellton.† the majority of the boys did. The students at Welton Academy were under immense pressure that was placed upon them by their parents, the staff, and/or both. After attending a few of Mr. Keating’s classes, the boys began to show their true colors. Neil Perry became the leader and enforced all of Mr. Keating’s teachings, Todd Anderson was able to break out of his shell, Knox Overstreet unveiled his hopeless romantic persona, and Charlie Dalton was fearless in exploring poetry. Emerson once said, â€Å"We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of the divine idea which each of us represented† (Self - Reliance). Here, Emerson is portraying the fear and dawdle the boys showed when asked to dispatched their dutiful ways and do things they actually enjoy. One of the many principles of Transcendentalism is the pledge to â€Å"make your own way† and the boys eventually grow ill of alwa ys knuckling under, so they shed their skin in order for their true selves to emerge. Although transcendentalism is primarily viewed as straying from tradition, the element of nature and the simplicity that comes along with it are also very salient. Emerson believed that natureShow MoreRelatedLessons On Nonconformity In Peter Weirs Dead Poets Society907 Words   |  4 Pagesintellectuals? This is the challenge that Mr. Keating in faces as he begins his first year teaching at an all-boys prep school. In Dead Poets Society directed by Peter Weir, Mr. Keating helps many of his students, including Todd Anderson and Neil Perry, break free from their conventional morals and begin to take their lives into their own hands. This philosophy, called Transcendentalism, establishes the individual as the most intellectual. By requiring students to look for new perspectives and stand up forRead MoreThe Great Traversers By Ralph Waldo Emerson2868 Words   |  12 Pagesabout him, of course—that he was a mystical philosopher; the apostle of transcendentalism in America†¦. † (Abbot, lines 9-10). From within the text of the author of this quote, it can be seen the shear praise and gratitude held for a man by the name of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson as mentioned in the quote, is considered to be the apostle of transcendental thought in America, however he himself did not like the name transcendentalism, and prefered idealism for his revolutionary outlook on thought. EmersonRead MoreEmersons Self Reliance5249 Words   |  21 PagesR.W. Emersons Self-Reliance The essay has three major divisions: the importance of self-reliance (paragraphs 1-17), self-reliance and the individual (paragraphs 18-32), and self-reliance and society (paragraphs 33-50). As a whole, it promotes self-reliance as an ideal, even a virtue, and contrasts it with various modes of dependence or conformity. Self-Reliance Paragraphs 1-17. The Importance of Self-Reliance. Emerson begins his major work on individualism by asserting the importance ofRead MoreAmerican Literature11652 Words   |  47 Pagesfeelings emphasis on the imagination over reason and intuition over facts urbanization versus nostalgia for nature burden of the Puritan past Genre/Style: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · literary tale character sketch slave narratives, political novels poetry transcendentalism Effect: ï‚ · ï‚ · ï‚ · helps instill proper gender behavior for men and women fuels the abolitionist movement allow people to re-imagine the American past Historical Context: ï‚ · ï‚ · expansion of magazines, newspapers, and book publishing slaveryRead MoreMetz Film Language a Semiotics of the Cinema PDF100902 Words   |  316 PagesPhenomenology of the Narrative, 16 II Problems of Film Semiotics Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. The Cinema: Language or Language System? 31 Some Points in the Semiotics of the Cinema, 92 Problems of Denotation in the Fiction Film, 108 III Syntagmatic Analysis of the Image Track Chapter 6. Outline of the Autonomous Segments in Jacques Rozier s film Adieu Philippine, 149 Chapter 7. Syntagmatic Study of Jacques Rozier s Film Adieu Philippine, 177 vii viii CONTENTS IV The Modern Cinema: Some Theoretical

Cross-Cultural Dimensions in Negotiations free essay sample

One important aspect, and difference, relates to culture as negotiation style is to a great extent determined by culture. Clashing cultures can create misunderstandings and difficult challenges for negotiating parties, and may be even collapse of the process ultimately. Understanding and appreciating cultural impacts is essential in achieving successful intercultural communication and negotiation, despite differences. Parties involved must therefore obtain an understanding and respect of cultures present. Without reflection and consideration of this aspect the negotiation process and outcome could end in failure. Negotiation has been defined as a discussion between two or more parties aimed at resolving incoming goals (Pruitt amp; Carnevale, 1993). Negotiation however is an art practiced everyday in day-to-day social interact with others. Among the interaction and communication between parties during the process to resolve perceived incompatible goals, if parties which are in the process are not understanding very well each other’s values as well as culture ,misunderstanding or collapse may face the process. We will write a custom essay sample on Cross-Cultural Dimensions in Negotiations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This concerns all kinds of negotiations, domestic, national, or nternational negotiations, but it could be clearer in the International negotiations. The International community and the interdependent relationships amongst the nations is ever-growing, causing increased communication across cultures. Culture is the most important variable affecting international negotiations and the values and norms that are encompassed by culture can affect negotiations . Cultural values establish what members perceive as important, while cultural norms outline, and guides what is considered proper and improper behavior. Together, cultural values and norms influence how one perceives situations and how one reacts to the behavior of others. Cultural differences play a role in the outcomes of negotiations . Using American culture -as western culture – vs. Sudanese -as eastern culture, for comparison, with intentions to gain some insights into the dynamic world of cross-cultural negotiation. In a negotiation context it is common to define culture in terms of an identifiable group of people sharing the same values and beliefs (Lewicki, amp; Barry, Negotiation, International Edition, 5th edition, 2006) A common and potentially dangerous misconception held by some scholars , is that people from all over the world conceptualize in an identical manner. Certain conceptualizations are often considered universal and can lead to difficulties in different areas of international cooperation. Decision makers, who are working in a cross-cultural environment and making decisions- as well decision on negotiations- based only on their own culturally specific treatment of an issue, idea or situation can result in miscommunication and, ultimately, misguided outcomes. Decision makers from the west, when negotiating people from east, could consider the cultural differences, between those two societies. Culture is not genetically inherited, and cannot exist on its own, but it is always shared by members of a society (Hall 1976). Culture is passed from one generation to the other, it is changing all the time because each generation adds something of its own, before passing it on. In psychological research, culture is analyzed by grouping the people of the world into two groups: Individualism (I culture) and Collectivism (we culture). A culture is considered ‘Individualist’, if the members of the group are supposed to care for themselves and their immediate family only (Hofstede and Bond, 1984). This is a dominated culture in most Northern and Western European countries and North America (Inkeles, 1983; Triandis et al. , 1988). In contrast, Collectivist conceded that culture refers to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout a persons lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Hofstede, 1991). This is culture mainly dominated in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. (Ayyash-Abdo, 2001). Experiences with individualistic cultures such as the United States and collectivist’s cultures like Sudan or Russia show that in the United States, attainment of positive outcomes is emphasized and valued, whereas in Sudan, and Russia, avoiding negative outcome is emphasized and valued. In the United States, where the cultural value is individualistic, the realization of positive conclusions is stressed and respected. The Russians and Sudanese tend to have a more cautious approach because they do not want to lose. Therefore, collectivists Sudanese are more likely to cooperate in negotiations where they stand to lose. Individualists, like the Americans, are quite happy to leave a negotiation if it does not result in a profitable deal for them. It is very important to mention that in collectivistic cultures, people there- as we have in Sudan-value relationships and social networks far greater than in individualistic cultures like American do. Sudan is ideal example much for collectivism, Sudanese place relationships as an important aspect to business success and they are loyal to those they have formed a personal relationship with. They tend to deal with those whom they have developed a personal relationship with as opposed to those who can offer them a better deal, then they care very much about post negotiation or agreement period. Consequently, this is same we can mention, talking about the collectivistic Russians, Asians, Arabs and other Africans, we can find that they are more interested in finding out about you, your future’s plans and your future’s relationships. According the above mentioned, it appears that American negotiators should be well prepared to foster informal as well as formal relations with people from collectivistic societies. Knowing that collectivistic cultures grow and develop in group-win-win situations can lead to positive integrative decisions. As we have seen, collectivism has a group orientation; therefore, U. S. counterparts are slower to adapt to groups projects than Sudanese or even neighboring (to U. S) Mexicans. Mexicans just like Sudanese or other African or Asian collectivists, exhibit genuine team spirit and a willingness to help everyone in the group while promoting higher levels of inter-group communication.

Unilever in Brazil Essay Example

Unilever in Brazil Essay Case report Unilever in Brazil, Part II (1997-2007) Marketing Strategies to conquer North Eastern market Group:NAKED Members:Nico Schwendinger Alexandra Klopf Konstanze Horak Elif Kurtulus David Muhr Date:28 November 2009 Table of contents 1Introduction3 2Problem Statement3 3 Alternatives3 3. 1 Turn something old into something special3 3. 2 Mix amp; Mingle to form something new4 3. 3Keep it simple! 5 4 Issues5 4. 1 How does the product fit the way of washing clothes? 5 4. 2 How do the products have to be promoted to best reach customers? 6 4. 3 How can Unilever best skim the market without cannibalizing its portfolio too much? 4. 4To what extent does the company have to adapt its distribution to reach low-income consumer? 7 5Conclusion7 6Appendix8 1Introduction Unilever, the market leader of detergents in Brazil, does not want to rest on its laurels. Therefore, the company’s management has decided to conquer the North Eastern market (see Unilever in Brazil, Part 1), which Uni lever has not yet been able to saturate. Most of all, the low-income segment seems to offer further growth potential, which the company is willing to make use of and thus laying the foundations to prove itself ultimately as the clearly predominant market leader in Brazil. After familiarizing the reader with the existing problem situation, this case study presents alternatives and discusses relevant issues. This approach aims to weigh the alternatives according to their strategic capability of solving the problem situation and finally recommends the most advisable way of acting in a conclusion. 2Problem Statement Admittedly, even in the North Eastern market Unilever seems to perform pretty well. On the other hand, as already mentioned, the company has still not managed to attract the local low-income customers. This is probably not only due to the fact that Unilever Brazil lacks substantial experience in this segment as there are huge differences between its typical Brazilian customer and this low-income consumers, but also to obvious barriers in distribution and promotional activities in this market. Unilever now deals with the challenge to find the strategy that constitutes of the right balance of their marketing mix elements in order to address this customer segment appropriately and therefore represents the key to enormous future success. 3Alternatives . 1 Turn something old into something special In order to conquer the Northeastern market, Unilever may consider repositioning its cheapest brand Campeiro. Campeiro is currently not very well perceived by Northeastern Brazilians. Especially in terms of cleanliness, whitening productivity, smell and softness (the most important attributes of detergent powders for Northeastern Brazilians) Campeiro is ranked well behind other detergent brand s. Therefore, an intensive new marketing campaign should be started in order to discard Campeiro’s bad image. We will write a custom essay sample on Unilever in Brazil specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Unilever in Brazil specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Unilever in Brazil specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Campeiro’s formula may be changed slightly and scents may be improved. Although the product is changed only a little bit, „the new formulaâ€Å" would be advertised aggressively. Unilever may also consider adapting the brand name to Novo Campeiro in order to emphasize the message of a new and improved Campeiro. Advertising messages would strongly promote Campeiro’s new cleaning and whitening power and its irresistible scent. New package sizes would be created in order to better fit customers’ needs. Unilever would keep Campeiro’s current retail price of $ 1. 70 also for Novo Campeiro. $ 1. 0 already is very low compared to most other detergent brands, and with its improved formula and scent, Novo Campeiro even offers (promotes) an increased value for the same price. Although this might be challenging, Unilever should distribute Novo Campeiro to all of the approximately 75,000 small outlets across the Northeast. Most of the Northeastern Brazilians sh op in small stores instead of big supermarkets. Therefore, it is crucial for the success of Novo Campeiro to be sold all over the Northeast. 3. 2 Mix amp; Mingle to form something new Unilever may also consider creating a new detergent brand for the Northeastern market. The detergent powder formula of the new product would be in between of Unilever’s existing brands Minerva and Campeiro. Therefore, it would be designed to appeal to customers who prefer detergents superior to Campeiro but cannot afford buying Minerva. The new brand name would be Cheivadinho, which is a combination of the words „cheirosoâ€Å" (smelling good) and „lavadinhoâ€Å" (cleanly washed). By using this brand name, Unilever combines two of the most important detergent attributes for Northeastern Brazilians, namely cleanliness and good smell, in its product name. In order to promote Cheivadinho, an extensive new advertising campaign with a strong emotional appeal would be launched. Washing clothes is sort of a social activity for many Northeastern women. They enjoy meeting and chatting with friends while doing the washing in public laundries or rivers. Therefore, a strong effort would be put on transmitting this pleasant feeling in the advertisements. Commercials may show a group of women chatting and having a good time at a local public laundry while their clothes are being washed. The initial retail price of Cheivadinho would be $ 1. 99. Thereby targeting consumers who can but do not want to buy Campeiro ($ 1. 70), but cannot afford Minerva ($ 2. 40). As described in Alternative 1, Cheivadinho should be distributed all around the Northeast. 3. 3 Keep it simple! Instead of adding another detergent to its product range, Unilever may consider introducing a new laundry soap for the low-end market in the Northeast of Brazil. This could be a profitable option for Unilever as the Northeast of Brazil has a huge market potential for laundry soap bars. Additionally, production costs for laundry soaps are far lower compared to those of detergent powder. The brand name of the new laundry soap would be Simlavo and it would be marketed as „Simplesmente alvo! â€Å" (Simply clean). Therefore, the advertising campaign should be as simplistic as possible, focusing mainly on the cheap retail price with the main message: Clean clothes at the lowest price. Simlavo would be sold at $ 1. 15, meaning $ 0. 5 lower than competitive products. This extremely low retail price can be achieved by keeping everything as simple as possible Production should be quarried out quickly and efficiently, using just the necessary ingredients and discreet scents and leaving out all the rest. Advertising costs should be kept as low as possible. Ads are designed in a simple way, just showing the product, the slogan and the price, for example. TV-commercials should be created in a similar way and may be shown only during the day. The main target group for laundry soup is housewives, who also watch TV during day quite frequently. Therefore, it is not necessary to spend money on expensive commercials during prime time. 4Issues 4. 1 How does the product fit the way of washing clothes? As the procedure of washing clothes is very particular in the Northeast, analyzing this point carefully is important. Firstly, a main issue is that only a few households possess a washing machine. In Recife, a two-million-resident city the penetration amounts to 28%. Therefore, the procedure of washing is done in a traditional way and hence highly labour intensive: Clothes are scrubbed using laundry soap, than bleach is added to remove stains and detergent powder is only used to finish and give a good smell. Moreover, washing clothes has a social impact. First, people in the Northeast attach a symbolic value to cleanliness and it is important for their self-esteem. As it is highly labour intensive it is seen as an indication of the dedication of the mother to the family. As well, low-income consumers own fewer clothes, so these are washed more often (up to 5 times a week). Secondly, washing is a social get-together as it is often done in a public laundry, at a river or pond and therefore perceived as pleasurable. As a matter of fact, although the penetration of detergent powder and laundry soap is almost the same in the North-eastern market, the quantity used differs tremendously. The new laundry soap Simlavo would perfectly fit the traditional procedure of washing clothes. However, for the newly advertised Campeiro and the new detergent Cheivadinho, it is a mean barrier, that more than a quarter of the households is not equipped with washing machines. Hence, promoting the detergent in combination with washing machines will be a challenge. 4. 2 How do the products have to be promoted to best reach customers? Promoting Simlavo would be an easy task as ads and TV commercials would be designed in a simple way, not involving many costs. However, as mentioned in the issue above, communicating both detergent powders most efficiently will be complex. But just as such a high value is attached to washing and cleanliness, consumers will be convinced that a detergent powder will better serve their needs. Campeiro or Cheivadinho will be advertised directly at the spot of consumption in public laundries and dispensers in the laundry could be filled with the product. The superior quality product Cheivadinho will be introduced in a campaign that will directly focus on the consumers needs of cleanliness, good smell and their need for washing machines. A raffle for 250 washing machines will take place. With every 500g package a lottery ticket will be included. Thus, an awareness for the need of washing machines will be risen. 4. 3 How can Unilever best skim the market without cannibalizing its portfolio too much? A major concern that had been voiced by Unilever’s managers prior to the decision of entering the north-eastern market for low-income consumers was the possibility of cannibalising the company’s existing brands. Considering the firm’s market share of 75% in the north-eastern region it seems very likely that by repositioning an existing brand or launching a new product some cannibalisation will occur. Nevertheless we must bear in mind that Unilever’s main goal is to reach the low-income consumers, who are predominantly using laundry soap for the main washing process at this stage, using a little detergent only at the end. Even if the laundry soap market is a very large one, profit margins are very slim and therefore not very lucrative. Consequently Unilever must try to persuade costumers to change their habits and make detergent their main cleaning product. To achieve this Unilever keeping mind following things. First of all it is crucial to demonstrate that using detergent is actually more effective than the method that consumers have been employing hitherto. Thus extensive advertising that shows the benefits of the product will be necessary. Moreover price is a very important criterion. It must be low enough so that costumers can afford it, but high enough in order for it not to be perceived as low quality, and to prevent cannibalisation of existing brands. This suggests that the new or modified product should be cheaper than Minerva, which is too costly for low-income consumers, but slightly more expensive than Campeiro, which has a cheap appeal. . 4 To what extent does the company have to adapt its distribution to reach low-income consumer? Low-income Consumers in the Northeast rarely shop at large supermarkets like Wal-Mart and Carrefour, but rather at small outlets that are spread throughout the region. This is a big problem for Unilever who, despite having established a first-rate net work of generalist wholesalers has no access to these small shops. Subsequently it seems inevitable for the company to modify its strategy and to start contracting with special distributors. This would not only enable a more efficient and direct distribution to consumers, but would also give way to an extensive point-of-purchase activity. Not to forget that this would reduce the cost of distribution by 50%. 5Conclusion 6Appendix Exhibit 1 Unilever Advertisements 1. ) Unilever advertisement that tries to encourage people to buy washing machines 2. ) Unilever advertisement to motivate people to use washing machines by emphasizing the upcoming social interactions in launderettes whereas washing at the riverside getting rarer Where do you prefer to wash? Exhibit 2 Distribution Channel Analysis General Wholesalers Specialized Distributors Exhibit 1 The macro-environment of Unilever in Brazil: PEST-ANALYSIS * Relative political stability over the last 2 decades * Government incentives to invest in the Northeast * Influence of Mercosur (additional incentives, subventions, cross-border trade or expansion) * Cycles of deep recession and strong economic recovery in the past * New currency (the Reais, R$) since 1994 * Economic boom in the following years growing purchasing power among people * Huge potential of Brazilian economy Growing market of detergent powder in Northeast (annual rate of 17%) * Highly fragmented soap market in the Northeast * Competition through Proctor amp; Gamble * Women do the washing * Huge regional differences two clusters on the Atlantic coast: Northeast| Southeast| 40% illiteracy| 15 % illiteracy| 65% mixed African and European origins| 30% mixed African and European origins| 28% of households own a washing machine| 67% of households own a washing machine| 73% of women think bleach is necessary to remove fat stains| 18% of women think bleach is necessary to remove fat stains| Clothes are washed approx. times a week| Clothes are washed approx. 3. 9 times a week| Washing as a public meeting point| Most women washing alone at home| People attach much value to cleanliness| Cleanliness less important for self-esteem and social status| * Telecommunications industry barely tapped in the Northeast * Problems regarding distribution network, supply-chain-management * Marketing difficulties to reach customers in the Northeast Exhibit 2 The micro-environment of Unilever in Brazil CUSTOMER-ANALYSIS COMPETITORS’-ANALYSIS Exhibit 3 SWOT-ANALYSIS of Unilever Brazil Internal origin| Strengths * long presence in market, since 1929 * leadership position with 81% market share * high brand recognition * high market penetration * high media advertising * high reputation| Weaknesses * expensive products like OMO * below national average in Northeast * internal resistance * possible effect on corporate reputation * cannibalization of high margin sales * distribution problems to small outlets| External origin| Opportunities * not saturated Northeastern market * 48 million potential consumers * economic recovery – new currency * tax incentives through entering Northeast * more cloth washing in Northeast * symbolic values of cleanliness * growing consume of powder detergent * fragmented soap market| Threats * risk of local brands targeted at low-income consumers * less washing machines Northeast * Ramp;D and marketing expertise of Pamp;G * competition of Pamp;G in Northeast * economic deterioration * socio-cultural differences between Southeast and Northeast|