toy company fair...sort of -edited

8/8/2019 Toy Company Fair...Sort of -Edited

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Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra

(Noida Campus)

MBA 1st Semester

MANAGEMENT OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

TOPIC OF THE PROJECT

Role of various Managers in a ToyManufacturing Company

Submitted to: Submitted by:Mr. B.K. JHA Mandeep Dua (4501)

Garima (4505)

Aparajita Minocha (4518)

Mahak Chopra (4520)

Pranav Mittal (4536)


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INTRODUCTION TO THE TOY INDUSTRY

Industry Overview :

The toy manufacturing industry includes about 900 companies with combined annual

revenue of$5 billion. Major companies include Mattel, Hasbro, and MGA Entertainment. The industry

is

highly concentrated: the top 50 companies hold 75 percent of the market.

The industry doesn't include manufacturers of video game or computer game software.

Competitive Landscape :

Growth in the population of children age 12 and younger drives demand. The profitability

of

individual companies depends on identifying market trends and marketing effectively. Large

companies can offer a wide selection of toys, and have scale advantages in purchasing,

manufacturing, distributing, selling, and marketing. Small companies compete effectively by

specializing in a product segment, such as educational toys, or respo nding faster to market

trends. The industry is labour-intensive.

Toy manufacturers face increasing competition from electronic entertainment for children,

including video games, the Internet, TV, and other consumer electronics.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major product segments for toys produced in the US include non-electronic toys

(transportation toys and sets); electronic toys and games (video game consoles, excluding

game cartridges and software); children s vehicles (scooters, wagons, excluding bikes);

model

and collector sets; and non-electronic games and puzzles . Non-electronic toys account for

35 percent of revenue; electronic games and toys, 20; and childrens vehicles, 15. Other

products

include dolls; stuffed animals (also known as "plush"); action figures; and doll clothing,

accessories, and play sets.

The manufacturing process for toys differs depending on the type of toy. Blow- or injection-

moulding uses air or pressure to force heated plastic into shapes, like dolls and action

figures. Die- casting moulds heated metal into shapes, like cars and trains. Spray painting

adds colour to toys and components. Companies use various printing processes to produce

game boards and game components. Producing toys like dolls and stuffed animals is labour-intensive, and may require

sewing, stuffing, or hand painting. Companies may source toy components from multiple

third party manufacturers, and assemble a toy at a separate facility. For example, a

company may buy a dolls body parts from a vendor, then assemble, paint , dress, and

package the doll at a separate facility.


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Most companies produce toys through third party contract manufacturers in the Far East,

primarily China, due to low production and labour costs. Mattel, the largest US toy

company, owns production facilities in the Far East and Mexico. Due to lengthy transport

time, most companies must produce toys well in advance of when customers take delivery.

Some large retailers place positional orders over a year in advance. Companies use

customer estimates, historical trends, and market conditions to schedule production. Actual

shipments can vary greatly from forecasts, resulting in inventory excesses or shortages.

While most companies use warehouses to store inventory, many deliver large shipments

directly to major retailers.

Major raw materials include toy components, plastic, resins, paperboard, fabricated metal,

zinc alloy, fabric, and electronic components. Depending on the toy, companies may be

sensitive to price fluctuations in the plastic and oil -based resin markets. Some companies

source almost all components from third parties. Large companies may have contracts for

key toy parts. Technology has greatly influenced demand for electronic toys and toys that

respond to and interact with children. As children gravitate toward video games and

consumer electronics at younger ages, toy manufacturers have integrated computers into

traditional toys to improve play value and remain competitive. For example, sensors and

computers allow robotic dogs to move.

Although the toy industry tended to be based on small cottage manufactories at first, the

rise of the middle class in London created a demand that led to rapid expansion of the

industry in the mid-18th century. At this point economies of scale started to c ome into

effect, and a number of very large manufactories were built, leading to the common use of

the term "factory".

These factories typically had a number of designers that could be called on for any sort ofwork, while different parts of the building were dedicated to mass production of different

sorts of goods. These early factories were an early step on the road to the assembly line,

and an important factor in the creation of the Industrial Revolution.

OUR OBJECTIVE :

Our project deals with The Rol e of various Managers of the M.A.G. organization and the

Management as whole.How each manger helps in making the Brick a successful product for Children of all age

groups.

We have covered the Profile of the Organization, the Role of CEO and the Various managers

of the Organization.


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COMPANY PROFILE :

The Founder or CEO of the M.A.G. Toy Company started this organization in 2008 with a

Aim: that good play enriches a childs life and its subsequent adulthood.

With this in mind, the M.A.G. Group has developed and marketed a wide range of products,

all founded on the same basic philosophy of learning and developing through play. True to

its motto Only the best is good enough the M.A.G. Group has emphasized the

importance of high quality.

Childs play is an everchanging world, and the companys product development

departments therefore work systematically with the evolution of familiar play themes and

product lines based on research among children and parents into things like play habits,

family patterns and housing conditions. Added to this is the fact that a combination of

systematization, logic and unlimited creativity activates learning through play in a very

special M.A.G. way which in an age of increasing demands upon the childs learning and

ability to solve complex problems caters uniquely for tomorrows child.

The M.A.G organization deals with Production of Blocks Toys or popularly known as Bricks.

Bricks Creativity- Childhood. They go together like Mickey Mouse and Disney , wizards and

Harry Potter. These bricks have been a part of childhood for more than three generations.

Nearly everyone under 50 has played with these building blocks of imagination. There is no

telling how many engineers and scientists were spawned by these plastic building blocks.

These toy bricks can be easily transformed into buildings, space ships, cars, boats, trains and

a myriad of other toys. The key is that the child gets to assemble the toy from the basic

building blocks. Each toy can be assembled, disassembled and reassembled in enough new

shapes and forms to tickle the imagination and stretch the youngsters creativity.

Bricks have become The Building Blocks of Fantasy.

Bricks here are more than just building blocks. They are learning toys. They build on

favourite themes and childrens stories and allow the child to exercise his or her own

imagination and creativity.


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Offshoots of the basic brick include such toys and themes such as Robotics, Star Wars, Harry

Potter and many other building toys and kids' games. It is truly amazing what a f ew bricks

and a full measure of imagination will produce.

THE M.A.G. GROUP:

(MNJK*]JHZYN[J4KKNHJW

5WTIZHYNTS2FSFLJW +NSFSHJ2FSFLJW 2FYJWNFQX2FSFLJW 2FWPJYNSL2FSFLJW


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Role Of the Management Covered One by One :

Role of CEO:

A CEO or the chief executive officer is the person who holds the company together. So

before starting off with anything we need to summarise the role of the CEO in a company.

The CEO is mainly responsible for creating a vision for the company, and aligning the

internal and external functioning of the company to this vision.

1 The CEOs need to have integrity and vision and act as a positive role model.2 CEOs must understand that returns need to exceed their cost of capital.

3 Successful CEOs identify trends in demand well ahead of their competitors.4 Successful CEOs spend a lot of time hiring good people.5 Successful CEOs are good at asking for, and listening to advice from others.

The five key attributes that need to be taken care of by a CEO are:

Leading and encouraging people

Understanding the numbers

Staying ahead of the trends

Selecting and retaining good people, and

Listening to others.

Leading and Encouraging Others

General Colin Powell once said the ripple effect of a leaders enthusiasm and optimism is

awesome. He also talked about the importance of a positive attitude saying we can

change things here, we can achieve awesome goals, and we can be the best.

For early stage companies with limited resources, this type of proactive attitude may mean

the difference between success and failure. The CEO needs to clearly articulate and

communicate the vision and values of the company.

Powell also said great leaders are almost always great simplifiers. The easier it is for

everyone to understand the vision, the greater chance of acceptance and gaining

commitment to it.

Understanding the Numbers

The first goal of the CEO is to make sure the company makes money, so that the financial

rewards can be shared with investors and staff. The quote by a prominent CEO of a growing

company I want my business to be the best investment for my investors shows very strong

alignment between the CEO and the investors. In order to deliver strong financial

performance, great CEOs understand that there after tax returns must always exceed their

cost of capital.

Successful CEOs have a very strong focus on cash flows.


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This means monitoring the cash conversion cycle.

One CEO, appointed to turnaround a failing company, focused on all cash movements and

signed every cheque. This may seem extreme, but for a cash starved company where every

dollar is critical,it may be the difference between survival and the liquidator. For larger

companies, different systems are required.

Staying ahead of the Trends

Successful CEOs identify trends in demand well ahead of their competitors. This can result

in either an opportunity to build a prosperous business venture, or a costly experience if the

trend disappears or fail to materialise. Trend opportunists need to anticipate when to

change their business model or simply move on to the next opportunity. This is where CEOs

with strong industry experience are likely to be more successful. Due to their expertise and

familiarity with the industry, these CEOs had the ability to recognise trends or patterns as

they develop. They also have the ability to fill in the missing elements, and this early

recognition allows them to exploit the opportunity ahead of their competitors.

Colin Powell said you dont know what you can get away with until you try.It is worthwhilepursuing a trend providing the market is of sufficient size (greater th an $100 million), and

there is strong customer acceptance (customer orders in hand). Acceptable financial returns

(returns greater than the cost of capital) also need to be present. To remove some of the

uncertainty, the opportunity may need to be develope d on a staged basis with specific go

or no go milestones.

Selecting and Retaining Good People

Successful CEOs spend a lot of their time hiring good people. How do you pick the right

people? If ten different CEOs were asked that question, there would probably be ten

different answers. The majority of CEOs would probably say the qualities they look for

include personality, intelligence, motivation and experience. The various rules for pickingpeople may be look for intelligence and judgement, and most critically, a capacity to

anticipate, to see around corners. He also suggested that you need high energy drive, a

balanced ego, and a drive to get things done. Thats a fairly comprehensive set of

requirements.

Retaining talented staff is a major challenge for CEOs, especially in those industries where

skill shortages exist. CEOs must continually assess their talent resources. People who are

good in the early stages of a companys development may not be the right people for a

larger company with disciplined processes and procedures. One recurring comment from

CEOs in growth companies is that they have not brought in new people quickly enough. For

smaller companies, this is a dilemma.

Sales need to be generated before adding to the back office positi ons.Unfortunately, the additional back office positions may be critical for the order fulfilment

process and the ongoing support of the customer.


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Listening to Others

Successful CEOs are good at asking for, and listening to advice from others. One prominent

CEO suggested that if you are building a business you cant know everything, so dont be

afraid to ask.

A lot of executives rely on a mentor for advice. In fact, 46% of the most senior executives,and 47% of the other executives/managers reported having a mentor or role model in the

company. Mentors not only act as important sounding boards, they are important for

developing careers and capabilities.

Successful CEOs create a climate where power and responsibilities are entrusted to

intelligent and enthusiastic people. They encourage and empower people, but still keep a

close eye on the financial detail. Without the financial returns they know they wont be able

to attract talented people or secure funding from investors. CEOs need to establish

direction, build commitment, ensure execution and create change. This may sound a tall

order but many successful CEOs accomplish it.

Role of Production Manager:

A production manager is involved with the planning, coordination and control of industrial

processes. A production manager ensures that goods and services are produced efficiently;

that they are of the right quality, quantity, and cost; and that they are produced on time, to

the satisfaction of the customer, at the right price. The scope of the job depends on the

nature of the production system: jobbing production, mass production, process production,

or batch production. Many companies are involved in several types of production, adding tothe complexity of the job. Most production managers are responsible for both human and

material resources.

Typical Work Activities

The exact nature of the work will depend on the size of the employing organisation.

However, tasks typically involve:

Overseeing the production process, drawing up a production schedule;

Ensuring that the production is cost effective;

Making sure that products are produced on time and are of good quality;

Working out the human and material resources needed;

Drafting a timescale for the job;

Estimating costs and setting the quality standards;


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Monitoring the production processes and adjusting schedules as needed;

Being responsible for the selection and maintenance of equipment;

Monitoring product standards and implementing quality-control programmes;

Liaising among different departments, e.g. suppliers, managers;

Working with managers to implement the company's policies and goals;

Ensuring that health and safety guidelines are followed;

Supervising and motivating a team of workers;

Reviewing the performance of subordinates;

Identifying training needs.

A production manager is involved in both the pre -production (planning) stage as well as theproduction (control and supervision) stage. A large part of production management involves

dealing with people, particularly those who work in your team. Production managers are

also involved with product design and purchasing. In a small firm you may have to make

many of the decisions yourself, but in larger organisation planners, controllers, production

engineers and production supervisors will assist you. In progressive firms, the production

manager's role tends to be more closely integrated with other functions, such as marketing,

sales and finance.

PRODUCTION PROCESS OF BRICKS:

Where do the bricks come from, and what makes them stick together?

Now it is time to learn lots of brick basics as well as how Master Builders and devotees make

enormous creations out of tiny bricks.

Most of the brick pieces have two basic components -- studs on top and tubes on the inside.

A brick's studs are slightly bigger than the space between the tubes and the walls. When you

press the bricks together, the studs push the walls out and the tubes i n. The material is

resilient and wants to hold its original shape, so the walls and tubes press back against the

studs. Friction also plays a role, preventing the two bricks from sliding apart. This stud-and-

tube coupling system uses an interference fit -- a firm, friction-based connection between

two parts without the use of an additional fastener.

All of the basic elements use this principle to stick together. They come in a range of shapes

and sizes, including wheels, windows, doors and stud less tiles. But the basic elements are

all variations on the basic brick.

Now we come to the part where we deal with the actual production part of the bricks.


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All of the basic brick elements start out as plastic granules composed primarily of

acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). A highly automated injection moulding process turns

these granules into recognizable bricks. The making of a LEGO brick requires very high

temperatures and enormous pieces of equipment, so machines, rather than people, handle

most of their creation.

When the ABS granules arrive at brick manufacturing facilities, they're vacuumed intoseveral storage silos. The average brick plant has about 14 silos, and each can hold 33 tons of

ABS granules. When production begins, the granules travel through tubes to the injection

moulding machines. The machines use very accurate moulds -- their precision tolerance is as

little as 0.002 millimetres.

The machines melt the granules at temperatures of up to 450 degrees F (232 degrees C),

inject the melted ABS into moulds and apply between 25 and 150 tons of pressure. Afterabout seven seconds, the new brick pieces cool and fall onto a conveyor. At the end of the

conveyor, they fall into a bin.

The injection-moulding process

uses large, heavy moulds that

are manufactured in Germany.

Moulded elements fall into bins

and wait for a robot to carry

them to the assembly hall.

When the bin fills, the moulding machine signals a robot to pick it up and carry it to an

assembly hall. In the assembly hall, machines stamp designs onto bricks and assemble


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components that require multiple pieces, like minifigures, also called minifigures. Themachines assemble the components by applying precise amounts of pressure to specific parts.

Machines assemble components that require several pieces, like minifigures

From there, the elements go into packages, as we'll see in the next section.

Testing and Packaging

If you've bought a brick set -- whether it's a box of assorted bricks or a set meant for building

something specific -- you've probably noticed that the box includes several bags of bricks

rather than a large pile of loose elements. These bags are part of the automated packaging

process, and they help make sure that the right pieces go into each box.

Finished brick elements wait

to go into packages in a

storage facility.

Quality assurance testing ensures

that the brick parts are durable

and will stand up to lots of play.

During the packaging process, bins open and close automatically, dropping precise numbers

of bricks into each polypropylene bag. A machine weighs these bags to make sure theircontents are correct. If a specific bag's weight is incorrect, an operator can replace that bag,

rather than having to discard an entire set.

At the end of the process, packaging operators fold the boxes, add any necessary pieces and

make sure that the machines haven't made any mistakes. The sealed boxes are stored and

shipped around the world. Quality assurance testers also perform numerous inspections andtests on the brick set elements. Machines perform drop, torque, tension, compression, bite and


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impact tests to make sure the toys are sturdy and safe. Technicians use a measuring beaker todetermine whether pieces could cause a choking hazard for small children. In the next

section, we'll look at what you can do with all those finished bricks.

Building with Bricks

Basic bricks are full of 90 degree angles, but finished products aren't limited to squares. With

enough 90 degree angles close enough together, you can make objects that incorporate

spheres and curves. With enough bricks, you can build pretty much anything.

You can make a 2 x 2 brick with three 2 x 2 plates or a 2 x 4

brick with three 2 x 4 plates. Or, you can combine 2 x 2 bricks

and plates to make a 2 x 4 brick.

Brick sets need not be limited to just the basic bricks. New sets include customized pieces

like wings, sails and masts. Some sets may be designed for constructing models that resemble

action figures. These sets would let you turn a simple brick creation into a machine by adding

studs, axles, motors and gears, and some sets may even let you build programmable robots.

The above elements bear little resemblance to a 2 x 4 brick.

So, if you want to build something really impressive, you can buy a kit that includes all the

pieces and step-by-step instructions on how to put them together. Or, you can buy lots ofbricks in a variety of shapes and sizes, and figure out how to build them yourself. Building

from a kit is pretty easy.


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Role of Finance Manager:

1. To make investment decisions.

2. To make financing decisions.

3. To ensure a positive cash flow; so that cash inflows

exceed cash outflows.4. To ensure profitability; so that income exceed

expenses.

5. To manage solvency.

Role of financial manager in the various functional areas are:

In planning - the role is to estimate the budget.

In organising- the role is allocate the money.

In staffing -the role is to determine the salaries and wages.Controlling and directing -the financial manager role is to allocate verify and direct the funds

in the right ways for the effective output.

The financial manager is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, controlling and

evaluating the operations of financial and accounting departments. The role of financial

managers is as follows:

- Development and Implementation of financial policies and systems

- Establishment of performance standards

- Preparation of various financial reports for senior managers

The main task of a financial manager is to supply investment advice along with financial

planning services. Basically the financial manager helps the consumer to maximize their net

worth via appropriate asset allocation.

Financial managers usually use stocks, bonds, mutual funds and insurance products to fulfil

the requirements of a client. Quite a few financial managers accept a commission

imbursement for the different types of financial products which they negotiate for, even

though "fee-based" development is gaining popularity in the market.

One of the vital services which financial managers supply is the retirement planning. The

financial managers have high scale knowledge in the field of budgeting, forecasting,

taxation, asset allocation, etc. Financial managers may even help their client in investing for

both long term as well as short term basis.

Some of the main functions of a Finance Manager includes setting up financial goals,

planning strategies to reach these goals, keeping a high check on profits and loss, preparing


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financial reports, investing funds, monitoring cash flows, advising the rest of on mergers and

acquisitions, accounting and auditing, developing certain kind of procedures in order to

minimize financial risk and establishing lending criteria. In short, financial managers handle

all the financial dealings and accounts of the company.

The whole lingo is to add value to the company by setting the right financial goals. They

handle all the financial accounts with rigorous auditi ng. They decide on how much of the

company's profits should be returned into investment and also how much should be

reinvested into the organisation. Financial managers are pillars to your new organisation or

a step to the growth of your organisation.

Finance Managers do lots of thinks and look all the financial parts of the company. They are

responsible for allocating financial resources of the company. They also activity take part is

budgeting, risk management and financial reporting. Other important finance manager tasks

are have an eye on profits and loss, make financial reports, making certain plans to lessen

the financial risk and so on.


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Role of Materials Manager:

To provide materials, mechanical parts and processes engineering suppo rt to business unit

projects as required. To contribute to the Materials and Processes team mission of assuring

the quality of materials and processes used in products.

Main functions:

1) Act as the responsible materials engineer for one or more project/product teams, as

necessary acting as the single contact point for the resolution of all materials and processes

issues.

2) Satisfy internal customers (projects, product teams, manufacturing, AIT, procurement,

design office, PA.) through the application of specialist materials and processes knowledge.

To assure performance of planned activities, on time and with respect to the governing

product assurance requirements.

3) Instigate and manage to completion materials and processes selection, development,

evaluation and qualification programmes.

4) Participate in risk reviews at all stages of product design, development and manufacture,

ensuring that materials and processes risk retirement plans are carried through.

5) Prepare declared materials and processes lists and ensure that adequate materials and

processes qualification has been achieved by CDR.

6) Review and approve subcontractor/supplier materials and processes documentation. To

monitor the technical performance of subcontractors and suppliers and participate inaudits.

7) Maintain awareness of developments in the field of materials and processes.

As you know , the fundamental objectives of the Materials Management function ,often called thefamous 5 Rs of Materials Management, are acquisition of materials and services :

y of the right quality y in the right quantity y at the right timey

from the right sourcey at the right time


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The broad Materials function has the following as identified and interlinked sub functions:

Materials planning and control: Materials required for any operation are based on the sales forecasts andproduction plans. Planning and control is done for the materials taking into account the materials not availablefor the operation and those in hand or in pipe line. This involves estimating the individual requirements ofparts, preparing materials budget, forecasting the levels of inventories, scheduling the orders and monitoringthe performance in relation to production and sales.

Purchasing: Basically, the job of a materials manager is to provide , to the user departments right material atthe right time in right quantity of right quality at right price from the right source.

To meet these objectives the activities undertaken include selection of sources of supply, finalisation of terms ofpurchase, placement of purchase orders, follow up, maintenance of relations with vendors, approval ofpayments to vendors, evaluating, rating and developing vendors.

Stores : Once the material is delivered , its physical control , preservation , minimisation of obsolescence anddamage through timely disposal and efficient handling, maintenance of records, proper locations and stocking isdone in Stores.Inventory control : One of the powerful ways of controlling the materials is through Inventory control. It

covers aspects such as setting inventory levels, doing various analyses such as ABC , XYZ etc ,fixingeconomic order quantities (EOQ), setting safety stock levels, lead time analysis and reporting.

Materials Management's scope is vast. Its sub functions include Materials planning and control, Purchasing,Stores and Inventory Management besides others.

Materials management can thus also be defined as a joint action of various materials activities directedtowards a common goal and that is to achieve an integrated management approach to planning, acquiring,processing and distributing production materials from the raw material state to the finished product state.

The Materials Management applications must provide the company with capabilities for

managing and controlling the State's purchasing and accounts payable policies and

accounting for the inventoried assets. These functions include Purchasing, AccountsPayable, Fixed Assets, and Inventory which are completely integrated within the Materials

Management system, as well as with the General Ledger and Budget Control process.

The Materials Management portray the following fully integrated process.

Figure 5. Overview of Current Materials Management Process


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Through shared vendor and policy information, Purchasing and Accounts Payable functions

can freely communicate without the usual control issues associated with duplication of files

and batch interfaces. Accounts Payable shares purchase order information f rom Purchasing

and updates the invoiced -to-date amount on the purchase order real-time. Receipts are

entered and referenced to a purchase order number, ensuring accurate posting of deliveries

to each purchase order line. Receipts that cannot be identified or that do not fit matching

criteria are identified, placed on hold, and reported for buyer action. Each receipt is

checked for proper delivery points and verified that the quantities received and the receipt

date are within tolerances already defined on the purchase order. Another receipt

requirement, inspection of goods, is handled through dock -to-stock tracking. This feature

tracks the inspection of materials according to a table of routing and inspection areas.

The Materials Management systems maintain accounting integrity through integration with

the General Ledger. Distribution entries from purchase orders, Accounts Payable and

Inventory issues and replenishments are validated directly against the General

Ledger. Offsetting cash, assets accounts, and encumbrances are automated through theaccounting rules or system policies to ensure accounting accuracy.

The integration of the Materials Management functions with the budgetary control function

provides the funds-checking capability required for the proper working of the company. All

Purchasing, Accounts Payable, and Inventory transactions (commitments, encumbrances,

inventory consumption and replenishment, and expenditures) are checked real -time to the

available funds amount calculated through budgetary control functions. Real-time funds

checking ensure expenditures are kept within the authorized budget and provide advanced

knowledge of the budgetary status for spending decisions.


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Role of Marketing Manager:

Marketing management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application

of marketing techniques and the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities.

Marketing managers are often responsible for influencing the level, timing, and composition

of customer demand accepted definition of the term. In part, this is because the role of amarketing manager can vary significantly based on a business' size, corporate culture, and

industry context. For example, in a large consumer products company, the marketin g

manager may act as the overall general manager of his or her assigned product.

Marketing management therefore encompasses a wide variety of functions and activities,

although the marketing department itself may be responsible for only a subset of these.

Regardless of the organizational unit of the firm responsible for managing them, marketing

management functions and activities include the following:

Marketing research and analysis

In order to make fact-based decisions regarding marketing strategy and design effective,

cost-efficient implementation programs, and firms must possess a detailed, objective

understanding of their own business and the market in which they operate. In analy zing

these issues, the discipline of marketing management often overlaps with the related

discipline of strategic planning.

Traditionally, marketing analysis was structured into three areas: Customer analysis,

Company analysis, and Competitor analysis (so-called "3Cs" analysis). More recently, it has

become fashionable in some marketing circles to divide these further into certain five "Cs":

Customer analysis, Company analysis, Collaborator analysis, Competitor analysis, and

analysis of the industry Context.

Department analysis is done to develop a schematic diagram for market segmentation,

breaking down the market into various constituent groups of customers, which are called

customer segments or market segmentations. Marketing managers work to develop

detailed profiles of each segment, focusing on any number of variables that may differ

among the segments: demographic, psychographic, geographic, behavioural, needs-benefit,

and other factors may all be examined. Marketers also attempt to track these segments'

perceptions of the various products in the market using tools such as perceptual mapping.

In company analysis, marketers focus on understanding the company's cost structure and

cost position relative to competitors, as well as working to identify a firm' s core

competencies and other competitively distinct company resources. Marketing managers

may also work with the accounting department to analyze the profits the firm is generating

from various product lines and customer accounts. The company may also con duct periodic

brand audits to assess the strength of its brands and sources of brand equity.


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The firm's collaborators may also be profiled, which may include various suppliers,

distributors and other channel partners, joint venture partners, and others. A n analysis of

complementary products may also be performed if such products exist.

Marketing management employs various tools from economics and competitive strategy to

analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. These include Porter's five fo rces,analysis of strategic groups of competitors, value chain analysis and others. Depending on

the industry, the regulatory context may also be important to examine in detail.

In Competitor analysis, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor i n the market,

focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT

analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of

profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and prod uct differentiation,

degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other

factors.

Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data

required to perform accurate marketing analysis. As such, they often conduct market

research (alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a

variety of techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include:

Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups

Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys

Experimental techniques such as test markets

Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation

Marketing managers may also design and oversee various environmental scanning and

competitive intelligence processes to help identify trends and inform the company's

marketing analysis.

Marketing strategy

Once the company has obtained an adequate understanding of the customer base and its

own competitive position in the indu stry, marketing managers are able to make key

strategic decisions and develop a marketing strategy designed to maximize the revenues

and profits of the firm. The selected strategy may aim for any of a variety of specific

objectives, including optimizing sh ort-term unit margins, revenue growth, market share,

long-term profitability, or other goals.

To achieve the desired objectives, marketers typically identify one or more target customer

segments which they intend to pursue. Customer segments are often sele cted as targets

because they score highly on two dimensions: 1) The segment is attractive to serve because


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it is large, growing, makes frequent purchases, is not price sensitive (i.e. is willing to pay high

prices), or other factors; and 2) The company has the resources and capabilities to compete

for the segment's business, can meet their needs better than the competition, and can do so

profitably. In fact, a commonly cited definition of marketing is simply "meeting needs

profitably.

The implication of selecting target segments is that the business will subsequently allocate

more resources to acquire and retain customers in the target segment(s) than it will fo r

other, non-targeted customers. In some cases, the firm may go so far as to turn away

customers that are not in its target segment.

In conjunction with targeting decisions, marketing managers will identify the desired

positioning they want the company, product, or brand to occupy in the target customer's

mind. This positioning is often an encapsulation of a key benefit the company's product or

service offers that is differentiated and superior to the benefits offered by competitive

products.

Ideally, a firm's positioning can be maintained over a long period of time because the

company possesses, or can develop, some form of sustainable competitive advantage. The

positioning should also be sufficiently relevant to the target segment such that it will drive

the purchasing behaviour of target customers.


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CONCLUSION:

In the End we would like to conclude by saying that Each Manager plays and important role

in the Organization and its working.

It is the aim of the manager to do the right task in the most effective and efficient mannerto attain the goals or the target set by Organization in right time.

And we have seen that the Huge Success of Bricks is owed to the Whole management of

the M.A.G. Organization.

toy company fair...sort of -edited

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