Auditor Preliminary Analytical Procedure

Auditor Preliminary Analytical Procedure Auditors are required to prepare the preliminary analytical procedure at the planning as a part of the risk-assessment procedures under ASA 315.6. The definition of preliminary analytical procedure is that comparison of client rations to industry or competitor benchmarks provides an indication of the companys performance. The purpose of preliminary analytical procedure is to obtain understanding of the clients company and industry. (textbook) In common, two major stages, simple comparisons and ration analysis, are used by auditors during analytical procedure; however ration analysis is a better understanding of the entity. Based on the data from question 6.33, the analysis procedure is allocated in two major stages. (textbook) Simple comparisons. Simple comparison is to compare amounts between the 2009 financial statements and 2010 financial statements of Gourmet Pty Ltd. The net profit increases from $56 240 000 in 2009 to $63 562 000 in 2010, the increasing amounts are up to $7 3220 000. The total shareholders equity increases from $141 300 000 in 2009 to $204 862 000 in 2010, the increasing amounts are up to $63 562 000. The performance of company is better from 2009 to 2010 in respect of above data, because company owns a steady and experienced management team; attempts to extend the range of products in order to enhance competition of industry and depends on appropriate strategy to acquire other smaller competitors. The simple comparison is a general analysis, however, auditor need to use ratio analysis in order to obtaining the specific data. Ratio analysis Based on 6.33, following ratios could be calculated for analysis. The current ratio is 0.195 in 2009 and 0.280 in 2010. These two ratios are less than the better benchmark 2, even are lower than positive current ratio 1.5 as well. The quick asset ratio is 0.070 in 2009 and 0.096 in 2010. The gross profit ratio is 0.481 in 2009 and 0.463 in 2010. The net profit ratio is 0.183 in 2009 and 0.193 in 2010. The debt to equity ration is 7.30 (a) The inherent risk is the susceptibility of an account balance, class of transactions or disclosure to material misstatement given inherent and environmental characteristics, but without regard to internal control. (textbook) Based on the background information from 6.33, following factors could impact the inherent risk: A new finance director has joined in the company. The change of important management position would increase inherent risk. At the same time, the new finance director will face pressure to outperform pervious result; the pressure could provide an incentive for him or her to involve the misstatement and fraud of financial report. Also the inherent risk would increase. The company owned 25 outlets of varying sizes and geographic locations, which would increase inherent risk, because it is hard to be controlled by managers of entity. Company has signed contract regarding the construction and development of a restaurant and entertainment complex, which would increase inherent risk due to the lack of expertise about the new market. The company installed a new computer system; the change of information technology may not work as expected or may be unreliable and could affect the accuracy of financial report. Therefore, the inherent risk would be increased. (b)(i) Based on the audit risk model, three components consist of audit risk: inherent risk, control risk and detection risk. The increase of inherent risk will result in that misstatements likely to occur in companys financial report, which would lead to the increase of audit risk as well.(textbook) (c) The level of materiality should be considered as a key point to plan the nature, timing and extent of audit procedure, and the relationship between audit risk and materiality is inverse. (textbook)Therefore, the amount of preliminary materiality level reduced from $5000000 to $3200000 after review of inherent risk, because that the inherent risk is higher than the auditors anticipation. Thus, auditor should increase the extent of audit procedures, selecting a more effective audit procedure and performing audit procedures closer to the balance date, particularly in respect to account is considered importantly by auditors.(text book) 8.34 (a) The objectives of internal auditors are that Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organisations operations. (Adam Cunningham). The internal auditors scope of work is comprehensive. It serves the organization by helping it accomplish its objectives, and improving operations, risk management, internal controls, and governance processes. (http://www.theiia.org/theiia/about-the-profession/internal-audit-faqs/?i=1086) External auditor is to verify that the annual accounts provide a true and fair picture of the organisations finances; and that the use of funds is in accordance with the aims and objects as outlined in the constitution.   The scope of external auditors (b) External auditor can adopt the information from internal auditor included that: The internal audit function as a part of the internal control, will impact the external auditors assessment of control risk and the scope of audit procedures. The descriptions and other documentation of internal control will contribute the external auditor to gain an understanding of the companys internal control. The direct assistance by internal auditor will help external auditor to make substantive test or tests of controls(textbook) (c) Along with internal auditor involved in assessing the company strategy and identifying the associated risks, which will provide helps for the external auditor regarding to undertake a business risk approach to the audit. In addition, internal auditors should hold adequate skills, knowledge, experience, integrity and objectivity to ensure the effective information for external auditor. (textbook) Based on the information on 8.34, Gourmet Pty Ltd owns an experienced and professional internal auditing team. However, the external auditor should consider carefully for these information, because that the objectives of the internal auditor should be the same as the objectives of the company (David A. Wood).Therefore, external auditor must select information under the requirement of independent audit. (d) The objective 1, objective 2 and objective 4 are related to ensure the effective operation and acquirement of maximal benefit for company, which are not included in control activities. The control activities is that policy and procedures that pertain to performance reviews, information processing, physical controls and segregation of duties. (Textbook) Therefore, the objective 3, objective 5 and objective 6 are related to internal control activities, which are need to be relevant to external auditor. 9.35 (a) The related internal control must be identified effectiveness if auditors plan to rely on this control. Therefore, auditors need to set out tests of control to confirm effectiveness of controls. From this case, the audit partner has decided to use the work of the internal audit group (LAG). One of the work papers from LAG is to examine payments made to creditors throughout the year and determine whether the procedures laid down in the Accounting Manual have been properly followed. On the other word, this paper is related to the tests of control about payment. The result of this test indicates some errors: (i) Payments that were not matched to an approved purchase order, however, all other documentation was attached. The objective of this is to test the occurrence of purchases of inventory transaction. This error implies that related transaction may not occur or the transaction is unauthorised. (ii) Payments that were not made to an approved supplier. The objective of this is to test the occurrence of purchases of inventory transaction. This error implies that related transaction may not occur or the transaction is unauthorised. (iii) Payments that were authorized by a second party, although this was not required. The notes explain that new financial accountant being unaware of firm policy. Although it has been remedied, the related transactions may do not occur or is unauthorised. (iv) Payments that had no supporting documentation attached. The objective of this is to test the occurrence of cash disbursements transactions. This error implies that related transaction may not occur or the transaction is unauthorised or the goods or services may not receive. (v) Payments that did not bear evidence that computation on creditors invoices had been checked. The objective of this is to test the accuracy of purchases of inventory transactions. The error implies that related transactions are not recorded correctly. Also, these errors indicate that the internal control regarding payments is not very effective, because the proportion of error is almost 28% of 60 samples. It means that the risk of this related internal control is higher than average level. (b) Under this situation, external auditors should consider whether the evidences adopted by internal auditors are satisfied sufficiency and appropriateness. Particularly in respect of the appropriateness should be discussed here. Gourmet Pty Ltd is a large private company; therefore it must have a large volume of transactions. If internal auditors only selected 60 samples, it should be considered by external auditors that the amounts of samples are not sufficient and the control risk is higher than its actual level. Therefore, they can choose to increase the extent of test of control to try to reduce the risk level to an acceptable level. If the control is still not working as they expected, they can choose increase the extent of substantive testing in order to continual reliance on this control. If the control risk still can not be reduced by these tests of control, external auditors will give up the reliance on the control. In effect, auditors have determined that control does not exist or the existence of control can not provide reliable evidence. (textbook)

Leonardo Da Vinci Research Paper

Once there lived a man who was gifted with the power of looking at the same object in many different fashions sometimes as a painter would look at it, sometimes as a naturalist, sometimes as a physicist, at other times as a poet and not one of those fashions was superficial (Valley. 1958). With all the technical advances from today, most artist and inventors are inspired by this man. Leonardo exemplified the resurgence, living, view, and producing art and technology that still characterizes that age of discovery.When people think of Leonardo dad Vinci, usually the first thing that comes to mind is The Dad Vinci Code with Tom Hanks. But in reality people would say he was one of the finest artistic and scientific men of the Italian Renaissance Age. â€Å"The Last Supper† and the â€Å"Mona Lisa† are among one of his finest works of art. These art pieces were way ahead of Dad Vine's time. Leonardo was not Just a painter or artist but he was an inventor responsible for prod ucing designs ranging from early tanks and submarines to the revolutionary â€Å"flying machine. His study and mastery of a wide range of disciplines, including sculpture, philosophy, and engineering, made Leonardo a humbly of the spirit of his age, and the personification of the term â€Å"Renaissance man. â€Å"(Ryan & Adagio, 2005) We could start back when Dad Vinci first was born to see the intellect of a brilliant mind. April 15th, 1452 Leonardo was born in Vinci, Italy. Who knew on that day an infant would grow up to be known as the universal genius. He was raised by his father Piper dad Vinci, a notary in Florence.At an early age Leonardo exhibited a considerable artistic talent so when he was fifteen Leonardo moved to Florence, Italy, this is when is life started to blossom, he was Andrea del Veronica's apprentice. Overarching was a well-known artist for his time and began to show and develop Leonardo in painting and completing sculptures (Goldman. 1997). Leonardo stayed working with Veronica's until he turned 25. He then moved on and spent the next five years painting many different paintings with many different artists. When he reached the age of 30, he moved to Milan, Italy and became a court artist for Duke Alluding Oxfords.Becoming a court artist made Leonardo a Jack-of-all-trades. Not Just known or an artist, Leonardo also was an inventor; there are three tiny little notebooks that house a collection of his works also called the Codex Forester, which are now kept in the Victoria and Alberta Museum in London, England. They are believed to have been written between 1495 and 1497 (Mills, 2008). First let me talk about one of his most famous paintings, â€Å"Last Supper† he began to paint this piece in 1495 and this piece was commissioned by the Duke for the convent of Santa Maria dell Gracie.He tried to complete this painting as a mural on the wall using oil-based paint, but unfortunately the paint did not adhere to the wall and was a comp lete failure. However this brings me to the fabulous painting â€Å"The Mona Lisa†, this painting represents elegance and pure beauty. Leonardo worked on this painting for four years until 1506. In 1506 Dad Vinci abandoned work on the â€Å"Mona Lisa† to be the artistic advisor to the city's French governor â€Å"Charles demise's† at the request of King Louis XII of France . (Ryan & Adagio, 2005) In 1513 Leonardo left Milan and traveled to Rome, Italy at the request of Pope Leo X.Once he arrived he was presented with a spacious art studio to complete more of his work. Dad Vinci remained in Rome for four years, while there he completed only one major piece and that was a series of drawings which were titled â€Å"The Deluge†. Later on in 1517, King Francis I asked Leonardo to France and was going to make him the royal painter, architect, and mechanic to the king. He accepted and was given a salary and a place to live in the palace at Cloud. While he was th ere he became a teacher to a number of young inspiring artists to help them move on into their career.It was a very sad day on the 2nd of May 1 519, this is the day that Leonardo Dad Vinci left this earth to return to our heavenly father in the sky. He was surrounded by the kings court in Cloud when he passed away. Leonardo will always be known for the great artist he was and teacher he has instilled on many of us. I think everyone has a little of Leonardo in them whether it be painting or from inventing to woodworking. When people write they write with their hearts, I know when Leonardo painted it was from his heart.People knew Leonardo dad Vinci as a great painter, but my research also discovered the many different talents this great man had. Being one of the top inventors in the world he was responsible for many of the innovations that had transpired during the renaissance period. He was as much an inventor as an artist. Though he never built many of the inventions he designed, s ome of the things he envisioned in the late sass are in use today, including helicopters and parachutes. Dad Vinci was obsessed with war, and he sketched an armored vehicle that could carry eight men inside and allow them to fire weapons through holes in its walls.He drew ND wrote about what we today call tanks more than 400 years before they were first used in combat during World War l. (Grant, 2010) Leonardo Dad Vinci is the key personality that enlightened the Renaissance with its outstanding talent. Other major figures, such as Francesco Did Giorgio, have left a rich legacy, especially in architecture and machinery design. Now when you close your eyes and picture an airplane or even a bird you could envision yourself in a way that Leonardo Dad Vinci did when he thought out his inventions.

Persil Company Essay

1. BACKGROUND Henkel is a multinational company founded in Germany in 1876. Henkel is a leading firm with international recognition and is ranked among the Fortune Global 500. The organization produces many leading products and brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf, Loctite, Pritt, Sellotape and Right Guard. It operates in three business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies. As shown in Figure 1. (see Appendix), Adhesive Technologies represent 48% of total sales, followed by Laundry & Home Care with 29% and Cosmetics/Toiletries at 22%. In 2010, Henkel achieved annual sales of â‚ ¬15,092 million and a net income of â‚ ¬1,143 million. (Henkel 2011) The company operates in over 125 countries, in five continents. Henkel employs over 48,000 staff, 80% based outside of Germany. Figure 2. (see Appendix) shows that most sales are to Growth regions (41%) followed by Western Europe (36%) and then Northern America (18%) (Henkel 2011). Henkel targets both industries and households, aiming some campaigns at organizations such as laundries, hospitals and parlours and others towards households. Henkel states that â€Å"For a large proportion of our cosmetic products, our laundry and home care products and our consumer adhesives, women count among the direct or indirect target user group† (Henkel 2011). Henkel’s strategy consists of three priorities: achieve full business potential, focus more on customers and strengthen the global team. The ultimate purpose of Henkel’s strategy is the further improvement of the company’s competitiveness and to permanently establish a winning culture. (Henkel 2011) Persil is one of Henkel’s leading brands. First introduced in 1907, Persil is renowned as being the first commercially available â€Å"self-activated† laundry detergent. Persil had huge success and captured the majority in the German market share. Nowadays, Henkel sells Persil products in numerous countries; mainly Germany, France, Spain, Mexico, China. Persil has also adopted local names such as LeChat in France, Dixan in Greece, Italy and Cyprus and Wipp in Spain and China. The success of Persil was due to two main factors. Firstly, for being the pioneer in changing the whole detergent market, making itself discernible from the competition. The second, was Persil’s product presentation and packaging, making the European people feel identified. These competitive advantages have brought a large following of loyal customers throughout the different countries Persil is sold in. In this paper we will analyze Henkel’s strategy for the Persil brand and make recommendations. 2. BRANDING STRATEGIES Brand strategies are a very important part of the marketing strategy process. There are three aspects within the idea of brand strategy: brand reach, brand positioning, and brand architecture (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.141). Brand reach is about the geographical and vertical reach of the company. Brand positioning is the act of designing the company’s brand to a distinctive place in the minds of the customers. Brand architecture looks at the structure of the brands in the company and the relationships between those different brands. Brand reach has two different aspects, geographical reach and vertical reach. The geographical reach refers to the scope the brand reaches over an area. Henkel’s redesign of the brand will reach all of the different countries they are selling in. The vertical reach explains the use of the brand throughout the value chain. There are two options regarding the vertical reach of a brand; ingredient branding and processing branding. Ingredient branding explains the use of brand materials throughout the entire value chain. For example, the use of Intel processors in several different computer brands. The opposite is explained by processing brand, where the brand is not seen throughout or even at the end of the production process. An example of this can be seen when purchasing a car. Buyers are aware of the car brand but do not know who produced the airbags. (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.142) Brand positioning is the next aspect of brand strategy, which has three parts to analyze. The brand core is the identity of the company, which is also known as the mission statement. Persil’s brand core is the pioneer of first active-agents in detergents market. The next part in the brand-positioning model is brand benefits. This illustrates what the product brand offers its customers. Persil’s laundry detergents offer the public an easy way to wash clothes and a large range of different products, in turn leading to an improved quality of life. Both of these aspects are integrated within the overall brand personality, which means the traits associated with the brand. Trustworthiness, authenticity, reliability and resilience are examples of traits that fit Persil’s brand personality. Brand image is the impression of a brand’s total personality in the customers mind. The closer the brand image and brand personality are to each other, the more successful a brand is likely to be. This is shown in Figure 3. (see Appendix). (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.143) The relationship to competitors’ brands is also a useful way to analyze brand positioning. There are two different types of positioning in branding, differentiation and similarly positioning. Differentiation is positioning your brand in a remarkably different area than any other brand on the market. Similarity positioning is positioning your brand in a similar area to those already on the market. A product map is used to illustrate similarities are differences. As Persil was the pioneer for active-agent detergents in the laundry detergent market, it used the differentiation approach. Brand architecture is the third and last aspect of the brand strategy. Brand architecture is the structure of all the brands in a company and their inter-relationships within the company. Brand architecture does not look at decisions made for individual brands but more, the structural decisions for the entire brand collection of a company. There are three types of branding strategy when considering brand architecture; single branding strategy, single umbrella branding strategy, and multiple umbrella branding strategy. (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.145) The single branding strategy illustrates a company where each product has its own brand, and is sold under its own brand name rather than under the company brand name. Henkel markets its products, such as Persil, under individual brand names rather than under the Henkel company brand. Single umbrella branding is the opposite of single branding strategy. This is where all products or services are marked under the same brand. Multiple umbrella branding is the mix between both types. Keeping different brand names separate can be challenging for most companies. However, Henkel has so many years of experience in this area that managing this would not be a problem. Persil, for example, is marketed as a separate brand by Henkel and has been a leader in the laundry detergent market for over 100 years. Changing the name of Persil or other Henkel brands should not be an alternative, as it may bring a negative effect to the company. Since Henkel’s customers, are familiar with separate brand names, they may not appreciate a change to new unfamiliar names. 3. PRODUCT MIX In today’s dynamic market environment, organizations constantly need to adapt their products due to rising competitive situations and changing customer needs. The product mix is a helpful term when it comes to maximizing the organization’s potential. This can be defined as the entire range of products supplied by an organization at a given point in time (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.133). There are three main options for expanding an organization’s product mix in order to get the optimal product portfolio. These are product variation, product differentiation and diversification (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.134). Product variations are modifications of the features and characteristics of an already existing product on the market, without changing the core functions of the product (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.134). The variation can be made in many ways but the most common variations are changing the products’ aesthetic properties (e.g. shape, color), physical-functional properties (e.g. quality, material) or symbolic properties (e.g. brand image, brand name). An important point is that product variation is just a matter of changing an already existing product, not creating a new product. Examples of product variations are a new †face lift† design of a car or a new packaging design of a product. Product differentiation is an organization’s process of adding new product variants to an already established product (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.135). This is an opportunity for an organization to create competitive advantages, by distinguishing its product from competitors. An organization can do this by basing the product differentiation on either offering superior products or creating better customer relationships (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.72). In product differentiation the original product still exists, in comparison with product variations when the modified products are no longer available on the market. MasterCard is an example of a product differentiation, due to its various range of payment solutions. Diversification is when an organization integrates products into its product mix that do not have direct connections to already available products in the organization’s product portfolio (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.136). By diversifying, the organization is seeking to increase profitability through greater sales volume acquired from introducing new products in new markets (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.76). A diversification strategy can be very risky for organizations but can also create opportunities with great potential. McDonalds’ introduction of its â€Å"McCafe† concept is an example of a diversification move, which proved very successful. In 1907, when Henkel was in its roots, the organization used a product differentiation approach. It was able to introduce a new unique laundry detergent formula of a self-activating detergent that resulted in being the pioneers of this type of product. Henkel was able to create competitive advantages by implementing its new superior formula on the market and therefore distinguishing its brand from competitors. Another aspect of Henkel’s product differentiation is its great product range. Henkel differentiates itself by being the leading supplier of laundry detergent, offering detergent to a wide customer group. These diverse products target different categories of washing such as: low temperature washing, premium market washing, detergents for allergenic people and environmentally friendly washing. 1962 saw the introduction of a completely new Henkel product in the market called Somet. This product did not focus on washing clothes, but instead on washing dishes. The introduction of this product was very successful and is an example of diversification by the company. Henkel integrated a detergent for washing dishes in its product mix hence, operating in a new market. By doing so, Henkel was able to increase profits through greater sales volume of its products. In recent years, Henkel has changed its product mix approach with an increased focus on product variation techniques. Henkel recognizes the need to modify already existing products in order to survive in today’s dynamic market. This is shown in Henkel’s ability to change their laundry detergent products’ aesthetic packaging properties, which is an example of product variation. Through the years Henkel has changed the design of the detergent packages several times which all proved successful. Henkel realizes the importance of presentation for potential buyers and hence places a lot of emphasis on this area. 4. ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES Henkel’s goal is to reassure customers that Persil is still as effective as any other laundry detergent on the market. Henkel embarked upon this strategy by changing its product decisions through product variation, as discussed earlier. The organization developed new ideas for its already established products by redesigning and improving formulations, as well as developing a clearer distinction between their different product groups to attract new customers. Henkel undertook pre-tests to analyze customer responses, redesigned its website and engaged in promotional activities such as the Persil Future Ship which toured 18 German cities, showcasing the new campaign. Henkel also contributed â‚ ¬1,000,000 to the Project Futurino initiative. There are many other options that Henkel could have pursued to enforce its new strategy. Under the heading of product decisions, Henkel could have used product differentiation or diversification, as explained above, to expand the product mix to enforce its new strategy. Henkel has used these methods before and could implement these methods again. Henkel could have also established synergies, reduced the product range or considered areas such as brand management activities. When examining the area of establishing synergies, there are two options that Henkel could have considered; product bundling and product platforms. â€Å"Bundling is when a company sells two or more separate products in combination and sells the bundle at a single price† (Homburg, Keuster and Krohmer, 2009, p.137). This can encourage cross selling and also reduce costs. This may have been a good idea for Persil as many customers may buy more than one of their products. However, as each customer has different needs and preferences, a lot of research would have to be done to discover optimal bundles that suit many consumers. Consumers may also not use the products in equal measures so may still need to buy products individually. Henkel could also have considered establishing product platforms. This is when individual products can be produced using common standardized product components (Homburg, Keuster and Krohmer, 2009, p.137). Although this would save costs for Henkel and may make the Persil products more recognizable, it may make it harder for customers to differentiate between the Persil products themselves. Persil would have to ensure that their products are still clearly distinguishable from each other for this to be successful. As Persil is aiming to develop an even clearer distinction between their different product groups, this may not be a wise strategy for them to take. Product elimination is another area that Henkel could have considered. This would involve removing one of its products from the market. By removing a less popular product it could show customers that Henkel is concerned about standards and only wants to keep its best and most effective products on the market. On the downside, Henkel may lose the customer base that used to use the now eliminated products. Another alternative for Henkel could have been to engage in brand activities. This involves moving into other product groups but under the same brand name. If brand loyalty already exists, which it does in the case of Persil, this can prove to be very successful. â€Å"Brands signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product or service again† (Kotler et al. 2009, p.428). As Persil has been voted the most trusted brand in its category nine years running by Readers Digest, it is clear Henkel already has brand loyalty and a strong customer relationship. If Henkel had moved into an entirely new market area, different to laundry detergents and home care, it could have captured new market segment. This could have lead to an expansion of the company and potentially increased overall profits. Persil also has many years of experience in the market so would already have a lot of consumer information. This could prove highly successful, as they would have a competitive advantage over new entrants. Henkel could have also looked at areas such as pricing decisions, communication decisions and sales decisions. Another option was to lower prices, redevelop communication methods or come up with new sales decisions such as: new distribution channels or a new advertising campaign to reassure customers of the effectiveness of the Persil brand. Although all these options have advantages and benefit Henkel in different ways, we believe that Henkel’s choice to focus on product variation was the most suitable for its strategy to assure customers that Persil is still as effective as any other laundry detergent on the market. 5. PRODUCT INNOVATION Many products are subject to a life cycle, which is becoming increasingly shorter for a number of product categories. Given this, the development of new and successful products is essential for companies’ long-term survival. First of all, companies need to generate innovative ideas. In general, these ideas come from company-internal sources or external sources. Company-internal sources are information from the R&D department employees, field sales force employees, customer service/service hotline employees, complaint information or suggestions from employees (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.115). Using this source of information, the organization can benefit from more directly available information that takes into account more knowledge of the existing products and resources. On the other hand, sources of information from outside the company could be through customers, competitors, market innovation in other markets, technological developments, findings from trends, market research institutes, business consultants and advertising agencies (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.115). Gathering these information sources, the company can benefit from an â€Å"outside the box† thinking resulting in more creative ideas (company-external information sources tend to be more innovative). In particularly, customers can be a very useful source of information for product innovation. Using creativity methods can also generate new product ideas. These methods can promote and encourage creative thinking by creating synergies, for example in cross-functional project team. Creativity methods can be: brainstorming, brainwriting, or the morphological box (Homburg, Kuester, and Krohmer 2009, p.116). Our recommendation would be to use company-internal sources of information. By doing so, the company can benefit from its large number of employees, that are at the same time are customers. Henkel could also benefit from more direct and cheaper information. Although, to avoid a biased view the company should also hire an expert in this particular field, to get an outside opinion. 6. PERSIL PEN Innovation has always been a main focus for Henkel. In 2007, Persil Megapearls with Anti-Gray formula was named as the â€Å"most successful innovation† in its category and voted among the top 10 most successful innovations of all food categories by Lebensmittel Praxis (Henkel 2011). Henkel works hard to innovate new products to satisfy constantly changing consumer needs. Henkel wants to focus more on the new â€Å"Green movement† that has been present in society for the past decade. According to Henkel’s mission, its aim for each product is to contribute to the sustainable development and combine top performance with human and environment responsibility. To extend on this idea our group has thought of a new innovative product for Henkel. The â€Å"Persil Pen† is a small pen, with concentrated detergent in it that can be used on-the-go to remove stains and spills from fabrics. The Persil Pen will be small enough to fit in someone’s briefcase or purse, for a convenient and quick way to deal with life’s on-the-go accidents. The Persil Pen in the beginning will be targeted mainly to professionals in the work force. The product can be used discreetly in the office to take care of small accidents at lunch or on the way to work in rush hour. The new product for Henkel’s detergent market will bring convenience and reliability to the busy, unpredictable workday. After the Persil Pen has gained market recognition, we plan to expand to different target groups such as students. Another possibility could be to team up with restaurants and have the pen available for use for diners, free of charge. This way they can try out the product and hopefully later purchase it themselves. Our marketing strategy will consist of two ideas. First, we plan to target large companies and hand out the Persil Pen at meetings, offices, trade fairs and conventions. This will get the new product directly into the hands of our target market. Another promotion to get the product out in the market would be to attach a free pen with the new brand labeled detergent in the stores. This will open up the new product to the already existing group of customers that buy Persil detergent. The Persil Pen can be advertised and communicated to the public with a focus on the redesign of the Persil Brand. This new brand strategy of changing all the packaging for their detergent to a new and more modern look, will be the perfect time to introduce Persil Pens. This will spark interest in the current customer base and attract interest in the entire Persil brand, in turn raising market shares. As Henkel originates from Germany, we have chosen Germany as the first market for Persil Pen to be launched in. If the launch is successful we will launch in other countries using the Persil brand name. In the development of this product we think a low price would captivate a larger number of new customers, and make them aware of its existence. The price should not be too low, so that customers do not think that we are selling a low quality product. By the time that a reasonable number or percentage of the target customers are using the new product, the price should be gradually adjusted to a mid-range price, comparable to Persil’s price range. Once the product is launched and sold, variations on the product concept can be made. This will be a unique way to stand out from competitors in the market. â€Å"Tide†, a very well known detergent company, has developed and is producing a product like this in North America. Persil can work to concur the European market for this product. Persil is already a well-established brand in Europe so brand loyalty will already be established. This product illustrates Persil’s goal of facilitating washing for their customers and improving their quality of life. The Persil Pen will eliminate having to wash an entire work shirt with just one stain on it. Not only is this extremely facilitating for users but will also add to Persil’s environmentally friendly campaign. People will not have to waste as much water washing a garment with only a small stain. This new product will increase customer loyalty and in turn increase sales volume for Persil and Henkel. 7.CONCLUSION Henkel is a leading company in three core business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Cosmetics/Toiletries and Adhesive Technologies. Henkel is successfully marketing its products under individual brand names, for example Persil. Persil has a clear view of their brand reach, positioning and architecture. Henkel is constantly expanding its product mix through methods of product variation, product differentiation and diversification. Henkel gathers vital information from both external and internal expertise (Henkel 2011). We believe that Henkel could explore alternative strategies such as brand activities, but that product variation is still the most suitable option for its current strategy. Henkel has always thrived in the area of innovation, for example Persil’s pioneer formula in 1907. We think that the Persil Pen could prove to be a new successful product with great potential. Henkel is performing well despite the downturn in economic conditions worldwide in recent times (Henkel 2011). We are confident of Henkel’s ability to create a strong foundation for the future success of the company. LIST OF REFERENCES Henkel 2011 (accessed October 1, 2011), [available at http://www.henkel.com]. Homburg C., Kuester S. & Krohmer H. (2009), Marketing Management; A Contemporary Perspective. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education. Kavaratzis M. & Ashworth G.J. (2005), City branding: An effective Assertion of Identity or a Transitory marketing trick? 96 (5), pp. 506-514. Kotler P., Keller K.L., Brady M., Goodman M. & Hansen T. (2009), Marketing Management. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

The Brightest Scene Of Your Last Four Years Admission Essay

Turning Point of My Life Three years ago I successfully passed my driving test and bought my first car. In two month on a winter day I was driving my car when I saw a friend of mine waiting for the bus. The weather was so nasty I stopped and offered him a lift. He got into the car and we started chatting about some trifles. I noticed that he had not fastened his seat belt and asked him to do it. In several minutes we got into a horrific car accident. I still do not quite understand what happened that night. I remember that something happened to the steering and the brakes and I suddenly realized that I could not control the car. Then it turned over. I realized that it was sheer death and started preying for my friend to stay alive. The car turned upside down once again and the roof got torn into two halves by the metal banisters of the bridge. There we stopped. Being afraid to open my eyes and see my friend dead, I kept sitting very still until I heard his anxious voice: â€Å"Are you alive?† I felt an enormous relief. â€Å"I think so. Lets get out of here.† When we got out of the car and called the police, my friend suddenly turned to me and said â€Å"Do you realize you saved my life when asked me to fasten my seat belt?† This was the turning point of my life. I learned to love the world, be positive and cheerful and never waste a second chance. Besides, I have become the most careful driver you can imagine.