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e and maintain high motivation among a workforce Motivating Employees: Employees tend to be more satisfied with their jobs if they are provided (1) pensation that is aligned with their performance, (2) job security, (3) a flexible work schedule, and (4) employee involvement programs. Firms should offer job security, pensation that is tied to employee performance, more flexible work schedules, and more employee involvement programs. To the extent that job satisfaction can motivate employees to improve their performance, firms may be able to a higher production level by providing greater job satisfaction. Marketing Research Managers cannot always wait for information to arrive in bits and pieces from the marketing intelligence system. They often require formal studies of specific situations. For example, Toshiba wants to know how many and what kinds of people or panies will buy its new superfast laptop puter. Or Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois, needs to know what percentage of its target market has heard of Barat, how they heard, what they know, and how they feel about Barat. In such situations, the marketing intelligence system will not provide the detailed information needed. Managers will need marketing research. We define marketing research as the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing an anization. Every marketer needs research. Marketing researchers engage in a wide variety of activities, ranging from market potential and market share studies, to assessments of customer satisfaction and purchase behavior, to studies of pricing, distribution, and promotion activities. A pany can conduct marketing research in its own research department or have some or all of it done outside. Although most large panies have their own marketing research departments, they often use outside firms to do special research tasks or studies. A pany with no research department has to buy the services of research firms. Marketing: the importance of packaging products appropriately In recent times, numerous factors have made packaging an important marketing tool. Increased petition and clutter on retail store shelves means that packages now must perform many sales tasksfrom attracting attention, to describing the product, to making the sale. Companies are realizing the power of good packaging to create instant consumer recognition of the pany or brand. For example, in an average supermarket, which stocks 15,000 to 17,000 items, the typical shopper passes by some 300 items per minute, and 53 percent of all purchases are made on impulse. In this highly petitive environment, the package may be the seller’s last chance to influence buyers. It bees a fivesecond mercial. The Campbell Soup Company estimates that the average shopper sees its familiar red and white can 76 times a year, creating the equivalent of $26 million worth of advertising. Market Research: the importance of doing market research before launching a new product Sales: How to sell a product effectively in international markets Product Promotion: the importance of selecting appropriate members of staff to attend exhibitions Communication: the importance in business of maintaining contact with clients Public Relations: the importance of adequate supervision and training of staff who deal with the public Management: How to run a meeting successfully Transport Management: the importance to a business of an efficient public transport system Any distribution of products from producers to wholesalers or from wholesalers to retailers requires transportation. The cost of transporting some products can exceed the cost of producing them. An efficient form of transportation can result in higher costs and lower profits for the firm. For each form of transportation, firms should estimate timing, cost, and availability. This assessment allows the firm to choose an optimal method of transportation. The most mon forms of transportation used to distribute products are truck, rail, air, water, pipeline. Transport Managem