Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra

(Noida Campus)

MBA 1st Semester

MANAGEMENT OF MANUFACTURING
SYSTEMS

TOPIC OF THE PROJECT

Role of various Managers in a

Toy Manufacturing Company

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Mr. B.K. JHA Mandeep Dua (4501)
Garima (4505)
Aparajita Minocha (4518)
Mahak Chopra (4520)
 Pranav Mittal (4536)
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 responding
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 children’s
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 doll’s body parts from a vendor, then
assemble, paint, dress, and package the doll at a separate facility.

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 come 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 of work, 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 Role 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.

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 child’s 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.
Child’s play is an ever-changing world, and the company’s 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 child’s learning and ability to solve complex problems – caters
uniquely for tomorrow’s 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 youngster’s 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 children’s stories and allow the child
to exercise his or her own imagination and creativity.

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 few bricks and a full measure of
imagination will produce.

THE M.A.G. GROUP:

Chief Executive Officer

Production Manager Finance Manager Materials Manager Marketing Manager

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 CEO’s need to have integrity and vision and act as a positive role model.
2 CEO’s must understand that returns need to exceed their cost of capital.
3 Successful CEO’s identify trends in demand well ahead of their competitors.
4 Successful CEO’s spend a lot of time hiring good people.
5 Successful CEO’s 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 leader’s 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 CEO’s understand that there after tax returns must
always exceed their cost of capital.
Successful CEO’s have a very strong focus on cash flows.
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 CEO’s 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
CEO’s with strong industry experience are likely to be more successful.
Due to their expertise and familiarity with the industry, these CEO’s 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 don’t know what you can get away with until you
try”.It is worthwhile pursuing a trend providing the market is of sufficient
size (greater than $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 developed on a staged basis
with specific “go or no go” milestones.

Selecting and Retaining Good People

Successful CEO’s spend a lot of their time hiring good people. How do you
pick the right people? If ten different CEO’s were asked that question,
there would probably be ten different answers. The majority of CEO’s
would probably say the qualities they look for include personality,
intelligence, motivation and experience. The various rules for picking
people 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”.
That’s a fairly comprehensive set of requirements.
Retaining talented staff is a major challenge for CEO’s, especially in those
industries where skill shortages exist. CEO’s must continually assess their
talent resources. People who are good in the early stages of a company’s
development may not be the right people for a larger company with
disciplined processes and procedures. One recurring comment from CEO’s
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 positions.
Unfortunately, the additional back office positions may be critical for the
order fulfilment process and the ongoing support of the customer.

Listening to Others
Successful CEO’s are good at asking for, and listening to advice from
others. One prominent CEO suggested that if you are building a business
you can’t know everything, so don’t 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 CEO’s 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 won’t be able to attract talented
people or secure funding from investors. CEO’s need to establish
direction, build commitment, ensure execution and create change. This
may sound a tall order but many successful CEO’s 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 to the 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;

•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 the production (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 in. 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.

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 into
several 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. After
about 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
Moulded elements fall
process uses large, heavy
into bins and wait for a
moulds that are
robot to carry them to
manufactured in
the assembly hall.
Germany.

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
components that require multiple pieces, like minifigures, also called minifigures. The
machines 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.

Quality assurance testing

Finished brick elements ensures that the brick parts
wait to go into are durable and will stand
packages in a storage up to lots of play.
facility.

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 their
contents 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 and
tests on the brick set elements. Machines perform drop, torque, tension, compression, bite and
impact tests to make sure the toys are sturdy and safe. Technicians use a measuring beaker to
determine 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 of
bricks in a variety of shapes and sizes, and figure out how to build them yourself. Building
from a kit is pretty easy.

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 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
auditing. 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.
Role of Materials Manager:
To provide materials, mechanical parts and processes engineering support
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 in audits.

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 the
famous 5 Rs of Materials Management, are acquisition of materials and services :

• of the right quality

• in the right quantity
• at the right time
• from the right source
• at the right time
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 and
production plans. Planning and control is done for the materials taking into account the materials not available
for the operation and those in hand or in pipe line. This involves estimating the individual requirements of
parts, preparing materials budget, forecasting the levels of inventories, scheduling the orders and monitoring
the performance in relation to production and sales.

Purchasing: Basically, the job of a materials manager is to provide , to the user departments right material at
the 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 of
purchase, placement of purchase orders, follow up, maintenance of relations with vendors, approval of
payments to vendors, evaluating, rating and developing vendors.

Stores : Once the material is delivered , its physical control , preservation , minimisation of obsolescence and
damage through timely disposal and efficient handling, maintenance of records, proper locations and stocking is
done 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 ,fixing
economic 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 directed
towards 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, Accounts Payable, 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

 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 from 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 the accounting 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.
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
a marketing manager can vary significantly based on a business' size,
corporate culture, and industry context. For example, in a large consumer
products company, the marketing 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 analyzing 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
conduct periodic brand audits to assess the strength of its brands and
sources of brand equity.

The firm's collaborators may also be profiled, which may include various
suppliers, distributors and other channel partners, joint venture partners,
and others. An 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 forces, 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 in 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 product 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 industry, 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 short-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 selected as targets because they score highly on two
dimensions: 1) The segment is attractive to serve because 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 for 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.
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 manner to 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.