- September 3, 2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The problem of aging population raises a direct threat to the disposable diaper business because the number of babies will inevitably reduce, while babies are definitely the target customer group for the business. The aging population leads to the decrease of the birth rate and fewer babies being born. Consequently, the decrease of the target customer group is likely to provoke the decline of the disposable diaper business. On the other hand, the aging population has some hidden opportunities for the development of the disposable diapers business. However, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the disposable diaper business will hardly benefit substantially from the aging population.
In fact, the major opportunity that the aging population opens for the disposable diapers business is the increase of demand for disposable diapers because of the consistent deterioration of health of aging population. What is meant here is the fact that the problem of aging is inevitably accompanied by a number of other problems related to the health of aging people. In this respect, it should be said that the aging population suffers from the deterioration of health and the larger number of elderly people means the larger number of health problems. At the same time, the health problems elderly suffer from are different from those young adults and middle-aged adults suffer from. Often, elderly people suffer from serious health disorders which prevent them from normal living and, what is more, often they are unable to live without the assistance of care givers, including professional nurses and relatives. In such a situation, the elderly people suffering from serious health disorders may need the full care and they may need diapers, if they are unable to control themselves and perform natural, vital functions of their body.
In such a situation, the business based on the production of disposable diapers can benefit providing disposable diapers for elderly people.
However, this new opportunity is not a breakthrough in the development of disposable diapers business. Even though it is possible to presuppose that the demand on new disposable diapers will grow, it is still obvious that the demand for disposable diapers for babies will inevitably decrease (Masterson and Picton 2004). Consequently, even after the introduction of new diapers, the business will restore the overall production, compensating the decreased production of disposable diapers for babies by new diapers for adults. Therefore, the business will rather maintain the stable production than increase the production consistently. In addition, the development and introduction of new disposable diapers for elderly people will need investments for the development of the product, its promotion, and introduction. This means that the business will need to increase investments in the development of the new product.
Thus, it is obvious that the aging population represents a serious threat to the disposable diapers business, while the opportunity it opens can hardly lead to the expansion of business and consistent improvement of the marketing performance.
Question 3
The development of modern retail banking is susceptible to consistent changes. To put it more precisely, the modern retail banking is characterized by the wide implementation of new information technologies and information systems which allow the banking to shift toward online banking, instead of traditional banking. This means that, today, customers can manage their bank accounts from their workplace, home and any other convenient place where the Internet connection is available (Masterson and Picton, 2004). In addition, the development of information technologies and telecommunications has changed the banking consistently because today, cash has been practically totally replaced by electronic money and the overwhelming majority of transactions occur in electronic form or online.
In such a context, it is possible to forecast the further introduction of new information technologies and the wider use of online banking and transactions because, today, it is one of the most popular banking services. Moreover, customers prefer online banking because it is more convenient for them than traditional banking (Gwynn, 2004). However, the problem of information breaches and attacks of hackers arise that means that customers can suffer from frauds and they can lose their money. Nevertheless, modern banks introduce new information systems, protecting private information of customers and ensuring the security of bank accounts.
At the same time, online banking and transactions open larger opportunities for business development. To put it more precisely, the use of electronic money, online transactions and purchases and other forms of electronic payments increase the speed of transactions substantially. In addition, electronic transactions and online banking do not only save time but also costs companies used to spend on accounting systems to manage the cash flow, while now, they can use bank services to manage their bank accounts easily due to the use of electronic money and electronic means of payment.
Obviously, benefits of new technologies being applied in retail banking outweigh potential threats. Therefore, online banking and the use of electronic money and payments are likely to increase in the future even more replacing cash payments and money.