Parker Pen Case Study free essay sample

This particular case deals with a number of subsidiary marketing problems of PARKER, a writing instrument company, which ultimately converge into a major marketing problem. The designer of this case also has a specific objective to attain out of this case study. Wrong selection of marketing strategy by the new CEO of PARKER (Mr. Paterson) was the principal problem of this case. There are a number of subsidiary problems associated with this. Long-term The global strategy orientation plans failed in the long run of the company for the past two decades and now the re-establishment of a global strategy with multinational decentralization approach is needed. By which way can the company regain its primary position in the global market with a multinational marketing approach once again and retain the traditional qualities of the brand? In stating the problem(s) be specific, concise, and to the point. The root of all managerial and marketing problems is the ill-defined framework and biases in the decision–making procedure derived from the CEO of the company James R. We will write a custom essay sample on Parker Pen Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Peterson. Identify and list the â€Å"symptoms† to the problem and Key Facts of the Case The adaptation of a unified global marketing approach can be explained as a self-reference criterion (SRC) mistake of the CEO due to his former experience. Many companies involved in global marketing, do not rigidly centralized all their marketing effort, due to the huge variety in the culture of different region. In some cases companies made little or few adjustments in their standardized global effort to meet the requirements of different environments. But Mr. Peterson and his strategy had the rigidity in following centralized packaging, pricing, and promotional materials. This rigidity was not accepted by the customers of different culture. Pursuing the market and products of lower-end in addition to higher-end products was a devastating re-positioning decision for the company. Over the period of time PARKER established an image, as the seller of high-end products. But the new CEO suddenly started pursuing the lower-end of the market and started producing lower-priced pens. This was counter to PARKER’s tradition and image and many of its loyal customers could not accept this. Ultimately this proved to be an ill – advice for PARKER. There is another reason for the failure of the new strategy. Problems arose on the manufacturing side with the fact that repeated mechanical faults caused disturbance in the productivity of the automated production plant. Mr. Peterson fired a group of his successful managers which consisted of some veteran managers of the company. In some cases, a move was greeted with dismay by the employees within the company, which ultimately affected the productivity of the firm. Under these circumstances, company’s image was affected, which ultimately resulted into the selection of a wrong strategy for PARKER. 3. Strategic Alternatives Analysis, advantages and disadvantages of alternatives Continuing with the Previous Decentralized Strategy via enhancing presence in the local markets like before through investment in local subsidiaries and economic motivation to its past advertising agencies. This strategy may enhance sales gradually but repair the brand image and net equity in the long term. Lower End Market Product may be developed with Different Brand Name. In this strategy PARKER would try focus its efforts again on selling the upper end products in their generic brand name PARKER to keep up the tradition and image of the company at historically targeted market segments. At the same time, the company could pursue the lower end market with different brand name products, in order to achieve risk diversification and better net equity. Initially, this strategy might face some difficulties to penetrate the market but if handled with care it could earn the satisfaction of profitable segment, especially in emerging markets like Brazil, China and Turkey.