MKT

Xueming Peng

MKT301

Dr. John Hildebrand

August 14, y

PMP1

Target Market and Ideal Product Description

When you take a look at either a LLC or a corporation companies and what goes into a business decision, a huge amount of factors have to be taken into consideration before coming to a conclusion. Therefore, the key for a CEO to make successful decision here is that they have to listen to trustworthy diverse viewpoints. Listening to different viewpoints, valuing these viewpoints, is an unique requirement for leaders to make complex situations work for them. Here is where financial analysts come into play. A financial analyst is or even a group of financial analyst is necessary for a company to successful. A financial analyst helps decision-makers determine investment strategies for the company.

Every company wants to be able to track its financials or forecast its future which is what a financial analyst does. Financial analysts normally work within a company and they usually analyze on financial statements, expenses, taxes, and other financial detail to find out where and how the company makes money. Therefore, they would be able to assist the company by providing actionable financial idea. The idea and information they provide would be an important component that help decision maker in terms of making the best decision.

The field that I am interested in in particularly is construction company which is my target market. First of all, a construction company usually have a huge amount of money flow that can not only be handled by accountants, it also needs to be handled by financial analysts who can look at the bigger picture. Secondly, construction company are constantly looking for new projects, it is crucial that these projects are gone through by financial analysts who can tell where the profit is and how much money needs to be put in in these project.

What the market want is that the financial analysts not only have comprehensive financial knowledge and experiences, but they would also think out of box and have a bigger picture. Moreover, financial analysts must see things in different angle and have an unique view point.

A finance, accounting, economics or management bachelor degrees would not be necessary but would be a intangible requirement for a financial analyst. Furthermore, getting a MBA degree or participating in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) Program would definitely be a good way to step into this job. Also some type of financial certification such as, Certified Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Professional credential offered by the Association for Financial Professional, would add up the credibility and credentials. A two or three years working experiences in related field are extremely helpful in being a financial analyst. Moreover, in order to stay on top of the financial news, a financial analyst would need to spend a lot of time reading and getting informations from other resources. A lot of traveling also helps financial analyst get the information of company operations on the ground level which makes a better financial analyst.

PMP2

Environmental Analysis

As a product of being a finance graduate student in two years, I deeply understand the importance of the current environment of the market I am going to sell myself and as well as the competitor who I am going to compare with.

Porter’s Five Forces

Since the company that I am selling myself to as a finance analyst is construction company, the bargaining power of me as a supplier is that there are a lot of construction companies out there that I can sell myself to. On the other hand, the bargaining power of the buyers is that there are a huge mount of finance as well as business graduates every year. However, most of the similar and competitive products are willing to work in a financial company or a bank instead of a construction company. Despite the bargaining power of buyers are strong because of huge amount of business graduate are being supplied to the market, I still think bargaining power of a supplier would not be weak.

The threats of substitute products would probably be computer analysis program, since technology has been developed rapidly and there are new computer programs every day. Nowadays, there are a lot of personal finance apps and also some financial analysis program that work for companies. Computer surely analyzes data faster than a human does and it is a threat that this position would be substituted by computers.

Environmental scanning

In the environment of competitive, according to Occupational Employment Statistics from Bureau of Labor Statistic, there are 281,610 financial analysts in the United state and 13,840 in the state of Illinois. Moreover, there are hundreds of thousands business students are graduating and going to the market.

In the economic environment, according to trading economics GDP per capita is 51638.10 in year of 2016. Since Donald Trump became the president of the United State, I think the economic in the United state would grow especially in the market of construction. Therefore, The construction company would have more buying power.

In terms of technology environment, technology has certainly changed the way a company would do business and as well as its operating strategy. In my opinion, the job of a financial analyst require not only the data analysis but also cultural analysis and future forecast. Therefore, I think the position of financial analysts would not be substituted by theology. However, as a result of changes in the technological environment, the way a financial analyst work would definitely be changed. Financial analyst would be required to work with computer program and to have more knowledge of technology.

PMP3

Product Description

It is a product that made in China but have been exported to the United State to be developed for three years.

SWOT

Strengths

One advantage I have is that I speak fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese. Nowadays, business has been globalized especially in financial business. The link between West and East become very important. Being able to speak the language that people in mainland China and Hong Kong speak would help any company that is willing to cooperate with mainland China and Hong Kong or even operate in East Asia. China has been the fastest growing economy for years. According to Office of the United State Trade Representative, U.S. goods and services trade with China totaled an estimated $659.4 billion in 2015. Exports were $161.6 billion; imports were $497.8 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China was $336.2 billion in 2015. China is currently our largest goods trading partner with $598 billion in total (two way) goods trade.

I worked in a construction company as an accounting assistant in mainland China for two years which makes me unique and lowest-coast resource.

What I think I can be viewed as my strength by people in my market is that I things in different and diverse angles and I like to stand in other’s point of view when I try to solve problems and or cooperate with others. One thing I think I do better than others is that despite how much I have known, I am always willing to learn new things and desire for new knowledge.

Weakness

First of all, I do not see weakness as weakness, I see my weakness as things that can be improved. My biggest weakness is that I am a little impatient. I do not like sitting around waiting for things to get done.

However, being realistic and facing any unpleasant truths comfortably is my strength as well.

PMP4-5

Closing the Gap between Existing and Ideal Product

Identification of the gap that exists between the existing product (the current self) and the ideal product (the individual I want to become) is the first step in ensuring that I am a viable commodity for the market I intend to enter, that is, as a financial analysts in a construction company. The main role played by a financial analysts is helping organizations in making wise investment decisions, because at the end of the day, every organization aims at increasing its profitability (Kritzman 12). To bridge the gap that exists between the existing and ideal product, I have to take certain intentional steps towards self-improvement.

Closing the gap between the existing and ideal product, I have to critically examine my weaknesses and find lasting and effective solutions. Lack of patience is closely tied to high levels of stress, and in order to increase my patience, I will have to employ stress management techniques. Impatience is closely related to arrogance, impulsiveness and insensitivity, and in towards world, especially the business world, patience is considered a virtue. Being impatient does not only affect an individual, but it also has far reaching effects on those that surround us, that is, our colleagues in the workplace. One of the ways that an individual can deal with impatience is recognizing when it starts to manifest within them, through certain symptoms: rushing, anxiety, making quick decisions, shallow breathing, and restlessness just to name a few.

One of the first steps in dealing with impatience is the identification of the underlying causes. For one to experience impatience, there has to be certain things that can be considered as triggers, therefore, identification of these triggers is the first step in dealing with it. There are a number of factors that can trigger impatience in an individual, for example, physical factors such as fatigue, hunger, and dehydration, and simple remedies might be sufficient such as taking a glass of water or eating a fruit or snack. Keeping a journal of situations where one became impatient is also an effective way of identifying triggers. Individuals around us, such as coworkers, friends, and family members might also offer us valuable insights about situations and events that make us impatient.

Impatience is a mindset with symptoms that can be managed. There are certain strategies that an individual can learn that can help them better cope with impatience, and if they are practiced for a while might actually transform one into a patient person. Some of these strategies include: relaxation of the body and management of one’s emotions, through techniques such as taking deep slow breathes. Another strategy would be the development of empathetic and active listening skills. An individual can also remind themselves that their impatience will not led to things happening faster. In some cases, individual react in anger because of their impatience, and in these cases learning and practicing anger management techniques might come in handy. Finally, there is a relationship that exists between impatience and perfectionism, and one ought to remind themselves that perfectionism actually slows productivity and leads to the development of stress.

Preparation to become the ideal product for the target market may take more than just dealing with my weaknesses, I have to identify opportunities that most individuals leaving college with a degree in business will most often than not ignore. One of the ways is probably thinking about pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). An individual with an MBA provides organizations with scientific approaches to the aspect of management. Organizations are always looking for individuals with more than the minimum when it comes to one’s education level, and obtaining an MBA will definitely separate me from the numerous individual looking for employment with only a basic business degree.

I think my life experience, that is, working and studying in two different continents, puts me ahead of my competition when it comes to securing my dream job of becoming a financial analyst in the construction industry. To some extent, I consider myself culturally competent, that is, I have more than the basic knowledge when it comes to handling one’s self with individuals from different cultures. Cultural competence entails awareness of an individual’s worldview and at the same time the development of positive attitudes towards other cultures. One of the areas though I will further explore would be in learning even more languages and cultures, for example, Australian, African, and Middle East Cultures, as the boom in construction is being experienced all over the world, offering unlimited investment opportunities.

One other area that I think is not tied to finance and business, but considering the world that we live in will become a necessity, is the ability of an individual to code and program. The computer evolution has spread its wings into almost every sector of the economy, and some might argue that it has had the least effect in the construction industry, but examining the facts, nowadays architects and structural engineers no longer depend on paper and pen when coming up with designs, as there are programs such as AutoCAD, ARCHICAD, and spreadsheets, which have made the whole process of design much simpler and more efficient. Learning how to code and program might be a viable way for me express some of my financial ideas and might at some point offer the organization I plan to work for an added advantage over their competitors.

Budget Cost

The process of acquiring an MBA or learning how to code and program will definitely come at a cost. The cost of pursuing an MBA in the United States is highly dependent on the institution that one desires to attend, for example, institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard charge as much as 150,000 dollars for the whole program, whereas an institution such as McCombs in Texas-Austin charge around 130,000 dollars. Learning programming and coding, on the other hand, is much more interesting and cheaper as there are numerous institutions, some even online, that offer the courses, for example, platforms such as ‘Codeacademy’ for free.

Identification of the gap that exists between the existing product (the current self) and the ideal product (the individual I want to become) is the first step in ensuring that I am a viable commodity for the market I intend to enter, that is a financial analysts in a construction company. Preparation to become the ideal product for the target market may take more than just dealing with my weaknesses, I have to identify opportunities that most individuals leaving college with a degree in business will most often than not ignore. Lack of patience is closely tied to high levels of stress, and in order to increase my patience, I will have to employ stress management techniques. Also, pursuing an MBA degree or learning the art of coding and programming might also help me close the gap that exists between the existing and ideal product.

Reference

Kritzman, M. P. (2003). The portable financial analyst: What practitioners need to know. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley.

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