PORSCHE Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

PORSCHE - Case Study Example It also owns other companies such as Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini making it the third world’s largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Volkswagen plans to gain the top position using a platform called Strategy 2018. To achieve this, VW plans to increase the limited production of Porsche through the development of new product lines such as sedans and SUVs aside from sports cars. It also wants to absorb the technology and innovation of Porsche and apply them to other automobile brands owned by VW. However, these plans represent a potential risk for the brand image of Porsche since these can negatively affect the perception of quality and loyalty among Porsche customers. Thus, Matthias Mueller, the new CEO of Porsche, needs to make a significant strategic decision. Muller has to decide effectively whether Porsche should diversify its production or focus on delivering its core competency which is the production of sports cars. In addition, Muller also needs to create a stra tegy that will prevent the potential brand dilution of Porsche. II. Situation Analysis General Environment The economic environment where the automobile industry operates is highly unstable and volatile. This is a result of the financial crisis and economic recession emerging in different countries. This situation can greatly affect the purchasing decision of customers. Industry Environment Sports cars are a specialised segment in the automobile industry with a very specific target market which are the affluent race car enthusiasts. Even though there is a small market for this segment, each purchase constitutes very high profit margin. For this reason, a lot of automobile companies are also designing and manufacturing sports cars. This led to the increased competition for this segment in the industry. Porsche is the leading brand for sports cars in the world. On the other hand, Sedan and SUVs are also generating increased demand from the global market. This represents an opportunity that differentiated car manufacturers can take advantage. However, this segment already has numerous competitors. In general, there is increased competition in the automobile industry since buyers incur low switching cost as a result of high availability of various automobiles. Competitor Environment Volkswagen Auto Group is facing intense competition from Toyota and General Motors in terms of market share and revenues. These companies also have their own high end sports cars and luxury cars which directly compete with Porsche and other sports cars owned by VW. This requires VW to design effectively and market their products in a superior way compared to its competitors. III. SWOT Analysis Strengths Porsche is the world’s strongest sports car brand which denotes high loyalty and high quality perception among its customers. It also has a strong culture for technology and innovation which makes its cars highly reliable. In effect, Porsche consistently experiences very high sal es from all its models of sports and race cars. Weakness Although Porsche has proven itself in the market for sports cars, the company has not yet gained a strong reputation for manufacturing other segments such as sedans and SUVs. This makes it difficult for Porsche to  position itself effectively in the new market segments. Opportunity There is an increased demand for SUVs and Sedans in the global market. This is an opportunity for Porsche to increase its revenues by diversifying its product lines for a broader market segment. Threat T he plan of the Volkswagen to let Porsche manufacture a new product lines aside from sports cars can lead to a risk of brand dilution for Porsche. There is a possibility that the perceived quality and high differentiation that Porsche was able to position to the market

Introduction to Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to Philosophy - Essay Example He continues to argue that this method is sufficient to proof the doubt within a concept. This argument contradicts with Kant’s notion of existence of things. According to Kant, a thing is understandable and definable. Separation of rationality and existence of things in the spatial world is the only existing proof of things. Descartes’ method of self-consciousness indicates that the existence of an individual is equivalents to the things that the individual recognize their existence. Existence and non-existence of things introduce the subject of doubt in the argument. Kant considers this argument as illogical and full of doubt. Kant argues that the reasoning behind Descartes’ thoughts does not account for thinking and imagination. He continues to argue that doubting one’s existence is an indication of self-consciousness and, therefore the theory of things and self-consciousness lacks a basis. Descartes views on consciousness emphasis that our sensory perc eption is our mind. Desecrate explained this idea through his famous classical wax model. This model tried to explain that wax has distinct size, smell, shape texture, and color among other properties. He argued that through our sensory perception we are able to describe the wax from simple analysis and experimentations. Desecrate believed that our sensory perception and deductive mind is the basis of enquiry on the nature of objects and their existence. However, according to Descartes this observation had no any philosophical background. Descartes argued that our sensory perception does not give certainty on existence of things. Descartes’ ideology uses the existence of a thing to introduce the awareness and existence of material world in our mind. Things and their existence in the physical world would remain the same in our minds even without our sensory perception. This perception explains Descartes’ belief of body and mind dualism. Generally, Descartes’ desc ription of the world implies that that the existence of thing in the real world is similar to their existence in the thinking world (Meiklejohn, 1787). Descartes argued that this ideology was not philosophical. Descartes’ argument was based on problems resulting from the ideology. His argument was also constructed from common problem that the ideology could not explain. Descartes argued that the priori and posteriori truths in the ideology were insufficient to support the metaphysic claim in the ideology. Kant also stated that the argument could only be understood if, a person distinguishes artificial from analytical truths. The concept of occupying space is an analytical truth since the predicate is contained within the subject. The artificial truth in this claim however, lacks a predicate. Kant’ argument implied that Descartes’ ideology was based on synthetic truths since it had no any analytical proof. I consider Kant’s argument on existence to be more logical than Descartes’ arguments. 2. Elaborate upon Hume’s distinction between an impression and an idea. What would he say about the idea of God or the immortal soul? Do you think that Hume’s impression/idea distinction is useful as a basis for epistemology? Provide a brief outline of your own epistemology or theory of knowledge. In his book the Treaties, Hume tries to distinguish between impression and ideas through his theories. According to the theories, the content of