Visit the U.S. Government Web site: http://www.export.gov/tradedata/index.asp

1. Go to the Import/Export Data link.
2. Find TradeStats Express.
3. Find National Trade Data.
4. Determine the trade balance between the U.S. and China for the most recent five year period.
5. Illustrate the trend over this period with a graph of the data.

Based on the data provided, create a report in Microsoft Word discussing the trade balance between China and the U.S. for the most recent five year period. In your discussion, include an analysis of the effect of such trade balance on the economies of China and the U.S., both individually and comparatively. Justify your discussion and analysis by using appropriate examples and references.  Include in your report an analysis of the impact on the U.S. economy of the situation where China holds such a large amount of the U.S. debt.

Due Week 6 and worth 100 points

This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a marketing plan and sales strategy, and a marketing budget. Note: You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment.

For the first six (6) months your company is in business—to give you time to perfect your product and to learn from actual customers—you will start marketing and selling in your own community, a radius of twenty-five (25) miles from where you live.

For most non-alcoholic beverages, marketing (as opposed to the actual product itself) is key to success. Cola drinks, for example, are fairly undifferentiated, as are many energy drinks, juices, bottled water, and the like. Companies producing these types of beverages differentiate themselves and attract market share through marketing and brand awareness—both of which are critical to success.

Section 1: Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy (MS Word or equivalent)

Write the three to five (3-5) page Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy section of your business plan, in which you:

1. Define your company’s target market.
   • Analyze the types of consumers who will be drinking your beverage in demographic terms (i.e., age, education level, income, gender, ethnic group, etc.). Support your analysis with actual data on the size of the demographic groups in your local community (nearby zip codes).
   • Outline the demographic information for your company specified on the worksheet in the course text (p. 107 | Demographic Description). Click here for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook.
     • Hints: At American FactFinder (http://census.gov), you will find demographic information on potential consumers in your area. If you are selling through other businesses (such as grocery stores), indicate the number of those businesses in your local area. You will find information about such businesses in your local area at County Business Patterns (http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/). Check Chapter 2 of Successful Business Plan for more research sources.
2. Assess your company’s market competition.
   • Use the factors listed in the course text graphic (p. 123 | Assess the Competition) to assess your company’s market competition.
   • Defend your strategy to successfully compete against market leaders in your segment.
     • Hints: For example, in the soft drink market, it is intimidating to try to compete against Coke and Pepsi. Newcomers in mature markets typically must pursue niche markets or even create new market categories, as Red Bull did with energy drinks.
   • Defend your plan to differentiate yourself from the competition using the information detailed on the worksheet in the text (p. 131 | Market Share Distribution).
     • Hints: Every business faces competition and the non-alcoholic beverage market is an especially crowded market.

1. Clarify your company’s message using the information provided on the worksheet in the text (p. 160 | The Five F’s).
   • • Hints: Before you choose your marketing vehicles, you must determine the message you want to convey through those vehicles.
2. Identify the marketing vehicles you plan to use to build your company’s brand. Justify the key reasons why they will be effective. Provide examples of other non-alcoholic beverage companies that use these tactics effectively.
   • • Hints: If you plan to use online marketing tactics, refer to the worksheet in the text (p.171 | Online Marketing Tactics) to aid your response. Remember that even if you’re selling through grocery stores you need to build your brand and social media is a major part of that in regard to beverages. Some of the marketing tactics that beverage companies use include: sampling in grocery stores, building a following on social media, sponsoring events, exhibiting at trade shows attended by retailers, and so on. You will use a combination of these tactics. For example, if you decide to give out samples in grocery stores, promote your sampling on your social media networks and those of the grocery store.
   • • Hints: If you are planning to distribute through resellers, describe how you plan to reach them, for example, through industry trade shows or by establishing your own sales force. For information on trade shows, visit the Trade Show News Network (http://www.tsnn.com). You can exhibit or network at these shows.

1. Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:

Section 2: Marketing Budget (MS Excel worksheets template)

Section 2 uses the “Business Plan Financials” MS Excel template (see: Course Required Files in Week 1). Use the “Business Plan Financials Guide” (see: Course Required Files in Week 1) to support your development of the Marketing Budget.

1. Complete the Marketing Budget worksheet for your company.
   • • Hints: The goal of the marketing budget is to help you determine how much it will cost you to reach your market and achieve your sales goals.
     • Hints: When filling out the “Marketing Budget” worksheet in the Excel spreadsheet:
       • Begin in the current year and complete a marketing budget for the first year of your business. The information you enter in the marketing budget spreadsheet will flow through to your “Income Statement” in the Business Plan Financials.
       • Leave the number at zero (0) for any marketing vehicles you do not intend to use.
       • Remember that all marketing activities involve costs. If social media represents a significant portion of your marketing, assume you will have cost of advertising and that should be reflected on your budget. Even if a social media site charges nothing to use it, you will need to use company resources to manage the site, pay someone to execute your social media marketing campaigns, and will most likely pay for ads on that site.
       • Do NOT leave the “Marketing Budget” blank, assuming you will not have any marketing costs.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Recommend effective business strategies based on an analysis of domestic and global operating environments, market dynamics, and internal capabilities.
• Analyze competitive positions including foreign market entry and the resulting impact on business strategy.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in strategic management.
• Write clearly and concisely about strategic management using proper writing mechanics.

I’m requesting that only cybacatx answer the questions due to previous results.

Assignment 2: Interview a Human Service Professional

In this assignment, you will explore the extent of training and education a chosen health care provider has in listening skills. You can compare your findings with those of your classmates to see the differences that may exist between different professional groups. You may be surprised by the results that you find.

Tasks:

For this assignment, you are to conduct a thirty-minute interview (an ideal interview would be in person or via the telephone, but an e-mail or chat-based interview is also acceptable) with a human service professional (for example, a social worker, community-organizational professional, or a counselor). The focus of the interview should be on the person’s training and education in listening skills. Ask questions to determine whether he or she has had formal training in listening as well as what specific strategies he or she uses to effectively listen to patients or clients.

In addition to your interview, use your textbook, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet to conduct research on how listening skills impact and are critical to a client-patient relationship.

Submission Details:

• By Week 2, Day 7, prepare a 3- to 4-page paper. Your response should rely upon at least two sources from professional literature. This may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, or .gov). Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA format); and use accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Save your paper in a Microsoft Word document with the name M2_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc, and upload it to the M2 Assignment 2 Dropbox.