Discussion: Shared Practice: Promotion Plans and Blends

Marketers have many promotional mix elements to choose from and often combine them or blend them to achieve the stated goals. Because of the highly competitive nature of most product and service categories, a marketing plan often requires expenditures that will create awareness, stimulate interest, encourage trial purchase, and even reinforce that purchase decision. Marketers have also found that it is often important to communicate post purchase with buyers to reinforce the decision the buyer has made. Marketers have found ways to help buyers interact with other buyers in constructive ways to ensure that the product or service can offer the best result for that purchase.

For this week’s Shared Practice, select a product or service brand with which you are familiar.

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Post the following:

• A brief description of the product or service brand you chose. 
• A description of the target market for the product or service you have selected. Explain the impact of defining the target market on the promotion plan.  
• An examination of the concept of promotion blends. Does the brand you chose make use of promotion blends? If so, describe the promotional blends used. If not, propose your ideas for how promotional blends could be used successfully to promote the brand and why. Use examples to support your assessment.
• An explanation of how technology or digital media may be utilized to develop an effective message to the target group you have identified in a blended promotion plan. Explain why the technology or digital media made the message about the chosen product or service brand more effective.

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Read your colleagues’ postings.

Respond to two or more colleagues’ posts in one or more of the following ways:

• Elaborate on your colleague’s assessment of promotion blend usage for the brand.
• Evaluate other ways technology can be utilized in message targeting for this brand.
• Evaluate the colleague’s target market description in terms of whether it can be better developed and therefore more effectively reached by the marketer.

Customer requests are:

Proposed Cloud Architecture (5 pages needed from step 1 to step 5)

Final Report Evaluating AWS and Azure Providers (5 pages (step1 to5) + 2 pages from step 6 to 7 = the final report would be 7 pages), also you will find the template for the final report is on the last pages

Below are the instructions 

Since you have become familiar with the foundations of cloud computing technologies, along with their risks and the legal and compliance issues, you will now explore cloud offerings of popular cloud providers and evaluate them to recommend one that would be the best fit for BallotOnline.

In this project, you will first learn about networking in the cloud and auxiliary cloud services provided by cloud vendors. Next, you will explore cloud computing trends, best practices, and issues involved in migrating IT deployments to the cloud, as well as typical architectures of cloud deployments. Then, you will apply your findings to propose a general architecture for BallotOnline’s cloud deployment to best address the company’s business requirements.

Once you have selected a deployment architecture, you will research two leading cloud vendors: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Exploring and comparing the tools available for application migration will enable you to recommend a vendor to the executives in your final report. The final deliverable is a written report to BallotOnline management, describing the results of your research and recommending the cloud deployment architecture and the vendor for its deployment, with justification.

Your final report should demonstrate that you understand the IT needs of the organization as you evaluate and select cloud providers. The report should include your insights on the appropriate direction to take to handle the company’s IT business needs. You will also be assessed on the ability to integrate relevant risk, policy, and compliance consideration into the recommendations, as well as the clarity of your writing and a demonstration of logical, step-by-step decision making to formulate and justify your ideas.

Check the Project 3 FAQ thread in the discussion area for any last-minute updates or clarifications about the project.

Step 1: Research Networking and Auxiliary Services in the Cloud

The executives at BallotOnline have been impressed with your research on cloud computing thus far. While there are a variety of cloud providers, BallotOnline is considering using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, two of the top providers in the market. BallotOnline’s executives want you to help determine which would be the best provider for the organization.

You will start with learning about internet networking basics and cloud networking. You will also research many cloud services that cloud providers make available to their customers to help them take full advantage of cloud service and deployment models.

Step 2: Research Cloud Trends, Best Practices, and Migration Issues

The cloud computing revolution is redefining ways that companies of all sizes use information technology. The cloud landscape shifts rapidly, and current trends reflect this rapid pace of change. You likely got an idea about this in the last step when you conducted research on cloud architecture. Now, continue gathering information for your final report by assessing:

• issues outside the company, such as emerging issues in      the industry, regulatory changes, and general trends in cloud computing to gain an understanding of how these issues may      influence BallotOnline’s decisions;
• best practices for cloud implementation and assess whether BallotOnline can benefit from      these;
• cloud migration strategies for the application and data, since BallotOnline is      moving an existing web application to the cloud, making sure that the      application is configured properly for the system architecture of your      cloud deployment; and
• IT change management techniques      that could help BallotOnline make this transition.

In the Discussion: Cloud Trends and Migration Issues forum, post your findings and discuss them with your colleagues.

In the next step, you will propose an architecture to use for the company’s cloud deployment.

Step 3: Research Typical Architectures of Cloud Deployments

In the previous step, you considered best practices and trends in the cloud industry. Next, you will have to look at the kinds of architectures needed for cloud.

Because most elements of cloud deployments are implemented in a virtualized environment controlled by software, the degree of freedom in defining your deployment of cloud reference models is unprecedented. You can define the number of virtual servers required and the configuration, and even change them dynamically as needed. You can also define your virtual local area networks (LANs) and subnets, and place servers in them to implement network security requirements.

The basic cloud deployment components are cloud consumer, cloud provider, and cloud carrier, with cloud brokers and auditor as possible additions.

Typical cloud architectures of cloud deployments vary from single server (suitable for proof-of-concept engagements) and multiserver architectures with various servers carrying different software components and occupying different security zones, to geographically dispersed deployments to achieve high availability, resilience, and speed of delivery. There are several issues to consider when selecting a server architecture, including cost, scalability, performance, and use of management.

For this step, research the typical architectures of cloud deployments and begin to consider what might be a good fit for BallotOnline. Discuss your findings and thoughts with your colleagues in the Discussion: Cloud Architectures forum.

In the next step, you will continue research, this time on trends in cloud computing as well as issues that can arise during data migration. 

Step 4: Propose Cloud Architecture for BallotOnline Deployment

Now that you have looked into cloud architectures, in this step, you will propose the cloud deployment architecture for BallotOnline, applying the knowledge of typical architectural elements of cloud deployment from the project’s initial step. You will also consider trends and migration issues from a previous step. Your recommendation should consider the company’s business requirements.

Recall that the company has an existing web application that it wants to move to the cloud, and also that the company wants to expand its business to other parts of the world. In earlier projects, you learned about and analyzed the IT business requirements for BallotOnline. Among them were demands for application and data security, data encryption, and separation for deployments overseas. Also, the application should handle load peaks during election times in different regions.

Specific technical requirements state that BallotOnline is a web application, written using the popular open-source LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) software suite and the PHP application.

Step 5: Research AWS

You’ve described your proposed architecture and included a diagram to provide leadership a way to envision the system. Now, it’s time to look closely at the leading cloud providers to see if their services will fit BallotOnline’s needs.

Each cloud provider provides a unique profile of services, so it is good practice to compare cloud vendors and evaluate their reliability, performance, ease of use, cost, security and compliance measures. As more providers enter the marketplace, many will specialize on specific needs and use cases, making this evaluation even more critical.

In this step, you will explore AWS and assess the feasibility of this platform for deploying the architecture proposed in the previous step. You should also consider issues related to AWS Pricing.

Based on your research, determine to what degree AWS supports the elements of the BallotOnline business and technical requirements.

Share your thoughts with your colleagues in the Discussion: Amazon Web Services Feasibility forum. In the following step, you will do the same for Microsoft Azure.

Step 6: Research Microsoft Azure

Now that you have had a chance to research AWS, it’s time to explore Microsoft Azure, another cloud provider that could be used to deploy the proposed architecture. You should also consider issues related to Microsoft Azure pricing.

Based on your research, determine to what degree Microsoft Azure supports the elements of the BallotOnline business and technical requirements. Share your thoughts with your colleagues in the Discussion: Microsoft Azure Feasibility forum.

Now that you have completed research on the cloud providers, in the next steps you will work on proof of concepts for each provider.

Step 7: Generate AWS Proof of Concept (POC)

With your research complete, you will now deploy a simple one-page PHP application to the AWS cloud. It will allow you to explore deployment methods, ease of use, provisioning speed, etc., for the Amazon cloud.

Action Item

As you may have already discovered in your research on AWS, it makes a cloud migration tool called Elastic Beanstalk available for customers to migrate their existing applications into the AWS cloud. We will use this tool to deploy your AWS proof of concept (POC).Proof of Concept (POC)

Proof of concept (POC), also known as proof of principle, is a prototype or demonstration of a particular idea or method developed for the purpose of verifying that the idea or method is viable for real-world applications.

Follow the steps in the AWS lab instructions to complete your AWS POC.

In the dropbox below, upload the URL linking to your application running in the AWS portal.

Step 8: Generate Azure Proof of Concept (POC)

Now that your AWS POC is complete, you can proceed with a similar POC deployment for the Microsoft Azure cloud. 

Action Item

Follow the steps in the Azure lab instructions to complete your Azure POC.

In the dropbox below, upload the URL linking to your application running in the Azure portal.

You are ready for the last step: writing the final report with recommendations on the cloud providers for the BallotOnline executives.

Submission for Project 3: Azure Proof of Concept

Previous submissions: view

Add files or drag them here.

Step 9: Write the Final Report Evaluating AWS and Azure Providers

Now that you have completed your research, shared your ideas with colleagues, and explored the two vendors, it is time to compile your findings and recommendations for the BallotOnline executives. You may find these considerations for cloud provider selection helpful in making your decisions.

Use the Final Report Evaluating AWS and Azure Providers Template to write your report and submit your work to the dropbox below.

Report Evaluating AWS and Azure Providers 

The report will be five to seven pages in length and should include source citations, as appropriate, in APA style. 

This report should include the following components:

● Title page

○ Include: for whom you are preparing the document, the title, the date prepared, and your name as the preparer of the document.

● Executive summary

○ Include: the purpose of the report and the intended audience.

○ Brief description of conducted research and POC deployments.

● Comparison of architecture deployment feasibility (from Steps 1 – 5)

○ Describe how the architecture proposed in Step 3 can be implemented in AWS and Azure environments, and compare ease of implementation.

○ Evaluate and compare efforts to implement BallotOnline business requirements.

○ Compare availability and ease of use for application scaling, geographical distribution, and network security measures.

○ Compare availability and ease of use of cloud services required by BallotOnline (database as a service, auditing, logging, application security, etc.).

○ Compare support for application migration and monitoring.

● Comparison of ease of deployment (from Steps 6 and 7)

○ Describe AWS and Azure capabilities for deploying web applications using the PHP language and MySQL database.

○ Compare ease of use of user interfaces, portals, and management consoles.

○ Compare POC environment deployment times.

● Comparison of costs

○ Discuss and compare pricing plans available, costs of servers, and services.

● Conclusions and recommendations

○ Present the final recommendation based on your research and POC deployment.

While servant leadership is often associated with Christianity and the Bible, one could argue that it is compatible with most religions and philosophies and that it transcends cultures. This assignment presents you with an opportunity to explore other cultures, philosophies, and religions and asks you to think critically about how servant leadership practices are apparent in other religions and cultures.

Select one cultural context. Also select one religious viewpoint. You may not select Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, or Christianity, including any of its denominations or traditions such as Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism.

Examine how the principles of servant leadership are evident in that chosen culture and in that chosen religion. In essays of 2 pages, identify similarities and differences between servant leadership’s philosophies and the values evident in the selected cultural context and religious viewpoint. Be sure to provide specific examples of practices and/or values in your discussion.

You are required to locate a total of four articles that address servant leadership in your chosen cultural context and religious viewpoint. Two of the articles should examine servant leadership from a different cultural perspective and two articles should examine servant leadership from a different religious perspective. Be sure to select academic articles from reputable sources that are 10-20 pages in length. Include information from the articles in your discussion.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. 

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

To prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources, including this week’s media presentation, focusing on the elements of a SWOT analysis.
• Think about your Strategic Plan and the data sources you could analyze to conduct a SWOT analysis at your selected location.
• Reflect on who else, besides yourself, should be involved in conducting the SWOT analysis related to the identified strategic plan issue.
• Consider how values and experiences may influence perceptions related to SWOT analysis. Think about the specific group or organization that is the focus of your Strategic Plan. How would conducting a SWOT analysis in this setting versus another affect the investigation? How would the involvement of certain individuals—and the lack of involvement by others—affect the analysis?

Post an explanation of your plan for conducting a SWOT analysis as part of your Strategic Plan, including data sources that could be used. Explain how the setting and individuals conducting the analysis might influence the process and results of the SWOT analysis.

References

Martin, B. C. (2019f). Situational analysis. In Strategic planning in healthcare: An introduction for health professionals (pp. 51–83). Springer.

David, F. R., Creek, S. A., & David, F. R. (2019). What is the key to effective SWOT analysis, including AQCD factors? SAM Advanced Management Journal, 84(1), 25.

Health Care Service Corporation. (2019). Health care service corporation SWOT analysis.

Schooley, S. (2019, June 24). SWOT analysis: What it is and when to use it. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4245-swot-analysis.html  

need my essay written for me.

Your next assignment is a theatrical production analysis. For this assignment, you must view a recorded or live version of Macbeth. You will analyze the production in the following areas: Note: each of these areas will be a separate and distinct section with a clear heading in your essay. 

Costumes

• What can you tell about the time period of the costumes? Are there specific costumes that convey meanings about specific characters?
• Choose three characters’ costumes and describe them in detail. (Each character’s costume will be a subheading in your analysis.) Include details such as color, style, and any defining characteristics about these particular costumes. Make sure you address the following question: How does each costume affect your understanding of or the actor’s interpretation of the character?

Setting/stage backdrops

• Is there something particularly unique about the setting or the stage backdrops?they  If you view a stage production, what is unique about the backdrops? Are they elaborate? If the movie is a theater stage that has been filmed, what is unique about the setting? Are there elaborate backdrops in the filmed production? If you are viewing a movie that is filmed outside, how does the setting affect your understanding of the play?
• In addition to your discussion of the setting of the production overall, include three individual discussions of the settings of three separate scenes. (Each of these settings will be a subheading in your analysis.) What unique choices did the director make about these scenes? How did the setting of the scene affect the way the characters moved/responded to their surroundings? How did the setting of the scene affect your understanding of it?

Props

• Describe the use of props overall. Was the production such that they had all of the props the characters would need in the real world? Were the props very minimal instead?
• Choose three specific props to discuss. (Each prop will be a subheading in your analysis.) What was unique about each of these props? How did each prop affect your understanding of the scene or the character’s actions?

Artistic interpretation of three of the characters

            Choose three characters from the production that you think were portrayed particularly well. (Each character will be a subheading in your analysis.) What was unique about each portrayal? What was your favorite scene with this character? Why? How did the actor/actress enhance your understanding/perspective of the character?

Music/Sound and Lighting

            Analyze either the music or the sound and the lighting in the production. Each will be its own subheading. Was there music used in the production? If not, focus on the sound–the sound effects in the production. Also discuss the lighting in the production. How did each of these affect or enhance your understanding of the production?

Specific analysis of Macbeth’s “dagger” soliloquy

Examine the “dagger” soliloquy in both the production you viewed and the Daniel Mays version you viewed in Lesson 3.1: 

• Which version of the soliloquies did you prefer? Why?
• Select two elements of the soliloquies to compare/contrast. For example, you might focus on props, volume, facial expressions, or tone and explain how this unique aspect enhanced/detracted from each version.

Unique aspects of this production

            Choose two other things from the production to discuss. For example, you might consider the following questions:

• What symbolism was evident in the play? How were these symbols used to enhance the production?
• How was the supernatural portrayed in the production? How did this affect the production and/or the audience experience?
• What other elements of the production were significant and affected the viewer experience?

To help you complete a successful analysis of the production you watch, please visit this play review site and read the information on this site carefully:

Notice that in this assignment you should not summarize the plot of the play. Your audience (your teacher) has read and seen the play and is very familiar with it. Instead, I will be looking for careful analysis of all of the required elements described above.

Follow the following formatting guidelines:

• I hesitate to put a length requirement on this assignment because there are so many elements to discuss and the length of various analyses will vary; however, please remember that I expect you to carefully analyze each element of the play outlined above, and your analysis must demonstrate that you have used critical thinking skills in completing this assignment. In order to adequately cover all of the required elements, your essay will be at least three pages in length, perhaps more.
• Your essay should be double-spaced using a 12-point Times or Times New Roman font. Your margins may be no larger than one inch on each side (see the MLA formatting guidelines).
• Include a header on each page with your last name and the page number. However, do not double-space between paragraphs; you may double space before headings and subheadings, but do not include an extra space after them.
• REMEMBER: format your essay according to the MLA formatting guidelines included in this document from the BYU Writing Center: MLA Style Formatting
• Include a works cited page. This page must follow MLA formatting guidelines and must include at least five outside sources.
• Use informal diction in your writing. It is appropriate to use the personal pronoun in your essay; however, remember this is an analysis essay and should be written very carefully.
• You must also submit a revised rough draft. This draft may be revised by you or someone else; however, in order to receive credit for this draft, your instructor must be able to SEE that you have completed the revision process. This means that highlighting a few words here and there does not suffice. Revise it carefully.