Taken from http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.games.com/media/2010/02/male-vs-female.jpg

“Gender inequality is a genuine business risk” stated Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA. In general male workers overpopulate female workers.  ACCA states this can be a substantial risk for individual businesses and the market as a whole.

According to the article, “diversity can provide various insights, create initiatives, provide good governance, and enhance business performance”. These are valid points that favors the importance of diversity. However, there are flaws that fails to be considered in this article. Although it is true that male workers overpopulate the female workers (as seen by a BLS report), part of this fact is lies in the supply for female workers. As also seen from the BLS report, there is a greater amount of female who are not in the labor force, which signifies that they are unwilling to work, rather than being unemployed.

In the article, there is particular focus on accountants, and stating there is gender inequality against female for accountants as well. However, statistics shows otherwise. Although I must agree regarding the importance of diversity in business, there are some flawed arguments made within this article.

http://www.accaglobal.com/ca/en/discover/news/2015/08/diversity-kampala.html?from=XX

http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook-2013.pdf

http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-accounting

http://www.accaglobal.com/ca/en/discover/news/2015/08/diversity-kampala.html?from=XX

Image taken from http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/348382/nestle.jpg

“Nestle expands into the luxury chocolate market” as a business strategy.

This market strategy attempts to appeal to a wider range of target consumers. Although the factor of disengaging is not clear, this strategy seems to hold aspects of McGrath’s transient strategy rather than Porter’s Sustainable competitive strategy. Although the Callier chocolate brand was owned by Nestle for centuries, looking at the business decision from the point of view of the UK or the US, this decision goes under the “launch” section of the transient strategy.

Image taken from http://www.theswissbakeryonline.com/resize/Shared/ProductImages/Chocolate-Villars/cailler-rayon-blanc.jpg?lr=t&bw=400&bh=400

The effectiveness of this strategy can be better understood when viewing from the scope of the business model canvas discussed in our lectures. The key value proposition associated with the change, is to cater luxury chocolates high in quality and unique in flavor. Previously, the customer segment for most of Nestle’s snacks were the general public who sought for low-cost snacks without a substantial focus on quality. However, this product appeals to a new target sector who seeks for luxury and high quality chocolates. This expands the general consumer target of Nestle-based products and can potentially bring new consumers into the market of other Nestle-based products.

As seen from the article, the key channels of this product is the online platform. “Amazon will be the primary method of delivering this product to consumers”, although they will be “also sold in major airports”. Because of this, Amazon and stores in major airports shall be a key partner as it helps deliver the product. In the scope of amazon, because of the high quality customer support on Amazon, using it as a key method of delivery can maintain customer relationships. In addition, amazon can act as an advertisement factor as the amazon platform recommends items to people who are seemingly interested in such markets. Amazon would potentially provide a great deal of benefits for the marketing of Callier, and when partnered with their Prime service, can also deliver the product effectively.

Nestle’s move follows the modern idea of McGrath’s transient strategy. In addition, it has a strong business model with a particularly clear focus on its value proposition, distribution channels, and key partnerships. This change for Nestle can be seen effective as it has clear positive effects, yet minimum negative consequences associated.

Dunn, Katherine. “Nestle Expands into Luxury Chocolate Market.” MarketWatch. MarketWatch, 1 Oct. 2015. Web. 03 Oct. 2015.

Image taken from http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/files/image/CRE/Energy%20efficiency.jpg

This article talks about the how energy savings can benefit a business in different ways.

Every business model consists of energy costs in one form or another. And in many cases, the energy costs can cover a substantial portion of the cost structure. Because of this, reducing the energy cost can be an effective and viable method to improve the business model as a whole, and help achieve the goal of profit maximization.

There are various methods to reduce the energy costs in a business. A simple yet effective way is to simply reduce the usage of lights and other devices which uses electricity. However, this is not the primary focus of the article nor this blog post. What is more significant is the investment in devices that has higher energy efficiency, or investment in renewable energy.

In the micro-perspective, investment in such methods may increase the short-term liabilities for the business. However, it would be an effective investment when viewing the long-term effect as it can reduce future energy costs greatly. In addition, as reduction in energy will better the environment, it can create a positive public image, and therefore may receive more investment and revenue in general. This can be seen as a differentiation strategy as seen from Porter’s generic four strategy model, and having a strong point of difference is pivotal for a business’ success.

From a macro-perspective, reducing energy cost, thus energy use will create a positive change for the environment and society as a whole. As it benefits the society, it is an ethical decision to invest in reducing energy costs.

In both a micro and macro perspective, investment in energy-savings is a good decision as it follows the general idea of profit maximization in the long-term, and also benefit the environment as a whole.

Sanchez, Antonio. “Energy Savings Boost Businesses.” ABQJournal Online. ABQ Journal, 3 Oct. 2015. Web. 03 Oct. 2015.

Image taken from http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/hp-2.jpg

“Hewlett-Packard plans to cut approximately 55000 employees as a means to cut costs.“[1]

In Hewlett-Packard’s mind, this may be a viable strategy to cut long-term cost, as it reduces the labor costs by $2.7 billion annually, which breaks even in just 1 year. But cutting labor costs have significant negative consequences which are not discussed in the article.

By cutting labor costs, it also means there will be a significant fall in output and productivity and may have great consequences(unless marginal cost is above marginal revenue, which is highly unlikely judging from its business model). Its effectiveness as a market strategy can be partly justified, despite its flaws. However, it is clear that such actions are generally unethical. A blog post by Randy Cohen illustrates the ethical counterparts of laying off workers well. “For a company to get through a recession, suffering may be unavoidable, but ethical management means minimizing that hardship, spreading the pain equitably and baring some responsibility for its consequences”[2] illustrates a valid point reflecting the lack of ethics in laying off workers simply to get over the hardships of a company.

HP’s decision can potentially have a catastrophic effect on more than 55000 people’s lives (as it can hurt their family as well) and for a company to make such a decision simply to overcome their hardship is extremely unethical and immoral. HP should instead consider other methods to overcome their problems.

1. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34265094
2. http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/when-layoffs-are-immoral/?_r=0