This post is made in response to Daniel Duncombe’s post “Yelling as a Type of Motivation?”.

“How do you motivate your employees” seems like a forever topic for entrepreneurs. Recall Zappos’s case, their organizational culture is really wonderful and impressive. The employees there are immersed in a harmonious and efficient working environment that motivates them best. In Daniel’s post, he said he believed that love is what the ultimate driving force. It’s true because it lasts for a long time.

While companies try to incorporate people, culture and teams, they should help employees to make up their minds and find their shared value. Also companies can be more considerable, either for an individual or a team. For instance, Zappos offer money to potential workers who quit the training. They provide free food and snacks for their workers. The manager sits and works with staff instead of having a corner office. That’s how the company ties all their employees together, and they work harder as a result. “Work hard, play hard.” acts as a great ending of a good circulative progress.

Happiness is like perfume. You cannot pour on other people without getting few drops on yourself. Organizational culture influences everyone in the company, so things like yelling and love can really have either good or bad effects among workers. Yelling acts as negative reinforcement, whereas love and caring behave as positive reinforcement that giving something people enjoy.

Work cited:

Jacobs.Alexandra The New Yorker. Web 14th September, 2013

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/14/090914fa_fact_jacobs

picture: http://www.zappos.com/

This post is made in response to Alanna Hua’s post Short-lived “lifelong mail service”

Inspired from the title “lifelong mail service”, I can see Yahoo! has tried to make a commitment to their customers. However, the adjective “short-lived” is right in the front of it. This tells me more than they fail to comply with their promise.

Last year, Yahoo! announced that they were going to reduce their employees by 2000, which is 14% of the total number. They even started to “fire” some executives in order to reduce the total cost in January, 2013.

The most important reason behind that is the serious vulnerability of their system. Hackers can take an advantage of XXS deficit of all the major websites to intrude the mailboxes of Yahoo!’s users. They can send email to all the users, and once users click the email, their cookies are automatically sent to the hackers’ mailbox. In the end, their emails are no longer private any more.

The serious incident, as their bad performance of one of their key activities, harmed the value proposition that the company provide, resulting in unstable brand positioning. Not to mention their revenue stream. Things link together and they change correspondingly and simultaneously.

Famous companies, tech ones in particular, should really protect their customers from potential loss. This again examines the importance of information technology. How companies are going to use technology to make decisions for customers? In this case, Yahoo! should pay close attention to the maintenance and improvement of their computer system from the very beginning and keep up the good work through periods.

Work cited:

Baidu.com Web. 2013

http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=NqFcwznwg60PyC1zF0dEdrEJWHI2lX20d4z0eadq_1R1VWYrY0MDSVQTP31VetPV

Uniqlo, a Japanese company that sells basic everyday items has conquered Japan, and now it is “taking on the world”. Their success can be attributed to their brand positioning and value proposition to a significant extent.

“uniqlo is the unique clothing experience among international retailers because we are the only one who provides vogue Japanese fast fashion.” Their brand ladder is quiet clear, from attributes, functional benefits, and emotional benefits to value. Generally, they have good quality clothes and well designed Japanese fashion. They also provide a variety of style to a broad customer segment while differentiating themselves from the crowd. The ultimate value proposition they provide for customers is everyday unique fashion to express themselves.

In terms of marketing implementation, they integrate different marketing strategies including price, place, product and promotion. Especially, they create brand awareness and association and analyze customer feedback.

Apparently, they have established a frame as they are clear as a clothing company rather than anything that is confusing. Uniqlo do pretty well on leveraging the points of parity. They provide various styles of clothes, which it is what they should do to meet thousands of customers’ satisfaction. Needless to say, they also achieve points of difference by providing unique Japanese fashion style. Actually, we can see this from their brand name—-Uniqlo.

Work cited:

NewsOnJapan.com Web. 25 June, 2010

http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/82345.php

Lee.Jenny. SlideShare Web. 9th January,2011

http://www.slideshare.net/JennyLee4/global-marketing-uniqlo-case

Picture:

http://baike.baidu.com/picview/1739362/1739362/0/11385343fbf2b21143d924e5ca8065380dd78ea2.html#albumindex=3&picindex=0

In July, noticing that a gas pipeline from Iran is likely to become operational in November, Iraq and Iran signed a four-year agreement for the supply of gas to three Iraqi power plants. Currently, Iraq cannot meet the energy demand for economic development even though it has a large amount of gas. So it is very important and necessary to import gas. At this moment, Iran is here to help. But the truth is more than that, they co-operate. For example, Two drilling company from Iraq and Iran also have an agreement of training and other technical assistance in drilling operations.

Recall Dell’s case, “virtual integration means you basically stitch together a business with partners that are treated as if they are inside the company”. The two countries is a real life case. They are just like two big companies who work together but now it is to boost the national economy for both of them. If there is a problem, they can fix it in real time. The corporation also demonstrates their close relationship so that the process will move more efficiently. The import is a solution for Iraq’s power generation shortfall. Moreover, they said they have incorporated Iraqi demand for quick growth in natural gas supply into their economic forecasts and will leave them unchanged.

Work cited:

The economist. Intelligent unit. Web. 21 Oct. 2013

http://www.eiu.com/industry/article/651094449/iraniraq-energy-co-operation-grows-between-iran-and-iraq/2013-10-23

Noticed that nearly three-fourths of all diseases in India are because of the polluted water, and one in eight Indians still don’t have access to clean drinking water, Sarvajal–water for all, founded in 2008, is a company that sells cleaning drinking water to people in rural India. The company meets my understanding of social enterprises. Except earning money, they provide services or good to people and try to make improvement either for humans or for environment.

It seems like social enterprises are blessed. Sarvajal started with some helps of a charity and the institution behind it. No subsidies went in for Sarvajal, but it still maintains the low price for customers, which is extremely wonderful for poor people in India.

The company uses different strategies in different places based on the reality. For example, it employs people to sell water in bigger villages whereas it installs solar-powered water dispensing machine and uses prepaid smart cards in smaller villages. They are already successful and expanding the market to some rich countries.

Although some important problems remain unsolved, and the company countered the barrier of entry, it will be more successful in the foreseeable future. Sarvajal is on the right track mainly because of the reason it exists. Other things just flow naturally. Customers care about why you do this, so if you show them, and the intention behind meets their satisfaction, they will buy your products or services.

Work cited:

A.R. The Economists. web. 20th May.2013

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/03/social-entrepreneurs-india

Taiwan, once a maker of toys and umbrellas, has greatly benefited from a successful industrial policy. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), transfer security, and IBM PC have been formed or developed chronologically. Seven years later than 1983, ITRI “formed an alliance of notebook-PC companies.” By now, information and communications technology have accounted for one-third of GDP.

Needless to say, this is a successful example of integrating business and information technology decision-making. The policy really helps the share of information and technology advance, providing an incredibly good chance for tech companies to work together. They can improve and develop technology and apply them to their products, and hopefully achieve economic efficiency. Or they can produce complementary products to increase profit and create value.

Moreover, noticing the trend, 100% touch, PC companies are adapting to the changeable world. People are more likely to buy smart phones or tablets than PCs. “Going where the growth is” is what they do to sustain their business even though the glory day for PC has passed. Mobile devices have become their targets. This leads me to think about “lean the start-up”, which includes customer development. Companies should really see what people want and produce it rather than produce what they think customers want. Because the market is very competitive and challenging, they are still looking for better ways to do. Taiwan companies are likely to adapt in as they did before. We can still see how information technology helps them quickly fit into the dynamic world.

Work cited:

TAIPEI. The Economist.(par.3&8) Web.6 July.2013

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21580509-companies-built-pcs-are-adapting-changed-world-after-personal-computer

Although it is informal to start a post in this way, I received a phone call from Fido two days ago when I was about to eat my lunch. I was a bit annoyed first, but the female who talked to me was actually very patient. She went through some useful information and asked for my opinions. After getting to know more about my phone and plan, she tried to sell me corresponding service and estimated my willingness.

In terms of customer service, companies should provide service with customer “before, during and after a purchase”. The phone call leads me to think of it. Companies should try to train their staff to be enthusiastic, patient and more importantly, listen to consumers. Do not wait until customers turn to you for help but let them know what kinds of service you have first. Companies may lose customers if they cannot reply immediately because customers can turn to other companies (in the frame of reference). Such phone calls that Fido is making are beneficial for not only itself but also customers regardless of a bit long conversations. Fido is trying to keep their customers through building the relationship with them, although it is only one aspect of customer relationship. Needless to say, customers will have different responds and compare a specific company with others. In this case, Fido should really stress its points of difference to distinguish itself from other brands or companies, especially Rogers.

Work cited；

“customer service.”Wikipedia. Web. 7 Oct. 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service

Related readings:

http://forums.fido.ca/t5/forums/forumtopicpage/board-id/NonTechnical/thread-id/1617

Before Apple launched iphone 5s and 5c, analysts predicted that China would be a huge market for these two types of smart phone, especially for iphone 5s with the gold colour. Because Chinese people love gold colour and it means a lot to them. In my opinion, Apple typically wants to seize this psychological characteristic because obviously they consider China as a huge potential market. Also, the gold colour is basically popular in the world, and one of the important reasons is that it stands for wealth. Superficially, I mean, who don’t like money?

But what confused me before were the prices for those two types of smart phone. The price gap between 5s and 5c is so small. In China, if people choose to buy the newest model, do they really care the 800yuan? It’s not a big deal. iphone 5s successfully satisfy more than their needs. In other word, maybe what they want to buy is a sense of superiority. However, iphone 5c seem like “toys” (well, not really) for youngsters partly because of the plastic material with bright colours. Currently in China, iphone 5c is selling with discount. For example, “the retailer has reduced the price of Apple’s 16GB iphone 5c by 789 yuan – around $129”.

Indeed, Apple is applying the low-cost iphone strategy to have more sales volume around the world. They want to explore and expand the markets in developing countries. What excites Apple is that “they sold 9 million new iphones during their first three days in stores after China joined the list of launch countries for the first time”. It is a big incentive for Apple, and this will encourage them to pay more attention to developing countries.

Works cited:

Kaneshige, Tom. CIO.com. (par.6) Web. 25 Sep. 2013.

http://www.cio.com/article/740349/Why_Wall_Street_and_Tech_Analysts_Got_the_iPhone_5S_Wrong

White, Joe. Appsgonefree. (par.2) Web. 27 Sep. 2013

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2013/09/in-china-apples-iphone-5c-is-already-selling-for-a-discounted-price

Gupta, Poornima and Saba, Jennifer. Reuters.com. Web. 23 Sep. 2013 (EDT)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/23/us-apple-iphone-idUSBRE98J0LD20130923

Related readings:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/09/26/analyst-predicts-apple-will-lower-iphone-prices-abroad/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2013/09/27/iphone-5s-is-three-times-more-popular-than-the-5c/

Lay’s is conducting a voting for four new and different flavours for their potato chips, and this voting runs through Oct 16, 2013. There are only three flavours available in America, while four in Canada. After the result comes out, the winning flavour will have a great chance to become an actual flavour for Lay’s potato chips.

It leads me to think of channels, which includes communication between companies and customers. Survey is an effective way for companies to know what consumers’ opinions are. In this case, Lay’s is actually doing well because of the voting they promote. Consumer can feel respected and satisfied even though they don’t really like those flavours. Therefore, Lay’s can also build and maintain their customer relationships through this way. They convey their thinking and put them into practice since they want to have better communication with customers. Get closer to consumers.

Nevertheless, Lay’s has to consider more thoroughly when they desire brand extensions. Dave Hodgson published “the worst of Lay’s do us a flavour contest” online. In his post, he introduced many kinds of chips that Lay’s have, and he didn’t enjoy any of those flavours as they are so “out of the game”. I agree with him because those flavours are so strange, and it seems like they should not appear in chips market. For example, the flavour whisky makes me very confused, and Dave said “you have a problem”. Lay’s should establish points of parity first, and emphasize difference but not something seems creative but strange.

Work cited:

Hodgson, Dave. Funtime Internet.com. Web.15 Feb.2013.

http://funtimeinternet.com/linkgo/2013/the-worst-of-lays-do-me-a-flavour-contest/

Related readings:

http://www.brandeating.com/2013/07/news-lays-canada-new-do-us-a-flavor-potato-chips.html

http://o.canada.com/life/lays-do-us-a-flavour/

Lay’s voting: https://www.dousaflavour.ca/

   Talking about the ethics of business,CSR comes to my mind.CSR, corporation social responsibility, has been discussed and carried out to some extent for a long time. During this process, CSR has been becoming clearer and also more meaningful.Because the companies usually have to sacrifice their profits to achieve social interests,the action of exercising CSR can easily reduce the profits of companies in a short time.However,it is beneficial to fulfill the so-called “social responsibility” not only for the companies but also for the whole society in the long term.

   According to a survey undertaken by Environics International, “significant numbers of investors take a company’s social performance into consideration when making investment decisions”.Indeed,people admire companies that contribute to the society since we,our human beings and the society we are developing are closely related.In terms of investment,they show passions to those companies.Thus,taking social responsibilities seriously actually provides more opportunities for corporations to manage their business.In other words,at least from this aspect,ethics in business can be considered as a driving force towards success,which is exactly what businessmen pursue.

   Nevertheless,Joel Bakan once argued that CSR is usually a scam.Although strong disagreements exist,it still reminds companies of correctly identifying their positions in this campaign instead of using it to make immoral incomes.

References:http://www.iisd.org/business/issues/sr_csrm.aspx

                   http://www.economist.com/node/3555286