Saudi Arabia needs a technology company which enables its people to access internet more easily on a daily basis. Obviously, Google, Facebook, and Tencent are the top three picks for Saudi Arabia. Tencent won the race due to its unique comparative advantages: the ability to deal with government relationships.

Located in mainland China, Tencent owns more than half of the market; QQ, one of Tencent’s products, is rated as the most Convenience and commonly used chatting tool in China. While the software of Tencent is generating huge profit for the company, Tencent also aware that how it is interacting with the government. In fact, Tencent has developed a team to deal with the relationship with the government.

Like Tencent, thousands of large corporations and small businesses are working closely with the government. “Being in loved with the government, but not marry them,” said Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group. In short, due to political reasons, the companies located in countries where the government has the control power of the economy such as China, India and Saudi Arabia, usually have the soft skills to make the government happy.

Saudi Arabia picked Tencent due to the following reasons:

Firstly, Tencent has the experience of creating job opportunities. It helped the chinese government to lower the unemployment rate. Second, Tencent owns a software called QQ Pay; like Paypal, QQ Pay processes many transactions every day. It is an easy payment method which speeds up the cash flow, and it really helps on promoting economic growth for a country. Third, Tencent is capable of helping a nation in many aspects. Tencent is not just a software company; it also provides the government with assistance in the fields such as medical care and military. Lastly, as the largest leading provider of Internet value-added services, Tencent represents China to engage with Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has developed an important friendship with China in terms of business, tourism, and military. Therefore, by accepting Tencent, Saudi Arabia strategically maintains its relationship with China.

Looking back at Google and Facebook, we easily discover that both of them operating under a country of capitalism. In comparison to the companies such as Tencent and Alibaba, Google and Facebook appear to be not acquainted in dealing relationships with government. Note that Tencent and Alibaba located where the government has a great control of the market. In fact, Tencent, Google, and Facebook function the same for Saudi Arabia. However, it is like making friends, Tencent’s personality fits Saudi Arabia better, or in fact, it fits the government better.

 

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Reference

 Crabtree, J. (2017, October 27). Why China’s tech giants are better suited to Saudi Arabia than Google and Facebook. Retrieved October 28, 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/27/china-alibaba-tencent-not-google-facebook-suit-saudi-arabia.html

 Ross, S. (2017, August 17). Is the United States considered a Market Economy or a Mixed Economy? Retrieved October 28, 2017, from http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/031815/united-states-considered-market-economy-or-mixed-economy.asp

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Introduction:

Sears Canada, one of the largest retail companies in Canada, has received the permission from the Ontario Superior Court to proceed with its liquidation. Sears Canada has announced that all of its 130 remaining stores across Canada, which includes 74 Sears stores, eight Sears Home stores, and 49 Sears Hometown stores, will be closed soon. As a result of Sears Canada’s failure, 12000 people will become unemployed

Insight: Why Sears Canada failed?

Reason #1: Clarity

What is Sears? What does Sears actually sell?

When I first walked into a Sears store in 2014, I have felt a sense of inclarity. I saw all sorts of merchandise in Sears; they do not only sell fashion product, bedding, furniture and kitchen appliances, they also sell outdoor tools and kids product. Sears left me with an impression of a brand that only focuses on quantity but quality. Sears does not have a clear value proposition that distinguishes it from others. When we think of buying electronics, we think of Best Buy; when we think of home appliances; we think of Home Depot. What leads us to think of Sears? Apparently, nothing.

Reason #2: Customer Experience

Inside Sears, the shopping experience is boring and unsatisfied. I barely saw Sears’ employees assisting customers in making their choices. “They schedule a furniture delivery then don’t deliver”(2017, T)  said Rebecca, an unsatisfied customer. When Sears does not meet the commitment, it is losing its customer loyalty and trust.

Reason #3: Competition vs The “Lack of s”

Free market teaches us mechanism for selecting the superior and eliminating the inferior. People are talking about that e-commerce killed Sears. In fact, what truly killed Sears is itself: the lack of innovation, creativity and management. Before Amazon, Sears was the first company to approach e-commerce in 1998, but it soon lacked in innovation in doing so. Creative product designs arise every day from small businesses; it has been so many years that we have not been heard of any creative move from Sears. The C.E.O of Sears was changed for three times in the last few years. However, each of them has failed to reconstruct the company.

 

Reflection:

First, according to the principle of Business Model Canvas, the first step in establishing a successful business is to have a clear, specific value proposition.

Second, a successful business always places the customer experience in the first place; a business should always be aware of the message they delivered through their products and services.

Third, to succeed in the market in the long run, a business should be innovated and creative. The business world is moving forward at a rapid pace; anything that falls behind will be abandoned.       

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Citations:

Press, T. C. (2017, October 13). Small cities and their malls brace for pending Sears store closures. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sears-closures-impact-small-communities-1.4353011

Sears Canada Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2017, from https://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/department-stores/sears-canada-in-toronto-on-17067/reviews-and-complaints

Slip on this style Optez pour ce style. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2017, from https://www.sears.ca/

(2017, March 23). Retrieved October 14, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix4egLflHVw

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