Response to: https://blogs.ubc.ca/annabellechen/2013/10/07/foreign-wireless-companies-friend-or-foe/

In Canada there is an introduction to brand new telecom companies throughout and providing everyday Canadian citizens with more affordable service rates. Noted in the blog, these little companies are rarely a threat the telecom giants such as Rogers, Telus and Bell; however, from a consumer and student’s point of view, the big surge of cost-leadership small business causes a major threat to the oligopoly market of the Canadian telecom industry and will in turn affect their decisions. There is no doubt that the three giants will still hold the large majority of market power due to the poor receptions provided by the new companies but it will cause the price for service to drop in general. As seen from current events, Rogers cell contract has dropped to two years instead of three allowing consumers to feel more free and dropping their fees to gain back loyal customers.

Rogers price drops Moto X to $100 on a 2-year term

Over the past decade Boeing Aviation has been dominating the Japanese market; however, recent news from the failures and defects of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner brought upon a gap that was quickly filled by the European company Airbus that sold 9.5 billion dollars worth of A350 wide-body jets. The faulty products from the Boeing company drew plenty of negative perceptions on the quality of their products as well as the outlook of the company. Shown by a change in their brand positioning, Boeing’s supplier power has decreased significantly as airlines alter their preferences towards their substitute companies. However, as Boeing is developing their new line of Boeing 777x’s, Emirates Airline is considering in ordering 30 to 50 billion dollars worth of planes. If Boeing reconsiders their priorities, maintaining Emirates as a valuable customer in their customer segment and offering deals to strengthen the customer relationship is vital for Boeing’s future well-being. This event shows the competitiveness in competitors and the potential gain and loss from each transaction as well as the importance of a business’ brand positioning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/business/international/jal-orders-9-5-billion-worth-of-airbus-jets.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business

A 787 being treated after faulty technical problems.

Ford is currently America’s second largest car manufacture but in light of recent events, they are going for number one. In the next three years they are hoping to manufacture up to 8 million vehicles worldwide increasing their sales and revenue by a tremendous amount under Chief Executive Alan Mulally‘s unified manufacturing strategy. Ford is also constructing over 15 factories worldwide in areas such as China and India and converting ninety percent of all their workshops to be three shifts (24 hours). I believe Ford is very likely to climb the charts in the next few years as they are undergoing massive growth with support of a very qualified executive, Mulally who has also been elected to be Microsoft’s next CEO. Ford increasing their long term assets and their liabilities – increased labour and variable costs – shows that they are, too, confident with their business strategy. However the most defining variable for Ford is the new 3D printing technology for prototype parts, this decreases the average manufacturing time from six months to only three days! The company did not disclose the specific cost savings but said it was very significant. This technology will save tremendous amounts of liquid assets and shown in class, an increase in revenue in the upcoming years along with the decrease in overall costs will give rise to the large net income received by Ford.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/ford-aims-to-make-its-factories-more-flexible-efficient/article14725318/

The social media giant Twitter has grown tremendously throughout the seven years of its existence. Now consisting of more than two hundred million active users around the world and recently generating more than ten times the revenue from three years ago, Twitter have proven itself to be very successful and therefore released their initial public offering recently at $20.62 a share valuing the company at 9.7 billion dollars! They have acquired a 350 million dollar point of difference by purchasing MoPub, a mobile-advertising firm directing their niche market mostly on smartphone and iDevice users to give themselves a jumpstart to success. While there is scepticism on Twitter’s chance for success, I believe they hold a good chance in conquering the social-media world. Considered the “most popular second screen for television viewers,” – on top of Facebook – they are expected a dividend from the 350 billion dollars spent on TV advertising in 2012 and an evident shift in consumer’s tastes towards the liking of Twitter; even Facebook their greatest competitor have given in on allowing the hashtag function for their site to hoard users. However, due to recent events on the shutdown of the government, markets in the stock exchange will be more volatile and Twitter must consider their options wisely.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/10/twitters-ipo

The Twitter Bird