Should You Allow Your Employees to Nap While on the Job?

The great travel-rewards shakeup

Credit card reward system has always been an important marketing tool for banks to promote their credit cards. Recently, travel reward system is becoming a new hit. Canadian banks like TD and CIBC are now promoting this new revenue stream to attract new customers.

While different banks are imitating each other, they choose different approach among advertisement. For CIBC, they decide to advertise within their own channel– by directly communicate with their customers; while TD will taking mass-market advertising as their advertisement channel.

For me, choosing different advertisement channel is one kind of marketing strategy too. Since the product itself is easy to subside, different banks need to use different channels to increase their product uniqueness. Like Aeroplan, they decide to differ themselves from other advertisers by reaching their members “one on one”.

Although travel-reward program is getting great success in Canadian credit card market right now, I still believe Canadian banks need to stop imitate each other and come up with their unique credit card reward system. Using different advertising channel does not change the fact that those travel reward systems are identical. To gain greater success and attract more customer segment, banks need to come up with unique products. What I recommend banks to do is to do more market research and identify which direction they need to go to gain more loyal customers.

Heinz to close Ontario factory, trim 740 jobs

Heinz is closing one of its biggest plants in Canada located in Leamington Ontario. This action will cause almost 740 people losing their job.

The rising pressure for Canada manufacture plants is the biggest reason why Heinz take this action. The cost of manufacture product in Ontario is rising while making export is becoming expensive. To ensure future profit and maintain effectiveness for Heinz, top management team decides to shift production to places with more affordable labor and higher production.

In another way, almost 740 people will lose their job due to this action. Closing this plants will hurt Leamington badly since this plants has more than 100 years history and creating major job opportunity for this town.

This change is not only related to profit and productivity within Heinz company, it is also related to ethical issue created by Heinz. Because of the close down, former employers are facing challenging situation because their limited skills. Many of them need to go back to school in order to seek new jobs to support their families. Local government should not rely on Heinz to provide job opportunity, what they should do is to take over the responsibility and try to create job opportunity for unemployed workforce.

What local government can do is promoting policies that attracts more manufacture plants or firms. It creates job opportunities that solve the problem.

Tourism boom misses Canada

 

Hong Kong Luxury Property Prices Choked by Tightening

Luxury property prices in Hong Kong are the world highest due to government’s high stamp-duty and mortgage rules. Extra stamp duties and mortgage rules are progressive tax that require buyers to pay relatively high tax when they buy luxury properties. It strongly affect the market of property in Hong Kong– demand of those luxury houses is steadily decreasing.

The reason why Hong Kong government decided to double stamp-duty and mortgage rules is Chinese buyers. For a long time, Chinese buyers are the main force for luxury houses in Hong Kong. Government need to raise the prices to ensure the equilibrium inside the market. At the time Hong Kong government try to balance the market, parts of the demand is takes away.

In my personal opinion, luxury property market in Hong Kong will eventually gets to a balance. Decreasing of demand would lead to surplus within the market, which will eventually drop down the prices. Although Hong Kong government take actions to ensure the market is equilibrium, that approach is not perfect because Hong Kong citizens hurts at the same time. Instead of increasing tax, preventing Chinese buyers concur the market is a more reasonable approach.

BlackBerry

Only Throns

The share price of Blackberry have already fell by 16% for the past 2 years. It mainly has to do with bad decisions– there was no visible alternative strategy and no chief executive for the company. The boss of BlackBerry Heins launched a system which is described as “much-delayed” compared with iOS system and Android system. BlackBerry are recently hire a new chief executive John Chen to save the company’s future. Although Mr.Chen have experience as a leader of a software company, it is not sure if his software background are going to save BlackBerry’s future.

Smartphone market today is extremely competitive, creative ideas and clear decision making are basic requirements for a successful smartphone company. For BlackBerry, finding alternative strategy is necessary. Nokia is a great example, they sold their devise devision to Microsoft for better idea and boarder market. What BlackBerry needs is creative ideas that can bring it back to live.

According to Nydia Gunawan’s blog post, analysis claims that the best idea for Blackberry is taking the company private. I agree with this idea, but I don’t see it as the “best” option. Since smartphone market today is extremely creative and competitive, what Blackberry needs is not only a lifesaving company, but also lifesaving ideas.

For my recommendation, I suggest BlackBerry to collaborate with other famous companies, not only for better hardware quality, but also for better and newer ideas.

Business Creation in Germany— A Slow Climb

This news article talks about reasons why many German star-up companies are gaining fast, but growing slow.

One of the problem is popular attitudes toward founding new business. Few of the German believe founding business is a great idea because most of them would not take the risk, they also fear of the failure of their business. Lack of the finance is a big reason too, big economic of scale causing few of the people got the financial power to get into big and profitable business. Moreover, rather than funding in new business, German companies would more like to invest in current business.

Germen government is trying to stimulate more star-up companies by working with banks and big companies. According to Henry’s blog post, “Germany will be more competitive in business by making its market more flexible and open”. I totally agree with that. In my personal opinion, there are few things government can do to stimulate star-up business and encourage them to star-up big and ambitious.

1. Promoting star-up business loan for lower requirement and larger amount of money. Most of the concerned of star-up business funders is their financial problem, if government can solve this questions for them then more and more star-up business can get up further and higher.

2. Investing successful companies and bank and let them give star-up business funders more support.

Plugging Away

A French firm seeks new roads to profit from electric cars

This news article talks about a French family-owned firm– Groupe Bollore is considering to produce electric cars. Interestingly, this firm was first announced as a paper making company, then turn into a advanced battery producing company.

In my opinion, it is not a good idea for Bollore to get into electric cars market.

Reason 1: The competitors like BMW and Tesla are holding much of the market share, they have more experience in producing electric cars. Also, consumers will always seek for the brand that are most familiar to them.

Reason 2: Bollore has not yet making money on their latest battery develop project. It costs a lot of money and spending more capacity at new plans.

Reason 3: Electric cars market is now not very popular. Although big countries and cities are now promoting this kind of environment friendly car, it is difficult and not convenient for people charging and fixing their car.

My suggestion for Bollore are:

1. If they want to make money by producing electric cars, they can work with some companies that are located in the advanced city which provides better environment for electric cars. They have better consumer base there, and those companies also have advanced technology.

2. Push the electric cars producing plan few years after. One reason for that is to better develop their current battery plans right now. The other reason is that the electric cars market will be better after few years, according to the motor-industry analyst Daniel Schwarz.

Taking a bit out of Apple

Xiaomi, often described as China’s answer to apple, is actually quite different.

This news article compares Apple with a Chinese mobile phone company– Xiaomi. Xiaomi  had recently launch their new phone– Mi-3.

Financially, Apple is now selling more phones than Xiaomi. But Xiaomi as a new company (found in 2010) has grow really fast. In the second quarter of 2013, Xiaomi’s market share in China is officially more than Apple for the first time.

As the price, Xiaomi is way more affordable than the iPhone 5s or 5c. Although Apple has just launched iPhone 5c– which is a little cheaper than original iPhone 5, targeting Asian market, Xiaomi is way more affordable. The reason why Xiaomi is that cheap is they sell their phone online.

Xiaomi is even develop apps and games with Google. Which drags more attention.

In my opinion, what Xiaomi is trying to do is to build up brand identity. Compares with some mobile phone companies nowadays, they keep saying they are nothing like Apple, and design their product and software in a completely different way. I believe this is a good thing because a unique brand identity can helps consumers to differentiate different products. Look at mobile phone market today, there are many smart phones that are designed like iPhone. But Xiaomi use Android system and designed their phone in a different shape. It makes them stands out from the market.

News link:http://www.economist.com/news/business/21586344-xiaomi-often-described-chinas-answer-apple-actually-quite-different-taking-bite-out

Richmond women accuses McDonald’s of discrimination

Richmond women Hai Xia Sun saids that the manager of McDonald’s at No.3 road refused to service her because she can’t speak English.

She was ordering a hot chocolate but was given a Mocha coffee. It was a line behind her while she was trying to explain to the manager. The employee and the manager was frustrated and told her to leave.

Although Sun’s family is looking for apology, McDonald insisted that it was a misunderstanding. Customer outside is also concerned about this issue. They think McDonald should communicate to their employees well, they also need to shorten the language gap.

In my opinion, McDonald’s is a international company, in this kind of situation, what McDonald’s need to do is not explaining how this is a misunderstanding. What they need to do is give a formal apologize, and also considering give their customers multi language service.

Stakeholders in this situation:

• The manager and employees at McDonald’s at No.3 road.
• McDonald’s company
• Miss Sun and her family
• New immigrants in Richmond

I recommended McDonald to:

• Apologize to Miss Sun and her family
• Considering multi language service.
• Pay attention to employee training