Original Blog

YouTube is starting a monthly paid subscription service. I think every Internet company must take this step sooner or later, because when the size grows larger, the operation cost and maintenance cost as well as designing cost will increase in a way that can’t be covered with only the advertisement income.

On the one hand, the demand for YouTube is quite “inelastic”, so even if they start paid services, the number of customers would not greatly decrease; therefore, it is a good idea to gain more revenue. Gradually they can put out other paid services and as long as the price is not high, people are willing to pay, and when the price is multplied by the huge quality of customer base, the revenue is impressive.

On the other hand, YouTube may face an awkward situation that customers uses free ad-blockers rather than pay for the service; so the company must pay attention to that and provide more qualified service and build a customer-company relationship by introducing customer award-system, like members of YouTube (people who pay the monthly rent) can have a privilege in watching newly-updated videos and etc.

The existence of YouTube is a miracle, it brings me much fun, so whether it is costed or not, I would support it.

Original Blog

I am attracted by the “one size fits all” strategy of Brandy Melville, I am slim so I will definitely regard Brandy Melville as my first choice due a sense of vanity and I think it’s the same to most of the customers.

It uses the differentiation focus strategy, which will not only effectively reduce production costs but also arouse interest in customers. Actually I don’t think the strategy of the company violates the business ethics; on the contrary, it raises confidence in the customers and also encourage those who cannot fit into the clothes to keep a strong and handsome figure.

The idea is smart, however, the company should not keep itself in circle, and it should introduce new and fancy clothes from time to time for the limited targeted customers are teenagers and young adults who is the most capricious and fashion-mad. And to catch the wind vane is not an easy task. And for the other companies it can a good opportunity to fill the vacancy by producing clothes for fat people; but not very helpful because there is only one Brandy Melville who refuse to sell all sizes and customers would not like to go to a shop only sells big size clothes, because they do not want to be treated differently.

According to BBC NEWS, gender pay gap may take 118 years to close. Progress on closing the gap has stalled in recent years at a time when more women are entering the workplace.

Weekly earnings for men and women UK, 1997 to 2015

First we need to figure out the reasons contributing to the gender pay gap. Although there are more women going to university, most of them would prefer a profession which is steady and relaxing like government officer. Moreover, companies attach more importance to male employees, thinking that they are the mainstays of the company. There’s no denying that male employees are better than female employees in some way, but we can’t despise women and deprive them of job opportunities for senior positions.

The first reason is unalterable, but we can help change the situation: hire equal amount of female and male labor, do not differentiate between men and women–everyone is paid at the same rate. In that way, sexual equity can be ensue and especially in poor cities, it would be a great change for not only women but also the single-parent family behind them. Furthermore, it will lead to an idea innovation in female and may be they can be as creative and brave as man and occupy senior positions and skilled roles.

Once I was doing a group work about how gender pay gap influence the company, and I said we can hire more female for it costs less. However, my team member disagree with me and said we should close the gender pay gap and make profit by inspiring female workers, and I think the idea is awesome.

Reference

Dubai International Airport

Airbus has admitted that new orders at the Dubai Airshow for its A380, the world’s biggest aircraft, are unlikely.

The main three reasons for Airbus’ sale being stagnant in Dubai is low fuel-efficiency, small capacity and popularization of private plane in Dubai.

This situation can be both a threat and an opportunity for the company.

Since tourist grows continuously, the Dubai International Airport is going to double its size; therefore, if Airbus can stretch A380 to add extra seats, the airline would prefer A380 rather than other airplanes.

In addition, Emirates’ president Tim Clark also said that if Airbus continues to develop a more fuel-efficient A380, called the A380neo, they could buy up to 200 more. And this development could be done without necessarily stretching the A380.

Airbus EC135

Last but not least, there are more and more rich men prefer to run a plane themselves. Airbus may sell their private planes to them, and selling private planes can be more profitable than selling public ones.

So it’s not true that there is no ‘drama’ for Airbus on A380 sales; on the contrary, they can play their cards well to expand their business.

Reference

“Getting it right is more important than doing it fast.” I think Nordstrom does a good job in Marketing.

In the first place, Nordstrom learned from the failure of Target. They have been preparing for its entry into Canada for a long time, and they use a cautious strategy that they order more products for they normally would for an opening; thus, the target customers would have a great first impression of Nordstrom. As long as the consumers find it strike their fancy, they would keep coming and recommend it to their families and friends.

In addition, they are willing to make improvements. “You can expect us to make changes and respond in real time. We are certainly not resting on our laurels.” the president of Nordstrom’s Canadian division said. The continuous improvement culture in the company will beat some touch competition.

Last but not least, they sacrifice temporary, partial benefits in order to gain fundamental interests. “Nordstrom posted $14-million (U.S.) of operating losses last year in Canada and expects $35-million in 2014.” They have a heavy liability but they believe in making more profits in subsequent years by offering more qualified service than its competitors. Just as the saying goes, “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.” The company won’t gain customers’ trust without being the sacrificial lamb at the first.

To draw a conclusion, I can hold my breath for Nordstrom’s flourishing in Canada.

Reference

Allan Mukhwana is the boss of a gaming studio, Momentum Core, in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. His company aims at developing games that not only please children but also educate them. For example, the Kenyan government will donate one mosquito net to a family living in a malarial zone if a player completes all levels of the game Mosquito Hood. In this way, they can get the children across to HIV and the other things which will lay a solid foundation for their future development.

As far as I am concerned, that’s why Africa’s game is so charming: the content of the game is related to daily life, and can also make a difference in daily life. In addition, the rich culture and stories of Africa enrich the content of the games. Last but not the least, mobile has become the major medium for gaming in Africa, thus makes Africa’s game more accessible all over the world.

Africa often makes me think of poverty and backwardness, however, in recent years, Africa’s economy has a very stable development. I held expectation about the extension of Africa’s games to a global scale.

It is emerged that Volkswagen has cheated the customers about its emissions tests, and it has not offered an effective reaction to stop the scandal yet.

In my opinion, the worst outgrowth the revelation involves is the distrust of the customers rather than the heavy fines. The customers got angry because the falling values of their second-hand VW cars and extra cost for cars they thought were better for the environment may not be a small figure. Compared with the global recall of Toyota and Lexus cars back in 2009 and 2010, this was the result of safety issues, however, VW cheated the customers about the “clean diesels” to gain more profit, which is not easy to forgive. In addition, VW’s competitors may seize the opportunity to grab VW’s customers and market share, which comes as a big threat.

So is it possible for VW to rebuild its reputation? I think so, but firstly VW should send every customer sincere apology for betraying their trust. “To error is human.” Hope VW will turn over a new leaf.

Reference:http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34400305

Chinese people are crazy about the buying and selling of stocks and shares, most of them takes pleasure in it and even sink half their fortune into the stocks. Last summer, however, people are hard hit by the fall in stocks. As stock price have dropped, so too has their property.

According to the news, “Chinese mainland stocks have been on a steep downward slope over the past months, shedding almost 40% since June.” Although the government has tried to inject money into the markets so as to reduce the lending rates and cracked down on the people who spread online “rumours”, people are still in a panic as the stock prices continue to fell. Many of them lost their shirt in the stock market, and many people would not buy stocks in the next few years.

As far as I am concerned, I do not think the government did a proper job in solving the problem. Firstly, as is shown in China’s factory data, the country’s growth is continuing to slow, some of the “rumours” may be totally true to some extent. The government should not ignore the fact and hide the truth from people to prevent false confidence in situation. Secondly, people should keep their eyes peeled and “Do not put all your eggs in one basket.” So that they would not lose all their money when the stock market crashes. Last but not the least, the government and people should trust each other and together build a stock market which operates well.

Reference: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34105238

It is controversial over which is more important for a business, the profit or the ethics? I think the best answer to it is that “If you follow your heart, it’s interesting to see if there is a business there.” However, most of the people would choose profit, but what I find is that the companies who choose the ethics have a sustainable development which in turn brings them more profit.

Solar century, a company who promote the use of solar energy is a good example. The company made a profit of $1m on sales of $25m last year. From my point of view, the company may embrace an even brighter future because with the development of high technology, the price of the environmentally friendly products will continue to fall, thus people will tend to buy more of the solar panels instead of the pollution-causing products. If the products are of similar price, people will tend to buy environmentally friendly products because of environmental awareness or conscience.

To draw a conclusion, social responsibility and sustainability are ethical choices that companies make to grow the business.

Reference: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6102450.stm