Isha Kanyal's Blog – My Business Blog

So why did Wells Fargo really fail?

The Wells Fargo scandal truly supports and emphasizes by previous post where I talk about why it is so essential to be internally motivated, however with slightly a different approach. The Wells Fargo scandal is an example of how it is so essential for firms to have a good workplace environment as ex-employees revealed that the expectations and goals set by their superiors led to a “pressure-cooker atmosphere”.

While my previous blog post highlighted the importance of intrinsic motivation for high job retention rates, this one focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivations for efficiency and ethical standards in the workplace. One of the biggest mistakes which I feel Wells Fargo made was the way they chose to motivate their employees: if an employee does not achieve a set goals, unrealistic as most said, they would be fired. Desperate times really called for desperate measures and forced thousands of employees to set aside their morals and perform unethical acts as their jobs were on the line.

An approach that would have better worked for Wells Fargo would have been if they concentrated on intrinsically motivating their employees instead of basing their motivational strategies on the assumption of Theory X. Intrinsic motivation gives rise to loyalty and a personal desire to work hard, which is way stronger than any other kind of motivation. A suggestion would be if they held biweekly contests on which employee could bring more sales in instead. This promotes healthy competition within the workforce without putting something as important as a job on the line and thus motivates the employees just to the right extent. This would be a form of intrinsic motivation due to the fact that employees would want to work hard in order to gain respect from their fellow employees due to their performance.

In conclusion, motivation and motivators are both very broad concepts which have to be thought through carefully by firms. If used right, they can be very beneficially for a firms performance however if used poorly, the effects could be detrimental.

Bibliography:

Duggan , K. (2016, October 12). How Wells Fargo Could Have Avoided its Fake Accounts Scandal. Retrieved February 4, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2016/10/12/wells-fargo-scandal-john-stumpf/

Importance of being Intrinsically motivated

Motivation; our lives are based around being motived. From being motivated enough to get up in the morning to being motivated enough to get good grades. Employers struggle with motivation the most as firms are fuelled by their employees and thus it is essential to make sure they are as motivated as can be. The definition of workplace motivation is however changing over the years and the change is fascinating.

Employers are noticing the importance of an enriching, fun and supportive work culture and this is the reason for the sudden rise in more “fun” workplaces. Google, Facebook, BCG, and many other companies have excelled in doing so. Every student aspires to one-day work in Google due to the principles they stand for, the community feeling employees experience, and even how much freedom and respect that is given to employees with the most junior roles. This is very different compared to the environment a few decades ago where your level in the workplace hierarchy reflected the amount of respect you received in a firm.

What we have started realizing is the importance of intrinsic motivators. So why is it so important for employees to be intrinsically motivated? Money is a huge motivator; it is and will always be the biggest motivator as it fulfills physiological needs. However, all the needs above the basic physiological needs on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs revolve around the work culture. All of which would not be fulfilled if the work environment is not the best it can be. The ability of a firm to fulfill these needs is the key to high job retention. As important as it is to attract workers, it is more important to be able to keep them so that the hours spent on training these workers are not gone to waste, and in order to ensure that they are 100% intrinsically motivated thus pushing up efficiency rates which money would not be able to do.

Source: http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

The importance of TEAMWORK

Unlike high-school, University has pushed me into working with people. In the past 5 months alone, I have had to work in 5 different teams for different classes and projects and it was given me a deep insight into what teamwork really is and why being able to work in a team is so important. I will be talking about 2 experiences of mine which have helped me come to my conclusions:

Example A: I recently attended a Consulting Conference with a workshop where we had to work in groups of 4 to come up with a presentation which my group and I had to present our solutions to the CEO of a fictional company.
Example B: In my COMM292 class we had to come up with a Fantasy Project as a team and present it to demonstrate how we could use our team’s diversity to our advantage.

The difference between Example A and Example B was that in Example B, I enjoyed working with my team due to the fact that each one of us was equally motivated to reach an end goal. We listened to each other, communicated, equally delegated and thoroughly enjoyed working on a Fantasy Project as if it were actually going to happen. In Example A however, one of the member ended up taking credit for most of our ideas by not allowing others to speak while presenting.

These experiences have thus helped me come up with a few points which I feel are the key to a successful team:

Fair and even delegation of roles
Communication
Delegation based on people’s strengths

I have come to understand that we may not always get along with the people we are assigned to but it is important to be fair and communicate openly. Had I communicated more effectively in Example A, things would have turned out differently and that was a lesson I carried on the Example B. I believe that teamwork involves people talking about their differences to come up to an understanding, rather than keeping those differences aside and not being transparent.

#5 APPLE VS SAMSUNG: Which business model is better?

This blog post is in response to Maki’s blog post where she talks about the difference in the 2 biggest competitors in our generation: Samsung and Apple, comparing their business models. She emphasizes about how Samsung is more diverse when it comes to its products, in the sense they are present in various markets (flat panels, LED lights, batteries, etc.) and is vertically integrated with its suppliers. Apple on the other hand has a very niche market and has outsources its manufacturing to other firms. There are many advantages and disadvantages for both firms and will be further evaluating their different business models.

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Samsung-Galaxy-S6-edge-vs-Apple-iPhone-6-Plus_id3968

Spreading risks

Due to Samsung’s presence is various markets, their risk is spread throughout their different products and thus if one fails, it would not harm the firm too much due to the profit generation from other products. Apple on the other hand has a very niche market and thus a decline in sales of their products would affect their sales gravely. Apple, for the first time in 5 years, just experienced a decline in the sales of iPhones and learned the hard way to spread their risks through markets. They have thus started emphasizing more on their service industry recently, along with content and many others.

Vertical Integration vs Outsourcing

One of the biggest competitive advantage that Samsung has is the fact that they are vertically integrated with their suppliers. This gives them a steady source of supply, which Apple does not experience. Apple however saves a huge amount due to the fact that they do not have to do R&D themselves for that sector, and it is instead outsourced to their suppliers. Apple can also take advantage of their competition in the supply market and fish for lower prices. The money saved on R&D can thus go to researching consumer trends and thus attending to them even better. Apple has a unique and chic design and uses this to their advantage by integrating this design to products that already exist, making them more appealing. An example of this is the iPod, which was a better version of the Walkman that was released a few years prior to the iPod. This design also makes it very hard for loyal Apple consumers to switch to another brand, this being their competitive advantage.

Comparing these 2 companies is very difficult and somewhat unfair as they have their own principles, goals, and business models which works best for them. Despite the stark differences in their business models, they have managed to be the market leaders of the one of the most cutthroat and fast paced industries out there which is commendable.

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In reference to: https://blogs.ubc.ca/makeday/2016/10/02/apple-vs-samsung-competitive-strategy/

#4 Apple focuses more on services

Declining sales and apple were two things not many expected would be in the same sentence. However, 2016 is full of surprises. Apple for the first time in 5 years is experiencing a decline in sales and thus has decided to increase their focus in their services industry.

The revenues from their online services such as iCloud, App Store, etc. rose by 24% and thus this decision makes sense. It is very difficult to create new products with new features in the cutthroat Mobile Phone industry where the competitors are rising. Google just released a new phone, Pixel, which may be one of the many reasons Apple is experiencing a decline in sales along with other smaller companies coming up with new models too.

Apple’s loyal customers however will make this transition relatively easy due to their support. In a way, Apple’s loyal customers, through the word of mouth, could raise awareness further by spreading the word about how much they are enjoying their services and thus could act like a method of marketing their product. Apple’s good brand image also play a role in attracting new customers and thus their services could end up turning into a very successful and stable revenue stream.

Apple should also pay attention to expanding their content business. Trends show that people are shifting from Cable Television to online streaming more than ever. This is a huge opportunity for Apple, however may not necessarily be easy due to Netflix. Netflix dominates the online streaming industry and has been for years. Apple could try creating content and streaming shows that Netflix doesn’t, to start with and could develop this product more throughout the years.

In conclusion, Apple’s decision to putting more emphasis on their services industry is a very smart choice in order to generate more profits. Through innovative ways and good marketing, Apple can successfully expand their services.

Bibliography:

(n.d.). Retrieved October 31, 2016, from https://www.ft.com/content/68e80a44-9b28-11e6-b8c6-568a43813464

#3 Can Music Unlimited be able enter the Music Streaming market?

In this blog post, I will be commenting on my peer’s blog post.

The blog post I am referring to is about a new service which Amazon has just released, Music Unlimited. It is essentially an online streaming music service, exactly like the services already provided by Spotify and Apple music. Music Unlimited is also priced the same as its competitors at $9.99, however Amazon Prime users get a 20% discount and are charged $7.99 per month.

While Aika’s blog mentions the positive aspects of Music Unlimited, I will be mentioning the negative ones. Amazon Prime users already have access to music through Prime Music. Prime Music provides free music to Amazon Prime users however it does not offer behind the scenes artist commentaries, playlists or as wide of a range compared to Music Unlimited. Now the question is whether the current Amazon Prime users would consider paying an extra $7.99 a month for these extra features keeping in mind that Prime Music already offers around 2 million songs to its users without advertisements.

Source: http://thenextweb.com/apps/2016/10/12/amazon-goes-up-against-spotify-and-apple-with-its-new-music-unlimited-streaming-service/

Along with that, the music streaming market already has 2 huge competitors: Spotify and Apple Music. Even though Spotify was not the first in the music streaming industry, they were however the first to be successful. With their success and well established brand and Apple’s loyal customers, it is difficult for any other company to enter this industry. The question is that how big is the pool of Music Unlimited’s potential customers if we keep aside the loyal Spotify users, loyal Apple (and Apple Music) users and Prime Music users who do not think upgrading the Music Unlimited is worth it. In my opinion, Music Unlimited is likely to get a majori

Source: http://highlightmagazine.net/2016/01/25/staff-picks-spotify-apple-music-debate/ty of their customers through Amazon Prime compared Spotify or Apple Music customers shifting to their services.

While their strategy of reducing prices for Amazon Prime users is a very clever one and could potentially work due to the large number of Amazon Prime users, predicting the success of Music Unlimited is very difficult at this stage as it really depends on Amazon Prime users and is a true test for the marketing unit of Amazon. It will be interesting to see if Amazon manages to market and sell their new service, Music Unlimited, despite their very successful competitors.

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Peer’s Blog Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/aikakim/

#2 UberEATS expands to Tokyo

Uber, one of the most popular American multinationals, has recently expanded UberEATS to Tokyo, the 34^th city globally with UberEATS, an on demand meal delivery service. With previous attempts of expanding their privately-owned transportation into Tokyo which did not work too well, Uber decided to take a new approach while attempting to penetrate the Tokyo market. Due to the country’s strong taxi lobby, they were unsuccessful when it came to expanding their hail-cab services. Along with pulling out of the Chinese market, they were also unsuccessful at expanding in South Asian markets for example Singapore and Jakarta due to local competitors (Grab Singapore and Go-Jek).

With intensive market research, Uber decided to launch UberEATS in central Tokyo. Central Tokyo is a good fit for UberEATS due to the lack of food delivery services. Along with that, Tokyo has a larger number of Michelin Star restaurant and the most number of restaurants per capita. This opens up a huge opportunity for UberEATS to provide delivery services for restaurants ranging from fast-food joints to luxurious restaurants. To incentivize and attract customers to use UberEATS, they will not be charging their customers with delivery fees for their first order. This strategy never fails to work when it comes providing potential customers the exposure to a new product or service and could help UberEATS enter the market easier along with their already well established brand image.

Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-looks-to-rev-up-in-japan-1475238775

Despite there being low competition, the demand for food delivery is considerably low and thus UberEATS will have to come up with better marketing strategies to make ordering food more conventional. A few ways they could attempt to do so is through using famous celebrities to help advertise their products or perhaps making it “trendy” to order take-out, which has worked well for Chinese restaurants in the United States.

UberEATS may be Uber’s best chance yet to squeeze revenues out of Japan since their primary business did not work too well. The circumstances and markets in Japan look favorable for the new business idea Uber has come up with and I believe that through the right marketing and product positioning, UberEATS could end up being very successful in Japan and other parts of the world.

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Bibliography:

Tech in Asia – Connecting Asia’s startup ecosystem. (n.d.). Retrieved October 01, 2016, from https://www.techinasia.com/ubereats-official-tokyo-launch
Pascaline, M. (2016). Uber To Launch Food Delivery Service In Tokyo. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http://www.ibtimes.com/ubereats-uber-launch-food-delivery-service-japan-2422954
McLain, S. (2016). Uber to Launch Food-Delivery Service in Tokyo. Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-to-launch-food-delivery-service-in-tokyo-1475036873
Uber launches global assault on takeaway meals market. (2016). Retrieved October 01, 2016, from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-food-delivery-idUSKCN11W2LX

#1 Can a profit making firm be ethical?

Through the centuries, humans are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental and social impacts individuals and organizations are causing. From famous individuals like Leonardo DiCaprio constantly raising awareness about global warming to huge trends like veganism being widespread due to animal cruelty in the production of animal food products, the world is progressing into becoming a place where unethical actions will be frowned upon by a majority of the population, contrary to the minority just a few decades ago.

Organizations thus need to keep up with the global trends not only to be more cognizant about their global footprint, but to develop a good brand image. One firm that pops into my mind when talking about business ethics is Lush. Lush is a cosmetic company which sells a range of natural handmade bath and body products. I was made aware of this brand a few years ago when I stumbled across an article which covered the protest that was carried through a graphic window display in their shop. A performance artist made lush her stage and enacted the horrific procedures done to animals by cosmetic companies to test their products. This campaign was very, very controversial.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134555/Lush-animal-testing-protest-Woman-subjected-experiments-horrified-shoppers.html

Along with conducting horrific and powerful campaigns, Lush donates about £6 million a year to far left groups, creates products in a way so 70% require no packaging while using recycled containers for the other 30%, opt for environmentally safer lights for their shops and factories, and many more. Their genuine concern for the environment has a huge impact on their sales and brand image achieving a record profit of £31.3m in 2015.

Lush Store — Source: https://uk.lush.com/article/welcome-lush-oxford-street

My immense respect for Lush comes from how they have managed to operate as a profit making organization without being unethical. Profit making organizations are known to have a somewhat unethical image associated with them because of how little they appear to care for their consumers and operate solely to earn profits. Lush manages to beautifully manage this profit making goal along with caring for not only their consumers, but the environment too. They contribute so much to the society as a firm and I feel like are what a majority of firms, if not all, should strive to be in the near future.

Bibliography:

Fiorletta, A. (n.d.). Lush ‘Merely Scratching The Surface’ Of Multi-Billion Dollar Cosmetics Market. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/retail-success-stories/lush-merely-scratching-the-surface-of-multi-billion-dollar-cosmetics-market
Mohdin, A. (2016). Lush sells bath bombs and cosmetics. It also gives nearly £6 million a year to far-left groups. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from http://qz.com/609641/lush-sells-bath-bombs-and-cosmetics/
Paul Harris for the Daily Mail. (2012). Is this the most extreme window display ever? Brutal treatment of woman, 24, as she is subjected to ‘animal tests’ in front of horrified shoppers. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134555/Lush-animal-testing-protest-Woman-subjected-experiments-horrified-shoppers.html
Levitt, T. (2016). How badger bombs and politics brought Lush sales of £500m. Retrieved September 13, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/may/10/badger-bombs-politics-lush-sales-500m
By closing this window you acknowledge that your experience on this website may be degraded. (2015). Is Lush an Ethical Company? Retrieved September 13, 2016, from https://uk.lush.com/article/lush-ethical-company