Category Archives: Uncategorized

Skills versus Passion: Which is the ultimate motivation?

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This post is made in response to an external blog: “Why These 3 High Performers Left Their Jobs”.

This post brings insight on how crucial it is to provide jobs that suits employees. Employing workers to the right job is a form of motivation that is important to drive them in becoming more productive. This is seen from the example cases where Ryan and Don decided to quit his job (despite being high performers) due to the mismatch in skills and task they are assigned by management. This enabled me to think about the difference of being good at something vs. being passionate about something. I find it true that skill is an important aspect to drive businesses forward. However, it would hurt in the long run with the absence of passion as workers will feel that they are doing a monotonous task since their esteem needs aren’t satisfied.

However, this also got me questioning in whether employees generally behave like Ryan and Don. If it is the case, then providing jobs that allows for personal growth is key to keep them in the business. However, what about employees that are of Theory X type (McGregor’s Theory)? This solution might not suit well to such employees as they need directions to complete tasks and do not care much about personal growth.

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Unmotivated employees?

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This is a post made in response to Yu Tung Liu’s post “Workers’ Dissatisfaction from Poor Business Management”.

It is crucial for companies to maintain employees motivation. In reality, there are cases where workers think the reward they get is not equal to the workload they receive (Yu Tung Liu’s post par.2). According to Adam’s Equity theory, workers are motivated only if there’s fairness in remuneration packages. Hence, the statement holds true that employees will be less productive if they don’t receive what they think is fair.

Motivation techniques may be employed by management in order to address this problem and this is not limited to financial motivation. Establishing a positive organizational culture may help such problem through the positive working environment where employees will enjoy working in. This is seen from DreamWorks Animation, a company that allows employees to take part in giving ideas and development training courses. These acts provide a chance for personal growth for employees, allowing for job empowerment and enrichment respectively. Such non-financial motivations may be an incentive for employees in the company to be more productive. Additionally, these forms of motivation may fulfill an employee’s esteem needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of need, which will further their productivity. This shows how management may address motivation issues beyond the extent of rewarding in monetary form, but also in the form of knowledge and responsibility.

http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/media/insidedwa/ourculture/cat8/slide1.jpg

Article source: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/jobcenter/workplace/bruzzese/story/2012-07-22/dreamworks-values-innovation-in-all-workers/56376470/1

Role of Market Research in Lay’s

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This is a post made in response to Jiaxuan Zhang’s post: “Lay’s ‘do us a flavour'”.

The fact that Lay’s is planning to go through product differentiation by expanding its product line to new flavors should be put to a test. Marketing research is essential in this case, hence what Lay’s is currently doing. Taste is one of the vital consideration that consumers take into account in deciding whether a food product is good or not. In the funnel model, this crucial for the opinion and consideration stage in the funnel model below.

http://stevensonfinancialmarketing.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/purchase-funnel.jpg

Market research is especially important for Lay’s given the unusual flavor like chocolate they are considering to offer. In order to make a repeat purchase, such product should be acceptable in the market first and that consumers perception on the product is positive. I think it is fine for a company to come up with “unusual” ideas like having a chocolate-flavored chip as long as it is accepted by their target market. What matters is the result of market research, as it determines whether Lay’s should move forward to product launch or to discard such idea. Of course, the company should weigh the probability of success in implementing the idea instead of just throwing out ideas without a solid reasoning. Who knows such idea can gain the company more profit?

Check out this video!

Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/31/lays-potato-chips-chocolate-covered/3324377/

TOMS continues to strive to create shared value

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TOMS Shoes is an example of a business that creates shared value. As it continues to do so, the company plans to open a new factory in Haiti in 2014.

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TOMS reconceive their products through their “TOMS Giving Shoes” commitment. It does this by producing good quality shoes made from recycled materials. For a pair of shoes a customer purchase means giving a pair of shoes to those in need. TOMS also redefine productivity in the value chain by “oversee[ing] that working conditions are acceptable and fair living wages are being paid.” (par.6) This act is opposed to what most companies usually strive for; to lower workers’ wages to save cost. But through this action, TOMS is creating productivity in the long run, where fair wages will act as an incentive for workers, hence they will be more efficient. By opening the new factory, TOMS also enable local cluster development, providing more than 100 new jobs. Additionally, it employs 30 local artisans to design and hand-paint limited edition shoes which allow to use local talents in conducting their business. Such program provides opportunities for current Haitians to develop.

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Through the Triple Bottom Line, we can see that TOMS is on its path in becoming sustainable.

All of these show how TOMS contributes to improvement in economic welfare and development to society while continuing to make profit, creating shared value.

 

Article source: http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/09/26/haiti-us-shoe-company-toms-to-open-new-factory-in-2014/

Starbucks benefits from its launched app

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Starbucks’ pay-by-app have created extra convenience for consumers to purchase their coffee. Such app allows consumers to pay through their phones, check their balance and track rewards. Each account is identified based on consumers’ Starbucks Card account.

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Starbucks make use of information technology from the pay-by-app. Through the Starbucks card account that is linked to the app, the company is able to track all participating consumers’ transaction history. This allows the company to see their consumers’ buying habits, enabling them to better fulfill their customers’ needs. Through the accounts, Starbucks can track the repeats of purchase made by consumers on certain products, allowing them to analyze which products are more demanded. Hence, they are also able to track the responses to newly launched products too. These information acquired from the system allows Starbucks to develop further plans for improvements.

Starbucks also showed that it understands their segments’ needs very well. “Customers are looking for extra value….putting My Starbucks Reward on mobiles offers a faster, easier way to pay.” (par.5) Starbucks does not only provide personal assistance through baristas, but also an automated service to establish better customer relationships, as they know that customers wants less hassle in process of purchase (payments without cash).

VIDEO – Click this link to watch more about the app!

Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8992712/Starbucks-launches-pay-by-app-for-iPhone-users.html

CSR or CSV?

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In a recent survey it is revealed that 50% of consumers is willing to pay for products made by social responsible firms. It has been an increasing trend since last year. This matter is especially of importance in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and India (par.6).

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Such behavior by consumers have drove firms to use such “corporate social responsibility” image as a selling point. However, it is forgotten that both society and firms are dependent. This is tied by created shared value (CSV). Firms can reconceive their products by improving such products to better serve their current market or perhaps when undergoing market development. It will also have to redefine productivity in the value chain by for example, reduce excess packaging. This does not only reduce the firms cost, but also create less damage to the environment -showing a win-win situation. Firms will also need to enable local cluster development, such as taking advantage of local suppliers. This is especially an issue in developed countries where labor are more expensive. It is forgotten that value is perceived as benefit relative to cost. While it is cheaper to produce in China, it is time-consuming and more expensive for the long-term to have those items shipped to other countries.

This shows how CSV shows that all stakeholders may benefit as they are dependent. CSV goes beyond marketing “sustainability” as a unique selling point.

Article source: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4884-social-responsibility-money.html

Reference to: Class 15 Class Prep Instruction Reading Material “Creating Shared Value” in Harvard Business Review.

Home Depot’s keeping up with tech changes

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The Home Depot’s CEO said that the company will not concentrate on building more stores as part of their growth strategies. Instead, they have been making use of the web through online sales which have proven to boost the company’s sales. Such external factor is taken into account by Home Depot as an opportunity in order to cut costs and be more efficient. As Home Depot’s CEO mentioned, since technology is changing, customers expectation also change. Customers would most likely prefer to order online and pickup in-store or just ship, hence the company make such options available in order to live up with customers expectation in order not to lose the market with emerging online supply stores.

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At the same time, Home Depot also creates an application recently for smart devices where buyers can look for the name of the product they are looking for and be directed to the location of where the product is in store. This shows how the Home Depot paid attention to the value proposition as the app is designed to solve the most common question of customers; “Where is it?” as mentioned by the CEO. Hence, this enriches customers’ shopping experience by creating convenience to shop in-store.

Post based on Online Videos:

Why Home Depot’s not building many stores

How tech is changing Home Depot

 

Nokia to join Microsoft after a friendly takeover

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After being in a partnership with Microsoft in 2011, Nokia is taking the opportunity to survive in the smartphone industry by selling the company to its partner, Microsoft, for the better good.

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The smartphone industry has been very competitive that it is crucial for companies operating in such industry to implement new strategies. Apple is a major brand that flourishes in the industry, as it continuously adopts product development for its iPhone. Hence, the degree of rivalry is high in the industry. As Nokia’s market and financial position is not looking good, it is reasonable to take the opportunity of integrating itself with Microsoft for a friendly takeover. By doing this, Nokia establishes a competitive advantage in partnering with Microsoft as its OS, competing with Apple and its iOS. This too, creates a high barrier of entry for other smartphone brands as Nokia is integrated with a credible software.

On the other hand, the takeover also allows Microsoft to gain from managerial economies of scale. With Nokia’s hardware employees joining the company, specialization occurs where Nokia’s employees focus on the hardware while Microsoft on the software, creating specialization, boosting efficiency. Hence, this helps Microsoft to gain a competitive advantage as well.

Article source: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2013/sep13/09-02announcementpr.aspx

Satisfries, satisfy everyone!

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Burger King’s Satisfries demonstrates a value proposition that Burger King holds. Since there has been increasing awareness about health issues in consuming fast food, consumers want to have a healthier alternative. Burger King is responding to that through Satisfries, French fries that has a lower fat and calories percentage as opposed to its major competitor, McDonalds. Burger King’s move may gain a competitive advantage as they are responding to the external factor faster. This too, may gain some of McDonalds market, as consumers may prefer to switch to a “healthier” junk food.

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However, Satisfries is still not known yet, even within Burger King’s employees. Employees refer to Satisfries as “crinkle fries” instead of its real name. Employees, being one of the key resources, should be able to market the product’s name as well in order for the product to be known within society. They could have done that in order to better deliver the value proposition the product offers. If Satisfries is known, people can refer that name to an image of healthier fries, creating distinctiveness amongst fries from other brands. It is especially important given that people do not taste any different between the original and new fries (see video). This allows people to still enjoy the same good fries but feeling less guilty.

Article source: http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/24/news/companies/burger-king-fries/index.html

Video Reference:

Burger King’s Satisfries

Blackberry Messenger for iPhone and Android

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BBM is viewed as a good messenger application as it establishes a safer communication among users, using pins that users have to share prior to communicating. In terms of product, BBM is one of the stronger messenger applications.

However, it is also realized that sales of Blackberry gadgets are not looking good toward the present. In order for Blackberry to still make revenue, its strength; the BBM application, is utilized, making it accessible for other smartphone users brand. Looking at the sales of their gadgets, Blackberry is not able to maintain the exclusivity of BBM for their gadgets. Economies of scale might also be hard to achieve at this point as a lot of people prefer other smartphones. The fact that a lot of substitutes have arise such as WhatsApp, Kakao Talk, Line, etc. enable people to communicate with other smartphones brand as easy. Hence, although consumers like the features of BBM, they would most likely unwilling to switch to a Blackberry just for the BBM app, if they have substitute messenger applications that enables them to communicate with other smartphone brands.

Thus, in order for Blackberry to address its declining sales, selling its BBM may be the best option, as they can make more money by selling the software rather than keeping it exclusive with the hardware.

Article source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-23/blackberry-messenger-heads-to-android-and-ios