As Bruce mentioned in his blog in_electronics_japan_still_matters.html, things are not going well for Japan. The Japanese electronics companies are facing fierce competition from other companies such as Apple, HTC, and Samsung. The chipmakers in Japan are also suffering from their competitors from Taiwan and Korea. However, Japan still holds an influential power in the electronic industry.

As Japan produces a huge percent of the electronic products in the world such as semiconductors, BT resin, and all kinds of electronic components; it has a relatively large supplier power. The catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis that took place not long ago can have a big impact in the electronic world. As productions are shutting down one by one; electronic giants such as Nokia and Apple, who are the major customers of Japan’s electronic components, can then be greatly affected.

In this blog post, we see the dependence of huge companies, such as Nokia and Apple, to the Japanese producers. The Japanese producers hold a certain degree of supplier power as it is hard for Nokia and Apple to switch suppliers. This also displays the focus of most Japanese companies, quality. As Japanese producers are able to produce products as such high quality; it is hard for the consumers (which in this case, Nokia and Apple) to look for a close substitute.

I would like to expand on Masaki Tajima’s blog apples-big-iphone-disappointment. As Masaki suggested, Apple’s consumers would start to expect more and more lists of innovative features and designs from its new products as it plays and increasing role in the market. When Apple’s new products don’t live up to the expectations, disappointment among the loyalties is created. In this case, the introduction of the iPhone 4s raised a questionable concern of the public. People looked forward to more than just improvements of its existing features from iPhone 4, they wanted something fresh.

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Although Apple has a large consumer base, such disappointment might also lead to a decrease in consumers’ loyalties to Apple. As the mobile device market is becoming more competitive day after another, consumers would be easily tempted to look for other close substitutes. The introduction of iPhone 4s might, therefore, lead to a decrease in projected sales of the upcoming products. As a result, the threat of substitute for Apple, iPhone 4s specifically, would be increased. Although not to the point of brand crisis, it would definitely have a negative impact on Apple.

An entrepreneurship is best defined as a business enterprise that makes a profit through undertaking risks and innovations. Nokia is just one of the many examples that fit well by the definition. Nokia, the Finnish firm, is one of the leading multinational communications corporations and the largest cell phone manufacturer nowadays, although it is currently being challenged by many other competitive rivals such as Apple, Samsung, and HTC. Nokia, however, were able to rule and established its position in the industry for many decades through its emphasis on innovation.

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Nokia was able to introduce new products with a variety of features that match the customers’ tastes and preferences. It was able to produce mobile phones and sell them at a reasonable price. Through its innovative products, Nokia was able to secure a large amount of loyal customers. On the other hand, Nokia had also managed to cut down its costs of production to achieve economic of scale through its experiences. Nokia, although slowly declining today, is still an entrepreneur that demonstrates new products, new production methods, and new market.

After reading the article “Canadian manufacturer refuses to move off-shore” and Clarisse Ong’s blog post staying-in-canada-refusing-to-outsource, I agree with her response on the fact that refusing to outsource is beneficial to Canada. It saves job opportunities for the Canadian people, and it also contributes to the overall economic development. Moreover, as the article mentioned, Cancoil is competitive in the industry because of its innovation. This implies that Cancoil is aiming to achieve the differentiation strategy.

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On the other hand, according to the article, the founder of Cancoil Thermal Corp, Chander Datta, stated that he is not tempted to move his business offshore to countries like China or India like a lot of the other Canadian manufacturers do. He believes that outsourcing to the third world is a short-lived phenomenon. He pointed out that the high cost of transportation together with the increasing low wages in the third world outweigh the benefits derived from the lower cost of production.

It applies to what we’ve learn about the generic strategy. A company should focus on only one strategy in the long run. If it attempts to achieve both differentiation and cost leadership strategy, it would project a confusing image for the company; and therefore achieve no advantage in the end.

More colleges charging $50,000 or more a year

Statistics have shown that colleges are raising their tuition fees one after another and year after year. There are more colleges with a total tuition fee of $50,000 or above this year than there were last year; and there were more last year than the year before. Among these expensive schools are the Ivy League schools and the liberal art colleges. On the other hand, a national average American worker receives about $42,000 a year. This means that the cost of going to a college now might even exceed the annual income of an average person.

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The increased college tuition fees would not only discourage students from going to colleges, but also encourages students to enter the workforce. People might re-evaluate the pros and cons of going to colleges and decide if it is worth the cost. In general, the increasing tuition fees isn’t a favorable trend. Once people stop attending colleges, the education level of the nation would decrease. And therefore, employers might not be able to find the right employees with the right skills. This contributes to the unemployment rate of the country.

Article- http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/28/pf/college_tuition/index.htm

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The recent NBA lockout broke not only the hearts of all basketball fans, but also the businesses around the arena; especially the ones around the Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California. These businesses generate a huge portion of their income during the basketball season. A manager states that there would be customers coming in and out two hours before the game, and even after game depending on how the home team did. When a popular team such as the Lakers or the Heat visits, the restaurants around the arena are filled with fans. With the lockout now, restaurants and bars report that the staffing will be cut just because they won’t be as busy as they used to.

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Not only do employees at restaurants and bars receive minimum wages, arena employees also make lower wages due to the lockout. There are about 2000 unionized workers at NBA arenas that are affected. It is ironic that the issue erupted between the billionaires, the owners, and the millionaires, the players; while there are a lot of other people who really need the money.

The lockout definitely will hurt the businesses locating near the arenas. This causes a decrease in the profits of those around the arenas; therefore employers would either reduce the employees’ wages or lay off some of the employees. People in general are not spending as much as they used to. And all these might just lead to a slight economic recession; although not severe, but definitely damaging. No one knows when this will be all over, like the female manager in the video said “If the NFL can figure it out, I don’t know why the NBA can’t figure it out.”

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The Blackberry users in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa first started suffering a network outrage on Monday. The problem mainly dealt with text messaging and internet access. Although Research in Motion (RIM) was able to solve the problem immediately; the network was once struck again on Wednesday, this time users in North America. BlackBerry users around the world are frustrated about it. The head of RIM told the press that its technical teams are working on it and that RIM shall do everything they can to regain the trust of its users. The article BlackBerry outage is another black eye for RIM pointed out that service outrage has happened several times in the past few years, and this has become an ongoing problem for RIM.

Things are not going well for RIM during these past few years. It was once the pioneer in the smartphone market and it has experienced tough competition from the iPhone and other smartphones recently. Its stock has also dropped by a significant percentage this year. The frequent network problems might just add more damage to it. If RIM doesn’t deal with this problem; customers are just going to start looking for other alternatives eventually. This can potentially lead to a market loss for RIM. With the smartphone industry growing, consumers are gaining more and more buyer power.

Article- http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/12/technology/blackberry_outage/index.htm

Not getting by on minimum wage

Paul Osterman, the economics professor at MIT, pointed out that Economists point out that in order to promote economic growth to the nation; the state governments need to increase their minimum wages. Nowadays, a huge percent of the people in America who have jobs are earning at the poverty level. Therefore, Osterman argued that offering low-paid jobs will not help the economic development and that increasing the minimum wages is just as important. He said that by raising the minimum wages, it will help the sales of businesses and encourage them to hire more people. Economist William Dunkelberg, however, stated that minimum wages are to be raised when the economy is growing.

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I agree with both Osterman’s and Dunkelberg’s point of views. Dunkelberg was right; during an economic slump, employers can’t afford increased minimum wages since they’re not generating a lot of revenue themselves. However, by increasing the minimum wages, people have more disposable income. And it would then increase the demand level in the economy, contributing to economic growth. Employers can then offer more job opportunities. In conclusion, a family with a low annual income can do a lot more with a few thousands added in paycheck.

Article- http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/27/news/economy/minimum_wage_jobs/index.htm

BofA chief: We have a \’right to make a profit\’

As Bank of America announced its new policy last week of the monthly charges for debit card, it causes waves of protests on the street throughout America against the new policy. The policy will charge $5 a month for clients who make debit card purchases starting in 2012. The CEO of Bank of America, Brian Moynihan, stepped up and defended the company in the interview today. He stated that banks should have the rights to make a profit just like other organizations and he has the duty of doing so for the shareholders. Moynihan felt that it is reasonable for banks to generate profit and expects

I agree with Moynihan on his view that banks have the rights to earn profits, because the common goal and purpose of all organizations is earn a profit through their operations. As a consumer, however, I don’t like the policy like most other people. It is so convenient to make debit card purchases nowadays that a lot of people don’t withdraw money from the ATM machines. The bank saw and caught this lucrative business opportunity as many of the clients will still be willing to make debit card purchases.

Article- http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/05/news/economy/bank_of_america_moynihan/index.htm

According to the article Unemployment claims fall to lowest level since April, the number of people that applied for unemployment benefits decreased significantly over the last week, and it has been the lowest figure since April with the number below 400,000. Even though this is a very positive result and is showing improvement on job market, it is still only an evaluation of a week. Moreover, the unemployment rate is still at 9.1%; with approximately 14 million people in the United Stated still unemployed. The interesting thing is that there are currently 3 million jobs still available.

Many employers point out the problem with job unemployment now is that the jobs that are currently available require specific skills that many of the unemployed people don’t have. People that fit the job descriptions of aircraft mechanic or advanced manufacturing engineer… etc. are, indeed, difficult to find.

I believe that employment rate is definitely an important factor to a country’s economy. A country with a high unemployment rate might go into a severe recession. With less people employed, a country is likely to produce less goods and services; which contribute to the slowdown of the economic growth. Therefore I think the government definitely focuses on the unemployment rate.

Article- http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/29/news/economy/unemployment_benefits/index.htm