KIM DOMIL'S COMM 101 BLOG

The world’s largest hamburger chain has highlighted that McCafe is one of its key growth opportunities. McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson noted on Thursday that coffee is one of the fasted growing categories in the global drinks business and that the company has lass than its “fair share” of the market. Thompson sees the thirst for coffee as a huge opportunity for company growth.

The increasing sales of Starbucks Corp. are a signal for Thompson to enter into the coffee market. This fall, McDonald’s has added a pumpkin spice latté to the menu of McCafe coffee drinks, a drink that has been a specialty at Starbucks for a few years now.

Meanwhile, Starbucks is trying to boost food sales and attract more traffic in the afternoon and evening hours. Starbucks has revamped its sandwiches and introduced new baked goods and additional items to the menu. But Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO is not in favor of the comparison being made with Mcdonald’s. They’re in another business — they’re fast-food,” Schultz said in an interview on CNBC earlier this year.  Similarly, Thompson stresses that McDonald’s is still a restaurant business and is not trying to be something it is not.

Microsoft has been known as the main example of pitting employees against each other in attempts to reward the excellent and weed out the weak. But it is evident that workers aren’t excited about this method of stack ranking and it actually motivates employees less than it is supposed to. A former Microsoft employee recently told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that this practice encouraged “employees to backstab their own co-workers.” While a bit of pressure can motivate people, having such an intense and competitive environment is not healthy or encouraging for its employees.

This change will effectively change the system in which current and future of Microsoft employees will work with. Microsoft HR, Lisa Brummel issued a memo, according to the sources who spoke with the Verge. In the memo she says, “This is a fundamentally new approach to performance and development designed to promote new levels of teamwork and agility for breakthrough business impact.”

The key elements of change include

–       more emphasis on teamwork and collaboration

–       more emphasis on employee growth and development

–       no more curve

As discussed in Comm 101, ranking and pressuring employees is more likely to have a negative effect and reduce overall incentive to do better. Feelings of discouragement and pressure are feelings that employees want to carry out throughout their entire work experience. It is a great idea for Microsoft to kill off is controversial stack-ranking system from now on.

Notes: Week 10 – Human Resources (What motivates employees?)

H&M, a very popular Swedish retailer, first released its Conscious Initiative two years ago in 2007. Since then, H&M has been very focused on their sustainable movement. This collection has been using a range of sustainable materials including organic cotton, recycled polyester, recycled polymade and Tencel. The original 30 piece collection has now grown to double its size, with an additional 20-piece exclusive line of super high-end suits.

Catrina Midby, Head of Fashion Sustainability Communication at H&M claims that they always have new developments for the Collection. In the spring of 2014, they will be introducing pieces made from organic silk, leather and an alternative to cotton that is made from ethical produced bamboo. H&M also has started a global clothes collection initiative where customers can drop off unwanted in every store. Midby is also working with former H&M collaborator, Stella McCartney, who is keen on promoting sustainability. McCartney says, “The whole idea is about changing all behaviours for everyone and how we can all participate in this conscious world – working together as an industry and using brand power to help other brands.”

It is nice to see that huge retail leaders like H&M is implementing sustainability in a very effective, innovative and effective way.

Here is a link to their webpage dedicated to Sustainability:
http://about.hm.com/en/About/Sustainability.html

Notes: Week 8 – Sustainability 

Facebook Seeks New Form of Advertising

Kim Domil’s Reply:

I agree that mobile ads will be Facebook’s “key new sources od ongoing revenue growth.” Personally, I am not irritated or annoyed that Facebook has implemented ads into their website. As a consistent Facebook user, I come across many of these ads daily. From time to time, I actually take the time to look through some of the ads. I like the way they display their ads because they are not disruptive to my activity. I think that Facebook’s decision to add these advertisements as a consistent revenue stream is simply a good idea as it is beneficial for their company and not disruptive  to users.

Perks of working at Google.

Kim Domil’s Reply:

I agree that Google creates an environment that encourages teamwork and innovation. Google’s environment and corporate culture is very different from Microsoft’s. The staff ranking system that Microsoft practices can have very negative effects on the incentives of employees. Google should keep up its good work and effective systems that boost its employee incentives.

It has been announced that Twitter is finally going public and many investors are beyond excited. Anxious buyers have mistakenly bought Tweeter Audio and Video shares believing that they were purchasing shares from the social media site, Twitter. Tweeter Audio and Video was once a healthy and growing nationwide retailer until 2007 when they filed bankruptcy. The announced ticker symbol Twitter: TWTR is very similar to the ticker of Tweeter: TWTRQ. It is believed that the very similar ticker symbols were the cause of the misunderstandings. Last Friday, October 4th, Tweeter saw its stock price rise 684 percent.

It is evident that there are many investors that interested in purchasing shares from Twitter. I think that the company has a lot of growth potential and I would consider investing in their company. I personally am a religious user of Twitter and could not go a day without at least looking through my feed. Twitter has had a very strong and consistent presence amongst mobile users for the past couple of years. I too am excited for Twitter’s IPO.

Notes: Week 7- Stocks &IPOS 

I have. The $67.20 I have paid has contributed to the $800 million worth of sales made within 24 hours, and $1 billion within the first three days of release, an all time high. Rockstar’s recent release of GTAV has been named the fasted selling entertainment product in history. Now how could I, someone who is not part of the young male target market, have been so inclined to preorder and purchase this game?

I am sure that I am not the only to say that, the most dominating factor for Rockstar Games’ great success has been their ability to market their product efficiently. One of the last titles to be released in the Grand Theft Auto series was GTA IV in 2008, resulting in the long anticipated release of GTA V. The frequent and sudden launch announcement of the game that was almost forgotten was able to create quite a stir.

This particular game, like no other, satisfies my demands for the action and adventure I expected, after having seen their attractive advertisements and teasers. As someone who is not much of a gamer, I am sure that those who have played this game always have a difficult time navigating away from their console after having started. As a result, I am not surprised of the success they have accomplished.

Source:

Notes: Week 5 ; Marketing, Branding & Positioning

Many disasters have occurred in the past due to inevitable oil spills. As it appears to be, technological solutions have been made to prevent such disasters. The Intego Group has developed 3D simulation and visualization software solutions that are becoming a major part of operations on offshore oil-drilling platforms.

The evolution of this new technology is a positive addition to the operations of oil drilling. Before proceed directly into the process, this simulator can “recreate exact virtual copies of equipment and oil-drilling platform itself,” thus providing an opportunity to find the best way to proceed safely and informed.

What a great idea, but what is this going to cost? Well, the idle oil rigs cost $600K per day, but the implementation of the technology will eventually pay for itself while it is preventing disasters and preparing for a more adequate procedure. I think the cost of this additional operation system is worth it if it saves lives and the planet from disasters.

Sources:

PR Newswire. “New technology promises to reduce risk of operational failure of offshore oil rigs.” Reuters. 5 Sept. 2013. Reuters. 26 Sept. 2013 <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/05/fl-integogroup-idUSnPNFL74805+1e0+PRN20130905>

Notes: Week 4 ; Operations 

I have recently discovered a blog created a by Seth Godin an American author, entrepreneur and marketer.

One post that appeals to me is

“The closer you get to the front, the more power you have over the brand.” 

Godin discusses the importance of employees, especially those who interact with the customers directly. The impact of the minimum wage front faces can depreciate the value a customer has of the brand or even cripple the company image completely.

It is important to not take these people for granted as they reflect in the company’s reputation and brand image. Employers should take special care in the hiring and training of their employees. They should take the time to go over the company values and employee responsibilities and expectations.

I agree with Godin in his conclusion to “Hire better people. Trust them more. And be prepared to make it right when they don’t.”

The collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh, where over a thousand people were killed and many more injured, is a very good example of why good safety practices should be met especially within a compact workplace. The tragedy encouraged retailers to improve the safety of garment factories and break ties with manufacturers unable to live up to the standards.

In accordance Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, released a blacklist of more than 200 factories that displayed serious safety and labor problems or unauthorized subcontracting. But it appears that two of the prohibited Bangladeshi factories, Mars Apparels and Simco Dresses, have continued to send large shipments to Walmart. Ahmed, a director of Mars Apparels, claims that he has passed all his audits, which uses the World wide Responsible Accredited Production program, since 2008 and “never had any problems with Walmart or heard about its list of banned factories.” All of the shipments were cleared through customs several times without question, so why is Ahmed’s company “red failed”?

R. Edward Freeman says that any business must create value for all stakeholders, including suppliers. Walmart, rather than promoting safety within the workplace of Bangladesh suppliers, is shifting blame to partners through their approach of blacklisting and is damaging the factories’ reputations such as Mars Apparels. If Walmart is “working on an alternative plan,” they should start by reevaluating their list of “unauthorized” partners because they are acting solely upon self-interest instead of good ethics and accountability.

Sources:

Grabell, Michael. “Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories” Propublica., 12 June 2013. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

“What Is Stakeholder Theory? – R. Edward Freeman.” YouTube. YouTube, 01 Oct. 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2013.

Photo Source: 1322876800561_ORIGINAL.jpg

Notes:
WEEK 2 : Business Ethics