Mariska's Blog

There is no denying that the way our world functions is changing. We have diverted from the classic analogue to the now modern digital. Nowadays, people have access to vast amounts of information, whether it is through their mobile, tablet or computer. What companies need to realize is that their digital presence is crucial in developing or maintaining a positive brand image. Through having a digital presence, companies will be able to build relationships, engage consumers and maintain brand loyalty. These are all essential aspects in improving a company. Digital…read more

In the world of social media today, there is nothing more that most of us long for than to maximize our likes and increase our followers. Some of us spend hours trying to find the perfect picture to Instagram or profile and some companies hire professionals to be in charge of their social media pages, but at the end of the day we all have that one goal: to get the most number of likes and followers possible. Though I don’t consider myself to have an incredible number of likes,…read more

As a person who has lived in China her entire life, I sincerely say that Wal-Mart is definitely not as dominant there as it is in the United States. A company’s buyer power, certainly does not determine its’ success. As Anthea stated in her blog “Wal-Mart has perfectly exhibited the ripple effect of when the average Chinese consumer has buyer power against the supermarket giant.” Many multinational companies including Wal-Mart have targeted China for its booming development. Wal-Mart’s strategy now is to stock the Chinese stores with newer, upgraded products….read more

I came across a fellow classmate Brian Chung’s blog post, discussing how he indeed disagrees with Tim Horton’s CEO, Marc Caira’s idea of cutting down the menu size. After reading his response, I found that I agreed with the CEO’s decision. Brian discusses how “this method is similar to Porter’s cost leadership strategy. Cairo aims to move away from product differentiation but to focus more on efficiency in distributing products.” I agree with this decision since cutting down the menu size will allow customers to be more decisive, thus creating…read more

Through the years, Starbucks has established themselves in the coffee industry, their reputation has allowed them to succeed like never before. People all over the world enjoy Starbucks coffee, whether its freshly made or from the bags. Coffee has become a part of people’s daily routines, without Starbucks in the morning, it is almost impossible to function. However “An arbitrator on Tuesday concluded that Starbucks must pay $2.23 billion in damages plus $527 million in prejudgment interest and attorney’s fees, following the coffee giant’s early termination of a bagged coffee…read more

Microsoft Office has been one of the world’s most useful software, corporations and individuals rely on it everyday. Microsoft has always stockpiled “large amounts of cash” from Office productivity software suite sales. However, in the past year “Microsoft has made it easier for consumers to access Office via the cloud and online downloads.” Google Docs first made their appearance in 2006, however it was not as widely used or known. Cloud based services were not as popular and the support for Office formats was minimal. Ever since then, Google Docs…read more

As someone who has lived in China their entire life, I have been accustomed to buying cheap things. Living in the suburbs made it frustrating to travel downtown, with all the traffic and pollution, it wasn’t convenient to travel downtown just to shop. I then discovered online shopping. It was convenient, cheap and had tons of variety. On Monday, November 11th 2013, China celebrated their Singles’ Day, this day has now turned into China’s shopping spree. The article quoted,“Tmall.com, one of Alibaba’s shopping sites, said Chinese bought 1.6 million bras, which…read more

In this generation, social media has taken over our lives. Every morning I wake up and the first things I do are check my Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.  Social media has taken up so much of my life that it has become part of my daily routine. Snapchat is an application that allows people to see their friends pictures temporarily. This relatively newer application has been bombarded with many take over offers. Among these companies who offered is the world’s most used social media, Facebook.  Facebook had offered Snapchat a…read more

For decades, McDonalds has always been criticized for it’s unhealthy fattening meals. Due to the recent problems regarding obesity, particularly in the United States, McDonalds has been under pressure to provide healthier meals. Because of all this pressure, McDonalds has announced that “it would no longer market some of its less nutritional options to children and said it also planned to include offerings of fruits and vegetables in many of its adult menu combinations.” McDonalds has worked together with Clinton Foundation’s campaigns to promoting the reduction of childhood obesity. McDonald’s…read more

In a new era where convenience and efficiency are the center of our lives, the most essential things such as eating have been completely tweaked to fit our quick paced and convenient-essential lives. Nowadays, anyone can be sitting in the park or their car and order food to their exact location. According to Robert Asmail the manager of Due Fratelli Pizza, “we go to the park all the time; we go to the beaches all the time, the police officers, they call on the corner, say, ‘We are outside patrolling.’ We…read more