In common sense, the United Nations is a powerful international organization. It works on economic and social development programs, improves human rights and reduces global conflicts. However, the United Nations cares about the public benefits rather than individuals. Moreover, the economic support form the United Nations is temporary and it cannot support for a long time. Therefore, we still need the Arc or social enterprise, even though the United Nations is fully funded.

The definition of Arc or social enterprises is pursuing innovative idea with the potential to solve community problems as generating income. These organizations provide education programs, banking services, etc. They not only support people with troubles, but also teach them business skills. With these skills and knowledge,  people can obtain ability to sustain their life.

As a saying goes, “Give a man a fish ad he can eat for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.” Social enterprises are trying to teach people fishing. Their behavior will lead people to achieve self-sufficient and live with hope.

 

Communication is the transfer of information from one part to another. Is communication important? Is it difficult to carry out? After reading blogs of Marcia, who has devoted over 25 years to working with sales professionals and managers to enhance sales performance, I got some . In one of her blog posts“Want Better Sales & Customer Relationships? Do This One Thing,” she uses many examples to show that improving internal communication is one of the most important steps to increase sales and improve relationships with customers.

I strongly agree that companies need internal communication to share information and promote cooperation. Additionally, companies also need external communication. They need to exchange information with their suppliers and customers, and they also need feedbacks from their customers.

However, why communication is not easy to set up. Marcia thought the reason is personal conflict between departmental managers. From my perspectives, I think the competition between managers and employees may ; Furthermore, personalities of employees and culture of companies are also reasons for ineffective cross-department communication.

In my classmate Brian Wei Gonce’s blog, he used Zappos’s focus on employee benefits and training to established success as an example to prove his point that happy employees lead to happier customers.

I agree with his viewpoint. I think a comfortable working environment can make employees enjoy their jobs and become more dedicated, so the company can increase productivity. Moreover, comprehensive benefits not only help employees to work hard and maintain their loyalty but also attract more competent applicants for the company. Low employee turnover and employee’s passion and enthusiasm can guarantee the quality of services.

However, I wonder whether all companies should focus on improving employee happiness. In my opinion, I think companies with large number of employees or low remaining profit should not follow Zappos’ example because they cannot afford such a huge expense. If other companies try to duplicate Zappo’s strategy, they will encounter problems before obtaining return. Most companies should focus more on employees’productivity rather than their happiness. Although related-performance pay and bonus may not achieve the same effect, they can at some level motivate employees to work hard. More importantly, these alternatives are much cheaper.

Wherever I go, I can always find McDonald’s. Its crowded stores have been a special advertisement to show McDonald’s strong brand value. However, the transition of macro environment leads McDonald’s strength to become powerless. In one of my classmates Peter Lee’s Blog, he thought consumer preference causes the decline of McDonald’s worldwide sales. From my perspectives, I strongly agree with his viewpoint that McDonald’s should value the quality of its foods.

Low price, cleanness, convenienceand efficiency guarantee McDonald’s popularity. However, people are always greedy. With the improved quality of life, people begin pursuing healthier food instead of cheaper, faster food. This shift in customer preference becomes a huge threat to McDonald’s. Therefore, McDonald’s must include health awareness in its core value propositions and try its best to sell this point to customers.

Furthermore, this macro environment not only influences McDonald’s but also other fast food restaurants. Therefore, being the first restaurant to promote healthy fast food can change consumers’ impression of McDonald’s. Although it may be difficult to change customers’ original impression of McDonald’s (i.e., cheap and unhealthy), it is possible to realize this strategy.

In Common 101, I have learned about the theory of disruptive innovation. When we discussed about examples of disruptive innovation, digital camera was the first thing that came into my mind. This innovation has destroyed traditional film industry totally. Kodak is the most representative example.

In 2012, Kodak, the king of the film kingdom, filed for bankruptcy protection because the rise of digital industry took over the traditional film market. The more unbelievable thing is that Kodak was the first to develop digital camera. However, this new product was dropped to protect Kodak’s photographic film business. As a result, this abandoned technology brought the film industry huge destruction.

Disruptive innovations can become a huge threat although they may only occupy a small market at the initial stage. Therefore, companies ought not to stop making progress and innovating. From my perspective, companies should invest some of their profit in innovation since a valuable innovation can become a company’s unique selling point and give the company competitive advantages.

 

Grasping the trend of market and keeping innovative ability are ways to survive in competitions.