Monthly Archives: November 2014

Positive Sustainability Through Enterprise

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It is understandable that there are a lot of questions whether social enterprise and initiatives like the Arc are really necessary and not a redundant attempt considering that the United Nations was fully funded. However, after acknowledging the current state of the world’s welfare I strongly believe that the involvements of social enterprise and initiatives like the Arc are still very much needed.

Social enterprises are a sustainable cell on their own, unlike organisations such as the United Nation that seeks funding to carry out its purpose. In my opinion this approach will give a more sustainable positive outcome rather than depending on a third party for resources, taking account of the increasing problem of scarcity. Not to mention, I feel that it is necessary to point out that Social enterprises are more focused on creating an independent and continuous growth in the community that they targeted rather than short term improvements. Their involvement are targeted in catalyzing small businesses which in the end can create more jobs and therefore income. These organizations are built with a more direct focal point, rather than the United Nations that has a very large organizational structure which have a broader mission.

 In conclusion, i strongly believe that the presence of social enterprise and organisational such as the arc are still very much necessary in building a better quality of life . It is not debatable that the more help available the better is for everybody.

References:

http://www.socialenterprisecanada.ca/en/learn/nav/whatisasocialenterprise.html

http://www.un.org/en/development/

Honda Chose Quality Over Quantity

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honda takanobu

This post is in response to an article by Business Insider (written by Chang-Ran Kim) called “Honda CEO Says To Prioritise Quality Over Sales Target”. In this article it states that Honda chose to focus more on improving the quality of their cars rather than hitting the targeted sales margin. I strongly believe that this choice will improve Honda’s competitive advantage in the market for the longer run.

In Honda Motor Co’s President and Chief Executive Officer Takanobu’s speech he expressed his unhappiness with the fact people died in their products with airbags.He shared his points in a very personal manner in which I feel is a suitable way to built a deeper connection between the business and customer.

More importantly, the decision to choose quality over quantity shows that Honda has a strong and clear control of objectives that can be a very valuable character in a highly competitive market like this. Adding to its value preposition, this will increase the trust of consumers in terms of the quality of the products, eventually leading to increase in sales.

In my opinion, Honda’s decision to pursue quality over quantity is the key element that allows Honda to gain a long term competitive advantage against other companies in the automobile industry.

Creating Shared Value, is it Always Successful?

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mcd

After reading Yi Liu’s blog Why Organic Foods, I decided to state my views of the effectiveness of creating shared value in businesses. Yi Liu’s article pointed out how McDonald’s started to build a shared value by using organic produce. I agree with Yi’s point that this business decision will enter McDonald’s into a new market that can potentially brighten the prospects of the business. However, it is debatable that this strategy will create a sustainable positive growth for McDonalds.

I think McDonald’s attempt to increase its sales by suddenly creating a shared value is not a sustainable and the most suitable solution for the company. I feel re-conceiving their products in this way is too far from the original culture and value proposition of this company. In a sense, this strategy is not very promising in the long run as people will not go to McDonalds to seek healthier food option ,instead a fast delicious tasting meal. This strategy might boost sales in the short run as it spikes the curiosity and excitement of the market, however not sustainably.

Overall, I believe focusing on other parts of social need such as a better employee-employer relationship is a more reasonable possible shared value that McDonald’s can consider.

Family Influence in Businesses – Response to Victor Leung’s Blog

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lee family

This blog is a response to Victor Leung’s blog Family Controlled Firms Success. In his blog he emphasized on how family controlled firms maintain their success by providing stability through the concept of family in the working environment.

 Firstly, I would like clarify that I agree with Victor’s point. The presence of control of the founding family undoubtedly will provide the employees and also consumer with stability and trust. This is proven in the case of Asian electronics giant Samsung, French beauty company L’oreal, and a retail giant Walmart. These companies are very successful, showing the benefits of family influence on the growth on companies. On the other hand, what constitutes as “family controlled” are not very clear as there are no common definition of it. Family influence in a business can come in different forms such as management positions, stockholdings, and board representation. Each of these influence affect the workings of the business in different degrees.

In addition, I strongly believe that the presence of family influence should be cultivated from the beginning, unlike what victor pointed out. Instead of getting a professional takeover during growing and unstable state, family controlled businesses should preserve their corporate structure as it might be very hard to obtain control when the business is already far influenced by other external parties.

References:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-largest-family-businesses-in-america-2011-11?op=1 

http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/3413/samsung-materials-business-samsung-materials-affiliates-hold-investment-due-slow

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