Treating employees right is one of the most important things a company should do in order to succeed, giving them the right training is also very important as it increases productivity, gives a competitive advantage, reduced labor turnover etc. Not only these it also effects the return on investment (ROI).

One of the blogs[1] I read talks about how small companies don’t really invest in employee development and face higher labor turnover compared to the “fortune 100 best companies to work for”, this is because they spent twice the time in training their employees and improving their skills compared to the other companies.

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Company that provide training for their employees are the ones that generally offer better customer service, creates a better relationship with their customers and the ROI connects predominantly well in sales and customer relationship departments, this is because customers are the ones who will eventually create sales on the longer term[3].

While some companies do not offer training, companies like Seattle Genetics, a biotechnology company focusing on developing antibody-based therapies to treat cancer, provide tuition compensation, onsite training courses to almost all their employees. They believe that developing their employee skills is an investment for both the company as well as the employees[4].

The blog that I have used here says that neglecting employee development drastically increases labor turnover, as there is a direct link between training of employees and the number of people leaving the company.

Image 2[5]: Happy employees in Seattle genetics

Taking an in-class example, One of Zappos employee spoke to one of the customers for around 4 hours, this shows the skills and patience he must have learnt through the training process.

Employee development might be very important to a business that works with technology and innovation, but sometimes it is not always a must to provide training specially in small companies, with lower profits, as they have other areas to invest in.

I believe that companies should not only train the employees to decrease their labor turnover but also because, employees should be able to adapt the change in the market conditions and the trends around them, and it is the company’s responsibility to do so.  Like stated in the blog, “employee development is also an area where it can be difficult to prove a clear ROI, which is why it’s often neglected” so I think whether or not the company can prove the ROI they should consider training employees and giving them a chance to develop.

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[1] Achievers. “How Neglecting Employee Development Affects Your ROI.” [Engage]- The Employee Engagement Blog by Achievers, Achievers /Wp-Content/Uploads/2015/06/engage_logo-300×1021-300×102.Png, 1 Nov. 2017, blog.achievers.com/2017/11/neglecting-employee-development-affects-roi/.

[2] “Main Menu.” HR Management + Strategy, hr-management-slides.com/employee-development-is-the-key-to-build-strong-human-power/.

[3] Hopp, Armin. “Unlocking the ROI of Employee Development.” Unlocking the ROI of Employee Development, 19 Sept. 2016.

[4] “10 Companies With Awesome Training And Development Programs.” Monster Career Advice, www.monster.com/career-advice/article/companies-with-awesome-training-development-programs.

[5] “Seattle Genetics Reviews.” Glassdoor, www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Seattle-Genetics-Reviews-E12902.htm?countryRedirect=true.

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The pharmaceutical market is one of the most potent market in the world with a high potential of changing the economy drastically in a positive way. The market structure of pharmaceutical industry is an oligopolistic competition. This means that the market is consisted of very few companies operating. Why has India been dubbed as the ‘pharmacy of the world’? Why are the medicines so cheap in India? It is because of India’s patent law that helps its billion citizens to have access to the medicine as health of the workforce is important and inelastic so it helps contribute to the growth rate of the economy[2]. Other countries have a much higher percent of newer drugs launched than in India, this is because of the high prices that are charged leading to more engagement into research and development. As mentioned by one of my Peer’s, Pornnapphan (Proud) Channara[3], use of technology is rapidly increasing and that is one of the causes of globalization, and several countries like the USA have access to greater technology that is used to manufacture medical drugs that leads to lower costs and more growth opportunities in this industry. When comparing, USA charges almost 60 times the price for a medical drug in comparison to Indian pharmacies and therefore spends a higher percentage of the profits in research and development[4].

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Even if the government of India wants to import medicines from for example USA, the medicines have to cross hurdle of FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval which Indian and other countries’ legislators also follow. Due to USA’s patent law, which gives incentive to the firms for profit, various new drugs are researched and released to the public market within 2-3 years. However, for the same drugs to either get imported or manufactured in India, it takes around 5-6 years. Nevertheless, the Indian Government has proved that it places the value of health over profit.

Despite the patent law and FDA approval hurdles, Indian pharmaceutical companies have stable, rising profits; although not enough to sustain the competition from foreign countries, however, India is still one of the largest provider of common drugs worldwide with the Indian generics accounting for 20 percent of total exports of the world in terms of volume[6].

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Therefore, government has to decide how to balance these two profound goals, of regulating costs versus increasing access. India isn’t rich enough to have it all, to be able to pay full price for all the advanced treatments while giving medical care to most of its citizens. India’s situation serves as a reminder of how expensive and cheap prices of drugs have drastic impact.

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[1] “The Current State of Pharmaceutical Logistics.” DSV Global Transport and Logistics, www.nl.dsv.com/NL-Market-Monitor/NL-The-Current-State-of-Pharmaceutical-Logistics.

[2] Ubel, Peter. “The True Cost Of Low Drug Prices.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 5 Jan. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/peterubel/2015/01/05/the-true-cost-of-low-drug-prices/#7a2526541e75.

[3] “Pornnapphan (Proud) Channara | Just Another UBC Blogs Site.” Pornnapphan Proud Channara, blogs.ubc.ca/proudpchannara/

[4] www.ETHealthworld.com. “The Pill That Costs $9,000 in US Sells for $70 in India – ET HealthWorld.” ETHealthworld.com, 7 Feb. 2016, health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/pharma/the-pill-that-costs-9000-in-us-sells-for-70-in-india/50890307.

[5] “We’Re Douglas, the New Zealand Pharmaceutical Company with World-Class Capabilities.”We’re Douglas, the New Zealand Pharmaceutical Company with World-Class Capabilities – Douglas Pharmaceuticals, www.douglaspharmaceuticals.com/en/.

[6] “Brand India.” IBEF : India Brand Equity Foundation, www.ibef.org/industry/pharmaceutical-india.aspx.

[7] GTI Media – Malaysia’s leading graduate careers and education media provider. “Pharmaceutical Processes.” Coursesmalaysia.com, coursesmalaysia.com/article/pharmaceutical-processes.aspx.

In this case, Avocados, these are fruits that are very healthy but also extremely bitter yet they have hit high record prices due to high demand and scare supply. As stated, the supply of avocados has decreased from 360,000 trays per week to 100,000 trays per week because of rain.

Similarly, the article[1] states various reasons for increase in demand. There is a boost in demand of avocados due to the marketing and health campaigns. People have also become health conscious. Due to an increase in demand and fall in supply, the prices of avocados increased.

Image 1: Avocado

Due to the marketing strategies and health campaign there has been an increase in demand, however there is a decrease in supply because of rain, indicating an increase in price and decrease in quantity demanded.

During the summer, due to unsuitable weather conditions, the production of fruits is likely to decrease in Australia, which causes them to import avocados from Western Australia and New Zealand[2].

Image 2: sign outside a café

This is an import expenditure, and this transaction is recorded in the current account section of a country’s balance of payment. In this situation, Western Australia and New Zealand’s avocado producers are likely to benefit as the demand for their goods increases. Australian avocados producers incur a fall in revenue, and hence income. Avocados, being a unique fruit and having no close substitutes has a high demand. Also, that they cannot store avocados as they are perishable good, So, changes in price, will not cause an immediate change in the supply of avocados.

Increase in demand for avocados was essentially due to the promotion and marketing done by the Avocado Australian company, when they started using social media to promote avocados, they also created videos that had unique recipes using avocados which was one of the strongest strategy till date[3].

Image 3: Screenshot from one of the recipe’s provided by Avocado Australian company

This shows how important marketing and promotion is in today’s world and the role it plays in order to receive higher profits or demand in this case, even though the prices have increased consumers are willing to pay these high prices in order to satisfy themselves.I feel that any product or service can attain increased demand if the product or service has been marketed in the right way and at the right time.

Word Count: 408

[1] Webster, Lara. “Avocado Price Rise Driven by Scarce Supply and Increased Demand.” ABC Rural, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 Jan. 2016, www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-01-20/australian-avocado-prices-hit-record-highs/7099046.

[2] Slezak, Michael. “The Great Avocado Shortage of 2016 Looks to Be Toast as Fresh Harvests Ripen.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 Feb. 2016, www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/14/avocado-prices-about-to-fall-from-their-7-high-to-the-usual-2-or-3.

[3] Maree. “Australian Avocados Marketing Update.” Avocados Australia, www.avocado.org.au/public-articles/australian-avocados-marketing-update-5/.

International Business- The key to success

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International business comprehends profitable accomplishments that take place to encourage the transfer of goods, services, resources, designs, and technologies within national frontiers. There are different ways international business takes place: importing, exporting, licensing, franchising etc. For a company to succeed in an international market, it should be able to identify its diversity and should be able to cope with the uncertainties and possibilities in a repeatedly fluctuating universal market.

There are a large number of organizations that are involved in International trade one way or another. We can take an example of McDonalds, this is an American fast-food chain opened in 1940, and by today it has more than 36,000 outlets all over the world[2]. And according to research there was a higher sale all over the world compared to the USA[3].

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Although, the question that arises here is: why do companies want to expand internationally? If answered in two words, it’s because they want “higher profits.” However, there are many other reasons to expand on a global level: expanding internationally helps improve the brand image and loyalty, and this helps in increasing the brand value of the company, hence, acts as an intangible asset to a company. International expansion also helps increase revenue streams and this enhances the growth of the company. Expanding in new markets also creates employment which benefits the society as a whole. After conducting market research, the company can also take an advantage of favorable government regulations of a particular country, making it easy for the company to adjust to its surrounding. For example, expanding in countries like Hungary and Ireland have a very low percentage of corporate tax[5] and expanding in such countries would benefit a company as they would be paying lower percentages of taxes.

However, when considering expanding internationally, a business must also consider its drawbacks. Sometimes if a company grows a lot, the owner might lose his ownership over the company and decisions made by others may affect the business in a negative way. Another drawback is that a lot of market research is required which is very time consuming and expensive. Expanding internationally also involves high amount of investment which involves high risks leading to stakeholder conflicts between owners and shareholders. Expanding internationally also involves cultural differences, taste preferences etc. which may lead to redesigning of goods or services, changing working methods and many more external influences.

To conclude, international business is of great importance to a company as it can help the company reach heights of success to an extent, but it also has its limitations that can affect the company negatively.

Word Count – 445

[1] “Certificate in International Business.” Texila Edutech Pvt Ltd, www.texilaedu.org/product/certificate-in-international-business/.

[2] “McDonald’s.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Sept. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s.

 [3] Press, Associated. “McDonald’s Sales Rise Globally–but Dip in U.S.” Inc.com, Inc., www.inc.com/associated-press/mcdonalds-earnings-q4-2016.html.

[4] “McDonald’s.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Sept. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s.

[5] Jahnsen, Kari, and Kyle Pomerleau. “Corporate Income Tax Rates around the World, 2017.”Tax Foundation, Tax Foundation, 11 Sept. 2017, taxfoundation.org/corporate-income-tax-rates-around-the-world-2017/.

“A business should have morality and treasury”  

Business Ethics are the values and principles that regulate the comportment, competence, and conduct in business firms. Formulating business ethics could lead to improved brand image as society believes that ethically responsible organizations value people and the resources more than aiming to make higher profits. Increasing public awareness has become one of the major goals of almost all organizations and in order to do so most of the organizations strive to be ethical.

Kellogg’s company, the multinational food manufacturer, managed to create significance in the society by supporting the LGBT community[1], they demonstrated their support towards them by featuring a gay couple in their advertisement[2]. This advertisement strategy does create an impact on the society, but can now achieve higher number of employees that are a part of the LGBT community. The strategy attempts to improve brand image and shows that Kellogg’s is being ethically responsible. The LGBT community is a topic of great concern. According to research the Christian community was not really pleased with this initiative, they believe that firm is a food manufacturer and does not play a role in weighing the sexual preferences. This created a negative impression of Kellogg’s, due to which they lost a great number of Christian customers[3]. The term ‘ethics’ may postulate numerous definitions, the reason being that an individual’s judgement may vary from one another and in various events. Hence, it is difficult to gain a common understanding of the term. We often find it difficult to differentiate between the good and the bad, ethics become adaptable in accordance with our dynamic world.

I, personally, believe that a business should be ethical but not at the expense of their financial well-being, as a business is a profit-oriented system that will only continue to exist on the firm’s ability to generate revenue.

Image: Kellogg’s supporting the LGBT community[4].

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[1] [1] “Partners in Respect: Kellogg Company.” GLSEN, www.glsen.org/article/partners-kellogg-company.

[2] [2] “Gay Couple Set to Feature in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Advert.” PinkNews, 28 Jan. 2017, www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/01/28/gay-couple-set-to-feature-in-kelloggs-corn-flakes-advert/.

[3] Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | Nov 11, 2014 1:45 PM. “Christians Upset With Kellogg’s for Promoting Homosexuality in ‘Tony the Tiger’ Gay Pride Ad.” The Christian Post, www.christianpost.com/news/christians-upset-with-kelloggs-for-promoting-homosexuality-in-tony-the-tiger-gay-pride-ad-129529/.

[4]  “Friday from the Frontlines: Pride@Kellogg Hosts LGBT Ally Week.” Clear Admit, 10 June 2016, www.clearadmit.com/2016/06/friday-frontlines-kellogg-celebrates-lgbt-ally-week/.

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