Monthly Archives: October 2014

http://blog.renren.com/share/383582358/16289835300

Alibaba has carried out its IPO several weeks ago. Its primary division, Taobao, has become a really successful online shopping platform in China. Some consumers are not satisfied with shopping domesticly, but globally, since some luxury goods like Louis Vuitton and Rolex are of higher price in China than overseas because of the tariff. Therefore, these consumers want to purchase them overseas. And Taobao seized this opportunity and  launched a service, in which Taobao recruited some overseas students from China and become a kind of agency between these students and the desiring consumers in China. I will analysis this situation from the perspective of an overseas student.

At first, if we overseas students purchase goods indirectly for consumers in China via this Taobao’s service, we can’t actually make much profit. Let’s say I bought a good that tagged $800CAD, which is approximately ￥4800RMB. Taobao will firstly buy it from me at ￥5000RMB, through which I will make ￥200RMB profit. Then, Taobao will sell it as ￥7000RMB to broad groups of consumers, through which Taobao will make ￥2000RMB profit. And the post-tariff price of the good is ￥10000RMB. So it is a new Revenue Stream of Taobao, by which Taobao makes the most profit at a competitive price which ensure its quatity of demand. But I makes  little revenue.

On the other hand, if I directly buy the same good and bring it back to China to sell, I can tag it ￥6000RMB and I’ll make ￥1200RMB profit, which is 6 times more than the former one. Meanwhile my price is more competitive than Taobao’s price. Nevertheless, my Customer Segment is much more narrow. My potential customers are limited to friends, relatives etc. who can trust me more than Taobao.

To conclude, if overseas students want to make more profit by doing overseas purchasing, they should sell directly to thier customer. If they want to sell more, they can use Taobao as an agency.

© Zhenting Du All Rights Reserved

BlackBerry’s new Passport – enough to get back into the competition?

In this blog, Leonardo consider that Blackberry is utilizing the differenciation strategy in Porter’s Generic Strategics. Under intense competition in smartphone market, Blackberry was nearly defeated by its rivals (e.g. Apple, Samsung etc.). To get rid of this situation, Blackberry released a new phone: Passport. It is a passport-sized smart phone with a squre sreen, with is one of the features that differentiates it from other smart phones. There are also other features like HD Display and longer battery life.

In my opinion, according to Porter’s Five Forces, Blackberry should consider two of these five forces seriously, Threats of Substitutes and Buyer Power. In terms of Threats of Substitutes, which is an important aspect, it is obvious that Apple and Samsung are two major competitors. Apple is recognized by its distinctive concept (i.e. simplicity) and its special attractiveness. And Samsung’s smart phones have big and HD screens and there are many different tpyes which give consumers numbers of choices. Compared to these two rivals, Blackberry is actually not that competitive, although it used the differenciation strategy and has the new Passport. When it comes to Buyer Power, Blackberry currently has no speicial features, such as new and practical technology, attractive appearance and excellent UE (user experience), to attract consumers. And there is a tendency that built-in keyboard is more acceptable, while Blackberry still use the external keyboard.

To conclude, although Blackberry use the differenciation strategy, it still is not so relatively competitive.

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http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

There is plenty of mineral resources in Chilcotin where is the territory of the First Nation. So many corporations plan to set up some mining projects there, one of which is the Taseko’s gold-copper mine project. This project is quite controversial. Some of the people there approve exploiting the mine, whereas others oppose this for thier sovereign territory . The First Nation does impact the project, but I think it does good to the native people.

Admittedly, running the project will unevitably use some of there territory. They declare Chilcotin as their “sovereign territory“. It is understandable that they want to protect their land form being voilated. But there are advantages exploiting the mine. At first, the gold-copper mine is a kind of natural resources. If it isn’t digged out and turns into product, the mine will not realize its value. In other words, the mine will be lying there as nothing. Secondly, the project can bring them with numerous jobs. And then the employment rate goes up, which means the aboriginals can make a living by working for the project rather than hunting in forests. In addition to jobs, the project can also bring tourist, which is also a way to earn money.

To conclude, although the gold-mine project is affected by First Nation, the project can indeed give the dwellers some material comforts.

© Zhenting Du All Rights Reserved

Companies should focus on its people —— the employees

This blog explains why conpanies should distribute salary according to age and how. After I read the blog, I got something I agree with and something I disagree with.

What I agree with is that there exists a dilemma that the young employees should be paid less whereas they are facing more severe problems such as housing problem and finacial struggle. To get out of the dilemma, the companies can provide them with temporary accommodations and financial aid while not rising their salary.

What I somehow disagree is that why these older employees should be paid more is they are in high position. In my opinion, the reasons are that, at first, they are more experienced than the new comers. With their experience, the senior workers can creat more value. In other word, they deserve high salary. Secondly, higher salary is a kind of award to them for the loyalty. Loyalty of employees is important to a company. And paid more, the loyal employees can be models to the younger ones and can inspire them to be loyal, furthermore, to create more value to the companies.

In conclusion, salary should be paid according to the employees age. Because the senior ones deserve more.

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