Both Toyota and Nissan, two major manufacturers from Japan, issued fresh vehicle recalls in U.S market. Toyota decided to call back Sienna minivans since it could shift out of park mode without the driver depressing the pedal. Meanwhile, Nissan issued a recall in order to prevent accidents from using the unstable accelerator pedal’s sensor.

Issues:

Both the company experienced a trust crisis

Analysis:

Consumers may have less interest in purchasing cars made by Toyota or Nissan. According to BBC news and China Daily, this is not the first time that Toyota issued a recall. Such continuously recall will absolutely lower consumers’ demand on Toyota since the safety of those cars are being questioned.

Recommendation:

Winning back consumers is high on the agenda of Toyota and Nissan. Initially, eliminating the safety problem in the process of production is deemed to be both high urgency and high importance. It could be achieved by using a new technology, trying other materials and testing various methods. In addition, before bringing a new product into the market, the company should test them under strict rules. Once a problem being found, they should stop the production immediately. Last but not least, by showing the statistics to public, it is also a wise method to rebuild consumers trust, which represents a sense of responsibility and the concern for consumers.

source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24294019

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-04/17/content_9743279.htm

background:

According to a new report of CRTC (Candian Ratio-Television Commission), one-third of Canadians watch TV online, which force them to face the challenges given by some popular services like Netflix.

Issues:

• growing decrease in customers
• lack suitable strategy to satisfy fast-changing customers’ tastes

Analysis:

Once CRTC was seen as a gatekeeper of Canadian TV programs, but now it gradually loses its domain situation. As a customer, convenience and various choices will be the first concern when they choose a item. Compared with Netflix, CRTC apparently has less competitive advantages. Instead of turning on the TV, customers can watch the program wherever they want by using their computers, smartphones and tablets through Netflix. Moreover, if they watch the TV, they just have several choices. However, when they use Netflix, they can choose what interested them to watch. In conclusion, changing the strategy is high on the agenda of CRTC.

Recommendations:

• keep in touch with audiences in order to gain better information so that a better forecast can be expected, profits ensues.
• do specific analysis on customers’ tastes, using that information to realize the customization.
• enhance products quality that satisfy customers(i.e. dramas, entertainment programs,talk shows), and then keeps its patent, increasing audiences’ loyalty.

source:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/one-third-of-canadians-watch-tv-online-crtc-says-1.1869095

As I leaf through the newspapers this morning, I found one news rather heartwarming. Even though it has been 2 years since the terrible tsunami, the government still spares no efforts to search the missing people. This news remind me of how Japanese companies answered the disaster 2 years ago, relating to business ethics on some extent.

After the tsunami, hundreds of thousands of people lost their home. Instead of increasing the price, most of the convenience stores, such as Seven-Eleven, Family and Lawson set all the items for free, letting customers to get their necessities without paying.

Undoubtedly, this action is not supposed to happen because as a corporate executive, one should maximize all the stakeholders profit by using their money. Once they sell it for free, they cannot gain profit. They use the money from their customers, stockholders and employees for a general social interest, which is to help people in overcoming their difficulties. But I believe that this is a smart strategy. If all the convenience stores raise their price, they can amass a large amount of money in a short time, but how about the long-term profits? Most citizens would reluctantly purchase items in those stores since they have a perception that most companies have no business ethics. Thus, this strategy illustrates the significance of business ethics and the value of maximizing profits in the long run.

After watching the video, I knew how the Sandstorm amasses money. They buy the gold in a fixed price and then sell it in a higher price. In other words, they use money to earn more money. Since they buy the gold in a fixed price, they can make sure that their customers’ profit even though the price of gold increases. That sounds irresistible to customers because they will only take a small risk. But at the meantime, I wonder how those companies who sell the gold to make a profit. If they sell the gold at a fixed price, can they earn money by doing so? Or the fixed price also depends on the situation, once the gold price goes up, it also goes up, but it still lower than its competitors price. Or they have easy access to raw material, so the fluctuation of gold price cannot influence them. Or the company itself is also a customer of Sandstorm, they can earn money with the help of Sandstorm instead of just selling the gold.

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