Competing against Wal-Mart
Competing against Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is a giant retailer with 8500 stores in 15 countries, with 55 different brand names. Wal-Mart is also a manufacturing, logistics, IT and supply chain driven company that has retail stores. The power of Sam Walton created strategies and policies for the world's biggest retailer cannot be underestimated, but companies can successfully compete against it. Competitive advantage through differentiation Grocery stores and general merchandise stores need to realign their business plans. Differentiating products is how new firms can succeed today. By manufacturing products according to the customer needs and supporting that with a great service is how new companies can compete against Wal-Mart. The stores should offer wide variety and high quality products for customers looking for more collection. Supply and Distribution Strategy With the unique supply chain and the distribution strategy Wal-Mart fetch the products quickly from suppliers and partners and transfers the products from the dock to stores and customers in 72 hours. Wal-Mart requires only 10% footage area of its stores and warehouse for storing for inventory, where as competitors require 30 to 35% footage area. New firms and stores can replicate this model for managing inventory, distribution and take the advantage of specialized trade associations to create of group of local
SHOULD FIRMS BE INVOLVED IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS?
SHOULD FIRMS BE INVOLVED IN SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS? I don't think anyone who even thinks about the answer to this question deserves to be in the business world. I agree that the previous generation has not given any or much importance to this factor, as long as they were selling goods & services, providing employment, and not breaking the law, but social responsibility goes way beyond this as they should be involved in selling safe products, being truthful to customers, helping the poor/contributing towards education, preserving the environment, treating employee's rightfully or even rebuilding slum areas. Society has given a lot to businesses, and in return they should also contribute to the society. As the saying goes 'what you do so shall you reap', as both the firm and community are interdependent and they both have a common interest; in the sense that; if the firm pollutes the atmosphere by not installing anti-pollutants, it would affect the everyone's quality of life, not only the employees, customers,and creditors, but also the managers and C.E.O! Which also means that social responsibility ultimately pays off, as a firm which treats it's employee's equitably, satisfying all their needs would notice that their productivity and quality standards is higher, which would ultimately lead to higher revenue. Businesses that contribute to the education of young
Sources of Cash Flow Problems
Sources of Cash Flow Problems Overtrading Young and fast growing companies are particularly prone to over-trading. Over-trading occurs when a business is attempting to fund a large volume of production with inadequate working capital. Investing too much in fixed assets In the initial stages of a business funds are limited, spending large amounts on equipment, vehicles and other capital items drains resources, it may be better to lease some fixed assets and leave some cash funds. Stockpiling Holding stocks of raw materials and finished goods is expensive. Money tied up in stock in unproductive. Stocks may become obsolete. In addition, stocks of raw materials cannot be easily changed into cash without making a loss. Stock control is an important feature of cash management. Firms should not buy in bulk if discounts are not enough to compensate for the extra cost of holding stock. Allowing too much credit A great deal of business is done on credit. One of the dangers of this is that firms allow their customers too long for payment. This means that a firm may be waiting for payment and may be forced to borrow for this period. Failure to control debtors may lead to bad debts. Taking too much credit Taking more credit may appear to help a firm’s cash position as cash payments are delayed. However some drawbacks include higher prices, lost discounts and creating
Netflix Company Profile
Business Management History of Netflix Date started – Netflix started in 1997 ( 23 Years ago ) Original founder – There are 2 founders of Netflix Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph Current CEO – Reed Hastings alongside Ted Sarandos are Co-CEO’s of Netflix. Other important people – Marc Randolph is the Co-Founder and former CEO of Netflix. Greg Peters is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer. Rachel Whetstone is the Chief Communication Officer. Jessica Neal is the Chief Talent Officer. David Hyman is the Chief Legal Officer. Company status (partnership, plc etc.) – Stockholder/Investor Details of IPO (if plc) (Number of shares sold and share price etc.) - IPO of $15 in 2002. Numbers of shares sold from then to now is 441.02M. Current share price - $529 per share +5.67% Head office address – Los Gatos, California, U.S. Production hubs – Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. New York City, New York, U.S. Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain. Globalization – By 2017 Netflix was operating in over 190 countries, over the course of 15 years they managed to expand that large. Netflix have 130 million monthly subscribers across both Europe and the US Ethics - Netflix have the duty to keep customers informed, immoral motives for price change and obligation to apologize for its actions. Culture – Netflix focus
Marketing Mix For Apple
Marketing Mix for Apple Marketing Aspect Apple Inc. Basic Customer Need A mobile telephone with built in camera; able to store music, pictures and videos; can download applications and use the internet. A music storage device which can be used on the move. Some models able to hold pictures and videos; some models able to browse the internet and play games. Apple TV is a device allowing the user to play high definition videos from iTunes/youtube/their computer/etc on their television, in widescreen. A computer, either laptop or desktop. Target Market Huge worldwide market with target consumers aged 12+. Specific markets that are targeted include those who are willing to pay more for Apple products even though there are plenty of cheaper options. People who are really interested in being up to date with the latest technology, and who want to be connected to the internet all the time to keep up with the latest news. Music fans. Professionals who need to be able to connect to the internet any time anywhere. Products A convergence of technologies e.g. An iPhone has a mobile phone, an mp3 player and internet surfing capabilities. - iPhone3G/iPhone 3GS - iPod shuffle (available in a range of colours) - iPod nano (available in a range of colours) - iPod classic - iPod touch - Apple TV - MacBook Pro/Air/mini - iMac - Mac Pro Products have different
Questionnaire for evaluating customer's satisfaction
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EVALUATING CUSTOMERS' SATISFACTION USING TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES In order to evaluting customers' satisfaction when using telecommunication services in scope of nationwide, and supporting us (HSB-MBA students) in completing our research. We are sincerely wishing you give your ideas by fill in this form. We pledge to keep your informations in secret and only use them for our analysis purpose. A. CUSTOMER INFORMATION Full Name: Address: Province/City: Nationality: Sex: Male Female Age: Under 18 18-23 23-30 30-40 Over 40 Tel: Fax: E-mail: Current job: Position: Earning: Under 5m 5-9m 9-15m 15-30m Over 30m B. CARRIERS INFORMATION AND REASON TO USE I'm using service of:???? Viettel Mobifone Sfone Other: I chose this carrier because of: Quality Price Promotion Brand name C. ABOUT THE SERVICE I have been using telecom service for: Under 1 year 1 --> 3 year 3 --> 5 year 5 --> 7 year Over 7 year Do I had used other carrier? Yes No The reason I changed: * Better service * Better