Nordstrom SWOT Essay

Representing people with disabilities in their catalogs since 1997, which is rare. This is a strength because it represents all customers of Nordstrom, not leaving out certain groups because of industry ‘norms’. This speaks volumes to all customers that Nordstrom recognizes them as individuals, but also, as O’Connell mentioned in an interview, â€Å"people with disabilities represent a significant marketing opportunity with $225 billion in discretionary income†¦ and companies that understand this will have a competitive advantage.† Has a customer first attitude to differentiate Nordstrom from other high-end retailers and department stores and build customer loyalty. They are in a highly competitive market involving high fashion, quality items at a premium price, but their service is what drives their business in. They invest in high quality staff, greet customers by name, write personal thank you notes, make follow up calls about satisfaction with prod ucts, have large well lit stores and fitting rooms, have a price match system, as well as a very lenient no questions return policy, all combined to keep their customers as satisfied as they can. Find a study that talks about service driving in customers, customer surveys, reports, etc. Nordstrom has different brands and product lines to reach different market segments and keep up with trends. These include: Rack, Haute Look, Treasure & Bond, and Trunk Club. This offers mid price markets opportunities to join with regular high price markets, online exclusive shoppers to join the Nordstrom network and fashions, appeal to â€Å"give-back† shoppers, and gives men a new online shopping experienced linked to the perks of Nordstrom’s inventories and in store tailors. This is a strength of the company because it creates a larger customer base to represent and build markets in, allowing the company growth in a variety of areas that competitors are not hitting. Compared to retail apparel competitors, â€Å"Nordstrom Inc. reported Total Revenue increase in the 2 quarter 2014 by 6.13 % year on year. The sales growth was above Nordstrom Inc.’s competitors average re venue growth of 0.99 %, recorded in the same quarter. With net margin of 5.4 % company  achieved higher profitability than its competitors.†   The Nordstrom Brand name and size are also strengths of the company. The Nordstrom brand has been around long enough to build relationships with suppliers and attain exclusive brands to carry, and establish lines of distribution, which puts them above new entrants because it is difficult to gain licensing for exclusive brands when you are not already established as well as establish your distribution system. They also have a size advantage having 118 original Nordstrom stores, 162 Nordstrom Rack locations, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 clearance store and they also reach customers online in 96 countries through Nordstrom.com and reaching customers online through HauteLook and NordstromRack.com as well. The high brand awareness, and availability is what competes in department and apparel retail. The company carries unique products; exceptional, high quality brands that are not going to be found at discount retailers to create the exclusive feel for customers. They also new experiences an d brands within the company through their Spa and Restaurants within some of the Nordstrom front-line stores. These differentiate Nordstrom from direct competitors, but also from restaurants competition by using quality, sustainability, and responsibility as their guide to the best experience. (http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/) Find article about competitors with restaurants and spas, and how this makes a difference compared to their revenues and restaurants too. Has established online presence in 96 countries and built network through their multiple websites for each store brand, built their own app to shop from your phone, and gotten involved in social media, more specifically Instagram with their â€Å"Instalog† while keeping all of this integrated with their mortar stores. They also understand that â€Å"when you stop evolving with your customer, you die,† as Jamie Nordstrom, president of stores, has said. They are building fulfillment centers to accommodate online shopping more quickly, use RFID chips to keep their perpetual inventory system for stores and online to share, and invested more into online growth than brick and mortar stores,  knowing that this is where their growth is coming from. â€Å"Over the next several years Nordstrom expects to derive half of its sales from the Rack and from its online units, versus 38 percent today,† and that’s because â€Å"the U.S. Commerce Department estimates that electronic commerce amounted to 6.2 percent of total retail sales in the first quarter of 2014.† Analysts have also been saying Nordstrom has thrived compared to competitors because it is a pioneer in perks like free shipping and also having the unique diversity of products online. Their expansion into Canada this year also gives them an advantage against competitors who have not branched out internationally yet. This opens their market up to Calgary shoppers, Canada’s strong economy, an area underserved of luxury items, shoppers who are familiar with the brand, and expectation to grow to a total of 5 Canadian stores within 2 years. If their expansion continues in a positive way like their first opening, they will continue to have this s trength over their competitors. Weaknesses: Because Nordstrom focuses mainly on their customer service and does price matching on their items, they are at risk to be directly affected by price fluctuations and economic trends. The fluctuations in the market are out of Nordstrom’s control, but their choice of pricing strategy to match prices are internal choices that they are choosing to be vulnerable to. If they don’t want this as a weakness they would try to reinvent their pricing strategy to keep competitive pricing without matching competition because that is directly relative to the market. Offering free shipping does improve their customer loyalty, but it also comes with a high cost for the company. This is a weakness because they internally chose to make this sacrifice for the greater good of the company and take the hit on spending, but is hard to measure the direct effects of customer loyalty because of  free shipping. Nordstrom has the opportunity to invest more into their credit business because many of their competitors have more resources in this area giving them an advantage. Their competition is external but the choice to not invest highly in their credit business is a weakness of Nordstrom. The company would have to look into how they allocate their resources to see if there is room to invest additionally into this sector of business and if it would bring sufficient benefit to them. Opportunities: Already reaching 96 countries with their online retailing, Nordstrom continues to have room for growth in this area. New technology is keeping the market on their toes with ideas to expand and take advantage sooner than competitors, which is why Nordstrom is spending to grow fulfillment of network for direct sales channels to make delivery faster, and improve mobile app and in store personalized experience. They already have an app that was revealed earlier this year, Instagram, and multiple online stores with Nordstrom.com, NordstromRack.com and HauteLook.com, with plans to introduce Canadian Nordstrom Rack soon. The company plans to invest $150 million into its’ online retailing. They plan to hire up to 400 people for their e-commerce group, including Kirk Beardsley, the former director of business development at Amazon. Their acquisition of HauteLook changed their ecommerce capabilities, and they continue to look for integration opportunities to grow expansion further. They need to continually understand new markets such as the discount merchandising market, which they have recently made their footprint grow Rack sales by 20% in the first quarter of the year, compared to comparable stores that only grew 6.4%. The reason their growth opportunities online and in different markets remain an opportunity is because technology, online trends, and consumer preferences are always changing. They need to continue to stay on their toes with the online retail market since growth is higher than physical stores currently. Currently Nordstrom is â€Å"developing a strategy to secure their supply  chain in a resource constrained world will enable them to leverage their customer service brand image† by investing in recycling, transportation, paper and packaging, energy, water, human rights, organic food, and community support. They have the opportunity to continue this path of enhancing social and environmental sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain management to appeal to environmental supporting markets. The Canada debut of stores is their first branch into international markets, which says the company is in a stable enough spot to take on these new complex roles in the market. They have a good economy with a high median family income at $90,000 in the areas they plan to continue growth in. According to government data, this is the highest in metropolitan areas in Canada, giving the company the opportunity to expand and capture their market. There are not current plans to expand beyond Canada, but if they succeed there then that again leaves open an entire new box of options for the company to move overseas. Nordstrom will also be opening up Nordstrom Rack locations in Canada once they accomplish their mission with front-line stores, opening up opportunities to reach the middle class Canadian consumers who want designer brands at a bargain. Continuing to be an innovative brand will be an opportunity for Nordstrom to take advantage of. They launched their â€Å"first time private-lab el brand that will give 5 percent of its earnings to Girls Inc. and other nonprofits that seek to empower women and young girls. The move comes amid the increasing popularity of â€Å"give-back† fashion.† The charitable boutique Nordstrom opened in New York’s SoHo neighborhood in 2011, Treasure&Bond, will be available at 86 stores around the country and online as well to promote their â€Å"give-back† persona. There will be constant opportunity to follow trends and compete in the market with things such as these, and Nordstrom has the opportunity to continue its’ successful planning to meet them and conquer.   Disposable incomes in the US are rising, for instance June 2014 were at an all time high at 13021.20 billion versus the previous month at 12969.70 billion. What this means for Nordstrom and all retailers is that spending will begin/continue to increase and they need to be the brand/company that captures those sales. Their expansion, online presence, and quality need to continue to improve, and there marketing strategy relying heavily on word of mouth may need re-evaluation to determine if this is the best way to promote the brand while maintaining their high image.   Sales per square foot vary company to company and your ability to stock, merchandise, and turnover quicker than your competitor is an opportunity to capitalize on. Maintaining highest sales per square foot is a competitive tool in the retail industry and in 2013 Nordstrom had the highest sales per square foot at $400 in comparison to direct competitors Macy’s at $173 and Saks Fifth Ave at $350. Their ability to stock more into a space and turnover that merchandise faster than competition is a strength of Nordstrom in the external market. Threats: The department store and apparel industries are highly competitive, with direct competitors of Nordstrom being: Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Saks Fifth Ave, and Neiman Marcus. As consumer preference continues to shift, and incomes continue to rise the market will only continue to be more and more competitive, leveraging many opportunities for each company. There is also a lot of indirect competition of Nordstrom including food service, spas, boutiques, discount retailers, online retailers, and specialty stores. This creates significant competitive areas and factors in position including their customer service, unique fashion trends, selection, quality, environment, location, and convenience. Further threats for the company to consider while making decisions also include plans for growth, market share, pricing, supply chains, brand image and much more. There is also indirect competition for Nordstrom’s credit business like banks, credit card companies , and other stores that offer a store card such as JCP, Saks,  Dillard’s, Macy’s and Dillard’s. Because some of the competitors in this area have more financial marketing and resources to dedicate to their credit business, it makes it a huge threat to Nordstrom The economy will continue to be a threat not only in the US but also in their new Canadian expansion. The US economy and Americans spending is going up, as listed in the opportunities column, but because the past decade has been rough its effects may still linger and possibly shift into Canada’s economy as well. The threat of an economic downturn is something that all businesses face though, so to be safe Nordstrom should continually set realistic expectations and plans for what they would do in that situation. Price changes and increasing costs also threaten Nordstrom’s supply chain of designer and high-end brands. Because of the global climate changes and shortages in resources, the market for material, labor, and transportation are not as stable. This threatens Nordstrom because higher costs for them are not good if they’re not producing higher sales or profits, and the environmental effects on their business is completely out of their control. Online expansio n of all retailers especially a dominator like Amazon has put up many obstacles for Nordstrom. It is difficult and expensive to constantly and quickly transition to new technological changes. Nordstrom is threatened by these changes to see if it can successfully invest and continually update to the markets demands. Their repositioning online and through social media with the wave of technology seems to be going well so far, but time will tell if they are able to continue on top or if they will fall behind the industry. In Canadian market they just entered there is a battle for the luxury market, which is not sufficiently claimed yet. Hudson’s Bay Company has Canadian roots and just bought Saks, with plans to move them up to Canada as well. This will harshly threaten Nordstrom’s pull on luxury market share in Canada. There is  also the 177-year-old brand Holt Renfrew that announced expansion in its Calgary luxury store, which is in the same place as the first Canadian Nordstrom. This is again a direct threat to their business in Canada and how their expansion will determine if they can grab and hold onto market share. There are also not many to choose from talent wise in Canada because the luxury market is not prominent so there is little experience to find. There is also a higher average wage in the area they are stationed because of the oil-fueled jobs in the Calgary area, so they will have higher labor costs demanded as well. References: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024579800_nordstromcanadaxml.html?cmpid=2628 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nordstrom/id474349412?mt=8 http://www.luxurydaily.com/nordstrom-integrates-instagram-to-create-shopping-experience/ http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/business/ci_26254983/models-disabilities-star-nordstrom-catalog http://wwwiebe.com/nordstrom-customer-service-first/ http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024313399_nordstromearningsxml.html http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2024291908_nordstromstorexml.html http://www.internetretailer.com/2014/05/19/nordstrom-invests-heavily-e-commerce http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/306343_GDRT31838FSA

Jollibee Case Analysis Essay

Executive Summary Jollibee Food Corporation is a Filipino fast food brand that opened in 1975 and has been on the path of expansion since then. IT capitalised on the changes that came its way to fight the competition from brands like McDonalds and KFC. The case highlights the global expansion strategy that they followed backfired due to which they had to consider revamping their strategies. The company has an opportunity in Papua New Guinea, California and Hong Kong but before taking that decision they need to work upon their previous issues to ensure the success in these countries. Till now the firm is being operating in two parallel organisations with no cooperation and coordination among the two which has resulted in chaos and a strained relation between the two. We have through this case analysis provided a complete picture of the Jollibee operations along with the strategies and the way ahead. An analysis presented that the company is currently in between the internationalization and localization strategy. We have recommended the company to follow transnational strategy that would help them achieve an advantage over the competitors. Industry and Firm level Analysis * INDUSTRY LEVEL ANALYSIS The fast food industry is basically a very highly competitive market that strives on cost leadership. The industry is faced by both international players who have huge finances The industry faces low margins and experiences profits on the basis of the economies of scale. The key to achieve economies of scale is selecting the right location to attract traffic and a highly efficient operation management. In the fast food industry the product offering are almost the same. So what make a difference are the things like the service, providing extra drinks / any other supplementary product with your main product. The profitability depends on the customer traffic, location, operation management. Expansion happens mostly through Franchisees and Joint Ventures, it is very important to attain Economies of Scale to do well in this kind of industry as the cost of all other things as we all know is just increasing manifold. And even then the consistency in the food quality is one of the major area s of concerns. * POTTER’S FIVE FORCES i. Rivalry Among The Competitors: High * As explained in the case the competitor had an advantage in terms of brand name, the profitability, the customer base they had . Also high because of the high standardization in terms of quality, quantity, price, procedures and processes which are similar and there’s competition to get better in these aspects. ii. Threat Of New Entrant To Industry – Low * Due to the high tariff barrier and the advantage of economies of scale, differentiation that a firm gets over time. Also in this industry people mostly don’t shift easily due to the taste adaptation and the ability to trust any other brand quality is low. iii. Threats Of Substitute Product– Low * Jollibee managed to serve their customers at affordable price, good service and the hence gained a brand name eventually, so the threat of a new substitute is low , again because of the ability or nature of consumers to shift to other brand easily is low. iv. Bargaining Power Of The Suppliers- Low * The raw material required for food industry could be sourced from multiple suppliers and the shifting costs are less. v. Consumers Bargaining Power- High * Company depends on the consumers for its profitable business and the company needs to adhere to the consumer’s tastes, preferences and prices as there are many competitors to whom they may shift to. Also the entrants are expected to be less in number, so it is better to suit the needs of the existing buyers than to stand different from them. * FIRM LEVEL ANALYSIS Values: The firm puts the customers as the base of all their operations. The customers should be kept in the minds first and then only any further decisions should be made keeping their needs in mind. The co-ordination between the different teams and the different levels also is considered to be very high. High operational efficiency and a well laid out plan with honesty, integrity as a part of their value system. Feeling of one unit and one family is considered to be their priority as they expanded immensely into various countries and regions. Employees have the art of listening and communicating everything that the customers want. Mission: The mission statement of â€Å"we bring great taste and happiness to everyone† showcases its brand as quality based and high in consumer utility. They stand by their tag line and portray their brand in this context. Vision: 1) Their aim to become the most dominant, quality oriented, quick service restaurant, the most endearing brand that has ever been. 2) They provide FSC excellence in every moment 3) They will lead in product sales all time 4) They will be within the reach of every Philippine Thus the 3 B’s helped attain these strategies which are, boost the standards of fast food industry, build brand satisfaction and broaden their reach to customers. SWOT Analysis: Where the opportunity and threats talk about the external factors affecting the firm’s performance and the strengths & weakness about the internal factors of the organisation. STRENGTHS: * Understanding about the local tastes and preferences * First mover advantage in the home market as they were well established before the entry of McDonalds. * Highly motivated people in the organisation, they were all ready to take up the risk. * High domestic market share due to selection of the best location that is a result of first mover advantage. * The ability to innovate given the understanding of the local people but only in their domestic markets. * Power to give the competitive fight to the other organisations in the same industry. * Good operations management. * Diversity in product offering (after the acquisition of Greenwich pizza) WEAKNESS: * No consensus between the international division and the home division. * Lack of communication between the departments * Bureaucratic structure * Financial condition for expansion. * Lack of R&D before expanding internationally along with the fact that the R&D rested with the parent company. * Biased towards local friends and family while selecting franchisees * Lack of global brand recognition. OPPORTUNITIES: * Acquisition with a brand to get their brand also known amongst people. * Hiring non Philippines managers to get the sense of local adaptation. * Create differentiation by cost advantage or customer experience. * Tap the market with lesser or fewer competition. * Increase the product line to favour the taste of local consumers. THREATS: * Big giants like Mc Donald’s and KFC in the foreign markets. * Increased in the transportation cost and the raw materials cost ‘* Political instability * Mismatch in the ideas of the various divisions * So many failures in the foreign market like that in Singapore , Taiwan * Catering to a fast food joint as it is needs a very strong convincing power due to the shift to healthy food by many people. * Entry barriers for them in some countries * Reduction for barriers in the home country which enabled other big fast food giants to enter into the market. Change Drivers Jollibee’s strategies were derived from a lot of change drivers that the company faced. 1. The first change driver that brought Jollibee Foods Corporation into proper incorporation was the realization that prices of ice cream would double due to the oil crisis of 1977. This helped them start their own food outlet with homemade hamburger recipe of the Tans’. 2. Kitchner felt the need to increase the pace of the global expansion projects as he felt that visibility was the only way to bring Jollibee into top ten fast food brands. He decided to go about a variety of strategies to do so. He started his plan with targeting the expatriate Filipinos in the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Guam etc. But this strategy failed as he realized that not all Filipinos had same tastes. When this strategy failed Kitchner used the â€Å"plant-the-flag† strategy as a part of which he wanted to mark his presence in as many countries as possible. As a part of this they started opening outl ets in every country they felt an opportunity. 3. They realized the failure of their joint ventures was due to the lack of support from the parent company. Tony Kitchner implemented a strict control process of the franchises. He appointed Franchise Service Manager’s (FSM) who were the point of contact between the Jollibee and their international partners. He started collecting their sales data everyday not only to analyze the traffic in the outlets but also to provide consultancy to these franchises on how they could improve. For this they also implanted frequent checks that ensured that the standards, quality, hygiene, customer satisfaction etc was maintained. 4. After the criticism of Jollibee’s operations in Indonesia they realized that they need to act as a world class company and not a local company. They started changing the ambience of the outlets in the host country according to the tastes of natives of the host country people. They realized that not all countries like the same type of outlets and services a s the Filipinos. 5. One of the elements of their 5F’s was flexibility which seemed to be missing in their operations. Their â€Å"proven concepts† of Filipino food in every country seemed to trigger a huge controversy. Kitchner realized the mistake and immediately sorted to rectify it. They started with local adaptation as a part of which they introduced a rice dish in which the gravy changed according to what the people wanted like in those countries like in Hong Kong they served their dish with hot and sour chicken while in Vietnam it was served with chicken curry. This accounted for a very small part of their revenue but this was their stepping stone towards localization. Issues Faced The key issues faced by the company are listed as follows: * Strained relation between the domestic and international wings resulting out of their differing opinions. * Following the â€Å"planting-the-flag† strategy that led to opening up of more and more of outlets to increase visibility even if they were running huge losses. This involved a huge investment that affected the other markets. * Lack of proper research about the market needs, the type of local needs, the potential market, the customer base and the competition level and their reach. * Inability to attract local managers due to the fact that the brand was less recognizable and also as a result of aversion from the international firms. * Difference in the management style and culture lead to a failure of plenty of Joint Ventures. The main problem was the model followed by them. * Inability to transfer its success factors in Philippines to other countries. The reason Jollibee was successful in the Philippines was due to the following reasons: * Catering to the local needs by supplying hamburgers that were spicy. * The commendable operational efficiency it practiced in Philippines that require keeping close tab on operations. * Consistent high quality products and maintaining its share in the market. * Its skills in site selection because of its excessive familiarity with the place. * The large number of stores in Philippines enabled it to achieve operational efficiency through economies of scale. * The case makes it evident that there is less market for Filipino-style food that Jollibee has failed to understand. It needs to localize its menu to attract the local customers. Later Jollibee realized the problem and started catering to the local needs for e.g. their rice dish in Indonesia to suit their tastes. Strategies Suggested The firm as mentioned in the executive summary was in between the internationalization and localization strategies. We have drawn this inference from the case which mentions that what Jollibee wanted previously following international strategy as they thought they can sell Filipino cuisine in all parts of the world targeting the expatriates. Therefore they felt they were faced with very low pressure for local responsiveness. They failed to realize that this strategy works only in case of MONOPOLY but not in case of firms having strong competition like Jollibee. This strategy failed as Filipino food was not perceived the same way in every country and the pressures for local adaptation increased. Jollibee failed to keep in mind the key â€Å"Driver† in the fast food sector is local responsiveness and low cost. Later in the leadership of Tony Kitchner they felt the need for local adaptation and realized that international strategy would not work for them. Low cost pressure was always there as they were faced with heavy competition. Tony Kitchner bought about localization in their offering thereby forcing them to follow Multi Domestic (localization) strategy but the case mentions they were over-shadowed by local competitors who were providing food for lesser cost and better local adaptation. Therefore looking at the above mentioned points we would recommend that the company should follow a transnational strategy given that they face high pressures of both cost reduction and local adaptation. The following grid gives a diagrammatic representation of the strategies mentioned. Implementation Plan When going for multi-domestic as a strategy only a certain amount of flexibility and autonomy be provided to partners. This becomes more of an arm’s length dealing, trust was lacking in the relationships. A holistic coordination is required to transfer core competencies or to pursue experience curves and location economies. This is possible only in a transnational entity. This smooth transition can be enabled by inter unit cooperation, decentralizing the organizational structure and following a geocentric approach. Also to implement this strategy and carry out expansions following schemes of actions must be taken in various functional departments. 1. Operations Plan * Waste reduction (TQM) and Standardization of food items will further help in cost reduction. * Smooth supply chain management system should be put in place to increase efficiency and productivity. * The flag can be planted in regions where people have similar taste buds as strategic business units. So that the menu can be varied according to regional taste. * Once the company starts to follow transnational strategy, location economies and operational efficiency should be taken into consideration so as to reap the benefits of both cost structure and differentiation. * Lessons learned should be internalized, so that lack of operational efficiency problems as in Singapore, transparency issues as in Taiwan can be avoided in the future international expansion. 2. Financial Plan * The relations with franchisees and other associates should be clearly defined and the degree of control of the financials should be clearly defined to avoid future confusions. The ramifications of poor relations are clear in the closing down of many franchisees abroad. * The financial management should be done effectively so as to provide enough budgets for the R&D and associated activities that are needed for the global expansion. * Sufficient funds should be made available for the marketing and positioning activities. * Opening multiple stores at the same time will hurt the bottom line and will increase debt. A Cost benefit analysis approach should be used. 3. Marketing plan * Market research prior to entering new markets will help in avoiding the unprofitable ventures as in the Middle East. In order to compete on the level with multinationals, rather than just being a first mover, Jollibee would have to take its performance to the next step and prove that it could continue to build its competitive advantage. * The focus target segment in every country has been expats from Philippines which has been largely successful. But it should not exclude the local populace of the host nation. Its marketing initiatives should target the local populace and it should position itself as a global fast food brand which offers â€Å"exotic Filipino cuisine† for everyone. * Its core competency should be â€Å"authentic Filipino fast food with good service and quality† * The menu of Jollibee should have a mix of standard food items as well as items specific to a host nation. To achieve this, they should set up R&D divisions in each country and come up with new dishes to cater to local consumers like McDonald’s which came up with vegetarian burgers for India and which was a big hit. * For expanding the menu, economies of scale and operational efficiency should be kept in mind. Items which increase inefficiency should be removed from the menu. * Jollibee should follow a differentiated strategy wherein it should target those markets with high potential with an economy similar to that of Philippines like Papua New Guinea and observe the first mover strategy to capture these markets first. 4. Human Resource plan * Jollibee needs a strong corporate culture, and informal management networks to assist in coordination and control. It also needs to understand local cultures before expansion. All this can be achieved through a proper emphasis on Management Development. An effective MDP can build a unifying corporate culture by socializing new managers and partners into the norms and value systems of the firm. * Jollibee should allow certain level of decentralization of authority for its franchises in other countries for operating decisions related to product, marketing and human resource management. Also certain number of R&D centers could be opened in other countries to facilitate localization of some products. * In order to facilitate cooperation among units the staff members who are required to coordinate with other units must be given training on cultural differences and adaptability in workshops. By adopting this practice Jollibee would support its staff to understand the cultural diversity among nations and different market needs. * Jollibee should communicate the company culture through company conventions to ensure that the company interests are achieved. * Localized training approach should be used to make employees outside Philippine as part of the organization. New Decisions At the end of the case we see that currently they are faced with three key decisions about venturing into three different markets. We give our viewpoints as to which markets would be feasible for entry and on what scale. I. Papau New Guinea: The market as described lacks a decent outlet to eat at. Given the opportunity described by very low or probably nil competition it is recommended that Jollibee open an outlet there. It will advisable for Jollibee to open a few outlets in order to test the feasibility and the demand in the market. If the response of the local public is positive they can slowly increase their outlets. II. Hong Kong: According to exhibit 10 we can see that Hong Kong is second in terms of the per store sale value ($ 571120). This reflects that there exists a huge market for Jollibee in Hong Kong but before setting up another store at Hong Kong they need to resolve their issues there. Their main problem there is inability in attracting local managers. They need to resolve their manpower issues before opening another outlet to ensure that their brand name does not get spoiled because the managers had to pay more attention to the quality issues in the dearth of labour which of the lack of quality which left them less time to concentrate on formulating short term. These factors could tarnish their image in the market. Therefore, first step would be to rectify these problems and then improving the status of the existing outlets. When they feel demand is rising tremendously they can set up more outlets there. III. California: Their venture in Guam was a success showing that the food was liked more by Americans based there. Their work at Guam gave them an idea of how to work in America. They can use their learning’s from Guam and implement them better in California to be successful. A small market research before the venture would be suggested to get an idea of the local needs and the potential in the market. Their plan of entering a market with high Filipino population with less number of competitors, Daly City, could be advantageous for them. From that market they would slowly venture into other areas after gaining a share in Daly City.

African Americans and the Civil War Essay

In the world we live in many people take a lot for granted. Just the small simple things people don’t really appreciate, being ungrateful for the things that have been given to them. Many people and different situations have paved the way for our generation to become much easier to live in. African Americans during the civil rights movement had to face a lot of trills in order to make the world a better place. Many people don’t appreciate that because they are unaware of just how much grief African Americans had to go though to create a path for the upcoming generation. African Americans faced many hardships during the civil rights movement, some of those hardships were segregation, voting rights, and assassination of prominent African American leaders. Segregation was such a big obstacle for African Americans because not only were they not allowed to go certain places it became bigger than that. Everything in African Americans lives were split in half. There were white only signs places all over there towns. White only signs for bathrooms, restaurants, and water fountains. Everything was separated between the two races blacks and whites. One event that really stuck out like a sore thumb was The Montgomery Bus Boycott. During, the time of segregation blacks were allowed to ride the buses, but many rules had to apply. Blacks had a black’s only section on the bus that could be moved in any location of the bus. That means that the blacks’ only sign could be moved in front of two rows on the bus if that’s what the bus driver wanted. Black riders had to pay their bus far on the front of the bus and get off to walk to the back of the bus to ride. Some bus drivers would allow the blacks to pay and when the step off the bus the bus driver would drive away and leave them. When blacks did receive a chance to ride on the bus, if a white person did not have a seat to sit in a black person had to give up their seat. The blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided that they would boycott the city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. On December 1, 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for not standing and letting a white bus rider take her seat. The plan to stop the whites from making the blacks move was the boycott. Blacks would no longer ride the buses anymore. That means that the bus companies were losing a lot of money. Blacks would walk to work or school and even carpool, but would not step foot on the buses. The boycott continued for over a year. Eventually, the United States Supreme Court put an end to the boycott. On November 13, 1956 the Court declared that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. On December 20th federal injunctions were served on city and bus company officials forcing them to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling. African Americans had to face a lot just so that they could be treated as an equal on the bus. Segregation played a huge role in the school system. In public schools more so than any. That’s what stated the big flare Brown vs. Board of Education. The 1954 United States Supreme Court decision in Oliver L. Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka (KS) is among the most significant judicial turning points in the development of our country. Originally led by Charles H. Houston, and later Thurgood Marshall and a formidable legal team, it dismantled the legal basis for racial segregation in schools and other public facilities. Brown vs. Board of Education was not simply about children and education. The laws and policies struck down by this court decision were products of the human tendencies to prejudge, discriminate against, and stereotype other people by their ethnic, religious, physical, or cultural characteristics. Ending this behavior as a legal practice caused far reaching social and ideological implications, which continue to be felt throughout our country. The Brown decision inspired and galvanized human rights struggles across the country and around the world. The U. S. Supreme Court decision in Brown began a critical chapter in the maturation of our democracy. It reaffirmed the sovereign power of the people of the United States in the protection of their natural rights from arbitrary limits and restrictions imposed by state and local governments. These rights are recognized in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution. Brown was giving African Americans the opportunity to be accepted as an individual and not just as a race. Now, you would think that after the Brown vs. Board of Education whites would accept African Americans and treat them better. That was not the case and segregation did not stop there. Although, many people had hoped that it would it took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to really make a change. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against blacks and women, and ended racial segregation in the United States. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public. Once the Act was implemented, its effects were far-reaching on the country as a whole and had an immediate impact on the South. It prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment, invalidating the Jim Crow laws in the southern U. S. It became illegal to compel segregation of the races in schools, housing, or hiring. After passage of the law, the NAACP was the only major civil rights organization to maintain a large membership in the South, where it concentrated on organizing the ongoing struggle for black civil rights. During 1965-75, the NAACP remained committed to using litigation to challenge racial injustice. African Americans had to fight hard to get what they deserved and it took a lot of patients and time to receive change but it finally happened. That is we segregation ended and Africans were free to sit, eat, talk, shop, and work anywhere they wanted. Being able to vote is a very important ordeal. Many people in this day and time take advantage of being able to voice their opinions. Not taking advantage of who we desire to have in office is a sign of being ungrateful. African Americans were not given that right years ago. African Americans had to fight just so that they could vote. That’s when the Voting Act of 1965 came in play. Before, this Act was enforced African Americans had to take a literacy tests and pay poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 abolished literacy tests and poll taxes designed to disenfranchise African American voters, and gave the federal government the authority to take over voter registration in counties with a pattern of persistent discrimination. Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibits states from imposing any â€Å"voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color. The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, who had earlier signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Being able to vote was an honor and so many people don’t even both to go vote during the elections today. African Americans fought for the right to vote without having to take tests or pay poll taxes and people still don’t go out to vote. That is taking voting rights for granted. Being an African American during the civil rights movement was a challenge, but being an African American woman was even difficult. That’s when the period of women’s suffrage played its role. Women’s Suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or marital status. Being a woman in this time period restricted of many rights. Women’s suffrage has been granted at various times in various countries throughout the world, and in many countries it was granted before universal suffrage. Without women’s suffrage women would still be restricted to make decisions and just be limited to being mothers and wives. The women’s suffrage broke that cycle. The best way to leave a positive mark on the world is being a leader. It takes a lot of heart, courage, and sacrifice, in becoming a great leader. Leaders are persons that people look up to. They depend on a leader to give them hope to carry on and a positive role model to look up to. There were not too many people that wanted to take the position of being a leader, but a few chose to step up to the plate. African Americans needed kind and encouraging words to help uplift them during the civil rights movement. Two great leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Melcolm X took on a job to lead the world into a better place called freedom. The two leaders gave African Americans hope to continue on when they wanted to just give up. African Americans depended on these two prominent leaders to strengthen them. African Americans during the civil rights movement needed to relay on someone and those leaders were the perfect ones. No one would have ever been ready for what was expected to come. For years African American have been told what they could and couldn’t do. They have been talked about, abused, lied on, and have had everything taken from them. But, still they have stayed strong through it all. When all they had were two great prominent leaders and they were taken from them as well they still stayed strong. Two great prominent leaders were assonated. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He was best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King was often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. But, as people have said â€Å"all things must come to an end. † At 6:01 p. m. on April 4, 1968, a shot rang out. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , who had been standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN, lay sprawled on the balcony’s floor. A gaping wound covered a large portion of his jaw and neck. A great man who had spent thirteen years of his life dedicating himself to nonviolent protest had been felled by a sniper’s bullet.

Born in East LA

At the end of Cheech Marin's Born in East L. A. (1987), a pair of undocumented Chinese immigrants who have been trained by Rudy (Marin) in the art of walking, talking, and gesturing like Mexican-Americans successfully act Mexican-American in front of a police officer to convince and assure him that they indeed are â€Å"natives. † Of concern to both Lowe and Oboler is the unequal status of minorities as members of the United States national community and citizenry. Basically, the U. S. citizen has been defined as a white male. This subsequently has meant that especially persons of color have been â€Å"conceived in the popular mind as outside of the ‘boundaries' of the ‘American' community† (Oboler 19). Thus, persons of color are denied â€Å"the extension of full citizenship rights† (Oboler 28); they are denied protection of their â€Å"privileges and. . . local body† (Berlant 113). Fregoso indicates that with Born in East L. A. Cheech Marin parodies the second level of meaning at which â€Å"‘Born in the USA' had been disarticulated from its signifying elements of working-class discourse and rearticulated as an expression of racist and patriotic discourse† (56). Marin basically uses to his advantage the nativist logic which results in â€Å"Born in the USA† being taken to signify â€Å"foreigners (or non-whites) go home† (Fregoso 56). His objective is to intervene into the definition of â€Å"Americans† as whites. Underpinning white nativists' appropriation of â€Å"Born in the USA† is the extremely narrow reasoning that America belongs to whites because whites are born here. Marin intervenes by indicating that Mexican-Americans also are born in the USA. Thus, â€Å"brown people are natives too† (Fregoso 56) . When caught up in an Immigration raid, Rudy declares, â€Å"I was born in East L. A. ,† to the INS officer to announce his right to be in the United States unharassed. Rudy is also implicitly telling the officer that by birthright he (Rudy) is an equal citizen to the officer and entitled to the same freedoms that the officer and any other (white) citizen enjoy. Of course, despite the fact that Rudy declares that he was born in East L. A. , and thus a citizen by his nativeness, he is deported. In fact, when he attempts to align himself with INS officers as their fellow American citizen, Rudy is soundly rejected. To the officer at the toy factory, Rudy is merely another â€Å"bean in a bean bag. † As he is escorted to the INS van, Rudy's appeals to the officers that â€Å"I am an American citizen† are for naught, for he is briskly ushered into the van with the â€Å"rest† of the non-citizen Mexicans. In the INS office in Tijuana, Rudy tells the white officer, â€Å"It's good to talk to a American† but the officer does not accept Rudy as his equal, and ultimately condemns him to â€Å"Mexico– where you belong. Highly symbolic of the repudiation of Mexican-Americans' claims to citizenship equal to that of white Americans is the scene in the INS van when Rudy, banging on the door which separates the deportees from the INS driver, screams, â€Å"I'm an American. I went to Belmont High, you idiot. † Although Rudy is creating quite an up roar, he is not heard by the driver simply because the driver has on a set of headphones. Literally his assertions (shouts) of his membership in the U. S. national community are tuned out. This non-reception of Rudy's shouts reflects the refusal of white America to heed persons' of color justified demands for equal status as citizens. â€Å"Rudy [just] cannot convince U. S. border officials that he is an American and therefore has the right to return to the United States† (Cortes 47); they simply will not hear his claims. All of Rudy's encounters with INS officers thus dramatize the exclusion of persons of color from the national community which Lowe and Oboler discuss. Moreover, the negation of Rudy's citizenship makes visible the contradictions inherent in white-American nativist logic. With his wallet at home, Rudy finds himself without identification. Thus, he is without any documentation which can substantiate his claims to citizenship. Without such documentation, his body is all that can be read by the INS officers, whose job it is to regulate who is inside the nation and who should be kept out. Ultimately, Rudy is deported because he is deemed not-American by virtue of his brown body. His English, Dodgers hat, and knowledge of U. S. popular culture (as demonstrated by his knowledge of Death Valley Days and John Wayne) are completely ignored as signifiers of his Americanness. Instead, his brown body is taken as a more important signifier. Rudy, on the other hand, is literally excluded from the U. S. citizenry because of of his brown body. Once in Mexico Rudy feels himself to be in â€Å"a foreign land. † The foreignness of Mexico and Mexicans to Rudy is played out to represent Rudy's Americanness. For instance, in the INS van headed to Tijuana, Rudy is an outsider amongst the Mexicans. Unable to speak Spanish, he is ultimately called by one of the Mexicans a â€Å"pocho pendejo,† a pejorative reference usually intended to refer to Mexican-Americans who cannot speak Spanish and who, subsequently, are deemed less Mexican. In fact, as he is captured by Border Patrol officers on one of his attempts to cross the border, Rudy proclaims, â€Å"I'm an American citizen. I don't even speak Spanish. Whereas â€Å"the Spanish language is commonly used as an identifier of Hispanics† (Oboler 12), Marin presents a pocho Rudy to make more obvious Rudy's â€Å"American† identity. Basically, to present Mexican-Americans as brown Americans, Born on East L. A. plays on Rudy's/Mexican-Americans' cultural â€Å"distance† from Mexico and Mexicans. Edward Simmen posits that Mexicans-Americans' physical and cultural distance from Mexico accounts for the uniqueness, if not unrelatablity, of Mexican-Americans when compared to Mexicans in Mexico. He states: After all, it is difficult to deny the fact that the contemporary Mexican-American, while he may have firm cultural roots in Mexico, is actually only a distant cousin to the Mexicano living in present-day Mexico– a distance that is rapidly increasing with each new generation, with each new educational opportunity offered to and taken by the Mexican-American, and certainly with each mile the Mexican-American moves north from the border. (17) â€Å"I don't belong here in downtown TJ 'cause I was born in East L. A. † Although of Mexican descent, Rudy is not exactly â€Å"Mexican. Within Mexico and amongst Mexicans, Rudy is an outsider, rendered so by his different socio-cultural experiences and subsequent sense of self. Rudy does not, however, come across as a whited Mexican. When he aligns himself with white Americans, it is as a fellow American citizen, and not as a fellow white. This distinction is crucial for understanding the cultural identity politics of the film. R udy's forced journey to Mexico, however, does not facilitate some personal reconciliation with a lost or repressed dimension to his identity. Instead, he wants to go home, This type of nationalism is effective in its contestation of white-American nativism as well in its depiction of a securely distinct identity. Fregoso says, though, that by the end of the film, when Rudy crosses back with a mass of immigrants, he â€Å"crosses back as a collective subject† instead of as an individual (68). She says: [Rudy's] forced residence in Tijuana effects a transformation in [his] subject position. By living like an immigrant, experiencing the difficulties of trying to make it across, Rudy gains a new awareness. His transformation has a symbolic resonance at the level of political consciousness. 68) Carlos Cortes says that when Rudy and the immigrants rush the border, â€Å"At least for the moment, ‘the people' have caused the border to disappear† (47). One can take Cortes's reading to refer to the dissipation of the borders/differences between Rudy, the Mexican immigrants, the Salvadorena Dolores, the Chinese/In dians, and whatever other groups might be present. Thus, under duress, differences give way (at least for the moment) to group consciousness. But the final sequence of the film turns on the differences between Rudy and the noncitizen others and reinscribes these differences. First of all, in the abovementioned scene in which the undocumented Chinese immigrants â€Å"pass† as native Mexican-Americans, the fact of their non-citizenship contributes to Rudy's perceived citizenship. And, as they are performing for the officer, Rudy is marrying the Salvadorena Dolores so she does not get arrested by the INS officers, who are in hot pursuit of her. These two scenes really sum up the way in which the film asserts Mexican-American citizenship, for Rudy's citizenship consistently emerges in relation to others' noncitizenship. The â€Å"narrative truth† which the spectator is always let in on (Fregoso 60) is that Rudy is an American citizen, albeit one whose privileges are denied, and various others are not. It thus seems that Rudy's American citizenship comes into focus through the same process by which white Americans' Americanness and citizenship become apparent: both depend on others' lack of citizenship. Oboler indicates that â€Å"the nation's [white] identity was forged in the nineteenth century partially through the creation of racialized perceptions that homogenized Latin America's population† (18). Likewise, Rudy's identity as an American citizen is foregrounded in contrast to Mexican, Salvadorena, and Chinese others. Christine List says that â€Å"Chicano features provide a public forum for Chicano cultural expression and articulate issues of Chicano identity on a national and international scale† (13). Born in East L. A. â€Å"sets up as its central conflict Rudy's dilemma of proving his identity† (List 151), specifically as an American citizen. As the film asserts his/Mexican-Americans' American citizenship, it effectively intervenes into the construction of the American citizen as white. However, Mexican-American citizenship is established through others' noncitizenship. Such a method for the recuperation of Mexican-American citizenship is troubling because it still others noncitizens. With regard to definitions of nation, Cortes states, â€Å"As context or character, as goal or protection, borders have served a key role in Hollywood's exploration of the formation and reformation of our nation† (42). Born in East L. A. ‘s reformation of the nation ultimately asserts Mexican-Americans' citizenship by foregrounding others' noncitizenship, which is to say, others' fundamental outsiderness in relation to the U. S. national community.

Economic Effects of Immigration in the Philippines

Ten Economic Facts about Immigration INTRODUCTION The Hamilton Project believes it is important to ground the current immigration debate in an objective economic framework based on the best available evidence. In this policy memo, we explore some of the questions frequently raised around immigration in the United States and provide facts drawn from publicly available data sets and the academic literature. Most Americans agree that the current U. S. immigration system is flawed.Less clear, however, are the economic facts about immigration—the real effects that new immigrants have on wages, jobs, budgets, and the U. S. economy—facts that are essential to a constructive national debate. These facts paint a more nuanced portrait of American immigration than is portrayed in today’s debate. Recent immigrants hail from many more countries than prior immigrants; they carry with them a wide range of skills from new PhDs graduating from American universities to laborers wi thout a high school degree.Most recent immigrants have entered the United States legally, but around 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently live and work in America; the majority of these unauthorized workers settled here more than a decade ago. Each of these immigrant groups affects the U. S. economy in varied ways that should be considered in the current debate around immigration reform. Immigrants now comprise more than 12 percent of the American population, according to recent estimates, approaching levels not seen since the early 20th century.Today’s controversies over immigration echo arguments made a century ago during the last immigration peak. While the demographics of U. S. immigrants have shifted dramatically, the concerns voiced about the social and economic impacts of immigration strike a familiar chord. A major economic concern is how immigrants influence the wages and employment prospects of U. S. workers. The economic impacts of immigration vary tremendo usly, depending on whether immigrants are unskilled agricultural laborers, for example, or highly skilled PhD computer scientists.Although their consequences are often conflated, it is constructive to examine the impacts of low-skilled and high-skilled immigrants independently. Another point of controversy in today’s debate involves the impact of unauthorized immigrants on our economic wellbeing. The best estimates suggest that 28 percent of the total foreign-born population could be unauthorized. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, roughly 60 percent of these unauthorized immigrants are from Mexico. (However, unauthorized immigrants make up only about 21 percent of U. S. residents of Mexican heritage. When possible, we try to differentiate the figures to more closely understand the different effects—positive or negative—that unauthorized workers may have on the economy. Of course, there are many factors at play and the economic evidence is only one piece of t he puzzle. These facts are designed to provide a common ground that all participants in the policy debate can agree on. In the months and years ahead, The Hamilton Project will return to the issue of immigration as we offer policy recommendations on the economic issues facing the United States.

Facebook Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Facebook - Research Paper Example ing Facebook scored a grade point lower with their weekly period of study ranging between 1 and 5 hours as compared to 11 to 15 hours by the non-users of Facebook (23). This paper looks at the arguments by these researchers, analysing the implications of networking sites on learning and compares them to counterarguments by various researchers. Indeed, Facebook does not make us dumb but rather imparts important learning skills that prevent dumbness among its users. The evaluation of the effects of social media on learning which determine dumbness in an individual has been cited by Ahn (1436) as a complex undertaking. According to this researcher, the media effects paradigm provides appropriate explanation to the dynamics involved in influencing learning. This postulates that any media or technological form would have causal relationship on some outcome, though it remains elusive to conclude on a direct causal relationship existing between technology and social outcome like learning. But the media effect paradigm has helped researchers conclude that a media tool in itself would not influence learning but rather, the learning behaviours associated with the software used or the educational program (Ractham, Kaewkitipong and Firpo 173). According to Ahn (1437), it is the features of a technology and not a technology in itself that that constrains or propagates the usage of the tool. Furthermore, behavioural practices and cultural norms influence one’s usage of technology. This offers insights in studies seeking to determine the effects of social media. This social informatics perspective implies that the social platform media would not cause outcomes like learning; the cultural and communication behaviours exhibited by its users would. Therefore, it would be important to consider the user populations involved in these social communities, the features of the social media sites and behaviours that could be likely associated with the social outcomes (Rouis, Limayem and

Business Management Theories Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Management Theories - Article Example This text offers a comparative analysis of various management theories their inherent influences. The articles note that there are critical management flaws that have that have been experienced over the years. For instance, the ideological tendencies that are taught and the subsequent theories that have been developed do not align with the dynamics experienced in the field. The intrinsic roles of managers cannot be over emphasized. Managers have a sole responsibility to take care of the firms and furthering moral tenets as appropriate. While the managers take up their responsibilities as aligned, there is increased concern on the moral obligations. Organizations vary from one end to the other, and the application of management ideas is intrinsically different (Ghoshal 2005, p.75). The status of managers has significantly reduced, and there are sustained efforts to redefine the role of managers and their importance. Theories and various research studies are critical in determining the extent to which managers operate at various management levels. The fixed structures that exist limit the capacity of the managers to operate as appropriate. Various management practices are enhanced from the various theories that have been produced over time. Theories and studies are critical in guiding managers on how they should conduct business and enhance operations while doing business. The relationship between managers and workers in of the essence. Workers are more concerned with the social issues and democratic space over which they can air their views than strict entities that do not provide such tendencies (Carey 1977, p.33). The limitations that exist in establishing proper management practices, including management of workers is significantly altered by the various scientific thoughts and studies. Scientific models or theories developed as guiding principles of management do not