Nohaz Blog

Al Maya Group Plans Expansion

2006-04-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

According to Baron Framework, the article, Al Maya Group Plans Expansion, addresses three main issues which are considered to be interrelated. The first issue is the growth in traffic, the second is the already high gasoline prices increasing by 30 per cent and the third is the parking problem. Al Maya Group's chief executive stated that within the next twelve months they will have a total of 25 Al Maya supermarkets. This plan was created mainly to solve the problem of the inconvenience of driving that consumers face. The chief executive had a belief that that was for the Al Maya Group’s benefit rather than to enter “the hypermarket race,” as more “consumers will shop at the neighborhood retail outlets which offer them a great deal of convenience.”

Moving on to the interests mentioned in this article, it is clear that the consumers have the most interest and are affected most by these issues and by the company’s new plans. The opening of new Al Maya supermarkets will be very convenient to the customers as there will be more retail outlets closer to their houses and that will solve the traffic and parking problem and the high gasoline prices by making them drive less in order to reach a supermarket.

After analyzing the issues covered in the article, I found that the major institutions concerned are the hypermarkets. It is threatening to these hypermarkets because consumers now might prefer shopping at neighborhood outlet retailers as it will be more economical and convenient.

The most important information in this article was the factors that affect consumers’ buying decisions, such as the fuel prices and traffic problems. It was also important to know that these factors encouraged the decision of opening 25 new outlet retailers rather than getting into competition with the other hypermarkets.

Exploiting Employees: Illegal or Unethical?

2006-03-22T01:36:00.000-08:00

The article, Disney to probe labor claims in China factories, relates or applies most to Baron’s framework, where I was able to identify the main issues, interests, institutions and information. The main issue in this article was the exploitation of the employees working in Chinese factories. The working conditions that these employees are faced with are not appropriate. The factories forced employees to work 10- to 13-hour work days and paid them below the legal minimum wage.

Moving on to the interests, the most relevant group related to this issue is the Verite, which is a non-profit social auditing and training firm, to conduct an investigation of the claims.

An institution mentioned in this article is the National Labor Committee in New York. The National Labor Committee released a videotape of people with faces obscured to hide their identities who said they were workers at the Hung Hing printing factory in Shenzhen province and faced dangerous conditions. The purpose of this videotape is to reveal the reality and get the attention of people regarding this problem and increasing the awareness of how these people are suffering and how it is very important to solve the problem.

After reading this article, I found out that the most important information that this article is trying to show is that there are employees suffering and are living a very difficult life to earn a living. These employees are forced to work to earn money maybe because their families are not there or maybe because they are unable to raise their children therefore these employees work to be able to acquire minimum income to be able to feed themselves and buy clothes. Employers are aware of this problem and that the children are forced to work therefore they lower their wages and make them work in unsuitable working conditions. Exploiting employees is considered to be unethical and it is our responsibility to help them by increasing the awareness of the exploitation of employees and its consequences or by trying and speaking out for them.

Dubai Dealings

2006-03-09T04:24:00.000-08:00

The article, Dubai Dealings (The pros and cons of the UAE ports deal) is mainly about “the public and political controversy that has arisen in recent days over the proposed deal to allow the United Arab Emirates (UAE), state-owned company Dubai World, manage several major U.S. ports.” According to porter, there are barriers to entry for the United Arab Emirates to manage US ports. There is expected retaliation because as the article said it might leave the US open more to a terrorist attack. However, one of the ways to tackle this issue is to announce the capture of Abd Rahim al-Nashiri who is a senior al Qaeda leader. The UAE also faced threats of entry if they refused to stop cooperation with the United States.

As a core process, “a list of demands is presented to the UAE to avoid the prospect of al Qaeda attacks, consisting only of releasing all known al Qaeda members detained by the UAE since the September 11 attacks as well as anyone else who had been detained on suspicions of involvement with the attacks.”

According to Baron, it was clearly stated in the article that the issue is “whether or not the UAE should be allowed to manage U.S. ports highlights many of the paradoxes involved in fighting al Qaeda in the Middle East as well as the dangers of over-simplifying or mischaracterizing U.S. allies in the region.” The UAE is currently the only nation interested in this issue of managing major US ports, however, this might not be the case where there might be other Gulf nations concerned with this issue. In addition, there are also institutions concerned with this issue such as local government agencies, religious leaders and political parties.

Seniors at Senior Level

2006-02-16T01:14:00.000-08:00

In the article, Seniors at Senior Level, the focus is on how workers wouldn’t want to quit and would like to work and stay active even if they become old. These workers would be an advantage due to their activeness and willingness to work despite of their age. Due to their experience, they can also fill in the "shortage of skills and talents" that the younger workers might not acquire.

One of the important things that allow firms to obtain competitive advantage is organization. One of Wal-Mart’s strategies of organization mentioned in the article was the senior workers that are occupying high and low skilled slots. As mentioned in the article, they are acting as “greeters or experts,” this allows them to pass their experience on to the customers and help them make the right decision. These older workers can be considered to be of large value to the firm they work in. Their experience can help them gain competitive advantage as they can be wiser in making decisions. Their experience can also make them have a better view of what might happen in the future or what might be the consequences of a certain decision or action. They can also help in maintaining explicit management control systems that would add to their organization and help in gaining competitive advantage.

In addition, I think that one of the most important components of a firm’s organization that motivates these old workers to work is the compensation policies. If there weren’t good compensation policies, some of the workers might not feel that they are being valued which might lead to lowering their productivity and negatively affecting their quality of work.

Nowadays, people would prefer to work and be productive even if they get to an older rather than just sitting at home and relaxing. In older days, peoples’ life expectancy was shorter which made them want to retire before they reach an older age and die in their offices which will make them lose their retirement. However, this is not the case lately with the technology and better health facilities.

Retailers Must Do More to Stay on Top of Competition

2006-02-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

According to Hamel’s framework, a core strategy is the way a firm chooses to compete. The retail outlets’ business mission should be to “deliver experiences rather than basic goods.” This would be, according to a leading retail analyst, the most effective way for them to compete and stay on the top.

The Middle East retail markets have two strategic resources which allow them to be unique and successful. One is core competencies where they possess innovative management techniques, and the other is core processes where they are performing ambitious developments.

The retail outlets are considered to be coalitions because, according to Hamel, they share directly in the risk and rewards of the industry revolution. In addition, Mc Arthur said that “competition will be fierce as the amount of leasable area will double to over 118 million square feet by the end of the decade.”

The opening of Dubai Festival City shows that there were strategic economics being used where the focus was mainly keeping the customer entertained. This was done by “strong offerings in family entertainment, multiplex cinemas, large food and beverage components and theme parks.” This was also done to provide fulfillment and support to the customers where the stores used entertainment as the channel that connected them with their customers. Their services were at high level especially in hospitality and entertainment.

The core strategy that was being used was proved to be successful, as Phil McArthur said “We are definitely moving along in the right direction. If we take the UAE for example, it is now the third most successful country in the world at shopping centre marketing.”

Blog #1 (The Real Cost of Google's Sellout to China)

2006-02-01T04:01:00.000-08:00

In the article “The Real Cost of Google's Sellout to China,” Google announced its decision to join the largest internet censorship in the world, being run by Communist China. However, Google had to keep in mind that they might face a problem which is the barriers to entry. They don’t have access to distribution channels because The Chinese government has placed strict filters like slowing its search speeds, making it undependable and keep it at competitive commercial disadvantage unless it complied with its demands. In addition, there are cost disadvantages independent of scale (proprietary product technology), which Google faced after it announced its intention to create what they called “The Google Library Project.” They had been criticized for their “negative option” attack on the basic concept of copyright.

On the other hand, Google has the ability to meet the capital requirements that allows it to compete because as it was stated in the article, “it has a larger market capitalization than the entire US.” Google also has an advantage because of its product differentiation where they have established brand identification and customer loyalty. “It is the second largest technology company in the country after Microsoft.”

Test Post

2006-01-22T05:10:00.000-08:00

Test Post for MGT 406 at AUS