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HI6006
tutorial AssIGNMENt
Trimester 1, 2021
Assessment Weight: 50 total marks
Instructions:
All questions must be answered by using the answer boxes provided in this paper.
Completed answers must be submitted to Blackboard by the published due date and time.
Submission instructions are at the end of this paper.
Purpose:
This assessment consists of six (6) questions and is designed to assess your level of knowledge of the key topics covered in this unit
Description: There are 6 questions in the Final Assessment. Once the assignment available, you will have 24 hours to finish and submit it. The Interactive Tutorials are designed to assist students with the process, skills and knowledge to answer the questions contained in the assignment, and include tutorial questions covered over Week 2 to Week 11 inclusive.
It is important when you answer the questions, you do not just copy and paste the answers from other sources, but rather, try to paraphrase it and provide reference (in- text referencing or citation) to all your answers. All references must be listed appropriately at the end of the report using Applied Harvard referencing style.
How should Tiffany & Co. revamp its image and to return to its former glory by assessing the competitive forces that are affecting the luxury jewelry and specialty retailer industry. Answer this question in 400 words
ANSWER: ** Answer box will enlarge as you type
In assessing the competitive forces, Tiffany & Co. should conduct Porter’s five force analysis. This analysis includes five elements – threat of new entrants, threat from substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry between current players.
Threat of new entrants
The threat is moderate. Tiffany & Co. should focus on creating new and innovative products maximizing the demand for its business. Further,it should also develop economies of scale to bring down fixed cost per unit.
Bargaining power of suppliers
This is moderate since all suppliers present in dominant positions tend to lower margins. The negotiating power associated with the firms can help Tiffany & Co. to fetch better results. To gain a competitive position, it is important to build an excellent supply chain and also explore a range of product designs with multiple materials to decide on the raw material that works better. Creating dedicated suppliers is an excellent way to make it happen.
Bargaining power of buyers
The buyers hold high bargaining power as they would like to pay minimum price for a product of the best quality. As a result, this can impact profitability. This needs to be addressed by creating a large customer base which will enhance sales rate as well as production rate. On the other hand, innovating new products regularly will help customers choose Tiffany & Co. over other brands. In that case, customers can also get discounts and rewards from the brand.
Threats of substitutes
Although it is mentioned that the threat of new entrants s moderate, existing players are forced to handle the heat by developing innovative products. The threat of substitute is quite high calling for unique presentations in the market. Instead of limiting only to products, Tiffany & Co. might have to build a better customer service as well. This is a way to excel in its profitability and also maximize customer satisfaction rate. This approach will also enhance switching cost.
Rivalry among current competitors
When the rivalry is high, it can bring down prices and also lower overall profitability. Operating in competitive industry, every change can influence profitability of the firm in the long run.
The ideal solution is to develop sustainable differentiation and also collaborate with various other competitors to enhance overall market size and also explore new opportunities ahead for Tiffany & Co.
These approaches can help the brand to determine potential factors influencing its competitiveness.
Question 2 (7 marks)
Discuss Kodak’s reasons why they have formulated a diversification strategy. Answer this question in 400 words
ANSWER:
Kodak was a firm that was considered a center for technological development but it abruptly became bankrupt and it had to diversify to retain the brand in the market. The downfall of Kodak was not just limited to the services being offered but due to mismanagement in terms of investments that resulted in serious consequences. The camera industry chaged from film-based photos to digital photos. The margins lowered during this shift. During 2005, it was a turning point to the firm although they somehow tried managing revenues.
A multi-business model was the need of the hour. The mistake committed by Kodak that resulted in failure was staying with the core business and never thinking about diversifying it further. This is the second reason to diversify the brand to offer more services.
Another reason to diversify was to develop profitability which was possible only with a broad range of products. The existing narrow range did not work much in terms of innovation and consumer preferences. For the brand to achieve quick growth, diversification is the solution. Likewise, a brand extension can be great too.
Yet another reason for diversification is to maintain the revenues by exploring new markets. For a very long time, it received film-related revenues and it also focused on consumer photography market. However, over time, Kodak recognized that the revenues were shrinking since the consumer photography market was filled with new solutions.
The biggest problem facing Kodak is its lack of interest to develop new competencies to move to a different market and maintain its revenues. As its strategy, Kodak has decided to diversify its investments to think of a product that can add more value. As a result, it invested on entrepreneurial companies and remained active in developing new products and releasing them to the market.
A final reason for it to diversify was the internal mismanagement that ruined its development for long. For instance, the management was not in a position to promote adaptability of resources to acquire new skills. As a result, it had to follow other brands in the market. In experiencing disruptive innovation, the management chose options that worsened its condition. This called for an immediate diversification strategy. The strategy was meant to broaden the customer base, acquire new technologies, and also prepare the brand for the future. During the process, it only faced more risks than benefits thereby resulting in low growth rate and serious downfall.
Question 3 (7 marks)
How can Liu Hongxin of Hisense Group effectively manage the integration challenges at Hisense Hiview Tech Company? Answer this question in 400 words
ANSWER:
Hisense group is known to be China’s largest appliance enterprise and television was its key product. Although chip industry in China started late, Hisense group did hold competitive advantage in importing the chip and using it for the manufacturing of television. It was the time when the color TV industry just kickstarted in China whe Liu Hongxin also accepted the presidency of the firm. Integration challenges were observed on organizational and financial aspects.
To handle the application of heavily invested chips to its firm, Liu might have to forecast the market trend and plan internal schedules accordingly. It is evident that the chip development is influenced by economies of scale thereby resulting in serious states of losses affecting operations. While on one hand, it determines the plan to invest and performs an environmental check to ensure that all the necessary products and resources are available. On the other hand, Liu might have to focus more on optimal solutions that can lower the usage of company’s funds.
The other integration challenge is concerned with the management. When Hisense group is undergoing integration, it is essential for the human resources to develop adaptability. Liu, in this case, should apply change management strategies and build resistance levels of employees towards change. The change in attitudes might have to be addressed at an early stage. This will help the researchers and the internal production team to maintain morale and remain together during the tough time.
The problem here is that Liu has not made decisions at the right time. This resulted in low morale and low productivity. Perhaps, Liu took charge at a time when the company was running low on funds and it increased all of a sudden but the management was not in a position to handle the increasing demand. The ideal solution to address is to develop more change agents and leaders that can forecast change and keep the employees aware of the likelihood of change over time.
Liu might have to optimize the business process and focus on bringing down production costs by either importing the components or simplifying the internal process with low raw materials. This approach could improve the quality of service and also develop the likelihood of meeting the desired goal. At many times, the attitude of individuals was not clear. This is a problem with the organizational culture and Liu might have to address the integration with collaborative and participtive culture.
Question 4 (7 marks)
Identify and discuss two modes of entry that have been used by Fitbit when entering foreign markets and explain the reasons behind their international strategy. Answer this question in 400 words
ANSWER:
There are two modes of entry that Fitbit has explored at this stage. It is a wearable fitness brand that promised customers on tracking key data like sleep, steps, and quality of day. It closely works with various vendors that have been supplying its products in addition to selling the products directly to customers. So far, it has entered several international market. One mode of entry into the foreign international market is exporting. Fitbit has exported the final wearable products to distributors and agents that took care of placing the product across different locations. This was probably the easiest method to Fitbit at first to enter new markets.
There are three reasons for applying this strategy. The first reason is the cost associated with the entry. For instance, engaging distributors and agents might not increase costs to enter the new market. Only an export license is needed to trade the product across countries. The second reason is the marketing advantage. As long as Fitbit takes care of marketing campaigns, distributors and agents tend to take care of placing the products and developing customer knowledge about this product. The third reason is the rapid growth rate. In this case, Fitbit might be able to grow faster in terms of sales and also grab a broader portion of the market. The product placement is high in spite of the new country.
The other mode of entry is partnering. In partnering with a brand like Google or Samsung, it might be able to explore in-app purchases and also achieve more installs. The only requirement in this case is a contract with the partner and ongoing charges to increase the installations. On the other hand, it can also partner with healthcare firms that can suggest this product to monitor their activity levels in long run.
The advantage here is that the trading cost is less. The brand does not have to consistently work on product placement and marketing. It is sufficient if Fitbit concentrates on branding. The other point to be noted here is that this approach can increase conversion rates. Eventually, Fitbit might be able to achieve better brand visibility when tying up with Google or Samsung in specific countries. It is sufficient to issue a license to the partner to implement the application in respective devices. These approaches are not only efficient but are also productive and competitive for Fitbit to enter foreign markets.
Question 5 (11 marks)
Grameenphone developed strategies to focus on trends in the global telecom industry. How can GP sustain its competitive advantage, through the implementation of Ghemawat’s AAA strategies and what approach should GP take and why? Answer this question in 750 words
ANSWER:
Question 6 (11 marks)
The founder of TikTok and ByteDance Zhang Yiming is considered a successful entrepreneur. Discuss in detail the following three characteristics of a successful entrepreneur: having an entrepreneurial mind-set; being alert to opportunities; and the ability to deal with uncertainty. Also indicate how entrepreneur Zhang Yiming demonstrates each characteristic? Answer this question in 750 words
ANSWER:
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