Discussion Questions 1 & 2

The Ron Jon Surf Shop is similar to the Hilo Hattie website is the sense that they both sale beach wear for men, women, and young children. They both are sunny beach wear type online stores to sale retail as well as other products. The web designs are similar in the sense that they use individuals who are happy and joyful to help sale product. They are different because Hilo Hattie is focused around Hawaiian products and clothing styles, whereas Ron Don Surf Shop not only sales clothes but surfing gear and attire.

You can see organizational planning with in the Ron Job Surf Shop through out there website when you go to the “about us” section. It clearly shows that the goals of the company are (to sell clothes and surf products). It tells shoppers they not only do the company sale clothes but that they promote their products through community events, tour groups, and company partners. The site is very well organized so the customers can find which products they are looking for easily and within categories that make the search process much faster. When it comes to staffing you can see the managers have made it so customers can contact their customer service reps if any problem occurs to try and help solve them. This all shows a good control within the contents of the web page but also the company.

Within the Hilo Hattie web page we see they sale clothing and product specific to Hawaiian culture and living. The organization planning is clearly put into their web content. It is very easy to find clothing, and other products throughout the website which means whoever was in charge of setting up the page had a clear goal in mind- to make it as easy as possible for customers. The goal here is also to sale retail products to as many customers as possible. This site also shows the that customer care is important to them and gives customers the chance to contact management if any problem arises with the sales and/or merchandise. This shows a positive leadership with precise direction and good company control.

Discussion Question 2

Netflix a. Give an example of how the values and mission statement help to shape planning. Also give some internal and external factors that may influence the business in the future and explain how they will influence the business. Respond substantively to two other learners b. Complete a SWOT Analysis for your selected organization; applying each of the categories in evaluating the company.

For this week’s second discussion question I decided to go with the company Netflix. Since distinctive competence is something a company does better than their competitors, in my opinion, would be the wide selection of shows they offer to their customers. Have this huge selection makes them stand out again other companies similar to them. The core competence is the most proficient performed internal activity in the company. Netflix is very proficient in the internal activity of monitor the show choices people watch and movies to better what selection they have available to customers.
The mission statement of Netflix is to bring the best movies and television shows to customers at a low price- to basically cut out cable. The values of this mission statement are shown in the commitment to make customers happy, constantly update the available movies and shows, as well as maintaining a low and affordable price. Some internal factors that may influence a company are the management team- how the managers and co-workers come together to work for the company. They influence a company’s reputation with customers thus affecting the future business. External factors that influence the company now and in the future can be seen in the company’s website for example. This needs constant updating, work, and consistency. Having a well-run web page can drastically affect a company’s revue
The following is the completion of the SWOT analysis;
Strength-Opportunity
What are the company’s advantages?
The company has an advantage over other company’s marketing TV shows and movies with their wide selection and low price.
What does the company do well?
The company does an excellent job of marketing their product throughout web content, radio ads, and television ads.
What relevant resources does the company have access to? The company has access to television ads, billboard ads, internet, radio, so on and so forth.
What do other people see as the company’s strength? I would image that other people see the company’s strength to be low price for all they get.
Strength-Threat
What could the company improve? The company could improve on the selection of movies and TV shows available.
What does the company do badly? I have read that the company could use some work with their video quality.
What should the company avoid? I think the company should avoid to many advertisements.
Weakness- Opportunity
What are the good opportunities in the front of the company? The company has good opportunities for even lower prices with available discounts.
What are the interesting trends the company is aware of?
An interesting trend the company is aware of is, is that specialty channels like HBO have hit television shows that you have to pay extra for with cable. But with Netflix it’s included in the price.
Weakness-Threat
Does the company face obstacles? The company faces obstacles with the completion of cable and hulu trying to be similar to Netflix.
What is the company’s competition doing?
The competition is adding new shows and services at similar prices to try and get more customers.
Are the required specifications for the company’s job, products, or services changing?
There have been changes to the company’s products and services but it seems to add more shows that viewers.
Is changing technology threatening the company’s position?
It does appear that new technology is threatening Netflix. Since they don’t have live cable just shows and movies the cable company’s now dvr- allowing customers to select shows to watch that might not be on Netflix.
Does the company have bad debt or cash flow problems? It is not reported that the company is in bad debt or having cash flow problems at the moment.
Could the company’s weaknesses seriously threaten the business?
I do not see any weaknesses in the company so far that seriously threaten them enough to put them out of business.