...of its toys manufactured in China contained lead paint The following month had seen a series of recalls, rising political tensions between the United States and Chinese governments, and a suicide But no company had been in China longer than Mattel; the original Barbie had been created there in 1959 Mattel had a depth of experience and a longevity of relationships which should have prevented it. In the end it was those relationships and that longevity which may have contributed to the product safety failures. Global Supply Chains and Risk Toys were based on a global supply chain which was highly sensitive to petrochemical (plastics) and labor input costs, environmental and human rights sensitivities to socially responsible and sustainable business practices, transportation and logistic disruptions, border crossings, cost and time to market – all of which added to risk. Mattel had established its Global Manufacturing Principles in 1997, in which it established principles and practices for all companies and sites which manufactured Mattel products, either company owned or licensed manufacturing • First Chinese Signal – The crisis had actually begun in June when U.S. toy maker RC2 recalled 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine products made in Guangdong, the Chinese province adjacent to Hong Kong and long the center for contract manufacturing by Western firms. • Mattel followed with a series of three recalls in less than one month – The first recall of 1.5 million toys of 83...
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...example critically examine whether the ‘sector matrix’ framework gives a better strategic understanding of product markets than the concepts of ‘product’ or ‘commodity’ chains. The product market is growing stadily, with new, advanced and more complex products being introduced into the competitive global market. However, “there´s no single company which has all the neccessary knowledge about either the product or required process to completely design and manufacture them in house”(www.hbs.edu). Thus, analysis such as commodity chains and sector matrix is essential to identify their comparitive advantages and use them to establish themselves in a long run. This essay will begin with a defination or an overview of both sector matix and commodity chains, followed by a detailed comparison, in order to know which gives a better strategic understanding of product markets, such as the automobile market. I will also discuss how sector matrix have been successful for Ford and how it hasn´t for other product markets. The sector matrix framework is an extension to Porter´s “value chain” and Gereffi´s ´product` or `commodity` chains. Poter defines value chains as “Every firm is a collection of activities that performed to design,produce, market, deliver and support its product. All these activities can be described using a value chain....”(porter,1985:pp.36) and provides a framework to understand the shifts in corporate strategy. Sector matrix is applied to complex products which require...
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...Introduction Value chain analysis is useful for new producers, including poor producers and poor countries trying to enter the global market in a way that will provide for sustainable income growth. The value chain analysis also is useful as an analytical tool in understanding environmental policy which provides for the efficient allocation of resources within the domestic economy. Company Background Starbucks started in 1971 when three academics: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker, opened a store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice in Seattle. These three partners shared a love for fine coffees and exotic teas and believed they could build a clientele in Seattle much like that in the San Francisco. Each invested $1,350 and borrowed $5,000 from a bank to open the Pikes Place store. The company began its first operations by providing coffee to restaurants and espresso bars, by the mid-80s, the director of retail operations and marketing, Howard Schultz introduced the idea of coffee house to the company’s founders. In 1991, Starbucks began to gain ground and by end of the decade, the company had grown significantly. The 1990s was considered to be the company’s turning point toward becoming a giant company. However, it was at the beginning of the millennium that the Starbucks through the introduction of “Starbucks Experience” that its “miracle” occurred. The coffee store grew in leaps since the year 2000. On the first half...
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...defines capitalism as “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state”. Due to high competition, firms have desperately been trying to reduce costs of production in order to maximise profits. Published in “Competitive Advantage” in 1985, Porter’s value chain is a great example to show how much importance firms gave to the supply side of the market in this period. Porter described the value chain as “a set of products and services linked together in a sequence of value adding economic activities”. In other words, it analyses the stages in which a product is created from raw material until it’s finished, each stage adding value to the product. Gereffi’s ‘Global Commodity chains’ uses the old strategy chains and links them with their political and geographical context, adding a spatial and territorial dimension to the demand and supply in a market.________________________________________ In 1998 in their article “Breaking the Chains? A sector Matrix for Motoring”, Julie Froud, Colin Haslam, Sukhdev Johal and Karel Williams tackled the settled chain concepts by showing its limits regarding complex industries such as motoring or healthcare. They then came out with an alternative approach which focused on “the two webs of demand and supply relations” (Froud, 1998). The sector matrix looks at the firm not as a business operating in an industry but more widely looks at it in a sector perspective...
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...end giving a conclusion on the discussion done for both the companies. TABLE OF CONTENTS: * Background of the companies * Comparison between business practices according to ethical aspects * Constructive and commercial ethical aspects of both companies * Discussing and applying the ethical theories according to the practices of the companies * Conclusion * References A BRIEF DISCRIPTION ON THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT KFC AND MCDONALD’S’: First we talk about KFC; it is one of the world's most popular fast food restaurant chains in the world founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1930. Every day, more than 12 million customers are served at KFC restaurants in 109 countries and territories around the world. KFC operates more than 15,000 restaurants around the world today. KFC rules the roost when it comes to serving chicken. One of the world's largest fast-food chains, the company owns and franchises more than 16,200 outlets in about 100 countries. (More than 5,100 locations are in the US.) The restaurants offer the Colonel's...
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...There are four common risks which are associated with market risk Equity risk-Equity risk is the risk that stock prices in general (not related to a particular company or industry) or the implied volatility will change. Interest rate-Interest rate risk is the risk that interest rates or the implied volatility will change. Currency risk ;--this risk describe about is the risk that foreign exchange rates or the implied volatility will change, which affects, for example, the value of an asset held in that currency. Commodity risk ;-Commodity risk is the risk that commodity prices (e.g. corn, copper, crude oil) or implied volatility will change. Operational risk ;- Operational risk is "the risk of a change in value caused by the fact that actual losses, incurred for inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from outward events differ from the expected...
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...Assignment 1: Individual case analysis report Mahmud Safari (21295746) 1 Individual Case Analysis Report LEGO (A): The Crisis Mahmud Safari 21295746 Assignment 1: Individual case analysis report Mahmud Safari (21295746) 2 Table Of Contents 1.0Introduction 2.0 Analysis of General Environment 2.1 Economic 2.2 Socio-‐Cultural 2.3 Global 2.4 Technological 2.5 Political/Legal 2.6 Demographic 3.0 Analysis of the Industry...
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...MATTEL: A Case Study | October 22 2012 | Case study discussion taken from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business “Unsafe for Children: Mattel’s Toy Recalls and Supply Chain Management” | Rob Breakiron Wenyao Ma Alek Shnayder Jiajie Wang | Contents Introduction 2 Why do companies outsource? 2 What were the primary causes of Mattel’s recall problems? Where these the result of outsourcing? 4 What actions were taken by the principals in the case to address the recall problems? Were these the right actions? Why, or why not? 5 What should Mattel do now? What should governments do? 7 How can accountability be better managed in long, global supply chains? 12 Introduction Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT), the world’s largest toy company with over $12.5 billion in revenue, has grown from the little toy company it once was and has certainly come a long way since it was founded in 1945. The exponential world-wide growth has not always come without a hitch. In the late 2000’s Mattel was at a crossroads due to a significant toy recall problem, reaching far beyond the bottom line. During this case write up we discuss what went wrong, whose fault it was, and what can and should be done to not only fix the problem, but eliminate the chance of similar problems for Mattel and other firms in the future. Our case study will tackle the following five questions through in depth discussion: 1) Why do companies outsource? 2) What were the primary causes of Mattel’s...
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...Section: HBR CASE STUDY Rose Partyware's largest retail customer has decided to create a private-label line of party goods-and wants Rose to manufacture it. Should Rose put its efforts behind its own brand instead? TOM ROSE hated to go to a meeting with ice cream on his pants. But Rose Partyware's after-school party-a monthly gesture of goodwill to the local community and, not incidentally, a field trial for products the company was developing- had confirmed his suspicions that one of the new ice-cream bowls was just too shallow. The five-year-old who had demonstrated that fact had been sitting right next to him. So here he was getting ready to listen to a major presentation, with paper towels in his hands. "Go ahead, Cassie," Tom said to his marketing director. "It'll dry or harden--or something. Thankfully, it's my last meeting of the day!" He could tell that Cassie Martin was excited about the presentation she was going to make to the top management team. Tom had personally recruited her about a year ago to spearhead the biggest strategic initiative in Rose's history: the launch of a branded line of party ware. In fact, it was the first time a company in the party goods industry had contemplated a branding effort, at least in the 30 years Rose had been in business. Party Lines Rose manufactured a wide variety of paper goods- plates, bowls, cups, napkins, tablecloths, favors, crepe-paper streamers, and so forth- for birthday and holiday parties and other social...
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...China. Pataca, the currency of Macau is closely connected with Hong Kong dollar and is freely accepted in Honk Kong. Economic activities of Macau Services activities dominated by tourism and gambling contribute nearly 96% towards its GDP (gross domestic product). Wholesale and retail trade, financial services, construction, and transport and communications are the other tertiary sector activities. The industrial sector is dominated by electronics, footwear, textiles and toy manufacturing facilities. Industries or secondary economic activities constitute almost 4% of GDP. The contribution of agriculture to Macau’s economy is negligible. With only 2% of total area of Macau under agricultural use, the contribution of this sector towards GDP is around 0.1%. Apart from vegetable farming, fishing is a vital primary economic activity. Textiles, toys, electronic goods, footwear, and machinery items are the main exports of Macau. The imports include food materials, beverages, tobacco, oil, semi-finished commodities, capital goods, oil and mineral fuels. China,...
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...China. Pataca, the currency of Macau is closely connected with Hong Kong dollar and is freely accepted in Honk Kong. Economic activities of Macau Services activities dominated by tourism and gambling contribute nearly 96% towards its GDP (gross domestic product). Wholesale and retail trade, financial services, construction, and transport and communications are the other tertiary sector activities. The industrial sector is dominated by electronics, footwear, textiles and toy manufacturing facilities. Industries or secondary economic activities constitute almost 4% of GDP. The contribution of agriculture to Macau’s economy is negligible. With only 2% of total area of Macau under agricultural use, the contribution of this sector towards GDP is around 0.1%. Apart from vegetable farming, fishing is a vital primary economic activity. Textiles, toys, electronic goods, footwear, and machinery items are the main exports of Macau. The imports include food materials, beverages, tobacco, oil, semi-finished commodities, capital goods, oil and mineral fuels. China,...
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...advent of internet and web development technologies, e-business is playing emergesDocument6 with a larger role in today’ entrepreneurial world. “The internet offers businesses and other organizations a source of information, a means of communication, and a channel for buying and selling, all rolled into one, with just a few clicks of a mouse” (Boone, Kurtz, 2011,p.214). It has also revolutionized almost every aspect of business. People all around the world use the internet for their daily life, for instance, surfing information, paying bills, making purchases, communicating with organizations or individuals, and connecting with people around the world. The internet, extranet, and the other forms of digital technology has created a valuable chain among clients, employees, stakeholders, suppliers, traders into the world of electronic business. This new form of communication can be used either for business to business or business to customer as well. Electronic Business on E-Business is a term used to describe a wide range of business activities operating via the internet internet, or utilize internet technologies to improve the productivity or efficiency. E-business also provides superior customer service, increase sales, and reduce costs. A business enterprise may use the internet to exchange information with the customers, advertise their products, research market trends buy and sell goods and services. E-business uses tools such as e-mail services, blogs, instant messaging for...
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...The Microeconomic Effects of Change in Demand and Supply Factors: Wal-Mart Raina Devoid Southern New Hampshire University Introduction The following research study of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Wal-Mart) examines the effects of non-price factors as they relate to the graphical representations of demand and supply curves. After describing the industry itself and the services/ products it provides and an understanding of how the organization operates as a market has been established, this study will give insight on the effects of four non-price demand factors have on the demand function. The non-price demand factors include consumer income, seasonal products, availability of substitutes, and population. Once this has been defined, the study will discuss the effects of the following non-price determinants on supply: technological progress, government regulation, seller expectations, and alternative products and related goods. The explanation of these changes will be as it relates to the change in the graphical representation of the supply function. Organizational Profile Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is a publicly-traded company that offer consumers discounted prices on everyday items. It is the world’s largest retailer and is known not only for its discount stores, but also its super-centers, neighborhood markets, and club stores. “The company operates approximately 10,130 retail units under 69 different banners across 27 countries,” (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2013). Whether a customer...
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...Strategic Management Project MBA 670 Executive Summary & Introduction Corporate Description Company & Industry Description History of the Firm In 1923, two brothers who migrated from Poland started a small business by selling textile remnants. In 1926, the Hassenfeld’s officially organized what is known today as Hasbro Inc. In the 1940’s, the brother duo expanded by offering pencil boxes and school supplies. By 1950, they were ready to leap into another market by introducing its novelty toy, “Mr. Potato Head”. GI Joe was introduced in 1963 producing revenue sells in excess of 28 million dollars the next two years after Hasbro spent nearly 2 million in TV ads (Miller 1998). In addition to toys, Hasbro develops games most notably Monopoly which was first introduced in 1935. Decades later, Hasbro continues to be innovative with product design, introduction of new products, developing brand recognition to maintain being a leader in the game and toy industry. Ownership Characteristics Hasbro Inc is a publicly traded company in the NYSE. Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Board of Hasbro Inc., owns about 4% in shares of the company; while other corporations such as The State Street Corporation and Barkley’s Global Investors UK Holding LTD are the major institutional stockholders and each own approximately 6% of the company. While there are other private stockholders owning significant amount of shares in the company, most of the ownership is comprised...
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...new strategy as following: Step 1: Strategic Analysis. City Flowers should analysis external and internal environment and first. By collecting and reviewing of information about firm’s internal processes and resources and external marketplace factors, firm can understand the situation and position well. By using PESTLE to analysis external environment and SWOT to analysis internal environment are efficient. City Flowers currently meet the 40% customer needs as the standing order from commercial clients for company reception and executive offices. 30% from individual purchasing, another 30% are orders to be delivered. Resources of City Flowers are telephone order to suppliers and visiting sales representatives to replenish supplies of soft toys and relevant gift products. Study the macro-environmental by PESTLE analysis. Such as Political factors i.e. the tax for small middleman like City Flowers will be influenced; Economic factor i.e. the GDP of country; Society factors i.e. education background and norms etc.; Technology factors i.e. the technology of keeping flowers fresh etc.; Legal and ethical factors i.e. laws for transporting flowers; Environmental factors i.e. regulations of environmental protection. Study the micro-environmental by using SWOT to analysis the flower shop’s strengths, weakness, opportunities and threatens. By learning the above-mentioned information, the flowers shop owner should be clear about customer’s needs & wants, resources and processes, competitive...
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