Thursday, March 7, 2013

Blog #2

Factors That Play a Part in Running A Business?

Topic: Motivation, Teams & Teamwork and Strategy

There are many key factors that play essential roles in the upbringing of a business and roles that matter to keep the business afloat with intentions of striving for longevity and financial success. The three factors I will be speaking on in this blog are three factors that I feel play a vital role in the business world and contribute to whether a company can become and remain successful. Those factors I’m referring to are teams & teamwork, motivation and strategy. All play a critical position when jump-starting and running a company in which I will go more into detail about throughout the remainder of the blog.
With motivated employees and managers pushing them to strive for the best can create a great work environment that leads to employees putting forth their best work and effort for the company. Motivation is key in a business because those employees working day in, day out determines if the company makes a profitable income or not.  Keeping the employees motivated relies on the upper officials, managers and the company itself. The company should create high standards for their employees and give them something to be excited about. To give them something to be excited about, give out rewards for those who exceed standards and contribute to success in their field. With this shows that hard work is paying off for those whom are extrinsic and may seek and thrive off of receiving rewards every so often for the work they’ve put in for the company. For managers they should be the ones who want to help employees succeed, because people want careers not jobs and with that they want to learn and develop. Managers should be somewhat of a team player but still doing their job at the same time setting a high personal example for the employees. Along with giving responsibilities early, setting & enforcing high standards and just being available when needed will keep the individuals around them self motivated.
“Teamwork makes the dream work”.  This quote sums up and gives you the visual idea of what could concur if all minds were put together for a cause. Company’s benefit off the work done by teams because theory that multiple minds are better than one proves to be correct often. With having teams that work well together and thrive off one another creates endless possibilities and great results. What one may not know, you have many others that may know a specific answer. When one is slipping and falling behind, others can pick up the slack and pick up where it was left. A great example on how positive results can come from teamwork is how the creators of Google came about with the idea of the most popular search engine there is. Both Larry Page and Sergey Brin had opposite viewpoints on many things were two very strong opinionated individuals who disagreed on an abundance of things. All of their disagreements were put aside though when they shared an interest in the idea of creating a search engine that could have a tremendous impact on the World Wide Web. With each having talents in different fields that complimented one another, it helped make the process of creating the search engine much easier.
All the previous factors I spoke on are critical but are worth nothing without a business strategy mapped out. A business strategy can be defined as tactics and methods you will use to manage your business.  It’s important to have an effective business strategy so that managers and employees can have an idea and see the direction a company is taking. Business strategies should be ones that utilize company resources in which will give the company an upper hand over its competitors. With using an inefficient strategy and misuse of resources a company can lose out on customers, market share and most importantly money. Having an effective strategy can help a company remain prioritized and organized, all which are needed if a company has plans of longevity and expansion.
A company just doesn’t run itself, not one individual can do all the work and plan a business by him or herself. It takes a team, teamwork, a little motivation and strategic planning to make things work in your favor to succeed. One can only do so much for so long but will go further with the factors mentioned above.
           


Sources: 


http://voices.yahoo.com/google-inc-did-google-originate-330462.html

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Blog #1

Is Apple Reign at the Top for Smartphones Coming to an End?


Topic: External Environment & Outside of the 4 O's.

I have to admit, I categorize myself as one of the many loyal consumers that find themselves to be an Apple junkie or "Applehead". It all started with the purchase of the iPhone 3; the phone that single-handedly changed the smartphone market and was looked at as a revolutionary device. Apple then followed their blueprint by expanding their brand with production and release of the Iphone 3s & Iphone 4 that continued to improve and create features unforeseen as probable to be accessed in phones. This solidified Apples spot as the pinnacle of smartphone devices, all that was needed was a cape and a crown. With the 4 successful releases of the iPhone which broke many barriers with the mind blowing features & settings had consumers rushing to the nearest Apple store to get the latest iPhone device. It seemed as if the sky was the limit for Apple and their smartphone line, but then came the release of the iPhone 5. The phone that was already being herald as the greatest invention of the century preconception, proclaimed by many turned out to be the complete opposite. For the first time since the purchase of my Iphone 3, the thought of leaving Apple, the brand I've been loyal too for many years, began to formulate in my mind. With the release of the iPhone 5 not meeting with the expectations of the consumers, concern arose as to whether or not apples market should begin looking elsewhere for the superior smartphone. Many Apple loyalists can only hope Apple makes major adjustments with future devices to regain its position as the best smartphone line in the market.

The concerns I have and the challenges that lie ahead of Apple stem from the external environment:

General External Force - Economic:  Due to the lack of sales for the iPhone 5, prices have been cut to overshadow the older iPhone 4S in hopes of increasing sales for the Iphone 5. This comes as a complete shock to apple consumers due to the fact that this is a rare occurrence for any Apple product price to be slashed, especially being the release of the phone was just a few months ago. While the iPhone 4S also cut its prices in this time frame, the iPhone 5 is on its 7th price change already which raises an eye for concern for Apple Inc. The sales were a higher percentage from last years sales, because of a new device like the 5 being introduced much more was expected. It looks like now its back to the drawing board for Apple especially with competitions steadily inclining.



General External Force - Social/Cultural: Apples sales are generated from what many refer to a one of the greatest marketing strategies of the 21st century in conjunction with the reputation as an innovative brand, setting standards and raising the bar of its products to one that other brands are unable to reach. Nothing changed with that as many saw the sky being the limit for the iPhone 5 and very high expectations for the phone which added more pressure to Apple in hope the device wouldn't disappoint many. With expectations of it adding to the U.S gross domestic percentage, the numbers from the release were astounding, breaking many record sales but as the dust cleared, many customers of the iPhone 5 were left disappointed. Many felt that it is only a newer look to an older product. With competitors releasing phones with endless features, Apple released a device that for the first time did not introduce a component that set itself apart from the competition, making it "just another phone" in the consumer. Fortunately, Apple has a base of loyal consumers who believe this was just a bump in the road and feel Apple will have something incredible in stored for the next iPhone; They hold healthy hopes of furthering their lead of being the best smartphone on the market. Those loyal customers such as myself are willingly sticking around despite the rivaling level of performance other smartphones now obtain, and keeping faith (wishful thinking) in the brand that we have grew to love that has never let us down.

General External Force - Technological: With technology improving day by day, that never slowed Apple down by always releasing smartphones that turn out to be 10 steps ahead of the next competitor. Unfortunately with the release of the iPhone 5, it seems as if that lead has slimmed down a bit as Samsung is not trailing far behind if not tied or surpassing the Apple as the leading maker of smartphones. Samsung products have steadily been approaching the savvy and presence, but entertaining feel that the iPhone gives off. It's clear now that they may have found that special touch as for the first time iPhone is actually being compared with one of Samsung devices entitled the "Galaxy S3". Whatever the iPhone 5 is slacking on and not giving the consumers what they seek for, the S3 most likely has that feature and is quietly filling that void as many are making the switch to the S3. With the S3 offering practically everything the iPhone 5 has plus more and at an accessible price, the move does not come as a surprise. People want the best and the latest and the S3 has capitalized off the mistakes of the iPhone 5 and made up for what it is lacking. A brief list of things that matter the most to the consumer:

  • S3 has a 4.8 inch screen while iPhone 5 has just 4 inch screen.
  • The resolution of the S3 > Iphone 5
  • S3 has a quad core processor to when the iPhone 5 has a dual core A6 Apple Processor
  •  S3 beats out the iPhone 5 in each and every field ( Camera , pricing , screen , OS , dimensions ,storage , processor , battery life, and display)
All the categories that matter most to a customer are the ones that the S3 beats out on the iPhone 5. Although Samsung releases a new device more often than Apple which gives them more opportunties to fix bugs and flaws that the latest iPhone may possess, gives Apple no excuse. Apple is just known for out thinking and having creations way ahead of our time but this time around it seems as if the iPhone 5 was rushed and not much thought or effort was put forth to put out a device with top notch technology that we expected and assumed for it to have. 

Questions:
Did Apple not put many features on the iPhone 5 because of plans for using them for a future device?
How long will loyal customers wait around if Appple keeps slacking before making the transition to another smartphone?

Sources

http://weirdnlolpics.blogspot.com/2012/09/iphone-5-end-of-apples-smartphones.html#.UQ74begVwy4

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3

http://www.cnet.com/8301-33506_1-57557848-306/galaxy-s3-beats-iphone-5-for-best-device-of-2012/

http://www.macworld.com/article/2013112/fourth-quarter-revenue-profit-up-for-apple-on-iphone-ipad-sales.html