The Global Economy and Business

So, there are a lot of trouble spots, but problems often located in only four areas:

The first is low profitability of the sales. So, you can solve this problem with decreasing of the prices and with good advertising.

The second is low quality of offered services and goods and poor range of products. So, you can solve this problem with increasing of the activity of R & D department.

The third is low qualification of personnel. This problem can be solved with organizing of additional courses for improvement of professional skill.

The fourth is bad customer care. For solving this problem you can use different methods, for example, granting of discounts and opportunities to buy on credit.

To make troubleshooting more effective there are also some tips:

1. First of all it’s necessary to locate the cause of the problem.

2. Then to get the facts.

3. Then to look at past history and to listen to experts’ opinions.

4. And at last to consider possible solutions.

In conclusion I want to add, that troubleshooting is so important in business, because these days business is extremely competitive.

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Everyone knows that business is international. Business is a word, which is even commonly used in many different languages, so business people often have to travel a lot and meet their foreign colleagues and business partners. I think knowing cultural differences and having cross-cultural skills are one of the most important things, which help to achieve success in any spheres of activities and, especially, in business. To conclude a good agreement with a foreign colleague a businessman has to know cultural differences, but better to know a language of the country, where you are going to make a business trip. I’m absolutely convinced, that a foreign partner will be glad to know, that a businessman knows customs, culture and habits of his country, and I feel that it can assist to their business.

Finally, I’d like to say, to avoid misunderstandings with a partner, it’s better to know social conventions and to have good cross-cultural skills, and your partner will also appraise at yours true worth.

There are some good companies, whose goods I prefer. They are «Benetton», «Sony» and «L’Oreal».

Speaking about «Benetton», I would like to say that it is an Italian company. «Benetton» is known as a very successful clothing manufacture. Nowadays it produces sportswear, which is known as a high quality clothes. It is an interesting fact, that «Benetton» has another trademark called «Sisley», which produces more expensive clothing.

As for «Sony» this company is the world leader in electronics. For example, it produces the Sony Walkman and computer games. Nowadays «Sony» works with musical production. It made the music for the film “Titanic”.

«L’Oreal» is a well-known company, which produces cosmetics. Million women all over the world choose its goods, such as powder, mascara and so on. «L’Oreal» has the slogan “Because I’m worth it”.

I choose the goods of these companies for their quality. It is not the news that all these companies try to attract as many customers as possible and to win their loyalty.

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The question is to find all pros and cons of virtual and traditional types of retailing. The main disadvantage of virtual retailing is in the quantity of its potential buyers. Nobody will deny that the customer profile is limited. To be a customer of virtual shop you need the Internet, TV shopping channels or mail-order catalogues. But this market is full of opportunities because everyday thousands of people open comfort and convenience of virtual shopping.

Besides if you are the owner of a virtual retail outlet you have not to find place or build your shop (as we know it is really difficult and expensive) and you have not to pay rent monthly and to recruit additional personnel.

And as for traditional shopping, people will never refuse the opportunity to see and to touch the things they want to buy.

This way I can’t give an exact answer to this question, because it depends on kind of goods I will sell. For example, if I sell compact discs or books, it will be reasonably to open the Internet shop, but as for food-stuffs and clothes it will be reasonably to open a traditional retail outlet.

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At the beginning I would like to say that every serious company has own code of practice, or in other words a set of rules for customer care. To my mind it is very important to have a good customer care for any business. Because if the company has good customer care, its clients come back and purchase new goods again. Therefore the company’s profits will be constantly growing. And as a result it will be more competitive. It seems to me that these conditions are guarantee of success.

A good example of such companies is IKEA Business and British Airways. As for the IKEA Business Company it offers a full range of services for customers. Firstly, its good-trained staff can help with everything from individual workstations to planning a complete office. Secondly, its customers can purchase what they want from the special Business catalogue, or from the complete range in the store. As for British Airways company its employees, who make customers unhappy, must apologize in person. The company has a number of items; they are given to customers who are dissatisfied with their service, such as toys, chocolates, calculators and so on.

The world of work is vast and constantly changing. Nine-to-five job is becoming less and less popular. Thus instead of working full-time regular hours a lot of employees prefer to work part-time or to share a job with someone else, which is called job-sharing. There is one more flexible arrangement. People with flexible working hours are free, within limits, to work when they want, as long as they do a minimum number of hours. This is known as flextime.

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Не works best who knows his trade

A lot of people live outside a city center and travel to work there everyday. They are called commuters and their activity is known as commuting. One more form of working is telecommuting. Telecommuting is a term for work that can be done at a distance, usually with the use of information and communications technologies. There are several forms of telecommuting: working from home using computers, term-time only contracts, videoconferencing and teleconferencing. The main benefit of the growth of telecommuting is an improved lifestyle for all people. Local employers report that they are exploring the use of telecommuting for five main reasons: to reduce costs, to provide uninterrupted thinking time, and to comply with environmental regulations. Telecommuting is more productive, gives more leisure time, more education, less pollution, and a healthier and wealthier society. It’s a fact that all the hours saved from repetitive commuting are equivalent to 30 working days per annum. In addition, telecommuting can allow you to fit more staff into the same space. International evidence shows that more flexible working arrangements lead to higher productivity. But telecommuting also benefits employees. But there are several reasons why telecommuting hasn’t become the major tendency. Managers are often nervous when they leave their staff out of sight of the office. For the telecommuters working from home might bring unforeseen hazards. Moreover, some workers don’t want to lose the isolation they get while commuting.

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Money is a good servant but a bad master

Internet business or e-business as many professional call it is rather modern trend in the world economy. Many people believe that it’s only a nifty and we will see the failure of that businesses soon. The others truly believe that it’s a panacea and every company has to move it’s business to the web.
 Anyway I’m not going to discuss this topic (or maybe not now). I want to present my ideas about franchise business though the Net and in the Net.
 

The first thing I want to write about is the following. Internet is not a new sphere of business but it’s only an instrument. To make my thought clearer I want to use the example of a phone. A phone is an instrument to call somebody or somewhere. For example, if you need to call in an ambulance it makes you no different whether to use mobile, radio or a public call box. They are only instruments to reach the doctor! The same can be said about the Internet – it’s only an instrument to improve your casual activity. You can use a post office of e-mail. You can go to casino or play poker online… You can sell you products through the shop or set-up the Internet-shop… The same happens in the sphere of franchising. Franchisor can advertise his business in the business pages of newspapers, on TV or on the Internet. As I understand it has no difference at all.
 My second thought is about franchising of Internet-based and computer-based business. As I understand it will include ATM, computer, Internet, ISP, web design, wireless, home electronics, web hosting and other technology related franchises and business opportunities. So, as you can see it’s not just selling through the Net but much wider. I decided to write few words about some franchise ideas that fit the definition of Internet-based and computer-based franchise.
 

1. Providing web services. Franchisee is usually operates as a consultant in the one or some of the following spheres (not the complete list certainly):
Website Design
E-Commerce Solutions
Application Development
Content Management
Search Marketing
Web Advertising
Site Hosting & Technical Support
  The benefits: as a franchisee you do not need to have special web-knowledge – the franchisor will do all the job; you operate in one of the fastest growing industries in the world; you can meet small business companies in your region (very small ones).
The potential losses: the competition in the industry is very tight and you may have not enough education to win it.
 (to be continued)

Many people use the term career to mean the job, occupation, or vocation a person has. However, a career involves much more. A career is work-related activities that develop throughout a lifetime. It includes the job or a series of jobs a person has until retirement. It also involves the way a person’s work roles affect other life roles.

Almost every adult has a career of some kind. Most people build a career to help them satisfy certain goals. Such goals might include earning a living or helping others. Most people are happiest in jobs that fit them.

Many much about working conditions, special abilities required, probable earning, job security, chances for advancement.

Working conditions mean the environment in which a particular job is performed. A work environment might be indoors and outdoors or involve extreme heat or cold. Some jobs involve high levels of dust or noise, physical hazards or mental stress. Some occupations call for more intelligence, artistic talent or other abilities that people possess. In exploring an occupation you will want to know how much money you can expect to earn. For many people job security is an important requirement in selecting an occupation. Choosing the job you should examine possible patterns of promotion, known as career ladders. In some occupations, workers are promoted to higher positions based on their ability and experience.

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The work shows the workman

“We are not so rich to buy cheap things,” the proverb says. Is it right about buying a franchise? Maybe… But before choosing between the high-cost and low-cost franchise in the same industry, I suggest you to think over the following information.
 

When you buy the low-cost franchise, the franchisor will never provide the same start-up assistance, training, advice or preferences as if you were investing in the high-cost franchise. So, one of the first questions you have to answer to yourself is to decide what assistance you REALLY need.  If you are a complete novice at this business, I think that it would be better to get a bit more (and to pay more too). But if you are only expanding your rather successful business, the information and assistance (that every franchisor must provide) may be absolutely enough for you.
 

So, it means that you have to know what help you’ll get for sure according to legislation. All the rest depends on franchisor’s willingness.

According to the FTC, franchisors must provide:

1. One copy of the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular. You’ll get it in at least 10 days before you sign the agreement
   
2. One copy of the franchise agreement, other contracts and franchisor’s financial statements with estimates of initial start-up costs (operation capital, equipment, construction and rent costs and so on)
   
3. At least one week of practical training for you and your manager in a parent company
   
4. Operational manual
   
5. Ongoing support
   
6. Guidelines on audits and assignment procedures
   
7. Other criteria for assignments, such as ownership rights and rights to sell the franchise
   
8. Initial fees, royalty and other costs information
   

 

At the same time your potential franchisor may provide some additional help. You need to take into consideration that this usually increases your payments. This additional assistance may include:

1. A marketing plan, promotional materials and site selection assistance
   
2. Adequate insurance for fire, inventory, burglary, workers’ compensation, accident and health, occupancy and general liability
   
3. A known trademark or service mark, or advertising to make it known
   
4. Guidelines on purchasing inventory and equipment, restrictions on goods sold and terms of agreement and renewal
   

 

The last word about “must” or “should”: remember that in different states and countries the franchise legislation is different. Spend some time to check your rights as a franchisee. And maybe you will change the proverb for yourself: “We are not so rich to buy high-cost franchising and to pay for the help that we don’t need!”