Gray Marketing

            What is a gray market? According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “gray market is a market employing irregular but not illegal methods; especially a market that legally circumvents authorized channels of distribution to sell goods at prices lower than those intended by the manufacturer (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray+market).”  Which means goods will be distributed by unauthorized channels to meet the market needs.  In such a market, customers may not get the same warranties and product liabilities as those from the official distribution channels.  Manufacturers may cost more because they lost the adequate profit share to the gray market. In addition, goods that distributed by the unauthorized channels might actually damaging the manufacturers’ reputations. 

            In the new gray market environment today, lower price still is the main factor that allures retailers and some customers. However, it is not always the case. In the article “‘Gray Market’ iPad Mini Prices Triple in Russia”, because of the delay of releasing the iPad mini in Russia made the gray market price much higher than the official price.  I think the same phenomenon happens in Apple’s Asian market as well.  For Apple, they should have the same releasing day for their new products worldwide and manufacture enough to satisfy their global market.

            In my opinion, governments should get involved in managing the gray marketing.   By implementing the laws, eliminating smuggling, and adjust their tarries to make goods distributed smoothly though their official distribution channels. 

The Impact of Cultural Difference on Doing Global Business

            When thinking about the impact of cultural difference on doing global business, I automatically think about the different experience of American fast- food joints in China and in the U.S. The most popular American fast-food joints in China are McDonald, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.    

American fast-food joints in China are differing than those in American in different aspects.  First of all, they all have different menu to satisfy the Chinese’s taste buds. They also fix their recipes of the same product to make it more acceptable by Chinese. Personally, I think McDonald in China taste better than in the U.S.A. My former Manager is an American born Chinese; he told me that he thought Pizza Hun in China taste better too.  Second of all, American fast-food joints set themselves to higher scale restaurants. Pizza Hut restaurants in China are like those upscale French fine dining restaurants.  McDonald and Kentucky Fly Chicken in China are known as fast-food joints, yet only high income or middle-class family can afford to have them every day.

In general, the cultural difference study helps international businesses to target their markets and make strategies in different countries other than their home countries.  Most Chinese go to those American fast-food joints are more for special event celebrations and the exotic experience then to enjoy a good meal.  So, it makes sense to set them up more upscale.  The cultural difference study also helps companies to prevent lost in investment in different countries.

Social Entrepreneurship

            I attended one of the Business Ethics Week events - Social Entrepreneurship Unplugged on Friday, November 9^th, 2012 at San Francisco State University downtown campus. The Social Entrepreneurship Unplugged event lasted for two hours and three non-profit organizations presented themselves to us.  By telling us about their history, their mission, and their products and services; and how they work to help people.   

            So, what is a Social Entrepreneur?  According to the ashoka.org, “Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide – scale change.”

            Let’s have a look of the three non-profit organizations on the Social Entrepreneurship Unplugged event and see what their mission is, and how they help the society to solve some of the social problems. They are listed as follow:

One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

            The founder and chief organizer of OLPC San Francisco volunteer community, Sameer Verma presented their product to us. OLPC’s mission is to empower the world’s poorest children through education by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low – power, connected laptop (One Laptop Per Child).  For more information, check out their website at One Laptop Per Child or their blog at blog.laptop.org. For volunteering and internship, contact Sameer Verma at sverma@sfsu.edu.

Kiva

            Kiva is a non-profit organization with a mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. According to their speaker  Betsy McCormick - the portfolio manager of Kiva’s north and central America, Kiva connects entrepreneurs around the world and leveraging the internet and a worldwide network of microfinance institutions, it  lets individuals lend as little as $25 to help create opportunity around the world. For more information on how to provide loan to people who need help, check out their website at Kiva.

Whirlwind Wheelchairs

            According to Marc Krizack - the executive director at Whirlwind Wheelchairs, their mission is to make it possible to help people in the developing country to have mobility.  They accomplish their mission by supplying to charitable organizations who distribute around the world. For more information about how Whirlwind Wheelchairs please check out their website at (Whirlwind).   Their San Francisco office offers internship for business major students and design major students. For more information about the internship program at Whirlwind Wheelchairs please contact Marc Krizack at marc@whirlwindwheelchair.org.

            I am glad that I have spent some time to attend this event. It really broadened my mind. I have learned a lot from this event. It was the first time that I heard the concept - “Social Entrepreneurship” and the concept of non-profit doesn’t mean they don’t make money. As the speaker of Whirlwind Wheelchairs said, “we make money to help more people in need than put it into our own pocket!”  If you are an entrepreneur, would you consider becoming one of those social entrepreneurs to help people in need in your communities?

         

Doing Business in Myanmar

When I was doing my market research for launching a product in Myanmar (also known as Burma), I found that information about Myanmar is very limited.   The U.S. government used to have restrictions of doing business in Myanmar for about 15 years.  However, On July 11^th, 2012 President Obama announced to ease sanctions to allow U.S companies to do business in Myanmar (Whitehouse.gov).  

In his statement, President Obama explains why the US decided to ease restrictions on doing business in Myanmar – to help Myanmar “to make important economic and political reforms.” And this will provide “significant benefits to the people of Myanmar (Whitehouse.gov).”  President Obama indicates that the US Government would remains concerned about the lack of transparency in Myanmar’s investment environment and the military’s role in the economy due to Myanmar’s political and economic reforms remain uncompleted. He emphasized that US companies need to do business in Myanmar responsibly and follow the US Government’s guidelines. Lastly, President Obama states that his Administration will continue to support Myanmar “in its efforts to work toward international standards for economic growth, responsible governance, and human rights (Whitehouse.gov).

Myanmar is a resource-rich country that has a big market potential. Since the U.S government is allowing U.S companies to do business in Myanmar, let’s check out some political and economic information of doing business over there.

According to globalEDGE, Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia bordered by the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Neighboring countries include Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand. Myanmar has a strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. The government system is a Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council and the head of government is the Prime Minister.

Opium in Myanmar

Myanmar has a complex economic system combing both traditional and command economic systems. Many citizens engage in subsistence agriculture; however, the central government has a strong influence. Myanmar is a member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). Myanmar is an agricultural base country. It has vast hardwood timber, natural gas, and fishery reserves and is a leading source of gems and jade. Myanmar is also the world’s second largest producer of opium, and a major source of illegal drugs, including amphetamines. Opium bans implemented since 2002.

According to Central Intelligence Agency, the business climate in Myanmar is known as opaque, corrupt, and highly inefficient. However, since 2011, the Myanmar government opens up the economy by lowering export taxes, easing restrictions on its financial sector, and reaching out to international organizations for assistance.

Doing business in Myanmar is still not easy by it does have a lot of opportunities for U.S companies to expand their markets.  As the Myanmar government has “initiated a series of political and economic reforms landing to a substantial opening of the long-isolated country (Central Intelligence Agency).” Furthermore, the U.S. government also has guidelines and laws to guide and protect U.S. companies that want to do business in Myanmar.  There is no harm to take the risk and be the first to take over the market in Myanmar.

For more information, please check out these links that listed below:

http://export.gov/thailand/doingbusinessinthailand/doingbusinessinburma/index.asp

http://burma.usembassy.gov/doing-business-local.html

http://www.myanmar.ca/business/index.htm

http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-business/

Career in International Business

The U.S. market is a saturated market, more and more companies are seeking to expand their market in other countries to get bigger share of the global market.  On the other hand, because of the fierce competition in the U.S., a lot of companies are outsourcing to developing countries in order to lower their cost and have a better chance to compete with their competitors.  The need of specialized abilities and experience employees in International Business is growing.

Students with a degree in International Business major will be hired by companies doing business internationally. They could be working for US companies doing business worldwide, or having jobs in companies that from other countries doing business in the US.  

  Positions in International Business are familiar to general business. Most of them are in marketing, finance, sales, trade, management and consulting area.  A lot of international traveling included in international business career when working for multinational corporations, joint ventures, financial institutions.  Employees in multinational corporations may be sent to other countries as management of foreign subsidiaries or overseas operations.

            Having a career in International Business requires knowledge in a very broad area. It is not just about speaking a second language.  Knowledge of area culture studies, accounting, finance, statistics, economy, marketing, foreign trade policy and other business skills are required. Besides these knowledge requirements, work experiences are also very important when seeking for a job in the international business area. Networking is a popular word that recommended from most business professors. Internship with an international business is a very good way to start and build your own network.  A lot of times, students will be hired at the end of their internship at the entry-level of their career.

            Where else we can find openings for positions in International Business career? On those companies websites which are doing business internationally.  Here are some links for people who want to look for jobs in International Business.

http://www.americanexpress.com

http://www.aig.com                                   

www.wellsfargo.com

www.gillette.com

www.hitachi.com

www.dole.com

www.jnj.com

www.mattel.com

www.otis.com

www.pg.com

www.reebok.com

www.pepsico.com

Useful Class for International Business

I had a job in Global Banking when I was still taking my general education classes and prerequisite classes for business majors at City College of San Francisco.  There were not many classes that were major related back then.  When I transferred to San Francisco State University, most of my classes are business related.  The core classes for business major are giving a basic coverage of skills needed in the business world for students; while the concentration classes are focus on giving students professional knowledge on doing business internationally.  One class that I think it is really prepares students for doing international business is the International Business Environment Analysis.

            According to the syllabus for the International Business Environment Analysis class, “this course is designed to expose students to a variety of issues in the international business environments that impact country policies as well as industrial and firm strategies (Professor Yikuan Lee at SFSU).”   This course has a lot of presentation opportunities to let students to apply the knowledge of international business environments they learn from lectures by presenting case studies, term projects professionally.

             Students in the IBUS590 class have as many as nine group presentations throughout the semester. Students are working in groups, so that they can learn how to cooperate in a teamwork environment; such as how to share the work load of researching and how to share the role when presenting.  By doing case studies and term projects, students are able to reinforce their international business concepts they have learned in other international business courses; to expand upon their existing knowledge of international business operations and introduce new materials pertinent to business operations in the global market; to develop their ability to apply international business concepts to practical business situation; to develop their analytical skills and research abilities for assessing international business environments and recognizing international market opportunities; to broaden their understanding of regional characteristics and international business operations in the various industries and markets; to provide them with a practical understanding of how to conduct business in a global economy; to develop their problem solving and decision making ability; to enhance their written and oral communication skills and to improve their ability to work in a group environment.

            I do learn a lot from this class myself. I didn’t like this class at the beginning because I hate presentation. I could not sleep on the nights before my presentation and when I was presenting, I could not make my speech smooth because I was too nerves; my legs would be shaking like crazy too.  However, after few presentations, I am doing better and better, especially after getting good feedbacks from the professor.  This is my most favorite class now. I enjoy learning useful practical business skills from this class so much! I will recommend this class to any business major students because it is very useful and almost like working and presenting in the real world. A lot of research and preparations for the presentation are exactly what I did when I was working for the Global Banking Department in a bank.  The only difference is that, I was not the presenter for information and data that I collected, my managers were the one that presenting my stuff because they do not have time to do the data and information gathering.

Cannot think of any class that is not helping, the classes for business major in San Francisco State University is well tailored for business students. Other class might not feel like helping directly but still good to have in a long run for business major students.