Global Project Complexities

Posted on July 8, 2013October 16, 2015 by mopea598

Global projects are more complex in nature than local project because additional factors are added to it, such as time zone differences, cultural differences, language differences and geographical distance differences. Distance is one of the major factors making global project complex. Distance has direct impact of communications. Lack of communication is one of the major reasons for PM failure. Distance also affects coordination and it does increases the amount of misunderstanding among project team members.

Geographical distance differences have a direct relationship with time zone differences especially in the East west direction. The further the distance the bigger the time zone differences. Time zone difference affects synchronous communication significantly. Project members therefore have to rely more on asynchronous communications which add extra delay to the project time. Asynchronous has it own advantages especially when there is a language barrier.

Language and cultural difference also goes hand in hand. However there are times two geographically separated teams will have similar culture but difference language. A good example will be Brazil and Mexico. In Brazil the national language is Portuguese while in Mexico the language is Spanish. However, both countries have very similar culture. Both countries are heavily influenced by the catholic religion, they both love music and entertainment and soccer is a more than a religion in both countries. However, on a global project involving the two countries language difference still come out. The language difference complexity is worse in situations when the there is no relationship between the languages of the various teams on the project such as English and Chinese. In these situations the language barrier is very pronounced. Synchronous communication is not helpful at all and the project members have to rely primarily on asynchronous communications. For global projects to be successful multiple means of communications are needed so taking synchronous communications out of the project will result in additional delay especially with feedback and clarification of confusing issues.

Cultural issues are much larger than language issues. Cultural issues affect many things such as believes, attitude, values, morals, ethics etc. What is ethical in one culture might be consider unethical in another. A good example is drinking or dressing. The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18 but 21 in the US. Bill Young the past president of AIPM (Australian Institute of Project Management) noted in (reference 5) that “50% of joint-venture project between Western companies and Chinese companies fail”. He then said understanding the cultural differences is one of the keys to the success global project not just between Australian and China.

If global projects are more complex than co-located projects why are companies doing global projects. In (reference 4) a report by pwc they noted that most financial institutions struggle with the effective execution of large, complex global initiatives. Others can comment on why global projects and how global projects can be successful today.

References

Coffee and Cigarettes, Minus the Cigarettes

Posted on June 4, 2013 by spr1333cshepherd

Coffee and cigarettes are hand-in-hand products, almost perfect complements to each other; both providing their users with deflated wallets and horrible breath. Walk around any city or town in the early morning and you will undoubtedly observe multiple people enjoying both vices concurrently. There have even be major films entitled ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’. In popular culture, the pair is like Ben and Jerry, Beef & Broccoli, Shoes and socks. Unlike those other relationships, coffee and cigarettes are not a unanimously accepted pair. There are definitely many coffee drinkers who find cigarette smokers repulsive, and perhaps vice versa. Still, with such an inherent blend in product culture, one would assume most coffee shops would welcome cigarette smokers to their establishment without limits. If a company really wanted to thrive, maybe they’d pursue a pack-and-mug combination, giving the fiends their fix in an orderly fashion. Yet Starbucks has recently implemented a polar opposite plan…

On June 1, 2013, Starbucks initiated their ban of smoking on premises. This policy, which prohibits patrons from smoking within 25 feet of a Starbucks establishment, will take affect company-wide immediately. According to the Wall Street Journal, “roughly 7,000 company-operated cafes in the US” have adopted this policy. This does not include “licensed stores” which are those locations found in larger establishments such as Barnes & Noble or Target. Many Starbucks locations contain outdoor seating areas, which provide space for customers to sprawl out, enjoy their coffee, the weather, and finish any pending work. These areas will officially be off-limits to cigarette smoke.

From an organizational standpoint this decision comes as quite a surprise. Although Starbucks consumers, and coffee drinkers for that matter, are primarily mobile customers; many enjoy the comforts of the establishment. As a company, Starbucks promotes itself as inviting and welcoming, allowing customers to make use of their Wi-Fi and use their stores as work sites. One should not presume that all coffee drinkers are cigarette smokers, yet it is a fairly safe assumption that those who consume both make up a rather significant portion of Starbucks’ client base. Starbucks is essentially alienating this faction of their customers through the implementation of this new policy. Many customers may suddenly feel unwelcomed at a place they once visited frequently. This policy states, on the surface, that those customers can take their business elsewhere, or buy their coffee and take it on the road. A Starbucks spokeswoman stated, “we take pride in providing a comfortable environment at our stores where customers and members of the community gather.” In an attempt to appease the community at large, (which is most commonly against smokers) the company has distanced itself from this portion of their customers. It is probably safe to assume that a corporation as prominent as Starbucks did the necessary market research prior to making such a bold decision, but that does not eliminate the chance that this choice could come with major backlash.

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2013/05/31/put-out-your-cigarettes-at-starbucks-even-the-electronic-ones/

Ice Cold Beer Here! (in the U.S)

Posted on June 3, 2013 by spr1314wschulenberg

Have you ever wondered, just how much it costs to import the “better quality” beer from around the world like Corona, Modelo or Heineken or where exactly does the beer I drink come from? Most likely you drink a product either made by or distributed by Anheuser-Busch and InBev (ABI) considering they currently have aver 39% of the market share for the American Beer Industry. But just recently ABI has taken actions that will give them a majority of the market share for the American Beer Industry, which includes a 20 billion dollar acquisition of the Groupo Modelo Beer Manufacturing Company of Mexico. This includes expanding the company internationally to Sounth America and adding the brand names of Modelo, Dos Equis and Corona. This merger was so large that the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company in fear of them reaching a stage of monopoly and market leader. The result of this was for ABI to sell a 50% share of Modelo’s share to the Constellation Corporation, who currently owns about 20% market share of the American Beer Market, for only $5.5 billion. DOJ says that this will allow for less consolidation and more competition in price in the markets.

Rob Sands, president of the Constellation Corp. says that this is the most transformational deal in the company’s 86-year history. The results of this merger range in variety and benefit both ABI and Constellation. ABI will now have 46% market share after the acquisition as well as gaining all rights over the Brand Corona and its factories in Mexico. Granted that they Corona accounts for over 20% of beer sales in some regions ABI distributes to, they will being seeing substantial growth in capital output and profits in the coming years. Constellation also stands to see a similar amount of growth in the coming years. They have aquired the brand of Modelo. Constellation makes wines from Robert Mondavi and Clos du Bois, as well as Svedka Vodka. Although they have never brewed beer before Constellation is excited about this endeavor. They will build a new state of the art facility for brewing the Modelo brand on the Texas-Mexico border. This will result in the plants capacity doubling in a matter of a few months. How do you think that these actions will affect other beer manufactures output such as Miller Coor’s? Also how do you think that this acquisition will affect beer prices of domestic, imported and micro brew beer companies?

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/anheuser-busch-reaches-deal-with-antitrust-regulators/

Find a Beauty Expert at Your Local Target!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by spr1314jvillagomez

Target is one of our go-to stores when we are in need of practically anything you can think of-a hair brush, a summer dress, groceries, a plasma tv, makeup, face cleansers and much more. Recently, an article in the Chicago Tribune reported that Target would soon be expanding its “beauty concierge” within the Chicago area. The company’s goal is to expand this program from 28 to 44 stores. The uniqueness of this program is that associates are dressed in black aprons equipped with iPads, as well as mirrors and product samples to provide shoppers with guidance and expertise when they are browsing through the aisles of the beauty section looking for beauty products. According to this article, Chicago was selected as the test market for this program due to its shopping population. Specific locations Target is hoping to expand this program include Cicero, Vernon Hills and West Schaumburg while shutting the program in other locations such as Palatine, Bedford Park, Joliet, Villa Park, Oswego, Plainfield, North Aurora and Romeoville. Further, Target is also expected to expand its program into three additional markets: Los Angeles/Orange County, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C

The implementation of Target’s Beauty Concierge program is part of a trend in the beauty industry in which department stores and specialty retailers are helping and giving customers the opportunity to try their products before buying them. Since the skin care market grew 10 percent in 2012, Target is anticipating this program to boost sales. This new personalized beauty service is allowing Target not only to compete with stores such as Walgreens, who offers most of these products, but also to beauty retailers such as Sephora and Ulta Beauty. Hana Ben-Shabat, a partner at a global management consulting group commented on Target’s strategy by saying that at the end of the day fashion is a product and department stores are competing with beauty retailers and vice versa.

Operation managers at Target are certainly trying to keep up with the industry by coming up with these unique strategies. I think that the implementation of this new service can be a great success in very populated Target stores across the city, for example in downtown Chicago. As this program matures, I think Target will gain a competitive advantage over other popular department stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS. The success of this program will largely be dependent on the type of associates that are being hired and the level of training they receive. Customers nowadays are always looking for advice when they are shopping for products, especially make up because not everyone is a beauty expert. Having someone to help you choose which specific foundation matches your skin, which mascara would help your lashes stand out, or which lipstick would look nice with an outfit, is certainly a service customers will appreciate. In my perspective, operation managers should place great emphasis on the increase of sales from beauty products to ensure that this project is being managed efficiently and can perhaps be used as a basis to provide a reasonable forecast to other Target stores across the nation.

What is your opinion? Do you think this program would attract more customers?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-target-beauty-concierge-program-20130524,0,7813736.story

Under Armour looking to be BIGGER and BETTER!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by spr1314bwashington

Under Armour is one of the newer brands of athletic apparel and are well known for their “moisture wicking” shirts. They are adjusting their plans and goals to increase their sales. North America has been their major contributor to their sales. Their toughest competitors are Nike and Adidas, which both generate at least 59 percent of their revenue outside of North America. Under Armour’s sales outside of North America is only 6 percent, with a new strategy they will increase their sales internationally.

Under Armour has noticed the need to improve their sales outside of North America and have hired a market manager to focus on their international sales. Analysts suspect that Under Armour will introduce their new products at the 2016 summer Olympics held in Brazil to gain international awareness and support. Their competitors have also use this strategy in the past with successful results. The Olympics could be the perfect stage for Under Armour to introduce their products because they are different from their competitors’ products. The Under Armour selection of products are known for their moisture wicking and light weightiness.

The strategic importance of location is definitely being recognized by Under Armour. If their products is on trend, the summer Olympics could have great sales. Location, cost, and innovation will be a major factor in deciding where to place their products at the Olympics. The location is great and well tested. Costs of shipping their products to Brazil will be pricy but has greater sale benefits. Innovation is something Under Armour has in abundance since they are such a young company, they have the ability to be creative.

The Under Armor President said that they have focused on their supply chain to ensure they can deliver their product more widely. They are prepared for the influx in sales internationally. This is a good sign because they are prepared to last, in the long run, and deliver their products across the world.

Expansion of the Under Armour brand will include yoga fans, women, and sports bras. Designing new products in many different areas will be tough but if they can produce a new trendy design people will notice. Under Armour has the ability to be a major competitor in the athletic apparel industry. Right now, they are only 2.5 percent of the athletic apparel market. Success of gaining new customers at the Olympics will make Under Armour a major contender in the athletic apparel industry. With such a huge number of people taking notice of their product, their sales have the ability to by far surpass, their current number, 6 percent.

Is Under Armour spreading themselves too thin by focusing on growing too many different products? Will the Summer Olympics be a good stage for Under Armour to reintroduce themselves to the international market?

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324866904578515513925827852.html?mod=WSJ_hp_EditorsPicks

Sweet Mandy B’s Sweet Success

Posted on May 26, 2013May 26, 2013 by spr1323kpavich

Most students at DePaul University have encountered the delicacy of Sweet Mandy B’s at some point during their college education, whether directly or indirectly. There are the die hards (as often as they can get there, they do), the excuse makers (I don’t want to write this paper anyways, so lets go get cupcakes), the “I earned it” girls (who can justify the indulgence since they worked out), the special occasions (birthdays, weddings, the works), and the rest have either simply tried Mandy B’s or heard other students discuss it.

The number of students that Sweet Mandy B’s draws in on a daily basis is astounding; and students are only a portion of their customer base. There are people all over Chicago who are willing to make the trip to Lincoln Park in order to get Mandy B’s. In food and confection related industries, the quality is top priority since that is what consumers are truly after when they go in for a treat. In order to sustain such high quality management and fresh cupcakes, cookies, and specialty foods, just in time inventory is a must. Nobody wants to walk all the way there to spend money on a cookie that is stale or doesn’t satisfy that sweet tooth. Managing the way that baked goods are created, decorated, and stored in order for maximum freshness for the maximum amount of time appears to be something that Sweet Mandy B’s management has mastered, from my experience at least.

Another aspect of operations that is essential to consider in this industry is capacity. When people place orders for cakes, it is typically for a special occasion, in which case they need the cake at a specific time on a specific day. Cake orders and order patterns must be closely analyzed in order to increase staff during busy ordering times such as holidays or time of large events like graduation. Space and oven scheduling is another consideration, for only so many cakes can be baked as there are ovens. Sweet Mandy B’s seems to have this under control as well, for the entire second half of their store is available should they need to utilize that space, yet the don’t waste money keeping it lit or stocked when they are able to limit baking to the main kitchen.

Location strategy is interesting in this case, for Sweet Mandy B’s does not follow the typical “Location is everything” mantra. Rather it makes a product that is too good to resist, and people have no problem travelling from all over the city to pick up their pre-ordered cakes or stop by for a snack. However, their location is, in fact, intelligently placed because many college students do not drive, and the proximity to campus is a major plus. Its convenience also encourages students to stop by when they probably would not have made the trip if they had to actually plan for it and catch a train. With its thriving success, is there anything that could drastically hurt Sweet Mandy B’s sales?

Walmarts Working Class

Posted on May 26, 2013May 26, 2013 by spr1313gmyles

Chief marketer Stephen Quinn was interviewed by Geoff Calvin on the strategies he enforced on the makeover of Wal-mart. In recent quarters, Wal-mart was doing terribly in sales when the economy was at its worst. Individuals lost their jobs which lead to little to no sales at Wal-marts nationwide. Quinn then began to look at the problems behind these inaccurate sales and he came up with; individuals who had little income, due to the recession that hit the economy badly were Wal-Mart majority shoppers, Wal-Mart prices had to change also, and if the prices did not change, Wal-Mart would have soon been out of business in just a couple of years down the road. As Quinn and his marketing and managemnet’s teams work hard on this new makeover, Wal-Mart main focus were to keep and develop new customers and help them save money and live better. Executives at Wal-Mart guarantee that shopping at Wal-Mart will give their customers the lowest price and top brands than any other retail store. As the economy began to grow after the recent recession, Wal-Mart’s sales began to pick up dramatically and are now the #1 retailer store.Walmart’s location tends to have exceptionally better sales in rural and suburban areas than in large cities areas.Wal-Mart has all kinds of groups shopping at their store, but everyone is there to save money. Indeed Wal-Mart has individuals who are well off in life, but they too want to save money as those who are not so well off in life. As Wal-Mart was creating their makeover, they notice that their rival surrounding stores were creating lower prices than Wal-Mart stores and customers began to respond and start to shop at those stores. Wal-Mart took action, not only did Wal-Mart reduce their prices, but they also made majority of their stores a one stop shop, where customers can shop for groceries, clothing, home furniture items, and much more at a cheaper price. Wal-Mart also introduces the concept called price matching. This concept was basically when a customer brings in a sales paper from another store and compares Wal-Mart and the other store prices. If the other store price were better and lower than Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart would than price match that price and give the customer the price of the lower cost. Quinn and his marketing team target families and individuals who had little income. They focused on revamping their prices so that those individuals can save their, buy what they want and need, and live a better life. Even before the recession had struck the nation, Walmart’s strategies were still focusing on the working class and/or the middle class. As I was reading this article it shows how Wal-mart operates its business in order to maintain its spot as the#1 retail store in the United States and it also shows how their low cost method is what benefits their customers the most. However, the implications of Walmart’s quality their employment practices may not be up to part to some people, Walmart has still shown tremendous profitability in their market. http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/14/news/companies/walmart_stephen_quinn_leadership.fortune/index.htm

Question: Even though Walmart target market is the working class, how would you express its conditions of management skills with its workers who work there?

Retail to E-tail

Posted on May 23, 2013 by spr1333rmortha

There are a lot of pros and cons to doing online shopping as opposed to in-store shopping. Online shopping seems like it only affects consumers by giving them a different medium to make their purchases but we fail to realize that it affects the sellers as well. Through online purchases, businesses gather a lot of data about consumers. Sellers can track which sections of items are the most popular, which products are the most viewed and for how long, and which products are most browsed at but not bought. This gives online sellers a competitive advantage over in-store sellers as they know more about their customers. And everyone knows that the understanding your customer is one of the most important factors in having a successful business. This is empowering in-store sellers to seek e-commerce level data.

The article talks about one company that brings customer tracking data to in-store businesses. This is in hopes of slowly bridging the competitive gap between in-store purchases and online purchases. How can they possibly get consumer data without changing the in-store purchase process? By simply observing the customers! Prism Skylabs specializes in in-store surveillance equipment that tracks customer movement. Prism installs special cameras that captures everything in the store and then is sent to the store’s computers where it is processed by Prism’s special software. The images of the actual shoppers are cut out to respect their privacy.

What is so different about Prism’s techniques than regular surveillance cameras? Prism’s software allows them to “look at which products are hot, which are being moved around and touched, and all kinds of data that allow merchandise teams to understand what is going on across a wide range of stores”. This allows the sellers to get information that the type of information that online sellers use to enhance their systems to get more purchases.

Who is using Prism? Right now, Prism has partnered up with 30 retailers. Retailers that Prism is working with include T-Mobile and Famous Footwear. Does it actually work? A candy store in Oklahoma City was using Prism in their stores and after close observation they changed their premium display to low-selling seasonal candy rather than their famous candies that buyers usually take the time to look through the store to buy. This allowed the store to quantify the customer’s thoughts and make an effective decision in their operations.

Moreover, Prism is not the only data providing company that is emerging. Other companies are picking up on the importance and building unique strategies and techniques to sell to businesses. For example, Shopkick is an app which personalizes deals for a customer in real time as they walk through the store.

Is it worth it to sellers to invest in these data gathering companies?

How do you feel as a consumer towards this type of innovation? Do you feel that you will be making more beneficial purchases or do you feel manipulated by the sellers to buy their preferred products?

Link:http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-25/to-catch-up-with-e-tail-tools-to-track-shoppers-in-the-store

Winner! Winner! Chicken Dinner!

Posted on May 20, 2013October 16, 2015 by spr1312tkulawiak

Corporate America is full of big successful companies who reward their investors nicely and have a winning management strategy. There are two companies that are consistently making progress, growing, and paying dividends. They go by the name of McDonald’s and Starbucks. Both of these companies success could be attributed to their management strategy.

As of late one of their management focuses is to keep their push on international expansion. Both companies have a great global presence and China remains a strong point for them. Starbucks recently opened 500 new stores in China, bringing the total to 1500 in the country. McDonald’s is currently working on diversifying their menus in top countries such as China.

Hiring great leadership and accountability are also two strategies that are strong in both companies. Starbucks company founder Howard Schultz continues to come up with innovative products to expands the company’s product portfolio. An example of trying to retain top talent and hold managers accountable was in late 2012 when McDonald’s let go of former head of US operations Jan Fields, as the companies earning were disappointing.

Another strategy that is seen in both companies is the constant flow of product diversification. McDonald’s continues to broaden its product portfolio by offering high quality coffee and healthy drinks. They offer these products in their traditional restaurants and their cafes. Also, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz continues to introduce different products.

Year in and year out, McDonald’s and Starbucks are the most social companies in the world in the restaurant business. Recently it was said that Starbucks lost its position to McDonald’s as the most social company. The main reason was that in late 2012, McDonald’s put up a campaign of what goes down in behind the scenes and it also opened up to any questions from the public. Because of this McDonald’s social reputation and audience has been on the rise ever since.

As we can see, management strategy plays a big role in both of these companies as both them continue to grow and show profit. New product innovation is huge for both of these companies. McDonald’s rolled out the McCafe in order to compete with store like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. In my opinion, this was a great success. I have many friends that actually prefer McDonald’s coffee to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. The day I found that out, I was in utter shock, as I did not think people would be going to McDonald’s for their morning coffee over companies such as Starbucks and Dunkin, where coffee is their specialty.

The question that comes into play is do McDonald’s and Starbucks have what it takes to keep up in their industries, continue to introduce a wide range of products, and produce at such a high level? In my opinion, there is no doubt that both of these companies will continue to succeed on the same as they are both industry leaders. What are your thoughts on this subject?

Refrences

http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2013/04/25/starbucks-and-mcdonalds-winning-strategy/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/02/21/how-mcdonalds-toppled-starbucks-from-the-social-top-spot/

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-strategies-for-mcdonalds-management-2012-11-21

Fast Fashion to Hit the U.S.

Posted on May 19, 2013May 19, 2013 by spr1321mbator

H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail clothing company that is known internationally for its affordable fashion for men, women, and children. With 2,776 stores in 48 markets, H&M has been ranked the second largest clothing retailer in the world. Though the clothing company has gained a reputation for being fashion forward, the same cannot be said about its ability to keep up with online shopping demand. H&M currently offers online shopping to customers in just eight of its 48 markets around the world: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and the United Kingdom, but none in the United States. This has U.S. customers scratching their heads in confusion and growing impatient. The retailer stirred up excitement back in January 2011 with a tweet that stated:

“Good morning is an understatement! H&M has decided to have online shopping in the U.S. at the turn of the year 2011/2012! Stay tuned for more.”

Unfortunately, two years have passed and H&M has failed to deliver on that promise. The retailer is still “not set up for mail order, phone orders or e-commerce at the present time”. However, there is still hope for U.S. customers. H&M’s 2013 Expansion Strategy revealed: “Investments will also continue within online sales. H&M plans to launch online sales in the US, the world’s largest market for e-commerce.” Business Week also reported that shopping from H&M’s website could happen as early as Summer 2013.

Entering the U.S. online retail market goes beyond satisfying millions of America’s fashion lovers. “The U.S. online retail market is the biggest in the world; research firm Forrester estimates it will reach about $260 billion this year. Taxes vary by state, shoppers expect free shipping, and returns are common”. The process is quite complex and H&M has cited “issues with security, customer service, logistics, and the assortment of items offered” as reasons for delay. But the longer the retailer waits, the more demanding customers become. Not only are U.S. customers looking for the ability to shop online, but they are also expecting the company to have smartphone applications available, too. H&M says they will meet this demand. For investors sake, H&M cannot disappoint because the company’s competitors have already figured out how to engage their U.S. customers in online shopping.

With just a few weeks left till summer, anticipation for the launch of H&M’s online store will grow largely. Having only photo galleries of tasteful, trendy clothes and accessories will not be enough for die hard shoppers this year and if the project fails to launch, there could be dreadful consequences for the company. In ending, some important questions to consider are: Do you think H&M waited too long to enter the U.S. online market? Is this expansion strategy necessary in today’s retail industry? How do you think launching an online store will affect H&M’s competitors? Finally, on a scale of 1-10, how important is online shopping for you? Does it affect the way you shop?

SOURCES

Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-28/h-and-ms-online-troubles-u-dot-s-dot-shoppers-are-still-waiting

H&M Expansion Strategy: http://about.hm.com/AboutSection/en/About/Facts-About-HM/About-HM/Expansion-Strategy.html#cm-menu

Annual Report: http://about.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/Annual%20Report/Annual-Report-2012_en.pdf

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