When the bell rings and it's your quiz, it ain't a good thing!
My friend and I arrived 10 minutes late for our quiz. We had to print a study for another subject. We had a THIRTY MINUTE lead time until our quiz! That's supposed to be enough! But then, the shop where we had our study printed was, well...Let's just say it took 40 minutes to print 30 pages. Bad bad bad...
We arrived at our classroom and immediately started answering our essay (after getting seats). The quiz was particulary the easiest for me among all the previous quizzes. If you listened, if you know what the essence of the subject is, the quiz would be a walk in the park. But since we lost 10 minutes, I lost a lot of sentences to write. Added the fact that we had to read 2 articles was a big loss. But nevertheless, I liked our quiz.
The third question had a note. It said something about deserving the grade you'll get if you answer it right, and those who are on the less fortunate side will come blessing. I hope, I really do hope that I'll deserve the grade I get at the end of this term.
SPM is one of the subjects I truly enjoyed in my entire student life. It's hard, but it really gets your brain working on both the creative and logic side. No matter how weird it sounds, I like it when things get challenging. When we're challenged, we learn. When we learn, we grow. And quizzes are not something to get mad at. It tests our knowledge and comprehension of the subject matter.
At the end of this term, after our finals, I'll take with me a lot of things. I'm grateful for them because indeed, it made me grow.=)
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Do we find this to be true enough in every situation we have faced? Guess it’s true, otherwise it wouldn’t be a saying. Monday night, I just found out how I’ve played against by my own father. It hurts, really hurts. We always expect our family to be always by our side, supporting us, encouraging us. But something always told me that it wasn’t applicable for me.
My family has been separated for quite some time now (years actually) and it really didn’t bother me much because my parents were better off on their own. I lived with my mom the whole time. It was only four years ago that I started living with my father, who still lived with his parents, by the way. It was nice at first – he was a different dad among all dads. He was cool, young at heart. I guess you could say that we’re on the same wavelength. He was a friend. Eventually, I got tired of it. I have friends, I NEED a father. But that’s something he’s not capable of. He treats me like I’m not his daughter. Needless to say, he doesn’t treat me like a lady! It’s like I’m his guy friend whom he could treat with no respect at all. AT ALL.
He said he always mistreated my brother (my brother is two years older than me). Yes, he did. He wasn’t the best father when we were kids – not even close to good, maybe closer to worst. Until now, he maintains that image for me (obviously). Anyway, because of him mistreating my brother, he’s making up for it now. But it’s gone a little too much that he’s treating him so special and I’m thrown on the sidewalk. He’d cook for him, bring him to places, whatever…but me, oh how I wish he’d do the same. He’d tell me to cook my own food or to take a cab if I needed a ride somewhere. His excuse: I’m an independent person. Given that it’s true, every child needs to feel the love of his father! And I never did. A lot of times I’d rather have a “militar” father than have a dad who doesn’t guide my path to wisdom. At least I know that that kind of father loves me because he’s trying hard to protect me.
The root of all this talk practically sprung out of his hurting words last night. My grandparents and my tita choose me over my brother and that got him mad. He says they have favoritism. I don’t know, but I believe what we do unto others will be done unto us. In the simplest sense, my brother doesn’t treat the people who love him with respect – just as the way my father treats me with no respect. How can we expect people to treat us good when we can’t even do kind deeds? And what’s worse, my father provokes people into feeling worse. My brother was crying last night because he felt mistreated. What my father did? Well, he screamed around the house, sounding off my grandparents, saying, “There’s one person there who has favoritism over grandchildren! That person doesn’t know how to love unconditionally!” That was meant for my grandparent obviously… If he’s a good father or at least in his right state of mind, he would just simply make my brother feel better. But he made him feel worse. How childish, no? He even told my grandmother not to have my jeans washed, that his clothes should go first. Am I competing against him in the household I’m in that he has to bring me down to get himself up?
Wish I could say more. Oh, by the way, my father is a reverend. Hope he would live up to reverence.
My family has been separated for quite some time now (years actually) and it really didn’t bother me much because my parents were better off on their own. I lived with my mom the whole time. It was only four years ago that I started living with my father, who still lived with his parents, by the way. It was nice at first – he was a different dad among all dads. He was cool, young at heart. I guess you could say that we’re on the same wavelength. He was a friend. Eventually, I got tired of it. I have friends, I NEED a father. But that’s something he’s not capable of. He treats me like I’m not his daughter. Needless to say, he doesn’t treat me like a lady! It’s like I’m his guy friend whom he could treat with no respect at all. AT ALL.
He said he always mistreated my brother (my brother is two years older than me). Yes, he did. He wasn’t the best father when we were kids – not even close to good, maybe closer to worst. Until now, he maintains that image for me (obviously). Anyway, because of him mistreating my brother, he’s making up for it now. But it’s gone a little too much that he’s treating him so special and I’m thrown on the sidewalk. He’d cook for him, bring him to places, whatever…but me, oh how I wish he’d do the same. He’d tell me to cook my own food or to take a cab if I needed a ride somewhere. His excuse: I’m an independent person. Given that it’s true, every child needs to feel the love of his father! And I never did. A lot of times I’d rather have a “militar” father than have a dad who doesn’t guide my path to wisdom. At least I know that that kind of father loves me because he’s trying hard to protect me.
The root of all this talk practically sprung out of his hurting words last night. My grandparents and my tita choose me over my brother and that got him mad. He says they have favoritism. I don’t know, but I believe what we do unto others will be done unto us. In the simplest sense, my brother doesn’t treat the people who love him with respect – just as the way my father treats me with no respect. How can we expect people to treat us good when we can’t even do kind deeds? And what’s worse, my father provokes people into feeling worse. My brother was crying last night because he felt mistreated. What my father did? Well, he screamed around the house, sounding off my grandparents, saying, “There’s one person there who has favoritism over grandchildren! That person doesn’t know how to love unconditionally!” That was meant for my grandparent obviously… If he’s a good father or at least in his right state of mind, he would just simply make my brother feel better. But he made him feel worse. How childish, no? He even told my grandmother not to have my jeans washed, that his clothes should go first. Am I competing against him in the household I’m in that he has to bring me down to get himself up?
Wish I could say more. Oh, by the way, my father is a reverend. Hope he would live up to reverence.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Executing Strategy
For the past two meetings, we have been discussing how to effectively execute strategy. Funny thing is, concept wise, it's comprehensible. But to actually do it.....that's another issue, right?
When I was around 3 years old, I hung around the office already. That lasted til I was around 16 years old. I met a lot of people, ALL SORTS of people. From foreigners to rank-and-file. [I stayed with my tita most of the time. She was in logistics (maybe that's why I'm an IE?).] Somehow, I unconsciously took in my surroundings. It was fun, really fun! She even taught me how things worked about. It's different half growing up in the office - it was reeeeally boring. But now I appreciate the fact that I'm familiar with this territory. When you've had a feel of the topic being discussed, it's fun to talk about it. It's like you want to converse about it.
Converse. The monetary/non-monetary rewards I was really fond of! The feeling is really so much better when someone taps you in the back than giving you a gift certificate or something. It's like there was a void inside you because of the hard work you've done, but because you've been complimented, you're whole again. Even in our families. We want to constantly please people so that they may have something nice to tell about us. So we push ourselves in making our lives an extension of an important person. We're being dependent on our existence. But the fact remains that all we want is that simple phrase, "Damn good job!" How I wish that the world (I mean people) is simple enough to do it.=) It's not wishing for world peace naman eh..=)
I'm not a hypocrite that I won't admit it's nice to be monetarily rewarded. Hey, we're human. It's natural. But being human means we have a rational - and that's where emotion comes in. And that's where praises and criticisms fall under.
The hardest thing to ever do is make people see your vision...to make them want to do it too, to make them want to be a part of it. Motivation. Committment. Sure, I could be motivated or committed right now. You got my participation. How will you keep it that way? Yeah, there are all sorts of things we can do as bosses to make a firm statement of our directions and make our people want to do it. But us humans are complicated beings - always wanting more, always wanting less - and playing mind games is hard. It's mentally draining and emotionally tiring. But then again, that's why there's a "corporate ladder". Each step teaches us how to work, each step shows us another perspective. That's why we all have to start from scratch...
How do you make and keep people motivated? How do you handle different behaviors?
When I was around 3 years old, I hung around the office already. That lasted til I was around 16 years old. I met a lot of people, ALL SORTS of people. From foreigners to rank-and-file. [I stayed with my tita most of the time. She was in logistics (maybe that's why I'm an IE?).] Somehow, I unconsciously took in my surroundings. It was fun, really fun! She even taught me how things worked about. It's different half growing up in the office - it was reeeeally boring. But now I appreciate the fact that I'm familiar with this territory. When you've had a feel of the topic being discussed, it's fun to talk about it. It's like you want to converse about it.
Converse. The monetary/non-monetary rewards I was really fond of! The feeling is really so much better when someone taps you in the back than giving you a gift certificate or something. It's like there was a void inside you because of the hard work you've done, but because you've been complimented, you're whole again. Even in our families. We want to constantly please people so that they may have something nice to tell about us. So we push ourselves in making our lives an extension of an important person. We're being dependent on our existence. But the fact remains that all we want is that simple phrase, "Damn good job!" How I wish that the world (I mean people) is simple enough to do it.=) It's not wishing for world peace naman eh..=)
I'm not a hypocrite that I won't admit it's nice to be monetarily rewarded. Hey, we're human. It's natural. But being human means we have a rational - and that's where emotion comes in. And that's where praises and criticisms fall under.
The hardest thing to ever do is make people see your vision...to make them want to do it too, to make them want to be a part of it. Motivation. Committment. Sure, I could be motivated or committed right now. You got my participation. How will you keep it that way? Yeah, there are all sorts of things we can do as bosses to make a firm statement of our directions and make our people want to do it. But us humans are complicated beings - always wanting more, always wanting less - and playing mind games is hard. It's mentally draining and emotionally tiring. But then again, that's why there's a "corporate ladder". Each step teaches us how to work, each step shows us another perspective. That's why we all have to start from scratch...
How do you make and keep people motivated? How do you handle different behaviors?
The Eastwood Sky & SQC
Just a few minutes ago, I was talking to a friend who happened to be a statistician from the University of the Philippines. When I remembered his field, it crossed my mind to ask him what two variables are so important that it will suffice us to say whether our production is good or not. Obviously, they've tackled SQC! Anyway, he told me it's most likely the efficiency rate and defective rate.
We were at Big Kahunas when the fireworks started to magically light up the dark-lit sky. It's always a different experience when we see things at a bigger state. Every year, (even twice a year because of the Chinese New Year) we see the most creative fireworks displayed. This time, when we were at this restaurant/bar, the fireworks were right above our heads. I looked directly towards the sky, my head stretched to the heavens. This one display struck my heart. I felt like I was flying, like I was free from all my problems. I felt like I was in space - like I was literally in heaven. And what made it more heavenly is that I was with the man I love with all my heart. Sometimes, we look beyond the mountains for our happiness. And most of the time, it's just in the valley. We really have to learn to appreciate what we have right now, be contented with the life we have been given. It makes our attitude toward life so much better, maybe even make life worth living!
We were not designed to be stressed beings (wake up! we get sick when stressed!). Let's take it one day at a time, fight the battles first and not the war.
We were at Big Kahunas when the fireworks started to magically light up the dark-lit sky. It's always a different experience when we see things at a bigger state. Every year, (even twice a year because of the Chinese New Year) we see the most creative fireworks displayed. This time, when we were at this restaurant/bar, the fireworks were right above our heads. I looked directly towards the sky, my head stretched to the heavens. This one display struck my heart. I felt like I was flying, like I was free from all my problems. I felt like I was in space - like I was literally in heaven. And what made it more heavenly is that I was with the man I love with all my heart. Sometimes, we look beyond the mountains for our happiness. And most of the time, it's just in the valley. We really have to learn to appreciate what we have right now, be contented with the life we have been given. It makes our attitude toward life so much better, maybe even make life worth living!
We were not designed to be stressed beings (wake up! we get sick when stressed!). Let's take it one day at a time, fight the battles first and not the war.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Six Sigma!!!
The MEAN and VARIANCE are the two things that tell us whether we're doing good or not. We can have a peaceful morning if our data falls on our specified standards.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
LVMH's Diversification Strategy into Luxury Goods
I am sooooooooo happy, beyond-the-heavens happy! We're done! After a week of pure analyzation (even to the point that we sleep thinking about it and wake up worrying about it), we're done!
What we’ve basically seen in this case concentrates on diversification. Choosing this article is of a good decision because it embodies the application of the concepts and theories of such. What was also considered good about it is that it showed the other pressures from business analysts criticizing their strategies. It’s good that someone keeps your feet on the ground
How they formulate their strategies is admirable. The role of each business compliments one another. Each establishment played its part in the success of another. For example, in the Perfumes & Cosmetics industry, they managed to get RoC – the number one hypoallergenic brand. The technology, capabilities, and expertise of that business were used for the others, too. It really made a good strategic fit.
We’d have to agree with what the analysts say about their acquisitions of media sectors and auction houses. It’s not part of their foundation concept of luxury goods, but Arnault had to get that market. Why? Some say it’s the eternal battle with the previous chairman. But if we try to look at things at a different way, which we are trained to do, it’s about getting their name across more industries. These industries in the media and auction house make up a good market for them, and if you have that opportunity and you have the right strength, you will get yourself exposed in that market. They may not be selling luxury goods, but they’re selling themselves. Even if they are losing the market there – getting net losses of hundred million dollars – they are earning a customer. It’s a inconsistency, but maybe it works. There must be a reason for every venture, right?
A fundamental concept of marketing assumes that we ought to take an aggressive approach with our consumers. With their Customer Relationship Management, they are able to take on this role. Furthermore, it keeps them updated with what the customer wants/needs and how much more they can improve their system. It’s a post-purchase move that greatly affects them. It helps them anticipate the market and formulate strategies accordingly.
Gino, thanks, for being so up and about and excited about it! Chin, thanks for the banana-que! hehe Thanks for being so supportive and loving the kapeng-barako, too! Tin, thank you sobra for being the so matiyaga in making the powerpoint! Super galing!!! Pwedeng pang pixar animations! eheh Marielle, thank you for being such a sweet girl! Kahit inaapi ka namin, (hehe) we still love you! =) I love you all! I've never been any happier with a project!
Sir, thank you for your suggestions and your comments! It helped us a lot and motivated us into doing our best! We do hope the class gets a transcendental experience! Super thanks for believing in us, it means a lot to us!=)
What we’ve basically seen in this case concentrates on diversification. Choosing this article is of a good decision because it embodies the application of the concepts and theories of such. What was also considered good about it is that it showed the other pressures from business analysts criticizing their strategies. It’s good that someone keeps your feet on the ground
How they formulate their strategies is admirable. The role of each business compliments one another. Each establishment played its part in the success of another. For example, in the Perfumes & Cosmetics industry, they managed to get RoC – the number one hypoallergenic brand. The technology, capabilities, and expertise of that business were used for the others, too. It really made a good strategic fit.
We’d have to agree with what the analysts say about their acquisitions of media sectors and auction houses. It’s not part of their foundation concept of luxury goods, but Arnault had to get that market. Why? Some say it’s the eternal battle with the previous chairman. But if we try to look at things at a different way, which we are trained to do, it’s about getting their name across more industries. These industries in the media and auction house make up a good market for them, and if you have that opportunity and you have the right strength, you will get yourself exposed in that market. They may not be selling luxury goods, but they’re selling themselves. Even if they are losing the market there – getting net losses of hundred million dollars – they are earning a customer. It’s a inconsistency, but maybe it works. There must be a reason for every venture, right?
A fundamental concept of marketing assumes that we ought to take an aggressive approach with our consumers. With their Customer Relationship Management, they are able to take on this role. Furthermore, it keeps them updated with what the customer wants/needs and how much more they can improve their system. It’s a post-purchase move that greatly affects them. It helps them anticipate the market and formulate strategies accordingly.
Gino, thanks, for being so up and about and excited about it! Chin, thanks for the banana-que! hehe Thanks for being so supportive and loving the kapeng-barako, too! Tin, thank you sobra for being the so matiyaga in making the powerpoint! Super galing!!! Pwedeng pang pixar animations! eheh Marielle, thank you for being such a sweet girl! Kahit inaapi ka namin, (hehe) we still love you! =) I love you all! I've never been any happier with a project!
Sir, thank you for your suggestions and your comments! It helped us a lot and motivated us into doing our best! We do hope the class gets a transcendental experience! Super thanks for believing in us, it means a lot to us!=)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tipping Point
No, this is not about the book. Though, I've read it and disagree with some things. A lot actually.
Anyway, I think I'm on my tipping point so I thought of writing to release my emotions like a healthy person and not lash on people.=) We've been doing this case for three days and well, we expected to be half-way done. Oh no... We thought it would be easy with the right strengths combined. Oh quite-no... (concept is grabbed, execution is a little hazy)... So, we did a checklist to know where we're at and found out we're far from half. I think we were taking our sweet time. Plus, we had to edit a lot of things. Rework...Is it better to start from scratch?
We were also quite on the opposite poles of the earth. I preferred doing the .doc before proceeding to the .ppt. I think it's rather more important to make the doc first because, well, what you put in your powerpoint is the result of the doc. My friend preferred to do the powerpoint first. I guess he had his point. It's his goal to really make the presentation as high as the heavens. He wants to have certain animations portraying the acquisitions and all that. Me, I'm simple. I don't even have a friendster!=) I do agree with his ideas, I love how the subject sparked and started a fire of creativity. They made good powerpoints! But it kind of got lost to the point that I found some things irrelevant and redundant. But nevertheless, I saw his point so we came up with a different approach of discussing the case. I wanna sleep but I can't. How I wish I could sleep to dream about the case and a virtual printer prints the dialogs or whatever!=)
It's always nice when there's equilibrium, when you find yourself tipping and a friend pulls you back up. But it can also be like see-saw - sometimes you're below, sometimes you can see the trees.
Where would you rather be? Where it's safer closer to the dirt? Or where things seem so different, beautiful but risky at the same time? CBA?=)
Anyway, I think I'm on my tipping point so I thought of writing to release my emotions like a healthy person and not lash on people.=) We've been doing this case for three days and well, we expected to be half-way done. Oh no... We thought it would be easy with the right strengths combined. Oh quite-no... (concept is grabbed, execution is a little hazy)... So, we did a checklist to know where we're at and found out we're far from half. I think we were taking our sweet time. Plus, we had to edit a lot of things. Rework...Is it better to start from scratch?
We were also quite on the opposite poles of the earth. I preferred doing the .doc before proceeding to the .ppt. I think it's rather more important to make the doc first because, well, what you put in your powerpoint is the result of the doc. My friend preferred to do the powerpoint first. I guess he had his point. It's his goal to really make the presentation as high as the heavens. He wants to have certain animations portraying the acquisitions and all that. Me, I'm simple. I don't even have a friendster!=) I do agree with his ideas, I love how the subject sparked and started a fire of creativity. They made good powerpoints! But it kind of got lost to the point that I found some things irrelevant and redundant. But nevertheless, I saw his point so we came up with a different approach of discussing the case. I wanna sleep but I can't. How I wish I could sleep to dream about the case and a virtual printer prints the dialogs or whatever!=)
It's always nice when there's equilibrium, when you find yourself tipping and a friend pulls you back up. But it can also be like see-saw - sometimes you're below, sometimes you can see the trees.
Where would you rather be? Where it's safer closer to the dirt? Or where things seem so different, beautiful but risky at the same time? CBA?=)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Looong Quiz no. 3
Expect the unexpected.
As we copied the questions, what was rushing through my head was..."what the?! what the?! what the?!....." It was so far from what I was expecting to come out. We shouldn't have been expecting at all because we knew deep down inside that our professor is one whose creativity exceeds the minds of 3! Ang hirap ng quiz eh! I got so worried. But eventually, it started to sink in my head and I think, I hope, and do I pray, that I got it right.=)
I did my best, I hope it's good enough!!! Haha!
It seems to me that the way the quizzes are made tests how good we listen, our ability to understand, and our ability to apply concepts and theories logically. It's not easy!! But I'm confident with my answers. I hope I was able to hit the right spot/s. It was a good quiz, I hope I got high. I hope I don't get a note saying I'm relaxing too much 'cause hell no, I ain't relaxing!
Sir, Eminem is really distracting...slow songs lang po!=) or Nirvana maybe=) What comes next after Spice Girls?.... Backstreet Boys?... Waaaah! It inhibits the thinking process, our train of thought! hehe=)
Christmas is fast approaching, let's make it a happy one!=)
As we copied the questions, what was rushing through my head was..."what the?! what the?! what the?!....." It was so far from what I was expecting to come out. We shouldn't have been expecting at all because we knew deep down inside that our professor is one whose creativity exceeds the minds of 3! Ang hirap ng quiz eh! I got so worried. But eventually, it started to sink in my head and I think, I hope, and do I pray, that I got it right.=)
I did my best, I hope it's good enough!!! Haha!
It seems to me that the way the quizzes are made tests how good we listen, our ability to understand, and our ability to apply concepts and theories logically. It's not easy!! But I'm confident with my answers. I hope I was able to hit the right spot/s. It was a good quiz, I hope I got high. I hope I don't get a note saying I'm relaxing too much 'cause hell no, I ain't relaxing!
Sir, Eminem is really distracting...slow songs lang po!=) or Nirvana maybe=) What comes next after Spice Girls?.... Backstreet Boys?... Waaaah! It inhibits the thinking process, our train of thought! hehe=)
Christmas is fast approaching, let's make it a happy one!=)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
From MIS to SPM
Today was pretty much a test. In one of our major subjects, Information Systems, we were to have a quiz. I already studied 2 out of 3 chapters days prior to the scheduled test and decided to wake up early the next day, like 4:30am in the morning. Sometimes, I figure it's much easier to wake up early in the morning when you've drank a fresh cup of our famous local coffee - kapeng barako. Freshly brewed, steaming, bitter-sweet. Apparently, for this certain uber important "event", I didn't wake up. Kinda woke up early even but managed to rush through the morning routine.
I was so worried that I haven't studied the last chapter. So on my way to school, I rushed reading through the notes as provided by the person who will be reading this sooner or later. =) The quiz, well, it was fine. I'm not so confident because I found 4 out of 5 questions interrelated in its complete sense. So I was answering the questions without anticipating the next. Then, the bell rang. Bells are good when it's lecture when the subject is boring or the professor is pointless. But otherwise, and when it's a quiz, it's a whole different thing.
Then came another class where we also had a quiz. We weren't able to study for that quiz. A lot of us were to preoccupied with the earlier class. Yeah, it was wrong, but sometimes, we have to weigh things accordingly. So again, we had to rush studying the topic. C'est la vie... Lucky us, the quiz was easy!
After that, we had 6 hours of break....A very long break. In an attempt to start earlier in one of our major projects, we re-read our case on LVMH and discussed issues. I'll never look at fashion the same way again for sure! I thought it quite ridiculous that people actually go gaga making blouses and belts and shoes and whatever. But it's true, when you see things from a different perspective, your whole belief can change.
Came at last was our major class. Strategic planning and management. It's one of my favorites next to environmental engineering and production planning & control. This one's a hard one. I find it quite dynamic and the situations that you should view yourself in in order to analyze the situation right. And we're talking about the market. I mean hey, if it's hard in class, what about the real thing huh? And on top of that, it's just important that we have to think in the wavelength of our professor. It would have been quite easy if it's your best friend we're talking about!=) But it's great because we learn things that are beyond of ourselves, beyond of our eyesight.
Two topics were talked about so we had to extend time. And of course, we had to rush things. The bad part about rushing is, just my personal comment, the information we have to absorb becomes a little too much. Especially when the school you're in rushes education like it's some joke. I personally don't recommend my school, Mapua, to people I know, unless they decide to change it back to 2 semesters per year (instead of 4) and change some policies that directly affect us. The things we have to learn in such a short time...our ability to retain the information is soooo limited. A first-year professor said once, "When you get home, throw everything you learned in a bucket so you can start anew." Everyone can do it, the problem is getting it back in your head. I'm getting lost! Anyway...
We discussed diversification that day (right after rushing through the previous topic). It was a very crucial topic because our case (LVMH) for this subject concentrates here. And, by the way, it is such a big difference when there's a supporting material (for this topic, LVMH for example). As diversification and all that there is to it was discussed, I was easily able to relate the lecture to the case. And when that happens, the concepts are also easily understood, and as obvious, they stick to your head fast. Reading takes you places, I really wish it became everyone's habit, not just a requirement.
The idea of diversification is very important in a market that is easily affected by forces from the outside and the inside. Wouldn't it be nice to always have a "backup" business? A sort of plan B. The risk is scattered into your favor. When the first net breaks, at least there's a second one to catch you again. But the ability to baste this second net isn't that easy. Concept-wise, it's easy. You have your "go signs" that tell you it's the right time. But moving about to make this happen, it's something that experience teaches you...The politics that go around, the manipulations, and all those worldly things.
Pepsi Co. was taken as an example to solidify the idea behind this practice. As was told, Pepsi bought the "yum brands" namely KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut and was viewed as a distribution center. Plan pretty much didn't work out as they expected. What they didn't see perhaps was that it wasn't a strategic fit. These yum brands concentrated on service and Pepsi was into lowering down costs in order to be more competitive with Coke. But eventually, they were able to turn things around and it started to work out well. They were able to leverage activities in the value chain and created a strategic fit. Now, Pepsi is earning more than Coke because of those acquisitions.
One of the things we must ask ourselves before venturing into diversification is whether the industry we want to venture in is attractive or not. Determining its attractiveness has several variables - all of which is a result of reading, listening, observing, and reading between the lines. Another thing to ask is how hard it is for us to enter that industry. Of course, we have to weigh out things. We don't want to have all our efforts be in vain when we soon find out our plan is close to impossible. Then when we get there, we ask, are we better off it or with it? They say that good things don't last forever. I disagree. It's up to us to make eternity a reality. We have to make it possible that we are in fact better with it. And only when we've exhausted all efforts do we come to conclude it's just not working out as we wanted it to.=)
When we intend to do diversification and earn from it, we should expect to spend a lot of money. It's simply inevitable. It's like saying, "no guts no glory". There's also a big chance that we're bidding for that business. And money becomes the key. The things we have to do - liquidate our assets, sell shares, whatever - in order to win that business (assuming we really believe in their potential), must be done. Business=money, money=greed, greed=sin, sin=evil. Through the law of math, business=evil.=) Apparently, this isn't so. I guess there are more variables to it like survival of the fittest, giving jobs to the unemployed and more. Anyway...
It's also very important to always look at things from a different view especially in business. There are so many factors to consider - the industry, the competitiveness, and the profit we can gain. Not to mention the environment inside-out. It's a hard subject, but a fun one!
I was so worried that I haven't studied the last chapter. So on my way to school, I rushed reading through the notes as provided by the person who will be reading this sooner or later. =) The quiz, well, it was fine. I'm not so confident because I found 4 out of 5 questions interrelated in its complete sense. So I was answering the questions without anticipating the next. Then, the bell rang. Bells are good when it's lecture when the subject is boring or the professor is pointless. But otherwise, and when it's a quiz, it's a whole different thing.
Then came another class where we also had a quiz. We weren't able to study for that quiz. A lot of us were to preoccupied with the earlier class. Yeah, it was wrong, but sometimes, we have to weigh things accordingly. So again, we had to rush studying the topic. C'est la vie... Lucky us, the quiz was easy!
After that, we had 6 hours of break....A very long break. In an attempt to start earlier in one of our major projects, we re-read our case on LVMH and discussed issues. I'll never look at fashion the same way again for sure! I thought it quite ridiculous that people actually go gaga making blouses and belts and shoes and whatever. But it's true, when you see things from a different perspective, your whole belief can change.
Came at last was our major class. Strategic planning and management. It's one of my favorites next to environmental engineering and production planning & control. This one's a hard one. I find it quite dynamic and the situations that you should view yourself in in order to analyze the situation right. And we're talking about the market. I mean hey, if it's hard in class, what about the real thing huh? And on top of that, it's just important that we have to think in the wavelength of our professor. It would have been quite easy if it's your best friend we're talking about!=) But it's great because we learn things that are beyond of ourselves, beyond of our eyesight.
Two topics were talked about so we had to extend time. And of course, we had to rush things. The bad part about rushing is, just my personal comment, the information we have to absorb becomes a little too much. Especially when the school you're in rushes education like it's some joke. I personally don't recommend my school, Mapua, to people I know, unless they decide to change it back to 2 semesters per year (instead of 4) and change some policies that directly affect us. The things we have to learn in such a short time...our ability to retain the information is soooo limited. A first-year professor said once, "When you get home, throw everything you learned in a bucket so you can start anew." Everyone can do it, the problem is getting it back in your head. I'm getting lost! Anyway...
We discussed diversification that day (right after rushing through the previous topic). It was a very crucial topic because our case (LVMH) for this subject concentrates here. And, by the way, it is such a big difference when there's a supporting material (for this topic, LVMH for example). As diversification and all that there is to it was discussed, I was easily able to relate the lecture to the case. And when that happens, the concepts are also easily understood, and as obvious, they stick to your head fast. Reading takes you places, I really wish it became everyone's habit, not just a requirement.
The idea of diversification is very important in a market that is easily affected by forces from the outside and the inside. Wouldn't it be nice to always have a "backup" business? A sort of plan B. The risk is scattered into your favor. When the first net breaks, at least there's a second one to catch you again. But the ability to baste this second net isn't that easy. Concept-wise, it's easy. You have your "go signs" that tell you it's the right time. But moving about to make this happen, it's something that experience teaches you...The politics that go around, the manipulations, and all those worldly things.
Pepsi Co. was taken as an example to solidify the idea behind this practice. As was told, Pepsi bought the "yum brands" namely KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut and was viewed as a distribution center. Plan pretty much didn't work out as they expected. What they didn't see perhaps was that it wasn't a strategic fit. These yum brands concentrated on service and Pepsi was into lowering down costs in order to be more competitive with Coke. But eventually, they were able to turn things around and it started to work out well. They were able to leverage activities in the value chain and created a strategic fit. Now, Pepsi is earning more than Coke because of those acquisitions.
One of the things we must ask ourselves before venturing into diversification is whether the industry we want to venture in is attractive or not. Determining its attractiveness has several variables - all of which is a result of reading, listening, observing, and reading between the lines. Another thing to ask is how hard it is for us to enter that industry. Of course, we have to weigh out things. We don't want to have all our efforts be in vain when we soon find out our plan is close to impossible. Then when we get there, we ask, are we better off it or with it? They say that good things don't last forever. I disagree. It's up to us to make eternity a reality. We have to make it possible that we are in fact better with it. And only when we've exhausted all efforts do we come to conclude it's just not working out as we wanted it to.=)
When we intend to do diversification and earn from it, we should expect to spend a lot of money. It's simply inevitable. It's like saying, "no guts no glory". There's also a big chance that we're bidding for that business. And money becomes the key. The things we have to do - liquidate our assets, sell shares, whatever - in order to win that business (assuming we really believe in their potential), must be done. Business=money, money=greed, greed=sin, sin=evil. Through the law of math, business=evil.=) Apparently, this isn't so. I guess there are more variables to it like survival of the fittest, giving jobs to the unemployed and more. Anyway...
It's also very important to always look at things from a different view especially in business. There are so many factors to consider - the industry, the competitiveness, and the profit we can gain. Not to mention the environment inside-out. It's a hard subject, but a fun one!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
