Globalization and Ikea free essay sample

1. How has the globalisation of markets benefited IKEA? The globalisastion of markets has allowed IKEA to increase its market to 33 countries, catering to the many tastes and trends of stylish furniture at cost effective prices. IKEA, the home furnishing super-store has grown into a global cult brand with 230 stores in 33 countries that host 410 million shoppers a year. IKEA targets the global middle class who are looking for low-priced buy attractively designed furniture and household items. 2. How has the globalisation of production benefited IKEA?IKEA is able to keep its prices low, and seek to lower them, by finding different ways to cut costs. With a network of 1,300 suppliers in 53 countries, IKEA devotes considerable attention to finding the right manufacturer for each item. For example, IKEA used to manufacture its Klippan love seat in Sweden but soon transferred production to lower cost suppliers in Poland. As demand for the Klippan grew, IDEA then decided that is made more sense to work with suppliers in each of the company’s big markets to avoid the costs associated with shipping the product all over the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization and Ikea or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Today there are five suppliers of the frames in Europe, plus three int he United States and two in China. To reduce the cost of the cotton slipcovers, IKEA has concentrated production in four core suppliers in China and Europe. The resulting efficienies from these gloabl sourcing decisions enabled IKEA to reduce the price of the Klippan by some 40% between 1999 and 2005. 3. What does the IKEA story teach you about the limits of treating the entire world as a single integrated global marketplace?IKEAs story teaches us that there are still differences between the various national markets and that they key to success is to be able to adapt and compromise to cater to the local tastes and trends. Despite its standard formula, to achieve glabl succes IKEA had to adapt its offerings to the tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations. IKEA first discovered this in the early 1990s when it entered the US. The company soon found that its European-style offerings didn’t always resonate with American consumers.Beds were measured in centimeter, not the king, queen, and twin sizes with which Americans are familiar. Sofas weren’t big enough, glasses were too samll, curtains too short, and US siz appliance didn’t fit in the kitchens. Since then, IKEA has redesigned its US offerings t appeal to American consumers, which has resulted in stronger sales. Similarly adaption occurred with the China market, including a â€Å"balcony† section since many China homes had balconies. Also, since not everyone had a car, IKEA ensured that their stores were located near public transport. 1.How has the globalization of the markets benefited IKEA? IKEA begun manufacturing its product in Sweden but to lower its costs, IKEA decided to transfer its product to Poland. But as demand for certain products grew, IKEA decided that they had to work with suppliers in each of the company’s big market to avoid shipping costs by transporting product all over the world. So now they have 5 suppliers in Europe, 3 in United States and 2 in China. What this has done for IKEA is lower their costs, and by lowering their costs, they were able to lower the prices of certain products.For example: by reducing the price of Klippan by 40 percent in a certain period of time 2. How has the globalization of production benefited IKEA? IKEA had to adapt its offerings/products to the tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations. This necessarily wasn’t a negative thing for the company. When IKEA first introduced their products to the American consumers, sales were very low due to the fact that American consumers weren’t familiar with the European styles. For example when it came to beds, the American consumers were familiar with king size, queens size or twin size beds. And not beds measured in centimeters. European sofa’s were not big enough, wardrobe drawers were not deep enough, glasses were too small and the U. S. appliances didn’t fit in the European kitchens. So IKEA redesigned its products to please the U. S consumers and all of this resulted in stronger sales. IKEA is also planning to do this in China. The store layout will look like the layout of a Chinese apartment. In China many apartments have balconies, so IKEA will have a special section for balconies. IKEA will do this so that that its offerings will be familiar and please the Chinese consumers so that it can also generate great results.So by redesigning new products IKEA could see stronger results. 3. What does the Ikea story teach you about the limits of treating the entire world as a single integrated global marketplace? That IKEA went from having Europeans styles of offerings to also having American styles and Asian styles. So they went from having one certain style and developed this into many more so they can please all kinds of consumers from all over the world. That is what is meant with a single integrated global marketplace. So they integrated they products.

Seedfolks Reflection Essay Example

Seedfolks Reflection Essay Example Seedfolks Reflection Paper Seedfolks Reflection Paper ENG 1301-50047 30 October 2011 Reflection ESSAY Young and dumb â€Å"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. † ? Albert Einstein; a quote that really hit home when thinking back on â€Å"Maricela† a story from the novel Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman. Maricela’s outlook on life went from being negative to positive, although it took time for her to realize the bigger picture her tone took a drastic turn from being suicidal and irrational to honored, during her pregnancy. In the beginning of Maricela’s story she is very selfish and regretful for being only six-teen years old and pregnant, she is worried she will no longer live a normal teenage life which consist of dating and going to parties. Later in her story she comes to her sense’s and starts to realize the bigger picture, after meeting an instructor from a teenage pregnancy program her high school offers ,that helps her become optimistic and understand the true meaning of having a baby. The story of Maricela is of a girl who is going through a difficult time in her life as a teenager, not only is she a pregnant six-teen year old girl which is looked down upon by many but she Is also Mexican. In Maricelas eyes being Mexican is a hard thing to be proud of in her neighborhood, as stated in the text â€Å"I’m a Mexican, pregnant sixteen-year-old. So shoot me and get it over with. I wouldn’t actually care if you did. In a way I’m already dead† (pg. 67). Such harsh words to come from a mother to be, the baby is nothing but a burden to her, it’s almost as if she feels the baby is taking her life away as if she is â€Å"dead already†. Maricela is regretful and pessimistic because she can no longer live the life she lived before the baby was a reality, she narrates, â€Å"I used to be really, really hot. Because of the baby I’m as fat as a wrestler, I dropped out, I’ve been to exactly zero parties, and I’ve been asked out exactly zero times†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg. 67). Obviously through her text she states that dating boys and going to parties is her priority, not focusing on the fact she is pregnant. Later, Maricela joins a pregnancy program her high school offers that helps teenage girls understand and helps them with they’re day to day needs, like rides to the doctor and help with GED assistance. For example, she states, â€Å"Three of us from high school got into a program for pregnant teens. They give you rides to the doctor and help with getting your G. E. D. at home† (pg. 67). During the time she’s attending the assistance program, she starts to deal with the fact that she is pregnant, although she is not yet accepting she is taking the proper steps with seeking the assistance. While attending the program, Penny the instructor had come across the community garden. With the garden Penny had the idea to get the three pregnant teenagers involved to help them better understand life. As said, â€Å"Except that Penny, the woman we see, saw the community garden and got the program its own spot, to give us practice taking care of something and to let us witness â€Å"the miracle of life. †Ã¢â‚¬ (pg. 67 -68) Although Maricela didn’t understand or appreciate the garden she still happen to meet a African -American lady by the name of Leona, a lady in which Maricela found comfort in. Maricela was able to talk to Leona because she understood that Maricela did not want to be pregnant. For example, she narrates, â€Å"She knew I didn’t want to be pregnant. I could talk to her about it. †(pg. 71) Finally, in the end Maricela had grown to understand the true meaning of life and being pregnant is bigger than her life its self, bigger than dating and partying. Therefore her outlook on life had made a complete turnaround, from regretful and negative to being honored and positive. She was now finally proud to be mothering a new life to this world, and realizes life never stops, it’s an ongoing cycle. As said in the text,†An old man near us was slowly picking cucumbers, like nothing had happned. † Whole city shuts down, but the garden just keeps going. † Leona said. †(pg. 72) In Paul Fleischman’s novel Seedfolks, a story of a teenage girl by the name of Maricela, overcomes adversity and changes her thought process from negative to positive. She relizes she is apart of a bigger meaning, she is apart of the cycle of life.

Conference and Banqueting Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Conference and Banqueting Management - Assignment Example In the era of globalization, conference industry is regarded as the significant and vital. This is mainly due to the fact that it can help to bridge the gap modification of numerous industries from one nation to another. Example of the pivotal conference is World Expo. This conference is considered as the large scale worldwide international expo. Banquet industry is basically served as the purpose for large feast or meal. It is completed by the introduction of main course and ending with deserts. The purpose of the fest or meal can be for celebration, charitable occasion and honour of someone or can be ceremony. It has been estimated that in the UK more than 1.8 million people are being employed in the hospitality industry. This reveals the scope of conference and banquet industry which is crucial for any country. In the year 2006, it has found out that in UK more than 1.37 million conferences are held (Galal, 2008, p.72). According to one of the catering company Sodexo Prestige, it is determined that banqueting and conference sector has enjoyed a sustainable growth over the period of time which is regarded as resurgent. This is also defined as the scope of banquet and conference industry as it can help to maintain economic growth and sustainability in UK. Banquet industry was previously regarded as only food and beverage event. But eventually it has evolved from personalized catering business for any occasion in to full throttle event management industry. The scope of banquet industry is enormous as it is worth of about 500 billion dollars globally (Sernovitz, 2012, p.32). Due to the mature growth of banquet industry, it enabled catering companies to achieve some additional services which can be increase in revenue per contract or can be increase in royal customer base. Banquet in the older days were lot more different than of modern perception. In the 16th century, after dinner guests used to drink wine. But during the 17th century, after dinner