Eye Contact

Most of us would not readily think that eye contact had anything to do with language, or a person’s culture. While researching a topic for this paper I came across an article on cultural differences that contained a section about eye contact. I found it to be very telling, as to the reasons for either the lack of, or the reasons for eye contact. The article of reference is â€Å"Cultural Differences? Or, Are we really that different? † ( Gregorio Billikoph). This article discusses the differences in cultures, or the different ways in which these cultures relate to others, and how some words or expressions may not make sense to another culture. One example of this is using the phrase â€Å"thank you†. In the U. S. , we thank everyone for just about everything we do, but in the Chinese culture, for example, will only thank someone if the task being preformed is something very important. Although this article touches on a variety of cultural differences, I found the idea of eye contact very interesting. In this article the writer, who is of Hispanic origin, talks about his own strong need for eye contact. He explains that his wife has come to realize that when he is talking to her, she needs to stop what she is doing and make eye contact with him, or he will stop talking until she does. He goes on to say that poor eye contact is â€Å"partially due to shyness or how sake a person feels around others† (pg 5). As I stated in the beginning, eye contact may not seem to be part of our language. On this I would have to disagree, because I think without eye contact, communication is very difficult. Consider this; you are having a conversation with someone who speaks English only as a second language, and has some difficulty with some phrases. While talking to this person, he or she is looking anywhere but at you, do you think this person fully understands what you are saying, or are they feeling embarrassed because they are having difficulty understanding you? If you and this person were talking and maintaining eye contact, you would be able to see by your companion’s expressions whether or not you were being understood. There are of course other reasons for lack of eye contact. Some may feel that they are inferior to you, or they may be shy or withdrawn. I have been in situations where eye contact made me very uncomfortable. For me, there are those whose eye contact is so intense, I am forced to look away for a bit because it makes me feel violated, like they are looking too deep into me. Then there are those times when talking to a man, where I feel they are trying to attract my attention to them for different reasons I am not interested in. I believe that eye contact is important, but it seems to me that times have changed in that area to some extent. Why? Again it comes down to how your eye contact is perceived. I have been in situations when talking to someone of the opposite sex, and their wife or girlfriend gets the idea that I am interested in their man because of eye contact. I also had the issue with my ex-husband. He did not like me talking to other men period, because he felt that my eye contact with them meant that I was interested in them. It is very difficult to avoid all eye contact when talking to others, so I was always uncomfortable talking to men when in the presence of my ex- husband. I think that when it comes to eye contact in any culture. Or when dealing with anyone in general, we need to be aware of how that eye contact will be perceived by others. We all need to educate ourselves as much as possible, regarding cultural differences in order to help avoid some of the negative effects our actions could cause.

Since beginning

Since beginning, we are enjoying great client feedback, excellent customer service and have loads of satisfied customers. This is because of your hard work and enthusiasm to perform your individual tasks. L, as a Owner of restaurant, observed that cleanliness in our restaurant during closing times not top of things. As per our hotels food manager he is expecting this situation to be resolved immediately because the food inspector has scheduled a visit for sometime in the near future. Suggest the following actions to be reformed by all employees in order to keep the restaurant clean. Freeze bulk meat right away Sanitize your rubbish bin Wash surfaces people touch. Keep kitchen floors clean Divide the refrigerator by food groups Decide to keep or discard Items. Preserve the organization flow when placing appliances or foods back into the empty space. Examine each item and decide to place it back or toss in the trash. Empty the entire section. Clean the area thoroughly with a solution m ixture of warm water and dish soap. Wipe with a damp cloth and wipe again with a dry cloth .Gas range has to be clean properly. Clean your deep fryer as needed. If you use your deep fryer frequently, changing the oil and cleaning it every few days will help prevent a buildup of grime that can be much harder to remove. If you only use your deep fryer every couple weeks or less frequently, clean it after each use. Do not put your fryer In the sink or dishwasher. Immersion In water may cause an electrical short and damage the fryer. Although cleanliness In the restaurant Is the duty of all employees, we have to recognize our Individual responsibility for a clean and sanitize our environment.We have to follow HACK so please understand your individual responsibility for the cleanliness of restaurant which will result into a quick growth of our company and consequently a high increment in salary. Thank you all. Omit Giuliani, Managing Director Bolos 33 Duncan street Toronto,MAMMAL (999) 9 99_9999 MEMO By Unitarianism Dear Team Members, I anticipate that you all are fine and taking pleasure from your work at Bolos restaurant which is in Ultimate Resort and Spa. Since beginning, we are enjoying restaurant during closing time's not top of things.As per our hotels food manager he scheduled a visit for sometime in the near future. ‘ suggest the following actions to be Decide to keep or discard items. Preserve the organization flow when placing frequently, clean it after each use. Do not put your fryer in the sink or dishwasher. Immersion in water may cause an electrical short and damage the fryer. Although cleanliness in the restaurant is the duty of all employees, we have to recognize our individual responsibility for a clean and sanitize our environment.

Apple Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple - Research Paper Example The company was previously known as Apple Computers for 30 years and in 2007, it was renamed as Apple Inc. to reflect the intended expansion of Apple in the field of entertainment technology. Apple’s Innovation In a periodical it was stated about Apple, ‘†¦this is truly one of the most innovative companies on earth, one that has defied the odds and overcome amazing adversity.’ (DeMarzo) Apple has always provided its customers with unique products which are ahead of time because its engineers are product-oriented. They create even before the consumer realizes that he needs it. In this period of global recession when companies are laying off their employees and cutting back on its research, Apple is successfully moving forward through ‘...investing, inventing and innovating. In an interview Steve Jobs once pointed out, â€Å"Some very good product people invent some very good products, and the company achieves a monopoly. But after that, the product peop le aren't the ones that drive the company forward anymore. It's the marketing guys or the ones who expand the business†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He explains that engineers of the company initiate an upward move by creating products but it’s the responsibility of the marketing personnel to keep the show running. It’s not just innovation and product development that defines the success of a product but it is important to understand how it is delivered to the customer. Very often, new inventions are not acceptable to the customers because they are not accustomed to the new product. Apple doesn’t advertise to reach out to its first customers but use it to help their first customers reach out to the rest. Apple’s marketing is so consumer-oriented that people buy their products even before seeing it. This happens when people market products for the consumers. An example of this is 250000 iPhone sales on the first day prove the success of their marketing strategy. Apple is, without doubt, the most successful consumer electronics company but it focuses primarily on business-to-consumer market. In my opinion, Apple should partner with other companies and also focus on business-to-business market. Partnering with other companies would enable Apple to grow its business through joint initiatives. For example, recently Nokia has partnered with Microsoft which enables it to become a massive force in the Smartphone industry, the advantages are numerous, both companies can exploit each other’s best resources and get ahead of the competitors. If apple caters to business to business market, it would be a new horizon for the company to grow. There is a lot of potential in Business to business market as the firms are becoming more aware of creating and maintaining competitive edge through being agile towards new technology. These strategies will not only boost its profits but will also help them create more innovative products like they did when they partne red with Intel and HP. I believe that Apple has become a market leader of business-to-consumer market and now, it should also work towards becoming the market leader of business-to-business market. Industry Analysis: Above 100 million iPods have been sold already since 2006. On the contrary statistics show that game consoles sold in 2006 stood at 26 million, digital cameras at 94 million, mp3 players at 135 million with iPods commanding an 80% market share and PCS sold at 209 million. Mobile phones sold at 957 million.

The Industry and Ethanol Producing Firms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Industry and Ethanol Producing Firms - Essay Example Due to equilibrium in demand-supply of maze and production of ethanol, and subsidies, farmers producing maze were getting good prices till 2014. However, with withdrawal of subsidy in 2016, firms getting subsidy lost some of the incentives that is bound to affect their profitability. Since the demand for gasoline is always going to be there and is ever increasing with no substitute product available, as such there shouldn’t be any external business threat to firms producing ethanol. However, to sustain their profitability, they would be looking to reduce production costs or pass on the increase in prices to their consumers. At the same time, by reducing their production cost they can be more competitive in the market. Thus in the new scenario, only those ethanol producing firm would be profitable who would be able to keep their costs down and be more competitive in pricing. Another scenario for the firms can be to operate at lower per unit profit but doing volume sales to incr ease their gross revenue. For an individual firm, lower ethanol costs will mean higher sales. The industry is likely to witness the exit of small ethanol producing firms. It is assumed that gasoline production won’t be affected due to the withdrawal of subsidy on ethanol production. Therefore, the demand for ethanol would be hardly affected. As such, there won’t be any reduction in the production of ethanol. There are a large number of farmers producing maze and there are no barriers to selling maze to any of the ethanol-producing firms. Further, there is no big entry cost involved in maze production farming.

Role of NGO's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Role of NGO's - Research Paper Example With respect to this, this paper will hypothesize that NGOs in Haiti and Cambodia have been unable to achieve their objectives because most of the funds that they received from the donors are mismanaged. Many analysts have maintained that the systems that administer NGOs in Cambodia are ineffective, especially because the NGOs do not have ownership, but again others have recommended that their system can be constituted to look like a design of a project. To verify this proposition, this paper will hypothesize that NGOs that are integrated into a decision-making process or those that have a design of a program are more efficient than those that operate in a conventional structure. Finally, some authors, for example, Schuller (2007), have postulated that NGOs have failed to implement their projects on time because the donors fail to release funds on time since they impose stringent restrictions to ensure accountability. In effect, this paper will hypothesize that most of the NGOs do not achieve their goals because the funds that they get from foreign donors are usually string

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL SERVICES - Essay Example The unique characteristic of the financial intermediary here is that their assets and liabilities are overwhelmingly financial.2 The financial intermediaries succeed by using customer’s savings (who save in order to maximise the savings but with minimal risk) to lend to investors (who fights to get the money at the cheapest rate as possible but with less strings attached) with the aim of making a return on their investments for themselves and their customers. Their main role can be said to be channelling of customer’s savings to investors who so need the money to make meaningful investments that give rise to an economic growth and development for the society.3 The financial intermediary strives to make the better deal of a large profit as possible from these savings as to keep the institution running. (See appendices 2) According to J.O. Sanusi (2002), availability of investible funds for investment in any economy can be said to be the key factor in the growth process of that economy especially as it is realised that these funds are a necessary condition for output production and employment growth. Efficient financial intermediaries through the role they play in any economy are of course seen as the best means of achieving higher levels of output production, employment, and income which invariably enhance the living standards of the population. It cannot be argued therefore that countries that have enjoyed or are enjoying economic prosperity such as the Western countries are having such an efficient mechanism for mobilising financial resources and allocating same for productive investment.4 Banks long ago were considered as the best intermediary since they are able to provide an important positive means of mobilising the savings from customers, and allocating these funds to the investors for finance investment projects

Politics KSN Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Politics KSN - Research Paper Example Later, Ras al khaymah joined the six States in 1972. The country has high GDP. It is comparable to some of the leading western Europeans nations. Due to its high oil revenue, high diversified economy and its moderate foreign policy is crucial in the affairs of the region. For more than three decades, UAE economy was driven by oil and global finance, however, in the recent past, its leaders have implemented broad economic focus. The economy has diversified to other sectors like mass communication, tourism, shipping and finance. Unlike many other of its regional peers, like Saudi Arabia, who have developed unstable and stagnant regimes, oil dependant economies, UAE has diversified its economy to become politically stable center for commerce. Consequently, UAE has resisted the regional economist analysis and were a clear outlier from the gulf(Lidstone and Digby 39) The development outcome created by UAE is quite unusual for the Persian Gulf. It is unique because of because of its liberal social altitude its economic dynamism and its political stability. In the country, people can openly wear out western style dress and alcohol consumption is widely accepted in contrast with Saudi Arabia, a different regional regime. There is a regional police, which enforces rigid social law among the expatriates. Unlike other neighbors, the power transitions within UAE government are smooth. In UAE, there are no violent domestic opposition movements. Moreover, finally the UAE economic development has outperformed Saudi Arabia’s and other neighboring countries in term of sustained growth and diversification. This observation has led to the puzzle of this thesis: why has UAE defied the economist expectation and become so politically stable and economic developed. Why have its peers like Saudi Arabia failed to do so? Have oil curse and Arabs and Islamic culture that is expected to fail the development of the gulf countries

DISTRIBUTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

DISTRIBUTION - Essay Example The distribution networks ensure efficient number count and accountability of the products in the firm. The customers are satisfied with the goods of high quality. The displays are made in such a way that furnitures, clothes, utensils and foods are arranged in different places. (Mark) On the other hand, Macy’s company generally deals with men, women and children’swears.It also deals with accessories, jewelry, furniture, home dà ©cor and utensils which are displayed at different places. The stock is not that much compared to Walmart.The brand name is also not well established as compared to Wal-Mart and therefore the customers have no loyalty to the shop. (Anonymous) The two companies source their goods from Germany, Japan and China. The companies buy goods in bulk so as to take the advantage of the economies of large scale. The goods are kept in their ware house and then they are distributed to the wholesalers and theirs shops for sale in retail. The companies have fleet of vehicles to facilitate this distribution of their goods to their destinations to save time.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - Essay Example People live in huts known as obis which are built at the center of the compound. Polygamy is also accepted in this community; as one man can marry as many women as he likes because having multiple wives and children is considered to be a source of wealth or that one was rich. Men and women had different roles in the community; men were responsible for growing yams as it was the most important crop in the community while women grew the less important crops like cocoa- yams, beans, cassava e.t.c. The setting also enables us to follow and understand the Igbo way of life. The people of Umuofia have some significant ceremonies like the week of peace that was greatly observed by everyone, and nobody caused any trouble during the celebration as seen (Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. Page 23) Okonkwo is fined for beating his wife during the festival. This was followed by the planting of yams then the new yam feast. Other celebrated activities also include dance, rites of passage and above all proverbs. The people of Umuofia loved their proverbs, and they never missed to us them in all occasions. They even have a proverb that says â€Å"words are the palm-oil with which word are eaten†. Religion is very valuable to the people of Umuofia as the egwugwu are deeply respected and are believed to keep the peace in the land and administer justice. A lot of people was talented in Arts e.g. Okonkwo’s father they were good in music and poetry, thing that according to Okonkwo w ere not manly, and he hated hearted Arts and those who did them. Everyone in the community had something to add to the progression of the community including women and children. Laziness was discouraged and rebuked as in many other African communities. A lot has changed since the time of the setting of this great book; for example, today in my community we do not celebrate agricultural patterns or dance among others. Polygamy is also not practiced in my community, unlike Umuofia. However, we have wedding, dance celebrations, and we also do farming as the main economic activity. The setting of a book is what builds it. It is through setting that we are able to discover the economic activities of the community, its social activities, culture, and location among other factors that build the body of the book. A rural setting is always attractive and very informative compared to other kinds of settings. Question 2 Achebe wrote the novel â€Å"Things Fall Apart† to educate people, and to combat demeaning stereotypes about Africa. However, he does not present the Igbo society as ideal. He criticizes some aspects of the community through his characters. Achebe seems to challenge some traditional beliefs and practices. For example, the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo’s adopted son. He does this through the character Obierika (Okonkwo’s best friend) who refused to join the rest of the village men in the walk to the forest were the boy was to be killed by say that he has better things to do(Chinua Achebe, Things fall Apart, page 32). Obierika also told Okonkwo that his deeds would not please the earth because of the men’s actions. This turns out to be true later, although Okonkwo disagrees with him, but he is later faced with a great misfortune and is exiled from his home for seven years. This shows that Achebe does not agree with the murder of the young boy for he had committed no crime to be killed in that manner. Achebe

Alaska Airline & Corporate Culture Essay Example for Free

Alaska Airline Corporate Culture Essay A unique cultural characteristic of Alaska Airline would be the benefits they allot their employees. After 90 days of working with Alaska Airline, an employee earns benefits which allows him or her to fly anywhere at anytime with 1 other individual. In addition to this, the employee is given 6 â€Å"buddy passes† each year which allows the employee to give 6 roundtrip tickets to people other than himself or the 1 person he chooses to travel with. The best part about these benefits is that as long as the employee remains in good standing with the company, they are issued indefinitely, even after retirement. Companies can unknowingly cultivate negative culture among its employees and customers. This can happen in numerous ways. If a company were to institute a new policy which applied undue stress to its employees, adopt new prices that are greatly higher than what its customers are accustomed to paying, or allow a top representative to behave in a manner which sharply contradicts the values of the company, it would certainly be cultivating negative culture. While such behaviors may be immediately illusive to the company, some, if not many, employees and customers will notice it, and the company will suffer for it. In order to know specifically how a business corporate culture can be amended for the better, it would be necessary to know which business is being discussed or at the very least, the disposition of it’s corporate culture. While a grocery chain may need to focus on training employees to assist the elderly or the otherwise incapable individuals with carrying and loading groceries into cars, the corporate culture of an electronic store may benefit from having better-educated employees about the products in order that said employees may help customers make better-informed purchases. As far as developing a sense of corporate culture directed at the employees, a company may issue monthly kudos to employees who overachieved or plan celebrations after goals have been reached. Nevertheless, any and all amendments put into effect by a business for the purpose of improving corporate culture must result in an enhancement of customer or employee experience and or perception. There will certainly be a cultural shift in Microsoft as they reorganize to emphasize customer service. Before, the company was not so focused on customer service, and therefore had a corporate culture with its center of gravity more on product development. Now, however, the company must necessarily implement changes ubiquitously, effectively replanting its center of gravity, in order to meet is goal of honing in on customer service. Such a drastic make-over will involve a significant cultural shift. While Jet Blue has experienced much difficult as a result of bad weather which has in fact damaged their culture, it would be hasty to say their culture has been irreparably damaged. There can be work done through public relations and customer appreciative measures to repair its damaged culture. Work Cites 1. â€Å"Work-Life and Benefits- Alaska Airlines.† alaskaair.com. Alaskaair, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011. 2. March, Suzanne. â€Å"JetBlue Airways – Flight Change Fees Waived For Passengers Affected By Bad Weather .† starglobaltribune.com. Starglobaltribune, n.d. Web. 20 April 2011.

Starting Up A Restaurant | Business Plan

Starting Up A Restaurant | Business Plan It is noteworthy that the keys to run a successful restaurant lies in a stable economic base in the community and demographic characteristics compatible with the intended market. A well researched feasibility is required to obtain a loan from banks or other Non baking financial institutions. The economic base of a community can be beneficial to identify the potential for success, as well as help to determine the type(s) of restaurant that might succeed. A white-collar clientele needs are different from an industrial economic base. cultural backgrounds in the community may also affect the types of food preferred and consumption patterns. The prosperity of an area affects personal income. It help to find out a society by observing and contacting residents. The following questions help to evaluate whether a community is progressive and growing or whether development has become stagnant: There should be an area to assure comfortable seating and enough of a walkway for wait staff to move among tables. The outstanding space is for food preparation, storage, and office area. The food preparation area should provide an efficient movement of food from the kitchen to the dining room. The space should be arranged with everything only a few steps away from the cook, and should also allow two or more cooks to work side by side if warranted. Inside the restaurant, a separate area is usually reserved for dish washing and trash. The room needed for prep and steam tables, oven, grill and stove top, and small refrigerator and freezer, along with the exhaust fans needed for ventilation must be adequate. big refrigerators or walk-in coolers are used to store perishable items (Entrepreneur Magazine Group 1996, p. 40). In the restaurant we need some room for the washrooms. In restaurant you need the area for disable, male , female toilets. The external appearance of the restaurant is almost as important as the inside decor. Great advertising or even the best word of mouth endorsements cannot always compensate for lack of curb appeal. If the outside shows dirty windows, a dimly lit entrance, or an offensive sign, potential customers may turn away. The outside should be clean and inviting. If parking will be provided, the estimate is one spot for every three restaurant seats, with safe convenient access. Large restaurants must provide four percent of the first 100 parking spots for persons with disabilities and two percent of any additional parking. Once the conceptual framework is determined, the outcome should be recorded and saved in a form of a written manual. This written manual is more of a general description than a detailed plan. A description of the type of menu being planned should list the types and number of items for the following categories: breakfast, lunch, sandwiches, appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, side dishes, beverages, and desserts. Apart from location and menu, one of the most important aspect of a successful restaurant is the atmosphere or ambiance. The atmosphere along with the menu, should fit the type of restaurant (quick service, mid-scale, or upscale) determined by the market study. Customers will assess the atmosphere of the restaurant by the way it makes them feel. think about the following factors in creating a desired atmosphere: An investor must do a feasibility study to estimates the cost involved and the expected returns, before starting any form of business. unluckily, not all good ideas make great businesses, or even generate a steady revenue stream. A comprehensive checklist can be prepared to determine if an idea represents a genuine opportunity for starting a new business. The checklist should includes but not limited to that who the customers will be and where the business will be located. Restaurant are no dissimilar than other businesses in this respect. The idea or type of restaurant and the market the owner is trying to reach are often the first and main considerations. If a specific cultural food will be served, then the exact location and market must be evaluated. In order to have a footing in the market we have to analyze our long term opportunities and strengths. It can be done with a concept of total quality management with continuous improvement in the foods quality and sales by targeting the right market mix and segments. One important aspect is to understand the behaviour of the business market and types of the competitors in this sector. This can be attained by gathering information about the major players (who had captured the market) so that to identify their moves, strategies, strength and weaknesses. As the economy of the UK is hit hard by the financial crisis, the setting up a new business is challenging task; this means that areas and sectors like education, tourism and Industry will witness a large scale decline in the coming years. The current scenario required the government spending in some big projects like infrastructure, healthcare and education that in return can revive the economy and increase the demand of new business within the country. Researching and selecting Target Markets: We as a restaurant operator have to adopt a policy that is directed toward identifying the market size and potential in terms of demands related to the multi ethnic group within the regions. This means, that we have to target different community using a standard food Menu that can attract the customers accordingly. Next, we have to make decisions on types of Ethnic group that we should focus on by subdividing the market sector into smaller segments and assessing each one separately. Selection of the market segment is very important for positioning product. In our case it is advisable to target and select few niche markets comprising certain African and Asian ethnic groups within med-level salary ranges. The challenge would be providing them with the reasonable standard food with nice atmosphere at competitive rates. Designing Strategies and positioning our product: Once we have decided about the target market then the next step will be designing the strategies that match our long term objectives and goals. For this we can develop and deploy differentiation and positioning strategy. This can be done by providing a product that is different in term of quality and strength so as to capture the eye of the customers. After that we should position our product for middle niche market between large to medium level society. During this phase we have to consider that challenging market leaders in the very beginning would be difficult but we can exert extra efforts to be the market challenger or else become a market follower which is a strategy that fits us well during the initial stages of our operations. Planning Marketing programme After designing strategies we need to transform our strategies into programmes. This could be accomplished by making decisions on marketing expenditures, marketing mix and marketing allocation. As an entity we have to divide the marketing budget into the following elements of the market mix namely: Our product: We have to introduce our product with some differentiation and improved quality by acquiring good recipes, as well as, employing quality chef who can prepare quality food, allowing us differentiating our products from market. It is the product that needs to be marketed with due diligence so as to make the market feel your presence. And also tried to bring a new kind of recipe which is not available in the market before because that will make a plus point in your products and in your reputation. Price of the product: The Price of the product also plays some important role in its sales. At present, tough competition exists demanding the restaurant to sell their product at the right price. To price the product, initially one can consider quality and cost of production and companys mark up. Price valuation procedures like target pricing can be used to reach a point for price determination. In addition, to that idea of the market price for that product is also essential because one cannot set a price beyond the market norms unless that product is exceptional either in its quality or availability. Promotion: Promotion is vital tool for any product to promote our restaurant and its products (food items). The promotional mix / tools that could utilized may include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Television à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Radio à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Newspaper à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Magazines à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Direct mail à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Yellow Pages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Public transportation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Billboards à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Internet home page à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Free-net in community à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Chamber of Commerce à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Visitors Bureau à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Convention Bureau à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Supporting non profit organizations à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Free press (if available in the community) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Community involvement Advertising: since it is a perishable item, due care is essential to market it using printed media that tend to be one of the reliable advertising tool. Sales force: for the same reasons above this promotional tool becomes very efficient effective. Delivery places (on time and at right place) Special Offers (like discount for parties and bulk Purchases etc.) Offering birthdays parties in your hotels so families can come and enjoy in restaurant decorate your restaurant for them and offer some kinds of kids boxes to the kids which can help in promotion of your restaurant. Organizing and implementing marketing programmes. It would be very cost effective to have the marketing philosophy built in and adopted by all working staff and employee at all levels. The marketing philosophy should be the primary component of the firms organizational culture to be reflected in firms and workers daily practices and performance. At higher levels the founders/ partners have large and more responsible role to play as they would be expected to market the firm among identified clients based on their relations the market. Monitoring the market process is the crucial activity where it will be needed to trace and find whether or not the programme is being executed correctly this includes controlling the expenses to ensure cost effectiveness as well as to ensure the execution of the programme is in line with the firms long term objectives. Suggestions for Success The customers perception of the restaurants concept is an important factor in success. Once the restaurant is open, quality feedback from customers is important. Does the concept need adjustment? Observe and talk with customers. What does the wait staff overhear? Are their tips good? Are certain menu items ordered more often than others? What menu items are left on the plate? Are the portions too large or too small? Consider carefully how the market you have created reacts to your concept. Repeat customers and word of mouth endorsements are priceless. The SBDC web site (http://www.commerce.state.il.us) provides the following list of 15 reasons why businesses fail: 1. Lack of experience 2. Lack of capital 3. Poor locations 4. Inventory 5. Equipment 6. Poor credit practices 7. Personal expenses 8. Premature expansion 9. Bad attitude 10. Too many expenses 11. Poor collections 12. Low sales 13. Inventory mismanagement 14. Competition 15. Crime Motivation for tourism: Push-pull factors Motivation for tourism: Push-pull factors Introduction The tourism industry is considered one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world (Ninemeier Perdue, 2008; Cooper Hall, 2008). In the past few years many people have been travelling around the world for leisure, business and migratory purposes. Each individual traveler has different motive based on their needs, culture and lifestyle. A person needs give rise to motivations that forces them to act or behave in a specific way to satisfy the needs. Motivations are driven by the different force of push and pull factors that revolve around an individual which will reflect in both travel decision and behaviour. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of tourists, their backgrounds and what motivates them to travel as all ‘leisure involves a temporary escape of some kind’ (Leiper 1984: 249). The topic of this paper is based on trip in Langkawi and further understanding of what motivates the tourist to travel overseas and what sort of temporary es cape are they intending to find here on this island. The trip Based on recommendations by friends, a 4 day trip to Langkawi (LGK) was an ideal place to have a weekend getaway and enjoy the slow paced beach life. It was also a trip of escaping reality and in search of inspirations. Yet, while observing the local people here, there is more to this than just escaping reality and the slow paced life. Actually many of the locals have travelled here for holidays and vacations but ended up extending their stay for many months, some even love the life here so much that they became part of the local people and took up jobs in bars and opening up small businesses. It was the first time staying in a guesthouse and it felt like the whole atmosphere brought in by the friendly people helps open a person’s character and that atmosphere of good vibes seems to grow even more by mingling with people from different parts of the world, hearing their stories and gaining exposure of different lifestyles and culture. When travelling alone, one also gets to und erstand the importance of being alert to the surroundings in a foreign land especially when one does not speak the common tongue; it also helps that person to be independent by looking out for himself, adapting and abiding to different cultures, managing the money wisely and having clarity in life as one tends to drift into their own thoughts easily when not distracted by the daily routines. Lit review Getting away from the mundane life of the city or their hometown has always been in the minds of many people. Crompton (1979; 416) noted that the desire to ‘escape from a perceived mundane environment’ became a major motive of inducing tourist vacation behaviour. Escapism is described as a push factor, which refers to factors that predispose an individual to travel (Dann, 1977). In contrast to Riley (1988: 317), when an opportunity presents itself, people tend to be attracted to exotic places like an island where the beach helps them to relax and rejuvenate and have a temporary escape from the dullness and monotony of their everyday routine. ‘A certain picture is built up of a world that marks an escape from present reality an environment for acting out psychic needs, and the playing of certain roles that cannot be fulfilled at home, and it is this which forms part and parcel of tourists’ motivations’ (Dann, 1976: 22). So when a destination attraction consists of those elements of a â€Å"non-home† place, people are more motivated to travel there or even extend their stay. According to Backman et al. (1995) motivations are associated with individual basic needs for participating in activities that associate with their personal goals, being influence by their friends/family members or due to the change of weather. For instance, Westerners love travelling to Asia because of the exotic feeling, discovery of ancient history and warm weather. The need to see the unseen and know the unknown drives people to travel to new places and motivates them to visit new destinations (Venkatesh, 2006). But March Woodside (2005) also states that tourists are subjected to certain behaviour before, during and after travelling. These travel behaviours are mostly influence by external and internal factors. These could be explained using the Push-Pull motivation theory. Push factors are socio-psychological motivations that predispose, while the pull factors are those that attract a person to a specific destination when the decision to travel has been made (Oh et al., 1995). (Mehmetoglu, 2011) The ‘need’ to see things are the pull factors, Mehmetoglu’s model shows that these factors influence the tourist mindset of travelling. For instance, Image could be due to the sharing of photos through facebook and other social media platforms, Culture, for example Westerners at the age of 16 tends to be independent and they usually go on road trips after their collage and Price could be discounts given by accommodations or air flights at a particular destination. While the push factors are influenced by the socio-psychological mindset of that person. For example, the need to socialize or escape from their comfort zone pushes them to search for a better environment. Both of these factors lead to the length of stay for the tourist and it is controlled by ‘Control Variables’ which reflects on each individual tourist culture and background which not only determine the length of stay but also the destination. The control variables could also make tourist migrate to another country. Before the concept of migrating appear in a persons’ mind, the person has planned on a destination to escape from the reality of his/her hometown, travelling to places to relax. After being satisfied with the current place, the external and psychological factors such as better economic/social opportunities, safer environment for building a family, slower paced lifestyle and realization of their spirituality plays a part in concluding the migration or longer stay of the tourist. Methodology The research method for this essay would be considered qualitative because learning more about the culture and lifestyle of the locals requires more time, more analytical data of the surroundings and time. Therefore, the methodology for this research paper is based on observation and interaction with the local people. These observations and interactions were compared with the local people and some of the few tourists who came to stay for a short period of time. Taking down notes during observations will help to determine what happened and at the same time triggering an answer to any research question during data analysis (Bogdan Biklen, 2007; Pitney Parker, 2009). Data Analysis Findings While walking around the beach and streets of LGK, I manage to talk and find out that many of the locals were actually tourist before when travelling here for leisure but most of them ended up staying here as residents. Most of them came from Penang, Germany, KL, Thailand and even Brazil. Mostly, due to the slow paced lifestyle and their love for the beach, and better and nicer work environment which made them decide that they want to live here. I even talk to some of the tourists who travelled here for a few days ended up extending their stay for another day or so cause of the new friends they made. Discussion In order to predict travel behaviour it is important to understand how individual characteristics of a person interact with the characteristics of the situation, therefore understanding the positive and negative evaluative factors influencing destination choices of the tourists (March Woodside, 2006; Laws, 1995; Holloway, 2004). Using this guy called ‘Captain’ as an example, he says before coming to work here in LGK, he was a Malaysian who works as a security guard and he did not like the environment there and his salary could not justify his work. Back then he was eager for a getaway, a temporary escape of some kind. So travelling to places nearby like LGK would be a good idea as it is affordable, easy to distress and communicating with the locals is easy. (Pearce, 2005; Pearce Lee, 2005) came up with 14 core factors that describe travel motivation; they were built on items of interest from a rich array of previous studies and identified across the two large internati onal samples. The defining forces were in order of importance, novelty, escape/relax, relationship strengthening, autonomy, seeking nature, self development through involvement with hosts or the site, stimulation, self-development of a personal kind, relationship security (enjoying being with similar others), self-actualisation (getting a new life perspective), isolation, nostalgia, romance and recognition (prestige of travelling). (Pearce, 2005) Using the model above, the Travel Career Patterns (TCP) concept shows that tourists in the Core motive are unchanging because these standard and important motives are the common motivations that push people like ‘Captain’ who travel to LGK for temporary escape to just relax and bond with friends and family. Eventually, ‘Captain’ TCP developed into the Middle layer as he is satisfied with the environment that he is in and ended up building more bonds with the locals and gaining self actualisation and self enhancement by setting up a private inn business catering to backpackers and tourists. Some individuals like ‘Captain’ were push by escaping their life due to the political environment and individual background. Backing Pearce’s TCP model concept; McIntosh, Geoldner and Ritchie (1995) provides a deeper analysis of travel motives. Source: Yeong, Eves Scarles, (2004) Using the above table, McIntosh, Geoldner and Ritchie derived with 4 categories which travel motivators can be classified into. Physical motivators’ factors are those that push the individual to travel for his/her own purpose such as fulfilling a thrill of adventure, getting away from the hectic life and seeking a stress free environment. Cultural motivators are people who want to visit their heritage, ancestral site or travel to pilgrims in search for their faith to discover more about their religion. The third category, interpersonal motivators is about travelling with friends/family or a love one to build greater relationship and experience the destination together. Lastly, Status and Prestige are motivators that people travel for status, ego enhancement it is possibility due to an opportunity given to travel in a more prestige way and to impress their neighbours. Relating McIntosh, Goeldner and Ritchie’s theory and to Mehmetoglu’s model of push and pull factors. 2 siblings from Penang who work at a reggae bar along the street came here for leisure purposes. The brother is a cyclist who actively cycles with his group of friends around Malaysia twice every month. As what he said, it was a way of freeing his mind from his daily routines and his friends suggested going to LGK for a cycling session, group-based behaviour is a modification of individual behaviour, which makes individuals engage in activities they may not have done otherwise (Marcevova, 2011). Later on, he enjoyed living the island life and decided to carry on staying here and eventually, his sister and some of his friends came to LGK to stay and make a living here. Both the siblings and their friends decision was mostly based on social influence decision making and the pull factors of the destination. The political model of decision-making (Pettigrew, 1973; Pfeffer, 1 981) is an example of an adaptive form of decision-making, recognising the fact that most decisions are not individual but made in the context of groups, which means even backpackers or solo travellers make their decision based on recommendations, travel sites, stories based on past experience; all these are based on the context of group information and ideas that push them to travel. Social influences are processes which individuals adjust their feelings and behaviours towards someone who are perceived to be similar, desirable, or an expert in that discussion. Conclusion In conclusion, tourist motivation is seen as a multidimensional concept that explains tourist decision (McCabe, 2000) and each individual behaviours set different motivation of travelling due to different cultural background, country that they come from and the push and pull factors that influence them. In the modern world, technology is advancing such as social media being an intermediary to show people what the place has to offer and it needs to be considered as a factor of motivation. The destination that attracts the tourist plays an important role as well because the personal motives (push motives) and the view of the characteristics of the tourism destination (pull motives) determine perceptions (Bashar Aref Al-Haj, 2010) which could make tourists extend their stay or even bring in more people.

Individualist Essay -- essays research papers

In Defense of the Individualist Throughout history it has been the individualists, like Henry Ford and Rosa Parks, who have led nations, formed common groups, and made the greatest impact. However, people, such as the author, Michael Walzer, of â€Å"Multiculturalism and Individualism,† condemn the independent person as an unreliable â€Å"footloose† and â€Å"empty† creature (533). This denouncement of the socially unrestrained human is the fearful reaction to the power that these individuals can possesse. Nonetheless, strong individuals form the foundation of the world’s progress in technological and social fields because of their willingness to question and create.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Individualists have always been more involved with technological advances than the communitarian. It has been the person, unhindered by other people’s opinion that has given the most creative and helpful of inventions. A brief look into history reveals names such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and, more recently, Bill Gates who have improved and contributed to the comfort of humanity. These individuals were often criticized for their self-interest work, but when the products of their imagination changed the lives of humans around the world the dissatisfied voices quieted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The communitarian’s accusations, that the individualist is a dangerous ungrounded individual who needs to conform to social norms, are actually the reasons for the importance of individualist’s influ...

Snapshots of Love Essays -- Personal Narrative, essay about my family

Most of the snapshots of my life are held in the photo albums of my mind. Some were captured by a camera, and those pictures I keep in a shoebox under my bed. I'm lucky to have "shoebox photos" of the earliest things I can remember. For example, three days after my third birthday, Katherine Emily arrived. I remember my dad taking me to see my new baby sister; we stopped at a gas station on the way to the hospital and bought my mom candy and a cola. That day, the camera caught the tiny smile only a big sister could have as she holds one of the best birthday presents ever. I don't take up even half of a blue hospital chair as I cradle Katie in my arms. She is wrapped all in white, like the little angel that every baby is. My white, hooded sweatshirt has faint patches of sky blue, and just a tiny crimson triangle of a T-shirt peeks out from behind the zipper. Looking closer, a third person can be seen: my mother's wrist-banded hand holds Katie's head up. My tiny arms weren't quite strong enough for that task. That was the first time I ever posed with Katie. Looking at that photo makes me remember all the other pictures I have of Katie and me, even when there was no camera with film and batteries ready to go. It's these pictures that I'll never lose. Before Katie and I went off to school, we spent our days in the tunnels and caves of cardboard boxes and secret hideaways under the kitchen table. Our house has never been short on toys (there were six kids born before Katie and me), but boxes have always been a favorite. I remember being able to easily slide through the long passageways, my back not even brushing against the "ceilings" of our tunnels and forts. Katie had an even easier time ... ..., on the right, Horseshoe Falls bubbles under a mist that slowly rises above the horizon. Katie and I lean against the heavy, black railing, and against each other. Our smiles are sweet and happy, reminiscent of Katie's first birthday. These two shoebox pictures of Katie and me are just two snapshots in a shared photo album, filled with every cake, thought, joke, and sweater we've shared. In the midst of looking through the collection, Katie yells at me, "Hey, that's my shirt!" "You borrow my stuff," I reply. "Not without asking." "You had my black skirt for three months." "I asked for it." I let the fight peter out, not wishing to waste a memory on an argument about clothes. There will be plenty of hair-pulling, name-calling, and angry situations between Katie and me to come. I want to save my film for better times. Snapshots of Love Essays -- Personal Narrative, essay about my family Most of the snapshots of my life are held in the photo albums of my mind. Some were captured by a camera, and those pictures I keep in a shoebox under my bed. I'm lucky to have "shoebox photos" of the earliest things I can remember. For example, three days after my third birthday, Katherine Emily arrived. I remember my dad taking me to see my new baby sister; we stopped at a gas station on the way to the hospital and bought my mom candy and a cola. That day, the camera caught the tiny smile only a big sister could have as she holds one of the best birthday presents ever. I don't take up even half of a blue hospital chair as I cradle Katie in my arms. She is wrapped all in white, like the little angel that every baby is. My white, hooded sweatshirt has faint patches of sky blue, and just a tiny crimson triangle of a T-shirt peeks out from behind the zipper. Looking closer, a third person can be seen: my mother's wrist-banded hand holds Katie's head up. My tiny arms weren't quite strong enough for that task. That was the first time I ever posed with Katie. Looking at that photo makes me remember all the other pictures I have of Katie and me, even when there was no camera with film and batteries ready to go. It's these pictures that I'll never lose. Before Katie and I went off to school, we spent our days in the tunnels and caves of cardboard boxes and secret hideaways under the kitchen table. Our house has never been short on toys (there were six kids born before Katie and me), but boxes have always been a favorite. I remember being able to easily slide through the long passageways, my back not even brushing against the "ceilings" of our tunnels and forts. Katie had an even easier time ... ..., on the right, Horseshoe Falls bubbles under a mist that slowly rises above the horizon. Katie and I lean against the heavy, black railing, and against each other. Our smiles are sweet and happy, reminiscent of Katie's first birthday. These two shoebox pictures of Katie and me are just two snapshots in a shared photo album, filled with every cake, thought, joke, and sweater we've shared. In the midst of looking through the collection, Katie yells at me, "Hey, that's my shirt!" "You borrow my stuff," I reply. "Not without asking." "You had my black skirt for three months." "I asked for it." I let the fight peter out, not wishing to waste a memory on an argument about clothes. There will be plenty of hair-pulling, name-calling, and angry situations between Katie and me to come. I want to save my film for better times.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) lived in Florence, Italy. Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, politician, writer and perhaps one among the chief founders of political science. Since Machiavelli was a renaissance man, he acted in the capacity of a diplomat, a political philosopher, a musician, a playwright, a poet and a Florentine Republic civil servant. This paper therefore takes to ascertain the extent to which Machiavelli would consider the political ideologies of Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, Adolph Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt as feasible or meaningful. Thomas Paine Machiavelli would find the ideas of Paine’s political postulations in Common Sense agreeable to a larger extent. This is more so because; Paine (2006) perceives the government as a punisher, and this role being a derivative of the inherent wicked nature of man. To this effect, the government would act as the restrainer of human vices. The agreeableness with Machiavelli’s ideals is that this ideology marries well with Machiavelli’s postulations about the leader being able to move fast to quash political foes so as to consolidate power (Machiavelli, 1868). It is obvious that the means of extirpating the influence of a political enemy would be state’s instruments of coercion (Paine, 2000). Karl Marx In the same vein, Machiavelli would find the Marxist ideologies propounded by Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto agreeable since: through Karl Marx’s teachings on the Class Consciousness and Antagonism, Marx explains on how the political elite, the bourgeoisie, exploits by using the state instruments and state forces, the working class (the proletariat) with the two dominant aims of: consolidating political power and ensuring profit maximization from the proletariats (Marx and Engels, 1955). This well agrees with Machiavelli’s political ideology of â€Å"The ends justifying the means†- a maxim Karl Marx crafts to buttress his argument that a ruler must use all means possible to seize and consolidate power, the killing of foes and friends alike, being inclusive of these means. Adolph Hitler Similarly, some ideas propounded by Hitler in his writings, Mein Kampf would be acceptable before Karl Marx. Hitler (1986) is reported as having posited that since the masses are always trivial and less smart, a leader should be one who is calculating, not having qualms to employ propaganda on the masses to achieve a political feat. This still underscores Machiavelli’s idea of the ends justifying the means. Similarly, Machiavelli espouses deeply the use of trickery (propaganda) to maintain power. Hitler’s plans to create more room (Lebensraum) for Germans by entering treaties with UK and Russia as an artifice to help in the recapturing of the Germany’s lost tracts of land confirms Machiavelli’s ideas that a leader must be calculating and very cunning. The cunningness behind this proposed Russia, Germany and UK treaty is that the provision would ward off Germany from the exhaustion of fighting concurrently both in the East and West (Manheim and Hitler, 1969). Franklin D. Roosevelt To a larger extent, Roosevelt’s postulations that are revealed in his inaugural speech that saw his transition from a New York governor to the 32nd US president would be considered as antithetical towards Machiavelli’s. The concept of political morality and stark allusions to values pervade all the spectra of Roosevelt’s speech. Roosevelt is spurred on by morality while Machiavelli on the other hand, political expedience. The only point Machiavelli would accept Roosevelt’s propositions is the fact that Roosevelt saw the need of broad executive powers being vested on the head of the executive in order to allow the occupant of this office deal with an invading foreign foe (Polenberg, 2000). Machiavelli talks of all the instruments at the disposal of the ruler being used to quash ruthlessly an enemy. Conclusion Nevertheless, it is important to consider that although comparing one’s political philosophy to another for scholarly proposes may remain as expedient, yet, any political philosophy has the merit to exist in its own right, provided the philosophy in picture captures the true identity of the state. It is by this virtue that al these philosophies which were advanced by Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, Adolph Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt were considered as legitimate in the eyes of respective citizens.

The Competitive Advantage of Ikea

DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT The Competitive Advantage of IKEA and IKEA in China Zhi Li June 2010 Master’s Thesis in Logistics and Innovation Management Master of Science in Logistics and Innovation Management Supervisor: Lars Steiner Abstract Title: Author: Supervisor: Purpose: The competitive advantage of IKEA and IKEA in China Zhi Li Lars Steiner The main purpose of this master thesis is to describe the IKEA concept and discuss the application in China.After research the history of IKEA, interview with the manager of IKEA store, and find the information from the web and thesis, use the theory of competitive advantage to describe the IKEA concept and the competitive advantage which is the way that IKEA used to get the success. Secondly, discuss the application in China and give IKEA the suggestions to develop the competitive advantage in China market. Methods: Because IKEA is not a public company, I cannot get too much data.I browsed the official website of IKEA to get much information about the introduction of IKEA’ corporate culture, strategies, copartner, history and the data of IKEA financial and work group. I find some English and Chinese books, thesis and reports try to find more data and more good ideas of Chinese scholars. Visit and observe the IKEA store and note my questions. I tried to have an interview with IKEA store in china, but failed. Fortunately, I got an interview with Hans Karlsson which is the logics manager of IKEA store in Gavle.He explained the competitive strategy of logistics, the competitive advantage about IKEA and the next step IKEA may do in china. Try to analysis the different culture and other problem that IKEA have to face. Analyze all the data and the idea I have got and use the theory of Michael Porter to finish this thesis. IKEA should have many innovations to adapt to the China market. â€Å"At IKEA our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea suppor ts this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. (Our vision and business idea, http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/our_busine ss_idea/index. html) It seems not achieved in China market yet. Firstly, IKEA should have greater cooperation with local suppliers to get more competitive advantage of cost leadership. Secondly, according 1 Conclusions: to the specialty of China market, IKEA should have some more adjustment to satisfy so many China picky customers. Thirdly, IKEA should intensify propaganda work to let more customers understand and accommodate the IKEA model. As an outcomer, there is a long way to be the winner in this huge and potential market.After a long time to research the China market, IKEA already understand the China market more than before. With accelerating the speed of expand, the success of IKEA in China market is only the p roblem of time. Key words: IKEA, competitive advantage, IKEA model, China market 2 Contents page 1. Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 1. 1. Background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1. 2. Purpose †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 1. 3 . Research question†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1. 4. Structure of the thesis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 2. Theoretical framework †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 2. 1.The five competitive forces that determine industry profitability †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 8 2. 1. 1. Bargaining power of supplie rs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 2. 1. 2. Bargaining power of customers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 2. 1. 3. Threat of new entrants †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 2. 1. 4. Threat of substitute products †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 0 2. 1. 5. Competitive rivalries within an industry †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 2. 2. Generic competitive strategies †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 2. 2. 1. Cost leadership †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 2. 2. 2. Differentiation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 2. 2. 3.Focus †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 2. 2. 4. Pursuit of more than one generic strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 3. Methodology †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 4. Findings †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 4. 1. The introduction f IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 4. 2. The history of IKEA from the web of IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 16 4. 2. 1. 1920 †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 4. 2. 2. 1940s-1950s†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 16 4. 2. 3. 1960s-197 0s†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 4. 2. 4. 1980s †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 4. 2. 5. 1990s †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17 4. 2. 6. 2000s †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 18 4. 3. The data from the web of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 4. 4.The information from interview †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 19 3 4. 4. 1. The logics process of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19 4. 4. 2. The market segment †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 22 4. 4. 3. The logistics strategy all over the world†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 22 4. 4. 4. The China market †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 4. 4. 5. The next step that IKEA can do to increase the competitive advantage especially in logistics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 4. 4. 6. The competitor of IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 4. 4. 7. The uniform of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 23 4. 5. The compare with the competitor of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 4. 6. The situation of IKEA in China at this stage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 4. 6. 1. The reason of the price problem †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 4. 6. 2. The substance of the IKEA dilemma in China †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 24 4. 6. 3. The reason that the speed of IKEA develop slower than the competitor †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 24 4. 6. 4. The challenge and the innovation of IKEA in China †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 25 4. 6. 5.The disadvantage of IKEA in China†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 4. 6. 6. The model of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 25 5. Discussion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 25 5. 1. The competitive advantage model of IKEA †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 25 5. 2. The three ways used to increase the competitive advantage †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 26 5. 2. 1.Overall cost leadership †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 26 5. 2. 2. Differentiation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 27 5. 2. 3. Focus †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 27 5. 2. 4. Pursuit of more than one generic strategy †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 27 5. 3. The suggestion for IKEA in China †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 5. 3. 1. The advertisement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 28 5. 3. 2. The company culture †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 28 5. 3. 3. The cooperation of local supplier †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 28 5. 3. 4. The environment-friendly products †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 29 5. 3. 5. Flexible strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 6. Conclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 29 4 Reference†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 31 Appendix †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 32 5 1. Introduct ion The purpose of this chapter is introduction the background of IKEA, the purpose, the research questions. 1. 1.Background â€Å"The IKEA Concept is based on offering a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Rather than selling expensive home furnishings that only a few can buy, the IKEA Concept makes it possible to serve the many by providing low-priced products that contribute to helping more people live a better life at home. †(http://franchisor. ikea. com/showContent. asp? swfId=concept2). The IKEA Concept guides the way IKEA products are designed, manufactured, transported, sold and assembled.All of these factors contribute to transforming the IKEA Concept into a reality. In the booklet â€Å"the future is filled with opportunities†, Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, says that:† IKEA does not just want to win your brain. IKEA also wants to win your he art. † No matter whom you are, formal education or informal education, a worker or a manager, you can find IKEA is a place which is full of opportunities. â€Å"It is up to you† is a common expression in IKEA. (Salzer, 1994) IKEA starts the furniture business in the 1940s. From a small company become to a world famous transnational corporation, the development speed of IKEA is very fast.According to the â€Å"IKEA at a glance- financial year 2009†, the IKEA trademark represents the leading home furnishings brand in the world with more than 300 stores in more than 35 countries, more than 15,000 co-workers and 46 production units. They sold totaled 21. 5 billion Euros at 2009. (http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/pdf/FF09_GB. pdf, 2010-5-29). How does IKEA develop quickly and keep strong competition in the furniture industry? That makes me have strong interesting about IKEA. With China join the WTO, more and more foreign companies entered China market. IKEA e ntered the China market in 1998.Recently the biggest IKEA store in Asia opened in Shenyang. But there are only 12 stores in China now. Compared with other foreign furniture companies, the development speed of IKEA is seems too slow in China. On the other hand, China is already become to the biggest purchasing country which is about 20%. But the sales per region are only 5% in Asia and Australia. What is the problem IKEA have in China? What should IKEA change in China? I will use theory of competitive advantage to find the reason why IKEA can get the success. Because the IKEA is not a public company, I cannot find too much data. So I 6 have to research the model of IKEA.I tried to have an interview with the manager of IKEA store in China to know the situation and the future plan of IKEA. Unfortunately, they did not have time. I tried to connect with the manager of IKEA in Gave. Luckily, the logics manager Hans Karlsson gave me a chance to have the interview. So we meet at 2010-05-21. He introduced the logics process of IKEA and answered some questions I have. But he cannot give me the data either. I browsed the website of IKEA, and read many books, journeys, even newspaper report to find the data, the introduction of IKEA model, and the opinions of foreign and Chinese scholar about IKEA.The research of this thesis contains the history of IKEA in Sweden, the IKEA concept, international expansion periods. Then I find out what IKEA should change in the future to adapt the China market better. 1. 2. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to describe the IKEA concept and discuss the application in China. After research the history of IKEA, interview with the manager of IKEA store, and find the data from the web and the thesis, using the theory of competitive advantage explain the advantage, disadvantage, and situation of IKEA.According to the special situation of China market and Analysis the different opinions of IKEA, discuss how to develop the concept of IKEA to k eep the competitive advantage of IKEA in China market. Finally, get the experience to these foreign companies which want to enter China market and these Chinese foreign companies which are still in the early stage. 1. 3. Research question As the topics of this thesis are competitive advantage of IKEA and IKEA in China. After collect and analysis the information I got, these research questions will be solved.A, what is the competitive advantage of IKEA? B, what is the problem that IKEA have in China market? C, what is the next step IKEA should do to increase the competitive advantage in China market? 1. 4. Structure of the thesis The structure of this thesis is as the follow steps: 7 Chapter 1- introduction This chapter is to introduce the background of IKEA, the research purpose, the research question and the structure of this thesis Chapter 2- theoretical framework This chapter is to introduce the theory of competitive advantage which we will be used.There are including â€Å"the five competitive forces that determine industry profitability† and â€Å"generic competitive strategies†. Chapter 3-methodology This chapter is to describe the process that I find the question and use the methodology to solve the question. Chapter 4-finding This chapter is to introduce the information I collected. There are including the history of IKEA, the data from the web of IKEA, the information from interview and the opinions from other thesis. Chapter 5-discussion This chapter is use the theory and the finding to analysis the competitive advantage model of IKEA and discuss the three ways sed to increase the competitive advantage. Then, finds out the reason that helps IKEA get success. Chapter 6- conclusion According to the situation of China market, finds out the disadvantage of IKEA in China and gets the suggestions. 2. Theoretical framework The purpose of this chapter is to do the literature review of the five competitive forces the determine industry profitabi lity and the generic competitive strategies. 2. 1. The five competitive forces that determine industry profitability â€Å"The first fundamental determinant of a firm’s profitability is industry attractiveness.In any industry, whether it is domestic or international or produces a product or a service, the rules of competition are embodied in five competitive forces: the entry of new competitors, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers, and the rivalry among the existing competitors. †(Porter, 2008) The collective strength of these five competitive forces determines industry 8 profitability. Figure 1: the five forces that shape industry competition http://sites. google. com/site/greenlightgocoaching/news 2. 1. 1.Bargaining power of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is also described as the market of inputs. The suppliers influence the profitability and product competitiveness by increasing the price of input s elements and reducing the unit quality value. The bargaining power of suppliers is depend on the inputs elements. When the inputs elements is big part of total cost, the inputs elements is very important in the product process or influence the quality of buyer product, the suppliers have strong bargaining power. (Porter, 2008) 2. 1. 2. Bargaining power of customers The bargaining power of customers is lso described as the market of outputs: the ability of customers put the firm under pressure, which also affects the customer's 9 sensitivity to price changes. The customers influence the profitability by asking for low price, good quality and service. (Porter, 2008) 2. 1. 3. Threat of new entrants When the balance of supply and demand is imbalance, the new entrants will be attracted by high returns of the profitable market. New entrants not only bring new technology and resource, but also reduce the profitability of all companies in this industry. (Porter, 2008) 2. . 4. Threat of su bstitute products Because the products could substitute, two companies which are in same industry or in different industries may compete with each other. Firstly, the profitability could be reduced by the substitute products. Secondly, because of the substitute products, companies have to improve the quality, reduce the cost and price, or make product more features. (Porter, 2008) 2. 1. 5. Competitive rivalries within an industry For most industries, the intensity of competitive rivalry is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry.Competitive rivalry is likely to be based on dimensions such as price, quality, and innovation. Technological advances protect companies from competition. This applies to products and services. Companies that are successful with introducing new technology are able to charge higher prices and achieve higher profits, until competitors imitate them. (Porter, 2008) 2. 2. Generic competitive strategies â€Å"Though a firm can have a myriad o f strengths and weaknesses compared with its competitors, there are two basic types of competitive advantage a firm can possess: low cost or differentiation. (Porter, 1985) The two basic types of competitive advantage influence the five competitive forces that determine industry profitability. â€Å"The two basic types of competitive advantage combined with the scope of activities for which a firm seeks to achieve them lead to three generic strategies for achieving above-average performance in an industry: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. The focus strategy has two variants, cost focus and differentiation focus. â€Å"(Porter, 1985) 10Figure 2: three generic competitive strategies Each of the generic strategies involves different route and target to competitive advantage, â€Å"The cost leadership and differentiation strategies seek competitive advantage in a broad range of industry segments, while focus strategies aim at cost advantage (cost focus) or differentiation (differentiation focus) in a narrow segment. † (Porter, 1985) 2. 2. 1. Cost leadership Cost leadership is the clearest of the three generic strategies. In this strategy, firm should try their best to reduce the cost. If a firm can achieve and sustain overall cost leadership, then it will be an above-average performer in its industry provided it can command prices at or near the industry average. At equivalent or lower prices than its rivals, a cost leader’ low-cost position translates in to higher returns. A cost leader, however, cannot ignore the bases of differentiation. If its product is not perceived as comparable of acceptable by buyers, a cost leader will be forced to discount prices well below competitors’ to gain sales. This may nullify the benefits of its favorable cost position. (Porter, 1985) if customers think the product is not good as the product of competitor, the firm has to reduce the price. The firm can get high profitability until a cost leade r gets the cost leadership parity in the bases of differentiation. 11 2. 2. 2. Differentiation The second generic strategy is differentiation. â€Å"In a differentiation strategy, a firm seeks to be unique in its industry along some dimensions that are widely valued by buyers. It selects one or more attributes that many buyers in an industry perceive as important, and uniquely positions itself to meet those needs.It is rewarded for its uniqueness with a premium price. The means for differentiation is peculiar to each industry. Differentiation is based on the product itself, the delivery system by which it is sold, the marketing approach, and a broad range of other factors. † (Porter, 1985) If the extra cost for differentiation is less than the premiums price, the firm which has the competitive advantage of differentiation can get better profitability than other firms in the industry. Because the extra cost for differentiation is the disadvantage of the differentiation, the fi rm cannot ignore the cost position.So, only based on the price is almost the same as competitor, the differentiator could get the high profitability. 2. 2. 3. Focus The third generic strategy is focus. â€Å"This strategy is quite different from the others because it rests on the choice of a narrow competitive scope within an industry. The focuser selects a segment or group of segment in the industry and tailors its strategy to serving them to the exclusion of others. By optimizing its strategy for the target segments, the focuser seeks to achieve a competitive advantage in its target segments even though it does not possess a competitive advantage overall.The focus strategy has two variants. In cost focus a firm seeks a cost advantage in its target segment, while in differentiation focus a firm seeks differentiation in its target segment. â€Å"(Porter, 1985) The firm can focus the time, the resource and the money on the segment to get the competitive advantage. If the firm can g et the competitive advantage of cost leadership or differentiation in its target segment, the firm could provide customer the better service and meet the special requirement. Because of the different requirements of customer, there are always many segments in one industry. . 2. 4. Pursuit of more than one generic strategy Each generic strategy is different way to create and sustain competitive advantage. Usually a firm has to choice one of them or it will become stuck in the middle. â€Å"The benefits of optimizing the firm’s strategy for a particular target segment (focus) cannot be gained if a firm is simultaneously serving a broad range of segments (cost 12 leadership or differentiation). Achieving cost leadership and differentiation are also usually inconsistent, because differentiation is usually costly.Conversely, cost leadership often requires a firm to forego some differentiation by standardizing its product, reducing marketing overhead, and the like. † (Porter , 1985) If a firm can use the strategies flexible, like use more than one strategy at the same time, this firm will get a great competitive advantage and market share. 3. Methodology Before I went abroad, I know many worlds’ Fortune 500 companies. All of them have the secret of success, like Coca-Cola have the unique recipe, the Volvo famous for the safety of the car and so on.But I never heard the IKEA before. When I started to study in Gavle, I want to buy some cheap articles for daily use, everyone told me to IKEA. Not only that, when I travelled in Europe, I found I can find the IKEA store almost in every city. Why IKEA is so popular? What is the secret of success? And why I never saw IKEA store in China? Does IKEA do not want have the market of China or IKEA is in a dilemma in China market? These questions attracted me so deeply. After I browsed the web of IKEA, I got some information of IKEA.The concept of IKEA is based on a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them and to helping more people live a better life at home. Simply, the target customer is everyone. The strategy is low price. And they use many ways to achieve the aim of low price like flat packs and self-assembly furniture. I noticed that the China had already become the biggest purchasing country which is about20%. On the contrary, the sale per region in Asia and Australia is only5%.IKEA have 192 stores in Europe, 12 stores in Russia, 48 stores in North America, but only 12 stores in China & Japan. (Source: financial year 2009 of IKEA) From the first IKEA store opened in China in 1998 to now, IKEA only open 8 stores in 10 years. The speed is much slower than other foreign furniture companies like British B which already had 38 stores in China. The strategy of IKEA is low price, but the China is already became the world factory and the logo â€Å"made in China† is became to the syn onymous with low price.After read some thesis and report about IKEA written by Chinese scholar, I find the price is too high to Chinese people because of the exchange rate. The concept of IKEA is providing most people low price furniture to help them have a better life at home, but most Chinese people cannot afford the price now. So I think IKEA must be in a dilemma in China. Then I wrote a these named â€Å"the dilemma of IKEA in China and ‘made in China’†. I wanted to analysis the situation of IKEA and suggest IKEA increase the number of purchasing from China to reduce the cost of goods. 3 When I discussed with my professor Lars Steiner, he have a different opinion. He asked me maybe IKEA do not want let most Chinese people afford the price, and maybe IKEA just want China to be a good purchasing base. That question really puzzled me a long time. Indeed, IKEA could treat China as a good purchasing base. Because the situation of China market is special, the chang e to adapt the China market may affect the global strategy of IKEA, even affect the earning performance. Data observed, experienced or recorded closest to the event, are the nearest one can get to the truth, distortions inevitably occur as the proximity to the event decreases† (Walliman,2005) So I want to have an interview with the manager of IKEA to get the further understanding. Because I want to research the China market of IKEA, I wrote e-mail to the customer service of IKEA store in Beijing and Shanghai. They replied me that thank me write the letter to them; they already send my e-mail to the manager and let me wait the reply of manager.After two month waiting, I received nothing. So I have to give up. After that, I try to write e-mail to the customer service of IKEA store in Gavle. Similarly, they replied me that thank me write the letter to them and let me to wait for the reply. Fortunately, Hans Karlsson which is the logics manager of IKEA store in Gavle told me I can get a chance to have an interview with him and he is very glad to help me. So I hurried to prepared the interview questions and get suggestions from my professor Lars Steiner.We meet each other in staff office of Gavle IKEA store on 2010-05-21. The first sentence of Mr. Karlsson is very sorry he cannot tell me too much data about IKEA because IKEA is not a public company. He introduced the history of IKEA, the concept of IKEA, the competitive strategy of logistics which is the most important way to keep the low price, the strategy of market segmentation, the situation of IKEA in China, explaining some good examples according to the model of competitive advantage, analyzing the next step which IKEA will do to adapt the problem of China market.IKEA is a world famous company and an example of success, but there are not too much theses and books to research IKEA, especially about IKEA in China market. Even I have a further understanding about IKEA though this interview, I still think i t is not enough to explain the situation of IKEA in China. Because Mr. karlsson is the manager of IKEA and China market is not one part of his job, he maybe just tell me the good side of IKEA and the opinion about China market is too one-sided. I think I also should refer to other people’s opinions which have suggestions to IKEA and deeper understanding of China market.That will be having a complete understanding about IKEA in China. So I ask help to my friend Guanying Liu which is studying the master of international economics in Shenzhen University. Unfortunately, she does not know too much about IKEA, but she provided me some theses and reports from the data library of her university. I collected the data, opinions and suggestions from these materials. After that, I found even these materials is not too much, I can get a general idea about the situation, the problem and the suggestions of IKEA in China.That make me have a more complete knowledge about the questions I want to research. 14 After the data-gathering process, I read the â€Å"The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy† and â€Å"Competitive advantage† written by Michael Porter who is one of the most influential management experts in the world today. These theories in these books are very good tools to help a company to get the competitive advantage to extending volume growth. I use these theories in these books to analysis these data I collected. I find the success of IKEA is not got by lucky.The model of IKEA is a very good example to improve Michael Porter’s theories. These methods of IKEA used could learn by other companies, especially these Chinese companies which are still at an early stage. 4. Findings In this chapter, I will introduce the findings from the web, the history of IKEA, the information from interview. 4. 1. The introduction of IKEA Figure 3(http://cache. gizmodo. com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/08/ikea. jpg) IKEA is one of the world famous furni ture companies. It was founded in 1943. As a 15 and which is one of Sweden band which have good unique style and brand image, IKEA band constantly strives to provide customers with the furniture which is pyretic, beautiful and practical, people can afford the household articles for use. 4. 2. The history of IKEA from the web of IKEA The IKEA story begins in 1926 when founder Ingvar Kamprad is born in Smaland in southern Sweden. He is raised on ‘Elmtaryd', a farm near the small village of Agunnaryd. Even as a young boy Ingvar knows he wants to develop a business. 4. 2. 1. 920 At the age of five Ingvar Kamprad starts selling matches to his nearby neighbors and by the time he is seven, he starts selling further afield, using his bicycle. He finds that he can buy matches in bulk cheaply in Stockholm and re-sell them individually at a very low price but still make a good profit. From matches he expands to selling flower seeds, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, and later p encils and ball-point pens. 4. 2. 2. 1940s-1950s The root of a furniture dealer Ingvar Kamprad is entrepreneurial in developing IKEA into a furniture retailer.This period sees the exploration of furniture design, self assembly, advertising, the use of a catalog and a showroom to reach the many people. Table 1: 1940s-1950s In 1951 IKEA founder sees the opportunity to sell furniture on a larger scale using a catalog. The IKEA catalog that we know today is born. In 1953 Furniture showroom opens in Almhult, Sweden, This is an important moment in the development of the IKEA concept – for the first time customers can see and touch IKEA home furnishings before ordering them. The innovation is a success; people wisely choose the products with the best value for money.In 1955 They start to think about the flat package 16 4. 2. 3. 1960s-1970s The IKEA concept starts to take shape. Table 2:1960s-1970 In 1960 The first IKEA restaurant opens in the IKEA store in Almhult, Sweden. In 1961 I KEA begins quality testing its products using Swedish testing standards. In 1962 Marian Grabinski designs the MTP bookcase. Developing this and other wooden products develops strong relationships between IKEA and Polish suppliers during the 1960s. These relationships continue today and are an important reason for IKEA maintaining low prices so that the many people can afford them.In 1965 The store's success leads to the opening of a self-serve warehouse – an important part of the IKEA concept is born. Additionally, Accenten is opened, where customers can buy quality cooking items at a low price. In 1976 Ingvar Kamprad writes The Testament of a Furniture Dealer and in 1976 it is published – it documents IKEA's vision and business idea and has a strong influence on the development and vitality of IKEA's culture. 4. 2. 4. 1980s IKEA expands dramatically into new markets such as USA, Italy, France and the UK. More IKEA classics arrive such as KLIPPAN, LACK and MOMENT.IKEA begins to take the form of today's modern IKEA. Table 3:1980s In 1982 The IKEA Group is formed and its owner is a foundation, the Stitchting INGKA Foundation, which is based in the Netherlands. In 1984 IKEA FAMILY, the new customer club, is launched. Today, IKEA FAMILY is in 16 countries (over 167 stores) and has about 15 million members. The IKEA catalog print run expands to 45 million copies, in nine languages. In 1985 IKEA now has 10,000 co-workers and 60 stores in the IKEA Group. 4. 2. 5. 1990s IKEA grows even more. Children's IKEA is introduced and the focus is on home 17 urnishing solutions to meet the needs of families with children. The IKEA Group is formed and responsibility for people and the environment is seen as a prerequisite for doing good business. Table 4: 1990s In 1991 IKEA acquires its own sawmills and production plants and establishes the industrial group Swedwood to produce wood-based furniture and wooden components. In 1997 Children's IKEA is launched. IKEA dec ides to develop a range specifically for children. In 1998 IKEA arrives in China. The first IKEA store opens in Shanghai. In 1999 The IKEA group grows to 50,000 co-workers and has 158 stores in 29 countries.On IKEA have the Big Thank You event. The total of all sales on this special October day, worldwide, is divided among all co-workers – in total about 84. 85 9, 1999 million Euros. It is a great way to thank hard-working IKEA co-workers for contributing to the company's ongoing success. 4. 2. 6. 2000s IKEA expands into even more markets such as Japan and Russia. Everything for the bedroom and kitchen is explored and presented in co-ordinate furnishing solutions. This period also sees the successes of several partnerships regarding social and environmental projects.Table 5:2000s In 2000 The code of conduct called The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products (IWAY) is launched. It defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA expects from its supp liers in terms of legal requirements, working conditions, active prevention of child labor, external environment and forestry management. In addition to this, IKEA also introduces The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor to ensure that no child labor is used by suppliers or their sub-contractors. Child rights project in India. E-shopping is launched in Sweden and Denmark.Since then many other markets have started offering online shopping at IKEA. In 2001 The IKEA Group trials running its own rail operations through IKEA Rail AB. The use of rail continues to be an important part of the IKEA strategy to promote sustainable transportation of IKEA material and products. A new product-recovery concept is implemented in more than 100 IKEA stores in Europe to ensure that returned products are, where possible, 18 In 2002 In 2005 In 2006 repaired instead of being wasted. Everything for the bedroom under one roof.IKEA customers help children in need The IKEA Group exceeds 100,000 co-workers and operates in 44 countries. 4. 3. The data from the web of IKEA The IKEA opened 15 new stores at 2008 and in august 2009 had 267 stores, which welcomed a total of 590 million visitors during the year. A further 34 stores are owned and run by franchisees outside the IKEA group. IKEA group sales totaled 21. 5 billion Euros. IKEA food services reported sales of 1. 03 billion Euros. The IKEA group had 31 trading service offices in 26 countries, and 28 distribution centres and 11 customer distribution centres in 16 countries.The swedwood group, the IKEA industrial group had 15,000 co-workers and 46 production units. (source: IKEA at a glance- financial year 2009) Table 6: the top 5 selling and supplier countries IKEA Germany The United States (10%) China (22% ) Poland (16% ) Italy (8%) Sweden (6 % ) Germany ( 6% ) Britain ( 9% ) France (9% ) Sweden ( 7% ) selling TOP (16%) 5 countries IKEA TOP 5 supplier countries (http://www. cnstock. com/paper_new//html/2007-07/20/content_57549571. htm) 4. 4. The information from interview In this chapter, I will introduce the information from the interview with Mr. Karlsson on 2010-05-21 at Gavle IKEA store. . 4. 1. The logics process of IKEA Mr. Karlsson introduced the logics process of IKEA. The following pictures show the process. There are four main parts in the logics process: supplier (factory), distribution centre (warehouse), store, the customer. 19 Supplier (factory): IKEA focus their force to the design. At this step, they consider the low price when they design new product. And then IKEA try to find the supplier all over the world according to many factor like the geographic position, the price, the quality and so on. Distribution centre (warehouse): IKEA has 28 distribution centres in 16 countries.These distribution centres use the same computer system. They collect the information about the sales volume of every product, the quantity of inventory, and so on. The distribution centre control the goods between factory a nd store, even sometime they package the goods which from different factories. The distribution centre also is the warehouse of this area. For example, the distribution centre in shanghai is the biggest distribution centre in Asia. They always gather the goods from all over the world to here. And then they send the different number of goods to every store in Asia according to the sales volume.The high efficiency of logics is the biggest strategy is a good way to keep the low price. Store: there are two part of IKEA store: open hall and warehouse. In the display hall, customer can get the complete information about the product. Through the open hall, IKEA show its function of products, quality and low price to customer furniture with the three-dimensional way. After the customer decided the product they want to buy, they can go to the warehouse to take the unopened product. There are not too much shop assistants in the store, which is a good way to reduce the operating expenses of st ore and keep the low price.Customer: after the customer brought the goods, they transport the goods by themselves. That is a way to reduce the cost of transport and keep the low price. There are 3 ways which IKEA used in logics process: 1, the DC delivery Figure 4: the DC delivery process In this process, they transport the goods from the factory to the distribution centre all over the world. Then according the condition of demand, they transport the goods to different stores. After the customers buy goods from the store, the store collect the information and send the information to the distribution centre.After analysis the information, IKEA send the new order to the factory. That is a loop. This way is the most common way IKEA used now. 2, the transit delivery 20 Figure 5: the transit delivery process Sometime, the goods are not produced by one factory. These goods need produced different parts by more than two factories and maybe these factories are in different countries. At thi s situation, they transport all parts of the goods from these factories to the distribution centre. They package these parts to a complete one in the distribution centre and then transport the goods to the store.The rest logics process is same like the normal way. 3, the direct delivery Figure 6: the direct delivery process This way is a special and high efficiency way. In this process, the goods do not need to transport to the distribution centre. The goods are directly delivered to the stores. So, they can save the cost of one time transport. And also this way can increase the use ratio of the warehouse. Mr. Karlsson told me this way of direct delivery is less than 50% in the total logics process and IKEA wish to increase the rate of this way to reduce the cost of transport.Actually, there are so many kinds of goods in IKEA and there are so many suppliers 21 and stores in all over the world. The process of logics is much more complicated than these pictures. 4. 4. 2. The market se gment The target customer of IKEA is everybody. So the market segment is a very important part of IKEA strategy. After visited the IKEA store, I think the market segment of IKEA is the different part of house, like the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom. Actually, the market segment is according to the â€Å"life situation†. The life situation creates the need of the home furniture.IKEA do not select the customer, IKEA just select the offer from the life situation. For example, I am a student. I need the bookshelf, desk and I do not need the kitchen because I do not live in my own place now. But after 10 years, the need of life situation will change. I will need other things. The most important point is that I am always the target customer even in different ages. And IKEA always provide customers the things they need. I think that is a good method that IKEA used to service the customers and win the hearts of the customers. Even there are so many products in IKEA.Not all of th e stores have the same goods. According to the local situation, IKEA adjust the goods in IKEA store. For example, there are not too much students in Gavel, so there will be less products for students than other IKEA store like the IKEA store in Stockholm or Linkoping. That is a good way to increase the use ratio of the store and the warehouse, and also minimize the cargo backlog. 4. 4. 3. The logistics strategy all over the world When I start to research the IKEA, I have a question whether the goods in IKEA store are the same price.So I compare the price of the same kind of good on the web of IKEA store in different countries. I found the price is almost the same. So I thought IKEA use the same logistics strategy all over the world. The exchange rate between RMB with Euro is the biggest reason that Chinese customer cannot afford the price of IKEA goods. But Mr. Karlsson told me that the logistics strategy of IKEA have difference between different country. The price of goods is decid ed by the cost of all of the process. The different place has the different cost, just like the big deal of McDonald, it will changed by different request of customer. . 4. 4. The China market Mr. Karlsson thinks the China market is huge potential. At the moment and in the future, IKEA will find more business opportunities include the supplier and the 22 market. IKEA is always changing. So the situation of IKEA in China will be better. For the question â€Å"do you think increase the purchasing quantity in China can reduce the cost and increase the competitive advantage? † Mr. Karlsson has the different opinion: he thinks the price is decided by the cost in the total produce and transport process.With the development of the China economy, China market seems not the cheapest place any more. 4. 4. 5. The next step that IKEA can do to increase the competitive advantage especially in logistics Mr. Karlsson think IKEA will continue to use and work with the concept of IKEA. There s till have many places they can do to increase the competitive advantage, like increase the direct delivery, use more train and so on. 4. 4. 6. The competitor of IKEA Mr. Karlsson thinks the IKEA is already an international company and IKEA is growing. So at the present time, the competitor of IKEA is not the international competitor.With the development of IKEA, the competitor of IKEA is the local competitor. Sometimes, the local competitors copy the good idea or counterfeit the goods of IKEA. To this situation, the important way IKEA used is the low price. IKEA get the lower price though the large-scale procurement. Low price, good quality, knight service and new design methodology or technology help IKEA occupied the market quickly. 4. 4. 7. The uniform of IKEA When I have the interview with Mr. Karlsson, I noticed that everybody ware the same uniform in the office.So you cannot distinguish who is the manager and who is the normal employee. And Mr. Karlsson told me IKEA not only s ervice the customer but also provide a comfortable environment for their employees. 4. 5. The compare with the competitor of IKEA After I research the data from the internet, I get a form about the competitor of IKEA 23 Table 7 The foreign furniture company Sweden IKEA British â€Å"B&Q† American Home Depot The time and the place of the first The number of store store in China now 1998 shanghai 8 1999 shanghai 50 At the end of 2006 successfully 12 purchased 12 stores in China. . 6. The situation of IKEA in China at this stage This chapter is to introduce some Chinese scholars’ opinions about the situation of IKEA. Chinese scholars could understand China market more clearly. So, I think their opinions could let me get deeper understand about IKEA in China at this stage. 4. 6. 1. The reason of the price problem There are 3 reasons that make the concept of IKEA change: a, the competitive advantage of low price is not clear and the price is always too high to customer. B, the challenge of high exchange rate make IKEA cannot have the same price in global.C, IKEA seems have the strategy of the high-grade brand positioning in China. (Sa Wang and Licheng zhang, 2008) 4. 6. 2. The substance of the IKEA dilemma in China The substance of the IKEA dilemma in China is which one is more important between localization and standardization. One side, IKEA use the standardization to run the China market. On the other side, IKEA the strategy of IKEA in China does not give full consideration to standardization. That makes strategy of IKEA do not have a good effect in China market. (Xiaofei Zhao, 2005) 4. 6. 3.The reason that the speed of IKEA develop slower than the competitor The IKEA stores in China are just the image shops. From 1998 to 2005, IKEA open 2 stores in China. These stores are used to collect the information and cultivate customer spending habits. From 2005 to now, IKEA enters to the acceleration stage. IKEA is developing in its own rhythm. (Chunhua He , 2009) 24 4. 6. 4. The challenge and the innovation of IKEA in China The challenge: A, IKEA is the â€Å"later comer†. Compared with other competitor, the speed of development is later. B, IKEA is the â€Å"Mr. Misunderstanding†.Because of the high price, the paradise of wage earners becomes to the place of high income bracket. C, IKEA is the â€Å"outcomer†. The Chinese customers still do not adapt the management style of Northern Europe. The innovation: A, IKEA changes the place of store from suburbs to prosperous areas. B, increase the number of service staffs C, increase the way of advertising (Benshun Cui 2003) 4. 6. 5. The disadvantage of IKEA in China A, do not provide the free transport service and free install service B, IKEA always buy land and build the store by them. This way is not only need a long time but also need too much money. Xiaofei Zhao, 2005) 4. 6. 6. The model of IKEA The model of IKEA could be generalized as a whole: one core, two strat egies, three marketing, and four fulcrums One core: insist on â€Å"Recreational Shopping† Two strategies: a, low price b, the model of chain operating Three marketing: a, transparent promotion b, Catalog c, one-stop shop for marketing Four fulcrums: a, cost control b, brand control c, management control d, and image control (Daqian Li, 2005) 5. Discussion 5. 1. The competitive advantage model of IKEA After the long time research, there is so much knowledge about IKEA.From the web, the interview, and especially follow the history of IKEA, we can find many methods which IKEA used to improve the competitive advantage. According to the theory of â€Å"competitive advantage†, I summarize these methods in to the table 8. 25 Table 8: the competitive advantage model of IKEA The five competitive The methods IKEA used forces that determine industry profitability Bargaining power of 1, looking for the suppliers from all over the world suppliers 2, cooperating with more than one suppliers 3,†IWAY† defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA requires from its suppliers.Bargaining power of 1, low price customers 2,good quality 3, good service 4, high quality of design 5, wide varieties Threat of new 1, â€Å"Catalog† is a good way to advertise entrants 2, the scale effect 3, high-efficiently of logics 4, develop new products Threat of substitute A special team develops new products, updating technology, products promoting technological development Competitive rivalry 1, using the scale effect to get the low price 2, improving the public image within an industry 3, the model of chain operating 5. 2.The three ways used to increase the competitive advantage As a world famous furniture company, the secret of success behind IKEA is the strategy. 5. 2. 1. Overall cost leadership The strategy of overall cost leadership is always the IKEA’s biggest aim. We can find the history of IKEA is also the history of looking fo r low price. We can find IKEA try to find the low price at every part of the process. For example, before they design a product, they already confirm the price. They use â€Å"flat-package† to reduce the cost of transport. They reduce the staff in store to reduce the cost of store.They also use the scale effect to purchase goods from all over the world. 26 5. 2. 2. Differentiation Today's IKEA range consists of 9,500 home furnishing articles, designed to be functional and good looking but at a low price. You can find almost everything you need in IKEA. Both romantics and liberals can find the style they like. Customers need the goods low price and good quality. Low price or good quality is easy to achieve, but it is not easy to get both of them. At start, IKEA chose a different way which is stand on the side of everybody. IKEA also take children to their customer, and the spirit f care for children really wins many customers’ heart. IKEA also does a good job in environ ment protection. 5. 2. 3. Focus There are three main part of IKEA: IKEA office, home storage, Children’s IKEA. The target customer is everybody. According to the â€Å"life system†, they segment the market to many parts. That will be better meet the requirement of different customers. Especially the new design for child, it helps IKEA win many hearts from the customers. 5. 2. 4. Pursuit of more than one generic strategy Even these 3 strategies are interacting and affect to each other, IKEA use these strategies flexibly.That is the reason that IKEA can get much more competitive advantage than other competitors. A, cost leadership and differentiation Differentiation always needs the extra cost, and cost leadership always need company forego some differentiation by standardizing its product. The method IKEA used to solve this problem is design the price tag before design the product. They can seek the differentiation inside the price tag. The â€Å"flat-package† an d â€Å"self-assembly† not only save the cost of transport but also give the designer more room to seek the differentiation.B, cost leadership and focus If a firm services too much segment markets, it will not get the profitability of focus. IKEA use the â€Å"life system† to find out what the customer really need at different age. The people at different age need different furniture. After the segment though â€Å"life system†, the designer could understand the need of customer. So the designer could design the product which is low price and useful to the customer. This method not only segment markets very well but also can focus the resource to the cost leadership. It makes sure everything they produced is useful to people.After the research of the 27 local situation, IKEA could find out the need of local customers and change the goods in IKEA store. That could improve the use ratio of store and prevent the waste of transport. 5. 3. The suggestion for IKEA in China According to different situation, IKEA should change the strategy flexibly. 5. 3. 1. The advertisement The normal way IKEA used to advertise is the â€Å"Catalog†. If IKEA wants to get a good effect in China, IKEA should not only use the â€Å"catalog†. Because of the number population in China IKEA will find out the â€Å"Catalog† may spend a lot of money in the future.Because there are still a little stores in China, IKEA still a new name in China. If IKEA wants to open more stores in new city, IKEA should take the advertisement to the city before the store opened. 5. 3. 2. The company culture IKEA is already 60 years in Sweden. The customer already understands the company culture and the model of IKEA. Even IKEA already entered China about 11 years, Chinese customers still do not understand the model and company culture of IKEA. In the shadow of the high price, the concept which wants to improve the quality of life seems like an empty talk. IKEA need ti me to achieve the concept in China.But if the customer do not trust and support IKEA, the future of IKEA will not look good. So, the mission of IKEA right now is to advertise the spirit of IKEA to customer. Only after get the trust of customer, IKEA could have a better future in China. 5. 3. 3. The cooperation of local supplier There are 3 logics process that IKEA used. In the future, IKEA should increase the direct delivery to get more competitive advantage of cost leadership. Because China is a developing country, every technology and environmental awareness is still not complete. If IKEA want to find more cooperators in China, IKEA could provide more help to the cooperator.So IKEA can get more cooperation with the suppliers which fit the requirement of â€Å"IWAY†. Only increase the number of purchasing in China and get the scale effect, IKEA could achieve the aim that everybody can afford. 28 5. 3. 4. The environment-friendly products IKEA is a company which focuses on th e environmental protection. In China, the environmental awareness of people is not good as the Sweden people. Sometime, people will not choose the environment-friendly products because they think these products must be more expensive than normal product. If IKEA add the advantage of technology