Sana's International Business Scrapbook

Sana on the Scrapbook Assignment and International Business

For this assignment, we had to make a scrapbook with a compilation of ten articles that related to the five strands of International Business. There were other options and styles to put together the articles, but I thought an online scrapbook would be best since its like a log of current events that are affecting the world and business. I enjoyed doing this assignment because it allowed me to understand what factors influence success and how important currency exchange rates are (I never really understood business in general the way I do now), and it just made me think of the world as connected in some way. For instance, its nearly impossible for some countries in this world to do business with one another because of the big gap between their currency values, like the United States dollar and the Japanese yen. I was surprised at the amount of articles written about China, it makes me realize the country is a lot more active then I thought it was. I also enjoyed making the banner for the scrapbook, even though I could've used other symbols besides the globe and the plane. This assignment showed me that International Business as a course is about how the world is connected, and how we live making money and just helping each other out. It also taught me how things such as globalization is a good thing for places like Canada, but extremely harsh on third world countries like India and China. It amazes me how people that work so hard for so little are that happy with just being able to go to the factory everyday to work. I'm eager to find a solution, even if perfect balance impossible; for everyone to live with at least some wealth in their lives and I hope this course teaches me more about how our world works.

Article # 10 STRAND: Factors influencing Success in International Markets

Flaherty says China’s ‘export subsidy’ counters G20

protocol

KEVIN CARMICHAEL

Washington— Globe and Mail Update

Published Saturday, Oct. 09, 2010 12:50PM EDT

Last updated Saturday, Oct. 09, 2010 3:24PM EDT

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stiffened his stand against China’s practice of limiting the value of its currency, unabashedly calling the policy an “export subsidy,” while pressing for clearer international guidelines on foreign-exchange rates.

“We’ve agreed at every (Group of 20) summit from Washington, through Pittsburgh, through London, through Toronto that protectionist measures are to be avoided,” Mr. Flaherty’s told reporters in Washington Saturday. “Well, export subsidies via currency inflexibility is an export subsidy. That’s protectionism.”

“Subsidy” is one of those words used advisedly in diplomatic circles. Blatant attempts by governments to enable companies to seek a price advantage on international markets can be challenged at the World Trade Organization.

Mr. Flaherty’s tossing of protocol reflects rising tension in the global economy as more countries copy China by using policy – usually by using foreign-exchange reserves to buy dollars, but also through controls or taxes on investment flows -- to keep the values of their currencies below what the price would be if left to investors.

The House of Representatives last month passed legislation that would allow the United States Trade Representative erect import duties to retaliate against countries that keep their exchange rates artificially low.

The legislation, which still needs to clear the Senate and would ultimately require the president’s endorsement, was a reaction to China, which has allowed the yuan to increase only a little more than 2 per cent since June, even as its economy powers ahead at a pace faster that that of all its major trading partners. Meantime, unmanaged currencies such as the yen, euro and Australian and Canadian dollars have all made significant gains in recent weeks.

Trade lawyers say that it is unclear whether the WTO would accept exchange-rate policy as a subsidy based on the way its statutes are drawn. Mr. Flaherty said Canada has no plans to mount a challenge over currencies at the Geneva-based body.

Instead, Mr. Flaherty said he would continue to push for co-operation on foreign exchange to head off more retaliatory measures like the one passed by the U.S. House.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven countries – the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada – discussed currencies extensively at a dinner hosted by Mr. Flaherty at the Canadian embassy. The issue also has eclipsed most other concerns at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which end Saturday in Washington.

Yet despite all the talk, a definitive solution remains elusive. Timothy Geithner, the U.S. treasury secretary, and others have suggested that the desire of China and other emerging markets to play a greater role at the IMF should be linked to a promise to allow greater currency appreciation.

“It is critical to see more progress by the major emerging market economies to more flexible, more market-oriented exchange rate management,” Mr. Geithner said in a speech to the IMF’s steering committee Saturday. “This is particularly important for those countries whose currencies are significantly undervalued.”

China so far is unmoved. The country’s top central banker, Zhou Xiaochuan, said at a panel discussion in Washington Friday that China’s government is moving to a more market-oriented exchange rate, but that it would avoid “shock therapy,” according to a report by Bloomberg News.

Mr. Flaherty said all the major economies are committed to settling their divisions over currencies. He said the goal should be clarify the “rules of the road,” a simple suggestion that reflects that ideological divide on the foreign-exchange issue between countries such as the U.S. and Canada and emerging markets such as China.

“We need to work toward the guidelines or parameters that justify intervention by countries in their currencies,” Mr. Flaherty said. “Ultimately, the way toward resolution of this currency issue, this whole protectionism basket of issues, is encouraging co-operation from everybody as parts of the rights and responsibilities as members of the global economy, as members of the G20.”

It's clear the IMF will take a central role in any attempt to ease tensions over exchange rates.

The International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting ended with Mr. Flaherty, Mr. Geithner and their counterparts directing the IMF to "deepen" its work on exhange rates and other elements that risk unsettling the economic recovery, according to summary statement.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF's managing director, said this enhanced surveillance mandate will include "spillover" reports that show how the policies of big economies such as the U.S. and China affect their trading partners. Mr. Strauss-Kahn also said he would take a personal role in future analysis of five major economies: the U.S., China, Japan, Britain and the euro zone.

The hope is that facts and analysis presented by the 187-member IMF could form the basis for agreement on differences over currency policy and other meausres -- such as the Federal Reserve's ultra-loose monetary policy -- that cause exchange rates to move with such volatility.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn insisted the world economic leaders are committed to working together. Before Saturday's meeting, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said he was concerned the commitment to co-operate was slipping. That is no longer the case, he said.

Referring to using IMF analysis as a basis for settling their economic differences, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said, "The progress of this idea will be strong enough to avoid a conflicting situation."

ANALYSIS: Flaherty says China's 'export subsidy' counters G20 Protocol, Kevin Carmichael, Saturday October 9, 2010, The Globe and Mail, The New York Times


The Chinese Yuan is now on par with the US Dollar, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (he's even given the nickname FLAWerty) isn't very thrilled. Flaherty calls China's practice of limiting the value of its currency an "export subsidy" because the G20 protocol means to avoid protectionism at all costs, and "export subsidies via currency inflexibilities is an export subsidy. It's protectionism." accordingly. He says this because the economy's tension is increasing as more and more countries are beginning to copy China and lower their currency values too. To counter this, the House of Representatives has given the United States the power to retaliate against countries that lower their exchange rates low themselves. The international Monetary fund will be the central base where the exchange rate issue will be solved, and financial ministers everywhere have to get in on it. Canada lost 30% of it's investments because of the currency exchange rate in the United States. According to the article, Trade Sanctions are a bad idea but following Trade guidelines are a better idea, but China won't budge. The World Trade Organization has shot down subsidies before but it is unclear whether WTO would take the exchange rate policy as a subsidy. China continues to artificially lower its currency rate to manipulate the US Dollar, and there's no solution to resolve this new global tension.

The Strands it Relates to:


 The strand this article relates to is the "Factors influencing success in global markets" because currency values and exchange rates are an essential part to international business. The world has two main currencies; the US Dollar and the Euro. If 0.95 in Canadian dollars equals 1 US dollar, the latter will make 5 cents less then it can in its own country. If there's a country like China or Japan that has a significantly low currency value, they would make a good profit from US businesses, but the US won't be making much money from them. In order for the US to make money from China or another country with a lower currency value, that country would have to raise the price of the desired good. However, that would make it too expensive for the local customers of that country. It's mainly the reason why some countries just can't do business with each other.

Thoughts and Opinions:


China should stop artificially lowering their currency rates because it puts a strain on the already tension-stricken global economy. If it followed the parameters or guidelines the United Statesn and people like Flaherty won't be attacking them for just doing what's right for their own country. China's top central banker Zhou Xiaochuan says that China's currency exchange rate is moving towards a market-oriented value but they'll do it so that they avoid "shock therapy". It looks like the United States will have to wait a while before China will be on side.

Article # 9 STRAND: The Global Environment and Factors influencing Success in International Markets

CHRYSTIA FREELAND

Globalization and the need to plug in

CHRYSTIA FREELAND

From Friday's Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Oct. 08, 2010 6:00AM EDT

Last updated Friday, Oct. 08, 2010 6:34AM EDT

For most of the past century, the big global narrative has been the clash of rival paradigms: Nazism versus liberal democracy, communism versus free market democracy, and, more recently, fundamentalist Islamic states versus the secular, democratic West. When the cold war ended, Francis Fukuyama predicted that this clash of paradigms would end. He was right, but not for the reason he thought.

The battle of rival ideologies has ended not because, as Mr. Fukuyama foresaw, the triumph of capitalist democracy has been universally acclaimed. Instead, it is because all of us have realized we face a new challenge – how to thrive in the high-tech, global economy – and no one country or single ideology is yet certain of getting this exactly right. This isn’t the cold war, or the clash of civilizations, or even the end of history – it is the age of uncertainty, as the entire world struggles to understand and keep up with the biggest economic transformation since the industrial revolution.

I was persuaded that this single, uncertain global effort to keep pace is our new overarching challenge at a venue that was the setting for one of the seminal decisions in the age of rival paradigms: the Livadia Palace in Yalta. In this cream-coloured villa a comfortable lawn’s distance away from a rocky cliff that drops to the Black Sea, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin made their infamous pact to divide Europe between the communist East and the democratic West.

Today, Yalta is again at the crossroads of democracy and authoritarianism as Ukraine, the country to which it now belongs, wavers between integration with Europe and integration with Russia. But when I spent two days there early this month moderating a conference on geopolitics, the most important takeaway was that this old dilemma was the wrong one for Ukraine – and everyone else – to focus on.

The most articulate expression of the new paradigm came from Carl Bildt, the former Swedish prime minister, who was reappointed Foreign Minister last month after the election victory of his centre-right party.

“The mega-trend of our age is globalization,” Mr. Bildt said. “That process of globalization has shown remarkable resilience over the last 10 to 15 years. In one crisis after another, globalization comes back and is stronger each time. The success or failure of nations is, really, are you able to plug into and be successful in globalization or not.”

One thing that’s interesting about Mr. Bildt’s remarks is that they could be made in any city anywhere on the planet and be as relevant as they were in Yalta – one aspect of the economic revolution we are living through, and one sign that it truly is global, is the fact that the whole world, from London to Lagos, and from Silicon Valley to Shanghai, is going through the same transformation at the same time.

Another thing that’s interesting about what Mr. Bildt identified as the challenge of “plugging in,” and what makes it very different from the ideological clashes of the past 100 years, is that no one country and no single ideology has yet claimed to have it all figured out.

China’s state capitalist model, with its repressed citizens and efficient government, is delivering high growth, but so is India’s flourishing democracy and chaotic government, while neo-authoritarian Russia struggles to become more than a petro-power. The welfare states of southern Europe are among the most troubled economies in the developed world; the Nordic welfare states among the most vibrant. Success and failure co-exist even within a single country or even a single region – consider the miracle of Silicon Valley and the failed state of California.

Mr. Bildt alluded to the diverse models of success by pointing to the wildly contrasting examples of his native Sweden and China. “We had a global age that ended in August of 1914 and then it took us a long time to recover,” he said. “It was only in 1990 that Sweden was back [on a global integration basis] where we were in 1914.”

But between 1990 and today, he said, Sweden’s integration with the global economy doubled. “We’ve gone through an enormous process of globalization just in two decades,” Mr. Bildt said. “But we are not as successful as China, which has gone from being one of the most closed economies in the world 30 years ago to an even more integrated global economy than Sweden today, and accordingly has growth figures that are fairly impressive, to put it mildly.”

Tolstoy wrote that happy families are all alike and unhappy families are unique in their unhappiness. Today, it is the unhappy countries that have a lot in common – corruption, lawlessness and autarky don’t work anywhere – and the happy countries that are a pretty diverse lot. But, for once, the whole world is grappling with the same question: how to plug in.

Chrystia Freeland is global editor at large for Reuters

ANALYSIS: Globalization and the need to plug in, Christina Freeland, Friday October 8, 2010, The Globe and Mail.

Globalization is the major trend in our age of time, and according to the former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt the success or fail of your country during globalization depends on how well you are able to "plug in". Take China for an example, which has went from one of the most poorest economies to the one of the most stable ones. Sweden's economy too nearly doubled in two decades because of globalization. However, you have know what globalization is before a country can think about whether they can plug in or not. In Canada we live fairly well, with many of our provinces and cities consisting of both upper and middle classes. But, we only live the way we do because other countries have to work three times as hard and get paid three times as less then we do to be happy. Also, globalization brings new ideas - like changes in a country's government. Yalta is a good example of this, since it seems to be caught between democracy and authoritarianism by Ukraine who it belongs to. When a country invests its shares in a company from another country, it is adding to globalization. That means, what ever happens to the company that is invested in happens to the company that invested in it. When a country is largely involved with another one, their economies are almost linked in a way. Like Canada for an example, because we invest in a lot of foreign businesses there we are heavily influenced by the United State's economy. When the United States went into recession, Canada soon followed. Luckily, because Canada wasn't as "plugged into" the United States, the recession didn't hit as hard and not as many jobs were lost in comparison. 

Strands it relates to:

This Article relates to the "Global environment" strand because if you think of all of the world's countries in terms of weather, globalization is always causing it to change which can be good or bad for foreign businesses. It also relates to "Factors influencing success in global markets" because globalization is a broad subject, and how you plug into it will determine whether your company will benefit or be unsuccessful. If you invest too much into a foreign business that isn't successful you won't benefit. But, if you have a business that is successful in another foreign country, then you will profit. It also works if you invest in a successful foreign business, or your own business is failing in another country. Globalization makes it so that what happens in one country creates a sort of chain reaction and it affects countries that are too plugged in.

Thoughts and Opinions:

Carl Bildt's analysis of globalization in Sweden and other countries made me realize how scary it can be. Globalization is tricky because it categorizes the world into groups by how industrialized and economically fit a country is. The way we live in Canada is better then some places in China, because our "utopia" relies on their "dystopia". Many jobs are created, but people work being payed less then a dollar a day. The only reason people like in China continue working under such harsh conditions is because it's all they have to survive. Globalization connects the world, but a balance in which everyone is living like in Canada is nearly impossible to achieve.

Article # 8 STRAND: Working in International Markets and Factors influencing Success in International Markets

Switzerland blazes innovation trail

TAVIA GRANT

IBACH, SWITZERLAND— From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Oct. 08, 2010 6:58PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Oct. 08, 2010 7:18PM EDT

In a tiny town in central Switzerland surrounded by velvety green mountains and punctuated with whiffs of cow dung, a 126-year-old factory churns out 60,000 Swiss Army knives and other pocket tools each day for a hungry global market.

All the folding blades at Victorinox AG are still made in Ibach, population 3,500. The company is run by the founding Elsener family, now in its fourth generation. Its brand has, over the years, become synonymous with Switzerland itself: quality, precision, reliability.

Yet Victorinox is anything but static. Back in 1891, its main product was a heavy, wood-handled knife built for the Swiss army. Now, its knives come equipped with laser pointers and USB drives with biometric sensors. The factory has been upgraded to the latest high-tech gadgetry (machines that look like fingers do the finicky job of assembling the knives), leaving workers free to develop new tools. Sales are roughly $200-million a year, 90 per cent of its products are exported, and it is expanding into new markets such as Brazil, Argentina and China. All this, and employees still get 1½-hour lunch breaks.

Carl Elsener Jr., Victorinox’s approachable chief executive officer, proudly proclaims that his company has never outsourced production or axed jobs due to recession – in fact, it has a history of boosting investment, not cutting it, during economic downturns. He credits its endurance to innovation, which is helping Victorinox face its biggest challenge yet: competition from cheap Asian counterfeits.

“Innovation is in our blood here in Switzerland – since the beginning, we’ve always tried to make things better,” Mr. Elsener said in an interview at his company’s headquarters. “Maybe it’s because we were forced early to be global and to think about exports.”

Innovation seems to seep from Swiss pores. The Alpine nation of 8 million people was named the world’s most competitive economy in a recent ranking by the World Economic Forum, and regularly leads the world when it comes to innovation. The Swiss hold the most patents per capita in Europe – Albert Einstein once worked in the Bern patent office – and the country is a hub for global giants such as Swatch, UBS and Nestlé.

Canada, meanwhile, is still struggling to shed its hewer-of-wood image. The Conference Board of Canada slapped the country with yet another “D” in innovation this year, and it slid to 10th place in the WEC rankings. For Canada to thrive in a global, knowledge-based economy, it must focus on turning good ideas, of which we have plenty, into marketable products, which we’re not so good at. Switzerland offers plenty of lessons on how to do it.

“It’s about desire,” said Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management. “European countries are more practised in how to compete in sophisticated ways. They can’t chop down trees, dig out rocks, or fish. So they’ve been at it longer to upgrade their products.”

It’s tough to imagine it now, but in the late 1800s, as Victorinox founder Karl Elsener was training as a master cutler, Switzerland was one of the poorest nations in Europe. Its economy was largely based on agriculture, and robbers ruled the roads. It had no coal, steel or iron – no natural resources at all, in fact – and for a time, the industrial revolution bypassed the tiny mountain nation.

Out of necessity, much like Japan, it developed a knack for importing goods and putting them together in smarter ways, or copying other people’s products and making them better.

Over the years, said Oliver Gassmann, chair of innovation management at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland developed a unique innovation policy.

“It’s bottom-up, science-based and market-oriented,” he said.

Education is key to the country’s position as an innovation hub. Its school system produces world-class scientists who are focused on the pragmatic implementation of new ideas, Mr. Gassmann said. And Swiss universities and technical schools collaborate with multiple partners, including businesses, to bring ideas to market.

Government programs play their part: The Innovation Promotion Agency, for instance, has a $106-million fund to support “market-oriented” R&D projects, and encourage companies and universities to work together on products and services. While the agency helps support startups, it refrains from setting state priorities – unlike Canada, where government funding of R&D has been criticized for being too stringent in its guidelines.

Political stability and the nation’s small size have also helped spur innovation, Mr. Gassmann said, and low taxes attract entrepreneurs from around the world.

“The bottom-up innovation policy could work in Canada too,” he said.

At Victorinox, Carl Elsener is a firm believer in kaizen – a Japanese term that means constant improvement.

It has helped the company survive countless crises. At the turn of the 20th century, for instance, when Germany flooded the market with knock-offs, Victorinox grew by developing new gadgets and eventually jumping into a new material, stainless steel, to produce knives that resist corrosion.

The biggest blow came after Sept. 11, 2001, when blades were banned from carry-on luggage, and duty-free shops – a key retailer – stopped selling them. Sales plunged 30 per cent overnight. They’ve since stabilized in part thanks to a “flight” version of the classic Swiss army knife – minus the knife. (Victorinox is negotiating with airport security officials to allow key-chain versions of its tool on board).

But the dozens of fakes that spokesman Urs Wyss keeps in a drawer may pose the gravest threat. Mr. Wyss, a 25-year veteran of Victorinox, said many of the knock-offs retail for a fraction of the price of the real thing. Most are too stiff to close or impossible to open. But it’s only a matter of time before the rip-off artists get it right. “We have to expect, one day in the future, that Chinese quality will be similar to Swiss quality,” he said.

Since nifty knives account for 40 per cent of Victorinox’s sales (it also makes watches, luggage, even perfume), its R&D efforts are focused on protecting that business.

To help brainstorm new ideas, an “innovation circle” brings together workers from across the company. This is where the idea for a USB drive originated.

Management also encourages all 900 workers at the Ibach facilities to send proposals via e-mail. One security guard, who also works part-time at the local fire department, suggested Victorinox develop a tool to break glass after a car accident, enabling rescue workers to reach victims more quickly.

Thus was born the rescue tool, which includes a blade to cut seat belts.

Victorinox even gathers ideas from customers and distributors. Its golf tool was created by two elderly fans who worked for years to produce a plastic prototype of a gadget with a tee punch, a ball marker and a groove cleaner.

A nearby flight instrument company, Flytec, approached Victorinox with a suggestion for a gadget geared to mountain climbers. Flytec now supplies the knife maker with electronics for an altimeter, barometer, thermometer and clock.

The company has made mistakes – a tool for in-line skaters that came with a separate pouch for different-sized keys wasn’t a success – but Victorinox continues to tinker and add new features to its products. Mr. Elsener’s top goal is to boost the appeal of Swiss Army knives among women, who tend to buy them more for the men in their lives.

In the global scheme of things, Victorinox is a small company. But like other Swiss firms – from online scheduler Doodle to Thermoplan, which supplies coffee machines to Starbucks – it has found its niche. And that’s reason to believe Switzerland’s economy may keep on thriving.

“I strongly believe in the future of Switzerland because of globalization, because open economies can play advantages in innovation even better than protected economies,” Mr. Gassman said. True, it costs more to make stuff there, but that “can be overcompensated by productivity – and even more innovative products and design.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOP 10 REASONS SWITZERLAND IS AN INNOVATION HUB

Lack of patent laws until 1907 made it easier to copy goods – and improve on them.

Scant natural resources forced it to rely on knowledge-based industries.

Top-notch schools focus on pure research and commercialization of technology.

Clusters of companies and institutions in similar fields such as chemicals, watch-making, and banking help spur competition and new ideas.

Political and economic stability, with tame inflation and low unemployment.

Location at the heart of Europe, which makes it easy to test and adapt new products to different markets.

Government supports innovation, without dictating the direction projects must take.

Low marginal tax rate on average-income workers of just 20 per cent.

Advanced infrastructure makes transportation fast and easy.

Culture of valuing hard work, practicality and the notion that all ideas are worth discussing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A CULTURE OF INVENTION

A history of Swiss invention and innovation

1783: hygrometer to measure humidity

1807: internal-combustion engine

1855: artificial silk, or rayon

1875: milk chocolate

1904: Ovaltine

1938: LSD

1948: Velcro

1967: first quartz wristwatch

1981: commercialized computer mouse

ANALYSIS: Switzerland blazes innovation trail, Tavia Grant, Friday October 8, 2010, The Globe and Mail

 A 126 year-old company in a small town in Switzerland is still working just as it used to- it makes army knives and other pocket tools. But, it has competition now; Asian counterfeits Switzerland is known for its innovative companies, and Victorinox AG is just one of them. The chair of Innovation management Oliver Gassmann says that its "Bottoms-up, science-based and market-oriented". What this means is that education is an important factor for a business to be innovative. Its where new ideas begin, and everything has to start somewhere before improving. The government also plays an important role, funding and encouraging businesses and companies to work together whereas in Canada the government funding of R&D has been criticized for being to lenient with its guidelines. Lastly, Switzerland's small size and stable economy has helped its innovative techniques, and that low taxes attract business owners from all over the globe. Canada lacks innovation, and wants to desperately shrug off its lumber-jack image, Gassmann says it has potential. Costs can be overcome by productivity, so money won't be spent in vain.

Strands it relates to:

"Working in international markets" is a strand this article relates to, since innovation requires education, the government must be on side, and a stable economy would help. Also, innovation starts out with an idea, and leads to improvement of an idea. Another strand this passage relates to is "Factors influencing success in International markets" because of the factors that influence innovation, and because specializing products can increase your ability to sell the product, thus making you more successful as a business. Specialization in general is an advantage in the international market, for an example the Asian army knives that are competing against the ones made in Switzerland may not be as successful because they're just copies of an original innovation.

Thoughts and Opinions:

What Victorinox has is good, and Switzerland is very lucky to have such stable politics. The problem with Canada is that it has an abundance of natural resources that aren't being turned into anything more- creativity is needed. If Canada brushes up on its innovation skills like Gassmann says in the article, we could benefit like Switzerland does and specialize in our own productivity. There must be other things Canada can do with its lumber and maple syrup. 

Article # 7 STRAND: Marketing Challenges, Factors influencing Success in International Markets

Microsoft needs to get serious about mobile phones

Software giant to unveil latest effort in lucrative smartphone niche on Monday

Published On Fri Oct 08 2010

Carmi LevySpecial to the Star

As Microsoft gears up to launch Windows Phone 7, the next major version of its mobile operating system, in New York City on Monday, you’d be forgiven for thinking the company had any presence at all in a market long dominated by Research In Motion and Apple.

Although Microsoft-powered devices never challenged BlackBerrys and iPhones at the top of the sales charts, its mobile software, variously called Windows CE, Pocket PC and, most recently, Windows Mobile, predates both RIM and Apple, and was once widely available on devices from Motorola, HP, HTC and others.

While enterprises appreciated its secure technology and relative familiarity with desktop Windows, it failed to keep pace with competitors, especially as they introduced new touchscreen-driven devices.

The resulting decline has been staggering. Market share figures from comScore show 10.8% of all smart phones in the U.S. ran Microsoft’s Windows Mobile in August, barely half the 19.1% share in November 2009. Over the same period, Google’s Android mobile operating system skyrocketed from 3.8% to 19.6%.

At a conference earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted his company dropped the ball. “We were ahead of this game, and now we’re not,” he said. “We haven’t fallen off the planet, but we’re not where we should be.”

The new operating system, then, needs to generate more than just sales, says Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group, a San Jose-based technology advisory firm. It needs to rebuild Microsoft’s reputation in the exploding smartphone and tablet markets.

“In terms of market perception this may actually be Microsoft’s most important platform this decade and its success or failure could have broad implications relating to Microsoft’s continued relevance.”

Describing the new OS as “a massive restart for Microsoft’s mobility efforts,” Avi Greengart says Microsoft can’t afford to fail.

“The competition in this space is fierce and Microsoft’s timeframe for success is long,” says Greengart, research director for consumer devices with technology research firm Current Analysis. “Even if Windows Phone 7 sells poorly initially, this is an area where Microsoft simply has to be a significant player over time.”

That’s because its traditional revenue powerhouses, Windows operating systems and Office productivity software, are under threat from cloud-based offerings from Google and others. Microsoft need to transition away from the desktop.

Because Microsoft doesn’t build the hardware, however, it can’t go it alone. Unfortunately, many of its allies moved on as Microsoft’s mobile fortunes fell.

“Handset vendors have been eyeing, and continue to do so, the opportunities that Android offers,” says Michelle Warren, principal of MW Research & Consulting. “As a result, Microsoft has to work to maintain, strengthen and revitalize these partnerships.”

Microsoft doesn’t seem fazed by the challenge. The company sees ample room to re-establish its mobile brand as millions of conventional phones are replaced with data-capable devices.

“We see tremendous opportunity in the smartphone space with the market poised to nearly double during the next four years,” says Greg Milligan, Microsoft Canada’s mobility solutions manager. “Windows Phone 7 represents our long term commitment to making mobile an important pillar of our software business.”

Uniqueness will be critical. The world doesn’t need another iPhone clone, and Microsoft seems to have gotten the message.

“Microsoft is finally leveraging assets from across the company in Windows Phone 7, including Bing, Exchange, Sharepoint, and others,” says Greengart. “The one that will really jump out at consumers is the Xbox Live integration.”

“Like a lot of consumer products, the success of one over another is largely connected to the status the buyer believes they get from buying it,” he says. “The iPhone is far from the best phone on the market but it provides the highest level of status to its purchasers.”

Enderle says while Microsoft has what it takes to succeed, it hasn’t always stuck with it for the long haul. That needs to change.

Carmi Levy is a London, Ont.-based independent technology analyst and journalist.carmilevy@gmail.com

ANALYSIS: Microsoft needs to get serious about mobile phones, Carmi Levy, Friday October 8, 2010, The Toronto Star

According to the article, Microsoft is releasing a new phone with a Windows 7 based concept. Even if it's never rivaled RIM's Blackberry or Apple's iPhone, it predates both as its mobile software is on many other phones including Motorola, HP, HTC and others. Even Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer says they need to step it up, but it is also said that this new release will be a giant restart to Microsoft's mobile phone history. If the new phone isn't successful in the markets, Microsoft's mobility streak will be impacted and it will fall behind even the Google Android phone which sales went up recently. As it says in the article, "Uniqueness is critical, and the world does not need another iPhone, which Microsoft understands". Microsoft is not fazed by the competition and is determined to launch the phone with a Window's 7 concept. It is after all, the interface "powerhouse" for most phones out there.

Strands it relates to:

This article heavily relates to "Factors influencing success in global markets". Competition is a crucial factor which will determine whether Microsoft's new phone will be successful or not. It's going to be going head to head with two of the bestselling phones in the market after all, and since Microsoft has unique idea that doesn't relate to the iPhone or Playbook in any way it has a good chance of passing them. However, another factor that may influence Microsoft's new phone negatively is the fact that they do not make their own hardware. In other words, since Microsoft mostly makes computer based devices their phones may not be the same as other phones. That can also be an advantage though, depending on what customers look for in a phone. This also closely relates to the "Marketing Challenges" strand because the success or failure of Microsoft's phone will have an impact on their mobile phone business. It can also make it questionable whether money should be invested on Microsoft for phones rather then computers and software.

Thoughts and Opinions:

Since Microsoft already has Windows 7 and will be using that concept to make a new phone, it has a good chance of competing against Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry. Personally I would buy a phone from a company that doesn't usually make mobile phones just to try it, but other customers may not buy a phone from Microsoft regardless if it makes the software for other phones. But, if Microsoft's phone is really different from the iPhone and Blackberry then people may buy that more to get the next best thing after the iPhone. I predict the Microsoft phone will do fairly well considering its a fresh idea, and based on one of the best operating systems for computers.

Article # 6 STRAND: Working in International Businesses

WEEKEND WORKOUT

Creative job-seeking tactics that work

JENNIFER MYERS

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 5:00PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Sep. 03, 2010 5:12PM EDT

Sofia Theodorou, vice-president of human resources at Toronto’s LoyaltyOne Inc. had one job candidate offer to clean her home in her spare time. Leanne James, senior vice-president of HR at Apex Public Relations Inc., recalls one job seeker who sent in a note and a photo of herself before attending a group interview so Ms. James could “pick her out of the crowd.”

Yes, the economy may be improving, but it’s still a tough job market and the competition among job seekers remains fierce. And that has some of them getting creative, trying more unconventional methods to catch the eye of hiring managers.

Nearly one-quarter (22 per cent) of 2,778 hiring managers surveyed recently by online job site CareerBuilder.com reported that they are seeing more candidates try unusual methods to capture their attention. That’s up from 18 per cent in 2009, and 12 per cent in 2008.

Nearly one-in-10 said they had hired someone who used a creative tactic to stand out from the crowd.

But when it comes to job-search tactics, there’s a fine line between creative and crazy, said Ms. James. What appeals to one hiring manager, may turn off another.

While stepping off the conventional path may be welcome or even expected in creative fields such as marketing or PR, human resource experts suggest ditching the over-the-top antics when it comes to more traditional sectors such as insurance or banking.

That doesn’t mean you can’t differentiate yourself though, Ms. James said. “If I have a pile of résumés to go through, even using a different font or a really nice paper can stand out.”

No matter which method you use to stand out, it must be professional. You want to be remembered for your skills and what you can offer an organization, not simply for an unusual antic.

ANALYSIS: Creative job-seeking tactics that work, Jennifer Myers, August 20, 2012, the Globe and Mail

The Economy is improving but competition is still as fierce as ever, and many job-seekers are taking things a step further. Leanne James who is a senior vice president at Apex Public Relations Inc remembers a job-seeker sending her a photo and a note of herself at a group meeting so she would remember her. However, like the article says, there really is a difference between being creative in the way you appeal to your employer and necessary attention. It seems like a good idea to be creative with the way you apply for a job when it comes to jobs like a spokesperson since no one would hire a boring person. But then again, going all out to get a job in insurance or banking may not be a good idea since the tone is a little more serious. Creativity will help you be remembered, but going overboard won't get you anywhere!

The Strands it relates to:

This unique article relates to the "Working in International Business" because even if the article isn't exactly about applying for jobs in international markets but a generalization can be made that being creative can increase your chances of getting the job you desire. In order to work in a business you have to first apply for the job, and sometimes it isn't as easy as just sending in a good application. If you want your employer to know you and like you, going the extra mile will help.

Thoughts and Opinions:

I think what Leanne James says is right in terms of going overboard in creativity, but if you really want to stand out in your employers mind sometimes that extra bit of creativity does the trick. However, what one employer may like, another may really hate. It's important to take into mind what kind of position you want as well, no one wants a banker that throws cocktail parties every night.