660 Responses

 C Gwaltney

     Halliburton continues its global dominance with technology for oil drilling, fracking for natural gas, and other earth minerals that is used for energy around the world.  The operations are similar in nature throughout  Halliburton India, the Middle East and the U.S.  The technology that is used for oil exploration, mining, fracking of natural gas throughout the world, the ethics are similar, with different rules to drill.   Profitability is the key for over 30 countries in the Middle East that it serves, also in the United States, they are transparent, with global ethics, good operations of making sure that the land isnt damaged or destroyed through oil exploration in all of the countries that it drills for these earth natural resources.  Resources are not destroyed, but enhanced in all of the countries that it serves, to prevent having millions charged to the company for restoring the land that was drilled on.   Halliburton delivers on their promise to keep the land as natural and untouched.   

 

V Jaramillo

Different companies with global markets may have different product names and products for different products. Coca-Cola has the same products in India, Japan, and the United States, as well as other products for different products, such as Japanese green tea and Indian buttermilk. The global market has different market advantages and disadvantages, so companies must find a competitive advantage so that they can not only manipulate the target market, but also meet the gap in market demand.

Although most of Coca-Cola’s decisions are made in Atlanta, such as the introduction of low-carbon cola, the products of different countries/regions are different. For example, Coca-Cola has the same brand name and the same formula, but the sweeteners are different in these three countries. The packaging may also be different to meet the countrys regulations (Hitt et al., 2016). It also distributes locally to ensure that companies in these countries/regions have a competitive advantage in their products through product differentiation.

For some Coca-Cola products, they have different names in the three markets. The main reason for this is to ensure that the name matches the language of the country. Sometimes some companies are already using a specific brand name, so they need to change the brand name (Wong & Merrilees, 2007). However, in these three countries, most Coca-Cola products are similar because the company can create a global brand, which not only makes marketing and advertising easy, but also achieves economies of scale. For example, an advertisement published in the American media is likely to reach certain target markets in Japan and India. Global branding on the Internet has also become easier, and people can always recognize a specific brand they know in another country. In conclusion, Coca-Cola has achieved a competitive advantage, met customers needs, and at the same time achieved a global brand. 

 

S McConnell

Good afternoon class, 

In this discussion post, I will provide responses to the third and fourth questions. 

3. How do you identify the SWOT factors in a fictitious firm?

The SWOT factors include analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a business. To identify these factors, you need to evaluate the internal and external factors that are affecting a firm. A fictitious firm name is “the name of the business when officially registered with the government.” If the opportunities are new and there are existing threats, you can identify the SWOT factors in a fictitious firm. First, the firm would need to analyze their internal factors such as their target areas, customers, competitors, and services offered, then they could move on to their external firm factors. The SWOT analysis is going to allow them to make educated decisions on the market they are in, and the type of firm they currently have. 

4. Which SWOT Factors must be specific to the firm and which can be Generic? Why?

I think that all factors can be considered generic in a way. Each firm is going to evaluate their own standings within the economy. The firm would need to be specific on their own strengths and weaknesses, because that is dependent upon each firm. Not all firms are strong and weak in the same areas, so those internal factors would be firm dependent. Threats and opportunities are more general and generic, because they apply to the entire market economy. The opportunities and threats are external factors, that can easily change throughout the market. 

Thanks, Sierra McConnell 

 

S Payne

When developing a SWOT analysis for a fictitious firm, it is important to do research and have a good picture of the fictitious firm. Research into competing firms in the same market is vital, not just to determine external factors, such as threats and opportunities. Evaluating competing firms for internal factors, strengths and weaknesses, is just as important because it gives the researcher an idea of what companies in the market are like. Many times, these companies possess some of the same strengths and weaknesses and therefore, would likely be found in the fictitious firm. It is also important to determine what the weaknesses are in competing companies which could be exploited or improved to create a competitive advantage. 

The SWOT factors which must be specific for the company are the internal factors, strengths and weaknesses (Lake, 2020). This is because these factors are used to identify things to highlight or a competitive advantage and things to improve for the specific company. While some of the findings may be found in like companies in the market, most are factors solely found at the individual company. The SWOT factors which can be generic are the external factors, threats and opportunities. When evaluating external factors, economic, political, technological, legal, social issues are researched in addition to the market in general. These topics affect each of the companies in the specific market and can affect them in a similar manner (Lake, 2020). One example of this would be an economic recession. While some companies flourish on the backend of a recession based on their strategy during the recession, the recession affects all companies in a similar manner – consumers do not purchase wants to the same extent. Recessions can impact some companies more than others, but in general do so in the same way.