Culture Differences in the Workforce

In regards to "Understanding Power in Organizations" and my interest in international business, I have presented a few arguments and agreements with the article to the workforce in both Western Europe and the U.S. After studying abroad in Europe, it is obvious that the cultures of many of the countries are all different from each other and from the culture of America. One key thing I pointed out, especially in Austria and Germany, was their dedication to their family more than their work. One professor there even talked to us about how our worklife establishes our success while a job there is just a paycheck to take care of the family. According to http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/11/28/051128ta_talk_surowiecki, the French work 28% less and Germans work 25% less than Americans. Does the worklife make the culture or does the culture make the worklife? It goes both ways. Since Americans work more, we drive wealth and productivity which forms our culture. However, our culture also makes believe that work is what drives success. The same goes for Western Europe. "Americans trade their productivity for more money, while Europeans trade it for more leisure."

To link this with the article and in class, there are points presented that I agree with in our culture, but may seem ridiculous for another culture. Since we put so much emphasis on our worklife, organizations do feel like a government to us and that we must have a certain power to help us succeed in the workforce. A job here sounds like a full-time life where you constantly have it on your mind and work towards pleasing those in your "government" and gaining power. Many European countries, on the other hand, leave work (when they don't have vacation time) and put it behind them to make time for their family. Another point that I picked out in the article was the problems that we have in our schools versus our worklife. In school, we are mainly taught to be interdependent. We don't do a lot of group work and when we do, we don't really know how to go about it. This is why in companies groupthink occurs. We are more individualistic than our Europe counterparts. Although they are more individualistic than Asian cultures, they do tend to be more collectivists.

Are these differences in culture a good thing or a bad? Is it bad to place so much emphasis on worklife that we are finding ways to be "powerful" and seek out networks? It all lies in personal opinions and how we want to live our lives. Society and culture places certain pressures on people to "fit in" but I think that it is beneficial for companies to offer a wide variety of different cultures both in America and in Europe. Not all people have the same desires or ambitions even though they are placed in a country that believes certain things. Offering different cultures in organizations could also be a good way for different countries to gain more international workers who would feel more comfortable in that work setting.

MIni Cooper

In Chapter 13, we discussed the importance of design to meet customer needs. BMW's Mini Cooper is only one example of an outstanding design that the car industry has developed. The principle of universal design holds that the product can be used by anyone regardless of age or ability. The BMW company capitalized on is its flexibility of use because it is able to accommodate a variety of preferences and abilities with its customization and wide range of choices for additional features and design characteristics. While it appeals to all ages and backgrounds, it has its focus on three specific targets. The first group includes young affluent individuals between 20 and 24 years old. They are spontaneous, like to try new things, have a good sense of style, and think that their car defines who they are. The second group, between ages 35 and 50, are more affluent and just like to add a sporty car to their garage. The third group has a high interest in cars and have many memories of classic cars from their youth. They enjoy the style and design along with the Mini's character. Mini's target market tends to be technologically savvy and like to define their own success. They are typically adventurous and a little quirky.

I think that some of BMW's most important design considerations were their decision to make the car customizable as well as offer unique features that coincide with their market. Since their target market likes to be different, why not make a car that can be just how they want it and different from all others? Some important features include its fun exterior appearance as well as the technology such as GPS and Ipod adapters that can be included. Also, since many target customers are active, there are plenty of options for ski racks, luggage racks, bike racks, etc. Aside from the actual product, Mini Cooper also has games on the internet in which its technologically savvy customers can spend time with the brand online. BMW has been very successful in its advertising by offering unique non-traditional ways to reach their consumers including "talking" billboards and hanging a Mini from a ski lift. Many of their crazy ads can be found at http://marketallica.wordpress.com/2006/04/30/collection-of-alternative-mini-ads/. It states "I like mini style of advertising. They meet people unexpected places and unexpected times."

It is obvious that it is not design alone that makes the product stand out to consumers. It is also the way they target their market and present the product to the people. They are currently strong leaders in the marketplace but I think that there is potential for other manufacturers to attract their niche market. Examples of potential competitors are the Alfa Mito and Fiat 500. Mini should just continue its focus on its niche consumers and take competition as it comes. A foreseen problem is them trying to branch out their market to try to reach more consumers.

Options Options Options!

A few weeks ago, we discussed the article "Innovation versus Complexity" and found that sometimes less is better. Consumers get overwhelmed by vast amounts of choices and companies get burnt out by high costs. When reading this article, I compared this to my dad's restaurant located in Gainesville, TX. When he bought it, it was famous for being two great restaurants under one roof--one side serving an all-you-can eat barbecue buffet including an array of fried foods and the other side offering a menu in which customers can order set dinners including catfish and shrimp. He, however, merged it more into one restaurant while still keeping both a buffet (which now includes the famous fried catfish) and a menu so that people from the same group can enjoy different ways of eating. This wide variety works in this restaurant because it is a well established place and people know how it works. However, it is often confusing for new guests. I think that one problem area we have is offering more health conscious products, such as fat-free salad dressings or making designated healthier options on the menu. I know that this does offer more choices, but this is health conscious segment is on the rise today and benefits could outweight the costs.

I wanted to also address the In-N-Out Burger joint that we discussed in class. I did some online research and found that this place has been able to gain some serious word of mouth through the internet. On their actual website they offer a secret menu list which doesn't seem to make it very secret, but it doesn't even list all of them. However, on the website http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/, there is a complete list as well as over 600 postings from consumers! I found some very positive word of mouth including exciting things like people ordering the 100x100 (http://whatupwilly.blogspot.com/2006/01/in-n-out-100x100.html). Someone even designed a menu wish list (http://fantasymenu.blogspot.com/). While their small displayed menu with "secret options" has given way to huge publicity, it could also lead to negative results. For one, people who don't know of the secret menu may not ever eat there because they want something different than a plain burger and fries. Also, in one of the postings, I read that one location gave a girl a secret item and another location did not know what item she was talking about. Training employees would have to be consistent since the menu is so farfetched and customers expect them all to offer the same products. Another downside found in post #116 is an employee of In-N-Out Burger who bashed the secret menu maker because he claimed that the menu was almost just like asking for fries to be cooked longer, for no bun, no meat, etc. He said that "for the retards animals style is just a regular burger, we just fry mustard on the meat patties and add extra sauce, pickles and grilled onoins." This employee attitude could turn employees away. My advice for In-N-Out Burger is to stick to the "secret menu" with only burgers, fries, and shakes since that is keeping their costs low and word of mouth high. Some companies wish they could target everyone by offering numerous products, but sometimes you have to realize that your profit can also come from one defined area while keeping down costs. I also think that employees could be better trained to know all of the products as well as not bash consumers who feel important when they give pride in knowing the "secret menu".

Prediction Markets

Nintendo Wii was mentioned in the "New Products Blockbuster" article, and I was interested to see how it used prediction markets to overcome the problem. I found TheSimExchange which uses community intelligence to not only predict upcoming monthly sales of platforms, such as the Wii and Xbox, but also to find the top-rated corresponding video games. In regards to the different video games, it states that "prediction data is really only useful to developers before the game comes out. Currently, our trading is focused to near release and after the game comes out. From now on, we will only be listing games that are coming out at least 4 months away." Obviously TheSimExchange has already been tweaked so that it can better predict future sales, and it was shown in class that these prediction markets can often portray how the market will react in reality. It covers the five principles suggested in the article including incentives and the ability for people to share their expertise. However, I can see how problems could arise in the fact that the only people who participate are those who are knowledgeable about the website and who are interested in participating. Therefore, companies may not want to base their entire decisions on these "experts". They should really make consumers aware of these prediction markets online as well as tap into paper surveys that can reach out to other types of consumers who may not be technologically inclined. Since Nintendo's Wii targets even older consumers who may not be computer literate, this may be a good idea especially when making games that target an older market such as the yoga or cooking game.

Also, when viewing this website, there was a link on the side that caught my eye-- http://www.xpree.com/. Here, anybody can start their own prediction market for their company. What a perfect place to advertise! These can really help companies that have no direction come up with innovations, product management strategies, and demand planning. I think that all companies can really learn a lot from these especially with the increase in technology and the fast changing market. It could cut back costs so as to not overproduce as well as underproduce like the Wii and lose a good customer base. However, they could be stuck with the same problems--only attracting those who see it. So, new companies should also look into other types of surveys as well.