Ethical Dilemma

This week, I am to write concerning an ethical dilemma I had in a work experience. My dilemma happened as I worked for a home security company, as a sales representative in Georgia. I got to the city with the group, and learned that we lacked the proper city licensing required for selling door-to-door in that particular city. So we decided to roll from city to city selling where we could without licensing and also where we could obtain it quickly. We did, however, run into significant problems when we ran out of places to sell. Eventually, our manager was putting us in places where we knew we shouldn't be selling. Even after police asked us to leave, most of the reps were determined to stay, since they specifically weren't asked personally to leave the area. I had a problem with this. My conflicting values were that I was not one to give up. I am a hard worker and don't want to give excuses for not performing or doing my best. However, I am also devoted to honesty and following the rules. Therefore, I didn't feel comfortable selling where we weren't licensed or where we had been asked to leave. It came to a point where I felt I couldn't continue working, given this ethical conflict. I called my father for advice, and I determined that if there were no changes, I would take action and leave the job based on this issue. Luckily, I wasn't faced with that decision, in that within the next two days, or so, we received instruction from the office to move to a different office location entirely. I felt a sense of ethical accomplishment, however, that I was able to make a decision based on my values, and not based on the economic consequences involved in the decision.

In situations like these, one may find true character. I found that I could stand up for what was right. This experience gave me much needed confidence to move forward with my professional career. That's how I handled the ethical dilemma, not really from the outside this time, but from where it mattered: from my values on the inside.

Misalignment

In my vast experience of working in the business world, it is a little difficult to find a good example of misalignment. However, I will make an attempt to identify an example of misalignment that I have observed from my not-so-expert perspective. My example comes from a company that employed me in a couple different points in my life. It is a very efficient and effective manufacturing company, and I in no way indicate that this is an inferior company. It is only an observation I made during my time with the company. I will, however, refrain from naming the company, to protect the innocent.

The misalignment that I observed regards strategy and staff. The company’s strategy includes manufacturing the best product in the world, in their niche, with the shortest order-to-delivery time in the industry. While all of their competitors have delivery time of around three or four weeks, this company delivers in a fraction of the time. From the time the order hits the production floor to when it is shipped, no longer than 48 hours pass. With a two day order shipment time, the company dominates the industry in quality and service. The staff, however, has fallen into a rut of inefficient work. The individual employees have worked with the company for so long that they feel that they are irreplaceable, so they don’t feel that they need to work hard. It is constantly a struggle trying to get the front-line employees to work consistent with the company’s strategy of speed and efficiency.

As for a solution, I believe that a possible fix is to cross train employees throughout the manufacturing plant, and to switch positions periodically. Employees get fixed into their own jobs and don’t do anything else. If employees saw that they could be replaced by someone else, they might be more motivated to put in their full efforts. This would be possible because of the nature of the industry. Orders come in high quantities through the summer and fall, whereas during winter months, orders are slow. Slow times would be ideal for cross training and working on improving overall skill sets and cross training. This is only one way that I think the company could improve their alignment problem, which would further enhance their domination of the market.

That’s my opinion… From the Outside.

Nokia and Microsoft... Is this a recipe for a successful strategy?

...and we're back after a week off!

I read today in cnn.com about a shift in Nokia's strategy. The article states that Nokia's operating system Symbian currently is the number one smartphone platform in the world, with around 200 million users, but that market share is rapidly losing to Google's Android phones and Apple's IPhone.

To combat their loss of market share, Nokia announced that they will now build phones with Microsoft's platform, Windows Phone 7. It seems that this could be a positive move for the company, one that has struggled with releasing new operating systems in the past. Nokia partnered with Intel to build a new operating system, but that release was perpetually delayed. I believe this is evidence of the hedgehog principle. Nokia is strong in hardware and distribution, whereas Microsoft is best at producing software. Both companies need to focus on what they can be best at, and that isn't necessarily what they have been doing. As a third mover, however, this may not be extremely successful for them, unless they have a strong point of differentiation, such as price. It may be enough to save Nokia's lost market share, however. The future is unforeseeable, but this strategic shift, in my opinion, is a step in the right direction, though maybe too late...
...from the outside...

Taco Bell's Strategy... Under Attack!!!

As I read on KSL.com this morning, I found an interesting story about Taco Bell's law suit over their taco meat, claimed to be beef. The company was accused with using only 35% beef in their "beef," and is being sued to not advertise it as beef at all. The funny thing is, restaurants aren't even required to meet any level of beef content to even call it beef. Only food processors, like Taco Bell's supplier Tyson Foods Inc., are required to meet USDA standards for labeling products. Strangely, the class action lawsuit isn't asking for monetary damages, only for changes in the ad campaigns. Outsiders, including myself, believe this to be merely an attack on consumers' perception of the company, and thus Taco Bell's commanding position in the industry.

Applying to Porter's Five Forces, this directly affects buyer power. Taco Bell thrives because of extreme volume of sales. The primary driver in those enormous sales is price. However, whenever a consumer is face with a choice in fast food, price isn't the only consideration. Quality, at least for me, is a major driver, at least as important as price. If Taco Bell customers believe there is a problem in quality, market share will be lost.

Now comes the interesting part: Taco Bell's response. Taco Bell decided to, as we all know is necessary, spend lots of money to make money. This morning Taco Bell released full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Times, and other newspapers, which obviously made it around the country riding in its own wake. As the article I found states, a full page ad in a single national newspaper could cost around $100,000, though Taco Bell didn't disclose the budget of the ad campaign. The ad states, "Thank you for suing us. Here's the truth about our seasoned beef." The point was to draw attention (which it obviously did), and to set the record straight. The ad states that the seasoned beef is actually 88% beef, not the accused 35%. The ad was intended to infuse confidence in Taco Bell's customers. I don't know what the results will be, but I do believe the campaign will succeed, even if the law suit doesn't (which would be absurd, considering the suit has little legal basis). Due to this aim of reassuring customers of Taco Bell's quality, Taco Bell's president Greg Creed believes this will actually help the company. My thoughts? I think he's right. This will actually strengthen Taco Bell's position in the industry, and could possibly build brand loyalty. This is, of course dependent on several things, including the results of the law suit. And, as always, this isn't an expert insiders view. It's only mine...
...From the Outside...

...take two... Netflix and Profit Pools

This morning I was listening to KSL news radio, and I heard an interesting example of how Netflix was utilizing its profit pools differently. Apparently, Netflix has experienced some stress due to high shipping costs. It sounded like a driving factor was the aspect of the user interface. As a solution, Netflix has made it less convenient to order an actual DVD to be physically shipped to you. The focus is becoming more towards online streaming. The business is huge and the gross margin per view would be enormous compared to the shipping costs associated with their traditional method.

This is an interesting strategic move for Netflix. It seems that it is becoming less and less differentiated in the market due to the deep profit pools associated with exclusive web-based viewing. It will be interesting to see if this strategy will be sustainable in the long term, lacking its differentiation. It is, however, interesting that they are willing to face the brutal facts in that their traditional model may not be the most profitable for the business. We'll see what happens...

...From the Outside

Shift in Google's Strategy... New Level 5 Leader?

As I was cruising around on the Wall Street Journal's homepage, I noticed an interesting article concerning the internet giant Google. Instead of relating this to Porter's 5 forces or the Profit Pools models, I decided this was an excellent example of Jim Collins's idea of a shift to a possible level 5 leader. As you can read in this WSJ article, long-time CEO Eric Schmidt will be replaced by one of Google's co-founders, Larry Page. The article then gives a brief description of this new CEO-to-be.

The writer describes Larry Page as follows:

Mr. Page is an introvert who keeps a low public profile and sticks to the product side of the business, taking the lead on the company's biggest product initiatives. Since the birth of a child in recent years, he has adopted an even lower profile outside Google, according to several Silicon Valley executives.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094340081291776.html#ixzz1BgvdoMlH

This to me, remember, I'm clearly on the outside, seems like a classic description of a Level 5 Leader, as described by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. Now I don't necessarily want to turn this into a prophecy, but if it's correct, I'll definitely call it such, but I think this could be a big step for the sustained success of Google. I'm not suggesting that Google needs to move from "good to great," by any means. I think most people would agree that Google is already a great company. I do think, however, that this is a move in the right direction to truly sustain Google's greatness, which would, by Collins's definition, make Google "Great." This is only my idea of what could happen, given this shift. Remember, I'm on the outside, using my perspective and resources, and merely interpreting what i observe.


From the Outside...

From the Outside...

In my life, I've observed many things. I think any story can be told in an infinite number of ways. The determining factor behind the differences is merely perspective. I don't claim to have insider information on almost anything. Given my perspective, From the Outside, is how I view the world going on around me. It's my best interpretation applied to an observed situation. My blogging efforts will not necessarily be regular. I just think this may be an outlet I can use for various outlet purposes, often including school assignments. Here we go...

I don't necessarily claim much of this to be accurate, but merely observed and interpreted from my perspective: From the Outside.