I really need to get out of the habit of abandoning this blog. It's simply not acceptable to abandon my duties when I have personal problems-nobody else gets a bye and I shouldn't be assuming I get one either.
Having said that, here is metapost the second about each class period I missed and up to now, which will encompass: the test, the McDonalds case, the Nukor case, and Kroger.
I was extremely nervous going into the test, to be quite honest. I was so nervous that I couldn't even study, but because I couldn't find anything to study. It reminded me of Info Systems, except not even that, in that Info Systems always had the great quantity of informative slides which contained all of the information I needed to know. However much I was unprepared even by trying to will osmosis of the powerpoints into my brain I felt more at ease. At least there was a guarantee of right and wrong. There wasn't such a thing here, and considering the number of marks on my previous case study homework( an A-, and yes, I fully admit to being nitpicky because it is an A still. But as Glee says, A- is the Asian F), I fully expected there to be in depth questions.
For the test, and for the second case study homework that just passed, I continue to have the feeling that it is hard to split my answers for the questions appropriately. I will include additional information to answer question 1 fully, but then discover that this additional information was exactly what question 2 asked for. Then I would have to repeat it, because it was asked for again, but feel uneasy at the thought that I was so repetitive. This was true on the first two test questions. I included the problems about unattractive market segments in answering the part about Tonka's weaknesses, but the second question needed me to answer about unattractive segments of the toy market, specifically!
Regardless, I'm happy that I made it out of the test well, and am pleasantly surprised at the result.
The McDonalds case was...interesting. While growing up in China McDonalds was like magic to me. I remembered hearing that Beijing had gotten the new McDonalds store, and how it had an enormous play place with things in the food like coca cola and french fries, and being so excited to try. I suppose this shows that McDonald's standardized quality strategy worked quite well. It built a formidable name for itself, to the point where after a while the rest of my family were all curious about it. As American society began to transform into more a more health and environmentally conscious one, however, McDonalds is falling behind. Granted, it now has such an old, large, and loyal following who would pay no heed to the wave of healthy transformations in restaurants.
However, it may be hard for McDonalds to continue expanding its "fanbase", so to speak. The new wave of kids growing up would grow up with more of a health conscious mindset, on the whole. Not to say that kids will not still be kids, and clamor for junk food, but french fries and hamburgers, especially McDonalds' plain standardized versions, will not be as novel anymore. McDonalds is making a good effort to get with the health trend (I hear ads occasionally on the radio about how its apple slices for Kid's meals is supposed to be the new sensation for busy health conscious moms), but I hope it keeps doing more.
Nukor, now was a very technical read. Nothing has reminded me of the time Professor Sudek brought Paul Darbie to speak about his inventions in video projection and lighting than this case. More sections than I cared to count were devoted to explaining how exactly Nukor's inventions were innovative and ahead of the curve. I wanted to care, but felt like I had to be in the steel or at least civil engineering industry to actually appreciate the case, as they intended for me to do. Although I've got a civil engineering dad, his excited techno-babble over the years has yet to succeed in converting me to appreciation of the industry. The science behind it is just...a lot of science.
The company's management and payment style is worth admiration. I commend this company for willing to go against the "productivity" grain and not be distant with its employees. I commend this company for not needing to ax unproductive employees, and not treating them as simple cogs in the machine. Because the company bred absolute loyalty with excellent treatment to its employees, and instead held its managers to a tighter leash, it felt kind of a like a reverse of the traditional structure to me. And that's really interesting to see, especially in a steel company like this. It's not some fast fashion clothing company, or quirky small advertising company, but a steel company producing commodities which has this brilliant employee treatment.
I don't care if I just said I knew not a single thing about steel, it doesn't sound like a bad idea to be hired. If need be, I'll study up. It sounds like these people get decent pay, great treatment by the employers, and ample rest time. In this society of either no pay and no job security, or stress and overwork, such a balance is so rare.
Finally, about Kroger. Kroger, Kroger, Kroger. I initially threw you on my list just because I was running out of things to throw on the list, had vaguely heard of your name on tv or radio, and was late to the ballgame of sending ANY list to the professor(Something I regret terribly, considering I got stuck with you dear grocery store). Imagine to my horrified surprise when you were actually chosen, and with closer inspection, I realized you were a grocery store. What can I say about a grocery store? I tried. You are not PepsiCo, you are not Netflix. On the average weekly basis, all that happens with you can be summarized in the following four things:
1. Change or reporting of this period's stock prices.
2. Some promotion of the month or week. Veteran's day food drive. Breast cancer awareness products. Sustainable seafood promotion.
3. Robbery(Why are there so many robberies in Krogers?)
4. Labor issues, not nation wide, but some random store or the other in the Midwest.
You don't actually seem to be...doing all that much. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the grocery industry, but what a dull company to have been stuck with. After a while all the promotions of the week or month(how in the world are there that many themes to promote on every time?) begin to sound the same. Specific robberies of specific stores are so specific that they belong more on the nightly local news than a generalized report of the firm as a whole. The same with labor issues that affect perhaps one state. I reported on a labor issue in class before, but it was because it affected OUR state, California.
As this is a blog (I certainly HOPE I will never be tried on it in person), I will now admit: I am extremely saddened by the fact that our group has been stuck with the sad fate of reporting on Kroger. Is it because, due to my apathy, that I have not blogged enough updates on Kroger? Is this why Kroger was selected, because out of the five of us in my group I provided the least information thus far about my company? If this is so I sincerely apologize to my group for letting them know of the dullness that is writing about grocery stores.
If this is not, is it at all possible for us to request a company switch? I do not know what companies the rest of my group, besides Eva Wong, is reporting on. Unless someone among us also has Safeway(was that on the list?) and Safeway ends up being the Professor's second decision upon my request...If that is the case, Kroger is fine. If there are no other grocery stores:
I sincerely plead, semi-anonymously, for there to be a company switch for us.
