Testing Hafiz's Iphone

Am testing Hafiz's Iphone...... I likeeeee!!!!! Need to buy one... Hmmm maybe after I need to submit back my Blackberry.... I'll buy myself an Iphone....

Blogging with my new Blacknberrry..

Hehehehe just wanna try wheather I can try to blog using my Blackberry.. This is office phone but if all ok.. I might buy my own in the future hehehe..

Just can't find any button for photos lahhh..

Grand Seasons Hotel KL

Hello.. haven't been able to post much .. though I have finished my EMBA... seems that the activities in my area of coverage i.e. Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang had increase folds.. but anyway, I am happy as I have finished my study.. so, my mind's cleared with academic matters and I am able to do my job much more peacefully at 100% plus level hahahhahah...

Oooo.. before sharing my Grand Seasons story... have to share my latest EMBA result this last sem... GPA 4.0 flat and CGPA 3.87.. Alhamdulillahhhhhh.. got my wish of at least scoring one 4 flat in my study and am happy as although I wasn;t able to spend much time studying as well as doing homeworks, I am able to score all As :) .. think the subject is much related to my work aka MATRADE aka national agency for the Malaysian export so subjects such as Globalization.. International Biz and Strategic Management is right up my alley....

Anyway.. have been travelling a lot actually.. early June I went to Jakarta for UITM Dungun - Universitas Trisakti and then Bandung for shopping.. then went to KB for our EBay on Ramp Programme and Kelantan Fiesta (stayed at New Pacific Hotel .. I'll put an entry after this) and then been summoned to MIHAS (thus Grand Seasons).. all in all 3 weeks outside my office.. made me missed my blog.. my computer.. my office in general.. anyway... back to Grand Season...

Goung round MIHAS.. meeting my clients of Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang entreprenuers..

There are two things that I don't like about Grand Season which are i) The
parking entrace are too tight.. I can see lots of injured walls on the way up.. no doubt by countless of cars not carefully driven by the owners.. as well as a bit spooky parking lots... maybe cz I drove there around 9+ after my work were done as wel as happy hours with HQ friends hehehhe..
2) Very unfriendly receptionist.. sure during my registration, there were others checking out but at least ensure more staffs during peak seasons.. before me a guy was so pissed off he refused to talk during his turn. As of myself.. my keys were left by my colleagues.. the reception was unfriendly and only want to check her collection of keys after my friend from secretariat return her call... lo and behold.. the keys was there.. SO! BAD SERVICE GRAND SEASONS!!!!

Parking lots. I parked at 4th floor.

Other than that.. I'm ok with the room.. the hot water was nice and gushing so my hot bath was ready in no time.. and I had a surprised visit by a butterfly outside my window.. and I was at 19th floor!!!! Wow.. a butterfly in KL was surprising enough. Well... enjoy the pics :)







Sorry for the gloominess of the pics... hotels light are always that.. and I'm out of there early in the morning as well as coming back at night so none taken in bright daylight.

Noor Arfa Batik Sales! Again.... 2 June - 30 June 2010

Hmmm.. welll sales again guys.. heard there'll be discount from 20 - 70%.. yessss... :)

My Master Done!!!!!!

Yesssss.... finally after 2 years of intense (??? hhehehhe) study ... my EMBA programme is finally done.. fraught with drama this one as the exepcted date of 29/5 to present being forwarded 4 days earlier to 25/5.. with me and group members dispersed all over the country.. like myself, I had to go to Kota Bharu for my work presentation.. even on Saturday, had to stay up late til 4am just to ensure my scope of work is done huhuhuhuhuhuhu...

Hehehe.. this is the final group presenting.. mine was the first group so no pics for us.. but thankfully, we are able to do the corrections needed by that night.. YES!!!!!!

So, I was free on the 26 and 27 (applied for leave earlier as I thought the VIVA was supposed to be on 29th).. but quite a blessing in disguise cz I have the luvliest 2 days holiday with my boys ;)

Hmmm.. what's next eh?? Think after I came back from Indon.. I'll start doing my E-Bay bizz... it is timely cz I am supposed to do an Ebay course in KB on 14/15.. so, I'll follow up with my own bizz after that hehehhehe..

Yeayyy.. IBizz is finished!! Last course done :)

Alhamdulillah.. last Saturday me and classmate had finished our last presentation.. proposed a potential Malaysia product to a specific country with specific marketing channel - my group did Radix Fried Chicken - franchising in Saudi Arabia....

Hehehehe this is the pic for our last assignment as usual last minute job but thankfully Google help us a lot... This was around 9pm after diligently started the assignment around 2pm... some of the colleagues even forgone sleeping especially as the Proff warned us that he would be very strict indeed. Seen there as well was the Trio Burger.. recipe created by one of UITM Culinary lecturer .. her hubby manned the burger booth.. RM5.. very large portion, tastyyyyy... nyummm....

Hmm so I am very happy. Indeed there'll be ABR in the next two weeks but for today I'm going to enjoy the cool and stress free day for a while.. BEST!

My beloved N70... new batteries for you deary..

Today I took a little time off to buy my beloved N70 a new battery.. hehehe pity for her cz she's suffering from malnourishment due to the old battery had died.. always need CPR.. and I cant take pics anymore cz the battery would die on me...

So today my beloved N70 got a new heart so to speak and her camera has got a new lease of life.. here's a pic of her.. a bit blurry cz I use the front camera of very little mg pixel..

Hmm though I could've buy another one for browsing the net.. I think I will still keep my N70.. convinient (I'm able to text when driving)... taking pics' a snap.. and not so bad quality hehehehe...

Hmm cant wait to use her for my Indon trip next month.. will delete all those old messages (up to 2085 to date.. I did delete some few days earlier) during our bus trip to KLIA.. hope she's get a new lease of live with her dieted down memory then :)

International Bizz: Wal-Mart and Google Assignment

Hmmm... seems like the nearer the completion of my MBA.. the more work needed to be done. These are part of the syllabus for us to do 5 case studies.. here are 2 out of 5. I'm currently doing 3 more... then there's case study as well as group project as well as test next week, and final exam the week after.

I am also currently doing the write up of our ABR ... and we haven't really done the questionairre yet!!!! Yikes!!! It is stressfullllllll!!!!!

WAL-MART’S FOREIGN EXPANSION
CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) The Wal-Mart strategy is to provide every day low prices via its highly efficient operations, logistics and efficiency information system that keeps inventory at a minimum as well as preventing over or under-stocking. From the article, it can be seen that Wal-Mart is successful in the USA as well as 15 nations outside the USA.

However, Wal-Mart also faces problem in some other countries as showed during its initial foray into Mexico and China. These two countries possess different culture in the way people shop and by adapting to these differences, Wal-Mart eventually are able to attract local consumers and then thrive in these countries.
In this regard, Wal-Mart succeeded in other countries by adapting its core merchandising strategy to fit each country’s different culture and norm.

2) Initially, Wal-Mart was facing problem in Mexico due to the difference in shopping habits as Mexican prefers buying fresh products at local stores. This was due to the fact that the food they purchased does not keep fresh overnight which was further aggravated by the lack of large refrigeration at home. As they also lack cars, Mexican do not buy food in bulk.

To cater for the culture difference, Wal-Mart adjusted its strategy to reflect the Mexican culture by hiring local managers with local Mexican knowledge whom are able to control Wal-Mart merchandising strategy. Wal-Mart also builds smaller stores for Mexican to ensure ease of walking advantage and offering more fresh produce.

In addition, Wal-Mart also aimed to change its Mexican customers’ shopping habit by demonstrating that the US merchandising culture of larger distribution centers would enable lower cost of merchandise. This will result in savings which will ultimately be received by the consumer. Wal-Mart perseverance, customization as well as low prices offered ultimately changed the Mexican shopping habits. As a result, Wal-Mart became the largest Mexican retailers. In turn, Mexico is now Wal-Mart’s most successful foreign venture.

3) Wal-Mart failed in South Korea and Germany mainly due to the fact that both countries are developed countries with existing established local rivals that had adapted its offering to their consumers’ preference and local shopping habits. In this regard, the existing local rivals have already secured their consumers’ loyalties which make it difficult for newcomers such as Wal-Mart to compete.
In addition, the consumers prefer high quality merchandises rather than Wal-Mart’s offering of low price due to discount strategy. This further strengthens consumer resistance from patronizing Wal-Mart.

4) Expanding in China fits Wal-Mart aim to venture in developing market with the lack of strong local competitors as well as the ability to shape the existing shopping culture toward its benefits and low-price strategy appeal. In the first decade of its operation in China, Wal-Mart expands slowly as shown by only 66 stores were being opened from 1996 - 2006. Even though Chinese’s bargain hunting culture ensure acceptance of Wal-Mart’s low-price strategy and wide selection offered, Wal-Mart still fail to adapt local culture in its merchandising and operations strategy.
By understanding the local Chinese culture of having their food freshly harvested or killed before the purchase as well as offering local delicacies such as turtles, Wal-Mart had earned the Chinese trust to purchase. In addition, though initially Wal-Mart was against union of workers, it adapted by allowing union for its Chinese workers, where union act as arm of state rather than in USA where union are used for labor contracts bargaining.

Adaptions of these local cultures enable Wal-Mart to expand rapidly via acquisition of Trust-Mart chain by 35 per cent. In this regard, Wal-Mart is on track for success in China which it now considers as the centre of its growth strategy.

5) By studying the culture of a nation, companies like Wal-Mart are able to tackle the consumer’s preference and therefore enjoying tremendous growth. Beginning from its founder Sam Walton, combination of culture values was kept constant with a business modal that are able to respond quickly to a changing world. Even today, Wal-Mart identifies its challenge as to lead change while upholding the culture that makes them a great company. In the age of globalization, Wal-Mart had embarked in the expansion of its business worldwide that had presented them with more challenges due to diverse cultures and norms they had to face.

Based on their failure in German, Wal-Mart had learned that they cannot create change unless they first understand the culture that they want to change. It adopted localization in its policy of going abroad, in the sense that it had to be flexible and adaptable as well understanding of the locals. This is vital to ensure its survival in its new territory.

After global consumer acceptance, Wal-Mart will be able to convince local customer of its core values which includes placing customers first with good services and products at lowest costs. As Wal-Mart values are towards the consumer benefits, by highlighting the advantage of patronizing Wal-Mart, it will ultimately able to convince customer to appreciate their original core values which was demonstrated by its success in Mexico and China.

In this regard “Glocalization” or going global but also localized toward the culture of each country, Wal-Mart are therefore able to run a global business in which it is able to maintain its huge economies of scale and buying power while in the same time being flexible at the local level.

GOOGLE IN CHINA
CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1) Google decided to operate in China due to the strategic and vast opportunity that China’s internet population of 100 million users presented. This translated into world’s largest internet market as well as potential major source of marketing revenue for Google. Decision was therefore made for Google to establish full operations in China in term of having its own computer server and a Chinese website. Operating in China also solved the problem of slowness for Google in serving the Chinese market which was made worst by the censorship imposition as well as tackling its rival’s presence in China such as Yahoo!, MSN and Baidu.

Google would also be compromising its “don’t be evil” mantra by operating in China as it would be subjected to Chinese regulations including information censure. In this regard, Google adopted the stance of giving its Chinese users “the greatest amount of information possible”.

The fundamental philosophical approach towards ethics that Google undertake when it decide to enter China is the Utilitarian Ethics on which the moral worth of actions or practices is determined by their consequences. Utilitarianism judges an action desirable if it resulted in the best possible balance of good consequences against bad consequences. In this regard, the Chinese people though would only be able to access censored information, it is better than no information at all or experiencing bad service. Google too would benefit in term of getting access to the Chinese users and therefore earning better revenue which would be a positive result against in shareholders’ satisfaction.

Another theory that defines Google’s decision is the Rights Theories which recognize human being as having the fundamental rights and privileges transcending national boundaries and culture. Rights establishment should be set at level of the minimum of morally accepted behavior. In its decision in operating in China, Google’s objective was to give the Chinese users “the greatest amount of information possible” within the stipulation of the China government rule and regulation. This is basically the minimum standard required of the rights for information which can be defined as the fundamental rights and privileges of the China people.

2) The engagement of self-censorship by Google China was in accordance of the China’s rules and regulations which clearly violated Google’s mantra of “don’t be evil”. This resulted in its Chinese users claiming that Google are more interested in making profits than defending its principle. However, Google management defended the move by claiming that giving the Chinese users limited information is better than none at all.

In my opinion however, Google should be standing for its mantra of “don’t be evil” which is no censure at all for information. In this regard, it is better for Google to operate outside China where it would not be govern by Chinese regulations. Google would then be able to give fair free access of information even though its service would be degraded due to Chinese government direct censorship. As seen in recent news, Google had since ceased its operation due to reason as stated by its chief legal officer David Drummond “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results," written in January 2010. Since then, Google shifted its operation to Hong Kong while its Chinese website was maintained in order to direct users towards its Hong Kong website.

In this regard, it is better for the government to censure rather that doing self censorship because of Google’s original philosophy of free information for all. In addition, there are still possibilities that the Chinese government to engage in further censorship on top of the self censure.

In the long term as globalization expands further, it is not unlikely for China’s internet users or even the China government itself would be able to accept availability of information without censure. By sticking to its principle, Google would be better off as it would be able to stick to its principle of “free information for all” which in the long run would earn it credence towards its future Chinese internet users.

3) Should all foreign search engines refused to invest in China due to censorship, the immediate result would be in term of knowledge available both in China and outside of China. The Chinese people would be deprived from relatively free information that these search engines provides while the outside people will be less well-informed of what transpired in China. In addition, China would lose financially as these search engines will withdraw their facilities and therefore closing down their China offices as well as laying of their local staffs.

However, in the increasingly globalised world where information access is of paramount importance, I believe that in the future, the Chinese people would be able to access the foreign search engine to access the information they wanted. The Chinese government would also in the long term, be pressurized by the international bodies to open up its close door policy in free information for all.
In the initial stage, the Chinese government and its sanctioned search engine would clearly benefit i.e. the Chinese government would upheld its value via censoring information deemed sensitive while Baidu would enjoy the vast Chinese internet market which directly translated to tremendous advertising revenue.

The Chinese people would clearly be at the losing end the most as they would only received safe and regulated information as opposed to the full access of free information available that they have the right to. The foreign search engine including Google would also be at a losing point as they are unable to tap the huge number of China’s internet users that represent huge potential earning in term of revenue from advertising etc.

4) Should all foreign search engine refused to invest in China due to censorship, the local search engine Baidu would certainly benefited as there would be no direct competitors.