Essay Questions
Essay Questions
Q. 1
One of most successful and fastest growing railroad firms in North America, the Union Pacific Corporation’s activities and operations are affected by a host of social, demographic, technological, environmental, geographic, economic, and political or legal factors external to its business environment.
The technological factors that are likely to affect the company’s future operations are advancements in railroad and transport technology in general. The company will need to its operations, systems, and processes to keep up with these technological changes, such as the CAD III which is a computer-aided dispatcher. The demographic factors that will affect the corporation are changes and trends in the population of North American nations. For instance, as the population increases, the company will have to cater for an increased customer base. Social changes in people’s lifestyles requiring them to use alternative means of transport will also adversely affect its profitability and sustainability. Legal and environmental laws and regulations set by the US government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Railroad agency will also affect UPC by requiring strict adherence to and compliance with environmental pollution rules. Political changes witnessed in the US may affect UPC as the government moves to improve transportation.
Q. 2
The level of competition in the fast food industry among restaurants such as McDonald’s KFC, Burger King and other firms is relatively high with each business enterprise competing for customers in the market (Eskandari, Miri, Gholami, & Nia, 2015). The low number of firms in the industry, the low switching costs and high aggressiveness among firms are some of the factors that intensify competition in the first food industry.
Purchasers’ Bargaining Power
The purchasing ability of customers or buyers in the industry is high though it is hampered by health concerns among consumers concerning the potential health impacts of fast food. The high bargaining power of purchasers is brought about by the high availability of substitutes, and a large number of fast food restaurants in the industry (Eskandari, Miri, Gholami, & Nia, 2015).
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers’ power in the fast food industry is relatively weaker due to the low forward vertical integration, the large number of suppliers in the industry and the high overall supply in the supply chain.
Threat from Substitutes
One of the major concerns for firms in the fast food industry is the threat of substitutes caused by low switching costs and high availability of substitute products acting as alternatives for consumers (Mashhadi & Rehman, 2012)
Threat of New Entrants
The threat of new entry into the fast food industry is low as a result of high brand development costs, high capital costs, and the high competition which thwart new entries.
Based on this analysis, the fast food industry is unattractive, particularly for small firms with the low capital base.
Q. 3
There are various reasons why diversity is important to an organization’s success. According to Saxena (2014), diversity is key to employee productivity and ultimately to organizational performance because it affects the interpersonal relationships in the workplace and the attitude of workers towards the organization and its customers. It enables a company to survive and compete favorably in the highly competitive market where quality and diverse human capital with appropriate skills are essential for success. A study by Simons and Rowland (2011) also shows that diversity affects organizational performance by positively influencing organizational or employee expectations and outcome besides leading to team performance effectiveness and efficiency.
The potential ramifications to an organization for not practicing diversity management include poor performance, low customer and employee satisfaction and the possibility of being outcompeted.
Examples of the factors that contribute to job satisfaction and also impact attitude and diversity in organizations are company values or culture, and working conditions.
Q. 4
According to a 2016 report by the U.S. Department of State titled Volume II: Money Laundering and Financial Crimes, most of the funds from international aid agencies and financial institutions end up in the hands of corrupt government officials and cartels. Corruption in the political, governmental and banking systems or institutions of most developing countries is the single most important factor that accounts for the misuse of funds from the IMF and the World Bank. Another factor is the lack of efficient banking and money tracking systems coupled with weak legal systems that allow money laundering to thrive and hence making it difficult to track money stolen and stashed in foreign nations. The other factor responsible for this state of affair is poor governance and lack of accountability for loss of funds from the IMF and World Bank.
References
Eskandari, M.J., Miri, M, Gholami, S., & Nia, H.R.S. (2015). Factors affecting the competitiveness of the food industry by using Porter’s Five Forces model: a Case study in Hamdan Province, Iran. Journal of Asian Scientific Research, 5(4), 185-197
Mashhadi, A.H., & Rehman, O. (2012). The impact of external environment on the performance of the first food industry. International Journal of Management, Economics, and Social Sciences, 1(1), 19-25
Saxena, A. (2014). Workplace diversity: A key to improving productivity. Procedia Economics and Finance, 11, 77-85
Simons, S.M., & Rowlnad, K.N. (2011). Diversity and its impacts on organizational performance: The influence of diversity of constructions on expectations and outcomes. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 6(3), 172-182
