Globalization and Ikea free essay sample

1. How has the globalisation of markets benefited IKEA? The globalisastion of markets has allowed IKEA to increase its market to 33 countries, catering to the many tastes and trends of stylish furniture at cost effective prices. IKEA, the home furnishing super-store has grown into a global cult brand with 230 stores in 33 countries that host 410 million shoppers a year. IKEA targets the global middle class who are looking for low-priced buy attractively designed furniture and household items. 2. How has the globalisation of production benefited IKEA?IKEA is able to keep its prices low, and seek to lower them, by finding different ways to cut costs. With a network of 1,300 suppliers in 53 countries, IKEA devotes considerable attention to finding the right manufacturer for each item. For example, IKEA used to manufacture its Klippan love seat in Sweden but soon transferred production to lower cost suppliers in Poland. As demand for the Klippan grew, IDEA then decided that is made more sense to work with suppliers in each of the company’s big markets to avoid the costs associated with shipping the product all over the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization and Ikea or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Today there are five suppliers of the frames in Europe, plus three int he United States and two in China. To reduce the cost of the cotton slipcovers, IKEA has concentrated production in four core suppliers in China and Europe. The resulting efficienies from these gloabl sourcing decisions enabled IKEA to reduce the price of the Klippan by some 40% between 1999 and 2005. 3. What does the IKEA story teach you about the limits of treating the entire world as a single integrated global marketplace?IKEAs story teaches us that there are still differences between the various national markets and that they key to success is to be able to adapt and compromise to cater to the local tastes and trends. Despite its standard formula, to achieve glabl succes IKEA had to adapt its offerings to the tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations. IKEA first discovered this in the early 1990s when it entered the US. The company soon found that its European-style offerings didn’t always resonate with American consumers.Beds were measured in centimeter, not the king, queen, and twin sizes with which Americans are familiar. Sofas weren’t big enough, glasses were too samll, curtains too short, and US siz appliance didn’t fit in the kitchens. Since then, IKEA has redesigned its US offerings t appeal to American consumers, which has resulted in stronger sales. Similarly adaption occurred with the China market, including a â€Å"balcony† section since many China homes had balconies. Also, since not everyone had a car, IKEA ensured that their stores were located near public transport. 1.How has the globalization of the markets benefited IKEA? IKEA begun manufacturing its product in Sweden but to lower its costs, IKEA decided to transfer its product to Poland. But as demand for certain products grew, IKEA decided that they had to work with suppliers in each of the company’s big market to avoid shipping costs by transporting product all over the world. So now they have 5 suppliers in Europe, 3 in United States and 2 in China. What this has done for IKEA is lower their costs, and by lowering their costs, they were able to lower the prices of certain products.For example: by reducing the price of Klippan by 40 percent in a certain period of time 2. How has the globalization of production benefited IKEA? IKEA had to adapt its offerings/products to the tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations. This necessarily wasn’t a negative thing for the company. When IKEA first introduced their products to the American consumers, sales were very low due to the fact that American consumers weren’t familiar with the European styles. For example when it came to beds, the American consumers were familiar with king size, queens size or twin size beds. And not beds measured in centimeters. European sofa’s were not big enough, wardrobe drawers were not deep enough, glasses were too small and the U. S. appliances didn’t fit in the European kitchens. So IKEA redesigned its products to please the U. S consumers and all of this resulted in stronger sales. IKEA is also planning to do this in China. The store layout will look like the layout of a Chinese apartment. In China many apartments have balconies, so IKEA will have a special section for balconies. IKEA will do this so that that its offerings will be familiar and please the Chinese consumers so that it can also generate great results.So by redesigning new products IKEA could see stronger results. 3. What does the Ikea story teach you about the limits of treating the entire world as a single integrated global marketplace? That IKEA went from having Europeans styles of offerings to also having American styles and Asian styles. So they went from having one certain style and developed this into many more so they can please all kinds of consumers from all over the world. That is what is meant with a single integrated global marketplace. So they integrated they products.

Belonging in Society essays

Belonging in Society essays Belonging is important for our growth to independence; even further, it is important for our growth to inner freedom and maturity. It is only through belonging that we can break out of the shell of individualism and self-centredness that both protects and isolates us. However, the human drive for belonging also has its pitfalls. There is an innate need in our hearts to identify with a group, both for protection and for security, to discover and affirm our identity, and to use the group to prove our worthiness and goodness, indeed even to prove that we are better than others. It is my belief that it is not religion or culture at the root of human conflict, but the way in which groups use religion or culture to dominate one another. Let me hasten to add that if it were not religion or culture that people use as a stick with which to beat others, they would just use something else. Are human beings basically evil? The French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, maintained that love is only one person's freedom eating up another's freedom. Are we all called to live and die in conflict? Do all our generous acts merely conceal the need to be superior to others? Sartre leads me to my main point: What is the need to belong? Is it only a way to deal with personal insecurity, sharing in the sense of identity that a group provides? Or is this sense of belonging an important part of everyone's journey to freedom? Is the sense of belonging akin to the earth itself, a nurturing medium that allows plants and trees to grow and to share their flowers and fruits with all? A group is the manifestation of this need to belong. A group can, however, close in on itself, believing that it is superior to others. But my vision is that belonging should be at the heart of a fundamental discovery: that we all belong to a common humanity, the human race. We may be rooted in a specific family and culture, but we come to this earth open up to others, ...