BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT

ASSIGNMENT 1:

Barnes & Noble, Inc. is a fortune 500 company. This is the well known in the American book store industry. Barnes and Noble is the largest retail book seller in the United States. This company was founded in the New York in United States. This company is the leading retailer of the content, digital media and other educational products in the country. This company belongs to the book seller industry. The domestic environment for the company is United States. The company was incorporated on November 19, 1986. In this American Book Store industry, there are main three competitors of the Barnes & Noble such as Apple Inc., Book-A-Million, Inc and Amazon.com (Daft, 2012). The company has divided its business in many segments such as B&N Retail, B&N College and NOOK. NOOK includes the digital business. This company also sells the books and other contents online. It had established the digital subsidiary NOOK Media; it supports and creates the digital content and products for the digital reading and education markets. Because of these attributes this company is admired by the people.

The company is using effective business survival plan and strategies. The industry is using the theory of strategic planning and SWOT analysis. The business theorist is Albert S. Humphrey (Neely, 2002). The company is suing so many strategies such as; focus on the target customers, competing with its legacy business and staying humble without what can be known. There are so many government regulations which are associated with this industry in the United States. There is the regulation on the retail book store that no one will monopolize the market. There are the regulations of US government about the business gratuities. The government has increased the regulations on the online retail stores.

The domestic regulation in the United States of America will affect the company in the domestic environment of the United States. The US government has the rule that it will not accept, promising, offering and delivering the gift favor or other gratuity to the official and the employees of the US government. The Barnes & Nobel Company is complying with all the regulations of the government. These regulations create the competition in the book store industry for the Barnes & Nobel (Neely, 2002). By the rule of gratuity, the vendor of the Barnes & Nobel will run the business in ethical and legal manner. It will be free from the potential, personal and private interests that can affect the professional judgment and my impact adversely the Barnes and Nobel.

The government has increased the regulations on the online retail stores then it has decreased the revenues of the digital media of the Barnes & Nobel Company that is NOOK. The company had big loss. This was driving up the cost of the online sales. If the company wants to overcome this issue then the Barnes and Nobel needs to realize that its stores can be the key asset to the company. The company should use the book stores to market its eBook to the consumers. The regulation of the compliances can create the conflict in the organization.

For this the company should make some internal rules and regulations so the employees can follow these ethics and code of conduct. The changes in the international and federal regulations can impact the business of the company. Changes in the sales and other tax collection can harm the business of the company (Daft, 2012). The unfavorable regulations and laws can diminish the demand for products and services Barnes & Nobel and can increase its cost of doing the business.

The company is using various strategies and following the theories of the strategic planning and SWOT analysis. This theory will help the organization to overcome with the adverse effect of the regulations of the government. The company should make the regulation in which the company makes sure that the company has all the facts. The company should approach the ethics and compliance issues. The company should build strong distribution channels and e-commerce business.

References

Daft, R. (2012). Organization Theory and Design. Cengage Learning.

Neely, A.D. (2002). Business Performance Measurement: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Strategy to Barriers of Government Regulations

Akia Carter

BUSN310

Running head: BUSINESS THEORY 1

BUSINESS THEORY 18

19 Dec 2014

Barnes and Noble (B&N) a US based company with interests in content, technology and commerce as well. Domestically, there are several basic regulations by the US government that determine the operations of the business (Zara, 1994). These regulations include issues such as environmental, health, labor and employment, among others. Currently, the domestic environment for B&N is fairly favorable in terms of government regulations. Globally, B&N can do well in some African markets such as Kenya.

There are many reasons that make Kenya a better choice for setting up a content, technology and commerce based multinational business. B&N would benefit from all the sectors or areas that bar it from achieving profitability in the US. The first benefit would come as a result of the profitability realized through the availability of affordable labor. Since, the country is still developing; the minimum wages are much cheaper as compared to the US which is a developed country. In addition, the employment regulations are not as many and strict as the ones practiced in the US. The other benefit that would be provided by the idea of doing business in Kenya is, the less demanding laws on environment, health and safety requirements as compared to the US. This ease is a result of the efforts by the Kenyan government in trying to improve on its economy by wooing new investors.

There are a few barriers nevertheless when B&N decides to set up shop in Kenya. The first barrier is the high cost of certification, which is imposed on foreign governments. Usually, certification and incorporation of businesses owned by foreign businesses are usually charged very high as compared to the charges against local organizations. These costs are also accompanied by excessive certification tests and set standards which are usually not subjected to the Kenyan firms which are competing in the same industry. This issue covers all the environmental issues such as levels of carbon emissions among others. The second barrier by the foreign government to B&N setting up business in the Kenyan market is the often cases of increased imports which are subsidized in prices. In return, these subsidized imports on companies dealing with the related services and goods would bring about unfair competition to B&N hence this may eat into its profits.

There are various strategies that might be employed by B&N so as to enable it deal with those barriers. In order to deal with the high costs associated with registering businesses, B&N may have little bargaining power since those are set policies. However, to recover on such high costs, the organization may decide to transfer the cost down to their customers by slightly increasing the prices charged for their services or products and so on. This strategy would enable the company to recover on all the costs which it spent on registering. Once it has recovered, it may reduce the prices charged for its content and technology services (Woods, 2003). The other strategy to help deal with the subsidized imports by the Kenyan government on the competing foreign firms may be regulated. This benefit would be best achieved through an elaborate discussion before setting up shop in that market. The company should state its interests clearly and negotiate for them in hand before the company is set up. To achieve this, the company would have to state clear and extensive terms with the foreign government so that there is no confusion. These terms should aim to protect B&N’s interests against future competitors who may threaten its profitability.

In conclusion, both domestic and international business environments may be profitable but risky at the same time. However, it is the duty B&N to devise strategies that would ensure that it overcomes these barriers.

References

Woods, C. (2002). The Champions of Globalizations. The Global Business Journal, 84-89.

Zara, N. (1994). Organizational capabilities, Innovation, and the International Business. Journal of International Business, 126-134.

ASSIGNMENT 3:

The Case of Barnes and Noble

Today’s business environment is featured by wide advancements in information technology that have necessitated business organizations to advance their strategies in order to ensure that they cope with the changing global business environment. In the process of applying both the hard and soft technology in their business operations, business organizations have been applying a wide range of strategies to make sure that they get rid of the barriers facing them in surviving sustainably in the contemporary business environment. However, some of the barriers encountered in coping with the challenges facing the global business environment, especially when it is technologically advanced, firms need to come up with sustainable means of coping up with the provisions of the environment. As a matter of protecting the company’s protective strategy, Barnes & Noble in this case, has devised different means of protecting its hard, as well as soft technology.

In its operations Barnes & Noble applies different forms of soft and hard technologies for the domestic and global environments that it covers. The hard technology involves the domain of machines, tools, as well as equipment that is employed in the realms of the operations of the business organization in an attempt to accommodate, alter, as well as manage the workplace for human development and survival (Khosrowpour, 2006). Hard technology, in this case, is aimed at delivering the aspects of the material life that the human resources look forward to achieve. With this in mind, hard technology aims at the physical enhancement of organizational operations with an aim to ensure the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. In realizing its strategic and business goals and objectives, Barnes & Noble applies hard technology I terms of different aspects including the use of advanced machinery and equipment. Such equipment and machinery have been used in serving the firm’s local, as well as international areas of operation. In carrying out its operations, the company applies a wide range of equipment and machinery in order to facilitate its dealership with all the customers (Lehaney, Lovett, & Shah, 2011). The use of such advanced technologies in the machinery and equipment achieves the alignment with today’s advancement in information technology, and thus, the achievement of the firm’s objectives.

On the contrary, soft technology in the company involves knowledge that is derived social, as well as traditional areas and thus, used in solving practical problems that may be encountered in the organization. Such soft technology acts as the realm of emotion, thought, as well as individual and organizational behavior involving the human society (Khosrowpour, 2006). In as far as ethical and moral considerations are concerned, hard technology does not take a part in determining organizational welfare rather, and soft technology does. The incorporation of soft technology may be applied in the organization in processes involving training and development of the workforce, the creation of local and international competitive advantage, as well as enhancing industrial development systems. With such issues in mind, Barnes & Noble applies such forms of soft technology as those that involve the processes of human social activity, as well as psychological systems. Such processes include innovation that involves devising new and more effective means of carrying out business, and the subsequent development of higher-quality products and services (Jin, 2011). In addition, Barnes & Noble uses human thoughts and ideologies as means of enhancing the achievement of the set goals and objectives. Individual and organizational behaviors are also major components of soft technology. The organization ensures that it aligns the individual and organizational behaviors towards ensuring that they are aligned to the long and short-term objectives of the firm. In such a case, individuals in the organization are required to adhere to the set rules, standards, as well as core competencies, with the main aim of coming up with a corrective effort towards the achievement of a common objective. In addition, skills and competencies make part of the soft technology of the firm (Lehaney, Lovett, & Shah, 2011). The firm ensures the use of diversified skills and competencies in covering its international market, especially at such a time when the contemporary business environment is becoming globalized. Such technologies involve the use of manpower as a means of achieving the operational goals of the organization.

As the company applies both the hard and the soft technologies, however, it experiences a wide variety of barriers. Such barriers include the resistance of the employees to change. As the organization needs to apply advanced hard technology in terms of machinery, tools, and equipment, some of the employees may not be willing to acquire new skills, in terms of soft technology, in order to cope with the contemporary business environment (Khosrowpour, 2006). However, the organization may overcome such a barrier through developing training programs. Such programs will enable employees to appreciate the technology that the company wishes to formulate and implement in its operations. The adoption of soft and hard technology may also be faced by the barrier of inflated costs. The start-up, as well as the maintenance costs involved in implementing the technologies may be exorbitant for the organization. For instance, ensuring the use of a diversified skills and competencies in terms of soft technology may be a costly strategy for the firm. However, the firm may cover such costs by developing a strategy that ensures that all employees engage in an interaction program that enables them to cope with the diversity in the workplace (Lehaney, Lovett, & Shah, 2011). By ensuring that the firm covers such barriers, it is able to enjoy the overall benefits of both soft and hard technology. As a result, the firm protects its technology to ensure that it enjoys such benefits in the long-run.

In order to ensure that it enjoys the benefits of soft and hard technology, the company protects its technology through different means. Such means include ensuring information privacy through the use of passwords and information authorization. Such a means ensures that the firm protects employees’ information, as well as the information accessibility in its information system. The strategy ensures that the diversity principles of soft technology and the machinery and tools systems are well-protected from unauthorized access (Jin, 2011). Through the protection of its technology, the firm ensures that it achieves the benefits that come with the adoption of both soft and hard technologies.

References

Jin, Z. (2011). Global Technological Change: From Hard Technology to Soft Technology. London: Intellect Books.

Khosrowpour, M. (2006). Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management: 2006 Information Resources Management Association International Conference, Washington, DC, USA, May 21-24, 2006, Volume 1. New York: Idea Group Inc (IGI).

Lehaney, B., Lovett, P., & Shah, M. (2011). Business Information Systems and Technology: A Primer. Amsterdam: Routledge.0

ASSIGNMENT 4:

The term Environmental integration is simply verifying that, ecological concerns are completely considered in the choices and exercises of the related part where Barnes & Noble Corporation have blended with the fruition of their merger, to authoritatively structure American Group Inc. (By DePillis, Lydia (10 July 2013)).

The U.S. Barnes & Noble has a hearty local and worldwide system. Barnes & Noble, Inc is a Fortune 500 organization, the biggest retail book shop in the United States, and the main retailer of substance, advanced media and instructive items in the nation. The organization works 658 retail locations (as of August 2, 2014) in every one of the 50 states notwithstanding 705 school book shops that serve in excess of 5 million understudies and more than 250,000 working parts the nation over. The Barnes & Noble, Inc has the scale, broadness and capacities to contend all the more adequately and beneficially in the worldwide commercial center by considering the political and lawful environment where their clients are appreciating to get to more profits and expanded administration over the joined organization's bigger overall system, its through an improved one-world Alliance. With a stretched worldwide system and the solid budgetary establishment of U.S Aviation routes, has been conveying huge profits to groups, shoppers, representatives and stakeholders. (By DePillis, Lydia (10 July 2013)), In spite of the fact that they have met up as one organization in United States household environment and worldwide environment where they particularly concentrating on United Kingdom (U.k.), this matter has explained by the compelling incorporation of political signs and lawful principles emulating, which have been approved by U.S government and the legislature has provided for them a Single Operating Certificate which is relied upon to take roughly 18 to 24 promising new months.

Barnes & Noble works predominantly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of book shops and the organization's central station are at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Ladies' Mile Historic District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ. After an arrangement of mergers and liquidations in the American book shop industry since the 1990s, Barnes & Noble stands as America's last staying national book shop chain. At one time, Barnes and Noble worked the chain of little B. Dalton Booksellers stores in shopping centers until they advertised the liquidation of the chain. The organization is known for substantial retail outlets, large portions of which contain a bistro serving Starbucks espresso. Most stores offer books, magazines, daily papers, Dvds, realistic books, blessings, amusements, music, and Nook tablets and tablets. Feature amusements and related things were sold in the organization's Gamestop retail outlets until October 2004, when the division was spun off into an autonomous organization (By Matt (10 July 2013)).few confinements as talked about beneath, have likewise constrain the opposition:

They have confronted noteworthy nonpolitical hindrances, for example, vocal "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) resistance and the natural clamor and outflows contemplation's where government law limits the charge air terminals and have charge air bearers to sums which are "reasonable and sensible".

United States and United Kingdom for opening the book business to outside access and evacuate the obstructions to rivalry. By evacuating the passageway boundaries, a worldwide industry can work better with an universally minded set principles, which would permit the organization to from one nation (or speculators of any kind) to make aerial transports in an alternate nation (right to foundation) and to work local and also worldwide administrations in the region of an alternate nation (By Matt (10 July 2013))..

National (U.S) proprietorship laws are additionally an ancient obstruction to a more focused books organization. These guidelines appear to reflect a sympathy toward the national security despite the fact that numerous businesses as much vital as aerial shuttle industry don't have such confined.

Barnes & Noble, the biggest book retailer and second-biggest merchant of eBooks in the U.S, has some huge issues. A rundown:

-The moderate decrease of blocks and-mortar retail generally, exacerbated in Barnes & Noble's case by the move from perusing print books to eBooks (which are just about solely sold online and through gadgets)

– The end of development for tablet deals. Indeed distributers believe that tablets will soon be unimportant

– Barnes & Noble's disappointment to develop Nook tablet deals while its rivals are becoming deals for their tablet gadgets, riding a climbing overall tide of tablet appropriation by buyers

Also, all the more by and large: While contenders Apple, Amazon and Kobo keep on stretching globally while battling for piece of the overall industry in the U.s., Barnes & Noble has scarcely stretched to the UK, not to mention the many nations the others are now in(By DePillis, Lydia (10 July 2013)).

The proof of these issues is in the organization's poor execution in its last quarter. It affirmed the results a week ago and they weren't great: incomes were down more than anticipated over the organization. Yet, the organization's stock cost didn't move. Why? I think this is on the grounds that administrator and biggest stockholder Len Riggio is investigating purchasing the retail division, involved almost 700 blocks and-mortar stores over the U.s., and taking it private, leaving the school book shop section and Nook (together, Nook Media)

References:

1. DePillis, Lydia (10 July 2013). "Barnes & Noble’s troubles don’t show why bookstores are doomed. They show how they’ll survive." The Washington Post. Retrieved30 October 2013. it's now the only national bookstore chain in the country

2. Townsend, Matt (10 July 2013). "Bookstores Not Dead Yet as Riggio Bets on Barnes & Noble". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 30 October 2013. the last national bookstore chain

3. "Barnes & Noble to Move." The Bookseller and Stationer, January 1. 1922 pg 13

ASSIGNMENT 5:

Domestically, Canada, the United States, and Mexico have the North American Free Business Accord, which would integrate the three nations. Though culturally different, via a pattern of existence, geographically and under different languages and various governments, for gathering they will be classified together. Internationally, the opposing society cluster is Europe, in nature the European Economic Financial Union but the country is Germany. Barnes & the Noble is one of USA’s leading retail bookseller and other media stuff. And is transacted on the New York stockpile exchange. The comparison of the cultural cluster, in which Barnes & the Noble operates, shows that there are vertical and horizontal differences working in the USA and Canada. The socio-cultural association of booth these countries are very varied. While the population in USA is diverse with many ethnic groups each identified by an ethnic status, the Canadian population is not all that diverse. The Barnes & Noble Company is an advanced and well-equipped technology organization. The firm carries out growth, manufacture and sales of books and media product components and high-performance educational products. Canada is essential for trade productivity. Skillful immigrants, who came in the recent ten years, contributed to 70 percent of the development in Canada’s labor force during the same period. 3 Moreover, as the man force continues to age (half of North America’s Boomers will be 55 or older by 2011), skilled laborer shortages will be filled by new Canadians.

The small ranking of Long-term Orientation reflects a freedom in the culture from long traditional commitments, which allows larger flexibility and the self-rule to react quickly to new options. The fifty nations governed on a federal level consists of United States of America, as well as a state level. Writing Laws at both degrees, and when conducting trade in the United States an individual must make sure to meet the essentials approved by these laws. The state is very litigious, so legal resources are available, and specialists are found to assist with any transaction. The society and geographic placement of a vicinity will affect how trade operation. Historically, the East Coast is more traditional and official in their manners and dress than the West Coast. That does not mean a West Coast gathering carries any less significance. The lifestyle and climate are just more relaxed, with an indication in the stride and informality. Social, cultural aspect can influence the business. Some perspective includes lifestyle, customs, and values that characterize a society. USA and Canada are each other’s largest business associates, with Canada more slowly joined to the USA than vice versa, and Canada moderately less connected to China and Mexico than the USA. These social, cultural aspects affect business in many ways. Availability of a lot of people increases accessibility of labor making the company run smoothly. USA include many people from different ethnicity and this also increases the need for commodities produced by a corporation. Country differs in terms of preference and value. Company set in any of these countries needs to delivered goods that are relevant to the people of the area, failure to which will lead to business collapse. USA is a more developed and highly regard technology. Values, in this case, are "broad fondness for one situation of affairs above others”. Barnes & the Noble is a well-known biggest leading retailer of content and the retail bookseller, digital platform educational commodities. Such kind of company needs to be set up in the environment where people have upgraded to technology, have a culture of reading and the people who are literate. Comparing company in Canada and USA, a company in USA will do much better than the one set up in Canada. In Canada, the reading culture and technological advancement is bit left behind by USA. People way of life and interest, personal interest affects the national preference and before setting a company one should look for the choice of the population in the nation. Promotion and advertisement are conveying through media. In USA, people are more into technology and advertisement of the company and its product would be much easy unlike in Canada. People’s way of life also known as culture determine business put in place. In USA, Barnes & Noble Company would do much good and would be very prosperous. A company establishment is in a location where purchasing or buying power is high. Geert Hofstede, five aspects of society are the following: Power-distance, Masculinity vs. femininity, Collectivism vs. individualism, Uncertainty avoidance, Long- vs. short-term placement.

References

Morgan .K. (2009). Barnes & Noble: Groundbreaking Entrepreneurs.ABDO

Spindler. G. (2000). Fifty Years of Anthropology and Education 1950-2000: A Spindler Anthology. Psychology Press

ASSIGNMENT 6:

Barnes & Noble

Barnes and Noble continue to be one of the biggest and most successful retail bookselling companies in both domestic and international markets. Besides bookselling, the company engages in content retailing of digital media on their highly advanced platforms. Selling in over six hundred stores within all fifty states of the United States, the company depicts in depth penetration of its domestic market in adherence to Rostow’s stages of growth.

During its foundation in 1886, the company illustrated Rostow’s first stage of development, which is traditional societies because of the limited technology that it used at that time (Rostow, 1991). With regard to economic success, the company had limited production because of factors such as the market’s low demand as well as the suppressed market penetration. Barnes and Noble first retailed in a single store in New York called Arthur Hinds & Company. Evidently, the company sought to market its products in New York prior to the anticipated extension to other American states. In the late 1970s, the company became the first to air its advertisements on national television thus fitting Rostow’s preconditions to take off. By implementing tech advancements, they entered a steady rate of economic growth that earned them a $800,000 revenue in 1979 from all the twenty-two chain stores. The company’s strategy of purchasing smaller stores and pooling them together for the sale of their products further indicated a systematic build up of conditions that better favored their penetration in to the local market. On the contrary, Galbriath believed that bigger companies had influential market control because of their large cash flow, which made smaller companies relatively insignificant in the market.

In contrast to this argument, Barnes and Noble started as a small-scale company selling to not more than a hundred customers yet within a period of five decades it had boosted its clientele to more than twenty thousand customers. Notably, their slow but steady take off defies Galbriath’s hypothesis that argues for the continued success of bigger companies as the opposed to the limited or null chances of small-scale companies to triumph. During this period, Barnes and Noble illustrated utter indulgence in the economic struggle by alleviating its production to meet the already existing market demand as well as the new stores that Barnes and Noble was purchasing in other states. Their retail business grew beyond New York entering nearby and far-flung states widening their domestic regions and escalating them from being a small-scale organization to a large-scale corporation. In preparation of economic self sustenance, Barnes and Noble advanced its tech base and financed its marketing department with vigor to ensure that every consumer remained aware of the new products thus increasing their chances for a constantly growing cash flow (Tan, 2008). Evidently, Roscow’s hypothesis facilitated the company’s penetration and subsequent growth in its local markets identifiable by the six hundred retail stores of Barnes and Noble within the United States.

Galbriath’s economic arguments seek to counter the neoclassical theories despite their outdated relevance. Galbriath’s evolutionary wisdom on economics is settled on the conformation of businesses and organizations to the present market environment in pursuit of fitting these dynamic situations (Everling, 2009). For instance, a domestically selling company is bound to adopt newer market penetration techniques such as tech advancements for it to sell in international markets while remaining conservative of its primary mission. With this regard, and in agreement of this premise, Barnes and Noble adopted the NOOK online platform that allowed all of its subscribed users to read endless books online. This approach effectively boosted their customer base by about a million customers who signed up to the newer way of reading. Furthermore, who not prefer having access to countless books all within reach by the press of a button rather than walking to the book store and purchasing a book? Besides the drastic increase in customers, Barnes and Noble also managed to reach the once aspired international market because their products were now accessible globally. In addition to the NOOK approach, Barnes and Noble continued to purchase and establish new retail outlet stores in other countries such as Germany, France, Britain and South Africa, which ensured that the readers who preferred physical reading materials were not left out of the loop.

While considering international markets Rostow’s hypothesis remains focused on European and American histories thus disregarding African and Asian communities. In that, it speculates application only in communities known to have extreme consumption or affinity for products arguing that only these communities are integral to the anticipated global economic development. As such, this theory fails to elucidate the noteworthy success of Barnes and Noble in international markets because this company perceives all international markets as equal contributors to their revenues. For example, the NOOK platform is available for all users regardless of their present or past locations geographically. In conclusion, both theories contribute distinctly to the past and present economic states of Barnes and Noble while further agreeing and disputing in others. However, their application have earned Barnes and Noble the position it is in now hence additionally contributing to their effectiveness in the economy whether local or international.

References

Everling, C. (2009). Dialectics of Struggle in the Global Economy. Routledge. Business

& Economics Reference.

Tan, F. B. (2008). Global information technologies: Concepts, methodologies, tools and

Applications. Hershey PA: Information Science Reference.

Rostow, W. W. (1991). The Stages of economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto.

Cambridge university Press. Business Economics Reference.