excellent organization is come from within

Assalamualaikum..morning everyone!

Last weekend was so enjoyable for me. Why?? Let’s story..:D.. last weekend was a graduation day for our senior that finished their studies last semester. So, I as a member of MyAgrosis USIM was assigned to sell flowers on that day at the CFest (convocation festival). We were 13 people in total for selling the flowers. On Saturday morning, we had a brief explanation about the flowers and their prices from the worker of the flowers’ supplier. She has a unique yet beautiful name; Nur Cahaya. We just called her sis cahaya. So, we began to sell the flowers. At first, there are just a few who came to our booth but then people started to fill the booth at noon. Luckily, we have enough members joined in and the sales of flowers run smoothly. Besides selling flowers, we also sell drinks and guava as an additional income. But, the weather turned bad passed the noon. The rain started to pour heavily and we have to save a few flowers that a little bit exposed and also teddy bears from getting wet. There was water logged and sloppy in our booth, thus we cannot escape from getting wet. Despite that, people still came into our booth and we also treat the customers with smiles. We finished our selling on that day at 6.30 p.m. At the night, my energy was depleted and I was ‘fainted’ after praying maghrib. Thanks to Nabihah for wake me up to pray Isya’. Tomorrow morning, we came to our booth at 8.00 a.m but we got a little chaotic because we were running out of ribbons for the flowers and customers already started to come. Luckily, one of the members, Sahidah knows how to make ribbon and we learned from her. I end up making ribbons for the day with Sahidah. At noon, the graduation event had already ended but there are still 46 bouquets of flowers that are not sold yet. So, we just ‘lelong’ the flowers to RM10 per bouquet and the flowers finally sold out..Alhamdulillah. This experience is so valuable to be keep in my memory and I hope to get experience like this again to enhance my entrepreneur skill.:-)

posing with wrapped bear

other 'flower sis (es?)' - from left; mazidah, kak sya, aishah and nada

On this week lecture, Miss Ummi bring along her niece. She was so adorable playing alone while waiting for her aunt patiently. J..okay, this week, we learned about building an organization capable of good strategy execution. Executing strategy entails figuring out the specific actions, and behaviours that are needed to get things done and deliver good results. It is basically gain command of what managers must do to execute strategy successfully. It is so important to hire, train, and retain the right people for the strategy execution process. It is because good quality workers will result a good quality organization. There are three approaches to building and strengthening capabilities; 1) internal development, 2) acquiring capabilities through mergers and 3) acquisitions and accessing capabilities via collaborative partnerships. I am interested for the third approach and already have someone in mind to collaborate with when I open my bakery in the future. Who?? I won’t tell..hehe.. For organizational structure, I will use a simple structure first in early of business set up. This is because I just have a limited workers and small size business as a beginner. When my business started to grow up and have many branches, I will use functional structure as I need functional lines like R&D, sales and marketing, logistics and others to ensure that my business will run smoothly and more organized. I hope that this dream will come true. In Sya Allah..

That’s all for today, Assalamualaikum and see you again..*wave hand*

corporate strategy; diversify or not???

Assalamualaikum..hye!!

Ah, I really postponed this blog for too long, I am so sorry Miss Ummi. Okay, let’s begin with my story first. There are a lots that I want to write..hehe.. let’s just pick one; Enactus team-building!!! *feeling excited*.. I joined this programme about 2 weeks ago which held in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Enactus, known before October 2012 as Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. *just copy this from wiki..:P*. So, in USIM enactus, we are assigned to conduct three projects and I had chosen the Bambusia project in which we have to plant bamboos and supply the sprout to our seniors who make the Bambusia product. For your information, Bambusia product (powder) had won a prestige award in British Invention Show, London. *feeling proud*. I think that’s enough for the Bambusia’s background.

Actually I want to talk about our team-building. It held for two days where the first day we had a briefing, discussion and presentation about our project. It was a long and tiring day, you know, you have to brainstorming and such until midnight..(but not reached 12 am actually..hee). Meanwhile for second day; outdoor activities!! It was so fun and exciting. At the morning, we were rafting. It was my first time experiencing rafting, and we had to build our raft by ourselves. My hand was hurt when tying the rope but thankfully I didn’t get injured. It took us about twenty minutes to build the raft. After finished, we go rafting! Everyone in my team shouted ‘One! Two! One! Two!' when paddling. The highlight is my team was the FIRST in reaching the finishing point..hehe...*proud again*..after rafting, we had ‘Explorace’. There were five checkpoints and in every checkpoint, there are task assigned to us. I really like the task for the third checkpoint where we had to weave (anyam) ketupat palas. It was a new experience for me watching people makes the ketupat. J Although we were so tired, but it was enjoyable and I can see a good teamwork along the activities held.

Okay, now we get back to the real topic; Strategic Management. This week, we learned about corporate strategy. We learned on how business diversification can enhance shareholder values. Diversification is a corporate strategy to increase sales volume from new products and new markets. For example, Air Asia which previously only offered flight service, now also offered insurance, hotel and telephone service. Diversification into new industries is always merits strong consideration whenever a single-business company encounters diminishing market opportunities and stagnating sales in its principal business. This means, it is not a simple decision yet important to expand our business. There are three steps that must be passed to diversify into a new business; the industry attractiveness test, the cost-off-entry test, and the better-off test. We can enter new businesses by any of these three forms which are acquisition, internal startup, or joint ventures with other companies. If I am about to diversify my bakery shop in the future, I would like to use joint venture.. maybe with a beverage company. But I need to do a research first to consider all factors in diversification process. Miss Ummi had advised us to start business small and do not be greedy. I agreed with her. Start big does not mean we will surely get a big profit, right?

I think that’s all for new..feeling suuuper sleepy right now..nyte everyone!        

getting to know o-shima

Assalamualaikum…peace!

How is everybody? Feeling great today? Me? Hm…just so so..haha..so, what’s new today?? Finally I paid my study fee for this semester..huhuhu..*feeling excited and relieved*.. of course I am feeling so, after few times postponed (actually the bank is not so far though, about 5 minutes by walking..:P). After withdraw my money today and seeing the balance, I cannot accept the reality..you know, the feeling when your money is gone in a large amount leaves a very few balance..yes, that exact feeling..*sigh*..I think I have to minimize my expenses more strictly after this.

money..money..money..($_$)

Well, this week we had an industrial talk. It was very interesting one. The talk is given by Puan  Asnidar Hanim Yusuf, owner of O-shima restaurant. Her restaurant serves Halal Japanese foods mainly sushi, the traditional one..you know, the one which give you natural flavour instead of the new invention one. She previously studied degree and master level in engineering and currently taking PHD in USIM. Because of interest, she and her husband open this restaurant together. She had shared with us her experience in opening a business. She said we have to be tough and strong in this field. She had faced many hurdles and hardness to achieve her success now. For instance, have to close some branch because of workers’ problem (fighting in kitchen) and her business information got dig by her friend and open the same restaurant. Some hurdle gave tears to her but she never feels discouraged but instead she bounced back and strived more. She said we have to be always positive, Allah is always beside us and we have to believe Him and ensure that in everything we do, we must have a sincere intention because of Allah. I really agree with her. Her passion and sincerity in doing business really motivate and encourage me be a success person and insya Allah a success entrepreneur like her. May Allah ease my path. Amiin..

I think that’s the end of my writing right now. Assalamualaikum and goodnight everyone!  

dealing with foreign markets

Assalamualaikum readers and viewers..

I just got back from my hometown yesterday after mid-semester break. I did a lot of things when I was in home..hehe..well, let’s story..first, we went to a vacation!! *happy*..well, it just in Teluk Batik which we frequently went to but this time we spent a night there. My younger sister booked a chalet called Crystal Bay chalet. It is nice and very affordable (RM100 on weekdays, RM125 per night on weekend). What I like the most from this vacation is the foods offered in restaurants we went to are mostly cheap and most importantly I don’t get sunburn..haha..the weather was so nice as it is cloudy so I don’t have to worry to stay long at the seaside. But what disappoint me is the trash litter was everywhere as the day before was Deepavali and the cleaners which mostly Indian had two days off. During the break also, I made my first PASSPORT..*feeling excited*..finally, after two times failed(Pudu-closed because of the electricity problem and Kuala Selangor-run out of numbers). I succeed in getting passport in Teluk Intan. Luckily, the process was fast and I didn’t have to wait for long.

my passport..tihihi

cannot enter Israel la

p/s: no pic for my vacation as i forgot to ask some from my mother (our camerawoman).

Last but not least, I made a strawberry cake (first time) and chocolate cupcakes at home. Although it looks clumsy but it full of sincerity...hehe…thank you Umi for the decoration of the strawberry cake..it took me a night to make the strawberry cake (with decoration), well, first timer..hihi..while for the chocolate cupcakes, I made it for my beloved friends..

my first strawberry cake

made by me, decorated by my friends (ada, nisaa, kinah, sahidah)..:D

Okay, now let’s get back to SM. This time lecture is about strategies for competing in international markets. Most of entrepreneurs must have a will to spend their business not just locally but also into foreign markets. This is because the bigger the market, the better for our product expanding. Through this chapter, I can see that it is more complex and hard than the previous chapters as we are now entering a bigger scope in business. It is because different country will have different cultures, policies, climax, taste and preference and etc. which we have to consider and understand first before entering the market. In home country, which is the country where we begin our business, we don’t have to worry for all these as we know better people in our country. But in host country; the country where we spend our business and open branches there, these all matters. The risks are also higher and we cannot take it lightly. Talking about risk, Miss Ummi had shared with us the issue of LINAS. She said that LINAS came from Australia to our country to dump the radioactive wastage. It obviously cause harm to us but some Malay people just gladly welcome them. Did they ever think on why the company do the project in our country instead of theirs? Well, you can just think about it..is there any country which want to harm their own people? I must say there is, it is Malaysia. I think I get little bit emotional here..hehe..

      We also learned about the strategic options. I interested in franchising strategy which is widely used by companies like KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks, hotels, and etc. It is simpler and easier. Maybe I can also franchise my own bakery shop in the future..huhu..Insya’Allah. Lastly, Miss had shared an interesting video of Oreo sales in China. Oreo originally came from US but it gets a high sale in China. The company had invented many types and shape of it which coincide with the preferences of local people.

yummy!

Well, I think that’s all I can write for this post..feeling so sleepy right now..may meet you again in the next post..nyte!

what makes our company strong

Assalamualaikum..hye!!

As usual, I want to share my story first of all things. I would like to name the story; ‘a very long day for a KFC’..wah, it just come to my mind in a second..I must have a gift in naming things..*self-admired*..ok, this story just happened yesterday. It started when my two friends and I planned to go to Puduraya station to make a passport where we need to use it for our industrial visit. We took ‘prebet’ (don’t know how to translate it into English, kinda like taxi but cheaper and commonly offered by students), KTM, and then LRT to arrive Pudu. Such a long journey..BUT..arrived there, the entrance to the immigration centre was locked and we found a notice written ‘we are sorry. There is electricity problem in immigration centre during this period. Any activity is temporarily stopped until the problem is settled.’ We felt very disappointed and upset. Luckily, I did not go there just for making passport as I also need to buy bus ticket for Saturday. After I bought my ticket, we went to KFC to fill our empty stomach. As I got to try the new set of KFC, I felt slightly happy..hehe..then, we just went home and took LRT, KTM and ‘prebet’ once again. =_=..

this pic makes me crave for it again..*drooled*..:-P

Okay, now we move to the real topic. This week chapter is strengthening a company’s competitive decision: strategic moves, timing and scope of operations. Just like its name, this chapter discuss about a really wide scope about how to amplify our company and products throughout the market. We have to know when will we use offensive (attack) and defensive strategies. I was interested to a strategy called blue-ocean strategy; a market space, where the industry has not yet taken shape, with no rivals and wide-open long-term growth and profit potential for a firm that can create demand for new types of products. It means we produce something new and unique which others never done before. If I want to succeed as a food business successor in the future, I have to start to think about it now. Hmm..any idea?? As the definition, any company who try to create something new called a first mover. It can be advantages and also disadvantages. It will be advantageous if your product gets a good and favorable response where many customers will look up for your product and you get a drastic increase of sales. But, it will be disadvantageous if your product fail to attract people and you already invest a lot of money into it. We also learned about merger. Merger is basically a combining of two or more companies into a single corporate entity with a new name. It can be categorized into two which are horizontal and vertical, but I still have to read more to fully understand the difference. There is also outsourcing where a company has to use outside vendors for their value chain activities mostly because it is cheaper and more flexible.
     I think that’s all for now. Please look up my previous posts also..hehe..*sudden self-promote*..ahh, so tired..k, goodbye everyone..Assalamualaikum..;-) 

let's expand our business using 'five generic competitive strategies'..:)

Peace be upon you! *wink*

Ah, today is Sunday..should I just relax around?? Hee, I better not or else this blog is continuously get postpone. Before I start, I would like to share what I’ve got from yesterday’s programme. It just like a seminar called ‘Bimbingan Kerjaya’ organized by Pembimbing Rakan Universiti (PRU) with collaboration from TaHa@u, Berita Harian, Media Prima Berhad and Avon. It mostly talked about the preparations to go to an interview and also in a workplace. For instance, communicate well in Malay and English language, confident, have a positive and good credibility etc. The third slot was so interesting. It was given by Zahariz Huzaima titled the ‘Malaysian nomad’ which was referred to him. He shared his experience on how he first got to be a nomad person. It started on 2010 in China, he bought a bicycle, tent, and other equipment to live and travelled alone. There are also times where things get so dangerous and his life could be taken away. The first one was when he nearly fell into a cliff when preventing himself from getting hit by a bus in a mountain in China. The second one was when he run out of water in Taklamakan dessert and he had to cycle 400km more to get out of the dessert, but thankfully there are Chinese army passing through and helped him. The third time was when he fell into a freeze river in Sweden and struggled to get out of it. I need to watch his stories to know more. So everybody, let’s watch his documentary every Sunday at 8.30 pm only on tv al-Hijrah. The fifth and sixth slot is also so enjoyable slot which conducted by Ustaz Dr Mohd Izhar Ariff and Ally Iskandar. They really bring much laughter to all of us.

      Okay, how if we start the sharing about my SM lecture. This time, we learned about the five generic competitive strategies. They are; 1) A low-cost provider strategy. 2) A broad differentiation strategy. 3) A focused low-cost strategy. 4) A focused differentiation strategy. 5) A best-cost provider strategy. 

     These strategies are so important as to differentiate our product with other competitors and gain customer’s loyalty. Through this class, I had more understand about economies of scale which is where we can reduce the cost for one unit of production by producing big amount or by bulk. I also want to touch about direct selling, where we use agent to sell our product to people directly. During tutorial class, Madam Huda had shared her experience working as direct seller. It was so hard as she had to turn down her shame and meet any people she see to promote and sell her company’s product, something like snack but I forgot the name/brand. She got her wages by commission, so it depends on her selling. If she work hard and manage to sell many of snacks means she will get high commission and also otherwise. Through this lecture also I learned that offering a low cost product is the best way to win the business of price-sensitive buyers, set the floor on market price and still earn a profit. Well, it makes sense, buyers definitely seek for low price for certain product or service and we as the seller will find the best low price to satisfy the buyers but still gain profit. The companies that use this strategy are Mydin, Air Asia, Dell and McDonalds. But, to succeed in employing a low-cost provider strategy, a company must have the resources and capabilities to keep its costs below those of its competitors. Mistake in any part of the management maybe will lead to loss..who knows? All in all, for all types of generic strategies, success in sustaining the competitive edge depends on resources and capabilities that rivals have a hard time duplicating and for which there are no good substitutes.

I think that’s all for now. I’ll meet u later..Assalamualaikum! 

week five..larger scope awaits me..

Assalamualaikum for anyone who read this post..

1st from all, i would like to apologize to miss ummi as i had postponed this post for too long..

before i start to write about SM, i would like to share my valuable experience that i got from doing a programme called Program Transformasi Diri at SMK Bandar Tasik Selatan last week. It was my first time being a facilitator for secondary school student and it was really 'best'..hehe..i and my classmates did the programme for one and a half day. This programme really teached me a lot on how to conduct a group of people. It is not easy actually to make everyone in the group pay attention and participate in the activities, but alhamdulillah i had overcome the difficulties and finish the programme 'dengan jayanya'..*feeling proud, eyes tearing..sob..sob..* 

       oh, i had some picture..where is it..haa..

these are some facilitators who participated in the programme..guess which one is me?..huhu..

I think that's enough for the sharing..now,we move to things i learned in week 5 (1/10/2013)..

The topic is evaluating a company's resources, capabilities and competitiveness. That day, Miss Ummi had shared a video about McDonald..the content seems blur in my head now but i know that it is about the foundation, their specialties and strategies to make their brand meet the taste of people with different places. I remembered one picture shown that McDonald is written in Arabic language in Middle East which i found very interesting. Then, she asked us about market leader and the example. Now I know that it means a company who dominating the market. For example, Shell dominating fuel market. 

There are many new term that i learned. Do you know that there is a specific term for a knowledge that we learned without realize? it is called tacit knowledge. i also just heard about it. There are some specific indicators of strategic success. First one is VRIN test. VRIN stand for valuable, rare, inimitable (hard to copy) and non-substitutable. The tool used to discover VRIN test is called causal ambiguity which means a tool or strategy that make the rival don't know what makes a company become competitive advantage. Meaning, their resources and capabilities remain safe and confidential. 

          If before i had learned about SWOT analysis, now i know that there is also TOWS matrix.. just a backward order in term of the spelling but it  has wider scope than SWOT analysis. Miss just touched about it in brief. But it's okay..I will learn more about it in the next  tutorial class. 

I think, that's all for my overall understanding for this week. Ahh..i started to feel sleepy even it only 10 p.m..no Waznah, you cannot sleep right now!..there is more assignment to do! aja,aja fighting!!!

I'll get my sweets..bye everyone..salam alayk..