Economic Malaise of Japan - Essay Example

1. One of the key reasons that made Frito Lay focus on sales results, as a key indicator for job performance for route sales representatives is that since the company paid the employees on a commission basis depending on the number of snacks they sold, it was an adequate motivation for the employees to try to maximize their sales. Some of the features of the sales job that made it appropriate for a results-based approach to job performance are that the number of sales that the employees make determines the number of profits that the company will make. Secondly is that the payment mode of the job is on a commission basis depending on the number of sales that an individual makes.
2. One of the advantages that accrue to Frito Lay in defining the performance of its route sales employees in terms of its behavior is that it is able to concentrate on areas that will increase the sales depending on the route. However, a major disadvantage of this method in defining behavior is that it makes it difficult to shift employees from one route to another due to the different behaviors that are required to make sales. In order to address these issues, a commission pay system should be modified to include a system of payment that is dependent on the timeliness of arrival for the high-volume route employees and the ability of low-volume route employees to negotiate for the ideal shelf space.
3. Frito Lay emphasized the behavior of the route employees in its research to increase its sales, however, there are other dimensions that are equally important, such as the different abilities and educational levels of the employees, as they will determine how effectively they will be able to handle their duties. Overlooking these aspects of performance is bound to make the route employees unable to meet their targets, which leads to low pay, and the company will record low profits.

Indonesia- Asia stumbling giant

1. The poor economic performance that has been experienced in Indonesia has been because of political and economic factors. Some of the political factors that contributed to the poor economic performance include the rule of Dictator Suharto that left the country with huge debts to pay, in addition, the levels of corruption and lack of political goodwill have led to the stagnation of the economy. The economic factors that have contributed to the poor economic performance include the reduction in foreign direct investments, the bureaucratic process that takes up to 151 days in order for a person to get a license to operate a business have also contributed to the low economic performance of Indonesia (Lewis, 91). These two factors are related since the political class, who have embezzled public funds and failed to formulate policies to spur economic growth has created a poor economic environment in the country.
2. Some of the reasons that might have led to foreign firms leaving Indonesia in the early 2000s include the corruption levels in the country and bureaucratic processes; this meant a decline in GDP since there was no revenue generated by the firms anymore. In order to reverse this trend, the levels of corruption and bureaucratic processes should be addressed.
3. Corruption in Indonesia is a challenge since the political class lacks the goodwill to eradicate it, as they are also involved, this has made foreign investors shy away from investing in the country.
4. A major risk that foreign firms in Indonesia face is jailing their employees or their operation licenses not being renewed due to failure to give bribes to the authorities. To reduce these risks, these firms should lobby the government to create a favorable business environment for foreign firms.

Japan’s economic malaise

1. The Japanese economy has stagnated because after the economic depression that the country faced, the country has been unable to spur economic growth again despite the government's efforts.
2. The downward trend in the Japanese economy in the last 20 years has several lessons for other countries; one of the major lessons is the speed in which the countries respond to signs of deflation as the slow response to fall in asset prices contributed to the economic depression that the country faced. Secondly are the negative effects that an aging population has on the economic growth of a country. Some measures that the countries can put in place to avoid deflationary spiral is to ensure a quick response to the signs of deflation and put in place policies to ensure population growth is above the replacement levels.
3. In my opinion, a change in consumer behavior would help to get the Japanese economy moving, through lobbying for increased spending as a sign of loyalty to the country and changing immigration policies to encourage foreigners to apply for Japanese citizenship.
4. Some of the implications for doing business in the country include low returns to investments, however, the zero interest rates ensure the costs of operating a business in the country are low.
5. India, this is because as a business whose motivation is high returns on investments, India has a favorable economic growth rate, which would mean more revenue for the business as compared to Japan.