London and Tokyo: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - Coursework Example

London and Tokyo: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Insert Insert Both Tokyo and London are the leading global cities. London sets on as the capital city of England, and it is labeled as the most popular city in the United Kingdom while Tokyo is japan’s capital city and is the world’s most popular metropolitan area. The global cities Tokyo and London have undergone immense and comparable changes over years in their economic, social structure and spatial organization. These two cities have strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to global stature. Strengths are all positive factors that give a business or projects advantage over others. Weaknesses are factors that place a business at a disadvantage over other businesses; opportunities are elements that a business can maximize to its advantage while elements that can lead to problems and hinder success of a business are threats. The document presents strength accounts of the states the cities; London and Tokyo are a subject. Strengths London has strengths in commerce, learning and education, arts and fashion, and entertainment. The city is famous for tourism, professional services, media, and healthcare. Tokyo has strengths in entertainment, culture, unlimited choice of shopping and hotel. It also has a number of good museums, historical sites and gardens (COFFEY, Shearmur R &, 2002). Green spaces at its outskirts are also very attractive especially to visitors. In terms of business, London is a very attractive city to do business. It is the world-leading city in business and commerce. It has best transport links, ready markets and availability of qualified staff who can be employed in all corners, be it business or industry. Both cities have well-maintained transport systems, airports, rail transport, and road transport. The Tokyo international airport receives international flights; the rail transport is faster thus movement is much easier within the city limousine bus service provide transportation, the circular line the Yamanote connects most transfer points in Tokyo city. London flights are much cheaper within and out of the city, London tube an underground rail network provide quick means of transport around London city. A docklands light railway system is also put in place to provide transport to Canary Wharf. London city has cycle hire scheme, which are much cheaper and easily accessible to all. To reduce traffic within the city, river bus services are provided (JASSOP, 1998). Airport capacity increases the efficiency of their customers. London has a 45-kilometer floating runway that has helped to minimize the relocation of people for expansion. This marine airport has helped reduce noise pollution. The development of the airport helps increase the revenue for the city since many people can come and go at a larger number. London having a tourism industry expanding the airport will increase the number of tourists (FERRY, Bogart W T &, 1999). Being a tourist city, it also hinders the number of visitors arriving in the city because of the small capacity the airport can handle. Hence, London has an advantage when it comes to airport capacity. Tokyo has invested more on Olympics and Paralympics games that they believe will boost their economy by 2020 as it did London city. Education in London is more advanced than Tokyo; it has more libraries, archives, galleries and headquarters of the professional association. It has best universities; UCL University is described as ‘the knowledge capital of the world’. London city is an education city. The location of the UCL University at the center of the capital, availability of the center of culture, politics, government, law and the great financial institutions of city of London explains the importance education has been accorded in London (GREENE, 2009). In Tokyo, education is much cheaper than London since most children go to public schools sponsored by the government, university education is also provided by the government at a subsidized cost. Another major strength is the economy. Tokyo’s economy is driven by manufacturing and industry, being the leading industrial center it has majored in the production of electronic equipment has and book printing which earns them much income through exports boosting their economy by far. The cities cleanliness, hospitality, and public safety has encouraged investment in the hotel. Many big hotels and restaurants have emerged in the city. Since most financial, management centers and the Tokyo stock exchange are located in the city, businesses thrive more easily in the area. London’s economy is driven by trade and commerce and earns a GDP of over £565 billion. London has very many banks both local and foreign and financial sectors. These sectors have employed most of its population. The presence of FOREX exchange in the region is a greater strength since most foreign and local investors choose to invest near the financial institutions. Most companies have their headquarters in London, the BBC, Barclays bank, virgin and many more industries. Tokyo also has in place international finance centers; it houses headquarters of world investment banks and insurance companies (KRUGMAN, 2006). London has lively cultural scenes, theater, music and street performers. The production quality in the industries is high in both London and Tokyo in order to maintain good relationship with their customers and develop strong customer links. Health care in Tokyo is of high standards. Cleanliness is paramount, the restaurants are very clean and tidy, the food and water are sanitized thus safe to consume. The air is free from smog and noise. All the public members are provided a medical cover by the government through the national health insurance whiles the employed are given the cover by their employer this reduces medical cost thus improving the economy (LESTER, Millen D P &, 2000). Most hospitals available in Tokyo are operated by universities like university of Tokyo hospital; others are private and religious groups like the Tokyo Adventist and St. Luke’s International hospitals operate others. London also provides medical cover to its civilians and has the best hospitals to treat all kinds of diseases. The hospitals are equipped with the latest state of the earth facilities. Both cities are centers and headquarters of public and private sectors. Offices are concentrated in the cities since they are the major transportation hubs of the regions. The small population in London is easy to govern and manage but is believed to be growing dynamically for the betterment of the economy. Tokyo’s population being much higher is hard to manage but measures have been put in place to reduce it for easy management and effective resource allocation. Tourism; London is the world’s top tourism destination. Sources from the tourism sector 2012 show that it attracted 15.3 million international visitors in 2011 alone that spent £9.4 billion improving the city’s economy. Attraction sites include; London eye, house of parliament, tower of London and the Buckingham palace. The St Paul’s cathedral, London dungeon and the tower bridge experience among others attract most tourists. Museums togther with accompanying galleries are free to enter increasing tourist visitations (MITRA, Henderson J V &, 1996). Parks and open spaces for resting, strolling and relaxing like Green Park near the city and the Greenwich Park are a common features in the city attracting both local and foreigners. In Japan, Tokyo is the most attractive sites to visit, the Meiji shrine that is a symbol of Tokyo, the Endo-Tokyo museum that is an open-air museum. The unique design fiesta, the Asahi Beer hall, and Tokyo’s National Museum among other attractive sites bring tourists who improve the economic development of the city and the country at large (MCDONALD, 1998). Availability of best road networks makes touring much easier and fun. Workforce, London receive ready workforce from their universities who can work in their industries, hospitals and school at a lower cost compared with getting workforce from another country. Since they train more experts especially in medicine, they export their services to other countries that need medics and in turn earn foreign exchange. E-Industry in London has the best information and communication technology infrastructure in place. This is meant to promote innovation, support environmental industries, and creative industries. In order to achieve full use of the e-industry system, London has provided affordable internet access to each one to improve internet marketing and communication. It has provided high quality and affordable business premises and incubator units for research and business (MCMILLER, 2001). The city of London has installed in place wireless computing equipment, which costs much less to support e-infrastructure. Weaknesses Residential rental yield is high in Tokyo due to high demand and the land related policies in place. This makes housing higher than expected. Tokyo has a high unemployment rate due to its large population rate that depends entirely on the government for basic needs like medical, shelter and education. London experiences high employee’s turnover especially in health sectors due to low salaries and poor working conditions (White, 1976). Most employees move out to look for greener pastures, and this affects organization growth since replacement is always expensive and time-consuming (MITRA, Henderson J V &, 1996). Housing in London is very expensive and are of quality. Businesses doing real estate tend to make good money. The problem with housing is that it varies with the economy of the country when the economy is high houses are very expensive and vice versa when it drops. The houses in London are very hence good for business since employees will not have a problem with a place to stay. Compared to Tokyo city the houses are cheap but not of high quality, they are few, houses should be invested here (MORI, Fujitam &, 2001). Both cities experience inflation due to the global recession that affected almost each part of the world’s economy. The Increase in commodity prices was observed. As a result thus halting manufacturing or increasing the cost of production in most cases. Mortgages increased and most people were unable to repay the debts they owed the mortgage companies leading to bad death. The Increase in fuel and food prices depleted household incomes of most people thus lowering the economy. The Increase in financial volatility is another weakness; London saw the falling of long-term bond yield and thinning of the global stock markets in the region. The exchange rates in both cities stock markets have stagnated movement. Credit growth has slowed down in Tokyo and London due to tight monetary policy. Commodity prices have fallen in almost all corners of the world affecting Tokyo’s and London economies since both depended on exports of their industrial goods to earn income (MUTH, 1999). Oil prices affect all activities in a country; city or state, the rise of energy cost means increased production cost, transport cost and eventually commodity cost. This weakness affected both cities. An economic boom in Japan mainly affected Tokyo when the country appeared as a global financial center competitor. The economic uprise led to negative thought especially to real estate owners. Land prices ascended at the time, as well as the price of Japan yen. Tokyo was again affected by the national economy. In 1999, Japan began recovery from its longest and most severe slump since the end of World War II. Downside risk has increased; most banks giving out loans may tighten their lending policy to reduce loans the lending rate is increased to cater for unpaid loans. Political instability and natural calamities can hinder economies of both Tokyo and London (ODLAND, 2009). Lack of raw materials, importing raw materials from other countries make production cost higher hence products price will be higher in the market compared with other similar products. This may affect industries since they may need to lower their commodity prices for the products to be accepted in the market. This act will mean less profit is made which may not be enough for general production and an industry in such situation can collapse (LESTER, Millen D P &, 2000). Staff turnover is the number of employees leaving an organization annually. Having high employee turnover affects the organization negatively. It increases the organization expense cost. That is by increasing the value of the interviews and training of new employees. It also reduces the employee moral because high employee turnover means that employees are not satisfied hence does not help improve organization performance. Inexperienced employees will not perform well as the new employees since they do not have experience. There is a concern with London high staff turnover especially in the health care sector the main reason being the low salary and the poor working conditions. Their health sector does not have enough resources and the workers here get less pay. Hence, they leave the job to look for better pay elsewhere. Tokyo is the FIFTH cheapest city in the world making employee turnover low hence the money that could be used in hiring new employees is used somewhere else (SONG, Small K A &, 2005). Opportunities Availability of strong and advanced computer technology has enabled industries in Tokyo, and London advertises their products and sells them globally. Good transport facilities in both cities allow movement of goods and expertise faster and conveniently. Due to the availability of electronic cash transfer systems, business people can do their transactions without much movement. The customer orders for goods he/she has spotted on the internet and payment is completed electronically. Customer care services have improved by the use of latest program designed to handle customer requests online, this means global time difference cannot hinder businesses since the system will be working on 24-hour basis (WHITE, 2009). Fiber optic and satellite have improved internet globally thus marketing of goods and services is done online at very cheap rates and through skipping a customer can communicate face by face with the seller. Innovative ways have emerged, every day; there is a new brand in the market from Tokyo or London. The room for innovation creates more room for entrepreneurs thus, job creation, which means economy, will be boosted (JASSOP, 1998). Students in universities especially Tokyo is given chances to expand their capabilities and implement them if they work. This has made Tokyo remain the most industrialized city. Due to the availability of cheap air travel in the two cities, goods and services are guaranteed to reach the markets in time without damage and at a favorable cost. Low cost for commodities producers will mean gaining of the market over other counterparts thus the need for increased production. The high population in Tokyo can provide a market for the produce, but London need more market overseas due to its low population (MORI, Fujitam &, 2001). Availability of financial sectors in the cities makes the transaction easier since no much movement to and from banks. Threats The monetary exchange rate is threat faced by both cities; the exchange rate is influenced by global markets thus it fluctuates from time to time. When the dollar increases, commodity prices rise Cybercrime is a threat though organized in a single place may cause destructions globally. Online buying and selling will be hindered since the electronic money transfer system may be hacked leading to loss of money. Hackers sending dirty stuff like propaganda through the company’s website may hinder online marketing. The cybercriminals have developed new and advanced ways, which can hack into the control system of industries causing mishaps; they attack oil distribution channels and stock exchange market, and this can bring services to a halt. Lack of ready market for new products; goods produce must have a ready market to avoid loss and unnecessary expenses of restoring. Before any venture is undertaken, extensive research on possible markets must be undertaken (SUDJIC, 2012). In case of bad economy when good produced are no more in demand, workers may need to be retrenched due to lack of enough income for salaries and sometimes the company may need to close down if the products are obsolete. This closing down means unemployment to quite a number of people thus lowering economic level of a city or country. Insecurity is another threat faced; businesses may need to close down due of massive insecurity in the cities. Natural calamities like earthquakes also threaten businesses growth in case it strikes, most businesses are destroyed. UK hostility to migrants is a threat London faces since it will not receive investors from different parts of the world. Availability of cheap substitute products , customers may move to buy substitute products like rice instead of maize or may opt to buy a car from china than Japan if prices differ and one is favorable than the other (SASSEN, 2001). To maintain available markets, thorough research on customers like and dislikes must be done so that only customer’s favorites are produced to avoid loss of potential markets. Another big threat that may hinder cities to prosper is political instability; in case of political unrest, most industries will end up being closed. Investors will go back to their respective countries and industries may lack raw materials due to transport itch that may be caused by the unrest. All this will hurt the economy and hinder the growth of global cities (HARTWICK, Hartwick P &, 2008). Terrorism is a global issue and threatened each person. Terrorism has affected tourism sector in both countries, tourists visiting such centers have drastically reduced due to fear of terrorism. Inequality in terms of salaries threatens industrial sector in London, the top personnel earn more and receive salary increment while the lowly paid receive no increment. This has forced many workers to move to foreign countries to look for better wages. Conclusion Tokyo and London have shown great strengths on the need to develop as global cities. London has a stronghold on commerce, learning, education, art & fashion and entertainment. Meanwhile, Tokyo has an explicit entertainment culture, unlimited options for shopping and hotels. Both cities greatly enjoy the benefit of their historical sites and gardens, museums and the airport capacity of their customers. Tokyo is also striving to concentrate on Olympics and Paralympics as did London. The economies of the two cities are an enabling factor besides the lively cultural scenes, theaters and music industry. Another source of strength includes being headquarters for private and public sectors, tourism and availability of workforce. The two cities experience similar weaknesses that include expensive housing, inflation as a result of the recession in the world market and an increase in financial volatility. They experience a fluctuation in oil prices which affects activities and the national economy. They also lack raw materials and experience a lot of staff turnover. Opportunities available for both cities include availability of latest advances in technology that are suitable for online marketing. They have an incredible network of transport by road, rail and air transportation that makes delivery of goods quicker to the markets. Both have widespread use of electronic cash transfers that makes buying and selling of goods and services convenient even for the online stores. Fiber optic network is well distributed thus has become the cornerstone of the thriving and cheap internet availability. Both countries also face threats in various sectors including fluctuation in the exchange rate, increased cyber crime and the inadequate market for novel products. They also face insecurity challenges besides the general need to research on their clients for efficient service delivery. Terrorism is also another threat that they face as do other countries in the world. Though London is currently a global city, Tokyo is trying its best to achieve what a global city requires. It has in place international finance centers; it houses headquarters of world investment banks and insurance companies. Though it has achieved all these, it still cannot be a global city since it has too much bureaucracy and inadequate regulations in place. It is the only market for domestic, not foreign companies as London is. Tokyo remains supreme in manufacturing and research development. London will remain a global city because it does international trading with other countries and conducts complex and critical financial operations and furthermore it is ranked the highest according to stock market capitalization. List of References COFFEY, Shearmur R &. 2002. A tale of four cities Environment and Planning. London: Manchester University Press. FERRY, Bogart W T &. 1999. Employment Centres in Urban Studies. Urban Economics. 23(4), pp.565-76. GREENE. 2009. Evaluating Transformation from a monocentric to polycentric city. Professional Geography. 55(4), pp.23-99. HARTWICK, Hartwick P &. 2008. Efficient resource allocation in the amulti nucleated city with intermediate goods. 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