Haitis Ministry of Tourism - Case Study Example

Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism A. Haiti’s current competitive strategy: Question Haiti’s low salary scale plus its low crime rate, is one of its competitive strategies. Haiti has a competitive advantage compared to its competitors in the tourism industry. A tourist has a cost advantage for visiting Haiti as compared to over places. The low cost of prices in the visited places in Haiti ensures affordability without compromising on the luxury that a tourist could be looking for. This will lead more tourists from around the globe to flock Haiti due to the cost advantage that they get. They can enjoy more for less. Consequently, Haiti’s low salary-pegged tourism marketing strategy is a viable cost advantage and results to increasing Haiti’s competitiveness in tourism (Witcher 4). Haiti’s pro poor tourism programs train the residents to be good tourist guides. The government’s inclusion of poor residents in the nation’s policymaking decisions ensures the poor have better chances of finding jobs, especially tourist guide jobs. The tourism programs include the St. Lucia Heritage Tourism Programme (Kolbe et al.6). Question 2 Haiti gained differentiation advantage (Freeman 85). In 2013, research showed that Haiti has unique products for tourists being offered in the diversified packaging. Haiti culture and lifestyles has attracted and retained many tourists who desire to go back for holidays every year. The neighboring countries that are regarded as Haiti’s competitors dwarf the uniqueness and hospitability of the Haitians. For instance, Dominican Republic’s culture differs from the Haiti’s culture (Tiudor 5). Research shows that the Haiti visitors recall the most meaningful portion of their Haiti visit is the friendly and accommodating attitude of the residents. The majority of the tourists, including the visiting working class and middle class visitors, felt at home and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Haitian residents. In 2013, another differentiation strategy is inviting Haiti friends and relatives to visit. Recent research showed 62 percent of Haiti tourists visited their friends and family members (Kolb et al. 10) B. Comprehensive list of future Competitive Strategy alternatives for Haiti 1. Future strategy alternatives available to gain future Cost Advantage There are future strategies that will help gain future cost advantage (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 81). The government can involve its citizens by encouraging people to invite their friends and relatives to visit Haiti in 2014 and future. Such encouragement will reduce the government’s paying for tourism promotion activities, which are very expensive in terms of labor and advertising. This can be done by advertising Haiti’s Catholic fiestas to the world starting in 2014. Catholic tourists will surely visit the annual Catholic fiestas. The government can purchase its tourism and other government requirements from the lowest priced suppliers, increasing Haiti’s cost advantage. The government can invite companies or entities to offer bids to handle the tourism industry in Haiti. The government must continue to educate or train more excellent tourist guides to improve the tourism industry. Future strategy alternatives are available to gain future Differentiation Advantage From 2014, the Haiti government can engage in other future strategy alternatives to gain differentiation advantage (Sekhar 14). The government can advertise the people’s friendly attitude and the annual Haiti Catholic fiestas. Consequently, the tourist targets are persuaded to try the friendly Haiti hospitality, increasing tourist visits. Next, the government can advertise the beaches as good tourist destinations. Consequently, tourist arrivals will increase. C. Future Competitive Strategies do you recommend for Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism I highly recommend to the Haiti Ministry of Tourism to create a viable partnership with several partners in order to increase tourism visits. First, the Tourism ministry must join hand with the local residents to encourage prior tourists, relatives, and friends to visit Haiti (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 214). Third, the government can advertise in other countries the Haiti tourist spots, reduce tourist visit requirements, and increase Catholic Festival tourism visits. 2. Competitive/ Business Strategy – Baidu A. Baidu’s current competitive strategy 1. Baidu gained cost advantage by prioritizing on serving the needs of the local Chinese market segment (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 487). Baidu hired the services of the local Chinese entity, Baidu Netcom. Consequently, Baidu paid lower traffic acquisition costs compared to Google’s China operations. Baidu did not pay dividends to the stockholders, unlike Google. Consequently, the saved dividends are used for the payment of the company’s China operating costs. 2. Baidu gained differentiation Advantage. By focusing on a captured Chinese market, Baidu performed financially better than Google. Baidu focuses on using the Chinese language as the medium of internet advertising and research. Likewise, Baidu catered to serving the advertising and research needs of Chinese entities having business or other requirements of the Japanese partners. Baidu’s taxation advantage, lower taxes, intergration of Chinese culture in its business model gives it a good differentiation advantage over Google’s entry into the China internet market. Further, the payment of dividends allows Baidu to use the advertising and other cash inflows to pay for the firm operating expenses. Question B Future strategy alternatives available to gain future Cost Advantage There are future alternatives available to increase Baidu’s future cost advantage. First, the company should design its products in a more current sleek ways that appeals to the youths, who are the biggest consumers of internet products around the globe. Reducing employees’ redundancy can be achieved through automation of the working process at the firm head office (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 506). In order for the organization to have cost advantage in the future, it should improve its distribution methodologies. This could be achieved through sourcing for services from the cheapest suppliers. Future Strategy Alternatives to gain Future Differentiation Advantage Baidu can engage in future strategy alternatives to gain future differentiation advantage. Baidu can set up its internet advertising and internet research services outside China. By replicating Baidu’s China success in other countries, Baidu’s global advertising and research revenues will more than triple. Next, Baidu can acquire other companies that complement the services of Baidu to enter new markets. Question C Baidu can list its stocks in the stock markets (Freeman 85). By listing the company’s shares in the stocks, more investors will infuse funds into the company. Consequently, the company can use the funds to expand its services to other countries. Similarly, Baidu can seek investors who are willing fund the company’s expansion into new internet-related markets. The company can implement a global marketing strategy to gain online clients from around the world. 3. Corporate/ Directional Strategy A. Corporate/ Directional Strategies Blockbuster is currently pursuing a. Intensive Strategies Blockbuster can implement intensive strategies (Freeman 85). The intensive strategies will ensure penetration into the competitors’ market. First, Blockbuster must require Movielink to allow the copying of the downloaded movies onto hard disks. Currently, Movielink does not offer this service in compliance with agreement with the five movie producers. By doing so, Blockbuster will be able to keep abreast of or steer ahead of its top competitor, Netflix. Next, Blockbuster can offer faster downloading of movies to less than 30 minutes. By doing so, more customers will shift to the faster movie downloading services of Blockbuster. Lastly, Blockbuster can lower its pricing to ten percent lower than the competitors’ average rate, b. Diversification Strategies Blockbuster can engage in diversification strategies (Freeman 85). The company can engage in the Ebook download business. The company can engage in Ebook renting and Ebook sales. The new Ebook market revenues will increase the company’s total revenues. B. Comprehensive list of future Corporate Strategy alternatives Blockbuster can engage in future corporate strategy alternatives (Freeman 85). Blockbuster can acquire Netflix or another competitor, if Blockbuster has the funds. The company can offer lower rates to the current and future customers. Lower rates will increase customer demands. The company can set up more branches. More branches will increase revenues. C. Future Corporate Strategy Blockbuster can engage in a future corporate strategy (Freeman 85). The strategy is to offer an online messaging system to its current and future customers. The company uses the free messaging system update the customers on status of requested movie films. The company can engage in selling or renting of ebooks to compete against Amazon. 4. Corporate/ Directional Strategy A. Corporate/ Directional Strategies is Cemex currently pursued a. Intensive Strategies Cemex prioritizes intensive strategies (Hill 81). The strategies include acquiring competing companies in a new country or location. The Cemex Cement Company is able to acquire several cement companies in other countries. Another strategy is acquiring companies that ensure more effective delivery of Cemex services. Cemex acquired undervalued and low performing competitors and turned them into top cement sellers. By acquiring other competitors, the company is able to increase its customers, increase its global presence, and combine expertise with managers and experts of the acquired companies. b. Integration Strategies The company implements a strong supply chain relationship (Witcher 4). The company supplies high quality cement products that are adapted to each community’s unique cement requirements to increase customer demand for the products. The company coordinates or even acquires the suppliers in order to ensure raw materials arrive just in time to produce the required cement and other related products. Cemex has a strong supply chain relationship with grinding mills, storage silos, cement truckers, cement stores, B. Comprehensive list of future Corporate Strategy alternatives Cemex can engage in future corporate strategy alternatives (Witcher 4). In terms of intensive strategies, the company can offer discounts during promotion periods. The discounts will increase the demand for the Cemex products. The company offer free delivery services to bulk customers. The free service will persuade the current and future customers to patronize the new Cemex products. The company can engage selling cement blocks. The selling of cement blocks will add additional revenues. C. What Future Corporate Strategy do you recommend for Cemex and why? In terms of integration strategies, the company can increase the number of suppliers to ensure delivery of Cemex raw materials and other supplies (Witcher 4). Cemex can offer discounts to bulk customers in order to increase the current customers’ demands. Cemex can sell the products in more stores and more locations in order to ensure more customers can reach and acquire the Cemex products. 5. TNK BP The global competitive grocery market is a fierce fight among three major competitors. The competitors are Tesco, Sainsbury, and ASDA. Tesco occupies the top revenue spot, including 30 % of U.K. market during 2008. Sainsbury occupies 2nd spot. ASDA landed on 3rd revenue generating spot. The marketing strategies of the three competitors focused on outranking their competitors. Sainsbury’s successful King’s recovery program took over some of Tesco market segment shares. Tesco expanded to the U.S. and other non-United Kingdom markets. Tesco’s top revenue position is ensured with the acquisition of several companies. The companies included Poland’s HIT supermarkets, China’s Hymall store chain, and Japan’s C-2 company. Tesco entered joint ventures with Korea’s Samsung, and Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand. Tesco expanded to selling clothes, electronics, music downloads, and insurance and other products (Sekhar 14). 6. Acquisition Strategies There are many benefits of acquisition (Sekhar 14). Acquisition allows entry into new markets. Next, acquisition increases the customer base and eventually reduces the competitors by acquiring them. Further, acquisition allows exchange of technology among the combined companies. Acquired companies will ensure better service to the current and future customers, especially when the acquired company is part of Cemex value chain or supply chain. There are many challenges to acquisition (Sekhar 14). One of the challenges is the refusal of some retained employees to accept work changes. Another is culture differences among combined companies. Next, the integration plan implementation conflicts may arise. Lastly, synergy issues may slow down the smooth operations flow. Works Cited Freeman, Edward. Strategic Management: Stakeholder Approach. New York: University Press, 2010. Print. Hitt, Michael, Ireland, Duane and Hoskisson, Robert. Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Kolbe, Athena. Keely Brookes and Muggah Robert. Is Tourism Haiti’s Magic Bullet. Strategic. Strategic Note, p. 1-23: Print Sekhar, Satya. Business Policy and Strategic Management. New York: IK Ltd Press, 2009. Print. Tuider, Katherine. Dominican Republic. New York: Other Places Press, 2012. Print. Witcher, Barry. Strategic Management. New York: Cengage Learning , 2010. Print. Read More