XboxSeriesX
Should we support fiscal stimulus?
Whenever the topic of stimulus comes up — fiscal or monetary — there are people who argue that it’s pointless because you can’t create wealth simply by printing money out of thin air. This is an understandable intuition for people to have, since one use of money is just to “keep score” of things. If you went to a basketball game for kids, and made each basket count for 10 points instead of two, the scoreboard would be higher, but it wouldn’t mean that the kids were any better at shooting baskets. We’ve all seen currencies of countries (e.g. Venezuela) that added a bunch of zeros to their currency, and those countries are not rich. So from this perspective, no, printing money cannot make a society wealthier.
MBA: EMS Product/Innovation
During my MBA, I took a class on Design Thinking. While not new to me (I originally learned and utilized design thinking in 2011 at a SAP TechEd Innojam event) I wanted to reaffirm and gain deeper understanding into some of the theoretical aspects of the methodology.
During the class, a final project was to reimagine and apply our design thinking skills to a public service organization. We decided to center our project around the Emergency Medical Services industry. While it was probably not my first choice in problems to design around, it has been an eye opening experience to one of the most mentally challenging jobs I have personally come across. I have lived less than a mile from a life saving station for the past 5 years. I have heard the sirens of their ambulances morning, noon and in the middle of night. I have driven past their station hundreds of times and have always appreciated and been thankful for the work they have done, but I honestly never completely understood the scope of their work until spending a few hours interviewing and reading interviews of 11 different EMTs and Paramedics from Gaston and Mecklenburg counties. Each person’s story was unique, each had their own personal struggles and challenges. Below are a few which stood out to me and something I believe will be in the back of my mind each and every time I see or hear a siren.
MBA: Case Study Template
| General Environment |
| Social/Cultural |
| Political/Legal |
| Economic |
| Global |
| Demographic |
| Internal Environment |
| Strengths |
| Weaknesses |
| Competitive Advantage |
| Valuable |
| Rare |
| Imperfectly Imitable“Costly to imitate” |
| Non-Substitutable |
| Industry |
| Inter firm Rivalry |
| Bargaining Power of Buyer |
| Bargaining Power of Supplier |
| Threat of new Entrants |
| Threat of Product Substitutes |
| Competitors |
| Company Strategy |
| Recommendations |
Here is an example of a case study I created using the outline:
Case introduction:
PKG Capital a large US based Private Equity firm has a substantial stake in Kraft Foods since 2001 (@ $31 ps) and are considering selling their share. This is after Kraft share price is declining and there had been a friendly, then subsequently hostile takeover bid to purchase Cadbury’s.
Cadbury’s is in the confectionary space and includes products such as Chocolate (48.6%), gum (12.5%) and sugar treats (34.6%), with cereal bars the remainder.
COGS: ~ 35%
33% Asia, 30% sugar comes from South America
Cocoa from Africam Asia and South America
| Strengths | Growing confectionary market @ 3%3 largest purchase category behind soda and milk.Market leader in the Chocolate category, which accounts for 48.6%Positioned for greater margins. (Commodity prices are in decline reducing COGS) |
| Weaknesses | Retailers making 30% margin and squeezing manufacturers (who make 12%)Single industry (not diversified)Private labelsLow barriers to entry for new playersHigh capital and overhead costs which require high utilization to offset the overhead and operational costsRequires brand constant innovation and marketing to stay relevant due to appeal being driven by brand advertising and packaging. |
| Competitive Advantage | |
| Valuable | Brand |
| Rare | |
| Imperfectly Imitable“Costly to imitate” | |
| Non-Substitutable | |
| Social/Cultural | Health product revolution – smaller portion, fat content. CSR |
| Political/Legal | Their position as a major employer in BritainKraft is a US company and taking over a national brand |
| Economic | Market decline in 2008 |
| Global | Corporate social responsibility, fair trade |
| Demographic | |
| Bargaining Power of Buyer | High, lots of suppliers of RM’sFactories close to suppliers |
| Bargaining Power of Supplier | Low, options |
| Threat of new Entrants | High – anyone can technically make chocolate, but obviously scale is not easy |
| Threat of Product Substitutes | High – Health conscious alternatives, power bars, etc. |
| Inter firm Rivalry | High – retail space is a constant battle for shelf space |
| Competitors | |
| Company Strategy | Kraft – 4 building blocks |
| Recommendations | From a manufacturer’s perspective, how attractive is the global market for confectionary?Why has Cadbury become a takeover target?Why does Kraft want to purchase Cadbury? Does the proposed deal make sense for Kraft? How about for Cadbury?What is Cadbury’s value to Kraft? In other words, what should Cadbury’s purchase price be?Economies of scaleDo exist. As a ordinary Food manufacturing industry, confectionaryindustry also has economy of scale. Large amount of output lower costs ofnearly all functions of production process. Buying more ingredient can directly bring in a bargaining advantage when negotiating with suppliers,and a large amount of output makes a high-cost production line worthwhile,So there will be less need of labor and better standardized products. 1.2Product differentiationNot vary high. Though Cadbury has its own brand of chocolate, the recipeof chocolate doesn’t differ much in The industry. 1.3Capital requirementsVaries. Confectionery can be a one-person corner shop to a giant globalcompany like Cadbury, Mars and Nestle. In China, starting up a smallestcandy shop Only needs less than 100000 yuan (about 14529 US dollars).1.4Switching costsHigh. Production lines and invisible assets like recipe or production patent of a confectionery company are usually highly specified, so that cannot be easily used for other needs.1.5Access to distribution channelsHigh. Current confectionery manufacturers mostly rely on wholesalers andother middleman to deliver their products from factories to supermarketsand grocery stores. And these middlemen are willing and happy to signcontract with many different brands in order to provide a wild range ofproducts to its customers. Confectionery ingredients are all standard andlack of differences, so there are nearly zero switching cost about theseproducts.1.6Access to raw materialsEasy. Candy and chocolate require no unusual materials, it only needssugar, coco beans and some food additives. It is not complex nor difficultfor new entrants has its access to raw materials |
Benchmark Quantum Computers
Simple puzzles which can run on any QC, providing a benchmark for performance.
https://github.com/decodoku/A_Game_to_Benchmark_Quantum_Computers/blob/master/README.md
MBA: Sherwood Hockey
Strengths:
- Reputation/l High quality wooden sticks
- Composite sticks
- Canadian
- Learning by partner
- Quick turn around
- Long relationship
Weaknesses:
- Lack of endorsements
- Limited use in NHL
- Costly turnaround
- Decreasing sales/margin
- Limited brand recognition outside Canada
- No product personalization
- Reputation not good with outsourcing
Bookmark: Book Summaries: Booklets.io
I was recently looking for a summarized version of a Random Walk Down Wall Street from Burton Malkiel when I came across this website. These are some really nice “Booklets” which are condensed versions of books, concepts or ideas. These are perfect to get a summary of something you have have already read, or something that interests you and can use to start digging deeper.
Anki – Learning
I have a terrible memory and it is one of the main reasons I have this blog … while going through my MBA, I resorted to learning via the Anki memory recognition method. Here are a few resources I collected during this journey:
Bookmark: Maths for the adventurous self-learner
https://www.neilwithdata.com/mathematics-self-learner
Mathematics for the adventurous self-learner For over six years now, I’ve been studying mathematics on my own in my spare time – working my way through books, exercises, and online courses. In this post I’ll share what books and resources I’ve worked through and recommend and also tips for anyone who wants to go on a similar adventure.
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