Dealing With The Business Angels

My group which is the ice cream group had a meeting today at class with the business angels. We were going to try to reveal to the business angels that they could safely invest in our business. However, since this is the first time that were doing this activity, we did not clearly know what to do. The business angels asked us some questions about our plans. We mentioned a couple of our ideas about our marketing strategy like producing a different flavour every day, opening an ice cream shop chain and also doing some catering. However we were not prepared enough so we could not be successful. This activity made me understood that actually getting Money from investors is really hard and before looking for investors, one should look at each detail of the business he is going to start and be sure that his ideas are innovative enough. On Friday the Soundmap group will be talking to business angels and hopefully we will learn more about creating a good communication with the investors.

“Soundmap” and “The Ice Cream Dream” Case Studies

In Monday morning's class, we worked on two case studies and had some discussions about them. One of these was about a company named Soundmap which produces audio walks for he tourists travelling to London. The company wants to expand its business however it is looking for business angels that would like to make investements to their business. The other case study was about a woman's dream about opening an ice cream shop. She needs 80,000 $ to start he own business and is searching for investors too. After our discussion the class got divided into three groups: The Soundmap group, ice cream group and the business angels. We are going to play a game in our next class and the main goal of the groups in the game will be to assure the business angels that their businesses are worth to be invested so both groups need to come up with some strategies to be successful.

Throughout the discussion Mr. Sen mentioned some new terms to us such as a solicitor. We learned that a solicitor is a lawyer that Works in United Kingdom and gives companies advice about what to do intheir businesses. An important point mentioned was that a solicitor is not the same as an advocate. Moreover we looked at three forms of protections and the differences among them: Patent, copyright and trademark. Although all three of these elements are three forms of protection and look similar, they protect different things. A patent is essential in securing the ideas and technology of a company whereas a copyright prevents other companies to use the companies pictures and texts. Lastly, trademark protects the logo of a company. Moreover we had a discussion about an investor and a Money lender. We learned that a Money lender gets his Money back with a certain interest rate after investing in the business. On the other hand an investor might get a percent of the annual profit of the company that he invested into.

Essentials Of A Good Blog

In our first class, we were told that we had to open a blog and post the discussions after every business and management class. However, since Mr. Sen was away fort he first two weeks, no one had a clear idea about exactly what to write into their blogs. So our main discussion for todays class was about the essentials of a good blog and creating a blog rubric. Here are some main parts of the discussion our class had:

First of all, our blogs should focus on just one certain subject. This can be anything but the main point about is that every post of the blog should be relevant to the subject. The things that we post into our blog can not be judged as if it is wrong or right because our main intention is to write our ideas and thoughts of the course and discussion. So we should feel free to write what we think but of course in a proper manner. However, while writing our ideas, we should be careful that they are detailed enough, clear, persuasive and supported with good examples. In other words, a blog post should be precise and there are four factors which makes it precise that we discussed in class:

1)Engaging:

A successful blog should refer to a certain audience. In this case, the blogs will be read by people who are interested in business and management. The post should not bore the readers. It should grab the audience's attention and keep it reading avidly.

2)Persuasive:

Just writing an idea into the blog is not enough. If a blogger is going to s hare his/her opinion, he should be persuasive. This is done by stating the opinion clearly and plus adding more information from other resources and giving strong examples that support the idea.

3)Informative:

Combined with the bloggers opinions, a blog also needs to give information about the certain topic. As it is said in class, the class discussions will not always be informative enough. So utilization of other resources such as internet and boks is also essential in writing a blog post in order to make it more informative.

4)Use of terminology:

Using vocabulary which refers to a certain subject makes a post always more interesting. This factor also makes people to learn new terms easier and to get familiar with them. In our case, business terms should be used while blog posting. For example; terms such as input, sector, profit, input etc.

To sum up, these four factors were briefly discussed in class and a good rubric that would apply to blog posting would contain these factors in it.

Discussion About Kellogg's Case Study

Discussion 1:

I have been eating Kellogg's cereals since ten years and i love them. I always thought that the company just produced the cereals and simply distributed them to countries all over the world. In other words, I did not have any idea about its Supply management. After reading the case, I learned that it worked with many retailers like TDG, ASDA and Kimberly Clark to stock its products and improve its distribution. I realized that as a result of its relationships with other business's it spent less money through the supply chain and focused more on its manufacturing. All in all, unlike I thought before now I know that Kellogg's processes are very sophisticated.

Discussion 2:

Unfortunately, nobody cares about our environment. More harmful substances are thrown to the environment everyday and many companies are included this act. Before reading the case study, I thought that Kellogg's was like the other businesses too. I said to myself "Their cereals can taste good, but I am sure that they harm the environment. However when I read the case, I became aware that Kellogg's manufacturing methods were based on producing the less waste. Now I have no doubt that this company is sensitive about our environment and is in a struggle to protect it.

Kellogg's Case Study Questions

1)Name the three sectors of the supply chain. On what occasions could certain sections of-the primary sector operate as retailers?

The three sector of Kellogg’s supply chain are primary (extractive), secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary sector. Some raw material sections of the primary sector could operate as retailers. For example coal can be sold to power stations. In addition oil, wheat and corn can also be sold individually in order to act as retailers.

2) Give three examples of how Kellogg’s demonstrates good supply chain management.How can Kellogg’s make improvements both for its business and for the environment?

Kellogg’s uses a range of agencies and departments for research, quality, purchasing, sales, transport and distribution to manage the supply chain more effectively. It tries to manufacture the right products by doing a research on customer needs. The company also focuses on cost-effective systems in order to ensure that its prices are competitive. Another management of Kellogg’s supply chain is that it works with retailers to improve promotion of its products. Kellogg’s can make improvements for its business and also for the environment by focusing even more on its production methods to increase their outcomes and to reduce the produced waste from the production process that is harmful for the environment.

3)Why is it important for Kellogg’s to build good relationships with businesses in the tertiary sector?

Building good relationships with businesses in the tertiary sector makes it easier for the business to focus more efficiently on its specialist are which is to manufacture cereals and other food products. As an example, Kellogg’s works with Kimberler Clark to get transportation. This results in a decrease in Kellogg’s distribution costs thus makes its products more competitive. Evenmore, relationships with other businesses also helps to reduce the number of part-full or empty vehicles on the road so all of the products can be reached to a certain place at the same time. The importance of this is that it saves time, road miles and less gas is used which saves Money. All in all, building good relationships in this sector results in an increase in turnover for Kellogg’s.

4)Evaluate the benefits of large manufacturers like Kellogg’s handing over the logistical side of their business to specialist companies like TDG.

The most important benefit of Kellogg’s collaboration with TDG is that it increases the efficiency of Kellog’s distribution system. Kellogg’s distribution is based on a system called “just-in-time” and TDG makes this system work properly. TDG uses computerized stock holding systems which shows immediately when then the shelves in the ware house are empty. So the shelves are always kept full and orders are delivered on time. This helps Kellogg’s to keep stocks to a minimum and prevents unnecessary expenses. Another benefit is that TDG keeps the warehouse costs low through its specialist transportation systems. This also prevents Kellogg’s to make unnecessary payments. In addition, working with retailers such as ASDA and Tesco benefit as they store the products witgout storage costs.