Brenda Castellano posted Oct 24, 2023 10:39 PM

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The pandemic has caused significant damage worldwide, and several industries are working hard to survive and rehabilitate. Among these industries, healthcare, education, retail, manufacturing, transportation, and IT have been striving to give their best. However, IT is vital because every other sector depends on it to continue their business. With the help of data analytics, cloud solutions, gigantic storage, databases, network capacity, security, video conferencing, automation, and technology support for those working from home, IT has become the pillar of survivorship. On the other hand, the hospitality industry has been severely affected and must reinvent its strategy to survive. Due to the lockdown, people cannot travel, and tourism activities have come to a halt.

According to Madhur912 (2021), “IT Industry has somehow extracted the best out of this crisis where all other businesses are thriving hard to get back to normal.” The information technology sector has been crucial for retail and allied companies such as Instacart, DoorDash, Uber Eats, GrubHub, etc., which provide consumers with food and other necessities. Most companies also leverage e-commerce and digital marketing technologies to meet the demands of online shopping, news, entertainment, telehealth, etc. Even the government has converted most of its transactions online during the pandemic.

The hospitality and tourism industries have been the worst affected due to the inactivity of traveling. However, according to Susan L. Wampler (2021), there is a post-pandemic rebound in hospitality and tourism, which focuses on renewables, the challenge of disposables, high-tech vs. high-touch, and re-training the hospitality workforce. In her research, Wampler highlighted that hotels and food businesses account for 40 percent of our food waste. Hence, renewing policies that will suit the industry’s recovery is recommended. The industry is promoting the use of cutlery that is not disposable, becoming more technology-savvy, and encouraging the hospitality sector to be more of a career path than just a paycheck. Programs are being geared towards reviving tourism and hospitality.

Bouncing back after the pandemic is not easy for companies. “Global industries ranging from hospitality to commerce have all been impacted by national lockdowns.” (Green, N. 2021). Therefore, the hope is to develop a recovery plan and business model to allow the industries to withstand challenges like this.

Madhur912. (2021, June 4). Impacts of Covid-19 on the Information Technology (IT) Industry. Retrieved from: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/impacts-of-covid-19-on-information-technology-it-industry/

Wampler.Susan, L. (2021, April 29). Hospitality and Tourism Prepares for Post Pandemic Rebound. Retrieved from: https://bovardcollege.usc.edu/hospitality-and-tourism-industry-prepares-for-post-pandemic-rebound/

Green, N.(2021, June 2). How Businesses Can Bounce Back From The Pandemic To Boost Economics. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/06/02/how-businesses-can-bounce-back-from-the-pandemic-to-boost-economies/?sh=6b1eff7db24c

Jessica Bohache posted Oct 28, 2023 12:26 PM

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Discussion Topic 2: Select any company from the Standard & Poor’s 500. Select one or more activities in the company’s value chain that would be candidates for relocation to another country. Provide a brief justification and examine the challenges you see in coordinating the global value chain after the proposed value-chain activities of your chosen company are set up in the new country.

According to Michael Porter, a value chain is “A systematic way of examining all the activities a firm performs and how they interact is necessary for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage”, he further states that the five key activities that generate higher profits include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and services” (The Competitive Advantage, 1985). That original concept of value chain presented by Michael Porter has been expanded upon when examining global value chains (GVC). One author states GVC should be analyzed by their four dimensions: input-output structure, geographic scope, governance, and institutional context (Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark, 2011).

While it can be difficult to grasp the meaning of value chain in theory, it is easier when taking a practical example. For example, one of the most powerful and profitable companies in the S&P 500 is Tesla. As Tesla looks to increase profitability it could consider moving certain activities in its value chain overseas. For example, if India is a growing consumer of electronic vehicles, it may be cheaper to put a manufacturing facility in India rather than to deal with shipping costs and customs to get the EVs into country to sell. That would be a significant change in their value chain, and hopefully one that would pay off.

However, there are challenges that would come along with that move. For example, Tesla must consider the challenges of foreign regulation that may be specific to India, additionally they must consider whether the workforce there has the necessary skills to work in the manufacturing especially if there will be high skill level work such as cloud computing or chip production involved. If not, it will take time to train the workforce, so they are operating efficiently. It is important to examine the second and third order effects of changes in the value chain. What may look profitable in the short term may not be profitable in the long term. Conversely, what may cost extra early on to get a change made may just pay off in the long run.

References

Gereffi, G., & Fernandez-Stark, K. (2011). Global value chain analysis: A primer. Durham, NC: Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC), Duke University. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=…

Porter, M. E. The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. NY: Free Press, 1985.