1.

Self-employed business
Advantages
● Creative freedom
● Independence
● Job satisfaction
● Location
● Salary

Disadvantages
● Lack of employee benefits
● Long hours
● Responsibility
● Social isolation
● Starting from nothing
● Unpredictable finance

2. Family-owned company
Advantages
● Stability
● Commitment
● Flexibility
● Long-term Outlook
● Decreased Cost

Disadvantage
● Family Conflict: Conflict is bound to happen at any firm.
● Unstructured Governance: Governance issues tend to be taken less seriously at family businesses.
● Nepotism: Some family businesses are reluctant to let outsiders into the top tier.
● Succession Planning: It is of utmost importance in family firms that a strong succession plan is in place.

3. Required factors for setting up a firm

● The idea: For every good idea you have, there are hundreds of people out there who have the exact same
idea.
● The plan: Create a business plan. Many people skip right pass this step and end up backtracking.
● The business entity: Deciding how to legally structure your business can become very tricky. They each
have their pros and cons and it’s best to talk to your lawyer or CPA to decide which is right for you.
● Who’s on your bus?: You have to decide where you're going, how you're going to get there, and who's
going with you. Can you drive the business alone or do you need employees?
● Website: creating your own website is one of the most important things you can do for your business.
● Financing: Finances and accounting can be one of the most tedious and intimidating aspects of running
your business.
● Where is the nearest emergency exit? You need to operate your business from day one with the mindset
that you could potentially sell it later.
THE MOST IMPORTANCE ONE IS BUSINESS PLAN.
It's smart to pay attention to specific business plan success factors when starting and running your company.
4. Common problems at workplace
Common problems:
● Low motivation and job satisfaction. ​Solution:​ Keep your superiors up-to-date on your accomplishments.
Should not expect to be recognized for every small task completed.
● Extended work hours. ​Solution​: Let manager know the negative impact of extensive work hours. Ask for or
offer suggestions for improving work-life balance.
● The job you have is different from what you applied for. ​Solution:​ Talk to boss. Make sure your tone is calm
and collaborative, not frustrated or angry. Make it clear that you’re in problem-solving mode, not complaint
mode.
● Interpersonal conflict. ​Solution​: Speak to him or her in a neutral, non-accusatory tone. Compliment the
individual on their hard work. Set time aside to calmly settle your differences and discuss what might be the
best way to go forward.

How to solve such problems as a manager?

● Step 1: Identify the problem
● Step 2: Get to the bottom of it
● Step 3: Ask for help from a friend or someone close to you
● Step 4: Fix the Problem

5. Is business relationship important? How to build?

In conclusion, working environment and especially business relationship are really important. Most entrepreneurs
recognize the important role of relationships for their success. A suitable working environment with a wide range of
strong business relationships will support an entrepreneurs in dealing with their jobs easily and solving very difficult
and complex problems.

Build a good business relationship:

● Accept ____________
● Show up ____________
● Share ___________
17. Business culture? Differences in communications?
Business culture is related to behavior, ethics, etiquette and more. A business culture will encompass as
organization’s values, visions, working style, beliefs and habits.

The differences in communication to cause problems

● Body language: Much is communicated through bodily postures and facial expressions.
● Directness: Some cultures are more direct than others. The common perspective is that while Western
(and especially U.S.) business culture prizes directness, Chinese business culture avoids offensive words.

9. Marketing? Marketing mix? Role of marketing? How marketing helps firms? Differences between selling
and marketing?
Marketing:
The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customers. It include the
coordination of four elements called the 4P’s of Marketing (7P’s).
Marketing mix:
Refers to the set of actions:
● Price: refers to the value that is put for a product
● Product: refers to the item actually being sold
● Place: refers to the point of sale
● Promotion: refers to all the activities undertaken to make the product of service know to the user and trade
Nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps.

Roles of marketing:
● Ensures organization survival, growth and reputation.
● Widens market
● Meets the customers’ needs and wants
● Adapts the right price

Differences:

S.NO SELLING MARKETING

1 Emphasis is on the product. Emphasis is on the customer wants

Company first makes the

Company first determines customer wants and
2 product and then figures out
then figures out to make it
how to sell it.

Management is sales volume

3 Management is profit oriented
oriented

4 Profit through Sales Volume Profits through Customer Satisfaction

Planning is short-run-oriented,
Planning is long-run oriented regarding new
5 regarding today products and
products, tomorrow’s markets, and future growth.
markets

6 Let the buyer be aware Let the seller be aware

7 Product first then customer Customer first then the product

10. Products? Types of products?

Definition:
In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market and might satisfy a want or need
Product classification:
● Goods, services, ideas
− Goods: a physical product capable of being delivered and involve the transfer of ownership
− Services: a non-material action resulting in a measurable change of state for the purchaser caused by the
provider
− Ideas: any creation of the intellect that has commercial value, sold or traded only as an idea
● Tangible and Intangible
− Tangible product: a tangible product is a physical object that can be perceived by touch
− Intangible product: an intangible product is a product that can only be perceived indirectly

11. Product life cycle? Differences between growth and maturity stages? Strategy for maturity stage?
Definition:
The stages a product goes through from when it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the market
Stages of product life cycle • Research and development • Introduction • Growth • Maturity • Decline

Differences:
Growth stage:
● Costs reduced due to economies of scale: as production and distribution are ramped up, economies of
scale kick in and reduce the per unit costs.
● Sales volume increases significantly: as the product increases in popularity, sales volumes increase.
● Profitability begins to rise: revenues begin to exceed costs, creating profit for the company
● Public awareness increases: through increased promotion, visibility and word of mouth, public awareness
grows.
● Competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market
● Increased competition leads to price decreases: price wars may erupt, technology may get cheaper, or
other factors can ultimately lead to falling prices.

Maturity stage:
● Costs are lowered as a result of production volumes increasing and experience curve effects
● Sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached
● Increase in numbers of competitors entering the market
● Prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products
● Brand differentiation and feature diversification is emphasized to maintain or increase market share
● Industrial profits go down

Strategies:
● Improving specific features in order to resell the product (for instance, in the case of a car, the
manufacturer may include alloy wheels, new colors, sport or hybrid versions, or other changes in order to
keep sales going);
● Lowering prices in order to fight off competition;
● Intensifying distribution and promotional efforts;
● Differentiation efforts, in the hope that new customers will start to buy the product.
● Finding a new targeted market.

12. Promotion? Advertising? PR?

Promotion
The art of communicating a product’s benefits to customers and convincing them to acquire the product once, or,
ideally, a repeated number of time
Ad
● It is paid for placement
● Obvious that the company is promoting something
● Repetition more important than ad size
PR
● PR replacement is not paid for
● Cost is time and perhaps PR professional
● Some duplication across media outlets but not continued repetition

13. Pricing? Roles of pricing, objectives?

​ ricing is the method of determining the value a producer will get in the exchange of goods and services
Definition: P
Roles
● Is among the most complex decisions in the marketing plan
● Helping a business to exploit market opportunities
● A shift in the balance of power
● A trigger for first impression
● A key to Sales Promotion
Objectives
● Profit-oriented
● Volume-oriented
● Market demand
● Market share
● Cash flow
● Competitive matching
● Prestige
● Status quo

14. Types of marketing channels

● Direct marketing channel: producer - customer
● Indirect marketing channel
+ Conventional
1-level channel: producer retail customer
2-level channel: producer - wholesale - retail - customer
3-level channel: producer - agent - wholesale - retail - customer
+ Vertical: producer - wholesale - agent - retail - customer
● Multi-channel marketing

18. American business culture

● Meetings
Tardiness reflects badly in a professional setting, so make sure to arrive on time or slightly early. If you’re chairing
the meeting, it is more important to begin punctually.
● Relationships
Though much can be achieved through personal networks in the States, Americans generally do not approach
business relationships with the hopes of developing friendships out of them, but rather aim to generate money out
of them.
● Considerations
American business culture is primarily money oriented.

19. Business culture in Japan

● Age and status
Respect for age and status is very important in Japanese culture, with hierarchy affecting all aspects of social
interactions
● Greetings
Bowing and handshakes
Japanese names
Shows modesty
● Japanese workers are often expected to party with coworkers after hours → Work hard play hard spirit.

20. Business culture in Vietnam

● Business Relationship in Vietnam
Unlike Western business relationship which remains professional even after a long time, Vietnamese business
relationship becomes a social one.
● Seniority is important in Vietnam
Seniority is very important to the Vietnam especially if you are dealing with a State owned or government body.
● Business Dress
In Vietnamese business culture, suits and ties in subdued colors are the norm. Bright color of any kind is not
appropriate.
● Gift and Gift-giving Customs in Vietnam
Gift giving is important in Vietnam because of the significance of interpersonal relationships in Vietnamese culture.

21. Benefits and harms of free trade:

Benefits
● More dynamic business climate
● Lower government spending
● Lower prices for customers
● Technology transfer

Drawbacks
● Encouraging the theft of intellectual property
● Poor working conditions
● Reduce tax revenues
● Threat to the presence of domestic industries

22. FDI? Beneficial?

Foreign direct investment​ (​FDI​) is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business
interests located in another country. In short:
● A company owns a company in a different country
● Different from portfolio investment

Postive side:
● Shake up an existing industry
● Strengthen local economies
 ● Have a spillover effect
● A long term commitment
Negative side:
● Security
● Profits in the long run
● Messy politics
Conclusion: Still, FDI does more good than harm