Week 11 My Unfair Advantage

Resources:
Human Capital:
1. Education
2. Training
3. Skills
4. Productivity
5. Experience
Social Capital:
6. Social Networking
7. Diversity
Financial Capital:
8. Funding
Capabilities:
9. Time Efficiency
10. Strong Communication

1. Education:
valuable- My education in business administration with a major in marketing and minor in retail from the University of Florida is valuable
rare-I wouldn't say my education is rare, as there are many reputable four-year universities from which to obtain the same/similar degree
inimitable-Every other marketing major at the University of Florida has roughly the same educational experience as me, so this isn't very inimitable either
non-substitutable- My educational experience can be be substituted for any other college degree program at another accredited university.

2. Training:
valuable-I have training in working as a retail sales associate and fashion marketing intern for an online California boutique
rare-I don't thinking working in retail is a rare experience, but the tasks I've completed in my internship are more rare-contacting bloggers, planning lookbook photo shoots, selecting new products, writing blog posts, managing media, etc.
inimitable-Others who work in retail or who have had a retail/marketing internship can imitate this training somewhat, but training is a bit different everywhere.
non-substitutable-my training is substitutable, but the training I have is very valuable to my particular venture.

3.Skills:
valuable-I am a very creative person and have skills in creating lookbooks, designs, etc.
rare-creativity is not necessarily a rare skill in itself, but in being creative, my deigns can be rare.
inimitable- my designs can be difficult to imitate
non-substitutable- my designs can be difficult to substitute

4. Productivity
valuable-I am very productive with my time
rare-productivity can be a rare resource
inimitable-it is hard for others to imitate specific levels of productivity
non-substitutable-it is hard for others to substitute one method of productivity with other methods

5.Experience
valuable-I have personal experience with my phone shutting off after becoming overheated or too cold when exposed to extreme temperatures, so I can use this experience to relate to others and develop a solution to this problem
rare-my experience isn't rare, others also have had this experience, which is actually beneficial to me, because this means I have a market for my product.
inimitable-this experience is not necessarily inimitable
non-substitutable- this experience is not necessarily substitutable

6.Social Networking
valuable-I have had the opportunity to communicate my product idea with several people, especially people in this class who agree that there is a demand for my temperature regulating iphone/android phone cases.
rare-social networking in itself is not rare, but I am sure my unique group of individuals I have had the opportunity of speaking with and getting information from is differentiable to that of others.
inimitable-I would say that social networking is definitely able to be imitated
non-substitutable- I would say that the people in a social-networking group are also able to be substituted.  Other people of similar demographics/interested can be interviewed to provide similar information.

7. Diversity
valuable-the people that I have had the opportunity of gathering information from regarding my product idea are diverse in terms of age, gender, interests, jobs, etc.
rare-Being able to effectively interview of group of diverse individuals and gather meaningful information from the interviews can be rare.
inimitable- The beauty of living in a world of individuals is that you can find diverse people anywhere you go, so interviewing diverse people can be imitated.
non-substituable-  Interviewing certain diverse people can also be substituted for interviewing other diverse people.

8. Funding
valuable-I have funding that I would be able to use to start my venture, and of course I could always take out a loan.
rare-I wouldn't say that my funding for this venture is rare
inimitable- My funding for this venture could easily be imitated
non-substitutable- my funding for this venture could easily be substitutable

9. Time Efficiency
valuable-My ability to be time efficient is very valuable for my venture
rare-Not everyone is necessarily great at managing time, so I feel like this capability can be considered rare.
inimitable- time efficiency really cannot be imitated.
non-substitutable-time efficiency really cannot be substituted with something else either.
 
10. Strong Communication
valuable-my people skills and strong communication skills (both written and spoken) are valuable for my venture.  Being able to get opinions from others, communicate my ideas with others, etc. is very important.
rare- strong written and verbal communication is more rare these days.
inimitable- strong communication skills really cannot be imitated.
non-substitutable-strong communication skills really cannot be substituted by something else either.

My top resource is my creative mindset.  Being creative is very important to my venture so that I can craft a desirable product for my customers that is both visually appealing and practical.  My creativity is something that others would have a hard time imitating or substituting as well.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

1. What stood out in the reading?
Reading about Corning's Breakthrough Innovations since 1879 was interesting.  I neither knew that Corning developed the glass envelope for Thomas Edison's lightbulbs nor that they  developed a process for mass-producing television picture tubes.

2. Confusing aspect of the reading
Earlier in the reading, the author stated that an innovation is only something that creates value for the customer, but later he talked about business model innovations which only seem to benefit company operations, not end users.  But, I suppose that having a more effective business model will allow the company to better satisfy customer needs in the long run.  And I suppose this is what the author could have meant.

3. What two questions would I ask the author?
How do you know when it is necessary to innovate and better to keep with current production, and how do you evaluate costs and decide what route will be most effective at increasing profits?  Does producing complementary assets yield more profit or creating new product all together?

4. Was the author wrong about anything?
The author stated that he disagrees with much of the writing on innovation today which supports radical innovation claiming it is the key to growth.  The author rebutted that the vast majority of profits are created through routine innovation.  Well, I think that radical innovation is what makes the biggest impact and can very effectively set one company apart from competitors, attract new customers, and support growth.  While routine innovation does pretty much guarantee steady increase in profits, a major way for a company to get ahead of others is by radically innovating when possible.

Week 10 Reading Reflection ch. 11

1. What stood out in the reading?
I was familiar with almost all of the information in this chapter because I've already taken financial and managerial accounting classes.  However, I wasn't necessarily familiar with investing activities, and I learned some new information here.  It was interesting to learn how long-term investing activities affect cash flow.  I also learned quite a bit about pro forma statements that I didn't know before.

2. Confusing aspect of the reading
In "entrepreneurship in practice: watching your accounts receivables" the author made a statement that entrepreneurs sometimes have to "take on credit cards" that charge high interest rates so that they can keep their business running.  I am just a bit confused on what the author meant by this statement.  Are the business owners requiring their customers to use particular credit cards that have high interest rates?  Or are the business owners charging their customers extra to use credit? Both?  Also, understanding horizontal analysis and vertical analysis was a bit confusing.


3. What two questions would I ask the author?

How would you recommend start-ups to lower their amount of uncollected account receivables?  What exactly is meant by "taking on credit cards" that charge excessive interest rates?

4. Was the author wrong about anything?

I didn't disagree with or question anything the author introduced.  Because the chapter was discussing the basics of accounting, the information was all pretty straight-forward and fact-based.