Idoneità di inglese

Benetton and BMW

Benetton is a multinational clothing retailer with shops all over the world. BMW is a car manufacturing group. BMW produced one of the most wired cars. The company headquarters are in the north coast of Italy, and the company has been expanding for many years. It invests a lot of money in advertising.

Benetton's diversification strategy

In the 1990's, Benetton decided to diversify into the sporting goods business, and market analysts considered it to be a good decision. However, with the sale of the Tecnica brand to the Zanatta group, it became clear that the strategy was a failure. The brand lost market share, and Benetton lost money. Benetton failed to understand that the marketing of sports equipment is different from casual clothes. The United Colors of Benetton strategy works with casual clothes but not with equipment for skiing, tennis, cycling, and baseball.

Last year, Benetton announced its decision to sell its share in Auto Grill, a subsidiary company providing services and motorway signs in several European countries.

BMW's production improvements

BMW needed to change the methods of working to increase demand and produce more costs. They also wanted to reduce the level of absenteeism. The number of worker absentees was too high. The new managers were not permanent staff; they worked in different parts of production: shop body, production area, and point shop. They tried to introduce team working. The results were very good, and the company's management increased production by 40%. They now produce about 10,000 cars a month. This means that if there are 20 working days a month, they produce 500 cars a day. Another positive result was the reduction in absenteeism. This was important because the company wanted to increase productivity, and the workers are an important factor. The new Mini Cooper is a success.

Mexico and Placer

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Ten years ago, the USA, Canada, and Mexico negotiated an international treaty, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The aim of the agreement was to eliminate trade barriers between these three countries and to increase the flow of investment goods and services across the borders. The intention was to create a North American common market. At first, the agreement worked well for Mexico; for example, Mitsubishi constructed a production plant for flat screen monitors in Mexicali near the USA.

Economic significance of Placer

Placer is not a famous place. It is a county in northern California. In economic terms, Placer is important. In a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Placer was the county with the highest rate of employment growth: 4.9% per year. In some years, there was a drop in employment while the United States in general experienced growth. Placer does not have any manufacturing industries, but there are a lot of jobs in the services sector, mainly connections with recreation (skiing in particular) and technology.