Hi! we are JARSolutionz. We are a
diverse group from different cultures and nationalities, but through the
process of "globalization." Our blogs represent our thoughts on
subjects such as globalization and international management as an intergral
part of the curriculum of our course, MGT 4221. Here is a brief introduction of
each of our group members.
Jeremiah Koh:Born and breed in Singapore,
come from a family of 4. Loves the sunny weather back home but the TIM SUM in
Hong Kong is captivating his hungry soul. Loves hot cars, like the Maseratti,
Lamborgini and Audii. Finds Hong Kong a messy pile but yet within the messiness
is the simplicity of life, culture and good dinning.IF you love food, you
love me:)
Alex Kwon: born in Korea but spent 6
years in U.S.,in love with city, but spent most of my American life in middle
of corn field or no where, love eating good food, sleeping, and meeting new
people, so, please say hi. I don't bite:)
Ross Coulter: Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1990. Attended Hutchesons' Grammar School then went to Strathclyde University. Have worked and lived in many locations around the world, including Honduras, California, Spain and now Hong Kong..
Sam Lee: A self-proclaimed organic product of globalization, born in Korea but moved away to Cairo, Egypt at the age of 8. After a year in Egypt, I spent the majority of my life in Macao SAR, though ultimately failing to learn Cantonese successfully assimilate. Currently residing in Hong Kong city, and lovin' life. Favorite McDonalds meal: number 5. 
In fact, I am so impress wiht your guys presentation, especially is the introduction. In this first blog, your team really explain how and why now we have so many options not only for orange juice but also for lots of products. However, I really feel thankful that we have so much to choose, but we might get confused when we need to make the most important decision. In this part, your team explain what you guys think and how that affect yourselves and the rest of the people. I really lke this part because I am totally agree that more option not meaning we will have a better life. In your blog, you guys explain there still many poor people in the world but they might appreciate that they can have more option to choose. This is only for the poor people, as a student, I sometimes have difficulty to choose whether to be management major or accounting major because there are so many majors to choose. People will think that it is good for me because I have so many options to choose to become a successful person, but in my opinion, I rather to be less option because I do not want to make a bad decision. If I need to give you guys one suggestion, I will say you gys should put more of your own opinion, what you guys feel and how that affect your own decision. All in all, this is a very good first blog.
ReplyDeleteDear JarSolutionz,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to say that your blog is extremely well written – it was truly pleasing to read! Your myth is very thought-provoking and the sources you have provided as supporting arguments are very interesting. Consumers always want choices and more choices and globalization has created more variety, more methods to present consumers with more choices. This has no doubt been very beneficial as it leads to lower prices and more innovation with higher competition. Some would argue that more choice is better as it allows more businesses to evolve and grow, as well as allows customers to become more individualistic.
However, there is a point where too much is too much. I do notice firsthand that too much choice does cause consumer paralysis – for items as mundane as wondering what to order on a pizza or as serious as deciding what program to apply for in university.
I believe a good balance is required. We need more than one choice but 10+ choices is pushing the limit. It also depends on the kind of product! But is there a way to place a limit on choices in a free market? It would be difficult to regulate – so are we headed to a future with nothing but more and more choices?
Thank you for this great first blog!
Looking forward to your future posts!
This is a very intriguing topic. The idea of having choices being a negative thing is very counter intuitive but the argument you pose makes complete sense, especially for indecisive people like me. However, I would also argue that we do not truly have as many choices as we think we do.
ReplyDeleteI believe that mass media and marketing subconsciously make our choices for us. For example, if you go to the store to buy cola, what brand are you going to buy? I bet only 2 names came to mind: Coke and Pepsi. There are several choices for cola product, however, most people will walk down the isle of the super market and go straight to Coke or Pepsi. This same effect occurs with many different products, services and stores. The media will highlight one or two top brands and target them to specific customer groups. Many people will only buy brands that they have seen and heard reviews for.
Therefore, I argue that media creates the illusion that we have much fewer choices than we really have.
Hi JARSolutionz=]
ReplyDeleteI m so impressed that the blog is backed up by so many reference which are very supportive.
I partly agree with the statement that we have to make more choices in our daily life under globalization trend but the point is that we have to make more choices not on the product itself but on the brands. Because MNCs have greatly influence our buying pattern and preferences under globalization and made our taste similar, different brands, therefore, produce much-alike products to serve the market and compete for the market share. Like the iPhone example, it is an American-designed product but it is very popular in Asian countries like China. With the reference of “Popularity of iPhone exceeds demand in China”, all units of iPhone are sold out within six days after the opening of the Apple new stores in Shanghai and Beijing. We can see that people are crazy about iPhone!
Because of its popularity, other cell phone brands like Samsung and Nokia. They all produce smartphone to substitute the traditional cell phone in order to compete with Apple. The Galaxy S2 even have to be judged as one of the best releases in 2011 baring anything that Apple iPhone has planned. (Samsung Galaxy S2 Assessment – A Galaxy S Beater?, Bilal Sarwari). That’s illustrates that products among different brands become so similar and what we need to choose is the brand but not the product nature.
Good Post. Some interesting use of language. The Idea of 'consumer paralysis' reminds me of 'Buridan's ass'. For those unaware, I refer not to the french philosopher's impressively muscled buttocks but to the following (paraphrased) thought experiment: A thirsty/hungry donkey equidistant between 2 water sources/piles of hay, with no more reason to go to one over the other will, if deciding purely by reason, be unable to come to a decision and instead die of hunger/thirst. The example was used to show the absurdity of certain forms of determinism- obviously the donkey would make a choice rather than die. While obviously it cannot be taken as a 1 to 1 comparison, perhaps there is some insight to be gained from it. It seems to be similar in some ways to consumers being unable to make a choice between similar products. Asses.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to indicate that the problem of consumer paralysis does not exist, clearly even people in the comments have alluded to experiencing it (I myself had something of a mental breakdown upon first encountering a Subway stopping in my tracks exclaiming, 'IT'S TOO MUCH CHOICE FOR A SANDWICH!' before running away, into the woods, never to be heard from again.) but maybe the problem is being overstated. If we truly need something we will make the choice. If the options are very similar, surely any buyers remorse is lessened, if the options are sufficiently different we can research and/or learn from our choices helping meet and reduce later expectations. Do you know if there have been any studies on the phenomenon of consumer paralysis, so as to determine more concretely the effect it has?
Furthermore I feel in certain areas increased choice is clearly preferable. I'm referring largely to entertainment mediums such as music. Surely such increased access to niche entertainments must be appreciated. If one does not wish to partake in the popular music of the day one has a multitude of alternatives. I, for one, am pleased I can so easily avoid the latest um... I dunno.. 'insert popular group/artist here' abomination, and instead listen to 'insert obscure group here's' particular brand of flageolet based punk, or whatever, so easily.
Really I feel calling us the most 'miserable and materialistic generation' is an unnecessarily bold and unsubstantiated claim, even without tying this to our increased choice. Despite this you have raised many good points and delivered a rather nice conclusion. Whereas I have rambled on for far too long for a comment, and am hungry. And sat equidistant between two sandwiches. So who's the real winner here? Your choice.(but bear in mind I will soon have 2 sandwiches. Or be dead).
Kudos to your group for this good job done! :) To add on and bounce ideas off, I think partly why satisfaction is further diminished when we have more choices is because we have the insecure feeling that there is something better and more suitable that we are missing out. Hence, much as we would research and gain insight into the choices available, we know somewhere deep down that we probably only have at most 99% of the knowledge. Who knows, maybe the 1% that was unintentionally overseen was the most perfect choice for us.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes, 'the grass is greener on the other side', we may have made a decision, but still envy someone else for having found something that we didn't thought we will like initially. For example, i bought dress A, and my friend bought dress B. If dress B looks gorgeous on my friend, i might have regretted buying dress A and fault myself for being so silly to have not even considered dress B.
A truly captivating, thought-provoking and well-written masterpiece! First and foremost, I applaud the writers for capturing the gist of choices and expressing it in words. It is both succinct and well-intended to bring across the idea of consumer choices to a diverse group of readers both young and old and from different fields of study. This article has shifted paradigm, bringing a new perspective and shedding light on the current world phenomenon that subconsciously affects every living being. Indeed, I can't agree more to the fact that choices are good but too many, may bring about underlying and undesirable effects such as dissatisfaction, stress, low self-esteem and depression. While our ancestors yearn and crave for such freedom of choice, we, on the other hand, more often than not, wish for less. I speak not for myself but for a huge proportion of people who find ourselves even fussing over what to have for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Therefore, I definitely agree with the terms "consumer paralysis" and "the paradox of choices" proposed by barry schwartz. It is so true that since the most "value for money" meal or item never exist due to the idea that "the grass is always greener on the other side", consumers will never be satisfied no matter what decisions they make. No doubt, this world is shrinking, everything is pulled closer through extensive communication networks, the spectrum of choices placed on our platters increase daily however, while this all these may be true I thank the writers once more for providing an antidote as quoted "The first step we could take is to realize that not every choice we make needs to be perfect. Buying the wrong type of orange juice will not yield unfortunate and life-long effects". While we may be drown out by endless choices every day, we should and must appreciate the freedom we have for they are short-lived and cannot be brought through to eternity.
ReplyDeleteHi Jarsolutionz,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really enjoyed reading your blog and listening to your presentation, thank you for that!
I agree about your main point: Globalization makes us have to choose more on the day-o-day life and decisions sometimes can be pretty hard to take.
When it comes to the way you feel about these choices I actually think that having that many choices is not such a bad thing for us, as consumers. No matter how crazy we sometimes might turn out to be (taking hours to choose a pen...!), I believe that this large range of products actually makes us happier at the end.
Indeed, I feel like having the choice just allows us to get the product, the service (...) that matches the best with our expectations, our desires. These choices sometimes sort of appear to be pointless, but once one is added to another, the succession of choices we make could helps us to improve our life.
Some examples could illustrate and explain my point of view better. We all look different and clothes fit us differently. This is consequently a good thing that we have the choice between different kinds of styles when we buy a suit/dress... Everybody is using a computer for different purposes: some use it for video games, others to work on it, others just to do basic things on the internet. Again, people get the chance to have an appropriate computer with characteristics that match their needs and these people do not have to pay more for extra characteristics they actually do not need.
I finally agree on the fact that we have to relax on taking decisions that will absolutely not affect our life!
Last but not least, Sam, I prefer meal number 6! We should be pleased that Mac Donalds offers us different choices! :)
Hi Jarsolutionz,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, it made me realize how much 'freedom of choice' actually affects a large part of my everyday life. Consumer demands are constantly changing and because of that, it makes us all want to have the latest product all the time, particularly technology! At young age, if we do not get the latest product or keep up with the latest trend, we may feel depressed and unsatisfied as oppose to decades ago where children would live happily without large consumptions of material and brands! 'The paradox of choice' could definitely describe my feelings after being placed with an overwhelming number of products to choose from everyday, and after purchasing one product I could never be satisfied as I always believe that there could have been better options, particularly when buying more expensive items such as cameras and cars. Today, consumers spend a lot more time making wise choices by researching into substitute products through the great help of the Internet. Moreover, I think globalization and choice has greater effects in different parts of the world. I believe that in many third word countries, many consumers are placed with far less choices and are still happily satisfied due to the environment and values they are brought up in. Do you think 'freedom of choice' has positively contributed to the third world or made them feel more alienated?
It is impressive that JARSolutionz has good insight on the concept of ‘More is less’. The extensive choices in the supermarket somehow provide us a better fit of products and needs. Nevertheless, we gradually overwhelmed by the variety and different attributes of products. To what extent customer satisfaction could be maximized by numerous choices? It depends on the product category and the value.
ReplyDeletePeople would usually demand for fewer choices on commodity products. For instance, toothpaste, ruler and salt require minimum comparison and buying efforts because the products features and quality of different brands are nearly identical in nature. However, it deserves to ask for more choices and detailed information for personalized products or those of high value. Life insurance, automobile, property, high-end electronics are typical examples requiring enormous effort on making purchase decisions. Consumers would request for careful comparisons on suitability, quality, price and style among brands.
In conclusion, ‘More is less’ principle has high validity on commodity products and convenience products. However, personalized products and high-value products still worth a complicated selection process from variety of brands and manufacturers.
Hi guys!
ReplyDeleteJob well done on the topic of globalization ! After reading through your entire presentation on this page, it made me feel that FTA has made the world market so competitive today. Intense competition between businesses, resulting in more and more choices available for end users and consumers.
I personally feel that a globalization phenomena brings both positive and negative repercussions. On the positive side, it may create jobs for many in the developing countries in the manufacturing sector, and also provide more choices for consumers to choose from. On the negative side, it is very draining on the earth's natural resources, heavy manufacturing will also lead to pollution and increased amount of thrash and waste materials.
I also feel that, for everything, there will always be the pros and cons. Too much of something will turn out to be bad, too little, will be bad as well. I think the key is to be able to strike a balance!