Slovakia and the Euro

Bratislava is struggling. On Monday, Slovakia's governing coalition failed make a deal to prevent a collapse of the continent-wide plan to help indebted European nations.Prime Minister Iveta Radicova said her four-party coalition was unable to compromise a deal. The Slovak government sat down for three hours, and the only thing they agreed on is that the coalition will talk further on Tuesday, when the Slovak Parlament is scheduled to vote on the EU bailout found. Up until now, only Slovakia and an even smaller partner Malta, have not backed up the plan. However, Malta is expected to approve the plan later on Monday, making Slovakia the only undecided member of the Euro-zone. All 17 nations that use the euro must approve expanding the bailout fund, which is designed to strengthen Europe's defenses against the debt crisis, that is growing fast.

Slovakia, a nation with 5.5 million people, would contribute about 1 percent of the money needed or 7.7 billion euros. The outcome of the Slovak parliamentary vote is uncertain because of a member of the coalition, that  is strictly opposed to increasing the fund. Sulik, the chairman of the opposing party,  said that they are trying to find a compromise deal that would prevent Slovak taxpayers from "paying a cent", however his proposal was rejected by the other parties. The proposal called for the creation of a parliamentary committee that would review any future loans from the fund with a right to veto it. Analysts have warned that a Slovak vote against boosting the fund would send a bad signal to already nervous financial markets about the inability of euro-zone countries to unite to tackle the debt crisis. Slovakia is too small of a country to face the euro-zone's debt crisis and its consequences alone.With the help of EU funds and foreign investments, Slovakia has benefited significantly from its membership in the euro-zone and the EU, and is quickly becoming a leading European car exporter. This is a important and scary situation for Slovakia, because nobody wants to back down. Slovakia needs the EU even more then any other members, and cannot afford to turn their back to them in their time of need, despite the fact that the country it self has nothing left to give or lend, especially to stronger countries. With such chaos and changes in views, Slovakia is threatened to not stay a member, which would result in a tragic blow for the economy. Car companies, such as Kia or Volkswagen would move their factories to other countries, and Slovakia would be left in ruins.

"It might have started from Greece because of the very high debt and excessive deficit, but the crisis has spread all over Europe, so there must be an action, a unanimous action, a unanimous decision from all members to protect the European Union at this point." said Stratis Polychroneas, head of fixed income at Solidus Securities in Athens.

The Mission Statement

A mission statement is a statement that expresses a businesses core aims. It is to be simple enough for public to understand, and written in a way that stimulates interest of outside groups and motivates the workers. A good mission statement should include the following:

·        What the company does.

·        Whom do they do it for.

·        What is the benefit.

A good mission statement should not be too vague and broad to apply to any company, but it should also not be too complicated, making it hard to form an opinion about the company.

Below are three examples of a companies’ mission statements.

The Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney is a company that controls the global entertainment and Media Networks, Parks and Resorts and Consumer Products. They dominate the field with a wide range of business activities including theme parks, television broadcasts or internet businesses.

Mission Statement
"The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world."

This mission statement of this company is very specific with their mission statement. It tells you that Walt Disney is a company in the field of entertainment and wants to be the most innovative and creative in presenting you with information and products. This mission statement gives you many points which you can analyze, as we can see if their company is on the right track. It provides specific details that apply to the company, but still makes the public "feel good" about the organization from what they read. It provides with little hints of its vision statement, or plans for the future, but then again we cannot accept a big corporation to lay all of its cards on the table.  

Microsoft

Microsoft is an software company that provides a wide range of technology services and products. It is one of the leading "computer" companies, well-know for the operating system of Windows and The Microsoft Office. 

Mission Statement
"At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible."

This mission statement, compared to the one of Walt Disney, is a little bit more vague. It fails to inform us what the company does. Although we all probably know what type of business Microsoft is and what it contributes to, the company's mission statement is less specific, and it we would not know it had anything to do with software or computers, without our previous knowledge.  However, we can analyze this statement on the company's efficiency to help other companies work to the fullest potential, and reflect good values to make their mission possible. Never the less, this statement would be categorized amongst the weaker ones, as it does not provide the reader with much specific detail, nor an aim of what the company wants to be in the future. 

MetLife Inc 

MetLife is an insurance institution that  offers retirement products and prepaid legal plans for individuals, or groups, offering international insurance, and serving countries in Latin America and Asia as well as the US.

Mission Statement
"The capable team of MetLife's Customer Response Center (CRC) shares a common mission - that all customers are "Met for Life." By balancing the efficiencies of new technologies with the personal touch of highly trained and motivated professionals, we are able to deliver solutions and services that exceed our customers' expectations. We thereby earn their loyalty."

This mission statement is by far the most direct, well explained and persuasive above all mentioned. When you give people details, and not just vague information, they end up more convinced and with stronger positive feelings towards your company. It clearly explains what the company does, and for whom they do it. It gives you the possibility to disagree with it, however, it makes you "feel good" about the company, and with the added detail, not question it. It does not say that it wants to be the leader of insurance of the world, however it visions the future to be filled with trained and motivated employees, that exceed customer expectations and help gain even more trust and respect for the business. This mission statement provides more specific detail, which results in motivation of workers to work better and harder for the company, as well as people to buy their product and invest in them. 

 

 

Microsoft takes over Skype

Skype is an internet phone company that provides online calls and video calls between Skype users over the internet for free, while charging both traditional land-line phones and mobiles. Last week Microsoft announced their plan to buy off Skype for 8.5 billion dollars. Skype has been planning a share flotation; however, it has become loss-making internet phone service, and struggled to make money.  Skype has more than 650 million global users and has become Microsoft's largest single acquisition. Bill Gates was a strong proponent of this deal, despite controversy of it being a strategic move for Microsoft. Under the terms of the deal, Skype will now become a new division within Microsoft. Skype chief executive Tony Bates will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer. When I read this article, I thought to myself: What will become of Skype after this move? By the move of Skype reporting to Microsoft, I wonder how the quality of service will change. What other goals and motives will Microsoft have with Skype, and what can we expect of this historical move for Microsoft? One thing is for sure, wherever it will be good or bad, it will affect us all. When we want to talk to family over seas, or just feel closer to a person who is not there, we use Skype. It has become a part of our daily lives, and now it lies within Microsoft to change it into its own idea of controlling the market.

Business news - Burberry

The fashion house Burberry, is revealing new plans to boost the year’s profit hopes.

This 155-year-old maker of handbags and luxurious accessories, reported a surge in revenues to 455 million Euros in the three months to March, which it said would result in full-year profits being at the top end of expectations.

Main concerns being that the buyers in buyers in China, the Middle East, Russia and India, which have not been affected by the European sovereign debt crisis, are now facing a downfall. The last months, Burberry and other luxury brands were noticing a “boom” in profit grown coming from the Asian part of the market. Concerns that those stellar growthrates could be under threat has seen Burberry's shares lose 17% of their valuein the past three months. China is in the big game for the luxury goods industry and is expected to become its biggest single market by 2015. Burberry bought out its longstanding Chinese business partner for about 82 million Euros last year, as it plans to expand from 60 to 100 shops.

“Angela Ahrendts, Burberry chief executive, said: ‘Burberryhad a strong finish to the year, driven by our design, digital marketing andretail initiatives, as well as good early progress in China.’ ”