Decisions in Paradise Part 2 Essay

Submitted By EradicatorWoW
Words: 816
Pages: 4

Decisions in Paradise Part 2 The South Pacific island of Kava is a struggling country with tremendous potential and many obstacles to overcome if it is to survive. The Kava economy consists of petroleum, coffee, cocoa, spices, bananas, sugar, tourism, fishing, natural gas, and inexpensive quality labor. The economy suffers from multiple disasters, some are natural, and others are manmade. Preventing the natural disasters is not practical but contention plans for Tidal waves, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires and floods are part of any working plan in Kava. Education can help prevent or reduce the manmade disaster including HIV/AIDS, oil spills, reducing the risk of avian flu, and terrorism inside and outside the island. Cox Communications is committed to helping the population of Kava and new employee Nik is joining Alex on the island to evaluate the options for relief and growing the economy. Nik’s two part plan will bring in bottled water branded with the Cox logo and later build a computer and resource center for the island of Kava. The SWOT technique uses "A comparison of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that helps executives formulate strategy" (Bateman & Snell, 2007, p. 134). Nik uses the SWOT technique to evaluate the options and decide which options benefit Cox and the residents of Kava. Alex and Nik communicate the choices to the corporate offices of Cox keeping them up-to-date with the progress on the project. Part one of the plan brings in bottled water. The strength of bringing in bottled water is all of the residents of Kava need water. The natural disasters left the island in chaos and basic necessities are scarce. The more water the residents have, the better off they will be. The water will keep everyone healthier resulting in a stronger economy. The weakness of brining in bottled water branded with the Cox logo is critics could think Cox is being opportunistic by promoting the company during relief work. The opportunity for Cox to bring immediate help to Kava and promote good will is a good for Cox and good for Kava. Cox can counter the critics because the bottled water branded with Cox is free and the good will generated with the water helps with plans for a local training center and possibly a call center and cable TV and Internet. Brand loyalty and brand recognition is important to Cox. Threats to the water bottle plan could come from the Kava government and local authorities desiring control of resources or kick backs for “water protection.” The strength of building a training and resource center for Kava is a long-term goal. The center will train and educate the residents on computer equipment aimed at 15-year-olds and under who make up over half of the population of Kava. The computer training is offered to everyone, but the younger population is easier to train and will offer new life skills. The resource training will vary to meet the local demand for training and activities. The weakness of the center is no immediate relief and the lower educational level of the residents may slow the progress effectiveness of the center. The opportunity for the island of Kava is unlimited with the center by