Goodbye Scandinavia…

“The past three weeks feels like a couple months. We had traveled to so many places in a short period of time and have seen, heard, and felt so much. Visiting Sweden and Finland, which are two countries I probably would have never had the opportunity to visit if it had not been for this travel course, was both so breathtaking with a slight sense of home. Starting at Volvo, and visiting companies of various industries and sizes was a great experience. One of the main takeaways from the visits is the effectiveness of a flat organization. Scandinavian companies appears to have a very low sense of vertical hierarchy, allowing their employees to feel more involved and responsible. I feel U.S. companies are slowly taking on this form of business with new companies like Facebook. It would be interesting to see how globalization is going to affect how businesses are run worldwide especially with many companies operating in numerous countries. One of my favorite moments from this trip was the Creative Summit. Being in a room with so many like-minded people was so much fun. Hearing all of the professionals offering their insight on various aspects of marketing was eye-opening and an indication that this . I would like to thank Professor Myhr, Debra Gonda, and my classmates for making this a trip I would never forget.”
-Ayaka Morimoto

“From this travel course, I explored the business and beautiful cities of Scandinavia. We spent most of our time in Sweden. Since Sweden has a small population, many companies focus on global business and also have a strong ability of high technology products development. There are a lot of famous and successful companies, for example: Volvo, Ericsson, H&M, IKEA, Electrolux, and Spotify.
This time, I was lucky to have had the chance to visit Volvo, Ericsson, Spotify and some other companies. From the trip, I not only learned the reason for these companies’ success but also learned how these companies keep growing and survive in the highly competitive market.
When I recall all these company, I find almost all of these companies have clear views of their marketing position for difference countries and times. For example, Volvo is focusing on stable and safe mid-level cars for consumers.
Compared to the strong competition in the mobile phone market, Ericsson chose to sell their mobile phone business to Sony and focus on Networked Society and mobile networks business, which provide innovative solutions for GSM and Voice and Data service for people. Also, Ericsson is a strong player in core networks, microwave transport, IP networks and fixed-access solutions for copper and fiber. If we recall the 2000’s, the biggest mobile phone shares were captured by Nokia, Motorola, and Ericsson; however in 2014, the largest mobile phone market shares were captured by Samsung, Apple and Huawei. We can see there is a huge changing of mobile phone industry. If Ericsson does not change their market strategy, Ericsson, like Nokia, may also have to sell out to another company.
Generally, this travel course is not just a vacation trip, but also an forgettable experience – a lesson of how to be a successful global company.”
-Bellona Chen

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