by Helen
On Monday, we began our company visits. We started off the visit with Kenya Airways. We met with the director of marketing who gave us a great overview of the company but more importantly its goals and its mission. The goal for Ken Air is to become the premier airline in Africa opening up the continent to the world. The challenges that an airline faces in Africa were interesting to hear about. For example, consumer research showed that the reason sales in Nigeria were on the decline was because Nigerians felt that the Kenyans weren’t respecting them. So for example, respect in Nigeria means handing items to people using your right hand, not your left. Everytime anyone on the airplane did it the other way, it was disrespectful. Another finding was that the food that Nigerians were being served on flights was not anything they liked and they got “rabbit food” instead of meat. So the segmentation of customers is critical for Ken Air and now they pursue a cultural study before they enter a new market.
We also took a tour of their control center and saw the daily operation and coordination that goes on. Currently, Delta does not fly into Nairobi and interestingly, we were told that it was due to the airport being not nice enough. However, in reality, it seems that Delta was all set to fly into the Nairobi airport but then unrest broke out and the US government asked Delta to suspend service until Kenya got its matters in order. Not clear why no progress has been made since the riots have calmed down.
The second company we visited was the regional division of Unilever. I actually didn’t know about the company and all its products (like Lipton) until this visit. What struck me is the fact that energy and educated labor costs in Kenya are many times higher than those in China so it is very hard to keep the margins as they are. Also, Unilever charges the same price for soap in the US as it does in Kenya. The only difference is that in Kenya, you can get the soap in many different sizes which supposedly makes it more affordable. So it is mindboggling to me that essentially it sounds like a $1 in Kenya goes as far as a $1 in the US, but half of Kenya lives below the poverty level. This continues to be pretty puzzling to me and I would love to talk to corporate headquarters of one of these companies (Coca Cola, Unilever, etc.) to discuss this lack of “ability” to dilute the brand by lowering the price for those who can’t possibly pay it. The CSR presentation by Unilever leaved much to be desired for as well. The group of the presenters did not seem to love their jobs and seemed to be under a lot of pressure to cut their costs so that the factory doesn’t go to China (which it probably will because it’s much cheaper).
Monday night, a couple of us went to a great Indian restaurant, Haandi. I love trying different Indian food with people from India because it really expands my tastes. One interesting thing about that experience was the cab driver that took us to the restaurant, did not have change for our fair, so he told us we can pay him when he comes to pick us up. So we did call him and did pay him, but that seemed like a lot of trust.
it's nice to read sotries of how things happen from day 1 to the last day. and most specially, the experience and the process that went along.
Posted by: Nursing maternity | April 21, 2010 at 19:24
i myself am wanting to do blogging too. i wonder when i could start when my baby is also at my back...lol!
maybe when she becomes 5.
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Posted by: CNA Training | January 18, 2011 at 23:55
Nice post. I too have flown with Ken Air and was actually pleasantly surprised. Not too rough. I love Africa. I wish the government wasn't ... as convoluted as it is, but c'est la vie.
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Posted by: Mandy | May 27, 2011 at 12:33
i pity the children..i agree to Layla..Help save RIF's funding!!
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[..]i pity the children..i agree to Layla..Help save RIF's funding!![...]
Posted by: wyoming cna classes | July 25, 2011 at 01:19
i myself am wanting to do blogging too. i wonder when i could start when my baby is also at my back...lol!
maybe when she becomes 5.
Posted by: lacoste shoes men | August 22, 2011 at 02:11
I love the sound of the trusting cab driver at the end. I lived in New York for a large part of my life and I can't even begin to imagine that happening there!
Posted by: Jo | March 29, 2012 at 12:19