6A- Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends
1. Climate change is leading to an increased number of natural disasters
I was led to believe that this is an opportunity for obvious reasons. Climate change is something that we not only hear about daily, but something we feel daily. The effects of climate change are obvious and as undeniable as ever. Because of such harmful and intense effects of climate change on our daily lives, it is clear that the opportunity exists to either ban or reduce the use of plastic bags at grocery stores. I believe that the ideal customer for this would be anyone who either feels very strongly about climate change, or someone who likes to use their own reusable bags whenever they go shopping. I personally believe that this opportunity is a bit difficult to exploit, just because it is something that people are used to. Being given plastic bags at the grocery store is just another routine part of the day, and I think that completely eliminating them for good will definitely be an issue, just because it is what everyone is used to.
I think that I was able to see this opportunity because climate change is something I feel very strongly about. It is something that is very real, and truthfully very scary, and a lot of people deny that it is even happening. It is also something that is concerning and is eventually going to catch up to everyone, as it is already showing its effects. I believe that my personal experience with such rapidly changing weather is what has drawn me to believe that this opportunity not only exists, but is very necessary. I strongly believe that a lot of individuals do not see the severity of climate change, and this would have never come up with an opportunity like this one. It is my personal values that have encouraged me to identify such an opportunity.
2. Baby boomers aren't retiring
In my classes, a lot of the time we tend to look into the state of the economy and various socioeconomic trends that have been going on for the past few years. This happened to be one of the trends we talked about, so that is where I got the idea that an opportunity existed. I believe that this shows me that there is a big opportunity for life insurance companies to take advantage of the fact that baby boomers are not retiring. In other words, I believe that the insurance companies now have the opportunities to offer higher health care coverage because business will be needing them for longer periods of time. This is the case because if baby boomers are all working for longer periods of time and having to hold off retirement, that means that the company they are working for must be able to provide sufficient health care coverage for the time they are working there. This would allow insurance companies to charge more, since the businesses need to purchase the insurance regardless. I believe the typical customer would be businesses that have a surplus of older workers who are putting off retirement. This is a very difficult opportunity to exploit. I believe so because if one insurance company were to just raise prices, the business could simply move on to another company that charges less.
I think that I was able to see this opportunity because of the classes that I am in that have made me aware of such an economic trend. For example, people who haven't taken any economics, management, or marketing classes may find it difficult to become more exposed to socioeconomic trends such as this one. I definitely believe that these classes have given me this unique insight that other students may not have. I also formed this opportunity because I believe it is something that will go on to effect the nature of the economy for a long time.
3. The United States has put Huawei company on a blacklist
I found this opportunity as I was reading a news article that I had found online. This leads me to believe that a huge opportunity exists for American made technology companies and all other parts of the supply chain who are affected within these companies. I believe that my opportunity is for all other companies who act as suppliers to these large technology firms. Since the United States is no longer allowing Huawei to receive as many parts from United States suppliers, that allows foreign suppliers to now play a bigger role in Huawei's supply acquisition chain. The United States no longer wants to export as much technology that is made here for governmental reasons. I think that this opportunity is very hard to exploit. The fact that Huawei is not an American firm makes it very risky and financially difficult for firms to contribute and be able to step into the regular supply chain.
I believe that I was able to easily identify this opportunity for many reasons. First of all, I am very fond of the technology industry and of the flexibility involved within all things tech. Because of this, I think that I was more prone to being able to identify an opportunity within the industry, just because it is genuinely something that I am passionate about. Second, I think that someone who does not regularly read online news articles would be unaware of this issue, thus unable to craft an opportunity related to it.
4. New York Financial Services has just adopted a new cybersecurity protocol
I found this opportunity after reading an article that had to do with cybersecurity. Upon reading this article, I realized how big of an issue cybersecurity has been not only within the United States, but all around the world. I believe that this new cybersecurity regulation gives American technology firms such as Apple and Microsoft the ability to become more flexible and more attentive to the market that they serve. I believe that with this department creating regulations that are making cybersecurity a big deal, this allows these companies to be more open and transparent with their customers, thus widening their customer base. This also falls under a similar branch as privacy, which is a huge issue that many people have had with the FBI, CIA, and other government companies not giving appropriate privacy and thus obstructing their first amendment right.
I believe that I was able to identify this opportunity due to my personal opinions on privacy. I personally believe that if any government agency needs to go through a personal computer or cellphone for safety purposes that would benefit the greater good, they should definitely be able to do so. With this in mind, I believe it was my attention to such issues that allowed me to identify such an opportunity. I think that someone who has different opinions on privacy would not have been able to pick up on this.
I was led to believe that this is an opportunity for obvious reasons. Climate change is something that we not only hear about daily, but something we feel daily. The effects of climate change are obvious and as undeniable as ever. Because of such harmful and intense effects of climate change on our daily lives, it is clear that the opportunity exists to either ban or reduce the use of plastic bags at grocery stores. I believe that the ideal customer for this would be anyone who either feels very strongly about climate change, or someone who likes to use their own reusable bags whenever they go shopping. I personally believe that this opportunity is a bit difficult to exploit, just because it is something that people are used to. Being given plastic bags at the grocery store is just another routine part of the day, and I think that completely eliminating them for good will definitely be an issue, just because it is what everyone is used to.
I think that I was able to see this opportunity because climate change is something I feel very strongly about. It is something that is very real, and truthfully very scary, and a lot of people deny that it is even happening. It is also something that is concerning and is eventually going to catch up to everyone, as it is already showing its effects. I believe that my personal experience with such rapidly changing weather is what has drawn me to believe that this opportunity not only exists, but is very necessary. I strongly believe that a lot of individuals do not see the severity of climate change, and this would have never come up with an opportunity like this one. It is my personal values that have encouraged me to identify such an opportunity.
2. Baby boomers aren't retiring
In my classes, a lot of the time we tend to look into the state of the economy and various socioeconomic trends that have been going on for the past few years. This happened to be one of the trends we talked about, so that is where I got the idea that an opportunity existed. I believe that this shows me that there is a big opportunity for life insurance companies to take advantage of the fact that baby boomers are not retiring. In other words, I believe that the insurance companies now have the opportunities to offer higher health care coverage because business will be needing them for longer periods of time. This is the case because if baby boomers are all working for longer periods of time and having to hold off retirement, that means that the company they are working for must be able to provide sufficient health care coverage for the time they are working there. This would allow insurance companies to charge more, since the businesses need to purchase the insurance regardless. I believe the typical customer would be businesses that have a surplus of older workers who are putting off retirement. This is a very difficult opportunity to exploit. I believe so because if one insurance company were to just raise prices, the business could simply move on to another company that charges less.
I think that I was able to see this opportunity because of the classes that I am in that have made me aware of such an economic trend. For example, people who haven't taken any economics, management, or marketing classes may find it difficult to become more exposed to socioeconomic trends such as this one. I definitely believe that these classes have given me this unique insight that other students may not have. I also formed this opportunity because I believe it is something that will go on to effect the nature of the economy for a long time.
3. The United States has put Huawei company on a blacklist
I found this opportunity as I was reading a news article that I had found online. This leads me to believe that a huge opportunity exists for American made technology companies and all other parts of the supply chain who are affected within these companies. I believe that my opportunity is for all other companies who act as suppliers to these large technology firms. Since the United States is no longer allowing Huawei to receive as many parts from United States suppliers, that allows foreign suppliers to now play a bigger role in Huawei's supply acquisition chain. The United States no longer wants to export as much technology that is made here for governmental reasons. I think that this opportunity is very hard to exploit. The fact that Huawei is not an American firm makes it very risky and financially difficult for firms to contribute and be able to step into the regular supply chain.
I believe that I was able to easily identify this opportunity for many reasons. First of all, I am very fond of the technology industry and of the flexibility involved within all things tech. Because of this, I think that I was more prone to being able to identify an opportunity within the industry, just because it is genuinely something that I am passionate about. Second, I think that someone who does not regularly read online news articles would be unaware of this issue, thus unable to craft an opportunity related to it.
4. New York Financial Services has just adopted a new cybersecurity protocol
I found this opportunity after reading an article that had to do with cybersecurity. Upon reading this article, I realized how big of an issue cybersecurity has been not only within the United States, but all around the world. I believe that this new cybersecurity regulation gives American technology firms such as Apple and Microsoft the ability to become more flexible and more attentive to the market that they serve. I believe that with this department creating regulations that are making cybersecurity a big deal, this allows these companies to be more open and transparent with their customers, thus widening their customer base. This also falls under a similar branch as privacy, which is a huge issue that many people have had with the FBI, CIA, and other government companies not giving appropriate privacy and thus obstructing their first amendment right.
I believe that I was able to identify this opportunity due to my personal opinions on privacy. I personally believe that if any government agency needs to go through a personal computer or cellphone for safety purposes that would benefit the greater good, they should definitely be able to do so. With this in mind, I believe it was my attention to such issues that allowed me to identify such an opportunity. I think that someone who has different opinions on privacy would not have been able to pick up on this.
Hi Rebeca, I enjoyed reading your post. It was very descriptive and informative; I could tell you put a significant amount of time researching these trends. The climate change opportunity focused on reducing single-use plastic bags would be difficult to exploit, but I think each day that passes more people are becoming aware of the effects of climate change. With the 2020 election right around the corner, cybersecurity and privacy solutions preventing foreign interference are in demand. Baby boomers are working more, and recently the average lifespan in America increased a few year for the first time in awhile. People are living longer and working longer creating more opportunities.
ReplyDeleteHi Beca,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post, especially #2 because I like hearing about socioeconomic trends in my classes too. The fact that baby boomers aren't retiring is a concept I've been familiar with, growing up. My dad always told me he wants to work for as long as he possibly can, because he wants to keep his mind active. I've never thought about how this could affect insurance policies and companies. I agree it would be a difficult opportunity because businesses could just move onto a different insurance policy, but i could see this happening in the future.
Hey Beca,
ReplyDeleteYour economic trends that you identified were really interesting. I genuinely didnt know about the baby boomers not retiring, but I can see it being something insurance companies really need to focus on. I also take management, marketing, and economic classes so I am someone who gets exposed to these kinds of socioeconomic trends, but its interesting to see how specific problems really only come to light depending on where you fall in your demographics and occupation. Therefore, I can see how this would be a difficult opportunity to exploit.