Question one

The ALCOA markets

Alcoa has better shares on the manufacturing markets in the United States. ALCOA deals on refined aluminum products, locally refined before consumers purchase the materials for use in manufacturing. ALCOA mines the bauxite, from which alumina is extracted and directly sold to the consumers who melt the metal into different forms including metals and industrial chemicals. Redesigning and refining of the aluminum into primary metals represent a portion of ALCOA’s manufacturing activities that makes its most popular worldwide smelting system. Similarly, the Global Rolled Products, in which the refining of aluminum sheets and plates occurs, forms the midstream manufacturing operation of the ALCOA. The sheets, majorly sold directly to the customers form the raw materials for the manufacture of aluminum cans for packing the beverages, pets foods, and canned foods. At some point, sales of sheets hike on high demand from industrial products, automotive, commercial transportation, building and construction, and aerospace manufacturers.

Question two

Barriers faced by ALCOA

The first significant barrier form the exit involves the legal requirements for alignment of the profit to the sustainability of the environment. Even though producers consider the maximization of profit as the primary goal of investment, legally ALCOA frequently encounter environmental conserving policies that bound the producer into taking full responsibility of the environmental degradation that occurs during the extraction and manufacturing process. Therefore, the company’s exit from the production is tired on the need to initiate the interventions measures on the status of the environment against which the legal consequences sends the company into losses.  Unforeseen changes in the environment including the climate change and pollution force the producer to align the intervention measures with the long term strategies since the risks involve long term monitoring and evaluation. Usually, the higher the production rate, the longer the evaluation period. Contrary improving the production rate result in environmental harm, pollution and exploitation of natural resources in extracting metals, requiring improvement that takes a longer time.

Question three

Whether environmental degradation occurs or not, the legal procedures demand the allocation of funds from the producers, in the form of a direct or indirect tax, directed towards the strategic plans for the future improvements of the environment. An environmental change, which at some point is severe, influences the production rate. Failure of the producer to incorporate the climate changes into the long term strategies expose the producers into financial risks. The financial performance of the producer reduces significantly if the environmental changes call for a quick response or improvements in the mining process or the product lines.  Under such situations, the financial allocations directed towards environmental improvements reduce the profit margin.

Deductively, failure to evaluate the external cost of production that comes with climate change and other environmental issues such as pollution makes the companies not aware with the real price of the product and the risk associated to the production process.

PART 2

Reply to Jay

Commitment describes the dedication that aims at attaining a goal. Nintendo strives at maximizing the profit from the sales of the Pokémon Go for the longest time it will be in the market.  The generation of profit depends on the sales volume of the augmented reality game developed and published by Nintendo for the iOS and Android phones. According to Lewis (2016), Pokémon Go ranked most downloaded game app for three consecutive days. Its popularity from the improved interactive and fun based features has increasingly promoted the game app in 2019. Lewis (2016) explains that the Pokémon Go uses the GPS to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, features highly enjoyed by consumers. The commitment comes with the plans to release more games to obtain a competitive advantage in the gaming industry.  According to Nintendo, five more games on the Android and the ios devices are yet to be released; however, the release comes after the Pokémon Go.

Response two (response to Marry)

Majorly, firm commitments need to be irreversible, credible, understandable and visible. After the dedication towards the realization of a goal, companies need to avoid changes or reversing the approach. While shifting a company’s commitment, the weight of their responsibility to the rival companies reduces, and they view the company as posing no threat. However, for a famous company, the competing companies need to see or experience the clear intentions of the rival company. Understanding the aim enable the rival companies to rate the threats from the plans and subsequently branding the company as a threat.

Finally, the credibility of the commitment dictates its strength. A strong commitment needs to be credible. The outcome of a commitment must result in a success factor that captures the attention of the rival competitors and propels the company to attain a competitive advantage. Nintendo makes strong commitment due to the success in sales that originate from the Pokémon Go. The performance has prompted Nintendo to develop even more games expected to compete favorably.

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