HANOI METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE

English for Business 1

FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Group 7

Students Nguyễn Phương Thảo

Nguyễn Thu Huế 220000599

Hoàng Phương Anh

Bùi Kim Trúc

Class English for Business 1 (NO4)

Supervisor Mrs Trinh Phan Thi Phong Lan

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1

PART 1. INTRODUCTION 2

1.About our group members and the company 2

2.Situation description 2

PART 2. IMPACT OF THE CRISIS 3

PART 3. SOLUTIONS 3

1.Current plans 3

2.Long-term plans 4

PART 4. PREDICT THE RISK AND RECOVERY POTENTIAL 4

1.Predict the risk 4

2.Recovery potential

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Evaluation Criteria
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, we want to express my gratitude to my inspiring guidance teacher,

Mrs. Trinh Phan Thi Phong Lan. She offered us wise counsel and priceless contributions.
Without her ideas and considerations, it would be difficult for us to complete this thesis.

In the course of conducting this inquiry, We also want to express our appreciation for the
groups and individuals who enthusiastically assisted us. We want to sincerely thank
everyone who contributed to creating the conditions that made it possible for us to
receive support as I conducted the research for this dissertation.

Once more, we want to express our gratitude to everyone who helped. The thesis has
flaws despite my best efforts during the research process and due to the restrictive
circumstances, so I look forward to your comments and feedback so that I can keep this
thesis improving.

THANK YOU!
PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1. About our group members and the company

Our group consist of 4 members:

- Hoàng Phương Anh : Director of Maybelline New York

- Nguyễn Phương Thảo : Financial Manager of Maybelline New York

- Nguyễn Thu Huế : Sales Manager of Maybelline New York

- Bùi Kim Trúc : Marketing Manager of Maybelline New York

*Company profile

- Company's name: Maybelline New York

- Type of business: Subsidiary

- Parent: L'Oréal

- Industry: Cosmetic Industry

- Founded: 1914

- Founder: Thomas Lyle Williams

- Headquarters: Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

- Area served: Worldwide

- Products: cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, personal care.

- Website: www.maybelline.com

2. Situation description

Maybelline has existed in the market for a long time as a well-known global cosmetic
company. The company's revenue has been stable through the years and shows no signs
of abating until the covid-19 pandemic. The quarantine has made it impossible for people
to leave their homes and shop as usual, which has resulted in the company's direct
business at other branches and distributors coming to a standstill. The online business on
online shopping platforms has increased, but it is also an opportunity for some cosmetic
distributors to take advantage of the company's brand for profit. They produced poor
quality fake products with identical designs to the company's products and launched them
into the market. Customers who buy fake products have had bad experiences and made
inaccurate negative reviews that affect the company's reputation. Accompanying the
above incident is the impact of the global pandemic Covid-19 causing the company's
revenue to decrease significantly in late 2019 and early 2020.

PART 2: IMPACTS OF THE CRISIS

The first noticeable effect was the company's business downturn. In the last 3 months of
2019 and the first 3 months of 2020, the company's revenue fell 3.6% compared to the
previous quarter. The sales ratio of the product and the average price of the product also
decreased significantly by 22% and 23% respectively. At the time of the outbreak of the
new epidemic, sales of goods stagnated in both offline and online business forms due to a
decrease in customer purchases while the company was still continuously producing new
products, leading to an increasing inventory.

This crisis also has a significant impact on the company's reputation. The fact that
consumers promote purchases through online shopping platforms has become a
springboard for some illegal organizations to use the company's image for profit. These
organizations have manufactured and marketed counterfeit products for a similar or even
lower price than Maybelline's, causing many customers to unwittingly purchase these
shoddy products over online shopping platforms. Normally when choosing cosmetics,
consumers prefer to go to the store and try the products themselves to be able to make the
best decision. However, when they are forced to switch to online shopping, buying fake
products of poor quality is inevitable because consumers cannot know the origin of the
product if they have not directly tested and evaluated it. This leads to another
consequence, which is affecting the company's potential customers. The purchase of
counterfeit goods causes the company's products and reputation to be heavily
misunderstood. Maybe in the future, customers who have tried or intend to try
Maybelline products will turn away from the company's products.

PART 3: SOLUTIONS

1. Current plans

The first thing to do is to register for trademark protection with the competent
administrative agencies. It is necessary to focus on communication to correct inaccurate
information, and it is also essential to take legal action to handle illegal activities that
affect the reputation of the company. It is needed for the company to speak up
immediately to customers about the problem of counterfeit products sold on the market
that are not owned by the company. This can be done by posting franchises and videos
that compare the fake product with the company's real product. It is also very important
to have anti-counterfeiting stamps on each product or some unique identification marks
that make it impossible for illegal business organizations to imitate the company's
products. Last but not least, choosing reputable distribution facilities is a crucial point.
Choosing reputable distributors and publishing their information on social media also
contributes to reducing customers buying fake goods when shopping online.

2. Long-term plans

- Create products with affordable prices (Change the packaging and keep the product
quality -> Save production costs)

- Create a make-up set -> it's cheaper to buy each product separately

- Accumulating points for voucher exchange

- Create makeup products with skincare effects -> More suitable for the current needs of
customers

- Pushing promotion on online platforms (Run ads, collaborate with influencers,

celebrities,... as ambassadors to help promote and expand the company's reputation...)

PART 4: PREDICT THE RISK AND RECOVERY POTENTIAL

1. Predict the risk

2. Recovery potential

PART 5: REFERENCES

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maybelline
2. https://www.zippia.com/maybelline-careers-30641/revenue/
3. https://www.similarweb.com/website/maybelline.com/
4. https://lani-loves.com/the-decline-of-maybelline-examining-the-causes-and-
implications-of-an-iconic-brands-potential-demise/
5. https://bnews.vn/l-oreal-cong-bo-doanh-thu-va-loi-nhuan-tang-truong-hai-con-
so/280830.html
6. https://www.vietnamplus.vn/loreal-ghi-nhan-muc-tang-truong-doanh-thu-cao-
nhat-trong-33-nam-qua/772296.vnp
PART 6: APPENDICES

Meeting Minutes

Code: N04
ORGANIZATION AND
MANAGEMENT MEETING Version: 01
REGULATIONS
Date of issue:23/04/2023

MEETING MINUTES

About crisis reception and planning

Today, 9.00 AM, April 23rd 2020, at meeting room A – meeting with the following
content:

I. Participants included
1. Director – Chairman: Ms. Hoang Phuong Anh
2. Financial manager: Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thao
3. Marketing manager: Ms. Bui Kim Truc
4. Sales manager – Secretary: Ms. Nguyen Thu Hue
II. Content of the meeting
1. Situation
- Revenue and sale decreased due to the epidemic

- Direct business significantly reduced

- The rampant appearance of fake products taking advantage of the company's name

- Customers have bad experiences and share negative comments

- The company's reputation is affected

 2. Causes
- The epidemic causes direct business to decrease and online business to increase

- Some cosmetic distributors take advantage of the company's name and the increase in
online shopping rates to profit

3. Solutions and plans

- Registering for trademark protection with state agencies

- Take legal action

- Post a video to guide customers to distinguish fake and real product+ the support of the
media

- Have anti-counterfeiting stamps on each product

- Choose reputable distribution agents and publicize its information on the website

- Create products with affordable prices (Change the packaging and keep the product
quality -> Save production costs)

- Create a make-up set -> it's cheaper to buy each product separately

- Accumulating points for voucher exchange

- Create makeup products with skincare effects -> More suitable for the current needs of
customers

4. Assignment of duties
- Marketing department: Create plans to promote the company's products and image on
all social platforms, create videos to help customers distinguish fakes from real ones, and
provide proofs that confirm the company sells real products, reach out to many groups of
customers, introduce new products, and offer incentives and vouchers to them.

- Finance department: Produce more products and change prices to be more suitable for
each customer group, create makeup collections, and combos for customers to have more
choices at a more economical cost.
- Sales department: Closely monitor the progress of the implementation of the plan,
compile product sales data and report back regularly. Monitor customer comments and
requests to make appropriate adjustments.

The meeting ends at 11.23 AM, April 23rd 2020

The Secretary The chairman

Hue P.Anh

Nguyen Thu Hue Hoang Phuong Anh

Mid-term group work

GROUP 7: RESULTS OF CUSTOMER COMMENTS SURVEY; RESULTS

ANALYSIS, PREDICTION, AND SUGGESTIONS

Based on a survey of 20 customers about their feedback, we have the following analysis:

- More than half of customers (about 55%) choose hotels to stay in while traveling. And
the number of customers choosing the apartment is the lowest (10%). The remaining 35%
of guests choose to stay at the guest house.

-> It can be seen that most customers think that a hotel is the best option because they can
enjoy a peaceful and fun holiday thanks to its facilities and services.
- Most of the customers stay in 1 day, 1-3 days, or 4-7 days. No one stayed for a week or
a month.

- The customers often went with their friends and family so most of them stayed with
more than 2 people. Only 10% of customers stayed alone.

- More than 80% of customers are satisfied with the place they stayed and choose to stay
there again. But 20% of people are still wondering, not really sure they want to stay there
anymore.
- Half of the customers would recommend the place to everyone. 35% of people are still
wondering and 15% would not recommend it.

1. Interpret the data

a. Customers’ feedback on hotel

Overall, the percentage of hotels gained more than half of the total (55%). That means
customers prefer choosing a hotel while they’re traveling. All the customers are pleased
with the facilities that are provided. We can see that the hotel is trying to improve their
customers’ satisfaction by giving them comfort and keeping all the rooms clean. Most of
the customers are content with these things but there’s still a disagreement. Next, we
have the total Food rating, 2 of 11 customers said that the food is not exceptional while 9
of 11 customers love all the food there. We can see clearly that 5/12 customers rated that
Bar service as not really interesting and that means the hotels need to improve this
service in the future. Moving on to the Personal attention rating, most customers are
satisfied with this service, they said that the hotel is always concerned about individual
interests, but there’s still a customer who said that this service is bad, we have to note
down and decide some needed changes in the future. There are 8 of 11 customers felt the
price was reasonable, and others said that the price is still higher than the quality of all
the services that they received. According to the chart, we can see that all the rating have
good feedback but the Personal Attention Service need to be changed and improved to
get more good recommendations.

b. Customers’ feedback on guest house

In general, the evaluation of services for the type of motel accommodation is quite
diverse from the perspective of each customer. We got 35 percent of customers who
chose guest house as their most recently used accommodation type and gave a rating on
the services in the guest house. The first is the result of the assessment of the level of
comfort. Overall, most of the customers said that this type of accommodation can provide
them the necessary comfort, besides that only one customer said that they feel
uncomfortable staying at the guest house. Next, we have an assessment of cleanliness.
We can see that the cleanliness rating is evenly spread from 1 to 5. This shows that the
guest houses still do not have a cleaning service and a uniform level of cleanliness,
reflected in the survey results that only a few customers choose level 5. Following that,
we also get the rating for the food service. More than half of customers said they found
the food served at the guest house to be average and more than half above average. There
is still 1 customer rating this service level 1. As far as we observe the results of all service
reviews, there is one customer who consistently rates 1 for all services. It is possible that
this customer had an undesirable experience at the residence of their choice. Regarding
bar service, two-thirds of customers think that guest houses provide above-average bar
service, and the remaining one-third think otherwise. As for the facilities, it is fortunate
that the majority of customers consider the facilities at the guesthouse to be of the highest
quality, and the rest rate it as average. Customer care service is the best-rated service out
of all the services given in the survey. The last two sectors: personal attention and value
for money are chosen by most of the customers with an average or higher rating.
 c. Customers’ feedback on apartment

In general, people tend to stay in hotels or guest houses rather than apartments. The
percentage of customers who love the apartment is only 10%. Most customers are very
satisfied with the comfort of the apartment because it is designed to feel like home.
However, there are 1 customer who does not like the layout of the apartment, so they are
not satisfied. The majority of customers love it and say that the rooms are decorated and
cleaned very well

5/7 customers rated the food very much and complimented it very well with their taste.
Most of the customers love the bar service at the apartment. There are 6/7 customers said
that the drink is very delicious and has a natural taste so they would like to recommend
those beverages. The apartment provides all the things that people often use like at home,
so most customers are satisfied with the facilities. 6/7 customers are satisfied and love the
services provided by the apartment. However, there is a customer who doesn't like it and
said that some services are not suitable. Most of the customers are very satisfied with the
staff's attention to them and say that: the staff are very attentive to the guest's attitude and
guide them in detail when they don't know. 6/7 customers are pleased with the price
when renting an apartment because sometimes they also receive discounts when booking
in advance. However, there is 1 customer who is not satisfied and says: "I am unlucky to
book a room without a voucher

2. Predict the project of the product /services

- Travelers expect, first and foremost, “customer service” to be of the highest standard.
What’s tricky, however, is that this standard keeps rising. So service and comfort are 2
factors to maintain and it will always be improved. As for the food and cleanliness that
need to be fixed and changed. We need to pay more attention to food quality, ordering
experience, and even food variety, ensure food hygiene and safety, and clean this place
regularly. Regarding personal attention, we may notice that visitors might have a bad
experience. The staff is overworked and exhausted, resulting in inefficient guest
communication and poor service. Especially during the staff shortage in the hotel
industry, it is imperative to try to find a solution for both your guests and your personnel.

-Two types of apartments and hotels are loved by customers from the quality of the food
to the customer service, the price is right, so it needs to be maintained. This type of guest
house is loved by many customers. However, it is necessary to change some services
such as food, bar.

-> In general, food, bar, and personal attention need to be improved.

3. Suggest new strategies for development

- Suggests for food service

Providing excellent customer service is one of the most crucial ways to win over and
keep guests.

Implementing straightforward guidelines for staff to welcome, assist, and serve guests
will encourage guests to experience the accommodation’s food service more enjoyable.
To help take the guest experience to the next level, the owners of the accommodation can
consider integrating their PMS (Property Management System) with their restaurant’s
TMS (Table Management System). A key component to help elevate the guest
experience. This means that staff can identify which restaurant guests stay at the place
and who only visit for the day. Other benefits include retargeting staying guests and non-
staying guests with special offers to get them to come back for more.

Besides, improving the quality of the food served is also a very important factor. The
guest house is a type of residence that mainly serves guests in groups or on business trips,
so their needs are also higher. Consider recruiting experienced chefs and waiters, along
with developing a larger restaurant model with appropriate facilities.

- Suggests for bar service

Bar service is also one of the services that have not been appreciated. In general, only bar
service in apartments is more appreciated because usually private apartments are
provided with quite full bars with more luxurious facilities. However, this service in
hotels and guest houses also received mixed reviews. To improve the quality of this
service, first, we need to build a more professional bar model. The bar should not be just
a place to serve drinks but should integrate different types of entertainment into it.
Besides, it should also improve the quality of service and staff. Open some bar staff
training courses to improve skills and hospitality.
- Suggests for other services

Besides food service and bar service, cleaning and personal care services should also be
improved. Especially in terms of cleaning, it must always be timely and professional,
staff should have a lot of experience in cleaning and re-checking after cleaning. It is
important to listen to customer feedback and handle it promptly. Cleaning must always
be done, focusing on small details, and following a certain procedure. In addition, the
remaining sectors are rated above average but need more attention. It is necessary to
maintain the good aspects and improve the unrealized aspects to ensure that all services
receive the best reviews from customers. New advertising strategies for the residence's
services are needed to attract more potential customers.

KFC BUSINESS PLAN

KFC and its products/services

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is one of the leading fast-food Franchise concepts of
today. Starting in the United States in the 1930s, it has grown to become a true multi-
domestic company. KFC Corporation is the largest fast-food chicken operator, developer,
and franchiser in the world.

Products: KFC's main famous product is fried chicken, which is made with the "Original
Recipe". After several decades of development, now KFC has created different flavors of
fried chicken, also in order to provide the best services to satisfy the need of customers KFC
has expanded its product lines. Now KFC's product lines can be divided into five main parts:
chicken, sandwiches, sides, classics, and desserts.

Services:

- Face-to-face/self-service: If the customer wants to take service from the KFC outlet by
face-to-face contract then they have to first they have to reach the appetizer counter and then
the salad counter.

- KFC has a Refund service that returns to the customer when a KFC product doesn’t match
the prescription.

- KFC is technologically assisted to improve Customers Service

Company’s description
Features of KFC

KFC is famous for fried chicken. KFC's chefs all undergo rigorous training to ensure the
unique taste and nutritional quality of their dishes, according to the corporation's standards.
The recipe of the 11 herbs and spices used by KFC to make their chickens remains a secret
business secret, helping to give their products a special flavor.

Price

KFC is more expensive than other fast food restaurants because of the high demand and
because they offer healthy alternatives, which cost more to make. The price of chicken in the
US is also a factor in KFC’s pricing.

Comparison with other rivals

- Jollibee, KFC, McDonald's, and Lotteria are some of the famous and popular fast food
companies in Vietnam.

- Currently, there are nearly 200 KFC stores across Vietnam

- Nearly 90% of consumers choose KFC and LOTTERIA, and the percentage of people
choosing KFC is higher than LOTTERIA.

- About half of KFC users are willing to recommend KFC to others, while in Lotteria, MC
Donalds, and Jollibee only one-third.

- Satisfaction mainly comes from good food, followed by service.

- KFC achieved the highest satisfaction rate for delicious food.

- KFC has the dominant power in brand

- KFC has the highest store in use and the lowest ratio of stores to avoid
Experiences and achievements

Year Awards

2008 - Industrial Excellence Award for Service Sector

- Brand Excellence in Product Branding for Fast Food

Chicken Category

- Best Operations Excellence Award

- Marketing Excellence Award

- Franchisee Of The Year

2009 - Reader’s Digest's Most Trusted Brands

- Franchisee Of The Year

- Effie Award (Bronze)

2010 - Trusted Brand in 2010 - Gold Award (Voted by

Consumers for Family Restaurant Category)

- Reader's Digest's Most Trusted Brands

- Putra Brand Award 2010 (Silver)

Benefits for customers

KFC has options for diners following a gluten-free, low-carb, diabetes-friendly, low-fat,
low-sodium, and vegetarian diet but does not have many items for low-FODMAP and vegan
diners.

The most nutritious food option at KFC is the grilled chicken wings as it has 70 calories per
wing, thanks to the cooking method.
 Evaluation Criteria

Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4

No Criteria Nguyễn Nguyễn Thu Hoàng Bùi Kim

Phương Huế Phương Anh Trúc
Thảo

Contents
(adequate,
1 interesting,
personal opinions
included)

Good
understanding of
topic:

2 Logical flow of
ideas

No reading of
notes

Accuracy
3 (grammar –
vocabulary)

Intelligibility and
fluency
4
(pronunciation,
voice, speed)

Effective use of
5
visual aids

Delivery manner
(eye contact,
6
facial expressions,
…)
 Handling
7
questions

Total