Chapter on "Changing Corporate Behavior to Respond to Changing Demographics"

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Changing Corporate Behavior to Respond to Changing Demographics

Understanding one's demographics is a crucial component to modern day business strategies succeeding in an extremely competitive environment. That is why it is so important for major companies who work across the globe to understand the differences in individual regional demographics and how those differences impact corporate behavior and strategies. This inquiry will examine three cities, St. John's, Newfoundland; Miami, Florida; and Surrey, British Columbia in a way to gauge how major international companies like FedEx should address such differences to still maximize profits despite major regional differences in population.

First, this inquiry will examine the demographic make up of St. John's Newfoundland. To do so, the research used data collected by the 2006 Canadian census as it was reported by the site City-Data.com. According to this site, the population of St. John's in 2006 was at 100,646 residents. Out of this population, 45,317 residents were living in private dwellings at the time the census was conducted. Therefore, the population density per square meter was 225.6. The city has more female residents than males. Moreover, the median age of the residents of St. John's was 39.1 years of age, with over 85% of the population is over the age of 15. In terms of educational statuses of the residents here, 21% of the population had received no education, 24% high school only, and 22% of residents had achieved education at a University level. The largest employment positions are sales and service, at 26% and business at 21%. According to the research, 78% of the population uses private cars for transportation, leaving only 6% using public transportation. The census also found that the average annual earning of residents in St. John's was at $24,272 CAD. Additionally, 43% of residents are legally married and 40% not married. Still, 65% of the population consists of married couple families, with an average family size of 2.8 people. The city is largely an English speaking city, with 91.32% of the population knowing English only. Finally, 97.81% of the population is Canadian citizens, with only 2.19% being non-Canadians.

Miami, Florida is next on the list to be examined here. According to the U.S. census, the population in 2009 was 433,136 residents. Out of this total number, 50.3% were females. According to the research, the average age of the residents here was 37.7. Moreover, the city's average income was listed at $28,999 USD per year. Housing prices were low from the standpoint of a national a, set at an average house value of $261,400 USD. The city is largely made up of different ethnic groups, and proves much different than the two other Canadian cities to be examined here. The research shows that out of the city's total population, 68.5% are Hispanic, 17.7% African-American, 12.3% Caucasian, and only 0.8% Asian. The city also has largely diverse educational backgrounds as well. Here, the research suggests that 52.7% residents have a High School diploma, but only 16.2% with a Bachelor's degree or higher and there is 7.7% Graduate degree. In terms of employment statistics, 11.7% are unemployed. Moreover, 42% of the population is married. 57.4% of the population was born in a different country, most often from various nations in Latin America. Construction is the industry most people are working within, with 17% of the population. Finally, 61% of residents in Miami are Catholic.

Surrey, British Columbia is the final city within the context of this examination. The population of this subdivision of British Columbia in 2006 was listed at 394,976 by the Canadian Census, with a total of 139,193 private dwellings. Thus, there was a population density of 1,245.3 people per square meter. According to the research, the median age is around 37.0 and 79.9% of the population is over the age of fifteen. In terms of educational statistics, 30% of residents went to High School; there are 22% with no education, and 16% with an education from a major University. The research also suggests that 26% of the population works in sales and service, with 19% in trade employments, and 18% in business. Transportation is largely dominated by private cars, with 79% of residents driving their own cars and only11% using public transportation. Additionally, the average income in the city is around $25,981. 57% of the residents in Surrey are legally married, with 29% single and 78% in married couple households. The average family size in 2006 was 3.1 people. The city is largely English speaking with 89.28% of the population speaking only English and only 5.2% speaking both English and French. Finally, the city is largely made up of native Canadians, with 88.31% Canadian citizens with only 11.69% non-Canadians living in the region.

There are several key differences between the cities in question. First and most obviously, are the racial compilations of each city. St. John's and Surrey are made up of largely Caucasian Canadians, while Miami has a much larger proportion of Hispanics and African-Americans compared to the much smaller percentage of Caucasians living within city limits there. In accordance with this, there are also a much greater percentage of foreign born residents living in Miami compared to the two Canadian cities included within the context of this review. Miami has a larger percentage of non-citizens, as well, when compared to the two Canadian cities. Surrey and St. John's are largely English speaking, while Miami has a much larger percentage of Spanish speaking residents. When looking at the two Canadian cities more closely, it is clear that Surrey has a much larger population than St. John's. Moreover, Surrey has a larger average household in terms of the number of people living within each familial dwelling. Overall, St. John's is the smallest of all three cities, and it also has the lowest average income per individual when compared to Miami and Surrey. Yet, St. John's also has on average the oldest median age for its residents at 39.1 years of age. These differences make it clear that large corporations would use different target marketing and practices strategies in order to best successfully operate in each unique regional context.

In accordance with the larger populations of both Surrey and Miami, FedEx would have to conduct much larger operations when compared to St. John's. Surrey has a population of over 390,000 people, while Miami boasts the largest population of all three cities examined at over 433,000 residents. On the other hand, St. John is much smaller with a population around 100,000. Thus, FedEx would have to have increased staff loads, shipment routes, and office locations in the cities of Surrey and Miami. Based on population numbers, it would be beneficial for FedEx to have tripled the number of staff and locations to serve the populations of Surrey and Miami compared to the operations seen within the context of St. John's. This estimate was established based on the cities of Surrey and Miami having about roughly tripled the number of residents as the population of St. John's. Moreover, FedEx would have to increase the number of pick ups and delivery times for the cities of Surrey and Miami compared to St. John's. With more packages coming in daily based on the sheer increase in population when working in those two cities, more pick up times would be needed to appropriately handle the operations in such regions. St. John's, on the other hand, would have less average packages, and thus would need less pick up times in order to gather packages efficiently and ship them out on their way across the country and the globe.

Moreover, FedEx would have to make adjustments to the workforce within Surrey and Miami when compared to St. John's. Based primarily on demographic data, the two cities of Surrey and Miami would require a greater number of employees to effectively serve the regional markets of Surrey and Miami. This means more staff members because of larger populations as well as a greater number of locations in such stated regions. St. John's would naturally have fewer locations and routes, therefore leading to a lesser demand for office and delivery staff. Miami is a location that would actually differ dramatically compared to the two Canadian cities within this review. The city of Miami would require greater diversity within its office and delivery staff. Not only would operations in the city require the greatest staff load out of all the cities presented here, it would require the most diverse as well. With such a larger portion of Miami's resident's speaking Spanish, FedEx would have to naturally meet local demands and present the region with a greater number of bilingual staff members. This bilingual workforce would enhance the performance and ease of staff-customer interaction all over the city of Miami. Surrey and St. John's, on the other hand, are two cities that have populations predominately speaking English. This would lessen the demand for a bilingual workforce, and would also alter the other main language used in FedEx operations from Spanish to… READ MORE

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