• Look at the notes about an enterprise. • Some information is missing. • You will hear part of a presentation by the Inte

M: Honeybee Foods Corporation, engaged in fast food industry, has been developing rapidly and steadily in the Philippines these years, but few could imagine that it was started in 1975 as an ice cream parlor owned and run by the Chinese- Filipino Tan family. After the company President Tom Tan Caktiong (better known as TTC) realized that events triggered by the 1977 oil crisis would double the price of ice cream, Honeybee had diversified into sandwiches. The Tan’s hamburger, made to a home-style Philippine recipe, quickly became a customer favorite. A year later, the family incorporated as Honeybee Foods Corporation.
     The company’s name came from TTC’S vision of employees working happily and efficiently, like bees in a hive. Friendliness pervaded the organization and became one of the “Five Fs” that summed up Honeybee’s philosophy. The others were flavorful food, a fun atmosphere, flexibility in catering to customer needs, and a focus on families (children flocked to the company’s bee mascot whenever it appeared in public). The company’s value proposition offered all of these to customers at an affordable price. The recipe of the local Filipino flavor and sound operation and management enabled the corporation to grow rapidly. Up to 1985, Honeybee had 28 chains in the Philippines.
     The domestic business success of the corporation made President TTC get greatly interested in international expansion. Since 1985, Honeybee started seven chain stores respectively in Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, and Indonesia. However, except for the four extremely successful chains in Brunei, the other three all failed in the end. The major causes for the business failure included lack of full exchange and communication among different divisions, some problems in the organizational structure, and too fast development of international business.
     Honeybee had opened a large number of chains in a short period of time, but owing to limited management ability, many of these chains were unprofitable. The corporation should take the development step by step and make sure that each new chain was profitable. Only in this way could the corporation guarantee sustainable development.