Mercado, Marie Angelica De Vera A-222

Research about the life of a business leader, e.g., CEO, CFO, CTO, etc., that you
admire and would like to emulate

1. Write a short biography of this business leader. (9 points)

Jack Ma was born in Hangzhou, China, in 1964 as 'Ma Yun' to a poor family. Ma had a
difficult childhood working as a guide for foreign tourists in the city. He earned a
bachelor's degree in English in 1988, and after being turned down for multiple jobs, Ma
was ultimately hired to teach English at a local university. He was paid only $15 per
month. However, as China became more accessible to entrepreneurs, many people,
including Ma, seized the chance at the height of the global internet revolution. Ma
launched Alibaba in 1999 with his wife and a group of close friends. He continued to
raise cash and build his company, which began as an online B2B marketplace.Alibaba
Group became the world's largest IPO in 2014, raising $25 billion and listing on the New
York Stock Exchange (India Today Web Desk,2020).

2. Describe at most two (2) business decisions this leader made which you
believe led to the success of his/her company. (9 points)

At the start of building his company despite many people disagreeing with him, he
remained determined and acted boldly to build his business, and that quality is essential
to be a successful leader. With regards to his decisions, one of them is when Alibaba
did not run smoothly as expected, so what he did was to establish their own payment
program which is Alipay. At that time, many people thought that it was not a clever idea,
but Ma, being determined and bold, still pushed it, and now there are 800 million people
using Alipay (The Heroes,n.d.). Through his decision, we can see that Ma is innovative,
a risk-taker, and a good problem-solver.Hiring people with exceptional skills is another
of his decisions that has captured my notice. Employees, he claims, should have more
talents than you have because recruiting people with the knowledge to carry out the
company's goal is a crucial foundation for every business (Kux,n.d.).

3. In what way Economics might have been used by this business leader in
making those decisions? (12 points)

According to Hayes (2020),economics is a social science that studies how products and
services are produced, distributed, and consumed. It investigates how individuals,
businesses, governments, and nations make resource allocation
decisions.Thus,examining elements that can help corporate executives improve their
decision-making is really beneficial. Jack Ma was able to use Managerial economics which
made him think strategically and make decisions to optimize the outcome.Managerial
Economics is the combination of economic theory and business operations to help management
make smart choices and plan for the future (Management Study Guide,n.d.). Ma, was able to
apply the economics of effective management. First, he set-up a goal for his company and
Mercado, Marie Angelica De Vera A-222
identified constraints. Second, recognizing the nature and importance of profit wherein it was
shown when he developed Alipay which of course before arriving at this final decision made him
give up other alternatives, which is his opportunity costs. Third, understanding the markets, he
considers the 2 sides of the transaction, with that the final outcome is dependent on the power
of buyers and sellers in the marketplace.Fourth, understanding incentives, having a clear
understanding of the incentives’ role is necessary to succeed as a leader. Fifth, recognize the
time value of money which leads him to forecast his next decisions to make. Lastly, use
marginal analysis to maximize their profits. As can be seen, business executives must
effectively comprehend the strength of economics in order to determine possibilities and
increase their company's success.

References:

India Today Web Desk,(2021).Explained: Why is Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack
Ma ‘laying low’?.India
Today.https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/explained-why-is-chinese-billionaire-and-
alibaba-founder-jack-ma-laying-low-1756524-2021-01-06

Kux,S.(n.d.).8 Keys to Success from Jack Ma, Self-Made Billionaire and CEO of Alibaba.
Lifehack.https://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/8-keys-success-from-jack-self-made-billio
naire-and-ceo-alibaba.html

Hayes,A.(2020,December 29).Guide to
Economics.Investopedia.https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economics.asp

Management Study Guide.(n.d.).Managerial Economics.

MSG.https://www.managementstudyguide.com/managerial-economics.htm

The Heroes.(n.d.).Jack Ma: Decisive.The Heroes.

https://greatentrepreneursgd.wordpress.com/heroes/jack-ma-decisive/