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Hormel Foods
Published: November 7, 2025
When reading this press release the first thing that stands out is the question of why Hormel Foods is making this change right now. They talk about a restructuring that will remove about 250 jobs and close some open positions. That makes me wonder what goals the company is really trying to reach. Are they cutting costs or trying to focus on new areas for growth? The release says they will direct more resources toward technology innovation, food safety and quality. This sounds good but it also makes me ask how they plan to do that and what proof they have that this plan will work. The release gives some answers but still leaves many questions open.
After asking these questions it helps to think about what might be behind this decision. The food industry has a lot of changes happening with costs going up and customers looking for new products. Hormel Foods may believe that cutting costs in some areas and investing more in new ideas will make them stronger in the long run. That seems like a fair reason. At the same time there’s another side to think about. When a company removes jobs it can lose experience and talent. That could make it harder to stay creative or keep quality high. The company also said it expects a restructuring cost of around 20 to 25 million dollars. That’s a short term cost they hope will lead to long term savings but it’s still a big risk if things do not go as planned. So the reasoning part of critical thinking means looking at both the good and the bad of this change.
Once the questions are asked and the reasoning is done we have to decide what we actually believe. In this case I believe Hormel Foods is trying to adapt to a changing market and that makes sense. I also believe they need to be more open about how they will measure success. If I worked for the company I’d watch closely to see if the promised focus on innovation and food safety really happens. If I was an investor I’d keep an eye on whether the cost cuts lead to better results. The idea of critical thinking means that after reasoning things out we believe what makes the most sense and act based on that. This press release shows all three parts of critical thinking. It invites reasoning we can think through and it leads to decisions about what to believe and how to act. Still the message would be stronger if the company shared more details and examples so readers could better understand and trust the plan.
Work cited: “Hormel Foods Announces Corporate Restructuring to Support Strategic Priorities and Long-Term Growth.” Hormel Foods, 4 Nov. 2025, www.hormelfoods.com/newsroom/press-releases/hormel-foods-announces-corporate-restructuring-to-support-strategic-priorities-and-long-term-growth/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
KFC's Blunder
Published: October 31st, 2025
When KFC first expanded into China they brought their famous slogan along for the ride. The plan was to tell everyone their chicken was "Finger Lickin' Good." Unfortunately the team in charge of translation dropped the ball. Instead of capturing the fun idea behind the phrase they translated it word for word. The result was a Chinese slogan that meant something like "Eat Your Fingers Off. Imagine the reaction by the Chinese consumers when met with this slogan. Not exactly the message you want for a family friendly restaurant.
This wasn't just a simple typo. It was an intercultural communication blunder. First the original slogan is an idiom. In English we know "finger lickin' good" is just slang. It’s a playful and exaggerated way to say the food is incredibly delicious. You’re basically saying the flavor is so good you do not want to waste a single bit. The translators treated it like a straightforward sentence instead of a cultural expression. Also, "Eat your fingers off" sounds violent and scary. It suggests cannibalism or injury. This is the opposite of the safe enjoyable meal KFC wanted to promise. The core failure was that KFC did not consider the needs of its new Chinese audience. They focused on the words themselves and not the cultural meaning behind them.
A good rewrite would forget the exact English words and focus on the feeling KFC wanted to share. The goal was to communicate that the chicken is so delicious you will want to savor every last bit. A new version of this slogan like “It’ll make you want to like your fingers” in proper mandarin wording fixes all the problems. It completely loses the scary and confusing "eat your fingers off" meaning. It tells customers the food is a real treat in a way they can easily understand and appreciate. This is what effective intercultural communication is all about. It is not about translating words. It is about translating feelings and intent to connect with people no matter where they are from. This is what intercultural communication is all about.
Work cited: https://www.mashed.com/747566/the-hilarious-translation-mistake-kfc-china-made-with-its-slogan/