Today, we are so glad to see that business is not only for profit, but also creates some shared values for the whole society. Social entrepreneurs devote on solving some social problems like education, poverty, medical treatment and other aspects in their own way. Here’s a problem that if the United Nations was fully funded, why would we need the Arc, a program in Sauder or social enterprise. In my opinion, the United Nations is definitely powerful to deal with the problems like military. However, in other aspects, social enterprises contribute a lot.

Different from the United Nations, social enterprises help more efficiently. Although the United Nations has different departments to operate and to solve problems, it doesn’t work so efficiently. On the contrary, social enterprises help a lot because enterprises always specialize in specific industries and all the things they devote are related to their own profit so they care more about the output. They’re trying to figure out the most efficient way that can lower costs and maximum both profit and shared value. Even if the United Nations was fully founded, it couldn’t help as much as social enterprises.

On the other hand, social enterprises are able to help others by using their own resources. They can help to make the world better not only by increasing investments but also by sharing resources. The Arc program from Sauder School of Business is a typical example. As a part of the university of British Columbia, Sauder has great educational resources like expert professors, passionate students and outstanding alumni. With these resources, Sauder is able to help people deal with problems related to business. As the Arc targets in South Africa, Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda¹, the program explicitly affects the economy of these areas in a positive way.

All in all, both the United Nations and social enterprises contribute to make the world better. And I believe that more and more firms are going to help deal with worldwide problems and generate shared value.

Picture from:

http://www.veteraneurship.org/uploads/6/2/2/5/6225893/5779384_orig.gif

Endnote:

1.http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Global_Reach/ARC_Initiative/Programs

Work cited:

Upward Arc. (2014, June 30). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://news.ubc.ca/2014/06/30/upward-arc/

KROEKER, J. (2013, September 13). Production issues threaten to unravel high-end fashion label. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/going-global/production-problems-nearly-unravel-high-end-fashion-label/article14286870/

As people’s life today is closely connected with the Internet, social media becomes a more and more important way of marketing. Apart from that most of the companies have their own official websites, intersection with other social media is also an attainable and effective way for advertisement.

Annie Pilon advises that companies should make good use of Facebook, especially the video part. I agree with her recommendation. As a student who uses Facebook everyday, I can feel that the customer segment of Facebook is so wide that almost everyone uses it. Even when people start a new life in different environment, they still use Facebook to make friends and share things happened in their life. The wide customer segment can make the videos on Facebook more effective as a kind of advertisement. Besides, compared with text and pictures, videos can describe a company or product briefly and clearly. Through videos, people can easily get the information and learn about the products in just a few minutes. Some interesting videos also attract a lot of audiences which make the advertisement so efficient.

Technology develops day by day, even hour by hour. Companies should follow the steps and trends. By fully using the advantages, companies can improve brand awareness.

Picture from:http://tint-blog.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Social-media.png

Work cited:

Pilon, A. (2014, November 9). Why You Really Need a Facebook Video Strategy. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/11/facebook-video-strategy.html

As the top one brand of electric vehicles, Tesla is expanding into Chinese market. As mentioned in Louise Zu’s blog, Tesla has a giant potential market in China, but its current sales stuck. I agree with her point.

With the great population, China has the world’s biggest automobile market. According to the analysis, sales of cars in China decreases recently but the sale of electric vehicles becomes better and better. The whole society pays attention to environment. This makes electricity cars an increasing demand. Although there’s great demand in China, Tesla’s sale cannot make so much profit because of limited production. Recently, Tesla has an e-store in China that is cooperated with Alibaba. But it was cut down in a month because the company cannot satisfy the demand. It shows that Tesla needs to improve its production to meet the demand in this newly developing market and make more profit at the same time.

In addition, Tesla will benefit from the waiver of purchase tax on electric vehicles in China. It’s known that Chinese government always sets a high tax on imported goods. However, the waiver this time promotes the importation of electric vehicles. It’s obvious that the government supports electric cars as it helps deal with the environment problems. And to China today, environment attracts more and more attention.

There’s a problem that market in China is just developing without many mature rules and standards. This makes expansion in China a little bit confusing. But I believe that as time passes by, the market will be more organized with all the regulations and standards. In this way, Tesla will be successful  in China and it will make great profit.

Picture from: http://cnnmoneybuzzblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/tesla-china-614xa.jpg?w=614&h=387

Work cited:

Einhorn, B. (2014, August 7). Tesla in China: Slow Sales Acceleration and a Brand-Name Dispute. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-07/tesla-in-china-starting-sales-slowly-winning-brand-name-dispute

Equity, Z. (n.d.). Tesla to Gain from China Tax Waiver. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-gain-china-tax-waiver-205006842.html

Young, A. (2014, August 29). China Electric Vehicle Market: As Tesla Expands Charge Plans, BYD Chief Says Country Mulling Gas Tax. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.ibtimes.com/china-electric-vehicle-market-tesla-expands-charge-plans-byd-chief-says-country-mulling-1673610

As mentioned in class 19 and also in Yifang Liu’s blog, organizational culture is significant to all the companies because organizational culture promotes all the employees to work efficiently and makes them willing to devote to the company.

Remembering the video we watched in class about the working environment in Zappos, I am so surprised that everyone in Zappos is so happy and satisfied. Certainly, workers are willing to work which makes work more efficient in this way. Besides, from Yifang Liu’s blog, which is about the organizational culture in Google, I know more about it. Google makes all employees feel free while working with always free drinks and food.  Apart from this basic welfare, Google also encourages people to state their own opinions and share information with others. With smaller amount of middle and top managers, workers feel more relaxed to communicate with the managers and voice their opinions. All of these make an open and relaxing atmosphere.

There’s no doubt that a lot of people want to work for Google because of its organizational culture. In addition, the culture also helps Google keep great employees.  In this kind of virtuous cycle, Google is able to choose the employees it wants at first because it can attract a lot of candidates. Then it can also keep the elites for the sustainable development of the company.

Picture from: http://www.skipprichard.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/I-love-my-job-1024×682.jpg

Work cited:

Jihoon Kim,7 Secrets Of Google’s Epic Organizational Culture,SEPTEMBER 30, 2013,<http://www.officevibe.com/blog/7-secrets-of-googles-epic-organizational-culture>

Business is always about profit but when profits meet ethics, which one is more important? Of course ethics!

Recently, with the development of scientific technology and wild use of Internet, online review becomes a more important way for customers to get information. At the same time, all companies find the opportunity of marketing. Instead of TV advertisements and billboards on the streets, online review is more convenient and cheaper. For companies, the low-cost and effective way of advertising is a great choice to let people be more familiar with the brands. However, for customers, as online review becomes a platform of advertising, it’s hard to get and take apart useful information, and force people to spend more time searching for other results.

Internet makes life convenient. At the same time, because of some particularity of the Internet, here come some problems as well. For example, we can get lots of information through online review in a second, but we are not sure if the information is true or false. It is necessary to establish online ethical standard.

I totally agree with the statement that Google and UrbanSpoon are going to take some effect to help with fake online review. It will help people get useful information in a short time and keep a great order of the whole market. Although Google and UrbanSpoon may not deal with all fake review, they already help a lot. Apart from making people save time, the companies also create shared value as well. And I hope that more and more similar companies will join.

Picture from: http://www.southeasternbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ethics.jpg

Work cited

Megan Griffith-Greene,Marketplace investigation uncovers thriving industry behind fake online reviews, Nov 07, 2014<file:///Users/zhangjinyuan/Library/Safari/ReadingListArchives/CD7D1F50-7386-4795-966E-9A8E17AE9089/Page.webarchive>

Recently, WestJet wants to add one more row of seats on its planes to make more profit as it’s going to use new entertainment system and provide wifi on the plane. However, people have different ideas about it.

For the company, adding another row of sears will increase the revenue for sure. To compete with other airline companies, WestJet uses a new entertainment system and offers wifi. The flight condition attracts customers. However, the cost increases at the same time because every change needs money. It’s necessary for the company to take some effects to make more profit. Meanwhile, WestJet announces that it is going to provide Canadian people with affordable tickets. With this value proposition, the company makes money through the large quantity. It’s rational to insert one more row. Besides, WestJet is going to make all the seats thinner so people will not actually notice the difference from additional seats.

It seems that it’s a great idea to have one more row of seats on the plane but consumers think in a different way. They doubt if thinner seats are comfortable to travel. They also doubt if it’s necessary to use thinner seats just for two or three more customers on the flight. And some customers do not want to reduce personal spaces during flights even with lower price.

Although customers have different idea about the decision of WestJet, strong strength will help WestJet in the long run. Time will tell us how successful it will be.

Picture from: http://www.brandchannel.com/images/FeaturesProfile/283_profile_img1_westjet.jpg

Work cited:

WestJet floats idea of thinner seats, and more of them,Nov 05, 2014<http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/westjet-floats-idea-of-thinner-seats-and-more-of-them-1.2824709>

BC Hydro decided to build a dam on the Peace River in northeastern British Columbia. But the First nations intensely reject.

As the population grows so fast, need of the electricity increases at the same time. BC Hydro catches the great opportunity to develop hydroelectricity. But a strong external factor, the opposition from First Nations people, stops the plan. To respect culture and history, First nation people want to keep the habitat. They are willing to support some small projects but obviously the 8-billion scheme is out of range. As a result, cost of BC Hydro to construct another dam will increase because it needs to explore new place. And this will take not only more capital, but also time.

With the development of technology, more conflicts come between the new ear and the First Nations. No body wants to give up profit or make concession. People also want to keep both cultural heritage and convenient modern life. What we need to do is to balance.

Link：http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html:

Recently, EBay announced to split off PayPal payment service. The share holders do get a lot of profit from the decision. But for the development of both companies, it’s hard to adjust if the decision is perfect.

As e-commerce develops so fast, online payment becomes more important. Obviously everyone notices the great opportunity so competition becomes more and more fierce. Beyond Amazon, Visa, American Express, more companies enter the market. For example, Apple just establishes its own payment platform. And a Chinese company Alibaba, which enters U.S. market recently, also has a competitive payment platform called Alipay. To compete with so many powerful companies, PayPal needs to stand out in the area. In this case, operating separately is a great solution. PayPal will have more multiple choices in the future without the binding of eBay. At the same time, eBay is also able to develop diversely.

However, as PayPal develops independently, it faces several threatens. First, acquisition. Although the cost of merging is high, the profit is notable. No matter which company annexes PayPal, acquisition will help the company a lot especially in market shares. Second, the relationship with eBay. The two companies are going to operate separately, but eBay will still keep PayPal as the way of payment. So it’s necessary for the two companies to come to an agreement about cooperation.

There’s a long way for the two companies to develop and time will tell us everything.

Picture from:http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y14/m08/i22/images/ebay_paypal_split.jpg

Work cited:

EBay to spin off fast-growing PayPal payment service. (2014, September 30). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ebay-to-spin-off-fast-growing-paypal-payment-service-1.2782860

As people now pay a lot of attention to environment, some companies and universities transfer money to other careers. Recently, the famous Rockefellers decides to sell $50billion of its oil assets to invest clean, renewable energy. It’s known that Rockefellers set up the empire and made great number of fortune through oil industry. Selling the oil assets is obviously a significant decision.

As a famous family with a great number of fortunes, Rockefellers tries to fulfill its social responsibility. It positively takes part in philanthropy and devotes a lot on educational, healthy and conservation areas. Giving up oil assets to develop sustainable energy is another step to contribute to the whole society.

On the other hand, Rockefellers is about business essentially. The reason why it decides to put such a great number of money to clean and renewable energy is not only social responsibility but also profit. Facing threatens of global warming, people want to adopt measures to protect the environment. Certainly, in the energy area, environmental energy will be the mean direction of future although fossil fuel still makes great profit currently. Also there’s great market for clean energy as more and more wide use of it, like the electric cars.

However, we have to admit that Rockefellers does make more social benefit through this plan, no matter what the intention is.

Picture from: http://www.cfact.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Albertapumpjacks-628×353.jpg

Link: Rockefellers to sell oil assets as part of $50B global warming fight. (2014, September 22). Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rockefellers-to-sell-oil-assets-as-part-of-50b-global-warming-fight-1.2773771

For all companies, target is not only about profit, but also responsibility. Besides how much they can earn, they should care more about their employees, customers, the community and even the society.

Everyone knows that Nestlé is a successful company with a variety of different products. But can you believe that Nestlé Waters Canada,which is a part of the Nestle Group, gets fresh water from a well in B.C. for free? The company gets it without any cost and sells it as bottled water back to customers in such a high price. Water is a kind of natural resource but also precious. That’s the reason why Nestlé shouldn’t get the fresh water freely without any restrictions. Instead of that, Nestlé should give something back to the society as the return of free water. They can pay more taxes to the government, operate projects about education, dispense some money to charity, etc.

Certainly, Nestlé should pay for the water which is the material of the product. Besides, as it is so successful, Nestlé should reward the society.

Picture from:http://laurenradmer.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/nestle_water1.jpg

Work cited:

Fumano, D. (2014, August 14). ‘Wild West’ of groundwater: Billion-dollar Nestlé extracting B.C.’s drinking water for free. Retrieved September 9, 2014, from http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/wild-west-of-groundwater-billion-dollar-nestlé-extracting-b-c-s-drinking-water-for-free-1.587568