The company HTC, which manufactures smart phones, has been quietly gaining more market share and presence within the US as well as internationally. This article discusses the current success of this company as it has “claimed the top position in the third quarter for the first time” within the US. This success comes in part, from HTC’s “anti-Apple” strategy, mentioned in this article “where Apple is secretive, HTC is open. Where Apple is exclusive, HTC works with all carriers. Where Apple is proprietary, HTC is collaborative. Where Apple customizes for no one, HTC customizes for everyone.” This is an interesting manoeuvre, as being the direct opposite of Apple, which is an extremely successful company, would seem to be detrimental to your business, as you are doing the exact opposite of what seems to be working for Apple. However, this also allows your company to fill a gap in the market that Apple surely does not fill, and so far, HTC has benefitted from this risky strategy.

As this week’s class presentations come to a close, I thought that it would be suitable to include an article on the merits of public speaking and presentation skills. In the business world, the ability to present well can be categorized as a ‘soft skill’, yet how you present yourself, an idea, and your company serves as the tipping point to success. It is important to have ‘hard skills’ such as the ability to calculate a break- even point (which I am now able to do thanks to COMM 101), but if you are unable to explain how you have come to the numbers and why they are important, there really is little benefit in calculating the break-even in the first place. Having good presentation skills does not simply mean that you are a capable public speaker. Being able to write a business letter, for example, or even an email to your boss is also part of the package. As we continue to learn the basics of business, it is easy to focus on the ‘hard skills’, however, we should remind ourselves to also maintain our ‘soft skills’-especially our presentation skills- and to embrace each opportunity  to improve them.

Kate discusses the growth of the Occupy Wall Street movement and mentions that it will be interesting to see how the Canadian authorities respond to the movement as it heads to Canada. It has been more than a month since her blog posting, and recently, the Vancouver city police have started to move into the Vancouver Occupy site in an attempt to keep it up to safety standards.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is interesting, because as Kate discusses, it highlights a general sense of social inequality and “that the government has yet to prosecute any Wall Street executives who acted illegally and immorally leading to the economic crisis”.  However, the events of this most recent economic crisis cannot solely be blamed on Wall Street CEOs. Everyone played a role in causing the crisis, down to the regular individual who applied for a mortgage when they knew they could not pay it back. I am not supporting or condemning the Occupy Wall Street movement, but as protesters demand that the government and business CEO’s be more accountable for their actions, it would probably be a good idea that we average individuals also follow this request.

View Kate’s full post here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/katewallace/2011/10/09/occupy-wall-street-heading-north/

This blog provides new charts, graphs, and other audiovisual devices coupled with explanations and discussions relevant to current political, economic, and social issues; this blog can be followed through The Economist website. A recent posting “Where innovation lies”, is a chart and discussion of the the world’s most innovative companies and where they are located in the world.

Another post “Hard Times” displays the change in consumer spending in America during the recent recession, shedding some light onto what is most valued by consumers, and consumer spending trends during times of recession. “This time they really mean it” is another post that provides a chart displaying which nations keep the promises they make at G20 summits, building upon the idea of corporate responsibility, and applying this idea to nations. In this blog, concepts such as entrepreneurship,supply chain management, sustainability, finance, and market research are applied to real world situations. Visual representations provide clear and succinct explanations to important and relevant current events and ‘Daily Chart’ is indeed a blog that is worth your time!

Check it out here:http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart

“Doggles” is a pet supplies company founded by Veronica DiLullo. It is most famous for its “Doggles” which essentially are protective eye-wear for canines. DiLullo first invented them for her own dog’s eye-wear needs and soon, based on the positive feedback and growing requests for her invention, DiLullo realized she had found a new market. This company is a great example of successful entrepreneurship. An extremely unusual but inventive product was created, and while pet eye-wear is a very risky product to try to make a profit on, it turns out that “Doggles” filled a gap in the market. Once the demand for this product was fully realized, DiLullo took the initiative to build on her creation and was therefore inventive with her production methods, teaming up with veterinarians and ophthalmologists to “design the frames, straps and shatterproof and anti-fog lenses“ for the “Doggles”. Furthermore, the article also mentions that “Doggles” has been very profitable for DiLullo-success for an innovative product that may have seemed slightly odd in the beginning, but revealed itself to be a product in high demand that would bring in the cash!

The wonders of “Doggles”

More about “Doggles” here: http://www.doggles.com/