Alexandra Cogswell

Muhammed Yunus – founder of the Grameen Foundation and Nobel Peace Prize winner

The United Nations acts as an organization that promotes better living standards and advocates human rights. Although similar, initiatives such as Arc and social entrepreneurs are beneficial when “breaking the status quo” and being directly involved in changing peoples lives.

I think that it is important for people to be aware of social circumstances and the harm that is going on in the world around us. With a fully funded United Nations, there would be less of this chaos occurring but it doesn’t give the everyday person the opportunity to partake in these transformations. For example, Arc gives students the hands on opportunity to share their own ideas and thoughts on sustainable businesses in a real world setting. This is interchangeable with social entrepreneurs because it’s your own ideas being put forth. Muhammed Yunus’ story was very impactful and sparked a movement that everyone should be aware of. Sometimes it is hard to set apart the daily problems of one’s life and look into the perspective of people living in the detrimental conditions of third world countries. Social entrepreneurs set aside their problems and tackle difficult situations open minded looking for a better change.

Although a fully funded United Nations would be very powerful and facilitate lots of powerful change, it would only be the people in this organization that would be doing so. Social movements start small but are directly working with people and their needs which I think is much more important. Clearly, the United Nations and social entrepreneurs tackle different issues within the same spectrum.

Women have been fighting for their rights since the 19^th century. Discrimination has been an ongoing fight for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, animals can’t fight to be treated ethically; humans mistreat animals in many ways including animal testing for cosmetics.

In Juliana’s post, the article enlightens us on the mistreatment of animals and how Lush, a cosmetic company, takes a bold statement in their marketing strategy. They showcased a young woman who was subjected to the typical unethical animal testing. She endured food being shoved in her throat, had her head shaved, and had her mouth clamped open. Clearly, by the response from the viewers, they were shocked at what was being displayed, mostly because they were unaware that this went on.

I agree with Juliana in regards to Lush’s bold statement to make customers aware of the cruelty that goes on behind the scenes of cosmetic companies. Consumers need to be educated on where our products come from. Lush is known to be a brand that is built on ethical values and they stay true to their advertising campaigns. I buy Lush products because I know that the cosmetics that I am using haven’t harmed any animals and are made with fresh organic ingredients. Lush’s newest campaign is #makefurhistory which is a movement to show what really happens behind the scenes of fur farms. These animals are confined and subjected to detrimental conditions and Lush exposes this. Ultimately, Lush’s mission statement is to make a profit while providing products that they know are morally and ethically produced.

The Wall Street Journal featured  Anu Duggal, founder of the company Female Founders Fund, who states women-led start-ups have been underfunded. Her company sheds light on an issue where woman have been undermined in a male dominated field. She gives women with ideas, the opportunity to successfully start up their company by investing $50,000-$150,000 at a time.

Anu Duggal – Founder of “Female Founders Fund”

I think this is a great investment foundation to give women more opportunity to excel in this field. There is a huge discrepancy between the gender gap in this particular job field and it is important that women get the same recognition as men. Anu Duggal, an investor in the company, provides structure in the investments and future connections for upcoming entrepreneurs. There already has been great improvement in the number of women-led start-ups in the last 10 years, jumping from 4% to 13%. As a woman trying to work her way into this field, I think it is important to give us the chance to showcase interesting and innovative ideas despite our gender.  With foundations such as F Cubed, our goals become more attainable.

I came across a few interesting statistics that show that women have been undermined especially in the work force. According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, women make on average 23% less than males with the same job. Equally important, only 11% of venture investors are women; which means they are completely overshadowed by men.

Here is a video showcasing the many women that F Cubed have funded.

Many software and tech companies are coming up with the latest gadgets that monitors one’s activity level while still looking stylish. With these new products, they have opened a new sector of merchandise called the wearable market. These wristband products include the Nike Fuel Band, Fitbit, Jawbone, Microsoft Band, and the upcoming Apple Watch.

This image shows the Microsoft Band (top right) versus its competitors such as the Jawbone

The BITS blog talks about the functionalities of the wristband and it’s many features, which include a GPS and heart rate monitor among other things. Microsoft phone users are privileged to many more features such as incoming telephone calls and text messages.

Although this particular band has many interesting characteristics and is considered to be a “welcoming surprise in the wearable market,” most users don’t know much about the product itself. The marketing of the product seems inadequate and therefore not many people know about it and wouldn’t feel the need nor know to buy it. When comparing the Microsoft band to the Apple Watch, there is no comparison as to who would have the competitive edge. Apple’s marketing and superior advertising techniques have had people waiting in anticipation for the  Apple Watch; on the other hand, not many people are aware the Microsoft band even exists.

The anticipated Apple Watch

There is no doubt that the functionality of the band outshines its competitor’s but does that mean customers will buy it? Do they take into consideration advertisements? In my opinion, there are many interesting features that the Microsoft band no doubt has; however, potential customers need to be told what these features are in order to get them to buy it and gain a share of the market.

Did you watch the World Cup? An astounding estimated one billion people tuned in to watch the Germans against the Argentinians for the riveting final match.

Rahul’s blog post was about how Nike’s profits recently soared because of the brand recognition they got from the FIFA World Cup. The company undoubtedly used the World Cup to showcase new products such as the GS cleats. The increased brand exposure took Nike from being one of the top 20 brands to being at the forefront alongside leading companies such as Apple and Google.

I thought this was an interesting article because when watching the World Cup, most people think to focus on the game of soccer. While watching, we are subconsciously exposed to many sponsoring brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Nike that sponsored team uniforms. All I could think while watching these games was about how much I wanted a brand new pair of Nike Mercurial Suppeflys that Cristiano Ronaldo was wearing. No one immediately thinks that he is succumbing to these brands; therefore, this is clearly an impactful marketing tactic because it creates a brand awareness and retention. Adidas dominated the soccer market until Nike came into play, where now, the market is spilt quite evenly. There are many debates as to which brand “won the World Cup”, meaning which company got the most exposure and subsequently increased market share. It can be deduced that Nike’s significant profit increase was a direct correlation with the World Cup and from famous athletes that market the brand.

Ronaldo shows off his Nike sponsored clothing

In Larry Pynn’s 2014 article, “Tsilhqot’in set to declare site of New Prosperity mine a tribal park”, the debate between Taesko, a Canadian mining company, and Tsilhqot’in First Nations is described.  Taesko has plans to build a $1.1 billion copper-gold project at Fish Lake, while the Tsilhqot’in Band argues the land should preserved and declared as a tribal park.  The Band hopes to increase their land ownership by 178%.  In my opinion the economic benefits outweigh the needs of the First Nations People.  The federal government because of potential damages to the fish habitats originally rejected this project however; the company is reevaluating their business plan.  The Taesko mining project would provide job opportunities to Northern British Columbians. The limits imposed upon Taesko’s project seriously inhibit future land purchases and adds additional costs for the company. The external factors that would be affected in this project are the First Nations; the company would have to put finances aside to compensate for the Tsilhqot’in Band. They will now have to be more aware of the factors that impact the First Nations such as environmental issues and ancestral attachments to the land. It is an unnecessary hindrance on Taesko’s future business plans.

Vancouver real estate has hit price highs and it continues to rise over the next few years. Housing prices on the west side of Vancouver have gotten significantly more expensive. Vancouver neighbourhoods among the top 10 most expensive areas in Canada yet the average incomes of Vancouver homeowners are lower than incomes of other cities.  According to Business in Vancouver, “a person making $210,000, for instance — wouldn’t be approved for a mortgage to buy a house priced at more than $1 million.” (BIV, 2014) There is a huge discrepancy between the average income and average price of a house; this shows that families and homeowners are now forced to look for other homes outside of Central Vancouver. Contrastingly, houses on the east side of Vancouver have always been significantly lower than prices on the west side. Recently, a house on the east side has broken a record of $2 Million dollars (CBC, 2014); families who cannot afford to live on the west side can’t live on the east side of Vancouver as well because prices have soared. This is causing problems for Vancouver’s real estate because as housing prices rise, more people are forced out of Vancouver into rural areas in the greater Vancouver.

Apple has become a hot topic over the last few months with the new releases of the iPhone 6, iOS 8, and plans for the Smartwatch. The company stock has gained a $23 billion increase since the release of the iPhone 6, alone. However, the company has created a program on the new iPhone 6’s that lock out the National Security Agency from accessing the phone owner’s personal files. There is “a six-character alphanumeric passcode with lowercase letters and numbers” (NY Times, 2014) that encrypts emails, photos and phone calls. For the NSA to access these files, the company would have to directly contact the phone owner because Apple has no way of accessing these files. This then causes controversy because this can allow people to “hold themselves beyond the law” (NY Times, 2014). Despite the company’s efforts to protect customer’s privacy, this creates controversy with the law and government because it allows people to essentially hide information. Both law enforcers and the NSA are concerned by this new technology because it stops people from handing over court orders and important information to the courts. Giving people access to this kind of information and technologies would be like having an ad that says, “‘Here’s how to avoid surveillance — even legal surveillance’” (NY Times, 2014).

According to the National Post, Ebola has been an ongoing crisis for third world countries over the last couple years; countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea have been severely affected. This plague not only affects the residents of these countries but also their economies. There continues to be a rise in poverty and unemployment. This shows the sad inevitable of this health epidemic. In 2014, there is currently a “-12% change in annual real GDP growth” (Business Spector, 2014).  This, in turn, affects the country’s health care resources, reduces the labour supply and blights their productivity. Evidently, the fear of contagion and people’s behavior impacts economic decisions. Governments may feel as if they need to shut down public spaces and people may be afraid to go to work because of the fear of contracting this disease. Undoubtedly, without workers or government spaces, the economy would not be able to thrive. Contrastingly, Canada would not be susceptible country to this plague because these outbreaks occur in third-world countries with no health care and corrupt governments.  On Friday, September 19, 2014, the government came to a conclusion and “ordered everyone in the country to remain indoors for three days, suspending commerce, emptying the streets and halting this beleaguered nation in its tracks in an attempt stop the disease from spreading” (NY Times, 2014).

According to Maclean’s magazine, Kellogg’s has vowed to “provide more than half a billion breakfasts globally by the end of 2016.” This goal is part of the company’s Breakfast for Better Days – Hunger Initiative, assisting children from low-income families to gain the essential nutrients they may not get at home. Over the past five years, Kellogg’s has donated $68 million in funds and $129 million in products to companies and charities across the world. In Canada, 1 in 7 children live below the poverty line and don’t receive adequate meals.  Kellogg’s has pledged to take matters into their own hands.  The poverty cycle has a vicious effect because children who do not gain the proper nutrients are tired, hungry, and don’t retain as much information in school. The Kellogg’s pledge provides families with the chance to feel secure about their children getting enough to eat despite suffering from economic turmoil.  Kellogg’s’ pledge has created a domino effect, enabling children to attentively and actively participate in school, which will help them develop the skills needed for a future career, and hopefully, a brighter future.  Evidently, the Kellogg’s brand is an ethical business, providing meals for children on a global scale.