These days, a number of large international companies “go green”: use organic materials, apply waste-free, chemical-free or other-bad-things-free production methods. Yet up till current decade, small- and medium-size companies only pursued the business’ main goal: maximize their profits. Fortunately, the awareness of sustainability importance arises among business people, though the reasons for that are not absolutely clear: either it is a genuine care of our environment or just a popular trend of claiming the products to be “environment-friendly”.

One way or another, the business field is making a good progress towards a better habitat. In addition, companies have even a greater incentive as sustainable stock exchanges and sustainability indexes have been created. That is, to make their company look better on the market and increase their profit, owners will need to opt for green production methods since after a while the goal of profit maximization will be greatly influenced by the firm’s ability to carry out sustainable operations. For instance, a Turkish stock exchange has recently created its first sustainability index, which will influence the price of shares substantially. Furthermore, a ranking of the most sustainable companies has been created and will also influence the companies’ success.

Hence, the idea of green production is finally about to go side by side with the main business incentive, creating a path towards a better environment.

References:

Turkish stock exchange launches sustainability index. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.irmagazine.com/articles/stock-exchanges-listings/20447/turkish-stock-exchange-launches-sustainability-index/

Report finds substantial progress on sustainability initiatives at 55 Stock Exchanges. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=849

There was a fair amount of speculations about the new BlackBerry model and whether it is going to be a changing point for BlackBerry Ltd. Indeed, the company released a new model this autumn, the BlackBerry passport. Long before the sale started, critics debated on whether the new model will prevent the producer from bankruptcy. Luckily, according to IT and business news, it seems like Blackberry’s innovative model created a breakthrough for the firm; moreover, numerous comparisons of iPhone 6 and BlackBerry passport were created. At that point, while the demand on the new model exceeds expectations, the company appeared to start its recovery process; still the Blackberry’s CEO John S. Chen has attempted to assure the company’s success by connecting with Chinese firms like Lenovo and Xiaomi. Now, with the stock prices going up, the company expects “to actually grow again”, says Chen.

From my point of view, the company has all chances to regain the domestic and international recognition. Even though it will take quite a large amount of time and efforts to approach such leaders like Apple Inc. or Samsung group, the company’s CEO seems to have a good strategy and a proper control over the company, which, hopefully, allow him to reclaim the perception of being No. 1 phone for business people and customers who appreciate safety and comfortable typing.

References:

BlackBerry Passport puts company back on road to survival. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/enterprise/391570/blackberry-passport-puts-company-back-on-road-to-survival

BlackBerry Passport demand has exceeded expectations, Chen says. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/blackberry-passport-demand-has-exceeded-expectations-chen-says/article21147042/

BlackBerry CEO: ‘We will survive as a company’ – CNET. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.cnet.com/news/blackberry-ceo-we-will-survive-as-a-company/

News, C. (2014, November 10). BlackBerry stock up 6% after John Chen meets with Chinese firms. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/blackberry-stock-up-6-after-john-chen-meets-with-chinese-firms-1.2830274

http://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2014/11/10/why-alibaba-baidu-and-xiaomi-brands-arent-recognized-outside-china/

Soon after I came to UBC, I learned about some Asian, mainly Chinese companies, which I have never heard about before (such as Taobao). Ever since, I was puzzled by the fact that some companies, being as large as Amazon.com, Inc., were recognized only in the domestic markets, but not internationally. Thus, when I read the name of the article, I realize that another mystery is about to be revealed.

As far as my knowledge allows me to evaluate this post, I cannot contradict the author’s opinion that the Chinese companies are not internationally recognized due to the lack of innovation processes, arising political issues and “the lack of presence in the overseas markets”. Moreover, I found the first point (that is, regarding R&D) especially impressive as I was not aware of importance of Innovative companies rankings. However, while reflecting on this issue, I came up with an idea of limiting marketing strategy. My point is that the names of most European, North and South American companies are easily readable; meanwhile, Korean and Japanese companies such as Samsung, Toyota, LG, etc. adopted names that can be pronounced and memorized by people of most nations. Yet when I searched Baidu, I could see only Chinese characters.

I may not be able to argue for my idea plausibly; still, the article gave me another reason to apply my current knowledge of business issues and to strive for a more refined business education.

References:

The World’s Most Innovative Companies. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/innovative-companies/list/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/sraeburn/2014/10/04/wifi-terms-and-conditions-is-our-society-really-that-ignorant/

While reading blogs of my peers, I found a curious post where the author points out two problems of current generation: cell phone addiction and ignorance of Wi-Fi terms and conditions.

A lot has been said about the 21^st–century excessive dependence on our phones, its reasons and dangerous consequences. Moreover, a term Nomophobia was created to describe people’s anxiety when they do not have an access to their phones. Specifically because of the excessive information on this situation, (from scholarly papers to business blogs), I am not interested in commenting on this idea.

Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the fact that people are illiterate regarding various contracts, from signing an important document to ticking Terms and Conditions’ checkbox. As a daughter of a real estate agent, I heard from my dad how many people become fraudsters’ victims because of their legal unawareness and learned to go though the whole agreement carefully before signing it. Sadly, as the author pointed out, some people may sign a contract where they agree to give away all they possess, whether it is their house or children.

In my opinion, nowadays, countries need to provide education not only in science and humanities (languages, literature, and history) fields, but also basic legal education for the justice’s sake.

References:

Stone, M. (2014, July 31). Smartphone Addiction Now Has A Clinical Name. Retrieved November 11, 2014 from http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-nomophobia-2014-7

https://blogs.ubc.ca/joeywhittemore/2014/11/01/euro-zone-in-trouble/

Recently, I came across a blog post about the Eurozone crisis. Specifically, in the author’s point of view, Europe, mainly countries like Greece and Spain that are currently experiencing economic and financial troubles, should accept Germany’s vision of the Eurozone economic plan. However, I believe that there is no single correct plan that every country could stick to. If the Southern and Eastern European countries accepted the German plan, they would experience severe unemployment issues and increases indebtedness per capita (1). The current situation, when various sanctions and bans were set between the Eurozone and Russia and the following consequences like extremely low import-export rates, does not make the Euro crisis easier. Even though I cannot judge the circumstances objectively, I deem that instead of revealing who is responsible for the crisis (2) and whose economic strategy is the best, all countries should contribute to a single plan that would be created and confirmed by every Eurozone member.

References:

1) Germany and the Euro Crisis: Is the Powerhouse Really So Pure? Retrieved November 11, 2014 from

http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/germany-and-euro-crisis-powerhouse-really-so-pure

2) Greeley, B. (2013, September 12). Is Germany Responsible for the Euro Crisis? Retrieved November 11, 2014 from

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-12/is-germany-responsible-for-the-euro-crisis

Currently, almost all the United Nations entities are cooperating with private business companies to reach common goals such as providing humanitarian aid, adequate jobs, and health and education services. However, the money is not the primary reason for this collaboration. Indeed, even if the UN was fully funded, it would still need private companies, and not just as a secondary ally, but as an equal partner.

First, the United Nations focuses on global problems and supports a nation as one big entity. Unfortunately, it overlooks particular needs of individuals, such as those addressed by the Arc Initiative. On the contrary, private companies and organizations, due to their sizes (which are definitely smaller than the UN), while not being able to fully embrace global issues, concentrate on individuals or small communities (in case of the Arc, the people of South Africa, Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda).

Second, social enterprises usually make decisions relatively faster than the United Nations. As an intergovernmental organization, a single agreement/compromise should be reached among all the members before any actions can be taken. In private organizations, unlike in the UN, boards of directors or owners or whoever is the head of the company usually make decisions. Hence, due to the small number of  owners/executives, agreement can be reached within several weeks, while it takes several months for the UN to make arrangements.

Thus, the United Nations and business need each other for many more reasons than just money or power. By multiplying connections between the UN and the private sector, more and more pressing issues can be resolved.

The United nations and the private sector. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2008highlevel/pdf/background/UN_Business Framework.pdf

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, a project conditionally accepted on June 17, 2014 by the government, has been suspended as First Nations from BC and Alberta organized campaigns against the enterprise.

Initially, the project was supposed to deliver diluted bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia, to transfer the oil to the Asian consumers. Soon after the confirmation, numerous non-governmental organizations, particularly First Nation associations, criticized the proposal due to their concerns over economic, environmental and social dangers associated with the venture (e.g. the risk of oil spills, disruption in employment, and additional CO₂ emissions). Enbridge, Inc. offered 10% equity stake to Aboriginal bands that would cease the opposition to the project. While 60% of the groups signed the contract, others keep hindering the development of the enterprise.

For instance, The Gitxaala, a BC First Nation, legally challenged a judicial report used as a basis for the project approval; as they claim, the federal cabinet didn’t consider their rights when confirming the proposal and relied on the biased safety report provided by Enbridge, Inc.

Currently, with the solid constitutional and legal standpoint of the First Nations, “Kitimat is a total non-starter,” says a senior member of the BC government. Nevertheless, according to Enbridge CEO Al Monaco, the company hasn’t “really considered a Plan B” and focuses on the current plan. Indeed, if the plan changed, the company would have to receive an approval of a new plan from National Energy Board; that would take a few more years. Meanwhile, Enbridge itself or its partners could determine costs of the proposal to be too high and finally withdraw from the project.

Even so, at the moment, Enbridge does have an option to change its terminus for the pipeline, moving away from Kitimat. Thus, while the proposal is not in the dead end yet, the company should develop a plan B to implement the project.

“Court Allows B.C. First Nation To Challenge Northern Gateway.” The Huffington Post. 26 Sept. 2014.

“Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines.” Wikipedia.

Mason, Gary. “Enbridge Could Use a Gateway Plan B.” The Globe and Mail. 2 Oct. 2014.

The initial concern was raised already in August before Philip Clarke, the former CEO of the giant UK grocery retailer, left the company.

The whistleblower, an accountant inside the company, warned his superiors about the inconsistencies in the accounting reports, but “failed to get traction”. Later, on September 1^st, after Mr. Clarke’s departure, the employee delivered the information to the Tesco’s general counsel, and the new CEO Dave Lewis was alerted to the problem on September 19^th. In a few days the company revealed that it had overestimated its first half trading profit by £250m. In this case, what caused this overstatement and why the former CEO ignored the employee’s concerns? “We have an investigation under way and we will await the findings before drawing any conclusions,” a Tesco’s representative stated.

According to The Economist (2014), the source of inaccuracies is expected to be the premature recognition of revenue, which, in its turn, originates from either “timing differences” or fake sales. In case Tesco’s financial statements are deliberately modified by its managers, “it would be the biggest fraud of its type in retailing since the scandal at US Foodservice in 2000-03.”

Yet whatever circumstances caused this incident, Tesco is facing grievous consequences. Its shares dropped around 16% for the last week, the fact that impairs company’s situation even more, considering a substantial share decrease in the last year. Apart from that, the accounting scandal resulted in the retirement of four chief executives, including the finance director Carl Rogberg. Moreover, Tesco hired outside auditors and legal counsel to scrutinize the origins of misleading financial statements and examine the company’s culture.

Thomas, N. (2014, September 28). Tesco’s £250m accounting black hole first flagged during Phil Clarke’s reign. The Telegraph.

Not so funny. (2014, September 27). The Economist.

Nearly 5 million Gmail passwords dumped online

According to CBC News, a list of 4.93 million Gmail addresses and passwords was posted on a Russian website Bitcoin Security on Tuesday night, Sep 10, 2014. On the same day, Danish eCrime specialist Peter Kruse tweeted that the disclosure of passwords “likely originates from various sources” and that the majority of the hacked passwords are more than 3 years old, though many of them may still be valid. Beside, some of the security codes belong to Russian-based email services, Yandex and Mail.ru. As for the hacked  Gmail accounts, Google team assured that they are protected now, and the users were strongly advised to renovate their passwords.

In my opinion, those people, whose accounts have been affected, should blame themselves for being lax on email security. First, if these passwords are truly 3 years old, it is likely to be more than 3 years ago when these users changed their passwords for the last time, while Microsoft recommends changing security codes every 1-2 months. Second, Gmail offers 2-step authentication that makes account hacking close to being impossible. Third, as the Google team noted, “If you reuse the same username and password across Websites, and one of those Websites gets hacked, your credentials could be used to log into the others”. Having that said, I believe there’s no truly solid evidence that Gmail systems are vulnerable to attacks.

Thus, to prevent further information leaks, Gmail users are strongly advised to reset their password, not to reuse them on other websites and to launch 2-step authentication.

References

Kruse, P. (2014, September 10). Gmail Leak. Twitter. https://twitter.com/peterkruse/status/509647881184509952

Gmail addresses, website passwords leaked online (2014, September 10). CBC News. http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/gmail-addresses-website-passwords-leaked-online-1.2762316

On August 26^th, 2014 Tim Horton’s and Burger King agreed to merge their companies (CTVNews, 2014). Before and after the deal, the latter was attacked by the US government, politicians and general public for the decision to move its headquarters to Ontario, Canada. Critics see this merger as a tax inversion maneuver by Burger King both to avoid paying additional US taxes and to pay lesser tax to the Canadian government. President Obama called US companies, which renounce their citizenship to escape tax payments, “corporate deserters” (Forbes, 2014).

So what is unethical in Burger King’s merge with Tim Horton’s? Well, first of all, according to BK’s announcement, their “headquarters will remain in Miami where we were founded more than 60 years ago” (Facebook, Burger King, Aug 26, 2014). At the moment, there is no official document or proof that BK moved to Canada. Second, the tax inversion should not be considered as a main reason of merging. Because this deal both makes international expansion possible and brings variety into BK’s menu, Burger King has a good chance to take on McDonald’s, its main competitor. Such perspective might be more appealing to the company than cutting its taxes. Third, in case the tax inversion is truly the main reason of the merger, one should take into account the decision of Federal Judge Learned Hand that “anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes”.

Thus, while customers are warning that they will stop eating at Burger King if the company’s citizenship is renounced, the fast-food chain seems to be following all ethical standards of business.

References:

Done deal: Tim Hortons agrees to takeover by Burger King. CTVNews. Aug 26, 2014. http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/done-deal-tim-hortons-agrees-to-takeover-by-burger-king-1.1976444

Schaefer, S. Corporate America’s Hunt For Lower Taxes Won’t End With Burger King And Tim Horton’s. Forbes. Sep 5, 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2014/09/05/corporate-americas-hunt-for-lower-taxes-wont-end-with-burger-king-and-tim-hortons/

Burger King Ethics: What’s Unethical About Burger King’s “Tax Inversion” (And It’s Not Burger King). Ethics Alarms. Aug 27, 2014 http://ethicsalarms.com/2014/08/27/burger-king-ethics-whats-unethical-about-burger-kings-tax-inversion-and-its-not-burger-king/