“If  the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?”

(I love the connections between history and business as a proud history buff who watches documentaries in her free time.)

I’m going to expand on this and say if the UN was fully funded and fully functional.

My answer is yes.

At the very core of the UN, it had ONE purpose: to prevent a third world war.  We’ve arguably gotten close to a third world war but it hasn’t happened.

And for the UN to become fully funded/functional, everyone in the UN would need to be able to agree and compromise.  Unfortunately, like all politics, that’s not the case.  Until everyone can agree on single actions that are beneficial to everyone, social enterprises (like the ARC) will be necessary.

The UN has in their charter “to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.”  But that doesn’t mean that other groups can’t help as well.  

If one charity was fully funded, why do we need other charities?

Isn’t more generally better than less?  Isn’t it better that more people want to help others?

The main issue with the UN is the barricade of diplomacy and the veto system that seems outdated (why is France there?) and lacks representation.  Like, the only times they actually decide on something is when either the Russian or Chinese diplomat walks out!  That’s not functional.  (They are about as functional as the US Senate…)

The UN needs severe improvement and social enterprises are doing great work to help others so why stop?

To say that the relationship between the Canadian government and the First Nations people is strained would be an understatement.  From a historical trend of discrimination, to present stereotyping and issues regarding land and pipelines (the Enbridge pipeline being the example in my mind), the relationship is very stressed.

In a meeting with several First Nations leaders back in September, Premier Christy Clark, wishes for more cooperation, with an ultimate goal of “a system of ‘multi-level governance’ that incorporates indigenous law with provincial and federal law.”  She also realizes that perfect harmony is an overly optimistic goal currently: “‘partnerships don’t mean we won’t have disagreements.'”  

How do First Nations groups affect business? Due to their heavy connection with the environment and the current topic of the pipeline being proposed to be built across BC, the presence of First Nations is apparent in the oil industry.

From various land claims, much of the land the proposed pipeline needs to go through is under First Nations control.  And history would just be unproductively repeating itself if the oil companies built without any consulting with the locals.

The general theme of this issue which can be applied to many other industries and communities is communication or the lack of.

A lot of the time, businesses (typically those who lack a ethical aspect) would rather use money and force than communication to solve problems.  Why go through all the meetings when you can just hand a cheque and tell people to get lost?

People. sometimes those who you want to be your consumers, are often an external issue– a threat.  But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way.  Maybe instead of conflict and behaving like children, maybe cooperation can happen.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Premier+urges+cooperation+more+litigation+government+natives+reach+fork+road/10194776/story.html

Great news– Amazon is launching same-day shipping for those living in Vancouver! As someone who does a substantial amount of shopping online with impatience and horrible planning skills, I am personally excited.

Basically, provided the order is placed before noon, Amazon will have it shipped to your front door before 9pm that night!  Now, Amazon is taking the online shopping game to the next level (with shipping FedEx would be envious of).  Additionally, the shipping prices are very reasonable (for the world of online shipping) with $7/order for Amazon Prime members and for non members, $12/shipping and $2/item.

Amazon’s business model is focused around two aspects: accessibility and convenience.

In regards to accessibility, it is infinite with Amazon.  A consumer can find almost any item they desire for sale on Amazon.  Any product in any colour.  Using their laptop or smartphone, a consumer can purchase these items wherever they want.  Why wait on the bus to the mall to find a present (just to discover that it’s sold out) when you can purchase it online.

Secondly, convenience.  With many people on the go and constantly rushing about, the old days of window shopping all across town before purchasing is simply infeasible.  With Amazon’s online platform, they revolutionized e-business– and now, launching same-day shipping is allowing them again to reinvent how shipping is done.

Why is this important? It’s important because in the current world, everything moves so quickly as data that shipping and businesses need to be able to move at the same speed as their consumers to remain relevant. 

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2014/11/amazon-launches-day-delivery-vancouver/

It wouldn’t be a Comm 101 blog without a post about Apple, right?

On Thursday, October 30th, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, made the mature, privacy-sacrificing decision of coming out.

He’s gay.

Cook published an eloquent and professional article to Bloomberg Businessweek to officially confirm the rumours about his sexual preference.  In his article, he explains what led him to come out– a daunting task to most people in his shoes.

He states that, “Being gay has given [him] a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made [him] more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given [him] the confidence to be [himself], to follow [his] own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given [him] the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when [one’s] the CEO of Apple.”

One trait I feel is necessary in business (in any field actually) is the ability to emphasize with others.  To understand others.  In business, one needs to know and understand their consumers.  From that, they can develop certain value propositions to attract and maintain their consumers.  (The ability to emphasize also allows one to fight the belief that all business people are cold, calculating and only care about the money.) I feel, that it is from experiences with differences and adversary that one gains the ability to emphasize (that and literature).  From his experience with being gay, a minority in a mainly heterosexual world, Cook learned to emphasize with others which is beautiful.

While many businesses support gay rights (examples such as Oreo and Smirnoff), there are other business (typically associated with a theological within their business model) that are against these rights.

Using the United States as an example, as there is a larger divide on the topic of LGTBQ(etc.) rights, how does the stance on homosexuality affect business?  Does it matter (it shouldn’t)?

While Cook may have been concerned that him coming out would have a negative impact on Apple (meanwhile in Russia where a Steve Jobs– Apple’s late founder– memorial was torn down), I know that he 1) knows Apple’s customer base 2) trusts in Apple’s brand that the supreme quality of the product would outweigh any negative impact from his coming out and 3) if someone is too bigoted to not buy an Apple product because he is who he is, then that business from that customer is not worth it.

Representation of any sort is always welcome– whether it’s the gay CEO of one of the world’s most successful brands or it’s Sauder grads who combined both their love of business and arts (Jenny and Tom).  I’m exceedingly impressed by Cook’s decision.

And, actually, how does a business’ stance on any current issue affect it? There are two equally understandable, yet opposing answers: Yes, it does affect it– if two business have the same or similar products, then consumers may choose based on which business they share values with.  No, it does not affect it– people should being going after the business for the product and not the values of the people in charge.

What’s your opinion?  Would you choose one business over another because the leaders valued one thing over another? (An example coming to mind is Toms and their One for One policy.)

On Tuesday, it was released that BC Ferries was considering eliminating their Horseshoe Bay (West Vancouver)- Departure Bay (Nanaimo) route. 

As seen in a collection of testimonies from commuters posted in The Vancouver Sun Wednesday, no one is in favour of the proposed elimination.  In fact, most were outraged.

There are two BC Ferries terminals in Nanaimo, previously mentioned Departure Bay and Duke Point (featuring the alternative route to Tsawwassen (south of Ladner and Delta)).  Possibly for one with a vehicle, the rerouting though Tsawwassen wouldn’t be as big a deal as they are capable of traveling the new distance but for some commuters on foot (one woman in the linked video above), it makes traveling to the mainland like they always have been impossible. (And for the drivers, it takes an hour to get to West Vancouver from Tsawwassen– provided traffic is light, which it rarely is.)

From a business perspective, I do understand why BC Ferries would try to eliminate that route and send everyone though the Tsawwassen terminal instead.  As I was raised in Victoria with family in Vancouver, I’ve been on the ferries my entire life, probably several hundred times.  I remember when I was young, playing at the park at the Tsawwassen terminal for hours because it was summer and there was a three sailing wait due to the mass amount of people.  Now, most recently in May, I arrived at the Swarts Bay (operating terminal for Victoria/southern island) at 11:57am for the noon sailing and made it on without a problem.  The problem is that sailings are often running half full (with the exception of holidays and long weekends).  Sailings are running half full because fares are constantly increasing, making even a day trip to Vancouver unfeasible for most.

The real kicker: As demand for sailings is decreasing, the fares are increasing– which is the problem why sailings have low passenger rates.

I understand that BC Ferries is trying to eliminate costs and increase ridership (pun not intended) on the alternative Tsawwassen- Duke Point sailing by riding itself of the Horseshoe Bay- Departure Bay sailings but that does not change that the negative views of the public on this proposal.  (Is no one mention that this is one of the two routes that creates a profit?)

Fortunately, the public was heard and the BC government has discarded the proposal to eliminate the route, a relief to many.

So what’s your opinion? What do you think about BC Ferries? Should it matter when most people don’t live on Vancouver Island?