This post is in response to an interesting blog written by Seth Godin.  One of his posts, titled ‘Moving beyond impressions’, intrigued me.

As a neglector of internet advertisements, I have never taken much issue with them.  I simply close pop up ads when they come up, look away from side panels, and think about something else during pre-video commercials.  They never inherently angered me; I accepted them as a reality of the internet.

But Godin identified a ramification that had not crossed my mind.  He states that web ads are astonishingly cheap, and that reaching millions of people can easily be achieved.  But Godin states that damage to the company’s image could far outweigh the gains they make from advertising.  He states that companies should consider perception when advertising on the internet – wether or not viewers will consider the label an annoyance or a valued sponsor, an interrupter ar a benefit.

Come to think of it, I do see many Cole Haan advertisements on the New York Times, UEFA, and GQ websites; but I can’t say that this makes me feel any better about the brand…

Seth\’s Blog

In response to Armin’s Netflix blog, I agree that Netflix made a bad business decision, but I think that there was more logic behind it than some would wish to admit.  By splitting their services into streaming and rentals, Netflix evaluated consumer tastes and tested their preference of one service or the other.  In my experience, users of Netflix prefer either streaming movies and TV shows on their computer or loaning DVDs.  With consumers employing one method or the other, splitting them up seems sensical.  However, splitting the services was unfavorable in my household, and I suspect many others.  With a mother who prefers actual DVDs and a brother who is crazy about streaming, sacrificing one wasn’t an option in my family.  So, we elected to pay two installments of $8 per month instead of the old single payment of $10.  Not a tragedy from our point of view, but certainly an annoyance.  I imagine that there were many families in a similar position who were not willing to pay for both services, or dropped their subscription entirely.

I see the logic behind Netflix’s decision – based on my observation that most users use one service or the other.  But consumer’s unwillingness to submit to the separation of the services into two installments is understandable.  Personally I enjoy the convenience of being able to stream or loan DVDs.

Armin\’s Blog Post

Our speaker in class, Joel Primus, is a prime example of a successful entrepreneur.  One of his strategies that really stuck with me was his strategy of starting from the top up.  By marketing his product to the top tier stores, he was able to establish a proper image for his brand.  I find this to be quite an interesting tactic, and on that could be very useful for aspiring entrepreneurs.  At the end of the day, designer clothing is more about brand recognition than about the quality of the good.  By convincing people to pay premiums for his brand by making them feel that his brand is exclusive and special, Primus Established Naked as a brand to be respected.

In Vanessa’s blog, she cites the fact that Naked’s products carry an image of higher quality that they are actually able to substantiate.  Because of this, they are able to charge higher prices and attract customers at premier stores.

Vanessa\’s Blog Post

As an example, The Canada Business Hall of Fame recognizes business leaders whose accomplishments directly benefit society. Each year, recipients are recognized for their contributions to better society.

To that end, society at large benefits from good business by way of corporate social responsibility, charitable giving, and the goods and services that the people so desire.

Some entrepreneurs whose business models encompass social connectivity have experienced unprecedented returns. This relatively new industry has provided man with what is to be one of his greatest psychological needs: meaningful relationships. On that vein, companies like Skype and Facebook and their contemporaries are, perhaps, so successful in that they sell themselves by fulfilling an innate desire for we the users to connect across space and time.

In short, an entrepreneur has the ability to change the way things are and in so doing, change the way things are done.

The responsibility of a company to provide its employees with benefits rests with the company’s management team.  Like any good business decision, a decision to offer benefits should be considered in light of costs and benefits.  While there is no ultimate rule about benefits, a company should also consider its competitive landscape when creating benefits packages that are engineered not only to compensate employees but also to reward and incentivize them as well.

As the old adage states, people vote with their feet. If a company fails to retain its employee’s satisfaction, costly turnover and loss of human intelligence quotients is likely to ensue.  A company has a responsibility to its stakeholders to perform to the best of its ability – this could be interpreted as sacrificing short term gains in favor of long term growth.  One way to potentially achieve this would be to provide benefits, incentives and advancement opportunities to workers.

Over the last 100 years or so, the emergence of Human Resource Management has come to the forefront of where good business is headed.  Successful HR satisfies a number of quantitative and qualitative factors but current research suggests that there is a correlated link between the structure and design of a company’s HR plan and its overall performance.

As previously mentioned, no company can afford to loose widespread human capital nor can it stand to bare the ramifications of commonplace job dissatisfaction that often lead to other disharmonies like poor attendance.

It is my own belief that the days of overly simplistic jobs that fail to provide and sustain growth are numbered. Successful HR Management goes hand-in-hand with a company’s best practices.

An individual investor’s decision to pledge capital depends on their appetite for risk. However, a prudent investor knows to generate that appetite based on their own personal circumstances. Common factors that go into investment decision making including things like age to retirement, current savings, level of investment experience, and ultimate financial goals.

It can certainly be the case that a proportion of any portfolio can, when rationally calculated, be allocated to more risky investments than the bulk that it is part of. Generally speaking, the higher the opportunity for return, the higher the risk. He who risks more may have more to gain that he who does not. But, like a gambler in a casino, an investor should appreciate that their decisions can never be predicted with 100% certainty and so investment decisions should be balanced with the preservation of initial principal capital as paramount.

IN Romania, Start-Ups Gain Strength

This article discussed entrepreneur initiatives in Romania.  While becoming increasing influential in the technology sector, Romania has introduced internal emphasis on entrepreneurship and experienced external investment as a result.  Microsoft, Intel and Oracle have all developed a presence in Romania and are tapping in to the increasingly visible Romanian vigor for innovation and domestic advancement.  These companies cite a huge pool of talent and a hunger for enterprise as the reasons behind their decision; along with low wages of course.

But American tech giants are not the only presence in Romania.  UberVU and several other start-ups have gained recognition outside of Romania.  Well… they had to.  Consistently, Romanian entrepreneurs find that to obtain the capital that they need to finance their ideas, they have to look to Western European investors.  Universities in Romania, which consistently focus on entrepreneurial theory and place emphasis on innovation, have responded to this obstacle accordingly.  By educating their students on how to ask for money and instill confidence in foreign investors, the Romanian Universities are preparing their students to succeed.

Visible in Romania is an entrepreneurial energy that will hopefully inspire fellow Eastern European States to implement similar strategies.

In class earlier this week we viewed and discussed a Lamborghini commercial for one of their latest models, the Reventón.  The commercial successfully created a feeling of exclusivity, making viewers feel that few achievements were less attainable than the ownership of this particular car.  I followed the class discussion, but one point was made near the end that I do not totally agree with.  The claim was made that the target market of this commercial is the incredibly small number of consumers who are in the market for this vehicle.  I would argue that while there are only a small number of people who have the resources to purchase the Lamborghini products themselves, the commercial advertises the brand as a whole.  I think that the target market for this commercial goes beyond potential buyers and seeks to appeal to a much larger subset of the population.  Fans of the company and aspiring owners will view and appreciate this avertissement and proceed to facilitate augmentation of Lamborghini popularity.  The phenomenon of having young people and car lovers around the world talking about a brand is potentially as valuable as the sales of a product itself.  This is why I think that the target market for this particular commercial reaches beyond the small number of potential buyers.

A sensitive issue in my home country, the United States, is affirmative action.  Firstly, whether the government should mandate minority favoritism is a topic that is constantly under debate.  Some believe it is reasonable and fair for the government to set mandates on the hiring of minorities in order to ensure that percentages in the workforce mirror population distribution.  Others think that it is unethical for the government to involve itself in activities that favor people of any one race.  Furthermore, the debate transcends government involvement and simply discusses the idea of favoritism by companies towards minorities when hiring.

My stance on this ethical dilemma is that the government should have no involvement in setting restrictions on a company’s hiring procedures, but that a company that wants to show favoritism towards minorities when hiring is entitled to do so.  Social conservatives are unlikely to accept the notion of preferential treatment towards minorities; but fiscal conservatives who examine the issue closely should see that achieving a diverse workforce is similar to any other desirable capital venture.  A company that has a diverse workforce is better able and more prepared to succeed in the modern business climate. A company that chooses to ignore this should have every right to do so.  But forward thinking companies should also be allowed to diversify their workforce by using race as a factor in hiring.  This freedom to allow companies to choose on an individual level without government interaction fits the criteria of a truly capitalistic society.