Aneel Bal's Blog

It’s easy to give people/countries large sums of money and say “go solve your problems”, but it’s another thing to show the person/country what to do with the money. And this is why even if the UN were fully funded social enterprise would still be needed. Taking the Arc initiative as an example, in the reading about Arielle Uwonkunda and starting up the Arc in Rwanda, she says that “after being given money, [enterprises] don’t have sufficient knowledge to utilize it efficiently.” That statement essentially explains why the world will always need people that are motivated not only by profits, but also by the triple bottom line. Money doesn’t tell you how to create a business, or how to be sustainable, while people that care (social enterprises) do. Furthermore, through creating a stream of knowledge, resources can be used more efficiently, and the individuals helped through social enterprise can go on to “pay it forward” to others.

As the age old adage goes, it’s far better to teach a man how to fish, then to give the man a fish. Initiatives such as the Arc teach people the skills they need to succeed while also going above and beyond just simply sending funds. Lastly, I believe that money is a non-renewable resource, while knowledge and ideas last forever. Social enterprise fosters this belief and illustrates why knowledge, not cash, is the most important source of “capital” in the world.

Social Enterprise Tree

Picture Reference: http://umip.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Social-Enterprise-Tree.jpg

Owl Studying

There are various blogs are on the internet that grabbed my attention while scouring the internet, but the “Study Hacks” blog by Cal Newport really caught my eye. Whether it be providing advice on how to power through work, or explaining how effectuate thinking is beneficial, this blog could potentially change the way you function daily. For example, after reading the blog about effectuate thinking, I now have a clearer image on goal-setting, and have realized that creating grandiose expectations could actually be holding me back. Something I would have never guessed. Furthermore, the usefulness of this blog goes beyond just the academic field, but spills over into anyone’s personal life and even the business world. With tips on how to better manage time, the “Study Hacks” blog can be useful in creating an urgency/importance matrix, by allowing you to better determine what needs to be done, compared to what should be done.

While not a prototypical business blog, I recommend the “Study Hacks blog to anyone looking for time management, academic, or career advice. Cal Newport is a superb writer and academic who strives towards providing “advice for building a successful and fulfilling life in school and after graduation“.  With free advice coming from a blog that offers up not only study skills but also, life skills, I can’t see what’s not to love?

Picture Reference: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tl8v8F_6HE4/T1wqf4KuJNI/AAAAAAAADPo/JY5hXiR_g9c/s1600/study+cartoon.gif

In Stav’s blog about video game stores, she explains that shops such as EB games and GameStop could see the ghosts of Blockbuster in their future as the industry is moving towards digital content. I take the opposite stance on this topic, and believe digital copies are not a disruptive innovation.

Forza Motorsport 5 = 40GB

With new video game systems such as the Xbox One and PS4 boasting large hard drives of 500GB, it may seem like common sense to believe that you could fit a lot of digital games on these systems. Think again. The average size of an Xbox One video game is 10GB-15GB compared to the size of movies which clock in, around 1GB. With a popular Xbox One game such as Forza Motorsport 5 measuring in at an astounding 40GB! With a 500GB hard drive that is only 15-20 games not too mention the fact that 50Gb is usually unusable and actually saving progress and game data requires space as well. As someone who recreationally plays video game, I find it a lot easier to purchase a game at a store like GameStop, then having to use a credit card and not have the flexibility that a standard disk affords you. For example, how am I supposed to take my digital game to my friends house? I can’t take a because it’s made to be only playable on your specific system.

I can’t see a future where gamers start completely ditching physical copies of disks in exchange for digital ones, as they don’t offer the same flexibility. Consumers are hard to predict, but I foresee this situation playing out similarly to the e-books one, where some people will gravitate towards digital versions, but not enough to cause the demise of any major players.

EB Games Logo

Picture References

EB Games – http://www.salamandershopping.com.au/uploadedImages/SalamandaBay/Content/Stores/EB_Games_logo_1.jpg?n=6545

Forza Motorsport 5 – http://gamingtrend.com/wp-content/screenshots/forza-5-e3-screens-06-12-2013/3d_lhs_xbox_one_forza-5_esrb.jpg

The Various Android Operating Systems

As someone who enjoys their Nokia phone, running Windows 8.1, I have never felt like making the switch to the “trendier”, overrated iPhone. When it comes to Android devices however, specifically Samsung’s, I have always wanted to give one a try. One of the things that turned me off about androids though was the fact they have so many damn operating systems. Not to mention the fact, google enjoys giving the OS’s ridiculous names such as “Jellybean”, “Kitkat” and “Ice-cream sandwich” with the latest to be released, known as “Lollipop”. Although the latest update may not fail in completing a customer job, as discussed in class 8, it does continue the trend of confusing consumers. Personally I find the variety of phones running different Android OS’s confusing and overcomplicated. When I go to the store to look for a phone, I want to be able to make a decision without having to research if “Gingerbread” is older than “Jellybean”. Secondly, with all these OS names running around, it’s harder for Android to establish a brand identity. For example, if I were to say iOS, most people would know what I’m talking about. When I say Kit-Kat, most people would think about the delicious chocolate wafer and not the Android OS. I recommend that Google create a better brand identity for their Android operating systems so that it can be instantly recognized by consumers. Otherwise, I may have to tell friends that my new phone runs on “Lollipop”.

Picture Reference: http://www.mygadgetsinfo.com/search/label/Android%20Operating%20system

In Wong’s blog, he discusses how the new BlackBerry Passport will once again make a BlackBerry phone “essential to the average businessman”.

The New BlackBerry Passport

With, its steep decline in market share over the last 5 years, BlackBerry is making an attempt to rebuild the foundation that its smartphones were built on: Businessmen. I believe this phone, however, is more than just a re-entry into the market for BlackBerry but also a phone that will decide the fate of the company. With a stock that has bounced around between $9 and $12.50 for a few months, the company’s next earnings report could either spell the rebirth or the end for the much maligned firm. With, what I would call the failed launching of the BlackBerry 10, this phone needs to reinstall confidence in shareholders, who I am surprised have stuck around this long. I would recommend that BlackBerry stick to one value proposition, which for many years was creating a phone that could keep up with the average businessman. And, I think the BlackBerry Passport has done just that. Going forwards they need to keep innovating and delivering features that will get consumers excited and wanting to buy their phones.

Lastly, I agree with Wong’s opinion that the BlackBerry Passport is a device that will help keep BlackBerry alive in the smartphone industry. And hopefully it will steal some market share from those overrated Apple devices (also known as iPhones) in the process.

Picture Reference: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/blackberrypassport.jpg

Whether it be accommodating the needs of first nations or ensuring that the community is not negatively impacted by a company/firm is one of the most important external factors for corporations to acknowledge. BC Hydro is choosing not too. Their proposed new hydroelectric megaproject would include flooding 83km of the Peace River Valley effectively ruining habitats and land that First Nations use as traditional land for fishing.

Kootenay Dam in, South Slocan, British Columbia.
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1483537/thumbs/o-BC-HYDRO-DAM-facebook.jpg

If BC Hydro were permitted to complete this project, not only would it set a precedent for future similar cases, it would also show that it’s okay for big companies to ignore the negative impacts their decisions have on the community. Furthermore, just because a new power option is needed in Northern BC, doesn’t mean that an $8 billion megaproject is the only solution. This case, however, is a blessing in disguise as it allows the Federal Government to lay down the law and let other corporations know that destroying environments, homes and, people’s livelihoods just to make the balance sheet look better it is not permitted. It’s time to put communities before companies.

Hewlett Packard has decided that their company is better off splitting into two, “separating its personal-computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations”. Overall this deal is quite interesting for a company whose stock has increased from $20 to $35 in the last year. According to another report, the company actually only gets 10% of its income from its PC’s illustrating that may be the reason for the split. Essentially, HP is attempting to become excellent at two things by splitting up the operations of the company and allowing each to focus solely on PC’s or hardware & services.

Obtained at: http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/HP-Pavilion-TouchSmart-11-Notebook-Left.jpg

In the bigger picture, HP’s revenue peaked in 2011 at $28.6 billion and has declined to its point in 2013 of $24.6 billion. This is a company needing a shakeup and its executives have agreed. This change should allow HP to not only improve the quality of their PC’s and printers, with more resources invested in them, but also bring down their costs so that they can increase the margins they are currently achieving. Investors should be happy with the decision to focus on 2 smaller pieces then 1 huge one, and give HP a boost in their stocks. Although I’m not an investment banker: This stock is bullish.

Whether it be the retail industry or tech sector, it seems as though many companies these days are stocking up on assets. Softbank in Japan is no exception, as their recent acquisition history paints a vivid picture of the competitive business market . Their recent attempt to buy T-Mobile might have failed but they have now set their eyes onto DreamWorks Animated in a deal rumoured to be worth $3.4 Billion. To provide some context, Softbank is a communications and media company that is looking to diversify it’s portfolio and move into new content.

In the big picture, technological companies have been taking over an increased number of other corporations over recent years. Big players such as Google and Amazon are making new acquisitions and offshore competitors such as Softbank, and probably Alibaba in the near future, are doing the same. It’s an arms race to find growing assets that can add value to the company taking them over. In the case of Softbank, they had $17 billion in cash at the end of June (as mentioned in the article), and decided they wanted to splurge. Can you blame them? If the cash stays stagnant it isn’t making you more money, so why not put it into an acquisition where some fine tweaking of the company to be taken over can provide increased revenue and value to the parent company. It’s a trend that large companies will continue to follow to gain a competitive edge over the rest of the industry.

Watch out Amazon, and Ebay as there is a new e-commerce giant that is actually posting better profits then your 2 companies combined. Alibaba is an e-commerce site similar to Amazon that allows consumers to buy goods online. One major difference, however, is the fact that Alibaba has no actual inventory as it instead connects customers with small businesses. The company opened on the New York Stock Exchange with an 38% increase from their IPO in one day establishing it’s ground in the eyes of investment bankers. Furthermore, their financial statements show an exponential growth pattern with 2012 net income increasing from $1.36 billion to $3.81 billion in 2013. This is in stark contrast with Amazon which posted a loss of $39 million in 2012 and net income of $274 million in 2013. This differential might not only help Alibaba attract investors but also entice some to jump off the Amazon bandwagon looking to instead penetrate the Chinese Market.

With plans to get into the Europe and US market, Alibaba has a large potential to grow and increase revenue while competition such as Amazon try to toil in the smartphone and tablet industry. The only negative for Alibaba is that Yahoo is leaching off their profits.

While companies all over the world struggle to reach the optimum balance of growing profit and increasing corporate social responsibility, Walmart is promising to once again bring work, and capital, back to America. Although an American company, Walmart has been importing more and more goods over the last 30 years and they aren’t helping increase the amount of manufacturing jobs in the United States. From a business ethics point of view, Walmart decided that profits are more important to them then providing employment to Americans, and contributing the regulatory tax dollars to the nation that they were built upon. Milton Friedman would be proud. Walmart’s actions over the past several decades has shown that they either don’t care or choose to ignore the predicament of the U.S economy. If there only mission is to strike a profit for their shareholders, which Milton Freidman states is the only “social responsibility of business”, then they are in a great position.

Even though Walmart is already successful, however, their prosperity in the United States could be in jeopardy if they continue investing in other countries. As Freeman’s stakeholder theory states, for a company to be successful they need to focus on keeping all the involved parties of the business content and refrain from prioritizing one over the another. And with a market cap of over $250 billion, Walmart won’t have a problem going back across the Atlantic, one more time.