Angela Li's Blog

The United Nations aims to reach 8 fundamental goals: 

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/Maleria, AIDS and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Global partership for development

“So why is there a need for social entrepreneurs when the United Nations is so much larger?”

http://skollworldforum.org/about/what-is-social-entrepreneurship/

Although the United Nations aim to reach these goals it is nearly impossible to reach every person in the world and eradicated all unfairness and inhumanity by itself as an organization. There are many organizations such as he for she and kyoto protocol which share some of the same goals such as the UN so what’s the point of the existense of the organization?

The UN is the international voice for equality and work towards human rights, but the contribution of small organizaions such as ARC reach a target that the UN may not be able ro reach at the given time due to the size of its goal. The ARC can reach regions which may not have been reached out to yet, because there are countries in greater need that the UN need to focus on. This is the same with other areas and programs; the United Nations goals are simply too large and too broad to be executed immediately and smaller programs can fuel and help in underfunded areas and provide some relief.

It’s my belief that either one is irreplaceable small organizations on its own can not reach such a large audience, or have the resources to help so many and the UN need the intiative and ambition of social entrepreneurs to make the first step.

This is a response to fellow  classmate Oscar Hui’s Blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/oscarhui/2014/09/22/is-fame-is-the-name-of-the-game/

Oscar Hui argues that university name and fame does not matter in job hunting and the only reason that parents and highschoolers pay so much attention to university name is because of branding.

Although I agree that the university you attend does not define who you are there is some worth in the name; when I was applying for universities one thing I made sure to look at was the statistics for job employment. I am not alone in this as 66% of students rated future job employment as the first thing they looked at when the chose a university.  If we compare two univeresities UBC and Carleton we see that UBC Sauder boasts that 94% of it’s BComm graduates are hired within 3 months, and in Carleton 89% in 6 months. 89% is nothing to laugh at, but in today’s economy where demand for jobs is much higher than the supply of jobs students are looking for any way to make themselves hirable and competitive.

Long gone are the days when “a university education is the ticket to a good job and a comfortable existence” (Macleans). As most economies do when they become richer and the people can afford a higher standard of living people are now looking for the best education they can afford. Going to university has become a norm, and fame has become the game, where fame is perceived to being better education and better jobs.

In reply to the external blog from rawstory:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/the-war-on-drugs-killed-my-daughter/

Although I can see how hurt the people affected can be because they have dead loved ones from drug use, because they do not know what they are taking (purity, method of making etc. can all change a drug safety) but I do not agree the legalization of drugs is the answer. The drug war has created some undesirable consequences such as the ever growing black market, but is it all black and white?

Black markets create trillions in dollars of revenue around the world and by some rough estimation half of the workers are a part of this black market. Majority of these people are not who we imagine them to be; they can be the truck drivers who smuggle it out, child workers in different areas of the world, our neighbours and even illegial dentists.

In the real legal economy job prospects are low, and many people were laid off after the 2008 recession and have turned to under the table jobs to make a living. If the legalization of drugs was to happen the truck drivers would no longer needed to smuggle and street vendors would out of buisness. In a way the black market has provided an income, oppourtunities and job prospects those who need it. Without this market availiable more people would need government funding, spending would be cut and shops will be closed effectively cutting off more workers. The economy has come to a point where the black market is large enough that it might be the second largest economy after America and we have all experienced what happened in 2008.

What would happen if drugs were legalized and the black market shrinks?

This blog post is in response to fellow classmate Heidi Leung: https://blogs.ubc.ca/heidileung/2014/10/05/part-time-job/

I agree with Heidi’s comment that although short part time jobs are good for students in need of some extra cash; it is definately not ideal for adults who are looking to make a living. For example, my mother’s work place in the last few years has begun to give out more “seasonal oppoutunities” which really means a person will be hired for the busy period and then laid off until next year. This is an unfair way that companies have found around labour laws. Another example happened to me personally this summer.

This summer I worked at a large chain grocery store and was consistently working 30-40 hours weekly– all while being a part time worker. This was fine for the summer as I was working to earn some extra change for tuition that following September, but when I requested to my store supervisor to instead work 10-15 hours a week she said no. Why? Because the minimum weekly hour for the company is 20 hours.

This meant that all workers there were working close to full time hours regularely without the  benefits of being fulltime.The pros meant workers were given at least a set amount of hours no matter how busy or slow it is, but on the flip side it meant workers could be easily laid off.

A look at this problem of companies hiring only for part time workers makes us automatically this is a bad issue, but on the flip side students, and companies enjoy this. This is an issue of ethics and where corporations stand, and although it is a “little” matter it questions how ethical these companies claim to be.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-north/is-climate-change-a-northern-catastrophe-or-an-arctic-opening/article16480890/

We have all heard of global warming and the negative consequences it brings to earth, and many organizations such as tentree and David Suzuki Foundation have all included environmental sustainability into their business model and aiming for a triple profit line: People, Planet and People. It’s needless to say many people are hoping to slow/prevent global warming, but what about Canadians?

Not to say Canadians do not care about global warming, but they might find a reason to smile as our climate changes through the next decade.

As you can see from the photo above the ice use to be where the yellow line is and has no shrunk to the white colored area. This means there is less ice, and potentially a new passage way for ships. In the past ships have tried to pass through this Arctic passage but has always been stopped by the ice; the receding ice line means this issue is no longer an issue and can potentially be an internationally used passage, and hence bringing in further income to Canada.

This article intrigued me because many organizations promotes sustainable efforts to bring in  consumers but here we see a case where negative environmental impacts are being taken advantage of to bring in revenue. This is destructing the current environmental profit canvas and many people and countries are arguing that this passageway should be an international one rendering it free-no profit for Canada. However, I think as time goes on more people will begin to take advantage of the changing environment to create new businesses or improve the old. After all business is not static.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Council+candidates+tackle+affordable+housing+Vancouver+debate/10319722/story.html

Vancouver is one of the most most beautifly places in the world but it is also one of the most expensive places to live in the world. This makes it difficult for most working families to afford a house, and in this election people are tuning in and paying extra attention to the economic solutions the candidates will bring.

The major issue is that in a city with rising costs minimum wages aren’t raising accordingly, supporters of the free market may argue that raising minimum wages just mean cutting the demand for labour, but is it justified? For many people to have a job but be unable to pay for their living with that job. I have friends who are in this situation and have to work a full time job during the day, and a part time job at night just to live in Vancouver. The idea of buying a house, or land, is a far fetched dream.

What interests me is how a political decision of mayorial candidateds is entwined with so many aspectes of buisness. If laws were set to regulate land prices would more companies move in to Vancouver and propel its economy? Or would foreigners come in to Vancouver and buy out all the land leaving the residents in a situation with no land and forced to pay high rent to foreigners?

I’ll be interested in how the elections turn out and how our buisnesses will change.

Article: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html

This article show two interesting POV’s one side is BC hydro and the other side is the First Nations. BC hydro wishes to begin  construction of a dam and 1,100-megawatt hydroelectric generating station on the Peace River in northeastern British Columbia to meet the growing demand for power, and the first nations are against this as it passes through their land which will negatively impact them. As this land serves as a gathering places for the elders, and farmland if the plan goes through the land  will be flooded.

However, it is not a lost case for an agreement between BC hydro and the First Nations as the First Nations are willing to look into sustaibable tree logging, and such to create jobs for the Aboriginals.

Looking at this article I think that BC hydro should have respected the First Nation and their land especially since it is such a large scale project and effects their lives so much. I would not be happy to wake up one morning to a dam next door without any prior warning. It is only respectful of BC hydro to respect the cultre and land of the owners; it is not a small or temporary project.

Article:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/business/international/hong-kong-wealth-gap-on-display-in-protests.html?src=me

In this article the writer talks about the Hong Kong economy, its relevance to China’s economy and what is the problem in Hong Kong at this present moment.

Having been a British Colony for 155 years Hong Kong was then given back to China and since then has acted as China’s main contact point for foreigners. With this the elite have become even more elite as prices go up, and only these elites can afford to invest.  However, the average folk are the casualties, as prices rocket up and wages stay relatively same the average person can no longer afford a comfortable living or have the chance to break into the elite.

This is where the political unrest came in as one of the major investments real estate is set by the government which means the elite are the only ones able to afford it as the price floor is above the equilibrium point. This means more people are homeless than say if the market was allowed develop by it self.

This idea came as a surprise to me becaues I have always viewed Hong Kong as liberal, and market driven. The idea that so much economic control there really is in the real estate busienss is a shock. It gives a new perspective on why Hong Kong youth want a democratic government (if the situation stayed the same with rising real estate less and less people aka todays youth would not be able to afford housing) I had not realized the wealth gap between the elite and average person was so wide.

Another interesting thing to note is how closely related political and economical issues are closely related.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/why-raise-the-minimum-wage-just-ask-costco/article20839767/

This article talks about the perspective of Costco founder Jim Sinegal on minimum wages, and how he belives they should be raised. His point of reason is that if you give your employees a fair wage they are more inclined to stay, more motivated and require less management. The reason is that new workers require training and often need more supervision earlier on,and with a high turnover in places such as the fast food industry the cost can add up. That is why Sinegal believed a raise in minimum wage is beneficial to not just the families but also the company.

I thought this point of view was interesting because in Economics we learned that setting minimum wage too high was a bad thing because that meant the economy is not at equilibrium in terms of wages. With an increase of wages companies are less inclined to hire people and therefore more people demand jobs than there are supply of jobs. Hence, the unemployment rates would go up.

From my own opinion I tend to agree with the economics theory more because the reason Costco is able to retain the workers have these motivated people is because their wage is above minimum. If all companies had a minimum wage set at Costco’s wage than employees from Costco would migrate elsewhere or lose motivation. Hence, why I believe the Costco business model only works if you are above minimum wage and a raise of the minimum wage would not change how well a company does unless they were raising it above the minimum.

Links : http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/25/burger-kings-potential-tim-hortons-takeover-unlikely-to-spark-uptick-in-tax-inversions/

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/25/tim-hortons-burger-king-takeover/

In an attempt to avoid high corporate  tax rates Burger King is considering a merger with Canadian company Tim Horton’s meaning Burger King would be based in Canada and paying Canadian Corporate taxes. This may be a sign of trouble for Americans, as other large corporations may follow the lead of Burger King and relocate to ‘tax havens’ (other locations with lower taxes example Bahamas or Barbados). However, from the Canadian perspective this may be good news as the revenue from Burger King is now generated into the Canadian economy.

Looking at this it is seemingly obvious what Burger King would gain in the merger, but what about Tim Hortons? Looking at the brands history it has not done so well south of the Canadian border in the States where it faces competitors such as McCafe and Dunkin’ Donuts by merging with Burger King Tim Horton’s could gain exposure to American consumers.Nonetheless, this merger will benefit both brands as they become the third largest fast food chain in the world.

Looking at this from the other side, however, this may not be good news for fast food chains in America or the American economy if Burger King relocates to Canada and Tim Hortons is promoted in Burger King’s across the States which will take a larger chunk of consumers from other fast food restaurants.