Monthly Archives: September 2014

The CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) is fighting what many consider losing battle against Netflix. Barrie McKenna for the Globe and Mail explains that the head of the CRTC Jean-Pierre Blais wants to regulate the streaming service unless Netflix releases a large amount of data about their Canadian market. Netflix refused this request, and with support from the Canadian government it seems unlikely that Blais will be able to back up this threat. In my opinion it is ridiculous that Blais would want to attack Netflix. It doesn’t make sense for Canada to come after large companies such as Netflix, because they could easily leave the country. Last time Canada tried to contain American media in 1998 it backfired greatly and America quickly put tariffs on hundreds of millions worth of Canadian exports. This is most likely why the Canadian government is not supporting Blais in this case. As of now it seems as if the CRTC will most likely lose this battle, and will hopefully stop trying to fight companies such as Netflix.

Article Used: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/crtc-fights-losing-battle-against-netflix/article20820302/

Tesla’s current vehicles

Electric cars are often thought of as the the next huge revolution in the way that people travel. In recent years car manufacturers are finally making electric cars that are just as good (if not better) than gas powered vehicles. Yet, for some reason electric cars have not been selling as well as some expected. Yuliya Chernova wrote an interesting piece for the Wall Street Journal outlining why this may be. Based on studies done by a variety of Universities, Yuliya reports that the biggest problem so far has been the overwhelming lack of knowledge people have about electric cars. In the studies some people got 60-75% of basic factual questions about the vehicles wrong. Although this is shocking, I do not think that the car companies should not be too alarmed. Adding electric cars is a very radical change to the auto-industry, and because of this it will take time for consumers to fully understand this new technology. Also, I believe that if companies such as Tesla continue to produce fantastic vehicles people will eventually give the technology the credit it deserves. It will be very interesting to see the future landscape of the auto-industry.

Article Used: http://online.wsj.com/articles/what-s-holding-back-electric-car-sales-1411937798?tesla=y&mod=SJ_business_MoreArticles&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203523204580113691705876222.html?mod=WSJ_business_MoreArticles

The “Artisanal Mining” sector relates very well to the reading and research I’ve done on business ethics in preparation for class 3. In the article “A deadly grind” by Geoffrey York, the working conditions of these mines are described in horrifying detail. About 15-20 million people, including children, work in these mines worldwide. Sickness, and many injuries are common in this line of work. The people working in these mines are almost forced out of necessity, because of their severe poverty. Many of the workers interviewed for this piece voice their displeasure, for example “We cough from the dust, and our bones are in pain, we’re working in these bad conditions because we have nothing else. We’re fighting for our life.” These miners are also paid very little for their hard and treacherous work. This relates to the informational video I watched called, “What is Stakeholder Theory?” by R. Edward Freeman. The Stakeholder Theory states that for a business to run most efficiently all stakeholders must be generally pleased with the company. This obviously does not fit with the model of the mines, because the miners are extremely unhappy with the work conditions and lack of personal safety. Mine companies could be hurt in the long run by this current dilemma, because if the miners continue to be unhappy, they may not work as efficiently. Hopefully, the mine companies consider changing their ways in the near future.

This blog post includes information from the article: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1033811415

This blog post contains information from the video:

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