Austin Cho's Insights

After reading a lot of different articles, it came to my understanding there were numerous organizational behavior issues present at Uber. Susan Fowler, a former female engineer at Uber, describes her experiences working at Uber in her blog post “Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber”.   (Image Source: Susan Fowler) After reading Susan Fowler’s blog post, it was very evident that Uber’s workplace environment was far from safe and professional. She retells her story of being sexually harassed in the workplace along side many other women; she…read more

In Ethan Ethier’s blog post, he talks about the misconception of job satisfaction being correlated to how much income you earn. Referring to a Forbes article on “Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness At Work”, Ethan mentions that many “employee satisfaction surveys have indicated that “money and compensation are not as important for happiness as is having core values and culture, senior leadership, balance and a positive working life”. I think that is especially true for millennials and my generation, centennials. Although, millennials and centennials could be motivated to a certain degree…read more

This blog post is a response to Mia Carnie’s recent post about the controversial inaugurations of one of the most unpopular presidents of all time. Carnie discusses the Women’s March that occurred world-wide and the difference in values that are currently present between Donald Trump and a large portion of Americans. And thus, the goal of the march was to preserve human rights and core values that were most likely going to be compromised under Donald Trump’s leadership. Carnie brings up issues such as the executive order banning travel from…read more

After a few weeks in our organizational behaviors class, we discussed the different methods of creating a more flexible workplace, such as offering employees flextime, job sharing or telecommuting options. However, I want to focus on the aspects that make telecommuting so beneficial.           ( Image Source ) Telecommuting comes with a lot of benefits for employees, as they are exposed to less distractions, disrupted less and enjoy the benefit of a reduced commute. Which overall boosts the productivity of the worker which is also beneficial…read more

Amidst the chaos currently happening the United States, Kevin O’Leary, a businessman and a reality show star, has announced that he would be contending for the Conservative leadership. O’Leary criticizes Trudeau for his “gross economic mismanagement”, referencing Trudeau’s budget and his implementation of the Carbon Tax. He further comments on Trudeau’s inability to negotiate a good deal for Canadians against, the newly elected president, Donald Trump. Then lastly, O’Leary states that Canadians are looking for a prime minister that is supportive of small businesses and who is focused on creating…read more

As CNN Money stated “Everyone hates paying banking fees, imagine paying fees on a ghost account that you didn’t even sign up for” and that’s exactly what happened to Wells Fargo customers. Federal Regulators released information that Wells Fargo employees had created millions of unauthorized bank and credit card accounts and employees went as far as to create fake emails and fake bank pin numbers. When John Strumpf, the CEO of Wells Fargo, was asked about the unethical and shady business practices he shifted the blame onto low level Wells…read more

After spending some time on the internet, I came across Mr. Kawasaki’s handy blogpost on the “must do’s” to “intern like a rock star”. Mr. Kawasaki, a Silicon-Valley based author, speaker, entrepreneur and a marketing specialist, writes about how to leave a lasting impression on your employers; he mentions a few general but helpful tips that students can utilize to get the most out of their internship. Mr. Kawasaki goes over some general tips such as, dressing appropriately and being on time or even better getting there early. Kawasaki explains…read more

After reading Riley Lowe’s recent post about “Adidas catching up to Nike”, it had reminded me of the transient strategy that was reviewed in class. Riley discusses how the recent success of Adidas, was the result of acquiring Kasper Rorsted and collaborating with celebrities. He continues to discuss, how “collaborating with big names” such as Kayne West or Pharrell Williams, isn’t a sustainable competitive advantage and that competitors, for example Nike, could also collaborate with celebrities. Therefore, Riley suggested employing a “scout” to identify and sign upcoming stars. In addition…read more

This blog post is a response to Drew Evans’s recent post about the Snap Inc.’s, formerly known as Snapchat, new “spectacular spectacles” called the Snap Spectacles. I was very intrigued with Drew’s thoughts on how the success of the Snap Spectacles would be dependent on being socially accepted. However, I think an important factor is how they market the value propositions of the Snap Spectacles. What solutions are they providing their customers? And what are the benefits of utilizing the Snap Spectacles? If I were to summarize the value propositions…read more

“Owner’s Care”. This is the line that is played at the end of each WestJet Commercial however, at an ironic turn of events, WestJet is now facing a lawsuit about its recent baggage fee implementation. The lawsuit is directed at both WestJet and Air Canada and addresses the possibility of the two airlines colluding and “unjustly [enriching] themselves [through] the process” by introducing a new baggage fee onto their economy class flying to and from locations in Canada and US. I do not know if the two airlines did collude;…read more