Monthly Archives: November 2014

If the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise?

The United Nations is an international organisation that was founded after WWII in 1945. It comprises of 51 countries working together with the goal of achieving global peace and security. The Arc Initiative is a Sauder program that provides internships, workshops and mentoring activities in South America and Africa. A social enterprise strives to ‘disrupt the status quo and transform our world’.

The United Nations functions on a larger scale and hence, must prioritise resolving issues that appears to be the most relevant for the majority of the 51 countries cooperating together. Political issues that would appear as headlines within the news such as the Syrian War are the types of affair that the United Nations would try to tackle. This is essentially because they work on a global scale and thus, have to find solutions to issues that are known globally. While this is important, this leads to smaller local issues to be neglected by the United Nations.

The Arc Initiative or social enterprise on the other hand, works on a smaller scale and can therefore focus more on having a direct impact with mitigating local issues. Through an Arc Initiative workshop in Ethiopia, Fitih Tesfaye learned new business tools such as a strategy map tool that enabled her to understand points of parity and points of differences. Identifying this led her to pursue and further differentiate by moving from the heavily competitive restaurant market to the sweets market with Yana Sweets.

Overall, the United Nations and the Arc Initiative or social enterprise complement each other as the former functions on a global scale while the latter functions on a smaller scale.

Website and image sources:

http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/index.shtml

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Global_Reach/ARC_Initiative

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

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/going-global/in-a-crowded-market-ethiopian-entrepreneur-finds-a-sweet-way-to-stand-out/article17912688/

http://liveactionnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/UN-flags.jpg

Cott Corp., a business that produces soft drinks, is acquiring DSS Group Inc. through a $1.25 billion (US) deal. DSS is a water and coffee distributor within the U.S., with over 2,000 customers. While Cott’s shares have risen ‘10.27%’ on the Toronto Stock Exchange, there are underlying problems that may arise through a business acquisition that this article does not highlight.

On average, 50% of business acquisitions lead to failure because of the risks and complexities associated with it. Hence, sustaining the performance management of a business during an acquisition is essential. Cultural differences may arise between the two different companies. Some employees may be more motivated by power and their position within the company, while others may be more motivated by accomplishments. This difference, may create a segregation between the company after a business acquisition. To overcome this challenge, Cott Corp. should reward the performance of their employees and give out stocks. This sets up a rewards system within Cott Corp., which should effectively improve the productivity of their employees. For example, when a certain percentage of stocks are given to employees, they become more invested into the company. The amount of work they put into the company would determine they amount of dividend they could have from the stocks. Hence, the work productivity of employees would increase and they would become more committed to their job. Furthermore, this rewards system does not cost anything for Cott Corp.

Although the external financial data of Cott Corp. is currently improving due to the business acquisition deal, it is imperative for Cott Corp. to also consider the future internal operations management it may face after the business acquisition. The success rate for a business acquisition is not favourable, but considering and planning solutions to problems that may be faced could increase the success rate for Cott Corp.

Website and image source:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/beverage-maker-cott-acquires-us-firm-in-125-billion-deal/article21473792/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertsher/2012/06/22/12-signs-that-an-acquisition-will-crater/

In today’s COMM 101 class, we had the opportunity to interact with three Sauder Alumni: Paul Davidescu (Tangoo), Paul Gill (Naked Coconuts), and Jennifer Martin (Sip Soda).

The applicability of COMM 101’s course content was heavily emphasised by the Sauder Alumni. For example, Paul Gill mentioned that he used the PEST analysis to determine whether or not it would be advantageous to enter the US market. The PEST analysis enabled him to become aware of the political issues he would face with his products as he sources his supply of coconut oil from the Philippines–he would have to go through many security checks and be approved by the FDA. Similarly, Jennifer Martin stressed the importance of maintaining a professional relationship with your supplier. To not be deceived by them and to know when their help is not necessary, which would enable you to reduce your cost of production. Paul Davidescu  encompassed the concept of passion over money. He currently does not have a proper revenue stream from Tangoo, yet he still strives to improve it because he is passionate about it, not because of money he could earn.

Today’s class has completely changed my perceptions on entrepreneurship. I have realised that I currently do not have the desire to become an entrepreneur not because I lack the intention, but because I have not found that special something that I feel the most passionate for. Although it may take several years for me to realise where my passion lies in, I look forward to discovering it in the future.

Image sources:

http://www.sipsoda.com

https://tangoo.ca

http://www.nakedcoconuts.com