Category Archives: Uncategorized

In my Sauder classmate Bianca Pinasco’s blog post she discusses how corporate culture can influence the success of a corporation. She discusses the success of Google and attrubutes it to the fact that Google recognizes how job satisfaction leads to creativity and because of this the company puts effort into assuring satisfaction by providing free services such as catering, laundry, gyms, etc.

I agree with Bianca’s opinion as I also believe that satisfied employees will be more productive and better retained. Not only will more motivated employee’s benefit the output of Google but it will also benefit the consumer satisfaction of the company. There is no doubt that satisfied and motivated employees reflect on customer satisfaction. That is why I agree with Bianca opinion that employee satisfaction is crucial for success because companies that invest in their employee’s have better engagement, loyalty, and productivity.

Bianca’s Blog Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/biancapinasco/2013/11/09/the-best-workplace-in-the-world/

COMM101 Topic: Corporate Culture, Human Resources

Maybe beer is not that bad after all with recent statistics stating that the beer economy supports 1 out of 100 Canadian jobs. Tax generated by beer creates 6 billion dollars in tax revenue representing 1% of Canada’s GDP. However the beer industry has been experiencing decline, as its substitutes tend to get more interest from the new youth population.

Currently alcoholic beverages such as vodka and wine have become a more popular alternative to beer due to health concerns. Health conscious people try to avoid beer as it is high in calories however, John W. Sleeman, the owner of Sleeman Breweries Ltd. has stated that there are available products such as light and low calorie beers in the market to address this issue and beer companies should do a better job in marketing these products to these specific customer segments. John W. Sleeman stated that with increasing number of small breweries the industry has started to become more competitive and innovative.

It is mentioned in the video that ultimately to be successful in the beer industry companies need to innovate and further improve marketing to capture back the interest of the youth consumers.

COMM101 Topic: Marketing and Customer Segments

I will be commenting on a blog that mentions the long-term benefits of the Responsible Resource Development project, The Canadian government is investing millions of dollars in the pipeline and marine industries.

It is evident that the government is aiming to increase job satisfaction and conditions while also decreasing unemployment as the government is “strengthening pipeline and marine safety, supporting consultations with aboriginal peoples” in addition the government is planning to “create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity”

The investments of the Canadian government will grow the economy as spending on capital and labour conditions increase in these industries.

The project is very costly and the government is spending billions of dollars, this may cause a deficit in the budget furthermore the non-existing short-term benefits of this project makes it even more unattractive. Building the infrastructure for this project may take months and it won’t be until a couple years the project will bring returns on the investments.

Although the project will bring great benefits to the economy the project will be highly costly. I agree with the blog that the project is a great investment for the future, but the lack of short-term returns on investment makes this project unattractive. As mentioned in class the return on investment is something to consider before spending large sums of money in projects.

blog can be viewed at: http://www.naturalresource.ca/blog/?p=839

COMM101 Topic: Strategy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9oHlk-LZc0

The wealthy young men in the gulf have been buying ‘pet cheetahs’ illegally.  It has come to a state that big cats are seen as hottest status symbol. Several young men have been posting videos and pictures on Instagram showcasing their new exotic pets. Although there are clear regulations stating that the import and export of exotic animals are illegal the government seems to be ignoring these transactions.

Usually the ill-informed buyers of these big cats lead to various problems as the owner not knowing how to care or handle the growth of these cats ultimately resulting in negligence or abandonment.

The most popular of the big cats, the cheetah has experienced an unfortunate 90% drop in population over the last century. There are extremely wrong ethical decisions being made in the gulf. The sole purpose of the purchases of these endangered animals are solely to show-off. The trade of these animals are harming wild life populations.

It is the consumers and the government’s responsibility to ensure these unethical decisions do not cause harm to already endangered cats. As discussed in class ethics are a set of morals that distinguish what is right from wrong and I believe the Arab States need to re-evaluate their ethics on wildlife trade.

COMM101 Topic: Ethics

In my Sauder classmate Brandon Kothe’s blog he discusses the launch of Amazon.com’s online grocery store in Canada. Offering up to 15,000 different products with competitive pricing Amazon.com may just gain an edge over its major competitors Walmart and Loblaw’s.

Brandon predicts that Amazon’s transition to the online grocery system will prove to be a success and mentions that it is going to be interesting to observe what kind of impact this transition brings to the market. Although Amazon offers great prices with the convenience of bringing the grocery store to your bedroom, I am concerned whether that will that be enough make people do their groceries online. In my opinion, Amazon has taken an interesting step into a billion dollar market. Although competition is high with the right steps I believe Amazon can change the industry forever. Agreeing with Brandon we believe that Amazon with extensive experience and resources in online retailing the company will have no issue competing against other online platforms however, the concern is how the company will compete with the ridiculously low prices of Walmart.

We both believe that this transition’s effect on the Canadian grocery store market is something worthy of observing in the following months.

Brandon’s Blog Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/brandonkothe/2013/10/31/first-walmart-now-amazon-looking-at-buying-groceries-online-in-canada/

COMM101 Topic: Competition, Strategy, Customer segments

Myanmar is an undeveloped country and the characteristics of its economy are Low GDP per capita, low Income, poverty, and low investment. After centuries of military rule and oppression the autocratic and isolated country has finally elected a democratic leader. Myanmar is opening up its door and is expecting to trade with the European countries. New projects for growth and development are already in progress.  “In February 2012, Commissioner Piebalgs visited Myanmar and announced a package of €150 million for the country’s democratic reform and inclusive development initiatives” The EU has initiated foreign investment to grow this poor country’s economy. As trade with foreign counties rise there will be increased amounts of exports and imports.

As Myanmar opens its doors to other global markets and starts exporting and importing with the EU this will benefit all trade partners. The opened doors will allow these countries to trade more and more resulting in a chain reaction that will eventually allow Burma and the European nations to broaden their trade with other countries as well by the means of increased trade agreements.

Ultimately, I believe Myanmar is taking the right step by abolishing military rule and opening its doors to the foreign market. This decision will benefit the country; days of prosperity and opportunity are to come.

COMM101 Topic: Business Development and Economics

Currently wage growth is at is all time low since 1982. The decrease in costs will result in more disposable money that can be used in several different ways such as investment in infrastructure, human capital or technology. If the business decides to invest in human capital this will cause for the SRAS to increase. an example of an investment on human capital can be training programs which will make the labour more skilled, thereby improving the quality of human capital. The skills gained from the training will convert to an increase in productivity. More productive labour will lead to higher output which can be translated into increasing SRAS in economic terms.

Picture: http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/economics/adas/activity/adas.htm

The effects of a shift rightwards in the SRAS curve will cause will cause a increase in output. Because with the training program the employee’s have become more skilled. Higher levels of skill will result in more productivity and output. this shift will increase revenue’s of the firm and will also benefit the RGDP in a macroeconomic perspective. From my knowledge of COMM101 we have learned that employee turnover is a big issue in firms and constant hiring is very costly. Firms, through investing in their employee’s can increase revenue’s and decrease turnover resulting in a better more successful company.

COMM101 Topic: Macroeconomics, Human Resources and Investment

Bureaucracy is  a vertical organizational structure as mention in class. Now I will further explain the characteristics of this vertical structure. Bureaucracy is founded on the principles of logic, order and legitimate authority. The theory has very specific characteristic like division of labor, hierarch of authority, rules and procedures, impersonality, careers based on technical skills. 

Bureaucracy has been an appropriate theory to adopt by governments and large corporations to keep everything as efficient and fair as possible.. Everything in a bureaucratic organization is planned out. The duties and responsibilities of every worker are clearly stated and have to be achieved by the way the authorities tell you to. Decision-making is very slow in bureaucracy. The person who has the highest authority decides everything. Being restricted in these means (authority, duty, regulations… etc.) brings a huge resistance to change. Bureaucracy is the opposite of what the modern business world is today. We are in an age where business’s need to be dynamic, fast and flexible to survive. Bureaucracy is proven to be too slow and expensive. In the age of technology knowledge travels faster than ever and to co-op with the modern market managers and workers need to have the power of decision making, if not huge opportunities could be lost.

 COMM101 Topic: Organizational Structure

Patagonia is a very environmentally and sociably responsible business. Patagonia’s goal as a business is to reach the impossible, to be “sustainable”. The business commits at least 1% of its sales to the environment. The company has several initiatives and alliances with environmentally active organizations and charities. Almost all Patagonia’s products are made from recycled material. The company is not only environmentally responsible but it’s also socially responsible. They have a universal approach to over-seas manufacturing.  It has suppliers all over the world and makes sure its values are integrated in the counties they outsource the manufacturing.

Corporate Culture

Patagonia’s values are very important determinants of its corporate culture. The most valued outcomes are clearly stated in the mission statement that is made out of 3 parts. The mission statement works like Maslow’s pyramid[1], without achieving the 1^st step they cannot achieve the second one. Their mission statement is step by step.

1-    Make the best product

2-    “Cause no unnecessary harm.” (Not, no harm because sustainability is impossible. What they are aiming for is to minimize damage by using renewable and recyclable material)

3-    Use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

COMM101 Topic: Corporate Culture & Social Responsibility

COMM101 Topic: Ethics

One of Tylenol’s strongest products in the market faced a huge crisis after the reports of 7 deaths caused by its extra strength capsules. An unknown worker tampered with the product infecting it with deadly chemical, cyanide. Not only did the deaths cause Tylenol’s market value took a great hit, but also consumers and producers were panicking. However, the company came clean and reacted to the situation quickly by recalling all of its products, stopping advertising and making their customers aware of the issue. Although Tylenol experienced great losses during this crisis such as share prices falling and loss of goods; the company made sure to put the consumer before itself. Stopping the production of a top selling product and recalling all of its products on the supermarket and drug store shelves makes no sense in an economical perspective. Regardless Tylenol cared more about the safety of its consumer in spite of its own economical well being.

As a solution J&J developed a tamper resistant packaging making sure nothing like this happens again.

The response of J&J to this crisis is one of the best examples of crisis management and ethics. The company’s openness, generosity and immediate solution to the situation allowed them to gain back market share and more importantly the trust of their consumers.

B Kirk

Sources:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2013/07/corporate-crisis-mismanagement

http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/crisis02.php

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall02/susi/tylenol.htm

Image: http://www.ktsm.com/news/recall-tylenol-wants-its-moldy-smelling-caplets-back