Monthly Archives: November 2014

Patty McCord was the Chief Talent Officer for Netflix from 1998 to 2012, and recently wrote a blog for the Harvard Business Review on “How Netflix Reinvented HR”.  McCord shares stories of how Netflix went about improving its human resources.  Netflix had cut its employees by 30% after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, but in 2002, Netflix was seeing a large increase in sales because of its DVD-by-mail service.  With its smaller workforce, McCord was worried for the lone engineer and wanted hire help for him.  The engineer didn’t want help and this is when Netflix realized to only hire “A” employees.  People tend to be more productive if they are not constantly correcting other peoples mistakes.  I think most businesses work like this today, the job  market is very competitive and employers are only hiring the best candidates for the job.

The second thing that Netflix did to change HR was to let go of under qualified, but good workers.  As Netflix wanted to go public, the accounting division was going to be more important than ever.  McCord had to let go of Netflix’s very good bookkeeper because she only had an associate’s degree, not a CPA.  Netflix was expanding and needed better qualified workers to keep track of its financials.  Education is more valuable than ever in this day and age, I think it is crucial for people to obtain at least an undergraduate degree in order to hold a steady job.

I think that as societal norms change so will the way we do business.  Netflix is a good example of a company that has grown and made revisions along the way.  We are beginning to enter into a phase of the world which business will be conducted in a very different way.  The use of technology and other resources has, and will continue to grow exponentially and continue to change the way business is orchestrated.

Resources:

https://hbr.org/2014/01/how-netflix-reinvented-hr

https://hbr.org/

https://www.netflix.com/?locale=en-CA

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/merrillbarr/files/2014/04/netflix-logo.png

http://media.bestofmicro.com/U/3/413211/original/netflix1.jpg

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

The Arc Initiative is an extracurricular program at the Sauder School of Business that “facilitates a genuine two-way exchange of knowledge and business skills” in developing countries.  This program provides students with an opportunity to experience a foreign country and to help local business owners develop their businesses through internships.  I think that the world needs programs like the Arc to provide entrepreneurs with knowledge when a sufficient business education may not be readily available.  In countries such as Ethiopia, where the Arc Initiative is active, business owners who attended the Arc’s workshop found it extremely helpful because it introduced them to multiple facets of business.  More information can be found by viewing this YouTube video documenting the student experience of the Arc Initiative.

The world also needs social entrepreneurs to initiate small businesses in developing countries. This YouTube video shares Mohammad Yunus’ story and his vision for change.  In the 1970’s, Yunus noticed that in one village in Bangladesh, 42 people needed only $27.00 to break out of poverty and pay back greedy money lenders.  He gave these people the money that they needed and spawned “microfinance”.  The world needs more change makers like Yunus to help people in developing countries break out of poverty and have the chance to grow their own businesses.

Mohammad Yunus

Social change is something that I am very passionate about.  In June 2013 I traveled to Peru with a group of students from my high school to rebuild houses in the slums of Lima.  Making a difference in these people’s lives was an amazing experience and one of the most memorable times of my life.  I hope to continue to help developing countries and social enterprise and the Arc Initiative would be a great way for me to continue to make a difference.

In front of a house I helped build in Peru.

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSa7yUSlgX8

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

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk5LI_WcosQ

http://cdn2.yourstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Muhammad-Yunus-800×440.jpg

During my few months at the University of British Columbia, I have found it difficult to find time to go to the gym.  I am used to participating in some sort of physical activity every day and I am finding it difficult to fulfill this need.  I recently found an article that opened my eyes to ways to stay active even if there is no time to get to the gym.

Kent Burden, a personal trainer and wellness coach, was interviewed by The Globe and Mail suggested placing frequently used things around the office, such as staplers and calculators, as far away from your desk as possible.  Doing so will ensure people will stand up and move to use these items.  Kent also suggested to park farther away from the office to walk to work.

I sometimes wonder how I will be able to stay active in the workplace.  I intend to work in an office which will mean sitting behind a desk for hours on end day after day.  The type of company that I would like to work in is one like Zappos, an online shoe store, which I recently learned about in my Comm 101 class.  Zappos has a certain culture that seems to make the employees love working there.  They offer employees free healthcare, free food, office parties, along with many other benefits.  I think that if companies employed organizational techniques like Zappos has, and encourages employees to stay active, the employees will love coming to work and continue to stay fit.

References:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/improve-your-health-through-inefficiency/article21450003/

http://www.zappos.com/

http://gymflow100.com/wp-content/uploads/scr1_gym.jpg

In Aiden Raff’s blog post “Microsoft’s $400 million deal with the NFL may do more harm than good” he outlines the possible costs of the deal Microsoft signed with the NFL.  He mentions how announcers are mistaking the Microsoft Surface as the Apple iPad, and how trademark erosion could be dreadful for both companies.  I agree that the confusion between the devices could be detrimental to Microsoft as they invested a great deal of money into this partnership and are hoping for worldwide recognition of their new products.

Colin Kaepernick warming up wearing Beats by Dr. Dre

Similarly, Bose recently signed a deal with the NFL.  Bose has become “the official sound of the NFL” meaning this deal restricts players and coaches from wearing other brands of headphones, such as Beats by Dr. Dre, around media cameras.  The league has had trouble keeping players from wearing Beats during warm-up and post-game interviews, and in some cases has had to fine players.  Colin Kaepernick and Richard Sherman, who are spokespersons for Beats by Dr. Dre, have received $10,000 fines for wearing their headphones.  I think the NFL needs to continue to punish players who do this in order to respect the deal they have with Bose.  They, like Microsoft, invested millions to gain a competitive advantage and recognition through the NFL, but if the NFL doesn’t hold up its end of the deal, it could be a lost cause for these companies.

Resources:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/araff/2014/10/05/microsofts-400-million-deal-with-the-nfl-may-do-more-harm-than-good/

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/beats-jimmy-iovine-slams-culturally-inept-bose-over-nfl-deal-20141016

http://howikis.com/images/d/d2/Nfllogo.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/10/28/article-2478142-19054AEE00000578-542_964x625.jpg

This post is in response to Michael Sky’s blog post “As Gas Prices Drop, Gas Guzzler Sales Increase”.  In his blog, Michael was shocked that Americans purchase larger, less fuel efficient SUV’s as soon as gas prices drop.  This is a very valid concern from my perspective as well.  It is concerning that people seem to be focused on gas prices and not environmental issues, when efficient vehicles are plentiful in the marketplace.  However, I think this is an issue for car makers to solve rather than the consumer.

The United States will heighten the restrictions of fuel efficiency in both 2016 and 2025.  Barack Obama, the President of the United States, and his administration made these regulation changes in August of 2012, which will force companies to improve efficiency by nearly double to 54.5 miles per gallon.  CBC reports that this will be the biggest step the United States has taken towards the reduction of greenhouse gases.  The car makers will have some serious headaches obtaining this radical increase, but in eleven years time, there will be no such thing as a “gas guzzler”.  Manufacturers may have to use new technologies such as smaller engines, hybrid power, lighter materials, or may even consider fully electric powered cars to meet this mandate.  I am convinced that the beloved SUV will not fade away because of the higher fuel economy standards to be put in place, the demand for larger, functional vehicles is too high.  As technological advances continue, the car industry will continue to implement innovations that create more efficient vehicles in every category.

References:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/michaelsky/2014/11/03/as-gas-prices-drop-gas-guzzler-sales-increase/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/new-u-s-gas-mileage-standards-would-double-fuel-efficiency-1.1232603

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/04/gas.jpg