I think Aaron Chatterji and Michael Toffel make an important point. Since the sustainability movement gained momentum in the early 1990s, little real progress combatting climate change has been made. For example, the Kyoto Protocol has largely failed to decrease the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, largely because governments have not held businesses to the targets. The world’s largest economies, the U.S. and China, never adhered to it and Canada has decided to renounce her protocol targets entirely while others will not renew targets.

Corporate lobbying plays a huge role in government policy, which I think most people forget because it is not widely publicized. Perhaps this helps explain why we see corporate sustainability initiatives but no environmental taxes or economic adjustments. After all, oil companies often promote sustainability initiatives while opposing policy changes. In class, Mr. Tansey said the UNEP defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, and lobbying against environmental policy could certainly comprise future generations.

In conclusion, I agree corporate sustainability rankings need to better account for corporate political activity, otherwise they inaccurately display the big picture and become moot.

In response to: Harvard Business Review (HBR) Blog Network: The Big Flaw in Corporate Sustainability Rankings

Articles:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/cdb66522-2519-11e1-8bf9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2CeKFr5D9 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/30/companies-block-action-climate-change 

Image:

Kreighbaum, Andrew. “Fueling Washington.” Photo. Opensecrets.org 23 Aug. 2010. 18 Nov. 2012

<http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/08/post-2.html>.

Something many thought impossible is coming true. Due to the development of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial oil and gas extraction technique nicknamed “fracking”, America should become energy self sufficient by 2035.

The new technique involves drilling horizontally into shale rock, pumping in a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals, and then sucking out the oil. This technique opens up vast reserves of previously inaccessible oil and gas and will have massive repercussions to the global economy. Asia, especially China, is set to become the largest Middle Eastern oil consumer and Canada will be forced to look for new buyers. However, fracking is still controversial. Many fear the possibly devastating impact of ground water contamination by toxic fracking fluids, which could affect water supplies, farmer’s crops and livestock, and even cause dangerous methane geysers.

In my opinion this is a negative development. It is clear continued fossil fuel use has big consequences, and this decreases incentive to substitute away. I think this is corporately irresponsible and unethical because the negative social and environmental impacts outweigh economic gains, especially in the long run. If oil companies will overlook property rights to profit, their motives are not in the interests of all stakeholders.

Articles:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/us-to-become-world-leader-in-oil-and-gas-thanks-to-fracking-8307372.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/business/energy-environment/fracking-still-controversial-in-europe.html?_r=0

http://www.alternet.org/fracking/5-weird-and-frightening-effects-fracking-you-may-not-know-about

Image:

Pretorious, Albert. “Hydraulic Fracturing Diagram.” Drawing. 2oceansvibe.com 07 Sep. 2012. 13 Nov. 2012

<http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2012/09/07/fracking-gets-the-governmental-green-light/>.

I agree with Dr. Simmerman’s point engagement in the workplace is key to success. I find it increasingly ironic certain employers neglect their employees despite research frequently showing engaged employees allow for more flexible, competitive organizations.

Three of the most innovative organizations, Google, Toyota, and 3M, all share one quality: employee engagement. All of these companies work to build employee trust because trust fosters productivity and creativity. Engaged employees add intellectual capital and labour to company’s bottom lines, and in the long run, greater profit. However, part of engaging employees is proper performance management and incentivizing, so it is important to remember not all employees desire money. A few of the perks Google employees, some of the happiest in the world, receive are free haircuts and on-site doctors.

In addition, I find Dr. Simmerman’s “square wheels” analogy interesting and believe it accurately illustrates the problems poor management and an unengaged workforce can cause. I also hold the view that respect and community carry into all parts of work and life. The tight-knit culture at Zappos is a good example. In conclusion, I find Dr. Simmerman’s take on improving the workplace useful because it is simple, refreshing, and easily backed up.

In response to: Dr. Scott Simmerman: What I hope for: The Workplace

Articles:

http://www.weknownext.com/workforce/3m-in-the-company-we-trust

http://www.process-improvement-japan.com/how-to-motivate-employees.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/08/17/the-companies-with-the-biggest-jumps-in-employee-happiness/

Image:

Maggie. “People Circle.” Drawing. ChiefLearningOfficer-Middle East.com 29 Aug. 2012. 13 Nov. 2012

<http://www.clo-me.com/?p=1770>.

I agree the sense of “Global Community” is about to change significantly with UrtheCast; however, time will tell whether for better or worse.

The amount of accessible information has grown dramatically over the past 15 years, and society is still adapting. Privacy issues loom large as data hoarders Google and Facebook face increasing backlash, and it is just a matter of time before legislation catches up. Google has been in trouble for mapping military bases before, and no doubt an in-depth live stream will face similar issues. This begs the question, why does the public need access to sensitive information? If you and I can access it so easily, cannot terrorists and bad men as well? How can we prevent data from being sold into the wrong hands? Nonetheless, some data will be extremely useful for educational purposes. Also, globalization has turned out to be very beneficial so far.

Why does all this matter? Like most tech startups, significant risks are inherent in UrtheCast’s business model, and in my opinion UrtheCast should be wary of society’s increasing privacy concerns because it is a big threat to their business. As you say, UrtheCast’s success will be a great point of interest.

In response to: Fergus Arnold: UrtheCast: Re-Defining Globalization

Articles:

http://www.dailytech.com/Google+Banned+from+Taking+Images+of+Military+Bases/article11001.htm

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-02-22/business/bs-bz-facebook-class-action-20120222_1_privacy-watchdogs-google-and-facebook-andrew-noyes

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business/3369299/consumer-concern-over-online-privacy-up-by-half/

Image:

Conte, Vinnie. “Information Globe.” Drawing. My.opera.com 17 Jan. 2010. 12 Nov. 2012

<http://my.opera.com/vinniecfp/blog/2010/01/17/i-dont-mind>.

Running a business’s supply chain is a tough task; however, running a supply chain during one of the world’s largest events, the Olympics, is even bigger. The general verdict is the London 2012 logistics plan was a success.

How did companies cope with increased congestion and irregular route closures? Retailers used 4 main strategies to overcome these barriers: Re-route, Re-time, Reduce, and Revise. Re-routing involved avoiding heavily congested areas by using alternate depots and routes. Re-timing meant increasing after hours and nighttime deliveries. Reducing involved using fewer shipments, mainly through multiple retailers sharing shipments. Finally, revising meant using alternate forms of transit, such as river, foot, and bicycle, to access difficult areas.

In my opinion, the Olympics reinforces the same supply chain lessons learned from Dell and Zara. Flexibility is paramount to successful supply chains because it avoids depending on error prone demand forecasts; keeping open, responsive communication and information channels allows retailers to cope with dynamic situations, which Zara exemplifies. Furthermore, virtually integrated networks, widely used by Dell, and co-operation between companies allows for fewer shipments and increased efficiency. In conclusion, supply chain flexibility and open information flow is key to success, which Zara, Dell, and the Olympics illustrate.

Articles:

http://www.retail-week.com/in-business/supply-chain/analysis-olympic-legacy-for-supply-chain/5041990.article

http://www.spendmatters.com/index.cfm/2012/8/17/Friday-Rant-An-Olympics-Procurement-and-Supply-Chain-PostMortem-Part-1

Image:

Vogelaar, Rob. “Olympic Rings.” Logo. Aviationnews.eu 2 Jul. 2012. 9 Nov. 2012

<http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/07/02/embraer-to-support-executive-jets-operations-during-olympics/>.

I agree it will be interesting to see how people react to a large change in Microsoft’s core product considering the strong competition in the personal and tablet computer markets. However, I think it will be even more interesting given the coming changes to Microsoft Office, a product line Microsoft makes roughly half its profits on. One has to wonder how such a big departure from the classic Windows menu is going to affect businesses accustomed to this layout and their satisfaction with the office suite that goes hand in hand.

What’s even more interesting though is that Microsoft is essentially redesigning the way it makes money on the Office line of products by separating them from the Windows operating system. Office 2013 will allow 365 day renting as an alternative to purchasing, complete with 20GB storage on SkyDrive. One user account will allow installation on 5 physical devices.

This is probably a smart strategy because with so many Macintosh users, quite a few using office, it allows Microsoft to keep a stranglehold on business products even if Windows is ailing. Also, this direct model worked well for Apple’s Itunes. In conclusion, Microsoft is redesigning its future in multiple ways.

In response to: Jonathan Bickford: Microsoft redesigning its future

Articles:

http://www.tannerhelland.com/4273/microsoft-money-updated-2012/

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2007/09/09/microsoft’s-outrageous-office-profits/

Image:

Gallagher, Sean. “Office 2013 Menu.” Screenshot. Arstechnica.com 16 Jul. 2012. 4 Nov. 2012

<http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/office-2013-microsofts-bid-to-win-the-future/>.

On Thursday Google Inc.’s share price dropped a whopping 9% in minutes after third quarter results were released prematurely by R.R. Donnelley and sons, Google’s filing agent. The third quarter reports were disappointing mainly because of a reported 20% drop in earnings per share. Also, Google earned 11.33 billion dollars in advertising instead of analysts predicted 11.86 billion dollars.

Occurrences like this remind one of the importance of financial accounting and reports; Google’s extreme case demonstrates the power numbers carry. The leaked report indicated shrinking profits and rising costs (specifically in recently acquired Motorola), which caused investors to panic and dump shares. However, investors largely ignored the fact company revenues were up 45% from last year, a sign that the company is still growing and a positive CEO Larry Page emphasized. However, a fall in cash flow from last quarter is another negative and Google should be careful not to stray too far from their original business model with new projects.

My personal opinion is Google was bound to correct at some point after rising from 695.00$ to 747.24$ in just five weeks, and financial statements, including quarterly reports, help ground traders in financial reality, something hype easily strays from.

Articles:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220489/Google-stock-crisis-Search-giant-loses-5billion-shares-hammered.html

http://news.investors.com/technology/101912-630017-goog-falls-as-earnings-disappoint.htm

http://investor.google.com/earnings.html

Image:

Google Inc. “Google Logo.” Logo. KurzweilAI.Net 10 Feb. 2012. 20 Oct. 2012

<http://www.kurzweilai.net/cash-for-your-cache-googles-new-program-pays-users-for-the-right-to-snoop#!prettyPhoto>.

Franchises are everywhere these days, from the cleaning services industry to the health and fitness industry. Some well-known fast food franchises include Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, and Dairy Queen. So why are franchises so abundant? Growing businesses can acquire much needed cash through franchise-licensing fees. Furthermore, successful franchising can prove the effectiveness of a business model to banks, making them more willing to lend money.

However, franchising is not for every business. When you sell someone a franchise, you give him or her the right to sell under your company’s name. Since this person now represents your company, properly training and continuously motivating and supporting them is now your responsibility. You no longer wholly own your business either because the franchisees are not employees, but partial owners in their own right.

Given the open structure of the franchise model, I think franchising better suits companies targeting a large market and focusing on competitive pricing because differentiation strategies would require a more controlled, cohesive approach. However, carefully executed, well managed franchising could still work with a high quality, differentiation business model, especially as a solution to high start-up costs. In conclusion, franchising is an effective method every growing business should consider.

Articles:

http://techandscience.com/techblog/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=572

http://www.franchisedirect.com/top100globalfranchises/rankings/

Image:

Anticipation Imaging Partners. “Want a Franchise?.” Text. Anticipation Imaging Partners.com 2008. 7 Oct. 2012

<http://anticipationus.com/ContactUs.html>.

The lockout continues as three days of negotiations regarding a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) ended this weekend. The main issue dividing both sides remains the same: Economics.

The NHL is demanding a revenue split between the league and players of 50-50 instead of the previous 43-57. Despite making $3.2 billion in revenue during 2011-2012, the NHL insists players are overpaid. This is a destructive viewpoint for several reasons. One, after the 2004-2005 lockout, the players accepted a 24% salary reduction and implementation of a hard salary cap, basically giving the NHL all it wanted. Expecting that to happen again is highly unlikely. Two, 5 teams made roughly $212 million in profit 2 years ago while the other 25 lost about $86 million total. Expecting the players to forfeit salary to solve the league’s revenue sharing problems is absurd. Three, before the old CBA expired, several owners rushed to sign star players to new lucrative long-term contracts highlighting their hypocrisy; it is this kind of contract that drives up player salaries.

In my opinion, the NHL needs a financial reality check before it risks hockey’s growing popularity.

Articles:

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=642514

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2012/9/17/3345350/nhl-lockout-2012-gary-bettman-nhlpa-cba

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1352687-nhl-lockout-players-key-issue-remains-revenue-sharing

Image:

National Hockey League. “NHL Logo.” Photo. Sportsmediamasters.com  1 Oct. 2012. 1 Oct. 2012

<http://sportsmediamasters.com/?attachment_id=317>.

Recently, the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) introduced regulations turning down television commercial volumes. Over 7000 Canadians complained the volume of television commercials was aggravating last year, which is 10 times as many complaints as the previous 3 years combined. Under the new regulations, digital broadcasters are required to transmit commercials and programs at the same volume.

With so many complaints, one has to wonder how advertisers are going to respond? Clearly loud commercials are no longer as effective. In my opinion, this is a welcome move. I find loud commercials unattractive and consequently am less likely to pay attention to them. With so many complaints, one would think the commercials were starting to negatively brand companies. However, the CRTC is warning the public to keep reasonable expectations. Noise is relative and an average volume commercial following a quiet program could still produce a booming effect.

Does this mean advertisers will continue to try broadcasting loud ads? Research shows television ads are still a very effective way to reach target markets and though online advertising is on the rise, television is not in decline. In conclusion, these regulations will probably mitigate but not solve the problem of blaring television commercials.

Articles:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/08/30/crtc-commercial-volume.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/08/30/commercials-volume-loud-crtc-canada_n_1844858.html

http://www.luxurydaily.com/are-television-ads-effective/

Image:

CBC News. “CRTC Logo.” Photo. CBC.ca 07 Apr. 2006. 30 Sept. 2012

<http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/crtc/>.