Author Archives: BrianWei

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

The United Nations Cr. The United Nations

The United Nations is a union of countries that delegate and help solve problems that involve peace, security, development of third world countries, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law – one would think that a powerful union of powerhouse countries can help fix most of the world’s problems. However, I believe this is not the solution to numerous problems ongoing in third world countries. The UN is amazing at solving larger conflicts and situations, such as human trafficking in Darfur and mass murders in Gambia. I believe when it comes to smaller situations of helping communities grow and prosper, the UN does not have the time to accomplish them. This is when I believe the Arc and Social Entrepreneurship can help.

Students in the Arc Initiative in Sauder Cr. Arc Initiative

The Arc, run by Sauder students, helps communities grow in third world countries by partnering with local business owners to build local businesses and leadership capacity. The initiative helps businesses prosper in countries where business owners would not have the access to resources to start and grow their business effectively – the Arc provides this. The Arc shows the importance of social entrepreneurship – they provide a more personalized, specific approach to building communities and tackling social problems that the United Nations would not have the time for. The United Nations’ operations are broad and focus on large topics; they cannot tackle specific communities or towns and help build them. I believe the UN stops emergencies, while social entrepreneurs solve problems and tackle issues on a smaller and more direct scale. The UN will not spend its time helping businesses in Shega Shero grow, but the Arc will.

Fitih Tesfaye, a local business owner in Ethiopia Cr. Arc Initiative

In Comm 101, I have learned about the importance of positioning and points of differences in making a company successful; key elements that make a company unique and able to become leaders in their industry fields. I have always believed points of differences were only unique characteristics in a company, such as Sensodyne’s sensitive toothpaste or McDonald’s superb Happy Meals. Additionally, I thought positioning was only about being first in an industry. However, in John Jantsch’s blog on “The Secret to Building the Most Profitable Business Possible,” Jantsch brings a new perspective of positioning and PoD’s: the difference is in being remarkable.

Sensodyne Cr. Sensodyne

McDonalds Cr. McDonalds

I personally love this viewpoint on point of differences. Sometimes being remarkable, having high quality goods and services, may be the best difference compared to competitors in the same industry. I believe brands such as Gucci and Hermes’ points of difference is in being remarkable – high quality and fashionable. Their positioning may not be in being the first company in the handbag or satchel industry, but in being the first at being high quality, fashionable and highly desired. Having a specific difference such as sensitive toothpaste may appeal to a niche market, but being an amazing toothpaste will appeal to everyone. I believe bringing the best quality to consumers will make them loyal, whether that be a point of difference of uniqueness or of being just superb overall.

As a previous McDonald employee, I have always believed in the strength of McDonalds and its position as the number one fast food chain in North America. However, after a reading of Peter Lee’s blog and an article by Business Insider about McDonald’s “downfall,” I would like to express my opinion on the subject.

McDonalds Happy Meal: A very highly advertised item Cr. McDonalds Canada

McDonalds Cappuccino: McCafe are unhealthy and highly advertised Cr. McDonalds Canada

McDonalds has been the number one fast food chain for decades with its low prices and amazing marketing. However, after the 3.3% worldwide sale drop last year, what is going on? I agree with Peter’s point that McDonald has not been able to adapt to the new needs of their customer segments. Since numerous fast food chains offer healthier alternatives as their value proposition such as A&W and their use of beef without steroids and hormones or Arby’s roast options, McDonalds has not been marketing their healthier alternatives well . As an employee, I know McDonalds has healthier options; however, I believe their large focus on children meals and low prices is not strong enough to compete against the growing desire for healthier meals. People view McDonalds as cheap and unhealthy – negative connotations of the business. I believe McDonalds has to start marketing that they have healthier options if they want to stay at the top of the industry. Everyone knows they are cheap and most children already love McDonalds – no one knows that a McDonalds large Southwest Chicken Wrap is only 460 calories.

Nadia Gonzaga’s blog post from September describes a few benefits of Costco Canada’s new partnership with Capital One and Master Card and how the overall effect of the partnership can greatly benefit Costco Canada customers. As an avid Costco patron myself, I support the overall change to MasterCard; however, there are some key elements from the article and Gonzaga’s blog post that I would like to expand on that show the complexity of the situation.

Costco’s New Capital One MasterCard Cr. CapitalOne

What does Costco have to consider?

I agree with Nadia and the article that MasterCard is a lot stronger and more renowned than America Express.  MasterCard already has a strong user base internationally, compared to American Express which is mostly popular in America, and better benefits overall. I personally believe this will greatly benefit both Costco and MasterCard. MasterCard benefits as Costco customers are required to create a MasterCard-Costco Membership card to shop while Costco gains by having the popularity, attractiveness and strength of the MasterCard attached to its membership. Personally, there is no surprise why Costco would partner with MasterCard over Amex!

MasterCard Cr. MasterCard

However, I have noticed a few cons that are not addressed in the article. Despite that MasterCard may be better than America Express, the majority of Costco customers have already grown accustomed to Amex. I personally believe this switch may deter customers who enjoy their current Amex or are too lazy to go through the switching process. Amex might not be as popular, but for fifteen years, it has been a symbol of Costco. Completely shifting to MasterCard is a humongous change – a change of an entire system.

American Express Cr. American Express

Yet, in the end, I still believe the pros outweigh the cons. The shift will be chaotic, but I believe in the long run, Costco will benefit as much as MasterCard, if not more.

Recently, the top 100 Employers of Canada Rankings came out for the 2015 year. I noticed that all these companies are powerful leaders in their industry, which range from Airlines such as Air Canada to banks such as CIBC. So, this led me to wonder do happier employees lead to happier customers? In an article by The Globe and Mail, Dianne Jermyn lists the 100 companies and how they treat their employees and the correlation to their success.

Canada’s Top 100 Employer 2015 Cr. EmployeeSummit

I personally agree with the statement that happier employees will lead to happier customers. Recently in a Comm101 lecture, I learned about organizational culture and behavior and how the culture of a company can affect its success. The example used in the lecture was Zappos, an online shoe company that had outstanding employee benefits and training.

Zappos Diagram Cr. JEAN-PHILIPPE DELHOMME

I believe this allowed Zappos to succeed; I believe that the culture and happiness of the employees made them more willing to work and enjoy their workplace, leading to better customer interactions and relationships. I believe this leads to more long-term loyal customers and attracts new clients, a result of happier employees. Noticeably, the companies in the list also provided similar employee benefits, which included healthcare, extended paid vacation and parental leave. I believe this increase of employee happiness benefits the company as more top-level workers are attracted to work for the business and many strong workers are willing to stay. In terms of customer service, a worker that is glad to be working is more willing to help and suit the clients’ needs compared to an unhappy worker waiting for his shift to be over. Happiness spreads, and it seems to me that it is a benefactor in the success of companies.

Throughout our lessons in Comm101, I have learned about the positives of giving back to the community from a business’ point of view. Large companies can connect with the community by being ethical and fulfilling a value proposition of being a business that cares about the environment and social ethics, creating a positive reputation and marketing a desirable brand.  Yet, Lululemon may be feeling the downsides of being charitable. Lululemon has always been a brand that has promoted ideals about sustainability, leadership, education and community. Yet, by donating $750,000 over the next three years to the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, some people are accusing the yoga brand of riding on the popularity of the Dalai for corporate gains.

Dalai Lama Cr. Asianews Italy

One of Lululemon’s Ads Cr. Lululemon

I personally believe that Lululemon did not commit anything wrong – they are truly donating because they care. Ethically, businesses should donate portions of their revenue to charity as a way to give back to the consumers who support them. I am not surprised that numerous organizations are finally going eco-friendly and socially ethical; consumers want to support a brand that believes in the same morals that they do. By donating, Lululemon is actually taking a further step than just being ethical, but pro-active. Despite the accusations, I believe the majority of the public supports Lululemon. Lululemon has already created a strong brand of being pro-active, thus making me believe this charity pact is genuine. I believe it shows a benefit of creating an ethical brand as the general public, as do I, will assume Lululemon is once again trying to give back to the world community.

Lululemon Cr. Brantfordexpositor

Businesses have numerous factors to understand and tackle in their business plans. We have learned in Comm 101 that businesses must understand PEST – political, economical, social and technological macro-economic factors that greatly affect the company. For the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project,  a major PEST factor are the first nations; the First Nations are external threats to the business plan of Enbridge due to their political factor.

Construction material for pipeline Credit: REUTERS/Julie Gordon

I believe the current situation with the First Nations is that they are an impediment for Enbridge. Currently, numerous First Nations tribes are attempting to stop the construction of the pipeline. Tribes such as Gitxaala are even going through the federal court to legally stop the project. I believe that Enbridge will need to tackle these external factors by evaluating the beliefs of these First Nations and the importance of this ancestral land. This may mean adapting to the needs of the First Nations and other political factors around them. Additionally, the first nations care about the environment, the environmental part of PESTLE, which Enbridge will need to tackle by finding a guaranteed way to deliver oil without a chance of spillage or environmental damage.

Douglas Channel Cr: Darryl Dyck

Overall, external factors from PESTLE can greatly affect companies, which I can see from the Enbridge and First Nations debacle. Tackling factors from PEST is definitely difficult as external factors require the companies to adapt to them, rather than having the problem being under the company’s full control.

I have learned in Comm 101 that segmenting to a specific audience and positioning is vital for success. This is exactly why Nike has such a high success – Nike has been rapidly increasing sales to women during the past years.

Nike’s Women’s Clothing

In the previous decade, Nike’s earning calls only mention the word “women” in the single digit range; today, the word “women” is mentioned as many as times as “innovation.” Nike has realized the importance of broadening their audience to not only include women, but target them. With the current growing trend of “athleisure” popular for women, Nike has decided to become a powerhouse in the female athletic-clothing industry.

Nike, Lululemon, Underarmor Cr: dailyfinance

I personally believe that targeting women in a attire of clothing that is typically for men is a genius move. Most athletic clothing in the previous decades were advertised to men. Now, more companies have been creating ads targeted at women, especially Nike, Adidas and Reebok. Brands such as Lululemon that focus on women are becoming more prevalent now as well. The real challenge for Nike is to become the number one brand for women’s apparel. Al Ries and Jack Trout state the importance of being number one in a niche – Nike will have to figure out a strategy to make it the number one brand for women’s apparel, unique from brands such as Lululemon and Under Armor as rivals.

With the recent discussions in the Comm 101 lectures and discussions about government interventions, I have decided to blog about a recent controversy involving China’s Central Bank.

China’s Industrial Production

In China’s current economy, industrial production is growing at a slow pace. As a solution, China’s central bank has decided to lend a grand total of $81 billion to the country’s five main banks. By injecting money, the banks can lend money to politically-linked companies in sectors such as advanced electronics and mass-market house constructions. Even though injecting money into banks is common for countries, countries do not typically inject a enormous sum of $81 billion at once, making this decision extremely controversial.

Central Bank of China
Bernardo De Niz/Bloomberg via Getty Images

I personally believe China’s decision is excessive. Even though China’s economy is slowly growing, it is still going upwards; the same cannot be said about some economies on the globe.  I believe government intervention is necessary in stimulating the economy and controlling prices, but using such a substantial amount of tax money to inject into banks is excessive. However, it is possible China’s plan may work; I understand that with such a substantial amount of money injected, the banks could loan an enormous sum of  money into a larger range of companies, exponentially improving China’s economy. Government intervention is definitely a controversial topic with strong points from both sides; in this specific case, I believe China should be allowed to help stimulate the economy – I just believe the amount of money is extremely excessive.

With the recent discussions on business models and planning for products during the Comm 101 lectures, I have decided to read about the record-setting sales of the newly released Apple products over the past weekend and the reasons for its success

Thousands wait in lineup at Midtown Manhattan’s Apple Store. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

I have decided to dissect the reasons for the record breaking sales of the two new Apple products as elements of the Business Canvas Model. A major factor for these increase in sales is believed to be the increase in screen size; a majority of smartphones have larger screen sizes, including strong competitors such as Samsung. I believe this is a value proposition many die-hard Apple fans have been waiting for, and an attractive feature for new consumers. The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are 4.7 and 5.5 inches respectively, larger than the previous 4 inch iPhones. By fulfilling a highly demanded value proposition, Apple also increases customer relationships. Additionally, Apple is also increasing its supply and production to meet these pleasantly surprisingly results with its key partners and resources in Asia.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

iPhones have always been making huge sales in the smartphone market, but now that iPhones have a competitive screen size alongside its pleura of other features that have made them popular, I foresee these new iPhones to be making a significant impact in the market. By achieving key elements of the business canvas, I can see why Apple’s newest products are not only always better, but achieve record breaking sales yearly.