An authentic brand image of a company should extend to the internal values and practices of the company, which can be referred to as the company’s organizational culture. Organizational culture is the behaviour of employees in a company, including shared values and customs that must be accepted by new members. The office environment of a company sheds light onto the organizational culture.

An example of brand image aligning with organizational culture is a Vancouver based start up company called Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a rapidly growing company that manages other company’s social media marketing. Hootsuite prides itself on being an innovative, collaborative, unique company. The organizational structure, showcased by it’s new office workplace design, supports these attributes.

Hootsuite’s new office space has been created in a manner that promotes informal “collisions” which benefits the overall innovation of the employees. Long lunch tables, multipurpose areas,  a breakout area of multipurpose tents, and ping pong tables increase the transactions between employees thus increasing their collaboration. Other employee benefits such as extensive Canadian decorations increasing aesthetic pleasure, a choice in stand or sit desk space, and a dog friendly office increase employee satisfaction. These features seem to be for employee satisfaction, and they are, but the true motive is to increase the productivity of the workplace. The creatively designed office space has resulted in increased productivity of the company.

Images sourced from article. See article: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/innovation/how-to/hootsuite-cool-office-that-makes-people-work-harder/?gallery_page=1#gallery_top

Kianna’s blog post, Polariod Cube vs GoPro, compared the GoPro camera to the Polaroid Cube camera. Kianna suggests that the Polariod Cube creates some serious competition for the GoPro. Her main arguments are that GoPros are too expensive, as its latest model is priced between $400-$500, and isn’t as established of a brand as Polariod.

Polariod Cube. Source: Google Images

Firstly, it is true that Polariod faces an opportunity to undercut GoPro’s sales with their cost leadership strategy. The Polariod Cube is priced at $100 which makes it a much more accessible product to the lower income demographic. However, with decreased cost comes decreased quality.

GoPro 4. Source: gopro.com

The quality of images produced by the Polariod Cube does not even approach that of the GoPro, in fact it’s still image quality (6MB) is half that of the GoPro (12MP). The quality and features of the GoPro are much superior to that of the Polariod Cube. This is an extremely important point of difference.

Source: Google Images

Secondly, though the company Polariod may have been founded first, GoPro has seen much more public attention and success in recent years which has positioned it as the top brand in it’s market. GoPro was the first in the market to create this specific kind of camera, and being first in the market brings a serious advantage. GoPro is positioned as the top company in the market in the mind of the consumers, due to it’s public attention and it’s early entrance into the market. It is nearly impossible to displace the leader once they have established position in the mind of the consumer.

In conclusion, I do not believe that GoPro faces serious competition from the Polariod Cube as it is a much inferior product and GoPro is firmly positioned in the mind of the consumer as the leader in their market.

Original “Polariod Cube vs GoPro” blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/kiannab/2014/09/28/polaroid-cube-vs-gopro/

Product Information found from                                                                                                         GoPro Official website: http://shop.gopro.com/hero4/hero4-black/CHDHX-401.html               Polariod Official website:  https://www.polaroidcube.com/polaroid-cube.html

Joban Sandhu’s blog post, Poor Positioning: The Reason Hershey’s Spread Failed, states that when Hershey came out with a chocolate spread similar to Nutella it failed in the market due to poor positioning. Positioning describes the product in the mind of the consumer.

Nutella Spread. Image Source: Google Images

Joban’s argument is true; Hershey’s chocolate spread failed because Nutella was already positioned as the leader in the market. For all we know, Hershey’s chocolate spread could have been a superior spread, in taste or ingredients or some other measure, but because Nutella was already positioned as the leader in the market, consumers believed that Nutella was the best spread. The reason Nutella is the leader in the market, considered to be the best, is not necessarily because their product is actually better, but because they were the first firm in the market.

Hershey Spread. Image Source: Google Images

Being the first firm in a market is one of the most effective ways to be the leader in a market. That is why Joban suggested instead of trying to compete with Nutella, Hershey should enter a new market to have success. It is almost impossible to overtake the leader of a market, instead to maximize success as a follower a firm should relate their product to that of the leading firm.

Dasiqox Tribal Park

The beautiful and abounding nature of British Columbia is very important to many Canadians; for some it’s a staple in Canadian identity, for some it’s their home and culture, and for some it is a business opportunity. There are many Aboriginal reserves that are intended to protect the land and the culture of those who live on it. Within these reserves there are natural resources that could make companies astounding profits. This brings about a common conflict of interest between Aboriginal people and businesses seeking to exploit these natural resources. The Aboriginal’s fight to protect their land is an external element of business all company’s who look to encroach on a native reserve must consider.

A recent example of this conflict of interest arises between the Aboriginal people Tsilhqot’in and Taseka Mines Ltd who aims to exploit resources in Chilcotin. The Tsilhqot’in people are declaring a large mass of this area as Dasiqox Tribal Park, a protected reserve. Though the desired area of mining, Fish Lake, legally lies outside of this area the Tsilhqot’in are fighting to protect it. The Tsilhqot’in people argue that Taseka’s mines will have a large negative affect on the environment, and refuse to grant Taseka permission to do so. This issue relates to the ethics of business- what is more important, making a profit or protecting the natural resources this province prides itself on?

Image sourced from article. See Article:  http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html?__federated=1#ixzz3FLd81vE6

One of the first, and most important steps in creating a business model is deciding on your target market. There are variety of customer segments to choose from such as mass market, niche market, segmented diversified, and multi-sided platforms. Some basic ways to segment a market are in regards to socio-demographics (gender, age, location, income) and psychographics (attitudes, values, lifestyles). Deciding your customer segment is an essential step in shaping the rest of your company, from design, to partnerships, to marketing: it is all heavily dependent on your target market. Choosing a specific market allows greater focus on a group, allowing your firm to better suit it’s goods and services to the market, however it can also be limiting. BMW motorcycles are known to be geared towards older men. Although BMW has been very successful in this market, it limited a younger demographic from entering the market. However, recently the company unleashed the R nineT, a motorcycle designed for a younger demographic. This creates a larger segmented market for BMW. This new, sleek and stylish design will entice new customers into the market for BMW motorcycles allowing the company to grow and increase profit.

BMW R nineT 

Image sourced from article. See Article: http://www.wired.com/2014/09/customized-bmw-r-ninet/#slide-id-1566303