In the glamorous life of a student it is considered lucky to eat breakfast and be able to wake up at the cringing sound of an alarm clock. Lunch always seems to come at an awkward time of day, where we grab food at the closest and cheapest place. Usually convenience and cheap doesn’t seem to collaborate well with healthy, actually they seem to despise each other.

So how does the up and coming world of healthy fast food sound? At first you may be thinking of dollar signs, but one company has differentiate itself and found a way to produce healthy affordable options for on the go lunches. Tender Greens, a healthy fast food joint, is a rapidly growing start up company in California. With the growing demand they found themselves in need of a reliable produce supplier. The idea to turn old abandoned buildings into indoor growing facilities was created, making it a one of a kind sustainable business practice. This company is trying to fuse healthy living, affordability and convenience while trying to convince the consumer they can deliver all this.

This seems to be more of a movement. Many of the fast food places similar to Tender Greens, are now becoming a popular trend as many are jumping on the health food band wagon. Consumers however, are demanding the top quality ingredients with the added ambiance of a finer dinning experience.

As a student I understand the need for a healthy place to eat that serves real nutrition in a take out box. So lets skip the theatrics, hand me my salad and let me try to beat this freshman 15.

Works Cited

LI, Shan. “Bye-bye, Burgers: New Fast-food Chains Bet on Healthy Eating.” Los Angeles Times. 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

It is interesting to see Canadians crossing the border in hopes of better sales even as our dollar drops to lows of 88 cents and is expected to reach 84 cents, a level that hasn’t been seen since 2009. Canadians are not choosing to shop at home because there is little to no incentive and flee in search of US bargains.

As a retail addict naturally I spend my time at the mall in search of killer deals, but retail in Canada seems to come with a lot of frustration. In search of a winter coat I came upon a largely known retailer offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of $100 or more. From an advertising perspective I felt they had done enough as I, the consumer, was enticed. A closer look at the fine print revealed I could only use the $25 on my next purchase, before the 11th, and it could only be used on the purchase of a dress. What’s next, are they are going to restrict me to the colour blue? When is a starving student, such as myself, going to use $25 towards a dress in the dead of winter?

Even if their tactic was to sell more dresses this winter season they lacked a great deal of integration and fluidity among department heads. Whichever accountant crunched the numbers for this so called ‘sale’, on for a very short time period, needs to better integrate their strategies with those marketing to the consumer. And try to stay clear of the fine print please.

Sincerely, a consumer.

Works Cited

Strauss, Marina. “Retailers Face ‘Bah Humbug’ Festive Season as Consumers Tighten Wallets.” The Globe and Mail. 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Buckner, Dianne. “E-commerce Explosion Coming for 2014 Holiday Shopping: Dianne Buckner.” MSN News. CBC, 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

This week focused on the theme of people, culture and teams. With upcoming presentations, I was immediately drawn to the blog “Are You Letting Your People Shine?” by Glenn Leibowitz. Throughout the course of the semester class topics pertained and integrated many aspects of our group projects. Specifically, this post discusses how employees, colleagues and team members are being treated for their contributions. Over the course of one’s career, one will face many instances where culture plays a large part in different business aspects. For myself I see it as one of the most important and challenging ethical practices to balance.

‘Give them a chance to present their work‘ is a key section of the post which talks about letting go and allowing your team members to fully discuss their ideas, learn how to take ownership of them and in turn take away a valuable development from the opportunity to present their idea. It builds a sense of team work and confidence among peers and colleagues. It is of the utmost importance that one always has respect towards their team members and coworkers. A positive environment allows individuals to feel a sense of well-being and the opportunity to increase productivity.

Works Cited

Leibowitz, Glenn. “Are You Letting Your People Shine?” Linkedin. 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141107162950-98412130-are-you-letting-your-people-shine?trk=tod-posts-post1-ptlt>.

The opportunity to create a company that encompasses social responsibility practices has many companies rethinking the way they do business. This post stems from the idea of my classmate Farwah Ahmed who shares in his blog “Corporate Social Responsibility: Beneficial or Detrimental?”. The goal is to make corporations see the end result, not to be about making money but implement responsible practices to do good. Why do companies choose to practice corporate social responsibility(CSR). Is it for the sake of the company’s reputation, or is it for the sole purpose to integrate CSR practices to promote ‘good’ with the opportunity to increase profits.

There are four aspects in which the company can improve upon; ethics, community involvement, environmental issues, and well being of employees. When done properly this practice can lead to large opportunity for growth within and outside the company.

CSR has the ability to integrate into many sectors of a company. This integration changes marketing, the reputation of the brand, workplace environment and therefore has influence of productivity and profit. It greatly improves reputation which in turn promotes and attracts employees and customers that have the same values. An increase in productivity has impact to increase profits.

Works Cited

Ponio, Selena. “Corporate Executive Emphasizes Ethics in Business // The Observer.” The Observer. 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2014. <http://ndsmcobserver.com/2014/11/corporate-executive-emphasizes-ethics-in-business/>.

Vermaelen, Theo. “An Innovative Approach to Funding CSR Projects.” Harvard Business Review. June 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2014. <https://hbr.org/2011/06/an-innovative-approach-to-funding-csr-projects/ar/1>.

In response to Ariella London’s blog post “Ebola: The Effect on Society Leaves Businesses at Risk“, the fear and anxiety over Ebola has caused major upset in social facets and global and economic sectors. Not only is Africa taking a hit economically but with growing concern Ebola may be making its international debut into the US markets through the anxiety of individuals. As of now, countries within Africa that heavily rely on the tourism industry are being threatened and seeing economic slowdown in tourism and trade. This effects Africa socially in correlation to economic slowdown because there is a trend being created through this anxiety of contracting Ebola. It is affecting demand for tourism through hotel booking cancellation and of vacation tours. Many companies and international investors are cancelling visits and some take extreme measures by withdrawing employees from West Africa.

As Ariella stated the Wall Street Journal article tells of a man who had contracted Ebola while in Africa, they mentioned he might have eaten at a restaurant, the Meatball Shop. We can just imagine how many customers remained far away from that local business. If this fear seems irrational, it is. The fear should not be placed on whether we contract Ebola but how this is effecting Africa economically and in a broader sense, in the long run how it will effect international markets negatively.

Works Cited

York, Geoffrey. “Ebola Fears Dragging down African Economies.” The Globe and Mail. 22 Oct. 2014. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.

Dawsey, Josh, Andrew Tangel, and Betsy McKay. “New York Doctor Tests Positive for Ebola.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

“Understanding Pest Analysis with Definitions and Examples.” PESTLE Analysis. 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://pestleanalysis.com/pest-analysis/>.