Courtney Davies' Blog

The holiday shopping season has officially begun. American Thanksgiving and Black Friday mark the day where stores will cut prices and hold sales; this encourages cross-border shopping. BMO surveyed 1508 Canadians and found that cross-boarder shoppers are most likely to come from Ontario, British Columbia, and the Atlantic provinces. 18 percent of people polled plan to shop in the US this year, which is significantly higher than previous years. Canadians are planning on spending $1,397 each on the holidays. With the strength of the Canadian dollar it is not surprising that Canadian are wanting to travel south for the winter.

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/canada/2008/images/Christmas-Shopping-01.jpg

Although Canadians will be traveling to the US for holiday shopping, many are concerned about debt. Advertisements are luring Canadians down south, but the growing thought of finances lingers in the back of their minds.  Following a budget this holiday season will assist with managing finances and remaining out of debt. Canadians spending their money in the American economy could negatively impact our own economy.

Online shopping is also becoming more prominent. Customers enjoy the ability to purchase clothing, or anything for that matter, where they can remain in the comfort of their own home. The sense of security allows them to spend more, resulting in greater debt.

Works Cited:

“Cross-border Shopping to Rise, Survey Says.” CBC.ca – Canadian News. 18 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/11/18/cross-border-shopping-survey-bmo.html>.

Luciw, Roma. “Heading into the Holidays, Canadians Worry about Debt.” The Globe and Mail. 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/home-cents/heading-into-the-holidays-canadians-worry-about-debt/article2244836/>.

In Adam Aston’s blog post on GreenBiz.com, “Method, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg Among Firms Betting on WindMade“, he discusses the labeling of environmental companies. Introducing renewable energy sources is being made a public priority by all larger companies being pressured to create a sense of sustainability in the company.

http://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/wide_large/111122-aston-w.jpg

WindMade partners with companies such as Bloomberg, Motorola Mobility, and Method to create a label to identify the eco-friendly aspects of their business. However, as stated by Aston, “In the wilds of real-world retail environments, plenty can go awry with eco-labeling”. WindMade’s brand recognition provides a strong grounding and support for a business that displays its partnership with the company.

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/20090916-whole-foods-austin.jpg

Whole Foods stands out in the market for sustainability because 100 percent of their electricity demand is provided by renewable energy sources. The use of wind energy in the stores offsets the 551,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution that would have been emitted. I feel that renewable energy should be one of the main focuses for any company. Sustainability is key, while companies can also capitalize on the value proposition.

Works Cited:

Aston, Adam. “Method, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg Among Firms Betting on WindMade.” Web log post. Green Business News, Resources, and Sustainability Career Tools | GreenBiz.com. 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. <http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/11/22/method-deutsche-bank-bloomberg-among-firms-betting-windmade?page=0,1>.

“Green Mission.” Whole Foods Market: Natural and Organic Grocery. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. <http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values/green-mission.php>.

http://ca.all.biz/img/ca/catalog/3243.jpeg

McDonald’s is one of the most popular and well recognized fast food restaurants around the world. McDonald’s is undoubtedly known for their breakfast sandwiches. However, recently McDonald’s and Target dropped Sparboe Farms as their egg supplier after animal welfare issues. This alteration in the supply chain will have little to no effect on Target or McDonald’s, but will hit Sparboe hard.

http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/health/images/im-fat-and-lovin-it-09.jpg

Animal welfare issues are controversial in a sense that the public cannot agree on its ethical stance. A company can suffer from unethical behaviour or from behaviour that is seen to be unethical. “Any company is clearly responsible for, and should be accountable for, its own behaviour.” Should a company also be responsible for the behaviour of its suppliers? When a company is directly tied to another company, it is within their corporate social responsibility to take action when the behaviour of a company is less than acceptable. A companies supplier could bring down the business overall if the issue is not dealt with. McDonald’s is felicitous in discontinuing their connections to Sparboe when the company attracts bad publicity.

Works Cited:

MacDonald, Chris. “Eggs, Ethics, and Supply-chain Accountability.” Canadian Business – Business Ethics. 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_ethics/58175–eggs-ethics-and-supply-chain-accountability>.

http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/indigo.jpg

While browsing through peer blogs, I stumbled across Indigo’s New Store Sells No Books, a blog post by Kelly Trach. Kelly discusses Indigo‘s new strategy in which they will sell home decor and furnishings. Indigo’s new product is in response to the decrease in consumer demand. Indigo has been losing sales due to the shift to e-books and tablets. Book sales will drop from 75% to 50% over a couple of years. With the new product expansion, Indigo will develop into a new market. Will this tactic be beneficial for the company? I feel that Indigo’s expansion to home decor and furnishing will improve the business and broaden the product range. Although there are little barriers to entry, there is intense competition in the home furnishing industry. Indigo must compete with IKEA,  Home Furniture, Leons, and Sears who already have a strong brand recognition in the market. I agree with Kelly when she states that “for Indigo, this tactic is far easier than attempting to compete in the e-book and tablet industry”.

Works Cited:

Strauss, Marina. “For Indigo CEO, It’s Time to Think outside the Book.” Home – The Globe and Mail. 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/for-indigo-ceo-its-time-to-think-outside-the-book/article2231354/>.

Trach, Kelly. “Indigo’s New Store Sells No Books.” Web log post. Kelly Trach’s Blog. UBC Blogs, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/kellytrach/2011/11/17/indigos-new-store-sells-no-books/>.

Ingvar Kamprad, creator of IKEA, can be considered one of the most famous entrepreneurs of our time. He demonstrates all the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. Kamprad’s willingness to take risks and his innovative design brought IKEA to be one of the most well-known home funiture stores around the world. With the help of 20 designers, Kamprad was able to produce stylish, inexpensive furniture that was easily produced and supplied. Kamprad has developed a new way for businesses to visualize the perception of buyers and apply that to the fundamentals of a business.

IKEA first expanded in Eastern Europe, where the risk of entering the market was relatively high. The company carefully planned its emergence into the market while still establishing and conquering potential risks. IKEA has now expanded its stores into 26 countries. It became an international leader in the home funiture industry that began in Sweden. “Between 1970 and 1980, IKEA opened 77 stores in 17 new countries.” IKEA’s rapid expansion and creation demonstrates the entrepreneural characteristics displayed by the company and by Ingvar Kamprad himself.

Sources:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_46x-KFiJW5g/TFSImp9G3VI/AAAAAAAAA7Y/tkU82mdogsI/s320/Ingvar+Kamprad.jpeg

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kw2q3zf5qd1qac6sbo1_400.jpg

“IKEA as an Example of Entrepreneurial Business.” DocShare – A New Way to Share Documents Online. 28 May 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. http://www.docshare.com/doc/116936/IKEA-as-an-example-of-entrepreneurial-busines.

Amazon Inc.‘s new Kindle Fire stirs a commotion among analysts. The new Kindle Fire, priced at $199, sells significantly lower than Apple’s iPad. Some analysts have stated that the Kindle Fire is the “most viable competitor to Apple Inc.’s iPad”. The Fire is only available to U.S. residents because the majority of Amazon’s online services are unavailable in Canada.

http://www.geek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/kindle-fire-apps11.jpg

Canadian licensing costs are higher in Canada than the US. and the UK, which drives companies to the more cost-effective markets in the US. Canada is a “secondary or tertiary market” for many companies due to the high costs tied to product licensing. This causes the barriers to entry to be high. In order to overcome these obstacles, expanding into Canada would increase profitability for the company in the tablet market.

The rivalry between Apple and Amazon has begun.

Works Cited:

Braga, Matthew. “Kindle’s Fire Will Be Dampened in Canada by Lack of Streaming Services.” Home – The Globe and Mail. 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/kindles-fire-will-be-dampened-in-canada-by-lack-of-streaming-services/article2186377/>.

While scrolling through Nick Parkhaev‘s blog, I came across an interesting post titled “Should we treat Millionaires differently?“. Nick briefly described the bill proposed by the Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid. This bill would impose a 5.6% surtax on any individual earning $1 million or more. This would help the government fund a $445 billion stimulus package to re-emerge out of a financial deficit.

http://taxwiz.org/image/Canadian%20politicans%20on%20tax%20burden.jpg

I agree with Nick when he states that the “bill is ridiculous”. Individuals who are earning only a few dollars short of 1 million would not be effected by the surtax. By earning the $1 million, they simply must return a large portion to the government. This could push away business opportunities created by millionaires donating to governmental projects and initiatives. Individuals would be less willing to participate in political endeavors. The tax would disrupt the financial chain created through the philanthropic nature of society.

Works Cited:

Obama, President, 000, and the Tax Policy Center estimates. “The Democrat’s Millionaire Tax: Smart Politics, Awful Policy – Forbes.”Information for the World’s Business Leaders – Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/10/06/the-democrats-millionaire-tax-smart-politics-awful-policy/>.

Parkhaev, Nick. “300 Words Per Day | Just Another UBC Blogs Site – Should We Treat Millionaires Differently.” Web log post. UBC Blogs. 9 Oct. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/nparkhaev/>.

Just last week, Apple introduced the new iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S is similar in style and appearace to the iPhone 4, however there are multiple applications and a new operating system that distinguish the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4.

http://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/features/

Preorders for the iPhone 4S reached one million in just 24 hours of opening to the public. This is the most first-day preorders that Apple has received for any of their products. Many critics were disappointed in Apple’s iPhone 4S but “Apple still rakes in more smartphone profit than any other company” (Akkad, Omar El). RBC analyst Mike Abramsky predicts that that number of iPhone 4S smart phones sold in the first week of sales will be 3 million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/stocks/chart/?q=AAPL-Q

The graph above illustrates the sales of stocks for Apple over the past couple of months. Apple has successfullly marketed itself as the leader in smartphone technology. With the new applications on the iPhone 4S, such as the Siri application, Apple continues to produce popular mobile devices that are in high demand. The amount of preorders, despite the negative critique, demonstrates how dominant Apple has become in the mobile phone market. Apple’s strong brand name and world-wide reputation as a business somehow enables the company to sell products even though the general public is on edge or society is struggling.

Akkad, Omar El. “Apple Books a Million IPhone Orders in 24 Hours – The Globe and Mail.” The Globe and Mail. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/apple-books-a-million-iphone-orders-in-24-hours/article2196807/.

On Monday October 10^th, Netflix announced that the company would be abandoning the plan to split up its mail-order and internet streaming services that was established on September 18, 2011. These two services will still be available online on Netflix.com.

The decision to annul Qwikster shows the company’s acknowledgment of Netflix users’ rejection of raised prices and split services. Customers were not content with the idea of having two separate accounts and bills, as well as the increased prices. Netflix’s shares have declined by 28% since the announcement on September 18^th. A large amount of customers dropped Netflix in the past few weeks due to the 60% increase in price. Netflix realized the customers’ dissatisfaction with the new services and therefore abandoned the previous plan.

Netflix happened to rush decisions in the company without listening to customer appeal. Netflix needed to rely on its customer relationships to make executive decisions involving the entire consumer population. Netflix should have confided in its customers before rushing into a proposal that was abandoned only three weeks after it was announced.

Grover, Ronald, and Cliff Edwards. “Netflix Retreats
From Plan to Split DVDs From Web Streaming – Businessweek.” Bloomberg Businessweek – Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-10/netflix-retreats-from-plan-to-split-dvds-from-web-streaming.html.

Over the years RIM (Research in Motion) has developed some of the most popular technologically advanced handheld devices, including the blackberry playbook and blackberry smartphones. RIM has revolutionized the way we perceive and utilize our current technology. During the London riots, RIM’s blackberry was thought to have played a large role in the communication between rioters involved in the London fires and the subsequent political unrest. The British government hoped that RIM would provide information about specific customers and their phone records. RIM refused to publically state the amount of information they divulged to the police.

Should a company have the right to divulge information to the government or law enforcement? I believe that there is a fine line drawn from what is socially business acceptable, and what denotes a political conflict related to a company’s ethical standpoint. A company initself can choose whether or not to supply information, but it may go against the client-customer confidentiality agreement proposed by many corporations. The social responsibility of the company is to assist the government, but does assisting the government mean going against ethical company relationships? I believe in most scenarios, including the London riots, the government has the right to pull information from a company’s resources no matter how personal the information may be.

http://businessethicsblog.com/2011/08/09/the-blackberry-riots-what-should-rim-do/

 MacDonald, Chris. “The “BlackBerry Riots” — What Should RIM Do?” The Business Ethics Blog. 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. <http://businessethicsblog.com/2011/08/09/the-blackberry-riots-what-should-rim-do/>.