Month: November 2012

It wasn’t until a recent tutorial, in which our TA told us to brainstorm social enterprises and share them with the class, that I realized how unconventional or uncommon non-profit organizations and social enterprises seem to be. Apart from the biggest ones, such as The Canadian Cancer Society or Toms, I was unable to come up with any non-profit organizations or social enterprises without using Google as an aid.

It is for this reason that I found a blog post by a fellow classmate, Ashley Belzil, so fascinating. Her post is about an organization dedicated to the microfinance of low-income people in need. This non-profit organization, called Kiva, is based off of the act of lending, where virtually anybody can sign up and lend a certain amount of money to low-income individuals in order to support their business and/or aid in their ambitions to overcome poverty and low living standards.

I found that this organization ties together many concepts we have discussed in class. It is fundamentally based off of the concept of microfinance, but it is also important to keep in mind the fact that it is a non-profit organization that has the potential to support struggling enterprises. I was astonished at the ability of one small organization to change the lives of those in need in such substantial ways. The organization’s potential made me realize that good things really do come in small packages… whether it be in the form of a small, lesser-known non-profit organization, or in the form of one of its $25 loans.

About Kiva:
http://vimeo.com/16991128

Sources:
http://www.kiva.org/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/ashleybelzil/2012/11/13/the-gift-of-giving/

After a recent class on supply chain management, I came to realize that while supply chain management is an extremely important aspect of any business, it is seldom publicized. Its lack of promotion seems to be due to the fact that, in the eyes of consumers, it is a relatively unseen, “behind-the-scenes” part of business. It is for this reason that I was intrigued by several articles on Walmart’s new approaches to supply chain management… in particular, its approaches that involve consideration of sustainability.

Walmart is taking the lead when it comes to innovative methods of supply chain management. Last week, Walmart Canada’s SVP of supply chain management introduced a new design for a truck, called the “Supercube”. The new truck will increase storage capacity by 30% and it even has the potential to innovate supply chain management guidelines, should the new truck design become an industry standard.

Likewise, Walmart recently announced its increase in the use of its Sustainability Index, noting that by 2017, 70% of all products sold (in the US) will come from suppliers using the Sustainability Index. Mike Duke, president and CEO of Walmart stressed his inclination to “have deeper insight into how [Walmart] can make manufacturing more sustainable for people and communities in China”, by addressing issues with packaging as well as the stores’ energy consumption.

I personally found the most recent class on CSR and sustainability extremely fascinating, and I was shocked to discover, having read an article on corporate responsibility, that traditionally “dirty” companies have the potential to demonstrate impressive advances in regards to sustainability.

The article highlights the fact that the biggest commonality in the leaders of sustainability is their business innovation. Within these businesses, sustainability criteria is implemented and applied to the whole company, keeping details such as the supply chains and the whole lifecycle of the product itself in mind. According to the article and to our recent class on sustainability, this new approach to corporate responsibility is revolutionizing the way we are doing business.

Surprisingly, industries such as mining and petroleum (although they are not exactly “models” of sustainability) are demonstrating large advances when it comes to being sustainable and corporately responsible. For example, mining companies have recently developed a closer relationship with the community, thus innovating community engagement practices and proving themselves as worthy of keeping their social licence to operate.

While I personally find these advances in sustainability mediocre and questionable compared to those of smaller, “greener” companies, I found it interesting to learn ways in which larger “dirty” companies are making sustainable efforts.

Sources:

http://www.sustainability.umd.edu/content/about/what_is_sustainability.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/corporate-sustainability-risky-sectors

According to Maclean’s business blog, discrepancies have recently arisen over the projected approval or refusal of the Nexen deal; China’s $15.1 billion bid for a piece of Canada’s oil sands.

Reading this blog post lead me to see that the controversial prospect of the deal is largely related to financial and political disparities. Nexen shareholders, for example, are evidently in favour of the deal being approved, as they would receive a 61 per cent premium on shares. Likewise, Ottawa has recently been consistent in its rejection of foreign deals. Rejecting China National Offshore Oil Corporation’s “friendly takeover” would raise the eyebrows and doubts of foreign investors, who would likely be confused in regards to Ottawa’s lack of a strategy to deal with foreign takeovers. Should the deal be rejected therefore, Canadian resource firms would certainly fall.

On the political side, however, the rejection of the plan is actually favoured, because from a political point of view, the government would be “wrap[ping] itself with a national cloak” and demonstrating its independence.

After our class regarding finance and investment, I am satisfied that I have a broader knowledge of this topic and can apply this knowledge when considering articles such as this. However, while concerns with investment and the economy are undoubtedly important, I question Canada’s dependancy on other countries. I personally don’t see protectionism as a means of making everything in Canada “sacred”, but more so as a means of conserving our resources and leading the way to a sustainable future.

Sources:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/11/01/if-ottawa-says-no-to-china-on-nexen-deal-therell-be-a-price-to-pay-experts/#more-310091

http://mindthis.ca/nexen-china/