Just another UBC Blogs site

When you want to try something new, in terms of dining, then OpenTable is the site to go to.

OpenTable is an online site where people post/rate their restaurant reviews and make reservations free of charge. It started out as a site but as Apple products dominate, it has now become a free application easily downloadable for the majority of Smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc).

The good thing about OpenTable is that for small businesses that are not worldly recognized, as long as the consumers give their restaurant a high rating, the success of the restaurant can change dramatically. On the contrary, if the small business does not receive a good rating then their reputation could be harshly impacted which would lead them through a rough path.

Thus, not only does OpenTable provide convenience and insight for consumers, it also gives a chance for restaurants to expand. OpenTable is a form of social media.

As I was browsing through the web, I came across an article that talked about how Asian consumers make purchasing decisions (Class 15). I found it very interesting seeing as I am Asian myself.

So, the article said that according to a recent Google study, Asians rely on the internet to find out more about the products they want to buy.

Results showed that eight in ten people across Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand researched online before making a purchase at a retail store.

After reading this article, I realized that not only Asians but girls (not sure about guys) generally spend a lot of time on online stores. I know as a fact that some of my friends spend hours on sites like Forever21, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, etc. without purchasing the product online. As we can see from the article, the internet is a good opportunity for companies to get their products out there. Companies do not necessarily need to expand into online shopping (because some companies would not be able to fund it) but frequently updating their sites with their latest products would be helpful.

Sources

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/23653.asp

First off, I really enjoyed Paul and Mahesh’s presentation about the marketing and supply chain management mainly because fashion is a topic I am interested in.

So, Paul and Mahesh were talking about Zara being a “fast follower” and is the main reason to Zara’s success; I thought of H&M and their strategy. Zara and H&M have made high-fashion everyday wear. They brought the latest catwalk trends to the masses in their own different, but similar, ways.

How have Zara and H&M created the “now or never” customer mentality?

Zara gives off the sense of exclusivity. Not only do they replicate what celebrities wear, they always have new pieces of clothing in limited supply and they remove unsold clothes after a few weeks of being out on the floor.

H&M has managed to acheive this same sensation by incorporating high-fashion designers to create limited collections. The Swedish retailer has paired up with artists like Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo, etc. which creates hype among consumers. In addition, only select stores carry certain collections and so the “now or never” mentality is reinforced– similar to Zara.

Just like Mahesh said, “Zara’s fast fashion model is not easy to do, or copy“. However, Zara and H&M are two successful companies that were able to achieve it. Zara has a home decorating brand already. On the same note, H&M said their long term strategy is to diversify with IKEA or Wal-Mart. Not to forget, H&M have already incorporated themselves with Sims, the computer game. Their success in marketing and management supply chains is going to get them far in the future.

Ingvar Kampard is a successful entrepreneur. As of 2010, he is the eleventh wealthiest person in the world according to Forbes Magazine with an estimated net worth of approximately US$23 billion. He is the founder of IKEA.

Based on the reading, an entrepreneurship takes risks, is innovative, and generates big money fast– all of which I think can relate to IKEA.

IKEA’s concept is similar to a grocery store where buyers have the freedom to purchasing goods in a relaxing atmosphere. Lots of preparation (investing) had to be done beforehand such as having enough products to make it have the supermarket type feel to the store. So, fortunately, taking this risk did not turn into a failure.

IKEA’s simplistic low-priced products are what makes them different from other companies. The design and colour of their products are appealing to all age groups. Despite the not high status and not designer labeled goods, IKEA was still able to capture the attention of everyone by their innovative creations.

IKEA generates money fast due to its comfortable environment and up to date products; it naturally encourages consumers to purchase more goods.

All in all, I consider IKEA as a company that is entrepreneurial seeing as it matches the explanation in the article.

Biggest IKEA Store located in Stockholm

Sources

Forbes Magazine

For Comm299, we were asked to prepare a speech about an advertisement and state whether or not it is ethical or not. I found it appropriate and relevant to what we are talking about in Comm101 (more so the first few classes). So, here it is:

“On the weekend, I made a trip to Safeway to buy myself some cereal to eat for breakfast.

As I was walking through the cereal aisle, I came across Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.

The Rice Krispies box is typically blue with the title rice krispies and the three signature cartoon characters (Snap Crackle and Pop) who are all eating out of a big bowl of Rice Krispies.

Taking up about one fifth of the box, on a big yellow banner written in big bold letters “Now helps support your child’s immunity”.

But does Rice Krispies really help children’s immunity more than, for example fresh fruit?

On the right of the big yellow banner, it said 25% daily value of antioxidants and nutrients.

It is true to say that it provides 25% daily value of antioxidants and nutrients because it actually does contain Vitamin A B C & E however; there is no clinically proven evidence that links Rice Krispies to a better immune system.

Kellogg’s should really change their advertising strategies and not put false information on their cereal boxes because false advertising makes consumers like us question the ethics of the company which will raise many concerns.

I found this ad offensively false that it deserved to be Google-ed.

I found out that the Federal Trade Commission investigated Kellogg’s and managed to stop such claim, but without requiring Kellogg’s to admit that they were wrong.

If they don’t change and apologize, then the company is simply digging up its own grave.”

Sources

Google images.

True, however there are consequences.

I read an article on the Financial Post and it was about how Canadian companies are putting machines before jobs. Canadian companies are planning on laying off some workers so they can use the money saved for more advanced technology. Friday, Statistics Canada reported that the economy let a net 6,600 jobs go in September. But where will these unemployed workers go? By increasing the unemployment rate, the income of families is going to decrease which will make those families less likely to spend. If they don’t spend, then the circular flow of income and expenditure wouldn’t be the circular flow of income and expenditure because there is no wages paid =>wages received => consumer expenditure and so on…

Although I understand why companies would want to invest on more technology, for the sake of keeping the economy going, we should not encourage the decreasing employment rate.

Sources

http://www.financialpost.com/news/Canadian+companies+machines+before+jobs/3644117/story.html

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-Rate.aspx?Symbol=CAD

Starbucks has been coping with the prices of raw materials and transportation until now by closing 600 of their outlets — they are not going to be nice this time. Starbucks stores in several cities, including Vancouver, are increasing the price of some beverages up to thirty cents more (depending on the drink; for example, frappuccinos or caramel macchiatos are being increased). But it’s not all bad, the company will charge less for the basic drinks; for instance, a tall black coffee.

There are two types of reactions from this devastating news.

1. Don’t care – These are the people who can’t live without having a cup of coffee every morning

2. Turn away – These are the people who don’t think Starbucks is worth its price and would rather save money buying from the supermarket.

3. Other

If prices grow, the demand for Starbucks will decrease because there are other competitors, like McDonald’s, who offer similar products for a cheaper value. Starbucks is considered a high quality and high priced luxurious item. However, as the US dollar value decreases, people are prioritizing their purchases thus a decrease in sales for Starbucks.

Nevertheless….

To counterattack the possible threats from increasing prices, Starbucks plans to redesign its menu and/or introducing alcoholic beverages. This may be a successful approach and may bump up the sales as it attracts consumers from other interests as well.

Personally, I do not favour Starbucks. I find that their drinks are too sweet and over all too much. I do drop by Starbucks if it is convenient ( since they do have a branch at almost every block of the city) however I prefer Bean Brothers. I wouldn’t say that I would never go to Starbucks ever again because of these slight changes in prices but I would go there less frequent than I already do just because Bean Brothers, for example, in Kerrisdale suits my taste buds (and also their portions seem a little cheaper if you compare the Starbucks cups per mL to Bean Brothers cups)

Sources

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/business/21sbux.html

I recently went to Kerrisdale Shota for dinner and the owner’s daughter was telling my family and I about their recent conflict. Some customers pay for their meals with credit card, debit card, or cash; the main focus to this blog post is on smart cards.

Restaurants, at their own risk, can choose to make the customer sign as opposed to entering the customer’s PIN number. Technically, restaurants are supposed to get the customer to enter a PIN number if the credit card has a chip but Shota, half of the time, skips the PIN and gets the customer to sign instead. They believe that chip cards slow down their efficiency because one waiter has to be standing and waiting for the customer to enter his/her pin before doing something else (no multi-tasking).

The manager understands that they were wrong but what made Shota angry was that the banks argued that the signatures on the receipts (only for the smart card transactions) were not the credit card-holder’s signature; thus, banks refused to give Shota money for all those transactions. If it was $200 or even just $3.00, Shota weren’t allowed to get a single penny from those transactions that required PIN numbers but had signatures instead.

Isn’t PIN numbers just as dangerous? Someone could know someone’s PIN number on someone’s credit card and excessively use the credit card, no? Should Shota be fined? Because the banks argument was because it is not safe, but smart cards are just as unsafe.

Sources:

Shota Manager, Maggie.

Blockbuster Inc.  declared bankruptcy early this morning, September 22 2010 . Blockbuster’s debt was about US$1 billion.

How do you feel about this?

Well, The first thing that went through my mind was “WHAT REALLY?” but then when I really thought about it….Let’s face it, who really rents movies now-a-days? Not me!  I have passed by the Blockbusters in Kerrisdale almost every day of my life but the last time I rented a movie was probably at least two years ago.

I google-ed more information on this case and a ton of articles that have been published within the past few months all say that Blockbuster will eventually come to an end. Now that it has, it’s too late for me to visit one more time! Bummer. Because Blockbuster is such a big company, we don’t expect it to go bankrupt compared to a smaller company; the possibilities of filing for bankruptcy are just the same.

Out of curiosity, I searched what companies may possibly go bankrupt and this is what I found using three different articles:

(I only listed the companies that I were interested in)

• Porsche Automobile Holding
• Eastman Kodak Company
• United States Steel Corporation
• Hertz
• Sprint Nextel
• Macy’s
• CBS
• Las Vegas Sands
• Six Flags
• Harrah’s Entertainment
• MGM Mirage
• United Airlines
• Ford Motor
• General Motors

Sources:

http://www.businessinsider.com/15-big-companies-skidding-toward-bankruptcy-2010-5#15-central-european-media-enterprises-cetv-1

http://www.businessinsider.com/blockbuster-declares-bankruptcy-now-see-what-big-company-will-drop-next-2010-9?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business+Insider+Select&utm_campaign=BI_Select_092210_Personal

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-household-names-veering-towards-bankruptcy-2009-9#interpublic-group-ipg-10

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/10-companies-that-may-go-bankrupt-this-year.aspx?page=4

One of the 300,000 workers from Foxconn Technology, the main supplier of most of Apple’s products, rather die than to suffer working in the company’s factory. This was at least the tenth employee suicide of the year. Is that realistic? Are conditions that bad?

Yes, they are.

“The company is obsessed with security, and I must say that, from the outside, the place looks like a prison” said Geoffrey Crothall. Factory workers suffer from huge workloads for pennies a day and are constantly being beaten and humiliated.

“In America, Apple is one of the best and most employee-conscious companies in tech, but consistent reports of worker abuse and unhappiness in China really does raise the question: is Apple having the wool pulled over its eyes by companies like Foxconn and Wintek over the well-being of the workers who make our MacBooks and iPads?”

Profit may appeal to be the most important thing in a business but as they realize later, no matter how hard they try, they are far from achieving their goals without business ethics.

Business ethics works on eliminating exploitation; however, Foxconn has failed to do so.

Click on the image below to listen to a news report regarding this case

Sources:

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/27/world/la-fg-china-suicides-20100527

http://www.cultofmac.com/suicides-and-poisonings-at-apples-chinese-manufacturers-provoke-calls-for-investigation/42990