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Human rights blogger, Claire recently talked about equality in the workplace. She states that close to 50% of the workforce is represented by women in the United States but yet they make up only 14% of senior executive positions at Fortune 500 companies. Research has shown that competitiveness and aggression is less common in young women because they were taught not to be. Claire stated that there are much higher standards for women than men and women should be mentored to accurately measure their potential. I agree that the bar is often set higher for women in the workplace, but making a commitment to the advancement of women is unnecessary. I don’t believe by having a higher rate of female senior executive positions will make a difference. A business can only be successful with team work, therefore women and men need to treat each other as equals and have equal rights in the workplace. This transition is a long term project that can’t be changed over night.

Long Wang’s blog post License to Print Money is about a topic that is commonly talked about in my household. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree is not as special as they use to be. Agreeing with Long, university has become a must and students are expected to attend university after secondary school. A couple decades ago, students would be able to come out of high school and get a decent job. University entrance standards were low because it was not common to receive education after high school, nor was it affordable. Now in our society, students fight to achieve the high university requirements because they are aware that a bachelor’s degree has become a necessity. As Long stated, knowledge does not seem to be as valuable as before.

My mother has also been aware of this situation and an analogy she used is a bachelor’s degree is like a ticket to enter a draw. Once you are entered into this draw you will be one of the many tickets that could be drawn and without this ticket the slightest chance of being chosen will be eliminated. I strongly agree with this statement and as students we must adapt to these changes.

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Snappy Socks is a company that portrays the characteristics of Schumpeter’s view on entrepreneurship. I was first introduced to this product through Canada’s top television show Dragons’ Den. Corla Rokochy a mother of five and a multitalented entrepreneur identified a common laundry dilemma and thought of an innovative way to solve this problem by adding a button to help keep socks together. She came up with this new product to target the frazzled mothers who could use the time of sorting socks to do something else.

Even though Snappy Socks may not have profited in several millions of dollars, within a short period of time this product was being sold in retail stores all across Canada and has generated over $15,000 in sales. Rokochy took a big risk of introducing this product because it is so simple. She made a simple modification and made a brand new product out of it.

The successful invention of Snappy Socks has not only identified Rokochy as a entrepreneur, but a mompreneur.

Watch a clip of Snappy Socks on Dragons Den here.

Click here for source.

Zappos, the largest online shoe shop with a great customer base. What makes this company different from other online shoe stores? As we have talked about this in class, they have great human resources management. They realize that working in a 24/7 call centre may cause high levels of stress. In that case Zappos tries to make the day at work as pleasant as possible, such as providing free food. The company believes that by creating an excellent organizational culture will not only benefit the company, but the customers also. Zappos offers free shipping, 365 day returns and rare real human call centres. They believe by having great customer service will cause automatic word of mouth recommendations, and that is exactly what happened.

A few days before this class I myself have attempted to place an order to Zappos for a pair of rain boots. Before entering my credit card information I discovered Zappos is only available to consumers in the United States. This may be a disadvantage because while this business is growing rapidly it is not keeping up with demand. I believe it will be beneficial if services were offered to the entire North America.

Zappos is such a great company to work for, their employees found it was necessary to make a music video about it.

Read article here.

Not until I read Kate Wallace’s blog post McDonald’s Make Over did I realize the changes. This official sponsor of the 2010 Winter Olympics plans to spend 1 billion dollars to renovate McDonald’s restaurants all across Canada. As Kate has stated, the golden “M” has taken a big hit after the release of a documentary, Super Size Me. I, for one have definitely changed my fast food habits from three times a week to three times a month after watching this film. During the seven years after the documentary, McDonald’s has tried its best to regain customer loyalty and I agree with Kate that the new modern look will help reach their goal.

Aside from the new renovations, McDonald’s has launched their new McCafe line. Serving a wide variety of drinks and mini snacks, they seem to be heading down the same road as Starbucks. However the difference is in the price and convenience. The 24 hour operational McDonald’s, can help satisfy all your late night cravings with ease.

Revenues has raised by 9% after these modifications. This portrays the classic example of getting knocked down but coming back stronger.

Read article here.

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Ever wondered why the big shiny apple is cheaper than the smaller unattractive one at your local supermarket? Chances are, the more eye-catching one is genetically modified (GM). Conflicts have aroused between the supply chain of organic, conventional and GM crops. Every country has a different level of acceptance towards GM organisms and many countries in Europe have banned these entities.  Since having independent supply chains are very pricey, they must share facilities and they have found genes from the modified crops on the fields of organic and conventional plants. This problem set up a dispute because organic consumers pay a generous amount to have 100% non contaminated food, and that’s not what they’re getting. Since dollar signs are all most people see nowadays, farmers have continued to produce a growing amount of GM crops because they can increase capacity and cut down on losses.

Since a suppliers goal is to provide what consumers want, will you choose the big shiny apple to promote GM strategies, or the unattractive organic apple to stand by organic growing?

For original article click here.

Remember the silly Skittles slogan? “Taste the rainbow”. It sounds completely ridiculous, how can you taste the rainbow from chewing their tiny sweets? Well, the recent candy marketing tactics are to try to beat competitors at thinking outside the box. So in this case, the sillier the better!

During the last few months, Maynards created a “Make your face a Maynards” contest. Fans across Canada can send in a picture of their face to attempt to have it used as a new version of the candy. The winner will receive “$5,000, a year’s supply of their own candy, and a trip to the Hamilton factory where the treat is manufactured.” It may seem meaningless that someone would want their face on a candy, but this plan worked and over 3,000 Canadians entered the contest.

Nowadays advertisements in newspapers, magazines and busses are just not enough. For that reason, most firms have lead to promoting on social networking sites and YouTube. People have adapted to be extremely dependent on technology and everything revolves around it. If most individuals need technology to function and are so easily entertained by these silly commercials, what does that have to say about our knowledge?

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Click here to watch the “Make your face a Maynards Candy Commercial”.

Read article here.

Can we ever keep up with technology? Cell phones are amongst the fastest growing technologies now a days. There are many functions available to increase satisfaction and convenience, for instance the addicting “Angry Birds” and online banking. NFC, Near Field Communications, is one of the new business technologies to help add convenience for consumers while making a purchase. By simply tapping your smartphone or tablet with a NFC chip on the reader platform, the transaction will be made upon your confirmation.

Informa Telecoms & Media estimates that by 2015, 40% of new mobile devices which is 630 million NFC handsets will be shipped globally. The idea of NFC is closely parallel to the “Octopus Card” used in Hong Kong. People use this card daily for commuting and shopping! Inventions like these makes everyday life easier and you will no longer need to carry a wallet around. With the quick paced technology advancements, an app for digitally opening house doors is probably on its way and the need to carry a key around will be eliminated.

Octopus Cards used in Hong Kong.

Photo credit: http://anasarmiento.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/octopus.jpg

Here is a video showing how NFC transactions are made.

Click here for source.

What can you possibly think of that dispenses from a vending machine? Maybe a snack, a drink or even an umbrella? Well for this new innovation you will need more than just a few bucks to make a purchase. Recently, China has introduced their first gold dispensing vending machine in the popular Wangfujing Street. Even though other countries such as the United States and Britain are already familiar with the gold vending machine, the Chinese are extremely fascinated with this invention. Customers can buy various gold items by inserting direct cash or a bankcard. With the gold prices constantly sky rocketing, the demand for this commodity will also increase because gold is a solid investment that will unlikely depreciate in value. I believe by presenting this machine, it can provide consumers with a convenient way to purchase gold, while enhancing gold liquidity. With advancing technologies and mind-blowing gadgets like these, I will not be surprised if they soon introduce a diamond dispensing machine.

This piece of gold dispensed from the vending machine is worth around $156,500 U.S.

Photo credit: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/chinas-unveils-its-first-gold-vending-machine/article2183799/

You may also check out this news video on this royal vending machine:

Click here for source.

“There is a possibility you will get laid off” are words that most people dread to hear. Recently there have been numerous announcements of job cuts towards bankers. The worldwide bank HSBC plans on removing 10% of its employees, which are around 3,000 people within the next 3 years.

A family member of mine currently works at HSBC in Hong Kong and she was left speechless when she heard the news. With a family to take care of, having a full time job is crucial. She is left with uncertainty of whether or not she is one of the chosen to be let go, and if she should start looking for a new job.

Due to the downfall of the stock prices, many banks have chosen the easiest and fastest way out, which is to eliminate staff. It is unethical for employees to pay the price of the economical breakdown when they are the ones keeping the bank running smoothly. It is definitely not a good time to be a banker.

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Click here for source.