There is an old Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish, you feed him a day. Teach a man to fish; you feed him for the lifetime”. The difference between social entrepreneurship and charity is that charities always provide direct funds or goods and materials to the person who needs help. However, social entrepreneurships provide people with job positions as well as business opportunities to make earnings by themselves.

Supposed the United Nations is fully funded permanently and it provides financial support to poor people for the lifetime. The poor people would not try to seek jobs because they can gain profit without doing anything. To make matters worse, some people may even quit their jobs.

Furthermore, it is win-win cooperation between the firms and employees. Social entrepreneurs who produce labor-intensive and low technology products is able to cut down the cost of manufacturing in long term. Besides, low-income people are able to gain new skills and gain social value. Nevertheless, social firms need to pay more fees for training and educating employees than normal profits at the beginning.

In all, we need the Arc or social enterprises to teach low-income people how to work which feed them for lifetime.

 

Work Cited:

1.http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EeqPOMvbObM/UdDSdtpMiEI/AAAAAAAACUE/2j1Y4qAgjL0/s450/give+a+man+a+fish.jpg

2. http://skollworldforum.org/about/what-is-social-entrepreneurship/

3. http://cdn2.yourstory.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/07/social-entrepreneur-word-cloud-1.jpeg

The integration of Dropbox and Office software enable customers to access Dropbox files from the Office app as well as edit Office files from the Dropbox app in phone, tablet or computers. What interest me most is that Microsoft has its own cloud storage software—-One Drive.

OneDrive	Dropbox
File size restrictions?	2GB	None with Dropbox apps
Free storage?	15GB	2GB
Paid plans	$2/month for 100GB, $4/month for 200GB	$10/month for 1TB
OSes supported	Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Blackberry, Kindle Fire
Users Quantity	Unknown	175 million

According to the table from the websites, we can find out some reason why Microsoft chooses to cooperate with Dropbox:

1. Increasing need of file hosting services: an increasing number of people own computers, smart phones and tablet and use all them to read or edit files. People need convenient software which enable them to read or edit their files in all electronic devices.

2. One Drive is mainly available for the Windows products and clients must sign up for a Microsoft account. By contrast, Drop Box is more suitable with the majority brand of electronic devices.

3. Dropbox storages over 35 billion Office documents. By cooperation, Microsoft and Dropbox is able to attract more co-customer.

Generally, the combination provide mutual customers with convenient and convenient way of working on the document, which is a win-win cooperation for Microsoft and Dropbox.

 

 

Work Cited:

1. https://blog.dropbox.com/2014/11/dropbox-microsoft-office-partnership/
2. http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/4/7153975/dropbox-microsoft-partnership-microsoft-office
3. http://images.bidnessetc.com/img/73634c1dcbe056c1f7dcf5969da406c8-microsoft-corporation-msft-and-dropbox-announce-partnership.jpg
4. http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dropbox-microsoft.png
5. http://www.highpoint.edu/techblog/files/2014/11/2014-10-31_09-39-10.jpg

 

Holacracy is a innovative human resource management and its authority are allocated throughout a self-organizing teams rather than a top leader.

According to the report, 80% of Zappo’s 1,500 employees are now working under Holacracy. In Zappo, each employee reports to the other people in their “circles”, which are assigned an organizational goal to achieve.    As we all know, the managers always want the tellers to work hard so that she can meet her operation target. Nonetheless, the workers always take on-the-job leisure and could not make the use of their effort.

           

Holacracy is able to solve the Principal- Agent problem. Firstly, without a manager, everyone in the “circles” regard themselves as a small leader and have the same share profit as a group. Holacracy arouses the enthusiasm and efficiency of employees to achieve the organizational target. As a result, faster, more appropriate and well-round decisions was made to solve problems. Furthermore, Holacracy is able to make Zappo hold Highly Effective Meetings. Each employee can be assigned to several “circles” which aim to solve different kinds of problem. The Problem-Centered organizations enable the firm to to address concrete tensions efficiently without waste of time.

 

 

Work Cited:

1. http://www.businessinsider.com/majority-of-zappos-employees-donthave-a-manager-2014-11
2. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rJqvirv0mzGp1z5zByxDr6icwnKXCidhMSJl_tvKqNkhM8nia_36N2cRYsq9MHA7baM529XSjWW30XU1drao97uLmT_eRxmOeNFzeSOKnxF3f9eqtE3nQYvmmg
3. http://holacracy.org/
4. http://abovethelaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/zappos-logo.gif

 

As can be seen from Andrea’s blog, she thinks highly of women’s thinking and decision-making when providing ideas and tools to promote sustainable development and social responsibility. It is because women tend to higher level of empathy and interest in environmentalism and they are possible to be the potential customers of green products.

To achieve a sustainable development, firms always have to increase the price to cover the growing cost. As a result, it is crucial for the company to be explicit about what their potential customers want.

Since parenthood especially mothers are more respond actively to the green brands for the reason that they consider more for descendents. Companies who want to incorporate social duty and create shred value could attract more customers by incorporating the “family health” concept with their product. Furthermore, Firms could also highlight the influence to descendents and future environment in marketing to arise people’s empathy and incentive them to buy the product. For example, the electronic cars company such as Tesla could put advertise about numerous children live in less air pollution environment in the future if their customers choose to drive green cars now.

In all, understanding women’s sustainable brains helps the firms to promote strategies to attract holistic, sustainability-conscious buyers who are willing to pay more money for the social issue.

 

 

Work site:

1.Gender and the Sustainable Brain – My Solutions Journal Piece

Poste on March 8, 2011 By Andrea Learned

http://learnedon.com/2011/03/gender-sustainable-brain/

2.http://www.chamundisilks.com/images/Chamundi_CSR.jpg

3.http://business-ethics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Sustainability_Pay_IS_000009258249Smal_Feature.jpg

4.http://www.current-consulting.net/wp-content/uploads/Organic-CSR.jpg

Respond to Mark Graham’s Blog

The historic IPO of Alibaba attracts the attention of a large portion of investors and brings Alibaba to the world stage. Alibaba is a Chinese e-commerce company which provides retailer platform via websites, electronic payment services, and could computing services.

In Mark’s view, it is better for Alibaba to stick to the Asian markets instead of American markets because of the high entrance barrier and competitive opponents. Nevertheless, I hold total different ideas with him. To achieve the globalization goal, Alibaba has to have a e-commerce center in USA.

There are several reasons why Alibaba can earn profit by entering the American Market. Initially, Alibaba is making profits by selling advertisement, providing website service which is different from Amazon and Wal-Mart which are benefiting from selling products. In other words, the task of Alibaba provides the largest marketplace in the world for others to sell. In the big marketplace cycle, the more buyers come, the more sellers come which resulting in more buyers and more sellers. By entering the American market, they can Americanize their business model and provide a platform for transactions between local firms and clients.

Furthermore, because of the low Chinese labor cost, Alibaba is capable of providing cheaper products compare to Amazon. Alibaba enable American sellers to buy Chinese products in a more convenient way.

 

Work Cited:

1. Mark Graham’s Blog “we don’t need America”https://blogs.ubc.ca/markgraham/2014/11/05/we-dont-need-america/
2. YouTube Video “ Alibaba effect” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbuVfwWIT40
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group
4. http://www.biznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/alibaba1.jpg
5. http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2014/09/05/101975912-alibaba-group-jack-ma.530×298.jpg?v=1409937696

——TNDC Profiled In Aboriginal Business    Calgary-based

Calgary-based AltaGas Ltd. engaged in a win-win cooperation with Tahltan Nation on the Forrest Kerr Project, a run-of-river hydroelectric facility. With an installed capacity of 195 megawatts, it is able to power approximately 70,000 homes.

AltaGas Ltd provided cash, profit sharing, equity arrangements, scholarships, business opportunities and employment. Therefore, the Tahltan Nation is able to boost local development, reduce the unemployment and improve the standard of living

AltaGas Ltd. is trying their best to achieve an agreement with Tahltan Nation due to the fact  that it is the Tahltan Nation  who has controlled  the coast to the northern Interior for a few thousand years. They also benefit from the cooperation. The Tahltan Nation people are quite familiar with the environment and geography of the land, especially in providing services such as heavy equipment operators, road maintenance and camp facilities.

In this case, we can see that if a firm wants to keep on a strong relationship with the First Nations, there are some useful strategies they can use:

1. Make the First Nation a stakeholder and a teammate to unit with each other and maximize the profit
2. Offer suitable job positions to First Nation people to gain a win-win business arrangement. For example, firms could offer more jobs, such as engineers to local people who know much about the home.
3. Develop a green and sustainable business in an environmentally friendly way

 

 

 

Sources:

“First Nations Inc.: Tahltan-AltaGas partnership a win-win.” www.vancouversun.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.vancouversun.com/business/First+Nations+Tahltan+AltaGas+partnership/10236269/story.html>.

“Tahltan, AltaGas ink benefits deals – Terrace Standard.” Terrace Standard. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://www.terracestandard.com/news/130775313

 

Comments on Harpreet Sidhu’s Blog‘s blog

Blog’s website:        https://blogs.ubc.ca/harpreetsidhu/

 

 

 

Staples is facing  transformation

Up to 225 Staples retail stores will be closed inin the United States and Canada. Due to the lost of customers to mass market chains and e-retailers, another quarter of sales decline is estimated . The main factor for the nation’s largest office-supply company to reduce retails stores is that more and more customers are shopping less often in stores and more online, with sales slipped nearly two per cent to $5.22 billion, but online sales increasing by 8 per cent.

Interestingly, modern customers prefer to shop by showrooming. They visit the store in person to test out a product and learn the products directly, but then go home to buy a cheaper version online.  In order to fit in the new way of  shopping , the best mode for Staples is Online To Offline. It means combining the online shopping and the front line transactions together.

It is beneficial for Staples to transform some retail stores to online stores. By reducing the amount of brick-and-mortar stores, it enable Staples to decrease rent and operating costs, inventory costs, wages and so on. As a result, the firm could provide a lower price to purchasers. However, the online office products market is quite competitive. Staples would face threat from Amazon, Wal-Mart, and BuyOnlineNow.

Additionally, it is only in the brick-and-mortar stores where salespeople could communicate with the customers face to face, therefore they could introduce the advantages of buying office products in Staples. This means that, they can a provide better user experience.

 

 

Sources:

1. “Retailers Need Not Fear “Showrooming” As More Young People Drawn To Physical Stores.” International Business Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.ibtimes.com/retailers-need-not-fear-showrooming-more-young-people-drawn-physical-stores-1579135>.
2. “Staples closing up to 225 stores in Canada and U.S. as it bleeds customers to mass-market rivals.” Financial Post Business Staples closing up to 225 stores in Canada and US as it bleeds customers to massmarketrivals Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/06/staples-store-closures-canada-us/>.

Copied to Clipboard!

3. “What is O2O stand for? What are the differences between O2O, B2C and C2C?.” ChinaAboutnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.chinaabout.net/o2o-stand-for-differences-o2o-b2c-c2c/>.
4. Pictures:http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-BM160_Staple_G_20110518174220.jpg

 

Apple Pay –A New Payment Method

 

 

 

The launch of the Iphone 6 and 6 plus is dominating the smart phone market. According to many industry advisors, the most innovative promotion of Iphone 6 is Apple Pay mobile-payment technology, which enables Iphone owners to pay the bill using the fingerprint identification.

The Apple Pay is trying to replace the payment methods in shops and online. People prefer paying by credit cards because they find it inconvenient to take the wallets out and count the changes. However, paying by credit cards sometimes takes lot of time, for the reason that we need to input the PIN number, wait for the bills and sign our names. It would take around 30 seconds. However, by using Apple Pay, what we need is just putting the finger on the home button for around 6 seconds and everything is done.

Apple Pay is also trying to take the place of PayPal by offering a lower transaction fee to eBay.

What’s more, the Apple Pay would charge the credit-card issuing banks instead of customers for handling transactions. As a result, there is no reason for customers not to pay all kinds of fee by Apple Pay which is quicker and free.

 

 

 

Sources:

1.”Apple Pay was this week’s most revolutionary product.” The Verge. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/10/6132153/apple-pay-was-this-weeks-most-revolutionary-product>.

2.”Apple Pay to generate fees from banks, not merchants — report – CNET.” CNET. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-pay-to-generate-fees-from-banks-not-merchants-report-says/>.

3.Apple Pay is such a big deal that eBay already has had to change strategy.” Quartz. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://qz.com/276360/apple-pay-is-such-a-big-deal-that-ebay-already-has-had-to-change-strategy/>.

 

4．Pictures:http://www.augmentedrealitytrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Apple-Pay.jpg

http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzEwLzAyL2M4L2FwcGxlcGF5ZGF0LjAwNGJkLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTk1MHg1MzQjCmUJanBn/2a2b6c3a/00d/apple-pay-date.jpg

 

 

Positioning

                              —- What the customers think exceeds what the true is

                                           

Bawang Shampoo, a Chinese hermal medicine shampoo, was indeed efficient and healthy to nourish the hair, so it gained a stable and large amount of customers. However, in 2010, a customer claimed that the quantity of Carcinogens in Bawang Shampoo is higher than the safety standard. Everything changed after that news came out .

Although the news has been proven to be fake, nearly 80 percentage of customers lost confidence of the product and Bawang Company’s stock slumped and is unable to recover. The news reminded me of the concept of repositioning the competition which I learnt in class 8. Bawang Shampoo’s competitors tried to reposition Bawang Shampoo and change the view of customers towards it by broadcasting some fake news. Interestingly, even after purchasers knew that the Bawang Shampoo is totally safe to use, they still don’t want to buy it anymore. It seems that customers easily lose confidence especially when the products are connected to their personal health.

The news also indicates that companies ought to give customers access to efficient and quick channel to communicate with company to maintain a good and long-term relationship with customers. Additionally, when dealing with an emergency or scandal, company is expected to be more responsible and positive to solve the problem. As a result, customers will still keep confidence in buying the products.

 

 

 

Sources:

1.”What do Hongkongers think about Occupy Central amidst warnings of a “tragedy”?.” South China Morning Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://www.scmp.com/article/721444/many-bath-products-contain-carcinogen-bawang-shampoo>.

 

2.”Bawang.” (01338). N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://quote.eastmoney.com/hk/01338.html?StockCode=01338>.

 

 

Anglo American built the Anglo Khula Mining Fund to make investments to Khula Enterprise Finance Ltd. It not only provides thousands of job position and relieves the pressure of Khula society, but also promotes the development of industry. What’s more, the investment would make the mining industry more stable, which is beneficial for Anglo American Company.

The Anglo American company tried to make win-win philanthropy. So is that real philanthropy? Yes!

There is no doubt that all the companies want to maximize their profit. Numerous famous enterprises are doing the philanthropy for gaining reputation, propagating the brand, or engaging the employee. Actually, if a company tries to make donations to society, it would only do it once or twice because they gain nothing from it. A donation without profit is not sustainable because there is no incentive for company to give more. When promoting a social duty, firms ought to combine the philanthropy and the business, making an effort to earn benefit from it in a short term or long term way. As a result, both the society and enterprises get what they want.

 

 

Sources:

“Anglo American Deepening Transformation 2008.” Anglo American Deepening Transformation 2008. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http://angloamerican.transformation.solutions.investis