Christopher Hunter's Blog

Immediately upon reading Conor Macdonald’s post, I could tell that his opinions on organizational culture in the workplace were similar to mine. In his post, Conor is adamant in explaining the effectiveness of using intrinsic factors to motivate employees. This prompts a stronger working environment and a more pleasant experience for employees and consumers alike.

Many studies show that the use of intrinsic factors, such as giving employees interesting work or a feeling of autonomy, are the most effective ways to motivate an employee. These studies show that using intrinsic motivation increases job satisfaction, which improves the organizational culture of a business. This improved organizational culture can be tied to a decrease in employee absence and a lower employee turnover rate.

Learning about the importance of intrinsic motivation made me think about some of my experiences in the workplace; which organizations that I have worked for used intrinsic motivation? If they didn’t, did their lack of organizational culture hinder their chances at success? I know that a lot of these businesses are suffering low employee turnover rates and a lack of employee morale, which causes an increase in training costs and an eventual decrease in efficiency.

Sources:

Organizational Culture at the Pike Place Fish Market

http://mbahighway.com/2011/10/are-your-employees-satisfied/

http://voices.yahoo.com/intrinsic-motivation-workplace-equals-higher-1556797.html?cat=3

As the green initiative is becoming increasingly relevant, many companies are seeking to boost energy efficiency in order to minimize costs. Recent surveys indicate that the lure of lower utility costs have prompted an increase in green building. According to McGraw Hill Construction,  51% of companies say that most (at least 60%) of their buildings will be certified as being green by 2015, up from 28% in 2012 and 13% in 2009. Harvey Bernstein of McGraw Hill states that “it’s a business decision”, claiming that saving money — not the environment — is their primary motive. A second report released by Turner Construction revealed that 90% of corporate executives are committed to green construction, mainly to lower maintenance cost.

While this increase in the usage of green technology may not necessarily be intended for the greater good, it is still beneficial to society as a whole. As well, a company can differentiate their service by gaining a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Preserving the world’s natural resources is the responsibility of every individual both at work and at home; it’s fortunate that the lower utility costs that come with being sustainable encourage businesses to go green.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/14/green-building-surge-leds-windows/1701921/

http://www.greenbusinessalliance.com/go-green.aspx

After months of facing falling prices in stocks and negative comments by analysts, RIM’s shares have finally risen after the announcement of their new line of smartphones. Investors reacted positively after Thorstein Heins, RIM’s CEO, announced its new line of smartphones and their shares jumped more than 5% as a result.

The increase in the price of shares have also come from an increasing user base. In the last quarter, RIM’s user base increased from 78 million to 80 million. This comes as a surprise to many analysts, who expected RIM to start losing subscribers. This increase in user base was another factor in the aforementioned rise in the price of shares.

Although RIM is yet to have fully presented their new line of smartphones to the public, they have showcased some of the new line’s features. In particular, they have demonstrated a new feature that allows the user to check all communications from a central app, rather than having to access several smaller apps. These new features excite the blackberry community and increase the demand for the product, which in turn causes the price in their share to rise.

Watching RIM’s future will be interesting. Depending on the popularity of their new products, they could regain their title as one of the leading brands of smartphones. However, the potential failure of this line could be detrimental to the price of the company’s shares.

Sources:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/rim-shares-rise-on-new-phone-hopes/article4567392/

http://media.photobucket.com/image/blackberry%20logo/ianyu/BB-logo.png?o=14

In marketing, brand positioning is the process by which the company tries to create an image for their product to go into the minds of their target audience. This is exactly what Dos Equis have done with their “Most Interesting Man in the World” ad campaign. The advertisements show a suave, bearded man roughly in his 60s and feature clips of his daring exploits each with its own quirky one-liner. At the end of the ad, the Most Interesting Man says “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis”. This is followed by his signature sign-off, “stay thirsty my friends”.

According to the marketing firm (Havas Worldwide) that invented The Most Interesting Man, the goal of this campaign was to “create awareness, pique curiosity, and go beyond conventional Mexican imagery”. The Most Interesting Man’s character allows Dos Equis to create a target audience. According to Havas Worldwide, “He is a man rich in stories and experiences, much the way the audience hopes to be in the future.”

Evidently, this campaign has done well for Dos Equis. According to the company, U.S. Sales increased every year from 2006-2010 and Canadian sales tripled in 2008. Additionally, Dos Equis sales are said to have increased by 22% at a time where all other import beers fell by 4% in the U.S. The Most Interesting Man has allowed Dos Equis to reposition their brand from a struggling Mexican premium beer to a well recognized brand in North America.

Sources:

http://www.jhu.edu/anthmedia/Projects/dosxx/

http://www.havasworldwide.com/our-work/dos-equis

The release of the new iPhone 5 has brought about a lot of excitement with Apple users and technology enthusiasts alike. The iPhone 5 comes with a bigger screen, thinner body, higher resolution display, and updated software. Although these new features have made the iPhone 5 a topic of technological interest, they do not intimidate Samsung from releasing their new phone and ad campaign.

With their new phone, Samsung has managed to release an ad that acknowledges the iPhone as archaic. The ad mocks the iPhone, showing that its new features are rather unnecessary and that the phone has, in fact, barely changed. Samsung manages to do this all while simultaneously communicating their phone’s Points of Difference to the consumer. As a consumer myself, I can attest to the effectiveness of this ad. Samsung clearly presents their phones advantages and in turn makes their company look a lot better than Apple. By choosing not to ignore Apple’s iPhone, Samsung has repositioned their consumer base by appealing to a younger consumer base and making their phone seem better than Apple’s.

Picture Source:

http://www.androidauthority.com/apple-iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3-114213/

Link to Ad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf5-Prx19ZM

Nike, one of the world’s top clothing brands, has been constantly accused of using sweatshops for cheap labour. Historically, Nike sweatshop workers have been exposed to hazardous working conditions, harmful materials, and abuse from employers. This unethical way of producing product through cheap means brings up an interesting question: can high profile companies like Nike get away with using sweatshop labour without stirring up controversy? Unfortunately for Nike, the answer seems to be no. For several years, Nike has been targeted by campaigners because it “… was the world’s best selling brand and initially it denied any malpractice that may be taking place in its sub-contractor factories”. Nike has recently responded productively to this criticism. The corporation today operates with a transparency that would have been unthinkable when the company was first dogged by allegations of using sweatshops. Nike has been working extensively through “corporate social responsibility programs and by requiring contractors to accept its stiffened codes of conduct and leadership standard”. The company does, however, insist that it still cannot constantly supervise contract factories it does not own or manage. Hopefully in the future, a more strict set of rules will be implemented to protect these factory workers.

Sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/green-living-blog/2012/jul/06/activism-nike

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/one-man-crusade-to-end-nike-sweatshops-pays-off/story-e6frg6so-1226249797772