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[COMM299] Learned About Myself in COMM299

It becomes evident that for the longest time; my strategy for constructing my Resume and Cover Letter was illustrated in the wrong way. Lacking appeal, I had clearly failed to hit the benchmark of the ideal structure and language utilized. Not only did I not use LinkedIn, but I also never bothered to create statements to reflect the job I was actually applying for. Instead, I provided lists of job titles ranging from President to Director for ‘this club and that club’. At the end of the day, when I arrived at Sauder, it became clear that everyone was a President and Director in their high school. The standard for everything elevated, substantially. It was my duty to learn the biggest lesson, the use of a CAR Statement — the way to present myself properly and well. Clearly, I wouldn’t have been able to do this any better without the help of COMM299.

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COMM299

[COMM299] Greatest Lesson Learned from Someone Else

“Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.” – George Santayana

My greatest lesson learned was  from an investor’s classic, “The Intelligent Investor”, written  by Benjamin Graham — later editted by Jason Zweig. The importance of the lesson did not lie from the ‘someone else’, instead, it was the meaning derived. An intellectual by the name of George Santayana noted, “Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes.”

Graham (and Zweig) relates this quote to the ethical, responsible, and psychological approach to investing in the capital markets. If  one does not acknowledge the past (market), it is inevitable that they will hit the brick wall once again — both psychologically and financially.

This lesson was interpreted differently, to some extent, by me. It brings the concept of failure to a different perspective: the past is what grows us. Given we learn from what we failed at, we are bound to have a visible improvement. Recalling my first COMM299 post, my team and I won the Venture Capital and Private Equity Competition.

During the second round, my team, Top Guns Capital, were given extremely limited time to prepare analyses, valuations, and recommendations to various e-teams (entrepreneurs). However, we managed to get through it. It being the longest 10 minutes of Q&A: one question drilled after another.

At the end, however, industry professionals provided clear suggestions on how to improve our valuations and models. As a result of their recommendations, as mentioned, we won the competition. If we had not learned from the things we missed out during round two, we quite likely might not have survived the second longest 10 minutes of Q&A during the finals.

What can I say, the past is critical to understanding the success of the future.

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[COMM299] Your Proudest Achievement

My proudest achievement occurred less than 24 hours ago at the same place that our COMM299 lecture is located. With over $4,500 worth of prizes at stake, four teams battle against each other in the form of presentations towards industry professionals from the financial world. It was the Venture Capital and Private Equity Competition. Throughout the past three weeks, countless hours have been allocated to this three-round competition. During our preliminary round, my team — Top Guns Capital — began two days prior to the deadline. With persistence and a desire to win, my hard-working team and I managed to advance. During the second round, we had to valuate four entrepreneurial ideas; with a passionate mindset, Top Guns made it to the finals. Everything was on the line now; we were going against a well-experienced team of intellectuals. Despite HR conflicts within our team, we overcame them and became stronger. This was probably my first presentation to important figures of the industry, but I was confident that my team’s effort allocated to exploring everything from LBO, DCF, Comps, and Precedent’s and learning how to fill out a term sheet. Together, we succeeded. We won. We won the $2,000. From gaining exposure to financial valuation, I gained a much larger scope of experience with reaching the final round — and this, was my proudest achievement of far.

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MARKETING MIS (Management of Information Sys.) Strategy Tactics

WP7. Why not just Blackberry then?

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In conjunction to telecommunication companies, my Fido 3-yr plan came to an end last year; I was shopping for a smartphone. The (fixed) costs of the plan are relatively the same due to the oligopolistic characteristics of the industry in Canada. Thus, phone choice is the issue.

Microsoft recently tested their new OS: Windows Phone 7. However, critics have had “mixed feelings” about it; despite their massive failure with Windows Mobile, Microsoft has developed enough to remain in the ‘fight’ (against Apple, Google, and RIM, etc).

Unfortunately, these points of parity do not justify their lack for point of differences: WP7 continues to have “no Flash support and no real multitasking”. Further, unlike Android, WP7 holds a closed platform – limiting third party alternatives.

Consumers may say, why not just buy the well-perceived iPhone then? Moreover, Blackberry may have won the business and email segment.

Business today is innovation with MIS. In addition to my 8th blog post, restaurants (such as HON’s) use iPhone to take orders, which potentially increases  productivity and sales through MIS.

I beg to ‘switch things up’. And that’s why I looked into third-party alternatives, such as porting Android 2.2 (Froyo), for my Xperia X1.

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FINANCE x SECURITIES HUMAN RESOURCES (HR x OB) Strategy

It’s only ECONOMICAL; however, stablize CULTURE..

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A week ago, I hopped on the SkyTrain with an article about GM’s initial-public-offering (IPO). Over a third of the shares are held by US Treasury. Thus, I thought – good luck Obama – and…

“To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them.” – Milton Friedman

China’s intensive growth over the past decade has been worth looking at. TheEconomist describes their behaviour as a ‘shopping spree’. On the other hand, I argue China’s ‘spree’ should continue. Not only shall they invest in government bonds – while extending their global investment of 6% – but also show interest in commercial (local) companies outside of China.

On an economic perspective, as Friedman may suggest, limitations on trade should be abolished; globalization is key to improved efficiency and effectiveness.

This regulates the likelihood of another major bankruptcy like GM; when Geely acquired Volvo (early 2010), it was a beneficial (and strategic) move for all parties – economically, financially, and culturally.

But, this should ONLY be attained through proper cohesiveness: collaboration between the cultures. For instance, appropriate socialization should be practiced to make local employees (and managers) feel like home, rather than being seen as a ‘Chinese’-owned company.

Word Count: 200

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HUMAN RESOURCES (HR x OB) Management x CASE & BP MARKETING Strategy

If it means eating from that…

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If HR is the backbone to business as CSR is to the heart. Then, the left and right hands of business are the integration of marketing and accounting. Nearing the end of COMM101, I have learnt the spectrum of business covers all aspects, not just a single entity.

The same concept lies in renovating a new restaurant: many attempt to change the appearance of things. However, Fowler, CEO of SIR Corp, will beg to differ, “don’t shortchange the guests – they can see through it”. It is important to deliver quality food, atmosphere, service, and value altogether.

But one may question the cost of doing so. Restaurants have one of the higher failure rates as a start-up business; fixed costs (rent) take up a large portion of funds. Conversely, variable costs fluctuate based on the volume of customers. Thus, the importance of an accurate forecast (empirical distribution) is needed.

In the concurrent recessionary environment, dining-out is clearly not a ‘need’. Instead of showing, restaurants must provide distinctive experiences and benefit of their food.

Food business is highly competitive. This explains why my aunt’s vegetarian restaurant closed in less than three months in Hong Kong: they lacked the ‘spark’ like Modern Toilet.

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MARKETING MIS (Management of Information Sys.) Sports Strategy

Rogers Arena? Rogers Centre? What’s next — Rogers Place?

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Having just finished Case 3, I come to realize the telecom war is never over.

As a sports fan like myself, it was a shock to see the home of the Canucks be renamed, Rogers Arena. But the ‘not-so-successful’ hockey and basketball franchises appear to be Rogers Communication’s next strategic target. This is because the “tipping point” for a Maple Leaf or Raptor fan is so far away; there has always been a market for them (despite their poor performance).

Telecommunications in Canada are essentially controlled by an oligopoly (Rogers, Telus, Bell). The degree of competition is so high, barriers to entry are high; but in addition to their legal regulations, they have limited points of differences.

Bell has already taken advantage of MIS by setting a deal with the NFL for their smartphones; Telus has done the same for the CFL. It is these engines are innovation (2.0) that propels the way consumers approach sports. Everyone holds a mobile device nowadays; the access to all these consumers through an instant is what these telecoms can now do without the “heavy regulation of traditional distribution networks”.

This is one of many ways Rogers attempts to “be CONTENT-king“: vertical integration.

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Fashion MARKETING TLOG x Operations x Supply Chain Management

fashion collab’: “Lanvin for H&M”

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You probably wouldn’t find me in the sea of red (umbrellas) lining up outside H&M during November. But, many chose to “camp” all night; H&M has taken a step to broaden their consumer base, collaborating with French luxurious-fashion house, Lanvin.

H&M automatically appeals to overcome the hurdle of one single target market: “dress for less”. With the assistance of Lanvin’s brand (and Alber Elbaz’s fashionably creative designs), H&M is thus targeting a wide segment of consumers: luxurious, fashion-fanatics, and ‘dress-for-less’ shoppers.

It is to no surprise that fast-fashion retailer, Hennes and Mauritz AB (H&M), continues to be successful with this operation model: they manage to keep a low weekly inventory, while maximizing inventory turnover. Since their release of “Lanvin for H&M”, their stock value has gradually increased (over $10).

The overview and practice of “Lanvin for H&M” is to some extent a double marginalization. With H&M capturing success all around the world (especially in China and Russia), they hold strong market share in retail fashion. Lanvin, is one of the few remaining French high fashion houses, which holds market presence as well.

“Lanvin for H&M” is the collaboration of two extremely successful (monopolistically competitive) firms, which are essentially differentiating uniquely.

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Management x CASE & BP MARKETING Sports Strategy

search: “GM Place” | **did you mean, “Rogers Arena”?**

The positioning of brands is extremely important, especially in a competitive market. One will associate a respective brand with “value propositions” based on their own experiences and perceptions. Thus, it is crucial to shape your brand to suit each and every customer in your segmentation. The barriers to enter the telecommunication market are quite minimal: not only is the big three (consisting of Rogers/ Fido, Telus, and Bell) present, but smaller and newer companies are attempting to make their presence felt (such as WindMobile). Associating with ‘Class 6 and 8’; there are plenty ‘Points of Parities’ in this telecommunication market, noted by the article as “Canada’s wireless war”, widely ranging from different phone or data plans. Rogers recently became the home of the Vancouver Canucks, in the heart of downtown Vancouver, renaming GM Place to Rogers Arena.

Nadir Mohamed, President and CEO of Rogers Communications, states that this is a symbolic presence demonstrating the commitment to the West; and to British Columbia’s respective telecommunications.

“Connectivity, to [Mohamed], is table stakes.” They wish to innovatively differentiate themselves through diverse applications and solutions. This is something that must be done in order to survive in such a competitive market.

Word Count: 197
*reference: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Place+more+Rogers+plants+flag+downtown+Vancouver/3646867/story.html

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HUMAN RESOURCES (HR x OB) Management x CASE & BP Strategy Tactics

“With great power… comes great responsibility”; will HP finally rebound?

When the direction of the entire person, firm, or entity is headed towards failure; change is expected to be present. That is exactly what happened on September 30th: Léo Apotheker became Hewlett-Packard’s new chief executive. In every business, various strategies, tactics, and analyses are required to make it successful. After predecessor, Mark Hurd, hurt the morale of HP; tactical changes can no longer shift the direction of the company. Instead, a more “aggressive” operating strategy is likely to be present; in an attempt to bring back the faith of HP. Further, he has extensive knowledge in software. This new strategy is expected to steer and “affect [the] firm’s overall direction” in the “longer term”. However, Apotheker was the former CEO for SAP, which may cause potential issues with Oracle (which is closely related to HP). Along with Apotheker’s experience of mergers such as “SAP’s purchase of Business Objects”, experts expect more to come.

As we touched on vertical integration (and gas companies – like Shell and Chevron) in class; many believe that HP and SAP may soon be establishing a new, clean relationship.

Hewlett-Packard has faced countless issues in the past decade; Apotheker will strategically attempt to change it back.

Word Count: 199
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2010/10/hewlett_packard_names_former_sap_boss_apotheker_ceo

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