Monthly Archives: November 2014

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” While the United Nations can provide stability to third world countries and address humanitarian issues, the solutions they offer in terms of relief and aid are not necessarily long term solutions. Resources are tangible and finite; the United Nations can only fund issues only for as long as they can be consumed. For instance, non-profits that donated money to Rwanda following their war were not able to successfully improve the conditions within the country (“Upward Arc”).

Arc Initiative South Africa Conference 2011 (Source: Arc Initiative)

However, the Arc Initiative establishes a different approach to provide “long-lasting economic betterment for local communities”. The organization imparts business knowledge and expertise to young social entrepreneurs to give them the proper decision making tools in maximizing profit and running their business more successfully. By fueling these individuals with the capacity to become leaders, this concept allows for self-sustainability rather than a reliance on external aid.

If the UN lost all its funds, where would they re-establish their resources to function? The answer is that they probably wouldn’t. Contrastingly, social enterprises are self-reliant in attaining the funds necessary to achieve their desired social vision.

Canada’s top 100 employers are selected annually; a competitive process that takes into account:

1) physical workplace

2) work and social atmosphere

3) health, financial and family benefits

4) vacation and time off

5) employee communications focused on how employers capture employee feedback

6) performance management

7) training and skills development

8) community involvement

Tightly knit work environment at the Provincial Health Services Authority. (Source: PHSA)

It really hit close to home when I saw that BC’s Provincial Health Services Authority made the cut. (I always wondered why my dad worked so hard for the company, but it makes sense now, realizing that the corporate culture strongly influenced his work ethic.) Evidently, strong organizational culture can create a difference in employee performance and productivity through employee satisfaction.

While profit maximization will always be a goal for a company, a shift towards corporate culture and innovative HR practices has taken place in the hopes of engaging the work force, consequently creating more of a long-term profitable solution.

A secondary benefit of creating a desirable corporate culture is the fact that this recognition can lead to hiring better-qualified employees. Given that studies have shown that the Millennial generation values flexibility over pay (“Like it or not, Millennials will change the workplace”), intrinsic motivation and as a result, corporate culture, is becoming more of an incentive to our generation than extrinsic factors.

In response to Stella Cho’s blog post “Cable Television: The New Old-Timer”, subscription sites such as Netflix have taken a toll on the cable television industry. The easy accessibility and variety offered by Netflix makes the company a disruptive innovator, allowing consumers to choose what they would like to stream rather than forced into the set-schedule concept of cable TV.

In addition, Netflix has established a strong marketing strategy – their one month free trial. I, myself, have recently taken up this cost-friendly subscription service and intend to continue with it well past the trial date.

Limited edition Fall Fête box from the online beauty subscription site Birchbox. (Source: BirchBox) 

Not only has the online subscription service been a hit within the media market, but this idea has been paralleled within several other industries, including companies such as Birchbox, JewelMint, ShoeDazzle, and NatureBox. These subscription sites often come with profile surveys to determine the best “handpicked” products for customers. With a more customized approach, consumers will likely be inclined to shop from the comfort of their homes. Among these subscription companies are cost-efficient options upwards to high-end products. With the breadth of the retail market, this newly sourced revenue stream is bound to expand, taking over the consumer base originally found shopping in store around malls.

With time, we will see even traditional store-based companies taking on this subscription approach as a way to adapt to change.