Clement Kong's Blog

One Card = One Wallet

A San Francisco start-up called Coin is a single device that could work as your entire wallet. The futuristic universal card can store multiple credit, debit, loyalty and gift cards, which you could toggle between by pushing a button on the card. In order to load cards onto Coin, you have to use an app on the phone with a included card reader, after swiping your credit cards, you would then use the app to take photos of the card’s front and back, and then enter the details. For security, it is password protected and stays connected to the phone via Bluetooth, which alerts you in case you left your Coin behind. It locks up automatically if it’s away from the phone for too long.

Although the disadvantage is that you would trust the start-up with all your important payment information, it could still be very useful especially for businessmen who need to use different cards all the time. Personally I think that it is convenient, creative, and innovative but also has a lot of room for improvement. Although the actual product costs $100 and the internal battery only lasts for 2 years, the pre-order so far has been really successful.

Bibliography:

Newman, Jared. “Costanza Wallet? Load All Your Credit Cards into One Coin Smart Card | TIME.com.” Time. Time, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://techland.time.com/2013/11/14/costanza-wallet-load-all-your-credit-cards-into-one-coin-smart-card/>.

Hamburger, Ellis. “Wallet Hack: Can Coin Replace Your Credit Cards?” The Verge. N.p., 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/14/5103820/coin-electronic-card-to-hold-all-your-credit-cards>.

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The three leading strategy consultancies, McKinsey, BCG and Boston continue to generate big revenues despite the bad global economy. Many companies would hire consultants, as they need to get someone clever to solve their problems. Consultants cannot just do a slideshow and get paid a huge amount of money; they are nowadays made to find practical solutions to improve the company. The business is all about repeat customers, as they need to earn the trust by showing good results before getting companies to come back for more.

Personally, my father is a management consultant and I have come to have a fair understanding of the business through discussions with my dad and general observations. A consultant is just like a doctor, except it’s for companies with internal problems. Consultants nowadays need to have wider range of expertise and therefore McKinsey and BCG are hiring experienced scientists and doctors. To be a successful consultant, you need to have exceptional problem solving and communication skills, and also a good understanding of organizational behaviour and human resources. It is a highly rewarding occupation not just because of the pay, but because customers highly value what consultants recommend which is both exciting and empowering for consultants.

Bibliography:

“To the Brainy, the Spoils.” The Economist. N.p., 11 May 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.economist.com/news/business/21577376-world-grows-more-confusing-demand-clever-consultants-booming-brainy>.

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What goes around comes around…

Los Angeles filmmaker, Greg Karber got his revenge on Abercrombie & Fitch who only targets “thin and beautiful people” by producing a video where he hands out the brand’s clothing to the homeless. Greg Karber was upset when he found that the company tries to maintain its image by destroying unsold clothing instead of giving it to those in need. This whole action is not just to raise awareness but also to attempt to re-brand the image of the company by diversifying the people who wears Abercrombie & Fitch instead of only thin people.

Abercrombie & Fitch branding and marketing strategy was always to use sex and six-packs to sell clothes, as they believe it leaves loyal customers wanting more. When the retailer’s CEO, Mike Jeffries made the statement that his target market is only thin and beautiful people, it got a lot of negative responses from the public as this was supporting the culture of only valuing looks. Other news that affects the brand image includes excluding plus-sized customers, and forcing the staff to carry out military style exercises to maintain their bodies. The company should consider changing its business model as plus-sized customers take up 67% of America’s purchasing population.

Bibliography:

“Abercrombie and Fitch Get a VERY New Look: Filmmaker Hands out Label’s Clothes to LA Homeless in Revenge for CEO ‘only Wanting Thin and Beautiful Customers'” Mail Online. N.p., 15 May 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2324748/Abercrombie-Fitchs-brand-readjustment-Filmmaker-hands-clothes-LA-homeless-revenge-wanting-beautiful-customers.html>.

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Pirating has its Advantages?

Based on the blog, “How Netflix knows who wants to watch what” posted on MacLean’s, the writer mentions how Netflix recently revealed their methods in knowing which TV shows or movies would be popular among viewers. Apparently the company looks at pirated file-sharing websites and purchases shows that are the most popular among the torrenting crowd. This idea has earned the company commendation for creativity and popularity in Canada.

Pirated downloads or torrenting has been popular tools used among people to share TV shows and movies. Many viewers prefer not to pay for DVD’s or online movies for the amount of films they watch, hence they try to find other ways in watching movies. Personally I find this blog useful since it shows how companies could benefit from being open minded and using any tools that are available to them, it is interesting to see how being positive in a situation allows you to get the benefits out of something that was disadvantageous to the company. During its expansion, torrenting traffic in the north of the border has halved, showing people’s eagerness to pay for online streaming. Analysts suggested that Netflix’s valuation could soar to $75 billion before 2020.

Bibliography:

Taylor-Vaisey, Nick. “How Netflix Knows Who Wants to Watch What.” Web log post. Maclean’s. N.p., 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/10/10/pirate-raid-22/>.

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In the blog, “Fixed Costs: The Cause of Debt?” by Allison Bullen, the writer mentioned the issues American families are facing with their “fixed costs” such as housing, health care and rising educational costs that are impossible to reduce. These costs lead Americans into further debt, and just by cutting down on daily costs by taking public transportations and cooking at home wouldn’t make a very big difference. Based on statistics shown on the blog, housing, health care and college tuition etc. costs an average family 75% of their income in the year 2000, compared to 50% in the 1970s.

Ever since the global financial crisis of 2008, things haven’t really gotten much better. Prices continue to inflate; the average household income is decreasing yearly. The writer mentioned in her blog that the average household income for families between the ages of 33 to 44 fell 14% from 2001 to 2010. With a big cost and low income, the economy has made many families and people desperate. In the current economy, the best possible way for a family to survive is to continue to reduce daily costs as much as possible, and through making smart decisions with anything big such as their “fixed costs”.

Bibliography:

Bullen, Allison. “Allison Bullen’s Blog.” Web log post. Allison Bullens Blog. N.p., 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/allisonbullen/2013/10/05/how-fixed-costs-are-driving-americans-to-the-poorhouse/>.

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In the blog, “Truth Is Better Than Lie” by Huijia Yang, the writer mentioned BlackBerry giving out false financial statements to shareholders that led to a lawsuit. Based on the blog, it was recently reported that the company has a loss of 965 million dollars in operating costs and has made the decision to lay off 4,500 employees. Remember the time when you saw every businessmen typing away on a BlackBerry everywhere? Well those days sure are over! With the increasingly competitive market of smartphones with strong competitions such as Apple and Samsung, it has gone down hill.

In addition to that, the company has decided to lie to their shareholders about its financial statements to avoid them from finding out that the company was failing. The writer stated that she believes this was wrong since it would have saved a lot of trouble if the company were honest in the first place. Personally I agree with the writer and believe that this goes back to the issue of business ethics. Not only could the company have saved the lawsuit money, they could’ve also saved it’s reputation and integrity among customers. Making a wise long-term decision is always the better way to go!

Bibliography:

Yang, Huijia. “Huijia Yang’s Blog.” Web log post. Huijia Yangs Blog. N.p., 6 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/huijiayang/2013/10/06/let-nypd-do-the-advertising-job/>.

Reuters, Thomson. “BlackBerry Hit with Shareholder Lawsuit.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 5 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/blackberry-hit-with-shareholder-lawsuit-1.1913852>.

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British Columbia was known as Hollywood North by the late 1970s. There are wonderful talent of highly trained people and a resemblance to L.A. in British Columbia. Unfortunately, the industry within British Columbia has been depreciating, as the government does not do anything about the tax credits that has brought up the industry.

In 2000, British Columbia’s film and television industry went over the billion-dollar mark in production. The growth was mainly contributed by the tax credits for labour costs. However in 2009, Ontario and Quebec raised their tax credits that took away a lot of the production from British Columbia. In 2011, British Columbia was behind Ontario. By 2012, there was a $134 million drop in production and 3500 film related jobs lost.

The film and television industry has a very big contribution to British Columbia’s economy, and so the government definitely has to rethink its’ policy on tax credits. The tax credit is the amount reduced from the total amount that a taxpayer owes. Every industry wants to maximise their profits (Revenue – Costs= Profits), and since tax is a cost they would want to find the cheapest and most economical location possible for production. British Columbia cannot lose such a valuable industry!

Bibliography:

Heyman, George. “The Vancouver Sun.” Opinion: Province’s Film Industry Deserves Support Now. N.p., 13 July 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Province film industry deserves support/8719013/story.html>.

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Time for a Change?

The smartphone business is getting increasingly competitive. Whilst Android phones such as Samsung, HTC and LG holds 51.6% of the smartphone platform market share, Apple only holds 40.7%. Although Apple is holding a lot of the market share as its own company, this is still a growing concern.

There have been complaints that Apple is only making trivial changes to the phone. Whilst other companies are making their phone screens way bigger, Apple is only elongating the screen. The new iPhone 5C has the same hardware as iPhone 5 but has polycarbonate casing, whereas iPhone 5S also only incorporates an A7 processor and fingerprint sensor. Not a big change for a long wait from the Apple fans. Android phones are increasing its’ functions and designs, whilst Apple is just changing a few functions here and there.

To evaluate Apple’s competitive advantage, we can use positioning (marketing) to see the Point of Difference its products are offering compared to other companies. The iPhone 5s is only offering a marketing edge of fingerprint sensor, A7 processor and its’ iOS software. Other companies are bringing more to the table; it might be time for Apple to expand their Point of Difference in order to lead the game!

Bibliography:

Reed, Brad. “Apple and Samsung Are Still the Only Smartphone Companies Winning in the U.S.” BGR. N.p., 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://bgr.com/2013/10/04/apple-samsung-us-market-share/>.

“Best Android Phones.” CNET. Ed. Jessica Dolcourt. N.p., 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://reviews.cnet.com/best-android-phones/>.

“Apple – IPhone 5s – Features.” Apple – IPhone 5s – Features. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.apple.com/iphone-5s/features/>.

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Political disagreement from both the Democrats and Republicans has led to a shutdown for the U.S. Government on October 1^st. They have failed to agree on a new budget for the 2013-2014 financial year, therefore they had to shutdown due to no legal payment agreement made for non-essential staff working in the government. The republicans were against Obamacare, however Obama’s democrats decided to take a stand.

800,000 government employees were furloughed, whereas 1.3 million employees had to continue to work but without pay until an agreement has been made. If employees continue to be without pay, they will spend less, they might also have difficulty supporting themselves and their families. Also, if this eventually leads to a 2-week shutdown, it will take 0.3% off US GDP.

This incident reflects how disagreements and conflicts within any corporation could affect the operation of their business. Not being able to settle on an agreement, or not coming to a solution quick enough could have short or long-term effects on the business. This is clearly an issue of management that led to a fault in the operation of the entire government. It is necessary for the government to come to a budget agreement as soon as possible before it has drastic changes on the economy.

Bibliography:

Wearden, Graeme. “US Shutdown: A Guide for Non-Americans.” The Guardian. N.p., 1 Oct. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/30/us-shutdown-explainer-non-americans>.

Fitzpatrick, Meagan. “U.S. Government Shutdown: What to Expect If It Happens.”CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/u-s-government-shutdown-what-to-expect-if-it-happens-1.1870936>.

Plumer, Brad. “Absolutely Everything You Need to Know about How the Government Shutdown Will Work.” The Washington Post. N.p., 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/30/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-about-how-the-government-shutdown-will-work/>.

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What is the definition of Business Ethics?

Professional ethics that observes the ethical principles or moral issues that emerges in a business environment.

In 2011, the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair Ltd. was criticized for their ridiculous charging policies or also known as “surcharging”. A Ryanair passenger complained that the airline company was giving a €40 surcharge on passengers who did not print out their boarding cards before boarding the plane. Ryanair had no right doing so as there were aviation laws that make airlines issue boarding passes. In the end, this case went to court and the EU legislation drafted against the system of surcharging. Even majority of the media and people believe that such payment is absolutely outrageous!

In every business, a repeat customer is very important and it is based on customer trust and their belief in the service. Ryanair is supposed to be following a low-cost business model, instead it’s deceiving the customer by charging them with things as trivial as forgetting your boarding pass. Ryanair failed to remember the importance of “brand trust” and “reputation” in their line of business. The moral issue that is presented here is the deceitful image the company is giving to its’ customers, and the fact that it tried to ignore the law. After all they were giving the perception of being low-cost, but a €40 surcharge says otherwise. Through this case, Ryanair’s reputation and trust among the customers have obviously been scarred, but the lesson learned is that “honesty is the best policy” and to always give customers what you promise. Another lesson is that you should never underestimate what a customer, the law or the media can do!

Bibliography:

Tremlett, Giles. “Judge Tells Ryanair That Forcing Passengers to Print Boarding Passes Is Illegal.” The Guardian. N.p., 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/jan/14/ryanair-spanish-court-boarding-pass>.

“About Us.” About Us. Ryan Air, n.d. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://www.ryanair.com/ie/about>.

Marcoux, Alexei, Marcoux,. “Business Ethics.” Stanford University. Stanford University, 16 Apr. 2008. Web. 3 Sept. 2013. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-business/>.

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