It is laughable how a recently published Montreal Gazette article touches on what business schools should be teaching, and as a matter of fact, we have been learning in COMM 101 about the very topics mentioned in the article here at Sauder.

“Business education needs to focus on the social, ecological, ethical and economic sustainability of enterprises and their legitimate role in society.”

British person's view on the Occupy movement in Britain

Apparently, Sauder knows what it is doing!  The author believes the Occupy Wall Street movement started because people in charge of the most powerful corporations did not make ethical decisions (or were not taught how to do so).  We have already learned something about ethics and Sauder courses will teach more on ethics into our more senior years.  The point of this article is that some people feel that business schools are not teaching people how to fairly handle corporate governance with respect to sustainability.  At Sauder, classes are available specifically designed towards corporate sustainability.

It appears that we are well on our way to being guided in the appropriate direction to solve the world’s problems! (Haha)

Photo courtesy of this Montreal Gazette article

It seems funny that on the very day that we discuss Supply Chain Operations in class, an article surfaces on the Internet discussing similar issues.  However, this is no laughing matter for companies such as Apple and Toyota.

Thailand’s floods are affecting the supply chain of Apple computer components and the production of Toyota’s Prius and Camry.  When a country that leads the world in hard disc drive production experiences a natural disaster, millions of people are going to be affected by it.  Many other companies listed in the Bloomberg article are also being affected by the devastating floods in Thailand.  A video on Bloomberg analyzes how the supply chains of Japanese firms are being affected by the floods.

Canon's factory in Thailand under water

The trouble about this subject is that there is not much that firms with operations in Thailand can do.  Taking buckets and trying to scoop water out will not work.  Even when the water drains, companies are going to have to wait for utilities to be restored and some equipment will be ruined.  Above all, we hope for the safety of the people there.

Photo courtesy of the Bloomberg article

A blog post by Phil Froats of Canadian Business initiates an interesting thought process questioning the amount Canadians spend on education, per capita, between the ages of five and twenty-four.

The above graph illustrates per capita spending in 2001 (blue: adjusted to 2011 figures; red: adjusted to 2011 figures plus 50% for higher education quality) compared to 2011 (green).  There is obviously a jump in spending, even including inflation and education improvement.  Froats brings up an interesting point: should we be questioning this jump in spending?

Perhaps one question to ask is whether or not Canadian “education quality” has increased by 50%?  Has Canadian education improved more than 50% in the last ten years?  These are not easy questions to answer, and are very opinionated topics.  It is extremely difficult to put a percentage number on education improvement.  There is no doubt that Canadians have access to tremendous academic opportunities growing up.  There is always the question of whether tuition costs are appropriately priced, but tuition costs have to be paid from somewhere (see Greece if you don’t know what I mean).

Photo taken from this blog post

Comments are encouraged below.

Last week in class we discussed how Kodak was filing for bankruptcy due to a severe loss in business in the camera market.  However, reports of bankruptcy were not true, according to Kodak; its shares jumped this week after they plunged due to reports of bankruptcy.  Forbes reports that this jump in stocks is due to reports of Kodak having redesigned its strategy.

Can Kodak really recover from being “behind the times” since the introduction of digital cameras?  It will be tough for Kodak to compete with current leaders of the digital camera market, such as Olympus, Sony and Nikon.  Although Kodak was known for its influence on the film camera industry prior to cameras turning digital, it could perhaps be disastrous for Kodak to attempt a resurgence in an already competitive market.  Some people would be saddened by the loss of a company that has been around for 131 years and really made photography popular.

Reports state that Kodak’s new strategy involves selling digital imaging patents to generate funds that could be utilized to move their business in a new direction.  Will it work?

 Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Occupy Wall Street Promo Poster

The newest global movement, “Occupy Wall Street”, started September 17th and has gathered momentum.  Yesterday, massive protests occurred at the Brooklyn Bridge with many being arrested, as CTV.ca reported.  These protests initially occurred in New York, and eventually spread to numerous big American cities, such as: Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.  Now, this movement has spread to Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary; even people across the Atlantic in London have started to speak out.

It is almost as if everyone watched the Matt Damon-narrated documentary “Inside Job” at once, and decided to start a mass protest.  The issue surrounds corporate greed, such as companies and banks on Wall Street.  People have finally started to have a voice against banks being bailed out with public funds while their executives take home millions in bonuses, while citizens are jobless and their families are hungry and without homes.   It is about time the American people take matters into their own hands and speak out.  This movement has made Canadians take a stand as well, although the issue is more regarded as an American problem because of their economic structure.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Last week in class we watched a video poking fun at the Euro Zone’s current situation in the Debt Crisis.  In reality, it is not a laughing matter – especially if you’re a finance minister of a Euro Zone country.  Greece, which is currently the centre of attention in this  matter, came up in the news again today.

Nations using the Euro

Leaders of organizations such as: the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, are being cautious about how they are going to handle Greece’s bailout.  According to the New York Times article, Greece’s government does not have a great ability to adapt to severe structural changes financially.  Finance Ministers from Euro Zone nations want concrete reassurance that Greece will be able to pay back any aid it receives.

It is clearly not the best time to be a member of Greek government at the moment.  This nation is in an utter mess financially; however, the longer it takes to bail Greece out the worse their situation gets.  In turn, this drags down the other Euro Zone nations that gave loans to Greece in the past.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

According to the Financial Post, one of Canada’s most valuable resources, the Alberta Oil Sands, are to have an increased in foreign investment soon.  Analysts believe that this move can help eliminate the Oil Sands labour shortages by filling open jobs, now that many people from the “Baby Boom” era are retiring.

Fort McMurray is the business hub of the Oil Sands

When foreign companies invest in Canada with investments they must follow Canadian law.  These companies must also keep in mind how the Canadian public views the Oil Sands.  The Oil Sands are a huge part of Alberta’s economy, and a crucially important aspect in the future of Canada’s economy.  A lot of money can be extracted from the Oil Sands.  However, the flip side to that argument is environmentally-related.  Extracting oil from the Oil Sands does tremendous damage to the environment with the fumes that are released into the atmosphere.  A potential threat of having too much foreign involvement is that foreign investors will want the money that they can earn through their investment, without due regard for the environmental effects resulting from the extraction.

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

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