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Here is the question. If the United Nations was fully funded, why is there a need for Arc or Social Enterprises. Social enterprises are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas. The Arc Initiative is a medium through which Sauder aims to bridge the gap between economic well being, business management and leadership capacity.

Here is why I think that even if the United Nations would be fully funded, they do require social enterprises. Firstly, the United Nations aims to maintain peace, enforce human rights and social well being for its member nations and not all the countries. Secondly, the United Nation is an intergovernmental organization and it cannot look towards every country and help improve and support every country at the same time. Social enterprises can, thus, aid the United Nations by working towards the welfare of the citizens in their countries. This can help ensure an improvement in the economy. The United Nations is a huge organization and since it has so many member nations, they look to provide general benefits to the members with regards to providing human rights, health and education. Social enterprises, in this case, can bring improvement into more specific areas such as infrastructure.

Now that I have your attention! We all know what is in the picture. POUTINE!!!! Something dear to all of us. Cheese, Fries, Brown Gravy and Meat, what’s not to like? We all are trying to run away from it to avoid Freshman 15, but that’s next to impossible.

This divine side-dish originated from Quebec, a place not so dear to other Canadians. This article talks about how Mcdonald’s would like to expand their market for Poutine after serving it in Quebec for more than 10 years and having more than two-third of the consumers of it, living outside the province.

I agree with the Director of Menu Management, when she says about it being the ‘right time’. Poutine has become so well-known and everybody who eats it once, wants more of it. They have already created a demand by mentioning the ingredients used in the dish, they do not need anymore. A sudden expansion into other markets outside Quebec will help Mcdonald’s capitalize on the want/hype they have created by introducing something like this. Not to mention that Mcdonald’s being a company known for its burgers, can now introduce a ‘Poutine burger’ and charge a higher price for it. Everyone will want it!

When I say death, what comes in your mind? Maybe a funeral, or a Grim Reaper on the below.

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This article talks about the biggest regrets of senior citizens who are dying. The first and most important regret is, to which most of us can relate to is, they all wanted to live a life worth living and not a life someone else wanted them to live. Every person realizes, when they get old, that they wish they could have followed their dream and chased it.

The second most important regret coming from all old patients would be their wish of not working so hard. In today’s world, money has become such an important part of everyone’s lives and we all work hard to achieve more and more wealth, even more isn’t enough. In the midst of working so hard, we ought to forget the things that matter the most to us, family, friends and the people very dear to us.

The last regret can also be related to every one of us, the regret of not living a happier life. When the time comes, 2 out of 3 of us will have the regret of not having a happier life and doing the things we love.

Here is my advice, everyone should smile. Life isn’t really that hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process. A great attitude makes a great day, which becomes a great month, which becomes a great year, which becomes a great life.

This blog post is from an external source called Dawn Ellis who has spoken in her blog about generating sales through social media.

I agree with her point of view with regards to how social media has become such an integral part in everyone’s lives in the recent years. Every age group has been active on social media due to the fact that it connects us to everyone no matter how far. Generating sales through social media is not only important for new and upcoming firms, but also profitable in the long run for a business.

Increasing sales through this medium is more profit maximizing and helps to create a larger net profit. But it is more important to do it and do it right. The best way to ensure sales maximization is by creating an attractive advertisement after doing a market research of the target market and understanding consumer behaviour.

According to studies, over 70% of businesses improve sales through social media. In recent years, there have been more than quarter of a billion active users on Twitter and an average person spends more than 6 hours on Facebook, and of course 90% of the population in the world watch television.

Below you can see a mind map of social Media.

This is my blog post commenting on one of my friend’s posts.

What comes to your mind if I say cosmetics? Some would say Maybelline, Tresemme, Avon or maybe even L’Oreal. This article tells us about how L’oreal is picking a new method of marketing to improve their sales. They are now focusing to build an emotional attachment with their customers with enough facts telling them not to perfect on their products anymore.

I have a different opinion and I feel that this is not a good way for them to establish product differentiation and find some sort of cutting edge over people. If I have learnt anything from my life, it is that never play with anyone’s emotions. Actions have consequences and if L’Oreal does establish some sort of emotional connection with its customers and lets their customers down in the future, their profits and sales will drop twice as fast as they were built.

We all know about the relationship Blackberry built with their customers, in the end they let the consumers down and in the recent years, their sales have fallen dramatically. If L’Oreal tries to do the same and lets its customers down, Blackberry will approach them and do what is mention in the picture on the bottom right.

We all know the amount of competition that L’Oreal has with other cosmetic brands such as Avon, Lancome, Dove and the list goes on and on. If they omit a huge part of trying to perfect their product, they will lose out on sales while trying to build a relationship which will be difficult to cultivate and much rather difficult to maintain. Just like a fragile glass, that relationship can be shattered into pieces.

Let me find the right words for you. Mouthwatering? Luring?

This is my blog, commenting towards a blog posted by my friend and colleague.

caAs tasty as Jell-O looks, the truth is that Jell-O, in the reason, has proven to be a disappointment to Kraft Foods. There are many reasons that it has dropped in sales in the recent years. I agree with what my my friend had to say with respect to this article. The reduction in sales has been due to the change in the diet habits of the consumers and their viewpoint that Jell-O is being considered as a dessert product in the mind of the consumer.

The point where I go against the article and my compatriot is that I do not thing it is possible for Kraft Foods to help improve sales of Jell-O by a huge margin. Firstly, Jell-O has been inscribed in the mind of the consumers and that would take more than doubling the cost of marketing to change the outlook. Secondly, it is not an uncommon fact that society is now becoming healthier, those old enough to realize it and young enough to be taught by elders to keep fit. Majority of the consumers are now focusing towards being healthy, thin and fit. They have changed their diets to something that makes and keeps them “ready-to-go”. If Jell-O does want to make a huge impact in the market, they need to make this product healthier, alongside maintaining its taste and increase the cost of marketing more than a double.

On June 27th 2014, Aboriginal Leaders were brought to ‘cheers and tears’ after the supreme court ruled that the Tsilhqot’in First Nation has title 1,750 square kilometres of land in south central B.C. The tribal park would cover about 3,120 square kilometres and protect cultural, heritage and ecological values, according to the Tsilhqot’in, while connecting to five surrounding provincial parks. Although the ruling also made it clear that economic development would continue with consent, if not then the crown has proven that the project has a “compelling and substantial” public interest.
From personal perspective, the First Nations were deprived of their lands and properties before and I think this is a great progress in the Canadian-First Nations relations. I agree with Jody Wilson-Raybould, regional B.C. chief of the Assembly of First Nations, when she says “This will be a game-changer in terms of the landscape in British Columbia and throughout the rest of the country where there is unextinguished Aboriginal title,” said Jody Wilson-Raybould, regional B.C. chief of the Assembly of First Nations. This has to be the wake-up call for governments, both the provincial and federal governments, and we look to Mr. Harper to actually see this as the fundamental impetus to sit down at the table and truly and meaningfully move towards reconciliation.”

I read this article on The Guardian, posted on September 18, 2014.

The article states that most of the Nova Scotia firms in the United Kingdom seem to have very little or no concern about the outcome of the vote on Scottish independence and stand firm on the fact that no matter what the outcome of this voting may be, Nova Scotia companies will continue to do business with Scotland. Scotland is a significant trade partner for Nova Scotia, including in the energy, fisheries and ocean tech sectors,” says Frazer Egerton, director of trade policy in the Department of Economic, Rural Development and Tourism. “We look forward to continuing and growing our trade relationship, whatever the decision of the Scottish people.”

Scott Long, Music Nova Scotia’s executive director, said the mission to Glasgow was an important market research effort.“As a province we have been targeting the UK as a strategic music market for some time, but with particular emphasis on London. Glasgow is increasingly becoming a major epicentre for the discovery of new music. Connecting with buyers in Glasgow is the next logical step to a successful export strategy in the U.K.”

I reckon what caught my attention to this article was that no matter what the final outcome of a huge decision of freedom for Scotland, the firms from a province in Canada would still carry on it’s trade even if there will be a whole new set of regulations if Scotland did separate.

I got the reference for this article from class when the Professor mentioned about milkshake marketing, an intriguing and newly innovative way to sell products.

The milkshake was hired in lieu of a bagel or doughnut because it was relatively tidy and appetite-quenching, and because trying to suck a thick liquid through a thin straw gave customers something to do with their boring commute. Understanding the job to be done, the company could then respond by creating a morning milkshake that was even thicker (to last through a long commute) and more interesting (with chunks of fruit) than its predecessor. The chain could also respond to a separate job that customers needed milkshakes to do: serve as a special treat for young children—without making the parents wait a half hour as the children tried to work the milkshake through a straw. In that case, a different, thicker milkshake was in order.

Personally, I consider this as a very creative, innovative and intriguing method of marketing, the fact that a consumer would purchase thick milkshakes to quenche not just thirst, but also boredom.

Even though major retailers like Target and Home Depot made the most headlines in the past year because of data breaches, companies of all sizes face similar dangers. Overall, 43 percent of U.S. businesses suffered at least one cyber security incident this year, up 10 percent from 2013, according to a study from the Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on privacy, data protection and information security policy, and Experian Data Breach Resolution.These incidents have data security in U.S. businesses at an all-time high. Nearly three-quarters of the businesses surveyed now have a data breach response plan in place, up 12 percent from last year. Additionally, 48 percent of organizations have increased their investment in security technologies in the past 12 months. Since employee errors are a frequent cause of data breaches, more and more businesses provide their staffs with data security training. The study discovered that 54 percent of companies have privacy and data-protection awareness training for employees and other stakeholders, up 10 percentage points from 2013.