Danielle Yallouz's Blog

According to the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, smoking contributes to more than 37,000 deaths a year in Canada.  Furthermore, second hand smoke causes at least 800 deaths annually in Canadian non-smokers, as it causes lung cancer and heart disease.  Smoking is serious health concern, and the fact that it continues to cause this many deaths shows that we as a nation need to make an even greater change. Since smoking is highly addictive, it is very challenging to try to get a person to stop smoking. It is crucial to educate as many citizens as possible about the horrors and life changing effects smoking can have on a person, but it is also important to help those who are needing support and want to make a change. E-Cigarettes are electronic cigarettes that offer nicotine addicts a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. Unfortunately, according to Christian Noel’s blog, E-Cigarettes are unsafe. Even though they help smokers quit smoking, they could potentially become more popular then regular cigarettes and cause similar health risks. Will the overall outcome of this change increase health or continue to decline it? Furthermore, E-Cigarettes could have discovered a hole in the market and, if successful, could make even more profits then cigarettes. This resurfaces a never-ending ethical dilemma when it comes to selling a product associated with cigarettes. Christian Noel stated, “Electronic cigarette manufactures need to address the responsibility they owe their consumers that electronic cigarettes are not a completely safe alternative to tobacco.” I totally agree with this statement and think that if it is established to the customer that it is not completely safe, yet will act as an alternative to tobacco.

http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3483991/k.34A8/Statistics.htm#smoking

https://blogs.ubc.ca/christiannoel/

There is always a question of whether profits are more important then staying true to ones brand when it comes to an ethical dilemma within a business.  Coca-Cola is currently struggling with this internal conflict. Their brand is very supportive of gay rights and they are known for supporting human rights, yet since they are also supporters of the Sochi 2014 Olympics, Coca-Cola find themselves struggling to find a middle ground. Shomas Mah, a first year commerce student at the University of British Columbia asks the very prevalent question in his blog post surrounding this issue of, “Does Coca-Cola publicly take a stance against Russian anti-gay laws?” In my opinion, I believe that is it crucial that Coca-Cola takes a stand and stays true to what their company stands for. Their brand clearly includes their ongoing support for human rights and freedom, so it seems hypocritical to me that they would support an event that is being taken place in a country goes against those beliefs, even though if it is a huge global event such as the Olympics. Mah said it best, “If actions don’t coincide with company values, then what is the point of having company values?”

https://blogs.ubc.ca/shomasmah/

Remembrance Day is a day that we remember those who risked their lives for the wellbeing of our country. We remember those brave soldiers who lived or died defending our freedom in battle. Remembrance Day is a day that signifies change and peace and helps us reminisce, as well as educate, on just how horrible war is. So, is it ok for companies to use this solemn day to market their products? Personally I do not believe so. I believe Remembrance Day is about remembering those who suffered excruciating physical and mental pain and is not something to “celebrate” like other holidays. To me, it is comparable to a company trying to take advantage of the fact that someone just lost a loved one; this a horribly and disrespectful way to market a product.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/should-companies-tweet-about-remembrance-day/article15377812/

After learning all about Social Entrepreneurship in class, I was personally inspired. I never imagined that there was such a strong link between the world of business and the aiding of the world. This concept inspired me so much that I decided to look into some local social entrepreneurs from Vancouver, which is when I discovered Craig and Marc Kielburger who are the founders of the company Free the Children. Free the Children is an amazing example of social entrepreneurship because they are an organization that empowers youth to be active local and global citizens. They guide and encourage young people to make a difference in the world and help others in need. Unlike charities, Free the Children is not a non-profit organization.   They use their profits to continue to build their business, which organizes many events and promotes helping those in need. Free the Children also helps the economy by helping society grow. For these reasons and many more, Free the Children is an inspiring organization that makes a difference in our world and is an organization that anyone would be lucky to work for.

For More Information on Free the Children watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G2sqvEisrc

http://www.freethechildren.com/about-us/watch?v=7G2sqvEisrcwatch?v=7G2sqvEisrc

In the wake of the horrible, life changing Typhoon Haiyan, which recently hit the Philippines, rescuers are desperately trying to help those who have lost loved ones and most of their livelihood. It has been confirmed that 942 people have died so far due to the storm and 277 still missing.  Furthermore, the number of fatalities is expected to rise to 10,000.  The storm is one of the deadliest storms in the Philippines history, with winds up to 305 km/h that left only the tallest buildings standing. The Philippines are a rural area, and as a result of this storm, their economy has surely been affected. Fortunately, the economical effects may be limited and contained only to the affected areas. Agriculture is the industry that is the most effected, with major losses of production of two of the Philippines grossing markets rice and sugar. We can already see some effects, including the weakening of the Philippines currency, the peso, by 0.2 percent, as well as the Philippines stock market going down 2.2 percent. Hopefully, with the help of other nations, the Philippines can fully recover from this horrible natural disaster and re grow their economy.  watch?v=8UJW84Fqhgw

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/typhoon-haiyan-will-it-derail-philippines-economy-2D11577218

The famous Canadian airline West Jet has decided to step away from its usual low cost model and expand its trip-offerings overseas.  This is an attempt to compete with their biggest rival Air Canada. But is this a smart financial decision for the company? West Jet has decided to offer a flight between St Johns. This means that West Jet will need to expand the size of their planes to withstand this length of flight, which will increase costs. Yet since these flight are much more expensive, revenue will increase as well. Chris Sorensen, business blogger for MacLean’s states that, “There will likely be more changes to come.”  I concur. If West Jet is successful, they could create a whole new name for themselves and finally compete with the other international airline companies.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/11/15/westjet-bound-for-europe/

The legalization and decimalization of marijuana has been a major point of controversy throughout our history. Many intellects and government officials have been discussed the positives and negatives of allowing the distribution of the drug, yet the argument is always perpetual; if legalized and decimalized, the industry would no doubt improve our economy. Yet, if left illegal, health and safety risk suffered by those who use marijuana, will stay less prevalent. On Sunday, September 29^th, an article was published on CTV.ca entitled “Federal government launching $1.3-billion free market in medical marijuana”. The article explains that the conservative government has decided, to invest 1.3 billion dollars in the medical marijuana industry with the goal to provide 450 000 Canadians with a more reliable, healthy, good quality marijuana. The marijuana would be used primarily for those who suffer extremely painful deceases and need the drug to help elevate the pain.  Is this a step in the eventual legalization of this infamous drug? And how exactly will this have an effect on the Canadian Economy? Firstly, this advancement will provide more marijuana growers the opportunity to grow their weed legally; therefore, creating an increase in employment rates. There has already been 156 firms that have applied for producer and distributor status, and the government predicts a much more efficient distribution for the future. Furthermore, prior to this change, supply of this drug was significantly lower then the demand for it, thus creating excess demand. With this excess demand, the black market had a huge presence and illegals sales were extremely common. People are paying way more then the equilibrium price, meaning they are paying way more then necessary to satisfy the consumer and the producer. This change hopefully will bring the industry closer to its equilibrium price as well as eliminate some of the black market activity as well. There will always be controversy when it comes to marijuana and its legalization due to the different opinions surrounding the drug. If kept controlled and regulated, I believe that the legalization and the decimalization could assists the improvement in our economy; therefore, this advancement is simply a step in the right direction toward this.

Do you think it’s wrong to acquire merchandise in the United States? Then go on to use that merchandise to create a new business? This question has been discussed quite strongly amongst the owners of the hugely successful American grocery store company “Trader Joe’s” and local entrepreneur Michael Hallatt, creator of the local grocery store “Pirate Joe’s”. I was lucky enough to hear Hallatt speak at this years Sauder Frosh, and was blown away by his bravery and willingness to take risks. At this point he was unsure of the future of his new company. Yet, interestingly enough about a month after Frosh an article came out with insight on it’s future. In this article, it stated that, against all odds, Mr. Pirate Joe’s had done the impossible. He had won the lawsuit against the mighty “Trader Joe’s”! This article showed that in business, it’s all about taking risks; thus resulting in big rewards. It’s not always easy, and there might be bumps along the way but if one is committed and believes in his or her company, the impossible can become a reality. Furthermore, negatives can be transformed into positives. Like in the case of Hallatt’s “Pirate Joe’s”, even through the lawsuit, the little business gained major publicity and became known as the underdog competing against big competition. Currently, Hallatt has gone from spending 350, 000 on goods, unsure on if he would ever gain if back, to successfully winning a lawsuit against a company stronger and much more powerful then him.

This week in Commerce 101, our assignment was to create a SWOT analysis for one of the biggest energy drink companies in the world, Monster Energy Drink. It was a very interesting and challenging assignment. Learning how to research a company’s attributes in great detail was a very eye opening experience. I discovered the challenges it takes to market a product with many outside factors affecting your company directly and indirectly. For example, Monster suffers a significant amount of scrutiny when it comes to health accusations. This can have a major effect on it’s sales and it’s amount of consumers. I know personally after reading a vast amount of articles on the subject, I will not be purchasing a Monster Energy Drink again. Furthermore, I learned the challenges a company can have internally. It is crucial to have a strong marketing team and financial group in order to keep a business successful; as well as having them working cohesively. With continuous competing companies pressuring the ongoing success of a company, innovation and organization is key when running a business.

When it comes to creating a balance between ethics and success’ in the business world, it can be difficult to draw the line between what’s right and what’s wrong. Finding balance can certainly be a daunting task, one that many companies face. “Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline” (ENGP) is such a company.  Struck with a seemingly brilliant, 5.5 billion dollar project to help Canada’s economy, EMGP is faced with major controversy. Even though the pipeline would be a huge economical success providing the country with thousands of new possible employments and enabling them entry to booming and growing international markets, this does not come without sacrifice. The oil pipeline, which will stretch from the quaint town of Kitimat, British Columbia to the other side of the country, will disrupt the lives of many who’s town’s will suddenly become a route for this massive channel. It will also have a mass affect on our environment. This pipeline has the potential to cause oil spills, earthquakes (as it travels right though dangerous zones) and could irreparably harm many of Canada’s beautifully preserved natural habitats. So which side wins? How do you know what’s worth sacrificing? I believe it all depends on the situation, yet if a company finds themselves affecting more lives negatively then they are enhancing, there is something wrong. In this situation it is crucial to take every factor into account.  It is also essential to have a well thought-out plan and to take precautions for every possible scenario.

To find out more visit:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/how-enbridges-northern-gateway-pipeline-lost-its-way/article13700746/?page=all

http://www.northerngateway.ca/economic-opportunity/benefits-for-british-columbians/