Monthly Archives: November 2013

The triple bottom line was used as a basis to create Jessica Alba’s LA based startup company, known as “The Honest Company” which aims to sell non-toxic, eco friendly, and affordable products for babies.  Realizing the lack of non-toxic baby products Alba decided to make a difference for her baby, and other children.

All of their products are environmentally friendly, and the suppliers have to comply with their human rights, and environmental standards.  This is a point of difference for the Honest Company; for Alba’s company it is fundamental to be “green and honest”.  The Honest Company is able to donate a portion of their sales to Baby2Baby, which provides necessary baby products to inner city families.  The company is continuing to donate for other social purposes, making a difference for families who can’t afford to provide their babies quality products, an admirable deed.

It is essential for this small company to be for-profit because they are aiming to sell at a mass level to expand their target market. Encouraging customer’s to follow their philosophy requires them to offer their products in a mix of stores, which they have recently done by expanding into Costco and smaller boutiques.

Remember when your mom would tell you to finish all your food because it’s unfair to the children starving in Africa? Well being a part of the kids who wouldn’t leave anything on my plate thinking it would make a difference, social entrepreneurship seems like the yellow-brick road for me. Can making a positive change be a career now?

Social Entrepreneurship programs are now being implemented at universities across Canada, and students are not taking this opportunity for granted. Using their business knowledge and passion for change they are able to make a difference by tackling societal challenges through business practices, community involvement and volunteerism. One example of students immersing themselves in this culture is with Arc Initiative. They use the bright minds of business students, alumni, and entrepreneurs in developing countries to make long-term economic betterment for local communities by helping the entrepreneurs gain business management skills and leadership capacity. It is important that we share our knowledge and skills because a simple SWOT analysis or Porter’s 5 Forces can teach a determined entrepreneur in Ethiopia create an effective business plan, which will benefit not only the entrepreneur and their family, but also the entire village.

As a Lululemon fanatic, the scandal about Chip Wilson’s comment on the quality of Lululemon pants has caught my attention. He stated, “They don’t work for some women’s bodies… It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there… and how much they use it”. This comment sparked outrage from women.

Unfortunately I have to disagree with Michelle Sieklucki, although his comment may have been forward, he was just being honest.  Lululemon has a wide customer segment that uses their products for a multitude of purposes, but their products are focused on customers looking for stylish, athletic wear. Their new fabric Luon, is built to be extremely stretchy, cottony soft, and sweat wicking, but that does not necessarily mean that it won’t pill. Having thicker thighs just means there will be more friction with the fabric enabling the pilling, this can happen with any other pants! Women with thinner thighs can have Lululemon pants that pill because they may be overusing them. Are women being oversensitive about his comment, I believe so, aren’t we suppose to embrace our curves? Its time to buy a new pair if they are pilling ladies, don’t blame Chip.

Nicole Chan described call centers as an example of the increasing globalization in our society. Businesses are able to minimize their cost in production and services by building factories, call centers, etc. in countries where the wages and equipment are decreased in comparison to developed countries. This outsourcing creates efficient companies, and jobs for people in other countries who may need it to be able to provide their families the bare necessities.

 Looking at outsourcing externally it can look flawless, but in reality some of these companies are taking advantage of the cheap costs of production and services. After travelling to Nepal, and touring a call center in Kathmandu I can say it was the exact opposite of the working environment at Zappos. They were working in conditions that would be illegal here in Canada, and making the bare minimum.

I see globalization as a great tool if it is done ethically. Companies should implement their organizational culture to every aspect of their business, regardless if one branch might be 10,000 kilometers away. Zappos devoted their entire business to focus on customer service; acting as a unit, everyone in the business shares the same values for the company.

 Higher education online is beginning to become more popular within the student body in universities; 2U has taken advantage of this growing market. This online school aims to revolutionize higher education by creating world-class online education experiences in association with leading universities.

One of their employees was faced in a situation where he had to choose between his education and a possible career, without the option to have flexible online schooling he was forced to put his dreams on pause to finish school. Through 2U students are able to take high quality online classes for real college credit, this can enable students to pursue their other plans.

There is one issue though, how are students suppose to start networking? Having personal contacts is vital for a business student; learning in a classroom allows us to discover how to work with different types of people, how to present ideas, opinions, and findings professionally. In the end what will your degree be worth if you have completed a degree completely online? A degree is immeasurable because student’s diverse experiences throughout their years of study make the degree. Attending school online will take away the opportunity to make some of these influential experiences.