David Brown

Hurricane Sandy has been headline news recently, and with a forecasted $50 billion dollars in damage it is not hard to see the relation between it and the economy. A vault located in Manhattan containing “an estimated $36.5 trillion” worth of stock certificates and “custody certificates” was possibly damaged due to flooding. To get an idea of how large this value is, this is 3.20 times the public deficit America faced at the end of October 2012, or approximately $117 140.39 per American citizen.

               While the prospect of such a gargantuan sum of capital being ruined seems intimidating, the effects such damage would have would be dampened thanks to modern technology. Accurate computer records of all of the contents of the vault will greatly aid in the recovery process, as there are detailed reports on all of the documents which now face potential damage. Had this happened a few decades ago, the result would have been far more devastating. Even with the precautions which DTCC, the company responsible for the vault, have taken, the costs to them will be substantial.

http://buzz.money.cnn.com/2012/11/02/stock-certificates-sandy/

E-mail has become a major means of communication both between firms and within firms in modern society, and reasonably so; what is more productive than near-instant contact between an individual and his or her coworkers? Shayne Hughes saw a problem with this system though. He found that e-mails were failing to help employees communicate and were rather just giving them a way to pass work off on their coworkers until they subsequently passed it back. In an attempt to stop this behaviour, he blocked all internal e-mails within his company for a week.

The rationale behind this may not be clear at first; encouraging face to face communication and “sticky note” to-do lists seems counter-productive. Hughes raises some valid points however, and is able to support them with the results he observed in his own company. People were able to find solutions to their concerns faster when they could discuss their concerns rather than send vague e-mails back and forth and no longer needed to sift through lists of e-mails in hopes of finding the important ones. I think this is a prime example of where taking a step back from technology, even temporarily, helps increase productivity and reminds employees of the most efficient way to make use of it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/10/25/i-banned-all-internal-e-mails-at-my-company-for-a-week/

This article caught my attention through its indicative title, “Four Advantages To Being A Female Entrepreneur”. With the increase in female influence in the workforce over the past century, the business world is still an area dominated by males. In the search for equality in all markets, an abundance of articles regarding the topic have emerged in recent years. Most of these articles talk about the pay discrepancies noted between men and women, the lack of job opportunities for women, or other forms of oppression in the workforce that hold women back. What separated this article from the rest of articles addressing the same topic is the writer, Stephanie Burns, took a very opportunistic view of the current situation. She offers four advantages women hold when starting their own business and investing in upcoming businesses.

I will digress from repeating the four main points of the article for brevity, but Burns makes some very compelling arguments and supports them with personal experience and evidence where possible. This opportunistic style article is capable of having a much larger impact on the current state of affairs than the generic article which takes the position of a victim.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chicceo/2012/10/22/four-advantages-to-being-a-female-entrepreneur/

Author: Stephanie Burns

Published: 10/22/2012

In William Taylor’s blog post “Catch People in the Act of Doing Things Right”, he talks about the importance of rewarding employees for good performance, properly maintaining protocol, and any other positive input in the workplace. Mr. Taylor notes how extraordinary acts of kindness have become as they are so uncommon in a business-driven society.

Rewarding good behaviour is just as important, if not more so, as penalizing errors or inefficiency. Correcting mistakes is a reactive way of altering behaviour; if someone makes a mistake that you then correct, the hope is you will not need to correct the same error in the future. This is not meant to downplay the importance of this type of reinforcement; to allow mistakes to go unaddressed is certainly not an alternative. Recognizing good behaviour is a more proactive approach to the matter. Offering a small token, regardless of value, to someone who has done a job well will encourage similar future behaviour. While it may not entirely remove mistakes from the workplace, it should help reduce the occurrence of them as well as boost morale amongst workers.

(Words: 184)

http://blogs.hbr.org/taylor/2012/10/catch_people_in_the_act_of_doing_things_right.html

The lecture on September 25^th briefly addressed the stock market, why investors would want to give money up for shares, and why companies do or do not pay dividends to their shareholders. A recent article regarding Canadian companies offering increased dividends offers some insight into why certain corporations would want to pay dividends.

The primary reason that a company would offer a payout is to attract more investors to buy its shares. Stocks which offer a dividend provide much lower risk to their holders than those which do not. This is particularly appealing to investors who are “in or approaching retirement” (Reuters) as they may not have the financial security needed for such risks. Raising the size of the dividend also shows the market that the company is stable and powerful enough to survive most economic turmoil.

Another reason a company may look to give out dividends is to please its investors when it is pressured by them to do so. If a company has a large sum of cash, and few threats or opportunities in the foreseeable future, its investors will become restless and question why the money is not being invested into research and development, expansion, or another venture which would help profits.

Works Cited

McGugan, Ian. “The Globe and Mail.” The Globe and Mail. Globe Investor, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Sept.

2012. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/number-cruncher/upcoming-dividends-companies-with-piles-of-cash/article4496058/>.

Reuters. “Canadian Firms Upping the Dividend Game.” – BNN News. Business News Network, 24 Sept.

2012. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. <http://www.bnn.ca/News/2012/9/24/Canadian-firms-investors-upping-the-dividend-game.aspx>.

Marketing is ever-evolving, and as advertising becomes increasingly aggressive, marketers are finding very unique ways of putting their company on display in all-new places. In a society that tends to exalt the bold, the most extreme ideas are often the ones that are best remembered. That’s why when Jordan and Bryan Silverman suggested putting advertisements on toilet paper, companies did not immediately reject the offer.

An advantage to putting advertisements on toilet paper is how easy it is to distribute and target specific groups with. The Silverman brothers charge companies money to buy space on their toilet paper rolls and then offer the rolls to companies for use free of charge. Free toilet paper can save a company a substantial amount of funding and most will jump at the opportunity.

Unconventional marketing, like “human billboards” (Branded for Life) tend to be fads in advertising rather than long term innovations. Companies would pay people to tattoo their logo or slogan on visible areas of their bodies. This method lost momentum over the years however and there are now people left with these tattoos, some of which are for companies which have since gone under.

Marketing is always changing and marketers are constantly trying to find new ways to put their product or company on display for the masses. Regardless, advertising seems to gravitate back to traditional marketing techniques more often than not.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49061996

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jackstuef/branded-for-life

http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4&Date=20120820&Category=BUSINESS06&ArtNo=120820052&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Bathroom-reading-gets-new-spin-advertising-toilet-paper

The new taxation system suggested by President Francois Hollande of France has many of the top earners considering taking up residence elsewhere to avoid the steep tax increase to be put in effect. President Hollande, a socialist president who was elected May 6th, 2012, has proposed implementing a new law that would have anyone earning more than $1.23 million annually paying up to 75% of their income in taxes. While the president has assured the masses that this is a temporary hike in taxes, the prospect of a spike from 48% to 75% is enough to send France’s wealthiest running.

The ethical issue here lies in how much money (as a percent) a government can take from an individual in a capitalist society. It is understandable that a government would much like to tax heavily those who can afford it, but the suggested reform would have opulent French paying three-quarters of their wages. In an economic and social system where monetary reward is often the sign of someone of great intelligence, determination, or value, it is hard to understand why anyone would strive to excel knowing that regardless of their efforts they will see little reward. Command economies around the world have often failed, in part because of the workers’ unwillingness to perform well knowing they will receive no reward for their extra effort. Imagine working for twelve months and receiving three months’ worth of pay and it is not hard to relate to those looking to emigrate from France.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185231/High-earners-planning-leave-France-75-tax-rate-income-1million-euros-goes-ahead.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/10/opinion/arnault-france-tax-rate/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

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