Skip navigation

Monthly Archives: November 2014

After reading the articles and watching videos about these social entrepreneurs, I’ve already gained a huge amount of respect for these people. While others are going out and starting their own businesses for the sake of making lots of money for themselves, these social businessmen see poverty, hunger, and war as an opportunity to aid those who are suffering. Of course, these entrepreneurs go much more in depth and look at other issues such as education, children’s health, housing, clean water, etc.

save-the-world

Now raises the question: Why would we need these social enterprises or arc initiatives (a movement that facilitates a 2-way exchange of business knowledge and skills) if the United Nations were fully loaded? For one, I believe that even with so much power, money, and resources, there must be a way where we can manage all these assets and reach out to those who are suffering the most and become more efficient and effective with what we can provide them. We need Social Entrepreneurs to come up with innovative ideas to aid the people who are suffering in third world countries and others who are also facing a miserable lifestyle. In the case of the arc initiative, it helps to spread and facilitate the creative ideas brought up by the social entrepreneurs by exchanging and sharing one’s motive and goal to one another. By spreading the word to others, it will help to contribute to the workforce in helping the people getting the treatment that they need.

Source of Image:

http://cathrynysl.wordpress.com/category/business/

I really like this blog post because it’s really been different from all the other content I’ve been reading and writing up about. For one, this is a topic that goes more into depth about how this author of the blog defines an engaging business leader. Reading through these points, I’ve come to agree with a lot about what the author suggested in terms of the qualities of an engaging leader such as being proactive and passionate about the goal that they want to accomplish.

3-leader  Mark-Zuckerberg1

I would like to add some other things that I believe would make not only an engaging leader, but one that meets all the characteristics of being a great leader. I believe great business leaders have a clear vision. It is this vision that defines the purpose of the business and serves as the beacon for the team. The ability to effectively communicate this vision with passion is critical to inspiring and motivating the team. A great leader must also clarify his or her values and uphold the integrity of what the company stands for, building such a character that the team can look up to and trust to lead them. A great leader also displays humility and overcomes his or her pride and accepts responsibilities on behalf of the team. By recognising that the team members are the most valuable assets to the company, leaders will continue to aspire as they embrace the team’s wisdom and talent.

Source of Images:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/zuckerberg-obama-call-nsa-spying-internet/

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2014/09/socially-responsible-magic-bnps-arent-automatically-elders-and-leaders/

b-mrj-a-20140829

I really enjoyed the article about these new jets designed by Mitsubishi. I definitely agree with Husan in his blog post that although this isn’t the most original idea executed, but it is innovative in the fact that it’s a sustainable aircraft of low cost. One thing that I would like to add to this article is the fact that the subject ties in well with the idea we learned in class about companies creating new ways in modifying their cost structures and value propositions. For one, this is the first aircraft designed and produced for over half a century. This creates a new service that the company can offer to people looking to travel overseas by plane as well as creating employment for others in terms of manufacturing the aircraft. On top of that, it affects the cost structures being that the plane upholds sustainability at a low production cost.

Reading through the same article read by Husan, I saw that in 2010, JAL had suffered from bankruptcy and had been making ways to recover from their broken state. I expect to see an improvement in JAL’s financial status as they purchase these planes, which are designed for domestic flights, and open up their domestic routes, which were once closed due to their complications.

 

Source of Image:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/28/business/corporate-business/jal-orders-32-mitsubishi-regional-jets/

 

 

I remember writing a blog post about Apple’s new payment transactions that can be made on the Iphones. I really liked how they integrated this technology into their phones. As I read James Lau’s blog posting, I do agree with everything he said about how technology is always innovative and changing. Companies must keep up if they want to remain distinguished from the rest of their competitors. One thing I’d like to point out however is the fact that there’s been speculation that this new technology may not be as successful as Apple hopes it will be. For one thing, many companies are still hesitating or refusing to accept this form of payment due to legal issues or having to pay some extra fees, etc.

square-iphone

Obviously, this is not the first time we’ve seen companies trying to create an alternative source of payment. Despite the both positive and negative reviews about the new application, I think that Apple will soon be able to overcome their obstacles in the future with all the innovation they’ve put into their technology. I’m really looking forward to Apple’s next steps and I will be supporting them all the way. In regards to James Lau’s post, I really enjoyed reading your opinions and keep up the good work!

 

 

Starbucks-Logo-051711

One company that often shows up on a businessman’s expense is the American franchise, Starbucks. Everyday, millions walk in and out of the shop ordering items from pumpkin spice lattes to caramel macchiato to cinnamon buns and cookies. No matter the location, Starbucks has thrived domestically and globally.

Looking at this chain as a whole, Starbucks brings out the meaning of differentiation as opposed to other café franchises. I think one their biggest advantages they’ve had was allowing customers free wifi access to all locations. Because of this one benefit, Starbucks has been able to appeal to a wider range of customer segments including businessmen and especially college and high school students. On top of the wifi, Starbucks has achieved a high level of convenience for their customers on the go, allowing quick and efficient service and high customer satisfaction. What I think is an interesting take away from all of this is the fact that other fastfood chains have started to look up to Starbucks and started to follow similar trends in marketing their products.  This ties in greatly with what we’ve learned about how companies appeal to a wider range of customer segments.

 

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/business/the-winner-in-business-travel-food-expenses-starbucks.html?_r=0

http://www.downtownseattle.com/blog/2013/04/18/join-the-2013-starbucks-global-month-of-service/starbucks-logo-051711/

lenovo_blackberry_playbook

Lenovo, a thriving Chinese software company known for their computers has been making preparations to bid on Blackberry’s shares for $15 a piece. Subsequently, it drove up Blackberry’s stock price up nearly 7%. Although Lenovo did have intentions of buying out Blackberry last year (failed due to Canada’s net benefit test), they’ve now come around again for another go.

Like many other’s opinions that were mentioned in the article, I do think that selling the company to a worldwide player like Lenovo would be a smart move on the CEO’s part. By handing over the shares to Lenovo, who has already made many successful sales in mobile and desktop devices such as Motorola and IBM, the company would start to sell more blackberry products than before. I think it would also boost up the Blackberry device’s reputation of being a reliable and innovative technology. I think this greatly ties into what we’ve learned in class about making recommendations for business and deciding what’s in the best interest for the company in the long run. Looking at this decision made here, I think this will have a great affect on the company in the long run.

 

Sources:

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/technology/blackberry-shares-jump-on-rumour-of-lenovo-takeover/ar-BBaeK7q

http://allthingsd.com/20130124/amid-declining-pc-market-lenovo-says-it-would-consider-bid-for-rim-others/

 

Spam prevention powered by Akismet