Link to article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/10/economics-toms-shoes

Some economists have critiqued the economic impact TOMS shoes brought by their initiative to donate a pair of shoes to children in extreme poverty for every pair of shoes bought by their customers. Economists think that by doing so, TOMS is stagnating the local economy in the poorer areas by giving children what they need and stopping their families to go to local markets to purchase the shoes. However, I think this is an absurd theory and economists should really invest their time in issues that are more urgent and in need of solutions. We live in a world with unimaginable income disparity between the rich and the poor; it is always refreshing and glad to see that large companies like TOMS to create shared values within the global community by taking the lead to do something small but change many people’s lives. In my perspective, the economy is such a large market that it will not be influenced by a pair of free shoes; also, it is never too much to have an extra pair of shoes – it is not possible for someone to wear only one pair of shoes for his/her entire life. I think that the society needs more of this type of goodwill actions led by powerful companies or authorities in order to shorten the gap between the rich and the poor – even something as simple as donating a pair of shoes.

Link to article: http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you

It is really surprising and innovative for a new and thriving company like Tesla Motors to share their patent on the one thing that they generate their profit from. By doing so, Tesla is creating shared values among the global community that we live in; Tesla also gives people a strong impression of their determination to put in effort in the reducing carbon emission by motors. It is refreshing to see that successful companies are trying to be less profit-centric but more environmentally-centric and actually taking the initiative to do so. I can only imagine how tough it was for the board to agree on this decision. It will be truly amazing if someone figures out a new and improved battery based on Tesla’s patent.

Link to blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/christianvanvliet/2014/09/10/to-be-or-not-to-be-an-ethical-analysis/

Ethics is always a hot, interesting, and controversial topic repeatedly mentioned by the society. It is difficult to set a standard measuring how ethical something/someone is because everyone has different thoughts and moral guidelines. It was interesting to read Christian’s blog and the article he commented on. In the New York Times article, it mentioned a study of making decisions according to the result of a coin-flip, quite frankly, I was surprised to learn that only 10% of the participants honesty did what they were instructed to do while the other 90% faked the coin toss in order to come up with a result that they thought is in their best interest. Many people do tend to bend their moral high grounds when the idea of personal interest comes into the picture. It always comes down to gains versus ethics in many of the situations; we always consider our personal interest more, the same for you, me and all others.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/background-the-indian-act-1.1056988

The issues, conflicts, confrontations between the government and the aboriginals has a long history of always being a complicated political matter with little improvement in the solution process. It is doubtless to say that the country is created on the land of the Indians, which means that we have to respect each other’s values and culture. As a minority, the Indians, like any other immigrants from another ethnic background, should try to assimilate and adapt with the nation’s culture but at the same time, remain and preserve its uniqueness. Both the government and the aboriginal group should work on some kind of peaceful agreement to co-exist in stead of pushing each other’s limits or creating problems and conflicts that negatively affects many people’s lives. The government should respect the Indian culture and at the same time, the Indians should think in the government’s position. If they both each take a step back, there might actually be a solution for this matter.

Link to Ian’s blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/ipaul/2014/10/05/jobs-to-be-done-innovation/

I very much agree with Ian on his idea of how it is beneficial for companies to continuously try to be innovative in order to grow. It it interesting to read about Clay Christensen’s (Harvard Business School Professor) new and innovative marketing strategy called jobs-to-be-done point of view. By emphasizing the product within the company and market the production in relations to the jobs of the consumers, makes it easier for consumers to relate to the product, therefore raise their interest and incentive to purchase the product. Jobs-to-be-done point of view examines the product at the consumers’ perspective from their daily life which therefore enhances the presentation and image of the product in the public. By understanding the “job” of the product – the needs from the consumers, the company can either re-market or alter its product to make it more appealing and more consumer-centric in order to increase profit.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/business/media/whole-foods-asks-shoppers-to-consider-a-value-proposition.html?ref=business&_r=0

Link to commercial:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DCow4J-pDE

Whole foods has always been known for their organic yet high-priced products; as people are recently more concerned about living a healthy life-style, Whole Foods Market and its organic appeal seems attractive to the consumers. However, the sales of Whole Foods has proven to fall and it is spending a great amount of money in the marketing campaign to try to bring back profit. Whole Foods’ approach in hiring a creative marketing agency that normally works for hip brands is bold but innovative, and it might actually help deliver the image of Whole Foods differently than it used to. However, the 60-second video advertisement seems a bit redundant and lacks a central idea. There are no words in the video except Whole Foods’ logo at the very end; the video shows the raw materials Whole Foods uses but it does not show the packaging and delivery process which is hardly convincing because inorganic food come from the same raw materials. I think instead of showing its raw materials, Whole Foods should try to build on the idea of organic; moreover, to educate the public on the idea of “organic”, since it is still not a mainstream lifestyle yet.