Article link: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/resources/First+Nations+Haida+development+company+runs+forestry/10228684/story.html

Oher reference link: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/resources/First+Nations+Haida+development+company+runs+forestry/10228684/story.html

The article mentions about the First Nations taking control of BC north coast’s businesses and economic development with the help with their own management companies.

The First Nation has not only aiming for profit, but also maximizing employment, respecting the environment and spreading the culture. In my point of view, this condition is beneficial to the aboriginal group in Canada. Native Indian people were the original owners of the land, it is still their right to keep it. According to the article “Background: The Indian Act”, Canadian government was trying to assimilate the aboriginal group. This action lasted for over 100 years, which I believe it had truly violated the local Indian culture. Therefore, by controlling the land and starting up businesses, the First Nation is able to protect, maintain and spread their culture.

Also, one of the main objective of the Haida community is to maximize employment in the north coast area. This action will not only benefit the aboriginal group, but it will also bring job opportunities to everyone, which is benefiting the society. At this point, the Haida community can also be considered as a social enterprise.

By taking control of the businesses and economic development of BC north coast, the First Nation is not only able to benefit themselves, protecting their culture, but they are also bringing positive impacts to the local society. Thereby, in my opinion, this action should be encouraged by the Canadian government.

Blog link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/robbiegrills/2014/09/26/does-blackberry-have-a-passport-to-survival/

Picture link: http://crackberry.com/blackberry-passport-keyboard

According to Robert’s blog, Blackberry is having a hard time in the smartphone business during the recent years. The company has missed some of the key opportunities, and now it hopes to gain back competition by releasing the new smartphone model, Passport.

Even though, the Passport has some unique features such as it has the largest battery among other smartphones, and its screen has higher resolution than the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5, but it is a square shaped cellphone that can be considered as an abstract comparing to the rectangular shapes of other leading models. In my personal opinion, it would be hard for people to use the Passport with one hand due to its shape. Hence, it could be considered as a weakness of the product.

The blog also mentions about Blackberry’s recent launches such as the Z10, Q10 and Z30, which they are “not-so-impressive”. I believe it means that Blackberry hasn’t drawn consumers’ attention on to the company and its product, which may negatively affect the Passport’s promotion. Consumers may not care about Blackberry’s new product as they are all attracted by the new released iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5. Therefore, it may be hard for Blackberry to meet competition just by releasing the Passport.

Article source: http://bgr.com/2014/09/29/iphone-6-release-date-china-report/

Picture source: http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/24/5-5-inch-iphone-6-mockup-compared-to-iphone-5s-and-other-android-phablets-video/

The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs believed that a cellphone can only be convenient when the size remains small. Due to this theory, iPhone was able to differentiate itself among its competitors’. However, the new released iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus completely overturned this belief.

As the above picture shows, iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch screen and the iPhone 6 plus has a 5.5-inch screen, which they are much bigger than the iPhone 5s. A 4.7-inch screen iPhone is no longer different than the other common smartphones on market, where the new iPhone is no longer unique in its size. This means that the iPhone 6 has lost one of its major unique selling point. In business, people believe that a popular product often has at least one advantage that either be a relatively low pricing or a unique selling point. But the iPhone 6 is still more expensive than the other products. Usually it means that the iPhone 6 may not be as popular as the iPhone 5s. However, the article mentions that “Apple sold more than 10 million combined iPhone 6 and 6 plus units, topping the 9 million iPhone 5s and 5c handsets the company sold during their debut weekend in 2013”.

In my opinion, this fact is due to consumer loyalty. The iPhone 6 is the eighth generation of the Apple smartphone series, where Apple has done a great job in designing and producing the hardware and software for the previous models. In the result, Apple has gained a great amount of loyal customers that prefer to purchase the iPhone series regardless of its high price. This fact has shown that consumer loyalty is sometimes powerful enough to ignore the other factors.

Article source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/04/24/tesla-factory-china-within-3-4-years/

Picture source: http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2014/09/tesla-plant-decision-sparks-criticism

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, raised the idea of building a factory in China within the next 3 to 4 years. Tesla currently has only one factory, which in the future when the demand rises, the production may not be able to meet the demand. Therefore, setting up a new factory is a way to solve the potential problem.

However, in my opinion, Tesla planning to build a new factory in China has more purposes. Firstly, the article mentions that “because of a hefty 25% import tariff, the Model S still starts at over $121,000 for the 60 kWh model”. By bringing the production into China will reduce the price to under $100,000. This will make the Model S much more competitive in China than its competitors’ products. As China is a huge market with an increasing trend of demand in automobiles, Tesla may be able to gain a great percentage of market share.

Secondly, Tesla’s current factory is located in California, where the average labor cost is high. Unlike the USA, China has a relatively low labor cost. Hence, building up the factory in China will reduce the unit cost per car produced. According to my previous SWOT Analysis Assignment on Tesla, one of its major weakness is the high price of Model S, which the high labor cost is one of the main causes. This future plan is able to solve this problem, making its product more competitive among the global market.