Hailo, one of the biggest taxi companies in Toronto, has recently launched a very easy-to-use mobile application for their taxi users. This is for the first time that the idea of calling a cab using your mobile phone’s application has been implemented. All you have to do is register yourself with them and request a cab. The app then uses your phone’s GPS to track your location and locate the nearest cabs to your location. When you pick a cab, the app tells you the time when it will pick you up. It also gives you the contact details of the taxi driver. Both drivers and customers can rate each other. This application provides Hailo a great competitive edge over other taxi companies as Hailo’s customers now have another way to avail Hailo’s taxi services.

As the time passes, other companies will also try to compete with Hailo by creating their own app for their consumers. So, in order to survive in the market Hailo will have to keep innovating the app and providing even more features to their loyal customers.

Source: http://dylancollins.com/?p=599
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/105237–the-future-of-taxis-is-here-but-not-without-enemies

Image Source: http://dylancollins.com/?p=599

Response to Chris MacDonald’s post about ethical use of social media in workplace

This article is a very interesting read; it revolves around an issue that has gained a lot of public interest in recent years. The rapid growth of Social Media came with its drawbacks. These issues were pointed out in the article by the various law professionals. The use of social media in the workplace has become an increasing concern. As pointed out by the article, screening of the employees’ social media accounts is on every employer’s mind. Also, when the employees use company equipment to access these sites and post messages about the employer or the company, another issue arises.

His colleague Avner Levin conveys the idea of how we behave online and act online to different audiences which also includes families and friends. We should do our best to make sure that our workplace policies do care for such individual needs.

Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/business_ethics/105781–ethics-law-and-social-media-in-the-workplace

Response to Shawn Li’s post of Canyou Group in China

I totally agree with Shawn regarding the concept and importance of Social

Entrepreneurship all around the world. They make profits and improve society at the same time. The Canyou Group in China is a great example of Social Enterprise, it helps the society with creating jobs for the disables. It gives them a chance to earn for themselves and support their families. It also gives them a great chance to come forward in life and share their ideas with other normal people.

Response to Yifan Liu’s post on cost efficient vehicles in Japan.

The concept put forward by the company ZEVe is seems very ideal at first. It is ideal in the sense that it costs it presents a low cost alternative to car. It’s a really profitable opportunity for the business to advance itself in the existing market and enter a new one for compact cars. It also enhances efficiency as the car can literally handle four people at a time. However, its not all good news. Given the large population density of the country, it may not be a good idea for Japan. It might result in even more traffic problem in Japan as more people are going to buy it because of the lower price. It will eventually improve the standard of living of Japanese people as most of them will now have cars instead of bikes.

Source: https://blogs.ubc.ca/yifanliu/

As many other competitors have launched smaller tablets within past years, Apple has been forced to respond. They have recently launched the mini iPad at a price of $329 which is relatively expensive for a 7-inch tablet and $200 cheaper than the latest full-sized tablet. This mini version of iPad has a major flaw that it lacks Retina Display. It is clear that Apple could have easily installed Retina in this one as they have installed it in other gadgets with even smaller screen sizes such as iPhone 4.

However, people find it very easy to handle to iPad mini instead of the larger one because it’s super thin and light. Although, people who are used to Retina Display now might find it difficult to adjust with a non-retina display gadget as text looks blurry and photos and videos are not as sharp. It is assumed that Apple would soon launch a mini iPad with Retina and it will surely help Apple earn huge amount of profits.

Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/106441–apple-s-ipad-mini-dilemma
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blog/tech/105999–ipad-mini-proves-steve-jobs-was-wrong

Social entrepreneurship uses three key factors: opportunities, optimism and  resourcefulness to bring a social change or progress in the society. One of the best examples of Social Enterprise is Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center located in Lahore, Pakistan. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital was opened in 1994 by Imran Khan, a famous Pakistani cricketer.

It is the first and only cancer hospital in Pakistan and it was constructed by raising funds from donations. Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre has established itself as a centre of excellence providing comprehensive care free of cost to thousands of indigent cancer patients who cannot afford treatment. The hospital uses the typical “fee for service” method to generate income to sustain operations but this fee is charged only to people who can afford it. Funding is raised by charity and donations. Apart from this, Shaukat Khanum also has numerous clinical laboratories, spread all over the country, where they charge people for a wide range of medical tests. Moreover, Shaukat Khanum offers internship programs for students, providing them opportunities to work for the betterment of society. It also creates employment opportunities for people to earn a livable wage and polish their skills.

Sources: http://www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaukat_Khanum_Memorial_Cancer_Hospital_%26_Research_Centre

Image Source: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150304917167029

At the beginning of the year 2010, eBay announced some changes in their policy which was against the interests of most of the sellers. There are several problems and disagreements that have resulted because of these changes between eBay and it’s sellers. One major problem is the eBay’s Feedback Policy that is getting most eBay sellers fired up. Buyers can leave feedback on sellers, but sellers can’t leave feedback on buyers. Some new buyers just leave negative feedback without even contacting the seller about exchanges, returns or refunds and sellers are powerless. Few small businesses lost their ability to sell on eBay because of this feedback issue.

Another big problem is eBay’s payment policy. Ebay has stopped using other types of payments methods like money orders or checks and is just going to use PayPal
from now on. Many people believe that eBay has done this because they want people to use PayPal as they own it. Some sellers have also been complaining about glitches in eBay’s website such as PayPal glitches, search glitches, etc.
Finally, some just don’t consider eBay as they used to, they just don’t think that eBay is bringing any innovation to their work anymore. People, especially sellers have become less impressed.

Sources:
http://www.webpronews.com/top-10-frustrations-for-ebay-sellers-2009-01
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/the-depth-of-ebays-problems-1-disappointed-buyers/

Image Source: http://www.e-commercefacts.com/news/2012/01/ebay-calmly-seeking-paypa/index.xml

Questionnaires are a vital part of Market Research on which an organization’s failure or success is dependent. Designing a questionnaire can be split in two parts.

• Questions and Layout of Questionnaire This step is a key one you need to choose the questions and answer attractively and neatly. Try to be consistent with wording. Be careful not to overfill the page like using lots of lines, borders and boxes as these can make your questionnaire look messed up. Its always good to use a good legible fonts likes Times. If you really want the respondent to complete the questions, start with questions that will catch his/her interest. Whatever approach you may choose you should try to keep the flow logical and very simple and avoid complexities in questions. Its always advisable to use two or three versions of the questionnaire for different situations.
  
• Types of the question In this step, you need to choose the types of questions you are going to use in your questionnaire eg. multiple choice, ranking, rating etc. When designing multiple choice questions ensure that you want the respondent to give one  or multiple response. For ranking or rating type, make sure to put less but accurate and different options.

 Image Source: http://www.carp.ca/2012/08/08/ontario-seniors-care-strategy-questionnaire-your-input-required/

Nearly 60% of BlackBerry users planned to jump to an iPhone or an Android device in the U.S., the U.K. and France. The company has recently announced that their earnings have fallen tremendously. BlackBerry shipments fell suddenly 41% from the previous year. Nearly one-third of its workforce i.e. around 5000 employees will be laid off. CEO Thorsten Heins announced another devastating news, Blackberry 10, the operating system that is said to be a good resort for the company, will be delayed until early 2013. The company’s share price provides the most solid evidence: it crashed around 95% from $149.90 in 2008 to less than $8 at present time.

A series of poor decisions and missed opportunities led RIM to this point. Former co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie did not realize the importance of the iPhone when it was launched in 2007. They did not realize the fact that iPhone is going to snatch their market share in coming years and that they should start working accordingly. Therefore, within few years, RIM fell behind when it came to the features that mattered to the much larger consumer market, such as an elegant operating system and web-browsing capabilities, variety for applications for BlackBerry users. RIM should now come up with innovative products and features to be able to sustain in this highly competitive market.

Sources: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/90629–the-end-of-rim
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/87308–blackberry-10-unlikely-to-save-rim 

A large number of firms including Coca-Cola are secretly enjoying benefits of using child labor in sugarcane fields in El Salvador. Around 30,000 Salvadoran children, starting from the age of eight, work everyday in the these sugarcane plantations.

Children are usually hired as “helpers” instead of employees but are forced to work up to nine hours a day in the intense heat. This involves a lot of dangerous work like using machetes to cut the canes and other sharp devices are also used. Moreover, children are also required to skip few months of school especially during the harvesting time.

“Child labor is rampant on El Salvador’s sugar cane plantations,” Michael Bochenek, lead researcher of Human Rights Watch said in the June 2004 release of Turning a Blind Eye: Hazardous Child Labor in El Salvador’s Sugar Cane Cultivation.

How’s Coca-Cola involved in this? Coca-Cola is indirectly involved in these activities. It does not own the plantations nor it buys directly from them, but it does buy the sugar milled from the cane from Central Izalco, El Salvador’s largest sugar mill. Guiding Principles of Coca-Cola state that its direct suppliers will not use child labor as defined by local law. Whereas, HRW’s research says, Izalco purchases sugar cane from a number of plantations that use child labor in violation of the law.

Sources: http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/coke061304.cfm
http://www.satyamag.com/mar07/bochenek.html