Fast food franchising has been the major expansion factor for most fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds and Subway. According to A&W CEO Paul Hollands: “independent business people who have got their life savings, in most cases, tied up in the enterprise…are very committed to making that business a success.” (as cited in Korstrom), making the franchising factor an effective option for fast food companies.

Therefore, it’s questionable why certain food & drink companies choose not to franchise, such as Starbucks, which only allows a small percentage of licensees, and Chipotle (Taylor). Both companies have still been able to put up a strong presence in the fast of the industry, despite not offering franchising options. Allowing public franchising permits faster expansion, as seen in Subway’s example in Figure 1 below, and faster financial growth from the option of being in the public equity market; however, companies only receive a cut of the profit and have less direct operational control of each unit, and less corporate control, as shareholders’ input now have power. It is also harder to protect the exclusivity and quality of the brand, as there seems to be a correlation between perceived quality of product or service and presence of franchises.

 Figure 1 (Oches)

Works Cited

Korstrom, Glen.  “Franchisees Taking Bigger Slice Of Fast-Food Chains.”  Business Vancouver. 

Business in Vancouver, 2 Sept. 2014.  Web.  28 Sept. 2014.  <http://www.biv.com/

article/2014/9/franchisees-taking-bigger-slice-of-fast-food-chain/>.

Oches, Sam.  “The 2011 QSR 50.”  QSR.  Journalistic Inc., n.d.  Web.  28 Sept. 2014.  <http://

www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/2011-qsr-50>.

Taylor, Kate.  “Why Chipotle Won’t Franchise.”  Entrepreneur.  Entrepreneur Media, Inc., 10

Sept. 2014.  Web.  28 Sept. 2014.  <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237252>.

With the average Vancouverite’s income being $44,000, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to secure a single-detached house, considering the substantial and continuous rise in housing prices, attributed mainly to the influx of Mainland China buyers over the past few years, as indicated in Figure 1 (Gold). The status of the many sophisticated Vancouver homes, such as the ones in Shaughnessy, are appealing to the affluent Chinese families that typically have the father working in China while the mother creates a base of education for the children in Vancouver (Reuters).

Seemingly, without family inheritance, it would be near impossible for the average college-educated Millennial to ever own such a property. Therefore, youths should begin to reconsider their definition of a “home” and seek investment in apartments, condos, or townhouses. Alternatively, youths could seek employment outside of British Columbia or Canada. However, it also leads to question if the Vancouver housing market bubble will ever burst, and if so, what will have caused it and what will the consequences be? Will the main culprit be the problem of loans consumers owe banks for house mortgage/down payment? Perhaps this is a case where government intervention to set new regulations may be helpful to even out the playing field in this Asian housing monopoly.

Figure 1 (“House”)

Works Cited

Gold, Kerry.  “For Vancouver, Housing And Income Don’t Add Up.”  The Globe and Mail.  Phillip

Crawley, 7 June 2013.  Web.  13 Sept. 2014.  <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

life/home-and-garden/real-estate/for-vancouver-housing-and-income-dont-add-

up/article12436288/>.

“House Prices and Population Growth.”  Vancouver Condo Info.  n.p., n.d.  Web.  15Sept. 2014.

< http://vancouvercondo.info/2010/01/house-prices-vs-population-growth.html>.

Reuters, Julie Gordon.  “Foreign Buyers Are Fueling A Seismic Spike In Vancouver’s Luxury

Housing Market, Realtors Say.”  Financial Post.  Postmedia Network, Inc., 11 Sept. 2014.

Web.  14 Sept. 2014.  <http://business.financialpost.com/2014/09/11/china-buyers-

vancouver-housing/>.

Despite the launch of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an international initiative to stop the flow of “blood diamonds” into the market, otherwise known as conflict diamonds which are “rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance armed conflicts aimed at undermining legitimate governments”, as defined by the Kimberley Process, many believe this system is inefficient, and perhaps counterproductive, due to its lack of control over diamond smuggling and proper certification.

Many large diamond retailers have attempted to go above and beyond to ensure that the origin of their jewels are obtained through ethical means which do not entail child labour, war, and smuggling. Tiffany & Co., a major and exclusive North American distributor of consumer diamond jewelry, released a report in August of 2013, a report which asserted its position as socially and environmentally ethical members of the diamond trade ecosystem.

Relating to Friedman’s belief that corporation are better off maximizing profits while conforming to social and ethical norms, these major diamond companies are presenting themselves as responsible citizens in order to eliminate any consumer thoughts on their credibility to maximize profit. However, perhaps they are also truly caring global citizens, who have coincidentally launched their moral campaigns in the heat of the conflict diamond controversy. Based on Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory, it is important to align all the stakeholder’s general interests towards one common goal. In this case it may be to continue to maximize profits, ensure the ethical origins of their diamonds, or another initiative.

Works Cited

“Efforts To Control.” Brilliant Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014   <http://www.brilliantearth.com/kimberley-process/>.

Jackson, Corinn.  Fashionista.  Breaking Media, Inc., 1 Mar. 2013.  Web.  10 Sept. 2014.  <http://fashionista.com/2013/03/what-jewelry-companies-are-doing-to-ensure-diamonds-are-really-conflict-free>.

“Stakeholder Theory.”  Wikipedia.org.  Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 8 Sept. 2014.  Web.  10 Sept. 2014.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakeholder_theory>.

“Tiffany & Co. Releases 2012 Corporate Responsibility Report.” Tiffany & Co. For The Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014.  <http://globalpress.tiffany.com/News/NewsItem.aspx?ID=216>.

Zimmerli, Walther Ch., Klaus Richter, and Markus Holzinger. Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. Berlin: Springer, 2007. Print.