If the United Nations was fully funded I am sure that world would be changed in a positive way. The United Nations already helps many underdeveloped communities. However, with full funding they will be able to give financial aid to  many more communities. Unfortunately, financial aid can only get a community so far. Eventually, the communities will run out of this resource and be left in no better condition. The best way to provide these kinds of communities with sustainable aid is through training the community’s residents on how to run an economy. This is exactly what Sauder’s alumni are doing in countries like Colombia and South Africa. Here you can learn about the ARC Initiative. Therefore, if the United Nations was fully funded, rather than offering underdeveloped communities financial aid, it should invest in programs like the ARC Initiative. When the Sauder alumni are allowed to go to these communities, they provide them with knowledge of business and training. In my opinion, this far more productive than simply providing the communities with money. In addition, with this knowledge and training, these communities will be able to innovate and maintain a stronger economy for generations to come.

In Calen’s blog post entitled “Racism in the NBA,” he discusses the infamous comments made by, then Los Angeles Clippers Owner, Donald Sterling. Calen briefly highlighted the history of the Los Angeles Clippers. I thought this was helpful to me as I have little knowledge of the franchise. However, I had heard of the comments that were made and I understood that it reflected poorly on, not only the franchise, but on the league as a whole. As Calen mentioned, “Sterling was forced to sell the team.” As a result of this, much of the scrutiny of the league was lifted. I think that the league sent the message, to franchises, players, coaches and fans, that they have zero tolerance for this type of behaviour. Calen chose to focus on solely the Los Angeles Clippers franchise by stating that Steve Ballmer made a “great investment” by purchasing the team. However, I would have chosen to focus on the league as a whole, as I alluded to earlier in this post. Overall, I feel that NBA handled this situation extremely professionally and their new image reflects the values that they cherish in its teams.

Many people forget that the National Hockey League (NHL) is a business in addition to being a professional ice hockey league. Being a business implies making sales and attracting customers (fans). One way to do that is by delivering an entertaining brand of hockey on the ice. Many owners have brought in enforcers to do just that. The enforcers’ job is to rough up and fight opponents. I, personally, am a fan of this tough brand of hockey. A part of hockey’s essence is being a fast-paced and hard-hitting sport. Hockey is a brother-hood and its nice to see teammates defending each other. However, I agree that there is too much pressure put on the enforcers to live up to that image. This article discusses the unfortunate stories of former NHL players. In the summer of 2011, the NHL lost three players to suicide. It was confirmed that all three had depression and that the depression stemmed from their time in the NHL. This news tarnished the leagues brand and as a result I felt it was time for an image change. The beginning of the 2014-15 season was the start of a new look NHL. The role of the “Enforcer” started going into extinction and the league never looked better. I hope that the leagues transformation continues in this positive direction.

I found Mike’s blog in the middle of September and have been an avid visitor of his site since. When university started I found that there was a lot of material being covered in a short period of time. This led to me forgetting important concepts and being lost in class. So I sought out to find a place where I could find extra material to re-enforce these important concepts. I chose to comment on this specific blog post because it is an example of have thorough Mike is in his explanations. I found this post to be a wealth of information and easy to understand. In addition to explaining the concepts and how they are used, Mike provides examples similar to the ones used in class. Therefore, it was convenient to refer to his blog before and after our finance classes to fortify my understanding of these concepts. I would recommend Mike’s blog to anyone who is having trouble with the fundamental concepts of business, small business owners or anyone who is looking for some extra reading.

Jason’s blog post about Abercrombie really sparked my interest. This is a topic that I have wanted to discuss and now I am going to seize the opportunity to do so. The retail brand Abercrombie has made headlines for comments made by the company’s CEO, Michael Jeffries. Although Jason mentioned various perspectives, I was still able to get a sense of how he feels regarding this topic. Conveniently, my perspective is similar. Like Jason, I understand Abercrombie’s reason for making these statements. The company wants to establish that it is targeting a select group of consumers. While I feel the comments made were harsh, I believe this was a smart move by Abercrombie. There is no doubt that this controversy changed the image of the brand. For example, when I now think about Abercrombie, I think exclusivity. It is unreasonable to think that I of all people feel this way, but a large percentage of the population agrees with me. Therefore, the brand has become elite and anybody who wears Abercrombie clothes is seen as elite. This is a key example of how “certain values must be prioritized over interest in profit,” as Jason mentioned. Overall, this publicity has allowed Abercrombie to maintain the same consumers and to continue as growing a brand name in the retail market.

The feud between the First Nations and the Canadian government goes back to the inception of Canada. Even in 1867, when Canada became a country, it presumed control of First Nation affairs. Proof of this was in 1876 with the Indian Act being enacted. However, times have evolved and a recent article was published that made a splash in the First Nations community, primarily, the Tsilhqot’in. This article states that the Tsilhqot’in plan to create a tribal park on the same land that Taseko Mines Ltd. planned to use in their upcoming project. Both parties make valid arguments as to why they should be allowed to use the land for their respective projects. However, Taseko Mines Ltd. has already had their project approved by the government. On the other hand, the Tsilhqot’in have discovered that they have rights to that land. It amazes me that even in 2014 the government is still able to make decisions on land that does not belong to them. This is where the issue of business ethics comes into play. The government can choose to take this land from the Tsilhqot’in in hopes of higher revenue, or they can choose to let them have the land that is rightfully theirs. In my opinion, the government should let the Tsilhqot’in have the land as allowing Taseko Mines Ltd. to go forward with their project would harm the environment and therefore be detrimental to society as a whole.

I was reading through various articles and stumbled upon one that discusses the potential split of the Multinational information technology corporation, Hewlett-Packard. Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 and has been a powerhouse in the industry for many years. I am of the mind-set that if something is working, then there is no need to change it. Therefore, I was quite surprised to see this headline on the Huffington Post website. However, this got me thinking about Porter’s Strategies. By dividing their company into two, Hewlett-Packard may be striving to achieve both Differentiation Strategy and Focus Strategy (Differentiation). They definitely have the resources to do so. In addition, I believe that Hewlett-Packard is making this separation to continue to compete with the pioneers of the technology industry. Separating gives the company the ability to put more focus into different areas of its products. Their, already, loyal consumers will see this as an attempt for the company to continue growing. Therefore, strengthening their relationship with its consumers. I think it is great to see a company, as successful as Hewlett-Packard,  still looking to reshape and improve in order to maintain its status in its industry.

Microsoft has unveiled their newest operating system, Windows 10. Windows 10 succeeds Windows 8 and is set to be released in 2015. The company decided to skip Windows 9 to put emphasis on its innovation and the advances they’ve made. The company promises that Windows 10 will be easy to use regardless of what system customers are currently using. Microsoft’s goal, with this new operating system, is to bring all their services together and establishing a system centred around a world of internet services. This news broke only a week after Apple had released their newest operating system, IOS 8. This news has captivated many Windows users.

I found the idea of naming this new operating system Windows 10 instead of Windows 9 to be crafty and perhaps has made this product more marketable. Even to those who aren’t so tech savvy, such as myself, this captures their attention. This new operating system promises to easy for all to use and has taken the best parts of all past systems to put them into one. Windows 10 is being released 3 years after Windows 8. Personally, I think Microsoft’s marketing ploy has built up this new operating system and therefore, it will succeed and gain customers once it is released.

In early 2014, news was made in the NFL. A young defensive end, Michael Sam came out as gay publicly. In the NFL’s 94 year history, Sam is the first openly gay player. I had found it astonishing  that there have been no players before Sam to come out. However, once I read this article I quickly understood why current and past players have been apprehensive about publicizing their sexual orientation. Players, coaches and other personnel involved in the sport of Football have been quoted as saying “we should round up all the gays” and “nuke them.” Comments like this tend to be unacceptable by the general public. Contrarily, the NFL has not done anything to punish those who make these comments. If the league is not able to control what its representatives do and say they may see tough times ahead. As news revolving around the NFL continues to be released, the league’s reputation continues to disintegrate. It is my assumption that if the league continues to ignore these problems it will start to lose its fan base and potentially its sponsors. Therefore, diminishing the value of its brand. Personally, I think it is good that Michael Sam has come out and put this issue into the spotlight. This will give the league an opportunity to improve its current reputation by showing the public that it is a non-issue. Subsequently, the league may benefit rather than receive criticism for its lack of compassion toward this sensitive issue. 

Social responsibility is the idea that an organization or individual has the obligation to make decisions that best serves society. In Milton Friedman’s article, he suggests that the sole social responsibility of a business is to make profit. This idea has the implication that making money comes before all else. However, Friedman does mention that a business must “[stay] within the rules of the game.” In other words, the business must use its resources without deceiving or committing fraud. Freeman, contrarily, expresses the idea that the business’s job, social responsibility, is to align the interests of the stakeholders. Freeman goes on to explain that a business will go into a decline if each stakeholder’s interest is not realized. He stresses the point that each stakeholder is an integral part to the success of the business. I am of the belief that the biggest contribution a business can make to society is maximizing its profit. Although this can lead to neglecting the interest of some stakeholders, I feel maximizing a business’s profit is still the most beneficial to society. Sometimes knowing what’s right does not translate to doing what’s right. For example, perhaps one’s social conscience states; choosing to make a higher profit over pleasing all stakeholders is wrong. In the long run, a business making the highest profit possible is the most beneficial to all parties.