Monthly Archives: September 2012

Would you chose $1000 today or $1013 in a year?

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In class today, we discussed the time value of money. Rob started off with an activity where all of us had to chose between $1000 today or $1200 paid in one year’s time. I was one of the few people who pointed at the $1200. I chose it because I remembered reading somewhere that inflation was at about 3% per year, meaning that I would have chosen any value above $1030 that was paid in a year.

After doing a bit of research, it turns out I hadn’t remembered too incorrectly. The average inflation rate in Canada over the last 97 years was 3.2%. The percentage is calculated after the end of each month and the current inflation rate as of August 2012 is 1.2%. Therefore, holding all other factors constant, shouldn’t the class have chosen any in-a-year offer over $1012?

What interested me the most was that the inflation rate was broken down into individual inflation/deflation rates of certain goods and services. For example, energy prices went up by 0.8% whereas natural gas prices fell by 13.8%. From this data alone, am I allowed to assume that natural gas probably does not account for a majority of energy in Canada? I’m not sure, but it’s good food for thought!

Picture Source: Trading Economics

What’s your personal value proposition?

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This post is a response to Bill Barnett’s “Build Your Own Value Proposition” blog post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.

In class this week, we learned about value propositions and worked with the “to blank, our blank, is blank, that blank” format. However, we labeled value propositions as something that companies use in marketing. This is why reading Barnett’s blog post was mind blowing. Value proposition statements aren’t only useful to companies; they can be used on a personal level by someone applying for a position. Barnett gives the example of an individual Steve who applies for a manufacturing executive position.

Now, excuse me as I go off on a slight tangent, but this blog post really made me think back to the Sauder Student’s Workshop to Success on Imagine Day. Ann Stone, a marketing professor, was our speaker and what she had to say to us students was truly entertaining. One remark which she made that stuck with me was this: “Every day, you are all marketing yourselves.”

You don’t have to be a marketing major to be marketing yourself. At a networking event for PwC or KPMG, an aspiring accountant isn’t going to be auditing – they’re going to be marketing themselves!

So now that you think about it, what is your personal value proposition?

RE: The Northern Gateway Pipeline – A Great Debate

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This post is a response to Matthew Chan’s post on the proposed Enbridge pipeline, which can be found here.

The proposed pipeline would pump oil all the way from Alberta, through the interior of British Columbia, to Kitimat Bay. The chance of an oil spill occurring somewhere along this route is quite probable and the impact such a spill on the environment would be immense. But what is even worse is the risk of an oil spill along Kitimat Bay. The Douglas Channel is a very dangerous waterway filled with many little islands. In fact, just six years ago, the BC Ferry’s Queen of the North vessel capsized after a collision that occurred exactly where Enbridge’s tankers would travel if the pipeline were to be built. Enbridge is aware of this risk and is actively trying to hide it.

The “Great Debate”, as Matthew calls it, is nothing short of that name. The clash of business and politics is heating up and conflicts have become quite nasty. This summer, an Enbridge official made several sexist and anti-BC remarks in a (now publicized) e-mail (full article here).

For Enbridge, it all comes down to the problem of business ethics. Perhaps they should reevaluate their plans and consider the views of the strongly opposing stakeholders.

Picture Source: Davidsuzuki.org

“Monsanto should not have to vouch for the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible.”

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— Phil Angell, Monsanto’s Director of Corporate Communications

This quote was published in the October 25, 1998 issue of the New York Times. As horrifying as these words may seem, they are merely the tip of the iceberg.

Monsanto is an American multinational corporation in the field of agricultural bio-engineering (click here for more information). With an $11.822 billion revenue in 2011, Monsanto has a strong grasp on the agriculture worldwide.

A Google search for “Monsanto” provides the auto-complete suggestion “Monsanto evil”. How did Monsanto develop such a reputation? There are a few major reasons:

1) Monsanto does not test their genetically modified (GM) food for long term health effects (click here for more information).
2) Not only does Monsanto not guarantee the safety of their product (some of which have proven to be harmful) – they openly and irresponsibly admit they care only about maximizing profits.

3) Monsanto uses their patents to bully smaller businesses. GM seeds are often scattered by Monsanto’s transportation trucks and contaminate the crops of smaller farms. Monsanto then takes legal action against said farms (click here for more information).

Monsanto claims that their technology prevents rising crop prices and starvation. They market themselves as a need, when they are possibly a threat! Should we be gambling with the long-term effects of GMOs? Should the government implement anti-GMO policies?

Picture Sources: Google | Eco Watch | Site Maker