In 2010, Toyota underwent the process of recalling certain models due to the braking/accelerating issues. As expected, consumers were unsettled. This is when COO Yoshimi Inaba assured that Toyota is taking steps to “restore the trust of tens of millions of Americans who purchase and drive [Toyota’s] vehicles” in a statement to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Today, there are rarely any car models which are released to the public and prove to have such difficulties. Because of this, the public would expect this recalling to be a one-time occurrence, and that Toyota’s operations department will sort out their problems. However, recently Toyota has had to recall 2.7 million cars due to water pump and steering defectiveness.

Fool us once Toyota….

To consumers it makes no difference that the old problems are fixed if new problems continue to arise. After Inaba guaranteed that “[Toyota] has learned from this experience,” the evidence is overwhelming; Toyota has developed a bad reputation for faulty vehicles that may permanently blotch their image. Unless operations undergoes a drastic change in personnel, it will be a steep climb for Toyota to regain customer loyalty.

So it’s finally decided. In British Columbia, the CMA, CGA, and CA titles are all going to be mashed together to form the Chartered Professional Accountant. Supposedly, this combination is meant to simplify the system and create a, “strategic response to the rapidly evolving environment.”

It can be said that the multiple bodies that make up the Canadian accounting system drives up competition, thusly increasing work ethics. As well, the combination of roles may seem far too confusing. Personally, I completely agree that this strategy will ultimately benefit Canada in the long-run. It deals with problems, such as:

– The redundancy of having three governing bodies creates wasted resources and inefficiency.

– Confusion with multiple roles and designations.

– Advertising tagging a particular group as dominant

By unifying these three groups into one, we create a strong, single voice for Canada, and keep a powerful domestic and international influence. And when it comes down to it, keeping these three groups separate is just too tedious. Even though business students, accountants, and corporations must all be concerned about how this merger is going to affect their lives, they can rest assured nothing drastic is going to happen.

For more info on the merger: http://cpacanada.ca/

In response to the blog post from Hi, I am Amber, regarding the lengthy journey every IKEA customer must endure when shopping, I’d have to say I agree completely with the fact that it’s a really smart concept. By forcing consumers to walk through a maze full of their products surely looks to be potentially profitable.

However, in accordance with Amber, there’s no such thing as “a quick run to IKEA.” In reality, customers need to dedicate at least half an hour of their day to the strenuous walk through the store, which is quite unappealing. To fix this, IKEA should set up a questionnaire which focuses on that particular issue, and get the opinions of their buyers.

If you’re wondering why I addressed this issue as “IKEA’s One Problem,” it’s because other than the walk, IKEA is a really enjoyable experience. I love the amount of money I save with “self-assembly” of furniture. What’s really interesting about IKEA is the fact that they have THE PERFECT selection for University students like myself. With cheap prices, and a fun/modern look, it’s a very easy to overlook a longer-than-normal walk through the store.

Thought this would be fun: watch?v=IUPu_ipbVB0

I’d like to start off by showing you a video compilation of Mitt Romney’s self-contradicting approach to candidacy:

Romney Flip-Flops 2012

What a genius concept! Why just have one opinion on a subject, when you can have them all? Now Romney is ensured of getting every vote; if you vote against him, you’re technically disagreeing with yourself. In all seriousness though, it’s this kind of affirmation of the consequent which makes everyone ask the question “Is this a joke?” Sadly, it isn’t. The industry of politics has an extremely high buyer (voter) power, and Romney’s swaying back and forth between perspectives is not only confusing, it’s downright insulting! If Romney thinks that he is cleverly winning the hearts of every American, he’s going to be in for quite the wake-up call when the ballots are tolled.

With the regular season fast-approaching, and budgetary issues remaining, hockey fans all over the globe are in a panic. However, the National Hockey League officials seem to be more concerned with how thick they can keep their wallets, and forget that consumer interest is being toyed with in the process.

NHL Lockout Affects Many

With a revenue pot of about $3billion, there have always been debates about what share goes to players, and how much is left for the NHL itself. Apparently, the players’ share is too high for the NHL’s liking, so until further notice, the NHL is a no-go this season. What kind of impression does this leave on the fan-base though? It seems as though the sport we’ve grown to love so much in Canada could soon be viewed as the appealing by-product of a successful business. Between all this quarreling, the league must find a way to appeal to their consumers’ preferences, or else they might watch as their sizable paychecks shrink and shrink. By settling on some common ground, gameplay can start up again, then the little details can be dealt with after everyone has settled into the season.

Although it is unsettling, child labour is a common issue these days. What is even more frightening is how a popular brand like Nike has previously employed young children in third-world countries… a lot of them.

Nike claims that it’s too difficult to specifically tell whether or not a worker is of age, due to the cheap and available quantities of fake identifications in countries such as Pakistan, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. However, the neglectful watch over their various factories led to the sub-contracting of the work, allowing multiple local villages to funnel their young into the workforce.

Co-founder/chairman of Nike, Phillip Knight, admitted that Nike “blew it,” when they allowed kids of the age of ten to join their manufacturing team.

Sadly, the public eye associates Nike’s brand with their world-renowned clothing/sporting goods line; rarely does anyone think to peer behind Nike’s curtain and delve into the disturbing reality of unethical behaviour. Perhaps if the consumers were more aware of Nike’s cruelty, we would think twice before buying a pair of $300 shoes.

This is why the world desperately needs labour groups, such as the Clear Clothes Campaign, to bring multi-million dollar monsters to justice when they stray from regulations.

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