UBC COMM101- Ganasan Ponjani

Blog Link to external blog: NBA Lockout: The NBA’s Nuclear Winter — Where Do We Go From Here? – Gabe Feldman

As of this moment, it looks like there will be no NBA this season. Sad news for fans all around the world, however, fans are not the real losers here. Sure they lose out on all the enjoyment they would have gotten from the games, but thats about it. The real losers are those businesses who rely on the NBA season to earn their revenue. Places such as sports bars, restaurants and hotels all use the NBA season to attract customers into their venue. The lockout directly leads to losses for the businesses and there is really nothing they can do about it.

Gabe Feldman’s blog touches on this issue and another main issue, which is the salary cap. Since 1983, the NBA has been under a soft cap, meaning there were always mechanisms to get around the salary restrictions. However, the owners have proposed a hard cap similar to the NHL, which states that a team cannot spend over a certain amout of money per year. This is where the debate starts as the players vowed to never agree to this kind of system.

There have been terrible contracts signed within the last couple of years that have had players being much too over paid. All it takes is one bad deal to cause a league-wide inflation in the salaries offered to the players, and by introducing a hard cap, this would totally be prevented. The players have to realized that for the well being of the sport, a hard cap should be used. This is a main issue, however it is not the only one, and the debates will continue to escalate until a deal has been reached.

As we all know, The Vancouver Canucks will win the 2011 Stanley Cup, since they are the best team in the NHL! But all kidding aside, what should we do to prevent a future riot from happening if the Canucks do make it to the Cup finals and lose once again? That is simple. Three things we should do to decrease the likelihood of a riot would be to increase the number of police downtown, charge prices for tickets into the live sites, and completely shut down BC liquor stores the day of the event.

There was a lack of police officers downtown, and by increasing the force, this will make it easier to calm the crowd. Secondly, by selling tickets for access into the live sites, this would limit the number of people downtown and cause less congestion. Lastly, we should shut down every BC liquor store for the entire day of the game. It was a norm for the hockey fans downtown to consume alcohol before, during and after the event an this impaired their judgement. This will never completely stop alcohol consumption, but it would help reduce the amount of alcohol being consumed.

There will obviously be loop holes within these recommendations, however with these in place, I believe a potential riot will be less likely.

Citation: Charlie White. “Vancouver Riots 2011: Fans Riot as Canucks Lose Stanley Cup [PHOTOS, VIDEOS].” Social Media News and Web Tips – Mashable – The Social Media Guide. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. <http://mashable.com/2011/06/15/vancouver-hockey-riot/>.

Barefoot College was established in 1972 by an Indian Social Entrepreneur named Bunker Roy.  This college is a non-government organization that has been providing basic services and solutions to problems in rural communities, with the objective of making them self-sufficient and sustainable. The College believes the very poor have every right to have access to, control, manage and own the most sophisticated of technologies to improve their own lives. Just because they cannot read and write there is no reason why the very poor cannot have opportunities to be successful.

Some solutions which Barefoot College are trying to establish can be broadly categorized into:  education, health care, solar energy, water, rural handicrafts, people’s action, communication, women’s empowerment and wasteland development.  Rural men and woman regardless of age, who are barely literate. are being trained to work as school teachers, mid wives, blacksmiths, doctors and many more prestigious jobs.

With little guidance, encouragement and space to grow and exhibit their talent and abilities, people who have been considered “very ordinary” and written off by society, are doing extraordinary things that defy description.

Citation:  “2010 Finalist: Barefoot College | The Buckminster Fuller Challenge.” WELCOME | The Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Web. 15  Nov. 2011. <http://challenge.bfi.org/2010Finalist_BarefootCollege>.

I consider Apple to be an entrepreneurial company. Over the past decade, they have thoroughly established themselves as one of the more profound and efficient companies worldwide. Their recent innovations, such as the IPhone and the MacBook have been a huge hit, and continue to sell at a rapid pace.

When Apple initially entered the technology market, they had to take risks as to wether their products would either be successful and generate large revenues, or unsuccessful and suffer some loses. However, Apple quickly took the spotlight as most of the other competitors in the market could not match their innovation.

Apple is a tough competitor to oppose since it is actually four diverse and thriving companies all wrapped up into one. It’s a hardware company, a software company, a services company, and a retail company. Most technology companies in the world can only manage one or two of these disciplines, however Apple is unique and has all four entities working in harmony, which leads to their successful ways.

Citation: “History of Apple Inc.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Inc.>.

Despite all the criticism that the Iphone 4S received for being too “similar” to the Iphone 4, this new Apple product has sold at a very rapid pace. It has been on pace to break existing smartphone sales records in the United States, Europe and the UK. Long lines began to form outside retail outlets across the globe the day before the launch, as Apple devotees wanted to ensure they were one of the first to receive Apple’s newest product.

The Iphone 4s’s sales success can be directly related to the passing of Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs. Customers aspired to obtain the last Iphone unveiled during Steve Job’s life, as they wanted something to “remember him by”.  This played a big factor in the sales success of the new phone, however we should not be surprised with it’s accomplishment. After all, the 4s is an Iphone, and the best produced thus far. Although customers believe there is no much difference between the 4s and the 4 and that it is just a bridge between the 4 and the 5, this Iphone will be a memorable one as it is the last one during the life of Steve Jobs.

Citation: “IPhone Sales: Did Steve Jobs’s Death Drive Record IPhone Sales? – CSMonitor.com.”The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1014/iPhone-sales-Did-Steve-Jobs-s-death-drive-record-iPhone-sales>.

Blog Link: “Lululemon’s Problem: can’t meet demand?” – Melody Han

As Melody touched on in her blog, Lulelemon has not been able to meet the demand of their customers. There are two ways to look at this situation. It can either be seen as positive for the business or a negative.

It can be seen as a positive since shortages would ultimately mean that there would be no inventory going to waste. The store would sell everything in store and as a result, suffer no losses from the unsold merchandise; which is ideally what a business strives for. However, this situation can also been seen as a negative. Shortages would mean that the store would often be sold out of items, and this could lead to customers gettting frustrated and switching to a local competitor store such as Nike. Shortages would also mean that they company would lose out on the potential revenue which they would have received if they did have those items in store.

There can be two ways that people look at this situation, and the debate could go on and on. However, I truly believe that if a store does not meet the demand of their customers, such as case of Lululemon, it would ultimately be a negative for the business.

Citation: “Lululemon’s Problem? Customers Can’t Get Enough – The Globe and Mail.” The Globe and Mail. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/lululemons-problem-customers-cant-get-enough/article1945253/>.

Blog Link: ” I’m Lovin’ It ® ” – Are you really loving it? – Yen Fung Wong

McDonald’s is hands down the most popular fast food restaurant in the world. However, although it is very popular, it is one of the most scrutinized restaurants in recent memory. For example, as Yen pointed out, the nutrition levels of McDonald’s food is falsified by their OWN nutritionist and this is seen as unethical. However the fact is, is that most people already realize that McDonald’s food is widely known to be linked to diseases such as diabetes and obesity, but why do they still continue to eat there?

They continue to eat there because, in actuality, a small percentage of fast food diners actually pay attention to the nutritional facts. They are more concerned about enjoying a tasty meal and saving the time they would have to be in the kitchen cooking. McDonald’s is not doing anything illegal in this situation, because if they were, they would not be allowed to be dishonest in the first place. The numbers may be a bit revised, however people already know the food is bad for them and yet don’t change their ways. McDonald’s is being a bit unethical in this situation, however this does not change the consumers decisions to eat at their restaurant.

Citation: Peters, Allison. “10 Facts Aboout Mcdonald’s Fast Food Restaurant You Should Know.”Healthmad. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <http://healthmad.com/nutrition/10-facts-aboout-mcdonalds-fast-food-restaurant-you-should-know>.

Best Buy has recently established itself as the one of the largest electronic retailers in the world. They operate in Canada, USA, Mexico, China and the United Kingdom. Their expansion has been very impressive since they were only officially founded in 1983.

As a matter of fact, Best Buy was not originally established under this name. Richard Schulze initially founded this business under the name of “Sound of Music” in 1963. This Minnesota based store, sold appliances, videocassette recorders and laserdisc equipment and quickly expanded into a chain franchise. Within a span of 3 years, Sound of Music hit the $1 million mark in annual revenues, with its 3 stores.

However in 1981, a tornado hit and destroyed the franchises most successful store in Roseville, Minnesota, and led to a lot of lost revenue. Sound of Music responded with a “Tornado Sale” which they called the “Best Buy Sale” and held it in a warehouse with plenty of space to put the inventory and hold a large number of customers.

The “Best Buy” sale became an annual event, and it was very successful every time. This was because customers enjoyed shopping in comfortable big spaces for really cheap items. Sound of Music realized this, and in 1983, the company opened its first “superstore” under the new corporate name “Best Buy”, and things have just escalated from there.

Citation: “Best Buy.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Buy>.

Research shows that there are about 3 million less smokers in America today, compared to 5 years ago. Percentages of adults who smoke fell from %20.9 to %19.3 in the 5-year span and this decrease in smokers can surely be accredited to the new graphic images on cigarette packs.

Getting Americans to smoke less has been U.S. government policy since the 1960s and under its “Healthy People initiative”, the Department of Health says it wants to bring the national prevalence of smoking to below 12 percent by 2020.

Video of new graphic Cigarette Pack Images – Scare Tactic

As I see it, graphic images are the best way to send the message that there are many dangers from smoking. This is strongly supported by Kathleen Sebelius, a secrety of health and human services, as she states that “these labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking, and they will help encourage smokers to quit, and prevent children from smoking.”

All things considered, tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease. Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke kill an estimated 443,000 Americans each year, and by simply acknowledging the possible risks, hopefully the number of smokers, not just in America, but around the world, will have a substantial decline.

Citation: Coleman, R. Leigh. “Graphic Images on Cigarette Packs Work, CDC Says, Christian News.” Christian News, The Christian Post. Web. 08 Oct. 2011. <http://www.christianpost.com/news/graphic-images-on-cigarette-packs-work-cdc-says-55180/>.

Salahi, Lara. “Cigarette Packaging About to Get More Graphic – ABC News.” ABCNews.com: Daily News, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts – ABC News. Web. 08 Oct. 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/cigarette-packaging-graphic/story?id=12109439>.

Just recently in the world of sports, the great American pastime, baseball has been linked hand in hand with the abuse of steroids Many big stars have seen their profound legacy deteriorate as they tested positive for the banned substance. Big names include, Barry Bonds (the home run king) and Alex Rodriguez, the former poster boy for the MLB.

Just like any other sport, Major League Baseball is considered a business, and it is a very successful one. However, with the emergence of steroids over the past couple decades, the game has lost many of its fans and the overall excitement towards the sport has decreased. According to George W. Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers ball club, “steroids have sullied the game”

The use of steroids in baseball, and in any sport for that matter, is unethical, wrong, and just plain out cheating. It simply just adds negativity towards the game and in addition, creates losses for the business of the game, as they lose many fans.  There is no place in the sport for cheating, and it has just led to increased speculation as to wether or not, powerful statistics such as Barry Bonds’ home run record should still stand.

All in all, the use of steroids has in fact helped players break records, win ball games, and even sign big contracts. It ultimately gives that player an edge over the competition, however, it has created an ethically toxic atmosphere. Cheating in sports is a big violation of the sports code of conduct, and accordingly, Major League Baseball has taken big steps to ensure that steroids are out of the game for good.

Citation: Morselli, Maurizio “Baseball, Steroids and Business Ethics: How Breaches of Trust Can Change the Game” 20 February, 2008. 15 september, 2011. <http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1902>

Comments: McDonalds Unethical Practices – Yen Fung Wong