Grace Jin's Blog

Although the United Nations Development Programme supports many initiatives that help reduce poverty, protect vulnerable groups, and create sustainability, Social Enterprise (including the Arc initiative) empowers the people of impoverished areas to move out of poverty on their own account. Social enterprise allows for long term change within communities and builds on the tools and skills of local villagers. There are three primary reasons why I believe Social Enterprise is necessary.

1. Social Enterprise is Long Term

While the UNDP does support many humanitarian efforts globally, much of this aid comes in monetary form and therefore is short term. Social enterprise, through microfinancing, allows for long term employment for those in impoverished areas, providing them with a stable income. Furthermore, since the businesses are local, people within the community are directly impacted and benefited by the enterprise.

2. Social Enterprise is Innovative

Given that these are businesses we are speaking of, there is much innovation and creativity involved in social enterprise. Since the villagers know the specific needs and markets of their community, they are able to create suitable products. For example, Salem’s Ethiopia, who worked with the Arc Initiative at Sauder, was able to create baskets and cater to the tourists who travel to Ethiopia.

3. Social Enterprise Fosters Relationships

Social Enterprise and movements like the Arc Initiative fosters relationships and trust between business people from all over the world. This creates a fantastic network of people who are able to support one another financially, through advising, as well as through sharing experiences and is a learning opportunity for all.

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Class 19 of COMM 101 focused on how organizational behaviours and human resource practices can benefit a company. The example of Zappos was brought up as a company who truly values their employees and shows evidence of that through providing free food, healthcare and dental benefits, and parties for their staff. The video we watched depicted a vibrant and happy work place environment that is not typical of call centres.

This article affirms the belief that great CEOs pay attention to corporate culture.

Eagle’s Flight CEO Phil Geldart says that the most important thing in creating corporate culture is for the leaders of a company to role model what they want to see in their workers. In the example of Zappos, the CEO Tony Hsieh works in a desk alongside his employees, showing his down to earth manner of leading and also setting an example of humbleness and equality for his workers.

In a quote by Herb Keller (Chairman of Southwest Airlines), he says “Culture is what people do when no one is looking.” I agree with this statement as it shows how culture is not simply a program one can implement or even a training session employees must go through, but really boils down to the inherent nature and combination of everyone who works at a company.

Unilever sues Hamption Creek over false advertising

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This recent article in the Financial Post explains how house-hold product giant Unilever is suing start-up company Hampton Creek for its product “Just Mayo.” Unilever contends that its competitor’s product (which doesn’t contain eggs) is violating federal trademark laws since Just Mayo’s label features a white egg cracked by a pea shoot. Furthermore, Unilever argues that Just Mayo is denting sales of its popular mayonnaise products, known as Hellmann’s as the new product has won distribution in giant retail and grocery chains like Target and WalMart. Unilever also wants Hampton Creek to pay three times its profit in damages plus the legal fees. Additionally, Unilever is asking the court to require Hampton Creek to stop using the egg on its label and stop claiming that Just Mayo is superior to Hellmann’s.

WHY I THINK THIS IS RIDICULOUS:

In my opinion, Unilever is bullying smaller companies who are actively trying to innovate and shift the face of food production. While there is an FDA standard on what mayonnaise should entail, those guidelines were set in 1957 (as stated in the article) and the reality is that in a tech-driven economy, innovation and creativity should be rewarded. Just Mayo is rising up to be a main competitor of Hellmann’s and it is that rivalry that allows for the stimulation of innovation and creation of better products. Competition benefits consumers as it lowers costs and allows for new products. Unilever should address this reality instead of accusing Hampton Creek of ridiculous clauses.

This blog post refers to a fellow classmate’s post which can be found  here.

In Twinkle’s post, she comments on the clash between the free market and government regulation by bringing up the example of Uber who wants to expand to larger cities but is finding it difficult due to restrictions in those places.

What she also talks about is building a bridge between the government and businesses to come to a point of compromise that allows for a profitable business to exist within the constraints of government regulation.

Personally, I believe that she is correct in stating this. However, realistically, it is easier said than done. It is a fact that clash between government and businesses will always exist given that there are different agendas at play promoting different ideals.

Another example of government intervention in business is the Netflix-CRTC debate. Essentially, the CRTC is a regulatory body whose goal is to ensure Canadian content within television and media. The CRTC has recently asked Netflix to hand over user data to the Canadian government as a tool to monitor Canadian viewer data. Naturally, Netflix disagreed and refused to hand over this data to the CRTC on grounds of privacy and protecting their customers. Since Netflix is a American company, the question of jurisdiction falls into play as one can question if the Canadian government truly has power to demand such an action from Netflix.

Ultimately, the conflict between businesses and regulatory bodies leads to many interesting debates and I believe each case varies in the way it should be best dealt with. Sometimes the government over-regulates, thus harming the free market. But sometimes regulation is beneficial as it protects consumers. Very debateable.

source – www.mentorworks.ca

source – www.setting-up-a-business.com

Many Sauder alumni who became entrepreneurs recently visited our COMM 101 classes. Many of them also mentioned initially bootstrapping their business when they first began (ex. Paul from Tangoo). This post responds to an entry on the external Business blog, Quora, regarding the mechanics of bootstrapping a business. The reason this article caught my eye was because turned the term “Boootstrap” into an acronym teaching people how to go abouts the endeavour. Here’s what the blogger came up with:

B-uild your audience early

O-ptimize social media

O-ffer unusual freebies

BOOTS!

T-ie up with influential connections and partners

S-ponsor events

T-estimonials

R-eferral program

A-wareness campaign

P-itch to reporters and bloggers

What was really interesting for me to see was that many of the ideas the blogger suggested had channels via the internet. This truly demonstrates the importance and presence of utilizing social media and the internet as a marking tool in today’s society. Further, another theme that I acknowledged was that another main purpose of bootstrapping is to create an awareness for the company or product your are starting up. Many of the channels suggested are avenues to generate publicity, thus building up a consumer base that will eventually purchase the product or service. The suggestions brought up in the external blog were all thoughtful and relevant and can be used even in many cases that we deal with in COMM 101.

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A repeating theme in many of our COMM 101 marketing classes has been differentiation and finding a Point of Difference in products. This Globe and Mail article introduces a unique law firm that tailors specifically to dentists. Furthermore, the article touches on many points of the Business Model Canvas and is a fantastic real life example of many sections within the model.

The Background:

Michael Carabash was fresh out of law school with an ambition to become the best criminal lawyer in Toronto. However, his MBA came into play when he realized there was a unique customer segment that he could cater to – dentists. With two other lawyers on his team, DMC Dental Lawyers has been attracting new clients and providing services in a effective manner.

Why DMC Stands Out:

The firm approaches their business with an amalgamation of online, easy-access resources, as well as in-personal legal advising. Through the website, dentists can easily fill out legal forms based on templates which are reviewed and finalized by lawyers. This reduces costs for clients and also allows for lawyers to use their time doing more challenging and interesting tasks. Furthermore, DMC uses a blog as a channel to reach out to the tightly knit dentist community, allowing for the spread of their company by word of mouth as well. To find out more about the company – see their website here.

Why This Interests Me:

I have aspirations to go into law and legal advising in the future making it interesting to read about how someone was able to combine their business acumen with legal training.  DMC Lawyers inspired me and got me thinking about the possibilities of future careers.

Picture Sources Respectively: www.telegraph.co.uk, wisestartupblog.com

“We can help YOU”

The Story –

This is yet another case of a boundary dispute between a First Nations group and a company. The Tsilhqot’in people have recently declared the implementation of Dasiqox Tribal Park which includes Fish Lake. But here’s the catch – it is also the site of Taseko’s proposed New Prosperity mine. The First Nations group views these 3,120 kilometres as their sovereign territory while Taseko owns Fish Lake property that lies just outside the title area recognized by courts. Ultimately, the company changed its plans and eventually announced a $79-million takeover of Curis Resources (Arizona copper developer), however, the controversy between the Tsilhqot’in people and Taseko is still worth analysing.

So What?

This case is significant because it speaks a lot to the importance of engaging with stakeholders before implementing a project. In any business project, certain parties must be informed and consulted with prior to launching. For example, provincial and federal governments, banks, and investors must be notified and the plan must be passed by these parties before action can be taken. Another vital group specific to this case is the Tsilhqot’in people. A main reason for the ambiguity in borders with the controversy between Taseko and the First Nations is that the company failed to correspond and engage with the First Nations group. Thus, their voices were muted and unheard in the process. This leaves the Tsilhqot’in displeased with the business plans as they view it to be harmful to their environment and the company can no longer continue with their initial New Prosperity mine project. This became a lose-lose situation because Taseko failed to address all stakeholders involved in the situation. 

The Takeaway –

Stakeholders are important! Talk to them.

Fish Lake

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This Globe and Mail article really touches on some key marketing strategies that are critical for success.

A quick summary of the main points in the article:

1. Services and Products Should Be Personalized and Tailored to Consumer Needs

The article argues that companies should figure out the needs of a consumer before they know it themselves. Companies should cater to the specific and personalized needs of customers in order to create the best services and products.

2. Location is Important

Find out where your consumers live. Use social media such as LinkedIn or Facebook to connect with your customers. Another example give in the article is to use SnapChat to appeal to younger users.

3. Provide a Human Touch to Business

Put in the effort to make your consumers happy. Create memorable moments for people and help them enjoy the services and products provided.

In Grace’s Opinion:

I agree with much of what this article proclaims. However, I also think that it is important to draw a boundary between personalizing services and products and getting too personal with consumers. I am reminded of the case where Target was able to figure out that a teen girl was pregnant through her purchases. I think that although these statistics and data are incredibly beneficial for companies to take note of, there should definitely be a point where a line has been crossed.

This post refers to my colleague, Celine Chen’s blog post that can be read here!

This blog post caught my eye as it touched on many of the concepts discussed in our COMM 101 class. I believe that another aspect as to why products seem to fail is the lack of connection between marketers and financial accountants (as touched on in class). Furthermore, I agree with Celine’s statement that “many large companies are cutting corners to get to the finish line.” I believe that too often, the goal to maximize profits blurs other crucial aspects to launching a new product. Critical steps are skipped, such as market research or pricing tactics, and thus, the product is unsuccessful in the end.

Additionally, I also find that it is interesting how consumers are less willing to try new products. This seems contradictory to what would seem to be the trend of the never-ending line of new iPhones. I think a root of this problem could perhaps be pricing. Often, new products are expensive for consumers to purchase and many people tend to wait until prices dip a little or see how popular it is first with friends and family before personally purchasing the product.

Finally, I agree with Celine when she says that “companies must learn from the habits of the new generation.” For example, I travelled to China this summer and noticed that many shopping malls were incredibly empty. This would seem unlikely given the immense population in China. However, I later had a chat with my uncle who is in business and he told me about how quickly online shopping has spread with websites such taobao.com and alibaba.com. Soon the concept of shopping malls will become archaic and outdated as people prefer to shop in the comforts of their own home. I think that it is probable that such shopping malls will per turned into show rooms or large entertainment centres where people can just hang out.

Ultimately, it is definitely critical to be constantly analysing consumer behaviour! …Getting ready for COMM 291?

Last month’s CBC article, as well as this Globe and Mail article both touch on the topic of internships. More specifically, the articles question the status quo of unpaid internships through analysing  the nature of jobs, employer and employee benefits, as well as the economy as a whole. Holistically, there are many players and actors involved in the ordeal and arguments on both sides of the debate should be addressed before conclusively stating that unpaid internships are unethical and uneconomical.

Why Unpaid Interships Should be Banned

1. The Vicious Cycle

There is a major problem with the status quo. First, let’s start with high tuition costs (think about our $163 Sauder credits). Now think of poor students who are finding ways to try and fund for their education. They need a job. Most relevant and well-paying jobs require previous work experience, so the student decides to undergo an unpaid internship at a company in order to gain that experience. Now they are working long hours while studying, and are still poor. Student loans rack up and the students go further and further into debt.

Take the example of nursing student Tamara Oomen who was $20,000 in debt after completing her degree despite having worked an incredible amount of hours at hospitals engaging in the same amount of work as paid employees

2. Create Incentives

As soon as money is in the equation, the company now has more of an incentive to choose the best candidate for a position as opposed to simply hiring someone to do photocopying jobs and coffee runs. This helps the company become more innovative and thus creates a better market value in the future for the company. Furthermore, students will have more of an incentive to apply for positions when they are paid.

3. Devaluation and Exploitation of Students

Tying into the previous point, often when interns are hired, they are not given real jobs that are challenging and relevant and are instead photocopying, sorting through papers, and doing petty work for the employers. Most interns are university students full of potential who are capable of doing much more and thus, this unpaid internships are an active process of devaluation. On the flip side, other internship programs  require the workers to work intense and vigorous jobs that rival those of paid employees, painting the other spectrum of exploitation.

Now let’s take a look at the other side of the debate…

Why Unpaid Interships are Beneficial

1. Value in Experience

People have to start somewhere and interships can act as an incredibly beneficial starting point. Before teenagers start working part-time jobs, they often first volunteer somewhere to gain relevant experience. There is value for both the employers and the employee when it comes to internships. Value isn’t always monetary.

2. Paying Interns Leads to Less Opportunity

There are limited resources and when interns are paid, there can only be a certain amount allocated to hire interns. Ultimately, this decreases the number of internships and leads to less opportunities for students as a whole. Furthermore, although they are unpaid positions, students are currently still applying and engaging in these internships simple for the opportunity to network with professionals in the field and gain relevant experience.

3. Long-term Job Interview

One of the articles said to look at the process as a long term job interview. There is no guarantee of a job afterwards, but the experience is a valuable learning experience nonetheless. Through the process however, companies do often end up hiring their interns.

My Opinion

As a business student paying expensive tuition, my opinion is evidently biased. However, I do see value in unpaid internships as well. Personally, I believe that internships that require vigorous working schedules, especially for upper year students, definitely should be paid experiences. However, I do believe that it is valuable for a first or second year student to gain unpaid experience just as a gateway into the field. I also see small businesses as a vulnerable party in this debate should unpaid internships be banned since small businesses often have less resources to allocate towards internships, yet they may still provide valuable experiences for students. Ultimately, my ideal solution would be for the government to provide subsidies for smaller business and implement paid internships for all students in upper years (or students who have fulfilled those credits).

This is an interesting debate… where do you stand? Think about it.

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