Zhaoxuan Liu's blog

James Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and podcaster.(http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/james-altucher-wall-streets-keeper-of-the-pain-11172011.html)

The business blog I truly want to recommend is James Altucher’ blog: Ideas of a World Out of Balance. His blog contains his life experiences of starting up businesses as well as advice for small firms.

In one post, Altucher told about how he created a financial website step by step with the right  ideas and strategies, some of which have been discussed in the Comm 101 class. For example, he pointed out the importance of “making a business that you would use”, i.e. thinking carefully about the value proposition of a product or service to cater to the market’s needs. Also, he mentioned that “when you start a website, you have to bring people from a trusted site to your site to build up the trust in your site.” This can be linked with the concept of positioning: if a business is not the first one to enter a particular industry, then it should create some links between itself and those well-known ones.

What I found quite helpful is that Altucher is an entrepreneur who dares to try different things and learn from his own success and failures. As a result, we can see how basic business concepts are applied in real life and learn from his experiences. Another thing that I appreciate is that he also writes down stories about his daily life, which make his blogs entertaining and interesting to read.

There is no denying that the UN fund have made a difference in many parts of the world. However, only giving out money is far from enough in terms of a business’ success and a country’s prosperousness in the long run. It is hard to have a permanent impact in most of the industries by providing limited amount of fund and other resource.

This is the reason why the Arc and social enterprise are needed. By creating innovation that benefits underprivileged communities, social entrepreneurs are devoted to tackle major social issues with a scarcity of resource. And the ARC initiative helps small businesses with their strategies and focus by sharing business toolkits. These achievements are what the UN cannot accomplish by providing funds.

Furthermore, the UN fund and the ARC and social enterprise focus on different types of people and have different objectives.The UN fund may be used to tackle urgent problems, for example providing food and accommodations to refugees. As a result, small businesses and people who can make a living on their own do not benefit much from it. What the ARC and social enterprise do is focusing on supporting a particular group first, thus benefiting the whole community in the long-term.

In a nutshell, the ARC and social enterprise focus more on a long-term benefit and support people that the UN fund cannot reach. Personally, it is such type of effort that can  benefit the communities and people as a whole.

Organizational culture is essential for a company to execute its key activities.

Top firms exalt workers, find competitive edge:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/09/top-firms-exalt-workers-find-competitive-edge/

The article is about the special organizational culture of Zeeto Media and SAS Institute. Their strategies are different from those of Zappos, and every firm should have its own organizational culture. Here is the summary of three principles that I think companies should follow when creating organizational culture.

1. Treat employees equally. Tony Hsieh, Zappos’ CEO, shares a big office with his employers, and Google’s managers greet their new employees warmly. With the feeling of being respected, employees are more likely to get inspired and develop a sense of belonging to their companies.

2.Create benefit shared by all the employees. The strategy many companies apply now is rewarding their employees for the achievements they have accomplished. Employers provide paid leave for managers and bonus for extra sales, and strategies as such do motivate employees. However, what companies like Zappos, Google and Tesla do is create common benefit for everyone even before they produce products and services. With these benefit beforehand, the value of employees themselves are acknowledged. A combination of both common benefit and rewarding system can inspire employees to the fullest.

3. Do not only focus on short-term profit. Benefits like free meals, holding parties and other services definitely add extra cost to a company. But employee dissatisfaction and high turnover are all potential cost.Spending proper amount of money on creating organizational culture enables a company to reduce internal conflicts and develop a long-term strategy.

Following these three principles, companies can achieve a great start in creating organizational culture and gain long-term payoff from that.

The initial blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/estebanflores/2014/10/05/silicon-valley-giant-hewlett-packard-to-split-in-two/

The giant in Silicon Valley, Hewlett-Packard (HP), is going to split into two public traded companies, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc.

The initial blog addressed that this move will allow each of the two companies to adopt a focused strategy and benefit HP as a whole. It also pointed out that HP will be able to put more effort into its hardware and service division and suffer less from the loss in the PC market. I agree with the idea that the move is beneficial to HP, but have my own opinions on the strategies the two companies are going to take.

Personally, the PC and printers division should apply a focused strategy and minimize its cost. Since companies like Apple and Lenovo have occupied the PC market, it is hard for HP to win the battle by new technology immediately. If it still wants to keep the division, dropping the price to attract customers may be a better option in the short run.

However, the target scope of the hardware and service division is broader since it covers almost all the aspects in technical support. Compared to the PC market, HP also have more opportunities in the computer services industry. Therefore, a more differentiation strategy is needed to develop the strength and keep its uniqueness.

Looking back on Apple’s success several years ago, it was disruptive innovation that made it the industry leader. With the move of splitting into two companies, HP should also put more effort into innovation to smooth the way for the long-term war.

Apple Watch vs. Swiss Watch

In Zhenting Du’s blog, he argues that the Apple Watch will challenge the Swiss Watch since the practical value of iWatch outweighs the collection value of luxury watches. I agree with his idea and want to talk more about why Apple can win the battle as well as how can the Swiss Watch industry react to the challenge.

Apple has a reason for developing the watch division while recogonizing the dominate role of the Swiss Watch in the industry. Considering the value proposition of iWatch, it not only shows accurate time, but also allows customers to check emails, messages and make phone calls on this garget. By introducing a new, technical lifestyle to its customers, iWatch can reach a larger market and attract more potential customers. Additionally, being the leader among technology companies, Apple has a great strength in developing electronic products. Its another strength is that Apple has been well known for its fashion tastes and has a lot of loyal fans. The relative cheaper price and cute outlook also cater to customers’ needs.

Although the Swiss Watch is a symbol of class and status, the whole industry cannot only depend on collectors. With the launch of iWatch, customers will expect more on watches, thus challenging the Swiss Watch industry. Facing the external threat, it should keep developing its strength of being a status symbol but also cooperate with other technology firms and develop smart watches to expand value proposition and attract customers in the meanwhile.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html

The Site C project on Peace River will impact First Nation’s traditional lifestyle, which has resulted in their chiefs’ reaching the federal government to protest against it.

The Site C project is proposed for the purpose of providing clean and renewable energy for British Columbia, and it also creates job opportunities and increases government revenues. However, since sustainability should benefit social, environment and economy as a whole, I do not think the project creates shared value. From the social aspect, the project causes a significant adverse effect on First Nation’s life, which may make the relationship between federal government and First Nation more delicate. From the environment aspect, some of the best farmland in BC will be flooded. And in terms of economy,the project costs a lot and the future profit cannot be ensured.

Personally, it is important for an enormous project like the Site C which is closely connected to the whole society to create shared value immediately. If BC Hydro wants the Site C project to be a success, it should examine what can be brought to the public and prove that the power is needed in the immediate future. If all of its benefits is based on sacrificing First Nation’s lifestyle and the environment, then maybe it is not the right time to build the Site C.

Apple to unveil new iPads Oct. 16：

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/apple-to-unveil-new-ipads-oct-16/article20920046/

Everyday I take my iPhone and Macbook Air with me, but leave my iPad2 and iPod touch at home. Since all these gadgets have similar functions, having two of them is enough. I admit that Apple has really awesome products, but how can it make every of its products unique?

When asked about the reasons for buying iPad, most people’ answer will be words like convenient and portable. While iPad3 and iPad4 have improvements such as increased resolution of the display and processing power, they are not the center of customers’ focus. I may get an iPhone 6 for new functions and fashion reasons, but I don’t feel the need to update my iPad.

For a tech company like Apple, keeping improving technology and updating products is essential, but it should focus on the uniqueness of its products so that it can balance the sales. Also, while Apple is now leading the way in the digital world, super-cheap tablets available from Amazon, Samsung, Asus, Lenovo and other companies are threatening the sales of iPad.

Now Apple is to unveil new iPads, and also the smaller iPad mini. Keeping launching new iPad models maintains the high price. However, if customers have already had their own iPhones, they will probably switch to other cheaper ones or simply give up buying another tablet. If Apple wants to promote the sales of the iPad, it is better to reposition it or decrease the price.

Age, not gender, is the new income divide in Canada, study finds
http://business.financialpost.com/2014/09/23/age-not-gender-is-the-new-income-divide-in-canada-new-study-finds/

As the article has stated, age, at some times, is used to divide workers’ income. The problem is related with some social beliefs, such as senior workers are more experienced and more devoted to their jobs, and they deserve extra bonus for their long working years. However, faced with relatively lower average income, young people may suffer from large pressure.

Companies, however, can choose to follow the trend or to make some adjustments in order to attract both senior and young workers.

A harmonious culture is needed for a business to pursue long-term development.

Personally, a company’s corporate culture is fundamental to its success. A harmonious relationship among workers drives a company to generate new ideas, to conquer obstacles, to sell products and services, to make profits, and in return, to benefit its employees. Equality should be achieved, so employees should get the same wage for the same work, regardless of their ages. However, companies can pay more money to their senior workers, for they are usually in higher positions. And for younger workers, companies should focus on their own development and mental health. Also, companies can reduce young workers’ living expenses by providing accommodations and food to those who struggle with financial problems.

While a company has to focus on its cost and try to make more profit, I believe focusing on the employees, the people, is more beneficial to its long-term development. A company should not only hire people to work, but also help its employees to success, to better themselves and enjoy their work.

The official roadshow video for Alibaba

As is shown in the video, Alibaba is one of the most successful companies in China over the past 15 years. It has changed the way of shopping for Chinese by providing large online-shopping platforms: Taobao and Tmall.

Aibaba went public is US on 19 September 2014.

Now Alibaba is deciding to expand its business and become a global company——starting with going public in US. It priced shares on Thursday, Sep 18 for its initial public offering at $68 each, putting the finishing touches on the largest IPO for a U.S.-listed company ever. Also, it started day valued at $167.62bn, bigger than Amazon and eBay.

There is a huge market for online-shopping in China and Alibaba grasped the opportunity. Instead of directly selling and shipping goods to customers, Alibaba offers online platforms where small businessmen and businesswomen can “rent” an online shop and sell their goods in it. Since the cost of running a shop online is much lower than that of running a brick and mortar shops, the prices of goods are quite cheap.

Alibaba’s success in China is not only because of the enormous purchasing power in China, but only because it has been providing customers what they want. Most of the Chinese people had lots of concerns about online-shopping. Alibaba has its own instant online chatting system so that customers can ask sellers about the commodities first before purchasing. In contrast, the American company, eBay, failed to grasp the importance of the Chinese concept.

Wild West’ of groundwater:

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/wild-west-of-groundwater-billion-dollar-nestlé-extracting-b-c-s-drinking-water-for-free-1.587568

Nestlé is taking advantages from government regulation and getting water resources for free.

Nestlé is paying nothing for taking underground water from HOPE, which violates business ethics and affects local people’s life. Nestlé, as a world famous corporation, is risking its reputation and image for taking free water resource.

As is discussed in Comm101’s class, an entrepreneur should understand the value proposition of that business and never take advantage of vulnerable people. Personally, business ethics is related to a company’s image, its social responsibility and the public’s welfare. Company violating business ethics for profit is damaging its reputation and will lose advantages in the competitive market, and this is especially true for Nestlé as the problem have been discussed for years. Since customers always buy products and services from companies that they consider trustworthy, Nestlé will probably keep losing its customers in the future. Hence, such behavior will be supervised and regulated In the long run.

Furthermore, the lack of regulation is a major reason for the problem. The government of BC should establish profound laws to stop water resources from being taken for free.

To sum up, I believe companies must observe business ethics for the sake of development (both of themselves and the community). What’s more, the government should perfect related regulations to provide a healthy business environment.