In the past 5 years, the Toronto Raptors have been relatively unsuccessful; ticket sales have been squandering, therefore demanding change to occur outside of the locker room. In an attempt to increase sales and revamp the image of the team to NBA fans, the franchise changed their logo and jerseys, acquired Drake to act as their “global ambassador” and other significant marketing tactics. However, Philp makes an excellent point stating that rebranding a team will not be good enough to dramatically increase sales in the long run. He points out that consumers are not “magpies” who will suddenly be attracted to the Raptors because of their new jerseys since the basketball they play hasn’t changed; people don’t forget they are still a weak team. Although this may increase jersey sales in the short run, in the long run consumers will be more inclined to buy the jersey if it has a recognizable name on the back. These two issues lay beyond the power of marketers, rather its more of a team management issue. This enforces the concept that in order for a business to be successful, it must meet the basic needs of their target consumers. In this case, the Raptors must win if they want to increase sales.

Blog responded too: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/raptors-with-nothing-to-lose-bruce-philp/
Picture link: http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/yfypcwqog6qx8658sn5w65huh

Picture Link: http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/61n3wwpf2e3cemcgmdh9y1ugh/Toronto_Raptors/1996/Alternate_Logo

In coordination with my blog regarding Tim Hortons potential internationalization, personally I think reducing the menu size to increase service efficiency is a very smart move. In my blog, I expressed how Tim Hortons needs to slow down somewhat and reestablish themselves as Canada’s favorite place for coffee and donuts prior to expanding internationally. A cost efficient strategy in doing so, is to reduce menu choices, therefore improving service and efficiency. As this blog author agrees that Tim Hortons should increase efficiency, he suggests they increase staff training and market the efficiency of its brand. However, new and improved staff training programs are expensive. In addition, fast food restaurants such as Tim Hortons have high employee turn over rates, which suggests that the cost of these new programs will sum to be very expensive, as they will have to keep on training new employees. In the original article, Caira is quoted pointing out that they will not simply eliminate items off the menu, rather relocate items to different areas of the menu (for example, paninis going from the lunch to breakfast menu). This is of minimal cost to Tim Hortons, and consumers are technically not lacking any menu choices.

My original blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/haydenamundson/2013/11/12/tim-hortons-wants-to-go-international-but-what-about-their-fellow-canadians/

Blog responded to: https://blogs.ubc.ca/brianchung/2013/11/12/tim-hortons-reducing-menu-size/

Following our class on entrepreneurship on Tuesday, I was inspired by the guest speakers in our class and their stories as entrepreneurs. All the speakers that I have heard to date have all shared an underlying message: you don’t have to be crazy smart or have an earth shattering idea to be a successful entrepreneur, rather it is how you implement your idea, and if you truly believe what you’re doing can be done. An entrepreneur from Montreal, Daniel Robichaud, exemplifies this concept perfectly. Robichaud has just recently started up PasswordBox Inc. and has raised $6 million from investors so far. PasswordBox is a simple program on computers, smart phones and other devices that help internet users organize all their passwords. The companies point of difference is its simplicity. I can confidently say that most internet users have thought to themselves how annoying it is to try and remember so many passwords, and how much easier life would be if they were all organized in one place. Even though this business idea has likely been thought over millions of times, Robichaud is implemented it better than anybody else yet, and therefore he is a successful entrepreneur.

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-digital/innovation/montreal-entrepreneur-thinks-he-has-solution-to-internet-problem-too-many-passwords/article15410645/

Company website – there is a short video, its really amazing how simple the business idea is: https://www.passwordbox.com

 As a part of my EOSC 118 course, we briefly touched on the issues surrounding the Pebble Mine. Following class discussions on this topic, I was instantly intrigued as I couldn’t help but consider the implications of the project from a business perspective. This mine would have near unfathomable economic, environmental and societal impacts, which makes it an incredibly massive and complex debate between environmentalists and the corporations involved. Anglo American, one of the worlds largest mining companies, has just retreated from the project after investing $541 million. Although enormous, this investment is merely negligible when compared to its return, as at one point the mine was estimated to be worth $500 billion dollars. As nothing would match the mammoth size and scale of this project, if it were to be approved agencies would have a very difficult time turning down other mining projects in the area. This implies a strong future for growth in the area on top of the massive profits from Pebble alone. However, on the other side of the immense profitability, lies issues regarding environment and sustainability. Even though profits are unmatched, the potential economic disaster that could result would be unheard of.


The Pebble Mine would around 3x larger than this mine (Bingham Mine in Utah): http://www.savebristolbay.org/about-the-bay/about-pebble-mine

Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Bingham_mine_5-10-03.jpg

A very interesting video that covers most aspects of the issue. It does an excellent job and weighing the pros and cons of the mine: http://video.pbs.org/video/2260099527/?starttime=3224000

An article describing some of the financial implications of the project: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-27/why-anglo-american-walked-away-from-the-pebble-mine-gold-deposit

This article highlights Tim Hortons potential aspirations to expand globally. In the article, Tim Hortons CEO Marc Caira explains how the company has been reevaluating the ways it can improve its reputation amongst consumers both in Canada and across the globe. Already Tim Hortons has expanded into the US, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and others. Even though Tim Hortons has the leverage to continue expanding across the globe, and improving their international reputation, are they just becoming another americanized fast food chain and in turn, sacrificing their special heritage, culture and connection with Canadians? As explained in the video below, investors looking for increased profits from Tim Hortons have also expressed they do not think further expansion outside of the Canadian border is wise. Even though my perspective is tainted as a student and have often seen Tim Hortons line’s outrageously large during break hours, it may be smarter for the company to first improve its “Timmy Me” app allowing consumers to pay through the app, improving convenience. This would certainly enhance the domestic reputation of Tim’s across all demographics. In turn, this would also gain back Tim’s edge over McDonald’s McCafe and Starbucks; two rapidly growing competitors.

Article describing Tim Hortons potential expansion strategy: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/tim-hortons-profit-climbs-8-as-us-sales-edge-higher/article15308632/

Video describing how investors are advisting Tim’s to not expand globally: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/inside-the-market/market-view-video/video-market-view-why-an-activist-investor-is-putting-the-heat-on-tim-hortons/article11650606/

As discussed in class, corporations will go to great lengths to acquire personal individual information to improve strategy in a number of aspects, and SafeBridge Financial Group is a great spot to get it. When the company started in 2005, they used a simple standard data management system with no reenforced security, but times have changed. Chris Karram, co-founder of SafeBridge, describes how a large amount of time spent with costumers is spent simply ensuring costumers their information is safe. As a result, an updated, fortuitous IT system acts to literally protect against information theft, but also to uphold their reputation and maintain trust with costumers. In addition to the instillation of a stronger IT system, the company now completely deletes client information following a transaction, however David Skillicorn, computing professor at Queen’s, describes how this may not be enough. Despite new and improved security and information systems, there is always the risk of bits and pieces of data to be picked up throughout the system, even though they appeared to be deleted. This article made me question, as this problem grows, could gaining a competitive advantage be as simple as who has the strongest IT system?

Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/leadership/keep-hackers-at-bay-and-data-safe/article15244299/

Starting snowboarding at the age of 12, then getting sponsored at 16, Max Jenke has lived and breathed snowboarding for most of his life. His driving passion for the sport, inspired Jenke to start up his own board company, Endeavor Design Inc. here in Vancouver. Given the purpose of the company, Endeavor is always testing out new product ideas however their factories wouldn’t want to continue production as these ideas would often fail. To solve this problem, Endeavor created a snowboard lab in the basement of their Vancouver store. As a prototype can be manufactured and ready to ride within 24 hours, they can experiment with products at will. A part of the company’s value proposition is to create boards with unmatched quality, and this vertical integration method has allowed them to produce top quality products, as well as birth a stronger culture within the store. Employees of Endeavor are now able to experience the production of the products they work with everyday first hand, which creates a new level passion for the quality of their products. This exemplifies excellent management, as employees will look forward to the “creative”, “energizing” and “a lot of fun” environment in which they work.

Video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/20130917insidejobsendeavorsnowboards-720p1500kbpsmp4/article15293819/

Link to Endeavor’s website: http://endeavorsnowboards.com

Link to the section of the website about the basement snowboard lab – its pretty interesting and worth checking out: http://endeavorsnowboards.com/archetype-lab/

This article highlights how sustainable practices are becoming increasingly important in order for firms to maximize profits. Carbon capture, a process in which emissions are chemically stripped of carbon, then converted into a liquid, and then safely disposed of, could be a revolutionary technology. Carbon capture is profitable, sustainable and as highlighted by Stuart Hazeldene, could provide excellent returns for powerful investors such as oil companies. The article articulates how companies are realizing the natural value and necessity of the land on which they operate, therefore maintaining the quality of this land and its respective ecosystems is crucial to living as well as business. Although genetically modified foods are often negatively perceived, Vivian Moses of the University College of London argues that they are the only way humans can continue to feed themselves without sacrificing more of earths nature ecosystems for agricultural land. The concepts of CSR and shared value lie at the bases of these concepts. Carbon capture is an excellent example of CSR as it is profitable, and is for the betterment of society and the environment. However, are genetically modified food corporations really exemplifying CSR as Moses describes? Or is it just a tactic to increase profits?

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/29/eco.investing/index.html?iref=allsearch
A simple animation explaining carbon capture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmQUVWZaMiA

Although Tesla’s stocks have through the roof (500% increase this year), Tesla’s accountants have been disclosing certain numbers to up-play the success of the company. This perfectly correlates with our financial accounting class in which we discussed how financial statements can be used to release only selected data in order to portray the company in a beneficial light. In the case of Tesla, they repeatedly disclose data that doesn’t abide by the GAAP. For example, Tesla released their revenue as almost 27% higher than what it actually is when calculated under GAAP. When calculating the earnings per share, they exclude shares that could have been issued to repay debt, resulting in a lower total share count, and in turn a misleading, higher EPS. These misrepresented numbers simply act to boost Telsa’s non-GAAP image; possibly attributing to the significant rise in stock. Also, the technology used in Tesla’s cars is still new and “unproven”[1] compared to the rest of the auto industry, yet they provide a guaranteed four year warranty which is longer than most traditional warranties. Despite the dramatic boom in stocks, the lack of integrity in Tesla’s accounting may lead to a dramatic bust despite their growths.

Article[1]: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/tesla-financials-a-peak-under-the-hood/article14668932/

A short video demonstrating how consumers are losing faith in the integrity of Tesla:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/video/video-tesla-shares-cool-after-fire-report/article14679523/

This video shows how Steam Whistle Brewery perfectly exemplifies the focus strategy as explained in Porter’s Generic Strategies. Although the massive beer industry offers a very diverse range of products and competition, Steam Whistle (founded in 2000[1]) has been very successful in establishing their position in the market through implementing the focus strategy. As Steam Whistle only produces one product, the entirety of the companies time and resources are devoted to making their product be the best. This devotion enabled them to see the opportunity to enter the market in the first place, as well as enabled them to compete and succeed against the best beers in the world, despite being newly established. Their single product specialization has added an element of differentiation to their product, which would make it near impossible for another company to enter the market and compete with or replace them. However, although this strategy certainly has its benefits, what would Steam Whistle do if a new product were introduced that replaced the demand for pilsener beer? Could the foundation of Steam Whistle’s be undermined by a change in consumer taste? How could Steam Whistle reform their entire business model to adapt to new consumer wants?

Link to Video: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/starting-out/steamwhistlemp4/article14675470/

Link to Porter’s Generic Strategies (also on connect): http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/generic.shtml

Another interesting link about the birth of Steam Whistle: [1]: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/starting-out/two-fired-guys-poured-ambition-into-steam-whistle/article14662456/