OCCUPY has been in the headlines of multiple newspapers this fall. Its massive movement erupted from the hearts of Wall Street, New York and has steadily, but rapidly trickled to economically wealthy cities all over North America. Vancouver even has its own separate movement in Downtown with a similar purpose.

In James Yue’s blog about the Occupy Crisis in New York, he observes this remarkable feat as a direct confrontation of the unfairness in wealth distribution amongst different social classes.

I agree with James’ perception that “this is a step forward for society to be more aware of corporate greed.” It is indeed time for the government to fulfill their duties as authoritative figure and intervene; however, if the government refuses to step out of neutrality, then the Occupy Movement becomes a nuisance to the norms of society.

The Occupy Movement barely scratched the surface of the corporate bubble and is doing more harm to the citizens than corporates ever did. If the government does not heed to the message, it will ultimately be the protesters who suffer from the consequence of this movement.

Picture:
http://capitalistbanter.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/wall_street_sign.jpg

To follow – up on Maxwell Ma‘s suggestions on how to succeed as an investor, it is also critical for individuals to consider personal factors before diving into an abyss of red and green flashing numbers.

Although it is paramount to immerse oneself in researching the trend of the target market before settling in for action, the novice investor should also rationalize his/her own behaviour and norms prior to throwing down money.

Successful investments go beyond the normality of meticulous research and is actually tightly linked with psychology. An entire section of psychology – Behavioral Finance – is dedicated to studying what is formally known as the concept of “Investor Risk.”

Every prominent investor realizes that he/she is the worst enemy during the decision making process of whether or not to sell or buy. Contrary to popular believe that numbers rule the market, it is actually the emotions of investors that dictate the playing field.

While greed leads to impulsive actions, fear compels the mind to take on a “fight or flight” response, especially during heavy fluctuations in the market.

My suggestion to aspiring investors: to evaluate oneself and one’s potential behaviour within the market before cracking open the research documents.

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http://bajansunonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/stocks_board.jpg

I recently discovered www.brandinsightblog.com, a business blog created by John Furgurson sharing his perceptions within the marketing world. One of his recent post on how using stock photos can hurt brand image particularly caught my interest, epescially after a crash course in class about customer service.

Its not uncommon for businesses to stumble into the unfortunate pool of visual cliche as stock photos of friendly, personable employees are plastered onto advertisements to reflect the health of the company.

While the charismatic smile of the employee in the photo charms consumers into believing that is the mood of the company, these stock photos can also hurt the company in such that it blends the company in with its competitors, thus losing its differentiation point.

“Stock photos don’t tell a story. That’s what makes them so universally appealing.”

– Senior Art Director, Eric Haag

The author mentions that credibility, relevance, and differentiation are key factors to a successful brand. With that in mind, companies looking to bring their product ahead of the game should seriously re-evaluate advertising strategies.

Instead of picking photos straight out of a catalogue, companies should produce their own and have images that truly represent the culture of the business.

Picture:
http://www.customersupport.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/iStock_000012107870XSmall.jpg

Organizations are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of inputting MIS and BTM into the operation system; an adamant example would be the inception of IT for data back – up and protection.

Management services such as Stage 2 Data – a third party firm that handles client companies’ data backup needs – are  increasing their footprint in the business industry as companies begin to emphasize on “improving business innovation.”

Even small businesses are looking to allocate revenue towards creating a solid, cohesive IT system for support. For example, a business that deals with transactions with customers will likely take precautions in securing financial data while a company with a database of customers’ personal information will fortify barriers from potential data breaching.

“BTM is for students who are inspired to use technology to change the world”

– http://ccict.ca/ccict-strategy/btm

In response to the changing systems of business, it is important for aspiring business students to consider taking IT courses in order to maximize their educational qualification and excel in the future business industry. Perhaps it would be a smart choice for students to take up on the offer of Universities to double major in both Commerce and Computer Science!

Related Article:

http://ccict.ca/ccict-strategy/btm

http://www.ubcbiztech.com/opportunities/business-technology-management-major/

Picture:

http://www.solidappliedtechnologies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Developing-the-capacity-to-use-information-technology.jpg

Social tools reflect a somewhat different set of cultural and social ideas, they are less hierarchical and have less presumption about who needs to share information with whom, and they push the authority much lower down the organization

– Charles Armstrong, CEO of Social Analytics provider Trampoline Systems

The new decade of the 21st Century has been undermined by the oppressive force of the internet, most notably, its emperor – Social Media. More companies are starting to incorporate its use into management systems hoping for rapid, effective, communication results. The question then arises, will Social Media be a friend or foe to the fine lined structure of a business?

Austin’s: “Internal resistance to social and collaboration support initiatives grows as an exponential function of the number of employees, where the exponent is the number of hierarchy levels in the organisation.”

From the suggestive theory of Austin, it is evident that social collaboration itself is not the reason for malfunction in communication, rather, it is the people’s unwillingness to utilize its platform.

Often, employees are reluctant to share opinions in a online social pool since the CEO will likely be reading it. Other times, heated online debates about problems that cannot be resolved by the organization will cause the company to turn off social collaboration altogether.

Picture:
http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Social-Media-art.jpg
 

November steps into the limelight carrying an array of fresh, seasonal ideas as aspiring senior students in SFU compete for the name of Student Entrepreneur of the Year. I was particularly intrigued by one of the many ingenious pitches, Overminded Entertainment, for the company’s fresh interpretation of online – media sharing.

Founded by Tyler Wenzel, Overminded Entertainment is a new take on Youtube and the music industry with the revolutionary idea of uniting fans with their favourite music artists through the video – based journalism website in where fans are invited to create the profiles of music artists. In addition, aspiring musicians will also have the chance to expand their fan base and broaden their own house name through online media.

Overminded Entertainment displays crucial characteristics of entrepreneurship, with the most notable being the high risk factor of close competition in the market. With the rising prominence of already established online streaming networks such as Youtube, the barrier of entry would definitely be tough to get through for this new media concept.

Although sudden, rapid increase in wealth is not plausible, the creator(s) of Overminded Entertainment deserve credit for introducing a fresh form of media interaction to the online community.

Related Articles:
http://www.sfusey.com/event-program/competition/2011semi-finalists/#ax3
http://overmined.com/

Pictures:
http://www.sfusey.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Overmined-Entertainment200x200.jpg
http://daveferguson.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/28/innovation_cube.jpg

During one of the recent comm 101 lectures I have been introduced to the distinct definitions of vision/goal, strategy, and tactic. Though many examples were provided, I was still perplexed by the close proximity of what each meant; therefore, I decided to do my own detective work online and give these terms my own interpretations:

Vision/Goal – What you are striving for, an abstract or general direction of where you want to be.
Ace the calculus test, win the war, become 1st in the particular industry market, earn 1/4 of a a million/year

Strategy – An overview of a plan to achieve the goal; an idea or conceptualization of how you can potentially or possibly achieve the goal. Strategy is a long – term plan.
Study more, divide and conquer, mass advertise, get a high paying job.

Tactic – Action enforced to execute the strategic plan. The actual “doing” part of a strategy.
Go to teacher hours, invest in better weapons and gather more intelligence of opposition, promotions and specific advertisement to targeted consumer, get a higher educational degree.

“A goal is not a strategy unless it has an idea behind it”

– John Furgurson (BrandInsightBlog)

 

 

Reference:
http://www.brandinsightblog.com/2009/11/01/marketing-strategy-vs-tactics/

Picture:
http://www.contentstrategyhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/chess-strategy.jpg

BMW and Audi – two prominent grand tourer brands – are taking their duel away from the race track and into the consumers’ minds with tactful advertisements. With the market as their chessboard, BMW and Audi engage in a strategic game of virtual chess – one that determines who is King (of the race track).

Will it be the BMW M3 or Audi RS4?

Lets first distinguish both brands in terms of Points of Parity and Points of Difference:

[PoP – Grand Tourer] Leather seating option, carbon option, comfortable yet sporty, front engined with rear- wheel drive (V8), soft suspensions

[PoD – BMW M3] Light steering, V – 8 torque allows for best handling and cornering with responsive engine, BMW brand recognized for comfort with its inception of the damper control, and comes with latest luxury amenities such as xenon headlamps and heated power seats

[PoD – Audi RS4] Titanium package makes car look more wealthy, exclusive sport – exhaust mode, often advertised as the “halo vehicle” with Audi’s latest advanced technology, and claims to incorporate Audi’s signature “Dynamic Ride Control” mechanism

The race does not end there – BMW and Audi continue to vie for consumers’ attention with comparative advertisement:

References:
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2006/10/audi-rs4/
http://www.topgear.com/uk/bmw/m3

Picture:
http://www.porhomme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/audi-bmw-ad-war-cali-billboard-checkmate-1.jpg

–> Kindle vs. IPad

As the e – book market replaces paperbacks, hardcovers, and Chapters, it’s no surprise that more companies are switching their effort from other products to developing the company’s own version of the “e – book reader.”

So what does this mean for the producers and consumers?
More options for the consumers in terms of preferences – price, design, functionality, etc – but more competition for the producers who strive to differentiate their product.

A brief review of the pros and cons of the most prominent e – book readers on the market:

Amazon Kindle – Relatively cheap ($79 – 189), compact and lightweight; however, it has limited functions and apps, as in the reader cannot do much except to actually read with the device.

Sony Reader – Same functions as the new Amazon Kindle Fire with a much higher price of $149 and a clearer screen. The price is definitely a disadvantage

IPad with iOS 5 – This product should be considered a luxury (with a hefty price of $499). Consumers might decide to splurge anyways for the reason that the IPad is practically capable of so much more than just “reading on the bus.” Movies and games anyone?

Which one will you choose?

References:

http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/
http://ebookstore.sony.com/reader/

Picture:
http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2011/06/27/e-readers_2011_610x458.JPG” alt=”The IPad vs. Amazon Kindle

Though Japan strives to eliminate nuclear elements at home, governments are pushing to globalize their research and developments. With the additional support of multibillion dollar companies such as Mitsubishi and Toshiba, the Japanese are ready to push beyond borders and into energy craving countries such as Vietnam.

Despite criticism from international environmental groups and Japan’s own politicians, the advocates claim that they are merely saving the rest of the world from self destruction by introducing nuclear technology with innovative “safeguards” – a precedent of the decades- old, unstable reactors that currently dominates the nuclear market.

Japan has been criticized for nuclear distasters during the 9.0 earthquake in Fukushima; however, researchers, technicians, and the government reassure global partners of the efficiency and improved safety of their nuclear developments.

“Many countries of the world are seriously exploring the use of nuclear power, and we have assisted them in improving nuclear safety,” Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, said at an address at the United Nations General Assembly recently. “We will continue to answer to the interest of those countries.”

How would Canada respond to this invitation for nuclear involvement? Are we ready for a nuclear plant in our backyard?

Related Article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-pushes-for-reactor-exports-even-as-it-debates-nuclear-policy-at-home/2011/11/13/gIQAfgKfQN_story.html

Picture:
http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/1280×1024/2008/Photoshop_The_nuclear_explosion___bomb_011528_.jpg