I have commented and added to both sheida’s blog and Colin’s blog. I feel that they have raised important issues, especially to do with the Sustainability of the world and the imbalance that exists in the NBA

What I have learnt

The basics of business, from the world of marketing and the creation of brands to the number crunching and financial analysis.

However, more importantly I have had an opportunity to learn about the world. Having distinguished speakers coming in and sharing their stories and passions was not only unique but very inspirational. I also feel that I have grown as an individual, from learning to take every class as a meeting, to actually talking in a class of a hundred student. Through the group work I was able to meet people and share my passions and ideas with them, getting me used to the kinds of group work that will come in the years ahead at Sauder.

Without this class I would not be able to write a blog or use a clicker. I feel that this class has helped me not only learn in the classroom but given me the tools that have taught me how to learn.

Inspired…

As mentioned, I had been inspired by listening to the stories of the professionals that had come in. On thursday the 24th of November I took this one step further meeting Roberto Aquilini, of the Aquilini Investment Group.

I was able to learn about his story and his struggles in life. Yet, it was a very humbling experience and a rare opportunity to meet such a high profile business, I must that both my professors in Comm 101, as I feel without them I would be unable to hold my self in a professional manner and keep up the conversation with him.

“I made a list of people who needed just a little bit of money. And when the list was complete, there were 42 names. The total amount of money they needed was $27.” I was shocked –  Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus is a great economist and also the founder and pioneer behind the Grameen Bank which is an institution providing Micro Credit such as small loans.

The Benefit:

In todays world, nearly half of the populations earns less than $2.50, normal banks do not seem to be a fit for these people. This is where Micro-credit comes in, as these people can be given loans which could help them achieve great success. This makes it a tool to alleviate poverty as it helps people help themselves.

For society micro-credit also has its benefits. This is because it helps bring opportunities that would not exist to people that may have great ideas. This gives society the benefit of their success.

It is people like Muhammad Yunus who have gone out of their way to establish this sort of finance for the people. Though there are not many rags to riches story the amount of good done with a small donation is disproportionate helping people achieve something that could change their live with a couple of cents. Making this one of the most sustainable ways to solve poverty in todays world.

As Drew mentioned in his blog, having Joel Primus come in and talk about his story was not only inspirational but also eye opening. As a person Joel seemed humble, persistant and passionate, qualities that I feel make him good at what he is at.

What is Naked?

Naked is a Premium Underwear brand, that targets the new urban metrosexual male. The underwear itself uses high quality italian microfiber and is available for purchase at Holt Renfrew.

What I learnt

Joel is successful today, however over the past few years he has been through many challenges that would cause even the bravest person to give up. His story is an inspiration, because he believed in himself and that was enough for him to keep going.

Working for yourself might be something worth considering, however like Joel most entrepreneurs face challenges. It is only through patience that these will be overcome. Also I was able to see how rewarding owning a business can be, even though Joel was humble his passion and drive were clearly present as he presented to us.

A side note on Brand

Also Joel stressed the importance of Brand is very important, especially in what you decide your nice market is going to be. This is because brand is the feeling you create amongst your target market and if you are able to give them what they want they will come to you.

AAPL or Apple as many people may know it has one of the worlds most sought after stock. Making it one of the worlds most valuable companies.  However they are also one of the large companies that does not offer dividends to its stock holders. Then what makes apple so sought after.

As you may be aware there are two main strategies to invest in stock:

Fundamental: Long term, investing with the hopes of the the companies future discounted cash flows and for dividends.

Technical: Short term, selling to the “fool” to make a profit, meaning that you buy a stock and then sell it for a higher value.

WHY?

Many investors often buy apple stock to pawn it off for a profit as apple stock has been increasing for the last decade. However, I feel that apple is one of those special companies that makes people buy into apple stock to be part of this company that has an almost cult like status among its fans created by both its products and its founder.

In Memory

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”- Steve Jobs

Unfortunately, the pioneer and visionary of Apple, Steve Jobs passed away this year, leaving us with a brand that must try live without him. I would like to take amoment to acknowledge the impact he has had on our lives and proving to us that the impossible was actually at the grasp of our hands by providing us with that “ding”.

The three pillars of sustainability is a very important concept. Before the lesson on sustainability, I had a very narrow view, only looking at the environment when someone brought up sustainability. To me this diagram effectively illustrates what sustainability really is, especially for a business.

However, today there is a very strong focus on the environment, this is because of the impact our increased consumerism and globalization has had on the planet. This means that most businesses have started to associate sustainability with the environment. Unfortunately, often these events can be taken as marketing stunts such as Coca Cola’s Polar Bear Fund. The fund aims to provide $2 million over the next 5 years but for a multi-billion dollar company that has continually supported the polar bears, this does not seem to be enough.

Is this okay?

Yes, I feel this is justifiable because the end justifies the means and even the motive. If large firms continue to try and become more environmentally sustainable even with profit motives behind them, they are still achieving some good and benefiting the global community to some scale.

The Occupy Movement

This blog post on the economist by A.S: Occupy Grandma’s house, was really able to highlight the ironic situation that is taking place in America. This was done through the presentation of the OWS movements juxtaposition as a march in washington by the elderly who are against their movement.

This highlights how the economic landscape has changed so much during the past decade, that people of older generations are unable to understand many of the problems youth are facing today. Though people tend to dismiss the movement, the support it has gained really represents how there is a problem in America.

The Problem…

The movement often refers to the problem as being the 1%, these are the wealthy individuals who are able to tip the wealth distribution in their favour. However, I believe that the problem does not lie in the fact that these 1% have as much as they do, rather it is in the different lobbying groups in America fighting over the rest of the resources.

The Solution…

As a first year business student, it is not for me to say. However, I agree with the article by A.S as it does a good job by emphasizing how both America and Europe need to reform their entitlement models in place.

The internet itself has been one of the most important creations, however it can be credited for creating many more changes in our world. One such important change is the invention of the online business model. This is a very simple model in which the internet acts as a platform creating a direct link between the consumer and the business.

A very successful example of this was highlighted by Mr.Nagarajan, who lectured about Dells transfer to the direct online model. However, I feel that the consumer has now been empowered.

WHY?

This is because we now have freedom of choice, because when I was a child living in India we could only visit a few stores. I remember when I wanted a Nintendo…

“$1000, for that?…The box says $50”

Stores that brought imported things such as Nintendos were able to monopolize the industry and charge whatever they liked. However, today if a store charges too much we can use google or go to sites such as Amazon.

SO…

This power of choice is very important because it means that consumers are now able to protect themselves from being abused by large firms. Finally, the relationship is balanced and we are able to fulfill our desires.

Nokia, a brand that holds many memories and emotions for those who grew up during the 90s. Some of us will remember it for the 2-D games like snake and some were lucky enough to own one with the bold”NOKIA” logo on the top.

Nokia’s Mistakes 

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” -Alan Kay

After the invention of the iPhone and other smart phones, the name Nokia does not hold the same prestige as it did 5 years ago. Unfortunately for the Finish company had invented touch screen technology far before Apple. However, they had not listened to the market and consumer feedback on how their product line or Symbian Operating System and unable to give the emmersive experience as they so desired.

Since Nokia decided to ignore the market feedback and incorrectly address the problems such as their take of the lack of apps by creating the N-Gage, they lost a significant amount of market share. This lack of attention to primary and secondary qualitative data would be followed by quantitative data in the form of decline in sale figures.

The slow recovery 

As Elaine Williamson pointed out “If you don’t give the consumer what they want, they are not going to spend money to buy it”. Thankfully, Nokia has finally started it’s transition into meeting the customer desires and listening to the market research they gather by their release of their new smartphone line such as the X7. However, Nokia still reveals that they are not for change as they are unable to let go of Symbian and switch over to the Windows OS.

This summer, while many of us were taking a vacation through the beautiful and pristine mountains and beaches in Europe, the EU’s financial market crashed faster than a man finishing his Pint of German larger.

What happened?

Europe’s debt has always had a geographic split with a much of balanced system in the South, the system of the EU caused german banks to load up on sovereign debt through bonds as if there was no risk. However this summer many people were given a wake up call as the southern yield slowly converged towards those in the North. This caused many people to realize that even no debt isn’t risk free.

Why it happened? 

The financial tools used in today’s world might be better than they were, however people still make mistakes. When people calculated the yields they would receive on different bonds, they forgot to take things such as inflation into account. In simple terms if a bong had a yield of around 6% and the inflation rate during that period of time was 8% then the final yield would only be -2%.

In effect this would cause people to default and though this is not the case for many of the large countries it has had an effect. For everyday investors however, this only applies if they hold the bond to maturity, unfortunately that is harder said than done. Most investors tend to sell bonds, mostly Italian and Greek bonds, however the profit they make on that is only the change in price from when the bond was bought and being that these prices tend to be very volatile, the risk involved is very high.

In Conclusion…

As a first year, it is important for my view as well as that of my peers to change with regard to the risk involved with buying into debt. People should start to change their view on bonds, as they do hold a little more risk as many people assume. However, though this crisis does highlight the weaknesses of investing in bonds, one must only be wary when they do invest in them rather than try avoid them.