What is social enterprise? It is an organization that focuses creating improvements on human and environmental well being, rather that focusing on maximizing profits. I believe it is a vital part of the world we live in today, as it brings people together and generates development for so many.

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If the United Nations was fully funded would we need social enterprise? The answer is Y-E-S! The United Nations focuses in on aid and relief efforts. While this can be helpful, most of the efforts effects ware off and are not sustainable in the long run. Often times these efforts hurts these communities and makes them more dependant.

I feel that social enterprises, such as The Arc Initiative, are extremely beneficial for developing countries. Rather than giving these communities what they need, they TEACH them the skills they need to help themselves. This initiative provides people with the skills they will need to become financially independent.

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A social Enterprise is also able to focus in on more specific, smaller initiatives, rather than trying to tackle a gigantic issue. I feel that these small initiatives are able to work and “fill in the cracks” left behind from the UN.  “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” -Maimonides. This quote sums up the efforts put on by social enterprise.

What Nordstrom will look like in downtown Vancouver http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/17/nordstrom-vancouver-drawings-sears-building_n_1891407.html

The giant US department store chain Nordstrom is set to open six Canadian stores by 2015. This is generating much anticipation for many Canadians who previously had to cross the border to get their Nordstrom fix. The expansion is also creating some uncertainty to Canadian customers.

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In 2013, over 100 Target stores entered the Canadian market. To much disappointment, these stores did not maintain the same merchandise or low prices that were available in the US. The company lost $1-billion in Canada last year.

Nordstrom should look at Target as an example of what not to do in the Canadian market. I feel that they are playing it smart by opening a small number of stores to start out with. They can see what works and what does not. For the company to be truly successful in the Canadian market they must try to stick to their roots as much as possible. Canadians do not want a lesser version of what they see in the States.

I feel that Nordstrom’s has a solid chance of succeeding in this market if they look to alleviate consumers pains, and generate gains. If this company works to put effort in their Canadian stores, I can’t see much stopping them. Let’s hope Nordstrom’s hits their target, instead of pulling a Target.

Works Cited
Korstrom, Glen. “Nordstrom’s Canada Roll-out Attracts Mixed Reviews, Comparisons to Target.” Business In Vancouver. N.p., 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Sophia Amoruso http://cdn.businessoffashion.com/uploads/media/header_image/0001/01/thumb_a20e47a2bb982336bf3fe63556733a41a797bc71_header_image_header.jpeg

Sophia Amoruso is the CEO of the widely popular online clothing retailer, Nasty Gal. After dropping out of community college in 2006, Amoruso created an eBay shop as a side project. She would go to thrift stores, purchase designer clothing for cheap and sell them online for a strong profit.

Eight years later, Nasty Gal has grown  $100 million-plus online fashion retailer with more than 350 employees. Amoruso has done a fantastic job of establishing her company in this new era. As I spoke on in a previous blog, Nasty Gal attributes a lot of their success to their marketing strategy. With a target demographic of young women, they market themselves on social media- making this a very cheap and wise decision.

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Amoruso also prides herself on the customer service deriving from Nasty Gal. It was easy for her to know what her customers wanted, as she is under the same demographic. I feel that is the only way a business can truly be successful. If you don’t care about your customers or don’t understand them, there is no way a company can thrive.

Sophia Amoruso is a prime example of an entrepreneur who built her company around something she was interested and understood. I believe that is how her company managed to become one of the most popular retailers for young woman’s fashion.

Works Cited

Amoruso, Sophia. “3 Rules Of Success That Made Nasty Gal A $100 Million Business.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 22 May 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Barret, Victoria. “Nasty Gal’s Sophia Amoruso: Fashion’s New Phenom.”Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 28 June 2012. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Gittleson, Kim. “‘Shoplifting Saved My Life'” BBC News. N.p., 18 May 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

http://hothardware.com/News/Google-Now-Number-2-on-Top-25-Best-Companies-to-Work-For/

It is no secret that Google is one of the world’s most desirable companies to work at- and with good reason. In response to an external blog, I agree that Google has done a remarkable job of establishing their organizational culture. From free food, to a campus that could compete with a 5 star resort, there is no wonder why Google’s corporate culture sets the standard for companies around the world.

Movie “The Internship” displays the corporate culture at Google

http://says.com/my/tech/revealed-the-seven-best-perks-you-get-as-a-google-employee

When Danielle van Jaarsveld guest spoke in our class, she spoke to the benefits of a strong corporate culture. While some people thought companies should be allocating their money to more “useful” expenses, she told us how corporate culture can add value to a company as a whole. Although it may be costly, when you can retain your employees, it means less time and money spent recruiting.

Google has strongly established their corporate culture. The company has approximately 2.5 million applicants a year, each yearning for a taste of what this company has to offer (including the free food). I truly believe the corporate culture created by this company is what really sets it apart from competitors. When employees enjoy going to work, it indeed does make a difference.

In response to  Nurhian’s blog, I definitely agree that the legalization of marijuana would create great opportunity for businesses and the economy. As an increasing number of states in the US are voting to legalize weed, there is increasing interest from entrepreneurs and investors.

It is no secret that the legalization of marijuana would generate enormous amounts of money into the economy. I agree that many entrepreneurs would be extremely interested in entering this market. Take Washington and Colorado as examples. These two states have had a great deal of growth in their economies.

I can see how many entrepreneurs are itching for the opportunity to get into this market. I also agree with Nurhian’s point, that it will be interesting to see how business will compete and stay stable with such a sudden change. There is a very large chance that consumers will face information overload. These entrepreneurs will need to differentiate themselves from their competition, and position themselves into the mind of the consumer. Because this is a new and emerging market, it is anyones game.

Works Cited

“Why Legalizing Medical Marijuana Will Make Investors Extremely Wealthy.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Mcgee, Suzanne. “Two States Vote Today on Legalizing Marijuana. Prepare for the ‘Green Rush'” The Guardian. N.p., 04 Nov. 2014. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

Photo: http://d23jjfgld6ecyg.cloudfront.net/group_thumbnails/61/255×310.jpg

Photo: http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/chicago_photo/2014/02/legal-marijuana-1391545174.jpg/larger.jpg

Brandy Melville is an Italian based, LA inspired clothing store. With its recent expansion into the North American market, this company has quickly become “the next hot brand in teen retail” (Business Insider). This company has done an exceptional job targeting their customer segment- young, trendy teens.

The company’s growth and success has a lot to do with their fantastic marketing strategy. Because Brandy Melville is targeting a teenaged demographic, they use social media marketing- especially Instagram- to capture their customers attention. The company’s Instagram account now has more than two million followers, making it a very useful tool. Brandy Melville hires young girls to snap pictures in their clothes and post it on their account

I feel this marketing strategy is a fantastic way to target their young demographic. In addition to reaching many of their customers, social media marketing is also ideal because it is free. This approach is very economically efficient for the company. I feel Brandy Melville should stick with this social media marketing, as they were one of the first brands to really position themselves on Instagram.

Works Cited

Peterson, Hayley. “An Obscure Italian Brand Is Suddenly The Hottest Name In Teen Retail.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 08 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

Photo: “Miss Ivy: Brandy Melville – Spring Lookbook ’12.” Miss Ivy: Brandy Melville – Spring Lookbook ’12. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.

Photo: Screenshot from my personal Instagram feed

There is an ongoing battle between the First Nations people of British Columbia and B.C. Hydro. The hydro company is looking to expand their $8-billion Site C megaproject in the Peace River area. This project would “provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity, and produce about 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity each year — enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes per year in B.C” (bc hydro). This may sound appealing to some, but many First Nations issues come into play. The First Nations have significant land claims in B.C. and “Premier Christy Clark declared: “B.C. is Indian land” (Vancouver Sun).

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B.C. Hydro’s suggested project brings great strife to the First Nations community, as it would create destruction on the natural land. If the dam is built, it would cause flooding in the valley, and destroy the existing wildlife and farmland in that area. The Site C project would be built on First Nation lands, where the people hold ceremonies This project if approved, would change the practices of the people in that area, as well as the public opinion towards B.C. Hydro. What the company does next will influence the future of B.C. Hydro.

Works Cited

Hoekstra, Gordon. “”There Will Be No Pipeline”” Www.vancouversun.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.
O’Niel, Peter. “First Nation Chiefs to Stage Site C Showdown.” Www.vancouversun.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

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We are living in a shrinking world. Every day people observe a myriad of different cultures, ethnicities and religions. Contrary to a previous blog post doubting the use of all-ethnicity marketing, I believe that this strategy can and should work. Living in a multicultural country like Canada, marketing towards all ethnicities should not be a problem.

“Sometimes when we conduct research focused on one ethnic group, our client realizes that the insights emerging from the research are actually relevant across their entire market” (Niel Golden). Changing your marketing tactic for the sake of a different target group is risky business. Consumers from different cultures are still motivated to buy for the same reasons. Ethnic insights can “drive a whole strategy—and not just enable the targeting of a narrow segment”. Large companies such as McDonalds have paved the way for all ethnicity marketing, and proven that this strategy works. At the end of the day, consumers from around the globe all have similar wants and needs. Ethnic insights is a strategy that can and will work in this ever changing world.

Works Cited:
Cheng, Kathy, and Robin Brown. “Ethnic Insights at the Heart of a Total Market Strategy.” Marketing Magazine Ethnic Insights at the Heart of a Total Market Strategy Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014.

Is there a Market Strategy that Targets All Ethnicity’s?

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Recently large tobacco companies have been improving their warnings on e-cigarettes. These well-known companies have been adding strong health warnings to the boxes of their products. One company- MarkTen- went as far as to put a 100-word warning. This warning is meant to show people that in no way do e-cigarettes help someone quit smoking.

These prominent companies have recently chosen to display the harsh realities of smoking to a whole new level. So why are they doing this? Dr. Robert K. Jackler, a professor and researcher on e-cigarette advertising at the Stanford School of Medicine questioned “Is this part of a noble effort for the betterment of public health, or a cynical business strategy? I suspect the latter” (Richtel). One could infer that these companies are warning consumers for the sake of a healthier society; on the other hand, I feel that these companies are warning people for legal reasons. A spokesperson for MarkTen stated that these warnings are “a goal to openly and honestly communicate about health effects” (Richtel). In reality, I believe this is a low-risk business strategy for these companies. If consumers were truly worried about their health, they would not be smoking any form of cigarettes.

Works Cited:

Richtel, Matt. “Dire Warnings by Big Tobacco on E-Smoking.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

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“SLAVERY… if the shoe fits”, “Just DON’T Do It!”, and “BOYCOTT Nike” are just a few of the catchphrases activists have coined while boycotting the well known brand. For 20+ years anti-sweatshop activists have been shaming the retailer for their use of sweatshops- particularly usage of child labour and terrible working conditions. This unethical decision was used to maximize profits, but the outcome was not what they hoped.

In the early 1990’s reports spread on the low wages and poor conditions in the company’s factories. Immediate unrest broke out in the public. The boycotting “badly tarnished the company’s image and hurt sales” (Nisen). The very public boycott of the company forced change on the brand. They were in jeopardy of losing profit, loyal customers and their brand image. This pushed the company to reform. Nike had to use social responsibility and act in more ethical ways. Nike began putting ethics over profit and saw a large turnaround. The minimum age of workers was raised, monitoring efforts were increased, and factory sanitation improved. Because the customers were very important stakeholders to the company, Nike knew they had to make changes.

The changes may have been in the company’s own best interest, but the company was able to exhibit social responsibility. Once the changes were made, the company’s image began to improve- demonstrating that social responsibility and ethics create a successful company.

Works Cited:

Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits.” Corporate Ethics and Corporate Governance. By Walther Ch. Zimmerli, Klaus Richter, and Markus Holzinger. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer, 2007. 177. Site.ebrary.com: The University of British Columbia Library. Web. 9 Sep. 2014.

Nisen, Max. “How Nike Solved Its Sweatshop Problem.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 09 May 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.

“How Activism Forced Nike to Change Its Ethical Game.” Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 06 July 2012. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.

Reporter, Daily Mail. “Nike Workers ‘kicked, Slapped and Verbally Abused’ at Factories Making Converse.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.