Lars Lundberg’s blog about accepting job offers has really appealed to me as an individual. After graduating from Sauder, I always wanted to own my own business, but before I accomplish that I’d first need to obtain job experience. Lars’ blog appealed to me because his criteria for accepting  job offers were things that I’d first consider and believe every business graduate should consider too. Most people getting into business schools would aim for a degree and pursue a job that pays the most. However can money actually buy happiness? I personally don’t think so.

This blog can be useful for individuals who have just graduated and are looking for jobs. The criteria that Lars has listed out can be supported to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After fulfilling the physiological needs, a person would pursue other levels of needs such as social and esteem needs. As Lars’ has stated, he does not only look for the salary, he also looks for working environment and job security. As a result, money is not the only factor should help decide a person’s future job; instead we need know what makes us happy, and pursue that happiness in our future job choices.

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Source: https://fisher.osu.edu/blogs/gradlife/2013/11/05/accepting-an-offer/

From Yan Kai’s blog, I have to agree with him that a $3 billion proposal is no small sum of money, however I must point out that Snapchat in the end could be making a bad decision. Snapchat is currently one of the most popular applications to hit both Android’s and Apple’s app stores. It is currently becoming more and more popular as people argue that it is the new big thing. Snapchat has the potential to generate large revenues, however we cannot compare its success to Twitter’s.

Twitter has existed longer than Snapchat today; therefore we could not compare the time length in which the two businesses can become successful. Also another key important aspect that we should not forget about is that Snapchat does not generate revenue other than its capital investment, this in turn results in Snapchat not having much value at all.

Although one can argue that Snapchat could create more revenue streams such as selling the application or even advertisements. However this in turn could result in loss of customers and even lower Snapchat’s value. Maybe Snapchat made a mistake for not taking the $3 billion offer then?

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Yan Kai’s Blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/yankaing/2013/11/14/3-billion-offer-rejected/

From Joie Chan’s post, while I don’t believe that businesses are the reason for obesity amongst university students, I do agree “we as consumers hold the power to decide what we eat”. Freshmen-15 is something that I still worry about in my first year here at UBC. Looking back at my background, I was an overweight boy for most of my life and losing that excess weight was definitely a challenge. However I managed to do it, and I believe it is a person’s own responsibility to look after their own physical well-being.

It’s not the business’s fault if one of their customers becomes overweight or obese. Even though one can argue that the business does have a responsibility to its customers, I believe that businesses are still corporate socially responsible since they provide nutritional information, and Coca-Cola even provides zero-calorie options. Therefore it’s the consumer’s own choice to over consume these “unhealthy foods”. Businesses also make sure that their products are approved by the FDA, and that they will not cause excessive weight gain if consumed moderately. Therefore the choice to gain or not to gain is dependent on the consumer and not businesses.

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Joie’s Blog Post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/joiechansh/2013/09/12/to-gain-or-not-to-gain/

Cigarettes are becoming more and more popular as young kids are starting to smoke, and its consequences are very deadly. However electronic cigarettes are becoming more prevalent in the market. These new types of cigarettes could help decrease the number of deaths from lung cancer caused by smoking.

This idea intrigues me, as smoking is widespread in my home country of Indonesia. Even elementary school kids smoke cigarettes! I always believed that a business is responsible for the health of their customers. I am a strong supporter of corporate social responsibility, and believe that all businesses should always have a strong sense in it. If cigarette firms like Phillip Morris or British American Tobacco would make a switch from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, I believe it would create a beneficial change for these firms. It will do two things, improve the business’s image as becoming more corporately socially responsible and in turn could lead to more sales, and help cigarette companies from having to deal with anti-smoking campaigns. I believe, the switch to electronic cigarettes will become beneficial for both businesses and consumers alike.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24914473

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Pokémon is a game and a series that I had grew up with all my life. I still remember my first ever Pokémon game, as I had spent hours trying to beat gym leaders to eventually becoming the Pokémon Champion within a day or so. With the recent release of Pokémon X&Y, sales are already booming. The game sold four millions copies within the first two days of its global release. How is Pokémon still doing so well?

Pokémon’s success is not from its new features, but from Nintendo’s marketing strategy. Their strong customer loyalty determines their sales. Nintendo’s marketing attracts kids and new customers and gets them immersed in the amazing world of Pokémon! Pokémon fans are also eager to see what Nintendo has to offer with a new generation of Pokémon and new game mechanics.

With these two factors, no wonder Pokémon has always become a popular game for young 10 year-olds and college students alike. Even adults adore and cherish Pokémon as it has created an entire culture around it. I wonder how the future will be like, as new Pokémon games will always be created. Will Nintendo keep on making money, or will sales soon decline?

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Source: http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/10/15/pokemon-x-and-y-sales-figures-revealed

All my life, my home has always been in Indonesia. Indonesia is currently one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is a country with a great reputation for business. It has been a popular destination for people to start businesses and to invest in Indonesian businesses. However recently about less than 3 million Indonesian workers have begun a 2-day strike due to the increase in living costs and gas prices. This may look threatening for businesses, however this cycle seems to repeat itself. Indonesia has always had these problems and strikes have become a weekly occurrence in the country. Looking at Indonesia in a business point of view, Indonesia has cheap raw materials and labor force. Even if the minimum wage of labor and the prices of raw materials increase, the increase will not greatly affect a business’ costs. If an investor asked me about my point of view of the country, taking my biases aside, I would definitely recommend investing in the country even with its current problems. Indonesia even at this state is still growing and could provide many new opportunities that it would be a shame to stay away from.

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The recent U.S government shutdown is now affecting businesses. With the current situation where the government will need to let go of 3,000 employees, the problem continues as the Penny Pritzker, US Commerce Secretary had just stated that more workers will need to be let go for the government to be running again. And this not only affects the US, as it is starting to affect others business. With the current situation, businesses are in the U.S can potentially go into bankruptcy, and individuals who were planning o start business could have no chance of starting them now.

Personally, this has not affected me personally just yet, however it made me think about my opportunities. If I were to graduate and decide to work. Should I be willing to work in the U.S? This is an important question as if the current situation in the U.S starts to worsen, working or even having a business in the U.S could potentially lead to negative consequences for me as an individual as the U.S is currently economically unstable. My question now is, is it worth it to work in the US, and will it be economically safe for me in the future?

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24419564

A few years ago, in my home country of Indonesia, I eagerly waited in the store to get my first ever Blackberry. Blackberries were considered the phone to get in my country, as everyone I knew had one. After obtaining my first Blackberry, I instantly became in love with it, and used it for 3 years. As time progressed I realized that Blackberries started to become less useful as newer phones such as the iPhone and Androids were quickly becoming more popular. Blackberry didn’t seem to be able to compete with these phones and I made the switch. I guess I wasn’t the only one who decided to do this.

Blackberry had just experienced a 965 million dollar lost due to poor sales of their new Z10 as they had overestimated the amount of phones that they would be selling. Furthermore they had to let go of 4,500 jobs to compensate for this lost and are also deciding to sell their company to their biggest shareholder. It seems that Blackberry is no longer the desirably phone that everyone wanted, due to their inefficiency to compete with their competitors. Thus in the end, resulting in their fall.

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24302139

Japan, one of the most technological countries in the world is now facing inflation. Since the country decided to shut down its nuclear plants, Japan is forced to import most of their resources. This increase in import has lead to increase in prices in food and electricity. Also the Japanese currency is also depreciating compared to the US dollar. Even though japan is experiencing this ordeal, businesses within japan and outside of japan can take this opportunity to grow.

Personally, I try to make the best of the situations that I am put in, and why shouldn’t businesses? Due to these situations, businesses outside of japan have the opportunity to import their materials to japan since they are in need of resources. This can then help a business grow and become more successful. On the other hand, businesses in japan can help produce substitutes so instead of japan importing their goods, they can source in locally and cut cost, and at the same time help the country grow. Therefore why continue looking at the down side, when there is clearly opportunity in any situation. When there’s a problem, even though there’s not always a solution, there is always an opportunity.

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24293999