James Yue's Comm 101 Blog

In 2005, Kimberly-Clark, the company that owns the trademark Kleenex, obtained a reputation for being one of the largest contributors to the destruction of Canada’s boreal forests for the manufacturing and production of our daily use of products such as toilet paper, and paper towels.

As the brand Kleenex goes green, you’ll be indirectly supporting the conservation and preservation of forests. It is the first of its kind to acquire a FSC Certificate, which means that all the toiletry paper-based goods that it produces will be using fiber sources from its suppliers who will follow the “highest standards of forestry management”.

Blogger Angelina Chaplin indicates that consumers act as incentives for companies to shift towards more sustainable methods and procedures of carrying out business and to instill upon such a label. It may be the fact that Kimberly-Clark is only redeeming itself by being socially responsible for its ineffecient use of resources. However, FSC has been highly criticized for its credibility for the distribution of its certificates. It doesn’t come as a surprise that there are a strengthening number of suppliers for FSC products, but as always, the main goal is for corporations to gain that competitive edge by advocating sustainability.

South Korea’s shift towards digital textbooks began on March 8, 2007. This has gradually led to many, especially the United States to take a similar role in reforming and providing educational resources to students in a more technological and cost-efficient manner.  South Korea has already constructed well devised plans to distribute its curriculum materials into digital technology by 2015.

With the U.S. well aware of its decay of relative international education, they are seeking different ways to integrate better methods to deliver educational information. In doing so, President Barack Obama launched the “Digital Promise” which is a non-profit project designed to bring together technology with innovators and educators in researching software that will hopefully breed effective learning.

Technology has become an integral part of many teenagers and young adults’ lives. With laptops, computers and iPads becoming more prevalent in our technology driven world, business technology management has enhanced the availability of these resources to society. Although entrepreneurs will relish in the light of this opportunity, the real question comes down to who will navigate and control the distribution of the “information”? Teachers will still teach, innovators will innovate, but the question remains: could the government play the invisible hand?

The Hudson Bay Company’s prospective plan to go public with its shares through an IPO has halted due to the murky economic outlook and lack of consumer confidence. Richard Barker, who is the Governor and Chairman of HBC has already set an alternative in motion by leasing over 200 Zellers stores, HBC’s subsidiary, to Target. If you can’t see the irony there, it’s because Target has impending plans on revamping Zellers stores in Canada under the Target brand by 2013. In order to raise capital, HBC has delayed its IPO arrangements and increased its competition through the lease.

HBC’s $1.8 billion deal is purposed to reducing its debt as well as investing the rest into its other subsidiaries, the Bay and Lord & Taylor. Baker’s cost cutting plans will include focusing more attention on quality fashion for women as well as teaming up its chain stores with other retailers to cater its targeted consumers.

Despite HBC’s timely move by increasing its focus on women fashion and leasing Zellers to Target, it still needs to consider the consequences by doing so. The rather risky move in the deal with Target Corporation may have only increased the imminent downfall of HBC

Payments being made through the usage of cellular devices (smartphones) are becoming prevalent in our daily lives. Who would really want to carry around their phone in one pocket and a heavy wallet with all their credit cards, receipts, and cash in the other? MasterCard Inc has just recently announced that Subway restaurants will be equipped with this “contactless” payment feature, easing out the conventional use of cash, credit and debit cards.

Google has already begun the implementation of this technology with one of their exclusive smartphones, the Nexus S 4G. The Google Wallet is an app on the phone which allows the registration of a credit card thereby allowing the app to have access into money. Once that is complete, a mere swipe of the smartphone near a ‘reader’ will enable the mobile payment to be made.

Although you also have to take into consideration the possibility of losing your phone. How prone will the security system be in the hands of a hacker? Despite the conspicuous convenience, accessibility and resourcefulness of this technology, one also has to realize the costs for the payment terminals.