jasminewing

Comm 299 is a class that opens up students eyes to how the job world works. The most important lesson I learned was that if you aren’t sure which field you want to go into, you can always phone up companies and if they approve, an information session can be arranged. At an information session, questions can be asked regarding what a regular work day is like, and from this one can decide if it would fit with their own lifestyle. Recently, I phoned Free the Children, a company I am interested in working for, and was able to make an appointment with the director of human resources. I was able to ask questions and was pleased to become more informed about the company. Comm 299 taught me that you can’t just wait for your perfect job to come to you, you must go out into the world and find it. Students have so many resources and employers are always willing to meet with us. All in all, if you are interested in a company, approach them and see what happens!

People come and go throughout our lives and teach us many lessons. Without even thinking about it, our lives have changed. The person who has taught me the greatest lesson and influenced me the most is my aunt Elaine. She was diagnosed with brain cancer about a year ago and fought a vicious battle until just after Christmas. She showed strength the entire time and never once complained. I visited her in her last few days and watched as her life quickly came to an end. She taught me to be strong and stick through the rough because that is all you can do. It is never right to blame the world or society for what path life has decided to take you on. After I started realizing how much my aunt influenced me, I started applying to things and trying to get involved. I stopped worrying about whether or not I got enough studying done or whether I should over-analyze everything single thing. She taught me that in the end things will happen to you but life is so short that you can not let anything bring you down. Most of all, the greatest lesson that she taught me was how to have courage. To face fear in its eyes and not simply back away.

In Class 21, we briefly talked about Ambush Marketing. Ambush Marketing is when a company tries to associate themselves with a major event without actually being a sponsor. Companies can make a lot of money from this because they do not have to pay sponsorship fees. Ambush Marketing has been seen many times, most prominently in the 2008 and 2010 Olympics. It is highly effective and cost-cutting;however, questions arise over the ethics of such a marketing strategy. To avoid ambush marketers, sponsors are buying all advertising space within a 10-15 mile radius of the sponsored event. In the 2010 Olympics, Bell was the Official National Partner, as Telus lost the bid. It was hard for Bell to stop Telus in the Whistler area, as it had been sponsoring events in the community for many years. Telus even involved in types of ambush marketing. This can also be seen in 2008 when Nike tried to associate their company with the Olympics, without being the official sponsor. As companies are spending more and more money on sponsorships, the drive to do stop these companies are increasing. It can be very difficult to stop them because they go around the rules and make sure that they do not infringe.

If you had the opportunity to pursue something you were passionate about, and had the skills to help, would you work towards your goal? As the majority of my blogs show, I am passionate about Social Entrepreneurship. Imagining myself in the future helping other people, helps motivate me and dedicate my time to my school work. In the future I hope to be able to be a part of the Travelling team to Phalaborwa, South Africa with the Arc Initiative. I have been on previous humanitarian trips before, yet I never felt like I had the right skills to help.

Opportunities like this at Sauder show me that there is hope. Arc Initiatives goal is to transfer knowledge with the Phalaborwa community through a Business Ideas Competition, a Three Day Business Workshop, and Business Internships. A group of ten people are chosen to help. The team stays with host families, and work with local businesses, so that they are able to integrate themselves into the community. The workshop teaches locals entrepreneurial skills and business concepts that they would not have been able to get otherwise.

Thato Makgolane also really inspires me. He was the initiator of the Arc initiative. It is really great to see someone come to Canada and learn the skills to help their home country.

In Class 16, we used Zara as an example of a company that has a fast inventory turnover. Zara also is doing very well. In 2005, Inditex, best know for its Zara stores, reported a 21% sales growth. The company keeps inventory low to create demand and to make it possible for new fashion to come in. At Zara, a sketch can be in stores in only two weeks. When Zara sees new trends coming out they can easily re-create them in no time. This brings customers back to the store multiple times to see what is new. Zara has an in-house design team in Spain and a tightly controlled factory and distribution network. Zara’s wages are a lot higher because most companies produce in Africa or Asia; however, since Zara has such a fast turnover, if something is not selling they can easily move to another trend without losing lots of money. Keeping inventory low creates scarcity, and this can lead to a higher demand. Consumers believe that if they don’t by it now, it might not be there in a few days, and thus, should buy it right away. Low inventory also reduces the markdowns on items. Fast fashion is a growing trend, but no other company will easily be as successful as Zara.

As discussed in Class 19, a social enterprise refers to business ventures operated by non-profits. A social entrepreneur for that matter differs from a traditional entrepreneur because they want to solve a social issue and pursue a social purpose venture. A great example of a social entrepreneur is Jamie Oliver. He started up a social enterprise called Fifteen. Fifteen has four locations including one in Amsterdam, Cornwall, London, and Melbourne. Jamie Oliver hires youth ages 18-24 who have been unemployed, homeless, or overcoming drug and alcohol problems and uses an apprenticeship program that helps youth gradually gain responsibility. This will hopefully gain their confidence and belief that they can be successful. Fifteen also promotes the awareness of nutritious meals and healthy lifestyles. All profits go toward the apprenticeship program.
Social enterprises such as Fifteen are so important as they motivate those who are struggling with money, and essentially their lives. Fifteen brings them together, teaches them how to cook, and how to eat properly. As well, this program makes people feel valued. Jamie has no incentive to do this, other than to help people. It also helps create a sense of community. He empowers individuals and he is a great model.

A successful entrepreneur can be defined as someone who generates a large amount of wealth in a small amount of time, while also taking risks and being innovative. Mark Zuckerberg is an example of a very successful entrepreneur. He founded Facebook- the online social networking website. ” Mark was always interested in computer programming and while at Harvard, was inspired to create Facebook after getting the idea from the annual student directory where students and faculty’s profiles and pictures were posted. His innovation,skills, and drive led him to be one of “the world’s youngest self-made billionaires.” Thousands of people were using this new social networking site only a month after the launch.

Facebook allows people to connect from around the world and share pictures, messages, and links. It has become very profitable as many ad companies pay to have their ads on the site. Also, in 2007, Mark Zuckerberg announced a Facebook platform that allowed developers to create social applications such as family feud. This made Facebook even more popular as many businesses now tried to add their applications onto facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg is a great example of a successful entrepreneur. In a short amount of time he was able to generate a huge amount of money and his site is now valued at around $15 billion .

Micro-loans are small short term loans that are given to a new entrepreneur that generally lives in poverty. World Vision gives out micro-loans to people in Africa so that they can start up their own businesses and become self-reliant. This greatly contributes to ending the cycle of poverty. With this money, they can start up a restaurant, a little shop, or family farms. In the communities where micro-loans are given, families are being able to send their children to school, feed their children, and get more medical attention. The loans are also being fully paid back 98% of the time, and this money is then given to another community.

Pascasie Ntahombaye of Burundi, who lost her husband and had eight children to look after, was given a micro-loan in 2005  from World Vision and was able to start up a tin bucket production business. No longer did her family suffer from hunger. Pascasie even employs six families from her village to get them out of the cycle of poverty as well.

Prisca Mavuso, whose husband is physically challenged and cannot work, was given a micro-loan in 2003 that helped her craft business grow and prosper. She now is able to provide for her family.

Micro-loans are small; however, they can go a long way and help people who need it the most. People in Africa are now able to become self-reliant and proud of their accomplishments. In Commerce 101, as I have talked about before, this goes along with good business ethics.

http://www.worldvision.ca/give-a-gift/Pages/howmicroloanswork.aspx

Facebook is a way of interconnecting people around the world. However, the Facebook corporation has been more interested in making money than helping people connect with friends. Instead of traditional advertising on the television and newspapers, Facebook is a new and effective way for companies to market their brand. Even if people do not buy the products or services immediately, the brand is subconsciously put into the Facebook user’s mind. To add to this, Facebook has been using key words in a person’s Facebook status to link ads that relate to it. For example, if your status is changed to “Excited for my wedding,” a wedding planner ad could show up on the side of your page. Also, when your friends on Facebook click on the “like” button of a certain ad, it can migrate into your own news feed and this is called “earned media” since it is free. Facebook is being used to promote products and services by word of mouth, especially since your friends are the ones that you know and trust. They become the greatest advertisement solution for these companies.

Facebook has many interconnections as youth these days have around 500 friends on average. If you then consider all the friends these people have, you can reach a large market rapidly. This goes along with the article we read in Class 8 “Community Relations 2.0.” The article demonstrates the capacity of social media and how businesses have become aware of using it.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_40/b4197064860826.htm

Coca Cola has recently come out with a new vending machine that offers 106 different drink combinations. This is unique from other drink dispenser’s that only provide 10 or less different drinks. They use marketing skills by promoting the user-friendly touch screen technology so that consumers can easily pick the combinations of their drink. Coca Cola already has lots of brands of drinks such as Fanta, Minute Maid, Dasani, Powerade, Sprite, and others. This machine includes all the brands but also new additional flavours for these brands.

The new technology allows Coca Cola to do market analysis to look at customer preference to determine what consumers want. The drinks selected are automatically sent back to headquarters via a network connection. In this way they can easily do research and development without having to go through customer surveys. It is an efficient way to determine what is popular and what is not, and also inventory management is made simpler.

Coca Cola is already the leading brand of soft drinks, and this new machine could lead them into an even higher profit margin. With flat sales in soft drinks over the years, this machine may revitalize the soft drink market. This machine is piloted in Atlanta, California, and Ohio. This is one of Coca Cola’s strategies to furthermore differentiate itself from other brands of soft drinks, and to raise the barrier of entry.

http://blog.souplantation.com/772/

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/presskit_freestyle.html