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I believe that most people want to star up their own businesses and aim to make fat profits from it. Higinio’s post has done a great job of giving a warm reminder to those people who are going to start their entrepreneurial journeys. Higinio talks about that starting up a business is not easy at all and endurance and optimism are what lead to the ultimate entrepreneurial success. An idea might have to get adjusted and improved countless times. One might fail hundreds of times before he successfully reaches his dream destination. I believe that the reason why so many people could not become successful is that they  just simply give up running  on the road leading to success. When I was little, I had a dream of opening up my own cafe and I thought it was an easy dream to chase as I looked at the cafe owners serving customers and receiving orders in my city. However, I was just too naive and simple. Behind every successful entrepreneurs, there must be complicated and bitter stories. They didn’t give up when they encounter hardships; perseverance is what leads to success. In the future, I hope I can insistently pursue my dream and do my best to reach my goal.

https://www.umbel.com/blog/umbel/secret-entrepreneurial-success-informed-optimism/

November 13th, 2015 is undoubtedly a “Black Friday” for all of the people around the world, especially for people in Paris. On that day, not so long ago, a horrible terrorist attack happened in Paris, France. It had caused 138 deaths and numerous people wounded. People’s hearts were broken that night, however, at the same time, people around the world are united together and we all pray for Paris. The attack has also brought external and internal negative impacts to France. For example, revenue from tourism has greatly decreased after the attack and people’s work incentives will also decrease because of the security concerns and uneasy atmosphere in the country. I feel deeply upset as I saw the news reporting the attack on Friday. It is absolutely an inhumane act as the ISIS harms innocent people for the sake of spreading their beliefs. The French government has been preparing itself to defeat the ISIS terrorists. I hope that the ISIS terrorists would change their mind and rethink themselves so that no more innocent people will be harmed. Peace is what we all human beings are looking forward to see in the 21st century modern world.

Economic Impact Created by Terrorist Attack in France

Microsoft is launching an updated software of Microsoft Office—Microsoft Office 2016. Answering Andy’s question in the post, I would not buy the Microsoft Office 2016. I personally am still using Microsoft 2011 and I think it is already pretty good enough. The old versions of Microsoft office already has all what I need in my daily life of work and studying. Microsoft Office 2016 might have more fancy functions, but I like using softwares and apps in a simple way since I don’t need that many functions and I just need simple basic tools to finish my daily work. What is more, I think there are a lot of people who are like me; they would not purchase the latest Microsoft Office. As what I know of, many friends of mine have old versions of Microsoft Office like the 2010 and 2011 versions and I don’t see that they have the idea of upgrading their software. One extra thing about Microsoft Office is that for the Microsoft Office 2015 version, there are bugs in Excel. In the beginning of the year, UBC offers free Microsoft Office 2015 downloads for students, however, many of the students are then “forced” to delete the 2015 version and download the old 2011 version because there are bugs in Excel 2015. I think my 2011 Microsoft Office is good enough for me and I will not upgrade it and purchase a new version of it.

Microsoft Office 2016 is here — will anyone buy it?

I agree with and support the “one for one” business model because it can actually help change the lives of many people. “Buy one for one” programs works when customers buy a product, the business will donate one item equivalent to that product to someone in need. Many companies such as Tom Shoes applies this kind of model to help the society and attract customers at the same time. I like the idea of this program due to the fact that a lot of people will be helped in the society and it is undoubtedly an attractive selling point in the market. It also helps the business to build a great benevolent image. A good reputation is essential for a business. Tom Shoes is making fat profit and it also has a great reputation in the global market. If I have a business myself, I would also apply this business model to my company in order to make money and to help people at the same time.

The One-for-one Business Model: Avoiding Unintended Consequences

After the Paris Terrorist Attack on November 13, 2015, many Canadians protests against Justin Trudeau’s idea of accepting 25000 Syrian Refugees. It is estimated by an England Institute that every one hundred of Syrian Refugees might have two ISIS terrorists. Many Canadians now are in horror and a widespread security concern arises. However, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, insists that he will ensure Canadians’ safety and he will not change his plan of accepting the 25000 Syrian Refugees. It is estimated that the entry of the refugees will at least bring a $200 million cost to the Canadian government. The government has to assist the refugees financially when they arrive, at the same time, it also has to expand its security system in order to ensure the safety in the country. From my own opinion, it is absolutely a positive and good act to accept the 25000 homeless refugees who are suffering from the crucial wars. However, I think it will be better for Canada to delay the refugees’ entry since it is impossible to clearly check the background of every single one of the 25000 refugees and make sure that none of them is a terrorist. It has been reported that it is easy to get a fake Syrian Passport; and the Canadian government is opening the door for 25000 refugees in just a few months without careful considerations. I don’t go against Trudeau’s plan of accepting the refugees, however, I think he should allow officials to have more time on checking the background of the refugees in order to ensure Canadians’ safety.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-vows-to-keep-canadians-safe-as-he-rebuffs-provinces-concerns-over-plan-to-accept-25000-syrian-refugees

In October 2015, Chinese officials announced that the country is going to end its population control policy — One-Child Policy, and now the Chinese couples are allowed to have two children. One child Policy was first introduced in 1978 to control China’s exploding population and it had been strongly enforced throughout the years. China ends this family planning policy now in order to ease the country’s problem of expanding aging population and shrinking labour force. However, I think relaxing the policy doesn’t help China’s economy that much. Since China’s one Child Policy had been in effect for so many years and the minimum age for the working population is 15, the rate of growing labour force  will never exceed the rate of aging population (which is an ideal economic situation). Even though the couples are allowed to have two children now, there will be a big question of how many couples are actually going to have more than one child? It is estimated that more than 82 million Chinese people are below the poverty line now. It is not easy at all to raise a child from any aspects, especially from the financial aspect. I believe that many couples will choose to have one kid only since many of them cannot afford to have a second child since raising one child is already uneasy. I think that changes of the One Child Policy comes too late now; the severe economic issue of aging population and shrinking working population that China faces cannot be easily solved.

The Real Reason for China’s Two-Child Policy: Millions of New Consumers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy

In 2012, Google founder Sergy Brin announced that Google Self-Driving car will be available in the market in 2017. By just simply typing or speaking a location into your vehicle’s interface, it will automatically drive you to your destination while you are doing something else like reading a book or looking at your phone. Google’s target customers range from young adults to older generations. The project is undoubtedly innovative and attractive. When the Google self driving vehicle is formally introduced in the market in 2017, even people who don’t know how to drive can sit in the driver seat and experience the surprises that the vehicle brings. There will be a new revolutionary technology coming along with the adoption of the Google Self-Driving vehicle. It is estimated that hundreds of billions of dollars will be lost by automakers, suppliers, dealers, insurers, parking companies, and many other car-related enterprises. Government would also lose revenue from licensing fees, taxes and tolls. It is for sure that Google Self-Driving vehicle will convenient and bring much of fun to the general public, yet it will also impact the business significantly at the same time.

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-self-driving-cars-2015-10

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/052014/how-googles-selfdriving-car-will-change-everything.asp

In the modern world we are living in now, almost everyone is advocating for gender equality. Now a question may be asked: does gender equality exist in the business world we are in? According to a recent research, women are increasingly entering the workforce, with participation rates rising from 50.2% to 51.8% since 1980. The data shows that the 21^st century has seen a dramatic shift in “traditional” family dynamics and greater recognition of gender in legislation has helped pull apart gender-role divisions. However, a gender wage gap and significant disparity between women and men in high-level corporate positions continue to be an issue. Detailed data presents that women earn between 70% and 90 % of what men do for comparable work; which means that men are still in a stronger position in the business world. Moreover, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Ms. Sandberg commented that, “Companies say that diversity is important, that they want more women in leadership. Our employees don’t believe that’s true.” From what has been listed above, human beings are working towards gender equality, yet it seems impossible that a complete gender equality can possibly exist.

http://unsdn.org/forpeople/gender-equality-still-a-long-way-to-go/

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/gender-inequality-canada/

GMO stands for genetically modified; GMO foods refer to foods that are cultivated with high technology and scientific methods. When it comes to the modern business world. GMO foods benefit consumers in several different ways. To begin with, genetic technology has great potential to produce food with high yields since it creates plants better resistant to pests and diseases. GMO foods can help eliminate the serious problem of starvation. According to recent researches, a child dies for every two seconds worldwide from food shortage. If more GMO foods are being produced, the number of deaths resulting from famine would be greatly decreased. Moreover, GMO foods offer more nutritional value and better flavour than traditionally planted  foods. Since engineers can use genetic technology to change the traits in the foods, the contents of a particular nutrition could be increased. People would benefit from acquiring more of the nutrition that is the most wanted. GMO foods also impact the business market significantly in some other ways. There is a power shift away from local organic farmers to biotechnology companies. These companies have gained too much control over the production of crops and foods and local farmers are strongly against the production of GMO foods. GMO foods have shaken the global food market and they have many controversies surrounding their potential effects on human health or the environment, as well as the local business markets.

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food

http://www.cban.ca/FAQs/What-GM-Foods-are-on-the-Market

http://www.wsj.com/articles/should-companies-be-required-to-label-genetically-modified-foods-1436757040

In the commercial world we are living in now, earning and maximizing profits for its own business is undoubtedly the primary goal of many entrepreneurs. If there was a chance to make $1 trillion dollars, it is logical that the majority would take it with no hesitation. However, Salman Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, has let such an opportunity slip away.

Khan on Forbes

Khan Academy is an educational organization created in 2006 and it produces lectures in the form of online videos. Salman Khan, an intelligent man who earned three degrees from the well-known university Massachusetts Institute of Technology, posted his first lesson on YouTube and had his first viewers nine years ago. Now his few viewers turned to thousands a month; it is estimated that he now has ten million students worldwide. Khan’s special teaching methodology and his non traditional way of introducing concepts are an immense strength of Khan Academy. Khan’s engaging videos have attracted numerous viewers and many companies such as Google saw it as a tremendous opportunity to make fat profits. However, Khan rejected their offers as to make Khan Academy a profitable website.

“I could have started a for-profit, venture-backed business that has a good spirit” says Khan, yet he boasts the mission of making Khan Academy “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere”. Khan’s act is tremendously impressive; his organization, Khan Academy, has clearly showed people the meaning of “ethics” and “morals”.

Many children benefit from Khan’s videos

Reference:

http://www.intelligenthq.com/education/education-disruptor-and-startup-khan-academy/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2012/11/02/one-man-one-computer-10-million-students-how-khan-academy-is-reinventing-education/

http://newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/article/salman-khan-founder-world’s-largest-online-school-speak-march-6