Joey Whittemore's Blog

This is a response/commentary on Philip Monagan’s blog post titled “Moving Forward? The Keystone Debate Approaches its Conclusion”.

The issue of the Keystone pipeline ranges through many fields of discussion. From environmental, social, and economical issues, the Keystone pipeline pushes the limits of many. How does the creation of a new pipeline affect the triple bottom line of the company? Of the government? Of the people? Of the Environment?

The basics of the situation is that there will be huge monetary rewards with the potential of massive destruction to the environment. There are typically two political forces at work here as well; liberals tend to favour the environment while conservatives tend to favour the economy. This is a real toss up and situations can be decided just because one or the other political parties happens to be in power.

The oil pipeline debate is ongoing even in Canada. Generally regarded as a more liberal country there is a big push for pipelines. Canadians love their environment and do not like the idea of the potential spills, however, the government may be persuaded entirely by the economic benefits.

This debate is even happening in my hometown of Burnaby British Columbia! I am personally against it, I think that companies should have more safety plans in place and that the potential cost to the environment is still not outweighed by the economic benefits a pipeline may bring.

Philip’s Blog Post: http://blogs.ubc.ca/philipmonagan/2014/11/09/90/

I believe that the Social Enterprise are completely different. Even if the UN were fully funded, social enterprise and projects such as ARC would still be needed to ensure long-term development.

My theory on the development of countries is that they all have to undergo a period of industrialization. This allows the community in question to expand, export products, and generally produce income. As a company does well, the workers do well, and by extension families do well. Parents that do well generally spend their money on their children, especially for education.

This increased education then sets up the future generations to transition out of the industrialization into a more developed economy. Obviously this process takes a considerable amount of time and energy, but I believe that the ARC Initiative has the potential to help a lot of people for a long time.

The ARC Initiative’s tagline is that it is not a “let’s save Africa” project. While this may be a deterrent to the ordinary person who wants to participate in a charity, it, by the same token, attracts a much different audience that just wants to participate just as eagerly.

As the ARC Initiative helps set up businesses and educates people in its areas of work, it helps ensure long term self sustainability. This is because it is the constituents of these areas that are promoting change, fending for themselves, and providing a future for generations to come instead of an outside agency providing temporary change.

Further reading on the ARC Initiative: http://www.chnook.org/partner/the-arc-initiative/

Testimony on the ARC Initiative: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/going-global/in-a-crowded-market-ethiopian-entrepreneur-finds-a-sweet-way-to-stand-out/article17912688/

Response to LUC PARLANGE’S BLOG

After reading Luc’s blog I find myself agreeing and wanting to expand on other points. I agree with the idea that bigger firms must have some more general, financial incentives to satisfy their broad range of customers. Their customers are generally very diverse but there is also simply a large amount of them. In order to satisfy customers but also keep costs at a reasonable level, companies are forced to issue the financial incentives instead of building a personal relationship with its customers.

The second issue that is discussed is how to satisfy previously dissatisfied customers. I agree with timely intervention and contact with the customer after an unpleasant experience are essential for remedying the problem. I believe that once a company is generally established and has a customer base, there should be a focus to the retention of customers as opposed to acquiring new ones.

Obviously, companies should continue to expand their customer base, but for a company such as a telecommunications company such as Telus or Rogers customer retention should be a big priority. The cost of acquiring a customer is generally regarded as more costly because of all the promotional features that are provided to attract new people.

Luc Parlange’s blog: http://blogs.ubc.ca/lucparlange/2014/10/05/the-dissatisfied-customer/

Further reading on the subject: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexlawrence/2012/11/01/five-customer-retention-tips-for-entrepreneurs/ , http://www.contactme.com/blog/advice/why-its-easier-to-retain-current-customers-than-acquire-new-ones/

Commenting on the blog “5 Skills You Must Acquire Before You Can Lead” posted on www.entrepreneur.com by Kate McKay.

I normally do not like reading this style of list. I used to find the content not relatable and very general and at other times extremely obvious. I believe that what I was lacking was an understanding, or a real life example of how these qualities actually manifest themselves in people. After Class 18 with the Sauder Alumni, I gained a completely new understanding of how entrepreneurial qualities can be demonstrated in people and how they can be used in effective ways to create businesses.

Reading through the listed qualities one can clearly see how they relate to the entrepreneurs that came to speak. For example, the number two skill is to “be proactive rather than reactive”. Tom Dobrzanski is a perfect example. He saw an opportunity opening up in the market and reacted before other people realized. He also came through the challenges of building his own studios and negotiating with the municipality.

Jenny Duffy clearly portrays number 4: “Feel passion for what you do”. When Duffy was presenting I could really feel how much she loved what she was doing. She works so hard, takes on so much, because she has that passion carrying her the whole way.

Both entrepreneurs share the fifth quality “Being prepared to do what others won’t”. They both have created unique businesses and have put in more work than most people would be willing to. For me, that is the most inspirational part.

Tom Dobrzanski of Monarch Studios and the Zolas

Jenny Duffy – Vancouver Dance Choreographer

Blog Post by Kate McKay: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239365

Information on Tom Dobrzanski: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-money/business-funding/how-to-build-a-world-class-recording-studio-on-the-cheap/article4585699/

Information on Jenny Duffy: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/day-to-day/vancouver-student-turns-love-for-dance-into-thriving-business/article19240476

Images:

Tom Dobrzanski: http://theindiefiles.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/up-vertical_studios___christine_mcavoy1.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1

Jenny Duffy: http://www.jennyduffy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Jenny-Duffy-dark-headshot-1_cr.jpg

The Euro zone is an organization that consists of representatives from a great deal of European countries. Each of the countries in the Euro Zone such as Italy, Germany, France, Greece, and Spain all share a common currency called the “Euro”. The central bank that manages all these countries is called the European Central Bank (ECB). The complexity of the ECB’s task of managing a stable economy is incredible.

The Euro Currency Symbol

The European economy has been in trouble for some time now. This partly has to do with policy decisions in countries such as Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, where government debt has grown too high. The Euro zone has been in recession three times in the past six years and is in danger of doing so again because of slow growth and low inflation.

The struggle for a solution has run into some problems however with Germany and the ECB disagreeing of what the appropriate plan of action should be. Essentially, Germany wants countries to decrease their debts and the ECB wants countries to spend more in an effort to stimulate business.

There are obviously economic downsides to both plans however I believe that the Euro Zone should stick to Germany’s plan. Countries with such high levels of debt need to get it under control so they can provide for their people, get better credit ratings, and just generally be in a more stable position.

Extra reading on the situation: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/european-business/germany-ecb-policy-standoff-over-economy-worries-markets/article21152134/

Image: http://img.freepik.com/free-photo/euro-currency-symbol_318-41919.png?size=318&ext=png

Recently Orbital Sciences Antares rocket exploded just after launch during a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). What does this mean for the company? For the space transport industry? For NASA? For Elon Musk’s SpaceX?

Orbital Science’s Antares Rocket Exploded Shortly After Liftoff

This explosion comes fairly soon after NASA awarded a $3.6 billion contract to Orbital and SpaceX. The terms of the contract for Orbital were $1.9 billion for 8 flights through to 2016 (that’s $238 million per flight!). This is a great portion of Orbital’s business and success in these ventures would help to ensure contracts in the future.

SpaceX is a competitor to Orbital Sciences. SpaceX was created by Elon Musk.

This puts extra pressure on SpaceX to have a successful. I believe that SpaceX can take this as an opportunity to jump ahead of its competition.  It is also possible to argue that now SpaceX and Orbital are now on the same level, given SpaceX’s rocket explosion in August.

After the explosion, Orbital’s stock price fell by just over 13%. This was probably caused due to a lack of confidence in the company. It has since been climbing back, gaining 2% today. This increase is probably because of investors jumping at the opportunity to regain investment at a lower price.

NASA will presumably come under fire for their decision to end the Space shuttle program and allow the open market to come up with a solution. Hopefully the future holds more success for Orbital, SpaceX and NASA.

Orbital Sciences Antares Explosion Coverage/Video: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rocket-bursts-into-flames-moments-after-liftoff-from-nasa-base/

Orbital Sciences Shares Fall: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/orbital-shares-fall-after-antares-rocket-explodes-2014-10-28?link=sfmw_fb

SpaceX’s Shuttle Failure: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-25/spacex-failure-seen-slowing-nasa-pick-on-capsule-contract.html

Further Reading on the Subject, TIME Magazine: http://time.com/3544723/antares-explosion-nasa-elon-musk/

Images:

SpaceX: http://spacefrontier.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/spacex-logo.jpg

Antares Explosion: http://media3.s-nbcnews.com/i/newscms/2014_44/739341/141028-antares-rocket-explosion-jms-1825_c6574a8e67fd20cddbc518bebd937bd4.jpg

The Federal Reserve Building

The Federal Reserve of The United States is one of the world’s most influential organizations. The Fed’s decisions affect the entire world because of the sheer size of the U.S. market and wide spread usage of its currency. Recently the Fed ended its asset-purchase program that began in response to the recession of 2008.

Janet Yellen, Chairperson of the Federal Reserve

The goal of the program is to increase the cash in the U.S. to stimulate growth by making it easier for banks to lend out money. This it to allow businesses to expand, to hire more people, to increase employment, to increase consumer income, to increase consumer spending, to increase national GDP. It is very interesting to see how such decisions can cause a chain reaction. It is very apparent the necessity of going down so many levels in order to cause any sort of change.

The Fed has ended this “quantitative easing” program partly due to improving employment numbers, as written in a recent Bloomberg article. More employment was the goal of this initiative, and now that it is working and approaching stable growth, the Fed can focus on other areas such as inflation rates.

The Fed was created to bring stability to the capital U.S. market. Asset purchasing is one of the many tools it has for doing this.

Bloomberg Article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-29/fed-ends-qe-while-keeping-considerable-time-low-rate-pledge.html

Information on Fed’s Operations: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/monetary-policy-recession.asp

Causes of the Recession for background reading: http://www.economist.com/news/schoolsbrief/21584534-effects-financial-crisis-are-still-being-felt-five-years-article

Images:

Janet Yellen: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1569298/thumbs/o-JANET-YELLEN-facebook.jpg

Federal Reserve Building: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Marriner_S._Eccles_Federal_Reserve_Board_Building.jpg

The conflict between Aboriginal peoples of Canada and its once foreign settlers is centuries old and has resulted in numerous events that have hurt human, environmental, and civil rights.

For a race of people that has been marginalized since the beginning, it is very easy to imagine the anger and frustration in response to the Indian Act that was enacted in 1867. An article by the CBC clearly describes the goal of assimilation through any means necessary attributed to the Indian Act. This incredible effort of marginalization has destroyed, hopefully not forever, any hope of trust between the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and the Federal Government.

Progress in the country and for the country, depends on the relationship between the two parties. News articles from The Vancouver Sun talking about the B.C. Hydro site C and the Tsilhqot’in New Prosperity Mine showcase the business and economic inefficiencies that take place because of a lack of a relationship between the two parties. Both side are wanting to expand and grow but are facing opposition from each other.

I don’t know enough about political science to determine an appropriate structure for the organization of Aboriginal groups but I do know that the Government should facilitate it. Allowing Aboriginal communities to be more sustainable, efficient, and economical through proper governance and representation would allow communication on new levels. Both parties will be able to make proper decisions and strive towards similar goals all while respecting and working well with each other.

It’s the government’s responsibility to help heal the wounds it created, and heal them in a way that they are stronger afterward in order to better communicate and create progress for everyone.

Notes:

CBC Article, Background on the Indian Act, from suggested readings: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/background-the-indian-act-1.1056988

The Vancouver Sun, Tsilhqot’in set to declare site of New Prosperity mine a tribal park: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html#ixzz3FRLBTsuT

The Vancouver Sun, http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Premier+urges+cooperation+more+litigation+government+natives+reach+fork+road/10194776/story.html

Advertising works. There is no doubting that. For someone to say they are unaffected by advertising is naive. Companies are literally playing with your mind; this can be a very scary thing if one is not able to recognize it. I believe that a very important skill in modern society is being able to recognize advertising messages and interpret them based on what your thoughts are as an individual.

In an article by The Atlantic, Nigel Hollis, a chief analyst for Millward Brown, a global market research company, outlined some of the core ideas behind T.V. advertising. Specifically, how companies try to create memories that influence behaviour later on. I think that this is one of the most genius components of advertising. It is a subtle psychological tactic that allows companies to influence people without directly promoting their product. Direct promotion usually makes consumers defensive.

This influence is demonstrated in LG’s new brand positioning goals outlined in an article by Marketing Week. Are LG electronics actually “warmer” than Samsung’s? Probably not, but that is what LG is trying to tell you. It is a very imaginable concept, a family looking for a living room T.V. might turn to the “warmer” and “happier” sounding option. While this option is perfectly valid, a family has every right to want something “warm and happy” in their household, it is important to recognize that LG has instilled the idea that it is the only company that can provide that.

The main take away from all this is to recognize that advertising works. It isn’t a 70-billion dollar industry for nothing. I freely admit that I’m influenced by advertising but I also try to realize what the advertisers are telling me and make my own reasonably informed decisions.

Notes:

Article by The Atlantic published in August of 2011. Written by Nigel Hollis: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/#slide2

Article by Marketing Week published in August of 2013. Written by Lara O’Reilly: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/lg-rolls-out-new-positioning-to-add-warmth-to-the-brand/4007542.article

LG It’s All Possible Image, taken from google images: http://3gca.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/lhap-600×215.jpg

After reading the assigned prep work for the business ethics class I came away with a new understanding of the reasons business make certain decisions. Friedman’s article was enlightening to the fact that business executives making decisions solely based on the well-being of society can sometimes have undesired and unforeseen consequences. He also argues that decisions based for the success of society and the general population should be reserved for government, which is elected by due political process, and is therefore accurate representation of its people (in an ideal environment). This electoral process or style of organization is very similar to the structure of a board of directors appointing a CEO. The CEO is placed there to serve the board of directors much in the same way the government is put in place to serve its people. The concept is very similar to what Freeman describes as the “stakeholder theory”. While the structures may be similar, the objectives are very different. Each institution seeks to serve their respective stakeholders.

An article by the New York Times describes the decision made by CVS to stop carrying tobacco products. While the decision might seem, on the surface, to have been made to help society, it has a very different objective. Ceasing to sell tobacco products is a part of a company-wide transition CVS is making to become a more health-orientated. On pure speculation, this is probably being done to make CVS a more attractive place for the growing pool of retired Americans who will presumably need health care. This ulterior motive may seem furtive, but I believe it is a great example of how businesses working to do their job can help society out as well.