Jolene Lloyd's Blog

Small social enterprises that make beautiful beads for jewelry have been cropping up all over Africa throughout the past decade. The beads are made out of triangular strips of paper that are rolled, painted, and glossed.

In Rwanda, a for-profit company called Gahaya Links hires women, many of them widows, to create these beads as well as woven baskets and various other crafts. These women have lived through the atrocities of the Rwandan Genocide and have had their husbands and many of their relatives killed. Receiving training and being able to work allows them to provide for themselves and their families. It is Gahaya Link’s belief that “women’s economic empowerment provides the foundation for achieving sustainable peace and development in Rwanda”.

All of the businesses creating these beads hold a similar view and mission. After meeting some of the women who create these gorgeous beads, I have no qualms about whether these businesses can be classified as social enterprises. Hearing the stories of how these beads have transformed their lives left me with the no hint of doubt that Gahaya Link’s vision is slowly being achieved.

As Bob points out in his blog, “if cures were found for heart, lung, liver and kidney disease alone the entire multi-billion dollar transplant industry would collapse.” Normally when one thinks about cancer and diseases the first thing that pops into their mind isn’t large profits. In reality, however, billions of dollars are made each year from research and treatments. Take diabetes for example. It is approximately a 132 billion dollar industry. Bob says one must realize how tempting it would be to simply improve diseases such as these instead of fully curing them.

I believe one needs to take into account that he is writing from the perspective of one living within the American health system. Although Canada’s health care system is abnormal, it leads me to disbelieve Bob. The profits made from health care within Canada are relatively much smaller, as many don’t have to pay for the care they receive. People working within the health care system are much less likely to be after large profits.

If researchers were withholding cures, or simply not actively searching for them, I’m sure it would be more widely known. I cannot say that all researchers are motivated by doing good instead of profits, but most could not live with being the cause of such atrocities.

In his blog post “A Revolutionary Solution for Malnutrition”, Ryan De laco talks about a new product called “Sprinkles” created by Dr. Stanley Zlotkin. These “Sprinkles” are a powder that can be mixed into food to help provide malnourished children with the iron they need in their diet to help prevent diseases.

While I am hopeful for the success of the Sprinkles, as Ryan De laco is, and amazed at Dr. Zlotkin’s revolutionary product, I must address some key problems. Currently, around 15 million children are being helped by the Sprinkles, but over 600 million remain unreached. To expand and supply to more individuals some issues must be solved.

The sprinkles undoubtedly have a positive effect, but most families that have trouble buying actual food on a normal basis will likely not see the importance of continually buying the “sprinkles” over many years. It is often the same with medicine, as the impoverished families I’ve talked to say that there is no point in buying medicine that will help in the long run if it leaves them little money for food and means their children will die of hunger within only a couple of weeks. Charities may provide the funds needed to produce and distribute the Sprinkles, but they will be hard pressed to reach the majority of children in need.

It is a sad dilemma this product faces. The Sprinkles are helping many children already, but as always it is never any easy task to help all of the under nourished people in the world. I do hope for the success of this amazing product, but cannot yet truthfully say that it will solve the issue of malnutrition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4qYEeY7Amg

In his blog post “The Business Behind the Northern Gateway Pipeline”, Ben Gardiner talks of how there are currently intense debates over the construction of the northern gateway pipeline. Enbridge has planned for the pipeline to go from Alberta through B.C to the coast where it will be taken to countries including china.

As he mentions, there are both pros and cons to the pipeline. It promises to create “BC tax revenue of 1.2 billion dollars over 30 years and over 3000 jobs for the construction of the pipeline.” On the other hand there would be severe consequences to B.C.’s environment, especially if there were an oil spill near the coast.

What is often overlooked, and which Ben has not mentioned within his post, is that Asia, who will be the main consumer of the oil, is intent on acquiring oil no matter where it may come from. With their large population it is necessary for them to find oil outside their own country and right now their eyes are on Canada. If the pipeline is not built then they will be forced to buy from another country. One must realize however that if China goes to another country, such as Africa where there are little or no environmental regulations, the impact on the environment will be astronomically larger.

I myself am torn over whether or not the pipeline should be built. I am worried for the future of B.C.’s environment, but I am also aware of the many benefits. If one is intent on stopping the pipeline because of environmental concerns, I believe that they must take into account the impact of China shipping oil from other countries that are less concerned with environmental issues.

Dollarama Inc. is currently coming out ahead of Walmart and Target as the “top North American mass retail stock this year”. One has to wonder how it’s possible that a store with bad service and often bad quality products could be doing better than companies such as Target.

It comes down to their incredibly effective marketing and their lack of competition. According to the article here, the only firm that could possibly compete against Dollarama is the U.S.’s Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is on the move to try and enter Canada, but won’t start building any stores anytime soon.

Thanks to its marketing, Dollarama has effectively differentiated its products from Walmart and Target and eradicated their competition. They advertise their goods at being only $1 which draws in customers. One must notice, however, the small “plus” added onto their logo. It should be read $1 plus, but with the ginormous 1, who would notice the little words beside it? Most of their items are sold at prices over $1, but once their deceptive store logo pulls you in, it is likely that you will purchase from them instead of going to Walmart or Target where you could buy the same thing at exactly the same price.

“What the heck is this?!” will be your first thoughts when you watch this.

It is in fact a PSA video put out by Australian Metro in an attempt to show that acting foolishly around trains is just as ridiculous as “teaching yourself how to fly” and “dressing up as a moose during hunting season.” It is not until the conclusion of the video that we learn about the purpose of their message. We are provided with a link to their interactive website where one can read about various ways to act smart around trains, pledge not to do “dumb stuff around trains”, and even kill characters from the video.

If this viral video is not a prime example of great marketing, I don’t know what is! Many companies should take a lesson from this video which immediately grasps the audience’s attention with its odd hilarity and catchy tune. It is clear that the Australian Metro knows exactly how to use the power of the internet, especially when targeting the youth.

After sparking our interest, the video easily leads us to their website which remains interesting and peculiar. Never allowing the viewer’s interest to fall allows their message to get across clearly. They have differentiated their message, or “product”, so that it will occupy a part of the user’s mind and stick there. Some businesses could learn from this technique and should attempt to follow such a fun example. By allowing their advertisements to break away from the norm within their industry, they could successfully capture larger audiences.

McDonalds is one of the most successful international fast-food companies, currently operating in over 100 countries. How have they prospered so much, while other companies struggle to simply move from the U.S. into Canada? It all boils down to their ability to adapt to local tastes and demands.

Fundamentally they remain the same old McDonalds we know and love, but often with a slight revamping to their menu. Take India for example. Cows are seen as sacred and many would have opposed the high beef content of the menu. Beef was substituted with chicken and fish, and alternatives such as the McAloo Tikki potato burger were introduced.  Read further about McDonalds in India here.

Then there’s Japan and China who have a large range of different menu items.

Some of the oddest include green tea & red bean ice cream sundaes, seaweed seasoned fries, and McRice burgers. As well, the portion sizes and level of calories in these countries tend to be much smaller than America.

Also important to note, McDonalds’ success stems largely from its first mover advantage. They are often able to reign supreme in countries all over the world simply because they were there long before their competitors.

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Last year Target officially announced their takeover of Zellers. They will begin replacing the stores in 2013. Zellers’ CEO is less than happy with the failure of his company, going as far as to say the “teddy bear mascot, Zeddy, [should] go feral on Target’s mascot”.

It comes as no surprise however that Zellers is going out of business. As a discount retail store it sells a large variety of products at lower prices and lower quality than a store which specializes in one particular area. Despite its lower quality merchandise many customers enjoy having all their shopping needs met in one place and Target is by far the biggest competitor in this area.

While Target and Zellers are fundamentally the same, Target offers a much wider and better selection of goods. They are consistently replenishing their stock, whereas it’s often hard to tell how long food has remained on the shelves at Zellers. Customers also describe Target as being brighter, cleaner, and much better organized.

The points of difference between these two stores has, in the end, been the main reason for Zeller’s downfall.

See article here

Everywhere children go in today’s society they are bombarded by targeted ads. Bright colors, fun pictures, and promises of free toys consistently attract a child’s attention. McDonalds is an excellent example of this clever marketing.

The bright packaging and ‘free’ toys in Happy Meals have had generations of children begging parents to go inside. One study showed, which can be read about here, that for children “the parts of the brain that control pleasure and appetite [lite] up” when shown well known food ads.

One of the biggest offenders when it comes to brainwashing children are cereal companies. Children are drawn to the exciting boxes with their primary colors and interesting characters. Just think of all the exciting adventures these characters experience!

There’s Lucky who always needs to escape from the children who are after his lucky charms.

We can’t forget about dear old Toucan Sam, who sniffs out his lost fruit loops in the middle of the dangerous jungle.

What child would be able to resist such temptation? The promise of adventure, free toys inside every box, and a delicious taste. Sadly, not many.

We cannot deny the strength of this marketing technique. From a business perspective it is ingenious and seemingly unavoidable. We must ask ourselves, however, if it is ethical to brainwash the minds of children in order to sell them fattening food they really don’t need.

For years, Apple has lead the revolution of technology. Would Apple lovers believe, however, that the companies’ ethics seems to, ironically, stem from far in the past?  For years the company has been taking advantage of the less strict labor laws in China. Workers are forced to work in unsafe environments, often with hazardous materials. Multiple explosions have occurred as a result, causing both injury and death. The explosions are explained in detail here. If working in fear of explosions wasn’t enough, workers are required to work excessive overtime, and some are even banned from sitting down during work hours. Many have complained that after standing for so long their legs swell to the point of barely being able to walk.

A former executive stated, “We’ve known about labor abuses in some factories for four years, and they’re still going on.” Why would Apple so blatantly ignore the problems within their factories? Well it all boils down to whether they’re willing to throw away their ethics in order to glean more of a profit. If word of their unethical practices spreads, however, the bad press may lead to a severe negative effect on the company.

The full article can be read here.