If the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise? Well only having money is not enough to solve social issues and give people hope. We need people that care for others and change the world for others, we need people who take action. Social enterprises matter because they do not only make money, they establish the avenues that create social value and change. We need people who can take the funding and effective spend it on training and providing people with skills and hope for a better life. Social entrepreneurs can do those things, because they are ambitious and highly strategic. What unprivileged people need is not only money, they need other people to go to them and teach them skills so they can sustain their own independent lifestyles.

(Source: http://zimt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Peppermint-Nib-Chocolate-bar.jpg) Zimt Organic Chocolate

As a follow up to the Sauder Alumni class, I decided to look at the blog written by Emma Smith on her Zimt company website. Halloween presents great opportunities for the candy industry as it is a time when people distribute large amounts of sweets. I found it interesting to see Emma Smith post a blog during this time about organic treats. She gave a few examples of organic sweets and where one can purchase them, then went on to talk about why people choose organic. The way she presented the examples is way that advertises organic treats. She also mentions a Zimt retailer in one of the examples. Since the readers are reading these examples on the Zimt website, they can easily turn to the Zimt online store right after they learn about how good the organic sweets are. In the section where she talks about why she insists on buying organic, she presents the pains and gains of people looking to buy sweets. She talks about how people want to avoid pesticides and want the farmers to work in a safer environment. This way she is presenting her company’s value proposition to the readers as well as effectively raising awareness for her brand and organic products in general.

“Acqui-hiring” is basically when a company buys a start-up company to claim its talent. This “acqui-hiring” trend is becoming more prominent as large companies such as Yahoo and Google bought out several start-ups. The advantage of this action is that large companies can acquire talent and ideas while also eliminating potential future competition. The downside is that oftentimes companies lose a large amount of money from this purchase because the acquisitions are not contributing nearly enough revenue to cover the acquisition costs. I think in the short-term this strategy will cause losses, but if the company is large such as Google, it can survive the losses  and make use of the talent they acquired. This way in the long run, the company would be at an advantage because there would be less competition and the acquired talent would be developed. However I think it is important to establish an organizational culture in order to develop the talent. The company has to integrate the new acquisition into the existing culture. A good way to do this is by making the acquisitions work with the rest of the company instead of allowing them to work among themselves. This way they will diffuse into the rest of the company and contribute to the company’s success.

(Source: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/TwzhA5a3YCYIoFC8Qz6-4DZO1vR3OHtLfkRyas60aWnsIW-OVpLDIV-lg_IiFHTIOxp7AlG9zQ=s640-h400-e365) “Adblock for Youtube” Google Chrome web extension that disables ads on videos

Vivian Lam‘s blog post talks about how Youtube is considering to implement a paid subscription service that eliminates advertisements from videos. At first glance I thought this is a great addition to Youtube’s business plan because it would definitely enhance the viewer experience. On second thought, there are some concerns that Youtube needs to consider before implementing this option. First of all, is this service really necessary? What I mean is that there are already web extensions that can be downloaded for free that blocks ads, so why would viewers pay for a service that can be obtained easily for free. Perhaps some viewers may even like watching ads because Youtube categorizes what the viewer watches and display ads based on that. Unless a viewer is extremely loyal to Youtube, an ad-free service just will not sell. More features need to be added to the subscription service for it to sell. Another concern with going ad-free is that Youtube makes a lot of money from displaying ads. Offering a service to disable ads may cause Youtube to lose money from companies that display ads on Youtube. Depending on how much money subscription service can make, Youtube may or may not be  able to cover losses from advertising companies. Frankly I do not think subscriptions can cover the losses, and there is no point in implementing such a service.

(Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Google-Nexus-6-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-4-vs-Apple-iPhone-6-Plus-specs-comparison_id61729) From left to right: Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Google Nexus 6, iPhone 6

Lawrence Xia‘s blog provides his thoughts on why Samsung is in decline. I agree with Lawrence that one of the main reasons for decline is that Samsung’s many Android competitors are beginning to launch products with similar functionality as Samsung’s flagship phone but at a much lower price. Samsung’s newest flagship, the Note 4 smartphone is priced at around $1000, a price similar to that of the new iPhone 6 models, but much higher than other high-end Android phones such as the new Nexus 6. This places the Note 4 at a bad position as consumers can either pay less for other Android phones with similar performance, or buy an iPhone for a unique experience. Samsung phones do not seem worth buying when competitors can offer more. I do not feel there has been much innovation between the previous generation Samsung phone and the current generation. In terms of software, Samsung has been lacking in innovations to stand out from competitors. Apple has its unique iOS software while the Nexus line of smartphones offer a more direct Android experience,  so why buy Samsung? Even though Samsung’s smartphone sector may bring in the most profit, Samsung has revenue streams from other electronics as well so it is not the end for the company by a long shot. However unless Samsung can add innovations to its smartphones, eventually it may become irrelevant as a competitor in the mobile industry like Blackberry and Nokia.

Source: The Verge

Microsoft Office on IPad (Image Source: The Verge)

Following the establishment of a partnership with Dropbox, and the decision to extend its Office software to mobile devices, Microsoft’s next move is to release the software for free. This is all a part of Microsoft’s strategy to enter the mobile market. The software giant having already established a strong brand for its Microsoft Office software should have no problem pushing Office into the mobile market. Entering the mobile market is a very effective strategy for Microsoft because the company recognizes the increasing use of mobile devices and tries to adapt to this trend. By making their mobile versions of Office free for users, they are implementing a freemium strategy; Microsoft will still be charging subscriptions for businesses and individuals who use some of the premium features, so that there is still subscription value. Integrating Dropbox’s cloud storage feature into mobile Office apps will further reinforce the user experience for consumers. I think overall this move by Microsoft will be very effective in terms of pushing out office competition because Microsoft Office is already a very reputable authoring software, consumers are highly likely to switch to its mobile version. Furthermore Microsoft made Office free and therefore more accessible to consumers, I think it is very difficult for other apps of similar nature to have their place in the mobile market.