In today’s world, companies are becoming more and more green mainly because it is an ethical issue. The mindset of consumers must be changed in order for companies to gain market share. Such tactics include advertising their points of difference surrounding environmental products.

Another topic which I read called “Ethical Business: Are Companies Actively Avoiding the Green Way,” talks about how companies can become more green using many different tactics. Such tactics include: Cloud computing and digital storage, Green outsourcing, low-footprint technology, and renewable energy. These tactics help get rid of problems surrounding wasting energy and carbon emissions.

Another positive attribute of going green is cutting financial costs. In another article I read called “Companies find that ‘going green’ cuts costs as it helps environment,” it talks about how sales of green products have increased 15%. Reasons because it is eco-friendly, attracts consumers, and cuts financial costs. These costs include cutting lighting and heating costs, using less packaging, streamlining transportation to save gas, and recycling more instead of throwing away.

Overall, the world is becoming a more eco-friendly place, but is it enough? In my opinion, there are still many money driven carbon producing companies which are ethically wrong. Such companies relate to one of my other blog posts relating to energy sourcing companies. In the end, these companies need to understand their damage to the world and how becoming eco-friendly can actually save them money.

In a Current Business UK blog titled “Contribution of the IT Sector to the Digital Economy,” written by Alan, the author writes about how the IT sector is currently expanding into companies and how the demand is increasing for technology geniuses. This falls into our guest speaker for Comm 101 Carson Woo who explained that the world of technology is growing so fast that all companies need a technology team. For example, companies are using more technology to market their products with smart phone applications and other non traditional methods like email. This has lead me to think about my current situation and how I might want to go into IT.

I read this blog because it talks about technology and how it plays a role in companies, but also because I have a passion for technology. Ever since I was young, I always loved playing video games on the computer which lead me into thinking about becoming a gaming designer. When I become older, I am hoping to become a successful entrepreneur surrounding a technological idea. I would recommend this blog because it further explains our guest speaker Carson Woo’s point. Our speaker talked about how IT contributes to companies, but did not explain the specific jobs. In the following blog, it tells the reader exactly why and what IT professions are scouted for.

As I read my classmate Miss Lau’s blog post on entrepreneurship, it left me with a little awestruck moment which made me quite happy. Firstly, during the summer when I was contemplating whether to go to UBC or SFU, I told my friend the only reason I would go to SFU is to join their entrepreneurship major program. My friend told me I was delusional and mentally insane because “you can’t learn to be an entrepreneur; anyone can be an entrepreneur but only people who are talented and hardworking will succeed.” In the end, my friend helped me choose UBC because he had a good point. No class can teach you how to be innovative and creative, you need to have an original mindset to begin with. Hearing another person say the same things just melts my heart because It helps me know that I made the right choice.

I would recommend  Miss Lau’s post to people who are contemplating on whether they should major in entrepreneurship. People need to understand that there are better majors to go into other than entrepreneurship. Even our guest speakers for class 19 could relate to this; they didn’t major in entrepreneurship, they had the drive and passion and that is what lead them to succeed. In the end, you can take an entrepreneurship course, but true entrepreneurship consists of hard workers with heart and talent. You can’t take a course and expect to become the next Zuckerberg

The earth is currently being polluted every day, mainly because of green house gases which destroy the planet gradually. On September 23rd, 2009, Jay Yarow created a post showcasing the world’s fifteen most pollutant corporations. Out of the fifteen, a majority were companies selling energy using coal as its main supplier of energy source. Coal is currently one of the most pollutant energy sources generating carbon emissions damaging the ozone layer. An example of the damage coal can generate is the Great Smog of England. In 1952, pollution was so horrific that it created a great smog which blocked out sun light during the daytime. Such a horrific event was due to coal being burned to generate energy for households. Even with such a dreadful history, many companies continue to use coal as their main energy supply.

During my last class in Comm 101, my speaker James Tansy did a great job in informing my class on the current situation of the planet. He even explained why Vancouver is the most eco-friendly city in Canada. A main reason was due to B.C Hydro which is an energy company using hydroelectricity to supply the demanders of energy. More detail is on the B.C Hydro website. B.C Hydro’s environmental tactics should be followed to ensure that the next generation will have an earth to live on.

On November 1st, class 17 of Comm. 101, I discovered an interesting phenomenon revolving the power which  information technology (IT) has. Our guest speaker Carson Woo was giving a great speech on how there is so much information on the web and used an excellent example revolving around a teenager who had information online about her pregnancy before she even announced it. At that moment, I realised that the internet was not deemed as safe as I expected. For example, Mr. Woo presented the topic of “Facebook Places” and “Foursquare”; both social networks enable potential strangers to know where you are located. Another article by Kristen Judge also generate controversy around the idea of the social network and how it can lead to robberies. Judge proposed the idea that a robber can easily know when and where a family is located just by looking at pictures, updated statuses, and Facebook Places. If people don’t put a sign in front of their house stating “out of town,” why post it online? This just increases the chances of robberies and other potential hazards like kidnapping. Although the people you add on social networks are likely friends and most of them are safe, but it is still possible for strangers to surf your information; who likes creepers?

Facebook Picture

Not long ago, many of the poor in rural, third world countries had dreams of starting their own business which were shattered by financial concerns. Today, these dreams could be achieved by a method called Micro finance innovated by Muhammad Yunus. The spawn of micro finance has spread rapidly in the recent years, which has lead to a social enterprise called Mercy Corps. In India, there are over 110 million people living on less than $2 dollars but only 50 million people can be served by the 50,000 micro finance institutions. Mercy Corps decided to tackle this problem by buying a failing Balinese bank and reopening for the exclusive use of micro finance only. This can create a large impact because it cuts the costs and inefficiencies for micro finance institutions which in essence will create an incentive to join Mercy Corps in serving the poor.

The CEO of Mercy Corps, Neal Keny-Guyer, is a true social entrepreneur. His corporation includes all five characteristics of a social enterprise: ambition, mission driven, strategic, resourceful, and results oriented. The new bank will be able to not only expand micro finance, but also influence the rest of the world to initiate on tasks not for themselves, but for others also.

From reading my colleague Ariel Liu’s blog, I have decided to share my opinion on the standpoint and future for the renowned Pink Berry. The healthy frozen yogurt shop has recently opened up near my residence and it is a place where many adolescents enjoy catching up. I have tried it a few times and the flavour and taste is closely associated to other frozen yogurts; nothing but ordinary. The frozen yogurt Pink Berry is an overprice dessert which is nothing special; Pinkberry includes toppings which can be easily obtained through the supermarket but when purchasing the exact same toppings with the frozen yogurt, prices are inflated extremely high. It is indeed a healthy dessert, but why pay so much to be healthy? If someone insisted on staying healthy, they should stay away from frozen yogurts and just eat fruits.

Pink berry is currently increasing in popularity but for how long? To answer Miss Liu’s question, we would need to understand consumer behaviour and why they actually stick with such an expensive choice. People may view pinkberry as a healthy dessert but who would continue to spend their money on an overpriced product? In my opinion, Pink Berry is indeed a fad but only “time will tell” if my opinion holds true.

(Sources:Miss Liu, Pinkberry Article, Pinkberry Picture)

Last Friday on October 5th, Foxconn’s (world’s largest contract maker of electronics) employees began to strike causing potential harm to the leading electronic corporation Apple. The company Apple has recently released their newest innovation Iphone 5, but already the process of assembling the smart phone is at slack. With three to four thousand employees striking at Zhenzhou complex in central China, the Smartphone’s production has declined drastically; in other words, “paralyzed.” Apparently, the employees are unhappy with the strict demands on product quality, controversy and scandals within the organization, and demands to work during holidays.

This is a perfect example of why the stakeholder theory should be used following Freeman’s idea and not Friedman’s. The company Foxconn has dug its own hole by not listening to employee’s, resulting in a strike consisting of thousands of people.  A major issue was workers were not trained appropriately for assembling high quality products but were none the less punished. If the company had good relations with the workers (following freeman’s theory), the company would not have been hit with such a large impact during the peak season for producing electronic products. Foxconn wishes to produce at the lowest cost but has not questioned its own actions when trying to accomplish this goal. In the end, if the stakeholders are unhappy, the company will be impaired.

(Sources: Friedman, Freeman,Vancouver Sun,Foxconn Image)

Started in 1962, Wal-Mart has already grown to be the world’s third largest corporation according to Fortune Global 500. Wal-Mart is a company with many points of parity due to their variety of goods and services, but what makes Wal-Mart special is its greatest point of difference which is enabling consumers to purchase at the lowest price possible. Wal-Mart’s success is due to their genius marketing slogan “Save money, live better.” This slogan attracts the average family because who wants to pay more when they can pay less? Wal-Mart maintains this promise by selling goods at the lowest price, and if a competitor advertises for less, Wal-Mart will match the price. This allows Wal-Mart to capture the market which contains families living paycheck by paycheck. These families can’t afford to pay more for necessities needed for everyday life like groceries, clothing, tools, appliances, therefore they must make every penny count and acquire goods and services from their local store Wal-Mart. In conclusion, Wal-Mart’s point of difference focuses on low prices enabling them to capture the majority of families in North America, permitting them to be one of the world’s largest and fastest growing corporations.

(Sources: Wikipedia,Walmart,Walmart-Ad,Walmart Picture)

During the summer of 1990, in a small town called Oka located in Quebec, an ethical issue ascended as government allowed the expansion of a golf course into the Mohawk’s(native Iroquois family) reserve without consent. The reserve was known as Kanesatake and was a spiritual ground which contained burial grounds, pine lands, and tombstones of ancient ancestors. Due to the government’s obstinate mindset, the native tribe was condemned to take action and erect a barricade blocking entrance to Oka. The government refused to negotiate causing violence to construct, leading to the Provincial Police Force, along with Canadian Armed Forces to arrive. In the end, the battle was lost for the Natives and the barricades were destroyed, along with the death of a provincial police agent.

In my opinion, the government’s decision to allow the eradication of the native’s reserve rights was morally inappropriate. Although the process of expanding a golf course may generate future revenue and create job opportunities, it’s ethically wrong to destroy an ancient burial ground belonging to a native tribe. Just because you’re the government, doesn’t mean you can do what you think is “fit” for the country. With great power comes great responsibility – Spiderman.

(Sources:Histori,CBC,Picture Link)